CMU | the music business explained (Page 86)

Spotify zaps half a million streams amid speculation Kalshi traders were behind boost for Malcolm Todd track ‘Earrings’

PRS defeats Rowntree black box class action at appeal - but is left £1.8m out of pocket

Live Nation boss Michael Rapino talked to Trump, hired Trump allies, reveals latest filing in antitrust case

StubHub fined £900,000 by UK regulator for illegal drip pricing

Google says any music uploaded to YouTube is fair game for AI training - and there’s nothing musicians can do

Suno really doesn’t want you to know how many audio files it copied when training its music AI model

Universal Music has found its backbone and told Bill Ackman to take a hike

BTS fans hate Live Nation over Aussie and Malaysian ticket pre-sales

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager back in court, over claims Pat improperly inserted himself into Chance’s deals

Gamma - which released Kanye’s comeback album - sues to unmask whoever is behind “coordinated and malicious” anonymous smear campaign

UK competition regulator should urgently investigate live music sector, MPs say, citing “climate of fear” around Live Nation’s dominance

Spotify’s transformation into an AI slop factory commences as it announces Universal “superfan” remix gimmick and Live Nation ticketing wheeze

Music industry welcomes revised NO FAKES Act, but Spotify says “still work to do”

Live Nation and Ticketmaster should still be split up, lawmakers told, as US government’s antitrust settlement criticised in Congress

Spotify increases subscription prices in Canada, but rolls back previous price increases in India

Op-ed: More than the Beatles: the quiet secrets behind Liverpool’s world-class music industry

BMG and Concord confirm merger

Universal and Sony must be allowed to see Warner’s deal with Suno, lawyers tell judge as AI legal battle continues

Music streaming services targeted as Texas Attorney General launches payola investigation

Live Nation pays $9.9 million to settle yet another investigation into dodgy ticketing practices

The European rule on whether samples need to be cleared moves to a “maybe” with latest Kraftwerk ruling

BTS lawyers go after album leaker and knock-off merch sellers

Eddie Dalton’s (actually quite modest) chart success sparks further debate about where AI music fits in

Grass needs more time to grow says AEG as it puts a pin in LIDO Festival

Universal CEO Lucian Grainge makes 764 times more than his employees - and female staff get 48% less than male counterparts

Major music publishers buy into termination rights lawsuit to take fight to Supreme Court

Spotify wants $300 million in damages from Anna’s Archive, and for court to go after piracy site’s service providers

Cox Communications celebrates as US Supreme Court overturns critical music piracy judgement

Claude’s AI lyrics cause market dilution, say music publishers calling for courts to reject fair use defence

Declare trademark claims bogus says FKA in Twigs vs Twigs

Chance The Rapper wins sunset clause dispute with former manager

American man pleads guilty to multi-million dollar streaming fraud, faces five years in jail

Cautious welcome for UK government’s latest AI copyright stance, as BMG files latest Anthropic lawsuit

DoJ’s Live Nation settlement “proof Trump Administration cannot be trusted to protect American consumers”, says new Senate report on Ticketmaster

StubHub to more clearly state prices and terms for touted tickets, and offer Taylor Swift fans refunds, but only in British Columbia

“Robbing them blind, baby - that’s how we do it”, boast Live Nation execs about “so stupid” ticket-buyers

New generation of British artists propel UK record industry to £1.5 billion high, says BPI

High Court sides with Kneecap, ending the Hezbollah flag criminal case against Mo Chara

Google had every opportunity to train its AI legally, but chose to do it on the cheap instead, say indie musicians in new lawsuit

Live Nation settles DoJ antitrust lawsuit - but state lawsuits may continue

Chance The Rapper and Pat The Manager bust-up heads to court over disputed sunset clause

Warner Music’s Robert Kyncl is betting the company on an AI future. Can he deliver?

Suno is a feral pig rampaging through a well-tended garden, say creator orgs

Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota said “independent music is not raw material for tech companies to exploit without consent” before quitting to join AI music scraper-in-chief Suno

Producer who accused Karol G of beat-theft dismisses his lawsuit, adding “we were wrong”

Anna’s Archive rolls out the red carpet for robots - and asks them to “persuade” their humans to make donations

After a Live Nation lobbyist boasted he got antitrust chief sacked, US Senators ask if company has hired a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”

European Commission approves Universal’s $775 million Downtown acquisition - but did it ask the right questions?

Spotify is all in on AI, its best engineers haven't written a single line of code since December - and why that should worry the music industry

Adding “hot takes” to unlicensed music is not fair use, judge confirms in rockumentary copyright case

IMPALA report warns European music diversity will erode without intervention on ownership, market access and infrastructure

European Commission must tackle “coercive buy-out practices” when US video streamers commission music, says MEP

Charlie Puth got musician to provide vocals for ‘Furious 7’ track, then Warner cheated him out rights and royalties, says lawsuit

Music publishers file new Anthropic lawsuit, adding in piracy claims and $3 billion mega-damages

Meta dropped songs from Reels library to bully Wixen into accepting lower royalty rates, says lawsuit

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”

Barry Manilow • 2 min read

Barry Manilow tells London judge bonus dispute with Hipgnosis should be fought out in LA

Barry Manilow and Hipgnosis are involved in a legal dispute over bonus payments stemming from a 2020 deal. Both have filed lawsuits, Manilow in LA and Hipgnosis in London. Manilow last week told a London judge that, under his Hipgnosis deal, he gets to decide where the litigation is fought out…

Chris Cooke • 25 Feb 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Witch Post

Witch Post is Alaska Reid and Dylan Fraser, two artists from different Livingstons - one in Montana, the other in Scotland. Their new single ‘Dreaming’ blends moody indie with warped pop. Named after carvings once used to ward off spirits, Witch Post instead invites something in…

Kaya Robertson • 25 Feb 2025

Diddy • 2 min read

Diddy defence lawyer quits saying there are “no circumstances” under which he can continue to rep the musician

A lawyer working for Diddy as he fights criminal charges of sex trafficking has asked the judge to let him quit the case, though hasn’t really provided much information why. It shouldn’t delay the schedule for Diddy’s May trial as there are five other lawyers working on the case…

Chris Cooke • 24 Feb 2025

Stormzy • 3 min read

Stormzy says brands can’t tell him what to do after McDonald’s backlash

Stormzy has faced a backlash over his partnership with McDonald’s. There were also allegations that the brand deal prompted him to remove an Instagram post supporting Palestine. The rapper has denied that claim, insisting none of the brands he works with “tell me what to do”…

Chris Cooke • 24 Feb 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - last week’s standout releases

From Bauhaus meets Nine Inch Nails to Bossa Nova and Fontaines DC’s blissed-out anthems of youth, last week’s releases ran the spectrum from dark to dreamy. Here are some of last week’s releases you might have missed…

Kaya Robertson • 24 Feb 2025

NewJeans • 4 min read

K-pop labels and agencies want new laws against contract tampering, but no other regulation, as Ador v NewJeans dispute continues

With the ongoing very public dispute between NewJeans and HYBE’s Ador still grabbing the headlines in South Korea, resulting in proposals for regulating the K-pop business, five trade groups for the Korean music industry have said the focus of law-makers should be so called “tampering practices”…

Chris Cooke • 21 Feb 2025

Live Nation • 5 min read

Live Nation boss dismissive of streaming platforms’ superfan ambitions as company reports record year

Live Nation’s CEO has told analysts that streaming platforms need ticket pre-sale inventory to make super premium work - but whether or not they get it is another question. The company spent more than $450 million settling Astroworld lawsuits in 2024 - and there’s still no news on the DOJ lawsuit…

Sam Taylor • 21 Feb 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Claire Hamilton

As part of our 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. This week, we caught up with Northern music industry champion Claire Hamilton.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 21 Feb 2025

Op-Eds • 4 min read

Op-ed: Paul Bonham from the MMF on how Accelerator supports music managers

Everyone knows a talented independent music manager in need of support. Help is at hand via the MMF's Accelerator Programme, supported by YouTube Music…

CMU Contributors • 20 Feb 2025

The 1975 • 2 min read

Malaysian festival can’t sue individual members of The 1975, says band’s lawyer

The lawsuit filed by a Malaysian festival against The 1975 following their controversial performance at the event in 2023 was in court this week. The band’s lawyers began by arguing that, while the festival can sue The 1975’s company, individual band members should be removed from the litigation…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

The Leadmill • 3 min read

Leadmill operator vows to “exhaust every possible legal avenue” after losing eviction battle in court

The current operator of Sheffield’s The Leadmill has acknowledged that a judge has ruled against him in an eviction dispute with landlord The Electric Group. However, he says the Save The Leadmill campaign continues and all legal routes will be pursued before he vacates the premises…

Chris Cooke • 20 Feb 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Salami Rose Joe Louis

A genre traveler at heart, Lindsay Olsen - aka Salami Rose Joe Louis - blends jazz, soul and synth-driven electronica into something uniquely her own. Floating atop gently revolving Polybrute arpeggios, her latest single ‘Inside’ is sombre yet luminous…

Kaya Robertson • 20 Feb 2025

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