Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained (Page 4)

Supertramp songwriter must continue to share publishing royalties with bandmates, US appeals court concludes

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Supertramp • 2 min read

Supertramp songwriter must continue to share publishing royalties with bandmates, US appeals court concludes

Last year a US court ruled that Supertramp songwriter Roger Hodgson could cancel a 1977 agreement to share his publishing royalties with former bandmates. But an appeals court has overturned that ruling, stating that the agreement should stay in force until the Supertramp copyrights expire…

Chris Cooke • 22 Aug 2025

Turkish government makes up with Spotify as streaming service commits to open Istanbul office

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Spotify • 2 min read

Turkish government makes up with Spotify as streaming service commits to open Istanbul office

Last month there was speculation Spotify might pull out of Turkey because of tensions between the digital service and the country’s government. But Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy says a meeting took place this week to improve relations, with Spotify committing to open an Istanbul office…

Chris Cooke • 21 Aug 2025

Kneecap thank fans who protested outside Westminster court yesterday as the “carnival of distraction rolls on”

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Kneecap • 2 min read

Kneecap thank fans who protested outside Westminster court yesterday as the “carnival of distraction rolls on”

Kneecap’s Mo Chara was in court yesterday facing a terror offence charge over allegations he displayed a Hezbollah flag at a London show last year. His lawyers are trying to get the case thrown out on a timing technicality. Hundreds of fans showed up outside the court to support the rapper…

Chris Cooke • 21 Aug 2025

Suno says indie musician’s copyright claims about its AI’s output are bogus

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Suno • 3 min read

Suno says indie musician’s copyright claims about its AI’s output are bogus

In June, independent artist Anthony Justice sued AI company Suno for copyright infringement, following the lead of the major labels. His lawsuit made copyright claims about Suno’s training data and the tracks it outputs. Suno says the claims relating to the outputs should be immediately dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2025

BMI and ASCAP lock in higher royalty rates with US radio broadcasters

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Licensing • 2 min read

BMI and ASCAP lock in higher royalty rates with US radio broadcasters

US collecting societies BMI and ASCAP have both agreed deals with the radio sector, setting out what royalty rates US broadcasters will pay. It ends a legal dispute with the radio industry which could have resulted in the two societies squabbling over their respective market shares in the courts…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2025

FTC sues ticket touting business that claims it is endorsed by Ticketmaster

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Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

FTC sues ticket touting business that claims it is endorsed by Ticketmaster

The FTC has sued a ticket touting company that uses dubious tactics to access tickets, including using 49 Ticketmaster accounts to buy 273 tickets for one Taylor Swift show that had a six-tickets-per-person limit. However, the accused business says its tactics are authorised by Ticketmaster…

Chris Cooke • 19 Aug 2025

Spotify launches new tool to add customised transitions to playlists

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Spotify • 1 min read

Spotify launches new tool to add customised transitions to playlists

Spotify is adding new functionality to allow users to add customised track transitions to playlists they create on the platform. It’s not clear if this is in any way connected to the remixing tools Spotify was rumoured to be developing as part of its long awaited higher priced super premium product…

Chris Cooke • 19 Aug 2025

Drake’s claims are “farcical” says Lucian Grainge as defamation battle rumbles on

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Drake • 4 min read

Drake’s claims are “farcical” says Lucian Grainge as defamation battle rumbles on

Lucian Grainge made his own declaration to the court last week as part of Drake’s defamation legal battle with Universal Music. The major’s CEO calls Drake’s claims about his role in releasing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ “farcical”. The rapper is currently trying to get access to Grainge’s emails…

Chris Cooke • 18 Aug 2025

Boycotts agogo as Godspeed You! Black Emperor pull music from streaming platforms, and Neil Young cuts off Meta

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Digital services and platforms news • 2 min read

Boycotts agogo as Godspeed You! Black Emperor pull music from streaming platforms, and Neil Young cuts off Meta

Following a flurry of bands boycotting Spotify over Daniel Ek’s investments in the defence sector, Godspeed You! Black Emperor have pulled their music from the platform. However, they also seem to be boycotting other streaming services too. Meanwhile Neil Young is now officially boycotting Facebook…

Chris Cooke • 18 Aug 2025

King Gizzard frontman on Spotify boycott: “I don’t really want our music to be there, at least right now”

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Spotify • 3 min read

King Gizzard frontman on Spotify boycott: “I don’t really want our music to be there, at least right now”

After Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s investments in the arms sector were back in the news recently a number of artists announced they were boycotting the platform in protest. That included King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard who have now discussed their decision in a new interview with the LA Times…

Chris Cooke • 15 Aug 2025

Outgoing Leadmill team left building “vandalised” and in a “wrecked state”, says landlord, who still hopes to reopen in February

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The Leadmill • 3 min read

Outgoing Leadmill team left building “vandalised” and in a “wrecked state”, says landlord, who still hopes to reopen in February

The team who ran Sheffield’s The Leadmill venue have vacated the building after being evicted by their landlord, The Electric Group, which will now run the space. The outgoing team pledged to gut the building before they left, which they have. The results are “devastating” according to the landlord…

Chris Cooke • 15 Aug 2025

Kobalt strikes US direct licensing deal with Spotify

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Kobalt • 3 min read

Kobalt strikes US direct licensing deal with Spotify

Kobalt has signed a direct deal with Spotify in the US. It means Kobalt will be paid mechanical royalties on bespoke terms rather than at rates set by the US compulsory licence. Universal and Warner have also done direct deals since Spotify started applying the compulsory licence’s bundling discount…

Chris Cooke • 14 Aug 2025