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Legendary
Record Promoter ROGERS RAMSEY CORKILL Passes
Texas
Radio Hall of Famer Roger Ramsey Corkill died
suddenly last week, according to a social media post from
his son, Nick, who wrote, "He lived a full and
beautiful life, what a remarkable run it was." After
working radio jobs in Corpus Christi and Virgina Beach –
and as a TV weather forecaster – he transitioned to
record promotion, first with Mercury, then MCA, where he
was Southwest Regional Dir./Promotion from 1979-1998
before launching Roger Ramsey Promotions. Read
tributes to the man nicknamed the Ramjet on his Facebook
page here.
Watch his Texas Radio Hall of Fame induction video and
acceptance speech from 2015 here.
A celebration of life will be held in the coming weeks.
Artist representatives launch ‘Say No To
Suno’ campaign: ‘AI slop dilutes the royalty pools of legitimate artists from whose music this slop is derived.’
A coalition of artist representatives has published an open letter calling on the music community to reject AI music generator
Suno. In an open letter titled ‘Say No to Suno’, the artist reps described the company as a “brazen smash and grab” platform, accusing it of using “unauthorized AI platform machinery trained on human artists’ work”. Published Monday (February 23) on the Music Technology Policy blog, the letter was signed by figures including Ron Gubitz, Executive Director of the Music Artist Coalition; Helienne Lindvall, songwriter and President of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance; and Chris Castle of the Artist Rights Institute.
Other signatories included artist David C. Lowery; artist and Artist Rights Alliance board member Tift Merritt; Blake Morgan, artist, producer, and President of ECR Music Group; and Abby North, President of North Music Group.The letter arrives as Suno continues to face copyright infringement lawsuits from major music companies and rights organizations. The RIAA filed suit against both Suno and rival Udio in mid-2024, acting on behalf of all three majors, alleging “mass infringement” of copyright.
Irving Azoff Lambasts YouTube Over Billboard Charts Pullout, Says the Platform ‘Pays Music Creators — Artists and Songwriters — Less Than Any Other Comparable Digital Service’
Irving Azoff is once again lambasting YouTube – this time over the Google subsidiary’s much-publicized Billboard charts pullout. Meanwhile, the firmly worded criticism has arrived amid substantial subscriber growth for YouTube Music.
The music mogul just recently took aim at YouTube, and specifically its well-documented exit from Billboard’s charts. As many are aware, Azoff has been calling out elements of the platform’s business model for a while now. “When YouTube starts paying artists and songwriters on par with other music services, then its streams can be counted the same as Apple, Spotify, etc. Until then, we should all be happy to let YouTube take its toys and go home,” the Oak View Group co-founder proceeded.
Apple revives the Apple Music Connect name — this time as a B2B promo platform for labels and distributors
When Apple Music Connect launched alongside Apple Music in 2015, it was pitched as a direct artist-to-fan social channel embedded within the app.
It was quietly shut down in 2018, after struggling to gain traction.
Now, Apple has resurrected the name — but this time, Apple Music Connect serves as a professional toolkit for labels and distributors to promote content, pitch releases to Apple’s editorial team, upload press photos, and coordinate marketing materials. Apple has set a minimum of 10 days before release for full consideration and seven days for late submissions. Apple explained what editorial teams want in a pitch, such as rollout plans, key media moments, focus tracks, not artist biographies.
BMI Responds to Second Circuit Opinion on Live Concert Rates
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its opinion regarding Live Nation, AEG and the North American Concert Promoters Association’s (NACPA) appeal of BMI’s rate court decision that increased the royalties paid to songwriters, composers and publishers by the live concert industry. The Court returned the matter to Judge Louis L. Stanton to provide further explanation of a reasonable rate owed to BMI. While we disagree with many aspects of the Court’s opinion, we were pleased that it confirmed our position that free market rates can be considered when determining the compensation owed to music creators. Even the Court suggested a range of potential reasonable rates that would still be 50 – 80 % higher than our prior rate. That said, we are unwavering in our belief that our songwriters, composers and publishers deserve more, and we are evaluating all of our options moving forward, including seeking further appellate review.
Music distributor Alliance Entertainment says it sold over 16m vinyl records and 13m CDs in 2025
US-based physical entertainment distributor and wholesaler Alliance Entertainment has reported quarterly growth in its vinyl and CD businesses as part of its financial results for calendar Q4 2025.
For calendar Q4 (the company’s fiscal Q2 2026) ended December 31, 2025, the Florida-headquartered firm posted a 3% year-over-year increase in vinyl record revenue, which it attributed to “continued consumer demand for collectible and limited-edition releases”. On a unit (volume) basis, Alliance said it sold 16.3 million vinyl records over the 12 months ended December 31, 2025, a 5% increase (see below), while CEO Jeff Walker confirmed on an earnings call the company sold over 13 million CDs in 2025.Alliance’s quarterly update follows the recent publication of stats on the wider US market by research firm Luminate, whose Year-End Music Report showed that US vinyl sales increased for the 19th consecutive year in 2025.
Vinyl unit sales in the world’s largest recorded music market grew 8.6% YoY to 47.9 million, according to Luminate, with more than 4 in 10 vinyl records sold at indie record stores. Meanwhile, 1 in 3 CDs were purchased through e-commerce sites.
ASCAP paid out a record $1.76bn to songwriters and publishers in 2025
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. Distributions from public performances outside of the US grew to $455 million, a 10.6% increase over 2024.
Domestic revenue from US-licensed performances, meanwhile, totaled $1.471 billion (+5.3% YoY), driven by earnings from streaming audio, radio and general licensing, while foreign revenue collections also increased to $474 million, up 8.2%
YoY. According to ASCAP, in the last 10 years, it has generated a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% for total revenue and a CAGR of 7.3% for total distributions.
US state attorneys general ready to take Live Nation to trial, with or without DoJ (report)
Several state attorneys general say they are prepared to pursue an antitrust trial against Live Nation even if the US Department of Justice reaches a settlement with the company. The DoJ and more than three dozen states are scheduled to go trial against Live Nation on March 2. The DoJ is engaged in ongoing settlement discussions with the company, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter. The DoJ filed the antitrust suit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May 2024, alleging “monopolization and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition in markets across the live entertainment industry.”
The FCC Quickly Reaches a Decision On Bad Bunny’s ‘Indecent’ Super Bowl Halftime Show
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was investigated — or at least glanced over — by the FCC for potential violations of rules prohibiting ‘indecent material’ on public airwaves. Following complaints lodged by several far-right politicians over Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has completed its very brief investigation into potential violations of its rules prohibiting “indecent material” and offensive language on public airwaves. Bad Bunny also took aim at the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda during his acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards. His halftime performance followed up on that theme with depictions of Latin American life and flags of the various countries. “The woke garbage we witnessed on Super Bowl Sunday needs to be investigated and put to an end,” wrote Congressman Randy Fine (R-FL) in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “There is no reason that over 130 million people—including children—should have been exposed to the vulgar and disgusting content of the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show.”
Writer’s Block: A 15-Minute Fix
(Jason Blume)
I’ve heard it said that the problem with having writer’s block is that there are writers down the block who are writing songs that are our competition. Most country songs are written during face-to-face collaboration sessions with one or more of the writers strumming a guitar. In Los Angeles, my co-writing sessions might be in person, or my collaborator might email me a musical backing track, to which I would write the topline—the vocal melody and lyrics. I lost count long ago, but I’ve certainly written more than 1,000 songs. You would think that after all those songs, I would be brimming with confidence and would approach each new song as a fun adventure. True confession: Being a neurotic, insecure creative person, I still face the blank page as if it were a firing squad. My fear is that whatever I fill it up with will not be good enough. Most of the time, the work I produce during that timed writing lies somewhere between “okay” and “pretty good.” In most instances, I continue writing after the timer has gone off, and many times my brain continues working, insisting to write without my conscious assistance. So, set aside the judgement, give your internal critic a rest, and keep writing those “good” songs until the “wow” ones come through. And remember … your entire career does not ride on any individual song.
The MLC and Pandora file competing summary judgment motions in mechanical royalties dispute
The Mechanical Licensing Collective and Pandora Media filed competing motions for summary judgment last week in a two-year-old lawsuit accusing the music streaming service of underpaying royalties owed to rights holders.
Both parties submitted their filings on Thursday (February 5) in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, each claiming the undisputed facts support their position.
The MLC argues that features on Pandora’s ad-supported service, including on-demand listening sessions, unlimited skips and replays, and personalized programming qualify it as an “interactive service” requiring mechanical royalty payments to songwriters and publishers. The MLC said Pandora had responded to its November 2021 notice with a letter from outside counsel that “categorically reject[ed]” the MLC’s letter and “refused to correct previous usage reporting or make additional royalty payments.” The MLC brought its lawsuit against Pandora in 2024, coinciding with its first-ever re-designation process, under which the US Copyright Office initiated five-year review of the MLC and the Digital Licensee Coordinator
(DLC). Elsewhere, the MLC also sued streaming giant Spotify in May 2024 over its alleged underpayment of royalties to songwriters and publishers by “bundling” its Premium subscription with access to audiobooks. However, that lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice” in January 2025. The MLC then asked the court to reconsider the dismissal.
SoundExchange Claims Coverage of 91% of the ‘Global Neighboring Rights Market’ Following Multiple CMO Deals
SoundExchange announces 17 new deals with collective management organizations worldwide, covering over 90% of the global neighboring rights market.
On Monday, SoundExchange announced the addition of 17 new agreements with collective management organizations (CMO) worldwide in recent months. The most recent signings with partners in Kenya, Barbados, Panama, Paraguay, and European territories bring the non-profit organization’s portfolio to over 90 agreements while expanding coverage of the available global neighboring rights market to over 91%.
The SoundExchange International Services team reached the bulk of these agreements in 2025, with new rights owner pacts in the latter half of the year with Barbados’ Copyright Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (COSCAP), Sociedad de Gestion de Productores Fonograficos del Paraguay (SGP), and the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP). Already, SoundExchange has finalized agreements in 2026 with Kenya’s KAMP and Norway’s Gramo. The largest neighboring rights collective in the world, SoundExchange boasts nearly 500,000 artists and rights owners who trust the company to collect their international royalties. As a non-profit, SoundExchange aims to streamline the complex administrative burden of international collections under the lowest administration rate among comparable neighboring rights organizations.
