CMU | the music business explained (Page 55)

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

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

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - last week’s standout releases

From Bauhaus meets Nine Inch Nails to Bossa Nova and Fontaines DC’s blissed-out anthems of youth, last week’s releases ran the spectrum from dark to dreamy. Here are some of last week’s releases you might have missed…

Kaya Robertson • 24 Feb 2025

NewJeans • 4 min read

K-pop labels and agencies want new laws against contract tampering, but no other regulation, as Ador v NewJeans dispute continues

With the ongoing very public dispute between NewJeans and HYBE’s Ador still grabbing the headlines in South Korea, resulting in proposals for regulating the K-pop business, five trade groups for the Korean music industry have said the focus of law-makers should be so called “tampering practices”…

Chris Cooke • 21 Feb 2025

Live Nation • 5 min read

Live Nation boss dismissive of streaming platforms’ superfan ambitions as company reports record year

Live Nation’s CEO has told analysts that streaming platforms need ticket pre-sale inventory to make super premium work - but whether or not they get it is another question. The company spent more than $450 million settling Astroworld lawsuits in 2024 - and there’s still no news on the DOJ lawsuit…

Sam Taylor • 21 Feb 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Claire Hamilton

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 caught up with Northern music industry champion Claire Hamilton.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 21 Feb 2025

Op-Eds • 4 min read

Op-ed: Paul Bonham from the MMF on how Accelerator supports music managers

Everyone knows a talented independent music manager in need of support. Help is at hand via the MMF's Accelerator Programme, supported by YouTube Music…

CMU Contributors • 20 Feb 2025

The 1975 • 2 min read

Malaysian festival can’t sue individual members of The 1975, says band’s lawyer

The lawsuit filed by a Malaysian festival against The 1975 following their controversial performance at the event in 2023 was in court this week. The band’s lawyers began by arguing that, while the festival can sue The 1975’s company, individual band members should be removed from the litigation…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

The Leadmill • 3 min read

Leadmill operator vows to “exhaust every possible legal avenue” after losing eviction battle in court

The current operator of Sheffield’s The Leadmill has acknowledged that a judge has ruled against him in an eviction dispute with landlord The Electric Group. However, he says the Save The Leadmill campaign continues and all legal routes will be pursued before he vacates the premises…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Salami Rose Joe Louis

A genre traveler at heart, Lindsay Olsen - aka Salami Rose Joe Louis - blends jazz, soul and synth-driven electronica into something uniquely her own. Floating atop gently revolving Polybrute arpeggios, her latest single ‘Inside’ is sombre yet luminous…

Kaya Robertson • 20 Feb 2025

Sony Music • 3 min read

Sony Music says Ultra copyright lawsuit “an ill-conceived” and retaliatory ploy filed to “exact revenge” over trademark dispute

Sony Music says that a copyright lawsuit filed against it by Ultra Music Publishing should be dismissed, because it fails to identify “any particular infringing acts”. Not only that, but the lawsuit was filed in retaliation after it sued the Ultra publisher for trademark infringement…

Chris Cooke • 19 Feb 2025

Turning Point • 2 min read

Turning Point wants out of the Isaac Hayes estate’s Trump lawsuit, because the President himself was in charge of the playlist

Right wing group Turning Point got caught up in the lawsuit filed by the Isaac Hayes estate over Donald Trump’s use of the song ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’, because it hosted events for the President. But it says it should be removed from the lawsuit because it wasn’t involved in Trump’s musical choices…

Chris Cooke • 19 Feb 2025

IFPI • 2 min read

IFPI stats run for 2025 begins with the customary Taylor Swift accolades

The IFPI earlier today published five charts tracking global success in 2024, all of them topped by Taylor Swift, making her the trade group’s Global Recording Artist Of The Year for the fifth time. The global charts from IFPI precede the organisation’s big Global Music Report next month…

Chris Cooke • 18 Feb 2025

The Leadmill • 2 min read

Leadmill operator reportedly loses battle against eviction - and can’t even demolish the toilets on his way out

The operator of Sheffield venue The Leadmill, Phil Mills, has reportedly lost a court battle in which he was fighting an eviction order. Mills planned to demolish a toilet block before vacating the building, but the local council has declined to give planning permission for any demolition work…

Chris Cooke • 18 Feb 2025