US performance rights organization ASCAP has reported its revenue and royalty payout numbers for 2025, with both figures hitting all-time highs. Revenue came in at $1.945 billion for calendar 2025, up 6.0% year over year. Of that, New York-based ASCAP distributed $1.759 billion to songwriters, composers, and music publishers, an increase of 3.7% YoY. In…
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Timothy Very, the longtime drummer of Manchester Orchestra, has died. Bandmates Andy Hull, Robert McDowell and Andy Prince confirmed the news of Very’s death on Saturday (Feb. 14). His cause of death has not been reported. Very joined Manchester Orchestra for the group’s third full-length album, Simple Math, which was recorded in 2010 and released…
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Warner Music Group intends to divest its EMP business, the European rock and metal merchandise e-retailer it acquired for USD $180 million in 2018. The company disclosed the plan in its latest quarterly SEC filing, revealing that it signed a “non-binding letter of intent to sell its EMP business within [its] Recorded Music segment”. EMP,…
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More than 1 million independent artists are now signed directly to NetEase Cloud Music, China’s second-largest music streaming platform. The company revealed that milestone in its FY 2025 results, published on Wednesday (February 11). NCM also reported that its subscription revenues rose 13.3% YoY to RMB 5.1 billion (approximately $715 million), up from RMB 4.5…
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Harry Styles is reflecting on some of the lifestyle changes he’s embraced recently. In a new interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, published Saturday (Feb. 14), the 32-year-old pop star opened up about his love for Italy, slowing down after a busy period, becoming an uncle, running a marathon, and more. Nearly four years after…
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Adam Lambert is speaking out against the removal of the Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument in New York City. In early January, the Trump administration replaced the rainbow-colored flag — a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion — with an American flag at the National Park Service–run site in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. “Stonewall is…
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Wiz Khalifa is mourning the loss of his father. On Friday (Feb. 13), the 38-year-old rapper took to social media to share an emotional tribute following the death of his dad, Laurence W. Thomaz. He was 63, according to TMZ. “Today my father decided not to wake up,” Wiz wrote on X. “I will always…
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South Korea-based entertainment giant HYBE has published its Q4 and FY 2025 earnings. According to the new investor filing, HYBE’s annual revenues grew 17.5% YoY to 2.65 trillion South Korean Won last year. That total revenue haul for FY 2025 converts to USD $1.86 billion at the average annual exchange rate. While HYBE’s topline grew…
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HYBE AMERICA has announced that Scott Borchetta is departing the company. Borchetta has served as the CEO of Big Machine Label Group since HYBE’s purchase of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2021. BMLG was acquired by Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in 2019. The entirety of Ithaca, including BMLG and Braun’s SB Projects, was then acquired by South…
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It’s become a perennial trade music industry story: The combined global market share of the three major record companies and Merlin on Spotify is in decline. Well, no more. In 2025, according to Spotify, this long-running trend was actually reversed. By a sliver, anyway. Before we get into the numbers, some important clarification: This crucial…
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