Friday 23 January 2015, 10:59 | By Chris Cooke

As Topshop fails to overturn Rihanna passing off ruling, does it set a precedent?

Brands & Merch Business News Legal Top Stories

Topshop has failed to overturn a court ruling that said its sale of a t-shirt featuring a photo of Rihanna amounted to ‘passing off’. The court decision in August 2013 led to an injunction banning the retailer from selling the shirt, with damages still to be decided now that the retailer’s appeal has failed.

As previously reported, the retail firm had properly licensed the photo from its copyright owner – which wasn’t Rihanna or her business partners – so there wasn’t a case for copyright infringement. Meanwhile in the UK, unlike the US, there is not a separate ‘image right’ that celebrities can rely on to stop their identity being used in this way.

However, there is the so called tort of passing off. This is basically where one individual or company implies a formal association with another individual or company so that consumers believe they are buying a product or service that is endorsed by the latter when they are, in fact, not.

Rihanna’s lawyers argued that the photo on the Topshop t-shirt was so similar to official photos used to promote her ‘Talk That Talk’ album (it was taken during a video shoot for said record) that it implied official endorsement. Which constitutes passing off. And the High Court agreed with that argument in 2013, as did three appeal judges this week.

At both first instance and on appeal the judges hearing the case were keen to stress that these judgements do not introduce a more general image right into English law, and the ruling centres on the facts of the case, which comply with the principle of passing off.

Though some legal experts reckon that said principle, traditionally interpreted in a very narrow way by the English courts, is slowly being widened in remit as the courts increasingly recognise the now established business of celebrity endorsement.

Which possibly gives more power to celebrities wishing to control the use of their image by commercial entities, and should therefore concern businesses that use celebrity images without official endorsement, even when they have properly licensed all the intellectual property in the images they use.

Meanwhile, we wait to see what damages Rihanna’s team propose Topshop should pay, given her lawyers had previously asked that the retailer cover legal fees that topped £900,000, a figure the judge in the original case called “startling”.

Jacksons appeal again for retrial of AEG litigation

Business News Legal Live Business

Lawyers for Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine were back in court yesterday arguing once again for a retrial in her legal battle with AEG Live over its liability, or not, for the death of the late king of pop in 2009.

As much previously reported, the Jackson family say that AEG, promoters of the ill-fated ‘This Is It’ concert venture, should be held liable for the singer’s death as the employer of Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of manslaughter for causing the popstar’s death through negligent treatment.

Murray himself was left penniless after the death of his most famous client while on his watch, making it worthless for the Jackson family to sue him for the emotional and financial damage caused by their most famous son’s demise. If AEG could be held liable as well, though, well, it has money.

But, while AEG didn’t come out of the long-running trial considering the Jacksons’ arguments especially well, a jury agreed with the live firm’s key arguments: mainly that Jackson appointed Murray, and that the fact he was a licensed doctor was sufficient due diligence on the company’s part – ie it was fair for them to assume the medic wouldn’t give the singer the surgical drug propofol in a home setting.

Team Jackson argue that the jury in the original trial were given misleading information by the judge, and that he incorrectly dismissed some of the claims against the live music firm before the court case began. Those arguments were rejected by one appeals judge a year ago, but were being presented anew yesterday in a Californian court of appeal.

Though the appeal judges hearing the latest claim didn’t seem especially convinced by the Jackson team’s arguments. In a somewhat candid exchange, one of the appeal judges reportedly asked one of the Jacksons’ legal reps “what is the fault of AEG in this? I’m just lost in all of this”. The judge seemed entirely unconvinced that AEG could possibly have known about Murray’s use of propofol.

Continuing that theme, another judge said that while AEG might suspect Murray was administering painkillers and sleep drugs “isn’t it a stretch to go from that to propofol, which is beyond the pale?”

And AEG’s explicit knowledge – or not – of Murray’s use of propofol is the crux of this case, argued the live firm’s legal man Marvin Putnam. “Everyone in the world, not just AEG, learned about propofol [for the first time] because of this tragic death”, he said.

Having heard the various arguments yesterday, the appeals court will issue its decision in due course, though it’s not looking especially good for the Jacksons. They have already said they’ll take the matter to the Californian Supreme Court if their request for a retrial is denied this time.

Nettwerk acquires rock publisher Robot Of The Century

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

The Nettwerk Music Group has bought the catalogue of independent publisher Robot Of The Century Music, a company originally set up by Roadrunner Records founder Cees Wessels which publishes songs from Trivium, Soulfly and Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, amongst others.

Originally an offshoot of the now Warner-owned Roadrunner label, Robot Of The Century Music has been an independent publisher since 2010. After Wessels was eased out of Roadrunner by Warner in 2012, he seemed to be focusing more on his publishing business, which was revamped to an extent in that it started working with artists beyond the rock genre that both it and Roadrunner were best known for.

Though it’s the rock music in its catalogue that has seemingly interested Nettwerk, which is keen to diversify its publishing repertoire that has traditionally had a singer-songwriter bias. The Robot Of The Century deal is the second publishing acquisition of the Canadian music group in recent weeks, it having also recently taken a 50% stake in the Nashville-based Ten Ten Music Group.

Confirming the latest deal, Nettwerk COO Simon Mortimer-Lamb said: “Robot Of The Century writers have established themselves as some of the best in their genre and have achieved a global reach. We look forward to utilising out team throughout the world to ensure their continued growth and success”.

Meanwhile Robot Of The Century President Doug Keogh said in a statement: “As Nettwerk further establishes its global strategy and embraces growth in their roster and repertoire, these artists will enjoy a new team with the same core values that helped launch their careers”.

DJ Semtex name Sony Music UK’s Director Of Artist Development

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

DJ Semtex has been announced as Sony Music UK’s new Director Of Artist Development, a role he will formally take up next month.

The DJ, real name John Fairbanks, previously worked for Sony in the late 90s, when he founded the company’s first street team, before moving into a promotions job at Universal/Mercury and working his way up to Senior A&R Executive at Mercury in 2005.

CEO of Sony Music UK (and former Mercury Records chief) Jason Iley said: “Semtex and I have formed an incredibly successful working relationship over the years. He is a multi-talented music professional whose expertise and dedication has made him a brilliant A&R, marketing and promotions executive. Semtex will take up this new role as part of our drive to sign the hottest new talent as well as innovating in the marketing and promotion across all of our artists. He is a key addition to the team and I am delighted to welcome him back to the fold at Sony Music”.

Semtex added: “I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the greatest artists of our time and I’m looking forward to working with Jason Iley again in my new role, in a new era at Sony Music. I feel privileged that everything has come full circle and to be in a position to contribute to a flourishing roster of exciting, genre-defining artists”.

New comms and strategy role created at Warner UK

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Warner Music UK has only gone and got itself a brand new SVP of Communications & Strategy Development, who just happens to be the major’s first ever SVP of Communications & Strategy Development in the UK. These are bold new times.

Mel Fox, who takes the new role, moves over from her corporate communications post in Warner Music International, and will now report into Warner UK CEO Max Lousada and will “work closely with the UK’s senior leadership team, harnessing the expertise, insight and innovation that exists within the organisation to build upon its successful growth strategy”. So there you go.

Confirming this Lousada said: “Continuing our growth trajectory in today’s landscape requires our strategy to constantly evolve, all the while ensuring our stakeholders are aligned behind the ambition, capabilities and culture that differentiate us in a crowded and complex marketplace. Mel has played a key role in articulating and amplifying our unique approach and I am delighted that her skills will now be equally focused on helping to define the next phase of our transformation and keep up the momentum”.

Rdio and Tidal expand into new markets

Business News Digital

So, how many new markets did you launch in yesterday? Well? Because I can tell you this for a fact, Tidal launched in five and Rdio in 24. I bet you feel like you wasted your Thursday now, don’t you?

Though technically CMU is already available in every country in the world, which is nearly as many as Deezer, so I’m not feeling guilty about spending yesterday mainly updating the text on the 404 pages of our various websites. It was an important job that someone had to do, and only I was gallant enough to accept the task in hand.

Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh yes, some streaming services launched in some new countries. As they are wont to do these days.

Rdio went live in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. The streaming platform is now available in 85 countries in total.

The firm also announced an alliance with mobile network Digicel in these and some other territories. “Digicel and Rdio will collaborate closely to infuse the streaming service with local influence”, says the press release. And who wouldn’t be excited about the prospect of a phone company and a streaming firm collaborating in close proximity and then sharing their collective infusions? Not not me for starters.

As for Tidal, the high quality audio spin-off of Nordic streaming service Wimp, rebranded for the UK and US markets so to sound less, well, wimpish, it has expanded into Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, like a tidal soundwave of high quality musical goodness crashing into the beaches of European appreciation.

And that marketing waffle is all mine, because Tidal CEO Andy Chen gave a tediously sensible statement confirming the latest expansion, remarking: “All these markets, as the rest of the world, are seeing a strong increase in music streaming subscription, as well as a high interest for high quality audio. We have already seen substantial interest from these markets signing up to our waiting list – with Netherlands as the front runner – and we are very excited to open up to five new markets today”.

Indian streaming service appoints former Google exec as COO

Business News Digital Industry People

Indian streaming service Saavn, originally a Bollywood focused set-up, but which signed the final of its licensing deals with the three majors last August, has appointed a former Google India executive as its COO.

Mahesh Narayanan says of his new gig: “I’ve had the opportunity to help many leading global technology media companies achieve success, and I genuinely believe that Saavn is primed for the same calibre of success too”.

He will be charged with helping the streaming firm grow its user-base and maintain its edge in the Indian market in the face of plenty of new competition, from home-grown services and new international entrants into the market, including Rdio and Guvera.

According to TechCrunch, Saavn says it currently has eleven million monthly active users, with 70% of usage coming from within India. The firm doesn’t reveal what the split is between freemium and premium subscribers, though the latter part of the user-base has increased “six fold” in the last year.

90% of streaming via Saavn is to mobile devices, which is perhaps unsurprising for a service focused on the Indian market, though it’s still a very high percentage, and presumably Narayanan’s stint running Google’s mobile advertising operations in the region was in part behind the streaming music company’s decision to recruit him.

MusicTank to put focus on big data and A&R

Business News Education & Events

MusicTank have announced details of their next Think Tank event, which will take the title ‘Moneyballing Music: Big Data, Consumers And A&R’.

The session will consider “how deeper analysis and application of the recording business’s myriad data points might help better anticipate consumers’ tastes and better inform A&R decision-making processes when signing new talent”.

Already confirmed to take part are Universal Music UK’s Head Of Research Jack Fyer, Samsung Electronics’ Kim DeRuiter, veteran A&R man Korda Marshall and Jeremy Silver, key advisor to various digital businesses, including recently acquired music data outfit Musicmetric.

Confirming the focus of his organisation’s first Think Tank of the year, MusicTank Chair Keith Harris told reporters: “A couple of years ago I heard someone say ‘data is the new oil’. I didn’t fully appreciate the significance of that statement. What a difference a few years makes… We’ll look at the challenges and opportunities and ask what the future holds for this increasingly data-centric industry”.

The debate takes place at University of Westminster on 10 Mar. Info here.

CMU’s One Liners: Jay-Z not buying a radio station and some things that did happen

Artist News Business News Gigs & Festivals Industry People Media One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Jay-Z is not buying Hot 97, according to a spokesperson for the company that owns the US radio station, Emmis Communications. “That story is false”, a rep told Hip Hop Wired. So that’s you lot, told I think.

• Former CMU contributor and current Mi-Soul Radio DJ Edward Adoo kicks off a new three-month residency on BBC Radio Bristol this weekend presenting a late night programme to wrap up the weekend (Monday 1am) showcasing his dance, soul and hip hop centric music collection. Each edition will be followed by Thadeous Matthews with a focus on electronic music from Bristol. More here.

• PC Music head honcho AG Cook has remixed Charli XCX and Rita Ora’s ‘Doing It’, as you can hear here. There’s also a new video for the original version of the track, which is here.

• Pond have a new album out on Monday, here’s a track from it, ‘Man It Feels Like Space Again’.

• Alex Winston has put a new track, ‘We Got Nothing’, up on SoundCloud. It’s the b-side to her latest single, ‘Careless’. She’s got a new album coming out through Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment in the spring.

• New Burial track? Oh yes.

• New Aphex Twin track? Oh yes.

• Misty Miller will release an EP called ‘Sweet Nothing’ on 2 Mar. Right now you can hear a track from it, ‘Petrified’, here. She also plays The Windmill in Brixton on Monday, before heading out on a wider UK tour in February.

• The Barbican has announced a show taking place on 9 Apr under the title, ‘Hello Terry Riley’. It will see electronic music makers James Holden, Koreless and Luke Abbott performing music inspired by the minimalist composer.

• Three BRITs-related shows were announced this week. Take That will play the Shepherds Bush Empire on 23 Feb, at a show in aid of War Child, while Royal Blood will perform at Koko on 17 Feb and George Ezra is doing the Electric Brixton the previous night. Tickets for the latter two will go on sale here on 28 Jan.

• LL Cool J will host the Grammys this year for the fourth year running, CBS announced this week. The ceremony takes place on 8 Feb.

CMU Beef Of The Week #240: James Blunt v Chris Bryant

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Chris Bryant MP is a “classist gimp”, while singer-songwriter James Blunt is a bit “precious” about his position in the music industry. These are the things we learned this week. Or at least they are the things the two men said about each other.

Last week, newly appointed shadow culture minister Bryant gave an interview to The Guardian, outlining what he’d do if Labour got back into power at the next election. High up his list of priorities, he said, was ensuring that those working in the arts came from a diverse range of backgrounds. And that included addressing the worry that there’s a growing imbalance at the top of the creative industries between those who come from wealthy backgrounds and those who do not.

“The truth is that people who subsidise the arts most are artists themselves”, said Bryant. “That of course makes it much more difficult if you come from a background where you can’t afford to do that”.

He raised questions about the way in which the BBC recruits new talent, and said: “I am delighted that Eddie Redmayne won [a Golden Globe for best actor], but we can’t just have a culture dominated by Eddie Redmayne and James Blunt and their ilk”.

It was a casual reference to Blunt, which gave no comment on him as a person, his talent, or anything much really. It merely used him as an example of a specific (if generalised) type of person to illustrate a point. Though perhaps the word “ilk” made it seem more pointed. It certainly riled the musician.

“You classist gimp”, wrote Blunt in response. “I happened to go to a boarding school. No one helped me at boarding school to get into the music business. I bought my first guitar with money I saved from holiday jobs (sandwich packing!). I was taught the only four chords I know by a friend. No one at school had ANY knowledge or contacts in the music business, and I was expected to become a soldier or a lawyer or perhaps a stockbroker. So alien was it, that people laughed at the idea of me going into the music business, and certainly no one was of any use”.

Blunt’s response infers quite a lot from Bryant’s aside, the assumption being that Bryant believes the singer got all kinds of unfair advantages as a result of his background. When, in fact, “the only head-start my school gave me in the music business, where the VAST majority of people are NOT from boarding school, is to tell me that I should aim high”.

He added that, if anything, his overt poshness hindered his entry to the music business – ultimately meaning that he had to go to the US to sign a record deal, where his accent was less of an issue. Though it should probably be noted that he did manage to secure management and sign a major publishing deal in the UK prior to all that just fine.

Still, this is a reasonable point for Blunt to make. I similarly remember a band of Oxford graduates I used to know being told that they should give up, because they’d never get anywhere with those accents. But the issue raised by Bryant isn’t really about the difficulty of getting through the door, it was more the route to that door in the first place.

For Blunt to suggest that his background was of no use whatsoever is so short sighted as to verge on parody. But, says Blunt, what Bryant is doing is “telling working class people that posh people like me don’t deserve it”. Which is not how I read the Bryant interview, but maybe that’s because my state school education didn’t teach me to read properly.

The issue isn’t whether or not it was hard for James Blunt to become a successful musician. It’s hard for anyone to become a successful musician. There are many, many barriers to it happening. For everyone, rich or poor. However, some of the more basic barriers to entry are more prevalent for the latter group than if you are ‘James Blunt’, in a generic rather than specific sense.

Right at the very start, if you show an interest in music, instruments cost money and lessons cost money. You might be able to circumvent those if you’re at a school with good resources, but schools with good resources quite often cost money. Sure, a kid can get a holiday job packing sandwiches, but if packing sandwiches was the only thing standing in the way of talented young people and the wherewithal to make it as a musician then we’d have more sandwiches than we’d know what to do with.

Moving things along, Bryant then wrote a response to Blunt’s response, opening with these genuine words: “Stop being so blooming precious. I’m not knocking your success. I even contributed to it by buying one of your albums. I’m not knocking Eddie Redmayne, either. He was the best Richard II I have ever seen”.

He might as well just have written “some of my best friends are posh people”. Luckily, after that false start he moved on to reiterating his original point, that a lack of funding in the arts and other support for those keen to pursue their talent means that some sort of financial buffer is required.

Those at starting out in the creative industries, he pointed out, are the ones who are expected to work for nothing, whether that be unpaid internships or as musicians asked to play ‘for the exposure’. Blunt’s right that determination and learning to “aim high” will help, but by saying that he seems to suggest that anyone who doesn’t just suck up a few years of having no income isn’t trying hard enough.

“I’m delighted you’ve done well for yourself”, Bryant wrote. “But it is really tough forging a career in the arts if you can’t afford the enormous fees for drama school, if you don’t know anybody who can give you a leg up, if your parents can’t subsidise you for a few years whilst you make your name and if you can’t afford to take on an unpaid internship”.

The point isn’t that James Blunt doesn’t deserve what he has, it’s that the hurdles early on are set closer together for people with less money available to them. Of course, if someone makes it through childhood having had the support they need to develop a talent, there are still plenty of hurdles beyond that. Real life gets in the way for most people. It takes a certain amount of stubborn dedication to pursue something past the point of it being financially unviable.

Many do, and some become successful because of it. But if you come from a position of wealth to begin with, then you can’t claim not to have had any advantage at all. To an extent, that’s life. But if funding to the arts is cut and government policies squeeze the finances of poorer families, then you risk that advantage becoming more pronounced.

Approved: Kali Uchis

CMU Approved

Having floated around the music industry for the last few years, gathering followers and fans along the way, Kali Uchis’s new single ‘Lottery’ seems to provide a stronger hint of where to place her as an artist.

Heavily influenced by 60s soul, the Colombian born, LA-based singer is nonetheless clearly a product of the 21st Century. She talks about wanting to make pop music that draws on more than just contrived emotion, while at the same time referencing the importance of using image to get noticed in a way that could be called superficial.

Her debut album, ‘Drunken Babble’, was released while she was still in her teens, but showed a confident first run at the style she’s now developed more fully. Since then she’s recorded with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Tyler, The Creator, which would suggest that what she’s doing is working.

Taken from forthcoming EP ‘Por Vida’, this is ‘Lottery’:

UK announced as featured country at Great Escape 2015, plus topics of core convention strands revealed

Business News Education & Events The Great Escape 2015 Top Stories

The Great Escape returns this May for its tenth anniversary edition, showcasing over 400 new bands across the city of Brighton, with over 3000 music business professionals in town to learn, debate, network and discover new talent.

For the fifth year, CMU Insights will curate the convention side of the proceedings, presenting four core full-day strands that will put the focus on some key areas of the music business in 2015. And these strands are: Music Licensing – Explained At Last!, Music Marketing Is Broken – Let’s Fix It, How To Sell Out Gracefully – Better Brand Partnerships and What’s The Point Of A Record Label Anyway?

Through case studies, research, interviews and debate we will: reveal how digital income is split between artists, labels, songwriters and publishers around the world (Music Licensing – Explained at Last!), discuss why repeat listening and online playlists are now key to music marketing (Music Marketing Is Broken), explore how the band / brand relationship is evolving (How To Sell Out Gracefully) and assess how ‘360 degree record deals’ should be working (What’s The Point Of A Record Label Anyway?).

TGE also announces today that, for its tenth anniversary year, the festival’s featured country will be the UK. Festival Director Kat Morris explains: “In its history, The Great Escape has built a reputation as one of the most significant international festivals on the circuit and we are always incredibly proud of our lead country partnerships”.

She goes on: “These collaborations provide new artists a key opportunity to perform at the UK’s biggest industry event, being highlighted to some 18,000 attendees. As we celebrate the festival’s tenth anniversary, we feel it’s the perfect time to focus on the huge amount of brilliant, homegrown talent here in the UK”.

Cross-sector trade body UK Music is already backing this initiative, with its CEO Jo Dipple telling reporters: “I am delighted The Great Escape has put the UK in the spotlight for its tenth anniversary. We produce the best music in the world so it is right to acknowledge that and give a bigger platform to our emerging artists. I can’t wait to hear some great live music in May”.

The first announcement about this year’s artist line-up will come next week, with details about speakers, case studies and interviewees appearing in the CMU Insights strands to follow soon, as well as news on other sessions and events happening within the festival and convention.

Delegate passes that get you access to all of this are still available at the early bird rate of £145, for now. Click here to buy your pass, and check out more information about the topics being explored in the CMU Insights strands here.

New homepage strengthens belief that Pirate Bay will return next month

Business News Digital Top Stories

For a while now it has been thought that the big bad Pirate Bay was planning to return to an internet near you on the 1 Feb, and yesterday a new homepage at thepiratebay.se added credence to those rumours. Mainly by being very like the controversial site’s old homepage.

As previously reported, the Bay went offline in December after a raid on the Swedish server facility hosting key elements of the file-sharing service. And while it wasn’t the first time The Pirate Bay’s servers had been seized, and despite previous claims by TPB operators that their set-up was now ‘raid-proof’, this time the site stayed offline.

At least one man linked to the site was arrested as part of the raid in Sweden, while another member of the team who had been running the file-sharing service in recent years told Torrentfreak that he and his colleagues were taking some time out following the takedown to consider their options. Pirate Bay’s original spokesman Peter Sunde said he thought it was time the site called it a day.

But by the Christmas break hints were being dropped that the site would return on 1 Feb, and that’s certainly what a countdown clock on thepiratebay.se suggests. Meanwhile yesterday much of the former Pirate Bay homepage was restored, although the search box and most of the links are not yet active, but people can click through to the PirateBrowser and PromoBay sister sites.

According to Torrentfreak the new homepage is being hosted by a server firm in Moldova called Trabia, which it’s assumed will also host core elements of the wider service if and when it goes live again. Of course, the company can expect to feel pressure from the music and movie industries, and maybe Moldovan authorities, should that happen, all of whom will likely call on Trabia to take the site down.

For its part, Trabia has told Torrentfreak that it does respect local copyright laws and that all users are bound by its own terms and conditions, though in the short term the current Pirate Bay homepage isn’t infringing anyone else’s rights. Which it isn’t.

Moreover, if and when the full TPB service goes live “the technology used, so called ‘magnet links’, is not violating the right of third parties directly” says the server firm. “[There] is actually no copyright infringement originating from websites such as thepiratebay.se which makes it a very complex case which is open for a lot of interpretation and discussions”.

Which is interesting. The “but we don’t do any actual copying” line was key to the defence of the four men, including the aforementioned Sunde, who were convicted in the Swedish courts for their role in running and funding The Pirate Bay in 2010. The judges weren’t convinced.

The same defence failed in various other key file-sharing legal battles around the world and, although there has been some debate on the point in a handful of jurisdictions, in the main courts have ruled without too much controversy that sites such as the Bay are liable for contributory or authorising copyright infringement, even though other parties commit the direct infringement. Though who knows what would happen if the matter had to be dealt with in the Moldovan courts.

Meanwhile back in Sweden the investigation into more recent Pirate Bay operations is ongoing. And, of course, online plenty of Pirate Bay clones are fully operational. Though those who always preferred the original will be watching their browsers with interest at the start of next month.

Man accused of leaking Madonna songs arrested in Israel

Business News Legal

An Israeli man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing and selling unreleased music from a number of major musicians, including Madonna.

Last month, Madonna rush released six tracks from her new album, ‘Rebel Heart’, after unfinished demo versions of the tracks leaked online; something the singer compared to “terrorism” and “rape”, like a fucking idiot. The unnamed hacker is accused of being behind that leak.

Private investigator Asher Wizman told Reuters that he had been hired by Madonna’s management to look into rumours that the theft had taken place in Israel. He explained: “Our investigator found her computers, at home and at a studio, were broken into from a computer in Israel. We tracked down the computer, and the man behind it. After gathering enough evidence, we turned to the police and he was arrested today”.

A police spokesperson confirmed this, saying that the arrested man “is suspected of computer hacking, copyright violation and fraudulent receipt of goods. During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken into the computers of a number of international artists, stole unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the internet”.

Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart’ album is due out in its entirety on 9 Mar. Mike Tyson is on it.

Disclosure deny song theft claims

Artist News Legal

Disclosure have responded to claims that they stole lyrics for songs on their debut album, ‘Settle’, which featured guest vocalists Sam Smith, Eliza Doolittle and Aluna Francis.

The accusations stem from a lawsuit unearthed by the Mail On Sunday last weekend, launched by songwriter Katie Farrah Sopher. She claims that her ex-boyfriend Sean Sawyers stole a notebook of her lyrics when they split up and sold them to his own music industry contacts. As well as the three Disclosure songs, she also claims that AlunaGeorge’s ‘Attracting Flies’ features her work, and that the words of all the songs relate to her allegedly abusive relationship with Sawyers. He denies the accusations.

In a statement published on their Facebook page yesterday, Disclosure refuted that any lyrics on their records were written by anyone other than them and their stated collaborators.

“We always make sure everyone gets proper credit”, they wrote. “We take great pride in our self-sufficiency, our work and the way we work, and it’s incredibly frustrating when someone tries to take that away from us, by claiming we stole even one word or one note of our music from anyone … All allegations made against us to do with this subject are completely false, as anyone we have ever worked with will back up. We didn’t get into this industry to steal other people’s ideas and we haven’t – we are musicians, artists and producers”.

They added that they are now working on their second album.

Roy Harper trial begins

Artist News Legal

The trial of folk musician Roy Harper on sexual offences against two underage girls began this week.

As previously reported, Harper was arrested in 2013 and charged with sexually abusing an eleven year old girl a number of times between 1975 and 1977. He is also accused of indecently assaulting a sixteen year old girl in 1980.

The trial at Worcester Crown Court is expected to last two weeks.

Modestep ally with INgrooves on new long player

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Electronic rock types Modestep and their management team at Raw Power have announced an alliance with INgrooves for the release of the band’s second album.

The new record will come out of the band’s own label Max Records, with INgrooves providing production management and promotion services via its INresidence artist services division, as well as distribution.

Confirming all this on the off-chance that you’ve not believed me so far, Modestep said as one: “2015 is shaping up to be a big year for the band. We are looking forward to working with INgrooves to leverage their expertise and the rich array of resources they bring to our creative vision”.

Meanwhile SVP of INgrooves Interntional, Alex Branson, added: “Modestep is without a doubt one of the most exciting bands in the world. It is an honour to be asked to join their groundbreaking team, and we look forward to supporting the band and developing various campaigns to push their career to new heights”.

Moses Martiny takes digital role at Sony/ATV

Business News Labels & Publishers

Music publisher Sony/ATV has announced Moses Martiny as its new Vice President of Digital for Europe. Martiny was previously Head Of Business Development at PRS For Music, a role he took up in 2013 following positions at EMI and the Parlophone Label Group.

He will report to Executive Vice President of Digital & Society Relations Europe Antony Bebawi, who said: “I am delighted that Moses has joined us. He brings a complementary set of skills and valuable experience to our team which will further enhance our growing digital licensing business and help us to continue to deliver improved results for our songwriters during these exciting yet challenging times for the music business”.

Martiny himself added: “I am excited to join the renowned team at Sony/ATV. As the leading music publisher Sony/ATV is playing a key role in enabling and shaping the expanding digital music eco-system. The challenge is to support a vibrant and growing market, while also ensuring fair compensation to the creators of music. I look forward to working closely with digital services and Sony/ATV’s industry partners to evolve the European digital music landscape”.

A key part of Martiny’s new role will be overseeing negotiations for pan-European digital services, which will be administered by SOLAR, Sony/ATV’s joint venture with PRS and German collecting society GEMA.

Future Sony email leaks could focus on music

Business News Labels & Publishers

Could the Sony record company be the next division of the entertainment giant to be embarrassed by a flurry of email leaks? Well, it could I suppose. And the New York Post reckons that top execs at Sony Music US are nervous that could be about to happen.

A stack of confidential correspondence between execs at Sony’s US-based entertainment business leaked late last year, of course, after the firm’s servers were hacked, seemingly in protest at the conglom’s backing of the film ‘The Interview’, which portrays the imagined assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Though most of the embarrassing notes leaked related to Sony’s film and television businesses, with the only significant music-related emails made public being those in which some senior Sony execs considered the merits of selling its music publishing joint venture Sony/ATV (something Sony/ATV chief Marty Bandier has since said won’t be happening).

But, says the Post’s gossip-gatherers, it’s thought further emails seized in the hack could be published online and as a result “top executives at Sony Music are bracing for more embarrassing emails to leak … after their boss – Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton – called to offer a ‘blanket apology’ in advance of any details that come out”.

One of the Post’s sources says that “Lynton called a number of department heads within Sony, including Marty and [Sony’s label chief] Doug Morris to give a blanket apology in advance for whatever else comes out”, while another added that concerns are highest that details about artist contracts or senior exec pay packets might leak.

Though the paper itself conceded that another source has played down the levels of panic at the major, insisting that Lynton “did not make a blanket apology” about possible future leaked emails, and instead had spoken to two top execs – possibly Bandier and Morris – about some specific matters relating to last year’s hack.

Former AEG Live UK chief returns with new business

Business News Live Business

The former boss of AEG Live in the UK, Rob Hallett, who, as previously reported, departed the live music major last April, has unveiled his new business venture.

He’s told Music Week that the new company will be called Robomagic, and will be one of those “360 operations” operating in various strands of the music industry, though live music will undoubtedly be a key element of all that.

Hallett says that his new business has “the ambition and financial backing” to compete with his former employer and its main rival in the live space Live Nation, and that – while a “boutique operation” – it is looking to produce at arena and even stadium level in the UK and worldwide.

Alongside the live events, the new company will have a unit able to invest in the businesses of both emerging and established artists, and will get involved in recordings, publishing and brand partnerships, while seeking to allow talent to retain more control over their copyrights. On which Hallett says: “The desire to make the lives of both established and aspiring artists much fairer and more equitable is at the heart of the company”.

In that regard Hallett’s new business will have parallels with Sixth, the new company from MAMA co-founder Dean James which, like the original MAMA business, aims to combine artist services with live event promotion, helping to develop artist brands across the board, and then especially in the live space.

New funding pushes Shazam valuation over a billion dollars

Business News Digital

The makers of “what’s that?” app Shazam have raised another $30 million in funding, according to Bloomberg, which pushes the value of the business over the $1 billion mark. Which is nice. For them. They should get a certificate made for the office kitchen.

Bloomberg quotes Shazam Chairman Andrew Fisher as saying “this funding reflects the substantial progress we have made in delivering a new paradigm for brands and content owners to increase engagement with their audiences whilst magically connecting people to the world around them. We are delighted to welcome our new investors as we further strengthen our balance sheet and continue to effectively execute on our corporate strategy”.

Ah, new paradigms, I got a box of them for Christmas. Shazam, of course, was early to the mobile-based music app market, and grew a pretty decent business earning referral fees when people identified a track via its platform and clicked through to buy it.

Though that trade was linked to the music download market, which has now peaked, meaning the company is increasingly diversifying, seeking new opportunities in the TV, brand and data spaces. So a whole load of new paradigms. I should lend them my box.

CMU’s One Liners: Chester Bennington’s leg and other pop body parts (mainly entire bodies)

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• If you had a sleepless night worrying about Chester Bennington’s leg, well, he’s had some surgery and it should now take about six weeks to recover (says he on the tweets). Aaaaaaand relax. As previously reported, the leg injury has caused his band Linkin Park to cancel their current US tour.

• Haim are back in the studio, which is probably something of interest to you because you have notoriously poor taste in music. (Only joking Haim fans. Or am I?)

• The Weeknd’s contribution to the ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ soundtrack, ‘Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey’, has a video. The song is pretty poor and the video is hilariously self-conscious in its NSFW-ness. So fairly in-keeping with the original 50SOG text.

• Lil Wayne has released a new mixtape, ‘Sorry 4 The Wait 2’, as an apology for ongoing delays with his ‘Tha Carter V’ album. The compilation is the follow-up to 2011’s ‘Sorry 4 The Wait’, which filled the delay before his ‘Tha Carter IV’ album.

• The Mountain Goats will release an album of twelve songs, all of them about professional wrestling. So that’s a thing. It’s called ‘Beat The Champ’. It’s out on 13 Apr. Here’s a track from it, ‘The Legend Of Chavo Guerro’.

• “Transcendental black metal” band Liturgy will release a new album called ‘The Ark Work’ on 24 Mar through Thrill Jockey. One of the tracks on it is called ‘Quetzalcoatl’. I know this because it is here.

• Approved for her last single ‘Groove It Out’, LoneLady is back with another fine track, called ‘Bunkerpop’. Both will appear on her new album, ‘Hinterland’, out on 23 Mar.

• Inga Copeland has revealed that she has a new album ready called ‘Relaxin With Lolina’. And that is fucking good news. So fucking good that I felt it necessary to swear unnecessarily two fucking times. Three. She’s playing a gig at Café Oto this Saturday too. Good fucking times.

• Wilko Johnson has announced that he will play a benefit show in aid of Addenbrooke’s, the Cambridge hospital that made a sham of his farewell tour by curing his ‘incurable’ cancer. The gig will take place on 6 Mar at The Junction in Cambridge. Tickets here.

Race to find record producer Kim Fowley’s body for Girls & Corpses photoshoot

And Finally Artist News Media

I think if there’s any argument to be had for not allowing the government to further snoop on our online activity, it’s my Google history after researching this story. Without the context I’m about to lay down for you, it could look… odd. Thankfully I have this outlet to clear the whole thing up should questions be asked. What the hell are you going to do?

This story relates to musician and producer Kim Fowley, who died from bladder cancer earlier this month. His dying wish, it is claimed, was for his body to be mutilated in a photoshoot for Girls & Corpses magazine – a fine example of finding a niche in order to stay afloat in these troubled times for print media.

According to TMZ, Fowley wrote to the magazine’s publisher offering to leave money to cover the costs of the shoot, which would be led by his then girlfriend, fetish model Snow Mercy. He is said to have written: “Snow and her fetish friends, could mutilate the body, providing real blood and guts and set my bones and blood on fire”.

The magazine apparently declined the mutilation and fire parts of the request, but agreed to set up the rest of the photoshoot once he had passed on. The only problem now is that he subsequently split up with Snow, and later married another woman, Peermusic’s Kara Wright. Since Fowley’s death on 15 Jan, the magazine has reportedly been unable to contact Wright to arrange carrying out the plan.

Who knows if any of this is true? Not me. But, like I said, I have a search history to account for. It is true though that Fowley, who worked with artists including Kiss, Alice Cooper and, most recently, Ariel Pink, did record a video endorsing Girls & Corpses from his deathbed.

Approved: Momoiro Clover Z v Kiss

CMU Approved

J-pop quartet Momoiro Clover Z have had a number of unusual collaborations, such as tracks with The Go! Team and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, but recording a song with Kiss still stands out as a bit odd.

Released internationally next Monday, ‘Yume No Ukiyo Ni Saitemina’ (something about blooming and fleeting dreams), the video for the track went live earlier this week and in many ways highlights the ridiculousness of this pairing further. However, while it’s a way off the heights of the girl group’s 2013 single ‘Neo Stargate’, the song itself is pretty good, with Kiss themselves taking a step back with a fairly understated backing that allows Momoiro to get on and do their thing.

The two bands have also recorded a new version of Kiss’s ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’. Meanwhile Kiss’s 40th anniversary best of compilation will feature a third collaboration called ‘Samurai Son’. All of which brings the phrase ‘diminishing returns’ to mind. Speaking of which, Momoiro Clover Z will open for Kiss at the 55,000 capacity Tokyo Dome in March.

Here’s ‘Yume No Ukiyo Ni Saitemina’:

Pirate Party MEP publishes copyright review in European Parliament

Business News Legal Top Stories

A Pirate Party MEP from Germany has published a draft report looking at some key copyright topics across the European Union with a view to influencing the next raft of EU copyright proposals, expected to come from the European Commissioner For Digital Economy And Society early next year.

Julia Reda MEP’s report specifically considers how a 2001 European copyright directive was implemented in different EU states, and concludes that there remains too much variation in copyright rules across the Union, which is counter-productive in the age of cross-border digital content consumption.

Launching her report earlier this week, Reda said: “The EU copyright directive was written in 2001, in a time before YouTube or Facebook. Although it was meant to adapt copyright to the digital age, in reality it is blocking the exchange of knowledge and culture across borders today. We need a common European copyright that safeguards fundamental rights and makes it easier to offer innovative online services in the entire European Union”.

Given the Pirate Party’s origins, many in the intellectual property industries will be suspicious of it members’ motives in attempting to lead the copyright debate in Brussels, though, the MEP revealed, that didn’t stop a long line of content companies, collecting societies and related organisations openly lobbying her once she began work on this paper.

And the report is careful to begin by acknowledging “the necessity for authors and performers to be provided legal protection for their creative and artistic work” and says that it “recognises the role of producers and publishers in bringing works to the market, and the need for appropriate remuneration for all categories of rights holders”.

There is general agreement on both sides of the debate that cross-border copyright licensing should be simpler, though plenty of Reda’s proposals will cause concern in the music rights sector, and one of the most controversial – the launch of copyright registration in the EU – isn’t even in this first draft.

However, while some associated with the Pirate Party movement are seen as being fundamentally anti-copyright, that’s not the remit of Reda’s report, which does propose some sensible measures that some in the music community might quietly commend. And especially in the artist and songwriter community, whose interests Reda reckons she is championing where they are not in line with the corporate rights owners or big collecting societies.

Welcoming the report and the fact a Pirate Party rep drafted it, one of the political group’s candidates in this year’s UK General Election, Mark Chapman, told reporters: “Julia’s report highlights the glaring need for the thorough overhaul of copyright law that Pirate Parties from across Europe have consistently been calling for. These need to take into account the underlying principles of a free exchange of knowledge and culture with the principle of a single common digital market.”

He went on: “It is really positive that it is a Pirate MEP that has been able to bring forward her specialist knowledge and experience in this area, as well as digitally crowd-sourcing views from across Europe. We look forward to working with other politicians – both Pirate Parties from across Europe and those from other backgrounds – to bring the recommendations in this report into reality”.

The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament will discuss Reda’s report in April, while a working group in the legislature will take input from stakeholders on copyright matters until the summer. The Digital Economy And Society Commissioner Günther Oettinger will then begin work on a new set of copyright proposals in the autumn.

You can read Reda’s report here.

Guy Hands admits EMI deal stopped Terra Firma becoming a ‘mega-fund’

Business News Labels & Publishers

Hey everybody, let’s talk about Guy Hands. Ha, look at all you former EMIers recoiling from your screen in horror. Don’t worry, he’s not back, he’s just been chattering about his firm’s audacious and ultimately disastrous acquisition of the EMI Group in 2007.

According to the Wall Street Journal, he told an event at the London School Of Economics this week: “EMI – that’s a name I try and forget. There’s an old slogan which is: just because they want to lend you money, doesn’t mean you should take it. And I’d say that’s a good one to remember”.

Hands’ debt-laden multi-billion deal to purchase EMI just before the credit crunch went horribly wrong, costing his private equity outfit Terra Firma in the region of £1.75 billion. As previously reported, a legal battle between the equity firm and its advisors and backers on the EMI deal, Citigroup, is set to return to court in June 2016.

Hands himself exited the business of music when Citigroup repossessed the EMI Group in 2011, the bankers subsequently splitting the company into two and selling it on to Universal and Sony.

But the whole episode still has an impact on Hands and his investment business. “Clearly we’re not trying to be a mega fund or mega firm”, he said on the sidelines at the LSE event. “Effectively that opportunity went with the EMI transaction”.

Ah, sort of feel sorry for Team Terra Firma now, don’t you? No. Of course not. They were a bunch of cunts and dem’s the breaks.

Former Warner exec to head new YouTube-focused label

Business News Digital Industry People Labels & Publishers

Former Warner Music executive Conrad Withey has been confirmed as CEO of a new artist development label called PopShack, built on the back of a YouTube-focused multi-channel network business led by marketeer Abi Hanna, who is also Withey’s wife.

The PopShack YouTube network began in 2013 and says it reaches over 2.2 million subscribers and drives eight million video views every month. The label side of the business will focus on developing ‘native’ artists emerging on the platform.

Withey will retain a partnership with Warner UK in his new role, with PopShack set to consult on new projects at the major’s East West Records label, while utilising Warner’s ADA distribution business for talent developed under the PopShack umbrella.

Confirming all of this, Withey told reporters: “YouTube has become the number one network for music discovery across the globe and the PopShack business is focused on finding and developing a new generation of ‘native’ artists breaking via the platform. I am thrilled to be partnering with Warner and particularly Dan Chalmers and the East West and ADA teams on this and other innovative new projects going forward”.

Meanwhile the there mentioned Dan Chalmers, President of both East West Records and ADA UK, added: “Conrad has the ideal skillset for this new role, he’s got extensive experience creating engaging content and he understands how to develop artists and their careers. I’m pleased we’re able to continue our partnership and look forward to seeing the acts that come through PopShack”.

UK Music announces Music Venues Alliance to better protect small venues

Business News Live Business

A coalition of music industry groups led by UK Music has this morning announced the launch of the Music Venues Alliance. The new body will represent over 100 music venues nationwide, with a view to better protecting them following a spate of recent closures.

The existing Music Venue Trust, launched by the smaller venue community a year ago, will do the actual donkey work of lobbying and campaigning, but it will now also sit on and have access to the UK Music UK Live Music Group. Which, you might remember, is the trade group of live music trade groups sitting within the trade group of music industry trade groups. Yeah, keep up.

The announcement comes after a meeting called by London Mayor Boris Johnson at City Hall yesterday to discuss how public authorities can better support music venues in the capital. The Mayor’s Office is apparently also planning to set up a task force to look into the issues affecting music venues specifically in London.

In a statement, UK Music CEO Jo Dipple said: “AC/DC, The Who, Talking Heads, Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Keane, Mumford & Sons, The Vaccines, The Libertines, Anna Calvi all relied on London venues to find their fame and fortune. As a result, they became part of a phenomenon that creates £3.8 billion for the UK economy and defines us all around the world. The UK has an incredibly strong music heritage. It must have an equally strong music future. Our venues are a vital part of this”.

She continued: “UK Music welcomes the Mayor of London’s commitment today to look in more detail at the pressures facing the music industry. I want to thank City Hall, the Music Venue Trust and Independent Venues Week for their hard work and support. The Music Venues Alliance is a big step forward. I look forward to working with them and hearing how the wider music industry can protect and serve their needs and interests”.

Deputy Mayor for Culture and Education, Munira Mirza, who co-hosted yesterday’s meeting, added: “Music plays a huge role in the vibrancy and cultural reputation of our city, as well being a big contributor to our economy, so any threat to the live music scene is of concern. We are committed to working more closely with venues and will be setting up a taskforce to look at the issues affecting them, including planning. We warmly welcome the formation of the Music Venues Alliance, which will provide a single voice for an important sector for the capital”.

And Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, commented: “We are delighted to start 2015 with such a positive opportunity for London music venues to discuss their needs. The small venue circuit has come under a number of different pressures in the last few years, and cultural and city planning are key elements of a comprehensive action plan that is needed to ensure that the UK continues to enjoy the best live music circuit in the world, producing some of the best artists in the world”.

He continued: “It is important to emphasise the role that these small venues play in the ecosystem of British music, providing the first performance platform for writers and musicians. This is the grassroots and bedrock of the UK music industry which creates thousands of jobs and is one of our biggest export earners. These venues are the research and development department of that success, and we are delighted that the Mayor’s office has arranged this meeting so we can work together to ensure it continues”.

With several venues already lost to the building of the Crossrail system in London, along with spaces pushed out by other property developments, some might argue that these moves come a little too late. Though a more coordinated effort will come as something of a relief to the various groups that have been campaigning to save venues in London and beyond.

RockNess 2015 cancelled

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

The Loch Ness-based RockNess festival has been cancelled for a second year running, according to the BBC.

Last year’s festival was also called off, with organisers blaming the World Cup and Commonwealth Games, though they promised to return in 2015. But that is definitely not happening organisers reportedly confirmed yesterday.

Specifics behind that decision have not yet been revealed, though the Aberdeen Press And Journal said it believes organisers “have been struggling to attract the numbers needed to help it compete financially against other major events”

The news follows the recent announcements that Sonisphere UK and the Barcelona Metal Festival will not take place this year.

UK venues ban ‘selfie sticks’

Business News Live Business

The O2, Wembley Arena and Academy Music Group have all banned the use of selfie sticks at live events. But not the people who own them. I guess that would be too difficult a system to operate. It would be much easier if the Government just passes a law saying that anyone who owns a selfie stick has to stay at home. Forever.

Well, anyway, until that law comes in, these bans on the sticks themselves will have to do. A spokesperson for The O2 told Billboard: “The O2 do not allow selfie sticks into the arena due to safety considerations and so as not to impact the view of other fans. We welcome selfies, but leave the stick at home please”.

It’s phrases like “we welcome selfies” that really put me off going outside. And the statement from Wembley Arena is even worse, saying: “Selfies are a big part of the gig experience [but] the sticks might mean you are refused entry to the venue. Our advice is don’t bring them and stick with the tried-and-tested use of an arm”.

Fuck off Wembley Arena. I’ll tell you what a big part of the ‘gig experience’ is: everyone standing in silence, apart from offering some applause and/or light whooping at appropriate moments, before going home and thinking about what a nice time was had by all. Up to two tweets post-show are permissible, but these must be about specifics of the performance or complaints about people not adhering to these rules.

Things are going to be so much better when I’m in charge.

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:59 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Rihanna

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:58 | By Chris Cooke

Lawyers for Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine were back in court yesterday arguing once again for a retrial in her legal battle with AEG Live over its liability, or not, for the death of the late king of pop in 2009.

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Michael Jackson

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:57 | By Chris Cooke

The Nettwerk Music Group has bought the catalogue of independent publisher Robot Of The Century Music, a company originally set up by Roadrunner Records founder Cees Wessels which publishes songs from Trivium, Soulfly and Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach, amongst others.

READ MORE ABOUT: Nettwerk Music Group | Robot Of The Century Music

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:56 | By Andy Malt

DJ Semtex has been announced as Sony Music UK’s new Director Of Artist Development, a role he will formally take up next month.

READ MORE ABOUT: DJ Semtex | Sony Music

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:55 | By Chris Cooke

Warner Music UK has only gone and got itself a brand new SVP of Communications & Strategy Development, who just happens to be the major’s first ever SVP of Communications & Strategy Development in the UK. These are bold new times.

READ MORE ABOUT: Mel Fox | Warner Music

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:54 | By Chris Cooke

So, how many new markets did you launch in yesterday? Well? Because I can tell you this for a fact, Tidal launched in five and Rdio in 24. I bet you feel like you wasted your Thursday now, don’t you?

READ MORE ABOUT: Rdio | Tidal

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:53 | By Chris Cooke

Indian streaming service Saavn, originally a Bollywood focused set-up, but which signed the final of its licensing deals with the three majors last August, has appointed a former Google India executive as its COO.

READ MORE ABOUT: Mahesh Narayanan | Saavn

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:52 | By Chris Cooke

MusicTank have announced details of their next Think Tank event, which will take the title ‘Moneyballing Music: Big Data, Consumers And A&R’.

READ MORE ABOUT: MusicTank

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:51 | By Chris Cooke

Other notable announcements and developments today…

READ MORE ABOUT: AG Cook | Alex Winston | Aphex Twin | BBC Radio Bristol | BRIT Awards | BRITs Week | Burial | Charli XCX | Edward Adoo | George Ezra | Grammy Awards | Hot 97 | Jay-Z | LL Cool J | Misty Miller | PC Music | Pond | Rita Ora | Royal Blood | Take That

Friday 23 January 2015, 10:50 | By Andy Malt

Chris Bryant MP is a “classist gimp”, while singer-songwriter James Blunt is a bit “precious” about his position in the music industry. These are the things we learned this week. Or at least they are the things the two men said about each other.

READ MORE ABOUT: Chris Bryant | James Blunt

Thursday 22 January 2015, 11:00 | By Andy Malt

Having floated around the music industry for the last few years, gathering followers and fans along the way, Kali Uchis’s new single ‘Lottery’ seems to provide a stronger hint of where to place her as an artist.

READ MORE ABOUT: Kali Uchis

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:59 | By Chris Cooke

The Great Escape returns this May for its tenth anniversary edition, showcasing over 400 new bands across the city of Brighton, with over 3000 music business professionals in town to learn, debate, network and discover new talent.

READ MORE ABOUT: The Great Escape

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:58 | By Chris Cooke

For a while now it has been thought that the big bad Pirate Bay was planning to return to an internet near you on the 1 Feb, and yesterday a new homepage at thepiratebay.se added credence to those rumours. Mainly by being very like the controversial site’s old homepage.

READ MORE ABOUT: The Pirate Bay

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:57 | By Andy Malt

An Israeli man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing and selling unreleased music from a number of major musicians, including Madonna.

READ MORE ABOUT: Madonna

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:56 | By Andy Malt

Disclosure have responded to claims that they stole lyrics for songs on their debut album, ‘Settle’, which featured guest vocalists Sam Smith, Eliza Doolittle and Aluna Francis.

READ MORE ABOUT: AlunaGeorge | Disclosure | Eliza Doolittle | Sam Smith

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:55 | By Andy Malt

The trial of folk musician Roy Harper on sexual offences against two underage girls began this week.

READ MORE ABOUT: Roy Harper

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:54 | By Chris Cooke

Electronic rock types Modestep and their management team at Raw Power have announced an alliance with INgrooves for the release of the band’s second album.

READ MORE ABOUT: INgrooves | Modestep

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:53 | By Andy Malt

Music publisher Sony/ATV has announced Moses Martiny as its new Vice President of Digital for Europe. Martiny was previously Head Of Business Development at PRS For Music, a role he took up in 2013 following positions at EMI and the Parlophone Label Group.

READ MORE ABOUT: Moses Martiny | Sony Music Publishing

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:53 | By Chris Cooke

Could the Sony record company be the next division of the entertainment giant to be embarrassed by a flurry of email leaks? Well, it could I suppose. And the New York Post reckons that top execs at Sony Music US are nervous that could be about to happen.

READ MORE ABOUT: Sony Music

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:52 | By Chris Cooke

The former boss of AEG Live in the UK, Rob Hallett, who, as previously reported, departed the live music major last April, has unveiled his new business venture.

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Rob Hallett | Robomagic

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:51 | By Chris Cooke

The makers of “what’s that?” app Shazam have raised another $30 million in funding, according to Bloomberg, which pushes the value of the business over the $1 billion mark. Which is nice. For them. They should get a certificate made for the office kitchen.

READ MORE ABOUT: Shazam

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:50 | By Andy Malt

Other notable announcements and developments today…

READ MORE ABOUT: Haim | Inga Copeland | Lil Wayne | Linkin Park | Liturgy | LoneLady | The Mountain Goats | The Weeknd | Wilko Johnson

Thursday 22 January 2015, 10:49 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Girls & Corpses | Kim Fowley

Wednesday 21 January 2015, 10:53 | By Andy Malt

J-pop quartet Momoiro Clover Z have had a number of unusual collaborations, such as tracks with The Go! Team and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, but recording a song with Kiss still stands out as a bit odd.

READ MORE ABOUT: Kiss | Momoiro Clover Z

Wednesday 21 January 2015, 10:52 | By Chris Cooke

A Pirate Party MEP from Germany has published a draft report looking at some key copyright topics across the European Union with a view to influencing the next raft of EU copyright proposals, expected to come from the European Commissioner For Digital Economy And Society early next year.

READ MORE ABOUT: Julia Reda | The Pirate Party

Wednesday 21 January 2015, 10:51 | By Chris Cooke

Hey everybody, let’s talk about Guy Hands. Ha, look at all you former EMIers recoiling from your screen in horror. Don’t worry, he’s not back, he’s just been chattering about his firm’s audacious and ultimately disastrous acquisition of the EMI Group in 2007.

READ MORE ABOUT: Citigroup | EMI | Guy Hands | Terra Firma

Wednesday 21 January 2015, 10:50 | By Chris Cooke

Former Warner Music executive Conrad Withey has been confirmed as CEO of a new artist development label called PopShack, built on the back of a YouTube-focused multi-channel network business led by marketeer Abi Hanna, who is also Withey’s wife.

READ MORE ABOUT: Conrad Withey | PopShack | Warner Music | YouTube

Wednesday 21 January 2015, 10:49 | By Andy Malt