Monthly Music Industry Roundup: September 2026

While this isn’t technically news, and to be precise, it’s an article we published on October 2, we’re kicking off this month’s roundup with a timely reminder for performing artists. We’ve compiled a list of festivals taking place in 2027 that are still accepting artist applications this year.

Our list includes Tallinn Music Week (Estonia), The Great Escape (UK), Tønder Festival (Denmark), FOCUS Wales (UK), Twyfest (UK), and Dong Open Air (Germany). We’re including it here because some of these festivals are closing their application forms at the end of October.

Read our article to learn more about each event, including how, where, and why to apply, as well as what to keep in mind when submitting your application.

A new study by Clubcommission Berlin examined the state of the city’s club culture and how it has changed since its previous study in 2019. The results highlight growing financial and structural pressures on venues.

The study, based on a survey of 102 participants, found that admission fees now account for 59% of club revenue, compared with just 21% in 2017, while food and beverage sales have fallen from 60% to 20%. At the same time, rising costs, rents, and declining visitor spending are putting further pressure on venues, with only 61% covering their costs or making a profit in 2025.

According to the study, 23% of respondents are considering closing within the next year, while at least 24 clubs and cultural venues have closed since 2020. Clubcommission is calling for more long-term funding, affordable spaces, recognition of clubs as cultural venues, and improved working conditions. Despite the challenges, around 25 new venues have opened since 2020, suggesting that Berlin’s club scene continues to evolve despite the difficult conditions.

Spotify has launched Playlist Notes, a feature that allows both editors and regular users to add comments and background information to tracks, podcasts, and audiobooks within their playlists. This gives listeners valuable context and insight into why specific selections were made, whether it’s a personal story or a note on cultural relevance.

The platform has also introduced Editor Profiles, which allow users to discover more about the curators behind editorial playlists, see their favorite releases, and explore other playlists they contribute to. With these updates, Spotify aims to make playlists more personal and engaging and help both editors and users connect more deeply with listeners.

The Indian music market is growing at a steady pace, and Spotify’s 2026 Loud & Clear report sheds light on exactly how this growth is taking shape.

Royalties generated by Indian artists grew 29% from the previous year, and over 40% of royalties came from listeners outside India. In 2025, Indian artists received nearly 335 billion streams on Spotify, totaling over 20 billion hours of listening. Women artists contributed significantly, with local streams up 27% year over year.

Another relevant observation is that all major languages spoken across the country contributed to the increase in royalties. While Bollywood continues to be a leading source of new music releases, Indian pop music, or I-Pop as called by Spotify, represented half of Spotify’s 2025 Top 10 songs in India.

Almost a year after settling its copyright lawsuit with Warner Music Group, generative AI music platform Suno has launched its new v6 model generation, which was developed in partnership with Warner Music Group, BMG, and Believe.

The v6 generation includes three models: the standard v6, v6-wild for more experimental results, and v6-mini, which is available to all creators. Suno has also introduced new editing tools that let users modify parts of songs using natural-language instructions, combine elements from different tracks, and use text, audio, images, and video as inputs.

The models were trained from scratch using new data, including music licensed through these partnerships. However, reactions from the music industry have been mixed.