Ticket resale marketplace Vivid Seats is reportedly facing a proposed class action lawsuit over claims it utilised drip pricing.

According to Law360, the proposed class action which alleges that Vivid Seats used drip pricing to deceive consumers by advertising artificially low ticket prices, before adding mandatory fees at the check-out.

The case was filed by Laura Cheezum originally in the US District Court for the District of Maryland, before moving to federal court.

After six years as Fandom’s CEO, Perkins Miller is parting ways with the popular wiki hosting platform.

While there has yet to be an official announcement, The Verge has learned that Miller is no longer working for Fandom as of last week. In a statement sent to The Verge on Fandom’s behalf, Katie Schroeder confirmed Miller’s departure and noted that, while the company is currently being overseen by interim leadership, “we have not announced a new CEO as of yet.”

Spotify users running the app on Android have found themselves dealing with some new issues lately. According to various social media and forum posts online, it seems that the Spotify app has started crashing on users, often becoming unresponsive, without any reasoning that anybody can see. This is, of course, especially annoying for anyone who relies on Spotify to listen to their favorite music.

Music-streaming service Audiomack has launched a new feature in its mobile app, but it’s not for listeners: it’s for playlist curators. Specifically the 350-plus people who are part of its ‘Tastemakers’ program. The program launched in late 2024 as a way to recruit independent curators to make playlists for Audiomack. In return they get a verified badge on the service; the ability to message their followers; and now the new Audiomack for Tastemakers feature in the app.

Pitchfork is going full midlife crisis mode, experimenting with user-generated content, adding comments (when much of the web is moving away from them), and dropping absolutely deranged best-of lists. Like most of the media industry, Pitchfork has struggled in recent years as audiences have shifted towards influencers on social media and advertising revenue has dried up. Its new ploy to maintain relevancy seems to be trying to become Rotten Tomatoes, but for music.

Yes. Holographic AI companions on your desk. Having been acquired by metaverse and drone-racing corporation Infinite Reality in March, and facing legal action from Sony Music over unpaid royalties, Napster’s latest iteration is increasingly esoteric. 

We reported on its launch of a “real-time generative web and agentic AI video chat service” for designing websites in May. Now it has launched Napster 26 for Mac, and a $99 companion gadget that turns Mac computers into 3D holographic displays.

Or, to quote the promo blurb: “A glasses-free holographic display that marks the end of the chatbot era by bringing AI companions to life as embodied 3D collaborators on your desk… living, breathing holograms that think with you, create with you, and work even when you sleep. Music artists, business strategists, engineers, wellness coaches, and designers…”

After weeks of deliberating, the judges have cast their votes, and we are thrilled to present the UK Festival Awards 2025 Shortlist.

We’d like to thank our judging panel, who have read all of the applications and made their choices. Now it’s your turn!

Voting is now open to the public. The public vote makes up 30% of the votes, with the judges making up the remaining 70%. Voting closes 4 November 2025.

Earlier this year, YouTube revealed plans to expand its ‘likeness detection’ tool to a wider number of creators (musicians included) who were finding themselves the subject of AI deepfake videos.

Now the company has given what it describes as a “sneak peek” of how the feature works, as it starts to roll it out to all creators in YouTube’s Partner Program.

“If you see a video that uses your likeness without your permission, you will be able to send a removal request for review under YouTube’s privacy guidelines,” explained the presenter in the Creator Insider video showing the tool.

In recent years, I’ve become an unabashed fan of Ryan Reynolds.  While I’ve enjoyed the snarky humor of his “Deadpool” character and I respect his success in various romcoms (although I must admit I’ve never actually seen one).

No, I’m in admiration of Reynolds for his business acumen and marketing savvy, both of which have made him a very wealthy man.  He’s had a number of entrepreneurial episodes, including owning his own brand of gin.  But it’s his ownership stake in Mint Mobile starting in 2019 that’s most notable.  The business model of this budget telecommunication company is simple – selling cheap mobile plans for $15.  The company took off during COVID as it met the moment with a dirt cheap mobile option.

ABC News Live will premiere “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere – A Conversation with the Cast,” hosted by Good Morning co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, on Oct. 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. The conversation will include singer Bruce Springsteen, who will talk about the behind the scenes of the biopic. 

The special will be the only on-camera sit down with Springsteen and the team behind the film to discuss the production of the movie, doing live performances, and more. 

Trump’s TikTok USA deal still isn’t over the finish line after the US/China trade war flare-up—but the deal as stated may raise serious issues.

The Chair of the House Select Committee on China said that the licensing agreement raises “serious concerns” about the planned deal. Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI) says he’s waiting from more details from the White House on the proposed deal that would see TikTok USA license its algorithm from Chinese-based ByteDance.

PPL has appointed Dr Richard James Burgess MBE as its new chair. He will succeed John Smith OBE, effective January 5, 2026. 

Burgess will lead the PPL board as the organisation continues to grow its neighbouring rights royalty collections, representing more than 150,000 performer and recording rights-holder members. 

Since 2016, Burgess has served as president and CEO of A2IM (American Association of Independent Music), while also holding board positions with SoundExchange, WIN (Worldwide Independent Network), Copyright Alliance and musicFirst, among others.  

Ticketmaster unveiled what it says are new measures to stop scalpers by barring users and ticket brokers from making multiple accounts, requiring resellers to use taxpayer ID verification, and using AI tools for “faster assessment and cancellation of bot-purchased tickets,” as a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit filed last month continues that accuses the platform of working with resellers to elevate prices. The letter states that “Ticketmaster does more than anyone to fight bots and get tickets into the hands of real fans.”

Electronic music app Dancefloor has launched the Nightlife Dividend Programme which has been designed to help sustain the UK’s nightlife community.

The initiative features a profit-sharing system built on collective success which will see a quarter of Dancefloor’s booking fees redistributed back to venues and promoters every month.

“Our night-time ecosystem is at breaking point, we’ve all seen incredible local venues and promoters struggle or disappear,” said founder and chief executive of Dancefloor, Ben King.

Amazon Music Live will return for a third season. Kicking off on October 23rd, the new season will include performances from Shaboozey, Foo Fighters, Fuerza Regida and aespa.

The National Independent Talent Organization is calling for the state of New York to take action following the release of a study that shows what the organization calls an “escalating ticket fee crisis” in the Empire State.

NITO said its study of 86 venues in New York showed that the average primary ticket fee is now 28.65%, an increase of more than 36% since 2016, when the state itself studied the issue.

In almost 10% of cases studied, fees exceeded 50% of the face value and in some especially notable instances, the fees exceeded face value. For example, NITO found an $18 at the Bethel Woods Center for Arts that carried $33 in fees. Similarly, an $18 ticket at Syracuse’s OneCenter Crouse Hinds Theatre had $20.35 in fees.

Viagogo is violating the EU’s Digital Services Act, according to Euroconsumers, which has filed a complaint with the regulator in Ireland. A Viagogo spokesperson insists the company is DSA compliant, but Euroconsumers says it violates various rules, including know your business customer requirements

Live music discovery platform Bandsintown has reached 100 million registered fan users across 196 countries despite what the company describes as persistent challenges with event awareness.

The company, which connects concertgoers with touring artists, says it now has a network of over 700,000 registered artists and 65,000 venues and promoters. The platform runs a catalog of 2.3 million events and employs AI to generate 450 million personalized recommendations each month, directing users to shows based on their listening history and location data.

Bandsintown says those recommendations appear to be translating into ticket sales. The platform logs nearly 20 million monthly click-throughs to ticketing pages, with the company reporting that more than half of its users have attended concerts because of platform suggestions.

The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund joint Charity Instrument Auction closes tomorrow Wednesday Oct 22nd.

This special auction features unique and officially autographed instruments, including signature model guitars from:

Mike Campbell (Telecaster)
Joe Satriani (Ibanez)
Metallica’s James Hetfield (ESP Firebird)
Steve Vai (Ibanez)
Pat Metheny (Ibanez)
Derek Trucks (S.G.) and Susan Tedeschi (Telecaster) combination package.

Will Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT) climb to $800 per share? Morgan Stanley and others believe so, and they’ve set bullish SPOT targets despite the company’s so-so Q2 financials, the quick-approaching exit of Daniel Ek as CEO, and Goldman Sachs’ comparatively measured forecast.

Morgan Stanley’s Benjamin Swinburne settled on a buy rating and an even $800 target for Spotify stock, which was trading at $689 or so per share at the time of this writing.

The Country Music Association (CMA) announced a round of promotions and new hires across multiple departments at the venerable music advocacy organization.

The promotions include Kate Watson, who has been elevated to Senior Director, Industry Relations, moving from her previous role as Director, Industry Relations.

In her new role, Watson will lead CMA’s industry relations and membership strategy, including industry partnerships, artist relations, and workforce development initiatives. She also directs membership engagement and events while taking point on artist and industry experiences at all major CMA events. Following her promotion, Watson reports to Tiffany Kerns, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations & Philanthropy.

Mariah Carey is set to be honored as MusiCares 2026 Person of the Year, and will be celebrated at the annual gala taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Jan. 30, 2026, just two days before the Grammy Awards.

By not allowing fans to download individual songs from the album, the star and her label harkened back to a CD-era strategy.

MARI, the new global events and experiences company founded by Ariel Emanuel, announced the acquisition of the digital ticketing company TodayTix Group (TTG).

With more than 20 million members across the U.S., U.K., and Australia, TTG’s portfolio of brands includes TodayTix, Secret Cinema, LondonTheatre, and Show-Score and the company services more than 10,000 theatres, producers, and cultural institutions worldwide.

As part of the agreement, TodayTix Group will integrate its technology, AI-driven personalization, and data science capabilities into MARI’s roster of events, alongside of its partner network.