Weekday briefing
Friday 13 November 2026
More than 300 cultural organisations are pressing for a touring breakthrough at this month's UK-EU summit, Spotify gives listeners more control over Home, and AI music litigation keeps growing.
Needs attention
Entertainment law
PRS will use Soundtrack play data in royalty payouts from December
From December 2026, PRS for Music will use monthly play-by-play records from Soundtrack, a background music streaming service for businesses, when paying out public performance royalties. The data covers about 7,000 UK premises using Soundtrack, such as retail chains and hotels, and only the music streamed through that service. PRS announced the partnership on 28 October.
Why it matters: More exact data on what's played in shops, hotels and bars should mean background music royalties go more accurately to the writers whose songs are actually used. Writers and publishers may want to check their works are registered correctly with PRS before the first payouts based on this data.
Sources: Neon Music
Updates
Live music & touring
300+ organisations urge UK-EU summit to break touring deadlock
The Cultural Exchange Coalition, representing more than 300 music, live performance and cultural organisations across the UK and EU, has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and EU leaders ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month. It's asking for a structured plan on moving performers, crews and equipment across borders, and for UK involvement in programmes such as Creative Europe. The letter cites government research estimating £208 million in lost value and 2,490 jobs in UK touring between 2022 and 2024.
Why it matters: The summit is the next real chance for progress on post-Brexit touring rules, which hit small and mid-scale tours hardest. Any agreement on paperwork, carnets or haulage would directly affect the cost of taking productions into Europe.
Sources: UK Music · Music Ally · MUSIC:ED
Music marketing & social
Spotify lets listeners hide items and say 'not interested' across Home
Spotify is rolling out three new Home feed controls worldwide on mobile, for Free and Premium users. Listeners can remove tiles from the top of Home, remove items from the Recents shelf, and use 'Not interested' to hear less from specific shows or authors. Spotify says it builds on its Taste Profile tool, which is in beta in the US and New Zealand.
Why it matters: Home is a major discovery space. As listeners get more say over what appears there, sustained engagement such as saves, follows and repeat listens is likely to count for more than one-off plays when it comes to staying visible.
Sources: Spotify Newsroom · Daily Byte
Music marketing & social
Meta's AI ad tools showed discounts advertisers hadn't approved
Reports say Meta's AI ad tools picked up discount offers from a business's website and showed them in Facebook and Instagram ads, even where promotions had been switched off for that ad. The behaviour is linked to a Commerce Manager setting that lets Meta display offers detected from websites and ads. Advertisers can change that setting to stop offers carrying across campaigns.
Why it matters: For ticket and merch campaigns, a presale code or early-bird price appearing in the wrong ad or to the wrong audience could confuse buyers and cost revenue. It's worth checking Commerce Manager and reviewing AI-generated ad variations before campaigns go live.
Sources: Marketing Dive
Entertainment law
Reservoir expands its AI copyright suits against Suno and Anthropic
Music publisher Reservoir has filed expanded complaints in its US lawsuits against Suno and Anthropic, weeks after the originals. The Suno case now lists 1,368 allegedly infringed works, up from 1,050, and the Anthropic case 1,143, up from 853. Combined, the statutory damages sought are now reported at more than $445 million. The claims have not been tested in court.
Why it matters: Publishers are steadily widening AI training claims, and the scale of damages being sought adds pressure for licensing deals between AI firms and rights holders. The outcomes may shape how songwriters and catalogue owners are paid when their works are used by AI services.
Sources: Digital Music News
Coverage note: Ticket resale stayed in the news, but there was no new government step this week; the draft resale bill still hasn't been published. The PRS and Soundtrack item comes from one secondary source, as the original PRS announcement couldn't be fetched. A Meta Pixel measurement change from 12 November was left out because reports say it doesn't apply to UK or EU users.