Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained

UK recorded music revenues reach all-time high in 2024 - providing no one adjusts for inflation

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ERA • 3 min read

UK recorded music revenues reach all-time high in 2024 - providing no one adjusts for inflation

UK trade groups ERA and BPI have both published year-end stats. ERA reveals that recorded music retail revenues in 2024 were £2.39 billion, an all-time high, providing you don’t adjust for inflation. Streaming generates 84% of the revenue, although vinyl sales also continue to grow…

Chris Cooke • 10 Jan 2025

Government opens consultation on “potentially game-changing” new rules for ticket touting

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Secondary Ticketing • 3 min read

Government opens consultation on “potentially game-changing” new rules for ticket touting

The UK government has launched its previously promised consultation on the ticketing business. It will consider new regulations for ticket touting, including a price cap on tickets resold on platforms like Viagogo. The impact of dynamic pricing on primary ticketing sites will also be reviewed…

Chris Cooke • 10 Jan 2025

Downtown deal “another step in UMG’s relentless path to dominance” says WIN, as criticism builds over Universal’s latest acquisition

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Universal Music • 4 min read

Downtown deal “another step in UMG’s relentless path to dominance” says WIN, as criticism builds over Universal’s latest acquisition

Criticism continues to build of Universal Music’s deal to buy Downtown Music. The World Independent Network has today published a lengthy statement including comments from labels and trade organisations based all over the world…

Chris Cooke • 19 Dec 2024

Jay-Z says “sham” rape allegations against him should be withdrawn, as Diddy accepts he’ll have to await trial in prison

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Diddy • 2 min read

Jay-Z says “sham” rape allegations against him should be withdrawn, as Diddy accepts he’ll have to await trial in prison

Jay-Z has again hit out at the attorney leading on a lawsuit that accuses the rapper of rape, saying an interview by his accuser shows the litigation “has no factual basis”. Meanwhile Diddy, co-defendant on that lawsuit, has given up trying to get bail as he awaits trial on criminal charges…

Chris Cooke • 18 Dec 2024

TikTok seeks help from Supreme Court and Donald Trump in latest bid to avoid January ban in the US

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TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok seeks help from Supreme Court and Donald Trump in latest bid to avoid January ban in the US

TikTok has turned to both the US Supreme Court and Donald Trump as it seeks to stop a ban that is due to come into effect in the US on 19 Jan. Meanwhile the EU is investigating if TikTok did enough to stop its platform being used to spread disinformation in the recent Romanian elections…

Chris Cooke • 18 Dec 2024

UK government proposes copyright exception to help make UK attractive to AI companies as part of new consultation

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Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

UK government proposes copyright exception to help make UK attractive to AI companies as part of new consultation

The UK government has formally proposed introducing a new copyright exception for AI companies that use existing content to train their models, but with an opt-out for copyright owners. The music industry will oppose that proposal via a consultation that the government has just opened…

Chris Cooke • 17 Dec 2024

Beware the “wolf under the cape” in Universal’s Downtown land grab, warns Beggars boss as IMPALA calls for regulators to block the deal

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Downtown Music • 2 min read

Beware the “wolf under the cape” in Universal’s Downtown land grab, warns Beggars boss as IMPALA calls for regulators to block the deal

The independent music sector has called on competition regulators to investigate and block Universal’s Downtown Music deal, which is a “huge market share” grab according to IMPALA’s Helen Smith and part of the major’s bid for “utter dominance and control” according to Beggars boss Martin Mills…

Chris Cooke • 17 Dec 2024

Leadmill venue operator threatens to demolish toilets and gut venue if evicted, claiming Electric Group can’t afford refurbishment costs

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The Leadmill • 2 min read

Leadmill venue operator threatens to demolish toilets and gut venue if evicted, claiming Electric Group can’t afford refurbishment costs

The current operator of The Leadmill in Sheffield says he will gut the venue, including demolishing its toilets, if forced to leave by landlord Electric Group, which wants to run the venue itself. Electric Group’s legal bid to evict current operator Phil Mills is back in court in Leeds this week…

Chris Cooke • 17 Dec 2024

Universal continues its plan to eat the entire world, buys Downtown Music

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Downtown Music • 3 min read

Universal continues its plan to eat the entire world, buys Downtown Music

Universal is buying Downtown Music for a whopping $775 million, via its Virgin Music Group stalking horse. The transaction will greatly boost the major’s distribution market share, and is almost certain to get mired in regulatory scrutiny with opposition already being voiced by AIM and other indies…

Chris Cooke • 16 Dec 2024

Congress warns Apple and Google: get ready to boot TikTok from US app stores

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TikTok • 2 min read

Congress warns Apple and Google: get ready to boot TikTok from US app stores

After a Washington DC court declined to overturn or even pause the US law that says TikTok will be banned unless current owner ByteDance sells the app by 19 Jan, two Congress members have now told Apple and Google to prepare to remove TikTok from their respective app stores…

Chris Cooke • 16 Dec 2024

Creative industries demand copyright control as UK plans AI shake-up

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Creative industries demand copyright control as UK plans AI shake-up

With the UK government expected to launch another consultation on AI and copyright tomorrow, a new coalition has formed bringing together organisations from across the wider creative and copyright industries. It says that the UK must maintain a “robust copyright framework” in the AI era…

Chris Cooke • 16 Dec 2024

Court declines to dismiss sex assault lawsuit against Garth Brooks, after accuser accused the country star of “forum shopping”

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Garth Brooks • 2 min read

Court declines to dismiss sex assault lawsuit against Garth Brooks, after accuser accused the country star of “forum shopping”

A Californian court has declined to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Garth Brooks. He has also sued his accuser through the courts in Mississippi and says she should make her allegations in a counterclaim to that lawsuit. She argued that that amounted to unfair “forum shopping”…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024