The music business explained: news, analysis, insights and jobs for music industry professionals

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

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

Artificial Intelligence • 2 min read

UK government needs to urgently address creator concerns over AI, say two new studies

PRS and ISM have both published new studies on creator concerns around generative AI, seeking to put pressure on the UK government as ministers prepare to set out their long-awaited plans regarding AI and copyright. The government must ensure creator livelihoods “are protected”, PRS says…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jan 2026

BMG • 2 min read

BMG in talks to buy Concord

BMG is reportedly in talks to buy Concord in a deal that could be worth $7 billion. The CEO of BMG owner Bertelsmann said the time might be right for the music company to “join forces with a competitor” nearly two years ago, and Concord was always on the relatively short list of possible partners…

Chris Cooke • 30 Jan 2026

Horizon Future Leaders • 4 min read

🌅 Horizon Future Leaders - Liv Judd at Partisan Records

This week, we caught up with Liv Judd, Audience Development Intern at Partisan Records.…

Horizon Music Jobs • 30 Jan 2026

Secondary Ticketing • 2 min read

Kid Rock tells lawmakers “resale price caps work”, so US should follow European lead on ticket touting

Kid Rock yesterday testified in the US Senate at a session on ticketing, calling on American lawmakers to introduce a price-cap restricting how much touts can mark up the prices of tickets they sell. He told senators that such price-caps already exist in parts of Europe and they “seem to be working”…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jan 2026

Anthropic • 3 min read

Music publishers file new Anthropic lawsuit, adding in piracy claims and $3 billion mega-damages

Last year a US court declined to allow music publishers that are suing AI company Anthropic to add extra piracy claims to their lawsuit. Knowing those claims strengthen their case, given recent legal precedent, the publishers have now filed a brand new lawsuit, that also seeks $3 billion in damages…

Chris Cooke • 29 Jan 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: Namasenda

Swedish pop visionary Namasenda is in her own Eurobeat-tinged, angelic pop world. New single ‘Cola’ is a glossy, digi-soaked rush of avant-pop, pairing accelerated guitar arpeggios with elastic rhythms and a tectonic low end for a sleek, hypnotic, all-around bop…

Kaya Robertson • 29 Jan 2026

Hybe • 3 min read

Yet more K-pop legal drama as Ador founder hits back at contract tampering claims, and agency sues one of NewJeans

After trying to quit HYBE’s Ador label, K-pop group NewJeans last year agreed to carry on working with the company. But then the label announced it was axing and suing one member, while also accusing Ador founder Min Hee-jin of contract tampering, something she denied at a press conference today…

Chris Cooke • 28 Jan 2026

TikTok • 3 min read

TikTok insists it’s not suppressing anti-Trump content now its US business is run by Trump allies

There has been more speculation that TikTok is suppressing anti-Trump content, now that TikTok USA is controlled by Trump allies. California governor Gavin Newsom is even investigating. But TikTok says any problems publishing videos in recent days are the result of a power outage at a data centre…

Chris Cooke • 28 Jan 2026

Kanye West • 2 min read

Anti-Defamation League says Kanye’s apology doesn’t “undo long history of antisemitism”

Yesterday Kanye West took out an advert in the Wall Street Journal to share a lengthy apology for all his antisemitic statements and content in recent years. The ADL says the apology is long overdue, adding “the truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behaviour in the future”…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2026

Meta • 2 min read

Meta dropped songs from Reels library to bully Wixen into accepting lower royalty rates, says lawsuit

Wixen has accused Meta of employing “unscrupulous” tactics to pressure the publisher into accepting much lower royalty rates. It claims Meta removed Wixen songs from its Reels library and lied to the artists behind those tracks in a bid to put pressure on the publisher during licensing negotiations…

Chris Cooke • 27 Jan 2026

CMU Approved • 1 min read

🎧 Approved: GUV

GUV grew up moving between Toronto and England and carries a very real strain of UK lineage that separates him from other hardcore kids sporting bowl cuts. New single ‘Blue Jade’ leans hard into punchy shoegaze, smearing hummable melodies beneath a thick gloss of distortion and texture…

Kaya Robertson • 27 Jan 2026