Music Industry Moves: Bread Charity Opens Studio for Underprivileged Kids in Nipsey Hussle’s Middle School; Bing Crosby Estate Partners With Primary Wave

Emma Thompson is having some fun on the red carpet!

Strictly Come Dancing producers are reportedly keeping Anton Du Beke on the show's judging panel, meaning Bruno Tonioli might be axed.Due to the pandemic, the 66-year-old Italian native has not appeared on the BBC show in person for the last two years.In 2020 Bruno - who judges the US version of the dancing show Dancing With the Stars - appeared via video link from his home in LA.In 2021, Strictly saw dancer Anton hang up his dancing shoes and take his place at the judging panel alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse.It's been teased that Bruno, who has starred on the show for 16 years and is currently on the Strictly tour as a judge, would not be returning to the hit BBC show this year.In an exclusive chat with The Sun, a source said: "We have been told Anton's contract as a judge is going to be renewed. The bosses were really happy with his performance.""It also hasn't escaped their notice his salary is considerably lower than Bruno's."They revealed that there is a "huge amount of affection" for him on the BBC show and that the decision will "ruffle some feathers".However, because the judging panel format worked well last year, it is believed that bosses are reluctant to switch it up again.The announcement comes after the Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood showed his support for welcoming Bruno back to the show.

Kanye West has found himself in another online dispute, this time with rapper Kid Cudi.

Andy Cohen is spending the afternoon with Anderson Cooper‘s new baby boy!

The stars are kicking off Super Bowl Weekend!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe streaming rates determined by the Copyright Royalty Board every five years are an always-contentious situation pitting the major streaming services against music publishers, and the battle over the rates between 2023 and 2027 is no exception.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFifty-one years later, how do we appraise “Let It Be,” the Beatles’ swan song, the document of their breakup, the one that the bandmembers themselves initially disliked so much that Paul McCartney took legal action and John Lennon dubbed it a salvage job from “the shittiest load of badly recorded shit — and with a lousy feeling to it — ever”?Of course, the men doth protest too much: The group’s high standards guaranteed that there is no such thing as a bad Beatles album, but “Let It Be” is far from their best work. Intended as a rough, back-to-the-roots “art as it happens” film-and-album document of the Beatles’ creative process, it ended up being a requiem.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave has acquired a stake in the catalog of Gerry Goffin, lyricist for dozens of classic songs with his former wife Carole King: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “Up on the Roof,” “The Loco-Motion,” “One Fine Day,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “I’m Into Something Good” and many, many other songs that epitomized the “Brill Building” sound that dominated the hit parade of the early ‘60s.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor-singer Billy Porter has inked a new deal with Island Records (U.K.) and Republic Records (U.S.) and is kicking it off with a new single called “Children” that will drop at 12 a.m. ET tonight (Oct.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLong-running footwear brand Dr. Martens has announced their 2021 “Dr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThis month marks 40 years since the release of U2’s sophomore album, “October,” and to celebrate, the group have today announced the launch of the biggest ever “Artist Takeover” on Pandora.Members of the group will take fans through the making of their first three albums — “Boy,” “October” and “War” — sharing stories, details and the music that inspired them along the way.U2’s Artist Takeover marks the first time an artist has created an ongoing series of self-curated Modes on Pandora. Users can choose from three selectable “modes” on Pandora’s U2 Radio station — each devoted to one of the three albums — where the group shares personal insights and influences behind each record in their own words.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSolange’s Saint Heron studio and platform has announced the launch of its free library of “esteemed and valuable” books by Black creators for research, study and exploration. Each reader will be invited to borrow a book of their choice for 45 days, completely free of charge.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAdele announced Wednesday in a lengthy Instagram post that her long-awaited ‘30’ album will be released on Nov. 19.In the post, she writes in full: “I was certainly nowhere near where I’d hoped to be when I first started it nearly
3 years ago.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDavid Bowie’s would-have-been 75th birthday isn’t until January, but next week his estate is beginning “Bowie 75,” a year-long celebration that kicks off with the openings of two “curated experiential pop-up shops” — one at the site of the cover shoot of his classic “Ziggy Stardust” album in London, and another in his New York neighborhood.For a very limited window beginning October 25, 2021 — 75 days before the anniversary — through late January 2022, the “Bowie 75” locations will be open at 150 Wooster Street — steps away from Bowie’s longtime New York City home — and 14 Heddon Street — the London location where the cover of “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” was shot.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a surprise move, the Coachella festival has reversed its plan to require vaccinations for ticketholders to its April 2022 events, and instead will only require proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours of the event (although proof of full vaccination will work as well).Curiously, the announcement was made Tuesday afternoon via the festival’s Instagram story — not on its main Instagram page or on Twitter, where the most recent post, dating from August, says proof of full vaccination is required for all shows from Coachella promoter Goldenvoice.“After seeing first-hand the low transmission data and successful implementation of safety protocols at our other festivals this past month, we feel confident we

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLava for Good, the multimedia platform founded by Lava Records’ Jason Flom and Jeff Kempler, has announced a new slate of advocacy-oriented podcasts with the goal of “revealing underlying truths and amplifying the voices of contemporary social justice champions to inspire action towards a more informed, empathic and just society.”Founded and led by Flom and Kempler in association with Signal Co. No1, Lava for Good launched with a lineup of true crime and social justice podcasts that explore issues such as systemic racism, cash bail, the death penalty and more.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, Blackstone and Hipgnosis Song Management have launched a $1 billion partnership to invest in songs, recorded music, music IP and royalties, the companies announced Tuesday morning.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music’s top executives were informed of abusive behavior by the company’s long-running Australian chief, Dennis Handlin, more than two decades before he stepped down earlier this year, according to a detailed report by the country’s Australian Broadcasting Corporation that aired Sunday.Handlin — one of the most powerful executives in the country’s music business, who was also chairman of the Australian Recording Industry Association and an Officer of the Order of Australia — and four other top Sony executives left the company earlier this year in the wake of a hard-hitting report called “Beneath the Glass Ceiling” on rampant, long-standing abusive behavior throughout the country’s music industry, including

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorColdplay, Twenty One Pilots, Imagine Dragons and more will perform at the fifth annual iHeartRadio Alter Ego event, presented by Capital One and taking place at the Forum in Los Angeles on January 15, 2022. Kings of Leon, Willow, All Time Low and others are also on the bill for the show, which will be hosted by Woody of iHeartRadio ALT 98.7’s nationally-syndicated “The Woody Show.”“I’m psyched!” said Woody.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s hard to think of a musical genre more difficult to carry off past one’s youth than hardcore punk, which was built to have a short shelf life in almost every way. And even within that context, many bands who were far inferior to the legendary Bad Brains — who cast a long shadow over the careers of every hardcore band and many hard rock ones, as well as the Beastie Boys — are better known.Why? For starters, even though the group was one of the first true hardcore bands and arguably the best, they upended that concept from the jump, simply by being four Black dudes from Washington D.C.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJames Blake is one of the most unusual and seemingly contradictory artists to arise in the past decade: an electronic-music auteur whose music is filled of all kinds of odd noises, but he’s also a balladeer with a spine-tingling voice, raised on Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Most unusually of all, he’s probably best known as a hip-hop collaborator, having worked with Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott and other A-list rappers.