Primary Wave has entered into a partnership with the estate of Robert Palmer to help manage the late artist’s publishing and recording catalog, the company announced Tuesday (Sept. 22).
Although the announcement doesn’t disclose whether Primary Wave acquired any assets, sources say that Palmer music assets had been shopped earlier this year, and the company typically partners with artists and/or songwriters after making an acquisition. As usual, the Primary Wave deal includes a stake in name, image and likeness for Palmer, who died from a heart attack in 2003.
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As part of the deal, Primary Wave’s marketing and publishing infrastructure will work with the estate on new marketing, branding, digital and synch opportunities as well as film and TV projects.
“Robert Palmer was a truly unique artist whose distinctive voice, songwriting, and style left an indelible mark on popular music,” Samantha Rhulen, Primary Wave’s senior vp of business & legal affairs, said in a statement. “His catalog continues to resonate with audiences, and we are honored to welcome his incredible body of work to the Primary Wave family. We look forward to working alongside the Estate not only to preserve but also grow his legacy through innovative partnerships, new opportunities, and meaningful ways to introduce his music to fans around the world.”
While the announcement says Palmer sold millions of albums around the world during his career, which included 14 studio albums and 3 live albums, since 1991, Luminate data shows he has accumulated nearly 2.09 million consumption units.
Meanwhile, the RIAA has awarded him three platinum album certificates: for Riptide, Heavy Nova and Addictions: Volume 1. In the United Kingdom, BPI honored him with a BRIT platinum award for the latter album. (In the U.S., platinum is awarded for 1 million consumption units, while in the U.K., the platinum plateau is 300,000 units.) Palmer twice won the Grammy for best male rock vocal performance: in 1987 for “Addicted to Love” and in 1989 for “Simply Irresistible.”
“We are very excited to partner with Primary Wave,” the Palmer estate said in a statement. “As we continue to honor Robert’s incredible legacy, we also look forward to working with the team on exploring ways to bring his music to both new and existing audiences, preserving his lasting impact for years to come.”
Less than a day after announcing that a new song, “Patient Zero,” is coming out on Friday (Sept. 25), Taylor Swift unwrapped an even bigger gift on Wednesday morning (Sept. 23). The singer revealed that a deluxe edition of last year’s The Life of a Showgirl album, featuring four new songs, will also drop this week.
Describing the genesis of The Life of a Showgirl: The Encorein an Instagram post, Swift said, “About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind… You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history,” of the LP that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 thanks to a record-smashing 4.002 million album-equivalent units moved.
“I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs,” she continued. “I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made.”
Swifties only need to wait another day and a half to listen to the other new tracks, “Pink Clouding,” “Babylon” and “Cleveland!,” the latter, no doubt, inspired by husband Travis Kelce’s Ohio hometown. Swift also revealed what appears to be the album cover, which finds her standing in front of a pinkish-red curtain in a glittery fringed minidress with the album’s title in sparkly gold letters across the front.
“Patient Zero” is available now to preorder on Swift’s website, along with an acoustic version and piano version, each of which come with an different cover. On the piano version cover, she strikes a thoughtful pose, hand under chin, showing off her engagement ring. On the acoustic cover she stares into the distance in a gray space while wearing a black, camisole-like top.
The original The Life of a Showgirl spent 12 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and spun off two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles, “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite.”
So far, it seems like Beliebers are not going to see Justin Bieber hit the road for a traditional world tour in support of last year’s Swag albums. And while the singer performed at this year’s Grammy Awards and then at the Coachella Festival and the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, his live performance schedule has been light since he postponed and then canceled his Justice World tour in 2023 as he dealt with Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, a disorder that briefly caused partial facial paralysis.
So it was surprise on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 22) when the singer and a handful of friends set up their instruments and some microphones for an impromptu jam in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park. According to videos posted by fans of the surprise mini-set, Bieber ran through such hits as “Let Me Love You,” as well as the Swag songs “Speed Demon,” “All I Can Take” and “Yukon.”
Seated on and behind a cajón — a box-shaped percussion instrument you play by slapping your hands on its front — Bieber, 32, banged out the beat to his 2016 Billboard Hot 100 Nov. 4 DJ Snake collab “Let Me Love You” as a small group of fans and curious onlookers gathered around to watch the session featuring a handful of other musicians on guitar and percussion.
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Just because you cut the cable cord doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to your favorite local channels — like CBS. The channel has become one of the go-to destinations for CBS Sports with access to select NFL games.
It’s also the home to hit reality shows like Survivor, Amazing Race and Raid the Cage as well as nail-biting crime dramas and comedies such as Blue Bloods, NCIS, The Equalizer, Ghosts and Young Sheldon.
Live TV platforms are providing streaming options to watch local channels. Rather than connect the cord, you can take advantage of free trials and promos going on that’ll score savings and allow you to watch CBS at home without cable.
How to Watch CBS Live Online for Free
Below, ShopBillboard rounded up additional live TV streaming platforms that offer CBS and CBS Sports online without cable, including promos and offers that can get the channel for free or a discounted price.
DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial for new subscribers.
A subscription to DirecTV gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, including CBS, at $59.99 for the first three months of service ($89.99 per month afterward). The service even offers a five-day trial to watch for free, if you sign up now.
You can watch local networks, such as NBC, ABC and FOX, while you can also watch many cable networks, including FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, Cartoon Network, ESPN, FS1, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, Lifetime, CNBC, BET, MTV, Paramount Network and many others.
There are four packages to choose from and ever single one includes CBS and CBS Sports. You’ll receive more than 230 channels starting at $63.99 for your first month of service ($88.99 per month). Along with the ability to livestream channels, you’ll get 1,000 hours of DVR and the ability to stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously.
Hulu + Live TV doesn’t just let you watch everything within the Hulu library, it also gives you more than 100 live TV channels including CBS to watch sports at home.
If you don’t have a Hulu + Live TV subscription, the streamer offers a free trial that’ll get you your first three days free. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee starting at $89.99 per month. For even more content, you can also bundle Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited to watch additional exclusive and original sporting events and programs that won’t air on CBS.
You can also get instant access to CBS through the channel’s official streaming platform Paramount+. Along with CBS, you’ll also be able to stream content from Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Showtime and the Smithsonian Channel. If you already have a subscription, just log into your account to livestream content.
The Paramount+ Essential plan is ad-supported package and it’s priced at $8.99 per month. You’ll get access to tens of thousands of episodes and movies including exclusive and original content as well as NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League and 24/7 live news on CBS News.
If you want to go ad-free, you can subscribe to Paramount+ Premium for $13.99 per month and you’ll not only receive access Showtime’s exclusive and original programs, but your local CBS station, additional live sports and the ability to download content to watch on-the-go.
Can You Get CBS With Amazon Prime?
You can watch CBS shows and content when you add Paramount+ as a premium channel to your Prime subscription. Paramount+ is the official distributor and streaming platform for CBS, which means you’ll get access to exclusive and original content all within the Prime Video library. Add-on subscriptions start at $2.99 per month for the first two months ($8.99 per month afterwards) on top of your Prime membership subscription.
Don’t have a Prime membership? Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up — and you can stack on Paramount+ giving you access to all the benefits of a Prime membership as well as the ability to watch everything within the Paramount+ library, for free.
Although any newly discovered Beatles recording is always cause for excitement, John Lennon’s “Little Girl” – which appears on the upcoming Rubber Soul special edition release coming Oct. 2 – is not receiving the same kind of posthumous overhaul as “Now and Then” did in 2023 or “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love” did back in the mid ‘90s on the Beatles’ Anthology series.
“Little Girl” was discovered in the Beatles’ vault, along with an early version of the “Day Tripper”/”We Can Work It Out” single that was released concurrent with the Rubber Soul album, in 1965. “It was found during the process,” Giles Martin, son of the late Beatles producer George Martin, tells Billboard via Zoom from Abbey Road Studios in London. Martin, who worked with his father on the impressionistic soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil Beatles show Love in 2006, has become the main steward of Beatles’ archival projects, including audio portions of Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary and deluxe reissue packages for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (aka The White Album), Let It Be, Abbey Road, Revolver and more.
“When we do these projects we cast a net over a period of time and really look for everything,” Martin explains. “’Little Girl’ comes from the same area as ‘Day Tripper,’” he adds. “The boys having their own reel-to-reel tapes and recording home demos. It’s just a little ditty; don’t expect ‘Strawberry Fields’ or ‘In My Life’ from it.”
The recording is just as Martin describes – strong in fidelity but clearly unfinished and light on lyrics, with plenty of la-la’s as placeholders. “John was playing around with the word ‘girl’ quite a lot,” Martin notes. “’You can run for your life if you can, little girl’; obviously ‘Girl’ was on the record; ‘Little Girl’…You know, he liked words. He was obsessed with Dylan Thomas, etc. So it’s a valid sketch of the songwriting of the period.” He adds that there was never a notion of doing more with “Little Girl” than including it amid the wealth of rarities, outtakes, alternative versions and studio chatter included on the Rubber Soul packages.
“’Now and Then’ was very different. I wasn’t really aware of ‘Now and Then’ until Paul (McCartney) actually came into the room next door that I was in and played me what he’d been doing and said, ‘Would you like to come and finish it?’” Martin remembers. “And ‘Now and Then’ has a strange poignancy to it; it’s a very appropriate last record. The Beatles are very lucky like that, in a way; I know you make your own luck, but it’s a weird thing with the Beatles – like ‘The End’ being one of the last things they recorded [for Abbey Road in 1969], and ‘Now and Then’ being a thing that reappears 50 years later. It’s just weird how they managed to get away with it.”
Knocked out in less than a month, Rubber Soul was a turning-point album for the Beatles, with more sophisticated songwriting and instrumentation, incorporating influences the group had picked up from touring, especially in America. During an interview for The Beatles Anthology, George Harrison described it as “my favorite album, even at that time…We did spend a bit more time on it and tried new things. It was certainly a heady time.” In a newly written introduction for the new Rubber Soul project, McCartney recalls that “our recordings were becoming stronger and more sophisticated than our earlier efforts. Rubber Soul was a very exciting record to make. The music we were listening to and the new fashions in clothes, art and literature, helped give us ideas which we could put in our music.”
Rubber Soul was released on Dec. 3, 1965 and became the Beatles’ sixth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.K. and its seventh atop the Billboard 200 in the U.S., where different albums were released until 1966. It’s been certified six-times platinum. The remixed Rubber Soul comes in single-disc CD and LP reissues as well as expanded sets – including the five-CD Special Edition Super Deluxe, four-CD and five-LP Super Deluxe editions and two-CD and double-LP Special Editions. A Blu-ray issue features a Dolby Atmos mix, high-resolution stereo audio and videos for “Day Tripper” and “We Can Work It Out.” The set is preceded by “Day Tripper (Songwriting Work Tape),” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Second Version – Take 2)” and “Michelle (Take 1).”
During our discussion Martin filled us in on some other details about this latest addition to his burgeoning Beatles résumé.
Do you have any kind of process when you start preparing to do one of these Beatles immersions?
Well, it’s funny. People don’t realize I do a lot of stuff when I’m not doing these things. And so I go back into it and…I feel like I have to learn all this stuff again. I wasn’t around at the time and because of that my knowledge of the Beatles is really backwards. I learn what the album is, and where it came from…pretending in a way that I haven’t listened to any of the stuff that went on after it, because that’s fair. What I mean by that is, “How do we push technology? How do we do things? What are they trying to say? What are their influences?” All that stuff. It’s the same thing, but different. And so every album feels different to me.
What distinguishes Rubber Soul from the others?
I feel like I’m in 1965: they’ve been in America, they’ve come back and this is the sound they want to get. How do I get that sound?
What is that American influence you hear?
Interestingly enough, I think it’s that there’s a folk element to it. Without question there’s a (Bob) Dylan influence with “Norwegian Wood.” And a Byrds influence with “If I Needed Someone.” There are almost Stax/Motown influences with, like, “Drive My Car” and “Day Tripper” kind of thing. Of course there’s going back to skiffle with “I’m Looking Through You,” for example – that would be a late-early Beatles song…. They didn’t want to be a pop band anymore, so they gave themselves permission to start writing songs that weren’t necessarily just about “I love you” and “she loves me.”
The growth really was considerable.
As George said, they were forced rhubarb. They were doing 30, 40 songs in a year, something crazy. It’s in a remarkably short amount of time. That’s the beauty of it. It’s the thing about the Beatles which is so unusual – they wrote so many great songs in such a short amount of time that each album is like a calendar, a temperature gauge to what they were feeling at the time. So, therefore, (Rubber Soul) has a different feeling for me than Revolver or Sgt. Pepper’s does.
Alex Lake/Courtesy UMusic
Did you hear it as a transition point as you were working on it?
This album is still coming off the road, playing live, and then going back and playing live again. But the weird thing about it is they were doing songs that they weren’t doing live. You know, like “Girl,” most of the songs on this album were never intended to be sung in front of a bunch of screaming fans. It’s like, “You know, the quieter we play, maybe the screams will stop.”
It’s noted in one of the accompanying booklet essays that they also didn’t hang on to many of the rehearsal or working tapes once they had a final version, which must have made it interesting to assemble this particular package.
I think also that they didn’t spend that much time recording as well, compared to the White Album or Sgt. Pepper’s – that’s another thing to bear in mind. (Rubber Soul) was recorded in an amazingly short amount of time. So it wasn’t just the fact that they wiped stuff; it was more the fact that they recorded things very quickly. They rehearsed and worked out what it was and then they’d record it.
How much was left on the proverbial cutting-room floor as you were deciding what to include?
That’s actually a good question – for me, nothing; for other people, probably loads. [Laughs] Obviously my sensibilities are different from other people, and I might get hated for it…Sometimes (other engineers) might go, like, “The down mix of this song has a different fade,” or whatever it is. And I just go, “So what? Do I have to get through the song before I find that out?” See, I don’t think that music is meant to be collected; I think music is meant to be listened to – same as guitars and instruments and people who hang them on their wall. Some people…they’ll never have enough. And I think everyone should have everything, but there is a limit; I know that George Harrison or my dad, or Paul or Ringo, would think it was a terrible idea, so I have to respect their wishes. And I swear, hand on heart, I’m not holding things back for a next release. I’m not like Gollum – “You can’t have it because it’s mine.”
What particularly excited you as you were digging into the vaults?
I quite like the progression of “Norwegian Wood” take two, it’s so sitar-heavy. And you can hear what Ringo’s doing on his drum parts – it isn’t right, but it’s so nearly right. Most drummers start out playing time and then try to work out how to make it more interesting. (Starr) plays weird stuff and then goes to time, if necessary. That’s the way the Beatles worked. So all of it kind of excites me in its own way, because you can see the pencil drawing around the paintings that get made.
And it’s always fun to hear them talking to each other during the process.
People always look for what the magic is. What’s the magic? What is it? Is it my dad? Is it John? Paul? George? Was it Ringo? Is it the studies? Is it Brian Epstein? And when you hear them talk about what they’re doing, and then you hear them perform, or even if you hear them order a sandwich or drink a cup of tea and put it down, then perform a song that’s still touching people 60 years later, that’s the thing. When I approach these mixes, that’s what I’m trying to do. People go, “Oh, it’s so much cleaner” or whatever, but I’m actually trying to do as little as possible to make you feel like you’re in Abbey Road with me, listening to the Beatles.
What’s it like hearing your father on these tapes?
I suppose I’m used to it. I’m not worn down by it, but it’s nice to be with him is the answer. I remember doing Get Back and realizing that I was older than my dad was on screen. And the other weird thing about Get Back, as I was watching, is that over that period of time, on one of those days, I was conceived. It’s like, “When does he have a smile on his face?”
Do you feel like the Beatles are in your DNA, in a way?
It’s nice to be part of it. I understand why people are satisfied with me doing it. I have to step up to the hopes of people that I could do a good job of this. Maybe there’s a bunch of people who’d be able to do a better job, but I have to give my best and throw myself into this. Because I know that I sound like my dad, and I act like my dad. There was a time when I was doing Get Back, and I did a screenshot and showed it to my daughter, and she goes, “Is that you?” and I’m going, “No, that is your grandfather.”
Do you ever hear him giving a direction or a suggestion and realize that if you were there you would probably say the same thing?
You know, what my father would say to them isn’t recorded on tape, so I don’t know what he was saying to them. But I can guess what he was saying to them, because I know what he would have done, because I do the same thing as him. Funny enough, Paul says that, “the thing about the Martins is they have very good bedside manner.” My father always had a good time, you know, when he was working. I speak to Gerry Beckley from America, and he goes, “It was the happiest time we had, with your dad,” or I remember talking to Jeff Beck about it. Something I learned from him is there’s no point recording someone and then going back that night and singing in the shower much better. So it’s a privilege. And you have to be a fan as well. Neither me nor my dad are ones to light loads of candles and go, “Let’s just see what happens.”
What’s next on the Beatles docket?
Well, I’m working on four very small films with Sam Mendes at the moment [chuckles], so that’s next. It’s hard work, but they’re gonna be very good. I think they’ll trigger a new wave of Beatlemania, to be honest with you. I’m not working on any other Beatles (project), like Help! or Beatles For Sale at the moment, I know that much. Someone else might be – I never take this for granted. But I know what I’m doing, and I’m not doing that.
Billy Joel will host his first-ever live call-in special on his SiriusXM The Billy Joel Channel on Thursday (Sept. 24). The exclusive opportunity to chat with the “Piano Man” singer will kick off at 2 p.m. ET and give listeners a chance to speak directly with the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, ask him questions and hear from Joel in real time.
Fans who want to join in and submit questions can do so now via video, voice or text here; you can also dial in to the live special by calling 1-844-365-BILLY.
The call-in will be the first chance for Joel’s followers to speak to him following a recent interview on his SiriusXM channel 93 in which he got candid about his diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus last year led to the unexpected revelation from his doctors that the intense volume at his shows was causing damage to his brain.
He described going to see a doctor after suffering from balance problems that made it feel like he was “on a boat,” after which his neurologist recommended implanting a shunt in his brain to relieve some of the intracranial pressure. Though he initially said he’d “pass” on the surgery that includes getting a hole drilled through his skull to implant the shunt, Joel said he read that it can improve your balance and help with memory.
The shunt proved helpful on all those accounts, but his doctors also informed him that he should consider not performing live anymore because the physical effects of playing loud rock shows could cause further damage to his brain. “I realized, and the doctors told me this, because of my job, which is playing rock ‘n’ roll music very loud, that it was giving me something like a concussion every time I did a show,” he said. “It was causing damage to my brain nerves and I could be losing more brain cells the more shows I did and I realized that means I shouldn’t be doing this right now.”
The call-in will mark the first time fans can ask Joel about the brain disorder that caused him to cancel his planned 2025 tour dates as he recovered from the condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull, pressing on the brain and affecting a number of abilities, including “thinking and concentration, memory, movement and more,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
So, while he’s been laying low and doing physical therapy, Joel told his faithful, “don’t worry about me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. I’m still here.”
Joel’s last public appearance was at a March tribute fundraiser at Carnegie Hall featuring Rufus Wainwright, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Matt Nathanson, Train’s Pat Monahan, Wyclef Jean and Mary Chapin Carpenter that raised more than $225,000 to support music education.
The Billy Joel Channel will be available on satellite radios and through the SiriusXM app through Sept. 30.
