CMU | the music business explained (Page 6)

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

Drake • 2 min read

Universal tries to get Drake petition in Texas courts dismissed by arguing he’s relying on mere “hearsay”

Last year Drake filed petitions against Universal Music with courts in New York and Texas, accusing it of employing dodgy tactics when promoting Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’. The New York petition was replaced by the big defamation lawsuit, but the Texas one stands. Universal wants it dismissed…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2025

Spotify • 4 min read

Universal Music’s new Spotify deal could be a knock-out blow for streaming platform’s audiobook bundling trick

Universal Music has signed a big new deal with Spotify, and it’s precisely what Lucian Grainge “envisioned” when he coined the buzzword “streaming 2.0”, apparently. More importantly, it seems to address the audiobook bundling dispute when it comes to Universal’s songs catalogue in the US…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2025

Jay-Z • 2 min read

Jay-Z’s bid to dismiss sexual assault lawsuit is “outrageous and unprecedented attempt” to silence his accuser, says lawyer

Earlier this month Jay-Z called for the lawsuit that accuses him of rape to be dismissed and the lawyer who filed it to be sanctioned. That lawyer, Tony Buzbee, has now responded, calling Jay-Z’s motion for dismissal an “outrageous and unprecedented attempt” to silence his client…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jan 2025

1fichier.com • 2 min read

French Supreme Court says bank had right to stop taking payments for file-storage platform on piracy grounds

In 2015, Société Générale stopped providing services to file-storage platform 1fichier.com because of complaints it hadn’t done enough to stop copyright infringement. It argued that copyright complaints were not grounds for cutting it off, but the French Supreme Court has now ruled that they were…

Chris Cooke • 24 Jan 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 5 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Zine Abdi 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 Zine Abdi, Communications Manager at Love Is The Message.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 24 Jan 2025

Limp Bizkit • 3 min read

Judge says Fred Durst can’t cancel old record deals in royalty dispute with Universal Music

Last year Fred Durst sued Universal Music accusing the major of breach of contract and copyright infringement, and seeking to cancel his old deals with the music company. A court has now ruled that Durst has failed to demonstrate there are grounds for actually rescinding his old record contracts…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jan 2025

Diddy • 1 min read

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sues for defamation over claims videos exist showing him sexually assaulting celebrities and minors

Diddy has sued a man who claims he has videos showing the musician sexually assaulting celebrities and minors. No such videos exist, Diddy claims in a defamation lawsuit that also targets news network NewsNation, which - it says - provided a platform for distributing the “outlandish claims”…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jan 2025

LIVE • 2 min read

LIVE calls on government to address Brexit issues, regulate ticket touting and provide more economic support as it sets out six key priorities

UK live sector trade group LIVE has published an agenda setting out its priorities for 2025, including the issues it will lobby government on. There are the customary calls for more economic support for the live industry, as well as requests relating to Brexit and Martyn’s Law…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jan 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Floodlights

Australian band Floodlights blend post-punk grit with atmospheric storytelling, their sound restless and searching. With a vocal delivery reminiscent of David Byrne, they capture the emotional undercurrents of everyday life, driven by a deep sense of place and poetic exploration…

Kaya Robertson • 23 Jan 2025

Chris Brown • 2 min read

Chris Brown files $500 million defamation lawsuit over documentary which, he says, was “full of lies and deception”

Warner Bros Discovery has been sued for defamation over a Chris Brown documentary which included claims that he raped a woman in 2020, an allegation the musician strongly denies. In his $500 million lawsuit, he says Discovery knew that woman’s claims were not credible before airing the programme…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2025

Napster • 2 min read

Labels considering pulling catalogues from Napster over late royalty payments

The Napster streaming service could lose access to portions of its catalogue as some labels and distributors threaten to pull the plug over late royalty payments. More than half a dozen labels have expressed frustration about the late payments, with some experiencing delays of over a year…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2025