CMU | the music business explained (Page 76)

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

Releases & Tours • 1 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours News Friday 4 Oct

New music from: KAYTRANADA, Confidence Man, The Smile, The Horrors, Maverick Sabre, Michael Kiwanuka, Allie X, Aitch, Auntie Flo, Maribou State, THUS LOVE, The Smashing Times, GRACEY, KSI…

CMU • 04 Oct 2024

Kesha • 3 min read

Kesha reveals “ten year plan to upend the music industry”

Kesha finally fulfilled all the obligations on her 2005 record deal with Dr Luke’s Kemosabe Records last year allowing her to release recent single ‘Joyride’ on her own label. Now in control of her recordings, she has a plan to address issues in the music industry, including unfair record contracts…

Chris Cooke • 04 Oct 2024

TikTok • 4 min read

Indie community reacts to TikTok circumventing Merlin

Following the news that TikTok has walked away from licensing negotiations with Merlin, various representatives for the indie label community have issued statements. They dismiss TikTok’s claim that it wants direct deals with indies to combat streaming fraud, arguing it’s all about paying less…

Chris Cooke • 03 Oct 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 18 min read

⏩ One Liners music business news in brief: Sony’s Pink Floyd deal, Heatwave Records, Tomorrow’s Warriors, yet more UMG country chiefs appointed, Black Lives in Music mentorship + more

⚡Want your news to be included in the CMU One Liners round-up? Email [email protected] Deals Cooking Vinyl Publishing…

CMU • 03 Oct 2024

Range Media Partners • 2 min read

CAA accuses Range Media of stealing confidential information and masquerading as a management company to avoid talent agency regulations

In 2020, five former CAA agents set up Range Media Partners. CAA has now sued the company accusing its founders of stealing confidential information about the talent agency before launching Range. They also say Range is basically a talent agency, but pretends it isn’t to avoid regulation…

Chris Cooke • 03 Oct 2024

Ticketmaster • 2 min read

Disappearing tickets not the result of Ticketmaster hack, says Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster customers have reported tickets disappearing from their accounts as they are transferred to other people without permission. Some speculated this might be linked to the big Ticketmaster hack, but the ticketing company says the hacking of customers’ email accounts is behind the problem…

Chris Cooke • 03 Oct 2024

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders series - Maria Torres Q&A

As part of our new 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. In this Q&A, we caught up with Maria Torres, Artist Manager at Mother Artists.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 03 Oct 2024

Fleetwood Mac • 2 min read

Fleetwood Mac producer says stage play about a fictional band rips off his memoir

In 2012, producer Ken Caillat published a memoir about his work on Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’. He reckons that book formed the basis of the Broadway play ‘Stereophonic’, about a band working on a new album. The writer of the play denies that’s the case, but Caillat has sued for copyright infringement…

Chris Cooke • 03 Oct 2024

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: A Place To Bury Strangers

A Place to Bury Strangers have cemented the be-all-end-all space for over-the-top post-punk/shoegaze destruction. Their latest single ‘Fear Of Transformation’ is a snarling, gothic techno-punk track; a jagged dialogue between the temptation to retreat and the drive to shatter self-imposed limits…

Kaya Robertson • 03 Oct 2024

TikTok • 5 min read

TikTok’s stance on direct licensing is “disingenuous” and risks harming the digital supply chain say industry insiders

TikTok wants to do direct licensing deals with Merlin members, cutting Merlin out of the equation. It claims this is to help tackle copyright issues but industry sources have told CMU that in fact it could make things worse, not better - and potentially harm the whole digital supply chain…

Sam Taylor • 02 Oct 2024

Diddy • 2 min read

Diddy now faces sexual assault lawsuit tsunami, with as many as 120 more people due to file legal action

Diddy’s legal woes are escalating, with numerous new lawsuits set to be filed including allegations of sexual assault from 120 people. The lawyer representing the new accusers has also pledged to “expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors”…

Chris Cooke • 02 Oct 2024