Vol 84 - Thanks for listening 👋

Happy Friday,

On behalf of the NIFriday team, we wanted to let you know this will be our last issue (for now). We've been including most of our sections already on our full news site rostr.cc/news and will continue to build out additional content.

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Thanks for allowing us to be part of your Friday routine and bearing with our lyrical headlines ❤️

Catch you over at rostr.cc/news

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Ryan Beatty, Chanel Beads, Cody Johnson, Debbi Dawson, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Madeon, Brutalismus 3000, MICO, Nia Smith, The Pretty Reckless…

♪ Notable singles from Sam Smith, Phoebe Bridgers, Tyler, The Creator, Ellie Goulding, Carly Rae Jepsen, Quavo, Lucky Daye, This Is Lorelei, Medium Build…

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

#3 - Indie (major) folk pop superstar Gracie Abrams is back with another catchy tune, ‘Look at my Life’, the 2nd single from her forthcoming third album.

#5 - After recently announcing his forthcoming album, Future drops his first single for the cycle ‘Radio.’

#11 - A year and a half after debuting his now-iconic freestyle over Kendrick Lamar's ‘Hey Now,’ Tyler, the Creator has officially released ‘THAT GUY’ on streaming platforms.

#15 - ‘Virtuoso’ Ryan Beatty returns with Sweet Fortune, with Ethan Gruska, Amy Allen, Clairo & more having contributed to the project.

#17 - Ellie Goulding joins Muse on ‘Hush,’ a standout collaboration from the band's new album The Wow! Signal, released today.

#37 - FISHER recruits Florence Arman on summery, celebratory tune ‘What A Life.’

#43 - In a tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins, Tame Impala cover ‘Hummer’ off the original 1993 Siamese Dream album.

#44 - New Warner client Lucky Daye releases ‘Nowhere Fast,’ his first single of 2026.

#45 - This Is Lorelei shares the lead single ‘Billy Came Back’ off his upcoming project The Singer in My Band.

#78 - Medium Build channels his inner Sam Fender on ‘Armor,’ co-written with Annika Bennett amongst others.

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Madonna, Ken Carson, Grateful Dead (live album), mary in the junkyard, SIENNA SPIRO, Deep Purple, Low Cut Connie, Moonspell, Play Time, Smirk, Motörhead all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Phoebe Bridgers, Sam Smith, LISA, beabadoobee, Lewis Capaldi, Becky G, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kenny Chesney, Empress Of, Blondshell, Ann Wilson & Tripsitter, Zach John King, Team Dresch, mölly, Sam and Louise Sullivan, Brennan Medl, Jim James, Julia Holter, Carly Pearce, Brandon Flowers, The Tubs, Nina Winder-Lind, Russian Circles, The Jayhawks, Lakelin Lemmings, Roy Montgomery & Martha Skye Murphy, @, Desmond Child, Smidley, EELS all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

Olivia Rodrigo announced all-female festival Daisy Chain Fields and it sold out in 30 minutes. Max Martin and Shellback sold their publishing catalog to HarbourView Equity Partners. IFF shared initial programming for their first-ever LA conference. Suno announced a new independent artist development program. Olivia Dean became the first female artist to sell out a six-night residency for her inaugural headline shows at London’s The O2. Tech startup RTM Audio launched a tool to detect AI-generated music. Drake's apparel company OVO is in a legal battle with one of its investors for a $4 million dollar loan.

Lionel Richie was hospitalized after cutting a concert short. Liam Payne's nine-year-old son was named sole inheritor of a $29 million estate. A fan tragically died after falling from a balcony at Madison Square Garden.

Veteran music executive Clive Davis has died at 94.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Reactional Music wins $2.8M EIC grant to scale music monetization in gaming

• Deezer launches new feature allowing fans to remix tracks

• Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia acquires Sound Pollution Songs catalog

• Lorde-backed music startup Lume announces launch date, first releases

• [PIAS] expands classical music footprint with Signum Records acquisition

• Ethan Langston launches artist management company Ethos Music Group

• Radio promotion agency Planetary Group expands to Canada

• Believe enters strategic partnership with Australia’s Mandatory Music

• Japan amends copyright legislation for public performance of recordings

• Motion Agency launches pan-European commercial radio plugging service

• Canadian labels win landmark order against stream-ripping platforms

• Spotify announces new Istanbul office amidst growing interest in Turkish music

Group Chat

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

Cuz he dated them both, get it?

Billie x FINNEAS ahh post

I love music fans.

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: beabadoobee, Turnstile, Don Toliver, Tiny Habits, Mannequin Pussy & Wednesday

Turnstile announced the 2nd leg of their “Never Enough” tour, which features a staggering 28 different support acts including Clipse, Nourished by Time, Saya Gray, Thundercat & Slayyyter.

RÜFÜS DU SOL, credited with the highest earning tour for an electronic act of all time, continues to break records as the first EDM act to sell out four consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden.

More record breaking includes Diljit Dosanjh, whose 15-date run has become the highest grossing North American tour for a Punjabi artist ($32M).

Live Nation, in partnership with Oak View Group & Gaiety Investments, has acquired a plot of land in Dublin to construct a new live entertainment venue. It is reportedly set to be Ireland’s largest space.

deadmau5 will headline Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix in July.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Olivia Rodrigo is curating her own all-women lineup with Daisy Chain Fields; the debut Irvine festival features a stacked lineup with Doechii, Chappell Roan, KATSEYE, Mitski & Stevie Nicks with proceeds going to charity

• Yours Always Music Festival will be headlined by Benson Boone & sombr in Utah this October

• Morrissey, Patti Smith & Interpol will headline CBGB Festival this September

• Eaux Claires Festival in Wisconsin announced a special performance with both Aaron Dessner & Fred again..

❌ Cancellations:

• Country Thunder Alberta 2026 has been cancelled due to safety and operational concerns

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

GRAMMY Award-winning rock group The Black Keys, who were previously with Red Light Management, have now joined Jason Murray at Vector Management. The duo just dropped their most recent album Peaches! via Warner Records in coordination with a six-month haul across NA & EU for tour dates with support from the likes of Miles Kane, Fai Laci, Eddie 9V & more.

Make Wake Artists has signed Jon Bellion for full-service management, with Founder Chris Kappy - alongside Bellion's longtime collaborators Louis Coppola and Matt Maschi - heading up the deal. The GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter-producer behind Justin Bieber's 'Holy,' 'Girls' with The Kid LAROI, and the official 2026 FIFA World Cup song 'Dai Dai' heads into a Hollywood Bowl headline date in September with 4.7B career streams behind him.

ACM new male artist of the year Tucker Wetmore has tapped Sandbox Entertainment Founder/CEO Jason Owen as his new manager. Wetmore's debut What Not To hit No. 4 on Top Country Albums and No. 15 on the Billboard 200, anchored by four charting singles including first No. 1 'Brunette'; he kicked off the Brunette World Tour's second leg June 21, joining a Sandbox roster that includes Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, and Kelsea Ballerini.

Southern rock & blues artist Marcus King has now landed with new managers Nick Palmacci, Andrew McInnes & Kyle Wilensky of TMWRK. Currently headlining his Waltz Across Texas tour and fresh off a CMA Fest appearance, King recently joined Dan Auberbach at Easy Eye Sound to re-create Gregg Allman's iconic 1981 TV performance of 'Come and Go Blues' - a nod to the blues lineage he's fast becoming custodian of.

Bilingual indie rock duo feel trip. has signed with Boom.Records and Jbeau Lewis, Ashley Ramos, Carlos Abreu & Ryan Edmundson at UTA for booking, a year after forming. Juan Mallorca and Joseph Zapinski built the project around a single question - "What if The Strokes sang in Spanish?" - and their social-media-driven rise quickly turned a side experiment into a full-force pursuit. 

+160 signings on ROSTR this week

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

SoundExchange has appointed Michele Page as its new General Counsel. She joins from Peloton Interactive, where she led legal affairs across music, content, and rights, and previously served as General Counsel, Media at Nielsen. She has also held roles at Vevo, EMI Music Publishing, and Sony Music Entertainment.

The Orchard has expanded KGV Kiran Kumar's role to Managing Director, India & Middle East, adding the Middle East to the South Asian territory he has been overseeing since joining in 2021.

Make Wake Artists has appointed Matt Shay as its first ever General Manager. Shay brings over 30 years of experience across artist management, A&R, and label leadership, and joins from ARTIST MGMT, the company he founded. He comes with his own roster in tow.

Elsewhere this week:

• David McIninch has been named GM at Soundmouse, the BMI-owned cue sheet platform. He joins from Transit Technologies, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer, and brings over 20 years of experience across tech and finance.

• Frontiers Label Group has promoted three executives: Leo Nicholas moves up to MD, UK while continuing to lead A&R for FLG Records; Aldo Lonobile becomes VP, Global A&R after a decade at the company; and Martina Palermo, who joined in 2024 from Universal and BMG, takes over as Global Head of PR.

• Adam Tiran has been named General Manager at Africori. A founding team member with 13 years at the company, he previously served as Director of Operations and will now oversee artist services across East, West, and Southern Africa.

• Motion Agency has launched a European commercial radio division, with Nick Bray stepping in as Head of Radio. Bray previously held senior radio roles at RCA, Polydor, Sony Music, and Red Bull Records.

• Elizabeth Lombardi joins Spirit Music as VP of Business & Legal Affairs, coming from CAA and BMG. Taylor Perez also joins as Sr. Dir. of Digital Marketing, previously at Big Machine and Warner Music.

• Jackie Procacci has joined Distorted Management, bringing clients Nikita, The Wicked, and Next To Blue with her.

• Candace Braude — formerly of FUGA and Mexican Summer — joins Green Tea Distribution as Artist Onboarding & Success Manager.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Vice President, Sponsorship Sales at All Things Go in New York, NY

• Director, Marketing at Universal Music Group in Nashville, TN

• Director of Content Distribution at ATG Group in Los Angeles, CA

• Content Marketing Production Manager at Qobuz in New York, NY

• Associate Content Producer at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York, NY

↗ Find these and 360+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs