This week, BMG filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI giant Anthropic, alleging that the company unlawfully copied and used its compositions to train its large language models.
Meanwhile, Warner Music Group and Netflix formed a creative partnership to make documentaries based on WMG’s roster of artists and songwriters.
Plus, the IFPI published its Global Music Report 2026, revealing that global recorded music revenues hit $31.7 billion in 2025.
Elsewhere, Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge became the first music executive to take the stage at NVIDIA’s GTC conference – dubbed the “Super Bowl of AI.”
Also this week, Tencent Music Entertainment revealed that its higher-priced ‘Super VIP’ subscriber base surpassed 20 million by the end of 2025.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. BMG SUES ANTHROPIC FOR INFRINGEMENT, ALLEGING AI FIRM’S $380B VALUATION WAS BUILT ON ‘STOLEN COPYRIGHTED WORKS’
BMG Rights Management has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Anthropic, the AI giant behind the Claude AI chatbot.
The Bertelsmann-owned music company alleges that Anthropic unlawfully copied and used its compositions, including lyrics, to train its large language models.
The 47-page complaint, filed on Tuesday (March 17) in the Northern District of California, cites 493 allegedly infringed musical compositions, including What a Wonderful World, Kryptonite, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Uptown Funk, Sympathy for the Devil, and more.
The lawsuit is the latest to be filed against Anthropic by a major music publisher… (MBW)
2. GLOBAL RECORDED MUSIC REVENUES HIT $31.7B IN 2025, UP 6.4% YOY; USERS OF PAID MUSIC SUBSCRIPTIONS REACH 837M
Global recorded music revenues reached USD $31.7 billion in 2025. That’s according to the IFPI, the organization that represents the recording industry worldwide.
Figures released on Wednesday (March 18) in IFPI’s Global Music Report 2026 show that global recorded music revenues grew by 6.4% YoY in 2025 – an improvement on the 4.7% rate of growth posted in 2024 — marking the global industry’s eleventh consecutive year of growth.
The report also shows that global recorded music revenues grew in every region, with double-digit growth in four regions.
IFPI’s report identifies paid subscription streaming as the key driver of growth globally… (MBW)
3. SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE JUST BECAME THE FIRST MUSIC EXEC AT NVIDIA’S ‘SUPER BOWL OF AI’. HERE’S WHAT HE SAID.
Universal Music Group‘s Chairman & CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has become the first music industry leader to take the stage at NVIDIA’s GTC conference – described by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang as the “Super Bowl of AI”.
Grainge sat down with NVIDIA’s VP and General Manager for Media & Entertainment, Richard Kerris, for a fireside chat entitled ‘Building the Future of Music and AI’ at the San Jose conference on Tuesday (March 17).
Here are five things MBW learned from the conversation… (MBW)
4. TENCENT MUSIC NOW HAS 20M+ ‘SUPER VIP’ SUBSCRIBERS. HERE’S WHAT THAT MEANS FOR CHINA’S LARGEST MUSIC STREAMER.
Tencent Music Entertainment‘s (TME) ‘Super VIP’ tier has just hit a major new milestone.
TME published its Q4 and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday (March 17), revealing that its SVIP subscribers surpassed 20 million by year-end – up from the 15 million the company reported at the end of Q2, and just 10 million in Q3 2024.
That growth trajectory – doubling in barely over a year – tells us something important about the appetite for higher-priced music streaming, and offers a real-world blueprint for what higher-priced streaming tiers could deliver.
Here’s what the numbers show… (MBW)
5. WARNER MUSIC GROUP INKS EXCLUSIVE NETFLIX DEAL TO MAKE ARTIST AND SONGWRITER DOCUMENTARIES
Warner Music Group (WMG) has signed what it calls an “exclusive multi-year first-look deal” with Netflix.
Under the creative partnership, the companies say the streamer will develop “documentary series and films exploring the lives, music and legacies of WMG’s legendary and contemporary artists and songwriters.”
WMG is partnering with Unigram, a film, theatre, and music production company run by Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, to serve as the production arm for WMG’s long-form programming. Ghost founded Unigram in 2015 in partnership with Len Blavatnik‘s Access Industries, which is the majority owner of WMG.
As per a press release, WMG and Unigram will work to develop each project in collaboration with the artist or their estates… (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
