Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained

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

Quad9 vows to fight “absurd” web-block injunction in France

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Quad9 • 2 min read

Quad9 vows to fight “absurd” web-block injunction in France

DNS resolver Quad9 has been hit with a web-blocking injunction in France, forcing it to block access to sports piracy sites following legal action by Canal+. However, Quad9 previously successfully appealed web-blocks requested by Sony Music in Germany and says it intends to do the same in France…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024

Universal forms partnership with marketing group WPP

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Universal Music • 2 min read

Universal forms partnership with marketing group WPP

Universal Music and marketing agency group WPP have announced a big old partnership that will see them working together on “cutting-edge audience engagement strategies” for brand clients, using data, technology and “the power of music” along the way…

Chris Cooke • 13 Dec 2024

TikTok’s attempt to delay ban is just a rehash of previously rejected arguments says US government

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TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok’s attempt to delay ban is just a rehash of previously rejected arguments says US government

TikTok wants a Washington DC court to delay a 19 Jan deadline for owner ByteDance to sell the app, so it can take its battle against the law that set that deadline to the Supreme Court. The US government says that’s not necessary because the Supreme Court itself can pause the deadline if required…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

Bad Boy Chiller Crew sue House Anxiety for £400,000 in royalty dispute

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Bad Boy Chiller Crew • 2 min read

Bad Boy Chiller Crew sue House Anxiety for £400,000 in royalty dispute

Indie label House Anxiety has been sued by Bad Boy Chiller Crew who say they are owed around £400,000 in unpaid royalties, a claim the label says it “totally refutes”. It follows a dispute earlier this year when House Anxiety said the group self-releasing new music breached their record contract…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

Corporate profiteering is destroying music history says letter signed by 600+ musicians demanding majors drop Internet Archive lawsuit

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Internet Archive • 3 min read

Corporate profiteering is destroying music history says letter signed by 600+ musicians demanding majors drop Internet Archive lawsuit

An open letter signed by more than 600 musicians strongly criticises a lawsuit filed by Universal and Sony against the Internet Archive. It says the majors should work with the non-profit on archiving old recordings. The letter also sets out various grievances about the state of the music industry…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2024

Lawyer instigating Diddy lawsuits is using “unfounded and heinous allegations” to get settlements from stars says Jay-Z law

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Jay-Z • 2 min read

Lawyer instigating Diddy lawsuits is using “unfounded and heinous allegations” to get settlements from stars says Jay-Z law

After Jay-Z was added as a defendant on one of the Diddy lawsuits last weekend, he and his legal team have been lambasting the lawyer leading on that litigation, Tony Buzbee. Now Jay-Z’s team have accused Buzbee’s law firm of misconduct in its bid to work on as many Diddy lawsuits as possible…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2024

Apple colluded with music industry while pretending to be neutral in app dispute, claims Musi

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Musi • 3 min read

Apple colluded with music industry while pretending to be neutral in app dispute, claims Musi

Music streaming app Musi is still working hard to get itself reinstated on Apple’s App Store, having been kicked out in September following complaints by YouTube and the music industry. In a new filing, Musi says Apple failed to follow its own process for dealing with app disputes…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2024

Sony pulls catalogue from Boomplay as sources claim streaming platform has not paid royalties since April 2023

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Boomplay • 2 min read

Sony pulls catalogue from Boomplay as sources claim streaming platform has not paid royalties since April 2023

African streaming service Boomplay has lost access to Sony Music’s catalogue, seemingly in a dispute over unpaid royalties. It raises concerns about the the financial position of Boomplay, which is a key streaming service in a number of African markets…

Chris Cooke • 10 Dec 2024

Culture Minister demands “tangible progress” from live music industry on ticket levy, convenes meeting of stakeholders

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Ticket Levy • 2 min read

Culture Minister demands “tangible progress” from live music industry on ticket levy, convenes meeting of stakeholders

The UK government last month told the live sector to get a ticket levy system to support grassroots shows up and running “as soon as possible”. The culture select committee asked for more clarity on timings, with ministers now saying they want “tangible progress” during the first quarter of 2025…

Chris Cooke • 10 Dec 2024

FM radio shutdown looms closer as stations begin handing back licences as DAB audiences grow

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Nation Broadcasting • 2 min read

FM radio shutdown looms closer as stations begin handing back licences as DAB audiences grow

Broadcaster Nation will stop broadcasting on four of its FM frequencies. It’s a sign that - although the UK government has said radio stations will continue to broadcast on FM until at least 2030 - an increasing number of broadcasters will leave FM as consumption continues to shift to DAB and online…

Chris Cooke • 10 Dec 2024

TikTok requests emergency injunction after judges warn app will be “effectively unavailable” in US from 19 Jan 2025

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TikTok • 5 min read

TikTok requests emergency injunction after judges warn app will be “effectively unavailable” in US from 19 Jan 2025

TikTok has failed to overturn a law passed in the US earlier this year that says China-based owner Bytedance must sell the app or it will be banned in the country. It will now take the matter to the US Supreme Court, and wants an emergency injunction to delay the current 19 Jan deadline…

Chris Cooke & Sam Taylor • 09 Dec 2024