In today's CMU Daily: AI company Anthropic has asked the court to dismiss all but the core direct copyright infringement claim in the lawsuit filed against it by Universal Music Publishing, Concord and ABKCO. It argues that claims of contributory and vicarious infringement, and in relation to copyright management information, are “implausible” 

One Liners: Secretsundaze 9FINITY, Track 88 Creative, Altice settles lawsuit with BMG and others, judge dismisses Adidas lawsuit, Nicki Minaj settles with blogger, YouTube Music growing fast says Kantar data, NetEase Music goes down for two hours, APRA AMCOS report shows AUD $519 million impact from AI + more

Also today: The German record industry has secured another injunction against a stream manipulation service. Trade group BVMI has got injunctions against six such companies since 2020. The latest to be targeted with court action is Pimpyourfollower.de

Anthropic’s latest legal filing tells court to focus on whether using lyrics is “transformative fair use”

AI company Anthropic has asked the judge overseeing its copyright legal battle with a group of music publishers to dismiss everything except one core issue, which is whether or not Anthropic committed copyright infringement by using lyrics to train its AI model without permission. In a filing which asks for what it calls ‘ancillary claims’ in the lawsuit filed by the music publishers to be dismissed, it also says that it will address that core copyright dispute in “due course”.

Those ancillary claims include Anthropic’s alleged liability for contributory and vicarious infringement. This, argue the publishers, comes about when Anthropic users output lyrics from its chatbot Claude that are very similar to those controlled by the publishers. There are also alleged violations of US law relating to the removal of copyright management information. In its latest legal filing, Anthropic says it wants to “prune away” these ancillary claims “which are facially implausible and supported by threadbare and conclusory allegations”.  

What the court needs to focus on, says Anthropic, is “whether the use of copyrighted materials to extract statistical and factual context for the purpose of training generative AI models like Claude is a transformative fair use under copyright law”.

Infectious PR // Senior PR Manager/Publicist (Bristol Hybrid)

Ninja Tune // Copyright Assistant (London)

Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events // Promoter (Whitburn Hybrid)

Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events // Junior Promoter (Whitburn Hybrid)

Playliveartist // Paid Media Manager (London)

IDOL // DSP Editorial & Partnerships Manager (London)

Sentric Music // Revenue Optimisation Manager (London/Liverpool)

Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.

Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

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ONE LINERS

Deals

• Secretsundaze, the London-based electronic music event series and label, has launched a new imprint called 9FINITY focused on club-oriented releases. 
• Track 88 Management has announced that pop artist Lo Lauren has signed to Believe with single 'Wonder' due out on 28 Aug. The firm is also launching a new Track 88 Creative division, which aims to represent artists working in visual and film mediums. 

Legal

• The US record industry’s copyright lawsuit against  Altice, owner of internet service provider Optimum, has been permanently dismissed after eighteen months of litigation.
• A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Adidas over its partnership with Kanye West. 
• Nicki Minaj has reached a settlement with gossip blogger Marley Green, known as Nosey Heaux, over defamatory statements made in 2022.
• Apple has been sued for copyright infringement by American photographer and director Elizabeth Waterman over two photographs allegedly used without permission on Apple Music's website. 
• NVIDIA has defended its use of copyrighted books for AI training in a recent lawsuit. The company argues that the books represent mere "statistical correlations" to its AI models, not direct copies. 

Streaming, Digital & Broadcast

• YouTube Music has emerged as the most adopted music streaming service in the second quarter of 2024, according to new data from Kantar. 
• TikTok has launched an in-app experience to celebrate Post Malone's new country album 'F-1 Trillion'. 
• NetEase Cloud Music, one of the leading Chinese music streaming services, has experienced a two-hour outage due to "infrastructure failures". 
• Shape+, a European Union-funded platform for innovative music and audiovisual art, has launched a new radio station network to boost visibility for its artists. 
• Australian collecting society APRA AMCOS has released a report on the potential impact of AI in the music sector, revealing significant concerns among Australian and New Zealand music creators. 
• OfCom has awarded £205,479 in grants to eleven community radio stations across the UK as part of the Community Radio Fund's first round. 

Live

• London's O2 Arena has apologised for refusing entry to a man wearing a 'Free Gaza' shirt at a Peter Kay comedy show on 10 Aug. 
• At least 23 people have been injured in a fire on a Ferris wheel at the Highfield Festival near Leipzig, Germany on 17 Aug.

Artist News

• Donald Trump has posted fake AI-generated photos suggesting Taylor Swift has endorsed him for president. 
• Dr Dre has announced his intention to try out for archery at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. 
• Bob Dylan has recorded a cover of 'Don't Fence Me In' for the upcoming Ronald Reagan biopic, set for release in late August in the US. 

Releases & Tours

• Flying Lotus has released his new single ‘Garmonbozia’.
• Post Malone has released his new album ‘F-1 Trillion’.
• Jodie Harsh has released her new single ‘Hit Me Up’, featuring Bryn Christopher.
• Tinashe has released her new album ‘Quantum Baby’.
• Charly Bliss have released their new album ‘Forever’.
• Chuck Johnson has released his new album ‘Sun Glories’.
• Wishy have released their debut album ‘Triple Seven’.
• Horse Jumper Of Love have released their new album ‘Disaster Trick’.
• Peach PRC has released her new single ‘Time Of My Life’.
• Hozier has released his new EP ‘Unaired’.
• Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have collaborated on new single ‘Die With A Smile’.
• Peggy Gou has released her new single ‘Find The Way’.
• Maxïmo Park have released their new single ‘Quiz Show Clue’.
• Wasia Project have announced their UK tour, including a show at Manchester Academy on 13 Nov. Tickets go on sale this Friday here.
• Blossoms have announced their UK headline tour, including a show at Brighton Dome on 5 Nov. Tickets go on sale this Friday here.
• Catfish And The Bottlemen have announced two stadium shows for summer 2025; Cardiff Principality Stadium on 1 Aug and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 3 Aug. Tickets go on sale this Friday here.

German record industry secures injunction against another stream manipulation site

A German court has issued an injunction ordering stream manipulation service Pimpyourfollower to stop selling products that allow users to purchase artificial plays, views, likes and followers on platforms including Spotify, SoundCloud and YouTube. 

It is the latest court order secured as a result of legal action by the record industry in Germany. Although this time the court also found that the targeted stream manipulation service is liable for damages, which is a global first that could prove to be a useful deterrent if the labels follow up with warning letters to other similar services. 

CEO of German record industry trade group BVMI, Florian Drücke, says: “Streaming manipulation is unacceptable because it distorts competition to the detriment of artists and those who invest in them”. Noting that it also damages the reliability of the music charts, he adds, “ultimately, it undermines the credibility of the digital market".