Who buys an MP3 player in 2025? Why music streaming doesn’t always cut it

Nostalgic tech; autumn garden hacks; and what to wear when it rains

Tinseltown takeover: how Harry Potter fanfic has evolved into Hollywood’s hottest property

What once seemed a pretty fringe subculture of hobbyists riffing on stories that got them privately hot is now bringing mainstream cinema to a rolling boil

MP3 players are making a comeback – I tested 15 to find the best

Ditch the subscriptions and algorithms of the music streamers with our pick of the best modern digital audio players

Can’t pay, won’t pay: impoverished streaming services are driving viewers back to piracy

As subscription costs rise and choice diminishes on legal sites, film and TV fans are turning to VPNs and illicit streamers, with Sweden – home of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay – leading the way

Spotify used to seem like a necessary evil for musicians. Now it just seems evil

I am removing my music from Spotify because I don’t want my songs – some written with survivors of conflict – to enrich people who fund weapons

Khruangbin, again? I quit Spotify for a month to escape samey algorithms – this is what I learned

After being served the same artists again and again, my tastes were narrowing – so I tried vinyl, iPods and radio to see if I could rediscover the joy of finding new music

Tech CEO caught with company’s HR head on Coldplay kiss cam resigns

Andy Byron leaves startup Astronomer after he and Kristin Cabot were placed on leave over Jumbotron incident

An AI-generated band got 1m plays on Spotify. Now music insiders say listeners should be warned

The Velvet Sundown released two albums before admitting their music, images and backstory were created by AI

Up to 70% of streams of AI-generated music on Deezer are fraudulent, says report

According to the French streaming platform’s analysis, fraudsters use bots to listen to AI-generated music and take the royalties

BBC and Sky bosses criticise plans to let AI firms use copyrighted material

Media corporations call for opt-in rule and say companies must set up licensing deals before accessing creative works

AI, bot farms and innocent indie victims: how music streaming became a hotbed of fraud and fakery

Fraudsters use fake artists to juice royalties from streaming services – but real musicians are getting blamed. Might they be better off without Spotify et al?

We have a chance to prevent AI decimating Britain’s creative industries – but it’s slipping away

The government has doubled down on a plans that would allow mass cultural theft, but we are fighting it at every stage, says crossbench peer Beeban Kidron

The one change that worked: I’ve ditched streaming for CDs – and fallen in love with music all over again

The lure of a limitless digital jukebox was great, but as the algorithm increasingly served up music I didn’t enjoy, I’ve taken back control of my listening

Elton John calls UK government ‘absolute losers’ over AI copyright plans

Songwriter says he thinks it is a ‘criminal offence’ to let tech firms use protected work without permission

Sean Penn says he’d work with Woody Allen again ‘in a heartbeat’

The actor, who was speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, also cast new light on his meeting with former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and had harsh comments on both Donald Trump and Elon Musk