Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s Weekly Round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s Round-up is exclusively supported by BMI, a global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music.
Spotify confirmed today (October 3) that Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl became the platform’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 so far, hitting the milestone in under 11 hours. The album also became the first to exceed 5 million pre-saves on Spotify ahead of its release today.
Meanwhile, Spotify announced a major leadership transition as Daniel Ek prepares to step back from the CEO role to become Executive Chairman, with Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström to take over as co-CEOs.
Elsewhere, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group are reportedly close to striking “landmark” AI music licensing deals, according to a Financial Times report.
Also this week, Zach Bryan made history by playing the biggest ticketed show in US history, drawing 112,408 fans to Michigan Stadium and generating $5 million in merchandise sales.
Finally, a top European music lawyer dismissed concerns over Universal Music Group‘s access to independent label data through UMG’s proposed $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. TAYLOR SWIFT’S ‘THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL’ IS ALREADY A RECORD BREAKER, AS ALBUM BECOMES FIRST TO EXCEED 5M PRE-SAVES ON SPOTIFY
Taylor Swift’s new record, The Life of a Showgirl, became the first album to exceed 5 million pre-saves on Spotify ahead of its release today (October 3).
The pre-save figure broke the record held by Swift’s previous album, The Tortured Poets Department, released last year.
Spotify’s Countdown Page feature allows users to automatically add new music to their libraries upon release.
Taylor Swift‘s team launched the Countdown Page for Showgirl on August 14, starting with an exclusive playlist announcement across 12 outdoor advertising locations worldwide. (MBW)
2. SPOTIFY LEADERSHIP UPDATE: DANIEL EK EXPLAINS WHY HE’S STEPPING BACK AS CEO TO BECOME EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
On Tuesday (September 30), Spotify revealed that its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Ek, is stepping back from the CEO role and will transition to Executive Chairman.
The company has named Gustav Söderström (co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer) and Alex Norström (co-President and Chief Business Officer) as its new co-Chief Executive Officers.
According to the announcement, Spotify’s new Co-CEOs will report to Daniel Ek and will also serve on the company’s Board of Directors, subject to shareholder approval.
These changes will all be effective January 1, 2026. (MBW)
3. RECORD LABELS COULD STRIKE ‘LANDMARK’ AI MUSIC LICENSING DEALS ‘WITHIN WEEKS,’ THE FT REPORTS
Two of the three major music companies, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, are reportedly nearing licensing deals with AI music companies.
That’s according to the Financial Times, which reported on Thursday (October 2), citing people familiar with the matter, that the companies “could each strike deals with artificial intelligence companies within weeks” in a bid to “set a precedent for how AI companies pay for music”.
According to the FT’s report, the negotiations center on licensing music for the creation of AI-generated tracks and allowing the music to train large language models. (MBW)
4. ZACH BRYAN JUST PLAYED THE BIGGEST TICKETED SHOW IN US HISTORY – INCLUDING $5M IN MERCH SALES
Country singer Zach Bryan just broke a significant concert attendance record in the US.
A total of 112,408 fans watched Bryan perform on Saturday (September 27) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan, setting a new record for the highest-attended ticketed concert in US history.
That’s according to concert promoter AEG Presents, which confirmed the final count on Sunday (September 28)… (MBW)
5. TOP EUROPEAN MUSIC LAWYER DISMISSES UMG/DOWNTOWN DATA CONCERNS AS ‘FANTASY OR PARANOIA’
One of France’s top music industry lawyers has dismissed concerns over Universal Music Group‘s access to independent label data through UMG’s proposed $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.
Michaël Majster, founding partner at Paris-based Majster & Nehmé and a 30-year legal veteran, described the data-related fears as stemming “more from fantasy or paranoia than from a concrete, realistic, and rational analysis”.
During his career, Majster has represented both multi-platinum and emerging artists in France, plus prominent independent record labels and distributors, and a major music publisher. He has not represented UMG or Downtown.
He is rated in the top tier of music law practitioners in France by the industry-standard Décideurs Leaders League. (MBW)
Partner message: MBW’s Weekly Round-up is supported by BMI, the global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music. Find out more about BMI here. Music Business Worldwide
