From Universal Music’s $3.83B quarter to Suno’s German court defeat… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up

This week, Universal Music Group reported Q2 revenue of EUR €3.294 billion (USD $3.83bn), up 13.3% YoY at constant currency, driven by top sellers including Noah Kahan, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, and Olivia Dean.

Meanwhile, AI music company Suno suffered a major legal setback after a German court ruled that it infringed copyright in a landmark case brought by collecting society GEMA.

Also this week, Sony reported that its combined revenues from recorded music and music publishing topped USD $3 billion for a third consecutive quarter in calendar Q2 2026 (April–June), reaching an estimated $3.12 billion in the period.

Elsewhere, the major music companies — alongside BMG, Concord, HYBE and a number of other prominent independents — have proposed new chart eligibility rules designed to address the rise of AI-generated music.

Plus, BTS have declined to submit music for Grammy consideration, keeping their chart-topping album Arirang out of the year’s awards race.

Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…

1. Universal Music Group generated $3.83B in Q2, up 13.3% YoY – driven by Noah Kahan, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake, and Olivia Dean

Universal Music Group generated revenues of EUR €3.294 billion (USD $3.83bn) across all of its divisions (including recorded music, publishing, and more) in Q2 (the three months ending June 30, 2026).

That’s according to UMG‘s fresh set of quarterly results, published on Thursday (July 30).

They reveal that UMG’s overall Q2 revenue grew 13.3% YoY at constant currency, driven by the consolidation of Downtown Music Holdings, pricing benefits of Streaming 2.0 agreements, strong physical and licensing and other sales, and healthy performance revenue, contributing to growth in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. (MBW)

2. Suno loses copyright infringement lawsuit brought by GEMA in Germany

AI music generator Suno has lost the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by German collecting society GEMA.

The collecting society alleged that Suno used, stored and reproduced copyrighted music to train its AI tool without a license or payment to the rightsholders.

Reuters reported on Friday morning (July 31) that the Munich Regional Court found Suno was not entitled to use the music represented by GEMA. (MBW)

3. Majors, Believe, BMG, Concord, HYBE and more propose chart eligibility rules for AI music

A coalition of music companies, including all three majors and a group of prominent independents, has proposed a set of principles to govern the eligibility of recordings developed with generative AI for inclusion in music charts.

The companies behind the initiative include Believe, BMG, Concord, Dirty Hit, Glassnote Records, HYBE Corp., Mom+Pop Music, Partisan Records, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday (July 29), the framework would “establish a clear boundary between human-led creativity and works that are purely synthetic or generated by unauthorized AI models” and “will also help to ensure that any tracks with a fraudulently boosted stream count are not recognized and celebrated in the charts”. (MBW)

4. SONY GENERATED $3.12B FROM RECORDED MUSIC AND PUBLISHING IN CALENDAR Q2 2026, UP 12.7% YOY

Sony‘s combined revenues from recorded music and music publishing topped USD $3 billion for a third consecutive quarter in calendar Q2 2026 (April–June), reaching an estimated $3.12 billion in the period – the highest quarterly total of that run.

That’s according to MBW’s calculations based on Sony Group Corp‘s calendar Q2 2026 (fiscal Q1 2026) results, as announced by the Japanese conglomerate today (Friday, July 31).

According to Sony, growth in the quarter was driven by rising streaming revenues across both recorded music and music publishing, plus a jump in income from live events and merchandising. (MBW)

5. BTS keep chart-topper ‘Arirang’ out of 2027 Grammys race, as group decline to submit music for consideration

Global superstars BTS will not submit their music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards.

All seven members of the HYBE-signed group, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, announced the decision in identical statements posted to their individual Instagram accounts on Wednesday (July 29).

“We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year,” the members wrote. (MBW)