Artists Rally for AI Protections, Music Groups Defend Copyright, and Anthropic Admits Citation Error
How The Music Business Works - Issue #12
May 22, 2025
Welcome back to How the Music Business Works, your weekly briefing on the policies, platforms, and pressures shaping today’s industry.
From legal missteps involving Anthropic’s chatbot Claude, to growing artist support for the No Fakes Act, to UK lawmakers pushing for transparency in AI training data, the conversation around protecting human creativity is intensifying.
Meanwhile, music groups push back against government overreach in the Copyright Office, and German artists hit a new high on Spotify.
Lets dive in.
Nearly 400 artists and actors—including 21 Savage, Reba McEntire, and Scarlett Johansson—have signed a petition urging Congress to pass the No Fakes Act, a bill aimed at protecting voice and likeness from AI-generated deepfakes. The bipartisan bill, reintroduced with expanded provisions, has gained support from the RIAA, YouTube, Disney, and OpenAI. A Senate hearing titled “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: AI-Generated Deepfakes in 2025” is set to spotlight the growing push for its passage.
The Songwriters Guild of America, Society of Composers & Lyricists, and Music Creators North America have sent a letter to Congress calling for the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress to remain under Legislative Branch control. The move follows controversial firings allegedly driven by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), raising fears of weakened copyright protections in the AI era. The groups warn that such actions threaten U.S. creators, culture, and the economy, and urge Congress to hold hearings and defend the integrity of American copyright law.
Anthropic Blames Claude AI for ‘Embarrassing and Unintentional Mistake’ in Legal Filing
Anthropic has admitted that its AI tool, Claude, made an “honest citation mistake” in a legal filing related to a copyright lawsuit from music publishers including Universal, ABKCO, and Concord. The filing included a real source with incorrect authors and title, which the company called an “embarrassing and unintentional mistake.” The case adds to growing concerns over AI-generated errors in legal documents, as courts increasingly confront issues with fabricated or inaccurate citations.
Royalties Generated by German Artists on Spotify Reached $520M in 2024, Up 17%
German artists earned €480M on Spotify in 2024, up 17% YoY—outpacing the country’s overall music market. Music in German saw an 18% global royalty boost, with over half the earnings coming from indie acts. International listeners drove strong engagement, with the U.S. creating more playlists featuring German artists than Germany itself. Rap, hip-hop, and EDM led genre streams, as streaming now accounts for over 78% of Germany’s music revenue.
UK creative and copyright industries – including the music industry industry groups are backing a House of Lords push to force AI companies to disclose what copyrighted works they use to train models. The proposed amendment to the Data Bill, led by filmmaker Beeban Kidron, aims to protect creators by increasing transparency—something the government has resisted, saying such issues should be addressed through separate legislation. Kidron criticized the government for failing to act, warning that the lack of transparency leaves music and other creative sectors vulnerable to copyright exploitation by AI.