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The American Music Tourism Act, Mitigating Automated Internet Networks (MAIN) for Event Ticketing Act, and Helping Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act have all been re-introduced to the Senate. Recently, the American Music Tourism Act was also re-introduced to Congress. Each year, bills that have not yet passed must be re-introduced to the House and the […]
Get ready to go back to the woods. Paramount+ and Showtime dropped the spooky trailer for the upcoming third season of acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series Yellowjackets on Wednesday morning (Jan. 22). The first peek at the nail-biting show about a group of talented high school soccer players who survive a plane crash in the wilderness will return for a two-episode premiere on Feb. 14 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan; the on-air debut will take place on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
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The two-minute trailer is cued to hard rock band Drowning Pool’s signature 2001 hit, “Bodies,” as, like the show, it toggles between footage of the young women fighting for their survival in the deep woods and their still-shellshocked adult selves. “Once upon a time, a bunch of teenage girls go stranded in the wilderness,” says a voiceover, as another, ominous voice, whispers the chorus to the Drowning Pool song: “let the bodies hit the floor.”
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“And they hunted their friends… feasted on their flesh and they went completely nuts,” she says as the tempo ramps up and we see the girls howling, running through the woods in pelts while wielding sharp implements and shouting “buzz, buzz, buzz” as they jump around in unison.
With allusions to the cannibalistic behavior, the grown-up versions of the players worry that the desperate lengths they went to to survive will follow them for the rest of their lives as some mysterious force appears to be stalking them in the present.
The show is led by a strong ensemble cast featuring the young players portrayed by Liv Hewson, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Eaton, Sophie Thatcher and Samantha Hanratty, while the adult versions are played by Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Lauren Ambrose and Simone Kessell.
A description of the upcoming season promises that, “as summer arrives, the Yellowjackets face a fragile victory — the brutal winter that nearly claimed them is finally behind them, but distrust in leadership and tension within the team jeopardize their chances of being rescued. In the present, long-buried secrets from their pasts begin to surface. As the women fight to keep their lives from unraveling, they must confront a chilling question: who are they really, and what dark truths are they hiding from each other and themselves?”
Joining the cast this year will be Oscar-winner Hilary Swank and comedian/actor Joel McHale, with Elijah Wood returning in his recurring guest role.
The first two seasons of the show featured a driving title track and score composed by That Dog./Shudder to Think veterans Anna Waronker and Craig Wedren, which was later covered and released as a single by Alanis Morissette. The show also featured a barrage of classic 1980s-1990s alt rock songs, including classics from Morissette, Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Hole, Wilson Phillips, Portishead, Belly, Wreckx-N-Effect, Ace of Base, Enya, as well as Nirvana, the Cranberries, Pulp, Veruca Salt, Papa Roach, Elliott Smith, Garbage, Tori Amos, 4 Non Blondes, Madonna, N.W.A. and many more.
Watch the Yellowjackets season 3 trailer below.
With awards season off to a big start in 2025, LGBTQ+ non-profit GLAAD is unveiling its honorees for the 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards. On Wednesday (Jan. 22), GLAAD revealed the full list of honorees for the annual award show, including a swath of musical artists earning nominations for their work in 2025. In the […]
Roc Nation is expanding its music business portfolio with a trailblazing partnership. The Roc has teamed up with South Korean fintech company Musicow to launch what it describes as the first Music Equity Service Provider in the United States. Musicow aims to offer Americans the opportunity to invest in music royalties. This partnership allows music […]
Post Malone revealed his latest superstar collaboration on Wednesday (Jan. 22) – only it’s not with another artist. Instead, Posty has teamed up with Oreo for his own special and limited edition creation.
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“Who wouldn’t want to make their own Oreo cookie?” he says. “I’ve been a big fan of these cookies my whole life so when the opportunity came up I couldn’t believe it.”
Naturally, Post believes he dreamed up “the best Oreo ever,” which features a first for the cookie: a twisted creme center, combining salted caramel and shortbread flavors. The filling is sandwiched between a chocolate and golden cookie for, as Oreo says in a release, “a delicious duet of flavors in every bite.”
As Post tells Billboard, “I really wanted to create a flavor that shows off my different sides – that was important to me.”
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“We tried like 50 different combinations,” he continues. “I’ve been really into salted caramel lately, so I knew that had to be part of it. The shortbread balanced out the flavor and made the perfect twist. The twist is by far my favorite part. It’s the first time Oreo has ever done this. When I couldn’t decide between classic chocolate and the golden cookie, we said, ‘Why not do both?’ That was a fun day of work.”
Each cookie will feature a special embossment – out of nine options – that Posty picked himself, including everything from a sunflower (inspired by his hit of the same name with Swae Lee) to a pick up truck inspired by the album art for Austin and F-1 Trillion. Post says deciding on the embossments “took forever, but in the end we went with some of the most memorable imagery from the past 10 years. Every single detail was designed with the fans in mind.”
Inspired by Post, Oreo is now inviting fans to create their own twisted flavors with its Taste Twist Digital Experience, part of an ongoing sweepstakes that runs from early February through March 31. After entering favorite musical preferences, Oreo’s algorithm will reveal an individualized flavor combo. Those who participate could win a package of their own creation, a signed Post Malone poster and more.
Post’s limited edition Oreo will be available for presale on Jan. 27 and available to purchase on Feb. 3.
After more than a yearlong hiatus, season four of the Rock & Roll High School With Pete Ganbarg podcast launches Thursday (Jan. 23) with an interview with Chaka Khan.
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This season’s other guests include Tony Orlando, Squeeze’s Chris Difford, Randy Bachman, Al Stewart, Tears for Fears’ Curt Smith, Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian and America’s Gerry Beckley. New episodes will debut every other Thursday and are available on all major streaming outlets and the podcast’s website.
Pete Ganbarg started Rock & Roll High School, named after the beloved Ramones’ punk classic, several years ago as president of A&R at Atlantic Records when he realized that a number of the younger A&R staffers at Atlantic were unaware of the roots of popular music. At first it was an in-person lecture series, and he then began bringing in guests, including Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and iconic record executives such as Clive Davis and Seymour Stein.
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When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, at the request of Warner Music Group, Ganbarg went virtual with the series and expanded attendance to anyone working at the company. Then in April 2021, the series launched as a full-fledged podcast available on all streaming platforms.
Chaka Khan
Nick Nelson
Two-time Grammy winner Ganbarg left Atlantic last fall and now has 100% ownership of the podcast.
“We started this podcast a few years ago with the goal of having the history of contemporary music told first-hand — in their own words — by the people who helped create it,” Ganbarg said in a statement. “This new season is our biggest yet with close to 20 new episodes already recorded. We’re honored to be joined by an incredible, diverse array of singers, writers and producers — all of whom have helped to build the foundation of so many songs that have been the soundtrack of our lives and all of whom have fantastic stories to tell.”
Ganbarg patterned the podcast after James Lipton’s Inside the Actor’s Studio and Off the Record, a series of interviews the late Capitol Records president Joe Smith conducted with many music luminaries to create an oral history of popular music. Guests can come from any facet to the music world but must have played a role in creating music from 1955 on.
In addition to the podcast, Ganbarg, whose 35-year tenure in the music industry includes working with such artists as Santana, Twenty One Pilots, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Donna Summer and dozens more, is president of Pure Tone Music, whose signings include Forest Blakk and Joe Jordan. He also runs operates Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music, joint ventures with Warner Chappell Music. He is nominated for two Grammys this year for his work on the cast albums for Suffs and The Notebook.
Music AI, a developer of artificial intelligence for music and audio, announced Wednesday it raised $40 million in a funding round led by Connect Ventures, a partnership between CAA and venture capital firm NEA, and Brazilian investor monashees, which also participated in Music AI’s seed around.
Other participants in the funding round include Kickstart, Samsung Next, Toba Capital, Valutia, Pelion and such music industry professionals as songwriter/producer Freddy Wexler, DJ/producer 3LAU and singer/songwriter Alexander23.
“Securing this Series A funding underscores the real-world impact our technologies have on the creative industry,” Geraldo Ramos, CEO of Music AI, said in a statement. “We’re ready to advance our mission of making music innovation accessible to all, and we’re eager to explore new possibilities with a focus on practical applications.” Founded by Ramos, Eddie Hsu, and Jardson Almeida, Music AI has a team of over 90 collaborators in the U.S., Brazil and Europe.
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Some AI companies have run into legal problems from music rights owners intent on preventing unauthorized use of their recordings and musical works to train generative AI models. Suno and Udio, for instance, were sued in the U.S. by the major labels for copyright infringement in June 2024, and Suno was sued on Monday by German performing rights organization GEMA in a Munich regional court. Music AI distances itself from those controversies, calling its products “ethical AI solutions” for the creative process such as stem separation, voice transfers, lyric transcription and mixing and mastering. The company’s technologies, including Music.ai and Moises.ai, have over 50 million users.
“We are deeply committed to partnering with ethically led AI companies that appropriately credit and compensate creators for usage of their work,” Michael Blank, managing partner at Connect Ventures, said in a statement. “Music AI’s talent-friendly approach and unparalleled technology is helping them become the trusted and premier AI platform of the music industry. Beyond empowering artists, Moises enhances the creative process for musicians, producers, and content creators worldwide for practice, creation, and collaboration.”
Samsung Next is interested in Music AI’s models’ ability “to run directly on hardware for faster performance, reduced latency and reduced cloud dependency,” said Carlos Castellanos, investor at Samsung Next. “Their proprietary models, third-party integrations, and on-device AI capabilities ensure reliability, security, and scalability across smartphones, smart TVs, and other connected devices—all while elevating the end-user experience with cutting-edge features.”
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Sexyy Red apologized to Bernice King after she reposted a fake AI photo of herself and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK’s daughter came out and expressed her dislike of the photo, “This is intentionally distasteful, dishonoring, deplorable, and disrespectful to my family and my father, who is not here to respond himself because he was assassinated for working for your civil and human rights and to end war and poverty. Please delete”
In her apology, Sexyy Red admitted that Bernice was right to call her out, and she didn’t mean any disrespect, “You ain’t wrong, never meant to disrespect your family my apologies. Just resposted something I saw that I thought was innocent”
Sexyy owned up to it and made it clear she wasn’t trying to offend anyone. The St.Louis rapper’s apology reflected growth, as she recognized the impact of her actions and the importance of being mindful of how certain content can affect others, particularly those with such a strong connection to a historical figure like MLK.
On top of this, Sexyy Red has been making waves in the music world recently, with rumors swirling about a potential collaboration with Bruno Mars. The two have teased fans with cryptic hints and online interactions, leaving people excited about what might be a major project. Sexyy Red’s rise in the industry has been nothing short of impressive, as she continues to capture attention with her unique style and bold personality. Whether it’s through her music or her actions, she’s proving that she’s not just a trend but an artist capable of learning and evolving in the public eye. Fans are eager to see how this potential collab with Bruno Mars will sound, adding another chapter to her growing career.
After delaying the announcement of their planned 2025 tour due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, Nine Inch Nails revealed the dates for the Peel It Back Tour 2025 on Wednesday morning (Jan. 21). The band’s first live run since 2022 is slated to kick off at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on June 15 and criss-cross Europe through mid-July before jumping to the U.S. beginning August 3 for a show at Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA.
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The Live Nation-produced tour — whose title is inspired by a line from the 1994 song “March of the Pigs” — will also feature stops at a number of European festivals, including Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium, Open’er in Gdynia, Poland, and Mad Cool in Madrid, Spain, among others. The North American dates will including shows in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn, Nashville, Tampa, Houston and Phoenix before winding down on Sept. 18 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
Tickets for the tour will go on sale on Jan. 29 beginning at noon local time here.
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Earlier this month, the Trent Reznor-fronted group confirmed rumors of a planned world tour before pulling back in light of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that have killed 27 and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other buildings so far. “Since some dates and information about our world tour have leaked we are confirming that yes we will be touring and will provide more details soon,” they wrote at the time. “We are all watching the devastation that is unfolding in California and have paused our announcement while people try to deal with all that is happening.”
Check out the dates for the 2025 Peel It Back world tour below:
June 15 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
June 17 – Manchester, UK @ Co-op Live
June 18 – London, UK @ The O2
June 20 – Cologne, Germany @ Lanxess Arena
June 21 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting^
June 24 – Milan, Italy @ Parco della Musica Novegro
Thu Jun 26 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
June 27 – Vienna, Austria @ Wiener Stadthalle
June 29 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
July 1 – Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena
July 3 – Gdynia, Poland @ Open’er^
July 7 – Paris, France @ Accor Arena
July 10 – Madrid, Spain @ Mad Cool^
July 12 – Oeiras, Portugal @ NOS Alive^
August 6 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
August 8 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
August 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
August 12 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
August 14 – West Valley City, UT @ Maverik Center
August 15 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
August 17 – Saint Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
August 19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
August 22 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
August 23 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
August 26 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
August 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
August 29 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
August 31 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Sept. 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
Sept. 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Lenovo Center
Sept. 6 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Sept. 9 – Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena
Sept. 10 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
Sept. 12 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Sept. 13 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Sept. 16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
Sept. 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
^Festival Date
Phish announced a run of spring 2025 west coast tour dates this week, which will include a three-night stint at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. To mark their return to the venue that was briefly endangered by one of the wildfires that have destroyed more than 12,000 homes and structures and killed 27 over the past […]