Over 50% of new songs uploaded are now AI-made(!); Lorde bashes Meta and Spotify; Why is Keith Richards in Roblox?; Is the Michael Jackson movie Bad or a Thriller?

<p><strong>Your weekly guide to the music biz and how it all works. This week, Stu and Joe are back from two weeks&#39; holiday in Rhyl – and immediately hop into a golf cart along with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho to go through this week&#39;s music biz news:</strong></p><p>→ <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/21/ai-generated-music-is-now-more-than-half-of-deezers-uploads/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">More than 50%(!) of all new music</a> being uploaded to streaming services is now AI-generated. How might the music industry respond to this? With... a<a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/10/music-industry-bodies-reveal-plans-for-ai-music-labelling-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> system of labels</a> (not the record kind…)</p><p>→ Stu&#39;s Big Number is 1.124 billion... but which <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/16/global-on-demand-music-streams-up-9-8-in-first-half-of-2026/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">mega-song </a>does it relate to? (If you’re a parent, you’ll know it only too well…)</p><p>→ Someone&#39;s leaked the code of Suno, the biggest AI-music service, and they claim they know <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/16/suno-adds-imessage-but-a-hack-may-have-revealed-its-training-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">what it trained its models on</a>...</p><p>→ The latest startup hoping to help artists make some money directly from their biggest fans is Lume, and <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/17/album-selling-app-lume-launches-we-just-think-the-current-system-is-incomplete/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">it’s got Lorde’s backing</a></p><p>→ Lorde has also been giving a right <em>Royals</em> bashing to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/964539/lorde-says-ray-ban-meta-ai-glasses-are-not-sexy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Meta</a> and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/lorde-calls-out-spotifys-ai-about-the-song-feature-1236650571/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Spotify</a>... but why?</p><p>→ Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ got a mixed response from critics (OK, they thought it was rubbish). But at the box-office it’s a huge hit: <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/14/michael-is-first-biopic-to-hit-1bn-box-office-milestone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">to the tune of ONE BILLION dollars</a>…</p><p>→ The Rolling Stones (collective age of their three founder members: 243) <a href="https://musically.com/2026/07/10/blox-and-roll-circus-the-rolling-stones-hit-the-metaverse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">are now on Roblox</a>, the platform famously used by children. But is this a surprisingly good fit?</p><p><strong>And in the special post-show lock-in section just for our </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/12218634/join" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">⁠⁠<strong>Patreon Superfans</strong>⁠⁠</a><strong>, Stu and Joe prop themselves up at the bar – in this week&#39;s bonus material:</strong> </p><p>→ Following the last episode featuring plastic bottles being turned into Ed Sheeran Records – could Ed Sheeran records be turned back into plastic bottles?</p><p>→ A recap on the World Cup half-time extravaganza: Madonna! Ronaldo/Ronaldinho! Muppets! Bieber! Vuvuzelas! BTS!</p><p>→ Stuart rhapsodises about seeing the Beta Band live, including some epic four-man bongo wigouts</p><p>→ Good overlooked deep-cut World Cup songs, including  Chin Up by The Rhythm Method (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KqmUtU1QEM)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"><u>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KqmUtU1QEM)</u></a></p><p>===================================</p><li><p><strong>As ever, we welcome your feedback, emails and – in particular</strong> – any questions you might have about how the music biz works!</p><p>Email us: <a href="mail