Since founding Good Company MGMT in 2019, Maytav Koter has grown her boutique songwriter and producer management firm into a powerhouse of hitmakers. “I wanted to champion the creatives behind the scenes – the songwriters and producers who are the heartbeat of the industry,” she says of what drew her to a career as a songwriter-producer manager. “My focus has always been building a diverse, genre-agnostic roster and fostering a culture rooted in community, empathy and longevity.”

That focus has crystallized this week in particular, as producer Spencer Stewart celebrates a top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit with Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” and the release of Laufey’s third album, while producer Andrew Sarlo enjoys the success of Dijon’s recent and highly-anticipated second album that dropped last week.

Such wins have helped Koter — who also manages Buddy Ross (Lorde, Haim), Hayley Gene Penner (Teddy Swims), Jim Reed (Rex Orange County) and Swedish songwriter-producer Mona Khoshoi — land the title of Executive Of the Week.

“With such a boutique roster, we’re not only part of some of the year’s most anticipated albums but my clients are the main collaborators of those albums,” says Koter. “Dijon, Laufey and Ravyn Lenae are all stretching the bounds of sound and genre, they are shaping culture in their own way, and that’s what we’re most proud of.”

This week, Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” hit No. 5 on the Hot 100, which your producer Spencer Stewart is credited on. What key decision(s) did you make to help make that happen?

I’d been working on connecting Spencer and Ravyn for a couple years. In 2023, I sent her team some of his ideas, and the timing lined up – she was excited to get together. We’d also been looking for the right project for Spencer and Dahi [who executive produced Lenae’s second album, Bird’s Eye] to work on, so it all came together naturally. I knew if I could get them in the room, something special would happen.

At the same time, Stewart executive produced Laufey’s third album, A Matter of Time. Why do he and Laufey work so well together?

They really understand each other musically and aren’t afraid to push one another. Meeting in 2021 gave them the opportunity to grow together, and with both coming from Berklee – on the same scholarship [the Presidential Scholarship], a decade apart – they share a musical foundation and the desire to push beyond it. That’s what makes their collaboration so powerful. Spencer has now executive produced three of Laufey’s albums, they’ve made music for films together and there’s more ahead.

What’s the key to a songwriter-producer locking in with an artist across multiple albums?

So much of it is out of the managers’ control – it comes down to trust and connection between the artist and their collaborators. My job is to plant the seed, make space for it to grow and take care of the business so that my clients can focus on the music. Making those initial introductions and then watching an entire world of music take shape is very exciting. In many ways, we’re helping manifest artistic dreams.

Last week, Dijon released his second album Baby, which your producer Andrew Sarlo is credited on. How did they partner up?

They first met in 2019, and Dijon made a big impact on Andrew. A couple years later, Dijon, Andrew and Mike [Gordon, also known as Mk.gee] made “Many Times” [on Dijon’s 2021 debut album Absolutely] in a single day – the bounce from that session is the track we know today. It was a bonding experience that really shaped their relationship. Four years later, Andrew is a fundamental part of Dijon’s sophomore album, Baby, and what connects them is a deep friendship and a relentless ambition to make music that they’ve never heard before.

How do you, as a manager, navigate multiple releases across your roster at once? 

I’m always thinking big picture. Every collaboration is intentional – we’re not chasing songs or one-off sessions. I stay grounded and present at every level with my clients, and sometimes I’m there for perspective or emotional support but always with a focus on where they are and where they want to go. They trust me to handle tough situations with care and integrity. Because I’m invested in their lives beyond their careers, the loyalty runs deep and the wins feel that much more meaningful.

What’s the best tip for building a strong roster?

Know your strengths and know the type of personalities you work best with. From the beginning, understand their work cadence and communication style – that alignment is everything.

What’s ahead for Good Company?

Realizing the hopes and dreams of my clients. Being a part of records that stand the test of time. And expanding Good Company with the same care and intention that got us here. 

Deftones diehards have been on the hunt for the band’s legendary lost album, Eros, for more than 15 years. The record tracked in 2008 was intended to be the follow-up to their fifth LP, 2006’s Saturday Night Wrist, but then shelved indefinitely.

In a new interview with the Guardian, singer Chino Moreno gives fans a long-awaited update on the fate of the album that was scrapped after late bassist Chi Cheng was left in a coma following a 2008 car crash; Cheng died of complications from the accident in 2013 at age 42. While bootlegs of some of the songs have floated around online for years, Moreno said despite being asked about the LP all the time the truth is it’s likely to stay on the vault.

“It will most likely never see the light of day,” said Moreno. “That would involve going back to that period and resurrecting unfinished things, and somehow bringing them to completion. ‘Dallas’ is the only song that was anywhere near finished.”

Moreno said the band’s just-released tenth studio album, Private Music, started with ideas they’d been working on separately during the COVID-19 pandemic. But when they actually got together to work on it, “none of us wanted to look back at those ideas from the pandemic – we wanted to capture the moment we’re in today. So going back to try to capture what was happening back during Eros, and finishing those ideas, doesn’t really make sense.”

Private Music — which dropped just six weeks after the band first announced it — was preceded by the singles “My Mind Is a Mountain” and “Milk of the Madonna,” and features the songs “Locked Club,” “Ecdysis,” “Infinite Source,” “Souvenir” “Cxz,” “I Think About You All the Time,” “Cut Hands,” “~Metal Dream” and “Departing the Body.”

The band is in the midst of a headlining tour in support of the album, which will stop at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. on Friday night (Aug. 22).

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Ever wanted to smell like a plastic doll? Well, now you can.

Boy Smells just launched a plastic fantastic collaborative scent titled Doll Skin with Bratz. The scent, according to the candle and fragrance brand, is fruity with notes of strawberry, vanilla, orchid and a strange but whimsical plastic doll accord. You can shop the fragrance in an 8-oz or 3-oz bottle on Boy Smells’ website. The unique concoction is meant to evoke the scent of a plastic Bratz doll, something we haven’t seen in mainstream fragrances until now.

The 8-oz fragrance will run you $42, while the 3-oz. bottle retails for $28. The scent, according to Boy Smells, resembles “a freshly opened doll. Clean, glammed and ready to go with fresh orchid notes, blushing strawberry and a powdery plastique accord that’s giving ‘get on my level.’” The fragrance can be worn on its own; however, you can also spritz it on as a finishing “scent polisher.”

Boy Smells x Bratz Doll Skin 8 oz

$42

Buy Now at boy smells

A collaborative fragrance between Boy Smells and Bratz.

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We can only describe it as eccentric with tons of personality. It starts off sweet with strawberries, vanilla and orchid, but ends with a plastic base note that is hard to pin down. It’s safe to say that this one is for our more adventurous readers looking to liven up their scent game. If you can’t decide on a full-size or the 3-oz bottle, Boy Smells also sells a set featuring both sizes. The best part? The duo is currently on sale for $63.

While this collection is sort of off-the-wall, Boy Smells has done a lot of other seriously cool things with fragrance in the past. Take its Rush-scented fragrance, aptly titled Citrush. The viral fragrance is meant to smell like a bottle of Rush poppers. For those of you not aware of the Rush phenom, the product is one brand of alkyl nitrites. Think Troye Sivan’s 2023 hit of the same name that references the drug and the feeling you get when taking it, equating it to that rush of feeling you get when you’re in love or lust.

Boy Smells x Bratz Doll Skin 8 oz and 3 oz Duo

$63 $70 10% off

Buy Now at boy smells

A collaborative fragrance set between Boy Smells and Bratz.

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The scent can be likened to chlorine or a strong cleaning product. Boy Smells bottled that smell — along with notes of musk, pomelo, black pepper and more — creating a fragrance in a category all its own. The Rush-inspired fragrance can be shopped now on Boy Smells for $78.

Citrush Perfume

Buy Now at boy smells $78 $78

A perfume scented like poppers.

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K-pop boy band Stray Kids dropped their fourth full-length album on Friday (Aug. 22), KARMA, the 11-track follow-up to December’s Hop mixtape. The collection produced entirely by the group’s production team 3RACHA, opens with the yearning, hard-hitting rap-popper “Bleep” followed by the bouncy hip-pop single “Ceremony.”

The accompanying high-gloss video finds members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N kitting up for a variety of extreme sports challenges in a futuristic landscape. From Changbin dropping hard-hitting rhymes in the middle of an MMA octagon — “We’re moving forward with maximum power/ And we’re gonna dominate, pop it/ Making headlines, big news topic/ My experience points are my countless trophies” — to a Mario Kart-esque race to grab an elusive black ball in a raucous arena and American football players trying to tackle Han as he casually dribbles a soccer ball between them, the visual is full of extreme sports action.

Add in some physically impossible break dancing moves, a gravity defying baseball bat swing and other feats of sports superiority and you have… well, a surprise twist at the end that you didn’t see coming.

According to a release announcing the LP, the collection tells a story about destiny from a unique Stray Kids perspective. “Destiny is shaped by a tangled web of choices and consequences,” it explains. “KARMA begins with this very idea — an attempt to interpret Stray Kids’ fate. Despite countless external judgments and inner conflicts, they have continued to forge their own path with unwavering resolve. Through their music, Stray Kids represent a story of growth.”

Other tracks on the album include the skittery trap R&B banger “Creed,” tear-stained ballad “Mess,” old school, whistle-enhanced baile funk bouncer “Half Time,” EDM jam “Phoenix” and two additional versions of “Ceremony,” a live-sounding “Festival” version and an English version.

The group recently completed its largest-ever world tour, Stray Kids World Tour <dominATE>, which brought 54 shows to 34 regions across the world on five continents over 341 days, wrapping up on July 30th in Rome.

Watch the “Ceremony” video and listen to KARMA below.

The party is never over for SZA and Drew Barrymore, who continue to support each other years after the former named a song after the latter.

In a sweet Instagram post Thursday (Aug. 21), the actress shared a throwback selfie of herself and the Grammy winner on the set of the “Drew Barrymore” music video, which SZA released in 2017. In the snap, both women wear coats while standing on a path lined with buildings, smiling softly at the camera.

“Throwback to this ‘pinch me’ moment,” Barrymore wrote in her caption. “I still can’t believe you wrote such a beautiful song and named it my name! I’m the luckiest girl in the world! You’re the greatest.”

The post comes more than eight years after the R&B hitmaker released “Drew Barrymore” as the lead single off her debut album, Ctrl, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. Though the track never charted on the Billboard Hot 100, it has steadily become known as a quintessential SZA song and a favorite among fans.

And during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in January, the singer — who finished the European leg of her ongoing Grand National Tour with Kendrick Lamar earlier in August — finally got to explain the reasoning for the track’s title to Barrymore herself. “[Growing up,] one of the few lovely white women that I looked up to so much on television was you, because you were so yourself,” SZA told the talk-show host at the time. “You were quirky. Your smile wasn’t perfect … I love the way you talk and the you-ness of you.”

“It just reminds me of all the things about myself that make me nervous, but on you, shine so brightly,” SZA added on the show. “It gave me permission to be myself.”

During their chat, the two women also reflected on shooting the “Drew Barrymore” music video together. Barrymore only appears in the visual for a moment, but it’s powerful; as SZA collects herself while sitting on an outdoor staircase, the former child star walks past and gives her a reassuring smile.

“I was just so excited to show up for you,” Barrymore recalled at the time, to which SZA replied, “I couldn’t believe you did that.”

See the actress’ selfie with SZA below: