Jem Aswad-Senior Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSteve Cooper, CEO of Warner Music Group for the past 11 years, will step down next year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that was confirmed to Variety by a rep for the company.The transition will be a gradual one, the rep emphasized, as the company seeks a suitable successor.Warner is the third-largest major music group, after Universal and Sony, and Cooper has run it with a firm, calm and non-flamboyant hand through the first decade of the streaming era and as it went public for a second time in the early months of the pandemic in 2020. The company earnings were declining at the time of his arrival and he not only reversed that trend but doubled its revenue and embraced new technologies and business opportunities.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCity of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States and a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, announced that its Music, Film and Entertainment Industry group’s 2022 Spirit of Life Gala will feature a performance by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson.The gala will take place Oct. 27, 2022, at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles — the first after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a significant development in the battle over streaming royalties, veteran electronic musician Four Tet has settled his dispute with U.K.-based Domino Recordings and will receive an unusually high 50% royalty rate for streaming and downloads on songs covered in a 2001 contract, according to a report in Music Week. The musician, whose real name is Kieron Hebden, also has been reimbursed for an underpayment of £56,921, plus interest.While the terms of the deal have been publicly disclosed, the fact that it was settled out of court means that it cannot be cited as a judgement in other cases.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEpix has announced an upcoming four-part docuseries titled “My Life as a Rolling Stone.” Tied to the band’s 60th anniversary, each episode will focus one of the band’s four core members (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and the late Charlie Watts). The series premieres on August 7.“My Life as a Rolling Stone” is directed by Oliver Murray (who helmed “The Quiet One” the recent documentary on longtime Stones bassist Bill Wyman) and Clare Tavernor (“Keith Richards: A Culture Show Special”), and executive produced by Steve Condie, senior VP of content at Mercury Studios.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia,” a symphonic work by composer Him Sophy and the first major such piece to address the Khmer Rouge genocide in the country, recently was released on Entertain Impact label.Sophy, himself a Khmer Rouge survivor, places the musical ritual of a Bangsokol – a traditional Khmer ceremony that accompanies Cambodian Buddhist funeral rites – within the form of a Western requiem.“When I composed the requiem,” Sophy says, “I relived the feelings I had during the Khmer Rouge times. It was Hell on Earth.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBeyonce just can’t make it easy: Just hours after she’d announced that “Break My Soul,” the first single from her forthcoming seventh solo studio album “Renaissance,” would be dropping tonight at midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT, it emerged on Tidal — yes, the streaming service co-owned by her husband, Jay-Z —three hours early.All of that noise notwithstanding, it’s the Beyonce jam fans have been waiting for: A driving dance track co-produced by the “Single Ladies” team of Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, with a plinking, insistent hook, a hot beat and a near-unintelligible, dancehall-like voice dropping in and out of the mix.“Release your anger/ Release your mind/ Release the time… Release the stress/ Forget the rest,” the voice intones.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLincoln Center has announced a musical tribute to Greg Tate, a veteran music writer and musician and a ‘godfather of hip-hop journalism’ who died in December at 64.The performance will feature more than 30 members of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, the group that Tate founded (head here for more information). “For this homecoming concert, curated and presented with The Tate Family at one of his favorite venues, more than thirty BSAC members will perform in celebration and tribute to one of the most essential voices in the history of 21st Century Avant Groidd music and thought,” the announcement reads.Titled
“More Than Posthuman: Rise of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra Mojosexual Cotillion”
An “Oh the Utter Negrocity of It All,” the tribute is one of three in Tate’s honor being held this summer: one last week at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and another, also featuring Burnt Sugar, on August 20 at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem as part of New York’s SummerStage concert series.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGabriella Sarmiento Wilson, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter known as H.E.R., is suing MBK Entertainment, the record label owned by her longtime manager Jeff Robinson, for the rights to her music catalog. H.E.R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBeyonce will drop “Break My Soul,” the first single from her forthcoming seventh solo studio album “Renaissance,” tonight at midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT, the singer announced on social media Monday morning.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe music industry’s return to whatever passes for normal these days has been hit and miss, to put it mildly: Grammy Week, Coachella, and the first publishers’ week in three years have seen an uneven balance of caution and carelessness — some events have a relatively high percentage of masks and distancing, some have hardly any at all, and at each one you hear tales of how severe someone’s bout with Covid was or wasn’t, and that someone else couldn’t make it because they suddenly tested positive.The “publishers week” we’re referring to is the usual combination of A2IM’s Indie Week conference, the National Music Publishers Association’s annual meeting, and the closer, the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which is one of the most unique and memorable awards shows in the business — which is a parallel event to the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala in that it’s invite-only and features a number of once-in-a-lifetime performances. Not only is it the annual family reunion for the songwriting an publishing industry, over the years we’ve seen performances from  Neil Diamond, Drake, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Van Morrison, Cyndi Lauper, John Prine, Leon Russell, Elvis Costello and dozens of others, along with several completely unique homages: Lady Gaga singing Four Non-Blondes’ hit “What’s Up” to Linda Perry; Stevie Nicks belting “The Rose” to Bette Midler; Emmylou Harris performing Eric Clapton’s heartbreaking hit “Tears in Heaven” for the song’s co-writer Will Jennings; and one year, the evening ended with Billy Joel and Garth Brooks duetting at the piano in matching Stetson hats.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy Awards are one thing, but being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame is another matter — the inductees are decided by a relatively small group of songwriting and music-publishing peers and celebrated at an invite-only event, and it’s a tough crowd.It’s a sadly common assumption that female pop stars don’t write their own songs — even Taylor Swift, one of the greatest and most distinctive songwriters of the past 25 years, is often greeted with skepticism. So for Mariah Carey — who was mocked in a widely shared meme when she made a statement beginning with the words “As a songwriter” — to be inducted is a big deal.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJapanese Breakfast, Wet Leg and Madlib were among the top winners at the Libera Awards on Thursday night, the American Association of Independent Music’s annual awards ceremony.The event returned in a hybrid setting, with people from the indie community gathering at New York’s Webster Hall to receive awards, catch a DJ set from Madlib (featuring a freestyle from Talib Kweli) and live sets from Sammy Rae & the Friends and others, while concurrently a livestream of performances from Japanese Breakfast, Brittany Howard, Jason Isbell, Helado Negro and Cautious Clay was played in a separate room at the venue. Also performing live at the event were Tré Burt, Canadian Brass and Adrian Daniel.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThere’s no question: As challenging as the music industry can be for men, it’s twice as tough for women.That was one of the many takeaways from a panel discussion involving Grammy-winning songwriter Autumn Rowe (Jon Batiste’s “We Are,” Dua Lipa, Ava Max) and top music publishers Jody Gerson (chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing), Golnar Khosrowshahi (founder/president of Reservoir) and Carianne Marshall (co-chair/COO of Warner Chappell Music) at a panel discussion during the National Music Publishers Association’s annual meeting on Wednesday.While the four all had different paths to the roles they’re in today, they all faced similar challenges and obstacles, namely sexism, a lack of allies, achieving a work-life balance, and most ominously of all, dangerous situations. Rowe (pictured above, second from left), who said that she worked as a songwriter for 12 years before she got a significant paycheck — a sadly common situation — also said that she has encountered multiple writing sessions that were “unsafe.” When moderator, Danielle Aguirre, NMPA EVP and general counsel, asked if she would feel safer with even just one more woman in the room, Rowe said she would.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRayna Bass and Selim Bouab have been promoted to co-presidents of 300 Entertainment, it was announced Thursday by co-founder and chairman/CEO Kevin Liles. Bass and Bouab, who both joined 300 in 2014, were most recently the company’s senior VP of marketing and senior VP/head of A&R, respectively.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThere’s little question that David Bowie’s rise to superstardom in 1972 was a carefully calculated campaign, involving an unforgettable, otherworldly image, a strategically timed public announcement of his bisexuality, a rapid-fire series of tour dates and television appearances, no small amount of business and P.R. savvy — and most importantly, one of the greatest albums in rock history.“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars,” released in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe late, legendary BBC DJ John Peel had a one-of-a-kind music collection, and the items from it that were auctioned off by Bonhams in London on Tuesday brought in more than $566,000.Surprisingly, the Sex Pistols led the charge, with a test pressing of the group’s controversial debut single, “Anarchy in the U.K.,” going for just under $25,000 (£20,400). It had been estimated pre-auction to go for not more than £8000.Other top-priced albums from the collection — which is a music geek’s dream — included an original 1983 demo cassette recorded from the Smiths in 1983 with a handwritten letter from the band (£17,850), an autographed copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s controversial “Two Virgins” album (£15,300), a copy of Queen’s 1973 sophomore album with a personal letter from Freddie Mercury (£16,575), a copy of U2’s rare 1979 “Three” EP with a note written on it by Bono (£14,025), a copy of the rarest known Rolling Stones album signed by all five bandmembers in 1969 (£11,475), a copy of the Beatles’ white album signed by Lennon and Ono (£10,200) and Nirvana’s 1988 debut single “Love Buzz” (£8,925).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Grammys might be the most well-known music awards show in the world, but the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s ceremony is arguably the most unique. The invite-only event, being held June 16 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, and its awards honor the most important and yet most frequently overlooked people in the music business — the songwriter, duh — and it resembles a cross between the Grammys and an annual family reunion for the tight-knit songwriting and music-publishing community.At each ceremony, superstars receiving honors frequently tell the room that the accolade means more to them than any other award they’ve received, because it’s an endorsement and a validation from their peers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFoo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins’ family have announced the first round of performers for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert scheduled to take place in London in September.Performers include a mix of the late drummer’s friends and influences: Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, Oasis’ Liam Gallagher, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, Supergrass and Mark Ronson are on the bill, with comedian Dave Chappelle billed as a special guest.Also on the bill are Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Omar Hakim, Rufus Taylor (a Queen touring member), Wolfgang Van Halen, and Hawkins’ cover band Chevy Metal. The shows will benefit charities to be announced later, according to the band.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSeven-time Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson will give an in-depth master class on music production in a forthcoming BBC Maestro series, demonstrating in detail how he works as a producer, beat maker, musician, songwriter and collaborator. Ronson’s long resume includes classic albums with such legendary artists as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Adele, Bruno Mars (including the smash “Uptown Funk”), Paul McCartney, Lily Allen, Duran Duran and many others.The series, which launches on July 5, features 18 online lessons — with individual sub-chapters — wherein Ronson educates beginners on how to tackle songwriting, recording, production as well as advice on how to successfully collaborate with other musicians to create genre defying and timeless music.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment has named Vanessa Picken to the role of chair and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand. Reporting to Sony Music Group Chairman Rob Stringer, she will begin her new role in September.Based in Sydney, Picken will oversee all operations, artist signings, marketing, and business partnerships for the company, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky and Future will headline the Rolling Loud New York festival, taking place at Citi Field in Queens on the weekend of Sept. 23-25.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter a three-year hiatus, the Brooklyn edition of the Afropunk festival will return this fall, taking place over the weekend of September 10-11 at its traditional location of Commodore Barry Park in the New York City borough’s Fort Greene neighborhood.The lineup, announced Tuesday, (June 14th) includes  the Roots, Lucky Daye,m= Tierra Whack, Burna Boy, Freddie Gibbs, Isaiah Rashad, Earl Sweatshirt, Bartees Strange, Adekunle Gold, Fana Hues, Pink Siifu, Butcher Brown, Alex Mali, Mick Jenkins, and others.The festival is divided into two stages: the “Brooklyn Baby” stage and the “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” stage.See the full lineup below.The Afropunk franchise continues to expand, holding its first-ever Midwestern event this weekend at Minneapolis’ Sheridan Memorial Park. Titled Planet Afropunk Live: Minneapolis, the lineup will include Ari Lennox, Noname, and Mereba just to name a few performers who will make an appearance on both days.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEven as reports from Wall Street grow dark amid worries of a recession, Goldman Sachs predicts a booming decade for the music industry, with total music revenue to double to about $131 billion by 2030. The company’s annual “Music in the Air” forecast predicts that a combination of global streaming growth, emerging platforms like TikTok, the revival of the live music market and the ongoing strength of vinyl sales will drive the recorded music industry revenues to $52.3 billion by 2030, a $7.5 billion boost over last year’s prediction and more than double last year’s IFPI revenues of just under $26 billion.It is bullish on publishing as well, predicting that revenues will rise to $11.6 billion in 2030, up a cool billion from last year’s prediction for the year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSteve Keene, whose artwork is nearly synonymous with indie-rock via his work with Pavement, Apples in Stereo, Bonnie Prince Billie and others, will release the first-ever published book of his art, titled, naturally enough, “The Steve Keene Art Book (#SKartBook),” out today (June 14) via Hat & Beard and Tractor Beam. The release follows a successful Kickstarter campaign with over 600 backers.His artwork was also briefly featured in the Hulu series “High Fidelity,” starring Zoe Kravitz, on the walls of the apartment of an indie-rock-loving character.Fittingly, the book is nearly the same size as a vinyl album.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWME has signed Puerto Rican reggaetón and Latin trap singer-songwriter Ozuna in all areas. All four of his albums have topped the Billboard Latin Albums chart, as did a collaborative album with Anuel AA, “Los Dioses”; he is currently at work on his fifth solo full-length.“I am excited to collaborate with many of the top agents at WME to further connect with my incredible fans in inventive ways and continue to bring my culture to the masses,” Ozuna says. “As an artist, I want to expand my brand and develop new and exciting opportunities together in all aspects of entertainment.”Ozuna kicked off 2022 with “Santo,” a collaboration with Christina Aguilera, and followed with the singles “Deprimida,” “G-Wagon” and “Apretaito”; his latest “Ceremonia,” dropped on Fridayand appears in the upcoming HBO Max remake of “Father of the Bride.” His previous studio albums have all received multi-platinum certifications from the RIAA: “Odisea” 16 times platinum, “Aura” 12 times, “Enoc” six times, and “Nibiru” four times.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLevel, the publication for Black men launched on Medium three years ago, has migrated to its own website, Levelman.com, with Medium founder/CEO Ev Williams serving as the lead investor.The initial launch content, according to EIC John Kennedy, includes rapper Jim Jones on being an NFT early adopter and his two-decade career; comedy writer Carlos Greaves compiles the 55 biggest, Blackest dad jokes you’ve never heard; and the return of the popular Level column “The Only Black Guy in the Office,” sharing one man’s snarky accounts of being corporate while Black. There is also an essay from author/ culture critic Michael Arceneaux about the problematic legacy of the recently deceased, controversial relationship guru Kevin Samuels.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust three days after he replaced Migos on the lineup for New York’s Governors Ball this weekend — and just hours before he was due to perform — Lil Wayne has pulled out due to “flight disruption” and been replaced on the bill by A$AP Ferg (who prefers to be known as just Ferg), the festival announced late Friday afternoon.Due to flight disruptions, Lil Wayne will no longer be performing this evening.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJustin Bieber took to Instagram on Friday to explain the “pretty serious virus” that has paralyzed half of his face and caused the cancelation of shows in Toronto and D.C. earlier this week. In a two-and-a-half-minute post, he explained and demonstrated that he is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare virus that affects nerves in the face and can cause facial paralysis.As if to prove the vercity of his condition, he shows quite clearly in the video: “As you can see, this eye is not blinking.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor those who don’t know, the late, legendary, longtime BBC Radio DJ John Peel was one of the most influential and important people in British music from the 1960s through his death in 2004.He arose in the mid-1960s as the BBC was forced to modernize its programming, and for the next four decades, he played a vital and arguably peerless role in just about every wave of contemporary music, from psychedelia through punk and Britpop and electronic music. His incredible taste is reflected in the list of artists whose careers he supercharged with his many radio shows and “Peel Sessions,” from Pink Floyd through Rod Stewart, T.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThursday morning’s announcement of several new Grammy Awards, particularly the long-overdue Songwriter of the Year honor, has already gotten a strong response from the music community. It also reflects an Academy that has been increasingly and more immediately responsive to calls from the community — while the Songwriter of the Year has been a glaring and baffling omission in the half-century-plus since the Grammys began, calls for it have increased in recent years.