music industry

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>

Nicki Minaj Announcement Stuns Fans

She says she's retiring to have a family

(Newser) - Nicki Minaj stunned fans Thursday by abruptly announcing that she is retiring from the entertainment business to concentrate on starting a family. "I've decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now," she tweeted . "To my fans, keep reppin me, do...

A Dip in Taylor Swift Sales Reflects Changing Times

'Lover' does extremely well, but doesn't crack 1M album sales; streaming is on the rise

(Newser) - Taylor Swift had "one of the best weeks of my life" following the Aug. 23 release of sixth studio album, Lover. Not only did the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, as with each of Swift's previous releases, but it saw the biggest sales week...

A 'Rare Takedown' Over Katy Perry Song

9-person panel decides singer's 'Dark Horse' sounds too much like Christian tune 'Joyful Noise'

(Newser) - A jury's verdict that Katy Perry's 2013 hit "Dark Horse" improperly copied a 2009 Christian rap song represents a rare takedown of a pop superstar and her elite producer by a relatively unknown artist, and sets up a battle over damages that will begin Tuesday. Monday's...

There Is a New Taylor Swift Controversy Brewing

Singer claims Scooter Braun, who just bought her music catalog, bullied her, along with Bieber, Kanye

(Newser) - What are Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and music mogul Scooter Braun all doing in a news story together? It involves the latter's acquisition of Big Machine Label Group, which owns all six studio albums put out by Swift before she signed with Universal in November,...

UMG Tried to Downplay Big Fire. Now, a Bigger List of Names

Cher, Dolly Parton, Styx, Rodney Dangerfield—all apparently lost master recordings in 2008 blaze

(Newser) - What's been called "the biggest disaster in the history of the music business" now has an even longer list of victims. A New York Times story documented the destruction of master recordings in a 2008 fire that burned a Universal Music Group vault, with 100 or so artists...

Fire Wiped Out Their Masters. Now the Artists Are Suing

They want Universal Music Group to pay up over devastating 2008 blaze

(Newser) - In 2008, a fire at Universal Studios Hollywood also hit a vault of master music recordings owned by Universal Music Group. The full scope of the damage wasn't revealed until earlier this month, when a New York Times investigation labeled it "the biggest disaster in the history of...

The Latest Hot Act Signed to a Record Deal Is an App

Endel creates personalized soundscapes to help users sleep or concentrate

(Newser) - After producing five albums solo, Endel has just landed a record deal with Warner Music. It will have to get busy—the contract calls for 15 new albums this year. That seems doable, though, because Endel isn't human, it's code. The app creates personalized soundscapes for users to...

How Native Americans 'Rocked the World'

A new PBS documentary aims to set the record straight

(Newser) - As a child, Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. hid under a bed when the Ku Klux Klan came to his parents' home in rural North Carolina. Racist groups often targeted the poor family of Shawnee Native American ancestry as the Wrays endured segregation in the American South just like...

Rapper Sells 823 Albums, Tops Billboard Chart

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie had 83M streams

(Newser) - Scoring the Billboard No. 1 spot with album Hoodie SZN was a big moment for New York rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie—and a new low for traditional album sales. The rapper made the top spot on the Billboard 200 by selling just 823 albums, all of them downloads,...

A First for Women in 2019 Rock Hall
'We Can Stop Holding
Our Breath' on Rock Hall
THE RUNDOWN
Dec 13, 2018 9:50 AM CST

'We Can Stop Holding Our Breath' on Rock Hall

Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson to be inducted

(Newser) - Congratulations to Stevie Nicks. The rocker was announced Thursday as a 2019 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame following her first appearance as an individual nominee. She'll become the only woman to be entered twice, following Fleetwood Mac's 1998 induction. "I have been in...

Kendrick Lamar Leads Grammy Nominations With 8 Nods
Here Are
Your Grammy
Nominations
Dec 7, 2018 10:00 AM CST

Here Are Your Grammy Nominations

It's a woman-centric year, with the ladies heavily represented in the 4 big categories

(Newser) - The music of Black Panther, with Kendrick Lamar in its starring role, officially owns the 2019 Grammy Awards. Also of note: Women are heavily represented in the major four categories. The Recording Academy announced Friday that Lamar is the top contender with eight nominations, including seven for his musical companion...

Metal Band Had Army of Fake Fans
Metal Band Had Army
of Fake Fans
in case you missed it
Nov 17, 2018 10:00 AM CST

Metal Band Had Army of Fake Fans

'The entire history of Threatin is a lie,' opening band says of group on UK tour

(Newser) - The musician known as Jered Threatin definitely gets points for ambition and creativity. But that likely isn't endearing him, nor his heavy metal band Threatin, to venue managers in the UK, where the California group kicked off a tour promising loads of headbangers and delivering—well, in the case...

Jackson Family&#39;s Controversial Patriarch Dead at 89
Joe Jackson Dead at 89
Jun 27, 2018 12:12 PM CDT

Joe Jackson Dead at 89

Joe Jackson launched the Jackson 5 to stardom, but not without controversy

(Newser) - Joe Jackson, the iron-fisted Jackson family patriarch and manager, died Wednesday at age 89 from cancer, reports Billboard and TMZ . The father of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson launched the Jackson 5—which included Michael and brothers Jackie, Marlon, Jermaine, and Tito—in Gary, Ind., in the 1960s. The group...

Pantera Drummer Vinnie Paul Dies at 54
A Heavy Metal
Legend, Gone at 54
OBITUARY
Jun 23, 2018 5:30 AM CDT

A Heavy Metal Legend, Gone at 54

Pantera's Vinnie Paul has died

(Newser) - When Vincent Paul Abbott co-founded his heavy metal band in 1981, he likely didn't know that it would enjoy multi-decade success, earn four Grammy nominations, and have a near-constant place on the Billboard charts. But that's exactly the path Pantera took, which is why fans are devastated to...

It's Chapter 11 for Guitar Maker to the Stars

Les Paul maker Gibson to 'refocus' on musical instruments

(Newser) - It made what VH1 calls "arguably the most famous guitar in rock," the Les Paul Standard cradled by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Now Gibson needs help churning out its guitars also favored by David Bowie and John Lennon . The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday,...

'Conspiracy' Claims Follow Calls for R. Kelly Boycott

Time's Up campaign is 'attempted public lynching,' management says

(Newser) - Ava DuVernay and Shonda Rhimes are among those calling on the music industry to #MuteRKelly over accusations of sexual misconduct "made by women of color and their families for over two decades now." R. Kelly's management team, meanwhile, is claiming a "greedy, conscious, and malicious conspiracy...

Bono Says He Almost Died While Making U2 Album

He's also disappointed in the state of today's 'girly' rock 'n' roll music

(Newser) - What you may know: U2's new album, Songs of Experience, came out in early December. What you may not know: Bono apparently almost died while making it. That's per a new interview with Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner in which the U2 frontman doesn't reveal exactly what...

Canada Just Lost a National Treasure
Canada Just Lost
a National Treasure
OBITUARY
Oct 18, 2017 9:51 AM CDT

Canada Just Lost a National Treasure

Tragically Hip's Gord Downie dead at 53

(Newser) - After he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer , the Tragically Hip's Gord Downie didn't wait for death to take him. He embarked on a sold-out concert tour , released a solo album, raised money for cancer research, and put a spotlight on issues affecting indigenous Canadians, leading to his...

First-Time Rock Hall Nominees Are an Eclectic Group

Radiohead, Nina Simone, Moody Blues, Rage Against the Machine

(Newser) - British rockers Radiohead, singer Nina Simone, and the Moody Blues are among the first-time nominees on the ballot for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nine of the 19 acts nominated Thursday are on the ballot for the first time, with Radiohead and Rage Against...

Remembering the &#39;Psychedelic Strangeness&#39; of Tom Petty
Why Tom Petty's
Death Hurts
So Much
THE RUNDOWN
Oct 3, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

Why Tom Petty's Death Hurts So Much

We've all sung his songs at karaoke and played them on the guitar

(Newser) - Tom Petty died Monday night at UCLA Medical Center at the age of 66 after suffering from cardiac arrest, and the tributes are now pouring in. Thanks to a mixup in the media that led to a premature announcement, the tributes actually began a little early, as he was showered...

Stories 41 - 60 | << Prev   Next >>