MusicAnswers has spent two years conducting a survey of college student music creators to better understand their experience with song registration agencies—specifically the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). The results are pretty grim, with a majority of college students being unaware of the MLC’s purpose or what they do in the industry.
Source: Only 17% of Music Creator College Students Familiar With MLC
The payout is the result of a program introduced in 2025 that opened up new revenue streams to eligible hosts. But it is also an attempt to draw more creators (and their audiences) to Spotify, as the rise of video podcasting has driven many of them to YouTube. Video has come to dominate podcasting. More than half of Americans over the age of 12 have watched a video podcast — but primarily on YouTube, according to an Edison Research report from January.
Source: Spotify Paid $100 Million to Podcasters as Creator Wars Heat Up
Publishers have welcomed a ruling that should make it easier for them to make money from apps when operating in EU countries. Apple has 60 days to comply with a ruling under the EU Digital Markets Act which was accompanied with a €500m fine for abusing its dominant market position when it comes to the distribution and monetization of apps in its store.
Source: EU’s €500m fine of Apple and enforcement action is good news for publishers
Films made with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) will be able to win top awards at the Oscars, according to its organizers. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued new rules on Monday which said the use of AI and other digital tools would “neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination”.
According to one music industry exec’s estimate, the controversial Spotify stream minimum cost emerging artists $47 million during 2024. As many know, that approach sees Spotify pay recording royalties only for tracks with at least 1,000 annual streams. Implemented (along with other changes) at the behest of the majors, the revamped model is effectively preventing the vast majority of uploaded recordings from generating payments.
Source: Spotify Stream Minimum Cost Indies $47M in 2024, Exec Estimates
Global streaming platform Deezer has reported that over 20,000 entirely AI-generated tracks — or around 18% of all tracks — are uploaded to its platform daily. That’s an increase from the previously reported 10% in January, when Deezer launched its cutting-edge AI music detection tool. The company’s AI music detection tool sets an industry standard — but the onslaught of AI-generated music is unrelenting.
Source: Deezer Says 20,000 AI-Generated Songs Are Uploaded Daily
As streaming dominates home entertainment, with 59.6 million U.S. households cutting the cord per Evoca.tv, the physical media market for DVDs and Blu-rays has seen a dramatic fall over the past decade. New data reveals that combined DVD and Blu-ray sales in the U.S. dropped from $10.1 billion in 2014 to an estimated $900 million in 2024, a decline of over 91%.
Source: DVD & Blu-ray Sales Have Dropped 90% Since 2014 As Streaming Grows | Cord Cutters News
Global media consumption will fall 0.3% this year compared with 2024, which would be the first decline since 2009, research firm PQ Media predicts. “Also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content, as consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars,” PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn said.
Source: Global Media Consumption Will Decline This Year For First Time Since 2009 – Study
A recession now could be the thing that pushes linear TV off the edge. “Given the ongoing secular headwinds facing the linear TV ecosystem, we worry that television could mirror the fate of radio and newspapers during past recessions,” MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson wrote in an April 9 report, adding that $45 billion in ad revenue could be lost in a recessionary situation.
Source: Volatility Bites: Why Hollywood Is Terrified of Tariffs
The BBC’s recent study into AI-generated news summaries is a sobering reminder of the potential and profound limitations of generative AI. While artificial intelligence is often lauded as the inevitable next step in media evolution, the findings from this trial expose a more unsettling truth: AI, in its current form, is incapable of reliably processing and presenting accurate news.