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WMX And Coca-Cola Are Teaming Up To Launch The Transformation Team Talent Search

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Today, tools for music creation and distribution are more available than ever. While accessibility is good, with a larger talent pool, it’s not always easy for deserving acts to stand out. Now, though, Coca-Cola and Warner Music Group’s WMX are teaming up to help some of those artists out with the Coca-Cola Transformation Team.

To put it broadly: Transformation Team is a talent search that will give a select few artists significant development and exposure opportunities, ones that could set their careers off in a brighter new direction.

Interested emerging artists can submit video entries to be considered for the Transformation Team. Only three will be chosen to take part in a multifaceted one-day boot camp that’ll be guided by a Warner Music Group industry expert. Artists will be given major tools for success as they learn about songwriting, stage style, mixing, and other topics.

The opportunity doesn’t stop there, as participating artists will be the subjects of video profiles and will give their own performances on The Eye. The esteemed, stripped-down performance series is the perfect way to show off undeniable talent and has previously hosted recognizable figures like Kevin Gates, Maisie Peters, and Pink Sweat$, among others.

The road to stardom is often difficult and rarely looks the same for two artists. For a few talented up-and-comers, though, Transformation Team could be a pivotal part of the journey.

More details about Transformation Team can be found here.

Lizzo Is Furious About Anti-Transgender Hate Spewed Online And She Went On An Epic Twitter Rant To Express Why

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Lizzo has used her platform to bring attention to several social issues both in her music and on social media. From racism, women’s rights, and fatphobia, the Grammy Award winner has even received suggestions to run for political office in the future from music legend Stevie Nicks.

In Tennessee, elected officials passed two pieces of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills (Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 9) that effectively bans all drag performances from taking place on any public property in the state. Across the country, several other states are looking to overturn pro-LGBTQIA+ bills directly related to transgendered people, and Lizzo has had enough. The singer took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the matter in an epic rant.

The musician opened the series of tweets today (March 8) by writing, “Transphobia is lookin’ real rooted in racism right about now.”

Lizzo continued the message with, “I’ve never heard a person say why they’re racist or fatphobic. I’ve never heard a reason why someone is transphobic. I think if we knew ‘why’ these people felt this way, there would be way less support for these ideals. Because the ‘why’ is more insidious than we realize.”

But Lizzo quoted tweeted the above tweet to add further context, writing, “Don’t get it twisted — I don’t care why people are bigoted. That’s a waste of my imagination. I feel like there’s a lot of complicit silence and apathetic participation going on that wouldn’t fly if people knew more.”

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Spotify Unveiled A Ton Of Upcoming Changes, Including A New AI DJ, Autoplay For Podcasts, And Much More

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Today, Spotify held their Spotify Stream On conference, which found them announcing a ton of upcoming changes to the app — some of which might surprise users.

“This marks the biggest change Spotify has undergone since we introduced mobile 10 years ago,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “This evolution is really about bringing Spotify to life.”

Chlöe Bailey, who appeared at the press event, revealed the new “Spotify Clips” service, which allows musicians to add 30-second videos to their profiles. “You can talk about an unreleased song, promote a new album, share the stories behind a song, or really anything you can come up with,” she said.

The streaming service has announced that they will now be adding autoplay for podcasts, which means that another episode will start playing automatically after the current one ends. The recommendations will also fit the user’s personalized interests. This continues a push for their podcasting and video section, as they are allowing those around the world to apply to use Spotify Labs for recording episodes and use Patreon as a payment partnership.

Spotify will also bring out “Previews,” which gives users audio and visual previews when they scroll down.

Some other new changes include the ability to use hashtags to search for music, a few of which reportedly are “#pop, #R&B, and #confident.” Users can view touring schedules for artists on the app under a new “Live Events” section.

Finally, they’re rolling out a new AI DJ that “will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you’ll like in a stunningly realistic voice,” according to the company’s website.

An Okeechobee Festival Attendee Died At This Past Weekend’s Event

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At this past weekend’s Okeechobee music festival (which was held between March 2 and 5), one attendee died, festival organizers confirmed in a statement shared today (March 8).

The festivalgoer was 26-year-old Baton Rouge, Louisiana native Steven Nguyen, Baton Rouge’s WBRZ reports. The death was an apparent drowning and the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed with WBRZ that investigators are currently looking into the matter.

In Okeechobee’s statement, organizers expressed sadness and explained, “Out of respect to those affected by this tragedy, we have refrained from commenting prematurely. We will continue to provide our full support to the authorities, who are determining the cause.”

Artists who performed at this weekend’s festival included Lil Yachty; Big Boi; Jpegmafia; Baby Keem; Turnstile; Earth, Wind & Fire; and others.

Find Okeechobee’s full statement below.

“We are saddened by the passing of one OMF attendee this past weekend. We send our deepest condolences to this individual’s loved ones, friends, and all of those who have been impacted by this tragic loss. Out of respect to those affected by this tragedy, we have refrained from commenting prematurely. We will continue to provide our full support to the authorities, who are determining the cause.

During this emotional time, we encourage the festival community to come together in memory of this beautiful individual. As we continue to make sense of this heartbreaking incident, we encourage you to support and take good care of one another.”

A Running List Of Artists Who Sold All Or A Portion Of Their Music Catalogs

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Artists selling all, or even a portion, of their catalogs and publishing rights has become a recent occurrence, as several large-scale performers and bands have made massive deals.

The most recent, Metro Boomin, reportedly sold part of his for $70 million to Shamrock Capital — although not much is known about the deal’s specifics yet.

On the heels of the news, Uproxx has also explored why artists are selling their catalogs, for those who are interested in the aspects that lead to it.

Below, find a list of artists who have sold away the rights to their songs, according to research from A Journal Of Musical Things. Click the link in the performer’s name to find out the full details of their deal.

1. Bob Dylan
2. Neil Young
3. Stevie Nicks
4. Imagine Dragons
5. Whitney Houston
6. Chris Issak
7. Prince’s estate
8. Christine McVie
9. Trevor Rabin
10. The O’Jays
11. Tina Turner
12. The Weeknd
13. Drake
14. Justin Bieber
15. Bing Crosby
16. Gerry Goffin
17. Luther Vandross
18. Mike Scott of The Waterboys
19. Jeff Porcaro
20. Motley Crue
21. Jim Peterik
22. James Brown
23. Bruce Springsteen
24. ZZ Top
25. David Bowie
26. John Legend
27. Matt Redman
28. Nancy Wilson of Heart
29. Paul Rodgers
30. Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America
31. Kenny Chesney
32. Travis Tritt
33. Luis Fonsi
34. Murda Beatz
35. Def Leppard
36. Robbie Robertson of The Band
37. The estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr of Alice In Chains
38. Alice in Chains’ music
39. David Crosby
40. Disturbed
41. The Killers
42. Lindsey Buckingham
43. Barry Manilow
44. Richie Sambora
45. Dave Stewart
46. Blondie
47. Chrissie Hynde
48. Air Supply
49. Culture Club
50. Devo
51. Jim Vallance
52. Ryan Tedder
53. Shakira
54. KT Tunstall
55. Mick Fleetwood
56. Ed Roland
57. Bob Rock
58. Sun Records
59. Massive Attack
60. Silverchair
61. Beach Boys
62. David Crosby
63. Glenn Tipton
64. Carole Bayer Sager
65. Linda Ronstadt
66. Paul Simon
67. Patrick Leonard
68. Red Hot Chili Peppers
69. Andrew Watt
70. David Guetta
71. Beyoncé
72. Timbaland
73. Justin Timberlake
74. Olivia Newton-John
75. Nicky Chinn
76. Leo Sayer
77. Alee Willis
78. Bob Ezrin
79. Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues
80. Dave Navarro
81. Tom Cochrane
82. Boston
83. Styx
84. Rihanna
85. Ariana Grande
86. Kendrick Lamar
87. Pat Benatar
88. Otis Redding
89. Jack Antonoff
90. Jimmy Iovine
91. Journey
92. Steve Winwood
93. Tom DeLonge
94. The Chainsmokers
95. Brendan O’Brien
96. Bernard Edwards
97. B-52s
98. Kaiser Chiefs
99. Mark Ronson
101. Nikki Sixx
102. Skrillex
103. Rick James
104. Korn
105. James Newton Howard
106. Sting
107. John Lee Hooker
108. Jason Aldean
109. Neil Diamond
110. Lionel Hampton
111. Thelonious Monk
112. Leonard Cohen
113. Martina McBride
114. The estate of Nat King Cole
115. Swedish House Mafia
116. Bob Dylan’s share of the Traveling Wilburys catalog
117. Julian Casablancas
118. Tom Whitlock
119. Frank Zappa
120. Simple Minds
121. Jean-Michel Jarre
122. Matt Sorum
123. Brad Paisley
124. Lady A
125. Deryck Whibley
126. Chuck D of Public Enemy
127. Future
128. Avicii
129. Genesis’ Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford
130. Blake Shelton
131. Joey Ramone
132. Louis Prima
133. Huey Lewis and the News
134. Ashley Gorley
135. Harry Nilsson
136. Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill of Boy Meets Girl
137. Iggy Azalea
138. Peter Frampton
139. Keith Urban
140. Steve Lillywhite
141. Dr. Dre
142. Robbie Krieger and the estate of Ray Manzarek of The Doors
143. Yes
144. Dion
145. TMS
146. Stevie Van Zandt
147. Tobias Jesso Jr
148. Christopher Cross
149. Warren Cuccurullo
150. Metro Boomin
151. Juice WRLD

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tori Kelly Is Leaning Into R&B With Her Forthcoming Song ‘Missin U’ And Fans Are Freaking Out

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It’s a new era for Tori Kelly. The singer’s last album (not counting her 2020 Christmas record) was 2019’s Inspired By True Events. Now she’s making her grand return with a single called “Missin U.”

Arriving next week, “Missin U” has been previewed on TikTok, with the “Nobody Love” singer posting a clip of her mouthing along to the words: “Out on these streets, deleting what you mean to me / Then you pop back, back in my mind / I go back in time, it was the perfect night / Kissing you was raining purple skies,” she sings.

The Pink Sweat$ collaborator also shared a nostalgic teaser. The video depicts her sliding a VHS tape into a TV, and what follows is a montage of old footage of her performing, especially showing off her strong, inimitable vocals.

The song seems to lean heavily into her R&B side, which has been surprising to many fans. Most don’t even recognize her in the artwork, in which she no longer has a head of cascading blonde curls. Music lovers are just now finding out that Kelly is actually biracial, which is stirring up a lot of conversation and memes on social media.

“Missin U” is out 3/17. Find more information about it here.

When Do Outside Lands 2023 Tickets Go On Sale?

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Outside Lands festival is set to return for its 15th iteration this August at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. For this special anniversary, the lineup is promising.

Taking the stages over the span of three days, August 11 to 13, are Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Foo Fighters, Megan Thee Stallion, Janelle Monáe, Maggie Rogers, and more. Cigarettes After Sex, Lil Yachty, JID, Willow, and Orville Peck are also on the roster.

With acts this exciting, tickets are bound to sell out quickly.

When do Outside Lands 2023 tickets go on sale?

Fans can begin to buy tickets as early as Wednesday, March 8, at 10 PST. Festivalgoers will be able to purchase three-day general admission tickets, GA+ tickets, and VIP tickets.

Three-day GA tickets ($499) will allow fans entry into Golden Gate Park for the festival, as well as access to food and beverage vendors.

GA+ ticketholders ($674) will be able to enter the festival expedited, and have access to flushable bathrooms, refillable water stations, and complimentary soft drinks. They will also be able to purchase alcoholic beverages at a full-service bar.

Those with VIP tickets ($1,029) will be able to enter the park through special entrances and have access to viewing areas at the Lands End, Sutro, and Twin Peaks stages. They will also be able to rent special VIP lockers during the festival days, and they will receive a special commemorative poster.

Outside Lands is also allowing fans to set up payment plans to pay for their tickets and passes. Tickets will be available for purchase here.

You can view the full Outside Lands 2023 lineup below.

Outside Lands 2023
Outside Lands

Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary or Warner Music Group.