CD TEX -The Country Music Source for Radio

Click Headlines to read more of the latest news!

Wixen Music Publishing files $50m copyright suit against Meta, claims tech giant wants to replace songwriters with AI
Wixen Music Publishing is suing Meta for copyright infringement, claiming the social media giant continues to use hundreds of its copyrighted songs on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp without permission. The lawsuit, filed in California federal court last Thursday (January 23), claims Meta has “willfully” infringed the copyrights of over 330 musical works – including songs by The Doors, Weezer, Styx, The Black Keys, Missy Elliott and Townes Van Zandt – after the companies’ licensing agreement expired on December 10, 2025. Los Angeles-based Wixen is seeking at least $49.65 million in statutory damages, plus additional compensation for claims of defamation and interference with its business relationships. Wixen is seeking maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per work infringed – totaling at least $49.65 million for the 331 works listed in the complaint – as well as injunctive relief to prevent further infringement. The publisher is also seeking at least $20 million in damages for its defamation and business interference claims.

‘Physical music is powerful and under-leveraged. In 2026, it won’t be a sideshow – it’ll be a core strategic revenue (Thom Skarzynski)
Recent Luminate stats support his thesis about the commercial significance of physical music. According to Luminate’s 2025 Year-End Report, US vinyl sales increased for the 19th straight year in 2025, growing 8.6% YoY to 47.9 million units. Plus, more than four in ten vinyl records were sold at independent record stores, while Direct-to-Consumer sales now make up 13.6% of all physical albums sold – a 2.1 percentage point increase vs. 2024. Streaming is a volume-based game to play, and it’s gotten harder and harder to “move the needle.” The data is clear that the landscape is shifting: TikTok doesn’t drive virality the way it once did, editorial playlists don’t garner the impact they once had, terrestrial radio doesn’t directly correlate to streams, and syncs don’t mean the same thing now that the number of platforms to watch has ballooned. (entire article here)

TikTok closes deal to form new American entity, dodging US shutdown
TikTok has formally established a new US-majority joint venture to comply with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in September, which allows it to remain operational in the US.
The structure aims to address longstanding national security concerns raised by US lawmakers, while keeping the app operational for more than 200 million US users and 7.5 million businesses. The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will function as an independent entity with a seven-member board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew, according to a press release late Thursday (January 22).

Spotify Says It ‘Accounts for Roughly 30% of Recorded Music Revenue,’ Plans Crackdown Targeting ‘Low-Quality Slop’ Designed ‘To Divert Royalties Away from Authentic Artists’
Spotify head of music Charlie Hellman disclosed the payout stat, the plans to counteract some AI slop, and more in a 1,200-word blog post today. Framed as an effort to illustrate the DSP’s benefits for artists and the wider music world, the piece has (not coincidentally) arrived amid continued criticism of Spotify royalties. Most recently, said criticism came from Bonnie Tyler – though 2025 ended with a fresh round of scrutiny over the platform’s 1,000-stream royalty minimum. Add in justified AI-slop concerns (even after Spotify’s mass-takedowns, machine-made audio is prevalent) and you’re left with a situation that execs evidently believe warrants an official comment. “AI is being exploited by bad actors to flood streaming services with low-quality slop to game the system and attempt to divert royalties away from authentic artists,” Hellman penned here. “So we’re going to introduce changes to the systems for artist verification, song credits, and protecting artist identity. It’s critical to ensuring listeners and rightsholders can trust who made the music they’re hearing.”

Amazon Is Laying Off 16,000 People—Is Amazon Music Part of the Latest ‘Adjustment’? (Can you say "AI'?)
The bloodletting continues. On Wednesday—after an internal email leaked—Amazon announced plans to cut about 16,000 corporate jobs. It’s Amazon’s second round of major layoffs since October last year, when the company let 14,000 corporate employees go. The job cuts are part of an ongoing effort to “strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy.” This, CNBC points out, coincides with the company’s greater push to heavily invest in AI. The company has been cutting costs in an effort to invest more heavily in AI and expand its data centers. This week, Amazon also ended its Fresh and Go grocery chains.

How Even Small Daily Creativity Exercises Can Improve Innovative Thinking (Cliff Goldmacher)

In my previous article, “Five Daily Micro Creativity Exercises,” I listed a number of approaches that you can use to stay attached to your creative self in small, manageable ways. The key is not to make creativity an insurmountable or monolithic goal but, rather, to make it accessible and fun. However, once you’ve started to develop a routine of daily creative work, it can be helpful to gain a deeper understanding as to why this matters and how, in the long run, these exercises can significantly improve your innovative thinking. To that end, I’ve put down a few of the many benefits that even small daily creativity exercises can help you accumulate. The more ideas you generate, the greater the chance that you’ll come upon something of real and lasting value.

FTC Appeals Ruling in Meta Monopolization Case
The Federal Trade Commission filed a notice that it will appeal the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s November 2025 ruling in favor of Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) in the FTC’s monopolization case against Meta. The appeal will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The FTC continues to allege, and robust evidence at trial demonstrated, that for over a decade Meta has illegally maintained a monopoly in personal social networking services through anticompetitive conduct – by buying the significant competitive threats it identified in Instagram and WhatsApp. FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera issued the following statement regarding the FTC’s notice of appeal: “The U.S. economy thrives when competition can flourish and U.S. businesses compete fairly against one another. Yet Meta has maintained its dominant position and record profits for well over a decade not through legitimate competition, but by buying its most significant competitive threats. The Trump-Vance FTC will continue fighting its historic case against Meta to ensure that competition can thrive across the country to the benefit of all Americans and U.S. businesses.” The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and to protect and educate consumers. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize.

5.1 trillion annual music streams… but 120.5m tracks had 10 or fewer 2025

Music-biz number-cruncher Luminate has published its year-end report for 2025, with plenty of stats for the industry to chew over. We’ll start with the biggest: 2025 saw 5.1 trillion on-demand audio streams of music globally. That’s up 9.6% year-on-year, with those streams split between 253m individual tracks – or ISRC (International Standard Recording Codes). But as ever, there’s a long, very-lonely tail of music that isn’t being listened to much within that total. According to Luminate, 120.5m tracks had 10 streams or less last year, with another 62.6m garnering 11-100, and 40.7m played between 101 and 1,000 times. In other words, 88% of the available tracks were streamed fewer than 1,000 times in 2025.

Why The Re-Opening of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Failed
It’s important to understand that the Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Lower Broadway in Nashville is not just a business or a building. It’s a country music institution. It is a living historical landmark. Aside from the Ryman Auditorium itself—a.k.a. the Mother Church of Country Music—the Ernest Tubb Record Shop is the most important building and business to country music in the area, and one of the most important in the world. This is why so many have been fighting for the preservation of the Record Shop for years now amid ownership changes and other challenges. First opened in 1947 on Commerce St. as a retail enterprise for country legend Ernest Tubb, the Ernest Tubb Record Shop moved to its more iconic location on Broadway in 1951. Frustrated at the lack of country records stocked at many retail establishments across the country, Ernest Tubb decided to open up the store right around the corner from the Ryman where the Grand Ole Opry was held. But now vinyl is back, and so is traditional country. There might not be a more opportune time for a team of savvy, smart, and passionate individuals to take the Ernest Tubb Record Shop concept, and make it iconic once again. Otherwise, one of the most important pieces of living country music history that is the entire reason Lower Broadway is the destination and entertainment corridor that it is could be gone for good. Jason Aldean and Morgan Wallen might have the hot bars on Lower Broadway right now. But the legacy of Ernest Tubb and traditional country music is forever. It’s what everything Lower Broadway and country music was built from. Take that foundation away, and you have no Jason Aldean or Morgan Wallen, or Lower Broadway as an entertainment destination. That is why the continuation and preservation of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop should be an imperative.

The Lyricist’s Mindset: Turning Abstract Ideas into Tangible Innovation (Cliff Goldmacher)
Although I’ve been playing musical instruments for roughly fifty years, I consider my primary strength as a songwriter to be that of a lyricist. While there’s no doubt that properly-written lyrics have their own musicality to them in terms of rhythm and phrasing, the words to a song are there to bring ideas to life. And, for the record, bringing new ideas to life is the very definition of innovation. When I lead organizations through the process of writing lyrics to a song, we’re doing much more than telling a short, effective story; we’re building the kinds of skills that make for improved innovation of all kinds. In this article are a few ways that writing lyrics trains us to turn abstract ideas into tangible innovations. Whether our goal is to become professional songwriters or to build a culture of innovation within an organization, the approach is the same. By using the process of writing lyrics as a tool to sharpen our problem-solving skills, improve the precision in our expression and help us bridge creativity and clarity, we can’t help but improve as both writers and innovators. Click here to read more.

Songwriter groups hail “unequivocal win for creator rights” as US appeals court upholds landmark termination rights ruling
Songwriter groups have hailed a ruling in the US Fifth Circuit Appeals Court that significantly expands the reach of the termination right under American copyright law to the advantage of music creators. The landmark ruling, according to Music Creators North America, is both an “enormous victory for the American and global creator community” and “judicial recognition” that the US Copyright Act is meant to “protect the rights of creators first and foremost”. The Fifth Circuit was reviewing a dispute between songwriter Cyril E Vetter and independent music publisher Resnik Music Group, which began when TV company ABC sought a sync licence to use Vetter’s song ‘Double Shot’ in a program that is broadcast worldwide. Vetter and his co-writer Don Smith assigned the copyright in ‘Double Shot’ to music publisher Windsong via a publishing deal all the way back in 1963. Resnik then acquired the copyright from Windsong in 2019, but by that point Vetter was exercising his termination right. Under US law, a creator that transfers ownership of a copyright to a business partner, like a music publisher, can subsequently terminate that transfer and reclaim the copyright after a period of time - 35 years for works created after 1978, 56 years for works created before 1978.

Spotify can’t control its AI-generated music suggestions
The streaming giant is facing renewed criticism after subscribers reported AI-made tracks surfacing in personalised playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar, often without any clear indication that the music wasn’t created by a human artist. The complaints have been bubbling up for months, with a recent Reddit thread drawing significant attention from users who say they’re repeatedly being served low-effort, AI-generated songs. The common frustration isn’t just the presence of AI music, but the lack of transparency. Spotify, however, insists it isn’t promoting or suppressing music based on whether AI tools were used. In a statement, the company said: “Spotify does not create or own any music, and does not promote or penalise tracks created using AI tools.” The company argues that drawing a clean line between AI and non-AI music isn’t straightforward, describing AI as a “fast-moving shift” across the industry. Spotify says its focus is on preventing harmful use cases, including spam, impersonation, and unauthorised voice cloning, while supporting industry-standard AI disclosures in music credits. Spotify’s challenge isn’t just technical; it’s about trust. When personalised playlists are supposed to reflect your taste, discovering AI “slop” where new artists should be can feel like the algorithm has lost the plot.

5 Things to Do in the First 30 Seconds of Your Song (Jason Blume)
Opening your song with a catchy instrumental or vocal signature lick, an instantly identifiable melodic motif, can be the ticket to grabbing a listener’s attention. It is the first thing they will hear when listening to your song—your first opportunity to let them know they are listening to something exceptional—or not. If your melodic hook is played on an instrument (or uses a keyboard generated sound) that is not typically heard in the genre you are writing for, it has an even better chance of jumping out of the pile. When recording a demo, regardless of whether it is a stripped-down guitar/vocal, keyboard/vocal, or a full band production, the quality of your recording instantly sends a message that tells your listeners whether this submission came from an amateur or a pro writer. To achieve this, we need vocal and musical performances that “sell” the song; a mix that allows listeners to hear the words; and an overall sonic quality and clarity that is in line with what the competition is producing. Strong opening lines of lyric might pique listeners’ interest by using a variety of tools. Other ways to make your opening lyrics jump out of the pile include using unexpected words or phrases and finding new ways to express your concept. For some exceptional examples of opening lines of lyric listen to Simon and Garfunkel’s classic “Sound of Silence” (written by Paul Simon). Put the opening thirty seconds of your song under a proverbial microscope. Imagine your listener has his or her finger on the “stop” button. Be sure your recording is up to the industry standard and that your lyrics, melodic intervals, rhythms, and instrumental licks are compelling enough to make a listener crank up the volume instead of moving on to the next song. Use these tools to grab your listeners from the very start – and don’t let go!

AI: A Brief Overview and affects.

The biggest concern about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in recent years is that it will take human jobs. Well, unfortunately, that is already happening, with a wide range of businesses already admitting that the technology is replacing employees. Estimates vary, but experts converge on a transformative window of 10 to 30 years for AI to reshape most jobs. A McKinsey report projects that by 2030, 30% of current U.S. jobs could be automated, with 60% significantly altered by AI tools. Goldman Sachs predicts up that to 50% of jobs could be fully automated by 2045, driven by generative AI and robotics. Goldman Sachs previously estimated that 300 million jobs , over 100 million in the U.S. alone. For more information click here.

Something to ponder:

"A dead-end street is a good place

to turn around."

—Naomi Judd