Interviews ‘We have to establish some rules before creativity is suppressed and the marketplace is flooded with AI-generated music.’ RIAA President & COO Michele Ballantyne looks back on her 20 years at the organization, the changes she's seen, the lessons she's learned and the battles she's still fighting
News The MLC nears $2.5bn in royalty distributions to songwriters and publishers since 2021 The MLC's royalty payout count has increased by $1bn in just one year
News Spotify sponsors ultra-competitive category at Music Business UK awards World's leading streamer backs one of the biggies at next month's sold-out event
News Macron calls for fairer music streaming model after France imposes ‘music streaming tax’ The French president would like to see 'artists who have average followings' get paid more
Analysis News From UMG’s lawsuit against Chili’s to Ticketmaster’s bot problem… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
News Africa-focused streaming service Mdundo hits 37.8m monthly active users, as paid subscription revenue jumps 112% in local currency terms The company reported a revenue decline in fiscal 2023/24, amid weakness in African currencies
Analysis News Ticketmaster hit by ‘billions’ of bots in Oasis ticket sale, and 3 other things Michael Rapino said at Bloomberg’s Screentime event The Live Nation CEO criticized scalpers saying there shouldn't be "a middleman that has nothing invested in the business making any money from it."
News Downtown’s FUGA expands in ANZ region via new deal with Australia’s UNIFIED Music Group Partnership will bolster UNIFIED’s distribution and marketing capabilities, and provide neighbouring rights services
Analysis News Latin Music generated $685m in US recorded music revenues in the first half of 2024 – up 7% YoY The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has published its mid-year 2024 Latin Music Revenue Report
Analysis News ‘Works for hire’? Jury trial to decide if 2 Live Crew’s members, heirs have any right to its music 2 Live Crew's members and their heirs are fighting to take back the recording copyrights on the 1980s rap band's music
News Reservoir acquires producer royalties of Grammy winner Jack Douglas The acquisition includes hits by Aerosmith and Cheap Trick
News Warner Music Group acquires Amsterdam-based label Cloud 9 Recordings Cloud 9 Co-founder Raymond van Vliet to remain as President of Cloud 9 Recordings
News Spotify launches Free tier in South Korea Spotify launched in South Korea in February 2021 without its ad-supported tier
News Universal Music sues Chili’s restaurant chain owner over alleged copyright infringement in social media ads The restaurant chain's owner Brinker reported $4.42 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended June 26, 2024
News In key markets outside the US, TikTok’s revenues soared 75% to $4.6bn last year, but losses widened amid $1bn in legal costs TikTok's massive increase in European, LatAm and African revenue was more than offset by a sharp spike in expenses
News atVenu, a live event commerce and music merch sales platform, secures $130m equity investment from Sixth Street Growth News arrives amid the investment world's continued interest in the live events space
News Sony Music settles lawsuit against Marriott Hotels over alleged ‘rampant’ infringement in social media posts Sony and Marriott asked that the case be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it can’t be refiled
Analysis News Tencent Music is ‘strategically deploying advanced AI tools’ to crack down on infringement amid the rise of AI-generated content Company's ESG report provides details on how it tackles copyright infringement amid the rise of AI-generated music