universal music group

Supreme Court sides with internet service provider Cox in fight with record labels over pirated music

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Supreme Court sides with internet service provider Cox in fight with record labels over pirated music

The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday Cox Communications cannot be held liable for piracy by its internet service subscribers of songs owned by Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and other labels, ending their billion-dollar-plus music copyright lawsuit. The 9-0 ruling overturned a lower court’s decision to order a new trial to determine how much the internet … Read more

D4vd’s record label stops promoting him as cops investigate ties to teen girl found dismembered in his Tesla

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D4vd’s record label stops promoting him as cops investigate ties to teen girl found dismembered in his Tesla

D4vd’s record label is refusing to promote the release of the deluxe version of his album Friday — as homicide cops investigate photos of the singer with the teenage girl found dismembered in the back of his abandoned Tesla, according to reports Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and Wasserman have put all promotional activities … Read more

Beastie Boys, UMG settle lawsuits against Chili’s over ‘Sabotage’ ads

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Beastie Boys, UMG settle lawsuits against Chili’s over ‘Sabotage’ ads

Beastie Boys and Universal Music Group settled lawsuits accusing the parent of Chili’s of using the legendary rap trio’s 1994 song “Sabotage” without permission in social media ads to promote the restaurant chain. Settlement notices were posted on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court and Dallas federal court, where Beastie Boys and UMG filed their respective … Read more

Universal Music dropped Liam Payne days before his death as he struggled as a solo artist: report

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Universal Music dropped Liam Payne days before his death as he struggled as a solo artist: report

Liam Payne was reportedly dropped by his music label just days before his death as he struggled to make it as a solo artist. Payne was represented by Universal Records after first signing with its subsidiary Capitol Records in July 2016 — but was recently axed by the major label, multiple sources told the Daily … Read more

Limp Bizkit sues Universal Music Group for $200 million, alleging years of unpaid royalties

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Limp Bizkit sues Universal Music Group for 0 million, alleging years of unpaid royalties

Limp Bizkit is fighting for what they deserve. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles, the band accused Universal Music Group of withholding money from them. The band worked with the music label from 1997 to 2011, releasing their first six albums in partnership with them; however, lead singer Fred Durst’s lawyer claims the … Read more

Universal Music Group loses $16B in market value, plunging 24% after weak streaming reveal

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Universal Music Group loses B in market value, plunging 24% after weak streaming reveal

Universal Music Group’s stock plunged 24% on Thursday, erasing more than $16 billion in market value after it revealed its revenue growth from subscription and streaming services fell below expectations. The Netherlands-based music industry giant – behind big names including Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish – saw its market capitalization tumble to $39.9 billion, down … Read more

Sony, Universal, Warner sue AI startups claiming copyright infringement in training models

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Sony, Universal, Warner sue AI startups claiming copyright infringement in training models

Major record labels Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Records sued artificial intelligence companies Suno and Udio on Monday, accusing them of committing mass copyright infringement by using the labels’ recordings to train music-generating AI systems. The companies copied music without permission to teach their systems to create music that will “directly compete with, cheapen, and ultimately drown … Read more

TikTok users lose access to Taylor Swift, Universal catalogue after talks collapse

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TikTok users lose access to Taylor Swift, Universal catalogue after talks collapse

TikTok users will no longer be able to create videos with songs from Taylor Swift, Jon Batiste, boygenius and other Universal Music Group artists as the soundtrack, as contract negotiations between the two companies have collapsed. TikTok’s access to Universal’s expansive roster of artists ended Wednesday, after months of negotiations failed to yield a new agreement with the world’s largest music … Read more

Taylor Swift fans ‘scammed’ by pop star’s merchandise store, blame Universal Music Group

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Taylor Swift fans ‘scammed’ by pop star’s merchandise store, blame Universal Music Group

A growing number of Taylor Swift fans gripe that they’ve been “scammed” by the pop star’s online merchandise store — with many pointing the finger at her record label Universal Music Group over chronic mismanagement of the site. Store.TaylorSwift.com — which sells gifts, CDs and vinyl, as well as T-shirts and sweaters from her record-breaking … Read more

McDonald’s debuts 12 Squishmallow Happy Meal toys — with a hi-tech twist

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McDonald’s debuts 12 Squishmallow Happy Meal toys — with a hi-tech twist

McDonald’s is about to get squishy. Squishmallows toys will soon come included with Happy Meals across the country — but they’re more hi-tech than they first look. McDonald’s excitedly announced the news this week, saying they’ve partnered with Jazwares and Universal Music Group to create 12 exclusive Squishmallows Happy Meal toys. Thanks to Universal, each … Read more

Taylor Swift continues to be a moneymaker for Universal Music in Q3

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Taylor Swift continues to be a moneymaker for Universal Music in Q3

Cultural phenomenon Taylor Swift helped fuel revenue at Universal Music Group in the third quarter, the world’s largest record label said Wednesday. Total revenue was 2.75 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in the quarter, up 3.3%. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 581 million euros ($612 million), up 5.1%, the company … Read more

Taylor Swift merchandising sales boost Universal Music’s results

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Taylor Swift merchandising sales boost Universal Music’s results

The sale of Taylor Swift merchandising pushed revenue at Universal Music Group in the second quarter, the world’s largest record label said Wednesday. The American pop star’s ongoing “Eras Tour” has attracted enough fans to help boost hotel and restaurant revenue in cities across the world, and even contribute to concert ticket inflation, a phenomenon that some economists … Read more

Why Taylor Swift’s new vinyl albums feature ‘creepy’ mystery music

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Why Taylor Swift’s new vinyl albums feature ‘creepy’ mystery music

Taylor Swift said, “Speak Now” — but now some fans are concerned she’s “Haunted.” Some Swifties who received the new “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” album on vinyl experienced a “creepy” issue when they went to listen. “Send help I got speak now (not Taylors version) this is so funny,” a fan captioned a video on … Read more