Tyga's Suno Album Hits Chart Rules, Veeps Guts 4 Magazines - Friday, August 7

AI chart eligibility and music publication layoffs dominate Friday's brief. Tyga confirming his new album was built with Suno throws the IFPI/RIAA/Recording Academy "substantially human made" standard into immediate real-world tension, while Live Nation's Veeps gutted four beloved music outlets in a single day. Meanwhile, Meta faces nearly $1B in New Mexico fines with a federal multi-state trial starting next week. Deals & M&A • Triangle Group raises $15M seed round, names ex-Live Nation Asia Pacific president Roger Field as executive director. • Triangle's raise covers 18 cities across 9 countries, targeting APAC live touring and festival infrastructure. Lawsuits & AI • UMG moves to dismiss AFM's lawsuit, arguing its labor agreement sets no rate for AI training use. • Tyga confirms his album $tarface was made with Suno, triggering chart-eligibility questions under new AI guidelines. • New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay additional $567M into child-harm fund, bringing state total to $942M. • Artist Medasin's viral TikTok claims Fenix Flexin's Hot 100 single "Rubberz" is entirely AI-generated. Streaming & Tech • Live Nation's Veeps executes near-total layoffs at BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press, Revolver, and Goldmine. • Kickstarter launches $1M Culture Fund for independent creators in music, art, film, and fashion globally. Artists & Releases • Karol G drops sixth album No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto on her own Bichota Records via Interscope, featuring Drake and Bruno Mars. • Lionsgate confirms Michael 2 begins production soon, targeting a 2028 release. International • Triangle Group's $15M raise called the largest institutional bet on APAC's experience economy by a regional operator. Also Today • Salt-N-Pepa appeal their dismissed UMG masters lawsuit with "Blurred Lines" trial lawyer as new counsel. • Suno quietly dropped ACRCloud from its partner list while claiming the relationship is unchanged. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.

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Today is Friday, august seventh, twenty twenty six. First up, deals and MA. Singapore based live entertainment platform Triangle Group closed a $15 million funding round, $10 million in equity led by DSG Consumer Partners, plus $5 million in venture debt. The company also named Roger Field, the former president of Live Nation Asia Pacific, as executive director and operating partner. It's described as the largest institutional bet on the Asia Pacific experience economy by a regional operator, with operations spanning 18 cities across nine countries. Moving to lawsuits and AI, Universal Music Group filed a motion to dismiss the American Federation of Musicians lawsuit over UMG's deal with Suno. The label argues that the Sound Recording Labor Agreement contains no rate for AI training use, and therefore the union's claim fails as a matter of law. Meanwhile, rapper Taiga publicly confirmed he used Suno to create his new album, Starface, immediately raising questions about chart eligibility under newly updated IFPI, RIAA, and Recording Academy guidelines that require tracks to be substantially human-made. Artist Medicine also posted a viral TikTok, over 2 million views, alleging that Phoenix Flexon's charting single, Rubbers, is entirely AI generated, escalating real-time scrutiny of how the industry enforces these new eligibility rules as the track climbs the hot 100. Next up, streaming and tech. LiveNation-owned Veeps executed near-total staff layoffs at four music publications. Brooklyn Vegan, founded in 2004, Alternative Press from 1985, Revolver from 2000, and Goldmine from 1974. The move eliminates decades of indie, punk, metal, and vinyl collector coverage from the Live Nation ecosystem. In other news, Kickstarter launched a $1 million culture fund for independent creators in music, art, film, and fashion, opening globally with a 67,500-pound partnership alongside Creative Scotland. Now, artist news. Carol G released her sixth studio album, No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto today via Bichota Records and Innerscope, her first album on her own Bichota imprint. The project features Drake on Ai, Bruno Mars on Still, and Cigarettes After Sex's Greg Gonzalez on the album closer Después de ti. Separately, Lionsgate executives revealed that Michael II, the sequel to the record setting Michael Jackson biopic, will begin production in a few months for a 2028 release target.