Joss Favela Nominated at Premios Juventud 2026, U.S. Recorded Music Revenue Hits $6 Billion, and U.S. Copyright Office Fee Increases

How The Music Business Works - Issue #77

September 3, 2026

Welcome back to How the Music Business Works.

Congratulations to singer-songwriter Joss Favela on his nomination at this year's Premios Juventud for Best Norteña Song for "Eres," his collaboration with Alfredo Olivas, one of the standout norteña tracks of the year.

Elsewhere this week, SOCAN became the third collecting society to sue Suno, this time targeting the platform's outputs rather than its training data, while a federal judge dealt a significant blow to the long-running dembow lawsuit, narrowing a case that had threatened over 150 artists and nearly 2,000 songs. 

The RIAA's mid-year report brought encouraging news, with U.S. recorded music revenue hitting $6 billion in the first half of 2026, a sharp rebound from last year's near-flat growth. Rights holders should also take note of the U.S. Copyright Office's upcoming fee increases, set to take effect in mid-November.

Here’s what you need to know.

Joss Favela Up for Best Norteña Song at Premios Juventud 2026

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Joss Favela competes alongside Eden Muñoz, Calibre 50, La Fiera de Ojinaga, Los Dos de Tamaulipas, and El Fantasma for Best Norteña Song at this year's Premios Juventud. The 23rd edition marks a historic first as the show travels to Europe, with the ceremony taking place September 3 at the Starlite Occident Amphitheater in Marbella, Spain, as the grand finale of PJ Fest, a six-day festival spanning Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, and Marbella. The evening begins with "Noche de Estrellas," a two-hour pre-show featuring live performances, early award presentations, red carpet coverage, and backstage access, hosted by a team of television personalities and digital creators from both sides of the Atlantic. The main gala follows, hosted by Alejandra Espinoza, Clarissa Molina, and Spanish presenter Jesús Vázquez. Agents of Change honorees include Marc Anthony, Yandel, Antonio Banderas, and La Oreja de Van Gogh, recognized for their impact beyond entertainment. Winners are chosen entirely by fan vote across 50 categories.

U.S. Recorded Music Revenue Hits $6 Billion in First Half of 2026

The RIAA's mid-year report shows U.S. recorded music revenue reached $6 billion in the first half of 2026, up 6.9% year over year and outpacing U.S. inflation. Every major revenue category grew during the period, reflecting what the RIAA describes as a healthy and diversified marketplace. Streaming remained the dominant force, generating $4.9 billion, up 4.7%, with paid subscriptions reaching $3.4 billion, up 6.4%, and free streaming growing 3.7% to $900 million. The results mark a sharp contrast to the first half of 2025, when overall recorded music revenue grew just 0.9%. RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier credited the rebound to stronger connections between labels, artists, fans, and platforms, pointing to new and expanding forms of engagement driving growth across formats. The figures suggest the industry has moved past last year's plateau and into a more sustained period of acceleration.

U.S. Copyright Office Fee Increases Set to Take Effect in November

The U.S. Copyright Office is set to implement its first major fee increase since 2020, with the new schedule expected to take effect in mid-November unless Congress intervenes during its 120-day review window. The overall increase runs roughly 43% across all categories, but closer to 55% for music-specific services. Notable changes include the group registration fee for sound recordings on an album jumping from $65 to $130, electronic recordation of ownership transfers rising from $95 to $215, and expedited handling climbing from $800 to $1,100. The timing matters beyond the cost increase. Copyright registration is a prerequisite for filing a federal infringement lawsuit, seeking statutory damages, or participating in most class actions, making it a foundational step as AI-related disputes accelerate across the industry. Rights holders with unregistered works or incomplete chain-of-title documentation are being encouraged to act before the higher rates take hold, as reactive registration after infringement has already occurred can substantially narrow what a rights holder is able to recover.

Judge Reverses Course, Deals Major Blow to Reggaeton Dembow Lawsuit

A federal judge has reversed his own earlier decision and ruled in favor of Bad Bunny and more than 150 other artists in a long-running copyright lawsuit over the dembow rhythm at the heart of reggaeton. Judge André Birotte Jr. found that the plaintiffs, the heirs of producers Steely and Clevie, had failed to establish proper copyright over the beat, having cobbled together elements from three different songs into what Bad Bunny's legal team called a "Frankenstein copyright." The ruling reverses a July decision that would have sent the case to a jury. The original lawsuit, filed in 2021, claimed that Steely and Clevie's 1989 track Fish Market is the traceable source of all dembow music, with nearly 2,000 tracks named in the complaint, including major hits across reggaeton and Latin music. Judge Birotte agreed with the defense that a plaintiff cannot assemble a copyright claim by piecing together elements from multiple works and treating that combination as a single protected composition. The ruling significantly narrows what remains of the case, with any further litigation limited to songs that may directly sample Steely and Clevie's work rather than the broader claim that the dembow rhythm itself is protected.

SOCAN Sues Suno Over AI-Generated Outputs

Canada's SOCAN has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Suno in the Federal Court of Canada, becoming the third collecting society to take the AI music platform to court. Unlike Germany's GEMA and Denmark's Koda, which targeted the copying of music used to train Suno's model, SOCAN is suing over the platform's outputs, arguing that Suno has generated and streamed tracks that are identical or substantially similar to songs in its repertoire. The claim cites 150 tracks, calling them the tip of the iceberg, and includes side-by-side comparisons covering songs by Joni Mitchell, Avril Lavigne, and Tom Cochrane, among others. SOCAN is seeking damages, a share of Suno's profits, and two injunctions, one covering the songs named in the suit and a broader one that would extend to every work SOCAN represents now or in the future, effectively covering virtually all copyright-protected music in current use in Canada. The society is also seeking CAD $10 million in punitive damages for what it calls willful and knowing infringement. The suit adds to a growing pile of legal pressure on Suno, which is also facing copyright claims from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Round Hill, and independent artists, even as it has reached licensing agreements with Warner Music Group and BMG.

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