Independent Icons Take Control: Merlin Connect and Nina Protocol Unlock New Era of Artist-to-Fan Connection 09 Sep 2025
Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for the world's leading independent labels and distributors, announced today that Merlin member music has launched on Nina Protocol. Nina is an indie-centric music platform where artists keep 100% of sales revenue and fans can purchase music directly while unlocking exclusive content. This partnership, which is a part of the Merlin Connect initiative, brings quality independent music, simplified operations, and strategic support to emerging platforms like Nina.
NEWS & PRESS
The Circuit Group Launches Red Wire Publishing
The Circuit Group, a powerhouse collective of world-class artist managers turning creative vision into global ventures for iconic artists, today announced the launch of Red Wire Publishing, a new division dedicated to providing boutique music publishing services to artists and...more
FUGA and Naxos Music Group Expand Partnership
● FUGA to provide full-suite of marketing and distribution services to the world’s leading classical music company ● Amy Nelson joins FUGA as Senior Strategy Marketing Manager for Classical & Jazz Downtown-owned B2B distributor FUGA today announced a significant expansion...more
AlphaTheta announces Equal Beats podcast series
7 episodes hosted by Kikelomo will encourage women, femmes, and non-binary people to enter the music worldGetting into DJing or the music industry in general is often a daunting prospect for women, femmes, and non-binary people. But how can we...more
UK Music Chief Executive response to BBC Survey
UK Music Chief Executive Tom Kiehl has responded to the findings of a new BBC survey published today revealing that 22% of the British public want to see more music on the BBC: “From the Proms to Glastonbury, the BBC relies...more
Introducing the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 with headline partner Sky: New Era. New icons.
Today, we're thrilled to announce the return of the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 with headline partner Sky, one of Europe’s leading entertainment and connectivity companies. This TikTok star studded event will be attended by guests from across the TikTok community and...more
Scotland’s national music prize - The Say Award - announces 10 albums on shortlist
PLUS, KT TUNSTALL’S ‘EYE TO THE TELESCOPE’ ANNOUNCED AS MODERN SCOTTISH CLASSIC AWARD WINNER AND SOUND OF YOUNG SCOTLAND FINALISTS REVEALED STREAM THE SHORTLIST www.sayaward.com #SAYaward The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award has today unveiled the 10 Shortlisted albums now in the running for 2025’s title and...more
Edith Bowman to host BBC Radio 3’s Sound of Cinema from 1 November
BBC Radio 3 today announces Edith Bowman as the new presenter of Sound of Cinema, the station’s flagship programme dedicated to the art of film music. Airing every Saturday at 4pm, Edith will guide listeners through timeless and contemporary film scores with features, interviews and...more
Grassroots trailblazers celebrated at 2025 Youth Music Awards
Grassroots music talent from across the country celebrated at this year’s Youth Music Awards, at Troxy, London Winners include Nottingham’s JayaHadADream, London-based Art Against Knives and Wales’ Rightkeysonly Hundreds of award entries were judged by a panel of industry experts, including singer Tinie Tempah, DJ duo BICEP, MOBO Award-winners ALT BLK ERA, and radio presenters Jess Iszatt and Jodie Bryant Attendees on the night included Dan Smith, Sister Bliss, Sherelle, I.JORDAN and Yomi Adegoke The UK’s leading...more
Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe to Partner With Spotify to Develop Artist-First AI Music Products
Spotify release:AI technology is advancing quickly, bringing both new creative possibilities and challenges for the music industry. It’s critical for the music industry to join forces and act together to protect creativity while enabling innovation. Stamping out the worst outcomes of...more
BPI response to Spotify announcement on AI
Welcoming the announcement, Dr Jo Twist OBE, BPI Chief Executive, said: "The BPI has long argued that innovative partnerships, based on an ethical approach that respects copyright, sit at the heart of the debate around AI and human artistry. We welcome this...more
Hannah Carlen Joins Nonesuch Records as Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Hannah Carlen has been named Nonesuch Records’ Vice President of Marketing and Communications. In her new role, Carlen oversees marketing, sales, publicity, new media, and content creation for the Warner Music Group’s acclaimed label. Prior to joining Nonesuch, Carlen was Senior...more
Sam Fender announced as overall winner of 2025 Mercury Prize 'Album of the Year'
Sam Fender was announced tonight, Thursday 16th October, as the overall winner of the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album 'People Watching'. Broadcaster Lauren Laverne hosted the 2025 Mercury Prize 'Albums of The Year' ceremony live from Newcastle's Utilita Arena, marking the first time the prestigious awards show has...more
Bad Boy Chiller Crew sign to Greenback Records
Bad Boy Chiller Crew have teamed up with the notorious Irish label Greenback Records, and are set to release their first track together entitled ‘Niki Lauda’, out 16th October. This marks an exciting new era for Bradford's finest, since parting...more
beatBread Launches $100 Million Global Independence Fund in Association with Leading Independent Music Organizations
The Fund provides direct financial support to empower independent labels and distributors in a shifting industry beatBread, a leader in funding for independent labels and musicians, has announced the launch of the Global Independence Fund (GIF), a new $100 million fund...more
Brandon Burch wins National Album Day’s mural competition
National Album Day 2025 is turning walls into stages. The winner of this year’s National Album Day Mural Competition, celebrating the spirit of rock in all its forms, has been announced. The winning design, created by Brandon Burch, will be placed...more
Yoto Launches Official KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack Card
Launching two days before the official vinyl release, Yoto brings early access to the platinum-certified soundtrack from Netflix’s most-viewed film ever Yoto, the award-winning audio platform for kids, today announced the launch of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack as a Yoto...more
Jukebox Launches Inaugural $15M Early-Stage Venture Fund to Back Innovation Across Music, Tech & Culture
Jukebox is expanding its global creative footprint with the launch of Jukebox Ventures, announcing the launch of their Fund I which is raising up to $15 million dedicated to backing the next generation of startups at the convergence of music,...more
Karma Artists Unveils Two Senior Appointments
London based artist management company Karma Artists has announced an expanded vision for the company as it continues to build on recent global successes from its roster of world-class writers, producers, and artists. As part of this evolution, the company is...more
Association of Independent Festivals and British Arts Festivals Association announce alliance
AIF and BAFA MOU covers events, reports, access and representation across sectors. The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has forged an alliance with the British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA) that will see the two trade bodies work together across events, data...more
TikTok crowns global champions of TikTok LIVE: Music On Stage
Caramel (APAC) and Anyelique Solorio (EMEA & Americas) named global champions of TikTok LIVE’s first-ever ‘Music On Stage’ competition Winners to perform at TikTok LIVE Fest 2026 and receive promotional opportunities through SoundOn 1.4 million viewers tune in for Global Finales of Music On...more
Tkandz & CXSPER's NOW OR NEVER is SoundOn's latest smash hit
Tkandz (160k followers) is a British rapper and songwriter who is having a massive global viral moment thanks to "NOW OR NEVER" (with CXSPER), who is signed to Everything's Yours Entertainment, and distributed by SoundOn and promoted on TikTok and other platforms. The track...more
End ghostwriting: A call for fair credit in music for film, TV and games
THE IVORS ACADEMY LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN BACKED BY LEADING COMPOSERS TO END GHOSTWRITING AND ENSURE EVERY MEDIA COMPOSER IS CREDITED, BETTER PROTECTED AND PAID FAIRLY. The campaign invites composers to sign the End Ghostwriting Pledge, committing to transparency with productions, fair...more
Sony Music Publishing, Sea Gayle Music, Domain Capital Group Launch Global Admin Partnership
Sony Music Publishing Nashville announced today it has entered into a global publishing administration partnership with Sea Gayle Music and Domain Capital Group. The partnership will see SMP providing its global administration services to Sea Gayle’s complete roster and catalog,...more
Musixmatch Signs AI Innovation Deals with Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music
First-of-their-kind industry partnerships enable Musixmatch to build new, responsibly trained, AI-powered services using authorized, licensed compositions from some of the world's leading music publishers, providing compensation for rights owners and songwriters Today, Musixmatch, the global lyrics and music data company, announced a...more
Believe appoints Kazunari Imai as Chairman & Strategic Business Relations Senior Executive Director of Believe Japan
Believe, one of the world's leading digital music companies, announces today the appointment of Kazunari Imai's, highly respected and leading industry figure, in the newly created role of Chairman & Strategic Business Relations Senior Executive Director of Believe Japan. Reporting...more
IFPI shuts down Y2mate.com and 11 other major stream ripping sites in landmark action in Vietnam
IFPI, the organisation representing the recording industry worldwide, has today announced the successful closure of Y2mate.com, one of the world's most visited stream ripping sites, together with 11 other stream ripping sites following targeted enforcement action in Vietnam. Y2mate.com and the...more
First LIVE Trust grant making strategy published
Applications welcomed before year-end with initial grants awarded in January. The LIVE Trust has published its initial grant making strategy detailing its approach to investing in programmes that benefit grassroots venues, artists, promoters, and festivals. This paper covers the Trust’s planned...more
First speakers for ESNS conference confirmed
Bella Union, EXIT Festival, FKP Scorpio, IMPALA, K2 Agency, Nettwerk Music Group, Pohoda Festival and WME are part of Europe’s largest music conference program in Groningen ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) announces the first speakers for its annual music conference, taking place from...more
Growing indie Minds On Fire signs admin deal with Sony Music Publishing and Exclusive Writer deal with Jay Gilbert
Minds On Fire today announced a new partnership with Sony Music Publishing (SMP), the world’s leading music publisher, which will provide worldwide administration services for Minds On Fire’s acclaimed catalogue and roster of songwriters and producers. Minds On Fire’s roster includes...more
Concord Music Publishing ANZ Signs Global Publishing Deal with Floodlights
Concord Music Publishing ANZ is proud to announce the signing of acclaimed Australian rock outfit Floodlights to a global publishing deal. Formed by Louis Parsons, Ashlee Kehoe, Archie Shannon, Joe Draffen and Sarah Hellyer, Floodlights have become one of Australia's most...more
THE HEADLINES
Spotify partnering with multinational music companies to develop ‘responsible’ AI products (see Digital)
Sam Fender wins 2025 Mercury Prize (see News)
Spotify working on ‘SongDNA’ feature that showcases the people behind tracks (see Digital)
How far should cultural boycotts go? (see Features)
How Subvert is building a co-op owned Bandcamp alternative (see Digital)
Lucian Grainge outlines UMG’s strategy for generative AI partnerships and product development (see News)
The future of music streaming: Change or be changed (see Comment)
Sam Altman: the man who stole the rights from copyright. If he’s the future, can we go backwards? (see Features)
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl discusses the company's “tremendous catalogue” (see Features)
There’s a £1 idea that could save small music venues. Is Live Nation holding it back? (see Features)
Breaking down the arguments around VMG’s Downtown Music acquisition (see Analysis)
Vevo report shows how fandom turns passion into impact and purchasing power (see Reports)
The music industry must plan for the day when AI music-generation tools produce humanlike music in bulk (see Features)
Price cap on ticket resales set to be introduced (see News)
Raye and Sony’s Jon Platt speak out for songwriters at Ivors Academy Honours Ceremony (see News)