On this week’s show we discuss proposals voted through the US House of Representatives this week to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the video-sharing app or face a ban in country, and the UK Labour Party’s pledge to introduce a cap on ticket resale prices if it wins the next election.
SECTION TIMES
01: TikTok ban (00:03:20)
02: News in brief (00:14:21)
03: Ticket resale (00:17:00)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)
THIS WEEK’S MAIN STORIES
Selling TikTok would be last resort for ByteDance, sources say as House votes through sell-or-be-banned law
American politicians in the House Of Representatives have voted in favour of proposals that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the US. However, ByteDance will continue to fight the new laws in US Senate and the courts, seeing a sell-off as the last resort
TikTok insists it isn’t forcing Americans to phone politicians as ban proposal gets fast-tracked in Congress
Last week’s proposals in US Congress that could result in TikTok being banned are being fast-tracked through the House Of Representatives. Attempts by TikTok to rally its users to campaign against the proposals don’t seem to be working
Labour commits to UK ticket touting price cap, as Ed Sheeran’s team welcomes guilty verdict in ticket tout court case
The music industry has welcomed two big developments in relation to the battle against for-profit ticket touting in the UK. The Labour Party says it now supports a price cap for ticket resale, while two people connected to touting company TQ Tickets have been found guilty of fraudulent trading
NEWS IN BRIEF
EU AI Act “world-first” say music trade bodies as European Parliament votes it into law
The music industry has welcomed the passing of the EU AI Act, which, says a statement from various trade groups, “provides tools for rightsholders to enforce their rights”. However, quite how useful the new AI regulations prove to be for music companies will depend on how they are implemented
Texas governor tells SXSW boycotters “don’t come back”
South By Southwest has commented on the decision of 60 acts to pull out of this year’s festival because of the involvement of the US Army and defence companies in the event. Organisers defend those partnerships but say they respect the decisions of the artists who have decided to join the boycott
Joe Rogan is back on Apple and Amazon – so Neil Young is back on Spotify
Neil Young has ended his Spotify boycott which began over criticism of the Joe Rogan podcast. With that podcast now returning to other platforms, boycotting just Spotify as an anti-Rogan protest seems pointless, though Young remains critical of the lack of high quality audio on the streaming service
Bad Bunny sues fan over unofficial concert recordings on YouTube
A Bad Bunny fan who uploaded recordings of full songs from a recent US concert to YouTube has claimed his videos constitute fair use and therefore can’t be blocked by the rapper. That has prompted Bad Bunny’s team to sue the YouTuber for copyright and trademark infringement
Glastonbury announces headliners, as UK festival cancellations pass 20
Coldplay, Dua Lipa and SZA will headline Glastonbury this June, but 21 other UK festivals have announced that they will be cancelling or coming to an end in 2024. The Association Of Independent Festivals says that this number could top 100 if the government continues to ignore pleas for support
ALSO MENTIONED
Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in
We’re not calling it a takeover battle – yet. After Warner quietly threatened to get the French financial markets authority to step into its maybe/maybe-not bid for Believe the independent committee at the French indie giant has gone straight for the throat and called them in itself