Last week's number one album on the Finnish album charts was Vultures 1, co-released by US rapper Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign. Instead of its music, the album has been in the headlines in recent days mainly because of its copyright violations.

This year's Grammy Awards helped confirm a recent US study that found the proportion of women as performers and creators of popular music continued to rise last year.

Much has been said in recent years about the increasing popularity of vinyl records. Now it seems that the CD is also making a slow comeback.

The fifth edition of the Indie Awards was presented at an invitation-only event at the Helsinki Tiivistämö.

Long-time musician and AI researcher Martin Clancy believes in the potential of music. According to Clancy, when used responsibly, AI can add value to the creative process and the music ecosystem. National solutions to the problems need to be sought.

Gramex joined the global Human Artistry campaign to promote the use of responsible AI and the future of genuine creative work. The principles have been signed by hundreds of organisations from more than 30 countries.

In December, Gramex paid out 4.3 million EUR in the fourth distribution of the year, in which around 8 000 Finnish music performers and producers received remuneration. This year was the first year in which Gramex made four distributions for all main use types such as public performance and broadcasting.

Gramex's autumn meeting decided on new deductions from performers' and producers' remuneration. In 2024, a handling fee for remunerations collected from abroad will be introduced, as well as a deduction for social, cultural and educational activities for music performers.

For Tapiola Sinfonietta cellist Janne Aalto, Gramex payments are an important part of the appreciation of an orchestral musician's work. Domestic classical music recordings are now attracting more remuneration from the world than ever before. A musician who actively records can receive a considerable amount of money each year.