“El futuro ya llegó hace rato, pero está desfinanciado”. El cartel de Bruno Lazarte no pide permiso. Lo sostiene con las dos manos, plantado en el medio de una Plaza de Mayo que a las cuatro de la tarde es un hervidero de cuerpos y banderas. Bruno tiene 18 años, el pelo revuelto de quien durmió poco y viajó mucho, y estudia el profesorado de Educación Física en la Universidad Nacional de Luján. Llegó en caravana, apretado entre compañeros que mastican la misma bronca. Para el pibe, la cuarta Marcha Federal Universitaria no es un reclamo gremial más; es un momento muy punk. “Sin futuro estamos con este gobierno. Tenemos que estar juntos porque Milei nos está cortando las piernas antes de empezar a correr”, suelta urgente y se pierde entre las columnas. Esta tarde, Bruno pone el cuerpo para que su futuro no sea una subasta.
Buenos Aires, tensa, aguanta la respiración. Retumba en sus calles el zumbido del 12 de mayo: la respuesta de saberes frente a la prepotencia del relato libertario que solo sabe de superávit y recortes. Agustín Soplán, de 21 años, trae la vibración del tren Roca metida en los talones. Viene de La Plata con su hermana Antonella, una chica de rulos morochos y una mirada melancólica heredera de décadas de lucha estudiantil. Estudian en la UNLP. Se refugian detrás un cartel que es una barricada de cartón: “La libertad empieza por la educación”.
Los Soplán son primera generación de universitarios: su mamá es portera y su viejo, empleado. Cuentan que el título no es un privilegio de casta, sino un derecho ganado por prepotencia de laburo. Dicen a coro que, en los últimos tres años, la motosierra dejó de ser una metáfora de campaña para convertirse en la cuenta sin saldo de la SUBE y una beca Progresar que no paga ni las fotocopias. “El Gobierno da asco”, dicen, mientras sus docentes -doctorados que podrían habitar la estratósfera de la academia- subsisten con migajas que se evaporan en la primera quincena del mes.
La marea crece. Los chicos de la UBA agitan pancartas que resumen la épica del siglo XX argentino: “La conquista más grande, que la universidad se llenó de hijos de obreros”. Miran la Casa Rosada, convertida en una fortaleza sitiada. “Están aterrados a que pensemos, a que seamos críticos, a que nos eduquemos”, dice Gustavo Roldán, estudiante de Historia, y sigue marchando.
Pocas horas antes de la movilización, el Gobierno ensayó otro manotazo presupuestario: nuevo recorte de 3000 millones al Conicet y la poda de 5000 millones para infraestructura universitaria. Otro más. Las fuerzas del cielo quieren poner de rodillas a la educación; las fuerzas del aula salieron a luchar en todo el país. De Ushuaia a la Quiaca se sumaron un millón y medio de personas en decenas de plazas.
Cerca del Cabildo, los vendedores ofrecen pines y muñequitos de Mafalda con guardapolvo blanco y radiante. A unos pasitos, los efectivos de la Federal le sacan lustre al “palito de abollar ideologías”. El operativo antiprotesta es una vez más desmesurado, un gasto millonario que no llegará a las facultades. Frente a la Pirámide de Mayo, decenas de miles dan cátedra a cielo abierto. El tema del día lo resume otro cartel tatuado a mano: “La educación pública no se vende, se defiende”.
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Es el último lunes de marzo. Isabel Pérez sostiene un marcador gastado frente a una pizarra en la calle. Un arma cargada con verdades. La chica tiene la mirada eléctrica de quien ya no espera nada del futuro porque el presente es una cuenta que no cierra y, en las últimas semanas, caminar hasta la facultad es la única forma de llegar. Isabel estudia Ciencias de la Educación en Puan. Esta tarde en lugar de subrayar fotocopias en el patio de la vieja fábrica de cigarrillos, está en el cruce de Miró y Bonifacio haciendo la cuenta que el Gobierno no quiere auditar: “Un viaje de Adorni en jet privado equivale a 18 sueldos docentes”. Isabel es la voz de una generación que el Ejecutivo quiere domesticar a fuerza de frío presupuestario. “Nos quieren sumisos e ignorantes, porque un pibe que piensa es un problema para su orden de mercado”, explica mientras el sol se derrite sobre el asfalto de Caballito como una sopa de plomo, espesa y cargada de una estática que presagia el estallido. Nadie sabe cuándo, pero todos sienten el calor.
Este lunes no hay refugio en las paredes repletas de afiches de Filosofía y Letras. La bronca desbordó la trinchera académica para mudarse a las calles. El objetivo es un edificio coqueto, arquitectura gélida que irradia solvencia y buen pasar: el nuevo domicilio del jefe de Gabinete, Manuel Adorni. Donde hace un rato circulaba el ruido gris de los autos, se arma un aula magna plantada frente al búnker del vocero que ensaya silencios violentos cada vez que le preguntan por las propiedades y los verdosos dólares que aparecen y desaparecen de sus declaraciones juradas como por arte de magia contable.
Adorni, el panelista que usa los números como granadas para justificar el desguace del Estado, se enfrenta a su propia gramática. La cuenta es fría pero el resultado arde: desde que Javier Milei llegó al poder, la brecha de recomposición salarial en las universidades nacionales es del 49%, una cifra que en la vida real condena a un ayudante de primera a sobrevivir con 228.095 pesos mensuales. Es el triunfo de la farsa: un funcionario que predica la austeridad con el bolsillo ajeno mientras sostiene un nivel de vida que choca de frente con la miseria del aula. La clase pública se dicta con una lección de Ética involuntaria, una materia que el jefe de Gabinete parece haber cursado en modo libre y sin rendir cuentas.
“Adorni debería estudiar Educación Cívica, para empezar. Y un poco de Ética para Amador(ni) no le vendría mal”, suelta Pablo Perazzi, secretario general del gremio Feduba, con la voz rebotando contra las ventanas blindadas del edificio. El paralelismo es sombrío, denuncia el antropólogo Perazzi: “Estamos en una nueva Noche de los Bastones Largos, nos están echando de la universidad”. Entre carteles que disparan verdades al paso y vecinos que se asoman a los balcones con la bronca del que teme perder su orden, el profesor Horacio Banega prepara su cátedra de Gnoseología sobre el pavimento. Hoy enseña sobre la universidad frente a la lógica del mercado. “Ni en el menemismo fuimos tan atacados”, reflexiona mientras acomoda un pizarrón que parece un palimpsesto de reivindicaciones justas y necesarias.
A 150 metros de la casa de altos estudios literarios, el reclamo batalla contra la impunidad, esa trama digna de los laberintos de Borges o la prosa cortada de Lamborghini: un país donde el lenguaje sirve para ocultar propiedades mientras se desmantelan los laboratorios universitarios. Los pibes de Puan pasan la voz: el Centro de Estudiantes confirmó clases públicas durante toda la semana. El reclamo incluye actualización de salarios por IPC, pago a los ad honorem y la posibilidad de tomar la facultad.
En la esquina, mientras la tarde cae pesada, la formación policial custodia el frente del edificio con una simetría maníaca. Es la pedagogía del escrache, la única forma en que el Ejecutivo parece aceptar educarse: a distancia, a regañadientes y bajo este sol tremendo.
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Si la calle es la épica, el escritorio es la morgue. La anatomía del desguace responde a una ingeniería del hambre con planos trazados en los despachos oficiales. La Ley de Financiamiento Universitario flota en el limbo de la burocracia judicial, mientras el Gobierno responde con una arquitectura de excusas: “no hay plata”, “están auditando”, “son privilegios”. El cínico juego del presupuesto.
La radiografía es cruel. Un ayudante de primera, el motor de la investigación, cobra un sueldo de indigencia. El resto de los docentes, algunas migajas más. La motosierra no recorta gastos; amputa tejido social. La lógica anarcocapitalista se muestra diáfana: la educación es un “gasto” prescindible, un error de cálculo que debe ser corregido para llegar al todopoderoso superávit. El conocimiento como un bien de lujo inalcanzable para la inmensa minoría.
Ricardo Gelpi, rector de la UBA, advierte hasta el cansancio sobre el colapso: gas, luz, ascensores, limpieza y salarios en rojo. Lecciones del despojo. Mientras tanto, el elefantiásico Ministerio de Capital Humano comandado por la licenciada en Ciencias de la Familia Sandra Pettovello pasó de la omisión a la ofensiva: exige informes, amenaza con retener fondos y subordina los recursos al control ideológico. Pretenden rectores-capataces, pero la universidad resiste en su columna vertebral: la comunidad.
Los números hablan, mejor dicho, sangran. El último informe del Centro Iberoamericano de Investigación en Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación (CIICTI) informa que la planta total del Sistema Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación cayó de 75.057 a 68.730 puestos de trabajo desde que asumió Milei: una destrucción de 7,7 puestos diarios. Entre diciembre de 2023 y abril de 2026, 438 investigadores de Ciencias Exactas dejaron sus cargos. Uno cada dos días. La foto trágica se repite en todas las facultades. “Para igualar el salario de diciembre de 2023, el aumento debería ser del 52%”, apunta el decano Guillermo Durán. Los salarios cayeron en abril por 18º mes consecutivo. Se ubicaron debajo de los valores de 2002. Mientras el sistema se desangra, cada peso recortado es un ladrillo menos en la soberanía científica y educativa.
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Viernes 11 de abril, media mañana. En la Plaza de Mayo la luz es cruda y el ajuste no da tregua. El centro porteño se transforma en una casa de altos estudios al aire libre. La historia, que a veces se repite como farsa, esta vez elige ser tragedia y cátedra a la vez. Desde temprano, la plaza muta en feria de ciencias, un despliegue de pizarrones, una respuesta de saberes frente a la oscuridad del relato oficial. Es la universidad de la calle dando lecciones de vida: una respuesta del pensamiento que se niega a ser recluido en un edificio en penumbras.
A pocos metros de la Pirámide, la doctora en Sociología Pilar Fiuza despliega su pizarrón portátil. Se le iluminan los ojos al hablar de su vocación, pero esa luz se vuelve opaca cuando mira el edificio mudo de la Casa Rosada. Dicta Historia del Conocimiento Sociológico frente a pibes que ya no son alumnos, sino protagonistas de la resistencia. A su lado, Laura Estrada, física de Exactas, abre una caja de herramientas de ciencia ficción: láseres y fibra óptica para explicar las cualidades de la luz. Ensaya una metáfora involuntaria en el presente oscurantista. La científica Estrada volvió al país en 2013 con el sueño de devolver lo que la universidad pública le dio; pero esta mañana, con una bronca que mezcla nostalgia y firmeza, denuncia la fuga de cerebros que ya es un éxodo silencioso.
Florencia, jefa de trabajos prácticos en Exactas, escribe “Análisis avanzado” con una fibra negra. El encuadre es violento: de un lado, funciones e integrales; del otro, los carros hidrantes y el uniforme azul de la Federal. La policía no demuestra interés. Mira con una extrañeza casi antropológica los diagramas matemáticos; no entienden que esas fórmulas son la gramática del universo, una lógica que trasciende cualquier decreto de necesidad y urgencia. La belleza del cálculo enfrentada a la fealdad de la macana.
El biólogo molecular Alberto Kornblihtt dicta una clase magistral que convoca a cientos. Recuerda a las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, que dieron cátedra de dignidad frente a esa misma Pirámide, y subraya que el ágora fue siempre el refugio de la inteligencia frente al sablazo presupuestario. Un estudiante levanta un cartel que resume la épica: “La universidad pública enseña, resiste y sueña”. Es una pedagogía de la visibilidad. Frente a un gobierno que quiere una educación sumisa y mercantilista, la plaza responde con la gratuidad de la palabra compartida.
Elián Zamora estudia Filosofía y está sentado bajo la sombra de una palmera flaca. Tiene el rostro curtido por la cuarta semana de una cursada frenada por el ajuste. “Al ministro de Economía le diría que lea mejor a Maquiavelo”, suelta el pibe. “Hablan de El Príncipe como si fuera un posteo de redes sociales, un ‘el fin justifica los medios’ vacío”. La angustia de Elián es más material que metafísica: cobra una beca Progresar de apenas 35 mil pesos. “No me alcanza ni para los apuntes. Tuve que comprar el Leviatán de Hobbes y me salió 40 lucas. La beca no llega a cubrir ni un libro”. El estudiante, como miles, está igual de precarizado que sus maestros. En la Argentina de Milei, leer a los clásicos es un lujo que se paga con el estómago vacío.
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El teléfono suena mientras Joan Manuel Pardo viaja hacia la sala de ensayo. Al otro lado de la línea, el ruido de la calle se mezcla con la urgencia del nuevo disco de Camionero, Pruebas de contacto, que presentarán el 23 de este mes. Pero esta mañana, la métrica que desvela a Joan no es solo la de sus canciones; es la de un país que ve cómo se desangra la educación pública, un goteo incesante que ningún torniquete retórico parece poder frenar. Joan es la voz y la guitarra de un dúo que suena a garaje sucio y desprolijo, una bestia de dos cabezas que completan la batería de Santiago Luis y una ética innegociable: la autogestión como hoja de ruta.
Joan es un converso del sistema. Pasó por la escolarización privada y un amague en Publicidad en la UP antes de patear el tablero. “Un día me pregunté: ‘¿Qué carajo estoy haciendo?’. Me metí en Letras en la UBA y ahí pasé del mundo privado a la educación pública. Descubrí que ahí se respira un compañerismo que en la privada directamente no existe”, suelta con la honestidad de quien ya no tiene que rendir cuentas a la herencia familiar.
La UBA fue su casa por varios años. Egresado de Puan, Joan recuerda que el nuevo edificio de la calle Bonifacio se levantó sobre el sacrificio de una toma histórica en 2010. Por eso, el ataque sistémico del gobierno de Milei le produce un cortocircuito. “Es absurdo que usen la palabra libertad, nadie compra ese verso. La matemática no da. Ver que hoy hay una especie de resignación me duele; nosotros conseguimos un edificio con lucha, pero ahora parece difícil imaginar algo de ese calibre”.
Hace un mes, Pardo dejó de dar clases en secundarias del Conurbano para dedicarse 100% a la banda. Sabe lo que es estar frente al aula donde la motosierra libertaria no es una metáfora, sino una realidad. “¿Cómo enseñar literatura a pibes que piensan primero en comer? Enseñar literatura es siempre inútil, en el mejor sentido: está desencajada de la utilidad. Mi mejor clase fue como en Karate Kid: pulir y limpiar. Los pibes ven la universidad como algo exterior a su historia familiar, pero en la escuela pública surgen lógicas anti-individualistas, anti-capitalistas, de solidaridad, que la hacen resistir”.
Esa resistencia tuvo su clímax el pasado 23 de abril, en el festival frente a la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Camionero sacó los parlantes a la calle para ponerle banda sonora al reclamo por la Ley de Financiamiento Universitario. “Fue raro”, confiesa Joan. “Ver a mis ex profesores y a los pibes pogueando me llena. Pero el aporte a la lucha es más espiritual que concreto; es una toma de posición, revalidar y visibilizar discursos. El compromiso del artista es su obra y la obra está comprometida con la sociedad”.
Para el Gobierno, la universidad pública es un “centro de adoctrinamiento” o un “curro”. Joan, que conoce el paño, desarma el discurso oficial: “Es una mentira flagrante. Los profesores trabajan por dos pesos con cincuenta y los pibes hacen un esfuerzo heroico para llegar, para cursar. Es cuestión de que se den una vuelta para ver lo que pasa realmente”.
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A una semana de la Marcha Federal Universitaria, el scroll infinito de las redes sociales escupe postales de una obscenidad simétrica. Mientras el patrimonio de Adorni florece en una chacra con pileta climatizada, cascadas y asadores pagados en el negro más absoluto, el presupuesto de los hospitales universitarios entra en estado de rigor mortis. En la UBA, el congelamiento de partidas es un jaque mate a la red asistencial que atiende a 700 mil pacientes al año. De los 80 mil millones previstos para salud en 2026, el gobierno de Milei no ejecutó un solo peso al cerrar el primer cuatrimestre. La motosierra, que se promocionó como herramienta quirúrgica contra los privilegios, terminó siendo un hacha que corta el suministro de oxígeno en los centros de salud.
“La administración está incumpliendo su propio Presupuesto. No es un conflicto administrativo; es una crisis sanitaria”, advierten las autoridades de la UBA en conferencia de prensa. El aire en los pasillos de Medicina huele a desinfectante barato y a una tensión que se corta con bisturí.
Llamo a Juan Martín Agosti. Tiene 26 años y los nervios curtidos por las guardias. Se recibió de médico el año pasado y, mientras estudia para ingresar a la residencia en cardiología, desanda el camino de su militancia. En 2020 fundó Somos Libres en la Facultad de Medicina. Agosti es un hijo dilecto de la clase media porteña, educado en colegios privados donde la política era un rumor lejano, casi una mala palabra. Quiso ser periodista, pero terminó buscando la verdad en la anatomía humana.
“Empecé a hacer política en 2015, con la asunción de Macri”, dice. Para Juan Martín, Cambiemos fue la oportunidad de “terminar” con el kirchnerismo. Pero en el medio pasaron cosas, y su fe se mudó al anarcocapitalismo.
Construir una orga liberal en el corazón de la educación estatal parece una misión suicida, pero Agosti tiene otros datos. “En Medicina o Derecho no somos minoría. Lo que pasa es que el militante kirchnerista sale a gritar y el nuestro no dice nada, parece que no existimos”, afirma. En 2022 plantaron su primera mesa física. Pagaron el derecho de piso de la vieja política universitaria: mesas rotas, mensajes agresivos, el hostigamiento de un reformismo que los mira como un virus exótico. En el presente ya son 100 voluntarios que creen que la libertad avanza, incluso entre cadáveres para disección y libros de fisiología.
Agosti es ayudante de primera en Histología e Inmunología. Cobra, como todos, el salario del miedo. No ignora que su sueldo es un insulto a la formación académica, pero su diagnóstico es dogmático: “El salario docente es bajo hace años. El Estado tuvo que aplicar un plan de ajuste porque veníamos de una inflación del 300 por ciento. Hay que analizar el porqué”.
Para Juan Martín, la bronca de sus colegas es una cuestión de etiquetas ideológicas. “Cuando estaba Macri había paros; con Alberto Fernández, con los mismos problemas y salarios bajos, no había quejas. Entra a jugar la ideología”, sostiene. Para el joven médico, la solución no es “pedir plata”, sino que la universidad aprenda a gestionar su propia escasez.
Cuando le pregunto por las becas que se evaporan y los estudiantes que empiezan a elegir entre el apunte o el almuerzo, Agosti se refugia en la esperanza del largo plazo. “El presidente dice que a largo plazo las políticas van a rendir sus frutos. En el medio, tenemos estos problemas”. Su lógica es una flecha lanzada al futuro: cree que la movilidad social ascendente de la UBA es un mito del siglo pasado y que las reformas de Milei son las que finalmente permitirán que los sectores bajos lleguen a la universidad.
Sobre la Marcha Federal, su postura es un equilibrio precario. Agosti dice que defiende la universidad pública y gratuita, pero se niega a caminar junto a lo que considera el “engaño” de la oposición. “Ver a Kicillof o a las Madres de Plaza de Mayo hablando de la UBA es ridículo. Esto no es un partido de fútbol. Nosotros no queremos cerrar la UBA, queremos auditorías”, sostiene mientras se prepara para faltar a la cita masiva del 12 de mayo. “Yo no voy a ir”.
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“No puedo faltar, soy un hijo de la universidad pública”, dice Federico Servini, docente de la Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas. El profesor cuenta que es un sobreviviente del vaciamiento: graduado en Diseño Industrial, magíster en Marketing y doctor en Ciencia y Tecnología. Tantos pergaminos acumulados para terminar cobrando una miseria que lo obliga a hacer malabares. “No llego a fin de mes. Mis colegas andan haciendo Uber o changas para subsistir”, revela. Como docente de Gestión de Proyectos e Innovación, su diagnóstico sobre el Ejecutivo es lapidario: “El Gobierno hace todo lo que no hay que hacer; te destruyen. Pero acá estamos. Por ahí somos una gota de agua, pero la lluvia siempre moja el campo para la cosecha”.
La marea es total. Profesores, auxiliares, estudiantes, egresados y familias enteras que se niegan a ser un número en el Excel. Una piba pasa con una remera que lleva el sello histórico de la UBA: “Argentum virtus robur et studium”. El lema en latín es un conjuro: “La virtud argentina es la fuerza y el estudio”.
Cerca del escenario, Ricardo Paulín, de 76 años, levanta temperatura. Jubilado, tiene tres hijos estudiando en la pública y, por si fuera poco, cursa la carrera de Derecho. Es un estudiante crónico de la dignidad. “Nunca vivimos algo así, el Gobierno no para de ajustar y el pueblo está repodrido”. Para Paulín, la educación paga es el fin del sueño de sus hijos. “Pensar, ser libres, ser críticos… todo eso te lo da la universidad. Esta es una demostración de que el pueblo se junta para pelear por lo que es justo”. Le pregunto por Adorni, que quizás espía la plaza desde algún rincón de la Rosada. Ricardo niega con la cabeza: “No le diría nada. Esa gente no siente, son egoístas. Solo piensan en ellos y en los poderosos”.
“Sean eternos los laureles, que supimos conseguir…”. El Himno Nacional suena en una Plaza de Mayo que ya es un solo puño. Desde el escenario, la exigencia es clara: que la Corte Suprema deje de dormir la siesta y ordene al Ejecutivo que cumpla la Ley de Financiamiento. ¿Será justicia?
La noche empieza a irrumpir con su manto gris sobre Buenos Aires y la marea humana inicia una desconcentración lenta, en procesión laica. John Suárez, estudiante de Medicina, emprende el regreso a La Plata con el cansancio metido en los huesos. Pero antes, el futuro doctor se acerca a las vallas de la Casa Rosada y deja un cartel de cartón, un pliego de condiciones clavado en el hierro para que lo lea el poder sitiado por su propia ceguera: “La lucha es un poema colectivo”.
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Pearl Jam have booked their first gig since the departure of longtime drummer Matt Cameron last summer after 27 years behind the kit. The band will take the stage with an as-yet-unannounced time keeper at this year’s Ohana Festival in Dana Point, Calif., which will take place from Sept. 25-27.
The 10th anniversary edition of the event founded by PJ singer Eddie Vedder will feature performances by PJ and Eddie Vedder and Friends, as well as Mexican rock legends Maná, Tyler Childers, Alabama Shakes, Fontaines D.C., Billy Idol, Pixies, Rilo Kiley, Jon Batiste, Bad Religion, Courtney Barnett, the reunited Sugar and more.
Ten Club ticket pre-sales are open now, with fans encouraged to sign-up now for a presale code for the general presale kicking off on Thursday (May 14) at 12 p.m. PT, followed by a public on-sale at 12 p.m. PT if any tickets remain; click here to sign up for the presale.
More than 30 bands will take to the three stages on Doheny State Beach, including Midnight Generation, Otoboke Beaver, Men I Trust, Stephen Wilson Jr., The Front Bottoms, Alice Pheobe Lou, Marlon Funaki, Ellery Harper, The Format, Tom Odell, Ecca Vandal, Horsegirl, Villanelle and more.
Pearl Jam announced last July that Cameron was stepping away after more than a quarter century with the group. In a statement, former Soundgarden drummer Cameron wrote, “After 27 fantastic years, I have taken my final steps down the drum riser for the mighty Pearl Jam. Much love and respect to Jeff [Ament], Ed [Vedder], Mike [McCready] and Stone [Gossard] for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter. I am forever grateful to the crew, staff and fans the world over. It’s been an incredible journey. More to follow. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Check out the full lineup for the 2026 Ohana Festival below.
Universal Music Group is expanding its work in the mental health and wellbeing spaces through new partnerships with Amber Health and Project Healthy Minds.
Through a combination of partnerships and programs, announced today (May 13) by the music giant, UMG intends to improve access to care within its creative community.
By partnering with Amber Health, UMG’s artists and songwriters in North America will have 24/7 access to a range of mental health services, including clinical expertise, including crisis response, care planning, and specialized referrals. Also, UMG will work with the organization to provide additional behavioral health support to the music major’s employees in the United States and Canada, which will include access to expanded mental health support and resources.
Additionally, UMG signs up as a founding member of Project Healthy Minds’ workforce mental health research initiative, becoming the first music company to do so. Through that alliance, UMG cements its commitment to the development of a standardized framework to measure workforce mental health and its correlation with organizational performance, a statement reads. Through a collaboration with academic partners, including Harvard Business School, this project is meant to establish data-driven benchmarks and inform best practices across industries.
“Through our strategic partnerships with organizations like Amber Health and Project Healthy Minds — and our continued investment in groundbreaking programs like Music Health Alliance’s Music Industry Mental Health Fund,” says Susan Mazo, UMG’s chief impact officer, in a statement, “we are working to redesign how our industry supports wellbeing. Our focus is on expanding access to care, reducing stigma, and ensuring that our artists and songwriters, employees, and the broader music community have the resources they need to thrive.”
The partnership, notes Dr. Chayim Newman and Zack Borer, co-founders at Amber Health, represents “a real shift in how labels support their artists. Together with UMG’s corporate and label leadership, we’re embedding quick access to specialized mental health care directly into the labels’ infrastructure, making it proactive rather than an afterthought. We couldn’t be prouder of this work, or the message it sends to the rest of the music industry.”
Adds Phil Schermer, founder and CEO, Project Healthy Minds: “Music has always been a vehicle for mental health conversations and now Universal Music Group is bringing that same honesty inside its own walls. When a company of UMG’s reach commits to this, the whole industry pays attention.”
UMG turned talk into action in February 2025, by partnering with Nashville-based non-profit Music Health Alliance on the Music Industry Mental Health Fund, which provides comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals across the United States. That alliance builds upon the healthcare access program launched by UMG and MHA in April 2021.
Also last year, UMG and Apple Music globally launched Sound Therapy, a wellness collection designed to help listeners reach for clearer focus, deeper relaxation, and better sleep.
Thanks to isolation, travel, late nights and other factors, creatives and the industry professionals that support them are often at the frontline when it comes to mental health issues. The struggles are real. A study by Swedish digital distribution platform Record Union, published in 2019, prior to the pandemic, found that upwards of 73 percent of independent music makers reported the symptoms of mental illness. Separately, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey 2024, released by Australia’s music industry charity Support Act, found that 53.5% of Australian music and creative workers face high or very high psychological distress, with north of 68% citing high cost of living as a major issue.
UMG continues to work with existing longstanding partners including Mental Health Coalition (MHC) to highlight the resources and research-backed ways that music can support mental health.
The late, disgraced Australian entertainer Rolf Harris is the subject of a new two-part documentary, commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The film, Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator, will debut Tuesday, June 9, and will feature interviews with survivors who’ve never before spoken publicly of his crimes. The series is said to capture the full story of Harris’ double life, charting his rise from suburban Perth, Australia to the heights of fame and influence in the United Kingdom, while revealing the pattern of abuse that unfolded behind the scenes for decades.
Prior to his downfall, Harris was a popular figure on TV, the airwaves, and charts across the U.K., the U.S. (“Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963) and his homeland, Australia. In the mid-2000s, he was once commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II, a sitting that was turned into a documentary.
His U.K. chart hits included “Two Little Boys” (Columbia), which has the distinction of being the very last No. 1 in that market in the 1960s. “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” reached No. 9 in the U.K. back in 1960, and he had a No. 3 hit with “Sun Arise” in 1962. Decades later, in 1993, he enjoyed another U.K. top 10 appearance, when his cover of “Stairway to Heaven,” a spin-off from the Australian TV show Money or the Gun, reached No. 7.
Harris’ spectacular fall from grace began in 2013, when he was questioned and arrested police under Operation Yewtree, the investigation into sexual abuse among members of the English media elite, including the late Jimmy Savile. Following a trial in 2014, Harris was found guilty of various indecent assaults on women and young girls between 1968 and 1986, and was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison. He was released in 2017, but denied any wrongdoing and never issued an apology to his victims.
He died in 2023 at the age of 93. “In the years since, the silence that once protected him has begun to lift,” reads a statement from the ABC, announcing the new series, which “gives voice to those who were previously unable to, as they share their experience on their own terms.” Harris’ death “has finally lifted a veil of fear once cast by this powerful figure, and survivors who long feared retribution are at last able to speak.”
Prior to the Yewtree investigation, Harris moved within the highest circles in Britain, his adopted home. Along the way, he was named as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
It was a similar scenario in his country of his birth, where Harris was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. ARIA has since scratched his name from the record books.
Rolf Harris: Primetime Predator will air 8.30pm AEST on ABC TV, with both episodes available to stream on ABC iView.
U2 is back on the streets, this time in Mexico City where the legendary Irish rock band is shooting a new music video.
Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. were snapped in the Mexican capital where they’re shooting a music video for the new track, “Street of Dreams,” lifted from their yet-to-be announced next studio album, due for release later in 2026.
The Rock Hall-inducted band was spotted Tuesday, May 12, rocking out on top of a school bus, graffitied by local artist Chavis Mármol, with hundreds of fans gathered for the special event.
It’s not the first time U2 has brought the streets to a standstill. In the late ’80s, the group famously recaptured the spirit of the Beatles’ “Get Back” with a performance on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles, footage of which appears in Meiert Avis’ music video for “Where the Streets Have No Name.” The clip went on to win the Grammy Award for best performance music video at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards, and its parent album, 1987’s The Joshua Tree, was a monster, confirming U2 as a hitmaker, a stadium act and, without argument, the biggest band of its time.
This week also sees Mexico City host the 2026 Street Child World Cup, with 30 teams from across the globe in town for this year’s tournament that kicked off May 6, and wraps up this Thursday, May 14. “It’s a little NGO with a big kick for kids with all of the talent and none of the access,” chimes in U2 drummer Mullen. “Our band are proud supporters.”
U2’s next album is the followup to 2023’s Songs of Surrender, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
The group has been notably active of late, and with the release in April of the Easter Lily EP, Bono shared an update on that next record. “We are in the studio, still working towards a noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colourful’ album to play LIVE… which is where U2 lives. We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens. These are for sure ‘wilderness years’ for so many of us looking at the mayhem out there in the world,” the singer explained in a written statement.
The Dublin fourpiece “will attempt hoopla and fanfare at a later date to remind the rest of the world we exist but in the meantime,” Bono continued, “this is between you and us.”
U2 has landed 34 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including two leaders, along with eight No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart. Induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame came in 2005. U2 had the honors of being the first band to play the Sphere in Las Vegas, which they inaugurated in September 2023 with the residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
We’ll be having the time of our lives when this movie comes out.
Inaugural Entertainment announced Tuesday (May 12) that its Green Day-inspired comedy NIMRODS —named after the band’s 1997 Billboard 200 top 10 album Nimrod — will hit theaters this summer. Alongside the release date, Inaugural Entertainment also shared that it is partnering with with Legion M, the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company.
Directed by Lee Kirk, NIMRODS is a coming-of-age film that follows a group of three friends who embark on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles after mistakenly believing that their band is opening up for Green Day at a New Year’s Eve show. The misadventures of the trio are inspired by Green Day’s years of living in a tour van.
The NIMRODS cast includes teen stars Mason Thames (The Black Phone; How to Train Your Dragon), Mckenna Grace (Scream 7; Regretting You), and comedian Fred Armisen. Rounding out the cast is Kylr Coffman, Ryan Foust, Ignacio Diaz- Silverio, Keen Ruffalo, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Bobby Lee and Sean Gunn.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool are slated to produce the film along with Ryan Kroft and Michael Rapino Live Nation Entertainment, Tim Perell for Process and Jonathan Daniel.
“Green Day wouldn’t exist without the fans, and we’re excited to give those fans the opportunity to own a stake in the film as we work with the incredibly talented teams at Inaugural, Live Nation and Green Day to bring it to audiences,” said Legion M co-founders Jeff Annison and Paul Scanlan in the press statement announcing the film.
NIMRODS originally premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival under its original title New Year’s Rev. The film is set to hit theaters on Aug. 14.
Kacey Musgraves’ new album Middle of Nowhere debuts in the top 10 across seven Billboard charts (dated May 16), including a trio of No. 1 bows. The singer-songwriter’s sixth studio release arrives on Top Album Sales (No. 1), Vinyl Albums (No. 1), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 1), Top Country Albums (No. 2), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 2), Billboard 200 (No. 3) and Top Streaming Albums (No. 10).
The project launches with 100,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending May 7, marking Musgraves’ best week ever by units. Of that sum, vinyl purchases comprise a little more than 37,000 — her best sales week ever on vinyl.
Middle of Nowhere is Musgrave’s sixth studio album and was announced in early March. The project — which features collaborations with Gregory Alan Isakov, Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson and Billy Strings — was led by the single “Dry Spell” (peaking at No. 15 on Hot Country Songs in March) and released on May 1. Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere arena tour launches on Aug. 21 in Chicago and continues through the end of October.
On Top Album Sales, Middle of Nowhere is Musgraves’ third No. 1, all earned consecutively. She also topped the tally with Deeper Well (in 2024) and Star-Crossed (2021).
Musgraves leads a busy top 10 on the latest Top Album Sales ranking, where five more albums debut in the top 10: ILLIT’s MAMIHLAPINATAPAI (No. 3), The Black Keys’ PEACHES! (No. 6), Isaiah Rashad’s It’s Been Awful (No. 7), Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live) (No. 9) and Tori Amos’ In Times of Dragons (No. 10). Meanwhile, Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide falls to No. 2 after debuting at No. 1 a week ago, BTS’ former leader ARIRANG is steady at No. 4, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Number Ones both jump, climbing 7-5 and 12-8, respectively.
Björn Bauer has been named CFO of the newly combined BMG and Concord, it was announced on Tuesday (May 12). Based in Nashville, Bauer will report to Bob Valentine, who has been designated CEO of the combined entity.
Bauer joins from entertainment company RTL Group, which is majority-owned by BMG parent company Bertelsmann. At RTL, where he’s been CFO since 2019, he serves as an executive director and member of the executive committee. In his role there, Bauer “has played a key part in advancing RTL Group’s transformation, including focusing the Group’s portfolio on its largest business units, diversifying its global content business Fremantle and building a profitable streaming business,” according to a press release. He has been involved in RTL deals including its acquisition of Sky Deutschland (GSA) and the sale of RTL Netherlands.
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Before joining RTL Group, Bauer had held senior leadership roles at Bertelsmann since 2007, including as executive vp of corporate controlling and strategy and CFO of Relias, Bertelsmann’s U.S.-based online learning provider.
Until the BMG-Concord transaction closes, current BMG CFO Mathis Wolter will continue in his role at the Berlin-based company and support the integration with Concord before moving to a new role within Bertelsmann. Current Concord CFO Kent Hoskins will also continue serving in his role there until the close of the deal, at which point he’s expected to take on another senior leadership position at the combined company.
“Björn brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of delivering strong results through operational excellence and disciplined financial management,” said Thomas Coesfeld, designated chairman of the combined BMG and Concord, in a statement. “We are delighted that he is expected to join the combined company following completion of the transaction and look forward to the impact he will have as we continue to strengthen and grow the business. At the same time, I would like to thank Mathis for playing an instrumental role in shaping BMG’s strategic transformation, and for being a trusted partner to me and the executive team over the past three years.”
“We are pleased that Björn is expected to join the combined company as CFO. His deep financial expertise will be invaluable as the company continues to focus on sustainable growth and long-term value creation after the transaction closes,” added Valentine.
For his part, Bauer said: “As the global music industry evolves, the combination of BMG and Concord will be uniquely positioned to capture new opportunities through its talent focus, entrepreneurial spirit and global scale, supported by continued investments in catalogs and talent. I am excited to join the combined company upon closing of the transaction, a pivotal moment in its growth journey. I look forward to partnering with the teams to drive the combined company’s next phase of growth and support its long-term strategic ambitions.”
A jury says Ye (formerly Kanye West) must pay a six-figure damages award for failing to clear a sample included in an early version of the Grammy-winning song “Hurricane” from his chart-topping album Donda.
The Tuesday (May 12) verdict, which followed a weeklong trial, held Ye and his companies liable for infringing the copyrighted instrumental track “MSD PT2” on an early demo of “Hurricane,” which the rapper played to a stadium of fans at a pre-release Donda listening party in 2021. Jurors said Ye must share a cut of his profits from that listening party, held in Atlanta and streamed live on Apple Music, with the sample’s owners.
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The final amount of those damages was not immediately clear. According to Rolling Stone, jurors held Ye personally liable for $176,153 and awarded damages of $176,153, $41,625 and $44,627 against three of the rapper’s companies. If combined, this would make for a total verdict of $438,558.
However, Ye’s team insists that the corporate damages will be folded into Ye’s own liability for a total award of $176,153.
“This is a failed shakedown,” said a Yeezy spokesperson in a statement to Billboard. “Six months ago, they wanted $30 million out of Ye. They got 0.5% of that today.”
The Yeezy spokesperson said the plaintiffs spent millions of dollars in legal fees for this outcome. “The moral of the story? There is a cost attached to thinking you can take advantage of Ye,” added the spokesperson.
A rep for the plaintiffs did not immediately return a request for comment on the verdict.
The lawsuit dates back to 2024, when the producers of “MSD PT2” — DJ Khalil (Khalil Abdul-Rahman), Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff and Josh Mease — sued Ye through a business entity called Artist Revenue Advocates LLC. Initially, they were seeking royalties from the commercially successful final versions of both “Hurricane” and fellow Donda track “Moon,” alleging that both songs interpolated “MSD PT2″ without approval.
However, a judge dismissed the bulk of the lawsuit in February after determining that Artist Revenue Advocates owns only the “MSD PT2” master recording rights, not the composition rights. This means that while the company can sue over a sample, it does not have any standing to bring claims over an interpolation.
The judge, therefore, allowed a narrow trial to go forward only on the early “Hurricane” demo, which did include a direct sample, but not the far more lucrative final songs, which only included interpolations. Artist Revenue Advocates plans to eventually appeal the decision in the hopes of restoring the full lawsuit — but in the meantime, the company sought $500,000 in damages from Ye’s listening party profits, encompassing a slice of ticket sales, merch and an Apple Music livestreaming deal.
During the trial, which began on May 4 in Los Angeles federal court, Ye’s lawyers argued that the case was meritless because his team tried to clear the “MSD PT2” sample, but that the four producers intentionally dragged their feet and refused to approve industry-standard splits. They also pointed out that the plaintiffs had already collected some royalties from various publishers.
Ye himself testified in court that he “went through the normal process” to clear the “MSD PT2” sample.” The rapper told jurors that he’s “very generous” about giving credit and royalties to collaborators when it’s due, but lamented, “I feel like a lot of people try to take advantage of me.”
The jury ultimately sided with Artist Revenue Advocates and against Ye. Jurors did not give an explanation for their verdict, as is typical.
This was far from the only copyright lawsuit Ye has faced throughout his career; the rapper has been sued dozens of times over the years for allegedly using unlicensed samples and interpolations in his music. This was, however, the first time he’d taken a legal battle all the way to trial, as he’s historically opted to settle the majority of claims.
Between her time as the frontwoman for 4 Non Blondes, her legendary songwriting catalog (for Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys and more), her own solo career, and her outspoken activism, Linda Perry has already lived countless lives in the public eye. But the new documentary Linda Perry: Let It Die Here peels back brand-new layers to the musical firebrand, from being a mom to 9-year-old Rhodes to losing her own mother just after the singer/songwriter was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
In addition to the film — which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and is now in select theaters — Perry also released the album Let It Die Here on Friday, her first solo album in more than a decade. When Perry sat down with the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast in March, she explained that the film and album were both a bit unexpected, with the documentary emerging from director Dan Hardy asking if he could shadow her in the studio and the album sort of pouring out from there.
“I didn’t know an album was coming. I didn’t know I was there yet,” she tells Katie & Keith on the podcast, surprising herself when songs started organically flowing. “I was like, ‘Holy sh–. I guess I’ve got something to say after all.’”
Listen to Perry’s full conversation now:
In addition to the new film and album, we also spoke with Perry about reuniting with her 4 Non Blondes bandmates for new performances and a new album, set for this year, and what she thought of their 1992 hit “What’s Up?” having a viral resurgence late last year. Find highlights from our conversation with Perry below:
On following her instincts on her Let It Die solo album:
“My process has always been to let things happen organically. And if you listen to that record, I mean, there’s so many different characters. I don’t know what the f— is going on, it’s kind of funny. I have my Neil Diamond moment … and it’s like, ‘What the hell? Where is this coming from?’ But it’s what the song is asking. I didn’t write the song to sound like Neil Diamond. The song wrote itself and asked me to sing it in a certain way.”
On covering Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” for the album, which Perry wrote for the pop star in 2002:
“I can go and redo this song and make it sound completely different, so I’m not copying, but it’s my song. This is the way I wanted it back then, so I’m just gonna do the version I would have done for myself, you know? And so that’s what I did. … I think it was my radio guy, Todd Sievers, who said, ‘Have you ever thought about doing a cover of “Beautiful”?’ And I was like, ‘No.’ He planted it in my head. And I was sitting here at the studio, I’m like, ‘Let me just try, you know? Let me see what happens.’ And that’s what happened.”
On making a sophomore album with 4 Non Blondes, more than 30 years later:
“It is so opposite of my album — thank you, Jesus. I think my album is great, but this is, like, fun and dumb. … If we’re gonna f—ing do this after 30 years, I’m gonna make this album the best it can be. But it is like a ’90s record. It’s like I wrote this in ’93, it’s so f—ing good. I’m not even tooting my own horn; I’m just giving you a fact right now. It is a f—ing great album filled with such great hooks, and it’s fun, it’s dumb. There’s a couple songs, maybe a little thoughtful, but, you know, I didn’t go there. I just wanted to just do an album that you’re rocking and you’re jumping.”
On “What’s Up?” going viral through a TikTok mash-up with Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” in 2025:
“You can’t buy that kind of marketing or social media presence. I mean, people try to, but it doesn’t work exactly, and it happened organically. And we [4 Non Blondes] were already together — the band already had played a few festivals before that happened. So it was like, ‘Hello, thank you, universe.’”
On Minaj facing backlash following the viral mash-up because of her vocal support for President Trump:
“I think everybody has a lapse of judgment. … In Nicki’s case, it seems that she wanted something from the [president’s] office and was trying to maybe help herself, a friend, a boyfriend — whatever — and was promised something and felt that it was worth the risk to take. You know, if my best friend or Sara [Gilbert, Perry’s former spouse and co-parent of Rhodes] or someone in my family needed something and I had to go begging and groveling to somebody to get it to happen, I probably would have made a bad judgment as well, because sometimes when we’re thinking about loved ones or trying to get out of a situation, we’re not thinking clearly. So I’m not judging Nicki for what happened, what she did. I think she’s judging herself enough, and she’s suffering by her own decision. I don’t think we need to go ahead and make her feel worse than she probably already does.”
In addition to the Pop Shop interview with Perry, we’ve got chart news on how Noah Kahan holds atop the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second week with The Great Divide, and how uncommon that is for a rock set; how Tame Impala gets its first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “Dracula,” alongside BLACKPINK’s JENNIE (her first top 10, too!); and how Madonna is back on the Hot 100 with her Sabrina Carpenter duet “Bring Your Love.”
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)