Instrumental Intel - Ep 108 Instrumentals & Industry News (5-23-26)

No results found

Share

Achickwitbeatz presents ⁠the Instrumental Intel podcast⁠, bringing you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news & tips, insights & interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm EST on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠.
Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube Audiomack & SoundCloud, and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Download the Grander Media app to listen to Grander Radio on the go.

Instrumental Intel - Ep 108 Instrumentals & Industry News (5-23-26)

Achickwitbeatz

Instrumental Intel Podcast

Achickwitbeatz brings you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news, insights, interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm ET on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio,⁠⁠⁠ Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠, and your favorite podcast platform.

Share

• Beats/Instrumentals

• Art
• Independent Labels
• Internet Radio
• Music Documentaries
• Album Reviews
• Music History
• Music Industry News
• Free Game Friday
• Free Downloads
• Poetry
• Books
• Interviews
• Did You See It?!
• Hip Hop History
• Hear Here
• Music News
• Hip Hop Documentaries
• Music Marvels Radio Show
• Think Piece Thursday
• Mini Documentaries
• Instrumental Intel
• Music Humor
• Indie Analysis
• Conversations & Quotables
• Music
• Resources for Artists
• Podcasts
• Beats/Instrumentals
• Music Education

Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:00

Hey, thank you so much for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I'm your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz, and I'm glad that you've joined me. Today's episode has music industry news and instrumentals by me for your inspiration, because you know what? A chick has to look out for her mental health too. So pretty much a light episode with tons of information, but enough to keep you going. Alright, before I go ahead and drop that first beat, I gotta give a shout out to my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And with that, let’s go!

[BEAT BREAK]

14:07

Hey, this is music producer Achickwitbeatz, and you're listening to my podcast Instrumental Intel.

[BEAT BREAK]

26:45

Hey, this is music producer Achickwitbeatz, and you're listening to my podcast Instrumental Intel.

[BEAT BREAK]

30:01

Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels. Visit achickwitbeatz.com for resources for artists and instrumentals in various genres available for songs, vlogs, blogs, podcasts, themes, TV, film, commercials, and more. Once again, that's achickwitbeatz.com. That's A-C-H-I-C-K-W-I-T-B-E-A-T-Z.com. Let's make something happen.

30:31

Hey, I'm music producer Achickwitbeatz back with Music Biz Brief. First up, Spotify is making different pricing moves globally, cutting costs in India while raising them again in Canada. In India, Spotify removed its premium light tier and dropped the standard plan back to $139 per month, reflecting continued pressure to balance growth with price-sensitive markets. In Canada, premium prices increased by up to $3 Canadian dollars monthly, depending on the plan.

30:58

as the platform says higher prices will support premium investment and artist payouts. So these changes just show how streaming platforms are increasingly adjusting pricing market by market while they're looking for stronger revenue growth worldwide. Spotify also discontinued its viral 50 charts, getting rid of its algorithm-driven rankings of trending tracks across global and regional markets.  The platform says the change is part of an effort to prioritize metrics that better reflect real listener behavior while redirecting users towards its main charts

31:28

and the editorial viral hits playlist.  Unlike the retired charts, the playlist is curated by Spotify's editorial team and tends to feature more established artists as there are some concerns about algorithmic charts being susceptible to manipulation and AI-driven virality.  Spotify and Universal Music Group also struck a licensing deal allowing premium users to generate AI-powered covers and remixes of selected songs as a paid add-on with participating artists and songwriters opting in.

31:57

Both companies say the tool will be built around licensing rights and revenue sharing,  positioning AI-driven fan generations as a new monetization layer alongside standard streaming royalties.  The rollout details, including the pricing and launch timing, haven't been confirmed yet. Spotify also announced “Reserved,” a new feature that will identify top fans using listening and engagement data and allow them early access to purchase held back concert tickets through Live Nation partnerships starting in the U.S.

32:26

Those last two announcements were made at Spotify's Investor Day, where the company's stock rose sharply following the reveals.  Splice has partnered with ElevenLabs to develop a new wave of AI-powered music generation tools,  with releases expected later this year.  Both companies say the goal is to embed generative AI into Splice's workflow,  while keeping focus on creator-first design and fair compensation for artists whose work is used in the process.  It builds on Splice's recent AI push

32:55

including acquisitions and partnerships,  as it expands its licensed sample ecosystem with generative technology.  So heads up to anyone using Splice, if you're trying to avoid it, make sure that you're careful with what you use. AI music video platform Sondo AI says it surpassed 10 million users globally, with more than 15 million AI-generated music videos created on the platform over the past year. It lets users upload a song, add an image and a prompt,

33:24

and generate a music video through a subscription model.  The company hasn't disclosed what training data its models were built on,  a problematic issue that draws scrutiny across the music industry.  And production duo The American Dollar has sued AI music platform Suno for training its generative models on copyrighted music and contributing to an 80% collapse in their sync licensing income since Suno launched publicly. The lawsuit adds to the growing legal battle over AI training and fair use

33:53

putting even more attention on concerns that generative AI undercuts composers and producers working in film, TV, and advertising music. Protests are growing around major label AI licensing deals with demonstrations in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Austin under the message, our music is not your training data. Organizers, including the Music Workers Alliance, say licensing catalogs to AI companies  could devalue musicians' work and displace working artists without transparency,  fair compensation,

34:23

and the ability to opt in or out of AI training deals.  Congress has reintroduced the bipartisan NO FAKES Act to restrict unauthorized AI voice and likeness cloning, giving individuals control over how their identity is used and licensed, including after death.  It excludes exceptions for parody, news, and research, plus a process to challenge wrongful takedowns,  and has a broad backing for major labels, tech companies,  and advocacy groups as federal deepfake regulation moves forward.

34:53

Music royalty-backed bonds are still growing as a financial tool in the music industry with credit agency KBRA saying it's rated $12.9 billion worth of music royalty asset-backed securities deals, better known as ABS deals, since 2020. However, the firm expects issuance to drop roughly 25 % in 2026 as consolidation reshapes the market through major deals involving companies like Concord, BMG, Kobalt, and Recognition Music Group.

35:22

So yeah, the trend just goes to show how music catalogs are more and more frequently being treated as long-term financial assets as ownership keeps becoming more concentrated among the larger companies and investment firms. Speaking of which, Shamrock Capital has closed a new $813 million fund focused on acquiring entertainment rights across music, film, television, gaming, sports, and the creator economy. The company, which previously owned Taylor Swift's first six Masters before selling them back to her,

35:52

says the fund will target long-term intellectual property investments as competition for catalogs and content rights increases.  Shamrock has already invested in music assets, including catalogs tied to Stargate and Calvin Harris and now manages roughly $7.4 billion in assets overall. Tencent Music completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Chinese audio platform Ximalaya (with an X).

36:16

bringing one of China's largest podcasts and audiobook services under the same company that operates QQ Music, Kugou, and Kuwo. Tencent Music's expansion into spoken word audio aligns with the trend of platforms investing beyond just music streaming alone. Regulators approved the acquisition with conditions that block new exclusive audio licensing deals and require Ximalaya to keep free content access, which falls in line with China's ongoing scrutiny of exclusivity in digital entertainment.

36:45

Beatport is seeing strong growth in Latin America, with 2025 registrations up 25% and paid subscriptions rising 41% year-over-year. The platform also elevated Latin electronic into a standalone genre category,  reflecting the region's growing influence in global electronic music.  Beatport noted increased engagement from Brazil and Mexico, which now account for more than 12% of its social media audience, showing the expanding international reach of Latin American dance music scenes.

37:14

And finally, CDBaby launched Stages Selects, a new program that will provide 10 independent artists in 2026 with marketing support, release strategy guidance, priority distribution, and paid digital campaign assistance. It expands CD Baby's services for self-releasing artists as its parent company, Downtown Music, transitions under Universal Music Group ownership following Virgin Music Group's acquisition of Downtown earlier this year. Alright, that's a wrap for the Music Biz

37:41

Brief, stick around.I’m gonna get back to the beats, and then I'll be back to close out the episode. Keep it locked!

[BEAT BREAK]

59:41

That's a wrap for this episode. I've been your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. And once again, I'd like to thank you for joining me. I'd like to thank my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan as well. Make sure you come back next week. I got more goodness lined up for you. So until next time, you know where to find me. Tune in, tell a friend, and I'll see you then.  Peace.