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Chris Cooke

Chris Cooke

2200 posts •
US Supreme Court can’t overturn landmark termination rights ruling, because too many judges have book deals with BMG sister company Penguin Random House public
Termination Right • 5 min read

US Supreme Court can’t overturn landmark termination rights ruling, because too many judges have book deals with BMG sister company Penguin Random House

An attempt by the major music publishers and BMG to persuade the US Supreme Court to overturn a landmark songwriter-friendly termination rights ruling has failed, because of BMG’s involvement. Basically, too many Supreme Court judges have published books with BMG sister company Penguin Random House…
Chris Cooke
Chris Cooke •
Polydor President among the senior execs to depart as Universal completes its two year €250 million saving corporate “redesign” public
Universal Music • 2 min read

Polydor President among the senior execs to depart as Universal completes its two year €250 million saving corporate “redesign”

Back in 2024 Universal Music said it would find €250 million in annual savings via a “strategic organisational redesign” that would be complete by the end of 2026. With that deadline looming, yesterday the major announced a series of structural changes with a number of senior execs departing…
Chris Cooke
Chris Cooke •
Major publishers tell US Supreme Court they must intervene in termination rights ruling that “threatens the licensing of copyrighted works throughout the world” public
Termination Right • 4 min read

Major publishers tell US Supreme Court they must intervene in termination rights ruling that “threatens the licensing of copyrighted works throughout the world”

The major music publishers and BMG have submitted a new filing with the US Supreme Court in the ongoing termination rights legal battle involving songwriter Cyril Vetter. He recently told the Supreme Court to ignore the publishers’ doomsaying about this case - their new filing has plenty of that…
Chris Cooke
Chris Cooke •
Don’t say collusion: “no evidence of misconduct or conflict of interest” say major labels and publishers about their Phono V physical negotiations public
Copyright Royalty Board • 8 min read

Don’t say collusion: “no evidence of misconduct or conflict of interest” say major labels and publishers about their Phono V physical negotiations

The US Copyright Royalty Board is reviewing what mechanical royalties songwriters and publishers should receive from 2028. It’s labels who pay mechanical royalties on physical records, and the major labels are keen to stress they aren’t colluding with the major publishers to keep the rates down…
Chris Cooke
Chris Cooke •
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