CMU | the music business explained (Page 5)

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

Kneecap • 3 min read

After Kneecap banned from Canada, rap trio say they will take legal action

Kneecap have been banned from performing in Canada, where they were due to play four gigs next month. The Canadian government says the rap trio have “displayed support for terrorist organisations”, something Kneecap’s members strongly deny. They have vowed legal action against the ban…

Chris Cooke • 22 Sep 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from Niko B and Evilgiane, Cardinals, Miley Cyrus with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, they are gutting a body of water + Collect 200…

Kaya Robertson • 22 Sep 2025

Live Nation • 5 min read

Live Nation colludes with ticket touts, says US government as it launches legal action

Earlier this year Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on dodgy ticket touts. Now the FTC is suing Live Nation’s Ticketmaster, claiming the ticketing company colludes with ticket touts that employ dodgy tactics to source tickets that they then sell at a massive mark up on Ticketmaster’s own resale site…

Chris Cooke • 19 Sep 2025

Massive Attack • 3 min read

Massive Attack pull music off Spotify over Ek’s weapons investments and join No Music For Genocide campaign

Massive Attack are the latest band to join the boycott of Spotify in protest at CEO Daniel Ek’s involvement in weapons company Helsing. They have also joined up with more than 400 artists and labels to request their distributors geo-block Israel when delivering music to all streaming services…

Chris Cooke • 19 Sep 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 3 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Ilona Smyth

This week we spoke with Ilona Smyth, Legal And Business Affairs Manager at Beggars Group, where she steers complex contracts and copyright matters for some of the world’s most influential independent record labels as well as the Beggars Music publishing company.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 19 Sep 2025

Media • 3 min read

US musicians’ union says ABC’s cancellation of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ is “state censorship”

Under pressure from Trump and US media regulator the FCC, Disney-owned ABC has suspended ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ over comments made on the show about the murder of Charlie Kirk. The American Federation Of Musicians, who has members affected by the suspension, says the move constitutes “state censorship”…

Chris Cooke • 18 Sep 2025

Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify agrees new deal with Sony Music Group that includes song rights in the US

Sony has announced a new licensing deal with Spotify. Like the other two majors, it will now directly license its songs catalogue in the US, where the streaming service previously relied on the MLC-administered compulsory licence, under which Spotify could apply a controversial bundling discount…

Chris Cooke • 18 Sep 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Domina

Drawing on the cool restraint of Lebanon Hanover and the hushed dreaminess of Beach House, Domina shape something affecting, yet in no hurry to reveal everything at once. New single ‘Snake’ - the final single ahead of a debut EP - is an understated gem…

Kaya Robertson • 18 Sep 2025

TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok deal details leak as Trump pushes deadline for sale of US business back to December

Donald Trump has again extended the deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok, this time to 16 Dec. A framework deal was agreed with the Chinese government on Monday that will see TikTok US become 80% owned by American investors. More details about that deal have now leaked…

Chris Cooke • 17 Sep 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

Open letter says creators’ human rights are “being flouted en masse” by AI companies

A plethora of artists and music industry organisations have signed an open letter demanding to know why UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer isn’t standing up for the human rights of British creators, whose copyrights are being infringed at scale by AI companies, many of them based overseas…

Chris Cooke • 17 Sep 2025

Op-Eds • 5 min read

Op-ed: DHP Family’s George Akins on what independence really means in live music

As Kneecap play their biggest show to date at Wembley Arena, the band’s promoter George Akins of DHP Family looks at what independence really means in the live industry, and why corporate interests and artists’ rights to express themselves are often in opposition to each other…

CMU Contributors • 17 Sep 2025