The music business explained: news, analysis, insights and jobs for music industry professionals

Bobby Vylan says he has no regrets about “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury

Ticketmaster says FTC allegations it colluded with touts “nonsensical”, but it is changing some of its rules and shutting down TradeDesk

New Udio lawsuit hones in on the “significant and unequal harm” inflicted on independent musicians by music AI

Majors tell US Supreme Court to ignore ISP’s doom and gloom predictions and uphold billion dollar piracy ruling

Drake vows to appeal after judge throws out defamation lawsuit against Universal

High profile songwriters express concern about PRS transparency, accuracy and admin costs

Anthropic’s own guardrails revive full copyright lawsuit from litigious music publishers

Suno tells court to reject stream-ripping “gambit” by major labels in AI legal battle

As indie labels ramp up campaign for EU to block the UMG x Downtown merger, a French music lawyer says concerns around data are “fantasy or paranoia”

As FT says major labels are close to “landmark” AI licensing deals, is a new battle royale going to kick off within the music industry?

No one seems to know if Kneecap are still banned from Canada - or whether they were ever actually banned at all

Don’t say gruesome twosome: Ek steps sideways at Spotify to make way for not one but two new CEOs

‘Something Inside’ songwriter goes legal over Tommy Robinson’s use of his anti-apartheid anthem

Donald Trump signs executive order “saving TikTok”

Tabloid claims that Dua Lipa sacked agent over Glasto Kneecap letter are “categorically false” and “deliberately inflammatory”

Major labels add piracy claims to Suno lawsuit after $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement

Live Nation colludes with ticket touts, says US government as it launches legal action

Cornwall Council will hold meeting about ‘safety risks’ of Bob Vylan’s August Boardmasters performance - even through there weren’t any

Spotify finally adds lossless audio to premium

Anthropic will pay authors $1.5 billion to settle AI copyright case

Universal’s Downtown deal must be blocked by regulators before “cultural diversity is weakened irreversibly” says Dutch indie label group president

As EU hits pause on UMG Downtown investigation after “parties fail to provide important info”, Downtown boss whines about “misinformation”

More upheaval at Warner Music as UK label chiefs will report directly to US execs

Yet another senior exec out at Warner Music as UK boss Tony Harlow quits

Billion dollar piracy win for majors “defies common law and common sense” says Cox

Court dismisses Dave Rowntree’s black box lawsuit against PRS

Supertramp songwriter must continue to share publishing royalties with bandmates, US appeals court concludes

FTC sues ticket touting business that claims it is endorsed by Ticketmaster

Drake’s claims are “farcical” says Lucian Grainge as defamation battle rumbles on

Drake wants to trawl through Papa Grainge’s emails in ‘Not Like Us’ libel battle

Sony sues Napster over $9.2 million in unpaid royalties

Spotify age-checks could result in accounts being deleted, but only if you’re twelve

Increasing number of artists join Spotify boycott over CEO’s AI weapon investments

If China blocks TikTok deal app will “go dark” says US Commerce Secretary, but hints deal “coming soon”

Blackstone bails on consortium bidding to buy TikTok US - will a deal still be done by September deadline?

Anthropic’s ‘fair use’ win in AI copyright case could turn into a trillion dollar loss

No copyright exception for AI training in European law, says new report

Full scale anticompetition investigation on the cards after UMG’s Virgin Music fails to allay EU fears over Downtown merger

Suno AI’s faulty guardrails mean its ‘ReMi’ lyric model will spit out entire lyrical works with basic prompting

Did Ticketmaster’s UK boss Andrew Parsons mislead MPs at a select committee hearing?

Trump must “weigh in” on AI copyright debate and pressure “less innovative countries” on copyright rules, says OpenAI

Everyone’s making loads of money but don’t point the finger at us if you’re not, says Spotify’s updated Loud & Clear

Andrew Tate course on ‘pimping’ and exploiting women remains on Spotify as petition passes 25,000 signatures

Universal will spend billions to dominate emerging markets, says Grainge during Q4 earnings call as major sets out its “eat the world” strategies

Liverpool “new heart of music business” says Sound City as major label execs and industry heavyweights head north

Live Nation boss dismissive of streaming platforms’ superfan ambitions as company reports record year

Spotify wants to be “the best in the world at building AI products” and is focused on “accelerated execution”... but still no super-premium launch

Judge throws out MLC’s audiobooks bundle lawsuit, says Spotify can keep cutting songwriter royalties through its “cynical trick”

Universal Music’s new Spotify deal could be a knock-out blow for streaming platform’s audiobook bundling trick

Universal put “corporate greed” before Drake’s safety, says defamation lawsuit filed over Kendrick Lamar diss track

Beware the “wolf under the cape” in Universal’s Downtown land grab, warns Beggars boss as IMPALA calls for regulators to block the deal

EU AI Act can only provide a “temporary fix” to the “darker aspect” of AI’s “profound disruption” to creative industries says open letter

AI generated music will suck €4 billion a year away from music creators by 2028 says CISAC

Village People founder loves Trump using YMCA, but hates people calling it a gay anthem

Executives from BMG, Absolute Label Services, Mahogany Music, Punch Records and more to join award winning female entrepreneurs in Liverpool as first Sound City+ 2025 speakers unveiled

AIF makes desperate call for government to “step up, and step up now” to get festivals through “devastating period”, as MVT launches new Liveline fund

New AI transparency proposal in US Congress will “pave the way” for creator compensation says ASCAP boss

SXSW ditches weapons sponsors to burnish brand - so why won’t it ditch its ties to Saudi Arabia?

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

Bob Vylan • 4 min read

Bobby Vylan says he has no regrets about “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury

Bobby Vylan has spoken to Louis Theroux about his controversial BBC broadcast Glastonbury performance, insisting he doesn’t regret leading the crowd in a chant of “death, death to the IDF”. The BBC Editorial Complaints Unit recently concluded that the set breached rules relating to harm and offence…

Chris Cooke • 21 Oct 2025

Steely & Clevie • 3 min read

Attorneys bicker as the big ‘dembow riddim’ copyright case progresses

Last year a US judge declined to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses thousands of reggaeton releases of infringing the copyright in the ‘dembow riddim’, which originates in a 1989 track from Steely & Clevie. Attorneys working on the case are currently busy accusing each other of bad conduct…

Chris Cooke • 21 Oct 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Fitzroy Holt

Fitzroy Holt’s sound has blues in its bones, punk in its pulse and an unpredictability born from Black Country grit. Named after a Midlands saying for taking the long way round, new single ‘Around The Wrekin’ is a surge of stoner-rock riffs with punk momentum…

Kaya Robertson • 21 Oct 2025

Ticketmaster • 4 min read

Ticketmaster says FTC allegations it colluded with touts “nonsensical”, but it is changing some of its rules and shutting down TradeDesk

Last month the US Federal Trade Commission sued Ticketmaster, accusing the Live Nation company of colluding with dodgy ticket touts. That prompted a letter from concerned senators. In response, Ticketmaster denies collusion and rejects the FTC’s claims, but says it is changing some of its own rules…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from Blanco, Olive Jones, bar italia, Jean Dawson + The Maccabees…

Kaya Robertson • 20 Oct 2025

Slipknot • 3 min read

Slipknot sue cybersquatter that has controlled the band’s dotcom domain since 2001

Slipknot have never owned the dotcom domain that uses their band name, an unknown third party having registered it back in 2001. But the band now claims that that third party is using the domain in bad faith and therefore violating US cybersquatting laws, as well as infringing their trademarks…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Lily Lark

This week we spoke with Lily Lark, a publicist at London-based agency 9t9t.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 17 Oct 2025

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify promises “artist-first AI music products” as it announces alliance with majors, Merlin and Believe

Spotify has pledged to “put artists and songwriters first” when developing music AI products, committing to work in partnership with the music industry and ensuring that its AI ventures are fully licensed. The three majors, Merlin and Believe are all on board for some Spotify-led AI experimentation…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2025

Udio • 3 min read

New Udio lawsuit hones in on the “significant and unequal harm” inflicted on independent musicians by music AI

Udio has been sued again for copyright infringement, this time by a group of independent artists and songwriters. Although the majors are already suing Udio, the music creators say that their lawsuit “emphasises the significant and unequal harm inflicted on independent musicians by AI”…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2025

Cox Communications • 3 min read

Majors tell US Supreme Court to ignore ISP’s doom and gloom predictions and uphold billion dollar piracy ruling

The majors have urged the US Supreme Court to uphold their billion dollar win in a piracy lawsuit against ISP Cox. It argues that that ruling will result in mass internet disconnections, but the majors say that’s not true, and that Cox was simply held liable after saying ‘fuck copyright law’…

Chris Cooke • 16 Oct 2025

Ivors Academy • 2 min read

Ivors Academy launches campaign to ‘End Ghostwriting’ when music is created for film and TV

The Ivors Academy has launched a campaign to ‘End Ghostwriting’ when music is created for film and TV, ending a practice where some contributors go uncredited. Lead composers on such projects are being asked to ensure all contributors are credited, including on cue sheets and award submissions…

Chris Cooke • 16 Oct 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧Approved: BIG SPECIAL

Walsall duo Big Special turn post-industrial malaise into something close to gospel, trading in thunderous drums, spoken-word sermons and a humour so black it practically glows. New single, ‘Plaintive Native’, lands somewhere between working-class blues and post-punk sermon…

Kaya Robertson • 16 Oct 2025