In today's CMU Daily: Prosecutors in the US have charged a man accused of running a streaming fraud scam that generated over $10 million. He got individuals abroad to set up “bot accounts” on the streaming platforms and then set those accounts streaming hundreds of thousands of tracks that he created with an AI company

One Liners: news from Interscope, Blue Raincoat, IDOL, City Slang, Myst Music, The Orchard, Third Side Music, Pulse Music Group, Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia, Beatport, LabelRadar, Bluesky, YouTube, DAACI, Soundstripe, Snap, Safe Superintelligence, Eventbrite +more

Also today: EU officials have reportedly ruled out any deal to remove the hurdles British performers now face when touring Europe; Scotland’s music industry is breathing a sigh of relief after First Minister John Swinney confirmed that Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals will not have to close after all; The Competition & Markets Authority has announced a formal investigation into the use of dynamic pricing for the Oasis reunion shows

Plus: yunè pinku is CMU Approved

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New York District Attorney brings criminal charges against man accused of sophisticated streaming fraud that raked in more than $10 million

A man in the US has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering in connection to an alleged streaming fraud enterprise which prosecutors say involved “billions” of fraudulent streams of “hundreds of thousands” of AI-generated tracks to generate more than $10 million in royalties. 

The defendant, Michael Smith, operated a “brazen fraud scheme”, according to Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which “stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters and other rightsholders whose songs were legitimately streamed”. 

Smith has been charged following an investigation by the FBI. Although the music industry has pursued legal action in multiple countries against companies that provide stream manipulation services, there have been relatively few criminal actions over streaming fraud to date. Although, earlier this year, an unnamed Danish music industry executive was sentenced to eighteen months in jail after being found guilty of running a streaming fraud operation.

Event Ticketing Manager // The O2

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Digital Channel Executive // Demon Music Group

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ONE LINERS

Deals

• Jennifer Hudson has signed to Universal Music’s Interscope Records. 
• Blue Raincoat Artists has signed a global management agreement with singer-songwriter Weyes Blood. 
• IDOL has signed a global marketing and distribution deal with Berlin-based independent label City Slang. 
• Myst Music has signed a global distribution and label services deal with Sony Music’s The Orchard. 

Appointments

• Third Side Music has expanded its global creative team into the UK and Europe, appointing Stephen Christian as Executive Vice President Of Creative/A&R: International based in London. 
• PULSE Music Group has promoted Tizita Makuria to Senior Vice President Of A&R.
• Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia has announced two key promotions in its Stockholm office, with Atena Banisaid named General Manager and Christoffer Lindh appointed Head Of A&R.

Streaming, Digital, Broadcast & Retail

• The Beatport Group has launched the Artist Network, a new feature on its LabelRadar platform designed to facilitate connections and collaborations among artists. 
• Bluesky has added over 2 million new users in four days, following X's shutdown in Brazil. According to Appfigures, Bluesky's downloads in Brazil increased by 1,018,952% compared to the previous weekend. 
• YouTube has announced the development of new AI detection tools to protect creators from having their likeness copied and used in other videos. 
• Soundstripe has launched an AI Song Editing feature in partnership with DAACI, allowing users to customise tracks from its licensed music library. 
• Snap has announced it is testing a simplified version of Snapchat which aims to improve Snapchat's accessibility and usability, potentially to attract older users who have historically found the app difficult to navigate.
• Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, has raised over $1 billion in capital from investors.
• The Australian government has published a proposals paper for AI regulation, acknowledging that the current regulatory system is not fit for purpose. 

Live

• Ticketing company Eventbrite has opened up its platform and marketing tools to all event organisers, offering unlimited event publishing and promotion with no organiser fees. 

Other Industry News & Events

• ERA, the UK trade body for entertainment retailers and digital platforms, has honoured seven entertainment industry champions at its second annual summer party in London. 
• The Association Of Independent Music, the trade body representing independent record labels in the UK, has confirmed the full line-up for its annual member gathering AIM Connected, taking place at London’s Barbican Centre on Thursday 12 Sep.

Concessions for UK artists touring EU “impossible” say EU officials

The European Union is unlikely to offer a new deal to make it easier for British artists to tour around Europe, because doing so would involve wholesale changes to EU rules. This news will be a blow to the UK’s new Labour government, which included “helping our touring artists” as a key priority as part of a manifesto commitment to tear down “unnecessary barriers to EU trade” prior to this year’s General Election. 

According to internal EU briefing documents seen by the Financial Times, EU officials say “such a deal is impossible because it would require rewriting the EU-UK Trade And Cooperation Agreement”, as well as making changes to EU rules on customs, road haulage and services. Changes, says the FT, that the European Commission is “not prepared to consider”. 

That said, Paul Adamson from the EU-UK Forum, a group which brings together policymakers, told the newspaper that the UK government might still be able to get some of what it wants if it is willing to make some compromises, adding that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is likely to be an ally in that domain. “She sees the bigger picture, the geopolitics”, he added. “She’s anglophile and has intervened before to make compromises to get deals done”.

Oasis dynamic pricing backlash escalates as UK competition regulator launches formal investigation

The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority has formally launched an investigation into Ticketmaster’s sale of tickets for the Oasis reunion shows, including the use of dynamic pricing. 

News of the investigation came shortly after Oasis themselves issued a statement in which they tried to distance themselves from the backlash over last weekend’s ticket sales, which many are saying will taint their legacy. In their statement, the band basically blame their promoters and management for choosing to employ dynamic pricing.

The CMA says it will investigate whether the ticketing giant’s dynamic pricing system violates consumer rights laws, adding that it will be “engaging with Ticketmaster” to conduct the investigation, as well as “gathering evidence from various other sources”, including fans. 

Scottish First Minister says Creative Scotland budget cuts will not go ahead, promising to “support Scotland’s culture sector and creative industries”

In his annual ‘Programme For Government’ address yesterday, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney told the Scottish Parliament that his government will “support Scotland’s culture sector and creative industries”, promising that a review of funding body Creative Scotland “will be undertaken to ensure the appropriate approach is in place to meet the needs of the sector”. 

More immediately, he also confirmed that “the resources required to enable Creative Scotland to continue the work of the Open Fund are now available”.

The announcement follows a recent open letter from the Scottish music community in response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals due to uncertainty regarding government funding, and the delayed reopening of other music funds. Those developments, the letter said, had “ignited the worst crisis that Scotland’s music and wider arts sector has ever faced”. 

Speaking yesterday, Creative Scotland’s CEO Iain Munro said, “We welcome today’s confirmation of £6.6 million, originally committed to Creative Scotland by the Scottish Government at the start of the year”, adding that the funding body is experiencing “unprecedented levels of demand of the Open Fund for Individuals”. 

Robert Kilpatrick, CEO of the Scottish Music Industry Association said, “We welcome today’s announcement from the First Minister, and we would like to acknowledge the efforts of [culture minister] Angus Robertson in ensuring that these vital funds remain available to support artists and creatives across Scotland”. 

🎧 Approved: yunè pinku

Malaysian-Irish producer and songwriter yunè pinku harnesses the sounds of the rave to create fresh, melodic soundscapes, blending structured pop with glossy, sci-fi textures and ethereal electronic layers.

Her latest single, ‘Half Alive’, is an open-hearted anthem driven by a ticking breakbeat and shimmering synth stabs. pinku’s airy vocals rise above the track, examining experiences of anxiety and depression in a Grimes-worthy falsetto, contrasting the track’s darker undertones.

‘Half Alive’ is the second single from her upcoming EP ‘Scarlet Lamb’, due for release on 4 Oct.

🎧 Listen to ‘Half Alive’ here

RELEASES & TOURS

• George FitzGerald has released his new single ‘Gild’.
• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard member Pipe-eye has released his new single ‘Lords Of Lithium’. His new album ‘Pipe-defy’ is out 18 Oct.
• Jane Remover has released two new singles ‘Magic I Want U’ and ‘How To Teleport’.
• mxmtoon has released her new single ‘the situation’, featuring Kero Kero Bonito. Her new album ‘liminal space’ is out 1 Nov.
• Touché Amoré have released their new single ‘Hal Ashby’. Their new album ‘Spiral In A Straight Line’ is out 11 Oct.
• Jungle have released their new single ‘Let's Go Back’.
• MJ Lenderman has released his new single ‘Wristwatch’.
• THUS LOVE have released their new single ‘On The Floor’. Their new album ‘All Pleasure’ is out 1 Nov.
• The Body have released their new single ‘End of Line’. Their new album ‘The Crying Out of Things’ is out 4 Sep.
• Ivy have released their new single ‘All I Ever Wanted’.
• Sting has released his new single ‘I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)’.
• Chloé Caillet and Nyra have collaborated on new single ‘B Good’.
• Terra Twin have released their new single 'The Recogniser'. Their new EP ‘Static Separation’ is out 6 Feb.
• Weezer have released a new demo of  ‘Undone - The Sweater Song (Third Practice)’.
• Devarrow has released his new single ‘Bus Baby’. His new album ‘Heart Shaped Rock Out’ is out 4 Oct. 
• Jordan Alexander has released her new album ‘Now You're Caught Up’.
• Crows have released their new single ‘Is It Better?’. Their new album ‘Reason Enough’ is out 27 Sep.
• Eli & Fur have released their new single ‘Monsters’.
• Storm Orchestra have released their new single ‘Drummer’.
• total tommy has released her new single ‘Plus One’. Her debut album ‘bruises’ is out 29 Nov.
• HERBST have released their new single ‘Du siehst mich an’. Their new album ‘Spiegel’ is out 20 Sep.
• Role Model has announced his worldwide ‘Kansas Anymore’ tour, kicking off the UK/EU leg of the tour in Dublin at The Academy on 10 Nov. Tickets go on general sale next Friday here.

Op-ed: Jonathan Coote of Bray & Krais on AI and fair use

As the Suno and Udio lawsuits make their way through the courts, the fundamental issue in the cases is likely to be whether the 'fair use' defence can be successfully run for the training of AI tools on copyright works. Jonathan Coote examines the issue in more detail.