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 have halved processing time by adopting mass‑payment solutions, while global compliance tools simplify cross‑border tax and FX issues. The shift underscores that reliable, fast financial infrastructure is a core competitive advantage.
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...
Former WMG Subsidiary Uproxx Now Has 160m Monthly Viewers
Uproxx, once a Warner Music Group asset, has been reacquired by its original co‑founder Jarret Myer and entertainer Will I Am. The media company now operates as a music‑TV network across connected TVs, YouTube and social platforms. It reports 160 million monthly US...
Spotify’s New London Lounge Is Tuned for Artist Listening Parties
Spotify has opened a new “Listening Lounge” in its London office, featuring a custom‑built sound system to showcase its lossless audio offering. The venue doubles as a space for artists such as Joy Crookes, Nao and Yazmin Lacey to host...
Marathi “Pop Culture” Festival Rada to Spotlight the Language’s Hip-Hop and Pop Stars
The inaugural Rada pop‑culture festival will take place in Pune on March 28‑29, spotlighting Marathi hip‑hop, pop, comedy, poetry and digital creators. Organized by Marathi content firm BhaDiPa, the event features over a dozen artists, including Spotify viral stars Yung...
Indian Music Stars King and Zaeden to Make Acting Debuts
Amazon Prime Video India’s 2026 slate introduces music stars King and Zaeden as acting newcomers. King will headline the rap‑infused drama *Lukkhe*, while Zaeden leads the youthful romance *Dono Mile Iss Tarah*. Both series are tailored for Gen‑Z streaming audiences...
Feels Launches Its Video Music-Messaging App with Major Deals
US‑based startup Feels has launched a video music‑messaging app that lets users send 15‑second lyrical clips as a keyboard extension on iOS and Android. The company has secured licensing agreements with all three major record labels and their publishing arms,...
Japanese Duo Creepy Nuts Touch Down in Sony Music’s Roblox World
Japanese hip‑hop duo Creepy Nuts, buoyed by over 900 million global streams and a Dua Lipa collaboration, are headlining a month‑long virtual takeover in Sony Music’s Roblox world AVNU from March 25 to April 19. The event blends rhythm‑gaming, trivia challenges and exclusive virtual merch...
Suno’s Latest Move Is MILO-1080 – an AI-Driven Step Sequencer
AI music startup Suno unveiled MILO-1080, a 16‑track, MIDI‑enabled step sequencer that integrates generative AI with traditional sequencing. The tool, released in Suno’s Labs preview, lets users generate sounds via prompts, browse personal libraries, or craft synth patches, positioning Suno...
Hopeless Records Boss: Streaming ‘Fails the Middle Class of Musicians’
Louis Posen, president of Hopeless Records, argues that streaming’s pro‑rata payout model disadvantages mid‑tier musicians by treating all listeners equally and favoring passive, mass‑appeal content. He proposes a tiered artist layer similar to Spotify’s podcast subscriptions, offering fans direct‑access perks...
Drake’s Newest Teaser in Year-Long ‘Iceman’ Album Rollout
Drake has been orchestrating a year‑long promotional campaign for his upcoming album, tentatively titled “Iceman.” The rollout began in July 2025 with a 9 PM YouTube livestream that showcased a real Toronto ice‑sculpting business and premiered a music video featuring Drake...
How Breathe. Doubled Their Monthly Listeners on Spotify
Australian electronic duo Breathe., together with agency Group Speed, overhauled their Spotify presence by reactivating five‑year‑old catalog tracks and launching a data‑driven artist playlist. The playlist paired Breathe. with slightly larger, stylistically similar acts and was promoted through Spotify’s ad...
Music and AI: ‘There Is a Really Big Opportunity Here – if We Get It Right’
The IFPI’s Global Music Report launch highlighted AI as a pivotal growth driver for the recorded‑music sector. Sony Music’s Dennis Kooker emphasized that generative AI can deepen fan‑artist connections, but only if licensing frameworks are solid and deepfake abuse is...
Music and Health: ‘Physicians May Prescribe Music in the Same Way They Prescribe Exercise’
At SXSW’s Take Action summit, a panel of musicians, neuroscientists, and music‑tech executives argued that music should move from awareness campaigns to a prescribed health intervention. Researchers cited evidence that music strengthens neural pathways, aids dementia patients, and improves mental...
‘The Man For Me’ Isn’t Really Taylor Swift’s New Music Video
An AI‑generated music video titled “The Man For Me” has been circulating online, falsely presented as an official Taylor Swift release. The video was produced by the New Songs Haven YouTube channel, which also posts deepfake videos for other major artists....
USC Annenberg Inclusion Report: ‘Women’s Place in This Business Is Shrinking’
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s 2025 "Inclusion in the Recording Studio" report shows women’s share of Billboard Hot 100 artists stalled at 36.1%, while female songwriters dropped to 14.5% and women producers lingered at 4.4%. In contrast, artists from under‑represented ethnic...
New Indian Startup RaagaPay Wants to Fix AI’s Hindustani Classical Music Problem
Delhi‑based startup RaagaPay launched in October 2025 to create India’s first ethical Hindustani classical music dataset for AI. The initial phase delivered ten hours of recordings across sitar, tabla, vocals and other instruments, with a goal of 1,000 hours from...
Behind The Campaign: Breathe
Australian electronic duo Breathe released their debut album For Your Darkest Days on 30 October, shifting from an initial singles‑only plan to a full album campaign. The pivot was enabled by a partnership with music distribution and artist services firm Group...
How to Turn Spotify Data Into Algorithmic Growth
In 2026, roughly 40 % of Spotify streams originate from algorithmic playlists such as Discover Weekly and Release Radar, making them a primary growth engine for music. A study shows that about 9,200 streams from 4,100 unique listeners within 28 days push...
She Sounds. Wants to Bring the Female Gaze to Branded Audio
Sweden‑based studio She Sounds. has launched to embed the female gaze in branded audio, assembling a network of FLINTA (female, lesbian, intersex, non‑binary, trans and agenda) producers, composers and artists. Founder Vivika Zuske leverages her background in licensing and brand music...
AI-Music Artists Get Their Own Accelerator From Prose Ventures
Prose Ventures has launched the AI Music Creators Accelerator, an eight‑week program that supports human musicians using generative AI tools. The inaugural cohort presented a diverse demo day on February 27, streamed publicly on Twitch and later on YouTube. Founder...
MMF Boss Issues Warning on ‘Unspoken Crisis in British Music’
The Music Managers Forum (MMF) chief Annabella Coldrick warned that the UK music scene faces an "unspoken crisis" despite the Brit Awards’ fanfare. Data shows only 15 of the top‑40 albums and 20% of the top‑100 tracks last year involved...
Guest Post: Words Matter. So Why Do Lyrics Generate Just 1% of Publishing Income?
Global music revenues are projected to hit $200 billion by 2035, yet lyrics— the core narrative element of songs—account for just 1 % of publishing income. Rio Caraeff argues that this disparity limits the industry’s growth potential, especially as lyrics drive superfans who...
Gatefolded Wants to Solve Fragmented Music-Sharing for Artists
Gatefolded launches as a dedicated platform that lets musicians share music both publicly with fans and privately with labels, media and collaborators. Founder Jasen Samford, a former DistroKid executive, built the service after hearing workflow frustrations from thousands of artists....
Sandbox Guide :: Vibe Coding for Music Marketers
Music Ally’s Sandbox Guide titled “Vibe coding for music marketers” introduces a new methodology that converts audio characteristics into actionable audience insights. The guide, part of a series released ten times a year, combines case studies, expert interviews, and benchmark...
Korean and Japanese Artists Dominate IFPI Album-Sales Chart
Taylor Swift’s *The Life of a Showgirl* topped the IFPI’s 2025 global album‑sales chart with 6.05 million units, despite ranking only eighth in streaming. The album’s strength came from 2.34 million vinyl copies, far outpacing the nearest competitor. Asian acts, especially K‑Pop, dominated...
Virgin Music Group Completes Downtown Music Holdings Acquisition
Virgin Music Group, the Universal Music Group subsidiary, closed its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings after securing European Commission approval. The deal elevates VMG’s footprint in the independent music services market, adding Downtown’s 5,000 business clients and four million...
Tools :: Plates
Music‑marketing startup Plates captured the top prize at Music Ally’s SI:X startup contest. The platform offers a unified dashboard that aggregates artist streams, followers, and growth metrics across a label’s entire roster. Built‑in AI features, including a chatbot, deliver instant...
Google Adds Lyria 3 AI-Music Model to Its Gemini App
Google has integrated DeepMind’s Lyria 3 generative‑music model into its Gemini app, expanding the multimodal AI assistant’s capabilities to include music creation. The update reaches Gemini’s more than 750 million monthly active users, allowing them to generate 30‑second tracks from text, images...
Social Music-Remixing Startup Hook Raises $10m Funding Round
Social music‑remixing platform Hook announced a $10 million Series A round, led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Waverley Capital, Point72 and Imaginary Ventures. The funding comes as the app’s licensed catalogue has expanded to over 20 million tracks and its user base...
Openstage Rolls Out Its ‘Ticket Unlocks’ Tech to More Artists
Openstage is extending its Ticket Unlocks platform, which uses fan data to prioritize ticket access, to a broader roster of artists after successful pilots with superstars like Bad Bunny and Radiohead. The system validates fan profiles, blocks bots, and lets artists...
New South Wales Prepares New Law to Support Music Venues
New South Wales has introduced the Music Bill 2026, a pioneering legislative package aimed at safeguarding grassroots music venues. The bill establishes a Sound NSW advisory board and an accreditation system that classifies venues as dedicated, significant or live‑music spaces....
Account Manager (Influencer Campaigns) – Round – London
Round is hiring an Account Manager for its Influencer Marketing team in London, targeting music and entertainment clients. The role involves leading creator campaigns on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts while managing client relationships and presenting strategic decks. Candidates...
TikTok Teams up with Apple Music for Full-Length Streams and Listening Parties
TikTok and Apple Music have launched a beta “Play Full Song” feature that lets Apple Music subscribers stream entire tracks inside the TikTok app, generating standard royalties. The button opens a full‑screen player powered by Apple’s MusicKit APIs and is...
IIMW Recap: India Has a Venues Problem
The India International Music Week conference in Mumbai highlighted a critical shortage of mid‑capacity live‑music venues, specifically spaces for 500‑5,000 attendees. Panelists explained that production costs rise sharply beyond 500 seats, making it financially unviable for promoters to scale up....
