Topic

Industry

UK grassroots venues by the numbers: 30 closed, 801 still open, and what the £1 arena levy has paid so far
Music Venue Trust's 2025 annual report counts 801 UK grassroots venues trading, down from 810, the smallest fall since 2018, but more than half made no profit and jobs fell by almost a fifth. The voluntary £1 levy on shows over 5,000 capacity covered 8.8% of arena and stadium tickets in 2025, and its first payouts (£500,000 on 28 January 2026, £1m more in July) are small against a £76.6m live-music loss.
24 Jul 2026Industryvia Music Venue Trust
BTS lifted South Korea to No. 3 music exporter, but Korean-language listening in the US didn't move
Luminate's 2026 midyear report puts South Korea third in its Export Power Rankings, up from fourth in 2025, and credits BTS's ARIRANG. The same report shows Korean-language songs holding steady at 1.1% of US streams, and ARIRANG's US success running on CD sales more than streams. One comeback can move a country's ranking without changing what most listeners choose to play, and that matters for every act not singing in English.
15 Jul 2026Industryvia Luminate
Sony buys the old Hipgnosis catalogue: what changes for the songwriters inside it
Sony Music Publishing has closed its purchase of Recognition Music Group's 45,000-song catalogue, the former Hipgnosis portfolio, at a price reported at $3.5 billion to $4 billion. For the writers whose shares are inside it, the songs are now with their third owner, and each sale has taken them further from the people who wrote them.
15 Jul 2026Industryvia GIC (joint press release with Sony Music Publishing and Blackstone)
Primary Wave closes its Kobalt deal. What Kobalt's writers should check now
Primary Wave has completed its purchase of Kobalt, reportedly for around $1.5 billion. The publisher known for transparent admin now belongs to a company whose main business is buying song catalogues, and that changes the questions Kobalt's clients should be asking.
7 Jul 2026Industryvia Francisco Partners
DistroKid sells a majority stake to CVC: what private equity ownership could mean for artists
CVC Capital Partners has agreed to take a majority stake in DistroKid, with Insight Partners keeping a minority and Phil Bauer staying as president. For artists on a flat yearly fee, the questions are price, add-ons, and how a new owner handles fraud and takedowns.
6 Jul 2026Industryvia CVC Capital Partners

UK grassroots venues by the numbers: 30 closed, 801 still open, and what the £1 arena levy has paid so far

BTS lifted South Korea to No. 3 music exporter, but Korean-language listening in the US didn't move

Sony buys the old Hipgnosis catalogue: what changes for the songwriters inside it

Primary Wave closes its Kobalt deal. What Kobalt's writers should check now

DistroKid sells a majority stake to CVC: what private equity ownership could mean for artists

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