This week, Reservoir sued both Suno and Anthropic, accusing the AI firms of copying more than a thousand of its compositions — including songs by Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, and Madonna — to train their models without permission.
Meanwhile, Spotify’s latest results put it on course for a record USD $3.3 billion in operating profit in 2026, after it added 6 million Premium subscribers in Q3.
Elsewhere, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, and BMG received bad news from the US Supreme Court: the rightsholders’ bid to overturn a ruling allowing songwriters to reclaim their copyrights worldwide was derailed by a technicality.
Also this week, details emerged of a Spotify crackdown against Family plan sharing, with the DSP asking some members to prove they live with their plan manager via an in-person QR code scan.
Plus, Warner Records Group CEO and Chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck told MBW why developing artists and building enduring copyrights remain central to creating long-term value in the music business.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. Spotify is on course for $3.3B annual operating profit in 2026 – after adding 6M subscribers in Q3
Spotify is on course to post an annual operating profit of EUR €2.862 billion (USD $3.32bn) in 2026.
That’s according to MBW‘s calculations, which combine Spotify’s actual operating income for the first three quarters of 2026 with the company’s own guidance for Q4.
Spotify published its financial results for Q3 2026 (the three months to the end of September) earlier today (October 22). (MBW)
2. Reservoir sues Suno and Anthropic for infringing songs by Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, Madonna and more
Reservoir has sued Suno, alleging that the AI music company copied 1,050 of Reservoir’s compositions to train its models without permission.
The complaint, obtained by Music Business Worldwide, was filed on Wednesday (October 21) in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
You can read it in full here. (MBW)
3. Majors and BMG lose Supreme Court fight over songwriters’ worldwide copyright reclaims – on a technicality
The majors and BMG have lost their bid to get the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that lets songwriters reclaim their copyrights worldwide.
Their challenge ended on Monday (October 19) without the court ruling on its merits, after four of its nine justices sat the case out.
The court’s order states that Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson “took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.” It does not give a reason. (MBW)
4. Spotify cracks down on Family plan sharing – as Goldman Sachs estimates 'meaningful share' of users are 'friends sharing a plan to reduce costs'
Spotify is asking some Premium Family members to prove they live with their plan manager by scanning a QR code in person.
Members who fail the check, or who don’t complete it within seven days of being notified, will be barred from joining a different Family or Duo plan for 12 months, according to a Spotify support page outlining the process.
Spotify does not appear to have publicly announced the change beyond its support documentation. (MBW)
5. 'The only way to properly create value in music is to make lasting copyrights.'
In 2026, what is a major ‘frontline’ US record label actually for?
1. Is it there to gobble up chart market share at all costs – deploying every algorithm-gamed, technologically-jacked trick in the book to win the week?
Or:
2. Is it there to gradually coax, challenge, and, yes, occasionally cajole the best artists of a generation into making timeless copyrights that will still be played (and still be earning) in 20 years? (MBW)
