Vol 5 - It's my (after)party, I can cry if I want to
Quincy, GRAMMYs and a Colombian superteam walk into a bar...
🎶 New albums and EPs from Myles Smith, Ella Mai, Moody Joody, Real Boston Richie, The Score, Flatland Cavalry, Loe Shimmy, State Champs, A$AP Ferg, BabyTron, Mac Ayres…
♪ Notable singles from Griff, Zach Bryan, deadmau5, Julia Michaels, Jorja Smith, Brandon Lake, grentperez, Alice Phoebe Lou, Nicki Nicole, Kenny Mason, ANOTR…
Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…
#1 - New track from Colombian superstars ‘+57’ includes KAROL G, Feid, DFZM, Ovy on the Drums, J Balvin, Maluma, Ryan Castro and Blessd, out a few days ahead of the Latin GRAMMYs.
#2 - Zach Bryan releases ‘High Road,’ after his very public breakup with Brianna Chickenfry.
#13 - Julia Michaels’ new track ‘Heaven II’ is co-written with the prolific Jon Bellion.
#19 - This new Lost Frequencies track ‘Love Is The Only Thing’ features stunning vocals from Clementine Douglas.
#20 - YouTube cover artist turned singer-songwriter grentperez releases ‘2DK’ weeks after dropping a collaboration with Benny Sings.
#25 - The Score are back their next sync-worthy track ‘Fighting For’ on album Last Legends.
#30 - AWAL-backed Sarah Julia drop ‘Game of Pretend’ after making their debut earlier this year, with just 90K Monthly Listeners.
#40 - Imogen Heap releases her first solo single in four years with ‘What Have You Done To Me?’
⭐ #47 - Tipped electronic artist Killen. drops his debut project Highlight as ‘Get Lost’ makes the list.
#81 - Perrie releases next single ‘Me, Myself & You,’ co-written with Nina Nesbitt.
#82 - Exes and collaborators on hit ‘Paper Planes’, M.I.A. & Diplo (with Major Lazer) reunite on ‘Where’s The Daddy?’
⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.
Linkin Park, Poppy, Chelsea Wolfe, 070 Shake, Cordae, Shawn Mendes, Michael Kiwanuka, Rauw Alejandro, Maxo Kream, Gwen Stefani, boywithuke, FLO & Nessa Barrett all have new projects expected to come out next week.The Amazons, Doves, Crazy P all announced new albums this week while PARTYNEXTDOOR continued to hint at his joint album with Drake.
Legendary musician, producer and mogul Quincy Jones passed away at age 91.
iHeartMedia saving $200M by “embracing tech” (oh, and layoffs). UMG, ABKCO and Concord filed a $500M lawsuit against TuneCore, parent company Believe responded. Sony revenue grew 10% YoY. K-pop giant HYBE’s net profit dipped 99% in Q3. A man was arrested in Canada for the massive Ticketmaster data hack earlier this year. The Canadian govt ordered TikTok to shut down business ops, but not the app(?).
Dave Matthews Band vs. Waste #2
Mariah Carey declared it’s officially holiday season with new merch via Amazon Music. Lionsgate announced it will distribute The Weeknd’s upcoming psychological thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” BBC 6 Music announced their Artists of the Year 2024 including Charli xcx, Little Simz and Fontaines DC. Ed Sheeran beat the copyright appeal over ‘Thinking Out Loud.’ Three people were arrested in Argentina in connection to Liam Payne’s death.
No more comps to the GRAMMYs afterparty…
Consulting firm The Lede Company established a Nashville division
🇩🇪 PRO GEMA introduced a licensing model for AI developers
Music streaming platform Nintendo Music launched exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online members
🇺🇸 PRO SESAC secured a 10% higher radio royalty rate
Superfan-focused startup Levellr raised $1.75M
Streaming service Audiomack hit 10M active users
TikTok challenger Connyct targeted students for early access
Group Chat
The section that'll probably get us in trouble one of these days
Stages in Melbourne are eating artists…
What are labels doing these days?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 "Looking at the data" (44%)
🟨🟨🟨 Taking Spotify editors to dinner (27%)
🟨🟨🟨 Circling back after the holidays (23%)
🟨 A really great job (6%)
Pop artist Madison Beer signed with WME for touring.
‘Old Town Road’’s Billy Ray Cyrus signed with EMPIRE Publishing and is set to release a new single on Nov 22.
Rapper Freddie Gibbs signed with AWAL for records and dropped his surprise album You Only Die 1nce.
American rock band Highly Suspect signed with Benji & Joel Madden’s company MDDN for management.
+150 signings on ROSTR this week
🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Judas Priest, Rudimental, NCT 127
Oasis expand their 2025 reunion tour to Argentina, Chile & Brazil.
Morrissey abruptly cancelled his performance in Dallas following an unexpected rush of fans to the stage.
O2 Academy Brixton unveiled its ”transformative renovation.” The venue reopened earlier this year following a fatal crush that left two dead.
Noah Kahan joins Zach Bryan & Jeff Lynne’s ELO as the latest act announced to headline BST Festival in Hyde Park next year.
Igloofest Montréal released its 2025 programming with sets from Four Tet, Skepta, Steve Angello, Michael Bibi & others.
AEG names Brenda Cruz as Senior Dir. of Global Partnerships OOH. Dylan Collins joins Levellr as Chairman. Alana Dolgin named President of Digital Marketing at Atlantic Music Group. WK Records appoints Azucena Olvera as GM. Deezer announces Pedro Kurtz as Director of Ops for the Americas. Sony Pub promotes Racheal Conte to VP of sample clearance, legal & business affairs. Jen Mitchell named MD for arenas at NEC Group. Reliant Talent Agency announces new hires and promotions in Nashville.
4 New Roles at Wasserman in LA, NY, London
Label Partnerships Manager at TikTok in Los Angeles
Senior A&R at Helix Records
Account Director at Sprinter Entertainment
Head of Business Affairs at Rebellion Records in NY
↗ Find these and 150+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR
What’s Good?
Recent notable record reviews
“…the knowledge that time is running out, mourning the slow decay of society and our systems breaking down under the pressure of greed” - Paste on The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World. (93 on Metacritic - the 2nd highest score in 2024). Read the full review.
“They definitely do not care at all if you hate EA2. Actually, you’re supposed to hate it.” Pitchfork on Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake 2 (51 on Metacritic). Read the full review.
“… refined synthesis of the latest trends in soul, funk, rock and pop works very supportively” The NY Times back in 1982 about Quincy Jones role in arguably his most famous production Thriller. Read the full review.
Too Long / Did Read
Interesting, often long, stuff to watch, read, or listen to
🎶 Quincy’s Brilliance Explained in 10 Songs
📉 Is Music Stardom In Decline? A Statistical Analysis
🎶 New albums and EPs from Myles Smith, Ella Mai, Moody Joody, Real Boston Richie, The Score, Flatland Cavalry, Loe Shimmy, State Champs, A$AP Ferg, BabyTron, Mac Ayres…
♪ Notable singles from Griff, Zach Bryan, deadmau5, Julia Michaels, Jorja Smith, Brandon Lake, grentperez, Alice Phoebe Lou, Nicki Nicole, Kenny Mason, ANOTR…
Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…
#1 - New track from Colombian superstars ‘+57’ includes KAROL G, Feid, DFZM, Ovy on the Drums, J Balvin, Maluma, Ryan Castro and Blessd, out a few days ahead of the Latin GRAMMYs.
#2 - Zach Bryan releases ‘High Road,’ after his very public breakup with Brianna Chickenfry.
#13 - Julia Michaels’ new track ‘Heaven II’ is co-written with the prolific Jon Bellion.
#19 - This new Lost Frequencies track ‘Love Is The Only Thing’ features stunning vocals from Clementine Douglas.
#20 - YouTube cover artist turned singer-songwriter grentperez releases ‘2DK’ weeks after dropping a collaboration with Benny Sings.
#25 - The Score are back their next sync-worthy track ‘Fighting For’ on album Last Legends.
#30 - AWAL-backed Sarah Julia drop ‘Game of Pretend’ after making their debut earlier this year, with just 90K Monthly Listeners.
#40 - Imogen Heap releases her first solo single in four years with ‘What Have You Done To Me?’
⭐ #47 - Tipped electronic artist Killen. drops his debut project Highlight as ‘Get Lost’ makes the list.
#81 - Perrie releases next single ‘Me, Myself & You,’ co-written with Nina Nesbitt.
#82 - Exes and collaborators on hit ‘Paper Planes’, M.I.A. & Diplo (with Major Lazer) reunite on ‘Where’s The Daddy?’
⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.
Linkin Park, Poppy, Chelsea Wolfe, 070 Shake, Cordae, Shawn Mendes, Michael Kiwanuka, Rauw Alejandro, Maxo Kream, Gwen Stefani, boywithuke, FLO & Nessa Barrett all have new projects expected to come out next week.The Amazons, Doves, Crazy P all announced new albums this week while PARTYNEXTDOOR continued to hint at his joint album with Drake.
Legendary musician, producer and mogul Quincy Jones passed away at age 91.
iHeartMedia saving $200M by “embracing tech” (oh, and layoffs). UMG, ABKCO and Concord filed a $500M lawsuit against TuneCore, parent company Believe responded. Sony revenue grew 10% YoY. K-pop giant HYBE’s net profit dipped 99% in Q3. A man was arrested in Canada for the massive Ticketmaster data hack earlier this year. The Canadian govt ordered TikTok to shut down business ops, but not the app(?).
Dave Matthews Band vs. Waste #2
Mariah Carey declared it’s officially holiday season with new merch via Amazon Music. Lionsgate announced it will distribute The Weeknd’s upcoming psychological thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” BBC 6 Music announced their Artists of the Year 2024 including Charli xcx, Little Simz and Fontaines DC. Ed Sheeran beat the copyright appeal over ‘Thinking Out Loud.’ Three people were arrested in Argentina in connection to Liam Payne’s death.
No more comps to the GRAMMYs afterparty…
Consulting firm The Lede Company established a Nashville division
🇩🇪 PRO GEMA introduced a licensing model for AI developers
Music streaming platform Nintendo Music launched exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online members
🇺🇸 PRO SESAC secured a 10% higher radio royalty rate
Superfan-focused startup Levellr raised $1.75M
Streaming service Audiomack hit 10M active users
TikTok challenger Connyct targeted students for early access
Group Chat
The section that'll probably get us in trouble one of these days
Stages in Melbourne are eating artists…
What are labels doing these days?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 "Looking at the data" (44%)
🟨🟨🟨 Taking Spotify editors to dinner (27%)
🟨🟨🟨 Circling back after the holidays (23%)
🟨 A really great job (6%)
Pop artist Madison Beer signed with WME for touring.
‘Old Town Road’’s Billy Ray Cyrus signed with EMPIRE Publishing and is set to release a new single on Nov 22.
Rapper Freddie Gibbs signed with AWAL for records and dropped his surprise album You Only Die 1nce.
American rock band Highly Suspect signed with Benji & Joel Madden’s company MDDN for management.
+150 signings on ROSTR this week
🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Judas Priest, Rudimental, NCT 127
Oasis expand their 2025 reunion tour to Argentina, Chile & Brazil.
Morrissey abruptly cancelled his performance in Dallas following an unexpected rush of fans to the stage.
O2 Academy Brixton unveiled its ”transformative renovation.” The venue reopened earlier this year following a fatal crush that left two dead.
Noah Kahan joins Zach Bryan & Jeff Lynne’s ELO as the latest act announced to headline BST Festival in Hyde Park next year.
Igloofest Montréal released its 2025 programming with sets from Four Tet, Skepta, Steve Angello, Michael Bibi & others.
AEG names Brenda Cruz as Senior Dir. of Global Partnerships OOH. Dylan Collins joins Levellr as Chairman. Alana Dolgin named President of Digital Marketing at Atlantic Music Group. WK Records appoints Azucena Olvera as GM. Deezer announces Pedro Kurtz as Director of Ops for the Americas. Sony Pub promotes Racheal Conte to VP of sample clearance, legal & business affairs. Jen Mitchell named MD for arenas at NEC Group. Reliant Talent Agency announces new hires and promotions in Nashville.
4 New Roles at Wasserman in LA, NY, London
Label Partnerships Manager at TikTok in Los Angeles
Senior A&R at Helix Records
Account Director at Sprinter Entertainment
Head of Business Affairs at Rebellion Records in NY
↗ Find these and 150+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR
What’s Good?
Recent notable record reviews
“…the knowledge that time is running out, mourning the slow decay of society and our systems breaking down under the pressure of greed” - Paste on The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World. (93 on Metacritic - the 2nd highest score in 2024). Read the full review.
“They definitely do not care at all if you hate EA2. Actually, you’re supposed to hate it.” Pitchfork on Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake 2 (51 on Metacritic). Read the full review.
“… refined synthesis of the latest trends in soul, funk, rock and pop works very supportively” The NY Times back in 1982 about Quincy Jones role in arguably his most famous production Thriller. Read the full review.
Too Long / Did Read
Interesting, often long, stuff to watch, read, or listen to
🎶 Quincy’s Brilliance Explained in 10 Songs
📉 Is Music Stardom In Decline? A Statistical Analysis
🎶 New albums and EPs from Myles Smith, Ella Mai, Moody Joody, Real Boston Richie, The Score, Flatland Cavalry, Loe Shimmy, State Champs, A$AP Ferg, BabyTron, Mac Ayres…
♪ Notable singles from Griff, Zach Bryan, deadmau5, Julia Michaels, Jorja Smith, Brandon Lake, grentperez, Alice Phoebe Lou, Nicki Nicole, Kenny Mason, ANOTR…
Each week, we go through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlists to highlight releases you should know about…
#1 - New track from Colombian superstars ‘+57’ includes KAROL G, Feid, DFZM, Ovy on the Drums, J Balvin, Maluma, Ryan Castro and Blessd, out a few days ahead of the Latin GRAMMYs.
#2 - Zach Bryan releases ‘High Road,’ after his very public breakup with Brianna Chickenfry.
#13 - Julia Michaels’ new track ‘Heaven II’ is co-written with the prolific Jon Bellion.
#19 - This new Lost Frequencies track ‘Love Is The Only Thing’ features stunning vocals from Clementine Douglas.
#20 - YouTube cover artist turned singer-songwriter grentperez releases ‘2DK’ weeks after dropping a collaboration with Benny Sings.
#25 - The Score are back their next sync-worthy track ‘Fighting For’ on album Last Legends.
#30 - AWAL-backed Sarah Julia drop ‘Game of Pretend’ after making their debut earlier this year, with just 90K Monthly Listeners.
#40 - Imogen Heap releases her first solo single in four years with ‘What Have You Done To Me?’
⭐ #47 - Tipped electronic artist Killen. drops his debut project Highlight as ‘Get Lost’ makes the list.
#81 - Perrie releases next single ‘Me, Myself & You,’ co-written with Nina Nesbitt.
#82 - Exes and collaborators on hit ‘Paper Planes’, M.I.A. & Diplo (with Major Lazer) reunite on ‘Where’s The Daddy?’
⭐ = our pick of the week. Usually an under the radar artist to keep an eye on.
Linkin Park, Poppy, Chelsea Wolfe, 070 Shake, Cordae, Shawn Mendes, Michael Kiwanuka, Rauw Alejandro, Maxo Kream, Gwen Stefani, boywithuke, FLO & Nessa Barrett all have new projects expected to come out next week.The Amazons, Doves, Crazy P all announced new albums this week while PARTYNEXTDOOR continued to hint at his joint album with Drake.
Legendary musician, producer and mogul Quincy Jones passed away at age 91.
iHeartMedia saving $200M by “embracing tech” (oh, and layoffs). UMG, ABKCO and Concord filed a $500M lawsuit against TuneCore, parent company Believe responded. Sony revenue grew 10% YoY. K-pop giant HYBE’s net profit dipped 99% in Q3. A man was arrested in Canada for the massive Ticketmaster data hack earlier this year. The Canadian govt ordered TikTok to shut down business ops, but not the app(?).
Dave Matthews Band vs. Waste #2
Mariah Carey declared it’s officially holiday season with new merch via Amazon Music. Lionsgate announced it will distribute The Weeknd’s upcoming psychological thriller “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” BBC 6 Music announced their Artists of the Year 2024 including Charli xcx, Little Simz and Fontaines DC. Ed Sheeran beat the copyright appeal over ‘Thinking Out Loud.’ Three people were arrested in Argentina in connection to Liam Payne’s death.
No more comps to the GRAMMYs afterparty…
Consulting firm The Lede Company established a Nashville division
🇩🇪 PRO GEMA introduced a licensing model for AI developers
Music streaming platform Nintendo Music launched exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online members
🇺🇸 PRO SESAC secured a 10% higher radio royalty rate
Superfan-focused startup Levellr raised $1.75M
Streaming service Audiomack hit 10M active users
TikTok challenger Connyct targeted students for early access
Group Chat
The section that'll probably get us in trouble one of these days
Stages in Melbourne are eating artists…
What are labels doing these days?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 "Looking at the data" (44%)
🟨🟨🟨 Taking Spotify editors to dinner (27%)
🟨🟨🟨 Circling back after the holidays (23%)
🟨 A really great job (6%)
Pop artist Madison Beer signed with WME for touring.
‘Old Town Road’’s Billy Ray Cyrus signed with EMPIRE Publishing and is set to release a new single on Nov 22.
Rapper Freddie Gibbs signed with AWAL for records and dropped his surprise album You Only Die 1nce.
American rock band Highly Suspect signed with Benji & Joel Madden’s company MDDN for management.
+150 signings on ROSTR this week
🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Judas Priest, Rudimental, NCT 127
Oasis expand their 2025 reunion tour to Argentina, Chile & Brazil.
Morrissey abruptly cancelled his performance in Dallas following an unexpected rush of fans to the stage.
O2 Academy Brixton unveiled its ”transformative renovation.” The venue reopened earlier this year following a fatal crush that left two dead.
Noah Kahan joins Zach Bryan & Jeff Lynne’s ELO as the latest act announced to headline BST Festival in Hyde Park next year.
Igloofest Montréal released its 2025 programming with sets from Four Tet, Skepta, Steve Angello, Michael Bibi & others.
AEG names Brenda Cruz as Senior Dir. of Global Partnerships OOH. Dylan Collins joins Levellr as Chairman. Alana Dolgin named President of Digital Marketing at Atlantic Music Group. WK Records appoints Azucena Olvera as GM. Deezer announces Pedro Kurtz as Director of Ops for the Americas. Sony Pub promotes Racheal Conte to VP of sample clearance, legal & business affairs. Jen Mitchell named MD for arenas at NEC Group. Reliant Talent Agency announces new hires and promotions in Nashville.
4 New Roles at Wasserman in LA, NY, London
Label Partnerships Manager at TikTok in Los Angeles
Senior A&R at Helix Records
Account Director at Sprinter Entertainment
Head of Business Affairs at Rebellion Records in NY
↗ Find these and 150+ open roles at Jobs by ROSTR
What’s Good?
Recent notable record reviews
“…the knowledge that time is running out, mourning the slow decay of society and our systems breaking down under the pressure of greed” - Paste on The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World. (93 on Metacritic - the 2nd highest score in 2024). Read the full review.
“They definitely do not care at all if you hate EA2. Actually, you’re supposed to hate it.” Pitchfork on Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake 2 (51 on Metacritic). Read the full review.
“… refined synthesis of the latest trends in soul, funk, rock and pop works very supportively” The NY Times back in 1982 about Quincy Jones role in arguably his most famous production Thriller. Read the full review.
Too Long / Did Read
Interesting, often long, stuff to watch, read, or listen to
🎶 Quincy’s Brilliance Explained in 10 Songs
📉 Is Music Stardom In Decline? A Statistical Analysis
Quincy Jones
Karol G
Zach Bryan
M.I.A.
Diplo
TuneCore
iHeartMedia
Ticketmaster
Ed Sheeran
Universal Music Group (UMG)
Major Label Lawsuits
AI Music Licensing Models
Venue Safety & Renovations
Music Platform Diversification
New Music Friday
Litigation
Quarterly Earnings
Criminal Investigation
Copyright Infringement
Industry Polls
Artist Signings
Tour Announcements
Festival Lineups
Executive Appointments
Industry Job Listings
Weekly Roundup
Industry Roundup
Industry Obituaries
United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Colombia
Argentina
Nashville, US
Melbourne, AU
Dallas, US
London, GB
Montréal, CA
Los Angeles, US
New York, US
👋 Disclosures & Transparency Block
This is one of NIF's newsletters. News and other editorial are selected by the team based on which news they think is interesting (or funny) this week.
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