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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. 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 […]

2. 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 […]

3. 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 […]

4. 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 […]

5. 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 […]

6. 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 […]

7. 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 […]

8. 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 […]

9. Is ‘Blue Dot Fever’ Coming for Mid-Tier Festivals? One Analyst Issues a Dire Forecast

   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 […]

10. 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, […]

11. Downtown Music Publishing Inks Broad-Based Biz Markie Pact, Including All-Important NIL Rights

    Downtown Music Publishing announces a new deal to represent the catalog of hip-hop pioneer Biz Markie, including name, image, and likeness rights. Downtown Music Publishing (DMP) has announced a new deal to represent the catalog of pioneering hip-hop legend Biz Markie, including representation of the late artist’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights alongside publishing […]

12. Appeals Court Revives Bernie Worrell v. George Clinton Lawsuit: ‘The Rare Case in Which a Copyright-Ownership Claim May Be Brought a Half-Century After-the-Fact’

    Moments after George Clinton sued Universal Music over allegedly unpaid royalties, a federal appeals court has revived the years-running copyright (and contract) lawsuit filed against him by the estate of fellow Parliament-Funkadelic founding member Bernie Worrell. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit yesterday reversed a lower court’s dismissal, thereby laying the groundwork […]

13. Third Annual Grammy Museum ‘Hip-Hop Block Party’ Is On the Books for June

    The Grammy Museum has announced its third annual Hip-Hop Block Party on Tuesday, June 16th, a museum-wide celebration of music, art, culture, and community. The Grammy Museum will come alive for its third annual Hip-Hop Block Party on Tuesday, June 16, beginning at 7:30 PM. The museum-wide celebration of community, culture, art, and music will […]

14. Elon Musk Is Now Beefing with Bruce Springsteen—Calling Him a ‘Billionaire Hypocrite’ and ‘Puppet’

    After Springsteen’s on-stage comments criticizing the Trump Administration and DOGE, Elon Musk has clapped back on X. Elon Musk clearly isn’t a fan of Bruce Springsteen, and to illustrate that point, he took to X, the social media platform he owns, to criticize the Boss twice on Monday. Presumably, what drew his ire was Springsteen’s […]

15. Apple-Backed Gamma Fires Off Defamation Lawsuit ‘To Unmask the Perpetrators’ Behind ‘LarryJacksonExposed’ and ‘GammaExposed’

    Apple-backed Gamma is officially suing to determine who’s behind the “coordinated, malicious, and ongoing campaign targeting” it and co-founder Larry Jackson via the LarryJacksonExposed and GammaExposed websites. The lawsuit follows Gamma’s questionable decision to resuscitate the career of Kanye West.  By now, many are well aware of the “anonymous campaign,” which kicked off with the...