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Ed Sheeran discusses Macklemore axing controversy as his tour resumes in Philadelphia

Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer as it sought to persuade US Department Of Justice to settle antitrust litigation

Songwriter AI victory in Europe as GEMA beats Suno in copyright lawsuit

Live Nation says everyone should shut up and stop asking questions about its cosy deal with Trump’s DoJ

Only humans can be ‘authors’ say Canadian music publishers in test case on copyright status of AI-generated works

AI-generated tracks now account for more than 50% of Deezer’s uploads

UK government publishes ‘Our Plan For Music’ - and announces new funding and licensing reforms

US industry groups raise “serious concerns” about EU royalty flow proposals, which many of their European counterparts support

Kneecap allowed to file defamation lawsuit in Ireland against Indigenous leader in Canada over antisemitism claims

BBC’s music boss Lorna Clarke outlines broadcaster’s AI transparency commitments - but can it actually meet them?

Spotify zaps half a million streams amid speculation Kalshi traders were behind boost for Malcolm Todd track ‘Earrings’

PRS defeats Rowntree black box class action at appeal - but is left £1.8m out of pocket

Live Nation boss Michael Rapino talked to Trump, hired Trump allies, reveals latest filing in antitrust case

StubHub fined £900,000 by UK regulator for illegal drip pricing

Google says any music uploaded to YouTube is fair game for AI training - and there’s nothing musicians can do

Suno really doesn’t want you to know how many audio files it copied when training its music AI model

Universal Music has found its backbone and told Bill Ackman to take a hike

BTS fans hate Live Nation over Aussie and Malaysian ticket pre-sales

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager back in court, over claims Pat improperly inserted himself into Chance’s deals

Gamma - which released Kanye’s comeback album - sues to unmask whoever is behind “coordinated and malicious” anonymous smear campaign

UK competition regulator should urgently investigate live music sector, MPs say, citing “climate of fear” around Live Nation’s dominance

Spotify’s transformation into an AI slop factory commences as it announces Universal “superfan” remix gimmick and Live Nation ticketing wheeze

Music industry welcomes revised NO FAKES Act, but Spotify says “still work to do”

Live Nation and Ticketmaster should still be split up, lawmakers told, as US government’s antitrust settlement criticised in Congress

Spotify increases subscription prices in Canada, but rolls back previous price increases in India

Op-ed: More than the Beatles: the quiet secrets behind Liverpool’s world-class music industry

BMG and Concord confirm merger

Universal and Sony must be allowed to see Warner’s deal with Suno, lawyers tell judge as AI legal battle continues

Music streaming services targeted as Texas Attorney General launches payola investigation

Live Nation pays $9.9 million to settle yet another investigation into dodgy ticketing practices

The European rule on whether samples need to be cleared moves to a “maybe” with latest Kraftwerk ruling

BTS lawyers go after album leaker and knock-off merch sellers

Eddie Dalton’s (actually quite modest) chart success sparks further debate about where AI music fits in

Grass needs more time to grow says AEG as it puts a pin in LIDO Festival

Universal CEO Lucian Grainge makes 764 times more than his employees - and female staff get 48% less than male counterparts

Major music publishers buy into termination rights lawsuit to take fight to Supreme Court

Spotify wants $300 million in damages from Anna’s Archive, and for court to go after piracy site’s service providers

Cox Communications celebrates as US Supreme Court overturns critical music piracy judgement

Claude’s AI lyrics cause market dilution, say music publishers calling for courts to reject fair use defence

Declare trademark claims bogus says FKA in Twigs vs Twigs

Chance The Rapper wins sunset clause dispute with former manager

American man pleads guilty to multi-million dollar streaming fraud, faces five years in jail

Cautious welcome for UK government’s latest AI copyright stance, as BMG files latest Anthropic lawsuit

DoJ’s Live Nation settlement “proof Trump Administration cannot be trusted to protect American consumers”, says new Senate report on Ticketmaster

StubHub to more clearly state prices and terms for touted tickets, and offer Taylor Swift fans refunds, but only in British Columbia

“Robbing them blind, baby - that’s how we do it”, boast Live Nation execs about “so stupid” ticket-buyers

New generation of British artists propel UK record industry to £1.5 billion high, says BPI

High Court sides with Kneecap, ending the Hezbollah flag criminal case against Mo Chara

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

Live Nation settles DoJ antitrust lawsuit - but state lawsuits may continue

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

Warner Music’s Robert Kyncl is betting the company on an AI future. Can he deliver?

Suno is a feral pig rampaging through a well-tended garden, say creator orgs

Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota said “independent music is not raw material for tech companies to exploit without consent” before quitting to join AI music scraper-in-chief Suno

Producer who accused Karol G of beat-theft dismisses his lawsuit, adding “we were wrong”

Anna’s Archive rolls out the red carpet for robots - and asks them to “persuade” their humans to make donations

After a Live Nation lobbyist boasted he got antitrust chief sacked, US Senators ask if company has hired a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”

European Commission approves Universal’s $775 million Downtown acquisition - but did it ask the right questions?

Spotify is all in on AI, its best engineers haven't written a single line of code since December - and why that should worry the music industry

Adding “hot takes” to unlicensed music is not fair use, judge confirms in rockumentary copyright case

IMPALA report warns European music diversity will erode without intervention on ownership, market access and infrastructure

European Commission must tackle “coercive buy-out practices” when US video streamers commission music, says MEP

Charlie Puth got musician to provide vocals for ‘Furious 7’ track, then Warner cheated him out rights and royalties, says lawsuit

Music publishers file new Anthropic lawsuit, adding in piracy claims and $3 billion mega-damages

Meta dropped songs from Reels library to bully Wixen into accepting lower royalty rates, says lawsuit

Horizon Future Leaders: Four issues shaping the industry

Five key developments over the Christmas break

Music and AI: 2025’s developments that will shape 2026’s disputes

Artists from South East Europe at risk of “cultural erasure” as a result of Spotify’s 1000 stream threshold

As indie community calls again for Universal’s Downtown deal to be blocked, will UMG flog off Curve to get over regulators?

MIT study “marks a new anchor for meaningful actions” to make live music more environmentally sustainable

Indie publishers make demands of collecting societies as they start to negotiate AI deals

Bob Vylan sue RTÉ over claims they instigated “antisemitic chant” during Glastonbury set

After King Gizzard boycotted Spotify, tracks by an AI-clone of the band started streaming

Ador founder wants to develop alternative K-pop management model with new agency

Indie publisher trade body says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly

“Creators are collateral damage” in AI race says Jorja Smith’s label, after AI voice clone track goes viral

Kneecap sue MP who “lied to the world” about group’s Canada ban

Johnny Cash estate uses ELVIS Act to sue Coke over tribute act ad soundtrack

Suno picks up Songkick as part of AI licensing deal with Warner Music

Live Nation and AEG provide a “disgusting service”, says Olivia Dean, after for-profit touting of tickets

Fugee Pras Michel jailed for fourteen years after illegal lobbying

Ticket touting platforms start frantic lobbying campaign claiming new anti-tout laws will increase ticket fraud

StubHub share price craters as UK prepares to announce ticket touting ban

Regulators must consider UMG’s AI deals in Downtown case, says IAO President

North American songwriter groups join call for transparency and creator consent as music companies start signing AI deals

Starmer must “honour his pledge” to cap prices in “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market

Downtown accused of planning “calculated destruction” of a short-lived YouTube music client in bombastic new lawsuit

No “self-service buffet” for AI companies says GEMA CEO as OpenAI loses landmark lyrics lawsuit

Manchester Evening News pays damages after incorrectly labelling Bob Vylan’s “sun salutation” as a Nazi salute

Slipknot.com owner hires domain name specialist to fight back against band’s cybersquatting claims

“Misleading rhetoric and “deceitful buzzwords” not good enough, says Council Of Music Makers in call for creator consent, control and compensation in AI deals

Axing of controversial EBacc is a “step in the right direction” for music education says Ed Sheeran

Former Guns N Roses manager sues band over autobiography blocker clause

Judgement in Getty’s UK lawsuit against Stability “underscores growing gap” between copyright and tech, says leading lawyer

Spotify’s streaming fraud initiatives are “nothing more than window dressing” says rapper RBX as he files class action lawsuit

Streaming services don’t want French language quotas in Québec

Universal has settled its lawsuit with Udio, and signed AI deals with Udio and Stability

Spotify questions MLC’s “motivations” in pursuing audiobook bundling dispute lawsuit

Lizzo is being sued over an uncleared sample - on a track she never released

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Julia Jacklin

Australian songwriter Julia Jacklin makes warm, fuzzy indie-folk with a husky crackling alto. New single ‘If I Had The Hand Of God’ is cathartic and country-nodding. Album ‘The Gem’ - recorded above a Melbourne pub, with a bartender doing the band’s matching tattoos on the last day - is out Friday…

Kaya Robertson • 22 Sep 2026

web-blocking • 3 min read

Anti-piracy web-blocks back on the political agenda in the US - with VPNs and DNS resolvers facing web-blocking obligations

New plans to finally introduce web-blocking as an anti-piracy tool in the US would specifically oblige VPNs and DNS resolvers as well as ISPs to block access to piracy sites when rightsholders secure a court order. The music industry is a fan of web-blocking, but the tech sector is strongly opposed…

Chris Cooke • 22 Sep 2026

Ed Sheeran • 6 min read

Ed Sheeran discusses Macklemore axing controversy as his tour resumes in Philadelphia

Ed Sheeran resumed his US tour without support acts this weekend, responding on stage to the controversial axing of Macklemore from the show. Elsewhere in pop politics, Zara Larson has pulled out of a concert in Abu Dhabi and Sylvan Esso have commented on their music returning to Spotify…

Chris Cooke • 21 Sep 2026

Universal Music • 3 min read

Universal and Warner tell judge ‘new use’ clause in AFM agreement is “clear and unambiguous” and does not apply to their AI deals

In June the American Federation Of Musicians sued Universal and Warner over their AI deals, insisting the majors should be sharing their AI money with the union’s members under its Sound Recording Labor Agreement. Both sides have made new court filings as the majors try to get the lawsuit dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 18 Sep 2026

Ed Sheeran • 5 min read

As the drama continues around Ed Sheeran’s US tour, the debate is bigger than one pop star

The drama continues following the axing of Macklemore from Ed Sheeran’s US tour over his on-stage support for Palestine. Sheeran himself is taking a lot of heat, though some in the industry have expressed some sympathy, and argue the real debate here is about more than the decisions of one pop star…

Chris Cooke • 17 Sep 2026

DistroKid • 3 min read

DistroKid’s $2 billion valuation based on it being a pipeline for AI slop and copyright infringement, says Universal

Universal claims that distributor DistroKid achieved its recent $2 billion valuation by providing a pipeline for AI slop and copyright infringing music, to the detriment of artists and labels. It has filed a lawsuit accusing DistroKid of copyright infringement and unlawful deceptive trade practices…

Chris Cooke • 16 Sep 2026

Termination Right • 2 min read

Landmark termination rights ruling not the “copyright emergency” music publishers claim, songwriter tells US Supreme Court

When America’s Fifth Circuit Appeals Court backed a songwriter-friendly interpretation of the termination right in US copyright law, the majors bought the song that prompted that ruling and asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The writer of that song has now urged the top court to not get involved…

Chris Cooke • 16 Sep 2026

Macklemore • 5 min read

Macklemore says Ed Sheeran was in a “fucked up position” after stadium owners threatened to pull shows over rapper’s on-stage support for Palestine

Macklemore has been axed as support on Ed Sheeran’s US tour because of his on-stage support for Palestine, prompting both artists to publish statements. The rapper was dropped after several stadium owners threatened to cancel shows taking place later this month if Macklemore was still on the bill…

Chris Cooke • 15 Sep 2026

Streaming Fraud • 3 min read

Distributors commit to robust ‘know you customer’ systems in latest industry initiative seeking to tackle streaming fraud

The IFPI has unveiled the latest industry scheme seeking to tackle streaming fraud called the Streaming Integrity Initiative. It calls on music distributors to commit to five principles, including having robust procedures for verifying new customers, and continuously strengthening anti-fraud systems…

Chris Cooke • 14 Sep 2026

T-Pain • 2 min read

T-Pain claims he was short-changed after royalties diverted to Akon’s brother

T-Pain has sued Akon’s Konvict Entertainment in a royalties dispute. He claims he should get 75% of the $1.3 million Sony recently sent through from the sales and streams of his first five albums, but half that money went to a label run by Akon’s brother which hasn’t paid him his share…

Chris Cooke • 11 Sep 2026