Posts by Murray Stassen

Universal Music Group generated $3.53bn in Q3, up 10.2% YoY – driven by the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter

UMG's fresh set of quarterly results were published today (October 30)

Kobalt and indie music company umn team up to acquire catalog of superstar songwriters Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer, in what they claim to be ‘Germany’s largest music rights acquisition yet’

Berlin-based entertainment company umn (pronounced ˈhjuːmən) was founded in 2024 by ex-BMG senior execs, Dominique Casimir, Maximilian Kolb and Justus Haerder

News

Warner overhauls Italian frontline label structure with launch of Warner Records Italy & Atlantic Records Italy

Eleonora Rubini elevated to Label Director, Warner Records Italy; Marco Masoli upped to Label Director, Atlantic Records Italy

News

Drake files to appeal dismissal of UMG lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’

Drake has filed a Notice of Appeal to challenge the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group.

News

BTS’ RM becomes first K-pop artist to deliver keynote at APEC CEO Summit, urges investment in creative industries

The APEC CEO Summit brings together business leaders and government officials from across the Asia-Pacific region

News

ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN will now accept registrations of ‘partially’ AI-generated musical works

Compositions that are 'entirely created' using AI tools are not eligible for registration with any of the individual societies

News

EU restarts probe into UMG’s Downtown deal, sets new deadline to make decision

Competition authority sets provisional deadline of February 6, 2026 to decide on the deal

News

Idris Elba extends exclusive, global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group

'People might think Idris is an actor who sometimes makes music, but in reality, he’s a songwriter who sometimes acts,' said UMPG's Pete Simmons

Analysis

3 things you might have missed about The MLC’s revived bundling fight with Spotify

The Mechanical Licensing Collective's legal battle with Spotify over audiobook bundling and royalty payments has entered a new phase following a series of October court filings.

News

In latest MENA M&A move, Reservoir and PopArabia acquire catalogs of Iraqi company HFM Production & Kuwaiti singer-songwriter Essa Almarzoug

Companies have acquired all compositions and masters owned by Iraqi music production house HFM Production

Interviews

Why Reservoir bet tens of millions of dollars on Jazz legend and ‘definition of cool’ Miles Davis

Reservoir President Rell Lafargue gives us an exclusive look at the company's Miles Davis deal

News

From YouTube’s $8bn music industry payout to Spotify’s song mashup patent… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

The biggest headlines from the past few days – all in one place

News

UAE-based CMO Music Nation formally begins operations

The company received approval from the UAE government in June to operate a CMO in the country

News

Now IMPALA says UMG/Downtown deal would ‘harm cultural diversity’; Universal rubbishes accusation in trade body’s new paper

Org has published a paper titled "Universal/Downtown – Why does it matter from a cultural diversity perspective?"

Analysis News

Deezer reports Q3 revenues of $153m, confirms subscriber growth momentum in France

Deezer's AI detection system and personalization features are 'attracting global attention, opening opportunities beyond our core markets,' said CEO Alexis Lanternier