News Brennen Bryant named A&R Director at Avex USA Publishing, signs DJ Smallz 732 DJ Smallz 732 is managed by Neil Jacobson alongside Daniel Jacobson at Hallwood Media
News Virgin Music Group teams up with Jay Sean’s 3AM Entertainment to develop South Asian artists 3AM Entertainment will focus on developing South Asian artists across all genres
News UK music licensing company PPL distributed $24m to performers and rightsholders in Q1 PPL reported a 7% YoY increase in payouts in Q1
Analysis News Rapper Trefuego used an unlicensed sample in his TikTok hit 90mh. Now the court is making him pay over $800,000 in damages to Sony Music. Sony Music’s lawsuit accused Trefuego of “flagrant and deliberate infringement”
News Primary Wave Music bolsters sync team with new hire and promotions Company hiredJulianne Wilson as Senior Director, Creative Sync, and promotes Peter Kurczaba and Derek Pierce to new roles
News BMG owner mulls merger for music company “BMG could potentially be an opportunity for a breakout investment and joining forces with a competitor,” Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe told the FT
Analysis Blog Putting the ‘vinyl revival’ in proper perspective The following op/ed comes from long-time music industry journalist, Eamonn Forde
News Orfium’s Soundmouse becomes official music reporting partner for South Korean broadcasters Orfium acquired London-based media technology company Soundmouse in 2023
News TikTok launches Youth Council amid mounting safety concerns The Youth Council has been created in partnership with a specialist online safety agency
News Jordan Rakei named first ever ‘Artist In Residence’ at London’s Abbey Road Studios The role is the first in a series of new ‘in residence’ appointments
News Universal Music invests in ‘superfan’ platform Weverse, as it strikes new 10-year agreement with HYBE HYBE has struck an expanded long-term agreement with Universal Music Group
News Bruce Springsteen named Fellow of The Ivors Academy in the UK in recognition of ‘his influence and impact on the craft of songwriting’ Springsteen becomes the first-ever international songwriter to be named a Fellow of The Ivors Academy
News Downtown Artist & Label Services sets its sights on Musica Mexicana; signs Beto Vega, expands partnership with Kartel Music Company has also augmented its team in Mexico over the past two years to support its growing operations in the region
News Teddy Swims inks global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Swims currently holds the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Lose Control'
Analysis News US recorded music industry revenues hit $17.1 billion in 2023 The RIAA reports that on a retail basis, recorded music revenues in the US grew 8% YoY in 2023
Interviews ‘No one understands the pressure of being labelled as a ‘hit songwriter’, then somebody puts you in a room with strangers and they’re like, ‘Hey, I need a smash!’’ Grammy-winner Theron Thomas talks about the childhood that inspired him, helping break Lizzo, his billion-stream hits, AI, TikTok, The Power Rangers and Mel Gibson
News Spotify launches video courses on production, songwriting, how to ‘make hit records’ and more The platform has teamed up with various ed tech services
News BMG annual revenues hit $979m in 2023, up 4.6% YoY; EBITDA flat at $210m BMG's EBITDA margin stood at 21.4% in 2023, down slightly from the 22.5% margin it posted in 2022