News Kobalt launches updated Client Portal featuring new ‘Collection Gap’ tool, described as ‘an industry first across the royalty processing journey’ Kobalt says that its new Collection Gap feature 'empower[s] creators to analyze and respond to their own data'.
News Spotify integrates Bandsintown listings, as its Songkick partnership comes to an end after 13 years The partnership comes at a crucial time for the live music industry, which is facing increased competition and rising costs
Analysis News Sony generated $2.52bn from recorded music and publishing in calendar Q4 2023, up 14% YoY MBW crunches the numbers from Sony Corp's latest quarterly earnings announcement
Analysis Only 19% of artists on Spotify had over 1,000 monthly listeners in 2023 As MBW has previously pointed out, there will be a minimum number of unique listeners required for a track to become eligible for royalty payouts on Spotify this year
News Sony Music Publishing expands in MENA with new Dubai office, names Dounia Chaaban as Managing Director Exec will report to Sony Music Publishing's Senior Vice President of International, Dan Nelson
News AI developers must get authorization to use copyrighted materials, India’s government declares The Indian Music Industry (IMI) has applauded the declaration by the country's Minister of State for Commerce and Industry
News Music promotion startup Groover raises $8m in Series A funding The round was led by investors OneRagtime, Trind, Techmind, and MozzaAngels
News Hangout FM and Beatdapp join forces to combat streaming fraud Soon-to-be-launched Hangout FM aims to "fight the good fight against fraud from launch day"
News The MLC sues Pandora for allegedly underpaying royalties and late fees "Our team repeatedly sought to resolve this issue directly with Pandora, but Pandora has refused to correct their reporting or royalty payments"
News TikTok braces for potential probe and hefty fines in EU over child safety concerns (Report) The EU's Digital Services Act allows for fines of up to 6% of annual sales for violations
News Travis Scott sued for alleged copyright infringement over ‘Stargazing’ and ‘Til Further Notice’ A vocal line from a 1991 track was used without permission in 'Stargazing' and 'Til Further Notice,' a new lawsuit alleges
News Cinq Music raises $250m from parent company GoDigital to fund acquisitions – with an eight-figure ‘marquee’ catalog acquisition already in the pipeline The significant capital raise arrives as heat appears to be reentering the blockbuster music rights acquisition space
Analysis News The major record companies (and Merlin) saw their Spotify market share fall again in 2023. Yet even before ‘artist-centric’ changes, this decline started slowing. Spotify's annual report reveals an interesting trend around the joint market share of major record companies and Merlin on the platform
Interviews ‘Twenty, thirty years from now, this is going to be a period of music that we romanticize.’ MBW’s World’s Greatest Producers series meets Rob Bisel, a multi-Grammy nominee who has worked with SZA, Kendrick Lamar and more
News Worldwide Independent Network elects five new board members The new members hail from Argentina, Chile, Croatia, India and South Korea, part of WIN's effort to "connect as many territories as we can"
News Lofi Girl’s record label lands publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music France Lofi Girl, the first 24/7 music livestream on YouTube, has become a worldwide phenomenon
News Ultra Music Publishing acquires Wheezy’s back catalog, inks new go-forward deal Patrick Moxey's company has signed a deal for 427 songs from Wheezy's, catalog plus future works
News Universal inks strategic partnership to develop a ‘Music City’ in the Middle East – featuring the first Capitol Studios outside of Hollywood UMG strikes partners with UAE-based DGMC to build "the Middle East’s first-ever Music City'