Dua Lipa is fighting back against Samsung’s move to dismiss her lawsuit, arguing that the company used her face to sell millions of TVs without permission. The outcome could have important implications for the music industry’s growing ‘Name, Image, and Likeness’ (NIL) asset categ…

As part of a heretofore under-the-radar sponsorship deal with Meta, Doja Cat is set to release a brief Tour Ma Vie documentary shot entirely with the tech giant’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. Meta formally announced the 12-minute film yesterday, after signing on as an official Tour Ma…

Goldman Sachs’ 2026 “Music in the Air” report is here, and while the multifaceted breakdown is unsurprisingly bullish about the wider industry’s revenue trajectory, it offers a noticeably measured assessment of the major labels’ long-term outlook. For those who’ve been following…

Shakira’s historic European residency concludes after 13 shows and over 700,000 fans in one of the most ambitious live music events in Europe. Shakira has concluded her historic European residency, completing 13 monumental shows and welcoming over 700,000 fans to the Spanish capi…

It’s not just the music industry; comedians and other content creators are suffering some serious IP theft in the form of sexualized AI impersonators. AI is targeting creatives, and it’s not exclusive to the music or literature industries. Now, multiple comedians are finding thei…

AEG Presents expands in the French market with the acquisition of Auguri Productions, a leading company in artist production and development in France. AEG Presents has announced the acquisition of Auguri Productions, a leading company in artist production and development in Fran…

The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) isn’t loving Amazon Music’s Phonorecords V proposal, which it’s criticizing as the “worst” of those submitted by DSPs and an attempt “to squeeze songwriters.” NMPA head David Israelite took aim at the Amazon-owned streaming platfo…

With an eye on challenging Spotify and Amazon’s Audible, YouTube is reportedly preparing to add audiobooks to its Premium subscription offering. That possible audiobooks expansion surfaced in a Wall Street Journal report, though at the time of this writing, Google/Alphabet hadn’t…

Warner Music India significantly expands its footprint across South India through a series of major catalog acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Warner Music India announces a major expansion of its presence in South India through a series of major catalog acquisitions and st…

Chance the Rapper scores a potentially $1.5 million judgment against “Pat the Manager” over merchandising deals and contract violations. Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, emerged victorious in his legal battle with his former manager, Pat Corcoran, also kno…

Warner Chappell Music announces a global deal with My Chemical Romance, expanding on the band’s long-term relationship with Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group (WMG), has announced the signing of an exclusive worl…

Too Lost Music Group, the New York-headquartered music and technology company, has announced six executive promotions across its finance, A&R, corporate development, and commercial strategy teams. Mark VanAtta, Marc Emert-Hutner, Aldo Davalos, Jen Ferrer, Adrian Burke, and Nate F…

The White House is investigating claims that former Kennedy Center head Ric Grenell failed to deposit a near-$6 million dollar donation to the center. Trump’s White House counsel is examining allegations by former Trump attorney Alina Habba that former Kennedy Center leader and e…

SeatGeek Canada is facing additional fines from the Ontario government for allegedly violating a law that limits the resale of event tickets at face value. SeatGeek Canada now faces two more fines from the Ontario government over allegations that it violated a recent law that cap…

After allegedly scraping Spotify and then being slapped with a $322 million default judgment, Anna’s Archive has found its way into the RIAA’s “Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy” list. The RIAA just recently flagged the shadow library in a 15-page “Notorious Markets…

The Federal Trade Commission has sued ticket broker REPS over allegations of unlawful tactics used to bypass ticket purchase limits. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued REPS & Company, alleging that the ticket broker illegally bypasses measures designed to limit the numbe…

DJ Reinier Zonneveld has raised over $1 million in pre-seed funding for GasLab, a genAI music app built to recognize and pay musicians for their work. GasLab (Generative AI Solutions Lab), a generative AI music platform created by techno DJ and producer Reinier Zonneveld, has bee…

Ye’s disastrous Malibu real estate project into which he poured millions is costing him $321,000 more following a Los Angeles Superior Court decision. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, now owes the construction worker who was injured while working on his Malibu propert…

Universal Music Group enacts some major reductions, leading to layoffs impacting the US, UK, and possibly other affiliated organizations. Universal Music Group (UMG) has started the process of another major wave of layoffs across its operations, affecting several top executives.…

Trump signs Marsha Blackburn’s American Music Tourism Act into law, which requires the Department of Commerce to promote music tourism in the US. On Friday, President Trump signed the American Music Tourism Act, a bipartisan bill backed by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Sen. Jo…

Rapidly ascending Korean-American singer and former “Traitors” contestant Eric Nam has signed with UTA for representation in all areas. Eric Nam, a Korean-American singer and former Traitors contestant whose star is currently on the rise, has been quickly snapped up by UTA for re…

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project has received $750,000 from the Ford Foundation to support radio stations at historically Black colleges and universities. The HBCU Radio Preservation Project (HBCU RPP) has received $750,000 from the Ford Foundation, which has been used over th…

Four months and change after YouTube proper rolled out AI-label improvements, YouTube Music is adding AI tags of its own. YouTube Music confirmed as much in a brief blog post today, indicating that the labels will identify tracks “created primarily using generative AI.” And out o…

Live Nation is firing back against the FTC’s “misguided” BOTS Act lawsuit, which it says contradicts the law’s “plain meaning, flouts the will of Congress, and undoubtedly sets back the fight against scalpers.” The promoter and its Ticketmaster subsidiary formally answered the co…

KATSEYE’s ‘Pinky up’, BLACKPINK’s ‘JUMP,’ and LE SSERAFIM’s ‘CELEBRATION’ all share something new: hard techno. K-pop’s trademark EDM sound is giving way to something grittier — and insiders say it’s just getting started. This article was written by Ben Jolley in collaboration wi…

Earlier this month, amid a high-stakes Phonorecords V rate-setting proceeding, participating copyright owners proposed a simplified mechanical that would end the “bundling loophole.” Now, DSPs including Spotify are defending the Phono IV terms and pushing to leave them in place t…

The Ticket Policy Forum and its online ticket marketplace members have sued the District of Columbia to block the RESALE Act from taking effect on January 1. The Ticket Policy Forum (TPF) and its members, which include SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime, and TickPick, have filed a l…

Character.ai files for bankruptcy, illustrating the sheer amount of money and resources burned with little gain and numerous lawsuits to show for it. The crash-and-burn could offer a preview for the music industry. The extreme financial pressures and upside-down economics of arti…

Hate AI slop? Deezer might be the on-demand platform for you, as it will soon allow users to “fully exclude AI-generated music” from their streaming experiences. Deezer announced the AI-audio toggle today, pointing to a planned global launch sometime before 2026’s conclusion. As…

YouTube surveyed 20,000 European creators, many of whom say they lack government support, training, funding, and industry representation. Over the summer, Public First conducted a survey commissioned by YouTube, gathering insights from over 20,000 creators across all 27 European…

The Verve Pipe frontman Brian Vander Ark has inked a catalog deal with Primary Wave, which has taken an interest in “The Freshmen” singer-songwriter’s publishing and recorded IP. Primary Wave reached out with word of the song-rights tie-up today, indicating that the agreement ext…

Dolly Parton’s estate continues to battle her nephew and former head of her security, who denies accusations that he threatened violence and to destroy his aunt’s legacy. Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, who also served as the head of her security, has denied accusations that…

Joni Mitchell has officially become a U.S. citizen 62 years after first traveling from Canada to the United States—though she’s lived in Southern California since the late ’60s. Legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is officially a U.S. citizen, more than 60 years after she f…

30 years later, the man found guilty of helping orchestrate the murder of Tupac Shakur has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the first and only person to be convicted over the death of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, was sentenced to 40 years to li…

Raye’s 5,000-capacity Royal Albert Hall concert was inundated with 1.8 million presale sign-ups and “hundreds of thousands of fake registrations” – prompting the artist and her team to conduct a manual review in an effort to identify “real fans.” That’s according to London-born R…

Live Nation is poised to further its expansion into South America with a partnership with Bizarro to support the growth of Latin artists in Chile. Last week, Live Nation announced a partnership with Latin American promoter Bizarro, designed to expand live Latin music in Chile and…

Several new Michael Jackson and Jackson family documentaries are in the works following the record-breaking success of Lionsgate’s Michael film. Michael Jackson is firmly back in the cultural zeitgeist after the phenomenal success of Lionsgate’s Michael biopic released earlier th…

Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2 with a slew of new colors and enhanced audio capabilities alongside Siri AI integration in a future update. Today, Apple announced the highly anticipated HomePod Mini 2, which comes in a slew of new colors alongside enhanced audio capabilities a…

Distribution is the part of the music business that clients are asked to trust and rarely get to measure. Too Lost is changing that. The global music distribution and technology company has launched the Too Lost Transparency Initiative, a public reporting program that gives artis…

The labels want their power back. Copyright needs to be rebuilt. There is a comforting version of the AI music story in which the record labels sue, the technology companies pay, and musicians emerge with their rights intact. The lawyers finish arguing, the executives shake hands…

The Chainsmokers officially go independent, parting ways with Columbia/Disruptor after 11 years and “unimaginable success.” The Chainsmokers have announced parting ways with Columbia/Disruptor, their label home for more than a decade. The duo took to their socials, including Inst…

Despite the music industry’s best efforts, US Copyright Office fees are about to undergo a major price jump starting November 11. The U.S. Copyright Office is raising service fees starting November 11, following a proposed schedule submitted to Congress in July. The statutory 120…

Digital formats have been around for decades. So why is the music industry still struggling with sluggish payouts, metadata mismatches, and the accumulation of enormous unpaid tranches? According to mass payments processing innovators like Tipalti, most companies still struggle t…

Attention loyalty and affection must be voluntary. Congratulations. Your brand new album is on Spotify (and about 150 other music streaming platforms). Nobody has declared an international holiday, your neighbors remain suspiciously calm, and the world has continued spinning with…

A federal court has rejected a push from Muni Long’s ex-managers to subpoena the artist’s medical records, which are “protected by the patient-doctor/psychotherapist privilege.” Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn made that development official with a recent order handed down amid an…

Amid a contentious courtroom confrontation with Universal Music Group (UMG), DistroKid has received a response-deadline extension and started removing tracks. But is the AI-audio crackdown affecting proper music as well? Multiple individuals are answering in the affirmative on so…

A copyright case filed against Travis Scott by two songwriters over an iconic sample has been dismissed without prejudice after nearly three years. A copyright infringement case against Travis Scott, filed by two songwriters over the “alright, alright, alright” sample used in mul…

Apple quietly rolls out a major upgrade for Apple TV users, offering high-resolution lossless audio support for the Apple Music app on Apple TV. As Apple Music continues to vie with Spotify for music streaming dominance in the United States, the company quietly rolled out a serio…

Interscope Records has now sued R&B singer Summer Walker for $50 million, alleging she still owes them more albums before she can even think about getting out of her contract. Universal Music imprint Interscope Records is escalating its ongoing dispute with R&B singer Summer Walk…

The social media copyright crackdown continues: Warner Music Group (WMG) is now suing multiple subsidiaries of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica for allegedly infringing on north of 400 compositions and recordings in Instagram and TikTok posts. Plaintiffs including Atlantic Music Gr…

Furnace Fest 2026, the event’s first installment under new ownership, has been a disaster, not least of all for its merch-related missteps. Over the weekend, the annual metal festival Furnace Fest made a not-so-triumphant return to Birmingham, Alabama, under new management. The e…

Sean Combs was rushed from federal prison to the hospital over the weekend after suffering a reported head injury. Details remain scarce. Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence at Fort Dix in New Jersey, was rushed to the hospital on Saturday afte…

After Isaac Slade’s surprise performance at Ed Sheeran’s Atlanta show, he and American Idol’s Brooks Rosser will join him on several more dates. Isaac Slade of The Fray surprised fans by first joining Ed Sheeran on his Loop Tour stop at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October…

Welcome to the decentralization of opportunity. There was a time when opportunity in music had an address in a big city. The Troubadour in Los Angeles, The Bitter End in New York and The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville were not simply great clubs with famous photographs on the walls.…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of October 9th, 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…

Amid a sexual harassment and breach of contract lawsuit filed by PR professional Linda Luna, Top Dawg Entertainment and several of its higher-ups have officially beaten a doxxing claim. That’s according to a new decision from the California Court of Appeal for the Second District…

Jack White’s Las Vegas concert poster doubles as a playable board game, with a 52-card deck, six wooden playing pieces, a custom wooden die, and more. Jack White’s October 2 show at Fontainebleau Las Vegas featured a unique poster with a fun secret: it also serves as a playable b…

At least two vendors claim that Olivia Rodrigo’s Live Nation-produced Daisy Chain Fields festival not only failed to pay them but also issued costly fees. Olivia Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival was a major success, with its charitable focus on reproductive rights,…

After details of Diddy’s lavish prison lifestyle emerge, the rap mogul’s release date has been pushed back, alongside a half-million-dollar fine. Following NBC News’ report about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ life behind bars—which revealed that he evidently has fellow inmates cook and cle…

A federal judge has rejected Kanye’s attempt to strike references to his past antisemitic statements from Alice Merton’s copyright lawsuit against him. Ye, the disgraced rapper formerly known as Kanye West, attempted to strike references to his past antisemitic statements and beh…