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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Spotify co-founder Martin Lorentzon has offloaded a mountain of shares in the streaming giant. Yesterday (Wednesday, May 21), Lorentzon sold 1 million shares at Tuesday’s closing price of $658.60 per share, raising a total of $658.6 million. That’s right: nearly $659 million in ONE GO. The sale was executed through his holding company Rosello Co. Ltd, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, spotted by MBW.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Spotify said its iOS app update, approved by Apple earlier this month, drove “a significant increase” in conversions from free to Premium subscriptions. On May 2, Spotify said Apple approved its app updated in the US, a move that was prompted by a federal court ruling that found Apple in “willful violation” of a previous injunction against its App Store practices. Spotify users on Apple devices are now able to use other payment options beyond Apple Pay.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
K-pop group NewJeans has retained additional heavyweight legal counsel as they appeal a court ruling that prevented them from engaging in independent activities outside their agency ADOR. South Korea’s Allkpop reported on Wednesday (May 21) reported that the group’s appeal case has been assigned to Civil Division 25 of the Seoul High Court, with presiding judges Hwang Byung Ha, Jung Jong Kwan, and Lee Kyun Yong overseeing proceedings.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Udio, an AI music startup facing ongoing litigation from major record labels alongside its competitor Suno, has released its first mobile app on Apple’s iOS platform. The app, launched Tuesday (May 20), brings Udio‘s text-to-music generation features to mobile devices, allowing users to create songs through text prompts without traditional music training.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Amazon Music rolled out an AI-powered search tool in beta in the US on Tuesday (May 20) to enhance music discovery on the platform. Available to select Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers in the US, the feature expands discovery experiences from standard artist searches, Amazon said in a blog post. The tool generates curated music collections and allows users to create AI-generated playlists tailored to specific artists, among other things. “Want to dive more into BLACKPINK?
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Dua Lipa claimed the title of most played artist across UK radio, TV and public venues in 2024, according to data from music licensing body PPL on Tuesday (May 20). The singer-songwriter’s achievement marks the second time in five years that she topped the annual chart, previously reaching the top in 2020. Dua Lipa broke Ed Sheeran’s three-year streak at No. 1, pushing the singer-songwriter to third place in 2024, behind Taylor Swift, who maintained her No. 2 spot for the second straight year.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Live events company AEG Presents has promoted Joe Jaeger to Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Strategy, within its Global Partnerships division. Jaeger’s expanded role includes strategic development across the company’s live music properties portfolio, in addition to his current role of leading the marketing team, AEG Presents announced Tuesday (May 20).
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
Hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa has sued Universal Music Group (UMG), alleging the music company is preventing them from reclaiming ownership of their master recordings, in breach of US copyright laws. The group is accusing UMG of engaging in “self-interested and heavy-handed tactics” to block them from exercising their termination rights under copyright law, according to the lawsuit filed Monday (May 19) in the Southern District Court of New York.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
ROXi, a music video streaming service backed by U2 bassist Adam Clayton, has completed a management buyout with new capital from American broadcasters Sinclair and Gray Media. That’s according to Sky News, which reported on Sunday (May 18), citing sources, that the assets of MagicWorks, ROXi‘s parent company, transferred to a newly formed entity called FastStream Interactive (FSI) following months of negotiations. Financial terms of the transaction were not reported.
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2 weeks ago | 
musicbusinessworldwide.com | Mandy Dalugdug
TikTok has unveiled three new artist campaigns supporting new album releases from Jin of BTS, Damiano David of Måneskin, and a posthumous release from EDM pioneer Avicii. These campaigns follow the platform’s recent partnerships with artists including Tate McRae, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco, Billie Eilish, Rauw Alejandro, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, Coldplay and ROSÉ. The platform also launched an in-app experience for Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department.
