Music Biz Headlines: Drake Teasing 'Iceman' Again, Warped Tour and FEQ Lineup Announcements Boost Quebec Festival Season
Also this week: DOJ settles its landmark case with Live Nation, Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon headline Malta's Breaking Borders Festival and more.
Jelly Roll is one of the headliners of FEQ 2026.
This week, lawsuits are again back in the headlines. Stateside, the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit of Live Nation and Ticketmaster is settled, though not everyone is happy about the decision, while Google is being sued by artists over the alleged use of unlicensed songs.
Elsewhere, Punjabi superstars Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon will headline Malta's Breaking Borders Festival, Franz Ferdinand are furious at the Israeli Defense Forces and Courtney Love squashes Hole reunion rumours.
Read these stories and more in this week's roundup of music biz headlines of the week from Canada and beyond.
Canadian Music Biz Headlines
Drake Reboots 'Iceman' Rollout with Instagram Post, DJ Akademiks Shares Update
Could Iceman be around the corner? – Stefano Rebuli, Billboard Canada
Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon to Headline Malta's 2026 Breaking Borders Festival
Aujla will headline two out of three nights with two different setlists, while fellow Punjabi-Canadian singers Sukha and Prabh will also play along with The PropheC, Miss Pooja, Panjabi MC and more. – Peony Hirwani, Billboard Canada
From July 9 to 19, Shaggy, Gwen Stefani, Muse, Martin Garrix and many more will take the stage at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City for one of the country's largest music festivals. – Stefano Rebuli, Billboard Canada
Simple Plan, All Time Low, Jimmy Eat World & More Tapped For 2026 Vans Warped Tour in Montreal
For the first time in 12 years, the punk music tour will return to Canada at Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau from Aug 21-22. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Neil Young Recording New Album With Chrome Hearts
Neil Young has revealed he is back in the studio with The Chrome Hearts, working on a new album featuring a set of songs he says capture life, love and the emotions that still drive his music. – Noise11
WondaGurl Unveils First Single From ‘Conscious Planet’ EP, Spotlighting Global Environmental Crisis
Created in partnership with Conscious Music Circle (CMC), "Ancient Seed" taps artists from across the world to call attention to the soil degradation crisis. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
Indie Music’s Greatest Year? It Was 20 years Ago
In 2006, independent artists could be creative and still make a living. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe & Mail
Iranian-Canadian composer Amir Amiri Dreams of Performing in his Home Country
Amir Amiri, a Montreal-based Iranian-Canadian composer and virtuoso player of the 72-string dulcimer-like santur, left his home country as a young man in 1996. He spoke to us about the war in Iran and the death of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
On the stunning 'Hurts Like Hell,' the Toronto singer tackles relationships and motherhood. – Emilie Hanskamp, Toronto Star
Toronto Music Experience Names Neil Shankman as Inaugural Executive Director
The music executive’s appointment continues the non-profit organization’s plans to open a permanent Toronto music museum to celebrate the city’s musical legacy. – Heather Taylor-Singh, Billboard Canada
At Nearly 60, Canadian Cult Icon Peaches is Not Slowing Down or Covering Up
Age has only made the artist, born Merrill Nisker, more energized. In February, she released her seventh studio album, the sexy and defiant No Lube So Rude, and kicked off a North American tour. –Russ Martin, Globe & Mail
Girls to the Front Festival Turns up the Volume For its Vancouver Launch
Several years after reading Lizzy Goodman's oral history about how New York’s 2000s indie rock scene was created, Madeline Fraser found herself in a Kelowna bathroom dreaming up the start of what she hopes can be another musical revolution. – Nathan Caddell, Georgia Straight
The Beat Goes On at the Hamilton Music Collective
The music education charity got a big boost for its free and affordable programs from NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a U.S. gaming company. A $150,000 donation will provide beat-making, music production, and DJing lessons to 250 kids. It comes at a pivotal time in HMC’s evolution. – Meredith MacLeod, Hamilton City Magazine
Donovan Woods Releases Squander Your Gifts, an EP Dedicated to His Late Collaborator
The title of Donovan Woods's new EP Squander Your Gifts came from a remark made by someone who said that it was a sin that his songwriting partner Abe Stoklasa had squandered his gifts. – The Globe & Mail
International Music Biz Headlines
Live Nation Reaches Settlement With DOJ In Antitrust Case, But Some States Will ‘Keep Fighting’
The deal would reportedly include some major structural changes, but would not require Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster. – Bill Donahue, Billboard
Franz Ferdinand Blast Israeli Defense Forces For Using ‘Take Me Out’ in War Propaganda Video
‘This Makes Us Both Nauseous and Furious,' says the band. The video, which appears to have been taken down, reportedly used the 2003 song without the band's consent. – Gil Kaufman, Billboard
Google AI Music Lawsuit: Artists Say Lyria 3 Model Stole YouTube Songs
Google is facing an AI music lawsuit by artists who say the tech giant's Lyria 3 model illegally trained on unlicensed songs pulled from YouTube. – Rachel Scharf, Billboard
B2K and Bow Wow’s Boys 4 Life Tour is Powered by Forgiveness and Accountability
When the members of B2K — J-Boog, Omarion, Lil Fizz and Raz-B —- went their separate ways, the ensuing years were filled with verbal attacks and discord. – Associated Press
Courtney Love Clarifies Melissa Auf der Maur Gig Talk — ‘No Hole Reunion’
After seeming to tease a comeback by her entire group, Love said she and her former bassist will definitely play "some shows, new songs" together. – Gil Kaufman, Billboard
Former Dead Kennedys Singer Jello Biafra Hospitalized Following Hemorrhagic Stroke
The singer's label said he is currently hospitalized and in stable condition. – Gil Kaufman, Billboard
The musician, producer and label head, who has died aged 81, turned his boyhood passion for blues into a hugely impactful career. – Garth Cartwright, The Guardian
Photographer Jamie Nelson says a Los Angeles court has declined to issue a civil harassment restraining order against Amyl And The Sniffers singer Amy Taylor as the wider copyright dispute between Nelson and Amy Taylor continues in federal court. – Noise 11
