CMU | the music business explained (Page 83)

Horizon Future Leaders: Four issues shaping the industry

Five key developments over the Christmas break

Music and AI: 2025’s developments that will shape 2026’s disputes

Artists from South East Europe at risk of “cultural erasure” as a result of Spotify’s 1000 stream threshold

As indie community calls again for Universal’s Downtown deal to be blocked, will UMG flog off Curve to get over regulators?

MIT study “marks a new anchor for meaningful actions” to make live music more environmentally sustainable

Indie publishers make demands of collecting societies as they start to negotiate AI deals

Bob Vylan sue RTÉ over claims they instigated “antisemitic chant” during Glastonbury set

After King Gizzard boycotted Spotify, tracks by an AI-clone of the band started streaming

Ador founder wants to develop alternative K-pop management model with new agency

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

Diddy • 3 min read

Diddy lawsuit floodgates begin to open: as six more lawsuits are filed, is this the trickle before the torrent?

Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee, who says he is representing at least 120 people who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, has filed lawsuits on behalf of six of his clients. Four men and two women say they were sexually assaulted by Combs between the 1990s and 2021…

Chris Cooke • 15 Oct 2024

Sony Music • 4 min read

Spotify should have put up prices long ago; TikTok not a promo platform; AI will be a great tool for making music; Sony will take “more organic” approach to working with artists beyond releases, says Rob Stringer

Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer spoke at a Bloomberg’s Screentime conference last week, about getting more money out of TikTok, streaming subscribers, and opportunities for Sony and its artists. Those opportunities are stronger for Sony, he said, because it’s part of a wider entertainment group…

Chris Cooke • 14 Oct 2024

Releases & Tours • 2 min read

⏩ Releases & Tours: Oct 2024 (Week 41)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week: Charli XCX, Pa Salieu, Madlib, Ab-Soul, Major Lazer, Vybz Cartel, Strandz, The Cure + more, while tour announcements include Rizzle Kicks, Coco & Clair Clair + more.…

Kaya Robertson • 14 Oct 2024

Piracy • 2 min read

“Bulletproof” ISPs in the spotlight as RIAA submits annual piracy gripes to US government’s ‘notorious markets’ report

The US government is putting together its annual notorious markets report, which lists piracy sites of concern. The record industry has made its submission. Whereas last year concerns about AI vocal clones were included, this year’s contribution focuses on more conventional types of music piracy…

Chris Cooke • 14 Oct 2024

Caroline Dinenage MP • 1 min read

Caroline Dinenage MP writes to Lisa Nandy amid reports government may be considering a text and data mining AI copyright exception

Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of Parliament’s culture committee, has written to ministers following reports that the new UK government might be considering introducing a text and data mining copyright exception that could be utlised by AI companies, a move the last government proposed and then dropped…

CMU • 14 Oct 2024

TikTok • 5 min read

Exclusive: WIN says TikTok's decision to circumvent Merlin "puts independent labels in an impossible place" and "poses risk to cultural diversity"

TikTok's decision to circumvent independent music licensing organisation Merlin will harm diversity and puts independent music in an impossible place says WIN, calling on TikTok to come back to the negotiating table with Merlin…

Sam Taylor • 14 Oct 2024

Mitchell Asset Management • 5 min read

Proper Group AG scandal grows as investor John Mitchell distances himself from Löhr and CMU uncovers another case of embezzlement

John Mitchell, a key investor in Proper Group AG, has issued a statement to CMU distancing himself from the bankrupt company’s former ‘general advisor’ Peter Löhr. CMU has now discovered that a former director of Mitchell’s Australian firm Mitchell Asset Management was also accused of embezzlement.…

Sam Taylor • 12 Oct 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 21 min read

⏩ One Liners - music business news in brief: Iconoclast x David Cassidy, Warner x Cloud 9 Recordings, FUGA x UNIFIED Music Group + more

Deals Iconoclast has acquired the songs catalogue, sound recordings, and name, image and likeness rights of American actor and musician…

CMU • 11 Oct 2024

Grande Communications • 3 min read

Appeals court cuts major label payouts in Grande ISP copyright infringement case

There’s been an important ruling in the major labels’ music piracy case against Grande Communications. A US appeals court has confirmed the ISP is liable for copyright infringement, rejecting a new argument based on a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. However, the damages bill will be cut back…

Chris Cooke • 11 Oct 2024

Live Nation • 3 min read

Live Nation freaks out about upcoming Aussie TV exposé, issues statement calling investigation “inaccurate and unbalanced”

Australian TV show ‘Four Corners’ will air a programme next week about the impact of Live Nation on the country’s live music industry. The live giant has already responded to the show, which it says will present an “inaccurate and unbalanced” view of the sector and its role in it…

Chris Cooke • 11 Oct 2024

Diddy • 2 min read

Diddy trial date set for May 2025, investigation “very much ongoing”, could see further charges

There have been more developments in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs criminal case this week following last month’s sex trafficking charges. He has accused law enforcement of illegally leaking evidence, the prosecution have revealed there may yet be more charges, and a trial date has been set for next May…

Chris Cooke • 11 Oct 2024