When your platform relies on AI tagging to power search, discovery or sync workflows, replacing a provider is not a minor change. It affects metadata integrity, user experience, internal workflows and backend architecture.

Musiio by SoundCloud has recently announced that it will stop operating as a B2B service, leaving many of its clients evaluating alternative solutions and reassessing their tagging infrastructure.

Tagging underpins search relevance, recommendation accuracy, sync matching and long-tail surfacing. Changing the engine behind those systems is therefore not simply a vendor swap. It is a structural shift in how discovery operates within your platform.

If you are reviewing alternatives, here is what to consider and what is possible with a modern tagging ecosystem.

This article focuses on tagging and metadata signals and how they feed your existing search and discovery systems.

As 2026 gets underway, the music industry is entering a period of accelerated technological and commercial change. From AI-driven fraud to new fan monetisation models and real-time music in gaming, the way music is created, distributed, protected and experienced is evolving faster than ever.

Con Raso, Managing Director of Tuned Global, shares his perspective on seven key trends that are expected to define the year ahead and reshape how the industry operates.

SXSW’s first-ever London edition brought a powerful collision of industries, ideas and technologies — from AI pioneers and space entrepreneurs to music legends and cultural trailblazers. Over six days in Shoreditch, eight standout themes emerged, each with the potential to redefine how we create, distribute and experience music.

For a deeper dive into the festival’s insights, download the full SXSW Trends Report here.

Here’s Tuned Global’s take on how these trends could shape the future of music technology and influence user behaviour.

As AI and digital health platforms adopt music as a therapeutic tool, getting caught up in data and delivery is easy. But music’s true impact has always been its emotional resonance. In the race to build smarter systems, we can’t afford to lose sight of the very thing that makes music matter—how it makes people feel. This blog explores why emotion must be considered a core function, not a bonus feature, in music-based interventions. It looks at how emotional connection drives real-world outcomes in settings like dementia care and anxiety treatment, and why balancing clinical safety with human feeling is essential to building truly effective therapeutic experiences.

Streaming won the war for ears — now it has to win hearts. After years of explosive growth, the industry is now plateauing in mature markets. According to this recent Co-lab article by Musically and Tuned Global MD Con Raso, the next wave won’t come from more passive listening. It’ll come from turning listeners into creators — remixers, collaborators, and co-authors of the music they love. This isn’t a trend: it’s a transformation. And it’s already underway.

Gaming now earns more than music and film combined — and music is becoming core to gameplay. Music Business Worldwide covered the interesting conversation from the Music Tectonics conference, where leaders from Riot Games, Epic Games, and Tuned Global and Vickie Naumann unpack how in-game music, virtual bands, and licensing tech are reshaping fan engagement and artist discovery. Read a full summary of their discussion or watch the full panel video.

Africa’s music industry is undergoing a transformation driven by innovation, global interest, and the rise of local talent. In a panel hosted by Tuned Global, experts from across the sector gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the continent’s music streaming landscape. Speakers from Tuned Global, Warner Music Group,  MTN's super app Ayoba, Sewasew Multimedia, and African Music Summit offered deep insights into the forces reshaping how African audiences access and enjoy music.

*This article was first published here on Hypebot.

In our current app-based world, niche streaming services that primarily serve one market, ethnic communities, or genres are fighting a hard fight against established global or larger regional players.

Yet, we may be at a crucial moment when market dominance may be seriously challenged by the little guy.

The catalyst: AI agents and their impact on music access and engagement, including, but not limited to, search and discovery.

In recent years, music therapy has gained recognition as a valuable tool in healthcare, offering tangible benefits for mental, emotional, and physical well-being. 

Tuned Global CMO Virginie Chelles hosted a panel at The Wallifornia Music + Tech 2024 event highlighting the cutting-edge developments in music therapy. She discussed the synergy of music, technology, and artificial intelligence to deliver unique therapeutic outcomes. 

This panel consists of: 

Nicc Johnson: CEO Music Health, an AI-driven music intervention technology transforming one-on-one dementia care with tailored music-based interventions that support both the caregiver and care recipient.

Oleg Stavitsky CEO Endel, a technology that creates personalised sound environments to reduce stress, improve sleep, and boost productivity.

Haley Harris CMO Biomedical Music Solutions, delivers personalised music to precise areas of the brain responsible for walking and balance. 

Gary Jones, CEO Medi Music*, an AI-based music neuroscience solution that dispenses music via our Digital Drip™, which dynamically creates playlists to mimic the human brain's physiological response.

This blog post explores key insights from industry pioneers who are redefining how we perceive and utilise music as therapy.

Scores of venues across central Sydney — Australia’s biggest metropolis —opened their doors to the music, tech, film and entertainment extravaganza from Oct. 15-22, completing SXSW's first expansion out of Austin, TX. After 7 days, roughly 300 performances (nearly 40% of which were international) and upwards of 600 speakers, the inaugural SXSW Sydney is done and dusted.

The likes of Chance The Rapper, Nicole Kidman and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker were among the guest speakers who donned a SXSW Sydney lanyard and brought star power to the show.

This article was initially published on Billboard, which was there to soak it up. Check out three of their highlights.