After an at least two-year search for an independent distribution and services company, Warner Music Group (WMG) announced plans this week to acquire Israel-based Revelator to expand its reach to the indie segment of the music industry. So how did the company attract WMG’s interest?

Independent distribution companies have for years handled an increasing share of the songs that do best on streaming services. That growing market share prompted major music companies like Universal Music Group to acquire companies like Downtown Music Group, which offer the services music companies operating outside the major-label system require to publish and promote their music.

In 2024, WMG made an offer to acquire Paris-based independent music company Believe, but ultimately withdrew it over concerns arising from the due diligence process. Following that, it considered acquiring smaller targets or building a solution in-house.

Considered the industry standard for distribution when physical music was the primary way to play songs, ADA’s market share now lags the offerings at other majors. For the first three months of 2026, ADA generated a 1.33% overall market share compared to Sony-owned The Orchard’s 8.64% and Universal-owned Virgin Music’s 2.84%, according to Luminate data. ADA finished 2025 with an overall market share of 1.85% and currently has 1.17% share.

Enter Revelator, which provides digital distribution, royalty tracking, financial accounting, and rights and catalog management to indie labels, distributors, and artists, and has gained a reputation for superior technology. Founded in 2012 by CEO Bruno Guez, the company has more than 200 clients worldwide, with a notable presence in Asia. Developer clients can also build their own applications using Revelator’s back-end technology to automate tasks like calculations and royalty reporting.

One factor that likely drew WMG’s attention was Revelator’s strong growth; as Guez noted in a Music Business Worldwide article last May, Revelator expected revenue to at least double in 2025. According to the company, in the 12 months leading up to April 30, 2025, it delivered 15 billion streams for clients, and music it represented was used in more than 300 million TikTok creations.

The company sells its distribution, catalog, and rights management and accounting platform, Revelator Pro, for a monthly rate starting at $249. Meanwhile, it earns a share of revenue from clients that sign up for a white-labeled version of Revelator’s distributor. Revelator also charges a delivery fee for clients who use its technology for supply chain infrastructure.

Guez tells Billboard that Revelator aims to provide clients with “independent pipes” that work with any deals already in place. While the company has a distributor, Guez says they built the platform to work for clients who may want to keep external distribution deals or membership with groups like Merlin. He adds that some clients use FUGA, AudioSalad and DistroKid for distribution but use Revelator for “everything else.”

“Independence today means you can control the way you want to run your business,” says Guez. “Autonomy and optionality are key to this, and I think the tech we built offers the independent community those things.”

Prior to Revelator, Guez ran Quango Music Group, an independent label based in Los Angeles that became an imprint of Island Records in the late 1990s. He moved to Israel in the late 2000s and founded Revelator because he couldn’t find the tools needed to run Quango remotely without the support of his L.A.-based team. Revelator now has around 80 clients who work remotely worldwide, Guez says.

WMG says it plans to use Revelator’s technology for all Warner labels and its indie distribution arm ADA. Fully integrating new technology into a legacy major like Warner will likely take years, but WMG says it will scale its distribution and services offerings to existing clients of all its labels and allow them to attract new ones to ADA.

Terms of the Revelator acquisition were not disclosed, and WMG is not expected to reveal financial details of the transaction in SEC filings as it is not a material investment, according to a source. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

In our Latin Remix of the Week series, we spotlight remixes that the Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors deem to be exceptional and distinct from the rest. We might not publish a review every week. This is our selection today.

Mexican singer-songwriter Bratty lends her voice to a Spanish remix of The Cranberries classic “Linger” in celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the band’s iconic 1993 debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t We?, on which the song is featured. This remix is part of a deluxe edition of the Irish band’s LP that Island/Ume will release on May 22 in seven configurations, including a version with remixes in Spanish.

Originally released as the second single from The Cranberries’ album, “Linger” — which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 — became the song that put the group, led by the late singer Dolores O’Riordan, on the global rock map. The quartet never imagined that the album would mark the beginning of a solid career with a legacy that has lasted three decades. “We come from a small town in Ireland where these things don’t happen, so it was like a fairy tale,” guitarist Noel Hogan said in a statement from Universal Music.

With an intro featuring an acoustic guitar, unlike the original’s unmistakable string arrangement, this beautiful ballad begins with O’Riordan’s melodious voice that gradually blends with Bratty’s Spanish vocals. “Juré que ibas a cambiar/ Me prometiste días atrás/ Hoy te veo de la mano con ella/ Si no dices la verdad/ ¿Cómo es que voy a confiar?/ Si soy un juego para ti,” sings the Mexican artist in a chorus that later intertwines with the original, masterfully performed by O’Riordan.

The song continues in English with the deep, virtuoso vocals of the legendary Irish singer, before blending once again with Bratty’s soft voice in Spanish: “Si tú/ Dejaras de mentir/ Al menos decidir/ Solo prolongas mi sufrir/ Esperando algo más/ Algo que no llegará/ Porque yo te quiero a ti.”

The young singer-songwriter from the Mexican state of Sinaloa challenges purists with a bold remix that pays tribute to one of the most beautiful ballads of the 1990s and to its creator, O’Riordan, as one of the most iconic rock singers of the era.

Listen to our Latin Remix of the Week below:

From growing up in the New York City public school program to raising young kids of her own, Cardi B has a lot of reasons to back Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2-K initiative.

And on Friday (April 3), the mayor and the rapper partnered to launch a citywide contest as Mamdani searches for the perfect jingle to encourage families to apply for the 2-K program. The duo is seeking submissions for a 30-second original tune — which Cardi will help in selecting the finalists — before New Yorkers get the chance to vote on which song will win.

In a video that arrived with the announcement, the mayor meets up with the Bronx rapper, who exclaims upon meeting the politician, “Can you believe that?! We have a 34-year-old mayor! I feel like I’m a kid, and you’re, like, running New York!”

Mamdani then gets right to business. “Cardi,” he begins in the clip. “What do you think of free childcare?”

The Grammy-winning artist — who is a mom of four little ones — responds truthfully. “I feel like free childcare is very important,” she shares. “Sometimes us women we can’t really go forward because we don’t have nobody to help us take care of our kids.”

The mayor then makes his pitch. “This fall we’re starting to deliver universal 2-K, which is just like pre-K, just like 3-K, but 2-K for 2-year-olds. Free childcare, 2,000 seats in the fall, and there’s gonna be seats in the Bronx starting it up,” he explains. “Enrollment actually starts in June, and we had a question for you: We’re going to have a competition to create a jingle, so New Yorkers are going to submit their best jingle, and we wanted to know if you would help judge that competition!”

Cardi gives an enthusiastic yes before adding, “The mayor’s going to help you! And I’m gonna judge, and he’s going to give because he’s the one with the funds!”

Watch the pair’s announcement video above.

“As Cardi B says: ‘I can get ’em both. I don’t wanna choose,’” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement, quoting the rapper’s “Bodak Yellow,” which was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 for three weeks in 2017. “With universal child care, New Yorkers won’t have to. For too long, families have been forced to choose between unaffordable care and staying in the city they love. Now, they can have both — free care in the greatest city in the world.”

Submissions for the jingle contest can be made via New York City’s website, where the rules and guidelines can also be found. Song submissions must be received by April 17; the winning jingle will become the official theme for the program, and will be played on the radio. Entrants are encouraged to share their original tunes online with the hashtag #NYC2KJingle and tag @nycmayor.

Mamdani first announced plans for the 2-K program in the second week of his mayoral term with the intent of providing free childcare for NYC families with 2-year-olds at home, regardless of financial or immigration status. This fall, the first 2,000 seats of the flagship program will roll out across four districts: Fordham (Bronx), Washington Heights (Manhattan), Southeast Queens and Canarsie (Brooklyn). Enrollment begins June 2 and closes June 26.

Cardi’s work with the Big Apple’s most progressive mayor yet comes after years of the Bronx native speaking out about politics and backing the Democratic party. She’s also known for showing love in different ways to her home city. For instance, Cardi recorded a series of subway safety and etiquette PSAs for the MTA in September.

The Grammy winner also knows as well as any mom of young children how difficult parenting 2-year-olds can be. So far, two of Cardi’s kids have gone through the proverbial “terrible 2s,” as she shares 7-year-old Kulture, 4-year-old Wave and 1-year-old Blossom with estranged husband Offset. She’s also Mom to a 4-month-old son with ex Stefon Diggs.

The war of words between Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump cranked up another notch on Thursday (April 2) when Dan Point, the president of the Local 802 American Federation of Musicians and Local 47 AFM president Marc Sazer lashed out at the president for his latest broadside against the Boss.

“We can not remain silent as one of our most celebrated members is singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States,” the union presidents said in a joint statement following a post on Trump’s Truth Social in which the president again took aim at the rock icon for speaking out against his administration. “Bruce Springsteen is not just a brilliant musician, he is a voice for working people, a symbol of American resilience, and an inspiration to millions in this country and around the world.”

The pair continued, “From Nebraska to Born to Run, his music has spoken truth to power for decades, and that is exactly what he is doing now. Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in complete solidarity with Bruce and every member who uses their platform to speak their conscience. Local 802 and Local 47 will always defend that right.”

The backing from the union — Bruce is a member of L.A.’s Local 47 and Asbury Park, N.J.’s Local 399 — came after Springsteen opened his Land of Hope and Dreams North American tour in Minneapolis on Tuesday (March 31) with pointed words about Trump’s actions. During the fiery show, the rocker reminded the sold-out crowd that federal immigration troops “brought death and terror” to the city’s streets in January, a reference to the killings of American civilians mother of three Renée Good and Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.

Elsewhere in the show, Springsteen — a frequent critic of the president — condemned Trump’s “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous” administration. In the midst of the unpopular and grinding Iran war, rising inflation and gas prices at home and historically low poll numbers, Trump took time on Thursday to lash out at Springsteen in a Truth Social post in which he wrote about the, “Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Trump continued, “The guy is a total loser who spews hate against a President who won a Landslide Election, including the popular vote, all Seven Swing States, and 86% of the Counties across America. Under Sleepy Joe and the Dems, our Country was DEAD, and now we have the ‘hottest’ Country, by far, anywhere in the World. MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.”

Trump and Springsteen have been trading barbs for several months, with the White House issuing a statement in February referring to the 20-time Grammy winner and Kennedy Center Honoree as a “loser” after Springsteen released the scathing anti-ICE anthem “Streets of Minneapolis,” in which he lashed out at the Trump administration’s deadly immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.

Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis” at last weekend’s No Kings rally in St. Paul, Minn. The E Street Band’s tour will roll on to the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. on Friday night (April 3).

This summer will be a particularly warm and fuzzy one: The Temper Trap will release Sungazer on July 10, and play tracks from it when they support Muse on a North American tour throughout that month and the next.

Sungazer is the Australian alternative rock act’s fourth studio album and first in a decade. It’s led by “Lucky Dimes,” which dropped in 2025, and “Giving Up Air,” which TTT performed live in January on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

“With time apart and much personal growth from us all,” reads a statement from the band, “Sungazer feels like it’s captured the most pure collection of music we’ve ever made. We had more fun making this record and in the writing room than on any of the previous records we’ve done. We’re in a great place creatively and in our friendships, we’re closer than ever. Being back into the studio together really felt like coming home.”

Dougy Mandagi (lead singer), Toby Dundas (drummer), Jonathon Aherne (bass) and Joseph Greer (guitar) “immediately felt an inspiring energy” on their return to the studio, reads a statement from reps. “Working between continents, sending demos back and forth, convening in Melbourne for studio dates, the resulting record delivers an impassioned and immediate sound.”

TTT captured the sound of the late 2000s with “Sweet Disposition,” powered by its featured spot in (500) Days of Summer and those stunning falsetto notes of frontman Mandagi. At home, the band enjoyed ARIA Awards, consecutive chart crowns (with 2012’s The Temper Trap and 2016’s Thick as Thieves), endured lineup changes (longstanding guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto left in 2013), played stadiums (they led the halftime show at the 2012 AFL Grand Final).

The Aussies embarked on a run of headline shows in their homeland late last year, followed by North America shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto. They’re coming back with a major North American tour in support of Muse, on the British prog-rock trio’s The Wow Signal Tour. TTT will bring the fireworks when they start their trek with a spot at Summerfest 2026 in Milwaukee, WI on July 4 (see below).

“Sungazer” Tracklist

The Temper Trap’s North American Tour 2026

July 4 -– Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest 2026

July 5 -– Maryland Heights, MO @ The Wow Signal Tour – supporting Muse

July 7 -– Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center – supporting Muse

July 10 -– Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

July 11 -– Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center – supporting Muse

July 13 -– Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre – supporting Muse

July 15 -– Toronto, ON @ RBC Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

July 18 -– Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center – supporting Muse

July 22 -– Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center – supporting Muse

July 24 -– Saratoga Springs, NY @ Albany Med Health System at SPAC – supporting Muse

July 25 -– Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater – supporting Muse

July 28 -– Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion – supporting Muse

July 29 -– Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion – supporting Muse

Aug. 9 -– San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands

Aug. 10 -– Charlotte, NC @ Truliant Amphitheater – supporting Muse

Aug. 12 -– Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 14 -– Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion – supporting Muse

Aug. 15 -– Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater – supporting Muse

Aug. 18 -– Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 20 -– West Valley City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 22 -– Ridgefield, WA @ Cascades Amphitheater – supporting Muse

Aug. 23 -– Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 26 -– Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 27 -– Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 29 -– Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – supporting Muse

Aug. 31 -– Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl – supporting Muse