Vol 41 - But every day I read you just a little more and more and more

Happy Friday,

Spotify hikes their prices, JP Saxe gets candid, Rock-a-bye Billie, and it was all a (Brooklyn) Mirage.

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 Laufey, Gunna, Bailey Zimmerman, mgk, Ethel Cain, Amaarae, JID, Lydia Night, Isaia Huron, The Black Keys, NERIAH, Jenevieve, Remble…

♪ Notable singles from Ed Sheeran, Zach Bryan & Kings of Leon, keshi, Cameron Whitcomb, Big Thief, Mau P, Marshmello & Jelly Roll, Glass Animals…

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

#1 - Laufey releases a new EP with title track ‘Snow White.’

#2 - Ed Sheeran’s new single ‘A Little More’ drops with Rupert Grint front-and-center in the video and on Ed’s own banner.

#5 - Zach Bryan teams up with Kings of Leon on the single ‘Bowery,’ calling the collab the “honor of my life.”

#14 - After picking up steam on social media, Bella Kay’s ‘The Sick’ is an instant debut hit.

#37 - Sofia Coppola’s daughter — Romy Mars — releases her 3rd single ‘Ego.’

#39 - Sam Gellaitry is back with his first release of the year with ‘START UP A RUMOUR’ about the trials and tribulations of relationships.

#49 - Of Monsters and Men return with ‘Ordinary Creature,’ their first self-produced single in six years.

#51 - Josiah Queen links with Benjamin William Hastings for ‘I’ll Fly Away,’ the first taste of Queen’s sophomore album Mt.Zion coming August 22nd.

⭐ #89 - Austin rock band Die Spitz release a fittingly named ‘Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry for the Delay).’ 

#99 - Kylie Morgan lands her first-ever fully independent release on NMF with new single ‘Then You Happened.’

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Chance The Rapper, Conan Gray, Lil Baby, Maroon 5, Joey Valence & Brae, Rich Brian, Rise Against, Chevelle, The Aces, Yot Club, Mahalia & Babyface Ray all have new projects expected to come out next week.

BigXthaPlug, Rhett Miller, Emily A. Sprague, AFI, Of Monsters and Men, Offset, Rainbow Kitten Surprise & Lily Rose all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Millions face Spotify price hikes across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Shooting at unofficial HARD Summer afterparty in LA kills 2. Paris Jackson accuses lawyers of skimming millions from MJ’s Estate. Soulja Boy was taken into custody in L.A. after police allegedly found a firearm. Ozzy Osbourne’s final battle was lost to heart disease and Parkinson’s. beatBread raises $124M to give artists and labels more flexible funding and independence. Kobalt joins forces with Eleven Music to give publishing a rare fifty fifty split in AI generated music.

Lady Gaga leads MTV VMAs nominations with 12, followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar. Beyond Music buys catalog of Bekuh Boom, songwriter behind BLACKPINK’s biggest tracks. And “Pink Venom” becomes BLACKPINK’s latest 1B video. New Levi’s ad fuels speculation Beyoncé’s going rock next. Cardi B brings the drama as host of WWE’s SummerSlam. Jelly Roll and Jonas Brothers take over Nashville for Stand Up To Cancer’s fundraising showdown. SoFi Stadium hit 10 million guests with Shakira’s show and one lucky fan walked away with VIP everything. Sab Carp pulled off an epic last-minute Earth, Wind & Fire cameo at Lolla all in under 24 hours. mgk calls his haters conformists not critics. Tiny Vinyl makes vinyl smaller and greener with collectible four-inch singles.

Ty Dolla $ign settles dispute over sample on his song ‘Fuk Sumn. RIP to Grand Ole Opry icon Jeannie Seely who passed away at 85. Joe Diffie’s family announced the Diffie Classic, a golf and music event in September. The Met says Mick Taylor’s allegedly stolen Les Paul wasn’t actually his to begin with. Terry Reid, the singer who turned down Led Zeppelin, dies at 75. Junkyard’s David Roach passes after cancer battle. Kelly Osbourne honors Ozzy with a bold tribute days after his funeral. Rod Stewart shows AI images of Ozzy in heaven with late music icons during concert tribute. Expect about a five-year wait for Chappell to drop her next album. Rupert Grint resumes his side hustle as Ed Sheeran’s doppelgänger. Nile Rodgers joins Simon Cowell-backed Lounges.tv.

Billie Eilish tracks are now baby-approved.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• HYBE posts double digit Q2 growth

• Down Right Merchandise and Overcast Merch unite to form Armada

• Vivid Seats posts $260 Million Q2 loss

• UMG’s half-year revenue rises 6.9% YOY

• SESAC closes $889 million whole business securitization

• Duolingo buys NextBeat as RedOctane makes a comeback

• BlueBeat founder indicted for wire fraud following FBI investigation

• Amazon restructures audio division, shifts focus to Wondery podcasts

• Von Dutch and Miller unveil new electronic music projects

• Sony Music sues Napster over $9.2M in unpaid royalties

• Deezer revenues dip 0.3% in first half of 2025

Group Chat

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

fucking kill me

👏

What's your favorite celebrity fantasy pairing?

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Katy Perry x Justin Trudeau (18%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Sydney Sweeney x Ted Nugent (35%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Trump x Kid Rock (12%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Bad Bunny x Adam Sandler (18%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Nelk Boys x Netanyahu (polycule) (18%)

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Longtime indie label artist Suki Waterhouse has joined the major ranks at Island Records. The singer and actress is in the midst of her Sparklemuffin Tour and will join Laufey in the fall.

After building momentum via social media, rising pop artist Elle Coves signed with Shirin Nury, Brian Manning, Mary Harrington, Mitch Rose, Emma Banks & Lola Castillo Murphy of CAA for touring in EU/NA.

Cameron Winter-led Geese have officially signed with Universal Music Publishing Group for a global deal. The NYC rock band will be releasing their highly anticipated third LP next month.

Parker McCollum extended his ties with MCA Nashville this week - not only did he re-sign his recording deal with them, but also sold his entire music catalog to the label. 

Australia’s Dew Process extended their publishing deal with band Spacey Jane & renewed their records deal (within AUS/NZL) with Tkay Maidza.

Formerly of Substance Management, Susan Busch has come over to the team at TMWRK. She brings over artists like Jay Som, Renny Conti, Greg Freeman and others.

Hip Hop agent Ashley Ventura, previously with MAC Agency, joined the team at Cara Lewis Group this week alongside clients like French Montana, Bhad Babie, K CAMP and more.

+135 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Doechii, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist, Of Monsters and Men, Ela Minus, The Wanted

Avant Gardner, Brooklyn Mirage’s operator, voluntarily filed for bankruptcy. CEO Gary Richards explained the move will allow Avant Gardner “to stabilize […] and focus on building for the future.” Live Nation boutta start making calls…

JP Saxe revealed his tour cancellation was due to low ticket sales, an unprecedented moment of transparency for a touring artist. Many musicians in a similar situation opt for quietly cancelling tours, while Saxe’s decision highlights the challenges touring artists often face regarding ticket sales. Saxe confirmed ticket buyers would receive full refunds, and vowed to avoid situations like this in the future.

Sweden’s Way Out West festival sold out faster than expected. However, the event is offering free passes to those willing to donate their organs. Hopeful attendees who sign up for the Donation Registry have a chance to earn the Kidney Pass, which boasts on it the phrase “I gave a kidney for this ticket.”

TikTok livestreams of the electronic music festival Tomorrowland garnered >74M viewers across the two weekends. Not only is this a 362% increase from the 16M viewers who watched last year’s festival, it also sets the record for livestreaming viewership on the platform.

The Grateful Dead wrapped their 3-show weekend in Golden Gate Park celebrating their 60th anniversary. The series drew >180K fans over 3 days with featured performances from Billy Strings, Sturgill Simpson & Trey Anastasio.

Kendrick Lamar announced more Australian dates for his stadium tour, tapping Doechii as support.

ODESZA is set to headline the U.S. Open afterparty at the 14k capacity Louis Armstrong Stadium early September.

Harvest Rock Festival will return to Adelaide this October following a one-year hiatus.

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Veteran executive Marsha St. Hubert now serves as EVP of Atlantic Music Group and President of 10K Projects, as Molly McLachlan is promoted from Co-President of 10K to EVP at AMG. Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab, Co-Presidents of 300 Entertainment, are expanding their roles to also serve as Co-Presidents of Atlantic where they’ll lead Hip-Hop, R&B, and Global Music while continuing at 300. Peermusic has appointed James Cerreta as President for its US and Canada Ops. Rolling Stone appoints Shirley Halperin, its first female Editor-in-Chief from The Hollywood Reporter, alongside Sean Woods, who was promoted internally, as Co-Editors-in-Chief. Nicole Flammia has been elevated to SVP, Creative Photo-Video Production at Big Machine.

Lo Ting-Fai has been appointed as President, Warner Music APAC, at WMG. Symphonic Distribution has appointed Ed Poston as its new Head of A&R. MCA has appointed Hannah Galluzzi as VP, A&R and they continue to expand their digital team with the additions of Sarah D’Hilly as Sr. VP of Digital Marketing and Strategy and Brad Krause as Sr. Director of Digital Strategy. Following its merger with Paramount, Skydance Media has appointed David Ellison as CEO and Jeff Shell as President. Arcade Talent has announced the appointment of Simon Dunmore as its new Head of Artist Development. Emily Thorpe-Jones has been appointed by UTA as an agent for private and corporate events in London. Dynamic Talent has appointed Eileen Mercolino as Sr. VP of Brand Partnerships.

The Neal Agency ups Clark Wilson to Agent, Fairs & Festivals, Simone Chretien and Juliette Edwards to Agents for the Southeast and West Coast and names Kelly Littlefield President of Ops for both TNA and Sticks Management.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Senior Accountant at Firebird in NY

• VP, Global YouTube at BMG in LA or NY

• Marketing Manager at The Touring Co. (Anywhere)

• VP, Business & Legal Affairs at UMG in Nashville

• Digital Marketing Manager at R&R in LA

↗ Find these and 270+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR