Vol 32 - You ain't buyin' in? Just keep readin'

T-Swift buys back her masters, a rising onslaught of elder abuse, the AMAs should go MIA & some $15K headphones - who’s buyin’?

May 30, 2025

Happy Friday,

T-Swift buys back her masters, a rising onslaught of elder abuse, the AMAs should go MIA & some $15K headphones - who’s buyin’?

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

Miley Cyrus

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Miley Cyrus, Mt. Joy, Obongjayar, Dylan Scott, Ovrkast., The Living Tombstone, Luh Tyler, Cil, Matt Berninger, Jon Reddick, Goldlink, The Castellows…

♪ Notable singles from Tate McRae, Lorde, Lil Tecca, Alex G, Conan Gray, Addison Rae, Clipse, Myke Towers & Quevedo, HAIM, girl in red, Josh Ross & Akon, LUCKI…

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

#2 - Miley Cyrus drops new album Something Beautiful with NMF pick ‘Easy Lover,’ co-written with Ryan Tedder, Omer Fedi and Michael Pollack.

#7 - Alex G makes his official major label debut with ‘Afterlife’. His 12-track project Headlights drops July 18th.

#8 - Conan Gray drops “This Song,” one of the many tracks written in silence, in secret and in pajamas, off his upcoming album Wishbone coming in August. 

#9 - Addison Rae drops newest single ‘Fame Is a Gun.’

#22 - Josh Ross and Akon collab on ‘Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na),’ a new version of Akon’s 2008 hit ‘Right Now (Na Na Na).’

#30 - Ava Max is back with ‘Lovin Myself’ - written with Scott Harris & produced by Pink Slip.

#33 - YUNGBLUD and the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform on ‘Zombie.’

#39 - The Beaches are back with new track ‘Did I Say Too Much’ and new tour dates.

#50 - Joe Jonas releases the deluxe version of Music For People Who Believe In Love with NMF track ‘Water Under The Bridge’ co-written and co-produced by Alexander 23 and more.

#53 - Country darling Cam drops ‘Alchemy.’

#62 - Leven Kali drops ‘Sleepwalking,’ a smooth, self-produced groove for his people.

#70 - MAVI teams up with Earl Sweatshirt on ‘Landgrab.’

⭐ #78 - Ben Kweller recruits MJ Lenderman for ‘Oh Dorian,’ a tribute to his late son.

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

Little Simz

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Little Simz, Lil Wayne, MARINA, Brian Eno, Addison Rae, Turnstile, Pulp, Mother Mother, Elbow, kmoe, Sabrina Claudio, Sub Urban, The Ting Tings, Caamp, Snow Wife & The Knocks all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Clipse, Giveon, Alex G, Bryson Tiller, Rise Against, Styx, Morgan Wade & Halestorm all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Taylor Swift bought back the rights to the masters for her first 6 albums for an undisclosed price; read her update to fans here. HYBE sold its entire stake (9.38%) in competitor SM Entertainment to Tencent for $177M. Kevin Lyles denied allegations of sexual assault and accused rapper Lady Luck of a $30M extortion plot against him. After recording her upcoming album film on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Miley Cyrus got a brutal skin infection and ended up in the ICU. New video footage raised questions about Priscilla Presley’s lawsuit where she claimed she was the victim of elder abuse. Smokey Robinson sued the women that accused him of sexual assault, claiming defamation and elder abuse. Fifth Harmony may reunite (without Camila Cabello).

The AMA’s on Monday did not bring us Reputation (Taylor’s Version), but we did get Billie Eilish winning every category that she was nominated in. At the show, Shaboozey reacted to a script claiming the Carter Family “basically invented country music.” Kesha launched new app “Smash” to create a dedicated space online for music industry people to connect and collab. On Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, Reneé Rapp explained how her mom knew she was destined to be a pop star. Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Kirk Franklin will be awarded the Ultimate Icon Award at this year’s BET Awards. Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic will likely move to a 2026 release. You can now purchase headphones from Hermès for $15K.

More Diddy trial updates this week:

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer was sentenced to 1 year of informal probation + 60 days community labor for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. President Trump pardoned NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced to under 2 years of prison time for gun-related charges.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

Group Chat

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

Lmfao

Crazy if true

What do you wish you would have done instead of watch the AMAs

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Purple Disco Machine, Cordae, Senses Fail

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

GRAMMY-winning artist/writer/producer Purple Disco Machine signed with Sony Music Publishing in a joint venture between their German and UK offices. PDM, aka Tino Piontek, has garnered over 1.5B streams globally and snatched up 37 platinum certifications.

Producer & DJ Bob Sinclair signed with Warner Chappell Music for a global admin & sub-publishing deal. The terms of the deal include a catalogue of more than 350 works from Sinclair including 'World Hold On,' 'Love Generation' & 'The Beat Goes On.'

Independent record label broke locked in deals this week with rappers BLP KOSHER, IDK & DC The Don. Guess they let their artists have all the capital letters.

Rapper Cordae joined Brent Smith & Matt Elam's touring roster at Wasserman. He'll look to build off his recent album The Crossroads via Atlantic, which featured Lil Wayne, Anderson .Paak & others.

American post-hardcore band Senses Fail found new agency representation with Andy Nees of WME (WW ex-CAN/USA) & Nick Storch of IAG (CAN/USA). Their tour last year alongside Saves the Day celebrated their Let It Enfold You album 20 year anniversary.

Country music artist Matt Stell expanded his relationship with Endurance Music Group by signing a joint venture label deal with the company. He is already a member of their publishing roster and had back-to-back singles with 'Prayed for You' and 'Everywhere But On.'

Former YMU manager Chris Dempsey officially launched new London-based mgmt co Corduroy Artists alongside Emma Powell & Sophie Dorrington. Artists on the roster include Take That, Katherine Jenkins, Gary Barlow & more.

+125 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Laufey, Shawn Mendes, Ravyn Lenae, Conan Gray, Aminé, Cuco, Whitney

Luxury yurt company Yurtel, a popular option for Glastonbury glampers, went into liquidation, leaving festival-goers without accommodation and tickets. The company announced on May 8th that their bookings would not be fulfilled. For some, booking through the yurt firm was their only option given tickets purchased direct from Glastonbury were sold out.

A lucky fan will be able to donate rare Wu-Tang Clan memorabilia at each show of the Staten Island group’s final tour to a time capsule. Fans will be able to check out the artifacts in The Wu-Tang Forever Time Capsule at the Shaolin Temple VIP Experience (all rights reserved).

Rezz is the latest act to relocate a show from the Brooklyn Mirage following its failure to reopen on time due to permitting issues. Josh Wyatt, CEO of the club’s parent company Avant Gardner, stepped down from his role after the extended delay.

Gorillaz will honor the band’s 25th anniversary with a four-night residency at London’s Copper Box. The run coincides with the opening of the virtual band’s exhibit House of Kong.

Big Loud Texas has opened Big Loud Texas House (creative), a collaborative space equipped with writers rooms, office spaces & more.

Kenny Chesney kicked off his 15-night run at Sphere last weekend. He was joined by Kelsea Ballerini on the first night and Grace Potter for the weekend shows.

Rod Stewart confirmed a Faces reunion at Glastonbury 2025. The 79 year-old will be playing the Pyramid Stage for this year’s Legends set.

❌ Cancellations:

Billy Joel cancelled all upcoming shows due to a health issue, he announced last Friday.

D’Angelo, similarly, is no longer headlining the Roots Picnic following “an unforeseen medical delay” from a surgery earlier this year.

Kings of Leon cancelled the band’s U.K. & European shows after lead singer Caleb Followill underwent emergency surgery for breaking his foot playing with his kids.

Boston’s Fenway Park called off a Shakira concert yesterday just hours before the singer was set to perform. Today’s Jason Aldean and Brooks & Dunn concert was also cancelled without an official explanation.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

  • FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL will return to Japan’s Naeba Ski Resort this July with Fred again.., Vulfpeck & Vampire Weekend headlining

  • Ottawa’s Escapade Festival will be headlined by The Chainsmokers, Chris Lake, Excision, Subtronics & more

  • Levitation Festival in Austin returns this September with headlining performances from Pavement, TV On The Radio, Mastodon & more

Jazmyn Griffin, Tessie Lammle, Tim Bailey

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Wasserman grows its Hip-Hop/R&B team with the additions of Jazmyn Griffin as a NY-based Director on the Global Festivals team and Tessie Lammle as a LA-based Director and agent. Frontiers Label Group appoints Tim Bailey as Head of Label - International. Big Machine Records has elevated Rachel Burleson to Sr. Director of Streaming. Katrina Maddox joins RESULTS GLOBAL as Head of Digital & Social, alongside new hires Lindsey Parrish, Tess Schoonhoven, and Conner McEuen. Derek DeVeaux has been appointed Global COO at Tickets For Good, the platform offering free and discounted event tickets. Neste Live! announced the expansion of its corporate events division with a round of promotions, see who here.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs (anywhere) in music

  • Manager, Data Science at Firebird (Anywhere)

  • Product Designer at Openstage (Remote, East Coast preferred)

  • VP of Marketing at Soundstripe (Anywhere)

  • Graphic Designer at Activated Events (Anywhere)

  • Sr. Manager, Accounting at Warner Music Group (US Remote)

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

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