News Create Music Group forms joint venture with Jonnyshipes’ GoodTalk The joint venture will employ a 'co-release model,' pairing Create's global infrastructure with GoodTalk's 'selective, development-first approach.'
News Sam Hu named Managing Director at Universal Music China Hu previously held senior roles at UMGC rivals Sony Music Entertainment China and Warner Music China, as well as at domestic player Taihe Music Group.
News Warner Chappell launches in India; Jay Mehta to lead recorded music and publishing for WMG in India & neighboring South Asian markets The new WCM India division will provide songwriters with exclusive access to the wider WMG’s studios within its Mumbai headquarters.
News Bang Si-hyuk, Chair of BTS company HYBE, faces arrest warrant bid from Seoul police in IPO probe (report) Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Commissioner Park Jung-bo told reporters the investigation was "essentially complete."
News Drake pushes back on UMG at appeals court, says judge improperly dismissed ‘Not Like Us’ case Drake's lawyers argued that the judge committed “reversible error” by considering materials outside the complaint and drawing conclusions against the rapper.
News Matt Gralen promoted to CEO of Beatport, Helen Sartory upped to President & COO, as longtime Chief Exec Robb McDaniels moves to Executive Chairman role Gralen previously served as President and CFO, while Sartory was most recently Chief Revenue Officer.
News Spotify strikes deal with National Independent Venue Association to boost indie venues in the US Throughout 2026, Spotify will boost visibility for independent venues through existing features including venue pages and its Live Events Feed.
News India added nearly 4m paid music streaming subscriptions in 2025, taking its total to 14.4m, according to new report However, the report found that of the 178 million people who streamed music in 2025, only about 8% were paying for it.
News Pirate site Anna’s Archive hit with $322M default judgment over music scraping — but will Spotify and record labels ever see the money? Whether the plaintiffs will ever see the $322 million award remains unclear, as Anna’s Archive’s operators remain anonymous.
News UK collection org PPL’s revenue grew 4.75% YoY to $415m in FY 2025; paid out $102m to performers & rightsholders in Q1 2026 In 2025, PPL paid royalties to more than 182,000 performers and recording rightsholders, including 16,000 who received payments for the first time.
News Canada’s SOCAN paid out USD $366m to rightsholders in 2025, warns AI is ‘placing mounting pressure’ on livelihoods Canadian performing rights society SOCAN generated revenues of CAD $587.1 million ($420m) in 2025, up 5% compared with 2024.
News BTS label BigHit Music asks US court to unmask X user who leaked ‘ARIRANG’ before release The HYBE-owned label is targeting an X account that allegedly distributed unreleased songs and other album assets before ARIRANG dropped.
News Ticketmaster launches app within ChatGPT, bringing event discovery to OpenAI’s chatbot For Ticketmaster, the app enables discovery and paid marketing as OpenAI is also testing sponsored ad placements in ChatGPT.
News After closing $267m ABS deal, Seeker Music acquires Nu Shooz catalog Nu Shooz's dance track "I Can’t Wait", which celebrates its 40th anniversary, climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
News Spotify gives users the option to switch off video content across its platform Spotify is rolling out new toggles that allow listeners to switch off video content, including Canvas visuals and podcast videos.