If the pandemic wasn’t bad enough for touring artists now we could be losing another great promotional avenue. It’s Ellen DeGeneres who is in the middle of a PR storm.

Warner launched an investigation into “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” after the release of a Buzzfeed News article. Other media outlets such as the LA Times and The NY Times also picked up the story which had staffers assert that the atmosphere of the daytime talk show behind the scenes is one of racism, fear, and intimidation.
You see folks, it’s a tough time for high profile figures. More and more we have to be self aware of our actions as well as our staffers. Social media leaves a digital foot print that can’t be erased. We have people that will take a blurb a soundbite and spin their own narrative. If it picks up steam then the dam breaks. The flurry of negative press begins and the A-list pals will desert you. They don’t want to be caught in a storm and it becomes everyone for themselves. It becomes the soldier die alone scenario.

A slew of artists signed off on a letter that is demanding politicians refrain from using their songs during campaign rallies.

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Lionel Richie, Sia, Mick Jagger, and Lorde are demanding that politicians seek “consent” from artists and songwriters before using their songs in a campaign.
“Being dragged unwillingly into politics in this way can compromise an artist’s personal values while disappointing and alienating fans — with great moral and economic cost. For artists that do choose to engage politically in campaigns or other contexts, this kind of unauthorized public use confuses their message and undermines their effectiveness,” the letter said. “Like all other citizens, artists have the fundamental right to control their work and make free choices regarding their political expression and participation. Using their work for political purposes without their consent fundamentally breaches those rights – an invasion of the most hallowed, even sacred personal interests.”
It’s a crazy world. It’s a strange world. The environment is becoming more poisonous by the day. Music will prevail.

Many artists were making lots of moolah through touring but are now caught in a pickle. With touring off the table for 1 to 2 years or even longer, artists now have no choice but to write music and release songs. Usually a tour follows a new album but what can you do? With that, Billie Eilish will release a new song, ‘My Future,’ next week. While there isn’t a whole lot of information, she did mention in January that she would be recording a new album in 2020.

Taylor Swift is always filled with a surprise. First she released a country album, then a pop album, moved to electronic pop and now? She surprised fans with a Folk album. Without warning, she dropped a 16 track album in just 24 hours notice. If you like sappy tracks sung by a superstar then this could be for you. The album got raving reviews from journalists that digested 16 introspective melancholic folk songs within 24 hours (to be fair, a private link to the songs was sent out a week ago).
The album is produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner along with Jack Antonoff. To give it that indie credibility, Swift got Bon Iver to sing on the track ‘exile’. Now we’re talking. She even grabbed the title “Mirrorball” for one her tracks from either folk rock artist Neil Young or Sarah McLachlan.
It won’t be the last surprise from Taylor. Now with touring off the table for 1 to 2 years anything is possible. More writing, more time to think, and more time to release albums. Did I hear Justin Bieber is already started writing for his next album? I think I did….

Post is back to writing music and share some personal feelings and perspective. He’s pretty spot on!

“As crazy as the world is and as strong as everybody needs to be, being able to be in my house by myself and just vibe-out and see where my brain takes me — this has been a perfect time to make music, and to write songs about what’s going on currently,” he explained.

“I’m working on an album now,” says Malone “There’s so much to say in these times that will give people hope and hopefully uplift people’s spirits. Because it’s a dark time in America. It’s a dark time in the world. Honestly, for a songwriter to be in the house all day is a blessing and a curse. In the darkest of times I’m just trying to make something beautiful out of it.”
“But [I’m] able to be introspective and think about how [to] be a better person and help out more,” he reflected. “To be honest, I think everyone in America is going a little bit crazy sitting at home all day. So I’ve gone a little bit crazy, and I wanted to take more steps outside of my comfort range and make music that I think — to me — is some of the best I’ve made.”
He hopes his next album with inspire….

“I probably say that every album cycle, but for me it feels so special. I want to make an album that will uplift and show that people are not alone in their times of loneliness and worry and that at the end of the day we all just need to show love to everyone on the planet and figure things out,” he said. “So we’re working pretty hard, and I think we’re making some incredible stuff.”