With many of the country’s independent concert venues in limbo — having been without business since March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — over 600 major recording artists, including Dave Grohl, Neil Young, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, and Coldplay, have signed a letter to Congress …
Read More »You Can Now Buy a Tupac or Justin Bieber Mask for a Good Cause
Bravado, Universal Music Group‘s merchandise wing and one of the largest music artist merchandisers in the industry, is selling face masks as part of a new charity initiative to support struggling musicians and industry workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Friday. The new initiative, called We’ve …
Read More »Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge: 'I Am at Home and Recuperating'
Lucian Grainge tested positive and was hospitalized for the novel coronavirus on March 15th. On April 6th, the CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG) — 2019’s most-successful music group in terms of market share — sent his company a note that he is now recuperating at home. “I apologize for …
Read More »Live Nation Halts Its War With the U.S. Government (For Now)
Live Nation — the world’s biggest concert promoter and owner of Ticketmaster, the world’s biggest concert ticketing company — has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice after a week of swirling rumors about government action against the company’s practices. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the DOJ …
Read More »Apple Music and Spotify Now Have Dueling Awards Shows
The music-streaming war is headed to its most dramatic setting yet: the stage. On Tuesday, Apple Music announced that it will host a surprise Billie Eilish performance this week to celebrate its “first-ever Apple Music Awards” — just two weeks after Spotify announced plans to host its own “first-ever Spotify …
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