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CMT announced Wednesday that it has acquired exclusive broadcast rights for “Skyville Live,” an all-star concert series bringing together artists from the rock and pop worlds as well as the country and America that are the cable channel’s bread-and-butter.

The Viacom network will premiere the series with the Jan. 19 broadcast of “Skyville Live: Kris Kristofferson & Friends,” which has the venerable singer-actor joined by Jason Isbell, Brandy Clark, Lady A and Raul Malo of the Mavericks. Second up on the agenda Feb. 17 will be “Midnight Train to Georgia: Gladys Knight & Guests,” with the R&b-pop legend bringing in Martina McBride and Estelle.

Among the hour-long specials coming up down the pike as part of the series is a salute to Gregg Allman, including the late frontman of the Allman Brothers Band himself. Allman died in May 2017, so that is a bit of a tipoff to the vintage of the shows,...

Facing nearly eight months of no live music now, ticketing and promotion giant Live Nation Entertainment reported a 95% drop in revenue in its third quarter compared to the same time last year, the company said in its earnings report on Thursday. The stark figure, though somewhat expected, signals yet another tough period as Live Nation batters the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Third-quarter revenue was about $154 million in 2020 compared to over $3 billion in 2019, with the company — which operates both Live Nation and Ticketmaster — reporting a $173 million loss for its concert business and a $142 million loss for ticketing.

No one in the music business was asking “Where’s the beef?” this week. It was right out in the open, as Taylor Swift/Big Machine, Lizzo vs. Postmates, and Sharon Osbourne vs. Bob Lefsetz squared off against each other over various issues.

Using the power of social media to shame, make a point, and generally launch missiles against their foes, the parties lobbed accusations against each other, with various fans and observers choosing sides in the disputes.

This week in music:

NPR Notes Songs About Hating The Biz: In a week where disputes dominated the music business, NPR put together a list of songs that were about hating the business side of the music business. Who knew that legal entanglements had a beat and could be danced to?

Taylor Swiftly J’Accuse: This week saw yet another confrontation between Taylor Swift and her former record label, Big Machine. She...

Most stadium concerts have little space for improvisation, especially pop spectaculars that utilize dancers, confetti cannons, video screens and inflatable props. These types of shows are almost always rehearsed down to the smallest detail as if they were Broadway musicals. On Taylor Swift’s 2018 Reputation tour, however, she decided to reward her hardcore fans by reserving one slot a night for a surprise acoustic song. It always came on the B stage shortly after “Shake It Off” or “Dancing With Our Hands Tied.”

By the time the tour wrapped last week at the Tokyo Dome,...