Stevie Wonder's 50th Anniversary Tour, TME's $1B Bond - Tuesday, September 8

Email us hereStevie Wonder drops a major anniversary tour, Tencent Music prices a $1 billion bond offering, and the AFM fires back at UMG and WMG in a high-stakes AI lawsuit. Meanwhile, touring safety and mental health make headlines across the live sector. Deals & M&A • Warner Music CFO Armin Zerza sold $1.87M in WMG shares ahead of his September 30 exit. • Tencent Music priced a $1B bond split evenly between 2031 and 2036 maturities for refinancing and buybacks. Lawsuits & AI • AFM challenged UMG and WMG dismissal motions, arguing Suno and Udio deals trigger mandatory union payments. Live & Touring • Stevie Wonder announced an 18-date Songs in the Key of Life 50th Anniversary Tour across Europe and the US. • The Music Industry Therapy Collective launched a £272K Pay It Forward fund for tour team mental-health support. • Fourteen people were hospitalized at a Chainsmokers show in San Jose for suspected alcohol and drug issues. International • Spain's H1 recorded-music revenues rose 11.6% to €181.4M; France grew a slower 3.5% to €449M. Also Today • TME stock is down 53.75% year-to-date even as its bond deal pushes total borrowings to roughly RMB 13 billion. • Music industry core funding fell materially year-over-year in July–August after a near-$6B Q2 surge. • Spotify, AEG, Warner Music, and others made notable hires as of September 4. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.