Create Music Group has acquired Canadian independent label Monstercat—tacking on yet another indie label to its portfolio. The move closely follows the acquisition of !K7 and Deadmau5’s catalog. Monstercat has staff based in Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles and has a reputation as an artist-first brand. Since launching, the brand expanded to encompass three labels including Uncaged, Instinct, and Silk. Artists who have released with Monstercat in the past include Kaskade, Koven, DJ Diesel, Alan Walker, Vicetone, ATTLAS, Shingo Nakamura, WHIPPED CREAM, Virtual Riot, and OCULA.

Legendary singer Andrea Bocelli has signed a landmark global exclusive agreement for the creation and management of his live performances for the next five years with AEG Presents, in collaboration with his management team and WME. The agreement, which is described as “the most significant ever for a classical artist,” takes effect January 1, 2026, spans all five continents and covers all ticketed live events.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has released a statement from Executive Director Stephen Parker in response to the White House’s budget proposal which is calling for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

In his statement Parker warns how eliminating the NEA would affect local performance spaces and economies – and urged the White House to reinstate grants that are essential for venues, presenters, and festivals.

Award-winning PR collective Hustle&Co. (H&C) has kicked off 2025 with exciting new business wins and headline-making brand campaigns in the music tech and lifestyle sectors.

H&C has been named the U.S. public relations agency for online record store and music community Bandcamp, following a competitive pitch for the global account. The new business win will see the team collaborate with award-winning U.K. partner agency DawBell to deliver a strategic campaign across both territories, reaching Bandcamp’s loyal fanbase and a new generation of music fans and artists alike.

Following a 2010 lawsuit, it was agreed that Led Zeppelin’s track ‘Dazed And Confused’ was inspired by an earlier song of the same name by Jake Holmes. He now claims that a performance of the song by The Yardbirds in a recent Led Zeppelin documentary used his version, but it wasn’t licensed as such

In a pair of blockbuster deals totaling $350 million, Zach Bryan has re-upped with Warner Records and, separately, either has sold or is in the process of selling his publishing catalog, sources tell Variety.

Reliant Talent Agency has expanded its talent division with four new agents. Veteran talent agent Scott Simpson joins Reliant as Head of Talent, leading the agency’s efforts in Talent, Comedy, Unscripted Television and beyond. Joining him in the division is agent Jonathan Perry, who will lead West Coast Talent alongside agent Katie Edwards. Melanie Moreau will lead the Unscripted Department.

Google is testing a new two-person YouTube Premium plan, priced between the individual and family plan.

 The fight for fair compensation for music creators hit the ground running in 2025, with renewed momentum behind the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA). Reintroduced in the new Congress earlier this year, AMFA marks a historic opportunity to finally close a century-old loophole that has long denied performing artists royalties when their music is played on AM/FM radio.

Building on a strong foundation, support for AMFA has never been stronger. To kick off the year, we ramped up our advocacy in a big way—starting with an unforgettable moment on World Music Day.

“My shows are interactive audiovisual experiences that I create around my music. I sing my songs while my movements control all the digital elements of the music, visuals and lights…”

Chagall is an artist, but also a dancer, choreographer, programmer and all-round tech innovator – and now a nominee for Music Ally’s International Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 award. She’s explaining how all of this experience is put to use in her live performances.

On Friday, Spotify said Apple approved the music streamer’s updated iOS app for the U.S., which among other things now lets you pay for a subscription without using Apple’s own in-app payment system. That’s significant because Apple charges up to a 30% fee on top of purchases made in the App Store. The Spotify update comes as Apple updated developer terms for the App Store, to comply with a U.S. federal judge’s ruling ordering Apple allow third-party payment options and to stop restricting developers’ ability to promote offers to their customers.

US satellite-radio firm SiriusXM published its Q1 financial results yesterday, revealing that its revenues were down 4% year-on-year to $2.07bn. This included some downbeat news on the company’s music-streaming service Pandora. The latter’s monthly active users continue their slow decline – down from 45 million a year ago to 42.4 million in Q1 2025. But whereas in past years the saving grace was that Pandora was growing its revenues, those have also tipped into decline.

Beyoncé was sent a cease-and-desist letter from James Dolan’s lawyers over a video at her new show depicting her picking up the Las Vegas Sphere. Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas Sphere boss James Dolan is not interested in sharing his toys. That was made clear when his lawyers hit Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment with a cease-and-desist letter over a video shown at her Cowboy Carter concert. The video depicts a giant Beyoncé striding through the Las Vegas skyline before leaning over and picking up the Sphere.

Vivid Seats has witnessed quite the dip during the first quarter of 2025, with a 14% drop in revenue to $164m (£123m/€145m). The online ticketing marketplace also reported a net loss of $9.8m, down 191% from a net income of $10.7m during the first quarter in 2024.

Japanese startup Utoniq has raised a $3.5m funding round this spring to continue growing its U Dom service, which it describes as a “fandom tech platform”. The company has signed up 300,000 registered users in the two years since launching the service, and has so far generated more than $6m of revenues for the artists who are using the platform.

After several years, the collaboration between Sonos and Ikea on “Symfonisk” products like lamp speakers, bookshelf speakers, and even picture frame speakers has reached its conclusion. Sonos confirmed to The Verge on Tuesday that current inventory of the Symfonisk lineup is being phased out globally at all Ikea locations and no future devices are planned. Existing products will continue to receive software updates.

BMI is launching its own Composer Lab, scheduled for August and September, with longtime Sundance Film Music program director Peter Golub as one of its principal directors.

 

Have you ever found yourself curious about an artist, album, playlist or genre, but you weren’t ready to commit to a ‘full listen’ or deep dive just yet? Spotify Desktop has a new feature that lets you sample preview tracks from playlists, albums, and artists. This feature has been available on mobile for a while, but I’m really excited that it’s finally making its way to desktop—optimized for the big screen so that videos, artwork, and the essentials are all beautifully presented in one place.

The boutique agency Dynamic Talent International announced its expansion with the opening of a new office in the heart of Downtown Nashville.

Located at 401 Commerce Street, the new Music City office joins Dynamic’s existing offices in Sacramento, New York, Los Angeles, and Poland.

Along with the new office, Dynamic announced the hiring of Nashville-based agent Robert Baugh, who will collaborate with the agency’s existing agent team, including Jamie Leslie, Jordan Cocklin, Jake Hawkins, Adam Easterling, and Jordyn Rothman.

This year’s event coincides with the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The dress code, Tailored for You, is inspired by the exhibition’s focus on menswear and suiting.

Gala co-chairs include Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour with LeBron James serving as an honorary chair.

ABC News announces a daily program covering the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, “Burden of Proof: The Case Against Diddy,” beginning this Friday. The 30-minute-episode deep-dive premieres Friday, May 9, at 5:30 PM EDT on ABC News Live, hosted by “GMA3” co-anchor Eva Pilgrim. Each episode of the series will spotlight and analyze the day’s events from the courtroom with real-time updates.

Lady Gaga has performed the biggest concert of her career.
The “Abracadrabra” singer held a free concert on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Copacabana Beach, and drew a record-breaking crowd of 2.5 million people.

According to concert organizers, Gaga now holds the record for the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history – a record previously held by Madonna, who drew 1.6 million. During her performance, Gaga acknowledged the crowd and said, “Your spirit may be heard around the world tonight. Two and a half million people.”

The official Summerfest App fueled by Pepsi is now available for FREE download on the Apple or Google Play stores and is a must-have for all fans.

The first 15,000 fans who download the Summerfest App can claim a free one-day admission ticket to Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance valid for the first weekend of the festival on either June 19, June 20, or June 21, from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m., while supplies last, courtesy of Pepsi. (limit of one admission ticket per device, not valid for admission to American Family Insurance Amphitheater concerts).