CMU | the music business explained (Page 2)

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

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

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Curtisy

Rapper Curtisy has grit in the mix, but he rounds it off with a loose, conversational delivery. His new single ‘Talk Of The Town’ throws him up against Lil Skag, a pairing that works because they occupy opposite ends of the same moodboard: Curtisy bright and brash, Skag deadpan and precise…

Kaya Robertson • 25 Nov 2025

Apple • 3 min read

Another class action is filed over the Apple Tax on music streaming, this time in France

Another consumer rights group is suing Apple over its App Store rules regarding payments within music apps like the Spotify app. France’s CLCV says that Apple’s rules meant some music subscribers suffered “economic and moral harms”, including having to pay higher than necessary subscription fees…

Chris Cooke • 25 Nov 2025

Universal Music • 3 min read

Indie community welcomes EU’s ‘statement of objections’ over Universal’s Downtown deal

The European Commission yesterday confirmed it has sent a statement of objections to Universal regarding its bid to buy Downtown, raising data concerns, particularly in relation to Downtown’s Curve platform. Indie labels have welcomed the development and continue to argue the deal should be blocked…

Chris Cooke • 25 Nov 2025

Live Nation • 4 min read

Live Nation and AEG provide a “disgusting service”, says Olivia Dean, after for-profit touting of tickets

Olivia Dean was not happy at all last week when tickets for her US shows were being resold at hiked up prices within the Ticketmaster and AXS ticketing platforms. Her criticism of the price hikes illustrates how the primary ticketing companies have different rules around resale in the US and the UK…

Chris Cooke • 24 Nov 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall ready to reset discussion on AI, but cautions creator friendly legal reform can’t be rushed

The UK’s new Technology Secretary says she is “resetting the discussion” around copyright and AI, keen to reassure the creative industries their concerns are being heard by the government. Though don’t expect any immediate changes to copyright law, because “there’s a lot of detail to work out here”…

Chris Cooke • 24 Nov 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from Reek0, Paranoid London, Lifeguard, Frost Children + David Byrne…

Kaya Robertson • 24 Nov 2025

Megan Thee Stallion • 2 min read

Megan Thee Stallion testifies in Milagro Gramz YouTube defamation battle

Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation battle with YouTuber Milagro Gramz has been in court this week. Yesterday the rapper delivered an emotionally charged testimony, explaining that Gramz “created a space for a lot of people to come speak negatively about me”, causing her considerable emotional distress…

Chris Cooke • 21 Nov 2025

Pras • 2 min read

Fugee Pras Michel jailed for fourteen years after illegal lobbying

Pras from The Fugees has been jailed for fourteen years after being convicted over illegal lobbying after taking millions from fugitive Malaysian billionaire Jho Low to influence US politicians on his behalf. A legal rep for Pras says the sentence is “completely disproportionate to the offence”…

Chris Cooke • 21 Nov 2025

Warner Music • 3 min read

Warner Music boss outlines AI strategy of “legislate, litigate and license”, but only commits to artist opt-in on “name, image, likeness and voice”

Warner has followed Universal’s lead and settled its lawsuit with music AI start-up Udio, and entered into a licensing deal covering Udio’s new service. Warner CEO Robert Kyncl has written a blog post on the major’s AI strategy, though his commitment on artist consent is unlikely to placate creators…

Chris Cooke • 20 Nov 2025

Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation says DoJ antitrust case is based on “gerrymandered” stats and no real evidence

Live Nation has told the judge overseeing its antitrust legal battle with the US government that he should issue a summary judgment in its favour. The government has failed to provide any evidence of anticompetitive conduct, it claims, and is instead relying on “gerrymandered” market share stats…

Chris Cooke • 20 Nov 2025