Midweek Music Update: Wednesday 28 January 2026
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
Former Police bandmates allege Sting owes unpaid royalties for "Every Breath You Take" (Billboard)
The Neptunes’ Chad Hugo accuses Pharrell Williams of withholding royalties (Rolling Stone)
UMG set to secure EU antitrust approval for Downtown bid (Reuters)
Drake appeals dismissal of defamation claim stating it sets a "dangerous" precedent (CMU)
Online piracy group Anna's Archive sued by UMG, Sony, Warner and Spotify (Complex)
AXS sues SecureMyPass.com over counterfeit online tickets (MBW)
In the news
TikTok strikes deal to avoid US shutdown (The New York Times)
Over 700 shows planned across the UK for Independent Venue Week 2026 (NME)
Bruno Mars' 'The Romantic Tour' breaks single day sales record (MBW)
MOBO Awards 2026: The full list of nominations (MOBO)
Bella Figura Music acquires significant portion of Jeepster Recordings catalogue (Music Week)
Bruno Mars concert on Roblox attracts audience of 12.8 million (Music Ally)
The full list of nominees for the Brit Awards 2026 (BBC)
Merlin announces partnership with Pipeline (Music Week)
Udio strikes a deal with Merlin to license recordings to train AI models (Billboard)
Hundreds of artists back Human Artistry's "Stealing isn't Innovation" declaration (CMU)
Song created by artificial intelligence banned from Swedish charts (BBC)
Features and commentary
Music Venues Trust CEO Mark Davyd speaks to the realities of campaigning (Music Week)
An interview with Suno CEO and co-founder Mikey Shulman (The Guardian)
Could the ruling in Salt N Pepa dispute threaten artists seeking to reclaim rights? (CMU)
Industry changes and developments
Australian tribunal decision to raise the royalty rate for broadcast radio by 38% (MBW)
