CMU | the music business explained (Page 110)

Universal CEO Lucian Grainge makes 764 times more than his employees - and female staff get 48% less than male counterparts

Major music publishers buy into termination rights lawsuit to take fight to Supreme Court

Spotify wants $300 million in damages from Anna’s Archive, and for court to go after piracy site’s service providers

Cox Communications celebrates as US Supreme Court overturns critical music piracy judgement

Claude’s AI lyrics cause market dilution, say music publishers calling for courts to reject fair use defence

Declare trademark claims bogus says FKA in Twigs vs Twigs

Chance The Rapper wins sunset clause dispute with former manager

American man pleads guilty to multi-million dollar streaming fraud, faces five years in jail

Cautious welcome for UK government’s latest AI copyright stance, as BMG files latest Anthropic lawsuit

DoJ’s Live Nation settlement “proof Trump Administration cannot be trusted to protect American consumers”, says new Senate report on Ticketmaster

StubHub to more clearly state prices and terms for touted tickets, and offer Taylor Swift fans refunds, but only in British Columbia

“Robbing them blind, baby - that’s how we do it”, boast Live Nation execs about “so stupid” ticket-buyers

New generation of British artists propel UK record industry to £1.5 billion high, says BPI

High Court sides with Kneecap, ending the Hezbollah flag criminal case against Mo Chara

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

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

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

Warner Music’s Robert Kyncl is betting the company on an AI future. Can he deliver?

Suno is a feral pig rampaging through a well-tended garden, say creator orgs

Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota said “independent music is not raw material for tech companies to exploit without consent” before quitting to join AI music scraper-in-chief Suno

Producer who accused Karol G of beat-theft dismisses his lawsuit, adding “we were wrong”

Anna’s Archive rolls out the red carpet for robots - and asks them to “persuade” their humans to make donations

After a Live Nation lobbyist boasted he got antitrust chief sacked, US Senators ask if company has hired a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”

European Commission approves Universal’s $775 million Downtown acquisition - but did it ask the right questions?

Spotify is all in on AI, its best engineers haven't written a single line of code since December - and why that should worry the music industry

Adding “hot takes” to unlicensed music is not fair use, judge confirms in rockumentary copyright case

IMPALA report warns European music diversity will erode without intervention on ownership, market access and infrastructure

European Commission must tackle “coercive buy-out practices” when US video streamers commission music, says MEP

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

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

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

Horizon Future Leaders: Four issues shaping the industry

Five key developments over the Christmas break

Music and AI: 2025’s developments that will shape 2026’s disputes

Artists from South East Europe at risk of “cultural erasure” as a result of Spotify’s 1000 stream threshold

As indie community calls again for Universal’s Downtown deal to be blocked, will UMG flog off Curve to get over regulators?

MIT study “marks a new anchor for meaningful actions” to make live music more environmentally sustainable

Indie publishers make demands of collecting societies as they start to negotiate AI deals

Bob Vylan sue RTÉ over claims they instigated “antisemitic chant” during Glastonbury set

After King Gizzard boycotted Spotify, tracks by an AI-clone of the band started streaming

Ador founder wants to develop alternative K-pop management model with new agency

Indie publisher trade body says members should reject AI deals that do not value songs properly

“Creators are collateral damage” in AI race says Jorja Smith’s label, after AI voice clone track goes viral

Kneecap sue MP who “lied to the world” about group’s Canada ban

Johnny Cash estate uses ELVIS Act to sue Coke over tribute act ad soundtrack

Suno picks up Songkick as part of AI licensing deal with Warner Music

Live Nation and AEG provide a “disgusting service”, says Olivia Dean, after for-profit touting of tickets

Fugee Pras Michel jailed for fourteen years after illegal lobbying

Ticket touting platforms start frantic lobbying campaign claiming new anti-tout laws will increase ticket fraud

StubHub share price craters as UK prepares to announce ticket touting ban

Regulators must consider UMG’s AI deals in Downtown case, says IAO President

North American songwriter groups join call for transparency and creator consent as music companies start signing AI deals

Starmer must “honour his pledge” to cap prices in “extortionate and pernicious” secondary ticketing market

Downtown accused of planning “calculated destruction” of a short-lived YouTube music client in bombastic new lawsuit

No “self-service buffet” for AI companies says GEMA CEO as OpenAI loses landmark lyrics lawsuit

Manchester Evening News pays damages after incorrectly labelling Bob Vylan’s “sun salutation” as a Nazi salute

Slipknot.com owner hires domain name specialist to fight back against band’s cybersquatting claims

“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

Live Business • 3 min read

Oasis brings dynamic ticketing practices under fire from UK’s competition and advertising regulators, plus EU

Following all the criticism of the use of dynamic pricing for the sale of tickets to the Oasis reunion shows last weekend, both the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority and the European Commission have announced they are reviewing this practice to check if it is compliant with consumer rights laws…

Chris Cooke • 04 Sep 2024

LIVE • 3 min read

Live sector provides £6 billion boost to UK economy, but grassroots still in crisis

LIVE has published a report that says live music delivered a £6 billion boost to the UK economy last year. However, the grassroots of the sector is still in crisis. LIVE calls for a VAT cut on tickets, while LIVE member Music Venue Trust has renewed its call for a ticket levy on large-scale shows…

Chris Cooke • 04 Sep 2024

Isaac Hayes • 2 min read

Judge orders Trump to stop playing Isaac Hayes song amid dispute over date of BMI exclusion

The legal battle between the Isaac Hayes estate and the Donald Trump election campaign continues. A judge has issued an injunction ordering Trump to not use ‘Hold On, I'm Coming’ at his rallies and Hayes’ son has disputed the campaign’s claim about its BMI licence…

Chris Cooke • 04 Sep 2024

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tour News Wednesday 4 Sep

Cairo, Nice Biscuit, BABii, Chilly Gonzales, Sleater-Kinney, CKay, Rejjie Snow + more…

CMU • 04 Sep 2024

Worldwide Independent Network • 3 min read

WINCON indie label event to take place in Belgrade on 23-24 Sep

WINCON, the annual gathering of representatives from the global independent record label community, is taking place in Belgrade in 2024, as part of the Runda Digital Day conference…

Sam Taylor • 04 Sep 2024

Op-Eds • 5 min read

Op-ed: Jonathan Coote of Bray & Krais on AI and fair use

As the Suno and Udio lawsuits make their way through the courts, the fundamental issue in the cases is likely to be whether the 'fair use' defence can be successfully run for the training of AI tools on copyright works. Jonathan Coote examines the issue in more detail…

CMU Contributors • 03 Sep 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: LaFrantz

Los Angeles duo LaFrantz have made a striking debut with ‘RATTLESNAKE’, a bold statement that blends the bite of Southern rock with sultry pop undertones.…

Kaya Robertson • 03 Sep 2024

Ador • 2 min read

NewJeans finally comment on corporate dramas at Ador and HYBE

The corporate dramas in the world of K-pop continue, with ousted Ador boss rejecting the offer of a new role with the label by parent company HYBE. Now members of the group most impacted by these dramas - NewJeans - have finally spoken out…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2024

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tour News Tuesday 3 Sep

Thandii, Stevie Wonder, Issam Alnajjar, Aitch, FLO, Corinne Bailey Rae, Halina Rice, Peter Alexander Jobson + more…

CMU • 03 Sep 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 4 min read

⏩ One Liners - music industry news in brief: Downtown ups David Driessen to Chief Commercial Officer, Bytedance board rejig, DJ & producer revenue sharing platform Aslice to shutter; Polish broadcaster says no discussions about Jojo Siwa Eurovision slot

Objekt launches Kapsela, Hummon & Arejs launch 3686 RECORDS, David Driessen becomes Downtown Chief Commercial Officer, Zeno London hires former Warner exec Catherine Smiles, Bytedance appoints Xavier Niel to board + more…

CMU • 03 Sep 2024

Billy Joel • 3 min read

Billy Joel sued by musician who says he helped create ‘You May Be Right’

A musician who says he played drums on a demo version of Billy Joel hit ‘You May Be Right’ all the way back in 1979 has filed a lawsuit over allegedly unpaid royalties. He says his work on the song was never acknowledged or rewarded - he now wants at least $15 million in damages…

Chris Cooke • 03 Sep 2024

Oasis • 4 min read

Chaotic scramble for Oasis tickets puts dynamic pricing in the spotlight of upcoming government inquiry

The UK government has expanded its consultation on the ticketing market - which was originally focused on secondary ticketing - to also consider dynamic pricing. It follows criticism of the dynamic pricing of tickets for the Oasis reunion which left many fans paying much more than they expected…

Chris Cooke • 02 Sep 2024

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