IPNation Targets $100M in Arabic Catalogs, Twitch's AI Opt-Out Backlash - August 13

Arabic music investment platform IPNation launches with $100M ambitions, while Twitch's default AI training opt-out ignites creator fury. Beatport moves to block AI-generated tracks at ingestion, and Rod Stewart's health forces him off the road entirely. Here's everything that mattered today. Deals & M&A • IPNation, backed by Influence Media Partners, launches as the first Arabic music catalog platform targeting $100M across 10–20 deals. • Anghami co-founder Eddy Maroun and investment veteran Jose Maria Dot are co-leading the new UAE-headquartered vehicle. Lawsuits & AI • Beatport bans wholly AI-generated music, expanding its Beatdapp partnership to auto-detect and block AI tracks at ingestion. • Stevie Wonder opposes the Phonorecords V CRB settlement, saying songwriting has "too often been undervalued." • Twitch defaults all streamer content into Amazon AI model training, drawing nearly 14,000 upvotes of backlash on its own forum. Streaming & Tech • Google adds Ticketmaster, Pandora, and iHeartRadio as Gemini connected apps; the assistant now tops 1 billion monthly active users. Live & Touring • Jonas Brothers headline the NFL's first-ever Australia regular-season game halftime show, airing live on Netflix on September 11. • Rod Stewart, 81, cancels his entire remaining 2026 North American farewell tour following a coronary stent procedure. International • MENA recorded music revenues grew 15.2% year-over-year in 2025, the joint second-fastest-growing region globally per IFPI. • Quebec French-language artists' share of physical album sales fell from 24% to 18% in a single year, per new Luminate data. Also Today • Dance music ticket demand surged 23.7% year-over-year in 2026, outpacing every major genre per Bandsintown. • Boy George walked off his Frankfurt set after three songs, citing technical difficulties before walking back a sabotage claim. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.

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Today is Thursday, august thirteenth, twenty twenty six. First up, deals and MA. A new platform launched in the UAE today focused on Arabic music catalogs. It's called IP Nation, co-founded by Eddie Maroon, the co-founder of the streaming service and Rami, along with investment veteran Jose Maria Dot. It's backed by influence media partners, which has support from BlackRock. The platform is targeting $100 million across 10 to 20 deals, each ranging from $2 million to $10 million. The timing matters. The Middle East and North Africa saw recorded music revenues grow 15.2% year over year in 2025, making it one of the fastest growing regions globally. Moving to lawsuits and AI. Beatport announced today it's banning what it calls wholly or substantially AI generated music from its platform. The company is expanding its partnership with a fraud detection firm called BeatDap to automatically identify and block AI tracks as they're uploaded. But here's the nuance. They're still permitting music that was human created with AI assistance. The difference matters. Meanwhile, Stevie Wonder filed a comment with the Copyright Royalty Board opposing the proposed Phono Records 5 settlement. In his statement, Wonder said the gift of songwriting has too often been undervalued. And on another front, Twitch is now using all of its streamers' content to train Amazon's generative AI models by default. The only way out is to opt out. The move sparked immediate backlash, nearly 14,000 upvotes on Twitch's own support forum within hours. Next up, streaming and tech. Google announced today that Ticketmaster, Pandora, and iHeartRadio are now connected apps within its Gemini AI assistant. Users can browse concert tickets, discover radio stations, and stream playlists directly from Gemini Conversations. The move comes as Gemini hits 1 billion monthly active users. On to live and touring. The Jonas Brothers will headline the halftime show for the league's first ever regular season game in Australia. It's the San Francisco 49ers versus the Los Angeles Rams on September 11th at Melbourne Cricket Ground, streaming live on Netflix. American Express is sponsoring the show as part of what the NFL is calling a record seven international halftime performances this season. In other touring news, Rod Stewart has canceled his remaining 2026 North American tour. The 81-year-old artist underwent a coronary stent procedure and needs four weeks to recover. That means six Las Vegas residency nights and all his state fair dates through September are off. Finally, international news. In Quebec, French language artists are losing ground on the physical side. Their share of physical album sales dropped from 24% to 18% in just one year, the fourth consecutive year of decline, according to new data from Luminate. On streaming though, their share has held steady at 7 to 8% of Canadian streams. That's your music industry rundown. Have a good Thursday.