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Lollapalooza 2019

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Lollapalooza 2020 Canceled, Along With Other Chicago Summer Fests, Due To Coronavirus Concerns

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Festival organizers turn their sights to its 30th anniversary edition in 2021 as the city announces slate of summer virtual events
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jun 9, 2020 - 12:56 pm

The city of Chicago has officially canceled Lallapalooza 2020, as well other summer festivals including the Chicago Jazz Festival, due to concerns over coronavirus. As the Chicago Tribute put it, "Summer is over in Chicago before it even began."

“We must provide ways for people to enjoy the spirit of a Chicago summer while prioritizing health and safety,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. “As difficult as it is to remove these in-person events from our calendar, we are pulling out all the stops for an inventive, engaging and fun festival season this summer.”

The annual mega-festival was set to return to Chicago's Grant Park July 30 - Aug. 2. But Lolla organizers had yet to reveal this year's lineup or make tickets available for sale, and now shifting their focus to planning for the festival's 30th anniversary celebration in 2021.

The news is not all bad, however, as the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) has announced, "A slate of more than 150 reimagined summer events that will include at-home dance parties, virtual concerts, farmers markets and community meals for frontline workers."

Similarly, Lollapalooza is instead planning a weekend-long streaming event for July 30 - Aug. 2. For more information, visit the festival website.  

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11 Breakout Acts You May Have Missed At Lollapalooza 2019

Nick Demangone of Exeter Township sanitizes his hands before browsing records for sale at Vertigo Music in West Reading

Photo: MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images / Contributor

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RIAA 2020 Mid-Year Report: Recorded-Music Revenues In The U.S. Grew More Than 5 Percent During The First Half Of 2020 Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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A new study from the RIAA shows that revenues from recorded music in the U.S. grew to $5.7 billion in the first half of the year, a boost largely driven by strong streaming numbers.
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Sep 10, 2020 - 11:55 am

A new mid-year report from The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) shows that revenues from recorded music in the U.S. grew to $5.7 billion, up from $5.4 billion as Billboard reports, in the first half of 2020; the change marks an increase of 5.6 percent.

Paid streaming subscriptions, which increased by 24 percent to more than 72 million on average, a growth of 14 percent in the first half of 2020 when compared to the first half of 2019, largely drove the aforementioned revenue growth.

Streaming music revenues—returns from subscription services like paid versions of Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and others; digital and customized radio services, including revenues distributed by SoundExchange like Pandora, SiriusXM and other internet radio; and ad-supported on-demand streaming services like YouTube, Vevo, and ad-supported Spotify—grew 12 percent to $4.8 billion in the first half of 2020. 

Paid subscription revenues grew 14 percent to $3.8 billion, and further increased their share as the largest contributor, accounting for 67 percent of total revenues in the first half of 2020, according to the RIAA report. 

Digital downloads, a market that continues to shrink in the streaming age, fell from 8 percent to 6 percent for the category's share of total revenues in the first half of 2020. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the U.S. and international music business as well as the global advertising markets, "growth in ad-supported streaming revenues slowed dramatically," the RIAA writes.

As well, revenues from physical products decreased by 23 percent year-over-year to $376 million in the first half 2020, Variety reports. The RIAA report indicates a "significant impact from music retail and venue shutdown measures around COVID-19, as Q1 2020 declines were significantly less than Q2 compared with their respective periods the year prior." 

Revenues from vinyl albums increased in this year's first quarter, but later decreased in the second quarter, resulting in a net overall increase of 4 percent for the first half of 2020, the report reports. Vinyl album revenues, which reached $232 million, accounted for 62 percent of total physical revenues, marking the first time vinyl exceeded physical CDs for such a period since the '80s, as well as 4 percent of total recorded-music revenues.

Read the RIAA's 2020 mid-year report in full.

RIAA Report: Latin Music Is Growing Faster Than The Overall U.S. Music Market

CupcakKe performs at POP Montreal 2019

CupcakKe performs at POP Montreal 2019

 

Photo: Stacy Lee

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POP Montreal Announces Full Artist Lineup For 2020 Hybrid Virtual And Live Festival Format: Backxwash, Flore Laurentienne, Plants & Animals And More Confirmed

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Canada's long-running eclectic music festival will include a combination of livestreamed concerts as well as live shows, which will feature safety measures including required face masks, social distancing and on-site attendee registration
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Sep 9, 2020 - 4:16 pm

POP Montreal, Canada's long-running eclectic music festival, has announced the full musical lineup for its 2020 edition, which will take place as a hybrid virtual and live festival format this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

The five-day event, running September 23-27, will feature a combination of live concerts in several venues across the Rialto Theatre complex, the ornate venue in Montreal hosting part of the festival, as well as local venues Le Ministère and URSA. The festival will also create a virtual 2D rendition of the main venue, which will give attendees access to wander the online festival grounds and attend livestreamed concerts, panels, performances and more. 

The POP Montreal 2020 lineup includes virtual and live performances from Lido Pimienta, Backxwash, Flore Laurentienne, Plants & Animals and many more. 

According to a press release announcing the full artist lineup, the festival's live portion will feature concerts with "very limited capacity, with advance ticket sales and seating room only" as well as "secret pop-up shows." The live concerts will be limited to 30 minutes maximum.

In-person live events will require face masks, social distancing and on-site attendee registration as part of the festival's safety measures, according to the event's website. Fans will also be required to sanitize/wash their hands before entering the live events and to remain seated during the show. 

According to The New York Times, there have been more than 133,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 9,000 coronavirus-related deaths in Canada, at the time of this writing.

To purchase tickets and to view the full festival lineup and schedule of live and online events for POP Montreal 2020, visit the festival's official website.

Capturing Los Angeles' COVID-Closed Venues

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Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

 
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The Recording Academy Establishes Black Music Collective

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The newly launched collective comprises a group of prominent Black music creators and professionals who share the common goal of amplifying Black voices within the Recording Academy and the wider music community
Recording Academy
Sep 3, 2020 - 6:30 am

The Recording Academy has today (Sept. 3) announced the creation of its Black Music Collective (BMC), a group of prominent Black music creators and professionals who share the common goal of amplifying Black voices within the Academy and the wider music community.

As part of the Recording Academy's commitment to evolving hand-in-hand with its membership, BMC will serve as a space for members to speak openly about new and emerging opportunities in Black music across all genres and identify ways to drive more representation.

The launch of BMC follows the Recording Academy's recent partnership with Color Of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, in July, which set forth to create a Black music advisory group. The BMC fulfills this promise and is bringing together creators and business leaders to create a pipeline of future industry trailblazers. Leaders will meet regularly and initiate programs that will encourage participation and accelerate Black membership in the Recording Academy.

Jeffrey Harleston, Jimmy Jam, Quincy Jones, Debra Lee, John Legend, and Sylvia Rhone will serve as honorary chairs of the BMC. A distinguished leadership committee will be confirmed in the coming weeks and will work in sync with the honorary chairs to propel the collective's mission. Recording Academy Trustee Riggs Morales and Washington, D.C., Chapter Executive Director Jeriel Johnson will lead the initiative internally. 

"The Black Music Collective is necessary to help drive the Recording Academy into a new era. Creating an open space for Black music creators can only benefit our membership as a whole," Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, said. "Through the past few months, I've been personally invested in propelling this collective along with Chapter leadership within the Academy. Together, we will elevate Black music creators within our organization and the industry at large." 

"As Black music continues to drive culture, it is essential we grow and maintain representation within the Academy and the music industry," Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Recording Academy, said. "We're thrilled to help develop the leaders of tomorrow with impactful educational and experiential programs that we will announce in coming weeks."

In March 2018, the Recording Academy established a third-party task force to examine issues of diversity and inclusion within the Academy and the broader music community. The Academy has since taken action on the Task Force's initial assessment and recommendations and has made additional strides to facilitate a culture of belonging while recognizing the need to focus on underrepresented communities. Recent initiatives include the hiring of a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, a $1 million donation to Color Of Change, alignment with #TheShowMustBePaused movement created by Jamila Thomas (Atlantic Records) and Brianna Agyemang (Platoon), and the development of an industry Inclusion Rider and Toolkit to be released later this year.

Stay up to date on the Recording Academy's progress, future announcements and recent initiatives on diversity and inclusion.

Recording Academy Invites & Celebrates Its 2020 New Member Class

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Jealous of The Birds perform at Independent Venue Week 2018

Jealous of The Birds perform at Independent Venue Week 2018

Photo: Carrie Davenport/Redferns

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Independent Venue Week Announces Programming For Independents Day 2020

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The two-day virtual event, taking place July 29-30, will examine the challenges and opportunities within the grassroots live music community, including the "immense impact" the COVID-19 pandemic has made on the live events and concert industry
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
Jul 24, 2020 - 12:11 pm

Independent Venue Week, a weeklong series celebrating indie venues across the U.K. and the U.S., has announced the programming for its second annual Independents Day event.

The two-day virtual event, taking place July 29-30 and streaming via StreamYard, YouTube, Facebook and the Independent Venue Week website, will examine the challenges and opportunities within the grassroots live music community, including the "immense impact" the COVID-19 pandemic has made on the live events and concert industry, according to a post on the organization's website announcing the series. 

The 2020 program will also cover topics like minority representation at a grassroots level, applicable actions resulting from the Black Lives Matter movement in grassroots venues, the vital role of livestreaming in live music, venue sustainability, wellbeing and mental health and more. 

Check out the full schedule and list of panels and panelists on the Independent Venue Week website.

Since early March, the coronavirus pandemic has virtually shut down the worldwide live event and concert industry, forcing many independent venues around the world to close their doors for good. 

Earlier this month, the U.K. government announced a £1.57 billion (approximately $2 billion) support package to help fund the country's arts, culture and heritage industries, including music venues, which have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, NME reports.

Last month, in a survey conducted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), 90 percent of independent venue owners, promoters and bookers said "they will have to close permanently within the next few months, if they can't get an infusion of targeted government funding," NPR reports.

Read More: 4 Independent Record Stores Across The U.S. Weigh In On Their Struggle To Survive During COVID-19

On Wednesday (July 22), U.S. senators introduced the "Save Our Stages Act," a new relief bill aimed at supporting independent music and entertainment venues that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. (The Recording Academy has endorsed two new bills that aim to support creators, venues and small music businesses: the RESTART Act and the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act.)

Launched in 2014, Independent Venue Week is a nationwide initiative championing indie music venues as well as "the people that own, run and work in them, week in, week out," according to the organization's website. In 2018, the event expanded into the U.S. for the first time ever.

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.