The 5 biggest music news stories of this week

From Taylor Swift’s alleged AI use to Zach Bryan distancing himself from a culture war, this is what The FADER editors are talking about.

Zach Bryan distanced himself from perceived criticism of ICE

Country music star Zach Bryan made headlines this week after he shared a snippet of a new song containing lyrics some took as criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): “I heard the cops came, cocky motherfuckers, ain’t they?/ And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house that no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are scared and all alone.” After a torrent of criticism from conservative politicians and commentators, Bryan stated that his lyrics had been “misconstrued” and that he did not want to be caught in the middle of a culture war. “When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle,” he clarified.

Taylor Swift broke records and faced pushback over alleged AI use

Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, is absolutely huge. Like, record-breakingly big. Billboard confirmed on Wednesday that the album has already surpassed the first week sales record set by Adele’s 2015 album 25 and is on course to being named the fastest selling album of modern times.

It’s not just the critics that have some issues with the album, though. This week she was accused of using generative AI imagery in promotional videos for the album. Swifties, who regularly put everything she does under a microscope, made the discovery and shared their findings online, pointing out that a promotional campaign for the album set in a retro-styled bar contained signs anyone familiar with AI slopmight recognize. Swift has yet to respond to her fan’s allegations.

Charli xcx confirmed The Moment cast details

The Moment, the A24 movie based on a concept by Charli xcx, looks set to be 2026’s buzziest new movie. Adding to the excitement this week was news of the film’s cast, which includes some names you might expect to see in a Charli project (Rachel Sennott, A.G. Cook, and Shygirl) and those you might not (Kylie Jenner?!).

Further details about the Aidan Zamiri-directed title remain under lock and key for now but the movie is said to be about, “a rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut” per its logline.

Spotify announced a new partnership with Chat GPT

People are using Chat GPT for everything from work tasks to romantic partners, so why not have it reccomend you new music? That’s Spotify’s thinking, at least. The under fire music streamer announced plans this week that will allow users to sync their accounts with ChatGPT for personalized music and podcast picks. This probably isn’t going to bring back all of the artists boycotting the platform, is it?

Don’t worry, Dolly Parton is OK

We have all been there; a social media post that sounds innocent enough in your head that is then misunderstood by the rest of the world (or, more likely, your mom). This week Freida Parton caused panic when she urged her followers to pray for her sister, Dolly, as she recovered from a bout of ill health. Dolly recently postponed a raft of live dates on doctor’s orders and, naturally, many fans took her sister’s Facebook post as confirmation that it was even more serious than first suspected.

That was not quite the case, though. It turned out Freida’s comments had been blown slightly out of proportion and that Dolly is doing just fine. In fact, she used her own Instagram account to say as such, telling her followers “I ain’t dead yet!”