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. K-pop giant JYP’s China unit and CJ ENM strike joint venture with Tencent Music

   ONECEAD aims to build artist businesses that "resonate both regionally and globally".

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2. WMG’s Paul Robinson honored with Recording Academy’s ELI Service Award: He ‘stands for everything that is honest, diligent, fair.’

   Robinson has served as WMG's top lawyer since 2006

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3. UMG bought a stake in superfan app Stationhead – here are 3 things you might have missed…

   Superfan monetization and D2C expansion continue to be strategic priorities for Universal Music Group. In his annual memo to staff issued last month, UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge confirmed as much. In 2026, we will accelerate these efforts both by working with our established DSP partners on the launch of enhanced premium tiers …...

4. Suno hires former Spotify exec Sam Berger as Senior Director of Artist Partnerships

   Berger joins a team that includes industry professionals who previously worked at Snap, 88rising, Twitch, Splice, Atlantic Records, Motown Records, Capitol Records and Sony Music.

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5. Apple acquires AI audio startup Q.ai said to be worth nearly $2bn

   The startup’s 100 employees will join Apple, including CEO Aviad Maizels and co-founders Yonatan Wexler and Avi Barliya.

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6. Spotify to open Istanbul office, names Akshat Harbola as Managing Director for MENA and Türkiye

   Harbola says that Türkiye as a “priority market” for the streaming giant.

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7. Fred Armisen to host CNN music docuseries pulling from UMG’s underground vault

   The vault lies within the Iron Mountain facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania, where UMG stores a portion of its catalog 220 feet underground.

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8. Andy Serrao named Chief Creative Officer at Concord Label Group

   He will oversee A&R and strategic marketing across the company’s owned label imprints, including Fearless Records, Concord Records, and Rounder Records.

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9. DistroKid, repped by Goldman Sachs and Raine, exploring a sale

   New York-based company claims that it handles 30% to 40% of new music releases globally

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10. From BMG’s reported Concord acquisition talks to UMG’s $3bn Anthropic lawsuit… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

    The biggest headlines from the past few days...

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