CMU | the music business explained (Page 164)

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

Megan Thee Stallion • 2 min read

Megan Thee Stallion marks “beginning of a new chapter” with Warner deal

Megan Thee Stallion has signed a deal with Warner Music which will distribute and support upcoming releases via her company Hot Girl Productions. This follows the settlement of a legal dispute with the rapper’s former label 1501 Certified Entertainment last October…

Chris Cooke • 05 Feb 2024

EU AI Act • 2 min read

Music industry welcomes EU member states agreeing AI Act

EU member states have endorsed the final draft of the EU AI Act, which will regulate many uses of artificial intelligence. The music industry is particularly interested in the new rules covering the use of copyright protected works when training generative AI models…

Chris Cooke • 05 Feb 2024

Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify announces new Joe Rogan deal that could be worth $250 million

Despite cutting back its in-house podcasting operations, Spotify has renewed its deal with Joe Rogan, with the podcaster set to get another big pay day plus a share of future ad revenues. The new deal will also see the Joe Rogan Experience return to other podcast platforms…

Chris Cooke • 05 Feb 2024

A Greener Future • 5 min read

The year ahead: Claire O’Neill, A Greener Future

A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill looks ahead to 2024 in the latest of our series of interviews reviewing key trends and developments in the music business. She discusses the organisation’s evolution, now working with companies across the live sector as they seek to reduce their environmental impact…

CMU • 05 Feb 2024

CMU Digest • 6 min read

📑 CMU Digest: Universal and TikTok's stalemate, misogyny "endemic" in music industry + more

UMG v TikTok, Misogyny In Music, Transparency Code, Lords AI report, Swift deepfakes + more…

CMU • 03 Feb 2024

TikTok • 4 min read

Setlist Podcast: Universal and TikTok accuse each other of “bullying” and “greed”

The collapse of licensing talks between Universal Music and TikTok, UK Parliament's 'Misogyny In Music' report that calls for new legislation to end the cycle of harassment and abuse in the "boys' club" industry, and more…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 02 Feb 2024

3tone • 3 min read

Dodgy distributor 3tone has lost its ability to distribute music

To lose one distribution partner in a week may be regarded as misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. As 3tone looks to be entering the end game, questions remain for the industry about how it was able to operate for so long…

Sam Taylor • 02 Feb 2024

Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

Lords committee calls on government to clarify copyright obligations of AI companies

The House Of Lords Communications And Digital Committee has published a report on the regulation of AI. On copyright matters, it clearly sets out the position that tech firms should not use existing content to train AI models without getting permission from copyright owners…

Chris Cooke • 02 Feb 2024

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

⏩ One Liners: Universal Music, Don Toliver, BRIT Awards + more

Music Reports buys Blokur; Primary Wave partners with Nas Nuvens; Joeboy label; Armada signs Will Clarke; Bucks signs John Murphy; UMG rejig; DEAG halts IPO; BRITs voting; new music from Don Toliver, Tones And I, Arya Starr, Blessed Madonna, Wes Nelson, Bombay Bicycle Club, Shaznay Lewis, Starsailor…

Andy Malt • 02 Feb 2024

Association Of Independent Festivals • 1 min read

AIF Sounds Alarm for VAT Reduction on Festival Tickets with '5% For Festivals' Campaign

The Association Of Independent Festivals is ramping up its calls for the UK government to reduce VAT on ticket sales with a new campaign launched at Festival Congress. Launching ‘5% For Festivals’, CEO John Rostron says that without urgent action we will see more festivals go out of business in 2024…

CMU • 02 Feb 2024

FEAT • 2 min read

The year ahead: Sam Shemtob, Director of FEAT

FEAT Director Sam Shemtob looks ahead to 2024 in the latest of our continuing series of interviews reviewing key trends and developments in the music business. He discusses the organisation’s work across Europe to combat for-profit ticket touting.…

CMU • 02 Feb 2024

And Finally • 4 min read

And finally: Swift Swiftie breaks record for shouting out song titles really fast, and more of this week’s funniest music news stories

A Taylor Swift fan has broken the record for identifying her songs only by excerpts of their lyrics. In a minute, Bilal Ilyas Jhandi named more than 30 Swift tracks just by having lines from them read out to him, earning him the title of Swiftest Swiftie…

Andy Malt • 02 Feb 2024