Translating 15-second internet attention into a sustainable, global fanbase without the traditional major label radio machinery requires intentional cultural infrastructure.
This beef will never expire.
Plus a RAT for good measure - get threat hunting now
Kid Cudi has announced that he will star as famed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in “Jean,” a film that he also wrote and directed. The musician made the announcement on social media, posting images of himself in character and revealing that the film will begin shooting in 2027.
Sony’s new patent fills in empty seats at virtual concerts with computer-controlled spectators to give the illusion of a full audience. Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a patent application for technology that fills empty seats with computer-controlled virtual spectators (called non-player...
That's just the life of a showgirl with a fitness-loving brother-in-law.
Forrester says only isolated wins are likely, while 'good enough' open-weight models soak up the tokens
The 63-year-old punk group's co-founder said his bandmates have his back during his unexpected hiatus.
This is sponsored content. Yasmin Dastmalchi, president of Maybelline New York and essie US, shares how Maybelline has grown over the years, having Miley Cyrus as its brand ambassador and more. The 2026 Billboard Latin Music Week takes place from Oct. 19 to 22 at the Faena Forum Miami Beach, Fla.,...
The duo's latest creative collaboration goes beyond music, with jewelry pieces available Oct. 21.
The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami once again joins Billboard as a partner of the Miami Beach gathering to celebrate the music leaders, executives, and artists shaping Latin music’s global rise.
Careful what you say after goodbye, or better yet, update your messaging app
The project debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in the mid-2000s.
A complete rundown of the most important events across the music business.
The signing is the latest step in UMG's expansion in Thailand. Source
For Entry 023 of Mic Drops and Elbow Drops, Carl Lamarre chats with Swerve Strickland about starting from scratch in the rap game and earning co-signs from Raekwon and Bun B.
Holiday Things arrives 24 years after Santa Claus Lane
Less than one year after overhauling Warner Chappell’s sync team, Warner Music Group (WMG) has announced a wider sync-side reorganization designed to streamline operations across recorded music and publishing.
Have you been listening to more music and enjoying it less? David Macias thinks he knows what might ail you: an over-reliance on the algorithm in the modern music industry.
Band had to cancel tour dates while singer-guitarist addresses illness
Proposed port brings 64-bit Windows apps within reach
Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) today announced new Creative and Urban leadership roles. Michelle An has been promoted to President & Chief Creative Officer, IGA, reporting to John Janick.
With production credits on Don Toliver’s chart-topping OCTANE, Jaasu’s star is on the rise. Here he breaks down his philosophy on success, collaboration, leadership, honesty, and much more… Source
Ron Broitman has been promoted to President, Global Sync Source
Members who fail the check, or who don't complete it within seven days of being notified, can't join a different Family or Duo plan for 12 months. Source
Websites down as precaution as exploits have already been published
Containerized datacenters, androids, and telecoms all feature in Berlin keynote interrupted by environmental protesters
Warner Music Group has announced a plan to combine its global sync operations, bringing together its recorded music and publishing divisions into a single unit. The streamlined group will be led by industry vet Ron Broitman, who has been promoted to President of Global Sync.
Fave was founded in 2020 by Jacquelle Amankonah Horton, who spent nearly five years at YouTube on the creator side of the business. Here, the exec explains how she defines a superfan... Source
Every October, Spotify’s RADAR Creators program taps a new class of podcast creators who stand out with fresh voices and perspectives. The podcast arm of our RADAR program, which champions emerging artists and songwriters, RADAR Creators offers marketing, editorial, and promotional support to help...
Ghazi, founder of the indie label and distribution giant Empire, has announced the launch of his newest company, Supply Chain, an independent B2B cloud-based distribution company for the global music industry, which encapsulates technology, distribution, operations, and commercial connectivity.
As Grand Theft Auto VI nears launch, AI tools like GPT-6 Astra are turning prompts into playable games. Deviate Digital founder Sammy Andrews warns that music could be about to miss another platform shift… Source
Singer-songwriter also performed new song “In the Night” on The Tonight Show
October preview raises supported limit from 300,000 items, with general availability penciled in for June 2027
More than 1,600 venues, promoters, and festivals use the platform, which Hive says has helped its customers generate more than $1 billion in ticket sales. Source
IGA said the new Creative and Urban leadership roles are 'designed to give artists deeper partnership and more ways to break through' Source
Maintainers reckon a quarter of incoming pull requests are slop, rising to 31% on larger projects
Will Spotify’s upcoming fan-remixes tool launch by the end of 2026? That’s still unclear, but the company does have a new licensing partner for its GenAI plans: Believe. The post is from Music Ally.
Today brings news of two promising music-tech startups raising early funding: music-education firm ArtMaster and collaboration platform Chaos. The post is from Music Ally.
It’s a busy day for news from the UK music industry, with four stories from various parts of the ecosystem. Starting with a campaign from industry body UK Music to support public broadcaster the BBC. The post is from Music Ally.
Fancy a drink? Forget picking your poison though: today you can pick your pop star depending on whether you’re more interested in vodka or, er, mango coconut sticky rice beverages. The post is from Music Ally.
Spotify is rolling out the ‘Memberships’ subscriptions that it trailed earlier this year at its Investor Day event. However, as announced, they are just for podcasters… for now, at least. The post is from Music Ally.
People in The Philippines are music mad, which is good news for a booming local market, even if exports may struggle. While most Western observers might think of Japan as the home of karaoke, The Philippines would beg to differ.
Paused since December 2025, the case remains on hold pending a New York federal appeals court ruling in the SoundExchange-SiriusXM dispute. Source
Deal also includes non-exclusive rights to Feliciano's name, image, and likeness Source
Consider this the wake-up call
The right song sounds even better on the open road. Today, Spotify is introducing a new way to listen while driving: our next-generation in-car app, launching first across Audi’s current lineup.
If you’re part of the western music industry, you might not have heard of Jeff Satur… but Universal Music Southeast Asia wants to change that. The post is from Music Ally.
Give your agents freedom to do useful work by locking them down
GPUzilla boasts modular bit barns could speed up deployments from six months to just two weeks
Commission opens DSA probe into fake listings and phishing on the platform, says its fraud defenses 'absolutely substandard'
Train times remain on show as an elderly Windows dialog demands attention
Domain expertise and clear writing will matter more than syntax, and yes, that means documentation
Ozzy Osbourne’s final “Back to the Beginning” concert kept him “flying high” until the day he died, his wife Sharon Osbourne said. Speaking at a London screening of the film “Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning” — which chronicles the July 5, 2025 Birmingham show that took place just weeks...
Researchers say public subsidies for AI should be repaid in wellbeing, not just economic growth
Sequential recommendation benchmarks are widely used to evaluate models that predict what a user will... The post Do Sequential Recommendation Benchmarks Require Higher-Order Sequence Modelling? appeared first on Spotify Engineering.
Hive secures a $27 million investment from Frontier Growth to scale its marketing platform built for live events. Hive, the event marketing platform built for the live events industry, has announced a $27 million Series B from Frontier Growth.
Watchdog says Whitehall is too timid about taking stakes in British startups, leaving taxpayers at risk of missing out when they strike gold
Thai singer-songwriter and actor Jeff Satur, whose music has passed 2 billion streams, has signed with Universal Music Southeast Asia (UM SEA), the regional division of Universal Music Group, as he pushes to take T-pop to a global audience.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has been the organizer behind the Super Bowl halftime show for years. Now, the scuttlebutt suggests that Jay-Z may choose himself to headline in 2027.
As its financial shortfall forces the suspension of performances and programs, the Phoenix Symphony’s board works toward building a long-term financial foundation. On Tuesday, the Phoenix Symphony announced that it will suspend operations following its scheduled performance on Sunday, November 1.
Sync licensing platform MAIA Universe secures partnerships with major rightsholders and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society. MAIA Universe, the Stockholm- and London-based sync licensing platform already backed by industry titans, has announced its latest partnerships with major...
All SoundExchange can do is wait in its cases against Sonos and SiriusXM, as the latter lingers in appeals, halting proceedings in the former. After collection agency SoundExchange attempted to sue SiriusXM over unpaid royalties, the case was dismissed when the court determined that SoundExchange...
Why building a music career depends less on reach than on return. The music business has become very good at giving artists numbers. Monthly listeners. Followers. Views. Streams. Impressions. Subscribers. We watch them because they are visible, measurable and easy to compare.
Some network operators like to wear belts and suspenders to keep their services up
Today in social media copyright complaints: A pair of infringement actions against Kroger and LG Electronics, which allegedly incorporated a protected track into TikTok videos without authorization.
New York-headquartered Too Lost Music Group has entered into a definitive agreement with Xelon Entertainment, the long-running independent distributor with operations across APAC and the United Kingdom.
Gabbie Gonzalez’s ex-boyfriend testified that “she was freaking out” after an FBI raid, wanted to leave the country, and told him “that if they opened up her phone, that she would be in prison”
The star said that she has been fighting an illness and had to cut her performance on Wednesday
Charli xcx has announced that she has canceled tomorrow night’s “Music, Fashion, Film” performance in Arizona due to illness. The pop singer is currently on her “Music, Fashion, Film” tour across North America and, after two shows in Los Angeles over the weekend, was slated to appear at Glendale’s...
With Meta in the regulatory hotseat and western “social” apps becoming increasingly entertainment-first, a natural question arises: is the opportunity ripe for a new competitor? Few saw TikTok coming, but the short-form video app –boosted by the Covid pandemic – has reshaped the social media...
The most successful creators no longer look like online personalities. They now operate as fully-fledged media businesses with capital, networks, and business expertise – and they’re using these attributes to help nurture the next generation. Source
Massive clean-up job under way because this mess makes it possible to impersonate any website or service
IQ.Lvbs implies that rival Comma.ai isn't playing fair
After a five-decade career with BMI, Barbara Cane has announced that she will retire from the company at the end of this year. While she is leaving her current role as BMI’s Vice President of Worldwide Creative, Cane has agreed to serve in an advisory capacity to BMI, working directly with CEO Mike...
Spotify the human artistry advocate? A year and change after kicking off an AI audio crackdown, the DSP says it’s booted north of 50 million total “slop and spam tracks” from recommendations while also axing another 75 million uploads altogether.
The music of “Michael” is bringing some drama. Variety has confirmed that Lionsgate’s bid to have its Michael Jackson biopic compete as a comedy or musical at the Golden Globes has been denied. News of the decision was first reported by Gold Derby.
And other fun facts about how Zuckercorp aims to keep a million GPUs running long enough to train a model
The long-running exhibit will move to a more expansive venue spanning 100,000 square feet in 2028
Spotify’s latest move to ensure members of Family plans live in the same household employs scanning a QR code, or users can be locked out for a year. Spotify has always intended its Premium Family plans to be used by people living together, but subscribers have often tried splitting the cost with...
The event featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Holly Bowling, and others, will “be a coming together of the Deadhead community,” the drummer tells Rolling Stone
Believe and Spotify have just inked a licensing agreement for Spotify’s upcoming AI remix ‘tool,’ one that will allow fans to create remixes of songs from participating artists.
A federal judge has ordered Meta to disclose the names of the employees who made or authorized the decision to obtain IP via shadow libraries including Anna’s Archive and LibGen. Magistrate Judge Thomas S.
The streaming service cut the slop tracks in favor of “more music made by authentic, human artists,” with 50 million more being filtered from recommendations made to listeners
American Federation of Musicians asking major labels to give artists a contract with AI protections and compensation
Mariah Carey emerges victorious in her five-year legal battle against her brother Morgan, who sued her for defamation over her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
A Song for Gram at Los Angeles’ the Troubadour takes place days before Parsons’ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction
Arturia is adding to its Freak line of proudly weird digital synths with the MiniFreak 49. Under the hood, it's almost identical to the current MiniFreak, but it adds a number of more professional features and some interface improvements.
Spotify says it has removed more than 50 million songs considered AI-generated slop or spam from user recommendations over the past year. That's according to an announcement on Tuesday that says Spotify has also made changes to its recommendation system to highlight more music made by human...
Believe and Spotify have signed a licensing agreement for Spotify’s upcoming tool, allowing Believe and TuneCore’s participating artists and labels to benefit from new creative and revenue opportunities, while enabling fans to create remixes of their songs.
Earlier this month, a report from the Duke Sanford Tech Policy Program poked at Spotify’s policies around AI-generated music. The post is from Music Ally.
The latest round of layoffs and reorganisation at Universal Music Group – together with similar recent cuts at its rival majors – has sparked a warning from the US-based Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC). The post is from Music Ally.
The three major labels and BMG have failed in their bid to get the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that artists can exert their ‘termination rights’ to regain their copyrights globally, not just in the US. The post is from Music Ally.
Australasian collecting society APRA Amcos had some good news in its annual financials report this week, but also a new warning about the declining stream-share for local artists. The post is from Music Ally.
Distributor and tech firm Too Lost’s ambitions in the APAC region continue. It acquired Australian distributor and artist-services company Gyro·Group in July, and now it has announced a partnership with another distributor, Xelon Entertainment. The post is from Music Ally.
Riot Games, the publisher of esports hit League of Legends, has a long history of spinning virtual artists out of its powerhouse franchise. K/DA, True Damage, Pentakill and Heartsteel have been used to explore the crossover between games and music. The post is from Music Ally.
A year ago, we laid out our plans to protect artists and listeners from spam, impersonation, and deception in the age of AI. One core idea drives this work: human artistry comes first. Here’s what we’ve done, and what’s next.
Anyone who has a favorite podcast knows fandom goes beyond listening and watching. It’s about the connections fans build with creators and the ways they show their support. At Spotify, we’re always thinking about new ways to deepen those connections and help creators grow sustainable businesses.
Your interest level in Just 4 Kicks will depend on how much use you have for kick-drum samples. But even if that’s not your music-making bag, this launch reflects a wider, positive trend in the area of AI music. The post is from Music Ally.
One of the unexpected bonuses (for nosy journalists at least) of Europe’s Digital Markets Act is that big tech companies have to publicly disclose some of their acquisitions, with the details published on the European Commission website. The post is from Music Ally.
Demystifying the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon: the past, present, and future center of Hollywood.
Round Group secures a $5.3 million investment from Foresight Group to further its marketing expansion across short-form user-generated content. Leading regional private equity and asset investment manager Foresight Group has announced a £4 million ($5.3 million) investment into Round Group, a...
Amy Helm files a countersuit against Levon Helm Studios’ remaining shareholders, including musician Brian Parillo and Amy’s stepmother. The fight for control over Levon Helm Studios in upstate New York continues as the late singer’s daughter, Amy Helm, has filed a complaint against the venue’s...
The global trade body ICMP warns that AI training may lead to the dilution of Australian copyright laws, effectively “legitimizing larceny.” The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) has cautioned the Australian government against giving in to efforts from tech companies seeking to...
One marathon legal battle later, the Supreme Court has decided against reviewing the landmark precedent at the center of BMG v. Vetter, and organizations including the Songwriters Guild of America are touting the development as a major victory for songwriters.
Materia Music is turning 10, and the timing is hard to beat. A decade ago, original game soundtracks rarely made it past the game itself. Now the company behind Deltarune’s music has a #3 placement on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart.
The Copyright Act of 1976 was enacted as Public Law 94-553 on October 19, 1976, signed by President Gerald Ford, which makes it fifty years old today. It has governed over an era of significant technological advances, including the rise of home video, satellite communications, digital content, the...
If you spend any time on r/synthesizers or watch a lot of synth videos on YouTube, you've probably noticed the explosion of custom firmware for hardware synthesizers, samplers, and grooveboxes.
J Mascis on stage during Dinosaur Jr.’s Baby’s Alright show in NYC. | Photo: Terrence O’Brien Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is known as something of a slacker guitar god. He stands stoically onstage, barely moving, as he seemingly effortlessly works through deft guitar solos and lopsided riffs.
Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, who got to hear the album for the first time thanks to Pablo Torre Finds Out. | Getty Images Wu-Tang's Once Upon A Time in Shaolin album has, for the most part, been extremely difficult to listen to, but you can now hear two snippets of the album thanks to the...
So, tune in Saturday October 17h to Faction Talk, channel 137, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West. If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz
‘Legitimising larceny’: Global music giants blast Albanese AI copyright plan — “ICMP director general John Phelan told The Australian Financial Review that Australia was just the latest in a series of countries in the ‘crosshairs’ of OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his arch rival at...
Some of the most exciting artists in K-Music still have their biggest moments ahead. With Spotify CLOSER, we’re spotlighting Korean artists who are making a splash, bringing fans everywhere closer to their artistry and stories through a series of exclusive performances and conversations on Spotify.
Alissa Pollack is President, Mediabase and Global Marketing, RCS Worldwide/iHeart Media. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alissa-pollack/id1316200737?i=1000796472161...
While nepotism has always been rife in the music industry, today’s wave of nepo babies in pop appears more sustained and more impactful than ever. But does the streaming data reflect their advantage? We analyzed Spotify numbers for Gracie Abrams, Stella Lefty, and more.
This client-only series takes a deeper look at the key themes shaping MIDiA’s 2026–2033 global music forecasts report and what they mean for the future of the music business. The growing maturity of the streaming music market brings with it increased sophistication and need for attention to deta...
Artists understand their audiences largely through their actions. Following, liking, subscribing, opening an email, buying merch, buying a ticket, waiting in line – each of these efforts creates attachment and signals a different level of commitment. Source
Tyler, The Creator’s creativity knows no bounds: he’s a chart-topping musician, an actor, a boundary-breaking producer, a fashion designer. Now he’s joining the ranks of artists to take over the iconic FC Barcelona jersey, with his GOLF logo worn by the team for El Clásico on October 25 at Spotify...
London, UK – Podcast platforms now collectively have almost a billion monthly users (965.4 million gross users in Q4 2025), according to a new report, “ Podcast market shares 2025 ”, by MIDiA Research. Source