Digital Music News – studio recording, publishing, streaming, live concerts, talent development

The latest music news from Digital Music News, affecting recording industry, music publishing, mp3 streaming, concert industry, talent development, venture capital, and music technology, with reporting on artists new releases and where to get new mp3 songs.

1. Breaking: US District Court Judge Orders Immediate Trump Name Removal from Kennedy Center While Cancelling Renovations; Trump Immediately Fires Back

   A federal judge has ruled that adding Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center was a violation of federal law. The two-year renovation plan has been ruled against, too. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s name must be removed from the Kennedy Center within 14 days. The judge noted that adding his name to […]

2. Latest Music Industry Hires: Weverse, TuneCore, Too Lost, U2, Spirit Music, iHeartMedia, Pophouse, More

   Here’s a recap of recent music industry hires and in-house promotions as of May 29th, 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@digitalmusicnews.com. And, keep track of all the […]

3. Universal Music Board Unanimously Rejects Pershing Square Takeover Bid, Says ‘It Fundamentally and Materially Undervalues UMG’

   As expected, Universal Music Group’s board has formally rejected Pershing Square’s $64 billion takeover proposal after being urged to do so by Bolloré Group. We covered Bolloré Group’s clear-cut opposition to the bid earlier this week, when CEO Cyrille Bolloré criticized key elements (among them price and control particulars) of the offer during his own […]

4. Live Nation Settles With Beyond Wonderland Shooting Victims Ahead of Broader Trial

   Live Nation has settled a lawsuit with the families of two women shot and killed during the 2023 Beyond Wonderland festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre. Live Nation has reached an undisclosed settlement with the families of two women, Brandy Escamilla, 29, and Josilyn Ruiz, 26, who were shot and killed during the 2023 Beyond Wonderland […]

5. Music Business Manager Fights to Stay Out of Prison After Allegedly Stealing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Juice WRLD and Others

   Sean Welch, a music business manager accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients including Juice WRLD, is battling to stay out of federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Though the Industry Management Group founder Welch only entered that guilty plea in December 2025, the case itself has been flying under […]

6. Too Lost Taps Jay Moore to Drive Artist Financing and Catalog Acquisitions

   Too Lost has appointed Jay Moore as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), signaling a deeper push into catalog investment and artist financing within the independent music sector. This article was created in collaboration with DMN partner Too Lost. The Los Angeles-based company, known for its distribution and technology platform for independent artists and labels, confirmed that […]

7. Music Biz 2026: Inside the Future of Music Rights, Sync Licensing, and AI Innovation

    Digital Music News and Open On Sunday returned to Atlanta for Music Biz 2026 at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel. Industry leaders, executives, artists, and tech innovators gathered to focus on sync licensing and celebrate this central theme. While industry figures exchanged ideas on many subjects, sync licensing dominated networking and discussions. Among the voices […]

8. Filing Frivolity Against Nelly? Judge Saddles Attorney Suing ‘Country Grammar’ Rapper With a Heavy Fine

   Ouch. The attorney who sued Nelly for allegedly excluding his former bandmates from credits for his wildly successful debut solo album Country Grammar has been ordered to pay the rapper’s legal fees. Precious Felder Gates—the attorney for former St. Lunatics member Ali Jones, who launched litigation against Nelly—has been ordered to pay $67,586 to reimburse […]

9. The ‘Cox Effect’ Continues: Anthropic Brushes Off Vicarious Infringement Claims In Music Publishers’ High-Stakes Copyright Suit

   The “Cox effect” continues to ripple across the music industry litigation landscape. In the latest development, Anthropic has shrugged off vicarious liability in the newer copyright infringement suit it’s facing from major music publishers including Concord. Judge Eumi K. Lee just recently signed a related order, thereby approving the publisher plaintiffs’ voluntary dismissal of a […]

10. Last.fm is Still Scrobbling More Than Twenty Years Later (Seriously) — But It’s No Longer Part of Paramount Skydance

    Last.fm is independent again, nearly 20 years after it was acquired by CBS. And it’s still keeping track of your scrobbles across streaming platforms. Remember Last.fm? It started out as an internet radio station in 2002, but became better known as a music tracking service that lets you keep tabs on what you listen to […]

11. 15-Year Prison Sentence Handed Down In Taylor Swift Vienna Concert Attack Plot; Perpetrator Was Part of a Broader Global Terrorist Network

    An Austrian court convicted a man who planned to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna two years ago, sentencing him to 15 years in prison. The trial and ongoing investigation have revealed the involvement of a far broader and involved terrorist network. Nearly two years after authorities foiled a plot to target people outside […]

12. LyricFind Says Musixmatch Cheated Its Way to Victory. But Is That What Really Happened?

    LyricFind has filed yet another amended antitrust complaint against Musixmatch and its parent company TPG, alleging an underhanded scheme involving Warner Chappell Music. But did Lyricfind get cheated out of plum deals, or simply get outmaneuvered? LyricFind has now filed its second amended U.S. antitrust complaint against Musixmatch and its parent TPG Global, alleging that […]

13. The Definitive K-Pop Rankings? Melon, Tencent Music, and Line Music Tee Up ‘Global-K Chart’ to Account for Streaming, Downloads, and Other ‘Fan Activity’ Alike

    Have Melon, Tencent Music, and Line Music developed the definitive ranking authority for K-pop artists? We’re about to find out, as the companies are preparing to release a “Global-K Chart” that they’re billing as “the global K-pop standard.” Kakao Entertainment’s Melon DSP, the Tencent-owned streaming company, and Japan’s Line Music shed light on their ambitious […]

14. Is ‘Blue Dot Fever’ Coming for Mid-Tier Festivals? One Analyst Issues a Dire Forecast as Concertgoers Pull Back

    Mid-tier festivals might be next to suffer from “blue dot fever,” according to analyst Annick Maas. The growing malady of “blue dot fever,” the phenomenon of seats going largely unsold at live events — as represented by endless blue dots on Ticketmaster’s site — isn’t getting better anytime soon. Partially, it’s the ticketing industry, and […]

15. Judge Considers Injunction Against Taylor Swift’s ‘Life of a Showgirl’ Branding as Trademark Battle Intensifies

    A judge weighs an injunction against Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl branding in light of her trademark’s prior suspension due to actual showgirl Maren Wade’s own trademark. If you thought former Vegas showgirl Maren Wade (legal name Maren Flagg) was trying to ride Taylor Swift’s coattails over the latter’s Life of a Showgirl branding, […]