CMU | the music business explained (Page 27)

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

Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation freaks out about upcoming Aussie TV exposé, issues statement calling investigation “inaccurate and unbalanced”

Australian TV show ‘Four Corners’ will air a programme next week about the impact of Live Nation on the country’s live music industry. The live giant has already responded to the show, which it says will present an “inaccurate and unbalanced” view of the sector and its role in it…

Chris Cooke • 11 Oct 2024

Diddy • 2 min read

Diddy trial date set for May 2025, investigation “very much ongoing”, could see further charges

There have been more developments in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs criminal case this week following last month’s sex trafficking charges. He has accused law enforcement of illegally leaking evidence, the prosecution have revealed there may yet be more charges, and a trial date has been set for next May…

Chris Cooke • 11 Oct 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders series - Breyner Baptista Q&A

As part of our new Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys. In this Q&A, we caught up with Breyner Baptista, Innovation & Culture Director at Blackstar Agency.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 11 Oct 2024

Universal Music • 2 min read

Universal Music sues Chili’s over music in social media posts

Another lawsuit has been filed in the US against a brand which used music in its social media posts with getting the right sync licences. Universal Music has sued the Chili's restaurant chain, which is already fighting a similar lawsuit filed by the Beastie Boys…

Chris Cooke • 10 Oct 2024

The Leadmill • 2 min read

Judge rejects appeal against The Leadmill’s landlord getting a premises licence

The legal battle between Phil Mills, operator of Sheffield venue The Leadmill, and his landlord The Electric Group continues. Sheffield council granted The Electric Group its own licence for the venue for if and when it evicts Mills. He appealed that decision, but his appeal has now been rejected…

Chris Cooke • 10 Oct 2024

Live Nation • 5 min read

Live Nation boss Michael Rapino says he’d “love” regulation of secondary ticketing including 20% price cap

Following controversies around the speculative selling of tickets for Oasis shows in North America, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke about the ticketing business at a Bloomberg conference yesterday. Among other things, he announced he now supports a 20% price cap on ticket resale…

Chris Cooke • 10 Oct 2024

Proper Group AG • 4 min read

Lawyer previously convicted of embezzlement from bankrupt companies in Sweden is pulling the strings at Proper Group AG

Peter Löhr, a key advisor to the bankrupt Proper Group AG, was previously convicted of embezzling from bankrupt companies in Sweden. As Proper Group faces unprecedented scrutiny from the Swiss authorities sources associated with the company are asking why Löhr is still there…

Sam Taylor • 10 Oct 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Yoo Doo Right

Montreal-based trio Yoo Doo Right blend post-rock, krautrock, shoegaze and musique concrète to craft a distinctive, avant-garde sound. Their latest single ‘Eager Glacier’ has subtle echoes of ‘Kid A’-era Radiohead, as they balance tense soundscapes with moments of atmospheric calm…

Kaya Robertson • 10 Oct 2024

Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify committed to work-from-anywhere policy, except on the night shift

Spotify’s HR chief has revealed that the company’s work-from-anywhere policy, instigated during COVID, will stay in place, even though other tech companies are telling employees to return to their offices. She has also spoken about the impact of last year’s job cuts at Spotify…

Chris Cooke • 09 Oct 2024

TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok sued by multiple US states over design features that damage the health of young users

Multiple US states have been investigating the impact of TikTok on its users and, based on that investigation, more than a dozen states have now filed lawsuits claiming that addictive-by-design features manipulate young users in a way that damages their mental health…

Chris Cooke • 09 Oct 2024

Limp Bizkit • 4 min read

Fred Durst sues Universal over systems that are “deliberately designed to conceal artists’ royalties and keep those profits for itself”

Fred Durst has sued Universal Music over its alleged failure to report and pay royalties he was due from Limp Bizkit’s records and a former label joint venture. He claims the major’s systems are deliberately set up in a way that means artists don’t necessarily know they are owed money…

Chris Cooke • 09 Oct 2024

Utopia Music • 5 min read

Proper Group AG - the company formerly known as Utopia - is riddled with debt and has left its few remaining staff high and dry with salaries unpaid for months

Put into bankruptcy by the Swiss courts, riddled with debt, the proceeds of the Sentric sale still locked in escrow, another UK company in liquidation, and its few remaining staff left in the lurch yet again as they wait months for salaries… what’s really happening at Proper Group AG…

Sam Taylor • 09 Oct 2024