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Photo: Bandsintown

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Bandsintown Adds WATCH LIVE Fan Alerts For Livestream Concerts, Announces Online Benefit Fest

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With touring suspended, the online show listing service will expand to include livestreams and launch the Bandsintown Live Music Marathon next week to benefit MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 20, 2020 - 12:06 pm

As the music industry shirts its focus from live events to livestream performances due to the global coronavirus pandemic, artists and business alike continue to adapt. Now, Bandsintown, a leader in direct-to-fan engagement has announced the addition of WATCH LIVE fan alerts for online performances by their favorite artsts.

With the new feature, artists will be able to add WATCH LIVE listings on their pages that will link directly to their performance on Facebook Live, Instagram Live, other third party streaming hosts, and a new live music channel on Twitch Bandsintown launched today to host live concerts at live.bandsintown.com. They kicked off the new channel with a special set by producer/DJ Black Coffee live from South Africa. 

The new Bandsintown Live channel will also host the multi-day Bandsintown Live Music Marathon next week Mar. 26 & 27 featuring both established and rising artists. The full lineup is yet to be revealed, but all donations received during the livestream will be donated to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. 

WATCH LIVE will become available for free for artists on Bandsintown starting next week. For more information, visit the Bandsintown website.

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Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

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Tank And The Bangas

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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Tank And The Bangas, Tayla Parx, TBS, Sofi Tukker & More: WATCH Bandsintown's LIVE Music Marathon

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Benefitting the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, the livestream festival will run eight hours a day March 26 & 27 on Twitch
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 25, 2020 - 5:37 pm

Leading live event discovery platform Bandsintown will host the LIVE Music Marathon on its newly established Twitch channel March 26 and 27 featuring perfomrnaces from Taking Back Sunday, Amanda Palmer, Tank & The Bangas, Yuksek, Sofi Tukker, Matt Quinn of Mt. Joy, Tayla Parx, The Mowglis and more. Donations collected during the virtual music festival will go to support the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Looking ahead, Bandsintown has also said it will announce a regular schedule of live music programming and events on the Bandsintown LIVE channel. They're also paving the way for their artist users to do the same, offering its 530,000 musicians registered with Bandsintown For Artists free access to Twitch’s monetization tools for live streaming as artists everywhere adapt to the hiatus of live shows. 

“We are experiencing a new form of connectivity between music acts and their fans,” said Bandsintown Managing Partner Fabrice Sergent. “Artists have suddenly become more approachable. A new form of entertainment is emerging from this chaos.”

Read: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

In addition to empowering artists to find a new way forward, the money the LIVE Music Marathon raises will go support MusiCares' ongoing effort to help people in the music industry affected by the coronavirus disease outbreak and subsequent cancellation of countless music events, festivals, shows, sessions and tours.

The platfrom made a critical pivot last week, adding WATCH LIVE fan alerts for livestream concerts and launching the Bandsintown Live Channel with a livestream set from South Africa by Producer/DJ Black Coffee, which racked up 84,500 unique viewers checking out the DJ’s set.

Bandsintown's LIVE Music Marathon will run eight hours each day starting at 1 pm. EDT. The full lineup and schedule for Bandsintown's LIVE Music Marathon is available here.

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Yungblud performs on "MTV Unplugged At Home"

Yungblud performs on "MTV Unplugged At Home"

Screenshot: MTV/YouTube

 
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'MTV Unplugged At Home' Announces Virtual Lineup: FINNEAS, Monsta X, Alessia Cara, Wyclef Jean, Yungblud And More

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The quarantine-friendly version of MTV's celebrated "MTV Unplugged" series will feature stripped-down and acoustic performances from artists directly from their homes
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Apr 3, 2020 - 3:36 pm

Today (April 3), MTV announced its initial artist lineup for its newly debuted, quarantine-friendly version of its celebrated "MTV Unplugged" series: "MTV Unplugged At Home." The series will feature at-home performances from GRAMMY winners FINNEAS, Alessia Cara, Shaggy and Melissa Etheridge, as well as Monsta X, CNCO, Jewel and Bazzi. They join previously announced artists Wyclef Jean, Yungblud, himself a digital concert rock star, and JoJo. Additional artists will be announced at a later date.

Much like its namesake, "MTV Unplugged At Home" will feature stripped-down and acoustic performances from quarantined artists directly from their homes. The series will be streamed regularly across MTV's YouTube, Instagram and Twitter channels.

Read: Nirvana Manager Danny Goldberg Talks 25 Years of 'MTV Unplugged In New York'

"Reimagining the beloved music series as a multi-platform digital experience, the new mini-concert series will feature stripped-down, acoustic sets from artists performing their greatest hits, enabling music enthusiasts to find comfort in their new realities alongside fellow fans," a statement regarding the show said, according to Rolling Stone. "In addition to the roster of global artists, MTV's international channels will feature performances by local acts in their respective countries around the world."

"MTV Unplugged At Home" coincides with MTV's #AloneTogether global social media campaign, which aims to educate young fans and followers about social distancing in an attempt to control and reduce the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since early March, the global music industry has been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a worldwide shutdown of the festival and concert business. Major festivals and events to have canceled or postponed their 2020 installments include Governors Ball, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Coachella and Stagecoach, Ultra Music Festival, SXSW, Lollapalooza Argentina and many more around the world.

Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

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Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers

Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

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CMT Announces Kenny Rogers Tribute Special With Dolly Parton, Jason Isbell & More To Benefit MusiCares

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The April 8 airing will feature at-home performances from Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Lady Antebellum, Vince Gill and more to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund
Nate Hertweck
MusiCares
Apr 2, 2020 - 12:14 pm

CMT has announced plans to pay tribute to the late Kenny Rogers with a star-studded special. “CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit for MusiCares” will air April 8 and feature at-home performances by Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Lady Antebellum, Vince Gill, Michael McDonald, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Randy Houser and more.

The special will also benefit for the MusiCares organization’s COVID-19 relief fund, as viewers can donate throughout the special. Established by the Recording Academy and MusiCares, the fund has seen mounting support from  artists, companies, organization and charities.  

“Kenny Rogers transcended genres and generations with his musical versatility, legendary collaborations and timeless appeal, and we’re honored to pay tribute to his legacy,” Margaret Comeaux, the show’s executive producer and CMT’s VP of production, music & events said in a statement. “Particularly in these turbulent times, we’ll stop and take a moment to allow the memory of our dear friend Kenny to bring us together and inspire us to lend support to those in the music community who are most in need.”

Rogers passed away just last month at age 81. The three-time GRAMMY-winning country music icon scored 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and 12 No. 1 hits on the Top Country Albums chart. He also received the Recording Academy's President's Merit Award in 1986, was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2013, and earned the Country Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 and the Artist Of A Lifetime Award at the CMT Artists Of The Year 2015.

"As one of the first artists to successfully master the country/pop crossover, Rogers touched the lives of millions worldwide and led the way for many notable artists who followed," Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement. "This is a great loss for the music industry, but his influence and legacy will continue. We're thinking of his loved ones during this difficult time."

“CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit for MusiCares” will premiere April 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CMT, and air again April 11 at noon as well as on MTV Live April 10 at 8.

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares. 

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Thomas Rhett

Photo: John Shearer

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Thomas Rhett Releases "Be A Light" Star-Studded Collab To Benefit MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund

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Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin and Keith Urban join Rhett for this heart-filled song to benefit people in the music industry affected by the coronavirus crisis
Nate Hertweck
MusiCares
Mar 31, 2020 - 11:40 am

Support from the music community for the MusiCares COVID-19 Releif Fund continues to grow... On March 30, Thomas Rhett's golden 30th birthday, the GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter joined the cause, releasing “Be A Light” featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin and Keith Urban, with artist proceeds from the song going to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Releif Fund. To celebrate the release and spread the positive message of the song, Rhett went live on Instagram.

The heart-filled song reminds us all how similar we are and how powerful our thoughts and actions can be, especially in tough times, with encouraging lyrics such as, "When you do somebody wrong, make it right/ Don't hide in the dark, you were born to shine/ In a world full of hate, be a light." The star-studded lineup trade verses, lines and harmonies as the song builds from a simple, acoustic strum to an epic, cinematic, uplifting anthem.

“I wrote ‘Be A Light’ last year as a way to process negativity and sadness I was seeing in the world,” Rhett said. “Now, as I sit in my home with my family on my 30th Birthday, we are in the middle of a world-wide pandemic affecting every single human on earth, all while our town of Nashville is still healing from devastating tornadoes that destroyed so much of our city less than one month ago. But, among the wreckage, I see us come together in ways I never dreamed possible. I knew in my heart this was the time to share this message with the world and our community. The voices who join me on this track are some of the brightest lights I know. I hope this song serves as a reminder that we are all in this together.”

The song's uplifting message is matched by its purpose, as Rhett and the song’s collaborators will donate all proceeds from "Be A Light" to the MusiCares COVID-19 Releif Fund. Established by the Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares, the fund helps people in the music industry affected by the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent cancellation of multiple music events. Rhett joins a growing number of artists, companies, organization and charities lending their support to the cause and the fund.

Learn More: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

Rhett's fourth studio album, 2019's Center Point Road, earned him two No. 1 hits in "Look What God Gave Her" and "Remember You Young" on its way to being nominated for Best Country Album at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards. You can listen to "Be A Light," co-written by Rhett, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson and Matt Dragstrem, and check out its encouraging lyrics here. 

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares.