Music Industry
Drake Makes History on Billboard 200
Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour just made history
Drake Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 With ‘Janice STFU,’ Charts Single-Week Record 42 Songs
Plus, Drake passes Michael Jackson for the most No. 1s among solo males and ups his record count to 90 top 10s.
UK competition regulator should urgently investigate live music sector, MPs say, citing “climate of fear” around Live Nation’s dominance
MPs are concerned that Live Nation’s dominance is harming competition in the UK live sector and have called on the Competition & Markets Authority to launch an investigation before the end of the year. It follows the recent jury ruling in the US which said Live Nation operates an unlawful monopoly
Drake Makes History on Billboard 200
Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour just made history
Damages in major label lawsuit against Suno could top $9 billion after Sony and Universal add another 61,026 tracks
While there have been some legal settlements, both Suno and Udio are still fighting major label lawsuits. The majors now want to significantly expand the official list of recordings the AI companies have copied without licence, so that potential damages in the two cases go from millions to billions
CMAT had no intention of enlisting “angel” Jamie Oliver for music video: “My label said, ‘We have him’ and I was like ‘Fuck’”
The Irish star recently won her first ever award in the UK, and revealed to NME that she “just assumed I was losing to Lily Allen”
Sony Music moves to add more than 30,000 copyrighted recordings to its lawsuit against Udio
Sony Music now alleges that Udio "copied and ingested" 30,442 copyrighted works into its generative AI models. Source
Un:hurd Music launches its own ‘tech-enabled marketing agency’
Startup Un:hurd Music has been building its business of marketing-tools for artists, with more than 200,000 signed up. Now it’s launching a new venture for managers and labels called Contxt. It’s described as “a tech-enabled marketing agency” focusing on “teams who want a partner to do the heavy lif
TikTok’s new UMG deal cracks down on unauthorised GenAI music
It’s just over two years since Universal Music Group and TikTok renewed their licensing deal after a damaging (and public) fall-out over terms, as well as UMG’s claim that TikTok was “flooded with AI-generated recordings”. That appears to have been a two-year agreement, because late last week the tw
Ozzy Osbourne avatar is ‘not gonna be f***ing lame’ says son
Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne died last July, and plans for his legacy are firmly underway – including the announcement last week that he’s the latest musician being turned into a posthumous avatar. Son Jack Osbourne revealed at the Licensing Expo conference that his family are working with metaverse fi
The Black Label, the studio behind the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, just raised $80M with investment from Tencent Music
Bloomberg reports that the deal values The Black Label at 1 trillion won (approximately $660M) Source
Transmissions NYC: AFEM and Resident Advisor present a half-day summit at Elsewhere
AFEM and Resident Advisor present Transmissions NYC: Plugging In To The Electronic Music Sector, a free half-day summit at Elsewhere Brooklyn on 18 June, programmed as part of New York Music Month. Three panels and a closing mixer take on the questions facing the sector now: how independent labels h
Live Nation files to reverse US monopoly verdict but faces UK pressure
Live Nation has made its latest move to overturn the recent verdict that it is an illegal monopoly in the US. However, it could soon be facing another policy headache across the Atlantic due to calls for a new competition investigation in the UK. In the US, the company has filed two motions with Man
Kakao’s Melon, Tencent Music, and Line Music to launch unified K-pop chart that pools streaming data from South Korea, China, and Japan
Melon will upload congratulatory video messages from artists including NCT Taeyong, Le Sserafim, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, and AND2BLE ahead of the launch. Source
Techno Growth Patterns: KUKO Leads Emerging Artist Engagement Surge
KUKO’s 16% growth in Spotify followers signals a significant artist surge in the techno genre, highlighting a shift toward broader audience engagement and market visibility.
The Ozcillex Label: Monitoring the 18% Growth Spike for Adrien
Recent data highlights a notable 18% spike in engagement for French artist adrien, signaling a potential shift in specific electronic sub-sectors under the Ozcillex label.
Philipp Jung, Co-Founder of Get Physical and M.A.N.D.Y., Has Died
The German house DJ, producer, and label boss helped conduct transitions in electronic music as house spilled into adjacent scenes in the 2000s
AFEM Announces Plans for IMS Ibiza 2026
We’re looking forward to returning to International Music Summit Ibiza this April, with a programme that reflects the conversations shaping our sector right now.
Owen Kiernan on Cutting Through Digital Noise for Artists
The next instalment of our Members Voices series is live. Owen Kiernan, Head of Digital at Cr2 Records, on how artists and labels can cut through the noise of more than 120,000 tracks added to DSPs ev
AFEM Roundtable on Tinnitus and Hearing Health
On Tuesday 5 May, AFEM hosts a public roundtable on tinnitus and hearing health for the electronic music industry. Two guests bring direct, lived and professional experience to a candid, practical con