A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
January 2026 Updates
Launchpad in Leeds
Back to Leeds next week to deliver a masterclass as part of the Launchpad Future Leaders programme, which is exciting. It also means I’ll be around for this Music Industry Mixer that Launchpad and Music Local are presenting on the same day. Maybe see some of you there.
Publishers v Anthropic v2
As all these AI copyright cases continue to go through the motions, you start seeing lawsuits like this one, seeking three billion dollars in damages, and can’t help thinking: “what, only three billion, surely you can do better than that?” – anyway, here’s my CMU report on Music Publishers v Anthropic Take Two.
TW:Backstage update
From this week’s TW:Backstage updates: an interesting new report that puts the spotlight on barriers in the UK creative industries that mean working class creatives are struggling to break through, based on research involving 300 creators in Greater Manchester. Here’s my speedy report on it.
Wixen v Meta
Interesting lawsuit today. Wixen claims that, during tricky licensing renegotiations, Meta removed its songs from the Reels library, and then told affected artists that Wixen had had them removed, all to put pressure on the publisher to accept lower royalty rates in its next licensing deal. Here’s my CMU report.
Piracy sagas
I’m pretty nostalgic about all those years writing about the many legal battles involving The Pirate Bay – are we embarking on a whole new music piracy saga here? I wonder if the people behind Anna’s Archive will also float the idea of setting up their own country on a platform in the North Sea in order to avoid the jurisdiction of copyright enforcing courts? The Pirate Bay saga was never dull. Anyway, the music industry is suing Anna’s Archive.
TW:Backstage update
From this week’s TW:Backstage updates: interesting new venture this, from comedy production company Lead Mojo, looking to crowdfund the costs of creating and producing various new scripted audio comedy series involving a bunch of great people. Here’s my speedy report on it.
Pathways Kent
Our first Pathways Into Music Educator Pathway Weekend of 2026 is happening in Kent on 14 and 15 March. If you know anyone involved in music education in that region, including teachers, tutors, lecturers, plus talent development and youth organisations, please do let them know! Info here.
UCL Music Copyright Event
Looking forward to speaking at this event at UCL in March on all things music and copyright, including creator rights, streaming and AI. You can find more information and get tickets and such like here.
THRILLING copyright news
Peak copyright nerdery here, but I was almost THRILLED when this judgement came through earlier this week. Mainly because I never understood why the termination right in American copyright law was interpreted to only apply to US rights and now multiple judges have confirmed they are similarly perplexed. Here’s my CMU report on the latest developments.
AI debates and disputes
I think it’s safe to assume there’ll be lots more AI debates and disputes to report on this year. There was loads of lobbying and litigation on music, copyright and generative AI last year of course – here’s my summary of the key developments, and how that will likely impact on the AI debates and disputes within the music business in 2026.
CMU Daily returns
First CMU Daily of 2026 today, so I did a quick summary of five music business developments over the Christmas break, including Elon’s music publisher lawsuit, Salt N Pepa’s termination rights knock back, Lucian’s annual memo, plus TikTok and Spotify updates.
Pathways Into Music
Super valuable meeting yesterday with our Pathways Into Music Advisory Board. We’ve got lots of projects and programmes planned for 2026, and now we’ve got loads of great ideas and insights to help make them even better. Don’t forget, our next round of Educator Pathway Weekends kicks off in March.
MMF AI session
Looking forward to joining this MMF session tomorrow, providing an update on the ‘Interim Guide To AI’ we produced with the MMF back in 2023, and also discussing how managers are dealing with some of the key AI issues music-makers are facing right now: including what AI tools to use, how platforms are dealing with AI content, and what those big major label AI deals might involve.
CAA v Reg briefing
Before I get going writing about music business legal shenanigans once again following the festive break, I thought I’d put together a TW News Briefing summarising one of the big comedy legal battles of 2025, which concluded just before Christmas. You can read the article here.