News Live Nation to invest $1bn in US venues over next 18 months; says it invested $14bn in artists globally in 2024 The investment in 18 venues across the US is expected to generate $2.9 billion in economic activity
News Secretly Group buys 50% stake in Merge Records, as co-founder Laura Ballance departs After 36 years of co-managing Merge, Laura Ballance has announced she's exiting the music industry
News HYBE restructures Japan division, appoints Kenji Shima, Jeff Miyahara to senior positions HYBE JAPAN aims to develop Japanese artists who can find an international audience
News MNRK Music Group acquires metal label Prosthetic Records MNRK says it plans to 'amplify' Prosthetic's music through a strategy involving digital platforms, physical formats, and special releases
News FUGA makes first step into D2C commerce for artists and labels, in partnership with Shopify-backed Single This is B2B music distributor FUGA's first foray into direct-to-consumer e-commerce
News Sony Music teams up with The Hello Group to launch artist management joint venture, THG India "We are strategically empowering Indian artists with the resources... to truly accelerate their careers"
News Concord’s film and TV division acquires legendary studio RKO RKO was behind numerous classic films such as 'King Kong,' 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'Citizen Kane'
News Live events platform Fever secures another $100m in funding, reports 20x revenue growth Fever was last valued at $1.8 billion in 2023, following funding rounds led by Goldman Sachs
News Suno upgrades AI Song Editor, as labels reportedly push for Content ID-style fingerprinting in licensing talks with AI music platforms As record companies push for input over what sorts of tools AI music platforms develop, Suno is forging ahead with new capabilities
News Confirmed: Bruno Crolot joins Believe as President, Label & Artist Solutions (LAS) Exec was previously Spotify’s Senior Director, Head of International Music
News Music Nation granted permit to operate a CMO in the UAE, as country aims to become creative industry hub Development described as “a pivotal moment” for the UAE and Music Nation
News VNYL acquires Vinyl Me Please, announces relaunch of troubled record subscription service Vinyl Me Please 'struggled with fulfillment delays, operational breakdowns, and unmet customer expectations' in recent years
News Meta sued for alleged ‘rampant infringement’ of Eminem songs on Facebook, Instagram Eight Mile Style alleges that Meta doesn't have a license to including Eminem songs in its social media music libraries
News Music publishing brings in $11.1bn annually across 16 major markets, first-ever ICMP survey finds ICMP hopes snapshot of publishing revenue across major markets will be a valuable tool for understanding the nature of the business
Analysis News From HYBE’s reported expansion plans to Martin Lorentzon’s Spotify stock cash-outs… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…