Ben Sisario

His brother and manager, Dick, said that Johnston had probably died overnight. He did not specify the cause.

Johnston had been released from a hospital Tuesday after being treated for kidney issues. “He was still productive, writing songs and drawing, and was just annoyed by his health more than anything,” his brother said. “It was just one thing after another.”

In a career that was filled with stops and starts, Johnston became something of a man-child celebrity of the artistic underground, earning the admiration of rock stars like Kurt Cobain and Tom Waits as well as comparisons to William Blake. His cartoon drawings — rendered in Magic Marker and frequently inspired by characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost — were included in the Whitney Biennial exhibition in 2006 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Yet Johnston was dogged by mental health problems that stunted his career and periodically hospitalized him. In recent years he had largely been confined to his family’s home; in 2017, he went on a farewell tour backed by members of the bands Fugazi, Wilco and Built to Spill.

As news of his death spread, Johnston was mourned online by creators across mediums and generations, among them Beck, director Judd Apatow and John Darnielle of the literary-minded indie band the Mountain Goats. Producer Jack Antonoff praised the way Johnston “shared fearlessly.”

Johnston was born on Jan. 22, 1961, in Sacramento, California, the youngest of five children in what he described as a Christian fundamentalist household. At a young age, he moved with his family to West Virginia, but by the early 1980s he had relocated to the underground rock center of Austin, Texas, where he handed out homemade cassettes to friends and customers while working at a McDonald’s. According to Johnston’s website, those tapes were recorded on a $59 Sanyo boombox.

He quickly gained the notice of fellow musicians and the music press with songs, like “Speeding Motorcycle” and “Don’t Play Cards With Satan,” that had a poignant clarity yet showed glimpses of a fractured mind. He became almost as well known for the strange, cartoonish art that decorated the tapes. One, “Hi, How Are You,” featured a froglike alien, and the image became his signature.

With a boyish voice and a gift for pure melody — his biggest inspiration was the Beatles — Johnston sang candidly and sometimes disturbingly about his demons. “Despair came knocking at my door, and I let her in for a while,” he sang on “Despair Came Knocking,” from “Hi, How Are You.” “She sat on the couch and began smoking. She said nothing.”

Climbing the rungs of the indie-rock world, Johnston was featured on MTV in 1985, and three years later came to New York, where he mixed with the bands Sonic Youth and Galaxie 500 — but ended up in Bellevue Hospital after he assaulted Sonic Youth’s drummer, Steve Shelley. (Upon his release, Johnston went straight to CBGB to perform.)

At the same time, Johnston’s songs were becoming indie-rock standards. “Speeding Motorcycle,” capturing the thrill and fear of passion — “Speeding motorcycle, don’t you drive recklessly/Speeding motorcycle of my heart” — was covered by Yo La Tengo, the Pastels, Mary Lou Lord and others.

In 1991, Johnston made a joint album with Jad Fair of the band Half Japanese, who had cultivated a similar reputation as an eccentric. But by comparison, the rock guide Trouser Press noted, Fair “seems about as offbeat as an insurance salesman,” as Johnston muttered “Poor you, no one understands you” in a warped, ghostlike voice.

In the music industry’s alternative-rock gold rush of the 1990s, Johnston was briefly signed to Atlantic Records. But his sole major-label album, “Fun,” released in 1994, was a flop, and the label soon dropped him.

As Johnston’s mental problems mounted — he said he suffered from manic depression — he largely withdrew from performing and remained at his family home.

In addition to his brother, he is survived by three sisters, Margy Johnston, Sally Reid and Cindy Brewer.

In the 2000s, even as Daniel Johnston seemed to disappear from public life, his reputation as a singular artist was growing. On a 2004 compilation album, “The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered,” his songs were performed by Waits, TV on the Radio and Death Cab for Cutie. The next year, Jeff Feuerzeig’s film “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” won the documentary directing award at the Sundance Film Festival.

But when Johnston was chosen for the 2006 edition of the prestigious Whitney Biennial, he was completely unaware of his selection. When asked whether he would travel to New York to see his work in the show, he told The New York Times: “I’m not in any condition to go overseas. It would wipe me out.”

In recent years, Johnston made sporadic attempts to make another album, which he wanted to call “If.” But it was never completed; according to an account in New York magazine, the producer on the project, Brian Beattie, clashed with Dick Johnston and others who were involved in Daniel Johnston’s management.

Still, Johnston remained dedicated to his art, planning his 2017 tour despite failing health.

“I can’t stop writing,” he said in an interview with The Times. “If I did stop, there could be nothing. Maybe everything would stop. So I won’t stop. I’ve got to keep it going.”

This article originally appeared in

Daniel Johnston Dies; Gifted and Enigmatic Songwriter Was 58

Daniel Johnston, a singer-songwriter and visual artist whose childlike, haunted songs brought him acclaim as one of America’s most gifted outsider voices, was found dead Wednesday morning at his home in Waller, Texas, outside Houston. He was 58.

Woodstock 50 will now be at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, Maryland, the producers confirmed Thursday. It will be held Aug. 16-18, almost exactly 50 years after the first Woodstock. But it was unclear what artists would be performing; when the lineup was announced early this year, it was to include Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Dead and Company, John Fogerty, Santana and dozens of others, although none of them have been confirmed for the latest iteration of the event.

For much of the year, Woodstock 50 has been the talk of the concert business, mostly for the wrong reasons, as its producers have faced obstacle after obstacle, some seemingly self-imposed.

The festival’s producers — including Michael Lang, one of the original partners behind the festival in 1969 — have battled with their partners and former investor, Japanese advertising conglomerate Dentsu, which withdrew its support in April and has called them incompetent. Producers lost two venues in upstate New York after failing to obtain permits; they suffered their latest setback just three days ago when the event was rejected — for a fourth time — by the town of Vernon, New York.

With just three weeks before the show was to start, much of the music industry had given up on Woodstock 50.

But Thursday it emerged that the festival’s producers had made a deal to save it.

“Woodstock 50 approached Merriweather about hosting their event here in Columbia, Maryland,” Seth Hurwitz, chairman of music promoter IMP and operator of Merriweather Post Pavilion, said in a statement. “The Woodstock folks are working on securing the artists now. If the bands come, we’ll produce the show. We’re looking forward to getting an update as soon as Woodstock 50 has one.”

Another concert, by the Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, has been advertised there on Aug. 17. Festival organizers had no immediate comment.

The news of Woodstock 50’s move to Maryland was first reported by Bloomberg.

Still, it is not clear who will play. Artists’ contracts with Woodstock 50 were tied to its originally planned venue, in Watkins Glen, New York, and they may have a right to refuse to play if the show is moved. Merriweather Post Pavilion’s location, close to Baltimore and Washington, may also conflict with artists’ touring schedules. The artists have been paid and would likely be able to keep those fees even if they do not perform; according to court filings, the festival paid $32 million to secure its first lineup.

On Thursday, producers were still negotiating with artists’ agents. Several of those agents either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is owned by the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission, a nonprofit organization, and is one of the few independently run amphitheaters in the country. Hurwitz also runs the 9:30 club and the Anthem concert hall in Washington.

The original Woodstock festival, in 1969, was ejected from its planned location just a few weeks before it was to take place, but Lang made another last-minute deal — to hold it on farmland in Bethel, New York.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/arts/music/woodstock-50-maryland.html" id="45ba3113-bc69-3987-a557-2251d374ad78">The New York Times</a>.

The producers of Woodstock 50, the troubled anniversary festival, have secured a last-minute deal to put on their show — or at least a version of it — in Maryland, after months of legal and permit battles in upstate New York that had left the event in grave doubt.

Woodstock 50 Festival Is Saved, With Just Weeks to Spare

Woodstock 50 will now be at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, Maryland, the producers confirmed Thursday. It will be held Aug. 16-18, almost exactly 50 years after the first Woodstock. But it was unclear what artists would be performing; when announced early this year, the lineup was to include Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, Dead and Company, John Fogerty, Santana and dozens of others, although none of them have been confirmed for the latest iteration of the event.

But Thursday it emerged that the festival’s producers had made a deal to save it, although details were scant. Another concert, by the Smashing Pumpkins and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, has been advertised there on Aug. 17, for example. Festival organizers and representatives of the amphitheater had no immediate comment.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is owned by the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission, a nonprofit organization, and is one of the few independently run amphitheaters in the country. It is operated by Seth Hurwitz, a concert promoter who also runs the clubs 9:30 and the Anthem in Washington.

The original Woodstock festival, in 1969, was ejected from its planned location just a few weeks before it was to take place, before Lang made another last-minute deal — to hold it on farmland in Bethel, New York.

Ed Sheeran is the most popular streaming artist in the world. But how much of a hit is his latest album, the guest-heavy “No. 6 Collaborations Project”?

On Spotify, 71 million people around the globe listen to at least one Sheeran song every month — making him, by that metric at least, the biggest on the platform by a fair margin. Songs from his new album were featured on more than 800 official Spotify playlists.

With such a vast audience, and Spotify’s promotional muscle behind the album, one would expect blockbuster opening-week numbers for “No. 6 Collaborations Project,” whose list of special appearances includes Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Eminem, Camila Cabello, Chris Stapleton and more.

Yet while the album opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s chart, giving Sheeran his third chart-topper, its numbers were modest for a high-profile project. “No. 6 Collaborations Project,” released by Atlantic, had the equivalent of 173,000 sales in the United States, the seventh-biggest opening of the year.

According to data from Nielsen, its total number included 70,000 copies sold as a complete album and 121 million streams — a number barely higher than last week’s No. 1, J. Cole’s “Revenge of the Dreamers III,” and less than the opening for Sheeran’s last album, “÷,” two years ago. To Sheeran’s credit, he largely refrained from giving away copies of his music with sales of merchandise, a tactic that is widely used these days to gain a higher chart position.

Close watchers of Billboard’s charts, however, saw the anticlimax coming. The first single from Sheeran’s album, “I Don’t Care,” with Bieber, opened at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, blocked by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” The next one, “Cross Me,” with Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock, went to No. 34. Two others failed to crack the Top 20 as well.

“Old Town Road,” meanwhile, continues its historic run. It has now notched 16 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s singles chart, tying the record with Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” (in 1995 and 1996) and “Despacito,” by Luis Fonsi with Daddy Yankee and Bieber (2017).

Also on this week’s album chart, Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” holds at No. 2, J. Cole’s “Revenge of the Dreamers III” project falls to No. 3, Lil Nas X’s “7” EP is No. 4, and Chris Brown’s “Indigo” is No. 5.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/arts/music/ed-sheeran-collaborations-chart.html" id="630ac815-ecb0-3c66-a4c5-2741d616d46f">The New York Times</a>.

(The Charts)

Ed Sheeran Is a Streaming Giant, but 'Collaborations' Is a Modest Hit

<h1>Elliot Roberts, who managed the careers of musical stars Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman and others but was best known for his five-decade association with Neil Young, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 76.</h1>

His company, Lookout Management, announced the death but did not state a cause.

Few pop artists have had business relationships as close and long-lasting as the one Young had with Roberts. After they met in a Los Angeles recording studio in 1967, Roberts became Young’s advocate, adviser and comic foil.

In a remembrance posted on his website Saturday, Young wrote: “When it came to our business, Elliot guided me through every move. We talked every day. Often I would call him multiple times a day, arguing, discussing, planning and sharing. He was there for me and protected my music with a fierceness.”

Along with David Geffen, Roberts was one of the crucial figures behind the singer-songwriter scene in Southern California in the late 1960s and early ’70s. The catalyst for both men’s rise was Mitchell, whom Roberts saw perform at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village in 1967. She had a growing catalog of innovative, powerful songs, but no recording deal.

“I went up to her after the show and said, ‘I’m a young manager, and I’d kill to work with you,’ ” Roberts told Vanity Fair in 2015. He became her manager, and Geffen became her booking agent.

After Roberts secured Mitchell a deal with Reprise Records, the two relocated to Los Angeles, where in late 1967 she began recording her debut album, “Song to a Seagull,” at the Sunset Sound studio in Hollywood. The album’s producer was David Crosby of the Byrds, whom Mitchell had recently met on tour in Florida. (Crosby also became a Roberts client.)

Also at Sunset Sound at the time of those sessions was Buffalo Springfield, Young’s band, which was recording what would become its final album, “Last Time Around.” Mitchell had known Young from the Canadian folk scene and introduced him to her manager. Months later, after Buffalo Springfield disbanded, Young asked Roberts to manage his solo career.

Before long, Roberts and Geffen had emerged as kingpins of the new scene. They helped secure a record deal for a band that Crosby, had formed with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash — a feat that included extricating Crosby and Nash from their existing contracts — and later added Young to the group.

In 1971, Roberts and Geffen founded Asylum Records, and many of the artists on the label’s early roster, like the Eagles and Browne, were managed by the company the two men had set up, Geffen-Roberts.

While Geffen became known as a shrewd if ruthless mogul-in-training, Roberts took part in the rock ′n’ roll lifestyle of his clients. Crosby once described him in a Rolling Stone interview as “a cat who is like us.”

Yet within the business Roberts also had a reputation for vigorous advocacy on behalf of his clients. That included taking advantage of the uncertainty following a corporate regime change at Warner Communications in the mid-1990s to secure a $25 million deal for Young, according to “Exploding: The Highs, Hits, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group,” a 2002 book by Stan Cornyn, a former Warner Bros. executive.

“Elliot Roberts was probably the kindest, gentlest, and far and away the funniest man I ever worked with in show business,” Stills said in a statement. “He was also tough as a barbed-wire fence, fiercely loyal and keenly observant.”

Roberts was born Elliot Rabinowitz in the Bronx on Feb. 25, 1943. By his early 20s he was climbing the lower rungs of the entertainment business. He worked in the mail room of the William Morris Agency in New York, where he met Geffen, then a young agent. He also managed a rock band, Robert’s Rules of Order, around this time. He changed his legal name to Elliot Roberts in 1967.

He is survived by his sons Jason, Ethan, Matthew and Zackary, and by his partner, Dana Fineman.

Roberts’ management partnership with Geffen had dissolved by the mid-1970s. Asylum had been sold to Warner Bros., and Geffen had sold his shares in the Geffen-Roberts management company to Roberts.

Roberts represented Mitchell until 1985, and at points in the 1970s and ’80s, he worked with Tom Petty, Devo, the Cars, Yes, Chapman and Bob Dylan. More recently, he and his company, Lookout, represented Spiritualized, Mazzy Star and Devendra Banhart.

But Roberts never stopped working with Young.

“He was my best friend in the world for so many years,” Young wrote in his tribute.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/obituaries/elliot-roberts-dead.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.

Elliot Roberts, manager of Rock -stars, is dead at 76

His company, Lookout Management, announced the death but did not state a cause.

Tyler, the Creator’s new album “Igor” (Columbia) opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s latest chart with 122.9 million streams — slightly less than the 123.2 million for DJ Khaled’s new “Father of Asahd” (Epic), according to Nielsen.

The deciding factor was how many copies each title was credited with selling in the form of a full album. “Igor” sold 74,000, while “Father of Asahd” had just 34,000. Altogether, combining streams and copies sold, “Igor” had 165,000 “equivalent” album sales for the week, while “Father” had 136,000.

Both albums were promoted with merchandise bundles, in which fans were offered downloadable copies of the album along with certain purchases. Tyler, the Creator had T-shirts, stickers and “Vote Igor” lawn signs, while DJ Khaled sold bottles of Awake Energy Shot drinks, along with other energy supplements.

Did lawn signs help Tyler beat Khaled? Nielsen did not break out how many of each artist’s sales came through their bundles. But as these deals have grown increasingly popular — and led to some concerns about distorting the weekly charts — they have frequently been the critical factor that pushes one album to the top.

Also this week, Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” fell one spot to No. 3, Khalid’s “Free Spirit” was No. 4, and brooding indie-rock band the National opened at No. 5 with “I Am Easy to Find” (4AD), the group’s fourth Top 5 album in a row.

This article originally appeared in <a id="56037c57-d079-3058-a5cf-98ca5a707270" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/27/arts/music/tyler-the-creator-dj-khaled-billboard-chart.html">The New York Times</a>.

Tyler, the Creator beats DJ Khaled to hit No. 1 with 'Igor'

Two big new albums come out, and as they race to No. 1, each garners an almost equal number of streams. Which one triumphs? This week, T-shirts, faux campaign signs and an energy drink may have mattered as much as the music.

Featuring guest spots by Eminem, Will Smith and Gucci Mane, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (Visionary/Def Jam) was credited with a total of 80,000 sales in the United States in its opening week, which includes 74 million streams and 24,000 copies sold as a full album, according to Nielsen.

On the singles chart, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” holds at No. 1 for a seventh week. Two weeks ago, the country-meets-rap phenomenon (or is that rap-meets-country?) blocked a new Taylor Swift single from the top spot, and now it holds off a superstar collaboration — Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s “I Don’t Care” — which lands at No. 2. (Taylor Swift’s song, “Me!,” falls to No. 8.)

So far “Old Town Road” is showing no signs of slowing down. Its winningly campy music video was released Friday and has already racked up 39 million views on YouTube, which should help the song’s chances on next week’s chart.

Back on the album chart, Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” holds at No. 2, Khalid’s “Free Spirit” is No. 3, and Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” is No. 5.

In fourth place is “Space Between,” the new album by Sammy Hagar and his band the Circle — which includes Michael Anthony, like Hagar a Van Halen exile. It had just 263,000 streams but, thanks in part to a ticketing bundle, sold 40,000 copies as a full album, more than any other title this week.

This article originally appeared in <a id="9d38da29-5a4b-315d-af4e-1dc36b43a017" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/arts/music/logic-confessions-of-a-dangerous-mind-billboard.html">The New York Times</a>.

Logic adds a No. 1 album to his 2019 chart toppers

Bobby Hall, the rapper known as Logic, already went to No. 1 once this year, with his debut novel, “Supermarket,” topping The New York Times’ paperback trade fiction list. Now he has a chart-topping album as well, as “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” becomes Logic’s third No. 1 at Billboard.

Last week, the producers of the beleaguered festival requested an emergency injunction against its former investor, an arm of the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, which had pulled its funding and publicly declared Woodstock 50 canceled. In their filing, Woodstock 50’s organizers asked the state Supreme Court in Manhattan to order Dentsu to return nearly $18 million that it had withdrawn from a festival bank account.

On Wednesday, Justice Barry R. Ostrager ruled that Dentsu did not have the right to unilaterally cancel the festival, according to the contract the parties signed in November. But in a blow to the festival producers, the judge also said that their case “falls woefully short” of proving that its former financier should return the $18 million.

The decision gives Woodstock 50 — whose partners include Michael Lang, one of the producers of the original festival in 1969 — a measure of vindication. But there is no guarantee that they will be able to stage the event, which was planned for Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York.

In their petition, the producers said that they urgently needed as much as $9 million to move forward, and that necessary permits for the site were still not secured. The litigation also revealed harsh disputes among Woodstock 50’s partners over crucial issues like ticket sales, capacity and the readiness of the site. Many talent agents have been skeptical about whether the festival will occur at all.

In statements after the ruling, both sides claimed victory.

“We have always relied on the truth and have never lost faith that the festival would take place,” Lang said. “Woodstock 50 will be an amazing and inspiring festival experience.”

Dentsu, which has maintained that it canceled the festival because of delays and problems that had convinced it that Woodstock 50 could not go on as planned, said it felt “vindicated” by the judge’s ruling about the disputed funds, according to a company spokeswoman, who added, “At this time we do not intend to further invest in the festival due to the issues noted by the court, as well as the compressed time frame, and multiple health and safety concerns.”

This article originally appeared in <a id="b4ac36f2-c8c9-3574-a8a4-c3152ef041fc" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/arts/music/woodstock-50-ruling.html">The New York Times</a>.

Organizers of Woodstock anniversary concert win partial victory in court

Woodstock 50, the planned 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival, has survived another day, with a victory in a New York court Wednesday. But the festival still faces steep hurdles to proceed as intended in August.

For over a week, the fate of the festival — planned for August in Watkins Glen, New York, with Jay-Z, the Killers, Miley Cyrus, Dead &amp; Company and dozens of other acts — has been in limbo. The event’s chief investor declared it dead but its promoter pledged to continue as planned. Fans, artists and the industry at large have been scratching their heads and awaiting a definitive answer.

That answer — or part of it — may now come in a New York court, after the promoter’s company, Woodstock 50, LLC, filed a petition Wednesday requesting an injunction against its former financier, an arm of the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu.

On Thursday, Justice Barry R. Ostrager of New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan ordered Dentsu to stop all communication related to the festival, including with the news media. The judge also scheduled a hearing on Monday to consider the promoters’ request to order Dentsu to return nearly $18 million it withdrew from a festival bank account.

The war of words between the festival organizers — which include Michael Lang, a producer of the original Woodstock in 1969 — escalated this week, after Lang released a public letter Monday accusing Dentsu of trying to “destroy an American cultural icon.”

Dentsu fired back, saying that production delays gave it the right to take control of the event and cancel it. As a Dentsu spokeswoman said at the time, “we simply recovered the funds in the festival bank account, funds which we originally put in as partner.”

Representatives for Dentsu declined to comment Thursday.

Court documents filed by festival organizers include a copy of its 23-page financing contract, which states that a Dentsu subsidiary would provide up to $49 million for production expenses. It also said Dentsu had approved a budget under the assumption that Woodstock 50 would sell 150,000 tickets and draw $22 million in media and sponsorship sales.

But those targets were never met, and talent agents said warning signs about Woodstock 50 began to appear early on, like a much-delayed lineup announcement; the mysterious departure of an announced headliner, the Black Keys; a date for the start of ticket sales that came and went; and, most troublingly, the lack of essential state and local permits.

Dentsu — and many artist’s agents — was also concerned that the capacity of the event was heavily reduced, to 75,000 from 100,000, after a site inspection by Superfly, a well-known festival producer hired for the project. That reduction would have a drastic effect on the festival’s economics. In recent weeks, Lang had been quoted in news reports saying that tickets would cost $450 — more than for Coachella.

Superfly announced last week that it had also withdrawn from the festival.

The financing contract says that Dentsu has the right to “take full control of the operation and production” under certain conditions. But it also notes that “any decision to cancel the festival shall be jointly made in writing” by both parties. The festival’s lawyers — led by Marc Kasowitz, who also represents President Donald Trump — say that Dentsu’s cancellation announcement violated that part of the deal.

Through all of this, artists have been put in an awkward spot. The festival maintains that all acts have been paid in full — in sums totaling $32 million, according to their court petition. But many agents say they are unsure how seriously to take Lang’s promises to continue, particularly since the event is now less than 100 days away and no clear information about ticket sales or other essential plans has been communicated.

“I want to believe Michael,” said Frank Riley, who represents artists like Robert Plant and Nathaniel Rateliff, who are both booked for Woodstock 50. “I do not want to jeopardize our clients, but as long as Michael says he is going to continue to make an effort, I’m not going anywhere.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/arts/music/woodstock-50-court.html" id="44698971-1e31-373c-a69d-423cf02b2359">The New York Times</a>.

Peace, love and litigation: The battle over Woodstock’s 50th anniversary festival has landed in court.

Is Woodstock 50 Canceled? Warring Festival Partners Go to Court

The Recording Academy said Wednesday that its new president and chief executive would be Deborah Dugan, the former chief of RED, the nonprofit group co-founded by Bono of U2 that works to combat AIDS and other diseases in Africa.

Dugan, the first woman to hold the top job at the 62-year-old academy, will take command of an organization that offers artists prestige and valuable TV time, yet has been embattled on many fronts. Last year, Neil Portnow, Dugan’s predecessor, was widely condemned for saying women in music should “step up” to advance their careers.

In response, some female executives demanded that Portnow resign, and the academy appointed a task force to examine the organization’s “various barriers and unconscious biases.”

The most recent Grammys ceremony, in February, was hosted by Alicia Keys, and female performers dominated the stage. The singer Dua Lipa alluded to Portnow’s comments when she accepted the award for best new artist, saying she was honored to be recognized among so many other women.

“I guess this year we really stepped up,” Lipa said.

The Grammys have also faced strained relationships with many artists, particularly hip-hop and R&amp;B; stars, like Drake and Frank Ocean, who have said the awards are out of touch. This year, singer Ariana Grande dropped out of a planned performance and openly feuded with Grammy producers on social media.

On a conference call with reporters, Dugan expressed her excitement about the job by invoking a line from Nietzsche: “Without music, life would be a mistake.” She added that she was committed to promoting diversity, but offered few details.

“I intend to do everything I can to make the Recording Academy, the entertainment industry and our society more inclusive and more equitable,” she said.

Dugan may also be under pressure to expand the viewership for the Grammys’ annual telecast. The audience for this year’s show, on CBS, its longtime network, was 19.9 million, slightly up from last year. But the numbers have been down from the first half of the decade, when the show routinely attracted more than 25 million viewers.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/08/business/media/grammy-awards-deborah-dugan.html" id="67f4a1aa-b10c-396d-a8de-31ff4afd72f1">The New York Times</a>.

The organization behind the Grammy Awards, which has been under scrutiny over the representation of women, has a new boss.

Grammy Awards Name First Female President

In a statement circulated by the academy, Bono praised Dugan and her work with RED.

“She’ll always be part of the RED band,” he said, “and I look forward to seeing what she’ll do in her new role, cracking the ceiling and helping the Recording Academy crack open a new future in the process.”

The Recording Academy had been widely expected to name a woman to its top role, and many were expecting an industry insider. Dugan, who is scheduled to take over in August from Portnow, the academy’s leader since 2002, has valuable experience as a media executive and nonprofit chief who deals with celebrities and major brands — both essential to the Grammys.

She started her career as a Wall Street lawyer, was a record executive at EMI and is a former president of Disney Publishing Worldwide. She is also a co-chairwoman of The Moth, a series of storytelling events and radio programs. Since 2011, she has been the chief executive of RED, which, according to the organization, has generated more than $600 million to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through the sale of branded products from companies like Apple, Gap and Starbucks.

Dugan highlighted that experience in a promise to uphold the academy’s mission to “support, encourage and advocate” for the music world.

“What I do is try to amplify many voices in a world that often crushes them,” she said. “I am just looking at this new opportunity as a service, how to be relevant and reflective of the artist community in a time of rapid change.”

She teased the song’s release for two weeks, then formally announced it with an appearance during ABC’s coverage of the NFL draft. Its release April 26 received wall-to-wall news coverage, and Swift spent the next week promoting it, through a performance at the Billboard Music Awards and a series of merchandise and music offers on her website, including four vinyl versions and even an autographed CD single.

But once all the numbers were tallied, “Me!” — which features Brendon Urie of the band Panic! at the Disco — was still held back from No. 1 by this year’s oddest musical juggernaut: “Old Town Road,” the “country-trap” hybrid by Lil Nas X, which notched its fifth week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Positions on the Hot 100, Billboard’s flagship singles chart, are computed through a mix of sales, streaming numbers and radio airplay. And while “Me!” had the most sales for the week — 206,000 copies sold, compared with 88,000 for Lil Nas X, according to Nielsen — it was handily beaten by “Old Town Road” in both streams and airplay.

“Old Town Road” had 103 million streams in the United States last week — its third in a row with north of 100 million — while “Me!” was just under 51 million. “Old Town Road,” which at first was ignored by radio, was played 10,750 times on U.S. stations last week; “Me!” was spun 7,854 times. (If you turned on the radio, though, you had a better chance of hearing Post Malone’s “Wow,” which was played 12,443 times.)

On Billboard’s latest album chart, Pink is No. 1 for the third time in a row with “Hurts 2B Human,” which opened with the equivalent of 115,000 sales, including 95,000 copies of the full album and 17.6 million streams.

“People,” by Hillsong United, the musical arm of the Hillsong megachurch — whose adherents include Justin Bieber — opened at No. 2 on the album chart with 107,000 sales. It was the highest chart position yet for the group, which has been in the Top 10 three times in the past six years.

Rapper Schoolboy Q opened at No. 3 with “Crash Talk,” while last week’s chart-topper, Billie Eilish’s “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” fell to fourth place, and Khalid’s “Free Spirit” is No. 5.

This week also featured two pieces of chart news that will be closely watched in the industry. On Monday, Billboard announced that later this year, it would introduce the Global 100, which it said would rank songs using data from 180 countries.

And Tuesday, in what could be a significant challenge to Billboard’s valuable chart franchise, Rolling Stone said that next week it would begin publishing a portfolio of new charts using numbers from Alpha Data, the tracking service formerly known as BuzzAngle Music.

This article originally appeared in <a id="4c5ea7cd-305a-3805-a541-0f78a7c80e5c" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/arts/music/taylor-swift-lil-nas-x-billboard-chart.html">The New York Times</a>.

Taylor Swift's 'Me!' is thwarted by a fifth No. 1 for 'Old Town Road'

Taylor Swift pulled out all the stops for her latest single, “Me!”

Eilish, the 17-year-old pop star whose album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (Darkroom/Interscope) opened at No. 1 three weeks ago, returns to the top spot after two weeks at No. 2, with the equivalent of 88,000 sales in the United States. That number included 91 million streams and 19,000 copies sold as a full album, according to Nielsen.

Khalid’s “Free Spirit” is in second place, BTS’ “Map of the Soul: Persona” is No. 3, and Beyoncé’s “Homecoming,” the live album of her 2018 appearance at Coachella, is No. 4, up three spots from its opening at No. 7, after a midweek arrival April 17. Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” also re-entered the chart at No. 9, after “Lemonade” was released to all major streaming services after three years on Tidal, the streaming service in which she is a partner.

Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” rounds out the No. 5, and Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” opens at No. 6.

This article originally appeared in <a id="83a57344-8cf5-30ae-a04b-32070fcb5ccd" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/arts/music/beyonce-billie-eilish-billboard.html">The New York Times</a>.

Beyoncé claims 2 top 10 spots on the Billboard Chart

Billie Eilish has returned to No. 1 on the latest Billboard album chart, and Beyoncé landed two titles in the Top 10, thanks to her new live album and the wide release of her 3-year-old “Lemonade.”

But on Monday, Woodstock 50 appeared to be all but dead. According to a statement from the festival’s primary investor, the event — planned for Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York, with acts including Jay-Z, the Killers, and Dead &amp; Company — was off.

“It’s a dream for agencies to work with iconic brands and to be associated with meaningful movements,” the investor, an arm of the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, said. “But despite our tremendous investment of time, effort and commitment, we don’t believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners and attendees.

“As a result and after careful consideration,” the statement continued, “Dentsu Aegis Network’s Amplifi Live, a partner of Woodstock 50, has decided to cancel the festival. As difficult as it is, we believe this is the most prudent decision for all parties involved.”

The agency believed that production milestones had not been met and was concerned about delays in acquiring permits, as well as a reduction in the originally planned capacity, from 100,000 visitors a day to 75,000.

But while Dentsu’s statement ricocheted around the news media, Michael Lang, the promoter of Woodstock 50 and one of the primary forces behind the original festival in 1969, denied that the event was kaput.

“They do not have the right to unilaterally cancel the festival,” Lang said in an interview shortly after Dentsu released its statement, which Lang said caught him by surprise.

On Monday evening, Lang’s team released a statement insisting that the show would go on but giving no further details.

“We are committed to ensuring that the 50th anniversary of Woodstock is marked with a festival deserving of its iconic name and place in American history and culture,” the statement said. “Although our financial partner is withdrawing, we will of course be continuing with the planning of the festival and intend to bring on new partners.”

“The bottom line is,” the statement added, “there is going to be a Woodstock 50th Anniversary Festival, as there must be, and it’s going to be a blast.”

Lang said that all acts had been paid in full, leaving open the possibility that he could rescue the festival with another backer. He is no stranger to last-minute saves. The 1969 Woodstock festival lost its original venue, in Wallkill, New York, and relocated to Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York, just weeks before it took place.

It was unclear what prompted the timing of Dentsu’s announcement. The company declined to make any further comment. Several major music agents and acts booked for the event said they had not received any notification of cancellation.

The list of performers also includes Miley Cyrus, the Raconteurs, the Lumineers, Chance the Rapper, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Robert Plant and some who had played the original event, like Santana, Country Joe McDonald and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Woodstock 50 was announced in January as an ambitious and principled celebration of the original event. Organizers envisioned a three-day camping festival, for approximately 100,000 people a day, with what Lang said would be music as well as representation by activist organizations.

“We want this to be more than just coming to a concert,” Lang said at the time. “And hopefully a lot of the bands will become part of this effort to get people to stand up and make themselves heard, to get and out vote. And if they don’t have a candidate that represents their feelings, to find one — or to run themselves.”

But from the start, Woodstock 50 drew skeptics throughout the industry, who doubted that such an event could be successful in an era now dominated by big festivals and tours promoted by giant companies like Live Nation and AEG.

Through permit applications, the organizers had also quietly reduced its intended capacity to 75,000.

The lineup was announced last month, but the on-sale date for tickets — April 22, Earth Day — came and went with no more information. According to news reports, the organizers had applied for but not yet received a mass gathering permit from the New York State Department of Health. Without that permit, no tickets could be sold.

Woodstock 50 was to have been the most prominent event among a series of anniversary celebrations throughout the Northeast, including a series of events at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located on the site of the original Woodstock festival.

Another event, Woodstock Experience 2019, has a lineup including a number of artists who played the original festival, like Melanie, Ten Years After and Jefferson Starship, an offshoot of Jefferson Airplane. It is to take place in West Jefferson, North Carolina, Aug. 9-11, and then in Palm Bay, Florida, Aug. 16-18.

Its slogan: “Keeping the spirit of Woodstock alive.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/arts/music/woodstock-50th-anniversary-canceled.html" id="0554d9f5-cf0e-3f26-af89-5e01a170eec1">The New York Times</a>.

It was supposed to be the golden anniversary of the most famous rock concert in history, the event that crystallized in mud the free-love 1960s and the drawing power of a new generation of music stars.

Woodstock 50's Backer Says the Festival Is Off. Its Promoter Is Holding Out Hope.

A stronger statement by the festival’s organizers, quoted by the Poughkeepsie Journal website, said, “Woodstock 50 vehemently denies the festival’s cancellation,” and said they would seek a “legal remedy.”

Lang said that all acts had already been paid in full, leaving open the possibility that he could rescue the festival with another backer. He is no stranger to last-minute saves. The 1969 Woodstock festival lost its original venue, in Wallkill, New York, and relocated to Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York, just weeks before it took place.

The seven-song “Map of the Soul: Persona” (Big Hit), sung mostly in Korean, opened at No. 1 on the latest Billboard album chart, with the equivalent of 230,000 sales in the United States, including 196,000 copies sold as a full album and 37 million streams, according to Nielsen. Those 196,000 full-album sales — a robust number these days, when some chart-toppers fail to crack 500 — were helped by a canny strategy of selling four collector versions on CD, with variant packaging.

“Map of the Soul: Persona” is BTS’ third No. 1 in less than a year, after “Love Yourself: Answer” in September and “Love Yourself: Tear” in May, when BTS became the first K-pop act to land a No. 1 album in the United States. According to Billboard, the Beatles were the last group with three top sellers in such quick succession, with its three “Anthology” volumes, in 1995 and 1996.

BTS, which performed on “Saturday Night Live” two weeks ago, is the most visible of a new wave of K-pop bands — Blackpink, a girl group, just made a splash at Coachella — and has managed to cross over with clever music videos and guest appearances by Western stars like Halsey, who sings in Korean on the song “Boy With Luv.” (Another track, “Make It Right,” is partly written by Ed Sheeran.)

Also this week, Billie Eilish holds at No. 2 with “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” which had 103 million streams, more than any other album last week. Khalid’s “Free Spirit,” last week’s top seller, falls to No. 3, while Anderson .Paak’s “Ventura” opens at No. 4, and Nipsey Hussle’s “Victory Lap” drops two spots to No. 5.

Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” is in sixth place, while Beyoncé’s surprise “Homecoming: The Live Album” — recorded at her Coachella appearances last year — opened at No. 7.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/arts/music/bts-map-of-the-soul-persona-billboard-chart.html" id="d07bab19-a9d2-3f37-a772-39931941e882">The New York Times</a>.

With its latest EP, “Map of the Soul: Persona,” Korean pop group BTS has matched a chart feat last reached by another foreign-born boy band: the Beatles.

BTS Lands a Third No. 1 on the Album Chart in Less Than a Year

Khalid, who was nominated for five Grammys last year, including best new artist, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart for the first time with his second album, “Free Spirit” (Right Hand Music Group/RCA). It sold 85,000 copies as a full album in the United States — helped by a bundling deal that included it with the cost of concert tickets — but also performed well on streaming services, with 147 million streams last week, according to Nielsen. That added up to the equivalent of 202,000 album sales.

Eilish, the 17-year-old singer and songwriter who made a splash on last week’s chart, was bumped to No. 2 with “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” and Nipsey Hussle’s year-old “Victory Lap,” which re-entered the chart last week after the rapper was killed at age 33, fell one spot to No. 3.

Also this week, Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” is in fourth place, Juice WRLD’s “Death Race for Love” holds at No. 5, and Sara Bareilles’ “Amidst the Chaos” opens at No. 6.

Lil Nas X’s song “Old Town Road” holds at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop singles chart, with record-setting streaming numbers. The track, which now includes Billy Ray Cyrus in a remix version, was streamed 142 million times in the United States last week, according to Nielsen.

That easily beat the 116 million streams Drake had for “In My Feelings” last July, and it is also nearly four times as many as the No. 2 song on this week’s chart, “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee, which had 36.5 million.

But “Old Town Road” is still not on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list, after being removed last month for being insufficiently country. One big reason: The song is largely being ignored by mainstream country radio stations, although it is on many country-themed playlists on streaming services.

This article originally appeared in <a id="0d750d03-efdf-3134-a7ce-e6fc031ab952" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/arts/music/khalid-free-spirit-billboard-chart.html">The New York Times</a>.

Khalid bumps Billie Eilish out of No. 1 on the chart with 'Free Spirit'

Khalid hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, bumping Billie Eilish from the top slot.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/arts/music/khalid-free-spirit-billboard-chart.html" id="0d750d03-efdf-3134-a7ce-e6fc031ab952">The New York Times</a>.

Khalid Bumps Billie Eilish Out of No. 1 on the Chart With 'Free Spirit'

When Lil Nas X, a young black hip-hop artist from Atlanta, created the surprise hit “Old Town Road,” he did not imagine that it would end up at the center of a debate on race, the Nashville, Tennessee, establishment and musical genres.

The track marries a beat familiar to hip-hop fans with acoustic sounds and lyrics filled with cowboy imagery. Lil Nas X had no record deal when he made it, and the song bubbled up on the internet before it made three different Billboard charts: the Hot 100, Hot R&amp;B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Country Songs.

Once it was a success, Billboard removed it from its country chart. On Friday, in what seemed to be a dare to Billboard and Nashville, Lil Nas X released a new version of the song that included 1990s country star Billy Ray Cyrus as a featured vocalist. Was it country enough for them now?

When Billboard banished “Old Town Road” from the country chart, it issued a statement to Rolling Stone claiming the song “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.” With Cyrus along for the ride, it is possible that country radio stations who ignored it will start playing it.

Ben Sisario

Articles written by the author

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Taylor Swift's 'Me!' is thwarted by a fifth No. 1 for 'Old Town Road'

Beyoncé claims 2 top 10 spots on the Billboard Chart

Woodstock 50's Backer Says the Festival Is Off. Its Promoter Is Holding Out Hope.

Woodstock 50's Backer Says the Festival Is Off. Its Promoter Is Holding Out Hope.

BTS Lands a Third No. 1 on the Album Chart in Less Than a Year

Khalid bumps Billie Eilish out of No. 1 on the chart with 'Free Spirit'

Khalid Bumps Billie Eilish Out of No. 1 on the Chart With 'Free Spirit'

Not country, billboard claims, so an artist brings in backup

Lil Nas X Added Billy Ray Cyrus to 'Old Town Road.' Is It Country Enough for Billboard Now?