@sisario

New York Times music industry reporter

 New York, NY
nytimes.com/by/ben-sisario
Joined March 2008
  • Tweets10K
  • Following1.1K
  • Followers11.4K
581Media
BREAKING: Clive Davis, music industry titan, has died at age 94. RIP to one of the true greats. nytimes.com/2026/06/22/arts/…

Clive Davis, Hitmaking Titan of the Music Industry, Dies at 94

He rose from a midlevel position at Columbia Records to become one of music’s most powerful executives, shepherding stars like Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston.

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RIP D'Angelo, one of the all time greats nytimes.com/2025/10/14/arts/…

D’Angelo, Acclaimed and Reclusive R&B Innovator, Dies at 51 (Published 2025)

After hitting No. 1 with “Voodoo,” the genre-melding 2000 album that he promoted with a risqué music video, he vanished for more than a decade.

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Tramps Like Us, Baby We Were Born to Examine Our Psychic Wounds in Therapy nytimes.com/2025/08/28/movie…

The Boss Finally Gets a Biopic, Just Not the One We Expected (Published 2025)

Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, the stars of “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” and the director Scott Cooper on capturing a haunted rock icon.

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Ben Sisario retweeted
Jon Pareles@JonPareles5 Nov 2024
Replying to @sisario
@sisario !!! Quincy Jones, the Maestro of the Recording Studio nytimes.com/2024/11/05/arts/…

Quincy Jones, the Maestro of the Recording Studio (Published 2024)

For decades, he had many of the pop world’s best players on call — and knew how to coax out their sharpest performances.

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For decades, Quincy Jones had many of the pop world’s best players on call — and knew how to coax out their sharpest performances. @sisario on a maestro of the recording studio. nytimes.com/2024/11/05/arts/…

Quincy Jones, the Maestro of the Recording Studio (Published 2024)

For decades, he had many of the pop world’s best players on call — and knew how to coax out their sharpest performances.

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Ben Sisario retweeted
Jon Pareles@JonPareles3 Nov 2024
Replying to @sisario
@sisario asked the right Qs: How Robert Smith of the Cure Became Rock’s Most Dogged Activist nytimes.com/2024/11/01/arts/…

How Robert Smith of the Cure Became Rock’s Most Dogged Activist (Published 2024)

With his band’s first new album in 16 years out Friday, post-punk’s dark prince discusses enduring on his own terms and clashing with the most powerful company in live music.

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cganz@mehpatrol1 Nov 2024
Robert Smith (!) x @sisario nytimes.com/2024/11/01/arts/…

How Robert Smith of the Cure Became Rock’s Most Dogged Activist (Published 2024)

With his band’s first new album in 16 years out Friday, post-punk’s dark prince discusses enduring on his own terms and clashing with the most powerful company in live music.

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RIP Phil. I had fun meeting him and hearing his band do a pitch-perfect vocal warmup backstage at the Cap in 2013. nytimes.com/2013/11/04/arts/…

Ex-Bassist for the Grateful Dead Strikes a Deal (Published 2013)

Phil Lesh, the former Grateful Dead bassist, has agreed to a business arrangement with the theater owner Peter Shapiro.

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BREAKING: Sean Combs has been arrested in New York after being indicted by a grand jury. nytimes.com/2024/09/16/arts/…

Sean Combs Arrested in Manhattan After Grand Jury Indictment (Published 2024)

The music mogul has been under mounting scrutiny since a 2023 lawsuit by his former girlfriend, Cassie, accused him of sex trafficking and years of abuse. Mr. Combs’s representatives called him an...

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The indictment against Combs is sealed. But a source familiar with the prosecution said they believe Combs was being charged with racketeering and sex trafficking.
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Perhaps a weird crush that only a fellow reporter could understand, but it was a fanboy honor when I finally met Linda Deutsch in an LA courtroom maybe a decade ago. She was super nice. nytimes.com/2024/09/04/busin…

Linda Deutsch, The A.P.’s Dean of Courtroom Reporting, Dies at 80 (Published 2024)

Covering notorious trials, she offered readers an unvarnished view of the sordid side of celebrity, told through many of the country’s most riveting legal dramas.

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RIP Don Buchwald. He once told me he was Howard Stern's "mercenary," obviously a good one. nytimes.com/2024/08/01/obitu…

Don Buchwald, Howard Stern’s Loyal ‘Superagent,’ Dies at 88 (Published 2024)

He had clients like Tony Curtis and Kim Novak, but his biggest score came when he negotiated the “King of All Media’s” landmark contract with Sirius Satellite Radio.

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Dude's office literally had a cardboard theater standee for "Private Parts."
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From 2016: nytimes.com/2016/02/21/busin…

SiriusXM Fights to Dominate the Dashboard of the Connected Car (Published 2016)

While other music outlets struggle, the satellite-radio network is a success story. However, the Internet-connected car will pose a challenge.

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It was an honor to interview Bob Newhart at his Bel Air home back in 2006, when he was a mere lad of 76. nytimes.com/2006/03/25/arts/…

Bob Newhart, Button-Down Comic, Is Still Standing Up at 76 (Published 2006)

Seventy-six-year-old comedian Bob Newhart continues to perform 30 stand-up sets a year and will be appearing at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts; career recalled; photo (M)

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The suit also says that Dream controlled her career, keeping her in a hotel room supervised by his security, and promised her she would "be the next Beyoncé & Rihanna." After she complained of bedbugs, he exploded in anger, said she was to blame for a delay in Beyoncé's album.
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Talkin' 'bout Steve Albini on Popcast, with guests @jeremypgordon and my old pal, Albiniphile @joegross. nytimes.com/2024/05/14/arts/…

The Legacy of Steve Albini, Rock’s Uncompromising Force (Published 2024)

A conversation about one of the most admired, and divisive, figures in music.

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Shocking news: Steve Albini has died at 61, from a heart attack. nytimes.com/2024/05/08/arts/…

Steve Albini, Studio Master of ’90s Rock and Beyond, Dies at 61 (Published 2024)

A musician and audio engineer, he helped define the sound of alternative rock while becoming an outspoken critic of the music industry.

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At Ed Sheeran's trial last year, the jury never heard Marvin Gaye's original "Let's Get It On." Instead, they were played an electronically recreated version that sounded like a robot. Here's why! nytimes.com/2024/05/02/arts/…

What Is a Song? (Published 2024)

Is it simply the music flowing out of your earphones? According to the law, the answer is a bit more complicated.

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(Spoiler: cuz music copyright is super complicated, and perhaps even completely divorced from the realities of making music.)
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