News SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man debuts new agency, A2O Entertainment Lee left SM Entertainment last year amid a power struggle, and is now returning to the pop music game with A2O Entertainment
News Another large indie distributor inks direct agreement with TikTok, as Ditto leaves behind expiring Merlin deal with platform Established acts currently distributing their music through Ditto include Chance The Rapper, Russ Millions, and Darkoo
Analysis News From Timbaland’s Suno partnership to UnitedMasters’ direct TikTok deal… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up The biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
News Primary Wave strikes music rights deal with estate of country and folk singer-songwriter, Jerry Jeff Walker Included in the deal are some of Jerry Jeff’s biggest hits such as Mr. Bojangles, Sangria Wine and Railroad Lady
News Universal Music uses AI voice cloning tool to create Spanish-language version of Brenda Lee’s hit ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ Universal's strategic partner SoundLabs is creating official "ultra-high fidelity" vocal models for UMG artists using their own voice data
News Josh Mateer promoted to Head of A&R for the UK and Europe at TikTok’s SoundOn Exec joined TikTok in 2022
News Warner Music to spotlight French-language artists via new Africa Francophone venture led by Marc-André Niang and Yoann Chapalain New venture to spotlight talent from Francophone Africa
News Qobuz launches ‘first of its kind’ high-fidelity streaming and download service in Japan Japan's music market lags behind others when it comes to adoption of streaming services, and Qobuz sees an opportunity in that.
News NetEase Cloud Music inks deal to give its subscribers in China 30-day exclusive access to releases from K-Pop firm Kakao Entertainment NetEase is increasingly positioning itself as the place to go for K-pop in China's music streaming market
News Global songwriter royalty collections rose 7.6% to $12.7bn in 2023, CISAC reports In its latest report, CISAC sees a slowdown in digital revenue growth ahead, and calls for regulation of AI.
News FUGA partners with Philippines-based hip-hop company ASINTADA, makes key hires to expand APAC presence The Downtown-owned distributor has made a series of new partnerships in the Filipino music business
News UnitedMasters strikes direct licensing deal with TikTok… as clock ticks down on Merlin’s agreement with ByteDance platform UnitedMasters was licensed through Merlin until this deal
News Digital marketing firm The Trenches signs exclusive deal with UMG’s Republic Corps As part of the deal, The Trenches is simultaneously launching its own incubator, Trenches Records
Analysis Why was Sony Music willing to pay megabucks for Queen and Pink Floyd’s catalogs? MBW glances over some of the key factors in Sony's willingness to spend over $2 billion on three recent catalog deals
News SESAC Music Group acquires rights management and UGC monetization company HAAWK HAAWK’s HQ will remain in Los Angeles under the leadership of founder and CEO Ryan Born
News The Orchard bolsters operations in South Korea with key executive appointments Jeeyoung Lee appointed South Korea Country Manager; Sungho Bae named Director, Artist and Label Services, APAC
News Q Prime inks label services and distribution deal with The Zombies, as iconic ’60s band recaptures copyrights Q Prime adds to its growing label services business for independent artists
News Neon Gold Records, Avenue A unite to launch Futures Music Group The new collective of artists and labels aims to "reshape the business of music”