Substantial Music Group

08/09/2026

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against some 18 music publishers and their trade organization, the National Music Publishers Association, in the latest move in a drawn-out battle over licensing. The platform alleges that the companies and NMPA colluded in order to coerce X into purchasing industrywide licenses, without which the platform cannot legally host many thousands of songs.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges that the companies and NMPA attempted to “leverage monopoly power” to compel X into acquiring licenses from all music publishers at unfairly high rates, and “conspired to leverage their combined market power,” the suit says, “and coerce X into taking licenses to musical works from the industry as a whole, denying X the benefit of competition between music publishers.” X claims that it is being prevented from negotiating deals with individual publishers; the lawsuit seeks a court order granting it that right, as well as unspecified damages.

The three largest music publishers — Sony, Universal and Warner — were among the companies named in the suit. The move is the latest in a long battle between X and the publishers over licenses, which includes a 2023 lawsuit against X by NMPA. The two sides nearly came to terms last November but did not close the deal, although as recently as November 25 they claimed to “have made very substantial progress toward settlement and worked on a written settlement agreement.”

“X/Twitter is the only major social media company that does not license the songs on its platform,” says NMPA president-CEO David Israelite. “We allege that X has engaged in copyright infringement for years, and its meritless lawsuit is a bad faith effort to distract from publishers’ and songwriters’ legitimate right to enforce against X’s illegal use of their songs.”

The dispute is a familiar one, as many emerging platforms, from TikTok to Twitch to Triller, attempted to sidestep or reduce their licensing fees, only to be met with aggressive lawsuits from NMPA and other publishers that have usually resulted in deals being struck.

08/02/2026

Get ready for Dogs, Bands & Beer — a one-of-a-kind day fest celebrating great music, great friends, and our four-legged companions!

Featuring legendary 70s rock favorites:
Atlanta Rhythm Section — the iconic band behind hits like “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover,” and “Champagne Jam”

Firefall — bringing the timeless soft-rock classics “You Are the Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” and Strange Way

Experience the smooth, melodic sounds of the golden era of rock , where Southern rock, soft rock, and Yacht Rock influences came together to create the soundtrack of a generation.

Bring your well-behaved dogs
Enjoy great beer & wine
Savor delicious food from local vendors
Enjoy the cool breezes of October with two national touring acts on stage under the stars!

Mattie Kelly Arts Village Amphitheatre — Niceville, FL
October 10
1 PM – 9 PM

Reserved seating is limited—Tickets Start at Just $55 secure your seats today!

Tickets: www.mattiekellytickets.com

08/02/2026

When discussing the biggest acts to come from Sweden, most tend to think of ABBA. While correct, right behind the group was Roxette. The duo originally consisted of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. Sadly, Fredriksson passed away in 2019, leading to Lena Philipsson taking over on lead vocals. Having spent decades in the music industry, Roxette prepared to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a special tour. But according to a recent update, the tour has been canceled.
Sharing a post on Instagram, Roxette explained the duo needed to cancel the tour, which included a performance at Pine K**b. With traveling costs rising around the world, the duo made the decision to cancel. "Due to logistics and hugely increased touring costs, Live Nation US has decided to postpone the Northamerican tour. Hope to see you some other time down the road."
Although the statement said the tour was "postponed," Ticketmaster listed it as canceled. "Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event. You don't need to do a thing. We'll issue a refund to the original method of payment used at time of purchase, as soon as funds are received from the Event Organizer. It should appear on your account within 14-21 days."
While making it simple for fans to get a refund, most were upset over the cancellation. Especially those who traveled overseas. "This is really sad. We applied for visas and booked non-refundable flights from Argentina to Canada, as well as non-refundable hotels, just to enjoy the concerts." Another person added, "So glad we booked and paid for a whole trip from Minneapolis to Los Angeles just for this show."
Following the backlash, Roxette released another statement, reading, "Lena, I and the band are of course disappointed. We were really looking forward to this northamerican tour and US is by far our biggest streaming market. This decision was made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations."
Not the news Roxette wanted to share, but the duo promised, "I hope we can play for our fab fans in the USA and Canada at some point in the near future."

08/02/2026

Grammy Award-winning rock outfit Greta Van Fleet have officially announced their upcoming studio album, Palace For The People, set for release on October 9th via Republic Records.
To mark the announcement, the band dropped the album's latest single, "Saw You Stand," an intimate yet cinematic ballad that showcases soaring falsetto vocals from frontman Josh Kiszka. Co-produced alongside Mike Elizondo in Tennessee, the project follows their recent comeback track "Play Your Games" and marks the band's first full-length effort since 2023's Starcatcher.
Coinciding with the new music, the band is celebrating the launch of the Palace For The People era tonight with an intimate, sold-out performance at Chicago's historic Metro.
"As much as it is a Greta Van Fleet record and a rock and roll record at its core, in its heart, it's a very modern record," guitarist Jake Kiszka shared.
What do you think of Greta Van Fleet's new single "Saw You Stand"?

08/02/2026

“Oh yeah, life goes on…”
Experience the heartland music of John Mellencamp live with SMALL TOWN, the premier tribute band celebrating the songs that defined a generation.

Seeger Auditorium W Lebanon IN
October 24th
7:00 PM

Don’t miss it!
For tickets go to https://seegerauditorium.com/

07/31/2026

Country singer Ella Langley is having quite the year. And now she can say she has the most popular song.
Luminate, which Variety and Billboard use as their official data partner, shows that she has the number 1 and number 4 most popular songs on their 2026 Midyear Report, Variety reported.
Her hit song “Choosin’ Texas,” has 629,000 streams, which is almost double the number two song, Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need.” Her song “Be Her” has 313,000 streams.
Three songs from the top 10 list are actually 2025 releases. “Golden,” the Academy Award winning track from KPop Demon Hunters, is holding steady at number five with 312,000 streams, likely due to the award ceremony from early January.
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” is holding in at number three with 339,000 streams, and Bad Bunny’s “DtMF” is number seven with 278,000. Dean has another entry on the list; her hit “So Easy (to Fall in Love)” is number 10 with 268,000 streams.
Langley’s lead on the chart comes when R&B and hip-hop continue to dominate U.S. streams. According to the report, the genres currently account for every one in four streams.
Additionally, American artists account for over two thirds of U.S. streams, and 34% of streams are from tracks that are 0-18 months old.
On July 20, Variety reported that Ella Langley has hit another milestone. “Choosin’ Texas” just hit its 14th week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song has tied a record held by two music titans, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” for most weeks at number one by a female singer with no male acts billed as a non-holiday single.
Since “Choosin’ Texas” first went number one in February, it has passed Brandy & Monica’s “The Boy is Mine,” Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women Part I,” and Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart.”
The song gained 24 million official streams and 51 million radio airplay audience impressions and sold 7,000 copies in the U.S. for the week of July 10-16

07/31/2026

07/29/2026

Dogs Bands and Beer Day Fest
Mattie Kelly Amphitheatre in Niceville Fl
100 College Blvd Niceville, FL 32578

Saturday October 10th
1pm-9pm

Enjoy the cool October breezes, premium beer & wine and the music of Atlanta Rhythm Section and Firefall

Vendors, Food Trucks, Crafts and more
for venue information and tickets go to www.mattiekellytickets.com

07/16/2026

“Oh yeah, life goes on…”
Experience the heartland music of John Mellencamp live with SMALL TOWN, the premier tribute band celebrating the songs that defined a generation.
Seeger Auditorium W Lebanon IN
October 24th
7:00 PM
Don’t miss it!
For tickets

Discover top-tier entertainment at URA Seeger Auditorium. Book your tickets now and experience the magic!

07/15/2026

Satisfy your fix for sonic bliss with iconic pop & rock from MTV to today's hits. Get ready to sing & dance with the greatest songs of all time. Featuring the music of
Aerosmith Whitney Houston
Michael Jackson Bon Jovi
Eurythmics Prince
Queen Van Halen
Bruno Mars Stevie Wonder
Earth Wind & Fire Hall & Oates
Red Hot Chili Peppers KC & the Sunshine Band
Kenny Loggins David Bowie
Motown & More

Dont miss Jukebox Ju**ie at Mars theatre Thursday August 20th 7:00pm. Doors open at 6pm Get your tickets now https://marstheatre.com/