And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan - And The Update Is…Drake, AI, and a $5.4 Billion Question

Episode Date: June 5, 2026

And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to And the update is I am your host Ross Golan and this is the news in the music industry for the week of June 1st, 2026. Happy birthday to my wife and to my sister and niece. It's a big week in the Golan family. So yeah, we've got some news for Ann the writer is we are about to launch our Patreon page. And if you happen to be in Times Square, you will see a giant billboard. with our faces on it to celebrate said fact. We will be in New York for a live interview on Tuesday. That's going to be fun too.

So in other news, Universal Music Group repurchased that $290 million shares from Pershing Square. When Pershing Square did I try to take over UMG that didn't work. And UMG ended up repurchasing that giant chunk of, Shares. Maybe the most interesting news for the songwriting community right now is that Suno raised $400 million, which gives them a $5.4 billion valuation. So I guess AI is worth something to somebody, maybe not to songwriters into art. But it is worth a lot to investors. That funding round comes as the company prepares to launch a new music model. developed in partnership with the music industry.

I'll believe it when I see it. It's not impossible, but who knows? Sound Exchange and IFPI simplify ISRC registration process. That is good for anybody who's actually releasing their own music. That's a really nerdy update, but it is an actual thing that will help people out. Spotify ads, audio versions of magazine articles, say what you want. They are always innovative. Sub Hub launches,

Fest Protect for festival ticket buyers. It's a new tool that offers refunds and benefits for issues such as artist cancellations and weather. If you were at Stagecoach, you know what I'm talking about. That wind was wild. MIA sues Kid Cuddy for removing her from his tour. I've never heard of anything like that before. Doesn't mean there's not a case.

I don't know any of the nuances of the case. All I know is that I had never heard that before. Grupo Frontera launches Border Town Records with The Orchard. If you listen to our Edgar Barrera interview, you would know that band. And if you know me, you know I love Spanish music and Mexican music. and that's cool. And other than that, it seems like a lot of people are buying some mid-range catalogs, nothing that's too huge to discuss right now.

No major, major signings. There are a bunch of people who signed a major labels that I'm sure are going to listen to this and tell me in 10 years that I missed it when they got signed and I should have mentioned it. Into chart news, Drake is pretty much cleaning up all across the board. Janice, STFU is number one. Again, Iceman is still number one. Yeah, he's just kind of cleaning up everywhere. But, as I said at the end of last week,

I hate that I made you love me by Ariana Grande came out, and that debuted at number one on Spotify's top songs debut, Global Chart. Billy Jean is still somehow, you know, how does that song still live? I don't know. It's just crazy. Also, Akamoto by Tito Doubled P, debuted number one, Spotify's top albums, debut Global and USA Chart.

That is, that's pretty crazy. That's a big win on a week like this, where Drake is still holding a lot of ground. And again, we are super excited to invite you all to be part of our Patreon. It is, there will be tiers that have a lot of exclusive content. and you will have the ability to communicate with us better than you have before. I'm excited about that and come and see the Billboard in Times Square. We'll be there for Songwriter Hall of Fame. Congratulations to the inductees.

We'll discuss that next update. And stick around for next week's episode. It is a very big artist that you all know and love. All right. Thank you so much for listening. There you go. Bye.