Streaming round-up – October 2025

by IDOL
News
29.10.25
Stay up to date on the latest in streaming news with our monthly round-up. This month, YouTube strengthens artist protection against fakes, Soundcloud enhances its social dimension, and Spotify works on highlighting credits.

The figure of the month: $100 million. This is the amount allocated by the beatBread funding platform to its new global independent fund launched in partnership with AIM, WIN, IMPALA. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Economy

Deezer
Deezer announces revenues of $153 million in the Q3, and confirms subscriber growth momentum in France. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Instagram
Instagram reaches 3 billion users and launches a new user interface. More info on Social Media Today.

OpenAi
OpenAI is reportedly developing a new music creation tool. More info on TechCrunch.

Reddit
Reddit launches legal action to prevent AI companies from scraping its data. More info on Social Media Today.

Spotify
Spotify plans to develop “responsible” AI-based music products, in partnership with Sony, UMG, Warner, Merlin, and Believe. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify is cleaning up by strengthening protections for real artists, including disclosing information about AI-generated music. More info on Music Week. Spotify and Merlin renew their licensing agreement with an expanded partnership. More info on Music Week. Spotify sign a new direct US publishing licensing deal. More info on Music Business Worldwide.
Amazon Ads and Spotify have announced a global strategic partnership that allows advertisers using Amazon DSP to access Spotify’s audio and video inventory. More info on Variety. Spotify video podcasts are coming to Netflix through a new distribution deal. More info on Reuters.

TikTok
Trump signs executive order paving the way for “$14 billion” US TikTok deal. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

YouTube
YouTube has paid over $8 billion to the music industry in the last 12 months. More info on Billboard. Facing “stream-ripping” allegations from labels, Suno and Udio weigh in on a separate case to challenge the ruling that makes YouTube downloading illegal. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

New Features

Audiomack
Playlist curators in Audiomack’s “Tastemakers” program now have their own analytics. More info on Music Ally.

Beatport
Beatport launches a ticketing platform exclusively for dance music events. More info on Music Business Worldwide.

Instagram
Instagram adds the option to draw in private chats. More info on Social Media Today.

Soundcloud
SoundCloud strengthens its social dimension with new discovery features, offering playlists inspired by friends’ favorite songs and artists followed by each user. More info on Music Ally.

Spotify
Spotify rolls out a series of new features for AI DJ, offering Premium subscribers “a new way to personalize the mood of their session in real-time.” More info on TechRadar. Premium subscribers can now browse and listen to the Spotify catalog using desktop versions of Rekordbox, Serato, and Algoriddim Djay. More info on MusicRadar. Thanks to Serato, DJs can now preview songs on Spotify. More info on Hypebot. Spotify now allows you to exclude specific songs from your algorithm. More info on The Verge. And specifically allows preventing children’s music from entering your algorithm. More info on The Verge.

Spotify now allows linking your account to ChatGPT to receive personalized music and podcast recommendations. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Spotify adds concert venue searches and follows in an update to the live events feed. More info on Hypebot. Spotify holds a patent for technology capable of generating song mashups. More info on Music Business Worldwide. Is Spotify working on a “SongDNA” feature? A new way to discover music through credits could be on the way. More info on Music Tech.

TikTok
TikTok increases superfan revenue share for North American creators. More info on Music Ally.

X/Twitter
X updates video player UI and improves Grok video generation. More info on Social Media Today. X is testing a new way to handle links in posts. More info on Social Media Today.

YouTube
YouTube showcases new AI celebrity likeness detection tool. More info on Music Business Worldwide. YouTube competes with Spotify’s AI DJ by testing “AI music hosts.” More info on Music Ally. YouTube allows users to generate alternative endings for Shorts using AI. More info on Social Media Today.

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