This Week in Music: Releases, Awards, Industry Moves, In Memoriam

Quick Hits

• 🏆 Taylor Swift’s 12th album “The Life of a Showgirl” gets a theatrical release event next month NPR
• 🌎 Bad Bunny leads the 2025 Latin Grammy nominations with 12 nods NPR
• 🤖 Spotify details new measures against AI music spam and deepfakes; labels double down on Suno lawsuit as Suno launches v5 Music Ally
• 📅 Massive end-of-September drops and early-October heavyweights on deck, including Taylor Swift (Oct 3) and more Pitchfork Billboard
• 🇬🇧 Biffy Clyro land a fourth UK No.1 album; Olivia Dean posts her biggest week to date Music Week
• 🎻 Americana Honors & Awards: Sierra Ferrell repeats as Artist of the Year; Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats take Album of the Year MusicRow

Headlines You Need To Know

• 🎬 Taylor Swift on the big screen again
  NPR reports Swift will celebrate her 12th studio album with a theatrical release next month, following the record-breaking Eras Tour film run with AMC. NPR
• 🐰 Latin Grammy momentum for Bad Bunny
  Bad Bunny tops the 2025 Latin Grammy nominations with 12, including album, song, and record of the year. NPR
• 🧠 AI, streaming, and the industry

  • Spotify outlines fresh steps to curb AI-generated spam and deepfakes on its platform. Music Ally
  • Major labels refine their lawsuit focus against Suno’s training data sources as Suno debuts v5 of its music model. Music Ally

New Releases: This Week + On The Radar

• 🗓 Out this week and late September highlights

  • Doja Cat — “Vie”; Olivia Dean — “The Art of Loving”; Neko Case — “Neon Grey Midnight Green”; Jeff Tweedy — “Twilight Override”; Young Thug — “UY Scuti” and more (Sept 26 drops). Pitchfork

• 🗓 Coming up early October

  • Oct 3: Taylor Swift — “The Life of a Showgirl” Pitchfork
  • More notable fall releases rolling weekly across pop, hip-hop, rock, country, K-pop, and Latin. Keep an eye on rolling calendars: Pitchfork and Billboard

Charts & Achievements

• 🇬🇧 UK spotlight

  • Biffy Clyro secure a fourth UK No.1 album, with their manager calling it “hugely special.”
  • Olivia Dean logs her biggest week yet; “Golden” holds at No.1. Music Week

Awards & Honors

• 🪕 Americana Honors & Awards (Ryman Auditorium)

  • Artist of the Year: Sierra Ferrell (second straight)
  • Album of the Year: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats — “South of Here”
  • Song of the Year: I’m With Her — “Ancient Light”
    Plus: CMA Awards nominee pack dominated by Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, and Lainey Wilson (six each). MusicRow

Industry Moves

• 🔁 Spotify clarifies artist terms amidst viral chatter; unveils new DJ/mixing integrations and anti-spam efforts. Music Ally
• 🧪 AI in music keeps accelerating: Suno v5 release and ongoing legal scrutiny. Music Ally

In Memoriam

• 🕯 Hermeto Pascoal (89), visionary Brazilian composer, passed away. NPR
• 🕯 Bobby Hart, songwriter behind The Monkees’ hits, has died. NPR

What We’re Watching Next Week

• 🎟 Release-day first-week metrics for Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” (Oct 3)
• 🤖 Continued platform policies around AI music and evolving legal fronts
• 🌍 Tour announcements and fall festival lineups across genres

Fresh Listening Queue

• 🎧 New Albums To Spin:

  • Doja Cat — “Vie”
  • Olivia Dean — “The Art of Loving”
  • Neko Case — “Neon Grey Midnight Green”
  • Jeff Tweedy — “Twilight Override”
  • Young Thug — “UY Scuti”
    References: Pitchfork

Sources

• NPR Music News: Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, obits and features NPR
• Pitchfork rolling releases guide Pitchfork
• Billboard 2025 album calendar Billboard
• Music Week UK charts and industry updates Music Week
• Music Ally industry/AI coverage Music Ally
• MusicRow Weekly awards/nominations recap MusicRow

Keywords

music news, new album releases, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, AI music, Spotify, charts, awards, Americana Honors, industry trends