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. UMG Head Lucian Grainge Outlines 2026 Streaming 2.0 Plans, Plots ‘Special Events and Products for Superfans — Both Virtually and in the Physical World’

   Another year, another internal rally-the-troops memo from Universal Music head Lucian Grainge, who’s shed a bit of new light on the major’s 2026 “Streaming 2.0” and superfan plans. Grainge just recently mass-emailed this “UMG New Year’s Memo 2026” to staffers. And naturally, the close to 3,000-word message (plus an additional chart-highlights section on top of […]

2. Spotify Tap Dances on ICE Advertising Issue, Says Recruitment Spots Are Not Currently Running

   Spotify says there are no ICE ads currently running on the platform, but the company is far from changing its stance on the matter. After facing criticism last year for running recruitment ads for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on its platform, Spotify has released a statement asserting that the campaign is no longer running. […]

3. Olivia Rodrigo’s Breakout Track ‘Drivers License’ is Now Five Years Old—Artist Spins David Byrne Cover on 7-Inch Vinyl

   To celebrate the fifth anniversary of her breakout hit “drivers license,” Olivia Rodrigo drops a vinyl featuring a cover version by David Byrne. Olivia Rodrigo released “drivers license” on January 8, 2020, a song that rapidly became a pop culture phenomenon and secured her place as a force to be reckoned with in pop music. […]

4. Bruno Mars Preps First Album in a Decade with a Major Global Stadium Tour

   Bruno Mars gears up to drop his first new album in a decade, complete with a massive global headlining stadium tour spanning nearly 40 shows. Bruno Mars has announced The Romantic Tour, his first full headline tour in nearly a decade following the massively successful 24K Magic World Tour, which first launched in 2017. The […]

5. Twenty One Pilots ‘More Than We Ever Imagined’ Mexico City Concert Film Set for February Release — With Dedicated Merch Already Available to Preorder

   It turns out Twenty One Pilots is big in Mexico: Now, the duo’s preparing to release a concert film chronicling its sold-out Mexico City stadium performance. Twenty One Pilots delivered that show (one of three Clancy World Tour stops in Mexico) back in February 2025, attracting somewhere in the ballpark of 65,000 supporters to the […]

6. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Is Kaput. But What Does This Mean for the Music Industry — Including NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert?

   After nearly 60 years, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is now officially dissolved. But what does this mean for the music business, its artists, and the small-but-mighty influencer, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert? After months of winding down, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting officially ceased to exist this week. Following a Congressional defunding and a […]

7. Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Fights to Avoid Prison Time As Desperate Appeal of 14-Year Sentence Begins

   Fugees rapper Pras Michel mounts the offensive to stay out of prison as he appeals his 14-year sentence, but the government doubles down. As Pras Michel fights to appeal his 14-year federal prison sentence following a conviction that he claims resulted from an unfair trial, the U.S. Department of Justice asks the court to deny […]

8. Danish Music Festival AiaSound Officially Shuts Down

   The years after the pandemic have taken a toll on live music festivals. That trend appears to be continuing into 2026 as Danish music festival AiaSound throws in the towel. After five years, the festival is taking a break. “For five summers in a row, we have called Tiøren our home turf. We have erected […]

9. MusiCares Reports $15 Million In LA Wildfire Assistance to 3,200 Music Professionals

   A year after the devastating wildfire in Los Angeles, the Grammy’s charitable organization MusiCares has issued a report on how its fire relief efforts have gone. MusiCares says they’ve distributed more than $15 million towards assistance for more than 3,200 music professionals. This includes $7 million deployed in the immediate aftermath of the fires to […]

10. Warner Chappell Music Strikes Global Publishing Deal with Ziggy Alberts

    Warner Chappell Music signs Aussie singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts to a worldwide publishing deal, encompassing his complete catalog and future works. On Wednesday, January 7, Warner Chappell Music expanded its global roster with the signing of Australian singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts to a worldwide publishing deal. Signed through Warner Chappell Music Australia, the agreement will encompass...

11. Old-School MTV Superfan Creates a ‘Simulator’ of What the Channel Was Like In the 80s

    A fan project recreates the old-school music video format of the original MTV, but Paramount already seems poised to shut it down. Gen X and elder millennials have long known that MTV has gone the way of the dodo, even as a smattering of classic music video channels proliferate (in ever-decreasing regions) under the brand. […]

12. Let the Phono V Fireworks Begin: CRB Kicks Off High-Stakes Streaming Rate Proceeding for 2028-2032

    Let the Phonorecords V fireworks begin: The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has officially kicked off the high-stakes rate-setting proceeding, which will determine songwriter and publisher royalties for on-demand streaming (plus permanent downloads) between 2028 and 2032. The Phono V commencement technically arrived in a Federal Register notice on 2025’s final day, though the CRB just […]

13. Local Talent Dominated Italy’s 2025 Charts — FIMI Says Italian Artists Released 85% of the Year’s Top-100 Albums, Up from 69% in 2015

    The Italian music industry recorded a 5.3% year-over-year stream-volume increase during 2025, when releases from homegrown talent accounted for 85% of the country’s top-100 albums. These and other insights come from Italy’s FIMI, which pointed to a total of nearly 100 billion on-demand streams for the nation (population 59 million) during 2025. That reflects ad-supported […]

14. Battle of the Lavish LA Streaming Platform Studios: Apple Music’s vs. Spotify’s ‘Sycamore Studios’

    Spotify and Apple Music have both unveiled their lavish new Los Angeles-area studios, both framed as fully kitted-out creative hubs for artists. It’s a new year, and the perfect time to unveil new projects. For music streaming giants Spotify and Apple Music, that’s come in the form of their latest studio spaces, both located in […]

15. Spotify Introduces New Messages Features—’Listening Activity’ & ‘Request to Jam’

    Spotify launches Messages last year to give friends a place to chat about music within the app. Now it’s bringing new features including listening activity and requests to jam. Here’s how it works. Spotify says since launch more than 40 million users have sent nearly 340 million messages using the Spotify app. These new features […]