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

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

Viagogo is unfair, opaque and violates EU law, consumer group tells regulator

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

CMS Select Committee • 3 min read

UK government should prioritise tackling post-Brexit touring issues at next EU summit, MPs tell ministers

Parliament’s culture select committee has urged the UK government to put post-Brexit touring issues high on the agenda at its next EU Summit, which could be next month. It should also provide more support for artists and performers who are currently navigating all those issues, MPs add…

Chris Cooke • 16 Jun 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Sweeping Promises

Angular post-punk with a DIY spirit, Kansas’s Sweeping Promises bring decades of experience to new single ‘Cocoon’, originally written to pad out early shows, now reworked for third album ‘You Say I Romanticize’…

Kaya Robertson • 16 Jun 2026

Live Nation • 3 min read

DoJ seeks court approval for Live Nation antitrust deal - but is it in the public interest?

The US Department Of Justice is seeking court approval for its antitrust settlement with Live Nation. It says no court hearing is required to scrutinise the deal if the judge believes it’s in the public interest, but lots of people argue it is not, including ex-DoJ officials…

Chris Cooke • 16 Jun 2026

X • 4 min read

Elon Musk’s DMCA dissing tweets did not induce copyright infringement, X says in latest response to music industry lawsuit

X is still trying to get the lawsuit filed against it by a group of music publishers dismissed. In their most recent court filing, the publishers claim that the social media platform and its owner Elon Musk have induced X users to infringe copyright. In its own filing, X denies that’s the case…

Chris Cooke • 15 Jun 2026

ticket.ie • 3 min read

New ticketing regulations needed, Irish politicians say, following collapse of DEAG’s tickets.ie

The collapse of Irish ticketing platform tickets.ie - and its impact on festivals that are owed hundreds of thousands of euro - was discussed in the Irish parliament this week, with politicians insisting new laws are needed to protect promoters and ticket buyers when ticketing companies go bust…

Chris Cooke • 12 Jun 2026

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise this week, from Rose Gray, Makeshift Art Bar, Slow Pulp, Interpol + Olivia Rodrigo…

Kaya Robertson • 12 Jun 2026

National Music Publishers Association • 3 min read

NMPA unveils AI licensing deals with Udio and Klay with 50/50 split for songs and recordings

The NMPA in the US has announced licensing deals with Udio and Klay, providing a template agreement indie publishers can now opt into. NMPA boss David Israelite stresses these “value songs and sound recordings equally”, something songwriters and indie publishers have been demanding with AI deals…

Chris Cooke • 11 Jun 2026

Hybe • 2 min read

Criminal defamation charges no longer on the cards for HYBE execs who claimed former Ador boss consulted shamans - because, in fact, she did

When HYBE fell out with founder and CEO of its Ador agency, Min Hee-jin, there were lawsuits but also a criminal investigation. Min accused HYBE execs of criminal defamation over claims she consulted shamans while running Ador. However, prosecutors have now confirmed they won’t be charging anyone…

Chris Cooke • 11 Jun 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Monjola

Born in Lagos and raised in Dublin, Monjola moves between an effortless rap flow and smokey falsetto without making a thing of it. New single ‘Weight On Me’ is a good place to start. Understated and soulful, and - despite its vulnerability - it remains gorgeously uplifting…

Kaya Robertson • 11 Jun 2026

Google • 4 min read

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

Google has responded to a copyright infringement claim from a group of independent artists over its music AI model Lyria. It claims the artists basically gave Google permission to use their music in AI training when they uploaded content to YouTube, and therefore their lawsuit should be dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 10 Jun 2026

Universal Music Publishing • 4 min read

Universal Music Publishing is having its own brandwank moment

Universal Music Publishing has a new logo, dropping the traditional Universal globe for a circle in a square. As you’d expect, it’s accompanied by some branding nonsense telling us the new logo actually “represents the four corners of the planet - standing for a worldwide community of songwriters”…

Chris Cooke & Sam Taylor • 10 Jun 2026