Following a nearly year-long review, the Belgian government has approved Live Nation’s deal for Pukkelpop – albeit while requiring the promoter to preserve “the festival’s independence for at least ten years.” The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA), having kicked off an investig…

Spotify finally lets parents exclude their kids’ music from recommendations, end-of-year Wrapped, and other personalized playlists. Tired of fighting off “Baby Shark” from your personal Spotify recommendations? Now, Spotify is finally letting parents toggle off their kids’ listen…

Ed Sheeran speaks out on the decision to remove Macklemore from the remainder of the singer’s US tour following his Palestine remarks during two sets. Ed Sheeran has finally broken his silence regarding the decision to remove Macklemore as the opening act from the remaining dates…

Four supporting acts have announced their withdrawal from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he spoke out regarding venue owners’ push to remove Macklemore from the remaining US dates. Since Ed Sheeran released a statement regarding Macklemore’s removal from the remainder of his U.S. tour d…

The European Union is set to propose a strict ban on social media, video sharing platforms, AI chatbots, and online games for kids under 15. The European Union will propose a ban restricting kids under 15 from accessing social media, video sharing platforms such as YouTube, AI ch…

The inaugural Ocean Way Festival in Santa Monica has been canceled due to erosion of the beach caused by Hurricane Marie. Coachella organizer Goldenvoice has announced the cancelation of Santa Monica’s Ocean Way Festival due to erosion of the beach caused by Hurricane Marie. The…

Today in high-profile industry litigation: A firmly worded complaint filed by Universal Music Group (UMG) against DistroKid, which the major label says “is engaged in both deceptive trade practices and blatant copyright infringement.” UMG submitted the 52-page action to a Delawar…

Self-described “music (software) label” A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, founded by former Spotify head of innovation Máuhan Zonoozy, has scored a $5.5 million pre-seed raise. That multimillion-dollar round came to light in a brief TechCrunch piece, and Zonoozy subsequently took to Linked…

Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft confirms Macklemore’s claim that the billionaire urged Ed Sheeran’s team to oust the rapper from the tour. Macklemore claimed that Patriots owner Robert Kraft pushed for the rapper’s removal from the remainder of Ed Sheeran’s North American tou…

Oasis’ Liam and Noel Gallagher have announced a slew of 2027 dates in the US and Europe after the duo’s historic return to the stage last year. If you couldn’t secure tickets to the highly anticipated Oasis reunion tour last year, you don’t have to look back in anger. Liam and No…

The Kennedy Center’s board will vote on whether to close for renovations amid a court battle over their renewed attempts to add Trump’s name to the facility. On Tuesday, the Kennedy Center’s Trump-appointed board is due to vote on whether to immediately close the facility’s main…

ElevenLabs has officially launched ElevenMusic v2.5 – but not with its newest partner, Universal Music Group (UMG), which is collaborating on the development of a different product. ElevenLabs rolled out v2.5 on Friday, emphasizing in the corresponding announcement that the model…

BTS label BigHit Music launches a 2026 global audition for aspiring male K-pop artists born in 2008 or later to form the next big boy band sensation. Hybe subsidiary and BTS label BigHit Music has announced the launch of a global audition for aspiring male K-pop artists looking t…

Australian Grand Prix organizers failed to overturn a music promoter’s payout ruling over the cancellation of a Robbie Williams concert during COVID. A panel of three Court of Appeal justices backed the 2024 Victorian Supreme Court ruling that promoter World Touring Melbourne sho…

Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour following his controversial “free Palestine” performance during his opening set on September 4th. Earlier this month, Macklemore made headlines for his controversial “free Palestine” speech during his opening set for Ed Sheeran’s…

Charli XCX responds to fan disappointment over her short European schedule for her new tour, revealing the toll that touring takes on her. Some artists thrive off the intensity of the touring lifestyle, but others not so much. Charli XCX reveals she’s one of the latter in an Inst…

Samsung is firing back against Dua Lipa’s $15 million copyright and trademark infringement suit, which the South Korean conglomerate believes should be dismissed in its entirety. Seoul-headquartered Samsung just recently made its dismissal motion official, after the straightforwa…

With an eye on making fake plays an issue of the past, the majors, Merlin, CD Baby, Too Lost, Hybe, and several others have joined the “Streaming Integrity Initiative,” which is designed to “prevent fraudulent content from reaching streaming platforms” in the first place. The Int…

Despite heroic efforts, California legislators recently failed to follow Maine, Vermont, and Washington, DC, in passing a 10% resale price cap. But it’s not just California: ambitious price-cap bills simply haven’t succeeded in bigger markets, while a very different legislative t…

Viral musician bbno$ joins Subway Surfers as a playable character in the World Tour Buenos Aires update this week. Endless runner-genre mobile game Subway Surfers has announced that viral musician bbno$ will be added as a playable character in the game when the World Tour Buenos…

Celine Dion makes her triumphant return to the stage as she kicks off her Paris residency, following years of battling Stiff Person Syndrome. Celine Dion made her much-anticipated return to the stage to kick off her Paris residency, following years away from touring and active pe…

Busta Rhymes says it’s still difficult for artists and producers alike to make money in streaming, outside of the world’s biggest acts. Hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes believes that fairness in royalties in the age of streaming is something we’ve still yet to achieve, and producers a…

Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of September 11th, 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…

Thanks in part to double-digit growth across at least 10 member countries – and an overall revenue gain exceeding that delivered by China – the European Union generated nearly $7 billion from recorded music during 2025. These and other interesting stats come from the IFPI’s newly…

Dolly Parton will be memorialized in her hometown, as Nashville Airport has unanimously voted to change its name to include the music and philanthropy icon. Since Dolly Parton’s passing late last month at age 80, a petition to change the name of Nashville’s airport quickly made t…

Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold reveals that 30% of Live Nation’s biggest tours are in languages other than English. Joe Berchtold, Live Nation’s CFO, broke down some eye-popping global statistics for investors this week. Among those, over 60% of the top 75 markets outside the U.S.…

Independent Artist Group has signed electronic music icon deadmau5 for worldwide representation in all areas. Independent Artist Group (IAG) has signed global electronic music icon deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) for worldwide representation in all areas. The agency is focused on expan…

Billy Idol and longtime guitarist Steve Stevens will be featured in ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the 2026 US Open Tennis Championships. It’s a big year for Billy Idol. The rock icon, along with his longtime collaborator and guitarist Steve Stevens, will be featured in ESPN’s excl…

Looks like Spotify is serious about catching up in video: After exclusively adding Noah Kahan’s “Orbiter” music video, the platform is set to host new episodes of Genius’ Open Mic and Verified shows. The DSP and the self-described “leading destination for song lyrics and music kn…

Ticketmaster is the first music partner for Meta’s new Muse AI, allowing users to connect their account to their personal version of the agent. Meta launched its new Muse AI agent this week, and the company listed use cases for its robust new AI project, including sending emails,…

T-Pain is once again suing Akon’s Konvict Entertainment, this time for allegedly failing to cough up nearly $500,000 in due royalties. Tallahasse-born T-Pain (real name Faheem Najm) just recently submitted the in-depth complaint to the Fulton County Superior Court, naming Konvict…

The weather is one of the things I remember most. It was perfect. That feels almost inappropriate to say 25 years later, but the day was gorgeous. September in New York can give you a few days when the humidity disappears and the whole city seems to come into focus. September 11,…

Tickets to Louisville’s October 24 show featuring Ludacris, T.I., Rick Ross, and BigXThaPlug remain largely unsold in a severe case of Blue Dot Fever. Ludacris, T.I., Rick Ross, and BigXThaPlug are playing at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 24…

Primary Wave Music announces a partnership with singer-songwriter and producer Daniel Jones, best known for his work as one half of Savage Garden. Independent music publishing leader Primary Wave Music has announced a partnership with award-winning singer-songwriter and producer…

Apple adds Shazam to its controversial new Audio Intelligence feature on Apple Watch, enabling music detection that rivals Google Pixel’s Now Playing. Apple is finally rolling out a feature that Google Pixel users have already been enjoying for years: instant song detection. But…

On the heels of his Great Divide Tour’s North American leg – and moments after being tapped to kick off Amazon Music Live’s fifth season – Noah Kahan has dropped his “Orbiter” music video exclusively via Spotify. Spotify took to social media to tout the timed exclusive, which arr…

Ayra Starr collaborates with Instagram to introduce a long-awaited new feature: the ability to add tagged posts to your main grid. Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr is partnering with Instagram to be the first to use a long-awaited new feature. Starting today, users can now a…

Candy Crush (and Universal Music Group) unites Shania Twain and Zedd for a reimagining of “You’re Still the One” for Candy Crush’s Music Season 2026. Casual mobile game Candy Crush is bringing singer-songwriter Shania Twain and DJ-producer Zedd to reimagine an almost 30-year-old…

A former TMZ staffer claims that founder Harvey Levin ordered staff to remove extreme and lengthy antisemitic comments from a Kanye interview, years before the revelation of the rapper’s extreme views. TMZ founder Harvey Levin once chose to omit Kanye West’s effusive praise of Hi…

Louder Than Life announces a partnership with Spotify for the 2026 edition of the festival, featuring My Chemical Romance, Iron Maiden, Tool, and more. Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) and Spotify have announced a new partnership for Louder Than Life 2026, this year’s edition of Ameri…

Another day, another high-profile AI licensing deal: Universal Music Group (UMG) and ElevenLabs are now collaborating to develop a “platform built on licensed music and artist participation.” The major label and the well-funded AI developer, which has been aggressively expanding…

Tickets to Glastonbury’s 2027 edition will cost a record high of more than £408 a piece amid a widespread pattern of price hikes to major music events. This year has been a fallow one for Glastonbury, but organizers of the UK’s biggest festival have now confirmed that ticket pric…

The fifth season of Amazon Music Live kicks off with Noah Kahan on September 24, followed by Don Toliver, Lainey Wilson, and Doja Cat. Amazon Music has announced the return of Amazon Music Live, the concert series airing after Thursday Night Football exclusively on Amazon Music,…

Eight months later, a federal judge has dismissed Wixen’s copyright and defamation lawsuit against Meta for failing “to adequately allege standing under the Copyright Act.” But with an amended complaint now on the way, the ugly legal battle is far from over. Judge John F. Walter…

Meta’s new Muse AI has taken the Instagram handle @Muse from longtime British rock band Muse, which now uses @MuseBand on the social media platform. Meta has launched its new AI assistant, Muse, and it’s already created some branding controversy after fans of the British rock ban…

The National Independent Venue Association has filed formal comments with the Department of Justice, urging the court to reject the proposed Live Nation settlement. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has filed formal comments with the U.S. Department of Justice reg…

For media productions, cue sheets may seem like routine paperwork, but they sit at a critical point in the royalty chain. When they are complete, accurate, and delivered on time, they give publishers, composers, songwriters, and other rights holders a clear record of how music wa…

Sports betting app Novig got Sydney Sweeney to strip down for a new ad featuring Anderson .Paak’s indie hit “Come Down.” “Euphoria” star Sydney Sweeney shows some skin in a sultry but playful new ad for Novig, the latest gambling app that focuses entirely on sports. The ad featur…

One month, 16.6 million shares, and north of $290 million later, Universal Music Group’s latest stock repurchase program is officially a wrap. Long in the habit of providing weekly updates on its stock buyback progress, UMG confirmed the €250 million (currently $291 million) prog…

After a historic debut in India in 2025, Rolling Loud returns to Mumbai for a second year on December 12 and 13. Rolling Loud, the “World’s Largest Hip-Hop Festival,” is coming back to India this December after a successful debut in the country in 2025. Produced in partnership wi…

Hydro Flask and Universal Music Group announce their second collaborative artist-driven drop with a limited edition Role Model collection. Hydro Flask, a leader in high-performance insulated products, has unveiled the latest drop in its partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG…

ESPN and Apple Music are collaborating on Monday Night Football’s music curation for the 2026-27 season, leading up to ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl. Continuing the momentum of ESPN’s “Year of the Super Bowl” efforts that began the moment the clock struck zero after Super Bowl LX,…

Moments after announcing a Believe partnership deal, Suno is now rolling out its Warner Music- and BMG-backed v6 models – with an eye on expanding into “opt-in experiences built around individual artists.” The sudden shift marks a big departure from earlier, non-licensed content…

A month and change after announcing a sweeping policy overhaul, Suno has scored another high-profile licensing deal – this time with Believe as well as its TuneCore subsidiary. Paris-headquartered Believe reached out with word of the pact today, emphasizing that the tie-up extend…

AI is very good at creating—or regurgitating—perfectly average, unoriginal music in extreme quantities. That is a big, big problem for human musicians who are also creating perfectly average, unoriginal music, regardless of how much of it they make. On the latest episode of my Ar…

As the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) weighs implementing a new steering requirement for the App Store and the Play Store, the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) is urging a related fee freeze pending the final regulation’s rollout. Sky News pointed to the CAF’s zero-…

The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez is suing D4vd over her death ahead of his highly publicized murder trial. They also issued a statement asking for the singer to face the death penalty if he is convicted. The family of Celeste Rivas Hernandez has filed a lawsuit against singe…

Cage the Elephant will headline the halftime show at the 2026 NFL Munich Game on November 15 as part of a record seven halftime shows internationally. The National Football League (NFL) has announced that Cage the Elephant will headline the halftime show during the 2026 NFL Munic…

level by launching a new music festival, RNB X Live, coming to Dallas on November 1. Spotify and Live Nation have announced RNB X Live, a new one-day music festival coming to Dallas, Texas, on November 1. Taking over The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, the inaugural event will…

Hybe’s Weverse has acknowledged suffering a “personal data leak” affecting north of 420,000 accounts’ purchase details and more. The superfan app’s president, Zooil Yang, just recently disclosed the breach and outlined the compromised information in a general notice. Per this doc…