CMU | the music business explained (Page 71)

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

Releases & Tours • 2 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours: Oct 2024 (Week 42)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week: Confidence Man, FKA twigs, 070 Shake, Bon Iver, TAAHLIAH, Ab-Soul + more, while tour announcements include Sam Fender, Osees + more.…

Kaya Robertson • 21 Oct 2024

[PIAS] • 3 min read

IMPALA says Universal’s “creeping dominance” and “pursuit of key independent players” is a cause for concern after [PIAS] deal

After the news earlier this week that Universal Music has bought [PIAS] outright, indie label trade group IMPALA has urged regulators to investigate the deal, while also calling for a “new competition approach” from regulators to address concerns around the “creeping dominance” of the three majors…

Chris Cooke • 18 Oct 2024

Festicket • 4 min read

£5 million still locked in Festicket’s Stripe account after promoters raise trust claims

Ticketing company Festicket collapsed in 2022. Many promoters said money from their ticket sales should have been held in trust, but a judge ruled their contracts with Festicket didn’t establish a trust. Some now claim to have an implied trust arrangement with Festicket’s payment processor Stripe…

Chris Cooke & Sam Taylor • 18 Oct 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 7 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders series - Trina Smith Q&A

This week, we caught up with Trina Smith, a powerhouse in the music industry who wears many hats, from managing producers and composers to co-owning a label and serving on the executive board at the Association For Electronic Music, or AFEM.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 17 Oct 2024

Liam Payne • 2 min read

Music community pays tribute to Liam Payne

Liam Payne’s family has published a statement following the news that the former One Direction member has died, aged 31, after falling from a balcony in Argentina. Artists from across the music community have been paying tribute to Payne on social media ever since the news first broke…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

Live industry news including ticketing, venues, festivals and more • 3 min read

Aussie government will crack down on “businesses ripping off Australians”, with ban on dynamic ticketing on the cards

Dynamic pricing on ticketing platforms could be banned in Australia as part of a government plan to prohibit “unfair trading practices”. The plan follows the recent controversies regarding dynamic pricing on tickets for Oasis shows in the US and Green Day gigs in Australia…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

Diddy • 3 min read

Lil Rod’s lawyer says sources “reliable” and UMG “shouldn’t think they’re in the clear” on Diddy allegations - whilst major says “no evidence” it was involved in “freak-offs”

Universal Music is still angry at being named as a defendant in an explosive lawsuit that was filed against Diddy earlier this year. It wants the lawyer that prepared that lawsuit to be sanctioned by the court. In a hearing this week, that lawyer insisted his sources were reliable…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

2 Live Crew • 3 min read

2 Live Crew win back control of early albums as court rejects label’s ‘work for hire’ claim

A jury has sided with 2 Live Crew in a termination rights dispute with the label that owns their early recordings. The group is trying to reclaim those rights, but the label said they couldn’t because their albums were made on a ‘work for hire’ basis. The jury rejected that argument…

Chris Cooke • 17 Oct 2024

• 3 min read

AIM Independent Music Awards get underway at London's Roundhouse

The UK’s Association Of Independent Music presents its Independent Music Awards for 2024 at a ceremony in London tonight, with a diverse array of talent and companies among the nominees and winners…

CMU • 17 Oct 2024