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

2 Live Crew win back control of early albums as court rejects label’s ‘work for hire’ claim

Proper Group AG scandal grows as investor John Mitchell distances himself from Löhr and CMU uncovers another case of embezzlement

Proper Group AG - the company formerly known as Utopia - is riddled with debt and has left its few remaining staff high and dry with salaries unpaid for months

CAA accuses Range Media of stealing confidential information and masquerading as a management company to avoid talent agency regulations

TikTok’s stance on direct licensing is “disingenuous” and risks harming the digital supply chain say industry insiders

Lucian Grainge or God? Universal’s UK big cheese David Joseph is off to study religion

After executive cull, Elliot Grainge will reveal new Atlantic leadership team next week

EU consumer group sues Apple for €62 million over ‘Apple tax’ price hike on competing music subscriptions

The music industry is entering the era of “Streaming 2.0” and could be on course for 2 billion paying subscribers says Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge

US internet providers slam “extortionate pressure” of copyright lawsuits as they urge the Supreme Court to scrap Cox judgement

The 1975 respond to Malaysian festival promoter’s lawsuit

New York District Attorney brings criminal charges against man accused of sophisticated streaming fraud that raked in more than $10 million

Oasis brings dynamic ticketing practices under fire from UK’s competition and advertising regulators, plus EU

Chaotic scramble for Oasis tickets puts dynamic pricing in the spotlight of upcoming government inquiry

Hipgnosis “fraudulently induced” Barry Manilow to sell his artist royalties with “false promises”

Michael Rapino knew about Travis Scott’s “dangerous concert antics” says court filing as Live Nation desperately tries to avoid CEO’s deposition in Astroworld case

Crisis for Scottish music industry as government pauses critical funding schemes

Using lyrics without permission has not caused any “irreparable harm” to music publishers says Anthropic in injunction dispute

📑 CMU Digest: Donald Trump's music problem + more states join DOJ v Live Nation

Rachel Chinouriri cancels US support shows, putting the spotlight back on the ‘cost of touring crisis’

Isaac Hayes estate sues Donald Trump for copyright infringement

📑 CMU Digest: Cox takes major label dispute to Supreme Court + court dismisses Eminem publisher's Spotify lawsuit

Anthropic’s “tired arguments” and “scare tactics” should be rejected, say music organisations

TikTok forced to ditch “addictive” Lite rewards scheme in the EU

Suno admits it trained on major-owned music, accuses labels of misusing copyright

Lucian Grainge is back on the win-win, but which DSP is off his christmas card list? It’s not hard to guess.

Major label trade group criticises Canada’s 5% streaming levy

Spotify’s Q2: Cost cutting is paying off, Ek teases Supremium launch, hints at secret features beyond hi-res audio

Live Nation fights back in antitrust battle with US government

Kanye West and Snoop Dogg sued over uncleared samples and beats

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

Lucian’s lunch money under threat as shareholder pressure mounts over “excessive” pay packet

Could Co-op Group terminate Manchester arena naming rights deal? Fury mounts as safety incident forces yet more Co-op Live show cancellations

An unexpected late night is not a “cognizable injury”, says Madonna in response to lawsuit over her slack timekeeping

Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in

TikTok insists it isn't forcing Americans to phone politicians as ban proposal gets fast-tracked in Congress

CNM statement shows that Spotify’s rage about new French streaming levy misrepresents key facts

France has stood firm against Spotify’s bullying - and Spotify is having a tantrum

WMG is toying with an offer for Believe that would wipe out Warner’s cash reserves - but is it serious, would Believe shareholders sell and can WMG afford to bet the farm?

Mean Millennials scrap streaming subscriptions, mail order music is booming - and Apple Music might be making £500 million or more in the UK

Manchester City Council has spent nearly £90,000 fighting Night & Day legal battle

Hipgnosis Songs Fund takes a haircut - and might have bigger problems to come

Dodgy distributor 3tone linked to company being investigated by Serious Fraud Office

Artificial Intelligence and the music industry in 2023

Horizon Future Leaders • 7 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders series - Trina Smith Q&A

This week, we caught up with Trina Smith, a powerhouse in the music industry who wears many hats, from managing producers and composers to co-owning a label and serving on the executive board at the Association For Electronic Music, or AFEM.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 17 Oct 2024

Liam Payne • 2 min read

Music community pays tribute to Liam Payne

Liam Payne’s family has published a statement following the news that the former One Direction member has died, aged 31, after falling from a balcony in Argentina. Artists from across the music community have been paying tribute to Payne on social media ever since the news first broke…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more • 3 min read

Aussie government will crack down on “businesses ripping off Australians”, with ban on dynamic ticketing on the cards

Dynamic pricing on ticketing platforms could be banned in Australia as part of a government plan to prohibit “unfair trading practices”. The plan follows the recent controversies regarding dynamic pricing on tickets for Oasis shows in the US and Green Day gigs in Australia…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

Diddy • 3 min read

Lil Rod’s lawyer says sources “reliable” and UMG “shouldn’t think they’re in the clear” on Diddy allegations - whilst major says “no evidence” it was involved in “freak-offs”

Universal Music is still angry at being named as a defendant in an explosive lawsuit that was filed against Diddy earlier this year. It wants the lawyer that prepared that lawsuit to be sanctioned by the court. In a hearing this week, that lawyer insisted his sources were reliable…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

2 Live Crew • 3 min read

2 Live Crew win back control of early albums as court rejects label’s ‘work for hire’ claim

A jury has sided with 2 Live Crew in a termination rights dispute with the label that owns their early recordings. The group is trying to reclaim those rights, but the label said they couldn’t because their albums were made on a ‘work for hire’ basis. The jury rejected that argument…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

• 3 min read

AIM Independent Music Awards get underway at London's Roundhouse

The UK’s Association Of Independent Music presents its Independent Music Awards for 2024 at a ceremony in London tonight, with a diverse array of talent and companies among the nominees and winners…

CMU • 17 Oct 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: WILDES

WILDES, the project of musician and producer Ella Walker, crafts spacious, deconstructed, exquisitely arranged indie pop. Her new single, ‘Kopfkino’, a collaboration with St Francis Hotel, delves into the interplay between fantasy and reality, showcasing a bewitching and deceptively brooding sound.…

Kaya Robertson • 17 Oct 2024

Diddy • 3 min read

Diddy lawyers seek to identify his accusers, as yet another sexual assault lawsuit is filed

Lawyers working for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have written to a New York court seeking to identify the people who have accused the musician of sexual assault as part of the criminal case against him. Meanwhile, yet another lawsuit has been filed accusing Combs of violent sexual assault…

Chris Cooke • 16 Oct 2024

Live Nation • 3 min read

Rapino must give deposition in Astroworld lawsuit says Texas court

While wrongful death lawsuits over the Astroworld tragedy were all settled, hundreds of injured festival-goers also sued. They want Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino to sit for a deposition. He has been trying hard to stop that from happening, but the Texas Supreme Court has said it should go ahead…

Chris Cooke • 16 Oct 2024