Vol 76 - I got news I wanna talk about

Happy Friday,

Concord and BMG team up, UMG sells stake in Spotify, ORod announces new tour & new Ari album otw.

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 Kacey Musgraves, Zara Larsson, Isaiah Rashad, Shoreline Mafia, American Football, Durand Bernarr, Lil Tjay, Asake, Junior Varsity…

♪ Notable singles from Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter, Lizzo, The Black Keys, Vince Staples, Hannah Cohen, Mikayla Geier, Graham Barham, Alana Springsteen, Madeon & Slayyyter…

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

#11 - STELLA LEFTY looks to build off her ‘Boston’ virality and recent Stagecoach appearance with new track ‘I Know I Know,’ co-written by JKash & Joe Reeves.

#20 - Mikayla Geier is back, releasing her first new music of the year with ‘HOTLINE’ produced by CJ Baran.

⭐ #21 - Prepping for his June album via Jagjaguwar, Chanel Beads drops his newest single ‘Song for the Messenger.’

#23 - Hannah Cohen (finally) follows up her Earthstar Mountain project with ‘Golden Chain,’ a subtle, soft-spoken launch into her new era.

#48 - Bella Poarch releases her first track under the MNRK Records umbrella with ‘Ribcage.’

#49 - Madeon recruits Slayyyter for ‘Fire Away,’ which he drops in tandem with announcing his forthcoming project Victory.

#56 - Jensen McRae pleads for ‘One More Cowboy’ on her newest track.

#73 - Brutalismus 3000 release their highly anticipated (according to Twitter) collab with Boys Noize, ‘I Bring My Gun To The Function.’

#92 - Continuing with his “club country” era, Graham Barham drops ‘I’M THE ONE.’

#100 - Alana Springsteen releases ‘i loved you then' - her 4th single since signing with Santa Anna earlier this year.

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Lykke Li, MUNA, Stephen Sanchez, Royal & the Serpent, Deb Never, Black Veil Brides, Neil Diamond, The Lemon Twigs, Chris Brown, Jason Mraz, glaive & kurtains, Amy Grant, Ray Bull, Social Distortion, Testament, ZEP, Aldous Harding all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Madeon, TAEYONG, Arc Iris, Horse Lords, Born At Midnite all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

BMG and Concord announced their plan to merge; Concord also purchased Mothership Music Publishing, including its 5K song catalog. iHeartRadio and SiriusXM are exploring a merger. Taylor Swift filed to trademark her voice and likeness, aiming to protect her identity against AI. UMG is selling 50% of its stake in Spotify to fund buyback program. Spotify partnered with Peloton to move into fitness with “guided workout experiences and also launched new verifications in light of AI. ROSTR announced a new feature to share custom lists.

Madonna partnered with Grindr for the launch of her album Confessions II. Fred again.. partners with Dropbox to share ‘USB002’ tour files. Cynthia Erivo finished the London Marathon in under 3.5 hours. Sony Music wins UK legal battle over Jimi Hendrix band recordings. T.I. sued Cinq Music, accusing the label of refusing to honor a contract promising to let him buy back his masters at a cheap price. The man accused of plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna pleaded guilty at his trial earlier this week. A man was charged after a fatal shooting took place near Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner theater. A man pled guilty to murdering Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay almost 25 years later. Prediction market Kalshi announced online trading for music streams.

The Voice alum Dylan Carter passed away at 24. 22 year-old rapper HavinMotion was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. last week.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• AIMPRO Collecting Society launches specifically for AI music creators

• UMG reports $3.39B in Q1 revenue, up 8.1% year over year

• PRS for Music paid out a record-breaking £100M+ in live revenue in 2025

• Primary Wave secures $2.2B for Fourth Music investment fund

• Spotify boosts subscribers and profit in Q1 2026

• Avex Music Group unveils $100M fund for catalog and company acquisitions

• Secretly, Warp, Beggars Group and more issue sustainable vinyl releases

• Claude AI integrates Spotify and StubHub as new ‘connectors’

• Primary Wave lands catalog and NIL deal with Harry Chapin Estate

• NITO advocates for the sharing of ticket buyer data with artists

• TikTok’s ‘Add to Music App’ hits 6B tracks saved in 12 months

Group Chat

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

Well damn

Variety crowning majors now

But their sister Billboard aren’t so confident

🍞

We’re doomed

Can Bieber perform his old catalog?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (65%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, I read LinkedIn slop (6%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Defer to Kristin Robinson (fair) (18%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Was a cool set, no notes (12%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Shaboozey, Foster The People, JPEGMAFIA

Olivia Rodrigo announced a massive 65-date headlining tour across Europe and North America in support of her forthcoming LP with pop powerhouse openers Wolf Alice, Grace Ives, Devon Again, Die Spitz & The Last Dinner Party.

🐴 Stagecoach Recap:

• Ella Langley brought out Theo Von after appearing on his podcast the week prior

• Despite high winds and delays, Lainey Wilson headlined to a full crowd on Day 2

• Post Malone, who headlined Coachella last year, closed out the festival with a set full of covers paying homage to country greats

Down under, KATSEYE will perform a one-night one-off following a special fan Q&A experience in Sydney next week. Additionally, Denzel Curry will pop over for Sydney’s Slam Dance this May, a celebration of music, basketball & fashion.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Wisconsin’s Rock Fest will be headlined by Limp Bizkit, The Offspring & Gojira this July

• Young World, MIKE’s Brooklyn-based festival will return this year as part of New York’s SummerStage series with Max B headlining alongside the rapper

❌ Cancellations:

• ZAYN cancelled all US dates of his 2026 tour due to an unspecified illness

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

California rapper Vince Staples joins independent label Loma Vista Recordings for Cry Baby, his seventh studio album arriving June 5. The 10-track project marks Staples' first release outside the major-label system after a career spent between Def Jam and Motown, pivoting toward rock-influenced production on lead single 'Blackberry Marmalade.'

Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Buenos Aires rapper Trueno to a worldwide publishing agreement. The 2019 Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos champion won consecutive Latin Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song in 2024 ('Tranky Funky') and 2025 ('Fresh'), most recently releasing fourth studio album TURR4ZO as a tribute to his native Argentina.

With their debut single off and running to over 65M streams already, new band Temper City has signed with Adam Harrison, Brandon Phelps & Jack Fitzsimons of Full Stop Management. Their track ‘Self Aware’ quickly gained steam online and has landed on marquee Spotify playlists like Today's Top Hits & Hot Hits USA.

Swedish Eurovision champion Loreen has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Believe Music Publishing covering her new album Wildfire, which arrived March 27 featuring Sia co-write 'Feels Like Heaven.' The artist became one of only two performers to win Eurovision twice - first with 2012's 'Euphoria,' then 2023's 'Tattoo' generating over 2.5B streams.

Electronic duo 3OH!3 has teamed up with Samuel Wald, Michael Montante, Jake Wilk, Ron Opaleski & Justin Edwards of WME for touring WW (ex-CAN). Fresh off their Stagecoach appearance, the band’s 2008 album WANT just went platinum.

Los Angeles indie trio untitled (halo) - composed of Ariana Mamnoon, Jack Dione, and Jay Are - has signed with Dirty Hit following competitive interest from major and independent labels. The band broke through with 2023 debut EP towncryer and earned praise from NTS Radio, KCRW, and Pitchfork for their hazy, cinematic sound inspired by Southern California, with debut album set to be announced soon.

+135 signings on ROSTR this week

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Believe has launched a Label & Artists Solutions division in the US tapping Thomas Maxwell to lead it as VP. Reporting to Global Head of Music Romain Vivien, Maxwell will focus on signing and partnering with independent US labels under the Believe umbrella.

Apple Corps has rounded out its leadership team under CEO Tom Greene with four new executive hires. Lux Paterson as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Jemma Hill as CFO/COO, Jonathan Sands as head of retail and experiences and Miranda Langford as Head of Marketing. Internally, Cathy Hawkes was promoted to Chief of Staff and General Counsel Neil Mohring expands his scope to oversee all business affairs.

The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) has refreshed its board with four newly elected directors — Thomas Cussins of Ineffable Music Group, Alex Fang of New Frontier Touring, Liz Pjesky of High Road Touring, and Amanda Silecchio-Frederick of Madison House.

Allison Jones has been promoted to EVP of A&R at Big Machine Records/Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment, expanding her oversight across the full roster.

BMG and Concord have confirmed their merger, with Bertelsmann taking a majority stake. Bob Valentine will serve as CEO of the combined entity and Thomas Coesfeld as Chairman, pending regulatory approval in H2 2025.

Pipeline Media has hired Jennifer Scher as CFO, Jason Munro as General Counsel, and Jay Srivastav as Head of Data & Product.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• ESEA Music has named Aileen de la Cruz and Yijia Tu as co-presidents. Founder Hiroki Shirasuka stays on in a leadership role, while co-founder Tiger Hagino Reid steps back from daily operations but remains part of the team.

• Tomorrow's Warriors has appointed public law figure Marcia Willis Stewart as legal trustee, joining its governing board in the organization's 35th anniversary year.

• The Feldman Agency has signed Niccolò Fransolet as a booking agent in Montreal.

• Brent Freed has been appointed to lead the Brand & Corporate Division at Versa.

• Cedrick "SB" Earsery has been named CEO of Only The Family (OTF), stepping up from COO after building the label alongside Lil Durk since 2010.

• Sophie Jones is leaving her role as Chief Strategy Officer at the BPI to become CEO of the Royal Television Society.

• Joseph Hudak has been promoted to Deputy Editor and Head of Country at Rolling Stone, overseeing all country music coverage.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director, Marketing & Growth at KOSIGN in Los Angeles, CA

• Director, E-Commerce at Live Nation in New York, NY

• Sr. Manager, Label & Product Management at Warner Music Group in New York, NY

• General Manager at Regime Music Group in Los Angeles, CA

• Management Assistant at Solar Management in London, England, UK

↗ Find these and 365+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR