CMU | the music business explained (Page 57)

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

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours: Dec 2024 (Week 49)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week: DITZ, Blawan, Sam Fender, Sky Ferreira, Skepta + more, while tour announcements include Luke Sital-Singh, Greentea Peng, The Black Keys and others…

Kaya Robertson • 09 Dec 2024

Diddy • 3 min read

“Illegal search” of Diddy’s jail cell proves “shocking and outrageous” conduct by government, could jeopardise entire case, says defence

During Diddy’s most recent bid for bail, it emerged that prosecutors had access to handwritten notes he had made while in prison. His lawyers argue those notes are protected by attorney-client privilege and the fact they reached prosecutors is “outrageous” - they now want the court to intervene…

Chris Cooke • 06 Dec 2024

NewJeans • 2 min read

HYBE execs are trash talking NewJeans and it would be “inhumane” to enforce contractual terms says band as K-pop’s biggest dispute rumbles on

Earlier this week HYBE label Ador announced it was going legal to enforce its contract with NewJeans, who announced they were terminating their deal with the company last week. The group has responded to the lawsuit, stating that forcing them to continue working with the label would be “inhumane”…

Chris Cooke • 06 Dec 2024

IMPALA • 2 min read

IMPALA presents Outstanding Contribution Award to !K7 founder, as label approaches 40th anniversary

!K7 Music founder Horst Weidenmüller has been presented with an Outstanding Contribution Award by pan-European indie label grade group IMPALA, recognising !K7’s nearly four decades in business, as well as Weidenmüller’s work in the indie music community, including as a champion of sustainability…

Chris Cooke • 06 Dec 2024

The MLC • 3 min read

DURP! The MLC has an update on its distributor portal

The MLC’s portal that helps distributors identify unclaimed royalties for clients has hit a milestone with more than 100 partners now signed up. The catchily named DURP is a subset of the MLC’s existing public database of musical works, which holds information about songs and recordings…

Sam Taylor • 06 Dec 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 5 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Tia Johnson Q&A

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re 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 Tia Johnson, Marketing Manager at Atlantic Records UK.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 06 Dec 2024

MP3.to • 2 min read

Yout owner forces u-turn on record industry’s attempt to delist mp3 conversion site from Google’s search results

The Spanish record industry recently included MP3.to - a service that converts MP3s into other file formats - on a copyright takedown notice submitted to Google. It resulted in Google de-listing MP3.to. However, the service has successfully argued that there are no copyright issues with its site…

Chris Cooke • 05 Dec 2024

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

EU AI Act can only provide a “temporary fix” to the “darker aspect” of AI’s “profound disruption” to creative industries says open letter

Organisations representing creators across Europe have written to EU Commissioners Henna Virkkunen and Glenn Micallef calling for an ambitious AI strategy that deals with the impact generative AI is having on the creative industries, insisting that the existing EU AI Act is only a “temporary fix”…

Chris Cooke • 05 Dec 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: jasmine.4.t

Manchester-based singer-songwriter and trans woman jasmine.4.t brings a fresh perspective to indie-folk, with a sound full of glowing, quiet intensity. Her new single layers delicate lyrics over soft strums and swelling strings, creating a genuinely lovely folk song…

Kaya Robertson • 05 Dec 2024

Ador • 3 min read

NewJeans drama escalates as bust-up with label Ador goes legal

HYBE label Ador has begun legal proceedings against NewJeans after the group announced last week that they were terminating their contract with the company because it failed to address various grievances they raised. Ador says the contract stands and it now wants a court to confirm that…

Chris Cooke • 05 Dec 2024

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

AI generated music will suck €4 billion a year away from music creators by 2028 says CISAC

CISAC has published a new report looking at the impact generative AI will have on music creators’ earnings. It estimates that 24% of those earnings could be at risk, resulting in annual losses of €4 billion by 2028, while the value of AI-generated music will surge to €16 billion a year…

Chris Cooke • 04 Dec 2024

Lizzo • 2 min read

Lizzo can’t be sued by former employee, but the company Lizzo runs can

Last year Lizzo was sued by a clothing designer who previously worked on the musician’s tour, and who claims she was the victim of sexual and racial harassment. Both Lizzo and her company Big Grrrl Big Touring were named as defendants. A judge has now ruled that Lizzo herself can’t be sued…

Chris Cooke • 04 Dec 2024