WMG Talks Catalogue and AI After Strong Q2 Financial Results
Warner Music Group posted a strong fiscal Q2, with revenue rising 17% to $1.73 bn and operating profit hitting $264 m. The label highlighted that its catalogue—over one million tracks from 70,000 artists—accounts for 65% of revenue and is being leveraged with proprietary AI tools to drive engagement and marketing efficiency. A Madonna‑focused streaming push lifted weekly streams 24%, while a partnership with AI‑music firm Suno demonstrated fans’ willingness to pay $12.50 a month for interactive experiences. WMG also disclosed a $650 m catalog acquisition fund and new AI‑powered premium tiers with DSPs.
Artists and Music Businesses Ask UK Prime Minister to Re-Prioritise Ticket Touting Ban
In 2025 the UK Labour government pledged to ban ticket touting, promising an average resale price reduction of £37 (about $47) and annual fan savings of £112 million (≈$143 million). A Financial Times report this week suggests the legislation may be postponed...
Sony Music India Launches Vinyl and Merch Store StampEight
Sony Music India unveiled StampEight, a new e‑tail platform that sells vinyl records and limited‑edition merchandise from legacy rock acts such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Pink Floyd. The launch coincided with Record Store Day and follows the 2025...
Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and the Quietly Cancelled Tours Catching “Blue Dot Fever”
Ticketmaster and Live Nation are confronting a wave of "blue dot fever," where unsold stadium seats are marked with blue dots, prompting several mid‑tier artists to cancel or postpone tours. Acts such as the Pussycat Dolls, Post Malone, Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor and...
Steven Wilson Releases Mini-Documentary About His 2025 India Tour
Steven Wilson released a 22‑minute mini‑documentary titled “The Overview in India,” chronicling his November 2025 tour across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. The film highlights a younger, metal‑shirt‑clad Indian fanbase and notes that production standards now match his European and...
KhoslaRaghu Call Out AI Slop on DSPs
Hindi pop duo KhoslaRaghu’s Sanchit Khosla went viral after exposing AI‑generated songs crowding Spotify and YouTube, citing a fake cover of Anuv Jain’s hit. He showed that “AI artists” like Neelima Prajith and groups such as Mausqui and Stone Boy Music have...
AI Label Staffed Entirely by AI Releases Fully AI-Generated Album for Audience of AI Bots
Clanker Records, an AI‑operated music label with no human staff, is releasing a fully AI‑generated album by the bot‑created artist C.W.A. The album "Straight Outta Crompton" will debut exclusively for AI agents on the AI‑only network Molt a week before...
AI Roundup: Udio Used YouTube Music; Meta/Zuckerberg Sued for Infringement; ElevenLabs Raises $500m
Udio disclosed that it scraped YouTube audio to train its generative‑music AI, prompting Sony to remain the sole major label still suing the platform over copyright infringement. Meta and Mark Zuckerberg are now facing a lawsuit from leading book publishers...
‘Plenty of AI Isn’t Generative, And/Or Is Not Using Someone Else’s Training Data’
Former Sony A&R executive Drew Thurlow argues that AI will augment, not replace, music creation. He highlights a surge in licensing deals between major labels and AI‑music startups, and stresses that much of today’s AI hype focuses on generative models while...
Ticketing’s Real Problem Isn’t Live Nation – Guest Column
A federal jury ruled that Live Nation operates as a monopoly, reigniting antitrust scrutiny of the live‑event ticket market. While the verdict focuses on competition, Matt Zarracina argues the deeper flaw lies in the lack of a robust ticket‑custody infrastructure....
Nebula Becomes Latest Fan-to-Artist Investment Platform
Music tech startup Nebula, in partnership with distribution firm Supply Chain Music, launched an “earn‑before‑you‑stream” platform that lets fans purchase Nebula tokens to fund artists and receive a share of future royalties. Artists keep 100% ownership of their music, can...
YouTube Allows Creators to Replace Music with Copyright Issues with genAI Songs
YouTube has added a "Create" button in Studio that lets U.S. creators generate AI‑produced instrumental tracks to replace copyrighted music flagged by Content ID. The tool produces four royalty‑free options, and selecting one clears the claim, allowing the video to...
Behind “Turn The Lights Off” By Justė
The 2025 revival of “Turn The Lights Off” turned a 15‑year‑old catalog hit into a modern success. By leveraging a TikTok meme and a high‑intensity artist‑development program for Lithuanian DJ Justė, the campaign generated 1 billion radio plays and 37 million Spotify...
Publishing Update: Market Shares, Avex Fund, Mothership, Chord…
Music publishing in 2025 saw majors extend their lead, with Sony Music Publishing lifting its share to 25.9% and Universal Music Publishing reaching a record 23.6%. Independent publishers fell to 38.2%, widening the gap between majors and the indie sector....
Social Media and Digital Marketing Coordinator – Solar Management – London
Solar Management, a London‑based artist and producer management firm, announced a vacancy for a Social Media and Digital Marketing Coordinator. The role will handle day‑to‑day social posting, live announcements, email database management, website SEO, and digital ad campaigns across Google...
Björn Ulvaeus Warns Majors over AI Deals: ‘We Have to Be Consulted’
At Stockholm Music Week, ABBA co‑founder Björn Ulvaeus warned major labels and AI firms that artists must be consulted on any AI‑driven music deals. He stressed that AI can’t replace human taste and that licensing of training data should be...
‘Playback’ Producer Second Rodeo Talks Music and Micro-Dramas: ‘A Natural Fit’
Music Ally highlights the rise of short‑form micro‑dramas, a format already worth $7 bn a year in China. Second Rodeo has debuted the first music‑themed micro‑drama, *Playback*, starring influencer Hannah Stocking and distributed on Holywater’s My Drama app. The series features...
Senior Accountant (Label and Artist Management Company) – Anomally Records – Remote (UK)
Anomally Records, an independent label and artist‑management firm with operations in the UK, GCC, Hong Kong and China, is hiring a senior accountant on a remote, part‑time‑to‑full‑time basis. The role will oversee day‑to‑day accounting, royalty tracking, touring settlements, merchandise and direct‑to‑consumer...
AI Is Already Training on Music. The Real Question Is: Who Gets Paid?
AI systems are already being trained on vast libraries of recorded music, often without the creators’ knowledge or consent. While 87% of artists now use AI tools for tasks ranging from mastering to songwriting, the compensation mechanisms lag behind, creating...
Why Infrastructure Is the Key to Africa’s Long-Term Music Success: Guest Column
Afrobeats has propelled Sub‑Saharan Africa into the second‑fastest‑growing recorded music market in 2024, yet the region’s revenue per streaming user remains $1‑$2, far below Western benchmarks. Co‑founders Tom Russell and Y’akoto identify six structural gaps—low ARPU, weak rights collection, limited...
Amazon Music Reveals ‘Just Walk Out’ Merch Plans for BTS Concerts
Amazon Music has secured exclusive rights to sell merchandise for BTS’s North American comeback tour, covering the United States, Canada and Mexico. The partnership includes pre‑sale events, on‑site booths and a full line of apparel, physical music and signature light...
OpenAI Boss Sam Altman’s ‘World’ Gets Into Concert Ticketing
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s “World” project has launched Concert Kit, a biometric ticketing platform that uses iris‑scanning via the World ID app to confirm buyers are real humans. The service promises exclusive pre‑sales and reserved ticket blocks for verified fans, debuting with...
IngaRose Is a Hit as SIQA Launches ‘AI Music Intelligence’ Report
AI‑driven project IngaRose is gaining notable traction, topping iTunes charts in multiple countries and boasting 240,000 TikTok followers, 251,000 Instagram fans, 90,000 YouTube subscribers, and 942,000 monthly Spotify listeners. The launch of SIQA’s AI Music Intelligence Report, based on 1,551...
Ella Langley Hosts TikTok In-App Album Experience
Ella Langley celebrates her sophomore album "Dandelion" with a TikTok in‑app album experience, turning the platform into a direct release channel. She made history as the first female artist to simultaneously lead the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, and Country...
Spotify Roll Out Its Own AI-Transparency Feature in Beta
Spotify has begun beta testing an AI‑transparency feature that lets artists disclose how artificial intelligence contributed to their tracks, adding specific credits for vocals, lyrics, or production in the Song Credits view. The rollout depends on artists voluntarily sharing this...
Behind The Single: Justė, Jaxstyle, Jon – “Turn The Lights Off”
On November 7 2025, Lithuanian vocalist Justė teamed with Dutch producer Jaxstyle and UK DJ Jon to release the club‑ready single “Turn The Lights Off.” The track, issued through Spinnin’ Records under Warner Music Group, reimagines a classic 1990s electronic anthem with...
Sample Creators Will Get Payouts From Splice’s New GenAI Tools
Splice announced three generative‑AI tools—Variations, Craft, and Magic Fit—designed to let musicians remix, convert, and adapt catalog samples in real time. The company emphasized that original sample creators will receive a royalty each time their sound is used as a source...
Label Vets Reveal New Ventures: 26.2, Joan of Arc, Cofvnders
Industry veterans Julie Greenwald and Max Lousada launched 26.2, Cindy Mabe founded Joan of Arc Music, and RCA president Mark Pitts announced Cofvnders. All three are independent‑styled ventures that emphasize an art‑first philosophy while securing distribution partnerships with Sony Music,...
India to Holds Its Largest Record Store Day Celebrations to Date
Sony Music India is reviving its Vinyl Pop‑Up event in Mumbai on April 18, marking the largest Record Store Day celebration in the country with over 5,000 records, limited‑edition box sets, cassettes and merchandise from iconic artists such as AC/DC,...
Synclicity Sees More Sync Opportunities for Emerging Artists
James Lloyd has launched Synclicity, a boutique sync‑licensing agency that debuted this week with a roster of 18 emerging artists spanning alt‑rock, indie pop, punk and folk. The firm targets placement opportunities across television, film, advertising, sports and the rapidly...
Report Explores ‘Streaming Paradox’ for Artists in Five Countries
A new Oxford Internet Institute and University of Groningen study surveyed 1,200 musicians in the Netherlands, Nigeria, South Korea, Brazil and Chile. While artists across all five markets consider streaming vital for visibility and promotion, they report uniformly low satisfaction...
Danish Jazz Artists Rage at AI Tracks Released Under Their Names
Danish jazz musicians, including Carsten Dahl, Thomas Blachman, Chris Minh Doky, Lennart Ginman and Mikkel Ploug, discovered AI‑generated tracks falsely listed under their names on Spotify. The artists complained that the fake releases cluttered their profiles and received little assistance...
Rethinking European Music Exports: It’s Not Just About Copying South Korea
K‑Pop became the world’s fourth‑largest music exporter in 2025, trailing only the US, UK and Canada. South Korea’s rise stems from a coordinated blend of long‑term public policy, industry‑led training pipelines and export‑focused infrastructure, rather than heavy‑handed state direction. European...
EY-IMI Survey Reveals What It Will Take for Indians to Pay for Music (and Why some Won’t)
A new EY‑IMI survey of over 5,000 Indian digital content consumers shows that 96% of smartphone users listen to music, with 77% using licensed streaming platforms. Yet only 58% of those users have ever paid for a subscription. Among the...
Hybe India’s Girl Group Auditions Expand to Five International Cities
Hybe India announced a nationwide audition tour to form its first Indian girl group, adding five international cities to the schedule. The auditions will run from early May through late July across ten Indian metros and will also be held...
Behind The Campaign: Fcukers
New York electronic duo Fcukers, consisting of Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis, released their debut EP Baggy$$ on Ninja Tune in September 2024. The pair, formed in 2022, caught the attention of manager Simon Parsons, who first met Jackson at the...
Brands and Music: KFC Single and Leon Thomas’s Delta Show
KFC has entered the music arena with "Finger Lickin’ Machine," a track released on streaming services and accompanied by a YouTube video to promote its latest menu deal. The video gathered 2.8 k views on its first day, while Spotify play...
Influencer Collabs Account for 50% of an Indian Soundtrack’s Promotional Budget, Says Report
Indian film soundtrack promoters are allocating roughly half of their promotional budgets to influencer collaborations, according to a recent Economic Times report. Paid YouTube advertising has slipped to about 30% of spend, while the remaining budget supports audio‑streaming discoverability. Promotion...
Two Amicus Briefs Weigh in for UMG in Its Battle with Drake
Universal Music Group (UMG) has secured two amicus briefs supporting its defense in Drake’s defamation lawsuit over the 2025 single “Not Like Us.” The Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression at Yale Law School and a coalition of social...
YouTube’s Coachella 2026 Coverage Includes a 24/7 TV Station
YouTube is expanding its Coachella 2026 partnership by launching a 24/7 linear TV channel, Coachella TV, alongside its traditional livestream. The platform will stream seven stages, offering 4K feeds for three main stages and a vertical video feed for the Quasar stage....
The Album Is Back
The album format is experiencing a cultural resurgence, driven by artists such as Charli xcx, Lily Allen, Bad Bunny and Rosalía. Music strategist Keith Jopling argues that albums remain the cornerstone of lasting careers despite streaming’s single‑track focus, citing Charli xcx’s 2024 release ‘Brat’ as a...
The Foundation of Trust: Why Royalty Infrastructure Is the Key to Artist Retention in 2026
In 2026 music platforms are prioritizing automated royalty payouts to retain artists, as manual delays drive talent to competitors. Create Music Group now delivers YouTube streaming revenue within three days, positioning itself as an artist‑first brand. Labels like Ninja Tune...
Social-Media Roundup: ‘Passive’ Use, Slop Letter, Video Forecasts
The UK regulator Ofcom reports that while 89% of British adults use at least one social‑media platform, only 49% actively post, share or comment—a drop from 61% in 2024. Meanwhile, a coalition led by Fairplay has accused YouTube and Google...
New Platform Fieldworks Wants to Fill the Digital Gap in Indian Arts Education
Fieldworks, founded by Indian musicians Sahej Bakshi and Krishna Jhaveri with maker Vaibhav Chhabra, has launched a digital arts education platform targeting the country’s creator‑driven musicians. Its flagship Creative Immersion program combines three months of online instruction in music production,...
Australia Introduces New “Orphan Works” Copyright Legislation
Australia’s government has passed the Copyright Amendment Bill, extending the 1986 Copyright Act to address “orphan works” – creative material whose owners cannot be identified or located. The reform permits public use of such works, especially in education, for a...
Havells mYOUsic Aims to Be a Talent Hunt with a Difference
Havells mYOUsic is an Indian talent hunt that welcomes singers, music producers, lyricists and instrumentalists to submit original work. Shortlisted participants attend a three‑day bootcamp featuring masterclasses on creative and business aspects of the music industry. The final cohort will...
SeatGeek Gives Ticketing an AI Twist with ChatGPT Integration
SeatGeek has launched a native ChatGPT app that lets users search for concert, sports and theater tickets directly within the chatbot. The integration supports both primary and resale inventory, a first among ticketing platforms on ChatGPT. The move follows SeatGeek’s...
Instagram Sets Out Its Stall as a ‘Music Superfandom’ Platform
Instagram is positioning itself as a "music superfandom" platform, backed by a Luminate‑commissioned report that finds 58 % of music superfans use the app and 32 % of daily music engagers qualify as superfans. Meta’s experimental activation program delivered an average 10 %...
Women Headliners at The O2 Have Increased by 300% Since 2016
The O2 arena in London has seen female headliners surge from eight shows in 2016 to 38 this year, a 300% increase. The rise includes high‑profile residencies such as Ariana Grande’s ten‑show European exclusive and six‑show runs by Raye and Olivia Dean....
The Hidden Jams Wants to Be the Wikipedia of Music Deep-Cuts
The Hidden Jams is launching as a Wikipedia‑style platform that lets fans crowdsource rankings and discover deep‑cut tracks across artists' back catalogs. The service is in beta, initially targeting rock acts with extensive discographies such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and...