February, 2025

SM Entertainment teams up with music tech startup Verses on AI-generated rap music project
The collaboration centers on Verses' Rappie application, which generates rap lyrics, vocals and accompanying videos using AI. Source...

Warner Music signs Japanese star Yuki Chiba in partnership with 300 Entertainment
Chiba collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion on 'MAMUSHI', which has generated more than 284 million streams on Spotify to date. Source...

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ becomes first song to hit 5bn streams on Spotify
The latest achievement coincides with the track topping Billboard's Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century chart Source...

Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ breaks Spotify record for most-streamed album in a single day by a female artist in 2025
The record spent 11 weeks on Spotify’s Countdown Page ahead of its release. Source...

StubHub losses widen despite revenue growth ahead of planned IPO
Net loss more than doubled in H1 2025 to $111.8 million, while revenue rose 3% YoY to $827.9 million. Source...

Arrival Artists and ATC Live merge to create global booking agency ROAM
The merger establishes ROAM as the “fifth largest” independent booking agency globally. Source...

Downtown Music boss speaks out on UMG deal: ‘The debate must be honest. It must be about facts, not agendas.’
UMG’s Virgin Music Group revealed in December that it had agreed to buy Downtown LLC in a $775m deal, which is currently under Phase II investigation by the European Commission. Source...

WMG promises ‘more firepower’ for British artists as Atlantic and Warner Records UK labels align with US leadership
Simon Robson to lead UK operations following Tony Harlow’s departure as CEO of WMUK Source...

On… The China Paradox
This article originally appeared in Tim Ingham’s latest MBW+ Review email, issued exclusively to MBW+ subscribers. Source...

Jordi Tello named Managing Director of Iberia for Sony Music Publishing
Tello steps in at SMP Iberia, backed by a decade-plus of music industry success Source...

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