Roberta Flack has been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has “made it impossible [for Flack] to sing and not easy to speak,” according to a press release.
The news of Flack’s diagnosis was shared in a press release that also noted that a documentary about the singer will premiere this month at the Doc NYC festival. Directed, produced, and written by Antonino D’Ambrosio, Roberta Flack features archival footage and interviews with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Yoko Ono, Angela Davis, and more. The movie will be available to the public on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, on PBS.
The press release also made mention that, next year, Flack will publish The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, an autobiographical picture book co-written by Tonya Bolden with artwork by Hayden Goodman. That’s out January 10 via Anne Schwartz Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.
BMG has struck a deal to acquire Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson’s song rights.
Included in the deal are Nilsson’s publishing catalog, as well as the artist and writer revenue streams of his hit songs.
Some of those songs include hits Without You, Everybody’s Talkin’, One, and Coconut, as well as Jump Into The Fire, Gotta Get Up, and Me and My Arrow, among many others.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Nilsson’s song works also include titles co-written with John Lennon, Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga and Old Dirt Road; Danny Kortchmar, (Thursday) Here’s Why I Did Not Go To Work Today, Moonshine Bandit; Dr. John, Daylight Has Caught Me, and Ringo Starr, How Long Can Disco On.
Featured among the 18 studio albums released over the course of his two-decade long recording career include his debut Spotlight on Nilsson, Harry, Nilsson Sings Newman, Nilsson Schmilsson, standards album A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night,Pussy Cats – produced by John Lennon, what BMG says is Nilsson’s personal favorite Knnillssonn, and his final studio album Flash Harry.
Also featured are the original film soundtracks for Skidoo, The Point!, Son of Dracula, and Popeye; in addition to the collection of his final studio recordings titled Losst and Founnd released posthumously.
BMG says that it will also begin collaborating with the Nilsson family “in exploring global creative opportunities for their creative assets” such as the The Point! story, as well as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) including film, television, theatrical stage productions, books, and further areas of business.
Nilsson’s career began in 1960s Los Angeles, where he penned hits for The Monkees and Three Dog Night.
In 1971, he released the seminal Nilsson Schmilsson, which was nominated for four Grammys. His chart-topping cover of Without You is described by BMG as “one of the most vital moments in 1970s music”.
His 1971 album and film The Point is described further by BMG as “a triumph of imagination”, whilst his interpretations of the Great American Songbook on 1973’s A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night “broke new ground for musicians of the era”, according to BMG.
BMG notes that John Lennon and Paul McCartney called Nilsson their “favorite American group,” and artists from Carly Rae Jepsen to Harry Styles have cited him as a source of inspiration.
The Nilsson’s team was led by John Rudolph of 1.618 Industries, Inc. (formerly Music Analytics, a leading music IP advisor) with counsel provided by Jason Karlov and Amanda Taber of Barnes & Thornburg.
“We are delighted to have found a partner that shares our love and reverence for Harry’s legacy.”
The Nilsson family
“The Nilsson family, said: “We are delighted to have found a partner that shares our love and reverence for Harry’s legacy.
‘We look forward to a long relationship with BMG, working together to celebrate this true genius of pop music.”
“We are honored the Nilsson family chose BMG to entrust as the custodians of his musical legacy and are proud to represent the cherished works of Harry Nilsson.”
Thomas Scherer, BMG
Thomas Scherer, BMG’s President, Repertoire & Marketing, Los Angeles and New York, said: “For generations, Harry Nilsson’s timeless music has captivated millions of people all around the world.
“A brilliant songwriter with an exceptionally beautiful and unique voice, we will ensure his spirit thrives for generations to come.
“We are honored the Nilsson family chose BMG to entrust as the custodians of his musical legacy and are proud to represent the cherished works of Harry Nilsson.”
Other deals stuck by Bertelsmann-owned BMG in 2022 include the entire music publishing back catalog of French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, and “the key music interests” of legendary Scottish rock band Simple Minds.
It was only a few weeks ago that Fred again.. finally released Actual Life 3, but the man apparently cannot be stopped as he teams up with Romy today for a new collaboration, “Strong.”
The song is brilliant and bright with hopeful melodies and chords, while Romy repeats, “You don’t have to be so strong” again and again, as if chanting a mantra.
As one the last big guitar groups to pack out stadiums and dominate worldwide charts, Rammstein have become a fire-obsessed enigma. The Berlin six-piece’s initial mash up of industrial and metal has expanded throughout the years to include epic orchestral flourishes and live-built anthems. One key element to their success is the unwavering unity within the act – some three decades deep into their career, the band have retained an unbroken lineup with all original members.
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Despite being one of the most internationally successful metal artists of the last 20 years, there are still a fair number of underrated Rammstein tracks littered throughout their back catalogue. With eight albums, and mountains of unreleased, remixed, b-side songs dotted throughout their career, there is an ample amount of material to pick through.
Having recently wrapped up their North American conquest, now is as good a time as ever to dig out their ten best, and most underrated songs. So what are they?? Read on and find out…
Okay, so we might be slightly cheating here as we previously included this banger on our deep cuts article for Meshuggah – but their remix of Rammstein‘s “Benzin” just too damn good to not include here as well. Essentially isolating the original TillLindemann vocal take and dropping it onto a track loaded with crushing eight string riffs, the two parties are a perfect match. Released as a b-side on the original “Benzin” single in 2005, it’s an absolutely crushing effort – the ending downtuned breakdown is so heavy is borderlines on stupid. A great one-off collaboration more metal fans need to know about.
2004’s Reise, Reise saw the Rammstein boys turn up the guitars and turn up the epic-scale even more than it’s predecessor Mutter. It packs some massive singles, but one of the most overlooked songs is the relentless “Dalai Lama”. The wall of chugging guitars combined with creeping piano and Lindemann’s guttural and angelic vocals make for an ominous mix. Throw in the lyrics, which are something of modern-update on the German supernatural/horror poem “der Erlkönig”, and you’ve got one of the six-piece’s most haunting pieces of music to date.
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The least streamed and well known song from Rammstein‘s 1995 debut Herzeleid, the near six-minute “Das alte Leid” is a writing, riff-friendly forgotten gem. The early days of Rammstein certainly was certainly packing a more industrial atmosphere that has perhaps been lost by their modern bombastic, stadium friendly material. The repetitive rhythms of “Das alte Leid” become almost hypnotising as the tune progresses, which leads to the eventual climaxing finale. A great song who’s only sin is being on a great LP with some of Rammstein‘s early classic material.
The 2007-2009 Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da writing sessions would wind up overly profitable for Rammstein, with a large number of great tracks not making the final, standard edition album. “Gib mir deine Augen”, “Halt” and in particular our choice “Donaukinder” is extremely strong material lesser bands would kill for. As for the massive “Donaukinder” – it’s the Rammstein classic that never was. Certainly deserves to be on the album’s standard edition – if not worthy of a single/film clip. The uber-fans know it, but it’s time for the casuals to embrace the brilliance of “Donaukinder”.
Taken from the untitled 2019 Rammstein album, it’s closer “Hallomann” – or “Kind Man” in English – is a big, slow burning track that is seemingly made for stadiums – yet has never been played live. That real drama-filled sound that Rammstein have been nailing on recent albums is extremely prominent, and it has a fantastic, slightly melancholic chorus. Things take a heavy turn with a nice big riff that rears up underneath the manic Christian “Flake” Lorenz keyboard. Rammstein promoted the hell out of their self/un-titled record, and played a lot off it live too – yet “Hallomann” never saw the stage. Something of a missed opportunity, as it’s one of the album’s finest moments.
Incorrectly perceived by many as the ‘leftovers’ from 2004’s Reise, Reise, the following year’s Rosenrot packs some of Rammstein‘s best mid-career material. The opening trio makes for a powerhouse combo, but it’s some of the deeper cuts that stand up the most, especially the thunderous “Hilf Mir”. Boasting a ridiculously thick guitar sound, it’s a mid-tempo stomper, with a big, grandiose chorus – maybe not world’s away from their anthem “Sonne”. Regardless of that though, it – and the equally overlooked “Feuer und Wasser” – are two forgotten songs from an underrated Rammstein release.
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Although Rammstein‘s 1997 cover of their countrymen’s Kraftwerk “Das Modell” is obscure enough, but we thought we’d go one step further with it’s b-side, “Kokain”. Composed in the Sehnsucht-era – the German’s second full length – the completely unsubtle “Kokain” is a straight-ahead track that would fit in perfectly with it’s parent album. Industrial elements, subtle electronic beats, keyboards and tightly gated guitars create the perfect bed for Lindemann‘s legendary vocals.
Another non-album cut from the immensely fruitful mid-00s Reise, Reise/Rosenrot period, “Vergiss uns nicht” – “Don’t Forget Me” – was unearthed as the b-side to 2011’s one-off single “Mein Land”. A sweeping, instant-anthem, perhaps Rammstein simply created too many of these big, mid-tempo tracks and there simply wasn’t room for “Vergiss uns nicht” on an album proper. Fortunately for us it did escape the archives, and like the aforementioned “Kokain”, it is also available on the rarities compilation Raritäten (1994 – 2012).
A song with an interesting history, “Wilder Wein” is a track that appeared on Rammstein 1994 demo – yet never made it onto a studio album. It took until the LiveAusBerlin LP that the tune made it onto a full blown Rammstein release. The synth-heavy ballad packs none of the band’s signature muscle, instead it’s one of the more melodic forays. Make no bones about it though, Rammstein certainly do this style justice, with “Wilder Wein” a moody, DepecheMode-style slower number – even introducing acoustic guitars at the end. A great underrated gem.
Mutter – Rammstein‘s immense third record – is an absolute classic, but boy is she top heavy. Side A is where all the singles reside, with a lot of the back end of the album being outshone completely. “Zwitter” is the best of the bunch, with a thick riff anchoring the full throttle song. Unlike a lot of the tracks on this list, “Zwitter” was played live – albeit not for over 20 years. It’s real foot to the floor burner with a big simplistic rhythm driven by the whole band, and the ending half-time groove is particularly fist pumping.
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With some of the most passionate fans in the heavy music world, we know that there are plenty of Rammstein fans out there that have their own favourite deep cut tracks – so what are they? Let us know in the comments!
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Iconic rock band Foreigner has announced its final tour, Billboard reports.
The group’s Live Nation-produced outing in the U.S. will launch on July 6, 2023, at Atlanta’s Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. During the first leg, Foreigner will be joined by Loverboy.
Tickets go on sale on November 18, 2022, at LiveNation.com. Check out all of the tour dates below.
“Foreigner is a completely revitalized band with a whole new energy that has won the hearts of our fans all over the world, and I want to go out while the band is still at the top of its game,” Jones, 77, told Billboard. “I had the idea that was to become Foreigner back in 1974, and I was 30 years old at the time. By the end of our farewell tour, over 50 years will have passed, and that’s a long time to be on the road.”
The band, formed during 1976 by British guitarist Mick Jones, will launch its Historic Farewell Tour next July 6 in Alpharetta, Ga., with 32 U.S dates running through Sept. 3 in Holmdel, N.J. Loverboy will be opening. More legs, both domestic and overseas, are on tap through the end of 2024.
With more Top 10 hits than JOURNEY and ten multi-platinum albums, FOREIGNER is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 80 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems, including “Juke Box Hero”, “Cold As Ice”, “Hot Blooded”, “Waiting For A Girl Like You”, “Feels Like The First Time”, “Urgent”, “Head Games”, “Say You Will”, “Dirty White Boy”, “Long, Long Way From Home” and the worldwide No. 1 hit “I Want To Know What Love Is”, FOREIGNER still rocks the charts more than 40 years into the game with massive airplay and continued Billboard Top 200 album success. Streams of FOREIGNER’s hits are approaching 15 million per week.
Hear music from Foreigner and other rock bands from the ’70s and ’80s on Classic Rewind (Ch. 25).
Foreigner’s Final Tour Dates
July 06 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre July 08 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre July 09 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre July 11 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheatre July 14 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP July 18 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre July 19 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre July 21 – Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center July 22 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre July 24 – Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center July 25 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage July 28 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater July 29 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake August 01 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center August 02 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach August 04 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion August 05 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center August 08 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek August 09 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion August 11 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion August 12 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 14 – Austin, TX – Moody Center August 16 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena August 18 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre August 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion August 21 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre August 23 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre August 24 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre August 30 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theater September 01 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena September 02 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview September 03 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
“Where does the time go?,” said guitarist JB Brubaker. “I can remember playing 250 shows a year and touring in our van like it was yesterday. We are so grateful to have had the support of our fans year in and year out for two decades. We thank you, and cannot wait to celebrate with you!”
2/15 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring 2/16 — Raleigh, NC — The Ritz 2/17 — Atlanta, GA — Heaven at The Masquerade 2/18 — Orlando, FL — Heart Support Festival 2/20 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — Revolution Live 2/21 — Pensacola, FL — Vinyl Music Hall 2/23 — Houston, TX — House of Blues 2/24 — Dallas, TX — South Side Ballroom 2/25 — San Antonio, TX — Vibes Event Center 2/27 — Tempe, AZ — The Marquee 2/28 — San Diego, CA — Soma 3/1 — Anaheim, CA — House of Blues 3/2 — Sacramento, CA — Ace Of Spades 3/4 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theater 3/5 — Seattle, WA — Showbox Sodo 3/7 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex 3/8 — Las Vegas, NV — House of Blues 3/10 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Auditorium 3/12 — Little Rock, AR — The Hall 3/13 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works 3/14 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte 4/13 — Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore Philadelphia 4/14 — New York, NY — Palladium Times Square 4/15 — Albany, NY — Empire Live 4/16 — Worcester, MA — The Palladium 4/18 — Niagara Falls, NY — Rapids Theater 4/19 — Royal Oak, MI — Royal Oak Music Theatre 4/21 — Grand Rapids, MI — The Intersection 4/22 — St. Louis, MO — Red Flag 4/23 — Kansas City, MO — The Truman 4/25 — Oklahoma City, OK — Diamond Ballroom 4/26 — Omaha, NE — Slowdown 4/28 — Minneapolis, MN — The Fillmore Minneapolis 4/29 — Chicago, IL — Concord Music Hall 4/30 — Cincinnati, OH — Bogarts 5/2 — Cleveland, OH — House of Blues 5/3 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE 5/5 — North Myrtle Beach, SC — House of Blues 5/6 — Richmond, VA — The National 5/7 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom 5/9 — Toronto, ON — Danforth Music Hall 5/11 — Montreal, QC — MTelus 5/12 — Quebec, QC — Theatre Capitole
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The company is now expected to record full-year 2022 revenues in excess of EUR €750 million, up by over a third compared to 2021.
Doing so would propel Believe’s revenues into the land of music’s ‘mini-major’ leagues alongside the likes of Concord, BMG and HYBE.
(Example: Bertelsmann-owned BMG turned over€663m in 2021 vs. Believe’s €577m, although Berlin-headquartered BMG has a significantly larger profit margin than Believe, and is more exposed to the US dollar’s value due to its significant US operation.)
Indeed, if Believe could maintain an ≈33% annual growth rate next year, it would start turning over around a billion Euros annually.
On an earnings call with analysts following the announcement of its Q3 results on November 3, Believe’s founder and CEO, Denis Ladegaillerie and the company’s CFO, Xavier Dumont, answered piercing questions from analysts on a number of topics, including TikTok, Russia, the growth of paid streaming, and the firm’s relationship with Meta.
Here, we pick out some of the most revelatory highlights from that call…
1) Believe expects to be making a lot more money from TikTok next year
Analyst Richard Eary from UBS asked Believe’s bosses for an update on the French company’s discussions with TikTok about monetization.
This was a timely query: Denis Ladegaillerie has previously discussed his preference for ‘revenue-share’ royalty deals with digital partners – rather than ‘blank’ advance deals not tied to consumption.
Reports now suggest the three major music companies are piling pressure on TikTok to switch to ‘revenue-share’ royalty agreements, and away from advance-based blanket licensing deals with labels.
“We expect a significant increase in our pay-out coming from TikTok for 2023.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
On Believe’s Q3 call, Ladegaillerie didn’t directly comment on the possibility of TikTok switching to a ‘revenue-share’ agreement with music rightsholders, or when this might happen.
He did, however, note that Believe is “currently in our renegotiation cycle” with TikTok, and that to date Believe’s deals with the ByteDance company have been two-year agreements.
Added Ladegaillerie: “Given our significant increase of [industry] market share and, globally, our very significant market share on TikTok, we do expect a significant increase in our pay-out coming from TikTok for 2023.”
2) Believe thinks streaming pricing will rise at Spotify and co following Apple Music move – but the music company is not giving away extra margin to make it happen
One topic on the lips of a few analysts questioning Believe was the recent rise in Apple Music’s standard monthly pricing in the US– up from $9.99 per month to $10.99 per month.
On the Believe Q3 call, Tom Singlehurst from Citibank wondered aloud if Apple‘s price rise move was the sign of slowing subscription growth in the music market, i.e. a large player in music streaming upping their price in anticipation of their user acquisition decelerating.
Denis Ladegaillerie replied: “On the outlook for paid streaming, at this stage, we feel very good. What we hear from the market – whether that is from Apple or Spotify or YouTube or others – is that generally, at this stage, all paid streaming services are telling us that they feel very good about paid subscriber growth [in] Q4 of this year. Like us, their customer acquisition engine is getting better and better every day.”
Added Ladegaillerie: “Overall so far, on paid subscription, we are not getting any signal from any partner… that points towards a slowdown in growth, at least in the foreseeable future.”
“on paid subscription, we are not getting any signal from any partner… that points towards a slowdown in growth, at least in the foreseeable future.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
Analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson from HSBC picked up on something specific from Apple Music’s announcement of its price rise last month: the line in which the DSP said that “[music] licensing costs are going up”.
Cote-Colisson asked whether, in turn, Apple would be getting a higher margin of the additional $1 on its new monthly US pricing than it has received from its $9.99 pricing to date.
Said Ladegaillerie: “I read [Apple’s] sentence around licensing costs, and I did not quite understand it. As you know, all of our deals with Digital Service Providers, whether it is Apple or others, provide that we… essentially receive a [set] percentage of the revenues that they generate. Once these revenues are increased as they increase paid subscription [prices], our revenues will be increased proportionately to the price increase.
“That is what our agreements with the main DSPs provide. To my knowledge, it is the same for other players [in the music business].”
Ladegaillerie further predicted that, following Apple Music’s price rise, similar price rises on other music streaming platforms would come “relatively rapidly – whether between now and the end of the year or in early 2023”.
3) Believe is experimenting with Meta…
Analyst Jérôme Bodin from ODDO asked a speculative question about Meta’s recent switch to a ‘revenue-share’ model with music business partners for certain types of UGC on Facebook.
Denis Ladegallerie gave a positive response – while revealing an interesting nugget of news.
“[We] have had a deal in place with Meta regarding UGC synchronization for some time,” said the French exec. “Our market share of sync on UGC on Meta has increased in the past couple of years, and therefore we [have] renewed our deals with similar conditions.”
“Meta right now is beta-testing synchronizing music for small and medium businesses… [We] have been one of the few beta testers around the world with them around this offering.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
Then came the revelation from Ladegaillerie: “The second thing that we are currently engaged [in] with Meta right now is they are beta-testing synchronizing music for small and medium businesses [i.e. for video advertising on Meta platforms].
“[Believe] have been one of the few beta testers around the world with them around this offering. So, we do expect that opportunity to enlarge, and we are seeing other players like TikTok explore that opportunity in similar ways as well.”
This is an interesting development: TikTok’s Global Head of Music, Ole Obermann, has previously spoken to MBW about why he thinks a more-easily-cleared library of premium music for brands looking to create short-form videos on TikTok could actually multiply the size of the entire global music sync industry.
It seems Meta agrees with him.
4) without Russia and Ukraine, Believe’s Q3 results would have grown even faster
A few people around the music business (and beyond) have criticized Believe for continuing to run bare-bones operations in Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. A group of UK politicians even tabled an ‘early day motion’ last month expressing concern for Believe’s actions (though it only attracted five signatures).
On Believe’s Q3 call, Denis Ladegaillerie explained: “We keep operating in [Russia] with the same principles, which is security of our [employees] and no extra investment,” he said, adding that this “situation can evolve every day”.
Believe’s 37% YoY growth in Q3 may have led some in the music business to assume that its operation in Russia was a defining factor in this growth – especially as others in the market close or suspend operations.
However, Ladegaillerie explained that Believe’s global business would actually have grown faster in Q3 – the company says by 40.5% YoY – had Russia and Ukraine’s contribution been omitted in a like-for-like comparison.
“Because Russia and Ukraine is growing at a lesser rate than [other territories] the weight of Russia and Ukraine in the [Believe] group revenue is decreasing,” said Ladegaillerie, explaining that revenues from Russia and Ukraine made up 7% of Believe’s revenues in Q3 vs 9% in the prior year, and that the company expects this figure to decrease further as time goes on.
Also worth noting: Believe’s 37% YoY growth in Q3 wasn’t unduly helped by exchange rates – despite the immense strength of the US dollar during the period.
According to CFO Xavier Dumont: “We saw in the communication made by other music [companies for their Q3 results] that, contrary to Believe, they had a positive exchange rate impact [in the quarter]… but it is very likely that this impact is much, much less significant [for Believe] than for the other actors.
“Because of our geographical footprint, we are less exposed, for example, [to changes in] US currency.”
Credit: QuiteSimplyStock/Shutterstock
5) Expect Believe’s acquisitions to ramp back up in 2023
When Believe IPO’d on the Paris stock exchange last summer, the company told the markets that it had earmarked up to EUR €100 million per year for acquisitions in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
So far this year, Believe hasn’t spent that kind of money on M&A – although it has still made part-acquisition deals with a handful of companies like Play Two in France in 2022.
Denis Ladegaillerie was questioned about this acquisition slowdown on Believe’s Q3 call.
“We are going to be much more active in 2023 than in 2022.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe
He replied: “[We] executed on the deals that we had identified at IPO. And then, with the global economic uncertainty… we have been very selective in our current discussions.
“The good news is that we have been preserving our full firepower. We are getting now [to] the stage where there is a number of really interesting conversations that we are starting to [enter into].
“In terms of timing, we do not expect these [acquisitions] to come in 2022, but we are going to be much more active in 2023 than in 2022.”
Xavier Dumont, Believe’s CFO, clarified that Believe had spent €60 million on M&A in 2021, but had “voluntarily chosen to pause those M&A opportunities at the beginning of [this] year, seeing what the economic situation was”.
Added Dumont: “When the financial performance and the outlook is much clearer, then we are going to resume do the M&A operations.”Music Business Worldwide
Throughout “Bono Week,” listen to an episode of “Calling Bono” with the U2 frontman himself and SiriusXM host Bill Flanagan, an interview with the producers of the memoir, a playlist featuring the tracks that serve as the book’s 40 chapter titles, and more. See more programming details below, and stream all of the content in our collection on the SXM App now.
As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of the organizations ONE and (RED), Bono’s career has been written about extensively. But in Surrender, it’s Bono who picks up the pen, writing for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was fourteen, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than twenty years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with candor, self-reflection, and humor, Bono opens the aperture on his life—and the family, friends, and faith that have sustained, challenged, and shaped him.
“When I started to write this book, I was hoping to draw in detail what I’d previously only sketched in songs,” Bono said. “The people, places, and possibilities in my life. ‘Surrender’ is a word freighted with meaning for me. Growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking), it was not a natural concept. A word I only circled until I gathered my thoughts for the book. I am still grappling with this most humbling of commands. In the band, in my marriage, in my faith, in my life as an activist. Surrender is the story of one pilgrim’s lack of progress… with a fair amount of fun along the way.”
Surrender’s subtitle, 40 Songs, One Story, is a nod to the book’s forty chapters, which are each named after a U2 song. Bono has also created forty original drawings for Surrender, which will appear throughout the book.
Check out more information about Surrender: 40 Songs, One Storyhere.
Bono Week Programming
Continued airings of the Calling Bono episode with Bono and Bill Flanagan
An interview with the producers of the Surrender audiobook and Bill Flanagan
A 40-song playlist of the songs that serve as chapter titles hosted by Bono
Excerpts from the audiobook airing on U2 X-Radio and other music channels
A special episode of Discotheque featuring remixes of the songs that serve as chapter titles in Surrender.
As Selena Gomez opens up about her mental health journey with the release of her new single, “My Mind & Me,” and documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, we’re thinking about the power of music when going through tough times.
When looking after your mental health, it’s important to make self-love and self-care a regular part of your daily routine. That’s why we’ve chosen these self-esteem-boosting anthems below to help you keep the good vibes flowing all day long!
In her new single, Selena reminds us that it’s OK not to be OK. We all have struggles to face, but no matter what we’re going through, we’re never alone.
2. “breathin” – Ariana Grande (2018)
We can always rely on this pop princess to revive our spirits and keep us breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’…
3. “Skyscraper” – Demi Lovato (2011)
With this song, Demi Lovato describes rising from the ashes and rebuilding herself to stand tall and strong – an important life experience that everyone can relate to.
4. “Juice” – Lizzo (2019)
Let’s be honest – every Lizzo song is a powerful burst of self-confidence at its finest. This self-esteem bop teaches us to spread love to everyone around us because, after all, “If I’m shinin’, everybody gonna shine.”
5. “Me, Myself and I” – Beyoncé (2003)
When we’re being hard on ourselves, it can be helpful to stop and imagine what we would say to a friend or a loved one in the same situation. In trying times, this song reminds you to be your own best friend!
6. “Try” – Colbie Caillat (2014)
This is the perfect track for self-acceptance, as Colbie asks us to stop trying so hard to be liked. We’re wonderful just the way we are!
7. “Born This Way” – Lady Gaga (2011)
Lastly, Lady Gaga tells us to choose confidence in this powerful banger, no matter who we are or where we come from. Hold your head up high and feel proud of everything you’ve achieved so far – just being here today is something to celebrate!
About the Rare Impact Fund
The Rare Impact Fund was created by Selena Gomez as part of her commitment to addressing mental health and self-acceptance. The Rare Impact Fund is raising $100 million over the next ten years to expand access to mental health services and education for young people around the world. As part of this commitment, 1% of all Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez sales are donated to the Rare Impact Fund.
The Rare Impact Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity.
Drake and 21 Savage’s new joint LP Her Loss has rocketed to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart, as Billboard reports. The record debuted at No. 1 on the chart, with the year’s biggest week for a hip-hop/R&B album and the fourth-largest streaming week for any album ever. Her Loss also dethroned Taylor Swift’s Midnights, which topped the chart shortly after its release on October 21. The new LP marks Drake’s 12th album to debut at No. 1, following the June release of Honestly, Nevermind.
Her Loss debuted with 404,000 equivalent album units, as well as 513.56 million on-demand official streams of its 16 songs. In addition to driving the largest week for any R&B/hip-hop album in 2022, Her Loss has had the largest week in that category since Drake’s own Certified Lover Boydebuted at No. 1 in September of last year.
Drake now has the third-most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200—ranking under JAY-Z (with 14) and the Beatles (with 19). Only three other artists—Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Taylor Swift—have had more than 10 No. 1 LPs on the chart.
Drake and 21 Savage first announcedHer Loss in a video for their Honestly, Nevermind track “Jimmy Cooks.” The LP was originally due October 28, however it was postponed to November 4 after Drake’s producer Noah “40” Shebib contracted COVID-19 while mixing and mastering the album.
After releasingHer Loss, Megan Thee Stallion wrote a series of tweets that appeared to criticize Drake for suggesting she lied about being shot by Tory Lanez, though she did not name anyone directly. Her Loss contains a song called “Circo Loco,” in which Drake raps, “This bitch lie about getting shots, but she still a stallion/She don’t even get the joke but she still smiling.”
Following that controversy, Drake and 21 Savage were sued by the publisher of Vogue for posting and distributing a mocked-up Vogue cover as part of their Her Loss promotion campaign. (Condé Nast and Vogue’s parent company, Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., formally filed the lawsuit. Pitchfork is also owned by Condé Nast and Advance.)
Quavo has penned an emotional tribute to his close friend, nephew, and fellow Migos rapper Takeoff, who was shot and killed on November 1 in Houston. In a statement posted to Instagram, Quavo recalled childhood memories with Takeoff, such as their shared love of professional wrestling and their early ventures into music.
“Throughout this whole time he had a REAL passion for music. It was HIS dream to become a rapper cuz I didn’t kno what I wanted to do,” Quavo wrote. “Then he created his triplet flow and the rest was HISTORY. He never worried about titles, credit, or what man got the most shine, that wasn’t him. He didn’t care about none of that as long as we brought it back home to the family!” Find Quavo’s full statement below.
In his eulogy, Quavo discusses how the terms “uncle” and “nephew” never quite captured the bond he had with Takeoff. (The two men grew up with Migos MC Offset in the Georgia suburb of Lawrenceville.) “I knew you weren’t my brother cuz you are my sister’s son, so I couldn’t say brother,” he wrote. “Now I finally get it…you are OUR angel watching me and watching us this whole time in living form making sure EVERYONE FELT UR LOVE AND HUGS while u here and u made our dreams come true.”
Prior to his death, Takeoff and Quavo had been playing dice in a Houston bowling alley when an altercation broke out and a man opened fire, as TMZ and local media reported at the time. The rapper’s death was formally ruled a homicide. He was 28 years old.
Following the news of his death, Takeoff has been memorialized by friends and collaborators including Drake, Gucci Mane, Future, and others. On Friday (November 11), a memorial service for Takeoff took place at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. Last month, Quavo and Takeoff released their debut album as a duo, Only Built for Infinity Links.
It’s so hard to tell you Ima miss you because you always with me and we did everything together. Since we were kids you been by my side looking up at me, them eyes waiting on me to make the next move…then you followed up right behind me. You always made sure I did it first so you can do it right with me. You never competed with me, we were always on the same team. You hated playing against me because I was always playing too hard or too ruff then I can hear my mama say, “sonnnn not too ruff” cuz I didn’t like to lose!
I’m sure if you’ve ever heard Nickelback songs like the eternally-memeable “Photograph” or “Figured You Out,” you’ve probably wondered “these guys have to be kidding, right?” Turns out they are, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
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In an interview with WRIF, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger said the band’s hits were written very tongue-in-cheek and weren’t mean to be taken seriously… and then everyone did and Nickelback became huge. Which is actually pretty great, if you think about it – you’re goofing off with your friends one minute, and the next minute you’re international superstars. Not bad!
“When we recorded ‘You look so much cuter with something in your mouth,’ I mean these songs, you guys play these songs on the radio. I think it is hilarious, and anybody that thinks that we take this band seriously is hilarious cause were just four goofballs sitting there going, ‘Can you imagine if they play this on the radio?’ Then you guys play it on the radio.”
Kroeger also touched on how the band was misrepresented over the years as this really serious group of guys, when that absolutely isn’t the case.For a prime example, look no further than the above press photo we were provided of the band.
“I think that there’s been some misrepresentation of this band over the years. We’ll be in a photo session and we’re doing this photo shoot and we’re just goofing off, and you’ve got all these candid shots and we’re laughing – you know, cry-laughing and just getting all these great shots – and then, right at the end, it’s always the same thing. ‘Alright guys, give me a little bit of attitude.’ We all do that thing…
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“And that’s the picture [they use] every. Single. Time. It’s like, ‘Look at these douchebags taking themselves so seriously,’ and it’s just a terrible misrepresentation of the band.”
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Slipknot, 1997. Anders Colsefni wouldn’t make it to the end of the year as the band’s vocalist and would be replaced by Corey Taylor. Slipknot also still had Josh Brainard on guitar, who would leave in 1999 and be replaced by Jim Root. There was also Greg “Cuddles” Welts as the band’s percussionist, who would eventually be replaced by longtime percussionist Chris Fehn. Slipknot was a different beast back then, as is very clearly evidenced by their 1996 demo Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.
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Though there’s one really interesting demo that came between that and the band’s eventual classic 1999 self-titled album. Slipknot won a Battle Of The Bands in 1996, and went on to release a two-song demo only known as the Battle Of The Bands Demo in 1997.
It’s a really interesting demo to check out in 2022, as you’ll recognize both songs as the genesis for two tracks (musically) from Iowa that wouldn’t come out until 2001. “Nature” features some riffs that became “The Heretic Anthem,” while “Lust Disease” very clearly became “Left Behind.” Obviously the vocals are also completely different on the demo, as Colsefni was still behind the mic at this point.
Check ’em out below! It’s a really cool snapshot of where the band was in 1997 and a glimpse into their future, even though they didn’t know it at the time.
The iconic electronic music group have dropped a fiery new drum & bass single, “Break My Heart.” The record is a “reconnection” anthem for a new era of the group’s sound, according to a press release shared with EDM.com.
“Break My Heart” features heart-wrenching, dreamy vocals with Rudimental’s classic frenetic breakbeats and warm bass. It’s the group’s first single since last year’s full-length Ground Controlalbum, hinting at more music to come. Take a listen below and find the single on streaming platforms here.
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Rudimental had been promoting “Break My Heart” for weeks, teasing fans by hinting at a new “era” of the group. The single arrives before they celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their debut album, Home, in 2023.
Just four days ago, Rudimental hung up signs around London calling for fans to contact the “Break My Heart” hotline, where the band is collecting fan’s personal messages for use in future music productions.
Rudimental also announceda special Home anniversary show scheduled for next summer. They’re hosting the event at London’s famed Crystal Palace Bowl on August 5th and will play through classics from the album as well as throughout the past decade.
For more information on the show, visit Rudimental’s website.
Frank Ocean has shared a revealing window into the electronic tracks bumping around in the office afterhours.
In the third episode of Ocean’s “Homer Radio” show on Apple Music 1, the elusive artist leaned heavily into techno and house music. The mix features a myriad of electronic tracks by artists such as Green Velvet, who have long waved the flag of the underground dance music scene.
The curated offering is particularly notable after comments made in 2019 by Ocean, who said his next album was likely to embrace the influences of club music’s cultural epicenters.
“I’ve been interested in club, and the many different iterations of nightlife for music and songs,” he said at the time. “And so the things I look at now have a lot to do with those scenes: Detroit, Chicago, techno, house, French electronic.”
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There’s certainly ample pretext for the move as the worlds of R&B, hip-hop and electronic music have become more intertwined than ever in recent memory. Drake, Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion and more have embraced the sounds of the late-night hours.
Many will also recall when The Weeknd famously took to his radio show, “Memento Mori,” to give a preview of the influences that inspired his Dawn FM album. Needless to say, it seems there’s a Frank Ocean club era on the horizon.
It’s been six years since his last studio album, 2016’s influential Blonde. But with a headlining performance at Coachella already confirmed for 2023, it’s not out of the question that fans could get their hands on his third LP before then.
Frank Ocean “Homer Radio EP. 3” Tracklist
DJ Flavinho Motta, “Primeiro Beck Ela Me Mamou” Cornelius Doctor, “Sparkling Plasma” Beau Wanzer, “Stupid Drunk Bro” Tolouse Low, “Jeidem Fall (Wolf Müller Mix)” Mike Parker, “Living Colossus” Aurora Halal & DJ G, “Off The Top” Lbeeze, “Different Time” Africaine 808, “Rhythm Is All You Can Dance (Wolf Muller Remix)” Two Dogs in a House, “Next to You” Green Velvet, “Stormy Weather” Ambien Baby, “101 We Love You” Sami, “Marty & Jack” Hizatron, “Van Glooperstein” Ahadadream, “Hydration” Scratchclart, “Log Out” Fatima Al Qadiri, “Hip Hop Spa” Doof, “Skunked On Planet Dub” Flørist, “Horn” MC Zaquin & MC Rick, “Não Nasceu pra Namorar” Modern Art, “Underwater Kites” Wiseboy Jeremy, “Sample”
Here on The Beatles Channel (Ch. 18), we ain’t got nothing but love for our listeners, eight days a week. That’s why we’ve created a show where your votes determine the playlist.
Welcome to 8 Songs A Week! Each week, listeners can vote for their favorites from a list of songs by John, Paul, George, and Ringo — sometimes by the band, sometimes it’s their solo work. Every Friday, after the votes are tallied, we’ll air the top eight vote-getters from that list.
Earlier this year, multi-platinum and GRAMMY Award-winning rapper 2 Chainz played a special invitation-only concert as part of SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series in Atlanta at Terminal West. Now you can find him in the Home of SiriusXM (or hear his Southern-style hip-hop on channels like Hip Hop Nation and Shade 45).
Alanis Morissette
An undeniable ’90s staple on channels like PopRocks, ’90s on 9 and Lithium, Morissette’s debut and GRAMMY Award-winning album, Jagged LittlePill, spawned singles like “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic” and “Hand in My Pocket.” There’s a reason why the album stayed on the Billboard 200 albums chart for 72 weeks starting in 1995 — and why we still can’t stop playing it today.
Alice Cooper
Cooper’s immediately recognizable voice can be heard on channels such as Ozzy’s Boneyard, Hair Nation and Classic Vinyl. The architect of “shock rock” and a big influence on the heavy metal genre, he’s known for tying elements of horror movies and vaudeville in with his live performances for a theatrical experience all his own. First signed in 1969, Cooper has been making music both as a solo artist and part of a band across seven decades.
Brad Paisley
One of country music’s most decorated male solo artists of the last 20 years, Paisley has taken home numerous GRAMMYs, American Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards and Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2008, he became the first artist to achieve 10 consecutive Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 singles. Hear his biggest hits from the 2000s on Y2Kountry.
One of the most iconic names in late-night TV, O’Brien started the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friendwhen he realized that, despite thousands of interviews, he’s never made a real and lasting friendship with any of his celebrity guests. Deeper, unboundedly playful, and free from FCC regulations, this weekly podcast is created by the host’s own podcast network, Team Coco, now part of SiriusXM.
Jose Mangin
It all began when he went to see Anthrax in the sixth grade. Now, Mangin — the “Metal Ambassador” — is a new member of the Home of SiriusXM and the voice behind SiriusXM’s hard-rock department, having helped launch both the Liquid Metal and Octane channels. “My whole life is metal. Everything I do is metal,” he says. “It’s not a job for me, it’s my life.”
Larry Fitzgerald
After playing on the Arizona Cardinals for 17 seasons and making 11 Pro Bowls, Fitzgerald now hosts the SiriusXM original podcast Let’s Go! with Tom Brady and Jim Gray. “His instincts, his focus and his ability to connect with his listeners sets him apart as a broadcaster and I’m grateful to call him a friend,” Brady says of Fitzgerald.
Mickey Guyton
The Highway has been a supporter of Guyton’s meteoric rise to the top in country music since the beginning. Her self-titled EP, featuring her debut single “Better Than You Left Me,” was released in 2015 — and since then, she’s been a regular at the Academy of Country Music Awards and made history as the first Black female solo artist to earn a GRAMMY nomination in a country category (Best Country Solo Performance).
Tinx
The “big sister” of TikTok, Tinx (real name Christina Najjar) hosts the popular podcast It’s Me, Tinx, as well as the weekly radio show It’s Me, Tinx Live on SiriusXM Stars. Both series feature Tinx discussing her own life, offering her takes on pop culture and relationships, and giving recommendations and advice to listeners.
Tony Fly & Symon
Combining the pop-culture powers of veteran radio and TV host Tony Fly with singer-songwriter Symon has created a must-hear destination for music and fun for SiriusXM Hits 1. Holding down the West Coast, Tony Fly and Symon interview your favorite stars out in Los Angeles, while keeping tabs on everything happening in pop culture.
You can be sure that “On Fire” will be heard during the international game. On this magnificent EP created for fans, brilliant recording artist ProdigysPicks puts on his finest performance. The newest EP he has released is what you get when quality meets creativity—something remarkable to listen to.
Each song makes you feel strong and shows that EDM is still alive. Trap, retro tastes, hard-hitting futuristic sonorities, and excellent flows are all explored on the album. Let’s face it, ProdigysPicks has saved the game since this is so uncommon these days.
In this day and age, when every song has become monotonous and it is difficult to distinguish unusual sounds, ProdigysPicks debut EP, “On Fire,” has been meticulously crafted in order to give the audience the highest quality music.
ProdigysPicks explained how he had put his heart, soul, and creative energy into this project in order to make it successful. Being his favorite project he’s ever worked on, ProdigysPicks looks to top this with the release of his new EP coming this December.
He aims to top the numbers on his last EP, explore new sounds, and give his fans this long awaited drop he’s been teasing for the past few months. He told us “I’ve been locked in for the past few months making this. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve done but i’m so excited with how everything has come out and I can’t wait to finally release this.”
Kayzo’s humble beginnings as a student of Icon Collective in Southern California seem like a lifetime ago, now that he’s just announced his Unleashed XL tour for 2023, ending with a headlining performance at the iconic Forum in Los Angeles. Since he started the project in 2012, he’s hit every marker of growth and has steadily grown as an artist and person, leading to this truly monumental occasion.
The Unleashed XL tour is on sale now. We caught up with Kayzo over the phone this week to talk about his biggest headline show to-date, reigniting the Unleashed tour after COVID, and what it took make this all happen.
So I’ve known you for I think about seven years now, since that first interview in the pizza shop in North Hollywood.
Oh, my God, dude. Yeah, that is such a throwback. I forgot all about that setting until now.
I was at your first Doghouse takeover at Avalon in 2016. I think I was at your first EDC too when you went back to back with Protohype and Lookas in 2015.
Oh, yeah, the bassPOD, we opened it up at doors.
Now you’re headlining one of the most iconic venues in Los Angeles, The Forum. When that offer came through, what was going through your head, especially looking back at where you’ve come from?
You said it best. It’s one of the most iconic venues in Los Angeles and one of the most iconic historical venues around just judging by its history. It’s been 5 years, going on six next year, from my last headline play in LA which was at the Palladium.
Photo via Yoder
Was it really that long?
Yeah, dude, isn’t that crazy? Yeah, it was like 2017 when I did the Palladium. And so, obviously, with COVID our plans that we had at that time got pushed back, so it’s been five years since the last LA show, you know, LA being kind of sentimental for me. It’s important to me because it’s where everything started musically for me back in 2012 so making sure that we put on the biggest, best Kayzo show that we can possibly do in Los Angeles is kind of like top priority, right? It’s kind of like, you set the tone with it. It’s like a mile marker and kind of performance in Los Angeles, always for me. So when we were kind of figuring out where we wanted to play, what our target was, and what our goal was for the show, The Forum always stuck out to me because, you know, I’ve been to other shows at the Forum. Non-dance music shows specifically. And I remember the last rock show I saw there. It was Bring Me The Horizon in 2019, and I saw Fever 333, and I forgot who played in the middle. But it was the first metal and rock show that I saw at The Forum. And there’s just an energy in there that was –
That show was with Thrice. [laughs]
Yeah. Okay. It was with Thrice. Yeah, show was incredible. And, for me, it’s just, you know, growing up, listening to you know all types of different rock, metal, pop punk, alternative, kind of hardcore stuff, post hardcore, and also coming from a sports background, through hockey, that type of sports/arena style venue, those types of venues in general, I always kind of gravitate towards because it’s a good representation of my life with sports and my life with music now, since they typically house those types of events. So, the energy in those types of arenas, especially The Forum, like when I saw that show, I kind of knew right then and there that was like– I remember, I was with my manager at that show. I was like, “Dude, we will play this venue one day. We need to play here,” like there’s something about this place that just sets it apart from any other venue that I’ve been to in LA for music at that time. And so when that offer came in, it was kind of surreal because I knew it was possible to do The Forum. I just didn’t know when, and I just didn’t know how it would come about. And so when that option became available, it was super full circle for me. I started to remember all the shows I’ve been to there and just having that conversation with my manager like, “We’re going to do a show there.”
I’m so excited for the show and it’s been something that we’ve been working on for months, and we’re still working on, in terms of making it perfect for everybody by the time May rolls around.
So you’re now the third EDM artist in the past year to announce or play at the Forum. You know, Subtronics and RL Grime. And you mentioned that you haven’t seen any EDM acts there. The only ones I have seen in the past five years were Armin van Buuren and The Chainsmokers. What do you think is happening that artists, particularly, it seems, bass artists, are now playing The Forum? Are they opening up to it or is bass getting to that crossover area where The Forum is now like, “Yeah, we can do this.”
Right. It’s a good question, I think a little bit of both. I think certain acts like you mentioned at least in the last couple of months, and I was at the RL Grime show too, which was great, really, really dope show. It’s a venue where an artist that really takes pride in the vision and the storytelling behind the brand and the showmanship of the show, it’s a good place to show off that story outside of the typical club and even normal venue. It’s just a bigger stage, and it’s a different type of viewing experience than other venues that you can go see. So I think The Forum, obviously they’re coming around to see more dance music in there. Dance music is at a good place for those like large scale shows. The shows that they put on there, whether they’re electronic specific music, or with myself who does a combination of rock and electronic that’ll bring, like without giving away too much of who we have and what we’re doing, like we’re bringing an entire live experience outside of just DJing to this show and to the tour that I just announced even outside of LA for my set. That kind of resembles what I did in 2019 with Unleashed but on a larger scale in a different format, and also, you know, there’s going to be support bands and different live elements to the show that kind of bring it full circle, make it feel not less like a rave, but it brings the the storytelling and the backstory of where I come from musically, what I enjoy outside of dance music to the table.
I think they see this as a good opportunity for artists to take bigger risks. And try different things out that are not just the normal, standard, big LA show. So I think The Forum gives us a platform to take bigger risks. And I think they’re excited about showcasing that with the newer generation and the newer styles of music like electronic music and not just being so band-centric and you know, “We only do bands, we do live music,” they’re now kind of shifting and diverting towards also having more electronic music in there. So it’s kind of just coming with the times. Just like any other major city venue, festival. We’ve been seeing it for the last 10+ years, the representation of dance music artists or stages at major crossover festivals are pretty much standard at this point. So I think you’re starting to see that bleed over into the hard ticket touring aspect of things with artists, you know, electronic music doesn’t have to just necessarily be in a club or a venue that houses just electronic music. Now you can take it to The Forum or, you know, you see acts play at SoFi Stadium or Allegiant in Vegas like with Illenium. If there’s a story to be told, and there’s an audience for it, I think these venues are way more welcoming to it now.
Absolutely yeah. You sort of already touched on my next two questions a little bit, but I’ll just keep it moving. Previously, you mentioned the RL Grime show at the Forum, and I remember seeing you there the night before Escape. And I kind of mentioned to you like, “Oh, you’ve got a big announcement at Escape, huh?” I obviously had no idea it was going to be about the Forum at the time. I don’t know if you remember this.
Yeah we were at the bar talking about it.
Were you trying to, like, hide a smirk the whole time, like you knew?
Yeah. I mean, it was just kind of like I was trying to keep it under wraps just only because like, not that I was afraid of anyone saying anything. I just was excited; we had already filmed this really, really, really cool promo video that I premiered at Escape to soft announce the show to everyone in LA that was at my Escape set. So I just wanted like that to be like, outside of the promoters that booked the show and my managers, I wanted even like friends and people that I keep in touch with in the industry to be completely surprised and also blown up, like, let that be a huge moment, so I was trying really hard to just keep it under wraps until that moment happened at Escape. You know what I mean? But I was definitely excited to be there for that show and kind of just get a good insight of like, what’s to come and what the capabilities are from a production and showmanship standpoint at a venue like that, and it was really, really exciting to see what can be done in that venue.
We were also talking about your Unleashed tour. I was looking up before this, you know, for the for your last album, you announced that tour. I think it was like January or February, 2020. And that was like just a couple of months before the pandemic, and now you’re doing the Unleashed XL, even bigger than before. So, I mean, like you’ve come out of the pandemic, you know, absolutely leveled up. How does it feel to, for lack of a better phrase, overcome that adversity and come out the other side on a much bigger stage?
Yeah, that was kind of a bummer back then. I remember announcing the Unleashed tour that we were supposed to do. We announced at the beginning of 2020 and then, like, literally, like two months later, like a month after announcing or whatever it was, had to pull it all down. I just had such big aspirations for that tour because I had just got done doing the Unleashed, big one-off only shows in San Francisco and Chicago and New York, Houston, where we were testing the idea because we were playing Coachella in 2019. So we wanted to bring a live aspect to Coachella, and that’s what kind of sparked the idea of Unleashed to begin with, with some of the shows. So, we announced that big tour. We were so excited coming off Coachella and those shows and then the pandemic happens. And, you know, I never knew if I was going to get another opportunity to do the Unleashed show or something like it. You know what I mean? Didn’t know what came out was what was going to come out the other side during the whole experience with COVID.
And then coming out of it and then getting the opportunities to continue to grind and work hard on my craft, and continue to push this sound and this narrative that I am doing with my music with rock and electronic, getting the chance to, bring back Unleashed and do Unleashed XL because you know bigger, better production and kind of a different story. I’m just like super, super fortunate and grateful for it. Because that original tour idea was such an important piece to my storytelling and I didn’t know if I was ever going to tell it. And now I get to bring it back to life in a different, innovative way for 2023. It’s like full circle, and it comes with a lot of other growth, personal growth, creative growth, growth in my relationships and you know my girlfriend, family, and everything from the pandemic. I wish I would have been able to do the tour back then. But I’m almost happier that I’ve been able to kind of go through a lot more personal and creative growth and I think I’ve been able to kind of put myself in a much better and different headspace that I think will only benefit the tour and the show and all my fans that come to these shows. I’m excited that we finally get to tell it and we get to bring it all around the US and Canada and then end it off in LA at the Forum.
The lineup for the tour just got announced as well. It’s really amazing to see who’s gonna be supporting and playing with you on this run. The Forum support is still TBA. But you know, you already kind of touched on this, with a lot of your LA shows we can expect something really special. I know you can’t really get into too many specifics, but is there anything you can maybe, like, tease?
For sure. We have one date still to announce in the tour that’s like kind of spray painted out right now, and then we have those TBA supports, not because we don’t know what we’re doing, but because we are kind of just like waiting to announce those at a later date, because, yeah, they’re they’re going to be bigger than a normal show. Obviously, venues like The Forum are huge, right? So we want to really come out the gate swinging and bring something special. And also like I alluded to earlier, shows like the Forum and some of these bigger shows like we’re bringing a live aspect to them. So like we have bands, and bands as in plural, on these shows, So, I don’t want to give away too much of like, who and what, like the specifics because we’ve got some time until then, but like I will say there’s going to be a huge live aspect to that show specifically that will separate it from anything that I’ve done in LA and also anything that I’ve done in the past so far with any other Unleashed show. Stay tuned for that one. It’s going to have some things that people have been asking for outside of the band. I get hit up on social media all the time, and some of those requests are finally going to come to fruition at the Forum so I think people will be pleasantly surprised and excited for what we have planned.
More than anything, singing karaoke is a way to have fun. So, picking the perfect song to perform alongside your friends at a bar or alone in your living room should never be stressful. And thanks to a new generator, finding your go-to karaoke song is now simple.
Credit: Jess Hutchinson
Pandora teamed up with the Los Angeles Times to put together the ultimate guide for discovering your karaoke songs, finding out where to sing them and more. To create the interactive generator, the LA Times first asked its readers for their top karaoke picks and why they love them. Then, they collected more than 600 suggestions and passed them along to Pandora’s Music Genome Project, a team made up of musicians and data analysts.
Led by Steve Hogan, the Music Genome Project used science and engineering to develop song recommendations into categories, such as vocal range, mood, difficulty and whether the song has an exceptional singalong chorus.
“The Music Genome Project is a highly detailed musical taxonomy that allows us to describe songs and artists along many dimensions — including musicological characteristics (harmony, rhythm, melody); details of instrumentation and vocal performance; genre and stylistic influences; lyrics; studio production; and more,” said Hogan in an exclusive interview with the LA Times.
Credit: Steve Hogan
According to Hogan, the project has applied their analysis to millions of songs and hundreds of thousands of artists over the past 20 years, enabling them to develop recommendation strategies for their music-streaming products.
As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of the organizations ONE and (RED), Bono’s career has been written about extensively. But in Surrender, it’s Bono who picks up the pen, writing for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was fourteen, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than twenty years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with candor, self-reflection, and humor, Bono opens the aperture on his life—and the family, friends, and faith that have sustained, challenged, and shaped him.
![Kayzo talks about his Unleashed XL tour and what it means to headline The Forum in Los Angeles [Interview]](https://reportwire.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/kayzo-escape2022-cam-2.jpg)
