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Friday 27 March 2015, 11:55 | By Chris Cooke
SFX boss appoints advisors for share buy-back plan
Business News Live Business
SFX Entertainment founder and boss man Robert FX Sillerman has announced the appointment of some almost certainly charming and not at all odious bankers to advise on his bid to take the EDM peddler back into private ownership.
As previously reported, Sillerman, who only floated his EDM festival maker and Beatport operator in 2013, announced last month that he wanted to buy back all the SFX shares he doesn’t currently control. With a mixed reception to the plan on Wall Street, the entertainment company set up a committee of independent directors to consider Sillerman’s proposals.
Besuited money monkeys from Barclays Capital and Jeffries LLC will now advise on the SFX founder’s buy-back bid, which also includes an offer to those shareholders which wish to remain involved that they could do so by having a stake in the newly private version of the company.
Elsewhere in SFX news, Beatport has launched an app for iOS and Android phones which will bring the EDM platform to mobiles, including the ability to stream charts, playlists and ‘hearted tracks’. So that’s a thing.
READ MORE ABOUT: SFX Entertainment
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:54 | By Andy Malt
Lynne McDowell to leave BPI to launch new PR firm
Business News Labels & Publishers Marketing & PR
Record label trade group the BPI has announced that its Head Of PR, Lynne McDowell, is to leave the organisation at the end of this month in order to launch her own communications company.
In a statement, BPI chief exec Geoff Taylor said: “Lynne’s professionalism and dedication were huge assets to the BPI and we are delighted that she will continue to consult for us. We wish her the very best in this new chapter of her career”.
McDowell herself added: “After more than five wonderful years at the BPI, I feel it is time for a new adventure. Setting up my own PR company feels like the next logical step in my career and I’m excited to already be working with some of my favourite music companies, whilst remaining a consultant for the BPI. I’d like to thank all my friends in the industry, especially Geoff and my BPI colleagues – past and present – for their support”.
Joining the BPI in 2009 as Public Affairs And Communications Executive, McDowell was promoted to the position of Head Of PR a year ago.
READ MORE ABOUT: British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | Lynne McDowell
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:53 | By Andy Malt
Beyonce scrapped Fela Kuti-inspired album
Artist News
Prior to her 2011 album ‘4’, Beyonce recorded and then scrapped an entire Afrobeat album, according to producer The-Dream.
All that remains of the project now is ‘End Of Time’, which appears on ‘4’ and features horns and percussion inspired by Fela Kuti. That there was more where this came from was revealed by The-Dream on the Genius page for the track recently.
“We did a whole Fela [inspired] album that didn’t go up”, he wrote. “It was right before we did ‘4’. We did a whole different sounding thing, about 20 songs. She said she wanted to do something that sounds like Fela. That’s why there’s so much of that sound in the ‘End Of Time'”.
He continued: “There’s always multiple albums being made. Most of the time we’re just being creative, period. We’re talking about B, somebody who sings all day long and somebody who writes all day long. There’s probably a hundred records just sitting around”.
That’s a lot of potential surprise releases.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beyonce | The-Dream
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:51 | By Andy Malt
Rihanna releases new single
Artist News Releases
Rihanna recently told MTV that she was working on an album that “felt real, that felt soulful, that felt forever”.
“I wanted songs that I could perform in fifteen years”, she added, “not any songs that were burnt out”.
Well, yesterday she put one of those tracks out into the world (aka iTunes), having previewed a clip on an app called Dubsmash earlier in the day.
It’s hard to tell from ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ if the album is going to be ‘timeless’, but it is, at least, easy to remember, there not exactly being a lot of lyrics.
READ MORE ABOUT: Rihanna
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:50 | By Andy Malt
Run The Jewels video comments on “purgatory-like law enforcement system”
Artist News Releases
Run The Jewels have put out the video for ‘Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)’, featuring Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha.
Commenting on the video, which shows a fight between a black man and a white policeman, director AG Rojas says: “When Run The Jewels sent me this track, I knew we had the opportunity to create a film that means something. I felt a sense of responsibility to do just that. We had to exploit the lyrics and aggression and emotion of the track, and translate that into a film that would ignite a valuable and productive conversation about racially motivated violence in this country”.
“It’s provocative, and we all knew this, so we were tasked with making something that expressed the intensity of senseless violence without eclipsing our humanity”, he continues.
“For me, it was important to write a story that didn’t paint a simplistic portrait of the characters of the Cop and Kid. They’re not stereotypes. They’re people – complex, real people and, as such, the power had to shift between them at certain points throughout the story. The film begins and it feels like they have been fighting for days, they’re exhausted, not a single punch is thrown, their violence is communicated through clumsy, raw emotion. They’ve already fought their way past their judgments and learned hatred toward one another. Our goal was to highlight the futility of the violence, not celebrate it”.
Rapper Killer Mike adds: “This video represents the futile and exhausting existence of a purgatory-like law enforcement system. There is no neat solution at the end because there is no neat solution in the real world. However, there is an opportunity to dialogue and change the way communities are policed in this country”.
Watch here:
READ MORE ABOUT: AG Rojas | Run The Jewels | Zack de la Rocha
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:49 | By Chris Cooke
Artist & Manager Awards presented
Awards Business News
“Once a manager thinks he’s a bigger star than his artist, he’s completely fucked”, said legendary Queen manager Jim Beech last night at the Artist & Manager Awards.
He’s right you know, though for this one evening the managers were as big a stars as their artists. But don’t worry, a special pass was arranged for the night, so no one’s fucked. Not at all. Though tricking Ed Sheeran’s doctor into telling him to rest his voice so he had to deliver his acceptance speech via Siri maybe took the whole let-the-managers-speak-for-once initiative too far.
Anyway, it was the always marvellous Artist & Manager Awards last night, with Beech presented with the headline billing Peter Grant Award, while Sheeran and his manager Stuart Camp took the Artist And Manager Achievement Award.
Most awards winners are confirmed before the show, though the breakthrough prizes are announced on the night, with Hozier getting the Breakthrough Artist prize and Jungle manager Sam Denniston taking the Breakthrough Manager gong.
But hey, why not just look at the full list of winners?
Breakthrough Artist: Hozier
Artists’ Artist Award: Placebo
Pioneer: Imogen Heap
Breakthrough Manager: Sam Denniston
Writer/Producer Manager: Jackie Davidson
Entrepreneur: Henry Village
Artist and Manager Achievement Award: Ed Sheeran and Stuart Camp
Industry Champion: Paul Fenn
Peter Grant Award: Jim Beach
READ MORE ABOUT: Artist And Manager Awards
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:48 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Kanye out of CAA, new board in at ASCAP, Trent still inputting at iBeats, and other glorious moments of news
Artist News Awards Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Labels & Publishers Live Business One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Kanye West has left booking agency CAA for UTA, Billboard has confirmed. “The decision to change agencies is based on Kanye’s continuing desire to diversify and search for new opportunities”, a rep told the magazine.
• US collecting society ASCAP announced its new board of directors yesterday. Check em out.
• Ashley Charles, aka approved rapper Amplify Dot, has been hired as an A&R consultant by Warner label Parlophone, reports Music Week. “Excellent”, said A&R Director Elias Christidis.
• Those of you who have been wondering “but what happened to Beats Chief Creative Officer Trent Reznor after the big Apple buy?” Well, wonder no more, my friend. “Trent Reznor is playing a major role in redesigning the music app, according to two Apple employees familiar with the product”, says the New York Times. So call off the search.
• Leftfield have announced their first album for sixteen years, ‘Alternative Light Source’. It will be released on 8 Jun. This is the first track from it, ‘Universal Everything’.
• Will Young will release a new album, titled ‘85% Proof’, on 25 May. New single ‘Love Revolution’ got its first play on Radio 2 this morning.
• Former Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend is working on a symphony. “I’m going to record it in Belgium in Surround Sound with a visual counterpart. It’s going to have a lot of instruments that are not typical for orchestral stuff – a combination of everything”, he told Kaaos TV.
• Omar Souleyman will release a new album, ‘Bahdeni Nami’, on 27 Jul, featuring production work from Modeselektor, Four Tet and Gilles Peterson. From it, this is ‘Enssa Al Aatab’.
• Blur will headline Saturday night at the Isle Of Wight festival it’s been announced. And I had seven pounds on Menswe@r getting that gig.
• Communion’s Bushstock festival will return for its fifth year over there in Shepherds Bush on 13 Jun. 40 acts, including Lucy Rose, Honeyblood and Beans On Toast, will perform over six stages. More info here.
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra have announced a UK tour for September, following the release of their new album in May. Tickets here.
• The AIM Independent Music Awards will return to The Brewery in London on 8 Sep, it has been announced. Hosts this year will be Xfm’s John Kennedy and Radio 1’s Alice Levine once again.
READ MORE ABOUT: AIM Independent Music Awards | Amplify Dot | ASCAP | Beats Music | Blur | Bushstock | CAA | Communion | Devin Townsend | iTunes | Kanye West | Leftfield | Omar Souleyman | Trent Reznor | Unknown Mortal Orchestra | UTA | Will Young
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:47 | By Andy Malt
CMU Beef Of The Week #249: Louis Walsh v The New Yoko
And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week
Earlier this week Zayn Malik left One Direction. Yeah, I know, they kept that one quiet didn’t they? But yes, after five years, he’d had enough and just wanted to be “a normal 22 year old”.
It seems fair enough, really. He stuck it out for five years, and often seemed to receive harsher press scrutiny than most of his bandmates. For example, after Malik failed to show up for an interview on ‘The Today Show’ last November, seemingly because of illness, host Matt Lauer launched straight in by asking the other 1Ders if Malik was suffering from drug addiction.
Last week there was another absence, when Malik dropped out of the group’s ongoing Asian tour due to stress, at least in part brought on by new claims that he had been cheating on fiancée Perrie Edwards.
His statement alluded to a desire to “have some private time out of the spotlight”, the latest chatter about his private life probably the final straw after five years of constant scrutiny, gossiping and judging, all occurring whilst he and his bandmates ploughed on with a manic schedule of recording, promoting and touring, providing very little time for reflection. And however much money and adoration pop stardom may provide, many will reach a point where they decide enough is enough. And Zayn reached that point this week,
“But what’s the back story”, people like to splutter. And many in the 1D fanbase did indeed splutter such a thought. And them not being especially renowned for their measured thinking, especially when it comes to 1D members’ girlfriends, many fans immediately blamed the aforementioned Edwards for his departure. She must have forced him into it, they said. It’s totally unfair that she hasn’t left Little Mix too, they added. She is clearly The New Yoko.
Now, what we need here is someone with insider knowledge, who can talk freely about the pressures of fame to which the fans routinely contribute but largely never see. Someone who can point out that no one would take a decision of this kind lightly, and who can stress that ultimately it is a decision for the departing bandmate to make for himself. Someone like Louis Walsh, who has seen One Direction’s career bloom right from the start.
“What I found in the past is as things get on, and as they get girlfriends, the girlfriends are whispering things in their ears and saying like ‘You should be a solo star’, ‘You should be the lead singer’ – that’s usually the problem”, Walsh told Irish radio station RTE Radio One this week. Oh, good work Louis. He went on: “The first few years are usually great and then people always want to be the solo star”.
Now, it’s possible Walsh is really thinking of Ronan Keating here, whom he managed out of Boyzone and into a solo career, before an acrimonious split from the singer. Stop projecting your feelings about Ronan onto Zayn, Louis.
Backtracking slightly, Walsh went on to admit that being the public face of a boyband operation might not be as much fun as it sounds, saying: “I have heard the rumours for the last few weeks that everything wasn’t happy in paradise. The problem with these guys is they’ve been in a bubble for the last five years, pressure, working, a lot harder than people think, so something had to give. So Zayn was the first person just to crack up a little bit”.
He added: “He’s had an amazing time with the other guys. That’s the good side of it. The dark side of it is all the travelling, the airports, in a bubble, not really seeing real life”.
So, he admits that there is a “dark side” to this pop business thing, and that “seeing real life” might be something Malik is actually craving just now. Which doesn’t really tally with the “girlfriend wants him to go solo” angle really, does it? I mean, I’m not saying Zayn won’t go solo. Offers will flood in, and he might realise that singing pop songs is the only thing he’s really qualified to do. But that doesn’t automatically mean solo stardom is any motivating factor for this week’s decision.
Is it really reasonable to claim that Malik might have quit the band because he – shock horror – has a girlfriend with opinions? No.
Is Perrie Edwards the “new Yoko”? Well, I’m not sure Yoko Ono was even the “old Yoko”. People just sometimes decide they don’t want to do something anymore, even though to the outsider it looks like that thing must be the greatest thing in the world.
And if Malik got angry about the constant uninformed commentary on his life, well his wife-to-be being branded “the new Yoko” is probably justification for his anger. Five years is a long time to be in a boyband. And 22 is a pivotal point in a young person’s life. Louis Walsh is probably not a man whose insight should always, if ever, be taken at face value.
But what do One Direction fans think. Well, let’s go over to Twitter and take a look…
“I HAAAAATE Louis Walsh. He tried to derail them every week on ‘X-Factor’ and now is sparking Yoko theories?”
That’s smart thinking. Well done 1D fans everywhere. And what else?
“The only one who speaks the fucking truth is Louis Walsh. DID Y’ALL HEAR WHAT HE SAID? NO LIE. HE DEADASS SAID WE GOT YOKO’ED BY PERRIE”
Oh well.
READ MORE ABOUT: Louis Walsh | One Direction | Perrie Edwards | Zayn Malik
Friday 27 March 2015, 11:46 | By Paul Vig
Approved: Patrick Forge at The Yard
Club Tip CMU Approved
This Friday the regular Paradise Loft night hosts a very special guest, Patrick Forge at The Yard Theatre in Hackney.
Alongside Gilles Peterson, Forge was one of the big DJs on Kiss FM in the 90s, with his ‘Cosmic Jam’ show, which still runs on Kiss founder Gordon Mac’s Mi-Soul station and as a podcast.
Listeners of that will know what to expect – jazz, funk and soul ,and likely some broken beats and bass thrown into the mix. Forge is also heavily involved in the Latin scene with his Da Lata project.
Support will be provided by PL residents who will throw in some more house, soul and disco.
Friday 27 Mar, The Yard, Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5L, 10pm – 4am, £7-10. More info here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Patrick Forge
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:29 | By Andy Malt
Beastie Boys gain summary judgement on TufAmerica case
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
The Beastie Boys have emerged victorious from a lawsuit accusing them of copyright infringement over unauthorised samples on their 1989 album, ‘Paul’s Boutique’.
As previously reported, the day before Beastie Boy Adam Yauch died in 2012, often litigious US label TufAmerica sued the group alleging that they had sampled without permission songs by American band Trouble Funk on their 1989 tracks ‘Shadrach’ and ‘Hold It Now Hit It’. The company said that it had taken control of the rights to the Trouble Funk catalogue via an administration deal in 1999.
Launching legal action against the Beastie Boys in 2012, TufAmerica said it had only just become aware of the infringement. And in 2013, a judge refused to dismiss the case, saying that there had been “qualitatively and quantitatively significant” use of the Trouble Funk tracks, therefore meaning the Beastie Boys had to answer the case.
But last year the surviving members of the rap group hit back, questioning what copyrights TufAmerica actually controlled in the sampled records.
The defendants argued that in 1984 Trouble Funk had signed to Island Records, now a Universal Music label. Meanwhile two of the group’s members signed a publishing deal with a company ultimately acquired by Polygram, now Universal Music Publishing. And what label released ‘Paul’s Boutique’? Capitol, now part of, you guessed it, Universal Music. Indeed, Universal was co-defendant on the case.
Questions about what TufAmerica did and did not control put the focus on its contracts with Trouble Funk members Robert Reed, Tony Fisher and James Avery. The former two allied with TufAmerica in 1999, but Avery only signed up in 2012, meaning that until that point the company didn’t have exclusive rights in Trouble Funk songs (which, with hindsight, possibly explains why it didn’t sue until 2012).
But even then there was a problem for TufAmerica, because of the nature of Avery’s contract. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Avery deal only granted the music company the ‘right to sue’ on the band member’s behalf, rather than giving it control of his rights, which – ruled US District Judge Alison Nathan – is not sufficient for a case of this kind.
“Putting aside the issue of whether the 2012 agreement and 1999 agreements can be read together, the 2012 agreement conveys nothing more than the bare right to sue”, wrote the judge. “It has long been the rule that [w]here … an agreement transfers nothing more than the bare right to sue … [it] cannot be the basis for standing under the Copyright Act”.
And so, basically, TufAmerica hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beastie Boys | TufAmerica | Universal Music
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:28 | By Chris Cooke
Number of UK web-blocks passes 100
Business News Digital Legal
Bored of the endless ‘this many billion downloads’ and ‘this many billion streams’ stats? Well, here’s another fun digital landmark for you, the UK entertainment industry has now blocked more than one hundred websites on copyright infringement grounds. Well done one and all. Let’s have a big fat block party. Maybe with Bloc Party headlining.
So yes, Torrentfreak, which keeps count of such things, has noted that a recent injunction sought by record label trade group BPI and the groovy guys over at record industry rights body PPL, which forced internet service providers to block access to seventeen unlicensed download sites, took the total number of blocked sites to 110.
As so much previously reported I now spout this shit in my sleep, web-blocking has become a favoured anti-piracy method of the music industry in those countries where new legislation or legal precedent has enabled such a thing. Once a court has deemed a website to be liable for copyright infringement (or, more often, so called ‘authorising infringement’), an injunction is issued ordered ISPs to stop their customers from accessing it.
Of course, piracy sites have a habit of moving location, while piracy fans like to set up proxies to help their brethren circumvent the blockades. And then Google, a firm which has, let us never forget, “done more than almost any other company to help tackle online piracy”, helps everyone find the new locations or latest proxies, so that no one is actually deprived of their free speech rights, aka free Megan Trainor tracks for all.
But the movie studios and record labels reckon that the web-blocks do reduce the number of more casual web-surfers accessing illegal sources of content, or at least they make it clearer to everyone that this website or that ain’t legit. And so the blocks continue.
Most of the seventeen set-ups to have been blocked in the latest injunction are unlicensed MP3 download sites, though it did also include a site that enables people to find music and movies of Mega, the newer of the cloud hosting services set up by MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom.
If you’re interested, Torrentfreak has a full list of all the sites now blocked.
READ MORE ABOUT:
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:27 | By Andy Malt
Vevo and YouTube begin to display age ratings on music videos in the UK
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
And so it begins. Music videos for tracks released by the UK factions of the three major record companies will now feature age ratings on Vevo and YouTube.
This is the second stage of a government-backed pilot to test how online music video age ratings might be used in the UK. The programme began in October, with the major labels submitting videos to the BBFC in order to determine if they required a 12, 15 or 18 certificate (videos expected to require a lower certificate are not being submitted).
“Parents taking part in our most recent review of the BBFC Classification Guidelines in 2013, expressed their concerns about the content of music videos online” explained BBFC Assistant Director David Austin. “In particular their role in the sexualisation of girls, and portrayals of self-harm, drug use and violence in some music video content”.
However, as the videos currently being submitted to the BBFC are all from artists directly signed to UK labels, most of the videos that prompted the pilot in the first place – which were generally put out by US artists – are left untouched, leading to situations like this one. Though I’m sure those involved would point out that if the pilot is deemed successful, it would be hoped that it could be rolled out more widely.
“We want to empower consumers by giving them useful, advance guidance as to the suitability of the music videos they watch, whilst leaving artists the freedom to fully express themselves”, says BPI boss Geoff Taylor. “The introduction of age ratings on top of the existing parental advisory warnings is a key next step by the UK’s record labels, working with BBFC, Vevo and YouTube, that will enable families to make more informed viewing decisions”.
And Vevo’s EVP International Nic Jones added that, while the company fully supports musicians’ “right to freedom of expression in the videos they create”, the company also recognises its role in ensuring that viewers can be “comfortable with their choice of viewing material and its suitability”.
“In turn age ratings will help Vevo become even more valuable to brands, helping them to connect to their desired audience”, he added, possibly revealing the real drive behind Vevo’s support.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBFC | Sony Music | Universal Music | VEVO | Warner Music | YouTube
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:26 | By Andy Malt
The Orchard acquires RoyaltyShare, invests in Korrect
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
The Orchard has acquired royalty processing service RoyaltyShare and invested in another, Korrect. The music distributor will now combine technology from both to offer improved royalty processing and collection to its label clients.
“We’re always looking for ways to free up our clients’ time to allow them to focus on the creative side of their businesses, whether it’s through performance right collections, sales and marketing, or premium video services”, says Orchard CEO Brad Navin. “Artist royalty processing is a natural extension of our end-to-end solution, particularly as it follows our philosophy of providing complete transparency from point of purchase to artist payment”.
Launched in 2005 in order to help overcome the “inherent difficulties faced by independent labels in transitioning to a digital world”, says CEO Steve Grady, RoyaltyShare counts over 90 indie labels as clients, as well as a number of book publishers.
Korrect, meanwhile, was originally launched as general accounting software in 2001, before switching to offer a software specifically aimed at processing the complex payments received from the likes of YouTube and Spotify.
READ MORE ABOUT: Korrect | RoyaltyShare | The Orchard
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:25 | By Andy Malt
Ethan Kaplan joins Gracenote
Business News Digital Industry People
Gracenote has hired Ethan Kaplan as its new Senior Vice President and General Manager Of Music. He was previously a key exec at Live Nation Labs, which closed earlier this year.
Announcing the news, Kaplan said: “Gracenote is a music technology pioneer and has been on the forefront of the digital music revolution since the very beginning. While the music industry has come a long way, there’s still a great divide between the music and tech industries. Gracenote sits in the centre of that divide and has an enormous opportunity to play a lead role in how tech companies leverage music to drive product innovation. This is what excites me”.
Gracenote CEO John Batter added: “Ethan’s curiosity and passion for technology and deep understanding of the music industry makes him best to lead our customers into the next evolution of music innovation. I’m confident that he has the music and technology chops to expand our global footprint, innovate next generation products across recorded and live music, and continue to take our products and services to the masses”.
Batter himself joined the company last August, following the company’s purchase by media firm Tribune six months earlier.
READ MORE ABOUT: Ethan Kaplan | Gracenote
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:24 | By Chris Cooke
7digital financials illustrate download to streaming shift
Business News Deals Digital
Now publicly listed, 7digital released an earnings report earlier this week. With many digital music firms in private ownership, or existing as subsidiaries of massive tech businesses with many other interests, 7digital’s regular reports to investors could now provide a few interesting nuggets of information regards what’s happening in the wider sector.
Unsurprisingly, the shift from download to streaming is seen in the figures, with download income accounting for 79% of revenue in 2013, and just 22% last year. And while that in part is due to the merger of 7digital with radio services firm UBC and some other innovations, it is also the result of the digital music side of the company increasingly providing a white-label streaming set-up to clients, rather than allowing them to run an iTunes-style download store. For example, 7digital is powering the expansion of streaming platform Guvera in various territories.
In terms of overall figures, the 7digital Group posted a ‘statutory loss’ of £2.6 million for the year, down from £4.5 million in 2013, despite turnover declining 12% to £10.2 million, mainly because of the decreasing importance of the download side of the business (something which was always “low margin”, the company’s report notes).
In addition to the Guvera alliance, 7digital used its financials report to confirm a new three year contract to power Sainsbury’s digital music store. We also found out that the company raised proceeds of £3.5 million against an investment of £1.6 million by selling part of its stake in audio-sharing platform Audioboom.
Remarking on it all, CEO Simon Cole told reporters: “These results represent a year in which we successfully created a new company from the merger of UBC Media and 7digital; we have ended it in a position ahead of the predictions we had made during the merger”.
He went on: “Our success and growing customer base is proof of the developing market for streamed music services and the coming together of the radio and music industries as technology and consumer habits change. As our business model has changed, our high margin monthly recurring revenues and profitability continue to grow, powered by the fast growth of our existing clients and new customers wins”.
READ MORE ABOUT: 7digital
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:23 | By Andy Malt
Zayn Malik leaves One Direction, after Jeremy Clarkson sacked by BBC
Artist News
There was a point yesterday when it looked like Jeremy Clarkson being sacked for punching a man might be the only entertainment story of note for Wednesday 25 March 2015. And that would have been fine, but try as I might, I was struggling to find a music angle to whole thing.
Radio 2 deejay Chris Evans being in the frame to replace him on ‘Top Gear’? Maybe, but it’s still a bit of a stretch. But what else is there?
The next possible link I came up with was that time the BBC aired a weird mashup of ‘Top Of The Pops’ and ‘Top Gear’ for Comic Relief back in 2007. I mean, that can’t be the weakest excuse for running the biggest entertainment (but non-music) news story of the day in my daily entertainment (but only-music) news bulletin, can it? True, I can’t think of a weaker one just at the moment, but there must be one. Maybe I should look to the local press for inspiration.
But then, thank the heavens, the Zayn came. Recognising the stress myself, and others like me no doubt, were suffering as a result of the biggest entertainment news story of the day being decidedly unmusical, he chose to give in to rampant speculation about his future as a teen pop sensation and fall on his sword. God bless you, Zayn. One Direction fans’ loss is journalism’s gain.
Yes, at 4.30pm on Wednesday 25 Mar 2015, two and half hours after BBC Director General Tony Hall had announced that Clarkson’s contract with the Corporation would not be renewed, it was announced that Zayn Malik had quit One Direction after five years of being the one people suspected would leave first.
Malik said in a statement, issued via 1D’s Facebook page: “My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. But, after five years, I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band. I’d like to apologise to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart”.
“I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22 year old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight”, he continued, his decision coming after the latest round of tabloid speculation about his love life. “I know I have four friends for life in Louis, Liam, Harry and Niall. I know they will continue to be the best band in the world”.
I don’t know, Zayn? Best band in the world? The absolute best? I don’t mind them, but the very best band in the world? Oh wait, I see what you’re saying: 1D are not splitting up just because they are one man down. Not yet, anyway. No, for the foreseeable future (depending on how far you can see), 0.8 Direction will slog on with their scheduled tour dates. Before finally calling it a day just after Christmas. Probably.
They said in unison: “We’re really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we’ve gone through so much together, so we will always be friends. The four of us will now continue. We’re looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour”.
The man who originally saw the potential of putting five slightly mediocre solo acts together as a group, Simon Cowell, added: “I would like to say thank you to Zayn for everything he has done for One Direction. Since I first met Zayn in 2010, I have grown very, very fond – and immensely proud – of him. I have seen him grow in confidence and I am truly sorry to see him leave. As for One Direction, fans can rest assured that Niall, Liam, Harry and Louis are hugely excited about the future of the band”.
Jeremy Clarkson could not be reached for comment.
READ MORE ABOUT: One Direction | Zayn Malik
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:22 | By Andy Malt
Passenger to donate profits from new album to UNICEF
Artist News Labels & Publishers
Passenger, aka singer-songwriter Michael Rosenberg, has announced that any money he earns from his new album, ‘Whispers II’, will be donated to a UNICEF campaign aiming to lower child mortality rates in Liberia.
Writing on his website, Rosenberg told fans that the success of his last album, ‘Whispers’, had placed him “in a situation that I never dreamed I’d be in”, which prompted him to make the decision to give up profits from his latest release.
“It’s so exciting to be able to work with UNICEF on such an important campaign”, he said in a statement. “Money raised from these sales will go directly towards food and supplements to help bring severely malnourished kids back to health, facility upgrades and maintenance, education and training for health workers in the region”.
The album will be released through Rosenberg’s own Black Crow label, while Sony/ATV handles publishing outside Australia.
READ MORE ABOUT: Passenger | Sony Music Publishing | UNICEF
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:21 | By Chris Cooke
Final batch of bands added to Great Escape line-up, headed by Skepta and JME
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
The final of the big Dome Shows has been announced for this year’s Great Escape festival, the tenth anniversary edition that takes place in Brighton from 14-16 May. And with Skepta and JME joining the bill, alongside other big Dome Show acts Alabama Shakes and Kate Tempest, it’s set to be one hell of a party for that tenth birthday.
And across the board over 400 great bands will play over the three days, including established names like The Cribs and Gaz Coombes, but crucially hundreds of exciting new acts too, the best of British music ready to break into territories abroad, and international talent galore looking to build an audience in the UK and the rest of Europe. The full list of bands added to the bill today is below.
The Great Escape festival, of course, sits alongside the convention for music business professionals, which this year includes four full-day conference strands as part of CMU Insights @ The Great Escape, including Spotify keynoting on music marketing in the streaming age, and BASCA boss Vick Bain leading the ‘digital pie debate’ in a licensing-themed strand. Elsewhere Blur’s Dave Rowntree will inspire future talent as part of the CMU:DIY day.
Get your delegate passes now while the £175 save rate still applies! Click here.
And the full list of bands added to the bill today:
AOSOON, Acid Arab, Ady Suleiman, Afrikan Boy, Akcadamy, Al Bairre, Allusondrugs, Andreas Moe, Arborist, Astronomyy, Baby Queens, Bad Weed, Baxter Dury, Beach Baby, Bill Ryder Jones, Blanck Mass, Blaue Blume, Bonkaz, Brika, Bristol, C. Duncan, Cape Cub, Casi, Cc Smugglers, Chilli And The Whalekillers, Ciaran Lavery, Daisy Victoria, Dan Owen, Daudi Matsiko, Dj Nature, Duke Garwood, Elias, Empress Of, English Heretic, Fekky, Feverist, Fickle Friends, Float Fall, Francisco The Man, Furs, Gabi, Gaz Coombes, Georgia, Get Inuit, Gramotones, Hannah Lou Clark, Hein Cooper, Ho99o9, Hollysiz, Hooton Tennis Club, Hyena, Indigo Face, Jack Robert Hardman, Jamie Lawson, Jane Weaver, Jeanne Added, Jeremy?, Jerry Williams, Jesse Sheehan, Jme, Joe Dolman, Jpnsgrls, Julia Marcell, Junius Meyvant, KID, Kelvin Jones, Klara Ketelaars, Klo, Kuenta I Tambu, Landshapes, Liberto Wolf, Lily Rendle-Moore, Lion Babe, Lloyd Yates, Lonely The Brave, Loris, Miamigo, Mick Jenkins, Mile Me Deaf, Model Aeroplanes, Mugwump, Nah, Neon Saturdays, New City Kings, Ngod, Ocean Wisdom, Okmalumkoolkat, Ólah Bliss, Oliver Daldry, Olivier Heim, Optical, P.H. Fat, Palace, Plastic Mermaids, Queen Kwong, Raye, Rebecca Clements, Rhodes, Ria Mae, Rob Finlay, Robyn Sherwell, Rory Indiana, Sabella, Sasha Siem, Say Yes Dog, Saycet, Scarlet Rascal, Sg Lewis, Shopping, Skepta, Slug, Sonar Soul, Spring King, Stal, Sunflower Bean, Sykes, Tama Sumo, The Academic, The Accidentals, The Big Bluff, The Cribs, The Mispers, The Moon, The One Hundred, The Strypes, The Vryll Society, Thor Rixon, Tkay Maidza, Tor Miller, Tora, Triana Park, Tropics, Tusks, Versus You, Warm Graves, Whilk And Misky, White, Wyles & Simpson, Yorke, Young Kato, Young Romance, Yung, Zak Abel, Zibra and Ωracles.
READ MORE ABOUT: JME | Skepta | The Great Escape
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:20 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Proper aligns with Redeye, David Guetta lyric video, QT music video, and more
Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Labels & Publishers One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Proper Music Distribution has signed deal with US distributor Redeye to distribute the latter’s label partners – including Kill Rock Stars, Barsuk and Northern Spy – in the UK and Ireland. “Thrilled’, said Redeye co-founder Glenn Dicker.
• David Guetta’s only gone and put out a lyric video. I mean, really. The track’s called ‘Hey Mama’ and features not only Nicki Minaj, but also Afrojack delivering those lyrics.
• Becoming Real has finally got around to recording his first full-length LP. About bloody time. It’s called ‘Pure Apparition’, and will be released on 25 May. Wanna hear a track? Yeah? OK, this is ‘Tibetan Moves’.
• Ghost Lost has announced a new EP, called ‘Chocolate Haze’, will be released in May. Here’s lead single ‘Overflow’.
• If you thought ‘Hey QT’ by QT was a thing we’d left back in 2014, then you were wrong. And shame on you. It’s not even out yet. 10 May is the date that situation will change. There is a music video for the track now though.
• Earlier this month, Girls Names released a very short teaser video on YouTube. Now they’ve released their very long new single on SoundCloud. That’s just the way the world works, I guess.
• And I ought to mention that you can now listen to a track from Hudson Mohawke’s new album.
READ MORE ABOUT: Afrojack | Becoming Real | David Guetta | Ghost Loft | Girls Names | Hudson Mohawke | Nicki Minaj | Proper Music | QT | Redeye
Thursday 26 March 2015, 11:19 | By Andy Malt
Snoop Dogg triumphs in wrestling disagreement
And Finally Artist News
So, here’s a funny thing. Snoop Dogg got into a fight with a wrestler earlier this week. It was all part of WWE Raw (that’s a wrestling thing), and was something to do with who should be allowed to append the word ‘mania’ to their name. Or something.
Anyway, Snoop got into an argument with wrestler Curtis Axel, and when this could not be resolved amicably, the rapper got Hulk Hogan to back him up. Then there was some shirt-tearing and Snoop threw Axel out of the ring (I didn’t mention that this all took place in a wrestling ring did I? But it did).
And if you think my write up of it is confusing, you should see the actual video:
READ MORE ABOUT: Snoop Dogg
Thursday 26 March 2015, 10:41 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Dísa
CMU Approved
Icelandic musician Dísa – real name Dísa Jacob – released her debut EP, ‘Sculpture’, this week through Danish label Tigerspring.
The EP, which you can listen to in full on SoundCloud here, shows a thoughtful take on pop, both musically and lyrically. Opening track ‘Sculpture’ has a chorus that begins to seem more like a mantra, which then seeps thematically into the stories of love and loss that follow.
If you’re in London tonight, you can catch Dísa at this month’s edition of the Ja Ja Ja Nordic showcase night, which takes place at The Lexington as usual.
Ahead of that, here’s the video for the EP’s closing track ‘Cure’:
READ MORE ABOUT: Dísa
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:18 | By CMU Editorial
Digital pie debate in the spotlight at this year’s Great Escape
Business News Education & Events Labels & Publishers The Great Escape 2015
The spotlight will fall at The Great Escape this year (metaphorically speaking, no hard hats required) on one of the biggest music industry debates of the moment: the division of streaming revenues between each of the stakeholders in music.
While artists have long griped about the cut they receive of digital income, of late it has been the publishers and songwriters who have become most vocal about the division of the ‘digital pie’, with many questioning why the owners of sound recording rights routinely receive four or five times more in streaming royalties than those who control song rights.
For their part, labels generally insist that they continue to take most of the risk in launching new artists and distributing new music, that actually the other stakeholders are now getting a bigger cut of the income than they did in the CD age, and current concerns over low royalty cheques will be addressed once streaming revenues reach their true potential.
At The Great Escape, Vick Bain – CEO of the British Academy Of Songwriters, Composers & Authors – will lead this discussion, explaining why the songwriting community believes the current system is unsustainable. BASCA, of course, recently launched a campaign to highlight current songwriter concerns – the previously reported Day The Music Died initiative – with this issue at its heart.
Representatives from across the music community will also join the debate, ensuring all sides of the argument are heard, before the panel considers how current dissent can be addressed when labels and publishers license digital service providers separately, and every artist and songwriter’s record and publishing contract is different.
The digital pie debate will unfold as part of the full day CMU Insights strand ‘Music Licensing: Explained At Last!’ – the second of the four CMU conference strands taking place at The Great Escape this year to be fully revealed. Presented in association with PPL, and providing key facts and figures, insider knowledge and lively discussion, this strand, hosted by CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke, will explain once and for all how music services of all kinds are being licensed, and what is happening to the money generated.
Other highlights of the full-day strand include…
• A beginners guide to music copyright – everything you need to know in one hour!
• Expert insights on where the money is being generated. IFPI’s Alex Jacob will guide us through the label group’s global record industry stats. PPL’s Camilla Waite will explore the growth of neighbouring rights income and the increased importance of SoundExchange in the US. And Media Insight Consulting’s Chris Carey will shed light on CISAC’s data on music publishing worldwide.
• A user-friendly explanation of how streaming platforms are licensed by both labels and publishers, and how the money is the divvied up, including input from Believe Digital’s Lee Morrison and Clinton’s Tom Fredericke.
• An exploration of the data challenges faced by the music rights sector. The data is out there, but how do we find it? CMU’s Chris Cooke and CI’s Kieron Faller will lead the debate.
‘Music Licensing: Explained At Last’ is one of four full-day conference strands presented as part of CMU Insights @ The Great Escape this May. More details about the strand can be found here, and you can read more about the other strand already announced – ‘Music Marketing Is Broken: Let’s Fix It’ – here.
And look out for details very soon about the other two strands: ‘How To Sell Out Gracefully: Better Brand Partnerships’ and ‘What’s The Point Of A Record Label Anyway?’
Delegate passes that get you access to the whole Great Escape festival and convention are still available – for a limited time – at the saver rate of £175. Click here to secure your pass.
READ MORE ABOUT: British Academy of Songwriters Composers & Authors (BASCA) | The Great Escape | Vick Bain
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:17 | By Chris Cooke
Happy Birthday case arrives in court as summary judgement motions considered
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
The always interesting ‘Happy Birthday’ legal battle was in court this week, as the judge overseeing the case, George King, considered motions and counter-motions for summary judgement.
As previously reported, a film-maker went legal over possibly the world’s most famous song after making a documentary about its history. Good Morning To You Productions paid $1500 to Warner/Chappell to use the song in its documentary, but says that while researching the film it discovered evidence to suggest the work is actually public domain (in the US at least) and that the Warner publishing company has no right to be collecting royalties every time it is played or sung in a public place, or featured on TV, radio or in the movies.
As we noted when this case first emerged in 2013, the copyright status of ‘Happy Birthday’ is complicated. Most people agree that the song originated in the late nineteenth century with sisters Patty Smith and Mildred Hill, albeit initially with the lyrics ‘Good Morning To You’, though it’s possible that they adapted the tune from an existing piece. But if the Hills were the authors, under European law the copyright will expire 70 years after the death of the longer-living sister, which is the end of next year.
In the US, however, it’s more complicated because of the whims of early 20th century copyright law. Warner/Chappell, which acquired the rights to the song in 1990, claims that copyright protection stems from a 1924 songbook (lyrics) and 1935 piano arrangement (the melody). At that time in America lyrical and musical works enjoyed 95 years of copyright protection from publication (and registration), meaning the music will stay in copyright until 2030.
But, says Good Morning To You Productions, both the music and the lyrics of ‘Happy Birthday’ had been previously published and registered – and, crucially, before changes to American copyright law that were made in 1923 which extended terms. Meaning the song is out of copyright and Warner/Chappell only controls the specific adaptation of the tune published in 1935.
So, fun times. Both sides have since pushed for summary judgement in their favour, and it was the key arguments as expressed in their respective motions that were being aired in court this week. Spinning the dispute as a “David and Goliath case” (you did sense Warner/Chappell initially hoped to procrastinate this dispute away, as big guys sued by little guys sometimes do), Good Morning President Jennifer Nelson said the publisher was collecting royalties for a song that has been public domain for 65 years.
According to Courthouse News, Nelson then suggested that the Warner publisher was good at strong-arming royalties out of people who use ‘Happy Birthday’, but resisted ever going legal because of the ambiguities over the song’s copyright status. After this week’s hearing, Nelson said: “If you don’t pay for the license to the song they will notify you and let you know that you have to pay. They’ve never actually sued anybody but they have strong-armed people into having to pay”.
Warner/Chappell insists that the copyright it controls in ‘Happy Birthday’ properly originates from 1935, giving it another decade and a half of copyright protection in the US.
Asked about how the company made money from the song, the firm’s legal man Scott McDowell told the court, “We’re not talking about little kids’ birthday parties in the back yard”, before adding that public space sing songs were always covered by the ASCAP blanket licence. The real value of the song, therefore, is in sync. Usual sync licences cost between $500 and $1500, said McDowell, though when a movie uses the work, they could be paying a five or even six figure sum.
Having heard all the arguments, King is now considering both sides’ motions. It remains to be seen if he lets the dispute go to court proper, though there’s currently no word on when his decision will be made public.
READ MORE ABOUT: Good Morning To You Productions Corp | Warner Chappell | Warner Music
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:16 | By Chris Cooke
Ed Sheeran gives his Warner imprint a name and a signing
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Ed Sheeran has been chitting and a chatting about the record company he’s set up, that Warner Music imprint first unveiled last year, but now boasting both a name and a signee. It’s called Gingerbread and first on its roster is singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson.
Speaking to Nova FM in Australia, where he’s currently doing the gigging thing, Sheeran mused: “I’ve set up my first record label, it’s called Gingerbread and Jamie Lawson is my first signing. I wanted Australia to be the launchpad because Australia is a country that I feel would really really dig Jamie”.
Recalling what motivated him to set up the label in the first place, he went on: “The first time I properly thought about it was when I took Passenger on tour for two years. I took him into my record company and played them the record but they didn’t get it. Then I was too busy on my own stuff and I let it slide. Then he had a worldwide number one hit. After that, everyone was like, ‘Maybe Ed does know what he’s talking about'”.
Maybe he does. Though Sheeran’s second job as label bigwig and hotshot A&R will have to fit around his main career as occasional soap star. Having got a taste for acting while cameoing in ‘Home & Away’, he’s now due to play a gate in Emmerdale.
READ MORE ABOUT: Ed Sheeran | Gingerbread | Jamie Lawson | Warner Music
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:15 | By Chris Cooke
Promotions and appointments at Matador
Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers
Natalie Judge has been promoted to the role of General Manager at Matador UK, while Robby Morris will become A&R Director overseeing the indie’s global A&R operation, as part of a good old fashion staffing rejig at the record company.
There are some new appointments too, with Rian Fossett joining the label’s New York office as US Label Coordinator, having previously worked at Captured Tracks, while Blue Kirkhope joins the firm from PCL Presents in Glasgow to become UK Label Coordinator in the London office.
And now I’ve run out of Matador staffing news.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beggars Group | Blue Kirkhope | Matador Records | Natalie Judge | Rian Fossett | Robby Morris
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:14 | By Chris Cooke
[PIAS] relaunches Different imprint
Business News Labels & Publishers
So this is Different. Ha ha!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
So, right, yes, [PIAS] has announced it is relaunching its electronic music imprint Different Recordings. Except, wait for it, after a three year hiatus this Different is going to be both “new” and “reinvigorated”. That’s right. It’s going to be a different Different. Ha ha!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
When I grow up I’m going to work for Buzzfeed.
READ MORE ABOUT: Different Recordings | [PIAS]
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:13 | By Chris Cooke
ReverbNation announces SESAC alliance
Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers
Direct-to-fan platform ReverbNation has announced an alliance with American performing rights society SESAC which will see the rights body participate in an artist development incubator that the D2F service is developing.
It seems that SESAC will use ReverbNation’s platform to scout promising new talent which it might want to represent, the privately-owned performing rights organisation reckoning that songwriters get various benefits if they join its club, rather than allowing bigger American collecting societies BMI and ASCAP to represent their song catalogues to public performance licensees Stateside.
Confirming the alliance, SESAC CEO John H Josephson said: “ReverbNation has built a very powerful curation capability which enables it to look across its millions of songwriters and identify exceptionally talented new creators that can benefit from membership in SESAC. We are looking forward to working closely with these artists”.
Meanwhile ReverbNation’s Simon Perry added: “The SESAC initiative has great potential and we look forward to sharing the news with the ReverbNation artist community. Inclusion in SESAC will offer significant value to those selected to participate”.
READ MORE ABOUT: ReverbNation | SESAC
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:12 | By Chris Cooke
Dave Rowntree to inspire future music talent at The Great Escape
Business News Education & Events Media The Great Escape 2015
Saturday at The Great Escape this year will be all about future talent once again, with a full day CMU:DIY programme for aspiring artists and songwriters, and young people interesting in working in music. There will be tips and advice galore in a packed programmed that will finale with Blur’s Dave Rowntree in conversation.
Along the way the CMU:DIY team and their guests will explain how the music industry works, how new artists can get their music online, on CD, and in front of key people, and what role label managers, promoters, publicists and music supervisors play.
Leading A&Rs will discuss how they discover new talent; the role music photography and video plays will be considered; and Blur’s Dave Rowntree will reveal how he finds new artists and new music to play on his weekly radio show on Xfm.
CMU:DIY @ The Great Escape is open to all TGE delegates, plus standalone tickets are available for the DIY programme at just £15 from this link. And you will find more information about the day here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Blur | Dave Rowntree | The Great Escape | Xfm
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:11 | By Andy Malt
Lil Chris dies
Artist News
Musician Chris Hardman, best known as Lil Chris, was found dead on Monday morning, it was confirmed yesterday. He was 24.
Hardman first found fame when he appeared in the second series of Channel 4’s ‘Rock School’ in 2006, in which young musicians were mentored by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons. After the series ended, he signed to Sony/RCA, releasing his debut single, ‘Checkin It Out’, which went to number three in the UK singles chart.
Among those paying tribute yesterday was Simmons, who tweeted: “Sad to report Lil Chris from the ‘Gene Simmons Rock School’ TV show, has passed on. He was loved. RIP, Lil Chris”.
McFly’s Harry Judd wrote: “Shocked and saddened to hear the news about Lil Chris. He supported us a while back and was a little star and an awesome guy”.
In a statement yesterday, Suffolk Police said: “Police investigating the sudden death of a man in Lowestoft can confirm they are not treating it as suspicious. Officers received a call from the ambulance service on Monday 23 Mar at around 11:45am and attended an address in Union Road following a sudden death of a 24 year old man”.
It went on: “A post mortem examination is due to take place to establish the cause of death and a file will be passed to the coroner in due course and an inquest opened”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Lil Chris
Wednesday 25 March 2015, 11:10 | By Andy Malt
Mykki Blanco to leave music for investigative journalism
Artist News Media
Mykki Blanco is apparently quitting the music business to take up a new career in investigative journalism.
In a post on Facebook earlier this week, the rapper wrote: “I have decided to focus and pursue a passion I’ve had for quite some time now which is investigative journalism, particularly focusing on documenting and writing about homosexuality and gay culture in remote corners of the world”.
Commenting on this seemingly drastic shift, she added: “I must be honest, writing words that rhyme over beats made by other people, mostly male, no longer interests me and I’ve felt this way for over a year now”.
“I do not find being a ‘rapper’ fascinating”, she continued. “And rather than waste the remaining nine months of 2015 in some kind of FAKE existential crisis where I pretend I don’t know what I want, I’m taking the initial steps to securing what I know I do want – to observe and write about places and cultures in our world not known to many and to better educate myself about the cultures, gender politics and patriarchy that shape our society, so that I may one day be able to speak and influence our world in a way a dance song and music video cannot”.
Read the full statement post here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Mykki Blanco
