Welcome to Music Business Worldwide’s weekly round-up – where we make sure you caught the five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their income and reduce their touring costs.
This week’s news cycle was dominated by data on 2024 recorded music revenues, and a variety of issues related to copyright.
Via data from IFPI, we learned that global recorded music revenues rose 4.8% YoY in 2024, with emerging markets and Europe leading the way and the US lagging behind.
The US’s performance was highlighted by the RIAA‘s latest report showing recorded music trade revenues from streaming rising 3.6% YoY in 2024.
Meanwhile, artists and other copyright holders are growing concerned about a proposal from ChatGPT maker OpenAI to reform US copyright law to allow AI developers to use copyrighted materials without authorization to train their models. Sir Paul McCartney and Bette Midler are among the celebrities leading the opposition to the plan.
Speaking of copyright, Mariah Carey landed a decisive legal victory this week, with a court summarily ruling in her favor in a copyright claim over her classic All I Want For Christmas Is You.
And in other courtroom news, Universal Music Group filed a motion to dismiss the defamation case brought against it by Drake over Kendrick Lamar‘s Not Like Us. UMG called Drake’s suit “utterly without merit.”
Here’s what happened this week…
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1) RECORDED MUSIC STREAMING REVENUES GREW BY JUST 3.6% YOY IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2024 – DRAGGED DOWN BY A DECLINE IN ADVERTISING PAYOUTS
According to new data issued by the RIAA on Tuesday (March 18), recorded music trade revenues from streaming in the United States – the world’s largest music market – grew by just 3.6% YoY in 2024, up to USD $14.88 billion.
Considering that US-based inflation sat at around 3% in the 12 calendar months of last year, this number is unlikely to get industry watchers hot under the collar.
The US industry’s overall streaming revenue performance in 2024 was dragged down by payouts from on-demand, ad-supported music services, including YouTube and Spotify‘s ‘freemium’ tier.
Combined, these platforms saw their revenue contribution to the recorded music industry decline in the US last year, down 1.8% YoY to $1.83 billion…
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2) 11 QUICK (AND IMPORTANT) TAKEAWAYS FROM IFPI’S GLOBAL MUSIC REPORT 2025
The IFPIGlobal Music Report 2025 reveals a music industry continuing to grow – while facing new challenges and opportunities.
To be clear: the IFPI’s numbers refer strictly to wholesale recorded music revenues (i.e. the money paid through to labels, distributors, and artists).
The worldwide numbers contain some good news for rightsholders (see: subscription streaming trade revenues up nearly 10% YoY), but there are also some worrying elements (see: ad-supported streaming not pulling its weight, a slump in the USA’s performance).
Here are 11 quick takeaways from the report…
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3) OPENAI IS PUSHING FOR DONALD TRUMP TO WEAKEN COPYRIGHT PROTECTIONS IN THE US. PAUL MCCARTNEY IS FIGHTING BACK.
The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, has called for fundamental changes to US copyright law that would allow AI companies to use copyrighted works without permission or compensation to rightsholders.
That’s according to a fresh policy submission to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The document does not make happy reading for copyright holders, which explains why music stars like Sir Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Bette Midler have joined hundreds of Hollywood celebrities in signing a letter pushing back against the proposals.
The submission, filed by OpenAI on March 13, is part of the tech company’s response to the Trump administration’s request for information on developing a national AI Action Plan…
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4) MARIAH CAREY WINS COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT OVER ‘ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU’
Mariah Carey has won a lawsuit that claimed the perennial hit All I Want For Christmas Is You infringed the copyright on another song with the same name.
The court also slapped sanctions on the lawyers who brought the case against Carey, saying they had filed “frivolous” and “unsupported” claims in the case in “to cause unnecessary delay and needlessly increase the costs of litigation.”
Songwriter Andy Stone, who performs as Vince Vance and the Valiants, along with co-writer Troy Powers, filed a complaint in November 2023, alleging that Carey’s 1994 classic Christmas song ripped off their own song called All I Want For Christmas Is You, which was released in 1989 and “became a country music hit” after “extensive seasonal airplay in 1993,” according to their complaint…
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5) UMG ASKS COURT TO DISMISS DRAKE’S ‘NOT LIKE US’ LAWSUIT: ‘HE HAS SUED HIS OWN RECORD LABEL IN A MISGUIDED ATTEMPT TO SALVE HIS WOUNDS.’
Universal Music Group (UMG) has officially filed a motion asking the court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by superstar rapper Drake.
The music company argues in its motion, filed on Monday (March 17) that Drake’s “complaint is utterly without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
UMG writes in its court filing, obtained by MBW, that Drake, “one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.”
UMG has also requested a stay of discovery, pending a decision on the motion to dismiss…
MBW’s Weekly Round-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their income and reduce their touring costs.Music Business Worldwide
