Music News Beats 🗞️🥁

Today's music news and the newest albums — every headline turned into a drum beat. Hit play on any story, hear the top four as a medley, or open one in RockBlocks and make it yours.

Updated · 36 headlines · 22 new albums

🗞️ Headline of the day

Frank Turner announces break from touring after final Lost Evenings: “I genuinely don’t know when I’ll play shows again”

NME

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3/4SteadyHi-Hat (Closed)

📰 Music news headlines

The latest from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, NME and Consequence — every headline is its own beat. Tap a headline to read the story.

💿 New albums

The newest albums on Apple Music's Top Albums chart — released in the last 30 days — each turned into a beat from its title and artist.

  • Westside Whimsy by Jhené Aiko — album cover#2

    Westside WhimsyE

    Jhené Aiko

    Released Sep 11

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    Apple Music ↗
  • HIT-A-THON by DDG — album cover#6

    HIT-A-THONE

    DDG

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • They Forgot by Tee Grizzley — album cover#10

    They ForgotE

    Tee Grizzley

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • That's Just Me by Riley Green — album cover#13

    That's Just Me

    Riley Green

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • BIGGER THAN THE DEVIL by EST Gee — album cover#15

    BIGGER THAN THE DEVILE

    EST Gee

    Released Sep 11

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    Apple Music ↗
  • PRIMA by ADÉLA — album cover#16

    PRIMAE

    ADÉLA

    Released Sep 4

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Popstar by Tinashe — album cover#17

    PopstarE

    Tinashe

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • I'm So Happy by Ms. Rachel — album cover#19

    I'm So Happy

    Ms. Rachel

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • I Quit Rap by Hunxho — album cover#24

    I Quit RapE

    Hunxho

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • The Gemeliza by Los Gemelos De Sinaloa — album cover#26

    The GemelizaE

    Los Gemelos De Sinaloa

    Released Sep 24

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Angel by Lizzy McAlpine — album cover#34

    Angel

    Lizzy McAlpine

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • No Rest for The Wicked by AZ Chike — album cover#39

    No Rest for The WickedE

    AZ Chike

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Silver Sands Marina by Kenny Chesney — album cover#43

    Silver Sands Marina

    Kenny Chesney

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • COCOON by Yeat — album cover#45

    COCOONE

    Yeat

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • SWAGUU by Seyi Vibez — album cover#46

    SWAGUUE

    Seyi Vibez

    Released Sep 17

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Bass Persuades by Miley Cyrus — album cover#64

    Bass Persuades

    Miley Cyrus

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Happiness Anytime by Leon Bridges — album cover#67

    Happiness Anytime

    Leon Bridges

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Alimony - EP by Remy Ma — album cover#71

    Alimony - EPE

    Remy Ma

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • EXPERIENCE by Tank — album cover#77

    EXPERIENCEE

    Tank

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Tough Love by Nessa Barrett — album cover#83

    Tough LoveE

    Nessa Barrett

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • Ramblin' by Dylan Gossett — album cover#84

    Ramblin'

    Dylan Gossett

    Released Sep 25

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    Apple Music ↗
  • THE FRANK PLAY by Fetty P Franklin & Bandplay — album cover#90

    THE FRANK PLAYE

    Fetty P Franklin & Bandplay

    Released Sep 18

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    Apple Music ↗

✍️ Write tomorrow's headline

Type any headline — real or made up — and hear the beat it makes.

About Music News Beats

Music News Beats turns today's music news into drum beats. RockBlocks gathers the latest music news headlines from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, NME and Consequence, plus the newest albums on Apple Music's Top Albums chart, and runs every headline and album title through TextyBeat, which turns the rhythm of the words into a real, playable drum groove. Play any headline as a beat, hear the day's top four stories back to back as a news medley, write your own headline, and open any beat in the free RockBlocks drum machine to remix it. Updated through the day, with a daily archive.

Frequently asked questions

What is Music News Beats?
A page on RockBlocks that shows today's music news headlines and the newest albums, and turns each one into a drum beat you can play. It's updated through the day, and every day gets its own archive page.
Where do the music news headlines come from?
The latest headlines from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, NME and Consequence. RockBlocks shows each headline, its source and a link to the full story on the publisher's site.
How are the new albums chosen?
They're the albums on Apple Music's Top Albums chart (US) that were released in the last 30 days, ranked by how much they're being played — the new records people are actually listening to right now.
How does a headline become a drum beat?
Through TextyBeat, RockBlocks' text-to-beat tool. Each word becomes one beat block, the number of syllables in a word decides how busy that beat is, the headline's length sets the time signature, and its ending punctuation sets the feel: a question mark builds up, an exclamation point is punchy. The same headline always makes the same beat.
What is the news medley?
The day's top four headlines played back to back, each twice, as one continuous drum track. One tap drops all four into RockBlocks slots A to D with a Stacks arrangement, ready to remix into a full song.
Can I make a beat from my own headline?
Yes. Type any headline, real or made up, into the Write tomorrow's headline box and hear the beat it makes, then open it in the RockBlocks drum machine.
Can I change the drum kit or tempo?
Yes. Every headline and album beat can be played on any RockBlocks kit — acoustic, 808, 909, Techno, Latin, Metal, Reggaeton, Middle Eastern, or the Fart, Cats and Birds novelty kits — at any tempo from 60 to 160 BPM.
Is Music News Beats free?
Yes. It's free with no account, like the rest of RockBlocks.

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