CMU | the music business explained (Page 4)

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

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

TikTok • 3 min read

Donald Trump signs executive order “saving TikTok”

Donald Trump has formally endorsed the plan to sell TikTok’s US operations to a new business majority owned by American investors. The President signed an executive order yesterday which says that plan complies with the sell-or-be-banned law passed by Congress last year over data security concerns…

Chris Cooke • 26 Sep 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Elliot Willcocks

As part of our 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. This week we spoke with Elliot Willcocks, PR Assistant at Stay Golden PR.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 26 Sep 2025

Cox Communications • 2 min read

US government set to side with Cox in court to overturn billion dollar damages judgement

Not only is the US government backing Cox Communications as it tries to overturn the billion dollar ruling in its long-running copyright battle with the major labels, but US Solicitor General D John Sauer now wants ten minutes to tell Supreme Court judges directly why they should side with the ISP…

Chris Cooke • 25 Sep 2025

European Union • 2 min read

New €1.8 billion EU culture programme must include “strategic policy action”, say music industry groups

Earlier this year the EU announced AgoraEU, a new programme to support culture, media and civil society across Europe. Music industry organisations have welcomed the programme, but say it should be “viewed as a baseline, not a ceiling”, and must deliver “coherent policy strategy” as well as funding…

Chris Cooke • 25 Sep 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Annabelle Chairlegs

Annabelle Chairlegs has a subtle noirish romanticism, classic and bluesy but with a touch of tongue-in-cheek sensibility that hints at the salt and grit beneath the sugar. New single, ‘Ice Cream On The Beach’, captures that mix of lusty, distracted, hair-twirling energy…

Kaya Robertson • 25 Sep 2025

Suno • 3 min read

Indie artist suing Suno amends lawsuit with new arguments against AI company’s fair use defence

After the major labels updated their lawsuit against Suno, adding allegations of stream-ripping, the indie musician who also sued the music AI company has done the same. Anthony Justice hopes that recent judgements in cases involving Anthropic and Meta can help him defeat Suno’s fair use defence…

Chris Cooke • 24 Sep 2025

Dua Lipa • 3 min read

Tabloid claims that Dua Lipa sacked agent over Glasto Kneecap letter are “categorically false” and “deliberately inflammatory”

Reports have been circulating this week that Dua Lipa sacked either her manager or her agent after they signed a letter objecting to Kneecap playing Glasto. It was WME agent David Levy that signed the letter but he isn’t Lipa’s day-to-day agent at the agency and, in fact, nobody has been sacked…

Chris Cooke • 24 Sep 2025

TikTok • 3 min read

Oracle will control TikTok algorithm in US, say White House officials

The White House has revealed more details about the deal to allow TikTok to continue operating in the US. It will involve a bigger role for Oracle, run by Trump ally Larry Ellison, whose son now also leads CBS and MTV. If Oracle controls the TikTok algorithm, that will be quite the media empire…

Chris Cooke • 23 Sep 2025

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