Music industry legal news

Music industry sues Anna’s Archive over Spotify hack

public

Anna's Archive • 4 min read

Music industry sues Anna’s Archive over Spotify hack

Just before Christmas pirate activist group Anna’s Archive announced it had hacked Spotify and grabbed 86 million music files which it planned to make available in ‘bulk torrents’. Unsurprisingly, the majors and Spotify have gone legal, filing a lawsuit and getting the group’s .org domain blocked…

Chris Cooke • 22 Jan 2026

Salt N Pepa ruling could “pose a threat” to artists seeking to reclaim rights in the future, say lawyers

public

Salt N Pepa • 3 min read

Salt N Pepa ruling could “pose a threat” to artists seeking to reclaim rights in the future, say lawyers

Salt N Pepa recently lost a termination rights dispute with Universal - they were trying to reclaim rights in their early recordings. Analysing the judgement, law firm Wobble Bond Dickinson says the ruling could “pose a threat to artists’ abilities to reclaim sound recording rights in the future”…

Chris Cooke • 21 Jan 2026

UK schools to go phone-free as government considers Australian-style social media ban

public

Digital services and platforms news • 2 min read

UK schools to go phone-free as government considers Australian-style social media ban

Australia’s social media ban for the under sixteens went into effect last month. Now the UK government has opened a consultation to consider a similar intervention to protect young people from possible online harms. Though ministers also want time to assess whether the Australian ban is working…

Chris Cooke • 20 Jan 2026

public

Drew Barrymore • 2 min read

Drew Barrymore sued over unlicensed music in Instagram Reel pushing her cosmetics brand

Drew Barrymore is on the receiving end of the latest lawsuit over unlicensed music in a social media post. She included the track ‘My Sun And Stars’ in an Instagram Reel promoting her cosmetics brand FLOWER Beauty. Brands need to secure their own licences when including music in social media videos…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2026

AXS sues over touting tool that allows ticket resellers to avoid transfer restrictions

public

AXS Europe • 3 min read

AXS sues over touting tool that allows ticket resellers to avoid transfer restrictions

AXS has sued SecureMyPass, a tool that allows touts to clone tickets they source via the primary ticketing platform, so that they can circumvent resale restrictions when selling them on for profit. AEG-owned AXS claims that SecureMyPass breaches the terms of its platform and infringes its trademarks…

Chris Cooke • 19 Jan 2026

Kneecap say UK government has wasted over £1 million on Mo Chara flag case, as prosecutors ask High Court to reinstate terror charges

public

Kneecap • 3 min read

Kneecap say UK government has wasted over £1 million on Mo Chara flag case, as prosecutors ask High Court to reinstate terror charges

Kneecap were back in court yesterday, with UK prosecutors wanting the High Court to reinstate criminal charges for alleged terror offences against band member Mo Chara, which were dismissed last year on a legal technicality. The band said the hearing was “a waste of public time and public money”…

Chris Cooke • 15 Jan 2026

After Sting coughs up £647k in royalty dispute, former bandmates say there could be millions more missing

public

The Police • 3 min read

After Sting coughs up £647k in royalty dispute, former bandmates say there could be millions more missing

Legal reps for The Police were in court this week in a dispute over how Sting shares his publishing income with former bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. Lawyers for Summers and Copeland revealed they plan to expand their claims, arguing Sting owes well over £8 million in unpaid royalties…

Chris Cooke • 15 Jan 2026

Songwriter groups hail “unequivocal win for creator rights” as US appeals court upholds landmark termination rights ruling

public

Termination Right • 4 min read

Songwriter groups hail “unequivocal win for creator rights” as US appeals court upholds landmark termination rights ruling

A US appeals court has upheld a ruling that rejects music industry convention regarding how the termination right in American copyright law works - in a way that majorly benefits music creators. The ruling has been hailed by songwriter groups as an “enormous victory for the creator community”…

Chris Cooke • 14 Jan 2026

Five key developments over the Christmas break

public

Music industry legal news coverage • 6 min read

Five key developments over the Christmas break

With the Christmas break now well and truly over and forgotten, here are five key developments in the music business since the last CMU Daily of 2025, including X suing the music publishers, a judge dismissing Salt N Pepa’s UMG lawsuit, Lucian Grainge’s memo, and TikTok and Spotify developments…

Chris Cooke • 12 Jan 2026

Rights management company says it boosted Dionne Warwick’s royalties “sixtyfold”, then she unilaterally cancelled its contracts

public

Dionne Warwick • 2 min read

Rights management company says it boosted Dionne Warwick’s royalties “sixtyfold”, then she unilaterally cancelled its contracts

A New York music rights company has sued Dionne Warwick, seeking to enforce past contracts that grant it 25-50% of her royalty income. It says it helped Warwick handle legal and admin issues, boosting her label royalty payments “sixtyfold”, but now she wants to terminate her deals with the company…

Chris Cooke • 16 Dec 2025

UK government must rule out new AI copyright exception after “overwhelming” consensus in consultation

public

Artificial Intelligence • 3 min read

UK government must rule out new AI copyright exception after “overwhelming” consensus in consultation

The UK government has published an update on its consultation on copyright and AI, revealing that 88% of respondents said AI companies should be forced to get licences before making use of existing works. Ed Newton-Rex says ministers should now formally abandon plans for a new AI copyright exception…

Chris Cooke • 15 Dec 2025

Pro Music Rights threatens litigation over Congressman’s letter and BMI’s criticisms

public

Pro Music Rights • 3 min read

Pro Music Rights threatens litigation over Congressman’s letter and BMI’s criticisms

Earlier this week US Congress member Scott Fitzgerald asked the FTC to investigate if collecting society Pro Music Rights was guilty of “deceptive practices”. The rights organisation says it is now considering legal action in relation to that letter and documents it cited, including one from BMI…

Chris Cooke • 12 Dec 2025