Music industry legal news

Sony Music tells 700+ AI companies to respect its copyrights

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Sony Music • 3 min read

Sony Music tells 700+ AI companies to respect its copyrights

More than 700 AI companies have been sent a letter by Sony Music which demands that they respect the major music company’s rights and seek permission before using any of its recordings or songs to train their AI models. It’s basically a wide-ranging ‘reservation’ of rights…

Chris Cooke • 17 May 2024

Viagogo will ditch FOMO panic pop-ups after EU pressure

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Viagogo • 2 min read

Viagogo will ditch FOMO panic pop-ups after EU pressure

Viagogo has agreed to make changes to its website across Europe to deal with some common customer complaints. The changes are the result of talks between the ticket resale site and the European Commission…

Chris Cooke • 17 May 2024

Publishers accuse Spotify of licensing gaps in letter the streaming service has dubbed a “misleading press stunt”

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Spotify • 3 min read

Publishers accuse Spotify of licensing gaps in letter the streaming service has dubbed a “misleading press stunt”

The music publishers in the US have sent a letter to Spotify accusing the streaming service of having gaps in its licences in relation to lyrics, videos and podcasts. But Spotify says it’s just a “misleading press stunt” as part of the building beef over audiobooks…

Chris Cooke • 16 May 2024

TICKET Act passed by US House Of Representatives

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TICKET Act • 2 min read

TICKET Act passed by US House Of Representatives

The TICKET Act - which mandates all-in pricing and bans speculating selling in the US ticketing market - has been passed by the House Of Representatives. It’s “an important step towards restoring trust in the ticketing ecosystem” says Fix The Tix Coalition…

Chris Cooke • 16 May 2024

Universal removed as defendant on explosive Diddy lawsuit

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Universal Music • 2 min read

Universal removed as defendant on explosive Diddy lawsuit

Universal Music and its CEO Lucian Grainge have been dropped as defendants in a sexual harassment and assault lawsuit brought against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones and his lawyer say that they now accept there was “no legal basis” for the claims made against the label…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2024

TikTok creators file lawsuit against US sell-or-be-banned law

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TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok creators file lawsuit against US sell-or-be-banned law

Eight TikTok creators who make a range of content on the platform have sued the US government over the recently passed law to ban the video-sharing app. They argue that TikTok offers an “irreplaceable means to express themselves” and banning it will breach their First Amendment rights to free speech…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2024

Zync accuses former business partner Round Hill of contract breaches, trademark infringement and executive bullying

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Zync • 3 min read

Zync accuses former business partner Round Hill of contract breaches, trademark infringement and executive bullying

Round Hill Music is being sued by sync agency Zync over a joint venture the two companies entered into in 2017. The legal filling makes a number of allegations, including misstating income and expenses, bullying, and trademark infringement…

Chris Cooke • 15 May 2024

Appeals court upholds Childish Gambino song-theft ruling because of copyright registration error

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Childish Gambino • 2 min read

Appeals court upholds Childish Gambino song-theft ruling because of copyright registration error

Childish Gambino has successfully defeated a song-theft lawsuit filed over his song ‘This Is America’ for a second time. An appeals court has also rejected a copyright infringement claim made by rapper Kidd Wes because of a copyright registration error…

Chris Cooke • 14 May 2024

TikTok to expand labelling of AI content to videos created on third party platforms

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TikTok • 2 min read

TikTok to expand labelling of AI content to videos created on third party platforms

TikTok will start labelling AI-generated content created on third party platforms and uploaded to its app. This expanded commitment to AI transparency responds to demands from copyright owners and lawmakers, and is enabled by its membership of the Coalition For Content Provenance And Authenticity…

Chris Cooke • 10 May 2024

Supreme Court ruling could boost damages payments in US lawsuits over historical copyright infringement

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Flo Rida • 3 min read

Supreme Court ruling could boost damages payments in US lawsuits over historical copyright infringement

The US Supreme Court yesterday answered a question about damages in copyright cases that was posed in a dispute over a Flo Rida sample. However, it didn’t answer a related question about a thing called the ‘discovery rule’, even though that answer could have resulted in the Flo Rida claim being void…

Chris Cooke • 10 May 2024

Minnesota passes new laws regulating secondary ticketing

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Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

Minnesota passes new laws regulating secondary ticketing

While there has been lots of talk about new ticketing regulations in US Congress, more progress is being made at a state level. Minnesota has passed new laws regulating secondary ticketing this week, with Maryland also set to introduce new resale rules…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

Music services hit out at Apple’s plan to comply with EU in-app linking decision, call on European Commission to act

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Apple • 3 min read

Music services hit out at Apple’s plan to comply with EU in-app linking decision, call on European Commission to act

Apple is having to change its anti-steering provision, which previously stopped app developers from sign-posting alternative payment options, in both the EU and US. But the way it is making that change has been criticised, both in a letter to the European Commission and a court hearing in California…

Chris Cooke • 09 May 2024

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