Warner Music Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Warner Music has signed Italian drill rapper Rondodasosa, who recently appeared on Central Cee’s pan-European collaboration ‘Eurovision’.Confirming the deal, Warner Music Italy CEO Marco Alboni says: “It’s great to welcome Rondodasosa to the Warner Music family. He is a stand out talent who has already built a huge following and I know we can help him take his career to the next level. Artists can’t wait to work with him and we’re already talking about some super exciting projects”.That following has been built via tracks like ‘Free Samy’, ‘Slatt’ and Vale Pain collaboration ‘Louboutin’ – as well as that tie up with Central Cee.Rondodasosa says about his Warner deal: “I’m really happy to sign with Warner Music.

A new album from Selena Quintanilla will be released in April via Warner Music, the musician's father Abraham Quintanilla said during a recent Facebook Live interview with Latin Groove News. The as-yet-untitled project will feature 13 ballads and cumbias, 10 of which have never been previously released; the other three songs will be updated with new arrangements crafted by Selena's brother, A.B.

APPOINTMENTSTom March has been named President of Geffen Records, which was relaunched within Universal Music’s Interscope division in the US two years ago. The appointment sees March move over from the major’s UK business and its Polydor label.

Dua Lipa is facing legal action from the Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System, who claim that her hit 2020 single ‘Levitating’ copied their 2017 song ‘Live Your Life’As reported by TMZ, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Federal court accuses Lipa and her label Warner of copyright infringement. The band are reportedly asking for any profits made from ‘Levitating’, plus damages.Although the suit contains little detail about how or why she allegedly copied them, it said the two tracks were so similar that it is “highly unlikely that ‘Levitating’ was created independently.”The case does not explain why the band believes Lipa stole their song, but claims that she had “access” to ‘Live Your Life’.Representatives for Lipa, Warner Music, and Artikal Sound System did not respond to requests for comment.

Glamour: So you really never get tired of “We Are Family”?Debbie Sledge: Oh my goodness, no. The longevity of that song, it's still going. It touches all generations.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKevin Liles is a name that people in the music industry have been hearing for more than 30 years, for an impressive variety of reasons. He was a top executive at Def Jam and Warner Music, he managed Mariah Carey, D’Angelo and Trey Songz, and he was even a recording artist who had one of his songs covered by Milli Vanilli, of all people, on their multi-multi-platinum 1990 debut album.But he got his biggest look yet in January, when the company he co-founded, 300 Entertainment, was acquired by Warner Music for a reported $400 million.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has been enjoying a sun-soaked family getaway to Jamaica with her fiancé Andre Gray and their baby twins.The Little Mix star, 30, recently jetted off with her adorable family, and has been busy documenting the trip over on Instagram. Leigh-Anne, who has reportedly signed a record deal with Warner Music, and her footballer beau Andre, 30, welcomed baby twins back in 2021, and have now taken them on what appears to be their first holiday abroad. The mum of two has shared a collection of gorgeous snaps, including several shots showing off her incredible figure while soaking up the sun.

Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock has gone solo after signing a new record deal with Warner Music, according to reports.

Sam Pollard, the Peabody winning director of “Mr. Soul!” and “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I Gotta Be Me,” has set another documentary feature called “The Sound of Philadelphia” about music icons Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell and the musical genre they helped proliferate, Philly Soul.

DEALSHarbourView Equity Partners has acquired the publishing catalogue of Luis Fonsi. “This remarkable acquisition grounds us firmly in our mission to support creators and maximise value for all and is a fantastic addition to our existing portfolio of iconic intellectual property”, says founder Sherrese Clarke Soares.Warner Music has partnered with The Sandbox to build a music-themed world on the gaming platform. “As a first-mover, Warner Music has secured the equivalent of beachfront property in the metaverse”, says Oana Ruxandra, Chief Digital Officer at Warner Music.

DEALSBadBadNotGood have signed a new deal with Third Side Music, extending their existing partnership with the publisher. “Alexander, Chester and Leland are true contemporaries, yet articulate a cross-generational sense of virtuosity and energy only known to them”, says Brontë Jane, Third Side Music’s VP Creative. “I feel strongly that this next chapter for BadBadNotGood will be the most impactful”.————————————————–APPOINTMENTSAndy West has been named Executive Vice President and General Manager of Warner Music Canada.

APPOINTMENTSWarner Music in the US has hired Andre Torres as SVP Catalogue Development and Marketing. He joins from Spotify, where he was Head Of Catalogue, Artist & Label Partnerships for North America.

Related: Toney and Mbeumo on target as 10-man Brentford get better of Wolves The label was launched this week with support from some of the club’s record industry-adjacent fans, and backed by the distribution arm of the major label Warner Music. The club insists it is not an attempt at supporter engagement or community outreach, but a genuine business.

David Bowie has agreed a new deal with Warner Music Group that will see the company overseeing his full back catalogue of albums.Warner Music previously held the worldwide rights to the music that was released by the late artist between 1968 and 1999 (up to his October 1999 album ‘hours…’) after they acquired the Parlophone Label Group in 2013.The new licensing agreement with Bowie’s estate now means that Warner also has the rights to the artist’s back catalogue of music between 2000 and 2016,

William Earl Kristen Burke has been named president of Warner Music Canada, succeeding Steve Kane who has been with the Warner Music Group company since 2004. Burke arrives from Universal Music Canada, where she spent 20 years and was named EVP and general manager in 2018.

APPOINTMENTSWarner Music Central Europe CEO Bernd Dopp has announced that he is stepping down after 37 years at the major label. He will be succeeded on 1 Oct by new Co-Presidents Doreen Schimk and Fabian Drebes.

Madonna has announced a new deal with Warner Music that will see the major in charge of her entire catalogue, recordings and songs.The deal reunites Madonna with what was her long-time label from the 1980s to the 2000s.

Warner Chappell has signed a worldwide administrative deal with Travis Barker, best known – of course – as the drummer in Blink 182.Aside from work with his own bands, Barker has also written and/or produced songs for the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Dirty Heads, Frank Carter and James Arthur.

Warner Music has acquired the existing recordings catalogue of producer David Guetta, as well as agreeing a new deal to cover his future works, continuing their longstanding partnership.“I’m super excited about the new music I’m working on”, says Guetta. “And even more excited that I have started to play all this new music live to my fans again and they are loving it.

The Jesus And Mary Chain are the latest artists to test the reach of the termination right under US copyright law by suing their former label Warner Music.The group’s Jim Reid and William Reid say that the major has refused to comply with termination notices they filed under US law and continues to exploit their 1980s recordings in the American market which, they allege, constitutes copyright infringement.Under American law, creators who assign their copyrights to another party have a one-off

Rebecca Davis editorWarner Music Group is expanding its mainland China hip-hop imprint JUUICE to the Greater China region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the firm said Thursday. Rapper Bohan Phoenix, one of the few bilingual, bicultural artists to find crossover success on both sides of the Pacific, has signed to the expanded imprint.Bohan Phoenix said he was “thrilled” to join JUUICE.

Warner Music has announced a new partnership with Tanzanian artist Diamond Platnumz and his record label WCB-Wasafi. The deal will see that label incorporated into the existing partnership between Warner Music South Africa and entertainment company Ziiki Media.“I’ve built WCB-Wasafi from the ground up and believe that Warner Music and Ziiki are the right partners to help further grow our reach”, he says.

Chinese pop music superstar JJ Lin has signed with UTA for U.S. and European representation in all areas.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s dominant online music platform Tencent Music Entertainment has renewed and expanded its licensing deal with Warner Music.

DEALSMute has signed Sylph, the solo project of former SCUM vocalist Thomas Cohen. “On this new project I wanted to fuse the singer-songwriter format of having a verse or a chorus, with a harder electronic repetition”, says Cohen, setting the scene for a series of collaborations with techno producers Regis, Terence Fixmer, Nicolas Bougaïeff and Rrose.

Warner Records last week signed a distribution deal with Whiteworld Music, the independent label owned by Puerto Rican musician Myke Towers.“Myke is a distinctive songwriter, powerful performer and incredible artist”, says Max Lousada, CEO of Warner Music’s recorded music division. “He’s not only an exploding Latin superstar, but he’s at the forefront of a new generation of global talent that’s transcending languages, crossing boundaries and disrupting genres.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group terminated the employment contract of Scott Maclachlan, a senior VP of A&R in its Australian office, after an investigation into sexual harassment claims, a rep for the company confirms to Variety.

APPOINTMENTSWarner Chappell has promoted Natalie Madaj to SVP Digital Licensing (Americas) and Daniel Lang to VP Digital Licensing (EMEIA). “Natalie and Daniel have been instrumental in strengthening our relationships with digital service providers and helping to ensure that our songwriters get paid fairly and quickly”, says EVP Global Digital Strategy, Eric Mackay.Warner Music has named Dallas Martin as President of Asylum Records.

Stormzy in the latest Watch Dogs game, Watch Dogs: Legion, has pushed for Warner Music artists to be included in more big title video games.“We’ve seen it before in TV and movies. Out of nowhere you can have this moment where your streams have doubled, and you’ve got all these new fans,” Miles said in an interview with GamesIndustry.

APPOINTMENTSWarner Music has hired Maria Weaver, whose background is in media and broadcasting, most recently with Comcast Advertising, to become the New York-based President of WEA.