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28 Jul 2023

Troye Sivan ‘Rush’-es Onto the Hot 100, Dance & Global Charts

Listeners are feeling the rush! Troye Sivan’s newest single debuts across a wide spread of July 29-dated Billboard charts, spanning genres and geographical borders.

“Rush” is new on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 77. That marks Sivan’s first entry on the list since 2021’s “You” with Regard and Tate McRae, and first solo appearance since “My My My!” in 2018. The new track scored 6.1 million on-demand streams and sold 2,000 copies in the week ending July 20, according to Luminate.

Sivan adds eighth career Hot 100 hit, having hit a No. 23 high with “Youth” in 2016.

Sivan released “Rush” on Thursday, July 19, spurring enough activity to debut on last week’s Hot
Dance/Electronic Songs at No. 30 from one day of consumption. This week, it blasts to No. 3. It’s his first solo hit on the chart; he spent eight weeks at No. 1 with “You” in June-August 2021.

“Rush” also hits No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and Dance/Electronic Song Sales.

The song’s success extends beyond these U.S.-based charts, debuting on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey at No. 29 and the Billboard Global 200 at No. 34. Worldwide, “Rush” drew 23.4 million streams and sold 4,000 downloads in the tracking week. It’s Sivan’s first time in the top 100 of the Global 200, much less his first in the top 40.

The immediate success for “Rush” builds upon the slow-burn rise of Sivan’s “Angel Baby.” Released in September 2021, “Angel Baby” first appeared on Global Excl. U.S. seven months later, on the April 16, 2022-dated chart. It ultimately rose to No. 75, and No. 156 on the Global 200, largely backed by consumption from Asian countries. It topped Billboard’s Hits of the World charts in Malaysia and the Philippines and hit No. 2 in Indonesia and Singapore.

“Rush,” on the other hand, opens at Nos. 13 and 14, respectively, on Australia Songs and Ireland Songs, while hitting No. 40 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. While traditional ballads like “Angel Baby” are welcomed Asia (Justin Bieber’s similarly paced “Ghost” was the lone other English-language track in the top 10 in Malaysia at the time), these primarily English-language markets, particularly in Europe and Sivan’s native Australia, tend to be riper for a pop-dance track like “Rush.”

28 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Fans Cause Seismic Activity Comparable to Small Earthquake at Seattle Eras Tour Shows

Flashback to her mistakes, her rebounds, her earthquakes. In another case of life imitating art (this time, the art being lyrics to Taylor Swift‘s 2017 Reputation track “Dress”), Swifties at the Eras Tour in Seattle last weekend danced so hard, they generated enough seismic activity to rival a low-grade earthquake. The discovery was found by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a geology professor at Western Washington University, who measured the “Swift-quake” at Lumen Field to be equivalent to a 2.3 on the magnitude scale.

“For Taylor Swift, I collected about 10 hours of data where rhythm controlled the behavior,” Caplan-Auerbach explained to CNN Thursday (July 27). “The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can drive into the ground and shake it.”

The findings called back to another incident at Lumen Field in 2011, when fans watching a Seattle Seahawks game went wild over an impressive touchdown by running back Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. The rumblings from the game showed up on the same local seismometer as the activity from the Eras show, according to Caplan-Auerbach.

“The shaking was twice as strong as ‘Beast Quake,’” she added. “It absolutely doubled it.”

Comparing activity from the Saturday (July 22) show with the Sunday (July 23) show, Caplan-Auerbach shared that there wasn’t one crowd of Swifties that was discernibly more raucous than the other. Both groups danced equally enthusiastically, the only main difference being that the second show started about half an hour later than the first due to delays.

It wasn’t just scientists who noticed the record-breaking movement at the stadium, by the way. Even Swift was impressed by all the energy she greeted with, afterward writing on Instagram, “Thank you for everything. All the cheering, screaming, jumping, dancing, singing at the top of your lungs.”

The conclusion of the Seattle shows means that Swift has just one more state to visit on the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour, which she’ll wrap up with two performances at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., followed by six concerts at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. From there, she’ll embark on months of international shows, traveling through Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia with support from Sabrina Carpenter and Paramore.

And even regardless of seismic activity, fans at the rest of those Eras Tour venues have a lot to live up to following Seattle. While onstage Sunday night, Swift doubled down on a diary entry she recalled writing during 2018’s Reputation Tour: “Seattle, Washington is the best crowd I have ever played for.” 

28 Jul 2023

‘Last Case Standing’: Pandora Beats Final Lawsuit Over Pre-1972 Songs

More than nine years after members of the 1960s rock band The Turtles filed a series of groundbreaking lawsuits over the legal protections for so-called pre-1972 sound recordings, a federal judge has now dismissed their final case — a lawsuit against Pandora that he called the band’s “last case standing.”

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In a decision issued Wednesday, Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that the Sirius XM-owned Pandora had not violated California state law by streaming the band’s songs, like the iconic 1967 cut “Happy Together,” without permission and without paying sound recording royalties.

In doing so, the judge recounted the decade-long story of how the two founders of the Turtles (legally Flo & Eddie, Inc.) filed such cases against music services in courts around the country — and how they had lost in every one of them.

“This case is one of many lawsuits brought by Flo & Eddie, seeking to hold internet and satellite radio services liable for the unauthorized public performance and reproduction of its sound recordings that were fixed prior to February 15, 1972,” the judge wrote. “Flo & Eddie’s action against Pandora is the last case standing.”

The Turtles first sued SiriusXM and Pandora in 2014, claiming that both companies had been illegally refusing to paying royalties for pre-1972 songs. That was a legal gray area at the time, since songs prior to that year had not been covered by federal sound recording copyrights. But the Turtles claimed pre-1972s could still be covered by state-level laws aimed at preventing misappropriation.

Initially, the band won a key ruling in California federal court, finding that California state law contained a so-called public performance right that would require services like Sirius and Pandora to start paying up. But then, slowly but surely, courts around the country — first the top court in New York, then the Florida Supreme Court, then a federal appeals court in California — ruled no such right existed.

“One after another, federal circuit courts and state Supreme Courts answered with a resounding ‘no’,” Judge Gutierrez wrote in Wednesday’s ruling.

In some ways, Wednesday’s ruling is anti-climactic. The larger issues raised by the Turtle’s pioneering lawsuits — whether the owners of a vast swath of American recorded music were entitled to a new revenue stream from services like SiriusXM and Pandora — were largely rendered moot by the passage of the federal Music Modernization Act in 2018. Among other major changes, that law required such royalties to be paid for pre-1972 records, ending the state-level ambiguity that drove the Turtles to sue.

But Judge Gutierrez had previously ruled that the MMA’s new requirements did not apply to pending lawsuits, meaning that the band still could have won a ruling forcing Pandora to hand over unpaid royalties from the years before the MMA’s enactment.

Barring a successful appeal, Wednesday’s ruling foreclosed that possibility: “The court grants Pandora’s motion for summary judgment. This order closes the case.”

In seeking to revive their lawsuit against Pandora, the Turtles argued that, even if no public performance right existed under California state law, the streamer had still violated their so-called reproduction right by illegally copying their music to make it available on the service. But those “repackaged” claims had also been rejected by the other courts, Judge Gutierrez wrote.

“Even if the Court would like to independently consider these claims, its ‘hands are tied,’” the judge wrote. “In the absence of an exclusive right to publicly perform its pre-1972 sound recordings, Flo & Eddie has no viable copyright claim against Pandora.”

28 Jul 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Travis Scott, Post Malone, Offset & Cardi B and More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.

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This week (July 28), Travis Scott takes listeners to Utopia, Post Malone introduces his fans to Austin, and Offset and Cardi B brush off the haters (with a movie star’s help). Check out all of this week’s picks below:

Travis Scott, Utopia

No pyramids, no problem: Even with its much-hyped premiere event in Egypt delayed until a date TBD, Travis Scott still dropped his long-awaited Utopia — five years after his 2018 blockbuster Astroworld — this Friday at midnight. Like Astroworld, the album is a winding journey through Scott’s sonic universe, with such A-list guests as The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Future and of course his old “Sick Mode” collaborator Drake — though you’ll have to actually listen to know that they’re on there, as the streaming tracklist is once again feature spoiler-free. The most exciting cameo this time around: fellow H-Town native Beyoncé, detouring from the Renaissance Tour to Utopia, with her first-ever appearance on a Travis Scott album.

Post Malone, Austin

Guitar Posty was promised, and Guitar Posty was (mostly) delivered. Which is not to say that Austin finally features Post Malone living out his Kurt Cobain fantasies in full — you probably wouldn’t even quite call it a rock album, more just a pop album with a power ballad or two, a disco jam (!!) and a good amount of six string over all of it. Some are fun, some are despairing, some somewhere in between, but all clearly more by the man behind “Circles,” than the one behind “Rockstar” or “Congratulations.” It’s an enjoyable listen — and an interesting career move for Post, who experienced a bit of a commercial downturn with last year’s wrenchingly personal Twelve Carat Toothache, and who has yet to really recapture the chart dominance of his late 2010s this decade.

Offset feat. Cardi B, “Jealousy”

Cardi B’s absurd run of scene-stealing features continues with an overdue solo collaborator — her own husband, Offset. “Jealousy” doesn’t have much of a chorus or hook to speak of — it would just get in the way of the couple’s bars, as Offset insists “I’m Michael, I’m not no Jermaine” and Cardi attests, “B–ches don’t wanna go Birkin for Birkin/ B–ches ain’t got enough hits for a Verzuz/ B–ches be actin’ so different in person.” The song is helped by a sample of Three 6 Mafia’s “Jealous Ass B–ch” and a music video that sees the duo paying tribute to the 2001 John Singleton classic Baby Boy, with original star Taraji P. Henson even making a cameo.

Mitski, “Bug Like an Angel”

After 2022’s top five-debuting Billboard 200 hit album Laurel Hell, critics’ darling turned viral indie sensation Mitski is already scheduled for the follow-up LP, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, out in September. This week, we get the first taste: “Bug Like an Angel,” a Cowboy Junkies-like acoustic ballad with occasional jarring choral punctuations, and the kind of poetic lyrical exhaustion fans have come to expect from her the past half decade: “When I’m bent over wishin’ it was over/ Makin’ all variety of vows I’ll never keep/ I Try to remember the wrath of the devil/ Was also given him by God.” A year and a half since the last album? Already way too long a wait.

Gucci Mane, “Woppenheimer”



Never let it be said that Gucci Mane doesn’t give the people what they want. A meme nostalgic for Guwop’s peak mixtape run went viral last weekend, theorizing that if we were still 2009, we’d have gotten a Woppenheimer project pegged to the Christopher Nolan-directed box office smash. Today, La Flare says “fair enough” and does indeed release a “Woppenheimer” — with the fan’s proposed cover art and anything — though only a single rather than a full mixtape. The narcotic trap banger indeed could have appeared on an Obama-era Gucci release, as he raps on the hook, “Broke people like bringin’ up the past, I’m talkin’ recently/ I know what I did for you, but what you did for me?” The ball is indeed back in their court.

Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loveliest Time

In 2022, she was having The Loneliest Time — but those days are over, and the Canadian pop favorite is back this week and apparently having a much nicer go of it. From the jazzy friskiness of “Anything to Be With You” to the neon synth drama of “Kamikaze” to the Midnight Star-interpolating electro-pop of “Shy Boy,” Carly Rae Jepsen does indeed seem to be feeling loose and carefree, hopscotching from one sound to another and generally keeping the vibe consistent throughout. Fans can only wonder what set might be completing the trilogy in 2024: The Luckiest Time? The Looniest Time? The Languorousest Time?

28 Jul 2023

Jimmie Allen Announces Comedy Tour Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

Jimmie Allen is known for infusing jokes and humor into his concerts, but he’s now making an interesting career pivot. The country singer announced via Instagram on Thursday (July 27) that he will launch a three-date comedy tour, the I Said What I Said Tour, in October. No dates or venues have been shared at this time.

All shows on the I Said What I Said Tour are invite-only, and Allen encouraged his followers to sign up via email to learn how to win tickets to the show.

The comedy tour news comes amid sexual assault allegations that have been brought against Allen. In May, a Jane Doe filed a civil suit in Tennessee federal court against the country singer, claiming that he raped and sexually harassed her while she was a member of his management team. The case was filed by attorney Elizabeth Fegan, who has previously represented victims of Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, as well as Dr. George Tyndall, a campus gynecologist at the University of Southern California, who was accused of sexually abusing patients. Allen responded with a statement saying that he and the Jane Doe accuser had a sexual relationship, but denied the rape and sexual assault allegations, saying that they “have no truth to them whatsoever.”

The fallout from the allegations were swift, as Allen was dropped by his label home, BBR Music Group, as well as his management company, The Familie, as well as his public relations firm, Full Coverage Communications. He was also suspended by his booking agency, UTA.

In June, a second unnamed accuser filed a suit against Allen, claiming the singer-songwriter assaulted her in a Las Vegas hotel room and filmed the encounter without permission. Earlier this month, Allen countersued both accusers, claiming that the first accuser defamed him, while the second accuser illegally took his cell phone.

See Allen’s announcement for his comedy shows below:

28 Jul 2023

5 Takeaways From Travis Scott’s ‘Circus Maximus’ Album Film

After a five-year album hiatus and a deadly festival tragedy in 2021, Travis Scott is back in the public eye with his long-awaited new album Utopia out today (July 28).

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Scott originally planned a grand entrance for the album via a concert at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but the event was officially canceled earlier this week (July 26) due to “complex production issues,” according to a statement from Live Nation Middle East. However, Scott took to Twitter to reassure fans that the show will happen at a later time. “Egypt in the pyramids will happen but due to demand and detail logistics they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands. I will keep up posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll,” he wrote.

Between briefcases, billboards, and pyramids (or lack thereof), the 32-year-old showed off his knack for going above and beyond for his album promotion with the Utopia rollout. Earlier this summer, artists like Bad Bunny and The Weeknd (who are both featured on the album’s first single “K-POP”), SZA (who is featured alongside Future on “TELEKINESIS”) and Mike Dean (who mastered the album) had been spotted with brown Utopia-marked briefcases. Cryptic billboards promoting the album were also seen around Los Angeles last month. This past week, Scott also revealed five grainy album covers featuring men wearing white colored contacts — who, fans suspected, might represent song features due to their loose resemblance of Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, Juice WRLD, Baby Keem and Lil Baby. (None of these artists are on the album.)

Beginning last night (July 27), Scott premiered an album film titled Circus Maximus in select AMC theaters. Directed by the musician along with five additional directors, Scott “takes his audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of his highly anticipated upcoming album Utopia,” reads AMC’s website. “The film is a surreal and psychedelic journey, uniting a collective of visionary filmmakers from around the world in a kaleidoscopic exploration of human experience and the power of soundscapes.”

Billboard attended the film screening last night. Here’s what we gathered.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=KvLg2LAg5kQ&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Free merch

Fans were gifted free Circus Maximus t-shirts upon checking in at the theater. The shirts are black with the Cactus Jack and film’s logo on the front and back, respectively. Scott also revealed that some of them were hidden in theaters, sending fans on a scavenger hunt.

Scott’s inner thoughts

Circus Maximus begins with Scott being choked by an octopus, before transforming into a new version of himself. He then climbs a mountain to meet with producer Rick Rubin, who engages him in a conversation about his feelings as of late. Rubin tells Scott that he’s come a long way and acknowledges that the rapper has experienced tragedy, seemingly alluding to the deadly crowd crush that killed 10 people at his Astroworld Festival in 2021. At times, Scott seems flustered. He quickly deflects the topic, saying he didn’t visit Rubin to discuss that, though he shows remorse about the situation later on when asked, “How’s home?” “Home ain’t been the same in a while,” Scott replies. “I hear echoes half the day.”

Scott’s conversations with Rubin occur in the first half of the film, and are sandwiched between cinematic music videos of him in different countries. In one clip, he’s a part of what looks like an acrobatic trick, where people are standing on each other’s shoulders to help a child climb out of a hole. The camera shows a close-up of Scott straining under the pressure, a possible metaphor for the weight he’s felt over the past few years processing his grief and figuring out how to move forward with his career. However, other scenes are more jovial: One scene sees him DJing a party to Utopia‘s “MODERN JAM” while in another, he’s seen riding camels and dirt bikes with people in Nigeria to the set’s “HYAENA.”

The world-building and meaning of UTOPIA

Travis Scott has become exceptional at creating worlds around his music. Whereas 2018’s Astroworld was more straightforward in concept, UTOPIA is a bit more loose in meaning and open to interpretation. For Circus Maximus — which he directed, wrote and starred in — the artist traveled to Iceland, Nigeria, Denmark, France and Italy to make sense of his personal utopia. When asked about the album, the Houston artist explains that his concept of a utopian world “is not all that pretty and confrontational,” but rather, he’s trying to transfer his energy without breaking or disrupting it along the journey. He also mentions that he’s trying to find a new way to rage.

Scott seems the most in his element during the last half of the film, when he performs a handful of UTOPIA songs at an amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy. At this point, Circus Maximus pivots from a collection of music videos and Rubin conversations to a concert film. Dressed in white and backed by a wall of speakers, dusk turns to dawn as Scott rehearses some of his new catalog in the empty historical venue.

Special guest appearances

During his performance, special guests — some of whom are also featured on the album — joined Scott to perform. Teezo Touchdown (“MODERN JAM”), Sheck Wes (“FE!N”), Yung Lean (“PARASAIL”), James Blake (“TIL FURTHER NOTICE”) and model Jazzelle all joined Scott and were thanked for their participation in the closing credits. Other artists featured on the 19-track album include Beyoncé, Drake, Young Thug, Future, SZA and Sampha. In conversation with director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids) for i-D in early 2021, the Scott said that with UTOPIA he is “expand[ing] the sound. I’ve been making beats again, rapping on my own beats, just putting everything together and trying to grow it really,” he said. “That’s been one of the most fun things about working on this album. I’m evolving, collaborating with new people, delivering a whole new sound, a whole new range.”

Cactus Jack and gamma?

Circus Maximus is in association with Larry Jackson’s new media company gamma, according to the film’s closing credits. In whatever capacity that is, it doesn’t seem far-fetched, since Scott attended the company’s launch party back in March. gamma is a company that specializes in distribution, creative guidance, marketing and more. Its clientele so far includes Snoop Dogg, Usher and Sexyy Red.

28 Jul 2023

Kylie Minogue Headed to Las Vegas For Venetian Residency at Intimate Voltaire: ‘VEGAS BABY!’

Kylie Minogue is headed to Las Vegas. The “Padam Padam” singer announced on Thursday (July 27) that she has scheduled her first-ever residency at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas’ Voltaire this fall. “VEGAS BABY! [star emoji],” she tweeted in a video set to her latest global dance smash. “So excited to headline the all-new @VoltaireLV at starting this fall. See you there! #MoreThanJustAResidency.”

The gigs for the first headliner run at the 1,000-seat cabaret-style space at the Venetian are slated to kick off on Nov. 4, with tickets going on sale on August 9. The space was described in a press release announcing the shows as “blurring the line between an intimate club, concert, and non-stop entertainment venue.”

“Today is the day where it all becomes, beautifully real,” Minogue said at the Los Angeles event announcing her residency according to EW. The singer said she and the resort have been “living with” their plans for the residency for nearly three years. “So to finally be able to say, yes, I am doing a show in Vegas and to be at Voltaire at the Venetian Resort, it’s just, it’s such a good match. And, yeah, I couldn’t be more excited.”

Minogue is prepping her 16th studio album, Tension (Sept. 22), which has been set up by the global hit “Padam Padam.” The Australian singer hinted at her plans to join Adele, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and other current Vegas residency artists earlier this month during an episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in which the host asked if she had any plans to do a “tour or Vegas residency.” Squinting her eyes mischievously, Minogue teased, “very possibly.”

“The spirit of Voltaire is one of pure, authentic fun. It’s one I resonate with as a pop artist. My new album Tension is all about the space where the intimate and universal come together and Voltaire represents just that,” Minogue said in a statement announcing the residency on Friday morning (July 28). “The creative team has designed an environment where people can get up and dance at their tables and revel in the night – that’s what my music is for.”

Producer Michael Gruber described his vision for Voltaire as an “interactive night out with some of the world’s biggest superstars” in an intimate setting where “anything can happen and no two evenings are the same.”

With a theme of “Belle de Nuit” (Beauty of the Night), Voltaire aims to capture a spirit “evocative of veils and mystery, of come-to-play and dress-to-express,” with table service that will include everything from champagne and caviar to cookies. “The creative team has designed an environment where people can get up and dance at their tables and revel in the night,” said Minogue. “That’s what Voltaire is and I can’t wait to perform in this intimate and exciting setting.”

Venetian president/CEO Patrick Nichols said that, “Voltaire will lead a revival in high-caliber nightlife giving guests an unexpected night out, but also the opportunity to see some of their favorite artists in an intimate way.” Gruber added, “Everything about Kylie reflects the essence of Voltaire. Her music is fun. Her spirit is absolutely infectious. And she’s at the top of her game, which makes this a truly special moment for fans to connect in such an intimate environment.”

Minogue will wear custom high-fashion costumes for the residency created by a designer who has worked with her before, as well as with Beyoncé and Mariah Carey, for what is described as a “heavy couture influence [that] lends the entire evening an unforgettably glamorous lens.” Emmy- and Tony-winning production designer Derek McLane (Moulin Rouge, MJ on Broadway) conjured the “immersive key-hole themed room design, centered around modern-day art deco fantasy.”

“I really wanted it to feel like an escape from the environment of the casino floor. Something that felt like a completely different world. An intimate, exciting, and inviting world,” said McLane. Information on tickets, tables and packages for the opening show and residency run is available here.

Watch the residency announcement below.

28 Jul 2023

Executive Turntable: ‘Barbie’ Music Supervisor Joins Premier as Creative Director; AWAL Names Urban Music Head

Music strategy and supervision company Premier Music Group has acquired the music supervision services of George Drakoulias, a longtime music supervisor who has worked on films and TV series including Joker, The Batman, Marriage Story and, most recently, the smash hit Barbie.

At Premier, Drakoulis joins the leadership team as a partner and creative director and will open the company’s new West Coast offices this summer. He’ll be tasked with expanding Premier’s music supervision team and the company’s West Coast footprint while striking new creative opportunities and partnerships.

Over the course of his career, Drakoulis has held executive A&R roles at Def Jam — where he worked with LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys — and (Def) American Recordings, where he signed and produced albums for The Black Crowes, The Jayhawks and The Freewheelers. He has also produced albums for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Maria McKee, Primal Scream and Susan Tedeschi, as well as tracks for Wu-Tang Clan.

“George is a legend in our business, and I’ve admired his impeccable creative and commercial instincts for years,” said Premier Music Group CEO Josh Deutsch in a statement. “His body of production and supervision work, exceptional artistry and deep relationships in music and entertainment make him the ideal partner at this key point in Premier’s growth.”

Premier Music Group creative director Randall Poster added, “George and I have been working together for years. He loves movies and music as much as anyone I know, and brings that passion into every operation and project he takes on. George has produced some of my favorite records, the first two Black Crowes albums, the Jayhawks, many more. He’s been anchoring our West Coast operation for years and I couldn’t be more excited to have him join us in a more substantial way.”

“I couldn’t be happier to be joining the Premier Music team,” said Drakoulis. “Randy and I have been running around together, working on movies and record projects for forever. He has been the most exquisite guide into the world of music supervision. I’ve come to rely on the support of the Premier team, Meghan Currier, Winslow Bright, Milena Erke, and Ian Herbert for years, since they were interns actually, and love and respect them all.”

AWAL named Norva Denton as senior vice president/head of urban music. In his new role, he’ll bolster and develop the label’s urban music roster via strategic signings and an artist development-focused mindset. Based in Los Angeles, Denton will join the company’s A&R team, reporting to president Pete Giberga. Before AWAL, Denton served as senior vp of A&R at Warner Records, where he signed, developed and spearheaded the careers of artists such as YFN Lucci, Wale, Taykeith, Chika and 2KBABY. – Griselda Flores

Negla Abdela was promoted to MD at Sony Music UK’s Ministry of Sound. She was previously GM and has been responsible for managing the marketing and digital teams. Abdela joined the label in 2015 as a social media manager and was promoted to head of digital in 2018.

Diana Sanders was appointed senior vp of business affairs at Prescription Songs and label counterpart Amigo Records. Prior to joining the companies, she served as a partner at Russ August & Kabat and co-chaired the firm’s music practice group. Sanders has been named to Billboard‘s Women in Music and Top Music Lawyers lists multiple times.

Christopher Mauberqué was named head of international A&R at independent digital distributor IDOL, where he’ll be tasked with continuing to drive the company’s business development in territories outside Europe. He previously served as senior label manager at !K7 Music and as A&R and label manager for French independent distributor La Baleine (now known as Bigwax). Mauberqué can be reached at christophe.mauberque@idol.io.

Gerardo Martinez and Sven Bogner announced their partnership in a new heavy metal record label, Reigning Phoenix Music. Martinez, who was a longtime GM at Nuclear Blast America, has been instrumental in the careers of such artists as Dimmu Borgir, Carcass and Hypocrisy. Bogner, an avionics and tech entrepreneur, is a “self-professed metalhead and musician,” according to a press release. The label is headquartered in Los Angeles and Hamburg, Germany. “Our collective blueprint for RPM is to help hard, extreme, and heavy metal music thrive globally,” said Martinez in a statement. Artist signing announcements are forthcoming.

Luis Mesa was appointed director of marketing at Bichota Records, Karol G’s newly-announced imprint. The Colombian executive will focus on creating and executing strategies and day-to-day promotion for Karol G’s musical releases through the label. Before joining the Bichota Records team, Mesa had been SoundOn’s (TikTok’s distribution platform) marketing manager U.S. Latin and, previously, label manager and artist strategy at Universal Music Latino. He will be based out of the company’s Miami headquarters. – Griselda Flores

Artist manager Max Gredinger was named partner at Foundations Artist Management, joining company founder/partner Steve Bursky as well as partners Brian Winton and Drew Simmons. Gredinger has been with Foundations since 2012; his current clients include Laufey, mxmtoon, Ricky Montgomery and rainbolt. He can be reached at max@foundationsmgmt.com.

Discogs promoted four employees to executive leadership positions: Anbu Ilangovane to vp of engineering, Jeffrey Smith to vp of marketing, Jen Agosta to brand director and Richard Gleeson to director of people operations.

Mike Rogers was named vp of business development at blockchain-based ticketing platform DeFy Tickets, which is powered by NFT ticketing provider GET Protocol. Rogers has worked in the ticketing business for nearly 20 years, most recently serving as GM of partnerships at Dice FM. In his new role, he will oversee DeFy’s growth strategy while securing new partnerships with venues, promoters, festivals and conferences in North America. Rogers can be reached at Mike@DefyTickets.com.

Provident Entertainment’s publishing division, Essential Music Publishing, promoted Jamie Rodgers to the role of vp. Rodgers was previously Essential Music’s senior creative director and has been with the company since 2017. Prior to her work with Essential Music Publishing, Rodgers served as manager of national promotions and commercial partnerships for Capitol Christian Music Group. – Jessica Nicholson

John Bowditch was promoted to senior director of marketing at Seeker Music, where he has worked since 2021. In his new role, he will oversee all marketing activity across the company’s catalog and frontline businesses. He can be reached at John@seekermusic.com.

Deron Johnston was appointed chief program officer at BRIC, the Brooklyn-based arts and media institution. In his new role, Johnston will lead the integration of BRIC’s platforms and programming while also overseeing the creative direction of its media and non-media programming, including BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, BRIC JazzFest and Contemporary Art. He was previously director of community development, strategy & innovation at the Center for Justice Innovation.

Grayson Clotfelter was named creative manager at Play It Again Music Group, where he will oversee the creative direction of the company’s roster of songwriters. He previously worked as a catalog manager at Universal Music Publishing Nashville and has also toured with acts including Seaforth and Lily Rose. Clotfelter can be reached at grayson@piamusic.com.

28 Jul 2023

Madonna Dances in Post-Hospitalization Video Update and Thanks Fans For Support: ‘You Must Be My Lucky Stars Too!’

Madonna had a lot to celebrate this week as the pop icon continued recuperating from her recent hospitalization for a bacterial infection. In an Instagram video posted on Thursday (July 27), the singer promoted the 40th anniversary celebration of her 1983 debut album and the song that helped boost her to global stardom, “Lucky Star.”

“To be able to move my body and dance just a little bit makes me feel like the Luckiest Star in the world!” Madonna wrote in the video in which she wears an all-black outfit as she swivels her hips up to the camera, pulls down her gold shades and winks while a digital star sparkles in her left eye. “Thank you to all of my fans and friends! You must be my lucky stars too! And Happy 40th Birthday to my very. First Album- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.” The clip ends with Madonna blowing a kiss to the lens and mouthing the words to the song’s chorus.

The clip of the singer looking mobile and healthy — it’s unclear when the video was shot — got an enthusiastic thumbs up from one of her besties, fashion icon Donatella Versace, who commented, “Loookinnnnggg great!! ???,” plus some love and support from pals actresses Debi Mazar, Rosanna Arquette and Julia Garner, as well as Roots drummer Questlove, 3Lau and many more.

In another video posted to Twitter (né “X”), she wrote, “Happy 40th Birthday to my very. First Album – [four star emoji] Thank you to all of my fans and friends! You must be my Lucky Stars!” That one was accompanied by the legendary clip of her talking to Dick Clark during her North American TV debut on American Bandstand in Jan. 1984 in which he asked, “What do you hope will happen for the rest of your professional life? What are your dreams, what’s left?” Wearing her signature off-the-shoulder black tank top and armloads of bracelets, Madonna bit her lip and said coquettishly, “hmmm… to rule the world.”

The happy updates were a welcome sight for fans who’ve been fretting about the 64-year-old singer’s health since she was hospitalized last month for what her manager Guy Oseary described as a “serious bacterial infection” that landed the singer in the ICU for a few days.

The “Lucky” vids were the latest update from Madonna on her recovery, following a July 18 return to Instagram in which she was pictured embracing and smelling a large bouquet of pink roses. “‘A single rose can be my garden. A single friend my world.’ Thank You,” she captioned the image, quoting writer Leo Buscaglia along with a black heart and red rose emoji. The health scare prompted the postponement of Madonna’s career-spanning Celebration world tour, which will skip over planned North American dates this summer and instead launch with a European leg in the fall.

Check out the videos below.

28 Jul 2023

Rudy Giuliani Concedes To False Statements Against Georgia Elections Workers

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Rudy Giuliani Attends Court Hearing In Poll Worker Defamation Case

Rudy Giuliani made strong accusations against a pair of Georgia election workers connected to the state swinging in favor of President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election against former president Donald Trump. In a court filing earlier this week, Rudy Giuliani conceded to making false statements against the workers that he accused of tampering with ballots.

Rudy Giuliani, 79, stated his admission in a court filing this past Tuesday (July 25) in connection to a defamation lawsuit brought by the two Georgia election workers that the former New York mayor accused of fixing the ballots in favor of President Biden. Back in 2021, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss filed a defamation lawsuit in Washington, D.C.

In the statement filed by Giuliani, he is no longer contesting the statements he made against Freeman and Moss, which could essentially be seen as an admission that he falsified the claims. Politico adds in its reporting that this isn’t a signal Giuliani is allowing the lawsuit to move ahead unchallenged but instead moves the case to the legal arguments stage in order to determine if he will be held responsible for the damages requested in the lawsuit from the mother and daughter.

“Mayor Rudy Giuliani did not acknowledge that the statements were false but did not contest it in order to move on to the portion of the case that will permit a motion to dismiss,” aide Ted Goodman said. “This is a legal issue, not a factual issue. Those out to smear the mayor are ignoring the fact that this stipulation is designed to get to the legal issues of the case.”

While Giuliani’s side maintains that his statement falls just short of an admission of making the charges against the workers, the legal team for Freeman and Moss are seeing this as a favorable outcome for their clients.

“Giuliani’s stipulation concedes what we have always known to be true — Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss honorably performed their civic duties in the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law, and the allegations of election fraud he and former-President Trump made against them have been false since day one,” Michael J. Gottlieb, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, offered in a statement. “While certain issues, including damages, remain to be decided by the court, our clients are pleased with this major milestone in their fight for justice, and look forward to presenting what remains of this case at trial.”

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Photo: Getty

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