News Confirmed: European competition regulator to assess UMG’s $775m acquisition of Downtown Music European Commission has accepted requests from Austria and the Netherlands to review the proposed acquisition
News Universal Music Group’s Downtown acquisition to be probed by EU competition regulator (report) The FT reports the probe will be announced on Friday (April 25)
News HYBE teams up with Spanish-language TV giant Telemundo on ‘first-of-its-kind’ competition and reality show to form a Regional Mexican group Members of the winning group will win $100,000 and a recording contract with HYBE Latin America
Interviews Oscar Höglund talks Epidemic Sound’s revenue growth and vast reach: ‘We get roughly 3bn daily views. That’s 20 Super Bowls per day, 365 days per year.’ MBW's World Leaders series meets Oscar Höglund, CEO of Epidemic Sound
News India’s Tips Music generated $9.1m in calendar Q1 as EBITDA grew 24% YoY Tips' operating EBITDA grew 24% YoY in calendar Q1 to reach USD $4.3m
News Universal Music Group Nashville rebrands as Music Corporation of America Mike Harris to Lead as President & CEO, and Dave Cobb as Chief Creative Officer
News Spanish society SGAE distributed $378m to its members in 2024, as annual collections reached record $422m SGAE reports highest annual revenues in 125-year history
Analysis News Tencent Music lets musicians generate AI tracks and send them directly to streaming app QQ Music TME's ESG report explains how the firm's AI capabilities have been expanded across the business
News Nicole George-Middleton promoted to EVP & Head of Creative Membership at ASCAP Most recently, George-Middleton held the positions of SVP of Membership as well as Executive Director of The ASCAP Foundation
News Rachel Tregenza and Charlotte Allan appointed to senior Communications and Policy roles at Universal Music UK Both Tregenza and Allan will report into Tom Williams SVP, Communications & Policy (UMUK & Global)
News Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour sues operator of website over alleged counterfeit merch David Gilmour Music Ltd. has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the operator of a website it alleges is selling counterfeit merch
News Superfan platform Sesh raises $7m led by Miura Global Company is also launching a Member Card that allows fans to register and download a digital pass to their phone’s wallet
News Warner launches ‘5 Junction’ JV with Anjula Acharia to break artists from South Asia and its diaspora 5 Junction will collaborate closely with Los Angeles–based Warner Records
News Live Nation acquires Hayashi International Promotions, one of Japan’s largest concert promoters HIP is one of the largest concert promoters in Japan
News Charles Goldstuck’s GoldState raises $500m to buy music rights, with investment from Northleaf Capital and Ares Management "Our new relationship with Northleaf and Ares marks the next step in the evolution of our music investing strategy,” said GoldState founder Charles Goldstuck