News Taylor Swift was IFPI’s biggest-selling recording artist globally in 2024 – for a record fifth time 'This has been a huge year for Taylor,' said IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley
News Ole Obermann leaving TikTok for major role at Apple; Tracy Gardner moves into new role at ByteDance There has been a gigantic leadership shakeup in TikTok/ByteDance's music team.
News Warner Music signs global deal with Japanese group PSYCHIC FEVER PSYCHIC Fever is signed to Warner Music Japan in partnership with 10K Projects in the US
News HYBE’s AI voice cloning company Supertone unveils text-to-speech tool that can create a custom voice ‘in just 10 seconds’ Supertone says its tool includes safeguards to prevent it from being used in deepfakes
News Record companies in India want to join a lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI News organizations, book publishers, and now music companies want to join a copyright infringement suit against OpenAI being heard by a court in Delhi
News HYBE rebrands Japan-headquartered division as YX LABELS Subsidiary is headquartered in Tokyo and led by CEO Han Hyun-rock
News Is DeepSeek training its AI on copyrighted music without permission? The international trade group for music publishers says DeepSeek replicates the entire lyrics to copyrighted songs
Interviews ‘We need different approaches and mindsets for different artists at different stages of their growth.’ Karl Walsh, head of Warner Music’s WMX division, on what makes brand deals work, what they can mean for fans and what they can do for artists…
News Spotify to launch ‘Music Pro’ service with superfan perks like early-access tickets and AI remix tool… for up to $5.99 more per month (report) Spotify's long-touted $18 per month superfan tier could be launched this year
News UK industry hub Tileyard launches ‘Secret Source’ podcast featuring prominent guests from music, media, and tech Tileyard has attracted such major music industry players as BPI, Hipgnosis, CD Baby, FUGA, Lilly Allen, and Noel Gallagher
Analysis News From the ‘fair use’ win for Reuters to ByteDance building an AI music beast… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
News BMI urges songwriters, publishers to speak out against ‘additional regulation of PROs’ amid US Copyright Office inquiry The PRO has accused music licensees of 'false and misleading' claims about the nature of royalty collections
News Universal acquires majority stake in Japanese music company A-Sketch A-Sketch operates as both an artist management business and record label
News Music Business Worldwide launches The MBW Database, a vital new resource for the music industry (and its investors) New site offers over 150 charts, built from more than 2,500 data points. It will be constantly updated.
News FUGA expands in APAC with new partnerships in Indonesia, India, and the Philippines FUGA has partnered with Jakarta-based label Maspam Company, Indonesia-based label and distributor, Sintesa Pro, and more
Analysis News Sony’s music rights business generated over $10bn for the first ever year in 2024; firm’s outgoing CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, applauds EMI buy as best of his tenure As MBW reported earlier today, Sony's global music rights operation generated USD $2.7 billion in calendar Q4 2024
News The MLC asks court to reconsider dismissal of Spotify ‘bundling’ lawsuit "At stake is an unprecedented interpretation of regulatory language that would have far-reaching and profound financial consequences on an entire creative industry."
News BMG rebrands as part of its ‘BMG Next’ strategy – with new symbol, color scheme, and redesigned website “Our new visual identity isn’t just about aesthetics — it’s a statement of intent," said BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld