The first week of the Tupac Shakur murder trial featured dramatic opening statements, heated testimony from a former Bloods gang member, and infamous recordings in which defendant Duane “Keffe D” Davis candidly discussed the shooting with police detectives.

You’re reading Billboard’s weekly Tupac trial recap, a one-sheet breakdown of everything that happened in the epic murder case over the past week. Stay tuned here each Friday for all the testimony and big events you might have missed.

As the trial kicked off Monday (Aug. 17) with opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that Davis had orchestrated the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Tupac as “an act of revenge” after Shakur beat up his nephew. And, as expected, they leaned heavily on statements from the man himself – both in an interview with police and a 2019 tell-all memoir.

“Let’s be clear: Duane Davis did not pull the trigger,” prosecutor Binu Palal told jurors. “You will learn that when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their revenge. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.”

In his own opener, defense attorney Michael W. Sanft said his client’s statements about he shooting had been fiction and that there was not hard evidence to corroborate them. At one point, he loaded a presentation screen for jurors that just read “Bulls–t” in white text. “Keffe D was known to do this,” the attorney told the jurors, pointing to the card.

After opening statements, jurors immediately began hearing witness testimony – first from Garry Dale, a Las Vegas police officer who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting and rode in the ambulance with Shakur. Dale told jurors that he tried to convince the rapper to say who did it, but that Shakur merely repeated “We’ll take care of it” several times: “I couldn’t get him to talk to me any further than that.”

Testimony on Tuesday included Reggie Wright Jr., a former head of security at Suge Knight’s Death Row Records, and James McDonald, a former Bloods gang member also linked to Knight. At one point, McDonald sparred with Sanft, suggesting he was hurting Davis’ case. “Talk to your lawyer, man,” McDonald said directly to Davis, before saying to Sanft: “I’m not finna send him to prison. You are!”

On Thursday and Friday, jurors heard a key piece of evidence: audio recordings of meetings in 2008 and 2009 in which Davis discussed the shooting with police detectives. At the time, the investigators told him that “nothing you say today can be used against you,” but the judge overseeing the current case later ruled that Davis waived that immunity by talking about the same events in public.

In the tapes, jurors heard Davis tell detectives that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson – the man beaten by Tupac earlier in the night – had fired the shots that killed Shakur. Also in the recordings, Davis suggested that Sean “Diddy” Combs, then known as “Puffy,” was involved in conversations about the killing.

There’s been a long-simmering conspiracy theory that Combs ordered a hit on Shakur as part of the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop rivalry between his Bad Boy Records and Death Row. Combs has consistently denied any involvement in Shakur’s death; after a recent Netflix docuseries advanced the theory, attorneys for the now-imprisoned mogul sent a legal threat calling the project a “shameful hit piece.”

Testimony was also heard Friday from Leonard Jefferson, who took the last-ever photo of Shakur riding in a car with Knight before the shooting that night in Las Vegas. “I said, ‘Ay, what up, Pac?’” testified Jefferson of seeing the duo while stopped at a traffic light before grabbing a 35 millimeter camera out of his central console and snapping the famous picture.

Davis’ trial is set to resume on Monday and run for several more weeks.

Drake continues to rule streaming. After being crowned Spotify’s most-streamed artist in Canada last year, the streaming service has released its Global Impact List for the first half of 2026, revealing the 50 most-played songs by Canadian artists outside of their home country. To no one’s surprise, the Toronto rapper has 40 of the 50 spots, including the top 12.

Thanks to the rapper’s historic Iceman release — which included a triple-album drop with Maid of Honour and Habibti — Drake commands a whopping 80% of the list, led by his chart-topping hit, “Janice SFTU,” which the streaming platform already tapped as one of its song-of-the-summer contenders. It’s followed by “National Treasures,” “Shabang,” “Whisper My Name” and “Ran To Atlanta,” featuring Future and Molly Santana, to round out the top 5. He wraps up the list, too, with “Rust Intro” at No. 50.

The remaining artists on the list boast a diverse lineup of homegrown acts, spanning genres including country, indie rock, Punjabi, hip-hop and electronic. 

Cameron Whitcomb is the highest-ranking act after Drake, landing at No. 13 with his viral track “Kingdom of Fear,” another track that the streaming service listed as a song-of-the-summer contender. It has become a big moment for the B.C. artist, securing his first top 3 hit on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart dated Aug. 22. Whitcomb earns a second entry on the Spotify list at No. 49 with “You and Me.”

In recent years, the growing influence of Punjabi-Canadian artists on the world stage has become a major force. While the second half of 2025’s list featured multiple tracks by Karan Aujla and Ikky, they’re passing the torch to Shubh, who claims two entries on the 2026 list. He arrives at No. 23 with “Moves” and “Bounce” at No. 35. It’s a welcome return for the Punjabi-Canadian act, who was on Spotify’s first-ever Global Impact List in 2025. 

Viral act bbno$ lands at No. 41 with “diamonds are forever.” It’s been a year of transformation for the Vancouver-based artist, born Alex Gumuchian, who has found success with his independent project over the past couple of years.

At No. 43, viral Quebec duo Angine de Poitrine makes their first and only appearance on the list with “Fabienk,” arguably the group’s biggest hit from their album, Vol. II. The buzzy math rock group has made a global breakthrough with their polka-dot ensembles and unique sound.

Rounding out the list is what Spotify calls “a diverse cross-section of Canadian talent,” including: Toronto indie-rockers Good Kid with “Cicada” (No. 29), producer Murda Beatz’s Prospa-featuring track “Baby” (No. 33), Korean-Canadian rapper OXYNOVA’s “SSSAK” (No. 34) and Vancouver-based producer Asad Khan’s remix “Piya Ghar Aaya” (No. 39).

Read more here. — H.T.S.

Montreal’s LASSO Festival Grows Rapidly Alongside Canada’s Country Music Scene

It’s not every day that Montreal’s public transit is filled with cowboy hats, Canadian tuxedos and Western belt buckles. Now, that’s a yearly mid-August tradition for country music lovers as LASSO celebrates its fifth edition.

The large-scale country music festival, co-produced by Evenko and Live Nation, welcomed over 43,000 fans this year on August 15 and 16. The lineup featured headliners Thomas Rhett and Mumford & Sons, along with established country acts like Carly Pearce, The Band Perry, Old Dominion and Jon Pardi and rising Canadian stars like Cameron Whitcomb, Morgan Griffiths and Noah Brigden.

Nick Farkas, Evenko’s senior vice-president of booking, concerts and events, says it’s a rapidly growing success story that has grown faster than other major festivals like Osheaga (which he co-founded).

“Five years in, where this festival is at, for me, is just fantastic,” Farkas says. “We were not this far along on any festival we’ve ever done. It’s a ton of fun to work on it.”

The festival’s growth fits into a bigger trend of country music throughout the music landscape. Recently, the genre has surpassed hip-hop and pop as the most successful genre at the top of the charts.

This week, the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 features a rare sweep of country songs comprising the top four slots, with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” at No. 1, Stella Lefty’s “Boston” at No. 2, Cameron Whitcomb’s “Kingdom of Fear” at No. 3 and Morgan Wallen’s “Been By Now” at No. 4.

That potential was first bubbling when LASSO began five years ago, but it was unforeseen in Canada just five years before that.

“We had one arena country show every few years,” Farkas explains. “[The scene] was non-existent, and we had no country radio, so it was not on anyone’s radar. We started seeing a shift when we booked a show with Luke Bryan in 2016 and it sold out the Bell Centre in like a day. We were like, “Holy crap, that’s, there’s something going on here with some of this newer country stuff.”

Evenko later rolled the dice with a large-scale festival, combining the rising global appeal of country music with the Quebec and Canadian scene, giving local country musicians a global stage and spotlight that didn’t previously exist in the metropolis.

This year, Lasso saw a record 30% turnout from outside Quebec, a “huge win,” per Farkas, that has cemented the festival’s nationwide and international reputation.

Read more here. — Richard Trapunski & Stefano Rebuli

Drake Celebrates the Opening of History Ottawa: ‘I Will Be There to Drop Off My Personal Touch’

History Ottawa is officially open. 

The city’s newest music hub is the first expansion of the popular five-year-old Toronto music venue co-owned by Drake and Live Nation. In celebration of its public opening, the homegrown rapper took to social media to express his excitement. 

Drake hints that there could be more expansions coming while thanking Live Nation “for giving me the continued trust on a journey that I hope is shared with every city and country worldwide” and teases an in-person experience in Ottawa, revealing that he “will be there to drop off my personal touch to Ottawa soon.”

The 2,000-person venue will welcome dozens of international artists to the country’s capital, cementing the nation’s capital as a music hub outside of the bigger ones in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 

Artists slated to perform at the venue include: Two Door Cinema Club, Modest Mouse, Wolf Parade, Owen Riegling, Jamie Fine and Thundercat, among others.

Read more here. — Heather Taylor-Singh

Los Lobos has reached a settlement with Sony Music Entertainment over royalties for “Canción del Mariachi,” the Chicano rock band’s collaboration with Antonio Banderas from the 1995 western Desperado.  

A Friday (Aug. 21) court filing, obtained and first reported by Billboard, states that Los Lobos and Sony Music have jointly agreed to dismiss the band’s breach of contract lawsuit. An attorney for Los Lobos, Evan Cohen, told Billboard that the matter has been settled but declined to share any deal terms. A Sony rep did not immediately return a request for comment.

Los Lobos sued Sony Music, whose imprint Milan Records handles distribution for “Canción del Mariachi,” in December 2025. The band claimed it hadn’t received any digital royalties for the recording, even though streams have skyrocketed since mixed martial artist Ilia “El Matador” Topuria made it his walkout anthem in recent years.

“Despite the specific knowledge that the popularity of the recording was spiking and reaching new audiences, Sony and Milan still paid nothing to Los Lobos for streaming, and continues to pay nothing, for streaming anywhere in the world or for any time period,” read the lawsuit.

Sony Music broadly denied wrongdoing and liability in its first response to the lawsuit in February. Banderas was not involved in the case.

Even after Friday’s settlement, Los Lobos is not entirely done fighting against the Sony corporation. The band still has another lawsuit pending against a different division of the Japanese media conglomerate, Sony Pictures Entertainment, over royalties from the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba.

That case, filed in November 2025, alleges that Los Lobos has been deprived of international streaming royalties for various Valens covers that the band recorded for the La Bamba soundtrack. This includes Los Lobos’ version of “La Bamba,” which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Sony Pictures and its subsidiary studio, Columbia Pictures, are in charge of royalty accounting for that soundtrack outside the U.S. and Canada.

Sony Pictures claims it has complied with all payment obligations to Los Lobos. According to court filings, the company investigated after the La Bamba lawsuit was filed and realized that $17,000 worth of foreign streaming royalties had been underpaid for a “discrete time period.”

Lawyers for Sony Pictures say the company promptly sent that amount to the band, plus interest, for a total of $22,000 this past January. But Los Lobos says more money is still owed, and mediation remains ongoing.

A California appeals court is leaning towards affirming the dismissal of Jay-Z’s extortion and defamation lawsuit against personal injury attorney Tony Buzbee.

A panel of state appellate judges heard arguments on Thursday (Aug. 20) in Jay-Z’s Los Angeles case against Buzbee, who filed a short-lived 2024 lawsuit accusing the rap icon (Shawn Carter) of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs decades earlier. Jay-Z vehemently denied this and then went on the offensive, suing Buzbee in two different forums for allegedly fabricating the claims in pursuit of money and publicity.

The rapper’s California case relied heavily on a recorded interview between private investigators and the anonymous rape accuser, known as Jane Doe, in which the woman supposedly admitted the claims were false and that Buzbee pressured her to lie. Judge Mark H. Epstein ruled last July that this interview is inadmissible under the legal hearsay rule — and as a result, he threw out the case due to insufficient evidence at the outset. Jay-Z appealed.

As oral arguments began Thursday, three appellate judges announced that their tentative thinking was to affirm Judge Epstein’s dismissal. Judge Stephen Goorvitch voiced concerns about the origin of this recording, since it’s not clear who hired the private investigators who spoke to Doe. Jay-Z’s attorneys say it wasn’t them.

“My concern is a plaintiff’s lawyer shows up in court and says, ‘Magically this interview has been dropped in my lap, I had nothing to do with it,’” said Judge Goorvitch. “We have no information about where this came from. It looks highly suspicious that somehow, somebody talked to Mr. Buzbee’s client directly.”

Judge Anne Richardson agreed that the recording is “not a reliable statement,” since Doe seemed to merely be giving yes-or-no answers to leading questions from investigators. A lawyer representing Buzbee, Samuel Moniz, went a step further by arguing that investigators threatened to publicly reveal Doe’s identity unless she cooperated.

“To say these circumstances are inherently intimidating is an understatement,” said Moniz during the hearing. “If you listen to the recording, her voice is trembling. She’s frightened. She’s totally caught off guard.”

Jay-Z’s lawyer, Jeremy Rosen, tried to sway the appeal judges into changing their minds and reviving the case for further litigation. He said that full evidence discovery — including the exchange of documents and witness testimony — should be conducted before it’s decided whether or not Buzbee pressured Doe to fabricate rape claims.

“At trial, [Jane Doe] will either testify consistently with this investigation or she won’t, and the jury will then get to decide if she’s credible and what the ultimate facts are,” said Rosen. “Due process demands at least the opportunity to have limited discovery.”

The appellate court took the matter under consideration for a written ruling.

While Jay-Z waits for a decision on the future of the California case, he’s still pursuing a separate malicious prosecution suit against both Buzbee and Doe in federal court. That matter was recently transferred from Alabama to New York, and Buzbee is scheduled to file a key motion to dismiss next month.

A woman who was scammed out of more than $300,000 by a Kenny Chesney impersonator can’t sue the country superstar, an appeals court says.

Patricia Linson, who paid $310,000 to a phony Chesney after he told her he was “experiencing financial difficulties,” claimed that the real star was legally liable for failing to stop imposters from defrauding his fans.

But in a ruling last week obtained by Billboard, a California appeals court ruled that legal precedent does not “require celebrities to warn and protect their fans against third-party imposter scams.”

“We do not doubt that financial scams are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent as technological developments make it easier for people to impersonate others,” the court wrote in the Aug 11 ruling. “[But] it would stretch the [the law] beyond what is supported by common sense and sound public policy to require celebrities to post warnings about third-party scams on their websites and social media accounts lest they face liability.”

Linson says the fake Kenny contacted her on LinkedIn in 2021 and pleaded with her to send him the cash. The fraudster allegedly said he needed it to appear at an awards show, to repair instruments and to pay for music videos. Her attorneys say she was convinced when the imposter shared details about future concerts and releases that were not yet public.

After the scam came to light, Linson filed a lawsuit in 2022, aimed at holding the actual scammer and a named accomplice responsible, but also accusing Chesney of failing to stop the fraud. She sued the star for negligence, arguing he likely knew that bad actors were duping fans and should have taken proactive steps to warn them.

But a Los Angeles trial judge dismissed the accusations against Chesney. And last week, California’s Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District upheld that ruling.

Linson had argued that such scams have become an “epidemic,” and cited examples of other famous musicians warning their fans to be wary of being duped. But in last week’s decision, the appeals court said that celebrities were not required to do so.

“Linson alleges no facts, and cites no authority, to support a finding that celebrities share special relationships with their fans to support imposing a duty on celebrities that would require them to protect their fans from third-party misconduct,” the appeals court said.

After losing her case, the court said Linson must pay Chesney’s legal expenses incurred in defending the appeal. Her attorney, Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy, tells Billboard on Thursday (Aug. 20) that she and her client disagree with the court’s decision.

“I believe the appellate court has gotten it wrong,” Baldwin-Kennedy says. “Especially in California, the entertainment capital, there are so many scams with people pretending to be celebrities and utilizing information to have people send millions and millions of dollars.”

An attorney for Chesney did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.

SYDNEY, Australia — Anna Lunoe, one of Australia’s top electronic music exports, has inked an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with BMG.

“Super excited to be kickstarting a new era for my music with the BMG family,” comments Lunoe in a statement, issued Thursday, Aug. 20. “I love an indie-minded operation with big picture vision and music and community at the center of it all! I can’t wait to see what we are able to create together.”

The accomplished producer, songwriter, vocalist, and DJ is a glass-ceiling smasher in the male-dominated world of EDM. She has played every major global festival, including Lollapalooza, Boiler Room, and Ultra Music Festival, and in 2016 became the first woman to spin a solo set on the kineticFIELD mainstage at Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. The following year she moved the needle once again when she played Coachella while eight months pregnant. In the past decade, she has shared stages with The Weeknd, Disclosure, Daft Punk, Dom Dolla, M.I.A., Fatboy Slim, and The Chemical Brothers.

Lunoe emerged as one of the first women to mix for Ministry of Sound Australia, with all three of her compilations certified gold, according to BMG. Her debut album Pearl (via Nina Las Vegas’ NLV Records) was lauded as one of Billboard’s best dance albums of 2024, secured triple j’s Feature Album, and enjoyed critical praise around the globe.

As a songwriter and collaborator, she has worked with the likes of Flume, Skrillex, Genesis Owusu, Chris Lake, Chris Lorenzo, Melanie C, Touch Sensitive, Wuki, and TEED, and she brings the underground into the spotlight with her own, long-running HYPERHOUSE show on Apple Music Radio.

Lunoe’s music has also been synced to Girls Trip, Heartbreak High, and NBA 2K, and more games, TV shows and ads, and a slew of blue-chip brands have partnered with her, from Formula 1 to Versace, Cartier, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Apple, and Tiffany & Co.

“Anna Lunoe is an icon, an artist who continues to pave the way for Australian electronic musicians seeking to spread their creative wings internationally. Anna is a creative force and a brilliant, prolific songwriter,” comments Heath Johns, president, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, BMG. “BMG could not be happier and prouder to welcome her into our songwriting family.”

BMG’s publishing roster of Australian and New Zealand talent includes Neil Finn, Young Franco, KLP, Jet, Keli Holiday, The Cat Empire, What So Not, Ladyhawke, Bag Raiders, and recent signing Velvet Trip.

In the fall of 2023, Taylor Swift briefly became not just the biggest star in music, but the biggest star at the multiplex.

That October, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened to $93 million at the North American box office over its opening weekend, stunning the film business and helping kick off a new wave of theatrically released concert films. Importantly, it also arrived amid a sparse theatrical release calendar due to the overlapping writers’ and actors’ strikes, making it a godsend for movie theaters that were starved for content. In this way, it showcased the important role concert films can play for film exhibitors, which are increasingly looking to alternative content as the number of major studio releases declines and audiences stay home to stream from their couches.

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour completely changed the conversation,” says Brooks LeBeouf, senior vp of U.S. content at Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S. “It became the highest-grossing concert film of all time and proved that audiences will turn out for premium music experiences in theaters.”

The Eras Tour film, which finished its run having earned $180 million in North America and $261 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo, certainly wasn’t the first hit concert film at movie theaters in the modern era. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, there was a wave of such films targeting young fans of stars like Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus (2008’s Best of Both Worlds, $65 million in North America), Justin Bieber (2011’s Never Say Never, $73 million) and One Direction (2013’s This Is Us, $29 million). In 2009, just months after Michael Jackson’s death, the MJ concert film This Is It also proved to be a major draw, grossing $72 million domestically.

The difference between then and now is that major studios release considerably fewer films today. That makes concert films and other alternative content increasingly important in padding out theaters’ bottom lines, says Daniel Loria, senior vp of content strategy and editorial director at Boxoffice Media, who cites increasing consolidation as a major reason for the shift.

“In 2015, when Fox operated independently as a studio [prior to being acquired by Disney], Fox Searchlight and 20th Century Fox released 26 movies,” Loria says. “Last year, as a division of Disney, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures combined released, I think, nine movies. So you basically erase two-thirds of the market value of a major studio at the box office. That’s massive.”

And with the looming (albeit not yet certain) acquisition of Warner Bros. by the David Ellison-led Paramount, he says, there could be even fewer major studio releases on the horizon.

“The quantity of [concert films doesn’t] necessarily make up for missing one studio film,” says Jeff Kaufman, senior vp of film and marketing at Malco Theatres, which has 37 locations in the Midwest and Southeastern U.S. “But it gives us an opportunity to fill a space during the week and during the weekend that may not be that strong based on the films that we’re playing.”

Perhaps the biggest sign of theaters’ increasing reliance on alternative content, and concert films in particular, arrived in May. That month, AMC Theatres, the largest theater chain in the U.S., announced a new initiative called Arena One that would see artists including Paris Hilton, Bebe Rexha, Kim Petras and Maren Morris performing concerts from a purpose-built stage in Pennsylvania, beamed live to more than 300 AMC locations across the U.S. Unlike traditional concert films, these shows will have an interactive element, allowing artists to see and actually communicate with fans in theaters across the country.

“The artist can literally walk up to the edge of our stage in our studio and point to you at the [AMC at the] Grove [mall in Los Angeles], and say, ‘Hey, love that black sweater you’re wearing. Stand up and tell them what you want to say,’” says Rohit Kapoor, founder and chief creative officer of Artist One, which partnered with AMC for the Arena One initiative.

Originally slated for June, the Arena One shows were postponed just weeks after they were announced, ostensibly due to strong recent box office receipts and “a robust lineup of films and strong advance ticket sales in the weeks ahead,” according to a statement released by the company. (AMC Theatres did not respond to multiple requests for updates on the initiative.)

“If you run a three-screen cinema or a small circuit, [having fewer major studio releases is] not a huge deal…but AMC is the mall multiplex company,” Loria says. “They are in a unique position of having to innovate and fill those screens.”

While “alternative content” can take many forms, from TV series finales (Stranger Things), to Netflix movies repurposed for the big screen (KPop Demon Hunters), to sports (World Cup games, F1 races), to live broadcasts of plays from Broadway and the West End, and, yes, marching band competitions (distributor Fathom Entertainment’s DCI 2026: Big, Loud and Live), music content is a critical part of the calculus.

“I think people want to come out of the house and gather communally,” says Ray Nutt, the former CEO of Fathom Entertainment (he retired in July), which is co-owned by AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas and has released concert films from BTS, Garth Brooks, Christina Aguilera and Andrea Bocelli, among others. “I think [with] music, especially, they want to gather, take their friends to the [theater].”

Such films can help movie theaters, which do most of their business Friday through Sunday, fill seats during the slower weekday periods. Jamie Woglom, senior vp of marketing and strategic partnerships at Trafalgar Releasing, a giant in the space whose recent releases include concert films for KATSEYE, ATEEZ and Sia (the company also partnered with AMC Theatres to release both The Eras Tour and Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé in some territories), says the company often schedules these films’ opening nights on weekdays. “Because [concert films are] more like appointment viewing, you’re driving fans in the theaters on those off-peak hours and days,” she says.

Of course, artists also stand to gain from these releases. “It allows them to reach communities where they may not be touring or reach fans that are maybe fringe fans that may not make that investment in a $300 or $400 ticket evening out [plus hiring] a babysitter,” says Kymberli Frueh, executive vp of content acquisitions and programming at Trafalgar. “It really introduces that fringe audience to the artists in a very intimate and affordable way.” Concert films also super-serve artists’ more ardent followers, many of whom will go see a live show at a traditional music venue and buy tickets to the concert movie when it hits theaters.

These screenings can also be beneficial to an artist’s merch operation, with movie theaters increasingly offering artist-specific merch for sale before shows. As Woglom puts it, “Exhibitors are getting more and more interested in carrying [merch],” of which they also get a cut. “Anytime you have a fervid fan base, they want to be as close to the talent as possible,” says Regal’s LeBeouf. “And if that comes through merchandise that the talent have created or signed off on, that just adds to the event-type experience.”

There are other less obvious ways artists can benefit from such content. In some cases, says Frueh, it can give their teams an idea of untapped markets they should be prioritizing on tour. “I have a project that I’m working on now, and management hasn’t toured in certain areas, but they’re like, ‘This could be really interesting to see if the fan base is robust enough that can help shape our tour go forward,’” she says.

Despite the growing importance of concert films to movie theaters’ business models, Loria notes they still make up a relatively small percentage of their overall box office and, with the exception of The Eras Tour, rarely bring in headline-grabbing amounts of money. Even Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which captures one of the biggest concert tours from one of the biggest artists on planet Earth, only managed to place at No. 60 on the year-end U.S. box office tally with a still-respectable $34 million — just behind the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Knock at the Cabin. Earlier this year, the much-ballyhooed Billie Eilish concert film directed by James Cameron (Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft) was viewed by some as an underperformer, bringing in about $9.9 million domestically and $26.7 million worldwide off a reported $20 million budget. But unlike traditional studio tentpole releases, which often come saddled with budgets of $100 million or more, the stakes for concert films are relatively low.

“No one’s looking at [concert films] saying, ‘We need this to perform.’ They’re saying that about Avatar, they’re saying that about Marvel, they’re saying that about Supergirl,” says Loria. “So [the] Billie [Eilish] movie, it’s not a massive hit, but it doesn’t have to be; it’s not designed to be that. It’s designed to help add to a weekend of moviegoing, or maybe mitigate some of the losses.”

As the quartet of Beatles biopics inch ever closer to their April 2028 simultaneous release date, the Universal Music Group has cut a deal with Apple Corps on a new global exclusive licensing deal covering the band’s merch, licensing and e-commerce businesses, the companies announced today (Aug. 19). Universal has long been the home of the Beatles’ recorded music through their stewardship of Capitol.

The four Beatles biopics, first announced in 2024, will be told from the respective perspectives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, with the four bandmates being portrayed by Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan, respectively, with James Norton as Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Directed by Sam Mendes, the films are as yet individually untitled, though they are collectively being billed as The Beatles — A Four Film Cinematic Event.

“The Beatles embody music’s power to change the world, and that influence makes them one of the most iconic and enduring cultural brands of all time,” UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement about the deal. “We’re grateful for Apple Corps’ trust as we deepen our global partnership, while protecting and growing The Beatles’ legacy through authentic fan experiences worthy of their artistry. As a lifelong Beatles fan, building on the relationships forged over the past 14 years is one of the great highlights of my career.”

The Beatles, of course, are no strangers to the big screen, themselves having put out films like A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine during their recording and touring career in the 1960s, as well as the documentary Let It Be about the recording of their final album. They’ve also been the subject of films by Ron Howard (2016’s Eight Days A Week) and Peter Jackson (2021’s Get Back) and their music and story were the inspiration for theatrical releases like 2007’s Across The Universe and 2019’s Yesterday, in addition to dozens of other films and specials over the years.

These forthcoming movies, however, serve as the first time the four members and their respective estates have granted full life rights to any production, as well as full music rights through Apple and UMG. They will follow the projected 2027 debut of The Beatles At 3 Savile Row, a seven-floor fan experience in London that will open up Apple Corps’ archive of memorabilia and exhibitions, and will also house a merch store and recreation of the studio space where the band recorded Let It Be in 1969, as well as the location of their iconic rooftop concert at the location, which was the basis for Jackson’s film.

“We are delighted to partner with UMG on a new global merchandising deal,” said Tom Greene, the newly-minted CEO of Apple Corps, in a statement. “There has never been a more exciting time to work on The Beatles as we look ahead to the 3 Saville Row fan experience in 2027, and our biopic movies in 2028. The Beatles message has never been more relevant or needed in the world today, and we look forward to delighting millions of fans with everything we have planned.”

SYDNEY, Australia — Velvet Trip has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with BMG.

Velvet Trip is the dreamy, psychedelic-pop project of Zeppelin Hamilton, the Wiradjuri singer, songwriter and producer, an act with two appearances on the ARIA Albums Chart, a classy live show, and a growing fanbase.

The BMG deal caps a year of good vibrations for Velvet Trip.

In February, the act landed an APRA Professional Development Award, in recognition of creative achievements and future potential, and scored an ARIA Top 40 appearance with Glimmers Continued, its second album. Glimmers Continued got the Feature Album treatment on triple j and went on to debut at No. 33 on the all-genres national ARIA Chart and at No. 5 on the Australian Artist Albums chart. Velvet Trip’s first LP, Harmony Blooms, peaked at No. 19 in 2024. 

Last year, the outfit won a spot as one of the triple j Unearthed x NIDA competition winners, earning a music video (for “Burnin’ Up”) created by NIDA student directors and designers. Velvet Trip finished 2025 as the most-played artist across the triple j Unearthed platform.

“I’m honored to be working alongside the amazing team at BMG across the globe,” Hamilton remarks. “I’ve been a huge fan of their roster from afar for many years, so it’s a real pinch-myself moment to now be partnering with them and to be considered alongside the world-class artists they represent.”

Financial terms of the BMG deal weren’t disclosed.

Hamilton is honing a reputation as a must-see live performer, selling out headline shows at Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room and Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club. Along the way, the rising artist has supported Djo, Parcels, Ocean Alley, and Middle Kids, and performed at major festivals including Bluesfest, Yours & Owls, triple j One Night Stand, Party In The Paddock, and performing at the National Indigenous Music Awards.

Away from the studio and stage, Hamilton serves as an official ambassador for the Australian Music Venue Foundation and MusicNSW.

“All four members of our A&R team independently put Velvet Trip on the BMG radar, and when it’s unanimous, we sign immediately,” explains Heath Johns, president, Australia, New Zealand & South-East Asia, BMG.

“Velvet Trip is on the verge of a major breakout. The songs are all incredible, the live show is world-class, and Zepp is the type of artist who commands attention wherever he goes. The whole team is beyond hyped to take this incredible music to the world.”

Velvet Trip joins a BMG publishing roster that includes Australian and New Zealand creatives Neil Finn, Young Franco, KLP, Jet, Keli Holiday, The Cat Empire, What So Not, Ladyhawke, Bag Raiders, and others.

SYDNEY, Australia — Lizzie Butterworth is appointed chief executive of the Australian Festival Association (AFA).

Butterworth brings to the role a wealth of policy expertise, government experience and industry knowledge. Previously, she worked for six years alongside minister for the arts, music and the night-time economy John Graham in the New South Wales parliament and government, serving as director of policy — arts, music and night-time economy, jobs and tourism.

There, Butterworth helped shape some of the most significant policy developments in NSW’s contemporary music sector.

The incoming AFA CEO’s major contributions have included the formation of Sound NSW, reforms to festival regulation, protections for live music venues, and the development of new regulatory and funding frameworks that support artists, venues and festivals.

AFA chair Adelle Robinson welcomes Butterworth to the trade body.

“Lizzie has spent her career working at the intersection of music, government and public policy. She knows how government works from the inside, she knows our industry’s challenges, and she knows how to bring people together to drive change,” Robinson remarks in a statement.

Butterworth joins the Australia’s festivals industry at a time of complex regulatory, financial and operating pressures, and changing ticket-buying behaviors, and other issues, Robinson notes.

Looking ahead, she continues, “Lizzie has built trusted relationships across government and industry and is exactly the kind of leader the Association needs as we continue advocating for a strong, sustainable and thriving festival sector.”

Butterworth succeeds Olly Arkins, who departs this Friday, Aug. 21 after five years with the association.

The AFA publicly launched in December 2018, representing festival organizers, suppliers and stakeholders across Australia’s music festival sector. Its mission, to advocate the festival industry, promoting best-practice safety and operational standards, providing a unified voice, and facilitate policy reform and investment.

Today, its members include Fuzzy, CMC Rocks, Live Nation, Hardware, Laneway, Groovin’ The Moo, Lost Paradise and many others.

“Festivals are a vital part of Australia’s cultural identity and music industry,” comments Butterworth. “They have launched the careers of countless Australian artists, connected fans with unforgettable live experiences and created opportunities for workers, businesses and communities across the country. I’m excited to work with our members, Board and industry partners to build on the AFA’s strong foundations and continue advocating for a festival industry that is creative, resilient and sustainable.”