John Legend is set to play singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte in Bill Condon’s South African apartheid-era film, The Road Home. John Legend has officially joined the cast of The Road Home, a South African apartheid-era drama film directed by Bill Condon. Leg…

Another day, another seemingly solid earnings report accompanied by a share-price slip: Live Nation stock (NYSE: LYV) is down 5% today after the company posted 9.4% revenue growth for Q2 2026. That bump elevated quarterly revenue to $7.67 billion, including $6.44 billion from con…

iHeartRadio and TikTok Live team up once again for an artist exclusive, this time with a premiere of Alex Warren’s new single, “RESCUER” on August 6. TikTok Live and iHeartRadio are teaming up for another artist exclusive—this time with Alex Warren. On August 6, Alex Warren will…

The first year of the retooled ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Sphere has helped the venue’s second-quarter revenue rise by 11% after adding more viewings. Approaching the first anniversary of its Sphere-exclusive iteration, The Wizard of Oz could run for a decade at the Las Vegas venue, a…

Germany’s GEMA has notched another AI legal victory – this time over Suno, which the Munich Regional Court has reportedly ordered to disclose its revenue and pay damages. Meanwhile, the music-generation startup is set to appeal. GEMA touted its “groundbreaking success” today, aft…

Boy George’s manager says the singer is dropping out of a London production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” amid backlash to his AI-generated pro-Israel song. Boy George’s manager announced on Thursday that the Culture Club singer would be dropping out of a London production of “Jesu…

Universal Music Group (UMG) has posted so-so financials for Q2 2026, including modest publishing growth and a double-digit merch-revenue slide. Meanwhile, the major has reupped with Pandora, sold over $460 million worth of Spotify stock, and disclosed plans to put new releases be…

Live Nation and Cidade Center Norde have announced São Paulo’s “first world-class music arena,” and the largest such arena in South America. Live Nation Entertainment and Brazil’s planned urban living district Cidade Center Norte have announced the development of São Paulo Arena,…

Spotify’s controversial “Discovery Mode” adds a new analytic to understand its impact on your campaign (to prove it’s actually working). Spotify’s “Discovery Mode” campaign system has been pretty controversial since its launch. For added promotion across the platform, Spotify low…

SiriusXM has revealed a mixed-bag performance for Q2 2026, when its revenue grew modestly but net income spiked and self-pay churn hit a record low. The satellite radio giant and Pandora parent revealed its second-quarter financials – and, incidentally, the departure of COO Wayne…

Universal Music Group India will begin triggering a 72-hour paywall for new releases, according to Sir Lucian Grainge during UMG’s earnings call. During Universal Music Group’s recent earnings call, Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge announced a big change coming to India. UMG’s…

Amy Winehouse’s dad has been ordered to pay nearly $2.7 million to two of his late daughter’s friends after accusing them of auctioning off her belongings without consent. Mitch Winehouse, father of the late Amy Winehouse, has been ordered to pay nearly $2.7 million to two of his…

Sean “Diddy” Combs will spend even less time in prison after his release date was moved up again, with his release now slated for January 24, 2028. It looks like Diddy will be spending even less time behind bars after his release date was moved up for the second time in just over…

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responds to the news that BTS will not submit music for the 2027 Grammy Awards. After BTS announced on Wednesday that they will not be submitting music for consideration in the 2027 Grammy Awards, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. respo…

Three months later, concrete plans are taking shape for Fanomenon, the K-pop mega-festival that’s expected to feature performances from Hybe, SM, YG, and JYP artists. South Korea’s Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, which formed this past October, just recently p…

Most AI mastering and mixing tools still translate creative intent into presets and sliders. SoundBoost takes a different approach: users simply describe the sound they want in plain language and refine it through conversation, just like working with a real engineer. This article…

Since 1991, music industry attorney Donald Passman has sold more than half a million copies of his industry survival guide, All You Need to Know About the Music Business. Thanks to a court decision this week, Anthropic’s Claude is now off the hook after training on ten editions o…

Multiple sale attempts and one bidding war later, Anthem Entertainment’s catalog has found a new owner: Influence Media Partners, which is set to pay north of $600 million for “substantially all” the IP at hand. Anthem and Warner Music-partnered Influence formally announced the s…

An investigation into allegations at Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts revealed rampant sexual abuse by leadership, including late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. An external investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the Interlochen Center for the Arts n Michigan…

Has Spotify topped Melon in South Korea’s ultra-competitive streaming arena? Yes, per one market research firm – and not quite, according to another, with both nevertheless pointing to strong gains for global DSPs. The conflicting assessments surfaced in a Chosunbiz breakdown exp…

Universal Studios has unveiled plans to open Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted houses in Orlando and Hollywood for Halloween Horror Nights. Next stop on the Ozzy licensing train: Prince of Darkness haunted houses in Orlando and Hollywood for Universal Studios’ Halloween H…

Glen Hansard, the beloved frontman of the Dublin band The Frames, has died in a vehicle crash at age 56. Singer Glen Hansard, the frontman of Dublin band The Frames, died in a motorcycle crash in West Dublin on Wednesday, July 29. He was 56 years old. The Oscar-winning songwriter…

A coalition of major record labels and leading independents outline framework to ban unlicensed AI music from the official chart rankings worldwide. A global coalition of leading music companies—including Believe, BMG, Concord, Dirty Hit, Glassnote Records, HYBE Corp., Mom+Pop Mu…

Huntsville’s music industry has ballooned since 2018, supporting over 3,000 jobs and driving $278.2 million into its local economy, per a new audit. Huntsville, Alabama, has enjoyed a thriving music industry that’s grown exponentially over the last eight years into a $278.2 milli…

Google’s Flow Music Spaces gets a big update, bringing song editing, stem splitting, video creation, and more into an AI “vibe coding” workspace. Google has announced a major update for its Flow Music Spaces, unveiling a suite of new AI-powered creative tools for collaborative wo…

Another year, another Grammys boycott – this time from K-pop sensation BTS, which has opted against submitting ARIRANG to the Recording Academy. BTS announced as much in a Korean-language statement on social media. And as translated by regional outlets, which were unsurprisingly…

The music industry has been consumed by AI debates – from lawsuits involving Suno and Udio to major-label licensing deals. Now the focus is shifting to a bigger question: how do we work with AI-generated music legally, and what will it mean for the future of artists, labels, and…

Noah Kahan criticized Trump’s use of his music on social media. White House officials clapped back. Now, the song has been removed from the post on Instagram. On Tuesday, following the Trump administration’s use of Noah Kahan’s “American Cars” as the audio for a video posted on I…

Suno gets slapped with a proposed class action lawsuit over the data breach that reportedly exposed the personal information of 55.3 million users. As if on cue, Suno has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit. The complaint follows news last week that a previously unrepor…

Providence Equity will gain full ownership of The Team, formerly Wasserman, as Casey Wasserman sells his ownership stake. Casey Wasserman confirmed on Tuesday that he had sold his stake in The Team (the talent agency that officially changed its name from Wasserman earlier this ye…

Boy George has released an AI-assisted pro-Israel song, leading to intense backlash not from the anti-AI camp, but from the anti-Israel camp. Boy George previously said, “I would never turn my back on my Jewish friends,” and the Culture Club frontman has illustrated that point we…

Spotify has a big AI music slop problem. Third-party tracking databases have stepped in to fill the void caused by the platform’s longtime inaction. It’s no secret that Spotify has a big AI music problem. Theirs is arguably worse than its rivals, because the platform hasn’t track…

A federal judge has flatly denied veteran music industry attorney Donald Passman’s request to opt out of Anthropic’s settlement with authors. Unfortunately, that seemingly means a modest once-off payment will enable the Claude developer to lawfully “train” on multiple editions of…

Afroman has filed a lawsuit against one of the Ohio sheriff’s deputies who raided his home in 2022 and sued him for defamation afterward. Afroman has filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit against one of the Ohio sheriff’s deputies who raided his property in 2022. The deputy also…

John Summit’s Experts Only Festival announces a second wave of performances and immersive experiences for the 2026 edition in September. With less than two months until New York City’s biggest dance music weekend, John Summit’s Experts Only Festival has unveiled its lineup, stage…

Following his initial class action’s dismissal, rapper RBX has fired off an amended complaint against Spotify over its alleged failure to prevent largescale streaming fraud on “the catalogs of its highest-volume, ‘A-list,’ most lucrative artists such as Drake.” RBX (real name Eri…

Hybe is liquidating artificial intelligence startup Supertone after a disastrous $32 million acquisition just a few short years ago. Hybe is liquidating Supertone, the artificial intelligence audio specialist it initially saw as a future growth engine. The South Korean entertainm…

Anaheim’s OCVibe reaches a major construction milestone for its concert hall and offers a first look inside ahead of its planned opening in March. OCVibe’s highly anticipated 5,000-capacity concert hall in Anaheim reached a major construction milestone this week with the first se…

Where do fans go when they don’t want to pay for premium audio? AM/FM radio, which, far from dying off, currently boasts a U.S. audience share in excess of 10 times larger than that attributable to Spotify’s ad-supported tier. This and other significant findings come from Edison’…

AI music has entered a new phase. Major record companies that initially focused on litigation are now building licensed creation platforms, artist opt-in frameworks, and attribution systems. At the same time, studios, streamers, advertisers, and game companies are examining AI-as…

After withholding her B-side tracks from streaming platforms, Charli XCX has released them on Apple Music—or as she still likes to call it, iTunes. Earlier this year, Charli XCX said she was deliberately withholding the B-sides from her latest album, Music, Fashion, Film, from st…

Ariana Grande is suing a group of anonymous hackers she says have targeted her inner circle, stealing unreleased music, private photos, and more. Ariana Grande has filed a lawsuit against at least two unidentified hackers who allegedly stole unreleased music, private photos and v…

The tiny Michigan village of Rothbury faces calls to suspend the Electric Forest after the body of a newborn baby was discovered on festival grounds. Officials in the village of Rothbury, Michigan, are facing pressure from hundreds of citizens around the state to suspend the Elec…

Roughly four months and 26.7 million shares later, Universal Music Group (UMG) has officially completed its €500 million (currently $568.5 million) stock buyback program. Having provided weekly repurchase updates from the outset, UMG confirmed hitting the €500 million mark and wr…

The stage adaptation of Prince’s musical film Purple Rain comes to Broadway in 2027, coinciding with the anniversary of the original film. Prince’s musical film Purple Rain hit theaters 42 years ago today, and with that milestone arrives news that the stage adaptation will come t…

Snap announces Now Playing on Snap Map, starting with Spotify integration, to enable Snapchatters to link their accounts and share listening activity. Today, Snap announced the launch of Now Playing on Snap Map, a way for Snapchat users to share what they’re listening to with the…

D4vd’s Apple Music account was seemingly hacked, posting a song titled “I DID IT,” about the murder of a teen for which he is currently facing charges. Singer D4vd remains locked up amid a preliminary hearing to determine whether his murder case should go to trial, but his Apple…

A comparatively little-discussed legal battle between Cumulus Media and Nielsen is now factoring into USA v. Live Nation, where the states have cited a new opinion amid an aggressive push for damages and Ticketmaster’s divestment. The remaining plaintiffs directed the appropriate…

A judge ruled that D4vd must stand trial for the killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, found dead in his car last year. On Monday, a judge ruled that there is sufficient evidence for singer D4vd to stand trial for the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas…

Too Lost has entered a new partnership with Roblox, opening a direct pipeline for independent music into one of the largest user-generated gaming ecosystems in the world. This move places artists like The All-American Rejects at the center of a growing shift towards more interact…

Less than two months after kicking off its labor agreement lawsuit against Universal Music and Warner Music, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has doubled down with an amended action. The AFM just recently submitted its first amended complaint, which arrives on the heels…

Kacey Musgraves cancels three dates on her upcoming tour, seemingly out of nowhere, including the show that would have served as the opening night. Kacey Musgraves was scheduled to kick off her upcoming Middle of Nowhere Tour on August 20 in Chicago, but that performance, as well…

Their 1990 hit “It Must Have Been Love” has billions of streams, but the financials just didn’t add up for Roxette. Now, their North American tour has been canceled by Live Nation amidst soaring costs. Swedish duo Roxette’s 1990 hit “It Must Have Been Love” just made the YouTube…

Nearly two years after announcing plans to develop a gen AI licensing framework, GEMA has launched PLAI, billed as today’s “first complete music dataset for simple AI training.” The Berlin-based society reached out to DMN with word of “PLAI by GEMA” as well as the “curated and in…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of July 24th, 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@digitalmusicn…

Patreon sent a “painful” memo to staff regarding the layoff of 20% of its workforce, or about 93 people, as the platform responds to market changes. Patreon CEO Jack Conte sent a memo to employees on Thursday announcing the layoff of 20% of its workforce, affecting 93 employees.…

TikTok celebrates the launch of Charli XCX’s new album with an exclusive in-app fan experience, signaling a shift away from streaming platforms. Charli XCX’s highly anticipated new album, Music, Fashion, Film, is getting the TikTok treatment with an exclusive in-app fan experienc…

Singer D4vd faces damning DNA evidence tying him to the remains of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez as his murder trial heats up. Singer D4vd, whose real name is David Burke, is facing charges and a trial for the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, allegedly to cove…

One mass-scalping revelation later, the StubHub regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. Now, the company is facing a congressional investigation centering on CEO Eric Baker’s alleged stake in and involvement with a fund dealing in resale tickets. Representative Robert Garcia, the Co…

Chris Brown pleaded guilty to brawling at a London nightclub in 2023, in which he hit a music producer on the head with a bottle. On Friday, Chris Brown pleaded guilty to brawling at a London nightclub in 2023, an altercation in which he hit a music producer on the head with a bo…