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It might be time to upgrade your iPad.

On Tuesday (May 9), Apple revealed that Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro will be available on iPad Pro starting May 23. The upgrade means that movie and music creatives can finally combine the magic of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro with the portability of an iPad.

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Tim Cook

Apple Services, Including Music, Hit Record $20.9B in Second Quarter Revenue

“We’re excited to introduce Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad, allowing creators to unleash their creativity in new ways and in even more places,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of worldwide product marketing. “With a powerful set of intuitive tools designed for the portability, performance, and touch-first interface of iPad, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro deliver the ultimate mobile studio.”

Final Cut Pro for iPad features an all-new touch interface, intuitive tools and a jog wheel that, according to Apple, “makes the editing process easier than ever.” Logic Pro for iPad lets users unlock an “all-in-one-professional music creation app” that turns your iPad into a portable recording studio that lets you write record, edit music and more directly from the device.

Both will be available in the App Store for $4.99/month or $49 annually.

As if you need another reason to upgrade your iPad, Final Cut Pro is only compatible with the M1 chip iPad and later models, while Logic Pro will be available on A12 Bionic chip iPad models or later. Learn more about Final Cut Pro for iPad and Logic Pro for iPad here.

Ready to upgrade? The sixth generation iPad Pro is on sale at Amazon, but only at a slight discount (5% off is better than nothing).

Amazon

Buy: Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th Generation): with M2 chip, Space Grey $1,049.00

Powered by Apple’s M2 chip and an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, iPad Pro delivers powerful performance, lightning-fast graphics and all-day battery life, with up to 10 hours of web surfing.

It also features a Liquid Retina XDR display, 128 GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6E, 12MP ultra-wide front cameras, 10MP back cameras, and Face ID.

Shopping for deals on iPads and other Apple products for Mother’s Day? You’ll find them at Amazon. Save $100 on the fifth-generation iPad Air pictured below and Apple iPad Mini (sixth generation).

Buy: Apple iPad Air (5th Generation): with M1 chip, 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, 64GB, Wi-Fi 6 – Blue $499.99

The fifth generation iPad Air has an M1 chip, a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone technology, up to 256GB of storage (the discounted option is 64GB); an upgraded 12MP wide camera, 4K video recording capabilities like iPad Pro, plus a faster USB port and 5G connectivity. The iPad Air is equipped with an 8-core CPU, and 8-core GPU that delivers faster performance and up to two times the graphics of its predecessor — and it comes in a bunch of different colors, including blue, pink, purple, space gray and white.

“Whether it’s a college student taking elaborate notes, a content creator working on their latest project, or a gamer playing graphics-intensive titles, users love iPad Air for its amazing performance and versatility in such a portable design,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said last year. “With the breakthrough M1 chip, Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage, and ultra-fast 5G, iPad Air is now more powerful, more capable, and simply more fun than ever.”

Anthony Martini, president of Exceed Capital and the lead singer of long-running hardcore band E-Town Concrete, has filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey promoter behind the recently canceled Bamboozle festival for allegedly failing to repay a $500,000 loan.

Problems with the Bamboozle Festival — slated to feature Limp BizkitRick Ross and Steve Aoki, among others — bubbled up last month after fans revolted over what they saw as unfulfilled promises and Atlantic City officials declined to issue a final permit for the event. On April 28, Bamboozle organizers issued a statement via the festival’s official website that read, “After extensive discussions, we have made the heartbreaking decision to cancel Bamboozle 2023. An incredible amount of time, dedication, passion and hard work was invested into making this comeback a success. We appreciate everyone who supported this festival. Refunds should be requested at point of purchase.” The website has been scrubbed of all other information.

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According to the lawsuit, filed Thursday (May 4) in New Jersey Superior Court in Monmouth County, Bamboozle organizer John D’Esposito failed to live up to the terms of the high-interest loan issued by Martini for the festival, likely in November 2022. Martini’s lawyer Jesse David Eisenberg appears to have mixed up the timeline in the suit, at times writing that the loan agreement was made in 2021 while elsewhere writing that the same events took place in 2022. Several other documents indicate the loan was first originated in November 2022, although no copy of the loan agreement itself was included in the complaint. Billboard has reached out to Eisenberg for clarification on the timeline.

As part of the loan, Martini allegedly agreed to advance more than $460,000 to four major booking agencies — Artist Group International, CAA, WME and Wasserman Music — to cover the artist payments for bands booked to play the Bamboozle festival, which had been scheduled for May 5-7 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In exchange, according to the lawsuit, D’Esposito would then pay back the loan, in addition to $100,000 in interest, on Jan. 21, 2023. Martini would also receive 20% equity ownership in Bamboozle, which E-town Concrete was booked to play.

In the complaint, Martini — also a music executive and former artist manager who helped develop artists including Lil Dicky and MadeinTYO — alleges D’Esposito never made the January payment and is now suing him for breach of contract.

Billboard reached out to D’Esposito, Martini and Eisenberg for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

D’Esposito founded Bamboozle in 2002 and kept the festival going for the next decade, with previous editions featuring top-tier acts such as 50 Cent, Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Snoop Dogg, Mac Miller, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. At its peak, the event was drawing more than 100,000 fans over a single weekend. Following an alleged dispute between D’Esposito and his partners in the event, Live Nation and House of Blues, the festival went dormant in 2012. In an interview last month, D’Esposito told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he repurchased the festival’s trademark in 2020 in order to resurrect it.

The 58th annual ACM Awards will stream live via Amazon Prime Video from Frisco, Texas, on Thursday (May 11), guided by megastar co-hosts Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton. This year, nominees ranging from newcomers to Country Music Hall of Fame members are poised take home ACM trophies.

Will leading nominee HARDY — who has seven nods heading into the ceremony — add to his ACM Awards accolades? Could first-time ACM entertainer of the year nominees Kane Brown or Morgan Wallen take home the night’s most coveted trophy? Will six-time ACM nominee Lainey Wilson best her previous year’s wins by taking home the female artist of the year honor? Will Miranda Lambert extend her nine female artist of the year wins? Could The War and Treaty take home their first ACM Awards win for duo of the year?

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Here are Billboard’s winners predictions in select categories, from Jessica Nicholson, staff writer, Nashville.

Entertainer of the Year

Jason Aldean
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Morgan Wallen

Analysis: Sony Music Nashville artists Kane Brown and Luke Combs, as well as Big Loud’s Morgan Wallen, are among the top contenders in the seven artist-strong pack of nominees this year. Brown led a top-tier headlining tour of NBA arenas and notched his ninth Billboard Country Airplay No. 1, this time with “Thank God,” featuring his wife Katelyn. Brown is the first Black or biracial artist to be nominated in the category since Charley Pride, who earned ACM EOY nominations from 1970-1972. Meanwhile, Combs earns his fourth EOY nomination, and released two albums over the past year, Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old. He also launched his World Tour, including breaking records at AT&T Stadium, Busch Stadium and Gillette Stadium. Wallen also earns his first EOY nomination this year, and is selling out shows internationally on his One Night at a Time world tour. Wallen’s One Thing at a Time album has been entrenched in the penthouse of the Billboard 200 for the past nine weeks. Meanwhile, Wallen’s “Last Night” recently became the first song to top the Hot 100 and Country Airplay charts simultaneously. With this being Combs’ fourth nod in the category, look for him to take home his first win.

Will win: Luke Combs

Female artist of the year

Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Lainey Wilson

Analysis: Last year, Wilson picked up two ACM Awards wins — new female artist of the year and song of the year (for “Things a Man Oughta Know”). She is poised to up the ante this year, with six nominations overall. Additionally, she launched a recurring role on the hit television series Yellowstone, released her Bell Bottom Country album, headlined her own Country With a Flare tour, and opened for Luke Combs’ world tour. She also earned two top five Country Airplay hits with “Heart Like a Truck” and “Wait in the Truck” (a collab with HARDY). Reigning ACM entertainer of the year Lambert released the album Palomino, earned a top 10 Hot Country Songs hit with “If I Was a Cowboy,” and led a string of dates on her Velvet Rodeo Las Vegas residency. Meanwhile, McBryde and reigning ACM female artist of the year Pearce saw their collaboration “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” top the Country Airplay chart in May 2022; the song was nominated for two ACM Awards last year, and won the music event of the year trophy. In 2022, Ballerini released the album Subject to Change, spearheaded by the top 25 Country Airplay hit “Heartfirst.” Every artist here has notched stellar career milestones, but Wilson’s career is firing on all cylinders.

Will win: Lainey Wilson

Male Artist of the Year

Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Jordan Davis
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen

Analysis: Stapleton is the reigning winner in this category, while Combs previously won this honor in 2020. They are competing against three first-timers in the category: Brown, Davis and Wallen. With Brown and Combs being labelmates, and given Wallen’s stronghold on the sales chart, Wallen could take home the win here.

Will win: Morgan Wallen

Duo of the Year

Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War and Treaty

Analysis: Brothers Osborne regained this accolade last year, after Dan+Shay had held the winner’s circle for the previous three years. (Brothers Osborne had taken home the honor for two years before that.) This year, they have competition from Country Music Hall of Famers Brooks & Dunn (who have taken home the win 16 times in their career), as well as Maddie & Tae (who released the two-volume Through the Madness project last year) and husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty, who released their EP Blank Page in November 2022, followed by their full-length project Lover’s Game this year. With their strong following, look for Brothers Osborne to retain their title.

Will win: Brothers Osborne

Group of the Year

Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band

Analysis: Old Dominion has taken home this honor the past five consecutive years and have a top 15 Country Airplay hit with “Memory Lane.” Zac Brown Band earned a top 15 Country Airplay hit with “Out in the Middle.” Though all the nominees here had top-notch years, it looks to be a race between Old Dominion and ZBB.

Will win: Old Dominion

Album of the Year

Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville —Ashley McBryde; Producer: John Osborne; Label: Warner Music Nashville

Bell Bottom Country — Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records

Growin’ Up — Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Label: Columbia Records

Mr. Saturday Night — Jon Pardi; Producers: Jon Pardi, Bart Butler, Ryan Gore; Label: Capitol Records Nashville

Palomino — Miranda Lambert; Producers: Jon Randall, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Mikey Reaves; Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville

Analysis: This year’s album race features a slew of chart-toppers in a range of styles, with Lambert’s freewheeling musical travelogue, Wilson’s hippie-country project, Pardi’s ‘90s country-inspired album and Combs’s hit-filled collection all vying for the win. However, voters could lean toward the out-of-the-box ethos of McBryde’s collaborative, Dennis Linde-inspired project.

Will win: McBryde’s Lindeville

Single of the Year

“Heart Like a Truck” — Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” — Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde; Producers: Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally; Label: Big Machine Records/Warner Music Nashville

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” — Cole Swindell; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville

“Thank God” — Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: RCA Nashville

“’Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Label: Warner Music Nashville/CoJo Music

Analysis: Each nomination gained considerable traction on the Country Airplay chart, while “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” earned a Grammy win, Johnson’s “’Til You Can’t” is a previous CMA Award winner, and the Kane/Katelyn collab won big at last month’s CMT Music Awards. In terms of overall commercial success, Swindell’s “Carolina” notched four weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, and got an extra boost via a remixed version featuring Jo Dee Messina.

Will win: Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”

Song of the Year

“Sand in My Boots” — Morgan Wallen; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Michael Hardy; Publishers: Relative Music Group; Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” — Cole Swindell; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Cole Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett, Tim Nichols; Publishers: Ashley Gorley Publishing Designee, Be a Light Publishing, Colden Rainey Music, EMI Blackwood Music, Songs of Roc Nation Music, Sony Tree Publishing, Telemitry Rhythm House Music, Universal Music, WC Music, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing

“’Til You Can’t” — Cody Johnson; Songwriters: Ben Stennis, Matt Rogers; Publishers: Anthem Canalco Publishing, Dead Aim Music, The Stennis Mightier Music

“wait in the truck” — HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair; Publishers: Humerus Publishing Global, Nontypical Music, Pile of Schmidt Songs, Rednecker Music, Relative Music Group, Round Hill Verses Publishing, Sony/ ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, The Money Tree Vibez, WC Music, Who Wants To Buy My Publishing

“You Should Probably Leave” — Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Chris DuBois, Chris Stapleton; Publishers: One77 Songs, Sea Gayle Music, Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing, Spirit Two Nashville, WC Music

Analysis: Songwriter Ashley Gorley co-wrote three of the contenders for this year’s song of the year honor, while Michael Hardy (HARDY) is a contributor to two of this year’s final nominees. Three of these contenders first charted in 2021, thus proving their enduring quality. Lyrically, the songs cover a range of topics including heartbreak (“Sand in My Boots”), making the most of each day (“‘Til You Can’t”), revenge (“wait in the truck”), temptation (“You Should Probably Leave”) and music-fused love (“She Had Me at Heads Carolina”). Given the gritty nature of “wait in the truck” and its addition to country music’s long history of murder ballads, look for it to win here.

Will win: “Wait in the Truck”

Music Event of the Year

“At the End of a Bar” — Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny; Producers: Chris DeStefano, Chris Young; Label: RCA Nashville

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina [Remix]” — Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville

“Thank God” — Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: RCA Nashville

“Thinking ’Bout You” — Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Broken Bow Records

“wait in the truck” — HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson; Producers: Derek Wells, HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt; Label Big Loud Records

Analysis: This year’s category gets competition with the Chris Young/Mitchell Tenpenny collab “At the End of a Bar,” the nostalgic Swindell/Messina musical moment of “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” the husband-wife duet “Thank God” with Kane and Katelyn Brown, the intense murder ballad “wait in the truck” from HARDY and Wilson, and the Dustin Lynch/MacKenzie Porter duet “Thinking ‘Bout You,” which was a six-week Country Airplay chart-topper in 2021. Look for the stirring “Thank God” to take home the win.

Will win: Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown, “Thank God”

Eurovision is back!

This year’s semifinals will kick off at the U.K.’s Liverpool Arena on Tuesday (May 9) and Thursday (May 11), followed by the grand finale on Sunday (May 13).

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All three days of Eurovision 2023 will stream on Peacock at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT. Julia Sanina, Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon are among the hosts for the semi-finals and grand finale.

Rita Ora will perform a medley of her hits during Tuesday’s show, which will also feature performances from Sanina and Ukrainian singer Alyosha.

The international singing competition’s highest-scoring countries from the two previously aired semi-finals, along with the “Big Five” (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain) will compete for the prize. Participating nations vote on the winner, though citizens can’t vote for their own country. See the grand final rundown here.

Aside from Eurovision, Peacock subscribers can stream exclusive series, movies and more for $4.99 per month ($9.99/month to stream without commercials and get access to NBC).

Peacock
$4.99/month

Binge Poker Face, Bel-Air, Bupkis, Mrs. Davis, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, LoveIsland USA, Dr. Death and other exclusive series on Peacock along with movies like Praise This, Cocaine Bear, The Year Between and Inside; in addition to WWE, MLB Sunday Leadoff and other sporting events. Peacock also works on ExpressVPN, for those streaming internationally.

See more on the Eurovision 2023 allocation draw in the video below.

Fox Entertainment revealed on Monday (May 8) that it’s delving into Britney Spears‘ life since the end of her 13-year-long conservatorship in an upcoming special.

TMZ Investigates: Britney Spears: The Price of Freedom promises “details about her deeply troubled marriage, family estrangement, alarming behavior, failed intervention and how she continues to be an enduring force in the music industry,” according to a press release.

The pop superstar has been open about how much she dislikes documentaries made about her life and conservatorship in the past. Most recently, in November, she took to Twitter to share a lengthy, since-deleted post about how she’s been portrayed, calling the documentaries “humiliating,” adding, “I am a person … I’m not a robot or a science experiment like they analyzed me in that place !!! I’m a valued soul … so for the documentaries that were done on me, they were trash and nothing more than trash … period !!!”

She also called out those who made “the trashiest docs I’ve ever seen in my life,” and noting that she felt as though there was “deception in claiming it was to help me !!!”

While she didn’t name any documentaries specifically, FX and Hulu’s Controlling Britney Spears, New York Times’ Framing Britney Spears and Netflix’s Britney vs Spears were three of the most popular documentaries released amid the Free Britney movement, which swept the country before the “Piece of Me” star’s conservatorship ended in November 2021.

TMZ Investigates: Britney Spears: The Price of Freedom airs on Monday (May 15) at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

SoundCloud chief content & marketing officer Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood has departed the company after nearly two years, Billboard has confirmed. There is no word yet on her next moves.

Wirtzer-Seawood joined SoundCloud in June 2021 from UnitedMasters, where she served as president for more than two years. Prior to that, she worked as head of music partnerships at Instagram for over three years and head of digital at Beyoncé‘s Parkwood Entertainment for over two years; she has also held senior roles at Def Jam and Zynga.

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“I came to SoundCloud to help transform the company and set it on a path toward success,” says Wirtzer-Seawood in a statement sent to Billboard. “After nearly two years of building teams, processes, priorities — and hiring some really stellar people — it was time to move on. I have no doubt that Eliah and the executive team will drive massive success for SoundCloud.”

During Wirtzer-Seawood’s tenure, SoundCloud has made efforts to differentiate itself as a more artist-friendly alternative to rival streaming services. Chief among these efforts is the fan-powered royalty payment system, first unveiled in March 2021, which has since been opted into by both Warner Music Group and Merlin. Unlike the traditional pro-rata model, under which streaming services collect all subscriber revenue and then pay out earnings based on each rightsholder’s share of total streams, fan-powered royalties direct a portion of every listener’s subscription or advertising revenue to the rightsholders for the specific tracks they listen to.

“Fan-powered royalties give us the ability to have specific data around who those fans are,” Wirtzer-Seawood told Billboard last year, “and we can now unlock those relationships with the superfans and communicate with them, to sell them something or whatnot.”

On Monday, SoundCloud unveiled “Fans,” a new SoundCloud for Artists product that’s being billed as the next evolution of the fan-powered payment system. Now in beta, the tool allows music creators to tap into the platform’s proprietary data and sort their most engaged listeners based on factors like comments, listening behavior, sharing habits and location — and then directly message individual fans to share previews of upcoming releases; sell tickets and merch; and more.

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