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Pete Tong's Essential New Tune
Ease My Mind
Chris Lake & Abel Balder
Black Book Records
out now
Comment
"Chris Lake kicks off 2025 by making a grand return to his own Black Book Records and on it, he joins forces with Amsterdam-based Abel Balder, best known for his wonderful vocal on ANOTR's 'Relax My Eyes' and 'Vertigo'. I saw Chris working on this on his Instagram a couple of weeks ago and it is just something special. So infectious, so easy, so funky and it just feels so good, and that is why 'Ease My Mind' by Chris Lake & Abel Balder is this week's ENT."
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 30.32 here.
Contact
Label: Nick Sung & Ian Massoth, Black Book 
Management: Brett Fischer & Morgan Langworthy, AYITA
Radio: James Jackson & James Marsh, Listen Up 
18 Feb 2025
Business
  • Sony Music Entertainment saw sales for its third quarter ending 31 December increase 14.2% year-on-year, with operating income rising 28%. (Hits) 
News and Features
  • The Ivors Academy has launched a new flagship Summit to equip songwriters and composers with practical knowledge, tools and connections to build and sustain successful careers. (RotD) 
  • Berlin's Club Commission launches first English diversity-in-nightlife training programme. (RA) 
  • Winter Music Conference announces the first wave of 2025 programming. LP Giobbi, Shimza, HAYLA and Aluna are some of the notable artists slated to appear, joining a roster of executives and thought leaders from Ultra Records, SoundCloud, Defected Records, Kompass Music Group and Wasserman. (EDM) 
  • A new fund has been launched to support touring artists in the UK. Established by the Musicians' Union, the Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition, the UK Artist Touring (UKAT) Fund will be part-funded by a voluntary ticket levy on large-scale events. (Mixmag)  
  • Universal Music Group and non-profit healthcare organisation Music Health Alliance have announced the launch of a new mental health fund for music industry professionals. (Mixmag) 
  • New research from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has revealed that young people (aged 18-30) in the UK are going out less frequently than they did last year, with financial pressures, safety concerns and transport hindrances all playing a role. (NTIA) 
Digital
  • Is DeepSeek – the Chinese AI chatbot that has thrown the global AI industry into turmoil – training its AI on copyrighted music without permission? (MBW) 
  • Spotify is set to launch a new super-premium subscription, costing at extra $6pm, possibly in the autumn. 'Music Pro' will offer higher-quality audio; early access to concert tickets; and increased functionality such as a “DJ” option for streaming, which will include several different remixing tools that let users speed up or mash up songs. (Bloomberg) 
Live
  • AVA London adds horsegiirL, Underworld for 2025 conference. (RA) 
  • Ultra Miami has confirmed its full 2025 line-up. (DJMag) 
  • A new Electronic Music Festival, Adriatic Sound Festival, is launching in the ancient Roman temple site at Fanum Fortunae this June. (EDM) 
  • Palm Tree Music Festival returns to The Hamptons, US, with Kygo, Fisher, Tinx and more. (EDMTunes) 
  • EDC Las Vegas 2025 lineup to feature Dom Dolla, Afrojack, Alison Wonderland & more. (Billboard)
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • The audio listener is too valuable for the music industry to ignore. (Midia) 
  • Streaming was supposed to save the music industry, but it’s leaving artists behind. As streaming is losing steam, it’s time to rethink the model and put creators back at the centre of their own success, writes Alexandre Saboundjian, the CEO of Winamp. (Hypebot) 
  • TikTok and Luminate release the latest Music Impact Report. (TikTok) Among the findings, 84% of songs that entered the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first. 
Beatport
  • Traxman Talks Legacy, Innovation, and the Soul of Footwork in Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3 (Beatportal)
  • Vintage Culture details his Beatport #1 collaboration with ARTBAT, 'She The Last One' (Beatportal)
  • The Beatportal Residency: 83 & Guau (Beatportal)
  • Sean Johnston: 10 Tracks that Define ‘A Love From Outer Space’ (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: DJ Minx (Beatportal)
  • Artist of the Month: Channel Tres (Beatportal)
  • Eats Everything explores Beatport Streaming on the CDJ-3000s (Beatport)
Clubs
  • Ibiza: 
    Pacha to split Saturday nights between flagship parties, Pure Pacha and Flower Power. (Ibiza Spotlight) 
    Sonny Fodera takes over Monday nights at Pacha. (Ibiza Spotlight) 
  • Kygo will debut his first daytime residency at Palm Tree Beach Club in Las Vegas on 3 May. (EDM) 
  • Gallery, a 400 capacity multi-room space, is opening in London next month. (RA) 
Streams & Podcasts
  • Adventures of Stevie V 'Dirty Cash (Money Talks)' | The Making Of A Hip-House Hit (DJMag) 
  • PARAMIDA - Downtempo Balearic Special | RA Greenhouse Sessions (RA) 
  • RA.976 Sansibar (RA) 
  • Cristoph | Lab Gurgaon (Mixmag) 
  • Korolova @ Green Valley, Brazil (DJMag) 
  • Justin Jay | Boiler Room x Escape Halloween (Boiler Room) 
  • David Löhlein | Boiler Room: Copenhagen (Boiler Room) 
Artist and Music Features
  • The Sound Of: Aus Music (DJMag) 
  • Six emerging artists you need to hear: February 2025 (DJMag) 
  • The Track ID debate: is tracklist secrecy ever justified? (DJMag) 
  • What would Andrew Weatherall do? 13 tales of the Guv'nor's infinite wisdom. (DJMag) 
  • Candi Staton: ‘I told him, If you kill me, you’ll die too’ (Independent) 
  • The cupids of clubland: DJ HEARTSTRING will make you fall in love on the dancefloor. (Mixmag) 
  • The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands on creating an electronic score for historical drama, Mussolini. (Wallpaper) 
Artist News
  • Sonique is celebrating 25 years of her debut album 'Hear My Cry' with a live UK tour this year. (DJMag) 
  • A previously unreleased version of Avicii's 'Forever Yours' has been officially released. (DJMag) 
  • Logic1000 will take the reins on the next DJ-Kicks. (RA) 
  • Horst Weidenmueller, founder and CEO of independent music company !K7, has died aged 60, “after a serious illness”. (DJMag) 
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