CMU | the music business explained (Page 110)

“Misleading rhetoric and “deceitful buzzwords” not good enough, says Council Of Music Makers in call for creator consent, control and compensation in AI deals

Axing of controversial EBacc is a “step in the right direction” for music education says Ed Sheeran

Former Guns N Roses manager sues band over autobiography blocker clause

Judgement in Getty’s UK lawsuit against Stability “underscores growing gap” between copyright and tech, says leading lawyer

Spotify’s streaming fraud initiatives are “nothing more than window dressing” says rapper RBX as he files class action lawsuit

Streaming services don’t want French language quotas in Québec

Universal has settled its lawsuit with Udio, and signed AI deals with Udio and Stability

Spotify questions MLC’s “motivations” in pursuing audiobook bundling dispute lawsuit

Lizzo is being sued over an uncleared sample - on a track she never released

Viagogo is unfair, opaque and violates EU law, consumer group tells regulator

Bobby Vylan says he has no regrets about “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury

Ticketmaster says FTC allegations it colluded with touts “nonsensical”, but it is changing some of its rules and shutting down TradeDesk

New Udio lawsuit hones in on the “significant and unequal harm” inflicted on independent musicians by music AI

Majors tell US Supreme Court to ignore ISP’s doom and gloom predictions and uphold billion dollar piracy ruling

Drake vows to appeal after judge throws out defamation lawsuit against Universal

High profile songwriters express concern about PRS transparency, accuracy and admin costs

Anthropic’s own guardrails revive full copyright lawsuit from litigious music publishers

Suno tells court to reject stream-ripping “gambit” by major labels in AI legal battle

As indie labels ramp up campaign for EU to block the UMG x Downtown merger, a French music lawyer says concerns around data are “fantasy or paranoia”

As FT says major labels are close to “landmark” AI licensing deals, is a new battle royale going to kick off within the music industry?

No one seems to know if Kneecap are still banned from Canada - or whether they were ever actually banned at all

Don’t say gruesome twosome: Ek steps sideways at Spotify to make way for not one but two new CEOs

‘Something Inside’ songwriter goes legal over Tommy Robinson’s use of his anti-apartheid anthem

Donald Trump signs executive order “saving TikTok”

Tabloid claims that Dua Lipa sacked agent over Glasto Kneecap letter are “categorically false” and “deliberately inflammatory”

Major labels add piracy claims to Suno lawsuit after $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement

Live Nation colludes with ticket touts, says US government as it launches legal action

Cornwall Council will hold meeting about ‘safety risks’ of Bob Vylan’s August Boardmasters performance - even through there weren’t any

Spotify finally adds lossless audio to premium

Anthropic will pay authors $1.5 billion to settle AI copyright case

Universal’s Downtown deal must be blocked by regulators before “cultural diversity is weakened irreversibly” says Dutch indie label group president

As EU hits pause on UMG Downtown investigation after “parties fail to provide important info”, Downtown boss whines about “misinformation”

More upheaval at Warner Music as UK label chiefs will report directly to US execs

Yet another senior exec out at Warner Music as UK boss Tony Harlow quits

Billion dollar piracy win for majors “defies common law and common sense” says Cox

Court dismisses Dave Rowntree’s black box lawsuit against PRS

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

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

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

Drake wants to trawl through Papa Grainge’s emails in ‘Not Like Us’ libel battle

Sony sues Napster over $9.2 million in unpaid royalties

Spotify age-checks could result in accounts being deleted, but only if you’re twelve

Increasing number of artists join Spotify boycott over CEO’s AI weapon investments

If China blocks TikTok deal app will “go dark” says US Commerce Secretary, but hints deal “coming soon”

Blackstone bails on consortium bidding to buy TikTok US - will a deal still be done by September deadline?

Anthropic’s ‘fair use’ win in AI copyright case could turn into a trillion dollar loss

No copyright exception for AI training in European law, says new report

Full scale anticompetition investigation on the cards after UMG’s Virgin Music fails to allay EU fears over Downtown merger

Suno AI’s faulty guardrails mean its ‘ReMi’ lyric model will spit out entire lyrical works with basic prompting

Did Ticketmaster’s UK boss Andrew Parsons mislead MPs at a select committee hearing?

Trump must “weigh in” on AI copyright debate and pressure “less innovative countries” on copyright rules, says OpenAI

Everyone’s making loads of money but don’t point the finger at us if you’re not, says Spotify’s updated Loud & Clear

Andrew Tate course on ‘pimping’ and exploiting women remains on Spotify as petition passes 25,000 signatures

Universal will spend billions to dominate emerging markets, says Grainge during Q4 earnings call as major sets out its “eat the world” strategies

Liverpool “new heart of music business” says Sound City as major label execs and industry heavyweights head north

Live Nation boss dismissive of streaming platforms’ superfan ambitions as company reports record year

Spotify wants to be “the best in the world at building AI products” and is focused on “accelerated execution”... but still no super-premium launch

Judge throws out MLC’s audiobooks bundle lawsuit, says Spotify can keep cutting songwriter royalties through its “cynical trick”

Universal Music’s new Spotify deal could be a knock-out blow for streaming platform’s audiobook bundling trick

Universal put “corporate greed” before Drake’s safety, says defamation lawsuit filed over Kendrick Lamar diss track

Beware the “wolf under the cape” in Universal’s Downtown land grab, warns Beggars boss as IMPALA calls for regulators to block the deal

EU AI Act can only provide a “temporary fix” to the “darker aspect” of AI’s “profound disruption” to creative industries says open letter

AI generated music will suck €4 billion a year away from music creators by 2028 says CISAC

Village People founder loves Trump using YMCA, but hates people calling it a gay anthem

Executives from BMG, Absolute Label Services, Mahogany Music, Punch Records and more to join award winning female entrepreneurs in Liverpool as first Sound City+ 2025 speakers unveiled

AIF makes desperate call for government to “step up, and step up now” to get festivals through “devastating period”, as MVT launches new Liveline fund

New AI transparency proposal in US Congress will “pave the way” for creator compensation says ASCAP boss

SXSW ditches weapons sponsors to burnish brand - so why won’t it ditch its ties to Saudi Arabia?

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

Suno • 3 min read

Suno boss accuses music industry of “reverting to its old lawyer-led playbook”

The US record industry yesterday sued AI companies Suno and Udio for copyright infringement. Suno’s CEO says that the labels are just coming out guns blazing without first having a proper conversation. The RIAA says that labels are quite happy to do that with people who don’t first steal their stuff…

Chris Cooke • 25 Jun 2024

Superstruct Entertainment • 2 min read

KKR acquires Superstruct

Investment firm KKR has acquired festival operator Superstruct for an undisclosed sum. Former owner Providence retains an option to make a minority investment. KKR says it sees “see significant growth opportunities ahead for Superstruct”…

Andy Malt • 24 Jun 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 2 min read

⏩ One Liners: Kali Uchis, Spotify, Sim Mak + more

Gary Grainger deal; Dim Mak promotion; Spotify launches music-only subscription in the US; Bauer Media launches new radio streaming app; St Vincent UK shows; new single from Kali Uchis…

Andy Malt • 24 Jun 2024

AI • 6 min read

Suno and Udio’s “lawless” behaviour cheapens human creativity with sound-a-likes and knock-offs says watershed RIAA lawsuit

Suno and Udio are evasive about how they trained their AI models and have infringed copyright at “an almost unimaginable scale” says the RIAA. Music generated by the platform will flood the market with such speed and scale that the impact will be devastating for human creators…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jun 2024

Live Nation • 2 min read

Live Nation boss Michael Rapino sued by shareholder over DoJ action

Last month the US Department Of Justice sued Live Nation accusing the live giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary of anticompetitive conduct. Now an investor has sued members of company’s board claiming they “breached their fiduciary duties” by allowing the alleged anticompetitive conduct to occur…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jun 2024

Apple • 2 min read

Apple says EU rules will delay launch of Apple Intelligence in Europe

The roll out of Apple’s new generative AI tool Apple Intelligence could be delayed in Europe because of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. Apple says that three new features it unveiled earlier this month will be delayed in the EU because of interoperability requirements in the DMA…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jun 2024

CMU Digest • 9 min read

📑 CMU Digest: Sony's Queen deal, TikTok ban latest + more

CMU's weekly round-up of the most interesting music business news stories…

CMU • 24 Jun 2024

Kneecap • 2 min read

Judge confirms Kneecap can take legal action against government

Kneecap have been granted leave to apply for a judicial review of the decision by UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch to block grant funding because of the group’s political output. That decision, says Kneecap’s lawyer, was an attack on freedom of expression and the Good Friday Agreement…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jun 2024

• 3 min read

⏩ One Liners: Coldplay, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX + more

Warner, Miley Cyrus, Verzuz deals; Bravado, F That appointments; major label AI lawsuits incoming; DEAG spins off hip hop division; Radio 1 Breakfast Show extended; Heart x Pride; new releases from Coldplay, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Headie One, Yungblud, Blackpink, Mura Masa, Griff, and more…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 21 Jun 2024

TikTok • 2 min read

US TikTok ban is “an extraordinary speech restriction” that cannot be justified, says TikTok

The clock is ticking down to the big US TikTok ban, which will go into effect next January if owner ByteDance fails to sell the app. However, TikTok and its creators hope to block the ban in the courts on free speech grounds and have now filed their opening briefs in that legal battle…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jun 2024

El Gran Combo • 3 min read

Performer remuneration should actually be paid to performers, confirms US appeals court

A dispute involving Puerto Rican group El Gran Combo asked who should get the featured artist payments due from collecting society SoundExchange when a band is owned by a company and not the performers in that band. An appeals court has concluded the performers should get paid, not the company…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jun 2024

And Finally • 4 min read

And Finally! Circling the drain - Saltburn’s bathwater-filled vinyl

In recent times we’ve reported on vinyl records filled with urine and tears. Now comes a bathwater-filled LP, which doesn’t sound so bad until you realise that it’s the ‘Saltburn’ soundtrack and remember ‘that’ scene. This and more of the week’s funniest music news stories are here…

Andy Malt • 21 Jun 2024