2024 Music History: Key Events, Band Formations & Album Releases
Acts Formed
Julien Baker & Torres
Tennessee, USA
Alt-Country
February 1st
Mark Knopfler's guitar collection is sold at auction for £8.8 million.
Universal Music Group remove their library from TikTok to extract concessions from the Chinese social media giant on AI-generated content and data sharing.
February 4th - Grammy Awards
Album of the Year: Taylor Swift - Midnights
Song of the Year: Billie Eilish - 'What Was I Made For?'
February 9th
Sony Music purchase half of Michael Jackson's publishing rights and masters for $600 million.
March 14th
The techno culture of Berlin is officially added to the list of Germany's Unesco cultural sites.
March 22nd
ISIS kill more than 140 revellers at a Picnic gig in Moscow.
April 5th
Fabiana Palladino releases Fabiana Palladino
April 20th
Blackstone purchase Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) for $1.58 billion. HSF was established in 2018 with a mission to treat intellectual property like a traditional asset, such as oil. The newly acquired rights include the catalogues of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, and Leonard Cohen.
April 24th
Taylor Swift reaches 1 billion streams from her new album, Tortured Poets Department, in only 5 days.
May 4th
A free concert by Madonna draws 1.6 million people at Brazil's Copacabana beach. It is the largest audience ever for a stand-alone concert
May 7th
Famed producer Steve Albini, known for his work on classics by the Pixies and Nirvana, dies at 61 of a heart attack.
May 7th
A security guard is seriously injured during a drive-by shooting at the home of Drake. The incident occurs at the height of his rap battle with Kendrick Lamar. The cover art for Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' featured a satellite photo of Drake's mansion.
May 17th
Beth Gibbons releases Lives Outgrown
May 17th
CNN broadcast footage of P. Diddy dragging the singer Cassie Ventura through hallways of the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
June
An estimated 331 homeless people are removed from the Edinburgh area, or placed in unsuitable housing, to accomodate the Taylor Swift Eras Tour.
June 19th
Sony Music pay $1.27 billion for Queen's entire catalogue (including name and likeness rights).
June 11th
Françoise Hardy dies at 80 of lymphoma (blood cancer).
June 14th
Following boycotts from bands and festival attendees, Barclays are forced to suspend their sponsorship of Live Nation festivals in the UK. Concerns were rasied over the bank's dealing with weapons companies amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
June 25th
The three major record labels, Universal, Sony, and Warner, sue the AI song generators Suno and Udio for $150,000 per infringed work.
July 17th
Japandroids disband.
July 19th
Forbes report that Bruce Springsteen is a billionaire.
July 28th
The rapper Chino XL commits suicide at 50.
August 7th
Taylor Swift cancels three concerts in Vienna after authorities expose terrorist plots, including explosives, to target the events.
August 7th
Lauryn Hill, and her reformed group the Fugees, cancel their US tour after poor ticket sales. Hill topped the US album charts in the '90s, both with the group and as a solo artist.
August 23rd
Magdalena Bay release Imaginal Disk
September
The European Commission launch an investigation into Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing after costs for the Oasis 2025 reunion tour surged from approximately £135 to over £350 while fans were already in online queues.
September 5th - Mercury Prize
Best British Album: English Teacher - This Could Be Texas
September 6th
LL Cool J releases The Force
September 10th
Jon Bon Jovi talks a suicidal woman down from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville. He was in the area filming a music video.
September 13th
Jane's Addiction band members brawl on stage during a gig in Boston. The band breakup and cancel all remaining tour dates.
September 17th
P.Diddy is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for prostitution. He would later be found guilty of the latter and cleared of all other charges.
September 28th
Kris Kristofferson dies at 88.
October 2nd
Sony Music pay $400 million for Pink Floyd's masters and name/likeness rights.
October 4th
Geordie Greep releases The New Sound
October 12th
The rapper Ka dies at 52.
December 6th
Cameron Winter releases Heavy Metal
