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In 2023, The Beatles harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to help bring the Fab Four back together on the Grammy-winning “Now and Then,” billed as the band’s final song. Two years later, the Lennon/McCartney partnership is together again – but with a twist. Their sons Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney have joined forces with Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) on a new song.
The team-up arrives via supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos’ upcoming single “Rip Off,” which Starkey teased on his Instagram account on Sunday (June 16). Mantra of the Cosmos is the new supergroup formed by Starkey alongside Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez and Ride’s Andy Bell. Vocals on “Rip Off” are shared between Sean, James and Shaun on the wistful track. Listen to a snippet below.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, however, Starkey dismissed any suggestions it was a mini-Beatles reunion. “No it’s not,” Starkey said in regards to any similarities to their fathers’ band. “It’s like Mantra of the Cosmos with them in it. It’s Sean of the Cosmos and James of the Cosmos, it’s still my band.” In response to The Telegraph’s James Hall suggesting he needed Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, for a full house, Starkey responded: “No I don’t. Why do I?”
Sean Ono Lennon, born in 1975, was the sole child of Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono. In his musical career, Sean has collaborated with Lana Del Rey, The Lemon Twigs and Fat White Family. James McCartney, born in 1977 to Paul and Linda McCartney, has also embarked on a solo music career, and in 2024 collaborated with Sean on “Primrose Hill.”
In 2012, James McCartney told the BBC that a supergroup between himself, Sean, Dhani and Zak had been “mooted.” This new collaboration is the first time that three of the Beatles’ children have collaborated on a piece of original music.
It’s another coup for Starkey’s band, following a collaboration with Noel Gallagher on recent single “Domino Bones,” which the Oasis man said was influenced by Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali and Allen Ginsberg.
Until recently, Starkey was the drummer in The Who but was fired (twice) from the band in relation to his performance at a show in London in March. He also claimed to have turned down a spot in Oasis’ reunion band (he drummed for the group between 2004-2008), contradicting an earlier statement that said he wasn’t asked.
Critics of the secondary ticket business are warning that an epidemic of misleading offers on sites like StubHub and Vivid Seats are eroding consumer confidence in the live event ticket business, and they’re asking for lawmakers to intervene. Longtime music managers like Randy Nichols with the band Underoath say online markets are allowing resellers to list tickets to events that haven’t gone on sale yet — from the 2026 World Cup to David Byrne’s upcoming tour — and reap huge profits from fans who think they are buying legitimate tickets to major sporting events and concerts.
Speculative ticketing exists because of legal loopholes, Nichols says, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars spent on Google advertising and fan naivete. For Byrne’s fall Who is the Sky tour, for example, tickets don’t go on sale until mid-June, but ads for tickets on sites like StubHub and Vivid Seats began popping up seconds after it was announced. On Stubhub, front-row tickets for his Nov. 20 show at L.A.’s Dolby Theater were selling for about $1,100.
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Often, the seller of these tickets will only procure them after someone has agreed to buy them, and often the seller will wait until a few days or weeks before the show to buy the tickets, knowing the price almost always goes down closer to the show date. StubHub doesn’t disclose that the person listing these tickets doesn’t have them in their possession.
“There’s even a hashtag scalpers like to use to make this point titled #itpaystowait,” Nichols says. “The longer they wait, the more profit the scalper makes.”
Now, Nichols and groups like the National Independent Venues Association and the National Independent Talent Organizations are lobbying hard at both the state and federal level to make such practices illegal. While critics have had success in Maryland passing legislation banning speculative ticketing, lawmakers in New York state recently gutted a bill that would have outlawed it there. Officials like NITO executive director Nathaniel Marro are also worried about federal legislation like the TICKET Act, which originally had language banning the practice but has since been altered with a legal loophole that allows for speculative ticketing as part of a concierge service provided by sites like StubHub and Vivid Seats.
“Think of it like your favorite grocery delivery service — but for incredible experiences,” Vivid Seats explains on its site. “You cart your selections; we’ll handle the shopping.”
Marro said these sites don’t make clear to fans what they’re buying; many think they’re buying a ticket, not paying someone to buy a ticket that they themselves could get much cheaper if they shopped around on their own.
“That’s the irony — many fans don’t realize that they could buy these tickets themselves,” Nichols tells Billboard. “The fan is tricked because most begin the process of buying tickets on sites like Google, where secondary sites spend hundreds of millions on deceptive ads and websites to trick consumers into thinking they’re buying tickets directly from the box office.”
Nichols says overcharging the customers means less money for fans to spend and notes that it’s often the box offices that have to deal with customer service problems. And while it’s common for the price of a ticket to go down over time, there are exceptions: with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, sky-high demand made it impossible for some scalpers to fulfill their orders at the price they charged the customer. While some brokers fulfilled the orders at a loss to avoid being penalized by Stubhub, others simply cancelled orders, leaving fans without tickets having spent money on travel and hotels.
Nichols and Marro worry about the problems speculative ticketing will cause for major sporting events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is taking place across North America next summer. Tickets for the global soccer tournament have not yet gone on sale, but hundreds are listed across Stubhub and Vivid Seats. There’s even a listing for tickets to sit on the pitch during the final championship match on July 19, at MetLife Stadium, for $1.1 million.
While it’s unlikely someone would pay that much money on StubHub for a World Cup ticket, even to the final championship game, the worry is that brokers will flood the site with speculative listings and cause a shortage of actual tickets, leaving some fans who traveled halfway around the world without their tickets.
Stephen Parker, executive director of NIVA, says his group has made progress at the state level outlawing the practice, but is worried that federal legislation protecting it as a concierge service could keep it legal for decades. Another concern is that the legislation protecting speculative tickets could quietly be added to Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” and passed without any debate. “Lawmakers understand the issue but we’re up against a well-funded lobby,” Parker says. “The concern is that much of the progress we made at the state level will be lost with federal legislation.”
Mariah Carey achieves her landmark 50th career hit on the Billboard Hot 100, as her new single, “Type Dangerous,” debuts at No. 95 on the chart dated June 21, 2025.
Released June 6, the song starts with 2.5 million official streams, 14.7 million in radio airplay audience and 5,000 sold in the United States in the week ending June 12, according to data tracker Luminate.
Boosting its profile, Carey performed “Type Dangerous” on the 2025 BET Awards on June 9, when she was also honored with the Ultimate Icon Award.
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The track, which Carey co-wrote and co-produced, previews her 16th studio album, her first since Caution in 2018. The song’s official video premiered Saturday (June 14).
Carey debuts her first new title on the Hot 100 since “Oh Santa!,” featuring Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson, spent a week on the chart dated Dec. 19, 2020. “Type Dangerous” is her first nonseasonal song to reach the ranking since “I Don’t,” featuring YG, logged a week on the list dated Feb. 25, 2017. “Type Dangerous” is her first non-holiday entry without any billed artists since “Infinity,” on the May 16, 2015, chart.
Beginning in December 2019, through this past holiday season, Carey has decorated the top of the Hot 100 for 18 weeks with her evergreen (and red) 1994 classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The carol became her 19th No. 1 – the most among soloists and second overall only to the Beatles’ 20.
(Carey is also heard on two Hot 100 top 10s in recent years that don’t contribute to her chart history: Drake’s “Emotionless,” which hit No. 8 in July 2018, samples her 1991 leader “Emotions,” while Carey joined for a remix of Latto’s “Big Energy,” which nods to Carey’s 1995 Hot 100-topper “Fantasy” and reached No. 3 in April 2022.)
Carey made her Hot 100 debut with “Vision of Love” on the chart dated June 2, 1990. It became her first leader that August.
Beyond the Hot 100, “Type Dangerous,” Carey’s first single on gamma., as well as on an independent label (and the latest on her MARIAH imprint), begins at No. 4 on the Digital Song Sales chart, marking her 10th top 10.
On the all-format Radio Songs chart, “Type Dangerous” debuts at No. 47. It’s her first new song to make the survey since the Miguel-featuring “#Beautiful,” which hit No. 17 in June 2013. “Type Dangerous” opens on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay at No. 7, Adult R&B Airplay at No. 15, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay at No. 24, Adult Pop Airplay at No. 30, Rhythmic Airplay at No. 31 and Pop Airplay at No. 38. On R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, the single scores the highest entrance for a song in nearly 30 years, since Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” started at No. 6 in November 1995.
“Type Dangerous” concurrently soars in at No. 7 on Hot R&B Songs and No. 24 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, which use the same multimetric methodology as the Hot 100.
All charts dated June 21 will update tomorrow, June 17, on Billboard.com.
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was set to take place this past weekend, but was ended early due to extreme weather conditions in the region. On the website for Bonnaroo, it was shared that ticketholders for both the festivals and the campers on the ground will receive refunds.
Bonnaroo organizers posted on the festival’s website and on social media, writing, “We have put our hearts and souls into making this weekend the most special one of the year, and cannot express how crushed we are to have to make this decision. Thank you in advance for your patience, your positivity and your unfailing Bonnaroovian spirit.”
One-day ticket holders who purchased for shows happening from Friday (June 13) through Sunday (June 15) will get full refunds. Others who purchased four-day tickets and four-day camping ground slots will get 75% of their funds returned to their original mode of payment in under or around 30 days, according to the full statement.
Check out the Bonnaroo statement below.
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Photo: Josh Brasted / Getty
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AI music startup Udio is facing another copyright lawsuit — this time a proposed class action on behalf of independent artists who have been “left without a seat at the table” in the high-profile litigation filed by the major labels.
Weeks after news that Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music were in talks to potentially settle their billion-dollar lawsuit against Udio, a country singer named Tony Justice is filing his own case against the company in Manhattan federal court.
Seeking to represent “thousands” of other independent artists in a class action, Justice says the earlier lawsuit filed by the Big Three won’t adequately protect the interests of musicians who aren’t signed to a major label deal.
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“Independent artists, whose rights have been trampled the most, are the ones left without a seat at the table, unrepresented, and without a meaningful remedy,” attorneys for Justice write in the lawsuit, filed Monday (June 16). “Class members will never be able to claw back the intellectual property unlawfully copied by Udio and used to train its AI.”
A spokesperson for Udio did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.
AI models like Udio are “trained” by ingesting millions of existing works, thus teaching them to spit out new ones. As AI tech has boomed in recent years, dozens of lawsuits have been filed in federal court over that training process, arguing that AI companies are violating copyrights on a massive scale.
AI firms argue back that such training is legal “fair use,” transforming all those old “inputs” into entirely new “outputs.” Whether that argument succeeds in court is a potentially trillion-dollar question — and one that has yet to be definitively answered by federal judges.
Universal, Warner and Sony sued both Udio and Suno, another AI music firm, last summer, claiming the tech startups had built their models by stealing music on an “unimaginable scale” and “trampling the rights of copyright owners.”
Those cases remain pending, but news broke earlier this month that all three music companies were in talks to potentially settle the litigation by striking licensing deals with the companies. In return for allowing Suno and Udio to train on the vast collections of songs, the proposed deals would see the majors collect fees and receive equity in the startups.
In Monday’s new case against Udio, Justice largely echoes the allegations made by the majors. He says the company has infringed copyrights by training its machines on his songs, including his “Last of the Cowboys,” which has racked up more than 8 million streams on Spotify.
But his case was filed as a proposed class action, meaning he wants to also represent other independent artists who have suffered similar alleged treatment by Udio. He says “thousands” of other artists could eventually be part of the case.
“These acts by Udio were abuse and exploitation of another’s intellectual property of the worst kind,” his lawyers write. “Rather than license copyrighted songs like every other tech-based business is required to do, Udio elected to simply steal the songs of independent artists, plaintiffs, and the class members to then generate AI-soundalike music at virtually no cost to Udio.”
06/16/2025
Listen to new must-hear songs from emerging R&B/hip-hop artists like Aaron Page and Nemzzz.
06/16/2025
Despite all the heat surrounding Sean “Diddy” Combs right now, two of his sons still showed love on Father’s Day.
Justin and Christian Combs hit social media with messages for their pops, standing by him even as his high-profile trial keeps making headlines.
Justin Combs posted late Sunday afternoon, dropping a behind-the-scenes video of Diddy talking to a group, saying it’s a proud day for him. The clip felt like a quiet moment of support, showing that the bond between father and son is still strong, no matter what’s going on.
Christian Combs took it back with a throwback photo, a red carpet moment from when he was a little kid, arms wrapped around his dad. His caption read, “Happy Fathers Day Pops!! I Love you & miss you !!! We waiting for you at” Short and sweet, it showed just how much he’s riding for his father.
Meanwhile, Diddy’s trial is still going full speed in New York City. Day 24 is about to kick off, and the courtroom drama hasn’t let up. The case includes serious allegations, from sex trafficking to racketeering and financial misconduct, tied to decades of Diddy’s time running the business side of Hip-Hop. The testimonies have been wild, with ex-Bad Boy staff and alleged victims giving the court some pretty graphic and emotional stories. Diddy’s team continues to deny all charges, but the details coming out have kept the public locked in.
To add more chaos, Kanye West popped up in the overflow gallery last week, turning heads and lighting up social media. With everything still up in the air, no one really knows how this is going to play out. Still, for his sons, it’s clear that Father’s Day wasn’t about headlines, it was about family. Through all the noise, Justin and Christian made it known: love for their dad hasn’t changed.
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Two of the most beloved new wave bands of all time are hitting the road together this fall for their first-ever joint tour. The 11-date co-headlining Cosmic De-Evolution tour will feature DEVO and the B-52s hitting the road together starting on Sept. 24 in Toronto at the Budweiser Stage, followed by shows in Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, California, North Carolina and Georgia before winding down on Nov. 12 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman in Houston, TX.
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The continuation of both bands’ ongoing farewell tours will feature avant garde pop singer Lene Lovich opening the shows. Tickets will go on sale first with Citi and Amex pre-sales. The Citi pre-sale begins today (June 16) at 12 p.m. local time through Thursday (June 19) at 10 p.m. local time here. Amex cardmembers can purchase tickets to the Oct. 18 L.A. before the general public now through 10 p.m. local time on Thursday.
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“In 2022, I swore I’d never get on a tour bus again” said B-52s singer Fred Schneider in a statement. “But we were careful to say to our fans that we would still perform in special situations that don’t require all of the awful tour travel. Our Vegas residency is going great, and when we were offered the chance to do a small run of shows with Devo, we all said this is an extraordinary opportunity we couldn’t say no to.”
Devo co-rounder Mark Mothersbaugh added, “The B-52s had one of the best sounds of any of the bands out there in the late 70’s early 80’s – ‘Rock Lobster’ is one of my favorite songs – DEVO used to sing it to Booji Boy after DEVO shows. It was either fate or luck or the SNL anniversary that brought us all together to create this amazing chance to go out on tour. All I can say is Cosmic Devolution is REAL!”
Both bands performed on February’s sprawling, three-hour SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert, during which they took the stage alongside a galaxy of stars that also included Miley Cyrus, Bad Bunny, Eddie Vedder, the Backstreet Boys, Lady Gaga, Lauryn Hill, Jelly Roll, Brandi Carlile, the living members of Nirvana with Post Malone and Cher, among others.
B-52 singer Kate Pierson said in the statement, “When we first came from Athens [GA] to New York City to perform, punk was in full force… and New Wave was right on its tail! We loved all the New Wave groups, including Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Blondie and the Ramones. We also really dug the far-out weirdness of Devo, which seemed very in tuned to our sensibilities. We remember one of our first shows — amazed that David Bowie, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg, Talking Heads and Blondie all came to see us! When we opened the Mudd Club, we partied with Devo and really hit it off on the dance floor. Later, Brian Eno went onto to produce Devo’s incredible first album… and now we will align again ! So put on your wig hats and Devo bonnets and get ready to party! This is going to be wild.”
Bandmate Cindy Wilson also chimed in, saying, “When both of our bands performed at the recent SNL 50 concert at Radio City, we started talking and agreed we had to do these shows. Believe or not, we’ve never done more than a festival or two together in all this time. This will be amazing and I can’t wait for The B-52s to share these stages with Devo!”
Both groups fronted by three original members are in the midst of what they have said are their final tours.
Check out the dates for the 2025 Cosmic De-Evolution North American tour below.
Sept. 24: Toronto, ONT @ Budweiser Stage
Sept. 25: Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
Oct. 2: Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Oct. 4: Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Oct. 5: Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Oct. 16: Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Oct. 18: Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
Oct. 24: Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
Oct. 25: Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Nov. 1: Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Nov. 2: Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman
The judge overseeing the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial has been mulling a decision to dismiss one of the jurors over inconsistencies in answering questions and other reported issues. Diddy’s legal team wrote a letter to the judge explaining that if the Black and male juror is dismissed that they would seek a mistrial.
As reported by USA Today, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian told the court that he was moving to remove Juror No. 6 due to what he framed as “several inconsistencies” due to where he lived, adding, “The juror is unable to answer simple questions. There are serious questions about the juror’s candor and ability to follow instructions.”
In a TMZ report, it was revealed that Juror No. 6 was Black, and Diddy’s legal team seized on the opportunity to address the judge’s move and seek a pathway to a mistrial.
From TMZ:
The rapper’s legal team filed a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian Sunday evening … claiming that — while the Court might believe the prosecution’s questions about a juror’s inconsistent answers during voir dire are sincere — the government is just finding pretense to dismiss a juror because of their race.
Adding to this, the defense presented claims that authorities abused their power and used excessive force during the raids of Diddy’s homes, along with alleging that investigators linked sensitive information to the public, presumably, to taint the air of the trial.
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Photo: Pool / Getty
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In advance of this weekend’s first Arkansas edition of Kid Rock‘s Rock the Country festival, the “American Bad Ass” singer sat down with the state’s Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to discuss why he’s bringing his “pro-American” event to the Natural State.
Describing the concept of the two-day fest slated for June 20-21 at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds as a “small town, pro-American… everything pro-American music festival for a lot of people I felt were underserved in this country,” Rock said he was excited when he heard from Trump administration press secretary Huckabee Sanders had invited him to her state.
The festival will kick off on Friday with a lineup featuring Logan Crosby, Mark Chesnutt, Shenandoah, Gavin Adcock, a house party set from the Ying Yang Twins and headline performances from Hank Williams Jr. and Nickelback.
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Saturday night will open with Deana Carter, followed by Little Texas, Lee Greenwood, Hudson Westbrook, a house party set from Afroman and then headlining spots from Travis Tritt and Rock.
“Any time you have an event like this an an opportunity to bring in such a huge headliner, that is something that will a big difference in the state, bring in a lot of revenue, tourism,” said Huckabee Sanders, who was seated in front of a mural of a giant eagle with the American flag painted on the inside of its wings alongside a short-wearing Rock. She added that she hoped people from “all over the country” would come to the show. “So not only are we excited to hear great music and see from people that love this country but also it’s a big win for Arkansas to have that kind of economic driver,” she said.
Rock the Country kicked off in April with shows in Louisiana and Tennessee, followed by gigs in rural Missouri and Florida and a stop in York, PA in May. The tour will march on after Little Rock with scheduled shows in Ashland, KY (July 11-12), Sioux Falls, SD (July 18-19) and Anderson, S.C. (July 25-26).
Check out Rock’s chat with Huckabee Sanders here.
