NEWS
92% of Indie UK Festivals are Facing Shutdowns Without Government Support
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has released a new report that foresees a collapse of 92% of independent UK festivals if the government does not step in to help. As of now, the nation’s festival sector will be facing potential refunds of up to £800 million ($977 million) this summer due to the fact that around 90% of all festivals in the region will not take place in 2020 because of COVID-19. The outcome of the pandemic has been devastating across the board for businesses, but the live event industry is seeing an even bigger hit in that it is the last on the totem pole for re-opening and funding. The AIF reports that their members have already taken a massive loss with average sunk costs of £375,000 ($458,000) that are not recoupable...
David Cross, Bryan Cranston, Jack Black, and Many More Team Up to Sing Weird Al’s ‘Eat It’
Who said good things can’t come from celebrities joining together in song? During the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity, a bunch of comedians and actors covered “Weird Al” Yankovic’s breakthrough hit “Eat It,” which, duh, spoofed Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Participants included Mr. Show’s David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (and his Better Call Saul co-stars Rhea Seehorn, Michael McKean, and Michael Mando), Bryan Cranston, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Fred Armisen, Heid Gardner, Jack Black, Paul Scheer, and former Sen. Al Franken among many, many more. Of course, Yankovic was thrilled with what he saw from the clip, which was titled “We’re All in This Together.” He appeared in it as well. “Truly there’s no problem that can’t be overcome when you get a bunch of ...
Vado ft. Dave East “Politics,” EarthGang ft. Malik “Fields” & More | Daily Visuals 5.13.20
Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Though it feels like Harlem hasn’t had proper representation in the Hip-Hop game since Dip Set split and Cam’ron, Juelz Santana and Jim Jones went their separate ways, heads like Vado and Dave East have done their part to put The World on their shoulders and continue the legacy of the place once known as Black Mecca. Today the two Harlemnites get together to keep the streets of Harlem buzzing with their new visuals to “Politics” which finds the two ducking the ops while making money moves in the shadows of a chop shop. Tekashi still telling?! EarthGang meanwhile go the cartoon route and for their Malik assisted clip to “Fields” go on a out of this world voyage and float through different dimensions and worlds. Check out the rest of today’s drops including wo...
Tame Impala Has Us Seeing Triple After “Is It True” Performance on Colbert
For those in bands, performing has become quite tricky during quarantine due to members’ social distancing in their respective locations. However, when you’re Tame Impala, that problem doesn’t apply to you. While on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Kevin Parker, the man behind Tame Impala, flexed his creativity during a televised performance of “Is It True,” from his latest album The Slow Rush. More often than not, livestreams lose out on the “wow” factor due to lack of resources. Parker, known for delivering some of the most epic shows out there, was able to overcome these restrictions, throwing down an eye-catching performance by filming himself playing three separate parts from the track and combining them into a three-way split-screen ...
Arkansas Governor Slaps Music Venue With Cease-and-Desist Ahead of First Concert
Last week, Arkansas venue TempleLive announced that Travis McCready would be playing a socially-distanced show in Fort Smith — the first show to take place since venues were essentially shut down in March. Now, after threatening to do so since the announcement of that show, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has issued a cease-and-desist order and warned that the state wouldn’t be afraid to “utilize local law enforcement.” According to Rolling Stone, the state’s state’s secretary of health, Nathaniel Smith, also told the venue that “Your failure to comply with this order and postpone your event to be in compliance with the health directives will result in a violation of the Arkansas public health code.” The state is scheduled to reopen on May 18. However, this show, which would ta...
Galantis and R3hab Appear On Soundtrack for Upcoming Scooby Doo Film “Scoob!”
There aren’t many forms of entertainment that evoke nostalgia more than cartoons. With a sense of wonder at their bedrock, cartoons transport us back to our younger selves, when we sat in front of our televisions on Sunday mornings with a big bowl of cereal and an ear-to-ear smile. Scooby Doo, one of the most iconic cartoon franchises of all-time, continues to dominate to this day. Since its Hanna-Barbera Productions debut back in 1969, the series has stood the test of time, translating to the silver screen in grandiose fashion and raking in hundreds of millions of box office dollars with each motion picture it releases. With its zany, anthropomorphic titular canine leading the way, the Scooby Doo franchise is set to release its latest movie, Scoob!, this Friday, May 1...
Calvin Harris Represents the Only DJ to Appear On the Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is an annual list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families residing in the UK published in famed British news outlet The Sunday Times. According to the feature’s music-centric sub-list, Calvin Harris made the cut as the only DJ to appear amongst its gaggle of international superstars. Calvin, whose wealth is estimated to be a cool £180 million, is officially ranked as the 16th richest musician in the UK. Filling the list’s top two spots are prolific composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and legendary former Beatle Paul McCartney, who each have an estimated wealth in excess of £800 million. Following in the third spot is Rihanna, who is reportedly worth £468 million, due in part to the monumental success of her fashion and cosmet...
K-Pop Star IU Debuts on Emerging Artists Chart, Thanks to SUGA Collab ‘Eight’
The track launches at No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales. K-pop singer-songwriter IU (real name: Lee Ji-eun) debuts at No. 36 on Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart (dated May 16), thanks to her new single “Eight,” featuring BTS member SUGA. The track debuts at No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart and No. 13 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales survey with 7,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The song marks IU’s first No. 1 on the former tally and her seventh top 10. The single also earns SUGA his first solo No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales. BTS boasts a record 19 No. 1s on the chart. [embedded content] Notably, “Eight” is the sixth song to debut at No. 1 on World Digital Songs this year, after Red Velvet’s “Psycho&...
‘Glee,’ ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ & More: Which Musical Show Should Reunite Next?
NBC’s Broadway-centered series Smash regained buzz on the Internet this week, seven years after its final episode, when it was announced that a special livestream of the 2015 live concert of Bombshell will air on May 20 at People.com along with a cast reunion. As with the original 2015 Bombshell concert, the livestream will be benefiting The Actors Fund, the national human services organization helping support actors through health care, affordable housing, financial assistance and more. Given that we’re in an age of social distancing and Zoom meetings, it’s easier now more than ever for some of our other favorite musical TV shows to reunite (virtually). Maybe the Glee cast can come together for an iconic re...
Ticketmaster President: Reps. Pascrell & Porter Are Wrong, Company Has Processed More Than $600M in Refunds
The following letter was submitted to Billboard by Ticketmaster President Jared Smith in response to a letter posted on Billboard earlier today by U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Katie Porter (D-CA). Last month Ticketmaster revealed its plan to offer refunds for all canceled and postponed Live Nation and AEG shows. Respectfully, Mr. Pascrell and Ms. Porter either misunderstand or elect to misrepresent the realities of our business and refund policies, as we outlined in our April 17 response letter to them. It is entirely disingenuous and flatly wrong to claim that we have “pointed the finger at others.” To reiterate, Ticketmaster is a platform that allows event organizers to sell tickets directly to consumers. The fact is, the money we need to refund fans is held by our clien...
All The Asshat Ish Tekashi 6ix9ine Did On Tuesday, Beefing With A Charity
Source: @JustInMyView / R1 Digital Tekashi 6ix9ine is an unrepentant troll. On Tuesday, May 12, the master-level snitch continued to gaslight rap fans with his shenanigans, which included beefing with a charity after it rejected his $200,000 donation. Do you know how toxic you have to be for a charity to say “we’re good” to that size of a donation? But that’s exactly what a non-profit called No Kid Hungry did when the “Gummo” rapper offered up a portion of the proceeds of the merch he’s been selling. “We are grateful for Mr. Hernandez’s generous offer to donate to No Kid Hungry but we have informed his representatives that we have declined this donation. As a child-focused campaign, it is our policy to decline funding from donors whose activities do not align with our mission and values,” ...
#SayHerName: Breonna Taylor Killed While Sleeping After Police Open Fire During Raid At The Wrong House
Source: Breonna Taylor / Breonna Taylor A Kentucky community is left looking for answers two months after police shoot and kill a Black woman in her home. According to published reports, Breonna Taylor, an EMT worker, was fatally shot and killed in her home while sleeping after officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department executed a search warrant at the wrong home. In a lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, the family states that three Kentucky police officers, Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, forced their way inside Breonna’s home while she was asleep and “blindly fired” in the residence killing her. The Kentucky Police Department denies the family’s recollection of what happened that night, instead stating that officers at the time claimed they knocked on the ...
