Luminate In The News

Sir Lucian Grainge talks AI strategy, Downtown, D2C, superfans, and more on UMG’s latest earnings call

MBW listened in to UMG's latest earnings call. Here's what we learned.

Universal Music strikes deal with superfan platform EVEN to power D2C sales for artists worldwide

The deal arrives just weeks after UMG acquired a minority stake in superfan platform Stationhead.

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.

Songs are reaching 1bn Spotify streams 14x faster than a decade ago, and other stats from Chartmetric’s 2025 Year in Music report

The report highlights several notable shifts shaping the music economy.

Scared Hitless?

What the latest stats tell us about the US hits business, and how 'catalog' is gaining market share.

Harvey Mason jr. on AI, Grammy eligibility, and why human creativity will always matter

The Recording Academy boss took part in a fireside chat with Luminate CEO Rob Jonas ahead of the Grammys in Los Angeles

UMG buying a stake in superfan app Stationhead is a bigger deal than you might realize. Here are 3 reasons why.

Superfan monetization and D2C expansion continue to be strategic priorities for Universal Music Group.

‘Physical music is powerful and under-leveraged. In 2026, it won’t be a sideshow – it’ll be a core strategic revenue and brand channel.’

Happiness. Marketing founder Thom Skarzynski talks physical music, D2C, superfans and more