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. Höfner, the Maker of Paul McCartney’s Famous Violin Bass, Declares Bankruptcy — Owner Seeks ‘A Strong Partner to Position the Höfner Brand for the Future’

   Höfner, the 138-year-old company best known for making Paul McCartney’s famed Violin Bass, has “filed for insolvency” and is now seeking “a strong partner to…secure business operations and jobs in the long term.” Hagenau, Germany-headquartered Höfner announced the news in an Instagram post last week. But the straightforward message only recently started gaining stateside media...

2. Netflix Adds Lainey Wilson, ‘KPOP Demon Hunters’ Stars, and ‘Surprise Guests’ to Snoop Dogg’s Christmas Day NFL Game Halftime Show

   Lainey Wilson, the artists behind KPOP Demon Hunters, and others are officially set to appear alongside Snoop Dogg during the halftime show for one of Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL games. The video-streaming giant just recently disclosed those additional artist appearances – and teased different surprise performances yet. As previously announced, Kelly Clarkson will kick off […]

3. Queen Drops a Previously Unreleased Christmas Track Recorded in 1974

   Queen guitarist Brian May announces a previously unreleased Queen track, played for the first time for an audience during May’s performance on Monday. Sir Brian May, legendary Queen guitarist, played a never-before-heard and previously unreleased Queen track, “Not For Sale (Polar Bear),” which was originally recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1974 album Queen […]

4. Taylor Swift Donates $1 Million to Feeding America Food Bank Network

   Taylor Swift spreads holiday cheer with a $1 million donation to Feeding America, a nonprofit network of 200 food banks fighting hunger in the US. Feeding America has announced an incredible holiday gift from the incomparable Taylor Swift: a donation of $1 million to the non-profit charity. This charity operates a network of 200 food […]

5. Apple Music Teams Up with Sony to Offer Three Months Free to PlayStation Plus Subscribers

   Apple Music is offering three free months to PlayStation Plus members, with discounted versions available to returning Apple Music subscribers. In a final year-end push to entice new subscribers, Apple has teamed up with Sony to offer three months of Apple Music for free to PlayStation Plus members. However, the price will depend on whether […]

6. Gunna’s ‘Wun World Tour’ Receipts Approach $15 Million Ahead of Africa Festival Performances, European Leg

   Despite concerns about rap’s ability to fill venues – and the genre’s 2025 sales-share slip – Gunna’s Wun World Tour has grossed “nearly $15 million and counting.” Live Nation just recently shed light on the commercial results behind the tour’s North American leg, which kicked off on November 17th and wrapped this past Friday. All […]

7. Hackers Scrape Spotify’s Entire Library, Obtain 300 Terabytes’ Worth of Audio — Spotify Says It’s ‘Identified and Disabled the Nefarious User Accounts’

   Hackers say they’ve scraped Spotify’s entire music library – compiling the metadata behind 256 million tracks tied to over 15.4 million artist profiles – and intend to make a massive amount of music available to torrent. Meanwhile, Spotify has acknowledged the breach and confirmed that the culprits accessed “some of the platform’s audio files.” Update […]

8. NBC/Peacock Taps Snoop Dogg to Commentate Upcoming Clippers-Warriors NBA Match-Up

   NBC expands its relationship with Snoop Dogg, announcing him as a game analyst on Peacock’s Los Angeles Clippers versus Golden State Warriors match. Snoop Dogg will be an NBA game analyst on Peacock’s Los Angeles Clippers versus Golden State Warriors game on Monday, January 5, the broadcaster announced today (December 22). It’s the latest expansion […]

9. Suno Previews 2026 Policy Changes Under Warner Music Deal — ‘Commercial Use License’ Takes Center Stage, But Who Actually Owns the AI Platform’s Outputs?

   One month after partnering with Warner Music Group (WMG), Suno is shedding light on the direction of its planned changes for 2026 – including a fresh emphasis on subscriber-exclusive monetization and an adjusted output-ownership policy. When the AI music generator and Warner Music announced their lawsuit-ending agreement in late November, they didn’t disclose an abundance […]

10. Mary Bono Files Appeal Following Momentous Cher Copyright Victory

    Sonny Bono’s widow, Mary, files an appeal following a federal judge’s ruling last year that Cher is still entitled to 50% of the proceeds from her 1960s hits with Sonny. Last year, a federal judge ruled that Cher is still entitled to half of the publishing proceeds from her early hits with her ex, Sonny […]

11. StubHub Integrates Into ChatGPT, Adding ‘Real-Time’ Ticketing Inventory, Price Details, and More

    ChatGPT’s integration push has reached the ticketing world, where StubHub’s launched a “discovery experience” affording users access to “live ticket availability and pricing in real time.” The ticket-resale platform today disclosed its high-profile tie-up with ChatGPT, which is on something of an integration streak at present. Now, joining the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, Booking.com,...

12. Hot 97 Introduces New On-Air Hosts After Abrupt Ebro Firing—New York Listeners Give a Chilly Welcome

    Hot 97 introduces a fresh group of hosts amid the cancellation of “Ebro in the Morning,” and New Yorkers aren’t too happy about it. On Thursday, just after announcing the cancellation of “Ebro in the Morning,” New York hip-hop station Hot 97 shared a promotional image on social media introducing a trio of new hosts. […]

13. Grammy Museum Tees Up Selena Exhibit in Los Angeles

    The Grammy Museum prepares to open a limited-run exhibition dedicated to Selena Quintanilla, launching on January 15, and curated in collaboration with her sister. The Grammy Museum will launch a limited-run exhibition dedicated to the legendary Selena Quintanilla, best known simply as Selena. The museum describes the pop-up as the first official display of the […]

14. After PRS Drops Record Q4 Distribution, PPL Responds With Blockbuster Quarterly Payout

    PPL paid out £54.3 million ($73.2 million) to performers and rightsholders this quarter, bringing its total payments in 2025 to £277.7 million ($374.6 million). On December 17, UK recording performance organization PPL reported paying £54.3 million ($73.2 million) to 147,000 performers and recording rightsholders this quarter, either as direct members of PPL or indirectly through […]

15. Bandcamp Fridays in 2025 Deliver $19 Million to Independent Artists and Labels, Surpassing Last Year’s Total

    Bandcamp Fridays saw fans contribute $19 million directly to artists and labels this year, surpassing 2024’s total and underscoring the value of fan-driven support on the platform. The final Bandcamp Friday of 2025 was the strongest of the year, the platform reports, driving more than $3.8 million in just 24 hours. Across this year’s Bandcamp […]