CMU | the music business explained (Page 9)

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

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Shreea Kaul

Shreea Kaul slips past easy genre lines, sitting in the space between late-night honesty and sharp-eyed control. It's soft-edged R&B that doesn’t mind getting a little weird. New single ‘Crooked Salesman’ starts out hazy and alluring, then shifts under your feet…

Kaya Robertson • 24 Jun 2025

Spotify • 3 min read

Spotify customers forced into bundled plans says David Israelite as Senators urge FTC to intervene

US Senators have asked the FTC to investigate Spotify’s bundling trick, which saw it automatically opt premium subscribers into a music + audiobooks bundle that is more expensive and pays less to writers and publishers. The senators say they have “serious concerns” about this trick being employed…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jun 2025

Kneecap • 2 min read

Former Irish premier thought Keir Starmer’s Kneecap Glastonbury intervention must be a joke

Kneecap are due to play Glastonbury this weekend and that fact is causing some controversy. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told The Sun the group shouldn’t be playing. The former Irish Taoiseach has responded, bemused as to why Starmer would express an opinion on Glastonbury’s booking policies…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jun 2025

Coldplay • 2 min read

Coldplay re-release catalogue on EcoRecords, as industry seeks eco-friendly discs that are cheaper to produce and sound better

Coldplay will re-release all their albums on EcoRecords in August. A number of artists have been experimenting with more environmentally sustainable physical discs, and technological developments mean that approach is becoming cheaper, while audio quality issues are being addressed…

Chris Cooke • 23 Jun 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Five fresh tracks from last week: Lorde’s euphoric ‘Hammer’, SOPHIE’s fizzy ‘OOH’, Westside Cowboy’s punk ride, dexter in the newsagent’s intimate lo-fi ‘special’, and The Bloody Beetroots with Tokky Horror’s tense and twitchy ‘NUMB’…

Kaya Robertson • 23 Jun 2025

Budweiser • 6 min read

Budweiser boasts of “$0 spent on music rights” in “iconic songs” campaign, wins ad-land’s biggest prize

Budweiser, the king of carbonated disappointment in a can, is proud that it’s found an apparent loophole that means it doesn’t need to pay for “music right$” when harnessing “the most iconic songs in the world” to shill its sad excuse for a beer. And now it’s won an award…

Sam Taylor & Chris Cooke • 20 Jun 2025

Notting Hill Music • 3 min read

Notting Hill Carnival organisers ask culture ministry to step in with cash to implement new safety measures

The Notting Hill Carnival has asked the UK government to provide funding for new crowd management operations at the annual event after a police chief said he feared the popularity of the carnival might result in a “mass casualty” incident. But government funding may prove controversial…

Chris Cooke • 20 Jun 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 6 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Josh Gunston

This week, we caught up with Josh Gunston - founder and label director at Brighton-based Southpoint, artist manager to names like Bushbaby, and a self-starting force whose ten year journey in the scene proves you don’t need permission to make things happen.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 20 Jun 2025

Kneecap • 2 min read

“Free Mo Chara” say protesters as Kneecap member is released on unconditional bail

Kneecap attended Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday, where band member Mo Chara faced a terror offence charge for displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London gig. Supporters gathered outside the packed courtroom, where the musician was released on unconditional bail and told to return on 20 Aug…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jun 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 7 min read

EU needs “ambitious report” on copyright and AI to address unresolved issues around creator and performer consent

The European Parliament’s JURI Committee is currently working on a report about copyright and AI. Groups representing creators and performers have written to MEPs urging them to make it an ambitious report that addresses issues including copyright exceptions, transparency and creator consent…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jun 2025

TikTok • 4 min read

As Trump extends TikTok timeline yet again, will a ban or sale ever actually happen?

The latest deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok in the US, or face a ban, was today. But the White House has confirmed Donald Trump is pushing the deadline back for a third time. It makes you wonder if the law passed by Congress ordering a change in ownership or a ban will ever actually be enforced…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jun 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Cardinals

Cork five-piece Cardinals channel a monochrome, windswept kind of nostalgia - equal parts shoegaze, Irish trad, and shadowy rock and roll romanticism. New single ‘Big Empty Heart’ is a gothic patchwork of shanty-leaning balladry and poetry-drenched punk…

Kaya Robertson • 19 Jun 2025