As touring costs continue to skyrocket, experienced touring musicians Craig A. Meyer and Gary Arbuthnot have teamed up to launch GigLogic, a platform for artists to determine the financials of a show before accepting a gig.

GigLogic evaluates the price of commissions for management and booking agents, taxes, travel, lodging, and any other expenses that go into making a show happen, in an effort to allow artists and their teams to better budget and evaluate whether a show is worth traveling to.

“For decades, performers have been taught to focus on getting the gig,” Meyer says in a statement to Billboard. “Very few have been taught how to evaluate whether the gig is actually good business. As touring costs continue to rise, that’s becoming a much more important conversation. We built GigLogic because artists deserve the same level of financial visibility that businesses in other industries take for granted.”

Meyer comes in with 20 years of touring experience, having been on the road as an Elton John tribute performer in shows including Remember When Rock Was Young — The Elton John Experience and Piano Men: A Tribute to Elton John & Billy Joel. Arbuthnot has toured as a flautist.

On the platform, artists can input the details of a potential gig, after which GigLogic will build customized cost profiles and projected earnings. While artists and their teams often create budgets using spreadsheets and estimates, GigLogic says its platform helps to streamline the process.

“One of the biggest misconceptions in live entertainment is that a bigger paycheck automatically means a better opportunity,” Arbuthnot adds in a statement. “It doesn’t. An artist can be busier than ever, bringing in more revenue than ever, and still be struggling financially if they don’t understand their true costs. Sustainable careers are built on profitability, not just activity.”

In May, Warner Music Group quietly completed a test program that could change the future of vinyl. 

The program, conducted in partnership with the world’s largest vinyl manufacturer, GZ Media, set out to answer one question: can recycled vinyl deliver the same sound quality?

GZ Media collected 10,000 unsold records across artists, titles and pressing plants throughout Europe and first shredded, then repressed them using a range of recyclable materials — from 10-100%. Next, a selection of industry experts were gathered at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios for a blind listening evaluation. Each vinyl passed.

“What impressed me was how consistent the pressings were across the different material blends, showing that sustainability and sound quality do not have to be at odds,” Abbey Road’s mastering engineer, Miles Showell, shared in a statement to WMG.

The recycled pressings weren’t just being evaluated for quality, though, as the project also aimed to evaluate the environmental impact of preprocessing vinyl. Even with the added steps of transport, warehousing, sorting and shredding — all of which impact the product carbon footprint (PCF) — carbon emissions dropped 10% from using recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC, from which vinyl is pressed) compared to fresh materials. 

Now, on Friday (June 26) WMG will double down on its mission with a first-of-its-kind vinyl take-back program, which invites consumers to help recover unwanted vinyl. A group of 11 indie retailers across the country — including in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York — will serve as collection locations before handing the vinyl over to Virterras Materials, a company that helps recycle “complex waste,” such as plastics and rubber. 

“Independent record stores have long served as gathering places for music fans and stewards of music culture,” Madeleine Smith, WMG’s senior director of environmental, social and governance, shared in a statement. “[This is] a vital first step in understanding what’s possible.”

The pilot will run through September. For a complete list of participating independent record stores, see below.

Amoeba Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)

Antone’s Record Shop (Austin, TX)

Country Line Records (Keller, TX)

Criminal Records (Atlanta, GA)

Easy Street Records (Seattle, WA)

Home Rule Records (Washington D.C.)

Red Zeppelin Records (McKinney, TX)

Rough Trade NYC (New York City, NY)

Spin Me Round (Easton, PA)

Reckless Records (Chicago, IL)

Sweat Records (Miami, FL)

Opening night of Lionel Richie’s Sing a Song All Night Long Tour didn’t go as planned, as the veteran singer called time early after apparently feeling unwell.

The Rock Hall-inducted singer announced an unexpected intermission almost an hour into the show Wednesday night, June 24 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. He didn’t return.

Just moments before, he told the audience he was feeling shaky on his feet while performing one of his uptempo numbers, the ‘80s classic “Dancing On The Ceiling.” Fan-filmed footage shows Richie taking an unscheduled rest on a step, persevering and trying to walk it off, then sitting again. “When you’re feeling dizzy, sit your ass down,” he reportedly said.

Richie is understood to have performed one more song, the ballad “Three Times a Lady,” only this time at the piano.

Following his exit from stage, Richie’s five band members reportedly stayed onstage, while pre-recorded music played softly over the sound system.

Then, at about 10:50 p.m., or 40 minutes after Richie had called for intermission, the title reports, saxophonist Dino Soldo broke the bad news. “Unfortunately, Lionel is not feeling well,” he reportedly told the audience. “He won’t be able to continue. Additional information will be available.”

The 26-date North America tour, with support from Earth, Wind & Fire, is due to continue Friday night, June 26 at United Center in Chicago, IL. At the time of writing, the status of that concert remains unclear.

Richie, now 77, released a new memoir last year titled Truly. In its pages, the veteran singer takes readers through his humble beginnings growing up in Tuskegee, Ala., during the Civil Rights movement, to his adventures as a member of The Commodores and his time spent growing up in 1960s Harlem. From there, Richie shares his highs, like being signed to Motown at just 19 years old alongside The Jackson Five, writing and recording “We Are the World” (a story told in the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop), the fear and excitement he felt going solo, and now, serving as a judge on American Idol.

Richie’s 2025 tour Say Hello to the Hits Tour was a hit, grossing $17.8 million with 118,000 ticket sales across 25 dates in Europe and Las Vegas, according to Billboard’s year-end Boxscore charts. That result was good enough for a top 10 spot among the highest grossing R&B tours of the year, coming in at No. 9.