News Concord makes strategic investment in The Azoff Company’s indie label, Giant Music Giant has also entered into a global distribution partnership with Concord-owned Stem
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 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.”
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 Bruno Mars breaks Ticketmaster single-day sales record, with 2.1m tickets sold for ‘The Romantic Tour’ The artist recently added 32 new dates for the Live Nation-produced 2026 tour, expanding to a total of 70 shows.
News From GMR’s new CEO to 253m tracks on streaming platforms… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up The biggest headlines from the past few days...
News Kobalt strikes global publishing partnership with India’s Madverse Music The deal gives Madverse's network of over 150,000 independent artists and labels access to Kobalt's global publishing infrastructure globally.
News Bandcamp bans AI-generated music: ‘We want musicians to keep making music’ Users will be able to report suspected AI-generated content through Bandcamp’s reporting tools.
Analysis News Music streaming platforms now host quarter of a BILLION tracks. Where does it end? New Luminate report reveals head-spinning volume of content on audio services, as debate rages over minimum-stream payout thresholds.
News Merlin appoints 2026–2027 Board, adding five new global representatives New execs join Board from Nigeria, Portugal, Japan, Germany and the UK
News Bad Bunny faces $16m lawsuit over alleged unauthorized voice recording used in two songs A Puerto Rican woman alleged that Bad Bunny's producer asked her to record a phrase in 2018, which was later used in two of the artist's songs.
News From Salt-N-Pepa’s dismissed UMG case to UK music streaming subscription revenues’ 3.2% growth… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up The biggest headlines from the past few days...
News Troy Carter acquires catalog of influential Pop Art Records Carter describes the catalog as 'some of the most important pieces of music in hip-hop history'
News Sir Lucian Grainge talks AI music, superfans in 2026 memo, taking swipe at firms ‘validating business models that fail to respect artists’ work’ Read Sir Lucian Grainge's 2026 memo to UMG staff
Interviews Believe’s Chris Meehan on growing Sentric into a global platform, servicing indie songwriters, and why publishing once ‘felt like a dark art’ MBW's World Leaders series meets Chris Meehan, CEO of Publishing at Believe