From Salt-N-Pepa’s dismissed UMG case to UK music streaming subscription revenues’ 3.2% growth… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up

This week, a US federal judge dismissed Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group over master recording ownership.

Meanwhile, UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge issued his 2026 memo, warning against “irresponsible business models” in AI music that devalue artists.

Elsewhere, HYBE America appointed Ethiopia Habtemariam as its new President of Music.

Also this week, ERA reported that UK music streaming subscription revenues grew by 3.2% YoY in 2025, matching the country’s inflation rate.

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

1. SALT-N-PEPA LAWSUIT AGAINST UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP OVER OWNERSHIP OF MASTER RECORDINGS DISMISSED

A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Grammy-winning rap duo Salt-N-Pepa against Universal Music Group, ruling that the artists never owned the copyrights to their sound recordings and therefore cannot reclaim them.

Judge Denise Cote of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an opinion and order on Thursday (January 8) granting UMG’s motion to dismiss both claims in the case, which you can read in full here.

Cheryl James and Sandra Denton, professionally known as Salt-N-Pepa, filed the lawsuit in May 2025 seeking to regain their copyrights and physical master recordings. The duo attempted to exercise their termination rights under Section 203 of the Copyright Act, which allows artists to reclaim copyright ownership 35 years after an initial transfer… (MBW)

2. SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE TALKS AI MUSIC, SUPERFANS IN 2026 MEMO, TAKING SWIPE AT FIRMS ‘VALIDATING BUSINESS MODELS THAT FAIL TO RESPECT ARTISTS’ WORK’

Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has issued a stark warning about “irresponsible business models” in AI music, declaring that UMG will not tolerate deals that “devalue artists” and “promote the exponential growth of AI slop on streaming platforms.”

The comments appear in Grainge’s annual New Year memo to UMG staff, sent on Thursday (January 8) and obtained by MBW, in which he celebrates a successful 2025 for the world’s biggest music rights company and its artists, while outlining strategic priorities for 2026.

“Validating business models that fail to respect artists’ work and creativity, and promote the exponential growth of AI slop on streaming platforms, is a grave disservice to artists, songwriters and all of us who work in music,” writes Grainge.

“Let me be clear: UMG will not stand by and watch irresponsible business models take hold, models that devalue artists, fail to provide adequate compensation for their work, stifle their creativity and ultimately, diminish their ability to reach fans.”… (MBW)

3. ETHIOPIA HABTEMARIAM APPOINTED PRESIDENT OF MUSIC AT HYBE AMERICA

HYBE America has appointed veteran music exec Ethiopia Habtemariam as its new President of Music.

Habtemariam, known most recently for having headed up Universal Music Group’s Motown Records, will help advance HYBE America’s long-term growth strategy, spearhead A&R and artist development across the company’s label ecosystem, and identify new creative and commercial opportunities, HYBE America said in a statement on Thursday (January 8).

Habtemariam will be based in Los Angeles and in Atlanta, her hometown and an epicenter of global hip-hop into which the South Korea-headquartered HYBE tapped via its 2023 acquisition of label Quality Control… (MBW)

4. UK MUSIC STREAMING SUBSCRIPTION REVENUES GREW BY 3.2% YOY IN 2025. SO DID INFLATION.

The amount of money spent on music subscriptions by UK consumers grew modestly last year, up 3.2% YoY. That’s according to new preliminary stats from the UK’s Entertainment Retailers’ Association (ERA), whose members include Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

According to ERA’s data, some GBP £2.045 billion (USD $2.69bn) was spent on music streaming subscriptions in 2025, up from GBP £1.982 billion in 2024. In monetary terms, that represented a YoY increase of GBP £63.0 million… (MBW)

5. UMG’S LATEST MAJOR AI PARTNERSHIP ARRIVES VIA TECH GIANT NVIDIA, WITH PROMISE OF ‘ANTIDOTE TO GENERIC AI SLOP’

Universal Music Group has struck its latest major AI partnership. The world’s largest music rights company announced on Tuesday (January 6) a strategic collaboration with AI computing giant NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization, currently valued at approximately $4.56 trillion.

According to a press release, the partnership will see NVIDIA and UMG “undertake collaborative research and development to promote shared objectives of advancing human music creation and rightsholder compensation.”

The release added that the collaboration will combine NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure with what the companies describe as “the world’s leading music catalog comprising millions of culture-defining tracks” to pioneer what they call “responsible AI for music discovery, creation, and engagement.”… (MBW)