Japan-headquartered music instrument and audio equipment maker Yamaha has announced a $50 million corporate venture capital fund to invest in music and media startups.
The Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP (YMIF) will begin to invest this month, the company said in a statement on Thursday (May 8).

– Daniel Tencer, Music Business Worldwide

Music streaming algorithms have changed the way we listen to music – for better and for worse. While the radio used to be the main way to find new music, streaming and social algorithms now drive discovery as listeners crave (and have come to expect) more personalised recommendations…
Conversely, radio is declining as a top discovery method. Nearly half of consumers included radio in their top three discovery methods in 2022, but a little over a third of consumers include it in their top three now (source: MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q3 2022, Q4 2024)

– Olivia Jones, MIDiA

President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday (May 8) as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those it sees as opposed to the president and his agenda.
Hayden was notified of her dismissal in a curt email from the Presidential Personnel Office.

– Paul Grein, Billboard

Donald Trump’s administration has fired a top public servant at the United States’ Library of Congress.
So far, so 2025.
Yet the sudden removal from office of US Register Of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, this weekend brings with it context that could be of great importance – and concern – to the global music business.
Before being fired, Perlmutter was the most senior copyright official in the United States. She was also connected with music industry lobbyists, appearing at events hosted by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and others in recent years.

– Tim Ingham, Music Business Worldwide

On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Copyright Office released a report examining copyrights and generative AI training, which supported the idea of licensing copyrights when they are used in commercial AI training.
On Saturday (May 10), the nation’s top copyright official – Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter – was terminated by President Donald Trump. Her dismissal shortly follows the firing of the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, who appointed and supervised Perlmutter. In response, Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) of the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Copyright Office and the Library of Congress, said that he feels it is “no coincidence [Trump] acted less than a day after [Perlmutter] refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models.”

– Kristin Robinson, Billboard

U.S. House Republicans have introduced a sweeping provision in the latest budget reconciliation bill that would prohibit states and local governments from regulating artificial intelligence for the next decade.
Late Sunday night, new language was added to the budget reconciliation bill stating that “no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.”

– Ashley King, Digital Music News

Music publishers, including Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO, recently filed an amended copyright infringement complaint against the $61 billion-valued AI startup Anthropic.
And, once again, Anthropic – which has the backing of Amazon and Google, among others, to the tune of billions – has filed a motion to dismiss much of the case.
But this time, the publishers say they come armed with a stronger case, and they argue Anthropic hasn’t.

– Daniel Tencer, Music Business Worldwide