News Universal launches Def Jam Recordings China division in Chengdu, ‘the capital of Chinese hip-hop’ Def Jam Recording China has partnered with China Mobile's Migu to discover talent, and create and distribute music.
News Milk & Honey continues UK expansion, signing Grammy-winning mixer Dan Grech-Marguerat Grech-Marguerat has worked on breakthrough projects for artists including Lana Del Rey, Halsey, George Ezra and The Killers
News DistroKid investor buys indie distributor Zebralution from GEMA GEMA confirmed that it is selling "its 100% shareholding in Zebralution GmbH"
News SM Entertainment targets M&A deals and AI tech integration as K-pop giant outlines ‘NEXT 3.0’ strategy The K-pop powerhouse is also aiming to build Asia's "largest and most respected publishing company" via its Kreation Music Rights (KMR) subsidiary
News Hannah Karp appointed EVP & Chief Communications Officer for Warner Music Group She joins the company’s executive leadership team following a decade at Billboard, where she was most recently Editor-in-Chief
News Dani Deahl promoted to Vice President of Creator Policy & Corporate Affairs at Caldecott Music Group Deahl will oversee policy strategy across Caldecott's three divisions: BandLab Technologies, NME Networks, and Vista Musical Instruments
News UMG ‘set to win EU nod’ to buy Downtown Music, Reuters reports The European Commission opened an in-depth Phase II investigation into the proposed acquisition in July 2025
News UMG strikes licensing deal with NetEase Cloud Music for China including ‘artist-centric’ terms covering AI, plans to expand Super VIP tier The agreement includes provisions addressing artificial intelligence, with both companies committing to what they called artist-centric AI principles.
News Matt Spetzler’s Jamen Capital launches $200M-backed independent music financing platform, Pipeline The Jamen Capital-backed firm says that its launch comes at a "pivotal moment for the global music industry"
News Udio strikes AI licensing deal with Merlin after UMG and Warner Music settlements The deal includes terms intended to protect what the companies called “the value of human artistry.”
Analysis News On… Warner’s cutbacks, and the bigger story. The following article originally appeared in Tim Ingham’s latest ‘Tim’s Take’ email, issued exclusively to MBW+ subscribers.
News Max Lousada and Julie Greenwald have quietly registered two companies together. The structure might be telling. The two companies – 26.2 Music Ltd and 26.2 Services Ltd – were established in November last year, according to UK Companies House
News AI music firm Udio is hiring for a Head of Artist Partnerships to lead negotiations with the music industry Successful candidate will 'define and lead how artists engage with Udio at a pivotal moment in the company’s growth'
News Bruno Crolot exits role as President, Label & Artist Solutions at Believe MBW first reported last summer that Crolot was leaving his previous position as Spotify’s Senior Director, Head of International Music, for a role at Believe
News Sphere Entertainment reveals first ‘mini Sphere’ location in US The company has confirmed plans to develop a 6,000-capacity 'mini Sphere' at National Harbor in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
News Harri Davies joins The Other Songs as Head of A&R Davies arrives following senior A&R role at RCA Records UK
News Jerome Porritt named Head of A&R at RCA Records UK Porritt, who brings over a decade of experience in A&R, was most recently Head of A&R at Warner Records and Parlophone UK
News AI-created track blocked from Sweden’s Official Charts after racking up millions of streams on Spotify The AI artist behind the track has gained over 935,800 monthly listeners on Spotify.