Analysis Jack Dorsey’s ‘Delete All IP Law’ post highlights the hypocrisy of Big Tech Billionaires The following op/ed comes from David Israelite, the President and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA)
News Big Loud sells stake in Morgan Wallen catalog to Chord Music Partners; sources pin deal price at $200m+ Deal worth slightly north of USD $200 million according to sources
News Adrian Sarosi joins Luminate as Vice President, General Manager of International Based in London, Sarosi will oversee the company’s international expansion strategy
News Universal Music adopts newly launched Connex platform for music credit management The Connex platform links music creators and their preferred creator tools with labels, distributors, and publishers
News UK government to offer concessions on controversial AI copyright rules as vote nears (report) Ministers have reportedly drafted amendments to the data bill that include promises to conduct an economic impact assessment of the controversial changes
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