CMU | the music business explained (Page 30)

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

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Clarice Jensen

On paper, a Juilliard-trained cellist opening for My Chemical Romance might look like a curveball. In reality, it makes perfect sense. Clarice Jensen’s new single, ‘Unity’, grows out of a symmetrical four-chord motif. It’s part tradition, part experiment and entirely her own language…

Kaya Robertson • 28 Aug 2025

Sony Music • 2 min read

Just three years after overhauling its top team, Sony Australia faces fresh accusations of a toxic workplace culture

Sony Music has responded to a newspaper report about its Australian division, which said employees had complained about a toxic workplace under CEO Vanessa Picken, who was hired after a previous scandal about the division’s corporate culture. The major says “we take all concerns very seriously”…

Chris Cooke • 28 Aug 2025

Anthropic • 3 min read

Anthropic settles legal dispute with authors - in a deal that could be influential in other AI copyright disputes

A settlement between Anthropic and a group of US authors could prove influential in the big debate over copyright and AI. A judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of books in its AI training was fair use unless it had pirated those books. Which it had. Which is why the AI company is now keen to settle…

Chris Cooke • 27 Aug 2025

Spotify • 3 min read

Brace yourself: Spotify is convinced people want it to be a messaging app

Spotify is adding messaging to its app, functionality it previously removed in 2017. It means users will be able to recommend tracks, podcasts and audiobooks to friends within the platform. Spotify says its users have been asking for this functionality and “our goal is to give users what they want”…

Chris Cooke • 27 Aug 2025

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

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