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Warner Music fires AI warning shot: ‘Get a licence or face the consequences’

Stem wars: recent lawsuits expose copyright pitfalls for labels and producers

Merck Mercuriadis to exit Hipgnosis - hints at global songwriter advocacy initiative

Ticketmaster data breach: new details emerge from official filings

📑 CMU Digest: SXSW's Saudi money; labels sue Suno and Udio + more

Spanish collecting society fined €6.5 million over its anticompetitive licensing approach

Are hedge funds betting against Blackstone’s Hipgnosis deal?

SXSW ditches weapons sponsors to burnish brand - so why won’t it ditch its ties to Saudi Arabia?

YouTube in talks with all three majors about the next phase in its AI experimentation

Udio responds to record label lawsuit insisting its AI model ‘listens’ rather than ‘copies’

PRS sued over “unreasonable and unnecessary hurdles” for writers directly licensing their live performances

Upbeat news for Believe as shareholders show resounding support for founder’s “amicable buy-back”

SiriusXM breaches consumer rights by charging an extra music royalties extra fee, says lawsuit

Suno and Udio’s “lawless” behaviour cheapens human creativity with sound-a-likes and knock-offs says watershed RIAA lawsuit

Zync accuses former business partner Round Hill of contract breaches, trademark infringement and executive bullying

US music publishers ramp up the rhetoric against Spotify's royalty reducing bundling trick

📑 CMU Digest: SXSW London, Lucian's pay + more

Supreme Court ruling could boost damages payments in US lawsuits over historical copyright infringement

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

TikTok sues the US government over sell-or-be-banned law

Lucian’s lunch money under threat as shareholder pressure mounts over “excessive” pay packet

Could Co-op Group terminate Manchester arena naming rights deal? Fury mounts as safety incident forces yet more Co-op Live show cancellations

An unexpected late night is not a “cognizable injury”, says Madonna in response to lawsuit over her slack timekeeping

Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in

TikTok insists it isn't forcing Americans to phone politicians as ban proposal gets fast-tracked in Congress

CNM statement shows that Spotify’s rage about new French streaming levy misrepresents key facts

France has stood firm against Spotify’s bullying - and Spotify is having a tantrum

WMG is toying with an offer for Believe that would wipe out Warner’s cash reserves - but is it serious, would Believe shareholders sell and can WMG afford to bet the farm?

Mean Millennials scrap streaming subscriptions, mail order music is booming - and Apple Music might be making £500 million or more in the UK

Manchester City Council has spent nearly £90,000 fighting Night & Day legal battle

Hipgnosis Songs Fund takes a haircut - and might have bigger problems to come

Dodgy distributor 3tone linked to company being investigated by Serious Fraud Office

€111 million in TikTok revenue is nothing when you’re Lucian Grainge - but, he says, “my phone is always open” if Shou Zi Chew wants to be friends again

Artificial Intelligence and the music industry in 2023

Cardi B • 2 min read

Cardi B hit with beat theft lawsuit over ‘Enough (Miami)’

Two Texas musicians are suing Cardi B claiming her single ‘Enough (Miami)’ uses the beat from their 2021 track ‘Greasy Frybread’. The lawsuit also seeks to clarify ownership of the original song, amid conflicting credits…

Chris Cooke • 04 Jul 2024

One Liners • 2 min read

⏩ One Liners: Quality Control, PPL Momentum Music Fund, London Grammar, Kesha + more

Third Side Music deal; Quality Control and OTM Music appointments; PPL Momentum Music Fund recipients; Elton John auction; Greatest Hits Radio Live; Tours from Pale Waves and London Grammar; New music from Lana Del Rey & Quavo, Kesha, Rosie Lowe and Human Interest…

CMU • 04 Jul 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

Approved: Dog Race

Bedford’s Dog Race captivate with ‘The Leader’, fusing gothy post-punk, brittle indie-pop and cold wave, complemented by a folk-horror-inspired video…

Kaya Robertson • 04 Jul 2024

Warner Music • 2 min read

Warner Music fires AI warning shot: ‘Get a licence or face the consequences’

Warner Music has written to AI companies setting out its position that licences must be secured before its music is used to train AI models. The stern letter, which follows Sony’s lead, extends to artist likeness and voice, and formally opts out of the EU data mining exception…

Chris Cooke • 04 Jul 2024

BG • 2 min read

Rapper BG told to allow US officials to review his songs prior to release

A judge has told rapper BG that he must share new songs with the US authorities before releasing them so that they can check if the lyrics create any concerns under the terms of his supervised release from prison. Prosecutors had asked for an order banning him from rapping about certain topics…

Chris Cooke • 04 Jul 2024

Sony Music • 1 min read

Sony Music Japan hunts pirate site operators through US courts

The people behind a piracy service that specialises in Japanese music could be about to run into some legal challenges. Sony Music Japan has secured a US court order which forces Cloudflare to provide info about the site’s operators, with the aim that Sony can identify and pursue the individuals…

Chris Cooke • 04 Jul 2024

Young Thug • 2 min read

Young Thug trial derailed as judge’s controversial private meeting causes indefinite delay

Rapper Young Thug’s trial faces uncertainty as defence lawyers continue to call for the judge to be removed from the case over a private meeting with prosecutors and a key witness. The trial has been paused to allow another judge to consider those demands…

Chris Cooke • 03 Jul 2024

One Liners • 3 min read

⏩ One Liners: Pitchfork, BTS, Maximo Park, Eminem + more

Bosworth x Sofi Paez; Pitchfork’s new Head Of Editorial Content; Universal UK catalogue appointment; HYBE expands in Latin America; Disney’s new series with Jungkook and Jimin; BBC Sounds to create some ultimate mixtapes; Maximo Park election gig; New music from Eminem, AJ Tracey, Shanti Celeste…

CMU • 03 Jul 2024

Suno • 2 min read

Lawsuit? What lawsuit? Suno thumbs nose at majors as it launches mobile app

With Suno facing the mother of all copyright lawsuits, the AI music company is riding the wave of publicity brought by its legal woes and has launched its first mobile app - only available to iPhone users in the USA - which allows users to create songs from text or audio…

Chris Cooke • 03 Jul 2024

YouTube • 3 min read

YouTube cracks down on AI deepfakes: new rules allow takedowns of unauthorised vocal clones

YouTube has updated its privacy policies to allow the removal of AI-generated deepfakes and vocal clones, responding to growing concerns about unauthorised use of likeness and voice…

Chris Cooke • 03 Jul 2024

Legal • 3 min read

Stem wars: recent lawsuits expose copyright pitfalls for labels and producers

Recent lawsuits highlight the complex copyright issues faced by labels and producers where multiple people are involved in the production of a track, with a number of clashes over unauthorised use of stems, loops and beats in hit songs…

Chris Cooke • 03 Jul 2024

Kanye • 4 min read

Kanye West and henchman Milo Yiannopoulos hit with accusations alleging racism, fraud and more

Earlier this year Kanye West partnered with a team of developers around the world to work on creating his own streaming app. Now some of those developers have gone legal accusing the rapper of discrimination, fraud and failing to safeguard minors on the team from pornographic content…

Chris Cooke • 02 Jul 2024

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