iHeartMedia in talks to be acquired by SiriusXM Holdings (report)
iHeartMedia is reportedly in preliminary talks to be acquired by SiriusXM Holdings, in a deal that would bring together two audio giants under pressure from on-demand streaming platforms.
That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported over the weekend (April 24), citing people familiar with the discussions, that the talks are still at an early stage and may not result in a deal. Representatives for both companies declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Music executive Irving Azoff has been working with Apollo Global Management on proposals to merge the two companies, the report said.
A combined entity would generate more than $12 billion in annual revenue, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg said both companies, despite being the dominant players in their respective businesses, are struggling to attract new customers and compete with streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
How will labels overcome the copyright threat from AI music?
In five years, the major music companies will not only be scouring the web for AI infringement, they will also be issuing legal letters directly to the perpetrators… using AI.
Sound far-fetched? It isn’t. It’s sitting inside a pair of patent applications published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 12, 2026.
MBW unearthed the filings while researching our recent story on the patent portfolio being built by Music IP Holdings, the entity formed last year through Universal Music Group‘s partnership with IP asset management firm Liquidax Capital.
That earlier story reviewed three filings in the portfolio covering multi-stage approval and controlled distribution of AI-generated derivative works. Nashville-headquartered MIH has said it holds “more than 60 protected innovations with numerous additional technology families and portfolios under development.”
The two filings we’re looking at here appear to be part of that broader portfolio.
Why Publishing Still Confuses Artists (and What to Do About It)
Publishing is the incubator for song makers. Where institutions like Motown, Interscope, and Syco once placed the emphasis on writing at their apex, it seems the only people left in the music industry who genuinely care about the craft of music-making, by default, are publishers.
For record labels, the goal is sell records. For publishers, the goal is to find melody and harmony, in order to match and soundtrack moments.
Emerging artists today are being programmed to number-watch. Spotify streams, social media metrics, follower counts, an agenda catalyzed by a new generation of label A&Rs who now expect artists to arrive with a fan base already built. The result is artists focused on style over substance, on image over musicianship, while the craft of songwriting and composition gets left behind.
And throughout all of this, there has been virtually no education around publishing; the actual foundation of all musicianship. It's been painted as an ancient methodology, an afterthought.
There's clearly a gap between music managers, artists, and publishers in going out and explaining why it matters. And it does matter. Managers should be considering publishing deals before record deals, not after. The current order is normalized around chasing labels and distribution, but it doesn't have to be. The foundation was always the song.
RFD-TV To Air ‘Opry Live’ & ‘Circle Sessions’
Opry Entertainment Group and RFD-TV have partnered to bring two of the Grand Ole Opry’s signature series to RFD-TV.
Opry Live will begin airing Saturday, May 9. The weekly series features live performances from the Grand Ole
Opry. Circle Sessions launches on the network on Friday, May 8. The series features intimate discussions and behind-the-scenes moments filmed in and around the Opry’s famed circle.
New episodes will be available to stream on RFD+ for one week following their initial broadcast.
“Our audience has always had a deep connection to country music and the stories behind it,” says Raquel Gottsch Koehler, co-owner and Chief Marketing and Creative Officer. “Bringing Opry Live and Circle Sessions to RFD-TV gives viewers direct access to one of the most important stages in music, in a way that feels authentic to both the artists and the audience.”
Deezer says 44% of songs uploaded to its platform daily are AI-generated
Deezer announced on Monday that AI-generated tracks now represent 44% of all new music uploaded to its platform. The company said it’s receiving almost 75,000 AI-generated tracks per day and more than two million per month.
The consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, at 1-3% of total streams, and 85% of these streams are detected as fraudulent and demonetized by the company. Songs tagged as AI-generated on Deezer are automatically removed from algorithmic recommendations and not included in editorial playlists. The company announced today that it will no longer store hi-res versions of AI
tracks. The announcement comes as Deezer conducted a survey last November that found that 97% of participants couldn’t tell the difference between fully AI-generated music and human-made music.
Tuned Global launches streaming manipulation detection tool aimed at rightsholders and DSPs
Streaming fraud remains one of the biggest concerns facing the global music business, with the use of bots, click farms and coordinated artificial listening continuing to distort royalty payments, chart positions and consumption data across the industry.
Tuned Global, the technology platform used by businesses to power licensed music and audio services, has launched what it calls a Service Manipulation Detection (SMD) system, designed to help streaming platforms and rightsholders identify and act on that activity. The system monitors activity across five levels: track, artist, user, network and payment. User-level monitoring flags excessive repetition, unusually high daily activity or what the company calls “invariant listening patterns” over time. Network-level controls detect suspicious login behaviour, geographic inconsistencies, and shared IP or device activity across multiple accounts.
Spotify Quietly Starts Identifying Songs Using AI (Or At Least Some of Them)
Spotify is quietly introducing a new feature that exposes artificial intelligence contributions within track credits, making a notable step in platform-level transparency. That comes with the caveat that these labels are all self-reported, however.
The update is currently in beta and allows listeners to view AI involvement directly in the ‘Song Credits’ section of the Spotify mobile app. The feature is initially rolling out to artists distributing through DistroKid, with broader expansion expected across distributors soon. Spotify confirmed that users will be able to see specific AI contributions tied to a recording that are voluntarily reported by the distributor. This includes elements such as vocals, lyrics, and production inputs generated or assisted by AI systems.
AI And Music Publishing Licensing
The music industry’s response to AI so far, like its response to Napster all those years ago, has not been without anxiety and fear.
Meanwhile, gen AI companies, with millions of dollars of investment, have already built large businesses on the backs of our songwriters – without paying independent music publishers a penny. (No other sector of entertainment treats songwriters quite like the tech industry!) Does anyone truly believe that gen AI companies and their lawyers thought they had a ‘fair use’ defense when their entire enterprise was built on the presumption they could use our songs without permission or compensation to build billion-dollar businesses?
Regardless, we now stand at the precipice of a whole new income stream built solely on the music of human
creators. Nobody is giving them enough assurance that we have their backs. There are two income sources in the equation, and each brings its own
complexities. Synthetic data makes it far harder to identify which songs were used in any given output. And make no mistake: every AI-generated output is derived from human songs – their melody, rhythm, lyrics, and harmonies. If human music weren’t essential to these models, Suno and Udio wouldn’t have persisted in using songs without permission to build models. Every AI output is, in some form, a derivative work. If we can’t trace it back to the source songs, compensating songwriters and publishers becomes difficult, if not impossible.
YouTube extends deepfake detection tool access
YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection tool to the wider entertainment industry, opening access to celebrities and talent agencies for the first time.
The expansion comes six months after YouTube started rolling out the AI detection tool in October, which was limited at the time to a specific set of creators with YouTube channels.
The company announced Tuesday (April 21) that talent agencies, management companies, and the celebrities they represent are now eligible to enroll, regardless of whether they have a YouTube channel. The expansion was developed with support from talent agencies and management companies, including Creative Artists Agency (CAA), United Talent Agency ( Enrollment requires a government-issued ID and a brief selfie video, which YouTube uses to verify identity and build a facial likeness template. The verification process takes up to five days. Once enrolled, participants can authorize agents, managers, or other representatives to review flagged content on their behalf without going through verification themselves.
The platform noted that it stores likeness templates and identity information for up to three years from an enrolled person’s last login, or until they withdraw consent or delete their account.UTA), WME, and Untitled Management.
What Is A Music
Producer? (by Cliff Goldmacher)
Working as a producer for the last thirty years, I’ve recorded with all kinds of artists from “fresh off the boat” newbies to artists whose experience in the world of music doubles or even triples my own. In every case, my role as a producer stays essentially the same. It’s that role that I’m going to describe in this article. Not only must the producer have the experience to work with the studio engineer (often possessing the technical expertise to engineer the project themselves) but the musical understanding to help the artist with everything from song choice, structure and arrangement to the all-important vocal performances that are vital in giving a recording its personality. In short, a producer provides the experience and necessary perspective to guide a recording from start to finish. Producers can come from a variety of backgrounds. I’m listing the four most common and what each brings to the process, but, typically, producers have experience in more than one of these areas;
1)SONGWRITER,M 2) MUSICIAN, 3)ENGINEER, 4) MUSIC FAN. For the record, no one way takes precedence over any other for producing a recording. The only measure of a producer that matters is whether or not the resulting recording is satisfying to everyone involved. As most producers operate somewhere in between minimal and complete involvement, here are the main areas where most producers do their work;
1) PRE-PRODUCTION, 2) INSTRUMENTAL
RECORDING/ARRANGING, 3) VOCALS. At the end of the day, it’s a good working relationship and the trust between artist and producer that makes for the best results. So, be sure that you not only like a producer’s work but feel comfortable working with them as well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person and trusting them with your art, so make sure that you feel like the producer you choose is willing to give you and your music the attention necessary to get a great recording.
We May Be Reaching Peak Streaming Subscription
Scroll around the internet and you’ll find a lot of grumbling about subscription prices. Nowadays, everything is a subscription – audio streaming, video streaming, gaming, software, plugins, workstations, AI models, and no doubt several other categories I can’t think of right now. Every time a subscription monthly price is raised, a lot of people start wondering where it will end. Recently YouTube raised its subscription prices as well, and many are watching to see if that might finally be the one that causes internet users to say, “No more!” We may be hitting the point of “peak streaming subscription.” The $1-$2 extra for YouTube every month might just make subscribers wonder whether they could get by with free version instead. And they might even delete some other streaming services while they’re at it.
The day of the subscription is not over, but the day of peak streaming subscription might just be at hand.
