New Industry Friday A music industry newsletter you'll actually want to read, every week https://www.newindustryfriday.com/ Fri, 6 Mar 2026 18:10:40 +0000 Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:25:16 +0000 2026-03-06T17:25:16Z 2026-03-06T18:10:40Z Music Business Entertainment Copyright 2026, New Industry Friday https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/publication/logo/d08e24ef-d556-4acd-b3e4-a44ca926336e/Square.png New Industry Friday https://www.newindustryfriday.com/ https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification beehiiv en-us support@beehiiv.com (Beehiiv Support) Vol 68 - Read All The Time. Email, Occasionally. Harry’s Netflix’s guy, Puth goes AI, Britney gets a DUI & Lucy Dickins says bye. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-68-read-all-the-time-email-occasionally https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-68-read-all-the-time-email-occasionally Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:25:16 +0000 2026-03-06T17:25:16Z

Happy Friday,

Harry’s Netflix’s guy, Puth goes AI, Britney gets a DUI & Lucy Dickins says bye.

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

Shakira

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Harry Styles, Yebba, War Child Records, waterbaby, The Brook & The Bluff, Flying Lotus, Truman Sinclair, Juanes, Nettspend, slayr, ERRA…

♪ Notable singles from Fcukers, Ayra Starr, ivri, Isaia Huron, Channel Tres, John Vincent III, Friko, Ringo Starr, Dutch Interior, rusowsky, Nia Smith, it’s murph, The Army, The Navy…

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

#1 - Harry Styles’ fourth LP arrives today, claiming his friends are in love with ‘American Girls.’

#10 - Juice WLRD drops another posthumous collab, this time with Marshmello for ‘We Don’t Get Along.’

#11 - JYP Entertainment and Republic Records’ girl group GIRLSET release ‘Tweak.’

#30 - J Balvin, Amber Mark, Steve Vai and Travis Barker collab on the Coca-Cola Anthem for the FIFA World Cup 26TM , ‘Jump.’

#41 - Channel Tres announces “it’s Channel season” on his first single of the year ‘Medicine.’

#62 - Frequent Fred again.. collaborators (with writing and production credits on Actual Life 3) PARISI step out with the UK producer and Eyelar on ‘This Is Real (Disappear).’

#67 - Brazilian DJ and producer RHR delivers ‘SYRINX,’ a collaboration with Skrillex, Me Jesmay, and Lucas Swatch, as part of his new EP GÍRIA.

⭐ #70 - Rising R&B Londoner Nia Smith taps DESTIN CONRAD for a ‘Tough’ duo.

#75 - Ringo Starr releases the first single from his forthcoming album Long Long Road with ‘It’s Been Too Long’ featuring Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz.

#79 - Madrid-based multi-instrumentalist rusowsky shares bonus track ‘barquito’ from his 2025 LP DAISY.

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

underscores

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

James Blake, Jack Harlow, The Fray, PUP, Gavin Adcock, P1Harmony, Quarters, Sweet Pill, Tinariwen, Kim Gordon, The Sophs, Lamb of God, Kungs, Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds, ASIA, Blessing Jolie, Dream Theater, The Black Crowes all have new projects expected to come out next week.

underscores, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Maya Hawke, Friko, Charlotte Cornfield, Loraine James, Aldous Harding, Greg Mendez, zzzahara, Gia Margaret, Hammok, Lucy Liyou, Seefeel, Octo Octa, Devon Gilfillian, Ray Bull all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Suno passed 2M subscribers. Spotify launched audiobook charts in the U.S. and U.K. Diddy will get out of prison earlier than expected. Live Nation’s antitrust trial began earlier this week. Anna’s Archive lost its .org domain. Charlie Puth joined AI platform Moises as Chief Music Officer. The band Lit sued Sony Music for an alleged $800K in unpaid royalties. Apple Music introduced Transparency Tags allowing labels and distributors to apply them to their new content. Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl penned a letter to shareholders.

Britney Spears was arrested for a DUI.

Harry Styles will release a Netflix concert film along with the release of new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. the singer was also recently interviewed by legendary Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami in Runners World. Olivia Dean was appointed ambassador for Record Store Day UK this year after winning four awards at the Brits. Nicki Minaj was dropped by her lawyer in a $10M defamation lawsuit filed by a former fan against her. Will Smith asked a lawsuit brought against him by a tour violinist to be dropped. Justin Timberlake sued to stop the release of his 2024 DWI arrest video. Singer-Songwriter Neil Sedaka passed away at 86.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Pipeline acquires music valuation company Clarty

  • WMG partners with South Korean management agency, MAINSTREAM

  • Kobalt signs global publishing agreement with Sync Music

  • MusicInfra partners with The Royalty Network to optimize YouTube rights management

  • Ticketing app that “puts the box office in your pocket” launches

  • Create Music Group raises $450M in new round of funding

  • TAIT acquires Silent House to expand live experience empire

  • Eventbrite shareholders greenlight merger with Bending Spoons

  • BIGC partners with Bauer Lab to expand k-pop in the Middle East

  • Beatport and Beatsource are merging into one DJ marketplace

  • Bridgepoint and GoldState partner to invest in music-oriented businesses

  • Irenic reportedly launches $1.2B unsolicited bid for Reservoir

Group Chat

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

This is who you’re mad at for getting your grown up feelings hurt in Group Chat

tbh there is something douchey about my face here though so maybe you have a fair point

people who work in music, except it’s not endearing

same, can’t believe he really posted this.

Instagram post

girl, the war…

No notes.

Say that!!

Favorite normiemaxxing milennial music professional trait

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Tagging friends on the artist's team in your IG story from the concert (54%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Going to Japan (15%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ "Haha yeah I was actually talking to my therapist about this last week" (15%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Falling for the Miley Cyrus driving around LA as Hannah Montana PR stunt (15%)

Outside Lands

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Gorillaz, Smerz, underscores, Tash Sultana, Charley Crockett

NIVA, along with the rest of the Fix The Tix coalition, demanded in an open letter to the Senate there be a ban on reselling a ticket above its original total cost and for a 10% cap on all resale fees.

Ticketmaster announced it is working with Harry Styles' team to cancel listings on unauthorized resale ticketing sites for the artist's 'One Night Only' show in Manchester happening tonight.

Metallica tripled the number of dates at their Sphere residency with 16 more shows added going into 2027.

🏆 Record Breakers:

  • Shakira broke the record for attendance at her free Zócalo show in Mexico City with 400K fans in the audience

  • Bad Bunny set the record for the highest number of tickets sold at Sydney's ENGIE Stadium with 89K fans across two sold-out shows

  • Additionally, Roc Nation announced Bad Bunny's halftime performance racked up >4B views in 24 hours, combining traditional broadcasts, social media, international platforms & YouTube views

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • SF's Outside Lands unveiled its lineup with headlining sets from Charli xcx, The Strokes, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Baby Keem, Turnstile, The xx & more

  • Framework In The Desert – Coachella Weekend One afterparty – announced the lineup for its 5th edition with sets from Disclosure, Mochakk, Armin Van Buuren & others

  • Electric Forest continues to grow its lineup with Lane 8, Galantis, Yaeji & more set to perform

  • Oceans Calling 2026 in Maryland announced Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons, Hootie & The Blowfish, Gwen Stefani & Matchbox Twenty as headliners

  • Bogotá's Baum Festival unveiled its lineup with special performances from Disclosure & Underworld

  • My Chemical Romance, Tool, Limp Bizkit & Pierce The Veil will headline Sacramento festival Aftershock this October

  • Love Supreme Jazz Festival continues to add to its lineup with De La Soul, DJ Pee .Wee, Free Nationals, Sister Sledge & more

❌ Cancellations:

  • Festival organizers for Vegas' punk and emo festival When We Were Young announced it will be skipping this year, with a promise to return in 2027; no reason for the decision was given, the organizers explaining they want to give "the festival the care it deserves"

  • Charlotte de Witte revealed she cancelled her upcoming Australian shows, citing that the recent conflict in the Middle East has made it difficult "to risk free reroute travel for myself and my crew"

Charlotte Lawrence, Ari Abdul, Jamiroquai

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Jamiroquai have landed at BMG for a worldwide recording agreement, bringing three decades of funk innovation to the label's eclectic UK roster. The group have spent two years developing new material frontman Jay Kay believes ranks among their strongest work since emerging in the early 1990s with albums like Emergency on Planet Earth, Travelling Without Moving, and A Funk Odyssey.

After celebrating her four-year music debut last week, Ari Abdul has joined Foundations with Dawn Barger signing on for management duties. Her track ‘BABYDOLL’ has racked up over 300M streams and just released her newest single ‘So Good’ via Slumbo Labs/RCA last month. 

In the midst of a European tour opening for sombr, Charlotte Lawrence has signed with Anika Capozza of Front Row Management. The singer, who is engaged to superproducer Andrew Watt, has also written for major pop artists and appeared in fashion campaigns for brands like Marc Jacobs and Saks.

Ohio metalcore band Beartooth moved to Fearless Records after years at Red Bull Records, dropping debut single ‘Free’ to mark the shift. Their 2023 release The Surface hit #1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart while spawning back-to-back Active Rock radio toppers, adding to 1.3B career streams, one Platinum and one Gold plaque.

Atlanta duo Coco & Clair Clair have partnered with Bronwyn Ford & Bryan Ling of New Community Management. The pair earned attention with viral hit ‘Pretty’ – which Clairo featured in a Soundcloud mix – and will look to build on their 2024 album Girl.

After releasing sophomore album Midwest Rock & Roll through Big Machine Records in March 2025, Ryan Hurd has now signed with Jeff Krones, Katie Germano & Darin Murphy of CAA for touring. The two-time GRAMMY nominee has written Platinum #1s for Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, and Lady A while racking up over one billion streams as an artist.

+155 signings on ROSTR this week

Lucy Dickins, Damon Whiteside, Andrea Czapary Martin

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Lucy Dickins is stepping down from her role as co-head of WME’s contemporary music and touring division after four years.

Damon Whiteside is stepping down as ACM CEO after six-and-a-half years, with his official exit set for June 30. The organization has formed a search committee to identify his successor.

UK collection society PRS for Music announced Thursday that CEO Andrea Czapary Martin will step down at the end of 2026. Martin joined in 2019 and leaves having guided the organization to record royalty distributions of over £1 billion.

Universal Music Netherlands has tapped 8Ball Music founder Tony van de Berkt as its new CEO, effective immediately. He takes the reins from retiring CEO Kees van der Hoeven and will report to Frank Briegmann, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Central Europe and Deutsche Grammophon.

Electric Feel Entertainment has promoted Jamie Lierk to COO, tapping the seven-year company veteran to oversee operations across its Los Angeles and Nashville offices and help lead the buildout of its forthcoming Miami expansion.

  • Madison House Booking Agency is merging into Dynamic Talent International, adding Adam Bauer and Jennaya Ramirez as partners and pushing the agency's roster to 600+ clients.

  • Position Music appointed Garrett Ream and Mikelle Schwartz as co-heads of its label division, with Ream leading creative and Schwartz overseeing marketing.

  • Better Noise Music promoted Michael Lombardi to CCO and Erick Charles to VP of Marketing, and added Sarah Sigro as a Nashville-based marketing hire.

  • Sony Music Publishing named Stephanie Ortiz, formerly Believe's head of label, as GM of its new Philippines division.

  • Sony Music Publishing also promoted Michael Riggs to SVP, Licensing & Income Tracking, where he'll continue to lead the Licensing, Sync Administration, Global Income Tracking, and Client Audit teams.

  • Symphonic Distribution upped Guji Lorenzana to Director, A&R and Client Development, APAC, and brought on Arie Legowo and Abegail Ungab to round out the regional team.

  • BMI named John Powenski as SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer, based in Nashville.

  • Conway Entertainment Group hired Sherry May as Talent Buyer and Venue Consultant, supporting the launch of its new CEG Live consulting division.

  • The Syndicate hired Stevie Heckert as Sr. Manager of Digital Marketing and Jaymie Lunt as Jr. Designer.

  • Ground Control Touring signed Nashville-based agent Tommy Alexander, who joins from Wasserman.

  • Lucky Group added five across its management and agency divisions with Alex Tate and Charley Pope joining Teamwrk Management as Artist Managers, Tom Morrey coming aboard Lucky Agency as Sr. Agent, and Charlton Tran and Oliver Stitt as Junior Agents.

  • Nashville's Richlynn Group promoted Tyler Phillips, Emma Eyre, and Carly Scognamiglio to Account Manager roles.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Vice President of Marketing at Z2 Entertainment in Boulder, CO

  • Director, Account Management at Firebird in New York, NY

  • Executive Director at SFF Presents in Sisters, OR

  • Sync & Brand Manager at [PIAS] in London, England, UK

  • Promoter at Lucky Group in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

↗ Find these and 280+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 67 - There's nothing I won't do, I'd write it all for you Primary Wave x Kobalt 👀, Metallica enters Sphere & Thee Stallion takes the stage. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-67-there-s-nothing-i-won-t-do-i-d-write-it-all-for-you https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-67-there-s-nothing-i-won-t-do-i-d-write-it-all-for-you Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:32:29 +0000 2026-02-27T17:32:29Z

Happy Friday,

Primary Wave x Kobalt 👀, Metallica enters Sphere & Thee Stallion takes the stage.

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

BLACKPINK

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Bruno Mars, BLACKPINK, Mitski, Gorillaz, Perfume Genius, Joey Valence & Brae, DC THE DON, Ritt Momney, Red Leather, Master Peace…

♪ Notable singles from RAYE, Melanie Martinez, Swae Lee, Yeat & EsDeeKid, Laufey, John Summit & Julia Wolf, doggone, MPH, she’s green, Ava Max, Slayyyter, Jayda G, Towa Bird…

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

#5 - BLACKPINK are back with new EP DEADLINE including NMF track ‘GO,' produced by TEDDY and Cirkut.

#6 - With A Dangerous Lyfe forthcoming, Yeat teams up with buzzy Liverpudlian EsDeeKid for ‘Made It On Your Own.’

#7 - Melanie Martinez drops dark satire ‘DISNEY PRINCESS,’ writing about how the entertainment industry affects young women.

#16 - Swae Lee’s new track is highly ‘FLAMMABLE’ – the rapper & singer just announced his debut album today.

⭐ #21 - Mk.gee-coded newcomer doggone drops their latest single, ‘Imitation (how to become you).’

#49 - ‘Flex It’ – the MPH track that Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter dropped in his b2b livestreamed set with Fred again.. from Paris – drops today via Chris Lake’s imprint Black Book featuring vocals from Æ.

#67 - Joey Valence & Brae drop the deluxe edition of their album HYPERYOUTH (afterparty) with ‘push the pipe’ landing on NMF, which references the infamous DJ Funk Flex “put your hand in the cash register” meme from 2011.

#83 - Big Family client Master Peace drops his EP Stupid Kids with featured NMF track ‘My Guitar.’

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

Swae Lee

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Harry Styles, Charlie Puth, Ty Dolla $ign, Yebba, The Brook & The Bluff, Barry Can’t Swim, Flying Lotus, Gnarls Barkley, Daniel Avery, Juanes, Morrissey, Talking Heads, waterbaby, Willa Ford, GUM, Godsmack, Charlotte Sands, Cobrah, Dutch Interior all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Swae Lee, Gnarls Barkley, Bon Iver (live album), Michael Bublé (live album), Niall Horan, ERNEST, Elmiene, Jamiroquai, Highwomen, Hurray For The Riff Raff (live album), Amy Grant, Big Harp, Wu Lyf, Lebra Jolie, Squarepusher, Armanii, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, girli all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Block announced that the company cut 40% of staff, over 4K people. Primary Wave is in talks to potentially buy Kobalt Music Group. A producer dropped their lawsuit against KAROL G after accusing her of stealing a beat for 2022’s ‘Gatúbela.’ Live Nation asked to pause its antitrust trial against the DOJ. A collective of artist representatives launched the ‘Say No to Suno’ campaign. Flavor Flav welcomed the U.S. women’s olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey team to a celebration in Vegas. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2026 nominees including Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Wu-Tang Clan and more. Megan Thee Stallion joined the Broadway cast of ‘Moulin Rouge.’ Miley Cyrus moved to dismiss the ‘Flowers' suit before trial. EVEN was hit with a lawsuit over discrimination and labor violation claims. Salt-N-Pepa filed a notice of appeal over the dismissal of their lawsuit against UMG; Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. Isaac Hayes’ estate reached a private settlement with Donald Trump after Trump’s 2024 campaign used ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’’ without permission.

Salsa music legend Willie Colón passed away at 75. Wu-Tang Clan cofounder Oliver “Power” Grant passed away at 52.

NIVF + NIVA are kicking off their 4-Part Marketing Development Series with Being Your Brand on March 19 at 3:30pm ET — save your spot here.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • AXS expands Tickets for Good partnership to the UK

  • SACEM inks historic pact with UAE CMO EMRA

  • Google acquires AI music platform ProducerAI

  • Sony Music Publishing opens branch in the Philippines

  • Mogul secures $5M in funding led by Yamaha Innovations Fund

  • BSI Merch boosts Berlin hub ahead of EU duty changes

  • Animaj signs global deal with Magic Star, Sony Music Publishing

  • AI sample startup Just 4 Noise raises $1M

  • Apple Music Connect relaunches – with a difference

  • Atlantic Music Group enters new partnership with Today Is Vintage

Group Chat

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

They not like us 😤

We should still be in proper therapy, though, probably

Normiemaxxing millennials need to be stopped

Instagram post

What should Billboard do?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Tackle Spotify’s per stream rates (39%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Do glam shoots with its playlist editors (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ A listening party, obviously (22%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Start publishing maoist papers in defense of Anna's Archives (28%)

Metallica

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Mumford & Sons, NAV, Brooks & Dunn, jigitz, Grace Ives

Metallica confirmed the rumors of their Sphere residency with 8 dates lined up this October. The band will continue to uphold their tradition of "no repeat weekends," meaning no songs repeating on each Thursday and Saturday through the duration of their stay.

Brandi Carlile's "Be Human: A Concert for Minneapolis" show last weekend raised >$600K for families affected by ICE and border patrol agents in the city.

Tame Impala extended their tour to their native Australia for four arena shows in October, bringing along special guest and rising Australian electronic act Ninajirachi.

Keeping it down under, Camilo Ippoliti, owner of iconic Melbourne nightclub Revolver, has taken legal action against his former bookkeeper for misappropriating ~$4.5M from the venue over the last 2 years. Ippoliti alleged she had used "fake transaction descriptions" to disguise her theft including fake invoices and staff Christmas party reimbursements.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • HARD Summer revealed its stacked lineup with sets from Mau P, Kali Uchis, DJ Snake, Knock2 b2b Zedd, Sammy Virji & many more

  • Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit & Tool are set to headline Kentucky's Louder Than Life this September

  • Osheaga's 2026 headliners are Twenty One Pilots, Lorde, Tate McRae, sombr, The xx & Gunna

  • Move Forward Music’s debut Brooklyn festival Sounds That Move will feature headlining performances from Saba, Hope Tala, Mark William Lewis & more

  • Tim McGraw, new Crush client Keith Urban & Blake Shelton will perform at CMA Fest in Nashville this June amongst others

  • Atlanta's Shaky Knees festival will be headlined by Gorillaz, The Strokes & Twenty One Pilots

  • Borderland Festival unveiled Jack White, Alabama Shakes & Lord Huron will headline the New York-based event this September

  • Starlite Occident Marbella's 2026 lineup includes Maroon 5, Ozuna, Lenny Kravitz & Yandel

  • YUNGBLUD's Bludfest will plant its flag in Czechia this June with headliners Biffy Clyro & Primal Scream

❌ Cancellations:

  • Rolling Loud Australia has been cancelled a week ahead of its scheduled showtime with the festival blaming local partners for missing deadlines and obligations. Purchased tickets will be fully refunded.

  • Tom Morello postponed some solo shows in May to join Bruce Springsteen on his recently announced "Land of Hopes and Dreams" US tour; The Boss previously joined Morello at his “Concert of Solidarity & Resistance to Defend Minnesota!” show last month

  • Charley Crockett cancelled concerts in Canada, confirming the country couldn't on account of Crockett's conviction for cannabis possession in Virginia back in 2014. Crazy

Anitta, Keith Urban, Ava Max

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Country superstar Keith Urban has signed with Crush Music for management following the retirement of his manager of 25 years, Gary Borman, who closed Borman Entertainment after a 50-year run. The four-time GRAMMY winner joins a Crush roster that includes acts like Miley Cyrus, Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Lorde.

After leaving her longtime label home of Atlantic Records, pop powerhouse Ava Max has now signed a new deal with APG. The announcement arrives alongside her new single ‘KiLL iT QUEEN’ and marks a reunion with APG co-founder Mike Caren, who originally signed Max in 2016 and was instrumental in developing her signature theatrical pop sound.

Iconic ska-punk band Sublime has signed with Atlantic Records following an indie run where their single ‘Ensenada’ spent eight weeks atop Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart without major label support. The deal arrives as the trio, featuring Jakob Nowell (son of late frontman Bradley Nowell) alongside original members Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, celebrates the 30th anniversary of their 5x Platinum self-titled 1996 album.

After a several-year stint with UTA, Brazilian star Anitta has returned to WME for worldwide representation with Brad Slater, Rob Markus & Ben Totis signing on to her team. The major agency will look to guide the Latin pop artist across music, television, beauty and elsewhere.

GRAMMY-winning artist Shaboozey's EMPIRE partnership now extends to publishing after the massive success of 'A Bar Song (Tipsy),' which has earned Diamond certification. Publishing chief Vinny Kumar worked with Eric Hurt - who brought Shaboozey to EMPIRE's label side in 2021 - to close this portion of the deal.

Canadian EDM duo Loud Luxury have signed with Moe Shalizi and Scott Marcus of The Shalizi Group for management, reuniting with Shalizi who brought them on their first tour with Marshmello. They'll be co-managed alongside Northside Artist Management, joining a roster that includes Marshmello, Alesso, and Afrojack. The group also recently signed with Republic/Casablanca Records.

+240 signings on ROSTR this week

Greg Prata, Lauren Demarte,  Alicia Pruitt

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Sony Music Publishing promoted Greg Prata to CFO, effective March 31, succeeding Tom Kelly who is retiring after a 35-year career. Prata has been with Sony since 2012 and will oversee all financial ops globally, reporting to chairman/CEO Jon Platt.

AEG International promoted John Langford to President, APAC, effective April 1, where he'll lead the company's Asia-Pacific venue and real estate expansion. Langford has been with AEG since 2016, most recently serving as EVP of Venues.

David Bradley has jumped from WME to CAA, where he co-led the pop division and built his reputation working with artists including Dua Lipa, LCD Soundsystem, and Carly Rae Jepsen on international touring across Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Suno named former Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota as Chief Commercial Officer, where he'll lead the AI music company's commercial strategy, industry relationships, and platform partnerships.

GoDigital Music has tapped Lauren Demarte as its first-ever COO. The former Cinq Music Group SVP of Marketing will lead operational strategy across the company's global music and tech businesses.

Tape Room Music has named Alicia Pruitt as CCO/President, A&R, reporting to CEO and Founder Ashley Gorley. Pruitt comes over from Warner Chappell Music, where she spent years as a senior A&R executive.

  • Lodovico Pagani appointed Head of A&R at Warner Chappell Italy where the publisher also promoted Francesca Rossi to Head of Legal and brought on Giacomo Domenichelli as A&R Manager.

  • Ryan Tedder's Runner Music named Julia Betley as Head of Sync, joining from Warner Records where she served as SVP of Creative Sync Licensing.

  • AXS promoted Julie Lamb to Chief Talent Officer and Jason Boxer to CFO.

  • Community Music (UNIFIED Music Group) tapped startup investor Matt Allen as Head of Artist Capital to expand the Australian indie's in-house artist funding program.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Head of Music & Talent at Purple in Los Angeles, CA / New York, NY

  • Director of Digital Marketing at Bright Antenna Records in San Francisco, CA

  • Associate Director (Insights & Reporting) at Sony Music Entertainment in Los Angeles, CA

  • Business Development Manager at GYRO.Group in North America

  • Artist Management Coordinator at Good People Only in Canada

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


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]]> Vol 66 - You're re-reading my newsletters, acting obsessed Downtown goes Universal, Mr. Worldwide goes for a world record & Hannah Montana + Hilary Duff comebacks are underway. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-66-you-re-re-reading-my-newsletters-acting-obsessed https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-66-you-re-re-reading-my-newsletters-acting-obsessed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:25:23 +0000 2026-02-20T17:25:23Z

Happy Friday,

Downtown goes Universal, Mr. Worldwide goes for a world record & Hannah Montana + Hilary Duff comebacks are underway.

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

Lana Del Rey

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Megan Moroney, Baby Keem, Hilary Duff, spilltab, WILLOW, Mumford & Sons, U2, YUNGBLUD, Sports, alexsucks, Choker…

♪ Notable singles from Lana Del Rey, Twenty One Pilots, Yebba, Ty Dolla $ign & Leon Thomas, Jorja Smith, Jessie Ware, Chloe Qisha, Cannons, Tiffany Day, Snail Mail…

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

#1 - Megan Moroney releases her 3rd studio album including new track ‘Medicine,’ produced by Kristian Bush.

#2 - Lana Del Rey drops her first track of the year ‘White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter,’ which features a music video where she puts her head in an oven and a cameo from her husband.

#4 - Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar & Momo Boyd are ‘Good Flirts’ off Keem’s sophomore project Ca$ino, which drops today.

#7 - WILLOW has returned with her latest album petal rock black, which includes track ‘ear to the cocoon,’ one of this week’s NMF picks.

#8 - Thundercat lets Mac Miller shine on posthumous collab ‘She Knows Too Much’

#12 - Mumford & Sons and Gracie Abrams team up on ‘Badlands’ on Mumford’s new album Prizefighter. Other collabs on the album include Hozier, Chris Stapleton, Gigi Perez and more.

⭐ #54 - Choker releases his first project in 8 years, Heaven Ain’t Sold with ‘Good’ landing a spot on NMF.

#98 - Tiffany Day wants to ‘START OVER’ on her newest track (via broke? 👀)

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

Labi Siffre

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

BLACKPINK, Bruno Mars, Gorillaz, The Head And The Heart, Andrew Bird, Carpenter Brut, Inner Wave, Iron & Wine, Paul McCartney, Ritt Momney, Rob Zombie, Tinlicker, Rob Zombie, Morrissey, Maria BC, Crooked Fingers, Voxtrot all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Labi Siffre, Foo Fighters, YUNGBLUD, Charley Crockett, Yaya Bey, Grace Ives, Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds, Lykke Li, Ryan Bingham, Irreversible Entanglements, Shinedown, A Place To Bury Strangers, Rodney Atkins, Visible Cloaks, Rachel Lime, Hrishikesh Hirway, Ana Roxanne, Stuck, Laura Misch, Dusty Black, Whipped Cream, Jay Buchanan all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The free and virtual Measure of Music Conference starts today - make sure you sign up now!

Manchester Orchestra drummer Tim Very passed away at 42. Casey Wasserman plans to sell the talent agency following intense scrutiny over his appearance in the Epstein files. UMG and Virgin Music Group completed their acquisition of Downtown Music. Anna’s Archive released a new round of torrents from its Spotify scrape, this time including actual music files. Google launched its “most advanced” AI music generator yet. Attorneys General from California and Connecticut signaled that they are willing to try Live Nation on antitrust charges even if the DOJ decides to settle its lawsuit. Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show led to a 245% spike in travel searches for Puerto Rico. Miley Cyrus will reprise her role as Hannah Montana for a 20th Anniversary special on Disney+. A fan sued Donny Osmond after suffering a “traumatic retinal injury” at his Vegas residency. TikTok unveiled a Charli xcx hub for the new “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack. Taylor Swift introduced ‘Blade Angels: Three American showgirls on ice’ in a new video. Gene Simmons doesn’t want Hip-Hop artists in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Ray J performed with bleeding eyes amidst his recent health struggles; he was later accused of using fake blood.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • UMG partners with direct-to-fan platform EVEN

  • SeatGeek announces Spotify integration

  • Artist First and AWAL announce strategic partnership

  • Hook raises $10M series A to scale fan creation tools

  • MusicBird acquires catalog of R&B duo Majid Jordan

  • Openstage makes ticketing tool used by megastars available to all artists

  • Culture Wave integrates Polarizer Management

  • Gigantic Tickets signs primary ticketing deal with Crosstown Concerts

  • YouTube Music introduces AI playlist creation tool for premium users

  • Independent Franchise Partners takes $1.2BN+ stake in UMG

  • Blaze James launches Arduous Records with Virgin Music

  • PRS For Music will not factor UK grassroots levy into licensing calculations

  • Deezer unveils ‘Flow Tuner,’ promises users greater control over the algorithm

  • Sony Group launches new tech to track copyrighted material in AI-generated music

  • Apple Music launches full-length streams and listening parties within TikTok

Group Chat

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

life is a flat circle

billboard finally tackling spotify’s per stream rates instead of doing glam shoots with its playlist editors

are we ready for this convo yet??

Is the music industry boring right now?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (38%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ No (23%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Are you freaking kidding me 🍿 (31%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I actually don't work in the music biz, I just love this group chat section (8%)

Backstreet Boys

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: J. Cole, RÜFÜS DU SOL, The Kid Laroi, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, James Blake

In perhaps the most important news in the live world this week, Pitbull will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing bald caps at his BST Hyde Park set this July. The attempt follows the long-standing trend of attendees wearing a bald cap, black suit, and sunglasses to his shows.

Backstreet Boys announced 6 more dates of their Sphere residency this summer with the band landing back in the immersive venue starting mid-July.

As if a Best Album GRAMMY and headlining Super Bowl LX wasn't enough, Bad Bunny will now headline Spotify's first Asia edition of its Billions Club Live series in Tokyo. Benito has had 28 songs cross the billion mark and last year he landed No. 1 Global Top Artist on Spotify (for the fourth time). This will be the star's first time performing in Asia.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Meltdown Festival has found its new curator in Harry Styles, who will headline this year's event, which will be the 75th anniversary of its venue Southbank Centre. Harry explained his goal "is to share the music and art that I love, and to celebrate the rich history of the venue"

  • Down under, FISHER revealed his curated lineup for OUT 2 LUNCH, with performances from Gorgon City & more. Debuting in 2024, this year's festival has expanded across four Australian cities, kicking off in Melbourne this May

  • Dallas' Breakaway Music Festival announced its stacked lineup with FISHER, Disclosure, Eli Brown, SOFI TUKKER & more confirmed for this April

  • Garth Brooks, Don Toliver, Post Malone, Jelly Roll & more will headline Summerfest 2026

  • Bourbon & Beyond returns to Kentucky with headlining performances from Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons, and Chris Stapleton

  • Train's 9th edition of Sail Across the Sun will leave the harbor next February, traveling from Miami to Jamaica across 5 days. Jet, KT Tunstall, and Lisa Loeb will perform amongst others

Loud Luxury, Victoria Monét, Marcus King

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After amassing over 4B streams, electronic duo Loud Luxury announced they have expanded their management team to include Moe Shalizi and Scott Marcus of The Shalizi Group. They’ll join Northside Artist Management, led by Talal Farisi, Adrian Simon & Jackson Partrich who has been with the group since 2015.

Southern rock & blues artist Marcus King has signed with new management at Electric Feel with Ashton Chryssicas and Austin Rosen jumping aboard his team. The 29-year-old dropped his latest album, Darling Blue, last fall and begins his Waltz Across Texas tour this coming May.

2024 GRAMMY Best New Artist Victoria Monét joined Caroline Yim, Sam Kirby Yoh, Scott Mantell & Matt Reinberg’s UTA touring roster for North America this past week. The R&B artist will continue to be repped by WME for the rest of the world and is slated to join Bruno Mars in the summer on The Romantic Tour across Europe.

Blu DeTiger has teamed up with Brandon Goodman and Danny Rukasin of BEST FRIENDS. for management. The 2026 Future of Bass award winner dropped her debut album All I Ever Want Is Everything in 2024 via Capitol (she’s now independent) and has opened for artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie Puth, Bleachers & more.

Rising R&B artist Isaia Huron has signed with RCA Records in partnership with SLANG who released his previous projects. He released his first single via the new agreement last week, ‘W.T.A.’, which acts as a preview for his upcoming album, Mr. Lovebomb, coming later this year.

Belgian indie rock group The Haunted Youth locked in a record deal with Play It Again Sam. The band, led by Joachim Liebens, released their first single ‘deathwish’ on the label last week and also signed on with WME’s Andy Duggan, Joe Friel, Justin Edwards & Tor Breon for touring in the US & EU.

+115 signings on ROSTR this week

Jake Basden, Vivian Wang Donohue, Brad Turcotte

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Vivian Wang Donohue joins The ROSTR Group as Chief Growth Officer from Apple, where she led growth across Apple Music and Apple Services.

HYBE AMERICA's Nashville division rebranded as Blue Highway Records, appointing Jake Basden as CEO.

Virgin Music Group has completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, naming Downtown CEO Pieter van Rijin as COO of VMG.

TEG Live appointed Brad Turcotte as Senior VP of Country, operating out of the company's Nashville office.

Patron Saints of Music appointed Allie Moskovits as Head of Sync & Business Development. Moskovits joins from BMG, where she led the TV & Film production music department.

Various Artists Management made a wave of senior appointments at its London HQ, naming Rebecca Dixon Global Head of Marketing & Strategy, Keyleigh Ramchand-Bentley General Manager UK, Kelley Fox Sr. International A&R, and promoting George Shepherd to Associate Director.

Boutique management company Culture Wave announced the integration of Polarizer Management, adding Ryan Cunningham and Mike Bingham, promoted Rachel Hacken to Artist Manager, and brought on several new hires across touring, day-to-day, and digital marketing.

Secretly Distribution named longtime COO Chris Welz as Partner after two decades with the company, where he's helped build its global physical operations and digital services into a business now exceeding tens of billions of streams.

  • AXS named Henrik Berndtson as Head of Nordics, based in Stockholm.

  • Oli Welch has been appointed Head of A&R at dance music label Ministry of Sound.

  • Cobra Agency hired Christina Austin (formerly UTA) and Stephen Moss (founder of Echelon Artists) as agents in the UK, as the Austria-based rock and metal booking agency expands its international footprint.

  • Country Music Hall of Fame promoted Maggie Banker to Sr. Director of Marketing, Denise Alvis to Director of HR, Nancy Cason to Assoc. Director of Guest Experience, and Meredith Rife to Assoc. Director of Social Media.

  • Milestone Collective promoted Nick Weakley to Social Media Manager.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director of Business Strategy at HYBE America in Santa Monica

  • Sr. Director, Business & Legal Affairs, North America & LATAM at BMG in LA

  • Sr. Sales Executive, Performing Arts at Opendate (Anywhere)

  • Sr. A&R at Because Music in Paris

  • Senior Manager, Finance (Record Label & Distribution) at Roc Nation in NY

↗ Find these and 300+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR

New: Independent Live Jobs Powered by NIVF x ROSTR

Independent venues, festivals and promoters are hiring — and finding those roles just got easier!

ROSTR has partnered with the National Independent Venue Foundation to host NIVF’s job board, creating a centralized hub for careers in independent live entertainment. With the new Indie Live tag, job seekers can quickly find opportunities that support grassroots venues, festivals, promoters and the people behind live music.


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]]> Vol 65 - I can't escape the story you gave me, constant reading in my brains UMG goes Downtown, this is what tours are made of & "We were going to get this done for Bad Bunny no matter what” - guy who played a chunk of grass 🌱🌿 https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-65-i-can-t-escape-the-story-you-gave-me-constant-reading-in-my-brains https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-65-i-can-t-escape-the-story-you-gave-me-constant-reading-in-my-brains Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:32:40 +0000 2026-02-13T17:32:40Z

Happy Friday,

UMG goes Downtown, this is what tours are made of & "We were going to get this done for Bad Bunny no matter what” - guy who played a chunk of grass 🌱🌿

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

Central Cee

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Charli xcx, Danny L Harle, Feng, Brent Faiyaz, Claire Rosinkranz, Bella Kay, Esha Tewari, hemlocke springs, Jill Scott, flyingfish, Chet Faker…

♪ Notable singles from Ella Langley, Bleachers, Luke Combs, Central Cee, MUNA, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Meghan Trainor, Fcukers, Victoria Monét, James Blake…

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

#1 - In tandem with the release of “Wuthering Heights,” Charli xcx drops her album of the same name, inspired by the film with features from Sky Ferreira & John Cale.

#2 - XL client Danny L Harle released Cerulean calling on frequent collaborators like Caroline Polachek, Clairo, Dua Lipa, PinkPantheress & more with ‘Two Hearts’ landing on the playlist.

#3 - Ella Langley drops the 2nd single ‘Be Her’ off of her upcoming album Dandelion. The track was co-written with HARDY, Jordan Schmidt and Smith Ahnquist.

#6 - Bleachers are back! After 2 years away, Jack Antonoff and the band drop ‘you and forever,’ with a music video featuring Margaret Qualley.

#24 - CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso are back with their new single ‘HASTA JESÚS TUVO UN MAL DÍA,’ featuring Sting, following the announcement of their upcoming album FREE SPIRITS set for release on March 19.

#30 - Meghan Trainor releases high energy ‘Get In Girl’ just in time for Galentine’s Day. The track is the 2nd single from her 7th studio album Toy With Me.

#39 - The Red Clay Strays deliver their first love song since ‘Wondering Why’ with ‘If I Didn’t Know You,’ dropping just before V-day with a music video starring Matt Rife and Mariah Morse.

#83 - Flatland Cavalry drops ‘On and On’ alongside the announcement of their fifth studio album Work of Heart, dropping March 27th.

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

Baby Keem

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Hilary Duff, Baby Keem, The Aces, Bryce Vine, Megan Moroney, The Neighbourhood, Peaches, Sports, Tori Amos, Worry Club, Naïka, Absolutely all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Baby Keem, Jack Harlow, Bleachers, MUNA, Jill Scott, Feng, Bebe Rexha, 49 Winchester, Jim Lauderdale, Gia Margaret, Lip Critic, White Fence, Hiss Golden Messenger, Kevin Morby all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The Seahawks won the Super Bowl last Sunday, but Bad Bunny was the biggest winner of the night with more than 135.4M viewers. More on that in the Live World...

3 Doors Down lead singer Brad Arnold passed away at 47.

The European Commission finally approved UMG’s $775M acquisition of Downtown. Spotify reached 290M paid subscribers in Q4 2025. Anna’s Archive has not responded to the lawsuit from UMG, Warner, Sony and Spotify, so the suit may be settled in default judgement; the piracy activist group has also started quietly releasing music files that it took during last year’s hack. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson are demanding that music from Phantom Thread be removed from the Melania doc. Pandora accused The MLC of abusing its position. EU regulators advised TikTok to change its “addictive design” in Europe or it could face hefty fines. Duetti released it 2025 Music Economics Report.

Discogs launched a ‘My Discography’ documentary series. 90’s music is taking over Olympic Figure Skating this year. Czech Ice Dancers used AI music in their rhythm dance program, technically not breaking any official rules but still facing backlash. Britney Spears sold her catalog to Primary Wave. Music by Radiohead, 2Pac and more were inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. Tyla is no longer facing a lawsuit over royalty split from 2023’s ‘Water.’ Chris Brown was sued over royalties by Muso. J. Cole responded to Cam’ron’s lawsuit over their collab on ‘Ready ‘24.’

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Mozart AI raises $6M in oversubscribed funding round

  • Music collectibles platform Wax Poetics raises $1M

  • Warner Music UK partners with Generator on three-year-deal

  • StrmMusic ups its advances for North American creators

  • SoundExchange secures new agreements in Barbados, Denmark, Kenya, Portugal, and more

  • Connect Music raises $80M for artist financing and catalog purchases

  • CAA, UTA, and WME veteran Billy Wood opens new live agency, HAUS23

  • Create Music Group invests $300M in Nettwerk Management buyout

  • Spotify unveils new ‘About the Song’ feature

  • Sketch Music partners with BMG in new global recordings deal

Group Chat

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

they must not read pitchfork, the la times, or follow AvA or prep school street team 👀

cannot get enough of this shit 🌿

- Guy who played a chunk of grass during the halftime show

absolute snowflakes ❄️

Favorite GRAMMY moment this year?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Cher. (63%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Chappell's red carpet dress (23%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Nobody arguing with BNA winner (0%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Sab Carp x Bad Bunny (9%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The fact it's Trevor Noah's last year (5%)

Bad Bunny at Super Bowl LX

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🏟️ Bad Bunny Bowl:

Teeing up Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show were performances from Coco Jones, Green Day, Brandi Carlile & Charlie Puth (who sang a Whitney Houston-inspired arrangement of the National Anthem). Benito’s set featured performances from Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin with cameos from KAROL G, Cardi B, Pedro Pascal, Jessica Alba & more.

A lot of other stuff happened:

  • A real couple was wed (they originally invited Bad Bunny to their wedding, he did them one better)

  • His custom Zara outfit bore No. 64, a tribute to his uncle who introduced him to American football

  • 500 people dressed up as grass, and got paid $18.70 / hour to do so

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Hilary Duff, Baby Keem, Tame Impala, Mitski, Robyn

Hilary Duff announced her first global headlining tour in almost 20 years. The "Lucky Me Tour" will span 47 dates and follow a Vegas residency and the release of her album Luck… Or Something on February 20th.

Sharing an album release date with Duff, rapper Baby Keem unveiled his sophomore album Ca$ino alongside EU/NA tour dates that kick off this April.

Keem's label mate Tame Impala announced a new slew of North American dates this summer in support of their newest project Deadbeat, bringing along fan favorites Djo & Dominic Fike. The team up confirms online leaks of Ticketmaster dates for the tour before the official announcement was made today.

Rounding out tour news, Punjabi performer Diljit Dosanjh's 13-date "Aura World Tour" is set to break records such as the first Indian act to sell out stadium shows at BC Place and Rogers Centre in Canada.

The 10th annual edition of Love Rocks NYC announced its performers with Mary J. Blige, Hozier, The Goo Goo Dolls, Jon Batiste, Paul Simon & more to take the stage this March.

Guns N' Roses will headline the bp Adelaide Grand Final (racing btw) in November.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Wisconsin festival Eaux Claires announced its return after 8 years, this time with a Bon Iver-curated lineup in Dijon, Daniel Caesar, Aimee Mann, Lil Yachty, Kevin Morby, and Julianna Barwick amongst others

  • J Balvin, Kali Uchis & Fuerza Regida will headline Sueños 2026

  • Paris’ We Love Green dropped its lineup with Gorillaz, The xx, Addison Rae, Hayley Williams, ROLE MODEL and more set to play

  • Cheltenham Jazz Festival shared its lineup of performers for its 30th anniversary including Jessie J, Van Morrison, Corinne Bailey Rae & others

❌ Cancellations:

  • Neil Young cancelled all 2026 dates for his upcoming EU tour; the rock legend explained he decided to take a break, sharing “I’m sorry to let you down but this is not the time”

Bad Bunny, North West, Tyler Booth

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Following his Album of the Year win at the GRAMMYs and Super Bowl halftime show performance, Bad Bunny has extended his hot streak by re-signing his publishing deal with Rimas. The Puerto Rico-founded company represents more than 150 creators including more renewals with writers and producers like Mora, Cris MJ, Tempo, Cheo Legendary and others.

After their recent signing of Kanye West for his upcoming album, gamma. has now locked in a deal with his daughter North West. Her first single ‘PIERCING ON MY HAND’ dropped on Friday, produced by Ye and Will Frenchman. The company also added pop artist Olivia O’Brien to their roster.

Three-time GRAMMY winner singer Victoria Monét expands her touring team, adding on UTA for representation in North America. The agency will additionally represent her for film and television. Her latest single ‘Let Me’ drops today, and she will be joining Bruno Mars on “The Romantic Tour” for the Europe leg.

Kentucky native Tyler Booth has announced the formation of his team with The Erv Woolsey Company signing on for management as well as locking in a JV record deal with Jamey Johnson’s Big Gassed Records and Average Joes Entertainment. The singer-songwriter has toured with Brantley Gilbert, Darius Rucker & others and is slated to release new music very soon.

New Zealand pop duo Balu Brigada announced their signing to independent music publisher Kobalt. The brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley released their debut album, Portal, last year via Warner Music Australia/Atlantic.

Acclaimed Canadian pop artist elijah woods has signed with Simkin Artist Management for global representation, partnering with Jonathan Simkin and Isaac Markinson. A multi-platinum, four-time JUNO Award–nominated singer-songwriter and producer, woods has built a formidable solo career with over one billion streams, multiple gold and platinum certifications, and sold-out tours across Canada, Europe, and Asia.

+105 signings on ROSTR this week

Jody Farber, George Briner, Mike Easterlin

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Big Machine's George Briner retires after 18 years as President of The Valory Music Co., wrapping a 40+ year country music career that included 46 No. 1 singles.

Scott Borchetta is leaving HYBE America to relaunch Big Machine Records as an independent venture. While Borchetta retains the brand, HYBE keeps the Big Machine Label Group catalog, publishing division, and roster staples like Thomas Rhett.

UMG elevates Francisca Goncalves to SVP, Global Head of Sync for Classic, Jazz & Screen, leading sync strategy across Decca, Blue Note, Verve, and Deutsche Grammophon.

Create Music Group appoints Mitchell Shymansky as Chief Data & Technology Officer after nearly two decades at UMG, where he led Global Data & Analytics and built the company's cloud-native data platform.

Sony Music Publishing appoints Roslyn Pineda as President, Asia, succeeding Carol Ng, who retires in March after 27 years with the company, including leading regional expansion into Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Trust Records tapped Sam Siegler and Mike Nucero as Creative Directors after four years leading visual creative for the punk and hardcore reissue label. The duo, who work under their Easy Does It design banner, have been the creative force behind Matt Pincus' label since its 2020 launch.

  • ONErpm expands Nashville with Mike Easterlin as MD plus Josh Tomlinson (Dir. of A&R), Lindsey Terry (Country Marketing Dir.), and Chad Neville (Project Manager).

  • Music Health Alliance brings on Lindsay Hayes as VP of Development and promotes six advocacy team members.

  • ERN's Cadillac Music adds Dane Schmidt as Sr. Director of A&R, plus creative coordinators Jordan Marcus and Jude Warren.

  • peermusic promotes Jody Farber to CFO, succeeding Bill Gorjance's 20-year tenure.

  • Stem Distribution appoints Steff Hughes as Head of International after six years at AWAL.

  • Kirby Mathews joins Back Blocks Music as VP of Publishing.

  • NIVA California names Joe Rinaldi President.

  • Edgehill Music Publishing taps Julia Keefe as Partner.

  • Nordoff And Robbins taps Dr Maria Neophytou as CEO (starts March).

  • Rolling Stone adds Amanda Steinfeld Schaer as VP of Revenue Strategy & Ops.

  • Jonas Group Publishing makes Amanda Hruska Global Head of Administration.

  • Various Artists Management appoints Alice Vaughan as A&R Director, promotes Carimei Smith to Sr. Day-to-Day Manager/GM, North America.

  • Loew's Jersey Theatre names Bruce Wheeler GM ahead of Fall 2026 reopening.

  • PERK PR adds Natalie Blakley as publicist.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • VP, Business Development & Client Services at Sound Rink (Remote)

  • Director, Experiential Partnerships at FRAUDULENT in NY

  • Head of Brand Partnerships at Vitalize Projects (Remote,US)

  • Sr. Account Director - Brand Consulting at CAA in LA/NY

  • Senior A&R at Because Music in Paris

↗ Find these and 285+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 64 - We sit on the fire escape, We write and read 'til dawn GRAMMYs recap, Bad Bunny Bowl & Shakira’s tour numbers don’t lie. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-64-we-sit-on-the-fire-escape-we-write-and-read-til-dawn https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-64-we-sit-on-the-fire-escape-we-write-and-read-til-dawn Fri, 06 Feb 2026 18:03:27 +0000 2026-02-06T18:03:27Z

Happy Friday,

GRAMMYs recap, Bad Bunny Bowl & Shakira’s tour numbers don’t lie.

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

Mitski

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from J. Cole, Joji, Ella Mai, ILLENIUM, Nick Jonas, Freya Skye, Daphni, Michael Marcagi, RAAHiiM, John The Blind, ATEEZ, Lecrae, Ezra, Silversun Pickups…

♪ Notable singles from Mitski, Megan Moroney, ZAYN, Dua Saleh & Bon Iver, SOFI TUKKER & J Balvin, Feng, Puma Blue, Mercer Henderson, Mack Keane, Galdive, In Color…

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

#4 - JENNIE joins Tame Impala on the ‘Dracula - JENNIE Remix.’

#5 - Myles Smith and Niall Horan collab on ‘Drive Safe.’

#7 - Mitski promises ‘I’ll Change for You” on the second release from her upcoming album Nothing’s About to Happen to Me.

#19 - Nick Jonas drops gospel-influenced ‘Sweet to Me’ about navigating type 1 diabetes.

#22 - ZAYN’s back with new single ‘Die For Me’, giving us a preview from his upcoming album Konnakol.

#35 - Quadeca shares 5 new cuts on Vanisher, Horizon Scraper (The Extended Cut) with ‘MELISA’ landing on the playlist.

#43 - Mack Keane kicks off 2026 with ‘Ordinary Feelings,’ his second single released via StarTrak / broke.

#45 - KPop Demon Hunters’ EJAE drops her 2nd track, heartbreak anthem ‘Time After Time.’

#56 - Frequent Sab Carp collaborator and Big Family client, John The Blind, releases his first new music in 5 years with ‘Beautiful Thing’ off new EP Indicator.

⭐ #93 - Mandy, Indiana tap Billy Woods for ‘Sicko!’ off their new album URGH. The song’s video had seven different filmmakers work on it, 30-seconds a piece.

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

ZAYN

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Charli xcx, Danny L Harle, Mumford & Sons, hemlocke springs, Backstreet Boys, Beck, Sarah Kinsley, Yellow Days, Lauren Spencer Smith, Gogol Bordello, Chet Faker, Claire Rosinkranz, Eric Church all have new projects expected to come out next week.

ZAYN, John Summit, Brent Faiyaz, The Black Keys, Dua Saleh, Mýa, Friko, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Mclusky, Kathryn Mohr, Boldy James, Nicholas Craven & Ransom all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

🏆 Bad Bunny won Album of the Year at the GRAMMYs, making history with the first-ever Spanish language album to win it. Kendrick Lamar became the most awarded hip-hop artist in GRAMMY history, taking home Record of the Year and Best Rap Album. Cher caused confusion when she announced Luther Vandross rather than ‘luther’ as the Record of the Year winner. Olivia Dean took Best New Artist and KPop Demon Hunters’ ‘Golden’ became the first KPop song to win a GRAMMY. 🏆 After 15 years, RCA has revived JIVE Records. Apple Music flagged about 2B fraudulent streams throughout 2025. Deezer made its AI-detection tool publicly available. Spotify will officially launch operations in Istanbul. Fred Armisen will host a new CNN exploration of UMG’s Archives.

Check out Jessica McDevitt’s Giving-Back Guide for Artists and Teams on Stack by ROSTR.

A former The Voice Nigeria contestant, Ifunanya Nwangene, died after getting bitten by a snake. Founder and CEO of Swishahouse Michael ‘5000’ Watts passed away at 52. Three Dog Night Co-Founder Chuck Negron passed away at 83. Veteran publicist Tracy Zamot passed away at 55.

Universal Pictures and Warner Music were sued by a former Warner employee claiming he is owed rights and royalties for his work on ‘Furious 7.’ Pandora settled a lawsuit with comedians over spoken-word content licensing. Ticketmaster will be fined over 5M pesos for reported irregularities relating to BTS ticket sales. Lorde donated $204K to the Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee + Immigrant Defense Network. Disgraced pharmaceutical exec Martin Shrkeli filed a countersuit against RZA in the battle for copyright ownership of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Indie streaming platform Vocana partners with Symphonic

  • B2B music streamer Soundtrack acquires Tunify and Ambie

  • Consumable acquires Radio.com and Mark Cuban’s Fireside

  • SVCV to launch global music and video streaming platform

  • Manager of AI musician Xania Monet to launch new label with Create Music Group

  • Live Nation to acquire Italy’s ForumNet Group

  • Sony Music acquires $200M in assets from Recognition Music Group

  • PARMA Recordings acquires classical label MSR Classics

  • South Korea’s CJ ENM forms joint venture with JYP China, Tencent Music

  • Apple acquires AI audio company Q.ai

  • BMG eyes potential Concord acquisition

  • DistroKid weighs potential sale

  • Avex Music taps The Orchard for global distribution

  • LabelWorx launches publishing division

Group Chat

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

🤣

Idk team, I really don’t know

What's in your GRAMMY day survival kit?
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Weed gummies (6%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Portable charger (13%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Cyanide capsule (19%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Fireball shooters (0%) 👀
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 2 bottles of wine, a blanket & your couch (63%)

Noah Kahan

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Noah Kahan, Post Malone & Jelly Roll, Ella Langley, Don Toliver, Carín León, Freddie Gibbs

ZAYN unveiled dates for his biggest solo tour in support of his upcoming album Konnakol, with stops in the UK, North America & South America.

Noah Kahan also announced his first stadium tour this week – just 3 years ago he was still billed as an opening act. The Great Divide Tour will kick off this June across North America with tour support from Gigi Perez.

BTS have partnered with Netflix to stream their live comeback concert from Gwanghwamun in Seoul. The broadcast will take place March 21st and will preface a new documentary BTS: The Return, also exclusively on Netflix.

Colombian superstar Shakira made history with the highest grossing tour for a Latin artist ever. The singer grossed >$421M over 86 shows. Her La Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour kicked off in Brazil last year with more dates scheduled for 2026.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Move Forward Music announced its inaugural Sounds That Move festival, taking place in Bushwick this May; the multi-venue, 3-day festival will feature panels, workshops, DJ & club programming and more

  • LOCASH will headline the 15th annual Island Time Music Festival on Isla Mujeres this month

  • Maryland’s DelFest announced its lineup with Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Del McCoury Band & Blackberry Smoke amongst others

❌ Cancellations:

  • Barry Manilow postponed his Vegas residency this February following treatment for stage-one lung cancer

Ms. Lauryn Hill, Dombresky, Willow Avalon

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Alongside announcing a new album release date (March 20th), Kanye West will deliver Bully via independent label gamma., headed by Larry Jackson. The project will be his 12th studio album & the controversial rapper spent last weekend performing live in Mexico City alongside his daughter North West. Amidst an apology from Ye for his antisemitic behavior, the deal is said to be in the seven figures.

In their first-ever major label deal, duo Sofi Tukker has signed with Republic Records. Their first release via the new agreement is today’s collaboration, ‘COOK’ that just dropped alongside J Balvin.

Returning to the GRAMMY stage after 27 years, Ms. Lauryn Hill also made moves by signing onto CAA’s roster for touring outside of North America. There she joins Tony Goldring who recently came over from WME.

Payday Music Publishing added two electronic powerhouses this week to their roster in Dombresky & Cassian. Dombresky sold out back-to-back nights in LA this past weekend, while Cassian looks to build on a big 2025, where he was the Musical Director for Anyma’s groundbreaking ‘The End of Genesys’ show at the iconic Sphere in Las Vegas.

2026 Stagecoach performer Willow Avalon adds to her management team with Electric Feel signing on alongside current manager Mark Shami of Moral Distaste. The country singer dropped her debut album Southern Bell Raisin’ Hell last year and is slated to hit Europe for a tour starting this month.

22-year-old Mexican-American rising pop artist Kristen Cruz has signed with Alex Kadvan, Dinah Decker & Griffin Schwab of Red Light Management. With a massive online following (9M on TikTok), she’s been hard at work on a new project coming soon.

Country artist Ian Munsick has teamed up with Triple Tigers alongside his own label WEST TO THE REST RECORDS. The deal will result “in a true 50/50 partnership made in country and western heaven” and his debut via the new pact ‘Geronimo’ dropped last Friday.

+150 signings on ROSTR this week

Wan Yin Koh, Sam Berger, Abby Lin

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Universal Music Enterprises has promoted Bruce Resnikoff from President and CEO to Chairman, while Jamie Krents has been elevated to President and CEO of UMe, expanding his responsibilities alongside his role leading the Verve Label Group.

Jive Records returns with former UnitedMasters executives Mike Weiss and David Melhado as co-presidents.

  • WMG adds Wan Yin Koh as VP, Biz Dev, Digital at Warner Chappell Music Asia Pacific.

  • Legends Global has appointed Josh Kritzler President, NA Venues & Content.

  • Abby Lin has joined The Jonas Group as Global Head of Sync, overseeing the company's global placement strategy across film, TV, and brand partnerships.

  • Suno has added Sam Berger as Sr. Director of Artist Partnerships to strengthen its artist and industry relationships.

  • Clayton Toney has joined Neon Coast as Artist Manager, where he'll continue managing Randall King alongside the Martha Earls-founded company.

  • 72 Music Mgmt announces Producer & Engineer division and adds Gil Gastelum as VP & Artist Manager.

  • TouchTunes names Angela Abbott VP of Music Licensing & Strategy.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director, Experiential Partnerships at FRAUDULENT in NY

  • Head of Brand Partnerships at Vitalize Projects (Remote, US)

  • Director of Partnerships at Burwoodland in NY

  • Director, People Business Partner at UMG in Santa Monica

  • Senior Product Designer at Believe in London or Liverpool

↗ Find these and 240+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 63 - The Great Subscribe Your voter guide refresh for Sunday, musicians against ICE & how many zeroes are in 13 trillion? https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-63-the-great-subscribe https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-63-the-great-subscribe Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:21:29 +0000 2026-01-30T17:21:29Z

Happy Friday,

Your voter guide refresh for Sunday, musicians against ICE & how many zeroes are in 13 trillion?

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

Don Toliver

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Don Toliver, fakemink, Jordan Ward, Labrinth, Terrace Martin, Yumi Zouma, MARO, Vwillz, Softcult, xaviersobased, A.G. Cook, Nicky Jam…

♪ Notable singles from Noah Kahan, Ella Langley, Melanie Martinez, Thundercat, fakemink, John Summit, Paul Russell, Cannons, Choker, A*Teens, Cloonee, MARIS…

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

#1 - Noah Kahan drops new single ‘The Great Divide’ ahead of his new album coming April 24th.

#4 - Ella Langley announces sophomore album (dropping April 10th) along with new single ‘Dandelion.’ The album will be executive produced by Miranda Lambert and Ben West.

#8 - Thundercat recruits Lil Yachty and longtime collaborator Flying Lotus for the groovy ‘I Did This To Myself.’

#9 - HARDY releases ‘McArthur,’ a collaborative single with Tim McGraw, Eric Church and Morgan Wallen that assigns each artist a distinct character within the McArthur family.

#11 - UK garage producer MJ Cole and PinkPantheress join forces on new single ‘Still Sincere.’

#20 - British rapper and producer fakemink drops his latest EP The Boy who cried Terrified. with ‘fml.’ landing on today’s playlist.

#35 - Bruce Springsteen aka The Boss, releases anti-ICE anthem ‘Streets of Minneapolis.’

#64 - Following the massive success of The Emotions-sampled ‘Lil Boo Thang,’ Paul Russell drops his highly anticipated ‘High Maintenance,’ this time sampling Luther Vandross’ ‘Never Too Much.’

#85 - Ian Munsick drops his first track, ‘Geronimo’ since partnering up with Triple Tigers Records, co-written by Devin Dawson & Mike Robinson.

⭐ #91 - A*Teens are back after 22 years with new single ‘Iconic,’ aiming to represent Sweden at Eurovision.

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

Cannons

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

J. Cole, Ella Mai, Nick Jonas, Joji, ILLENIUM, Silversun Pickups, RAAHiiM, Dave Matthews Band, IST IST, Mandy, Indiana, Puma Blue, Jay Buchanan, Puscifer, Ratboys all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Noah Kahan, Thundercat, Tom Misch, fakemink, James Blake, Dasha, KNEECAP, Foo Fighters, Cannons, Naomi Scott, Ella Langley, Tom Misch, xaviersobased, Shinichi Atobe, Maisie Peters, Atlus, Lilas, Green-House, King Tuff, Miss Grit, Sideshow, ADULT. all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Make sure you’re caught up on all of the noms ahead of this weekend’s GRAMMYs with our Voter Guide. 

Sly Dunbar of Reggae Rhythm Section’s Sly and Robbie passed away at 73. Spotify joined UMG, Warner and Sony in suing Anna’s Archive for (yes you’re reading that number right) $13 trillion. NVIDIA was accused of training its AI on the data scraped by Anna’s Archive. Spotify paid out $11B to the music industry annually. Music publishers sued Anthropic for $3B. Pharrell Williams was sued by his former Neptunes partner Chad Hugo over an alleged $1M in unpaid royalties. Neil Young gave his entire musical catalog to Greenland for free. Backline Care, a charity providing mental health care for musicians, launched a new 24-hour mental health crisis hotline called B-LINE. Lady Gaga, Ice-T, Tom Morello and more spoke out against ICE.

Kid Rock will testify at the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee public hearing on live event ticket sale practices. Phil Collins revealed he is under 24-hour care as he deals with ongoing health issues. Marilyn Manson’s ex-assistant revived her lawsuit against him after it was bounced around the courts since 2021. Zac Brown won a lawsuit against his ex-wife to return confidential business records that she took from him. Slipknot withdrew their lawsuit against the owners of slipknot.com. A lawsuit against Drake for alleged copyright infringement was dropped. Ray J shared an update that he only has months to live due to heart issues. Netflix and 50 Cent were sued by a former sex worker who appeared in the Diddy documentary. A$AP Rocky will receive the Vanguard Award for Fashion at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards Fashion Show. Mötley Crüe won their legal battle against guitarist Mick Mars.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Primary Wave invests in music financing platform RUN

  • Native Instruments begins preliminary insolvency proceedings

  • Miranda Lambert’s catalog acquired by Sony Music Publishing/Domain Capital

  • Sonic Intelligence Academy debuts world’s first AI music charts

  • Opendate announces $14M Series A raise led by High Alpha

  • Music publisher Wixen sues Meta, claiming Brazen Tactics to replace songwriters with AI

  • Secretly Distribution to distribute Ipecac Recordings globally

  • Primary Wave and Nas Nuvens acquire Gilberto Gil’s catalog

  • Range Sports acquires live experiences company Superfly

  • UMG launches new live streaming channel on Twitch

  • Universal Music acquires equity interest in Stationhead

  • Sony Music Group enters investment partnership with GIC

  • Deezer receives 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day

Group Chat

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

Listen, we don’t make the rules.

Unconfirmed leaked photo of Spotify general counsel in recent days

And a tale as old as time…

GRAMMY party you're most or least excited about

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 100 under 100 (47%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Spotify BNA (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ UMG (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The Orchard (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ WMG (11%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Amazon Music (11%)

Harry Styles

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Kid Cudi, Ne-Yo & Akon, Summer Walker, Cameron Whitcomb, Death Cab for Cutie

Harry Styles has doubled the dates of his Wembley Stadium mini-residency, upping from 6 nights to 12. The extension is in response to the massive demand for tickets, and puts the pop star on track to break the record for the most nights played at Wembley Stadium in one year by any act in history. Coldplay previously held this record with 10 nights. London is just one stop of his Together, Together tour, which includes 30 dates at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Styles is also the latest artist to pledge £1 from every ticket of his Wembley run to the UK's LIVE Trust, a charity that supports the grassroots scene in music and distributes funds from proceeds raised. With 12 shows and a 90K capacity, the pledge would raise ~$1.5M.

Keeping it across the pond, immersive entertainment district and mixed-use development Outernet London shared they have partnered with venue management group Legends Global. As part of the agreement, Legends Global will support programming, operations, premium sales, partnerships & food and beverage to all Outernet locations. Legends Global recently brought Olympia London, Wembley Stadium & Chelsea Football Club under its management roof.

Goldenvoice partnered with the SF Giants to launch Club Darc, a seasonal music series at Pier 48 in San Francisco, which will feature performances on select weekends February through May from artists including Peggy Gou, Mau P, Armand Van Helden, Chris Stussy & more.

The Bay Area will also see Teddy Swims headline the Super Bowl LX Tailgate Concert in Santa Clara next Sunday.

BTS have sold 2.4M tickets to their upcoming tour as of last Saturday, fully selling out their North American & Europe dates. The clean out has led to additional nights in cities including El Paso, Mexico City, Stanford & Las Vegas.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Parklife announced Calvin Harris, Sammy Virji & Skepta as its headliners for the late June festival in Manchester

  • Australia's heavy metal cruise festival Hellbound is already set to sail again for 4 nights next January, following its maiden voyage, which will take place this October, selling out in 10 minutes; Parkway Drive, Polaris, Northlane & others are set to perform for the inaugural edition

  • Washington D.C.'s Liberation Weekend, benefiting trans liberation and mutual aid, will return with headliners Laura Jane Grace, Ekko Astral & Illuminati Hotties

  • Lily Allen rounds out the headliners for Boardmasters 2026, joining Fatboy Slim & Kasabian for the music and surfing event at Newquay's Watergate Bay

  • Protoje's Jamaica-based Lost in Time will return next month, where he will headline alongside Chronixx for the 3rd iteration of the festival

  • The Red Clay Strays will host their inaugural Fan Fest 2026, a 5-night festival in Montana that will feature performances by Lukas Nelson and St. Paul & the Broken Bones

  • The Red Clay Strays will also headline the debut Minnesota Country Club festival along with Treaty Oak Revival this July; Charley Crockett, Jessie Murph, Stephen Wilson Jr., & more have confirmed sets

  • The Atlanta Braves will host their inaugural Braves Country Fest at their home stadium this June with headliners Cody Johnson & Ella Langley taking the stage

❌ Cancellations:

  • Philip Glass cancelled his Kennedy Center symphony premiere, stating the "values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony"

  • After Ludacris' exit, Carter Faith and Morgan Wade follow suit dropping out of Kid Rock's Rock the Country 2026 tour due to its strong MAGA-association

Conan Gray, Kodak Black, Rebounder

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Major pop stable Good World Management (Ariana Grande, Mark Ronson, Charli xcx) added its newest artist to the roster with Conan Gray joining. The 27-year-old singer released his newest album, Wishbone, in August and already has two songs from previous projects that have eclipsed the 1B mark on Spotify.

Indie rock’s Death Cab for Cutie has joined the ANTI- records family alongside announcing a summer headlining tour. The band was previously with WMG’s Atlantic Records for 22 years and 5 albums, including hit project Plans.

Florida rapper Kodak Black has landed at Wasserman Music for touring with agents Brent Smith, Matt Elam & Ebony Burnside signing on worldwide. The platinum-selling artist released his latest album, Just Getting Started, via Vulture Love/Capitol Records in October.

Executive producer on recent hit album The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean, Zach Nahome signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) & NWS Music Group. The writer-producer has also worked with artists such as PinkPantheress, Loyal Carner, Justin Bieber, Maverick Sabre & others.

NYC-based band Rebounder has signed with Alex Feig at Bad Habit for management. The collective has been busy the last handful of years supporting acts like Phoenix, Cults, Inhaler, The Neighbourhood & others, and are now gearing up to release new music after signing a recent deal with Nettwerk Music Group.

Former ATC Management staff Eddie Bezalel & Verne Patrick have launched LA-based company Infinite Games. The roster kicks off with artists DannyLux, Cuco & Ging. 

+175 signings on ROSTR this week

Fabiano De Queiroz, Celine Joshua, Rebecca Kane Burton

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Atlantic has elevated Kevin Weaver to President, a newly created role focused on soundtracks, partnerships, gaming, and sync across its label group. Former BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch has been named Chairman of Hyph, the Sweden-born music creation platform. Superstruct Entertainment has named UK-based venue executive Rebecca Kane Burton COO, bringing more than 30 years of live entertainment experience to the company. Edwin Schröter, a 25+ year veteran of [PIAS], has been named CEO of the [PIAS] Label Group. The National Music Publishers’ Association has elevated two longtime leaders, naming Danielle Aguirre Chief Legal Officer and COO and promoting Charlotte Sellmyer to EVP, External Affairs. Both will continue overseeing key legal, operational, and advocacy efforts at the organization. Live Nation taps Fabiano De Queiroz as SVP of Global Touring, Latin America.

Independent booking agency Ground Control Touring has appointed Keith Richards (not the guitarist of The Rolling Stones) as its first Head of Festivals and Joy Hubbard as Festivals Coordinator as part of the expansion of the agency's festival department, coinciding with its 25th anniversary and a company-wide rebrand.

JP Evangelista has been elevated to EVP of Content, Programming & Marketing at Vevo, taking on a broader role across content, marketing, and global programming. Alexandria “Lexi” Todd has been promoted to Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Primary Wave Music. Todd joined the company as a legal intern in 2016 and most recently served as VP of Business & Legal Affairs. Alicia Karlin joins The Circuit Group as Global President of Live, uniting her firm ASK Management & Advisory with the Circuit platform through a new joint venture. BMG has promoted Celine Joshua to EVP, Global Marketing & Streaming, deepening her role across the company’s worldwide marketing and DSP platforms. Pam Schoenfeld joins BMI as SVP and Chief Legal Officer.

Warner Chappell has tapped longtime Latin American exec David Checa to lead WCM Colombia as Managing Director. BMG is strengthening its France ops with the appointment of Marion Gargula and Laurent Pernin as Co–General Managers. Saul Fitton, whose A&R career spans Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell, has been named SVP/Head of Creative, UK at PULSE Music Group. West One Music Group has appointed George Hyde as its global head of legal & business affairs, royalties & copyright. Wasserman taps Myles Schalet as a NY-based SVP and Agent. GoldState Music has tapped Rabih Aouad as Principal, Growth Equity Investments, as the firm continues to expand its international investment footprint.

WME has promoted Chris Caulk, Natalie Otto, Santi Cruz, Pascual Di Tella, Mollie Marshall, Tommy Dockree, and Belle Webb to agent roles across its Beverly Hills, Miami, Nashville, and London offices.

Broke Records has launched Broke Publishing, a new division focused on supporting artists, producers, and songwriters, with Brennen Bryant stepping in as Head of Publishing. Sam Berger has joined Suno as part of the company’s artist partnerships team. Jamie Younger has joined Big Loud Records as VP of Marketing. jump.global has promoted JJ Farrell to Managing Director, expanding his leadership across the organization’s global community, partnerships, and live events. The UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport has tapped Abbey Road Studios MD Sally Davies to serve as AI Champion for the creative industries. Curb | Word Music Publishing is leveling up its country team, with Sarah Schumacher promoted to Head of Creative, Country Publishing, Calista Miller stepping into Creative Director, Country Publishing, and Zachary Anderson joining as Creative Coordinator, Country Publishing to help shape the roster’s next moves.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director, Experiential Partnerships at FRAUDULENT in NY

  • Director, People Business Partner at UMG in Santa Monica

  • Director, Procurement at WMG in NY

  • Sr. Product Designer at Believe in London or Liverpool

  • Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing BMG in NY

↗ Find these and 245+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 62 - It's best you know what you don't, inbox lets the news in GRAMMY parties begin, TikTok deal gets finalized, Kim Petras vs Republic & Sphere gets a sequel. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-62-it-s-best-you-know-what-you-don-t-inbox-lets-the-news-in https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-62-it-s-best-you-know-what-you-don-t-inbox-lets-the-news-in Fri, 23 Jan 2026 17:24:50 +0000 2026-01-23T17:24:50Z

Happy Friday,

GRAMMY parties begin, TikTok deal gets finalized, Kim Petras vs Republic & Sphere gets a sequel.

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

Holly Humberstone

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Wizkid & Asake, Ari Lennox, XG, Poppy, Yandel, Camper, Katie Tupper, IDK, The Paper Kites, Truman Sinclair, Kashus Culpepper, PHABO, The Format, Nija…

♪ Notable singles from Harry Styles, The Scythe, James Blake, oskar med k, Holly Humberstone, Ruby Waters, Jessie Ware, Snail Mail, Louis Tomlinson, Naomi Scott…

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

#1 - Fresh off announcing a WW tour, Harry Styles opens the ‘Aperture’ on his upcoming 4th studio album with the 5-minute, electronic, techno-leaning dance cut.

#9 - Holly Humberstone shares ‘To Love Somebody,’ the second single off her newest album accompanied by a Victorian-themed music video directed by Ethel Cain-collaborator Silken Weinberg.

#26 - Newly formed rap supergroup The Scythe – comprised of Denzel Curry, Tia Corine, Bktherula, A$AP Ferg & Key Nyata – drop their first collab single ‘LIT EFFECT’ via Loma Vista.

#28 - Snail Mail kicks off her album-roll out (her first in 5 years) with indie single “Dead End,” which releases via Matador Records.

#30 - Louis Tomlinson teams up with songwriting collaborator Dave Gibson again on ‘Imposter.’

#43 - Jelly Roll adds another soundtrack cut with ‘I’m Good,’ the lead single from Steph Curry’s upcoming animated film GOAT.

#59 - Naomi Scott announces debut album F.I.G. coming March 20th and releases new single ‘Losing You.’

#64 - T.I. releases new Pharrell-produced and co-written track ‘LET‘EM KNOW.’

#70 - Folk pop’s Adam Klobi, a recent signing of Darkroom, drops ‘FICTION’ co-written by Adam Melchor & Jonah Shy.

⭐ #90 - All his music made in a remote village in Italy, rising DJ & producer Noah Baine drops his third track ‘Fallin’’ as part of his forthcoming EP Balance.

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

Snail Mail

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

A.G. Cook, Jordan Ward, Labrinth, Softcult, Sébastien Tellier, The Soft Pink Truth, James Adrian Brown, Cast, Yumi Zouma, LIGHTS, Kula Shaker, Joyce Manor, Sophia Stel, Indira Paganotto, Cordovas, Infected Mushroom, all have new projects expected to come out next week.

RAYE, Snail Mail, Jenna Paulette, Jon Langston, the Scythe, The New Pornographers, Tenacious D (live album), The Milk Carton Kids, Joshua Chuquimia Crampton, Avalon Emerson all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Spotify, UMG, Warner and Sony sued Anna’s Archive over the scraping of 86M songs. ByteDance finalized the deal to avoid the U.S. ban on TikTok via a majority American owned JV. The UMG-Downtown deal will likely be approved by EU regulators. Kim Petras publicly asked her label Republic Records to drop her. AXS sued 3rd party web-based service SecureMyPass over alleged fake tickets. Sweden blocked a track from the country’s official charts after an investigation revealed that the song was created with AI by a Danish publisher. Taylor Swift became the youngest person to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; Alanis Morisette and Kenny Loggins also joined. Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel and more contributed to an AI-generated album coming from ElevenLabs. A Canadian federal court suspended the order to shut down TikTok’s operations in the country. Drake filed an appeal after his lawsuit vs. UMG was dismissed. Drew Barrymore was sued for copyright infringement for using an uncleared track in a social media post. Green Day will kick off the Super Bowl LX opening ceremony in a few weeks. Take That’s three-part documentary series will premiere on Netflix January 27th. The Brit Awards nominations are here. So are the Oscar noms - see who’s in the running for Original Song and Original Score. Spotify launched a ‘prompted playlist’ feature in the US and Canada.

Taylor Swift was dragged back into the ‘It Ends With Us’ drama…

Make sure to check out jump.global’s GRAMMY Awards Event Guide ahead of next week’s show.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Udio strikes licensing deal with Merlin

  • Duetti raises $200M for catalog acquisition and growth

  • Believe UK and Tileyard Music launch Tenace Records

  • UMG and NetEase Cloud Music sign multi-year licensing deal for China

  • Splice acquires Kits AI, an AI-powered voice production platform

  • Concord invests in Giant Music

  • Def Jam expands into China

  • Beatstars acquires Lemonaide AI, an “ethical” generative music startup

  • Kobalt signs strategic partnership with India’s Madverse Music

  • GEMA sells Zebralution to US-based investor Insight Holdings Group

  • Tone debuts AI-powered contract analyzer

  • Sony Music purchases Munich label F.A.M.E. Recordings

  • Tiny Vinyl expands into Europe

  • Independent music financing platform ‘Pipeline’ launches

Group Chat

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

We are Finn Wolfhard.

Not sure I see what the problem is, here? —Label Execs, probably

Just thought this was funny lol

Harry Styles' new album...

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Performative (28%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Sooo 2016 of him (11%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Can almost guarantee a folk song on there (22%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Wait the guy from Stranger Things is Djo?? (39%)

Sphere in D.C. rendering

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Harry Styles, A$AP Rocky, Peso Pluma, John Legend, Lord Huron, Oneohtrix Point Never

Harry Styles is back in a big way. The pop star announced his 7-city Together, Together Tour with multiple nights in each location including a whopping 30-date residency at Madison Square Garden, New York in support of his upcoming 4th studio album Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally.

After speculation that London or Abu Dhabi would host the second edition of the venue, Sphere Entertainment confirmed a second, smaller Sphere will be built in the Washington D.C. area. The 6K-capacity space will feature the same state-of-the-art visual and audio presentation as the original, and has already received $200M of funding from state, local and private incentives.

Meanwhile, Vegas' Sphere will be host to 6 additional dates for Kenny Chesney's summer residency in June.

Ho Chi Minh City is building a $5.5B complex, which will include a 70K-capacity stadium, a 10K-capacity conference center, indoor arenas, sports centers & more. The project will take ~8 years to complete and is expected to "jump-start Vietnam's event structure."

I wanna be where you are… in Ibiza that is. DJ / producer John Summit shared he will be a 2026 resident at Ibiza's mega-club [UNVRS], where he will play 9 nights each Monday from June to July.

Outside of the island, live music venues in Spain will be given a new aid package from the Spanish Ministry of Culture worth €1M, with the goal of improving infrastructure, upgrading equipment & more.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • London's Labyrinth On The Thames returns for its second year with electronic duo Overmono confirmed as the first headliner

  • Pennsylvania-based Elements Festival unveiled phase one of its lineup including acts Chris Lake, Cloonee, KETTAMA, A-Trak, Kaleena Zanders & more

  • BeachLife Festival will be headlined by Duran Duran, James Taylor & The Offspring at Redondo Beach this May

  • Australian indie duo Lime Cordiale announced their inaugural climate-focused Lime Green Festival – a one-day, off-the-grid festival with the goal of placing environmental action center stage of the live music experience

❌ Cancellations:

  • Poison's 40th anniversary tour has been called off due to a disagreement on the money split amongst the group's members

  • Recent Warner / Sire signee Morrissey cancels yet another show on his North American tour, leaving only one remaining night on his route due to a continued "illness"

Antdot, Bebe Rexha, 1900Rugrat

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After recently joining Timeline Management, Bebe Rexha now enters her next label chapter with indie EMPIRE, following three albums with Warner Records. In the announcement, the singer-songwriter said about the new deal, “they believe in my vision and trust my instincts, which has refueled my creativity.”

GRAMMY-nominated writer-producer King Henry has joined The Core Entertainment for management. His work spans a wide range of artists, including Beyoncé, LANY, Maroon 5 and his wife, Sasha Alex Sloan.

Antdot, who is rising out of Brazil’s electronic music scene, has signed with Santiago Cruz & Rico Pedraza of WME for touring (NA, SA ex-Brazil). He’s already performed at major stages like Tomorrowland, and his tracks such as “Corpo e Canção” & “Your Love (Remix) have achieved Gold status in his home country.

Writer-producer Britten Newbill signed a publishing deal with Reservoir covering a portion of his catalog & future works. Nashville-born and now London-based, he has had cuts with Cat Burns, Olivia Dean, Daya & others. 

Recent XXL 2025 member 1900Rugrat locked in a publishing deal with Electric Feel. The rapper from West Palm Beach, Florida, released his debut album in November with features from Quavo, Kyle  Rich, Loe Shimmy & more. 

Philly-based management shop Better Artists announced that Chris Radwanski has joined the company. Known for his work as the founder of Born Loser Records, Chris brings with him Jaguar Sun, Bleary Eyed, Work Wife & producer Trey Frye to the roster. 

Austin-headquartered Ten Atoms added Howard Greynolds, previously at Overcoat Management, to their staff who will be based in Chicago. Along with him will be longtime clients Iron & Wine + Ken Pomeroy.

+160 signings on ROSTR this week

Bruno Crolot, Hannah Karp, Jerome Porritt

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Jeff Toig has been promoted to CEO of Global Music Rights, with co-founder Randy Grimmett becoming Executive Chairman. WMG has named former Billboard Editor-in-Chief Hannah Karp as EVP and Chief Communications Officer, where she will lead global communications and brand marketing strategies beginning January 26. Bruno Crolot is leaving his role as President, Label & Artist Solutions at Believe after seven months to pursue a new challenge. Harri Davies has joined The Other Songs as Head of A&R, after most recently serving in the same role at RCA Records UK.

SESAC has named Karousel Music co-founder Chris Sheehan as VP, International, stepping into the role previously held by the late John Sweeney. Caldecott Music Group has promoted Dani Deahl to VP of Creator Policy & Corporate Affairs.

Sony Music UK has tapped Jerome Porritt as Head of A&R at RCA Records UK, tasking the former Warner and Parlophone A&R exec with leading artist signings and development after shaping multiple platinum releases. Maurice Slade has been named Head of Music at SoundCloud, where he will oversee global music strategy spanning artist development, cultural programming, and partnerships.

Melanie Geiger, a nine-year Warner Music veteran who previously led Hip-Hop at ADA and Warner’s distribution services, has been appointed Director of Atlantic Records Germany. Leila Cobo and Jason Lipshutz have been promoted to Co-Chief Content Officers of Billboard, overseeing editorial content, newsroom operations, and marquee franchises including Women in Music and Latin Music Week.

Chris Dashwood is GM of Tenace Records, the new Believe UK and Tileyard Music joint venture, launching with Pale Waves. BMG has named Jasper Niebuhr Managing Director, GSA, effective February 1, where he will oversee recorded music and publishing operations across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, reporting to President Alistair Norbury. AEG Presents has promoted Tour Directors Caleb Merrell and Laurel Hilburn to Sr. Tour Directors while expanding its Global Touring team with the hires of Ryan Erickson as Sr. Director of Marketing and Emily Harenza as Director of Digital Marketing. Cassie Wright has been appointed Executive Director of the IBMA Foundation, effective April 1, as Nancy Cardwell retires following a decade with the Foundation and two decades at the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Financial Controller at Wise Music Group in NY

  • Founding Engineer at Nero in San Francisco

  • Director of Group Licensing at AllTrack (Remote)

  • SVP, Catalog at UMG in Santa Monica

  • Sr. Manager, Digital Marketing at BMG in NY

↗ Find these and 220+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 61 - I'm a god in these inboxes, all my news MVP Harry’s back, Sony Pub buys a big dog, BTS makes a comeback, but Britney won’t come back. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-61-i-m-a-god-in-these-inboxes-all-my-news-mvp https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-61-i-m-a-god-in-these-inboxes-all-my-news-mvp Fri, 16 Jan 2026 17:28:48 +0000 2026-01-16T17:28:48Z

Happy Friday,

Harry’s back, Sony Pub buys a big dog, BTS makes a comeback, but Britney won’t come back.

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

Megan Moroney

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Cavetown, Baby Nova, Girlfriend, Vienna Vienna, ENHYPEN, Aliyah’s Interlude, Sassy 009, Corbyn Besson…

♪ Notable singles from Megan Moroney, Madison Beer, Charli xcx, Mitski, Charlie Puth, Arlo Parks, Slayyyter, Ella Mai, DESTIN CONRAD, waterbaby, Kim Gordon, Flea, Sports, Michael Marcagi, Elmiene, spill tab, EVAN GIIA…

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

#1 - A$AP Rocky releases his highly anticipated album Don’t Be Dumb, and grabs the top spot with ‘AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO),’ produced by Manny Laurenko & Zach Fogarty. Shout out Mac.

#3 - Charli xcx drops ‘Wall of Sound,’ for the upcoming “Wuthering Heights” movie release. The film releases and soundtrack album drop on February 13.

#5 - Megan Moroney continues to build hype for her third studio album Cloud 9 with fiery track ‘Wish I Didn’t,’ which arrives alongside a “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” style music video starring The Traitors winner and DWTS contestant Dylan Efron.

⭐ #17 - Stockholm artist waterbaby shares the soft, titular track ‘Memory Be a Blade’ from her debut album due March 9 via Sub Pop.

#22 - Gorillaz, Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar team up on ‘Orange County.’

#33 - Girlfriend’s newest album Honey Water drops via Encore Recordings today with lowkey track ‘Sideways’ landing on the playlist.

#39 - Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea reunites with his old Atoms For Peace bandmate Thom Yorke for his new single ‘Traffic Lights.’

#79 - Hilary Duff releases ‘Roommates,’ co-written with husband Matthew Koma and Brian Phillips.

#89 - Daughter unveil previously unreleased single ‘Not Enough,’ in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of their album Not To Disappear.

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

Harry Styles

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Louis Tomlinson, Hudson Westbrook, IDK, Ari Lennox, Gesaffelstein, Megadeth, Alan Vega, Searows, Reba McEntire, The Paper Kites, Crystal Lake, Kashus Culpepper, MIKA, Nija, reggie, Talk Talk, Poppy, The Format, Lucinda Williams, YES all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Harry Styles, BLACKPINK, J. Cole, Mitski, Morrissey, Fcukers, Kim Gordon, Slayyyter, Arlo Parks, Flea, Moby, Protoje, Larry Fleet, Deathcrash, José González, Sunn O))), Anjimile, Brit Taylor, Charlotte Cornfield, Richard Marx, Shabaka, Elucid, Peter Frampton (anniversary) all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir passed away at 78. Colombian Singer-songwriter Yeison Jiménez died in a plane crash just hours before he was scheduled to perform. Fugees and Wyclef Jean collaborator John Forté passed away at 50. “The Fairly OddParents” composer, Guy Moon, passed away at 63.

Elon Musk’s X sued NMPA and 18 publishers for anti-competitive behavior. L.A. Reid settled the sexual assault lawsuit against him on the morning that the trial was scheduled. Bad Bunny and Rimas Entertainment were sued for $16M for allegedly using a woman’s voice on two songs without her permission. Spotify shared their debut Songwriters to Watch list, including A.Chic, IKKY and more. 130+ music industry pros signed an open letter requesting EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath impose restrictions on “Predatory ticket resales.” A U.S. judge upheld a landmark ruling that songwriters can reclaim their copyrights worldwide. Spotify is raising premium prices in the U.S., Estonia and Latvia. Mark Cuban invested in Burwoodland, the company behind Emo Night Brooklyn, Gimme Gimme Disco and Broadway Rave. The royalties dispute between Sting and former The Police bandmates continues.

Britney Spears says she’ll never perform in the U.S. again.

Calvin Harris won $13.5M in the 1st part of his legal battle with previous business manager Thomas St. John. Gracie Abrams will make her acting debut in an upcoming A24 movie. Los Lobos sued Sony Music and Sony Pictures over unpaid royalties. Maverick City Music accused co-founder Tony Brown of violating his non-compete in launching a new Christian music venture. Steve Aoki was sued because of his Instagram posts promoting trading card and NFT company MetaZoo. Lizzo settled the lawsuit over teasing an unreleased track to poke fun at Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad. Chris Brown’s $500M defamation lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery and Ample Entertainment for Chris Brown: A History of Violence was dismissed by a judge. Julio Iglesias was accused of sexual and physical assault by two women who previously worked in his home.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Futures Music Group and companyX partner to promote artist-brand collabs

  • Bandcamp lays out ban on AI-generated music

  • Artist manager Adam “Ash” Harrison launches Third Brother Records

  • Cutting Edge Group acquires composer John Paesano’s catalog

  • Kustom Entertainment sheds healthcare arm to focus on ticketing

  • Sony Music Publishing Nashville purchases Big Yellow Dog Music

  • SourceAudio and Native Instruments partner on AI dataset licensing partnership

  • UMG introduces new education initiative: Sound Generation

Group Chat

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

“It’s about to be a what?”

Teaser for a commercial, we ❤️ capitalism!

How much money did they give CBS for this 😫

Most excited about for 2026?

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ New stuff from ROSTR 👀 (15%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Music videos on Spotify (15%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Getting rich enough to rent an entire hotel in Ojai, CA like Taylor Swift did for the HAIM sister wedding (46%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ It's 2016, what do you mean? (23%)

BTS World Tour

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: BTS, Charlie Puth, Madison Beer, Pitbull, Disclosure, Fcukers, Joey Valence & Brae

BTS finally shared their highly anticipated tour dates for 2026-2027, visiting 34 regions across 79 shows with more to be announced.

Bruno Mars announced an additional +30 dates to The Romantic Tour, including extended stops in Vegas, Miami, Paris, Toronto, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, London & more.

A source from Las Vegas allegedly reported Metallica are nearly done finalizing a Sphere residency deal for 2027 👀.

Trevor Noah will complete his sixth and final time as host of the GRAMMY Awards on February 1st.

ATG will operate a $100M+ multi-use venue in Milton Keynes, UK. The 4K capacity venue will host >100 events annually, including concerts and other live experiences.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) unveiled the first-ever Eurovision Song Contest Live Tour to celebrate the event’s 70th anniversary. The tour will stop in 10 European cities and feature performances of the most popular songs from the show’s history.

India’s federal government is capitalizing on the country’s live music sector with a dedicated unit in Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) with the aim of making India a leading global entertainment destination by 2030.

Mary J. Blige announced her first Las Vegas residency, which kicks off in May at Park MGM for 10 nights.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Don Toliver, Playboi Carti & YoungBoy Never Broke Again will headline Rolling Loud in its first Orlando edition (this will be Carti’s 6th time headlining)

  • Foo Fighters, Backstreet Boys, Lorde, LCD Soundsystem & sombr will headline BottleRock in Napa this May

  • iHeartCountry Festival shared its 2026 lineup with performances from Kane Brown, Riley Green, Parker McCollum, Shaboozey & more

  • Windy City Smokeout returns to Chicago this July with an additional 5th day to the festival, and will feature headlining performances from Treaty Oak Revival, Hootie & The Blowfish, Lainey Wilson, Jordan Davis & Blake Shelton

  • Carín León’s La Cura Fest will feature headliners Alejandro Sanz, Grupo Frontera & Jelly Roll

  • Italian festival C2C dropped its lineup with Los Thuthanaka, Nourished by Time, Arca among others playing in NY this May

❌ Cancellations:

  • Despite having a 5-year agreement planned through 2027, the NSW government has terminated SXSW Sydney after 3 years. With no official explanation, it appears the decision to cancel followed standard performance assessments applied to all major events in the state. SXSW Sydney generated ~$276M in across its 3-year run

  • My Chemical Romance delayed the first night of their Black Parade 2026 Tour in Bogotá due to unspecified reasons beyond the band’s control

Nas, Joy Oladokun, Larry Fleet

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Prolific rapper Nas has jumped to Wasserman Music for touring worldwide with Lee Anderson, Brent Smith, Kevin Shivers & James Rubin repping. The 17-GRAMMY nominee dropped the seventh and final album in Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It… series of albums last December with Light-Years alongside DJ Premier.

Country artist Larry Fleet, along with his own label Stellar Way Records, will release his upcoming album Another Year Older via EMPIRE. The Tennessee-born troubadour has had a big couple of years including co-writing Morgan Wallen’s hit ‘Man Made A Bar.’

Joy Oladokun starts the year off joining CAA’s roster of Calhoun Rawlings, Ron Jordan, Joseph Harris & Jacqueline Reynolds-Drumm for NA. In addition, she just dropped her first single since signing to Concord this week, which is an ode to the difficulties faced by everyone in 2025.

Marlon Funaki locked in a recording deal with Warner Records, releasing his debut single last week, ‘Let You In’. The 24-year-old is slated to have loads of live performances this year, including at festivals like Okeechobee & The Great Escape.

Sony Music Publishing & Daniel Nigro’s Amusement have partnered up to sign writer-producer Jon Buscema to a global publishing deal. He has collaborated with artists such as Conan Gray, Devon Again, Noah Rinker & more.

Former One Fiinix Live & Sound Talent Group (STG) agent John Pantle has joined Atomic Music Group (AMG) as President of Global Touring. He brings over artists such as Creepy Nuts, Chiquis, Undertale Symphony & others. Joining him is also agent Charlie Coker, whose roster includes Mae Stephens, Princess Superstar & more.

+165 signings on ROSTR this week

Johanna Fuentes, Andreea Gleeson, Derek Cournoyer

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

TuneCore is entering a new chapter, with CEO Andreea Gleeson transitioning into a Strategic Advisor role at parent company Believe. Gene Whitney is appointed General Counsel at HYBE America while Johanna Fuentes steps into the role of EVP and Head of Communications and PR at the company. Rostrum Pacific has signed direct licensing agreements with Spotify and TikTok and launched SpaceHeater, its new distribution platform, with Samantha Moore named President. Big Loud Records expands its leadership team with Stacy Blythe and Jordan Pettit as Co-Presidents. Hannah Poferl becomes the Chief Data Officer at UMG.

Longtime exec Derek Cournoyer has exited Kobalt and joined ElevenLabs as Head of Strategy, Music Business Affairs, reinforcing the company’s push into licensed AI music. Atomic Music Group has hired veteran talent agents John Pantle and Charlie Coker. Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for the world’s leading independent labels and distributors, has announced its new Board. Samantha DePrez has been promoted to Sr. Director of Promotion at Curb Records. Syntax Creative has elevated Erin Moorman to VP of Marketing and Tremon Matlock to Marketing Manager, and has added Chelsea Owens as Executive Assistant. The Academy of Country Music and ACM Lifting Lives have added Elizabeth Hagler as Head of Ops, People & Culture and Julie Alcaraz as Sr. Accountant, Finance & Accounting, while elevating Brooke Boyd to Coordinator at ACM Lifting Lives.

Longtime CMA CEO Sarah Trahern is set to retire at the end of ‘26. Sr. Director of Publicity, Julianne Cassidy, exits her role at Sweet Talk Publicity.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • SVP, Catalog at UMG in Santa Monica

  • Director of Marketing at Hundred Days (United States) Remote

  • Founding Engineer at Nero in SF

  • A&R at Bourne Creatives in LA

  • Tour Marketing Director at Outback Presents in Nashville

↗ Find these and 240+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 60 - You stepped inside with some news I ain't ever seen We talk about Bruno, music mom group drama, Gov Ball lineup dropping & UMG x NVIDIA. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-60-you-stepped-inside-with-some-news-i-ain-t-ever-seen https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-60-you-stepped-inside-with-some-news-i-ain-t-ever-seen Fri, 09 Jan 2026 17:19:04 +0000 2026-01-09T17:19:04Z

Happy Friday,

We talk about Bruno, music mom group drama, Gov Ball lineup dropping & UMG x NVIDIA.

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

Zach Bryan

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from SAULT, Zach Bryan, The Kid LAROI, Diplo, French Montana & Max B, Viagra Boys, Jessica Baio, MAF Teeski, Clarent, Pecos & the Rooftops…

♪ Notable singles from Bruno Mars, Robyn, David Byrne, Luke Combs, Mumford & Sons, Father John Misty, Choker, Willa Ford, Ashley Kutcher, Ralph Castelli…

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

#1 - Alongside a headlining tour announcement, Bruno Mars returns with the first single off his upcoming album The Romantic, his first solo project since 2016.

#3 - A$AP Rocky unveils 'Punk Rocky,’ his first glimpse of his forthcoming album Don’t Be Dumb along with a music video featuring Thundercat, Winona Ryder & Danny Elfman.

#5 - Robyn drops two new tracks ahead of her upcoming ninth album Sexistential on March 27, with NMF featuring ‘Talk To Me.’

#6 - The anonymous British collective SAULT promise ‘Good Things Will Come After the Pressure’ on their newest studio album Chapter 1.

#12 - David Byrne releases a cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘drivers license’ for the original song’s fifth anniversary.

#14 - Mumford & Sons team up with Aaron Dessner and Jon Bellion on writing new track ‘The Banjo Song.’

⭐ #55 - After nearly 6 years, the enigmatic Choker is back with new single ‘Proof’ along with announcing an album coming out next month.

#77 - Ashley Kutcher shares ‘Hard Pill,’ a new cut from her upcoming album Back To My Roots & These Roots Run Deep, due Jan. 23rd.

#78 - Willa Ford returns to music after twenty years with her new self-love anthem ‘Love4Life.’

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

A$AP Rocky

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

A$AP Rocky, Madison Beer, Cavetown, Lexa Gates, Westside Cowboy, Vienna Vienna, The Funeral Portrait, Together Pangea, Xiu Xiu, Sleaford Mods, Peaer, I Promised The World, Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Bruno Mars, BTS, Luke Combs, Robyn, Arcángel, Willie Nelson, Heavenly, Jill Scott, Maria BC, Iron & Wine, Buck Meek, Lala Lala all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

UMG announced a new partnership with NVIDIA. MTV closed many of its music-only channels across various countries and will focus on reality tv and pop culture programming, so a superfan launched a MTV Rewind site with over 33K music videos. Spotify are making changes to their basic tier, telling anyone who cancels a basic plan that they will not be able to resubscribe to that plan tier. Napster is pivoting to focus on AI assistants after closing their music streaming service. Live Nation want the court to dismiss the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against the giant; Collapsed ticketing startup Fanimal also filed an antritrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, alleging they used anticompetitive tactics to keep the company out of the market. John Mayer and filmmaker McG purchased the Jim Henson Company Lot, now renamed Chaplin Studios. d4vd will likely face murder charges in connection with the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Indivisible sent an open letter to Spotify’s co-CEOs requesting a meeting to encourage Spotify to take responsible action and stop running ads from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency; Spotify confirmed the ads are no longer running. Hilary Duff’s husband Matthew Koma responded to Ashley Tisdale’s “tone deaf” essay on their “toxic” mom group.

The TikTok USA sell-off may not be a done deal?

Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit against UMG was dismissed by a judge. Will Smith was sued by a tour violinist for sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation. Attorney Dina LaPolt sued former law partner Mariah Comer for defamation and breach of contract. Former NewJeans member Danielle was hit with a $31M lawsuit from label Ador. Sonny Bono’s widow Mary appealed a court ruling that determined Cher is still entitled to half of the publishing proceeds from the tracks ‘I Got You Babe’ and ‘Baby Don’t Go.’ Megan Thee Stallion opened her first franchise restaurant, a Popeyes in Miami. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin was sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a young male congregant over almost a decade. Troy Carter acquired the Pop Art Records catalog, including debut releases from artists like Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shanté.

Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson revealed that her twin infants were diagnosed with a rare muscle disorder. Leigh-Anne Pinnock said her label post-Little Mix ghosted her. Mary J. Blige won a dismissal for the lawsuit filed against her by former stylist Misa Hylton. Runaways’ Kari Krome reached a partial settlement in her lawsuit alleging Kim Fowley and Rodney Bingenheimer groomed and sexually abused her when she was 13. Muni Long countersued her ex-managers, claiming they made her spend 5 days in a mental health facility rather than getting her medical treatment for a lupus flare-up. SZA is auctioning off a fan meetup for Freedom for Sudan’s fundraiser. Bjork called for Greenland’s independence. Fetty Wap was released from prison 11 months earlier than expected.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Live Nation confirms acquisition of Paris La Défense Arena, Europe’s largest indoor venue

  • AI now makes up over 50% of newly released independent songs in China

  • AI-powered music production platform LANDR acquires Reason Studios

  • Universal Music acquires 30% stake in India’s Excel Entertainment

  • ERA reports £2B milestone for UK music streaming in 2025

  • Italy introduces €1.5M fund for live music industry

  • Brooklyn Mirage to be purchased by nightlife brand Pacha

  • Nuweb Group teams with ticket insurance company TicketPlan

Group Chat

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

We’re off to quite a start!

Favorite saga to follow in 2025?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 d4vd saga (47%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ diddy saga (13%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ drake/kendrick saga (20%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ cardi/nicki saga (7%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ charli/taylor saga (13%)

Bruno Mars

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Bruno Mars, Chris Stapleton, Bryce Vine, Kameron Marlowe, Secondhand Serenade

After nearly a decade, Bruno Mars announced a headlining stadium tour in support of his upcoming album The Romantic, enlisting power acts Leon Thomas, Victoria Monét, RAYE & Anderson. Paak’s emcee persona DJ Pee. Wee as support.

Coupled with news of an upcoming album, BTS also teased a 2026 tour with actual dates dropping Jan 14th.

Live Nation will acquire Europe’s largest indoor venue, La Défense Arena in Paris, with plans to bring bigger shows and upgraded facilities. The 45K capacity venue is yet another recent LN acquisition, joining Movistar Arena in Chile and Impact Arena in Thailand.

Teddy Swims and Luke Combs will perform at EA Sports’ Madden Bowl in SF’s Chase Center on Super Bowl weekend.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Gov Ball announced its headliners will be Lorde, A$AP Rocky, Baby Keem, Stray Kids, Kali Uchis & JENNIE

  • Tomorrowland will debut in Thailand this December, marking the first Asia edition for the mega dance festival

  • Orlando will be the only US city to host Rolling Loud this year with the intent to bring the festival “back to the summer and build it without compromise”

  • Country Jam Naples will return in April with Gabby Barrett and Sara Evans co-headlining

❌ Cancellations:

  • Morrissey cancelled his California shows after an “adverse reaction to a prescription medication”

  • Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear will be absent from certain tour dates due to a broken foot

  • Chase Rice shared on socials he is “exhausted” from touring and will need “to step away for a while [to] go live life”

Elderbrook, MAXI MERAKI, Ziggy Alberts

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Red Light Management continues to add to its roster in 2026, starting the year off by signing Elderbrook. The British GRAMMY-nominated artist will be looked after by Luke Allen & Steve Satterthwaite. 

21-year-old DannyLux signed a worldwide publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). The Mexican-American artist burst onto the scene in 2021 with his debut album Las Dos Caras Del Amor released via Interscope.

Australian singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts locked in a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music for his catalog and future works. Having released six studio albums, the artist has already eclipsed 1B streams with new works on the way.

MAXI MERAKI, the electronic dance artist who has been a part of hit records like ‘Nothing On Me’ & ‘Body Conversations’, has landed with Gray Clemmer at The Shalizi Group for management. In 2026, he’s got plans at major festivals like EDC, Tomorrowland & a full Ibiza Summer. 

Quirky carnival-pop duo Haute & Freddy have continued building out their team, this time adding on Eric Vogel & Elena Awbrey at JET Management alongside Melissa Woods Maskan at Cam Cam Arts. The group also signed a recording deal with Atlantic Records. 

Coming over from Forward Motion Artists/Three Six Zero, artist manager Dorothy Caccavale has joined JET Management alongside her clients Nils Hoffmann, OMRI. & underscores.

+100 signings on ROSTR this week

Tony Goldring, Ethiopia Habtemariam, James Steven

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Veteran booking agent Tony Goldring has joined CAA after 25 years at WME, where he previously led the international touring department; meanwhile music agent Brian Cohen has also left WME where his next move has yet to be announced. Fender has tapped Edward “Bud” Cole as its next CEO, with longtime chief Andy Mooney set to retire after a decade. James Steven steps in as UMG’s EVP & Chief Communications Officer starting January 26, overseeing global communications across the company and its operating labels. HYBE America has appointed veteran exec and former Motown CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam as President of Music, where she’ll oversee A&R and artist development and help drive the company’s long-term growth strategy. ASCAP elevates Hayley Dukes to SVP of Licensing, continuing her work under EVP Stephanie Ruyle.

Paul Smelt has been elevated to COO at peermusic, overseeing worldwide ops across 39 offices and 33 countries. Big Machine names Jay Cruze National Director, Radio Strategy, overseeing national radio strategy for Big Machine Records, The Valory, and Nashville Harbor Records. KMG has promoted Ross Robey to VP, overseeing strategy across catalog, partnerships, acquisitions, and ops. Natalie Otto was promoted to agent at WME. Jake Farbman has joined Hall Booth Smith’s Nashville office as an attorney in its Entertainment Practice group. Legends Global has promoted Amy Rahja to GM of Minneapolis’ Target Center, where she will oversee day-to-day ops of the 20,000-capacity venue.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director of Marketing at Hundred Days Records (Remote, US)

  • Sr. POP/EDM Project Manager at ONErpm in NY

  • Sr. Day to Day Artist Manager at Three Six Zero in LA

  • Director, Regional Education NA/LATAM at Live Nation (Remote)

  • Director, Lifecycle Manager at AXS in London

↗ Find these and 200+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 59 - But none of these newsletters are me, not today, no mañana TikTok seals the deal, Wiz Khalifa’s kush gets him in trouble, lawyers using AI & your favorite 2025 saga. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-59-but-none-of-these-newsletters-are-me-not-today-no-ma-ana https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-59-but-none-of-these-newsletters-are-me-not-today-no-ma-ana Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:19:53 +0000 2025-12-19T17:19:53Z

Happy Friday,

TikTok seals the deal, Wiz Khalifa’s kush gets him in trouble, lawyers using AI & your favorite 2025 saga.

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

Anyma

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Polo G, River Tiber, Beltran, Prunk & Ryan Nicholls, YFN Lucci, Theo Bleak, rommulas, STÜM & X & Ivy, Loose Lips, Amindi, Dom Dias…

♪ Notable singles from Kali Uchis, cortex, ThxSoMuch, Rin & Esha Tewari, Junior Mesa, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lilly Palmer & DANNY AVILA & ROWN…

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

#1 - After numerous leaks online, Kali Uchis drops fan-favorite demo ‘Muévelo,’ which was originally cut from her 2024 album ORQUÍDEAS.

#3 - Anyma taps KPop Demon Hunter EJAE for ‘Out Of My Body’, which serves as one of the lead singles off his deluxe edition of The End Of Genesys coming next year.

#8 - Rin & Esha Tewari tag team on bittersweet ‘winter’s excuse’ to soundtrack cozying up by the fireplace this holiday season.

#22 - After a quiet 2025, indie Canadian producer River Tiber releases his EP Spirals with ‘Not the Same’ landing on the playlist.

#54 - Toronto-born Jessie Leith Munro drops ‘Just Life.’

#55 - With songwriting support from Chris Tompkins, Daniel Ross and Jessie Jo Dillon, Jacob Hackworth releases new track ‘Bad As I Do.’

⭐ #77 - UK R&B newcomer cortex continues to feed his fans with another double pack ‘Golden Boy / Romance’ dropping.

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

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

It’s our last newsletter of the year! Happy Holidays to all of our readers ❄️🎁.

The ROSTR Behind The Awards Report is here! And a bonus for you - check out the top 10 record labels with the most noms for female artists.

Billboard laid off staffers following cuts at Variety and Rolling Stone. TikTok signed a deal to sell its business in the US to Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX. Wiz Khalifa was sentenced to nine months in prison in Romania for allegedly smoking weed on stage last year. After being sued by surf company Lost Surfboards, a court ruled that Lady Gaga can still use the ‘Mayhem’ logo on her merch. Donna Summer was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Lizzo celebrated the dismissal of fat-shaming claims from her ex-dancers in their lawsuit against her. UMG proposed divesting Downtown’s Curve platform to appease the European Commission’s objections over their purchase of Downtown. YouTube will stream the Oscars starting in 2029; the company will also now stop providing data to Billboard after Billboard revealed changes to their US chart methodology. One of Diddy’s accusers’ lawyer got in trouble with a judge for using AI and citing inaccurate case law in court filings. Jane’s Addiction officially broke up. Dionne Warwick was sued by a rights management firm that negotiated Doja Cat’s use of the track ‘Walk On By.’ Trey Songz was arrested for allegedly assaulting a man at a Times Square nightclub. Jelly Roll was granted a pardon by the Governor of Tennessee for his past crimes.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Beggars Group ownership transferred to Trust + now owns majority share of XL Recordings

  • BMG and TikTok expand partnership

  • Beatchain partners with AFROSON1C X to launch WAVVI in West Africa

  • Rostrum Pacific secures $150M to accelerate music catalog growth

  • PRS For Music delivers its highest royalty payout ever

  • Cherry Red acquires Gull, State and Uproar Entertainment catalogs

  • HYBE announces new management partnership to support African talent

  • Decentralized finance platform Tix launches to support live events

  • Classical streaming platform Symphony.live acquired by Acoustics Space

Group Chat

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

the tater tots are shaking rn

get ‘em russ

lolll

agree. this ai music thing is getting out of control.

i’m so very tired.

How to get people to look at your ROSTR profile...

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Be straight (0%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Be white (0%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Be a guy (47%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Manage an artist who slept with an underage girl who then ended up in the trunk of a car (53%)

Live Nation

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Alex G, Alabama Shakes, Romeo Santos & Prince Royce, Flatland Cavalry, Iron & Wine

Live Nation continues its international expansion, acquiring a majority stake in Chile’s 15K-capacity Movistar Arena as well as agreeing to operate the 12K-capacity Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Meanwhile, in our own backyard, LN has partnered with live entertainment company Venu to become the exclusive tenant for Texas’ 20K-capacity The Sunset Amphitheater at McKinney.

Bay Area producer Non Plus Ultra announced b2b shows before Super Bowl weekend at SF’s Pier 80 with Diplo & Calvin Harris playing the first night, and T-Pain & Sean Paul following the next day.

Saudi Arabia’s Event Investment Fund & Legends Global have formed a JV that will operate venue projects in the nation including exhibition and convention centers and entertainment venues.

Bahrain are set to open a 3.5K-capacity indoor venue Terminal 4 with John Mayer as the first performer.

The NBA announced Shaboozey, Ludacris & Cortis will headline the Crossover concert series for the upcoming All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles next February.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Lorde & David Byrne are amongst the list of performers announced for New Orleans Jazz Festival 2026

  • Nashville’s inaugural Freely Fest will feature performances from The Killers, T-Pain, Dominic Fike, Janelle Monáe & Avery Anna

  • Another inaugural Nashville 2-day gathering Deep Tropics Equinox announced performances from Of The Trees, Ivy Lab, it’s murph & more

  • Julieta Venegas, Rawayana, and more will headline the Spanish edition of Vive Latino next September

  • Wilco’s Solid Sound festival will be headlined by The Breeders & Gang Of Four

  • Robert Earl Keen & Flatland Cavalry will headline Troubadour Festival in Texas next March

❌ Cancellations:

  • Bondi Beach’s NYE party has been cancelled following the recent mass shooting; expected to bring in 15K attendees, the event had HoneyLuv, Kölsch, TSHA & others slated to perform

  • The Rolling Stones called off their plans for a EU/UK tour due to commitment issues from guitarist Keith Richards

  • New Zealand festival owner John Minty announced Splore 2026 will be its last edition – citing a trend of low ticket sales as the reason

Bebe Rexha, MK, Margo Price

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Previously with 724 Management, singer/songwriter Bebe Rexha signed with Simonne Solitro & Alexis Fisher of Timeline Management. The pop artist has been a part of four songs that’s crossed the billion-stream mark on Spotify and is expected to release new music soon.

Nashville’s Margo Price locked in a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell. After releasing her debut project back in 2016, the artist/writer/producer has been busy, including her most recent release, Hard Headed Woman, which earned two 2026 GRAMMY nominations.

Electronic powerhouse MK landed at WME in NA/SA with Stephanie LaFera, Jonas Schumann & Kyle Bandler signing on. He’s slated to start 2026 with a bang on New Year’s Day in San Diego, along with dates going into March.

Bipolar Sunshine, who has had his share of hits with tracks like ‘Middle’ alongside DJ Snake & Gryffin’s ‘Whole Heart’, joined the Kobalt & Maison Arts publishing roster. 

After announcing that Amy Greig joined One Fiinix Live weeks ago, veteran agent Zac Peters (formerly of Runway) now follows alongside his roster of artists which includes Kelli-Leigh & Jamie Lawson.

+80 signings on ROSTR this week

Eric Wong, Felicia Yue, Alain Lanceron

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

WMG has promoted Eric Wong to EVP of Recorded Music, broadening his responsibilities while he remains President of East West Records US and President of Warner Music Canada. Veteran music executive Alain Lanceron has been named Chairman Emeritus of Warner Classics & Erato. Divo, one of South India’s leading digital media and music companies and majority owned by Warner Music India, has appointed Ashok Parwani as its Head of Music. Create Music Group–backed label Broke Records has appointed Edward “Q” Brickell as Head of Legal Affairs. PIAS has announced that Nick Hartley will retire as group COO and CFO at the end of 2025.

UTA has announced 19 promotions in its Music division across its Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and London offices.

Sphere Entertainment Co. has appointed Felicia Yue as EVP and CTO. Island Records has promoted Caroline Ellis to VP, A&R, continuing her A&R work with artists including Chappell Roan and Suki Waterhouse. The ASCAP Foundation has appointed Patricia Leonard as Executive Director. Results Global, a Nashville-based full-service marketing agency, has added Kelly Ridgway as Global Marketing Lead/Head of the NYC Office and Abbey Kovacevich as Manager, Marketing and Communications.

The Music Venue Trust has named Chris Prosser and Jane Beese co-chairs following changes to its board of trustees. Boomtown Festival promoted Toby Gwazdacz to the newly created role of Managing Director. Musicians On Call, the nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to patients’ bedsides, has appointed Michael Solomon as Chair of its National Board, with Lee Perlman named Vice Chair and Deb Reiner serving as Secretary. Back Blocks Music has promoted Elizabeth Cook to Creative Director, and has added Megan Clemens as Director of Digital Marketing and Laine Lonero as Marketing Coordinator.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Tour Marketing Director at Outback Presents in Nashville

  • Sr. Sales Executive, Live Music at Opendate in IN

  • VP, Tour Finance & Strategy at SUPER (Anywhere)

  • SVP, Global Digital Marketing at BMG in London

  • Head of Commercial at The ROSTR Group in LA

Find these and 370+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR.


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]]> Vol 58 - Give me something, somewhere to read (we know a place) ROSTR x NIF Voter Guide + WRAPD 2025 are here, Gulf Shores mayor shuts down festivals, this year’s most impersonated artists & Timmy EsDeeKid allegations. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-58-give-me-something-somewhere-to-read-we-know-a-place https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-58-give-me-something-somewhere-to-read-we-know-a-place Fri, 12 Dec 2025 17:23:04 +0000 2025-12-12T17:23:04Z

Happy Friday,

ROSTR x NIF Voter Guide + WRAPD 2025 are here, Gulf Shores mayor shuts down festivals, this year’s most impersonated artists & Timmy EsDeeKid allegations.

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

Becky G

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from 21 Savage, Fred again.., Nas & DJ Premier, FLO, Rico Nasty, Softcult, nano, Tanerélle, Hunxho, HUMBE, Judeline, threetwenty…

♪ Notable singles from Mumford & Sons, Gavin Adcock, Gorillaz, Emei, Samara Cyn, fakemink & Fimiguerrero, DJ Suzy, PnB Rock, camoufly, Cloonee, Lekan…

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

#1 - With little warning, 21 Savage dropped his 4th solo studio project WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STREETS? with ‘I WISH’ claiming the top slot.

#6 - Mumford & Sons release ‘Prizefighter,’ co-written with Justin Vernon/Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner and co-produced with Aaron Dessner.

#10 - R&B British trio FLO encourage you to check your ‘Recently Deleted’ on the deluxe version of their GRAMMY-nominated album Access All Areas: Unlocked.

#31 - Lukas Nelson drops ’A Certain Someone,’ co-written with Anderson East and Foy Vance.

#37 - Indie Swedish electronic artist DJ Suzy shares melancholic, pulsing track ‘White Rabbit,’ about making a past love disappear and moving on.

#43 - Rico Nasty shares her deluxe album LETHAL-ER with 5 new tracks including ‘BLACK LACE,’ which lands at #43 on the playlist.

⭐ #67 - Indie-dream pop-shoegaze duo Softcult drop their EP Queen of Nothing & land the title track on NMF, out this week via Easy Life Recs.

#72 - PnB Rock posthumously releases ‘How Would U Feel’ on what would have been his 34th birthday.

#85 - Greylan James delivers ‘Hold It Down (the after demo),” a reflective closing chapter to his viral Water At A Wedding hit, co-written with Blake Pendergrass.

#98 - Katelyn Tarver drops ‘The Price,’ co-written with Sasha Sloan, teasing her third album arriving Spring 2026.

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

CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Niontay, Theo Bleak, Monster Magnet, Peter Criss all have new projects expected to come out next week.

21 Savage, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, 4 Non Blondes, PUP (live album), Trisha Yearwood, Jeremy Ivey all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The ROSTR x NIF Voter Guide and ROSTR WRAPD 2025 are here!

Classical and Gospel singer Jubilant Sykes was stabbed to death in his home this week. The Mavericks frontman Raul Malo passed away at 60. Usher and Big Sean invested $1M into a Detroit entertainment incubator. The Quebec minister introduced a bill to tighten ticket resale rules in Canada. Taylor Swift responded to “absurd and legally baseless” claims that she stole lyrics from a woman’s poetry while writing Lover, Folklore, Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department. KATSEYE were named TikTok’s global artist of the year. The man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a recent ‘Wicked’ premiere in Singapore was kicked out of a Lady Gaga concert in Australia. Beyoncé will co-chair the 2026 Met Gala with Sabrina Carpenter, LISA and Doja Cat on the host committee.

Timothée Chalamet addressed rumors that he’s the UK rapper EsDeeKid.

Country Duo Maddie & Tae announced their breakup after 15 years. Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter were the top impersonated artists of 2025; the hackers targeted their fans to scam them with fake tickets, merch and VIP experiences. A judge denied the security guard who unsuccessfully sued Cardi B a new trial. Tekashi 6ix9ine is heading back to jail after violating parole. Pink Floyd announced pop-up stores across the UK, EU and US to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Wish You Were Here.’ UMG expanded its retail stores to NYC and London.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • beatBread surpasses $100M in deal funding

  • SongTools forms strategic partnership with ONErpm’s OFFstep

  • Indie label Dead Oceans undergoes major rebranding

  • Trust Records partners with Bad Brains

  • Warner Music India partners with Rthyms.Life

  • Five tours pulled in more than $300M over the past year, according to the latest Boxscore chart

  • ABBA Voyage has generated upwards of £2B for the UK economy

  • Hangout has added a fully licensed Generate Music AI feature

  • Tomorrow’s Warriors has announced a mentoring partnership with Fontana

  • Rostrum Pacific secures $150M to fund catalog acquisitions

Group Chat

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

What the hell 😂

Not everyone is thrilled (love you Will)

deadAir (love you Jesse)

100 thousand fucking percent clocked, music biz (love you music biz)

The biggest DSP wrapped red flag...

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ d4vd (33%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Drake (6%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Morgan Wallen (22%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Not posting yours (6%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ Diddy (33%)

Electric Forest 2026

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Paul Simon, David Byrne, PinkPantheress, Rilo Kiley, Aly & AJ

The Cure frontman Robert Smith tapped My Bloody Valentine, Garbage, CHVRCHES & Mogwai amongst others for the 2026 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series.

Diana Ross was announced as the headlining performance for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”

India is planning to construct a 20K capacity indoor entertainment venue in Mumbai as the country focuses on boosting its touring capabilities.

Germany’s federal government will allot ~€3M to improve noise protection for venues and festivals around the country that are under threat due to noise complaints.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Electric Forest unveiled a stacked lineup with Kaskade, Chris Lake, Sammy Virji, ISOxo, ILLENIUM & more topping the bill

  • Detroit’s Movement Festival announced phase one of its lineup with Danny Brown, Carl Cox, Barry Can’t Swim, Nia Archives, Mochakk & more

  • Untitled Group has partnered with Asian promoter Applewood to debut a K-pop festival in Australia called Hello Melbourne

  • Empire Of The Sun shared Disclosure, The Flaming Lips, Magdalena Bay, Del Water Gap, DJ Tennis & others will perform at their destination festival Chrysalis in Cabo next May

  • Arizona’s Boots In The Park will feature headliner Keith Urban next March

  • Budapest-based Sziget festival will be headlined by Florence + The Machine, Lewis Capaldi, sombr & Twenty One Pilots

  • Gavin Adcock, Zach Top & Kane Brown will headline Country Thunder Florida

❌ Cancellations:

  • Gulf Shores’ mayor Robert Craft shared the city will not host neither Morgan Wallen’s Sand In My Boots festival nor Hangout Festival next year

  • Due to “hostile economic forces,” Dry Cleaning rescheduled their upcoming 2026 North American dates

4 Non Blondes, ROSÉ, BigXthaPlug

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After dropping her debut album rosie this time last year, ROSÉ has now signed on for a touring deal with Lucy Dickins at WME worldwide. She’s up for Record Of The Year at the GRAMMYs alongside Bruno Mars.

On the heels of ‘What’s Up?’ going viral this year, rock band 4 Non Blondes will release a new album through label Kill Rock Stars next year. As part of the deal, frontwoman Linda Perry is also slated to release a solo album in 2026.

Sony Music Publishing has been busy this holiday season after signing a flurry of new talent including BigXthaPlug, Odeal, Max McNown & SIENNA SPIRO.

After five years without management, Moses Sumney, critically acclaimed artist across music, film, TV, and stage, joins Soft Shock with Cameron Parkins, Arjun Pulijal & Michelle Jubelirer joining his team.

8-time GRAMMY nominee Terrace Martin signed a global publishing admin deal with peermusic. The new agreement will also cover him for worldwide neighbouring rights.

Nashville-based Jameson Roper joined Future History Management this week where he will oversee all North American activity for the company. In addition to bringing over longtime client Bilmuri, Roper also signed Wage War for management.

+130 signings on ROSTR this week

Craig Kallman, Darya Pourshasb, Laura Segura

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

A&R veteran Craig Kallman has been appointed Chief Music Officer at WMG. Jeff Sosnow promoted to President of Warner’s Reprise Records. Believe acquires ampd Method and appoints founder Darya Pourshasb to lead its global marketing efforts as Chief Marketing Officer. She Is The Music has named Laura Segura as its new Executive Director following her five-year run at MusiCares. Integrity Music has tapped Brad Moist as its new VP of A&R & Development, overseeing talent scouting, artist growth, and creative strategy.

RockForce names Chris Schuman and Shawn Worlow as Co-Presidents. 2PM Sharp has brought on Caroline Fields to oversee the launch of its new Nashville office. Rebecca Allen has been named Chief Artist and Strategy Officer at Universal Music Group UK. Jordyn Reese joins Fellowship Artist Management, bringing client Minus the Bear and working alongside Blaze James in signing and developing new talent.

Capitol CMG Publishing elevates David Gutekunst to EVP, Kent Draughon to SVP of Admin & Ops, Katie Barolak and Terryl Padilla to Sr. Director, Creative and Jessica Marion to VP, Marketing & Song Promotion. Warner Chappell has centralized its global sync ops under EVP Rich Robinson, bringing catalog, frontline, and production music together with Gavin Caroll and Kailey Tenn reporting in.

CAA has promoted Jack Belkin, Carly Damelio, Ella Fernandez, Rhys France, Todd Matsumoto, and Sydney Weltman within its global touring department.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Head of Commercial at The ROSTR Group in LA🔥

  • Tour Marketing Director at Outback Presents in Nashville

  • Sr. Sales Executive, Performing Arts at Opendate (Anywhere)

  • Director, Regional Sales at Live Nation in Portland

↗ Find these and 415+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 57 - Look at my newsletter, she the baddest (whoa) Olivia Dean strongarms Ticketmaster, Bonnaroo drops lineup, Wiggles feeling some type of way & how old was your Wrapped? https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-57-look-at-my-newsletter-she-the-baddest-whoa https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-57-look-at-my-newsletter-she-the-baddest-whoa Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:23:04 +0000 2025-12-05T17:23:04Z

Happy Friday,

Olivia Dean strongarms Ticketmaster, Bonnaroo drops lineup, Wiggles feeling some type of way & how old was your Wrapped?

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

SAILORR

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Lil Baby, Sam Fender, Dove Ellis, JADE, Alison Wonderland, SAILORR, Jane Remover, chloe moriondo, Zac Brown Band, dodie, Mother Soki, redveil…

♪ Notable singles from Baby Nova, Lil Uzi Vert, Tucker Wetmore, Disclosure & Leon Thomas, Esha Tewari, Blxst, Flea, Bazzi, Bilmuri, Tiga & Fcukers…

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

#1 - Lil Baby celebrates his birthday by dropping The Leaks, a surprise mixtape compiled of teased snippets and leaked songs over the years with ‘Let’s Do It’ featuring Playboi Carti & Skooly landing at #1.

#3 - APG client and rising star Baby Nova shares her 7th single 'Death Wish,' which features on her debut album Shhugar due next January.

#8 - Disney and Hollywood Records’ Freya Skye releases ‘silent treatment’ after being ghosted.

⭐ #10 - Rising Irish artist Dove Ellis unveils his debut album Blizzard with ‘Heaven Has No Wings’ landing a spot in the top ten.

#11 - It’s ‘Heaven’ on Earth when Alison Wonderland recruits buzzy Australian electronic act Ninajirachi off the artist’s 4th LP GHOST WORLD.

#14 - Sam Fender treats listeners to 8 new tracks on the deluxe version of People Watching out today with existential track 'The Treadmill' landing on the playlist.

#35 - After announcing his debut solo album, Red Hot Chili Peppers member Flea drops his first single ‘A Plea.’

#42 - Marshmello and INJI collab on ‘Kissin My Friends,’ co-written with And The Writer Is’ Ross Golan and more.

#44 - The Band CAMINO finally drops ‘Afterthought,’ a track teased since 2022 and debuted live this fall.

#49 - Pop newcomer Maeve releases ‘Hotel’, co-written & produced by Griff Clawson.

#55 - The Brook & The Bluff share ‘Baby Blue,’ a little song about feeling blue, ahead of their new project Werewolf, dropping in March.

#78 - Guns N’ Roses drop brand new track ‘Nothin’,’ a power ballad ahead of their upcoming world tour.

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

Fred again..

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Fred again.., DJ Premier & Nas, This Is Lorelei all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Peso Pluma & Tito Double P, Nick Jonas, Subtronics, Conway, Flea, Masicka, Ella Mai, Voxtrot, Sébastien Tellier, Daniel Lopatin (soundtrack album), Chet Faker, Niontay all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Last chance to book your ad spot in the ROSTR x NIF Voter Guide, launching soon!

Bad Bunny was the most-streamed artist of the year on Spotify. Ticketmaster offered partial refunds to Olivia Dean fans after the artist criticized the company over resale prices. The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance called out the lack of transparency around AI licensing deals with major labels. A new documentary produced by 50 Cent, “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” is out on Netflix; Diddy’s lawyers sent a cease and desist. A federal judge in LA allowed a class-action lawsuit brought by Taylor Swift fans against Live Nation and Ticketmaster to proceed. Daddy Yankee accused his former manager and producer Raphy Pina as well as his ex-wife of diverting millions of dollars in royalties in a scheme over many years. Trump pardoned former OVG CEO Tim Leiweke.

Jorja Smith’s label FAMM demanded she be credited on the AI-assisted song “I Run” by HAVEN. Gene Simmons will testify before the U.S. Senate to support artist radio play compensation. Cher won the majority of a lawsuit against Sonny Bono’s estate. The Wiggles issued a statement after two of their members appeared in a music video for a song allegedly about drug use. Megan Thee Stallion won in her defamation lawsuit against a blogger. Warner Music sued PacSun for copyright infringement. Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth was sued by six former members. Oasis will open pop-up merch stores in London and Dublin in December.

The Johnny Cash estate sued Coca-Cola. Coco Jones, Brandi Carlile and Charlie Puth will perform as pregame entertainment for the Super Bowl. A$AP Rocky was named a brand ambassador for Chanel. Priscilla Presley won the latest round in her financial elder abuse lawsuit. Burna Boy offered to cover the funeral costs of children killed in a mass shooting in Stockton, CA last week. Miley Cyrus got engaged to Maxx Morando. Ellie Goulding is pregnant with baby #2.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Merlin and karaoke company Singa sign licensing deal

  • Eventbrite to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $500M

  • Xposure Music secures $42.5M in new funding round

  • Music fans in Quebec reject plan for French-language streaming quotas

  • ECSA voices concerns over major label AI deals

  • Amuse reaches milestone of paying $10M in artist advances

  • ‘Realize Music: Sing’ becomes one of gaming’s largest music collaborations

  • Australian music is being killed by streaming algorithms, says report UMG

  • UK’s ‘Pause’ Studio converts music videos into art prints

  • StubHub faces class action lawsuit from investors following poor quarterly earnings

  • Reservoir launches partnership with Jamaica’s Skatta Burrell and Abood Music

  • The Snuts’ Happy Artist Records partners with Virgin Music Group

  • Suno and WMG strike licensing deal

  • Red Bull Records to cease operations

  • Warner Music India and Ultra Music sign global distribution agreement

  • Futures Music Group joins Chordal’s enterprise sync licensing technology platform

  • Impressed Recordings & ie:east launch ‘Circle Distribution’

Group Chat

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

These are good.

In other news…

LOUDER.

What are you most thankful for this year?

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ sombr catching heat (10%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ UMG struggling to acquire Downtown (40%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ ROSTR (40%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The 'Wicked' press tour coming to an end (10%)

Bonnaroo

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: ROSALÍA, Megan Moroney, FKA twigs, Tyler Childers, Snow Tha Product

Bella Hadid & Pedro Pascal will host the Artists for Aid benefit concert next January to raise funds for humanitarian relief in Palestine & Sudan. The event is organized by artist Mustafa and will feature performances from Clairo, Shawn Mendes, Geese, Blood Orange, Omar Apollo, Alex G & more.

Foo Fighters will play a benefit concert for homeless non-profits at LA’s Kia Forum next January. They will subsequently travel to Tasmania later that month for their first performance on the Australian island ever. The one-off show has been dubbed Tasmania’s “biggest concert ever.”

Live Nation is set to acquire Copenhagen’s 17K-capacity venue Royal Arena, which it has operated since 2017. LN plans to invest in renewable energy systems and improve the venue’s infrastructure.

The entertainment conglomerate also announced a partnership with Hiyo Social Tonics, a move highlighting its efforts to stock its US venues and festivals with more non-alcoholic beverage options.

Gorillaz’ immersive 25th anniversary exhibit House of Kong will travel to Los Angeles next February, accompanied by a full-length album performance of their upcoming album The Mountain.

🏟️ Residencies:

  • Jam band fans will be turning towards the Sphere once more with rock outfit Phish set to play a 9-show residency through April & May next year

  • LCD Soundsystem will claim Chicago as their next temporary home for a 4-night run, wrapping their Knockdown Center residency in NY this month

  • Backstreet Boys announced a 6-night residency in Germany kicking off next September

  • Hilary Duff announced a short and sweet Vegas residency across Valentine’s Day weekend next February

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Bonnaroo unveilied its 2026 headliners with Skrillex, The Strokes, GRiZ, Turnstile, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Teddy Swims, The Neighbourhood, Noah Kahan & Kesha

  • Reading & Leeds announced its first lineup with only UK & Irish acts in 25 years with headliners Charli xcx, Chase & Status, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C. & RAYE

  • Rolling Loud debuted in India last weekend. The two-day festival brought in 65K fans and featured 30+ international and local stars

  • Ultra is coming to New Zealand. The EDM brand is partnering with NZL promoter Audiology Touring to bring ~20K attendees to Wellington next April

  • LIV Golf Adelaide announced John Summit, Peking Duk, Royel Otis & FISHER as headliners for the 2026 tournament next February

❌ Cancellations:

  • While Thom Yorke recovers from an “extreme throat infection,” Radiohead postponed 2 of the 4 scheduled performances at Royal Arena in Copenhagen

  •  Yusuf/Cat Stevens officially cancelled his NA tour following an initial postponement due to visa issues

  • All-American Rejects & Knocked Loose both pulled out of their Australian shows due to respective “family emergencies”

  • Parkway Drive’s traveling debut Park Waves Festival will not move forward because the “numbers don’t stack up” due to a “combination of challenges”

Rina Sawayama, Carín León, Wallows

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

GRAMMY winner Carín León has landed at WME for representation in all areas with Kirk Sommer handling touring duties for WW (ex-MEX). The Latin powerhouse is slated to perform at the Sphere next year and already has checked off Coachella & Stagecoach last year. 

Rina Sawayama has gotten some new BEST FRIENDS. with Brandon Goodman & Danny Rukasin joining her management team. She recently confirmed that she’s working on her third studio album which she described as “reflecting the darkness in the world.”

Rising popstar Alexander Stewart inked a global publishing deal with Position Music. The Canadian singer has racked up over a billion streams globally and recently released his new album What If?.

Newly-launched Soft Shock continues to bolster their management roster, this time adding alternative band Wallows with Michelle Jubelirer, Arjun Pulijal & Caitlin Bosse signing on. The band has been busy this year, including a collaboration with board game Settlers of Catan.

After recently releasing her new album Get Out of Town via Nettwerk, Jazz singer Laura Anglade has signed with Aaron Johnson of Knitting Factory Management. 

LA-based singer/songwriter (and former studio intern for Mark Ronson) Chitra locked in a recording deal with Queens Road Music & 10K Projects.

Longtime Lyrical Lemonade A&R/manager Jake Millan brings the project as well as other clients SahBabii & smokedope2016 to Night. He also recently landed on Forbes 30 Under 30 for music.

+60 signings on ROSTR this week

Alex Black, Lisa Hresko, Rob Markus

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Rob Markus promoted to Head of International Music at WME. A2IM names Lisa Hresko COO and President of the Foundation of Independent Music. Alex Black has been appointed VP, A&R at independent music publishing and neighboring rights company peermusic. Oak View Group names Chris Granger CEO. Atlantic Music Group elevates Dave Rocco to the newly created position of CCO where he will guide creative strategy globally.

Wasserman has appointed three new executives to its London office and promoted a fourth, significantly expanding its UK operations. The new hires include Paul Ryan (SVP, Agent), Chris Lander (VP, Podcasts), and Rebecca Laurie (Manager, Tour Marketing), bringing expertise in rock, comedy podcasts, and global tours.

ASCAP has appointed former Paramount Global executive Marc Zelanko as its new Chief of Staff, reporting to CEO Elizabeth Matthews. UK D2C firm Townsend has named veteran Mike Walsh as D2C Sales and Product Consultant, reporting to Sales Director Bruce McKenzie and focusing on new business and product strategy. Sony Publishing elevates Jeff Smarr to SVP, Global Copyright.

Capitol Christian Music Group has expanded its executive leadership team by promoting Carlos Monnaco to EVP, Finance, Garrett Davis to SVP, A&R, and Elizabeth Brock to VP, National Promotions, while also adding Michael Fogarty as VP, Digital Marketing. The AristoMedia Group has promoted Taylor Dickens to Sr. Publicist and welcomes Liza Anderson as Publicity Coordinator and Amanda Anderson Digital Marketing Coordinator.

Bruce Houghton, Founder and President of Skyline Artists Agency, has announced he is closing the boutique after 35 years.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Head of Commercial at The ROSTR Group in LA 👀

  • VP, Tour Finance & Strategy at SUPER (Superfan Live) Remote

  • Ticketing Director at Belly Up Aspen in CO

  • Sr. Sales Executive at Opendate in IN

  • Head of Marketing at Mogul in CA

↗ Find these and 480+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 56 - Look in the inbox, and I'm like 'so hot, so smart, so witty' AI goes major, hot festival lineups, Osbourne family receives toenails & sharing what we’re grateful for 🍂 https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-56-look-in-the-inbox-and-i-m-like-so-hot-so-smart-so-witty https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-56-look-in-the-inbox-and-i-m-like-so-hot-so-smart-so-witty Fri, 21 Nov 2025 17:25:05 +0000 2025-11-21T17:25:05Z

Happy Friday,

AI goes major, hot festival lineups, Osbourne family receives toenails & sharing what we’re grateful for 🍂

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

Tate McRae

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Tate McRae, Demi Lovato, Summer Walker, Tems, Odeal, ERNEST, Tobias Jesso Jr., De La Soul, Stray Kids, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Hellp, Nemzzz…

♪ Notable singles from BigXThaPlug & Post Malone, The Kid LAROI, Key Glock, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Labrinth, Kevin Jonas, Absolutely, Maisie Peters, Esha Tewari, Danny L Harle, Mad Tsai…

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

#1 - Tate McRae is ‘NOBODY’s GIRL’ on her deluxe album SO CLOSE TO WHAT???

#5 - In ‘A PERFECT WORLD’ The Kid LAROI figures everything out; the singer announced his sophomore album BEFORE I FORGET due in January.

#19 - Nigerian singer Tems shares her first new music of the year with 7-track project Love Is A Kingdom and 'Big Daddy' landing on NMF.

⭐ #20 - LA duo The Hellp ‘Live Forever’ with their return of new album Riviera, migrating from indie-sleaze to a more mature project.

#33 - CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso enter their new era with single ‘GIMME MORE’. The music video follows the duo from their victorious night at the Latin GRAMMYs to a chaotic, euphoric after-party in Las Vegas.

#42 - "Euphoria" composer & producer Labrinth continues to ramp up for his 4th studio album COSMIC OPERA ACT I, this time with new single 'IMPLOSION.’

#47 - The first-ever GRAMMY winner for Songwriter of the Year (and current nominee), Tobias Jesso Jr., releases his first album in 10 years, with track ‘Bridges’ landing a spot on NMF.

#57 - Ne-Yo goes country with new track ‘Simple Things’ via 10K Projects after his Grand Ole Opry debut and presenting at the CMA Awards earlier this week.

#66 - Kesha drops ‘Butterscotch’ to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Animal + Cannibal.

#67 - Although not formally addressing any rumors, Jhené Aiko may be giving out some hints with her new single ‘Break.’

#76 - Kevin Jonas debuts as a solo artist with ‘Changing’ via Hollywood Records.

#88 - Overmono’s new single ‘Paradise Runner’ is a sharp, high energy dance cut powered by a sample from Monifah’s 1996 R&B classic ‘All I Want.’

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

Danny L Harle

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Jessie J has a new project expected to come out next week (Thanksgiving holiday in the US usually means a lighter week for project releases).

The Kid LAROI, Danny L Harle, DJ Premier & Nas, MAVI, Peaer, Hudson Westbrook, Absolutely, Converge, Filmore, Alan Vega (re-issue), Cloudy Heart all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

No issue next week because of Thanksgiving in the US - we’ll be back in your inbox on December 5th!

If you didn’t hear, the NIF & ROSTR GRAMMY Voter Guide is coming. FYC spots are filling up fast - for more info and opportunities, click HERE.

Americana artist Todd Snider passed away at 59. Stone Roses bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield passed away at 63. A collaboration between UC Santa Barbara and Dust-to-Digital Foundation made thousands of rare American recordings available online. ABKCO sued paint maker Behr for using the Rolling Stones ‘Paint It, Black’ in an Instagram ad without a license. Eminem sued Swim Shady, an Australian beachwear company for using a name too similar to his trademarked pseudonym. C.J. Wallace, the son of The Notorious B.I.G., countersued for defamation after being accused of participating in a sexual assault act with Diddy. Slipknot sold their catalog to HarbourView. The man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a recent ‘Wicked: For Good’ premiere was sentenced to 9 days in prison. See all of the CMA winners HERE.

Spotify will offer more song credit information to include more roles involved in the creative process. Nelly wants the lawyer of a former St. Lunatic bandmate to repay $78K+ in legal bills over the lawsuit about the rights to Country Grammar. A judge held Tory Lanez in contempt of court after the singer said “I’m a millionaire. I don’t care.” Lil Nas X appeared in court for his police battery case. Paris Jackson had a setback in her fight against the executors of Michael’s estate. Ángel Del Villar will stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for associating and doing business with Mexican drug cartels. Eminem will produce a Thanksgiving Halftime Show for the Detroit Lions through 2027. Disney+ dropped the trailer for the upcoming Beatles Anthology series refresh. A woman sent Ozzy Osbourne’s family her toenails, claiming to be his daughter after his death.  

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

👀 Warner Music Group updates:

  • Full-year profits came in lower

  • Partnered with Udio to launch a licensed AI music creation service

  • Signed a new deal with Stability AI

Also:

  • Mushroom Music enters sub-publishing deal with peermusic

  • Suno raises $250M in latest round of series C funding

  • Create Music Group and The Circuit Group launch $500M investment fund

  • EU poised to deliver ‘warning’ on UMG’s $775M Downtown acquisition

  • FreshTunes announces new integrations focused on the creator economy

  • Dynamite Songs acquires 150 Tracks via several new deals

  • Ticketek & Google Cloud partner to reimagine 'the Fan Experience'

  • Amazon Music launches new “Share To TikTok” feature

  • TIDAL announces new upload feature for indie artists

  • TikTok drops new ‘Bulletin Board’ broadcast channels for creators

Group Chat

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

Postponing all client releases until Lizzy is back from maternity leave

Need this.

(di)Vine coming back means...

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ I can't rn (15%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Major label digital teams are doing the "it's happening" gif meme (38%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ Washed A&Rs figuring out how to monetize hungry artists on diVine Live (31%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Performative & woke anti-AI content (15%)

The Weeknd at MetLife Stadium

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Father John Misty, Perfume Genius, INJI

The Weeknd’s 4 year tour run of After Hours ‘Til Dawn has grossed >$1B. This makes the Canadian star’s tour the highest grossing for solo male act in history.

Washington, D.C. is constructing a 65K capacity stadium, which is on track to be the second-most-expensive stadium in the world. Across the pond, AEG Presents UK announced its newest venue British Airways ARC, will open in 2026. The 3.8K capacity venue is part of a $1.7B renovation of Olympia, a 138 year-old event space in Kensington.

The UK government will ban concert ticket resales above face value in an effort to crack down on scalpers – a change artists like Dua Lipa, Coldplay & Sam Fender have lobbied for.

Ticketmaster has expanded its footprint in Brazil and LATAM, acquiring ticketing company BaladAPP, which will give promoters access to >6M registered users.

Jam For Good announced The Revivalists will headline a special benefit concert for kids battling cancer in Boulder, Colorado next February.

Post Malone, Jack White & Lil Jon will perform across the 3 NFL Thanksgiving Day halftime shows.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Iowa’s Hinterland announced another stacked lineup with KATSEYE, Lorde, Mumford & Sons, and Kali Uchis as headliners

  • Kilby Block Party announced headliners Lorde, The xx & Turnstile

  • After postponing due to torrential rains, Camp Flog Gnaw announced a new slew of performers in Blood Orange, Kali Uchis, fakemink & Geese after Clairo, Don Toliver, Men I Trust, sombr & others cancelled

  • Empire Of The Sun announced destination festival Chrysalis, which will consist of a curated artist lineup, art installations & more in Cabo

  • Love Supreme Jazz Festival will be headlined by Ezra Collective, Samara Joy & Loyle Carner

  • Florida’s Welcome to Rockville will feature headliners Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance & Bring Me The Horizon

  • Lainey Wilson, Zach Top, Brooks & Dunn, and Gavin Adcock were announced as headliners for Country Thunder Arizona

  • Fuerza Regida will headline the 5th edition of Chicago’s Sueños Fest

  • Zootown Music Festival announced The Lumineers & The Chicks as headliners

❌ Cancellations:

  • After their free concert was shut down over safety concerns in Melbourne, Amyl and the Sniffers used their show fee of $35K to cover bar tabs for 7 local pubs in the area

  • YUNGBLUD shared he will continue with his 2026 Australian tour dates following the cancellation of his remaining 2025 shows

Carly Rae Jepsen, Drake, Sophia James

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

CAA is calling Drake’s phone - to the tune of Alex Mebed, Darryl Eaton, Mitch Rose & Sam Reisman worldwide. Formerly at Wasserman (Brent Smith), the superstar has jumped ship with his highly anticipated album ICEMAN expected soon.

On the heels of celebrating 10 years of EMOTION, Carly Rae Jepsen has signed with Cristina Baxter of Wasserman Music for touring (WW ex-CAN). The pop star recently announced she’s pregnant and that she’s made some ‘big album progress.’

‘Group-7’ viral trend creator Sophia James has landed in the hands of new management at Left/Right with Michael Falotico & Will Hubbard. Her recent track ‘So Unfair’ has been getting heavy rotation across channels and been featured in places like Rolling Stone & NY Times. 

Electronic powerhouse TOKiMONSTA has been rinsing her new club tracks and has now signed a new publishing deal with PayDay Music Publishing.

Platinum singer-songwriter Clinton Kane, now releasing independently after a stint with Columbia Records, has joined Pat Magnarella’s PMM for management.

Agent Andrew Friedman has launched new booking agency Stage Left Global based in Philadelphia. His roster includes Sam Greenfield, Michael Wilbur, Sungazer & others.

Former Runway agent Amy Greig has made the move over to One Fiinix Live alongside her roster of anamẽ, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, archie & more.

+185 signings on ROSTR this week

Aisha Salem-Howey, Tracy Maddux, Kabiru Bello

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

beatBread has appointed former CD Baby and Downtown exec Tracy Maddux as interim CEO following the passing of co-founder and CEO Peter Sinclair 💜 Bruce Moran has been announced as Live Nation’s new Executive Chairman of Latin America Touring. Leho Nigul, previously WMG’s SVP of Engineering, is named CTO, overseeing technology strategy and product roadmap. London and NY based company Transgressive has appointed Alex Clark as its sync and licensing manager. Big Loud Rock grows its Promotion department, appointing Brien Terranova and Dave Derkowski as Sr. Directors under SVP Dave Barbis.

Following an $11.3M raise, ATC Group appoints James Patterson as COO and Cliff Fluet as non-executive director. Aisha Salem-Howey named General Counsel at UAE’s Music Nation. Kabiru Bello, Head of A&R, EMEA at Warner Music, is leaving the music company. Kele Currier, ASCAP’s Assistant VP of Strategic Services, is retiring after a 33-year career and more than a decade with the Nashville Membership team.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director, Brand Partnerships at UMG in NY

  • Label Manager at Cuttin’ Headz (Remote)

  • Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy at Handmade Records in LA

  • Head of Artist Partnerships, US at Tixel in LA

↗ Find these and 500+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 55 - My inbox is turning blue, can't read without you here A 🆕 GRAMMYs Voter Guide 👀, Charli’s reaching new heights, AI taking over Country & Vine making a comeback? https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-55-my-inbox-is-turning-blue-can-t-read-without-you-here https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-55-my-inbox-is-turning-blue-can-t-read-without-you-here Fri, 14 Nov 2025 17:24:36 +0000 2025-11-14T17:24:36Z

Happy Friday,

A 🆕 GRAMMYs Voter Guide 👀, Charli’s reaching new heights, AI taking over Country & Vine making a comeback?

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

Dominic Fike

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from FKA twigs, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kelsea Ballerini, Summer Walker, Jessie Murph, Wale, The Neighbourhood, Jean Dawson, Blondshell, Cameron Whitcomb…

♪ Notable singles from Charli xcx, Robyn, Dominic Fike, Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor, Ken Carson, Searows, IDK, Louis Tomlinson, Hudson Westbrook, Truman Sinclair, Sword II…

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

#1 - Charli xcx shares the latest track from her work on Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” ‘Chains of Love,’ and announced she will release a full-length album inspired by the film.

#2 - Kelsea Ballerini lands at the top as she steps into a new chapter on Mount Pleasant with ‘Emerald City,’ one of the EP’s most honest cuts.

#5 - Swedish ‘Dancing On My Own’ singer Robyn drops her first song in 7 years ‘Dopamine.’

#15 - Lewis Capaldi drops new EP Survive, including NMF track ‘The Day That I Die,’ co-written with Amy Allen, John Ryan and Tobias Jesso Jr.

#20 - Indie-folk singer-songwriter & guitarist Searows tries to catch a ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’ (album artwork is dope btw).

#22 - NF and James Arthur collab on ‘SORRY’ off of NF’s new EP FEAR.

#33 - Ciara is back with CiCi (Deluxe), including new track ‘Nice n’ Sweet’ with MOLIY and Oxlade.

#38 - Ethereal pop duo Magdalena Bay continue their bi-weekly double release strategy, this time with ‘This Is The World (I Made It For You)’ landing on NMF.

#86 - Alt-pop band The Format continues their reunion run with another single ‘Shot In The Dark.’

⭐ #90 - Atlanta rock band Sword II drop their album Electric Hour via label section1 with ‘Sentry’ placing.

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

Leon Thomas

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

De La Soul, Haley Heynderickx & Mac García Conover, Danko Jones, Kara-Lis Cloverdale, Rheostatics, Keaton Henson all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charli xcx, Leon Thomas, Tate McRae (deluxe), Meghan Trainor, Tobias Jesso Jr., reggie, Mandy, Indiana, Daphni, Bill Callahan, Jay Buchanan, Hercules & Love Affair, Caroline Jones, Kronos Quartet, Pepe Serbert all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

This year we're introducing the NIF & ROSTR GRAMMY Voter Guide. A fully interactive, digital-first, modern guide for GRAMMY voters (and industry observers). For more information on the guide and FYC opportunities click HERE.

More Q3 updates:

The #1 song in the US is AI-generated. TikTok and iHeartMedia announced a new multi-platform collab. GEMA won in a landmark song lyric copyright case against OpenAI. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame won a lawsuit over the use of a Van Halen photo. Music publishers moved to reopen a lawsuit against the NBA. Downtown was sued for breach of contract and fraudulent inducement by YouTube’s Blast Off Media. Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz sued business manager Thomas St. John, alleging St. John stole $269K. Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, White Stripes and more were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Tory Lanez’ appeal over his conviction and 10-year sentence was denied.

Vince Gill will receive a lifetime achievement award at the CMAs on November 19th. Fans condemned the mistreatment and violation of Halsey after the artist was groped at a recent show. Sabrina Carpenter will lead and produce an Alice in Wonderland-inspired musical film. Madlib’s ex-manager sued him, asking a federal judge to decide who owns the rights to masters from their Madicine Show label.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Coda Music launches an AI ID tool

  • Spotify and NMPA partner on audiovisual direct-licensing deal for indie publishers

  • Amazon Music launches ‘Fan Groups’ to spark discovery and connection

  • AIP launches UK music promoter diversity database

  • Songpact expands to India

  • Spotify confirms video rollout in the US

  • Secretly Distribution launches Asia Pacific division

  • Milk & Honey grows UK footprint

  • UMG’s Global Impact team expands ‘Sounds of the Future’ to the UK

The Latin Review

A section where we focus on the Latin World

The 26th annual Latin GRAMMYs took place last night in Las Vegas with Maluma and Roselyn Sánchez hosting. Super Bowl superstar Bad Bunny took home 5 wins (out of 12 nominations), including Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Best Reggaeton Performance, best urban music album, Best Urban/Urban Fusion Performance and Best Urban Song. CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each won five awards as well - their first wins at the Latin GRAMMYs. Karol G took home Song of the Year for ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’ and Alejandro Sanz won Record of the Year with ‘Palmeras En El Jardín.’ Morat won their first Latin GRAMMY for Best Pop/Rock album. Marco Antonio Solís and Gloria Estefan honored Raphael with Person of the Year. This year’s awards also included several new categories: Best Music for Visual Media, Songwriter of the Year, Best Singer-Songwriter Song, Portuguese-Language Urban Performance and Best Roots Song.

See the full list of winners HERE.

Group Chat

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

Both of them wearing heels is crazy

Lmfao honestly though

🍏

What could go wrong?

Instagram post

Who got snubbed for a BNA nomination?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ ROLE MODEL (27%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Rachel Chinouriri (9%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ PinkPantheress (32%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Country artists (9%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ I could notttttt care less (23%)

Lightning In A Bottle 2026

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Hayley Williams, Hilary Duff, Jordan Ward, Foo Fighters, Mt. Joy

Shaggy & Sean Paul will headline the Jamaica Strong benefit concert to raise funds for hurricane relief. The Weeknd donated $350K to the nation yesterday.

Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams has partnered with Openstage to minimize ticket scalping for her recently announced EU/NA tour.

SXSW announced the first 100 showcasing artists for its 2026 edition.

Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead & Sam Fender have called upon the British Prime Minister to commit to price cap legislation for ticket resales in the King’s Speech spring of next year.

Live Nation has been selected as the preferred bidder to develop the recently stalled Goyang Arena project in Seoul, South Korea. The venue, which expects to host anywhere from 20-50K attendees, will boast top-tier technology built for high production K-pop concerts.

Eagles have extended their Sphere residency with 4 shows next March, making their run the longest an act has played at the immersive venue with 56 dates.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Do Lab’s Lightning In A Bottle revealed its stacked lineup via its VHS-style poster with performances from Empire Of The Sun, Mau P, Sara Landry, Tinashe, Chase & Status, Barry Can’t Swim & more

  • Miami’s Ultra Music Festival shared Phase 2 of its lineup with Martin Garrix, Alesso, DJ Snake & others joining

  • Mad Cool’s 10th anniversary festival will take place in Madrid next year with headline performances from Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Twenty One Pilots, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds amongst others

  • Damian Lazarus’ Day Zero will debut in Bali next April alongside its flagship event in Tulum, which takes place early January 2026

  • Limp Bizkit, Iron Maiden, The Offspring & Bring Me The Horizon will headline France’s Hellfest 2026

  • Bluefest unveiled its first round of artists for the Australian festival with Split Enz, Earth, Wind & Fire & The Pogues

  • Not to be confused with the above, Byron Bay’s Bluesfest will feature Sublime, The Black Crowes & Buddy Guy as headliners

  • CMAT is the latest headliner announced for London’s Lido Festival happening next June; she joins acts like Father John Misty & Sharon Van Etten

❌ Cancellations:

  • Due to illness, Jelly Roll cancelled the final date on his AU/NZ tour run just hours before the show’s start

Dan + Shay, Mad Tsai, Don Toliver

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Three-time GRAMMY winners, Dan + Shay, have landed with new management at The Core Entertainment. There, the duo will be represented by co-founders & CEO’s Simon Tikhman & Kevin “Chief” Zaruk alongside fellow artists like Bailey Zimmerman, Cameron Whitcomb and more.

After a seven-month stint at Wasserman, electronic artist Gryffin has returned to WME with Brett Schaffer, David Levy, Jake Wilk, Kirk Sommer, Kyle Bandler, Rob Markus, Sam Dolen, Sam Wald & Steph Lafera representing him globally.

Rising queer pop artist Mad Tsai locked in a deal with independent record label Rebellion Records. The Taiwanese and Peruvian act has amassed over 260M streams and under the terms of the new agreement, he’ll release 10 tracks, with a 50/50 revenue split, and leveraging a nearly 7-figure blended budget. 

Rapper Don Toliver joined UTA’s touring roster with Alex Baranello, Zach Iser, Caroline Yim & Rob Gibbs leading the team in NA. The Don recently announced that his new album OCTANE will be dropping later this year. 

Singer Jess Glynne, whose voice went viral this year during the Jet2 Holiday trend, signed with Vikki Josephs at Logan Media Entertainment for management. She’s recently dropped singles with Alok, Rudimental & others.

Artist manager Bradley Zorgdrager has joined AISAmusic alongside his roster including Mental Cruelty, Signs Of The Swarm, Ov Sulfur & more. There he’ll head up North American management operations for the Switzerland-based company.

+120 signings on ROSTR this week

Jeremy Vuernick, Cris Lacy, Charlie Lexton

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Jeremy Vuernick steps in as EVP of Atlantic Music Group, working from London to drive global artist development alongside UK and US teams. Gregg Nadel is promoted to President of A&R at Warner Records Group in LA, while Cris Lacy takes over as President & Chair of Warner Records Nashville. Merlin taps Charlie Lexton as its new CEO. Thomas Coesfeld will remain BMG’s CEO from January 2027 onward as he also takes on the Chairman & CEO role at Bertelsmann. Dee Hale rises to SVP, Film and TV Administration at Sony Music Pub, overseeing studio client administration in the US and UK and co-chairing the Society and Publisher Forum A/V Committee. Sony Music Pub also names Michael Young Chief Information Officer, based in Nashville, to oversee technology strategy and upgrades supporting its global songwriters and catalogs.

The UK's Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has appointed Catherine Anne Davies (The Anchoress), Jess Smyth (Biig Piig), and Rina Sawayama to its Board of Directors.

The Appointment Group (TAG) adds Fred Stratford as Chairman of its Board and John McLaughlin as CFO both joining the leadership team and Board to guide strategy and ops as CEO Jens Penny gets ready to step down.

Tatiana Angulo is elevated to VP, Streaming, and Taylor Viegut to VP, E-commerce & Biz Dev at MCA, strengthening the label’s leadership in digital initiatives and artist partnerships.

360 Business Management expands its team with the addition of industry veteran Lisa Barringer, whose 30+ years in athlete and entertainer management bolster the firm’s growing roster.

Essential Music Publishing, elevates Andie Rankins to VP of Essential Publishing Administration. EMPIRE Nashville adds Bri Small as VP, Digital, overseeing the label’s online presence and engagement, and Zak Waters as Director of A&R, bringing his multi-genre songwriting and production expertise to the team. Kelley Fox joins Various / Distiller as an International Sr. A&R on Publishing and Management. Ashley Nite joins Kobalt’s Nashville office as Creative Director. Cole Brown joins Creative Nation as Publishing, Management & Records A&R.

Big Machine Label Group makes numerous new hires and promotions, see here.

Dope Jobs

Juicy jobs in music

  • Head of Artist D2C Marketing at Mick Management in NY, Nash, or LA

  • Head of Artist Partnerships at Tixel in LA

  • Director, Brand Partnerships at Slacker Media Group (Remote)

  • Director, Legal & Business Affairs - INTL at WMG in NY

  • VP, Data Governance and Strategy at UMG in Santa Monica

↗ Find these and 490+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 54 - Damn, give anything for you to pick up when I write GRAMMY noms are out, Q3 earnings are in & the Journey is ending. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-54-damn-give-anything-for-you-to-pick-up-when-i-write https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-54-damn-give-anything-for-you-to-pick-up-when-i-write Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:20:05 +0000 2025-11-07T17:20:05Z

Happy Friday,

GRAMMY noms are out, Q3 earnings are in & the Journey is ending.

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

Holly Humberstone

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from ROSALÍA, Danny Brown, Sam Gellaitry, Del Water Gap, Vincent Mason, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, EKKSTACY, Kings of Leon…

♪ Notable singles from Hilary Duff, Joji, Kehlani, Katy Perry, Lil Baby, Kelsea Ballerini, Mario, Holly Humberstone, Jordan Adetunji, Mark Ambor, Mack Keane…

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

#2 - Songstress Kehlani tries to save the relationship with ‘Out The Window.’

#4 - Katy Perry teams up with Justin Tranter, Amanda “Kiddo” Ibanez, Eren Cannata, Russell Chell and Sean Cook to sing about heartbreak on ‘bandaids.'

#7 - The ‘Assumptions’ singer & producer Sam Gellaitry shares his new project ANYWHERE HERE IS PERFECT with ‘ON&ON’ taking 7th on the playlist.

#10 - After releasing her first single this year, Holly Humberstone can ‘Die Happy.’

#20 - BENEE drops new album Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles with PinkPantheress as a co-writer on NMF track ‘Princess.’

#24 - Hilary Duff is back with new music for the first time in 10 years, landing ‘Mature’ on NMF.

#33 - Fred again.. continues to ramp up for USB with yet another collaboration, this time recruiting Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso on ‘Beto’s Horns - fred remix.’

#34 - The viral track ID that has been in every DJs rotation this summer has finally dropped; Dutch producer Jamback’s ‘Positive’ is an electric, gritty house cut built on a plucky, driving synth sample.

#53 - Vocalist and producer Grace Ives returns with 3 new singles after 3 years with ‘Avalanche’ snagging the NMF slot.

#55 - Mindchatter drops his latest album, Giving Up On Words, with ‘Drug In Us’ featuring Poolside landing.

⭐ #58 - Chelsea Jordan releases her first major label track (via Arista) with ‘level out,’ which details the aftermath of a breakup.

#66 - R&B singer-songwriter Mack Keane follows up album Entries with ‘Candycrush,’ which feels tinged with Dijon/Mk.gee influences.

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

Joji

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

FKA twigs (deluxe), The Neighbourhood, Cheap Trick, Blondshell, AVTT/PTTN, The Bros. Landreth all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Joji, Jason Aldean, De La Soul, Kylie Minogue, redveil, Farhan Saeed, Hunter Hayes, Diana Silvers, Mariachi El Bronx, The Kentucky Headhunters (re-release), Paula Kelley, Gretchen Wilson (re-release) all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The GRAMMY noms are out now! Stay tuned for our analysis.

Q3 earnings:

  • Live Nation announced record-breaking revenue of $8.5B

  • Spotify surpassed 700M monthly active listeners

  • Reservoir Media generated $4.5M

  • SM Entertainment reported a 262% YoY increase in operating profit

Grateful Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux passed away at 78. TikTok announced its first TikTok Awards show in the US, featuring awards like “Breakthrough Artist of the Year,” “Video of the Year” and more. The Recording Academy added 3.8K members. A lawsuit against Spotify claims that Drake and other artists have “billions of fraudulent streams” on Spotify. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are facing a lawsuit over ticketing technology. Music Artists Coalition (MAC) outlined how artists can be properly considered following the recent deal between UMG and Udio. Stubhub is facing a class action lawsuit over their ‘FanProtect Guarantee.’ Suno was sued again, this time by Danish music rights org Koda. 10K Projects was sued by Internet Money Records.

Shaggy has been mobilizing relief efforts in Jamaica after the country was hit by Hurricane Melissa. Michael Jackson was the highest earning dead celebrity for the 3rd year in a row; the trailer for his upcoming biopic dropped this week as well. Bob Dylan accepted an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee. Saoirse Ronan, Anna Sawei, Aimee Lou Wood and Mia McKenna-Bruce will star in the upcoming Beatles biopics as the famous spouses of the Fab Four. Britney Spears de-activated her instagram. Offset was sued for allegedly assaulting a security guard when asked to show his I.D. at a dispensary. A previous manager for Guns N’ Roses claimed that the band blocked the release of his autobiography.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Licensing marketplace Catalog launches with 30,000 sync-ready tracks

  • Proper Music grows D2C network through Hospital and Heavenly deals

  • Quantizr launches to enable smarter financial touring decisions

  • Sony Music Publishing acquires stake in Finland’s Elements Music

  • Streaming and download platform Qobuz rolls out app for Android TV

  • Cisac’s global collections report shows a 7.2% rise in music revenues

  • Spotify reports rising popularity of cumbia among Argentine listeners

  • Sounds Right has turned Nature into both an artist and a distributor

  • Luminate adds streaming data from China’s Tencent Music

  • Amazon Music’s mobile app gets upgraded with smarter Alexa+ features

Group Chat

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

First things first — get him Peggy!

Fuck, lol.

Bout that time

What's your halloween costume this year?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ White boy country/folk tiktok singer (take your pick) (38%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Prep school street team avatar (who are they really??) (0%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Performative male artist (take your pick) (50%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Addison Rae as Ice Spice (13%)

Radiohead

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: The Neighbourhood, Journey, Oklou, Not for Radio, AC/DC

Journey will embark on the first leg of their final run next February, announcing plans to disband after the farewell tour.

After 7 years, Radiohead finally returned to the stage, playing a 25-song set in Madrid to kick off their tour.

Gunna’s upcoming tour will coincide with his Wunna Run Club 5K, a string of race events he launched in September.

Diljit Dosanjh set the record for the biggest-ever Australian tour by an Indian artist with >90K tickets sold across 6 cities.

Jeezy earned the Guinness World Record for the largest orchestra to play a hip-hop concert with 101 players.

Rolling Loud Australia announced Sexxy Red as its second headliner following Gunna’s confirmation as a top-billed performer.

Finnish promoter Nelonen Media Live have partnered with Warner Music Live to enhance future festival programming and artist bookings.

🎤 Residencies:

  • Kelly Clarkson announced an extension of her Caesars Palace residency ahead of her first show following Brandon Blackstock’s passing

  • No Doubt added yet another 6 dates to their Sphere residency

  • Renowned Scottish producer Calvin Harris announced a 2-year residency at Wynn with the first dates kicking off next January and February

  • Marc Anthony unveiled his first-ever residency with 10 dates at Fontainebleau starting next February

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Download Festival 2026 will feature headlining performances from Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses & Limp Bizkit

  • Igloofest Montreál – the festival’s newest flagship city – will debut headliners Disco Lines, SOFI TUKKER & The Blaze

  • The Killers, Guns N’ Roses, Tyler, The Creator & Deftones will headline P’al Norte in Mexico next November

  • Montana’s Under The Big Sky Festival unveiled Chris Stapleton, Zach Top & Cody Jinks as headliners for the July 2026 event

  • Gavin Adcock, Wyatt Flores & Clint Black are set to headline Headwaters Country Jam next July in Montana

  • Jason Aldean & Lainey Wilson are scheduled to play festival XRoads41 in Wisconsin next August

  • Texas’ Cattle Country Festival returns with performances from Koe Wetzel, Treaty Oak Revival & Randy Houser amongst others

❌ Cancellations:

  • Following the cancellation of his Mexico shows, Morrissey cancelled his upcoming South American leg, citing “extreme exhaustion”

  • Benson Boone cancelled his Birmingham show just one hour before its start due to vocal and throat issues

Rita Ora, 49 Winchester, AURORA

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Norwegian singer-songwriter AURORA signed with peermusic to a worldwide publishing deal covering future compositions. In addition to charting Top 10 in the UK with both her past two albums, she has also contributed to franchises like Frozen, HBO’s Girls, Assassin’s Creed & more.

Southern rock band 49 Winchester joined Lucille Records under MCA Nashville. Today, they released their first new music on the label teaming up with GRAMMY-winning producer and MCA’s Chief Creative Officer Dave Cobb on a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Changes.’

British star Rita Ora locked in a deal with Jay Gassner, David Zedeck, Sam Kirby Yoh & Houston Costa at UTA this week for global representation in all areas. She has totaled more than 10B streams and holds the record for most Top 10 singles for a British female in the UK. 

Newly-formed ALTA Music Group has been busy signing new acts Channel Tres & Esha Tewari to record deals. Tewari’s new single ‘In Twos’ comes out on 11/21 and is hitting the road to support Conan Gray on a world tour next year.

Standards Music, led by Doug Neumann & Josh Roth, also locked new clients Maddie Zahm & Gabrielle Grace for management, the latter of whom recently put out an EP featuring Michigander and finished touring with JOSEPH.

Pop-punk’s MOD SUN has landed with new management, joining Gabe Apodaca & Frances Bowdery of Vector Management. They’ll be leading strategy across all areas with new releases and announcements coming soon.

+120 signings on ROSTR this week

Vanessa Picken, Gary Gersh, Brooke Webster

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Sony Music has announced that Vanessa Picken will exit her role as Chair and CEO of AUS & NZ after three years.

Rolling Stone taps Dan Weiner to lead global sales and partnerships as SVP, Head of Sales and Partnerships. Leda Chang joins WMG to help amplify global catalog strategy. SourceAudio taps Weston McGowen to lead its global catalog services, including client ops, metadata, and publishing administration. Bella Figura Music hires Gary Gersh as Chairman to lead its U.S. expansion and guide $100M in new catalog investments. Prescription Songs elevates Brooke Webster to A&R Manager. Debbie Carroll joins Belmont University as Executive Director of its newly launched Center for Mental Health in Entertainment. Nuno Rocha moves up at ONErpm, taking charge of business development across Portugal, Africa, and the MENA region. Outback Presents has added Jayson Adams to its team, where he’ll lead artist booking, concert promotion, and large-scale event production. AXS is expanding in Europe, appointing Peter Quinlan as MD and Hannah Rouch as VP of Marketing, both based in London.

Boosey & Hawkes announces Steven Lankenau will take over as President in 2026, as Janis Susskind OBE retires after 46 years.

Prysm Talent Agency, which represents prominent artists such as Method Man, Ice-T, and Warren G, has launched a dedicated PR arm, led by industry veteran Gerry Westby out of the company’s new Tulsa office.

Vinny Kumar has been promoted to President of EMPIRE Publishing, where he’ll oversee global deals for the independent powerhouse, including new partnerships from its recently launched Africa bureau.

In a move to strengthen its ops, CTK Enterprises has tapped Patrick Kells as Head of Retail Merchandising, Robert Kelley as GM of Dolly Parton’s Life Of Many Colors Museum, and Adam Davis as Director of Content Development & Archiving.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director, Digital Marketing at Electric Feel Entertainment in Nashville, LA or Miami

  • Director of Marketing & Digital Strategy at Handmade Records in LA

  • Business Development Director at Live Nation in AUS

  • Director, Income Tracking at WMG in LA

  • Senior Director, Business & Legal Affairs at UMG in NY

↗ Find these and 500+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 53 - Something evil's lurking in your inbox Things get scary at Amazon & Paramount, UMG settles, performative males on tour & Mariah isn’t defrosting just yet. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-53-something-evil-s-lurking-in-your-inbox https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-53-something-evil-s-lurking-in-your-inbox Fri, 31 Oct 2025 16:23:34 +0000 2025-10-31T16:23:34Z

Happy Halloween 🎃,

Things get scary at Amazon & Paramount, UMG settles, performative males on tour & Mariah isn’t defrosting just yet.

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

Oklou

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Florence + The Machine, Oklou, Sevdaliza, Saba, Kodak Black, The Belair Lip Bombs, strongboi, Luvcat, Outkast, Mikayla Geier, Daniel Avery…

♪ Notable singles from ROSALÍA, Björk, Yves Tumor, Tyler, The Creator, Brent Faiyaz, flowerovlove, Masego, Mitchell Tenpenny, Orville Peck, Kelly Lee Owens, Pink Siifu…

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

#1 - ROSALÍA is back and gearing up for her upcoming album Lux. Her latest single ‘Berghain’ featuring Björk and Yves Tumor, dropped this Monday.

#3 - Florence + The Machine taps Danny L Harle for some writing & production help on ‘Sympathy Magic’, with Florence unveiling their full new album, Everybody Scream.

#10 - After revealing she’ll open for MARINA in Europe next year, Mikayla Geier releases her 2nd album HOT POT! with ‘ego of a man’ in the top 10 this week.

#21 - Outkast celebrate the 25th anniversary of Stankonia with an album re-release, featuring NMF track (and originally part of the Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider soundtrack) ‘Speedballin’.

#22 - The Belair Lip Bombs are from ‘Another World’ on their newest track; the buzzy Australian indie outfit recently signed with Concord ANZ.

#31 - After getting stood up for the first time, Grace Enger turned it into ‘Running Back To You,’ a single produced with friend Ryan Raines.

#32 - It’s been a quiet year for Mitchell Tenpenny, who gifts us his 2nd solo release of 2025 with ‘Therapy.’

#36 - R&B’s Saint Harison gets into the Halloween mood with ‘ghosted.’

⭐ #43 - Hotly tipped songwriter/producer turned artist Ella Boh releases ‘SERiAL KiLLER’ on Halloween via Bamboo Artists.

#54 - Nightly drop new album The Void, featuring NMF track ‘THE SHIVERS’ and other Halloween-esque titled tracks like ‘haunted house’ and ‘WEREWOLF.’

#79 - NOTION & Willow Kayne officially drop ‘WAITING’ after building up hype for several months online.

#88 - Cash Cash and Hayley Kiyoko team up on ‘Sadness.’

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

Mumford & Sons

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

ROSALÍA, Del Water Gap, Whitney, Mavis Staples, Danny Brown, Portugal. The Man, Armand Hammer & The Alchemist, Stella Donnelly, The Mountain Goats, White Lies, Westerman, Sorry, Insecure Men, Hatchie, The Dears, Midlake all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Mumford & Sons, Megadeth, Tyler Halverson, The Soft Pink Truth, Geologist, Ratboys, Navy Blue, eill all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Amazon laid off 14,000+ employees this week “to help make the company leaner and less bureaucratic.” Paramount laid off 1,000 employees, with plans to lay off 1,000 more. The U.S. TikTok sale is expected to be completed this week. UMG settled its copyright infringement lawsuit against Udio. The founder of Kakao Corporation was found not guilty in a trial about the bidding war against HYBE for SM Entertainment. Drake appealed the judge’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit against UMG and Kendrick Lamar. The remaining assets of Utopia Music are up for sale via the bankruptcy office in Switzerland. Triller group received a delisting determination letter from the NASDAQ earlier in October after failing to file financial reports on time. Diddy is expected to be released from prison on May 8, 2028. Drake, Adin Ross and online casino company Stake were sued in Missouri for allegedly promoting illegal and predatory gambling. RAYE’s stolen car was recovered, with all of her songwriting books intact and safe!

Mariah says it’s not time to defrost for Christmas… NOT YET!

NewJeans plan to appeal the court decision to uphold their Ador label contract through 2029. HYBE partnered with LAFC to sponsor the 1st Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoff home game in LA. The Jamaican man who stole and resold 900+ Taylor Swift tix for over $635K pled guilty in court and could face up to 15 years in prison. Tina Knowles shared that before breast cancer surgery last year, Beyoncé and Solange sang her gospel song ‘Walk With Me.’ Carrie Underwood was named the highest RIAA-certified Female country artist of all time. Flavor Flav will reprise his Olympics hype man role in 2026 as the official sponsor of the U.S. bobsled and skeleton team. Maluma and Roselyn Sanchez will host the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Bandsintown launched the Bandsintown for Artists Marketplace; see the partners HERE

  • Notes.fm launches to uncover unclaimed ‘Black Box’ royalties

  • Adobe’s Firefly now crafts custom, fully licensed AI music for video

  • DistroKid debuts artist-to-fan merch platform

  • Reports suggest OpenAI is working on a generative AI music tool

  • Spotify increases prices in the UK and Switzerland

  • MNGRS.AI lands $2.1M to bring AI smarts to artist management

  • Pitchfork adds reader scores to album reviews

  • UAE’s collective management organization Music Nation commences operations

  • GM will eliminate Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from future vehicles

  • YouTube is developing a new AI likeness detection tool

  • Suno releases an updated free version of its music-making tool

  • Pythagoras Music Fund acquires catalogs from Peter Sinfield and Joe Janiak

  • Open Door Management evolves into Immortal Music Group

Group Chat

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

Happy Halloween to everyone except these guys, iykyk

via Complete Music Update

1/3

2/3

3/3

Ate that

Thoughts on the sombr situation?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ It's all part of The System (28%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ ROLE MODEL > (19%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ d4vd still hasn't been arrested (44%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Idc we stan Ty Stiklorius (9%)

Erol Alkan, Fred again.., Thomas Bangalter, Pedro Winter

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Morgan Wallen, Demi Lovato, Lily Allen, Miguel, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter performed his first DJ set in 16 years alongside Fred again.. at the 20th anniversary party for French record label Because Music.

Morgan Wallen announced 21 dates for his stadium tour Still The Problem with special guests Brooks & Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Ella Langely, HARDY & more.

VENU partnered with Primary Wave to bring “artist-inspired” programming and immersive content to its venues worldwide. Primary Wave represents >200 catalogs of artists and estates, which the venue operator and hospitality destination provider seeks to integrate into a “scalable pipeline of premium content.” VENU’s Founder & CEO J.W. Roth explained how developing a “multi-dimensional content strategy in-house to include residencies, theatrical performances, and other original productions is a top priority for us.”

Billie Eilish pledged $11.5M of earnings from her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour to food equity and climate justice organizations.

Live Nation announced new Nashville venue The Truth to open next fall. The 4.4K capacity space will feature a flexible floor plan with 3 levels to accommodate seating and standing.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Primavera Sound Porto unveiled its lineup with The xx, Gorillaz & Massive Attack set to headline

  • We Belong Here announced its debut Palm Beach edition with headliners Kaskade, Axwell, SG Lewis & Oliver Heldens

  • Puerto Rico’s debut Fifth Element Festival will feature headliners Carl Craig, Seth Troxler, Nicole Moudaber, Danny Tanaglia & Ricardo Villalobos

  • Post Malone & Jelly Roll will headline Boots In The Park Albuquerque next May

❌ Cancellations:

  • Lollapalooza Paris has been cancelled, citing economic difficulties, a lack of headliners & a restrictive regulatory framework

  • Reneé Rapp cancelled the last 3 shows on her Bite Me Tour due to vocal stress

The Neighbourhood, Clipse, IDRIS

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

After taking a three-year hiatus and reuniting in November 2024, The Neighbourhood announced plans for a new album (((((ultraSOUND))))) dropping in 2 weeks via new label partner Warner Records.

After a 15-year hiatus, Clipse recently reunited and dropped an album, which they’re on the hunt for a GRAMMY Album nod. Now Pusha T & Clipse have signed with for new touring representation at CAA with Christian Carino, Mac Clark, Jacqueline Reynolds-Drumm, Emma Banks, Claudio Lillo and Ryan Thomson helping out alongside Alex DePersia & Kevin McMullan at By The Way on the management front

IDRIS aka the multi-talented Idris Elba, extended his worldwide publishing deal with UMPG. The writer/producer/actor got into music in 2022 and already has performed at festivals like Coachella (b2b with Kaskade), Glastonbury + all over Ibiza.

Bedroom pop artist mxmtoon landed with ATC Management with Jackson Perry & Andrew Morro signing on. The AWAL artist dropped her album liminal space in November & spent the year touring worldwide. 

The raspy-voiced duo Buffalo Traffic Jam signed with Mason Romm & Nate Fenningdorf of PLAYDATE MGMT. The Montana boys just put out their first studio project, Take Me Home via Arista and are currently on the road supporting Dylan Gossett.

Former One Fiinix Live agent Jess Kinn joined the newly-formed company ROAM alongside artists like Olly Alexander (Years & Years), Mallrat, Ruby Waters & others.

+100 signings on ROSTR this week

Peter Kurczaba, Dan Rosen, Cleome Barber

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Primary Wave Music has announced two promotions across its creative and sync divisions, elevating Peter Kurczaba to VP, Creative Sync, and Cleome Barber to Director, Creative A&R.

BMG has announced promotions for five U.S.-based executives to VP roles across Frontline Recordings, Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, Brand Partnerships, and Legal including Camille Kenny as VP A&R BMG Nashville, Diallobe Johnson as VP Marketing, Quinn Bauducco as VP Business & Legal Affairs, Daron Moore as VP Brand Partnerships, and Edwin Camacho as VP Marketing Pop.

Eleonora Rubini and Marco Masoli take on Label Director roles as Warner Music Italy launches Warner Records Italy and Atlantic Records Italy, alongside multiple new senior hires across A&R, Marketing, and Promotions.

Dan Rosen takes on an expanded role as President of Warner Music Australasia & Southeast Asia, now leading the company’s recorded music business across six Southeast Asian markets. SeatGeek names Matt Herman Chief Marketing Officer. Thilo Elsner named Managing Director of Florida Touring. North Chapel Music has added Joe Dan Cornett as Creative Director and appointed Wendy Buckner to the role of Sr. Creative Director. H.Read Davis leaves his position of VP, Digital at Big Loud after three years at the company while Lucy Bartozzi also leaves her role as VP, Marketing at Big Loud Records.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Marketing Director at ATG Group in Los Angeles

  • Ticketing Director at Belly Up Aspen in Colorado

  • Sr. Director, Fan Engagement (US) at WMG in Los Angeles

  • Business Development Director at Live Nation in Australia

  • Digital Marketing Coordinator at Black Box in Los Angeles

↗ Find these and 420+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 52 - High maintenance, I got the right news for you Benson Boone to the moon 🚀, sombr vs geriatrics 👵, unlicensed Lizzo 🎵 & Bad Bunny’s here to stay 🏈. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-52-high-maintenance-i-got-the-right-news-for-you https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-52-high-maintenance-i-got-the-right-news-for-you Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:26:34 +0000 2025-10-24T16:26:34Z

Happy Friday,

Benson Boone to the moon 🚀, sombr vs geriatrics 👵, unlicensed Lizzo 🎵 & Bad Bunny’s here to stay 🏈.

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

Megan Moroney

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Daniel Caesar, Leon Thomas, Demi Lovato, Miguel, Mac Miller (anniversary), Lily Allen, Alice Phoebe Lou, The Chainsmokers, INJI, Artemas, Grupo Frontera, Hether, Sadie Jean…

♪ Notable singles from Megan Moroney, Skrillex & ISOxo, EJAE, Megan Thee Stallion, Tyla, Mumford & Sons & Hozier, Polo G, Foo Fighters, Lewis Capaldi, Sampha, ian, The Neighbourhood, Hannah Jadagu, Samara Cyn…

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

#1 - Prolific R&B singer-songwriter & producer Leon Thomas drops new EP PHOLKS with ‘My Muse’ taking the first slot.

#4 - Megan Moroney makes it official with ‘Beautiful Things,’ the track she’s been teasing across her sold-out tour.

#6 - Megan Thee Stallion drops ‘LOVER GIRL’ ahead of upcoming album Megan: Act III.

#8 - South African star Tyla releases ‘CHANEL,’ with the accompanying music video featuring her in various archival Chanel pieces.

#10 - Mumford & Sons team up with Hozier and producer Aaron Dessner on ‘Rubber Band Man.’

#11 - Dubstep & trap wizards Skrillex & ISOxo ‘Fuze’ together on the brostep track that kicked off their b2b at ISO’s inaugural San Diego festival Niteharts earlier this month.

#13 - The collab we never knew we needed - Shakira + Ed Sheeran and Beéle on ‘Hips Don’t Lie - Spotify Anniversary Version.’

#17 - After performing his first headline show this week at The Troubadour, Noah Rinker drops his titular track off new EP The Pines.

⭐ #24 - Turkish dance pop singer-songwriter INJI shares her debut album SUPERLAME with ‘TEEN ANGST’ landing on NMF.

#42 - We’re back in The Neighbourhood with ‘Private;’ the alt rock band has reunited for their first album in 5 years via new label Warner.

#64 - New BMG client Lily Allen surprises with West End Girl, her first project in 7 years, with ‘Pussy Palace’ slotting in the back half of the playlist.

#71 - Your favorite fairy Alice Phoebe Lou reveals she is a ‘Mind Reader’ on new album Oblivion.

#77 - Building the hype for their live return at Coachella next year, Major Lazer release ‘BRUK DOWN’ with Parris Goebel, America Foster & SadBoi

#79 - Oslo’s oskar med k follows up his viral hit ‘Make Me Feel’ with more of his signature synths on ‘Spellbound.’


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

ROSALÍA

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Florence + The Machine, The Charlatans, Daniel Avery, Cat Burns, Guided By Voices, Witch Fever, Creeper, Anna von Hausswolff, Claire Rousay all have new projects expected to come out next week.

ROSALÍA, The Neighbourhood, deadmau5, Lily Allen, Madison Beer, Vampire Weekend (live), AJ McLean, Tiga, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (live), Ashley Cooke, Depeche Mode (live), Oneohtrix Point Never, Cody Jinks (anniversary), Panic! At The Disco (anniversary), Chet Faker, Mini Trees, Donato Dozzy & Neel all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Garrett Lee passed away earlier this week. Sending love to our friends at jump.global 💙. Veteran music exec Jeff Cheen passed away at 80. Co-founder of Soft Cell, David Ball, passed away at 66.

Bandsintown hit 100 million registered fans. LA public radio outlet KCRW cut 10% of its staff last week, including well-known DJs. TikTok laid off about 15 employees in its US and Latin American music divisions, with more layoffs expected in other markets. Spotify now lets users search for and follow venues with its Concerts Near You feature. Diddy’s lawyers filed an appeal for his conviction and 4 year prison sentence. While many have showed strong support for Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance and the NFL are committed, a petition is calling for George Strait to perform instead.

NIVA and NITO vs. Ticketmaster

The 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees include Taylor Swift, Kenny Logins, LL Cool J, David Byrne and more. Temu’s attorney’s asked a judge to dismiss MF Doom’s estate’s claims against the company. Growing up, YUNGBLUD thought Rod Stewart was his grandfather. Lizzo is being sued for teasing a track with an uncleared sample on social media to poke fun at Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign. Slipknot are suing the alleged cybersquatter who registered domain slipknot.com in 2001. South Korean company KiTbetter is bringing their hybrid physical-digital KiTalbum to the US in 2026.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Ticket fees in New York have surged by 36% since 2016

  • AXS partners with Japan’s Lawson Entertainment

  • Warner Music Australia partners with Cadillac

  • Milk & Honey launches Record Label

  • Laylo drops new report analyzing 200M+ fan moments across tours, festivals & events

  • YouTube is rolling out new tools to monitor AI likeness

  • rightsHUB launches new tool to optimize metadata collection

  • Ticketmaster to implement major operational changes in response to FTC lawsuit

  • Ticketing alliance FEAT unveils anti-scalping policy for Europe

  • Latin music approaches $500M in mid-2025 revenue, says RIAA

  • Warner partners with Merwas on new Middle East Label

  • Live Nation announces ticket upsell initiative

  • Artist House Music and Studio Hub launches in NY

Group Chat

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

get their ass

get his ass

Pick your poison

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Hottest Signings (31%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Group Chat (0)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The Poach (15%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Trending (0)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Ari Emanuel & Ben Persky (54%)

Photo Cred: Eduardo Fierro

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Florence + The Machine, Foo Fighters, 5 Seconds of Summer, Conan Gray, Brandi Carlile

Benson Boone will give a one-night special performance at Kennedy Space Center’s Rocket Garden in Florida on Nov. 29th. The event will be live-streamed on TikTok.

Our parent company ROSTR’s new showcase series EARLY debuted last Thursday in Los Angeles. Check out the photo gallery from the event here.

Travis Scott put on the biggest recorded rap concerts ever in both India and South Africa, drawing over 125K fans to his b2b nights in Delhi, and playing to >75K fans at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

The Recording Academy will host its GRAMMY House pop-up experience at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt next October, the first time the event will be held outside the US.

Rolling Loud is returning to Australia after a 7 year hiatus with Gunna confirmed to be performing the two 1-day festivals in Sydney & Melbourne.

Primavera Sound confirms the festival will return to both Argentina & Brazil in 2026, marking the first time in 3 years the brand will be organized in South America.

Kenny Chesney announced his return to Sphere with 5 new dates next June.

Bon Jovi revealed they will be back on the road with 4 stops at Madison Square Garden and a brief UK run next July. Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi will be performing live for the first time following his vocal cord surgery in 2022.

Wu-Tang Clan announced they will return to Australia in 2026 for what will be their final performances in the country.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • Founders Perry Avgerinos and Noah Schwartz announced the debut of Wahoo Fest, an initiative blending live music, community, and support for cancer research; the lineup includes St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Josh Meloy, Zinadelphia and more, and will take place next Feb in Jupiter, FL

  • Charlie Puth is joining Chris Martin, Anitta & more on the lineup for Brazil’s Global Citizen Festival Amazônia taking place next week, which aims to raise $1B to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest

  • Bulgaria’s FEST Team is organizing the debut of Phillgood, a new 3-day festival happening next Summer, with The Cure, Gorillaz & Moby announced as headliners

  • Phoenix’s Better Together will be headlined by Dom Dolla, ODESZA, Duke Dumont, MK & Jungle this November

  • After cancelling its 2025 edition, Sick New World festival announced its return next year with System of a Down headlining both the Las Vegas and Fort Worth, TX shows

  • Tyler Childers & The Lumineers are set to headline Railbird Music Festival in Kentucky next June

  • The inaugural Boots On The Bayou Festival unveiled performances from Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton & Parker McCollum amongst others

❌ Cancellations:

  • Ethel Cain abruptly ended her Paris performance after 3 songs, later apologizing and alluding to an emotional breakdown mid-performance

  • Brandy stopped mid-performance at her Chicago co-headline show with Monica, explaining she was extremely dehydrated and felt faint

  • The Cult shared they will be taking a hiatus after wrapping their current NA tour to “recharge [their] spiritual batteries” as well as record new music

EJAE, Marc Anthony, LISA

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Kpop Demon Hunters singer & songwriter EJAE signed with Kirk Sommer, Sarah Tehrani & Mary Hannon of WME worldwide after leading as main character Rumi in the smash hit film. The soundtrack has surpassed 3B streams already since coming out in June.

Longtime manager of Marc Anthony, Felipe Pimiento, has left Magnus Entertainment to start new company Pimiento Entertainment in Miami. There he’ll continue to manage Anthony and plans to work with a very select group of artists building their own brand.

Another Kpop star and member of BLACKPINK, LISA, landed with Cristina Baxter, James Rubin & Tom Windish at Wasserman Music for touring this week. In 2024, she launched her own management company LLOUD CO., signed with RCA Records for her debut album Alter Ego & was a series regular on the HBO show The White Lotus.

Grupo Frontera, the massive American regional Mexican band, signed a worldwide distribution agreement with The Orchard for both new releases and their existing catalog. The news comes alongside the launch of their label BorderTown Records via which the band released their third album through yesterday.

Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep signed with Jason Mageau & Andrew Jarrin of Culture Wave/Red Light Management this week. The five-piece just wrapped a nationwide tour supporting The Story So Far and are now headed to Europe for more dates celebrating 10 years of their album Life’s Not Out To Get You.

After spending a decade as Roc Nation’s ‘Head of Rock,’ Blaze James has set up new shop The Fellowship Artist Management, based in LA. There he’ll continue to manage acts like Coheed and Cambria, High Vis, Militarie Gun and more.

+100 signings on ROSTR this week

Richard James Burgess, Lisa Yang, Michael Bryan

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE will become chair of UK music rights organization PPL on taking over from John Smith, who is stepping down after nearly a decade. Michael Bryan has exited his role as Global Head of Country Music at Apple Music after five years with the company, closing what he described on LinkedIn as “one extraordinary chapter” after nearly six years, three roles, and four managers. Warner Chappell Nashville has promoted Eric Reid to Jr. Manager, A&R, where he’ll identify and develop talent, pitch songs, support songwriter onboarding, and assist with songwriting camps. Rehan Manickam has joined Bamboo Artists as Director of A&R, U.S., based in Los Angeles, where he will lead artist signings and development while collaborating with Nils Gums, Christina Chung, and Kareem Yafi to grow the company’s U.S. presence. Lisa Yang has joined WMG as EVP, Global Head of Strategy, after 16 years at Goldman Sachs.

London-based management and publishing company Karma Artists has appointed Jess Miller to Sr. Creative & Operations Manager and Anne Sandig to Sr. Manager. Peachtree Entertainment has expanded its executive team with Chris Johnson as VP of Production and Chris Thomas as SVP of Development. Amy O’Connor joins Play It Again Music as Director of Digital and Streaming and Molly Reinold as Creative Director. Sam O’Connor joins MRG Live as Sr. Talent Buyer. Brenna McKamey joins Jay Siegan Presents as Production Coordinator, Creative & Events.

CMA has promoted Michael Farris to VP, Business Strategy and Insights, Kate Watson to Senior Director, Industry Relations, Jeff Leet to Director, Brand Integrity, Lindsey Morrison to Sr. Manager, Community Engagement, Richard Xiong to Insights Senior Analyst, and Kennedy Strickler to Communications Project Manager, and added Mary Spaulding as Content Production Manager.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Sr. Director, Audience Development at UMG in NY

  • Sr. Product Designer at Create Music Group in Vancouver

  • Sponsorship Sales Director at Dynamic Talent International (Remote)

  • Director of A&R at broke records in LA

  • Director Accounting at Live Nation in Beverly Hills

↗ Find these and 400+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 51 - Thought I would never go back, but just every Friday Sorry we’re late - ROSTR had a party last night. https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-51-thought-i-would-never-go-back-but-just-every-friday https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-51-thought-i-would-never-go-back-but-just-every-friday Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:13:05 +0000 2025-10-17T20:13:05Z

Happy Friday,

Sorry we’re late - ROSTR had a party last night.

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

Charlie Puth

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Tame Impala, Ty Dolla $ign, Ruel, Gucci Mane, Silvana Estrada, Elias Rønnenfelt, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, elijah woods…

♪ Notable singles from Charlie Puth, Militarie Gun, Magdalena Bay, Morgan Wallen, 5 Seconds of Summer, King Princess, Jean Dawson, jigitz, bar italia, hey, nothing…

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

#1 - Only took 5 years, but Tame Impala return with their 5th LP Deadbeat with ‘My Old Ways’ taking #1.

#3 - Singer, producer & Internet personality Joji returns after 3 years with ‘PIXELATED KISSES’ under new label Virgin Music.

#4 - Charlie Puth and Bloodpop® collab on ‘Changes’ as Charlie prepares to be a dad.

#5 - Ella Langley drops ‘Choosin’ Texas,’ co-written with Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick.

#13 - Sudan Archives continues to ramp up for her upcoming album, this time with ‘A BUG’S LIFE.’

#17 - Carly Rae Jepsen (love her) drops the 10th Anniversary Edition of her 2015 album Emotion with new song ‘Lost In Devotion.’

#35 - Jean Dawson announces his new project Rock A Bye Baby, Glimmer Of God out next month with lead single ‘White Lighter’ landing this week.

#60 - Daddy Yankee drops his first album in 3 years, LAMENTO EN BAILE, featuring focus track ‘EL TOQUE.’

#64 - Terror Jr are back nearly 10 years after their hit ‘3 Strikes’ with a ‘Fourth Strike’ featuring King Kylie AKA Kylie Jenner.

#77 - Another week and another millennial favorites collab, this time from All Time Low and JoJo on ‘Sugar.’

⭐ #100 - Capitol Records’ Truman Sinclair (who released his debut album with R&R earlier this year) is back with single ‘dustland.’



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

Demi Lovato

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Bon Jovi, Dave, Demi Lovato, Miguel, People R Ugly, Brandi Carlile, Big Wreck, The Lemonheads, Bahamas, Sigrid, Tortoise, Mammoth, Circa Waves, Just Mustard all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charlie Puth, Jordan Ward, Jean Dawson, Lauren Jauregui, This Is Lorelei, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, Peaches, Monte Booker, McCoy Moore, Drake Milligan all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

ROSTR had a party last night in LA & we debuted our EARLY showcase. Thanks to all who came out & to the amazing performers.

ROSTR’s Bday Party & EARLY Showcase

Soul music legend D’Angelo passed away at 51 following a prolonged battle with cancer. Kiss’ original lead guitarist and founding member Ace Frehley died at 74. Argentine singer Fede Dorcaz was fatally shot in Mexico City last week in what authorities think was an attempted robbery. Spotify and Netflix announced a new video podcast collab. Taylor Swift announced a 6-part documentary series, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The End of an Era,” premiering on Disney+ December 12th, as well as a new concert film “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show.” Neil Young is now boycotting Amazon, pledging to remove his catalog from Amazon Music. Future is facing a new lawsuit from a photographer who accused his company of stealing the art for his album and merch. Rod Wave filed a countersuit against the promoter suing him for $27M. Frank Sinatra’s estate sold his image and likeness rights to Irving Azoff. IFPI shut down Y2mate and 11 other piracy sites.

Carlos Santana congratulated Bad Bunny on his upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Performance.

Solange was appointed USC Thornton School of Music’s first scholar in residence. Questlove received the 2025 Peabody Trailblazer Award. A judge ruled that Nelly should be reimbursed for legal fees he spent defeating a lawsuit from his former St. Lunatic bandmate. Netflix released the trailer for the upcoming Juan Gabriel docuseries, “Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will,” premiering October 30th. James Norton was cast as Beatles manager Brian Epstein in the upcoming Beatles 4-part biopic. Britney Spears responded to ex Kevin Federline’s claims that she used to watch her kids sleep with a knife in her hand. Nicki Minaj claimed that multiple people have been using her Amex card without her permission. Documentary “King of Them All: The Story of King Records” premiered on PBS last week and dives into the story of the label founded in Cincinnati in 1943. Mark Ronson wants to DJ Taylor Swift’s wedding. Danielle Jonas revealed her struggle with Lyme Disease.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Spotify’s new feature to put focus on music credits?

  • UK festival Trade Bodies announce strategic alliance

  • beatBread rolls out $100M fund supporting global Indie music scene

  • Musixmatch signs AI innovation deals with major publishers

  • Sacred Bones Records partners with All Flowers Group

  • Good Boy Records and Virgin renew global distribution agreement

  • Complex relaunches Verzuz with new strategic partnership

  • Ticketmaster secures foothold in New South Wales, Australia

  • Trip.com Group announces strategic partnership with Live Nation Asia

  • Project Healthy Minds and Music Health Alliance form strategic partnership

  • Deezer adds cross-platform playlist sharing

  • James Fauntleroy launches record label AESTHETIC FORM: GOODWILL

  • Bristol’s Noods Radio is back with a live listening party

  • Endlesss founder unveils his latest creation: Finalist

  • Jukebox Ventures launches a $15M fund to back early-stage music startups

  • Nina to share revenue with fans who help discover new music

  • The Circuit Group launches Red Wire Publishing

Group Chat

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

No fucking way 🤦‍♂️

Please make it stop.

This is rage bait, do not interact

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ Suno x Major labels (40%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ChatGPT x Spotify (20%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Sora 2 x You not having access yet (20%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ WME opting out of Sora blah blah (20%)

Alex Bone, PAMÉ, Bruvvy, Kinder

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Amber Mark, Rod Wave, LANY, glaive, Subtronics

ROSTR (our parent company) debuted their new showcase series EARLY in partnership with Bandsintown last night at El Cid. The event, which doubled as the company’s birthday party, featured dedicated performances from upcoming acts Alex Bone, PAMÉ, Bruvvy & Kinder. We’ll be sharing more content from the event next week.

Hot off his Sphere residency, Anyma wrapped a double set at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza last Friday. Speaking of, No Doubt added 6 more dates to their Sphere run next May. Carín León additionally added a 7th date to his September Sphere residency.

Beatport Tickets launched, allowing promoters, labels, and venues across Europe and the UK to sell tickets directly on Beatportal. The service is powered by Weeztix and will expand to the US next.

Rod Wave is countersuing his former tour promoter who alleged the rapper owes $27M in un-recouped tour advances. He also just announced a NA tour.

Megan Thee Stallion announced her hometown Hottieween party will return to Humble, Texas. Meanwhile, Janelle Monáe revealed LA fashion, music, art & film event Wondaween, which will include the inaugural Vampire Beach music festival.

Alt-rock group Sugar have reunited after 3 decades with new music and plans for live shows in London and New York next May.

🏟️ Venue News:

  • 55-acre facility Rock Nashville will open later this year. Designed to be “a place where artists, crews, and companies come together to create, collaborate and prepare for the road,” the space will feature large-scale rehearsal facilities, 13 production studios, and a vendor hub

  • AEG France will premiere multi-venue electronic music festival The Nightclubbing Festival next September with DJ / label founder Jennifer Cardini serving as artistic director

  • Doral Amphitheater, Miami’s first new music venue in 20 years, officially opened this week. The ~5K capacity open-air, state-of-the-art venue will host touring acts, cultural festivals, and civic events

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • iHeartRadio festival ALTer Ego announced Green Day, Twenty One Pilots & Cage The Elephant will headline next January

  • Rock The Ocean Tortuga Music Festival announced Post Malone, Riley Green & Kenny Chesney as headliners for the 13th edition

  • Australia’s Electric Island is expanding into a 3-city, 5-show run with Armand Van Helden & Flight Facilities headlining

  • UK’s Mighty Hoopla will debut in Australia next February with headliner Kesha

The Marías, Joji, Pierce The Veil

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Psych-rock’s The Marías have signed a worldwide publishing deal with UMPG. The band headlined a sold-out international tour with standout sets at festivals like Coachella & Lollapalooza and landed a Pop Song of the Year Latin GRAMMY nom for ‘Ojos Tristes.’

Joji’s first music since 2022 has landed him with Virgin Music Group via his own imprint Palace Creek. He was previously with 88rising since his debut EP Tongues Rising in 2018.

Rock band Pierce The Veil signed with Darryl Eaton, Jared Martin & Rick Roskin of CAA (WW ex-EU). The San Diego natives recently performed at ACL & have been in the midst of a huge world tour alongside Sleeping With Sirens & others.

Canadian folk outfit Wild Rivers joined Brandon Epstein & Mackenzie Fey at Loft Entertainment for management. The trio landed on main stages for Lolla, ACL, All Things Go & is in the studio making their next album independently for now.

Artist managers Eddie Sikazwe & Erin Spain joined the team at newly-formed ALTA Music Group bringing over rising R&B artist Jordan Ward with them.

Jonny Taylor launched new management and consultancy company Chalet 4 Management. After stints with MMF, ATC Management and elsewhere, Taylor’s London-based firm houses Hak Baker, Caitlyn Scarlett, Maya Lane & more.

+180 signings on ROSTR this week

Niels Walboomers, Christina Wiltshire, Saumil Mehta

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Warner Music Central Europe merges its Benelux and GSA recorded music divisions, with Niels Walboomers overseeing six countries and Markus Holzherr remaining as Chief Business Officer. Saumil Mehta takes over as Ticketmaster global president, tasked with executing AI opportunities, while former president Mark Yovich shifts to chairman to focus on global growth. Warner Chappell Nashville has promoted Christina Wiltshire to VP, A&R. Believe has appointed Kazunari Imai to the newly created role of Chairman & Strategic Business Relations Sr. Executive Director of Believe Japan. Avex Music Group has rolled out a new leadership lineup as part of a major U.S. expansion. Hannah Carlen has been named Nonesuch Records’ VP of Marketing and Communications. Nettwerk UK appoints Owen Lloyd to lead global catalogue marketing strategy and initiatives from its London office. After more than 30 years leading Sónar festival, founders Enric Palau, Ricard Robles, and Sergio Caballero have stepped down, with François Jozic, founder of Brunch Electronik, taking over as CEO. Alissia joins NYU’s Sony Audio Institute as its first Artist-In-Residence, bringing real-world music experience into the classroom.

Untitled Group strengthens its leadership with strategic hires and promotions, including former Astral People exec Dan Morgan as Artist Manager, Stef Russin and Lillian Birch as Tour Operations Managers, and Mia Leigh Ford promoted to Tour Director, supporting major tours and festival operations.

Ruchir Mohan has been promoted to Partner at 1916 Enterprises, where he’ll drive the launch of the company’s Artist Management & Services Division and oversee a roster that includes Tommy Genesis, Christian Hayes, LOVELI LORI, and gavn!.

Shore Fire Media announces five promotions across its publicist teams with Mary Claire MC Miskell promoted to Sr. Account Executive, Anna DeNelsky and Henry Thomas appointed AEs, and Anna Billy and Patrick Nitii named Jr. Account Executives.

Artist management collective The Circuit Group has unveiled Red Wire Publishing, with Co-Founder David Gray stepping in as President and relocating to Nashville to grow the company’s publishing footprint.

Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group has established an all-female C-suite under CEO and Founder Lou Taylor, with Peggy Stephens as COO, Heather Kinder as Chief of Staff, and Deedra Carroll as Chief Deputy Director, marking a rare example of female representation in executive leadership in the financial and entertainment management sectors.

Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment has expanded its team with Bridget Herrmann as Sr. Director of Promotion & Marketing, Dexter Bensman as Head of Digital Marketing, and Christina Hunt as Label Coordinator.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • Director, Marketing at UMG in Santa Monica

  • Sr Financial Analyst - USA ONLY at DistroKid (Remote)

  • Partnerships Executive at TIDAL (Remote)

  • Director, Finance/HR at WHY&HOW in Nashville | Austin (Hybrid)

  • VP, Marketing at Big Loud in Nashville

↗ Find these and 330+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> Vol 50 - You don't have to read my mind 'cause I'll tell it to your face We turned 1 🎉 We’re celebrating with ChatGPT x Spotify, UMG beating Drake, No Doubt is coming to Sphere & Dolly Parton is ok! https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-50-you-don-t-have-to-read-my-mind-cause-i-ll-tell-it-to-your-face https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/vol-50-you-don-t-have-to-read-my-mind-cause-i-ll-tell-it-to-your-face Fri, 10 Oct 2025 16:21:52 +0000 2025-10-10T16:21:52Z

Happy Friday,

We turned 1 🎉 We’re celebrating with ChatGPT x Spotify, UMG beating Drake, No Doubt is coming to Sphere & Dolly Parton is ok!

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

Madison Beer

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Amber Mark, Not for Radio, Dasha, Khalid, TWICE, Yellowcard, LANY, Jacob Collier, HAAi, Hunter Metts, LAUNDRY DAY, Electric Guest…

♪ Notable singles from Madison Beer, JISOO & ZAYN, Alemeda & Doechii, Oklou, Miguel, Madison Cunningham, Fcukers, Joyce Manor, Jay Som, Shakira, Labrinth…

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

#1 - Amber Mark returns (finally) with her newest project Pretty Idea, and smooth track ‘Don’t Remind Me (feat. Anderson .Paak)’ slides into the 1st spot of the playlist.

#2 - David Guetta, Teddy Swims & Tones And I team up on ‘Gone Gone Gone,’ produced by David Guetta and JORDI.

#3 - Haim (well, Danielle) and Bon Iver reunite for ‘Tie you down’ on the sisters’ deluxe version of I quit.

#9 - María Zardoya of The Marías’ sings a ‘Swan’ song on her album Melt, the debut from her solo artist project Not for Radio.

#15 - FKA twigs joins Oklou on the whimsical ‘viscus’ off the upcoming deluxe version of choke enough.

#16 - Indie pop duo LANY drop new album Soft with NMF track ‘Stuck.’

#21 - Millennial favorites Yellowcard and Avril Lavigne team up on ‘You Broke Me Too,’ produced by Travis Barker and Andrew Goldstein.

#31 - Opening for Tame Impala on their upcoming Deadbeat tour, hotly tipped electronic band Fcukers drop their second single of the year with ‘I Like It Like That.’

#41 - Shakira reprises her voice role as Gazelle on ‘Zoo - From “Zootopia 2.”

#54 - Thomas Day drops his EP kids with ‘pollen’ hitting the big list.

#71 - Jacob Collier breaks from his traditional Djesse Volumes and drops The Light For Days, with acoustic ‘Heaven (Butterflies)’ landing on NMF.

#77 - Argentina’s TINI drops ‘Una Noche Más’ ahead of her 7-date festival FUTTTURA, starting on October 24th.

⭐ #81 - ‘I KINDA LIKE THAT’ new song from TikTok favorites LAUNDRY DAY, who dropped EARWORM, their first LP since signing with indie label R&R a year ago.

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

Militarie Gun

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Tame Impala, Ashnikko, bar italia, Militarie Gun, The Last Dinner Party, Of Monsters and Men, Sudan Archives, Soulwax, Boz Scaggs, Miles Kane, Nathan Skyes all have new projects expected to come out next week.

PinkPantheress (remix album), Lucy Dacus, Morgan Evans, Madonna (reissue), Sébastien Tellier, Reba McEntire (reissue), Tori Amos, Joyce Manor, Ren Martinez all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

We’re celebrating 🎉 1 year 🎉 of New Industry Friday!

Spotify announced a ChatGPT integration to provide personalized music and podcast recommendations. The U.S Supreme Court will not hear a case against Live Nation and did not offer an explanation why. A judge dismissed Drake’s lawsuit against UMG. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Future Ruins film-music festival was canceled a month ahead of its scheduled debut event. Lola Young filed an IP claim in London court against ‘Messy’ collaborator Carter Lang. Andra Day claimed former manager Jeff Evans stole $1.6M, while he claimed that she failed to pay money owed to him. Diddy was sentenced to 4 years in prison; He later got a judge’s approval to participate in the prison system’s drug abuse rehab program while serving the sentence. Nicki Minaj says her upcoming documentary will expose the dark side of the music industry.

Dolly Parton assured fans that she’s doing ok.

Maverick City Music co-founder Chandler Moore sued the company’s CEO Norman Gyamfi for allegedly stealing millions in royalties from him with secret deals and forged contracts. Spencer Elden, the baby from Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover, appealed judges’ 2nd dismissal of his lawsuit against the band earlier this week. Louis Tomlinson said he can’t imagine One Direction reuniting after the death of bandmate Liam Payne. Victoria Beckham’s documentary premiered on Netflix. Saoirse Ronan was reportedly cast as Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics. Netflix partnered with Epic Games to bring KPop Demon Hunters characters to Fortnite. Britney Spears injured her knee after falling down the stairs. Jack Black signed on to executive produce a doc about 1990s’ LA pirate station KBLT. Gene Simmons is doing fine after being hospitalized on Tuesday from a car crash.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

  • Believe announces new publishing arm: Believe Music Publishing

  • HYBE America launches global label division: HYBE Label Service

  • Spotify and BMG sign multiyear US direct publishing licensing deal

  • UMG has launched its own creator marketing app

  • Warner Chappell inks publishing agreement with Rico O Muerto

  • Slush Management and companyX form strategic partnership

  • New independent agency LOLA. ARTISTS opens in the UK x

  • Pinpoint officially launched, securing $2.5M in funding

  • AEG signs new deal to power UK venues with clean energy

  • Construction begins for two new UK arenas

  • Oasiz secures $2.5M to launch its TikTok-meets-Roblox-style UGC gaming platform

  • Spotify reveals the steps artists need to take for their 2025 Wrapped promotion

  • Audius’ latest feature lets artists create their own crypto tokens

  • Top songwriters challenge PRS for Music over high administrative costs

  • Hoopr has distributed more than $500,000 in licensing revenue over the past three years

  • YouTube partners with TED-Ed to bring music education to schools

Group Chat

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

Exhibit A

Instagram post

BE HEARD, ALEX

Nice one

Yes right ofc

Guess we’ll never know 🤷‍♂️🧱✋

What should Daniel Ek take over?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Palantir (0%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ Raytheon (40%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Boeing (20%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ TIDAL (40%)

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EARLY by ROSTR

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Luke Combs, Rush, Gunna, HARDY, Sheryl Crow, Sudan Archives

EARLY, a showcase by ROSTR in collaboration with Bandsintown, will debut next Thursday in Los Angeles. The lineup includes artists PAMÉ, Kinder, Alex Bone & Bruvvy.

No Doubt announced their 6-date Sphere residency next May, which will make Gwen Stefani the first woman to headline the venue.

Rush announced a reunion tour five years after the death of their drummer Neil Peart. Members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will play 12 shows across 7 cities next Summer.

Live Nation (currently valued at $35B) announced plans to issue $1.3B in convertible bonds to refinance debts and fund general corporate purposes “which may include funding future venues or the repayment or repurchase of certain […] outstanding indebtedness.”

AEG’s ticketing division continues to expand, acquiring a majority stake in Singapore’s leading ticket firm SISTIC, which sells >6.5M tickets annually across the country.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment announced it will implement the Sphere Immersive Sound system at Radio Music City Hall, debuting with the 2025 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes.

Australia’s national radio station triple j will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a tour across 5 dates at Hobart, Newcastle, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, and Torquay. It will bring a massive, multi-genre lineup showcasing the homegrown music scene.

Live Nation announced plans to build the 18.5K-capacity Lima Music Arena, Peru’s first indoor arena designed specifically for live entertainment.

Post Malone officially opened doors for his Broadway bar Posty’s. He celebrated its opening playing to 30K fans on the busy Nashville street, with help from Dierks Bentley, Lainey Wilson, and Brooks & Dunn.

Cyndi Lauper announced her Vegas residency at Caesars Palace next April and May. Tim McGraw will also take Caesars Palace this December for a limited run during National Finals Rodeo at the Colosseum.

Alan Jackson revealed details for his final concert next June at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.

Tim Montana’s 6th annual fundraiser benefiting Special Ops Xcursion raised >$300K.

🌎 Across The Pond:

  • Prague’s Metronome Festival has partnered with Live Nation Czech Republic for its 10th anniversary next year. The collaboration will include relocating the festival to the much larger Letňany Airport grounds, bringing stronger infrastructure and a broader lineup diversity. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is the first confirmed headliner for next year

  • Live Nation will take over Belgian fest Pukkelpop, expanding on its longtime collaboration with the 66K-capacity festival

  • The Italian Ministry of Culture and trade body AssoConcerti’s report revealed Italy’s live music sector generated €4.5B for the economy in 2024

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • All Points East will be headlined both nights by Tyler, The Creator next August; other performances include Turnstile, Clipse, Ravyn Lenae, Baby Keem & more

  • Fuerza Regida’s frontman JOP unveiled Future, Chief Keef, Saweetie and others will play the 2nd annual Don’t Fall In Love Fest

  • New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash will return with Lainey Wilson, Jason Aldean & Bailey Zimmerman headlining

  • Queens of the Stone Age, Neon Trees & The Black Crowes will play Sema Fest, a Vegas experience for music lovers and car enthusiasts

❌ Cancellations:

  • The 3rd edition of Rolling Loud Thailand has been cancelled amid allegations facing festival partner More Return PLC just weeks out from the event

  • Cody Johnson cancelled all remaining 2025 dates citing a burst eardrum

  • Beach Boy founding member Al Jardine rescheduled his Australian tour to 2026 due to scheduling conflicts

  • Australian singer Don West cancelled his upcoming US tour the night before his scheduled ACL appearance due to health issues

Astrid S, Alien Ant Farm, serpentwithfeet

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Southern California rock band Alien Ant Farm has teamed up with label Judge & Jury Records. Originally formed in 1996, the four-piece is writing new music and continuing to tour.

Norwegian pop artist Astrid S, known for hits like ‘Hurts So Good,’ signed with Andrew Jackson of Milton Archer for new management representation. The LA-based company’s roster also includes fellow Norwegian Matoma.

Alternative R&B’s serpentwithfeet has found his footing at ATC Management with Fabienne Leys taking the helm. The Baltimore-born artist dropped his GRIP SEQUEL album earlier this year with features from Orion Sun, Mick Jenkins & Ty Dolla $ign.

Continuing on with a decades-long partnership, country singer Vince Gill has signed a lifetime recording deal with MCA. As part of the new agreement, Gill plans on releasing an EP each month for the next year. Who else has signed for a lifetime & is that legendary or not?

Superproducer Mark Ronson & his company Zelig Music locked in a new publishing partnership with Pulse Music Group. Together, the companies signed soulful indie artist Becky And The Birds as the first artist via the new pact. 

After two years of helping guide Tucker Wetmore’s career, Autumn Ledgin has launched her new company, Ledgin Management. The country star spearheads the new roster while Red Light also joins as a strategic partner.

+125 signings on ROSTR this week

Samantha Saturn, Ryan Hyeong Woo Noh, Isabel Garvey

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Samantha Saturn steps down as Chief Marketing Officer at SESAC Music Group. Arson Theory appoints Bryce Lucien as SVP of A&R, Distribution & Publishing. Amy Latimer named Chief Business Officer for Oak View Group. AWAL has named Arif Mahmud as its new General Counsel and SVP of Global Business Affairs. Isabel Garvey will leave her role as COO of London-based Warner Music UK. Sr. TikTok exec Michael Kümmerle departs after four-and-a-half years. Wasserman appoints Christa D'Alimonte as Chief Legal Officer.

HYBE America has launched its first global division, HYBE Label Service, centralizing distribution, manufacturing, and marketing, with Ryan Hyeong Woo Noh promoted to Chief Business Officer, Mike Rittberg named President of Global Distribution, and Mark Flaherty appointed President of Global Marketing & Promotion.

Good Boy Records doubles down with Virgin Music Group, extending their global distro partnership for a third year and adding Sara Connally as EVP, Head of Sync and Sarah Fein as Head of Label to its executive team.

Grammy and BRIT winning producer Thomas Hull, AKA Kid Harpoon, becomes Abbey Road Studios’ first Producer in Residence. Direct-to-fan music platform EVEN brings on Lauren Wirtzer as COO. Alchemy Artist Services expands team with Eleonore Hoffman as Fan Engagement Manager and Shannon Crowley as Digital Strategy & Marketing Coordinator, while Madison Smith continues to lead creative vision. Tina Crawford has exited the management firm 33 Creative, while Cindy Finke, Director of Media Marketing at MCA, has also left her position. Rachel Wein joins MNRK Music Group as the Sr. Director, A&R. Rebecca Frank, KISS Network Content Director, is leaving Bauer Media Audio UK after more than five years.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

  • SVP, Marketing Enablement at WMG in NY

  • Senior Director, Product Development at UMG in NY

  • Senior Manager, Pricing & Ticketing at Wasserman in London

  • Merchandising Manager, Live Events & Tour Ops at HYBE America in Santa Monica

  • Vice President - Music at TouchTunes in NY

↗ Find these and 315+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR


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]]> WRAPD: The ROSTR Group Stats of 2024 2024 highlights across The ROSTR Group... https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/wrapd-the-rostr-group-stats-of-2024 https://www.newindustryfriday.com/p/wrapd-the-rostr-group-stats-of-2024 Thu, 19 Dec 2024 18:08:59 +0000 2024-12-19T18:08:59Z

Huge thank you to all of our customers and to so many of you who help spread the word.

We'd love to hear what you want to see from us next year!

2024 The ROSTR Group Stats


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