Contributors: Tailah-Rae Hudson, Niambi Bridge, Ikem Nwankwo and Sharon Ayi
Over the course of the last 12 months, Law Schooled’s team of writers have taken readers on a musical journey diving into some of the legal intricacies and commercial conversations that have shaped the industry in 2024. From lucrative song catalogues to the live aspects of touring and the impact of social media, these stories have highlighted how the art and business of music continues to evolve in an ever changing landscape.
Below are just some of the stories that made waves in the UK music industry sparking a change for artists, musicians and executives alike. Whilst we take a quick moment to reflect on the year that was, we have also included some insights into what may be around the corner for 2025.
Keep a lookout for all things Urban Lawyers and if you have missed any of our previous articles, be sure to explore the Law Schooled archive for more in-depth coverage!
Raye Crawled So You Can Run: The Legal Fight for Artist Autonomy
Raye’s battle with Polydor Records is a powerful reminder of the importance of artist autonomy in today’s music industry. After years of being blocked from releasing her debut album, Raye took legal action against her label, accusing them of holding her music “hostage” under a restrictive contract. In 2024, Raye secured a major victory, gaining full ownership of her catalogue, a win that’s set to have a lasting impact on the UK music scene.
Raye’s story also highlights a crucial point: legal knowledge is essential for protecting your rights. For artists, managers, and anyone in the industry, understanding contract terms and seeking legal guidance early can prevent disputes like this one. Her victory shows that with the right legal support, artists can fight back against exploitation.
To help others navigate these challenges, Urban Lawyers is returning their highly anticipated Music Law Course in February 2025, offering Young Musicians the tools and knowledge needed to avoid these costly pitfalls and ensure their contracts protect their creative freedom. If you’re serious about understanding the business side of music, this course could be a game-changer for your career.
Music Channel Closures on Linear TV
With the rise of content creators across social media platforms and continued dominance of platforms like YouTube, this year saw the closure of a number of music channels across linear TV. Marking a significant change in the music broadcast landscape and following their initial announcement in January to exit the music channel business, Channel 4 had The Box, 4Music, Kiss, Kerrang and Magic TV officially taken off air on the 1st July 2024. Whilst the move signifies an end to an era, it also underscores the move towards Video-On-Demand
(VOD) TV and FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels as primary platforms for music content heading into 2025.
For many music fans, this comes as no surprise as many GRM supporters would have seen documentaries such as Together We Rise (GRM Daily), Home Invasion: The Story of Channel U (Link Up TV) and archive footage from SBTV reflecting how music and youth culture from the 2000s has grown to be documented and celebrated by those who created it.
PRS In Court: To Sue or To Be Sued? That is the Question…
The Performing Rights Society (PRS) has faced its fair share of legal challenges this year with the collective management organisation receiving scrutiny and claims from multiple parties.
Among them is a lawsuit from Pace Rights Management and a group of UK songwriters and composers bringing a claim in the courts stating the lack of transparency and the withholding of information by PRS regarding royalties from live performances licensed internationally and the prejudicial treatment faced by smaller songwriters whilst preferential conditions are given to writer-performers who headline shows at venues with a capacity exceeding 5000. Artists Robert Fripp, Mary Chain and Jim and William have stated that they have been forced to take legal action in an attempt to push for equitable reform for all PRS member writers and reform for the organisation’s current practices. Together they have argues that, rather than penalising writers with excessive red tape and obstructive barriers for those who wish to directly licence their rights, the CMO should focus on improving its practices to promote transparency and equality.
Conversely, PRS has also taken the offensive in wielding the pen in the Intellectual Property Division of the UK High Court against Live Nation. The ongoing case involves allegations that that Live Nation has failed to correctly report ticket prices, including ticket packages for events promoted and hosted by the international promoter. PRS asserts that this move underscored their efforts to ensure compliance and proper royalty distribution in the sector.
AI Copyright Disputes and Predictions Technology
AI-driven copyright battles are transforming the UK music industry. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is preparing a case against Jammable, an AI tool that recreates vocals of artists like Drake, arguing it unlawfully trains AI models on copyrighted music recordings.
Another high-profile development is Google and Universal Music’s effort to create a platform where users can generate AI music using licensed artist voices, sparking debate over whether an artist’s unique style or voice can be legally protected furthering the growing tension surrounding AI companies and their use of songs protected by copyright to train models, with rights holders pushing for stricter rules to protect artists’ work.
Looking to 2025, stricter rules on AI training and more licensing deals are expected. Artists and labels are likely to continue to push for better protections, royalty payments, and clearer rules on AI-generated content. Future court rulings could also define how much creative control artists have over AI recreations of their sound.
The Rise of Music Tourism in 2024
In 2024, the rise of artists who embarked on tours across the music scene served as a catalyst for artistic development, and also drove increased audience attendance due to artist popularity amongst fans. Fan favourites such as Drake, Charli XCX, Travis Scott and Taylor Swift toured the globe making appearances in North America, Europe and the UK. In recent years, music tourism has seen a rapid growth, as many individuals have been eager to prioritise travel after the pandemic, a movement which has in part, been driven by music and festival concert goers.
This trend has meant that venues such as Wembley Stadium and The O2 Arena continue to be in high demand. In this process, legal contracts such as hire agreements for artists and sponsorships agreements are exchanged.
As 2025 approaches, artists such as JayO and M1llionz have announced dates for UK tours. Each year music fans all over the world look forward to the summer period as festivals such as Wireless and Rolling Loud bring together some of the biggest names in the industry. With the new year on the horizon, we are eager to see who will be revealed amongst the line ups for many annual music events and which artists will be next to embark on their world tours.
Creativity vs Commerce
Unless you were sleeping under a rock, it would have been impossible to miss the controversy that dominated social media streets in the first quarter of the year when Universal Music Group pulled its catalogue of music from TikTok. The label took a firm stance when accusing the Bytedance owned company of offering payment rates to Universal artists and songwriters that fell far below those of other major social platforms.
This was certainly not going to fly by Universal’s standards and the move to strip the social platform of the world’s largest label music content set a precedent that sparked intense debate about the value of music on digital platforms and of course, the all important debate about artists and songwriters being fairly compensated for their works. Once again, this highlighted the growing tensions between technology companies and the music industry in the fight for equitable share of revenue.
Innovation, Ownership and Ethics
Can we truly mark another year in the 21st century without acknowledging how the innovation of technology in its widest form will have a growing influence in our lives, particularly in music? The answer is no (for now, at least).
Now, whilst it is certainly no secret that Drake has resorted to legal measures in accusing his parent label (UMG) of ‘artificially inflating’ streaming numbers for 2024’s Hip Hop anthem,
“Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, he has subsequently followed this up with a defamation claim. With that being said, the echoes of ‘BBL Drizzy’ produced by King Willonius still ring out as a new age soul classic to be remembered for years to come.
As a song, it has been sampled in Metro Boomin’s later diss track, also titled, BBL Drizzy but the origins of the soul inspired song were pieced together by Producer, Will Hatcher using AI music generator tools, Suno and Udio. This cultural embrace of AI driven technology has been paralleled into legal and policy discussions in the UK, with parliament reviewing its implications in creative industry.
Is it copyright infringement? Is it derivative work that attracts its own copyright protection? Where does ‘fair use’ fall into this? And essentially, who owns what? This year, UK government departments, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) led a regulatory consultation looking at the need for balance between innovation and artist protection. Key areas included 1) increased transparency from AI developers, 2) enhancing rights holders’ control of their material through copyright law and 3) exceptions to copyright law where rightsholders have chosen not to reserve their rights. Whilst we await the outcome of the consultation, it is becoming clear the impact of new age technology will cause a shift in how we interpret and apply Intellectual Property law moving forward.