What are the most active law firms and litigators in the music industry? Here's a ranking based on nearly 140 active cases being tracked by DMN Pro. Litigation is hardly rare in the music industry, where each month brings a slate of new cases. But which legal professionals are representing the parties behind the suits? A detailed answer to that question is made possible by DMN Pro’s soon-to-be-released Music Industry Lawsuit Tracker. We’ve already capitalized on the comprehensive, filterable databas... Read More...

Two critical court cases carry the potential to change the music industry for decades to come — and this is anything but a slam dunk for the major labels. So where do things stand in these all-important battles?

A breakdown of active music industry lawsuits by category, August 2024 (Source: DMN Pro) One thing the music industry doesn’t lack is litigation – or threats of litigation. But what kinds of disputes are behind the steady stream of lawsuits? DMN Pro zeroed in on that question by analyzing data from its soon-to-be-released Music Industry Litigation Tracker. Comprehensive and filterable, the one-stop database of industry and industry-adjacent suits will feature a variety of case-specific details – from t... Read More...

Mechanical licensing royalty payments from major streaming music platforms, US, April 2024 (Source: DMN Pro data) In March, Spotify officially flipped the switch on its controversial bundling strategy. One reporting month later, the streaming giant is showing few signs of letting up. Four months have passed since Spotify officially reclassified the vast majority of its U.S. subscriptions as bundles — thereby unlocking massive royalty savings. But just how big of an impact is the sweeping change having ... Read More...

Photo Credit: Mohamed Hassan From infringement complaints against generative AI developers to unpaid royalty actions targeting streaming platforms, the music industry certainly isn't lacking high-stakes litigation. Here are ten particularly important lawsuits with major implications to watch moving forward. How many active lawsuits, conflicts, settlements, negotiations, and legal stare-downs are happening in the music industry — right now? At last count, Digital Music News is tracking more than 140 dif... Read More...

A breakdown of music streaming bundling by platform as a percentage of total royalty-paying subscription accounts in the United States (Source: Digital Music News, DMN Pro). From Spotify’s now-numerous audiobook “bundles” to Apple Music One and many in between, on-demand streaming is building more multi-offering packages than ever — with considerable compositional royalty implications. But how big is bundling for leading music streaming platforms? The question is especially pressing today amid continue... Read More...

Selected major Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders as of late June and early July (Source: Hipgnosis Songs Fund disclosures) Six years and many twists later, what’s going on with Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF), the Merck Mercuriadis-founded company that owns 138 high-profile catalogs? The question is front of mind in industry circles now that Hipgnosis, having for some time made headlines for its operational difficulties, is poised to sell. Report Table of Contents I. Introduction: Where Hipgnosis Songs Fun... Read More...

Image: DMN Pro It's been a dizzying month for AI music. Here's a closer look at some major recent advancements in music AI technology, as well as a potentially groundbreaking pair of lawsuits lodged by the major music labels. Thanks to a quick-moving June 2024, AI music technology has quietly taken a leap forward – and found itself at the center of two RIAA-spearheaded lawsuits. With the unprecedented technology’s evolution showing few signs of slowing, what will the corresponding music industry impact... Read More...

As confidential data pours in, DMN Pro crunches the numbers on the impact of Spotify’s bundling discount.

So far, so good: despite a string of recent price increases, Spotify's subscriber count keeps going up (Source: Spotify disclosures) Spotify has once again raised prices in the U.S. as well as the U.K., where individuals must now pay $11.99 and £11.99 per month, respectively, for ad-free listening. That will create a handsome windfall for Spotify and well-positioned partners like major labels. Music publishers won't fare so well, however, despite the top-line increases. How will Spotify's latest price-... Read More...

Estimated Mechanicals Paid, U.S., February 2024 (Last Month Prior to Spotify Bundling Discounts) (Source: Digital Music News/DMN Pro) How much are streaming music platforms actually paying for publishing in the U.S.? Amid an intensifying battle over Spotify’s bundling and a corresponding mechanicals decline, here’s a comprehensive look at actual payout data preceding Spotify's big move. DMN Pro's latest trove of exclusive data — sourced from actual mechanical payments receipts and documents — gives us ... Read More...

Where do streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music stand in the world’s largest music market? Here's our detailed look at leading platforms’ subscriber stats as well as key streaming landscape takeaways, exclusively for DMN Pro subscribers. Last week, subscriber data leaked to Digital Music News revealed that Spotify remains atop the heap of streaming music platforms, at least in the US. But despite Spotify's tally of more than 50 million subscribers stateside, Apple Music is narro... Read More...