QUICK HITS: BMI sues SiriusXM • $25 Olivia Rodrigo tickets • AI music fan survey • beatBread hires • Arodes + Armada

MUSIC BUSINESS NEWS: BMI has filed an action in Federal rate court to determine fees for a license with SiriusXM.  After years of negotiations, SiriusXM is attempting to lower its payments to BMI songwriters, composers and publishers.

“After attempting to negotiate with SiriusXM in good faith for more than two years, we were compelled to file this action given their insistence on underpaying the creators of the music that drives the majority of their business.” said Mike O’Neill, BMI President & CEO. “SiriusXM’s proposal is a clear attempt to rely on a rate that was established when the company was very different in terms of its size, reach, degree of digital focus and revenue growth, and falls well below what is in the best interests of our affiliates.”

In more Music Business News:

• Olivia Rodrigo has expanded her affordable ticket campaign with a show in The Philippines where all seats will cost just $25.

The pop rock superstar will end the Asian leg of her Guts Tour with a date on October 5 at the 55,000-capacity Philippine Arena – the world’s largest indoor venue.

• An Authority Hacker survey of 1200 consumers in the US. shows the growing concerns regarding the usage of AI in music creation. Key stats:

• 57.57% of people suspect that they have unknowingly listened to AI-produced music on streaming platforms.
• 93.75% do not value AI music the same as human-produced one – and over half, 56.25% would not pay money for it.
• 89.67% of people want AI-produced music to be clearly labeled as such.
• more here.

• beatBread, the data-driven funding platform for music has appointed Andrew Maddox as head of finance

Maddox has held various finance leadership roles at TikTok over the last four years, most recently as Head of Finance and Payment Services, US Data Security.

• Arodes, the DJ and producer, has signed a joint venture deal with Armada for his newly-founded label, Unreleased, and kicks off with the release of Arodes’ first track under the new alliance, ‘Use Somebody.’ 

This follows Armada’s recent JV deals with KI/KI and Lilly Palmer.

Bruce Houghton