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

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

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

Salt N Pepa • 4 min read

Salt N Pepa termination rights ruling makes creator protections in US “illusory”, say artist advocacy groups

Salt N Pepa’s legal battle with Universal Music is set to become another crucial test case around the creator’s termination right in US copyright law. Entertainment lawyers and creator groups have now urged appeal judges to overturn a judgement in Universal’s favour to allow more scrutiny in court…

Chris Cooke • 09 Apr 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Modern Woman

There's Kate Bush in the DNA, avant-garde tendencies, folk tradition, but Modern Woman have gone and folded post-punk into the whole thing, which works beautifully. New single ‘Johnny’s Dreamworld’, is feverishly brilliant…

Kaya Robertson • 09 Apr 2026

Cox Communications • 4 min read

As impacts of US Supreme Court’s Cox ruling kick in, the music industry may have a bigger problem as Yout, X and ISP Grande test the law

How big an impact will the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the majors v Cox case really have on the music industry? It makes it harder to force ISPs to police piracy, but could it affect the industry in other ways too? Cases involving Yout, X and Grande will now test the reach of the ruling…

Chris Cooke • 08 Apr 2026

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Ailsa Harper

This week, we caught up with Ailsa Harper; founder of Brightest Light, mentor for Help Musicians UK and Tinderbox Music and co-founder of Not The DJ’s Girlfriend…

Horizon Music Jobs • 08 Apr 2026

Kanye West • 4 min read

Live Nation’s Wireless festival cancelled after British government withdraws Kanye West’s permission to travel to the UK

Live Nation has cancelled its Wireless festival after the government withdrew headliner Kanye West’s travel permit. Before the cancellation, with sponsors bailing, the company responded to the backlash over West headlining the event, with Melvin Benn putting out a statement defending the booking…

Chris Cooke • 07 Apr 2026

Universal Music • 7 min read

Bill Ackman wants to buy Universal Music and put “psychopath” Epstein associate Michael Ovitz in charge

Controversial hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wants to buy Universal Music. His plan: load UMG with debt, sell its Spotify stake, and put a man named in the Epstein files in as chair. Lucian Grainge could make tens of millions from the deal, but Universal’s superstar artists might have other ideas…

Sam Taylor • 07 Apr 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Alewya

Raised in West London with Ethiopian and Egyptian roots, alt-soul hyphenate Alewya treats heritage as something active rather than archival. She doesn’t move like a conventional artist, describing herself as a painter who makes music, which makes sense when you sit with her songs…

Kaya Robertson • 07 Apr 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 Alewya, Pigeon, Robyn, Lambrini Girls + Getdown Services…

Kaya Robertson • 02 Apr 2026

Anthropic • 4 min read

Music industry trade bodies join forces with music publishers to defeat Anthropic’s “AI is fair use” defence

The music publishers suing Anthropic recently asked the judge to reject the AI company’s fair use defence. Now eight music industry organisations have filed an amicus brief also arguing that AI training can never be fair use, because the development of AI music models causes market dilution…

Chris Cooke • 02 Apr 2026

Universal Music • 6 min read

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

Universal Music published its annual report earlier this week. Buried in the 295 page document are a number of startling revelations about the “most successful music company in the world” - the most shocking being that women working for Universal make just half what their male counterparts are paid…

Sam Taylor • 01 Apr 2026

Salt N Pepa • 3 min read

Judges keep overriding artist safeguards say Salt N Pepa in latest termination rights filing

Salt N Pepa have filed an appeal in their termination rights dispute with Universal. Not only was the judge wrong to dismiss their lawsuit seeking to reclaim ownership of 1980s recordings, but - they say - her decision continues a trend of judges overriding artist safeguards put in place by Congress…

Chris Cooke • 01 Apr 2026

Explore topics

View all

Music industry legal news coverage

Digital services and platforms news

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more

CMU Approved