Analysis Spotify Q1 2025 earnings call: Daniel Ek talks growth, pricing, superfan products, and a future where the platform could reach 1bn subscribers Six things we learned from SPOT's Q1 earnings call...
News NMPA says Spotify’s Q1 growth due to ‘undercutting of songwriters’ via audiobook bundling The NMPA says Spotify’s global subscriber and revenue growth is "being subsidized by US songwriters”
News Luminate strikes music data partnership with Fortnite maker Epic Games Partnership sees metrics from Fortnite Jam Tracks added to Luminate Connect platform
News Audius strikes global deal with Downtown Music The deal unlocks a potential new source of monetization for Downtown's clients on both the recorded music and publishing side of the business
News Deezer’s revenue increased to $141m in Q1 as streaming service forecasts swing to positive EBITDA this year Despite a drop in total subscribers, CEO Alexis Lanternier says the company is confident of 'reaching profitability this year'
News US House passes TICKET Act mandating ‘all-in’ pricing for ticket sales, heads to Senate The proposed law is on the calendar in the US Senate, and President Trump has signaled he's in favor of this sort of legislation
News Universal acquires recorded music rights to catalog of Turkish superstar Sezen Aksu Sezen Aksu has sold over 40m physical albums worldwide
News BeatStars teams up with Sureel to block AI companies from training on creator content Sureel will register BeatStars’ entire marketplace catalog, allowing AI companies to see which content they’re prohibited from using in training AI
News Udio and Audible Magic team up to tackle rights management in AI-generated music A “content control pipeline” will allow streaming services and distributors to identify AI-generated tracks from Udio’s platform
News Ole Obermann and Rachel Newman named Co-Heads, Apple Music Obermann officially joins Apple from ByteDance
Analysis Subscription growth, super-premium, and short-form video’s ‘inadequate monetization’: 7 takeaways from Universal Music Group’s Q1 2025 earnings call Sir Lucian Grainge, Michael Nash, and Boyd Muir dug deep into the company's strategy and numbers on their Q1 call
News Influence Media strikes catalog deal with DJ Khaled; launches two JVs with the artist and his We The Best Music Group The collaboration involves film and TV projects, brand partnerships, and a new focus and name and likeness rights
Analysis News UMG generated $3bn+ in Q1 – up 9.5% YoY, driven by Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, and more superstars Company's subscription streaming revenues grew 9.3% YoY
News Desiree Autobee, Jamey Sussman appointed Synch Directors at Payday Music, as publishing company opens new LA studio Having sync execs in the ground in New York, LA, and London is 'producing amazing results' for Payday Music
News Jason Feinberg appointed SVP/Head of Kobalt’s music publishing platform KOSIGN Feinberg previously held roles at 138 Strategic, Universal Music Group and Pandora’s AMP platform
News Sony Corp strikes strategic partnership with BandLab Technologies to bring spatial sound and other tools to the company’s millions of users Initial phase of partnership integrates Sony’s Spatial Sound technology; co-branded hub within BandLab to act as gateway for future offerings
News Epidemic Sound acquires AI startup Song Sleuth to tackle music’s ‘black box’ problem The Stockholm-based soundtracking platform is launching a new service called Aentidote aimed at identifying unclaimed and undistributed royalties
Analysis News Spotify posts record-high operating profit for Q1, as subscriber base grows by 5m to 268m paid users SPOT's latest financial results (for Q1 2025) were filed today (April 29)