2003 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2003.

Specific locations

• 2003 in British music
• 2003 in Irish music
• 2003 in Norwegian music
• 2003 in Scandinavian music
• 2003 in South Korean music

Specific genres

• 2003 in classical music
• 2003 in country music
• 2003 in heavy metal music
• 2003 in hip-hop music
• 2003 in jazz
• 2003 in Latin music
• 2003 in progressive rock

Events

January–February

• January 6 – The annual Park Lane Group Young Artists festival of contemporary music opens with two concerts in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre, London. The first concert, given by the Gallimaufry Ensemble, includes the premiere of a new wind quintet by 23-year-old Benjamin Wallfisch; the second concert features solo bass clarinettist Sarah Watts, who premieres Marc Yeats Vox for solo bass clarinet and Michael Smetanin's Ladder of Escape for bass clarinet with prerecorded ensemble of six bass and two contrabass clarinets.
• January 7 – The Philip on Film Live festival (until January 11) opens at the Barbican Centre, London, featuring films with music by Philip Glass performed live by the Philip Glass Ensemble, conducted by Michael Riesman.
• January 9 – The Vienna Philharmonic belatedly announce that violist Ursula Plaichinger has become the first official female member of the orchestra, 158 years after their founding and six years after they have been forced to allow women to audition, under threat of having their state subsidies stopped. At the same time, it is disclosed that orchestra boss Clemens Hellsberg has formally banned Plaichinger from giving interviews to the press.
• January 10
• Andrew Lack, former chief of NBC news, is named the new head of Sony's music division, to the surprise of the music industry, because he had no previous experience of the record industry. He replaced Tommy Mottola, who resigned the previous day amidst reports of friction with higher Sony executives over huge financial losses in the music division.
• Following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in the UK and the Netherlands recover 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested. The tapes have been used for bootleg releases for years.
• January 13 – The Who guitarist Pete Townshend is arrested by British police on suspicion of possessing and making indecent images of children and of incitement to distribute them. Townshend claims in a statement that he did not download any such images and accessed Web sites advertising child pornography because he was researching material for his autobiography, which will include passages about his abusive childhood.
• January 17–February 2 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Foo Fighters, Jane's Addiction and Underworld.
• January 18
• The Indian Air Force band, the Air Warriors, play a concert in the Homi Baba Auditorium in Colaba (Mumbai), which included Muthuswami Dikshitar's Vathapiganapathi in a version combining military band with traditional Carnatic instruments.
• A two-day festival of the music of Mark-Anthony Turnage is given at the Barbican Centre, London, with three world premieres and chamber concerts by the Nash Ensemble and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
• January 22 – Nikolaus Harnoncourt cancels a European tour after being ordered by his doctors to take a two-month rest.
• February 3
• Police respond to a 911 phone call from one of Phil Spector's neighbors and discover the body of actress Lana Clarkson, with a gunshot wound, at Spector's his home in Alhambra, California. Spector is arrested on suspicion of murder.
• The Martin Bashir television film Living with Michael Jackson premieres on ITV in the UK. It airs on ABC in the US three days later. A total of 53 million viewers in the two countries watch the special.
• February 8 – Avril Lavigne scores her third #1 single "I'm with You", making her the second artist in history to have three consecutive #1 songs from a debut album in the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.
• February 20 – The Station nightclub fire: Fire engulfs a Rhode Island nightclub during a fireworks display which was part of the performance by rock band Great White. The fire quickly spreads across the ceiling, filling the building with thick, black smoke, killing 100 people and injuring 160 others as audience members rush for the exits. Many people are missing for some time, including Great White guitarist Ty Longley, who is later confirmed to be dead.
• February 23 – New York City is the site of The 45th Annual Grammy Awards, featuring Nickelback, No Doubt, Foo Fighters, Beyoncé and other performers. Norah Jones wins a total of six awards, including all four in the General field.
• February 24 – Robert Trujillo joins Metallica.

March–April

• March 3 – Avril Lavigne kicks off her first headlining tour the "Try To Shut Me Up Tour".
• March 10
• Johnny Cash is admitted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee to undergo treatment for pneumonia.
• The Dixie Chicks unleash a firestorm of controversy at a concert in London when lead singer Natalie Maines announces to the audience that "just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas". The group is dropped from radio playlists all over the United States and receives death threats as a result.
• March 21 – Ex-Neighbours star Delta Goodrem releases her debut album Innocent Eyes which became Australia's monster smash hit of 2003 and included the releases of the new singles "Born to Try" and "Lost Without You".
• March 24 – Meteora by Linkin Park debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart.
• March 25 – Céline Dion begins A New Day..., her Las Vegas residency show. It would run for almost five years and over 700 shows.
• April 1 – Dozens of fans walk out during a Pearl Jam concert when lead singer Eddie Vedder makes comments opposing the Iraq war and derogatory remarks about U.S. President George W. Bush. Other audience members boo and shout at Vedder telling him to "shut up." Vedder attempts to calm the crowd by adding "just to clarify... we support the troops."
• April 4 – Alex Katunich quits Incubus.
• April 16 – Luther Vandross suffers a severe stroke at his home in New York City. He emerges from a coma seven weeks later.
• April 21 – S Club announce live on stage at London's Docklands Arena that they've decided to split up after five years together. Their final single, "Say Goodbye", enters the chart at #2 a month after the announcement. Rachel Stevens from the group launched her successful solo career shortly afterwards with the song "Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex".
• April 26-27 – The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place in California. Headlined by Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers, the lineup also features Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy and the Stooges, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Blur, The White Stripes, Sonic Youth, Black Eyed Peas, Interpol, the Mars Volta, N.E.R.D. and Primal Scream.
• April 28 – Apple Inc. opens the iTunes Music Store, offering 200,000 songs for download at a cost of 99 cents each. More than 1 million songs are sold in the store's first week.

May–June

• May 7 – Pete Townshend is cleared of the charges stemming from his arrest in January on suspicion of possessing child pornography, but is formally cautioned and placed on the sex offenders register for five years.
• May 19 – The former TV channel MuchMusic USA relaunches as Fuse.
• May 21 – Ruben Studdard wins the second season of American Idol, edging Clay Aiken.
• May 24
• Turkish singer Sertab Erener wins the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Riga, Latvia, with the song "Everyway That I Can". It is the last time that the contest is a one-night event.
• After a 40-year wait, Russian fans of The Beatles finally get to see former Beatle Paul McCartney perform on their soil, on the Red Square in Moscow.
• May 31-June 1 – The inaugural Download Festival takes place at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England. Iron Maiden and Audioslave headline the main stage, the latter acting as replacements for original headliners Limp Bizkit. The Scuzz Stage is headlined by A and NOFX.
• June 14
• David Del Tredici's Wondrous the Merge for string quartet and narrator, based on a homoerotic poem by James Broughton, makes its controversial debut at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.
• Henry Ranta quits Soilwork.
• Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera kicked off their summer Justified & Stripped Tour.
• Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ-FM airs the 11th Annual of the Weenie Roast show with AFI, The Ataris, Blur, Chevelle, Deftones, Finch, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Good Charlotte, Hot Hot Heat, Interpol, Jane's Addiction, Less Than Jake, Liam Lynch, Staind, Sum 41, Thrice, Transplants, The Used, The White Stripes and Pete Yorn.
• June 20
• Beyoncé releases her No.1 debut solo album Dangerously in Love, which would earn her 5 Grammys in a single night. It also spawned two No.1 singles in the US and has sold 11 million copies to date.
• Nick Oshiro replaces Ken Jay in Static-X.
• June 24 – Taylor Swift sign to RCA Records.
• June 27–29 – In the Glastonbury Festival, U.K., headline acts include David Gray, R.E.M., Primal Scream, Morcheeba, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Super Furry Animals, Lamb, Macy Gray, Feeder, Manic Street Preachers, Moby and Doves. The weather is mostly dry and the festival deemed a success from both a security and entertainment viewpoint by Michael Eavis.

July–August

• July 2
• A-Teens and many others perform at the Stockholm Pride festival.
• Delta Goodrem is diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease.
• July 5 – Lollapalooza returns after a six-year absence from the music festival circuit. Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus and Queens of the Stone Age are among the featured acts.
• July 11 – Judas Priest announces that Rob Halford has rejoined the band, with a reunion tour to follow in 2004.
• July 14 – The Eurodance and alternative rock musician Lynda Thomas makes her last public appearance before suddenly leaving the music industry and public life.
• July 19–20 – The Splendour in the Grass music festival takes place in Byron Bay, Australia, headlined by Powderfinger and Coldplay.
• July 20 – An auto accident in Oregon, United States, kills three of the four members of The Exploding Hearts, ending the band after just one album.
• July 30 – The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who and others headline a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450 thousand spectators, it is the largest concert in Canadian history.
• August 19 – Jessica Simpson releases her third studio album In This Skin. The album would later go triple platinum in the U.S. and would produce the hit single "With You".
• August 28 – Madonna sparks media controversy by kissing popstars Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. The situation even ignited a quick war of words between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera over the kiss.

September–October

• September 15 – Billy Corgan announces that Zwan has broken up.
• September 16
• Ryan Malcolm wins the first season of Canadian Idol.
• David Bowie releases his twenty-third studio album Reality. The album would be Bowie's last for roughly a decade, with Bowie silently and gradually withdrawing into seclusion following an onstage heart attack the following year.
• September 22 – Max Cavalera & Gloria Cavalera fire Marcello D. Rapp causing Roy Mayorga & Mike Doling to leave the band Soulfly in protest.
• October – Indie/Rock band Conway wins the National "Battle of the Bands" Competition at the Fountain Pub in Tottenham, London, UK. The Norfolk, UK, band consists of Chris Burgoyne (vocals), Andrew Norman (lead guitar / vocals), Tristan McKelvey (guitar), Leon Chapman (bass) and Peter Rednall (drums).
• October 4 – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's The Rising Tour concludes after 120 shows over 14 months, with record-setting sales in U.S. stadiums during the summer and early autumn.
• October 15 – A two-week-long international conference, "Fuori tempo, dire, fare, sentire la musica oggi", opens in Genoa, Italy, bringing together performers, composers, scholars and administrators from classical, folk and popular music, with a keynote address by Charles Rosen. Featured participants include Nuria Schoenberg (daughter of Arnold Schoenberg and widow of Luigi Nono); musicologist James Harrison; opera conductor Roberto Abbado; violinist Ivry Gitlis; composers Salvatore Sciarrino, Lorenzo Ferrero and Andrea Liberovici; poet Edoardo Sanguineti; popular singer-songwriters Teresa De Sio, Gianna Nannini and Gino Paoli; rock and jazz artists Peppe Servalo and Peppe D'Argenzio of the Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel; and administrators Anna Cammarano (director of classical music at RAI Trade), Gennaro di Benedetto (superintendent of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa) and Joseph Hussek (director of the artistic programme at the Salzburg Festival).
• October 16 – Simon & Garfunkel begin their "Old Friends" U.S. reunion tour, twenty years after their 1983 world tour.
• October 20 – Britney Spears releases the first single, "Me Against the Music", featuring American singer-songwriter Madonna, from her upcoming album In the Zone, marketed as a comeback single in the US; it goes on to be an international success, reaching the top three in several countries.
• October 21 – Delta Goodrem wins 7 ARIA Awards and defeats Amiel's "Lovesong" for and a Gold ARIA for Single of the Year, Born to Try. ARIAs host Rove McManus announced that John Farnham will raise the very loud speakers to 1985/1986's "You're the Voice" after being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
• October 29 – A legal version of the Napster file sharing network relaunches as a pay service, offering song downloads for 99 cents apiece or $9.99 for unlimited listening.

November–December

• November 6 – Marco Aro vacates his vocalist position in The Haunted. The band rehires their first vocalist, Peter Dolving.
• November 14
• Band Pink Floyd reunites to perform at the funeral of their manager Steve O'Rourke.
• Byron Stroud is confirmed as an official member of Fear Factory.
• November 18
• Blink-182 release their fifth studio album blink-182. This album was regarded as a change of musical style for Blink-182 as the music has darkened and matured since their previous albums.
• Britney Spears releases In the Zone. She breaks her own record as the first female artist to have 3 albums in #1 to become the first female artist to have 4 albums in #1 consecutively.
• November 19 – Guy Sebastian becomes the first winner of Australian Idol, receiving a contract with BMG Australia. He subsequently records the studio album, Just As I Am. Shannon Noll was named the runner-up.
• November 20 – Michael Jackson is arrested on charges of child molestation. The singer faced similar charges in 1993 that were dropped after an out-of-court financial settlement was reached with the family of a boy. In light of the new accusations, the television network CBS chooses to pull the scheduled November 26 airing of a one-hour television special intended to promote Jackson's new greatest hits album, Number Ones.
• November 22 – The band Five Iron Frenzy plays its last show at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver.
• December 6
• Elvis Costello and Diana Krall are married in a private ceremony at Elton John's estate in England.
• P-Funk founder George Clinton is arrested and charged with drug possession in Tallahassee, Florida.
• December 8 – Ozzy Osbourne is rushed into emergency surgery after having a serious accident riding an all-terrain vehicle on the grounds of his English estate. Osbourne broke his collarbone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck.
• December 12 – Mick Jagger is knighted for services to music by the Prince of Wales (now Charles III) at Buckingham Palace.
• December 13-14 – The Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ-FM airs the 14th Annual of the Acoustic Christmas show with AFI, Blink-182, Brand New, Chevelle, The Distillers, Jane's Addiction, Jet, Korn, Linkin Park, The Offspring, P.O.D., Pennywise, Puddle of Mudd, Rancid, Staind, 311, Thrice and Trapt.
• December 30-31 – The New Year's Eve Falls Festival in Australia, traditionally held in Lorne, Victoria, holds events in both Lorne and Marion Bay, Tasmania, at the same time. The same artists perform at both events, alternating between the two venues each night.

Classical music

• Victoria Borisova-Ollas – The Kingdom of Silence
• Haflidi Hallgrímsson – Cello Concerto
• Wojciech Kilar – Symphony No. 3 ("September Symphony")
• Steve Reich – Cello Counterpoint
• Ned Rorem – Mallet Concerto.
• Kaija Saariaho – Quatre instants
• John Tavener – The Veil of the Temple
• John Williams
• Horn Concerto
• Soundings

Opera

• Deborah Drattell – Nicholas and Alexandra
• Philip Glass – The Sound of a Voice
• Osvaldo Golijov – Ainadamar
• Rachel Portman – The Little Prince
• Jörg Widmann – Das Gesicht im Spiegel

Bands formed

• See

Bands reformed

• The Stooges
• Edge of Sanity

Bands disbanded

• See

Albums released

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Release date unknown

• Bootlegged, Distorted, Remixed and Uploaded – Pitchshifter
• First Demo Tape – Minor Threat || EP
• Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You – Kid 606
• Live from the Gaiety – The Dubliners (live)
• Natural Wonder - Phoebe Snow
• The Sauce – Eddie Spaghetti
• Still Electric – Primitive Radio Gods
• Stories From Hollywood - Simon Dawes
• Strawberry Bubblegum – 10cc – Compilation
• To Madagascar and Back EP/DVD – Flickerstick
• Try Honesty / Living in the Shadows EP – Billy Talent
• Watching the Snow – Michael Franks (Japanese release)
• Worn Copy – Ariel Pink

Top 5 albums of Billboard year

1. 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin'
2. Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
3. Beyoncé – Dangerously in Love
4. Michael Jackson – Number Ones
5. Dixie Chicks – Home

Top 10 Selling Albums of the Year US

1. Get Rich or Die Tryin' – 50 Cent
2. Come Away with Me – Norah Jones
3. Stripped – Christina Aguilera
4. Number Ones – Michael Jackson
5. Meteora – Linkin Park
6. Dangerously in Love – Beyoncé
7. A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay
8. Fallen – Evanescence
9. In the Zone – Britney Spears
10. Let Go – Avril Lavigne

Popular songs

Jazz

Musical theater

• Avenue Q – Broadway production ran for 2534 performances (ranked 23rd on the list of all-time Broadway shows)
• Belles belles belles, based on songs by Claude François, with music by Claude François, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Carolin Petit and lyrics by Claude François and Daniel Moyne; premiered at Olympia in Paris on November 21
• Bounce – Chicago and Washington D. C. productions
• The Boy from Oz – Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 365 performances
• Caroline or Change, book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori, off-Broadway production
• Fame on 42nd Street – Broadway production opened at the Little Shubert Theatre on November 11 and ran for 264 performances
• The Full Monty – Melbourne production
• Jerry Springer – The Opera – London production
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – London revival
• Never Gonna Dance – Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 4 and ran for 84 performances
• Showtune, a Jerry Herman musical revue – off-Broadway production
• Taboo – Broadway production opened November 13 and ran for 103 performances
• Thoroughly Modern Millie – London production opened October 21, starring Amanda Holden, and ran for 8 months
• Tonight's The Night – London production
• Wicked – Broadway production opened at the George Gershwin Theatre on October 30, starring Joel Grey, and is still running as of 2023. It is the fourth-longest-running show in the history of Broadway.

Musical films

• ' (Academy Award-nominated short)
• The Adventure of Iron Pussy
• Brother Bear (animated feature)
• Camp
• The Cheetah Girls (Disney Channel Original Movie – the first musical film by Disney Channel, bringing in over 84 million viewers)
• '
• Freaky Friday
• From Justin to Kelly
• '
• The Jungle Book 2 (animated feature)
• Love Under the Sun
• A Mighty Wind
• Pas sur la bouche
• Pop Carn, starring Mohanlal and Simran Bagga
• School of Rock
• The Singing Detective
• '
• Vivir Intentando, starring the group Bandana

Births

• January 1 - Nieve Ella, English singer
• January 6 – MattyBRaps, American rapper
• January 10 – iayze, American rapper
• January 23 – Bishara, Syrian-Swedish singer
• January 24 – Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer-songwriter
• February 10 – Blanco, Italian singer and rapper
• February 20
• Olivia Rodrigo, American singer-songwriter, musician, activist and actress
• William Gao, English actor and musician (Wasia Project)
• March 1 - Keshav, tabla prodigy
• March 24 – Mae Stephens, British singer and songwriter
• March 25 – George Alice, Australian singer-songwriter
• March 26 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and songwriter
• March 28 – Pháo, Vietnamese rapper and producer
• April 8 – Sha EK, American rapper
• April 11 – Aksel Rykkvin, Norwegian singer
• April 20 – Kay Flock, American rapper
• April 30 – Mikhail Smirnov, Russian singer-songwriter and actor
• May 19 – JoJo Siwa, American singer dancer, actress, and YouTube personality
• June 1 - Jayda, Filipina singer
• June 5 - Midwxst, American rapper
• June 8 - 347aidan, Canadian rapper
• June 27 – Muraki Maito Raul, Japanese singer (Snow Man)
• July 1 – Tate McRae, Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and dancer
• July 4 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer
• July 9 – Savannah Clarke, Australian singer (Now United)
• August 17 – The Kid Laroi, Australian singer
• August 21 – Natalie Ho, Hong Kong singer (STRAYZ)
• September 1 – Yujin, South Korean singer (IVE)
• September 16 - Claude Kiambe, Congolese-born Dutch singer-songwriter
• September 18 – Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician
• September 26 - Jane Remover, American musical artist
• September 28 - Lauren Spencer-Smith, British-born Canadian singer and songwriter
• October 5 - Eden Golan, Russian-Israeli singer
• October 9 – Landon Barker, American singer and rapper son of Travis Barker
• October 21 – Azanti, Nigerian singer and songwriter
• October 28 – Beatrice Millie McCartney, daughter of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. The McCartneys fooled the press into publishing misleading details about the birth
• November 16 - Ana Castela, Brazilian singer and songwriter
• November 21 - Sohee, South Korean singer (Riize)
• November 29 - Yung Kayo, American rapper
• December 2 – SSGKobe, American rapper
• December 5 – Logan Robot Gladden, American drummer, singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer
• December 9 – Yuna, South Korean singer and dancer (Itzy)
• Unknown - Schafter, Polish rapper, singer, music producer, music video director and songwriter

Deaths

• January 1 – Giorgio Gaber (63), actor, singer-songwriter
• January 5
• Gonzalo Brenes (95), Panamanian composer, musicologist, folk-song collector, music educator, and politician
• Doreen Carwithen (80), composer
• Daphne Oram (77), electronic musician and compopser
• January 6 – Hirini Melbourne (53), New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet
• January 8 – Ron Goodwin (77), composer and conductor
• January 11 – Mickey Finn (55), bongo player and T.Rex sideman (liver failure)
• January 12 – Maurice Gibb (53), Bee Gees singer and bassist (intestinal complications)
• January 15 – Doris Fisher (87), singer-songwriter
• January 23 – Nell Carter (54), singer and actress (heart disease)
• February 1 – Mongo Santamaría (80), Latin jazz percussionist
• February 2
• Vincent "Randy" Chin (65), Jamaican record producer
• Lou Harrison (85), composer
• February 4 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist, 76
• February 11 – Moses Hogan (55), American pianist and composer
• February 16 – Rusty Magee (47), American actor and composer
• February 19 – Johnny Paycheck (64), country singer
• February 20 – Ty Longley (31), guitarist of Great White (fire accident)
• February 23 – Howie Epstein (47), bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• February 26 – Othar Turner (95), fife player
• March 3
• Hank Ballard (75), R&B singer (throat cancer)
• Malcolm Williamson (71), Australian composer, Master of the Queen's Music
• March 4 – Celly Campello (60), Brazilian singer-songwriter and actress (breast cancer)
• March 8 – Adam Faith (62), singer, actor (heart attack)
• April 1 – Leslie Cheung (46), actor, musician (suicide)
• April 2 – Edwin Starr (61), soul singer (heart attack)
• April 6 – Babatunde Olatunji (75), drummer (diabetes)
• April 10 – Little Eva (59), singer (cervical cancer)
• April 13 – Alex Baroni (35), singer (motorbike accident)
• April 17 – Earl King (69), blues musician
• April 19 – Conrad Leonard (104), composer and pianist
• April 20 – Teddy Edwards (78), jazz saxophonist
• April 21 – Nina Simone (70), singer and pianist
• April 22 – Felice Bryant (77), Hall of Fame songwriter
• May 4 – Arthur Oldham (76), composer and choirmaster
• May 11 – Noel Redding (57), bassist of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (cirrhosis)
• May 15 – June Carter Cash (73), musician and singer
• May 19 – Ivo Žídek (76), operatic tenor
• May 25 – Jeremy Ward (27), sound technician and guitarist
• May 27 – Luciano Berio (77), composer
• May 30 – Mickie Most (64), record producer (mesothelioma)
• June 6 – Dave Rowberry (63), keyboardist (The Animals) (ulcer haemorrhage)
• June 17 – Marcella Pobbé (81), operatic soprano
• July 1 – Herbie Mann (73), jazz flautist (prostate cancer)
• July 3 – Skip Scarborough (58), songwriter
• July 4
• André Claveau (87), singer
• Barry White (58), singer and record producer (renal failure)
• July 5 – Bebu Silvetti (59), pianist, composer, arranger and record producer (respiratory failure)
• July 6
• Skip Battin (69), singer-songwriter and bassist
• Buddy Ebsen (95), actor and singer
• July 7 – Izhak Graziani (79), conductor
• July 12 – Benny Carter (95), jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger and bandleader (bronchitis)
• July 13 – Compay Segundo (95), Cuban guitarist, singer and composer
• July 16 – Celia Cruz (77), salsa singer (brain tumor)
• July 17 – Rosalyn Tureck (89), pianist
• July 25 – Erik Braunn (52), guitarist Iron Butterfly (heart attack)
• July 26 – Richard Wayne Dirksen (81), organist and choirmaster
• July 27 – Bob Hope (100), actor, comedian and singer
• July 30 – Sam Philips (80), producer and founder of Sun Records
• August 2 – Don Estelle (70), actor and singer
• August 5 – Tite Curet Alonso (77), songwriter (heart attack)
• August 6 – Julius Baker (87), flautist
• August 9 – Gregory Hines (58), actor, singer and dancer (liver cancer)
• August 10 – Carmita Jiménez, singer
• August 13 – Ed Townsend (74), singer-songwriter
• August 15 – Robert Moulson (70), operatic tenor
• August 18 – Tony Jackson (55), singer and bass player (The Searchers)
• August 21 – Wesley Willis (40), novelty musician
• August 23 – Imperio Argentina (96), singer and actress
• September 4
• Lola Bobesco (82), violinist
• Susan Chilcott (40), operatic soprano (breast cancer)
• Tibor Varga (82), violinist and conductor
• September 5 – Gisele MacKenzie (76), singer
• September 7 – Warren Zevon (56), rock and roll singer (mesothelioma)
• September 12 – Johnny Cash (71), country and rock 'n roll singer
• September 14 – John Serry, Sr. (88) concert accordionist, organist, composer, arranger
• September 19 – Slim Dusty (76), country singer
• September 25 – Matthew Jay (24), English singer-songwriter
• September 26 – Robert Palmer (54), singer (heart attack)
• September 27 – Donald O'Connor (78), actor, singer and dancer (congestive heart failure)
• September 30 – Ronnie Dawson (64), rockabilly singer and guitarist
• October 5 – Denis Quilley (75), actor and singer (liver cancer)
• October 10 – Eugene Istomin (77), pianist (liver cancer)
• October 21 – Elliott Smith (34), singer-songwriter
• October 22 – Gabriella Gatti (95), operatic soprano
• October 23 – Tony Capstick (59), comedian, actor and musician
• October 24 – Rosie Nix Adams (45), singer-songwriter
• October 25 – Robert Strassburg (88), composer, educator, musicologist
• October 29 – Franco Corelli (82), operatic tenor
• October 30 – Franco Bonisolli (65), operatic tenor
• November 5 – Bobby Hatfield (63), singer (The Righteous Brothers)
• November 9 – Buddy Arnold (77), jazz saxophonist
• November 12 – Tony Thompson (48), drummer of Chic (kidney cancer)
• November 14 – Gene Anthony Ray (41), actor and dancer (complications of a stroke)
• November 15
• Dorothy Loudon (70), actress and singer
• Speedy West (79), American guitarist and producer (b. 1924)
• November 17
• Arthur Conley (57), soul singer (intestinal cancer)
• Don Gibson (75), country musician
• Peter Lindroos (59), Finnish operatic tenor (car accident)
• November 18 – Michael Kamen (55), composer, conductor and musician (heart attack)
• November 19 – Greg Ridley (56), English bassist (Humble Pie)
• November 26 – Soulja Slim (26), rapper (homicide)
• November 28 – Thekra, Tunisian singer (murdered by her husband)
• December 8 – Rubén González (84), pianist
• December 16 – Gary Stewart (59), country singer (suicide)
• December 22 – Dave Dudley (75), country singer (heart attack)
• December 27 – Vestal Goodman (74), gospel singer (influenza complications)
• December 30 – Anita Mui (40), Hong Kong pop singer
• December 31 – Sieglinde Wagner (82), operatic contralto

Awards

The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Police, The Righteous Brothers

Miscellaneous

• Leonard Cohen is made a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour.

ARIA Music Awards

• ARIA Music Awards of 2003

Country Music Association Awards

• 2003 Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 2003
• Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 2003

Mercury Music Prize

• Boy in da Corner – Dizzee Rascal

Charts

Triple J Hottest 100

• Triple J Hottest 100, 2003

References