5Jun

Timbaland Announces New AI Entertainment Company, Reveals TaTa As First Artist

Timbaland has launched his own AI entertainment company called Stage Zero and its first signee is the artist TaTa.

Co-founded with Rocky Mudaliar and Zayd Portillo, Stage Zero’s first signee is an AI pop artist called TaTa, driven by Suno AI. The pop artist, along with a bevy of AI-driven creative tools will all be under Timbo’s new company. The Grammy-award winning producer will be handling the majority of the production for this new artificial intelligence venture, which he dubbed as a new genre entirely called “A-Pop.”

“I’m not just producing tracks anymore,” Timbaland said in a statement. “I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch. [TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music artist built with AI. TaTa is the start of something bigger. She’s the first artist of a new generation. A-Pop is the next cultural evolution, and TaTa is its first icon.”

Mudaliar added, “The artists of tomorrow won’t just be human, they’ll be IP, code and robotics that are fully autonomous. That’s what we’re building at Stage Zero.”

Timbaland has remained a prevalent advocate for AI in music. In an April interview with Billboard, Timbo said AI is in an exciting new place compared to where it was just a few years ago.

“The technology of today is perfect for what this is,” Timbaland told Billboard. “What used to take me three months only takes me two days. In the beginning, it was like a toy. It was like going to a toy store. You gotta go through gluttony, because you can’t believe that it’s here.”

5Jun

MCA Promotes Rob Femia to Chief Operating Officer

Music Corporation of America (MCA) has promoted Rob Femia to chief operating officer, adding COO to his duties as executive vp of business and legal affairs.

The label group’s imprints include EMI Records Nashville, Lucille Records, Mercury Nashville and MCA Nashville, representing artists including Eric Church, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson and Little Big Town.

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A graduate of Rutgers Law School, Femia’s prior career stops include Sony BMG, Virgin Records/Capitol Music Group/EMI Music North America and Atlantic Records. He joined UMG Nashville in 2013 as vp of business & legal affairs, and rose through the ranks to evp of BLA in 2023.

MCA president and CEO Mike Harris praised Femia’s deep industry experience and integrity, calling his presence on the executive team “invaluable” as the company enters a “new chapter” in its history. (Until recently, the music company operated under the name Universal Music Group Nashville.)

Harris added: “I have worked with Rob for a good portion of my own career, and he has always been knowledgeable, hardworking, and honest – which are characteristics we strive to bring to MCA’s roster of artists every day.”

“I am honored that Mike is entrusting me with this expanded role at MCA as we reshape and refocus our priorities around the core of what defines us—a best-in-class record label with a deep roster of hit makers and history makers alike,” Femia said in a statement. “From today’s most talented and brilliant artists in country music to a rich catalog representing some of the most important and influential country music spanning generations, MCA has always stood at the heart of the genre’s legacy and evolution.”

5Jun

Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Kim Petras & More Gear Up for Festival Season | Billboard News

This is partner content.

This summer is packed with festivals, and we’re highlighting incredible stars such as Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Kim Petras and more, who will be bringing their hottest hits to the stage!

Tetris Kelly: 
The festival season is far from over, and as we gear up for the rest of the year, we’re breaking down three massive outings that you should have your eye on, presented by Amazon Prime. It’s Pride Month and Pride is bringing icons only to Washington, D.C., June 6 and 7. You can catch Paris Hilton and Kim Petras, Troye Sivan and Miss Jennie from the block, Jennifer Lopez. At the same time over in New York City, Benson Boone will be flipping his way into the Governors Ball, with a lineup that also includes Tyler, the Creator and Olivia Rodrigo. Olivia is a darling of festival season, as she is also headlining Chicago’s Lollapalooza. Tyler is making his way there as well, and on July 31 to Aug. 3, they will be joined by Doechii, Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter.

We will be following all the festivals all year long, so keep it locked at Billboard. 

5Jun

Here’s Our Dream Setlist for Nine Inch Nails’ Peel It Back Tour

Hey, pigs! All of our dreams practically came true when Nine Inch Nails announced in January that the band was hitting the road for the Peel It Back world tour in 2025. (“Practically,” because some of us are still awaiting that new album announcement.)

It didn’t take long after the news arrived for fans to start speculating as to who might open for the Grammy-winning band, who hasn’t released a proper NIN album since March 2020’s surprise drops of the instrumentals Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts — and going farther back, to 2018’s Bad Witch, if we’re talking music with lyrics. Potential openers that were floated on forums such as Reddit have ranged from the industrial (Health, Youth Code) to synth-pop(Gary Numan) to dance/electronic (Boy Harsher). But it was electro-house veteran Boys Noize — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Challengers soundtrack collaborator — who NIN revealed in March had landed the coveted gig.

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But what discussion of the Peel It Back Tour ahead of its June 15 launch in Dublin would be complete without a massive “Wish” list of tracks fans are hoping to hear live? With an impressive catalogue that includes 10 studio albums (plus three EPs, a live set and multiple film soundtracks) since 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine, that’s a heck of a lot of hits and fan-favorite deep cuts to consider fitting into a set.

That said, NIN might’ve offered some not-so-subtle hints about where the focus may be. After all, the critically lauded The Downward Spiral marked its 30th anniversary last year, and the name of this tour comes from the lyrics off the album’s lead single, “March of the Pigs,” so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the setlist was TDS heavy. (Perhaps the 14-track album will even be played front to back? It’s not exactly a pie-in-the-sky wish, since NIN performed the Broken EP from beginning to end at several shows during its 2018 tour, a year after the 1992 release marked its 25th anniversary.) Or maybe given Reznor’s harsh criticisms during the first Trump Administration, things will take a political bent, with a heavier-than-expected focus on 2007’s Year Zero. With the band’s penchant for regularly changing up the setlist from night to night, who knows what fans will be treated to!

But for the sake of discussion, let’s assume TDS will not be played in full. So what will make it to the stage while other worthy songs are set aside to fit into the allotted time for what could be a best-of trek? With the tour kickoff quickly approaching, nothing can stop us now from coming up with our dream setlist.