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Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs created by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services. AI deepfakes of Beyoncé, Queen, and Harry Styles are among those removed.

Lucian Grainge, chairman-CEO of Universal Music Group, doesn’t tend to shy away from new technologies, as he explained on Tuesday in a future-focused conversation with Nvidia entertainment exec Richard Kerris, in which he made apparent his enthusiasm for AI.

Hayley Williams, Geese, Clipse, and Oklou were among the top nominees for the 2026 Libera Awards, presented by Merlin in association with the Foundation for Independent Music and the American Association of Independent Music. The nominees for all of the 38 categories honoring the best in independent music, including for the first time, Independent Record Store of the Year, appear below. 

Radiohead took a residency-focused approach to their tour last year, playing 20 concerts in five different in Europe and the UK.

It seems this may be the model for the band’s future tours too. Guitarist Ed O’Brien explained the plans in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Ireland last week changed its copyright laws so that radio royalties can now flow to American performers when their music is played on Irish radio. SoundExchange has celebrated the change, caused by an EU court ruling, but some European industry groups say the European Commission should intervene 

Close ally of president was set to testify at antitrust trial of Ticketmaster parent company later this month

Thirty states are charging forward with antitrust claims against Live Nation, though six other states have officially accepted the Justice Department’s settlement. Now, legal documents shared with Digital Music News reveal that many states negotiated multimillion-dollar payouts from Live Nation as part of their settlement agreements.

SXSW isn’t just about movies or music. The annual Austin festival has also become a hub for inventors and entrepreneurs who use technology in exciting new ways.

So while my colleagues in the entertainment section score interviews with Dropout TV stars and hit the I Love Boosters red carpet, I went looking for the latest word in tech. Here's what I learned while attending panels on robots, playing next-gen VR games, interviewing AI experts — plus eating a dangerous amount of tacos to power me through it all.

Starting Tuesday, Spotify users will have access to “Exclusive Mode,” a new feature in the streaming service’s Windows app that can help maximize audio quality by giving the Spotify app full control over your device’s audio processing. According to Spotify, “your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume.” Turning on Exclusive Mode prevents this, which Spotify says allows for “Bit Perfect playback.”

Universal Music Group’s merchandise division Bravado has strengthened its senior executive team under the continued leadership of Matt Young, who has been promoted to CEO of Bravado.

According to Bravado, including both internal promotions and new hires, the team will “focus on creating products and experiences that build stronger connections between artists and their most passionate fans”.

On March 5th, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed a ban on speculative tickets and deceptive websites.

G. Love, Donavon Frankenreiter and Moon Taxi will embark on the Rolling Together Revue Summer Tour 2026 in June. Each night begins with a full set from Moon Taxi, followed by what is described as a “one-of-a-kind song-trading set” from G. Love and Donavon backed by Moon Taxi.

Anthropic is grappling with another massive infringement lawsuit – this time from BMG, which has accused the AI giant of running “roughshod over the rights of countless creatives and rightsholders.”

Pophouse Entertainment, the Sweden-based company co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, has completed a transaction that sees Pophouse becoming an owner alongside BMG in “the music interests of the music catalogue” of the late, legendary R&B singer-songwriter Tina Turner. According to the unusually worded announcement, the transaction sees Pophouse becoming the majority owner in the music interests of Turner, who died in 2023 at the age of 83.

Live Nation may have settled its antitrust battle with the US Department of Justice, but the trial has continued with a coalition of 32 states continuing to sue the company and – potentially – press for a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Now Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar – a longtime campaigner for ticketing reform – is giving the company another headache. Dismayed at last week’s settlement, she has introduced legislation to try to avoid similar moves in the future.

There is a round of layoffs at William Morris Endeavor today, Deadline has learned. Affected are 30 people, or 3% of the staff, across multiple offices, departments and levels of the talent agency.

The staff reduction, which will be completed by the end of the week, is not believed to be predicated on an event, like the layoffs that followed the CAA-ICM merger, but a case of the proverbial rightsizing stemming from the cumulative effect from years of industry consolidation, cost-cutting across the media companies, shrinking marketplace post-Peak TV and the end of packaging.

A Live Nation Entertainment ticketing employee testified Tuesday at the company’s antitrust trial that his private instant messages were “very immature and unacceptable” several years ago when he told a coworker some customers were “so stupid” and boasted of “robbing them blind, baby.”

Benjamin Baker, head of ticketing for Venue Nation, which includes the company’s amphitheaters, became a key witness in claims over 30 states are pressing against the concert promotion and ticketing giant after a Manhattan federal judge rejected Live Nation’s efforts to exclude his messages from the trial.

Today was always going to be a brutal day for Live Nation — you just weren’t supposed to know about it in advance.

That’s because today is the day that Live Nation employee Ben Baker will take the stand in the USA vs Live Nation trial. Ben was one of two authors of what I’m now calling the “Robbing Them Blind” Slack messages from Hell that surfaced late last week and exploded across the Internet.

Tech firm Ticket Fairy says it has processed more than $300m in ticket sales across thousands of events so far. Now it has launched version 3.0 of its platform with an emphasis on AI-powered features for event organisers.

Pitched as “an AI-powered operating system” for live events, the update includes a feature called ‘Fai’ which the company describes as a network of AI agents running inside its system for clients.

 Boutique booking agency Crossover Touring has announced an expansion into Chicago with the launch of a new office and the addition of agent Harry Woosley.

“We’ve been quietly building something we’re really proud of,” said Pat May, Crossover Co-Founder and agent representing artists such as Billy Strings. “It feels like the right moment to expand.”

Woosley most recently served at Madison House and will continue to be based in Chicago. He is joined in the transition to Crossover Touring by a client roster that includes Clay Street Unit and Grammy winner Bronwyn Keith-Hynes.

South Korean music company YG Plus is one of the investors alongside Japanese firms.

The antitrust trial of Live Nation and Ticketmaster resumed Monday in a New York federal court with three dozen states remaining in the case a week after the Justice Department settled its claims and withdrew.

Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors in Manhattan that Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, like the U.S. government, had settled claims and were no longer part of the case.

Testimony then resumed with an attorney for the remaining states questioning Jay Marciano, the chief executive of AEG Presents, which is Live Nation’s chief competitor.