Santos Bravos will make its official debut as a band with a free concert, set to take place in Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional on Oct. 21.

The all-male ensemble — which has yet to unveil its five band members since the reality series is still ongoing — will be HYBE Latin America’s first Latin pop group. The free show will mark the culmination of the 12-episode, multi-platform venture that kicked off in August across YouTube, Spotify, ViX and EXA TV.

While the candidates — hailing from Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Mexico — have already performed in front of an audience during Sesiones Bravas that have taken place throughout the series, the show at the Auditorio Nacional will serve as the grand finale concert. The event will feature special guests, according to a press release, who will join Santos Bravos. The group will also perform their debut song during the show.

“With Santos Bravos, HYBE Latin America is opening a new chapter in Latin music, building a project with global ambition from its origins in our region,” Jaime Escallón, show runner of the series and general manager of the project at HYBE Latin America, said in a statement. “This debut concert at Auditorio Nacional is just the beginning of what will become an unprecedented cultural and musical
phenomenon.”

Santos Bravos, the name of the band and the series, chronicles HYBE Latin America’s journey to find and launch the next Latin pop band, combining rigorous artist development, storytelling and creative use of digital platforms.

Reservations to attend the Auditorio show are now available on Weverse, HYBE’s social media/fandom platform. Ticket pick-up from Sept. 23 at designated locations, to be announced via Weverse and social media.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, and a nod to Intocable‘s 30-year legacy, the band from Texas will get its own limited-run channel on SiriusXM.

This will be the first time the radio platform will have a dedicated channel hosted by a norteño music group, according to a press release, with Intocable Radio taking over SiriusXM’s Águila (ch. 153) from Sept. 19-21.

Intocable’s frontman, Ricky Muñoz, will be the guest DJ taking listeners on a “special journey” that will not only highlight the group’s impressive catalog but also honor the artists who’ve influenced the band along the way. The programming will also include anecdotes, never-before-heard stories about the group’s decades-long career and feature a variety of songs from Ana Gabriel, Chris Stapleton, George Strait, Joan Sebastian, Los Bukis and Selena, among other artists.

“We’re grateful to be able to represent our Latin community as the first regional Mexican/norteño group to have a dedicated channel on SiriusXM,” Muñoz tells Billboard. “We’re grateful to the entire team, and we hope listeners enjoy it. The experience was incredible! We were able to relive career moments, talk a little more about the music we grew up listening to, and the songs that have brought us to where we are today. Again, thank you to the SiriusXM team for allowing us to join them in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Intocable Radio will be available throughout the weekend on channel 153 for SiriusXM subscribers in their cars and on the SiriusXM app.

With eight No. 1 LPs on the Top Latin Albums chart — including Sueños (2002), La Historia (2003) and Highway (2016) — the tejano pioneers have stood the test of time soundtracking multigenerational homes on both sides of the border. Intocable is set to be honored with their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.

Spotify has announced a new multi-year global partnership with Sony Music, the third and final major to sign a new deal with Spotify this year. The deal encompasses both the recorded music and publishing sides of Sony’s business, and according to Spotify, its “new direct licensing arrangement in the U.S.” will result in higher royalties for songwriters.

It’s a notable part of the deal, given Spotify came under fire from music publishers last spring when it started paying a reduced royalty rate to songwriters and publishers in the U.S., resulting in what the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) says was a loss of $230 million in royalties in the first year.

This is because Spotify found that by adding audiobooks into its premium subscriptions, it could reclassify those popular subscriptions as “bundles,” a type of plan that qualifies for a discounted rate on U.S. mechanical royalties given that multiple products are offered under one price tag. The move caught publishers off guard and reignited longstanding tensions between publishers and Spotify about what royalties songwriters should earn.

Sony follows Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Kobalt in making these direct deals to, in part, improve remuneration for songwriters post-bundling. It’s unclear if these deals bring these companies’ royalty rates back to the level they were before bundling or not.

In a press release about the deal, limited information is given about the nature of this expanded partnership. According to a press release about the deal, “the companies will work together to keep improving the listening experience while creating more opportunities for artists and songwriters to reach audiences everywhere. These initiatives will launch new product offerings including enhanced audio and visual formats that enable deeper connections with fans.”

Recently, Spotify has been focused on expanding its offerings. The Stockholm-based company has announced it will now allow for direct messaging, a new DJ feature for playlists and high-fidelity listening — all as part of premium. Late last year, it also rolled out music videos for 97 countries, excluding users in the U.S. and Canada.

“Our partnership with Sony is built on a shared drive to shape the future of music. Together, we’re accelerating the pace of innovation to create powerful new opportunities and increasing revenue for artists and songwriters,” says Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and CEO. “These agreements aren’t just a milestone; they’re a catalyst for building a more dynamic and prosperous music ecosystem for everyone.”

Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music Group, says: “Sony Music Group and Spotify have long been mutually committed to advancing music streaming and growing the marketplace for all. This is further reflected in our new agreements where we’re working to develop futuristic approaches that ensure our artists and songwriters remain appropriately compensated for their work, and audiences are getting a high-quality experience that’s ever evolving.”

“These deals with Sony Music Group are built to better support artists and songwriters by unlocking new formats and forging deeper connections with fans,” says Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer at Spotify. “This alignment creates space for new opportunities and long-term growth for everyone involved.”

Brian Eno’s Together For Palestine concert took place in London on Wednesday evening (Sep. 17) with early estimates indicating that the benefit gig raised over £1.5 million ($2m) and counting for Palestinian-led charities and organisations.

The all-star concert was held at the OVO Wembley Arena and featured a series of performances and speeches by 150 leading artists and figures from around the world, including Eno, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, PinkPantheress and Palestinian artists Elyanna and Saint Levant. The funds raised by the concert will be distributed by the pro-immigration charity Choose Love, to organizations such as Taawon, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Palestine Medical Relief Service.

Eno, alongside fellow producers Khalid Abdalla, Khaled Ziada and Tracey Seaward, announced the concert in July. He wrote, “What we are witnessing in Gaza isn’t a mystery, and neither is it a blur of competing narratives making it ‘hard to understand’,” it read in part. “When dozens of non-partisan organisations like Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders describe it as genocide, the moral line is clear. We can’t remain silent. Which is why I’m helping to organise Together for Palestine – a night of music, reflection and hope at Wembley Arena.” 

On Tuesday (Sep. 16), the UN’s commission for inquiry declared that Israel had committed genocide during its ongoing military operations in Palestine. Since the Oct. 7 attacks, which saw terrorist group Hamas murder 1,200 Israeli citizens and take 251 hostages, over 64,964 Palestinian citizens have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Over 90% of homes in Palestine are estimated to have been damaged or destroyed with the vast majority of the population displaced and requiring urgent aid. 

The concert, hosted by comedian Guz Khan, was streamed live on YouTube. Prior to the event, Billie Eilish and brother Finneas appeared alongside actors Cillian Murphy, Javier Bardem, Brian Cox, Joaquin Phoenix and more in a short video pledging support for Palestine people.

The evening hosted a number of special musical performances. Eno teamed up with Albarn, Weller, Nadine Shah, Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and Adnan Jourban for a rare public performance; he performed a piece of music especially composed for the event, before reciting Khaled Juma’s poem Oh Rascal Children of Gaza. The show’s visuals were designed by Malak Mattar, a painter known as the “Picasso of Palestine.”

Portishead reunited for a special pre-recorded performance of their 1994 song “Roads,” and Albarn’s Gorillaz joined Omar Souleyman for a rendition of “Damascus” which appears on the animated band’s upcoming album, The Mountain. Albarn also joined the London Arab Orchestra and the ​​Juzour Dance Collective for a number of traditional Palestinian songs.

Annie Lennox contributed a pre-recorded performance of her hit single “Why?,” amending the closing lyrics to: “This is the sound of drones and guns/ Watch the people run run run/ Shoot to kill them just for fun/ Bodies falling one by one.” The new version, “Why? – For Gaza,” will be available on streaming platforms in the coming days with all proceeds from the single going to the Together for Palestine fund.

Performances on the night also came from Neneh Cherry, Greentea Peng, and Dan Smith (Bastille), Cat Burns, Rachel Chinouriri, Celeste, James Blake, Sampha, Jamie xx and Paloma Faith.

The performances were interspersed with speeches, poems and recitals by actors Riz Ahmed, Guy Pearce, Benedict Cumberbatch, Florence Pugh, Richard Gere, and more. Broadcaster Mehdi Hasan was joined by Palestinian reporter Yara Eid in a segment focusing on the targeting of the press in the conflict area by Israeli forces.

Manchester United legend Eric Cantona made a surprise appearance alongside Mahmoud Sarsak, whose teammate Suleiman al-Obeid – referred to as the “Palestinian Pele” – was killed by Israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid. During the segment, Cantona called for a boycott of Israeli teams: “Clubs everywhere must refuse to play Israeli teams, current players everywhere must refuse to play against Israeli teams… football fans around the world, recognize your power – those teams represent you. It’s time for everyone to get off the sidelines, who will follow me?”

A number of musicians did not perform, but appeared with speeches. “I think a lot about what I can do, not only as an individual, but as an artist,” said PinkPantheress in her segment. “We have a responsibility to use our platforms. Neutrality or silence shouldn’t be an option. Give Palestine your voice, and when your voice goes hoarse, hang your flags, wear your keffiyeh. Show them we are here.” See footage from her clip below.

Merchandise from the event is available to purchase here with all proceeds being directly donated to the overall fund. Direct donations can be made here.