Keisha Nash Whitaker, an actor and producer who was married to actor Forest Whitaker for more than 20 years, has died. She was 51. (more…)

Busta Rhymes was joined on stage by three of his children to perform one of his favorite tracks, “LEGACY” from his new studio album, BLOCKBUSTA. The beautiful moment opened with Busta performing the first verse of BLOCKBUSTA’s opening track, “STATEMENT,” before the transition into “LEGACY” where he welcomed three of his kids, CIE, TRILLIAN, and RAI on stage.

Adding to the excitement, BLOCKBUSTA landed top 10 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart making it his 10^th top 10 album and continues his perfect streak among his original studio albums.

Watch the performance HERE

Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC

In the wake of the most recent lawsuit filed against him, Diddy took to Instagram on Wednesday (Dec. 6) to address the serious accusations that have surfaced over the past month. (more…)

Apple today announced that Shazam has surpassed 300 million monthly active users worldwide, with more people than ever before using the app to discover the music they love.

Throughout the years, the music industry has relied on a number of signals to answer the question of what the world is listening to. And for the past 20 years, Shazam has been one of the earliest and strongest signals — and it’s one that’s growing even stronger.

With an increasingly global user base, Shazam is getting even better at truly answering what the world is listening to. African countries have been some of the fastest growing user bases on Shazam, and African genres have been some of the fastest growing genres, with many African songs topping the yearly global charts. On the Top 100 2023: Shazam chart, Rema’s “Calm Down” takes No. 1 after spending more time atop the global Shazam chart over the past year than any other song. “‘Finding’ takes strength and passion,” Rema tells Apple Music. “To everyone who took the energy to find this song I hope it’s giving you joy wherever you are today and I hope it sounds as beautiful as the first day you heard it.”
Ayra Starr also ends the year in the top 10 of the Top 100 2023: Shazam as she becomes one of Nigeria’s most-Shazamed artists.

The global reach of K-Pop has continued to increase on Shazam, and the app’s user numbers have also seen a notable growth in Korea. More K-Pop songs have made it to the Shazam global charts in 2023 than in any previous year, with emerging band FIFTY FIFTY reaching No. 3 on the Shazam global charts, marking the first time a K-Pop act other than BTS or one of its members has charted this high. Música Mexicana has also seen significant growth in the last 12 months, with the only five tracks from this genre to enter the US Shazam top 10 all doing so within the last year.

One of the longest-standing apps on the App Store, Shazam has also continued to innovate and introduce a number of new features to make it easier for users to discover music no matter how or where they are listening. Most recently, Shazam unveiled Concerts, a new space in the app where music fans can discover upcoming concerts that are happening in their area, providing personalized event recommendations based on their Shazam history or popular events around them. Fans can also discover events by filtering location, date and artists.

Check out Shazam’s new Concerts space here and listen to the most Shazamed songs of the year on Apple Music.

The South by Southwest® Music Festival (SXSW®) has announced the second round of Showcasing Artists invited to perform at the 38th annual event. The festival features compelling musical experiences showcasing rising talents and renowned artists from around the world performing in front of industry professionals, influencers, press and an abundance of engaged, open-minded fans. The first event on every music industry professional’s calendar, the SXSW Music Festival takes place March 11-16, 2024 in Austin’s iconic and offbeat venues.

SXSW Music Festival programmers present the best new artists and established acts from around the world offering a unique opportunity for national and international exposure. Artists in this announcement hail from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Wales. Second round highlights include Glasser (New York NY), GRÓA (Reykjavik ICELAND), Gruff Rhys (Cardiff UK-WALES), Ho99o9(Newark NJ), Holly Macve (Brighton UK-ENGLAND), Kikuo (Tokyo JAPAN), LAIR(Jatiwangi INDONESIA), Pink Pablo (San Juan PUERTO RICO), PVA (London UK-ENGLAND), Pylon Reenactment Society (Athens GA), Ralphie Choo (Madrid SPAIN),  RUBIO (Mexico City MEXICO), Sinkane (Brooklyn NY), Sofia Kourtesis(Berlin GERMANY), Sycco (Brisbane AUSTRALIA), Tamera (London UK-ENGLAND), TENGGER (Seoul SOUTH KOREA), and 250 (Seoul SOUTH KOREA).

This is the second of several announcements of genre-defying showcases spanning six nights. Showcases are curated by SXSW programmers in collaboration with record labels, booking agencies, export offices, management and PR firms, publishers, media outlets, lifestyle brands and festivals. These showcases give attendees the opportunity to experience today’s and tomorrow’s headliners in small-stage performances. Showcase presenters include: Adult Decisions, All The Vibes, ATC Live, Atomic Music Group, Bayonet Records, Breakout West, CareFreeBlackGirl, Chicken Ranch Records, City Slang, Dear Life Records, Dedstrange, Don Giovanni Records, Everything R&B, Father/Daughter Records, Fierce Panda, FOCUS Wales, Island Wave, Italians Do It Better, Gorilla vs. Bear, High Road Touring, Jazz Re:Freshed, The Line of Best Fit, The Loyalty Firm, M for Montreal, Mint Talent Group, Music from Ireland, New West Records, Now Wave, Pop Montreal, Reeperbahn Festival, The Smoke Out, Space Agency, The Spanish Wave, Synásthesie Festival, Taiwan Beats, Tokyo Calling, Traffic Music and Wide Days Scotland.

The second round of artists invited to perform include: