Weekday briefing
Wednesday 11 November 2026
Launch edition. Ticket touting is back in Parliament, AI music faces new likeness-rights lawsuits, and PRS is cutting what it charges to collect live royalties from January.
Needs attention
Entertainment law
PRS cuts its fee for collecting live royalties from 1 January
From 1 January 2027, PRS for Music will lower the administration rate it deducts from public performance royalties, including live, from 23% to 20%. Cinema and broadcast rates are also falling. PRS expects writers and publishers to receive about £30 million more over three years. Separately, the fee for its large-venue live service (MLCS) has become a flat £500 per event.
Why it matters: Anyone earning songwriter royalties from live shows will keep a larger share from next year. It's worth checking that setlists are submitted properly so those royalties are actually claimed.
Sources: Record of the Day
Updates
Live music & touring
MPs reject sport-only resale cap as wider touting ban is prepared
MPs voted 286 to 62 against an amendment capping resale prices for sporting events only. The government argued it would create a two-tier system, with sport protected and music left out, ahead of broader ticket-resale legislation.
Why it matters: A face-value resale cap that covers concerts and theatre would change how tours are priced and sold. Meanwhile StubHub's international boss is publicly lobbying against a cap.
Sources: TicketNews · Hansard · BBC Big Boss Interview
Live music & touring
West End resale investigation points to a single dominant tout
Anti-touting campaigners found that almost nine in ten West End tickets listed on Viagogo for Halloween shows came from one seller, all above face value and some with bogus seat numbers.
Why it matters: Theatre-circuit audiences are the same people who buy tribute and touring-production tickets. Expect pressure for clear official-seller messaging on show pages.
Sources: The Stage · The Telegraph
Live music & touring
UK Artist Touring Fund backs 49 more acts
The second phase of the UK Artist Touring Fund gives 49 artists up to £8,000 each in top-up tour support. The money comes from voluntary ticket donations at arena and stadium shows, and the fund was boosted by an extra £300,000.
Why it matters: It's a sign that the arena-levy model is paying out to grassroots touring. Worth watching for future rounds and eligibility rules.
Sources: Musicians' Union · Music Ally
Live music & touring
Budget skips touring relief for theatres
The autumn Budget did not extend Theatre Tax Relief to cover the real cost of touring (travel, accommodation, freight and labour). Theatres also missed out on the business-rates cut given to live music venues and pubs.
Why it matters: Theatre promoters facing higher touring costs may push more risk onto visiting productions through deal terms and guarantees.
Sources: LSi Online
Music marketing & social
Spotify plans paid AI remix tool for early 2027
The Financial Times reports that Spotify is aiming to launch an AI covers and remix add-on in the first quarter of 2027, costing about $4–5 a month. Artists would have a veto, and royalties would flow back to the original song. Spotify has not confirmed the plan, and artists have already pushed back strongly.
Why it matters: Fan-made versions of catalogue songs could become a new kind of content. Rights holders will need to decide early whether to opt in.
Sources: MusicRadar · Paste · Digital Music News
Music marketing & social
Wrapped season: get artist profiles ready now
Wrapped is a few weeks away. Advice from Spotify for Artists and the trade press: update bios, images and Artist Pick, add Canvas visuals, and make sure every gig is listed with a ticket link. The video-message deadline was 6 November.
Why it matters: Wrapped is one of the biggest moments in the year for fan engagement. Listing tour dates turns streams into ticket sales at very little cost.
Sources: MusicRadar · RouteNote
Music marketing & social
Users get more control over their social feeds
Meta, TikTok and YouTube are expanding tools that let users reset or tune their recommendations. That makes saves, DM shares, reposts and keyword-friendly captions more important for staying in someone's feed.
Why it matters: Campaigns that rely on reaching people through the algorithm get less reliable. It's worth building owned channels, such as mailing lists and fan groups, alongside social.
Sources: Interspace Music
Entertainment law
Elvis rights holders and Eminem's publisher sue Suno
Two new US lawsuits were filed against the AI music generator Suno on 6 November. Elvis Presley's rights holders claim Suno misused his name, image, likeness and voice, in one of the first big tests of Tennessee's ELVIS Act. Eminem's publisher, Eight Mile Style, claims Suno trained on 269 of its songs without permission and is seeking more than $40 million. None of the claims has been proven yet.
Why it matters: The cases test how far the law protects an artist's voice and identity, not just their recordings and songs. That question matters to anyone whose work is built around presenting a well-known act's music and image.
Sources: Charlotte Observer · Music Ally · Digital Music News
Entertainment law
Suno argues artist names are just shorthand for genres
Suno has asked a Boston federal court to dismiss a proposed class action brought by Jason Isbell and three other musicians. It argues that their right-of-publicity claims fail and that artist names in user prompts are converted into style descriptions. Suno has also confirmed that, since January 2026, users can type artist names into prompts.
Why it matters: If courts accept that an artist's name can stand for a style, that would weaken artists' control over how their name is used. Watch how the court rules.
Sources: Music Business Worldwide
Entertainment law
Publishers' lyrics claims against Anthropic dismissed for now
A California federal judge dismissed music publishers' claims that Anthropic and its CEO copied lyrics from more than 20,000 songs. The publishers have been allowed to amend their complaint and try again.
Why it matters: The main US legal fight over AI training and song rights is still unsettled. Any final ruling will shape licensing terms across the industry.
Sources: Law360
Entertainment law
Dua Lipa settles 'Levitating' remix copyright case
Dua Lipa has settled a copyright lawsuit brought by producer Bosko Kante over remixes of her 2020 hit 'Levitating', according to a court filing on 9 November.
Why it matters: It's another reminder to get clear written agreements on remix and production contributions before a track is released.
Sources: Law360
Wider context
Live music & touring
Veteran acts step back from touring
NME looks at why established artists are cutting back on touring, citing costs, Brexit friction, venue closures and health. Garbage is moving to a 'different model' of touring.
Why it matters: Fewer heritage acts on the road leaves room for well-run tribute and catalogue productions in theatres.
Sources: NME
Entertainment law
EU touring rules for UK artists still vary country by country
A European Parliament briefing published on 4 November notes that 24 of the 27 EU member states offer some visa-free or permit-free route for short tours. The rules and time limits vary widely, and carnets and haulage restrictions still apply. Bectu is campaigning for an EU-wide cultural work permit and a carnet exemption.
Why it matters: For productions touring Europe, each country still needs its own checks. No EU-wide fix has been agreed yet.
Sources: European Parliament briefing · Bectu