K-pop agency SM and China’s Tencent Music unite to launch a joint venture to develop a new Chinese idol group and manage SM artists in Greater China. South Korean agency SM Entertainment has announced a joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group in China with plans to d…

When it rains, it pours: SOCAN has filed a Suno copyright lawsuit of its own, accusing the platform of unlawfully training on protected works and then generating infringing outputs. SOCAN submitted the straightforward complaint to Canada’s Federal Court today, moments after activ…

With a number of AI copyright battles unfolding – and with billions riding on the all-important fair use question – the Justice Department has doubled down on its position that training LLMs on protected text constitutes fair use. The DOJ reiterated its training stance yesterday,…

Pay attention. It’s your music and they handle a lot. I have been actively looking for a new music distributor, which is one of those jobs that sounds simple until you actually start doing it. I compared services, read terms, looked at pricing, thought about my catalog and tried…

California’s state senate and assembly passed AB 1349 despite the arts communities cautioning that it is no longer the bill they initially supported. Despite numerous warnings from small businesses and arts communities that California’s “ghost” ticketing bill AB 1349 was no longe…

Musicians union AFM Local 47 celebrates the passage of California’s SB 186, which it says will save hundreds of its 5,000 members’ jobs across the entertainment industry. As a proud member of the Entertainment Union Coalition, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and Local…

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has signed the ‘Taylor Swift Law’ to protect fans from the abusive resale of tickets and to provide free drinking water at large events. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, has signed two decrees that expand customer protection mec…

Sports betting platform FanDuel rolls out its upgraded app, with an ad campaign featuring an All-American Rejects cover of a Johnny Cash classic. In a new ad campaign to announce the rollout of sports betting platform FanDuel’s upgraded app, the company has gone all out tapping r…

Following the Supreme Court’s Cox v. Sony decision, internet service provider RCN is doubling down on its push to end the copyright suit filed against it by the major labels. Technically, it’s been months since the defendant initially moved to invoke the unanimous Supreme Court d…

Rep. Thomas Massie named alleged Epstein co-conspirators on the House floor amid his launch of a major push for the ‘Epstein Files Transparency Act II’. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has continuously pushed for the release of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ove…

A judge has reversed his earlier decision, ruling in favor of Bad Bunny and striking down a significant portion of a massive copyright lawsuit affecting over 150 artists. In a rare move, U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. has reversed his earlier decision and ruled in favor of…

Alanis Morissette is suing her former tour manager with extortion and fraud allegations involving threats to falsely report the singer for drug trafficking. Alanis Morissette has filed a lawsuit against her 2025 tour manager, Keren Urinov, whom she accuses of orchestrating a “cal…

Another day, another high-stakes copyright lawsuit against Suno – this time from Latin label and publisher Gerencia 360, which is accusing the AI music platform of infringing on hundreds of compositions and recordings. Founded by Luis del Villar 13 years back, Burbank-headquarter…

We’ve been hearing plenty about Suno’s allegedly infringing training process and outputs. But what about its alleged publicity and likeness rights violations? Now, the platform is facing a sweeping class action for allegedly capitalizing on “musician-specific identifying attribut…

Thanks to solid paid streaming growth – and double-digit revenue hikes across vinyl, CDs, and sync alike – U.S. recorded music revenue is said to have approached $6 billion during 2026’s opening half. These and other recorded revenue figures come from the Recording Industry Assoc…

New RIAA figures released this morning are reigniting a familiar question: are CDs actually staging a comeback, or is the format riding a temporary sales bump? According to the RIAA’s newly released H1 2026 mid-year report, U.S. recorded music revenue reached nearly $6 billion in…

Sony Music Japan will acquire a 23.29% stake in video game developer GungHo Online Entertainment, making Sony Music the company’s largest shareholder. GungHo Online Entertainment, the Japanese video game developer best known for its massive mobile hit Puzzle & Dragons, has a new…

Katy Perry’s 2011 hit “The One That Got Away” has been claimed by a new generation on TikTok, becoming the Global and US Song of the Summer 2026. As the warm summer air turns crisp and cool on the cusp of fall, TikTok reveals its annual Songs of the Summer list, celebrating the m…

A federal judge dismissed the remaining claims against Lizzo and her production company in a long-running lawsuit filed by her former wardrobe stylist. On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed the remaining claims against Lizzo’s production company in a lawsuit filed by her former w…

BMG and Concord announce the successful completion of their merger, confirming a new leadership team and a bright path forward. Today, BMG and Concord announced the completion of their highly anticipated merger, creating a new global music company on par with the majors with the…

A jury has found Duane Davis guilty in the murder of Tupac Shakur, 30 years after the rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. The jury has found Duane “Keefe D” Davis (sometimes spelled “Keffe D”) guilty in the murder of Tupac Shakur, just weeks before the 30th ann…

Warner Music Central Europe announces the launch of Warner Records Germany in Berlin, headed by director Lea Londa. On Tuesday, Warner Music Central Europe announced the official launch of Warner Records Germany, establishing a frontline label powered by one of the music industry…

About two months later, the Jermaine Dupri v. Sony Music unpaid royalties battle – involving north of $18 million in allegedly due payments – has drawn to a close. Dupri and his So So Def Recordings label made the case’s conclusion official in a recent voluntary dismissal notice.…

Udio has fired back against Sony Music’s supersized copyright suit – including by doubling down on its fair use argument and by accusing the major of engaging “in anticompetitive activities that extend an unlawful monopoly over the production and commercialization of music.” The…

A ‘Lion King’ composer sued a comedian over a joke and now owes $40,000 in legal fees after the lawsuit failed to gain traction. This story was updated on September 1st to include comments from defense attorney Bryan Sullivan, who declared a ‘complete victory’ in the case (see be…

Looking to build on The Wizard of Oz’s record revenue – and the popularity of the exclusive film’s existing effects – Sphere is officially preparing to add “a series of new and expanded 4D effects” next month. Sphere Entertainment officially shed light on those enhancements today…

Senators file an amicus brief opposing Roblox’s and Discord’s appeal, arguing that the Ending Forced Arbitration Act (EFAA) prevents forced arbitration of a sexual abuse survivor. On Friday, three U.S. Democratic senators filed an amicus brief condemning both gaming platform Robl…

Dolly Parton’s estate announces a two-day celebration of her musical legacy originally planned by the artist herself for her 80th birthday in January. On Monday, the estate of Dolly Parton officially announced Dollyfest, a two-day event celebrating her extensive musical legacy, s…

A public defender steps in after D4vd’s lawyers bow out. The singer appears to have run out of cash despite making at least $11 million from his record deal with Interscope. David Burke, the legal name of the disgraced singer D4vd, has encountered a major obstacle in his murder c…

Spam farms have hijacked the YouTube and Spotify profiles of numerous jazz musicians, pushing out genAI slop tracks with cover art featuring genAI anime girls. The Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube profiles of jazz musicians like William “Sonny” Criss have been inundated with AI…

A California bill that enjoyed the support of indie venues and music industry groups now faces many of those same groups urging lawmakers to kill it. California’s AB 1349, a bill that would ban speculative ticketing, introduce anti-bot measures, ban bogus ticket-selling sites, an…

A group of musicians is taking a stand against generative AI technology, and they’re on the hunt for AI “grifters” trying to pass off AI slop as human-made art. How do you identify a song that’s been generated with AI and claims to be human-made? As audio-oriented generative tool…

Imagine someone sitting at home late at night and saying, “Play me something spacious and beautiful that I haven’t heard before. No vocals. Piano is fine, but nothing too sentimental.” Who gets played? That question is about to become much more important than musicians realize. T…

Howard Stern’s second channel, Howard 101, is leaving the SiriusXM lineup after 20 years and major layoffs—further evidence that Stern is scaling back his programming. SiriusXM has removed Howard Stern’s second channel, Howard 101, from its satellite radio lineup in a blog post t…

A new study estimates that post-Brexit touring restrictions cost the UK over £200 million and nearly 2,500 jobs—and over £1 billion and 17,000 jobs across the EU. A new report from the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport on the impact of Brexit on British musicians playin…

A group of music publishers headed by Sony and Warner is suing Anthropic for “tens of thousands” over the allegedly blatant theft of copyrighted music. The lawsuit, filed late Friday, is part of a growing litigatory pile-on against Anthropic. A group of music publishers led by So…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of August 28th, 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@digitalmusi…

A federal judge has officially consolidated a pair of class action lawsuits centering on a November 2025 Suno breach that’s said to have compromised “the sensitive data of 55 million users.” The first of those cases set sail on July 24th, while the second, likewise filed in Massa…

A group of actors and musicians have written to the UK government, demanding better protection against their voices being cloned and used by AI. A group of more than 80 performers, including actor Hugh Bonneville and singer Sandi Thom, have written to the UK government to demand…

Rockstar Games’ GTA 6, the highly anticipated latest title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, has cost well over a billion dollars to develop—and it is packed to the gills with great music. Rockstar Games’ first major look at Grand Theft Auto 6 was chalk full of licensed music, w…

Music organizations spent much of 2026 challenging the U.S. Copyright Office’s (USCO) proposed fee increases, arguing that higher registration costs would disproportionately burden independent labels, artists, and songwriters. The campaign did not stop the USCO from submitting it…

Ahead of the anticipated close of its Concord merger, BMG has identified roughly $515 million (€444 million) in H1 2026 revenue and confirmed dropping almost $1.9 billion on music IP to date. That Q1 and Q2 2026 revenue figure represents a 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) improvement, w…

Intense AI courtroom battles continue to roil the music industry, with multiple high-stakes skirmishes showing few signs of calming down. For starters, Anthropic and Suno are now aggressively pushing back against Round Hill’s bullish attempt to ‘relate’ their cases – even as the…

Selena Gomez has asked a judge to dismiss the “absurd” fraud lawsuit filed against her and her mother over their mental health startup Wondermind. Two weeks after investors in Selena Gomez’s mental health startup, Wondermind, filed a federal lawsuit alleging fraud, the singer has…

Even in its 40th year, Burning Man tickets are now in lower demand than those for Outside Lands, making it harder for resellers to turn a profit. If you’ve followed Burning Man for the last several years, it should come as no surprise that this year—even in its 40th year—tickets…

A new study finds that Americans spend on average more time watching creator-based content on YouTube than live television. A new survey of the media consumption habits of Americans found that 90% access YouTube on a typical weekday, compared to 79% for streaming services and 73%…

The NFL announces Ayra Starr as the headliner for the 2026 London game, part of a record seven halftime shows in the NFL’s biggest international season to date. The National Football League (NFL) has announced that global Afrobeats superstar Ayra Starr will headline the halftime…

Instagram launches “First Draft” for Reels, enabling users to generate a new video by automatically picking out the best parts from existing clips. This week, Instagram unveiled its new First Draft feature for Reels, an option that allows users to generate a new video by automati…

Amazon Music has announced a new episode of its docu-performance series “Songline” featuring Gracie Abrams, recorded at Church Studios in North London. Amazon Music has announced a new episode of its docu-performance series “Songline,” featuring Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter…

Guitar rhythm game Stage Tour, built by veterans of the original Guitar Hero era, features 90-plus licensed songs and real guitar maker partnerships. Veteran developers of the original era of music-oriented rhythm video games, which included Guitar Hero and Rock Band, have been w…

Warner Music Group’s aggressive international expansion isn’t finished yet: Warner Music Austria’s roster is officially set to gain “direct access to” Vienna-based indie Tonherd’s “state-of-the-art” studio under a broader partnership agreement. Warner Music Austria, ADA Central E…

Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has purchased a majority stake in the IP of Drake’s October’s Very Own (OVO) apparel company, while Vince Holding Corp. is set to take the operational reins under a licensing agreement. Authentic unveiled the high-profile play today, pointing first to…

Following the “Definitive Sound Series” (DSS) release of The Chronic, Dr. Dre has teed up a limited-run 2001 vinyl edition that’s said to have been “mastered directly from the original analog master tapes.” Interscope Records and Capitol Records announced this latest DSS series e…

Suno just can’t shake indie musician Tony Justice. The country music singer and truck driver sued the company with allegations of copyright theft and using protected songs (like his own) to train AI without permission. Updated, August 27th: Justice’s attorneys at Delgado Entertai…

Wax Motif has spent all spring and summer this year bringing his sophomore album, House of Wax II, to dance floors around the world. But some of the dropped tracks filling his iconic sets have yet to be released. The acclaimed DJ and producer, born Daniel Chien, says his current…

Every musician knows the moment. After weeks, months, sometimes years of writing, recording, editing, overdubbing, mixing, second-guessing, remixing, mastering, unmastering, remastering, and listening to the same thirty-two bars until you are no longer sure whether you even like…

Activist songwriter George Johnson has doubled down on his opposition to the proposed Phonorecords V settlement – including by criticizing the terms themselves and by calling out the alleged “long history of brazen self-dealing” between the NMPA and the RIAA. Johnson just recentl…

Los Lobos and Sony Music have agreed to dismiss the band’s lawsuit against the major, having reached a settlement in the alleged breach of contract. On Friday, court documents reveal that Los Lobos’ lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment over royalties for the band’s song “Canc…

X is expanding its open-source codebase to include its ranking algorithm, providing transparency on how “going viral” works on the former Twitter. Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, released the source code that determines how posts are recommended to users in a bid to increase tra…

As tributes to Dolly Parton pour in, Eminem shares the touching letter he received from the music legend after he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Since the death of global philanthropist and country music icon Dolly Parton this week, tributes have poured i…