Universal Music Group In The News

The US No AI FRAUD Act and Tennessee’s ELVIS Act have caused a buzz in music’s legal circles. What do they hope to achieve, and what are the potential pitfalls?

The bill is meant to give people legal recourse if their image or voice is used in an unauthorized deepfake, but also enshrines into law rules for their commercial use

News

Cindy James promoted to General Manager of Virgin Music Group, North America

James most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Marketing for Virgin Music

News

Pauline Duarte appointed Vice President of Columbia France, as Laurent Chapeau steps down

As part of the transition, labels Hall Access, A+LSO, and Masterworks will move from Columbia Labels Group to RCA Labels Group France

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Latin music veteran Gustavo Lopez launches Globalatino Music Partners; acquires majority stake in Cigol Music

Lopez was a longtime Universal executive and CEO of Saban Music Latin, which was recently acquired by Virgin Music Group

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On… DistroKid, Trefuego, modified audio, and the potential for a new ‘Napster Nightmare’

Should distributors bear any responsibility for the spread of copyright-infringing modified tracks?

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SAG-AFTRA strikes new deal with major labels on sound recordings, including protections for AI use

Among other things, the deal requires an artist's consent for their voice to be used in AI-generated content

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Victoria Oakley appointed CEO of IFPI

Oakley will join IFPI in June from global strategic communications and advocacy consultancy, Portland

Analysis

Taylor Swift has a laudable history of standing up to Big Tech in the name of artist compensation. By embracing TikTok in 2024, she’s broken ranks with that narrative.

When Swift grappled with Apple in 2015, she noted that the fight was "not about me" – it was about other artists. The TikTok situation is the exact opposite.