The biggest music industry news | September 2025
Taylor Swift pre-save record, Spotify’s lossless and AI updates, and Amazon’s personalised playlists. Plus, Instagram’s 3 billion users milestone and YouTube Music’s AI hosts.
Taylor Swift smashes Spotify pre-save record
Taylor Swift broke Spotify’s all-time pre-save record with her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl”. Unsurprisingly, the previous record-holder was Swift herself with her last album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” This achievement was assisted by Spotify’s Countdown Pages feature, which launched in 2023 and is designed to build hype for upcoming releases.
Amazon Music launches AI-powered “Weekly Vibe” playlist
Amazon Music has introduced “Weekly Vibe”, an AI-curated playlist that refreshes every Monday. The idea is to serve users a new weekly playlist that changes based on individual users’ recent listening habits, shifting moods, and personal tastes. This feature is currently rolling out to Amazon Music subscribers in the US.
Spotify introduces Smart Filters for libraries
Spotify has launched a new feature that amps up personalisation even further for users. Smart Filters lets users sort their saved music by mood, genre, or activity. The feature aims to make massive libraries more useful and help listeners quickly find the right soundtrack for any moment.
Spotify rolls out lossless audio
After years of anticipation, Spotify has finally launched lossless audio for Premium subscribers. The high-fidelity feature brings Spotify in line with competitors like Apple Music and Tidal, offering CD-quality sound. This squashes rumours that lossless audio on Spotify would land as part of a “super-premium” tier, finally making finer detailed audio more accessible to users.
Nearly 30% of Deezer uploads are AI-generated
Deezer revealed that 28% of all new uploads on its platform come from AI-generated music. This figure underscores the rapid rise of AI in music creation, with the percentage previously being 18% just back in April. In light of this, Deezer has vowed to continue leading the way to “minimize any negative impact for artists and fans” caused by AI.
Spotify eases restrictions on free tier globally
Spotify has relaxed free-tier limitations worldwide, granting users more flexibility in on-demand playback and skipping. Now, free-tier users can finally pick which songs they listen to, and are not forced to listen on shuffle mode only. The move could attract new listeners and keep pace with rivals offering more generous free options.
GEMA to cut commission on on-demand music by 2027
German rights society GEMA announced it will gradually reduce its online commission rate from 10% to 7% starting in 2027. This would make it the first major European collection society with admin fees below 8%. The change is expected to boost payouts for songwriters and publishers across digital platforms.
Instagram hits 3 billion users
Meta announced that Instagram now has over 3 billion monthly active users (MAUs). The milestone cements Instagram’s dominance in social media, with it coming in close second to its parent company Meta’s own Facebook, which has 3.07 billion MAUs. With features like Reels and recommendations, the app has become a key driver for discovery and fan engagement.
Spotify introduces pre-save counts
Spotify now shows pre-save counts on upcoming releases, giving artists visibility on fan anticipation. The feature helps artists and teams measure hype and engagement ahead of release day. By providing more transparent data, it also allows for better marketing strategies and stronger connections with fans.
YouTube Music tests AI music hosts
YouTube Music is trialling AI-generated hosts that provide commentary, trivia, and stories during playback. Currently available to a limited number of US users through YouTube Labs, the feature aims to make listening more interactive and engaging, and positions YouTube to compete with Spotify’s AI DJ tools.