Hypebot • new music industry, music marketing & music tech news from across the web

A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, a startup that releases small apps for ‘playing with’ music, has raised a USD $5.5 million pre-seed round.

Apple is now rolling out its iOS 27 update to compatible devices today, alongside the watchOS 27, iPadOS 27, and visionOS 27 updates. Siri AI is the headline feature across all four updates, the delayed AI-powered overhaul of the Siri assistant. Siri AI is available as a beta today for English-only devices, and Apple says support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish is coming in October.

know from our early days how high-pressure road life can be. While big tours often hire therapists, grassroots acts can’t afford it. I’m pleased to back a new scheme that aims to change that

Celine Dion shed tears as she kicked off her eagerly anticipated 16-date residency tonight at Plenitude Arena on the outskirts of Paris, marking her first major series of live shows since stepping away from the spotlight in 2022.

Streaming fraud continues to keep the music industry awake at night, but the IFPI is hoping its new ‘Streaming Integrity Initiative’ will stem the nightmares. It’s backed by a host of distributors as well as all three major labels, plus Hybe, Merlin and Impala.

Despite heroic efforts, California legislators recently failed to follow Maine, Vermont, and Washington, DC, in passing a 10% resale price cap. But it’s not just California: ambitious price-cap bills simply haven’t succeeded in bigger markets, while a very different legislative trajectory has emerged.

Joss Crowley's film is close to a definitive chronicle, as it explores the paradox of Chrissie Hynde: the smoldering punk who was also the most majestic songwriter of that scene

For the first time, Spotify users can stream full video episodes of Genius’ live performance series, Open Mic, while Verified, Genius’ signature artist-led lyric breakdown series, will add a backlog of older episodes alongside new releases. Since launching in 2016, both series have become popular fan destinations for music storytelling and discovery, racking up more than 3.7 billion combined views.

The idea of renaming Nashville’s airport for Dolly Parton was not just an easily forgotten pipe dream that popped up in the days following the superstar’s death in August. The proposal moved a big step closer to reality Friday, as the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority voted 6-0 to officially start the process of changing the airport’s name in her honor.

For the season premiere of “Austin City Limits,” Brandi Carlile is officially the one being feted, as the episode finds her formally inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. But who’s honoring who is an open question, as the 2026-27 kickoff episode finds Carlile joined by Bonnie Raitt, bringing together two of the greatest voices of their respective generations in a mutual admiration society.

Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs are getting into business.

The label has struck an expansive licensing agreement with the AI audio startup that will see ElevenLabs launch an AI-powered music platform built on UMG’s catalog of artists. The platform will allow fans to remix and mashup artist tracks along with creating “new track interpretations” and “personalized vocal experiences,” according to the companies. The platform is in addition to other AI audio products the two plan to create.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has issued a statement defending his decision to create what amounts to a ban on rapper Macklemore performing in support of Ed Sheeran at a number of stadiums following the rapper’s comments regarding Palestine, which took place at concerts in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5.

Ocean Way is going away, at least for a year. Goldenvoice‘s inaugural Ocean Way Festival, which was scheduled to take place on the beach in Santa Monica Sept. 26-27, has been called off, with city officials saying the culprit is erosion along the shore caused by recent hurricane-level forces off the coast

Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold reveals that 30% of Live Nation’s biggest tours are in languages other than English.
Joe Berchtold, Live Nation’s CFO, broke down some eye-popping global statistics for investors this week. Among those, over 60% of the top 75 markets outside the U.S. lack a large, modern, music-ready venue to accommodate the world’s biggest stars. Meanwhile, 30% of the company’s top 50 shows are in languages other than English, compared to only 8% before the pandemic.

Spotify's new "Roz ke kaam fun banao, Spotify Chalao" campaign celebrates how music transforms mundane chores into enjoyable moments. Featuring eight films in five languages, the initiative highlights users listening to music while doing household tasks like ironing and washing dishes. Spotify India's Head of Marketing emphasized the universal power of music to enhance everyday routines, making them feel different and adding quiet joy to the tasks people perform daily.

Greenhouse Talent, an independent concert and festival promoter operating in Benelux, has forged a partnership with AEG Presents.

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, better known as Sylvan Esso, have been bringing their low-key electro-pop to the masses since 2014, bursting onto the scene with their self-titled debut album and the single “Hey Mami.” Over the years, they’ve put out a number of excellent records, dabbling in dustier, more fragile textures on Free Love, going dancier and glitchier on No Rules Sandy. The two are constantly pushing at the edges of their sound while retaining the core of what makes a Sylvan Esso record sound like a Sylvan Esso record.

Yesterday’s AIM Connected conference in London saw the UK indies body’s CEO Gee Davy call on the government to provide more support for the sector, particularly its role in discovering and breaking new talent.

Despite his acclaimed acting career, Russell Crowe has always really wanted to be a rock star.

That dream appeared to come true on Friday night — at least for 99 minutes — as he premiered his self-directed documentary “What Love Builds,” about his lesser-known music career, at the Venice Film Festival.