David Joseph, longtime chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK, has been appointed CEO of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), beginning in September. Joseph brings over 17 years of leadership in the music industry, having transformed Universal Music UK into a global force before leaving the biz completely late last year. Known for his collaborative approach, Joseph has also championed social impact initiatives, including neurodiversity in the workplace through UMG’s “Creative Differences” handbook and community advocacy as chair of the Grenfell Foundation. He served as executive producer of the Oscar-winning Amy documentary and has produced the acclaimed BRIT Awards. Joseph succeeds Andy Haldane and will lead the 271-year-old nonprofit’s global mission to drive social progress through ideas and action in education, the arts, manufacturing and commerce. “David’s commitment to effecting social change, his compassion and his commitment to nurturing people is exemplary,” said Lloyd Grossman, chair of the RSA. “We are thrilled that David will join us, knowing that he will foster a collaborative and caring culture that speaks to our fellows, partners, staff teams and the wider world.”

Chrysalis Records, part of the Reservoir group, bumped up Tina McBye to senior vice president of commercial music operations. Based in London, she will report to COO Alison Wenham and continue leading commercial music operations across the group, including Blue Raincoat Music, Blue Raincoat Artists and labels like New State and Tommy Boy. Since joining in 2023, Tina has built a robust department supporting releases, catalog acquisitions and neighboring rights management. With a background at PPL and PRS, she brings deep expertise in neighboring rights. “Since [McBye] joined the company, she has made an enormous and transformative contribution to the development of our operations capability,” said Alison Wenham, chief operating officer, adding that she’ll continue focusing on the Chrysalis roster but will also take the lead in shaping and overseeing commercial music operations across the broader Blue Raincoat Group.

Rusty Gaston, the CEO of Sony Music Publishing Nashville, was named to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s board of officers and trustees. Jody Williams Songs founder Jody Williams was reelected as board chair, while other re-elected executive officers include Vince Gill (president), Al Giombetti (evp), David Ross (secretary) and Ernie Williams (treasurer). Ross, Ernie Williams and Jody Williams were also reelected as trustees. Other returning trustees include Mark Bloom, David Conrad, J. William Denny, Rod Essig, Al Giombetti, Ken Levitan and Mary Ann McCready, while returning officers include Earl Bentz, Sara Finley, Becky Gardenhire, Lon Helton, Clint Higham, Cindy Mabe, Gary Overton, Jim Seabury, Bill Simmons, Clarence Spalding, Chris Stewart, Troy Tomlinson, Jay Turner, Marcus Whitney and Tim Wipperman. –Jessica Nicholson

NASHVILLE NOTES: PR executive Krista Dykes launched the podcast booking and publicity agency She Laughs Media. Dykes most recently served as senior media relations manager at PLA Media and served as media relations manager at the Country Music Association from 2015-2023 … Big Machine Label Group hired director of digital marketing Sarah Bertrand. She spent the last three years with UMGN, where she was a digital marketing manager … Ailie Birchfield joined MCA as a publicist, marking a return to the company. She served as director of media marketing when it was known as UMGN, prior to a 2021 move to New York. She also runs the Nashville-based PR firm The Birchfield Group. (Want more Nashville-centric industry news? Subscribe to Tom Roland’s Country Update newsletter here.)

WMA, a global digital marketing and creative agency, appointed Andy Saiker as head of PR, socia and marketing for the UK and Europe. Effective immediately, the Londoner will oversee the PR and social teams and help expand WMA’s global marketing operations in the region. He brings experience from Warner Music, BMG Production Music and most recently, TikTok, where as senior partnerships manager for the last few years he led successful campaigns like Team GB x TikTok and StemDrop. “Andy’s deep understanding of music and digital culture makes him an incredible addition to the agency,” said Crystina Cinti, global vp at WMA.

Sotaro Nishida is now executive officer and senior vp of audio at Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA), a newly established role in which he will lead both the consumer and professional audio divisions, focusing on expanding the company’s presence in the U.S. market.Previously CEO of Yamaha Unified Communications, Nishida brings over 20 years of global experience, including roles in Europe, Japan and Latin America. His leadership follows YCA’s 2024 integration of unified communications operations. Based in Southern California, Nishida is expected to drive growth in the U.S. market, building on Yamaha’s strong presence in live sound, commercial and home audio.

Wiles + Taylor, a Nashville-based entertainment business management firm, elevated Lizzy Stone and Amy Gellick to account manager as part of five internal promotions. Stone, who joined in 2018, is active in several industry organizations and was part of the 2024 ACM LEVel Up Cohort. Gellick, with the firm since 2016, serves on the boards of the Women’s Music Business Association and SOLID. Karla Stafford, a 20-year veteran of the firm, is now director of financial reporting and compliance, while David Zeigler and David Murray have both been promoted to business manager. Zeigler joined in 2018 and is known for his passion for live music and travel, and Murray, a CPA, has been with W+T since 2016.

Audacy is shutting down Pineapple Street Studios, its podcast production arm, as part of a broader restructuring effort, resulting in approximately 30 layoffs. Founded in 2016 and acquired by Audacy (then Entercom) for $18 million in 2019, Pineapple Street was known for producing original and companion podcasts for major streaming platforms, including House of the Dragon, Severance and The Last of Us. The closure follows earlier reports of a potential sale and the February departure of co-founder Jenna Weiss-Berman, who has since joined Paper Kite Productions. Audacy will continue select Pineapple Street projects under its newly formed Audacy Podcasts division, including The Severance Podcast, now produced in collaboration with Red Hour and Great Scott.

Zebralution, a digital music distributor, announced key leadership changes to support its global expansion. William Hallström has been promoted to head of international business development while continuing as svp for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. In this dual role, he’ll connect global teams with the Berlin headquarters and strengthen international operations. Hallström, who reports to Michael Schick in Berlin, brings experience from Universal Music and Sony Music. Additionally, Harry Barrett joins as sales and marketing manager UK/Dance Stores, bringing expertise from IDOL, while Zhenya Ivanova, formerly a playlist editor at Spotify, becomes sales and marketing manager in the U.S., based in New York. Both Barrett and Ivanov report to Lisa Riepe, head of sales and marketing.

The California Copyright Conference (CCC) announced its newly elected officers and board of directors for the 2025–2026 season. Carolyn Soyars (Disney Music Group) will serve as president, joined by Jonathan Lane, Alexandra Guzman, Sarah Brockman and Janelle Hawkes in key officer roles. Re-elected board members include Kristina Benson, Reggie Calloway, and Cheryl Dickerson. New board members are Lily Kline-Koenig, Melanie Santa Rosa, Patrick Smith, and alternate Jack Mangikyan. Several members are continuing their second terms. CCC, founded in 1953, has over 300 global members and provides educational events and resources on copyright and music industry developments.

Last Week’s Turntable: Jody Gerson Joins Ancestry Board

One week after multiple outlets reported that Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom had ended their relationship after nine years together, reps for the pair confirmed the split in a statement.

“Due to the abundance of recent interest and conversation surrounding Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry’s relationship, representatives have confirmed that Orlando and Katy have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting,” they said in a statement to Billboard. “They will continue to be seen together as a family, as their shared priority is — and always will be — raising their daughter [Daisy Dove] with love, stability and mutual respect.”

After weeks of rumors about trouble in their romance, People, TMZ and Us Weekly all independently confirmed in late June that the pair had ended their engagement and gone their separate ways. The two first began dating in 2016 and split briefly in early 2017, but were spotted getting cozy just months later. The Grammy nominee then teased in an Instagram post in February 2018 that she and the Pirates of the Caribbean star had gotten engaged on Valentine’s Day, with the photo focused on a flower-shaped ruby and diamond ring on her finger and the actor snuggling into her. She confirmed the engagement later that month during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, revealing that Bloom had proposed to her during a romantic helicopter ride.

The two welcomed daughter Daisy Dove in August 2020, with the happy news revealed via an announcement from Unicef, for who Bloom and Perry were Goodwill Ambassadors. The pair never married.

What will be the No. 1 song of the summer of 2025? As of July 4, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” maintains its lead in the race, per Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart.

The 20-position Songs of the Summer running tally tracks the most popular titles based on cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 chart from Memorial Day through Labor Day (this year encompassing charts dated June 7 through Sept. 6). At the end of the season, the top song of the summer will be revealed.

(Titles that appeared on the 2024 Songs of the Summer chart or peaked on the Hot 100 during or before summer 2024 are ineligible to appear on this year’s Songs of the Summer ranking.)

“Ordinary” has ruled Songs of the Summer for four of the five weeks since the survey returned this season. It added a fourth frame atop the latest, July 5-dated Hot 100.

Morgan Wallen boasts the next two songs on the Songs of the Summer chart at the July 4 mark — “What I Want,” featuring Tate McRae (No. 2), and “Just in Case” (No. 3) — while his “I’m the Problem” places at No. 5. Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” is at No. 4.

Also notably, rounding out the Songs of the Summer top 10, Leon Thomas’ Hot R&B Songs leader “Mutt” ranks at its No. 10 high.

Among hits scaling the Songs of the Summer survey beyond the top 10, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” bounds 16-11 — after it soared in at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in June; Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” lifts 19-17; and Benson Boone’s “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” debuts at No. 19.

Check out the top 10 summer songs every year throughout the Hot 100’s history (from the chart’s start in 1958); the top 500 Greatest of All Time Songs of the Summer; and the Songs of the Summer chart in its entirety each week throughout the summer.

Usher has scrapped plans for his long-awaited return to Australia, with all dates on his Past Present Future tour now officially canceled.

The R&B superstar was due to play 12 shows across Melbourne and Sydney in November and December, marking his first Australian tour in nearly 14 years. Tickets for the trek went on sale in May, with strong demand leading promoters to add four extra dates after the initial announcement.

Live Nation confirmed the news Friday (July 4), sharing a brief statement via Ticketek: “The promoter of Usher’s Australian tour regrets to advise that the scheduled shows to take place in November/December will no longer be proceeding.” No reason was given for the cancellation.

Fans who purchased tickets will automatically receive full refunds, with Ticketek advising customers to allow up to 30 business days for the funds to appear in their accounts.

The Grammy winner first announced the Australian leg of the Past Present Future tour back in March, telling fans he was “bringing the A to the AUS” on Instagram. The trek, which has already seen Usher perform in the U.S. and Europe, was set to kick off Nov. 19 at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena before moving to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Dec. 1.

Ticket prices for the shows ranged from approximately AUD $220 for standard seats to AUD $2,792 for the Ultimate Meet and Greet VIP Lounge Experience, sparking debate among fans about the high cost of entry.

While some fans expressed shock and disappointment on social media, others noted they weren’t surprised given the ambitious schedule. Popular Australian TikToker Jacinda Chenelle suggested the cancellation may have been influenced by “overzealous” planning and pricing.

Usher’s last tour of Australia was the OMG Tour in 2011. Since then, he’s continued to make his mark on the Billboard charts, most recently performing at the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show and scoring a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Good Good” alongside Summer Walker and 21 Savage.

Usher has not publicly commented on the cancellation.