UK music tech sector faces critical 10 Jul 2025
A comprehensive new report from Music Technology UK (MTUK), the UK trade association dedicated to supporting music tech startups, reveals that the UK music tech sector is at a critical inflection point.
NEWS & PRESS
Abbey Road announces Anton Corbijn as the 'ICON' Award winner for the Music Photography Awards 2025
THE AWARDS CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE AT ABBEY ROAD ON 2 OCTOBER Abbey Road has today announced that legendary Dutch photographer, filmmaker, and music video director Anton Corbijn has been honoured with the prestigious ICON Award at this year’s Abbey Road...more
PRS for Music launches monthly royalty payouts for online streaming
Members will now be paid faster and more frequently when their music is streamed online. PRS for Music has introduced monthly royalty payments for multi-territory online licensing (MTOL), meaning members will now be paid monthly, instead of quarterly, when their music...more
Lo Ting-Fai appointed as President, Warner Music APAC
Seasoned entertainment executive Lo Ting-Fai, known as Lofai, has been appointed as President, Warner Music APAC, at Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG). Effective August 11, he will be based in Hong Kong, reporting to Robert Kyncl, CEO of WMG. All of the...more
Major new UK & ROI folk album award launches, submissions open
A new annual award, The Folk Album Of The Year Award, has been launched to celebrate the genre’s most artistically acclaimed albums released in the UK and Republic of Ireland.The Award will spotlight eight shortlisted albums released in 2025, with...more
National Music Prize network launched by Scottish, Welsh and NI music awards
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, the Welsh Music Prize and the Northern Ireland (NI) Music Prize have come together to form the National Music Prize Network (NMPN), a new collaborative initiative that will champion musical talent, promote...more
PRS Foundation's UK and Republic of Ireland co-commissioning and touring initiative, Beyond Borders, opens for applications
Deadline to submit applications is 15th September 2025 at 6pm 2025 marks 15th year of Beyond Borders initiative Grant support of up to £20,000 is available for projects PRS Foundation, the UK's leading charitable funder of new music and talent development announces today...more
ElevenLabs Launches Eleven Music in Collaboration with Music Industry Partners
ElevenLabs, the leading AI audio research and product company, today announced the launch of Eleven Music, expanding on its mission to build the most comprehensive AI audio platform in the world. Eleven Music enables businesses, creators, artists, and everyday users...more
Nile Rodgers joins Simon Cowell-Backed Lounges.tv
Nile Rodgers, the iconic songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist, has teamed up with innovative streaming platform Lounges.tv in a ground-breaking partnership designed to spotlight and support emerging music artists. Through this collaboration, Lounges.tv and Nile Rodgers will provide rising talent...more
FreshTunes Partners with Groover and Songstats to Expand Its Artist Community’s Promo Toolkit
FreshTunes, the artist services company quietly supporting the careers of more than half a million music makers around the world, is now working together with Groover and Songstats. This collaboration will allow FreshTunes to add more promotional insights and opportunities...more
Symphonic Distribution Hires Ed Poston as Head of A&R
Symphonic Distribution, a leading music technology and services company for independent labels, managers, and artists, has hired Ed Poston as Head of A&R. Reporting to Symphonic’s Chief Creative Officer, Randall Foster, Poston joins the team with over 15 years of...more
Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg, Bon Iver, Ezra Collective and Aluna make Independent Music Awards shortlists
The Independent Music Awards has revealed its first nominees, marking the event’s 15 year anniversary of celebrating the achievements of the UK’s independent music community. This year’s milestone edition sees double nominations for South London jazz innovators Ezra Collective (Partisan) widely...more
Peermusic has appointed James (“Jamieâ€) Cerreta to President, US and Canada
Peermusic, the world’s largest global independent music publishing and neighbouring rights company with 39 offices in 32 countries, has appointed James (“Jamie”) Cerreta to President, US and Canada, as announced today by CEO Mary Megan Peer, to whom Cerreta reports. In this role,...more
Marsha St. Hubert Promoted to Co-President, 10K Projects & EVP, Atlantic Music Group
Long-standing Atlantic Records executive Marsha St. Hubert has been named Co-President of 10K Projects – alongside Co-President Nicholas Ziangas – as well as being promoted to Executive Vice President at Atlantic Music Group (AMG). She was most recently EVP, Head...more
beatBread Secures $124 Million to Expand Artist Funding and Accelerate Growth
beatBread (www.beatBread.com), the leading music funding platform, today announced it has secured an additional $124 million in credit and equity capital as it continues to scale. The company will deploy the capital to expand its sales, marketing and product operations,...more
Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab Appointed Co-Presidents of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Global Music at Atlantic Records
It was announced today that Rayna Bass and Selim Bouab, Co-Presidents of 300 Entertainment, have taken on broadened scopes at Atlantic Music Group (AMG). In addition to their 300 posts, the duo have been appointed joint Co-Presidents of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Global Music...more
Tomorrowland 2025 Breaks Records for the Biggest Ever Live event on TikTok
74 million people watched the LIVE streams on TikTok Tomorrowland content was viewed over 2.4 billion times over the 2 weeks See the highlights of Tomorrowland on TikTok here As TikTok bids farewell to the extraordinary, dramatic and groundbreaking electronic music festival Tomorrowland, we can reveal that LIVE...more
AWAL promotes UK executive team
AWAL has promoted its UK executive team—Matt Riley will now be President, while Victoria Needs and Sam Potts will move into new roles as co-Managing Directors. The promotions follow a series of recent successes for the global recording business under their...more
NTIA Comments on Government’s Small Business Plan and Late Payment Crackdown
Government Press ReleaseMichael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) Says: "The Government’s commitment to tackling late payments through the toughest reforms in 25 years is a long overdue intervention and a critical step forward for the UK’s small...more
Licensing Taskforce Report - Quote from Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE
Jon Collins, CEO of LIVE, responded to the Licensing Taskforce report, (the industry-led licensing taskforce report on licensing policy) and the Government response. “LIVE was delighted to work with Government on developing these proposals and it is great to see so many...more
Bucks Music Group and Mushroom Music sign Oscar Dawson in exclusive JV publishing deal
Sought-after songwriter, producer and musician Dawson is one half of Australian duo Holy Holy. Bucks Music Group (UK) and Mushroom Music (Australia) have signed musician, songwriter, producer and engineer Oscar Dawson in an exclusive joint venture publishing deal. Dawson is one half...more
NTIA Welcomes Joint Industry and HM Government Taskforce Report
Statement from Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association on the Licensing Policy Sprint – Joint Industry and HM Government Taskforce Report Link to ReportMichael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association says: "We welcome the government’s publication of...more
Licensing Taskforce/Govt Recommendations - response from Mark Davyd, CEO, Music Venue Trust
Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust: "Music Venue Trust warmly welcomes the Government response to the report of the LIcensing Taskforce. The recommendations put forward by the Taskforce are important steps in delivering licensing policy that is clear, common sense,...more
Tom A. Smith signs to Fiction Records
Fiction Records, now part of the Virgin Music Group, is thrilled to welcome Tom A. Smith to its storied roster. The Sunderland-born, alt-rock firebrand marks the beginning of this new era with the release of "Fashion" on 30 July via...more
BIMM University and Notting Hill Academy of Music Announce Strategic Partnership to Expand Opportunities for Music Students
BIMM University Partners with Notting Hill Academy of Music to Award Recognised Qualifications in Music Education BIMM University, one of the UK’s leading creative arts institutions, has announced an exciting new partnership with the Notting Hill Academy of Music (NHAM), a...more
ROXi, Revolutionary Interactive Music TV Channel, Launches on US Broadcast TV
ROXi and Sinclair partner to bring interactive music TV channel to NextGen TV households in 31 US markets, with music from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and MERLIN ROXi, the world’s first fully interactive TV music channel, powered by FastStream...more
FAC & Amazon Music unveil the latest round of independent artists awarded Step Up funding
Following a record number of applications, 4AM KRU, Arz, Balancing Act, BINA., Crae Wolf,edbl, Ellie Dixon, Jadu Heart, Mellina Tey and namesbliss receive career-boosting grants The Step Up Fund was established in 2022 with the support of Amazon Music to help...more
Bandcamp Friday Returns August 1st: Bandcamp Waives Its Revenue Share to Support Artists
May’s Bandcamp Friday generated over $3.2 million for independent artists and labels in just 24 hours Bandcamp, the world’s largest online music marketplace and community, has announced the return of Bandcamp Friday on Friday August 1st. On designated Fridays, the Bandcamp waives its revenue share, ensuring...more
One Media iP Group Plc - Interim Results for the six months ended 30 April 2025
One Media iP Group Plc ("One Media", the "Group" or the "Company") Interim Results for the six months ended 30 April 2025 Music rights portfolio delivers robust performance with renewed management focus on strategic direction One Media iP (AIM: OMIP), the digital music rights...more
Richard Thompson To Headline Sutton's Folk In The Park 2025
Guitar hero and classic singer-songwriter Richard Thompson will headline this year's Folk In The Park, the independent, one-day festival in Sutton, south London curated by local, celebrated grassroots venue the Sound Lounge. It will be Thompson's only London performance of...more
Concord Music Publishing Announces Global Publishing Deal With J Hus
Concord Music Publishing has announced the signing of British rap icon J Hus to a global publishing agreement, further expanding its roster of world-class talent. The deal, which includes all of J Hus’s future works, follows his sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall...more
THE HEADLINES
Have record labels turned into private equity firms? (see Comment)
How the Swedes altered the songwriting process (see Features)
Fandom as a multi-layered experience (see Analysis)
How entertainment and creators can thrive together (see Comment)
How the charts found God (see Features)
ElevenLabs launches AI music platform Eleven Music (see Digital)
What is the value of a stream in 2025? (see Comment)
Spotify to raise subscription prices in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (see Digital)
Napster's 25th anniversary reunion spotlights how its rule-breaking launch in 1999 reshaped both the music and tech landscapes. (see Features)
Media groups and entrepreneurs are turning to experiential shows (see Features)
Songs are getting longer again, despite TikTok - but why? (see Analysis)
Statement on the AI Act implementation measures adopted by the European Commission (see News)
Why songwriters are reinventing their role (see Comment)
British acts playing EU festivals down 26% on pre-Brexit (see Analysis)