The indie rock stalwarts Deerhoof announced their intention to remove their catalog from Spotify on Monday (June 30) because of CEO Daniel Ek‘s investments in defense technology.

Earlier this month, the European defense technology company Helsing announced a series D funding round, led by Ek, worth nearly $700 million. This spurred Deerhoof to act: “We don’t want our success being tied to AI battle tech,” the band wrote in an open letter. 

Deerhoof described the decision to pull its music from Spotify as “pretty easy” since the group “earn[s] a lot more from touring” than it earns from streams on the platform.

“If the price of ‘discoverability’ is letting oligarchs fill the globe with computerized weaponry,” the band added, “we’re going to pass on the supposed benefits.”

Reps for Spotify and Helsing did not respond to a request for comment. 

Deerhoof has released 20 albums since debuting in 1996 with Dirt Pirate Creed. Those releases are spread across a handful of indie labels, including Kill Rock Stars, Polyvinyl, and Joyful Noise Recordings. Those companies will now be tasked with removing the band’s music from Spotify. 

“We aren’t sure exactly how soon the takedowns can happen, but it will be as soon as possible,” Deerhoof wrote. “We want to thank our various labels for their support on this tricky decision. The grunt work of pulling content off of Spotify is something they’re now tasked with, and they are sharing the financial hit. We know we are asking them to make a sacrifice, and it means a lot to us.”

Ek first put €100 million into Helsing in 2021 via Prima Materia, his investment vehicle, and joined the company’s board.  

Earlier this month, Ek was also announced as chairman of Helsing. “As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” he said in a statement. “Helsing is uniquely positioned with its AI leadership to deliver these critical capabilities in all-domain defence innovation.”

On Monday, Deerhoof wrote that “AI battle tech is clearly emerging as the hot new big ticket item for the super-rich.” But they stopped short of calling on other artists to join their protest against “AI weaponry” by pulling their music from Spotify.

“We also understand that other artists and labels do rely on Spotify for a bigger chunk of their income,” the band wrote, “and don’t judge those who can’t make the same move in the short term.”

Jennifer Lopez is gearing up to keep her overseas fans Up All Night. The singer/actress took to her socials on Sunday (June 29) to hype the upcoming outing slated to hit Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia this summer, writing, “Are you ready for UP ALL NIGHT #JLoLiveIn2025?! I can’t wait to see you this summer ✨🎤🎶 It’s almost time…”

Lopez posted the full routing for the Euro swing, her first road show in more than years, which is slated to kick off on July 8 in Vigo, Spain, at Parque Tafisa, and include six more stops in the country before moving on to Hungary on July 20, followed by shows in Italy, Turkey, Poland and Romania. The tour will then move on to the Middle East with gigs in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, before hitting Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey and Uzbekistan, wrapping up on August 10 at the Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Last week, Lopez posted rehearsal footage with choreographer Derek Hough, following on the heels of a June 20 photo dump of pics from her intense prep for the tour. Lopez has not mounted a proper tour since 2019’s It’s My Party global outing; she announced a North American tour in support of her 2024 This is Me… Now album only to cancel it less than a month before launch in order to take time off “to be with her children, family and close friends.”

Lopez is also gearing up for a return to the big screen on Oct. 10 when she stars in director Bill Condon’s adaptation of the 1993 Broadway play Kiss of the Spider Woman. JLo stars as Ingrid Luna in the film, in which two prisoners (Diego Luna and Tonatiuh) cook up song-and-dance routines based on the legendary actress’ roles while stuck in a prison cell during the waning days of Argentina’s Dirty War, which ravaged the nation from 1974 until 1983.

Check out Lopez’s post and a list of summer 2025 European shows below.

Up All Night Live 2025 European dates:

Yo Gabba Gabba! is coming to yo town.

Billboard Family can exclusively reveal that the classic children’s franchise is going on a live tour this summer, hitting 24 cities in August. Kammy Kam — the teen host of the Apple TV+ spin-off series Yo Gabba GabbaLand! — will emcee the tour, joined by beloved costumed characters Muno, Foofa, Plex, Brobee and Toodee as well as some promised “special guests.”

The tour kicks off Aug. 1 in Pomona, California, and wraps back in SoCal, with an Aug. 31 show at Los Angeles’ The Novo.

Back in April, Yo Gabba Gabba! delighted Coachella crowds across two weekends, bringing out Flavor Flav, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Portugal. The Man, Paul Williams and Thundercat for their Indio, California, sets alongside Kammy Kam and the classic Nickelodeon show’s host DJ Lance Rock. The new tour announcement says the Coachella concerts offered a “taste of what fans might expect” on the trek, as did Kammy Kam and the whole Yo Gabba GabbaLand! crew’s takeover of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert back in December, which also included a Thundercat cameo.

Speaking of Yo Gabba GabbaLand!, Apple TV+ announced earlier this month that season 2 of the spin-off series will arrive early next year, Jan. 30. In the meantime, fans can watch all four seasons of the original Nick series streaming on Apple TV+ now.

Below, find the full list of dates for the tour, which is produced by GabbaCaDabra LLC, co-owned by Yo Gabba Gabba LLC and WildBrain Ltd., with AEG Presents LLC on as exclusive promoter.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live 2025 Tour dates:

Aug. 1 — Pomona, CA — Fox Theatre Pomona
Aug. 2 — San Diego, CA — Balboa Theatre
Aug. 3 — San Jose, CA — San Jose Civic
Aug. 5 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex
Aug. 6 — Denver, CO — Paramount Theatre
Aug. 8 — Kansas City, MO — The Midland
Aug. 9 — Omaha, NE — Orpheum Theater
Aug. 10 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theatre
Aug. 11 — Royal Oak, MI — Royal Oak Music Theatre
Aug. 13 — Columbus, OH — KEMBA Live!
Aug. 14 — Cleveland, OH — The Agora
Aug. 15 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE
Aug. 16 — Glenside, PA — Keswick Theatre
Aug. 18 — Boston, MA — Roadrunner
Aug. 19 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom
Aug. 20 — Baltimore, MD — Lyric Baltimore
Aug. 21 — Durham, NC — DPAC
Aug. 23 — Nashville, TN — The Pinnacle
Aug. 24 — Atlanta, GA — The Eastern
Aug. 26 — Dallas, TX — The Bomb Factory
Aug. 27 — Austin, TX — Bass Concert Hall
Aug. 29 — Tucson, AZ — The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall
Aug. 30 — Phoenix, AZ — Orpheum Theatre
Aug. 31 — Los Angeles, CA — The Novo

Before there was Black Sabbath there was Earth. The precursor band to the legendary heavy metal band fronted by Ozzy Osbourne will get its time to shine on July 25 when a collection of demos recorded in 1969 will be issued as Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes. The first-time release of the early songs from Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward and bassist Geezer Butler as Earth is due out July 25 on Big Bear Records, the Birmingham blues/jazz label founded by the band’s first manager, Jim Simpson.

The four men who first joined forces in 1968 as the Polka Tulk Blues Band before briefly trying on Earth to record a number of demos in 1969 that were never released. They soon adopted their more familiar name, the one they will be billed as at what is being called the group’s final-ever concert on Saturday (July 5) in their hometown of Manchester.

According to the NME, original manager Simpson has overseen the project. “Before Black Sabbath, the band were known as Earth – a blues-driven powerhouse already making a name for themselves,” Simpson said in a release. “This new release presents rare early recordings from that era, remastered from long-lost tapes. These recordings clearly demonstrate what fine music they produced right from the very beginning. We recorded these tracks at Zella Studio in Birmingham in 1969, but held back from releasing them as their style was evolving so quickly.”

The magazine reported that it does not appear as if the band is involved with the release and at press time a spokesperson for Osbourne had not returned a request for comment. “Now, some 57 years later, the recordings assume a greater importance, illustrating how these four young men from Birmingham, barely out of their teens, were excellent musicians and a fine band, fully deserving of all the success that was to come their way,” Simpson continued.

Sabbath released their self-titled debut album in 1970, along with the classic LP Paranoid.

Ahead of their big all-star “Back to the Beginning” farewell concert next weekend in Birmingham’s Villa Park, the band was given freedom of the city honors from their hometown, with all four men presented with scrolls and medals by the town’s Lord Mayor at a private ceremony on Saturday (June 28) recognizing their significance, according to NME.

Butler called Birmingham a “great working-class city” during the ceremony, joking that people used to make fun of their accents in the early days. “We weren’t given a chance when we started out, but Birmingham has always been behind us,” he said.

Osbourne’s manager, wife Sharon Osbourne, revealed earlier this month that she had removed an unnamed band from the lineup of the final show after a dispute with the band’s manager that she said made her feel “the worst way I’ve felt in years.” Sabbath’s final gig will find them sharing the stage with Metallica, Mastodon, Anthrax, Pantera, Halestorm, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Alice in Chains, Gojira, Slayer and a supergroup featuring members of Guns N’ Roses, the Smashing Pumpkins, Limp Bizkit, Judas Priest, Rage Against the Machine and others.

Sabbath shared a candid snap from rehearsals last week in which Ward, Butler and Osbourne were caught smiling and waving at the camera from a couch. Osbourne has not performed a full show since 2018 as a result of a number of surgeries and a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease that has kept the 76-year-old metal legend off the stage for nearly seven years. Ozzy has said that he’s been in intensive training for the show, which he recently announced will be livestreamed for fans who can’t make it.