CMU | the music business explained (Page 140)

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

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

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

⏩ One Liners: Kiss, Downtown, Charli XCX, Chilly Gonzales + more

Pophouse + Kiss deal; Downtown appointment; UD Incubator Programme; Rough Trade Liverpool opening; TuneCore's Studio One integration; TikTok law campaign ads; Charli XCX tour; new music from Chilly Gonzales and Ibibio Sound Machine…

Chris Cooke • 04 Apr 2024

NTIA • 3 min read

NTIA clarifies minimum wage statement: “we are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring fair wages for workers within the industry”

The NTIA has again called for more government support for the night-time sector, stating that any benefit from the recent extension of business rates relief will be absorbed by the increase in the minimum wage that went into effect this week, meaning further support is required…

Chris Cooke • 04 Apr 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

Approved: Lei Hope

A taster of new EP ‘Matrices’, which will be released via Heist Or Hit next month, new track ‘Sinner’ sees Lei Hope “questioning transformations in my life, faith and family whilst not being 100% sure that the change is positive”…

Kaya Robertson • 04 Apr 2024

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify planning another price rise in five markets

The price of a Spotify subscription is set to increase again in some markets this month, although users will reportedly be able to avoid the price rise if they opt out of audiobook access. It might all be a move by Spotify to create a separate revenue stream to fund its audiobook ambitions.…

Chris Cooke • 04 Apr 2024

IMPALA • 2 min read

IMPALA says “huge value gap” when it comes to TikTok

IMPALA has issued a new statement about the digital music market, expressing concerns about TikTok undervaluing music, and urging music streaming services to deal with the “unintended negative consequences” of the changes they have made to their royalty models…

Chris Cooke • 04 Apr 2024

ICMP • 2 min read

ICMP launches rights reservations portal setting out the legal and moral obligations of AI companies

A new portal has been launched by the music publishing sector collating ‘rights reservations’ from music publishers which clearly state that those companies’ rights have been reserved from any data and text mining exceptions in copyright law, in particular the exception in European law…

Chris Cooke • 04 Apr 2024

AI • 3 min read

200+ artists sign letter urging tech companies to stop using AI to "devalue the rights of human artists"

The Artist Rights Alliance in the US has organised an open letter signed by more than 200 artists calling on tech companies to pledge that they will only use generative AI responsibly, and that they will not infringe upon or devalue the rights of music creators…

Chris Cooke • 03 Apr 2024

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

⏩ One Liners: Resident Advisor, Spotify, Mike Lindsay and Anna B Savage + more

Endeavor, Carlita, Ayushmann Khurrana, Dua Lipa, Opus deals; RA appointments; Spotify’s new threshold now in effect; Vocalist AI beta; AFM deal with studios ratified; TGE’s Spanish Wave; new Killer Mike video; new music from James Vincent McMorrow, Peaches + Romy, and Mike Lindsay + Anna B Savage…

Chris Cooke • 03 Apr 2024

Kanye • 2 min read

Kanye praised Hitler, “attempted to destroy” Donda Academy employee and gave “vulgar lashing” in front of kids, says lawsuit

Kanye West has been sued by another former employee who says the rapper “treated the black staff considerably worse than white employees”, made antisemitic comments in front of students at his Donda Academy school, and was sometimes violent in the workplace…

Chris Cooke • 03 Apr 2024