Music Industry
Michael Smith pleads guilty in $10m streaming-fraud case
It’s now 18 months since US music producer Michael Smith was arrested and charged with multiple felonies relating to a streaming-fraud scheme. He was accused of uploading hundreds of thousands of tracks to DSPs and using bots to inflate their streams to the tune of more than $10m in royalties. Now,
R-TRYBE is nurturing the next generation of house music stars
R-TRYBE’s RETREAT 001 is the first release connected to the R-TRYBE Retreats, a Various Artists compilation that sets the tone for the wider project. R-TRYBE operates as both a label and creative platform founded by Huxley, Ramin Rezaie and BAKKIS. Built around a music-first philosophy, the project
BTS’ ARIRANG Is a Reunion Album That Knows It Can’t Go Back: Review
ARIRANG illuminates some of the more striking ways that BTS are unusual in the world of music. BTS’ ARIRANG Is a Reunion Album That Knows It Can’t Go Back: Review Wren Graves
AFEM and Downtown Announce Women in Electronic Music Initiative
The first of a two part installment by Connie Chow from Fuga.
AI Copyright Protection Stays Intact in Music Industry
Consultation found only 3% supported government plans
BTS’s ‘Arirang’ Album Reviewed
From full-throttle anthems to post-military introspection, BTS's long-awaited reunion album is an odyssey in sequence.
Music communities: ‘Audiences become the key driver in discovery’
Big figures and views on AI were the initial headlines from yesterday’s launch of the IFPI’s ‘Global Music Report’. The post is from Music Ally.
How Breathe. doubled their monthly listeners on Spotify
Music Ally chatted to Group Speed, the agency who worked with Australian electronic duo Breathe. on their debut album rollout. By treating five-year-old catalogue tracks as growth levers and repositioning the duo within Spotify’s algorithm, they doubled their monthly listeners to 1 million. Here ar
BTS’s ‘Arirang’: All 14 Tracks Ranked
From full-throttle anthems to post-military introspection, BTS's long-awaited reunion album is an odyssey in sequence.
AI-music roundup: ElevenLabs Marketplace, Flowtonik, Reply contest
There’s a cluster of stories today around the topic of… we’ll call it AI music-making. People who are using GenAI models to make music at a more serious level, with the ambition of earning an income – a non-fraudulent one! – from their work. We’ll start with ElevenLabs, which launched its Eleven Mus
As recorded music revenues hit $31.7B globally, IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley explains the opportunities – and the threats – ahead
The global music industry just crossed a symbolic threshold. Worldwide recorded music revenues reached USD $31.7 billion in 2025, surpassing $30 billion for the first time and marking the industry’s eleventh consecutive year of growth. That figure, revealed within the IFPI’s Global Music Report 2026
Watch Interpol trade vocals as they debut propulsive new song ‘See Out Loud’
The NYC indie giants previously told NME to expect an "upbeat" and "high energy" new album
Member Feature: Unison
In this Member Feature, we speak with David Serras Pereira, Licensing and International Manager at Unison about how they've built an independent, multi-territorial publishing rights management platform designed for the realities of a digital-first music landscape. The post Member Feature: Unison app
Artist Guidance for UGC Platforms by AFEM x Downtown
Matt Whitmire (VP of Business Development, FUGA) distills five key lessons of his Platforms & Performance series, outlining how artists and teams can protect rights, build visibility, and grow sustain
Beatskip Music Group Featured by AFEM
In this edition, we’re featuring Beatskip Music Group, founded by Linus Christiansson, a multi-imprint platform built on strong identity and hands-on execution across label concepts, branding, visual
AFEM Addresses Sexual Harassment in Electronic Music
We call for clear accountability, active support, and safer structures so that our culture lives up to the values our music represents.
AFEM Hosts LinkedIn Live on BELEM Lyric Translation
Join us on Monday 2 March for a LinkedIn live session on BELEM Lyric Translation presented by AFEM.
LinkedIn Live to Explore Electronic Music Industry and Net Zero Goals
The language of sustainability is now firmly embedded in conversations across the music industry, but what do these terms actually mean in practice?
AFEM and Downtown Share Artist Guidance for UGC Platforms
Matt Whitmire (VP of Business Development, FUGA) distills five key lessons of his Platforms & Performance series, outlining how artists and teams can protect rights, build visibility, and grow sustain
Member Feature: Beatskip Music Group Spotlighted by AFEM
In this edition, we’re featuring Beatskip Music Group, founded by Linus Christiansson, a multi-imprint platform built on strong identity and hands-on execution across label concepts, branding, visual