Last·fm Goes Independent; Does Music Need a New Royalty for the AI Era?; Spotify Adds Updates for Everyday Listening
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Spotify’s Latest Updates Put You Back in Control of Your Music
Spotify rolls out simple upgrades that make a big difference.
Does Music Need a New Royalty for the AI Era?
The music industry has a long history of treating every new way to monetize music as an invitation to create a new royalty.
LabelWorx Unveils Elevate Funding Programme for Independent Labels
LabelWorx has introduced Elevate, a new programme that combines upfront funding, strategic planning, and promotional support for independent electronic music labels.
Last·fm goes independent 19 years after $280m CBS acquisition
“Today, Last·fm begins a new chapter as an independent company. Ownership has changed, but the product you use every day has not.”
ACE Studio Builds AI Music on DigitalOcean and AMD GPUs
As AI continues to reshape creative tools, music production is increasingly powered by advanced machine learning models. From vocal synthesis to audio transformation, these systems demand significant compute resources and a development environment that supports rapid iteration and experimentation.
Melon and Tencent Music Tee Up ‘Global-K Chart’ for K-Pop Acts
Melon, Tencent Music, and Line Music are launching the ‘Global-K Chart,’ which will measure K-pop streams and fan metrics in three nations.
The Music Industry Has a Growing Data Overload Problem. Octave Media’s Matt Jacoby Says There’s Hope.
The music industry of 2026 is exploding everywhere all-at-once, with catalog investments, creative outputs, and AI-generated mayhem part of a pedal-to-the-metal growth expansion. On the ground, that means more companies are battling an avalanche of data overload and disconnected processes, though systems and experts are quickly adapting and figuring out solutions.
AudioShake rolls out its new ‘Copyright Compliance System’
AudioShake’s origin story is a startup using AI for stem-separation purposes, but over time it is branching out into something bigger.
ElevenLabs’ new music-generation model can switch genres mid-track
Voice AI company ElevenLabs launched a new version of its music-generation model, called Music v2, that can switch genres mid-track. The company said that the model is designed to handle both complexity in vocals and composition. The new release comes nearly 10 months after the startup launched the first version of its music-generation model.
Sond is a sleep-tech startup using its own library of music
Music that puts you to sleep isn’t always an insult: sometimes it’s a business worth $7m of funding from investors when it emerges from stealth mode.
Nielsen Outlines Next Evolution Of Radio Ratings In Diary Markets.
Nielsen is introducing one of the biggest changes to diary-based radio measurement in decades, outlining plans for a hybrid system that blends reduced-burden digital surveys, outside research panels, and modeling techniques aimed at improving response rates and data quality.
Regional-language music streaming service Damroo raises investment from HT Media
Damroo will use the fresh funds to “strengthen its technology infrastructure, scale [its] artist network, enhance regional music discovery, expand its content catalogue and create new monetisation and fan engagement tools”.
Sir Lucian Grainge on AI, Spotify, and why he’s not in the ‘functional music’ industry
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Swedish startup Tonada is making AI music for retailers
Hands up anyone who didn’t think AI music was coming for the retail/business background-music sector? No hands? No surprises.
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