bbfree
Jay-Z’s Made in America 2020 Canceled Due to Pandemic
Jay-Z’s annual festival in Philadelphia, Made in America, won’t take place Labor Day weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement Wednesday, the rap mogul’s Roc Nation company said it plans to produce the popular festival in 2021. “2020 is a year like no other. We are in a pivotal time in this nation’s history. Collectively, we are fighting parallel pandemics, COVID-19, systematic racism and police brutality. Now is the time to protect the health of our artists, fans, partners and community as well as focus on our support for organizations and individuals fighting for social justice and equality in our country. Therefore, the Made In America festival will be rescheduled for Labor Day Weekend 2021,” Roc Nation said in a statement. {“nid”:”8528889″,”t...
LP Announces Global Livestream Concert From Los Angeles
Musician and prolific songwriter LP has announced her first global livestream event scheduled for Aug. 1. The 2020 Virtual World Tour will broadcast live from The Beehive studios in the Los Angeles and is expected to be the artist’s only full-production concert in 2020. “I was expecting to tour throughout 2020 around the world, but unfortunately we had to postpone that to 2021. So, to lift my own spirits, and hopefully other people’s, I decided to put together a proper concert here in L.A., live-streamed everywhere, for everyone to be a part of,” LP said in a release. The multi-camera, HD video, 80-audio-channel concert will kick-off live at 1pm PST and will feature LP and her band performing a set of hits, fan favorites, covers, brand-new music, new v...
Spotify Launches New Subscription Plan For Couples in U.S., 54 More Markets
Spotify has unveiled a new, cheaper premium subscription option for couples, called Premium Duo, that will be rolled out in the United States and 54 other markets today (July 1). The single plan will allow two people living at the same address to have individual premium accounts, which are also entwined through playlists like its Duo Mix of favorites from each party, for just $12.99 a month. Spotify began testing the new tier last March, piloting Premium Duo in Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Ireland and Poland. Now with its wider rollout, Duo joins Spotify’s individual plan ($9.99/month), family plan ($14.99/month for up to six accounts under one roof) and student plan ($4.99/month). [embedded content] In a blog post announcing the new tier, the company noted that a user study found that of cou...
Cirque du Soleil Files for Creditor Protection
Cirque du Soleil filed for creditor protection in Canada on Monday (June 29) while it develops a plan to restart its business amid the pandemic. The creator of many of the most popular shows in Las Vegas on Monday blamed the “immense disruption and forced show closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Montreal-based circus arts show company temporarily suspended its productions around the world in March because of the new coronavirus outbreak. Cirque du Soleil also announced the termination of approximately 3,480 employees previously furloughed in March. In connection with the filing, Cirque du Soleil said it has entered into a purchase agreement with its existing shareholders TPG, Fosun and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec as well as Investissement Quebec as a debt provide...
Blackpink’s ‘How You Like That’ Collects Multiple Guinness World Records
Blackpink’s historic week has been rewarded with a swag of Guinness World Records. The south Korean girl group’s music video for “How You Like That” earned 86.3 million views on its arrival June 26, enough to set records for most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours, most viewed music video on YouTube in 24 hours, and most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group. It’s not such a great week for compatriots BTS, who were the previous record holders in those categories with the video for “Boy With Luv” featuring singer Halsey, which dropped in April 2019. “Boy With Luv” is now scrubbed from the record books. Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa aren’t done with busting records. The live premiere of ‘”How You Like That” reached 1.66 mil...
Marjorie Garcia Promoted to Partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano
Los Angeles-based attorney Marjorie García has been promoted to partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano. The promotion makes García one of the few female Latinas to make partner in a major law firm. García, who previously worked as an attorney at Universal Music Latino, has spearheaded the expansion of the Latin music department at KHPS, a broad practice with particular emphasis on entertainment law, complex business litigation, real estate, banking and corporate finance. Her roster of clients includes Juanes, J Balvin, Los Tigres del Norte, Gloria Trevi, Carla Morrison and the production team of Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo, among others. “When I started out, there weren’t a lot of faces or voices like mine that I could look up to within my field, so I had to forge my own pat...
Here’s Where The Weeknd Is Donating $1 Million Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
The Weeknd’s altruism isn’t slowing down. On Monday (June 29), the XO commander donated a whopping total of $1 million with $500,000 going to MusiCares and the other half to front line hospital workers of the Scarborough Health Network. The Weeknd’s generous gesture is to help those affected by COVID-19. Along with his charitable donation, the After Hours singer brought back his XO face masks and matched every dollar to help raise the money. Earlier this month, The Weeknd shelled out $500,000 to nonprofit organizations committed to racial equality. Split between Black Lives Matter Global Network, Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp and National Bail Out, The Weeknd spoke on the importance of creating change for African ...
Haim Lead Midweek U.K. Albums Chart With ‘Women in Music Pt. III’
Haim are on course for another U.K. chart crown. The Los Angeles sister trio’s third LP Women in Music Pt. III (Polydor) dominates the midweek albums chart, with a lead of nearly 5,000 combined sales, according to the OCC. It’s also the best-selling album on vinyl so far this week. Haim have good form on the U.K. survey. Their debut Days Are Gone (Columbia) bowed at No. 1 in October 2013, and their July 2017 sophomore set Something to Tell You reached No. 2. The album with the best chance of snatching the crown is Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, which sits in second place and is the market-leader on CD sales. Rough and Rowdy Ways opened at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart last Friday, for Dylan’s ninth leader in the territory. British singer and songwriter Jessie Ware is at N...
MPM Productions Inks Multi-Year Partnership With Universal Music Latin
JD Pantoja is the first artist under the deal. Universal Music Latin has inked a multi-year partnership with Los Angeles-based music and media company MPM Productions. The first artist signed under the deal is Mexican urban act Juan De Dios Pantoja, better known as JD Pantoja, a YouTuber-turned-recording artist. Pantoja’s single “El Error,” has garnered over 50 million views since its release in May. MPM, co-founded in 2016 by Arizona State University alums Eric O’Connor, Dimitri Hurt and Luis Arellano, started out as a company that represented YouTubers. Eventually, says Arellano, president of MPM Latin, “we shifted our business strategy to focus on creating our own intellectual property. That’s why we proposed making music to our talent.” Their first artist to s...
Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion & Other Record Setters at the 2020 BET Awards
There were first-time winners in several key categories at the 20th annual BET Awards. Lizzo was named best female R&B/pop artist. She beat Beyoncé, who had won 10 times in this category, including the last six years in a row. Megan Thee Stallion won best female hip-hop artist, beating two former winners in the category – Cardi B, who had won the last two years, and seven-time winner Nicki Minaj. DaBaby won best male hip-hop artist, beating four-time winner Drake, among others. Gymnast Simone Biles won sportswoman of the year for the first time. She beat tennis legend Serena Williams (who had won 12 times in the category, including the last six years in a row). Here are other artists who made history at the BET Awards. Blue Ivy Carter, the eight-year old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, ...
Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo’s ‘Savage Love’ Dances Into Lead In U.K. Singles Chart Race
A teenage New Zealander could be the next U.K. singles chart champion. Jawsh 685 (real name Joshua Nanai), the 17-year-old producer from Auckland, leads the Official Chart First Look with “Savage Love (Laxed Beat – Siren)” (RCA), his viral hit with U.S. R&B star Jason Derulo. An instrumental cut of “Savage Love” exploded on TikTok and spawned the “Culture Dance” challenge, which invited users to celebrate their heritage in dance. The version featuring Derulo’s vocals flew 22-4 in its first two weeks on the Official U.K. Singles Chart and is the top performer after the weekend’s sales and streaming activity. It if holds its position when the weekly survey is published this Friday, it’ll give Derulo his fifth U.K. No. 1, and Jawsh 685 his first. It’ll be a white-knuckle ride for the pair...
‘BET Awards 2020 Needed More Than Ever’: President Scott Mills Reflects on Show’s Lasting Impact & More
BET president Scott Mills wants viewers of this year’s BET Awards to understand one thing up front: don’t call it a virtual awards show. It’s a “complete mischaracterization of what the show is,” says Mills of the BET Awards which, like many other special events, has had to shift gears as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the ceremony will air Sunday evening (June 28) and also make its national broadcast debut on CBS. Noting that other media have tagged the show as virtual, Mills continues, “We actually never have described it as virtual. We said that we’re proceeding with the awards show and not doing it in front of a live audience.” Mills further emphasizes that the show won’t feature artists simply performing from their homes. Instead, performanc...
