Live music industry figures criticise government’s U-turn on festival drug testing

The Scottish Government is calling for the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal supply.

Thania Garcia Spirit Music Group has signed Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Autumn Rowe to a worldwide publishing administration deal that encompasses a select catalog as well as a go-forward publishing deal. Rowe’s songwriting real estate includes co-writing credits on Jon Batiste’s “We Are,” which was nominated as record of the year and won in the album of the year category at the 2022 Grammys. She’s also worked alongside such celebrated acts as Dua Lipa, Pitbull, Diana Ross, Zendaya, Ava Max, FKA Twigs and Leona Lewis. Rowe is also a prominent figure in the fight for songwriters’ rights, serving as a member of the Songwriters of North America (SONA) board. She also co-founded and became co-director of the Songwriter Fund, a nonprofit enterprise that has raised and distributed more than $500,000 in an effort to support songwriters affected by COVID.

Parklife festival, has written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman protesting the government’s U-turn on drug testing.Lord has been urging Braverman to allow on-site testing in “pop-up labs” to go ahead claiming that festivals had been doing this for at least 10 years until last month when the government told him a license would be needed for the first time.Drug-checking allows illegal substances to be tested and provide notifications if any are found to be dangerous.Many larger festivals tend to use private companies for their drug checking but smaller and independent festivals usually link up with the charity The Loop, whose volunteers have been able to test at events without a licence due to agreements with local police and councils.The Loop were recently informed that they had to apply for a licence 48 hours before they were set to begin drug testing at Parklife festival. It can take up to 16 weeks to be approved for a licence.Due to this, the charity were not able to provide the service at this years festival making it the first time in 10 years that drug checking was not available.Both Lord and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) have instructed their legal teams to request for a judicial review in response to the Home Office’s actions.

propelled to fame and fortune as one-fourth of Culture Club in 1982, has released chart-topping hits such as “Karma Chameleon,” “Time,” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”However, before reaching eye-popping levels of global stardom, the British singer — who is set to embark on a 25-city North America tour with the group next month — recalled when he was told that his music would never see the light of day on US radio because of his sexuality.“I use the word ‘he’ and have done so for many years,” the 62-year-old told The Post. “In fact, when I was doing ‘Cheapness and Beauty’ I was told emphatically in America that I would never get played on radio because the songs used the word ‘he,’ ” he added, referring to his hit 1995 studio album.‘If you are gay and you keep it light, you can be camp on the surface and jump around in costumes but don’t talk about anything serious.

EXCLUSIVE: Music Box Films has picked up U.S. rights to director Richie Adams’ well-reviewed drama The Road Dance, starring Hermione Corfield.

Just over a year after she tied the knot, Pixie Lott has revealed that she and husband Oliver Cheshire are expecting their first child together.The 32 year old singer, who recently debuted her huge hair transformation on Instagram, announced that she is expecting her first child with husband Oliver in a personal essay for British Vogue. Writing for the publication, the Mama Do singer and The Voice Kids coach revealed that she’d passed the 28-week mark at the beginning of the month - shortly before she and 35 year old Oliver celebrated their first wedding anniversary together on 6 June.

Thania Garcia Interscope Geffen A&M Records has partnered with Mogul Vision, the label founded by manager and music industry exec Josh Marshall. Marshall has helped foster the careers of KennyHoopla, who is currently on tour with Blink 182, Lil Mosey and d4vd, who has had a breakout year following the success of his global hits “Romantic Homicide” and “Hear With Me.” “Over the last few years, we’ve worked closely with Josh on a number of successful projects,” said Nicole Wyskoarko, executive vice president/co-head of A&R at Interscope. “He has an amazing ability to identify new artists across a number of genres and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with him via this new deal.”

Elton John, Rina Sawayama, Rick Astley and more have spiked after their performances at Glastonbury this weekend.According to a new Spotify round-up of this year’s Glastonbury tracks and artists that was shared with NME, streams of John’s songs increased 294 per cent in the UK in the hour after his career-spanning headline set on the Pyramid Stage yesterday (June 25).Gun N’ Roses‘ opening track of their headline set on the Pyramid stage on Saturday (June 24), ‘It’s So Easy’, saw a 300 per cent increase in streams in the UK on Sunday.Meanwhile, Friday (June 23) headliners Arctic Monkeys, were identified as the artists with the most tracks on user-generated Glastonbury playlists.Rick Astley’s debut Glastonbury performance was also followed by a 294 per cent spike in steams of his song ‘Dance’ in the UK.

The Hollywood Reporter that LaBelle was blocked from seeing the prompter.“It was an extraordinary privilege to celebrate the life and legacy of Ms. Tina Turner at BET Awards 2023.

Sophia Scorziello editor Timbaland, Big Daddy Kane and other music industry icons came together at this year’s ASCAP Experience in Los Angeles to share advice for making headway in the music business and inspire songwriters and composers to continue channeling passion into their work. A much-anticipated session of the day was the “Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop” panel with Big Daddy Kane and Easy Mo Bee, moderated by Datwon Thomas, editor of Vibe. The industry icons talked Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, and reflected on the history of hip-hop and its longstanding impact on culture. Renowned producer Timbaland was the keynote speaker. The “Supa Dupa Fly” producer was interviewed by Ray Daniels, CEO of Raydar, to talk about Timbaland’s over two decades of work producing in R&B, hip-hop and pop. Throughout his career, Timbaland has produced for artists like Aaliyah, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Rihanna, Brandy and Ludacris.

Nat Wolff is opening up about some wild run-ins with Jake T. Austin…

Disney was the final studio to present here at CineEurope in Barcelona, highlighting 17 upcoming films and bringing A Haunting in Venice star/director Kenneth Branagh to town, as well as a live performance of “This Wish” from animated adventure Wish which releases in November.

Reality star Amber Turner, who is currently enjoying a lavish holiday in the United Arab Emirates, took to Instagram to show off her impressive abs as fans commented “Dan who?” following her recent split from Dan Edgar. Amber, 29, looked nothing short of stunning as she posed poolside whilst on holiday in Dubai.The sun and sea certainly looked good on the star as she showed off her tan and washboard abs in a neutral-coloured bikini with a stylish white crochet maxi-skirt and shirt over the top. She stylishly paired the outfit with some Louis Vuitton sandals and a Louis Vuitton bag paired with oversized sunglasses.

Thania Garcia Niall Horan has signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). This follows the release of Horan’s third album “The Show,” which earned the former One Direction member his second UK No. 1 single as a solo artist. “It’s my absolute pleasure to sign with UMPG,” shared Horan in a statement. “I have known Mike [McCormack, UMPG UK managing director] personally for many years and I’m so happy that I get to work with a man who firstly genuinely cares about artistry and the art of writing a song, and secondly knows the world of publishing like no other. To have met the great Jody Gerson who I’ve known of throughout my career as being a badass publisher and when I felt the love from her and Mike, I wasn’t going anywhere else, to be honest.”

Raquel Leviss really did THAT!

Just in time for the glorious summer heatwave in the UK, Sophie Turner has ditched her dark red hair for a golden blonde hue.The 27-year-old actress rose to fame with her trademark auburn locks as Sansa Stark on HBO's fantasy TV series, Game of Thrones, but it seems Sophie is looking to have more fun. Sharing the exciting hair update with her 14.4 million Instagram followers, Sophie uploaded a carousel of photographs where she flaunted gorgeous blonde locks.

Thania Garcia Elf.Tech, Grimes’ newly minted AI program, has partnered with TuneCore to let artists distribute collaborations created through Grimes’ Elf.Tech AI to all major streaming platforms. The pilot program will allow artists to employ Elf.Tech, created by Grimes in partnership with CreateSafe, to co-create music with her AI voice and split 50% split of the revenue with her. The “GrimesAI voiceprints” can be exported and included in the creator’s original compositions, then uploaded to TuneCore with GrimesAI as a main or featured artist once Grimes has approved the collaboration. TuneCore will be responsible for surveying the content to ensure it adheres to DSP guidelines, validate accurate royalty splits and ultimately distribute the music to streaming platforms around the world. The initiative is part of Believe’s (TuneCore’s parent company) AI strategy.

A new dive bar along Stockport’s Old Town cobbled backstreet will boast liquor, draught beer, cocktails and live music.

In the realm of popular music, statistics can reveal the truth behind the glitz and glamour. USC Annenberg’s Inclusion in the Recording Studio study, provides an insightful examination into the lack of women present in the music industry across various sections including engineering, songwriting, producers, spanning from 2012 to 2019. Across 800 popular songs, the study shines a spotlight on an industry that has been predominantly white and male.

Thania Garcia Mathew Knowles and Emmy-nominated executive producer Tamra Simmons (“Surviving R. Kelly” and “Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies”) have joined forces to launch a new media company called Music World TV, Film & Media. Knowles will serve as CEO and Simmons as president, while executives Jasmine Murray and Krystal Rascoe join as head of development and business liaison (respectively). “I can’t wait to see what this next generation of women can accomplish,” said Knowles, whose long and storied career as a music manager has included developing acts like Destiny’s Child and daughters Solange and Beyoncé. “I’m excited for this new journey. I’ve always believed in giving back and what greater gift can you give than the gift of knowledge.”