Music News

Photo: Luis Quintero What changes are afoot in the music industry conference circuit? You’re probably too young to remember the ostentatious days of MIDEM in France, though these days, look no further than SXSW for shifts in the modern-day music conference landscape. Suddenly, South-by — once an obligatory time- and budget-drainer — looks to be shedding attendees. Ahead of the controversial 2026 programming changes, DMN’s on-the-ground team noticed something funny this year: the crowds were d

Photo Credit: CADA A Sydney radio station has been using an AI DJ for its morning show for six months without anyone noticing. Doing so was completely legal, as AI use is not a requirement in Australia—yet. The Australian Radio Network (ARN) Sydney station CADA broadcasts across Sydney and is also available to listen online through iHeart Radio. CADA created an AI host for its ‘Workdays with Thy’ slot, which runs from 11 am to 3 pm. She presents four hours of hip-hop for those listening, but n

Stockholm, Sweden, where MAIA Universe (previously Freshsound) is headquartered. Photo Credit: Anna Hunko Stockholm-based sync platform MAIA Universe (formerly Freshsound) has scored north of $1.13 million in funding from backers including Max Martin. MAIA Universe CEO David Wille confirmed the €1 million raise – and the MxM owner Martin’s support – on LinkedIn. According to that disclosure, Stockholm VC Zenith Ventures, another existing stakeholder in Aligned Ventures, and several others yet

A live performance from Sheila E., who, along with Shaboozey and others, is featured in a new NBA playoffs spot. Photo Credit: Justin Higuchi Monster sync alert: The NBA has licensed Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” for a new playoffs advert campaign featuring Shaboozey, Sheila E., and others. The NBA officially launched this campaign, aptly called “Don’t Miss a Thing,” today. Though the league’s playoffs are scheduled for the coming weekend, a “play-in tournament” is beginning toni

Photo Credit: Taco Bell Taco Bell announces the launch of the Feed the Beat Record Club, bringing vinyl records from Feed the Beat artists to 300 Taco Bell Loyalty Members. On the heels of announcing its Feed the Beat Class of 2025 artists—100 artists across the globe whose content will be featured in Taco Bell content—Taco Bell unveils the launch of its Feed the Beat Record Club. The program provides 300 Loyalty Members with the opportunity to claim a package that includes a vinyl from one of

Photo Credit: Taylor Swift Taylor Swift has bought her masters from Shamrock Capital, reclaiming the rights to her first six albums after Scooter Braun bought them in 2019. On Friday, Taylor Swift made an announcement on her website that she had bought her masters back from Shamrock Capital. The Los Angeles-based investment firm, which acquired her masters from Scooter Braun in 2019, was founded by Roy E. Disney, a nephew of Walt Disney. Scooter Braun had acquired the masters as part of a larg

Photo Credit: Taylor Swift by Paolo Villanueva / CC by 2.0 Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed in the legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively over the film “It Ends With Us.” Taylor Swift is getting tied up in Justin Baldoni’s defamation suit against Blake Lively over the film “It Ends With Us,” but a spokesperson for Swift denies any involvement with the film beyond licensing music. Her track “My Tears Ricochet” was licensed for use in the film’s trailer and a scene. But Baldoni’s

Tencent Music has once again reported subscriber and profit growth — this time for Q1 2025, when the company leaned into “IRL” SVIP initiatives. Photo Credit: Tencent Music Tencent Music (NYSE: TME) has revealed continued subscriber and profit boosts for Q1 2025, which also delivered licensing renewals with Sony Music and others. The QQ, Kugou, Kuwo, and WeSing operator shed light on its first-quarter financials today. In keeping with the company’s 2024 results and heightened focus on core st

Tencent Music is reportedly in talks to purchase podcast platform Ximalaya. Photo Credit: Austin Distel Tencent Music (NYSE: TME) is reportedly in “advanced” talks to purchase Chinese podcast platform Ximalaya in a multibillion-dollar deal. Word of the possible buyout entered the media spotlight in a detail-light report from Bloomberg. As described by the outlet, which cited anonymous and purportedly well-informed sources, the acquisition could bring with it a $2.4 billion price tag. Accordi

Myke Towers puts his racing skills to the test while attending a Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix activation in support of F1 The Album. Photo Credit: Warner Music Group The F1 marketing wheels – and the soundtrack-promotion wheels – are already in motion. Days removed from the F1 The Album lineup announcement, several of the involved artists attended the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend. Formula 1 emphasized as much on social media, and Warner Music Latina took the opportunity to put out a formal

Photo Credit: Jim Herrington The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville is prepping a new exhibit titled ‘Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker.’ The exhibit will open to the public on May 20 and will be available through September. The new exhibition is intended to celebrate Dolly Parton’s career, highlighting her journey as a singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Some of the highlights from the exhibit include personal artifacts such as costumes Dolly wore, m

Mumbai, where Sony Music India is based. Photo Credit: Hardik Joshi The Hello Group (THG) and Sony Music are once again broadening their partnership – this time with an eye on India, where they’ve officially launched THG India. LA-based THG and Sony Music India revealed that newly minted unit today, three years and change after the former announced a Sony Music Publishing JV. Apparently, Hello Group has quietly been pursuing growth in India in the interim – including by claiming an A&R wi

Photo Credit: Bennie Bates The MLC has announced it is accepting suggestions of Publisher candidates to join its Board of Directors, Dispute Resolution Committee, Operations Advisory Committee, and Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee. Under the Music Modernization Act (MMA), certain governance positions within the MLC are reserved for representatives of Publishers. The terms of several Publisher seats on the Board and the organization’s advisory committees are slated to end later this year

President of Cerro Music Group, Andres Salce, takes on the lack of services available to artists in the Latin space — in A&R, label, distribution, management, booking, touring, and artist development. Now ‘filling the void,’ Cerro Music is seeing continuous growth since partnering with FUGA. The following recaps an interview with Andres Salce as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with. We consider oursel

 Producer and composer Erin Davis speaks about his early life as the son of acclaimed jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Erin reveals Miles’ musical motto of doing away with nostalgia, moving on, and always ‘doing something new.’ In his role as co-manager of Miles Davis’ estate, handled by Downtown Music, Erin says, “We’re in good hands.” The following recaps an interview with Erin Davis as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be

Guitarist, producer, and songwriter Jake Fine talks about his ‘cohesive vision’ for Lo-fi projects ‘azayaka‘ and ‘Tone Bo,’ retaining the essence of emotion in his music, how ‘the creative process kicks in,’ and using Downtown Music’s bespoke service to tackle unique music challenges. The following recaps an interview with Jake Fine as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with. Jake Fine grew up in a ‘musical

Riot Games’ recent Linkin Park Anthem release broke streaming records in the first five hours. In an interview with Downtown Music, Maria Egan, the Global Head of Music at Riot Games, reframes the idea of how music impacts audiences: “Music primarily serves as a community-building tool. It’s a memory machine. Where there’s music, there’s memories.” The following recaps an interview with Maria Egan as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN

Photo: Krivitskiy For those trying to make sense of the post-apocalyptic hell-scape known as the US Copyright Office, we wish you the best. What started as a tech bro ambush has shifted into an all-out war for control over the US Copyright Office — and the critical policy direction that comes with it. It’s not entirely clear why former US Copyright chief Shira Perlmutter was abruptly fired, though widespread conjecture pointed to the handiwork of tech bro operators like Elon Musk and David Sac

Photo Credit: @iwally The Weeknd kicked off his 43-date ‘After Hours Til Dawn‘ stadium tour with a massive, sold-out show at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, AZ. Around 60,000 fans lined up to see the star, with nosebleed ticket prices bottoming out around $73. Special guests Mike Dean and Playboi Carti opened the show before The Weeknd took the stage alongside 30 dancers in red cloaks. The never-before-seen production included a towering gold statue, gold ruins, rings of gold across the stage,

Photo Credit: Parkwood Entertainment Thousands of tickets remain available for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter opening run at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium this week. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour kicked off last night in Los Angeles, with thousands of tickets unsold. Meanwhile, resale prices have reportedly dipped below $25. Considering the album for which the tour is named earned Queen Bey Album of the Year at the Grammys, something just isn’t adding up. But if fans thought the show would only include t

Photo Credit: Dylan Mullins The House has passed the TICKET Act with a bipartisan vote of 409-15. Now the bill heads to the Senate to await a final vote before making it to the President’s desk. The Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act has passed in the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 409-15. The bill, which has near-universal support from both parties, would ensure a fair, dynamic, and transparent ticket market for fans across the United States. It h

Photo Credit: Ashley King / Ticketmaster website Ticketmaster’s long-criticized ticket pricing with tacked on fees is finally getting a nationwide overhaul, but only after heavy government intervention. The ticketing giant rolled out its ‘all-in pricing’ across the United States starting today. That means consumers will see the full ticket price—including mandatory fees—up-front, rather than being blindsided when checking out. The move comes in response to mounting pressure from both the FTC a

Photo Credit: Vijat Mohindra TikTok launches an in-app experience and hosts a surprise album listening party for Miley Cyrus. Superfans enjoyed a live performance of her ninth studio album—Something Beautiful. To kick things off, TikTok hosted an event for superfans of Miley Cyrus on Tuesday at the iconic Chateau Marmont. Miley personally invited fans she discovered through TikTok to join her for the event, which (unbeknownst to them) was a surprise album listening party and live performance.

TikTok for Artists has officially launched in more than 25 countries. Photo Credit: Kelly Sikkema TikTok for Artists, the video-sharing app’s “all-in-one music insights platform,” has officially set sail in the U.S., Brazil, Japan, and more than 20 other countries. ByteDance-owned TikTok announced the formal rollout of Artists today, weeks after scoring a SoundCloud “Add to Music App” partnership. Available via certified Artist accounts, the newer offering is said to compile data (views, post

Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa The digital app landscape is forever shifting—TikTok has been dethroned by ChatGPT as the most downloaded app worldwide. ChatGPT was downloaded 52 million times in April 2025 across both Google Play and iOS. This milestone marks a dramatic change in app dominance, especially among the younger Gen Z cohort—who often drive trends in both music and technology. TikTok has held the crown of most downloaded app for several years now. The short-form video format has fueled