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

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

Utopia Distribution Services • 6 min read

Majors labels' primary physical distributor Utopia Distribution Services collapses

Physical distribution business UDS has collapsed after its Swiss parent Utopia Music was forced into bankruptcy. UDS apparently owed millions to landlord DP World - which is now taking ownership of the company's assets. But why?…

Sam Taylor • 13 Dec 2024

Garth Brooks • 2 min read

Court declines to dismiss sex assault lawsuit against Garth Brooks, after accuser accused the country star of “forum shopping”

A Californian court has declined to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Garth Brooks. He has also sued his accuser through the courts in Mississippi and says she should make her allegations in a counterclaim to that lawsuit. She argued that that amounted to unfair “forum shopping”…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024

Quad9 • 2 min read

Quad9 vows to fight “absurd” web-block injunction in France

DNS resolver Quad9 has been hit with a web-blocking injunction in France, forcing it to block access to sports piracy sites following legal action by Canal+. However, Quad9 previously successfully appealed web-blocks requested by Sony Music in Germany and says it intends to do the same in France…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024

Universal Music • 2 min read

Universal forms partnership with marketing group WPP

Universal Music and marketing agency group WPP have announced a big old partnership that will see them working together on “cutting-edge audience engagement strategies” for brand clients, using data, technology and “the power of music” along the way…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 9 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Robert Kilpatrick Q&A

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. This week we caught up with Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 13 Dec 2024

TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok’s attempt to delay ban is just a rehash of previously rejected arguments says US government

TikTok wants a Washington DC court to delay a 19 Jan deadline for owner ByteDance to sell the app, so it can take its battle against the law that set that deadline to the Supreme Court. The US government says that’s not necessary because the Supreme Court itself can pause the deadline if required…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

Bad Boy Chiller Crew • 2 min read

Bad Boy Chiller Crew sue House Anxiety for £400,000 in royalty dispute

Indie label House Anxiety has been sued by Bad Boy Chiller Crew who say they are owed around £400,000 in unpaid royalties, a claim the label says it “totally refutes”. It follows a dispute earlier this year when House Anxiety said the group self-releasing new music breached their record contract…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

Internet Archive • 3 min read

Corporate profiteering is destroying music history says letter signed by 600+ musicians demanding majors drop Internet Archive lawsuit

An open letter signed by more than 600 musicians strongly criticises a lawsuit filed by Universal and Sony against the Internet Archive. It says the majors should work with the non-profit on archiving old recordings. The letter also sets out various grievances about the state of the music industry…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Monobloc

Monobloc excels at delivering music that feels warm and wistful, almost nostalgic, a merging of pop sensibilities, with a distinctly metropolis post-punk attitude. Their latest single, ‘Take Me’, serves as both the final release of their breakthrough year and a defining statement for the band…

Kaya Robertson • 12 Dec 2024

Jay-Z • 2 min read

Lawyer instigating Diddy lawsuits is using “unfounded and heinous allegations” to get settlements from stars says Jay-Z law

After Jay-Z was added as a defendant on one of the Diddy lawsuits last weekend, he and his legal team have been lambasting the lawyer leading on that litigation, Tony Buzbee. Now Jay-Z’s team have accused Buzbee’s law firm of misconduct in its bid to work on as many Diddy lawsuits as possible…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2024

EMMA • 4 min read

“Patchwork” of withholding tax rules across Europe is “unfair and discriminatory” and makes European touring “financially precarious”, says EMMA boss

International tax is always complex, but when it comes to withholding taxes for artists touring in the EU, there is a patchwork of rules that’s almost impossible for artists to navigate, something which harms the European live ecosystem, says a letter signed by a group of pan-European music bodies…

Sam Taylor • 11 Dec 2024

Musi • 3 min read

Apple colluded with music industry while pretending to be neutral in app dispute, claims Musi

Music streaming app Musi is still working hard to get itself reinstated on Apple’s App Store, having been kicked out in September following complaints by YouTube and the music industry. In a new filing, Musi says Apple failed to follow its own process for dealing with app disputes…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2024