Vol 33 - And I swear they read me, I'm not reading them

Happy Friday,

All-American OnlyFans, Billy Mac is back, Fever rolls the DICE & James Blunt got high again?

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

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Turnstile, Addison Rae, Lil Wayne, Waylon Wyatt, Caamp, Little Simz, Mother Mother, ENHYPEN, Finn Wolfhard, Cynthia Erivo, Hailey Whitters…

♪ Notable singles from Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims, Ed Sheeran, Jessie Murph, GloRilla, Ethel Cain, Bailey Zimmerman, Big Thief, The Kid LAROI, Chris Lake, Ozuna, Lil Yachty…

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

#1 - Sabrina Carpenter is back with new single ‘Manchild,’ co-written with Amy Allen and Jack Antonoff.

#5 - Ed Sheeran drops ‘Sapphire’ with the help of co-writers Ilya Salmanzadeh, Johnny McDaid and more.

#8 - Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter VI is finally here, with NMF track ‘Sharks’ featuring Jelly Roll and Big Sean.

#10 - Bailey Zimmerman lands with ‘Comin’ In Cold’ - his first solo release of 2025.

#13 - The Kid LAROI drops ‘ALL I WANT IS YOU’ with production help from Clams Casino, doing their best to recreate the success of ‘NIGHTS LIKE THIS.’

#16 - Marshmello, Ellie Goulding and AVAION collab on ‘Save My Love.’

#20 - Frequent NMF staple Lil Yachty is back with 'Murda,’ a flip of Maggie Rogers’ ‘Alaska.’

#28 - Dylan Gossett drops ‘Sweet Lady,’ a single from his upcoming debut album Westward due for release on July 18th.

#40 - Jon Bellion returns with FATHER FIGURE, his first album in 7 years, the titular track landing on NMF.

#51 - Cynthia Erivo releases her 2nd studio album I Forgive You (a day after the Wicked For Good trailer dropped) with NMF track ‘Best For Me.’

#67 - Dora Jar is ‘The Explorer’ on her new Ralph Castelli-produced track.

⭐ #80 - NY-based duo Frost Children make the list with their new single ‘CONTROL’ via True Panther.

#86 - The Knocks and Dragonette collab on new album Revelation, including the next track for your running playlist, ‘Love Me Alive.’

#99 - Recorded spontaneously in London after a sold-out UK tour, Wunderhorse release new single ‘The Rope.’

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, KayCyy, ATEEZ, iann dior, AJ Tracey, The Swell Season, Slick Rick & Van Morrison all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Madonna, The Favors (FINNEAS & Ashe’s new band), Max Richter, King Princess, Belinda Carlisle, FLETCHER, james K, Zara Larsson, Big Thief, Molly Tuttle & Flight Of The Conchords’ Bret McKenzie all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The Academy of Country Music announced a round of layoffs yesterday, impacting ¼ of their staff. Entertainment giant HYBE’s Seoul office was raided by South Korean authorities last week amid an investigation into insider trading. After Taylor Swift purchased the masters to her first 6 albums last week, streams for all of the original versions more than doubled on Spotify. Eminem’s music publisher sued Meta for making certain tracks, including ‘Lose Yourself’ available to billions of users without permission. Lizzo launched an appeal to end the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by her former backup dancers. Pusha T claimed Def Jam tried to censor Kendrick Lamar’s verse on Clipse’s upcoming album amid Drake beef. James Blunt celebrated the 20th anniversary of his hit ‘You’re Beautiful’ by admitting the lyrics are about being high and stalking someone else’s girlfriend.

Gibson launched a search for the infamous guitar played by Marty McFly in Back to the Future, which has been missing for decades. A Seoul District Court ruled that K-Pop group NewJeans must pay $730K per member if they partake in any work outside of their label Ador. Members of Heart reported two irreplaceable instruments stolen from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City ahead of their tour launch; the band are offering a reward. Jimmy Buffet’s widow sued to replace the co-trustee of the late artist’s estate, claiming the business manager currently working with her has been “openly hostile and adversarial.” Russel Simmons sued HBO for $20M over the On The Record doc that he alleges defamed him. Nick Jonas will star as KISS member Paul Stanley in a new biopic, Shout It Out Loud.

All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter joined OnlyFans to build a more direct relationship with fans. Jessie J revealed she was diagnosed with early breast cancer. Ariana Grande joined the cast of the upcoming movie Meet the Parents 4. Ariana, Sabrina Carpenter and more than 100 other celebs signed a letter calling for more funding for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention. DDG countered Halle Bailey’s restraining order with one of his own, citing abuse and emotional manipulation. Halle Bailey responded. A woman accused Diddy of dangling her off of a 17th floor balcony in 2016 while she testified at his trial this week.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Fever acquired DICE for an undisclosed price after announcing they secured an additional $100M+ in equity funding

• Ticketing platform Seated was re-acquired by its founders 4 years after being acquired by Sofar Sounds

• Investment platform Rezonate Music Rights launched with $150M in backing from Bridgepoint Credit

• Web3 ticketing platform XP announced a $6.2M raise

• Warner partnered with Finnish karaoke tech co Singa on a licensing deal

• TikTok For Artists launched 2 months after testing the beta version

• Private Equity firm Valeas acquired a majority stake in TicketManager with a $110M investment

• Concord’s film & TV division acquired legendary movie studio RKO

• Dierks Bentley launched Broken Branches Fund to provide mental health resources to the creative and touring community

• D2C music company VNYL acquired subscription vinyl service Vinyl Me, Please

• AI music co Suno debuted new features to give users more control over the creation of their tracks

• UK collection society PRS for Music reported it paid out £1B in royalties in 2024

• Music Nation Copyrights Management partnered with BMI and SoundExchange to manage music licensing and royalties in the UAE

• Spotify raised prices in France for the 2nd time in a year

Group Chat

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

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

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Sell your cosmetics brand for $1B (20%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Buy your old masters back (13%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Accuse someone of elder abuse against you (20%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Quit your job & go work for Wasserman, fuck it (20%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Get married in a year in the suburbs (27%)

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Singer-songwriter Justine Skye announced her next label chapter, this time with Warner Records after stints with Atlantic & Republic. Skye dropped her debut single with them 'Oh Lala' last week alongside KAYTRANADA.

Duo Sofi Tukker signed with Myles Shear, Mike Hoener and Bella Tammis, launching Animal Talk in partnership with Palm Tree Mgmt.

Rapper Offset joined Brent Smith & Lauren Marker's Wasserman Music touring roster. We hope he reactivates his social media soon.

Acclaimed R&B duo dvsn agreed to a multi-album deal with So So Def Recordings under its new worldwide distribution partnership with HYBE America. The signing marks a moment for the label as it relaunches under founder Jermaine Dupri.

Writer-producer Joe Reeves, who has worked with the likes of Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, Ed Sheeran & others, joined the Sony Music Publishing roster this week. Originally from the UK, the now LA-based Reeves most recent credits include 'What I Want (feat. Tate McRae) and 'I Got Better' off Wallen's new album.

Hyperpop's That Kid, who has collaborated with Slayyyter, 6arelyhuman & others in the space, announced a new record deal with Thrive Music. He is slated to release new music in Q3 this year.

Texas country artist Hudson Westbrook signed with River House Artists & Warner Music Nashville for records. His debut album Texas Forever is due out next month and he is set to take the stage at CMA Fest this week.

+120 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR, Lola Young, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Grizzly Bear, Young the Giant, King Princess

Indie-rock band Grizzly Bear have returned after a 6-year hiatus, announcing a headlining North American tour with stops in Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Oakland.

After announcing he would step away, it seems everyone's favorite fraudulent festival founder Billy McFarland is back on board for FYRE's latest rebranding. The brand announced its expansion into hotel experiences, with pop-ups at the Coral View Utila in Honduras this September.

The L.A. Opera shared its next music director will be Domingo Hindoyan. The Armenian-Venezuelan conductor is currently serving on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and will transition into the new role next July. He will succeed James Conlon, who led the L.A. Opera for two decades.

Post Malone is the latest artist to announce a new entertainment venue to be opened in Nashville. The multi-faceted artist shared how "Nashville has really become a second home for [him]." An official name and opening date for the venue have yet to be announced.

Similarly, Live Nation is planting its flag in Perth, announcing plans to build a new 3K capacity venue expected to open the summer of next year. Alongside the main room, there will be a smaller 600-capacity club with advanced staging and production.

Linkin Park took the stage at Munich Football Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League final and delivered a four-song set to over 64K attendees.

Questlove issued an apology for extreme delays at Roots Picnic after heavy rain and muddy grounds set the festival back by hours.

Big Machine Label Group will celebrate its 20-year anniversary in downtown Nashville this August with performances from Sheryl Crow, Riley Green & Brett Young.

❌ Cancellations:

• Rod Stewart postponed his Vegas residency show last Sunday due to an unspecified illness

• Daniel Seavey continued to postpone tour dates, this time in Australia and New Zealand, due to ongoing vocal issues

• Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy cancelled his upcoming tour dates citing "recent health issues"

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• iHeartRadio Music Festival announced its lineup with performances from Ed Sheeran, Tate McRae, Mariah Carey, Lil Wayne, Jelly Roll & more

• Aminé's Portland-based 2nd annual The Best Day Ever Fest will feature performances from the rapper himself, Thundercat, Amaarae, Smino, MIKE, Zack Fox & more

• Foo Fighters, Chappell Roan & Linkin Park will headline Corona Capital 2025

• 2026 Gulf Coast Jam will be headlined by Post Malone, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban & Riley Green

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Arista Records names Clio Massey and Matt D’Arduini as co-presidents, succeeding David Massey; both will report to Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer. Dr. Chelsey Green becomes the first Black woman and the youngest person in history to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Recording Academy. GYRO Group names Matthew Rogers as new CCO after his 14-year role as COO at UNIFIED Music Group, where he helped drive major international growth. Industry veteran Brent Weinstein makes the move to CAA as senior leader.

Bruno Crolot confirmed he is leaving his position as Sr. Director, Head of International Music at Spotify to join Believe as President, Label & Artist Solutions (LAS). Leslie Cohea, a touring vet with 20+ years of experience, is set to join WME as Partner and Music Touring Exec on July 14th. Music Corporation of America (MCA) has promoted Rob Femia to COO. Scott Levine appointed CEO of TouchTunes. Matt Malcolm will head the new agency division at Jayson Entertainment Group, booking Darryl Worley and others while expanding the roster. Riser House Entertainment has added Alex Heimerman as VP of Streaming & Strategic Partnerships, Hayley Irvine as Product Manager, and Eliza Charette as Project and Label Relations Coordinator. PPL has named Melanie Johnson Director of Transformation, a new role on the CEO’s executive team.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Chief of Staff at Rebel Creator Services in LA

• LN Concerts, Design Manager at Live Nation Entertainment (Anywhere)

• Director, Commercial Marketing at Red Bull Records in West Hollywood

• Publishers Account Executive at Bandsintown Group Inc. in Montréal

• Manager, Tour Marketing at Wasserman in London

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