CMU | the music business explained (Page 25)

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”

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

Sony Music • 2 min read

Sylvia Rhone announces departure from top job at Sony Music’s Epic Records

Sylvia Rhone is standing down as Chair and CEO of the Epic label at Sony Music. The first black woman to chair a major label in the US, Rhone has now led frontline label divisions at all three major record companies. In a memo to staff, Sony boss Rob Stringer hailed the “trailblazing executive”…

Chris Cooke • 23 Sep 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: sleepazoid

Naarm-based sleepazoid have that scrappy post-punk drive but with the occasional softer breaks and shoegaze shimmer that lets you come up for air. Post-punk, shoegaze, alt-rock… call it what you want, but new single ‘NEW AGE’ is the sound of a band in full stride…

Kaya Robertson • 23 Sep 2025

Suno • 3 min read

Major labels add piracy claims to Suno lawsuit after $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement

The majors have amended their Suno lawsuit, alleging that the AI company sourced music by illegally ripping files from YouTube. It follows the ruling in the authors v Anthropic case, where Anthropic’s illegal sourcing of content created big copyright liabilities, prompting a $1.5 billion settlement…

Chris Cooke • 22 Sep 2025

Eminem • 2 min read

Meta seeks dismissal of Eminem copyright lawsuit

Earlier this year Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit against Meta, claiming that the rapper’s music appeared in videos on Facebook and Instagram without the necessary licences. Meta wants the lawsuit dismissed, arguing it lacks substance, and that it did - in fact - have a licence…

Chris Cooke • 22 Sep 2025

Kneecap • 3 min read

After Kneecap banned from Canada, rap trio say they will take legal action

Kneecap have been banned from performing in Canada, where they were due to play four gigs next month. The Canadian government says the rap trio have “displayed support for terrorist organisations”, something Kneecap’s members strongly deny. They have vowed legal action against the ban…

Chris Cooke • 22 Sep 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 Niko B and Evilgiane, Cardinals, Miley Cyrus with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, they are gutting a body of water + Collect 200…

Kaya Robertson • 22 Sep 2025

Live Nation • 5 min read

Live Nation colludes with ticket touts, says US government as it launches legal action

Earlier this year Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on dodgy ticket touts. Now the FTC is suing Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, claiming the ticketing company colludes with ticket touts that employ dodgy tactics to source tickets that they then sell at a massive mark up on Ticketmaster’s own resale site…

Chris Cooke • 19 Sep 2025

Massive Attack • 3 min read

Massive Attack pull music off Spotify over Ek’s weapons investments and join No Music For Genocide campaign

Massive Attack are the latest band to join the boycott of Spotify in protest at CEO Daniel Ek’s involvement in weapons company Helsing. They have also joined up with more than 400 artists and labels to request their distributors geo-block Israel when delivering music to all streaming services…

Chris Cooke • 19 Sep 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 3 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Ilona Smyth

This week we spoke with Ilona Smyth, Legal And Business Affairs Manager at Beggars Group, where she steers complex contracts and copyright matters for some of the world’s most influential independent record labels as well as the Beggars Music publishing company.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 19 Sep 2025

Media • 3 min read

US musicians’ union says ABC’s cancellation of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ is “state censorship”

Under pressure from Trump and US media regulator the FCC, Disney-owned ABC has suspended ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ over comments made on the show about the murder of Charlie Kirk. The American Federation Of Musicians, who has members affected by the suspension, says the move constitutes “state censorship”…

Chris Cooke • 18 Sep 2025

Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify agrees new deal with Sony Music Group that includes song rights in the US

Sony has announced a new licensing deal with Spotify. Like the other two majors, it will now directly license its songs catalogue in the US, where the streaming service previously relied on the MLC-administered compulsory licence, under which Spotify could apply a controversial bundling discount…

Chris Cooke • 18 Sep 2025

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