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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.  

Grammys Newsletter

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#ChangeMusic Summit

 

 
 
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Watch The Recording Academy's Inspiring "Change Music" Summit In Full

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Alongside Color Of Change, The Recording Academy hosted the virtual industrywide #ChangeMusic Summit, which welcomed leaders in music and media for panels on shifting culture, amplifying diverse voices, driving systemic change and more
Recording Academy
Oct 2, 2020 - 11:38 am

On Thursday (Oct. 1), the Recording Academy joined Color Of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, to host a virtual industrywide #ChangeMusic Summit with leaders in music and media. The digital event is part of an ongoing series of initiatives facilitated by the Recording Academy to help accelerate equity and diverse representation within the organization and to further support inclusion outcomes across the wider music industry. 

Watch the #ChangeMusic Summit in full below. 

ChangeMusic: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit

The four-hour event brought together leaders, executives and experts for panels on shifting culture, amplifying diverse voices, putting leadership in action and driving systemic change throughout the music community. As well, prominent culture trailblazers and music business leaders openly discussed best practices and strategies to encourage systemic change and elevate women, Black and Latinx, as well as all underrepresented music creators and professionals.

Some of the event's participants included singer-songwriters Ledisi and Maimouna "Mumu Fresh" Youssef; television personalities Rocsi Diaz and Jeff Johnson; music culture influencer Karen Civil; award-winning poet and president of the Recording Academy's Chicago Chapter J. Ivy; and prominent executives and industry professionals including Tuma Basa (YouTube), Ingrid Best (Combs Enterprises), Binta Brown (omalilly projects; Black Music Action Coalition), Shari Bryant (Roc Nation), Jeff Burroughs (Def Jam Recordings), Ryan Butler (Recording Academy), Valeisha Butterfield Jones (Recording Academy), Harvey Mason jr. (Recording Academy), Rashad Robinson (Color Of Change) and many others. See the full list of participants below.

As part of the summit, the Recording Academy and Color Of Change announced the forthcoming #ChangeMusic Roadmap, a tool to help people at all levels of the music industry take action to enact racial and social justice within the industry. The full roadmap will be released before the end of the year, however, the first aspect of the roadmap discussed was a needed commitment to transparent reporting on Black representation. 

Read: The Recording Academy & Color Of Change Team Up To Promote Positive Change In The Music Industry

"This is a crucial moment in our world, our nation and our society and it is now more important than ever that we bring people together to make progress on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion," Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "As leaders in the music industry, we have an opportunity as role models to lead by example and set a progressive tone for culture and society. We are honored that so many from the industry joined this important conversation and we're committed to the work ahead."

"Black artists' rich contributions have undeniably shaped the music industry into what it is today. The industry must tear down the systems that silence, harm and pigeonhole Black artists for profitable gains," President of Color Of Change Rashad Robinson said. "Everyone has the responsibility to work towards progress. The #ChangeMusic Roadmap will begin the process of giving the industry the tools to challenge injustice and enact tangible change now. The Recording Academy is setting a strong example for the industry from the inside, holding those in power accountable to change. Together, we can propel music into the equitable future Black artists have earned, and always deserved."

Participants in the #ChangeMusic Summit included: singer/songwriters Ledisi, Rico Love and Maimouna "Mumu Fresh" Youssef; television personalities Rocsi Diaz and Jeff Johnson; music culture influencer Karen Civil; poet J. Ivy; and prominent executives and industry professionals including Tuma Basa (YouTube), Ingrid Best (Combs Enterprises), Binta Brown (omalilly projects; Black Music Action Coalition), Shari Bryant (Roc Nation), Jeff Burroughs (Def Jam Recordings), Ryan Butler (Recording Academy), Valeisha Butterfield Jones (Recording Academy), Qiana Conley (Recording Academy), Caroline "Baroline" Diaz (Interscope Records), Michelle Edgar (Epic Records; Music Unites; XX Project), Ethiopia Habtemariam (Motown Records; Capitol Music Group), Erin Hall Harris (Combs Enterprises), Tammy Hurt (Recording Academy), Jeriel Johnson (Recording Academy), Debra Lee (formerly BET Networks), Harvey Mason jr. (Recording Academy), Adam McFarland (Blacksmith Recordings; #TheShowMustBePaused), Riggs Morales (Atlantic Records), Jessica Rivera (YouTube), Rashad Robinson (Color Of Change), Travis Robinson (Universal Music Group), Lenny Santiago (Roc Nation), Rashid Shabazz (Color Of Change), Dr. Maurice Stinnett (Warner Music Group), Tiffany R. Warren (Omnicom Group; ADCOLOR), and Roe Williams (KWL Enterprises).

The Recording Academy's strategic alliance with Color Of Change and solidarity with ongoing social justice movements, such as #TheShowMustBePaused, was also a highly prioritized conversation topic among attendees. 

Learn more about the progress and future announcements regarding the Recording Academy's Diversity & Inclusion efforts.

The Recording Academy Establishes Black Music Collective

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Bonnaroo 2018

Bonnaroo 2018

Photo: Douglas Mason/Getty Images

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Bonnaroo Music Festival Has Been Rescheduled To September 2021

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The beloved Tennessee music festival was originally set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in June 2020, and after two prior date changes, will now be happening September 2–5, 2021
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 30, 2020 - 11:45 am

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will now be taking place September 2–5, 2021.

The eclectic Tennessee music festival was originally set to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year on its annual second weekend of June dates, but was rescheduled to September 2020 due to COVID-19. The date was then pushed to June 2021 and is now set for next September.

Read: Bartees Strange On 'Live Forever' & Why "It Shouldn't Be Weird To See Black Rock Bands"

Bonnaroo is offering refunds for ticket holders who cannot attend the new dates, although they are encouraging fans to hold on to their tickets for the new dates. Those who can attend the new dates do not need to take any action to rollover their tickets. You can find more information on refunds and rollovers here—the period to request a refund is Sept. 30–Oct. 31.

The 2021 lineup, as well as info on purchasing tickets for those who hadn't yet, will be announced at a later date. Tool, Lizzo, Tame Impala, Miley Cyrus, Flume, Lana Del Rey and others were slated to headline Bonnaroo 2020.

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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.

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