Independent Artist Group Signs ‘Ironheart’s Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Taylor Swift‘s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” has returned to the top spot on the Billboard 200, as Nicki Minaj‘s “Pink Friday 2” drops to No. 2 in its second week out. The Swift release is spending its fourth non-consecutive week at No.

Metallica are among investors in a $13.7million (£10.8million) funding round for the new artist-to-fan platform Medallion.The heavy metal veterans supported the platform – which allows artists to have a dedicated hub for releases, concerts, merchandise and more – for its Series A round.The round, co-led by Dragonfly and Lightspeed Faction, was secured with the support of Metallica’s Black Squirrel Partners alongside fellow musicians like Guy Lawrence of Disclosure, Jungle, Tiga and more. Various other tech investors included Coinbase Ventures, Infinite Capital and J17.Other music industry investors include Bill Silva Entertainment, Foundations Artist Management, Mt Joy, Method and TAG Music.Medallion, which launched in 2022, enables artists to cultivate a community-focused digital environment that allows for better fan engagement.As we continue to build the best direct-to-fan platform for music artists, we are thrilled to announce our $13.7 million Series A financing, led by @dragonfly_xyz and @lightspeedvp @FactionVC.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What a funny way of saying hello — by saying “Good Riddance.” But as Gracie Abrams happened to be saying goodbye to certain things in her life in the album of that name, she was also introducing herself to much of the general public. Although the now-24-year-old singer-songwriter had released EPs on Interscope going back to 2021 and singles as far back as 2019, “Good Riddance” marked her first full-length album, and the first release where she really found her own voice, with some help from producer/co-writer Aaron Dessner.

EXCLUSIVE: Yasmina El-Abd has signed with David Unger’s Artist International Group (AIG) for U.S. representation.

The Oscar-contending documentary Anselm marks an encounter between two of the world’s great artists – one renowned for cinema, the other for painting, installations, and sculpture.

NewJeans and Lim Young-woong taking home the most awards – view the full list of winners below.On December 14, the Asia Artist Awards held its 2023 awards ceremony at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, the Philippines. It selects winners in several categories that cover music, television and film based on data gathered from several East and Southeast Asian countries, Argentina, Mexico and Europe.The show was hosted by Kang Daniel, IVE’s Jang Won-young and ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Han-bin, and featured performances from several K-pop artists throughout the night.

EXCLUSIVE: Activist Artists Management has brought on Grant Pennel as a Talent Manager, also signing Moustapha Fall, the Senegalese actor who earned praise for his debut performance in Matteo Garrone’s Golden Globe-nominated Io Capitano.

Beyoncé has been CALLED OUT!

Thania Garcia It’s the end of the year and Vevo has crunched the numbers to find out which music videos and artists saw the highest viewership on the platform. After releasing multiple albums, touring the world with record-breaking numbers and launching a concert film, Taylor Swift was named Vevo’s “Most Watched Artist” in the United States with nearly 650 million views in 2023. According to the music video network, during the “Eras Tour,” Swifties across the country tuned in to view Swift’s content on Vevo — this includes videos for “All Too Well: The Short Film” (+333% lift in U.S.

wrote Monday alongside several photos of his and Beyonce’s visuals. In one of the photos, the “Break My Soul” singer, 42, can be seen wearing a chrome — which later became the tour’s unofficial dress code — headpiece with what looks to be wires sticking out from the side.It is currently unclear if Sorayama is pursuing any legal action against the “Halo” songstress.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Kanye West waits on no one. Fans experienced this firsthand at the world premiere of “Vultures,” his long-awaited collaborative album with Ty Dolla Sign under the name ¥$.

EXCLUSIVE: Artists First has signed Latin-American superstar Rodolfo Salas for representation across all areas.

EXCLUSIVE: Kimiko Glenn, the actress best known for her award-winning work on Netflix’s acclaimed series Orange Is the New Black, has signed with Artists First for management.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve been treated to several George Michael-focused features; from the posthumous Michael co-directed George Michael: Freedom Uncut to this year’s Netflix Wham! documentary. Here’s another chronicle of the pop icon from director Simon Napier-Bell who manages to peel away the gloss and offer a different angle.George Michael: Portrait of an Artist starts at the beginning: the Wham! years, where two school friends met and formed what would become one of the biggest bands of their time.

EXCLUSIVE: Tubi has acquired North American rights to Spanish and English-language thriller Upon Entry from French sales firm Charades and Anonymous Content Independent.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Desi Lydic, who has gained notice during her recent tenure as one of the correspondents at Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” has signed with Artists First, the talent-management firm known for its stable of comic actors. Lydic joined “The Daily Show” as a correspondent in September 2015, just as Trevor Noah started his tenure as host.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia” will kick off the winter season of PBS documentary series “Independent Lens” on Jan. 9. Using hidden camera footage, the 115-minute doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un.

The full list of nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards has been announced!

The Gotham Awards, the New York wing of the indie film world, has already handed out its year-end honors and now it’s time for the West Coast to have their say. Bright and early this morning, Film Independent revealed the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards nominees, and, no surprise, Celine Song’s “Past Lives” was at the top of the list with five nominations.

In what is an annual tradition, A24 led all nominations at this morning’s 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations with 11 nods while their movie Past Lives, along with Netflix’s May December and Amazon MGM’s American Fiction all tied for the most nominations with five apiece.