Music industry
The latest Music industry news from Lockgroove: 10 stories, each with our own take and three songs to play next.
Sony Music renews NetEase Cloud Music licensing deal, completing all three majors in China for 2026
The multi-year agreement keeps Sony's catalogue on a service with more than 200 million monthly users, and leaves NetEase with all three major-label renewals done in a year when its profit fell.
Spotify launches audiobooks in India with a ₹199 Audiobooks+ plan
The service opens with more than 350,000 English titles and nearly 7,000 in seven Indian languages, and Free users can buy in as well as Premium subscribers.
Apple Music names Olivia Dean its 2026 Artist of the Year, the first UK artist to win
Announced alongside Apple Music's Best of 2026 content, the award follows Tyler, the Creator, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.
YouTube streams to count on Billboard charts again from 2027 under a new 1:1.5 ratio
Billboard changed how it weights paid and ad-supported streams, ending a dispute that has kept YouTube data out of its charts since early 2026.
Tidal labels fully AI-generated tracks and stops paying royalties on them
Under its AI policy, Tidal keeps wholly AI-generated music on the service but marks it with a badge and excludes it from royalties and direct-to-fan sales.
US premium streaming earned $3.1 billion in H1 2026, RIAA says, as CDs jump 58.6%
The RIAA mid-year report shows US recorded music at $6 billion, with paid subscriptions still the growth engine.
Streaming services and songwriters clash over US royalty rates for 2028-2032
Opening Phonorecords V proposals range from keeping today's 15.35% headline rate to a 20%-of-revenue demand.
Judge dismisses class action accusing Spotify of ignoring fake streams, with prejudice
The suit led by rapper RBX alleged billions of bot plays tied to Drake; the ruling addresses legal sufficiency, not the facts.
Create Music Group confirms a minority stake in DistroKid
The investment sits alongside CVC's majority takeover of the indie distributor, which is also fighting a lawsuit from Universal Music Group.
Spotify passes 306 million paying subscribers, and its stock jumps 10%
Third-quarter results beat forecasts, monthly users reached 788 million, and a paid AI remix add-on is gaining label support.