Showbiz News | Page: 2
Minatrix sums up the TOP 100 DJs 2025 — the most honest ranking of the year
2025 became a landmark year for the Minatrix.FM platform. For the first time in a long while, a truly independent and transparent DJ ranking was compiled—one where the decisive factors were not algorithms, budgets, or artificial boosts, but real artist activity and genuine listener engagement.
Minatrix TOP 100 DJs 2025 is more than just a list of names. It is a snapshot of the scene, reflecting who actually put in the work throughout the year—releasing music, developing their sound, and connecting with their audience.
Two nominations — two perspectives on the scene
The ranking was traditionally formed across two key categories:
Listeners’ Choice
A public nomination in which Minatrix.FM users voted monthly for their favorite DJs. Important: each vote had a dynamic we...
Global Music Industry Results 2025 — TOP 10: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube & Minatrix.FM
The year 2025 officially cemented a great divide in the music industry. The musical world is no longer unified: while giants like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music battle for milliseconds of attention using neural networks, autoplay playlists, and behavioral models, real cultural life is increasingly moving “underground” — toward live broadcasting, human intuition, and curatorial selection.
For the first time, annual platform reports revealed not just different numbers, but different realities. Against this backdrop, the Minatrix.FM Top 10 looks not like another chart, but like a manifesto. It is an honest snapshot of what happens when music is chosen not by cold code, but by a living person — guided by vibe, atmosphere, and audience reaction rather than reach...
French Touch recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
French house music, known worldwide as French Touch or French House, has officially been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This decision закрепляет the genre’s status not merely as a musical style, but as a full-fledged cultural phenomenon that shaped France’s modern identity and had a profound impact on the global electronic music scene.
What French House and French Touch Are
French House is a subgenre of house music that emerged in France in the early 1990s. Its defining features include heavy use of samples from 1970s–1980s disco, funk, and soul, dense “filtered” basslines, compression with a characteristic pumping effect (sidechain compression), and a strong dancefloor energy.
Over time, the term French Touch came to describ...
Court Evicts Larisa Dolina from Her Khamovniki Apartment: A High-Profile Finale to a Resonant Case
The Moscow City Court has ordered the eviction of Larisa Dolina and her family members from a luxury apartment in the Khamovniki district. The singer has also been deprived of the right to use the residential property. The ruling was issued on December 25, 2025, putting an end to one of the most widely discussed property disputes of the year and triggering strong reactions within the legal and real estate communities.
How an elite deal turned into a legal precedent
The story began in early 2025, when buyer Polina Lurie responded to an advertisement offering an apartment for sale in central Moscow. After viewing the property, the parties followed the standard market procedure: a deposit was paid, preliminary and main sale agreements were signed, and the transaction was officially registered...
Witch House: From an Internet Cult to Eastern European Rave
The Witch House genre has long moved beyond the status of an internet curiosity or an aesthetic joke. Today it is a multi-layered musical phenomenon that has traveled a long path—from the American underground of the late 2000s to a powerful Eastern European rave wave that effectively prevented the genre from disappearing.
Origins of the genre: from a joke to a cult
Witch House took shape in the late 2000s – early 2010s as a reaction to the glossy and predictable electronic music of that era. The term itself was coined by the artist Pictureplane—initially in an ironic sense, without any intention of defining a fully fledged genre.
However, the name quickly became associated with a distinct sound and aesthetic. Witch House developed not through clubs, but through online pla...
Leak of 86 Million Tracks from Spotify: What’s Happening and What It Means for the Music Industry
The non-profit project Anna’s Archive has reported the large-scale acquisition of content from the streaming platform Spotify. The dataset reportedly includes 86 million audio tracks and metadata for 256 million musical works. Spotify has acknowledged the fact of unauthorized access and announced the launch of an internal investigation.
The company clarified that a third-party entity was involved in the data collection, using automated tools, bypassing DRM mechanisms, and performing mass metadata extraction. Some of the accounts used in the process have already been blocked, and the platform’s security systems have been further strengthened.
Why Spotify Was Chosen
Anna’s Archive emphasizes that while Spotify does not cover all music ever created, it currently represents t...
Court Ends ₴600,000 Dispute Between Moon Records and Kuzma Skryabin’s Family
The Commercial Court of the city of Kyiv has refused the company MUN RECORDS its claim to recover more than 600,000 hryvnias from LLC “KUZMA SKRYABIN” in a case concerning an alleged infringement of copyright and related rights to the musical works of the band “Skryabin.” In doing so, the court effectively put an end to one of the most high-profile legal disputes surrounding the legacy of Kuzma Skryabin.
What the court decided
According to the ruling in case No. 910/9689/25, the court denied the claimant’s request to recover 605,600 hryvnias in compensation. The dispute concerned an agreement dated January 1, 2017, on the transfer of property rights to the musical works of the band “Skryabin.”
MUN RECORDS claimed that LLC “KUZMA SKRYABIN&rdqu...
More Than Radio: How Minatrix.FM Unites Artists Around the World
People often say that music knows no borders, but in today’s industry this has turned into an empty cliché. At Minatrix.FM, we see it differently. For us, a “global community” is not dry listening statistics from different countries or soulless analytics charts. It is a living ecosystem made up of real people who share moments of their lives with us—genuine joy, personal stories, and even the first snowfall.
Music as a personal connection: a letter with more life than any promo video
Just recently, our editorial team received a message that doesn’t fit into the usual framework of the music business. Our resident, the talented DJ and musician HestiLL from Iran, sent us not just a new demo track or a technical question. He sent a piece of his soul.
In the...
What Is Intelligent Drum and Bass? A Complete Genre Guide on Minatrix.FM
Intelligent (also known as Intelligent Drum & Bass or Intelligent Jungle) is a subgenre of drum & bass that emerged in the mid-1990s as a more melodic, atmospheric, and conceptual alternative to hard jungle and dancefloor-oriented D&B.
The core idea of the genre is a shift away from dancefloor aggression toward musicality, mood, and thoughtful composition. Intelligent is aimed less at clubs and more at focused, attentive listening at home.
Origins of the genre
The 1990s context
In the early 1990s, drum & bass evolved rapidly and aggressively. London’s jungle scene was closely tied to rave culture, fast breakbeats, and heavy sub-bass. However, by 1994–1996, a number of producers began searching for a more mature and musical form.
This gave rise to a direction tha...
Psy Chill: Music of Expanded Space — History, Artists, and Psychedelic Vibe
Psy Chill (or Psychedelic Chillout) is a subgenre of electronic music that emerged as a calm, atmospheric counterpart to psytrance. It blends elements of ambient, downtempo, dub, ethnic music, and psychedelic electronics, while preserving the depth and spatial awareness characteristic of the trance scene.
Unlike dancefloor-oriented psytrance, Psy Chill is not designed for peak energy, but for relaxation, recovery, and immersion. It is often used as background music at festivals, in lounge and chillout areas, as well as for home listening and meditation.
Origins and development of the genre
Psy Chill began to take shape in the late 1990s and early 2000s within psychedelic trance culture. Large psytrance festivals created a need for dedicated relaxation spaces — so-called chillout zone...
Florida Breaks — the history and sound of 1990s Orlando Breaks
Florida Breaks (also known as Orlando Breaks or Orlando Sound) is a subgenre of breakbeat that emerged in Central Florida (USA) in the late 1980s and developed most actively during the 1990s. The genre became an important part of American club culture and had a noticeable influence on the development of the U.S. breaks scene.
Florida Breaks is characterized by an energetic, dancefloor-oriented feel, a powerful bass presence, and a clear focus on club play, in contrast to the more experimental or “dark” British breakbeat sound.
Origins and historical context
The Florida club scene
Florida Breaks emerged within the nightlife and rave environments of Orlando, Miami, and Tampa. At that time, Florida was one of the key centers of American dance culture, where the following styles we...
New Age — a contemplative genre of modern instrumental music
New Age is a music genre that emerged in the second half of the 20th century and is focused on calm, atmospheric, and meditative soundscapes. Its primary purpose is to create a relaxing audio environment that supports rest, concentration, and inner balance.
Unlike dance or pop genres, New Age is not designed for active listening. It is music for background use, reflection, and contemplation, where overall mood and timbral depth matter more than hit structure or catchy hooks.
The origins of the genre
The New Age genre began to take shape in the 1970s, during a period of growing interest in alternative culture, minimalism, and sound experimentation. It developed alongside ambient music and overlaps with it in many ways, but generally adopts a more melodic and accessible form.
The genre was i...
Chillstep — a melodic and atmospheric subgenre of dubstep
Chillstep is a subgenre of electronic music that emerged at the intersection of dubstep, ambient, and downtempo. Its defining characteristic is the combination of dubstep’s signature rhythm and bass structure with a soft, calm, and melodic sound.
Unlike aggressive forms of dubstep, chillstep is not designed for the dancefloor but rather for contemplative and emotional listening. The genre gained widespread popularity in online environments and is commonly used as background music for relaxation, work, and concentration.
Origins and Formation of the Genre
Chillstep began to take shape in the late 2000s and early 2010s, alongside the rapid rise of the dubstep scene. During this period, many producers started experimenting with softer and more melodic variations of the sound, moving awa...
Minatrix.FM celebrates its Birthday! 15 years on air — together with you!
December 12 is a special date for everyone who loves electronic music, club culture, and live online radio. It was on this day, back in 2010, that Minatrix.FM aired its first broadcast. No one could have imagined that a small enthusiast project would grow into the largest club portal and one of the most stable music platforms — one that survived every storm, every crisis, and even the disappearance of its competitors.
Today, Minatrix.FM continues to grow, evolve, and open its doors to new artists. And this celebration is, above all, for you — our listeners.
A bit of history we are proud of
2010 — the first broadcast. At the time, we streamed only one music channel and gathered our first listeners manually.
2012–2015 — the golden era of parties and club projec...
Stepan Hyga Has Fallen Into a Coma: The People’s Artist Is in Critical Condition
The condition of the People’s Artist of Ukraine Stepan Hyha remains critical. According to the latest reports, the artist has fallen into a coma following severe complications, making his current situation extremely serious. Doctors continue to fight for his life, while the family and his team ask the public to respect the artist’s privacy.
Emergency surgery and cancellation of concerts
It should be recalled that on November 19, Stepan Hyha underwent an emergency surgery in Lviv. Due to a sudden deterioration in his health, all scheduled performances were cancelled, including a major concert at the Kyiv Sports Palace.
The artist’s team announced at the time that his condition was serious but stable, and that he remained under constant medical supervision.
What is known no...
