Well folks, welcome back. I'm Lenny Vaughn, and we've got quite a bit brewing in the music world right now, so let's dive straight in.
The Black Keys are back and they mean business. The legendary blues-rock duo just announced their Peaches 'n Kream World Tour, kicking off April 24th in Fort Lauderdale. This is in support of their forthcoming album Peaches, dropping May 1st via Easy Eye Sound and Warner Records. According to Vice and The Rock Revival, the band is hitting major cities across North America, Europe, and beyond through October. What's particularly interesting here is that the album was born from real struggle—Dan Auerbach was dealing with his father's esophageal cancer diagnosis when they headed into the studio. The result is what Auerbach describes as their most natural record since their 2002 debut, The Big Come Up. They recorded it live in one room with minimal overdubs, mixing it themselves for the first time since Magic Potion in 2006. The album features ten tracks including the single You Got To Lose, and supporting acts vary by city, all coming from Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label roster.
Now, shifting gears to the darker side of the industry. Multiple artists including Chappell Roan, Sylvan Esso, and Wednesday have announced they're leaving Wasserman Music following revelations that the agency's CEO Casey Wasserman exchanged emails with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein. According to Exclaim, this has sent shockwaves through the talent management world. What's particularly telling is that some artists want to leave but feel trapped by industry mechanics—they're bound to booking agents and realize these massive agencies control access to venues and streaming partnerships. Sleigh Bells and Automatic both acknowledged the impossibility of ethical choices in a system owned by what they called greedy, perverted power brokers.
On the technology front, Spotify just reported record growth with 751 million monthly active users, marking their largest net gain in company history. The LA Times reports they gained 38 million monthly active users in 2025, and their Wrapped campaign engaged 300 million people globally with 630 million shares across 56 languages.
Meanwhile, the California Copyright Conference is hosting a panel titled Is Sync Dead, exploring how fewer placement opportunities and AI music tools are reshaping the licensing landscape that independent artists once relied on as their golden ticket.
That's what's moving in the music world right now. Thank you so much for tuning in. Make sure you subscribe for more industry insights and artist deep dives. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease dot ai.
For great Music deals
https://amzn.to/3BPL8A7Or check out these podcasts
http://quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
