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Pete Tong's Essential New Tune

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20 Jan 2026

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Pete Tong's Essential New Tune

Smiiile

Sulphur

self release

tbc

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"The track I've chosen for my ENT is 'Smiiile' by Sulphur. This producer has been sending me music for a long time under a couple of different aliases, but every time I click on one of those, it's always quality. This one specifically has just been getting the maddest reaction every single time I play it at my last two shows here in Pakistan especially. So instinctively, I thought this needs to be the ENT. Some amazing feel good, bumpy garage that just makes people happy, really. And I hope it's going to make you happy as well."
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 33.15 here.

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20 Jan 2026

Business

Blaise Bellville, founder and CEO of Boiler Room, has left the company. (RA)
Andreea Gleeson has revealed in an internal memo to staff, obtained by MBW, that she'll be exiting her role as CEO of TuneCore, and moving to a Strategic Advisor position at parent company Believe. (Variety)

News and Features

Midia Research and Splice name Afro house as ‘sound of the year’. (MusicAlly)
BMG announced the launch of SYNC+, a new global service uniting Commercial Sync, Production Music, and Media Services under one integrated brand.  (RotD)

Digital

Mixcloud launches Spotlights: A people-powered music discovery feature. (Mixcloud)
Bandcamp’s new guidelines state that music and audio generated “wholly or in substantial part by AI” is not permitted and that it will not allow the use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles. (TechCrunch)
Spotify raised prices for its subscription plan in the US for the third time in three years, with the monthly plan rising from $11.99pm to $12.99. Duo hits $18.99, and Family jumps to $21.99, both up $2. (TechCrunch, Spotify)

Live

Ultra Resistance Buenos Aires 2026 unveils stacked underground lineup. (EDMTunes)
C2C Festival details lineup for 2026 New York edition. (RA)

News Update from AFEM
(Association for Electronic Music)

We Need Your Voice: The State of Grassroots Electronic Music Promotion
AFEM, in collaboration with the master students from the University of Groningen's Popular Music and Sonic Cultures program, developed this survey to better understand the current landscape of grassroots electronic music promoters across various global regions. Your insights will directly inform a final report aimed at uncovering the structural affordances, challenges, and value of these key contributors within today’s electronic music ecosystem. Whether you are a promoter, artist, industry professional, or engaged fan, we want to hear from you!
Take the survey here
AFEM Finance Summit: Streaming, Touring & Taxation
Call on Tuesday, January 27⋅4:00 – 5:00pm GMT
This finance summit will look at best practice in the arena of international touring and taxation, drawing on key themes explored in recent expert guidance on artist taxation, social security and VAT. The session will highlight practical approaches currently used by artists, managers, promoters and touring businesses to mitigate financial risk, improve compliance and support sustainable cross-border activity. It aims to support more informed decision-making around international touring, artist mobility and long-term financial planning.
Register here
Moderator
Finlay Johnson – AFEM
Guest Speakers
Dick Molenaar – All Arts
Pieter Dunselman – Thomas St John Netherlands
Viktor Fernandez – Questionna

Comment, Opinion and Analysis

Music streaming platforms now host quarter of a billion tracks. Where does it end? (MBW)
Luminate released its 2025 year-end music report, covering Consumption Metrics & Vital Stats, Premium Pricing, Transmedia Landscape, Evolving Fandom, AI Artists, and more. (Luminate) US on-demand audio streaming reached 1.4trillion streams, a +4.6% increase on 2024. Globally, ODA streams grew by +9.6%.

Tech

The future starts here: Visiting Roland's radical new headquarters. (Attack)
Is the Akai MPC One+ still worth buying in 2026? (MusicTech)
AlphaTheta has unveiled its "next-generation" effector, the RMX-IGNITE. (DJ Mag)

Beatport

RSVP Now: SIDEPIECE, Aluna & Kaleena Zanders | Beatport Live LA (Beatportal)
Behind The Label: Because Music (Beatportal)
The Beatportal Residency: SOEL (Beatportal)
Playlist of the Week: Huxley (Beatportal)
Jamback’s “Positive” is now Beatport’s Longest-Running #1 Track (Beatportal)
Label of the Month: Deeperfect (Beatportal)

Clubs

Ibiza:
Enzo Siragusa, Max Dean and Seth Troxler confirmed for Ibiza superclub Amnesia opening party lineup for 50th anniversary season. (RA)
Claptone’s ‘The Masquerade’ residency returns to Chinois Ibiza. (Skiddle)
Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike return to Ushuaïa for Summer residency. (Playy.)
elrow returns to Saturday nights at [UNVRS] from 6 June with enter the WORTEX. (Ibiza Spotlight)
Carl Cox announces [UNVRS] Ibiza 2026 residency. (DJ Mag)
New 4,000 capacity live music venue announced for Milton Keynes. (Skiddle)
New 200 capacity club, The Timber Loft, set to launch in Shoreditch, London. (Mixmag)
Sphere Entertainment says it plans to build its first smaller-scale version of the Sphere in the Washington DC metro area. (HR)

Deals

LabelWorx, a global distribution and label services provider for independent electronic music, announced a new partnership with TMRW Music Group, one of Australia’s most respected and influential electronic music companies. (RotD)

Streams & Podcasts

Da Hool 'Meet Her At The Love Parade' | The Making Of A Dance Classic (DJ Mag)
RA.1022 KAVARI (RA)
Boys Noize b2b VTSS | Mixmag Lab x ARC Music Festival (Mixmag)
Main Phase | Boiler Room: Sydney (Boiler Room)
Harriet Jaxxon | Boiler Room: Nottingham (Boiler Room)

Artist and Music Features

Six emerging artists you need to hear: January 2026 (DJ Mag)
Magnetic Magazine’s Artists to Watch in 2026.
Josh Baker on why workflow, AI tools and delegation are as important as the music. (MusicTech)
Selections: Just Jane (DJ Mag)
Frankie Knuckles forever: 20 essential tracks and mixes from the Godfather of House. (DJ Mag)
Music marketing moves that will rule 2026. (Forbes) After years of optimising for algorithms and chasing viral moments, 2026 marks a return to strategies that prioritise community over reach and authenticity over optimisation.
In UK Music’s This Is Music report into the financial health of the sector, it explored the artist development cycle, from global trends and the grassroots sector, to the challenges facing the next generation of talent. (UKMusic)

Artist News

Jazzy, Pinkpantheress, Sherelle and more have been nominated for the MOBO Awards 2026. (Rolling Stone)
Illenium reveals ‘ODYSSEY’ album tracklist featuring Ellie Goulding, Kid Cudi, Bring Me The Horizon and more. (EDM)
Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor set to release new solo album in March. (909Originals)
An Adelaide festival has said that it will not pull Palestinian DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi from its 2026 line-up following calls from a pro-Israel campaign group. (Mixmag)
Sidepiece and Blond:ish to headline massive Super Bowl LX party in San Francisco. (EDM)
Girls Don't Sync have shared a new song, 'Keep Dancing'. (DJ Mag)
Calvin Harris wins $13.5M in first phase of legal dispute against ex-manager. (We Rave You)
Moby shares 'When It's Cold I'd Like To Die' rework following Stranger Things appearance. (DJ Mag)
DJ Tennis announces fabric mix. (RA)
Pete Tong to perform on a P&O Cruises ship in Ibiza on 19 September when the Arvia is docked at Ibiza’s Botafoc Pier. (TravelWeekly)

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