Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained

Superstruct’s new Artistic Code solves freedom of expression challenges at festivals once and for all - maybe

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Superstruct Entertainment • 5 min read

Superstruct’s new Artistic Code solves freedom of expression challenges at festivals once and for all - maybe

Festival company Superstruct has published a new code to support freedom of expression at its events. Superstruct’s festivals have been on the receiving end of boycott campaigns because of its owner KKR. Though the code is more about defending the booking of artists who are very political on stage…

Chris Cooke • 10 Sep 2026

Suno unveils upgrade developed with “music industry partners”, while continuing to battle the music industry in court

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Suno • 4 min read

Suno unveils upgrade developed with “music industry partners”, while continuing to battle the music industry in court

Suno has unveiled v6 of its music AI platform, which has been developed with its industry partners like Warner Music, BMG and Believe. However, even as it starts to work with some labels and publishers on new AI products, it continues to fight other music companies in the courts…

Chris Cooke • 09 Sep 2026

Bidders in £1.6 million Oasis tapes auction may be disappointed

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Oasis • 4 min read

Bidders in £1.6 million Oasis tapes auction may be disappointed

The son of a former Oasis sound engineer is auctioning off tapes containing recordings of the band’s 1990s gigs, soundchecks and rehearsals. The auctioneer says Oasis themselves are “concerned” about the auction, though the buyer of the tapes probably won’t be able to do much with the audio on them…

Chris Cooke • 08 Sep 2026

No “tangible progress” on Brexit touring barriers, say “alarmed” MPs

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Brexit • 3 min read

No “tangible progress” on Brexit touring barriers, say “alarmed” MPs

Earlier this year the UK Parliament’s culture committee published a report on issues British artists face touring Europe post-Brexit. The government has now responded, insisting it wants “tangible progress” to be made on addressing these issues, but with no real tangible progress to report on…

Chris Cooke • 07 Sep 2026

AEG tells judge Live Nation must sell Ticketmaster to “restore competition” in the live music market

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AEG • 5 min read

AEG tells judge Live Nation must sell Ticketmaster to “restore competition” in the live music market

The deadline to formally comment on Live Nation’s antitrust deal with the US Department Of Justice is today. Main rival AEG says the deal is no good and Live Nation should be forced to sell Ticketmaster. Elsewhere in ticketing news this week, touting developments in the US, Brazil and South Korea…

Chris Cooke • 04 Sep 2026

Donald Trump’s DoJ says OpenAI should be able to do whatever it wants with copyright protected works

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Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

Donald Trump’s DoJ says OpenAI should be able to do whatever it wants with copyright protected works

The US Department Of Justice has intervened in a legal battle between the New York Times and OpenAI, arguing that AI training is ‘fair use’ under American copyright law. Whether or not AI training is fair use is at the centre of dozens of AI lawsuits, including those filed by the music industry…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2026

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Suno • 4 min read

Latest Suno lawsuit accuses AI company of violating the publicity rights of musicians rather than infringing their copyrights

Suno is facing another lawsuit from the music industry. But this time it’s not a copyright lawsuit. A group of musicians claim Suno has violated their US publicity rights by “encoding musicians’ identities into its AI model” and then “exploiting those identities by publicly using musicians’ names”…

Chris Cooke • 02 Sep 2026

The Sony and Warner music publishers finally get round to suing Anthropic

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Anthropic • 3 min read

The Sony and Warner music publishers finally get round to suing Anthropic

The Sony and Warner music publishing companies are the latest publishers to sue AI firm Anthropic for copyright infringement. They also name Anthropic founders Ben Mann and Dario Amodei as defendants, arguing they were personally involved in the illegal downloading of pirated sheet music and lyrics…

Chris Cooke • 01 Sep 2026

Universal and Sony file amended Suno lawsuit after judge gives all clear to add stream ripping claims

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Suno • 3 min read

Universal and Sony file amended Suno lawsuit after judge gives all clear to add stream ripping claims

Earlier this month Universal and Sony were given permission to add stream ripping allegations to their Suno lawsuit, prompting the filing of an amended complaint this week. Those allegations may make it easier for the majors to defeat the AI company’s ‘fair use’ defence in the copyright dispute…

Chris Cooke • 28 Aug 2026

Brexit has had significant effect on European touring for UK musicians, with 21% decline in EU shows and £208 million economic loss

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Brexit • 3 min read

Brexit has had significant effect on European touring for UK musicians, with 21% decline in EU shows and £208 million economic loss

A new report commissioned by the UK government quantifies the economic impact of the post-Brexit bureaucracy faced by British musicians and performers touring Europe. With the total number of performances by British artists down 21%, the industry has lost £208 million in ‘gross value added’…

Chris Cooke • 28 Aug 2026

Music industry pays tribute to Dolly Parton

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Dolly Parton • 2 min read

Music industry pays tribute to Dolly Parton

The music industry has paid tribute to Dolly Parton, who died yesterday. Sony says Parton was “a monumental talent and trailblazer”, agent Neil Warnock notes that “she started with a vision and never took her foot off the gas”, while AFM calls her “a steadfast champion for working musicians”…

Chris Cooke • 26 Aug 2026

Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer as it sought to persuade US Department Of Justice to settle antitrust litigation

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Live Nation • 4 min read

Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer as it sought to persuade US Department Of Justice to settle antitrust litigation

The Wall Street Journal has published a report into the role of Donald Trump and the White House in pressuring the US Department Of Justice to settle its antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation. The report also reveals that Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer James McDonald to work on the case…

Chris Cooke • 26 Aug 2026