CMU | the music business explained (Page 94)

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

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: House Of Protection

House Of Protection, the new project from Aric Improta and Stephen Harrison, blends hardcore, electronica and punk into a sound that channels volatility. Their latest single, ‘Pulling Teeth’, is an adrenaline-pumping track, with a daring video shot in India’s Well Of Death.…

Kaya Robertson • 13 Aug 2024

Live Nation • 2 min read

Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct goes far beyond consent decree violations, the US government argues

The US government has sued Live Nation in New York, but the live giant says the lawsuit should be heard by a court in Washington DC. That’s because a consent decree that regulates Live Nation’s conduct is under the jurisdiction of the DC courts, but the Department Of Justice says that’s irrelevant…

Chris Cooke • 13 Aug 2024

PRS For Music • 4 min read

PRS “no longer operating in the best interests” of songwriter members says open letter in direct licensing dispute

A group of songwriters who are suing PRS have written an open letter that is scathing of the UK collecting society. The letter is the latest development in a dispute over how PRS handles withdrawal of rights when writers want to do direct licensing deals around the live performance of their songs…

Chris Cooke • 12 Aug 2024

PRS For Music • 13 min read

Songwriters' open letter to PRS in direct licensing dispute

The full text of the open letter written by songwriters to PRS as part of their dispute over direct licensing and rights withdrawal…

CMU • 12 Aug 2024

Boardmasters • 3 min read

As Sammy Virji set cancelled after crowd surge, some festival-goers criticise Boardmasters capacity increase

Organisers of the Boardmasters festival revealed this weekend that seven attendees were hospitalised with minor injuries after a crowd surge incident. Although the injuries were minor, several attendees have spoken about the distress they experienced, with some also criticising festival security…

Chris Cooke • 12 Aug 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 10 min read

⏩ One Liners: music industry deals, appointments, legal round-up including UMG x Meta partnership, ROXI funding squeeze, Smashing Pumpkins x Marc Jacobs, David Goldsen upped at Warner Chappell plus Kayne in the dark about new Atlanic boss Elliot Grainge

Today: UMG x Meta, ROXI, The Smashing Pumpkins x Marc Jacobs capsule collection, Redlight Starwood partnership, Warner Chappell promotes David Goldsen, Anthropic vs Publishers not in court till 2026, Jay-Z formalises reversion rights for ‘Reasonable Doubt’, K-pop merch brands fined, artists vs Trump…

CMU • 12 Aug 2024

CMU Digest • 7 min read

📑 CMU Digest: Music industry lambasts Anthropic's defence + Spotify lays into Apple (again)

CMU Digest is a weekly round-up of the most interesting music business news stories from the last seven days.…

CMU • 12 Aug 2024

Pitbull • 2 min read

Pitbull sued over alleged song-theft on ‘I Feel Good’

Pitbull’s label is on the receiving end of the latest song-theft lawsuit. A company called All Surface Publishing claims that his track ‘I Feel Good’ rips off an earlier song called ‘Samir’s Theme’, which was shared with Pitbull collaborator DJ White Shadow in 2011.…

Chris Cooke • 09 Aug 2024

One Liners - quickfire news from the music business • 9 min read

⏩ One Liners: deals, appointments, legal including Lemonaide x Beatstars, BTS star crashes Gucci Japan website, Sonos puts products on hold to sort out app disaster, iHeartMedia earnings, Burning Man tickets shock, Travis Scott arrest

Lemonaide x Beatstars; Gucci x BTS Jin; appointments at Bauer Media, MCT Agentur, Tickets For Good, Capitol Christian Music Group, TikTok; Travis Scott arrest; Beyoncé copyright lawsuit dropped; Instagram metrics; Sonos app woes; Audial Music; iHeart earnings show podcast growth and more…

CMU • 09 Aug 2024

Apple • 4 min read

Apple's latest proposal “blatantly disregards” fundamentals of EU’s DMA, says Spotify

Spotify and Epic are not impressed with Apple’s latest attempt to make its App Store rules around in-app payments compliant with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. New proposals offer more flexibility and lower fees, but Spotify and Epic claim the latest terms still violate European law…

Chris Cooke • 09 Aug 2024