South Korean prosecutors reject arrest warrant request for HYBE’s Bang Si-hyuk again (report)
Prosecutors rejected an initial request in April Source
Music News Stream
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Australia’s UNIFIED Music Group expands into New Zealand with Matt Harvey hire
The move brings Harvey’s day-to-day manager Mandy Keighley, along with his management roster, into UNIFIED’s growing trans-Tasman network. Source
Australian rights management company Gaan Baksho Group expands to Sri Lanka
Australia-headquartered global music rights management and royalty administration company Gaan Baksho Group has expanded to Sri Lanka with the appointment of Joshua Perera as its head of partnerships for the […] The post is from Music Ally.
Black Music Action Coalition opens application season for Accelerator Program
The LA-based music industry nonprofit for racial equity and justice Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) has announced their third application seasons of the BMAC LIVE Accelerator Program, in partnership with Live Nation. Since 2024, the program has hosted 40 individuals in the creative, concert, events management, hospitality, show production fields in a week-long, career-oriented training and networking […]
Google partners with Believe to offer AI music tool Flow Music to artists
Believe has partnered with Google Labs to offer Flow Music to their users. Google says it “provides their artists with a space for exploration and iteration” and works as a “creative collaborator, helping with lyrics, toying with new melodies or genres and even creating new instruments.” Google doesn’t claim ownership of the original content generated […]
From Wine to Diamonds, Every Major Consumer Industry Protects You From Fakes. Why Doesn’t Music?
Music supervisor and Catalog founder Frederic Schindler argues it's time for standardized 'Music Facts' labels – modeled on food nutrition panels – to make the origin of every track in the supply chain visible to consumers. Source
A bill in France would force AI firms to prove they didn’t use copyrighted content to train their tech. The country’s music biz is urging lawmakers to pass it
The law would reverse the burden of proof in copyright disputes involving AI in France Source
The US Copyright Office is hiking registration fees by 43%. Independent music orgs say many artists won’t be able to afford it.
With the fee hike, independent creators could lose access to the Copyright Claims Board, a more affordable way to pursue infringement cases, the coalition said. Source
On… Universal, Spotify, Virgin, and the ‘leakage’ causing analyst discomfort.
This article orginally appeared in Tim Ingham’s latest ‘Tim’s Take’ email, issued exclusively to MBW+ subscribers. Source
Leslie Ahrens promoted to Managing Director & EVP Creative Latin America at Kobalt
Kobalt elevates longtime exec Leslie Ahrens to lead Latin America, as Nestor Casonu exits after 11 years. Source
Sony Music expands JV with German rap label Two Sides, as founder Lucas Teuchner takes on broader advisory role for the major in the GSA region
The Berlin-based hip-hop label and management company is behind superstar rapper Apache 207 Source
Symphonic Next connects indie rightsholders to capital
Distributer Symphonic has announced the launch of Symphonic Next, which is “designed to connect clients with the capital, partnerships, and strategic pathways needed to grow and monetize their businesses.” The platform bridges Symphonic’s expanding role in catalogue monetisation and the accompanying relationships with investment. Next will aim to offer “tailored financial solutions” – think data-assessed and […]
Spotify Discovery Mode “payola” lawsuit to move into arbitration
Back in November 2025, disgruntled Spotify user Genevieve Capolongo filed a lawsuit against the DSP, claiming that its Discovery Mode feature means that listeners are being misled because “Spotify’s playlists and recommendations are shaped by undisclosed pay-for-play arrangements and hidden commercial incentives”. The lawsuit was aiming to achieve class-action status for the case – which would mean […]
Sony reportedly looking to buy Recognition Music Group’s publishing assets
Recognition Music Group, if you don’t – get it – recognise the name, was the result of the bundling-together of three companies connected to former catalogues-aquirer Hipgnosis: Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Hipgnosis Songs Assets and Hipgnosis Song Management. The new moniker was applied when the companies were bought by the giant (and controversial) “alternative asset” manager, Blackstone, last year. Private […]
YouTube allows creators to replace music with copyright issues with genAI songs
US-based YouTube creators who are finding their videos struck down by pesky content ID claims due to the use of copyright-protected music can now generate replacement instrumental tracks in the back-end of the site, YouTube Studio. The “replace song” tool will now include a “create” button. Users fretting about their videos being muted, de-monetised or blocked can […]
UnitedMasters hires Alessandro ‘Moz’ Moro to lead UK division; signs London acts Grace Carter and Kid Apollo
Alessandro ‘Moz’ Moro previously worked across Warner Records, Island Records, Platoon and EMPIRE. Source
Live Nation says court ruling against ticket broker supports the company’s bid to dismiss FTC’s BOTS Act lawsuit
Live Nation argued that the Key Investment Group lawsuit is not comparable to its case as they were brought under different subparagraphs of the BOTS Act. Source
Suno reportedly looking to raise $1/4 billion+ in latest funding round
Only six months ago, GenAI music platform Suno announced a $250m Series-C funding round. That valued the company at $2.45bn and took its total funding (post seed and Series A rounds) to $375M. Now, Billboard reports, Suno is looking for another round of funding – that’s Series-D for those of you keeping track – and is looking to raise […]
Suno is raising another $250 million+ at a $5 billion valuation (reports)
Suno will likely raise above $250 million, the same amount that it pulled in during its Series C just six months ago, sources told Billboard. Source
Udio admits to scraping YouTube audio for AI training in answer to Sony Music lawsuit
Udio admitted that its models were trained with “a vast amount of different kinds of sound recordings” gathered from publicly available sources. Source