CMU | the music business explained (Page 112)

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

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

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 13 min read

⏩ One Liners - music business news in brief: Jonas Group acquires Julia Michaels rights, Blue Lab Beats launch label, MiDIA’s latest creator economy research, Warner shutters DIY distro Level, Nordoff Robbins carol concert tickets on sale

Today: Jonas Group, HE.SHE.THEY. Records, Blue Lab Beats, Killphonic Rights, Stilwell Creative Capital, Graduation, Livelihood Music Company, MiDIA, Audius, Chartable, Noctil, Meta, Connyct, Spike AI, Level Music, GEMA, InMarket…

CMU • 30 Sep 2024

SESAC • 3 min read

Music videos blocked on YouTube after SESAC licensing talks stall

YouTube’s negotiations to agree a new licensing deal with American collecting society SESAC have stalled and its existing deal is now expiring. As a result, videos featuring songs written by SESAC member writers - including Bob Dylan, Adele and Burna Boy - have been blocked on the video platform…

Chris Cooke • 30 Sep 2024

Lyte • 3 min read

More festivals impacted by collapse of ticketing company Lyte

The fallout from the collapse of ticketing company Lyte continues. Two Aussie festivals have been impacted, with one down AUS$30,000 and another putting ongoing sales on hold. Meanwhile the two US festivals suing Lyte have clarified how they used the company’s secondary ticketing marketplace…

Chris Cooke • 30 Sep 2024

Ador • 3 min read

HYBE reopens investigation into sexual harassment claims at Ador, as label’s ousted CEO says she’s selling her house to cover legal costs

Min Hee-jin, ex-CEO at HYBE label Ador, has again said she wants her old job back, insisting that separating her management and production roles makes no sense. Meanwhile HYBE is investigating claims Min inappropriately intervened into an inquiry into sexual harassment allegations at the label…

Chris Cooke • 30 Sep 2024

CMU Digest • 7 min read

📑 CMU Digest: TikTok Music closing + all change at top of Universal UK

CMU Digest is our weekly round-up of the most interesting music business news stories from the last seven days.…

CMU • 30 Sep 2024

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours News Monday 30 Sep

Justice, Kylie Minogue, TruththeBull, Gyptian, mikah, Bryan Adams, Dillon Francis, Yeah Boy, Kelly Clarkson + more…

CMU • 30 Sep 2024

Equitable Remuneration • 4 min read

Belgium's plan to give artists and session musicians direct streaming payments could be blocked by EU court

When implementing the 2019 EU Copyright Directive, Belgium introduced a new performer ER right on streams, a move opposed through the Belgian courts by the labels and digital services. Judges have now referred the matter to the EU courts to clarify if the new right is compliant with European law…

Chris Cooke • 27 Sep 2024

Musi • 2 min read

Free music app removed from Apple App Store, seemingly after YouTube intervention

Apple has removed the free music app Musi from its App Store. IFPI has been calling for the app to be removed since last year, because Musi pulls in music from YouTube rather than negotiating licensing deals with labels. However, it is possible that an intervention by YouTube prompted Apple to act…

Chris Cooke • 27 Sep 2024

CRTC • 2 min read

Streaming isn’t radio, the majors and DSPs tell Canadian regulator

Canadian broadcasting regulator the CRTC is implementing the elements of Canada’s Online Streaming Act that aim to promote Canadian content. That has led to concerns that radio industry rules will be applied to streaming platforms, prompting an open letter from the major labels and digital services…

Chris Cooke • 27 Sep 2024

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours News Friday 27 Sep

Sasha Keable, Lady GaGa, Tommy Richman, Biig Piig, Nina Nesbitt, Van Morrison, The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, Alison Moyet + more…

CMU • 27 Sep 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders series - Cally Hamilton Q&A

As part of our new Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. In this Q&A, we caught up with Cally Hamilton, Sync Coordinator at Republic of Sync.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 27 Sep 2024

Proper Group AG • 2 min read

A Swiss court has initiated bankruptcy proceedings against Proper Group AG

The disaster-unicorn formerly known as Utopia Music has been served with bankruptcy proceedings after a specialist blockchain law firm took legal action over a CHF 23,000 debt. Proper Group AG told CMU today that the debt has been settled, and it’s confident it can head off the bankruptcy action…

Sam Taylor • 26 Sep 2024

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