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Latest music-tech stories
Apple Music ups subscription prices due to ‘rising licensing costs’
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Apple Music is raising the price of its subscriptions: the last…
AI’s new USB port: what the MCP standard means for the music industry
One way to think about MCP is as AI’s equivalent of the USB ports on devices, and…
Lorde speaks out against Spotify’s ‘About the Song’ feature
Clearly relishing her freedom as an independent artist, Lorde has been speaking out about technology issues lately:…
Laylo’s UGC Agent gathers clips from fans’ Instagram stories
Last month we wrote about fan-data firm Laylo’s new AI Ticket Sales Agent, which automated the process of…
UK’s Ofcom launches investigation into TikTok over child safety
The list of regulators’ child-safety investigations into TikTok has lengthened again. This time it’s the UK’s communications…
Avery Cochran’s ‘Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night’
Avery Cochrane is an emerging pop artist from Seattle (based in L.A), who has been releasing music…
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Latest music-tech insight report
Music Ally Insight Report :: Startups 2025
Welcome to Music Ally’s music-tech startups Insight Report for 2025. As in previous years, this report aligns with our annual startup showcase, contest and mentorship support program, Music Ally SI:X, which is supported this year by Amazon Music, ASCAP Lab, Push Entertainment, Reed Smith LLP, Rock Paper Scissors, and Universal Music Group Digital Innovation. Each…
Read full report >>LATEST MUSIC-TECH NEWS – TOPIC FOCUS
‘Blox and Roll Circus: the Rolling Stones hit the metaverse
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Venn diagram of ‘Rolling Stones fans’ and ‘Roblox players’ is two separate circles. That means the venerable band’s big new Roblox activation is either…
Sandbox Guide :: Future-proof your business and marketing strategies
Sandbox Guides are for music marketers: They explain how you can use new platforms, create new strategies, and build new audiences. The Guides feature cutting-edge case studies, expert interviews, benchmark data,…
Report: There are now more than 400m Gen-Z fans of esports
It’s been a little while since we checked in on the esports market, but y’know who’s checking in regularly on professional gaming tournaments? Gen-Z, that’s who. At least, that’s a…
Le Sserafim return to the stage of gaming event BlizzCon 2026
BlizzCon is the annual convention held by games company Blizzard Entertainment, whose franchises include World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone and Overwatch. It’s been going since 2005, and music often plays…
Reactional Music wins €2.5 million EIC grant to scale gaming “music monetisation layer”
We’ve written about Stockholm-based Reactional Music a lot before, including a series of partnerships with industry rightsholders, and a $2m fundraising round. Their premise is a tantalising one: a platform that helps…
Music Technology UK relaunches FemTUK and aims to increase number of female founders
Music Technology UK (MTUK), the trade association for the UK’s Music Tech sector, recently relaunched FemTUK, its community supporting female founders and aspiring founders in Music Tech. It’s now appointed Sarah Jones,…
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TikTok tests AI-likeness detection as Patreon blocks AI crawlers
The torrent of AI-generated content is giving digital services some challenges to solve, especially as rightsholders and public figures get hotter on infringement of likeness rights.
AI’s new USB port: what the MCP standard means for the music industry
One way to think about MCP is as AI’s equivalent of the USB ports on devices, and we think it could have a big impact on the music industry.
Laylo’s UGC Agent gathers clips from fans’ Instagram stories
Last month we wrote about fan-data firm Laylo’s new AI Ticket Sales Agent, which automated the process of reconnecting with fans who’d RSVP’d or clicked on a link.
Lorde speaks out against Spotify’s ‘About the Song’ feature
Clearly relishing her freedom as an independent artist, Lorde has been speaking out about technology issues lately: witness her well-timed takedown of Meta’s AI glasses at a recent festival – which was sponsored…
Suno adds iMessage… but a hack may have revealed its training data
AI-music firm Suno’s big announcement yesterday was a new integration with Apple’s iMessage app, but it was rather undercut by an investigative report claiming to answer the longstanding question of…
Genotone unveils ‘Proof of Human’ initiative for AI music
Last week, a group of music-industry bodies published proposals for a two-badge system to label music that’s wholly AI-generated or AI-assisted. Humans disclosing this information are key to the system……
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Album-selling app Lume launches: ‘We just think the current system is incomplete’
Last month we reported on the upcoming launch of Lume – a startup helping artists to sell albums to their core fans.
Genotone unveils ‘Proof of Human’ initiative for AI music
Last week, a group of music-industry bodies published proposals for a two-badge system to label music that’s wholly AI-generated or AI-assisted. Humans disclosing this information are key to the system……
‘AI-native’ Indian ticketing platform thumpN aims to put ‘discovery first’
Indian “AI-native” and “discovery-first” ticketing platform thumpN has launched. The platform’s key feature is an AI agent named Shadow.
AI-powered live-music firm Gotobeat expands to arena shows
Startup Gotobeat launched in 2024 with its AI-powered ticketing platform and promotion for live music, using the technology to predict the demand for emerging artists and help them sell out…
Indian music platform Madverse unveils v2.0
Less than a month after announcing that it had closed its first institutional funding round—led by Kobalt founder and chairman Willard Ahdritz’s Ahdritz Capital—Indian music distribution, publishing and marketing company…
Lume to offer fans ‘the world of an album’ – and Lorde is on board
It’s a year since the release of Lorde’s fourth album, ‘Virgin’, and she celebrated the anniversary by dropping 49 demos.
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TikTok tests AI-likeness detection as Patreon blocks AI crawlers
The torrent of AI-generated content is giving digital services some challenges to solve, especially as rightsholders and public figures get hotter on infringement of likeness rights.
UK’s Ofcom launches investigation into TikTok over child safety
The list of regulators’ child-safety investigations into TikTok has lengthened again. This time it’s the UK’s communications and media watchdog Ofcom holding the app to account.
Laylo’s UGC Agent gathers clips from fans’ Instagram stories
Last month we wrote about fan-data firm Laylo’s new AI Ticket Sales Agent, which automated the process of reconnecting with fans who’d RSVP’d or clicked on a link.
Avery Cochran’s ‘Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night’
Avery Cochrane is an emerging pop artist from Seattle (based in L.A), who has been releasing music since 2021. She’s been signed to Sonderview/S-Curve Records for about a year, with…
Big tech platforms implement AI measures to curb AI
The major platforms have been coming under fire for the implementation of new AI features – with user backlash forcing Meta to remove an Instagram update that allows users to…
Arson Theory talks heavy music: key challenges, fan culture, fairness and more
Just under a year ago, Cameron Almasi and Eddie Hermida co-founded Arson Theory. 300m streams later, the company is thriving.
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‘Blox and Roll Circus: the Rolling Stones hit the metaverse
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Venn diagram of ‘Rolling Stones fans’ and ‘Roblox players’ is two separate circles. That means the venerable band’s big new Roblox activation is either…
Report: There are now more than 400m Gen-Z fans of esports
It’s been a little while since we checked in on the esports market, but y’know who’s checking in regularly on professional gaming tournaments? Gen-Z, that’s who. At least, that’s a…
Le Sserafim return to the stage of gaming event BlizzCon 2026
BlizzCon is the annual convention held by games company Blizzard Entertainment, whose franchises include World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone and Overwatch. It’s been going since 2005, and music often plays…
Reactional Music wins €2.5 million EIC grant to scale gaming “music monetisation layer”
We’ve written about Stockholm-based Reactional Music a lot before, including a series of partnerships with industry rightsholders, and a $2m fundraising round. Their premise is a tantalising one: a platform that helps…
Digital replicas, avatars, and NIL rights: is this the future of music?
Guest column: Music Ally publishes guest columns voicing the opinions of notable authors, or advancing specific perspectives on important issues. These are chosen at the Editorial team’s discretion, are not…
Despite dying 30 years ago, Tupac Shakur is acting in a new game
Acting in games – voice but also motion-capture and likeness – is a growing opportunity for actors. Tupac Shakur included, despite being dead.
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