Why is Spotify so gun-shy when it comes to hiking prices in the United States? A closer look at 2025 subscriber trends in the United States offers strong clues, regardless of what Wall Street and rights owners are demanding.

Before his September 2024 indictment, accused fraudster Michael Smith allegedly used bot plays to artificially inflate his Billboard chart positions. Now, DMN's ongoing investigation, led by Dylan Smith, reveals that the artist charted 17 times over a roughly two-year period. So where's the long-overdue sales and chart update by Billboard? That's one of many unanswered questions in this multifaceted streaming fraud saga, which involves billions of fake plays, millions in allegedly stolen royalties, and... Read More...

DMN's extensive investigation into one of the largest streaming music royalty heists in history, led by DMN's Dylan Smith, is producing some eye-opening revelations and potentially huge takeaways for an industry trying to plug the leaks.

Music industry funding levels are now approaching the crazy place, with first-half, YTD core investments edging towards $4 billion. According to investments exclusively captured and compiled in DMN Pro’s Music Industry Funding Tracker, total core funding topped $3.812 billion through June, the start of a potentially record-setting 2025.

The music industry remains intently focused on streaming subscriber plateaus in established, high-ARPU markets like the United States and Western Europe. The latest intel, however, reveals slight declines in 2025, which complements continued subscriber turbulence at major platforms like Spotify and Amazon Music.

Just weeks after Trump's shock-and-awe replacements at the US Copyright Office and Library of Congress, a legal battle is dragging into the summer. But is this thing already over?

Driven by several monstrous core funding rounds, year-to-date music industry funding levels are rapidly approaching the $3 billion mark. According to investments exclusively captured and compiled in DMN Pro’s Music Industry Funding Tracker, total core funding has surpassed $2.6 billion through May, potentially part of a record-setting 2025.

The battle over who controls the US Copyright Office now heads to the courts. But can ousted Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter litigate her job back? The answer is of utmost importance to the music industry and billions in IP assets — and the focus of this report.

It looked like a quick solution to a nagging roadblock for AI’s tech bros. But gutting the US Copyright Office and its IP protections is proving trickier than originally planned. Here’s the latest in the fast-moving and quickly-shifting battle over control of IP’s most important government tribunal.

The music industry is battling another flurry of AI-related developments, with few positive developments for IP owners and creators. Here’s a look at the latest whirlwind of AI-related developments and possible next steps.

Last month, DMN Pro revealed that Spotify’s US-based subscriber growth rate was slowing in 2024 and early 2025, citing Spotify’s Q1 2025 disclosures. Now, newly obtained data reveals that Spotify’s US-based subscriber levels are actually declining, at least during the first few months of 2025.

Spotify touted significant year-over-year subscriber gains worldwide during its Q1 2025 earnings call. However, US-based subscribers are growing at the slowest rate compared to other worldwide regions, part of a continuing trend across North America and Europe.