NEWS & PRESS
Kite: Brand new festival of ideas & music launches in January
KITE Festival’s official launch: 23rd January 2020 First festival of its kind delivering a pioneering event of ideas and music Kickstarter launch will build a community of ‘festival founders’ who will help shape the event Kite is a joint venture between the founders...more
AWAL Signs Worldwide Recordings Deal with mxmtoon
On the Back of More Than 300 Million Streams & Publishing Deal with Kobalt, Rising Bedroom Pop Star Inks Recordings Deal January 23, 2020 - AWAL, Kobalt's recording company, today announced a global deal with singer, songwriter, and producer, mxmtoon. The...more
Merlin and TikTok agree to a landmark global music licensing partnership
Merlin, the digital licensing hub for the world’s independent music sector, has entered into a multi-territory partnership with TikTok, the world's leading destination for short-form mobile video with a mission to inspire creativity and bring joy. The deal is effective immediately...more
HMV-owner buys 200 store-strong entertainment and pop culture retailer in USA with acquisition of For Your Entertainment
Canadian business entrepreneur Doug Putman, owner of hmv in the UK and Sunrise Records in Canada has confirmed today that he has committed to acquire For Your Entertainment (FYE), the leading US entertainment retail and ecommerce business. FYE has over...more
Ditto Music announce launch of ‘Bluebox’
DITTO MUSIC ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF ‘BLUEBOX’: A BRAND-NEW SUITE OF MUSIC INDUSTRY TOOLS PUTTING 250,000 ARTISTS ON THE BLOCKCHAIN Global music distribution and record label services provider Ditto Music has announced the launch of Bluebox, a brand new blockchain-backed suite of...more
Mixcloud reveals brand consultancy arm LOUD
Audio streaming platform Mixcloud welcomes 2020 by announcing the launch of its in-house brand consultancy LOUD, under the leadership of founding partners Kazim Rashid and Ben Lawrence. LOUD further diversifies the audio streaming platform's revenue mix, following 2019’s roll out of...more
Ayla Owen appointed European VP of Sync and Creative Services at Warner Chappell Music
ANDREW HOWELL NAMED UK HEAD OF SYNC Ayla Owen has been appointed Vice President, Sync & Creative Services for Europe at Warner Chappell Music, the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group. Coordinating the company’s Sync and Creative Services operations...more
Concord Music Publishing announces partnership with Creative Titans and first signing with hitmaker Bassto
Concord Music Publishing, the worldwide independent leader in music publishing, today announces a new creative partnership with Guyanese-American music executive Ron André Elvis Telford and his Creative Titans business. The partnership will see Ron Telford work with Concord's A&R team, led by EVP Worldwide A&R,...more
Culture Minister Nigel Adams reveals plan for new music strategy to ensure industry remains “the envy of the worldâ€
Culture Minister Nigel Adams revealed Government plans for a new music strategy as he pledged to support UK’s “brilliant creators”. The disclosure was welcomed by Deputy CEO Tom Kiehl of UK Music which has been calling for the new music...more
Concord Music Publishing appoints Tom Coulson-Smith as Director of A&R
Concord Music Publishing today announces the appointment of executive Tom Coulson-Smith as Director of A&R, to its growing frontline A&R team. Based at Concord’s London office, the former Warner Chappell executive sees himself reunited with Kim Frankiewicz, EVP Worldwide A&R at Concord...more
Amazon Music celebrates more than 55 million customers worldwide
After a year of incredible growth, Amazon Music revealed today it has reached more than 55 million customers globally, with subscriptions to Amazon Music Unlimited growing by more than 50% last year alone. Read more about the announcement on the Amazon Day 1 blog. “We’re proud to...more
Downtown’s AVL Digital Group acquires FUGA
Market-Leading B2B Music Technology and Services Company Joins Downtown Music Holdings’ Portfolio of Music Distribution, Artist & Label Service Businesses Global music company Downtown Music Holdings (Downtown), announced today that its subsidiary, AVL Digital Group (AVL), has acquired FUGA®, the Netherlands-based...more
Sheffield City Region Music Board
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis writes about the importance of music and why he is determined to make the Sheffield City Region Music Board a success. Many of us will remember the first album we bought. That excitement of rushing...more
Dark Horse Records partners with BMG
BMG has announced a new multi-faceted global partnership with Dark Horse Records, the imprint led by Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine. The agreement initially brings releases from the acclaimed catalogue of George Harrison’s legendary label Dark Horse Records and...more
Line-up and venues for the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival 2020 announced
This morning (Tuesday 21st January) on BBC Radio 6 Music, Lauren Laverne and Mary Anne Hobbs revealed the details and line-up of the 6 Music Festival 2020, which will take place in Camden, London, from Friday 6th March to Sunday 8th March. The line-up...more
Worldwide Independent Network elects new board
The Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) has announced its newly elected board of directors. Five new directors join the WIN Board: Francesca Trainini (PMI), Garry West (Compass Records), Jörg Heidemann (VUT), Lisa Levy (Robbins Entertainment), and Zena White (Partisan Records). The...more
Diana Ross to play Eden Sessions, July 21, 2020
Global legend Diana Ross is to play the Eden Sessions on July 21, 2020. Diana is one of the most successful recording artists and entertainers of all time. From her landmark solo career to the early days as the leader...more
Britain’s first nationwide music therapy bursary programme launched by charity Nordoff Robbins & Sony Music UK
Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, has today announced it is to benefit from a bursary from Sony Music to train six students on their world-class Master of Music Therapy (MMT) programme. The funding has been ring-fenced for...more
AIM announces full speaker line-up for flagship conference AIM Connected
The Association of Independent Music (AIM) has announced the full speaker line-up for its flagship conference AIM Connected, which will take place on 4 February at Kings Place, London. The newly announced speakers comprise an international group of experts from companies...more
Save the date: FastForward is back! 30 April - 1 May 2020
FastForward is delighted to be coming back to Sydney in 2020 for its 3rd edition, supported by APRA AMCOS, Soundcharts, Comes with Fries and new sponsor TicketSwap! We’re moving venues, back to be closer to the music at the legendary...more
Darren Baber joins Warner Records as SVP, Media & Strategic Development
Warner Records today announced that respected public relations vet Darren Baber is joining the company as SVP, Media & Strategic Development. Baber will be based at the label’s state-of-the-art Los Angeles headquarters. He will report to Laura Swanson, EVP, Media...more
Beatport looks back at 16 years of achievements
Beatport just capped off another incredible year, and to celebrate, the world's largest DJ download store is looking back at its major achievements, the year in trends, and its unwavering commitment to advancing the global dance music scene. Beatport is...more
UK music legends, Queen, to be celebrated on UK coin
The Royal Mint has announced the iconic band, Queen, will be celebrated with the launch of a commemorative coin collection, making it the first time that a British band has been celebrated on UK coinage. Available from today, the design...more
NME Awards 2020 nominations revealed
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL’S EMILY EAVIS ANNOUNCED AS WINNER OF GODLIKE GENIUS AWARD The NME Awards return next month to celebrate the last 12 months of artists, records and performances at O2 Academy Brixton for the most raucous night in music. Today NME...more
ESNS 2020 Rings in New Decade for Flourishing European Music Scene
The 34th edition of ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) was wrapped up on Saturday night in Groningen’s De Oosterpoort with the Noorderslag festival. ESNS looks back on another successful festival and conference, with a musical line-up of leading European artists and a...more
Music Moves Europe Talent Awards 2020 winners announced
Meduza (IT), girl in red (NO), NAAZ (NL), Anna Leone (SE), PONGO (PT), HARMED (HU), 5K HD (AT) and Flohio (UK) are the winners of the 2020 Music Moves Europe Talent Awards, the EU prize for popular and contemporary music. Aside from...more
A Natural Search to Democratize Sync: SyncFloor Unites a Fractured Music-for-Picture World by Finessing Discovery
Video is everywhere, and the corresponding demand for music is exploding. Yet finding and licensing the right music at the right price is tough, due to a fragmented market, complex layers of communication between music seeker and music maker, and...more
Richard Russell to release book
RICHARD RUSSELL Liberation Through Hearing 2 APRIL 2020 | HARDBACK, EBOOK, AUDIO | £20 | White Rabbit A spiritual journey through music by the Mercury Prize nominated musician and the man behind some of the world's biggest recording artists including Adele, Dizzee Rascal...more
Warner Chappell Music signs publishing deal with Mandarin popstar A-Lin
Warner Chappell Music, the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group (WMG), has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with the hugely popular Mandarin popstar A-Lin. Born in Taiwan, A-Lin, rose to fame in 2006 after achieving rapid commercial success from her...more
Midem announces Midemlab jury members and new startup category
Midem, the home of the global music community, today unveils the jury for Midemlab 2020, the leading music startup competition, that will now include a Live Music category. Fresh for this year’s Midemlab is the brand new “Live Music Experiences” category....more
THE HEADLINES
Downtown acquires FUGA (see Business)
Concord appoints Tom Coulson-Smith as Director of A&R (see Business)
Amazon Music reports 55 million customers globally (see Digital)
Recording Academy CEO/president Deborah Dugan calls Grammy voting process 'ripe with corruption' (see International)
Spotify tests Stories feature (see Digital)
Warner Chappell make key appointments (see Business)
Reports from MusicAlly's NY:Lon conference (see Digital)
Soundcloud reported strong 2018 figures (see Business)
Universal Music launches Creative Differences, highlighting the benefits of employing neurodiverse individuals (see News)
Beyoncé said to have signed with Sony/ATV Music Publishing (see Deals)
Hipgnosis acquires Ammar Malik catalogue (see Business)
O2 partners with CTS Eventim (see Business)
Recording Academy head Deborah Dugan out a week before Grammys (see International News)
Ed Sheeran ordered to disclose concert income for copyright lawsuit (see News)
BMG signs deal with sample licensing startup Tracklib (see Digital)
Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Lewis Capaldi, Mabel and Stormzy to perform at the BRIT Awards 2020 (see News)
Russell Fogden and Morgan Hughes to lead Warner's Artist Services team in London (see Business)
Billie Eilish to sing the new James Bond theme (see News)
Universal Music UK launches The Square, Jack Fryer promoted to Managing Director (see Business)
HMV confirms five stores saved from closure (see Business)
Aaron Randall and Bill Ashton appointed MDs at Songkick (see Business)
Kate Sweetsur appointed Head of Creative at Downtown Music Publishing (see Business)
Sentric Music Group acquires Big World Publishing (see Business)
BRIT Award nominations - media flags lack of women nominated (see News)
US-based music streams topped one trillion in 2019 (see Analysis)
Spotify’s Global Head of Music Nick Holmstén to leave company (see Digital)