Analysis News From the ‘secret’ composer behind 650 fake artists to BandLab’s 100m users… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up This week's biggest stories...
News Streaming fraud leads to prison sentence for Danish man in case called ‘historic’ by artists’ groups Streaming fraud and manipulated audio are two of the biggest headaches in music today, and a criminal case shows how the two go hand in hand
News Music-making platform BandLab surpasses 100 million users App has grown by 40 million users since January 2023
Analysis News Global recorded music revenues rose 10.2% to $28.6bn in 2023, as paid subscriptions to music streaming services exceed 500m globally IFPI has published its Global Music Report, which shows global trade revenues for the recorded music industry in 2023
News Saudi Arabian media giant MBC quietly bought a 14% stake in Anghami Anghami's stock price soared 59% in one day, after news of the acquisition went public
News Bandzoogle facilitated $16.4M in revenues for musicians in 2023, highlighting direct-to-fan sales boom More than half of the revenue generated on Bandzoogle last year came from merch sales
News Symphonic Distribution to host third annual women empowerment mentorship program with mentors from Amazon Music and Meta The program has so far connected 165 mentors with 340 mentees around the world
Analysis News Still not convinced about TikTok’s AI music ambitions? This web of patents and trademarks will change your mind. MBW has uncovered a series of US patents and trademark applications filed by a mysterious ByteDance affiliate
Music Business Jobs THE ORCHARD The Orchard – Manager, Retail Account Management (US) Required: At least 3+ years of experience in music partnership management, and knowledge of music streaming platforms and digital account pitch process.Location: New York, United StatesApplications for this position have now closed.
Analysis Blog How DSPs can bring about a new music altruism The following op/ed comes from long-time music industry journalist Eamonn Forde
News Tencent Music’s subscription revenues soared 45.3% in Q4 as paying subscribers hit 106.7m Both the number of subscribers and revenue per paying subscriber are growing rapidly at TME
News Nine Canadian ‘streaming manipulation sites’ shut down in win for record companies Streaming manipulation misleads music fans and interferes with the effective operation of music streaming sites, IFPI and Music Canada said
News Snafu Records pledges $1M to bridge gender gap in music industry with Women’s Creator Fund The AI-driven record company is setting up a fund and a support network for women creators in music
Analysis Down The Skibidi Toilet: Why Universal Music Group’s ‘Project Timeout’ is hitting TikTok with endless copyright takedown requests There is a lot to explain here....
Analysis News Record companies are better placed than streaming platforms to monetize superfans… and 3 other things Robert Kyncl said in his new Q&A Warner Music Group’s CEO has some “radical” ideas on how to change how streaming services pay music rights holders