Happy Friday,

ROSTR announces venues at NIVA, the NMPA inks new AI licensing deals & Selena gets caught in the mix.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

ANOTR

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Olivia Rodrigo, ANOTR, Bebe Rexha, Kodak Black, Koe Wetzel, Sublime, Blxst, Baauer, Infinity Song, Emei, Spacey Jane…

♪ Notable singles from BTS, Tove Lo & Stromae, Slow Pulp, The Kid LAROI & Kehlani, Carlita & SOFI TUKKER, Interpol, Cody Johnson, Rose Gray, Ayra Starr…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Olivia Rodrigo celebrates a ‘stupid song’ with Dan Nigro on new album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.

#2 - Dutch producers ANOTR drop their latest project Withness (self-released), with ‘It’s So Nice (ft. 3DDY)’ landing on NMF.

#5 - BTS release new track ‘Come Over’ as part of their annual fan festival Festa.

⭐ #33 - Birmingham tipped duo DAMEDAME* share their fourth single ‘FIRE BURNIN’ THRU THE RAIN.’

#40 - Jack White has announced his new album, Frozen Charlotte, alongside the release of its new single, ‘Dollar Bill.’

#63 - it’s murph & Khalid drop their anticipated ‘Here With Me Now’ collab after the electronic artist teased it at Red Rocks earlier this spring.

#86 - Rock legends blink-182 celebrate their Take Off Your Pants And Jacket 25th anniversary with ‘Don’t Tell Me It’s Over.’

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Tierra Whack

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Tierra Whack, Pond, Key Glock, YG, Cochise, Jon Batiste, Cash Cobain, Warning, Myles Smith, Flyana Boss & PJ Morton all have new projects expected to come out next week.

The Warning, Jack White, Nick Hakim, Mal Not Bad, Roger Taylor, Bonobo, Ty Segall, L’Rain & Mayday Parade all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

ROSTR unveiled plans to simplify venue discovery, launched in partnership with NIVA.

NMPA signed AI licensing deals with Udio and Klay. Google says any music that is uploaded to YouTube is allowed to be used for AI training in a move to dismiss artists’ Lyria 3 AI lawsuit. The American Federation of Musicians sued UMG and WMG over licensed recordings to Suno and Udio without paying or giving credit to musicians who played on the tracks. Spotify is interested in licensing the rights to show live video of music festivals. UMG confirmed a €1 billion bond sale. CISAC members signed a declaration to protect human creativity. UMPG unveiled a new brand identity. Global Music Rights sued programming service Music Choice. The Donna Summer estate struck a deal with Primary Wave including her catalog, name, image and likeness rights. Teyana Taylor was named icon of the year for the 2026 BET Awards. Chris Brown settled in a songwriter’s lawsuit against him. Geese & Oklou led the way at the 2026 Libera Awards.

35 year-old GRAMMY winning songwriter Talay Riley died in a stabbing in London. Grand Ole Opry announcer and WSM radio personality Bill Cody passed away at 67.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• WMG announces acquisition of Sureel AI

• Amuse expands label services via TEN partnership and new insights platform

• The Other Songs and The BRIT School raise £400K for music education

• Seeker Music Group partners with Virgin Music for global distribution

• Indie labels invest £250K in curated music streaming platform Cantilever

• Modern Sky launches influential Chinese brand M_DSK in the UK

• UMG Greater China signs catalog acquisition deal with Carrier Creative

• Merlin and Jamen Capital acquire Curve Royalty Systems from Universal

• 10K Projects forms joint venture with Runway Records

• Concord enters strategic partnership with Lito Music

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

This is how it’s done, Selena

Actually hilarious lol

🤣

Best Doja Cat tweet line from this week

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ hey elon if u see this please put the audio post feature back on here (0%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Thanks, u frog build looking bitch (43%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Barrel chested ewok u look like u eat sand (21%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Thanks, you hairless no-neck havin, chimpanzee (7%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Face look like it was drawn from memory (29%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Charli xcx, Phoebe Bridgers, Malcolm Todd, Bonobo, Masego

ROSTR launched ROSTR Venues, a searchable venue directory it describes as the largest and fastest in the world, and partnered with NIVA to give certified independent venues a "Live Independent" filter and seal. It rolls out in Q2 across all subscription tiers.

Charli xcx announced a 2026 North American "music, fashion & film" arena tour, opening September 11 in Philadelphia with presale on June 12. Phoebe Bridgers sent "The Lost Tour" to general onsale, with the arena run starting September 15 in Indianapolis.

AEG Presents will build a 4,000-capacity venue in Austin's River Park development. It's one of roughly 25 mid-sized (2K-7K-cap) venues AEG and Live Nation are adding across North America.

NIVA's Fix the Tix coalition launched a Fan Action Center after identifying 6,000 deceptive ticketing URLs, and has asked state attorneys general and resale sites including StubHub and Viagogo to shut down the affiliated accounts.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• iHeartRadio Music Festival revealed its Las Vegas lineup for September 19-20, with BTS, Cardi B, Muse, Snoop Dogg, Kenny Chesney, Lainey Wilson, Benson Boone & Weezer

• Bonnaroo (Skrillex, The Strokes, RÜFÜS DU SOL), Download (Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses, Linkin Park) and Chicago's Summer Smash (Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert) all take place this weekend

❌ Cancellations:

• Colter Wall cancelled his remaining 2026 dates and is taking an "indefinite hiatus from live music," citing his mental health

• The Pussycat Dolls scrapped the North American leg of their PCD Forever reunion tour, keeping only a WeHo Pride set

Florida Georgia Line, Carly Pearce, UPSAHL

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Florida Georgia Line has signed with The Core Entertainment for management, with Kevin ‘Chief’ Zaruk and Simon Tikhman at the helm, and with CAA for booking, the dual announcement coming days after the duo's surprise reunion performance at Nashville's Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest. Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley had been on hiatus since 2022; they join a Core roster that includes Dan + Shay, Bailey Zimmerman, and Nickelback.

BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville has signed GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM award-winner Carly Pearce. The Grand Ole Opry member and Kentucky Music Hall of Famer heads into her fifth studio album fresh off the acclaimed Riley Green duet 'If I Don't Leave I'm Gonna Stay' and a run that included headlining the Royal Albert Hall; her catalog has surpassed 4B streams.

London rapper Ledbyher has signed with PULSE Music Group, bringing one of the NME 100's class of 2026 to the publishing and sync specialist. The 22-year-old, Rachel Diack, of Indonesian and Scottish heritage, released debut mixtape The Elephant this year, with standout single 'Dirty Rumours' co-produced by Clams Casino, Tony Seltzer, and Otxhello.

New York indie veterans Interpol have signed to Partisan Records for their eighth studio album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton, due August 28 - their first release since 2022's The Other Side of Make-Believe. Produced by Andrew Wyatt (Rosalía, Lorde) and mixed by David Fridmann (MGMT, Sleater-Kinney), the record arrives with two early tracks already out: 'Wings On Fire' and 'See Out Loud.' They join a Partisan roster that includes IDLES, PJ Harvey, Geese, and Laura Marling.

Singer-songwriter UPSAHL has found herself new management at Mutual Friends (Quinn XCII, Jeremy Zucker) with Jesse Coren & Rachel Rinsema signing on. Originally breaking out in 2020 for her track ‘Drugs,’ the new addition to the roster has also penned hits for artists like Dua Lipa, aespa & Madison Beer.

Southern California pop artist Chase Icon has signed with Rebellion Records, following the March 2025 release of her debut album Icon Baby. Produced with underground collaborators including umru, Icon recently wrapped a European headline run ahead of a US leg launching this month.

+160 signings on ROSTR this week

Julian Franzoni, Caroline Wright, Pedro Winter

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Legends Global has appointed Caroline Wright as Executive Vice President, North American Venues, where she'll oversee the company's network of arenas, stadiums, theaters and convention centers across the region. Wright most recently held a senior operations role at Tepper Sports & Entertainment, overseeing Bank of America Stadium, and previously spent nearly three decades at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in venue operations leadership.

Pedro Winter joins Because Music as Global Head of Creation and co-Managing Director of its French division. The Ed Banger founder and former Daft Punk manager extends a 20-year partnership between the two labels, with both aiming to develop artists on a bigger global scale.

Warner Chappell made two regional appointments. Soraib el Jelali becomes Head of A&R for Benelux, moving from Atlantic Records Benelux to lead talent discovery from Amsterdam, while Julian Franzoni was promoted to General Manager for Argentina and Uruguay after a decade in A&R, where he signed and developed stars like Duki, Trueno, and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso.

Youssou N'Dour has been named Vice-President of CISAC, the global creators' rights organization, joining a leadership team led by ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus. The appointment lands as CISAC marks its 100th anniversary and pushes harder on protecting creators from AI-driven disruption.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• Cassie Petty has been promoted to Vice President of TKO Artist Management, where she's worked since 2002 with clients including Toby Keith, Clay Walker, Jamey Johnson and Jackson Dean.

• Triple 8 Management has promoted Allison Bostrom to Senior Vice President of Marketing after nearly a decade of growth within the team.

• Provident Entertainment has promoted Josie Hardin to Director, Digital Strategy and Reagan Hughes to Director, Marketing. Hardin oversees digital strategy for artists including Brandon Lake and Zach Williams, while Hughes leads marketing for a roster including Seph Schlueter and KB.

• Girlilla Marketing has promoted Lindsey Feinstein and Conley Sweeney to Senior Account Director, elevated Gigi Morrison to Creative Director, and hired Esther Kuperus as Creative Coordinator.

• HEY NOW Records has expanded its team with Danny Bess as SVP of Finance & Operations, Rachel Brown as Manager of Operations, and Troy Scott as Vice President of Commerce & Consumer Products.

• BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville has named Cheyana Weekley as Head of Marketing, reporting to EVP Recorded Music JoJamie Hahr, where she will lead marketing efforts across the label's roster.

• Lauren Tingle has been named Director of Marketing & Communications at IEBA, bringing nearly two decades of experience from iHeartRadio, CMT, and Apple Music.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Vice President, Audience Intelligence and Artist Tools at Universal Music Group in Santa Monica, CA

• Senior Manager / Director, Digital Marketing at Nice Life in Los Angeles, CA

• A&R/ Talent Manager (Urban) at Legion in Los Angeles, CA

• Pricing Manager at Live Nation Concerts in United States, remote

• Promoter at Liift in Manchester, England, UK

↗ Find these and 380+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

UMG makes money moves, M.I.A. sues Kid Cudi & Doja gets catty with Elon.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Malcolm Todd

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Skrillex, Prospa, Vince Staples, Niall Horan, The Red Clay Strays, Malcolm Todd, Luh Tyler, Imani Imani, GRiZ, Grace Enger…

♪ Notable singles from Taylor Swift, ROLE MODEL, Steve Lacy, Madonna, Shaboozey, Alex Warren, Ryan Beatty, Maren Morris, Tinashe, Kelela, Death Cab for Cutie…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#2 - ROLE MODEL is back with lead single ‘High Hopes 3000’ from upcoming album Chuck Timely & The Hourglass.

#5 - Malcolm Todd unveils his latest project Do That Again via Columbia as ‘Difficult Love’ lands on NMF.

#6 - Shaboozey drops ‘Cowgirl,’ interpolating Old Crow Medicine Show’s hit ‘Wagon Wheel.’ The music video stars Summer House star Ciara Miller as the outlaw Cherie Lee.

#13 - After a three-year hiatus, Ryan Beatty has returned with a ‘Secret Language,’ alongside an album coming later this month.

#45 - OVO’s Naomi Sharon links with frequent collaborators Jordan Ullman (of Majid Jordan), Beau Nox & Alex Lustig for ‘Weak.’

#56 - Ellie Goulding drops ‘Black Prada Dress’ after announcing her upcoming 6th studio album I Know Too Much, coming September 4th.

⭐ #98 - Country newcomer Tyce Delk releases ‘Woulda Been It’ ahead of his new EP later this month.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Olivia Rodrigo

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Olivia Rodrigo, Bebe Rexha, Fruit Bats, Jessie Reyez, Keith Urban, Kelsey Lu, Sublime, Tori Kelly, Yes & YHWH Nailgun all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charli xcx, Weezer, Alex Warren, Wyatt Flores, Ellie Goulding, Jamie Lenman, Steve Lacy, Elizabeth Cook, Sara Bareilles, Emma Ruth Rundle & Syd all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

UMG officially rejected Pershing’s $64B takeover bid; UMG then repurchased $290M of stock. Suno raised $400M against a $5.4B valuation. Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO. Taylor Swift joined the Toy Story family, releasing an original song today along with the upcoming 5th film installment. Sabrina Carpenter got a restraining order against an alleged stalker. Garth Brooks is considering selling his music catalog, looking for $2B. The Lead Belly estate filed a copyright infringement suit against publishers. M.I.A. sued Kid Cudi for allegedly directing Live Nation to fire her from his recent tour, costing her a $2.8M performance guarantee. Nelly was awarded $67.5K in attorney fees to be paid by the lawyer who filed his ex-bandmate’s suit against him. A lawsuit against Travis Scott, SZA and Future over their track ‘Telekinesis’ was dropped. A U.S. appeals court overturned a 2024 ruling that allowed 2 Live Crew to reclaim ownership of albums they recorded in the 1980s.

GRAMMY winner Peabo Bryson passed away at 75.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Tixel, Opendate partner on verified ticket resale for US independent venues

• Live Nation partners with Argentine promoter Dale Play Live

• Laylo launches AI agent to boost event ticket sales

• Concord Music Publishing ANZ acquires stake in Julian Hamilton’s catalog

• Yannick Bolloré’s Havas launches record label, VOLYUM

• Chrysalis co-founder Chris Wright launches Right Tracks

• Live Nation expands its presence in Greece via new partnership

• Former UMG, Sphere execs launch Longview Communications

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

Face look like it was drawn from memory

Twitter tweet

No comment

Instagram post

Idek anymore but this is good?

Twitter tweet

What's your favorite Sulinna Ong photoshoot?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ Billboard's Spotify Editorial spread (33%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ U2 management move press photo/headshot (17%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Halloween 2025 (22%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Halloween 2023 (17%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ PAPER Mag (2023, polaroid) (11%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Bryson Tiller, Sara Bareilles, Knocked Loose/Denzel Curry, Violet Grohl, Julia Jacklin, Gary Clark Jr., Massive Attack

Continuing to expand its worldwide presence, Live Nation acquired a majority stake in Argentina's biggest promoter Dale Play Live.

JAY-Z stepped out for his first headlining performance of 2026 at Roots Picnic last weekend. He has sold out 3 consecutive shows at Yankee Stadium slated for July, as well.

Diljit Dosanjh will be the first Indian artist to headline Wembley Stadium. The Punjabi singer will play the 90K capacity venue this September.

A temporary 7K capacity venue called Ironworks is set to be built in London near O2 Arena with 6 shows confirmed for 2026.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Pitchfork Music Festival Paris unveiled its first phase of artists with Iceage, Bassvictim, Bolis Pupil & more set to take the stage this November

• Coca-Cola Flow Fest's headliners will be Kali Uchis, Anuel AA, Tito Double P & Ozuna

❌ Cancellations:

• While Kanye West played to a crowd of 118K in Istanbul last weekend, both his and Travis Scott's Italy concerts have been cancelled; Scott's performance was cut due to safety concerns with West's cancellation caused by his antisemitic remarks, which has contributed to an ongoing ban in other European countries

• Frankie Valli cancelled his remaining 2026 tour dates to focus on his health; the 92 year-old apologized on Instagram and expressed his interest in playing again soon

Barry Can’t Swim, Ana Mena, Chloé Caillet

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

One of electronic music's most ascendant live acts has a new label home as Scottish DJ and producer Barry Can't Swim (Joshua Spence Mainnie) has moved from Ninja Tune to Atlantic Records. His debut album When Will We Land? was nominated for a 2024 Mercury Prize and has now commenced his major label campaign with ‘Return To Bhibo’ coming out last week.

Singer/actress Ana Mena, Spain and Italy's most-streamed female artist, has signed a management deal with WK Entertainment, with founder and CEO Walter Kolm overseeing her touring, brand partnerships, and international expansion. Still signed to Sony Music Spain since her 2016 debut, Mena recently became the first female Latin artist to headline a major music festival in Asia, topping the bill at Tokyo's A-Nation Festival.

Ninja Tune did make a move of their own though and has signed French-born DJ/electronic artist Chloé Caillet, coming on the heels of a big year with appearances at Coachella, the Oscars Vanity Fair Party, and the Met Gala. The new addition recently had track 'The One,' with Jocelyn Brown and Luke Alessi, hit #1 on Beatport plus new single 'Lemme Dance,' featuring Ed Banger affiliate Myd just dropping.

pgLang, the creative company of Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, has signed Imani Imani and surprise-released her debut album Papercut this week. The R&B artist first surfaced as credited on Lamar’s 'I Feel Something' at the Chanel Spring-Summer Haute Couture show; Papercut features collaborators James Fauntleroy and Sam Dew across its 11 tracks.

Producer Zach Nahome has signed with Luke Mitzman of 100 Management and Laura Singer of The Crypt, just a few months after locking in a publishing deal with UMPG and NWS. He’s the executive producer of Olivia Dean’s chart-topping and critically acclaimed sophomore album The Art of Loving, having produced, written, or co-written the majority of the album’s tracks including #1 ‘Man I Need.’

+175 signings on ROSTR this week

Zooil Yang, Sunita Kaur, Jean-Sebastien Permal

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Sunita Kaur is joining Universal Music Publishing Group as President, Asia, reporting to Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson. Based in Singapore, she'll oversee the company's creative and business operations across the region. Kaur previously served as SVP, Asia Pacific at Twitch and held senior roles at Spotify, and has spent the past three years consulting across the industry.

Jean-Sebastien Permal leaves Sony after nine-plus years to join Warner Music as SVP of A&R, EMEA and Central Europe. A new role putting him over frontline A&R across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. His credits include Amelie Lens, Dystinct, and Purple Disco Machine, and he founded electronic imprint Noted Records.

Jeff Stempeck joins Stem as VP of A&R and Label Partnerships. He spent three years at TikTok's SoundOn and previously held roles at The Orchard and Spotify.

Zooil Yang becomes President of HYBE's superfan platform Weverse, as Joon Choi steps down. He comes from AXZ, a Kakao-spun platform company recently acquired by AI startup Upstage.

Other notable moves...

• Greg Prata is promoted to CFO at Sony Music Publishing, stepping up from a longstanding role within the company's finance team.

• BMI promotes John Ellwood to VP of Creative, Deirdre Chadwick to Asst. VP of Creative, Classical & Jazz, Jeff Gilligan to Asst. VP and Creative Director, and Jodie Thomas to Asst. VP of Corporate & Media Relations.

• Christian Folden Lund is named CEO of Nordic live company All Things Live, coming from the chair role at the Roskilde Festival Foundation.

• Alison Junker and Chris Allen are both promoted to VP of Artist & Label Relations at Stem, where Junker will cover country and Americana and Allen takes rock and alternative.

• Emma Robinson is promoted to VP of Partnerships at Merlin, where she's been since 2018, overseeing relationships across DSPs, social platforms, and AI-driven services.

• Grace Watson steps up to VP of Commercial Partnerships & Digital at Black River Entertainment, building on three years with the Nashville-based independent label.

• Richa Goswami joins the Pophouse Entertainment Board of Directors, bringing 25+ years of brand-building experience across HSBC, Fidelity International, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.

• Melanie Cameron, formerly of PPL, joins Sound Royalties as Regional Dir. of Business Development for the UK, as the music financing company pushes further into the international market.

• Jeremy Gruber joins Blue Note Entertainment Group as Dir. of Marketing at the newly opened Blue Note LA, coming over from creative agency Friends at Work.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Senior Director, Tax Reporting & Compliance at Warner Music Group in New York, NY

• Sr. Director Finance & Strategy at Sixthman in Atlanta, GA

• Director, A&R at Electric Feel Entertainment in Miami, FL

• Director, Sales Marketing (Brand Partnerships) at Sofar Sounds in New York, NY

• Sr. Manager, Business & Legal Affairs at BMG in Nashville, TN

↗ Find these and 335+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

Ari’s back (as herself), Sulinna makes a move to U2, Gracie assembles the indie-pop Avengers for her tour & Miley gets her star ⭐️

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Ravyn Lenae

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Board of Canada, Latto, Kim Petras, Dexter and the Moonrocks, Paul McCartney, Kurt Vile, Iceage, ear, Jay Wheeler, Freya Skye…

♪ Notable singles from Ariana Grande, Ravyn Lenae, Baby J, Blood Orange, Skrillex, Barry Can’t Swim, Cara Delevingne, Quadeca, Keo, Jungle, Julia Wolf, 070 Shake…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - It’s going to be a hot girl summer (9/10 top 10 this week feature a female artist). Ariana (Grande) is back with ‘hate that i made you love me.’

#2 - Ravyn Lenae drops in with ‘Handle,’ the lead single for her upcoming album Blue Island, which she announced this week.

#15 - Boards of Canada return with ‘You Retreat in Time and Space,’ taken from their new album Inferno, released worldwide today.

#23 - Skrillex teams up with Randomer, Blawan and MC Dricka for new single ‘Thistle,’ out today.

#44 - Barry Can’t Swim, now teaming up with Atlantic Records, debuts with the new label on ‘Return To Bhibo.’

#49 - Actor, artist & new Warner Records signee Cara Delevingne shares her major label debut with double release ‘Out of my Head’ & ‘I Forgot.’

#53 - Quadeca continues to push genre boundaries with his first song of 2026 ‘Dark Magic,’ fresh off his orchestral studio project Vanisher, Horizon Scraper.

#73 - Days after taking over Bowery Ballroom, Greta Van Fleet mark their return with ‘Play Your Games,’ their first release in nearly three years.

⭐ #85 - London-based rock outfit Keo release their first track of the year ‘That’s Me.’

#98 - Santa Anna’s latest southern pop fling Alana Springsteen releases her first album with the label — I HOPE THIS HELPS — focus track ‘same God’ sneaks into the top 100 new songs of the week, according to Spotify editors.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

ROLE MODEL

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Lizzo, Vince Staples, Modest Mouse, Niall Horan, Malcolm Todd, Jalen Ngonda, Evanescence, Death Cab for Cutie, horsegiirL, Fitz and the Tantrums, DJ Seinfeld, zzzahara, Barry Manilow, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Bangalter, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jo Dee Messina, Fink, Widowspeak, Poppy Ackroyd, Deer Tick, Of Montreal, Bedouine, Hammok, Converge, Sparklmami, Above & Beyond all have new projects expected to come out next week.

ROLE MODEL, Ravyn Lenae, Syd, Dan Auerbach, Ezra Collective, The Durutti Column, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, Cornelius, Wild Pink, Francisca Valenzuela, Becky Hill, The Cramps, David Nail all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

ROSTR partnered with the International Festival Forum (IFF) to become the official technology and media partner of IFF LA.

UMG’s largest shareholder, the Bolloré Group, urged the label to reject Bill Ackman’s $64B takeover proposal. Live Nation challenged the guilty verdict in the recent antitrust case. Harbourview acquired Stefflon Don’s pre-2024 catalog. Taylor Swift asked the court to dismiss a trademark infringement case brought against her by a Las Vegas Performer. BTS won Artist of the Year, KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year, and sombr won 3 awards at the AMAs. Miley Cyrus received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Last weekend, a Facebook page titled “R.I.P. Barry Gibb” garnered 1M likes, while the Bee Gees star is still very much alive. Cardi B shut down rumors that she is selling her Birkin bags on Poshmark. Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty is facing a lawsuit from customers over tariff surcharges. ROSTR unveiled a set of new features on artist profiles, including play counts & song credits.

Jazz Saxophonist Sonny Rollins passed away at 95.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• The Black Label lands $80M investment led by Tencent Music and Krafton

• YouTube will automatically label AI videos with new detection software

• Qobuz surpasses 1M active monthly users

• Warner Music, GZ Media pilot recycled vinyl testing

• Udio unveils details of its AI music app, Starstruck

• Ticketmaster expands into the Philippine market

• Universal Music Group and TikTok strike new global licensing deal

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

This diva 💅

(we love her)

Scientologist-owned horrid clout danger bar says whattt

Nothing says “we can all see it with our own eyes” quite like an AI-generated image.

Who is her publicist??? Send me their info.

Stayin Alive!

Favorite (or least favorite) music biz logo trend

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The move away from minimalism (temp Spot disco logo) (9%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Black + white management company logos (27%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 No logo (deterministic) (27%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ When it's not optimized for circle cropping (janky) (18%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ The less you care the more $ you make (18%)

Portola 2026

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Gracie Abrams, Kehlani, The Chicks, Whethan, Arcángel, Asake, Dylan Gossett

Gracie Abrams announced an expansive 64-date tour across Europe and North America. She will bring a slew of talented openers including The Japanese House, Grace Ives, Rachel Chinouriri, Del Water Gap, Jensen McRae, Charlotte Lawrence, Holly Humberstone, Bella Kay, Samia & Jake Minch.

Dom Dolla will play his first Melbourne stadium show this September to kick off the AFL Grand Final long weekend.

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, Imagine Dragons will join Lewis Capaldi & Zara Larsson as headliners for the F1 Grand Prix in December.

Catch ROSTR at NIVA '26 next month including an exciting announcement from our CEO/Co-founder Mark Williamson 👀 - passes still available here.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Portola unveiled its 5th edition lineup for this September in SF with headliners including Robyn, Dog Blood (Skrillex & Boys Noize), Swedish House Mafia, and Zara Larsson

• Noah Kahan has tapped Hayley Williams, Mt. Joy & other friends for his Out Of The Blue Festival in Cancún next January

• Chicago’s Riot Fest will be headlined by Alanis Morissette, Morrissey & Tool

• Tom Morello organized a new festival Power to the People, with headlining performances from Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews & Bruce Springsteen

• Levitation will feature performances from Bikini Kill, Smerz, Molchat Doma & more

Jay Wheeler, Galantis, Ella Mai

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Jay Wheeler has joined Kirk Taboada, Nigel Meiojas, Carlos Abreu, Ashley Ramos & Maca Litman’s roster at UTA for worldwide representation spanning live touring, brand partnerships, and filmed entertainment. The Latin artist’s breakout hit ‘La Curiosidad’ has surpassed 1.4B Spotify streams and is recently coming off a third Latin GRAMMY nomination for ‘Roma.’

Counter Records, the Ninja Tune imprint, has partnered up with Galantis, the project of Swedish producer Christian Karlsson, in a move Karlsson describes as his first career step outside the major label world. The partnership opens under a fresh creative alias, Galantis & The Devil's Tax Return, with debut single 'Stay Alive' arriving this week; the Galantis catalog has crossed 11B streams worldwide.

R&B artist Ella Mai has signed with Lauren Marker & De’Mont Callender of THE·TEAM for touring worldwide. The British singer - whose 'Boo'd Up' took Best R&B Song at the 2019 GRAMMYs - heads into a headline Do You Still Love Me? North American and European tour this summer with special guests Ama & Girlfriend.

Country veteran Jo Dee Messina has added Cameo Carlson of mtheory for management and Kylen Sharpe of CAA for booking to her team. The dual move arrives ahead of Bridges, her first new album in over a decade, due next month alongside a headlining tour.

Tel Aviv-born artist Noga Erez has landed at ACTIVIST with Bernie Cahill, Alex Deutsch, Matt Maher & Chris Ruff joining existing co-managers Asaf Gover (Booktook) & Krista Schmidt (Art In Progress). The musician, who performed at Coachella this year, will also unveil her feature documentary, Noga, at next month’s Tribeca Festival.

+180 signings on ROSTR this week

Julie Swidler, Frank Rogers, Sulinna Ong

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Julie Swidler is set to exit Sony Music after 18 Years, where she served as EVP of Business Affairs and General Counsel since 2008. The first woman to receive the Grammy Foundation's Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award, she's heading out at the end of June to start an advisory practice.

Sulinna Ong is departing Spotify to become Management Partner for U2 at Full Stop Management, joining Irving and Jeffrey Azoff. She previously held senior roles at Sony Music, Live Nation, and Deezer.

Frank Rogers steps up from Chief Creative Officer to CEO at Spirit Music. A producer with 46 No. 1 singles, he's been with Spirit Music Nashville since 2019 and will continue as President of Fluid Music Revolution.

Anna Kolander makes Partner at Activist Artists Management after 13 years with the company, having started as an assistant in 2013. She continues as day-to-day manager for The Lumineers.

Taz Sharp (ex-Levellr) joins Laylo as Dir. of Artists & Events, EMEA, leading the platform's UK/Europe expansion.

Other notable moves…

• Jay Moore named Chief Investment Officer at Too Lost, coming from VP, Head of Investments at Position Music; previously Chief Investment Officer at Ditto Music and earlier at Kobalt/AWAL.

• Ollie Fitzgerald (ex-COOL Music) joins WME as Executive, Music for Visual Media, based in London, reporting to Bradley Rainey.

• Todd Stepp returns to Provident Entertainment as SVP of marketing, digital, creative, and label services; previously VP there before a stint as SVP of Global Marketing at TPR.

• Basile Beaugendre moves up to Regional Head of TuneCore, Europe after running TuneCore France since 2019, while Cyrus Chen takes Regional Head of TuneCore, APAC following five years leading the Southeast Asia operation. Both report to CBO Brian Miller.

• Katie West named Managing Director at ARC Business Management, coming from Financial Controller at Red Light Management's London office.

• Ed Watson (ex-BBC Radio 1) joins Blackstar as Artist Strategy Dir., based in New York.

• Robbie Powell appointed GM of the British Airways ARC, AEG Presents UK's new 3,800-cap London venue opening June 16.

• Haily Harris joins Combustion Music as Creative Manager, coming from Wrensong Entertainment and Jody Williams Songs.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, Finance (North America) at Universal Music Group in Los Angeles, CA

• Art Director at Roc Nation in New York, NY

• Music Marketer at A24 in New York, NY

• Senior Day-to-Day Manager at SUPERNATURE in London, England, UK

• Digital Marketing Manager at Noise New Media in Nashville, TN

↗ Find these and 350+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

Spotify rolls out Reserved, all-women All Things Go, TikTokers hiring hitmen & Harry’s hairy stage situation.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Lola Young

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Bleachers, fakemink, 6LACK, Xavi, Bladee, LE SSERAFIM, Maisie Peters, Alvaro Diaz, Luvcat, Lamb, Christian Nodal, McCoy Moore…

♪ Notable singles from Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx, Blondshell, Vince Staples, Lola Young, KETTAMA, mary in the junkyard, Baauer, The Band CAMINO, Maris…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Olivia Rodrigo continues the rollout of her 3rd studio album with ‘the cure.’

#2 - Lola Young drops ‘From Down Here,’ co-written with James Blake, Jameela Jamil and Dom Maker.

#7 - KETTAMA shares the first single since his debut LP last year ‘Comes and Goes.’

#14 - Kygo and Dan Tyminski team up on tribute to Avicii, ‘Heaven On Your Mind.’

#17 - Drain Gang founder Bladee drops his latest album Sulfer Surfer and lands ‘Versailles Flow’ on Spotify’s NMF.

#23 - Fresh off her debut Coachella appearance, LA’s Blondshell releases ‘Heart Has To Work So Hard’ — her first release since dropping her album Another Picture in 2025.

#36 - Diplo-cosigned LA native Lamb shares her debut EP c r e a t u r e s with Murda Beatz-produced ‘tarmac’ landing on NMF.

#55 - fakemink gets ‘All Eyes On Me’ on NMF alongside the release of his debut album Terrified.

⭐ #59 - Hotly-tipped 20 year-old Mumbai artist the sound chalk makes lands his first NMF track ‘CSM for bullshit’ released with Seven Blair Angels & pato6p.

#81 - Topaz Jones taps Mick Jenkins for ‘11:49,’ his first release since 2022, alongside a new music video.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

ear

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Boards of Canada, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Willie Nelson, Latto, Kurt Vile, All Them Witches, Violet Grohl, Francis of Delirium, David Torn, Guided by Voices, Iceage, Shinedown all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Anderson .Paak (soundtrack), Moses Sumney (soundtrack), JAY-Z (soundtrack), ear, mgk & Wiz Khalifa, feeble little horse, Vybz Kartel, Niko Moon, Dari Bay, Haruomi Hasono, Ibeyi, Play Time, Son Lux, Xiu Xiu, John Carpenter, Ed Askew, Westside Cowboy, Jaco Jaco all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

ROSTR entered a full-platform partnership with experiential company Please & Thank You.

Spotify introduced Reserved - concert tickets held for fans based on listening; Spotify and UMG announced licensing agreements for fan-made covers and remixes. Bulgaria’s Dara won the 2026 Eurovision song contest on Saturday. Pete Townshend partnered with Primary Wave on name, image and likeness rights. Primary Wave also acquired the Hipgnosis Artwork Archive, which includes album art from Led Zeppelin, Queen and more. The Library of Congress inducted 25 new entries into the National Recording Registry, including Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘1989.’ Shakira was acquitted of tax fraud in Spain and will now be refunded almost $65M by the country’s treasury. Ella Langley was the big winner at the 2026 ACMs on Sunday; the awards were hosted by country legend Shania Twain.

Here is the full list of 2026 BET Awards Nominees.

A TikTok influencer was charged with conspiracy to murder after attempting to hire a hitman off the dark web to kill former Why Don’t We member Jack Avery. Paul McCartney reportedly turned down the opportunity to be roasted on Netflix. George Clinton sued UMG for over $1.1M in alleged withheld royalties in 3+ years. The Jonas Brothers are launching their own podcast series with iHeartMedia called “Hey Jonas!.” Kylie Minogue revealed that she beat cancer for a 2nd time in 2021.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Splice and ElevenLabs partner to develop new AI-powered tools

• FUGA and Insomniac Music Group extend global distribution partnership

• Three Six Zero launches sports management division

• BMI to acquire cue sheet management specialist Soundmouse

• The Orchard expands in Southeast Asia with DAO deal

• Apple Music introduces new live stream series, Club Live

• AI-powered production platform Tamber officially launches

• Spotify cuts subscription prices in India

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

This diva…

Twitter tweet

Aww

Twitter tweet

Dying

Twitter tweet

Lmfao

Twitter tweet

Sphere Abu Dhabi

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: The Smashing Pumpkins, John Summit, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Don Omar, Blondshell

Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture & Tourism will invest $1.7B towards construction for Sphere Abu Dhabi, the first Sphere venue to be built outside the US. It is expected to open in 2029 with a 20K-capacity for conferences, combat sports, product launches and more.

Harry Styles' "Together Together" tour is adjusting its stage after receiving flack for 10-foot structures obstructing expensive VIP seats at its Amsterdam leg.

London Stadium shared plans to >2x its hosting capacity to boost competition with other venues in London. The venue will submit a planning application to request an increase from 10 concerts to 24 starting next year. With an increase in residency-style touring, the bid also includes upping from 3 consecutive nights to 4 for an act.

Netflix & AEG are working on a K-pop Demon Hunters world tour. Although the band from the film HUNTR/X is not confirmed to be performing, the event will be "a live experience that will bring elements of the two-time Oscar-winning film to life in spectacular ways.”

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• All Things Go NYC unveiled an all-women festival lineup with headliners Zara Larsson (her first headline billing), Lola Young, Brandi Carlile, MUNA & Carly Rae Jepsen

• Next year, EDC will expand across two consecutive weeks in what they are calling "Dusk Till Dawn." EDC Dusk is planned for May 14-16 with EDC Dawn confirmed for May 21-23. Not only with the experience go beyond the festival grounds and throughout Vegas, headliners will have the choice to perform on either Dusk or Dawn weekends

• Motorsports and music festival GRIDLIFE Midwest will return this June with performances from Crankdat, Tape B & INZO

• K-Pop group ATEEZ have been confirmed as headliners for BST Hyde Park on June 28th

❌ Cancellations:

• Kanye's debut in India has been cancelled days ahead of his New Delhi performance over safety and security concerns. He was set to play at 70K-capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

adore, Tash Sultana, MNEK

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After a long-term relationship with Warner Chappell, MNEK has now locked in a publishing deal with Sony Music UK. The British writer/producer/artist has his sophomore solo album coming soon and has recent credits including co-writing Zara Larsson's GRAMMY-nominated 'Midnight Sun' and producing 14 tracks on FLO's debut album Access All Areas.

The enigmatic music collective adore agreed to a record deal with Warner Records, in partnership with Big Beat. The group arrives with co-writing credits spanning Young Thug to Chappell Roan and a 2024 RIAA Gold single, 'did i tell you that I miss you.' Their first release under the deal, 'Feel It All Again,' will feature in the Tribeca Film Festival short Violet and Marlow Rob a Bank. 

BMG has signed Australian multi-instrumentalist Tash Sultana to their first global label partnership, covering future recordings and their back catalog - which reverts to the company in 2030. The self-produced, live-looping phenomenon has amassed billions of streams and sold hundreds of thousands of tickets worldwide, with Gold-certified, ARIA Award-winning debut Flow State and ARIA #1 Terra Firma among their acclaimed releases.

Producer, writer, and artist Eric "Aukoustics" Austikalnis has signed a publishing deal with Position Music. A key architect of the modern country/dance crossover sound, his credits include the US Gold and internationally Platinum-certified 'Faith' with Galantis and Dolly Parton, lovelytheband's Alternative Radio hit 'sail away,' and Galantis and JVKE's 'Dandelion,' named one of Billboard's top dance songs of 2021.

Japanese trio Number_i, which consists of Sho Hirano, Yuta Jinguji, and Yuta Kishi, has signed a record deal with Atlantic Records in the U.S., already recording new material in LA with a release expected later this year. Both of the group's albums debuted at #1 in Japan, and the signing follows their earlier WME representation deal as they look toward a full international push.

+155 signings on ROSTR this week

Cameron Hoy, Liz Cost, Veenerick "Veen" Vos van Liempt

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Brad Banducci is stepping down as Group CEO of Ticketek Entertainment Group at the end of May, with COO Cameron Hoy appointed as his successor. Banducci joined just over a year ago from Woolworths as part of a deliberate growth mandate.

Liz Cost will exit Sony Music Nashville at the end of June after nine and a half years, most recently as VP of International Marketing and Artist Development. She oversaw global marketing strategy across the full roster - Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Megan Moroney and others - and co-headed the label's Digital Marketing & Artist Development team.

Breakaway has named Veenerick "Veen" Vos van Liempt EVP, Brand Partnerships & Revenue, based in New York. He will lead all revenue operations across sponsorships and partnerships.

IDOL has appointed Evan Whikehart as General Manager for North America, covering both the US and Latin America and set to launch D2C services in Q3 2026. Whikehart previously built Secretly Distribution's Label & Shared Services division, directing campaigns for Hayley Williams, Sufjan Stevens and The War On Drugs.

Secretly Distribution has hired Hannah Angst as Director of Label and Shared Services, joining after six years at The Orchard, and promoted Jacqui Resur, a 20-year company veteran, to VP of Client Relations.

Barry Weiss's RECORDS has promoted Andrew Saltman to SVP, Artist Development, where he will run a unified marketing and digital team across RECORDS and RECORDS Nashville and Sara Gil to General Manager, overseeing operations across both offices including deal negotiations and release planning.

Other notable moves…

• Sony Music Publishing has promoted ZaZa Kazadi to Senior Director of A&R, UK & Europe, focused on hip-hop, rap, R&B and Afrobeats in London.

• FKP Scorpio has appointed Chiara Morello as International Promoter in Amsterdam, joining from AEG Presents where she served as Director of Touring across large-scale international campaigns.

• RESULTS GLOBAL promoted Aden Henke to Account Manager, Cami Cradock to Marketing Operations Specialist and Samantha Parrish to Digital Marketing Specialist, while adding Katherine Birschbach as Account Director, Cara Fallon as Social Media Manager and Alex Hendl as Marketing and Communications Coordinator.

• HEY NOW Records has named its marketing team with Melissa McGreevy as Sr. Director of Digital Marketing, Samantha Kane as Director of Marketing and Aidan Brown as Digital Marketing Coordinator.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director of Business Operations at HYBE America in Atlanta, GA

• Director, Strategic Digital Marketing at Blue Raincoat Music in Los Angeles, CA

• L&D Manager at Believe in New York, NY

• Merchandise & Content Marketing Manager (Insomniac) at Live Nation in Calabasas, CA

• Personal Assistant for High Level Musician at ACLMTE in Nashville, TN

↗ Find these and 340+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

World Cup taps headliners, Chris Brown gets his feelings hurt, Spotify celebrates their 20th and ROSTR drops their independent business report.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

GIVĒON

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Drake, GIVĒON, Towa Bird, Smerz, Genesis Owusu, Tone Stith, LUCKI, James Savage, Kevin Morby, Shakey Graves…

♪ Notable singles from Gracie Abrams, STELLA LEFTY, Tove Lo, The Strokes, Overmono, Miranda Lambert, Oxis, Wasia Project, Becky G…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Three new albums from Drake. ‘Ran to Atlanta’ off ICEMAN at number one. Future & Molly Santa are featured on the track.

#2 - Gracie Abrams drops new track ‘Hit the Wall,’ co-written with Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner and Michael Blasky.

#4 - GIVĒON adds a deluxe version to his BELOVED: ACT II GRAMMY-nominated album, including ‘JEZEBEL.’

#6 - Superstar and World Cup favorite Shakira is back with a new song for this year’s tournament - ‘Dai Dai’ with Burna Boy. Ed Sheeran and Jon Bellion are two of many writers on the track.

#21 - Jorja Smith released new single ‘What’s Done Is Done.’ The track, produced by P2J, marks the beginning of a new creative chapter for the Walsall-born artist.

⭐#39 - Sibling duo Wasia Project drop ‘Bleeding Gold’ which premiered as Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1’s New Music Show.

#67 - Pigeons & Planes drops their third See You Next Year compilation album, with Alemeda claiming a spot on NMF.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Gracie Abrams

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

fakemink, Bleachers, Future Islands, LE SSERAFIM, 6LACK, The Band CAMINO, Marmozets, The Early Years, PIG, The Cranberries, Hammock, Skylar Grey, Visible Cloaks, Arc Iris, Alela Diane, Ed O'Brien, Thomas Dollbaum, Marisa Anderson, Ecca Vandal all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Gracie Abrams, Luke Bryan, Shania Twain, Elton John, Eartheater, Waylon Wyatt, Tove Lo, Brad Paisley, Hovvdy, Bloc Party, Alex Cameron, The Mountain Goats, Delta Goodrem, Anthrax, Helado Negro & Reyna Tropical, Dionne Warwick, Show Me the Body, Rhea Raj, Kes, Patrick Droney, DJ Plead all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

This year’s World Cup will have three different opening ceremonies in the host countries of Canada, Mexico and the US - here are the performers slotted for each. Powerhouse acts Shakira, Madonna & BTS will headline the World Cup Final Halftime Show in New Jersey this July. Sony topped $3BN in Q1 music revenue, up 19.5% YoY. Spotify expanded Wrapped with users’ all-time listening history. Apple Music teamed with Lady Gaga for the Mayhem Requiem live performance film. RAYE is set to make her big-screen acting debut. The Beatles opened 3 Savile Row as a landmark fan experience in London. Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust penalties are not expected before 2027. Red Hot Chili Peppers sold their catalog in a $300M+ deal with Warner. Dua Lipa filed a $15M lawsuit against Samsung, which rejected claims of “intentional misuse.” AIF launched ‘First Festival Week 2026’ to support independent festivals. An Oasis reunion tour documentary is headed to theaters.

Last week after celebrating Independent Business Week, ROSTR dropped the go-to Independent Business Report.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Universal Music India partners with first.wav in global distribution deal

• Warner Music launches Atlantic Records Finland

• Kobalt has entered into a new partnership with LAA Music

• CD Baby unveils ‘Stages Selects’ program to aid independent artists

• BMG acquires the publishing interests of Australian band Jet

• Beatport launches new software designed to identify music played in clubs

• inMusic acquires music production powerhouse Native Instruments

• Sony Music Publishing confirms Recognition Music catalog deal

• Ticketing company Entrio Group acquires Serbia-based Gigs Tix

• City and state governments unite to form Association of Music Offices (AMO)

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

No notes

Twitter tweet

Slayyyter fans be like

Twitter tweet

This author is clearly a contrarian

What's causing blue dot fever?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Monopolistic entertainment businesses (27%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Capitalism (in general) (38%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Shitty tour marketing (8%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Rising gas prices (4%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ People pretending to be fans by streaming music then not buying tickets (23%)

KATSEYE

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: KATSEYE, MUNA, Madeon, Fetty Wap, Jamiroquai

Powerhouse acts Shakira, Madonna & BTS will headline the World Cup Final Halftime Show in New Jersey this July.

KATSEYE builds on their Coachella momentum with a EU/NA tour, kicking off this September.

Mexico City's Head of Government Clara Brugada invited U2 to perform at the iconic Zócalo venue for free following the band's impromptu music video shoot on the city streets. Bono expressed great interest in kicking off the tour from Mexico City, stating "In our dreams, we could begin our tour here.”

Yesterday, Chance the Rapper announced a 10-year anniversary North American tour for his album Coloring Book.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Buenos Aires & São Paulo's Primavera Sound editions will be headlined by Gorillaz, The Strokes, FKA twigs & Lily Allen this November and December, respectively

• Colombian superstar Juanes announced his debut festival in Chile, Bamba, co-founded with promoter Lotus, the entity behind Lollapalooza Chile; alongside Juanes, Marc Anthony, Elena Rose, Carlos Vives & more will headline

❌ Cancellations:

• One of Psychedelic Furs' band members is undergoing surgery, which prompted the group to cancel their spring and summer dates; they intend to resume their tour in November

• Country artist Meghan Patrick cancelled her remaining 2026 dates as she is expecting her first child with husband Mitchell Tenpenny

Roddy Ricch, Raveena, MOD SUN

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Roddy Ricch has re-joined Moe Shalizi at The Shalizi Group for management. After a stint with Full Stop, Ricch has come back to the Shalizi firm after previously parting ways in 2020. ‘The Box’ rapper & GRAMMY winner recently appeared on the F1 soundtrack and after a handful of delays, is slated to release The Navy Album soon.

Another week, another big signing for Big Loud Rock - this time with pop-punk artist MOD SUN who released his comeback single 'Mirror' on May 8. It marked his first offering since taking a year-long hiatus focused on sobriety and self-improvement and is set to support mgk on select tour dates, with an album arriving fall 2026.

American singer-songwriter Raveena recently formed a new team with managers Will Frost (House Of Us) & Owen Mallon (Mataderos Projects) alongside touring agents Ayush Arora (Across - INDIA) & Sam Hunt, Mohammad Shah, Michael Harvey-Bray & Clementine Bunel (THE·TEAM - WW (ex-AUS/INDIA)). She became the first woman of Indian descent to perform as a solo artist at Coachella back in 2022.

New York artist This Is Lorelei - the solo project of Nate Amos, who also plays in Water From Your Eyes - has signed with Matador Records. Since 2012, Amos has released two studio albums and over 20 mixtapes and EPs, with 2024's Box For Buddy, Box For Star landing on year-end lists at Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Pitchfork. He also announced new summer and fall tours as well as appearances at Kilby Block Party, Newport Folk and Just Like Heaven Festivals.

After producing for artists like Swedish House Mafia and RL Grime, rising electronic artist Killen. teamed up with Stockholm-based The Very Good, and has now partnered with Nick Mueller & Lil Fogarty of The Golden Kids Group for management. Real name Hannes Torssell, Killen. just dropped his debut album Stay Like This Forever.

+100 signings on ROSTR this week

Barbara Frum, Björn Bauer, Nancy Matalon

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Björn Bauer serving as CFO at RTL Group, has been named CFO of the combined BMG-Concord entity, where he will oversee finance and M&A. The appointment kicks in once the merger closes.

WME added five agents to its contemporary music department across three offices. In Beverly Hills, Barbara Frum will focus on international touring for electronic, pop and rock acts; in New York, Michelle Martinez will work with established and emerging talent. In London, Jana Recmanikova joins the International Festival team from Festival Republic, while Kath Butler and Giulia Spadaro were promoted internally to Agent, both focusing on international touring.

Jieun Kim has been promoted to President of Warner Music Korea overseeing operations and strategic growth across the local market.

Raw Power Management promoted Matt Ash and Don Jenkins to Joint CEOs as part of a succession plan, with founder Craig Jennings moving to Executive Chairman.

Nancy Matalon, formerly VP and Head of A&R US at Spirit Music Group, joins Bamboo Publishing as their new Head of US Publishing, where she'll bridge the company's European and US operations.

AEG Presents promoted two internal executives to VP of North American Venues — Chelsea Cunningham, who will now focus on efficiency and revenue growth, while Justin Miller takes charge of capital improvements and maintenance nationwide.

Other notable moves…

• Warner Music Finland launched Atlantic Records Finland, a new pop and rap label led by Fredi Lundén, with Kristiina Wheeler (ex-Universal Music Finland) joining as Senior A&R.

• Merlin promoted executive Jim Mahoney to the role of Chief Membership Officer, where he will oversee membership strategy and engagement globally.

• WMG's Armin Zerza is adding COO to his CFO title, less than a year after joining the company. The expanded role broadens his remit beyond finance to include corporate development, central marketing, and business intelligence.

• Riser House Entertainment brought in Shane Allen (EVP, Promotion & Artist Brand Strategy) and promoted three internal execs Megan Stottlemyer to VP of Label Operations, Alex Heimerman to Head of Marketing and Label Strategy and Jason VanAuken to VP of Business Affairs.

• MNRK Music Group promoted Dan Hawie to Managing Director of Last Gang Records, where he'll oversee the full P&L and lead A&R and brand strategy.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, Strategic Initiatives at Warner Music Group in New York, NY / Los Angeles, CA

• Marketing Director at Slacker Media Group, remote

• Ticketing Director at Belly Up Aspen in Aspen, CO, US

• Publishing A&R (Pop) at Platinum Grammar Publishing in Los Angeles, CA

• Senior Commercial Manager (Music) at planet.fans in London, England, UK

↗ Find these and 350+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

Q1 reports are in, Met Gala shenanigans, ROSTR celebrates independent business week & blue dot fever cases are rising.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

After

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Carín León, Lykke Li, MUNA, Stephen Sanchez, Chris Brown, Trap Dickey, Basement, hey, nothing, Ashley McBryde, Deb Never…

♪ Notable singles from Charli xcx, After, The Rolling Stones, Boards of Canada, Cash Cobain, Russell Dickerson & Fetty Wap, Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Charli xcx drops new track ‘Rock Music’ after teasing a new album with more guitars and less auto-tune vocals.

#10 - After cannot miss — releasing another single ‘Promise (When You Go)’ this Wednesday.

#17 - Ahead of their upcoming 25th studio album release Foreign Tongues, The Rolling Stones drop new single ‘In The Stars,’ written of course by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

#22 - On the verge of releasing their first album in 13 years, duo Boards of Canada drop two new songs, with ‘Prophecy At 1420 MHz’ landing NMF.

#27 - Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr team up once again on ‘Home To Us’ ahead of McCartney’s upcoming album The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

#65 - Russell Dickerson and Fetty Wap collab on ‘Boots.’

#68 - Cash Cobain gets some Mike Dean production assistance on ‘I Wanna Rock.’

#72 - Linda Perry unveils her first solo project in over 25 years, Let It Die, with ‘Feathers In A Storm’ landing on NMF.

⭐ #100 - Making music with code’s DJ_Dave drops ‘Fail-saife’, just on the heels of being announced as the opener for horsegiirL’s new tour.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Keith Urban

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Drake, Maluma, Peter Frampton, Rostam, Towa Bird, Dua Saleh, 49 Winchester, The All-American Rejects, Maisie Peters, Daisy Grenade, Kevin Morby, Genesis Owusu, PARTYOF2, Trousdale all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Keith Urban, The Rolling Stones, Tori Kelly, FLO, Adam Lambert, PNAU, Allison Russell, La Roux, Yard Act, Koe Wetzel, The War And Treaty, Kelela, Graham Barham, Brantley Gilbert, Blake Whiten, Midland, Ashley Cooke, Lara Somogyi, Tasha, Turnover, Breakfield all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Some Q1 reporting:

• SM Entertainment revenue increased by 21% YoY

• Live Nation Q1 revenue hit $3.8B, up 12% YoY

• The Sphere Entertainment Co. reported $386M in revenue, up 40% YoY

• Warner revenue jumped 17% YoY

• Sony Music revenue rose 21% YoY

ROSTR celebrated Independent Business Week with IEBA, A2IM, NIVA and NITO. If you're a member, sign up here for exclusive discounts & more.

Udio admitted to scraping YouTube audio to train its AI models. NITO elected a new board of directors. A federal judge in New York halted a proposed class action suit against Spotify over accused pay-for-play. Live nation disclosed $450M in legal accruals from the recent antitrust trial loss. The Met Gala took place Monday with many artists in attendance including Bad Bunny, Katy Perry, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter whose Jonathan Anderson of Dior dress was completely made of film stills from the 1954 film ‘Sabrina.’ Britney Spears pled guilty in her DUI case and was sentenced to 12 months probation. ABKCO settled with Behr Paint over the unlicensed us of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It, Black.’ Kanye West’s trial over an uncleared sample in ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Moon’ began earlier this week. Taylor Swift’s texts will not be revealed in court after Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled their legal battle over ‘It Ends With Us.’ Kodak Black was arrested on charges of drug trafficking.

Check out Laylo CEO Alec Ellin’s curated list and get 25% off when you create a Laylo Pro account today by using code ROSTR25.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Believe partners with Google to bring 'flow music' AI tool to artists

• UK music sector urges government to honor ticket scalping pledge

• Sony Music broadens partnership with German rap label Two Sides

• Indie music community rails against copyright office over 43% fee hike

• Suno prepares series D fundraise targeting $5B+ valuation and is making moves with Songkick for user data

• The Orchard acquires Brazilian distributor and record label OniMusic

• AEG partners with North American comedy promoter, Outback Presents

• Napalm Death guitarist unveils new touring marketplace, TourFlip

• Octiive and Sound Royalties partner to fast-track advances for indie artists

• Ticketmaster launches end-to-end venue app in the UK

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

Yikes — all around yikes

Twitter tweet

He was quite clear.

Twitter tweet

Finally something positive we can say about Katy - love 🥹

Twitter tweet

Is BMG the 4th major?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, you don't get it - they're "strengthening their independence"! (0%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Lol I hate it here (27%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ Major labels don't have offices in mid city (36%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ Yes but like, not as cool (36%)

Ninajirachi, Suki Waterhouse, horsegiirL

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Ninajirachi, Suki Waterhouse, horsegiirL, ZHU, Interpol

Harry Styles announced a one-off orchestral performance this June to support London's Southbank Centre. The performer is serving as this year's curator for Meltdown, which will be hosted at Southbank Centre.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Austin City Limits unveiled its lineup with headliners Charli xcx, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Lorde, Skrillex, Twenty One Pilots, Kings of Leon & The xx

• Post Malone is set to headline Australia's festival Strummingbird this October

❌ Cancellations:

• While the European dates are still set to happen, The Pussycat Dolls cancelled the North American leg of their reunion tour without explanation

• Dolly Parton revealed she is cancelling her Vegas residency due to an ongoing illness, but is responding well to treatment

• Kid Cudi booted M.I.A. from his tour after the opener made offensive remarks at their Dallas show

• Post Malone has called off the first six dates of his stadium run with Jelly Roll, stating he needed time to finish his upcoming album

Bea Miller, Riley Green, Bella Poarch

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Singer-songwriter Bea Miller has signed with Republic Records and just released her first single 'Depressed on the Internet' co-written with longtime collaborator Justin Tranter, this Friday. After first gaining recognition on X Factor in 2012, the pop artist dropped notable tracks like ‘THAT BITCH’ and ‘feel something.’

TikTok star Bella Poarch has launched her own imprint M TO THE BEE under exclusive license to Last Gang Records/MNRK Music Group, debuting with single 'Ribcage' from forthcoming album Picnic at the Cemetery dropping this fall. The social media personality departed Warner Records after her 2022 debut EP Dolls, which featured 'Build a Bitch.'

Alabama country artist Riley Green has renewed his global publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Music Nashville. The ACM Best New Male Artist (2020) scored a CMA Awards sweep in 2025 with Ella Langley collaboration 'you look like you love me,' taking Single, Song, and Music Video of the Year.

R&B artist Mariah the Scientist has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group. Her album Hearts Sold Separately hit No. 1 on the R&B Albums chart and platinum single 'Burning Blue' became her first Hot 100 Top 40 entry, with a global tour selling out venues across four continents.

Canadian singer-songwriter TALK (Nicholas Durocher) has signed with Big Loud Rock, releasing comeback single 'Time Machine' after a three-year hiatus. The JUNO Award-winning artist's 2021 breakthrough 'Run Away To Mars' surpassed 500M streams, topped Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay, and earned RIAA gold certification.

MAGIC!, the Canadian pop-reggae band living in LA, has found new management at Cornerman with Dave Morris signing on. The trio is one of the few on Spotify who have eclipsed the 2B streams mark with their 2013 release of ‘Rude.’

+175 signings on ROSTR this week

Julia May, Rick Levy, Leslie Ahrens

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Rick Levy has been named CEO of Paladin Artists as the independent booking agency enters advanced discussions to acquire New York-based Entourage Talent Associates.

THE·TEAM has made three hires across three continents. Julia May steps in as SVP of Business Development in New York, Sarah Thia joins as VP of Tour Marketing for Asia, based in Singapore and London-based Sheila Mukasa takes on the role of Senior Manager of Pricing & Ticketing.

UnitedMasters has brought on Alessandro "Moz" Moro as Senior A&R to lead its UK division, alongside A&R VP Jesse Morav. A 15-year vet with stints at Warner, Island, Platoon and EMPIRE, Moro arrives as the platform makes a bigger push in the UK market.

Kobalt has promoted Leslie Ahrens to MD and EVP, Creative, Latin America. She's led the region's creative work since 2014, with a roster that includes Karol G, Anuel AA, Enrique Iglesias and Carlos Vives.

AEG Presents has named Jonathan Lee as Managing Director of its newly opened Korea office, where he'll lead the company's K-Pop touring strategy out of Seoul. Lee comes from WPP Korea and will report to SVP of Global Touring Michael Harrison.

Allison Crutchfield and Hannah McElroy have joined Another Management Company. Crutchfield moves into management after seven years at ANTI- Records. McElroy joins as a Nashville-based day-to-day manager supporting Youth Lagoon and Twisted Teens.

Other notable moves…

• Tour promoter Kate Lazzari has joined Messina Touring's Nashville office. She will support the company’s full artist roster while also contributing to new touring opportunities and strategic growth initiatives.

• Noura Labbani has been named EU Label Manager as Dirty Hit opens its first continental European office, in Berlin.

• Leighanna Martin joins Riser House as Manager, A&R + Publishing, working alongside SVP Brandon Perdue.

• Alex Bellissimo is now VP of Marketing at LyricFind.

• Bill Macky steps in as SVP of Promotion & Marketing at Quartz Hill Music Group, leading radio strategy across Quartz Hill Records and Stone Country Records.

• Matt Harvey has joined UNIFIED Music Group as Senior Artist Manager, marking the Australian company's first expansion into New Zealand.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Vice President, Content Production at Universal Music Group in Philadelphia, PA

• Digital Marketing Director at gamma. in West Hollywood, CA

• Senior Product Manager (Distribution) at Roc Nation in New York, NY

• Business Data Engineer at Beatport in Victoria, BC, Canada

• Senior Manager of Digital & Commercial Strategy at Mick Management in New York, NY

↗ Find these and 350+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

Concord and BMG team up, UMG sells stake in Spotify, ORod announces new tour & new Ari album otw.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Lady Gaga

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Kacey Musgraves, Zara Larsson, Isaiah Rashad, Shoreline Mafia, American Football, Durand Bernarr, Lil Tjay, Asake, Junior Varsity…

♪ Notable singles from Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter, Lizzo, The Black Keys, Vince Staples, Hannah Cohen, Mikayla Geier, Graham Barham, Alana Springsteen, Madeon & Slayyyter…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#11 - STELLA LEFTY looks to build off her ‘Boston’ virality and recent Stagecoach appearance with new track ‘I Know I Know,’ co-written by JKash & Joe Reeves.

#20 - Mikayla Geier is back, releasing her first new music of the year with ‘HOTLINE’ produced by CJ Baran.

⭐ #21 - Prepping for his June album via Jagjaguwar, Chanel Beads drops his newest single ‘Song for the Messenger.’

#23 - Hannah Cohen (finally) follows up her Earthstar Mountain project with ‘Golden Chain,’ a subtle, soft-spoken launch into her new era.

#48 - Bella Poarch releases her first track under the MNRK Records umbrella with ‘Ribcage.’

#49 - Madeon recruits Slayyyter for ‘Fire Away,’ which he drops in tandem with announcing his forthcoming project Victory.

#56 - Jensen McRae pleads for ‘One More Cowboy’ on her newest track.

#73 - Brutalismus 3000 release their highly anticipated (according to Twitter) collab with Boys Noize, ‘I Bring My Gun To The Function.’

#92 - Continuing with his “club country” era, Graham Barham drops ‘I’M THE ONE.’

#100 - Alana Springsteen releases ‘i loved you then' - her 4th single since signing with Santa Anna earlier this year.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Ariana Grande

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Lykke Li, MUNA, Stephen Sanchez, Royal & the Serpent, Deb Never, Black Veil Brides, Neil Diamond, The Lemon Twigs, Chris Brown, Jason Mraz, glaive & kurtains, Amy Grant, Ray Bull, Social Distortion, Testament, ZEP, Aldous Harding all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Madeon, TAEYONG, Arc Iris, Horse Lords, Born At Midnite all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

BMG and Concord announced their plan to merge; Concord also purchased Mothership Music Publishing, including its 5K song catalog. iHeartRadio and SiriusXM are exploring a merger. Taylor Swift filed to trademark her voice and likeness, aiming to protect her identity against AI. UMG is selling 50% of its stake in Spotify to fund buyback program. Spotify partnered with Peloton to move into fitness with “guided workout experiences and also launched new verifications in light of AI. ROSTR announced a new feature to share custom lists.

Madonna partnered with Grindr for the launch of her album Confessions II. Fred again.. partners with Dropbox to share ‘USB002’ tour files. Cynthia Erivo finished the London Marathon in under 3.5 hours. Sony Music wins UK legal battle over Jimi Hendrix band recordings. T.I. sued Cinq Music, accusing the label of refusing to honor a contract promising to let him buy back his masters at a cheap price. The man accused of plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna pleaded guilty at his trial earlier this week. A man was charged after a fatal shooting took place near Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner theater. A man pled guilty to murdering Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay almost 25 years later. Prediction market Kalshi announced online trading for music streams.

The Voice alum Dylan Carter passed away at 24. 22 year-old rapper HavinMotion was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. last week.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• AIMPRO Collecting Society launches specifically for AI music creators

• UMG reports $3.39B in Q1 revenue, up 8.1% year over year

• PRS for Music paid out a record-breaking £100M+ in live revenue in 2025

• Primary Wave secures $2.2B for Fourth Music investment fund

• Spotify boosts subscribers and profit in Q1 2026

• Avex Music Group unveils $100M fund for catalog and company acquisitions

• Secretly, Warp, Beggars Group and more issue sustainable vinyl releases

• Claude AI integrates Spotify and StubHub as new ‘connectors’

• Primary Wave lands catalog and NIL deal with Harry Chapin Estate

• NITO advocates for the sharing of ticket buyer data with artists

• TikTok’s ‘Add to Music App’ hits 6B tracks saved in 12 months

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

Well damn

Twitter tweet

Variety crowning majors now

Twitter tweet

But their sister Billboard aren’t so confident

Twitter tweet

🍞

Twitter tweet

We’re doomed

Instagram post

Can Bieber perform his old catalog?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (65%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, I read LinkedIn slop (6%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Defer to Kristin Robinson (fair) (18%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Was a cool set, no notes (12%)

Olivia Rodrigo

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Shaboozey, Foster The People, JPEGMAFIA

Olivia Rodrigo announced a massive 65-date headlining tour across Europe and North America in support of her forthcoming LP with pop powerhouse openers Wolf Alice, Grace Ives, Devon Again, Die Spitz & The Last Dinner Party.

🐴 Stagecoach Recap:

• Ella Langley brought out Theo Von after appearing on his podcast the week prior

• Despite high winds and delays, Lainey Wilson headlined to a full crowd on Day 2

• Post Malone, who headlined Coachella last year, closed out the festival with a set full of covers paying homage to country greats

Down under, KATSEYE will perform a one-night one-off following a special fan Q&A experience in Sydney next week. Additionally, Denzel Curry will pop over for Sydney’s Slam Dance this May, a celebration of music, basketball & fashion.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Wisconsin’s Rock Fest will be headlined by Limp Bizkit, The Offspring & Gojira this July

• Young World, MIKE’s Brooklyn-based festival will return this year as part of New York’s SummerStage series with Max B headlining alongside the rapper

❌ Cancellations:

• ZAYN cancelled all US dates of his 2026 tour due to an unspecified illness

Vince Staples, Loreen, Trueno

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

California rapper Vince Staples joins independent label Loma Vista Recordings for Cry Baby, his seventh studio album arriving June 5. The 10-track project marks Staples' first release outside the major-label system after a career spent between Def Jam and Motown, pivoting toward rock-influenced production on lead single 'Blackberry Marmalade.'

Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Buenos Aires rapper Trueno to a worldwide publishing agreement. The 2019 Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos champion won consecutive Latin Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song in 2024 ('Tranky Funky') and 2025 ('Fresh'), most recently releasing fourth studio album TURR4ZO as a tribute to his native Argentina.

With their debut single off and running to over 65M streams already, new band Temper City has signed with Adam Harrison, Brandon Phelps & Jack Fitzsimons of Full Stop Management. Their track ‘Self Aware’ quickly gained steam online and has landed on marquee Spotify playlists like Today's Top Hits & Hot Hits USA.

Swedish Eurovision champion Loreen has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Believe Music Publishing covering her new album Wildfire, which arrived March 27 featuring Sia co-write 'Feels Like Heaven.' The artist became one of only two performers to win Eurovision twice - first with 2012's 'Euphoria,' then 2023's 'Tattoo' generating over 2.5B streams.

Electronic duo 3OH!3 has teamed up with Samuel Wald, Michael Montante, Jake Wilk, Ron Opaleski & Justin Edwards of WME for touring WW (ex-CAN). Fresh off their Stagecoach appearance, the band’s 2008 album WANT just went platinum.

Los Angeles indie trio untitled (halo) - composed of Ariana Mamnoon, Jack Dione, and Jay Are - has signed with Dirty Hit following competitive interest from major and independent labels. The band broke through with 2023 debut EP towncryer and earned praise from NTS Radio, KCRW, and Pitchfork for their hazy, cinematic sound inspired by Southern California, with debut album set to be announced soon.

+135 signings on ROSTR this week

Thomas Maxwell, Allison Jones, Bob Valentine

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Believe has launched a Label & Artists Solutions division in the US tapping Thomas Maxwell to lead it as VP. Reporting to Global Head of Music Romain Vivien, Maxwell will focus on signing and partnering with independent US labels under the Believe umbrella.

Apple Corps has rounded out its leadership team under CEO Tom Greene with four new executive hires. Lux Paterson as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Jemma Hill as CFO/COO, Jonathan Sands as head of retail and experiences and Miranda Langford as Head of Marketing. Internally, Cathy Hawkes was promoted to Chief of Staff and General Counsel Neil Mohring expands his scope to oversee all business affairs.

The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) has refreshed its board with four newly elected directors — Thomas Cussins of Ineffable Music Group, Alex Fang of New Frontier Touring, Liz Pjesky of High Road Touring, and Amanda Silecchio-Frederick of Madison House.

Allison Jones has been promoted to EVP of A&R at Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment, expanding her oversight across the full roster.

BMG and Concord have confirmed their merger, with Bertelsmann taking a majority stake. Bob Valentine will serve as CEO of the combined entity and Thomas Coesfeld as Chairman, pending regulatory approval in H2 2025.

Pipeline Media has hired Jennifer Scher as CFO, Jason Munro as General Counsel, and Jay Srivastav as Head of Data & Product.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• ESEA Music has named Aileen de la Cruz and Yijia Tu as co-presidents. Founder Hiroki Shirasuka stays on in a leadership role, while co-founder Tiger Hagino Reid steps back from daily operations but remains part of the team.

• Tomorrow's Warriors has appointed public law figure Marcia Willis Stewart as legal trustee, joining its governing board in the organization's 35th anniversary year.

• The Feldman Agency has signed Niccolò Fransolet as a booking agent in Montreal.

• Brent Freed has been appointed to lead the Brand & Corporate Division at Versa.

• Cedrick "SB" Earsery has been named CEO of Only The Family (OTF), stepping up from COO after building the label alongside Lil Durk since 2010.

• Sophie Jones is leaving her role as Chief Strategy Officer at the BPI to become CEO of the Royal Television Society.

• Joseph Hudak has been promoted to Deputy Editor and Head of Country at Rolling Stone, overseeing all country music coverage.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, Marketing & Growth at KOSIGN in Los Angeles, CA

• Director, E-Commerce at Live Nation in New York, NY

• Sr. Manager, Label & Product Management at Warner Music Group in New York, NY

• General Manager at Regime Music Group in Los Angeles, CA

• Management Assistant at Solar Management in London, England, UK

↗ Find these and 365+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR

Happy Friday,

HYBE under arrest, One Less Lonely Billie & d4vd sitch keeps getting worse and worse

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Shaboozey

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Noah Kahan, Kehlani, Demi Lovato, Conan Gray, The Kid LAROI, Trueno, Foo Fighters, Meghan Trainor, Mercer Henderson, Gia Margaret, Metric…

♪ Notable singles from Shaboozey, Madonna, Malcom Todd, Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels, jigitz, Sophia Stel, Lucy Dacus, Ruel, Smerz, Kim Petras, Infinity Song, Muse, Baauer…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Noah Kahan drops highly anticipated new album The Great Divide, featuring NMF track ‘Doors.’

#2 - With a sophomore album delivered just last week, Ella Langley is back with Morgan Wallen on duet ‘I Can’t Love You Anymore.’

#6 - Shaboozey releases ‘Born To Die,’ the first track from upcoming concept album The Outlaw Cheri Lee & Other Western Tales.

#10 - Madonna returns with ‘I Feel So Free,’ the first single from her upcoming album Confessions II, marking the start of a new era and a follow-up to the iconic dancefloor energy of Confessions on a Dance Floor.

#18 - Pop princess Maisie Peters teams up with songwriting aficionado Julia Michaels on ‘Kingmaker.’

#22 - Fresh off his Do Lab set at Coachella, jigitz drops ‘car crash’ featuring Charlotte Plank.

#32 - The Red Clay Strays continue to ramp up towards their album release June 5th, this time with single ‘Demons In Your Choir.’

⭐ #56 - Norwegian electronic music duo Smerz drop their first single of the 2026 with aptly named ‘Spring summer.’

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Drake

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Kacey Musgraves, The Black Keys, ERNEST, Young the Giant, Tori Amos, American Football, Modern Woman, Maya Hawke, Melanie C, Jessica Loop all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Drake, Thomas Bangalter, Tyla, Shaboozey, Suki Waterhouse, horsegiirL, The Red Clay Strays, Modest Mouse, Grimes, Old Crow Medicine Show, Beth Orton, aespa, Baauer, Ruth Garbus, Dante Spinetta, V, Tauren Wells, Tricky, Southall, Boards of Canada, Ian Sweet, Lenny Kaye all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

d4vd was hit with first degree murder charges and officials discovered a large amount of child pornography on his phone. Seoul police are seeking a warrant to detain HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk. UMG and Concord sued Quince over copyright infringement on TikTok. The Tennessee State House rejected the Indie Venue Funding Bill that would have directed $2M to support indie venues around the state. Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that he is a recovering alcoholic. A judge dismissed Diddy’s $100M lawsuit against NBC and Peacock over the 2025 documentary about him. The value of the global electronic music industry hit $15.1B. The Grateful Dead launched their own streaming platform. Shania Twain will host the ACM Awards for the first time. Taylor Momsen spent the night in a Mexico City hospital after a venomous spider but her on tour with AC/DC. Spotify launched AI credits, allowing artists to disclose AI use in their songs.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Futures Music Group raises $6M to fund new approach to artist partnerships

• Creative technology company Tamber raises $5M

• Create Music Group partners with Jonny Shipes’ GoodTalk

• Danny Wimmer Presents expands with new concerts division

• Amazon Music introduces ‘Just Walk Out’ tech for BTS merch sales

• Peachtree bolsters leadership team with Live Nation veterans

• Bandsintown partners with Amazon Music to list concerts on artist profiles

• Warner Chappell Music launches India branch

• Deezer now receiving 75,000 AI-generated tracks per day

• Music Venue Trust announces new action items to support UK grassroots venues

• Reservoir Media’s MENA partner, PopArabia, acquires regional competitor Viral Wave

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

I just want to see Morgan Wallen in Vegas

Twitter tweet

Fucking dragged his ass. But I like the Julia Wolf remix.

Twitter tweet

We hear you, Lena

Twitter tweet

Fav (least fav) music biz collaboration

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Ticketmaster x OpenAI (33%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Suno x Warner (14%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Usher x Chris Brown (24%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Geese x Chaotic Good (24%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ NIVA x Spotify (if you pick this one you're DONE) (5%)

KAROL G, Geese, Dominic Fike

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: KAROL G, Dominic Fike, Beck, Melanie Martinez, Nick Jonas

In typical Coachella fashion, the festival immediately announced its return in 2027 the weekends of April 9-11 and April 16-18.

Weekend 2 included some star-studded guest appearances including:

• Madonna duetting 'Like A Prayer' & 'Vogue' with Sabrina Carpenter

• SZA & Billie Eilish for Justin Bieber's set

• Olivia Rodrigo joining Addison Rae's set to debut her new single 'drop dead'

• Billy Idol taking the stage alongside sombr

• Both J Balvin & Peso Pluma for KAROL G

• LISA, Joji & Muse's Matt Belamy at Anyma's redemption act after winds cancelled his Weekend One set

And if you missed out, Coachella performers KAROL G, Geese, aespa & David Byrne have all announced new tour dates and/or extensions. Peep some in our hottest tours here.

In other news, No Music for Genocide released an open letter boycotting the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest due to its decision to allow Israel to compete. Brian Eno, Massive Attack, KNEECAP, Sigur Rós, Erika de Casier & Macklemore are amongst the signees.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Arizona's FORM Arcosanti unveiled its lineup with headliners Disclosure, Lorde, Turnstile & Geese

• Thundercat, Angine de Poitrine, Herbie Hancock, Little Simz, Arlo Parks & more are set to play Newport Jazz Festival

• Morrissey, Patti Smith & Interpol will headline CBGB Festival in Brooklyn this September

• Country Calling in Maryland will be headlined by Lainey Wilson & Chris Stapleton

❌ Cancellations:

• Europe continues to cancel on Kanye, with Poland and Switzerland joining the growing list of countries denying his entry

• British rock outfit WU LYF postponed their upcoming US shows citing delays in processing travel visas

Massive Attack, Miranda Lambert, The Hellp

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Massive Attack has signed with Play It Again Sam, part of the [PIAS] Label Group, in the Bristol trio's first commercial release cycle in several years. New single 'Boots On The Ground' featuring Tom Waits launched the partnership on April 16 alongside a short film directed with artist thefinaleye, closed by Kenny Gates (executive chairman, [PIAS]) and Russell Crank (director of A&R, Play It Again Sam) ahead of the band's summer 2026 festival run.

Three-time Grammy winner Miranda Lambert has signed a new recording deal with MCA Nashville, joining labelmates Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, and Keith Urban. Mike Harris (President & CEO, MCA) closed the deal, which follows Lambert's 2024 Republic/Big Loud release Postcards From Texas; she remains founder of Big Loud Texas and recently co-wrote and sang on Ella Langley's country radio chart-topper 'Choosin' Texas.'

UTA has signed Los Angeles electronic duo The Hellp — Noah Dillon and Chandler Lucy — for booking representation, moving the act from Wasserman Music. The pair remain with Atlantic Records imprint Anemoia and Red Light Management on the heels of their third album Riviera, released in November 2025.

Edinburgh-born, London-based DJ and producer sim0ne has signed with Muise Management, the UK firm founded by Sarah Mhamdi that also counts Shygirl and COBRAH on its roster. The move follows her DJ Mag-premiered March 2026 single 'lights down' and precedes a debut EP due later this year; sim0ne was named BBC Radio 1's Future Star of 2024 and the first female face of SoundCloud's First On campaign.

Milton Keynes rock trio Torus — frontman Alfie Glass, bassist Harry Quinn, and drummer Jack Orr — has signed a global recording deal with Nettwerk Music Group, joining the Vancouver indie's roster weeks after its $300 million management-led buyout backed by Create Music Group. The signing follows new single 'Fall On Me' as the band builds toward its debut full-length.

MAC Agency has signed Florida rapper Cochise (Terrell Cox) for booking representation, with James Gosnell III, Tanner Westimayer, and Andrew Lieber adding the 2022 XXL Freshman to a roster that includes Luh Tyler and Yuki Chiba. The move from WME follows Cochise's August 2025 independent recording deal with ONErpm and the platinum certification of 'Tell Em' with $NOT, a Billboard Hot 100 entry that has crossed 670 million Spotify streams.

+180 signings on ROSTR this week

Sam Hu, Helen Satory, David Dibble

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Sam Hu has been appointed Managing Director of Universal Music China and SVP of Universal Music Greater China. A veteran of over two decades in the market, he previously held senior roles at Warner Music China, Sony Music Entertainment China and Taihe Music Group.

Matt Gralen steps up to CEO at Beatport, Helen Sartory takes on the President and COO role, and Robb McDaniels moves off into Executive Chairman.

John Ternus, Apple's SVP of Hardware Engineering, takes over as CEO in September 2026 while Tim Cook moves to Executive Chairman.

David Dibble steps up to Vice Chairman at Sphere Entertainment, having been with the company since 2016. He'll work closely with leadership on the tech side as Sphere pushes toward a global venue expansion.

Warner Chappell Music is officially launching in India. Jay Mehta, who has led Warner Music India since 2020, will oversee both recorded music and publishing across the region.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• Lauren Walters has been promoted to SVP at Surfdog/DKM, the indie entertainment company behind Surfdog Records and DKM Management.

• AEG Presents has named two new VPs in its marketing division Katie Mae Miller steps up as VP of Integrated Marketing for AEG Regions, while Chelsea Cloud joins as VP of Integrated Marketing at Goldenvoice.

• mtheory has promoted Ed Rivadavia to EVP of Marketing & Operations and Kaitlyn Moore to General Manager.

• Peachtree Entertainment has brought on Aaron Siuda as SVP of Marketing and Andrew Hingley as VP of Artist Relations and Development.

• Breakaway has tapped Megan Wise as VP of Brand Partnerships.

• Symphonic has tapped Michelle Garramone as Head of Strategic Partnerships, where she'll lead catalog acquisition efforts and manage relationships with rights holders and investors.

• Believe has promoted Akhila Shankar to Director of Artist Services for India and South Asia, filling the seat left by Shilpa Sharda.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Executive Director at Music BC Industry Association in Vancouver, BC, Canada

• Global Head of Editorial & Marketing Partnerships at Believe in New York, NY

• Head of A&R at ANTI- Records in Los Angeles, CA

• Senior Manager of Digital & Commercial Strategy at Mick Management in New York, NY

• Box Office Manager at HI-FI / MOKB Presents in Indianapolis, IN

↗ Find these and 320+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs

Happy Friday,

d4vd is arrested (finally), Live Nation is ruled an illegal monopoly & K-pop frenemies join forces on new festival.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

John Summit

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from ZAYN, Anitta, John Summit, ROSALÍA, Sexyy Red, Honey Dijon, Lewis Capaldi, M.I.A., Jessie Ware, SOFIA ISELLA, Yaya Bey, Owen Riegling…

♪ Notable singles from Olivia Rodrigo, sombr, Lana Del Rey, Hayden Everett, Young Miko, Céline Dion, The Band CAMINO, Jessie Ware, WizTheMc, Wafia, Tiga, Labrinth…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Olivia Rodrigo drops the first single off of upcoming album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, ‘drop dead,’ with co-writers, Dan Nigro, Paul Cartwright and Amy Allen.

#4 - Tyla and Zara Larsson team up to pay homage to Britney Spears on ‘SHE DID IT AGAIN.’

#5 - Former accountant John Summit released his album CTRL ESCAPE on Tax Day as an homage to his past life with ‘SHADES OF BLUE’ featuring Devault & Julia Church landing on the playlist.

#9 - Maria Zardoya of The Marías’ solo project Not for Radio continues to grow with mini EP Bloom featuring NMF placement ‘Ache.’

#28 - Céline Dion releases new single ‘Dansons’ amid her ongoing battle with stiff-person syndrome.

#46 - Amidst his beef with TV show Euphoria, Labrinth drops ‘SHUT YOUR DAMN 95.7892.’

⭐ #79 - Indie-folk’s Hayden Everett releases his most recent self-released album So The Sun Can Pour.

#95 - Montreal DJ and songwriter Tiga releases new album HOTLIFE, with ‘NEED YOU TONIGHT’ featured on New Music Friday.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Charli xcx

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Noah Kahan, Kehlani, KNEECAP, Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters, Meghan Trainor, Jason Aldean, Michael Bublé (live), Ringo Starr, Angélique Kidjo, Gia Margaret, Angelo De Augustine, Oliver Tree, Hrishikesh Hirway, Six Feet Under, Terror, ZHU, YARN, White Denim, Atreyu, Las Cruxes, The Amity Affliction all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charli xcx, Madonna, PJ Morton, Cody Johnson, The Field, LE SSERAFIM, Maggie Rose, Ekko Astral (live album), Jaco Jaco, Jeff Bates, Camylio all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

A jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly. d4vd was taken into custody over alleged killing of teen Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose body was found in a Tesla registered to the singer. Bending Spoons laid off Eventbrite staff after acquiring the company. Latin Music generated more than $1B in U.S. recorded music revenue in 2025. Iron Maiden, Phil Collins, Sade and more were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Nominations for the AMAs were announced; Taylor Swift leads with 8 nominations, followed by Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter and sombr with 7 nominations each. Ticketmaster will now be available in ChatGPT. Maryland became the 3rd U.S. state to pass the PACE Act, restricting Rap lyrics from being used as criminal evidence. India added almost 4M paid music streaming subscriptions in 2025, bringing the total to 14.4M. RAYE will receive the Songwriters Hall of Fame New Artist Award.

ROSTR partnered with independent promoters for AFTERS event earlier this week.

BTS’ lawyers are searching for the person who leaked the group’s new album. A national survey conducted by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell revealed that Dolly Parton is the most popular person in America. Ruby Rose accused Katy Perry of sexual assault; Katy responded. Britney Spears voluntarily checked into a rehab facility after her recent DUI arrest. Tom Dumont of No Doubt revealed he has Parkinson’s. The alleged stalker of Lindsey Buckingham was arrested in Indiana. Lil Jon announced a new memoir, I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, releasing October 20th. Aaron Carter’s mom launched a GoFundMe to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bollywood music legend Asha Bhosle passed away at 92. Felipe Staiti, the lead guitarist of Enanitos Verdes, passed away at 64.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Max Lousada and Julie Greenwald launch new record label, 26.2

• LyricFind unveils video-creation subscription service, ‘Artist Unlimited’

• Spotify and National Independent Venue Association launch new partnership

• PPL Records revenue saw a growth of 4.75% in 2025

• MusicBird secures catalog of Supertramp bassist Dougie Thomson

• Ticketmaster strikes new partnership with Seated

• Warner Music Group unveils investment and partnership with TuStreams

• Concord enters into strategic partnership with hip-hop powerhouse, Victor Victor Worldwide

• Warner Music and Spinnin’ Records launch Spinnin’ Records Germany

• FTC directs StubHub to pay fans $10M over misleading pricing

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

That part

Twitter tweet

THAT PART

Instagram post

Do these unique, proprietary insights make you better at your music industry job?

Twitter tweet

What are you most looking forward to about Coachella?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Not going (56%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The Stagecoach portion (8%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ "Pollstar" happy hours (0%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ The YouTube live stream (28%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Artist parking, biotch (8%)

The Strokes, Noah Kahan, USHER & Chris Brown

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: The Strokes, sombr, USHER & Chris Brown, Noah Kahan, Jessie Ware

🌵 Coachella Recap:

• Sabrina made good on her promise to return as a headliner with a show-stopping spectacle that included guest appearances from Susan Sarandon, Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson & Sam Elliott

• Biebs delivered a nostalgic, simplistic look back on his career, harmonizing with his younger self to his greatest hits via YouTube on his MacBook; he also brought out Tems, Mk.gee, Dijon & The Kid LAROI

• KAROL G made history as the first Latina to headline Coachella, paying homage to Ranchera music and Latin legends Gloria Estefan & Willie Colón; she also brought Becky G, Wisin, Mariah Angeliq & Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex

While Jack White filled in the surprise 3PM slot last Saturday, Weekend 2's addition will be Kacey Musgraves, who returns to the desert for the first time in 6 years.

K-pop conglomerates HYBE, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment & SM Entertainment are establishing a joint venture to launch a global music festival called Fanomenon. The goal is to debut in South Korea in 2027 and become a touring event in 2028.

ILLENIUM announced 2 additional dates for his Sphere show on July 3rd and July 4th 🎆

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash was announced with Lil Uzi Vert, Skrillex, Baby Keem & Playboi Carti headlining

• Country Thunder Florida will be headlined by Gavin Adcock, Zach Top & Kane Brown

• Whiskey Kiss Festival will debut in San Antonio with performances from Paul Cauthen, Vincent Neil Emerson, Rattlesnake Milk & more

❌ Cancellations:

• Kanye West prematurely postponed his Marseilles date after reports of the French interior minister considering banning him from entry; the rapper planned for a Poland show, but he is now banned there as well

• Canadian producer/DJ Rezz cancelled her Coachella Weekend 2 performance citing health issues that have not been addressed; she has apologized and promised to upload her Weekend 1 set to YouTube

Mae Muller, Foster The People, Eyelar

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Fresh off an Outdoor Theatre set in the desert, Foster The People has signed with broke Records. After stints with majors like Columbia & Atlantic, the LA indie rock outfit lands with the independent label and will look to build off their most recent 2024 album Paradise State of Mind.

Recently launched Tenace Records, a JV between Believe UK & Tileyard Music, has teamed up with British pop artist Mae Muller following their inaugural signing of band Pale Waves. Originally co-signed by Little Mix and Sam Smith, Muller’s debut 2023 album Sorry I’m Late via Capitol Records included hit ‘I Wrote A Song.’

Peermusic has signed songwriter & artist Eyelar (Eyelar Mirzazadeh) to a worldwide publishing deal covering future works and select back catalog, with Peermusic establishing a writer development joint venture alongside 2-Tone Entertainment. The Iranian-British writer's catalogue has amassed more than 2B streams globally, with credits for Charli xcx, RAYE, JADE, Anitta, Demi Lovato, Fred again…

New Zealand rap artist lilbubblegum has joined the Rebellion Records roster, who broke out with 2020 single 'guap' and has since built a global fanbase with co-signs from Yung Gravy, Rico Nasty, bbno$, and REI AMI. The artist drove 70M streams in 2025, shaping a sound defined by moody production and retro, internet-native visuals.

Double Down 11, the new joint venture with Virgin, has signed NESYA as its flagship artist following the 38M+ stream success of 'Delulu.' The Black alt-pop artist's new single 'Put The Fries In The Bag,' produced by Kill Dave, blends darkwave, post-punk, and trap-pop into what she calls a ‘Vampire Siren’ anthem.

Canada’s Heather Russell has landed with Layne Lindroth & Brad Parker of Track Record for management. The Prescription Songs-signed writer is making her CMA Fest/Nashville live show debut in June and is releasing her debut artist project this summer.

+110 signings on ROSTR this week

Tim Miles, Jess Kinn, Chris Marking

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Mark Pitts launches Cofvnders after stepping down as President of RCA Records. He'll still be on as a consultant for the Sony Music acts he worked with.

Tim Miles has joined BMG as EVP of Global SYNC+, the company's music-for-media division launched earlier this year. He comes from Warner Music Group, where he spent a decade leading global sync across more than 25 markets.

Chris Marking has joined Live Nation as EVP of International Venue Sponsorship, moving over from AEG where he spent two decades working on venue and festival partnerships.

Jess Kinn has been promoted to partner at ROAM, while Malaika Thomas joins as head of tour marketing. Meanwhile, Saskia Collins comes on as head of EU brand partnerships at companyX.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• Taylor Sloane has exited MCA Nashville after nine years to launch Dream Big Music

• Becky Colwell has been named President of Programming & Content at Oak View Group and Mark Shulman has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Programming & Content, OVG East.

• Michael Giangreco has been promoted to President of A&R at Big Loud Publishing

• CAA elevated Noah Bryles, Andrew Dominijanni and Rachel Green to Agent in its Global Touring division.

• Maverick Nashville promoted Tori MacDonald-Nash to Director of Artist Projects, Ashley Negrillo to Senior Creative Director, and Grace Foster to Manager of Marketing Strategy and Fan Engagement role.

• Joe Soper has been appointed VP of Sports & Entertainment at Mohegan.

• Chase Armstrong joins The Listening Room as Director of Sales & Marketing.

• Darren Pfeffer takes on the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Production Resource Group.

• Shazmah Hakim steps into the Chief Legal Officer seat at OVG.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, A&R at Create Music Group in United States

• Director, Marketing at Nettwerk Music Group in United States / Canada

• Day-to-Day Manager (Dance Music) at SYMMETRIC United States / Canada

• Venue Manager at 16 on Center in Chicago, IL

• Marketing & Creative Manager at Red Light Management in Los Angeles, CA

↗ Find these and 320+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR

Happy Friday,

Coachella weekend 1 is here, Wire(less) gets cut & what’s going on with UMG?

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

KATSEYE

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Ella Langley, Holly Humberstone, Momo Boyd & Infinity Song, Laufey, Isaia Huron, DESTIN CONRAD, Joyner Lucas, Manuel Turizo…

♪ Notable singles from Lady Gaga & Doechii, The Strokes, KATSEYE, Royel Otis, Jensen McRae, Tiny Habits, Alabama Shakes, Tiffany Stringer, Dua Saleh, 54 Ultra…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - Fresh off the top spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, Ella Langley releases her new album Dandelion.

#2 - Lady Gaga and Doechii team up for ‘Runway,’ music from the upcoming highly anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2. The track was co-written by Bruno Mars, Andrew Watt and more.

#3 - Kehlani and Missy Elliott collab on new track ‘Back and Forth.’

#7 - Never a Cruel World when Holly Humberstone releases a new album… ‘Beauty Pageant’ lands on NMF today.

#11 - 6 years later, The Strokes are ‘Going Shopping’ on the Rick Rubin-produced lead single from their forthcoming 7th studio album carried by an autotuned Julian Casablancas singing about the pitfalls of modernity.

#16 - Isaia Huron glides on ‘side slider’ off his new RCA-released LP Mr. Lovebomb.

#19 - Marshmello + Thomas Rhett = perfection on ‘Where We Go.’

#41 - Global powerhouses Anitta and Shakira team up on ‘Choka Choka,’ singing in Portuguese and Spanish.

⭐ #75 - Kylie Cantrall releases her debut with Republic ‘Carrie Bradshaw.’

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

The Strokes

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

ZAYN, Honey Dijon, M.I.A., Yaya Bey, This Is Lorelei, Teen Suicide, Arkells, Vanessa Carlton, Marc Broussard, Skindred, Anne Hathaway, Yot Club all have new projects expected to come out next week.

The Strokes, The Rolling Stones, Anitta & Shakira, Nine Inch Nails & Boys Noize, Kurt Vile, Ben Platt & Rachel Zegler (live album), Dari Bay, Alex Amen all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

It’s finally time for Coachella - check out the lineup and learn more with The Data Behind Coachella 2026.

IEBA and ROSTR announced a new partnership.

Pershing Square made a $64M bid to purchase UMG; UMG responded. Music publishers moved to dismiss X’s antitrust suit. UMG settled a massive copyright lawsuit against Believe. Licensing negotiations between Suno and the major labels have stalled. Pepsi and Viagogo withdrew their sponsorships from Wireless Festival after Kanye was booked to perform; Then, West was blocked from entering the UK, forcing Wireless Festival to cancel. The International Festival Forum announced their expansion into LA. Offset was shot and hospitalized in Florida; Lil Tjay was arrested in connection. Pooh Shiesty was denied bail in the Gucci Mane kidnapping case. Leonard Cohen’s manager was exonerated of any financial wrongdoing after a 10 day trial. Queen Latifah will host the 2026 AMAs. Charli xcx’s team responded after Sky Ferreira suggested her old demos were used in Charli’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack. Folk singer-songwriter Murphy Campbell discovered that AI-generated covers of her music were uploaded onto her Spotify profile without her consent. A 50 Cent documentary series is set to premiere on Hulu.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Sony Music and Universal Music Group partner up to produce music festivals in Asia

• Secretly Distribution acquires Entertainment Intelligence and Babel Ops

• Virgin Music Group partners with Suede Records

• Ticketmaster grows face value resale program with CashorTrade

• OpenWav launches indie financing platform ‘OpenWav Artist Bank’

• Atlantic Music Group and Fader Label begin new “multi-level partnership”

• HYBE to curate new Indian girl group

• Key Production brings injection moulded records and tiny vinyl to Europe

• SBI Holdings negotiating to build Sphere replica in Japan

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

The concept of being “verified by pollstar” 🤣

Twitter tweet

Twitter tweet

Lmfao

Twitter tweet

Facts

Twitter tweet

Which one isn't true?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Prep School Street Team cease & desisted by Def Jam (46%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ROSTR introduced "Lists" (8%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Olivia Rodrigo dropping an album with more than 1 word as the title (23%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Gucci Mane kidnapped by Pooh Shiesty (23%)

Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, KAROL G

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Young Miko, Parcels, Jason Derulo, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Johnny Blue Skies

Coachella kicks off today with a headlining set from Sabrina Carpenter, Anyma's immersive live experience ÆDEN, and the debut of Radiohead's 17K square-foot audiovisual installation 'Motion Picture House: Kid A Mnesia.' We'll be recapping the biggest moments from Weekend One in next week's edition. Do your homework on who booked Coachella here.

Ahead of The xx's summer festival run, they made their return after 8 years with three nights playing Pepsi Center in Mexico City.

Céline Dion added 6 dates to her Paris residency for a total of 16 shows at La Défense Arena.

Björk is hosting a solar eclipse rave in Iceland this August with Arca + others performing.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Harry Styles, this year's Meltdown Festival curator, unveiled the lineup for the 2026 edition with performances from Blood Orange, Nilüfer Yanya, Kamasi Washington, Ninajirachi & more

• The Coachella valley, invite-only REVOLVE Festival shared Don Toliver, Kehlani, Mustard, Baby J + others will take the stage this weekend

• Riley Green, Tucker Wetmore, Diplo & Jon Pardi will headline the inaugural country, Cabo-based Splash Festival

❌ Cancellations:

• Wireless Festival has officially been cancelled following the controversial booking of Kanye West as headliner. The rapper’s entry visa was denied by the UK. Tickets will be fully refunded

• Due to a respiratory infection, Lady Gaga cancelled her Montreal show on Monday

Laufey, Lasso, Janelle Monáe

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Two-time GRAMMY winner Laufey has renewed her global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music, first signed in August 2023. The Icelandic-Chinese artist and youngest-ever Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album recipient is slated to drop her deluxe A Matter of Time: The Final Hour on April 10, just ahead of her sold-out 22-country world tour.

UTA locked up a deal with ten-time GRAMMY-nominated singer Janelle Monáe across touring, media, brand partnerships and more. After receiving a 2024 nod for Album of the Year, the entertainer has been busy acting and is set to appear in several upcoming projects, including the new Amazon movie Is God Is and Netflix adult animation series Bass X Machina.

Ahead of his forthcoming sixth studio album, Venezuelan artist Lasso signed with Interscope Records. The singer-songwriter just released his newest single ‘p0rn0grafía’ and has had recent collaborations with Ha*Ash, Piso 21 and Corina Smith.

Hot off the heels of his Heated Rivalry success, composer Peter Peter (real name Peter Jones) has signed with Range Music for management. The company first launched its composer division last year with Jeff Jernigan as the first hire who also represents talent like Tom Howe (Ted Lasso) & Brandon Roberts (Andor).

Texas country artist Dylan Gossett has found a new team at TMWRK for management, with Andrew McInnes, Paddy Scace, and Sydney Clarke handling the multi-platinum singer-songwriter behind ‘Coal.’ The Austin native released self-produced debut Westward in 2025 via Big Loud Texas/Mercury Records, selling over 100,000 headline tickets across the past two years alongside festival appearances at Stagecoach, SXSW, and Austin City Limits.

American pop singer-songwriter Ella Boh has joined Vector Management with Ken Levitan and Nicki Loranger signing on. The rising artist just wrapped tours supporting Artemas in the US, Ari Abdul in Europe and is about to drop her new EP Blurry.

+150 signings on ROSTR this week

Kevin Shivers, Ann Marie Licata, Miles Gersh

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Tuma Basa is leaving YouTube after eight years as Director of Black Music & Culture. No next move announced.

Kevin Shivers has been promoted to Co-President of Music at THE·TEAM (formerly Wasserman), where he'll partner with Lee Anderson to lead global strategy and operations across the live business.

Ann Marie Licata is now CEO of iHeartMedia's Multiplatform Group, the company's largest segment, covering 860+ local broadcast stations, live events, and the Premiere and TTWN networks.

Miles Gersh has been promoted to EVP, A&R at Warner Records, stepping up from VP. He'll continue reporting to CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and working alongside Karen Kwak and Gregg Nadel.

Chad Doerge joins Round Hill Music as President & Deputy CEO, bringing a finance and fintech background to the 200,000+ copyright catalog company.

Elsewhere in the industry:

• ATG Entertainment launched a dedicated live music and events division, ATG Live, naming Erik Newson as SVP to lead it.

• Andre Belcourt and Will Marshall join WME's contemporary music team in London. 

• Jamie Cutburth joins iHeartMedia as EVP of Marketing, arriving from NBCUniversal.

• Angela Barkan takes over as CEO of Shore Fire Media as founder Marilyn Laverty moves to Chairman. Co-president Mark Satlof also exits after 40 years at the firm.

• David Ryan Harris joins Spirit Music as VP of A&R and joint venture partner via his company Peace Pourage, Inc.

• Beth Kessenich joins whynow Media as VP of Sales & Business Development, North America, where she'll lead label, streaming, and artist partnerships.

• Ignition added three to its Nashville team: Vanessa Menzo as Artist Relations & Director of Digital and Social Media, Kennedy Fisher as Manager of Operations & Creative/Digital Strategy, and Tayler Burke as Day-to-Day Manager for rising country artist Tyra Madison.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, Global Catalog Recordings at BMG in Los Angeles, CA

• Director, Digital Marketing at Universal Music Group in Nashville, TN

• Head of Finance and Operations at EarthPercent in London, England, UK

• Senior Income Tracker at Wise Music Group in New York, NY / Los Angeles, CA

• Personal Assistant to High-Profile Music Artist at Career Group in Los Angeles, CA / Malibu, CA

↗ Find these and 310+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR

Happy Friday,

LISA live in Vegas, Bieber underplays LA, O-Rod is in her feels & Gucci Mane is safe.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

OneRepublic

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Thundercat, Swae Lee, Chris Stussy, Dermot Kennedy, Sam Barber, Lekan, Lewis OfMan, Paul Cauthen, Philine Sonny, Emma Harner, MONSTA X, Baalti & Lapgan…

♪ Notable singles from Ravyn Lenae & Dominic Fike, Disclosure, Arlo Parks, The Army, The Navy, Luke Grimes, Jessie Mazie, Anyma, Jack White, Emei, Phillip Phillips…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#7 - English singer-songwriter Arlo Parks opens up on ‘Beams,’ the NMF placement off of her Baird-produced third LP Ambiguous Desire.

#10 - Thundercat and A$AP Rocky are ‘Funny Friends’ on the bassist/singer’s latest project Distracted, which drops today.

#11 - Ireland’s Dermot Kennedy releases his third album The Weight of the Woods with NMF track ‘Turnstile.’

#12 - Weezer are back with their first new original release in years with ‘Shine Again.’

#22 - Recent Nice Life/Atlantic signee Emei shares the lead and title track off her forthcoming EP Night at the Opera.

#38 - Disclosure kicks off 2026 with their new single ‘The Sun Comes Up Tremendous,’ featuring Howard Lawrence on vocals and an official music video shot along the LA coast.

#40 - ‘Home’ has become ‘Homesick’ for Phillip Phillips as he returns with his first single in two years.

#49 - The Army, The Navy drop ‘Pretty, Pink and Soft’ in tandem with announcing their debut album Fake Brave Life arriving June 12th.

⭐ #76 - After gaining lots of traction online, Jessie Mazin releases her debut single ‘the man with money in his hands.’

#97 - Yellowstone’s Luke Grimes drops new track ‘Come Home,’ co-written with Dave Cobb and Jessie Jo Dillon.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Olivia Rodrigo

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Ella Langley, Holly Humberstone, Jessie Ware, Bilmuri, Laufey, Weezer, Snoop Dogg, Joe Jackson, WU LYF, Tenille Townes, Fantastic Cat, My New Band Believe, Lime Garden, Joyner Lucas all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Olivia Rodrigo, The Temper Trap, Kylie Morgan, The Army, The Navy, Converge, Thaiboy, Coleman Jennings, Chase Wright, Ted Lucas (box set), Jeff Parker, Born At Midnite, Russell Jamie Johnson, Loukeman, Of Montreal, Chxrry all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Spotify and the major labels are seeking a $322M default judgement in the Anna’s Archive case. According to an annual report, the gender pay gap at UMG is 47.96%, with women making about half of what men make in the same role. Deezer licensed its AI detection solution to Hungary. Lola Young is in recovery six months after collapsing on stage. Taylor Swift was hit with a trademark lawsuit tied to The Life of a Showgirl. The Eurovision Song Contest is expanding to Asia. Brazilian Soccer/Football legend Ronaldinho launched his own record label. Megan Thee Stallion was rushed to the hospital after falling ill during her Broadway performance of ‘Moulin Rouge.’ HYBE India launched a nationwide talent search to form a new girl group. The creator of *NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’ dance sued Sony Music over Deadpool’s dance to the track in Deadpool & Wolverine. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Cox Communications copyright case could reshape the copyright battle between X and major music publishers.

Olivia Rodrigo seems pretty sad for a girl so in love…

Rapper Pooh Shiesty was arrested on robbery and kidnapping charges that included Gucci Mane as one of three victims. Taylor Swift broke her own record at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, winning 7 of the 9 categories she was nominated for. Bandcamp debuted 3 new radio shows. Australian company Ticketek offered refunds to fans after advertising all members of Wu-Tang Clan would appear at Australian shows and several were no-shows. Fat Joe’s accuser dropped his claims of sex with underage girls and RICO in an updated lawsuit. A judge dismissed the lawsuit against Cardi B alleging her track ‘Enough (Miami)’ was copied from an earlier song. The Bob Marley estate is suing global cannabis company Tilray. Salt-N-Pepa filed an opening appellate brief to continue their fight with UMG over their copyrights.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Fender partners with Music Venue Trust

• Soundcloud now offers artists the option for follower-exclusive releases

• SeatGeek launches integration with ChatGPT

• WMG acquires independent distribution platform, Revelator

• CTS Eventim topped €3B revenue milestone in 2025

• Universal Music Group initiates €500M stock repurchase program

• Australia’s GYRO Group pushes into Latin America with Brazil expansion

• Dialled In Records launches to spotlight South Asian artists

• CTM Outlander acquires Matt Simons’ masters catalog

Group Chat

The section that’ll probably get us in trouble one of these days

Instagram post

IYKYK

Twitter tweet

She could never

Twitter tweet

What's your excuse for not using LinkedIn?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Because that website absolutely sucks (25%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Cool music biz ppl don't use it (33%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ I just use ROSTR 🤷‍♂️ (25%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Forgot my log in & still says I work in the mail room at WME (17%)

Daniel Caesar, Jungle, Benson Boone

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Daniel Caesar, Jungle, Shakira, Yeat, Benson Boone, Eagles, Jack White

BLACKPINK’S LISA announced her first residency “Viva La Lisa,” which will take place at the Colosseum for 2 weekends in November. She will be the first K-pop artist to have a Vegas residency.

1️⃣ One-Offs:

• With tickets that Los Angelenos definitely snapped up too quick, Kanye West played for the first time in the US in 5 years with 2 nights at SoFi Stadium this week

• At a private, fans-only event at The Roxy, Justin Bieber performed his first major US show in 4 years last Sunday; he played a 25-song setlist of tracks from the SWAG projects

• Hiatus Kaiyote will play the Sydney Opera House on July 12th to celebrate their 15th anniversary

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• The 2nd edition of John Summit’s Experts Only Festival dropped its first phase of artists including Prospa, Jackie Hollander & more

• Montreux Jazz Festival announced RAYE, PinkPantheress & Lewis Capaldi as headliners for the Swiss event this July

• Snow Machine unveiled its headliners for the Queenstown festival with Ninajirachi, Keli Holiday & Chet Faker amongst others

• Seattle’s Bumbershoot shared Death Cab for Cutie, Japanese Breakfast, Turnstile & more are set to play the festival

• The 5th Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix will feature performances from Zedd, Nelly, Marshmello, DJ Diesel, Loud Luxury & Kane Brown across the 3-day party

John Legend, Farruko, Sara Bareilles

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After nearly 20 years with manager Ty Stiklorius of Friends at Work, John Legend joined Roc Nation under CEO Jay Brown & Anthony Patterson. Stiklorius will continue as Legend's partner in non-music ventures while the Roc Nation roster - including Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and Megan Thee Stallion - adds the "All of Me" singer currently on his A Night of Songs & Stories Tour.

Farruko signed a 360 co-management deal with WK Entertainment and Massivo Entertainment, teaming up Walter Kolm with longtime associate Oscar Paniagua. The Puerto Rican reggaetón star brings 15B catalog streams and six Billboard 100 hits to the partnership, which was announced following his Ultra Music Festival 2026 performance with Steve Aoki.

Longtime pop staple Sara Bareilles has joined Rick Roskin & Kate Arenson’s touring roster at CAA. Managed by Izvor Zivkovic (Split Second) and John Meneilly (Left/Right), Bareilles recently starred in Girls5eva and earned a Tony nomination as The Baker's Wife in the 2022 Into The Woods revival.

Disney Descendants star Kylie Cantrall inked with Republic Records in partnership with APG and Heroine Music. The actress-singer released debut EP B.O.Y. via APG last year and sold out 40 North American arenas on the Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour. First single under the Republic deal, ‘Carrie Bradshaw,’ drops this spring.

Buzzy South London singer-songwriter fliss signed a worldwide publishing deal with PULSE Music Group. Only two songs out, her releases have already landed her some Spotify playlist covers and will be appearing at Reading Festival this summer.

Following their recent publishing deal with UMPG, Future Islands have logged another move, this time teaming up with Alex Bruford & Will Church of ROAM for touring representation WW (ex-CAN/USA). The band will release their forthcoming album From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth next month via 4AD.

+155 signings on ROSTR this week

Ezekiel Lewis, JungHee Ko, Devin Landau

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Ezekiel Lewis has been officially named Chairman/CEO of Epic Records. He's been at the Sony-owned label since 2018, rising from EVP and Head of A&R to President.

Devin Landau has joined CAA as an Agent in the Global Touring division, working out of Los Angeles. Landau co-founded TBA Agency.

Brian Miller steps up to Chief Business Officer at TuneCore, taking on oversight of all global business for the Believe-owned platform.

Shane Knotts has been promoted to SVP, Global Royalties at Sony Music Publishing. Knotts joined SMP in 1994 building his entire career at the company across more than three decades.

Kevin Mayer, former TikTok CEO and Disney executive, has been appointed to HYBE's board as a non-executive director, bringing extensive global entertainment experience.

UMG made three appointments across its Latin America and US Latino operations under chairman Jesús López: Alfredo Delgadillo promoted to CEO & President of Universal Music Latin Entertainment; Angel Kaminsky named President of A&R and Artist Relations for Latin America and Iberian Peninsula and Daniel Luna joining as GM of Universal Music Latino.

Big Machine Records / Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment made four hires: Jay Cruze as National Director of Promotion & Marketing, Carly Leach as Promotion & Marketing Coordinator, Christina Hunt as Manager of Digital Marketing, and Claudia Deters as Label Coordinator and EA to President/CEO Jimmy Harnen.

• Jon Baltz joins Symphonic as Head of UGC & Rights Management as part of the company's acquisition of YouTube monetization platform Distro Nation

• Blake Foster joins HYBE America as Head of Business Intelligence, coming from WMG where he was SVP of Business Intelligence.

• Allen Lo joins Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment as EVP and Chief Legal Officer, coming from VP of Legal and Deputy General Counsel at Meta.

• Claudia Namukasa and Charlotte Hancock have joined specialist music publisher Dynamite Songs as Catalog Manager and Rights Acquisition Manager. 

• Evan Winiker has been promoted to Managing Partner at Range Media Partners. Cameron Lutz rises to Partner, having joined in 2021 as SVP of Marketing before shifting into management.

• Kakao Entertainment named JungHee Ko co-CEO alongside existing co-CEO Joseph Chang; Ko will lead the company's new CPO unit.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• VP, Publishing A&R at BMG in Los Angeles, CA

• Tour Marketing Director at Mick Management in Los Angeles, CA

• Merchandise Operations Lead at 237 Global in Nashville, TN

• Ticketing Manager at Since Entertainment in New York, NY

• Digital Marketing, Manager at Nebula17 in Los Angeles, CA

↗ Find these and 320+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR

Happy Friday,

Primary snaps up Kobalt, Chance the Rapper wins $35, artists joining LinkedIn and Diplo is running to a city near you.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

Melanie Martinez

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from RAYE, Charlie Puth, Yeat, Melanie Martinez, Robyn, Slayyyter, Ty Myers, Fcukers, Elmiene, Central Cee, Tom Misch, Chief Keef, Fetty Wap, Flea, Cannons, Kota the Friend, NEEDTOBREATHE, Model/Actriz, oskar med k, Medium Build…

♪ Notable singles from Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Suki Waterhouse, Jungle, ZAYN, Bladee, Tkay Maizda, Jim Legxacy, Switchfoot, Lamb, Gelli Haha, Amelia Moore…

Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…

#1 - RAYE drops highly anticipated album THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE., featuring NMF track ‘I Know You’re Hurting.’

#4 - Yeat and Elton John, sorry, Elton John, wait… what? The unexpected pair team up on ‘Lose Control,’ part of Yeat’s newest body of work ADL.

#12 - All roads lead to Central Cee for his new album out now with track ‘WAGWAN’ landing on NMF.

#13 - Set to play Lollapalooza this year, favored British rapper and singer Jim Legxacy drops his first track of 2026 ‘idk idk.’

#15 - Paul McCartney shares his first new music since 2020 with ‘Days We Left Behind,’ the lead single from his forthcoming solo project The Boys of Dungeon Lane ahead of playing 2 nights at The Fonda in Los Angeles.

#17 - Jungle are back, sitting in a similar, but much sweeter pocket in ‘Carry On,’ the first track from their next album Sunshine, which was announced this week in tandem with a hefty AU/EU/NA tour.

#60 - LA-based indie act Lamb, known for her experimental and textural sound, shares her third record ‘Fort.’

#66 - I dare you to listen - Switchfoot returns with new music after several years with single ‘Wake Up, Mr. Crow.’

⭐ #86 - If Magdalena Bay and Remi Wolf were candy left out in the sun, Gelli Haha is the gorgeous, gooey aftermath. Her bonus track ‘Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep’ off her debut album Switcheroo is a maximalist, sugary, acid trip that will raise your blood sugar and make your eyes dilate.

⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.

Paul McCartney

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Arlo Parks, Swae Lee, Thundercat, Charley Crockett, Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE & SURF GANG, Sam Barber, A Place to Bury Strangers, Omah Lay, Paul Cauthen, Joe Pernice, Common Holly, deary, sunn O))), Bruce Hornsby, Charles Joseph Smith all have new projects expected to come out next week.