In today's CMU Daily: Cox Communications is trying to get the US Supreme Court to review the billion dollar judgement in its legal battle with the major record companies. Yesterday four other ISPs made a submission to the court supporting their rival and urging the top court to intervene

One Liners: Cargo Independent Distribution, Circa, Prescription Songs, Faith Sounds, MPLIFY, Dirty Hit, Co-op Live, Miley Cyrus, APM, Guvera, Coldplay, Motel 8, Jane’s Addiction, The Postal Service, Kanye West + more

Also today: Judges yesterday scrutinised lawyers from TikTok as the social media company tries to block the sell-or-be-banned law passed by US Congress earlier this year; following the numerous lawsuits accusing Diddy of sexual harassment and assault, the musician has now been arrested and charged with racketeering and sex trafficking

Plus: ATRIP is CMU Approved

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US internet providers slam “extortionate pressure” of copyright lawsuits as they urge the Supreme Court to scrap Cox judgement

The US Supreme Court has been urged to review and overturn the judgement in the billion dollar legal battle between the major record companies and Cox Communications by four internet service providers, which compete with Cox but back their rival in this dispute. 

The four ISPs - Frontier, Lumen, Altice and Verizon - have invested “hundreds of billions of dollars in network infrastructure” over the last three decades, they declare in a submission to the Supreme Court. They did that partly to pursue their own business interests, but also to help US Congress achieve its official objective of promoting “the continued development of the internet”. The ruling in the majors v Cox case “strikes at the heart of that effort”, they insist. 

That’s because it “saddles ISPs with responsibility for online copyright infringement committed by others”, even though they “do not participate in, encourage or in any way assist” in that infringement. In fact, they “forbid copyright infringement through robust anti-piracy policies and programmes”. 

And, of course, being held responsible for another’s infringement can prove to be very expensive indeed, because US copyright law allows statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. “Cox faced a $1 billion verdict”, the ISP's write. “Frontier is currently defending a $400 million lawsuit, Altice USA is defending a lawsuit with an immense range of potential statutory damages, and recent press reports suggest Verizon is facing up to $2.6 billion in potential liability”.

UK Publicist // Cosa Nostra PR

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Horizon is CMU's weekly newsletter 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

• RoEx has partnered with UnitedMasters to offer AI-powered mastering to independent artists through the UnitedMasters web platform and iOS app. 
• Secretly Distribution, Beggars Group and Cargo Records UK have formed a new independent UK distribution partnership called Cargo Independent Distribution. 
• ATC Group Plc has launched Circa, a new transatlantic music promotions company with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London.
• Prescription Songs has signed artist-songwriter-guitarist Kora Puckett in partnership with Hazheart Music. 
• Rimas Publishing has launched Faith Sounds, a platform dedicated to supporting and elevating Christian music artists. 
• Warner Music Korea has launched MPLIFY, a new label focusing on English-language music by Korean artists with international connections. 
• Dirty Hit has renewed its UK physical distribution partnership with Universal Music for three more years, extending a collaboration that began in 2010. 

Appointments

• Oak View Group has appointed Guy Dunstan as General Manager and Senior Vice President of Manchester venue Co-op Live four months after its troubled launch. 

Legal

• Miley Cyrus has been sued over her Grammy-winning song 'Flowers'. Tempo Music Investments has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles federal court, alleging that Cyrus and her co-writers copied elements of Bruno Mars' 2013 song 'When I Was Your Man' without authorisation. 
• Associated Production Music has filed a lawsuit against the American Hockey League and nine of its teams for alleged copyright infringement. APM, the production music company owned by Sony and Universal, claims the AHL and its teams have used APM's copyrighted recordings without permission in over 230 social media videos.

Streaming, Digital, Broadcast & Retail

• MacPaw has launched its alternative iOS app store, Setapp Mobile, in open beta for EU users, utilising changes to Apple’s rules forced by EU law. 
• ByteDance's social app Lemon8 has surged to the top of the US App Store as the Chinese company’s TikTok subsidiary fights its impending ban in the country in the American courts. 
• Guvera, the failed Australian music streaming company, has announced plans for a comeback in 2024. 

Live

• Coldplay has announced plans to donate 10% of the band's proceeds from their 2025 UK dates in London and Hull to the Music Venue Trust. 
• Motel 6 has launched a songwriting contest, offering artists a chance to win a $6000 cash prize and 20 free nights in their hotels to support their next tour. 
• Watergate, a long-running Berlin nightclub, has announced it will close permanently at the end of 2024 due to financial pressures. 

Artist News

• An Post, Ireland's postal service, has released a new stamp series called 'Iconic Irish Voices' featuring four Irish musicians who died in 2023: Sinéad O'Connor, Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, Christy Dignam of Aslan, and traditional accordion player Séamus Begley. 
• Jane's Addiction have cancelled the remainder of their tour following an on-stage altercation between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro. 
• Tyler, The Creator has been cast in his first feature film, 'Marty Supreme', directed by Josh Safdie. The movie, which also stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, is reportedly inspired by the life of professional ping pong player Marty Reisman.
• The Postal Service has announced an indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of their co-headlining tour with Death Cab For Cutie. 
• Kanye West has encouraged audience members to chant "fuck Adidas" during a listening event for 'Vultures 2' in Hainan, China. The incident follows a similar occurrence at a previous event in South Korea in August.

Selling is not an option says TikTok’s lawyer, as court proceedings open with freedom of speech arguments

TikTok’s battle to block the sell-or-be-banned law passed earlier this year by US Congress reached a court in Washington DC yesterday, with judges grilling legal representatives for both the US government and especially TikTok. 

Andrew J Pincus, representing TikTok, set out the social media company’s key arguments. “Divestiture isn't feasible here”, he told the judges, “so this isn’t just about divestiture, it’s really about a ban”. And the ban is unconstitutional on First Amendment free speech grounds, he added, declaring that “this law imposes an extraordinary speech prohibition based on indeterminate future risks”. 

TikTok, of course, denies that the Chinese government has access to its user data and influence over its content curation via China-based owner ByteDance, those being the concerns that prompted Congress to pass the law that forces a change of ownership or a US-wide ban of the short form video app.

Sean Combs charged with racketeering and sex trafficking

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested in New York on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. It follows the raids by US Homeland Security on property owned by the musician back in March, which in turned followed the filing of numerous lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual harassment and assault. 

Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the arrest yesterday, stating, “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY”. That indictment was then unsealed earlier today making public the charges being pursued by the prosecution. 

Combs has denied all the allegations made against him in the civil lawsuits and, earlier today, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo formally responded to the indictment, stating, “he's innocent of these charges, he’s going to plead not guilty, obviously. He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might. I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr Combs”.

🎧 Approved: ATRIP

Poland-born and London-raised producer/DJ ATRIP draws from the capital’s diverse club culture but shapes it into something with a balmier, almost cinematic emotional edge. Known for his genre-defying and emotion-driven approach to electronic music, ATRIP has crafted a sound that feels both honest and fluid.

Now he builds on this momentum with his latest single ‘Ocean’, featuring KAM-BU. The cinematic track delves into themes of human connection and escape, with KAM-BU delivering a raw, impassioned freestyle that became the heart of the song. Its rumbling bass and shuffling percussion fills the track with tension, with release found in its melodic moments, interposed by ethereal synths and KAM-BU’s vocals.

“‘Ocean’ is one of the most significant tracks from my upcoming tape”, ATRIP explains. “It’s a song that tells a story of healing and adventure. ‘Ocean’ is a balance between ecstasy and emotion, and Kam is a rapper that is not afraid to touch onto emotional spheres and display vulnerability in his music, which is something I resonate with deeply”.

🎧  Listen to ‘Ocean’ here

RELEASES & TOURS

• Confidence Man have collaborated with Sweely on new single ‘All My People’. Their new album ‘3AM (LA LA LA)’ is out 18 Oct.
• Orion Sun has released her new single ‘These Days’, from her new album ‘Orion’ out this Friday. She has also announced the UK/EU leg of ‘The Rising Sun’ tour, including a show at Scala in London on 6 Mar. 
• Lambrini Girls have released their new single ‘Company Culture’. They have also announced their 2025 EU/UK tour, including a show at Chalk in Brighton on 12 Apr.
• ARXX have released their new single ‘SWIM’. Their new album ‘Good Boy’ is out 4 Oct.
• Tim Heidecker has released his new single ‘Dad Of The Year’.
• Floating Points has released his new album ‘Cascade’.
• Sam Redmore has collaborated with Joe Lycett on new single ‘Pride’.
• Benefits have released their new single ‘Land Of The Tyrants’, featuring Zera Tønin.
• Mandrake Handshake have released their new single ‘King Cnut’.
• Sal Dulu has released his new single ‘Full Metal’.
• The Kills have released a Billie Eilish cover single ‘Happier Than Ever’. Their new EP ‘Happier Girls’ is out this Friday.
• The Prodigy have announced ‘The Disrupta 2024 UK Tour’, which includes two shows at The Warehouse Project in Manchester on 14-15 Dec. Tickets go on general sale this Friday.
• Blossoms have announced a five night Manchester residency between 19-23 Nov. Kicking off at Manchester Academy, the residency includes gigs at O2 Ritz, Albert Hall, O2 Victoria Warehouse and O2 Apollo. Tickets go on general sale this Friday here.
• Andrea Bocelli has announced a 2025 UK arena tour, including two shows at the O2 on 1-2 May. Tickets go on general sale this Friday.