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Christian Music Giant Cook Media Global Acquires Influential Label Home of Phil Wickham

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Christian music company and book publisher Cook Media Global has acquired indie faith-based label Fair Trade Services, home to artists including Phil Wickham, CeCe Winans, Colton Dixton, MercyMe and Micah Tyler. The acquisition includes all of Fair Trade’s music recordings, song publishing, workforce and catalog. On Oct. 31, Fair Trade will become an independent subsidiary of Cook Media Global. Financial terms of the acquisition are not being publicly disclosed.

Fair Trade was launched as INO Records in 1999 by founder/CEO Jeff Moseley, and the company was renamed Fair Trade Services in 2011. Cook Media Global has previously acquired and developed Christian companies including Integrity Music in 2011, Standard Publishing in 2015 and Group Publishing in 2024. Fair Trade’s staff will continue to work from its current office space in Brentwood, Tenn.; Cook Media has signed a long-term lease for the space.

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Blaine Barcus will continue as president of Integrity Music, where he leads the label and song publishing divisions. Integrity Music and Fair Trade will operate as separate entities under Cook Media Global.

Fair Trade Services’ artists have seen considerable success in terms of chart hits, touring and awards. At last week’s GMA Dove Awards, Winans picked up two wins, for gospel worship recorded song of the year, and for Christmas recorded song of the year, while Wickham won inspirational recorded song of the year and Christmas/special event album of the year. Wickham just earned his Billboard Hot 100 chart debut with a reimagining of Rich Mullins’ CCM classic “What An Awesome God.”

“Cultural and theological alignment are absolutely essential for a successful acquisition,” Cook Media Global CEO Bill Reeves said in a statement. “Fair Trade shares our passion and commitment to making Jesus known through media — whether it be music specifically, or other formats. Fair Trade’s success speaks to the talent, diligence and creativity of their artists and teams, and we are eager to have them join the Cook Media Global family so together we can reach even more people with the gospel.”

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“We are excited to welcome Jeff and his leadership team of Darren Elrod and James Rueger, along with the entire Fair Trade staff,” Reeves continued. “Their reputation for serving and supporting artists and management teams is among the best in the industry.”

“I am beyond excited for this new chapter in the lives of our artists and employees,” Moseley said in a statement. “Cook Media Global, under the leadership of Bill Reeves in particular, shares the same heartbeat as Fair Trade and I can’t imagine a better place to lay the foundations for the future.”

“Fair Trade will continue to operate the way we always have; with a flexible and nimble mindset,” Moseley added. “With Cook Media Global committed to investing in the future growth of Fair Trade, I have the utmost confidence that this move will greatly benefit our artists and staff and will increase our impact and opportunities to share meaningful music with people around the world.”

Founded in 1875 by David Caleb Cook, Cook Media Global is a nonprofit ministry dedicated to equipping the global church with leadership, discipleship and worship resources to help Christians grow in faith and pass it along to the next generation. Integrity Music is committed to taking songs of substance to the local church and its leaders around the world. Also part of the Cook Media Global family are David C Cook and Group Publishing, both of which are industry leaders in faith-based books, curriculum and vacation Bible school programs.

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Sombr & Olivia Dean to Make ‘Saturday Night Live’ Debuts, With Glen Powell Set to Host for First Time

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A few of music’s biggest rising stars are getting big breaks this fall, with Saturday Night Live announcing Friday (Oct. 17) that Sombr and Olivia Dean will make their musical guest debuts on upcoming episodes.

Sombr will perform on the episode airing Nov. 8, which Nikki Glaser will host. The week prior, Miles Teller will helm an episode airing Nov. 1, with Brandi Carlile serving as musical guest for the third time in her career.

Then, Dean will perform at 30 Rock on Nov. 15. Teller’s Top Gun: Maverick costar Glen Powell is set to host for the first time.

The news comes as both Sombr and Dean’s careers are taking off. The former’s breakout hit “Back to Friends” made him a Gen Z alt-pop sensation, peaking at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. He’s currently riding the success of his debut album, I Barely Know Her, which helped propel him to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songwriter’s Chart.

The latter is one of the most promising singer-songwriters of 2025, earning critical acclaim for her new album, The Art of Loving. So far, the project has reached a peak of No. 7 on the Billboard 200, and Dean is currently on tour in support of the LP.

The trio of new musical guest announcements mark just the latest stars SNL has booked for this season. This weekend, Sabrina Carpenter will make her debut as host in addition to performing tracks from her Billboard 200-topping album Man’s Best Friend.

Bad Bunny also returned to SNL to host for a second time on Oct. 4, while Role Model recently made his musical guest debut.

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Taylor Swift Dominates U.K. Albums & Singles Charts for Second Consecutive Week

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Taylor Swift has retained the top spots on the U.K.’s Official Albums and Singles charts for a second consecutive week on the tallies dated Friday (Oct. 17).

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The Life of a Showgirl holds on to the top spot on the Albums chart, while its lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” extends its stay at the summit of the Singles chart for a second consecutive week. The latter is the first time in three years that one of Swift’s singles has enjoyed a run of multiple weeks in the top spot. “Anti-Hero” from 2022’s Midnights earned six weeks at No. 1, while “Fortnight” (2024) and “Is It Over Now?” (2023) lasted just a single week.

The Life of a Showgirl broke numerous records on its way to No. 1 in the U.K. The record had the fastest selling opening week (423,00 units) since Ed Sheeran’s 2017 LP Divide (672,000). It also became the fastest selling album on vinyl this century in the U.K., and fastest ever since records modern Official Chart records began in 1994.

The Life of a Showgirl is her 14th U.K. No. 1 album; she also extends her lead with the most No. 1s on the U.K. Albums Chart for an international artist, and is tied for second overall with The Rolling Stones (14). The top spot is also currently a tie between The Beatles and Robbie Williams, who both have 15 apiece.

Olivia Dean takes the runner-up spot on both the Official Albums Chart and Singles Chart with The Art of Loving and its breakout song, “Man I Need,” both topping out at No. 2. Earlier this month, Dean achieved a rare double for a British artist with No. 1s on the aforementioned charts.

Fresh off his Oasis support slots, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft earns the No. 3 spot on the Official Albums Chart with Lovin’ You. Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend closes at No. 4, and The Weeknd’s greatest hits compilation The Highlights lands at No. 5.

On the Singles Chart, “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters ends the week at No. 3, having already enjoyed an eight-week run at the summit. Swift’s “Opalite” (No. 4) and “Elizabeth Taylor” (No. 6) continue to see success, while RAYE’s “Where Is My Husband!” lifts one place to No. 5.

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Morgan Wallen Notches Fifth Country Airplay No. 1 From ‘I’m the Problem’ With ‘I Got Better’

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Morgan Wallen delivers his 19th career No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “I Got Better” rises two spots to top the Oct. 25-dated survey, up 13% to 32.7 million audience impressions Oct. 10-16, according to Luminate.

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The Joey Moi-produced single — with seven cowriters including Wallen, Ernest, HARDY and Blake Pendergrass — becomes the fifth No. 1 from Wallen’s album I’m the Problem, released in May. One more chart-topper from the set and he’d match the six from his 2023 LP, One Thing at a Time, which remains tied for the one-album record (discounting deluxe editions) with Luke Bryan’s 2015 Kill the Lights.

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I’m the Problem has led Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart for its first 21 weeks, followed at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on the Oct. 18-dated ranking by One Thing at a Time and Wallen’s 2021 release, Dangerous: The Double Album. Together, the three projects form one of the most formidable runs in modern country music history, combining for 205 weeks at No. 1 (with a record 97 frames at the summit belonging to Dangerous).

Before topping Country Airplay, “I Got Better” completed a full-format sweep, hitting No. 1 on the Oct. 18 Hot Country Songs chart thanks to 13.2 million official U.S. streams, 31 million in radio audience and 1,000 sold. The win gave I’m the Problem four leaders on the list, equaling the output of One Thing at a Time.

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Lainey Wilson breaks into the Country Airplay top 10 (12-10) with “Somewhere Over Laredo” rising 9% to 16 million in audience. The song, which interpolates “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, is her ninth top 10. It’s from the September deluxe edition of her 2024 album, Whirlwind.

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