AI’s new USB port: what the MCP standard means for the music industry

Stuart Dredge — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

GenAI music and all the arguments and lawsuits around it continues to dominate media coverage of AI’s impact on the music industry. But below all that, people and companies are figuring out how other kinds of AI models and tools can help them in their work.

Album-selling app Lume launches: ‘We just think the current system is incomplete’

Stuart Dredge — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:20:36 +0000

Last month we reported on the upcoming launch of Lume – a startup helping artists to sell albums to their core fans, including exclusive extra audio, video, imagery and text – after artist Lorde mentioned it in a post about her 49-demos drop.

Global on-demand music streams up 9.8% in first half of 2026

Stuart Dredge — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Fellow stat-nerds, assemble! Luminate’s mid-year report is out, with all manner of figures on music (not to mention TV and film) in the first half of 2026.

Report predicts $56.8bn of annual recorded-music sales by 2030

Stuart Dredge — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Research firm Omdia has published its latest predictions for the growth of the global recorded-music market.

The next social-media ban for children could be Europe-wide

Stuart Dredge — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Our coverage of social-media bans for under-13s – and the impact it might have for the music industry – continues with strong hints that the European Commission may soon announce its own plans along those lines.

UK government launches ‘Turn It Up: Our Plan for Music’

Stuart Dredge — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:09:30 +0000

This time next week, the UK could have a new prime minister, with Labour politician Andy Burnham expected to be the sole candidate nominated by the ruling Labour Party in its leadership election to replace outgoing PM Sir Keir Starmer.

DiMA, Suno and Deezer respond to AI-music labelling proposal

Stuart Dredge — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

On Friday we reported on the announcement by a group of music-industry bodies of a new system for labelling wholly AI-generated music as well as ‘AI-assisted’ music. Since then, there have been some more responses from involved parties.

Music industry bodies reveal plans for AI-music labelling system

Stuart Dredge — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:52:16 +0000

Transparency is a big topic in AI music, and not just in terms of rightsholders demanding AI-music companies reveal what they trained their models on.

30,000 artists have opted in to Landr ‘Fair Trade AI’ program

Stuart Dredge — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

It’s two years now since Landr launched its ‘Fair Trade AI’ program for artists using its distribution service.

Milky Chance’s ‘Stolen Dance’ hits 2bn Spotify streams… 13 years after release

Stuart Dredge — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:43:25 +0000

If, back in 2013, you’d told German rock band Milky Chance that their debut single would be headline news 13 years later, they’d probably have laughed in your face – or at least given you a quizzical look.

Gen-Z are outspending millennials on live music in the US

Stuart Dredge — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Luminate’s latest data-drop focuses on live music, and specifically on spending patterns in the US. It found that Gen-Z concertgoers spent an average of $101 a month on live music in the first quarter of this year.

CVC Capital Partners to acquire majority stake in DistroKid

Stuart Dredge — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Back in February, rumours were swirling that distributor DistroKid was touting itself to potential buyers with a valuation of up to $2bn. Five months on, a deal has emerged with investment firm CVC Capital Partners.

Multiples ‘have stabilised around 12-17x on iconic catalogues’

Stuart Dredge — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 08:00:59 +0000

What’s been happening to the music catalogue-sales market in the last couple of years? France-based analyst and journalist Philippe Astor has been crunching the numbers and filleting the trends for his new report.

Kalshi trades spark Spotify investigation into fake streams

Stuart Dredge — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Stop us if you saw this problem coming a mile off. People can bet (sorry, trade) on prediction platform Kalshi on topics including whether specific artists will top Spotify’s charts or hit certain streaming milestones.

Spotify’s latest Afrobeats move is a festival partnership

Stuart Dredge — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Recent reports suggested that Spotify was keen on joining YouTube and Amazon Music in securing livestreaming rights to music festivals.

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