Vol 49 - It's 'bout to be the sleepless night you've been reading about

Happy Friday,

T Swift drops her new album, another round of Nicki vs Cardi, Bad Bunny Bowl & Daniel Ek(xits).

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 Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, Kali Uchis, Bryson Tiller, Carter Faith, KETTAMA, Good Neighbours, MPH, Rocket…

♪ Notable singles from Leon Thomas, Young Miko, Kane Brown, Gucci Mane, Searows, Chanel Beads, Artemas, Henry Moodie, The Red Clay Strays…

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

#1 - Taylor Swift is back with new album The Life of a Showgirl, grabbing the #1, #6 and #13 spots on NMF with ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ and ‘Wi$h Li$t.’

#2 - Leon Thomas unveils new funk single ‘Just How You Are’ on the heels of his EP announcement for PHOLKS coming October 24th.

#14 - Carter Faith lands at #14 on NMF with ‘Betty,’ marking the release of her debut album Cherry Valley today.

⭐ #15 - Fuzzy-sounded Chanel Beads climbs up the NMF charts with his first drop of the year with ‘The Coward Forgets His Nightmare.’

#30 - Indie UK garage favorite MPH shares his 3rd project Substance with ‘LA NYC’ landing on today’s playlist.

#33 - Louis Tomlinson drops ‘Lemonade,’ his first single in 3 years.

#35 - Ireland’s Dermot Kennedy performs on ‘Melodies - From The Netflix Series “Nobody Wants This” Season 2,’ written by Lewis Capaldi and more.

#38 - Danny L Harle releases the second track of his XL Recordings era ‘Azimuth’ with help from friend Caroline Polachek.

#46 - Warner Records’ Noah Rinker keeps it moving with ‘Tumbleweed.’

#50 - Chris Lake, Skrillex & ANITA B QUEEN team up on highly-teased gritty house banger ‘LA NOCHE.’

#58 - New Zealander BENEE releases ‘Underwater’ ahead of upcoming album Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles, releasing November 7th.

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Khalid, LANY, Flock of Dimes, Madi Diaz, Yellowcard, Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe, Celeste, Mobb Deep, Avery Tucker, The Antlers, Jay Som, The Besnard Lakes, The Wytches all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Luke Combs, Louis Tomlinson, Dave, Not for Radio, Leon Thomas, The Smashing Pumpkins (reissue), Yo La Tengo & Jad Fair (reissue), Super Furry Animals, Dry Cleaning all announced new projects this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show in February 2026. The LAPD say that the dismembered body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl found in the trunk of d4vd’s Tesla, was likely dead for weeks before being discovered. Def Leppard will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, October 9th. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift, claiming the artist stole lyrics for 15 of her songs from a woman in Florida’s self-published poetry. In court filings earlier this week, Federal prosecutors said they think Diddy deserves 11 years in prison; Cassie agreed in an emotional letter. On Tuesday, the court denied both motions from Diddy’s team to overturn his conviction. South Korean police imposed a travel restriction on HYBE’s Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk as authorities investigate allegations of unfair trading.

Nirvana won a lawsuit against the naked baby on their Nevermind cover.

A federal judge refused to dismiss the case against “Pharma Bro” Martin Shrkeli over Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin after Shrkeli threatened to leak copies of the album on the internet. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco got married last weekend. T.I. was sued by producer Sir Jinx over accusations that the rapper did not pay royalties for his 2016 track ‘Dope’ with Dr. Dre. Michael Jackson’s estate is facing a $400M lawsuit from Wade Robson and James Safechuck over their allegations of sexual abuse. On the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Madonna admitted that she contemplated suicide during the custody battle over her son with ex Guy Ritchie in 2008. Ne-Yo pushed a fan who rushed the stage aside during a recent performance in Japan; he posted a message to the fan on socials. The Grateful Dead now have 2 unique Pantone colors - Grateful Red and Stealie Blue. Oasis will chronicle their 2025 reunion tour with a coffee table book. One Direction’s Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson documented their roadtrip across America - it’s now coming to Netflix.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Merlin and Spotify renew global licensing agreement

• Report: Music tourism market to reach $400.5B by 2032

• X thread demonstrates capability of Sora 2 to duplicate copyrighted material

• Songview will now include information from four major US PROs

• TikTok announces Crescendo, a program for supporting classical music talent

• AEG-backed study reports live music is a top priority for UK fans

• AudioShake raises $14M in new round of funding

• Fortnite prepares to launch its K-pop Demon Hunters event

• Splice drops a new virtual instrument platform after snapping up Spitfire Audio in a $50M deal

• YouTube is testing an AI music host to rival Spotify’s AI DJ

Group Chat

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

Ok, Nicki is officially the drama

Tis the season

Lmfao personal favorite

Lol what

Cannot wait.

Let him cook?

What would you like to see raptured?

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 5% off the top (17%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ A&R Consulting (11%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ "Label Services" (17%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Penske Media (22%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Net 90 (33%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Tame Impala, Doja Cat, Nine Inch Nails, Jonas Brothers, Louis Tomlinson, Rich Brian

After sharing he did not include a US leg of his tour for fear of ICE raids at his shows, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny announced he will headline Super Bowl LX. Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski confirmed ICE will be present at the Super Bowl, and called the selection “shameful,” claiming “We should be trying to be inclusive [and] bringing people together and not separating them.”

Zach Bryan set the record for the largest ticketed concert audience in US history with 112,408 attendees at Michigan Stadium. The show also set a merch sales record with ~$5M earned.

San Francisco’s beloved Castro Theater is reopening after an extensive remodel with Sam Smith playing an 8-night residency to kick off its new era.

Oasis wrapped their reunion tour last weekend, and are already teasing more shows to come in 2026.

Rod Wave’s tour promoter is suing the rapper for allegedly withholding $27M worth of advances after refusing to finish his 35-date tour. The lawsuit alleges Rod spent the advance on “private jets and lavish second homes.”

AEG partnered with non-alcoholic beverage company Tractor Beverage in response to alcohol sales continuing to decline at AEG venues across the country.

John Mayer will play his first-ever concert in India next January, presented and produced by BookMyShow Live.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• South Florida’s Okeechobee returns after a 3-year hiatus with performances from FISHER, T-Pain & The Lumineers

• Thomas Rhett, Lainey Wilson, and Brooks & Dunn are set to headline WE Fest in Minnesota next August

• Philadelphia’s Sing Us Home Festival will be headlined by The Mountain Goats, Menzingers, and festival curator Dave Hause and his band Mermaid

❌ Cancellations:

• Lola Young announced she is cancelling all upcoming shows for the foreseeable future to focus on her health following her collapse onstage during her set at All Things Go in NY last weekend

• Dolly Parton is postponing her Vegas residency that was slated for December citing several upcoming procedures she revealed on social media

• Yusuf / Cat Stevens shared his North American tour will be postponed due to unspecified visa issues

• Sunset Fest Cabo – the upcoming yacht rock festival scheduled for late October – are losing headliners left and right with Alan Parsons, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Ambrosia & more dropping out

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Formerly with Crush, popstar Kesha has found a new management home at Red Light with Mary Hilliard Harring taking the helm. She self-released her most recent album .(…) earlier this summer. Red Light also added buzzy Nashville act Sons of Legion to its roster with Bruce Flohr & Taylor Bock joining as managers.

Bernie Leadon, co-founder of the Eagles & member of the Flying Burrito Brothers signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. He also plans on releasing his first solo album in more than 20 years next week Too Late to Be Cool.

Alt-pop band In Color have been busy - after gaining millions of streams independently, the group has now fully formed its team. They’ve locked in a record deal with Big Loud Rock, new booking agents with David Ball of CAA (EU) & Trey Many of Wasserman (WW ex-EU) + Brad Parker at the newly launch Track Record for management.

English actress Naomi Scott is making her full move into the music scene by solidifying her team as well this week. The singer signed with ALTER Music for records, UMPG & Ben Buchanan/Marlene Tsuchii of CAA for touring.

Aussie country artist Morgan Evans has teamed up with Virgin Music Group for the next phase of his career. He’ll be dropping his first single ‘Beer Back Home’ via the new pact next week & is slated to release a full project early ’26.

Musical director, producer and manager Fil Thorpe joined mgmt co 3 Vultures alongside his rising Icelandic artist dóttir.x. 

+190 signings on ROSTR this week

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Daniel Ek is shifting his focus at Spotify, stepping down as CEO to take on the Executive Chairman title. David Kaefer, who oversees Spotify’s music and audio operations, will step down this October. A2IM ushers in new leadership with Ian Harrison replacing Richard James Burgess as CEO. UMGC taps Cora Lam for Legal & Business Affairs and Mark Gao for Brand Partnerships as it scales ops.

Riser House Entertainment launches a new rock division with Jason Martin as President, Jim Kaufman joining as JV partner on select signings, and Sofia Barbetta leading digital marketing and online strategy. BiCoastal Productions has promoted Amber Hansen to Co-President of National Touring, where she will serve alongside current President Jack Forman, who transitions to Co-President – Biz Dev. Judy Schwab named Chief People Officer at UTA. Dennis Lord joins Gordon Law Group. Gus Canazio joins Rock World as SVP of Booking. Nick Byer promoted to GM at Desert Diamond Arena.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Sr. Manager, Pricing & Ticketing at Wasserman in London

• Director, Publicity & Communications at Red Bull Records in West Hollywood

• SVP, Marketing Enablement at Warner Music Group in NY

• Sr. Director, Country Marketing at BMG in Nashville

• Director of Biz Dev at A2IM in NY

↗ Find these and 315+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR