Universal Music Group has formed a joint venture with WTSL, the Silver Lake-backed investment firm founded by prominent Hollywood agent and WME co-founder, Patrick Whitesell. According to the official announcement, the venture’s goal is to “accelerate commercial opportunities for UMG’s artists and artist estates in rapidly growing areas outside traditional recorded music and music publishing”. The press release added that the JV will pursue opportunities that “extend music’s value across film, television, fashion, consumer products, branded experiences, and other emerging growth areas”.

Walt Disney and Comcast’s NBCUniversal have sued artificial intelligence company Midjourney, accusing the image generator of copying their copyrighted characters without permission. The complaint, filed Wednesday (June 11) in the US District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, marks the first major AI copyright challenge from Hollywood studio giants. Midjourney is being sued by Disney and NBCUniversal over creating and distributing “unauthorized copies” of characters like Star Wars’ Darth Vader, Elsa from Frozen, Lightning McQueen from Cars, Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, Sully from Monster’s Inc., Marvel’s Iron Man, and Homer Simpson from The Simpsons, among others. The studios are seeking a preliminary injunction to block Midjourney from using their intellectual property. They are also seeking monetary damages of up to $150,000 for every infringed work.

Live music giant Live Nation plans to invest $1 billion in 18 new and renovated venues across the US over the next 18 months, stressing the positive impact of the investment on the US economy. The new or refurbed venues, ranging in size from intimate clubs to large amphitheaters, are in markets ranging in size from large cities like Denver, Pittsburgh and Seattle, to smaller markets like Allentown, Pennsylvania, Birmingham, Alabama, and Riverside, Missouri. It’s part of Live Nation’s ongoing strategy to build a network of owned-and-operated venues, of which the company now owns 150 in the US, or about 4% of all music venues across the country.

According to Live Nation, it “invested $14 billion in artists” in 2024 (i.e., what it spent on putting on artists’ shows), which it reports was “more than triple the $4.4 billion invested in 2016″. The company said that this investment “supports headliners and rising stars, with a 25% increase in payouts to club and theater acts since 2019 alone”. Live Nation also said that it supported over 9,000 developing artists through its On The Road Again program, which allows artists to keep 100% of their merchandise revenue. Live Nation said that the program has “returned tens of millions of dollars” back to artists.

Hollywood talent giant Wasserman has promoted Shelley Pisarra to the role of Chief Insights and Innovation Officer. Pisarra previously served as Executive Vice President, Global Insights.

B2B music distributor FUGA has partnered with fan app Single to enable FUGA’s artist and label clients to deliver music and merch directly to their Shopify storefronts. Through the new partnership, artists and labels with FUGA will be able to place their music in their Shopify storefront alongside merch and access to listening parties and exclusive communities. Sales made through the storefronts will be reported to US, UK and Australian charts. The integration with Shopify, via Single, means artists and labels will have “a starting point to grow their DSP presence and direct-to-fan business in one place.”

The Board of Directors of BMI has extended the contract of BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill for an additional three years, through December 31, 2029. O’Neill has been with BMI for 30 years and was appointed CEO in 2011.

ONErpm has entered into a strategic partnership with Sydney-headquartered BIORDI, which it describes as one of Australia’s “most influential independent labels”. Founded in 2019 by Australian entrepreneur Lowkee, BIORDI has emerged as a prominent player in the country’s Hip-Hop, R&B, Rap, and EDM scenes.

Upbeat Bidco has significantly upped its bid for the remaining public shares of Believe, the global digital music company that offers a range of services following a number of acquisitions across more than 50 countries. According to a press release issued by Believe today (June 5), the Ladegaillerie consortium has decided to increase the price of its offer to €17.20 per Believe share. The new offer values Believe at approximately EUR €1.73 billion, or USD $ 1.98 billion at current exchange rates. Perhaps its best-known asset is DIY digital distribution platform TuneCore, which it acquired in 2015 for about $40 million. Other brands and subsidiaries include rock and metal label Nuclear Blast, French indie record label Naïve, and distribution arm Groove Attack, among others.

Beehiiv is an all-in-one creator friendly platform for newsletters and blogs that makes it easy to design, write, send, promote, monetize, and track the ROI of your newsletter. Created by former employees at the famous newsletter company Morning Brew, Beehiiv aims to help creators launch and monetize their own newsletter.

SuperPhone is an intelligent mobile messaging platform that helps enterprise retail brands acquire, and engage with mobile customers in an impactful way.

Jibby is dedicated to transforming daily coffee & tea rituals into wellness journeys by infusing nourishing ingredients like collagen and superfoods —providing you energy, mood balance, stress relief, and more.