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. Suno Tops Two Million Subs and $300 Million in Annual Recurring Revenue, CEO Says — As a New ‘Rolling Cipher’ Decision Takes Center Stage in Multiple Copyright Suits

   Revenue, subscribers, and high-stakes lawsuits alike are piling up for Suno, which is said to be generating north of $300 million annually from over two million paid users. Suno co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman just recently took to LinkedIn to disclose the figures. At the top level, it probably doesn’t need saying that both are […]

2. Primary Wave Reportedly Edging Closer to Acquiring Kobalt

   Primary Wave is reportedly nearing ever closer to putting in an offer to acquire independent music publisher Kobalt Music Group. Primary Wave is inching closer to putting together a deal to acquire independent music publishing admin company Kobalt Music Group, according to Billboard. The acquisition would create a massive independent music company with over $7 […]

3. Reservoir Stock Surges Amid $1.2 Billion Unsolicited Mega-Bid — Developing

   As soon as Irenic Capital Management made an unsolicited monster $1.2 billion bid for Reservoir Media, the publisher’s stock surged by nearly 20%. Rumors swirled for over a week that activist hedge fund Irenic Capital Management was eyeing Reservoir Media, an independent music publisher with a storied catalog featuring the likes of Joni Mitchell and […]

4. Chris Brown’s Legal Rampage Against ‘History of Violence’ Documentary Continues With Yet Another Defamation Claim

   Chris Brown’s claims against documentary producers were dismissed, but the same judge has allowed his claims against an interview subject to continue. Despite Chris Brown’s defamation claims against the producers of the documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence getting tossed, the same judge has declined to throw out his defamation claims against a woman […]

5. Romanian Court Upholds Wiz Khalifa’s Nine-Month Prison Sentence on Drug Charges

   A Romanian appellate court has upheld the nine-month prison sentence handed down to US rapper Wiz Khalifa for cannabis possession in the country. The appeals court has rejected the rapper’s bid to have the conviction tossed out. The Constanța Court of Appeal deemed the rapper’s request to annul the December ruling inadmissible. The court also […]

6. Did Mick Jagger ‘Give His Blessing to ‘Melania’?’ — Controversy Erupts Over Rolling Stones Inclusion in Documentary

   Melania producer Marc Beckman says his team received Mick Jagger’s blessing to use the Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter” in the film. But other sources close to Jagger say the claim is spurious at best. “We worked very close with them on that,” Beckman said. “And that wasn’t a political thing. With the Stones, they […]

7. Great Day for Music Stocks: Spotify Jumps on Arete Research Upgrade, Warner Music Climbs 4%, and Reservoir Rises 18% Amid Reported Irenic Capital Takeover Attempt

   It turns out all Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT) needed to rebound was a positive assessment from Arete Research: Shares spiked by 7% today, to almost $500 a pop, after the firm upgraded to buy and settled on a $586 target. Meanwhile, Reservoir Media (NASDAQ: RSVR) stock jumped by closer to 20% amid a reported activist […]

8. EVEN Calls a Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit ‘Baseless’ — And They Have the Smoking-Gun Text Message to Prove It

   Superfan platform EVEN pushes back against a music exec’s allegations of workplace discrimination in the two parties’ ongoing litigation. But does a single ‘smoking gun’ text message prove their case. Direct-to-consumer superfan platform EVEN is facing a lawsuit from former executive Damien “DDot” Washington, while the two parties are also co-defendants in a separate lawsuit...

9. GoldState Music Scores ‘Significant Investment’ Under Bridgepoint Partnership, Eyes Potential Deals Spanning ‘The Broader Music Ecosystem’

   GoldState Music and Bridgepoint have finalized a funding partnership that will pursue investments in “profitable” businesses operating “across the music value chain.” Four-year-old GoldState reached out with word of its latest tie-up today, less than one year after unveiling a $500 million strategic-capital raise from Northleaf and Ares. On the other end of the newer...

10. Qobuz Is Qracking Down on AI Slop: New Detection System and Protections Start Immediately

    Music streaming service Qobuz is now taking concrete steps to protect artists and listeners from AI-generated content with a proprietary detection system. Qobuz, the independently owned music streaming and download platform, has announced a proprietary AI detection system that it says will identify and tag AI-created tracks across both new releases and its existing catalog. […]

11. Who Has the Biggest Piece of the P.R.O. Pie? BMI Appeals Court Ruling Exposes Some Eye-Popping Market Share Stats

    As BMI appeals the appellate court’s decision to overturn its significant live event rate hike, some interesting market share stats are revealed. Yesterday, Digital Music News first broke the news that an appeals court overturned BMI’s major rate hike for live events, which was forcing promoters to pay more than double their previous rate. That […]

12. TikTok Keeps Pushing Into Long-Form Music — Who Wants to Be the Next ‘TikTok Live Music Campaign Manager’?

    Amid TikTok’s broader push into the music sector, the company posts a job listing for a “TikTok Live Music Campaign Manager.” TikTok continues to expand its worth as a valuable platform for music discovery, having recently implemented more ways for users to bring music found on TikTok to their music streamer of choice, and vice […]

13. IRMA Urges Irish Parliament to Pursue an ‘Ethical AI Framework’ to Protect the €1 Billion+ Irish Music Industry

    The Irish Recorded Music Association hosted a briefing for members of Irish parliament on pursuing ethical AI framework to protect Irish musicians. On Wednesday, the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) hosted a briefing for Members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), focused on the growing role of artificial intelligence in the music sector. Music contributes approximately […]

14. In Focus Episode 7: Why Is Hip Hop Constantly Changing? ‘Culture Is Meant to Be Fluid’

15. Appeals Court Overturns BMI’s Dramatic Rate Hike on Live Nation, AEG, Other Concert Promoters — Here’s a Look at the Just-Released Decision

    An appeals court has now overturned BMI’s significant rate hike for live events, which forced promoters to pay more than double their previous rate. So what’s next? A federal appeals court has now overturned BMI’s recent and dramatic price hike on Live Nation, AEG, and other concert promoters. According to the ruling, the 138% rate […]