Posts by Murray Stassen

Jieun Kim promoted to President of Warner Music Korea

Exec to lead the company’s operations and strategic expansion within the world’s seventh-largest recorded music market

Warner Music Group generated $1.73B in calendar Q1 2026; subscription streaming revenues rose 12.7% YoY

Warner Music Group published its calendar Q1 results today (May 7)

Tencent Music took down over 250,000 songs and reviewed 600,000+ ‘high-risk’ copyright cases in 2025 amid ’emerging AI risks’

TME said it took down over 27,000 songs specifically involved in what it categorizes as "song theft," "song laundering," and "trend hijacking"

South Korean prosecutors reject arrest warrant request for HYBE’s Bang Si-hyuk again (report)

Prosecutors rejected an initial request in April

Warner Music Group and Paramount Pictures strike multi-year deal to make theatrical films based on WMG artists and songwriters

The partnership follows WMG's deal with Netflix, announced in March

Ticketmaster cuts around 350 jobs, 8% of global workforce, in engineering, product and design restructuring (report)

Pollstar reports that Ticketmaster has cuts around 350 jobs

Sphere Entertainment generated $386.4M in Q1 revenues, up 38% YoY – driven by The Wizard of Oz and concert residency growth at Las Vegas venue

'Today's results demonstrate our continued success proving out Sphere's business model,' said Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan

Sony in advanced talks to buy Blackstone’s Recognition Music for up to $4B, reports Bloomberg

The acquisition would be made through Sony's music rights-buying JV with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, the news outlet reported

‘Many still view Thailand as a domestic-only market. In truth, there are many talented Thai songwriters with strong potential for global success.’

MBW's World Leaders series speaks to Tatchara Longprasert, General Manager of Sony Music Publishing Thailand

ElevenLabs, creator of Suno rival ElevenMusic, tops $500M in annual revenue as BlackRock, Jamie Foxx and more join as investors

Company welcomes new investors to its $500M+ Series D funding round, which was first announced in February 2026 at an $11 billion valuation

BTS-nomics, overseas investment strategy, and the future of K-pop: 5 things we learned on HYBE’s Q1 earnings call

HYBE's Q1 2026 earnings call was dominated by the return of BTS. Here's what stood out…

A bill in France would force AI firms to prove they didn’t use copyrighted content to train their tech. The country’s music biz is urging lawmakers to pass it

The law would reverse the burden of proof in copyright disputes involving AI in France

Sony Music expands JV with German rap label Two Sides, as founder Lucas Teuchner takes on broader advisory role for the major in the GSA region

The Berlin-based hip-hop label and management company is behind superstar rapper Apache 207

From The Orchard acquiring Brazil’s OniMusic to the BMG-Concord merger… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

The biggest headlines from the past few days...

The Orchard acquires Brazil’s OniMusic, a prominent Christian music distribution platform

OniMusic was founded in September 2004 by Nelson and Christie Tristão