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And The Update Is...Fake Streams, Billion-Dollar Deals & Ed Sheeran's Biggest Career Move Yet

6m 28s

And The Update Is...Fake Streams, Billion-Dollar Deals & Ed Sheeran's Biggest Career Move Yet

The music industry continues to evolve with significant label deals, artist movements, and platform integrity efforts. Primary Wave’s acquisition of Cobalt marks a major consolidation in independent music, while Scooter Braun’s exit from HYBE's board signals a shift in its leadership structure. Spotify’s removal of fraudulent streams from Malcolm Todd’s track underscores growing scrutiny of payola tactics in streaming, where artificial traffic is used to inflate chart positions. Meanwhile, Jermaine Dupree's $18 million lawsuit against Sony highlights ongoing disputes over unpaid royalties, particularly for artists like Usher and Mariah Carey. Suno strengthens its artist and business development teams with high-profile hires, indicating a strategic push into artist relations. Notable signings include Ed Sheeran moving to Interscope, Zara Larsson joining RCA, and Snow Patrol signing with BMG. Chart success remains strong, with Ella Langley's "Choose in Texas" reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 12th non-consecutive week, and new entries like Ish Ken Carson and Ariana Grande’s "Hate That I Made You Love Me" topping global charts. Madonna’s *Confessions II* debuts at number one on Spotify’s global albums chart, and Michael Jackson’s *Billie Jean* leads Spotify’s global top songs. The week also features deep dives into artist stories and upcoming interviews, including Britney Howard and Prince, with Patreon offering exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content and gear. While not a chaotic week, it reflects both industry consolidation and persistent ethical challenges in music distribution and royalties.

Transcription

959 Words, 5186 Characters

English
uh welcome to and the update is i am your host ross golan this is the music industry news for the week of july the 6th 2026 okay so we got some news you know and that's not a crazy week but a few you know uh songwriter sue hybe claim uh bts's swim copied their demo i'm pretty sure because i know the writers behind it that that's not true good luck kids you're gonna lose that one primary wave music acquires uh you know cobalt as you know and that is officially complete the deal unites two major independent music companies while cobalt continues to operate as a standalone company you can start looking at primary wave uh what larry's doing over there you can look at them as a major major player that is not much of an independent company anymore because they're huge scooter braun steps down from hybe's board scooter braun has exited hybe's board of directors but will continue as an advisor for the company he made them a lot of money he's made a lot of people a lot of money spotify removes 500 000 streams from malcolm todd's earrings we talked about this last week but again the fraudulent streams were intended to raise the song's position after bets on the prediction market calci were placed on the song to reach number one that's right because you can buy shitty streams and make your your numbers go up but most of these dsps are trying to make sure that doesn't happen so they don't pay out royalties people who didn't deserve it of course we all know that this is exposing what we see as a modern version of payola if you don't know what payola is wikipedia it is what labels used to do with radio stations to make sure that their songs were played cvc capital partners acquires a majority stake in distro kid while its leadership team remains that's another conversation for another time i'll let you guys do it on the next one bye bye that jermaine dupree sues sony music entertainment over alleged unpaid royalties jermaine come on our podcast let's talk about it you're a legend 18 million dollar lawsuit alleges that sony under reported royalties from releases by usher mariah carey crisscross and others suno appoints former atlantic records exec grace james as vice president and head of artist marketing and editorial and former youtube head of major label music entertainment business development christian brown as head of music business development oh my god it's like suno has money i wonder what they would do if they actually paid the creators for training on our work okay let's get to some other stuff here's a signing ed sheeran will sign with interscope after over 15 years at warner music group this is a huge story that's right ed sheeran will sign with interscope more to come over there geese and the lead singer camera winter sign with tyler richmond for management that's a big band zara larson signs with rca records that was probably pretty big after the last couple years and snow patrol signs with bmg for records that band is amazing okay on to charts hmm huh what's this song choose in texas by ella langley's number one song number one on the billboard hot 100 chart for the 12th week non-consecutive that's a lot of weeks those guys are making some solid bank on that song good job to luke dick if you want to listen to that interview go to our patreon that's probably the best story we've ever had on the podcast no joke it's incredible he was raised by strippers golden hour part five by a tease debuts at number one on billboard 200 chart and hate that i made you love me by ariana grande is number one on the billboard global 200 chart for the second week non-consecutive congrats to our friends over there as well global spotify is confessions two by madonna debuting at number one on spotify's top albums debut global chart congrats to watt and to circuit if you want to listen to those interviews well that you can get everywhere billy jean by michael jackson is number one on spotify's top songs global chart i like to say that because that's ridiculous on the usa chart we got a newcomer ish ken carson with experiment debuts at number one on spotify's top albums debut usa chart that's impressive you know it's always impressive to see new names well that's the news for the week it wasn't a crazy week but it was still a week nevertheless okay now make sure you go and check out i'm laughing because my wife just came in and freaked the shit out of me while i was doing this so i'm gonna keep at least this part in because she told me i can't keep in the part where she really freaked the shit out of me anyway um okay we'll go ahead and check out our interview with britney howard what a legend from alabama shakes crazy stories with prince and awesome just awesome stories anyway we've got another new interview coming out on tuesday so much stuff happening we have our our hang next week on july 14th if you are a patreon member you can come and hang with us on zoom we are going to give out ua gear like apollo stuff you know mics all kinds of things come and join our patreon go listen to our old interviews you know we're doing a whole thing over there and uh thank you georgia webbush for great notes as always bye you

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Songwriter Sue Hybe claims BTS’s "Swim" copied their demo, but this is refuted as untrue.
  2. Primary Wave acquires Cobalt, consolidating into a major independent music entity despite Cobalt operating separately.
  3. Scooter Braun exits Hybe’s board but remains as an advisor, marking a shift in leadership and influence.
  4. Spotify removes 500,000 fraudulent streams from Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings,” highlighting ongoing efforts to combat payola-style streaming fraud.
  5. CVC Capital Partners invests in DistroKid, reinforcing the growth of music distribution infrastructure.
  6. Jermaine Dupree sues Sony Music over alleged unpaid royalties, citing under-reporting from major artists like Usher and Mariah Carey.
  7. Suno appoints industry executives Grace James and Christian Brown to lead artist marketing and business development, signaling expansion into artist relations.
  8. Ed Sheeran signs with Interscope after 15 years at Warner, while other major artists like Zara Larsson, Snow Patrol, and Camera Winter secure new labels.

Summary:

The music industry continues to evolve with significant label deals, artist movements, and platform integrity efforts. Primary Wave’s acquisition of Cobalt marks a major consolidation in independent music, while Scooter Braun’s exit from HYBE's board signals a shift in its leadership structure. Spotify’s removal of fraudulent streams from Malcolm Todd’s track underscores growing scrutiny of payola tactics in streaming, where artificial traffic is used to inflate chart positions.

Meanwhile, Jermaine Dupree's $18 million lawsuit against Sony highlights ongoing disputes over unpaid royalties, particularly for artists like Usher and Mariah Carey. Suno strengthens its artist and business development teams with high-profile hires, indicating a strategic push into artist relations. Notable signings include Ed Sheeran moving to Interscope, Zara Larsson joining RCA, and Snow Patrol signing with BMG.

Chart success remains strong, with Ella Langley's "Choose in Texas" reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 12th non-consecutive week, and new entries like Ish Ken Carson and Ariana Grande’s "Hate That I Made You Love Me" topping global charts. Madonna’s *Confessions II* debuts at number one on Spotify’s global albums chart, and Michael Jackson’s *Billie Jean* leads Spotify’s global top songs. The week also features deep dives into artist stories and upcoming interviews, including Britney Howard and Prince, with Patreon offering exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content and gear.

While not a chaotic week, it reflects both industry consolidation and persistent ethical challenges in music distribution and royalties.

FAQs

No, that claim is false. The host clarifies that the song was not copied and dismisses the accusation as incorrect.

Primary Wave acquired Cobalt, uniting two major independent music companies. Cobalt continues as a standalone entity, but the acquisition marks a significant shift in the industry landscape.

Yes, Scooter Braun has exited HYBE's board of directors but will continue as an advisor to the company.

The streams were fraudulent and used to artificially boost song rankings after bets on a prediction market. Spotify removed them to prevent payola-like practices and ensure fair royalty distribution.

Suno appointed Grace James as VP of Artist Marketing and Editorial, and Christian Brown as Head of Music Business Development, signaling strong growth in their music operations.

Yes, after 15 years with Warner Music, Ed Sheeran has signed with Interscope, a major move in his career.

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Transcription

959 words