News ASCAP paid out a record $1.76bn to songwriters and publishers in 2025 The US organization delivered a record $1.945 billion in revenue in the calendar year.
Analysis News Songs are reaching 1bn Spotify streams 14x faster than a decade ago, and other stats from Chartmetric’s 2025 Year in Music report The report highlights several notable shifts shaping the music economy.
News Sam Siegler and Mike Nucero named Creative Directors at Matt Pincus’ Trust Records Design duo behind the label’s visual identity formalize roles after four years of collaboration
Analysis News Sound Royalties says it closed a record $135m in funded contracts in 2025 The company, which was founded in 2014 by Alex Heiche, provides advances to music creators against their future royalty income
News Bella Figura Music buys publishing catalog of The Drums’ Jonny Pierce The deal encompasses Pierce’s publishing interests in songs released up to and including the band’s "Encyclopedia" album.
News Kobalt strikes strategic publishing deal with London-based Geo Music Group, covering funding for songwriters and admin services The agreement gives Geo Music’s roster access to Kobalt's royalty collection, accounting and payment infrastructure.
News HYBE ordered to pay former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin $17.6m in shareholder agreement lawsuit Judge Nam In-soo ruled that Min’s actions did not constitute a material breach to justify terminating the shareholder agreement.
News UMG strikes global deal with ClicknClear to license songs for gymnastics, figure skating and more UMG and ClicknClear estimate that over 150 million athletes join choreographed sports globally, creating “a multi-billion-dollar demand for music licensing.”
News Olivier Chastan’s Iconoclast in sale talks at price tag of around $500 million Multiple sources tell MBW that Iconoclast is in talks with approximately 10 different parties
News Music collectibles platform Wax Poetics closes $1m funding round Investors include music executives Perry Chen (Kickstarter), Nadav Poraz (WhoSampled), and Nikhil Shah (Mixcloud).
News SM Entertainment revenues grew 16.6% to record $219m in Q4, driven by concerts and merch The company is home to K-pop acts such as NCT DREAM, aespa, RIIZE, and NCT WISH.
News Mitchell Shymansky appointed Chief Data & Technology Officer at Create Music Group Shymansky joins Create following nearly two decades at Universal Music Group
News SoundExchange expands global neighboring rights coverage via 17 new agreements with CMOs in markets including Barbados, Denmark, Kenya, Portugal, and more The expansion includes new partnerships in Kenya, Barbados, Panama, Paraguay, and several European territories.
News Jody Farber promoted to CFO of Peermusic, as Bill Gorjance retires after 20 years Gorjance will serve as International Vice President of the Classical music division in a part-time role.
News Music tech startup Mozart AI raises $6M in seed round led by Balderton Capital The startup offers a Generative Audio Workstation (GAW) for both amateur musicians and seasoned producers.
News Warner partners with UK-based music development organization Generator to ‘power new creative opportunities’ in North of England Three-year agreement aims to improve long-term industry access and career pathways for talent in the north of England
News Roslyn Pineda appointed President, Asia for Sony Music Publishing, as Carol Ng retires Pineda succeeds longtime SMP Asia President, Carol Ng, who will remain with the company until her planned retirement at the end of March this year.
News Spotify eyes AI ‘derivatives’ as new revenue stream for artists – says its tech to let fans make remixes and covers is ready Spotify says it wants to enable listeners to interact with their favorite artists' music through AI