RBX Sues Spotify for $600M, AI Chart Rules Proposed - July 29

The music industry's AI reckoning dominated Wednesday, as a major-label coalition proposed chart-eligibility rules for AI-assisted recordings and Suno faced a new class action over its 55-million-user data breach. Meanwhile, rapper RBX's amended Spotify lawsuit alleging $600M in diverted royalties raised the stakes on streaming fraud claims, and HYBE's Q2 concert revenue surged 243% to $432M. Lawsuits & AI • Major labels, BMG, Concord, HYBE, and others propose chart rules requiring AI tracks be substantially human-made and properly labeled. • Fully AI-generated tracks would be barred from official charts under the coalition proposal. • Rapper RBX files amended class action alleging Spotify diverted $600M in royalties from indie rights holders over 48 months. • Judge denies music attorney Donald Passman's opt-out from Anthropic's $1.5B author copyright settlement. • Suno hit with class action over November 2025 data breach reportedly affecting 55.3 million US users. Streaming & Tech • Deezer H1 2026: revenue nearly flat at €268.2M, total subs down 3.5%, but direct subscribers grew 8.7% to 5.8M. • Spotify may have overtaken Korea's Melon for the first time, per WiseApp data; YouTube Music leads both at 9.5M MAUs. • US AM/FM radio's ad-supported audience remains more than 10 times larger than Spotify's free tier, per Westwood One. Live & Touring • Anaheim's $5B OCVibe district hits construction milestone; 5,000-cap concert hall targets March 2027 grand opening. • HYBE Q2 concert revenue soared 243% YoY to $432M, with live outpacing recorded music in H1 for the first time since 2019. Artists & Releases • HYBE liquidates AI voice company Supertone after ~$32M investment, citing strategy realignment. International • Winamp's revival will bundle a Deezer-powered subscription music service, announced alongside Deezer's H1 financials. Also Today • Luminate Midyear 2026: Dance/Electronic tops US growth genres; English-language streaming hits historic low of 87.1%; CD sales up 16%. • K-pop drove over half of the CD sales surge in H1 2026; big-box retailers captured nearly 30% of the physical market. • Analysis: major labels shifting from AI litigation toward building licensed AI creation and attribution platforms. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.

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Today is Wednesday, july twenty ninth, twenty twenty six. First up, lawsuits and AI. A coalition of the three major labels, plus Believe, BMG, Concorde, and several independent labels has proposed new rules for chart eligibility. Under their proposal, AI assisted recordings would need to be substantially human made, use lawfully sourced training data, be properly labeled, and show no signs of stream manipulation. The goal is to keep artificially inflated tracks off the official charts. Meanwhile, rapper RBX filed an amended class action lawsuit against Spotify, alleging the streaming service applied fraud detection unevenly, favoring Drake's catalog while diverting at least $600 million in royalties from independent rights holders over a four-year period. Also, a federal judge denied veteran music attorney Donald Passman's request to opt out of Anthropic's $1.5 billion author copyright settlement, ruling the court had sent him three notices and finding no excusable neglect. And Suno, the AI music generator, faces a proposed class action over its November 2025 data breach. The lawsuit seeks to represent all 55.3 million affected US users. Next, streaming and tech. Deezer reported H1 2026 results showing nearly flat overall revenue at 268.2 million euros, up just 0.4%. Total subscribers fell 3.5% to 8.9 million. But there's a bright spot. The company's direct subscriber business grew 8.7% to 5.8 million, with direct revenue up 6.7%. In South Korea, data from Wise App suggests Spotify may have overtaken Mellon, Korea's homegrown streaming service, for the first time. Spotify with 6.2 million monthly active users versus Mellon's 5.9 million. Though a rival research firm puts those numbers differently, with Mellon at 7.1 million and Spotify at 2.4 million. YouTube Music leads both at 9.5 million. Also, a new Westwood One and Edison Research Report found US AM and FM Radio's ad-supported audience is more than 10 times larger than Spotify's free tier, though analysts note that data may actually signal Spotify's subscription model working as intended. On to live and touring. Anaheim's $5 billion OC Vibe Entertainment District reached a construction milestone as workers began installing seats in its 5,000 capacity concert hall. Music and entertainment executives got their first inside look this week. The venue is set to open in March 2027. Now artist news. Hybe is liquidating Supertone, the AI voice synthesis company it fully acquired for roughly $32 million back in 2022. The company cited AI business strategy realignment and concluded that continued operations would be difficult. Shareholders voted to dissolve the firm. Finally, International. WinAmp's latest revival will include a subscription music service powered by Deezer. The news came the same day Deezer released its H1 2026 financials, marking a significant move for the revived music player that once dominated the early 2000s. That's your music industry rundown. Have a good Wednesday.