Music Biz News

A new report in Australia details years of workplace abuse from ousted Sony Australia CEO Denis Handlin

Producer says that teaching aspiring musicians via his new Splice course ‘is way more impactful than putting out another couple big records’

Cash App has launched Cash App Studios, a program allowing the mobile payment service to invest in creators’ projects

The company calls the Turner deal — which includes her name, image and likeness — its single largest artist acquisition ever

The announcement comes months after the music company ended debts on advances for a selection of its artists

TikTok’s “Top Moments” will be sold as digital collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain, starting with a collection curated by the “Montero” star

The company is partnering with a medical startup in what it calls the first-ever prescription music license

New ‘Soundwave’ series will feature five global acts as the game expands reach for its virtual concerts

Just in time for the second pandemic winter, a new iOS feature is helping sad souls add rain noises to breakup songs

The DJ and crypto enthusiast is gearing up to launch Royal, an NFT marketplace for music fans who want to — literally — invest in artists

“This is a band that demands a physical purchase. These are albums the audience wants to own, not just stream,” a BMG executive says of 17th album Senjutsu, which charted just behind Donda and Certified Lover Boy

The blockchain-powered streaming startup Audius is about to announce a multimillion-dollar investment round funded by a dizzying number of superstar artists and top-of-the-food-chain music executives

Kalshi, an online trading platform, opened a market on Tuesday allowing users trade on whether or not Governor’s Ball will be canceled amid Covid-19’s delta spread

Lil Yachty and Tierra Whack join the likes of Post Malone and Katy Perry on the upcoming celebrity-studded compilation album

The Dutch DJ opens up about his new album and forthcoming crypto art, which will come with a high-tech, spaceship-like pod that weighs “tons” and cost as much as a house to build

The band is the latest to develop its own immersive video game concert

Planet Doja tokens will house 26,000 limited-edition collectibles, and a variety of VIP concert packages

Pentakill, a fictional heavy metal band that Riot Games created, will premiere a concert with the help of virtual-show startup Wave, whose investors include Scooter Braun and The Weeknd

Four criminal defense attorneys explain why they think the now-grown baby on the 1991 album cover doesn’t have a case

In the latest big wave of a rising tide, distributor and payment platform Stem will reveal new software that helps artists recoup loans and track earnings with more ease

Indie artists with legitimate fans seem to be the collateral damage in Spotify’s war against music-streaming bots and artificial listeners

Universal will take on Aerosmith’s entire recorded music catalog in 2022 — even the chunk that’s currently released via Sony and Columbia

Fave is creating a safe space for fans to do things like share videos, compete in prize-unlocking contests, and go into business with their beloved stars via an “Etsy for user-generated merch” marketplace

Qualifying artists on the independent distributor can now request cash advances and access royalty earnings in real time

It’s the blockchain-powered Audius, rather than Spotify or Apple Music, that will let artists upload songs into TikTok’s Sound Kit in one click

The massive concert company will require concertgoers and staff at all events to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination: “At the end of the day, we will be on the right side of history,” says Jay Marciano, CEO of AEG Presents

To compete with the likes of TikTok and Snapchat, parts of the sketch comedy show’s new season will be digitally interactive — letting fans influence episodes’ outcomes in choose-your-adventure fashion

Concert giant’s employees also required to get vaccinated, CEO says in email

The world’s three major label groups — Universal, Sony, and Warner — are finally partnering with a new streaming service to ensure artists are paid when DJ edits are played

The firm has secured the stake in the late artist’s masters, publishing rights, name and likeness and Paisley Park

It’s a bird — it’s a plane — it’s a pre-save link for a rapper’s next single

Lil Baby, the Jonas Brothers, The Black Crowes, Maroon 5, Kiss, Alice Cooper and the Zac Brown Band are among the artists offering tickets for $20 across the U.S.

CircoLoco Records, the new label from the GTA maker and party brand CircoLoco, is launching a remix of its first album inside the popular video game

Billionaire Bill Ackman will buy a stake in Universal via his hedge fund, Pershing Square Holdings, rather than via blank-check company, after hearing concerns from investors and the SEC

A rather scientifically tenuous investigation into whether U.S. sales of butter crested upward due to BTS’s summer anthem “Butter”

Through a partnership with video game platform Core, Deadmau5 has made a contest for fans to create virtual worlds for an upcoming music video

The first-of-its-kind report offers major recommendations to ensure those who make music get paid more for it

The custom song-request startup Songfinch has won The Weeknd, manager Wasim “Sal” Slaiby, and Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman as investors in its latest round

The walking succès de scandale, who has become the best-selling artist of the year while being shunned by every supposed authority in music, is a sour, familiar American lesson

Deezer’s new initiative lets stars record themselves whispering to their own hit songs, from ‘Fallin” to ‘You’re Beautiful’

British act’s 2016 cover of “SOS” becomes a test case for a new approach intended to level the playing field for artists

The home of Miley Cyrus, Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat hopes to bring more artists to one of the most popular video games for children

In a major leadership shakeup, HYBE — formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment — announces the departure of its longtime chief executive and the promotions of several other leaders

Alongside Drake’s investment in the company, Aspiration will aim to reduce the environmental footprint of Drake’s personal life — and eventually also his professional life as a globally touring musician

Tina Turner, Depeche Mode, Pearl Jam, Twenty One Pilots, Doja Cat, Demi Lovato, Migos, Rosalía, and 17 others will soundtrack this weekend’s event

The company, which has made avatars for the likes of Shawn Mendes and J Balvin, previously secured a partnership with Warner Music Group

The reggaeton star is releasing “Juntos Imparables” as part of UPS’s Proudly Unstoppable campaign in support of Latinx-owned small businesses

The NHL — which will soon announce live concerts around its final game — will work with the superproducer’s startup to create exclusive custom soundtracks for high-profile hockey games

The inaugural report grades dozens of music companies, from AEG and Amazon to WME and YouTube, on how well they have kept their theatrical promises from Blackout Tuesday

The deal hits at a new trend in the red-hot market for music rights — as large music companies step in to compete against startups for so-called “shallow catalogs”

“The music business has a workforce crisis on its hands, as the leadership ranks communicate to non-white individuals that they do not belong,” USC Annenberg’s researchers wrote

The music moguls expect their LAUSD public school to open as soon as fall 2022: “This is for kids who want to go out and start their own company or go work at a place like Marvel or Apple,” Iovine said

Major label hopes ‘Artists Forward’ program will “prioritiz[e] transparency with creators in all aspects of their development”

Universal Music’s new licensing deal with Liteboxer brings its star roster to the “Peloton of boxing” fitness company, which just secured $20 million in Series A funding

Along with new hi-fi audio offerings, Apple launched a feature giving record labels their own pages in the app

The rapper, a new owner in the Professional Fight League, sees more crossovers in the future of combat sports — and doesn’t rule out the possibility of one day putting on the gloves himself

In an “iconic transaction,” billionaire Bill Ackman’s SPAC will seek to acquire 10% of Universal Music Group for approximately $4 billion

Congressmen asked Spotify for additional information about a “plan that could ultimately lead to further cut pay for working artists”

The rappers are investing in Lox Club, a new dating app for “Jews with ridiculously high standards,” and they hope to close several other deals in 2021

Only 0.2% of qualifying venues have gotten approval from the Small Business Administration so far

After a two-year hiatus, one of the world’s largest music festivals will come back next year

“I’m still holding my breath,” one indie concert promoter whose grant was approved says. “It took six months for this to happen, and when you have to wait that long, you lose that much trust”

The streaming service will design marketing campaigns for emerging artists under its new Fresh Finds program. Wallice, Unusual Demont, Julia Wolf, and EKKSTACY make up the freshmen class

The marketing execs of McDonald’s walk through their collaborations with musicians like BTS, who inspired a new McDonald’s meal and merch line out May 26th

Jones, Whitney Houston, TLC, Doja Cat, John Legend, and more will release collections on the environmentally friendlier OneOf platform, which is scheduled to launch in June

The developer of massively popular games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption is partnering with the influential dance party promoter

Optimized Touring, founded by a music manager, is the latest new company to offer physical and mental health services to typically overworked artists and concert crews

The seed accelerator showcased its latest class of music-tech startups, all of which bring ambitious new ideas to the global entertainment business

A new partnership between Verizon, Capitol Music Group and Motown Records centers on 5G, the tech that could — if all goes well — power the next generation of livestreams, holograms, NFTs, and self-driving cars

The startup accelerator will showcase its new class of promising music, media, and tech companies exclusively on Rolling Stone‘s Twitch channel

The growing DIY service, used by stars like Arizona Zervas, is offering new features to better the royalty-splitting experience

While the concert giant has faced mounting losses in the pandemic, it has already booked twice as many shows for 2022 as it did in 2019, executives say

The late rapper’s team is working with YellowHeart to sell rare music and concert footage on May 10th. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the XXXFoundation charity

In a new book, Will Page, Spotify’s former chief economist, lays out eight principles for entrepreneurship in the rapid-fire digital era

“I think it’s really beautiful to see people connect with one another. And we’re the only ones doing that in this space,” says veteran talent manager Guy Oseary, who debuts his new live educational platform Bright today

The $140 million sale marks the latest sale from a major legacy artist to a music investment fund — and one of the biggest purchases for Merck Mercuriadis to date

“The industry has focused on songs and albums for a long time, and that was because of the tech that existed,” says an exec from Warner Music Group, which has taken a minority stake in virtual entertainment company Wave

The fitness company relaunched its out-of-studio content in partnership with Warner Music Group

The company also announced that it surpassed 158 million paying subscribers worldwide

Photographer’s iconic images of Nirvana and the late rockstar go up for auction on May 3rd

In a massive deal with Downtown Music, Concord Music Publishing has acquired partial rights to songs from Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Eric Clapton, Jay-Z, and Adele

The songwriter, who’s penned hits for Camila Cabello, Beyoncé, and Kelly Clarkson, has struck a deal with Influence Media, which raised $100 million to acquire female musicians’ copyrights

“As part of this significant investment, we plan to build upon SXSW’s incredible foundation while extending the platform further digitally and assisting Roland and his incredible team to bring their vision to even greater heights,” says Jay Penske

A memo from the streaming company, reviewed by Rolling Stone, details the Spotify competitor’s payment structure for labels, artists, and songwriters

The Chainsmokers, the Weeknd, and Snoop Dogg figure in the latest investment round for the Pearpop, which lets TikTok stars charge smaller creators for engagement like comments and duetted videos

As the live music industry weighs its post-pandemic future, Live Nation and Veeps will outfit venues including the Wiltern, the Fillmore, and House of Blues with livestreaming tech

Earth, Wind and Fire’s Album sales climbed 167 percent after the show, while the Isley Brothers’ skyrocketed 420 percent

The Small Business Administration’s grant site for music and arts venues crashed within hours, with no reopening date in sight. “The financial hole we are all digging to stay afloat is getting deeper by the day,” says one venue owner

Indoor concert venues, performing arts centers and movie theaters, and more could resume business with “limited capacity” if current coronavirus trends continue

The hit Latin artist will join the XSET team as an owner, investor, and gaming “personality,” executives tell Rolling Stone

Financial terms of blockbuster merger were not disclosed

Simon joins major legacy acts like Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks in selling his songs, amid still-soaring demand for music rights

Top pop writers are asking their peers to support the Pact, an open letter calling for fairer treatment in an industry that often takes them for granted 

Users can choose between Team Brandy or Team Monica for the first round of song-driven classes, starting today (March 29th)

“Our enthusiasm for the culture in which we work can lead to exploitation in ways endemic to the creative industries: poor wages, inadequate benefits … and an absence of initiatives that address systemic race and gender inequality,” employees write in open letter

BMG and investment firm KKR are partnering to acquire major music catalogs. Says an exec: “We’re not chasing hits from January 2021. We’re looking at repertoire that’s proved itself about being part of our lives”

The global recorded-music market grew by 7.4 percent in 2020, to $21.6 billion, marking the sixth consecutive year of growth

The new joint-venture record label comes a couple of weeks after Universal Music and Big Hit, BTS’s label, announced a joint label

“I’m very pleased about this partnership,” Ronstadt said. “It feels like home”

The Small Business Administration will accept applications for grants starting next month