This week, YouTube reported that it paid the music industry over $8 billion over the past year. YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, credits the platform’s “twin-engine” approach of ads and subscriptions.
Meanwhile, MBW reported that Spotify holds a patent for technology that could generate personalized song mashups by combining vocals and instrumentals from different tracks.
Elsewhere, generative AI music startup Suno is reportedly in negotiations to raise over $100 million in a funding round that would value the company at more than $2 billion.
Also this week, Lisa Yang joined Warner Music Group as EVP, Global Head of Strategy after 16 years at Goldman Sachs, while US Latin music revenues neared $500 million in H1 2025, growing six times faster than the overall US market.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…
1. YOUTUBE’S ‘TWIN ENGINE OF ADS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS,’ SAYS LYOR COHEN, AS PLATFORM MAKES $8BN+ PAYOUT TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY OVER THE PAST YEAR
YouTube reports that it paid more than $8 billion to the music industry during the 12 months from July 2024 to June 2025.
The figure was shared by Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, at the Billboard Latin Music Week conference in Miami on Wednesday (October 22).
Cohen attributed the payout to what YouTube calls its “twin-engine model,” which generates revenue through ads shown alongside free content and paid subscriptions that remove ads. In a comment shared with MBW, Cohen said: “$8 billion payout is a testament to the fact that the twin engine of ads and subscriptions is firing on all cylinders…” (MBW)
2. SPOTIFY HOLDS A PATENT FOR TECH THAT CAN GENERATE SONG MASHUPS
Spotify holds a patent for technology that could generate personalized song mashups.
The filing, unearthed by MBW, describes a system that can analyze songs to determine which tracks are musically compatible, then automatically combine them into new mashup versions for individual users.
According to the document, the technology would work by first separating tracks into their component parts – vocals and instrumentals – then “adding the vocal component” of “at least one music track to at least a select segment of the base music track.”
In other words, Spotify’s algorithm could automatically layer the singing from one song over the backing track of a completely different song, though users would still control the creative choices… (MBW)
3. SUNO IS GENERATING MORE THAN $100M IN ANNUAL REVENUE – AND IS IN TALKS TO RAISE MORE MONEY AT A $2B VALUATION
Generative AI music startup Suno is in negotiations to raise over $100 million in a funding round that would value the company at more than $2 billion, a fourfold increase from the previous valuation.
That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the company is currently generating more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
Suno’s service lets users generate complete musical tracks from text prompts, often including vocals and lyrics. The company is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by record labels owned by Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, who sued the company for mass infringement of copyright, alleging the AI startup used copyrighted recordings without permission to train its AI… (MBW)
4. LISA YANG JOINS WARNER MUSIC GROUP AS EVP, GLOBAL HEAD OF STRATEGY
Last month, we reported that Lisa Yang was leaving Goldman Sachs after 16 years – for a job at Warner Music Group, according to our sources.
Now, it’s official. The respected exec has indeed joined WMG, as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Strategy. Yang announced the news via LinkedIn on Monday (October 20)… (MBW)
5. US LATIN MUSIC REVENUES NEARED $500M IN H1 2025, GROWING 6X FASTER THAN OVERALL US MARKET
Amid a slowdown in the growth of US recorded music revenues, Latin music remains a bright spot.
According to the latest mid-year report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Latin music wholesale revenues hit $490.3 million in the first half of 2025, up 5.9% YoY.
That growth rate is more than six times as fast as overall wholesale revenues in the US, which grew 0.9% YoY to $5.59 billion in H1 2025, according to an earlier report from the RIAA.
In all, 98% of Latin music revenues came from streaming, with paid streaming accounting for $271.1 million, up 11.2% YoY... (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
