Vol 25 - Am I reading all the readings or am I just going dumb?

Happy Friday,

Weezer still playing Coachella, Bernie drops a lineup & Sab Carp totes a weapon?

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 Bon Iver, Ken Carson, Jon Pardi, Trousdale, Turnpike Troubadours, Mamalarky, SHERELLE, Muscadine Bloodline, DoFlame, The Wrecks, Eyedress…

♪ Notable singles from Lana Del Rey, Shaboozey & Myles Smith, Rema, Rauw Alejandro, Jelly Roll, Turnstile, Tee Grizzley, Prospa, Green Day, Jessie Murph, kwn, Dean Lewis, 4batz…

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

#1 - Lana Del Rey released the full version of ‘Henry, come on’, the lead single from her forthcoming studio album, ‘The Right Person Will Stay’.

#3 - Shaboozey and Myles Smith link up on ‘Blink Twice’ just in time to catch the Coachella dust.

#15 - Jessie Murph releases ‘Blue Strips,’ if you’re not screaming every word by Sunday, don’t show up.

#16 - Also playing at the desert this weekend, Green Day drops their brand new single ‘Smash It Like Belushi.’

⭐ #36 - ZULAN unveils her highly anticipated first official release ‘Forever’. Shout out Clairo for clearing the sample.

#45 - The crossover between country and rap continues - this time ERNEST teaming up with Snoop Dogg on ‘Gettin’ Gone’.

#50 - Third Man’s Hotline TNT are back with their first release of 2025 with ‘Julia’s War’ - a “pop shoegaze” anthem.

#71 - Arcade Fire release their first music in 3 years with ‘Year of the Snake.’ The band’s next album Pink Elephant is expected out next month.

#85 - Singaporean synth-glitch-hyper-pop artist yeule releases ‘Evangelic Girl is a Gun.’

#98 - Julia Wolf builds off the strong start to the year with another single off her forthcoming album with ‘Jennifer’s Body.’

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Julien Baker & TORRES, Beirut, Superheaven, Wiz Khalifa, Blu, Neil Young, Confidence Man, Dave Blunts, The Underachievers, quickly, quickly, Too $hort & JP Saxe all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Pulp, Frankie Cosmos, Kokoroko, Arcade Fire, Caamp, Hotline TNT, Turnstile, KALEO, Brandon Lake, Stereolab, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard all announced new albums this week.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

The US TikTok ban was delayed again amidst increased tariffs by the US on Chinese imports. The NO FAKES Act was reintroduced in the US Senate and House of Representatives this week; The bill is designed to protect artists against AI deepfake impersonations that are unauthorized. The TICKET Act (Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing) will head to a full vote in US Congress. Spotify denied rumors that the streamer is planning to introduce ads to the premium tier. German collecting society GEMA reported collections grew by 4.35% to €1.33B in 2024.

Sabrina Carpenter was featured as the Fortnite Festival Season 8 icon. Madonna and Elton John ended their infamous 20 year feud over Madonna's alleged lip-syncing. StubHub paused its planned IPO just a few weeks after filing to go public. A judge issued a decision that DMX's estate holds sole ownership of the late rapper's copyright, trademark and more amidst the claims of his ex-wife that she was entitled to 50% of revenues. Dolly Parton's 'Journey of a Seeker' exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will open in May. Quavo, HYBE America and Quality Control Music were sued by artist Daniel Arsham for copyright infringement and a violation of right of publicity over art used in a promotional video.

The wife of Weezer's bassist was shot and arrested by LAPD on suspicion of attempted murder during a home search for a hit-and-run suspect.

More charges were brought against Diddy in his sex trafficking case. Cassie is expected to testify at his upcoming federal trial in May. Depeche Mode announced a feature-length film of the band’s 2023 shows in Mexico City. Soulja Boy was ordered to pay $4M to a woman who accused him of sexual battery and abuse.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

• Create Music Group acquired independent label and publisher !K7, originally founded by the late Horst Weidenmüller

• HYBE America formed distribution partnership with Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def Recordings

• ATC Group acquired a majority stake in Jamie Osman's Easy Life Entertainment

• Triple 8 Management teamed up with Sureel AI to protect artists in the age of AI

• Warner Music Group is getting ready to drop a new superfan app, and yes, Ed Sheeran’s part of the mix

• Spotify’s teaming up with the UK’s Skiddle to help listeners find live shows straight from their streaming playlists

• Amazon Music is giving global fans another shot to catch the Stagecoach Festival with a full livestream replay

• Bootleg’s bringing more artists on board to turn live concert audio into exclusive merch

• Latin music streams on Audiomack are up 19% worldwide over the past year

• Google dropped its Lyria text-to-music model into the Vertex AI platform

• YouTube’s rolling out a new AI-powered feature that lets you create your own custom instrumentals

Group Chat

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

Live look at the Weezer bassist’s backyard:

Anyone have a plug on passes?

Where is god's country exactly?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Indie Week (0%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Ultra (0%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Rose Garden @ Coachella (19%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ ROSTR office (29%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Anywhere but Pollstar Live (52%)

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Downtown Artist & Label Services made big moves this week announcing the signing of groups Capital Cities, Sofi Tukker & Twenty One Pilots to their roster.

WizTheMc, who has recently been trending for his viral track ‘Show Me Love,’ found new management with Michael Adex (Aitch, MIST) of NQ.

Seeker Music partnered with Blackheart, the independent company founded by Joan Jett & frequent collaborator Kenny Laguna, to obtain the rights of a “substantial share” of her publishing & records.

Mexican-American rapper That Mexican OT signed with Justin Nabors, Mary Hannon, Richard Lom & Sarah Tehrani of WME for touring. The 26-year-old gained steam after his 2023 hit single ‘Johnny Dang’ featuring Paul Wall and DRODi. 

Big Wild signed to Giant Music for records & Kevin Wolff, Dan Hodge & Taylor Wahl of Ceremony Music Group for management. The do-it-all artist is gearing up to launch his new album & tour in the coming weeks. 

Ethereal singer Alice Phoebe Lou joined the Nettwerk Music Group roster for records. The Berlin-based artist sets out on a European tour starting in two weeks.

LA-based trio LA LOM signed a worldwide deal with Round Hill Music for publishing. The group also recently joined Verve Records & will be supporting Leon Bridges and Thee Sacred Souls this summer. 

+205 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Metallica, Jennifer Lopez, blink-182, Mac Demarco, $uicideboy$

221 people were killed and over 200 were injured due to the roof collapsing at Jet Set, a nightclub in Santo Domingo, on Tuesday. Among the fatalities were merengue singer Rubby Pérez, the band's saxophonist, former MLB player Octavio Dotel, a retired U.N. official & others. It is still unclear what caused the collapse.

Mexico City suspended the AXE Ceremonia festival last weekend following the death of two people after a crane collapsed transporting a decorative metal object. The two victims were photographers for Bicentennial Park event.

Weekend 1 of Coachella kicks off this week. While FKA twigs bowed out, Ed Sheeran & Weezer joined the lineup at the last minute for some early afternoon slots.

FYRE Fest 2 changed location to Playa Del Carmen following the Isla Mujeres tourist board claiming "We have no knowledge of this event, nor contact with any person or company about it." However, the PDC government have also released a statement explaining that "no event with that name will be held in Playa Del Carmen."

Festival founder Billy McFarland doubled down in a post to the official FYRE Instagram sharing screenshots of alleged permits, payments & communications with the PDC government. The festival is scheduled to start in less than two months…

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• Montreux Jazz Festival will feature headline performances from Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Diana Ross & Benson Boone

• SXSW London Music Fest revealed Alice Glass, Mabel & NAO as the first performers for the first UK edition of the music festival

• Dirtybird Campout x Northern Nights announced Jungle, Zeds Dead, Aluna & more as the headliners for the NorCal festival this July

• Evolutions Festival announced Alison Wonderland, Of The Trees & a surprise act will headline the New York event in September

• Jason Isbell's ShoalsFest will return to Alabama this October with performances from Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, Jackson Browne & more

• Darius Rucker's Riverfront Revival shared its lineup including Riley Green, Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, The Red Clay Strays, Dylan Marlowe & more

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

David Massey will retire as President of Arista at the end of June, wrapping up a seven-year run leading the relaunched Sony Music imprint. Marshall Nolan was promoted to EVP, Head of Commercial Strategy at Island Records. Danny Hayes has announced his departure from Danny Wimmer Presents, where he’s served as CEO and partner to Danny Wimmer for the past 10 years. Sarah Gabrielli has been promoted to Head of A&R at Sony Pub UK. Former A&R at Prescription, Shari Fitch joins Columbia Records. Chandler Nicole Sherrill has joined Electric Feel Entertainment as Sr. Director of Creative. Downtown Music promotes Richard Leach to Prez of Curve and Downtown Royalties & Financial Services and confirms Tom Allen as CTO.

Preston Berger has joined Big Machine Music as Sr. Manager of Publishing. The Neal Agency adds Michelle Bower as President, Strategic Partnerships. Megan Wise has been appointed VP of New Business at Anotherland Agency, a startup blending music and marketing to help brands grow. Amy Smartt, SVP of Finance & Admin at CMA, wrapped up nearly 20 years with the org this week. Nick Vaerewyck appointed SVP of Programming and Danny Cohen Director of Programming at OVG’s Climate Pledge Arena. NSAI adds new board members, see who here.

Dope Jobs

Interesting jobs in music

• Freelance News Writers Wanted at The ROSTR Group (Anywhere) 👀 

• SVP, Marketing Enablement at Warner Music Group in NY or London

• Managing Director at ONErpm in Nashville

• Head of Music Growth at planet.fans in London

• Sr. Day to Day Manager at Right Click Management in LA

↗ Find these and 230+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR