Music Business Worldwide News

1. Milk & Honey continues UK expansion, signing Grammy-winning mixer Dan Grech-Marguerat

   Grech-Marguerat has worked on breakthrough projects for artists including Lana Del Rey, Halsey, George Ezra and The Killers

   Source

2. DistroKid investor buys indie distributor Zebralution from GEMA

   GEMA confirmed that it is selling "its 100% shareholding in Zebralution GmbH"

   Source

3. SM Entertainment targets M&A deals and AI tech integration as K-pop giant outlines ‘NEXT 3.0’ strategy

   The K-pop powerhouse is also aiming to build Asia's "largest and most respected publishing company" via its Kreation Music Rights (KMR) subsidiary

   Source

4. Hannah Karp appointed EVP & Chief Communications Officer for Warner Music Group

   She joins the company’s executive leadership team following a decade at Billboard, where she was most recently Editor-in-Chief

   Source

5. Dani Deahl promoted to Vice President of Creator Policy & Corporate Affairs at Caldecott Music Group

   Deahl will oversee policy strategy across Caldecott's three divisions: BandLab Technologies, NME Networks, and Vista Musical Instruments

   Source

6. UMG ‘set to win EU nod’ to buy Downtown Music, Reuters reports

   The European Commission opened an in-depth Phase II investigation into the proposed acquisition in July 2025

   Source

7. UMG strikes licensing deal with NetEase Cloud Music for China including ‘artist-centric’ terms covering AI, plans to expand Super VIP tier

   The agreement includes provisions addressing artificial intelligence, with both companies committing to what they called artist-centric AI principles.

   Source

8. Matt Spetzler’s Jamen Capital launches $200M-backed independent music financing platform, Pipeline

   The Jamen Capital-backed firm says that its launch comes at a "pivotal moment for the global music industry"

   Source

9. Udio strikes AI licensing deal with Merlin after UMG and Warner Music settlements

   The deal includes terms intended to protect what the companies called “the value of human artistry.”

   Source

10. On… Warner’s cutbacks, and the bigger story.

    The following article originally appeared in Tim Ingham’s latest ‘Tim’s Take’ email, issued exclusively to MBW+ subscribers.

    Source