Analysis News Half of all paid music streams globally still take place in just 4 countries (and other highlights from Luminate’s latest report). Forty-four percent of music listeners in the US say they're less likely to be interested in a song if they know it's AI-generated, Luminate reports
News Tiny Vinyl has released collectible records by Chappell Roan, Rihanna, KATSEYE, and more superstars. Now its expanding into Europe. Tiny Vinyl's collectible four-inch records can play up to 4 minutes of music per side
News Australia’s recorded music royalty rates for radio play to rise by 38% after tribunal ruling The country's recorded music industry says it will push to end Australia's 1% cap on recording royalties paid by radio
News Derek Cournoyer appointed Strategy Lead, Music Business Affairs at ElevenLabs The music exec is joining ElevenLabs after a decade at Kobalt
News As K-pop superstars BTS return, HYBE CEO to test ‘scarcity’ model for fandom business 2026 will be the year HYBE has to prove the value of its recent investments, CEO Jason Jaesang Lee said
News South Korea’s Kakao partners with China’s Tencent Music and Japan’s Line to launch ‘K-pop Artist Chart’ The new chart is expected to debut in the first half of this year on Kakao's Melon music streaming service
News Hannah Poferl appointed Chief Data Officer at Universal Music Group Poferl comes to UMG from The New York Times, where she headed the newspaper's data operations
News Los Lobos sue Sony Music & Sony Pictures over ‘La Bamba’ and ‘Desperado’ royalties The L.A.-born rock band alleges an 'egregious' lack of payments for 'Cancion del Mariachi' and a 'massive deficiency' in payments for 'La Bamba'
News Troy Carter acquires catalog of influential Pop Art Records Carter describes the catalog as 'some of the most important pieces of music in hip-hop history'
News Ethiopia Habtemariam appointed President of Music at HYBE America The UMG veteran will spearhead A&R and artist development across HYBE America's label ecosystem
News Ticketmaster, Live Nation urge court to throw out FTC’s lawsuit over ticket resales The ticketing and concert giant says the FTC is trying to rewrite the law in its suit over Ticketmaster’s resales practices
News Edward ‘Bud’ Cole appointed CEO of Fender Cole succeeds Andy Mooney, who led Fender through an decade of digital innovation
News Live Nation acquires Paris La Défense Arena, Europe’s largest indoor venue Venue has a capacity of 45,000 when configured for concerts
News UK audio music stream volume topped 210 billion in 2025 – but YoY growth slowed Growth in streaming consumption has slowed down in the UK, but vinyl continues to soar in popularity
News PPL’s royalty distributions jump 19.9% to $72.8M in final quarter of 2025 The recorded music royalties collection society says it's seeing strong collections coming from abroad