The first half of this year saw $2.77 trillion worth of deals inked worldwide, up 48% from the year-ago period and the best first half for mergers and acquisitions since the dot com bubble burst in 2002, the New York Times recently reported, citing data from the London Stock Exchange Group.
Those events have created financial windfalls for institutional investors, particularly those with oil and gas and AI holdings in their portfolios, and consolidation in many industries.
For the music business, the first six months of 2026 were defined by a number of major stories across all areas of the industry.
From the long-awaited BMG-Concord merger to the blockbuster verdict in the Live Nation antitrust trial to Casey Wasserman ‘s decision to step down from his namesake agency (now rebranded THE•TEAM), it’s already been a rollercoaster year. But with 2026 only slightly more than halfway over, what more does it have in store for the business?
Dan Rys, Melinda Newman, Kristin Robinson, Bill Donahue, Elizabeth Dilts Marshall, Rachel Scharf, Ariel King To that end, Billboard staffers put their heads together to come up with a list of stories to watch in the back half of the year.
On the AI front, we’ll see the industry continue to grapple with just how to approach the disruptive technology, which has sent ripples of fear, uncertainty, and, occasionally, optimism, throughout the business.
In terms of finance, industry watchers will be looking to see if activity in the M&A and catalog acquisition spaces can keep pace with the massive influx of deals announced in the first six months of the year.
In the legal sphere, developments in a number of major cases, from Drake ‘s defamation suit against his own record label to a plethora of AI lawsuits, will be top of mind. And in live music, just which of the suitors circling THE•TEAM will manage to seal the d
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Image Recognition, via deals done by Merck Mercuriadis, owned stakes in the majority of hits recorded by Fleetwood Mac “We can confirm that the acquisition of the entire music rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group by Sony Music Publishing has completed following regulatory approvals,” said a statement jointly issued to MBW by SMP and Recognition.