Random music news for Tuesday, June 30, 2026

If you need a vacation away from all people, I have just the rental place for you. Now let’s try some music news for June 30, 2026.

1. The CBC is now a full member of the European Broadcasting Union. This is the first step to Canada getting a place in Eurovision.
2. Europe is baking under insane heat this summer. What are festivals doing about this?
3. I hope Muse’s Matt Bellamy is right about this.
4. Suno, the music-generating AI, is now offering grants and mentorships for indie artists. The catch? You have to promise to never criticize the company.
5. A major studio apparently is demanding that child actors allow their voices be used for AI training. Nearly 1,000 actors and agents are speaking out about that.
6. There’s a new (and first-ever) collection of live recordings from Joy Division coming.
7. This is fun: Beck shows everyone how “Loser” was written and made. (Via Peter)
8. Tom Morello canceled his tour dates. He has to look after his sick mother.
9. Morrissey vs. Marr. Again. This time it’s over a Smiths documentary.
10. Leonard Cohen vs. Trump. Cohen’s estate is another entity that doesn’t want Trump using its music.
11. The Rolling Stones and NASCAR, together at last.
12. Rock’n’roll is a vicious game. See?
13. HBO will soon release a multi-episode docuseries on Jay-Z. The director is Rick Rubin.
14. New statistic: 13.4% of all TV watching in America goes to YouTube. By comparison, Netflix is at 7.8%.
15. People who used to work at Apple and Audi have come up with their own EV. It’s based on the moon buggy.

BONUS: This is the only video you need to watch today. Trust me.