MusicInfra and The Royalty Network Partnership — a New Standard for Managing Rights
MusicInfra has partnered with independent publisher The Royalty Network to embed the latter’s 800,000‑track catalog into MusicInfra’s rights‑management platform. The integration taps YouTube’s Content Management System data to uncover unclaimed or under‑collected royalties caused by metadata gaps. By continuously analyzing platform play data, the solution shifts royalty tracking from a reactive, claim‑driven model to a proactive revenue‑recovery engine. The deal, announced March 3, signals a broader industry push to close the multi‑billion‑dollar royalty leakage problem.
NIVA Slams Live Nation Settlement as 'Failure of the Justice System'
The U.S. Department of Justice and Live Nation announced a settlement that keeps Ticketmaster under Live Nation ownership, with a reported payout of $280 million—roughly four days of the company’s 2025 revenue. The deal includes structural changes but no explicit safeguards...
Symphonic Launches Its 5th Annual Women Empowered+ Mentorship Program
Symphonic has opened applications for the fifth annual Women Empowered+ mentorship program, running through March 23. The initiative pairs emerging women with senior professionals from Spotify, Concord, Meta and other music‑industry leaders. To date the program has engaged 1,011 participants across...
OpenPlay's Connect Is a New 'App Store' For Music Pros
OpenPlay has launched Connect, an App Exchange that functions as a marketplace for music‑tech services. The platform lets labels, publishers and distributors browse and embed tools from partners such as Audioshake, BeatBread, Beatdapp, LyricFind, Muserk, Musixmatch and Pex. By acting...
Amyl & The Sniffers: How a F*ing Good Concert Film Helps You Grow
Amyl & The Sniffers’ 23‑minute "Live at Ally Pally" concert film demonstrates how a well‑produced live video can serve as a powerful branding and marketing tool. The film captures dynamic stage visuals, crowd energy, and behind‑the‑scenes moments, giving viewers a...
Live Music Industry News Roundup
A coalition called Fix The Tix, including NIVA and NITO, urged Congress to strengthen the TICKET Act to curb predatory secondary‑market practices and scalping bots. StubHub disclosed a $1.9 billion net loss for 2025 despite a 6% rise in gross merchandise...
ElasticStage: The On-Demand Vinyl, CD Revolution for Indie Artists
ElasticStage launches an on‑demand vinyl and CD service that lets independent musicians sell physical releases without upfront manufacturing costs or minimum order requirements. The UK‑based platform ships to over 90 countries, producing each record in 10‑15 days using an eco‑friendly...
Free App FanVids Turns Live Fan Videos Into a Marketing Asset
FanVids.io launches a free app that lets musicians capture fan‑generated videos at live shows, turning spontaneous clips into first‑party data. Artists receive a dedicated domain where fans can upload and view content, bypassing social‑media algorithms. The platform integrates with CRMs,...
How Music Retailers Can Deal With Tariffs and Save Their Customers
Independent music retailers are grappling with a new 15% tariff imposed for 150 days after the Supreme Court struck earlier duties, while consumer confidence stays weak and industry consolidation accelerates. Vendors have raised prices and tightened MAP policies, squeezing margins...
Audiomack Is Where Fandom Becomes Fun, Active, and Social
Audiomack’s built‑in remix tool, Audiomod, has generated over 260 million fan‑made plays from 30 million users since its February 2024 launch, marking a 23 % year‑over‑year increase. The feature lets listeners edit tracks—speed, pitch, presets—and share creations without external software, turning passive streaming into...
Tickets for Good Expands UK Integration, Turning Unsold Inventory Into Social Impact
Tickets for Good has launched an API integration with AXS across the UK, allowing promoters and venues to channel unsold ticket inventory to its verified community‑member network of more than 620,000 healthcare workers, teachers and charity staff. The platform, which...
Live Nation Leads Live Music's $0 Tax Club
Live Nation, along with other major live‑music firms, reported zero federal income tax for 2025 despite record revenues. The tax outcome stems from the 2025 One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which grants 100 % bonus depreciation on new venues, creating...
Bandcamp Expands Publishing Tools to Ensure Songwriters Get Paid
Bandcamp has introduced dedicated publishing‑rights fields on its track and album upload pages, allowing artists to enter songwriter, publisher and ISWC information. The platform also offers bulk‑edit tools for retrofitting existing catalogs and a free guide to navigate collection societies....
The Ultimate Royalties Checklist for Independent Musicians
Symphonic has released a free “Ultimate Royalties Checklist” for independent musicians, outlining the full spectrum of royalty streams—from performance and mechanical to neighboring rights and YouTube Content ID. The guide provides a step‑by‑step “before you release” roadmap, registration checklists, and...
Court Vacates BMI’s 138% Live Concert Licensing Rate Hike
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a 2023 ruling that granted BMI a 138% increase in live‑concert licensing fees, deeming the 0.5% of gross revenue rate unreasonable. The court found BMI’s inclusion of secondary‑ticket sales, VIP packages, and...
Live Music Industry News Roundup
Volume announced it live‑streamed 2,000 concerts in 2025, adding the iconic Troubadour to its network of camera‑equipped venues and averaging 50 live productions weekly across partners such as Red Rocks and 3rd & Lindsley. In Tennessee, legislators are advancing SB2456/HB2135,...
Live Music Society’s Music In Action Summit Empowered the Small Venue Community
The Live Music Society convened more than 50 small‑venue owners in Boulder, Colorado for its Music In Action Summit, showcasing the organization’s $5 million grant program that supports both nonprofit and for‑profit spaces. Attendees highlighted escalating operating costs, competition from major...
A Musician's Guide to Advertising on Facebook
The Hypebot guide walks musicians through Facebook advertising, outlining seven best‑practice tactics and a step‑by‑step setup for a first campaign. It emphasizes audience profiling, authentic short‑form video, minimal text overlays, and clear calls‑to‑action while leveraging Meta’s AI‑driven placement and budgeting...
Soundcheck Live Is a New Platform Modernizing the Backbone of Live Music
Soundcheck Live, an Austin‑based startup founded by Ben Ikwuagwu and Steven Tran, launches a dedicated operations hub for live‑performance teams. The platform consolidates gig documentation, real‑time scheduling, roster coordination, and show‑specific communication into a single dashboard. By replacing spreadsheets, email...
There’s No Point Aiming To Go Viral – It Hardly Ever Happens
A new Duetti Music Economics Report examined over 6 million tracks from 2025 and found that only about 1.1% of songs achieve a viral spike, defined as a five‑fold stream increase in a month. Sustaining that momentum is even rarer, with...
TIDAL Expands Its Spotlight Program to More Artists
Tidal has expanded its Spotlight program to Canada, the UK and several European markets, adding eleven countries in total. The initiative ties directly to Tidal Upload, allowing any publicly posted track to enter an editorial review queue without a separate...
Music Business News From Across the Web
Hypebot’s Industry News tab now offers a continuously updated stream of music‑business coverage, aggregating stories from across the web. The platform maintains its long‑standing policy of zero paywalls, giving professionals free, unrestricted access. Over two decades of curation, the service...
In the New Era of Touring, Artists Are Planting in One City. For Weeks.
Top pop acts are abandoning the traditional city‑hop tour in favor of multi‑night residencies, with Harry Styles booking 30 shows at Madison Square Garden and Bad Bunny delivering 29 nights in San Juan. The model slashes freight, crew and venue...
How Musicians, Marketers Use WhatsApp to Build Fan Communities
Direct-to-fan communication is shifting from optional to essential as social‑media algorithms limit reach. WhatsApp, with over 2 billion users, provides 100% message deliverability and a private‑conversation feel that email and SMS can’t match. Artists like Lorde, The Lathums, Dua Lipa and Sahel Sounds...
Want to Buy or Lease a Legendary Music Venue?
The iconic 8x10 music venue in Baltimore is up for sale or lease as owners Brian and Abigail Cascella retire. Listed at roughly $450,000, the deal includes the 4,000‑square‑foot property, a BD‑7 liquor license, sound and lighting systems, and the...
ASCAP Expands Music Creator Support With New Telehealth Benefit
ASCAP announced a partnership with MDLIVE to extend its member benefits with a 24/7 telehealth service, giving creators instant access to board‑certified physicians and mental‑health counselors. The new offering joins the existing ASCAP Wellness Program, which already provides discounted therapy,...
Fan Burner Accounts Vs. Click Farms: Why the Difference Matters More Than Ever
The article clarifies the growing confusion between fan burner accounts and click farms in music streaming. Fan burners are human‑run secondary profiles that amplify organic buzz, while click farms are large‑scale operations that artificially inflate streams. Apple reported disabling roughly...
DoJ Antitrust Enforcer Exits Weeks Before Live Nation Trial
Gail Slater, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for antitrust, abruptly resigned days before the department’s high‑profile trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Her departure follows reports of internal clashes over settlement negotiations that could spare the companies from a breakup....
TikTok Adds 'Local Feed' — Perfect for Marketing Live Gigs
TikTok has introduced a new Local Feed tab that surfaces content based on a user’s immediate geography, recent activity, and topical relevance. The feature is designed to help musicians, venues, and promoters connect with audiences who are physically close enough...
Not Getting Coverage on Your Music Release? It's Not You, It's the System.
Elisa Serrani’s new observatory report shows that the surge in music press releases has outpaced journalists’ ability to process them, turning volume into noise. The Italian market, used as a micro‑cosm, demonstrates a sharp rise in promotional material while editorial...
Superfan Guide: Lessons From KATSEYE, Olivia Dean & Leon Thomas
Grammy Best New Artist nominees KATSEYE, Olivia Dean and Leon Thomas are leveraging Spotify’s native tools to turn casual listeners into active superfans. KATSEYE used a Countdown Page and Clips to make its EP release an interactive event, while Dean...
SoundExchange Just Quietly Expanded Global Royalty Coverage to 91%
SoundExchange announced that it has added 17 new international collective‑management agreements, expanding its reach to cover more than 91% of the global neighboring‑rights market. The new partnerships span Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, bringing territories such as Kenya,...