CMU | the music business explained (Page 9)

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

Polaris • 2 min read

Nordic licensing hub Polaris to shut down due to ‘evolving market conditions’

Polaris, a digital licensing hub set up by three Nordic collecting societies, will wind down its operations next year with the three societies concluding that it’s no longer “the most suitable solution” for representing their respective relationships with digital platforms like Spotify and TikTok…

Chris Cooke • 02 Sep 2025

Cox Communications • 3 min read

Billion dollar piracy win for majors “defies common law and common sense” says Cox

The US Supreme Court has agreed to review the long-running legal battle between ISP Cox and the major labels. Cox wants the top court to reverse the billion dollar ruling in that litigation and, in a new court filing, again claims that failing to do so will result in mass internet disconnections…

Chris Cooke • 01 Sep 2025

Sony Music • 2 min read

Sony Music’s NYC HQ criticised over handling of corporate culture scandal at Aussie division

Australian tabloid the Daily Telegraph has published another report about employee grievances at Sony Music Australia and allegations that CEO Vanessa Picken has fostered a toxic workplace culture. Staff members are now specifically criticising how the major’s New York HQ is handling the crisis…

Chris Cooke • 01 Sep 2025

CMU Selects • 2 min read

CMU Selects - the last week’s standout releases

Our selection of five releases that cut through the noise last week, from CMAT, Ray Laurél, Blood Orange, Geese and MPH…

Kaya Robertson • 01 Sep 2025

PRS For Music • 5 min read

Court dismisses Dave Rowntree’s black box lawsuit against PRS

A UK court has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree against PRS over the collecting society’s black box distribution rules. PRS raised various issues with Rowntree’s ‘collective competition proceedings’, with judges ultimately granting its bid to strike the action…

Chris Cooke • 29 Aug 2025

Benson Boone • 2 min read

Sony’s merch division seeks court order banning sale of Benson Boone knock-offs

Benson Boone is on tour around the US and bootleggers are trying to sell knock off merch outside his shows. He works with Sony Music’s Ceremony Of Roses on his official merchandise, and it wants a court order banning the sale and ordering confiscation of all the knock offs…

Chris Cooke • 29 Aug 2025

Apple Music • 3 min read

Apple Music makes its radio stations available to everyone via radio streaming app TuneIn

Apple has announced a tie up with TuneIn which will see its six Apple Music Radio stations made available via the radio aggregator app. It seems to be part of a plan by Apple to better utilise the free radio services to sell subscriptions to Apple Music, which is lagging being main rival Spotify…

Chris Cooke • 28 Aug 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Clarice Jensen

On paper, a Juilliard-trained cellist opening for My Chemical Romance might look like a curveball. In reality, it makes perfect sense. Clarice Jensen’s new single, ‘Unity’, grows out of a symmetrical four-chord motif. It’s part tradition, part experiment and entirely her own language…

Kaya Robertson • 28 Aug 2025

Sony Music • 2 min read

Just three years after overhauling its top team, Sony Australia faces fresh accusations of a toxic workplace culture

Sony Music has responded to a newspaper report about its Australian division, which said employees had complained about a toxic workplace under CEO Vanessa Picken, who was hired after a previous scandal about the division’s corporate culture. The major says “we take all concerns very seriously”…

Chris Cooke • 28 Aug 2025

Anthropic • 3 min read

Anthropic settles legal dispute with authors - in a deal that could be influential in other AI copyright disputes

A settlement between Anthropic and a group of US authors could prove influential in the big debate over copyright and AI. A judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of books in its AI training was fair use unless it had pirated those books. Which it had. Which is why the AI company is now keen to settle…

Chris Cooke • 27 Aug 2025

Spotify • 3 min read

Brace yourself: Spotify is convinced people want it to be a messaging app

Spotify is adding messaging to its app, functionality it previously removed in 2017. It means users will be able to recommend tracks, podcasts and audiobooks to friends within the platform. Spotify says its users have been asking for this functionality and “our goal is to give users what they want”…

Chris Cooke • 27 Aug 2025