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

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

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

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

Artificial Intelligence and the music industry in 2023

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: MOULD

Bristol’s MOULD have a sound that masterfully shifts between reckless urgency and unpredictable tension. Their latest single, ‘CHUNKS’, starts with a math-rock riff before exploding into a post-punk anthem, chaotic yet controlled, capturing a frenetic exploration of disillusionment…

Kaya Robertson • 03 Dec 2024

Kneecap • 3 min read

UK government “broke own laws” by blocking Kneecap export grant

Kneecap went legal earlier this year after the then Conservative government stopped them from receiving funding via the Music Export Growth Scheme on political grounds. The new Labour government agrees that blocking the grant in that way was unlawful, meaning the rap trio has won their legal action…

Chris Cooke • 02 Dec 2024

Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

“Unprecedented theft” by AI companies of creators work must be tackled say Australian MPs

A committee in the Australian parliament has published a report on AI urging the country’s government to help creators stop the “unprecedented theft of their work” by AI companies. Unsurprisingly, the music industry has welcomed the report and its key recommendations…

Chris Cooke • 02 Dec 2024

Piracy • 2 min read

Music piracy in Europe down 75% in seven years, and significantly behind TV piracy

The EU’s Intellectual Property Office has published its latest report on piracy across Europe. Although music piracy in 2023 was up slightly, it’s down significantly compared to 2017. Europeans are also illegally accessing unlicensed TV services much more frequently than they are pirating music…

Chris Cooke • 02 Dec 2024

Sound City • 2 min read

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

Liverpool’s Sound City+ conference has unveiled the first batch of speakers for its eighteenth edition in May 2025. The line-up includes award winning female entrepreneurs Karen Emanuel and Olivia Hobbs in conversation with Rosanna Connolly plus ten more high profile speakers…

Sam Taylor • 02 Dec 2024

Releases & Tours • 2 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours: Dec 2024 (Week 48)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week: James Blake, Brian Nasty, Sally C, Eliza Rose + more, while tour announcements include My Bloody Valentine, 808 State + more…

Kaya Robertson • 02 Dec 2024

NewJeans • 3 min read

NewJeans ditch deal with Ador to avoid “mental distress”, but Ador says contract “remains in full effect”

Earlier this month NewJeans demanded that their label Ador address a list of grievances. It having failed to do so, the K-pop group says their deal with the company has been terminated. Unsurprisingly, Ador does not agree…

Chris Cooke • 29 Nov 2024

Digital services and platforms news • 3 min read

Australia passes social media ban for under sixteens

A new law in Australia will ban under sixteens from using social media. The country’s Parliament has backed the ban despite criticisms that it will be hard to enforce and that young people themselves haven’t been properly consulted…

Chris Cooke • 29 Nov 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Ben Magee Q&A

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. This week, we caught up with Ben Magee, founder and owner of New Champion Management.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 29 Nov 2024

Live Nation • 2 min read

Live Nation expands venues business in South Africa and Portugal

Live Nation continues to expand its venues business, this week announcing the launch of its first permanent venue in Africa, The Dome in Johannesburg, and the acquisition of a majority stake in Lisbon’s MEO Arena…

Chris Cooke • 29 Nov 2024

Ador • 3 min read

Ador tells fellow HYBE label to apologise to NewJeans’ Hanni over “ignore her” remark

HYBE division Ador is working hard to placate its artist NewJeans, who are big supporters of the label’s ex-CEO Min Hee-jin. As part of those efforts it has urged another HYBE label, Belift Lab, to apologise to member Hanni for comments allegedly made by one of its executives earlier this year…

Chris Cooke • 28 Nov 2024

Piracy • 3 min read

More anti-piracy web-blocks issued in France against Cloudflare and Google DNS resolvers

Earlier this year French broadcaster Canal+ secured a web-blocking order forcing three DNS resolvers to block access to sports piracy websites. On the back of that win it has secured yet more web-blocks, despite the tech companies insisting that forcing web-blocking on DNS resolvers is a bad idea…

Chris Cooke • 28 Nov 2024