Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is set to step down from his role overseeing the film, television and music company, and will focus on his role as Chairman of the Board at social media company Snapchat, according to Billboard.biz. The move is set to happen in six months, and is part of an ongoing shift at Sony.

As part of his letter to Sony colleagues, Lynton said:

As some of you are already aware, I have been involved with Snapchat since its early days. Given Snapchat’s growth – and my growing role and responsibilities in it – I recently determined that the time was right to make a change.

As you are all aware, the landscape of our business continues to shift as never before, and the innovation and commitment shown by all of you at Sony Corp, Pictures and Music to adapt and change with it has been inspiring. I am confident that the broad changes we have made and the terrific new management team we assembled over the last few years will strengthen the company overall, and position it for greater growth in the future.

It has been an extraordinary 13 years and an honor to work at Sony with some of the most talented and creative people in the entertainment space. I want to thank Sony Corp – Kaz and Howard Stringer in particular – for their leadership and support over the years, and our excellent teams at Pictures and Music for their unwavering dedication to producing and distributing outstanding entertainment.

In October, it was announced that Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris will transition to the role of Chairman in April 2017, and will be succeeded by Columbia Records’ Rob Stringer.

Pandora announced Thursday (Jan. 12) plans to reduce its U.S. employee base (excluding Ticketfly) by approximately 7 percent by the end of Q1 2017, despite predicting it will exceed revenue projections for Q4 of 2016.

This seven percent figure will likely affect 100-150 staff, while the company incurs between $5-7 million in severance benefit costs.

Pandora’s fourth quarter and full year 2016 financial results will be shared via a conference call on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m (ET) at investor.pandora.com as well as live domestic dial‐in at 877-355-0067 using passcode 51921242.

“2016 was a year of significant investment for Pandora. In 2017, we will manage the business toward full year adjusted EBITDA profitability,” said Tim Westergren, CEO of Pandora. “While making workforce reductions is always a difficult decision, the commitment to cost discipline will allow us to invest more heavily in product development and monetization and build on the foundations of our strategic investments.”

The expected boost in year-end 2016 revenue is noted from strong advertising performance and paid subscriptions surpassing 4.3 million while its new Pandora Plus service is said to have attracted 375,000 new subscribers by the end of 2016. Its previously stated goal for the ad-free service is 11 million paid subscribers by 2020. The $4.99 Pandora Plus was introduced in September as an improved and rebranded version of Pandora One, which debuted about eight years ago, allowing users to replay music, skip as many songs as they’d like and stream even when they’re offline.

In addition to launching its on-demand Pandora Premium later this quarter, the company also expects to leverage its analytics platform and ad insertion logic to drive additional revenue and realize leverage in content costs.

“During the fourth quarter, we accelerated our core advertising business, increased advertising RPM and saw strong improvements in adjusted EBITDA,” continued Westergren. “Now, with all of the elements of our strategy in place, we are in the best position possible to expand our listener base, drive engagement and deliver significant value to all of our stakeholders.”

Pandora share price closed at 12.00 before the announcement yesterday and opened today at 13.04.

Dierks Bentley’s “Black” Takes Him To Iceland

Dierks Bentley traveled to the land where the Game Of Thrones kings duel in his video for his new single “Black,” and he took wife Cassidy along for the glacial experience of a lifetime as well. Bentley filmed with Cassidy in remote areas of Iceland in the new clip, which features breathtaking landscapes and supernatural effects and was shot during a once-a-year storm according to Time.com.

“We’ve been talking about Iceland as a location since before I even released the album last year, but I never thought we’d actually go. The next thing I know, there’s a shoot booked and we are standing on the side of a glacier half-dressed,” laughed Bentley. “We were on a lot of the same locations that ‘Game Of Thrones’ and the Star Wars films have shot, and it’s just crazy what those people go through every day. I had the idea of putting my wife in the video, which is totally taking her out of her comfort zone, but I just couldn’t imagine doing a video for this song without her in it and she reluctantly agreed…but then totally NAILED it. I think the end result is something really special, and it was a trip of a lifetime for everyone involved.”

Brett Young Releases New Clip

Brett Young has released a new video for “In Case You Didn’t Know” today on Vevo. The Jennifer Rothlein-directed video was filmed in Chattanooga and follows Brett as he makes his way to the stage for an intimate performance of the song. Fans can check out behind the scenes footage of the clip here.

Keith Urban’s Behind The Scenes Reveal On Ripcord

Keith Urban has shared a never-before-seen, behind the scenes look into the making of the album Ripcord. The Facebook video can be seen below:

https://www.facebook.com/keithurban/videos/10154587766616077/

The Zac Brown Band will kick off its 2017 “Welcome Home Tour” with two hometown shows May 12-13 at Verizon Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia, in support of the band’s upcoming new album, Welcome Home, which will also release May 12. On the 40+ date tour the band will return to stadiums and amphitheaters across the country including Hollywood Bowl, Wrigley Field, Coors Field, Gorge Amphitheatre and Camden’s BB&T Pavilion where last year they broke the record for the best-attended show in the venue’s 22-year history.

ZBB fan club members have priority access to pre-sale tickets beginning Jan. 17, and general public sales begin Jan. 20. Every online ticket order includes a choice of a physical or digital copy of the new album.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has unveiled the final exhibit it plans to showcase in 2017, “American Currents (The Music of 2016).” The Museum announced its entire, year-long lineup for the first time in its 50-year history this week via its social media channels, and this new exhibit opening in March will chronicle and highlight some of the best musical moments of the previous year through a behind-the-scenes look at all things new and noteworthy from 2016.

Among those artists featured in the new exhibit are Kelsea Ballerini, Brett Eldredge, Mickey Guyton, Miranda Lambert, William Michael Morgan, Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, Margo Price, and Chris and Morgane Stapleton with more to be announced.

As previously revealed this week, the 2017 schedule will also include exhibits on Jason Aldean, Loretta Lynn, Shania Twain, and country music couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.