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Spotify Hosts "Best New Artist" Party At The Lot Studios - Inside
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spotify)

Spotify is on pace for its best trading day ever, after announcing upbeat revenue guidance and a new AI remix tool

Spotify announced the deal with UMG at its investor day Thursday.

Spotify is on pace for its best trading day ever, as investors pour into the stock following updates from the company’s investor day.

At the event, the streamer forecast annual revenue growth in the mid-teens through 2030. For perspective, analysts polled by FactSet are currently forecasting 10.6% growth for this year, 14% in 2027, and 12.7% in 2028.

The stock soared 16.4% in intraday trading. If it stays at that level, it would be the best day ever for the stock.

Spotify also announced one of its biggest AI deals to date, revealing that it will partner with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, to launch a new tool that will allow users to prompt AI-generated song covers and remixes into existence.

The tool will be available as a paid add-on to Premium subscriptions and will provide an undisclosed portion of royalties to participating UMG artists.

“What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part,” said Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström. Spotify didn’t specify the eventual price of the tool but did say that the GenAI covers and remixes will be discoverable on the platform and not kept to personal libraries.

The AI remix announcement comes as “resurrection AI” continues to grow, fueling up to seven-figure deals between AI companies and estates representing dead artists. When asked if the works of deceased musicians would be a part of the tool, a Spotify spokesperson told Sherwood:

“Fans will be able to legally create covers and remixes from only participating artists' and songwriters' catalogs, with consent, attribution, and compensation built in from the start.”

In recent weeks, Spotify has launched a handful of AI protections for users and artists (included verified badges) while also expanding its AI offerings for shareholders. Earlier this month, the streamer told Sherwood News that it is “still seeing very low levels of interest in primarily prompt generated music.”

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Netflix is staffing up an apparent AI animation studio called INKubator

According to several public job listings, streaming giant Netflix appears to be building a GenAI animation studio called INKubator.

First reported by journalist Janko Roettgers in the Lowpass newsletter, INKubator seems to have launched in March and aims to “develop feature-quality content in a creator-led environment.”

As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.

Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.

As Lowpass reports, INKubator appears focused on AI-generated short-form animation, but listings imply ambitions toward longer-form content. Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

INKubator wouldn’t be Netflix’s first foray into AI. Back in March, it acquired Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup InterPositive — which trains on individual films’ already-shot footage — for as much as $600 million depending on certain targets.

Netflix’s potential future AI-generated animations could be served to an increasingly ad-packed streaming service. At Netflix’s Upfront presentation on Wednesday, the company said its ad-supported tier has now reached 250 million subscribers globally, up 31% from November.

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Saleah Blancaflor

Netflix confirms a “KPop Demon Hunters” world concert tour is on the way

Netflix has a “Golden” mine and it's digging deeper.

At its fourth annual TV Upfront presentation on Wednesday, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard announced a partnership with AEG Presents to create a “KPop Demon Hunters” world tour that will bring the phenomenon to life.

In March, Bloomberg previously reported Netflix was planning a global world tour sometime next year ahead of the sequel in arenas that would hold 10,000 to 20,000 fans, though the news had not been confirmed by the company nor had a partner been in place at the time. 

“KPop Demon Hunters” is Netflix’s most watched film of all time, racking up 481.6 million views globally during the second half of 2025. Since its release, the HUNTR/X trio of Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami has appeared and performed at several major events including late-night talk shows, award ceremonies, and most recently at Coachella, where they were a surprise guest for Katseye. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the trio will be on the tour.

The announcement of the tour comes after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos shared in a recent blog post that the company spent $135 billion on licensing and original film and TV over the last 10 years.

This year, Netflix has a projected content spend of $20 billion, up 10% year over year, while its annual revenue forecast is between $50.7 billion and $51.7 billion. The streaming giant has brought in more than $46 billion in profit over the past decade.

Netflix said more details around cities and tickets for the concert tour are expected to come out later this year.

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