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

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

If China blocks TikTok deal app will “go dark” says US Commerce Secretary, but hints deal “coming soon”

Blackstone bails on consortium bidding to buy TikTok US - will a deal still be done by September deadline?

Anthropic’s ‘fair use’ win in AI copyright case could turn into a trillion dollar loss

No copyright exception for AI training in European law, says new report

Full scale anticompetition investigation on the cards after UMG’s Virgin Music fails to allay EU fears over Downtown merger

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?

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

LIVE • 2 min read

UK live music spend reached £6.68 billion last year, but challenges remain

Trade group LIVE has published its annual report providing stats on the UK live music sector, in which consumer spend rose 9.5% to £6.68 billion last year. However, while the upper end of live is booming, those operating at the grassroots are struggling and need more government support…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2025

Warner Music • 3 min read

More upheaval at Warner Music as UK label chiefs will report directly to US execs

Warner Music has announced a big rejig at its UK business, following the news CEO Tony Harlow is standing down. He won’t be replaced, with UK label bosses now reporting into their US counterparts, including Elliot Grainge, while operational teams will report into EMEA President Simon Robson…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2025

The Police • 3 min read

Sting owes us £1.5m from 1970s song split deal, say former bandmates

It emerged last month that former members of The Police were locked in a legal battle, with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland claiming that Sting owes them £1.5 million in publishing royalties stemming from a 1970s band agreement. More details about that dispute are now known…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2025

Warner Music • 3 min read

Yet another senior exec out at Warner Music as UK boss Tony Harlow quits

As Warner Music continues its massive restructuring and downsizing exercise, the boss of the major’s UK business, Tony Harlow, has announced he is stepping down. No word yet on what that means for the structure of Warner UK, though we’ve been promised another update this week…

Chris Cooke • 02 Sep 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Déyyess

Déyyess makes “sparkley grunge”, a sound that blends sapphic tenderness with 90s-indebted shoegaze shimmer. New single ‘She Knows’ is all quiet radiance and anxious crush energy, channelling the crystalline melancholy of The Sundays, while nodding to contemporary queer icons like Chappell Roan…

Kaya Robertson • 02 Sep 2025

Polaris • 2 min read

Nordic licensing hub Polaris to shut down due to ‘evolving market conditions’

Polaris, a digital licensing hub set up by three Nordic collecting societies, will wind down its operations next year with the three societies concluding that it’s no longer “the most suitable solution” for representing their respective relationships with digital platforms like Spotify and TikTok…

Chris Cooke • 02 Sep 2025

Cox Communications • 3 min read

Billion dollar piracy win for majors “defies common law and common sense” says Cox

The US Supreme Court has agreed to review the long-running legal battle between ISP Cox and the major labels. Cox wants the top court to reverse the billion dollar ruling in that litigation and, in a new court filing, again claims that failing to do so will result in mass internet disconnections…

Chris Cooke • 01 Sep 2025

Sony Music • 2 min read

Sony Music’s NYC HQ criticised over handling of corporate culture scandal at Aussie division

Australian tabloid the Daily Telegraph has published another report about employee grievances at Sony Music Australia and allegations that CEO Vanessa Picken has fostered a toxic workplace culture. Staff members are now specifically criticising how the major’s New York HQ is handling the crisis…

Chris Cooke • 01 Sep 2025

CMU Selects • 2 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from CMAT, Ray Laurél, Blood Orange, Geese and MPH…

Kaya Robertson • 01 Sep 2025

PRS For Music • 5 min read

Court dismisses Dave Rowntree’s black box lawsuit against PRS

A UK court has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree against PRS over the collecting society’s black box distribution rules. PRS raised various issues with Rowntree’s ‘collective competition proceedings’, with judges ultimately granting its bid to strike the action…

Chris Cooke • 29 Aug 2025

Benson Boone • 2 min read

Sony’s merch division seeks court order banning sale of Benson Boone knock-offs

Benson Boone is on tour around the US and bootleggers are trying to sell knock off merch outside his shows. He works with Sony Music’s Ceremony Of Roses on his official merchandise, and it wants a court order banning the sale and ordering confiscation of all the knock offs…

Chris Cooke • 29 Aug 2025