News Exclusive: Morrissey launches legal action against alleged online fraudster, as Web Sheriff investigation uncovers ‘decades-long defamation campaign’ MBW obtains letter from Morrissey's lawyers accusing alleged perpetrator of defamation and illegal conduct
Interviews BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld: ‘Our strategy is setting us up for growth.’ Boss of Bertelsmann's music company talks expansion, streaming prices, AI, and more
Analysis 5 million songs and $288m spent on catalogs: 8 Things We Learned from Universal Music Group’s 2024 Annual Report From the balance of catalog and frontline to granular financial details, MBW wades through a treasure trove of data
Analysis News BMG surpassed $1bn revenue in 2024 and spent $263m buying catalogs – as EBITDA surged to record $287m Revenue up 6.4% YoY, or 8.1% YoY on an organic basis, as catalog spending outstrips 2023
News Dua Lipa wins copyright lawsuit over hit song Levitating (with a little help from Ed Sheeran) Warner, Sony, and Universal were all co-defendants, as were Lipa's co-writers on the global smash
Analysis News UMG’s AI training injunction request shot down by judge in Anthropic lawsuit – but music publishers can now gather more evidence from platform Licensing deals between OpenAI and news publishers suggest damages could be measured if Universal wins, says judge
Analysis KATSEYE, concerts, and BTS’s comeback: What we learned from HYBE’s latest earnings call Revelations and predictions from Korean firm's all-important Q4 chat with fiscal analysts
Analysis The best argument why Spotify (and other music streaming platforms) need to increase their prices in 2025. Why the oft-ignored metric of ARPCH gives the music industry a fresh perspective – and fresh insights – on streaming's pricing model
Analysis News 11 quick (and important) takeaways from IFPI’s Global Music Report 2025 The IFPI Global Music Report 2025 reveals a music industry continuing to grow – while facing new challenges and opportunities
Analysis OpenAI is pushing for Donald Trump to weaken copyright protections in the US. Paul McCartney is fighting back. Letter signed by 400 creative types, including a Beatle, issued after startling submission to US government by OpenAI and Google
Analysis News US music trade revenue growth slumped last year… but don’t blame Spotify. Spotify confirms to MBW that its recorded music royalty payouts in the US last year grew by double-digits
Analysis News Blackstone launches Recognition Music Group… but could the Hipgnosis elephant live on? (Meanwhile, AI has thoughts on the rebrand.) Blackstone confirms it's deleting the Hipgnosis name as the brand for its music assets and operation
Analysis Robert Kyncl talks Spotify deal, Warner Music’s distribution strategy at Morgan Stanley event Warner Music Group CEO opens up on strategy, interviewed by Ben Swinburne
Analysis News Universal Music Group’s recorded music subscription streaming revenues topped $5bn in 2024, up 9.1% YoY There was less good news, however, from the world of ad-funded streaming.
News Who’s about to buy Suicideboys’ lucrative music publishing catalog ? Rumors abound after Billboard reports that duo's masters could sell for more than $300 million
