Robert Clivillés, co-founder of C+C Music Factory, has filed a $30 million lawsuit against former group member Freedom Williams. The suit seeks cancellation of the trademark registration Williams holds on the group’s name.

Clivillés is also asking the court to grant him administrative control of the C+C Music Factory Instagram account, which Williams currently manages. The filing marks an escalation in a dispute over ownership and control of the act’s branding decades after its early-1990s dance-pop hits.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

SoundExchange has presented MC Lyte with its Music Fairness Award, recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of recording artists. The recognition centers on her support for the American Music Fairness Act, legislation aimed at requiring AM/FM radio stations to pay performance royalties to artists and rights holders.

Terrestrial radio in the US remains exempt from paying such royalties, a longstanding point of contention for artist advocates and industry groups. MC Lyte’s campaigning has been cited as part of a broader push by musicians and organizations to close that gap.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

Universal Music Group has signed a partnership with Hook to license its recorded music catalog for use in fan-created content across social media platforms. The deal is designed to let fans legally incorporate UMG artists’ music into their own posts and clips while ensuring compensation flows back to the label and its artists.

The agreement reflects a broader push by major labels to capture revenue from user-generated content rather than treat it purely as a rights-enforcement issue. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

Private equity firm KKR has agreed to acquire a minority stake in BookMyShow, the Indian ticketing and entertainment company. The deal gives KKR exposure to BookMyShow Live, the firm’s concert promotion arm, which has brought major international acts to India in recent years.

BookMyShow Live has staged Indian dates for Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Travis Scott, Guns N’ Roses and Post Malone, positioning the company as a key player in the country’s growing live music market. The investment underscores continued investor interest in India’s expanding concert and entertainment industry.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

BMG has signed Velvet Trip, the psychedelic-pop project led by Zeppelin Hamilton, to a global publishing agreement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The signing follows a breakout year for the project, giving BMG a stake in its catalog as the act builds momentum.

Read the full story at Billboard.

MUSEXPO will present awards to Milk & Honey founder Lucas Keller and THE•TEAM’s Marty Diamond at its 2027 edition. The ceremony takes place in Burbank, California, as part of the conference’s 27th global gathering, scheduled for March 21-24, 2027.

Both Keller and Diamond are established figures in artist management, with the recognitions marking career achievements ahead of the event’s industry sessions and networking programming.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

BMI will honor songwriter Johnny McDaid with its President’s Award at the 2026 BMI London Awards. The accolade recognizes his songwriting catalog, which spans collaborations with Ed Sheeran, BTS, P!nk, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Lewis Capaldi, Jung Kook, Weezer, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta and Kelly Clarkson.

The award adds to McDaid’s industry recognition as one of the most sought-after co-writers in pop, with credits spanning multiple genres and territories over the past decade.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

Julie Swidler, a longtime senior executive at Sony Music, discussed her career trajectory in a new interview, including formative lessons learned working alongside the late Clive Davis. She addressed the range of personalities she has managed over her tenure, from volatile industry figures to ambitious newcomers.

Swidler also touched on efforts to modernize the Recording Academy and the Grammy Awards, an institution she has been involved with pushing toward reform. The interview offers insight into how a veteran label executive views the changing demands of the music business and what she expects from the next phase of her career.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

A new industry analysis argues that the rappers with the most cultural influence among Gen Z listeners are not necessarily the ones putting up the biggest streaming or chart numbers. The piece, authored by Diana Umana, contends that traditional measures of mainstream scale are failing to capture where hip-hop’s real cultural weight now sits.

The disconnect points to a broader shift in how relevance is built and measured, with smaller or less commercially dominant artists shaping trends, language and taste in ways that don’t always translate into conventional metrics. The analysis suggests labels, marketers and A&R teams may need to recalibrate how they identify rising talent and cultural momentum rather than relying solely on chart position or streaming totals.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.

Universal Music Group has secured a global agreement to handle merchandise, licensing, and e-commerce for The Beatles, extending a relationship that already includes management of the band’s recorded music catalog.

The new pact deepens UMG’s control over the Beatles brand beyond music rights, giving the label a broader stake in how the group’s name and image are commercialized worldwide.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide.