The biggest music industry news | August 2025
Amazon listener insights, Spotify’s price hikes and new features, and TikTok’s record-breaking livestream. Plus, Instagram’s latest updates and fresh support for songwriters.
Amazon Music now offers monthly listener insights
Amazon Music users across all tiers can now view a monthly insights recap in their app. It highlights top artists, songs, podcasts, total minutes streamed, and includes a “Top Listener” badge. More listening celebrations and features are coming later this year.
Instagram sets new livestreaming rule
Instagram now requires accounts to be public and have at least 1,000 followers to go live — a sudden change leaving many creators locked out. Meta says it’s about reducing spam and improving stream quality, but it’s a major hurdle for smaller artists and creators.
Spotify announces incoming global Premium price hike
Spotify confirmed a Premium price increase is coming to South Asia, Europe, Latin America, and beyond — possibly around €1 per month. It’s unclear when to expect this change, but Spotify’s example images suggest it could be as soon as September. The change, while meaning a bigger spend for users, could result in more revenue, not just for Spotify, but for the wider music industry as well.
Spotify launches Audiobooks+ in the US
Spotify’s recent Audiobook add-on feature has now been rolled out in the US, joining the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and many more. Audiobooks+ enables individual Premium users, as well as plan managers of Duo and Family Premium packages, to purchase an additional 15hrs of audiobook listening for $11.99 per month. This feature also lets plan members (not managers) to access audiobooks, with plan managers able to purchase 15hrs of listening time for $11.99 per month per additional member.
TikTok’s Tomorrowland livestream reaches 74M
TikTok’s livestream of Tomorrowland 2025 drew a record-breaking 74 million unique viewers. This is the biggest audience ever recorded for a live event on the platform, and smashes its previous figure of 16 million viewers for 2023’s edition of the the festival. As the official content partner, TikTok also offered exclusive behind-the-scenes content alongside its various continual livestreams.
Instagram introduces Reposts, Maps & Friends tab
Instagram now lets users repost feed posts and Reels to their own profiles, share and view locations via a new Map feature, and see friends’ activity in a “Friends” tab. These updates closely mimic features found on TikTok and Snapchat, and make Instagram similarly a more social and interactive space.
PRS for Music moves to monthly payouts
After announcing the move earlier on in the year, PRS for Music has switched from quarterly streaming royalty payments to monthly. As of the 15th August 2025, members will start receiving their multi-territory online licensing (MTOL) royalties every month, with payments reflecting more closely how audiences consume music today. Additionally, this change crucially means quicker access to revenue for artists and creators.
Instagram confirms using Edits will boost reach
Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri revealed that Instagram will favour Reels made using the recent Edits feature – for now, at least. It was explained that users must create with Edits meaningfully, as the algorithm will be able to spot if you’re just trying to game the system. This tip is great for artists looking to gain a little extra visibility right now.
Spotify and Kobalt strike deal to support songwriters
Spotify and Kobalt signed a multi-year US licensing deal to improve payouts and protections for songwriters. Kobalt claims to be the world’s largest independent music publisher, and boasts some pretty big names on its roster. This deal signals a move away from Spotify’s audiobook-bundling policy, which reduced mechanical royalties for songwriters, and could even pave the way for exciting new features and opportunities.
Spotify adds Mix transitions to personal playlists
Spotify Premium users now get a new “Mix” button that adds seamless crossfades, beatmatching, and EQ fades to their personal playlists. Unlike the standard crossfade option that’s been available for years, Mix lets listeners customise transitions by BPM, key, volume, and effects – creating smoother, DJ-style flows instead of simple fades.