UPDATED: Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, reported revenue of €2,870 million for the third quarter — an increase of 4.3% year-over-year, or 4.9% in constant currency, although it noted that “excluding a prior-year item affecting comparability,” revenue actually grew 6.3% year-over-year, or 7.0% in constant currency. Top sellers for the quarter included […]

More than 50,000 tickets sold for Oasis 2025 U.K. reunion tour will be cancelled, promoters Live Nation and SJM confirmed to the BBC on Monday. The promoters said that all invalidated tickets will be made available again through the official seller, Ticketmaster, at face value. The problem-plagued British on-sale for the tour, announced in August, […]

50 Cent turned down a $3 million offer to perform at former President Donald Trump’s controversial rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday, he revealed in an interview on “The Breakfast Club” radio show Tuesday morning. During a segment of the interview, 50 is asked directly by host DJ Envy whether it’s true […]

There was no shortage of inflammatory commentary during Donald Trump’s rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday night — against Puerto Rican people, against Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and others. Variety reached out to representatives of MSG and James L. Dolan, whose family owns the venue, for comment on the statements. An MSG […]

Concord, one of the world’s largest independent music companies, has successfully closed a new series of $850 million in financing to “fuel strategic growth and acquisition.” In recent years the company has made top-dollar acquisitions for the catalogs of Latin music superstar Daddy Yankee for a reported $217 million; Genesis members Phil Collins, Tony Banks […]

Singer-songwriter Joe Henry and trumpetist/ Latin Grammy-winning producer Ella Bric will be artists in residence at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development for 2024 and 2025, respectively. Henry will visit as the Americana Music Foundation artist-in-residence November 11–13, meeting with students and faculty and presenting a public performance; Bric will […]

Queen’s 1973 debut album has always been an outlier in the group’s catalog. Yes, it’s a vivid opening statement that set the stage for the glorious creativity and bombast — the heavenly voices, snarling guitars and baroque flourishes — that would peak with “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “A Night at the Opera” just over two years […]

Following “Overheated,” last year’s climate-focused event in the U.K., the event is set to take place for the first time in North America on November 3 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The event will bring together “climate activists, thought leaders, artists and inspiring voices” in front of a live audience for a day filled […]

The AI music-creation platform Jen has named Isabel Quinteros as its senior vice president of marketing and industry relations. Quinteros, who was previously TikTok’s head of music partnerships, joins Jen’s leadership team, which also includes co-founders Shara Senderoff and Mike Caren, chief technology officer Alex Wang and veteran technology entrepreneur Aaron McDonald. According to the […]

The NFL has announced that Grammy-nominated artist Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) will headline the halftime performance at the league’s final international game of the 2024 regular season in Munich, Germany — where the New York Giants will take on the Carolina Panthers. With his recent Jelly Roll-featuring single “Lonely Road” — a nod to John Denver’s […]

John Titta, ASCAP’s chief creative officer and a veteran music executive, has died after a two-year battle with cancer, a rep for the organization confirms.  “All of us at ASCAP are heartbroken,” commented ASCAP President & Chairman, songwriter Paul Williams.  “John Titta was one of a kind, and truly one of the most beloved music industry […]

Usher ended a whirlwind week in his hometown of Atlanta with what he described as his favorite show of his lauded “Past Present Future” tour. His Miami shows at the top of the week were rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton, so the now 46-year-old singer spent his birthday at home during the brief time off […]

Bruce Springsteen will appear alongside former President Barack Obama and at rallies for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania on Thursday and Monday, respectively, according to Rolling Stone. The events, to be held in Atlanta and Philadelphia, will launch a series of “When We Vote We Win” shows in the […]

Just days after she announced she’d be rebooting her 2024 North American tour with stadium dates next year, Shakira has unveiled the 2025 “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” tour dates, produced by Live Nation.  The North America dates will now kick off Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Charlotte, NC, at Bank of America Stadium, followed by […]

Morgan Wallen and promoter AEG Presents have unveiled the lineup for Sand In My Boots, the new three-day festival and beach vacation curated by Wallen. The inaugural festival will feature headliners Post Malone, Brooks & Dunn, Hardy and Wallen, along with a mix of country, hip-hop and rock performers including T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Three 6 Mafia, Moneybagg […]

Cindy Charles, Twitch’s head of music and a digital-music veteran, died Monday from injuries she suffered in a traffic accident in the Netherlands, her husband Ricky Fishman confirms. She was 69.  Among many other accomplishments, Charles played a key role in developing Twitch’s DJ category, which established it as the first platform for DJs to […]

Some albums are made for chin-stroking, with deeply complex, intellectually challenging lyrics, song structures, instrumentation and production, creations that deeply stimulate the brain but leave the butt in neutral. And then there are albums where the entire point is to make you feel good and dance — like veteran DJ the Blessed Madonna’s first full-length album, […]

Singer Marc Anthony makes a forceful endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in a new ad in which he reminds Latin voters of former President Donald Trump’s scornful treatment of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and his past negative statements about Hispanics. “Even though some have forgotten, I remember […]

Back in 2007, Bon Iver’s debut album, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” was just about the least likely breakthrough album imaginable: Written in a remote cabin during a Wisconsin winter, in self-imposed solitude after the breakup of both his band and a romantic relationship, its stark sound evoked the setting and spirit of its creation, and […]