All articles tagged with #music industry
Australia's official music charts will ban tracks that are entirely generated by artificial intelligence, as the recording industry moves to protect artists' livelihoods amid rising generative AI technologies.
Dr. Dre argues that AI is a creative tool rather than a threat, comparing it to drum machines and synthesizers and saying only those who have trouble creating fear it. He and Jimmy Iovine describe AI as a new tool to augment creativity, with Dre noting he uses AI to explore ideas. The piece also covers ongoing AI copyright lawsuits in the music industry, Apple Music’s plan to label AI-derived songs, and industry discussions about labeling and licensing AI-produced work.
Columbia House’s closure rekindles nostalgia for its infamous penny-for-multiple-items mail-order model and negative-option billing, while highlighting concerns about artist royalties, manipulation in the music business, and how consumer scams have evolved in the digital era.
At Clive Davis’s New York funeral, a who’s who of music and entertainment pays tribute to the legendary exec’s golden ear for hits, his knack for pairing artists with songs, and his decades of shaping pop, R&B, and rock—from Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston—while mentoring a generation of industry leaders.
Columbia House, the 1955 mail-order music club that later pivoted to DVDs and Blu-rays, will shut down on September 15, 2026. Once a powerhouse with millions of members, the business faded as big-box retailers and piracy reshaped the industry; after a 2015 bankruptcy and a failed vinyl-pivot, the remaining online catalog is winding down.
AI-generated music is rising in charts and sparking a global debate among artists, labels, and platforms: whether AI tracks can or should be eligible, how to guard against unauthorized training on artists’ work, and how to label or restrict AI music on streaming and charts; while some artists advocate using AI as a tool, many musicians argue it disrespects craft and threatens livelihoods, prompting calls for guardrails, transparency, and potential restrictions on AI-generated songs in main charts.
AI music platform Suno inks a global licensing alliance with BMG covering BMG’s recorded and publishing catalog, with opt-in rights protections and compensation, marking a milestone since its Warner Music tie-up and amid ongoing UMG/Sony lawsuits; Suno will also implement download limits and watermarking to curb misuse and align with the EU AI Act, as BMG’s agreement accompanies its broader strategy and Concord merger.
Spotify reported 777 million total users and 300 million paid subscribers, while increasing AI-related spending as it rolls out new AI features. It introduced Talk to Spotify and is partnering with Universal Music Group and Merlin to enable AI-generated remixes and covers with real artists, emphasizing consent, credit, and compensation. The tool will be a paid add-on and will launch as a “research preview” when ready; the company is also adding friction to the free tier with more ads to push paid subscriptions. The stock fell about 8% at market close.
A late-2025 security breach at Suno, the AI music generator facing lawsuits from Sony and Universal Music Group, allegedly exposed that Suno trained its model by scraping millions of songs and lyrics from YouTube, Deezer, Genius and more. Suno says the incident was limited, involving outdated code and did not compromise sensitive personal data or full credit card numbers. The breach highlights ongoing debates about how AI music tools source training data and enforce copyright.
Billboard's Fan Army Face-Off 2026 opens Round 1 with 64 artist fan armies competing for the crown. Voting runs July 15–22 (noon ET) before Round 2 begins; last year's winner was SB19's A’TIN, underscoring the ongoing, global fan-powered competition across a wide lineup of artists.
Aaron Lewis says the music industry has turned its back on him because of his political views, arguing he’s no longer invited to the Grand Ole Opry as he promotes his upcoming sixth album Give My Country Back; the piece also notes Vanilla Ice facing backlash for agreeing to perform at a patriotic event.
A coalition of major music-industry and artists’ groups (including the RIAA, IFPI, The Grammys, SAG-AFTRA and the Human Artistry Campaign) unveiled voluntary labels to indicate when a sound recording uses generative AI, distinguishing AI-generated tracks from AI-assisted ones with simple icons. The labeling, designed for adoption by streaming services and distributors, is currently voluntary and does not yet cover AI use in lyrics, videos, or other aspects. Citing Deezer’s finding that AI-generated tracks comprised a large share of new music and Apple Music’s data, the groups say the labeling provides fans with transparency as AI use in music evolves.
A Florida federal judge, Judge Aileen Cannon, dismissed with prejudice poet Kimberly Marasco’s lawsuit accusing Taylor Swift and associates of copying lines from her poetry into Swift’s songs, ruling that the poems express ideas and metaphors rather than protectable expression and that the complaint failed to plausibly plead copying; the amended filing was also described as a shotgun pleading, effectively ending the case against Swift, Aaron Dessner, Republic Records and Universal Music Group.
Friends and peers in music, film, and politics gathered in New York to mourn Clive Davis at his funeral, paying tribute to the 94-year-old record executive with attendees including Bruce Springsteen, Barry Manilow, Hoda Kotb, Gayle King, Ja Rule, Nancy Pelosi, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Hudson and Kenny G.
Lizzo reacts to the weak first-week sales and lack of Billboard 200 placement for her June 5 album 'Bitch,' saying she won’t measure her worth by numbers and that she’s proud of the music. The album sold about 2,649 copies in its first week and didn’t chart, a sharp contrast to her 2022 breakthrough 'Special.' In a 'Swiftologist' interview, she discussed reframing her relationship with success, reclaiming her identity, and continuing her career amid ongoing legal challenges from ex-dancers.