Chris Cooke - CMU | the music business explained (Page 8)

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

Chad Hugo sues Pharrell Williams in dispute over Neptunes and NERD companies

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Pharrell Williams • 3 min read

Chad Hugo sues Pharrell Williams in dispute over Neptunes and NERD companies

Chad Hugo has sued Pharrell Williams in a dispute over the running of two companies the Neptunes duo co-own. Williams manages the companies day-to-day and, Hugo claims, has failed to provide proper financial reporting and to pay him all the money he is due. Williams says the lawsuit is “premature”…

Chris Cooke • 26 Jan 2026

Hundreds of US creators tell big tech: “stealing isn’t innovation”

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Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

Hundreds of US creators tell big tech: “stealing isn’t innovation”

The Human Artistry Campaign has rallied hundreds of American creators to back a new declaration on AI. Noting that some tech firms are now licensing content when training AI models, rather than using existing works without permission, the declaration calls on the entire AI sector to follow that lead…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jan 2026

Dismissal of Drake’s ‘Not Like Us’ defamation claim sets “dangerous” precedent, says Drake

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Drake • 2 min read

Dismissal of Drake’s ‘Not Like Us’ defamation claim sets “dangerous” precedent, says Drake

Drake has filed an appeal in his defamation legal battle with Universal Music over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’. A judge dismissed Drake’s lawsuit last year concluding lyrics in a rap diss track do not constitute ‘statements of fact’. Drake’s lawyers argue that that has set a “dangerous” precedent…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jan 2026

Music industry sues Anna’s Archive over Spotify hack

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Anna's Archive • 4 min read

Music industry sues Anna’s Archive over Spotify hack

Just before Christmas pirate activist group Anna’s Archive announced it had hacked Spotify and grabbed 86 million music files which it planned to make available in ‘bulk torrents’. Unsurprisingly, the majors and Spotify have gone legal, filing a lawsuit and getting the group’s .org domain blocked…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2026

Salt N Pepa ruling could “pose a threat” to artists seeking to reclaim rights in the future, say lawyers

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Salt N Pepa • 3 min read

Salt N Pepa ruling could “pose a threat” to artists seeking to reclaim rights in the future, say lawyers

Salt N Pepa recently lost a termination rights dispute with Universal - they were trying to reclaim rights in their early recordings. Analysing the judgement, law firm Wobble Bond Dickinson says the ruling could “pose a threat to artists’ abilities to reclaim sound recording rights in the future”…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jan 2026

GEMA sells distributor Zebralution to DistroKid investor

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Zebralution • 2 min read

GEMA sells distributor Zebralution to DistroKid investor

GEMA has announced it is selling digital distributor Zebralution to investment outfit Insight Holdings Group, which is already an investor in rival distributor DistroKid. The German collecting society says it is now “concentrating even more strongly” on its core rights management operations…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jan 2026

Universal’s Downtown deal likely to be approved by EU regulator, according to sources

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Universal Music • 2 min read

Universal’s Downtown deal likely to be approved by EU regulator, according to sources

Universal’s Downtown deal likely to be approved by EU regulator, according to sources…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jan 2026

UK schools to go phone-free as government considers Australian-style social media ban

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Digital services and platforms news • 2 min read

UK schools to go phone-free as government considers Australian-style social media ban

Australia’s social media ban for the under sixteens went into effect last month. Now the UK government has opened a consultation to consider a similar intervention to protect young people from possible online harms. Though ministers also want time to assess whether the Australian ban is working…

Chris Cooke • 20 Jan 2026