Music Industry Publishing Deals Highlight New Artist Signings
Several emerging songwriters and publishers announced new partnerships this week, including Harry Beech with Electric Feel and Phil Barton with BMG.
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Several emerging songwriters and publishers announced new partnerships this week, including Harry Beech with Electric Feel and Phil Barton with BMG.

Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell have filed a lawsuit against AI developer Anthropic, alleging the company illegally harvested copyrighted songs to train its Claude language model. The publishers accuse the firm of launching a brazen campaign to bypass standard licensing agreements.

Sony Music is set to become the largest shareholder of gaming publisher GungHo Online Entertainment to expand its game portfolio and strengthen its position in the interactive entertainment market.

Stability AI has successfully raised $76 million in a new funding round, with significant backing from major music industry players including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group, as well as Electronic Arts. This investment highlights growing interest in AI technologies from entertainment giants.

Universal and Sony Music, in coordination with IFPI and Music Canada, have initiated legal proceedings in Canada against the 'parasitic' streaming application Musi for unlawfully sourcing music from YouTube.
HYBE has elevated Jenni Pfaff to Chief People and Transformation Officer, as part of a series of senior leadership appointments across the music industry, including Sony Music Publishing, K-LOVE, and Secretly Distribution.

Sony Music brought over 40 music and music business majors from universities worldwide to its New York headquarters for a week of talks with industry professionals.

Elon Musk's X Corp and a consortium of major music publishers, including Universal Music Group and Sony Music, have reached an agreement to end their legal dispute over the use of music on the X social media platform.

Julie Swidler, the outgoing executive vp of business affairs at Sony Music, discussed her 35-year career in the music industry, including AI deals and her mentor Clive Davis.

Three-time Latin Grammy winner Carla Morrison has expanded her relationship with Sony Music, signing a frontline artist deal with 5020 Records after previously signing her catalog with the company.
Kapo, Edén Muñoz, and Sony Music Publishing were among the top winners at the 2026 SESAC Latina Music Awards, held on Wednesday, May 27, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
Several new hires and promotions have been announced across the music industry, including ZaZa Kazadi at Sony Music Publishing and new additions to Guitar Center's board.

Sony Music is reportedly set to purchase the Recognition Music catalog for an estimated $4 billion, according to a source familiar with the deal.

Amy Allen received the Pop Music Songwriter of the Year award at the 2026 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, where “Die With a Smile” was recognized as Song of the Year and Sony Music Publishing as Publisher of the Year.
Their fifth studio album, "DMA'S" is due out Aug. 7 through a new global deal with Wonderlick Entertainment partnering with Sony Music Australia and RCA UK.

Singer D4vd has been arrested and charged with the alleged murder of Celeste Rivas following a seven-month investigation. His parents expressed sadness but continued support, while his legal team denies his involvement and his music contracts have been terminated.

Veteran music executive Mark Pitts has officially stepped down from his role as president of Sony Music’s RCA Records to launch his new multi-media management company, Cofvnders.
Bastian Langebaek has signed with Sony Music Publishing UK, while Lykke Li joined Warner Chappell Music Scandinavia, and The Wavys inked a deal with Kobalt, as reported in recent publishing news.

Music giant Sony Music has requested the removal of over 135,000 deepfake songs from streaming services, citing fraudsters impersonating its artists and the proliferation of AI-generated content.
![[Exclusive] Big Bang’s T.O.P to make solo comeback through wine label T’Spot](https://wsrv.nl/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2026%2F03%2F03%2Fnews-a.v1.20260303.47815dbfe3464204954e649cd8c539e6_T1.jpg&w=828&q=75&output=webp&default=1)
T.O.P, formerly the rapper of boy band Big Bang, is preparing for his long-awaited solo comeback, with plans to release an album under his own wine company, Topspot Pictures, also known as T’Spot, industry sources said Tuesday. While the music will be issued through T’Spot, his acting agency, Hiin Entertainment, is expected to oversee promotional activities. “After discussions with several companies, including Sony Music, he decided to release the new album under his own label, Topspot,” a sourc
Major record labels Sony Music and Warner Music have initiated legal action against AI developer Anthropic, alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted songs to train their models.

Major record labels Sony Music and Warner Music Group have filed a landmark lawsuit against artificial intelligence developer Anthropic, alleging widespread unauthorized use of copyrighted music. The legal action seeks to address concerns over how AI models are trained on protected creative works.

The album 'Reina da Morna' features ten previously unheard recordings from the late Cape Verdean diva, produced by José da Silva and released through Sony Music's Lusafrica archives.

Sony Music has filed a lawsuit against grocery chain Kroger, alleging 'rampant infringement' for using music by artists like Beyoncé and Michael Jackson in its social media advertisements.

Sony Music has officially announced the appointment of Stephanie Yu as its new General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, reporting to Rob Stringer and Kevin Kelleher.

Sony Music Entertainment reported a 22% increase in sales, reaching 557.9 billion yen ($3.5B) in the three months to June, largely attributed to the box office success of the 'Michael' film.

Sony Music Entertainment has filed a new lawsuit against AI music generator Udio, claiming the startup illegally copied over 30,000 songs from artists like Beyoncé and Harry Styles to train its AI models.

Producer Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music, alleging that the company concealed and understated his royalties for years. He is seeking $18 million in damages.

Sony Music Indonesia and Sun Eater Group have announced the launch of Lunar, a new joint-venture record label aimed at developing Indonesian artists for a global audience.

Executives from Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Creativeman Productions, and Warner Music Japan discussed strategies for taking Japanese artists global and the future of live entertainment in Japan. They shared insights on superfans, global stages, and new industry eras in Billboard Global Power Players interviews.

Sony Music has reportedly put a freeze on its promotional activities related to French singer Patrick Bruel, an announcement made to staff during a May 21st event.
Sony Music Publishing has secured an iconic song catalog through a significant deal with Blackstone.

Sony Music Group announced its fiscal year sales exceeded $13 billion, marking a 15% increase. The growth is largely attributed to the success of streaming services and album releases by artists like Bad Bunny.

The estate of The Jimi Hendrix Experience claimed musicians "died in relative poverty" but lost a court case against Sony Music Entertainment regarding copyright.
Jorge Mejía, President and CEO of Sony Music Publishing Latin America & U.S. Latin, discusses his new classical album and the challenge of balancing his roles as an artist and executive.
FC Internazionale Milano and Sony Music Italy have partnered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's album 'Wish You Were Here' with a unique initiative combining music and football.

The upcoming Michael Jackson biographical film, "Michael," is set to premiere on April 22, with Sony Music releasing an accompanying greatest hits album titled "Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture."

The choreographer behind *NSYNC's iconic 'Bye Bye Bye' dance is suing Sony Music, alleging the company licensed a piece of intellectual property it didn't own for a viral 'Deadpool' movie scene, unjustly affiliating the dance with Marvel.

Sony Music Nashville and singer-songwriter Kane Brown are celebrating their 10 years together by renewing their vows: Brown has signed a new multi-album, worldwide deal with the label.

Sony Music Publishing has elevated Greg Prata to the position of Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Tom Kelly, amidst the company's double-digit revenue growth.

Major record labels Sony Music and Warner Music Group have filed a federal lawsuit against AI developer Anthropic, alleging the company unlawfully scraped and used hundreds of thousands of copyrighted recordings to train its generative music models.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group have filed lawsuits against artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, alleging a systematic campaign to use copyrighted songs without permission to train its Claude models. The music giants are seeking substantial damages, reportedly demanding up to $150,000 per track.

The annual BMI ceremony recognized top industry figures, crowning Nas as an Icon and honoring Kendrick Lamar as Top Songwriter alongside producer O Lil Angel and Sony Music Publishing.

Chicano rock band Los Lobos has settled a lawsuit with Sony Music regarding royalties from the 'Desperado' movie soundtrack. The band is reportedly still pursuing a separate lawsuit against another Sony subsidiary concerning the 'La Bamba' film soundtrack.

Sony Music has promoted veteran company attorney Stephanie Yu to the top legal position, serving as its next general counsel and executive vice president of business affairs, following Julie Swidler's exit.

Major music labels, including Universal Music, Warner Music, and Sony Music, along with independent labels, are proposing new rules to prevent songs created by artificial intelligence from being included in official music charts.
Sony Music Entertainment has initiated a new lawsuit against the artificial intelligence startup Udio, indicating ongoing legal disputes in the music and AI sectors.

Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri has filed a lawsuit against Sony Music, alleging "willful deceitful actions" to withhold $18 million in royalties from albums by artists including Mariah Carey and Usher.

K-pop group And2ble has signed a contract with Epic Records Japan, a subsidiary of Sony Music Labels, ahead of their Japanese debut, marking their official entry into the Japanese market.
MNEK has signed a worldwide agreement with Sony Music Publishing U.K., as part of this week's publishing briefs.

Julie Swidler, Sony Music's longtime Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel, is set to step down from her role at the end of June. Swidler has been a prominent figure in the music industry's legal landscape.

Sony Music Publishing has acquired the entire catalog of Recognition Music Group in a deal reportedly worth over a billion dollars. The acquisition includes publishing rights to numerous hit songs by artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga.

Sony Music Publishing is reportedly in negotiations to acquire assets from Recognition Music Group from Blackstone, with some sources suggesting the deal could encompass the entire portfolio.

The estates of Jimi Hendrix's former bandmates lost a High Court battle in the UK over royalties against Sony Music and the Jimi Hendrix estate. They had sought millions in damages, claiming they were unfairly deprived of earnings.

Murat Yeter, an influential figure in Türkiye's music scene, is preparing to release his highly anticipated album project 'FOLK' under Sony Music. The album is expected to showcase a blend of folk and pop influences.

As anticipated, former top Warner Music executives Julie Greenwald and Max Lousada have officially launched their new record label, 26.2, in partnership with Sony Music, confirming the news in Music Business Worldwide.

Josplay has announced a partnership with Sony Music, which will grant its users worldwide access to Sony Music's extensive catalogue and broaden the platform's African music content.

Sony Music has named Ezekiel 'Zeke' Lewis as the new Chairman and CEO of Epic Records, promoting him from his previous role as president following Sylvia Rhone's departure.

Kane Brown and Sony Music Nashville are celebrating 10 years together by inking a new, multi-album global deal.