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. Downtown’s CD Baby Unwraps a Full-Service Indie Artist Offering — Powered by the Indie Cred of Molly Neuman

   Downtown’s CD Baby distribution mainstay, now part of Virgin Music Group, is expanding its core distribution know-how to include full-service, hands-on support for select indie artists. Here’s more on the just-unveiled ‘Stages Selects’ offering, spearheaded by CD Baby president (and Riot Grrrl pioneer) Molly Neuman. Distro mainstay CD Baby is now pulling back the curtain […]

2. Sony Music Publishing Makes Its Recognition Music Catalog Acquisition Official — Blackstone Eyes Post-Sale Investments ‘Across the Music Sector Through Recognition’

   Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has made its much-rumored Recognition Music Group catalog acquisition official, thereby securing interests in north of 45,000 high-profile works. SMP and Singapore’s GIC confirmed the deal today, on the heels of not-so-subtle indications that a formal announcement was imminent. Eight years, many song-rights plays, and one rebranding later, Hipgnosis, complete with...

3. Bain-Partnered Warner Music Reportedly Acquires the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Recorded Catalog In $300 Million+ Deal

   Days after disclosing $650 million in song-rights expenditures, Bain Capital-partnered Warner Music Group (WMG) has reportedly scooped up the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ recorded catalog. Though currently unconfirmed by the involved parties, the reported transaction (complete with a price tag in excess of $300 million) aligns with early 2025 rumblings of the Red Hot Chili […]

4. Kendrick Lamark Scrubs ‘Not Like Us’, ‘Luther’ Videos From YouTube, ‘GNX’ & ‘Euphoria’ from Apple Music—Then Mysteriously Restores Them

   Kendrick Lamar’s album GNX disappeared from Apple Music, while the music videos for “Not Like Us” and “Luther” also mysteriously vanished from YouTube. All were restored hours later. Kendrick Lamar seems to be making moves, but no one is sure what they mean just yet. On Monday, Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 album GNX and track “Euphoria” […]

5. Warner Music and Suno Really, Really Don’t Want You to See Their Licensing Agreement — And They’re Fighting Tooth-and-Nail Against UMG and Sony to Keep It Private

   Suno and Warner Music Group (WMG) really don’t want to reveal the terms of their lawsuit-ending licensing agreement: Now, the AI music generator is aggressively firing back against a demand from Universal Music and Sony Music to produce the deal. We initially covered that demand late last month, not long after Universal Music and Sony […]

6. How A Grassroots Genre from Mexico Is Rewriting the Entire Latin Music Growth Curve

   Mexico’s fastest-growing music genre on streaming is corridos, with recent catalog data from Duetti and Chartmetric showcasing just how deep that momentum runs across platforms and listener behavior. The report analyzes a large catalog of corridos titles to map growth, demographics, platform shares, and engagement patterns inside Mexico’s broader streaming landscape. This research deep-dive was...

7. California Fans First Act Targets Ticket Resale Abuse With Support From Music Artists Coalition, NIVA, SAG-AFTRA, Independent Venues & Artists

   New California legislation aims to fight ticket resale price gouging in the live entertainment industry amid intense scrutiny of ticketing practices. On Monday, California Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) held a press conference outside the Castro Theatre to emphasize the importance of AB-1720, the California Fans First Act. If passed, the bill will curb price […]

8. In Yet Another Ownership Swap, InMusic Acquires Bankrupt Native Instruments

   InMusic has announced signing a definitive agreement to acquire music tech company Native Instruments, as the Berlin-based company changes hands again. On Friday (May 8), inMusic and Native Instruments announced that the former had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the latter, the Berlin-based music technology company behind some of the most widely used creative […]

9. More Than 50 Years Later, The Beatles’ Iconic Rooftop ‘Stage’ Is Being Opened to the Public

   The Beatles’ Apple Corps announces the first-ever official Beatles fan experience at the iconic rooftop stage of 3 Savile Row in London. 3 Savile Row in London is already enshrined in pop culture history as one of the earliest headquarters of the Beatles’ Apple Corps. It was the studio where Let It Be was recorded, […]

10. FKA twigs to Play Josephine Baker In New Biopic Filming This Fall

    FKA twigs will play jazz icon Josephine Baker in a new biopic from filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, which starts filming in the fall. Singer FKA twigs will star as the iconic jazz star Josephine Baker in an upcoming biopic by filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré (“Cuties”), which begins filming in the fall. The film is financed and co-produced […]

11. Jason Derulo, Sony Music Triumph in Heated ‘Savage Love’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

    A federal jury ruled in favor of Jason Derulo in a copyright dispute filed against him and Sony Music over his hit “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat).” On Thursday (May 7), a federal jury in Los Angeles ruled in favor of singer Jason Derulo in a copyright infringement case over his hit “Savage Love […]

12. Hybe, NewJeans Slapped With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over ‘How Sweet’

    The members of NewJeans, as well as their label partners Ador and Hybe, are being sued for copyright infringement over the group’s hit “How Sweet”. A group of four songwriters is suing the members of K-pop girl group NewJeans, as well as their label partners Ador and Hybe, alleging the group’s 2024 hit “How Sweet” […]

13. More Supply Helps: Olivia Rodrigo ‘Unravels’ 25 More Dates, With Mini-Residencies In NY, LA, London, Amsterdam

    To help meet demand, Olivia Rodrigo expands her world tour with 25 new dates, including 11 nights in London and 10 each in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Olivia Rodrigo quickly sold out her global arena outing, The Unraveled Tour, adding 25 additional dates this week in response to incredible fan demand. The tour now spans […]

14. Dua Lipa Sues Samsung for $15 Million Over a Seriously Strange Brand Sponsorship

    Dua Lipa has filed a $15 million lawsuit against Samsung, claiming the company used her image to sell TVs without permission and without paying her. But did Samsung really whip up an entire brand sponsorship ‘deal’ without even contacting the artist? On Friday, Dua Lipa filed a lawsuit against Samsung, alleging that the electronics company […]

15. Is the Wasserman (Sorry, ‘The Team’) Sale Still Happening?

    The pool seems to have narrowed for contenders to buy the talent agency, but whether a sale actually takes place remains up in the air. Here’s the latest. The Team, the Westwood-based talent agency formerly known as Wasserman, is fortifying its core sports category as it prepares for a potential sale. The company announced on […]