From YouTube’s $8bn music business payout to Spotify’s tune mashup patent… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s Weekly Spherical-up – the place we ensure you caught the 5 greatest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s Spherical-up is completely supported by BMI, a world chief in performing rights administration, devoted to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the worth of music.

This week, YouTube reported that it paid the music business over $8 billion over the previous 12 months. YouTube’s International Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, credit the platform’s “twin-engine” strategy of advertisements and subscriptions.

In the meantime, MBW reported that Spotify holds a patent for expertise that might generate personalised tune mashups by combining vocals and instrumentals from totally different tracks.

Elsewhere, generative AI music startup Suno is reportedly in negotiations to lift over $100 million in a funding spherical that may worth the corporate at greater than $2 billion.

Additionally this week, Lisa Yang joined Warner Music Group as EVP, International Head of Technique after 16 years at Goldman Sachs, whereas US Latin music revenues neared $500 million in H1 2025, rising six occasions quicker than the general US market.

Listed below are among the greatest headlines from the previous 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 reviews that it paid greater than $8 billion to the music business through the 12 months from July 2024 to June 2025.

The determine was shared by Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s International Head of Music, on the Billboard Latin Music Week convention in Miami on Wednesday (October 22).

Cohen attributed the payout to what YouTube calls its “twin-engine mannequin,” which generates income by advertisements proven alongside free content material and paid subscriptions that take away advertisements. In a remark shared with MBW, Cohen stated: “$8 billion payout is a testomony to the truth that the dual engine of advertisements 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 expertise that might generate personalised tune mashups.

The submitting, unearthed by MBW, describes a system that may analyze songs to find out which tracks are musically appropriate, then routinely mix them into new mashup variations for particular person customers.

Based on the doc, the expertise would work by first separating tracks into their part elements – vocals and instrumentals – then “including the vocal part” of “no less than one music observe to no less than a choose phase of the bottom music observe.”

In different phrases, Spotify’s algorithm may routinely layer the singing from one tune over the backing observe of a totally totally different tune, although customers would nonetheless management the artistic selections… (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 lift over $100 million in a funding spherical that may worth the corporate at greater than $2 billion, a fourfold enhance from the earlier valuation.

That’s in response to Bloomberg, which reported, citing folks conversant in the matter, that the corporate is at present producing greater than $100 million in annual recurring income.

Suno’s service lets customers generate full musical tracks from textual content prompts, usually together with vocals and lyrics. The corporate is at present the topic of a lawsuit filed by report labels owned by Sony Music, Common Music Group and Warner Music Group, who sued the corporate for mass infringement of copyright, alleging the AI startup used copyrighted recordings with out permission to coach its AI… (MBW)

4. LISA YANG JOINS WARNER MUSIC GROUP AS EVP, GLOBAL HEAD OF STRATEGY

Final month, we reported that Lisa Yang was leaving Goldman Sachs after 16 years – for a job at Warner Music Group, in response to our sources.

Now, it’s official. The revered exec has certainly joined WMG, as Govt Vice President, International Head of Technique. Yang introduced the information by way of 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 within the progress of US recorded music revenues, Latin music stays a brilliant spot.

Based on the most recent mid-year report from the Recording Business Affiliation of America (RIAA), Latin music wholesale revenues hit $490.3 million within the first half of 2025, up 5.9% YoY.

That progress fee is greater than six occasions as quick as total wholesale revenues within the US, which grew 0.9% YoY to $5.59 billion in H1 2025, in response to an earlier report from the RIAA.

In all, 98% of Latin music revenues got here from streaming, with paid streaming accounting for $271.1 million, up 11.2% YoY... (MBW)