CMU | the music business explained (Page 152)

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 • 4 min read

⏩ One Liners: Black Crowes, SZA, Pixes + more

Black Crowes, Luke Grimes, Dylan Gossett, Reactionary Music deals; Arjun Pulijal to leave CMG; Creed and Upsurge appointments; Earth, Wind & Fire ruling; Music Leaders Network; Pixies part ways with Paz Lenchantin; SZA to headline BST Hyde Park; New music from Machinedrum, Porij, Cumgirl8, O…

Andy Malt • 05 Mar 2024

Angélica Garcia • 1 min read

Approved: Angélica Garcia

Having signed to Partisan Records late last year, Angélica Garcia returns with her first new music of 2024 - her own take on cumbia music, ‘Juanita’. In-keeping with her tendency to jump between genres, she slots this sound effortlessly into her sonic palette with expert style…

Andy Malt • 05 Mar 2024

Hipgnosis • 5 min read

Hipgnosis Songs Fund takes a haircut - and might have bigger problems to come

When City types talk about haircuts they might mean a short back and sides - but might also mean something has tanked in value. “My hedge fund took a haircut last week, so the new Ferrari will have to wait”. Hipgnosis has opened the wine, reached for the clippers and gone for a number two all over.…

Sam Taylor • 05 Mar 2024

Live Nation • 4 min read

Live Nation says rising ticket prices definitely not its fault

As US politicians continue to discuss and consider the ticketing sector, Live Nation has published a blog post insisting that promoters and ticketing companies - including its Ticketmaster division - are not responsible for increasing ticket prices…

Chris Cooke • 05 Mar 2024

Apple • 4 min read

EU fines €1.8 billion at end of Spotify initiated competition law investigation

Apple has been fined €1.8 billion by the European Union, following an investigation into its App Store rules. The massive fine is almost four times larger than the €500 million that had been expected and is the result of a complaint filed by Spotify in 2019…

Chris Cooke • 04 Mar 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 2 min read

⏩ One Liners: Sinead O’Connor, Brixton Academy, Tomorrow X Together + more

Plugged In appointment; ASCAP revenues; un:hurd investment; Artist & Manager Awards details; Sinead O’Connor estate urges Donald Trump to stop using ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’; Brixton Academy to reopen in April; Killer Mike UK shows; new music from Tomorrow X Together, Pelican and Laura J Martin…

Andy Malt • 04 Mar 2024

YouTube • 2 min read

YouTube Music staff laid off in middle of meeting about employment rights with Austin City Council

A group of YouTube Music staff found out that they had been made redundant while speaking at a council meeting in Texas, urging councillors to support them in their efforts to get the Google-owned company to negotiate with their union. Google says they were contractors whose agreements have expired…

Chris Cooke • 04 Mar 2024

BRIT Awards • 3 min read

Raye wins record-breaking six BRIT Awards

In a dramatic conclusion to her phoenix from the flames story, Raye took home six of the seven BRIT awards for which she was nominated on Saturday night, including Artist and Album Of The Year. It also makes her the record holder for the most BRIT trophies won by a female artist at a single ceremony…

Andy Malt • 04 Mar 2024

Stability AI • 3 min read

Stability files defence in important test case on AI and UK copyright law

Stability AI has argued that it can’t be held liable for copyright infringement in the UK, because training of its Stable Diffusion AI platform took place on servers in the US. Getty Images says that the company infringed its copyrights by training its AI model on pictures it owns without permission…

Chris Cooke • 04 Mar 2024

Pathways Into Music • 1 min read

Pathways Into Music launches new professional development programme for music educators

The Pathways Into Music Foundation has announced a new professional development programme for music educators - including teachers, tutors, lecturers and people working for education hubs and talent development organisations - focused on how to best support young people pursuing a career in music…

CMU • 04 Mar 2024