News and Trends

The ByteDance-owned platform has signed a joint venture agreement with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi's MGX that is set to finalize on December 22. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/bytedance-signs-deal-for-tiktok-us-joint-venture-with-oracle-consortium/

The last four new names from Vevo’s annual DSCVR Artists to Watch list Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/vevo-dscvr-artists-to-watch-2026-lablackie-roa-luz-gaggi-rnboi/

The recorded music royalties collection society says it's seeing strong collections coming from abroad Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ppls-royalty-distributions-jump-19-9-to-72-8m-in-final-quarter-of-2025/

Deal includes the integration of commercial features designed to 'drive increased engagement and revenue for artists and labels' Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/umg-and-roblox-strike-deal-to-expand-commercial-opportunities-for-artists-on-the-gaming-platform-including-merch-sales/

Companies claim to be 'building a roadmap for development of commercial AI tools rooted in creative control and sonic excellence' Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/umg-and-splice-strike-deal-to-collaborate-on-next-generation-ai-music-creation-tools/

Veteran A&R executive discusses his new role as Chief Music Officer at Warner Music Group Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/craig-kallman-on-signing-uncategorizable-artists-reimagining-big-beat-and-his-new-role-as-wmgs-chief-music-officer/

The venue set a new attendance record when Radiohead drew 22,355 fans during a four-night run Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/aeg-reports-19-jump-in-shows-at-londons-o2-arena-to-record-239-in-2025-ticket-sales-up-11-4/

Paid streams will still be weighted more favorably than ad-supported plays on Billboard's chartd, but by a smaller margin than before. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/billboard-just-made-free-streams-worth-more-on-its-us-charts-youtube-is-still-not-happy-and-is-pulling-its-data/

The deal gives Live Nation control of operations at the 40,000-square-meter venue with a seating capacity of 12,000. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/live-nation-expands-in-thailand-with-impact-arena-deal/

Finn Wolfhard and Joe Keery, who releases music as Djo, saw their streams rise after the Stranger Things' return Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/djo-and-finn-wolfhard-see-music-streams-spike-after-stranger-things-5s-netflix-debut/

Parwani spent two decades at Sony Music India, where he helped build the company’s southern India operations. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/wmgs-divo-names-sony-music-veteran-ashok-parwani-as-head-of-music/

Wards' adieu follows hot on the heels of Charlotte Stahl's departure as head of Music Partnerships for the EMEA region Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ollie-wards-departs-as-tiktoks-director-of-music-for-australia-and-new-zealand/

UMG submitted formal commitments to the EC on December 11 Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/umg-proposes-selling-curve-to-secure-eu-approval-for-775m-downtown-deal/

A representative for The Weeknd confirmed to Variety that the artist and his team will remain shareholders with “creative control” over his catalog. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-weeknd-closes-1-billion-catalog-deal-with-lyric-capital-report/

The revamped Revenue Dashboard has shifted revenue updates to weekly refreshes from the previous quarterly schedule. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/digital-music-collection-society-amra-overhauls-client-portal-with-real-time-data-access/

GoDigital Music says it has acquired "several" Latin music catalogs in a transaction valued at approximately $115m. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/godigital-music-buys-marc-anthony-catalog-in-eight-figure-deal-acquires-broader-tranche-of-latin-music-rights-in-separate-115m-transaction/

The announcement comes days before the Texas-born rapper embarks on his Take Care tour across the U.S. and Canada. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/sony-music-publishing-signs-global-deal-with-bigxthaplug/

Jay-Z’s MarcyPen Capital Partners has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management to launch a $500 million “K-culture” investment fund. Via the fund, the companies plan to “accelerate the global expansion of K-culture and lifestyle industries.” The news arrives amid the global surge in Korean culture and entertainment, popularized by superstar K-pop … Continued Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/jay-zs-marcypen-capital-eyes-500m-k-culture-investment-fund-in-partnership-with-hanwha-asset-management/

Fitzgerald’s letter focuses on claims that both PROs may be misrepresenting the scope of their music rights portfolios. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/congressman-asks-ftc-to-investigate-alltrack-and-pro-music-rights/

In this 'first-of-its-kind' leadership role, Allen will support UMG UK's labels in 'helping artists navigate every step of their journey within the company' Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/rebecca-allen-promoted-to-chief-artist-strategy-officer-at-umg-uk/

The following MBW op/ed comes from Frederic Schindler, founder of music supervision company Too Young Ltd. and the licensing platform Catalog Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-true-cost-of-free-music/

In 2025 alone, the concert experience added £660 million ($878m) in UK turnover compared with £1.40 billion ($1.86bn) in the first two years combined. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/abba-voyage-has-had-a-2-7bn-economic-impact-in-the-uk-since-2022-opening-says-report/

On Vevo’s premiere charts, South Korean artist JENNIE's Like JENNIE recorded the most views globally in its first 14 days at 33.4 million. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/lady-gaga-and-bruno-mars-die-with-a-smile-is-vevos-most-watched-music-video-in-2025-with-932m-global-views-jennie-records-biggest-premiere-with-33-4m-views-in-first-14-days/

Steel Wool will also assist Modern Sky in supporting independent artists seeking international reach. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/chinas-modern-sky-strikes-partnership-with-steel-wool-entertainment-including-a-strategic-investment-to-expand-operations-in-the-united-states/

'Pretty Little Baby' by the late, great Connie Francis became TikTok's Global Song of the Year Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/katseye-named-tiktoks-global-artist-of-the-year-for-2025/

The catalog of music tied to these deals has accumulated 67.6 billion streams since the company's inception. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/?p=246761

In a motion to dismiss, lawyers for Swift called Kimberly Marasco's lawsuit 'frivolous and harassing' Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/taylor-swift-seeks-to-have-poets-frivolous-and-absurd-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-dismissed/

Auditions drew an unexpectedly high volume of submissions this week, the Korea Times reported Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/min-hee-jin-plots-k-pop-group-debut-via-new-label-with-new-management-model-months-after-exit-from-hybe/

A group of Ticketmaster customers sued the ticketing giant in 2022 for allegedly engaging in secondary ticketing market manipulation. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/judge-signals-hell-let-ticketmaster-customers-proceed-as-class-in-live-nation-antitrust-lawsuit/

The invitation-only event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel will recognize the brothers' accomplishments after co-founding Republic Records in 1995. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/avery-lipman-and-monte-lipman-to-receive-2026-grammy-salute-to-industry-icons-honor/

Deal will see Tuned Global continue to power the Twist Music streaming service as it expands beyond Egypt into the UAE and Saudi Arabia Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tuned-global-renews-twist-music-partnership-as-telco-bundled-streaming-gains-ground-in-mena/

Company has also signed metalcore band Wage War to global management Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/jameson-roper-named-partner-and-president-of-us-operations-at-future-history-the-management-company-behind-sleep-token/

The biggest headlines from the past few days... Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/from-epidemic-sound-suing-meta-again-to-robert-kyncls-new-deal-as-wmg-ceo-its-mbws-weekly-round-up/

A judge has awarded $187,000 to Cher over withheld royalties, and given her the right in perpetuity to collect 50% of royalties from Sonny & Cher's music Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/cher-prevails-in-long-running-royalties-battle-with-sonny-bonos-estate/

Breaking Rust, an AI-generated ‘Outlaw country’ act, scored a semi-hit in the US last month with Walk My Walk – a track that’s been streamed over 7 million times on Spotify and topped Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart. But earlier this week, Walk My Walk briefly disappeared from Spotify following an impersonation claim. A … Continued Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/two-artists-say-ai-act-breaking-rust-ripped-them-off/

Live Nation plans to add rooftop solar panels, convert to full LED lighting, and install two 4.5-megawatt batteries to store renewable energy. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/live-nation-to-acquire-copenhagens-17000-capacity-royal-arena/

JioSaavn now claims to be the “second most downloaded entertainment app in India,” trailing only JioHotstar, which operates under the Jio digital ecosystem. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/indias-jiosaavn-hits-500m-downloads-on-google-play-store/

Bad Bunny reclaims the title from Taylor Swift, who achieved 26.6bn+ streams globally on Spotify in 2024, and 26.1bn+ on the platform in 2023 Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/bad-bunny-was-spotifys-most-streamed-artist-globally-in-2025-with-over-19-8bn-streams/

Black will lead US songwriter and producer development, reporting to President Jamie Cerreta Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/alex-black-joins-peermusic-as-vp-of-ar/

Startup said in a blog post that it is 'evaluating Suno's usage of our trademarked language and considering all appropriate responses' Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ai-remix-startup-hook-claims-sunos-create-a-hook-feature-mirrors-its-identity-and-functionality/

A jury in Florida has awarded the rapper $75,000 after blogger Milagro Gramz was found liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other charges. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/megan-thee-stallion-wins-defamation-case-against-blogger/

Markus will continue working from WME's Beverly Hills office, overseeing international touring strategy and operations across all markets. Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/rob-markus-named-head-of-international-music-team-at-wme/

Company also signs exclusive creative publishing partnership with 5DB Studios Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/rupert-hollier-named-coo-of-atlantic-screen-group-rosie-hill-promoted-to-president-of-nightjar/

As the PRS Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary, CEO Joe Frankland looks at what has been achieved so far, explains how the Foundation supports music creators at every level and highlights the importance of partnerships across the industry… Source source https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/if-we-want-a-stronger-fairer-and-more-globally-competitive-music-industry-the-answer-lies-in-partnership/