As Neil Young prepares to tour the U.S. this summer, he’s invited President Donald Trump to attend one of his shows as a way to remind him of “American values.”

Young’s comments appeared in a new post on his Archives website on Monday (June 2), which saw him ruminating on the current state of affairs in the U.S. ahead of the launch of his North American tour dates in August.

“Our country and our way of life, that which our fathers and theirs fought for, is now threatened by our government,” Young wrote. “This is not what we voted for. This is our new reality. Our government is out of control, not standing for us. You can stand up for American values this summer, for our children and theirs.

“When I tour the USA this summer, if there is not martial law by then which would make it impossible, let’s all come together and stand for American values,” he added. “We will not be doing a political show. We will be playing the music we love for all of us to enjoy together. President Trump, you are invited. Come and hear our music just as you did for decades.”

Young’s invitation to Trump aligns with the President’s previous comments about his fondness for the Canadian rocker’s music. “He’s got something very special,” Trump told Rolling Stone in 2008, reflecting on his numerous times seeing Young in concert and having him perform at his casinos. “I’ve met him on occasions and he’s a terrific guy.”

However, the pair have undeniably altered their opinions of each other since then, with Young having become increasingly more outspoken regarding Trump’s policies since his first term as President. In April, Young had even noted that he feared constant criticism of Trump may result in a potential blacklisting from the country ahead of his upcoming tour dates.

“If the fact that I think Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of our great country could stop me from coming back, what does that say for Freedom?” Young mused. “I love America and its people and its music and its culture.” 

More recently, Young labelled Trump “out of control” in May after he made a Truth Social post which saw the POTUS describe Bruce Springsteen as “highly overrated” and “dumb as a rock,” while saying that Taylor Swift is “no longer ‘HOT.’”

“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America,” Young wrote in response to Trump’s comments. “You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump. STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”

Young is currently scheduled to launch his forthcoming tour with the Chrome Hearts in Rättvik, Sweden on June 18, with North American dates set to begin in Charlotte, NC on Aug. 8

Today (June 4), Music Nation Copyrights Management, which handles music rights management in the United Arab Emirates, announced the company received formal approval to license, collect and distribute royalties from public performance and neighboring rights. The approval will deliver a vital new source of revenue for music rights holders, according to Music Nation.  

Through partnerships with performing rights organization BMI and digital global collective management organization SoundExchange, Music Nation will be the industry’s first rights management organization capable of natively collecting performance, mechanical and neighboring rights. 

“Today marks a pivotal moment for the UAE and Music Nation,” said Music Nation chairwoman Rasha Khalifa Al Mubarak in a release. “After years of careful planning, Music Nation is positioned to become a cornerstone of music licensing, empowering the Emirates’ vibrant creative industry. As an Emarati, I am honored to establish a world-class music rights infrastructure that not only elevates local artists to greater heights, but also showcases our rich musical heritage and cultural traditions to the world.” 

Music Nation is part of a broad UAE initiative to support the creation of a thriving music ecosystem and to elevate the region’s music industry by protecting the rights of music creators and compensating them for the commercial use of their work.  

“The Ministry [of Economy] continues its efforts to develop an advanced system for the governance of copyright and related rights, based on global best practices. This is achieved by developing regulatory and legislative frameworks, stimulating investment in creativity, and supporting effective collective management systems that ensure the protection of rights and enhance the confidence of creators and musicians in the country’s creative climate,” said undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh in a release. 

He continues: “The collective management license for music plays an important role in promoting a creative culture in society, providing comprehensive protection for the intellectual property rights of musicians and artists, and providing mechanisms to ensure financial justice for artists and creators in the distribution of revenues and transparency in the collection and distribution of copyrights. This supports raising the competitiveness of the music industry in the country and making it an attractive destination for creative and cultural works worldwide.” 

Music Nation will begin collecting royalties in the UAE for more than 2 million songwriters, composers, publishers, artists, sound recording owners and other music creators. That 2 million figure represents the combined copyrights held by clients of BMI and SoundExchange. Music Nation will collect and distribute royalties on their behalf in the UAE. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Rasha, the Music Nation team and SoundExchange to ensure that music creators in the UAE have the opportunity to turn their passion into their careers by being paid for their creative work,” said BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill in a release. “BMI has always been an unwavering advocate for the songwriters, composers and rights holders behind the songs the world loves, and we’re excited to provide our music licensing infrastructure, expertise and deep experience fostering career development to benefit the region’s incredible creators. There are endless possibilities ahead that Music Nation will deliver, and we look forward to a bright future together.” 

The UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remain the fastest-growing music market in the world, with the IFPI reporting the territory expanded in 2024 for a tenth consecutive year. Music revenue in MENA last year climbed by 22.8%, outpacing the global average of 5.9% growth. 

“This is a major milestone and a vote of confidence from the UAE Ministry of Economy in the combined abilities of Music Nation, SoundExchange and BMI,” said SoundExchange president and CEO Michael Huppe in a release. “We’re excited to get to work establishing the region’s premier collective management organization and serving creators with the same level of excellence we have for more than two decades in the U.S.” 

Taylor Swift is enjoying quite the sales boost following her Friday (May 30) announcement that she had purchased the masters of her first six albums. Based on preliminary data from Luminate, we’re starting to get a sense of which albums Swifties are turning to most frequently to celebrate.

Looking at her Republic Records studio catalog, not including the Taylor’s Version re-recordings, all those albums experienced gains from Friday-Saturday (May 30-31), ranging from the slight 5.6% gain that The Tortured Poets Department experienced in sales when compared to the daily average of the preceding 11-day period, to the 21.9% increase her Evermore album enjoyed when comparing those periods, according to Billboard‘s calculations based Luminate’s on preliminary sales and streaming activity data.

Meanwhile, the Taylor’s Version albums almost all outperformed the Evermore increase, except for the 1989 re-record, which just missed out by growing 21.3% in the two-day average after the announcement versus the previous 11-day average: Red (Taylor’s Version) grew by 23.2%, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by 27.5% and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) by 27.9%, per preliminary data from Luminate, Billboard calculates.

Moving over to Swift’s Big Machine albums, the original 1989 album had the least amount of growth but even its percentage increase of 41.2% swamped the percentage gains posted by all the Republic albums. Leading the growth charge, Taylor Swift’s eponymous first album enjoyed a 484.4% increase, followed by Speak Now with a 343.9% increase in the two days after the announcement versus the 11 days prior; Reputation, up 328%; Red at 173.7% greater; and Fearless with a 140.4% rise when comparing the two periods, Billboard further calculates.

However, even with the original whopping percentage gains on a unit count basis for the two periods, none of those albums outperformed the Taylor’s Version albums in absolute sales for the post-announcement two-day period. For example, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) averaged a few hundred above 2,000 album consumption units for the two-day period, while the original version’s total album consumption was a few hundred over 1,000 units.

Even the original Speak Now, which saw a 343.9% increase, fell 10 units shy of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), when looking at the average total consumption units for the two-day period.

On a unit basis, Reputation the biggest gain — nearly 6,000 units — to bring total sales on average for the two-day period to nearly 8,000 units, versus the nearly 2,000 units the album averaged in the 11 days prior to the announcement. In fact, that album was by far the best performing album in the Swift catalog over the two-day period.

Ye (formerly Kanye West) regrets what he’s said about mentor and former collaborator Jay-Z.

Over the weekend, the controversial artist took to X to say that he often “dreams” of making amends. “All my dreams have been about apologizing to Jay Z,” he wrote.

In another deleted post back in April, he said he was “sorry” for his past transgressions, specifically when he insinuated that Jay and his wife’s Beyoncé‘s young twins Rumi and Sir Carter have mental disabilities in a rant on X a month before in March. “I’m sorry Jay Z,” he tweeted on April 10. “I be feeling bad about my tweet but I still feel I gave my life to this industry and thought so many people were my family but when I needed family on some real sh– none of these rap n—as had my back.”

Later during the month of April, Ye revealed that he and Jigga had a falling out over a bar referring to his red MAGA hat on the song “Jail” from Ye’s 2021 album Donda, where he floated the idea that their supergroup The Throne may be able to make a return to glory. “Stop all of that red cap, we goin’ home,” Jay rapped. “Not me with all of these sins, castin’ stones/ This might be the return of The Throne.”

Ye was in the news earlier Monday when another former collaborator, Pusha T, addressed their current relationship — a relationship Ye recently said that he wants to fix.

MusiCares announced that it launched its 2025 Wellness in Music Survey on Monday (June 2). The study, which MusiCares first introduced in October 2020, includes questions on such sensitive topics as sexual harassment, sexual assault, suicide, mental health and substance use. The anonymous survey is limited to music professionals who are 18 and older. Responses are due by Friday (June 13) at 5 p.m. PT.

MusiCares seeks to get participants to answer dozens of detailed questions about their health and well-being by saying, “The survey allows MusiCares to understand how music professionals are doing on a large scale, and to then tailor our services to the community’s most pressing needs. Your participation isn’t just valuable — it’s vital for making real, positive changes for everyone in the music community.”

Key updates this year include additional questions around family/caregiving and the experiences of music professionals with disabilities.

MusiCares reports that nearly 2,800 music professionals responded to last year’s survey. Based in part on their responses, MusiCares expanded telehealth support for addiction recovery, introduced financial coaching, covered childcare costs and increased access to preventive care services, including mammograms and cervical screenings.

In its letter asking people to participate in the survey, MusiCares ticks off several ways in which music careers can be especially challenging in terms of health and well-being: “Unpredictable, gig-based income. High out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Long hours on the road, often in a new city each day. These challenges don’t just affect performers — they affect touring crews, engineers, stagehands, and every behind-the-scenes worker who keeps the music going.

“The truth is: life in music isn’t just challenging — it’s often destabilizing in ways that most traditional workers never encounter. From a lack of benefits and paid leave to the mental toll of creative burnout, the risks are real — and they’re widespread.

Go here to access the survey in English. 
Go here to access the survey in Spanish. 
Go here to access the social media toolkit in both English and Spanish.

Last year’s survey results were sobering — and that was before wildfires in Los Angeles and hurricanes across the Southeast disrupted thousands of lives, including many who work in music.

Here are some of the key findings from last year’s survey:

Offering preventive, emergency and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of music workers through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources and tailored crisis relief efforts. For more information visit www.musicares.org.