UMG, NetEase Cloud Music Sign Licensing Deal; RZA Embraces AI In Music—Even as Industry Pushes Back
2305 | Your Daily Dose of Music Streaming News
Udio strikes another licensing deal – this time with Merlin
AI-music firm Udio has signed its third significant licensing deal. Its agreement with indie licensing agency Merlin.
UMG’s signs new deal with China’s NetEase Cloud Music including expanded Super VIP tier services
Under the agreement, NetEase Cloud Music will distribute Universal Music Group’s global recording catalogue across its streaming services and affiliated digital products.
RZA Is Embracing AI In Music—Even As The Industry Pushes Back
As debate over AI’s role in music intensifies, the Wu-Tang Clan co-founder explains why he sees the technology as a creative assistant—not a threat.
Finance platform Pipeline aims to become ‘largest funder of independent music’ as it raises $200m
Pipeline, a new financing platform focused on music and the wider creative industries, has unveiled its offering to independent music companies looking to unlock the value of their intellectual property.
Roland’s Go:Mixer Studio turns your phone into a mobile music studio
With 12 ins, six outs, MIDI, and built-in effects, it’s the most powerful Go:Mixer yet.
Is this man the future of music – or its executioner? AI evangelist Mikey Shulman says he’s making pop, not slop
Worth a staggering $2.45bn, Suno is an AI music company that can create a track with just a few prompts. Why is its CEO happy to see it called ‘the Ozempic of the music industry’?
Music Streaming Numbers Hit the Trillions in 2025, and These 3 Genres Helped Push It There
In the U.S. specifically, streams went up by 4.6% from 2024, hitting 1.4 trillion. Additionally, there was a focus on older music in the U.S. last year. Only 43% of streams were of songs released in the last five years.
Sacem and Mavin Records launch ‘Afrocroiser’ songwriting camp
A group of French and Nigerian songwriters will be getting together in Lagos to collaborate under the wing of Mavin Records, French collecting society Sacem and the French Embassy in Nigeria.
How LALAL.AI Is Rewiring Audio for Creators
The future of audio didn’t arrive with a bang—it faded in, like a perfect mix. Somewhere between a studio console and a neural network, LALAL.AI found its frequency.
8 Predictions For 2026 From Around the Music Industry
his list features some heavy-hitting representatives of brands that define the way we currently make, experience, and promote music, such as Soundstripe, Audiomack, We Are Rewind, ONErpm, and more.
Kobalt and Madverse team up to boost South Asian royalties
There is plenty of excitement around the growth in streams for Indian and South Asian artists, but in some cases royalties aren’t yet flowing as they should be.
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The Udio/Merlin licensing deal alongside UMG's NetEase expansion shows how the music industry is bifurcating its licensing strategy - traditional streaming deals focusing on geographic expansion while AI-music platforms negotiate catalog access for training data. What's fascinating is the economics: streaming deals monetize per-play, while AI licensing creates upfront value from the same catalog without cannibalizing traditional revenue streams. RZA's stance on AI as a creative assistant rather than threat mirrors what we're seeing in licensing structures - rights holders aren't blocking the technology, they're figuring out how to extract value from it. The Pipeline funding model is the logical next step: treating licensing rights as investable assets separate from distribution deals.