Streaming round-up – January 2026

by IDOL
News
28.01.26
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, Bandcamp bans AI from its platform, Apple Music attracts producers with its Creator Studio offering, and Spotify expands its Messages features.

The figure of the month: 88%.This is the percentage of tracks that are not streamed on platforms, out of a total of 253 million online audio references, according to Luminate. More info on Hypebot.

Economy

Apple Music
Apple Music and Shazam announce record growth. More info on Hypebot. Apple Music integrates with AlphaTheta’s professional multi-track DJ player. More info on Music Week.

Audiomack
Audiomack hits 50 million monthly active users and adds an expanded Artist Pro Toolkit. More info on Hypebot.

Bandcamp
Bandcamp Fridays have generated $154 million since 2020, including $19 million in 2025 alone. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Bandcamp bans AI-generated songs. More info on Billboard.

Meta
Wixen is suing Meta for copyright infringement, claiming that the tech giant wants to replace songwriters with AI. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Merlin
Merlin signs an AI licensing deal with Udio. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Pipeline, backed by $200 million from Matt Spetzler, will fund independent advances via a new Merlin pact. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Napster
Music streaming service Napster shuts down. More info on Digital Music News.

Roblox
UMG and Roblox strengthen their ties on merchandising, monetization, and artist activations. More info on Billboard.

Spotify
Midia Research says Spotify leads the ad-supported music market. More info on Music Ally. Spotify raises prices for Premium subscribers in the US and other markets. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify and Majors sue pirate library for scraping 86 million tracks. More info on Billboard.

Splice
UMG and Splice team up to create AI-powered music creation tools for artists. More info on Music Week. Splice acquires AI-powered voice production platform Kits AI. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

TikTok
BMG renews and expands its global publishing deal with TikTok. More info on Music Business Worldwide. TikTok adds safety measures for teens in the EU, and highlights its economic contribution. More info on Social Media Today. TikTok finalizes a deal to create a new US entity, avoiding the imminent threat of a US ban. More info on Billboard.

X/Twitter
Elon Musk’s X sues music publishers, accusing them of colluding to force the platform to accept licenses at “supra-competitive rates”. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

YouTube
Billboard gives more weight to freemium streams in the US charts, which remains insufficient for YouTube. More info on Music Business Worldwide. The BBC is in talks to produce content for YouTube as part of a landmark deal. More info on Variety.

New Features

Apple Music
Apple launches Apple Creator Studio: a new subscription that bundles its creative tools for artists and producers. More info on Hypebot.

Meta
Meta is considering charging business pages to post links. More info on Social Media Today.

Spotify
Spotify expands its in-app Messages music sharing experience with Listening Activity and Request To Jam. More info on Music Week. Spotify launches its AI-prompted playlists in the US and Canada. More info on TechCrunch.

YouTube
YouTube introduces AI chatbots inspired by popular creators. More info on Social Media Today.

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