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Business News Week In Five
CMU Digest – 30 Aug 2013
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 30 August 2013
The five biggest stories in the music business this week…
01: Grooveshark announced a deal with Sony/ATV. The often controversial streaming service recently announced it had reached a settlement with EMI Music Publishing, which had sued the digital firm, and now had a licensing deal in place. And this week a similar announcement was made about Sony/ATV, the company that now controls EMI Music Publishing. Details of Grooveshark’s deal with Sony/ATV/EMI are not known, though it does give the digital set-up a little more legitimacy as it continues to fight litigation from all of the major record companies. CMU report | The Verge report
02: Gatecrasher announced a restructure following a so-called ‘pre-pack administration’ which will see many of the clubbing firm’s club venues spun off into a separate entity. The remaining Gatecrasher business, free of debt as a result of the restructuring, will focus on its flagship venue in Birmingham, and in staging major EDM events around the world, including a new dance music bash at Donington. CMU report
03: Former Ticketmaster President Nathan Hubbard joined Twitter. Following his somewhat sudden departure as global chief for Live Nation’s ticketing business earlier this month, Hubbard quickly popped up in a new role as Head Of Commerce for the social networking firm. He will be charged with the task of building a business that sells things via tweets. CMU report | Business Insider report
04: It was reported that the Gaye family were offered money before Robin Thicke went legal. Billboard reckons that reps for Thicke offering Gaye family members a pay off when they first alleged that his hit ‘Blurred Lines’ borrowed from Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It Up’. That offer was turned down, and, it seems, so followed Thicke’s litigation seeking court clarification that his song does not in anyway infringe Gaye’s work. CMU report | Billboard report
05: The first Momentum Music Fund grants were distributed. The Arts Council funded initiative, managed by the PRS For Music Foundation, launched at The Great Escape back in May. And this week the first ten acts to benefit from Arts Council England’s first artist-centric funding initiative were announced. It was also revealed that Deezer is supporting the programme, by providing additional funding and promoting Momentum-backed artists. CMU report
On the CMU this week, we threw the spotlight onto our timelines covering the Jacksons v AEG Live case, Grooveshark’s legal challenges, and the MegaUpload debacle, all stories that were added to this week. In the approving department, Team CMU got about doing the big-ups for Glasser, Tim Hecker and Willis Earl Beal.