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/what-is-lufs https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/what-is-lufs LUFS is the unit loudness meters use to say how loud a whole track or programme sounds, measured with the ITU-R BS.1770 algorithm. Broadcasters aim at -23 LUFS under EBU R128; Spotify turns playback to -14 dB LUFS. Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-referencelufsloudnessmasteringstreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/lyrics-on-streaming-platforms https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/lyrics-on-streaming-platforms Lyrics on most streaming and social apps do not come from your distributor upload. They come from licensed lyric companies, mainly Musixmatch, with Apple running its own pipeline and LyricFind serving search and other services. This guide maps who feeds which platform, walks through the Musixmatch steps Spotify documents, and explains what to do for Apple and Instagram. Sources checked on 25 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingdistributionmusic-businessworkflows https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/youtube-music-ai-labels-fully-partly-no-gen-ai https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/youtube-music-ai-labels-fully-partly-no-gen-ai YouTube Music began labelling AI-generated songs on its player on 14 Oct 2026, and the labels are coming to the main YouTube app. Partners declare Fully, Partly or No Gen AI, and YouTube's own detection fills the gaps. Here is how to declare, where the lines fall, and how it compares with Spotify's AI Credits. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicyoutube-musicmetadatastreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/amazon-music-and-deezer-for-artists https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/amazon-music-and-deezer-for-artists Spotify and Apple get most of the attention, but Amazon Music and Deezer both run free artist dashboards. This guide sets out what each says it offers, based on their own pages read on 24 Oct 2026, and where we think each is worth an hour of your time. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingmarketingdistribution https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/apple-music-for-artists-guide https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/apple-music-for-artists-guide Apple Music for Artists is the dashboard where you claim your artist page, see plays, listeners and Shazams, and manage your team. This guide covers how claiming works, what each analytics number means and what the tool does not let you change, based only on Apple's own support pages, read on 24 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streaminganalyticsmusic-businessdistribution https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/soundcloud-for-artists-2026 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/soundcloud-for-artists-2026 SoundCloud now sells two paid tiers for artists, Artist and Artist Pro, and both bundle distribution to other platforms. This guide sets out what each plan includes, how fan-powered royalties work, and who should pay for which tier, based on SoundCloud pages read on 24 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingdistributionroyaltiesmonetisation https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-discovery-mode-explained https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/spotify-discovery-mode-explained Discovery Mode lets an artist team flag songs for some of Spotify's algorithmic listening, in return for a 30% commission on recording royalties from those streams. This guide sets out the mechanics as Spotify's own help pages describe them, a simple way to judge the trade-off for one song, and the criticism, as we read those pages on 24 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers spotifystreamingroyaltiesrelease-planning https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-one-year-ai-credits-verified-what-to-switch-on https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-one-year-ai-credits-verified-what-to-switch-on Spotify's one-year AI update says no single signal decides what counts as slop, so the signals you control matter more. Here is what to switch on, what you can't apply for, and what each tool doesn't do. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicspotifystreamingworkflows https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/how-streaming-royalties-are-calculated https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/how-streaming-royalties-are-calculated There is no per-stream rate. Streaming services pool their net revenue each month and split it by share of streams, and two newer rules change who gets into that split: Spotify ignores tracks under 1,000 streams a year, and Deezer weights streams from established artists and active fans. Here is the whole chain, step by step, as the services describe it on 24 Oct 2026. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers royaltiesstreamingdistributionspotifydeezer https://wearethemusicmakers.co/opinion/spotify-artist-profile-protection-year-end-prediction https://wearethemusicmakers.co/opinion/spotify-artist-profile-protection-year-end-prediction Spotify says Artist Profile Protection, now a beta with thousands of artists, will be available to all artists by the end of 2026. We expect it on time. We also make our first scored prediction, about the part Spotify has not promised. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:00:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingai-musicpolicy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-q3-2026-306m-subscribers-agentic-age https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-q3-2026-306m-subscribers-agentic-age Spotify ended Q3 2026 with 306 million Premium subscribers and 788 million monthly users, and its co-CEO pitched it as a winner of the "agentic age". As listening moves into AI agents and conversations, artists have little view of how they get picked, and the the Universal and Warner deals reaching their two-year mark in early 2027 are the moment to ask. Thu, 22 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingspotifyai-agentsearnings https://wearethemusicmakers.co/opinion/ai-music-labels-are-the-easy-part https://wearethemusicmakers.co/opinion/ai-music-labels-are-the-easy-part Within eight days in October 2026, Deezer and YouTube Music announced new AI-music controls, and Spotify said it had kept more than 50 million tracks out of recommendations. Labels get the headlines, but the filters do the real work, and none of the announcements we read explains how an artist can contest a mistake. Thu, 22 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingai-musicpolicy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-50-million-slop-spam-tracks-recommendations https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/spotify-50-million-slop-spam-tracks-recommendations Spotify says it has taken more than 50 million "slop and spam" tracks out of its recommendations in 2026, and counts removals from the service separately (more than 75 million). For producers, the useful question is no longer only "will my track be removed?" but "will anyone be shown it?" Wed, 21 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers streamingai-musicspotify https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/living-wage-for-musicians-act-hr-5664-stuck-in-committee https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/living-wage-for-musicians-act-hr-5664-stuck-in-committee H.R. 5664 would add a fee of half the subscription price, between $4 and $10, to every music streaming subscription and take 10% of streamers' other music revenue, then pay the money straight to human recording artists, capped at a million streams per track a month. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on 30 September 2025, and Congress.gov shows no action since. Sat, 17 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsstreamingroyaltiespolicy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/indian-labels-dsps-no-royalties-ai-slop https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/indian-labels-dsps-no-royalties-ai-slop Saregama's managing director Vikram Mehra says labels in India and globally are working with the three leading streaming services so that purely AI-generated music gets no share of the royalty pool. The principle protects human artists, but it leaves open who draws the line, how AI-assisted work is treated, and who keeps the money that slop no longer earns. Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers ai-musicindustryroyaltiesstreamingindiasaregama https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/apple-music-live-london-venue-concerts-new-release-insights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/apple-music-live-london-venue-concerts-new-release-insights Apple Music opened a 600-capacity venue in London, streamed its first festival on video and sells DJ mixes that pay the producers whose tracks appear in them. It has also put concert dates on artist pages and same-day release data in Apple Music for Artists. The venue is for stars. The ticketing and data plumbing is where independent artists can get value, as long as they set it up before release day. Fri, 16 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers apple-musiclive-musicdj-mixesartist-analyticsstreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/phonorecords-v-streaming-rate-proposals-2028-2032 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/phonorecords-v-streaming-rate-proposals-2028-2032 Publishers want a 20% headline streaming mechanical rate for 2028 to 2032. Spotify, Apple, Google and Pandora want to keep 15.35%, and Amazon wants it cut to 13.4%. Meanwhile, a deal on CD, vinyl and download rates, struck mostly by labels and their sister publishers, is being challenged by the independent songwriters it left out. Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrysongwritersroyaltiescrbstreamingmechanicals https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/platforms-label-ai-music-differently https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/platforms-label-ai-music-differently YouTube Music started labelling AI-generated songs on 14 Oct 2026, using what partners declare plus its own detection. Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer and the RIAA/IFPI scheme each draw the line in a different place, so an artist who uses AI for one stem now has to describe it five ways or let a detector decide. Wed, 14 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicstreamingmetadatayoutube-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/deezer-ai-toggle-fraud-problem https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/deezer-ai-toggle-fraud-problem Deezer will let listeners hide fully AI-generated music from search before the end of 2026. Its own figures matter more than the toggle. Deezer receives nearly 90,000 fully AI tracks a day, yet they draw only 1-3% of streams, and up to 85% of those streams in 2025 were fraudulent. For human artists, the fix that counts is in the payout system, not the search bar. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aideezerstreamingstreaming-fraudai-music 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/take-down-leaks-stolen-uploads-fake-profiles https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/take-down-leaks-stolen-uploads-fake-profiles A leaked demo, a stranger releasing your song, a fake under your name, a Content ID claim on your own video: each has a different route, and the wrong one wastes time. Here is what the US takedown law requires, how Spotify, Apple and YouTube actually take reports, and where the system leans against independent artists. Sun, 27 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightstreamingvoice-cloning https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/africa-streaming-growth-outpaces-royalty-collection https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/africa-streaming-growth-outpaces-royalty-collection Sub-Saharan Africa's recorded music revenues grew 15.2% in 2025 to $120 million, and digital income grew faster still. But South Africa takes 78.1% of that, collecting societies across the continent took in only €90 million in 2024, and nobody publishes fraud rates for African markets. For African artists the growth is real; the plumbing that turns plays into payments is not keeping up. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryroyaltiesstreamingstreaming-fraudafricanigeriasouth-africaifpicisacartist-rights 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/2026/09/spotify-streamshare-explained-no-per-stream-rate https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-streamshare-explained-no-per-stream-rate Spotify pays rights holders a share of each country's monthly royalty pool, in proportion to their share of streams there. The "per-stream rate" is a number worked out afterwards, which is why it moves by country and month, and why your deal matters more than the rate. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingspotifyroyalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-artificial-streaming-penalty-fee-explained https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-artificial-streaming-penalty-fee-explained Since April 2024 Spotify has charged labels and distributors a fee per track when it finds flagrant artificial streaming, and the big distributors pass it straight to artists, at about €10 per flagged track per month. Here is how the penalty works, how artists who never bought a bot get caught, and how to vet a promoter before you pay one. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingspotifyartificial-streaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/canada-drops-streamer-contribution-music-funds https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/canada-drops-streamer-contribution-music-funds Ottawa has told the Federal Court of Appeal it plans to scrap the rule that large foreign streamers pay 5% of their Canadian revenue into Canadian content funds, and replace it with government money. The 31 August payment date came and went with no new transfers. For music, that means FACTOR, Musicaction and the funds behind early-career artists swap a levy that grew with streaming for a budget line that can be cut. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrypolicycanadastreamingartist-fundingspotify https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-discovery-mode-explained-commission-payola https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-discovery-mode-explained-commission-payola Discovery Mode lets you flag songs for Spotify Radio, Autoplay and some Mixes, and Spotify keeps 30% of the recording royalties from streams there. Here is the maths on when that pays, and why a listener lawsuit calling it payola went to private arbitration instead. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingspotifyroyalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-india-loud-and-clear-2026-regional-royalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/spotify-india-loud-and-clear-2026-regional-royalties Spotify's India Loud & Clear report says royalties generated by Indian artists rose 29% in 2025, led by Telugu (up more than 120%), with over 40% of that money coming from listeners abroad. At home, only about 14.4 million of India's 178 million audio streamers pay, so how much of the growth reaches regional independents depends on their deals and their publishing paperwork. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryindiaspotifyroyaltiesstreamingregional-music 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/spotify-marquee-showcase-discovery-mode-compared https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/spotify-marquee-showcase-discovery-mode-compared Spotify sells promotion three ways: two click-priced display formats and a commission on royalties. Here is what each costs, who can use it, and the numbers that tell you whether it paid off, including the break-even point Spotify's own reports leave out. Thu, 13 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryspotifymarketingstreamingguides https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/spotify-ai-persona-badge-identity https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/spotify-ai-persona-badge-identity Spotify will badge artist profiles whose public identity looks like a photorealistic AI-generated person, and keep those profiles out of editorial and algorithmic recommendations by default. The badge says nothing about how the music was made. For artists, that means the face on the profile now matters more to discovery than the method behind the track. Tue, 11 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicspotifystreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/velvet-sundown-one-year-ai-labelling-test-case https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/velvet-sundown-one-year-ai-labelling-test-case A year after an AI-generated "band" reached more than a million Spotify listeners, its audience has collapsed and Spotify has written rules for synthetic identities. The real cost has landed elsewhere, on a small human band with a similar name that had to pay for a trademark to fight an AI lookalike. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-musicspotifyartist-rightsstreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/bts-arirang-korea-export-rank-korean-language-share-flat https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/bts-arirang-korea-export-rank-korean-language-share-flat 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. Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryk-popsouth-koreastreamingluminateglobal-discovery https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/china-ai-labelling-rules-netease-cloud-music-testing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/china-ai-labelling-rules-netease-cloud-music-testing China has required AI-generated audio to carry a label and embedded metadata since 1 Sep 2025, and platforms must detect AI content and let uploaders declare it. In April 2026 NetEase Cloud Music told a Chinese newspaper its AI labels were still in a small-scale test and relied mostly on creators declaring AI themselves. We think that leaves honest creators carrying the cost. Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers ai-musicai-labellingmetadataartist-rightsstreamingchinanetease-cloud-musictencent-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/anime-japan-music-export-iris-out-ado https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/anime-japan-music-export-iris-out-ado Kenshi Yonezu's anime film theme "IRIS OUT" topped Billboard JAPAN's first-half 2026 chart after reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200, the highest yet for a Japanese-language song. Japan's trade ministry puts the music industry's 2024 overseas income at ¥72.58bn, and most of the money it can trace arrives as streams, not sync fees. The lesson for artists anywhere is that a placement is where discovery starts, and the money comes later. Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryjapanj-popanimesyncstreamingtouring https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/tencent-music-qq-music-ai-songs-royalty-model https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/tencent-music-qq-music-ai-songs-royalty-model Tencent Music says more than 10 million people use its AI music production platform, and its tools can publish a generated song to QQ Music in one click. On its Q4 call it said songs made wholly by AI get a different royalty-sharing model, while AI-assisted songs sung by humans stay on the traditional one. We haven't seen a big Western streaming service draw that line in public. Tue, 12 May 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aitencent-musicqq-musicroyaltieschinastreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/brazil-mexico-spotify-royalties-2025-loud-and-clear https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/brazil-mexico-spotify-royalties-2025-loud-and-clear Spotify says Brazilian artists generated about R$2bn on the service in 2025 and Mexican artists about MX$8.2bn. Both numbers are real growth, but they measure money paid to rights holders, not to artists, and Mexico's headline "more than half from abroad" is close to Spotify's own global average. Mon, 11 May 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryspotifyroyaltiesartist-rightsstreamingbrazilmexicolatin-america https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/deezer-artist-centric-model-fy25-who-gains https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/deezer-artist-centric-model-fy25-who-gains Deezer reported €8.5 million of net income for 2025, which it calls its first positive net income, and credits its artist-centric payment model among its strengths. The model weights streams by who the artist is and how the fan found the track. We explain the rules, who gains and who loses, and why the profit says little about whether artists are better off. Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrydeezerroyaltiesstreamingartist-centric 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 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/nigeria-spotify-60-billion-naira-per-stream-gap https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/nigeria-spotify-60-billion-naira-per-stream-gap 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. Mon, 16 Mar 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingnigeriaroyaltiesspotify https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/tiktok-apple-music-play-full-song https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/tiktok-apple-music-play-full-song 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. Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrystreamingtiktokapple-musicroyalties