CMU | the music business explained (Page 182)

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: Nicki Minaj, Amy Winehouse, Death Row Records + more

Reservoir signs Vulfpeck’s Theo Katzman; PPL supports BRIT School; Death Row Records, Oak View Group, NITO appointments; DistroKid Android app; Amy Winehouse biopic release date; new music from Twin Atlantic; tour dates from Nicki Minaj and Five Finger Death Punch…

Andy Malt • 12 Dec 2023

Epic Games • 2 min read

Epic wins its app store rule legal battle against Google

Fortnite owner Epic Games has won in its legal battle over Google’s app store policies, which may force a change to the rules around in-app payments - though the web giant will appeal the judgement…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2023

See Tickets • 1 min read

AEG and Eventim among the bidders for See Tickets

Both AEG and Eventim have made bids to buy See Tickets, according to reports - current owner Vivendi hopes to make €300 million from the sale of the ticketing business…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2023

Metallica • 1 min read

Metallica announce marching band competition finalists

Metallica have announced the 25 finalists in their marching band competition For Whom The Band Tolls. Vying for a share of $150,000 in prize money, over 450 high schools and colleges entered the compeition…

Andy Malt • 12 Dec 2023

IFPI • 2 min read

Music consumption at an all time high, IFPI reports, though "unlicensed music is still an issue"

Music consumption is at an all time high according to the latest ‘Engaging With Music’ report from the IFPI - although 29% of those who participated in the research still access music from unlicensed services, with stream-ripping platforms the most used piracy services…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023

AI • 2 min read

Music industry cautiously welcomes outcome of last week's EU AI Act talks

German song rights society GEMA and global record industry trade group IFPI have both welcomed the outcome of last week’s negotiations around the EU AI Act, with key transparency obligations remaining in the latest draft…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023

SANA • 1 min read

Former Avex exec Lucas Thomashow launches new label

Former Avex USA exec Lucas Thomashow has launched new label SANA in partnership with artist and label services company Santa Anna and indie label Listen To The Kids…

Andy Malt • 11 Dec 2023

Quad9 • 1 min read

Quad9 hails appeals court win in its legal battle with Sony Music

DNS resolver Quad9 has welcomed a ruling in the German courts that says it is not required to block access to a piracy site at the request of Sony Music - although a new web-blocking demand has now come in from the majors in Italy which may require another court battle…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023

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

⏩ One Liners: Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams, Slipknot + more

Ariana Grande’s new management deal; Warner Chappell signs Inigo Quintero; new music from Pharrell Williams; Slipknot 25th anniversary tour; Latitude headliners…

Andy Malt • 11 Dec 2023

GigRealm • 1 min read

GigRealm announces an Uber partnership to provide musicians with a free ride home after shows

GigRealm - a platform that helps hospitality businesses book musicians - has announced a partnership with Uber to provide artists booked via the service with a free ride home after the show…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023

BBC • 1 min read

UK government announces new review into BBC funding

The UK government last week announced another review of the way the BBC is funded which will consider alternatives to the current licence fee funding system…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift • 1 min read

Taylor Swift's record breaking tour topped a billion dollars

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour brought in over a billion this year, according to Pollstar, making it bigger than previous record-breaking tours by U2, Ed Sheeran and Elton John which all included many more performances…

Chris Cooke • 11 Dec 2023