Vol 82 - My friends are reading NIF in the bathroom

Happy Friday,

ROSTR announces venues at NIVA, the NMPA inks new AI licensing deals & Selena gets caught in the mix.

Have thoughts on this week’s news? Just hit reply.

🎶 New albums and EPs from Olivia Rodrigo, ANOTR, Bebe Rexha, Kodak Black, Koe Wetzel, Sublime, Blxst, Baauer, Infinity Song, Emei, Spacey Jane…

♪ Notable singles from BTS, Tove Lo & Stromae, Slow Pulp, The Kid LAROI & Kehlani, Carlita & SOFI TUKKER, Interpol, Cody Johnson, Rose Gray, Ayra Starr…

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

#1 - Olivia Rodrigo celebrates a ‘stupid song’ with Dan Nigro on new album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.

#2 - Dutch producers ANOTR drop their latest project Withness (self-released), with ‘It’s So Nice (ft. 3DDY)’ landing on NMF.

#5 - BTS release new track ‘Come Over’ as part of their annual fan festival Festa.

⭐ #33 - Birmingham tipped duo DAMEDAME\* share their fourth single ‘FIRE BURNIN’ THRU THE RAIN.’

#40 - Jack White has announced his new album, Frozen Charlotte, alongside the release of its new single, ‘Dollar Bill.’

#63 - it’s murph & Khalid drop their anticipated ‘Here With Me Now’ collab after the electronic artist teased it at Red Rocks earlier this spring.

#86 - Rock legends blink-182 celebrate their Take Off Your Pants And Jacket 25th anniversary with ‘Don’t Tell Me It’s Over.’

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

Tierra Whack, Pond, Key Glock, YG, Cochise, Jon Batiste, Cash Cobain, Warning, Myles Smith, Flyana Boss & PJ Morton all have new projects expected to come out next week.

The Warning, Jack White, Nick Hakim, Mal Not Bad, Roger Taylor, Bonobo, Ty Segall, L’Rain & Mayday Parade all announced new albums this week.

ROSTR unveiled plans to simplify venue discovery, launched in partnership with NIVA.

NMPA signed AI licensing deals with Udio and Klay. Google says any music that is uploaded to YouTube is allowed to be used for AI training in a move to dismiss artists’ Lyria 3 AI lawsuit. The American Federation of Musicians sued UMG and WMG over licensed recordings to Suno and Udio without paying or giving credit to musicians who played on the tracks. Spotify is interested in licensing the rights to show live video of music festivals. UMG confirmed a €1 billion bond sale. CISAC members signed a declaration to protect human creativity. UMPG unveiled a new brand identity. Global Music Rights sued programming service Music Choice. The Donna Summer estate struck a deal with Primary Wave including her catalog, name, image and likeness rights. Teyana Taylor was named icon of the year for the 2026 BET Awards. Chris Brown settled in a songwriter’s lawsuit against him. Geese & Oklou led the way at the 2026 Libera Awards.

35 year-old GRAMMY winning songwriter Talay Riley died in a stabbing in London. Grand Ole Opry announcer and WSM radio personality Bill Cody passed away at 67.

• WMG announces acquisition of Sureel AI

• Amuse expands label services via TEN partnership and new insights platform

• The Other Songs and The BRIT School raise £400K for music education

• Seeker Music Group partners with Virgin Music for global distribution

• Indie labels invest £250K in curated music streaming platform Cantilever

• Modern Sky launches influential Chinese brand M\DSK in the UK

• UMG Greater China signs catalog acquisition deal with Carrier Creative

• Merlin and Jamen Capital acquire Curve Royalty Systems from Universal

• 10K Projects forms joint venture with Runway Records

• Concord enters strategic partnership with Lito Music

Group Chat

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

This is how it’s done, Selena

Actually hilarious lol

🤣

Best Doja Cat tweet line from this week

• ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ hey elon if u see this please put the audio post feature back on here (0%)

• 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Thanks, u frog build looking bitch (43%)

• 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Barrel chested ewok u look like u eat sand (21%)

• 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Thanks, you hairless no-neck havin, chimpanzee (7%)

• 🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Face look like it was drawn from memory (29%)

🎸 Biggest tours announced this week: Charli xcx, Phoebe Bridgers, Malcolm Todd, Bonobo, Masego

ROSTR launched ROSTR Venues, a searchable venue directory it describes as the largest and fastest in the world, and partnered with NIVA to give certified independent venues a "Live Independent" filter and seal. It rolls out in Q2 across all subscription tiers.

Charli xcx announced a 2026 North American "music, fashion & film" arena tour, opening September 11 in Philadelphia with presale on June 12. Phoebe Bridgers sent "The Lost Tour" to general onsale, with the arena run starting September 15 in Indianapolis.

AEG Presents will build a 4,000-capacity venue in Austin's River Park development. It's one of roughly 25 mid-sized (2K-7K-cap) venues AEG and Live Nation are adding across North America.

NIVA's Fix the Tix coalition launched a Fan Action Center after identifying 6,000 deceptive ticketing URLs, and has asked state attorneys general and resale sites including StubHub and Viagogo to shut down the affiliated accounts.

🎟️ Festival Headlines:

• iHeartRadio Music Festival revealed its Las Vegas lineup for September 19-20, with BTS, Cardi B, Muse, Snoop Dogg, Kenny Chesney, Lainey Wilson, Benson Boone & Weezer

• Bonnaroo (Skrillex, The Strokes, RÜFÜS DU SOL), Download (Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses, Linkin Park) and Chicago's Summer Smash (Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert) all take place this weekend

❌ Cancellations:

• Colter Wall cancelled his remaining 2026 dates and is taking an "indefinite hiatus from live music," citing his mental health

• The Pussycat Dolls scrapped the North American leg of their PCD Forever reunion tour, keeping only a WeHo Pride set

Florida Georgia Line has signed with The Core Entertainment for management, with Kevin ‘Chief’ Zaruk and Simon Tikhman at the helm, and with CAA for booking, the dual announcement coming days after the duo's surprise reunion performance at Nashville's Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest. Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley had been on hiatus since 2022; they join a Core roster that includes Dan + Shay, Bailey Zimmerman, and Nickelback.

BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville has signed GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM award-winner Carly Pearce. The Grand Ole Opry member and Kentucky Music Hall of Famer heads into her fifth studio album fresh off the acclaimed Riley Green duet 'If I Don't Leave I'm Gonna Stay' and a run that included headlining the Royal Albert Hall; her catalog has surpassed 4B streams.

London rapper Ledbyher has signed with PULSE Music Group, bringing one of the NME 100's class of 2026 to the publishing and sync specialist. The 22-year-old, Rachel Diack, of Indonesian and Scottish heritage, released debut mixtape The Elephant this year, with standout single 'Dirty Rumours' co-produced by Clams Casino, Tony Seltzer, and Otxhello.

New York indie veterans Interpol have signed to Partisan Records for their eighth studio album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton, due August 28 - their first release since 2022's The Other Side of Make-Believe. Produced by Andrew Wyatt (Rosalía, Lorde) and mixed by David Fridmann (MGMT, Sleater-Kinney), the record arrives with two early tracks already out: 'Wings On Fire' and 'See Out Loud.' They join a Partisan roster that includes IDLES, PJ Harvey, Geese, and Laura Marling.

Singer-songwriter UPSAHL has found herself new management at Mutual Friends (Quinn XCII, Jeremy Zucker) with Jesse Coren & Rachel Rinsema signing on. Originally breaking out in 2020 for her track ‘Drugs,’ the new addition to the roster has also penned hits for artists like Dua Lipa, aespa & Madison Beer.

Southern California pop artist Chase Icon has signed with Rebellion Records, following the March 2025 release of her debut album Icon Baby. Produced with underground collaborators including umru, Icon recently wrapped a European headline run ahead of a US leg launching this month.

+160 signings on ROSTR this week

Legends Global has appointed Caroline Wright as Executive Vice President, North American Venues, where she'll oversee the company's network of arenas, stadiums, theaters and convention centers across the region. Wright most recently held a senior operations role at Tepper Sports & Entertainment, overseeing Bank of America Stadium, and previously spent nearly three decades at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in venue operations leadership.

Pedro Winter joins Because Music as Global Head of Creation and co-Managing Director of its French division. The Ed Banger founder and former Daft Punk manager extends a 20-year partnership between the two labels, with both aiming to develop artists on a bigger global scale.

Warner Chappell made two regional appointments. Soraib el Jelali becomes Head of A&R for Benelux, moving from Atlantic Records Benelux to lead talent discovery from Amsterdam, while Julian Franzoni was promoted to General Manager for Argentina and Uruguay after a decade in A&R, where he signed and developed stars like Duki, Trueno, and CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso.

Youssou N'Dour has been named Vice-President of CISAC, the global creators' rights organization, joining a leadership team led by ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus. The appointment lands as CISAC marks its 100th anniversary and pushes harder on protecting creators from AI-driven disruption.

Elsewhere in the industry…

• Cassie Petty has been promoted to Vice President of TKO Artist Management, where she's worked since 2002 with clients including Toby Keith, Clay Walker, Jamey Johnson and Jackson Dean.

• Triple 8 Management has promoted Allison Bostrom to Senior Vice President of Marketing after nearly a decade of growth within the team.

• Provident Entertainment has promoted Josie Hardin to Director, Digital Strategy and Reagan Hughes to Director, Marketing. Hardin oversees digital strategy for artists including Brandon Lake and Zach Williams, while Hughes leads marketing for a roster including Seph Schlueter and KB.

• Girlilla Marketing has promoted Lindsey Feinstein and Conley Sweeney to Senior Account Director, elevated Gigi Morrison to Creative Director, and hired Esther Kuperus as Creative Coordinator.

• HEY NOW Records has expanded its team with Danny Bess as SVP of Finance & Operations, Rachel Brown as Manager of Operations, and Troy Scott as Vice President of Commerce & Consumer Products.

• BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville has named Cheyana Weekley as Head of Marketing, reporting to EVP Recorded Music JoJamie Hahr, where she will lead marketing efforts across the label's roster.

• Lauren Tingle has been named Director of Marketing & Communications at IEBA, bringing nearly two decades of experience from iHeartRadio, CMT, and Apple Music.

• Vice President, Audience Intelligence and Artist Tools at Universal Music Group in Santa Monica, CA

• Senior Manager / Director, Digital Marketing at Nice Life in Los Angeles, CA

• A&R/ Talent Manager (Urban) at Legion in Los Angeles, CA

• Pricing Manager at Live Nation Concerts in United States, remote

• Promoter at Liift in Manchester, England, UK

↗ Find these and 380+ open roles at ROSTR Jobs