Tame Impala have announced a partnership with the nonprofit REVERB in adopting eco-friendly initiatives, in order to reduce environmental waste while on tour, Happy Mag reports. The collaboration will include free filtered water refill stations at shows to reduce single-use plastic waste, Eco-Villages where fans can learn more about environmental nonprofits, and the band will fund projects that eliminate greenhouse gases, donate unused food and hotel toiletries to local shelters, recycle backstage and on tour buses, use reusable water bottles for all band members and crew, and more.

This year’s Coachella, originally set for the first two weekends in April, will now take place in October (9.-11.10 and 16.-18.10.), the Verge reports. Additionally, festival organizer Goldenvoice announced that the country music festival Stagecoach, which takes place at the same venue as Coachella in Indio, California, is also being rescheduled to October (24.-26.4. to 23.-25.10.). There is no word if the festivals will have the same lineups. Unlike SXSW and Ultra festivals, Coachella and Stagecoach will offer ticketholders refunds if they can’t attend.

Billie Eilish delivered a powerful message about body shaming as she kicked off her world tour in Miami on Monday night. "If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman," she said during a video interlude. "If I shed the layers, I am a slut". "Though you've never seen my body, you still judge me for it. Why?" she asked. The three-minute video was played towards the end of Eilish's 22-song set, immediately before the song 'All The Good Girls Go To Hell'. In the visual, Eilish was seen removing several layers of clothing until she was only wearing a bra, before sinking symbolically under the surface of a black, tar-like liquid.

New York Times has a lovely photo-story about moving a 800-pound (360 kilos) grand piano up a narrow staircase in a Harlem. The Steinway was moved only one story up, but still the legs and keys had to me removed removed before moving up and then put back. Beethoven, the company that made the job, does three to four moves a day, five to six days a week.

Led Zeppelin have triumphed in a long-running copyright dispute after a US appeals court ruled they did not steal the opening riff in 'Stairway To Heaven'. The Zeps were accused in 2014 of ripping off a song called 'Taurus' by the US band Spirit, written in 1968, three years before 'Stairway To Heaven' was written. Now, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has upheld a 2016 trial verdict that found Led Zeppelin did not copy it.

Miley Cyrus has called off a trip to Australia, where she was due to headline a bushfire benefit concert on Friday, Sydney Morning Herald reports. Two Madonna shows in Paris have been cancelled after the French government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people, Roling Stone reports. Pearl Jam have postponed their US and Canada tour, saying the risk "is simply too high for our comfort level", but their summer tour in Europe will carry on for now, Variety reports. Bloomberg reports the Coachella music festival in California - due to take place in April - will be put back to October.

The spring Texas festival means (financially) autumn for some bands. SXSW is an opportunity for thousands of young musicians to showcase their work to US audiences for the first time. Many build album promotion campaigns and other US tour dates around their festival visit to make it as cost-effective as possible, with most having self-funded or crowdsourced money to finance their trip. NME talked to some British musicians who were about to travel to the US - Welsh band Campfire Social has spent months planning the visit to Austin, losing almost £4500 with the cancellation of the festival, mostly on travel and visa costs. American bands are hit financially too - Star Tribune reports about Minnesota bands Humbird, the Gully Boys, the Bad Man, and Heart Bones who are going to lose hundreds of dollars, a blow for an indie-band. The festival is cancelled, but some venues intend to go ahead as planned with shows they booked, the LA Times reports.

Based exclusively on online map tags, the global busking festival scene is estimated to include over 170 street music events, the Conversation writes about the underestimated and unrecognized art of playing music on the streets. But, there are things going on - a nine-day Ferrara Buskers Festival in Italy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, and Fête de La Musique in France. Curation projects like The Music Man, SoundsLikeVanSpirit and StreetMusicMap identify busking hubs such as the subway systems and public squares in world cities. The Busking Project is a platform where people can join as a busker or as a fan, and artists can be hired for events and earn cashless tips.

30 Seconds to Mars frontman has shared a video of the moment he “nearly died” while mountain climbing. Leto told his Twitter followers how he was left dangling 600ft above the ground after his rope became dangerously frayed by the ropes when climbing with Alex Honold, one of the best free solo climbers in the world. Sharing an image of the rope, he said: "Took a pretty good fall climbing with @AlexHonnold at Red Rock. Looked up and within seconds the rope was being cut by the rock while I dangled some 600 ft in the air". He said of the experience it was "a strange moment – less fear, more matter of fact, and slightly melancholy”. They continued to climb into the night. Later this year, Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars will host their own festival Mars Island on the Croatian island of Obonjan.

Loudwire chose 22 women and female members of bands that played a large part in laying the foundation for hard rock and metal as well. Next to usual suspects and famous one like Janis Joplin, there are some smaller names - Jinx Dawson from the psychedelic-rock band Coven had a song "Black Sabbath" long before the Birmingham band, and introduced devil horns long before Ronnie James Dio; Fanny were one of the first rock bands, consisting entirely of women, to release an album on a major label; Suzi Quatro - songwriter, bassist, singer, and a band leader, is one of the earliest multifaceted women in rock 'n' roll; Girlschool are the longest-running band consisting entirely of women.

Lil Baby's new album 'My Turn' sold in 197,000 equivalent album units last week in the U.S., big majority of it by streaming activity - 184,000 are in SEA units (equating to 261.6 million on-demand streams for the album’s songs in its first week), 4,000 in TEA units, and just under 10,000 in copies. It was the most-streamed debut of 2020. Bad Bunny lands a historic debut on Billboard 200, as the Puerto Rican artist’s 'YHLQMDLG' bows at No. 2 with 179,000 equivalent album units earned, the highest-charting all-Spanish-language album ever on the chart.

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has withdrawn from this summer’s production of 'Don Carlo' at London’s Royal Opera House, in the shadow of allegations of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, the New York Times reports. The Royal Opera House said Friday it had been mutually agreed with Domingo that he will not be taking up his role in the Giuseppe Verdi classic in July. It’s the latest in a string of withdrawals over the past weeks as venues have reassessed their ties with the Spanish star. Performances by Domingo have been cancelled in cities including Tokyo, Madrid and San Francisco, among others.

Answering to a question about his "problematic" lyrics, Nick Cave had this to say on his The Red Hand Files blog: "Perhaps we writers should have been more careful with our words – I can own this, and I may even agree – however, we should never blame the songs themselves. Songs are divinely constituted organisms. They have their own integrity. As flawed as they may be, the souls of the songs must be protected at all costs. They must be allowed to exist in all their aberrant horror, unmolested by these strident advocates of the innocuous, even if just as some indication that the world has moved toward a better, fairer and more sensitive place. If punishment must be administered, punish the creators, not the songs. We can handle it. I would rather be remembered for writing something that was discomforting or offensive, than to be forgotten for writing something bloodless and bland".

A great alter-dance song 'I Was Gonna Fight Fascism' by Soccer96, a band by The Comet Is Coming members; Interpol frontman Paul Banks has formed a new band Muzz with Matt Barrick (of the Walkmen ) and Josh Kaufman (of Bonny Light Horseman) - shared a song 'Bad Feeling'; the other Walkmen member, Hamilton Leithauser has shared a song 'Isabella'; Berlin singer Sophie Hunger has a lovely new song 'Security Check'; Chromatics have shared a dark disco song 'Famous Monsters'; Courtney Marie Andrews shared a nice and pleasant song 'If I Told'; electronic producer Ital Tek got a child, moved to a barn and made a song ‘Deadhead’ about sleep deprivation; Bonnie “Prince” Billy got bouncy remixed on 'New Memory Box'; Dixie Chicks are back with 'Gaslighter', their first new song in 14 years; Jason Isbell released a great country rock single 'What've I Done to Help'; RMFTM have switched from electronics to post-punk on 'Eden In Reverse'; The Whitest Boy Alive by Kings of Convenience’s Erlend Øye released new single 'Serious', their first new music since 2009; Austra is back with an electro-pop smasher 'Anywayz'; Willie Nile vas visiting the family home when a line "a little bit of love goes a long, long way" hit him - 'A Little Bit of Love' was born; Gogo Penguin find the middle ground between post-rock, jazz and electronics on 'Atomised'; a great on-the-road song 'Late Jim's Lament' about being late by James Elkington; Osheyack has contributed original music to a new video installation by artist Shuang Li about mass-produced products as erotic objects; NY jazz group Onyx Collective got a hand (weel, actually voice) of art pop great Kelsey Lu for 'Where or When'; the title 'Come Back And Love Me<3' by the Hinds says it all; Butcher Brown's 'Tidal Wave' is about how jazz and rap came from the same soul.

Global recorded music industry revenues grew by 11.4% in 2019 to reach $21.5 billion, an increase of $2.2 billion in 2018, and the fifth year in a row the revenue grew. Of that total sum, $11,9 billion came from streaming music. The major record labels took 67.5% of the overall market in 2019. Artists without record labels was again the fastest-growing segment of the market, growing by 32.1% in 2019 to reach $873 million, representing 4.1% of the total market, up from 1.7% in 2015.

In a Friday afternoon (3/6) press conference, Austin mayor Steve Adler said that the 2020 edition of Austin’s SXSW is cancelled due to the coronavirus, the Texas Tribune reports. "We are devastated to share this news with you. 'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place" - SXSW shared in a statement, adding - "we are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible". SXSW’s 2020 edition was to happen from March 13-22.

Pianist McCoy Tyner was best known for his work with John Coltrane as part of his classic early-’60s quartet, but has also played with Sonny Rollins, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, and more. His influence as a pianist and musician is hard to overstate. He died at age 81. NPR describes him as a "pianist whose deep resonance, hammering attack and sublime harmonic invention made him a game-changing catalyst in jazz and beyond".

Melbourne-based hip-hop artist Sampa the Great won the Australian music prize yesterday with her album 'The Return', two years after she first won the award for 2017 album 'Birds and the BEE9', making her the first artist in the history to win the Australian music prize twice, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Zambian-born Sampa Tembo thanked the judging panel for recognising an album “not written for radio play or commercial appeal”, the Music Network reports. The album deals with themes of migration and displacement. Sampa’s album beat out a shortlist that included recordings by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Thelma Plum, Amyl & the Sniffers and more. Previous winners of the AMP include Gurrumul, Augie March, Courtney Barnett and AB Original.

Korn made their own surgical masks in the shadow of coronavirus-mania - and they already sold out. The masks were on Korn's online webstore for $10 (usually they are sold as a 20-pack for less than $20) - and more is coming, for $11. These masks protect from… absolutely nothing. They're not actual, medically-approved masks. They're merchandise. The masks are of more use to those who are actually carrying the virus, since it can prevent the spread of the germs when they cough - Loudwire makes sense of the situation.

The full list of releases for Record Store Day 2020 has been revealed, with the likes of David Bowie, Eminem, My Chemical Romance, Robyn, Gorillaz, New Order, The Cure, Christine & The Queens and Biffy Clyro set to drop exclusive vinyl this April 18. RSD 2020 will see hundreds of vinyl and cassette releases sold exclusively through independent record shops for one day only. For the 13th Record Store Day will see thousands of independent shops around the world taking part in the celebrations with live in-store performances, mini street festivals and entertainment.

Beastie Boys, Ozzy Osbourne and Nine Inch Nails have cancelled their appearance at South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival 2020 in Austin, Texas due to coronavirus concerns, Kerrang reports. They were set to participate in the festival’s film section. The artists join major companies such as Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Studios, TikTok, Mashable and Intel, that have pulled out of SXSW due to health concerns. SXSW will screen employees and volunteers for signs of illness before they are cleared to work at the festival, and add handwashing stations and hand sanitizer throughout. SXSW begins officially on March 16.

Taylor Swift, a longtime Nashville resident, has handed over $1 million to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund, the Tennessean reports. She included a link to the Response Fund and encouraged fans to donate to the cause. Also in tornado-related news, Gibson Gives, the charity branch of Gibson Brands, pledged to donate guitars to those whose guitar of any brand was damaged in the natural disaster, Billboard reports. Guitar brands Heritage and Harmony, as well as gear case and accessories brand MONO, are calling for affected artists to get in touch if their gear has been destroyed, damaged or lost due to the disaster, NME reports.

Jadu is a Los Angeles startup that launched on Wednesday morning, and it allows fans to dance with digital versions of artists, the Rolling Stone reports. Jadu got five initial artists, including Poppy, Pussy Riot and Vic Mensa, to put their digital likenesses on the app, and filmed them dancing and posing, surrounded by 106 cameras to make three-dimensional images. Footage will show up in the app’s camera, and the artists’ songs will play in the background while users film their own videos alongside the holograms. Asad J. Malik from 1RIC, the augmented reality studio that developed the app, said he and the studio developed the app specifically with highly interactive short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram in mind - “People are used to being in the content, if they’re posting things, they’ll likely be in it". The tech behind making these holograms a reality is expensive and can cost upwards of $100,000 per day for access.

A Los Angeles judge has reaffirmed a 2005 court order that Suge Knight must pay former Death Row Records employee Lydia Harris $107 million dollars that he allegedly never paid her, NBC LA reports. Harris claimed that she and her husband Michael were early investors in Knight’s Death Row Records in 1989, and that she was the company’s first Vice President. It’s unclear how and when Suge will on pay Harris as he’s currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter after running over two men on the set of 'Straight Outta Compton'.

The UK's health ministry has suggested that in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, people should wash their hands while singing 'Happy Birthday' – twice – in order to ensure the operation lasts the recommended 20 seconds. Freelance journalist Jen Monnier has some other suggestions, like Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' - easy to sing, fun, only 25 words long, and eight of them are "Jolene"!

The 2020 installment of Ultra Music Festival in Miami has been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus, Miami Herald reports. City officials encouraged organizers to postpone the event. The annual electronic music festival was supposed to take place at Miami’s Bayfront Park between March 20th and 22nd, with an expected daily attendance of over 55,000 people. The scheduled lineup included Major Lazer, Flume, Zedd, Gesaffelstien, David Guetta, Afrojack, and DJ Snake, among others.

Robert Plant has a new band Saving Grace, playing British folk, the latest song they did is a great cover of 'Everybody's Song' by Low, a true cover for a different song; Haim announce new album ‘Women in Music Pt. III’ with a single 'The Steps', accompanied by a great video made by Paul Thomas Anderson; RINSE goes solo - and post-punky - on his new single 'Tell Me Tell Me Tell Me'; David Berman (Purple Mountains, Silver Jews) collaborators Woods made "a gateway into dream and an escape from everyday reality" with 'Where Do You Go When You Dream'.

Ecstatic Peace Library is the brainchild of Moore, made in collaboration with comic artist Savage Pencil and Soho Music, and Zippo Records head Pete Flanagan, with his son Jim working there. Guardian visited it in Hackney, London, where Moore lives now, and talked about the physicality of objects in a world where everything is digitised and streamed. Moore doesn't mind people going there to get a photo with him - “It’s fine. If Patti Smith walked into this place I’d want a picture with her”, and he doesn't mind dogs either - “We are everything friendly”. What about profit? - the G asked. “What about artistic profit, creative profit, intellectual profit?” - the Sonic Moore replied.

Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford are reuniting as Genesis for a UK and Ireland tour, 13 years after last performing together, Ultimate Classic Rock reports. The trio will be joined by Collins' 18-year-old son Nicholas on drums and Daryl Stuermer on guitar and bass. Founding member Peter Gabriel, who left the group in 1975, will not be taking part. Guitarist Steve Hackett will also miss the shows.

A series of deadly tornados destroyed the popular Nashville music venue Basement East Monday night. Basement East’s co-owner, Mike Grimes told the Rolling Stone a tornado struck Basement East at approximately 1:15 a.m. local time, shortly after a Bernie Sanders benefit concert had concluded, so nobody was hurt. Grimes says the "venue is pretty much a total loss”. The Basement East opened in 2015 and had welcomed artists including Best Coast, Archers of Loaf, Lucy Dacus, Pinegrove, and The Lemon Twigs. The venue’s upcoming calendar promised shows from Delta Spirit, Hamilton Leithauser, Torres, Frances Quinlan, and The Airborne Toxic Event.