On this week’s show, we discuss the launch of the record industry’s first major lawsuits against music-generating AI companies - with the RIAA coordinating litigation against Suno and Udio - plus a group of songwriters are suing PRS.

SECTION TIMES
01: Labels v Suno + Udio (00:04:30)
02: News in brief (00:15:20)
03: Songwriters v PRS (00:18:05)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Suno and Udio’s “lawless” behaviour cheapens human creativity with sound-a-likes and knock-offs says watershed RIAA lawsuit
• Suno boss accuses music industry of “reverting to its old lawyer-led playbook”
• Udio responds to record label lawsuit insisting its AI model ‘listens’ rather than ‘copies’
• PRS sued over “unreasonable and unnecessary hurdles” for writers directly licensing their live performances

NEWS IN BRIEF
• UK Music names Tom Kiehl as new CEO
• Live Nation boss Michael Rapino sued by shareholder over DoJ action
• SiriusXM breaches consumer rights by charging an extra music royalties extra fee, says lawsuit
• KKR acquires Superstruct

ALSO MENTIONED
• SXSW ditches weapons sponsors to burnish brand - so why won’t it ditch its ties to Saudi Arabia?

On this week’s show, we discuss the latest escalation in the fight over Spotify’s reclassification of its premium subscription as an audiobook and music bundle in the US, the lawsuit against Drake for putting one of his own song titles on a t-shirt, and the return of the band formerly known as Easy Life, who have nothing to do with easyJet.

SECTION TIMES
01: Spotify (00:10:22)
02: News in brief (00:17:24)
03: Drake and Hard Life (00:19:28)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Music publishers now fighting Spotify audiobook bundling trick on multiple fronts
• Drake sued over t-shirts referencing his track ‘Members Only’
• Easy Life return as Hard Life following easyGroup legal battle

NEWS IN BRIEF
• The COVID trend of late-in-the-day ticket purchases has continued, says Eventbrite
• Musicians now see success from a more long-term perspective, study finds
• Martin Shkreli ordered to hand over copies of Wu-Tang album

ALSO MENTIONED
• Touting, touring and AI in the spotlight in election manifestos

On this week's show we discuss the ruling in the long-running noise dispute involving Manchester's Night & Day that allows the venue to continue running club nights but potentially puts other nearby venues at risk, plus the BPI’s legal threats against a service that uses AI to create cover versions of songs in seconds.

SECTION TIMES
01: Night & Day (00:08:13)
02: News in brief (00:15:15)
03: Voicify (00:19:57)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Night & Day ruling makes it “open season” on Manchester’s night-time economy says Music Venue Trust boss
• BPI threatens to sue voice cloning site Voicify

NEWS IN BRIEF
• More performers seeking specialist health support, says BAPAM
• Music and visual arts organisations back new climate change charity Murmur
• Black Eyed Peas sued for licensing interpolation but not sample of Scatman
• IFPI report shows 10.2% growth in global recorded music market
• MIDiA shows $35.1 billion in global recorded music revenues - but what does that number actually mean?

ALSO MENTIONED
• Spotify publishes new Loud & Clear, says the focus now is artists “dependent on streaming as part of their livelihood”
• Thom Yorke calls Spotify 'the last desperate fart of a dying corpse' (The Guardian)

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Coldplay’s plans to employ various technological solutions to reduce the environmental impact of their world tour next year, plus the music publishers' plans to push for the mechanical royalty rate on streaming in the US to be increased again in 2023. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Coldplay (00:07:52)
02: Copyright Royalty Board (00:23:48)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Coldplay announce plans for environmentally friendly world tour
• US music publishers to push for new streaming rate of 20%

ALSO MENTIONED
• That song that almost got to Christmas number number one

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Tina Turner’s wide-ranging deal with BMG in which she has given up her recordings, songs and brand for a reported $50 million, plus Friendly Fires’ anger after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked onto the stage at the Conservative Party’s annual conference to the sound of their song, ‘Blue Cassette’.

SECTION TIMES
01: Tina Turner (00:06:02)
02: Friendly Fires (00:22:34)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• BMG announces wide-ranging rights deal with Tina Turner
• Friendly Fires hit out after their track is used at start of ‘Boris’ Johnson speech

ALSO MENTIONED
• Kanye West accepting admissions for his new school

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Donald Trump's failed attempt to have a copyright infringement case brought against him by Eddy Grant dismissed on the grounds of fair use, and the attempt by the man who (as a baby) appeared on the cover of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album to have the artwork on the record's 30th anniversary reissue censored. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Electric Avenue (00:02:19)
02: Nevermind (00:18:13)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• New York judge declines to dismiss Eddy Grant’s copyright case against Donald Trump
• Nevermind baby demands that the album’s artwork be edited on all future re-releases

ALSO MENTIONED
• R Kelly is guilty
• Britney Spears’ father removed from conservatorship role

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week. This week we focus on just one story – because there’s a lot to say about it – the British government’s response to Parliament’s big ‘Economics Of Music Streaming’ report published by Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee in July.

SECTION TIMES
01: Economics of streaming response (00:03:52)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Government responds to Parliament’s economics of streaming report
• Responses to the UK government’s response to Parliament’s Economics Of Streaming Report
• Merck Mercuriadis responds to NMPA chief and UK government on impact of majors on song royalties
• MU and #brokenrecord welcome government’s economics of streaming response, but want more commitment on copyright reforms
• Intellectual Property Office publishes report on music-makers’ earnings

ALSO MENTIONED
• Music Copyright Explained (IPO & CMU Insights)
• Dissecting The Digital Dollar (MMF & CMU Insights)
• Good 4 Who? How Music Copyright Has Gone Too Far (The Verge’s Decoder podcast)

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

Setlist’s Chris Cooke presents a live version of the programme at the Spot+ conference in Aarhus, Denmark. He is joined by a panel of industry experts to review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the RIAA’s latest stats, Portishead’s user-centric royalties on SoundCloud, Epic Games and Apple, COVID passports, and why Ed Sheeran hates American awards ceremonies. 

PANEL
• Maria Borg, Digital Partners & Export Manager at discowax / Sony Music
• Helienne Lindvall, songwriter + board director at Ivors Academy
• Daniel Nordgård, Associate Professor in music business at University Of Agder
• Josh Greenberg, Creative Strategy Consultant at Green Mountain Lodge
• Stein Bjelland, President at Stein70000 + Chair of Music Norway

SECTION TIMES
01: RIAA (00:04:37)
02: SoundCloud (00:26:05)
03: Epic v Apple (00:35:00)
04: COVID passports (00:48:28)
05: Ed Sheeran (00:55:46)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• US record industry scores 27% growth in first half of 2021
• SoundCloud says user-centric boosted the royalties for Portishead’s SOS by 500%
• Epic v Apple ruling favours the tech giant, but forces big concession on the App Store’s payment rules
• COVID Passports remain in UK government’s Plan B for tackling the next phase of the pandemic
• American awards ceremonies are “horrible”, says Ed Sheeran

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including The Sex Pistols’ appearance in the High Court in a dispute over a sync deal to include the band’s music in a new show directed by Danny Boyle based on the memoir of guitarist Steve Jones, plus Sony Music’s lawsuit against sportswear brand Gymshark accusing it of using unlicensed music in social media promos for years.

SECTION TIMES
01: Streaming royalties (00:12:49)
02: Sainsbury’s (00:28:51)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Sex Pistols in court over sync deals and a 1988 band agreement
• John Lydon is a “total dick”, former bandmate confirms in court
• Sex Pistols are probably “gone for good” following sync deal bust up, Paul Cook confirms
• John Lydon says he doesn’t remember signing “terrifying” Sex Pistols band agreement as sync deal dispute continues
• John Lydon lawyer says he wasn’t aware of 1988 band agreement until a previous licensing dispute

ALSO MENTIONED
• The Mercury Prize shortlist has only gone and been announced
• Danny Boyle to direct Sex Pistols TV series
• John Lydon calls Sex Pistols TV series “disrespectful”
• Sony Music sues Gymshark over unlicensed recordings in its social media videos

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

Taking a break from the usual format, on this week’s Setlist CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke discuss the culture select committee of the UK parliament’s newly published report based on its inquiry into the economics of the music streaming business, including the key findings, what the committee got wrong, and an important question that should probably get answered before anyone instigates the “complete reset” of the entire music streaming business that the committee called for. 

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STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• UK Parliament calls for “complete reset” of music streaming, including ER for performers and competition investigation into the majors

ALSO MENTIONED
• The full Economics Of Streaming report
• Setlist: The ten things people get wrong about streaming (part one)
• Setlist: The ten things people get wrong about streaming (part two)
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the new research from the UK’s Association Of Independent Music’s arguing that paying popular tracks on streaming services lower royalties and less popular track more might be the key to a fairer system, and the news that supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is freeing up shelf space in its stores by ditching CDs and DVDs.

SECTION TIMES
01: Streaming royalties (00:12:56)
02: Sainsbury’s (00:30:41)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• AIM publishes insights on the artist growth model for streaming royalty distribution
• Sainsbury’s confirms it is phasing out CDs and DVDs from its stores

ALSO MENTIONED
• John Barnes, Gazza and (please make it stop) Peter Beardsley rap on previously unheard World In Motion tapes
• Jacob Rees-Mogg raps in Parliament

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including chief Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost’s less than reassuring answers to questions about how he failed to deliver visa-free touring in the EU for British musicians and what is being done about it, plus the music companies going on the record to say positive things about Spotify’s controversial Discovery Mode. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Brexit (00:5:38)
02: Discovery Mode (00:25:00)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Chief Brexit negotiator finally speaks to culture select committee about new bureaucratic barriers for touring artists, reassures no one
• Elton John says the government “tossed away” the arts when negotiating Brexit trade deal
• #LetTheMusicMove campaigns for resolution to UK touring musicians’ “no deal Brexit”
• Believe, TuneCore and DistroKid formally endorse Spotify’s controversial Discovery Mode

ALSO MENTIONED
• Fabric to ban unauthorised photography

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the court order barring Damon Dash from auctioning an NFT that the Roc-A-Fella record label claims is an attempt to sell off copyright in Jay-Z’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ album that he does not own, and the private Universal Music share deal that edges it closer to a public stock market listing.

SECTION TIMES
01: Jay-Z NFT (00:7:38)
02: Universal Music (00:23:57)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Damon Dash sued over Reasonable Doubt NFT
• New York court blocks Damon Dash from selling Reasonable Doubt NFT – for now
• Vivendi finalises $4 billion deal to sell 10% of Universal Music ahead of stock market listing
• Vivendi shareholders approve plan for spinning off Universal Music

ALSO MENTIONED
• Andrew Lloyd Webber says he will not defy COVID-19 rules to open his new musical at full capacity this week
• UK ministers refusing to published Events Research Programme results for PR reasons is causing more cancellations, says Kendal Calling
• MPs join industry in criticising delay in publishing findings of UK government’s Events Research Programme
• UK government now says Events Research Programme findings “likely” to be published “shortly”

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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On this week's show we discuss proposals voted through the US House of Representatives this week to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the video-sharing app or face a ban in country, and the UK Labour Party's pledge to introduce a cap on ticket resale prices if it wins the next election.

SECTION TIMES
01: TikTok ban (00:03:20)
02: News in brief (00:14:21)
03: Ticket resale (00:17:00)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Selling TikTok would be last resort for ByteDance, sources say as House votes through sell-or-be-banned law
• TikTok insists it isn't forcing Americans to phone politicians as ban proposal gets fast-tracked in Congress
• Labour commits to UK ticket touting price cap, as Ed Sheeran's team welcomes guilty verdict in ticket tout court case

NEWS IN BRIEF
• EU AI Act “world-first” say music trade bodies as European Parliament votes it into law
• Texas governor tells SXSW boycotters “don’t come back”
• Joe Rogan is back on Apple and Amazon - so Neil Young is back on Spotify
• Bad Bunny sues fan over unofficial concert recordings on YouTube
• Glastonbury announces headliners, as UK festival cancellations pass 20

ALSO MENTIONED
• Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the new private members bill proposed by MP Kevin Brennan to change UK copyright law to provide musicians with guaranteed income when their music is streamed, and Sony Music’s announcement that it will start paying royalties to unrecouped artists on 20th century record contracts.

SECTION TIMES
01: Private members bill (00:5:23)
02: Sony Music (00:24:24)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Kevin Brennan MP proposes “a new right to fair remuneration” from streaming for musicians in private members bill
• Artist and management community welcome Sony Music’s decision to pay royalties to artists on unrecouped pre-2000 record deals

ALSO MENTIONED
• With lifting of COVID restrictions set to be delayed, live sector calls for more data and financial support

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the $200 million lawsuit against Roblox from a consortium of music publishers led by the US National Music Publishers Association, plus Brexit negotiator David Frost’s big no-show at a parliamentary inquiry into how the UK-EU trade deal messed things up so badly for touring musicians and what, if anything, is being done about it. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Roblox (00:3:36)
02: Brexit (00:15:90)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

SUBSCRIBE TO SETLIST
Listen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…

Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Music publishers sue Roblox for $200 million, pile more pressure on Twitch
• UK’s Brexit negotiator criticised over no-show at Parliamentary session on the bureaucratic barriers faced by touring musicians
• Culture Secretary mocked over “ambitious” visa-free touring agreement with Liechtenstein

ALSO MENTIONED
• Live industry warns against delayed reopening, calls on government to release Events Research Programme findings
• Andrew Lloyd Webber promises “mother of all legal cases” if government pushes back lifting of COVID restrictions on venues

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including YouTube Global Head Of Music Lyor Cohen’s brag that the Google division has paid out over $4 billion to the music industry over the last year, and the last minute pleas for the government to save the festival season by offering state-backed cancellation insurance.

SECTION TIMES
01: YouTube (00:4:27)
02: Festival insurance (00:24:50)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• YouTube paid $4 billion to the music industry last year and is still finding new sources of revenue for artists, says Lyor Cohen
• Culture select committee says government inaction on insurance will result in another “lost summer” for the festival sector

ALSO MENTIONED
• Robert Smith says he’s working on an album of “just noise”
• Lyor Cohen’s blog post
• Latest report from IMPALA’s One Step Ahead

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU's Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including US ISP Cox Communication's claim that the music industry is "waging war on the internet" as it appeals the 2019 safe harbour ruling against it, plus a new survey from the Musicians' Union and the Incorporated Society Of Musicians showing that 77% of UK music-makers expect their income to fall as a result of new post-Brexit touring bureaucracy.

SECTION TIMES
01: Cox Communications (00:5:44)
02: Brexit (00:19:49)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Cox Communications files appeal against billion dollar copyright ruling
• 77% of musicians expect earnings to be hit by new post-Brexit touring bureaucracy

ALSO MENTIONED
• Culture Secretary “very hopeful” for full return of live music, as Download Festival added to Events Research Programme

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Apple and Amazon's announcements that users of their streaming services will now be able to enjoy some super enhanced audio action via their respective music platforms at no extra cost, plus the UK's competition regulator the Competition & Markets Authority's announcement that it has launched an investigation into the recent acquisition by Sony Music of Kobalt's recordings division.

SECTION TIMES
01: High quality audio (00:3:51)
02: Sony Music (00:21:05)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Apple Music and Amazon Music offering higher quality audio at no extra cost
• UK competition regulator to investigate Sony’s AWAL purchase
• Sony confirms AWAL acquisition completed, acknowledges regulator investigation in the UK

ALSO MENTIONED
• Flo Rida arrives in Rotterdam to join San Marino’s Eurovision performance
• Iceland withdraw from live Eurovision shows, PRS announces 2020’s most played UK entries
• Duncan Laurence will not reprise winning Eurovision performance following positive COVID test
• Italy wins Eurovision, UK comes last
• Apple's $549 AirPods Max can't play lossless Apple Music - even when plugged in (The Verge)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the new class action legal claim in London on behalf of the millions of iOS users in the UK, presenting consumers rather than app-makers as the bigger losers when Apple adds a 30% commission onto in-app purchases, plus Believe’s first step towards its IPO.

SECTION TIMES
01: Apple Tax (00:12:27)
02: Believe (00:26:00)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Apple’s App Store rules now subject to £1.5 billion class action claim before UK tribunal
• Believe confirms first step completed towards IPO on Paris stock exchange

ALSO MENTIONED
• BRITs goes ahead with audience of keyworkers, but makes Coldplay stay outside

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the new controversy over PRS For Music’s new livestreaming licence after it was revised to address previous controversy, plus media regulator Ofcom’s consultation on its view that BBC Sounds is no threat to anyone in commercial radio and podcasting.

SECTION TIMES
01: PRS livestream tariff (00:05:15)
02: BBC Sounds (00:31:07)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• PRS proposes revised livestream licence after ‘call for views’, but still criticised by artists and managers
• OfCom opens consultation on its view BBC Sounds is not a threat to commercial radio

ALSO MENTIONED
• Buy delegate passes for The Great Escape Online 2021

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the Great Escape conference
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the European Commission’s ‘statement of objections’ to Apple saying that it believes it has distorted competition in the music streaming market by enforcing the mandatory use of its own payment system, plus Tencent’s likely fine for alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the music streaming market.

SECTION TIMES
01: EU v Apple (00:02:58)
02: China v Tencent (00:21:49)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Apple’s App Store rules back in spotlight in both Europe and the US thanks to Spotify and Fortnite
• Tencent likely to be fined in Chinese competition law crackdown, could be force to sell music apps

ALSO MENTIONED
• Bjorn Ulvaeus confirmed as final keynote interviewee for Great Escape 2021
• Buy delegate passes for The Great Escape Online 2021

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the Great Escape conference
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the letter to UK Prime Minister 'Boris' Johnson from 156 musicians demanding that he fix music streaming, and another letter sent by an alliance of copyright industry trade groups to the European Union demanding that it beef up an element of its proposed Digital Services Act.

SECTION TIMES
01: Letter to 'Boris' Johnson (00:06:59)
02: Letter to the EU (00:30:05)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• 156 artists call on UK government to add ER to streams and launch competition investigation into the majors
• Copyright groups say European Union’s Digital Services Act should do more to stop piracy sites operating anonymously

ALSO MENTIONED
• CMU+TGE 2021 Panel: Learning By Doing – Young Guns Artist Campaign Team
• CMU+TGE 2021 Panel: Getting Rights Data Right
• CMU+TGE 2021: Thursday’s Keynote In Conversations
• Buy delegate passes for The Great Escape Online 2021

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the Great Escape conference
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights' Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Live Nation's announcement that it is kitting out more than 60 US music venues with equipment to offer any artist performing in them the option to also broadcast their shows online, and Ofcom's decision not to take action over a Capital Xtra DJ taking money in exchange for airplay.

SECTION TIMES
01: Livestreaming (00:04:31)
02: Capital Xtra (00:19:59)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Live Nation and Veeps begin equipping US venues for post-pandemic livestreaming
• OfCom declines to take action against Capital Xtra following DJ Tiiny payola scandal

ALSO MENTIONED
• TikTok’s Ole Obermann, BBC’s Lorna Clarke and Ghostpoet join TGE Conference line-up

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the TGE Conference
• Buy delegate passes for TGE Online 2021
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights' Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

On this week's show we discuss the €1.8 billion fine Apple has been ordered to pay by the EU following an investigation into claims of anti-competitive behaviour made by Spotify, and Live Nation's explanation of why everyone else in the music industry is to blame for rising ticket prices.

SECTION TIMES
01: Apple v Spotify (00:06:26)
02: News in brief (00:20:48)
03: Live Nation (00:25:33)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• EU fines €1.8 billion at end of Spotify initiated competition law investigation
• Apple hits out at EU competition ruling that “ignores the realities of a market”
• Live Nation says rising ticket prices definitely not its fault

NEWS IN BRIEF
• WMG is toying with an offer for Believe that would wipe out Warner’s cash reserves - but is it serious, would Believe shareholders sell and can WMG afford to bet the farm?
• Hipgnosis Songs Fund takes a haircut - and might have bigger problems to come
• New US-wide TikTok ban proposed in Congress
• Mean Millennials scrap streaming subscriptions, mail order music is booming - and Apple Music might be making £500 million or more in the UK
• Raye wins record-breaking six BRIT Awards

ALSO MENTIONED
• Tidal phases out HiFi Plus tier, makes higher quality audio part of its standard subscription product
• The Truth About Ticket Pries (Live Nation)

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including a legal settlement that will see 666 pairs of Nike trainers that were turned – without the sportswear brand’s permission – into Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes recalled, plus the merger of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings with the South Korean music company formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, HYBE.

SECTION TIMES
01: Satan Shoes (00:06:41)
02: HYBE and Ithaca (00:21:13)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Nike launches lawsuit over Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes
• Satan Shoes maker responds to Nike lawsuit – it’s all just “conceptual art”
• Nike and MSCHF reach settlement over Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes
• BTS and Bieber among the artists welcoming the big HYBE Ithaca merger
• HYBE x Ithaca Holdings deal announcement video (YouTube)

ALSO MENTIONED
• Lordi to release seven albums (all at once) in 2021
• Taylor Swift to release new version of Fearless album “soon” (February 2021)
• Sufjan Stevens announces five volume album (Pitchfork)
• South Korean politician suggests BTS members should be offered “special alternative” to mandatory military service (October 2020)
• Korea Music Content Association files complaint about ‘unfair’ mandatory military deferment (Korea Joongang Daily)
• Scooter Braun acquires Big Machine in Taylor Swift’s “worst case scenario” (July 2019)
• Taylor Swift planning to re-record old songs to spite former label (August 2019)
• Scooter Braun sells Taylor Swift’s first six albums to private equity firm for $300 million (November 2020)
• Universal and Big Hit widen partnership, set to launch “global” K-pop group (February 2021)

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the TGE Conference
• Buy delegate passes for TGE Online 2021
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the new songwriter campaign seeking to stop famous artists from grabbing a cut of the copyright in songs that they help make famous but don’t actually co-write, plus Ice Cube’s lawsuit against the “unscrupulous and predatory” Robinhood app.

SECTION TIMES
01: Songwriters v Pop stars (00:03:58)
02: Ice Cube (00:21:14)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Songwriter group pushes back on superstar artists demanding a copyright cut on songs they didn’t co-write
• Ice Cube sues “unscrupulous and predatory” Robinhood app for posting his photo on its website

ALSO MENTIONED
• FAC, MPA, MU and Sentric Music join Music Copyright Explained debate next Tuesday

MORE FROM CMU
• All about the TGE Conference
• Buy delegate passes for TGE Online 2021
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including new stats from trade bodies the IFPI and BPI showing that streaming kept the record industry in growth in 2020, despite COVID-19, plus the new campaign launched by the Ivors Academy calling on labels to better compensate songwriters for their work. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Stats! Stats! Stats! (00:05:15)
02: #PaySongwriters (00:21:40)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Global record industry revenues grow 7.4% to $21.6 billion in COVID year
• BPI stats show slowed growth for UK record label revenues in 2020
• Wider music copyright market grew by 7% to $31.6 billion in 2019
• Ivors Academy calls on labels to #PaySongwriters 

DIRECT LINKS TO REPORTS
• IFPI Global Music Industry Report 2021
• UK recorded music revenues grew 3.8% in 2020 (BPI)
• Music needs to know how much it’s worth (Will Page/Tarzan Economics) 

ALSO MENTIONED
• Initial artists and keynote interviewees confirmed for The Great Escape Online
• All about the TGE Conference
• Buy delegate passes for TGE Online 2021 

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Spotify’s new website formally laying out its positions on the different aspects of the economics of streaming debate, and calls for the Recording Academy to support publishing contract reform.

SECTION TIMES
01: Spotify on the streaming economics (00:03:15)
02: The campaign against ‘minimum delivery and release commitment’ (00:28:23)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Spotify formally enters the economics of streaming debate with new Loud & Clear website
• Songwriter groups call on Recording Academy to support campaign against minimum release commitments in publishing deals

ALSO MENTIONED
• Music Copyright Explained – download the new guide from the Intellectual Property Office and CMU Insights
• Music Copyright Explained – sign up for free webinars
• Setlist: Deezer’s big push to get support for user-centric royalty distribution (September 2019)
• NMPA boss hopeful streaming rate increases will stay despite appeals court forcing a review (August 2020)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from 2021 so far, including UK parliament’s inquiry into the economics of streaming, the debate around user-centric streaming royalties, and the issues facing UK musicians who want to tour Europe post-Brexit. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Economics of streaming (00:07:33)
02: User-centric royalties (00:17:15)
03: Brexit and live music (00:23:31)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)
STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• UK parliament’s economics of streaming inquiry
• SoundCloud announces shift to user-centric royalty distribution for its 100,000 independent creators
• MU and ISM call for more urgency from government over post-Brexit touring issues

ALSO MENTIONED
• Spotify confirms launch in 85 new markets, plus new tools galore and high quality audio, in big announcements splurge
• Jay-Z sells “significant majority” of Tidal to Jack Dorsey’s Square
• Get the lowdown on the CMU+TGE programme at The Great Escape Online
• New series of white papers on Building Trust puts the spotlight on the copyright safe harbour
• CMU Insights: Copyright webinars on artist rights, piracy and US copyright law

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the UK’s Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition anger at PRS For Music's “unworkable” proposed royalty rates for livestreamed shows, plus our favourite music of 2020.

SECTION TIMES
01: Livestream rates (00:04:43)
02: Tracks of 2020 (00:23:57)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• MMF and FAC hit out at proposed PRS royalty rate for livestreamed shows
• On The CMU Stereo 2020 playlist

ALSO MENTIONED
• Taylor Swift releases her second surprise album of 2020
• Rina Sawayama barred from entering this year’s Mercury Prize for not being British enough (July 2020)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the accusations of corruption levelled at the Grammy Awards by The Weeknd and Halsey (among others) and whether the big US music industry awards show can ever escape criticism, plus the $3 million lawsuit launched by Chance The Rapper's former manager that calls his last album a “freestyle-driven product of sub-par quality”.

SECTION TIMES
01: Grammy Awards (00:05:35)
02: Chance The Rapper (00:19:32)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Grammys fail to avoid controversy with 2021 nominations
• Halsey says getting Grammys nominations is about “knowing the right people”
• Ellie Goulding weighs in on music awards
• Chance The Rapper sued for $3 million in commission by former manager

ALSO MENTIONED
• Culture select committee chair says he will name and shame anyone trying to stop artists from speaking out about streaming
• Ousted Recording Academy CEO goes nuclear in legal filing alleging sexual harassment, rape claims, corruption, misogyny and vote fixing (January 2020)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the first parliamentary hearing in the culture select committee inquiry into the economics of streaming, plus Instagram's insistence that no one would ever confuse its Reels feature with US cable TV channel Reelz. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Streaming inquiry (00:05:36)
02: Reels/z (00:28:35)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)
STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Performer ER in the spotlight at first parliamentary hearing on the economics of music streaming
• No one would confuse Reels with Reelz, says Instagram

ALSO MENTIONED
• Setlist: Parliament probes the economics of streaming (from October 2020)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Taylor Swift's anger upon learning that the master rights in her first six albums have been sold without her knowledge for a second time, plus music publisher Wixen's lawsuit against TikTok rival Triller. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Taylor Swift (00:08:24)
02: Triller (00:23:37)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Scooter Braun sells Taylor Swift’s first six albums to private equity firm for $300 million
• Wixen sues Triller for copyright infringement

ALSO MENTIONED
• Warner Music creates new radio edit of Fairytale Of New York, to the annoyance of homophobia fans
• Def Leppard re-record their old songs

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's weekly webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Ticketmaster's proposal to use its app to verify that ticketholders have had a COVID-19 vaccination or negative test before attending shows, and the latest twist in the copyright infringement battle between Nirvana and fashion designer Marc Jacobs.

SECTION TIMES
01: Ticketmaster (00:03:51)
02: Nirvana (00:18:04)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Ticketmaster planning to use app to verify COVID status, in hopes of return to full capacity shows in 2021
• Ticketmaster says it won’t be barring people from entering shows based on their COVID status (that’ll be the promoter’s job)
• Nirvana company files another lawsuit over the band’s smiley face

ALSO MENTIONED
• Twitch responds to music takedown frenzy, says music licences will take time or may never happen
• Boris Johnson gives cautious welcome to COVID-19 vaccine news (Sky News)

MORE FROM CMU
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On this week's show we discuss the news that UK music retail revenues are back to where they were at the peak of the CD era in 2001. So long as you imagine that no time has passed in between. Plus, the brewing legal battle of Kanye West’s “shameless” interpolation of a Donna Summer track.

SECTION TIMES
01: UK music revenues (00:06:47)
02: News in brief (00:15:20)
03: Kanye West (00:20:38)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• UK music retail revenues reach record high, according to ERA stats
• Donna Summer estate sues Kanye West over “shameless” uncleared sample

NEWS IN BRIEF
• €111 million in TikTok revenue is nothing when you’re Lucian Grainge - but, he says, “my phone is always open” if Shou Zi Chew wants to be friends again
• Warner boss teases superfan app that will be "a cross-platform solution"
• Spotify vs Apple name-calling kicks off again after EU mega-fine rumours
• UK Music again calls for VAT cut on tickets ahead of budget statement
• And Finally! Ed Sheeran has let British music down, and now everyone only likes K-pop
• Miley Cyrus tops IFPI singles list
• Seventeen top IFPI albums list

ALSO MENTIONED
• Trademark dispute over Earth, Wind & Fire tribute shows back in court

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Spotify's new pilot scheme allowing artists and labels to influence its music-selecting algorithm in return for a lower royalty rate, plus Live Nation's beaming positivity in the face of another round of definitely not positive financial results. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Spotify algorithm (00:07:01)
02: Live Nation finances (00:27:39)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Spotify to allow artists and labels to influence its curation algorithm – in return for a royalty discount
• Live Nation summer revenues down 95%, but company talks of cautious optimism and being prepared

ALSO MENTIONED
• IMPALA and CMU partner to launch digital intelligence facility One Step Ahead

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's end of year webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including global collecting society grouping CISAC's positive revenue stats for 2019 and very gloomy predictions for 2020, and the news that Harry Styles has invested in a new arena venue in Manchester.

SECTION TIMES
01: CISAC figures (00:04:45)
02: Harry Styles (00:20:16)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Song right societies saw collections grow 8.4% in 2019, but fear a 35% drop in 2020 due to COVID
• Harry Styles invests in new Manchester arena Co-op Live

ALSO MENTIONED
• Spotify boss discusses price rise strategies in latest investor report
• US musicians group calls for cent-per-stream payouts in Justice At Spotify campaign

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s end of year webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the UK competition regulator's conclusion that a merged Viagogo and StubHub would likely result in a “substantial lessening of competition in the online secondary ticketing market” and proposal that the whole thing be called off, plus the new report that warns that 170,000 live industry jobs are at risk as a result of the UK government's response to COVID-19.

SECTION TIMES
01: Viagogo/StubHub on the rocks (00:09:48)
02: Live music jobs in doubt (00:25:03)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• UK competition regulator remains opposed to Viagogo/StubHub merger after phase two investigation
• Nearly 170,000 UK live sector jobs will be lost by the end of the year, industry warns in new report

ALSO MENTIONED
• Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland launches podcast from prison to tell his side of the story
• Rishi Sunak forced to offer multibillion-pound job package as Covid fears mount (The Guardian)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's Autumn Webinars
• Buy the new Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the announcement that the culture select committee of the UK Parliament is opening an inquiry into the economics of music streaming, and the music industry's positive response to the number of venues, festivals and other music organisations who will receive support from the Culture Recovery Fund.

SECTION TIMES
01: Streaming inquiry (00:05:38)
02: Culture Recovery Fund (00:27:44)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Parliament’s culture select committee to investigate the economics of music streaming
• UK music industry welcomes Culture Recovery Fund support for numerous venues and festivals, though COVID challenges remain
• The Lexington still in perilous position despite receiving Culture Recovery Fund grant

ALSO MENTIONED
• BTS management company Big Hit proves a big hit on the South Korean stock market
• CMU and MMF's 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' project
• UK govt advert encouraging re-skilling for cyber jobs implodes spectacularly (The Register)
• Government job retraining recommendations website offers little hope for musicians

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including BMG's announcement that it is eliminating a controversial, artist unfriendly clause from its record contracts and whether other labels might follow suit, plus what the members of BTS serving military service could mean for both the band and the South Korean economy.

SECTION TIMES
01: BMG’s contracts (00:04:26)
02: BTS’s conscription (00:18:22)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• BMG to eliminate ‘controlled composition’ deductions in all record contracts
• South Korean politician suggests BTS members should be offered “special alternative” to mandatory military service

ALSO MENTIONED
• Kickass founder disappears halting US extradition attempts
• BTS are on the brink of enrolling in a major military nightmare (Wired)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Travis Scott being sued by gaming accessory company KontrolFreek over some (allegedly) dodgy thumbsticks that (allegedly) rip off the company's designs, and why John Lennon's former personal assistant is being sued for speaking publicly about his time as John Lennon's personal assistant. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Travis Scott sued over thumbsticks (00:08:08)
02: John Lennon's former PA sued for talking (00:18:13)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Travis Scott sued over his Cactus Jack thumbsticks
• Yoko Ono sues former John Lennon assistant over recent interview

ALSO MENTIONED
• Capital launches new 24/7 dance music radio station
• McDonald’s recruits Travis Scott to sell burgers to The Kids
• Bill Murray responds to Doobie Brothers’ copyright infringement claim
• 'Good Ol Freda' trailer (YouTube)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including OfCom's announcement that it intends to investigate whether the BBC Sounds app is competing with commercial media, and YouTube hitting back at a lawsuit arguing that it should not enjoy protection under the copyright safe harbour because it doesn’t make its Content ID rights management system available to everyone. 

SECTION TIMES
01: OfCom to investigate BBC Sounds (00:05:19)
02: YouTube defends Content ID access policy (00:20:42)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• MPs call for OfCom review of BBC Sounds app after new dance music service added
• OfCom allows Radio 1 24/7 dance stream launch to go ahead, but will look at market position of BBC Sounds app
• YouTube hits back against lawsuit over Content ID access

ALSO MENTIONED
• Kanye West says he'll give GOOD artists back their masters; Big Sean, Desiigner & 070 Shake rejoice (Billboard)

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Kanye West's big dispute over the structure of record company deals with artists (and the contents of the deals he dumped on Twitter), and Facebook's deals with the music industry to include music in video game livestreams on its Twitch rival Facebook Gaming.

SECTION TIMES
01: Kanye v Universal (00:05:19)
02: Facebook Gaming (00:29:51)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Kanye West hits out at Universal and Sony in latest Twitter rant
• Kanye West publishes his Universal Music contracts as anti-label Twitter rant continues
• Facebook secures music deals for its gaming app
• SACEM announces licensing deal with Twitch

ALSO MENTIONED
• Nicki Minaj wins one element of her Tracy Chapman copyright dispute, but the wider case will go to a jury

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the increase in US record revenues, the cost of ‘Boris’ Johnson’s ‘Operation Moonshot’, the boost in users of Fender’s guitar tuition app, the settlement reached in the legal battle between Sony Music and the estate of 1950s pop star Ricky Nelson, and the festivals people have most been pining for on Spotify.

SECTION TIMES
01: RIAA figures (00:06:32)
02: Operation Moonshot (00:15:50)
03: Fender sale boom (00:22:48)
04: Ricky Nelson (00:26:50)
05: Spotify festival playlists (00:31:05)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• RIAA stats show record industry mainly COVID immune thanks to streaming
• UK government’s Operation Moonshot could get full-capacity gigs back up and running – but experts question how realistic the plans really are
• Everyone is playing guitar now
• Sony Music settles dispute over deductions on foreign streaming royalties 

ALSO MENTIONED
• Hipgnosis buys independent publisher Big Deal 

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU’s Autumn Webinars
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the Ford motor company's accusation that production music library Freeplay Music intentionally chose a name to make it seem like its music was free to use in order to sue it (and others) for copyright infringement, plus the crackdown on the boom in illegal raves during the pandemic.

SECTION TIMES
01: Ford v Freeplay Music (00:04:59)
02: Crackdown on illegal raves (00:22:29)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Ford accuses music library Freeplay of "bait-and-switch", because its free music isn't always free
• UK police have a go at cracking down on some COVID-rule-busting illegal raves

ALSO MENTIONED
• BBC backtracks on wordless Rule, Britannia plan

MORE FROM CMU
• Book your place on CMU's Autumn Webinars
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In this special edition of Setlist, Andy Malt and Chris Cooke dive into topics covered in CMU's latest series of masterclasses, which look at the music business in 2024. We talk through key trends in streaming, copyright, AI and more.

SECTION TIMES
01: The music business in 2024 (00:04:58)
02: Music streaming in 2024 (00:12:51)
03: News in brief (00:19:55)
04: Music copyright in 2024 (00:22:51)
05: Music and AI in 2024 (00:33:01)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

CMU'S 2024 MASTERCLASS SESSIONS
Get an expert overview of the topics that will define the music business in 2024, including copyright, streaming and AI, as well as economics of streaming developments.

The four sessions discussed on this edition of Setlist are available to watch on demand, with four more still to come.

Find out more and book all eight sessions for just £299 including VAT here

NEWS IN BRIEF
• Apple faces €500 million fine after Spotify-prompted EU competition investigation
• EU to investigate TikTok over online safety concerns
• Universal splurges almost quarter of a billion dollars to buy KKR out of Chord Music
• Music industry’s billion dollar damages win in Cox case overturned
• Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopics

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Tracy Chapman's accusation that Nicki Minaj is ignoring both the facts and the law in their sampling legal battle, plus the row over the inclusion of 'Rule, Britannia' and 'Land Of Hope And Glory' in this year's BBC Proms.

SECTION TIMES
01: Tracy Chapman v Nick Minaj (00:03:13)
02: Rule, Britannia (or don’t) (00:20:35)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Nicki Minaj’s Sorry claims ignore both the facts and the law, reckons Tracy Chapman
• Wordless performances of Rule, Britannia and Land Of Hope And Glory to be included in Last Night Of The Proms 

ALSO MENTIONED
• Apple hits back in Epic Games dispute, as Microsoft takes sides
• Judge unlikely to force Fortnite back into App Store while Epic v Apple battle continues
• Judge confirms Apple can ban Fortnite but not cut off the Unreal Engine in Epic dispute
• Bytedance expected to sue over US TikTok ban this week
• Donald Trump’s TikTok ban is unconstitutional, says TikTok
• TikTok’s new American CEO quits amidst the app’s political drama
• Walmart teams up with Microsoft in TikTok US bid, as Bytedance puts shutdown contingencies in place 

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy the new Dissecting The Digital Dollar on Amazon
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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the escalation of ‘Fortnite’ video game maker Epic Games’ legal battle against Apple over its App Store rules, plus two copyright cases that weren’t copyright cases which failed because they were copyright cases.

SECTION TIMES
01: Epic v Apple (00:04:18)
02: 50 Cent v Rick Ross and Genius v Google (00:17:46)

STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK
• Fortnite maker ramps up anti-Apple rhetoric in new legal filing
• 50 Cent can’t sue over uncleared sample on publicity right grounds

ALSO MENTIONED
• Beats 1 rebrands as Apple Music 1
• Setlist: Genius accuses Google of stealing lyrics from its website (June 2019)

MORE FROM CMU
• Buy the new Dissecting The Digital Dollar on Amazon
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It’s the eighth in our series of special editions of Setlist looking at some of our favourite music industry legal battles of all time. This time, CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke look back at the copyright battle over authorship of Procul Harum's 1967 single, 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale', which was fought all the way up to the appellate committee of the UK's House Of Lords. Organist Matthew Fisher argued that he should have been given 50% stake in the song, but by taking 38 years to go legal, had he left it too long?

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