Elton John and Brandi Carlile have joined forces on a collaborative new album project Who Believes In Angels?, set for release on April 4 via Interscope Records. The title track from the album is out today (Feb. 6).

The concept for Who Believes In Angels? was created by close friends and regular collaborators John, Carlile and producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. The album mixes Elton-led songs and Carlile-led songs, with Bernie Taupin and Carlile both penning songs with Watt as producer, mediator and creative conduit. They wrote and recorded the album completely from scratch in just 20 days, backed by a band of musicians that included Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck).

Ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, and pop tracks and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia on the unexpected album, which also features the 2025 Oscar-nominated song “Never Too Late,” created especially for the Disney+ documentary of the same name and unveiled last year to critical acclaim.

“This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life,” John says. “It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2.”

“I’m still reeling from the fact that I got to do it,” Carlile adds. “I think all ships rise with Elton John’s standards for songwriting, and it was an incredibly challenging and inspiring environment to work in, everybody throwing in ideas, everybody listening to everybody else’s ideas. It felt like a family. The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph. It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me.”

A short film about the making of Who Believes In Angels? can be viewed here. The film marks the first time John has allowed cameras to film his writing and recording sessions. Cameras positioned around the studio captured thousands of hours of raw footage, and documented the entire creative process – breakdowns, breakthroughs, tears, torn-up lyric sheets and all. The candid footage offers fans an unprecedented, searingly honest insight into the emotionally turbulent creative process for Elton, Brandi and the rest of the team.

Fans can pre-order Who Believes In Angels? to gain exclusive access for the chance to buy tickets to “An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile’”at The London Palladium on March 26. This one-night-only event will feature John and Carlile gracing the stage of one of London’s most iconic venues for a unique evening of performance and storytelling.

Who Believes In Angels? Track List:
1. “The Rose Of Laura Nyro”
2. “Little Richard’s Bible”
3. “Swing For The Fences”
4. “Never Too Late”
5. “You Without Me”
6. “Who Believes In Angels?”
7. “The River Man”
8. “A Little Light”
9. “Someone To Belong To”
10. “When This Old World Is Done With Me”

Dwight Yoakam, Turnpike Troubadours, Corey Kent and more are among the lineup for “LA Revival,” a special benefit concert for L.A. on Feb. 19 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

The show, presented by Thirty Tigers and Triple Tigers, will also feature performances from Cam, Carter Faith, Shane Profitt and Brit Taylor.

All proceeds from the event will go to the MusiCares L.A. Fire Relief Effort to help support those impacted by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area last month. Tickets for the show are on sale now here.

Warner Music Group and Spotify unveiled a new, multi-year agreement today (Feb. 6). Through the deal, which covers both Recorded Music and Music Publishing, the companies hope to strengthen their commitment to artists, songwriters, fans and to growth in the industry.

The agreement will help deliver new fan experiences, a more expansive music catalog, more paid subscription tiers and differentiated content bundles. The deal builds upon the companies’ alignment around artist centric royalty models that protect artists as they attract new audiences. Additionally, the publishing agreement introduces a direct licensing model with Warner Chappell Music in several additional countries, including the U.S.

“This major agreement delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans, while unlocking further collaboration that expands the music ecosystem,” explains Robert Kyncl, CEO, WMG. “It’s a big step forward in our vision for greater alignment between rights holders and streaming services. Together with Spotify, we look forward to increasing the value of music, as we drive growth, impact, and innovation.”

Daniel Ek, Spotify’s Founder and CEO, adds, “For Spotify, 2025 is a year of accelerated execution, and our partners at Warner Music Group share our commitment to rapid innovation and sustained investment in our leading music offerings. Together, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for audiences worldwide—making paid music subscriptions more appealing while supporting artists and songwriters alike.”

Concord Music Publishing has promoted Kourtney Kirkpatrick to Senior Vice President of Synchronization and Matt Turner to Vice President of A&R.

Kirkpatrick currently leads the television division, overseeing series, promos, trailers and sports media, and managing a team of three direct reports in Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. In her new position, Kirkpatrick will continue her work pitching and licensing songs from Concord writers, promoting catalogs such as those by Rodgers & Hammerstein, John Fogerty, Phil Collins and Genesis, Robert Johnson and more. She and her team will focus on reimagining these works to make them suitable for sync placements, with her deep knowledge of the catalog playing a crucial role in revitalizing Concord’s collection through remixes and covers.

During her time at Concord, Kirkpatrick and her team have secured sync placements across a wide range of television series on nearly all major networks and streaming platforms, including The Bear, The Penguin, Shrinking, Hacks, You, Euphoria, Stranger Things, Yellowstone, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Big Little Lies, True Detective: Night Country, Ted Lasso and Grey’s Anatomy. Their work also spans trailer placements for studios like FOX, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Apple, Amazon and Starz, as well as for major brands like Xbox and Microsoft. Over the course of her career, Kirkpatrick has also signed and developed sync-focused artists and writers, including Ruelle, who has been featured on Billboard/TuneFind’s year-end chart of Top Synced Artists multiple times, reaching the top spot in 2018.

Kirkpatrick also leads Concord’s annual sync camp in Nashville, now in its twelfth year. The event brings together over 80 songwriters and several music supervisors for a week of creating original music for all types of media. To date, the camp has resulted in more than 350 sync placements. In addition to the Nashville camp, Kirkpatrick has driven the global expansion of Concord’s sync camps, tailoring them to specific regions and media types. Over the past year, Concord has hosted ten sync-focused writing camps in locations such as Los Angeles, Nashville, Ireland, Dorset, Paris, New Zealand and Mexico City, among others.

Kirkpatrick was recognized on Billboard’s 40 Under 40 list in 2020 and is a member of the Nashville Film Festival. She is also a founding board member of Nashville in Sync, a community-driven organization for sync professionals focused on connecting and growing the music and film industries in Nashville. Before joining Concord in 2018, Kirkpatrick served as Senior Director of Film/TV at Razor & Tie (which was later acquired by Concord) and began her career at the independent publisher Big Yellow Dog Music, where she helped establish the company’s sync department.

In his new position as VP of A&R, Turner will maintain his responsibilities of discovering talent, managing new client negotiations and driving catalog exploitation. This promotion recognizes his commitment and contributions to Concord, particularly his efforts in expanding the company’s roster within the Nashville and country music scenes. Turner works with a wide range of songwriters in the country genre, including recording artists, producers and topliners.

With 18 years of experience in the industry, Turner brings executive-level insights to the team and has helped bring some of the top talent in the industry to the Concord roster, driving success on the country charts. In 2024, songwriters from Concord’s Nashville roster contributed to five Country Radio No. 1s and, within the first month of 2025, they’ve already added more, including Morgan Wallen’s “Lies Lies Lies,” Parmalee’s “Gonna Love You” and Dan + Shay’s “Bigger Houses.” Turner has played a key role in securing publishing deals with writers like Josh Miller, Andy Albert and Abram Dean, all of whom have earned No. 1 hits.

Before joining Concord, Turner worked at the independent publisher Big Loud Shirt, now known as Big Loud, where he collaborated closely with founder Craig Wiseman and writers such as Chris Tompkins, Rodney Clawson, Matt Dragstrem and the Warren Brothers. He was also involved in the early songwriting careers of Morgan Wallen and Chris Lane. After his time at Big Loud, Turner joined Downtown Music Publishing, where he represented their extensive roster of writers, including country music hitmakers Andy Albert, Andrew DeRoberts and Joey Hyde. Turner’s promotion highlights Concord’s continued growth in Nashville and the expansion of its country music roster.