Music Business Worldwide

The latest music news from Music Business Worldwide, News, jobs and analysis for the global music industry and on artists new releases and where to get new mp3 songs.

1. Pepsi and Diageo withdraw sponsorship of UK’s Wireless Festival as Kanye West booking sparks backlash

   "We have informed the organizers of our concerns, and as it stands, Diageo will not sponsor the 2026 Wireless festival," said a company spokesperson.

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2. A folk musician had her voice cloned by AI – and her recordings claimed by a copyright troll. Welcome to 2026.

   Gamma-owned Vydia caught in controversy over musician whose videos were claimed against

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3. Tuma Basa exits YouTube after eight years with Google platform

   Basa was previously Global Programming Head of Hip-Hop at Spotify, where he became closely associated with the platform's RapCaviar playlist

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4. Providence-backed ATG Entertainment launches ATG Live, a dedicated concerts, comedy and events division across 18 US venues

   "We see tremendous opportunity ahead and are excited to continue expanding our reach while delivering unforgettable experiences for audiences and partners across the U.S."

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5. IMPALA was unhappy about UMG’s purchase of Downtown. Now it says WMG’s Revelator acquisition is ‘bad news for artists, fans, and Europe’s diversity’.

   "It is testament to the innovation in the independent sector that Revelator has been bought by Warner," IMPALA said in its statement

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6. Yale Law School scholars back UMG in Drake’s ‘Not Like Us’ defamation fight, arguing rapper ‘consented’ to Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics

   The Floyd Abrams Institute brief advances an argument that wasn't previously central in the case: that Drake consented to the allegedly defamatory statements, barring his lawsuit under established defamation law.

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7. From WMG swooping for Revelator to UMG’s €500 million share buyback program… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

   The biggest headlines from the past few days...

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8. UMG and Believe settle lawsuit that alleged ‘industrial-scale’ copyright infringement of Universal’s music

   Universal Music Group and Believe have settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Paris-headquartered music company and its distribution platform TuneCore in late 2024. A Joint Stipulation of Dismissal With Prejudice was filed today (April 3) in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, confirming that all claims in the …...

9. Dialled In Records launches in London focused on South Asian music in partnership with The Collective, part of Universal Music UK’s Island-EMI

   Dialled In Records launches with two acts: Pakistan-born producer and DJ Ahadadream, and Excise Dept, an India-based multidisciplinary collective.

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10. Wyclef Jean and Jaeson Ma’s D2C service OpenWav launches Snafu-backed indie artist financing platform

    OpenWav says it can pay advances 'anywhere from the low five figures to the high seven figures'

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