The Brief: Justin Vernon, Big Red Machine, Pitchfork Festival, Brexit Lord Frost, Mass Appeal Jessica Rivera Jenya Meggs, Beatport

Your daily update on new releases, tours, and business news from MusicIndustryCity.com

Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine Announce New Album 

Big Red Machine will drop their newest studio set on August 27th. The album features Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, Sharon Van Etten, and more. As a preview the band is offering the new song "Latter Days" with Anaïs Mitchell. This will be Big Red Machine's second album following their eponymous debut in 2018.

PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL TO MAKE LONDON DEBUT

Pitchfork Music Festival will take place in London for the first time from November 10-14. The multi-venue event will be held at the Roundhouse, Southbank Centre, Oslo, Village Underground and Moth Club. Mykki Blanco, Bobby Gillespie & Jenny Beth, Iceage and Cassandra Jenkins are among the acts due to perform.

Brexit minister Lord Frost: Visa-free touring for artists 'deprives us of control over immigration'

Lord Frost negotiated the UK's EU trade deal at the end of 2020 which did not provide any provision for visa-free touring. He told MPS: "Sadly, the EU wouldn't accept that. That's just the reality of the way these negotiations went" But he admitted there were concerns about a visa waiver proposal by the EU for 'ad hoc' performances.

We’ll talk more about this in the Music News Power Hour live on Clubhouse and on MusicIndustryCity.com at 12 p.m. Eastern.

In Musical Chairs…

NAS’S MASS APPEAL HIRES JESSICA RIVERA AS GENERAL MANAGER, MUSIC AND JENYA MEGGS AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT

Mass Appeal has announced two new positions at the company. Jessica Rivera and Jenya Meggs will serve as the General Manager, Music and Senior Vice President of Content respectively. In this role, Rivera will oversee creative and day-to-day operations of Mass Appeal's music division; label, publishing and contributing across the company's other two divisions in content and creative services. Working with the company's Chief Creative Officer Sacha Jenkins, Meggs will spearhead programming strategies and partnerships for Mass Appeal.

And in music tech news…

Beatport Launches Mainstage, a New Genre Inspired by the Festival Experience

Beatport has launched a new dedicated genre page that unites Big Room, Electro House, and Future House into one all-encompassing category: Mainstage. Beatport Hype will also be added to the new category. The new category will allow for the creation of a Beatport hype section. Beatport says, We feel that this move will benefit our customers, artists, and labels by making this music easier to locate.

That concludes today's update. For article links, see the show notes, or go to MusicIndustryCity.com and listen to the Music News Power Hour live in Clubhouse or on the website at 12 p.m. Eastern.

Have a great day!