Elamental Music Services

10/15/2026

Who needs split sheets?

Too often, songwriters have different recollections of how the song should be split. Protect yourselves with a split sheet.

10/06/2026

This is an interesting one for music publishing.

The publisher behind Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us” is suing over Olivia Dean’s “I’ve Seen It,” alleging that the newer song copied a protectable part of the original melody.

What makes this important is that the dispute is about the composition itself — not a sample of the original recording.

That distinction matters.

Copyright fights in music are increasingly testing where inspiration ends and infringement begins, especially when the allegation involves melody rather than direct sampling.

For publishers, songwriters, and producers, this is another reminder that you don’t have to sample a record to create a copyright issue.

The music publisher for the late R&B and soul singer Bill Withers is suing several record companies and others, claiming that singer-songwriter Olivia Dean's

09/25/2026

Staying on the wrestling theme...

UMG and Sony threw Suno back into the ring with a second lawsuit, arguing that Suno’s new v6 model is still built on the same allegedly infringing foundation as its earlier models.

Suno has now answered with the legal equivalent of: “That move didn’t land.”

The company says the claims are “fundamentally flawed on both the facts and the law” and argues that its system helps users translate artist references into broader musical qualities so they can create something new.

But the real main event is still ahead.

The labels say Suno’s new licensed model may still carry forward information from the older models through user creations, preference signals, and accumulated learnings. Suno says that theory is wrong.

Next stop: the actual court filings.

And for music publishing, this bout could have enormous implications for one of the biggest unanswered AI questions:

Can a newly licensed model truly start fresh if it learned from an older model that’s still being challenged in court?

We reported yesterday on Universal Music Group and Sony Music’s new legal complaint against Suno, with a filing that attacked its latest v6 models as “the fruit of the same poisoned tree”.

09/25/2026

This reggaeton copyright case is starting to feel like WrestleMania with publishing splits.

Bad Bunny’s side landed what looked like the finishing move: the court rejected the plaintiffs’ “Frankenstein” theory and granted partial summary judgment.

But now the plaintiffs are back in the ring asking the judge to reconsider — saying the copyright claim really does come from one composition, Fish Market, and not a stitched-together combination of multiple works.

So now we wait for the next bell.

Funny analogy aside, the implications are serious: this case could help shape how courts think about rhythm, composition, derivative works, and how far copyright protection can reach in genres built on shared musical language.

For publishing, this one matters.

The 'Frankenstein' reggaeton lawsuit against Bad Bunny and others isn't through, as the plaintiffs are returning fire after a major setback.

09/17/2026

09/16/2026

AI-generated music is creating a new problem for the industry: it’s not just about copyright anymore. It’s about royalty dilution.

Fraudsters can now generate thousands of tracks, use bots to manufacture streams, and pull money out of the same royalty pools that pay real artists and songwriters.

Industry executives now estimate that nearly 10% of music streams may be fraudulent, while platforms and distributors are tightening identity, rights, and AI-related checks.

For us at Elamental Music Services the takeaway is simple:

As music gets easier to generate, protecting legitimate ownership, registrations, metadata, and royalty flows becomes even more important.

The technology is moving fast. The money still has to find the right people.

AI generated music: Music companies and streaming platforms are tightening rules as AI makes it easier to create fake songs and streams, raising concerns over fraud and lost royalties for genuine artists

09/16/2026

This is an important development in the fight against streaming fraud.

IFPI has launched new anti-fraud standards asking distributors to verify rights ownership and customer identities, vet uploads for infringement and AI-related risks, act against repeat offenders, and share fraud intelligence.

A number of major distributors have signed on.

DistroKid has not — at least not yet — despite saying it distributes roughly 40% of all new music globally.

That matters because as AI makes it easier to mass-produce music, the integrity of the distribution pipeline becomes just as important as what happens once a song reaches a streaming platform.

At Elamental Music Services we keep coming back to the same point:

Rights, identity, metadata, and royalty flows all have to be trustworthy if legitimate artists and songwriters are going to get paid.

DistroKid has not yet signed up, despite its claim to distribute “roughly 40%” of “all new music in the world” for over 4 million artists.

09/07/2026