Ed Sheeran is counting down to the release of his new album = with a very special Apple Music “First Listen” global live-stream celebration next week, Thursday, 28 October at 9:30pm CAT / 8:30pm BST & WAT / 12:30pm PST / 3:30pm EST only on Apple Music HERE.

During the event, Ed Sheeran will join Apple Music’s Zane Lowe live to play new songs from ‘=,’ to chat about the new album, and to answer questions from fans.

Date: Thursday, October 28
Time: 9:30PM CAT/ 8:30 PM WAT & BST / 12:30 PM PST / 3:30 PM EST
Location: apple.co/EdSheeranFirstListen

After four years in the making, Ed Sheeran is back with “=,” the fourth installment of his symbol album series following his full length debut “+”, breakthrough “x”, and record setting “÷.”  “=” is preceded by hit singles “Bad Habits” and “Shivers.”  Fans can Pre-add = now on Apple Music.

More background on Apple Music’s First Listen global event series…
First Listen is a series of free Apple Music hosted virtual launch parties, harkening back to the album listening parties of yore but now with almost unlimited, ways for artists to connect with and  treat their biggest fans to something special before releasing new music to the world. Acting as a live event extension of some of Apple Music’s most popular and influential playlists, these virtual listening parties could include everything from unreleased tracks, to special surprise guests and more. Previous events featured some of the world’s biggest artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Shawn Mendes, BLACKPINK, Bruce Springsteen, Keith Urban, Rauw Alejandro, Karol G, Moneybagg Yo, Migos, Dan + Shay, Belly, J Balvin and many more.

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Daniel Pemberton has won the Film Composer of the Year Award at the 21st World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony in Ghent. Carlos Rafael Rivera received the Television Composer of the Year Award. “Call me Cruella” from Disney’s Cruella was presented with the Best Original Song Award, while Nainita Desai took home the Discovery of the Year Award. Benji Merrison and Dougal Kemp were honoured as well. Eleni Kariandrou received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 48th edition of Film Fest Ghent ended, as is tradition, with the World Soundtrack Awards, one of the most important international prizes for film music. The Film Composer of the Year Award went to the composer Daniel Pemberton, who was nominated for his work on Rising Phoenix, Enola Holmesand The Trial of the Chicago 7. Daniel Pemberton is no stranger to the WSA; in 2014, he won the WSA Discovery of the Year Award and has been nominated twice before in the Film Composer of the Year category.

Carlos Rafael Rivera won over the WSAcademy with his compositions for The Queen’s Gambit and Hacks (Season 1) and took home the Television Composer of the Year Award. This is the first time that Carlos Rafael Rivera has been honoured at the World Soundtrack Awards.

There were six songs in the running this year in the Best Original Songcategory and the award went to “Call me Cruella” from Disney’s Cruella. The song was written by Nicholas Britell, Florence Welch, Steph Jones, Jordan Powers and Taura Stinson.

With nominations in three different categories, Nainita Desai was one of the stars of this 21st edition of the World Soundtrack Awards, with the WSAcademy also allowing scores for documentary films in the film score categories for the first time this year. Nainita Desai became Discovery of the Year with her score for the documentary film The Reason I Jump.

The Public Choice Award went to the score of SAS: Red Notice (SAS: Rise of the Black Swan) composed by Benji Merrison. The score was well received by the audience and garnered the largest number of votes from film fans.

The British visual arts composer and sound designer Dougal Kemp received the Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer. He convinced the jury with the score he wrote for a scene from Nanook of the North, the silent documentary film from 1922 by Robert J. Flaherty.

During the World Soundtrack Award Ceremony & Concert in the Opera of Ghent the oeuvre of the Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou took centre stage. She performed on piano together with the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Film Fest Ghent music director Dirk Brossé. During the ceremony, Eleni Karaindrou received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She is known for her collaborations with the late Theo Angelopoulos, Greek director and master.

Overview of the winners

Film Composer of the Year
Daniel Pemberton, Enola Holmes, Rising Phoenix, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Television Composer of the Year
Carlos Rafael Rivera, Hacks (Season 1), The Queen’s Gambit

Best Original Song
“Call me Cruella” from Disney’s Cruella, Nicholas Britell, Florence Welch, Steph Jones, Jordan Powers & Taura Stinson

Discovery of the Year
Nainita Desai, The Reason I Jump

Public Choice Award
SAS: Red Notice, Benji Merrison

Sabam Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer
Dougal Kemp

Lifetime Achievement Award
Eleni Karaindrou

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The South by Southwest® Music Festival (SXSW®) has announced an initial list of Showcasing Artists invited to perform at the 36th annual event. The festival offers the opportunity to connect entertainment, technology, and media professionals with emerging acts, established artists and industry mavens, and share in something big on a truly global platform. The first essential and international music event on the industry’s calendar, the SXSW Music Festival takes place March 14 – 20, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

Each year, the SXSW Music Festival programmers present a global lineup of artists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Korea, Uganda, U.S., Wales, and Zambia, to name a few. The result is a unique live music experience where industry pros and music lovers experience multiple one-of-a-kind events from a range of up-and-coming and established artists. A few highlights from this first round of artists include: Aeon Station (Ocean City NJ), ANAVITÓRIA (São Paulo BRAZIL), BLACKSTARKIDS (Kansas City MO), CHAII(Auckland NEW ZEALAND), Claire Rousay (San Antonio TX), Delta Spirit (Los Angeles CA), DUMA (Nairobi KENYA), Ezra Furman (Chicago IL), HOODLUM (San Antonio TX), Horsegirl (Chicago, IL), James McMurtry (Austin TX), Maxo Kream(Houston TX), MC Yallah (Kampala UGANDA), Monaleo (Houston TX), Poppy Ajudha(London UK-ENGLAND),  Priya Ragu (St. Gallen SWITZERLAND), Surfbort (Los Angeles CA), TEKE::TEKE (Montreal CANADA), Vitreous Humor (Lawrence KS), W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend to Cause Havoc) (Lusaka ZAMBIA), Y2K92 (Seoul SOUTH KOREA), and Yard Act (Leeds UK-ENGLAND).

This is the first of several announcements revealing the wide array of Showcasing Artists who will perform for the international creative community at SXSW. These showcases give attendees the opportunity to experience tomorrow’s headliners in small-stage performances at unique venues in downtown Austin. A few of this year’s showcase presenters include British Music Embassy, American Dreams, The Legendary SOB.’s, Nyege Nyege Tapes, Fire Records, Rolling Loud, The Anniversary Group, High Road Touring, Jazz re:freshed Outernational, Move Forward Music, Kill Rock Stars, Cosmica Artists + Records, Ernest Jenning Record Co., New West Records, Rocky Road Touring, Polyvinyl Records, Double Double Whammy, Keeled Scales, Park the Van, Don Giovanni Records, Nine Mile Records and Touring, and Focus Wales.

Artists invited to perform include:

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