Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained

DistroKid’s $2 billion valuation based on it being a pipeline for AI slop and copyright infringement, says Universal

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DistroKid • 3 min read

DistroKid’s $2 billion valuation based on it being a pipeline for AI slop and copyright infringement, says Universal

Universal claims that distributor DistroKid achieved its recent $2 billion valuation by providing a pipeline for AI slop and copyright infringing music, to the detriment of artists and labels. It has filed a lawsuit accusing DistroKid of copyright infringement and unlawful deceptive trade practices…

Chris Cooke • 16 Sep 2026

Landmark termination rights ruling not the “copyright emergency” music publishers claim, songwriter tells US Supreme Court

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Termination Right • 2 min read

Landmark termination rights ruling not the “copyright emergency” music publishers claim, songwriter tells US Supreme Court

When America’s Fifth Circuit Appeals Court backed a songwriter-friendly interpretation of the termination right in US copyright law, the majors bought the song that prompted that ruling and asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The writer of that song has now urged the top court to not get involved…

Chris Cooke • 16 Sep 2026

Macklemore says Ed Sheeran was in a “fucked up position” after stadium owners threatened to pull shows over rapper’s on-stage support for Palestine

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Macklemore • 5 min read

Macklemore says Ed Sheeran was in a “fucked up position” after stadium owners threatened to pull shows over rapper’s on-stage support for Palestine

Macklemore has been axed as support on Ed Sheeran’s US tour because of his on-stage support for Palestine, prompting both artists to publish statements. The rapper was dropped after several stadium owners threatened to cancel shows taking place later this month if Macklemore was still on the bill…

Chris Cooke • 15 Sep 2026

Distributors commit to robust ‘know you customer’ systems in latest industry initiative seeking to tackle streaming fraud

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Streaming Fraud • 3 min read

Distributors commit to robust ‘know you customer’ systems in latest industry initiative seeking to tackle streaming fraud

The IFPI has unveiled the latest industry scheme seeking to tackle streaming fraud called the Streaming Integrity Initiative. It calls on music distributors to commit to five principles, including having robust procedures for verifying new customers, and continuously strengthening anti-fraud systems…

Chris Cooke • 14 Sep 2026

T-Pain claims he was short-changed after royalties diverted to Akon’s brother

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T-Pain • 2 min read

T-Pain claims he was short-changed after royalties diverted to Akon’s brother

T-Pain has sued Akon’s Konvict Entertainment in a royalties dispute. He claims he should get 75% of the $1.3 million Sony recently sent through from the sales and streams of his first five albums, but half that money went to a label run by Akon’s brother which hasn’t paid him his share…

Chris Cooke • 11 Sep 2026

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