Music publishers go to war with Spotify

On this week's show we discuss the battle between music publishers and Spotify over its plans to reclassify its subscriptions as bundles of music, audiobooks and podcasts, and commercial media companies hit out at the BBC’s plan to sell advertising on its podcasts. SECTION TIMES 01: Spotify (00:03:48) 02: News in brief (00:15:20) 03: BBC (00:17:48) (Timings may be slightly different due to adverts) THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES • The MLC is suing Spotify over audiobook bundling • Publishers accuse Spotify of licensing gaps in letter the streaming service has dubbed a “misleading press stunt” • US music publishers ramp up the rhetoric against Spotify's royalty reducing bundling trick • Media companies hit out at plan for BBC to sell ads alongside its podcasts NEWS IN BRIEF • TICKET Act passed by US House Of Representatives • Universal removed as defendant on explosive Diddy lawsuit • TikTok creators file lawsuit against US sell-or-be-banned law • Utopia swings the axe again with significant job losses across remaining non-UK operations • ATC takes majority stake in Raw Power ALSO MENTIONED • Sony Music tells 700+ AI companies to respect its copyrights