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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

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

NewJeans • 3 min read

Songwriters say demo sent to NewJeans was incorporated into K-pop hit without credit or permission

Four US songwriters say that NewJeans hit ‘How Sweet’ incorporates a topline they wrote for a demo track they shared with an agency that works with the K-pop group. That agency said they weren’t using the writers’ topline but, it’s alleged, then included it in the NewJeans track without permission…

Chris Cooke • 12 May 2026

Bob Vylan • 3 min read

Wiltshire Police have “no concerns” about Bob Vylan headlining Shindig Festival as local Tories demand licence review over duo’s performance

Last month it emerged that Wiltshire Council was being forced to review the licence it issued to Shindig Festival because of concerns about headliner Bob Vylan. It now emerges the licence review was forced by a local Conservative association, though Wiltshire Police do not share the Tories’ concerns…

Chris Cooke • 12 May 2026

Dua Lipa • 2 min read

Dua Lipa sues Samsung over its TV packaging

Dua Lipa has sued Samsung over the boxes it sells its TVs in. The boxes display the home page of Samsung’s own streaming service, which includes a photo of Lipa. She says that’s a “massive unauthorised commercial exploitation” of her brand, and infringes copyright, trademark and publicity rights…

Chris Cooke • 11 May 2026

Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

Keir Starmer says government will ban ticket touting “as quickly as possible”

Keir Starmer insists he is committed to banning ticket touting in the UK, even if ministers are not confirming a timeline for making the ban law. It seems likely Parliament won’t get to vote on the ban in the next year, but the prime minister says touting will be outlawed “as quickly as possible”…

Chris Cooke • 11 May 2026

Hipgnosis • 3 min read

“Enduring power of great music” on display as Sony gobbles up the former Hipgnosis business in $4 billion deal

Sony has bought all the music rights currently controlled by Recognition Music Group, the company previously known as Hipgnosis. The major acquired some smaller catalogues from Hipgnosis owner Blackstone last year. This latest bigger deal could be worth as much as $4 billion…

Chris Cooke • 11 May 2026

Mighty Hoopla • 1 min read

Mighty Hoopla Malta cancelled because of jet fuel shortages

Organisers of Mighty Hoopla have cancelled a Malta edition of the festival due to take place in September because current jet fuel shortages will reduce the number of flights to the island, and increase the cost for both performers and festival-goers in getting to the festival…

Chris Cooke • 08 May 2026

Taylor Swift • 3 min read

‘Confessions Of A Showgirl’ performer used similarly titled Taylor Swift album to flog her “little-known cabaret show”, says filing in trademark dispute

Taylor Swift has responded to a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by cabaret performer Maren Flagg, who claims Swift’s ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ album title is confusingly similar to the ‘Confessions Of A Showgirl’ brand she has long used. No surprise, Swift’s lawyers are disparaging of that claim…

Chris Cooke • 08 May 2026

Sound City • 3 min read

Ruby Duff and Lo Lauren become first recipients of John Sweeney awards and bursaries

SESAC Performing Rights and Liverpool Sound City last weekend presented two awards and bursaries in honour of John Sweeney, the widely respected music executive who died last year. One of those awards, the John Sweeney Impact Award, will now be presented on an annual basis…

CMU • 08 May 2026

Kanye West • 3 min read

Kanye West testifies in sample dispute: insists he’s “very generous” to musical collaborators

Kanye West took to the witness stand yesterday in a copyright dispute over uncleared samples in early versions of his tracks ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Moon’. The rapper told the court that he is “very generous” to his musical collaborators and “prides himself of giving people what they deserve”…

Chris Cooke • 07 May 2026

Brockwell Live • 3 min read

Lambeth residents fail in latest bid to block Brockwell Park festivals

London’s Brockwell Live festivals will go ahead later this month after local residents failed to force a full review of Lambeth Council’s decision to grant the events planning permission. Campaigners said planning should not have been granted to the festivals in Brockwell Park, but a judge disagrees…

Chris Cooke • 07 May 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: youbet

Brooklyn duo youbet flirt with shoegaze without fully committing to it, and the result is something genuinely hard to place and easy to love. “It’s like we’re running a family business”, vocalist Nick Llobet says of the duo, which sounds like a joke until you hear how tightly they fit together…

Kaya Robertson • 07 May 2026

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