Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained (Page 19)

Live Nation antitrust trial judge says individual US states should seek direct settlement with live music giant

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation antitrust trial judge says individual US states should seek direct settlement with live music giant

The US government settled its antitrust lawsuit with Live Nation yesterday, but 27 US states, which also accuse the live giant of anticompetitive behaviour, are not part of that deal. The judge has told the states to see if they can agree their own settlement. If not, the antitrust trial will resume…

Chris Cooke • 10 Mar 2026

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

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Google • 3 min read

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

Another AI copyright lawsuit, this time a group of indie artists are suing Google over its Lyria model. Like all AI companies, the lawsuit says, Google infringed copyright when training its model. But Google’s “conduct is different”, because it has the infrastructure in place to train AI legally…

Chris Cooke • 10 Mar 2026

Live Nation settles DoJ antitrust lawsuit - but state lawsuits may continue

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation settles DoJ antitrust lawsuit - but state lawsuits may continue

One week after the antitrust trial against Live Nation got underway, the live giant has secured an out-of-court settlement, agreeing to new restrictions on Ticketmaster and $280 million in damages. That will settle federal law claims, though some US states may continue the legal battle…

Chris Cooke • 09 Mar 2026

PRS sues gaming platform giant Steam for copyright infringement

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PRS For Music • 3 min read

PRS sues gaming platform giant Steam for copyright infringement

PRS is suing gaming platform Steam for copyright infringement. Although the publishers of games sold via Steam will have secured sync licences for any UK compositions they include, that doesn’t cover the subsequent making available of music when games are downloaded, which only PRS can license…

Chris Cooke • 09 Mar 2026

Subscriptions or ads would “mean a very different BBC”, broadcaster tells government in Royal Charter consultation

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BBC • 4 min read

Subscriptions or ads would “mean a very different BBC”, broadcaster tells government in Royal Charter consultation

The UK government is currently reviewing how the BBC is funded. The broadcaster itself says reform is needed, but subscriptions and ads are probably not the solution. Elsewhere, the Scottish music industry has raised more concerns about programming changes made last year at BBC Radio Scotland…

Chris Cooke • 06 Mar 2026

Lords tell UK government it needs to “choose between two AI futures”, before backing the kind of future the music industry wants

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Lords tell UK government it needs to “choose between two AI futures”, before backing the kind of future the music industry wants

The UK government has to provide a plan around AI and copyright by 18 Mar. Ahead of that, a committee in the House Of Lords has published a report endorsing the music industry’s position: AI companies shouldn’t be given a free ride and must get licences when making use of existing content…

Chris Cooke • 06 Mar 2026

Looking for a cheap Labubu? The latest Notorious Markets anti-piracy report might be just what you need

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Notorious Markets Report • 3 min read

Looking for a cheap Labubu? The latest Notorious Markets anti-piracy report might be just what you need

The US government has published its annual ‘Notorious Markets’ report, putting the spotlight on piracy platforms that it would like lawmakers in other countries to crack down on. This year’s edition includes a special focus on sports piracy, though it also highlights music industry piracy concerns…

Chris Cooke • 05 Mar 2026

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

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Chance The Rapper • 3 min read

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

The big legal battle between Chance The Rapper and his former manager Patrick Corcoran has arrived in court in the US. They stopped working together in 2020, but Corcoran said his management deal allowed him to continue commissioning for three more years. That deal, however, was never written down…

Chris Cooke • 05 Mar 2026

Taylor Swift and Barclays Center ticketing controversies prove monopolist Live Nation is damaging live music, DoJ tells jury

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Live Nation • 4 min read

Taylor Swift and Barclays Center ticketing controversies prove monopolist Live Nation is damaging live music, DoJ tells jury

The Live Nation antitrust trial got properly underway yesterday, with lawyers for the US Department Of Justice and the live giant - both called Dave - delivering their opening statements. Ticketing dramas involving Taylor Swift and New York’s Barclays Center were a key part of the proceedings…

Chris Cooke • 04 Mar 2026

No copyright for AI-generated works in US as Supreme Court refuses to intervene in earlier landmark ruling

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Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

No copyright for AI-generated works in US as Supreme Court refuses to intervene in earlier landmark ruling

Do AI-generated works enjoy copyright protection? The US Copyright Office is adamant they do not under current American law and that position has been endorsed by various courts. The Supreme Court has now declined to get involved, meaning that position stands. But should AI works enjoy protection?…

Chris Cooke • 03 Mar 2026

Live Nation is an illegal monopoly and needs to be held to account, says California Attorney General as DoJ lawsuit kicks off

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Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation is an illegal monopoly and needs to be held to account, says California Attorney General as DoJ lawsuit kicks off

The US government’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation has reached the courtroom, with the live giant’s attempts to pause the trial having failed. One of the state attorney generals involved says Live Nation has illegally manipulated the market and “we look forward to holding them accountable”…

Chris Cooke • 03 Mar 2026

Judge let’s Kanye West sample lawsuit proceed, but only because he commercialised his demos

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Kanye West • 3 min read

Judge let’s Kanye West sample lawsuit proceed, but only because he commercialised his demos

Kanye West’s lawyers last week enjoyed some success in an uncleared sample dispute over ‘Donda’ tracks, with a lawsuit being cut back to only claims relating to demo versions. They also had another go at getting a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee dismissed on free speech grounds…

Chris Cooke • 02 Mar 2026