Analysis News Sony generated $2.77bn from recorded music and publishing in calendar Q2 2025, up 8.8% YoY Bad Bunny's latest album was Sony's biggest revenue-generating project in the three months around the world
News $16 billion-valued Duolingo ramps up music move, acquiring team behind hit video game Beatstar Twenty-three employees of London-based Nextbeat will move to DuoLingo
News Exclusive: Kobalt’s AI deal with Suno rival ElevenLabs guarantees publishing ‘parity’ with recorded music MBW has confirmed details of this potentially precedent-setting deal, which could reshape the music industry's approach to generative AI licensing.
News Eleven Music, new AI rival to Suno, launches with Kobalt, Merlin deals – and warnings for users who want to infringe copyrights A list of 'prohibited inputs' spells out ElevenLabs' determination to not allow users to infringe copyright
Interviews Rafael Ricardo Jiménez-Dan on building Rimas, staying independent, and why he’s all in on music publishing The founder of one of the world's most important independent labels speaks out on its foundations, and the future of the business
News Why Netflix’s ‘Hitmakers’ might teach your average viewer about songwriting – and even get them thinking about ‘fair pay’ JHart discusses his appearance on new music-themed show from the makers of Selling Sunset
News Universal Music Group generated $3.38bn in Q2, up 4.5% YoY – driven by Morgan Wallen, timelesz, Lady Gaga Universal's overall Recorded Music revenue for the second quarter of 2025 was €2.224 billion ($2.52bn), up 3.9% YoY at constant currency.
News Live Nation strikes $646 million deal to increase stake in Mexico’s OCESA The deal is expected to close by the end of August, following approval at the upcoming CIE shareholder vote
Analysis Learnings from Spotify’s Q2 2025 earnings call… including what the company (didn’t) say about that long-awaited ‘Music Pro’ tier MBW's key takeaways from the green giant's latest grilling from investment analysts
News Spotify sees $16 billion wiped off market cap; stock sinks 11.5% as ‘Social Charges’ drag down profit outlook Spotify's stock price plunged 11.5% on Tuesday (July 29) largely as a result of missing profit guidance
News Spotify subscriber base grew by 8m to 276m in Q2; company posted $460m operating profit 'Social Charges' take toll on operating income, but subscribers and MAUs both ahead of guidance in quarter
News EVEN partners with Secretly Distribution, enabling artists to unlock direct-to-fan revenue Since launching in April last year, EVEN has onboarded 80,000+ artists across more than 2,200 labels
News Cyrille Bolloré, son of Vincent, steps down from Universal Music Group board, as Bolloré Group fights French regulator over Vivendi share offer According to its website, The Bolloré Group owned an 18.5% stake in Universal Music Group at the close of 2024
News AEG partners with Because, Combat in new ownership structure for Paris festival We Love Green Jay Marciano calls event one of the 'marquee' live music festivals in Europe
Interviews Why Primary Wave – and the Marley estate – could be sitting on a goldmine with new Bob Marley show, Hope Road Larry Mestel gives MBW a peek behind the curtain of his company's new Vegas show – and the future of 'name, image, and likeness' in music