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Vol 4 - Y'all wanna read what I got, but y'all do not got what it takes

Vol 4 - Y'all wanna read what I got, but y'all do not got what it takes

Duetti and Concord are raising money, UMG is making money & Burning Man needs money.

November 01, 2024

Happy Friday,

Duetti and Concord are raising money, UMG is making money & Burning Man needs money.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Drop a comment at the end. We’ll feature the best in the next volume.

The Weeknd

New Music Friday

What you need to know about today’s new releases

🎶 New albums and EPs from Tyler, The Creator, Lil Uzi Vert, mxmtoon, EARTHGANG, Duki, The Cure, Sam Barber, Chase Atlantic, Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler, HAYLA, Jacquees…

♪ Notable singles from The Weeknd & Anitta, Shawn Mendes, Central Cee, Future & Travis Scott, Sam Hunt, Kodak Black, LCD Soundsystem, Lauren Spencer Smith, Ethel Cain, Cleo Sol…

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

#1 - The Weeknd & Anitta release ‘São Paulo’ after performing it live there in September.

#2/#15 - Tyler, The Creator lands both ‘Sticky’ and ‘Balloon’ off his newest project Chromakopia, which dropped Monday.

#3 - Inspired by the memory of a childhood friend who passed, Shawn Mendes releases ‘Heart of Gold.’

#6 - LCD Soundsystem is back after two years with ‘x-ray eyes.’

#20 - Interscope’s shoegaze wonderling Wisp drops her Photographic Memory-produced ‘I remember how your hands felt on mine.’

#23 - Central Cee releases ‘One By One,’ co-written by Bryson Tiller.

#24 - Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre drop their first single ‘Gorgeous (feat Jhené Aiko)’ from forthcoming album Missionary.

#26 - Inhaler (aka Bono’s son + the rest of the band) release ‘Your House.’

#63 - Abbott Elementary and Broadway’s Sheryl Lee Ralph provides vocals for ‘Blood Sweat & Tears (from the series Arcane League of Legends).’ The track is co-written by Ester Dean.

#67 - The Black Keys collaborate with Beck on ‘I’m With The Band.’ Seems pretty low for a band that was playing stadiums a few months ago… 😉

⭐ #78 - 18-year-old Australian singer JACOTÉNE releases her debut single ‘Stop Calling.’

#89 - The 1975 member & frequent producer/fiancé of Charli xcx George Daniel, unveils his second solo single with ‘Chlorine.’

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

The Schedule

Notable upcoming releases

Ab-Soul, BabyTron, Primal Scream, Maxo Kream, State Champs, Jamey Johnson & Freak Slug all have new projects expected to come out next week.

Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre shared they will be dropping a joint album in December. Also new album announcements from Max Frost & Chvrches lead singer, Lauren Mayberry.

ICYMI

Industry news that mattered this week

More industry layoffs, this time at Tidal, where Block CEO Jack Dorsey wants the company to function “like a startup again.” Distrokid plans to fire ¼ of it’s staff after placing 37 union employees on administrative leave.

Duetti raised $114M, $80M of that through asset backed securitization of their catalogue. Concord did something similar for $850M. K-Pop stocks saw a boost last week. SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man founded rival agency A20 Entertainment. YouTube’s revenue increased to $8.92B in Q3. Megan Thee Stallion took legal action against a YouTuber for spreading lies about being shot by Tory Lanez. The GRAMMYs will air on Disney properties starting in 2027. Kanye West and Adidas reached a settlement. Young Thug pled guilty to gang, drug and gun charges.

Halsey vs. Pitchfork (Reprise).

Burning Man asks for “urgent” financial support, rich tech heads in the desert are pressed. Lily Allen said she earns more from feet pics on OnlyFans than from her 8M monthly Spotify listeners, Music Ally break the numbers down. Former K-Pop label ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin’s bid to be reinstated was dismissed. Lil Durk was arrested after trying to flee on a private jet to Italy. Chris Brown and Drake were sued for copyright infringement on ‘No Guidance.’ Madlib sued former manager.

UMG announced release of Spanish version of Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,’ via AI voice cloning tool SoundLabs as well as Q3 revenue of $3.2B. Following UnitedMasters’ lead, Ditto Music signed a new direct licensing deal with TikTok. Beyoncé keeps trying to trademark Blue Ivy’s name. UnitedMasters extended its partnership with the NFL through 2027.

small print

Updates on companies, acquisitions, takeovers and more

Rostrum Pacific launched distribution and analytics platform SpaceHeater ¹
UMG partnered with KLAY, an AI music start-up
Glassnote partnered with AI music tech platform Hook
TikTok testing album pre-saves
Private equity firm CVC acquired a stake in promoter Superstruct
Artist and label services company Outdustry (focused on China and India) was acquired by Virgin Music Group
Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) invested in $23M round for [untitled], who are building workflow tools for musicians
US PRO ASCAP and French counterpart SACEM formed a strategic alliance

Group Chat

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

What are labels doing these days?

it’s our job to know

What's your halloween costume this year?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Artist manager w/ no clients (48%)

🟨 Olivia Rodrigo & the hole she fell in (11%)

🟨🟨 Lucian/Elliott father-son duo (22%)

🟨🟨 Guy who wants to pick your brain for a quick 20 (19%)

Brandi Carlile, Offset, GIULIA BE

Fresh Ink

Interesting artist signings

Brandi Carlile signed with managers Catherine Carlile (yes, her wife) & Carolyn Snell of Phantom Management. The singer also announced she teamed up with CAA for touring.

Migos member Offset signed with IAG for touring.

Portland rapper, singer & entrepreneur Aminé signed a record deal with 10K Projects.

20-year-old singer-songwriter DannyLux added Daniel Luna to his management team alongside existing manager Jose Luis Aguilar.

Longtime producer & engineer MIKE DEAN signed with Sony Publishing and launched a partnership with his producer collective M.W.A..

Brazilian pop star GIULIA BE switched majors Warner Music to Sony Music Latin Iberia.

After signing with new management a couple of months ago (Blue Raincoat), Weyes Blood has now landed with WME for touring.

Indian pop artist Ali Sethi signed a distribution deal with The Orchard via his label Zubberdust Media.

+160 signings on ROSTR this week

The Live World

Tour, festival and other live news

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Ashe, Pixies, Scissor Sisters, Lord Huron, The Hard Quartet

Following the controversial on-sale for the Oasis reunion, Ticketmaster are planning to cancel 50K tickets which have landed on unofficial resale platforms… that should go well.

Queer pop group Scissor Sisters announced a 2025 comeback tour after over a decade. However, vocalist Ana Matronic will not be joining for the reunion, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the band’s first album.

SXSW announced the first batch of showcasing artists for 2025 including Yasmin Williams, Twin Shadow, La Sécurité, Shiho Yabuki & more.

Olivia Rodrigo finished her GUTS World Tour, grossing ~$185M.

Panic! at the Disco to headline When We Were Young festival in Vegas next year along with blink-182. After becoming a solo project in 2015 and discontinuing in 2023, it’s unclear if the Panic! slot will be a reunion for the band.

Tool announce festival Tool Live in the Sand in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in March 2025.

Kacey Musgraves and The Lumineers will headline the 2nd Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona.

Rising indie rock band The Last Dinner Party cancel remaining shows, citing burnout.

On The Move

New hires, exec moves and other people news

See who’s been promoted in the Talent Buying Group at Goldenvoice (aka who to hit up for artist passes).

WCM promotes Daniel Lang to SVP of Global Society Relations & Digital Rights while Sophia Hong is named MD of WCM Korea. UMG CFO Boyd Muir named COO. Jeffrey Yoo has been appointed EMPIRE’s Senior VP of East Asia. TuneCore appoints Atticus Shelley as VP of Finance. Alex Patton named Senior Director of Booking for Oak View Group’s Canadian Alliance. Coen ter Wolbeek named group COO at All Things Live. Diana Miller announced as EVP of Talent at Dick Clark Productions. Simone Schinkel steps down as Music Victoria CEO. Superstruct’s Ritty Van Straalen to exit the firm.