Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of October 30th, 2026. If you have a job shuffle to share, we’re all ears. Send us a note to news@digitalmusicnews.com. If you’d like to post a job on our Job Board, just send us a request to noah@digitalmus…

Suno is charging ahead with its Mechanical Licensing Collective subpoena, and the MLC now has until Monday to formally oppose a related motion to compel. The involved parties just recently disclosed that quick-moving schedule, including the November 2nd response cutoff for the ML…

Spotify is reportedly preparing to roll out its long-awaited AI cover and remix tool – possibly at a $5-per-month price point in the States – early next year. That potential launch timetable surfaced in a Financial Times report, which cited anonymous and purportedly well-informed…

A$AP Rocky arrives in Fortnite on November 1, drawn in anime style and sailing alongside One Piece’s Straw Hats in Fortnite Treasure Hunters. A$AP Rocky arrives in Fortnite next month, drawn in anime style and sailing alongside One Piece’s Straw Hats on a battleship of his own. I…

Ticketmaster is launching an integration with CashorTrade that allows verified tickets to be resold on the latter’s marketplace at face value or below. Bots are crashing shows and fans are left destitute after their favorite artist comes to town. Can this mess be solved by… Live…

The Backstreet Boys expands its entertainment legacy into competitive gaming with a celebrity-owned team and a search for players to represent it. They’ve spent decades uniting fans through music. Now, the Backstreet Boys are bringing that global reach—and their competitive insti…

A Delaware judge has ordered Faith Evans to pay over $12.5 million in Biggie’s estate profits to his mother’s Voletta Wallace Revocable Trust. On Tuesday, October 27, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered R&B singer Faith Evans to immedia…

Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris alleges that the estate’s executor John Branca is receiving excessive payments given his failure to meet court-ordered deadlines. In the latest in a seemingly never-ending legal battle over Michael Jackson’s estate, the late pop legend’s daughter,…

SiriusXM has reported a revenue dip, a net income boost, and a subscriber uptick for Q3 2026, when its core satellite radio service’s average listening time grew by 5%. The Pandora parent disclosed its third-quarter financials today, and admittedly, the breakdown is free of firew…

The Federal Trade Commission has demanded a full jury trial against Live Nation in its BOTS Act lawsuit against the ticketing and live events giant. After the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully maintained its case against Live Nation despite the live events giant’s attem…

Amid an intensifying subpoena clash with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music, DistroKid now has until November 6th to respond to a demand for documents concerning its AI-detection data. As some will recognize from our prior coverage, that opposition deadline was previously…

The auctioning of the guitar that George Michael played in the iconic “Faith” music video has led to significant drama among the family of the artist’s late assistant. On Thursday, the guitar that the late George Michael played in the 1987 music video for his iconic hit “Faith,”…

iHeartRadio announces the launch of Lite Mode, designed to give app users the ability to easily toggle between full features and “just essentials.” On Thursday, iHeartRadio announced the launch of “Lite Mode,” a new app feature designed to give users the ability to easily toggle…

Post Malone and Olivia Rodrigo have similar streaming numbers but very different touring years. The gap comes down to what happens after someone presses play. Artists and industry voices share what it takes to build a fanbase that shows up and sticks around. This article was writ…

Universal Music Group (UMG) has reported a double-digit revenue increase – and a more than 20% paid-streaming spike – for Q3 2026. But amid continued share-price woes, CEO Lucian Grainge says the structure of the company’s “DSP agreements has to change.” UMG shed light on its thi…

Audio Chateau Records’ founder Jared Gutstadt is about to close a $9 million Series A financing round while welcoming strategic advisor Poo Bear. Audio Chateau Records (ACR), the music and creator company founded by longtime media and entertainment entrepreneur and Jingle Punks f…

The Jonas Brothers gear up to take over Roblox’s Steal an Egg for a one-time-only in-game Halloween concert. The Jonas Brothers are adding a stop to The Burning Up Tour All Over Again on Halloween for fans worldwide to attend in Roblox’s popular game, Steal an Egg. On Saturday, S…

Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate, Vingroup, and premier live event partner Legends Global announce a plan to build a massive 135,000-seat stadium. Legends Global and Vietnam’s Vingroup have announced a strategic partnership for the management and operation of VinFast — Tron…

Prince George’s County in Maryland votes to pass a deal committing to financing $200 million toward bringing Sphere to National Harbor in the DC area. On Tuesday, the Prince George’s County Council in Maryland passed a final vote on a deal that commits financing approximately $20…

Suno is doubling down on its Apple subpoena push, arguing that the information being sought – about Apple Music’s major label licensing talks, “anti-AI deal terms,” and more – is central to its fair use and copyright misuse arguments. The AI music platform took aim at Apple’s mot…

YouTube Music and Premium cracked a total of 150 million worldwide subscribers during Q3 2026, when “living room” viewing made up more than one-third of YouTube’s advert revenue. Alphabet revealed these and other noteworthy performance figures in its third-quarter earnings report…

Boy George has now secured a partnership to release his single “We Will Dance Again” via Warner Music/ADA after the song was taken down from Bandcamp. Boy George’s controversial tribute to the victims of the attack at Israel’s Nova Music Festival, “We Will Dance Again,” was taken…

The Copyright Alliance issues an urgent statement regarding Meta’s recently proposed business-related Terms of Service updates. On November 20, Meta will update its business-related Terms of Service (TOS) for its products, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, and Wh…

Brazil’s federal consumer protection agency (Senacon) has ordered five ticketing platforms to stop facilitating resales ahead of BTS’ three São Paulo shows. StubHub, TicketSwap,Viagogo, BuyTicket, and FunBuyNet have all been ordered to be investigated by the government for allege…

Peermusic acquires Australian music publisher 120 Publishing, appointing Karen Hamilton as Managing Director, Peermusic Australasia. Peermusic, the world’s largest independent music publishing and neighboring rights company with 39 offices across 33 countries and over 200 employe…

Garth Brooks pulled the pre-sale for an extra performance in Kansas City, and now the affected Saturday matinee has been canceled altogether due to bot activity. After Garth Brooks added more performances to his Kansas City tour schedule, the pre-sale for one of those shows was p…

Easol, the self-described “all-in-one platform for managing your entire experience business,” has launched a new agentic product and formally announced a $30 million raise. The “all-in-one SaaS platform” debuted Teammates and unveiled the $30 million Series A extension today. Beg…

Create Music Group acquires a minority stake in DistroKid shortly after CVC Captal Partners became DistroKid’s majority owner back in July. Create Music Group has acquired a minority stake in music distribution platform DistroKid, the company confirmed on Wednesday. The transacti…

Sam Fender postpones a pre-sale for three shows in his upcoming tour in the face of a “sophisticated bot attack.” On Wednesday, Sam Fender took to Instagram to tell fans he had pulled the pre-sale for three of his upcoming shows, moving it to Thursday, October 29, “to ensure real…

What Artists Should Be Doing When the World Thinks Nothing Is Happening. “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” — Ram Dass Somewhere along the way, the music business decided that if you’re not constantly releasing, performing, posting, promoting, or announcing somethin…

With a UMG v. Suno subpoena maelstrom upon us, here’s a closer look at some of the document and testimony demands’ many interesting angles – and the disputes’ bigger-picture significance in the AI litigation arena. We’ve covered the subpoena clashes from the outset, and the avail…

My Chemical Romance settles the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ lawsuit over the band’s use of uniforms that look remarkably similar to the team’s own. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have quickly emerged victorious in their lawsuit against My Chemical Romance over the use of unifor…

An appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a patent lawsuit filed against Live Nation, Ticketmaster, law firm Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, the MLB, and others. Live-Fi Technologies CEO Amy Weissbrod Gurvey submitted that suit to a California federal court in 2023, and following m…

Game scores tend to outlive the games they were written for. A franchise score can fill concert halls decades after launch, and a soundtrack can keep streaming long after the game studio has moved on. The question behind ‘Behind the Buyout: Lifetime Royalties for Game Composers,’…

Deezer (Euronext: DEEZR) has reported nearly 2% revenue growth for Q3 2026, when its total subscribers and international revenue slipped due to a partnerships-side contraction. The Paris-headquartered DSP disclosed its third-quarter showing today, pointing first to €133.8 million…

PRS for Music partners with Soundtrack, the music streaming service for businesses, to improve distribution of public performance royalties. PRS for Music is expanding its use of music usage data to improve the accuracy of royalties paid to songwriters, composers, and music publi…

Garth Brooks quickly halted ticket sales for his Kansas City concert after just over 30 minutes, blaming excessive bot activity for the decision. Over the weekend, Garth Brooks abruptly halted ticket sales for his third Kansas City concert, scheduled for November 7 at T-Mobile Ce…

Too Lost Music Group, the global music distribution and technology company serving independent artists and labels, has appointed James ‘Jay’ Rosenstock as its new Chief Financial Officer. The announcement comes on the heels of a busy stretch for the company, which includes a stra…

Former AEG Live President Rob Hallet partners with David Bowie’s estate to recreate the artist’s iconic 1978 performance in an immersive experience. Rob Hallet, Wonderworld founder and the former AEG Live President, will present a collaboration with David Bowie’s estate and filmm…

A producer’s lawsuit against Drake over his hit “Janice STFU” has been voluntarily dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. Producer Aviel Hirschfield’s copyright claim against Drake over his hit “Janice STFU” has been voluntarily dismissed after a little over a…

As rumored last week, Jay-Z has been announced as the headliner for the Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at California’s SoFi Stadium on February 14, 2027. Rumors have been swirling that Jay-Z’s Roc Nation was preparing to announce none other than Jay-Z himself as the Super Bowl LXI…

Suno investor Menlo Ventures has been slapped with a subpoena, and now, one of its former execs will soon be deposed over a tweet that could undermine the platform’s longstanding fair use defense. Technically, the Menlo subpoena showdown fueled a motion to compel in mid-October,…

The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has officially granted streaming services’ request to access unredacted Web VI materials amid the ongoing Phono V proceeding – albeit with a few conditions. Chief Copyright Royalty Judge Trevor Jefferson recently gave the green light to said acce…

Neil Young files a $10 million lawsuit against Trump’s political action committee, alleging copyright infringement for the use of his music during midterm election rallies. If you thought Neil Young had already sued Trump over the use of his music during campaign rallies, you wou…

Apple fires back against Suno with heavy ammunition in its move to quash the subpoena, arguing that it’s superfluous and goes well beyond what Suno reasonably needs for the case. As Apple Music is added to the growing list of subpoenas in the rapidly escalating battle between Uni…

HarbourView Equity Partners brings Hit-Boy to Roblox’s Beat Battle in a monthlong takeover for players to remix tracks and unlock exclusive rewards. Multi-strategy investment firm HarbourView Equity Partners has announced a collaboration bringing three-time Grammy-winning produce…

As Suno fends off an ever-growing number of music industry copyright complaints, a raft of subpoena showdowns – including the AI platform’s own document and deposition demands – are now in full swing. Does that mean game-changing disclosures are on the horizon? Time will tell, th…

Spotify is victorious once again as a federal judge dismisses a class action bot-fraud case, finding no evidence that Spotify violated California law. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that alleged Spotify was allowing rampant bot-assisted fraudulent streams for major artis…

Primary Wave Music partners with the legendary Mary J. Blige on her catalog, compositions, and recordings across her critically acclaimed career. Primary Wave Music has announced its latest partnership with an award-winning icon: the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” Mary J. Blige. The ne…

Chris Brown has avoided prison time over his assault against a music producer in a swanky London nightclub three years ago. On Monday, Chris Brown was spared prison time for his assault against a music producer in a private London nightclub three years ago. The Grammy-winning art…

If you’ve followed Digital Music News’ coverage over the past few years, you’ve watched a pattern repeat itself with almost mechanical regularity. A major label discovers hundreds of unlicensed songs scattered across a brand’s TikTok and Instagram accounts and responds with a law…

Netflix is betting on Hollywood’s old playbook. YouTube is building the future by letting everybody play. Netflix isn’t dying. But it may be facing something almost as dangerous: becoming just another big, boring media company. For a business that practically invented the modern…

Jay-Z returned to SoFi Stadium for the final two nights of his 30th anniversary celebration, featuring Too $hort, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Blue Ivy. Over the weekend, Jay-Z returned to SoFi Stadium for the final two performances of his JAŸ-Z30 Los Angeles celebration. Following F…

Dolly Parton’s niece Danielle Parton has been named brand ambassador on behalf of the estate: “I’m proud to be part of that legacy.” Dolly Parton’s estate has announced that her niece, Danielle Parton, will take on the role as brand ambassador to help support the causes that the…

Elvis Presley’s rightsholders have sued Anthropic with allegations of copyright infringement over 274 of his songs used to train AI models without permission. AI company Anthropic faces yet another copyright infringement lawsuit, this time filed by the owners of Elvis Presley’s m…

Indonesia may be one of the most important music markets the global music business still underestimates. The following comes from Eveara, a partner of DMN. With approximately 286 million people, a young population and 230 million internet users, Indonesians generated 179 billion…

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders file suit against My Chemical Romance over their dancers’ lookalike outfits during the Black Parade anniversary tour. My Chemical Romance (MCR) faces legal action from Pro Silver Star, the trademark owner of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC). T…

Recent studies indicate that AI hasn’t brought any major productivity gains, profit margin increases, or growth potential for any major company outside the tech industry. New research outlined by investment leader Apollo Global Management finds that despite the astronomical inves…

Bowers & Wilkins are positioning the Pi8 earphones against AirPods Pro 3. Should they be? I have always viewed Bowers & Wilkins as a high end consumer headphone brand, so I was excited to check out their true wireless competitor to the AirPods Pro. Why am I calling it an AirPods…

Chris Brown producer Ishmael Montague has filed a nearly $1.25 million lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment (SME) for allegedly failing to pay due royalties and “stalling” his deal with Xposure Music. Montague recently submitted his complaint to a New York federal court, accu…