Ben Folds explains the challenges now facing the National Symphony Orchestra amid Trump’s recent overhaul of the Kennedy Center in an open letter. Musician and former National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) artistic advisor Ben Folds released an open letter outlining the challenges now…

2 Live Crew have lost their prior copyright victory in appeals court, based on a technicality that affects artists’ rights under federal bankruptcy law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the previous October 2024 jury verdict that saw iconic rap group…

Suno isn’t alone in pushing to keep its “training data number” – or a tally of the tracks used to train its models – out of the public view. Now, amid a legal battle with Sony Music, AI music rival Udio is also attempting to seal the figure. Still fending off copyright litigation…

IMPALA has unveiled a collaboration with FÉLIN’s ReDisco, a vinyl recycling initiative that’s said to have “given a second life to 1.2 million unwanted records” since launching three years ago. France’s National Federation of Independent Labels and Distributors (FÉLIN) establishe…

A new documentary chronicling the life and career of Cypress Hill co-founder Sen Dog is underway, with participation from numerous hip-hop icons. A documentary about the life and career of Cypress Hill co-founder Senen “Sen Dog” Reyes, entitled Mi Familia: Sen Dog and the America…

Amazon Prime informs users that ads will start playing for subscribers of Amazon Music in some markets, after introducing them in Prime Video in 2024. Amazon Prime has been a subscription service loaded with benefits for years, including free shipping, premium video content, musi…

The Black Crowes were booed after frontman Chris Robinson berated fans for chanting “USA” — then things truly went south. Atlanta blues-rock veterans the Black Crowes played the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on Sunday night as part of their Southern Hospitality tour. But a…

When it comes to AI panic, perhaps some perspective helps. Enter BubbleUp founder and tech veteran Coleman Sisson, whose company has been working for over 20 years with some of the largest acts in the world (Luke Bryan, Khruangbin, Avett Brothers, BTS, Eagles, Kelsea Ballerini, K…

An LA County court has granted Sabrina Carpenter a temporary restraining order against a man she said has been stalking her and tried to enter her home. On Monday, a Los Angeles County court granted pop princess Sabrina Carpenter a temporary restraining order against a man she al…

iHeartMedia announces the lineup for this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival, featuring BTS, Benson Boone, Cardi B, Snoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, and more. The lineup for the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival has been announced, taking place on Friday, September 18, and Saturday, Septe…

After hitting the ground running during 2026’s first four months, core music industry funding finished at a relatively modest $80 million in May. But is resumed growth in the cards for the remainder of the second quarter and the year? Time will tell, though overall, a good bit of…

The Artists Rights Alliance launches a campaign to pass the reintroduced Protect Working Musicians Act, including town halls and an artist-led press on the Hill. The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) has launched the latest chapter in its efforts to protect and defend artists whose li…

Anthropic has started the process for an initial public offering after outpacing OpenAI in valuation as the artificial intelligence race intensifies. This week, AI company Anthropic announced the “confident” submission of a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exc…

Exactly how many tracks were used to train Suno’s generative models? The world may never know – at least if the company gets its way. Amid an ugly legal battle with the non-Warner majors, the AI music platform is fighting to conceal the figure. As some will recognize, this is the…

Italian authorities have banned Kanye West and Travis Scott concerts from taking place in Reggio Emilia, citing public order and security concerns. On Friday, Italian Prefect Salvatore Angieri announced that two concerts by Kanye West and Travis Scott will not be taking place. Th…

Primary Wave Music announces a partnership with legendary Mexican music powerhouse Intocable, including name, image, and likeness rights. Leading independent publisher Primary Wave Music has announced a partnership with the Grammy-winning and genre-defining Mexican music powerhou…

Amazon Music announces the lineup for Primavera Sound Barcelona, with performances and exclusive content streaming worldwide on the Amazon Music app, Fire TV, and Twitch. On Monday, Amazon Music unveiled the lineup of confirmed artists that will be streamed live from Primavera So…

Now that naming rights have been secured by FMB, Long Beach’s new $21 million amphitheater opens this week with a show from hometown hero Snoop Dogg. California’s new waterfront amphitheater, the FMB Amphitheater of Long Beach, will open this week, only six months after Legends G…

The AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit will feature a special fireside chat with Shira Perlmutter and Emily L. Chapuis of the U.S. Copyright Office. The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has announced a special fireside chat featuring Shira Perlmutter, Register…

Fender won the rights to the iconic Stratocaster body shape, and now the company is issuing a cease-and-desist to PRS Guitars over John Mayer’s Silver Sky. Fender was awarded broad rights to the iconic Stratocaster guitar body shape in a landmark copyright case. Now, the company…

Another day, another international acquisition for Live Nation, which has taken a majority interest in Argentina’s Dale Play Live and deemed Buenos Aires “a priority” amid a broader expansion across Latin America. Live Nation unveiled its newest Dale Play “strategic partnership”…

M.I.A. is suing Kid Cudi for inducing breach of contract and more after being booted from the Rebel Ragers Tour, claiming that she “was terminated to generate publicity” amid low ticket sales. M.I.A. (real name Mathangi Arulpragasam) just recently submitted the straightforward su…

Code in Apple Music’s Android client beta hints at new subscription tiers and features that don’t exist in the current iteration of the music service. Apple Music has long been a streaming service that provided all users with the same level of service regardless of their subscrip…

After several artists dropped out of the planned US Freedom 250 festival, Trump said “cancel it,” calling the planned performers “overpriced” and “boring.” President Trump is cancelling the planned musical performances for the United States’ 250th birthday after several artists d…

Carpenter Brut comes to Fortnite from May 29 to June 26 in an immersive and gamified racing project with nods to the Hellfest summer rock festival. Darkwave synth artist Carpenter Brut is in Fortnite for a limited time, thanks to the ARTE Riff Mountain project, an immersive and g…

As expected, Universal Music Group’s board has formally rejected Pershing Square’s $64 billion takeover proposal after being urged to do so by Bolloré Group. We covered Bolloré Group’s clear-cut opposition to the bid earlier this week, when CEO Cyrille Bolloré criticized key elem…

A US District Court judge has now ruled that adding Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center was a violation of federal law, while further ordering the immediate removal of the Trump name from the building. A two-year renovation plan has also been nixed by the Obama-appointed judge. On…

Too Lost has appointed Jay Moore as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), signaling a deeper push into catalog investment and artist financing within the independent music sector. This article was created in collaboration with DMN partner Too Lost. The Los Angeles-based company, known…

Anthropic announces a $65 billion funding round at a valuation of $965 billion, pushing it ahead of OpenAI in the artificial intelligence race. On Thursday, Anthropic said it had raised $65 billion in its latest funding round at a post-money valuation of $965 billion, bolstering…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of May 29th, 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@digitalmusicne…

Live Nation has settled a lawsuit with the families of two women shot and killed during the 2023 Beyond Wonderland festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre. Live Nation has reached an undisclosed settlement with the families of two women, Brandy Escamilla, 29, and Josilyn Ruiz, 26, who…

Sean Welch, a music business manager accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients including Juice WRLD, is battling to stay out of federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Though the Industry Management Group founder Welch only entered that guilty…

Ukrainian-born artist and Shanghai-based educator Alex Ray — known musically as MrRay — is emerging as one of the more conceptually ambitious independent artists in contemporary pop. The following comes from Arcadia International, a partner of DMN. Balancing his work as a history…

An LA court says a Texas millionaire has to pay Katy Perry nearly $5 million in legal fees after losing a court battle over the sale of a mansion. Katy Perry has been awarded over $3 million in legal fees following a multi-year legal battle against Carl Westcott over the sale of…

Digital Music News and Open On Sunday returned to Atlanta for Music Biz 2026 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel. Industry leaders, executives, artists, and tech innovators gathered to focus on sync licensing and celebrate this central theme. While industry figures exchanged ideas o…

Ouch. The attorney who sued Nelly for allegedly excluding his former bandmates from credits for his wildly successful debut solo album Country Grammar has been ordered to pay the rapper’s legal fees. Precious Felder Gates—the attorney for former St. Lunatics member Ali Jones, who…

The “Cox effect” continues to ripple across the music industry litigation landscape. In the latest development, Anthropic has shrugged off vicarious liability in the newer copyright infringement suit it’s facing from major music publishers including Concord. Judge Eumi K. Lee jus…

Last.fm is independent again, nearly 20 years after it was acquired by CBS. And it’s still keeping track of your scrobbles across streaming platforms. Remember Last.fm? It started out as an internet radio station in 2002, but became better known as a music tracking service that l…

An Austrian court convicted a man who planned to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna two years ago, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The trial and ongoing investigation have revealed the involvement of a far broader and involved terrorist network. Nearly two years after…

LyricFind has filed yet another amended antitrust complaint against Musixmatch and its parent company TPG, alleging an underhanded scheme involving Warner Chappell Music. But did Lyricfind get cheated out of plum deals, or simply get outmaneuvered? LyricFind has now filed its sec…

Have Melon, Tencent Music, and Line Music developed the definitive ranking authority for K-pop artists? We’re about to find out, as the companies are preparing to release a “Global-K Chart” that they’re billing as “the global K-pop standard.” Kakao Entertainment’s Melon DSP, the…

Mid-tier festivals might be next to suffer from “blue dot fever,” according to analyst Annick Maas. The growing malady of “blue dot fever,” the phenomenon of seats going largely unsold at live events — as represented by endless blue dots on Ticketmaster’s site — isn’t getting bet…

A judge weighs an injunction against Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl branding in light of her trademark’s prior suspension due to actual showgirl Maren Wade’s own trademark. If you thought former Vegas showgirl Maren Wade (legal name Maren Flagg) was trying to ride Taylor Swift…

Downtown Music Publishing announces a new deal to represent the catalog of hip-hop pioneer Biz Markie, including name, image, and likeness rights. Downtown Music Publishing (DMP) has announced a new deal to represent the catalog of pioneering hip-hop legend Biz Markie, including…

Moments after George Clinton sued Universal Music over allegedly unpaid royalties, a federal appeals court has revived the years-running copyright (and contract) lawsuit filed against him by the estate of fellow Parliament-Funkadelic founding member Bernie Worrell. The U.S. Court…

The Grammy Museum has announced its third annual Hip-Hop Block Party on Tuesday, June 16th, a museum-wide celebration of music, art, culture, and community. The Grammy Museum will come alive for its third annual Hip-Hop Block Party on Tuesday, June 16, beginning at 7:30 PM. The m…

After Springsteen’s on-stage comments criticizing the Trump Administration and DOGE, Elon Musk has clapped back on X. Elon Musk clearly isn’t a fan of Bruce Springsteen, and to illustrate that point, he took to X, the social media platform he owns, to criticize the Boss twice on…

Apple-backed Gamma is officially suing to determine who’s behind the “coordinated, malicious, and ongoing campaign targeting” it and co-founder Larry Jackson via the LarryJacksonExposed and GammaExposed websites. The lawsuit follows Gamma’s questionable decision to resuscitate th…

A copyright infringement lawsuit filed against former One Direction member Zayn Malik nearly three years ago may finally be reaching a settlement. Back in late 2023, pop star and former One Direction member Zayn Malik was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over his hit, “B…

ONELIVE, a leader in connected commerce and fan engagement technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Blum as Director of Fan Club and Membership Programs. The following comes from ONELIVE, a partner of DMN. In this role, he will be responsible for leading, managi…

Looks like the Universal Music Group (UMG) takeover battle has drawn to a close: Bolloré Group has urged the major label to reject Pershing’s $64 billion bid, indicating that “the price would be a problem.” Bolloré Group CEO Cyrille Bolloré made the seemingly definitive recommend…

Vermont has officially become the latest state to take a stab at decommissioning scalpers, as it’s enacted a ticketing-reform law featuring a resale price cap, a ban on speculative passes, and more. Governor Phil Scott signed the bill into law yesterday, and multiple reform-minde…

A Kennedy Center official tells a federal judge that removing Trump’s name from the building would make them go broke, in a new court filing. On Tuesday, the Kennedy Center’s executive director, Charles Matthew Foca, filed a declaration in the U.S. District Court for the District…

YouTube has now improved its AI disclosure labels for viewers and creators alike, and rolls out some much-needed automatic AI detection. YouTube has announced some improvements to its disclosure labels for AI content, as well as the long-awaited rollout of automatic AI detection.…

The Metropolitan Opera is looking into multiple funding options, including the sale of its iconic paintings, following a failed agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia. New York’s Metropolitan Opera is aggressively looking into different funding options following a failed m…

Apple Music’s Club Live expands with a partnership with The Warehouse Project, bringing livestreams from selected shows during its 20th anniversary. Apple Music has announced that Manchester’s The Warehouse Project will join Club Live, Apple Music’s livestreaming series on Apple…

Michael approaches $800 million at the global box office; another major milestone that fast approaches Bohemian Rhapsody and Oppenheimer for the title of the biggest biopic of all time. The musical biopic about the early career and meteoric rise of Michael Jackson has now generat…

We’ve chronicled the sudden rise of YouTube Premium and Music, an upsurge that started last year. But a quieter, albeit equally fascinating, ascent has also been taking place for the independently-owned, music-exclusive service Qobuz. That’s right: Qobuz, the high-resolution stre…

Cam’ron and J. Cole have settled the strange lawsuit surrounding their “Ready ‘24” collaboration, after J. Cole denied the claims against him. J. Cole and Cam’ron have reached a settlement in their legal battle, filed by the latter against the former over a supposed verbal agreem…

Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström is now defending the company’s expansion into AI-generated remixes, claiming it offers an alternative to unregulated AI “slop.” But the industry is still scratching its head on what this product implementation will look like, and when v1 will arrive.…