CMU | the music business explained (Page 237)

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

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”

Artist & Manager Awards • 1 min read

More winners and nominees announced for the Artist & Manager Awards

FAC and MMF have announced more winners and nominees for this year’s Artist & Manager Awards, including the shortlist for the breakthrough artist and manager prizes…

Chris Cooke • 23 Oct 2023

James Blunt • 1 min read

James Blunt claims to have lost thousands in bid to grow hallucinogenic fruit

James Blunt claims to have lost thousands attempting to grow hallucinogenic figs in his Ibiza garden. Although he makes this claim in a new “non-memoir” that he admits may be entirely fictional…

Andy Malt • 23 Oct 2023

CMU Digest • 5 min read

CMU Digest: Anthropic, Pandora, Hipgnosis, Bandcamp, Megan Thee Stallion

Catch up on key events this week, including the music publishers suing AI company Anthropic for copyright infringement, criticism of Universal's new policy on Pandora royalties, the Hipgnosis Songs Fund strategic review, job losses at Bandcamp, and Megan Thee Stallion settling her label dispute…

Chris Cooke • 21 Oct 2023

Universal Music • 2 min read

Setlist Podcast: Managers criticise Universal's Pandora royalty switch

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke discuss criticism of a change to the way Universal Music pays out Pandora royalties and redundancies at Bandcamp…

Andy Malt & Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

Universal Music • 6 min read

Universal Music criticised over unannounced change to Pandora payments

Universal Music has been criticised for a change it made last year to the way it pays Pandora royalties to artists, with payments now made directly by the major at contractural rates, rather than allowing 50% of income to flow to performers via collecting society SoundExchange…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

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

One Liners: Sam Smith and Charli XCX, Becky Hill, 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne + more

BMG’s Martin Solveig deal; Creed Media appointment; Virgin and Ingrooves integration; MMF conference; new music from Sam Smith and Charli XCX, Paris Hilton and Steve Aoki, 2Chainz and Lil Wayne, Wale, Beabadoodee and Laufey, Ghetts, Nadine Shah, Scaler, and Jim Perkins; Becky Hill tour…

Andy Malt • 20 Oct 2023

Megan Thee Stallion • 2 min read

Megan Thee Stallion settles dispute with label, allowing them to “amicably part ways"

Megan Thee Stallion's former label 1501 Certified Entertainment has confirmed that a legal dispute has now been settled, meaning the rapper no longer needs to deliver any more music to the record company…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

TikTok Music • 1 min read

TikTok Music goes properly live in Australia, Singapore and Mexico

TikTok Music has come out of beta in Australia, Singapore and Mexico meaning the social media firm’s standalone music service is now available in five markets…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

Hipgnosis • 2 min read

Hipgnosis Songs Fund announces strategic review to allay investor concerns

The Hipgnosis Songs Fund has announced a strategic review in a bid to allay investor concerns, though the board says it would not be in the interest of shareholders to terminate its contract with Hipgnosis Song Management, which manages the Fund’s catalogues day-to-day…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

BMG • 1 min read

BMG to work with Universal Music on physical distribution

BMG has announced that it will start outsourcing its physical distribution to Universal Music, having recently announced it is ending its long-term partnership with Warner Music’s ADA, bringing digital distribution in-house…

Chris Cooke • 20 Oct 2023

Korn • 2 min read

Korn announce official Adidas collection, just 27 years late

Korn have announced an official collection of Adidas gear celebrating their song ‘ADIDAS’, which came out in, er, 1996…

Andy Malt • 20 Oct 2023

Utopia Music • 2 min read

Alain Couttolenc appointed as new CEO of Utopia Music

Alain Couttolenc has been appointed as the new CEO of Utopia Music. Couttolenc has most recently worked at IPSOS as Chief Development Officer, and before that as CEO Europe for Nielsen Media…

Sam Taylor • 19 Oct 2023

Explore topics

View all

Music industry legal news coverage

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more

Digital services and platforms news

CMU Approved