The Byrds Look Through Their Back Pages in Stunning New Photo Book (EXCLUSIVE)

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Orlando Wharton has been named executive vice president of Capitol Music Group and president of Priority Records. The announcement was made by CMG chair & CEO Michelle Jubelirer, to whom Wharton will report.  According to the announcement, in his new position, Wharton will sign and guide artists across CMG’s portfolio of labels, and will relaunch the legendary Priority Records label as a dedicated home for new, developing and established hip hop artists.  Wharton will assume his positions at CMG early next year, and will be based at the company’s offices in New York. The announcement closely follows the company’s hiring of Doja Cat co-manager Gordan Dillard as EVP of A&R and artist development.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Metallica have announced that they will perform a special tribute concert on Nov. 6 to honor Jonny and Marsha Zazula, the founders of their original label, Megaforce Records. The group, which will be joined by fellow Megaforce alums Raven, will perform songs from their early career, dating from 1983 and ’84. The concert will take place at the 7,000-capacity Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. — an unusually small venue for the band. The Zazulas, for decades an influential and well-respected power couple on the metal scene, passed away within a year of each other in 2021 and 2022.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor In recent years, artists have created a booming business out of essentially putting their archives on tour — the “David Bowie Is” and “Rolling Stones Exhibitionism” — traveling exhibitions of their wardrobes, instruments and multiple other artifacts from their long careers. Well look out, because here comes “Pavements 1933-2022: A Pavement Museum” — a semi-jokingly titled international museum exhibition from the legendary indie-rock band featuring “previously unseen imagery, artwork and ephemera, commendations and commemorations, alongside rumored relics of the band’s real and imagined history (as well as exclusive merchandise and classic museum souvenirs),” according to the announcement. (The “1933” part is a deep reference to Pavement’s debut EP, “Slay Tracks 1933-1969,” which of course was released in 1989.)

The list of narrators for the audio version of Bob Dylan’s new book has been revealed. Because, after spending twelve years writing his examination of modern songwriting, he’s fucked if he’s going to spend hours in a studio reading it himself.So, instead, the 66 essays that make up ‘The Philosophy Of Modern Song’ will be read aloud by the likes of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Sissy Spacek, John Goodman, Renée Zellweger and Jeff Bridges.Dylan – who won the Nobel Prize For Literature for his own lyrics in 2016 – started work on the book in 2010, giving his own critiques of a wide range of songs and culminating in what publisher Simon & Schuster calls “his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music”.Before you get all excited about getting insight into what Bob Dylan thinks of modern musicians like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran (which I know you were), you should probably know that his definition of ‘modern’ pop music is a bit different to yours.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Days after top YouTube exec Robert Kyncl was named as the next CEO of Warner Music Group, the company revealed in an SEC filing that he will earn approximately $15 million in his first year on the job, depending on performance targets. When Kyncl’s name was first mentioned as a potential successor to outgoing CEO Stephen Cooper, who leaves after 11 years in the role, many wondered whether the job would be sufficiently appealing for the executive who led Netflix from DVDs to streaming and has been YouTube’s business chief for much of his 12 years at the company. However, the SEC filing makes clear that the job is financially appealing: He will receive a base salary of $2 million, a target performance-based bonus of $3 million and an annual grant of performance share units with an aggregate, pre-tax value of $10 million.

Carrie Underwood was a vision in a brand new photo she shared on Saturday - and fans are speechless.MORE: Carrie Underwood's sprawling $3million forever home is so unexpectedTaking to her Instagram feed, the country star shared a sneak peek of her upcoming tour Diamonds and Rhinestones, which kicks off in just three weeks' time. The fabulous snap showed the singer mid-rehearsal.WATCH: Carrie Underwood looks phenomenal in a mini dress for exciting videoCaptioning the photo, the 39-year-old penned: "3 WEEKS AWAY!!! Any guesses on what song I'm rehearsing here? #DenimAndRhinestonesTour."READ: Carrie Underwood steps out in head-turning gown for latest Opry performanceSEE: Carrie Underwood surprises fans with adorable baby video – watchFriends and fans flooded the comments with messages for the star.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Pharoah Sanders, an American jazz saxophonist whose career sprawled across six decades, has died at the age of 81. His death was confirmed to Variety by a representative for his label, Luaka Bop. “We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away,” the label’s statement reads. “He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace.” His soulful playing and leading role in the style often described as spiritual jazz placed him at the edge of the genre’s innovation for many years, initially in bands with such explorers as Sun Ra (who dubbed him “Pharoah”) and John Coltrane and later by leading his own ensembles.

David Muir and Amy Robach share more than just a friendship - they have great style too! The pair looked sensational in a new photo which left their fans almost lost for words. Amy took to Instagram to post the promotional photo with her ABC colleague as they prepared to host the season 45 premiere of 2020. MORE: David Muir shares photo from night out with Kelly Ripa in the most unconventional wayIn the snapshot, David looked as dashing as ever in a grey, fitted suit and crisp, white shirt, with his top two buttons undone. WATCH: Amy Robach receives surprise from David MuirAmy wowed in a figure-flattering, leather mini-dress and heels as they stood back to back in front of a New York City backdrop."Don't miss our season 45 premiere for @abc2020 tonight," she captioned the social media post and her fans couldn't wait to comment. MORE: Who is David Muir's 'cool' older sister Rebecca? - All we knowMORE: Kelly Ripa supported by good friend David Muir as she counts down days until book release"Wow! You are looking fantastic in that dress," wrote one, while another added: "You two are my favorite. Beautiful," and a third commented: "Are you kidding me! You and David and 20/20 are a must see.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor The Temple of Dendur in the Egyptian art wing of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most unique and visually arresting places in a city filled with them, containing the 2,000-year-old Temple itself along with other sculptures and pieces of art, a large reflecting pool and a giant, 25-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling window that extends the entire length of the hall and overlooks Central Park. It also may be the most unique and visually arresting music venue in the city. Over the years the room has hosted concerts by everyone from Interpol to the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, but it’s hard to think of a more fitting artist for such a setting than Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab, who won a Grammy earlier this year for her song “Mohabbat” from her latest album “Vulture Prince,” and was also nominated for Best New Artist.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Compton-based house-music producer-singer Channel Tres has inked a deal that sees him joining RCA Records in partnership with L.A. indie Godmode. The partnership kicks off tonight with the release of the new single “No Limit,” with his debut full-length album “Real Cultural Shit” arriving later this fall. The album will also feature his singles from earlier this year, “Acid in my Blood,” “Ganzfeld Experiment” and “Just Can’t Get Enough.” Channel Tres, who has toured with Robyn, Vince Staples, Disclosure and Toro y Moi and performed at Coachella and New York’s Gov Ball, calls his style of dance music “Compton house”; it meshes the rhythms of Chicago house and Detroit techno with the bite of West Coast rap.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Since the dawn of radio, the United States has been and remains the only major country in the world where terrestrial radio pays no royalties to performers or recorded-music copyright owners of the songs it plays — a situation that is largely due to the powerful radio lobby’s influence in Congress. While the more than 8,300 AM and FM stations across the country pay royalties to songwriters and publishers, they have never paid performers or copyright holders, although streaming services and satellite radio do. On Thursday morning, Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the bipartisan American Music Fairness Act, which aims to rectify that situation by “ensur[ing] artists and music creators receive fair compensation for the use of their songs on AM/FM radio. This legislation will bring corporate radio broadcasters up-to-speed with all other music streaming platforms, which already pay artists for their music.”

Princess Andre looked so grown up in a brand new photo she shared on Wednesday alongside her mother Katie Price.MORE: Princess Andre stuns in navy blue bridesmaid dress at Katie Price's younger sister's weddingThe 15-year-old took to her Instagram feed with the sweet snap which saw her pose with her doting mother and her aunt Sophie. The mother-daughter duo look so alike in the black and white picture - they could pass for twins!WATCH: Peter Andre's daughter Princess heads back to schoolCaptioning the photo, Princess simply penned a red love heart emoji.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor As it did with Taylor Swift earlier this year, New York University’s Clive Davis Institute has introduced a course on Lana Del Rey for this fall. Taught by journalist and author Kathy Iandoli, the two-credit course, “Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey” runs Oct. 20-Dec. 8. According to an NYU rep, the course will examine Del Rey’s contributions to 21st Century pop stardom, her relationship to feminism, her musical influences and artists she has influenced, and her connection to social justice movements such as  #BlackLlivesMatter, #MeToo and #TimesUp. Del Rey was honored with the Decade Award at Variety‘s Hitmakers event in December.

US President Joe Biden has taken a swipe at Liz Truss's economic plan ahead of their meeting in New York at the United Nations tomorrow.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Def Jam Recordings has entered into an exclusive worldwide joint venture partnership agreement with the Lagos, Nigeria and UK-based Native Records. The announcement was made by Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun and Seni “Chubbz” Saraki and Teni “Teezee” Zaccheaus, co-presidents and co-founders of Native Networks. Native Records is the music division of Native Networks, a black-owned and operated, multi-platform, multi-disciplinary media and content company “dedicated to the discovery and development of young African artists and youth culture” via its Native print and digital magazine, its Nativeland festivals and more, according to the announcement. Founded in 2016 by Saraki and Zaccheaus with Shola Fagbemi, Addy Edgal and Suleiman Shittu, the label has been a driving force in the Afrobeats movement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Considering their short lifespan and relatively slim discography, the Velvet Underground may be the most thoroughly excavated and documented rock band of their era: Nearly every studio and concert recording, acetate and demo has been scrutinized, digitized and optimized for the many awesome boxed sets that have been released since the world caught up with the group’s brilliance in the 1980s, a dozen-odd years after they split up. The foundation of that brilliance, of course, is Lou Reed’s songwriting, which combines a novelist’s gritty realism with equally confrontational rock music, but also includes soft, vulnerable songs like “Pale Blue Eyes” and “I’ll Be Your Mirror” — songs that are all the more poignant because you can sense, somehow, that the sensitive soul who wrote them isalso kind of an asshole.

The Beatles is currently involved in an ongoing silent auction all in the name of charity. This month, The Art of Music event is taking place in London - and globally, online - where a collection of unique pieces are being auctioned off online for Teenage Cancer Trust. One of the prized pieces is a photo taken by Paul McCartney's wife of The Beatles on the steps of the iconic recording studio Abbey Road.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Rina Sawayama is one of a handful of artists who released an album just as the pandemic was beginning and watched, astonished, as their stars rose during lockdown. The Japanese-British singer’s debut, “Sawayama,” was a wild fusion of Lady Gaga with nu-metal guitars, but also showed a penchant for sentimental ballads amid the power chords and intensity. The album won a co-sign from none other than Elton John, and its videos got her cast in the fourth installment of Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” series, due in March. In fact, Elton was one of many people who spoke out against Sawayama’s exclusion from eligibility for England’s BRIT and Mercury awards because she isn’t a U.K. citizen, even though she’s lived in England since the age of 5. After #SawayamaIsBritish became a trending topic on Twitter, the British Phonographic Industry changed the eligibility rules to include anyone who lived in the country for at least five years, including her.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor YouTube, the world’s largest streaming platform for music, announced that it has paid more than $6 billion to the music industry in the 12 months between July 2021 and June 2022 — some $2 billion more than it said it paid in the previous 12 months. Like last year, the announcement comes in the form of a blog post from the platform’s head of music, Lyor Cohen. While short on specifics, the post does outline some of the contributing factors. “We want our twin engine of ads and subscriptions to be the #1 contributor of revenue to the industry by 2025,” Cohen wrote. “That’s why YouTube is monetizing all music formats (short & long form video, audio tracks, Live, etc.), on all platforms (desktop, tablet, mobile, and TV), in over 100 countries. And overall watch time of music content on YouTube across desktop, tablet, mobile, and TV continues to grow year over year.”