CMU | the music business explained (Page 2)

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

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

Live Nation • 2 min read

Live Nation and Ticketmaster should still be split up, lawmakers told, as US government’s antitrust settlement criticised in Congress

The US Department Of Justice’s decision to settle antitrust claims against Live Nation was slammed in Congress yesterday, with President Trump accused of siding with an “illegal monopoly”. Congress members also said they still hope Live Nation and Ticketmaster will be split up by the courts…

Chris Cooke • 19 May 2026

George Clinton • 1 min read

Funk pioneer George Clinton sues Universal over $1.1 million in withheld royalties

Universal Music has not been paying royalties to George Clinton for three years now, because he is involved in a legal dispute with the estate of a former collaborator over ownership of many of his recordings. But, a new lawsuit says, that dispute is no reason for UMG to withhold his money…

Chris Cooke • 19 May 2026

Shakira • 2 min read

Shakira hits out at Spanish tax authorities after winning legal battle over allegedly unpaid taxes from 2011 tour

A Spanish court has ruled in favour of Shakira in the final of three disputes between the pop star and Spain’s tax authorities. She has accused tax officials of leaking information about the dispute, and using her name and public image, to send a threatening message to other Spanish tax payers…

Chris Cooke • 18 May 2026

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify increases subscription prices in Canada, but rolls back previous price increases in India

Spotify is making changes to its pricing in both Canada and India. Prices are going up in Canada but, surprisingly, they are coming down in India, where a Lite tier only introduced last year is being abandoned and the price of a standard premium subscription will return to 139 rupee a month…

Chris Cooke • 18 May 2026

Music Producers Guild • 2 min read

Music Producers Guild launches new guide on producer deals

The Music Producers Guild launched a new Producer Deals Guide during The Great Escape in Brighton earlier today. Produced with CMU and the MMF, it explains how the deals agreed between studio producers and artists and labels work, and how they have changed as artists release music in different ways…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2026

Bob Vylan • 2 min read

Shindig team say they are “standing our ground” after local Tories forced a licence review over their Bob Vylan booking

Next week Wiltshire Council will review the Shindig Festival’s licence just days before the event gets underway after local Tories expressed concern about Bob Vylan headlining. In a new interview, the festival’s organisers say they are “facing censorship” but are “standing our ground”…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2026

Great Escape Festival • 2 min read

Scotland at The Great Escape

With hundreds of bands playing The Great Escape this week how do you know where to start? Well, how about all the great Scottish bands playing this year, complete with a handy playlist?…

CMU • 14 May 2026

Horizon Future Leaders • 5 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Liv Buckley

This week, we caught up with Liv Buckley, who previously worked at the Korea Tourism Organisation and in video game PR, before moving into the music industry. She is now Communications Manager at ICE Services.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 14 May 2026

Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

BPI sets out transparency and sovereignty demands to secure “AI licensing boom”

Record label trade group BPI has launched a new report on music and AI, setting out what it believes is needed to enable an “AI licensing boom” in the UK. It says the government should force more transparency on the AI sector and ensure the “sovereignty of UK law” when it comes to AI and copyright…

Chris Cooke • 14 May 2026

Great Escape Festival • 6 min read

The Great Escape’s Adam Ryan talks music discovery and building international pathways

The Great Escape kicked off in Brighton earlier today for its 20th year. Toby McCarron spoke to the showcase festival’s Head Of Music Adam Ryan, who has programmed the event for twelve years, about his role, and how the festival and its programme has evolved over the last two decades…

CMU • 13 May 2026

Ticket Touting • 3 min read

UK government decision to delay live music touting law in favour of sports ticketing reforms dubbed “puzzling” and “bizarre” by music industry

The UK government has set out in the King's Speech the laws it plans to pass in the next year. As expected, laws to introduce the promised ticket touting ban will only be drafted this year, not passed. Though new rules on the touting of tickets to sports events are likely to be voted on by MPs…

Chris Cooke • 13 May 2026

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