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“The middle class is growing, and it’s only going to accelerate with AI,” says Laurent Hubert, CEO of Kobalt. It’s a sentiment that’s widely held in the music industry today and one that’s backed by hard data. According to Luminate’s Midyear Music Report for 2024, the number of mid-tier artists — those earning between 1 million and 10 million on-demand audio streams — grew to 29,253, a 5.1% increase from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024. That number is set to grow even more in the coming year.

Though the recorded music sector has already moved fast to capture the value amassed by these middle-classers by creating or acquiring distribution and artist services companies, the publishing industry has yet to do the same. Currently, there are DIY songwriter administration services, like Songtrust and Sentric, that automate practically all services and are open for anyone to sign up for a one-year minimum term; and traditional music publishers — like the majors, Kobalt and other indies — that selectively offer advances and sometimes take a piece of copyright ownership in exchange.

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But as Jacob Paul, director of creative strategy at Kobalt, stresses, “there’s a lot of people in-between. The middle class is growing year on year, and yet this community is still locked out of publishing earnings because publishing is so complicated.” Enter: KOSIGN, Kobalt’s new platform targeting the creator middle class. Whether it’s an anti-establishment-minded songwriter who wants to be independent forever, a fast-rising singer-songwriter who wants to hold for another year before signing a traditional deal, or a seasoned vet who needs a place to collect their royalties in between publishers, KOSIGN promises to be a high-tech, transparent solution for those with about $5,000 or more to collect. It’s not for the “long, long tail” says Paul, but it’s not just for bankable stars either.

There’s no advance, but there are also no strings attached. A KOSIGN agreement operates on a rolling quarterly basis, can be used on a partial or full catalog, and features an 80% writer/20% publisher royalty split. And some KOSIGN writers will have the ability to upstream to Kobalt if desired.

For the Kobalt team, it feels like a win-win. With KOSIGN, “underserved artists,” as Jeanette Perez, president/CCO, puts it, have the ability to collect royalties that are nearly impossible to collect without a publishing partner, while Kobalt captures value from middle-class talent and forges bonds with tomorrow’s stars before its competitors are even looking. “We’ve found the market is chomping at the bit for this type of solution,” says Paul. “The inbound interest for KOSIGN is already incredible.”

What sparked the idea for KOSIGN?

HUBERT: We looked at the market and what we’ve seen in recorded music is that there was a large market [of up-and-coming artists] that was being serviced by distribution companies but there was no equivalent on the publishing side. We saw an opportunity to target an underserved market, and it is one that is also growing. We believe that AI will also flex that. We said that we have to be in this space. We have the capabilities from what we’ve built over the last 20 years. We have a best-in-class platform, and the idea was to… provide that service to a market that deserves [more help.]

Kobalt was the original home of AWAL, one of the biggest success stories in the artist services/distribution market today and now home to talent like Laufey, Jungle, Djo and more. In 2021, Kobalt sold AWAL to Sony Music. What did you learn from building AWAL that could apply to KOSIGN, which also targets a similar demographic of music creators?

HUBERT: What was interesting with AWAL is we really designed this not as a label service business but as an artist service business, so really focusing on the need of the creator. In that particular case, it was the artist. With KOSIGN, it’s the writer. We learned from AWAL that we had to find a path to minimize friction, and also, we needed to learn how to speak to that audience. It’s a different audience than your traditional one.

PEREZ: One of the theses behind AWAL, even back then, was this growing middle class of artists. That has just held through year after year. That is something else that we ported into the thesis for KOSIGN. The other important thing then and now is the idea that you can give artists flexibility.

It seems that the recorded music side of the industry has gone all-in on companies like AWAL — the artist service companies — since that flexibility is what many middle-class or rising artists want. To date, there has not been a good equivalent on the publishing side. Why do you think that is?

PAUL: The advantage Kobalt has had is that we’ve always been a service company. We’ve always been oriented that way. Because when we first launched, even 25 years ago, we weren’t launching on a model of copyright acquisition. I think traditionally, the publishing industry was predicated on the idea of acquiring copyrights and not necessarily the idea of servicing, but for Kobalt, even at its first founding, we started with the idea that we’d have admin deals, and we’re gonna have three-year terms.

At Kobalt, every three years, we have to re-earn [our writers’] trust so that they stay here. We’re not 50% owners of their copyrights. So I think Kobalt already had the service orientation, and I think that’s what helped us to view this middle market as a group to be serviced and not a group to merely be acquired.

PEREZ: Scaling a publishing platform is much more challenging than scaling a recorded music distribution platform. The number of sources you have to collect from on the publishing side is tenfold what you have to collect from on the recorded music side. You have to have an infrastructure and a foundation to then unlock that.

HUBERT: The challenge is that we have to manage the complexity [of publishing collections] in a way that still works on a pure unit economics as you go down the deal curve. We’ve been able to do that. It requires enormous amounts of resources.

There are some options on the market for DIY songwriters today, including Songtrust and Sentric, but unlike KOSIGN, these companies are open to all and really target the smallest creators. What did you learn from watching those companies develop?

PAUL: One thing that we’ve learned is that being open to everyone and prioritizing openness and volume doesn’t work from a scalable service perspective. That’s never been our interest. That’s a key difference between KOSIGN and others who are in this space. We very much want to be accessible in the sense that it’s extremely easy to apply and to join, you can get going very quickly, but we’re not really interested in touching the long tail where, frankly, there isn’t enough out there to collect to justify a Kobalt level of service. That’s the critical difference. It’s what allows us to not compromise on the level of core admin service that we’re providing.

There’s some other critical differences. One is our infrastructure, which we believe remains best in class. We think that client experience, the actual going-onto-the-portal, and the beauty and simplicity of the [app], is peerless. And then the last thing I would say is that when you look at the publishing terms of service for KOSIGN, we truly think that they’re the most flexible in the industry. Our goal here is to have something that’s not only simple to use and simple to understand but is truly simple from a deal perspective.

How does KOSIGN provide a competitive advantage for Kobalt?

PAUL: We really look forward to seeing KOSIGN as a pipeline for Kobalt in cases where it is right for the artist… KOSIGN allows us to open a door much earlier and much more often. We’re in a landscape creatively where access to the tools to create the next hit are more available than ever, and we see important artist stories and song stories accelerating really quickly these days, and it’s hard to predict where they’re going to come from. KOSIGN allows us to open the funnel.

HUBERT: It also reinforces our core value of empowerment. We created the business over 25 years ago to empower songwriters, and that’s what we’re doing here, in a way that is going down the deal curve but still aligned with our mission.

PAUL: We’re covering really the full life cycle of the songwriter in one ecosystem now. We don’t think other platforms in the space are able to do that the way that Kobalt and KOSIGN can.

Why do you think that none of the majors ever tried to build their own KOSIGN before you?

HUBERT: First, I don’t see that as being core to their strategy. At least there’s no real sign that this is something that they are focusing on. Number two, as we said earlier, you need to have built the proper infrastructure. If you look at many of the measures, they’re still relying on legacy tech stacks. So I think both strategically and operationally, this would present a challenge. It doesn’t mean that they could never get into that space. It would be naive to think that, but also, we have always built a business based on service, not on ownership. This only works when you really do it on a pure service level.

PEREZ: We are, in comparison to other players in the market, a fairly young company. We can still behave as a start-up, which enables us to move very quickly and be nimble. We don’t have 100 years of catalog to bring along.

It sounds like the app is quite transparent, but still, publishing is confusing and a lot of artists and writers don’t understand it. When you’re trying to run a lean, mostly automated service platform, I imagine this will be a point of friction. How do you plan to manage customer service and education for KOSIGN signees?

PAUL: There’s three layers to this. One is to build the platform, which we think we’ve done, and we’ll continue to invest in it. It is so beautiful and simple to use [that] in a way, it explains how publishing works by virtue of its design. Two is our messaging to the marketplace. So not only are we investing in the platform, we’re going to invest in educational materials, and we’re going to invest in content to reach up-and-coming artists and songwriters. Three is that we are really investing in the service aspect [of the] platform. So if you have a question, if you need help on the platform, you can go to a very specific place where you can really quickly get resources that we’re constantly going to be buildingto answer questions. And then if that doesn’t go all the way, you still have access to an admin team.

PEREZ: Again, we get to rely heavily on what we already paid to build out for Kobalt. That’s an advantage. There’s something called Kobalt Knowledge which is hundreds of articles about music publishing and navigating the publishing business. All of that will be immediately available to a KOSIGN client. We aren’t starting at zero.

Colombian pop-rock band Morat headlines Day 3 of the 2025 Viña del Mar International Song Festival, performing Tuesday night (Feb. 25) at the Quinta Vergara amphitheater in the coastal city of Viña del Mar in Chile.

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Morat is slated to take the stage at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by countryman Sebastián Yatra. The pop star’s performance is scheduled for around 11:15 p.m. ET, after the presentation of comedian Pedro Ruminot.

All performances are part of the six-day lineup of the 64th annual Viña del Mar broadcast, which year after year is Chile’s highest-rated television show. Each night features a headliner, a supporting artist, a comedian and an international song festival in folk and pop categories, where contestants compete every night for a winner in each.

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Morat, whose hits include “No Se Va,” “Besos en Guerra” and “Cuando Nadie Ve,” debuted in 2016 with the album Solo El Amor y Sus Efectos Secundarios, and received a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist the same year. Its fourth and latest LP, 2022’s Si Ayer Fuera Hoy, gave the band its first entry on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart, where it peaked at No. 18. On Tuesday, Morat is making its debut at the Chilean festival.

Yatra, with almost a dozen No. 1s on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart — including “Robarte un Beso” with Carlos Vives, “Tacones Rojos” and “Un Año” with Reik, to name a few — had previously performed in Viña del Mar in 2019 with a full show, as well as the previous year during Vives’ concert, joining him on “Robarte un Beso.”

Viña will continue Wednesday (Feb. 26) with Carlos Vives headlining and Carín León closing; Thursday (Feb. 27) with Incubus, Juan Carlos López and The Cult; and Friday (Feb. 28), urban night, with headliner Duki, Eladio Carrión and Kid Voodoo.

All nights will be livestreamed in the United States on Billboard.com and Billboard Español. Performances can be viewed on the player in this story beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET, or throughout billboard.com and billboardespañol.com.

Grimes posted a pair of previously unreleased demos on Monday (Feb. 24) that the singer said are among her favorite unheard tracks. Both songs are somewhat of a departure for the singer, including the mostly acoustic “The Fool,” which finds her singing new lyrics over Mazzy Star’s beloved 1994 ballad “Fade Into You.”
“Ok I always loved this one I just wrote a diff song over Mazzy Star but the files are forever lost on my laptop that a child poured liquid on,” she wrote on X. “It was just a rly beautiful jam on a poem I wrote I wish I didn’t get discouraged away from it.”

On the gentle track — which she first teased the day before the 2024 presidential election — she sings in her signature helium voice, “Oh you’re a fool, ’cause you tried to give me the moon/ And all I can give back is poetry/ So tell me what to do/ And I’ll convince the stars to love you.”

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The second song, “I Don’t Give a F–k, im Insane,” is more in line with the dance pop star’s typical vibe, with a bouncy bass line, ethereal vocals and spare drums. “I don’t give a f–k, I’m insane/ Everybody walk through my brain/ One day, you told me, I’ll fly away, safe,” she sings over the sparse, new wave-like beat.

Of that one she wrote, “Just for good vibes we put up a few ancient demos on SoundCloud 2day – 2019 demo I made. Obviously no time was spent on it but my old manager at would always pester me to finish it and make it a banger but i forgot I suppose… Def has a lot of potential tho I’ll probably make a better topline and produce it one day.”

Meanwhile, as her ex, Elon Musk, buzzsaws through the federal government in his role as an unelected cost-cutter, Grimes also answered some questions from TIME magazine about AI and her strong reaction to the world’s richest man parading their four-year-old son, X, on his shoulders during a recent White House visit.

“It was like, ‘Grimes slams,’ ‘Grimes speaks out.’ It’s like, OK, it was a reply. But I would really like people to stop posting images of my kid everywhere,” she said of the many headlines in which she criticized the “special government employee” for bringing their son to work. “I think fame is something you should consent to. Obviously, things will just be what they are. But I would really, really appreciate that. I can only ask, so I’m just asking,” added the artist who was honored at the TIME100 Impact Awards ceremony in Dubai earlier this month.

At the time, Grimes seemed surprised to see her son sticking his fingers in his dad’s ears as Musk stood over a seated Donald Trump while the president signed an executive order giving the DOGE office more power to continue its legally suspect firing spree of non-partisan public servants. “He should not be in public like this. I did not see this, thank u for alerting me,” Grimes wrote earlier this month of her surprise at seeing the preschooler accompanying his dad for the Oval Office photo op.

Several days later, Grimes tweeted directly at X owner Musk, saying in a since-deleted tweet, “plz respond about our child’s medical crisis. I am sorry to do this publicly but it is no longer acceptable to ignore this situation.”

Listen to “The Fool” and “I Don’t Give a F–k, im Insane” below.

Members of the British band The 1975 cannot be held personally liable for losses of a Malaysian music festival that was shut down by authorities after lead singer Matty Healy kissed a male bandmate on stage, a London judge ruled Monday.
The organizer of the Good Vibes Festival is seeking 1.9 million pounds ($2.4 million) in losses after Healy criticized the country’s anti-homosexuality laws and then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald at the Kuala Lumpur show in July 2023.

Footage of the kiss sparked a backlash in the predominantly Muslim country, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and caning. Some LGBTQ+ groups also criticized the band for endangering its community and disrupting the work of activists pushing for change.

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Future Sound Asia sued The 1975 Productions LLP in the High Court over breach of contract and said its four members owed a duty of care. But the band’s lawyer argued that the suit should only target the company — not the musicians.

Judge William Hansen said the claims against the band members were “bad as a matter of law and that there is no good reason why the matter should go to trial.” He allowed the case to proceed against the company, but ordered FSA to pay 100,000 pounds ($126,000) in legal costs.

Band attorney Edmund Cullen had argued the claim was an “illegitimate, artificial and incoherent” attempt “to pin liability on individuals” because FSA only had a contract with the band’s company.

FSA’s attorney Andrew Burns said authorities had initially refused to let the band perform because of reports about Healy’s drug addiction and subsequent recovery. They relented after the band promised he would follow guidelines and regulations, he said.

When the band played the same festival in 2016, they had agreed not to swear, smoke, drink, take off clothes or talk about religion and politics on stage, Burns said.

Burns said the band deliberately provoked Malaysian authorities in 2023 by smuggling a bottle of wine on stage, and through Healy’s “obscene speech” and the kiss. He said the band also performed a “second-rate set of songs” to upset the crowd.

“They could be argued to have been on a frolic of their own rather than simply acting within the course of their ordinary role as LLP members,” Burns said.

The band was supposed to be paid $350,000 (276,000 pounds) for a one-hour set, Burns said.

The show wasn’t the first time Healy made a political statement in the name of LGBTQ+ rights: he kissed a male fan at a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, which outlaws same-sex sexual activity.

After the show in the Malaysian capital, The 1975 canceled its concerts in Taiwan and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Malaysian government has blacklisted the band.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.

Paramount + has added more than 100 episodes of MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers and CMT Crossroads to its streaming service. The return of the classic performances from seasons 1-8 and 10-13 includes some of the most beloved Unplugged sets ever, including Nirvana’s iconic Nov. 1993 performance, which was released seven months before the death of singer Kurt Cobain.

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The data dump of performances includes season one sets by Neil Young, Sinead O’Connor with The Church, Lenny Kravitz, Elton John, Shawn Mendes and Pearl Jam, with season two featuring Mariah Carey and Eric Clapton and season five spotlighting Bob Dylan, Tony Bennet and Stone Temple Pilots.

According to a press release, more than 70 of the episodes have not been available for more than 20 years.

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Season Six Unplugged highlights include KISS and Sheryl Crow, while season seven features Oasis, Alice in Chains and Seal, seasons eight has Shakira and R.E.M., season 13 brings a Korn set and season 17 has Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean, Redman, Naughty By Nature’s Treach, Poor Righteous Teachers, Lady Luck, Lords of the Underground and the Sugar Hill Gang for a 2023 celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. (Click here for the full list of Unplugged episodes now available to stream).

The CMT Crossroads collection includes sets by Sheryl Crow & Willie Nelson, Melissa Etheridge and Dolly Parton, the Doobie Brother and Luke Bryan, Sting and Vince Gill, Black Pumas and Mickey Guyton, Boyz II Men and Brett Young, Halsey and Kelsea Ballerini, John Legend and Lee Ann Womack, Nelly & Friends (Kane Brown, Georgia Florida Line, Blanco Brown and Breland), OneRepublic and Dierks Bentley, Nick Jonas and Thomas Rhett and Stevie Nicks and Lady A.

The VH1 Storytellers list (which, like the Unplugged and CMT dumps, is missing random seasons) includes: Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Coldplay, David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Mary J. Blige, P!nk, Ringo Starr, Snoop Dogg, Tom Waits and ZZ Top, among others.

Check out the full list of episodes below.

MTV Unplugged (Seasons 1-8, 10-13)Aerosmith (1990)Alanis Morissette (1999)Alice in Chains (1996)Alicia Keys (2005)Allman Brothers (1990)Annie Lenox (1992)Arrested Development (1993)Babyface & Friends feat. Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and K-Ci & JoJo (1997)Bob Dylan (1994)Bryan Adams (1997)Chris Isaak (1995)Cranberries (1995)Crowded House/Tim Finn (1990)Dashboard Confessional (2002)Duran Duran (1993)Elton John (1990)Elvis Costello (1991)Eric Clapton (1992)Hall & Oates (1990)Hootie & the Blowfish (1996)Jewel (1997)John Mellencamp (1992)kd lang (1993)Kiss (1995)Korn (2007)Lenny Kravitz (1994)Live (1995)Mariah Carey (1992)Melissa Etheridge (1995)Neil Young (1990)Nirvana (1993)Oasis (1996)Paul McCartney (1991)Paul Simon (1992)Pearl Jam (1992)Queensryche (1992)R.E.M. (2001)Rod Stewart (1993)Seal (1996)Shakira (2001)Shawn Mendes (2017)Sheryl Crow (1995)Sinead O’Connor/The Church (1990)Smithereens/Graham Parker (1990)Soul Asylum (1993)Staind (2001)Sting (1991)Stone Temple Pilots (1994)The Wallflowers (1997)Tony Bennett (1994)Tori Amos (1996)Uptown Show feat. Jodeci, Father MC, Mary J. Blige, Christopher Williams, and Heavy D (1993)

VH1 Storytellers (seasons 1-9, 11-13, 15, 16)Alicia Keys (2012)Bee Gees (1997)Billy Joel (1997, 1998)Black Crowes (1996)Bruce Springsteen (2005)Christina Aguilera (2010)Coldplay (2005)Counting Crows (1997)Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (2000)Dave Matthews (1999)Dave Matthews Band (2005)David Bowie (1999)Def Leppard 1999)Ed Sheeran Live (2015)ELO (2001)Elton John LIVE (1997)Elvis Costello (1996)Eurythmics (1999)Foo Fighters (2009)Goo Goo Dolls (2002)Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (2012)Green Day (2005)Hanson (1998)Jewel (1999)Jill Scott (2012)John Mellencamp (1998)Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson (1997)Mary J. Blige (2008)Melissa Etheridge (1996)No Doubt (2000)P!nk (2012)Paul Simon (1997)Pete Townshend (2000)Phil Collins (1997)R.E.M. (1998)Ringo Starr (1998)Rod Stewart (1998)Sheryl Crow (1998)Snoop Dogg (2008)Stevie Nicks (1998)Sting (1996)Stone Temple Pilots (2000)The Chicks (2006)The Pretenders (1999)Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1999)Tom Waits (1999)Tony Bennett (1998)Tori Amos (1999)Wyclef Jean (1999)ZZ Top (2009)

CMT Crossroads (seasons 1-3, 5, 10-16, 18-20)Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton (2022)Boyz II Men & Brett Young (2019)Brooks & Dunn and Friends feat. Luke Combs, Brett Young, Midland, Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi, and Brandon Lancaster (2019)Cheap Trick & Jennifer Nettles (2016)Gavin DeGraw & Chris Young (2019)Halsey & Kelsea Ballerini (2020)John Legend & Lee Ann Womack (2014)John Mellencamp & Darius Rucker (2017)Kid Rock & Hank Williams, Jr. (2002)LeAnn Rimes & Friends feat. Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde, Mickey Guyton, and Brandy Clark  (2021)Lindsey Buckingham & Little Big Town (2006)Lynyrd Skynyrd & Brantley Gilbert (2015)Lynyrd Skynyrd & Montgomery Gentry (2004)Melissa Etheridge & Dolly Parton (2003)Nathaniel Rateliff & Margo Price (2021)Nelly & Friends feat. Kane Brown, Florida Georgia Line, Blanco Brown, and Breland (2021)Nick Jonas & Thomas Rhett (2016)OneRepublic & Dierks Bentley (2014)Randy Travis & The Avett Brothers (2012)Sheryl Crow & Friends feat. Chris Stapleton, Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Lucius, and more (2019)Sheryl Crow & Willie Nelson (2002)Stevie Nicks & Lady A (2013)Sting & Vince Gill (2011)The Doobie Brothers & Luke Bryan (2011)Willie Nelson & Friends feat. Neil Young, Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Leon Russell, Ashley Monroe, Norah Jones, and Jamey Johnson (2013)

Mom+Pop Music has become the latest coastal label to open an office in Music City, naming Katie Fagan as president of Mom+Pop Music Nashville.
Fagan was previously head of A&R for Prescription Songs in Nashville for the last eight years and had opened Prescription’s first office outside of Los Angeles.

“I will continue M+P’s legacy by signing tastemaker artists and bands, leaning into the local talent pool in the Americana, folk, alt-country and indie spaces,” Fagan tells Billboard. “While expanding our footprint in Nashville is a priority, we know that these genres span worldwide, and I want to be cognizant of talent within these spaces globally as well. We hope to provide a home to both legacy acts and up-and-comers looking for a strategic creative partnership where we can elevate and uphold the integrity of their artistic vision.”

For now, Mom+Pop Nashville will rely on existing staff in New York and Los Angeles “with the goal of hiring locally when the timing aligns appropriately and strategically,” Fagan says.

“Katie has proven herself an important voice and advocate for creatives in the Americana, folk, and Alt-Country spaces,” said Michael Goldstone, founder of Mom+Pop, in a statement. “No one is better suited to reinforce and grow Mom+Pop’s presence in Nashville and globally as we broaden our industry aesthetic.”

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At Prescription, Fagan, who has been featured on Billboard’s 40 Under 40 and Women in Music lists, worked with a number of acts, including Joy Oladokun, Anderson East, Maggie Rose, Nick Bailey, Sarah Hudson, Malibu Babie and Cirkut, as well as songwriters/producers who landed placements with Lana Del Rey, Chris Stapleton and Noah Kahan, among others.

Fagan is also co-founder of The Other Nashville Society (TONS), which helps promote non-country music in Music City through its 1,500 members; a member of She Is The Music’s songwriting and publishing committee; and a governor of the Recording Academy’s Nashville chapter.

Mom+Pop, which was formed in 2008, includes Caamp, Chaparelle, Del Water Gap, Magdalena Bay and Pablo Pablo on its current roster. The self-distributed label has a staff of 25 with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Nashville.

Jimmy Page and the The Black Crowes are revisiting their 1999 collaboration with an expanded edition of Live at the Greek, and they’ve just shared a fresh taste from it—a newly unearthed live recording of Led Zeppelin’s “The Lemon Song.”

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Originally recorded during a soundcheck, this take on the Led Zeppelin II classic captures the raw chemistry between Page and the Crowes as they breathed new life into Zeppelin’s bluesy, groove-heavy material. It’s one of several unreleased tracks included in the expanded reissue, which drops March 14.

“I’m really looking forward to the soon-to-be-available release of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes material from concerts in 1999,” Page said in a statement. “The new mixes capture the collaboration of those historic encounters and provide the full explosive passion and exciting energy of those alchemical moments.”

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For the Black Crowes, the experience of playing alongside Page was a rare and memorable moment. “The new Live at the Greek box set brings the whole experience of our work with Jimmy into a vibrant, electric, mystical and powerful perspective,” frontman Chris Robinson said. “Hail, hail rock ‘n’ roll!”

Rich Robsinson added, “Going through the shows and putting together the new box set has been such an incredible dive back to that time in our history. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to play these amazing iconic songs with the man who composed them. The sound of the new mixes and extra songs blew me away when I first heard them.”

The expanded edition of Live at the Greek adds 15 new tracks to the original 2000 release, including fresh recordings of Zeppelin classics like “Custard Pie,” “You Shook Me,” and “Ten Years Gone,” as well as additional Black Crowes originals like “Remedy” and “Wiser Time.”

The announcement comes as the Black Crowes continue a busy stretch. Just last month, the recently reunited band joined an all-star benefit concert in Los Angeles to raise funds for wildfire relief. Their set featured guest appearances from rock legends John Fogerty—who joined for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”—and Slash, who strapped on an acoustic guitar for a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.”

The Live at the Greek deluxe edition arrives March 14.

Olivia Kuper Harris didn’t just step onto The Voice stage—she transported it to another era. Taking on Doris Day’s timeless ballad “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” the Dallas-born singer draped the room in nostalgia, delivering a performance so rich and velvety it felt like a lost recording from jazz’s golden age.

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John Legend, Adam Levine, and Kelsea Ballerini couldn’t resist.

Legend was the first to turn his chair, drawn in by Harris’ effortless control. Levine wasn’t far behind, nudging Ballerini to do the same. “What are you waiting for?” he asked, prompting her to hit her button.

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“I don’t know! You’re so right,” Ballerini admitted.

As the final note hung in the air, Levine turned to Harris with a grin. “You’re really special,” he said, making it clear she had impressed him. Then, in true Adam fashion, he took a playful jab at his fellow Coach. “And Michael Bublé is a fool.”

Legend, ever the strategist, made his pitch. “What got me at first was just the beauty of your tone,” he said on the warmth and elegance Harris brought to the song. Ballerini added that Harris’ voice had a rare quality—something that could transcend genres and connect with all types of listeners.

Harris, overwhelmed with emotion, took a deep breath. She had come looking for a sign, a confirmation that this was the path she was meant to follow. “Being on stage, I feel like it’s my purpose in life,” she said. “It makes me emotional because I’ve looked for so many other things I could possibly do… and this is it, man.”

With three Coaches vying for her, the decision was hers.

Ultimately, it was Legend’s pitch that resonated most with Harris. She joined his team, adding another unique voice to his roster for The Voice Season 27.

Harris’ audition stood out not just for its technical precision but for its ability to evoke an era long past. While many hopefuls lean into pop, R&B, or powerhouse ballads, Harris took a different route—one that paid off in a big way.

As the competition heats up, it remains to be seen how Harris will evolve under Legend’s mentorship. But if her Blind Audition was any indication, The Voice might have just found its next great jazz revivalist.

Sam Fender might only be days removed from the release of his third album, People Watching, but already the English musician is thinking of shaking things up for his next record.

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On Friday (Feb. 21), Fender put an end to the multi-year wait for another studio album by releasing People Watching as the follow-up to 2021’s critically-acclaimed Seventeen Going Under. Having teased the album since the release of its title track in November, the record is on its way to becoming a watershed moment for the singer-songwriter.

However, while Fender has managed to harness his heartland rock style with great success, a new interview indicates that he’s looking for a bit of a sonic shift when it comes to album number four.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Fender revealed that he has piles of new material at the ready, going so far as to show his phone to the interviewer and previewing “dozens of demos.” According to the article, these include songs such as “Drugs” and “Hornsby,” the latter of which is named for its sonic similarities to U.S. musician Bruce Hornsby.

Most notably, Fender adds that he’s “desperate” to record a punk album. “I’m buzzing! I’m just singing at you!” he tells the interviewer, going so far as to belt out a Tom Petty-esque track as a preview.

“People are going to hate you, whether you’re a saint, sinner, giver or a taker,” Fender sings on one of his as-yet-unreleased tracks. “But a big old heart is all that it’s worth. And he said, ‘You’ve got a big old heart, kid! Don’t let them own it.’”

Currently, it remains to be seen when Fender will actually get some time to hit the studio and work on his desired punk album, given his hectic live schedule. 

In December, he cut short a run of U.K. tour dates following a diagnosis of a hemorrhaged vocal cord, and he’s currently set to return to the global stage for a series of European dates in early March. He’ll hit the U.S. and Canada the following month, with a series of summer dates scheduled for the U.K. and Europe throughout June, July, and August.

Before he returns to the touring circuit, Fender will also perform at the Brit Awards on Saturday (March 1). He’s also up for two awards at the ceremony, including British artist of the year, and best alternative/rock act, the latter of which he previously won in 2022.

Iconic Chilean songstress Myriam Hernández graced the stage on Monday (Feb. 24) at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, marking her first performance at the event in over 20 years. At 7:45 p.m. ET, the singer made a memorable entrance with “El Hombre Que Yo Amo,” her hit from 1992, accompanied by a live band featuring keyboards, melancholic violins, and a cello.
Dressed elegantly in a black, beaded gown with a leg slit, Hernández showcased her signature vocal range and poise right from the start. She continued with a seamless transition into “Te Pareces Tanto A Él,” accompanied by striking visuals including fiery planet imagery, masks, and bucolic scenery.

The show continued with the ranchera-tinged “Nos Lo Hemos Dicho Todo,” continuing to display her exceptional vocal prowess. “Good evening Viña, I dreamed of this moment. 23 years have passed, and 35 years since I stood up on this stage for the first time; and you made that dream of that four-year-old girl come true,” she said in between songs. “I just have to give infinite thanks to God, to you, to all of you.”

Following nostalgic hits like “Mío” and a vibrant medley that included “Dónde Estará Mi Primavera” and “Rescátame,” the stage came alive with more dynamic visuals. Chilean musician Valentín Trujillo also joined her for “Se Me Fue” on the grand piano, enriching the historic moment.

One of the night’s highlights was the appearance of the Power Peralta twins, whose electrifying dance moves in fiery red pants and sparkly B.B. Simon belts — and their washboard abs — complemented Hernández’s performance of “Leña Y Fuego.” The star, now in a shorter, more flamboyant dress, continued to rev up the energy, surrounded by a dozen female dancers, cementing her status as a queen of the stage. “Myriam, you are the queen of Chile, and thank you very much for representing us so well,” exclaimed one of the Power Peralta brothers.

The emotional peak of the night arrived as Hernández was awarded the prestigious Gaviota de Platino — which has only been awarded four times (Luis Miguel, Juan Gabriel, Lucho Gatica, Los Jaivas) in its 64th history of the festival; she is the fifth artist to receive the coveted prize. “It is so difficult to talk and describe what I feel,” said the emotional performer. “I am proud to be Chilean, and that is my flag to the whole world, you are my greatest motivation.”

As Hernández sang “Ay Amor,” tears streamed down her face. “Myriam Hernández, the balladeer of America, leaves an indelible mark on Viña and all who witnessed this historic return,” remarked one of the announcers as the showcase came to an end.

Viña will continue that night with the duo Ha*Ash, and on Tuesday (Feb. 25) with Colombian’s Morat headlining and Sebastian Yatra; Feb. 26 with Carlos Vives headlining and Carín León; Feb. 27 with Incubus, Juan Carlos López and The Cult; and Feb. 28, urban night, with headliner Duki, Eladio Carrión and Kid Voodoo.