https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-music-class-actions-tracker https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-music-class-actions-tracker A living table of the six proposed class actions that musicians have brought against Suno, Udio and Google, with court, filing date, procedural stage, last development we could confirm, source and the date we read it. No class has been certified in any of them, so no musician is yet a class member. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers legallawsuitsclass-actionai-musicartist-rightsindependent-artistssunoudioformat-tracker https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/recipe-release-a-single-in-14-days https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/recipe-release-a-single-in-14-days A day-by-day plan from final master to release day for an independent single, using a distributor. Every step has a time and a cost, with distributor prices as seen on 26 Oct 2026. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-recipedistributionrelease-planningspotifyindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-fresh-finds-forward-independent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-fresh-finds-forward-independent-artists Spotify will invite about 10,000 independent artists a year from its Fresh Finds playlists into a 12-month programme of studio time, software, therapy and promotion. There is no cash in it, the biggest perks are US-only, and the real prize is the editorial attention that comes with membership. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryspotifyindependent-artistsplaylistsartist-development https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/licensing-music-to-creators https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/licensing-music-to-creators Creators need background music and will happily pay or credit an artist who makes clearing it easy. This guide covers the three ways to license your tracks directly to creators (free with credit, Creative Commons, or a paid licence), what a one-page licence should say, how to keep Content ID from claiming a video you licensed, and how to price it. YouTube and Creative Commons sources read on 25 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers licensingyoutubecopyrightindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/ditto-74-percent-independent-artists-under-1000 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/ditto-74-percent-independent-artists-under-1000 Ditto Music surveyed 5,039 self-releasing artists in 112 countries, and 74% said they earned less than $1,000 from music last year. Putting a song out is now cheap and easy. Getting paid for it is still hard, and the people answering the survey are Ditto's own customers. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryindependent-artistsartist-incomestreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/ditto-over-55-artists-use-ai-most https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/ditto-over-55-artists-use-ai-most Ditto Music's survey of 5,039 self-releasing artists found AI use rising with age, from 24% of 18–24s to 74% of over-55s. In the raw data, many of those older users are recent starters, which suggests AI is filling the engineer they never had. But the sample is Ditto's own customers, and Ditto sells AI mastering. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsindependent-artistsai-adoptionmixing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/anghami-arabic-summer-hamaki-mena-streaming-economy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/anghami-arabic-summer-hamaki-mena-streaming-economy Anghami says summer 2026 was one of its strongest for Arabic music, led by Mohamed Hamaki's album with 71 million streams and 18 of its Top 20 chart slots. Behind the charts is a company whose US$99.3m revenue and 3.5 million paid subscribers include a video service, and whose growth runs through telcos, device bundles and exclusives. Here is what that means for independent Arabic artists. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreaminganghamimenaarabic-musicindependent-artistsbundles https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/japan-record-market-h1-2026-streaming-46-percent-vinyl-up-42 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/japan-record-market-h1-2026-streaming-46-percent-vinyl-up-42 Japan's recorded music market grew to an estimated ¥196.5 billion in the first half of 2026, up 4%, and streaming made up 46% of it. CDs fell 11% to ¥72.0 billion and vinyl rose 42%, but physical formats together still slightly outsold digital. For international indies, Japan remains the one big market where the plastic you press can matter as much as the playlist you land on. Mon, 31 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryjapanriajstreamingphysical-mediacdvinylindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/vinyl-300-copy-run-tariffs-break-even-2026 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/vinyl-300-copy-run-tariffs-break-even-2026 US vinyl passed $1 billion in wholesale value in 2025, but the US tariff system still taxes the inputs a pressing plant buys more than the finished records it competes with. We set out what a 300-copy run costs on published price lists, and an illustrative worksheet showing where an independent artist breaks even. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryvinyltariffsphysical-mediaindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/india-concert-boom-indie-musicians https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/india-concert-boom-indie-musicians EY puts India's live events growth at 44% in 2025, and a new EY-IMI report expects paid music subscriptions to roughly double by 2028. A small survey of non-film musicians suggests most of that money is skipping the independent circuit. Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryindialive-musicindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/tidal-direct-to-fan-sales-square-bandcamp-alternative https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/tidal-direct-to-fan-sales-square-bandcamp-alternative TIDAL now lets independent artists in the US sell tracks and albums through TIDAL Upload, with payments run by Square and 90% of each sale going to the artist before processing fees and taxes. Uploads earn no streaming royalties, so for a DIY artist on TIDAL a sale is the main way to get paid. On fees alone it undercuts Bandcamp for newer sellers, but it is US-only, digital-only and has no fan community yet. Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrytidaldirect-to-fanbandcampindependent-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/ifpi-2026-global-music-map-regional-growth https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/ifpi-2026-global-music-map-regional-growth 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. Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryifpistreamingindependent-artistslatin-americaafricamenaroyalties