Vol 81 - Came back when it mattered, I read you

Happy Friday,

UMG makes money moves, M.I.A. sues Kid Cudi & Doja gets catty with Elon.

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 Skrillex, Prospa, Vince Staples, Niall Horan, The Red Clay Strays, Malcolm Todd, Luh Tyler, Imani Imani, GRiZ, Grace Enger…

♪ Notable singles from Taylor Swift, ROLE MODEL, Steve Lacy, Madonna, Shaboozey, Alex Warren, Ryan Beatty, Maren Morris, Tinashe, Kelela, Death Cab for Cutie…

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

#2 - ROLE MODEL is back with lead single ‘High Hopes 3000’ from upcoming album Chuck Timely & The Hourglass.

#5 - Malcolm Todd unveils his latest project Do That Again via Columbia as ‘Difficult Love’ lands on NMF.

#6 - Shaboozey drops ‘Cowgirl,’ interpolating Old Crow Medicine Show’s hit ‘Wagon Wheel.’ The music video stars Summer House star Ciara Miller as the outlaw Cherie Lee.

#13 - After a three-year hiatus, Ryan Beatty has returned with a ‘Secret Language,’ alongside an album coming later this month.

#45 - OVO’s Naomi Sharon links with frequent collaborators Jordan Ullman (of Majid Jordan), Beau Nox & Alex Lustig for ‘Weak.’

#56 - Ellie Goulding drops ‘Black Prada Dress’ after announcing her upcoming 6th studio album I Know Too Much, coming September 4th.

⭐ #98 - Country newcomer Tyce Delk releases ‘Woulda Been It’ ahead of his new EP later this month.

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Olivia Rodrigo, Bebe Rexha, Fruit Bats, Jessie Reyez, Keith Urban, Kelsey Lu, Sublime, Tori Kelly, Yes & YHWH Nailgun all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Charli xcx, Weezer, Alex Warren, Wyatt Flores, Ellie Goulding, Jamie Lenman, Steve Lacy, Elizabeth Cook, Sara Bareilles, Emma Ruth Rundle & Syd all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

UMG officially rejected Pershing’s $64B takeover bid; UMG then repurchased $290M of stock. Suno raised $400M against a $5.4B valuation. Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO. Taylor Swift joined the Toy Story family, releasing an original song today along with the upcoming 5th film installment. Sabrina Carpenter got a restraining order against an alleged stalker. Garth Brooks is considering selling his music catalog, looking for $2B. The Lead Belly estate filed a copyright infringement suit against publishers. M.I.A. sued Kid Cudi for allegedly directing Live Nation to fire her from his recent tour, costing her a $2.8M performance guarantee. Nelly was awarded $67.5K in attorney fees to be paid by the lawyer who filed his ex-bandmate’s suit against him. A lawsuit against Travis Scott, SZA and Future over their track ‘Telekinesis’ was dropped. A U.S. appeals court overturned a 2024 ruling that allowed 2 Live Crew to reclaim ownership of albums they recorded in the 1980s.

GRAMMY winner Peabo Bryson passed away at 75.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Tixel, Opendate partner on verified ticket resale for US independent venues

• Live Nation partners with Argentine promoter Dale Play Live

• Laylo launches AI agent to boost event ticket sales

• Concord Music Publishing ANZ acquires stake in Julian Hamilton’s catalog

• Yannick Bolloré’s Havas launches record label, VOLYUM

• Chrysalis co-founder Chris Wright launches Right Tracks

• Live Nation expands its presence in Greece via new partnership

• Former UMG, Sphere execs launch Longview Communications

Group Chat

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

Face look like it was drawn from memory

No comment

Idek anymore but this is good?

What's your favorite Sulinna Ong photoshoot?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️ Billboard's Spotify Editorial spread (33%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ U2 management move press photo/headshot (17%)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Halloween 2025 (22%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Halloween 2023 (17%)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ PAPER Mag (2023, polaroid) (11%)

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Bryson Tiller, Sara Bareilles, Knocked Loose/Denzel Curry, Violet Grohl, Julia Jacklin, Gary Clark Jr., Massive Attack

Continuing to expand its worldwide presence, Live Nation acquired a majority stake in Argentina's biggest promoter Dale Play Live.

JAY-Z stepped out for his first headlining performance of 2026 at Roots Picnic last weekend. He has sold out 3 consecutive shows at Yankee Stadium slated for July, as well.

Diljit Dosanjh will be the first Indian artist to headline Wembley Stadium. The Punjabi singer will play the 90K capacity venue this September.

A temporary 7K capacity venue called Ironworks is set to be built in London near O2 Arena with 6 shows confirmed for 2026.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Pitchfork Music Festival Paris unveiled its first phase of artists with Iceage, Bassvictim, Bolis Pupil & more set to take the stage this November

• Coca-Cola Flow Fest's headliners will be Kali Uchis, Anuel AA, Tito Double P & Ozuna

❌ Cancellations:

• While Kanye West played to a crowd of 118K in Istanbul last weekend, both his and Travis Scott's Italy concerts have been cancelled; Scott's performance was cut due to safety concerns with West's cancellation caused by his antisemitic remarks, which has contributed to an ongoing ban in other European countries

• Frankie Valli cancelled his remaining 2026 tour dates to focus on his health; the 92 year-old apologized on Instagram and expressed his interest in playing again soon

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

One of electronic music's most ascendant live acts has a new label home as Scottish DJ and producer Barry Can't Swim (Joshua Spence Mainnie) has moved from Ninja Tune to Atlantic Records. His debut album When Will We Land? was nominated for a 2024 Mercury Prize and has now commenced his major label campaign with ‘Return To Bhibo’ coming out last week.

Singer/actress Ana Mena, Spain and Italy's most-streamed female artist, has signed a management deal with WK Entertainment, with founder and CEO Walter Kolm overseeing her touring, brand partnerships, and international expansion. Still signed to Sony Music Spain since her 2016 debut, Mena recently became the first female Latin artist to headline a major music festival in Asia, topping the bill at Tokyo's A-Nation Festival.

Ninja Tune did make a move of their own though and has signed French-born DJ/electronic artist Chloé Caillet, coming on the heels of a big year with appearances at Coachella, the Oscars Vanity Fair Party, and the Met Gala. The new addition recently had track 'The One,' with Jocelyn Brown and Luke Alessi, hit #1 on Beatport plus new single 'Lemme Dance,' featuring Ed Banger affiliate Myd just dropping.

pgLang, the creative company of Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, has signed Imani Imani and surprise-released her debut album Papercut this week. The R&B artist first surfaced as credited on Lamar’s 'I Feel Something' at the Chanel Spring-Summer Haute Couture show; Papercut features collaborators James Fauntleroy and Sam Dew across its 11 tracks.

Producer Zach Nahome has signed with Luke Mitzman of 100 Management and Laura Singer of The Crypt, just a few months after locking in a publishing deal with UMPG and NWS. He’s the executive producer of Olivia Dean’s chart-topping and critically acclaimed sophomore album The Art of Loving, having produced, written, or co-written the majority of the album’s tracks including #1 ‘Man I Need.’

+175 signings on ROSTR this week

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Sunita Kaur is joining Universal Music Publishing Group as President, Asia, reporting to Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson. Based in Singapore, she'll oversee the company's creative and business operations across the region. Kaur previously served as SVP, Asia Pacific at Twitch and held senior roles at Spotify, and has spent the past three years consulting across the industry.

Jean-Sebastien Permal leaves Sony after nine-plus years to join Warner Music as SVP of A&R, EMEA and Central Europe. A new role putting him over frontline A&R across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. His credits include Amelie Lens, Dystinct, and Purple Disco Machine, and he founded electronic imprint Noted Records.

Jeff Stempeck joins Stem as VP of A&R and Label Partnerships. He spent three years at TikTok's SoundOn and previously held roles at The Orchard and Spotify.

Zooil Yang becomes President of HYBE's superfan platform Weverse, as Joon Choi steps down. He comes from AXZ, a Kakao-spun platform company recently acquired by AI startup Upstage.

Other notable moves...

• Greg Prata is promoted to CFO at Sony Music Publishing, stepping up from a longstanding role within the company's finance team.

• BMI promotes John Ellwood to VP of Creative, Deirdre Chadwick to Asst. VP of Creative, Classical & Jazz, Jeff Gilligan to Asst. VP and Creative Director, and Jodie Thomas to Asst. VP of Corporate & Media Relations.

• Christian Folden Lund is named CEO of Nordic live company All Things Live, coming from the chair role at the Roskilde Festival Foundation.

• Alison Junker and Chris Allen are both promoted to VP of Artist & Label Relations at Stem, where Junker will cover country and Americana and Allen takes rock and alternative.

• Emma Robinson is promoted to VP of Partnerships at Merlin, where she's been since 2018, overseeing relationships across DSPs, social platforms, and AI-driven services.

• Grace Watson steps up to VP of Commercial Partnerships & Digital at Black River Entertainment, building on three years with the Nashville-based independent label.

• Richa Goswami joins the Pophouse Entertainment Board of Directors, bringing 25+ years of brand-building experience across HSBC, Fidelity International, and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.

• Melanie Cameron, formerly of PPL, joins Sound Royalties as Regional Dir. of Business Development for the UK, as the music financing company pushes further into the international market.

• Jeremy Gruber joins Blue Note Entertainment Group as Dir. of Marketing at the newly opened Blue Note LA, coming over from creative agency Friends at Work.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Senior Director, Tax Reporting & Compliance at Warner Music Group in New York, NY

• Sr. Director Finance & Strategy at Sixthman in Atlanta, GA

• Director, A&R at Electric Feel Entertainment in Miami, FL

• Director, Sales Marketing (Brand Partnerships) at Sofar Sounds in New York, NY

• Sr. Manager, Business & Legal Affairs at BMG in Nashville, TN

↗ Find these and 335+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs