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02 Feb 2024

Merck Mercuriadis Exits CEO Role at Hipgnosis Song Management

Merck Mercuriadis will step down as chief executive officer of catalog investment advisor Hipgnosis Song Management, the company announced on Friday (Feb. 2). The executive, who spent years managing the careers of artists like Elton John, Beyoncé and Guns N’ Roses before launching Hipgnosis, will transition to a newly created chairman role and will continue to “lead engagement” with industry stakeholders on behalf of the business, it said.

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Taking on the CEO role will be Ben Katovsky, HSM’s president and chief operating officer since joining the company in October 2022. He boasts almost two decades of experience in the music industry, most recently in a seven-year tenure as chief operating officer at BMG.

“One of our most important goals has been to bring an institutional rigor to Hipgnosis Song Management,” Mercuriadis said. “Over the last 16 months, Ben has done an amazing job building the team and HSM’s capabilities to deliver the best possible service to our clients and I’m certain this appointment makes us stronger.”

Added Katovsky, “I am proud to be asked to lead HSM through its next chapter, building on all Merck has achieved. In my time in the music industry I haven’t come across anyone who can match his rapport and relationships with songwriters and artists.”

Hipgnosis Song Management is the investment advisor for Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the publicly-listed royalty fund with a catalog that includes stakes in songs by Neil Young, Justin Bieber, Journey, Lindsey Buckingham, Blondie, Justin Timberlake and many other artists and writers. HSF capped a turbulent 2023 by lowering the value of its catalog following what new board chair Robert Naylor described to investors as a strained relationship with the Mercuriadis-led HSM over the catalog’s value.

A third Hipgnosis, Hipgnosis Songs Capital, is a joint venture between HSF and investment giant Blackstone. It is wrapped in a proposal to acquire 29 catalogs for $440 million to help the public fund reduce its debt and improve its share price.

In January, the public fund’s board of directors leveled several complaints against its namesake advisor, calling into question its ability to field competitive bids for its trove of assets. A main sticking point is the investment advisor’s call option — a right to purchase the company’s catalogs if its contract is terminated with less than 12 months’ notice, among other scenarios — which the board contends harms the fund’s ability to receive competitive bids.

The fund’s board wants to make the bidding process more attractive and on Jan. 18 announced a proposal to pay bidders a 20-million-pound ($25.4 million) fee to cover due diligence and acquisition costs when they pursue a purchase of HSFs assets. Shareholders will vote Feb. 7 on that proposal.

HSM said in its announcement that it has sought approval from the fund for the management transition.

In further comment, Katovsky praised HSM’s two clients — HSF and HSC — for their “vision, ambition and on-going commitment to grow music as an asset class through HSM,” and said he hoped to collaborate well with the fund’s board going forward.

“I particularly hope we will be able to work constructively with the Board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd, as I believe that HSM is best able to deliver value for their shareholders whether they decide the Company has a future as a long-term operation or wish to pursue the sale of assets following their strategic review,” he said.

Added Mercuriadis, “Having invested almost $3 billion on behalf of our clients in extraordinarily successful songs we are at an important juncture in our development where the services we provide to our clients are of paramount importance. Our commitment remains stronger than ever. We look forward to continuing our work with songwriters and the creative community to create the greatest possible opportunities from the iconic and culturally important Songs which we manage on behalf of HSM’s clients.”

02 Feb 2024

Louis Tomlinson Superfan Jokes They’re (Technically) Man and Wife Now After She Snagged a Very Special Autograph

Let this be a lesson to Louis Tomlinson: be careful what you sign. During the former One Direction singer’s show last month on his Faith in the Future world tour date in Jakarta, Tomlinson was signing some items for fans and apparently one of the slips of paper he was handed was an official document.

In a TikTok video, the fan said she went to the show as a single woman, “but I got back there as a married woman because,” she said as she showed off a document featuring her picture next to Tomlinson’s on what appeared to be an official document. “He signed a marriage certificate… of me and him,” she said in disbelief.

“I’m a married woman. I’m married to Louis Tomlinson,” she said with a smile. “I’m his lawfully wedded wife.” The fan said she did not go to the post-concert meet-and-greet, but a friend did and asked Tomlinson is he plans to return to Jakarta. “And he answered, ‘If my wife wants to!’ After he signed this! ‘IF MY WIFE WANTS TO!’ I’M HIS WIFE! Are you kidding me?”

The whole thing was just for fun, of course, but woman shared another video in which Tomlinson (who is heard, but not seen in full) asks, “what’s this some kind of declaration of marriage, is it?” as he’s handed a document that looked like a version of the Republic of Indonesia marriage certificate. “It’s official, is that right?” he adds laughing. As she assures him it is, Tomlinson says, “yeah, right right” and asks where he needs to sign. When she implores him to come visit more often, dutiful fake husband Tomlinson responds, “well I have to, yeah, if my wife wants me to, I have to.”

It was all fun and games, of course — according to the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Indonesia, a marriage in the country requires a religious ceremony by two parties of the same religion — so, alas, Tomlinson will continue on his world tour without his phony bride, touching down at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney tonight (Feb. 2).

Watch the TikTok below.

02 Feb 2024

Jack Whitehall Wished Harry Styles a Happy 30th Birthday With a Hilariously NSFW Poem

British comedian Jack Whitehall was, ostensibly, on The Tonight Show on Thursday night (Feb. 1) to plug his new Netflix special, Settle Down. And while that made it a special occasion, Whitehall said his appearance also marked an even more very significant milestone.

“Some of you will know, today is a very, very important day for another reason,” Whitehall told host Jimmy Fallon after chiding him for not mentioning the important date in the monologue earlier. “The first of February, Jimmy, today, is the 30th birthday of Mr. Harry Styles!” Whitehall, who has had some legendary run-ins with the “Watermelon Sugar” singer on U.K. TV over the years encouraged the audience to wish Harry a happy day, confident that Styles would see his kind gesture, because, as he noted, “he watches all of my late-night appearances.”

Saying he had planned to leave Styles a personal voice note later that night, Fallon twisted the comedian’s arm to read the very special tribute he penned for the singer. By chance, Whitehall had his little pink journal in his breast pocket, which he pulled out to workshop his Harry homage for the studio audience. “Just tell me if you think this is too much,” Whitehall said of the poem titled: “Turning 30 in Styles.”

“Harry, oh sweet Harry, you are a man of utter class

My north, my south, my if, my when

My elbow and my ass

I first saw you on X-Factor

The silly reality show way back in 2010

Nearly three Simon Cowell faces ago

A twinkle in your eyes, your hair looked like a mop

A high-pitched little voice, your testicles yet to drop

You dazzled the world with your boy band One Direction

An unstoppable rise, like an unwanted morning … [asking if he can say that word on late night TV]

The day the band broke up, I screamed, I cursed, I cried

I hadn’t been that sad since the day Mufasa died…”

Watch Whitehall read his poetic tribute to Styles on The Tonight Show below.

02 Feb 2024

Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Cardi B & More Support Bill Regulating AI Voice Cloning Via Open Letter

Nearly 300 artists, songwriters, actors and other creators are voicing support for a new bipartisan Congressional bill that would regulate the use of artificial intelligence for cloning voices and likenesses via a new print ad running in USA Today on Friday (Feb. 2).

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The bill — dubbed the No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications Act (“No AI FRAUD” Act) and introduced in the U.S. House on Jan. 10 — would establish a federal framework for protecting voices and likenesses in the age of AI.

Placed by the Human Artistry Campaign, the ad features such bold-faced names as 21 Savage, Bette Midler, Cardi B & Offset, Chuck D, Common, Gloria Estefan, Jason Isbell, the estate of Johnny Cash, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Daigle, Lamb of God, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Questlove, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson, the estate of Tomy Petty, Trisha Yearwood and Vince Gill.

“The No AI FRAUD Act would defend your fundamental human right to your voice & likeness, protecting everyone from nonconsensual deepfakes,” the ad reads. “Protect your individuality. Support HR 6943.”

The Human Artistry Campaign is a coalition of music industry organizations that in March 2023 released a series of seven core principles regarding artificial intelligence. They include ensuring that AI developers acquire licenses for artistic works used in developing and training AI models, as well as that governments refrain from creating “new copyright or other IP exemptions that allow AI developers to exploit creators without permission or compensation.”

In addition to musical artists, the USA Today ad also bears the names of actors such as Bradley Cooper, Clark Gregg, Debra Messing, F. Murray Abraham, Fran Drescher, Laura Dern, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Kristen Bell, Kiefer Sutherland, Julianna Margulies and Rosario Dawson.

The No AI FRAUD Act was introduced by Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) alongside Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Joe Morelle (D-NY) and Rob Wittman (R-VA). The bill is said to be based upon the Senate discussion draft Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (“NO FAKES” Act), which was unveiled in October.

“It’s time for bad actors using AI to face the music,” said Rep. Salazar in a statement at the time the legislation was announced. “This bill plugs a hole in the law and gives artists and U.S. citizens the power to protect their rights, their creative work, and their fundamental individuality online.”

Spurred in part by recent incidents including the viral “fake Drake” track “Heart On My Sleeve,” the No AI FRAUD Act would establish a federal standard barring the use of AI to copy the voices and likenesses of public figures without consent. As it stands, an artist’s voice, image or likeness is typically covered by “right of publicity” laws that protect them from commercial exploitation without authorization, but those laws vary state by state.

The bill was introduced on the same day a similar piece of legislation — the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act — was unveiled in Tennessee by Governor Bill Lee. That bill would update the state’s Protection of Personal Rights law “to include protections for songwriters, performers, and music industry professionals’ voice from the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI),” according to a press release.

Since its unveiling, the No AI Fraud Act has received support from a range of music companies and organizations including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Universal Music Group, the National Music Publishers’ Assocation (NMPA), the Recording Academy, SoundExchange, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and the Latin Recording Academy.

You can view the full ad below.

02 Feb 2024

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler Sells Guitar Collection at Auction

An impressive collection of Mark Knopfler’s guitars and amps went under the hammer this week, raking in more than £8.8 million ($11 million) – a chunk of which goes to charity.

The Dire Straits frontman offloaded 120 instruments, auctioned Wednesday (Jan. 31) at Christie’s in London.

That gear was accumulated across a 50-year career, and was led by the sale of the northern Englishman’s 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard, which changed hands for £693,000 ($884,000), a new world auction record for the model, the BBC reports.

Some of the bids blew estimates out of the water. Knopfler’s 1988 Pensa-Suhr MK-1, which he played at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, in June 1988, went for £504,000 ($643,000), well up on its £8,000 ($10,000) estimate.

And his Red Schecter Telecaster, one of his “longest serving and most heavily toured instruments,” which Knopfler used on the Dire Straits hit from 1985 “Walk Of Life,” collected £415,800 ($530,000); the six-string had an estimate of just £6,000 ($7,600).

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Registered bidders and buyers for the auction chimed in from 61 countries. The total (including buyer’s premium) came in at £8,840,160, with a least a quarter of proceeds flowing equally to charities the British Red Cross, Tusk, and Brave Hearts of the North East.

Also, the Teenage Cancer Trust collects the total £403,200 raised from Knopfler’s 2021 Gibson Les Paul “gold top” guitar – signed by a slew of rock stars, including the late Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and Slash.

“I hope they all get played,” he told BBC News of his guitar collection back in November, “I don’t think they do too well living in a case all their lives.”

Knopfler is widely recognized by his peers as one of the finest to ever play the electric guitar, his solo on “Sultans of Swing” essential listening for any guitarist keen to take the next step. Indeed, Knopfler slides in at No. 27 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

With Dire Straits’ fifth studio album, 1985’s Brothers In Arms, the English band landed one of the biggest hits of the decade — or any decade. The LP, which featured the Billboard Hot 100 leader “Money For Nothing,” reigned over the Official U.K. Albums Chart for 14 weeks, and led the Billboard 200 for nine weeks.

The LP shifted an estimated 30 million copies worldwide, and won two Grammys (best music video, short form for the title track, and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Money For Nothing”).

Dire Straits’ fanbase spread the globe. Their 1986 tour of Australia in support of Brothers In Arms sold 950,000 tickets, a record that stood for decades, until Ed Sheeran’s 2018 Divide tour pushed past the 1 million ticket milestone.

Though dormant since 1992, the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Knopfler didn’t attend the ceremony in Cleveland.

Though Knopfler is now separated from many of his prized instruments, he’s not done with making music. His forthcoming 10th solo studio album, One Deep River, is slated for released on April 12.

02 Feb 2024

Noah Kahan Lands First No. 1 In Australia With ‘Stick Season’

As the calendar flips over to February, Australia finds itself in stick season.

Noah Kahan earns his first No. 1 single in Australia as “Stick Season” (via Universal) climbs 2-1 on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Feb. 2. “Stick Season” gets there in its 15th week on the tally.

Last month, Kahan completed his We’ll All Be Here Forever Tour, which included dates across Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth — his first Australia trek since 2019. According to reps from Universal Music Australia, Kahan performed to more than 50,000 people on the jaunt, produced by Live Nation, and made his breakfast TV debut on Channel 7’s free-to-air Sunrise, for an in-studio performance of the hit single.

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Kahan has more to come. Next Friday, Feb. 9 sees the release of Stick Season (Forever), the “final pieces” of his release strategy, says a UMG rep, following the rollout of the Stick Season album in 2022 and, in late July 2023, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).

It’s mid-summer in Australia, another scorcher where heatwaves or storms are the forecast for any given day. The hottest months here never pass without an edition of Triple J’s Hottest 100 poll, which was counted down last week, and saw Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” (RCA/Sony) crowned the winner.

A string of entries in the Hottest 100 enjoy bumps on the ARIA Chart, led by “Paint The Town Red,” up 10-6.

Also, Aussie EDM producer Dom Dolla’s flashes the cash with “Saving Up” (Sony), which vaults 44-11 on the ARIA Chart. “Saving Up” came in at No. 3 on the triple j poll, which raked in 2,355,870 votes. That result is easily Dom’s highest-charting single in Australia, eclipsing the No. 32 best for “Rhyme Dust.” After blasting in at No. 4 on the Hottest 100 poll, “Rhyme Dust” reenters the ARIA Chart this week at No. 41.

G Flip had a record-breaking result as seven of their songs appeared on the Hottest 100. Less than a week later, G Flip’s former No. 1 LP Drummer (Future Classic/Universal) returns at No. 42.

There’s no moving Taylor Swift from the top of the ARIA Albums Chart, as Taylor’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) holds at No. 1 for a 13th non-consecutive week. If it logs one more week at No. 1, the latest Taylor’s Version would tie with Midnights as her longest reigning album in Australia, at 14 weeks.

According to ARIA, Swift chalks up 55 total number of weeks at No. 1 across 12 albums, starting with Speak Now in 2010.

The top debut on the albums tally is the Smile’s Wall Of Eyes (XL/Inertia), new at No. 7. It’s the second album from the Radiohead side project, following 2022’s A Light For Attracting Attention, which peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Chart.

01 Feb 2024

Darius Rucker Arrested on Misdemeanor Drug Charges in Tennessee

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Darius Rucker was reportedly arrested on three misdemeanor charges in Williamson County, Tennessee on Thursday (Feb. 1). Rucker’s attorney, Mark Puryear, said in a statement to Billboard that Rucker “is fully cooperating with authorities related to misdemeanor charges.”

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Rucker, 57, who is known for his solo country hits such as “Wagon Wheel” and “Alright” as well as his hits including “Hold My Hand” as part of Hootie and the Blowfish, was booked on two misdemeanor drug charges, for simple possession and casual exchange of a controlled substance, according to TMZ.

He also received a third misdemeanor charge of a violation of Tennessee’s vehicle registration law, for expired tags on his vehicle. Rucker was brought into jail around 10 a.m. PT on Thursday and was released approximately an hour later, on bond.

Rucker has earned nine No. 1 Country Airplay hits including “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” and “Come Back Song.” His most recent album, Carolyn’s Boy, was released in October 2023. He has also won three Grammys — best country solo performance (“Wagon Wheel”), the all-genre best new artist award with Hootie and the Blowfish, and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal, for the Hootie hit “Let Her Cry.”

Most recently, he’s enjoyed a hit collaboration with fellow artist Dax, on their song “To Be a Man.” The song reached No. 3 on Billboard’s digital song sales chart in November.

During the Billboard Power 100 party this week, Dax told Billboard that the vulnerable song “is really touching a lot of men…not only men, but women as well, and just to be part of it, I’m really thankful.”

01 Feb 2024

Green Day’s ‘Saviors’ Starts at No. 1 on Multiple Billboard Album Charts

Green Day’s latest studio album, Saviors, makes an eye-catching debut across Billboard’s charts, as it debuts atop seven different U.S. album charts (all dated Feb. 3). Plus, the set scores the band its best sales week ever on vinyl in the U.S.

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All told, Saviors starts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Tastemaker Albums.

In the tracking week ending Jan. 25, Saviors sold 39,000 copies in the U.S., according to Luminate. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 30,000 (18,000 on vinyl – the band’s best week ever on vinyl; 11,000 on CD and 1,000 on cassette) and digital album download sales comprise 9,000.

Saviors is Green Day’s fifth No. 1 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales; fourth No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums, third No. 1 on Vinyl Albums and fifth leader on Tastemaker Albums.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums rank, respectively, the week’s most popular rock and alternative, rock, and alternative albums by equivalent album units. Vinyl Album tallies the week’s top-selling vinyl releases. Tastemaker Albums measures the top-selling titles at independent and small chain record stores. Top Current Album Sales ranks the week’s top-selling new/current albums (non-catalog/older titles).

The first-week sales of Saviors were bolstered by its availability across more than 15 vinyl variants (all with the same tracklist, just different colored vinyl), an autographed CD sold through the band’s webstore and two deluxe boxed sets containing a CD and an artist branded t-shirt (both exclusive to Green Day’s Webstore).

A quartet of former No. 1s follows Saviors on the new Top Album Sales chart, as Taylor Swift’s Folklore is a non-mover at No. 2 (11,000; down 42%), as is Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 3 (nearly 11,000; down 18%). Kali Uchis’ Orquideas falls 1-4 in its second week with 7,000 (down 78%), while Swift’s Midnights rises 6-5 (nearly 7,000; down 15%).

NMIXX notches its first top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as Fe3O4: Break debuts at No. 6 with a little over 6,000 sold. Its sales were encouraged by its availability in five collectible CD packages, all containing branded paper merchandise (including some randomized), including two signed editions sold through the act’s official webstore.

Stray Kids’ former No. 1 ROCK-STAR is steady at No. 7 (6,000; down 19%) and Swift’s chart-topping Lover is stationary at No. 8 (nearly 6,000; down 9%). The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds returns to the top 10, re-entering the chart at No. 9 with just over 5,000 sold, following the release of a new deluxe edition containing seven live bonus tracks recorded in October 2023. Swift’s former leader Evermore rounds out the top 10, dipping 9-10 with 5,000 sold (down 12%).

In the week ending Jan. 25, there were 1.103 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 1.8% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 823,000 (up 0.1%) and digital albums comprised 280,000 (up 7.4%).

There were 388,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Jan. 25 (up 5.1 week-over-week) and 429,000 vinyl albums sold (down 4.6%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 1.704 million (down 26.9% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 1.995 million (down 45.8%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 4.797 million (down 35% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 3.718 million (down 38.5%) and digital album sales total 1.079 million (down 19%).

01 Feb 2024

2024 NHL All-Star Game: How to Watch Without Cable

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Four teams will meet on the ice for the 2024 NHL All-Star Star Game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on Saturday (Feb. 3). The game will air on ABC and stream live on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.

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ESPN’s NHL All-Star Weekend coverage launches Thursday (Feb. 1) with the NHL All-Star Player Draft airing at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The Player Draft, which will determine which four teams play in the All-Star Game, will feature Justin Bieber, Tate McRae, Michael Bublé and Will Arnett as celebrity team captains.

McRae is also slated to perform during the second intermission at the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday.

The NHL All-Star schedule includes the Alumni Man of the Year and Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Showcase airing Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, followed by the All-Star Skills Competition at 7 p.m. ET on Friday.

Read on for ways to stream the NHL All-Star Game live without cable.  

How to Watch the NHL All-Star Game

The 2024 NHL All-Star Game will air on ABC and stream on ESPN+ in the U.S. The game will be broadcast on CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. 

If you don’t have access to cable channels, streaming is your best bet. You can watch the 2024 NHL All-Star Game by subscribing to platforms such as Sling TV, DirecTV and ESPN+.

See below for more details.

Watch the NHL All-Star Game on Sling TV

SPONSORED

Sling

$20

$40

50% off

Sling TV is a great choice for sports fans on a budget. Plans start as low as $20 for your first month — 50% off the regular price. That means you can watch local and cable channels for half off for the first 30 days.

With Sling TV, you’ll get access to ESPN, ESPN2, USA, Disney, Freeform, TLC, HLN and other cable channels — plus local channels such as ABC, NBC and CBS in select cities.

Watch the NHL All-Star Game on DirecTV

free trial

DirecTV Stream offers locals channels like ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, in addition to sports networks such as ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1 — and plenty of other cable channels (A&E, TLC, BET, Lifetime, VH1, Cartoon Network, E!, FX, etc.)

Streaming plans start at $69.99/month (with 24-month agreement) for 75+ channels and DVR. DirecTV Stream also offers a free trial for the first week.

Watch the NHL All-Star Game on Fubo

FREE TRIAL OPTION

Fubo

Want more ways to stream for free? Subscribe to Fubo TV and watch live TV for free for the first week. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, FS1, MSNBC, NFL Network, Fox News, E!, HGTV, MSNBC, FX and more on Fubo. Plans starts at $74.99/month.

For those interested in streaming internationally, ExpressVPN gives you access to multiple streaming platforms.

How to Watch the NHL All-Star Game on ESPN+

ALSO CONSIDER

ESPN+

The 2024 NHL All-Star Game will stream live on ESPN+ on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET. The All-Star game will be available to stream in English and Spanish.

ESPN+ is $10.99/month for the basic plan and $14.99/month to bundle with Hulu and Disney+.

01 Feb 2024

Justin Tranter on Grammy Nod, Writing Something ‘Filthy & Sexy’ With Miley Cyrus & How Songwriters Could ‘Run the Industry’

Justin Tranter is in the midst of a massive week. The renowned hitmaker is up for the songwriter of the year award at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards and will also host the Premiere Ceremony prior to the 2024 Grammys, live from Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

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Ahead of Grammys week, Billboard‘s senior music correspondent Katie Bain sat down with Tranter to talk about why the Grammys’ addition of the songwriter award is so important. 2024 marks the second year the songwriter of the year Grammy is being awarded and marks Tranter’s first nomination in the category. (They were previously nominated for song of the year in 2018 for Julia Michaels’ “Issues.”)

Tranter says they found out they were nominated when when they were out walking the dog and suddenly, 300 congratulatory texts came through.

“I think it’s important because we almost always get the short end of the stick in this business,” Tranter says of the Grammys acknowledging songwriters with the new-as-of-last-year songwriters category. “We’re always kind of thought of last; we’re always treated the worst, and I do think it is intentional because we are so powerful, that if we are allowed to recognize our power and flex our power, we would run the industry, and people don’t want that.

“So I think that this award is very important,” they continue, “because it lends visibility to songwriters, and without visibility we have no power, because we live in a world where if you can’t see something, you can’t hear something, it doesn’t exist.”

Tranter also shares stories of working on each of the songs they were nominated for in 2024, including Reneé Rapp‘s “Gemini Moon” (“She was mentioning her moon is in Gemini, and I’m a Gemini…and we Googled and that day the moon was also in gemini…”), Maneskin (“I DM’d them on Instagram when they won Eurovision and said ‘you are the coolest band I’ve seen since my band, we should work together’”), and Miley Cyrus (“we had one day together, and she was in the beginning of a new relationship and was feeling really sexy and fabulous and wanted to write something, in her words, pretty f—ing filthy and sexy”).

Tranter has worked with some the biggest superstars in modern pop music, and says building rapport with artists like Justin Bieber and Cardi B during the writing process is about sharing part of themselves.

“I can’t be afraid to ask slightly more personal questions than you’d usually ask someone you met an hour ago,” Tranter says. “But I think if you ask them with respect and also share at least a little bit about my life, then it feels like we are in this together. And I am very lucky too that I was just born pretty confident, and so I think me being a very femme queer person who is also very confident creates a space that’s [like] ‘if I can be confident in this, then you can be confident in what you’re in, what you’re living through.’”