Vol 19 - They read me on the pages (pages), they watch me goin' crazy (crazy)

Happy Friday,

FYRE 2 🔥, a piece of toast 🍞, Katy Perry is out of this world 🚀

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 LISA, BANKS, Rebecca Black, Panda Bear, Mae Martin, Yves Jarvis, Jdot Breezy, Grabbitz, BINI, Abby Powledge, serpentwithfeet, Fridayy, FCG Heem, Hope Tala, Nicky Jam…

♪ Notable singles from Benson Boone, J. Cole, Gigi Perez, Lizzo, Djo, Halsey, Luh Tyler, girl in red, TiaCorine, Grimes, Adam Melchor, Cynthia Erivo…

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

#5 - J. Cole returns with his new track ‘cLOUDs’, which he shared last week on his blog, Inevitable.

#6 - Lizzo releases first single of 2025 with ‘Love In Real Life.’

#7 - Dasha is back with another country-dance hit, ‘Not At This Party,’ co-written with Ashley Gorley.

#29 - Model/Actriz release ‘Cinderella’ - their first since 2023.

#30 - Rebecca Black drops her new album SALVATION as she prepares for her tour starting next week.

#36 - DJ and pop hitmaker Jonas Blue releases his 1st single of the year with Izzy Bizu, ‘Lifeline.’

#38 - Cynthia Erivo releases her first single signed to Republic Records, ‘Replay,’ co-written with Justin Tranter.

#54 - BANKS’ first album since 2022 releases with focus track ‘Delulu.’

⭐ #61 - Sub Pop’s Deep Sea Diver deliver their first album in 5 years as ‘What Do I Know’ gets a placement.

#63 - Morgan Wallen/Tucker Wetmore sound-alike Redferrin (a really good one) releases ‘Some City, Somewhere.’

#65 - Londoner Hope Tala drops ‘Magic or Medicine’ off her newly released album Hope Handwritten. She will begin a EU/NA tour starting in April.

#74 - deadAir’s Jane Remover is back with ‘Dancing with your eyes closed.’

#78 - Grimes drops her previously unreleased demo ‘idgaf’ from 6 years ago. We don’t really gaf, ftr.

#80 - New Zealand’s Marlon Williams and Lorde collab on ‘Kāhore He Manu E,’ singing in Māori language.

#87 - Every music biz professional’s favorite, Paris Texas, release ‘Stripper Song.’

#97 - Shaggy and Sting join forces on ‘Til A Mawnin.’

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Lady Gaga, JENNIE, Vulfpeck, Machinedrum, Tiago PZK, Lil Durk, Youngboy Never Broke Again, Jason Isbell, Spiritbox, TOKiMONSTA, Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners, AJ Mitchell, Charlie Hickey, Franc Moody, SASAMI all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Little Simz, The Head And The Heart, Garbage, Billy Idol & Maddie & Tae all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

China may be planning to lift its unofficial ban on Korean entertainment content. This is good news for major K-pop companies including JYP, YG, Cube and HYBE. These companies have also partnered with South Korean police to combat deepfake crimes against K-Pop artists. Megan Thee Stallion was granted permission to question Tory Lanez under oath for her defamation and cyberstalking lawsuit against a blogger. Hundreds were sold fake tickets to a Teddy Swims concert in Amsterdam via ticket reseller Viagogo. A Missouri woman pled guilty in a scheme to defraud Elvis Presley's family and sell his Graceland estate. The Cranberries surviving members sued Island Records, claiming the label withheld over $5M of digital streaming income.

Paul McCartney is prepping a 'Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run' book to release this Fall. In other Beatles news, a half-eaten piece of toast from a breakfast George Harrison “ate” in 1963 was sold to a fan. Katy Perry will join the next Blue Origin flight as part of its all-women crew. For the low, low price of $1.1M, you can secure a ticket to FYRE Festival 2. Cardi B secured a 5 year repayment from the YouTuber who defamed her. T-Pain sold his publishing catalog and certain masters to HarbourView Equity Partners. Pitchfork announced a quarterly print magazine.

ASCAP posted revenue over $1.835B in 2024. Chloe Bailey was sued for failing to properly credit and pay a songwriter. A judge ruled that members of The 1975 cannot be held personally liable for losses of the Good Vibes festival in Malaysia from 2023. Charli XCX won the BRIT Award for Songwriter of the Year. Gracie Abrams will be honored as the Songwriters Hall of Fame 2025 Hal David Starlight Award recipient. Documentary No Escape From Now will chronicle Ozzy Osbourne's health issues and upcoming final show with Black Sabbath. A$AP Rocky's legal troubles aren't over yet - the rapper now faces a lawsuit from A$AP Relli.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• SoundCloud's latest feature puts the spotlight on artists' first and biggest fans.

• Kobalt estimated that over $1 billion in publishing royalties go unclaimed every year. Its new platform, KOSIGN, helps indie songwriters get their fair share.

• Amazon teamed up with AI music company Suno for Alexa+ integration.

• Universal Music implemented the ISNI system, giving songwriters and artists unique ID numbers.

• beatBread introduced their new 'Deal Comparison Tool,' enabling artists and labels to analyze and compare funding offers.

• The rock and metal music service Rokk features 'direct artist support.'

• Arden Records introduced a publishing division for lo-fi artists.

• Artist marketing platform un:hurd music secured fresh backing from EMPIRE.

• AI music remix app Hook teamed up with Too Lost to expand its distribution network.

• Music fintech company Jkbx rebranded as Jukebox and announced a new CEO.

Group Chat

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

Oh ffs guys

Huge if true:

Unrelated: We spent ~10 minutes discussing how to word the sentence about George Harrison’s half-eaten piece of toast in ICYMI…

Who's the top?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Gracie (32%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Selena (12%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Benny (0%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Def not Scooter Braun lol (24%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Gross they look like siblings... (32%)

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Country star HARDY launched his new record label Crow Records in partnership with Big Loud Rock. The first artist signed to the new company is Sikarus who just released his debut single ‘Nonchalant.’

LA rapper Az Chike, who worked on Kendrick’s hit ‘peekaboo’ & ScHoolboy Q’s ‘Movie,’ reached a deal with Warner Records.

California punk rock band Social Distortion has teamed up with Grandview Music for management.

Snow Strippers, the electronic duo blending hyperpop, rave, and punk influences joined the Wasserman Music roster for touring (WW ex-ASIA).

Country-rap artist Ryan Charles recognized for his signature ‘Western rap’ style, mixing cowboy aesthetics with hip-hop beats landed a pub deal with Concord.

Rising producer & DJ LOSTBOYJAY signed with Ultra Music for publishing.

Artist manager Koko Avedisian launched new company Aved Mgmt with his artists Sam MacPherson, Lau Noah & Eli Patterson joining the roster.

+150 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Wu-Tang Clan, Sabrina Carpenter, Neil Young, Coco Jones, The Head And The Heart

Infamous New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan announced their upcoming 27-date tour will be their last.

Drake cancelled the 4 remaining dates of his 16-show tour in Australia and New Zealand, citing "scheduling conflicts."

Grupo Firme cancelled their performance in Sinaloa this weekend after receiving death threats from a drug cartel.

"After years of reflection and now thoughtful planning, the new team and I have amazing plans for FYRE 2," says founder Billy McFarland. With no performances or talent announced, FYRE Festival is returning, this time to Mexico's Isla Mujeres from May 30 - June 2nd.

Sublime announced they will perform at Vans Warped Tour in DC, 30 years after headlining the show's 1st edition. Check out the almost fully announced lineup here.

Bonnaroo disclosed they are building a new stage for 2025. The dance-focused Infinity Stage is being described as "the world’s largest 360-degree spatial audio experience." Acts like Of the Trees, Rebecca Black, Big Gigantic, PARASI & more are set to perform at the immersive stage.

LCD Soundsystem announced an 8-night residency at London's O2 Academy Brixton starting June 12.

Up and coming soft-core indie outfit Coldplay grossed >$56M and sold 590K tickets over 9 shows in India last month.

Ed Sheeran similarly wrapped his most extensive tour yet with 120K tickets sold during his 6-city tour of India. BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani declared Ed Sheeran's tour "underscores the fact that the India market at-large has come of age," and is a "country where major artists can successfully tour multiple cities."

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• My Chemical Romance, blink-182 & Deftones will headline 2025 Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta

• Louisville's Louder Than Life will feature headliners Slayer, Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me the Horizon & more

• Borderland Festival will be headlined by Vampire Weekend, Khruangbin, Mt. Joy & others

• Sound Talent Group launched its inaugural Summer Of Loud Festival featuring Beartooth, I Prevail, Killswitch Engage, The Amity Affliction & more in Florida this June

• Aspen’s newest festival Up In The Sky will be headlined by RÜFÜS DU SOL, Kacey Musgraves & Glass Animals this August

• Portland's inaugural Back Cove Music & Arts Festival will feature headline performances by Jack White, Lord Huron, André 3000, Lucy Dacus

• Telluride Bluegrass Festival announced its lineup including Alison Krauss, Lake Street Dive, Thee Sacred Souls & more

• Drake Milligan & Midland will perform headline sets at UK festival The Long Road this August

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

Katie Fagan named Prez of Mom+Pop Nash. EMPIRE expands its global executive team with Guillermo Ramos as MD, Europe and Ted May as SVP, International. Jukebox, the Music Catalog Investing Platform for Fans, gets a new CEO, Mike Coppola. Taryn Miller named VP of IT Global Copyright & Royalties at Sony Pub. AEG Presents appoints Peer Osmundsvaag to head new Norway office. Entertainment marketing agency The Syndicate has announced the hiring of veteran publicist Sue Marcus as VP of Publicity. OVO Sound ups Lauren ‘Shug’ Ritzer to GM. 

Knut Frängsmyr has been appointed Chief of Music at Stockholm-based music licensing platform Epidemic Sound. Chris Bray named Prez of Europe for Legends/ASM Global. Major Bob Music promotes Andy Friday to COO, Emily Hasty to Creative Director, and welcomes Aubrey Daniels as Head of Publishing. Media & entertainment law firm Carroll, Guido, Groffman, Cohen, Bar & Karalian LLP have named two new partners: Celine Hollenbeck & Jenna Akemi Kon. Jess Loper has been named GM for the independent label Gotee Records. Josh Bailey has exited his executive position at Capitol Christian Music Group after more than 6 years in leadership to start his own company. 

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Director of Publicity at Audible Treats in NY

• Head of Creative Licensing at Good Boy Records in LA

• Global Head of Digital Marketing & Branding at Believe in Paris

• Head of Royalties at Beatport in LA

• Senior Insights Strategist at UnitedMasters in NY

Find these and 170+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR.