Streaming boom turns music rights into a business battleground - Businessday NG

• Madonna will open the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27. • The show's producer teased that the performance will include very special guests and mayhem.

• Madonna leads the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations with 11 nods, followed by Taylor Swift with nine. • Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, and Taylor Swift will receive the first-ever Artist Director Honors.

• MTV is preparing for the 2026 Video Music Awards and is currently accepting fan votes for various categories. • The event will feature a lifetime achievement award for Nirvana and the first-ever Artist Director Honors for Taylor Swift.

• Taylor Swift released a new project titled The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore shortly after announcing plans to drop new music. • The release follows a surprise announcement shared by the artist just days prior.

• Macklemore announced a series of upcoming concerts to raise money for Palestinian aid organizations. • The musician recently released a new track titled “Silencio” and a previous song called “Street of Dreams” in July.

• MTV Video Music Awards producer Van Toffler discussed strategies for attracting top-tier artists like Taylor Swift and Madonna to the 2026 VMAs. • Toffler aims to keep the show competitive with high-profile cultural events such as the Met Gala and the Super Bowl.

• MTV is accepting applications for seat fillers to attend the 2026 Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on September 27. • Selected attendees will see Taylor Swift premiere her latest music video, titled "Patient Zero," and receive an award recognizing her evolution into a global pop phenomenon.

• The 37th Singapore International Film Festival 2026 will open with the film The Assassin(s) and feature guests including Aamir Khan and Park Sung-hoon. • The event includes over 25 acclaimed Singapore productions and public dialogue sessions with legends like Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan and actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang.

• Content spending across seven major Asian markets is projected to surpass $15 billion this year, driven largely by surging investments in streaming platforms and locally produced films. • The total content investment across India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam will climb from $14.8 billion in 2025 to $15.1 billion this year, according to Media Partners Asia research.

• Online streaming has overtaken television as the primary destination for video content investment in India for the first time. • Streaming now accounts for 46% of the investment share in 2025, while television has declined to 42%.

• Spain's audiovisual sector is expected to reach a production spend of €5.68 billion in 2025, up 45% from 2022, according to an Olsberg SPI study. • The study's figures highlight the sector's growing economic impact, supporting a wider ecosystem of businesses and workers beyond production companies, as noted by Hughes.

• The Netherlands will return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 after boycotting the competition this year. • The country will participate in the next event hosted in Bulgaria alongside other returning nations.