Madonna has the number one album in the country:
Billboard reported Sunday that the debut for “Confessions II” set some recent high-water marks for Madonna. Breaking down that 134K figure: The album delivered Madonna’s best streaming week ever, with SEA units of 19,000, representing 20.1 million on-demand streams. Album sales were robust, too, with 114,000 physical or digital copies sold, amounting to the singer’s best sales week since 2012.
A coalition of record-label and artist groups is pushing streaming giants to label music generated with artificial intelligence, as the industry grapples with how AI is changing the business.
The group said it plans to work with streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music to add labels on tracks indicating when AI was used to produce them. AI usage is flagged voluntarily by artists, record labels and distributors.
Kelty Greye talks with The Hollywood Reporter about her cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” in the Supergirl film.
When asked how it has felt for her song to get so much attention, Greye says, “As an artist, all you want to do is make people feel something. So, what an honor to have created something that gives people a wide spectrum of feelings. Whether you loved it or hated it, if you walked out feeling something, that’s just cool: ‘Wow — gave you an emotional response.’”
Liz Meriwether, the creator of New Girl, will write the Britney Spears biopic:
The movie will be based on the “… Baby One More Time” singer’s 2023 best-selling memoir The Woman in Me, where the singer recounts her career from teen pop stardom through several high-profile romances, including with Justin Timberlake, and her public mental breakdown that led to a conservatorship that she later spent years fighting to be released from.
[P]hysical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.
Olivia Rodrigo has teamed up with LEGO for some new sets.
Olivia Rodrigo is the first ever music artist to receive multiple dedicated LEGO sets, including five LEGO minifigures. Created in collaboration with Olivia, the collection features custom detailing inspired by some of her most iconic on-stage moments through the years and nods to her Filipino heritage. Each minifigure features her unmistakable expressions and showcases some of her favourite looks, just as all five characters come with dual facial expressions, revealing different sides of Olivia’s personality.
Tidal will be demonetizing AI-generated music:
Starting today, AI-generated music will not be monetizable. We are only in the beginning of the era of AI-generated music. We acknowledge the ongoing debate regarding whether certain AI-generated music (e.g. AI-generated music developed from fairly and properly licensed models) should be entitled to earn royalties. This debate will continue as the technology advances and rightsholders and AI music platforms develop licensing models. Tidal’s priority is ensuring royalties go to original works directly produced, written, and performed by people. We will therefore not knowingly attribute royalties to music we identify as wholly AI-generated.
Bowling for Soup and Frank Turner talked with Rock Sound:
Jaret: I think longevity and relatability are big factors for both of us, as well. It was really easy for people to hate on us early on because we were funny and silly, and, from an outsider’s perspective, weren’t taking ourselves seriously enough. But then, when they go, ‘Oh my God, they’ve been doing this 32 years, and you listen to the songs, okay, there’s actually substance to that. Also, if you think you can write a funny song that can stand the test of time and still be listenable in 25 years, fucking try. Because I’m telling you, it’s not as easy as you think. But also, both of us lyrically have something relatable to just an audience member. You don’t have to be a punk, you don’t have to be cool, you don’t have to be uncool. You have to be you.
Grand Theft Auto VI is coming on November 19th:
Preorders start at midnight tonight, local time, when you’ll be able to reserve a copy on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. You’ll be able to order either digital or physical editions of the game, though Rockstar has confirmed that even the physical editions contain “a download code inside the box.” The upside is that they’ll ship from November 12th, allowing buyers of either edition to preload the game ahead of its full release on November 19th.
As part of the transaction, HarbourView has acquired the publisher’s share of select compositions written by the Wolf Cousins collective, which includes hit songs released by Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, the Weeknd and many more. Sources tell Variety the acquisition price is in the low nine figures, although reps for HarbourView did not confirm that information and said the company does not disclose deal terms.
Brady Miller with a nice essay on the 25th anniversary of Blink-182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket:
My interest was piqued by this Entertainment Weekly review. Those being the days of Napster or Limewire, I started downloading each song from the album individually. Track one was “Anthem Part 2”, and I played it before the rest of the album had finished downloading. Verse one begins, “Everything has fallen to pieces. Earth is dying’, help me, Jesus.” A few lines later, “Corporate leaders, politicians. Kids can’t vote adults elected them.” At fourteen, I was beginning to notice the world beyond me. Forces I couldn’t control, from how societies function to the laws and politics that help some while holding others back. There was an angst to the way Tom DeLonge sang these opening lines, but also a playful wink. The disenchanted youth that inherits the problems created by one or two generations prior.
Plain White T’s performed at 35,000 feet for Southwest Airlines.
To mark the occasion, the Plain White T’s took to the skies and surprised Southwest Customers by singing their hit song, “Hey There Delilah,” which continues to draw crowds and resurface on TikTok with billions of plays. The Plain White T’s were one of the first artists to perform onboard a Southwest flight when the airline launched the program 15 years ago.
The Grammys have announced some rule updates:
As part of the Grammys’ annual process of accepting proposals from the music creators and professionals who make up its membership body, and its ongoing commitment to reflecting today’s dynamic musical landscape, new Categories and rule changes are now in effect for the 69th Grammy Awards, which culminate with the 2027 Grammys live across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu on Feb. 7, 2027.
Bose have launched an in-house record label.
One key differentiator is the launch of a new record label, Bose Records. Bose CMO Jim Mollica said in an interview that the plan isn’t to go toe-to-toe with the “Big Three” label conglomerates, but rather to help break underappreciated or new artists and — crucially — not have to pay for music rights when they feature in Bose commercials. (Mollica said Bose wouldn’t look to own the artists’ masters, the company wouldn’t take a share of their record sales or streams, and that they would be free to sign with other labels.)
Taylor Swift‘s run as a true action figure on the charts continues as her “Toy Story 5” song “I Knew It, I Knew You” was announced Monday as debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s only the third time a theme song from an animated Disney film has reached the summit, following “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin” in 1993 and, of course, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from “Encanto” in 2022.