BMG-Concord Merger Closes, RIAA H1 Revenue Hits $5.97B - Tuesday, September 1

Email us hereThe BMG-Concord merger officially closed today, creating a 4-million-work catalog giant with Nashville HQ and a $1.2B EBITDA target. The RIAA's H1 2026 report showed US recorded music revenue up 6.9% to $5.97B, with paid streaming and vinyl both surging. Meanwhile, Udio fired back at Sony with a fair-use defense and monopoly counter-claim, and a Las Vegas jury convicted Tupac's killer after 28 years. Deals & M&A • BMG-Concord merger closes; Bob Valentine CEO, Bertelsmann holds 67%, $1.16B cash to Concord partners. • Sony Music Japan acquires ~23% stake in GungHo Online Entertainment for ¥28.6B (~$179M), closing December 30. • STVDIO-Secretly report warns indie distributors are quietly falling under major-label or PE control. Lawsuits & AI • Las Vegas jury convicts Duane "Keffe D" Davis of first-degree murder in Tupac Shakur's 1996 killing. • Udio answers Sony's copyright suit with fair-use defense, admits YT-DLP data, counter-claims anticompetitive conduct. • Jermaine Dupri voluntarily dismisses $18M Sony unpaid-royalties suit two months after filing; matter resolved. Streaming & Tech • RIAA H1 2026: US wholesale revenue $5.97B, up 6.9%; paid streaming $3.11B; vinyl +17.7%; CDs +58.6%. • Spam farms flooded Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music profiles of jazz legends with AI-generated tracks. • Amazon Music's paid subscriber base continues eroding as YouTube Music and Apple Music post sharp gains. Artists & Releases • Katy Perry's 2011 track "The One That Got Away" named TikTok's Global Song of the Summer 2026. • Olivia Rodrigo's Daisy Chain Fields festival raised $10M for non-profits, doubled by Melinda French Gates. International • Luminate India report: 218.3B on-demand streams in H1 2026, third-highest volume globally. • Warner Music Central Europe launches Warner Records Germany in Berlin, led by veteran A&R director Lea Londa. Also Today • California's AB 1349 ghost-ticket reform bill now faces backlash from indie venues that originally supported it. • Profile of musicians building an anti-AI callout movement to publicly expose AI music "grifters." Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.