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20 Mar 2024

Universal Music, Roland Corporation Publish ‘Principles for Music Creation With AI’ Guidelines

As artificial intelligence and its potential effects on creativity, copyright and a host of other sectors continues to dominate conversation, the Universal Music Group and electronic instruments maker Roland Corporation have teamed up to create a set of guidelines that the companies published under the heading “Principles for Music Creation With AI.”

The seven principles, or “clarifying statements,” as the companies put it, are an acknowledgment that AI is certainly here to stay, but that it should be used in a responsible and transparent way that protects and respects human creators. The companies say that they hope additional organizations will sign on to support the framework. The seven principles, which can be found with slightly more detail at this site, are as follows:

— We believe music is central to humanity.

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— We believe humanity and music are inseparable.

— We believe that technology has long supported human artistic expression, and applied sustainably, AI will amplify human creativity.

— We believe that human-created works must be respected and protected.

— We believe that transparency is essential to responsible and trustworthy AI.

— We believe the perspectives of music artists, songwriters, and other creators must be sought after and respected.

— We are proud to help bring music to life.

The creation of the principles is part of a partnership between UMG and Roland that will also involve research projects, including one designed to create “methods for confirming the origin and ownership of music,” according to a press release.

“As companies who share a mutual history of technology innovation, both Roland and UMG believe that AI can play an important role in the creative process of producing music,” Roland’s chief innovation officer Masahiro Minowa said in a statement. “We also have a deep belief that human creativity is irreplaceable, and it is our responsibility to protect artists’ rights. The Principles for Music Creation with AI establishes a framework for our ongoing collaboration to explore opportunities that converge at the intersection of technology and human creativity.”

Universal has been proactive around the issue of AI in music over the past several months, partnering with YouTube last summer on a series of AI principles and an AI Music Incubator to help artists use AI responsibly, forming a strategic partnership with BandLab to create a set of ethical practices around music creation, and partnering with Endel on functional music, among other initiatives. But UMG has also taken stands to protect against what it sees as harmful uses of AI, including suing AI platform Anthropic for allegedly using its copyrights to train its software in creating new works, and cited AI concerns as part of its rationale for allowing its licensing agreement with TikTok to expire earlier this year.

“At UMG, we have long recognized and embraced the potential of AI to enhance and amplify human creativity, advance musical innovation, and expand the realms of audio production and sound technology,” UMG’s executive vp and chief digital officer Michael Nash said in a statement. “This can only happen if it is applied ethically and responsibly across the entire industry. We are delighted to collaborate with Roland, to explore new opportunities in this area together, while helping to galvanize consensus among key stakeholders across music’s creative community to promote adoption of these core principles with the goal of ensuring human creativity continues to thrive alongside the evolution of new technology.”

20 Mar 2024

Doja Cat, Offset, Sexyy Red & More to Play Hot 97 Summer Jam

This year’s Hot 97 Summer Jam festival will feature headline sets from Doja Cat, Offset and Sexyy Red. The full lineup for the June 2 show at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY was revealed on Tuesday (March 19) and it will also include sets from old friends Method Man & Redman, as well as Sleepy Hallow, Davido, 41 (Kyle Richh, Jenn Carter, TaTa) and Tee Grizzley.

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Tickets for the show will go on sale on Friday (March 22) at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster; you can sign up here now to get first crack at the tickets before they’re offered to the general public. This year’s 30th anniversary edition of the summer classic comes after last year’s show paid tribute to hip-hop‘s 50th birthday.

In a return to Long Island’s UBS Arena after several years at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, last year’s edition featured headliner Cardi B performing alongside Ice Spice, Coi Leray, French Montana, Fivio Foreign, Lil Tjay and Lola Brooke. The show’s signature mix of new school stars and old school legends also had Yonkers crew The Lox holding things down for the previous generation, along with a stage featuring rising rappers Scar Lip, Kenzo B, 2Rare, Connie Diamond, Sha Ek and McVertt.

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Always pushing the genre forward, the 2023 show also incorporated the sounds of reggaetón and Afrobeats alongside Bronx drill and Jersey club, as well as DaBaby delivering a surprise performance of his TikTok hot jam “Shake Sumn” and Lil Tjay teaming up with Ice Spice for a flirtatious run through “Gangsta Boo.”

Check out Hot 97’s lineup announcement for the 2024 Summer Jam concert below.

20 Mar 2024

Dr. Dre Says New Eminem Album Coming This Year, Gives Update on Snoop Dogg’s ‘Missionary’ on ‘Kimmel’

After getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier in the day, Dr. Dre, 59, visited Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night (March 19) to talk legacy and drop a little news about his upcoming projects. The legendary producer was joined on the couch by longtime proteges Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, and while the fourth leg of his gold-plated hip-hop table, Eminem, may not have been in the studio, he still managed to grab the headlines.

“Let me tell you something, let me explain something to you right now: Eminem is working on his own album which is coming out this year,” Dre said to cheers from the studio audience during his first late night appearance in 30 years. “And I actually talked to him and he said it okay for me to make that announcement right here on this show. So he has an album coming out, I’ve got songs on it and it’s fire. I’m actually gonna hear the entire album for the first time for tomorrow.”

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Slim Shady’s as-yet-untitled 12th studio album will be the follow up to 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which surprise dropped in January of that year and featured guest spots from Ed Sheeran, Juice WRLD, Q-Tip, Anderson .Paak and many more.

While he didn’t offer any additional information on what fans can expect from the reclusive MC, Dre said even he doesn’t always know what Eminem has in store, since he “holds his music close to his chest so I haven’t heard everything. I haven’t even heard everything complete that I’ve done, but I’m gonna hear it, and he’s putting out an album this year.” Dre said while he’s always very “hands on” with his music, he confessed that “there’s things that I have to mix that I’ve done, but I get the chance to hear the album in its entirety.”

The three-segment hang began with Dre talking about the honor of getting his Walk of Fame star and telling Kimmel that while he’s open to working with artists from any genre — revealing “I love Dolly Parton!” and that “Jolene” is one of his favorite songs — he prefers to stay in his beloved hip-hop lane. “Absolutely I could do that [work with Parton], but hip-hop is my love,” Dre said.

He was soon joined by longtime friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg, with the old pals discussing their work on Dre’s iconic 1992 The Chronic album and Dre revealing that he’s “never” found an artist from being handed a demo tape, except for Snoop and Eminem. While Dre and Snoop got into a playful argument about how they came up with the Chronic album title — which included Dre describing his first time smoking weed — the pair also said they’re almost done with Snoop’s upcoming Missionary album, the sequel to the only other full-length LP Dre has produced for the Doggfather since working on Snoop’s 1993 debut, Doggystyle. Snoop said that Dre is slated to start mixing Missionary in “mid-April.”

The long hang ended with 50 Cent dropping by to talk about Dre working on his debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and to joke about how unpleasant it was to hang upside down for his iconic appearance during the 2002 Super Bowl halftime show. “I was like 30 pounds heavier at that point, I was not ready for that,” 50 laughed, noting he’d gained a bunch of weight for a TV role and “really didn’t think that out.” 50 also doubled-down on his earlier announcement that he’s practicing celibacy this year, saying he’s two months into his vow of abstinence and things are going great so far.

“I’m focused right now,” 50 said. “My life is better, things are a little clearer… I’m trying to make it to Lent.” For the record, Dre and Snoop do not believe 50 is holding his fire.

Watch Dre, Snoop and 50 on Kimmel below.

20 Mar 2024

Recordings by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill, Donna Summer and More Inducted Into Grammy Hall of Fame: Complete List

Ten recordings were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame on Wednesday (March 20), following a two-year period in which the Hall was put on hiatus for a reevaluation. As before, this year’s choices are eclectic and wide-ranging, including several that played a key role in creating or popularizing sub-genres – Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (neo-soul), Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” (EDM) and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising (alternative hip-hop).

Several changes were made during the hiatus period. The number of inducted recordings is down significantly from 25 to 30 in prior years. And while past classes have included repeat inductions by such Hall of Fame mainstays as The Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald, all of this year’s choices are by first-time inductees into the Hall.

Also, the inducted recordings will be greeted with more fanfare than in the past, when each class was merely announced via press release. This class will be saluted at the Grammy Museum’s inaugural Grammy Hall of Fame Gala and concert on May 21 at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles. Significantly, the event was scheduled more than three months after the Feb. 4 Grammys to give it its own moment.

This year’s induction class consists of six singles and four albums. All four albums were the artists’ debut studio albums (or solo debut, in Hill’s case). The three other debut albums honored were Buena Vista Social Club’s eponymous album, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction and 3 Feet High and Rising. (Remarkably, Hill has not yet released a follow-up studio album, and Buena Vista Social Club disbanded without doing so.)

The inductees vary widely in terms of their commercial success. The list includes two Diamond-certified albums – Appetite for Destruction (18 million) and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (10 million). But it also includes a single, William Bell’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” that peaked at a lowly No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Some of this year’s inducted recordings were showered with Grammy Awards at the time, including Hill’s album of the year winner The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and The Doobie Brothers’ record and song of the year winner “What a Fool Believes.” But many others weren’t even nominated when they were eligible, including Appetite for Destruction and “I Feel Love.”

The Grammy Hall of Fame was created in 1973 to honor recordings that were released prior to the inception of the Grammy Awards in 1958. Eligibility was soon changed to allow any recording released at least 25 years ago. Counting this year’s 10 inductees, it includes 1,152 recordings.

Let’s take a closer look at the 10 recordings being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year. The titles are arranged alphabetically by artist.

20 Mar 2024

Olivia Rodrigo Reveals Tracklist For ‘GUTS’ Deluxe Edition During Chicago Show

Olivia Rodrigo has a deluxe edition of her GUTS album on deck, and it’s coming sooner than you think. The singer revealed the news on stage during the first night of her two-show stand at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night, surprising the crowd with a special announcement during “Get Him Back!”

According to fan videos of the moment, Rodrigo unfolded a sign that read “Guts Deluxe Out Friday” during the last song of her encore, sending the crowd into wild cheers with the news that GUTS (spilled) will drop on Friday (March 22). The expanded version of the 2023 collection will feature five more songs, including a new one, “So American,” which was recorded after the original album dropped last year. The other four songs on the expanded version were the “secret” tracks that appeared on a variety of GUTS vinyl releases: “Obsessed,” “Scared of My Guitar,” “Stranger” and “Girl I’ve Always Been.”

Rodrigo had been handing out emergency contraceptives at her shows, but abortion funds have asked her to stop. After headlines about Julie morning-after pills, condoms and lubricants being offered to concertgoers for free at stops on the 21-year-old singer’s Guts World Tour, reps from local funds told Variety that they received a request last week to stop handing out those items at Rodrigo’s concerts. The message was reportedly shared by the National Network of Abortion Funds; three separate sources at local abortion funds told the publication that the ask came from Rodrigo’s team.

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Ever since the tour kicked off in February, the “Vampire” star had been using her tour as a vehicle for reproductive rights advocacy by inviting local abortion funds to set up booths with information and resources at the shows. She’s also been earmarking a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales to abortion access and women’s health initiatives through her Fund 4 Good.

Check out Rodrigo’s deluxe GUTS announcement below.

20 Mar 2024

Inside Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s Return to the Stage: The 5 Best Moments From Phoenix

Bruce is back. 

If there was any doubt that Bruce Springsteen hadn’t fully recovered from the peptic ulcer disease that caused him to postpone 29 dates on his world tour with the E Street Band last fall, he dispensed of that notion within minutes of taking the stage Tuesday (March 19) at Phoenix’s Footprint Center for the first time in six months.

The Boss was in top form from show opener “Lonesome Day” and fully had his sea legs back by third song, “No Surrender,” when he gave his first trademark shout out, “C’mon, Steve!” beckoning for his brother-in-music for over half a century, Steven Van Zandt, to join him on the mic.  

For more than 50 years, Springsteen’s live shows have been about two things above and beyond the superb musical performance: Feeling alive and trusting in the communion between the Boss and his fans. 

For longtime fans such as myself (I’ve seen more than 50 shows over more than 30 years), a Springsteen concert is one of the places where we feel most vibrant. There’s the unbridled joy of hearing the music that has given meaning and voice to our life experiences in the company of likeminded souls. For many of us, Springsteen has been the best traveling companion through life imaginable. Part of that also comes from the trusting communion at any show: there’s the implicit understanding that Springsteen is going to take care of us and entertain us during that concert the best way he can—by pouring everything he has into the performance— and, in return, we’re going to send that energy back to the stage by being as present as we can be. 

That’s why when he postponed nearly 30 shows after his Sept. 3 dates at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. because of his illness, fans feared that this could be the end. Even though he has long prided himself on being in superhuman physical condition (and proved he still is in Phoenix by ripping his shirt open to show his toned chest), at 74, it’s clear that the road will end eventually for Springsteen. But as Tuesday night showed, he’s returned at the top of his game and the end feels far into the future if he wants it to be (though for longtime fans, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that on this tour Springsteen does not end the shows with his former trademark line, “We’ll be seein’ you.”)

When this world tour started in February 2023, Springsteen was working a theme built around “Last Man Standing,” an emotional song featured on his underrated 2020 album, Letter to You. Like on the earlier shows on the tour, Springsteen addressed the Phoenix audience (in this case, for the first time all night more than an hour in), giving a beautiful speech about playing in his first band, The Castiles, when he was 15 in the mid-‘60s, and how more than 50 years later, he stood by the bedside of his friend and bandmate George Theiss, as he lay dying, leaving Springsteen the last member of the band alive. It’s a reflection on mortality, but also on resilience and joy. Though he’s never spoken of death and the gift it brings the living from stage so eloquently before, it’s understood by fans. For example, after my mother died, I consoled myself by going to as many shows as I could on the consecutive Magic and Working on a Dream tours because standing in the pit of a Springsteen show was where I felt most alive. 

Unlike the setlists from earlier shows that seemed slightly more reflective and wide-ranging, Tuesday’s show was a high-octane freight train of a rock show. The message is that life is to be savored and, more than anything, celebrated and met head on at full-speed. Springsteen and the band barreled through 29 songs, most of them full-on rockers, in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The show felt nothing if not efficient. There was no fat. The only break between songs was the few seconds it took for Springsteen to change guitars and, other than a few asides, he only addressed the audience for the speech before “Last Man Standing” and after “Backstreets.” He never brought up his illness until right before the closing song when he apologized to anyone inconvenienced by the Phoenix date shifting from Nov. 30 to March 19, adding, “I had a mother**ker of a bellyache.”

Below are five of the highlights from the Phoenix show, which had former N.J. governor Chris Christie and rocker Alice Cooper in attendance, in an evening filled with nothing but stellar moments.

20 Mar 2024

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s World Tour Setlist: All the Songs They Performed For Their First Show of 2024

Fans were delayed but not denied their visit from The Boss Tuesday night (March 19) in Phoenix as Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band resumed their world tour after a six-month break. 

Springsteen was originally slated to play the Arizona date on Nov. 30 last year, but it was one of 29 shows postponed after he came off the road in early September for treatment for peptic ulcer disease. 

He made no reference to his health troubles (which were clearly in his past, given his extreme energy on stage) until the closing tune of the 29-song set, when he apologized for inconveniencing anyone by having to move the show, explaining, “I had a motherf**cker of a bellyache.”

The 2 hour 45minute concert, which started right at 7:30pm, was a rollicking, high-energy affair. Gone are tour mainstays from the earlier leg, such as the funky “The E Street Shuffle” and the jazzy 7-minute “Kitty’s Back” (both from 1973’s The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle), and six songs from Springsteen’s last album of original material, 2020’s Letter to You (Tuesday’s show was down to four from that set), replaced with tunes that make for a fast-paced, non-stop thrill ride of a show. 

Springsteen will spend the rest of the year on the road, with more than 50 dates on the 2024 docket, including a European leg that starts in Cardiff, Wales in May and includes multiple stadium shows in cities like Milan, Madrid and Barcelona, before he returns stateside in August for stadium shows. 

Below is the setlist for Phoenix’s opening night of the new leg. The tour resumes Friday (March 22) night in Las Vegas.  

20 Mar 2024

Chumbawamba Tells NZ Deputy Prime Minister to Stop Using ‘Tubthumping’ at Rallies

“Tubthumping,” Chumbawamba’s hit from 1997, has been thumping from loudspeakers at public events led by New Zealand’s deputy prime minister Winston Peters. And the politically-charged British group is having none of it.

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Last weekend, Peters, whose party New Zealand First is part of the country’s coalition government, walked on stage to “Tubthumping” ahead of his controversial “state of the nation” address.

During an hour-long speech, the veteran right-wing politician reportedly discussed plans to remove gender and sexuality lessons from the school curriculum, and referred to the song’s lyrics, telling the audience “we got knocked down, but we got up again,” the BBC reports.

Chumbawamba’s members want the populist politician to stop all references to the song. “Some mini-Trump in New Zealand totally not getting how egregious we think he is,” reads a post on the now-defunct band’s official Facebook page, linking to the BBC article.

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Speaking with the Corporation, Boff Whalley, the band’s lead guitarist, said the act did not give Peters permission, not does it share his ideas on race relations.

“Chumbawamba wrote the song ‘Tubthumping’ as a song of hope and positivity, so it seems entirely odd that the ‘I get knocked down …’ refrain is being used by New Zealand’s deputy prime minister Winston Peters as he barks his divisive, small-minded, bigoted policies during his recent speeches,” Whalley remarked.

“[We] would like to remind him that the song was written for and about ordinary people and their resilience, not about rich politicians trying to win votes by courting absurd conspiracy theories and spouting misguided racist ideologies.”

On Wednesday, March 20, NZ online news title Stuff reported that rights society APRA AMCOS would forward a cease and desist notice to New Zealand First, from Sony Music Publishing, the band’s music publisher.

Peters used the platform of X to return serve at critics – including Chumbawamba.

“It seems the media care more about the Chumbawamba story than we do. We actually don’t care,” he writes in one post. “There’s nothing to ‘cease or desist’. The song worked like a charm for our first public meeting after the election. The over 700 people in the crowd thought so too. We will be sure to file the ‘cease and desist’ letter in a safe place if it ever arrives. I would use another of their hit song titles as a quip at the end of this post but unfortunately they only had one.”

The group’s signature song, “Tubthumping” peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Pop Songs chart. Chumbawamba’s Tubthumper album hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200. In the U.K., the song reached No. 2, one of the band’s two top 10 hits (1998 follow-up “Amnesia” peaked at No. 10). Aside from that stirring fight song, the band is long remembered in their homeland for an ice-cold moment during the 1998 Brit Awards when drummer Danbert Nobacon tipped a bucket of water on then deputy prime minister John Prescott.

Chumbawamba disbanded in 2012, ending a 30-year career.

20 Mar 2024

‘The Doctor Is In’: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Eminem Tease Jimmy Kimmel’s Manhood In Late-Night Sketch

Never let it be said that Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t have a sense of humor.

The late-night talk-show host and Academy Awards MC was the butt of a joke when Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Eminem piled in for a surgery sketch which aired Tuesday (March 19) on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Dre, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted producer and hip-hop’s first billionaire, takes the lead in the “Dre’s Anatomy” sketch, which sees Kimmel on his back in the ER, with his privates under scrutiny.

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As Dre struggles to locate the issue, Snoop, then “Dr Jackson,” introduce an array of instruments fit for task.

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Snoop applies some of his special smoke, Kimmel flatlines, the unmistakable sounds of “Still D.R.E.” kick in and the hip-hop legends get down to operate on some beats. Crisis averted.

Eminem appears late to give it “one shot” – a mean looking green goo prepped in a horse-sized syringe.

Though Dr. Dre might not have the letters M.D. after his name, the West Coast legend does now have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Dre officially received the 2,775th star during a star-studded presentation on Tuesday afternoon (March 19), with the likes of Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Eminem and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine in attendance and sharing words of praise for the creative.

“Growing up in Compton, I never imagined that I would one day be represented here among some of my childhood heroes,” Dre told guests.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to make a living doing exactly what I love to do. How about that? Isn’t that the dream?” he continued. “Over the course of my career, I’ve had the privilege of finding and nurturing new talent as well as pushing the boundaries in hip-hop both in content and substance.”

As a member of N.W.A., Dre was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2020, and last year was named by Billboard as the greatest rap producer of all-time. Eminem was a member of the Rock Hall class of 2023.

Watch the “Dre’s Anatomy” spot from ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live below.

19 Mar 2024

March Madness 2024: How to Watch & Stream Games Online

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March Madness is back! The 2024 NCAA men’s basketball championship began with the First Four on Tuesday (March 19).

Keep reading for the schedule and ways to watch and stream March Madness games.

March Madness Schedule

March Madness officially started during Selection Sunday on March 17. The First Four in the men’s tournament will be held from March 19-20 with four games scheduled: Wagner vs. Howard at 6:40 p.m. ET on truTV, Colorado State vs. Virginia at 9:10 p.m. ET on truTV, Grambling vs. Montana State at 6:40 p.m. ET on truTV and Colorado vs. Boise State at 9:10 p.m. ET on truTV.

Friday’s games will broadcast across CBS, truTV, TBS, TNT and ESPN. Game day begins with Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern airing Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS. Baylor vs. Colgate is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. ET on truTV, San Diego State vs. UAB at 1:45 p.m. on TNT, Marquette vs. Western Kentucky at 2 p.m. ET on TBS, and UConn vs. Stetson at 2:45 p.m. ET on CBS.

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The men’s Final Four is slated for April 6.

Sacred Heart and Presbyterian College will kick off the First Four women’s games on Wednesday (March 20) at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. The women’s basketball schedule includes Vanderbilt vs. Columbia at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU on Wednesday. Thursday’s schedule will feature Auburn vs. Arizona at 7 p.m. on ESPNU and Holy Cross vs. UT Martin at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

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North Carolina vs. Michigan State, Ohio State vs. Maine, LSU vs. Rice, Virginia Tech vs. Marshall, South Carolina vs. Sacred Heart/Presbyterian are on the schedule for Friday. This week’s women’s games will air across ESPN, ABC, ESPNU and ESPN2.

The women’s Final Four championship will take place on April 5.

How to Watch March Madness Games Without Cable

Whether you’re watching March Madness on your computer, phone or TV, streaming gives you plenty of variety and the ability to watch from anywhere.

Sports fans who already have access to ESPN, TNT, TBS, truTV, ABC and CBS through cable, satellite, internet (or an HD antenna for local channels), can watch March Madness games live, but for those who haven’t settled on a TV streamer, we’ve put together a few different options that are actually worth the money.

Fans can watch and stream March Madness games through DirecTV and other platforms that provide live television such as Hulu+ Live TV, Fubo, Sling TV and Max.

New customers can join DirectTV for just $69.99/month when you subscribe for 24 months. DirecTV is a good option because it offers cable channels and local channels including ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, alongside TNT, TBS, truTV, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU.

Subscribe to Max and stream NCAA games for as low as $5.83 per month when you prepay for a year. This is the first time that the steamers has offered access to all 2024 NCAA Division Men’s Basketball Championship games live in addition to studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT and truTV, including the 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals and the 2024 Men’s National Championship.

This is the first time that Max will stream all the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship live games and studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV — including the 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four® National Semifinals and the 2024 Men’s National Championship. All tournament games on Max will be available to stream in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

In addition to game coverage, Max will debut the sports programs Max Bracket Breakdown on Thursday and Max Daily Replay on Friday. The tournament games will be available to stream on Max in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

The limited offer save you over 40% off Max streaming plans and applies to new, returning and existing customers.

Interested in more streaming deal? Sling TV starts at just $20 for the first month, and streamers like Fubo and DirecTV Stream offer free trials for up to a week.

With Sling, you can stream dozens of channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, TBS, FS1, FX and more. Furthermore, Sling’s Ultimate Basketball Offers will save you $40 over four months.

Thinking about joining Philo? Unfortunately, channels like CBS, TNT and TBS are not available on Philo, but subscribers can stream 60+ channels for just $25/month and a free trial for 7-days.

You can stream select March Madness games and other CBS programs with Paramount+ with Showtime for $11.99/month after a free trial for the first week (click here for ways to land free Paramount+ for more than a week).

Watch TV shows, movies and more including Paramount+ Originals such as Halo, The Family Stone, Star Trek Picard, Special Opps: Lioness, 1883, Mayor of Kingstown, and CBS shows such as Ghosts, NCIS, CBS Mornings and Survivor.

In addition to movies and TV shows, documentaries, concert specials and CBS, Paramount+ subscribers can also watch other live sports such as soccer. And if you’re an Amazon Prime member, Paramount+ with Showtime is available on Prime Video.

Can you watch March Madness games on ESPN+? Although you won’t find the NCAA March Madness tournament on ESPN+, there are plenty of college sports games available including basketball, football, soccer and more.

Streaming internationally? Use ExpressVPN or NordVPN to access CBS, TBS, TNT, ESPN, Paramount+ and other platforms from outside the U.S.

March Madness Merch & Tickets: Where to Buy

And now, it’s time to talk merch. If you’re looking for March Madness merchandise you can find lots of gear at retailers such as Fanatics, FansEdge, Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and the NCAA Shop.

You can find tickets available at StubHub, Vivid Seats, StubHub and Gametime.

Click here for the full 2024 NCAA men’s March Madness schedule and here for the women’s schedule.

Need a March Madness bracket? Download a printable bracket here.