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Texas Music Revolution Fest Reveals 2026 Lineup, New Documentary
2026 will mark 30 years of the Texas Music Revolution Fest in McKinney, TX, hosted by radio station 95.3 KHYI in Dallas that shirks the same tired pop country format that has infected the airwaves coast to coast to focus on Texas music, bluegrass, and and just about everything else that’s great. Also as part of this year’s festival, they’ve announced the release of the “Texas Music Revolution” documentary that chronicles the 25th anniversary of the festival that took place in 2021 right after the pandemic. Directed by filmmaker Troy Paff (Emmy-nominated cinematographer for Dirty Jobs), and featuring Kiefer Sutherland, the documentary showcases some of the biggest names in Texas music like Charley Crockett, Ray Willie Hubbard, Joshua Ray Walker, and Zane Williams. The full film is planned to be available for streaming around the time of the 2026 festival. For tickets to the 2026 festival and more information, visit tmrfest.com. 

 

‘They Called Us Outlaws’ charts how Texas artists heralded a new movement in country music

Fifty years ago, an album came out with a title and a lineup of artists that seemed calculated to capture and capitalize on a moment. They were country artists, giving a kind of musical middle finger to the polished Nashville scene.  On the cover of the album were the faces of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser. Printed in western typeface across the top: “Wanted!“  While the album would go down as the first in country music history to go platinum, selling one million copies, it was in a sense just a sampler of a much bigger musical movement behind it — centered mostly in and around Austin, a community of like-minded musicians who refused to play by the industry’s rules.  A new docuseries, “They Called Us Outlaws,” chronicles the birth of the outlaw country genre. It premiered last month at South by Southwest with sold-out crowd. Filmmaker Eric Geadelmann joined the Standard to talk about the project. Listen to the interview in the player above or read the transcript here.  This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:

 

The Music Industry Has a Growing Data Overload Problem. 
The music industry of 2026 is exploding everywhere all-at-once, with catalog investments, creative outputs, and AI-generated mayhem part of a pedal-to-the-metal growth expansion. On the ground, that means more companies are battling an avalanche of data overload and disconnected processes, though systems and experts are quickly adapting and figuring out solutions. What’s the path towards achieving ‘data nirvana'? The answer to that question could start to differentiate winners and losers across a number of exploding industry sub-categories in the coming years, including distributors, DSPs, ticketing platforms, ISP/catalog mega-owners, DAWs, publishers, and labels. Click here to read the full article.

 

A Few Lessons Co-Writing a Song Can Teach Us (Cliff Goldmacher)
It’s no exaggeration to say that I owe the lion’s share of my songwriting success to co-writing. I can - and do - write songs on my own from time to time but these serve as the exception that proves the rule. For me, collaboration has been the key to building a career that has lasted over thirty years and continues to reward me with new creative insights and deep friendships. I thought I’d take a moment to elaborate on a few of the many lessons that co-writing can teach us, which we can then apply far beyond the writing room. Co-writing a song is as old as songwriting itself. The beauty of this kind of collaboration is that each individual brings their own set of strengths and perspectives to the process in a way that - while it might appear obvious to them - is unique. I have a catalog of over a thousand songs, which are almost all co-writes and I can say with absolute certainty that I couldn’t have written any one of them better on my own. I could have written them differently, perhaps, but I don’t think I’d have enjoyed the process as much. There is a shared fearlessness that leads to powerful results when we take the time to open up our creative process to others. I’ve seen this in my own work and in the countless times I’ve led organizations through the process of co-writing a song. Haven’t co-written yet? Take a deep breath and jump in. You’ll be glad you did.

 

The MLC Launches New ‘Music Registration 101’ Micro-Course
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has launched its new online micro-course, “Music Registration 101: Registering Your Music.”  The course is designed to help music creators, industry professionals, and others better understand how music rights work and how to properly register them in order to ensure royalties are distributed to the appropriate rightsholders. “Music Registration 101” provides a practical overview of registration across key organizations involved in copyright, publishing administration and distribution.  Available at no cost, the course is designed to make foundational music rights information more accessible. It is also included as part of The MLC’s Member Benefits program, giving Members of The MLC access to educational tools and resources that support their careers. The course takes approximately three hours to complete, and upon completion, participants receive a personalized certificate for academic or professional use. Those who choose to take the optional final assessment and score 80% or higher also earn a digital badge. More information on enrollment can be found here.

 

The US Copyright Office is hiking registration fees by 43%. Independent music orgs say many artists won’t be able to afford it.
A group of ten music industry organizations formally opposed a proposed 43% average increase to copyright registration fees, arguing the hike would lock out independent creators out of the registration system.  The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) led the filing of the opposition with the US Copyright Office on Monday (May 4), joined by the Artist Rights Alliance, Music Managers Forum–US, The Recording Academy, the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), Songwriters of North America (SONA), the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), Music Artists Coalition (MAC), the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and the Future of Music Coalition.  The groups collectively represent more than 600 independent record labels and tens of thousands of musicians, songwriters, and artist managers.

 

Sorry, AI artists. Spotify’s not letting you become ‘verified’ on its platform.
Spotify is introducing a new verification badge for artist profiles.  It goes beyond simply confirming whether a profile is claimed, and instead attempts to signal something the streaming platform says has become harder to establish in the age of generative AI: the authenticity of the artist behind the music.  The new “Verified by Spotify” badge, announced on Thursday (April 30), will appear on artist profiles and next to artist names in search, marked by a light green checkmark icon.  Spotify said in a blog post published today that “at launch, profiles that appear to primarily represent AI-generated or AI-persona artists are not eligible for verification”.  The post added: “In today’s music landscape, the concept of artist authenticity is complex and quickly evolving, and we’ll continue to develop our approach over time”.

 

Why Local Radio Still Has A Pulse
News organizations across platforms find themselves at loggerheads trying to figure out how to best tailor their information to suit frustrated consumers. A new story in NiemanLab this week paints the current picture of a news cycle that makes it arduous for even the most iconic newsrooms to remain competitive.  The missive by Neel Dhanesha—“People are stressed out by most news that isn’t local news, according to a new study”—depicts anxiety up and down demographic groups when it comes to processing news coverage. The research is a new report from several august organizations: the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.  Among the main findings, Dhanesha explains that “TV and radio still play an important role in American news consumption, while AI is at the very bottom of everyone’s list.” Interestingly, radio is still in the game when consumers are asked “How often, if at all, do you get news and information from each of the following?” 

 

The Audio Landscape is Overrun by AI ‘Podslop’—It’s Not Just a Music Industry Problem
The rise of AI isn’t just leading to music slop on streaming services, but a serious increase in automated podcast content flooding the landscape.  It’s not exclusive to the music industry. The sheer volume of AI-generated podcast content is beginning to affect traditional discovery methods across the industry that podcast creators and their listeners rely on. Over a period of just nine days, nearly 39% of new podcast feeds were identified as potentially AI-generated.  This rising trend in “podslop” was recently illustrated by data from the Podcast Index, an open-source tracking platform, and subsequently reported by Bloomberg. Most of these shows target high-volume search terms, such as health and wellness or celebrity biographies. Unlike AI-generated music, which runs the risk of copyright infringement, AI-generated podcasts are much easier to create, and there’s money to be made in doing it “well.” The rapid creation of AI-generated podcasts covering a broad range of content is designed to catch search traffic and the programmatic ad revenue that comes with it, all with minimal human involvement.

 

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. 

 

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.