Your daily Drop May 1st
🎶 Music Industry & Artist News
Beyoncé Launches ‘Cowboy Carter’ Tour with Texas-Inspired Glam
Queen Bey kicked off her Cowboy Carter tour with a genre-bending performance, fusing Americana aesthetics, gospel harmonies, and country-pop energy. The show featured custom Ralph Lauren stagewear, choreography nods to rodeo culture, and a career-spanning setlist.
👉 Watch the recap via IOL
Live In The Vineyard Goes Country Wraps 2025 Event
This year’s Live In The Vineyard Goes Country brought together top talent, industry execs, and tastemakers in Napa for intimate vineyard-stage showcases from artists like Charles Esten and Caitlyn Smith.
👉 Read via MusicRow
Ink Signs with Big Loud & Electric Feel Records
Rising singer-songwriter Ink has officially joined Big Loud Records and Electric Feel, signaling a major co-sign and upcoming debut project after years of viral traction.
👉 More via MusicRow
🧪 Music Tech & Innovation
Epidemic Sound Acquires Song Sleuth for AI Music Recognition
Stock music giant Epidemic Sound acquired AI firm Song Sleuth to bolster its fingerprinting tech for identifying music used in UGC across social platforms.
👉 Full coverage via Music Ally
Udio x Audible Magic Partnership Enables Music Fingerprinting at Scale
AI music platform Udio announced a partnership with Audible Magic to embed identification tools in all generated content — a key step in rights protection and metadata standardization.
👉 Details via Digital Music News
Music Glue Launches Direct-to-Fan Ticketing Stores
UK-based Music Glue now offers self-serve, artist-branded storefronts for ticketing — including pre-sale options, merch upsells, and CRM integrations.
👉 Learn more via Music Ally
📺 Streaming & Entertainment (Music-Focused)
Ye Releases 'Donda 2' — Then It Vanishes from Streaming Platforms
After a surprise upload under the artist name “Donda,” Ye’s Donda 2 briefly hit Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal — only to be removed within hours amid producer payment disputes. Tracks featured XXXTentacion, Fivio Foreign, and Alicia Keys. Legal issues now cloud its future.
👉 Story via USA Today
👉 More via Power 105.1
Spotify to Launch 'Music Pro' Tier with HiFi, Remix Tools & Karaoke
Spotify is gearing up to roll out its long-awaited HiFi option as part of a new “Music Pro” tier. Expected features: lossless audio, remix mode, early ticket access, and even a karaoke layer.
👉 Details via The Verge
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead & Lettuce Live Tonight via Nugs.net
Tonight’s top live-streamed shows: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead from Austin and Lettuce from New Orleans. Both are available via Nugs.net, continuing the momentum behind hybrid concert experiences.
👉 Stream via Nugs.net
🏛️ U.S. Politics
Senate Fails to Overturn Trump’s Tariffs
In a 50-50 split, the U.S. Senate rejected the latest challenge to President Trump’s trade policies, keeping tariffs intact on steel, aluminum, and select imports — including music merch materials.
👉 Report via U.S. News
Kamala Harris Returns to Spotlight with High-Profile Speech
Former VP Kamala Harris will speak this week in California, breaking her silence on Trump’s first 100 days in office and fueling speculation of a 2026 gubernatorial run.
👉 Coverage via ABC News
Democrats Blast Trump’s First 100 Days
Senate Democrats — including Chuck Schumer — hosted a press event lambasting Trump’s early policy moves, citing rollback of DOJ civil rights investigations and cuts to cultural funding.
👉 Story via The Guardian