Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained (Page 2)

BOTS Act definitely applies to Ticketmaster in FTC case, insists senator who wrote the BOTS Act

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Ticketmaster • 2 min read

BOTS Act definitely applies to Ticketmaster in FTC case, insists senator who wrote the BOTS Act

Last year the FTC accused Ticketmaster US of breaching the BOTS Act, the law that regulates how American touts access tickets to resell. The ticketing company insists that the BOTS Act does not apply to its operations, but one of the senators who wrote the act has told the court it definitely does…

Chris Cooke • 03 Feb 2026

Spotify makes good on commitment to support Turkish music, announces opening of Istanbul office

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Spotify • 1 min read

Spotify makes good on commitment to support Turkish music, announces opening of Istanbul office

Spotify’s new Istanbul office will be open by the end of June. The streaming service committed to have an office there last year after receiving scrutiny and criticism from Turkish regulators and politicians. It says the new office “demonstrates our long-term commitment to Türkiye’s music ecosystem”…

Chris Cooke • 02 Feb 2026

Charlie Puth got musician to provide vocals for ‘Furious 7’ track, then Warner cheated him out rights and royalties, says lawsuit

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Jake Broido • 2 min read

Charlie Puth got musician to provide vocals for ‘Furious 7’ track, then Warner cheated him out rights and royalties, says lawsuit

A musician who performed backing vocals on Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth song ‘See You Again’ has sued Warner, accusing the label of depriving him of rights and royalties he is due from it. Jake Broido was working in Warner’s offices when Puth invited him into the studio to work on the track…

Chris Cooke • 02 Feb 2026

UK government needs to urgently address creator concerns over AI, say two new studies

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Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

UK government needs to urgently address creator concerns over AI, say two new studies

PRS and ISM have both published new studies on creator concerns around generative AI, seeking to put pressure on the UK government as ministers prepare to set out their long-awaited plans regarding AI and copyright. The government must ensure creator livelihoods “are protected”, PRS says…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jan 2026

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BMG • 2 min read

BMG in talks to buy Concord

BMG is reportedly in talks to buy Concord in a deal that could be worth $7 billion. The CEO of BMG owner Bertelsmann said the time might be right for the music company to “join forces with a competitor” nearly two years ago, and Concord was always on the relatively short list of possible partners…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jan 2026

Kid Rock tells lawmakers “resale price caps work”, so US should follow European lead on ticket touting

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Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

Kid Rock tells lawmakers “resale price caps work”, so US should follow European lead on ticket touting

Kid Rock yesterday testified in the US Senate at a session on ticketing, calling on American lawmakers to introduce a price-cap restricting how much touts can mark up the prices of tickets they sell. He told senators that such price-caps already exist in parts of Europe and they “seem to be working”…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jan 2026

Music publishers file new Anthropic lawsuit, adding in piracy claims and $3 billion mega-damages

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Anthropic • 3 min read

Music publishers file new Anthropic lawsuit, adding in piracy claims and $3 billion mega-damages

Last year a US court declined to allow music publishers that are suing AI company Anthropic to add extra piracy claims to their lawsuit. Knowing those claims strengthen their case, given recent legal precedent, the publishers have now filed a brand new lawsuit, that also seeks $3 billion in damages…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jan 2026

Yet more K-pop legal drama as Ador founder hits back at contract tampering claims, and agency sues one of NewJeans

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Hybe • 3 min read

Yet more K-pop legal drama as Ador founder hits back at contract tampering claims, and agency sues one of NewJeans

After trying to quit HYBE’s Ador label, K-pop group NewJeans last year agreed to carry on working with the company. But then the label announced it was axing and suing one member, while also accusing Ador founder Min Hee-jin of contract tampering, something she denied at a press conference today…

Chris Cooke • 28 Jan 2026

TikTok insists it’s not suppressing anti-Trump content now its US business is run by Trump allies

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TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok insists it’s not suppressing anti-Trump content now its US business is run by Trump allies

There has been more speculation that TikTok is suppressing anti-Trump content, now that TikTok USA is controlled by Trump allies. California governor Gavin Newsom is even investigating. But TikTok says any problems publishing videos in recent days are the result of a power outage at a data centre…

Chris Cooke • 28 Jan 2026

Anti-Defamation League says Kanye’s apology doesn’t “undo long history of antisemitism”

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Kanye West • 2 min read

Anti-Defamation League says Kanye’s apology doesn’t “undo long history of antisemitism”

Yesterday Kanye West took out an advert in the Wall Street Journal to share a lengthy apology for all his antisemitic statements and content in recent years. The ADL says the apology is long overdue, adding “the truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behaviour in the future”…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2026

Meta dropped songs from Reels library to bully Wixen into accepting lower royalty rates, says lawsuit

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Meta • 2 min read

Meta dropped songs from Reels library to bully Wixen into accepting lower royalty rates, says lawsuit

Wixen has accused Meta of employing “unscrupulous” tactics to pressure the publisher into accepting much lower royalty rates. It claims Meta removed Wixen songs from its Reels library and lied to the artists behind those tracks in a bid to put pressure on the publisher during licensing negotiations…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2026

American TikTok users link technical issues to last week’s change in ownership

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TikTok • 4 min read

American TikTok users link technical issues to last week’s change in ownership

There were technical issues on TikTok in the US this weekend following the change in ownership at TikTok USA last week. There has been much speculation that the issues and change in ownership were connected, adding to concerns about what having Trump allies in charge of TikTok in the US might mean…

Chris Cooke • 26 Jan 2026