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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

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

Digital services and platforms news • 2 min read

UK schools to go phone-free as government considers Australian-style social media ban

Australia’s social media ban for the under sixteens went into effect last month. Now the UK government has opened a consultation to consider a similar intervention to protect young people from possible online harms. Though ministers also want time to assess whether the Australian ban is working…

Chris Cooke • 20 Jan 2026

Udio • 2 min read

AI music creation platform Udio signs deal with indie label licensing body Merlin

Udio has announced a licensing deal with Merlin, which means many indie labels and distributors will now be able to participate in the relaunch of the AI platform as an industry-endorsed service. Merlin says the deal shows it is “committed to participating in shaping the opportunities AI promises”…

Chris Cooke • 20 Jan 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Odd Beholder

Odd Beholder is the project of Swiss artist Daniela Weinmann, who makes electro wave and dreamily dark indie pop that documents the oddities and quiet failures of contemporary life. New single ‘Like A Chore’ emerged from a specific moment she witnessed while working as a teacher to finance her music…

Kaya Robertson • 20 Jan 2026

Drew Barrymore • 2 min read

Drew Barrymore sued over unlicensed music in Instagram Reel pushing her cosmetics brand

Drew Barrymore is on the receiving end of the latest lawsuit over unlicensed music in a social media post. She included the track ‘My Sun And Stars’ in an Instagram Reel promoting her cosmetics brand FLOWER Beauty. Brands need to secure their own licences when including music in social media videos…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2026

AXS Europe • 3 min read

AXS sues over touting tool that allows ticket resellers to avoid transfer restrictions

AXS has sued SecureMyPass, a tool that allows touts to clone tickets they source via the primary ticketing platform, so that they can circumvent resale restrictions when selling them on for profit. AEG-owned AXS claims that SecureMyPass breaches the terms of its platform and infringes its trademarks…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2026

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 Charli xcx, Holy Fuck, Flea, Thom Yorke, Shy One, George Riley, Sophia Stel + Mura Masa…

Kaya Robertson • 19 Jan 2026

Pulp • 2 min read

Pulp will play Adelaide Festival despite threatening to join creator boycott following change in leadership

Pulp are set to play the Adelaide Festival, which has been embroiled in controversy since it axed Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fatta from its programme. Jarvis Cocker has revealed Pulp planned to pull out in protest, but will now perform after the Abdel-Fatta decision was reversed…

Chris Cooke • 16 Jan 2026

Horizon Future Leaders • 7 min read

Horizon Future Leaders: Four issues shaping the industry

We asked 2025’s Horizon Future Leaders a simple question: what’s the most pressing issue in your corner of the industry?…

Horizon Music Jobs • 16 Jan 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Rusty Santos

Rusty Santos pulls from psych folk, outsider pop and spiritual songwriting, but never in a way that feels archival. His music sits slightly askew, shaped by unusual tunings, soft dissonance and a sense of curiosity about sound itself. New single ‘Are You A Portal’ leans into that suspended feeling…

Kaya Robertson • 15 Jan 2026

Kneecap • 3 min read

Kneecap say UK government has wasted over £1 million on Mo Chara flag case, as prosecutors ask High Court to reinstate terror charges

Kneecap were back in court yesterday, with UK prosecutors wanting the High Court to reinstate criminal charges for alleged terror offences against band member Mo Chara, which were dismissed last year on a legal technicality. The band said the hearing was “a waste of public time and public money”…

Chris Cooke • 15 Jan 2026

The Police • 3 min read

After Sting coughs up £647k in royalty dispute, former bandmates say there could be millions more missing

Legal reps for The Police were in court this week in a dispute over how Sting shares his publishing income with former bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. Lawyers for Summers and Copeland revealed they plan to expand their claims, arguing Sting owes well over £8 million in unpaid royalties…

Chris Cooke • 15 Jan 2026

Termination Right • 4 min read

Songwriter groups hail “unequivocal win for creator rights” as US appeals court upholds landmark termination rights ruling

A US appeals court has upheld a ruling that rejects music industry convention regarding how the termination right in American copyright law works - in a way that majorly benefits music creators. The ruling has been hailed by songwriter groups as an “enormous victory for the creator community”…

Chris Cooke • 14 Jan 2026