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AFM Voluntarily Drops Its Case Against ‘Warner Music Group Corp.’ — But the Major Is Still Facing High-Stakes Breach of Contract Claims
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) just recently made a name-related change official in a voluntary dismissal notice. According to this filing, the union has shelved the action “without prejudice, strictly and only as to Defendant WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP.”  One could be forgiven for believing that the disclosure pertains to a partial resolution in the case, which centers on Warner Music’s and Universal Music’s alleged failure to cut AFM musicians in on due AI licensing revenue. As many know, the defendants remain adamant that the relevant labor contract’s new use section doesn’t cover artificial intelligence; the AFM is, of course, of the opposite view.  However, all the litigants have directly or indirectly acknowledged ongoing negotiations concerning a fresh labor pact; gen AI is rather unsurprisingly a key focus in the discussions. At the intersection of these points – plus the majors’ tall AI revenue expectations as well as the other licensing deals that are presumably on the horizon – a lawsuit-ending resolution doesn’t seem impossible here. “To the extent AFM seeks to assert a breach of contract, it is not against Warner Music Group Corp. That is alone enough to dismiss the complaint as to Warner,” the major drove home.  Of course, the overarching Warner Music does, in fact, have Suno and Udio deals in place; see the company’s newest earnings transcript, complete with mentions of the above-noted AI revenue expectations, for proof. Consequently, it didn’t come as a shock when the AFM in a late-July amended complaint swapped Warner Music Group for Warner Records.  One month later, then, the American Federation of Musicians has made the dismissal official against Warner Music Group, not Warner Records (and Atlantic). Assuming the clash has time to unfold, the AFM will likely look to ascertain precisely how many training-incorporated recordings contain contributions from its members. In this way, we could learn more about the platforms’ closely guarded (but probably massive) AI “training numbers.”

 

Young People are Making CDs Cool Again.
Compact discs are back, with searches for players up 96%. With more than 800 million people subscribing to a music streaming service, wireless speakers have become a familiar sight in homes. But expect to get reacquainted with a different object to play music soon: the CD player, once consigned to obsolescence, is back. This tallies, of course, with sales of CDs themselves. A report this year found that the growth of CD sales is up 16%, compared with vinyl’s 2.4%. HMV reports that sales of CDs are up 10% year on year – thanks to artists often providing unique content on the format. The CD revival is part of a wider fashion for retro tech. As well as the vinyl resurgence and cassettes becoming popular items to buy, there’s the vogue for wearing wired earphones over AirPods.  Arguably, the CD is the final revival available to young people – it’s the last format for music before the MP3 arrived in the early 2000s. 

 

Apple Music’s New AI Labeling System Is Coming Into Focus—And It’s Not the Best News for Suno
Apple Music unveiled more information about its upcoming move to label tracks created using artificial intelligence in an email sent out to the music industry on Thursday. The streaming service said that AI music labels will arrive “later this year,” though a specific launch date hasn’t been disclosed.  The news arrives months after Apple Music announced its “AI Transparency Tags,” which are available for record labels and music distributors to disclose when content uploaded was “materially generated using AI.” Primarily, Apple Music is relying on content providers such as record labels and distributors to apply the necessary transparency tags. The company emphasized that content providers are key partners in this process because “they are best positioned to know how their content was created.”  “Content providers will be required to include AI Transparency Tags in any instance where AI was used to create a material portion of the content,” Apple Music explained, including “tracks that are AI-platform-generated,” such as those from platforms like Suno and Udio. “We define AI-platform-generated content as anything that is primarily derived from a generative AI service.”  However, the company did not include details as to how these requirements will be enforced. The whole thing follows the RIAA and IFPI-led effort calling for streaming services to add AI labels to their platforms similar to the way explicit tracks are disclosed. To that end, Spotify announced a similar AI-labeling initiative on its platform, noting that such artists would be excluded from editorial or algorithmic recommendations. Spotify does not label the songs themselves, but the artist profiles attached to them. The platform also launched an AI song labeling feature in April, but disclosure on individual songs is voluntary. (Uhh, like the ones using AI will be honest about it?)

 

SoundCloud Adds On-Platform Support for Paid Downloads, Says Artists Will ‘Keep 100% of Each Sale’
The increasingly superfan-geared platform kicked off the beta today, pointing to an initial launch involving “approximately 200 U.S.-based Artist Pro creators with Fan Support enabled.” From here, SoundCloud intends to “gradually expand access” en route to making downloads “available to all eligible creators later this fall.”  Closer to the present, the Nina Protocol owner is framing the buildout as one component of a broader strategy to connect artists and their diehard supporters. Naturally, though, the expansion raises an interesting question: With the streaming era in full swing, just how many fans are in the market for downloads? Of course, SoundCloud, which also offers on-demand vinyl manufacturing and distribution under an elasticStage tie-up, isn’t alone in attempting to position itself as this one-stop platform. It seems safe to assume that high-spending music lovers are uninterested in listening to or even encountering AI slop; Bandcamp took a stand against AI garbage closer to 2026’s start, while Tidal in late June fully demonetized machine-powered audio. SoundCloud, for its part, has yet to move forward with a similar policy.

 

Tributes pour in for Dolly Parton: ‘Every superlative you could apply to her would be accurate.’
A wealth of tributes have been paid to Dolly Parton, who has died at the age of 80.  The singer, songwriter and businesswoman’s death on Tuesday (August 25) was announced in a video posted to her social media accounts by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, who worked as her head of security for more than two decades.  Her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said in a later statement that Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones, “after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer.” A statement issued on behalf of her team read: “A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family.  “Dolly Parton‘s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place.  “Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.”Parton wrote over 3,000 songs, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted her in 2022.  She scored 25 No.1 hits on Billboard‘s country chart, plus more than 50 Top 10 country songs and 44 Top 10 country albums.  In 2014, the RIAA recognized Parton for global sales of over 100 million units.  She won 10 Grammy Awards from 55 nominations, and received the Recording Academy‘s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. 

 

Our Culture Is Filled With Music With No Place for Musicians…Is Supply and Demand Upside Down?
QUESTION: Can a culture be filled with music while musicians become economically disposable? The answer seems to be an overwhelming “yes”.  In fact, that may be the defining contradiction of the modern music business. We are way past the demand of music, folks.  Music is everywhere. It plays in stores, restaurants, gyms, offices, films, television shows, video games, podcasts, social posts, waiting rooms and elevators. It wakes us up, helps us work, sells us products, regulates our moods and fills every uncomfortable silence. We consume more music in more places, for more hours of the day, than any previous generation could have imagined.  Yet the people making that music are increasingly treated as though they are incidental to the process. The modern economy wants music constantly, but it does not necessarily want musicians. Music files have no such demands. They can be stored, copied, streamed, licensed, repackaged and placed into playlists without ever asking who benefits.  The business has learned to separate the value of music from the value of the person who created it. Music remains culturally essential, but musicians are told they are replaceable. (THANK YOU AI!) That separation is not accidental. It is the business model. This is what happens when your product is scalable but your workforce is not. (HELLO..McFLY!!) Streaming platforms need an endless supply of recordings. Social platforms need sounds that keep users watching. Advertisers need music to create emotion around products. Venues need performers to attract customers. Technology companies need creative work to train systems that will generate more creative work. Everyone needs music, but each part of the system is designed to minimize what it pays the musician. The (virtual) shelves are full. The playlists never end. The soundtrack plays everywhere. But the people who create the music, sweat the details and hope for the best have been priced out of their own industry — maybe forever…let's hope not!

 

The Best Way to Get a Publishing Deal
Over the years, thousands of aspiring songwriters have attended my workshops, and almost all of them have one thing in common: They hope to make a living doing what they love—writing songs.
Some publishers, primarily smaller independent companies, acquire songs one at a time. In those cases, the songwriter signs a single-song agreement. But most songwriters who build sustainable careers eventually sign an exclusive publishing agreement, sometimes referred to as a staff-writing deal.  
The term staff-writing is actually a misnomer. A songwriter who enters into this type of contract is neither a staff member nor an employee of the publishing company. They don’t report to an office, keep regular hours, or typically receive employee benefits such as health insurance. And in most cases, the money a songwriter receives under an exclusive agreement isn’t a salary. It is an advance against future royalties.
The amount of the advance depends largely on the writer’s track record and bargaining power. An advance might cover the cost of home-studio equipment, demo musicians and vocalists, or recording-studio time. It might also provide enough income to make it possible to quit a day job and write full-time.  There is no such thing as a “standard” publishing contract. Nearly every provision can be negotiated, depending on the writer’s leverage.  The contract will specify which sources of income the publisher can use to recoup the advance. If the advance hasn’t been fully recouped when the agreement expires, the songwriter typically isn’t required to write a check to the publisher for the outstanding balance. Instead, the songs generally remain with the publisher, and royalties earned later are applied toward the unrecouped advance.  Now that we’ve established what an exclusive publishing agreement is, let’s address the bigger question: How do you land one? Click here to read more.

 

YouTube is doubling the amount of viewing a new creator must generate before they can start earning a share of the platform’s advertising and subscription money.  

From February 1, 2027, new applicants to the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) will need 8,000 qualified watch hours over the previous 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views over the previous 90 days.
Both figures are double the current entry requirements of 4,000 watch hours and 10 million Shorts views. The 1,000-subscriber requirement is unchanged.  The changes were announced by YouTube in a blog post on Monday (August 10). YouTube does not say that, and its post does not address what the expansion means for payments to music rightsholders.  Nor are rightsholders shut out of the tier: the ads that keep running against music content on Premium Lite generate revenue that is shared with them.  But the version of YouTube Premium now reaching every Premium market is the cheap one, and the one in which music sits largely outside the subscription. The new terms, which creators can review and sign in YouTube Studio, take effect on February 1, 2027.

 

90,000 AI tracks flood uploads daily – passing 50% of all new music uploads for the first time
The volume of fully AI-generated music being uploaded to streaming services has surged yet again.
According to eye-opening new stats revealed by Paris-headquartered streaming service Deezer today (July 21), fully AI-generated music accounted for more than half of all new tracks uploaded to its platform for the first time in June.  Deezer says it was receiving nearly 90,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day in June.  On peak days, that content made up more than 50% of all new music delivered to the service. The 90,000-a-day peak marks an escalation from the 75,000 AI tracks a day, or 44% of daily deliveries. The trend has prompted a  record-industry push for transparency, with the RIAA and IFPI campaigning to label AI tracks as either “AI-generated” or “AI-assisted” across the world’s streaming services. Deezer says it detected and tagged more than 13.4 million AI tracks across 2025, and that its tool can identify fully AI-generated music from generative models including Suno and Udio.

 

Why are people buying so many CDs?
CD sales are apparently going up, reportedly thanks to fans realizing they’re an affordable way to support their favorite artists. According to a new report from research firm Luminate, 16.3 million CDs were sold in the first half of 2026 in the US, a 16 percent increase year-over-year. The growth in CD sales was driven by “collection building and price accessibility. The data suggests that “the CD has been recontextualized from a functional audio format into an affordable collectible,” Luminate says. “This behavior underscores that for younger generations, the act of buying physical music is as much about aesthetic ownership and direct financial support for the artist as it is listening to the music on the product itself.” Physical album sales — vinyls, CDs, and cassettes — were up overall as well, increasing 7.8 percent year-over-year. Vinyl sales were at 21.8 million units and cassette sales hit around 205,000 units, Luminate’s Denise Schenasi tells The Verge. The higher vinyl sales continues a trend of the format outselling CDs that has been going for a few years now.

 

AI Could Use as Much Water as 1.3 Billion People by 2030, U.N. Report Warns
The water used by artificial intelligence is expected to equal the needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030—threatening natural resources for billions around the world. That’s according to a new report from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) which quantifies the carbon, water, and land footprints of AI's electricity use around the globe. The report finds that AI’s environmental cost is often mismeasured—focusing solely on carbon emissions. However, cooling and generating power for data centers comes with a “water footprint,” while the energy infrastructure and supply chains to build the data centers have a “land footprint.” These are important factors to consider, the report says, when analyzing the stressors a region might be facing due to data centers. By 2030, the report finds, global data centers powering artificial intelligence are projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity. This is nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria—countries that together are home to more than 650 million people. The water footprint of data centers is projected to equal the basic domestic water needs of all 1.3 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa for a year, while their land footprint could exceed 5,590 square miles.But switching to cleaner sources of energy isn’t as simple as it sounds. Minimizing one footprint could come at the expense of magnifying another, researchers say. For example, switching from coal to bioenergy cuts electricity’s carbon footprint by 70%—but increases its water footprint more than 30-fold and its land footprint 100-fold. For a number of communities around the globe, AI is already using up significant energy resources. In 2025 alone, data centers consumed an estimated 448 terawatt-hours of electricity, the report found—more than the country of Saudi Arabia. In many cases, this excessive energy use comes at a cost to those who reside near them.