Pete Tong's Essential New Tune
Changes
Mella Dee
FFRR / Warner
out now
Comment
"Everyone's been talking about it. Mella Dee finally releases the track 'Changes', his hugely anticipated debut on FFRR. It was premiered on this show when Michael Bibi selected it as one of the biggest tracks of his Ibiza season a couple of months ago. It's a huge fan favourite, with hundreds of thousands of streams on ripped versions of this online. This week's ENT is 'Changes' from Mella Dee." 
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 38.56 here. 
Contact
Label: Samuel Arnold, FFRR / Warner 
Management: Sarah Aitchison, Goodlife Management
Publishing: TBC
Radio: Jay Ahmed, alias
Club: Sophie Glynne, Canvas
Online: TBC 
Live Agents: TBC
03 Nov 2026
Business
  • Los Angeles-based Create Music Group – which is supported by private equity backers Flexpoint Ford and Ares – has acquired a minority stake in DistroKid. (MBW) 
  • Universal Music Group reportedly “discussed going private with a few prominent Wall Street firms” earlier this year. (MusicAlly) The Bloomberg report stressed that talks were preliminary and have not yet progressed into anything near a firm plan. 
  • Universal Music Group posted €3.39bn in revenue in its Q3, an 11.7% increase from 2025 (in constant currency). Recorded revenue grew 7.4% excluding revenue from its acquisition of Downtown Music and 14.7% overall. Music publishing revenue grew 7.5%, or 1.5% when excluding the Downtown revenue. (HR) 
News and Features
  • Association for Electronic Music launches good practice guide for promoters. (RA) 
  • Spotify is targeting an early 2027 launch for a new AI-powered service that will let listeners create their own remixes and covers of songs. (Investing) 
  • Cevin Fisher, the influential New Jersey-born house DJ and producer, has died aged 63. (RotD)
  • Juan Atkins, one of the pioneers of Detroit techno and a huge influence on dance music more widely, has died aged 64. (Guardian) 
Digital
  • Apple Music announced new integrations with DJ software, bringing it to VirtualDJ on desktop, edjing Mix on iOS, and Serato DJ for iOS. Apple Music subscribers can connect to music inside each app and use iPhone to prepare playlists, find new tracks and practice their mix. (RotD) 
  • YouTube Music and Premium cracked a total of 150m worldwide subscribers during Q3 2026, when “living room” viewing made up more than one-third of YouTube’s advert revenue. (DMN) 
  • Suno is doubling down on its Apple subpoena push, arguing that the information being sought – about Apple Music’s major label licensing talks, “anti-AI deal terms,” and more – is central to its fair use and copyright misuse arguments. (DMN) 
Live
  • BICEP and NOISIA to headline Boomtown 2027. (DJMag)
  • After being forced to leave its home in Serbia amid political, security and financial threats over its support for students, EXIT is returning to its iconic Petrovaradin Fortress, with a special edition planned for 2027 ahead of its full-scale comeback in 2028. (RotD) 
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • Is the music business collapsing? (HonestBroker - Ted Gioia) The major labels made seven big mistakes—and are now paying the price. 
  • A new white paper, subtitled Are Music Royalties Reaching the Right People? found evidence of the "Four Ms" - Missing, Mistaken, Misdirected and Misallocated. A test of 111 tracks across ten of the best-selling albums of all time found 56 were linked to more than one song record. (RotD) 
  • Why content discovery is driving vertical video feeds on streaming services. (Luminate) 
  • Lucian Grainge confronts slowing growth and AI anxiety, as he looks to reset the narrative. (Bloomberg) 
Tech
  • FL Studio announces major updates in FL Studio Mobile: Version 5. (DJMag) 
  • Roland marks the Jupiter-8's 45th anniversary with a new Boutique version. (RA) 
  • Behringer teases open-source standalone DJ system. (RA) 
Beatport
  • Chris Lake applies his club touch to Tiga's "SILK SCARF" featuring Fcukers. (Beatportal)
  • Watch Avicii’s full Tomorrowland 2011 set as “Levels” turns 15. (Beatportal)
  • Remix Cerrone’s “Love In C Minor” for its 50th anniversary. (Beatportal)
  • Phantogram launch “Funeral Pyre” remix contest with $1,000 prize. (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: Cera Khin (Beatportal)
  • Behind The Label: Faux Poly (Beatportal)
Clubs
  • Police have arrested a 24-year-old man following a stabbing at Studio 338 in London on Friday night. (Mixmag) 
Deals
  • Westwood Recordings enters JV with Monstercat, with eye on artist development and global reach. (Billboard) 
Artist and Music Features
  • How Romford became a metropolis for 90s dance music. (Guardian) 
  • How Bristol became home of drum and bass and jungle. (BBC) 
  • Music you can feel: Inside Leeds' new 2,500-capacity nightclub, Mint XL. (Mixmag) 
  • Festivals like Portola, Coachella, Head Trip, and III Points are emphasising hi-fi spaces within the festival grounds as a selling point. (MusicTech) 
  • At Portola Music Festival, the long shadow of EDM unravels. (Mixmag) 
  • House music legend Peven Everett on life after cancer and vanquishing the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement. (Guardian) 
  • Meet Leah Barylsky, the woman behind the camera – and on the stage — during Rüfüs Du Sol’s record-breaking tour. (Billboard) 
  • Recognise 119: Paige Tomlinson (DJMag) 
  • Dave Angel selects 10 jazz classics that inspired ‘A Time And Place’. (DJMag) 
  • The Art of DJing: Dresden (Ivan Smagghe & Manfredas) (RA) 
  • Jazzy: Riding the wave (RollingStone) 
  • Chase & Status: break the mould. (DJMag) 
  • Chartmetric and Base for Music have teamed up on a new playbook exploring how artists and music professionals can turn music data into more effective marketing strategies. (Chartmetric) 
  • Artists and industry voices share what it takes to build a fanbase that shows up and sticks around. (Chartmetric) 
  • The next great music company won't be a record label. The old model takes ownership of the music. The next one will invest in the artist. (ArtistEconomy) 
  • The HITS Live100: The most influential players in the live space. At No.1, Live Nation's Michael Rapino. (Hits) 
  • In Photos: ADE’s 30th edition (Crack) 
  • Amsterdam Dance Event is electronic music’s best kept secret. (Hunger) 
  • Juan Atkins showed dance music the future. (RollingStone) 
  • Remember Them: The Incalculable Legacy of Juan Atkins. (TheQuietus) 
Streams & Podcasts
  • Learn To DJ Like Fleur Shore | Building Energy Before A Drop, FX & Pioneer RMX-1000 (DJMag) 
  • [IVY] Drum & Bass Set Live From DJ Mag HQ (DJMag) 
  • RA.1063 Andy Stott (RA) 
  • Michelle Manetti | Mixmag Lab London (Mixmag) 
  • DJ Sliink | Boiler Room LA: heds (Boiler Room) 
  • The Glitch Mob | Boiler Room LA: heds (Boiler Room) 
  • MPH | Mixmag Lab London (Mixmag) 
Artist News
  • Justice share first-ever Gesaffelstein collab from Grand Theft Auto VI score album. (Mixmag) 
  • Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja has curated the soundtrack for Life Support, a new documentary about medics working in Gaza. (DJMag) 
  • Avicii’s Tim Bergling Foundation opens new free music studio in Sweden. (DJMag) 
  • Armin van Buuren has added another Edison Publieksprijs Klassiek prize to his career. (EDMTunes) 
  • GRiZ to relocate his Seven Stars Festival after learning current site was once a plantation. (Billboard) 
  • Carl Cox shares [UNVRS] remix of Miss Monique and Robbie Williams’ ‘Beauty In Us’. (DJMag) 
  • Cevin Fisher, the influential New Jersey-born house DJ and producer, has died aged 63. (RotD)
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