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

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

Universal Music • 3 min read

Regulators must consider UMG’s AI deals in Downtown case, says IAO President

As EU competition regulators continue to investigate Universal’s bid to buy Downtown, the President of global artist group IAO has written to European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to stress that the major’s new AI licensing deals must be considered as part of that investigation…

Chris Cooke • 17 Nov 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 Charli xcx, John Cale, ENNY, Celeste, Robyn + Leon Vynehal…

Kaya Robertson • 17 Nov 2025

BBC • 2 min read

BBC Introducing criticised for featuring AI-generated track in Artist Of The Month spot

A local edition of ‘BBC Introducing’ has caused controversy within the music community by featuring an entirely AI-generated track in its Artist Of The Month spot. Critics say that, with so little airtime available for new music, the BBC shouldn’t be using that airtime to spotlight AI tracks…

Chris Cooke • 17 Nov 2025

MCNA • 3 min read

North American songwriter groups join call for transparency and creator consent as music companies start signing AI deals

Music Creators North America have called on labels and publishers to commit to deal transparency and creator consent around any agreements they reach with AI companies, such as Universal’s deal with Udio. They join the US Music Artists Coalition and UK Council Of Music Makers in making those demands…

Chris Cooke • 14 Nov 2025

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify launches Lite and Platinum subscriptions in five markets, with higher quality audio reserved for the top tier

Spotify has rejigged its subscription products in five markets, including India, introducing a Lite and Platinum tier. The higher priced tier includes access to higher-quality audio and Spotify’s AI DJ, already available with standard subscriptions elsewhere, but also provides access for three users…

Chris Cooke • 14 Nov 2025

• 2 min read

Creative industries need “culture of flexibility” to support parents and carers, say industry orgs

Parents And Carers In Performing Arts has launched a new pledge that urges organisations in the creative industries to put in place policies that remove the barriers many parents and carers working in music, theatre, dance and other arts too often face. 80 organisations have already signed up…

Chris Cooke • 13 Nov 2025

Secondary Ticketing • 3 min read

Starmer must “honour his pledge” to cap prices in “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market

Artists and music industry organisations have told Keir Starmer that he needs to urgently “honour his pledge” to better regulate ticket touting and confirm a timeline for introducing a ticket resale price cap. Starmer committed to new ticketing regulations before last year’s General Election…

Chris Cooke • 13 Nov 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: BLACK FONDU

London-via-Accra artist BLACK FONDU collides hyperpop, noise, rap, punk and abstract grime into something that manages to sound pretty lawless but ultimately intuitive. With a neat Gwen Stefani throwback in the hook, new single ‘holla back girl’ rips up millennial pop tropes to forge something new…

Kaya Robertson • 13 Nov 2025

Downtown Music • 4 min read

Downtown accused of planning “calculated destruction” of a short-lived YouTube music client in bombastic new lawsuit

Downtown has been accused of plotting the “calculated destruction” of YouTube music company Blast Off Media, after taking it on as a distribution client in August and then terminating its distribution agreement almost immediately. Blast Off’s lawyers also link the lawsuit to UMG’s Downtown deal…

Chris Cooke • 12 Nov 2025

UK Music • 2 min read

Economic impact of the UK music business topped £8 billion, says UK Music, but “underlying issues” jeopardise future growth

UK Music has published its annual ‘This Is Music’ report. It says the GVA economic impact of the music sector is now £8 billion, up 5% year-on-year. But growth is slowing because of “underlying issues” that the government should help address, including in relation to AI, grassroots music and visas…

Chris Cooke • 12 Nov 2025