NEWS FROM INSIDE THE ELECTRONIC
DANCE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Welcome to the weekly INDUSTRY INSIDER – created by IMS and RECORD OF THE DAY. We've teamed up to create a digest of global electronic industry news, across the full spectrum of the genre, to help you get straight to the stories that matter. INDUSTRY INSIDER will follow the template of Record of the Day but focus on what’s relevant for this genre and demographic…
BEN TURNER
Co-Founder, International Music Summit
Pete Tong's Essential New Tune
Hot Wife
Tiga & Boys Noize
Turbo Recordings
out now
Comment
"Our final choice, the fifth of the year, came out last week, and we played it on the show, and it sounded magnificent. It comes from Montreal's electronic royalty. He's got a new album, 'Hot Life' dropping on 17 April. This week's ENT is 'Hot Wife' from Tiga featuring Boys Noize."
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 38.37 here. 
Contact
Label: Turbo Recordings
03 Feb 2026
Business
  • Sony Music Group is forming a music rights-buying joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Pte, with the plan to invest $2-$3bn in to pursue “high-quality, marquee music assets across a range of genres”. (MBW)
News and Features
  • Yann Pissenem, Owner, Founder and CEO of The Night League and Ushuaïa Entertainment, is to be the headline Keynote Interview of the 2026 IMS Ibiza summit and also the recipient of the IMS Legends Award 2026. (RotD) 
  • A coalition of music publishers led by Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO Music has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, alleging mass-scale piracy and copyright infringement. (DMN)  
  • Distribution platform DistroKid is said to be holding talks with potential buyers over a sale, which could be worth $2bn or more. (MBW) 
  • Rebecca Kane Burton has joined Superstruct Entertainment, Europe’s largest independent festivals group, as Chief Operating Officer. (AAA) 
  • UK grassroots venues will be entitled to a 15% discount on business rates following a government U-turn on the 2025 budget. (DJ Mag) 
  • London’s independent, industry-led Nightlife Taskforce has published an assessment of the capital’s nightlife, setting out 23 recommendations across 10 areas to protect, support and grow London’s vital night-time industries. (RotD) 
  • US nightlife scenes rally against immigration crackdowns. (RA) 
Brand Partnerships
  • Zedd launches his own rollercoaster at Universal Studios Japan. (EDMTunes) 
Digital
  • Spotify has claimed that it now accounts for approximately 30% of recorded music revenue – and confirmed plans to crack down on “low-quality slop” designed “to divert royalties away from authentic artists.” (MusicAlly) 
  • Apple's Oliver Schusser explains how a flood of AI songs helped lead to a new policy crack down and spells out why Roc Nation faces criticism every year on its Halftime Show pick. (HR) 
    Apple Music says it flagged roughly two billion fake streams during 2025 — with penalties for alleged fraud now doubled. (DMN) 
  • Deezer's AI-detection tool is now available to other streaming platforms in an effort to help address the rise of AI and fraudulent streams, as well as promote transparency within the music industry and make sure human artists still get the recognition they deserve. (Deezer, TechCrunch)
  • Up to 85% of AI-generated music streams have been demonetised on Deezer. (DJ Mag) 
  • AI music company Suno has appointed Sam Berger as senior director of artist partnerships. He most recently worked at Patreon, where he led music strategy. (DMN) 
  • The Napster CEO John Acunto said “Major labels have been a suppressant and a problem in people owning their content, owning their data, and I think they’re continuing to be a suppressant", as the company flips to a revamped app “built entirely around AI-generated content and real-time creation tools” with “no traditional record-label catalog”. (MusicAlly) 
Live
  • Boomtown adds SBTRKT, VTSS and DJ EZ to 2026 line-up. (Mixmag) 
  • Tomorrowland announces CORE US debut in Los Angeles, featuring Eric Prydz, Four Tet, Honey Dijon, Hannah Laing, Nina Kraviz and more. (DJ Mag) 
  • A Guy Called Gerald, SHERELLE, DJ Marfox and many more announced for New York's Dweller festival. (DJ Mag) 
  • David Guetta, Fatboy Slim, Sara Landry announced for Coachella 2026's Quasar stage. (DJ Mag) 
  • Malta's Glitch Festival reveals ten-year anniversary line-up. (RA) 
  • Movement Festival Detroit 2026 full line-up announced. (Billboard) 
  • Essex festival Appetite on the Farm announces first names for 2026, including Shanti Celeste, Eliza Rose, Skream, and more. (RA) 
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • Why talent, effort, and doing everything right still are not enough in music, media, or modern careers. (Substack - Austin Daboh) 
  • Artist awareness: Measuring what it takes to be a household name. (Luminate) 
  • Why the music industry needs to learn to live with AI. (Midia - Mark Mulligan) 
Tech
  • Stylophone announces $50 portable sampler, VOICE. (DJ Mag) 
  • Korg announces Kaoss Pad V. (DJ Mag) 
  • The Berlin-based music software firm Native Instruments has entered preliminary insolvency proceedings. (RA) 
    Native Instruments CEO insists 'business as usual' after insolvency filing. (DJ Mag) 
Beatport
  • SIDEPIECE & Aluna Drop New Club Heater, “Misbehave”. (Beatportal)
  • Inside re:frame: How Framework's Soundstage Series Reimagines the Underground Show [Q&A] (Beatportal)
  • Vintage Culture and Gabss Land a Beatport Number 1 with "Lost" [Q&A] (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: Wata Igarashi (Beatportal)
  • From Reckoning to Reward: Surviving Sobriety in Dance Music (Beatportal)
  • Beatport Launches New Sub-Genre: Psy-Techno (Beatportal)
  • Jyoty Explores Beatport Streaming on the CDJ-3000s (Beatport)
Clubs
  • London's Corsica Studios announces final run of parties. (RA) 
  • Ministry of Sound has unveiled a major refurbishment of its main room, The Box, as it prepares to celebrate its 35th anniversary. (Mixmag) 
  • Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts to permanently close amid financial collapse. (RA) 
  • Ibiza: 
    Hï Ibiza, Ushuaïa Ibiza and [UNVRS] have all revealed their opening party line-ups for 2026. (DJ Mag) 
    FISHER hooks back up with [UNVRS] for 15-week summer sequel. (IbizaSpotlight) 
Streams & Podcasts
  • Line Noise 244 - Busy P and DJ Falcon (Line Noise Podcast) 
  • RA.1024 African-American Sound Recordings (RA) 
  • Monolink Full Live Show From Melkweg, Amsterdam (DJ Mag) 
  • harpriya | Mixmag Lab London (Mixmag) 
  • Mengzy B2B Just Bee B2B Subez | Mixmag Lab Hong Kong (Mixmag)  
  • Novah | Boiler Room x Teletech: London (Boiler Room) 
Artist and Music Features
  • Recognise 097: JIALING (DJ Mag) 
  • Claude VonStroke on staying grounded in a changing industry. (Magnetic) 
  • Lilly Palmer: strength through techno (DJ Mag) 
  • Afrojack on his club alias Kapuchon, the Grammys and why modern DJs and producers ‘Are Not Purists’. (Billboard) 
  • XOYO is back under independent ownership and relaunching this week, intending to bring the East London club "back to the underground". (Mixmag) 
  • Nightlife has been historically dismissed by politicians, but The Green Party’s thousand-strong event at Heaven has seemingly bucked the trend. We headed down to find out why they're setting sights on the dancefloor. (Mixmag) 
  • The shape of solidarity: standing with Palestine in electronic music. (DJ Mag) 
  • Beyond pain: Palestinian electronic music's shifting soundscape. (DJ Mag) 
  • 2026’s music marketing ins and outs – according to the experts. (MusicAlly) 
  • By withholding identity and letting the music lead, a new wave of elusive artists is building viral momentum, fan loyalty, and critical acclaim. (Chartmetric) 
Artist News
  • At the Grammys 2026: FKA Twigs won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album for 'Eusexua',  Tame Impala won Best Dance/Electronic Recording for their track 'End Of Summer', and Gesaffelstein won the Best Remixed Recording for his remix of Lady Gaga‘s 'Abracadabra'. (Mixmag) 
  • Terrence Dixon announces new Tresor Records EP. (DJ Mag) 
  • The Prodigy announce 'Firestarter' 30th anniversary vinyl reissue. (DJ Mag) 
  • Martin Garrix is looking for local DJs to open in every city on his upcoming Americas tour. (DJ Mag) 
Recent newsletters

27 Jan 2026

Baby Run - Jimi Jules
"'Baby Run' is the lead track from a new Jimi Jules' three track EP on CircoLoco Records. The EP is...

06 Jan 2026

Say Nothing - Solomun & Denis Sulta
"After rubbing shoulders in a series of back-to-backs in 2025, most prominently at Pasha Ibiza, Solomun and Denis Sulta combine...

16 Dec 2025

Edge of Desire - Jonas Blue & Malive
"It comes from an artist more familiar with the mainstream pop world. An artist who already has three songs that...

09 Dec 2025

Disco Ball - AVÖ & Nasso
"I'm gonna give it to a track that I've been playing out in the clubs for the last couple of...

02 Dec 2025

Jamaican (Bam Bam) - Hugel & Solto
"Occasionally, we call it a sweeping up ENT because this has actually been out for a few weeks. I think...

25 Nov 2025

Lost In The Mellow Circus - Brunello
"It comes from a new name called Brunello, who's been putting out a steady stream of quality underground house releases...

About IMS

IMS: International Music Summit is a global educational and motivational thought-leadership platform dedicated to the continued development of electronic music primarily through the presentation of global summits for the industry. 

About Beatport

Beatport is the worldwide home of music for DJs, producers, and their fans. Founded in 2004, the Beatport family of companies includes Beatport, the preeminent store for electronic music DJs, Beatsource for the open-format DJ community, and Loopmasters, Loopcloud and Plugin Boutique for music producers. Follow us on Twitch, Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram.

About AFEM

AFEM: A global voice for electronic music; representing our culture and commerce. AFEM's membership spans all industry sectors, with over 250 company members across 25 countries, the organisation connects its worldwide membership to develop opportunities and enable change.

About ROTD

Record of the Day has produced a subscription-based daily publication for the music industry for over 23 years, featuring all the best news and comment, along with an editorially-chosen future hit. Sign up for a free trial here.
Submit your news stories here.
About Industry Insider | Get in contact | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Brought to you by: www.recordoftheday.com