Nicol Ostrc

Elon Musk reveals how much blue tick will cost in radical shake up to verified system

Elon Musk has confirmed that Twitter will charge $8 (£7) per month for paid verification. It comes after it emerged earlier this week that the new owner of the social media platform was planning to charge $19.99 for a new Twitter Blue subscription. Now, the CEO has taken to Twitter to confirm the subscription plans – at a lower price. Advertisement “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk wrote. For the new monthly fee Musk also said that users will get “priority in replies, mentions and searches” as well as the ability to post long videos and audio clips. Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022 Under the current settings a user can become verified on Twitter by completing an application in their settings page. The “blue tick”, as it’s known informally, is generally reserved for public figures of a particular cultural relevance, including celebrities, influencers, and representatives of major companies such as news organisations. News of Musk’s… Read More →

01NOVNews

Megan Thee Stallion, Coldplay and more sign petition to stop rap lyrics being used as evidence in US courts

Megan Thee Stallion, Coldplay, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Future are among acts and industry firms urging the US legal system to restrict rap lyrics being used in trial evidence. ‘Art on Trial: Protect Black Art‘ is a new open letter that’s been signed by artists alongside three major record labels, Warner, Sony and Universal, and companies including Spotify, TikTok and YouTube Music, to lobby for the change. Post Malone, Travis Scott, Alicia Keys, 2 Chainz, Christina Aguilera and John Legend have also signed the letter, which was written and published by Warner today (November 1) in The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There is a petition on Change.org that reflects the demands of the letter. Advertisement In the letter the signatories urge prosecutors to end the “racially targeted” practice of using rap evidence in trials. They also seek legislators at the state and federal level to limit how such work can be used against defendants. “In courtrooms across America, the trend of prosecutors using artists’ creative expression against them is happening with troubling frequency… Rappers are storytellers, creating entire worlds populated with complex characters who can play both hero and villain. But more than any other… Read More →

01NOVNews

Tenacious D announce European tour dates for 2023

Tenacious D have shared details of a European tour for 2023. READ MORE: From the archives – Tenacious D: ‘Rock isn’t dead, but it has pneumonia’ The duo comprising Jack Black and Kyle Gass will return to Europe next summer for a run of shows that includes a stop at London’s O2 Arena on June 16. That date marks Tenacious D’s first show in the UK since 2019 when they played a string of sold-out shows that included two nights at Wembley Arena. Tickets go on general sale this Friday (November 4) at 10am GMT here and for the UK date here. Information about pre-sales (beginning tomorrow, November 2) can be accessed via at the band’s website. Advertisement Tenacious D’s European tour dates for 2023 are: JUNE 6 – Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany 7 – Zitadelle, Berlin, Germany 8 – Nova Rock Festival, Nickelsdorf, Austria 10 – Carroponte, Milan, Italy 12 – The Hall, Zurich, Switzerland 13 – Forest National, Brussels, Belgium 14 – AHOY RTM, Rotterdam, Netherlands 16 – O2 Arena, London, UK News of the tour follows the band performing a medley of songs from The Who‘s rock opera Tommy earlier this year. They posted a video in June,… Read More →

01NOVNews

Natalie Imbruglia discusses “shocking” media treatment in the late ’90s: “I was called difficult”

Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about her treatment by mainstream media in the late ’90s, describing it in a new interview as “shocking”. READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Natalie Imbruglia Speaking with The Forty Five to promote the 25th anniversary of her debut album ‘Left Of The Middle’, Imbruglia fielded a question pertaining to TFI Friday presenter Chris Evans. The radio and television personality once lambasted Imbruglia on air for the fact that her hit single ‘Torn’ was not written by her; the song was originally written and performed by American band Ednaswap in 1995. Imbruglia explained that he had done this because she turned him down when asking her out on a dinner date. “I saw him in a pub and I went up to him and got in his face and was like, ‘You owe me an apology,’” she recalled. “He looked terrified and I was like, ‘Do you realise what you did?’ So he gave the most genuine, look-me-in-the-eye apology, and then got me on the show and tried to correct that.” The Australian-born singer went on to note that her treatment from Evans was symptomatic of a larger issue within the mainstream media. Advertisement “Recently, I had… Read More →

31OCTHit Singles

The incredible story of Misty In Roots and their “progressive protest music”

Emerging from their west London squat during the racially charged late ’70s, they battled inequality and injustice through their powerful “progressive protest music”. They went on to record one of the greatest live albums of all time, enjoy the patronage of John Peel and Pete Townshend, and become the first British reggae group to play in Russia – before relocating to a farm in Zimbabwe. All while they endured trauma and tragedy whose scars can still be felt to this day. This, then, is the remarkable story of MISTY IN ROOTS. “The music is our legacy,” they tell Dave Simpson. “It will outlast all of us.” Find the full story in the latest issue of Uncut magazine – in UK shops from Thursday, October 13 and available to buy from our online store. It is Friday afternoon in Southall, west London. Cars pass along the high street while the shops bustle with customers preparing for the coming weekend. It is a typical suburban scene in early August, in other words. But it wasn’t always this way. Watching all this is Poko, singer with Misty In Roots, who remembers exactly how Southall looked 33 years ago. ORDER NOW: Bob Dylan is on… Read More →

29OCTNews

Little Simz, Jorja Smith and more to deliver performance in tribute to Jamal Edwards

Little Simz, Jorja Smith, Mahalia and Max Cyrus are set to take part in a special performance in honour of the late Jamal Edwards. READ MORE: RIP Jamal Edwards, an inspiration who turned SBTV into a Black British cultural dynasty On November 7 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, the all-star cast will pay tribute to influential late entrepreneur Edwards as part of the Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS). According to a press release, each of the four artists “will each pay their own personal tribute to him with their performances. This will be a collective moment to celebrate Jamal, one of the industry’s most loved figures, and all of his achievements, the music careers he shaped and most importantly, the many lives he touched.” Advertisement Mahalia said: “The first time I met Jamal, I was 12 in a field at Bestival. At first, he kind of looked at me like I was crazy and then he smiled and said “go on, then.” A year later, he put me on SBTV for my first official online performance. He was one of the first people to truly believe in me and give me a platform and I will always feel somehow… Read More →

28OCTNews

Phoebe Bridgers defends Amber Heard, says public response to Johnny Depp trial was “disgusting”

Phoebe Bridgers has shared her thoughts on the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp defamation trial, specifically calling out the “disgusting” online treatment Heard received from Depp fans. READ MORE: Phoebe Bridgers: “I definitely feel a lot less apologetic than I did before” Bridgers addressed the trial – which culminated in May with Depp’s victory on three counts of defamation – in an interview published by Teen Vogue on Wednesday (October 26). When asked her opinion on the matter, particularly after ‘liking’ a tweet in Heard’s defence, Bridgers said that the “whole situation was so upsetting to me,” calling out the public’s expectation of Heard to be “the perfect victim”. “I think that there’s been this falsehood – and I think queer people are included in this – of having to be the perfect victim, or the perfect survivor, or the perfect representation for your marginalized community,” the singer said. Advertisement “If Amber Heard exhibited any neurotic behaviour, it was held against her. Then Johnny Depp, out of his mouth, admitted some of the most violent, crazy shit in court, and it’s somehow like, people aren’t surprised?” Elaborating on the double standards in the public’s reception of Heard, Bridgers later likened… Read More →

27OCTNews

U2’s Bono believes his voice “opened up” after losing his father: “There’s a physiological reason”

Bono has spoken about how his voice changed after losing his father. READ MORE: U2’s top 10 best albums – ranked The U2 singer, who has been promoting his new memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (out November 1), has said in a new interview that he believes his voice opened up after his father, Bob Hewson, died from cancer in 2000. Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, told NPR this week that the loss of his father, whom he had a tumultuous relationship with, actually changed the way he sings. Advertisement Referring to it as an “unscientific theory… [a] folksy idea that when someone you love passes on”, the singer explained that he feels strongly about his voice’s development in the wake of his father’s passing. “My voice opens up,” he told NPR, “and there’s a physiological reason for that too because if you’re more relaxed as a person, your voice does open up.” He added: “In the last few years I’ve been singing in ways I never could have imagined.” Bono also spoke about his father telling him that he was “a baritone who thinks he’s a tenor”. When asked by the interviewer on what that might mean about… Read More →

27OCTNews

Watch Harry Styles as a glitzy merman in video for ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’

Harry Styles has released the official video for his latest single ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’ – watch below. READ MORE: Harry Styles – ‘Harry’s House’ review: grounded star finds home is where the heart is The clip was announced yesterday (October 26) via a post on the Harry Styles HQ Instagram account, which confirmed that the single’s accompanying visuals would arrive today (October 27). A still from the clip showed a topless Styles sporting a long beard in what appeared to be a restaurant kitchen. The video follows Styles as a tentacled merman-type figure who is captured by fishermen and taken to a restaurant. There, he becomes a star attraction when his singing catches the attention of the restaurant owners who parade him in front of crowds. Advertisement His inner diva soon emerges though, as he’s seen donning feathers, glitter and pearls and being waited on hand and foot by the visibly fed up staff. The song appears on the former One Direction singer’s third solo album ‘Harry’s House’, which came out in May. In a four-star review of ‘Harry’s House’, NME said: “‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’ comes tearing into view with a diva-worthy wail from the star that quickly dissolves into a slinky bassline… Read More →

27OCTNews

SZA confirms new single ‘Shirt’ is coming this week

SZA has confirmed that her new single ‘Shirt’ is arriving tomorrow (October 28). During her show at Austin City Limits earlier this month, the singer revealed that an official video for the long-awaited single, which she debuted during a livestream show last year, was also ready to go and would be released soon. SZA has now confirmed on Instagram that the song will released at 9pm PST today (Friday 5am BST) while also sharing a teaser of the accompanying short film, directed by Dave Meyers and starring Sorry to Bother You and Atlanta actor LaKeith Stanfield. Advertisement In the clip, SZA sits opposite the actor and tells him “energy is everything”, before she pulls a gun out on another diner at their table. Watch the trailer below. SZA’s last album ‘Ctrl’ came out in 2017, which has been followed by a handful of singles and features. In 2018, she teamed up with Kendrick Lamar for the Black Panther soundtrack cut ‘All The Stars’, and released two singles in 2020 – ‘Hit Different’ with Ty Dolla $ign and ‘Good Days’. Last year she collaborated with Doja Cat on ‘Kiss Me More’, with the two artists going on to perform the track at the Billboard Music Awards…. Read More →

27OCTNews

Adele says Taylor Swift is “one of the greatest songwriters of our generation”

Adele has called Taylor Swift “one of the greatest songwriters of our generation”. During a recent fan event called ‘Happy Hour With Adele’, the singer was asked whether she’d listened to Swift’s tenth studio album ‘Midnights’, which came out last Friday (October 21). READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’ review: a shimmering return to pure pop “I haven’t,” Adele replied (via Billboard). “But the only reason is, is ’cause I’ve been in rehearsals for, like, 12 hours a fuckin’ day. But I think Taylor’s one of the greatest songwriters of our generation, so I will definitely give it a listen.” Advertisement Referring to Swift’s 2020 “sister records” ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, the star added: “I loved the two [albums Swift released] in COVID very, very much.” Adele then went on to further praise Swift for making her releases a “fun” experience for her fans. The two pop stars were reported to be collaborating on a song in June 2021, prior to the release of Adele’s fourth album ’30’ last November. However, the rumours were later debunked and the team-up did not materialise. Adele was pictured backstage with Swift at one of the latter’s concerts at Wembley Stadium back in 2018. Adele… Read More →

26OCTNews

Black Veil Brides announce dates for 2023 UK tour

Black Veil Brides have shared dates for their upcoming 2023 UK tour. READ MORE: Horns up! What’s driving film and TV’s metal revival? Due to kick off at the UEA in Norwich on February 14, the tour will see see the Californian metal band perform across nine locations before wrapping up at Troxy in London. Tickets will be available to purchase here from Friday (October 28). Tickets on sale this Friday Oct 28!?????Feb 14 – NorwichFeb 15 – BristolFeb 16 – Birmingham Feb 18 – Nottingham Feb 19 – Newcastle Feb 20 – Glasgow Feb 22 – Manchester Feb 24 – SouthamptonFeb 25 – London pic.twitter.com/iGucajY7ri — Black Veil Brides (@blackveilbrides) October 25, 2022 Advertisement The announcement of the UK tour comes off the back of Black Veil Bride’s 4-track EP, ‘The Mourning’, which was released on Friday (October 21). The record was mixed and produced by Erik Ron, who collaborated with the band on their previous project ‘The Phantom Tomorrow’, which dropped last year and included the single ‘Crimson Skies’. “A lot of this record touches on how galvanized we felt coming out of a very tumultuous few years as a band,” lead vocalist Andy Biersack said of the… Read More →

26OCTNews

bbno$ announces UK and Ireland shows for 2023

bbno$ has unveiled the dates for his UK and Ireland shows taking place in spring 2023. READ MORE: bbno$: “Everyone’s too serious and there’s too much negativity in the world” The dates are part of the Canadian rapper’s BBNOEURO tour, and will see him perform in London on April 4, before heading to Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin. Tickets will be available to purchase here on Friday (November 28). WHO COMING?tickets on sale friday pic.twitter.com/xnm9mLF4pN — bbno$ ??? (@bbnomula) October 24, 2022 Advertisement The viral artist’s tour announcement comes days after he released his latest album, ‘Bag Or Die’, which dropped last Friday (October 21). The LP is the follow-up to his 2021 project, ‘eat ya veggies’, and features collaborations with Yung Gravy, Diplo and Rich Brian. Speaking in a new interview with NME, bbno$ described the record as being “me, saying absolutely nothing on all these songs”. While the album doesn’t convey a message, he did say many of the lyrics are centred around capitalism. “We live in a capitalist society, so either you play the game or the game plays you,” he explained. “Typically, in a nice life, you play the game, you have money and you live life. That’s… Read More →

26OCTNews

Manchester’s Night & Day venue to face court case and potential closure

Manchester’s Night & Day venue is set to face a court case next month over a noise complaint that could see its closure. Last year, the small venue was threatened by a noise complaint from a new resident who had moved to Manchester during lockdown. It came after the venue won a hard-fought battle against a separate noise complaint back in 2014. According to a new press statement, the venue is now in danger again due to a planning file for the redevelopment of a nearby building. Advertisement The statement read: “In a critical new development to the story and after receiving a copy of the planning file for the redevelopment of the building next door where the complainant lived, the owners of Night & Day were shocked to find that a crucial acoustic report had not been provided, nor acoustic works completed to the development before it was occupied. “This was a condition of the planning consent for conversion of the building next door, to ensure that residents were not disturbed by noise from pre-existing businesses in the area.” As a result, Night & Day will face a court case from November 29 – December 1. Fans are encouraged… Read More →

26OCTNews

Kanye West’s music will not be removed from Spotify

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has criticised Kanye West‘s antisemitic comments, but says his music will not be removed from the streaming service. READ MORE: With his “White Lives Matter” stunt, has Kanye West finally hit the point of no return? In the last few days, the rapper has been dropped by Adidas, after the company faced pressure to end its lucrative sneaker deal with West. After also losing deals with Def Jam, JP Morgan Chase, Balenciaga and his lawyer and booking agency – West’s net worth has reportedly plummeted from $2billion (£1.3billion) to $400million (£348million). West’s recent deluge of controversies stemmed from a stunt at this year’s Paris Fashion Week, where he wore a shirt emblazoned with the white nationalist dogwhistle “White Lives Matter”. He was heavily criticised for the tone-deaf move, leading the rapper to double, triple and quadruple down on his viewpoint. In the process – publicly responding to a call-out from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – West made an antisemitic comment on Instagram, after which he was booted from the platform. Advertisement In a new interview with Reuters about Ye and his recent comments, Ek admitted that the views were “awful” but that Kanye’s music itself does not violate Spotify’s anti-hate policies, and it would be up to his former label Def Jam to request removal of the music…. Read More →

26OCTNews

Marvel teases Rihanna release for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ this Friday

Marvel Studios has seemingly confirmed reports that Rihanna will be heard in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, teasing an imminent new release from the R&B iconoclast. READ MORE: Rihanna’s Super Bowl show will be an exhilarating reminder of her all-round brilliance In a short clip shared on social media, the film’s shimmering title card – as seen in recent trailers and promo art – slowly bleeds into view, before the first “R” in “Forever” zooms into the centre and remaining letters fade away, making room for the reveal that something will come this Friday (October 28). Unclear is exactly what will be released – the post’s caption gives no hint (aside from a staring eyes emoji and the hashtag ‘#WakandaForever’), and the clip itself is silent. That said, various sources have backed up that Rihanna will indeed be the focal point of Friday’s mysterious drop. See the teaser below: ? #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/i5xsJTGwzg — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (@theblackpanther) October 26, 2022 Advertisement Last Tuesday (October 18), it was reported that Rihanna had recorded two songs for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. One of these is said to be the film’s end credits song – the first Black Panther film, which arrived… Read More →

25OCTNews

Watch Corey Taylor address rumours of Slipknot headlining Download 2023

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has addressed rumours that the band will be playing at Download Festival 2023. READ MORE: Slipknot: “Nobody created us except us – we have always drawn our own map” Over the past weekend, the singer took part in a Q&A session at the For The Love Of Horror convention in Manchester where he was asked whether or not Slipknot will be playing at Download next year. After asking fans to get their phones out, he ambiguously answered while nodding his head and grinning. Advertisement “I’m going to try and make this as clear as I can,” he said. “On my life, I can neither confirm nor deny. I wish I could tell you that we’re going to be there, I really do.” “Unfortunately, I don’t have that answer right now so I will tell you when I can.” The video of Taylor’s answer has since been uploaded to social media by the convention’s organisers, Monopoly Events. @monopolyeventsofficial #fyp #coreytaylor #slipknot ♬ Custer – Slipknot Taylor’s appearance at For The Love Of Horror arrives weeks after Slipknot released their seventh studio album ‘The End So Far’ which earned the band their third UK Number One. In a new interview for… Read More →

24OCTNews

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall’s The WAEVE announce 2023 UK tour and share new single

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall‘s The WAEVE have announced a UK tour and shared new single ‘Drowning’. READ MORE: Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall on their debut album as The WAEVE: “We asked: ‘How could we forge forward through life?’” The duo will hit the road for dates in Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, London and Brighton in 2023 March. Tickets for their London Lafayette show on March 27 are already on sale here while the remaining dates which you will also be able to purchase here, will be released this Friday at 10am BST. Advertisement The tour will support their forthcoming debut album under The WAEVE moniker, out on February 3 through Transgressive. The duo have also shared their new single ‘Drowning’ which the pair describe as “cinematic”. You can hear it below. Speaking about the track in statement, the duo said: “Drowning is one of the more meandering, cinematic songs on the album. The song touches on themes of allowing oneself to be subsumed by forces you can’t deny, whether that be romantically or life in general, of giving into the delicious risk of total failure and oblivion, despite one’s better judgment. “Lyrically it comes from two… Read More →

24OCTNews

The Reytons announce huge homecoming show at Sheffield Arena

The Reytons have announced details of a huge homecoming show next year. The band will play will play the Sheffield Arena in September 2023 and tickets go on general sale from 10am on October 28. You can buy tickets for the show here. The band’s last South Yorkshire show saw them play the 4500-strong Magna in May, which sold out in just 10 hours. All of the other dates on their upcoming tour, the dates of which you can see below, have already sold out. Advertisement The band have released all their work so far independently with no label backing. Their debut album reached Number 11 in the Official UK charts and a new one is on the way soon. Check out their upcoming tour dates here: NOVEMBER 2022 5 – Keele SU, Stoke 11 – Rock City, Nottingham 12 – Waterfront, Norwich 18 – Kasbah, Coventry 19 – Tramshed, Cardiff 24 – Barrowlands, Glasgow 25 – Empire, Middlesbrough 26 – O2 Academy, Leeds DECEMBER 2022 1 – O2 Academy, Liverpool 2 – O2 Ritz, Manchester 3 – NX, Newcastle 9 – Chalk, Brighton 10 – Electric Ballroom, London SEPTEMBER 2023 30 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield Advertisement Since the release… Read More →

23OCTNews

Bring Me The Horizon play last-minute show after When We Were Young Festival’s opening day cancellation

Bring Me The Horizon played a last-minute, intimate show in Las Vegas after the first day of the inaugural When We Were Young Festival was cancelled due to bad weather. READ MORE: The beginner’s guide to the evolution of emo Singer Oli Sykes shared a handwritten poster via his Instagram yesterday (October 22) announcing the show at Pearl Theater, with support from Knocked Loose and Landon Barker (son of Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker). You can see images from the band’s Instagram Stories here, their setlist (according to Setlist.FM, here) and footage and extra images from the gig further below. The festival, described as “an epic line-up of emo and rock bands from the past two decades”, was announced to much fanfare earlier this year with My Chemical Romance and Paramore topping the bill. However, its opening day yesterday was pulled after high winds resulted in safety fears. Advertisement The pop-punk and emo heavy event in Nevada was also set to feature Bring Me The Horizon, Bright Eyes, The Used and more. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Oli Sykes (@olobersykes) pic.twitter.com/U7Won9rQMS — When We Were Young (@WWWYFest) October 22, 2022 It was originally planned as a two-day event. At the… Read More →

22OCTNews

Cardi B wins court case over ‘Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1’ mixtape artwork

Cardi B has won a lawsuit decided by a trial jury over a man’s claim that she misused his image on the cover of her debut 2016 mixtape, ‘Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1’. READ MORE: New doc Queens Of Rap reinforces the importance of ‘WAP’, more than a year on Claimaint Kevin Brophy Jr alleged in a 2017 lawsuit that the rapper had photoshopped his distinctive back tattoo onto someone else’s body and used it without his permission, which ultimately appropriated his likeness in “a misleading, offensive, humiliating and provocatively sexual way”. Previously, Cardi B had claimed that Brophy’s tattoo art was superimposed without her knowledge on the back of a male model who posed with her for the photoshoot. In his lawsuit, Brophy Jr. claimed that he suffered “distress and humiliation” because the cover art in question allegedly showed his distinctive back tattoos on a faceless man photographed with his head between the musician’s legs. Advertisement Yesterday (October 21) a jury at the Central District of California Court in Santa Ana ruled in the rapper’s favour of Cardi B “on all counts”, reports Pitchfork. The jury found that the cover art’s publication did not violate the plaintiff’s publicity or privacy… Read More →