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SoundCloud’s amended AI clause still “fundamentally terrible for artists” says Ed Newton-Rex

Guardrails aren’t proof of infringement says Anthropic as judge spanks AI company for “hallucinated” filin

Drake’s Super Bowl gripes in amended lawsuit show defamation action is really an attack on Kendrick Lamar’s success, says Universal

“I just don't understand how that can be fair use”, says judge in Meta AI trial

Pressure mounts for Universal Music Group’s $775 million Downtown acquisition as MEP highlights UMG’s “unprecedented control” of music ecosystem

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?

With the US record industry officially in recession can superpremium and superfans really save the major labels from streaming’s slowdown?

Record industry’s modest growth should make other industries jealous says IFPI boss, as labels weigh in on growth opportunities and AI threats

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

Superstruct Entertainment • 3 min read

Superstruct festivals issue statements following backlash and boycotts over its owner KKR

London’s Field Day festival has faced a backlash in recent weeks because it is owned by Superstruct, in turn owned by KKR, which has investments in Israel. As other Superstruct events also come under fire, both Field Day and fellow London festival Mighty Hoopla have now issued statements…

Chris Cooke • 16 May 2025

Drake • 2 min read

Drake asking the court to assume Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics are “a factual representation” is “dangerous”, say legal experts

Four legal experts have intervened in the defamation legal battle between Drake and Universal. The experts say that the music community has been arguing for sometime that rap lyrics should not be treated as statements of fact in criminal cases, yet Drake now wants to do just that in a civil case…

Chris Cooke • 16 May 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Codie Childs

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. This week we spoke to Codie Childs, Senior Music Supervisor at PlayStation Studios.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 16 May 2025

The Leadmill • 3 min read

The Leadmill has three months to pack up and leave but vows to continue the fight for Sheffield’s music scene

The Leadmill has failed in its bid to stop an eviction order from landlord The Electric Group, which wants to take over the running of the Sheffield venue. The current Leadmill team sought permission to appeal the eviction order, but that request has been declined by the court…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2025

SoundCloud • 2 min read

SoundCloud’s amended AI clause still “fundamentally terrible for artists” says Ed Newton-Rex

SoundCloud boss Eliah Seton has responded to concerns about an AI clause in the platform’s terms of service, insisting that the company will use AI for discovery and not various generative uses. The AI clause has been amended, but still isn’t clear enough according to Ed Newton-Rex of Fairly Trained…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Data Bill ping pong continues as government says ‘financial privilege’ trumps AI transparency

Earlier this week the House Of Lords reinserted an AI transparency obligation that is supported by the music industry into the Data Bill. The government has now said it will get the obligation removed from the final version of the bill by invoking the ‘financial privilege’ of the House Of Commons…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Acopia

Naarm/Melbourne trio Acopia make electronic pop that feels like a sigh; quiet, hazy and emotionally precise. New single ‘Talk About It’ sits somewhere between dream-pop, downtempo and post-punk, all filtered through a kind of soft-focus melancholy…

Kaya Robertson • 15 May 2025

Diddy • 2 min read

“I was an object” says Cassie Ventura as Diddy’s “controlling” freak offs take centre stage in trial

Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura - a key witness in the criminal case against the musician - gave testimony on day two of his trial yesterday. She was asked about the ‘freak offs’ Diddy forced her to take part in, telling the court “I was an object, I was heavily objectified”…

Chris Cooke • 14 May 2025

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more • 2 min read

Get Brexit fixed to power cultural exchange says music industry to UK government

UK and EU political leaders are meeting for a summit in London next week. Although defence and security seem likely to top the agenda, the music industry has called for the post-Brexit barriers impacting on UK performers touring Europe to also be addressed…

Chris Cooke • 14 May 2025

Anthropic • 4 min read

Guardrails aren’t proof of infringement says Anthropic as judge spanks AI company for “hallucinated” filin

Last month the music publishers suing Anthropic had another go at arguing why the AI company should be held liable for copyright infringement on the outputs of its Claude chatbot. In its own filing, Anthropic says the publishers’ amended arguments are still “defective”…

Chris Cooke • 14 May 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

House Of Lords puts transparency obligation for AI companies back into Data Bill, after the government got it removed

The Lords have again added a section to the Data Bill that would force AI companies to declare what copyright protected works they have used when training models. The government previously removed copyright and AI measures from the bill, arguing they should be dealt with in standalone legislation…

Chris Cooke • 13 May 2025

Diddy • 4 min read

Diddy is a “complicated man” says defence lawyer as prosecutors go big

The trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering is underway, with prosecutors starting by showing jurors footage of him assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The defence insists that Combs is “a very flawed individual” but not a racketeer or sex trafficker…

Chris Cooke • 13 May 2025