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

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

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

Independent Music Publishers Forum (IMPF) • 2 min read

Indie publisher trade body says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly

The major labels’ big deals with Suno and Udio have posed a number of important questions for the wider music community - including how AI income will be shared between the song rights and the recording rights. IMPF has now joined ECSA in demanding that the two copyrights are valued equally…

Chris Cooke • 04 Dec 2025

Eventbrite • 2 min read

Bending Spoons to buy “stagnating” ticketing platform Eventbrite

Eventbrite is set to be acquired by Bending Spoons, which has been buying up a plethora of digital platforms, instigating lots of cost cutting once each deal is done. It will pay $500 million for Eventbrite, considerably less than the ticketing platform’s $1.76 billion valuation at its 2018 IPO…

Chris Cooke • 04 Dec 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: samxemma

samxemma build electronic pop that sounds like optimism trying to reboot itself. New single ‘Me forever :(‘ is another beautifully chaotic, maximalist blast from the duo with over bright, club-leaning synths and percussion that sounds like someone shaking the internet until a feeling falls out…

Kaya Robertson • 04 Dec 2025

PacSun • 2 min read

PacSun latest brand to be sued over uncleared pop songs in TikTok posts

Another lawsuit against a brand that used pop songs in its social media videos without getting the necessary licences. Warner is suing fashion retailer PacSun, which - it says - is a sophisticated IP owner that should have understood its obligations to secure sync licences for its TikTok videos…

Chris Cooke • 03 Dec 2025

Suno • 2 min read

Stream-ripper Yout says Suno and Udio have criticism “precisely right” over ruling in legal battle with major labels

Suno and Udio recently sought to intervene in the major labels’ legal dispute with stream-ripper Yout, because a ruling in that case impacts on their own legal battles with the majors. Yout has now welcomed that intervention, but the majors say the AI companies are wrong about stream-ripping rules…

Chris Cooke • 03 Dec 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Angel Du$t

Baltimore’s Angel Du$t have done the awkward, interesting work of turning hardcore’s blunt force into something porous and strange - they’re loud, messy and stubbornly generous. New single ‘DU$T’ catches the point where tenderness snaps into racket…

Kaya Robertson • 02 Dec 2025

Jorja Smith • 3 min read

“Creators are collateral damage” in AI race says Jorja Smith’s label, after AI voice clone track goes viral

Jorja Smith’s label FAMM has entered the AI debate after a dance track went viral with vocals that had been manipulated by Suno to sound like it was Smith singing. FAMM criticises the artist behind that track, and says guardrails are urgently needed that ensure AI-generated music is clearly labelled…

Chris Cooke • 02 Dec 2025

Cox Communications • 3 min read

Copyright safe harbour will be trashed if Cox wins Supreme Court appeal, say major labels

The long running legal battle between ISP Cox and the major labels has finally reached the US Supreme Court. The outcome will impact on how the music industry fights online piracy. Indeed, the majors’ lawyer says if Cox wins, the long established copyright safe harbour will be “a dead letter”…

Chris Cooke • 02 Dec 2025

Olivia Dean • 3 min read

Olivia Dean says artists have “duty” to “encourage fair resale” after Ticketmaster refunds fans for touted tickets

Ticketmaster is refunding fans who bought touted tickets at hiked up prices for Olivia Dean’s shows on its US platform, after she protested last week. Dean has urged other artists to challenge their business partners on ticketing policies, stating “we have a duty to encourage a fair resale market”…

Chris Cooke • 01 Dec 2025

Kneecap • 3 min read

Kneecap sue MP who “lied to the world” about group’s Canada ban

Kneecap are suing Vince Gasparro, the Canadian MP who announced they were banned from the country in September. The group confirmed legal action was underway after it emerged the Canadian government was not involved in Gasparro’s announcement, despite him saying he was speaking for the government…

Chris Cooke • 01 Dec 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from Cardinals, Aphex Twin, ELIZA, George Riley + Jordan Rakei & Jalen Ngonda…

Kaya Robertson • 01 Dec 2025

X-Factor • 3 min read

Katie Waissel accuses Simon Cowell of “selective storytelling” when discussing Liam Payne’s death

Simon Cowell recently spoke about the death of Liam Payne. ‘X-Factor’ alumna Katie Waissel has responded, saying that while Cowell seems “reflective” and “concerned”, he fails to mention conditions on his TV show that contributed to the mental health struggles of multiple artists, including Payne…

Chris Cooke • 28 Nov 2025