‘We eat and drink risk’: higher costs bring curtain down on more UK music festivals

Plans for new event at the Secret Garden Party site and Womad Glasgow are dashed, but others remain optimistic

Jessie J’s triumphant return puts lucrative Chinese market in spotlight

Other western acts have attempted to crack country’s music scene since singer’s breakout success in 2018

20 ways Taylor Swift remade pop culture in her image

It has been 20 years since Swift released her debut single, setting in motion a career so extraordinary, it permanently redefined the concept of pop stardom. This is how she did it

More than a quarter of UK musicians lost all EU work since 2021, report finds

Average tour earnings down 45%, with nearly three-fifths of musicians saying touring in Europe is no longer viable

Music industry risks excluding working-class talent, says Tinie Tempah

Singer Skye Newman also highlights how becoming a performer is becoming inaccessible to those without money

Blind UK pop producer to take legal action over alleged lack of support at work after surgery

Disability rights campaigner Robin Millar reveals he is taking owners of music business he founded to a tribunal

‘This keeps the dream alive’: the bands sleeping at venues to make touring work

A new UK scheme is encouraging venues to provide accommodation for touring acts. But what if someone hurls a TV through a window?

‘Build it and they will come’: the hopes new life for former lido will revive Weston-super-Mare

Council has voted to lease the Tropicana to entertainment company Live Nation which plans to turn abandoned space into events venue

‘Major labels are trying to scoop up everything’: the chaotic future for indie music companies – and why vinyl isn’t working

As stalwarts Sub Pop and Rough Trade celebrate big anniversaries, insiders speak candidly about the challenges they face. Can streaming ever ensure their survival?

‘It will never cover what’s authentic’: African music industry weighs up AI risks and rewards

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talent

Indie music has been invaded by fake fans and cynical viral campaigns​. Here’s how deep it all goes

Companies such as Chaotic Good are confecting social media buzz to promote Geese, Oklou and other indie darlings. Industry insiders reveal how widespread the practice is – even if no-one is sure it actually works

‘It’ll be in my Guardian obituary’: David Balfe on inspiring Blur’s Country House and tripping on Top of the Pops

He was the burned-out bigwig who moved to a very big house. Now back with his first music for decades, he talks about signing the Proclaimers, being punched by Julian Cope – and his Scott Walker inspired trio

Universal Music, home to Taylor Swift and Drake, receives €55bn takeover offer

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square claims world’s biggest music company has suffered because of delay of US listing

US senators rebuke Ticketmaster for raising fees after hidden charge crackdown: ‘Bait and switch’

Richard Blumenthal says Ticketmaster acts like it has ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ as records show company upping fees to avoid losses

US man pleads guilty to defrauding music streamers out of millions using AI

Michael Smith, 52, charged after flooding platforms with thousands of AI songs and boosting them with bots