Random music news for Thursday, August 27, 2026

This is long overdue. Star Trek is getting a Muppet makeover. As for music news for August 27, 2026…

1. Raja Azreen Raja Talib played drums for a Malaysian band called Meditasi. Two songs into a set during a festival, he fell over and died. His death appears to be heart-related.
2. The Creamfields Festival is happening this weekend in the UK. Cops did a sweep of the site before the gate opened and found a huge stash of drugs that had been buried in advance. It included ketamine, ecstasy, and 204 canisters of nitrous oxide.
3. Meanwhile, over at Insane Clown Posse’s Annual Gathering of the Juggalos, cops seized 622.5 pounds of illegal drugs just two days into the festival.
4. Meta has been ordered to pay US$16.7 billion to settle is social media case. And there’s more, too.
5. New Zealand has introduced social media restrictions for teens. How many countries is that now?
6. There’s a copyright lawsuit worth US$1.92 million over a painting of the Gallagher brothers.
7. Meanwhile, Sony is going after a US supermarket company for unauthorized use of its music on social media.
8. Did Donald Trump meddle in the DOJ’s lawsuit against Live Nation? The Wall Street Journal says “yes.”
9. ARIA, the company responsible for compiling Australian music charts, has ruled “wholly AI-generated tracks will not be eligible for the ARIA Charts,” it announced. “Recordings that use generative AI in a supporting role remain eligible.”
10. It happened again: BTS fans in Toronto went to the Rogers Centre instead of Rogers Stadium. Not only that, but they found they were lining up for an Ed Sheeran show.
11. Kanye wants to play at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. The owner of the building says, “Nope.”
12. Do you subscribe to YouTube Premium? Prices are going up.
13. This is a great story: Why are so many people still fascinated with Meg White?
14. No, Oasis won’t headline Glastonbury 2027. That’s what Liam says, anyway.
15. How did Madonna become a Gen Z icon in 2026? Let’s take a look at that.

More music news? Go here.

BONUS: There’s a new “Epic Rap Battles of History.” This one pits Tom Cruise against Evel Knievel.