Soundstorm Canceled, Spotify's 72-Hr Paywall Spreads, Phono V Fight - Tuesday, October 6

Email us here Saudi Arabia's Soundstorm festival joins a widening wave of regional entertainment cancellations, while Spotify's Premium Early Access paywall surfaces in new markets and the Phonorecords V royalty battle heats up at the CRB. Meanwhile, YouTube, TikTok, and Luminate all dropped data-heavy updates reshaping short-form and streaming strategy. Deals & M&A • Warner Music MENA promotes Ahmed Nureni to MD, hires Ahmad Alghawanmeh from Sony as GM. Lawsuits & AI • ARIA CEO warns Australia's parliament that OpenAI and Anthropic are lobbying to train AI locally without copyright compliance. • Major labels and NMPA defend Phono V CRB settlement as reasonable; deny conflict-of-interest claims from objectors. Streaming & Tech • YouTube Shorts algorithm now prioritizes original content over recycled reposts, raising stakes for artist video strategy. • Spotify's 72-hour album withholding for free-tier users spotted in India and Bangladesh under UMG licensing terms. • TikTok launches TikTok Ad Network in the US, reaching 95 million users across 400,000 third-party apps. • Luminate: Bollywood is 33.5% of India's streams in H1 2026, but growing faster outside India than within it. • Hasbro Music drops Peppa Pig x Super Simple Songs lullaby collab December 26, targeting 90M+ combined subscribers. Live & Touring • Staind adds 27-city North American leg to Break The Cycle anniversary tour with Seether and Hoobastank, March–April 2027. International • MDLBEAST officially cancels Soundstorm Riyadh festival amid Saudi entertainment budget cuts and regional instability. • UMG AMEA CEO Adam Granite calls Southeast Asia a key epicentre for global virality at Music Matters Singapore 2026. Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.