CMU | the music business explained (Page 3)

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

Salt N Pepa • 3 min read

Universal calls for Salt N Pepa lawsuit to be thrown out yet again

The legal battle between Salt N Pepa and Universal Music over the US termination right continues. The rappers filed an amended lawsuit earlier this month as they try to reclaim ownership of their 1980s recordings. The major says their legal claims are still deficient and should be dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 26 Aug 2025

Kneecap • 5 min read

Another weekend of Gaza protests at music festivals plus Kneecap cancel US shows

Kneecap have announced that their October tour of the US is officially cancelled, following reports of visa issues. The announcement comes after another weekend of festival-related politics, with Kneecap’s set at Rock en Seine in France and events at the Victorious Festival in the UK…

Chris Cooke • 26 Aug 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Tebi Rex

After a decade of pulling Irish hip hop into stranger, sharper, funnier shapes, Irish alt-rap duo Tebi Rex are calling time. Two people met at a college talent show, made something that didn’t sound like anyone else around them and left a mark. ‘Fin.’ is the bow on top…

Kaya Robertson • 26 Aug 2025

Spotify • 4 min read

Spotify’s ads business is “floundering”, according to Business Insider report

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek recently admitted that the streaming service’s ad sales have been underperforming. Business Insider has spoken to advertising industry execs who say Spotify’s ad strategy to date has been “messy” and the value of its recent push into video ads is yet to be proven…

Chris Cooke • 22 Aug 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 3 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Maarten Puddy

This week we caught up with Maarten Puddy, artist manager and founder of VOWTA Management.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 22 Aug 2025

Supertramp • 2 min read

Supertramp songwriter must continue to share publishing royalties with bandmates, US appeals court concludes

Last year a US court ruled that Supertramp songwriter Roger Hodgson could cancel a 1977 agreement to share his publishing royalties with former bandmates. But an appeals court has overturned that ruling, stating that the agreement should stay in force until the Supertramp copyrights expire…

Chris Cooke • 22 Aug 2025

Spotify • 2 min read

Turkish government makes up with Spotify as streaming service commits to open Istanbul office

Last month there was speculation Spotify might pull out of Turkey because of tensions between the digital service and the country’s government. But Turkish Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy says a meeting took place this week to improve relations, with Spotify committing to open an Istanbul office…

Chris Cooke • 21 Aug 2025

Kneecap • 2 min read

Kneecap thank fans who protested outside Westminster court yesterday as the “carnival of distraction rolls on”

Kneecap’s Mo Chara was in court yesterday facing a terror offence charge over allegations he displayed a Hezbollah flag at a London show last year. His lawyers are trying to get the case thrown out on a timing technicality. Hundreds of fans showed up outside the court to support the rapper…

Chris Cooke • 21 Aug 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Amie Blu

South East Londoner Amie Blu makes rich and raw folk rock, imbued with feeling. New single ‘bite’ sees Blu checking herself in real time, asking why we swallow down love instead of letting it spill out, and doing so with a voice that’s rich without being over-dressed…

Kaya Robertson • 21 Aug 2025

Suno • 3 min read

Suno says indie musician’s copyright claims about its AI’s output are bogus

In June, independent artist Anthony Justice sued AI company Suno for copyright infringement, following the lead of the major labels. His lawsuit made copyright claims about Suno’s training data and the tracks it outputs. Suno says the claims relating to the outputs should be immediately dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2025

Licensing • 2 min read

BMI and ASCAP lock in higher royalty rates with US radio broadcasters

US collecting societies BMI and ASCAP have both agreed deals with the radio sector, setting out what royalty rates US broadcasters will pay. It ends a legal dispute with the radio industry which could have resulted in the two societies squabbling over their respective market shares in the courts…

Chris Cooke • 20 Aug 2025