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

Drake’s Super Bowl gripes in amended lawsuit show defamation action is really an attack on Kendrick Lamar’s success, says Universal

“I just don't understand how that can be fair use”, says judge in Meta AI trial

Pressure mounts for Universal Music Group’s $775 million Downtown acquisition as MEP highlights UMG’s “unprecedented control” of music ecosystem

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?

With the US record industry officially in recession can superpremium and superfans really save the major labels from streaming’s slowdown?

Record industry’s modest growth should make other industries jealous says IFPI boss, as labels weigh in on growth opportunities and AI threats

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

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

House Of Lords puts transparency obligation for AI companies back into Data Bill, after the government got it removed

The Lords have again added a section to the Data Bill that would force AI companies to declare what copyright protected works they have used when training models. The government previously removed copyright and AI measures from the bill, arguing they should be dealt with in standalone legislation…

Chris Cooke • 13 May 2025

Diddy • 4 min read

Diddy is a “complicated man” says defence lawyer as prosecutors go big

The trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering is underway, with prosecutors starting by showing jurors footage of him assaulting ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The defence insists that Combs is “a very flawed individual” but not a racketeer or sex trafficker…

Chris Cooke • 13 May 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: No Windows

Edinburgh duo No Windows return with ‘Tricky,’ a tender, off-kilter love song. With intricate guitar work and unflinching vocals, the track blends 70s chamber pop with cinematic flair…

Kaya Robertson • 13 May 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 5 min read

US Copyright Office report on whether AI training is fair use concludes “it depends”, but generally favours copyright owners

The US Copyright Office has published its report on whether AI companies can make use of existing content without getting permission, because doing so is fair use. It ultimately concludes that “it depends”, stating that the purpose and market impact of the AI are key factors to consider…

Chris Cooke • 12 May 2025

US Copyright Office • 3 min read

US Copyright Office “raced to release” AI report ahead of Trump firing its boss

Donald Trump sacked the boss of the US Copyright Office shortly after it published its report on whether or not AI training is fair use. The two events are probably linked - though it’s more likely the Office rush-released the report knowing that chief Shira Perlmutter was about to be axed…

Chris Cooke • 12 May 2025

SoundCloud • 2 min read

SoundCloud says it’s not training AI with users’ content, despite its terms and conditions saying it can

Last week there was a flurry of debate online about a term on the SoundCloud website that says users agree that their content may be used to “inform, train or develop” AI. In response, SoundCloud insists that it isn’t using tracks uploaded to its platform to train music-making generative AI models…

Chris Cooke • 12 May 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last fortnight’s standout releases

From pop provocations to sepia-tinted slow burns, this fortnight’s standout releases come steeped in confidence, craft and a sense of play.…

Kaya Robertson • 12 May 2025

Ed Sheeran • 3 min read

Ed Sheeran fans warned about “huge number of ticket scams” around his homecoming shows

Tickets went on sale for three Ed Sheeran homecoming shows this week. Shortly afterwards scammers were promoting tickets for sale on social media. Suffolk Trading Standards says it expects a high number of ticket scams in relation to the Sheeran gigs and urges fans to only buy from official channels…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2025

Drake • 4 min read

Drake’s Super Bowl gripes in amended lawsuit show defamation action is really an attack on Kendrick Lamar’s success, says Universal

Universal Music this week responded to Drake’s amended lawsuit accusing it of defamation over its role in releasing Kendrick Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’. It says that claims added to the lawsuit, especially in relation to Lamar’s Super Bowl performance, are “astonishing” and “without merit”…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 8 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Heather Johnson

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. This week we spoke to Heather Johnson, Systems Director at Sub Pop Records.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 09 May 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

UK’s Data Bill passes without creative industries’ demands for copyright and AI safeguards

Opposition MPs yesterday tried but failed to get measures on copyright and AI added to the Data Bill. The government argues that rather than sneaking measures into data legislation, bespoke new laws should be developed to address copyright issues in the context of AI. But when will that happen?…

Chris Cooke • 08 May 2025

US Department Of Justice • 3 min read

US launches investigation into “unfair and anticompetitive practices” in ticketing

The US government has launched a public inquiry into the ticketing business following an executive order from Donald Trump targeting “unfair practices in the live entertainment market”. Ticket scalping will definitely be scrutinised, but the wider ticketing industry could also be in the spotlight…

Chris Cooke • 08 May 2025