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Daily Briefing • February 3, 2026
Top 30 Industry Headlines
Syncing Billboard, RadioInsight, and MBW...
🎤 R&B & Hip-Hop Birthdays (Feb 3)
Gucci Mane
Rapper • Born 1980
The "East Atlanta Santa" and Trap pioneer.
Daddy Yankee
Reggaeton King • Born 1977
Global superstar who popularized Reggaeton.
Sean Kingston
Singer • Born 1990
Known for hits like "Beautiful Girls".
Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Funk/Blues • Born 1935
"A Real Mother for Ya" – huge influence on West Coast rap.
📻 Genre Milestones (Feb 3)
Certified Gold on this day, cementing the rise of the Chicago producer as a solo artist.
A peak era Bad Boy single featuring Total was charting heavily on this day in '98.
⏳ Milestones (Feb 3)
The tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race or color.
🌟 National Today: February 3
🐕 National Golden Retriever Day
Celebrating one of the world's most friendly and loyal dog breeds.
✊ African American Coaches Day
Honoring the leadership and legacy of Black coaches in all sports.
🎨 American Painters Day
A day to celebrate the artists who color our world.
🎂 Elmo's Birthday
Celebrating the world's most famous red monster from Sesame Street.
🥕 National Carrot Cake Day
Time to indulge in a slice of this classic, spiced dessert.
🎀 National Women's Physicians Day
Honoring female doctors and their impact on medicine.
Studio Script v1.7
Segment: Morning Drive
"Good morning! It's February 3rd. We're celebrating **National Golden Retriever Day**—shoutout to all the good boys and girls out there! It's also **Elmo's Birthday**, and we're remembering the legacy of Buddy Holly on the day the music died. Plus, big birthday shouts to **Gucci Mane** and **Daddy Yankee**."
The Lemonade Stand
Vibe: Soulful Classic-
Outstanding
The Gap Band
4:35 -
Before I Let Go
Maze ft. Frankie Beverly
5:01 -
Golden
Jill Scott
3:52 -
Candy
Cameo
4:20
Bliss After Dark
Vibe: Smooth R&B-
Adorn
Miguel
3:13 -
Untitled (How Does It Feel)
D'Angelo
7:10 -
Best Part
Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R.
3:29 -
Snooze
SZA
3:21
- Udio admits to scraping YouTube audio for AI training in answer to Sony Music lawsuit
Udio admitted that its models were trained with “a vast amount of different kinds of sound recordings” gathered from publicly available sources. Source
- Spotify wins motion for arbitration in ‘payola’ lawsuit
A Spotify subscriber sued the company in November, claiming it deceives users by letting labels boost song visibility through reduced royalty payments. Source
- YouTube creators hit by music copyright claims can now replace tracks with AI – at the touch of a button
The update, announced via YouTube's Creator Insider channel on Friday (May 1), adds a new "Create" button to the existing "Replace Song" tool in YouTube Studio on desktop. Source
- Amy Allen, Sony Music Publishing ,’Die With a Smile’ among big winners at 2026 ASCAP Pop Music Awards
"We are honored to be named ASCAP's Pop Publisher of the Year," said Katie Welle, Sony Music Publishing President, Head of A&R. Source
- Warner Music Group named to TIME’s list of 100 Most Influential Companies for its approach to AI
Robert Kyncl told the magazine: "AI is a fast-growing phenomenon. It's really important that companies like us stand up for artists and songwriters — do it early, and do it together with AI companies." Source
- Suno is now the ‘controller’ of Songkick user data – and is hiring a GM to wire it into its AI music platform
Emails sent to Songkick users on Thursday (April 30) confirmed that personal data held by the platform "will be transferred to Suno, who will become the controller responsible for that data going forward." Source
- From The Orchard acquiring Brazil’s OniMusic to the BMG-Concord merger… it’s MBW’s weekly round-up
The biggest headlines from the past few days... Source
- The Orchard acquires Brazil’s OniMusic, a prominent Christian music distribution platform
OniMusic was founded in September 2004 by Nelson and Christie Tristão Source
- ‘Artists often fail when you give up too much responsibility to others.’
MBW's Trailblazers series meets Alternate Side Management founders Evange Livanos and Zack Zarrillo Source
- ‘We’re finally in a place where we can win and retain the artists and labels we’ve always wanted to work with.’
MBW's Inspiring Women series meets Kristin Graziani, co-CEO of Los Angeles-based music distribution platform Stem Source