Vol 55 - My inbox is turning blue, can't read without you here

Happy Friday,

A 🆕 GRAMMYs Voter Guide 👀, Charli’s reaching new heights, AI taking over Country & Vine making a comeback?

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 FKA twigs, 5 Seconds of Summer, Kelsea Ballerini, Summer Walker, Jessie Murph, Wale, The Neighbourhood, Jean Dawson, Blondshell, Cameron Whitcomb…

♪ Notable singles from Charli xcx, Robyn, Dominic Fike, Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor, Ken Carson, Searows, IDK, Louis Tomlinson, Hudson Westbrook, Truman Sinclair, Sword II…

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

#1 - Charli xcx shares the latest track from her work on Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” ‘Chains of Love,’ and announced she will release a full-length album inspired by the film.

#2 - Kelsea Ballerini lands at the top as she steps into a new chapter on Mount Pleasant with ‘Emerald City,’ one of the EP’s most honest cuts.

#5 - Swedish ‘Dancing On My Own’ singer Robyn drops her first song in 7 years ‘Dopamine.’

#15 - Lewis Capaldi drops new EP Survive, including NMF track ‘The Day That I Die,’ co-written with Amy Allen, John Ryan and Tobias Jesso Jr.

#20 - Indie-folk singer-songwriter & guitarist Searows tries to catch a ‘Photograph of a Cyclone’ (album artwork is dope btw).

#22 - NF and James Arthur collab on ‘SORRY’ off of NF’s new EP FEAR.

#33 - Ciara is back with CiCi (Deluxe), including new track ‘Nice n’ Sweet’ with MOLIY and Oxlade.

#38 - Ethereal pop duo Magdalena Bay continue their bi-weekly double release strategy, this time with ‘This Is The World (I Made It For You)’ landing on NMF.

#86 - Alt-pop band The Format continues their reunion run with another single ‘Shot In The Dark.’

⭐ #90 - Atlanta rock band Sword II drop their album Electric Hour via label section1 with ‘Sentry’ placing.

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

De La Soul, Haley Heynderickx & Mac García Conover, Danko Jones, Kara-Lis Cloverdale, Rheostatics, Keaton Henson all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charli xcx, Leon Thomas, Tate McRae (deluxe), Meghan Trainor, Tobias Jesso Jr., reggie, Mandy, Indiana, Daphni, Bill Callahan, Jay Buchanan, Hercules & Love Affair, Caroline Jones, Kronos Quartet, Pepe Serbert all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

This year we're introducing the NIF & ROSTR GRAMMY Voter Guide. A fully interactive, digital-first, modern guide for GRAMMY voters (and industry observers). For more information on the guide and FYC opportunities click HERE.

More Q3 updates:

• Sony generated $2.89B

• HYBE’s Q3 revenues grew 38% YoY

• Tencent reported 27% revenue growth

The #1 song in the US is AI-generated. TikTok and iHeartMedia announced a new multi-platform collab. GEMA won in a landmark song lyric copyright case against OpenAI. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame won a lawsuit over the use of a Van Halen photo. Music publishers moved to reopen a lawsuit against the NBA. Downtown was sued for breach of contract and fraudulent inducement by YouTube’s Blast Off Media. Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz sued business manager Thomas St. John, alleging St. John stole $269K. Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, White Stripes and more were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Tory Lanez’ appeal over his conviction and 10-year sentence was denied.

Vince Gill will receive a lifetime achievement award at the CMAs on November 19th. Fans condemned the mistreatment and violation of Halsey after the artist was groped at a recent show. Sabrina Carpenter will lead and produce an Alice in Wonderland-inspired musical film. Madlib’s ex-manager sued him, asking a federal judge to decide who owns the rights to masters from their Madicine Show label.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Coda Music launches an AI ID tool

• Spotify and NMPA partner on audiovisual direct-licensing deal for indie publishers

• Amazon Music launches ‘Fan Groups’ to spark discovery and connection

• AIP launches UK music promoter diversity database

• Songpact expands to India

• Spotify confirms video rollout in the US

• Secretly Distribution launches Asia Pacific division

• Milk & Honey grows UK footprint

• UMG’s Global Impact team expands ‘Sounds of the Future’ to the UK

The Latin Review

A section where we focus on the Latin World

The 26th annual Latin GRAMMYs took place last night in Las Vegas with Maluma and Roselyn Sánchez hosting. Super Bowl superstar Bad Bunny took home 5 wins (out of 12 nominations), including Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Best Reggaeton Performance, best urban music album, Best Urban/Urban Fusion Performance and Best Urban Song. CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso each won five awards as well - their first wins at the Latin GRAMMYs. Karol G took home Song of the Year for ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’ and Alejandro Sanz won Record of the Year with ‘Palmeras En El Jardín.’ Morat won their first Latin GRAMMY for Best Pop/Rock album. Marco Antonio Solís and Gloria Estefan honored Raphael with Person of the Year. This year’s awards also included several new categories: Best Music for Visual Media, Songwriter of the Year, Best Singer-Songwriter Song, Portuguese-Language Urban Performance and Best Roots Song.

See the full list of winners HERE.

Group Chat

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

Both of them wearing heels is crazy

Lmfao honestly though

🍏

What could go wrong?

Who got snubbed for a BNA nomination?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ ROLE MODEL (27%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Rachel Chinouriri (9%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ PinkPantheress (32%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Country artists (9%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ I could notttttt care less (23%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Hayley Williams, Hilary Duff, Jordan Ward, Foo Fighters, Mt. Joy

Shaggy & Sean Paul will headline the Jamaica Strong benefit concert to raise funds for hurricane relief. The Weeknd donated $350K to the nation yesterday.

Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams has partnered with Openstage to minimize ticket scalping for her recently announced EU/NA tour.

SXSW announced the first 100 showcasing artists for its 2026 edition.

Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Radiohead & Sam Fender have called upon the British Prime Minister to commit to price cap legislation for ticket resales in the King’s Speech spring of next year.

Live Nation has been selected as the preferred bidder to develop the recently stalled Goyang Arena project in Seoul, South Korea. The venue, which expects to host anywhere from 20-50K attendees, will boast top-tier technology built for high production K-pop concerts.

Eagles have extended their Sphere residency with 4 shows next March, making their run the longest an act has played at the immersive venue with 56 dates.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Do Lab’s Lightning In A Bottle revealed its stacked lineup via its VHS-style poster with performances from Empire Of The Sun, Mau P, Sara Landry, Tinashe, Chase & Status, Barry Can’t Swim & more

• Miami’s Ultra Music Festival shared Phase 2 of its lineup with Martin Garrix, Alesso, DJ Snake & others joining

• Mad Cool’s 10th anniversary festival will take place in Madrid next year with headline performances from Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Twenty One Pilots, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds amongst others

• Damian Lazarus’ Day Zero will debut in Bali next April alongside its flagship event in Tulum, which takes place early January 2026

• Limp Bizkit, Iron Maiden, The Offspring & Bring Me The Horizon will headline France’s Hellfest 2026

• Bluefest unveiled its first round of artists for the Australian festival with Split Enz, Earth, Wind & Fire & The Pogues

• Not to be confused with the above, Byron Bay’s Bluesfest will feature Sublime, The Black Crowes & Buddy Guy as headliners

• CMAT is the latest headliner announced for London’s Lido Festival happening next June; she joins acts like Father John Misty & Sharon Van Etten

❌ Cancellations:

• Due to illness, Jelly Roll cancelled the final date on his AU/NZ tour run just hours before the show’s start

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Three-time GRAMMY winners, Dan + Shay, have landed with new management at The Core Entertainment. There, the duo will be represented by co-founders & CEO’s Simon Tikhman & Kevin “Chief” Zaruk alongside fellow artists like Bailey Zimmerman, Cameron Whitcomb and more.

After a seven-month stint at Wasserman, electronic artist Gryffin has returned to WME with Brett Schaffer, David Levy, Jake Wilk, Kirk Sommer, Kyle Bandler, Rob Markus, Sam Dolen, Sam Wald & Steph Lafera representing him globally.

Rising queer pop artist Mad Tsai locked in a deal with independent record label Rebellion Records. The Taiwanese and Peruvian act has amassed over 260M streams and under the terms of the new agreement, he’ll release 10 tracks, with a 50/50 revenue split, and leveraging a nearly 7-figure blended budget. 

Rapper Don Toliver joined UTA’s touring roster with Alex Baranello, Zach Iser, Caroline Yim & Rob Gibbs leading the team in NA. The Don recently announced that his new album OCTANE will be dropping later this year. 

Singer Jess Glynne, whose voice went viral this year during the Jet2 Holiday trend, signed with Vikki Josephs at Logan Media Entertainment for management. She’s recently dropped singles with Alok, Rudimental & others.

Artist manager Bradley Zorgdrager has joined AISAmusic alongside his roster including Mental Cruelty, Signs Of The Swarm, Ov Sulfur & more. There he’ll head up North American management operations for the Switzerland-based company.

+120 signings on ROSTR this week

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Jeremy Vuernick steps in as EVP of Atlantic Music Group, working from London to drive global artist development alongside UK and US teams. Gregg Nadel is promoted to President of A&R at Warner Records Group in LA, while Cris Lacy takes over as President & Chair of Warner Records Nashville. Merlin taps Charlie Lexton as its new CEO. Thomas Coesfeld will remain BMG’s CEO from January 2027 onward as he also takes on the Chairman & CEO role at Bertelsmann. Dee Hale rises to SVP, Film and TV Administration at Sony Music Pub, overseeing studio client administration in the US and UK and co-chairing the Society and Publisher Forum A/V Committee. Sony Music Pub also names Michael Young Chief Information Officer, based in Nashville, to oversee technology strategy and upgrades supporting its global songwriters and catalogs.

The UK's Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has appointed Catherine Anne Davies (The Anchoress), Jess Smyth (Biig Piig), and Rina Sawayama to its Board of Directors.

The Appointment Group (TAG) adds Fred Stratford as Chairman of its Board and John McLaughlin as CFO both joining the leadership team and Board to guide strategy and ops as CEO Jens Penny gets ready to step down.

Tatiana Angulo is elevated to VP, Streaming, and Taylor Viegut to VP, E-commerce & Biz Dev at MCA, strengthening the label’s leadership in digital initiatives and artist partnerships.

360 Business Management expands its team with the addition of industry veteran Lisa Barringer, whose 30+ years in athlete and entertainer management bolster the firm’s growing roster.

Essential Music Publishing, elevates Andie Rankins to VP of Essential Publishing Administration. EMPIRE Nashville adds Bri Small as VP, Digital, overseeing the label’s online presence and engagement, and Zak Waters as Director of A&R, bringing his multi-genre songwriting and production expertise to the team. Kelley Fox joins Various / Distiller as an International Sr. A&R on Publishing and Management. Ashley Nite joins Kobalt’s Nashville office as Creative Director. Cole Brown joins Creative Nation as Publishing, Management & Records A&R.

Big Machine Label Group makes numerous new hires and promotions, see here.

Dope Jobs

Juicy jobs in music

• Head of Artist D2C Marketing at Mick Management in NY, Nash, or LA

• Head of Artist Partnerships at Tixel in LA

• Director, Brand Partnerships at Slacker Media Group (Remote)

• Director, Legal & Business Affairs - INTL at WMG in NY

• VP, Data Governance and Strategy at UMG in Santa Monica

↗ Find these and 490+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR