CMU | the music business explained (Page 110)

Polydor President among the senior execs to depart as Universal completes its two year €250 million saving corporate “redesign”

Summer Walker legal drama doubles as she battles to dump management as well as her label

UK Copyright Tribunal ruling recognises “increased value of music in cinema” says PRS

Music industry welcomes eighteen month prison sentence for streaming fraudster

Don’t say collusion: “no evidence of misconduct or conflict of interest” say major labels and publishers about their Phono V physical negotiations

Streaming fraud is fuelled by “perceived lack of a legal risk”, industry stakeholders tell judge in Michael Smith sentencing

As touts list Oasis tickets for £3000, will the UK government finally set a timeline for banning for-profit ticket touting?

Incoming ‘nor’easter storm’ might succeed where billionaire Robert Kraft failed - causing an Ed Sheeran show to cancel

Ed Sheeran discusses Macklemore axing controversy as his tour resumes in Philadelphia

Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer as it sought to persuade US Department Of Justice to settle antitrust litigation

Songwriter AI victory in Europe as GEMA beats Suno in copyright lawsuit

Live Nation says everyone should shut up and stop asking questions about its cosy deal with Trump’s DoJ

Only humans can be ‘authors’ say Canadian music publishers in test case on copyright status of AI-generated works

AI-generated tracks now account for more than 50% of Deezer’s uploads

UK government publishes ‘Our Plan For Music’ - and announces new funding and licensing reforms

US industry groups raise “serious concerns” about EU royalty flow proposals, which many of their European counterparts support

Kneecap allowed to file defamation lawsuit in Ireland against Indigenous leader in Canada over antisemitism claims

BBC’s music boss Lorna Clarke outlines broadcaster’s AI transparency commitments - but can it actually meet them?

Spotify zaps half a million streams amid speculation Kalshi traders were behind boost for Malcolm Todd track ‘Earrings’

PRS defeats Rowntree black box class action at appeal - but is left £1.8m out of pocket

Live Nation boss Michael Rapino talked to Trump, hired Trump allies, reveals latest filing in antitrust case

StubHub fined £900,000 by UK regulator for illegal drip pricing

Google says any music uploaded to YouTube is fair game for AI training - and there’s nothing musicians can do

Suno really doesn’t want you to know how many audio files it copied when training its music AI model

Universal Music has found its backbone and told Bill Ackman to take a hike

BTS fans hate Live Nation over Aussie and Malaysian ticket pre-sales

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager back in court, over claims Pat improperly inserted himself into Chance’s deals

Gamma - which released Kanye’s comeback album - sues to unmask whoever is behind “coordinated and malicious” anonymous smear campaign

UK competition regulator should urgently investigate live music sector, MPs say, citing “climate of fear” around Live Nation’s dominance

Spotify’s transformation into an AI slop factory commences as it announces Universal “superfan” remix gimmick and Live Nation ticketing wheeze

Music industry welcomes revised NO FAKES Act, but Spotify says “still work to do”

Live Nation and Ticketmaster should still be split up, lawmakers told, as US government’s antitrust settlement criticised in Congress

Spotify increases subscription prices in Canada, but rolls back previous price increases in India

Op-ed: More than the Beatles: the quiet secrets behind Liverpool’s world-class music industry

BMG and Concord confirm merger

Universal and Sony must be allowed to see Warner’s deal with Suno, lawyers tell judge as AI legal battle continues

Music streaming services targeted as Texas Attorney General launches payola investigation

Live Nation pays $9.9 million to settle yet another investigation into dodgy ticketing practices

The European rule on whether samples need to be cleared moves to a “maybe” with latest Kraftwerk ruling

BTS lawyers go after album leaker and knock-off merch sellers

Eddie Dalton’s (actually quite modest) chart success sparks further debate about where AI music fits in

Grass needs more time to grow says AEG as it puts a pin in LIDO Festival

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

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more • 4 min read

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

The Association Of Independent Festivals has again called for more government support for the sector now that 72 events have cancelled or ceased operating this year. Meanwhile the Music Venue Trust has announced a new scheme to support grassroots live music backed by Coldplay and Sam Fender…

Chris Cooke • 27 Nov 2024

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

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

The music industry has welcomed new proposals in US Congress that will allow copyright owners to subpoena generative AI companies to find out what content has been used when training their models. The transparency proposals have been made by Senator Peter Welch in the TRAIN Act…

Chris Cooke • 27 Nov 2024

BBC • 3 min read

The BBC has revised its plans for four new radio stations, but critics say they should still be blocked

Earlier this year the BBC announced plans to launch four new radio stations, spin-offs of Radio 1, 2, and 3. It then began a public interest test and, based on that, has revised its plans, especially in relation to the Radio 2 spin-off. However, that hasn’t placated critics of the new stations…

Chris Cooke • 27 Nov 2024

Music industry legal news coverage • 4 min read

Signposting youtube-dl streamripper not allowed confirms German appeals court, as US Supreme Court weighs in on majors v Cox

A German appeals court has upheld a ruling secured by the record industry ordering Uberspace to takedown a website about stream-ripping code youtube-dl. Meanwhile the US Supreme Court has invited the Solicitor General to share her views on the big legal battle between the majors and ISP Cox…

Chris Cooke • 26 Nov 2024

Drake • 4 min read

“Offensive and untrue” says Universal Music after Drake accuses major of streaming fraud in Kendrick beef

Drake has accused Universal Music of employing stream manipulation and other dodgy marketing tactics to boost the streams of Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-dissing ‘Not Like Us’. The major insists those claims, made in two legal filings with courts in New York and Texas, are “offensive and untrue”…

Chris Cooke • 26 Nov 2024

Limp Bizkit • 3 min read

Fred Durst’s $200 million lawsuit against Universal “based on a fallacy”, says the major

In October, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst accused Universal Music of operating a system to “conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself”. He also wants to terminate his old deals with the major. In a formal response, Universal says Durst’s claims are “based on a fallacy”…

Chris Cooke • 26 Nov 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Ethel

Paris-based songstress Ethel blends intimacy and ethereality in her unique take on alt-pop, crafting ambient, moody soundscapes perfect for late-night introspection. Her latest single, ‘Availability’, adds a funkier edge to her repertoire, while exploring the ache of connection just out of reach…

Kaya Robertson • 26 Nov 2024

Will Page says music copyright generated $45.5 billion in 2023

Music Rights • 3 min read

Music copyright brought in $45.5 billion in 2023, according to Will Page, who has collated industry stats to calculate a figure for the entire sector. Though he says the actual figure is probably higher, because not all the industry reports he relies on capture all the revenue…

Chris Cooke • 25 Nov 2024

Kanye West • 3 min read

“This is art, I am like Picasso” screamed Kanye as he sexually assaulted model alleges new lawsuit, naming Universal Music

Yet another lawsuit against Kanye West, this time alleging a violent sexual assault against a performer on a music video for Polydor-signed artist La Roux, when Kayne was signed to Def Jam. With those labels both subsidiaries of Universal Music, the major has been named in the lawsuit…

Chris Cooke • 25 Nov 2024

Round Hill Music • 4 min read

Judge says Zync’s falling out with Round Hill Music should not be in court

Earlier this year sync agency Zync sued Round Hill Music in a dispute over a former joint venture business. At the core of the dispute was the valuation of the rights acquired by that JV. A judge has now said that that issue should be decided through an ‘appraisal process’ rather than in court…

Chris Cooke • 25 Nov 2024

Releases & Tours • 2 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours: Nov 2024 (Week 47)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days This week: Kendrick Lamar, Nils Frahm, Paula Tape, Cosmic Crooner + more, while tour announcements include Jamiroquai, cleopatrick, The Pogues + more…

Kaya Robertson • 25 Nov 2024

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