News Fred Armisen to host CNN music docuseries pulling from UMG’s underground vault The vault lies within the Iron Mountain facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania, where UMG stores a portion of its catalog 220 feet underground.
News OpenWav fan app launched by Wyclef Jean and 88rising’s Jaeson Ma forms joint venture with Loud House for new artist commerce platform The new project seeks to provide artists and IP owners a way to launch, test and scale consumer products globally without holding inventory.
News Universal Music Group’s °1824 launches livestreaming channel on Twitch The new channel called Universal Music Live will stream performances, industry events and artist conversations.
News TikTok closes deal to form new American entity, dodging US shutdown The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will function as an independent entity with a seven-member board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
News Sony Music buys 49% stake in music unit of Vietnam media giant YeaH1; companies launch new SYE Holdings joint venture SME, through Sony Music Entertainment Hong Kong, agreed to acquire a 49% stake in YeaH1-owned 1Label for an undisclosed sum last month.
News Dr. Richard James Burgess and son Ace Burgess launch data analytics firm for royalty recovery The new ventures, AudioNumber and Interline Media Group, combine data intelligence with publishing administration services.
News Cyndi Lauper, Bonnie Raitt and other artists join AI licensing campaign: ‘Stealing isn’t innovation’ The campaign was launched by the Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition formed in 2023 by the RIAA and NMPA.
News Believe UK and Tileyard Music form JV label Tenace Records, led by Co-Presidents Charlie Arme & Michael Harwood Former Universal Marketing Director Chris Dashwood appointed GM.
News TikTok shutdown order for Canada overturned by court Industry Minister Mélanie Joly will have to conduct a new national security review of the ByteDance-owned platform.
News Duetti secures $200m in fresh financing, led by $50m Series C equity investment from The Raine Group The funding consists of a $50 million Series C equity round led by Raine Partners and a $125 million private securitization.
News AEG’s AXS sues website it claims creates counterfeit tickets SecureMyPass.com is being accused of generating fake tickets bearing the AXS trademarks and selling those tickets to unsuspecting customers.
News Universal launches Def Jam Recordings China division in Chengdu, ‘the capital of Chinese hip-hop’ Def Jam Recording China has partnered with China Mobile's Migu to discover talent, and create and distribute music.
News Dani Deahl promoted to Vice President of Creator Policy & Corporate Affairs at Caldecott Music Group Deahl will oversee policy strategy across Caldecott's three divisions: BandLab Technologies, NME Networks, and Vista Musical Instruments
News UMG strikes licensing deal with NetEase Cloud Music for China including ‘artist-centric’ terms covering AI, plans to expand Super VIP tier The agreement includes provisions addressing artificial intelligence, with both companies committing to what they called artist-centric AI principles.
News Udio strikes AI licensing deal with Merlin after UMG and Warner Music settlements The deal includes terms intended to protect what the companies called “the value of human artistry.”