Music News

Per a new estimate, the controversial Spotify stream minimum cost emerging artists big, to the tune of $47 million in would-be royalties, during 2024. Photo Credit: Towfiqu Barbhuiya By one industry exec’s estimate, Spotify’s 1,000-play monetization minimum cost emerging talent close to $50 million during 2024. Now, the platform is defending its controversial royalties approach. As many know, that approach sees Spotify pay recording royalties only for tracks with at least 1,000 annual streams

Photo Credit: Stevie Nicks / Live Nation Stevie Nicks announces a leg of tour dates this summer and fall, stopping in cities across North America, including Las Vegas, Toronto, and Boston. Legendary singer, songwriter, and storyteller Stevie Nicks has announced a new leg of tour dates for summer and fall 2025, following a celebrated run of performances. General on-sale begins Friday, April 18 at 10 AM local. Tickets for previously announced dates with Billy Joel are on sale now. Produced by L

Photo Credit: Spotify It’s The White Lotus Effect: Streams of Billy Preston’s “Nothing From Nothing” spike on Spotify following its feature in the season finale. Each season of HBO’s The White Lotus leaves fans reeling and streaming, first with the show’s iconic theme song, and most recently with the season 3 finale on Sunday night. Between the music and the products, it seems like everyone wants to feel a part of that White Lotus aesthetic — something the media is calling “The White Lotus Eff

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

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: 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

Photo Credit: Olivier Bergeron TikTok made nearly $39 billion from its US operations last year, drawing the question of the economic impact of a federal ban to the forefront. Beijing-based TikTok parent ByteDance earned a quarter of its total revenue last year from its US TikTok operations, according to sources close to the matter. The company’s international revenue jumped 63% to a whopping $39 billion in 2024, a quarter of ByteDance’s total revenue of $155 billion for the year — its highest

Photo Credit: Michael Beckerman / LinkedIn TikTok’s U.S. Public Policy Chief Michael Beckerman is stepping down from his role to transition to a global advisory position. The departure comes amid the second extension of the U.S. deadline for ByteDance to divest from TikTok. The Information reported the departure on Wednesday, citing a staff memo sent to TikTok employees. ByteDance has not publicly commented on the departure, but it comes amid a trade war between the United States and China. Co

Roblox is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit centering on the viral ‘Apple Dance.’ Photo Credit: Oberon Copeland A copyright infringement battle over dance moves? TikToker Kelley Heyer has named Roblox Corporation in a lawsuit centering on its emote for the viral “Apple Dance.”   The self-described artist and creator Heyer submitted the straightforward complaint to a California federal court, naming Roblox as the sole defendant. As laid out in the eight-page suit, the plaintiff “created a

Photo Credit: EMRA The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have established the first collective management society—the Emirates Music Rights Association (EMRA). Recent legislative and regulatory action on the UAE grants a collective management license to EMRA, authorizing it to oversee the collection and distribution of music creators’ rights across the country. The move aims to strengthen the creative economy by ensuring compliance with copyright laws across broadcasting and content platforms. The l

Photo Credit: Patrick Moxey, Founder and CEO, Payday Music Publishing Ultra International Music Publishing announces its name change to Payday Music Publishing following a court judgement in a case brought by Sony Music. Leading independent publisher of hip-hop, pop, electronic dance music, jazz, and reggae, Ultra International Music Publishing, has announced it will be changing its name to Payday Music Publishing. The move follows a recent court decision in a legal case brought by Sony Music

Vobile has officially announced a Pex buyout deal. Photo Credit: Pex Self-described IP protection, monetization, and marketing specialist Vobile has officially acquired Pex. Santa Clara-headquartered Vobile confirmed the buyout in a brief release today. Founded two decades back by Yangbin Wang (who doubles as CEO), the publicly traded business bills itself as “a worldwide leader in digital content protection and transaction services.” As things stand, the purchaser is said to provide digital

Photo Credit: Nicholas Green Superfan apps like Weverse (HYBE) and the freshly-launched Berriz (Kakao Entertainment) have become critical tools for K-pop labels — helping transform fan engagement into scalable revenue streams while addressing core industry challenges along the way. Now, it looks like Warner Music’s superfan app is getting off its starting blocks. Traditional streaming economics often fail to capture the full financial potential of highly engaged ‘superfans’—those who drive mus

In the realm of emerging alt-pop artists, it is undeniably Chloe Qisha‘s world in 2025, and we are merely living in it. Her meteoric rise as a singer-songwriter is nothing short of astonishing. More so when especially considering she only took the stage for her very first live performance to support her self-titled debut EP last year. Music industry influencers are rapidly recognizing Chloe as one of the most promising talents on the scene this year. With her unique blend of observational storyt

Photo Credit: KTLA 5 News A three-car crash led Los Angeles police to chase down a suspect in his underwear before shooting a woman married to Weezer’s bassist in a wild twist. Jillian Shriner, 51, wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, was shot by police in a strange story that now sees her facing charges of attempted murder. The bizarre story was released by the LAPD and began on April 8 in the Eagle Rock neighborhood, in the eastbound lanes of the 134 Freeway. California Highway Patrol resp

Popular songs are getting shorter, with Grammy-winning hits and Spotify chart-toppers shrinking in length. But is streaming really to blame? The answer is more complex, with history, genre, and evolving songwriting trends all playing a role. This article was written by Sonia Chien in collaboration with How Music Charts. Music Trends on Digital Music News is powered by Chartmetric. From viral TikTok tracks to bite-sized Grammy-winning singles, it appears that popular music is getting shorter th

The Korea Fair Trade Commission headquarters in Sejong, South Korea. Photo Credit: Minseong Kim YouTube is reportedly set to unbundle Music from Premium in South Korea, where it’s facing a Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) competition investigation. Regional outlets just recently pointed to the possible move, after the mentioned government agency revealed a YouTube Premium and Music probe about one year ago. This bundling-focused inquiry, the KFTC relayed at the time, had already been underw

YouTube is now testing an AI instrumentals generator as well as a feature that matches Shorts clips to music. Photo Credit: Kelly Sikkema YouTube is officially testing AI-generated instrumentals as well as a Shorts soundtrack-matching feature. Creator Insider, billed as “an informal YouTube channel” operated by the platform’s “Creator technical team,” revealed those new offerings in a brief video. On the instrumentals side, the “gradually” expanding AI-music support appears straightforward e