News Paul Sinclair joins AI platform Suno as Chief Music Officer Sinclair most recently served as General Manager and EVP of Warner’s Atlantic Records
News Turkey opens competition probe into Spotify after government minister complaint over ‘provocative’ playlists Spotify says it is cooperating with Turkey’s competition bureau
News TikTok developing a separate US app as divest-or-ban deadline nears (report) US version of TikTok app reportedly scheduled to launch in US app stores on September 5
News UMG strikes partnership with Mandopop star David Tao and his company Great Entertainment Deal coincides with the release of Tao’s eighth studio album
Analysis ‘We need to think strategically about the health and longevity of the independent music sector.’ The following MBW op/ed comes from Simon Wills, Managing Director of Absolute Label Services
News Hipgnosis is back: Merck Mercuriadis launching new company with ‘hundreds of millions’ in investment secured (report) Merck Mercuriadis aims to buy back the music rights he sold to the private equity firm while building a new investment company
News From AI artists to Warner’s $1.2bn JV with Bain… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days
News Jessica Koravos appointed CEO of Pophouse Entertainment Per Sundin to transition to a new role within the company
News MBW’s Music Business UK Awards to return to London this November, supported by YouTube As with previous years, the MBUK Awards will recognize the brightest and best of the UK and international music business.
Interviews Vinit Thakkar talks Sony Music India, artist development, M&A, and more: ‘The Indian music market is at a transformative stage.’ MBW’s World Leaders series meets Vinit Thakkar, Managing Director of Sony Music India
News UK competition watchdog threatens Ticketmaster with legal action over Oasis ticket sales The UK's Competition and Markets Authority indicated that it would continue to engage with Ticketmaster “in an effort to secure a voluntary resolution.”
News Warner Music Finland acquires catalog of independent record company Skorpioni The company announced earlier this year that it would be ceasing operations
News Virgin Music Group bosses slam ‘juvenile and offensive falsehoods’ spread by opponents of Downtown acquisition JT Myers and Nat Pastor address a number of claims made about Virgin and UMG in recent months by lobbyists
Analysis I was a co-founder of IMPALA. It saddens me to see how rabidly anti-major it’s become. Kenny Gates responds to claims made by IMPALA about Universal and Downtown
News Warner confirms details of $1.2bn JV with Bain; venture will raise up to $700m in debt Finer details of the arrangement between WMG and Bain emerge, courtesy of a new SEC filing
News Kayla Schmandt appointed Vice President, Digital Strategy, AMEA at UMG Schmandt will draw on her expertise from her previous role as VP Commercial Affairs.
News Universal Music applauds Cloudflare move to block ‘AI crawlers’ from accessing content without permission or compensation Cloudflare's move could create a new licensing marketplace for content owners and AI companies
News Netflix in talks with Spotify on projects like music awards, live concert series (report) The Wall Street Journal reports that the platforms are discussing potential partnerships