CMU | the music business explained (Page 160)

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 • 3 min read

⏩ One Liners: The Beatles, Apple Music, Megan Thee Stallion + more

Good Neighbours, Pure Tone deals; LIVE, Satellite414, TaP Music appointments; UMG’s start up hub; Downtown credit facility; Apple Music label tools; FAC’s Step Up Fund; LGBTQ+ meetup at TGE; Libertines hotel pivots; Beatles video; new music from Megan Thee Stallion, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, more…

Andy Malt • 10 May 2024

Music Venue Properties • 2 min read

Music Venue Properties announces purchase of The Ferret in Preston

A second venue has been acquired by Music Venue Properties, the charitable community benefit society set up as part of Music Venue Trust’s Own Our Venues initiative. It means The Ferret in Preston will now have a landlord that exists to support local grassroots music communities…

Chris Cooke • 10 May 2024

And Finally • 6 min read

And Finally! Apple finds out the hard way that not everyone thinks destruction is a form of creation

Apple put out a new iPad advert this week, which showed musical instruments, books, pots paint and more being crushed in a hydraulic press. It was supposed to depict the amazing creative things you can do on an iPad, but people just saw it as a metaphor for the tech industry’s attitude to creators…

Andy Malt • 10 May 2024

TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok to expand labelling of AI content to videos created on third party platforms

TikTok will start labelling AI-generated content created on third party platforms and uploaded to its app. This expanded commitment to AI transparency responds to demands from copyright owners and lawmakers, and is enabled by its membership of the Coalition For Content Provenance And Authenticity…

Chris Cooke • 10 May 2024

Flo Rida • 3 min read

Supreme Court ruling could boost damages payments in US lawsuits over historical copyright infringement

The US Supreme Court yesterday answered a question about damages in copyright cases that was posed in a dispute over a Flo Rida sample. However, it didn’t answer a related question about a thing called the ‘discovery rule’, even though that answer could have resulted in the Flo Rida claim being void…

Chris Cooke • 10 May 2024

SXSW • 9 min read

SXSW London could disrupt delicately balanced music ecosystem and should reconsider its date

SXSW is coming to London backed by a shadowy web of offshore companies, endorsed by the Mayor of London - and with a PR boss who conveniently worked as a senior press advisor in the London mayor’s office for sixteen years…

Sam Taylor • 09 May 2024

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

⏩ One Liners: Billie Eilish, Spotify, Lil Durk + more

Lil Durk relaunches OTF; BMG, MVT, Frontiers, Pulse Music, See Tickets appointments; Spotify stats; Linkin Park tribute show; The Waeve London gig; Billie Eilish “immersive” album paybacks; new music from Coheed And Cambria, Moonchild Sanelly, Erland Cooper, Flohio, O., Kučka, Martha Skye Murphy…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

Approved: 7ebra

Lo-fi duo 7ebra return with their new single ‘Normal Song’, which urges you not to hide away when you’re sad but instead “cry in an open field”. The release preempts tour dates in the UK support Arab Strap…

Andy Malt • 09 May 2024

Steve Albini • 4 min read

Recording engineer Steve Albini dies

Recording engineer Steve Albini - known for his work with artists such as Nirvana, Pixies and PJ Harvey - has died, aged 61. The raw, analogue sound he favoured was highly influential, and he also inspired others as a musician himself, fronting bands such as Big Black and Shellac…

Andy Malt • 09 May 2024

Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

Minnesota passes new laws regulating secondary ticketing

While there has been lots of talk about new ticketing regulations in US Congress, more progress is being made at a state level. Minnesota has passed new laws regulating secondary ticketing this week, with Maryland also set to introduce new resale rules…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

Astroworld • 2 min read

Nine of the ten wrongful death Astroworld lawsuits now settled, says Live Nation

Live Nation yesterday told a court in Houston that nine of the ten wrongful death lawsuits filed after the Astroworld tragedy have now been settled, including the one that was originally due to get to trial this week. A trial date for the one remaining case is yet to be set…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

Apple • 3 min read

Music services hit out at Apple’s plan to comply with EU in-app linking decision, call on European Commission to act

Apple is having to change its anti-steering provision, which previously stopped app developers from sign-posting alternative payment options, in both the EU and US. But the way it is making that change has been criticised, both in a letter to the European Commission and a court hearing in California…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

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