News From UMG’s deal with superfan platform EVEN to Live Nation’s $25B in 2025… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up The biggest headlines from the past few days...
News Virgin Music Group completes Downtown acquisition; Pieter van Rijn named COO as Downtown founder Justin Kalifowitz steps away Pieter van Rijn appointed Chief Operating Officer of VMG
News Live Nation says Ticketmaster breakup threat is already over, calls for DOJ settlement: ‘It’s time to move on.’ Live Nation's EVP of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Dan Wall, said the company is "ready" to reach a deal with the DOJ and state attorneys general
News Chris Welz named partner at Secretly Distribution after company’s ‘biggest year ever’ The longtime COO steps into ownership after two decades at the independent distributor.
News Sphere Entertainment’s revenues topped $1.2bn in 2025, up 8% YoY; Wizard Of Oz has generated $290M since August launch The Las Vegas venue's concert residencies in 2025 included the Eagles, Dead & Company, and the Backstreet Boys.
News Sony Music France acquires Paris-based indie label and publishing company Spookland Spookland will transition into Bleu Revolver, which will continue operating as an independent label in partnership with Sony Music Group France.
News Live Nation loses bid to dismiss DoJ antitrust lawsuit, trial set for March US District Judge Arun Subramanian granted Live Nation's motion for summary judgment on some claims while allowing others to proceed.
News AWAL strikes global distribution deal with Italy’s Artist First Artist First will offer local marketing and promotional services to AWAL artists looking to break into the Italian market.
News Spotify says it has ‘helped artists generate’ $1bn+ in ticket sales to date. Now it’s teaming up with SeatGeek to drive even more SeatGeek becomes the latest ticketing platform to join Spotify's growing live events ecosystem.
News Concord opens new Los Angeles office on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills 'This new office signals the future of Concord,' said CEO Bob Valentine
News Taylor Swift was IFPI’s biggest-selling recording artist globally in 2025 – for a record sixth time Swift has now won the award as many times as all other artists combined over the past 10 years.
News AI remix startup Hook secures $10m in Series A led by Khosla Ventures The startup promoted Simmi Singh to Chief Operating Officer & Chief Product Officer.
News Universal Music strikes deal with superfan platform EVEN to power D2C sales for artists worldwide The deal arrives just weeks after UMG acquired a minority stake in superfan platform Stationhead.
News Rebecca Dixon promoted to Global Head of Marketing & Strategy at Various Artists amid raft of senior appointments at firm’s UK HQ George Shepherd has also been promoted to Associate Director
News US state attorneys general ready to take Live Nation to trial, with or without DoJ (report) State attorneys general plan to meet later this week to discuss the case without federal government participation, Bloomberg reported.
News Deezer launches ‘Flow Tuner’ to give users more control over algorithmic playlists Flow Tuner adjusts recommendations in real time instead of relying on likes, dislikes or skips.
News HYBE AMERICA launches Blue Highway Records in Nashville, names Jake Basden as CEO HYBE AMERICA's Nashville-based country, Americana and roots rock division rebrands as Blue Highway Records, effective immediately
News Henrik Berndtson named Head of Nordics at AEG ticketing division AXS Stockholm-based Berndtson will oversee AXS’s operations across the Nordics, supporting the company’s broader European strategy