https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Tue, 13 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/uk-festival-cancellations-2026-independent-squeeze https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/uk-festival-cancellations-2026-independent-squeeze The Association of Independent Festivals' tracker lists 41 UK festivals cancelled, postponed, paused or closed in 2026, against 43 in all of 2025. Big events sold out fast this summer while the losses fell mostly on smaller festivals, the tier where emerging artists get their festival slots. AIF's main ask, extending a VAT cut on family tickets, would do little for most of them. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industryfestivalslive-musicuk https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/uk-music-creators-ai-consent-payment-voice-rights-producers https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/uk-music-creators-ai-consent-payment-voice-rights-producers UK Music's This Is Music 2025 report asked music creators what they think about AI. Big majorities want consent, payment, labelling and voice rights. The producers, the group most likely to use AI tools and most positive about them, back consent and payment almost as strongly as everyone else, so using AI and opposing unlicensed training are not in conflict. Sat, 10 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers ai-musicartist-rightscopyrightpersonality-rightsukuk-musicmusicians-union https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/grants-for-musicians-prs-foundation-help-musicians-factor-india https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/grants-for-musicians-prs-foundation-help-musicians-factor-india What PRS Foundation, Help Musicians and FACTOR actually fund, who is allowed to apply, how their deadlines work, and the smaller Indian programmes from IFA, Serendipity Arts and the IME. Plus a checklist and an application template. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers workflowsgrantsfundingindiaukcanadaartist-income https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/music-venue-properties-pipeline-tenth-venue-freehold https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/music-venue-properties-pipeline-tenth-venue-freehold Music Venue Properties, the charitable community benefit society set up by Music Venue Trust, has bought The Pipeline in Brighton, the tenth grassroots venue secured through its Own Our Venues campaign. The model swaps a commercial landlord for a charitable one. That removes the property risk behind more than a third of venue closures, but it does nothing for the thin margins behind most of the rest. Tue, 04 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrylive-musicvenuesuk https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/uk-grassroots-venues-mvt-2025-report-ticket-levy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/uk-grassroots-venues-mvt-2025-report-ticket-levy Music Venue Trust's 2025 annual report counts 801 UK grassroots venues trading, down from 810, the smallest fall since 2018, but more than half made no profit and jobs fell by almost a fifth. The voluntary £1 levy on shows over 5,000 capacity covered 8.8% of arena and stadium tickets in 2025, and its first payouts (£500,000 on 28 January 2026, £1m more in July) are small against a £76.6m live-music loss. Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers industrylive-musicgrassroots-venuesuk https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/murphy-campbell-ai-voice-clone-uk-personality-rights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/07/murphy-campbell-ai-voice-clone-uk-personality-rights AI covers built from North Carolina folk singer Murphy Campbell's YouTube performances appeared on streaming services under her name, then her own videos of public-domain songs were hit with copyright claims. The Musicians' Union now uses her case to argue for UK personality rights. Her story suggests a right on paper is only the first of three things artists need. Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsai-musicdeepfakespersonality-rightsukmusicians-unionspotifyyoutube https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/uk-ai-copyright-opt-out-dropped-australia https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/uk-ai-copyright-opt-out-dropped-australia On 18 March 2026 the UK government said a copyright exception letting AI firms train on work unless creators opt out is no longer its preferred option. Musicians won this one through public pressure and votes in Parliament, but the government hasn't ruled the idea out, and seven months later an opt-out model is on the table in Australia. Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightai-traininguk https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/03/silent-album-is-this-what-we-want-artist-activism https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/03/silent-album-is-this-what-we-want-artist-activism Is This What We Want?, out on 25 February 2025, is 12 recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, credited to more than 1,000 musicians, whose track titles spell out a message to the UK government. It landed on the day the government's AI copyright consultation closed. As a piece of artist activism it is unusually well designed, and the design is worth copying. Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightai-traininguk