CMU | the music business explained (Page 3)

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

Boomtown • 3 min read

Boomtown ups drugs policing as coroner says dealers operated freely at festival

A coroner has reported on his inquest into the drug-related death of a festival-goer at last year’s Boomtown, concluding that drugs were “freely available to purchase” at the event. Local police say plans are in place this year to “disrupt” the sale of drugs on site at the festival…

Chris Cooke • 06 Aug 2025

Spotify • 2 min read

Spotify announces more price increases, boosting share price

Spotify is putting up its prices again in multiple markets, including - for the first time - India. In some European markets, a monthly subscription will increase from €10.99 to €11.99. Investors have responded positively to the news, with the company’s share price increasing yesterday…

Chris Cooke • 05 Aug 2025

Sony Music • 2 min read

Sony sues Napster over $9.2 million in unpaid royalties

Following reports earlier this year that Napster wasn’t paying all the royalties that were due to the music industry, Sony Music has now sued the streaming service. It says Napster hasn’t been paying its bills for over a year now and new owner Infinite Reality hasn’t fixed the problem…

Kaya Robertson • 05 Aug 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Earthly Measures

London duo Earthly Measures step out from behind the decks with ‘From Earth’ - a six-track EP fusing Afro-Latin rhythm, UK club energy and rich live percussion. Lead track ‘Que?’ (featuring OKRAA) is bold, borderless and built for movement…

Kaya Robertson • 05 Aug 2025

Web blocking • 3 min read

US music creators welcome latest proposal for web-blocking, which big tech dubs “a tool for censorship”

More proposals were made last week to introduce web-blocking as an anti-piracy tool for copyright owners under US law. Music creators have welcomed the proposals, called the Block BEARD Act, but big tech says web-blocks are “a dangerous mechanism” that will result in legitimate content being blocked…

Chris Cooke • 04 Aug 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Five stand-out releases - from ENNY, Yves Tumor & NINA, George Riley, Knucks and Rose Gray - that cut through last week.…

Kaya Robertson • 04 Aug 2025

Musixmatch • 3 min read

LyricFind’s “bluster” designed to distract from “business failures”, says rival Musixmatch in legal back and forth

The legal battle between LyricFind and Musixmatch continues. LyricFind has sued its rival over alleged anti-competitive conduct. But after making another filing with the court seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, Musixmatch said LyricFind was using “bluster” to cover up “business failures”…

Chris Cooke • 04 Aug 2025

Controversial ruling on US termination right fulfills the intention of Congress, say creators

Earlier this year a court ruling expanded the scope of the termination right in US copyright law, saying that creators can reclaim rights globally, not just in the US. That potentially overturns longstanding industry convention, but creator groups insist it was the right ruling and should be upheld…

Chris Cooke • 01 Aug 2025

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more • 2 min read

Industry welcomes ten step plan for “rebalancing the licensing regime” of UK festivals and venues

The UK government has published ten recommendations from an industry taskforce that was asked to review how pubs, clubs, venues and events are licensed, 20 years on from the last Licensing Act. The music industry says the recommendations include many “positive, business friendly measures”…

Chris Cooke • 01 Aug 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 9 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Karma Bertelsen

This week, we spoke to Karma Bertelsen - Marketing Strategy Director, EMEA at FUGA and founder of Hype Drop Club, a digital resource and community we often point people towards.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 01 Aug 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Babeheaven

Babeheaven return after four years with ‘Beloved’ - an intimate track built on soothing keys and Anderson’s soft but assured voice. After cancelled tours and time out, ‘Beloved’ doesn’t try to reclaim ground. Instead, it offers a new starting point - careful, quiet and completely sure of itself…

Kaya Robertson • 31 Jul 2025