In today's CMU Daily: Donald Trump’s use of the Isaac Hayes song ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’ at rallies has resulted in a lawsuit from the musician’s estate, saying the Trump campaign has infringed its copyright. The campaign says it’s covered by a BMI licence, putting the spotlight back on the complexities of music licensing 

One Liners: Warner Chappell x Faith Hopkins, PPL x The Last Dinner Party, UTA x The Calling, BMG x Lanie Gardner, Prescription Songs x Hayley May; new boss at Sony Germany, Australia’s TEG ups Tim McGregor to global role; Elvis estate scam, Kanye copyright settlement, TikTok pixel lawsuit update + more

Also today: The US government has filed an amended version of its lawsuit against Live Nation, which accuses the company of anticompetitive conduct. Attorneys General from ten more states have joined the litigation, which has been amended to say that states can claim ‘treble damages’ on behalf of their citizens 

Plus: Rose Gray is CMU Approved

Isaac Hayes estate sues Donald Trump for copyright infringement 

The estate of Isaac Hayes, and an associated company, Isaac Hayes Enterprises, have now filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his election campaign over the use of the song ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’ at numerous events where the former US President has spoken. 

The court action follows a cease and desist letter earlier this month which demanded $3 million in licensing fees for past uses of the 1966 Sam & Dave track, which Hayes co-wrote with David Porter. 

“Mr Trump and the Trump campaign began publicly performing the copyrighted work in 2020 as ‘outro’ music for appearances and campaign events”, says the lawsuit which has been filed with the Georgia courts. A cease and desist letter was initially sent by both Universal Music and Warner Chappell the same year, it adds, but Trump continued to use the song without a licence.

terrible* // Advancing & Touring Assistant (London)

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.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

ONE LINERS

Deals

• Warner Chappell and Play It Again Music have signed singer-songwriter Faith Hopkins to a joint publishing deal. 
• The Last Dinner Party have signed with UK collecting society PPL for international neighbouring rights royalty collection.
• Rock band The Calling has signed with United Talent Agency for representation and CTK Enterprises for management. 
• BMG Nashville has signed breakout artist Lanie Gardner to its roster. 
• Prescription Songs, the music publishing company founded by Dr Luke, has signed artist-songwriter-vocalist Hayley May to a publishing deal. 
• Audio Chateau Records has secured $4.5 million in funding from investors and has appointed several executives to its leadership team. 
• Progrock.com's Essentials label has signed three UK prog acts: Solstice, Ghost Of The Machine, and Clive Nolan. 

Appointments

• Sony Music has appointed Christoph Behm as CEO of its operations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria from 1 Sep.
• Australian live and ticketing company TEG has named Tim McGregor as its new Global Head Of Touring. 

Legal

• A woman has been charged with attempting to defraud Elvis Presley's family through a scheme to auction the Graceland estate in a plot that involved multiple aliases, forged court filings and a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper.
• TikTok has gained a significant legal advantage in a lawsuit alleging improper data collection from non-users via its use of tracking pixels. 
• Kanye West has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit over his track 'Life of the Party' which appeared on a deluxe version of West's 2021 album 'Donda'.

Streaming, Digital & Broadcast

• Spotify has partnered with global anime brand Crunchyroll to expand its anime music offerings, saying that anime has surged by 395% since 2021.
• OfCom, the UK's media regulator, has awarded 25 small-scale DAB radio multiplex licences across London and Southeast England.
• Noctil, which describes itself as a “no-code metadata platform”, has opened an office in Kochi, India, increasing its headcount by eight people, to a total of twelve across the USA and India. 
• KakaoBank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, has acquired a 14.99% stake in music tech startup Naivy a platform which offers music distribution, royalty management and data analysis services for artists, alongside a consumer app that rewards listeners. 
• Kartoon Studios has partnered with LiveOne, Inc to produce, publish and distribute original music for its ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ projects.

Live

• The Musicians' Union has called on the BBC to restore ‘Strictly Come Dancing’s full live band which was reduced during the COVID pandemic. 
• The Night League, the company behind Ibiza clubs Hï Ibiza and Ushuaïa, has unveiled plans to open [UNVRS], billed as the world's first 'hyperclub', on the island in 2025. 

Other industry news & events

• UK record industry trade group BPI has invited applications for its Equity And Justice Advisory Group.
• Ariana Grande has partnered with HeadCount, a US-based nonpartisan nonprofit organisation focused on youth voter registration, to encourage fans to check their voting status. 
• Michael Goldstone, founder and co-owner of independent record label Mom+Pop Music, has been named the recipient of the Seymour Stein Global A&R Award.
• Abbey Road Studios has announced rock music photographer Jill Furmanovsky as the Icon award winner for its Music Photography Awards 2024.

Releases & Tours

• Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep has released first solo single ‘Holy, Holy’. His debut solo album ‘The New Sound’ is out 4 Oct.
• færy has released her new single ‘anam cara’. Her debut album ‘rising’ is out 31 Oct.
• Lucius have released their new single ‘Old Tape’, featuring The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel.
• Joanna Sternberg has released her new single ‘A Country Dance’.
• Gia Ford has released her new single ‘Try Changing’. Her debut album ‘Transparent Things’ is out 13 Sep.
• Girlhood have released their new single ‘Kissing You’.
• Paul Russell has released his new single ‘Homecoming’. His debut EP ‘Again Sometime?’ is out 30 Aug.
• Ka has released his new album ‘The Thief Next To Jesus’.
• Shelailai has released her new single ‘MY MY’. Her debut EP ‘Butterfly Effect’ is out 17 Sep.
• Alan Sparhawk has released his new single ‘Get Still’. His debut album ‘White Roses, My God’ is out 27 Sep.
• Warm Human has released her new single ‘My Moods!!’. Her new album ‘Hamartia’ is out 11 Oct.

Ten more states join US government’s Live Nation lawsuit, which now seeks treble damages 

A total of 39 states - plus the District Of Columbia - are now backing the US government’s DoJ lawsuit against Live Nation, which accuses the live giant of anticompetitive conduct and seeks to force a sale of Ticketmaster. An amended version of the lawsuit also includes an additional claim that could treble the damages awarded in the case. 

The original lawsuit filed back in May was already backed by Washington DC plus 29 US states. In it each participating state made various legal claims against Live Nation under its own relevant state-level laws. Some states included claims for damages on behalf of their citizens who have been negatively impacted by Live Nation’s alleged conduct. 

The amended lawsuit notes that federal competition law in the US allows the Attorney General of each participating state to “obtain treble damages on behalf of natural persons” under the Clayton Act, in Title 15 of the United States Code. This means that the participating states can seek three times the monetary damages they would otherwise be due.

🎧 Approved: Rose Gray

Confessions - and the occasional crisis - on the dancefloor are swiftly becoming Rose Gray’s signature. A true club-kid at heart (born on New Year’s Eve, no less), the Walthamstow-based artist, songwriter and DJ is staking a claim at the crossroads of dance culture and pop maximalism.

Her latest single ‘Angel Of Satisfaction’ is a combination of pounding house, art-pop and gothic camp, capturing the allure of those late nights that are equal parts haunting and hedonistic. 

Co-written with Justin Tranter (known for his work with Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa), the track, as Gray explains, “plays on the idea of temptation, being blessed, and is loosely based on a dream where an angel visited me with a warning about fame and fortune”. 

As she puts the finishing touches on her debut album, Gray stands as an emerging icon of the next wave in club anthems.