Music Publishing Catch Up: BMG & Concord Complete Landmark Merger, Global Publishing Revenue Grows by 9.6%, Major AI Lawsuits & More
Welcome to our latest Music Publishing Catch-Up, where we deliver a fresh roundup of the biggest stories and developments defining the global publishing landscape over the past few months.
From landmark mergers and major catalog acquisitions to escalating AI copyright lawsuits, global roster expansions, growing global publishing revenues, and key executive moves, we’ve compiled the top industry reads you need to know.
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Deals & Acquisitions
Partisan enters into strategic merger with OTM Music following acquisition deal with Firebird (Music Week)
In the first move of its kind by the Brooklyn-based independent music company, Partisan Music has completed a strategic merger with established music company OTM Music, the boutique independent publisher founded by Alex Sheridan.
ValuePunks Extends Free Catalog Valuations to Publishing (Digital Music News)
The catalog valuation platform built by Swiss music technology company Tribe Music Group AG, is extending its offering into publishing this week. This free valuation gives songwriters, composers, and publishers a quick, transparent way to value their catalogs.
Choosin' Texas co-writer Joybeth Taylor expands deal with SMP Nashville and Verse 2 Music (Music Week)
Sony Music Publishing Nashville and Verse 2 Music have extended their global publishing agreement with country songwriter Joybeth Taylor. The companies also announced the expansion of their partnership with Taylor through the addition of Taycan Entertainment.
The Music Royalty Co. launches publishing arm MRC Publishing (Music Industry Weekly)
The Music Royalty Co. has launched MRC Publishing, a new publishing administration company aimed at songwriters, publishers and rights holders. The venture extends the company’s existing royalty management and accountancy business into publishing services, including copyright and rights management, royalty collection and distribution, income tracking, and sync licensing and pitching.
Warner Chappell Partners with France’s Kidding Aside (New Industry Focus)
Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has entered a strategic global partnership with Kidding Aside, one of France’s most influential independent electronic music companies.
The combined companies say the deal will “create a new global music company with the scale, expertise, and capabilities to unlock greater opportunities for creators.” The transaction, first announced on April 28, 2026, has received “all required regulatory approvals”, according to a press release.
Boosey & Hawkes has announced a new worldwide publishing agreement with composer Jung Jaeil, representing his concert music and future classical works. Jaeil is best known internationally for his scores to Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award-winning Parasite, Mickey 17, and Netflix's Squid Game.
Spotify and Kobalt, the world’s largest independent music publisher, today announced a licensing agreement for Spotify’s upcoming tool that will allow fans to create covers and remixes of their favorite songs from participating songwriters.
Influence Media Partners, in collaboration with funds and accounts managed by affiliates of BlackRock, has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Anthem Entertainment: its music publishing catalogs, film & TV publishing assets and its portfolio of master recordings, for a purchase price of $600 million-plus.
Global creative sync agency Nothing Standard has announced the launch of a new publishing company in partnership with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), alongside a new record label with distribution via Virgin Music Group (VMG).
BMG has announced its acquisition of the remaining interests in the songwriting works of the publishing catalogs of John Lee Hooker, Hal David, and ARC Music — three major archives that it is no understatement to say helped shape American popular music.
Sony Music Publishing (SMP) has completed its acquisition of the entire music rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group. The deal, first announced in May, has closed following regulatory approvals in multiple territories, MBW can reveal.
Legal
Music publishers seek song identities after alleging Anthropic scanned and destroyed songbooks (Dork)
Music publishers suing Anthropic want the AI company to disclose more about an alleged scanning programme that they say copied songbooks and sheet-music collections containing copyrighted works before the physical books were discarded.
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have joined forces to sue Anthropic, home of Claude. The complaint also names Anthropic Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei and Co-Founder Benjamin Mann as individual defendants.
Round Hill Music sues Suno and Anthropic in the US (Music Week)
Round Hill Music has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against Suno and Anthropic, alleging the AI companies used its musical works to train their models without authorisation, licence or compensation.
German court delivers landmark AI ruling against Suno in victory for songwriters’ rights (The Ivors Academy)
A court ruling in Germany has reinforced the principle that AI companies cannot use songwriters’ and composers’ work without permission, marking a significant moment in protecting music creators’ rights from the impact of generative AI.
Signings
Bucks Music Group signs Piotr Wiese (Record of the Day)
Bucks Music Group has signed Polish-born, Spanish-based composer, pianist, and producer Piotr Wiese to an exclusive, worldwide publishing deal. As an artist, Wiese has amassed more than 150 million streams globally, having worked with a variety of labels including Moderna Records, 1631 Recordings and LoFi Girl, and distribution via Decca/Universal Music.
Position Music has signed Lithuanian alternative/electronic artist Hellhills to a global label and publishing deal with the company. Hellhills combines elements of alternative rock, industrial influences and modern electronic sound design.
London-based songwriter and producer Fred Ball, who has collaborated with Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Madonna and more, has signed a publishing deal with Reservoir. Ball has co-written and co-produced hits including “Love On The Brain,” “713” and “Heard About Us.”
Peermusic signs Oscar nominee and BAFTA-winning composer George Fenton (Peermusic) Peermusic has signed Oscar-nominated film, TV and theatre composer George Fenton to Peermusic Accorder for a worldwide publishing deal via Fenton’s company Shogun Music.
Notting Hill Music signs The Twang to global publishing deal (Notting Hill Music)
Notting Hill Music is delighted to announce the signing of Birmingham indie favourites The Twang to a global publishing deal. The agreement begins an exciting new chapter for the band as they prepare to unveil new material, bringing their unmistakable sound and songwriting to Notting Hill Music’s international roster.
Floating Points signs to Concord Music Publishing (Music Week)
Concord Music Publishing has signed Mercury Prize-nominated composer and producer Floating Points – the musical project of Sam Shepherd – to a worldwide publishing agreement.
Peermusic has signed a worldwide publishing deal with My Morning Jacket and frontman Jim James, as announced by Jamie Cerreta, President of U.S. and Canada.
Funding, Facts & Figures
2025 was a bumper year for the music-publishing sector according to Midia Research’s latest report. It estimates that global revenues grew by 9.6% to $12.2bn last year, while tracking a ‘yo-yo’ dynamic in the comparative growth of major and independent publishers. MIDiA Research 2026–2033 global music publishing forecasts (MIDiA)
The data in this report refers to music publishing revenues, including from streaming, performance, synchronisation, mechanical, and other sources.
WMG calendar Q2: Total revenue up 9.3% YoY to $1.86B; subscription streaming revenues rose 11% YoY (MBW)
Warner Music Group has issued its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2026 (calendar Q2 – the company’s fiscal Q3). According to the company’s fiscal Q3 (calendar Q2) results, published on Wednesday (August 5), WMG saw its quarterly global company-wide revenues reach USD $1.864 billion (across recorded music, music publishing, and other activities).
The Thriller album was Sony's biggest-selling artist project around the world in calendar Q2 2026, boosted by the Michael biopic movie.
People
Global digital collection society Amra has promoted Robin Davies to CEO, effective January 1. Davies, who has been Amra’s chief operating officer for the last four years, is taking over from Tomas Ericsson, who becomes chairman of the board. He spent 13 years in the chief executive role.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has named Jackson Wagener as Senior Vice President and Head of General Licensing. The appointment takes effect on January 1, 2027.
President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams announced today that Jim Selby has been elected as a publisher member to the ASCAP Board of Directors. ASCAP is the only US performing rights organization that is founded and governed by a member-elected board of songwriter, composer and publisher members.
Warner Chappell’s Carianne Marshall leaves COO/co-chair role after transformative seven-year tenure (Warner Music Group)
WMG today announced that Carianne Marshall will transition out of her role as Co-Chair and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of WMG, at the end of this month, as the company streamlines its leadership structure.
Warner Chappell promotes Gabz Landman to EVP, A&R (Music Week)
Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has announced the promotion of Gabz Landman to EVP, A&R. Since joining WCM in 2022, Landman's key signings have included Amy Allen, Laufey, John Ryan, Madison Beer, Lizzy McAlpine, The Chainsmokers, Delacey, Andrew Wyatt, Daniel Chetrit and Diplo, among others.
Sony Music Publishing today announced the promotion of Ari Gelaw to Senior Vice President, Creative A&R. Gelaw will continue to be based out of the company’s Los Angeles office, reporting to SMP’s President, Head of US A&R Katie Welle.
Tom Gray, Chair of The Ivors Academy congratulates Roberto Neri on his appointment to the House of Lords (The Ivors Academy)
For more than 27 years, Roberto has been a leading advocate for music and the creative industries, championing the rights of creators. His appointment recognises a career dedicated to ensuring creativity is valued, protected and recognised as central to the UK's cultural and economic success.
Interesting Reads
Independent music publishing organisations IMPEL and IMPF have issued a licensing framework for generative AI. According to the announcement, the licensing framework is based on key principles on AI that will ensure song copyrights are properly valued.
Sony Music Publishing wins Publisher of the Year at 2026 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards (MBW) Sony Music Publishing has been named Publisher of the Year at the 2026 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards. It’s the second year running that SMP has taken the title.
This guide breaks down what music rights actually are, how licensing works in practice, who's responsible for managing rights at each stage, and how the systems behind it all are evolving.
What Is Sync Licensing? The Complete Guide (Synchblog)
Everything rights holders, libraries, and publishers need to know about how sync deals actually work. We cover clearance, rights, metadata and the technology reshaping the industry.
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