News Spotify expands video creator monetization program to nine new markets The Spotify Partner Program is expanding to eligible creators in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
News China’s $6B-valued Kunlun Tech debuts ‘world’s first’ music reasoning model, claims it can outperform Suno Kunlun's “chain-of-thought” technology incorporates thinking and self-criticism in the music generation process
News Pophouse Entertainment, the firm behind ABBA Voyage, closes $1.3bn music rights buying fund Pophouse said it has already deployed about 30% of the fund
Analysis News BMG surpassed $1bn revenue in 2024 and spent $263m buying catalogs – as EBITDA surged to record $287m Revenue up 6.4% YoY, or 8.1% YoY on an organic basis, as catalog spending outstrips 2023
News HYBE-owned superfan platform Weverse launches in-app streaming service, ‘Listening Party’ New Spotify-powered feature allows artists and fans to stream curated music within Weverse
News Fernando Cabral de Mello named CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Brazil Sony Music Latin Iberia has announced a new organizational structure for its operations in Brazil
Analysis News From Dua Lipa’s copyright lawsuit win to Concord’s Stem acquisition… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
News Dua Lipa wins copyright lawsuit over hit song Levitating (with a little help from Ed Sheeran) Warner, Sony, and Universal were all co-defendants, as were Lipa's co-writers on the global smash
Interviews 22,100 artists generated over $50k on Spotify last year. The company argues that ‘way more artists are generating meaningful money now than in any previous era of the music industry’. MBW interviews Charlie Hellman, Spotify's Global Head of Music Vertical
News You’ve heard of superfan app Weverse. Now the parent company of HYBE’s arch-rival has launched a direct competitor. Meet Berriz. In addition to music fans, Berriz will also cater to fans of drama, film, webtoons, musicals, and other IP
News Amanda Kingsland, Shawn Marino named co-heads of A&R at Universal Music Canada The duo have “a renewed mandate to sign, develop, and break the next generation of Canadian artists on the world stage”
News Tyla producer Sammy SoSo hit with lawsuit over Grammy-winning hit ‘Water’ Lawsuit was filed by Olmo Zucca and Jackson LoMastro
News GetReal Security raises $17.5m to combat AI deepfakes GetReal says it 'specializes in the detection and mitigation of malicious generative AI threats'
News Sony Music Publishing signs producer MTech to global deal The deal covers MTech's future songs and catalog, which includes a number of Kendrick Lamar hits
News Megan Ogleby-Page promoted to Head of Operations at UK’s Entertainment Retailers Association Ogleby-Page is described by ERA as 'the driving force behind Record Store Day for over a decade'