HarbourView Buys Max Martin Catalog, Live Nation–Trump Filings Drop — June 25

Email us hereMusic Industry DailyHarbourView's nine-figure acquisition of Max Martin and Shellback's catalog leads a deal-heavy Thursday, while explosive court filings reveal Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino's direct communications with President Trump ahead of the DOJ's antitrust settlement. Meanwhile, indie advocates are pushing back hard on YouTube's AI training claims, and Spotify's superfan ticket program goes live.Deals & M&AHarbourView acquired select Max Martin + Shellback compositions — covering Swift, Grande, and Weeknd hits — for a low-nine-figure sum.Canada's ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund is rumored for sale at $500M+, with Carlyle-backed Litmus Music among reported suitors.Sony Music Publishing Scandinavia acquired Sound Pollution Songs' roughly 5,000-work catalog.Core music industry funding topped $3.2 billion in Q2 2026, one of the most capital-intensive quarters on record.Lawsuits & AICourt filings show Live Nation CEO Rapino spoke with Trump in February and maintained White House Counsel contact before the $200M DOJ settlement.Anthropic — facing a $3B+ suit from UMG, Concord, and ABKCO — now accuses Alibaba of cloning Claude via fake accounts to train a rival AI.Entertainer Maren Flagg filed an amended trademark complaint against Taylor Swift, UMG, and Bravado over the Life of a Showgirl album brand.A2IM, Music Artists Coalition, and Ed Newton-Rex condemned YouTube's claim that its terms of service permit using uploads to train Lyria 3.Streaming & TechSpotify launched Reserved by Spotify in the US, giving Premium superfans pre-sale access to two tickets per tour, starting with Role Model.Spotify's Istanbul office officially opened June 18 as Turkish music surpassed 294 billion all-time streams, up 190% in five years.The Atlantic published a searchable database exposing 20M+ tracks across four undisclosed AI training datasets.Spotify now lets artists upload full-length music videos directly, bypassing distributors entirely.Live & Touring30+ state AGs who proceeded to trial against Live Nation won a monopoly verdict; a remedy ruling — potentially ordering a Ticketmaster breakup — is still pending.Artists & ReleasesThe Leonard Cohen Estate formally objected to Hallelujah being performed at Trump's Freedom 250 celebration; the warning was publicly ignored.NASCAR and The Rolling Stones announced a collaboration spanning merchandise, vinyl, and driver integrations.InternationalOver 200 artists — including Coldplay, Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Robert Smith, and Michael Stipe — signed a letter urging world leaders to back a global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.Five minutes, six categories, zero fluff.