News As K-pop superstars BTS return, HYBE CEO to test ‘scarcity’ model for fandom business 2026 will be the year HYBE has to prove the value of its recent investments, CEO Jason Jaesang Lee said
News South Korea’s Kakao partners with China’s Tencent Music and Japan’s Line to launch ‘K-pop Artist Chart’ The new chart is expected to debut in the first half of this year on Kakao's Melon music streaming service
News MLC vs. Spotify bundle battle intensifies as streamer opposes immediate appeal Mechanical Licensing Collective is seeking an immediate appeal of a court ruling in its legal battle with Spotify over audiobook bundling
News TikTok splits US workforce as ByteDance retains control of key operations (report) Some US staff received notices last week that they won't join the new joint venture led by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, Business Insider reported.
News Merlin appoints 2026–2027 Board, adding five new global representatives New execs join Board from Nigeria, Portugal, Japan, Germany and the UK
News Sony Music Publishing acquires Big Yellow Dog Music Company was founded in 1998 by Kerry O’Neil and Carla Wallace and based in Nashville
News Hannah Poferl appointed Chief Data Officer at Universal Music Group Poferl comes to UMG from The New York Times, where she headed the newspaper's data operations
News BTS World Tour: The ‘biggest global K-pop tour of all time’ to span 79 shows across 34 regions The Live Nation-promoted tour will feature a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design.
News Rostrum Pacific inks direct deals with Spotify, TikTok; appoints Samantha Moore to lead new distro platform SpaceHeater SpaceHeater will operate through direct relationships with Amazon and Tidal, along with other major digital storefronts.
News Musical AI raises $4.5m to scale AI attribution tech The startup’s technology identifies what percentage of a generated output came from which source.
News Cutting Edge acquires music catalog of composer John Paesano, including scores from ‘Maze Runner’ and ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ The deal includes music from franchises that have generated over $1.8 billion at the global box office.
News BMG to move global HQ to renovated Lumina building in Berlin in 2027 The move puts BMG in the former Galeries Lafayette building just two blocks from its current Berlin offices.
Interviews ‘When you can’t see the whole picture, you don’t truly understand what’s going on in your business.’ Absolute Label Services co-bosses, Henry Semmence and Simon Wills discuss Anthology, a new system they believe is key to the future of their company – and the success of their clients…
News Lizzo settles copyright lawsuit over unreleased song snippet referencing Sydney Sweeney jeans ad A notice of settlement was filed in federal court in California on January 9.
Analysis Elon Musk’s legal attack on the music industry: 3 things you might have missed MBW delves into the 53-page lawsuit issued by X Corp against most significant players in the music publishing business
News Los Lobos sue Sony Music & Sony Pictures over ‘La Bamba’ and ‘Desperado’ royalties The L.A.-born rock band alleges an 'egregious' lack of payments for 'Cancion del Mariachi' and a 'massive deficiency' in payments for 'La Bamba'
News Gene Whitney joins HYBE AMERICA as General Counsel Whitney joins HYBE America from Riot Games, where he most recently served as Global Head of Music Business Affairs and Label Operations.
News Managers and agents of Ed Sheeran, Oasis, Olivia Dean, Radiohead, Fontaines D.C. and more urge EU action on ‘predatory ticket resale’ The signatories want the Digital Fairness Act expanded to tackle ticket resale abuse.