In today’s CMU Daily: Ultra Music Publishing has sued Sony Music over allegations of copyright infringement. Sony now owns the Ultra record label, but not the publishing company. It says Sony has infringed rights in compositions it controls by uploading, selling and synchronising them without the necessary licences 

Also today: HYBE has denied any wrongdoing after it emerged South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is investigating deals done between founder Bang Si-hyuk and investors before the K-pop company’s IPO in 2020. The regulator is investigating whether those deals should have been declared ahead of the IPO 

Plus: A new report from Youth Music makes four recommendations for how the music industry can collaborate with music education to better support its future workforce. It calls for more joined-up thinking, career skills in the curriculum, funding for non-formal pathways and safer working cultures

Approved: MOULD

Sony Music commits “blatant and massive piracy”, says a former business partner 

Sony Music routinely presents itself as a “champion of intellectual property rights” and a “crusader against piracy”, when in fact it is “wilfully committing blatant, ongoing and massive piracy” of compositions controlled by a former business partner “on a global scale, without justification or remorse”. Or so says that former business partner, Patrick Moxey’s Ultra Music Publishing.

The bold claim is made in a new lawsuit filed by UMP against Sony. It claims that, because audits have demonstrated that Sony-owned labels have underpaid or failed to pay royalties due to the publisher and its songwriters in the past, UMP “no longer grants licences” to any Sony labels for the use of its compositions. 

And yet, despite knowing it doesn’t have those licences, Sony labels continue to exploit UMP works, the publisher claims, meaning the major is engaged in “wilful and utterly inexcusable copyright infringement”. 

Specifically, the lawsuit says, Sony labels “upload unlicensed sound recordings of Ultra compositions to digital service providers for on-demand streaming”; they sell “infringing recordings as digital downloads and in physical configurations”; and “wrongfully synchronise” the publisher’s compositions into “so-called music videos and lyric videos”. 

Moxey used to be in business with Sony, which bought into the Ultra record label in 2012. UMP was not part of that deal, though it did work with Sony Music Publishing for a time. In 2022, Sony bought the Ultra label outright and Moxey stepped down from his role running it. However, he continues to head up the publishing company, which then entered into a partnership with Warner Chappell.

Social Media Manager | The Drop.

Marketing Manager | EmuBands & Rightsbridge

Assistant Bars and Duty Manager | Islington Assembly Hall

Regional General Manager | AEG Presents

Marketing & Production Assistant | Sunday Best Recordings

Senior Label Manager | The Orchard

Senior PR Manager/Publicist | Infectious PR

👉 See all current jobs at https://completemusicupdate.com/jobs

Horizon is CMU's weekly newsletter that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry. Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

HYBE denies wrongdoing over pre-IPO deals that netted founder Bang Si-hyuk $285 million

K-pop powerhouse HYBE is dealing with yet another controversy after it emerged that South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is investigating recent reports about shareholder deals done prior to the company’s 2020 initial public offering, and whether a failure to disclose those deals violated the country’s Capital Markets Act. The deals involved HYBE founder and Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who personally benefited from them to the tune of $285 million. 

HYBE has already denied any wrongdoing, insisting it provided a copy of “the shareholder agreement in question” to its IPO underwriters as they were preparing for the listing on the South Korean stock market.

The underwriters “reviewed the relevant shareholder agreement in accordance with the listing-related laws”, it says, and decided that the information about the deals that was revealed in the press last week did not need to be disclosed. To that end, concludes HYBE, “we have determined that our company did not violate any relevant laws during the listing process”. 

The reports about the pre-IPO deals involving Bang come as HYBE continues to deal with its very public feud with the co-founder of its Ador label, Min Hee-jin, which has now also become a very public feud with Ador-signed NewJeans. Plus in October it was revealed that HYBE was having to repay millions in debt after spooked investors in the company’s bonds opted to redeem their investments, prompting a new round of bond issuing. 

The pre-IPO deals now being reviewed by the regulator involved three private equity firms - STIC Investments, Estone Equity Partners and New Main Equity - which each bought a stake in HYBE, then still known as Big Hit, in 2018. 

Youth Music calls on industry and education to collaborate to “close the gap from learning to earning”

Music charity Youth Music has launched a new report on music careers, called ‘Industry Connect’, which sets out four recommendations for how the music industry can collaborate with music education to “better safeguard and support its future workforce” and “ensure the health of the creative industries”. 

Based on research that involved 280 people from 200 organisations, and 50 young creatives from across the UK, the report calls for more joined-up thinking, more careers skills in the curriculum, more support for non-formal pathways, and more focus on establishing safer working cultures. 

It also urges industry professionals, music educators and policy-makers to “pledge their support” and “mobilise as a joint force” to “revolutionise young people’s access to music” and “close the gap from learning to earning”. 

Adopting these recommendations, says Youth Music CEO Matt Griffiths, is “vital to establish an inclusive music industry fit for the future”. Industry, education and government, he adds, “must commit to revolutionising the learning opportunities on offer, to ensure that young people have access to the necessary support to succeed”.

🎧 Approved: MOULD

Bristol’s MOULD – a power trio comprising Joe Sherrin (vocals, guitar), Kane Eagle (vocals, bass) and James Luxton (drums) – have a sound that masterfully shifts between reckless urgency and unpredictable tension.

Their latest single, ‘CHUNKS’, kicks off with a spidery, math-rock riff, before morphing into a post-punk barrage. As the band chants “watch it live, watch the reruns, we’ll watch anything”, the track erupts. It’s chaotic, but controlled – a frenetic exploration of disillusionment, packed into a tight, adrenaline-fueled anthem.

On the track’s inspiration, Sherrin explains: “It’s about having a privileged perspective and still being unimpressed by what’s right in front of you. I wrote it during a long stretch of highway where the scenery didn’t change for hours”. 

“The first verse reflects that”, he goes on, “I think we were somewhere between Idaho and Salt Lake City. We couldn’t decide on a title, so we called it ‘CHUNKS’ – it was just a placeholder, but it fit, especially with the big chunky ending”. 

With ‘CHUNKS’, MOULD have delivered a track that demands attention – a band to keep on your radar.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘CHUNKS’ here