February, 2026

From Universal Music’s fresh round of layoffs to Spotify’s catalog surge… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up
The biggest headlines from the past few days... Source...

Q4 Ad Revenue Plan: Finish 2026, Build 2027
Build your Q4 ad revenue plan now: lock in November 2026, reset in January, and prepare 2027 deals, data, and video early....

AI Content Licensing: How Publishers Get Paid in 2026
AI content licensing is now a real revenue line. See who gets paid, the four models open to publishers, and a readiness checklist for smaller sites....

Google Ad Tech Remedies: What Publishers Should Do Now
Google ad tech remedies will open AdX to Prebid and rival ad servers. What changes, when, who is covered, and what publishers should do now....

Google Ad Manager Updates: Your Q4 2026 Checklist
Google Ad Manager updates hit fast this quarter: Oct 23 category removals, new bid signals, Direct Pay billing, and a 2027 impression change....

Sony and Universal ask court to force Suno investor Lightspeed to testify about the ‘legal risk of training data’
The labels made their case in a filing in Boston federal court last Tuesday (October 13), opposing Lightspeed's motion to quash their subpoena. Source...

Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour has grossed $534M to date… as her 13-show Madrid residency closes with more than 700,000 fans
Shakira's team said demand for tourism and accommodation generated by the residency outstripped that of events including Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city and Formula 1. Source...

DOJ sues ticket broker REPS, alleging it made $120.8M profit reselling tickets to Beyoncé concerts and other shows after bypassing limits
According to the complaint, REPS bought more than eight tickets to each of at least 83,000 events between January 2022 and October 2025. Source...

Mike Sistad and Evyn Mustoe Johnston exit ASCAP Nashville after a combined 39 years at the PRO (report)
Sistad had worked at ASCAP since 2001, while Johnston joined the Nashville team in 2012. Source...

Maree Hamblion promoted to EVP, A&R and Creative, Australia and New Zealand, at Universal Music Publishing
Hamblion, who is based in Sydney, will lead UMPG's creative and talent development strategy in both markets. Source...

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