Midweek Music Update: Wednesday 26 November 2025
Welcome to this fortnight's round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past few weeks.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Legal updates
Live Nation looks to dismiss antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice (CMU)
WMG follows UMG and settles Udio lawsuit entering into licencing arrangement (MBW)
European Commission sends statement of objections to UMG over proposed Downtown acquisition (Billboard)
UK government announces its plan to ban the sale of inflated resale tickets (GovUK)
Don Henley wins lawsuit over Eagles lyric theft (NME)
In the news
Byte Dance's valuation has doubled to $480bn over the last year (MBW)
Spotify acquires WhoSampled (MusicAlly)
Majority stake in Slipknot catalogue sold to Harbourview (MusicWeek)
Suno raises $250m valuing the business at $2.45bn (MusicAlly)
Spotify integrates TuneMyMusic allowing users to transfer in playlists (MBW)
AEG announces the opening of Olympia London, a new 3,800 cap music venue (BBC)
WMG revenues increase by 4% for period ending Sep-25 (MusicWeek)
Major labels enter licensing deal with AI platform Klay Vision (MBW)
Armada Music acquires the catalogue of Sonique (MusicWeek)
Spotify launches new subscription packages boasting higher audio quality for top tiers (CMU)
WMG and Stability AI partner to develop next gen AI (MBW)
JimmyCliff, reggae superstar has died aged 81 (BBC)
Voting rules change for the Eurovision Song Contest amid controversy around Israel’s result (NME)
Is the US set for another Spotify price hike in 2026? (MusicAlly)
Features and commentary
Tim from MBW discusses Spotify's billion-dollar pricing opportunity (MBW)
How artists should deal with AI in their brand agreements (MusicAlly)
Olivia Dean hits out at Live Nation and AEG due to hiked ticket prices (CMU)
Industry changes/developments
Ukraine's new indie music organisation Spilna joins Impala (MusicAlly)
