CMU | the music business explained (Page 141)

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

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 • 3 min read

⏩ One Liners: TikTok, Ed Sheeran, Lucian Grainge + more

Davido x UnitedMasters; Music Climate Pact appointment; TikTok ban bill passed; Ed Sheeran and Madonna lawsuits; Lucian Grainge wages; DawBell co-founds PR:E; new music from Sega Bodega, Laura J Martin…

Chris Cooke & Andy Malt • 22 Apr 2024

Co-op Live • 2 min read

Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena cancels launch shows as power issues delay opening

The opening shows at Manchester’s new Co-op Live venue have been postponed after technical problems resulted in thousands of tickets for a test event this weekend being cancelled at the last minute…

Chris Cooke • 22 Apr 2024

Co-op Live • 4 min read

Co-op Live GM says grassroots venues are “poorly run”, before cancelling thousands of tickets to test event at the very last minute

Manchester’s big new arena venue, Oak View’s Co-op Live, is due to officially open tomorrow. However, technical problems forced the venue to significantly cut the capacity for a test event on Saturday, which led to lots of angry concert-goers venting on social media…

Chris Cooke • 22 Apr 2024

Pharrell Williams • 1 min read

Pink seeks to stop Pharrell from trademarking the brand P.INC

Just weeks after it emerged that Pharrell Williams was involved in a trademark dispute with his long-time musical collaborator Chad Hugo, we discover that Pink is also seeking to stop another trademark registration instigated by Williams. She objects to him trademarking the brand P.INC…

Chris Cooke • 22 Apr 2024

BBC • 3 min read

Moving BBC radio to an ad-funded model would be a disaster, says Radiocentre

As the UK government reviews the future of BBC funding - and following the news that the BBC will start selling ads alongside its podcasts on third party platforms - Radiocentre has investigated what would happen if all of the BBC’s radio services were paid for by advertising…

Chris Cooke • 22 Apr 2024

CMU Digest • 10 min read

📑 CMU Digest: Elephants on parade as Hipgnosis circus rolls back into town

Everyone and their dog wants to put in an offer to buy Hipgnosis. Plus: Live Nation really, really, really loves golf.…

CMU • 22 Apr 2024

Hipgnosis • 5 min read

Blackstone tops Concord offer for SONG, hints at invoking call option

The elephants are on parade again... Blackstone gets heavy with SONG board and goes public with a potential $1.24 offer for beleaguered song rights fund - 7% higher than Concord's offer on Thursday…

Sam Taylor • 20 Apr 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 3 min read

⏩ One Liners: Sia x Paris Hilton, Gary Barlow, Fontaines DC + more

Merlin, DNR deals; WMG launches Balkan Electro; Radio City Tower to rebrand; Emily Lazar award; Gary Barlow soundtrack; Fontaines DC, Faithless, Dana Gavanski, Three Trapped Tigers gigs; new music from Sia x Paris Hilton, Headie One x Stormzy, Kings Of Leon, AJ Tracey, Naughty Boy, K-Trap and more…

Andy Malt • 19 Apr 2024

Spotify • 2 min read

Publishers hit out at Spotify’s bundling trick to reduce royalty payments

Spotify has been accused of trying to “radically reduce songwriter payments” in the US by reclassifying its subscriptions as music and audiobook bundles. The change allows it to pay lower US compulsory licence rates, but the National Music Publishers Association says it “will not stand” for this…

Chris Cooke • 19 Apr 2024

And Finally • 4 min read

And Finally! Lemmy continues busy post-death schedule, as Metallica’s James Hetfield embeds ashes in new tattoo

Metallica’s James Hetfield this week unveiled a new tattoo on his middle finger, created using ink mixed with some of late Motorhead frontman Lemmy’s ashes. It will mean that Lemmy “is still able to fly the bird at the world”. Check out this and more of this week’s funniest music news stories…

Andy Malt • 19 Apr 2024

Council Of Music Makers • 3 min read

Patience is wearing thin among music creators says CMM at first government working group on creator remuneration

The first meeting of the new Music Creator Remuneration Group took place yesterday, after which the Council Of Music Makers published a statement it delivered during the session. The BPI described the meeting as “constructive” while AIM says that its members “respect” the concerns of artists…

Chris Cooke • 19 Apr 2024