CMU | the music business explained (Page 147)

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

BAPAM • 2 min read

More performers seeking specialist health support, says BAPAM

Performer health charity BAPAM has published a set of stats as it prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary, revealing that demand for focused health support from performers has doubled since the start of the COVID pandemic, with the number of mental health consultations increasing four-fold…

Chris Cooke • 18 Mar 2024

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

⏩ One Liners: Vybz Kartel, Usher, Brian Eno + more

Vybz Kartel murder ruling quashed; Big Loud x Republic; Sony, Mercury, Bauer appointments; Black Keys SoundExchange award; Usher, Janelle Monáe, Nadine Shah, Kelly Jones, Interpol live dates; new music from Brian Eno Ski Mask The Slump God, Girli, Cold Cave…

Andy Malt • 18 Mar 2024

Hipgnosis • 5 min read

Hipgnosis Songs Fund share price takes another battering as SONG says HSM made an “error” in key financial metric

If you thought the Hipgnosis vs Hipgnosis drama was already peaking, think again. It might barely even have started. In an announcement today, SONG yet again marked down the value of its assets sending the share price plummeting further…

Sam Taylor • 18 Mar 2024

Black Eyed Peas • 2 min read

Black Eyed Peas sued for licensing interpolation but not sample of Scatman

The label that owns Scatman John's 'Scatman' has sued Black Eyed Peas over an uncleared sample. Iceberg Records provided a licence that allowed the interpolation of the ‘Scatman’ composition into their song 'Bailar Contigo', but says the original recording was also sampled, which was not licensed…

Chris Cooke • 18 Mar 2024

CMU Digest • 10 min read

📑 CMU Digest: Be sold or be banned says US Congress to TikTok

Thursday is global Tiramisu day. Nothing else matters.…

CMU • 17 Mar 2024

Setlist • 4 min read

Setlist Podcast: US politicians want TikTok to sell up or be banned

US politicians vote in favour or proposals to ban TikTok in the country, Labour commits to cap secondary ticket prices, and more…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 15 Mar 2024

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify asks European Commission to force Apple to approve its app amends

After the EU competition regulator ordered Apple to change its rules around the sign-posting of payment options within iOS apps, Spotify immediately updated its app within the EU. But Apple is yet to approve those updates and Spotify now wants to European Commission to intervene…

Chris Cooke • 15 Mar 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 1 min read

⏩ One Liners: Zayn, Bon Jovi, MPG Awards + more

NME C24 compilation; MPG Awards shortlists; Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds and Jamie Cullum tour dates; new music from Zayn, Bon Jovi, Becky G, PartyNextDoor, X Ambassadors, Vampire Weekend, Bicep x Benjamin Damage and Qrion…

Andy Malt • 15 Mar 2024

And Finally • 4 min read

And Finally! Sugababes’ Mutya Buena apologises for popularising sugar

Sugababes’ Mutya Buena says she now accepts that the group caused a spike in sugar consumption and negatively impacted world health. OK, it’s actually an ad for a sugar-free drink. But which politician was taken in by it? Find out here, along with more of this week’s funniest music news stories…

Andy Malt • 15 Mar 2024

SGAE • 2 min read

Spanish appeals court sides with Unison in SGAE dispute

A court in Barcelona has ruled against Spanish collecting society SGAE, which was accused of anti-competitive conduct by putting barriers in place to stop members moving their rights to rival society Unison. A competition regulator previously fined SGAE and the court has now awarded Unison damages…

Chris Cooke • 15 Mar 2024

Industry Stats • 4 min read

Think you understand the music industry’s revenue stats? Think again…

Headline stats for UK, France, Germany and Spain have been released in advance of IFPI’s Global Music Report - but they’re not as straightforward as they might seem. You can look at two sets of numbers that appear to represent the same thing, but are actually completely different.…

Sam Taylor • 15 Mar 2024

Streaming Fraud • 2 min read

Nine stream manipulation sites taken offline in Canada

Nine stream manipulation websites have gone offline in Canada as a result of action prompted by a formal complaint from the country’s record industry to the Canadian Competition Bureau. Music Canada says this development sets an “important regulatory precedent that can be followed in other markets”…

Chris Cooke • 15 Mar 2024