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American Law Institute’s ‘Copyright Restatement’ Project Faces Growing Opposition—500+ Sign Petition Staunchly Opposing New Rules
A petition to bring awareness to the inaccuracies of copyright law in the American Law Institute’s Copyright Restatement has over 500 signatures.  In opposition to the American Law Institute’s (ALI) Copyright Restatement and to highlight its “significant inaccuracies, omissions, and mischaracterizations of copyright law,” the Copyright Restatement Transparency Project (CRTP) has announced that its petition to raise awareness has surpassed 500 signatures.  The CRTP was formed by members of the copyright and creative communities, including individuals and organizations that participated in the Copyright Restatement for years but ultimately resigned from the project in its final stages. Those who resigned reportedly did so “when it became clear that the ALI would not address repeated concerns from the participants, professional organizations, prominent law professors and copyright experts, the U.S. Copyright Office, and Congress.”

 

US Recorded Music Revenue Hit $11.54 Billion in 2025 — As Paid Streaming, Vinyl Growth Offset an Ad-Supported Slip, RIAA Data Shows
Thanks in large part to 7% paid streaming growth, the US music industry generated all-time-high recorded revenue of $11.54 billion during 2025. However, both ad-supported and paid non-Premium streaming slipped.  These and other stats come from the RIAA’s newly released 2025 year-end report, which, like the H1 ’25 breakdown, calculated for wholesale revenue as opposed to estimated retail value.  At the top level, the pivot means reported figures are smaller than in years past; 2023’s headline revenue was $17.12 billion, for instance. But the trade organization also rolled out an interactive database compiling historical wholesale data and the all-important inflation-adjusted sums; technically, revenue has yet to top its late-90s peak in terms of actual value. Against the backdrop of steady streaming gains, permanent downloads’ long-running revenue contraction continued in 2025. But things were more positive for vinyl, which seemingly put its plateau concerns in the rearview by moving 46.8 million units (up 7.9% YoY) and generating $1.04 billion (up 9.3% YoY), per the report.

 

US wholesale recorded music revenue reached $11.5B in 2025, as paid streaming subscriptions hit 106.5M — adding 6.5M accounts YoY
That’s according to the RIAA’s new year-end report, published March 16.  (This is the RIAA’s first full-year report issued exclusively on a wholesale basis, following its shift to the new methodology in its H1 2025 midyear report. The change aligns the RIAA’s reporting with international standards like IFPI‘s Global Music Report, which is expected to be published later this week. The 2024 full-year figures have been restated on a wholesale basis for comparison. The RIAA has also launched an updated interactive database with historic revenue figures converted to wholesale).  That 3.1% growth rate narrowly outpaced US inflation, which sat at 2.7% across the 12 months of 2025. That’s an improvement on 2024, when MBW reported that the US market’s wholesale revenue growth of 2.7% actually trailed the rate of inflation.
The US recorded music industry’s total wholesale revenue of $11.535 billion in 2025 was up by +$347 million vs. the equivalent wholesale figure from 2024 ($11.188 billion).

 

Rumblings of an iPod Resurgence—Young Music Listeners Look to Distance Themselves From Streaming
A growing number of people, especially Gen Z, are looking to move away from streaming services, and Apple’s old iPod devices are having a resurgence.  People are buying up Apple’s retired tech like it’s going out of style—again—as an increasing number of music listeners long for a break from streaming services and smartphones. Especially among younger generations, the growing interest in classic iPods is part of a broader digital burnout trend spurring a return to offline devices and hobbies.  Apple discontinued the iPod product line in 2022, but Google Trends data reveals that searches for the original iPod and iPod Nano spiked last year: eBay searches for classic iPods jumped by 25% and iPod Nano by 20% between January and October 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. “The act of playing my music, with the sole purpose of listening to music—no ads, no apps, no distractions—makes my brain feel brand-new again,” said Shaughnessy Barker, a Gen Z-er who started using an iPod Classic over the winter holiday season after searching eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

 

Sony Music Says It Just Removed 135,000+ Deepfakes of Its Artists’ Music
Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs created by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services. AI deepfakes of Beyoncé, Queen, and Harry Styles are among those removed.  Digital Music News has been reporting on the existence of AI deepfakes proliferating on digital streaming providers like Spotify, which does not require an AI label for its music.
Last year, country singer Blaze Foley was the target of deepfakes that saw songs added to his official Spotify Page, despite the artist being dead with no new music in the pipeline from his estate. Tyler, the Creator got a taste of launch deepfakery with the release of his Don’t Tap the Glass album release, which saw several AI tracks released with similar names dampening the album launch on Spotify.“The problem with deepfakes is that they are a demand-driven event,” Kooker continues. “They are taking advantage of the fact that an artist is out there promoting their music. That is when deepfakes are at their worst—building off of and benefitting from the demand and artist has created. Ultimately, it distracts from what the artist is trying to accomplish.”

 

The MLC and Pandora clash in opposition briefs as mechanical royalties battle nears decisive stage
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) and Pandora Media have each filed opposition briefs in their legal battle over whether the streaming service has underpaid royalties owed to rights holders.
Both filings landed on March 5 in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, one month after each party filed competing motions for summary judgment in the two-year-old lawsuit. The case centers on whether Pandora’s ad-supported radio service, Pandora Free, qualifies as an “interactive service” under the Copyright Act — and is therefore subject to mechanical royalty obligations for the entirety of its streams.  The MLC, established by the Music Modernization Act of 2018, serves as the sole entity authorized to collect and distribute “mechanical royalties” due for the reproduction and distribution of musical works. The collective argues that three features available on Pandora Free — personalized music programs, the ability to skip and replay songs, and on-demand track selection — each independently qualify it as an “interactive service” under the Copyright Act.  “Pandora does not just give users access to all three features, Pandora advertises that it gives users access to all three features,” the MLC said.

 

US radio broadcaster Cumulus Media files for bankruptcy to shed $600M in debt
Cumulus Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday (March 5), seeking to shed about $600 million in debt through a prepackaged restructuring.  The Atlanta-based radio broadcaster, which operates 394 radio stations across 84 markets, entered into a restructuring support agreement with an ad hoc group of lenders holding the company’s 2029 term loans and senior secured notes also due in 2029, according to an SEC filing.  Under the plan, existing equity will be eliminated, while creditors will exchange their claims for new equity in the reorganized company and $50 million in convertible notes. Additionally, the company’s asset-based revolving credit facility will be amended and restated to provide continued liquidity, the company said.

 

YouTube’s Ad Revenue Exceeds That of Its Four Largest Traditional Media Competitors Combined
New research from media firm MoffettNathanson has determined that YouTube is now the world’s biggest media company, with advertising revenue that exceeds that of its four largest traditional media competitors—Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)—combined. The Google-owned streaming giant also runs circles around its rivals in U.S. TV viewership.  It’s a significant change from 2024, when YouTube’s ad revenue clocked in at $36.1 billion, just behind the $41.8 billion total from Disney, NBC, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery. YouTube’s $40.4 billion in ad revenue last year exceeded the $37.8 billion combined from its four closest traditional media competitors. But with the addition of fifth-place rival Fox, the traditional media companies would be just ahead of YouTube at $44.8 billion.  The Google-owned streamer keeps nearly half of its ad revenue, paying creators a 55% cut on ads from standard videos. But ad revenue isn’t the only area in which YouTube is dominating in 2025 and onward. But the worst part for the Hollywood media giants is that YouTube is uniquely positioned to thrive as AI-powered videos and short-form clips proliferate. According to MoffettNathanson analysts Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman, YouTube is “one of the only” media companies that “will become stronger in the age of AI.”

 

Apple Music launches AI transparency tags — but only if labels and distributors declare them
Apple Music is introducing a new set of metadata requirements designed to bring greater transparency around AI-generated content to the music industry.  The platform has launched what it is calling Transparency Tags — a system of disclosure labels that record labels and music distributors can begin applying to content delivered to Apple Music immediately, and will be required to use when delivering new content in future. The Composition tag covers AI-generated lyrics or other compositional elements, while the Music Video tag applies to any visual content, whether bundled with albums or delivered as standalone.  Labels and distributors can apply multiple tags simultaneously. 

 

What’s Investor Sentiment on Music These Days? Now There’s a Study for That
Fourth Pillar’s Music Investment Barometer offers the first dedicated study into the views, behaviors, and outlook of global music investors — and the mood is decidedly bullish.  Corporate and financial strategic communications firm Fourth Pillar has announced the findings of its inaugural Music Investment Barometer, the first dedicated study designed to track sentiment across the global music investment community.  Drawing on responses from 125 decision-makers and senior advisors across five continents, the Music Investment Barometer illustrates that music rights dealmaking is expanding in volume, appeal, and sophistication, driven by music’s positive growth outlook. The survey measured market confidence, capital allocation intentions, deal flow and valuation trends, the factors driving investment decisions, sources used when assessing catalog acquisitions, obstacles to expanding capital deployment, and investor sentiment on emerging risks—including artificial intelligence.  Respondents comprise the highest levels of institutional leadership; 72% of those surveyed operate at Managing Director level or above. Collectively, the respondents oversee more than $3.24 trillion in assets under management. The survey was conducted over four weeks in Q4 2025 and captured responses from senior decision-makers from music investment platforms (24%), investment managers (16.8%), private capital firms (16.8%), music labels and publishers (12.8%), investment banks (11.2%), and law firms (9.6%). Geographic distribution included North America (74.4%), Europe (21.6%), Asia (2.4%), Oceania (0.8%), and South America (0.8%).

 

Warner Music Group signs new $1.645bn credit agreement with JPMorgan, refinancing existing debt
Warner Music Group‘s subsidiary, WMG Acquisition Corp., has refinanced its existing credit facilities through a new $1.645 billion credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase, according to an SEC filing published today March 11.  The deal replaces and consolidates WMG’s previous credit arrangements — which date back to 2012 and have been amended multiple times over the years — into a single, freshly restated package. The new credit agreement comprises a $1.295 billion term loan, the proceeds of which will be used to pay off WMG’s existing term loan debt and related fees, and a $350 million revolving credit facility available for general corporate purposes. Both mature on March 11, 2031. JPMorgan Chase serves as the administrative agent on the deal, heading a broad syndicate of banks that includes BofA Securities, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Fifth Third Bank, RBC Capital Markets, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as syndication agents.  Those same banks, along with JPMorgan and Citigroup Global Markets, also serve as the deal’s joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners.