Primary Wave is in the advanced stages of putting together a deal to acquire Kobalt Music Group, the gigantic independent music publishing administration company, which would create a powerhouse independent music company with over $7 billion in assets, Billboard estimates. 

Primary Wave’s portfolio, which includes stakes in the catalogs of Prince, Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and recently Britney Spears, is worth nearly $6 billion. Kobalt, the world’s largest independent music publisher, was acquired in 2022 by a group of investors led by Francisco Partners in a deal that valued the company at around $750 million valuation. Since then, Kobalt under CEO Laurent Hubert has grown significantly, improved profitability and launched a joint venture with Morgan Stanley’s Tactical Value group with $700 million to invest in music copyrights.

– Ed Christman, Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Billboard

Nearly two years after the US Department of Justice and a group of state attorneys general sued Live Nation Entertainment, the case has finally reached a Manhattan courtroom.

Jury selection began Monday (March 2), with opening statements expected tomorrow.

The trial, expected to last five to six weeks, will test whether the world’s largest live entertainment company has illegally monopolized key parts of the concert industry — and whether the 2010 merger that united Live Nation and Ticketmaster should be unwound.

But the case arriving at trial looks substantially different from the one filed in May 2024. Court rulings have narrowed the government’s claims, the DOJ’s antitrust leadership has been thrown into turmoil, and Live Nation tried, and failed, to avoid a jury altogether.

– Murray Stassen, Music Business Worldwide

For the first time, Bandcamp is adding dedicated publishing rights fields to its track and album upload pages. These tools are aimed at simplifying the often-convoluted process of attribution, especially for tracks involving multiple collaborators.

Artists and labels can now input:

-Songwriter/Composer Names: Specific credits for the individuals who wrote the underlying composition.
-Publisher Name: Information for artists signed to a music publisher or a publishing administrator.
I-SWC Identifiers: The International Standard Musical Work Code (ISWC) can now be attached directly to the track metadata, providing a “digital fingerprint” for the composition that is recognized globally by collection societies.

– Bruce Houghton, Hypebot

A new survey from Sound On Sound and Sonarworks asked 1,100+ music creators how they are navigating the AI explosion in 2026. The results are a fascinating mix of “grudging acceptance” and a fierce protection of the human element.

– Bruce Houghton, Hypebot

MBW Reacts is a series of analytical commentaries from Music Business Worldwide written in response to major recent entertainment events or news stories. In this week’s edition, Tim Ingham reacts to all of the recent news from Suno, including their claim that Suno’s annual revenue run rate has hit $300 million, via 2 million paying subscribers.

-Tim Ingham, Music Business Worldwide

The live music industry is under a microscope with the DOJ vs Live Nation and Ticketmaster trial scheduled to begin. The lawsuit comes at the same time that Live Nation and some of live music’s biggest players are celebrating a record 2025.

But a look at recent public filings reveals a striking trend. Despite billions in revenue, some of these companies paid no or almost no federal income taxes last year.

– Bruce Houghton, Hypebot