Music Business Worldwide’s Weekly Round-up: Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson Biopic

From Lionel Richie’s voice trademark bid to the Michael Jackson biopic box-office record… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up

June 19, 2026 By Rafaela Fornitani Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s Weekly Round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s Round-up is exclusively supported by BMI, a global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music.

This week, we learned that Lionel Richie filed to trademark the sound of his voice, joining Taylor Swift in a growing celebrity push to guard against AI deepfakes.

Meanwhile, the US Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the NO FAKES Act , a bill that could cost online platforms up to $750,000 per AI-generated deepfake.

Elsewhere, BMG and Concord ‘s merger was cleared by competition regulators in the US and Germany.

Also this week, Midia Research reported that the global music streaming subscriber base reached 921.6 million at the end of 2025, with Spotify still out in front.

Plus, the  Michael Jackson  biopic  Michael  became the highest-grossing music biopic in history, overtaking  Bohemian Rhapsody  with more than  $911 million  at the global box office.

Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past few days…

1. LIONEL RICHIE FILES TO TRADEMARK THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE, FOLLOWING TAYLOR SWIFT AMID AI DEEPFAKE CRACKDOWN

Lionel Richie has applied to trademark the sound of his voice. The four-time Grammy winner filed four applications on Thursday (June 11) at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Each application covers audio of Richie saying a phrase drawn from one of his songs, including Hello, is it me you’re looking for? as well as: Say You, Say Me , Easy Like Sunday Morning , and All Night Long … ( MBW )

2. NO FAKES: SENATE PANEL BACKS BILL THAT COULD COST PLATFORMS $750K PER AI DEEPFAKE

The US Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced the NO FAKES Act , the bipartisan bill that would create a federal right protecting Americans’ voice and visual likeness from AI-generated deepfakes.

The committee passed the bill unanimously by voice vote on Thursday (June 18), according to Deadline , which noted that “three Republican senators — Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Eric Schmitt — raised First Amendment concerns”.

Clearing the committee sends the bill toward a vote by the full Senate , after which it would still need to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by the President before becoming law… ( MBW )

3. BMG/CONCORD MERGER APPROVED BY COMPETITION AUTHORITIES IN UNITED STATES AND GERMANY (REPORT)

The proposed merger of BMG and Concord has been cleared by competition regulators in the United States and Germany . Germany’s competition regulatory agency, the Bundeskartellamt , officially cleared the deal on Friday (June 12). Reuters reports that Bertelsmann said on Wednesday (June 17) that US competition authorities had also approved the merger… ( MBW )

4. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS CLOSING IN ON A BILLION GLOBAL SUBSCRIBERS – WITH SPOTIFY OUT IN FRONT

The number of music streaming subscribers globally reached 921.6 million at the end of 2025, nearing the 1 billion mark. That is according to Midia Research , whose latest Music Subscriber Market Shares report estimates that the global subscriber count grew 10.1% YoY in 2025.

Spotify remained the largest music subscription service worldwide, holding a 31.4% share of global subscribers, according to Midia… ( MBW )

5. MICHAEL BECOMES HIGHEST-GROSSING MUSIC BIOPIC IN HISTORY – OVERTAKING BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY WITH $911M+ AT GLOBAL BOX OFFICE

Michael , the Michael Jackson biopic, is now the highest-grossing music biopic in history, having grossed $911.9 million at the global box office to overtake Bohemian Rhapsody . Lionsgate confirmed the figure to Rolling Stone .

That total comprises $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million from international markets and, as the studio noted, it does not yet include the film’s most recent weekend, meaning the record is still climbing… ( MBW )

Partner message: MBW’s Weekly Round-up is supported by BMI , the global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music. Find out more about  BMI   here .  Music Business Worldwide

Analysis News United States Germany MBW's Weekly Round-Up

Related Posts

From UMG’s €1B bond sale to Warner Music’s Sureel AI acquisition… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-up

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/from-lionel-richies-voice-trademark-bid-to-the-michael-jackson-biopics-911m-box-office-record-its-mbws-weekly-round-up/)._