News HYBE AMERICA launches Blue Highway Records in Nashville, names Jake Basden as CEO HYBE AMERICA's Nashville-based country, Americana and roots rock division rebrands as Blue Highway Records, effective immediately
News Henrik Berndtson named Head of Nordics at AEG ticketing division AXS Stockholm-based Berndtson will oversee AXS’s operations across the Nordics, supporting the company’s broader European strategy
News Apple Music’s iOS 26.4 beta introduces AI-powered playlist tool The feature, called Playlist Playground, appeared in the beta version of iOS 26.4 released to developers on Monday.
Analysis News Music distributor Alliance Entertainment says it sold over 16m vinyl records and 13m CDs in 2025 US-based distributor also reported an uptick in its vinyl and CD sales for calendar Q4 2025
News TikTok tests letting users stream full songs through Apple Music without leaving the app The feature requires an active Apple Music subscription to access full songs through TikTok, according to 9to5Mac.
News Switzerland’s MusicBird acquires publishing catalog of R&B duo and Drake collaborators Majid Jordan Majid Jordan have co-written and co-produced tracks for artists including Drake, Beyoncé, DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
News UK-based investor Independent Franchise Partners takes 3% stake in Universal Music Group worth $1.2bn+ Reuter reports that the transaction makes IFP the sixth-largest shareholder in UMG
News Casey Wasserman to sell talent agency amid fallout over Epstein files (report) Wasserman backer Providence Equity Partners says it 'remain[s] fully committed' to the agency
News Sony Group develops tech to track original music in AI-generated songs (report) When AI developers cooperate for analysis, Sony connects directly to their base model systems to extract training data.
News YouTube Music rolls out AI-powered playlist generator tool for Premium users The launch makes YouTube Music the latest to offer the feature as rivals Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer have already rolled out the same tool in recent years.
News From UMG’s approved Downtown deal to Spotify’s AI ambitions… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up The biggest headlines from the past few days...
News The Empire Strikes Back: The majors and Merlin gained (a bit) of market share on Spotify last year. Spotify's new annual report updates a crucial yearly stat – with a surprise new number
News Scott Borchetta exits HYBE AMERICA Borchetta has served as the CEO of Big Machine Label Group since HYBE’s purchase of Ithaca Holdings in 2021.
Analysis News HYBE posts record annual revenues of $1.86bn for 2025 as K-Pop firm’s concert revenues hit all-time high – but operating profit plunged 73% South Korea-based entertainment giant HYBE has published its Q4 and FY 2025 earnings.