CMU | the music business explained (Page 98)

Polydor President among the senior execs to depart as Universal completes its two year €250 million saving corporate “redesign”

Summer Walker legal drama doubles as she battles to dump management as well as her label

UK Copyright Tribunal ruling recognises “increased value of music in cinema” says PRS

Music industry welcomes eighteen month prison sentence for streaming fraudster

Don’t say collusion: “no evidence of misconduct or conflict of interest” say major labels and publishers about their Phono V physical negotiations

Streaming fraud is fuelled by “perceived lack of a legal risk”, industry stakeholders tell judge in Michael Smith sentencing

As touts list Oasis tickets for £3000, will the UK government finally set a timeline for banning for-profit ticket touting?

Incoming ‘nor’easter storm’ might succeed where billionaire Robert Kraft failed - causing an Ed Sheeran show to cancel

Ed Sheeran discusses Macklemore axing controversy as his tour resumes in Philadelphia

Live Nation hired Trump’s personal lawyer as it sought to persuade US Department Of Justice to settle antitrust litigation

Songwriter AI victory in Europe as GEMA beats Suno in copyright lawsuit

Live Nation says everyone should shut up and stop asking questions about its cosy deal with Trump’s DoJ

Only humans can be ‘authors’ say Canadian music publishers in test case on copyright status of AI-generated works

AI-generated tracks now account for more than 50% of Deezer’s uploads

UK government publishes ‘Our Plan For Music’ - and announces new funding and licensing reforms

US industry groups raise “serious concerns” about EU royalty flow proposals, which many of their European counterparts support

Kneecap allowed to file defamation lawsuit in Ireland against Indigenous leader in Canada over antisemitism claims

BBC’s music boss Lorna Clarke outlines broadcaster’s AI transparency commitments - but can it actually meet them?

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

TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok back in Apple and Google US app stores, as Trump says he may further postpone the ban

TikTok is back in the Apple and Google app stores in the US. They both removed the app when a ban went into effect in January, even though Donald Trump immediately paused the ban. Meanwhile, Trump says he’s confident he can still negotiate a deal that means the TikTok ban never needs to happen…

Chris Cooke • 14 Feb 2025

Horizon Future Leaders • 5 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Abby Meysenburg Q&A

As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series, we’re 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 freelance tour manager Abby Meysenburg.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 14 Feb 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 4 min read

MPs urge government to maintain AI and copyright amendments in Data Bill to “protect our creative industries”

Last month the House Of Lords amended the UK government's Data Bill to add some copyright obligations for AI companies. The bill was debated in the House Of Commons yesterday, where some MPs urged the government to retain those amendments in order to “protect our creative industries”…

Chris Cooke • 13 Feb 2025

Diddy • 3 min read

Diddy sues NBC for defamation over murder and child abuse claims in ‘Making Of A Bad Boy’ documentary

Last month NBC aired a documentary all about the scandals surrounding Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. In a new lawsuit, Combs says that allegations in the programme - and especially its claims accusing him of murder and child abuse - were defamatory, with those claims based on mere hearsay and speculation…

Chris Cooke • 13 Feb 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Leatherette

Italian post-punk band Leatherette bring a guttural, King Krule-esque vibe, blending the restlessness of post-punk with the charm of new wave. Their new single ‘Itchy’ is a feverish and fuzzy breakup song.…

Kaya Robertson • 13 Feb 2025

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

US judge demolishes fair use defence in what could be landmark AI lawsuit

An AI company’s fair use defence in a copyright legal battle filed by Thomson Reuters has been rejected by an American judge. It’s a significant ruling because of the numerous US lawsuits against AI companies, including those filed by the music industry, that centre on the fair use defence…

Chris Cooke • 12 Feb 2025

Kanye • 2 min read

YouTube boss Lyor Cohen says he is “deeply disappointed” by Kanye’s Nazi ranting as both Shopify and talent agent ditch rapper

Following Kanye West’s latest controversies, including a rant on X and him selling t-shirts featuring a swastika symbol, both Shopify and a talent agent have cut their ties with the rapper. Meanwhile record industry veteran Lyor Cohen has written an open letter urging West to take a different path…

Chris Cooke • 12 Feb 2025

TikTok • 4 min read

What next for TikTok in the US as April deadline looms on the horizon?

While the US TikTok ban was postponed for 75 days by Donald Trump, the app’s future in the country remains uncertain, despite lots of speculation about which American billionaires want to buy it. Meanwhile the UK government is now on TikTok, despite the app being banned on government devices…

Chris Cooke • 11 Feb 2025

Ozzy Osbourne • 2 min read

Ozzy Osbourne sued for posting photos of himself on social media

Ozzy Osbourne is the latest artist to be sued for posting photos of himself on social media. The copyrights in the images are owned by the photographer, who says no permission was granted to use the photos on social platforms that are “key components” of Osbourne’s “lucrative commercial enterprise”…

Chris Cooke • 11 Feb 2025

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Neil Francis

Chicago-bred singer, songwriter and pianist Neal Francis channels the swagger of 70s icons. His latest single, ‘Need You Again’, is pulsing with the loose-limbed energy of late-70s proto-house, unspooling in sinewy riffs and rubbery funk grooves…

Kaya Robertson • 11 Feb 2025

Collective Licensing • 3 min read

Does the US really need so many performing rights organisations and are they doing a good enough job, asks US Copyright Office

The increase in the number of collecting societies representing the performing rights of songwriters in the US is set to be considered in a new US Copyright Office inquiry. It will also review how societies distribute royalties, and whether independent writers and publishers are disadvantaged…

Chris Cooke • 10 Feb 2025

CMU Selects • 1 min read

CMU Selects - last week’s standout releases

From Dean Blunt’s new lovestruck guitar ballads EP to Oklou performing her new single at a South London ice rink, last week brought everything from bliss pop to death metal. Here’s some picks you might have missed from last week.…

Kaya Robertson • 10 Feb 2025

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