CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases
Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from Lily Allen, Sleaford Mods, Gwendoline Christie, Big Special, Rose Gray, Sampha + Dove Ellis…
Australian government blocks potential AI copyright exception
Australia’s Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has said that the country will not introduce a new copyright exception for the benefit of AI companies. It’s news that has been welcomed by the music and wider copyright industries, which want similar commitments from other governments around the world…
Spotify questions MLC’s “motivations” in pursuing audiobook bundling dispute lawsuit
Last month a judge said The MLC could restart its lawsuit over Spotify’s use of a controversial bundling discount to reduce payments to songwriters, but only in relation to how the discount is applied. Spotify now says that’s a “peripheral issue” that will make little difference to writer royalties…
Another blow for Apple’s in-app payments as company loses £1.5 billion competition lawsuit
Apple has lost a class action before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal over its App Store fees, which have long been criticised by Spotify. The tribunal ruled Apple exploited its market dominance to charge excessive fees, which impacted on consumers. It could now face damages of £1.5 billion…
Universal Music beats artists in three separate streaming royalty lawsuits
A Dutch court has ruled on three lawsuits filed against Universal by artists who claimed that the major was incorrectly interpreting old record contracts and paying excessively low royalties on streaming income as a result. Judges concluded that the artists had failed to establish that was happening…
🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Amy Lewis
This week we spoke with Amy Lewis, co-founder of Roadie Media, a forward-thinking independent music marketing agency helping artists and music businesses grow through strategy, creativity and data-driven insight.…
UK regulator now empowered to consider changing in-app payment rules in Spotify’s favour
Apple and Google’s mobile platforms have both been designated as having ‘strategic market status’ by the CMA, which could result in the UK regulator forcing changes to the two companies’ app store rules, including the in-app payment rules that have long been criticised by Spotify…
Lizzo is being sued over an uncleared sample - on a track she never released
Lizzo has been sued over an uncleared sample in a track she never released, but which appeared in a social media post responding to Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle Jeans ad campaign. And that’s enough to constitute copyright infringement, according to the owner of the sampled work…
🎧 Approved: Azamiah
Glasgow-based alt-jazz quartet Azamiah craft music that feels like it’s breathing. Their latest release, ‘New Moon’, has that Cleo Sol-esque luminosity; harmonies float, the instruments breathe and silence becomes part of the melody…
Viagogo is unfair, opaque and violates EU law, consumer group tells regulator
Viagogo is violating the EU’s Digital Services Act, according to Euroconsumers, which has filed a complaint with the regulator in Ireland. A Viagogo spokesperson insists the company is DSA compliant, but Euroconsumers says it violates various rules, including know your business customer requirements…
Suno doesn’t understand copyright law and is wrong about stream-ripping rules, say major labels
The majors have made another filing in their legal battle with Suno. They want to add claims that the AI company sourced its training data by illegally stream-ripping audio from YouTube. Suno insists it didn’t violate stream-ripping rules in US law, but the majors say Suno is misreading those rules…
DSW Shoe Warehouse lawsuit over TikTok copyright infringement is nothing more than “forum-shopping”, says Sony Music
Earlier this year DSW Shoe Warehouse filed a lawsuit against Sony Music asking a judge to rule it didn’t infringe the major’s copyrights by putting pop music into its TikTok videos. That sneakily preempted Sony’s own infringement lawsuit against DSW. Sony now wants the DSW litigation dismissed…
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