IFPI says recorded music revenue grew 6.4% to US$31.7bn in 2025, with growth in every region and Latin America fastest at 17.1%. The percentages point to the Global South, but the dollars still mostly come from the US, Canada and Europe, and the fast-growing regions grew more slowly than a year earlier. Here is how an independent artist should read the map.
Industryvia IFPI
On 18 March 2026 the UK government said a copyright exception letting AI firms train on work unless creators opt out is no longer its preferred option. Musicians won this one through public pressure and votes in Parliament, but the government hasn't ruled the idea out, and seven months later an opt-out model is on the table in Australia.
Artist rightsvia GOV.UK (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Spotify says Nigerian artists generated more than ₦60bn on its service in 2025 from 30.3 billion streams. The total is real, but roughly ₦2 a stream and a Premium price near $1 a month suggest much of that money comes from listeners abroad. Spotify's plan is to sign up more payers, not raise prices.
Industryvia TechCabal
Bitwig Studio 6, out on 11 Mar 2026, is a workflow release with no AI headline. It rebuilds automation around an overlay mode and clips that move with their music, adds linked clip aliases and gives every project a key and scale. It comes free to customers with an active Upgrade Plan, on a perpetual licence rather than a subscription.
Releasesvia Bitwig
TikTok and Apple Music launched Play Full Song on 11 Mar 2026, letting Apple Music subscribers hear a whole track inside TikTok through Apple's MusicKit, so the play is paid as an Apple Music stream. The 15-second clip in the feed still isn't a stream, the feature is exclusive to Apple, and Spotify listeners still only get a save button.
Industryvia TikTok Newsroom
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