Netflix will start streaming video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer in early 2026.

The two companies announced their new partnership on Tuesday (October 14), three months after reports emerged of partnership discussions between the streaming platforms.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July, citing people close to the conversations, that Netflix and Spotify held talks about collaborating on music-focused projects such as a music awards show, a live concert series, celebrity interviews, as well as documentary projects with shorter turnarounds to remain relevant. The two companies have now announced that the partnership will initially launch in the US in early 2026 before expanding to more markets. Netflix subscribers will gain access to sports, culture, lifestyle and true crime video podcasts that currently stream on Spotify’s platform

Lyrics and music data company Musixmatch says it has signed AI licensing deals with the publishing arms of all three major music companies.

The deals with Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music give Musixmatch access to catalogs of over 15 million musical works, with which the company plans to develop new analytical tools and “non-generative AI services.”

“The deals establish Musixmatch as the first company to partner with three top music publishers and comprehensively commit to building new ethically trained services and revenue streams using authorized catalogs,” Musixmatch said in a statement on Wednesday (October 15).

According to a report at Billboard, the licensing deals are being done on a trial basis, and the music publishers will be compensated for the use of the catalogs.

Spotify plans to develop “responsible” AI music products in partnership with all three major music companies – Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group – as well as indie music representative Merlin and independent music company Believe.

The company stated that it is “making significant investments in AI research and product development” and has already begun building a “state-of-the-art” generative AI research lab and product team.

Spotify announced the partnerships and plans to develop “artist-first AI music products” on Thursday (October 16). It said that it aims to onboard additional rightsholders and distributors over time.

The announcement arrives just over two weeks after Spotify unveiled a suite of new policies for managing AI-generated content on its service as part of a crackdown that resulted in the deletion of 75 million “spammy” tracks from its platform over the past year.

Create Music Group-owned digital content studio Flighthouse Media sees an opportunity in bringing sports media to Gen Z fans, and to make it happen, it’s launching a new brand: Fieldhouse.

Fieldhouse is “a sports-first, chaos-powered content brand built for the next generation of fans,” the company said in a statement on Monday (July 28).

What, exactly, does that mean? For one thing, it means content like “gamified debates” and hot takes designed to “spark rivalries, ignite group chats, and keep fans engaged beyond the game.”

In other words, it’s ESPN for the TikTok generation.

TikTok and iHeartRadio have teamed up to launch a live streaming singing competition on Monday (July 28) that will run through September.

The Next up: Live Music competition will give unsigned artists a platform to reach more audiences. Participants must be US residents over 18 with at least 50,000 TikTokfollowers and consistent engagement. They must own rights to at least one original song and remain unsigned by a major label or have label clearance.

Through TikTok’s live streaming feature, contestants will advance based on a combination of likes, views and comments, and judges’ scores

Spotify‘s stock price plunged 11.5% on Tuesday (July 29), erasing over $16 billion from the streaming giant’s market capitalization.

One key factor in the tumble: as part of its Q2 earnings today, the company forecast lower-than-expected profits for Q3, partly due to mounting payroll taxes tied to its soaring share price.

All this despite Spotify delivering strong operational results in Q2, with premium subscribers growing to 276 million (up 8 million quarter-over-quarter) and monthly active users reaching 696 million (up 18 million quarter-over-quarter).

However, investors appear to have been spooked by Spotify’s Q3 operating income guidance of €485 million ($550m), which fell well short of analyst estimates around €560 million.

Spotify’s Q2 operating income also fell short of analyst expectations, weighing in at €406 million ($460m) – below SPOT’s own guidance for the quarter.