From Warner’s EMP sell-off to Universal Music’s Briegmann promotion… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-Up
The biggest headlines from the past few days... Source
Music News Stream
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Bill Withers’ publisher sues UMG, Sony, and Kobalt, claiming Olivia Dean’s ‘I’ve Seen It’ copies ‘Just the Two of Us’
The plaintiff says its representatives came to what they considered to be the "obvious and inescapable conclusion" that Dean's song copied the Withers track. Source
‘I would rather have 1% of a hit record than 100% of a record that wasn’t.’
Tyler Brown, founder of London-based Funfair, on hits, loyalty, and why songwriters should be taking a share of master income Source
Suno is ‘far beyond’ 2m subscribers and $300m in revenue, says Mikey Shulman – who argues it’s ‘good’ that AI music has no ‘firm rules of the road’ yet
Shulman also set out what WMG and BMG get from their deals, and who should be setting AI's rules. Source
An $8M streaming fraud, two plays a day. Here’s the pro-rata math behind the bot scheme – and the rule change that would have killed it.
Ahead of Tuesday's sentencing in the first US criminal streaming fraud case, MBW breaks down the pro-rata arithmetic behind Michael Smith's bot scheme. Source
Yusim Aladro promoted to General Manager at Warner Music Mexico
She reports to Tomas Rodríguez, President of Warner Music Mexico and Música Mexicana. Source
The Intimacy Economy: Why Music Stars Are Going Small
Charli XCX called it “anti-marketing.” MBW columnist Diana Umana argues it’s a structural shift that the biggest artists have already caught on to… Source
TikTok report claims it helped generate $81bn in US GDP in 2025
Reports about how brilliant you are for the economy have long been a standard part of the lobbying process. YouTube does it, music industry bodies do it… and TikTok isn’t shirking the tactic either. The post is from Music Ally.
YouTube Shorts algorithm will now ‘prioritise original content’
The ‘our algorithm is now recommending less unoriginal slop’ seems to have become a rite of passage for every big social or video platform. Even if boasting about this begs the question of why they didn’t adopt that policy earlier. The post is from Music Ally.
Billionaires can buy The Empty Pockets’ new album for $285k
Who would pay $285,000 for a CD album? Billionaires, that’s who! Well, that’s the hope for Chicago band The Empty Pockets, with a special edition of their new album ‘Dear Billionaires’. The post is from Music Ally.
Christmas music is already getting 36.2m daily Spotify streams
A Santa-hat tip this morning to music-streamers in the Philippines, who are famously early to popping on their holiday playlists. 2026 is no exception. The post is from Music Ally.
Grammy Awards to press on with controversial ‘Asian Pop’ category
The Recording Academy has been fighting a fire in recent weeks after BTS declined to submit their latest music to the Grammy Awards in protest at the event’s new ‘Asian Pop’ category. The post is from Music Ally.
Canadian report breaks down the climate risks for live music
The latest research into the climate emergency’s impact on live music comes from the Canadian Live Music Association with its ‘Sound Check: Climate Risk and Resilience in Canada’s Live Music Sector’ report. The post is from Music Ally.
Live Nation backs new firm Creator Nation’s plans for a roll-up
Live Nation’s latest corporate move isn’t about music: it’s about the creatorsphere. The company has announced a new firm called Creator Nation, for which it is a “capital partner and strategic backer”. The post is from Music Ally.
Strategy Spotlight: Sandbox Guide – The smartest campaigns (so far!) in 2026
If you’re a regular Music Ally reader, you know that it’s the time of the year where many music marketing teams around the world submit their proudest work of the year to us for our annual Music Ally Best’s Marketing Campaigns of the Year report (the deadline is on October 5, 2026!).…
Instagram adds in-app boosting for artist livestreams
Instagram has rolled out a new option this week that lets artist teams boost Instagram Live broadcasts directly from the app. It joins the existing boost options for posts, Stories and Reels. The post is from Music Ally.
What’s new in TikTok’s Taylor Swift in-app experience
TikTok frequently partners with artists on in-app experiences, helping to promote albums across its platform. It’s no surprise that they are giving Taylor Swift’s newly released The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore such a treatment, but we’re much more interested in what the campaign does differently. The post is from Music Ally.
Meta launches Forum, a dedicated app for Facebook groups
Meta has officially launched Forum, a standalone home for Facebook Groups that it has been testing since May. Rather than digging through the main Facebook app, users get every group they belong to in a single feed, plus a way to find new communities that match their interests. The post is from Music Ally.
Suno is ‘far beyond’ 2m subscribers and $300m of annual revenue
It’s been a little while since AI-music firm Suno announced its user and revenue stats. We’re not getting new figures just yet, but CEO Mikey Shulman provided an update of sorts in an interview with Bloomberg. The post is from Music Ally.
Less than three months after exiting Kobalt, Willard Ahdritz officially launches Ahdritz Capital Partners
Ex-Lazard banker Stephen Langer and former SSE Ventures CEO Isabel Keulen join the Kobalt founder's new firm. Source