The week in music: 19 to 25 October 2026

A week with one big prize, one pricing U-turn and a lot of new records. Here is what mattered between 19 and 25 October 2026, one short paragraph each, with our full stories linked.

1. Raye wins the Mercury Prize

The British singer took the 2026 prize in Newcastle for This Music May Contain Hope. The shortlist this year included Olivia Dean, Dave, Suede, Florence + The Machine and Nia Archives. The full story.

2. Sam Fender changes the SF27 stadium plan

First came leaked prices, then Fender said he was not happy with them and that they were being changed, with presale set for 28 October. Front standing has since been scrapped, and general standing is £85. Read the pricing story and the front standing update.

3. Diljit Dosanjh's Delhi show is on

Police permission came through for the AURA show at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, now set for 30 October, and tickets for the original date still work. What changed.

4. A Friday full of albums

Yung Miami's debut Watch Dis arrived with 21 tracks, Anderson .Paak and Cordae released their joint album Heavy Is The Crown, and Tony Iommi put out From the Dark, his first solo album in 21 years. Our guides: Yung Miami, .Paak and Cordae and Tony Iommi.

5. Albums still to come

Skepta's The Fork and Knife, his first solo album since 2019, lands on 6 November. Lil Baby's Fresh follows the same day, Westside Gunn's Heelmatic arrives on 13 November, and Bicep's SLUG is set for 29 January 2027. See Skepta, Lil Baby, Westside Gunn and Bicep.

6. Latin music awards season warms up

Fuerza Regida led the Billboard Latin Music Awards with eight wins, and Bad Bunny took Artist of the Year. The Latin Grammys named their first performers, with Daddy Yankee, Rosalía, Anitta and Carín León, for 12 November in Las Vegas. The Billboard winners and the Latin Grammys list.

7. Money, lawsuits and AI

Reservoir sued Suno over 1,050 songs, seeking more than $186 million. Spotify ended September with 306 million paying subscribers and €4.97 billion in quarterly revenue, and said it has kept more than 50 million AI and spam tracks out of recommendations this year. Read on Reservoir v Suno, Spotify's quarter and the AI spam numbers.

8. South Asia: Rolling Loud India's lineup

Burna Boy and Metro Boomin play on 12 December, with Karan Aujla and Skepta on the 13th. Anyma also announced his first India show, ÆDEN in Mumbai on 21 November. Rolling Loud India and Anyma in Mumbai.

9. Burna Boy in Paris, and a goodbye

On Sunday 25 October Burna Boy headlines the NFL's first Paris halftime show at Stade de France (the story). Earlier in the week we also said goodbye to Country Music Hall of Famer John Anderson, who died at 71. Remembering the man behind "Swingin'".