We are the music makers

Topic

Industry

  • UMG calls DistroKid an "AI-slop pipeline", and human indie artists are getting swept out with the slop

    Universal Music Group sued DistroKid in Delaware on 15 Sep 2026, calling it an "AI-slop pipeline" and citing one account that released 4,562 tracks in a year. DistroKid has since confirmed it removed "a very small number" of recordings in response to UMG's claims, and independent artists say original and licensed work went with them, with no notice and no clear way to appeal.

    Industryvia US District Court for the District of Delaware (via CourtListener)

  • Recoupment explained: why an artist with a hit can still be "in debt" to the label

    A record advance is paid back out of your royalty share, not your bank account, so at a 20% royalty a $50,000 advance needs about $250,000 of revenue before you see another cent. Here is the arithmetic, what cross-collateralization and recoupable costs do to it, and what to negotiate before you sign.

    Industryvia UK Competition and Markets Authority

  • Believe and TuneCore went from blocking Suno to distributing it in just over four months

    In April, Believe called Suno a "pirate studio" and said its detector could spot Suno tracks with 99% reliability. On 8 Sep 2026 it signed a global partnership to distribute music from Suno's new licensed model. The output didn't change category because of the technology. It changed because of a contract artists weren't party to.

    Industryvia Suno

  • Spotify's audiobook "bundle" still costs songwriters, and the MLC just lost its shortcut

    A New York federal judge has refused to let the Mechanical Licensing Collective appeal early against the ruling that Spotify Premium is a "bundle" with audiobooks, which lets Spotify pay US songwriters a lower mechanical rate. The judge also threw out Spotify's "unclean hands" defence. Songwriters now wait for the whole case to finish, even though subscription prices rose again in February.

    Artist rightsvia US District Court, Southern District of New York

  • Spotify doesn't pay per stream: streamshare explained with real numbers

    Spotify pays rights holders a share of each country's monthly royalty pool, in proportion to their share of streams there. The "per-stream rate" is a number worked out afterwards, which is why it moves by country and month, and why your deal matters more than the rate.

    Industryvia Spotify

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