Posts by Murray Stassen

WMG generated $1.84bn in calendar Q4; recorded music subscription streaming revenues jump 10.9% YoY

Total revenue was up 7.1% YoY at constant currency, with recorded music revenues up 6.6% YoY

Taylor Swift to premiere ‘Opalite’ music video on Spotify and Apple Music – with YouTube release delayed by two days

Taylor Swift will release the music video for Opalite exclusively on Spotify Premium and Apple Music on Friday (February 6) at 8am ET. The video will not be available on YouTube until Super Bowl Sunday (February 8), meaning the pop superstar is windowing a major music video premiere on paid streaming platforms before its YouTube release. … Continued

News

Harvey Mason jr. on AI, Grammy eligibility, and why human creativity will always matter

The Recording Academy boss took part in a fireside chat with Luminate CEO Rob Jonas ahead of the Grammys in Los Angeles

Analysis News

Reservoir posts $45.6m in revenues for calendar Q4, up 8% YoY; confirms deals with Gladys Knight and T.I.

Reservoir Media has published its financial results for the three months ended December 31

News

Avex Music Group strikes global distro deal with The Orchard, excluding Japan, China and Korea

AMG is the global music division of Japanese entertainment giant Avex

News

Amazon Music raises subscription prices in the US and UK

US individual plans now cost $12.99 per month, while Prime members pay $11.99.

Interviews

With 40bn streams, $75m revenues last year, and double-digit growth forecast for 2026, Romania’s Global Records is redefining indie success in Central and Eastern Europe

Global Records founder Ștefan Lucian on hitting 40bn streams, the company's revenue target for 2026 and more.

Analysis

6 key arguments from Concord and UMG’s $3bn Anthropic lawsuit – and why it’s one of the most significant AI copyright fights yet

A closer look at UMG, Concord and ABKCO's second copyright infringement lawsuit against AI giant Anthropic

News

Bruce Resnikoff promoted to Chairman of Universal Music Enterprises; Jamie Krents upped to President and CEO

UMG noted that Resnikoff is 'widely considered the architect of global recorded music catalog marketing'

Analysis News

Universal and Suno are in a PR battle over ‘walled gardens’ in AI music

Suno exec Paul Sinclair pens memo taking aim at 'walled garden' approach championed by UMG in its recent AI licensing deals

News

WMG’s Paul Robinson honored with Recording Academy’s ELI Service Award: He ‘stands for everything that is honest, diligent, fair.’

Robinson has served as WMG's top lawyer since 2006

Analysis

Music Business Worldwide

Posts by Murray Stassen

WMG generated $1.84bn in calendar Q4; recorded music subscription streaming revenues jump 10.9% YoY

Taylor Swift to premiere ‘Opalite’ music video on Spotify and Apple Music – with YouTube release delayed by two days

Harvey Mason jr. on AI, Grammy eligibility, and why human creativity will always matter

Reservoir posts $45.6m in revenues for calendar Q4, up 8% YoY; confirms deals with Gladys Knight and T.I.

Avex Music Group strikes global distro deal with The Orchard, excluding Japan, China and Korea

Amazon Music raises subscription prices in the US and UK

With 40bn streams, $75m revenues last year, and double-digit growth forecast for 2026, Romania’s Global Records is redefining indie success in Central and Eastern Europe

6 key arguments from Concord and UMG’s $3bn Anthropic lawsuit – and why it’s one of the most significant AI copyright fights yet

Bruce Resnikoff promoted to Chairman of Universal Music Enterprises; Jamie Krents upped to President and CEO

Universal and Suno are in a PR battle over ‘walled gardens’ in AI music

WMG’s Paul Robinson honored with Recording Academy’s ELI Service Award: He ‘stands for everything that is honest, diligent, fair.’

UMG buying a stake in superfan app Stationhead is a bigger deal than you might realize. Here are 3 reasons why.

DistroKid, repped by Goldman Sachs and Raine, exploring a sale

BMG in talks to acquire Concord (report)

60,000 AI tracks hit Deezer daily as platform moves to license detection tech to wider music industry