People count on all kinds of sources for their news, and this week, WordPlay T. Jay is breaking down a few more headlines.

First up, according to Digital Music News, Native Instruments has sold to Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses. As part of the transaction EMH Partners, members of the Native Instruments founding team, and key Native Instruments’ employees will retain a significant minority stake in the company.

T. Jay is a little worried the sale might affect the price of the Maschine+, a $1,300 production workstation he hopes to purchase — but only time will tell.

In other news, it was reported the top 1 percent of podcasts have the most downloads.

“Can we get a ‘DUH,’” T. Jay said. “Have you ever heard of Joe Rogan? This also happens in music and movies, and the to p1 percent always wins in America!”

Finally, DistroKid is offering something new, a service called “Upstream” that aims to connect labels to independent artists.

According to the website, “Upstream is a free service for artists who are interested in record label opportunities. By creating competition among record labels for your music, artists gain unprecedented exposure to the world's leading major & independent record labels — plus leverage to win the most artist-friendly deals possible. If you join and a label loves you, they'll contact you directly. There's no obligation to sign a record deal. Opting into Upstream does not take any rights, royalties or percentages from artists — and you can leave any time.”

Although he has opted in, T. Jay is a bit leery of the service.

“I think this might allow labels to prey on independent artists,” he said. “You really need to know everything about your business before you sign up.”

For more about recent news, check out the video below!