Kings of Leon have landed the highest new entry on Australia’s ARIA albums chart with their latest release, “O My Beloved,” marking the week’s top debut.
The chart’s summit, however, remains with Olivia Rodrigo, whose single “You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love” returns to No. 1 for a seventh non-consecutive week.
Read the full story at Billboard.
Rising UK R&B artist Season 25 has signed a seven-figure deal with London labels Isekai Records and Create Records, following the viral success of single “Shotta’s.” The track was originally released independently via TuneCore on September 25, according to the labels.
The deal underscores the continued trend of major and independent labels moving quickly to sign artists who break through organically on streaming and social platforms before building out formal label infrastructure.
Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.
Performing rights organization BMI has promoted Shannon Sanders to the role of AVP, Creative, in its Nashville office.
In the role, Sanders will work to support both emerging and established songwriters, overseeing the organization’s educational programs, showcases and networking events in the Nashville market.
Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.
NVentures, the venture capital arm of NVIDIA, has asked a court to quash subpoenas from Universal Music Group and Sony Music seeking testimony as part of their copyright lawsuit against AI music startup Suno. The firm argues it is a passive minority investor with no operational role in Suno’s business and should not be compelled to provide further cooperation.
NVentures states it has already turned over 6,324 documents totaling 28,194 pages to the labels. The filing marks the latest procedural skirmish in the closely watched litigation, which centers on allegations that Suno trained its AI models on copyrighted recordings without authorization.
Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.
Music financing company beatBread has formed an advisory board that includes executives from Meta and AI music platform Suno. The move follows the appointment of Andreea Gleeson as beatBread’s CEO in September.
The new board is expected to help guide the company’s strategy as it continues to offer artists upfront funding in exchange for a share of future royalties, with the addition of tech and AI expertise signaling a broader push into those areas.
Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.
Universal Music Group’s merchandising arm Bravado has entered a worldwide partnership with Disney’s Searchlight Pictures to produce and distribute film-related merchandise.
The deal kicks off with a merch line tied to “Wild Horse Nine,” the upcoming film from writer-director Martin McDonagh, marking Bravado’s expansion beyond music artists into film studio merchandising.
Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.
Classical-crossover soprano Giorgia Fumanti has released a new album, “Enchanted Garden,” through Virgin Music, led by a new recording of “La Vie En Rose” accompanied by a music video. The 12-track project combines well-known 20th-century melodies with five original compositions, including two written by Fumanti herself, the title track and “Harmony.”
The album draws on film and stage music, including Michel Legrand’s “I Will Wait For You” from “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” a setting of Max Steiner’s “Tara’s Theme” from “Gone with the Wind,” an Italian version of Nino Rota’s love theme from “Romeo and Juliet,” and a Tchaikovsky-inspired track from Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.” It also includes “Voilà,” the song Barbara Pravi performed at Eurovision 2021. The project marks a shift from Fumanti’s previous two albums, “Cinema Collection” and “Cinema II,” which focused on film scores, toward themes of love, family and everyday life, according to the announcement.
Fumanti, who was born in Tuscany and has lived in Quebec since 2002, has previously charted on Billboard’s classical crossover chart and reached No. 1 in Japan and South Africa with her album “From My Heart,” according to the announcement, which also states she has sold more than 1.5 million albums and performs for 60,000 monthly Spotify listeners.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.
MoBlack Records is releasing an Afro House reinterpretation of Mory Kanté’s “Mana Mana Ko,” credited to Italian producer MoBlack alongside Feki Station, out November 13.
The rework retains Kanté’s original vocals while building a new instrumental around them, with percussion, synth arrangements and piano progressions that develop toward what the label describes as a euphoric climax.
MoBlack, who has spent time living in Ghana, has built a reputation within the Afro House scene for blending African musical traditions with house, electronic and melodic techno influences. The new track continues that approach, pairing the late Guinean artist’s vocal performance with a contemporary dancefloor production.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Valentina Vistoli, valentinavistoli.com.
ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) has announced 84 additional artists for Eurosonic 2027, bringing the total number of acts booked for the January showcase festival to more than 250, according to the organization. The new additions span 28 countries and a range of genres, with acts including Naga Kirana, The Bausa and Knats among those highlighted in accompanying promotional photos.
Eurosonic runs January 13-15 in Groningen, Netherlands, alongside Noorderslag, a companion showcase for Dutch talent, and the ESNS industry conference. ESNS says it has featured acts earlier in their careers including AURORA, Stromae, Christine and the Queens, Fontaines D.C., Sigrid and Sam Smith.
Festival tickets and Delegate Passes, which grant access to both showcases, the conference and delegate-only performances, are currently on sale, with festival tickets starting at 55 euros.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Nikki McNeill, globalpublicity.co.uk.
BandLab’s music creation app is appearing in Google’s Googlebook advertising campaign, which features actor Henry Cavill recording and experimenting with music on the device, according to the company.
BandLab Technologies says the placement reflects a broader shift in how music creation is being positioned to mainstream consumers, moving away from its traditional association with specialist DAWs and studio gear toward the kind of accessible, immediate creative tools people expect on everyday devices. The company frames the partnership as consistent with its own strategy of lowering the barrier to entry for new creators while still supporting more developed production workflows.
BandLab Technologies, whose executives include Head of Communications and Creator Insights Dani Deahl, says it can provide further detail on the Googlebook campaign and on broader trends in music-creation behavior.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Timothy Kang, bandlab.com.