In a pair of blockbuster deals totaling $350 million, Zach Bryan has re-upped with Warner Records and, separately, either has sold or is in the process of selling his publishing catalog, sources tell Variety.

Reliant Talent Agency has expanded its talent division with four new agents. Veteran talent agent Scott Simpson joins Reliant as Head of Talent, leading the agency’s efforts in Talent, Comedy, Unscripted Television and beyond. Joining him in the division is agent Jonathan Perry, who will lead West Coast Talent alongside agent Katie Edwards. Melanie Moreau will lead the Unscripted Department.

Google is testing a new two-person YouTube Premium plan, priced between the individual and family plan.

 The fight for fair compensation for music creators hit the ground running in 2025, with renewed momentum behind the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA). Reintroduced in the new Congress earlier this year, AMFA marks a historic opportunity to finally close a century-old loophole that has long denied performing artists royalties when their music is played on AM/FM radio.

Building on a strong foundation, support for AMFA has never been stronger. To kick off the year, we ramped up our advocacy in a big way—starting with an unforgettable moment on World Music Day.

“My shows are interactive audiovisual experiences that I create around my music. I sing my songs while my movements control all the digital elements of the music, visuals and lights…”

Chagall is an artist, but also a dancer, choreographer, programmer and all-round tech innovator – and now a nominee for Music Ally’s International Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 award. She’s explaining how all of this experience is put to use in her live performances.

On Friday, Spotify said Apple approved the music streamer’s updated iOS app for the U.S., which among other things now lets you pay for a subscription without using Apple’s own in-app payment system. That’s significant because Apple charges up to a 30% fee on top of purchases made in the App Store. The Spotify update comes as Apple updated developer terms for the App Store, to comply with a U.S. federal judge’s ruling ordering Apple allow third-party payment options and to stop restricting developers’ ability to promote offers to their customers.

US satellite-radio firm SiriusXM published its Q1 financial results yesterday, revealing that its revenues were down 4% year-on-year to $2.07bn. This included some downbeat news on the company’s music-streaming service Pandora. The latter’s monthly active users continue their slow decline – down from 45 million a year ago to 42.4 million in Q1 2025. But whereas in past years the saving grace was that Pandora was growing its revenues, those have also tipped into decline.

Beyoncé was sent a cease-and-desist letter from James Dolan’s lawyers over a video at her new show depicting her picking up the Las Vegas Sphere. Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas Sphere boss James Dolan is not interested in sharing his toys. That was made clear when his lawyers hit Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment with a cease-and-desist letter over a video shown at her Cowboy Carter concert. The video depicts a giant Beyoncé striding through the Las Vegas skyline before leaning over and picking up the Sphere.

Backstage helps companies build customized developer portals, bringing order to their infrastructure by combining all their tooling.

Playing the song from or near certain laptops made around 2005 and later screwed with their hard drives.

After canceling the first show of its summer season yesterday (May 1), the Brooklyn Mirage has canceled all shows through its scheduled opening weekend, the venue announced on social media. Dates by Sara Landry (May 1 and May 2), City Fox (May 3) and Black Coffee (May 4) are affected. The Brooklyn Mirage is owned by New York City-based promotion company Avant Gardner.

The Music Fights Fraud Alliance has a new member: independent licensing agency Merlin. It has signed up to the organisation, which launched in 2023 as a “global task force aimed at eradicating streaming fraud”. Merlin joins existing members including Spotify, Amazon Music and SoundCloud as well as a number of distributors and services companies: Believe and TuneCore, Downtown Music, DistroKid, UnitedMasters and more.

The boutique agency Dynamic Talent International announced its expansion with the opening of a new office in the heart of Downtown Nashville.

Located at 401 Commerce Street, the new Music City office joins Dynamic’s existing offices in Sacramento, New York, Los Angeles, and Poland.

Along with the new office, Dynamic announced the hiring of Nashville-based agent Robert Baugh, who will collaborate with the agency’s existing agent team, including Jamie Leslie, Jordan Cocklin, Jake Hawkins, Adam Easterling, and Jordyn Rothman.

This year’s event coincides with the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The dress code, Tailored for You, is inspired by the exhibition’s focus on menswear and suiting.

Gala co-chairs include Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour with LeBron James serving as an honorary chair.

ABC News announces a daily program covering the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, “Burden of Proof: The Case Against Diddy,” beginning this Friday. The 30-minute-episode deep-dive premieres Friday, May 9, at 5:30 PM EDT on ABC News Live, hosted by “GMA3” co-anchor Eva Pilgrim. Each episode of the series will spotlight and analyze the day’s events from the courtroom with real-time updates.

Lady Gaga has performed the biggest concert of her career.
The “Abracadrabra” singer held a free concert on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Copacabana Beach, and drew a record-breaking crowd of 2.5 million people.

According to concert organizers, Gaga now holds the record for the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history – a record previously held by Madonna, who drew 1.6 million. During her performance, Gaga acknowledged the crowd and said, “Your spirit may be heard around the world tonight. Two and a half million people.”

The official Summerfest App fueled by Pepsi is now available for FREE download on the Apple or Google Play stores and is a must-have for all fans.

The first 15,000 fans who download the Summerfest App can claim a free one-day admission ticket to Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance valid for the first weekend of the festival on either June 19, June 20, or June 21, from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m., while supplies last, courtesy of Pepsi. (limit of one admission ticket per device, not valid for admission to American Family Insurance Amphitheater concerts).

From grassroots gigs to stadium shows, there’s no escaping the ticketing giant, making billions from hiking up prices (and whacking on fees)

January’s blazes in California have devastated the livelihoods of performers, technicians and other music industry pros. They reveal what they lost – and how they’re rebuilding

Within the ashes of what used to be Christopher Fudurich’s home in Los Angeles, some objects from his garage music studio were still identifiable. Microphones charred and blackened, a scorched keyboard and melted cables among the toxic debris. Not just objects; a life’s work, passion and creativity burned up. “Things I’d been collecting since I was a teenager,” says the songwriter, producer and sound technician. “Just gone.”

Benson Boone brought his dynamic stage presence and first-class showmanship to Saturday Night Live on May 3. Making his debut as the musical guest on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series, the 22-year-old pop sensation performed two tracks from his forthcoming sophomore album, American Heart.

Live music has returned to The Dome in Virginia Beach, with an all-new build resurrecting the famous concert venue of decades past with a soft opening tonight to be followed by a May 4 concert by rock veterans Three Dog Night, who played the final performance at the original Dome when it closed in 1993.

Event Safety Alliance (ESA) announced the hire of Rob Bergeron, CAE, as the organization’s new Executive Director. Bergeron brings decades of relevant experience to his new role at the head of the event safety advocacy organization, which he started officially on April 28th. His resume includes past roles at Oracle Developer Technology User Group (ODTUG) and the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP).