Bill Withers’ catalog owner Mattie Music Group sues UMG over Olivia Dean’s “I’ve Seen It,” alleging it plagiarizes Withers’ classic hit, “Just the Two of Us.” Mattie Music Group, the publisher behind R&B legend Bill Withers’ catalog and his label, Bleunig Music, launched a lawsui…

One year after Spotify confirmed a crackdown targeting fake streams and AI slop, editorial playlists including RapCaviar are actively experiencing material listenership falloffs. That’s according to a deep-dive analysis from PlaylistSupply, which drew from a trove of Chartmetric…

New York City enacts a click-to-cancel rule requiring businesses to enable single-click subscription cancellations after a federal version was struck down. On Thursday, October 1, New York City became the first municipality to enact a “click-to-cancel” rule requiring businesses t…

A federal judge denies summary judgment, sending MLC’s lengthy mechanical royalties battle against Pandora to trial. A federal judge has denied summary judgment in the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s (MLC) massive 7,000-page royalties case against Pandora, ruling that if it too…

After more than half a decade of litigation, Thomson Reuters has scored an appeals court win in its “fair use” copyright infringement dispute with a now-defunct company called Ross Intelligence. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit made that victory official in a judgm…

AI-powered startup Modulate, the company behind “audio-native voice intelligence model” Velma, has scored a $25 million raise. Somerville-headquartered Modulate recently announced the multimillion-dollar round, which Steve Jurvetson-founded Future Ventures led. Meanwhile, existin…

Rita Ora’s former manager sues her for over £3 million (more than $4 million USD) in allegedly missing tour and television earnings and contract term violations. Sarah Stennett, Rita Ora’s former manager who signed her back in 2009 when she first hit the scene, is suing the singe…

Taylor Swift teams up with TikTok for another exclusive in-app experience celebrating The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore and her new single, “Patient Zero.” Taylor Swift draws back the curtain on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore on TikTok with a new dedicated in-app experience…

Nearly eight months after raising $500 million at an $11 billion valuation, ElevenLabs is now valued at a staggering $22 billion. Meanwhile, Goldman, EQT, and several others have invested in the voice-focused AI business “for the first time.” ElevenLabs shed light on the valuatio…

A set of tapes of unheard Oasis recordings has been suspended from auction after the band filed an injunction to block their sale. The lot of tapes of never-before-heard Oasis recordings, dubbed The Desk Tapes, has been suspended from auction following an injunction filed by the…

A defendant who pleaded guilty to planning the attack on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert in 2024 lost a privacy lawsuit against Disney this week. An Austrian man identified as Beran A., who was convicted of planning a thwarted attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024, los…

A Japanese court has ruled that voice is a protected publicity right in the first ruling of its kind in the country. On Wednesday, the Tokyo District Court ruled that voices are a protected publicity right in the first ruling of its kind in the country. However, the court dismiss…

Indie publishing orgs IMPF and IMPEL have outlined a licensing framework for generative AI to create a fair and sustainable market for the future. Independent music publishing organizations IMPEL and IMPF have now issued a licensing framework for generative AI based on several ke…

The Backstreet Boys’ highly anticipated return to Germany, where their story began 30 years ago, saw more than 450,000 tickets sold. In May of 1996, Germany helped elevate the Backstreet Boys to international superstars. Now, over 30 years later, Backstreet’s back in Germany for…

Streaming fraudster Michael Smith could get 46 months of prison time plus the $8 million in restitution he owes for his AI-driven streaming fraud. Michael Smith, whose AI-driven music scams stole over $8 million in royalties, argued last week that his crimes were victimless and t…

A look at some common (and often invisible) issues blocking your royalties and how to unblock them to get your revenue flowing. The following article, from DMN partner Equalizer Consulting, offers a step-by-step framework for music businesses to develop a deliberate, documented m…

As X (formerly Twitter) continues to successfully fend off music-sector infringement claims, the IFPI is urging the European Union to include the social platform on its 2027 “Counterfeit and Piracy Watchlist.” The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) recen…

About 29 months after investing in S10 Entertainment, Avex has upped its stake to 85% and announced an expanded role for Avex Music Group head Brandon Silverstein. Tokyo-headquartered Avex today disclosed its latest investment in Silverstein-founded S10, pointing to the above-not…

Kentucky’s governor announces a new “Office of Music” dedicated to highlighting the state’s storied music legacy and supporting the music industry. Last week at Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond festival, Governor Andy Beshear joined state officials and music industry leaders onstage t…

Ahead of a high-stakes trial, “the largest copyright-free record label in the world,” NoCopyrightSounds (NCS), has secured a £1.4 million (currently $1.9 million) pre-interest interim payment in its contract dispute with AEI Music. The UK’s High Court just recently handed down th…

A federal judge rules that the FTC can absolutely pursue litigation against Ticketmaster under the BOTS Act for allegedly enabling mass-scale ticket resale. The case will now proceed to discovery. On Monday, a judge ruled against Ticketmaster’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit that…

Live Nation’s longtime legal chief, Michael Rowles, will exit in November following the government’s antitrust litigation against the company. In November, Live Nation’s longtime legal chief, Michael Rowles, will step down from his position and into a senior legal advisory role.…

One month after dropping his multimillion-dollar Sony Music infringement lawsuit, Jermaine Dupri is staring down a copyright complaint for allegedly lifting from a decades-old work to create 2023’s “Pick It Up.” The members of hip-hop duo Home Team, brothers Patrick Watler and Va…

Independent UK music publisher Minds on Fire used Tipalti’s Mass Payments to eliminate invoice-chasing, speed up their international royalty runs, and scale its global roster without growing its finance team. Here’s a peek at how their Tipalti integration has significantly change…

Nine originals in five months. Costa Rica based folk singer-songwriter Jeremy Bogen is making up for lost time, and “Heart on My Sleeve” wears every scar proudly. Jeremy Bogen used to paddle out twice a day, every day. Lately, the swell on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast has been roll…

Todd Rundgren takes aim at Taylor Swift, calling her music mediocre and blaming video games for the biggest artists in the world being female. Singer-songwriter and producer Todd Rundgren, known for his own hits like “I Saw the Light” and producing classic albums like Meat Loaf’s…

Today in Warner Music Group (WMG) executive shifts: KYN Entertainment co-founder Sonny Takhar is officially set to begin leading Warner Music UK & Ireland in the new year. WMG reached out with word of this latest C-suite change today, on the heels of several departures and appoin…

There is one number almost every artist checks the morning after a campaign launches. It sits at the top of the Spotify for Artists dashboard, updates in near real-time and has become the industry’s default shorthand for whether a release is working. The problem? It’s the wrong n…

With an eye on curbing “foreign digital piracy,” federal lawmakers have introduced the Defend IP Act, which would enable rightsholders to petition district courts for ISP-level site-blocking orders. The 17-page bill, full title the Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation…

Live Nation opens The Truth in Nashville, a new 4,400-capacity venue the company calls the first chapter of its grand opening season in Music City. Live Nation’s latest venue, The Truth in Nashville, opens on Thursday, October 1, with a sold-out Miranda Lambert show to christen i…

John Mayer will perform live at Sphere in April 2027, with a general onsale beginning Friday, October 9, at 10 AM PT on Ticketmaster. John Mayer is gearing up to perform live at Las Vegas’ Sphere in 2027, on April 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, and 18. At such a unique venue, these performan…

Oasis’ highly anticipated documentary, “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” hits Disney+ and Hulu on October 9, with previously unreleased footage. “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger,” the highly anticipated documentary covering the reunion of Noel and Liam Gallagher after their fallout 15…

A high-profile Japanese actor and anime voice talent has filed suit against TikTok over videos allegedly featuring an AI clone of his iconic voice. Fans sometimes idolize voice actors in Japan’s celebrated animation industry as much as the characters they portray. One major examp…

It’s been over 40 years since Madonna’s iconic performance at the first MTV VMAs, but in 2026 she was the night’s biggest winner—even more so than Taylor Swift. Madonna took home seven trophies from her 11 nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sunday night, inc…

Oasis and Live Nation remind fans to avoid scams selling tickets on social media and warn that tickets on the secondary market may be canceled. All tickets for Oasis’ eagerly anticipated 2027 tour sold out over the weekend during three days of pre-registration onsale windows. Now…

Latin music recorded revenue topped $540 million in the U.S. during 2026’s opening half thanks to solid paid streaming gains and triple-digit vinyl growth, according to a new report. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) published that report today, pointing specif…

Attorneys for streaming fraudster Michael Smith request probation rather than prison time for their client, downplaying the severity of his crimes. Michael Smith, the man who generated millions by mass-uploading AI-generated songs and garnering billions of plays, has pled guilty…

AI music is not going away. It is separating into a transient synthetic economy and an artist-centered business built around identity, ownership, relationships and fans. Something fundamental is happening in music, and I think we have been asking the wrong question about generati…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of September 25th, 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@digitalm…

Warner Music Group (WMG) has announced a big reorganization of its recorded music leadership this morning, shifting executives across its international divisions, independent distribution arm, and frontline labels. Just moments after triggering a serious change on the publishing…

The unnamed woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has withdrawn her claims, saying that she has never met the rapper. A woman who alleged Jay-Z raped her when she was just 13 years old has formally withdrawn her claims and now says she has never met the rapper. Th…

Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour faces more setbacks with the cancelation of his planned shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium “due to severe weather.” After the intense controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour this month, the singer-songwriter will ultimately not be performing at…

Apple Music announces its first run of shows at Apple Music Hall with a lineup starting with Elton John on opening night, September 28. Today, Apple Music has announced its first run of shows at the new Apple Music Hall in London’s Battersea Power Station, with Elton John set to…

Another day, another video expansion for Spotify, which has debuted a dedicated MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) hub and is preparing to add “select performances from the 2026″ edition. Spotify announced its Video Music Awards plans and wider Paramount partnership today. With the VM…

Qobuz launches a tag signifying music that has been identified as AI-generated, enabling users to better understand what they’re listening to. AI-generated content continues to gain traction across the music industry, and Qobuz wants that information to be readily visible to user…

Calvin Harris breaks another attendance record with the largest-ever electronic headline tour in Australia. DJ superstar Calvin Harris has sold out the largest electronic tour ever seen in Australia, breaking yet another record just days after his Guinness World Record-making fre…

After initially rescheduling some Friday performances to accommodate stormy weather, Oceans Calling has canceled the first day of the three-day festival altogether. Oceans Calling in Ocean City, Maryland, had already modified its schedule ahead of the inclement weather rolling in…

With an eye on making “interoperable metadata” the norm for AI-powered voice models, Voice-Swap has joined the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) as a full member. DDEX and London-headquartered Voice-Swap made the unexpected announcement official today, describing the newly minted memb…

A new report from the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator finds that Live Nation’s dominance of the outdoor amphitheater market rests heavily on government-owned buildings and public subsidies—even after a federal jury ruled in April that the company illegally monopolized the live even…

In the music industry, global availability is not the same as global success. A song can be one tap away for a listener in any country and never leave its home market. Some music genres win their audience in neighboring countries before they cross an ocean. Genres spread through…

The “Frankenstein” reggaeton lawsuit against Bad Bunny and a multitude of others isn’t finished yet. Weeks after suffering a serious setback in the marathon case, the plaintiffs are urging the presiding judge to reconsider his “unjust” and “inconsistent” ruling. We covered that r…

Apple Music partners with Goldenvoice as the official livestream partner of Head Trip, a bespoke experience in Indio, California, in October. Today, Apple Music has announced its partnership with Goldenvoice, the team behind Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, to present He…

Following a beta launch in New Zealand, Spotify is expanding its new algorithm tweaking tools with the launch of “Taste Profile” in the US. On Wednesday, Spotify began rolling out its new “Taste Profile” feature to Premium subscribers in the United States after a beta launch in N…

Partisan Music has officially become a majority partner in Alex Sheridan’s OTM Music, which is set to absorb the investing company’s Left Music team and roster to form “an expanded independent publishing operation.” The involved parties reached out with word of the strategic merg…

The San Jose Sharks have abruptly replaced their controversial goal song after just one season. The removal came after fans outed the AI-generated Suno ‘slop’ and demanded its removal from games. Fans of the San Jose Sharks are now rejoicing as the NHL team has announced that a n…

Just a day before their scheduled return, the Beach Boys abruptly canceled their late-September comeback shows. Will they play their next show set for October 9? After a two-month hiatus and numerous setbacks, the Beach Boys (well, Mike Love and some other guys) have abruptly can…

Another site-blocking initiative has officially commenced – this time in Latin America, where Operation Lumen has targeted over 300 stream-rippers across Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)…

Universal Music and Lady Gaga are now demanding over $230,000 in legal fees after beating Lost International’s Mayhem-focused trademark suit. But the surf brand isn’t ready to throw in the towel, as it’s officially appealing the $100 million case’s dismissal. Both noteworthy deve…

Guadalajara’s Coliseo GNP Seguros opens its doors with a performance from Michael Bublé, christening the 30,000-capacity stadium as a new major player. Guadalajara, already Mexico’s second-largest market, is poised to become a significant player in the live entertainment industry…

Sphere announces a multi-year technology partnership with Disguise to develop advanced tech for Sphere’s immersive entertainment productions. Sphere Entertainment and Disguise, a global leader in visual technology for live events and virtual production, have announced a new multi…