- New Industry Friday
- Posts
- Vol 54 - Damn, give anything for you to pick up when I write
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.
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:
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.
oh 2hollis get up
— ali ✚ (@minjoonllis)
6:26 PM • Nov 5, 2025
Bout that time
Who got snubbed for a BNA nomination? |
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
Reply