Latest news with #music industry
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
North East entrepreneurs join BBC's Steve Lamacq as trustees of music industry trust
Two entrepreneurs from the North East have been selected to be a part of a music industry trust and will sit alongside BBC DJ Steve Lamacq and other industry insiders. Victoria Smith, of Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events, and Wendy Smith, Creative Director for The Glasshouse, will join eight new trustees for the Live Trust, which has been set up on behalf of the UK live music industry and will deliver funding where it is needed most to help the sector thrive. Victoria and Wendy will join three founding trustees, who are James Ainscough from the Royal Albert Hall, Steve Lamacq of BBC 6 Music and the current Live Chair, and Kirsty McShannon, founder & CEO of Azorra. Victoria is finance director and shareholder at Sunderland-based Ghostwriter Consultancy and has over 20 years' experience working with independent venues and festivals in the UK. She led the development of Gig Lab, a software platform aimed at improving event management and has extensive experience across finance, ticketing, and venue management. Victoria was also recently recognised with the Innovate UK's Women in Innovation Award. READ MORE: Balamory to make shock TV return after 20 years with Newcastle actress in BBC cast READ MORE: Restaurant loved by Dan Burn to open new Newcastle site after major funding deal Wendy is an experienced creative director and performing artist who has played a key role in developing The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and its programmes in Gateshead. The trustees will serve a three year term of office on a voluntary basis and were selected on the basis of their passion for and understanding of the UK live music sector. The trust believes their particular skills could help secure a vibrant future for venues, artists, festivals, promoters and the wider range of actors that make shows possible. The board will use the experience and networks that the new trustees bring to aid its decisions around the assessment of where need is most pressing and where funds can give most impact. Live Chair, Steve Lamacq said: 'Appointing the trustees has been a long, detailed and considered process. We were delighted to receive almost 50 very high-quality expressions of interest in joining the board. I would like to thank Charisse, James and Kirsty for joining me on the appointment panel and taking their role so seriously. I look forward to working with the new trustees to set the foundations for the Trust's work in the months and years ahead'. Established in response to the 2024 Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) report calling for an industry-led voluntary solution to the crisis in the grassroots music industry, the Live Trust is responsible for overseeing a voluntary £1 ticket contribution on arena and stadium shows over a 5000 capacity. It recently announced 800,000 pledged ticket sales from artists including Pulp, Diana Ross, Mumford and Sons, Hans Zimmer, Gorillaz, Wolf Alice and others, and is committed to delivering vital funding where it is needed most. It will act on behalf of the live music industry, which contributes £6.1bn to the UK economy while employing 230,000 people, and will support a grassroots sector which saw 125 grassroots music venues close permanently in 2023, 78 festivals lost in 2024 and a 50% decline in tour dates over the last three decades. We have a dedicated newsletter for What's On news and reviews. It's free and you can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest updates on food, drink, entertainment and events in and around the North East.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Morgan Wallen, SZA, Kendrick Lamar Lead Mid-Year Album Sales, Rock Has Most Growth Among Genres
Morgan Wallen, SZA and Kendrick Lamar have had the strongest year thus far in terms of U.S. album sales, according to Luminate's 2025 midyear report. The report, which examines the health of the music industry from various data points, notes an uptick in U.S. total album consumption, increasing 3.9 percent to 558.9 million compared to 537.9 million last year. Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' leads U.S. top 10 albums with 2.562 million total album-equivalent consumption, followed by SZA's 'SOS' (1.711 million), Lamar's 'GNX' (1.706 million), Bad Bunny's 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS' (1.650 million) and Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short n' Sweet' (1.331 million). More from Variety 'KPop Demon Hunters' Soundtrack Hits New Peak of No. 2 on Albums Chart Lorde's 'Virgin' Album Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard Chart Drake Slams Former Friends in Fallout From Kendrick Lamar Beef on New Single 'What Did I Miss?' Rounding out the top 10 include the Weeknd's 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' Drake and PartyNextDoor's 'Some Sexy Songs 4 U,' Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time,' Lady Gaga's 'Mayhem' and Playboi Carti's 'Music.' Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have had the biggest song thus far this year on a global scale, topping the worldwide top 10 with 'Die With a Smile' (1.920 billion on-demand audio streams). Mars comes in yet again at No. 2 with Rosé for their collaboration 'APT.' (1.624 billion), followed by Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' (1.316 billion), Kendrick Lamar and SZA's 'Luther' (1.207 billion) and Bad Bunny's 'DtMF' (1.163 billion). Streaming accounted for 92 percent of music consumption in the United States in early 2025. On the global front, on-demand audio song streams increased by 10.3 percent to 2.5 trillion compared to 2.3 trillion in the previous year. Elsewhere, hip-hop and R&B outpaced other genres in the U.S. with the highest volume of on-demand audio streaming, leading with 171.1 billion. Behind it sits rock (123.3 billion), pop (83.3 billion), country (61.8 billion) and Latin (59.4 billion). Notably, rock had the highest growth compared to the same timeframe as last year, while Latin, country and Christian/gospel trailed behind it. Blues also had a bump in growth due to the 'Sinners' soundtrack and the tangential activity of featured artists. Luminate also looked at the appeal of music documentaries, noting that viewers tend to gravitate towards films that focus on legacy artists as 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' rank at the top. Docs including 'Avicii — I'm Tim,' 'Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius),' 'Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley' and 'The Greatest Night in Pop' rank behind 'Zeppelin' in the top five, while additional films including 'Luther: Never Too Much' and 'Beatles '64' round out the top 10. Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Music Review: Cult hero Alex G's 'Headlights' is an introspective meditation on fame
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fame is a double-edge sword. Though it comes with obvious perks — money, opportunity, praise — it can also prompt a kind of existential reckoning. Now what? Is this all there is? Am I changed because of it and, if so, for better or for worse? This is the kind of wrestling Alex Giannascoli, better known as the influential indie rocker Alex G, performs on 'Headlights,' his 10th album and first on a major label. 'Has your wish come true?' he asks, perhaps of himself, on the aptly titled 'Is It Still You In There?' Although Giannascoli achieved quiet success early in his career — collaborating with Frank Ocean on his critically acclaimed 2016 album 'Blonde ' and joining the R&B superstar on tour — Giannascoli has, until recently, been more frequently labeled a cult indie figure than a household name. But the 32-year-old has risen to prominence in recent years, particularly after his 2022 album, 'God Save the Animals,' which marked a distinct shift from his austere, lo-fi sound to more robust production and instrumentation. He has since collaborated with the pop star Halsey on her latest record and scored filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's A24 horror hit, 'I Saw the TV Glow.' That trajectory informs Giannascoli's contemplative poignancy on 'Headlights,' releasing Friday. 'Some things I do for love / Some things I do for money / It ain't like I don't want it / It ain't like I'm above it,' he admits on the 'Beam Me Up,' his whirring guitars strumming mesmerizingly against airy background vocals. Many of his lyrics here, like in the past, are poetically inscrutable. But there are also moments of explicit frankness about ambition, self-doubt, transition and success. 'Hoping I can make it through to April / On whatever's left of all this label cash / No I never thought I was the real thing,' he croons on 'Real Thing,' as a pan flute synthesizer whistles underneath him. With 'Headlights,' Giannascoli continues further down his 'God Save the Animals' sonic pivot to higher fidelity — perhaps to be expected on an album coming from a major label like RCA Records — recording in studios in lieu of his home for a more ornate sound. Think dreamy synths and reverb-soaked riffs. Subdued lyrics and a distorted guitar solo almost turn 'Louisiana' into a shoegaze track. 'Louisiana / Wild and Free / The only one who wanted me,' he repeats with distorted vocals. If there is a central message to 'Headlights,' it appears on the song 'Bounce Boy.' 'I'm up in the clouds and I pray,' he sings with pitched-up vocals, one of his signature effects. 'Say goodbye / To the life / That you knew for so long.' For better or for worse, there is no turning back.
