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Monday, July 20, 2026
ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC: Which PRO Should You Actually Join?
Every songwriter eventually hits the same wall: pick a performing rights organization. Here's the honest, no-jargon breakdown of ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC — how they pay, what they cost, and who each one is really built for.
// also right now
BusinessHow to Build a Music Release Calendar That Actually Works
A practical, no-fluff guide to planning singles, EPs, and albums so your releases build momentum instead of burning you out.
UpskillFree Business Courses Every Creative Entrepreneur Should Take
A curated, evergreen list of genuinely free business courses for musicians, artists, designers, and independent creators — with direct links and no upsells.
// from the dispatch
Coty Signs Lena Gercke's LeGer Label in a Bet on Timeless European Womenswear
The beauty giant's new license with one of Germany's fastest-growing personal fashion labels signals where Coty sees fashion-adjacent brand value heading.
Three Cities, One Saturday: Block Parties, Festival Stages and a Tour Stop on June 20
A 20th-anniversary South Asian festival in Toronto, a Philly hip-hop honors block party and a Detroit rap double-bill in Charleston all share the same night on the calendar.
Sha Ray & DJ Haram Join Forces on 'Critical Thot'
The Bay Area rapper and the 700 Bliss producer pair up for a cross-country collaboration interrogating power, sexuality, and feminine authority.
TAY KEITH, PRODUCER BEHIND SOME OF RAP'S BIGGEST HITS, FOUND DEAD AT 29
The Memphis-born producer, whose minimalist sound shaped hits for Drake, Travis Scott and Beyoncé, was found dead during a welfare check. He was 29.
GForce x Sequential: the first official Prophet-5 plugin, and what 'official' is worth
A soft Prophet-5 with the actual Sequential logo on it dropped today. In a market full of unofficial clones from Arturia and u-he, the question is whether a license still moves the needle.
Two paths through the catalog economy: Boy George's AI gambit vs. HarbourView's Chaka Khan buy
In a single week, two opposing legacy-catalog strategies surfaced. One sells a stake to a fund. The other tries to use AI to take ownership back.
Korea's $2.2M indie K-pop fund and the 'fortify the backbone' moment
The Korean government is directly subsidizing independent K-pop labels as the Big 4 hollow out the middle tier. It is industrial policy for pop music — and the US and UK do not have anything close.
The Atlantic just named the four datasets training the AI music boom
Millions of copyrighted recordings — Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, the whole canon — are circulating among AI developers in four specific datasets. Here is what that means for the lawsuits already in motion.
Spotify's live-video pivot meets its Universal AI deal — the bundle thesis gets real
Concert streaming, narrated magazine articles, emoji reactions, AI licensing. In two weeks Spotify has quietly become a different kind of company.