Tuesday 29 March 2016, 10:07 | By Andy Malt

Axl Rose rumoured to be new AC/DC frontman

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Hives frontman Pelle Almqvist may as yet be disappointed, because the rumour going around at the moment is that Axl Rose has signed up to replace Brian Johnson as AC/DC’s frontman.

As previously reported, the band postponed their remaining US tour dates earlier this month after Johnson was told that he risked “total hearing loss” if he did not stop performing with immediate effect. The band then promised to rescheduled the missed dates, saying that it was likely that they would work with a replacement vocalist in order to do so.

Rumours that Rose is being lined up to step in started circulating last week, and on Friday the Guns N Roses frontman and AC/DC guitarist Angus Young were photographed separately emerging from the same rehearsal studio by TMZ.

It was also reported by Alternative Nation last week that Ross Young, son of former AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young, actually confirmed the news in two now deleted Facebook posts.

READ MORE ABOUT: AC/DC | Axl Rose

Tuesday 29 March 2016, 10:05 | By Andy Malt

Bieber fans face financial dilemma over cancelled meet and greets

And Finally Artist News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

Justin Bieber fans who forked out up to $2000 for subsequently cancelled meet and greet sessions with the singer are facing a double loss. In order to have their money refunded, they must also give up their tickets for the show they were planning to attend after the meeting and a greeting was due to take place.

As previously reported, Bieber announced last week that he was putting a stop to the fan photo calls at his various tour dates because “I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy”. There was also a security issue at one of the recent sessions, which may have had something to do with the decision too.

The top level VIP ticket package for Bieber’s shows include front row seats, in addition to the meet and greet session and other perks. Fans who bought these packages have reportedly found that there are no partial refunds available, and so the only option is to give up the entire package and try to buy standalone tickets – which, in many cases, are only available at an inflated price on the secondary market.

Though, according to reports, fans who took the hit and still attended a show in Las Vegas on Friday as VIPs were given the opportunity to have a photograph taken with a cardboard cut out of Bieber. And in terms of the experience provided by your average popstar meet and greet, it’s probably not that much different.

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber

Tuesday 29 March 2016, 10:03 | By Andy Malt

Approved: Marcus Whale

CMU Approved

The first single from his debut album ‘Inland Sea’, ‘My Captain’ stands as a bold entrance for Marcus Whale.

Co-produced by HTRK’s Nigel Lee-Yang, the track opens with a frantic, insistent cymbal beat at odds with the glacial bass and vocals which then lay across it. This juxtaposition is built upon until the tension in the track is almost too much to bear, at which point it bursts into a heavy breakbeat that twitches and rolls as Whale’s voice soars above it.

“‘My Captain’, which draws from the queer origin story of nineteenth century figures Captain Moonlite and James Nesbitt, expresses ideas of rebirth through the body of another, and the utopian desire to be liberated through queerness from the oppression of the state”, says Whale, also a member of electronic duo Collarbones.

“Its video, directed sensually and with choreographic precision by Justin McLean, contrastingly focuses in on the drowning and mourning of a beloved” he goes on, “playing out James Nesbitt’s death through a kind of baptismal metaphor, who was shot in a gunfight with police, dying in the arms of his (purported) lover Captain Moonlite”.

Watch that very video here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2016 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

READ MORE ABOUT: Marcus Whale

Friday 25 March 2016, 11:40 | By Chris Cooke

CMU Podcast: RIAA, Songkick, Spotify, Justin Bieber

Artist News Business News Digital Legal Live Business Setlist

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review the week in music and the music business, including US record industry figures published by the RIAA, Songkick’s litigation against Live Nation, Spotify’s stats and settlements, and Justin Bieber calling time on meets and greets. The CMU Podcast is sponsored by 7digital.

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Stories discussed this week

• Streaming now the US record industry’s biggest revenue generator, so streaming really has to work then
• Songkick files new legal papers in Live Nation battle, as Ticketmaster partners with Bandsintown
• Spotify passes 30 million paid subscribers, updates mobile ad platform
• Spotify agrees settlement over mechanicals with NMPA
• Justin Bieber can’t meet fans because their spiritual energy makes him unhappy

CMU Approved

• Babymetal
• Le Voir
• I Wear Experiment

What we didn’t have time to talk about

• Paul McCartney has filed the paperwork to reclaim his Sony/ATV-controlled songs
• Sony and SoundCloud confirm and comment on licensing deal
• Kesha files appeal in renewed bid to be cut free from Dr Luke and Sony
• Sex Pistols graffiti granted listed status
• Lambeth’s David Bowie mural to be listed
• Cornish teenagers set Dave Grohl on local council

Please subscribe, like and share after you’ve listened!

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber | Live Nation | National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) | Recordings Industry Association Of America (RIAA) | Songkick | Spotify

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:28 | By Paul Vig

Vigsy’s Easter Club Tips

Club Tip CMU Approved

It’s Easter! Four days off in which you can choose to kick back, relax, maybe eat a little chocolate. Or you could spend your long weekend as God surely intended: spending every night out dancing into the small hours so that come Tuesday you’re unable to do anything actually productive, but you’ll be glad it’s another short working week. How is this all possible? It’s alright, let Uncle Vigsy guide you. In a less creepy way than that probably sounds.

Good Friday: Mambista at The Portico Gallery
Good Friday sees Gerry Lyseight back at the Portico for this Latin bash. Salsa always features as part of the Mambista Mash Up, and special guests are Johnny Freyre and Kalima Project from Colombia serving up hot and fresh salsa, cumbia and merengue.

Friday 25 Mar, The Portico Gallery, 23a Knight’s Hill, West Norwood, SE27 0HS, 7pm-1am, £6-8. More info here.

Saturday: Je Ne Sais Quoi at Shapes
On Saturday night, Je Ne Sais Quoi hosts the launch party for Karizma’s new ‘Kaytronic’ album. The Baltimore DJ and producer will be headlining, with the night’s co-founder Simbad – a quality producer of house and a class DJ – also on the decks.

Saturday 26 Mar, Shapes, 117 Wallis Road, London, E9 5LN, 9pm-2am, £8-10. More info here.

Easter Sunday: Promised Land at Egg
Promised Land lands at Egg on Easter Sunday. Well, we can’t have Easter without an egg can we? Here you’ll be able to catch Robert Owens, Rozalla, Keith Thompson, Shades Of Rhythm, DJ E-Raze, Huck Finn and Pilgood & Ram. And that’s just one room! Amongst those in the three others, Apothecary play host to classic jungle, dnb and hardcore from DJ Squirrel with a special guest. Cracking!

Sunday 27 Mar, Egg London, 200 York Way, Kings Cross, London, N7 9AP, 9pm-8am, £25. More info here.

I’ll give you Monday night off. You’ll have earned it. Then see you back here again next Friday for more.

READ MORE ABOUT: Gerry Lyseight | Karizma | Robert Owens

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:27 | By Chris Cooke

Songkick files new legal papers in Live Nation battle, as Ticketmaster partners with Bandsintown

Business News Legal Live Business Top Stories

Songkick has filed new legal papers in relation to its ongoing litigation against Live Nation, accusing the live giant of interfering even more in its growing pre-sales business in retaliation for going legal late last year.

As previously reported, Songkick sued Live Nation last December, alleging that the live entertainment firm – which is a significant player in tour and festival promotion, venues, ticketing and artist management – was holding the artists it works with to ransom, especially in the US, if they decided to collaborate with the gig recommendations service on fan club pre-sales.

Although best known as a concert data firm and gig recommendations service – which traditionally encouraged users to click through to Ticketmaster-type platforms if they wanted to attend recommended gigs, taking an affiliate commission for its trouble – Songkick has been increasingly moving into ticketing itself.

This began with the launch of a proprietary in-app ticket selling service, then expanded with the start-up’s merger with direct-to-fan platform Crowdsurge, and more recently Songkick has been working with artists on selling tickets to fans before they go on general release, getting widespread media attention for its efforts to ensure that pre-sale tickets for Adele’s current tour didn’t go to the touts.

In its original lawsuit last year, Songkick said that Live Nation had specifically urged artists it works with to not allow the rival ticketing firm to get involved with pre-sales, and that it had also applied fees to pre-sale tickets sold by Songkick that made the start-up’s business unviable. This, Songkick alleged, was Live Nation exploiting its market dominance in tour promotion to hinder any competitors to its Ticketmaster business.

In its response to the litigation, Live Nation has reportedly said that while it is customary to give artists an allocation of tickets to sell direct to signed-up fans – the exact allocation varying according to deal, and often country – as the promoter it still ultimately controls those tickets and therefore is within its rights to dictate terms about how they are sold.

According to the Wall Street Journal, in a new legal filing submitted earlier this week Songkick now alleges that Live Nation has recently “retaliated” over its decision to sue the live giant last year by putting even more barriers in place for its pre-sale business. Says the Journal: “According to the filing, Live Nation has been demanding that Songkick pay the company what it would have earned if Ticketmaster, rather than Songkick, had conducted the concert pre-sales for Songkick’s artist clients”.

The new filing also alleges that a senior Ticketmaster exec has admitted that the new demands Live Nation is now making are a direct result of Songkick’s December lawsuit. It then concludes that “this retaliation, if not enjoined, will drive Songkick out of the artist pre-sale ticketing business in the US”. An initial court hearing on the dispute is expected next month.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster has just announced a new partnership with Songkick competitor Bandsintown, which will mean that when that gig recommendations app tips a show for which Ticketmaster is the primary seller, users will be able to buy off the Live Nation ticketing firm within the Bandsintown app. Usually Bandsintown has to force another app or web page to open whenever a user opts to buy a ticket, but the new integration will make the ticket buying experience more seamless.

Announcing the new alliance, Bandsintown CEO Fabrice Sergent said: “Our main goal at Bandsintown is getting more music fans to concerts. Today, the app drives seven million leads a month to primary ticketing sites. By building on Ticketmaster’s new capabilities, we have dramatically improved the user experience, strengthening artists’ and promoters’ ability to sell out shows”.

READ MORE ABOUT: Live Nation | Songkick

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:25 | By Chris Cooke

Rapper sues TMZ for naming him in penis attack story

Artist News Legal Media

Please note that it cannot be stressed enough that one time Wu-Tang affiliate Marques Johnson, aka Andre Roxx, has never even once cut off his own penis. So please do make sure that you check he doesn’t appear on your list of ‘rappers who attacked their own genitalia’.

Roxx is suing TMZ and other media over a story that was widely reported in 2014 about another rapper who did cut off his own penis before jumping off a second storey balcony. That rapper’s name was Andre Johnson, aka Christ Bearer, but – in a confusion caused by their similar names – it was initially reported that it was Andre Roxx that had been involved in that incident. And even when it was clarified that the penis story involved Andre Johnson, many media continued to say that Andre Roxx was one of his on-stage monikers.

Roxx alleges that it was TMZ which first incorrectly associated him with the Christ Bearer story, and while the gossip site did later correct its report, by that time it had been picked up by numerous other media which continued to say ‘Andre Roxx’ and ‘Christ Bearer’ were both stage names used by the rapper involved in this incident.

In a legal complaint that accuses TMZ and various other media of defamation, Roxx’s reps write: “Other than their affiliation with … the Wu Tang Clan, and the fact that they are both African American male musicians, there are and were key differences between the plaintiff and Christ Bearer. Their names, though containing the overlapping (and common) names ‘Andre’ and ‘Johnson,’ are not the same. Christ Bearer’s given name is Andre Johnson; Plaintiff’s is Marques Johnson”.

They go on: “The two did not bear a physical resemblance at the time of the incident: Christ Bearer is at least ten years older than the plaintiff, and the plaintiff’s appearance is distinct due to his green eye colour, which is unusual in African American men”.

Roxx says that he was in prison at the time the Christ Bearer story broke, and that he to go into protective custody because other inmates began harassing him over the penis chopping tale. Meanwhile, since the end of his prison sentence, Roxx has been trying to resurrect his music career, but is struggling because of his continued association with the penis story.

Back in 2014, when the penis snip incident first took place, Team Wu-Tang distanced themselves from the rapper involved, though it’s possible they too were initially confused about who was actually the subject of the story. Christ Bearer had been involved in Wu-Tang affiliated acts, though Roxx’s main affiliation to the Clan is seemingly that he was championed by another Wu-Tang affiliate, Killah Priest, early in his career.

Christ Bearer has subsequently been quite candid about what occurred that day in 2014, blaming a concoction of drugs, a lack of sleep and stress over restraining orders filed by three women with whom he had children as all combining to motivate the self-harm.

Regarding his damaged genitals, he was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying: “I believe sex is for mortals, and I am god, so this is a blessing, not a curse”, while on the balcony jump he added: “How I jumped was just so heroic … I super-manned out that motherfucker”.

Having definitely grabbed everyone’s attention with those quotes, if only he could have added “oh, and I’ve never performed as motherfucking Andre Roxx”, all of this could have been avoided.

READ MORE ABOUT: Andre Roxx | Christ Bearer | TMZ | Wu-Tang Clan

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:20 | By Chris Cooke

Jackson Estate sued over unpaid legal bill

Artist News Business News Legal

With the Michael Jackson Estate due to be flush with cash later this year once the sale of its half of the Sony/ATV music publishing company to Sony Corp goes through, now seems like as good a time as any to sue for a cut of the loot.

I mean, you probably need some kind of existing grievance with the former king of pop, but as half the people Jackson worked with seemed to end up in a legal dispute with the singer, that’s a lot of people. So think carefully, perhaps you had an unsuccessful alliance with MJ in 2003 and completely forgot about it.

Very much remembering their former alliance with Jackson is London law firm Atkins Thomson Solicitors, which says that it provided legal services to the singer for about two years leading up to his death in 2009. Jackson’s UK operations were expanding at the time, you might remember, with that ill-fated 50 night residency at London’s The O2 set to reboot the singer’s career and repair his flagging financial position.

The legal dudes say that they worked for the popstar from 2007 to his passing in 2009, and in doing so “provided hundreds of hours of services to Jackson across nearly a dozen matters”. They filed a creditor’s claim for $204,204.36 in November 2009, but the Estate is yet to pay, and late last year it formally rejected the lawyers’ invoice.

The law firm went legal earlier this week, suing the Estate and its overseers John Branca and John McClain in the Californian courts. According to The Hollywood Reporter the lawsuit claims: “Defendants have failed to honour Jackson’s obligations under, and has materially breached, the agreement with Atkins, and any implied covenants therein, by failing to make the payments as required”. The solicitors want their fees paid, plus interest and legal costs.

But the Estate’s legal rep Howard Weitzman told THR: “The Estate doesn’t believe the attorney’s claim for work allegedly done for Michael Jackson is valid and we intend to contest this lawsuit”. So at least one lawyer – ie Weitzman – will presumably get a bit of that Sony/ATV dosh out of all this.

READ MORE ABOUT: Atkins Thomson Solicitors | Michael Jackson

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:18 | By Chris Cooke

UK competition authority proposes freeing PRS of its 1997 ‘undertakings’

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

Collecting society PRS has welcomed a provisional ruling from the Competition And Markets Authority over the undertakings it made to the UK competition authority, then called the Monopolies And Mergers Commission, way back in 1997.

As previously reported, the CMA has been reviewing formal commitments made by various organisations and sectors over the years to counter competition law concerns, to assess whether those undertakings are still necessary in 2016.

Collective licensing by copyright owners always raises some competition law issues, because collecting societies often enjoy a monopoly in certain domains, which is why PRS had to make its undertakings to the MMC back in the 1990s.

But in a statement yesterday, the CMA said that it thought those undertakings were no longer required, mainly because of the EU Collective Rights Management Directive, which is just kicking in, and which – CMA panel members believe – overcomes the concerns the 1997 undertakings were designed to counter.

The CMA’s statement announced that: “The group of independent CMA panel members carrying out the review considers that the forthcoming implementation of the EU Collective Rights Management Directive will effectively address the areas and concerns covered by the undertakings. The group has therefore provisionally decided that the undertakings are no longer required”.

That viewpoint will now be subject to a public consultation before a final decision is made next month. But PRS boss Robert Ashcroft, for one, is pleased with the development.

He told reporters yesterday: “We are pleased that the CMA has recognised the change of circumstance and shares our view that these undertakings are now no longer required and should be released. We are operating in a much more competitive and complex environment than in the late 1990s largely due to the technological changes in the last 20 years particularly in the online world. This means that we have to work even more effectively to deliver our services and royalties to members as well as compete against new and emerging players”.

It remains to be seen if any key stakeholders object to the CMA’s provisional ruling.

READ MORE ABOUT: PRS For Music

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:16 | By Andy Malt

Social media dominates in night-time event discovery, research finds

Business News Live Business Marketing & PR

Social media is the most important channel for marketing night-time events, research by Eventbrite has found.

The ticketing platform surveyed 2500 people in the UK and Ireland and found that 60% generally heard about events they went on to attend via social media. 32% said they discovered events via people they follow on social platforms, while 28% cited social media advertising.

The closest contender for event discovery was mailing lists, with 25% of people saying that this was where they found out about nights out. 13% from venue lists, 9% from ticketing companies, and 3% from other unspecified lists. After that, print media and newspapers account for 23% of discovery, while billboards and posters make up 15%. Which, you’re right, does add up to 125%, but I think people could choose more than one option.

Says Eventbrite Marketing Director Marino Fresch: “While we’ve long known about the importance of social media in event creation and marketing, we’re impressed by its sheer dominance over other media when it comes to people discovering nightlife events – vastly beating mailing lists, venue and listings websites, and traditional print media”.

He continued: “As bars, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres explore more and more creative and inventive ways to increase their night-time trade, it’s clear that combining social assets with word of mouth is the most powerful approach. Email marketing remains a key tool, but it has to be used as part of an integrated approach”.

Other things the study found out include that, across the UK, under 30s go out more than anyone else. Which is perhaps unsurprising. However, in London its 30-44 year olds who get out and about most at night.

Another trend London bucks is the reason for going out. People in the UK generally go out to “spend time with friends”, while Londoners go out “to experience something new”. But, as everyone knows, no one in London has any friends. The new experience they’re all looking for is enjoying the company of another human. One day, guys. One day.

READ MORE ABOUT: Eventbrite

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:12 | By Andy Malt

A Tribe Called Quest issue statement following Phife Dawg’s death

Artist News

A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, real name Malik Taylor, has died aged 45, it was confirmed yesterday.

The cause of death was not immediately announced, but it is thought to be related to diabetes, complications from which led him to undergo a kidney transplant in 2008. That procedure was unsuccessful, and saw him on the waiting list for surgery again in 2012.

The rapper appeared on all five of A Tribe Called Quest’s albums, contributing to four tracks on their debut ‘People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm’ and becoming a full time member on second album ‘The Low End Theory’.

In a statement last night, the surviving members of the group said: “Our hearts are heavy. We are devastated. This is something we weren’t prepared for although we all know that life is fleeting. It was no secret about his health and his fight. But the fight for his joy and happiness gave him everything he needed. The fight to keep his family happy, his soul happy and those around him happy, gave him complete and unadulterated joy… until he heeded his father’s call”.

“His family is overwhelmed by the support, well wishes and are thankful”, they continued. “His music and what he’s contributed is seismic and hard to measure. He’s affected us as much as he’s affected all of you. We’re inspired by his daily joy and courage. He wasn’t in pain. He was happy. We take comfort in knowing he will be beside his grandmother”.

READ MORE ABOUT: A Tribe Called Quest | Phife Dawg

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:06 | By Andy Malt

Cornish teenagers set Dave Grohl on local council

Artist News

Dave Grohl has written to Cornwall Council requesting that noise restrictions placed on teenage band Black Leaves Of Envy be lifted. The band previously appealed to the Foo Fighters frontman for help due to his past comments encouraging young people to play music.

The band, who practice in the garage of two band members’ family home, have been ordered to keep the volume of their practices lower than 40 decibels. Basically impossible. And, according to the Plymouth Herald, the matter is all the more frustrating because the only neighbour in earshot has apparently not complained about the noise.

“We only have one immediate neighbour and they have not complained”, said the father of two of the band’s members and owner of the offending garage, Andrew Plenty. “The other houses are a farmer’s field away. They used to practise no more than one or two hours a week and it was always in the afternoons, not at anti-social hours. For the last three months, they’ve not been able to practise at all”.

Plenty added that the band and their families had been looking into finding an alternative rehearsal space, saying: “We’re looking into youth funding and there are a number of musicians who have come forward to help with our campaign. I am trying to form a committee at the moment. It’s just now getting everyone round the table and looking for some suitable premises. There’s a quote from Dave Grohl saying kids should get into their garages and start practising if they would like to be the new Nirvana. We’ve sent off a letter to Mr Grohl asking for his endorsement with our campaign”.

I’d imagine 90% of the people who read that quote when it was first published scoffed and said, “Yeah, good luck with that”. But yesterday Grohl’s response was posted on the Foo Fighters website, so now they look silly.

“My name is Dave Grohl and I’m writing on behalf of local group Black Leaves Of Envy”, wrote the musician. “It has been brought to my attention that the band is having difficulty functioning within the current noise restrictions placed upon them by Cornwall Council, a maximum of 30 to 40 decibels (approximately the level of a dishwasher at fifteen meters distance)”.

“Like many musicians, I started out in a garage in my neighborhood”, he continued, before pointing out that to date he’s sold over 100 million records. “Together with friends, my adolescent years were made better by playing music … I believe it is crucial that children have a place to explore their creativity and establish a sense of self through song. The preservation of such is paramount to the future of art and music”.

He concluded by calling on the council to lift the noise restrictions in order to send “a message that Cornwall is not only a home to music and the arts, but a place that encourages children to follow their dreams in a world where anything is possible”.

No pressure. So that’s a thing that happened. Cue Dave Grohl being called into every noise dispute ever for the rest of time. Read his full, and likely final, letter on the subject here.

READ MORE ABOUT: Black Leaves Of Envy | Dave Grohl | Foo Fighters

Thursday 24 March 2016, 11:01 | By Andy Malt

Laura Jane Grace to publish memoir

Artist News

Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace is set to publish her autobiography, ‘Tranny: Confessions Of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout’, later this year.

The book has been co-written with Noisey’s Dan Ozzi, who recently told Entertainment Weekly: “The book mixes narrative about Laura’s life – growing up with dysphoria and playing in our generation’s most influential punk band – with amazing journal entries she’s been keeping since she was a kid”.

Published by Hachette, it will be on sale in the US on 15 Nov.

READ MORE ABOUT: Against Me! | Laura Jane Grace

Thursday 24 March 2016, 10:54 | By Chris Cooke

CMU’s One Liners: Infinity Ink, Manners McDade, Izzy Bizu, more

Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Labels & Publishers Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Production duo Infinity Ink, aka Ali Love and Luca Cazal, who were last seen releasing records in 2012, have signed to [PIAS]’s Different Recordings for the release of their new single ‘Too Strong’, which is out tomorrow, 25 Mar, with a debut album due later this year.

• Indie publisher Manners McDade and indie record company One Little Indian and have joined up to launch a new contemporary classical label called Cognitive Shift Recordings. The first release will be the debut album from composer Roger Goula, which “encapsulates the ethos of the new label, bridging the gap between modern classical and electronic music”.

• Izzy Bizu, who you may know from such 2016 ones to watch lists as basically all of them, will release her debut album, ‘A Moment Of Madness’, on 22 Jul. And she’s headlining Koko on 16 Jun. Here’s her new single, ‘Mad Behaviour’.

• Steve ‘Steve Mason’ Mason has released a video for another track from his latest album. Here’s ‘Alive’.

• Formed by Max Kakacek (ex-Smith Westerns) and Julien Ehrlich (ex-Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Whitney will release their debut album, ‘Light Upon The Lake’, though Secretly Canadian on 3 Jun. Here’s new single ‘Golden Days’.

• Hello. Here’s a new Shonen Knife track.

• Chelsea Wolfe is releasing a new double A-side seven-inch ‘Hypnos/Flame’ on 1 Apr. Here’s the video for ‘Hypnos’.

• Field Music have released a new video, ‘Disappointed’. That’s the name of the track, not a review.

• Yung Life are set to release their third album ‘Soft/Divide’ on 20 Apr. Here’s a little promo video thing.

• Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas are going to headline the Honda Civic Tour in the US this summer. I’m only telling you because I find the idea of a Honda Civic Tour inherently funny.

• Julia Holter is going to play the Shepherds Bush Empire on 14 Nov. I’m sure you’re all aware what good news this is.

• False Advertising will launch their new EP ‘Brainless’ at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on 22 Apr. From said EP, this is ‘Piece Of My Mind’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Chelsea Wolfe | Demi Lovato | Different Recordings | False Advertising | Field Music | Infinity Ink | Izzy Bizu | Julia Holter | Manners McDade | Nick Jonas | Shonen Knife | Steve Mason | Whitney | Yung Life | [PIAS]

Thursday 24 March 2016, 10:44 | By Chris Cooke

Justin Bieber can’t meet fans because their spiritual energy makes him unhappy

And Finally Artist News

Justin Bieber has announced that he’s not doing any more meet and greet sessions. The problem, you see, is that now he’s such a nice guy, he’s too nice to be exposed to so many people. Because, it seems, people make him unhappy with their spiritual energy. And yes, that is what he actually said.

“Love u guys”, he began in an Instagram post, attempting to soften the blow. “I’m going to be cancelling my meet and greets. I enjoy meeting such incredible people but I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy”.

See, I told you that’s what he said. He continued: “Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression. The pressure of meeting people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be is so much for me to handle and a lot on my shoulders”.

Not sure what he’s talking about? Well, I expect him to be a kind of messianic figure who glows with positivity and brings peace to all who come into contact with him. Is that so much to ask? I suppose I would be quite disappointed if it turned out he was just quite nice.

“Never want to disappoint but I feel I would rather give you guys the show and my albums as promised”, he finished. “Can’t tell you how sorry I am, and wish it wasn’t so hard on me. And I want to stay in the healthy mindset I’m in to give you the best show you have ever seen”.

It has been suggested that security concerns were to blame for Bieber giving up the fan meeting and greeting sessions, which are charged at up to $2000 per person. The company behind the events, Bkstg, reportedly stated on its mobile app earlier this week: “During a recent show, there was a security incident that caused our team to have to meet and rethink how meet and greets were handled”.

According to TMZ, this incident was a “potentially dangerous fan” who is already on the singer’s security team’s “watch list” arriving for a meet and greet at a recent show.

Which may all be true. But it seems far more likely that Bieber is just on such a higher plane than the rest of us that he can’t handle the imbalance of spiritual energy. He’s so nice. I’m glad he’s our lord and saviour. And now I have more money to spend on meeting Avril Lavigne.

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:18 | By Chris Cooke

Streaming now the US record industry’s biggest revenue generator, so streaming really has to work then

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories

The biggest recorded music market in the world yesterday published its figures for 2015, and they neatly conformed to the key global trends. So, over there in the US, physical and downloads continue to decline while streaming income booms, with the latter set to become the key revenue stream for the record industry.

This trend is also enabling the recorded music sector to finally turn the corner – just – and grow again in terms of revenue. While that growth is tiny, it’s always worth remembering that digital is more profitable than physical, especially once your distribution channels and royalty processing systems are built, so as revenues grow slowly, profit margins should be increasing too, and probably at a faster rate.

The top line figures released by the Recording Industry Association Of America yesterday were that overall revenues were up a whole 0.09% to $7.016 billion, while wholesale income was up 0.08% to $4.95 billion. With download income down 9.6% and physical sales down 10.1%, it was the 29% boom in streaming income that enabled the slight growth overall.

It also means that streaming – which includes premium and ad-funded platforms, and those licensed via SoundExchange – is now the single biggest revenue stream for the US record industry. Streams account for 34.3% of revenue, while downloads are just behind at 34% and physical is at 28.8%. Sync is up but still only accounts for 2.9% overall.

Billboard compared the RIAA’s money figures with consumption data from stats firm Nielsen to note that the per-stream rate is dropping as the market grows, though I think we should all agree that we need to stop obsessing about per-stream rates and focus on overall income, and how it is shared between stakeholders.

Though the dropping per-stream rate does link in to the so called ‘value gap’, which is to say the issue raised by the wider music rights sector that free services account for the most consumption but the least income, when compared to paid-for streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify Premium.

Or in the words of RIAA boss Cary Sherman: “While today’s data is encouraging, the challenges facing us are significant. The consumption of music is skyrocketing, but revenues for creators have not kept pace. In 2015, fans listened to hundreds of billions of audio and video music streams through on-demand ad-supported digital services like YouTube, but revenues from such services have been meagre  –  far less than other kinds of music services. And the problem is getting worse”.

Opting for ‘value grab’ as the buzz phrase instead of the customary ‘value gap’ (get this guy on message, will you?), Sherman continues: “This is why we, and so many of our music community brethren, feel that some technology giants have been enriching themselves at the expense of the people who actually create the music. We call this the ‘value grab’ -  because some companies take advantage of outdated, market-distorting government rules and regulations to either pay below fair-market rates, or avoid paying for that music altogether”.

In the US, the ‘value gap’ is partly about the statutory rates paid by those digital services operating under America’s compulsory licence for online radio (including personalised radio), which labels reckon are too low. It’s also about the fact that AM/FM stations in the country still pay nothing to the record industry at all. And, as with the rest of the world, it’s about those services, like YouTube, exploiting the safe harbours in copyright law that allow them to run ‘opt-out’ rather than ‘opt-in’ streaming set-ups.

As much previously reported, the music industry hopes to get safe harbour rules revised so that YouTube-type services have to take responsibility for all the unlicensed content on their platforms, which in turn would strengthen the labels and publishers’ negotiating hand, enabling them to demand higher rates, and that YouTube et al offer guaranteed payments on unmonetised content.

The safe harbours are currently being reviewed in both the US and Europe. The music industry seems quietly confident of safe harbour reform in the latter, if probably not the former. Though our sources outside the labels and publishers seem less certain even about the European Union, despite there being a couple of champions for the music rights owners’ cause in the European Commission.

Meanwhile, beyond safe harbours and YouTube griping, the US figures confirm that streaming will become the single most important revenue stream for the wider record industry in the near future. And as most people in music still rely on the labels for primary new talent investment, that means that everyone has an interest in making premium streaming work. Which means everyone needs the Spotifys and Apple Musics of the world to sign up as many paying users as they can.

A more coordinated industry-wide strategy to help make that happen would be a good Plan B for if and when the safe harbour reforms are denied by law-makers. Because yes, that would mean helping tech giants, digital entrepreneurs and venture capitalists (who are almost certainly evil) get rich on the back of “our content”, but at the same time, possibly the biggest concern for the music industry just now is that the single biggest revenue stream in the single biggest recorded music market is wholly dependent on wholly loss-making services. That’s just not sustainable.

So, advances and guarantees are a great way for the record industry to return to growth in the short-term, but these services need to become properly profitable to assure growth in the longer term.

READ MORE ABOUT: Recordings Industry Association Of America (RIAA)

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:14 | By Chris Cooke

IP Crime Unit charges web-block proxy provider with fraud

Business News Digital Legal

This goes out to all the magnificent web-block proxy makers of Great Britain. See you in court! And not the easy-going good-time courts of civil concerns. No, the big bad criminal courts. You know, the ones with a direct chute to your local prison.

The City Of London Police’s IP Crime Unit have charged a man for operating services that enable British file-sharers to more easily circumvent the web-block injunctions that have been issued by the UK courts.

These injunctions, of course, force internet service providers to block access to copyright infringing websites like The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents, though as soon as blockades are put in place proxies spring up that help any user with the ability to type ‘The Pirate Bay’ or ‘Kickass’ into Google search to access the blocked sites.

Content owners have been seeking ways of combating the proxy makers, in order to make web-blocks a more efficient anti-piracy tool, albeit with limited success. But perhaps the state could intervene. To that end, the City Of London Police’s IP Crime Unit arrested one such proxy maker – Callum Haywood – two years ago and have been investigating his involvement in various web-block circumvention services ever since.

According to Torrentfreak, the policing unit has now decided to press charges in what could be a landmark criminal prosecution, because Haywood wasn’t actually operating a copyright infringing website himself, but rather was helping others to evade a court order. Police are charging him with one count of converting/transferring criminal property and six of possessing an article for use in fraud.

The charges could result in a lengthy prison sentence if Haywood is convicted. For his part, he denies any wrongdoing. He is due to appear Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 21 Apr for a preliminary hearing.

READ MORE ABOUT: Callum Haywood | City Of London Police | PIPCU

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:12 | By Chris Cooke

T In The Park submits weighty licensing application to overcome council concerns

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

T In The Park promoter DF Concerts has submitted its licensing application for 2016, according to Dundee newspaper The Courier, and it includes a radical overhaul of traffic and security arrangements in a bid to overcome concerns expressed by the local authority which controls licensing for the event’s new site.

As previously reported, after the Scottish festival relocated to a new site at the Strathallan Estate in Perthshire last summer there were an assortment of logistical problems during the event, resulting in Barbara Renton of Perth & Kinross Council saying: “Council staff will need substantial reassurances and evidence from DF that detailed plans will be prepared on time, and the event will be delivered more effectively, before officers could have confidence in recommending it takes place at Strathallan again”.

DF pre-empted a damning report from the Council on their 2015 event by announcing the recruitment of two former Police Scotland officers to oversee security and traffic arrangements, and the appointment of a new experienced supplier to look after site management. The promoters also said they had been getting feedback from all stakeholders and would respond to all the criticism.

According to The Courier, the new licensing application from Team T runs to hundreds of pages, and includes major changes to travel arrangements and staffing. A large-scale bus station will be set up Glastonbury-style and ticket-buyers will be encouraged to travel to the event by coach. The site’s layout will also be rejigged and efforts will be made to improve staff briefings and communications.

DF boss Geoff Ellis concludes in this submission: “We always strive to create a fun-filled, enjoyable safe weekend for everyone and my whole team is focussed on making … a festival that we can all be proud of once again”.

He, Calvin, Ian and Anthony will now all await with interest, and maybe some anticipation, to see how local residents and all important councillors respond to the new plan.

READ MORE ABOUT: DF Concerts | T In The Park

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:10 | By Andy Malt

Sex Pistols graffiti granted listed status

Artist News Awards

Graffiti drawn by John Lydon has helped two houses in London’s famous Denmark Street gain the highest form of listed status from the Department For Culture, Media And Sport. Which, I’m sure, is the legacy everyone was hoping for when punk bounced into action 40 years ago.

The outhouse of a seventeenth century townhouse at 6 Denmark Street that was once occupied by the Sex Pistols still bears graffiti drawn by Lydon. The house and its outbuilding were actually already listed, but have now been granted further protection, upgraded along with the house next door from Grade II to Grade II* listing. Only 5.5% of listed buildings are in this category.

Between 1975 and 1977, the band used a downstairs room in the outhouse, originally thought to have been a silversmith’s workshop, to record demos, while guitarist Steve Jones and bassist Glen Matlock lived upstairs.

“These seventeenth century townhouses not only exhibit well-preserved architectural detail but helped nurture Soho’s influence on the global music industry during the 1960s and 1970s”, says Heritage And First World War Minister David Evennett. “As we celebrate 40 years of punk, I’m delighted to be granting further protection to these buildings which acted as a home and studio to the Sex Pistols”.

Emily Gee, Head Of Designation at Historic England, adds: “Numbers 6 and 7 Denmark Street are some of the very few surviving late seventeenth century town houses which still have their original character, fixtures and fittings. For this reason they deserve to be listed at Grade II*. The outbuilding at number 6 also features one of the few physical traces of the importance of Denmark Street to the music industry, with graffiti by John Lydon still on the walls. Cultural phenomena can be difficult to capture in the historic environment, yet here we have an imprint of one of the country’s most famous bands. These houses chart the history of Soho, and we’re delighted that they’re being given such important status”.

Speaking to The Guardian, listings adviser Posy Metz explained: “The purpose of listing is to flag things which are of historical and cultural importance and I think punk is a really important part of our cultural history and including it in the listing is a way of recognising that. The alternative is saying: let’s forget all about punk because they don’t want to be remembered as part of our history”.

“Punk can teach us a lot in our modern lives in terms of freedom of expression and not conforming”, she continued. “It is really important these things are understood and valued. Punk was not the clincher [to upgrading the listed status of the buildings] but it certainly adds a layer of interest”.

No word yet on whether Malcolm McLaren’s son Joe Corré will burn some extra stuff in November to protest this latest establishment move to mark the 40th anniversary of punk.

In other graffiti-listing news, as previously reported, Lambeth Council announced earlier this week that it plans to protect a mural of David Bowie that became a shrine to the musician following his death earlier this year.

READ MORE ABOUT: John Lydon | The Sex Pistols

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:08 | By Andy Malt

Iron Maiden airborne again following emergency repairs to Ed Force One

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Iron Maiden are back in the air, after their 747 tour jet was grounded earlier this month following an accident that meant two of its engines had to be replaced.

As previously reported, the band rented their new Ed Force One plane in order to fly around the world on their latest tour, piloted by frontman Bruce Dickinson. However, the plane was damaged just a couple of weeks in, when a tow truck at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Chile malfunctioned, damaging the two engines and injuring two members of airport staff.

The tour was unaffected, but it took several days to transport new engines to Chile and fit them. This work now complete, the plane is airborne once again.

“The speed and thoroughness of this incredibly complex operation was stunning and we are so very pleased to get our plane back”, says Dickinson. “We would like to thank Air Atlanta and their terrific rescue team for a fantastic effort in achieving this in the time they did, and to Boeing, LAN Chile, ACS and Rock-It Cargo for all their invaluable support. We are sorry though for our fans in Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio and Belo Horizonte who missed out seeing the plane, but we hope they enjoyed the concerts as much as we did”.

He added: “We should also thank our Killer Krew who found themselves at lunchtime on the Saturday of the accident with over 20 tons of equipment at the airport in Santiago and over 60 people all to get to Cordoba for early the next day to set up the huge show we are carrying. The distance is ‘only’ 1000km, but with a small matter of the Andes in between! They did it, by the skin of the teeth, and all went very well for the show in Cordoba and the other cities EF1 just missed”.

The next stop on the tour will be Arena Castelão in Fortaleza, Brazil tomorrow.

READ MORE ABOUT: Iron Maiden

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:07 | By Andy Malt

Manic Street Preachers record Wales’ Euro 2016 song

Artist News Releases

Manic Street Preachers are to release Wales’s official Euro 2016 song. Euro 2016 being some football thing that’s happening this summer. And what would a football thing be without a song? Especially as this is the first time Wales has managed to get into a major football tournament in over 50 years. Apparently.

This particular song is called ‘Together Stronger (C’mon Wales)’ and will be released on 20 May. It’s being announced now because the Welsh football team are playing a couple of warm-up matches to limber themselves up. They’ll play Northern Ireland tomorrow, then Ukraine on 29 Mar.

Team manager Chris Coleman says: “It was fantastic to be involved with such an iconic Welsh band. Manic Street Preachers have been passionate Welsh football supporters and all the lads enjoyed the experience and joined in. It is also great to be supporting such worthwhile causes in the Princes Gate Trust and Tenovus Cancer Care”.

Oh yes, it’s all for charity too. I almost forgot to mention that. Thanks Chris. You’ll probably be able to listen to the song at some point in the future, but that time is not now.

READ MORE ABOUT: Manic Street Preachers

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 11:03 | By Andy Malt

AlunaGeorge to perform live in Minecraft tonight

Artist News Digital Education & Events Gigs & Festivals

Remember when everyone thought the future of music was going to be performing live in Second Life? Almost as funny as when you all had MySpace accounts. Well, Minecraft is the Second Life of 2016, so it makes sense to put some music in there, which is exactly what Norwegian tech event The Gathering is planning to do.

The five day event will kick off later today with a gig headlined by AlunaGeorge and also featuring live performances from Lemaitre and Broiler, which will take place both in Hamar’s Olympic Hall and on Minecraft.

“There have been plenty of other music experiences in the Minecraft universe, but not like this. This will be the world’s first live Minecraft concert”, Gathering organiser Erik Heisholt told The Local. The show is apparently being promoted within the Minecraft universe with posters, like you might in the real world. Heisholt added: “I’m sure they’ll be able to accommodate around 2000 to 3000 people, so this will have the same sort of feel as seeing a show in small concert venue”.

The show will start at 8pm UK time tonight, so you have until then to work out what Minecraft is and how to find its lone concert venue.

READ MORE ABOUT: AlunaGeorge | Minecraft | The Gathering

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 10:59 | By Andy Malt

GIT Award 2016 shortlist announced

Artist News Awards

The shortlist for this year’s GIT Award, which champions the best new music in Merseyside, has been announced. Among the nominees are Bill Ryder-Jones, Stealing Sheep and Mic Lowry.

Says award founder Peter Guy: “When The GIT Award began five years ago, new Liverpool music was sadly under-represented on a national scale with few eyes or ears taking notice – now it’s widely considered to be the focal point for the best emerging UK artists. Once again, this year’s GIT Award nominations shortlist goes a long way to prove that, with artists from across all spheres creating music imploring listeners to take note”.

Of the shortlist, one of the judges, Jon Hillcock, said: “What a list! Where else would apocalyptic face-warping deathcore sit so comfortably alongside concise dayglo indie, streamlined R&B and motorik psych-pop? After weeks of delicate negotiation, patient listening and passionate (mostly polite) conflict, here are twelve examples of how and why forward-thinking music Merseyside is thriving”.

The full shortlist is:

Clean Cut Kid
Dragged Into Sunlight
Hooton Tennis Club
Lumen
Mic Lowry
Mugstar
RongoRongo
Bill Ryder-Jones
Stealing Sheep
Trudy
TVAM
The Vryll Society

The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Constellations in Liverpool on 14 May.

READ MORE ABOUT: GIT Award

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 10:56 | By Andy Malt

CMU’s One Liners: Deezer, CAA, BIMM, more

Artist News Business News Digital Education & Events Gigs & Festivals Industry People Live Business One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Deezer has promoted Aurélien Hérault to VP Product. “Aurélien knows Deezer”, says Chief Content And Product Officer Alexander Holland, which is a good start.

• CAA’s Emma Banks will speak at an event in the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room in aid of Nordoff Robbins on 6 Apr. More details here.

• Meanwhile, back at CAA HQ, the booking agency has promoted ten of its trainees around the world to the roles of agent or executive, including David Ball, Janet Kim, Ben Schildkraut, Lanell Rumion and Phil Quist in the music department.

• BIMM has promoted Nick Donovan to Principal at its Berlin branch. “I’m very excited”, says Donovan. “We at BIMM are THRILLED”, adds Executive Principal Vaseema Hamilton. Martin Wright was also recently made Principal of BIMM’s original Brighton base.

• The Institute Of Contemporary Music Performance has acquired Alchemea, a college that taught audio professionals for over two decades before closing last year. Former Alchemea director Mike Sinnott will run the new Alchemea @ ICMP facility based at the Institute.

• Nigel Godrich is mixing the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Nige, if you could mix it so that it’s completely silent, that would be great.

• Mark Pritchard has released the first single from new album ‘Under The Sun’, which is due out on 13 May. The track features that Thom Yorke. You can listen to it here.

• The new album from CGIV draws ever closer. While you wait, here’s a new track from it, ‘Repetition’.

• Up and coming pop troupe Nytclub have released their new single, ‘Call Your Friends’. Here it is.

• Rodrigo y Gabriela will headline the London Palladium on 5 Jul. They’re writing a new album at the moment.

READ MORE ABOUT: Alchemea | Aurélien Hérault | Ben Schildkraut | BIMM | CAA | CGIV | David Ball | Deezer | Emma Banks | Institute Of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) | Janet Kim | Lanell Rumion | Mark Pritchard | Martin Wright | Nick Donovan | Nigel Godrich | Nytclub | Phil Quist | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Rodrigo y Gabriela | Thom Yorke

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 10:52 | By Andy Malt

Not even One Direction can make kids interested in the Daily Mail, says ASA

And Finally Artist News Business News Digital Legal Media

The Advertising Standards Authority has rejected a complaint about a pre-roll advert for horror film ‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension’ being shown before a video related to One Direction on the Daily Mail website. Because, you know, if you’re going to go on the Daily Mail website looking for One Direction news, things can’t get any more horrific for you. Though that’s not actually what the ruling said.

As well as playing before the One Direction clip, the fifteen second movie trailer also ran on a playlist of Disney and music videos on Vevo’s Apple TV app. This, said the complainant, showed that the advert had not been targeted responsibly, as it featured alongside content likely to appeal to children.

In its defence, Paramount Pictures said that the trailer for the fifteen certificate film had been targeted at 15-24 year olds, and that the ad agency involved had been instructed not to place adverts on websites specifically marketed to children. The Mail website, it noted, is not aimed at children, but does attract a high number of users within the target demographic, which would likely be why the ad appeared there.

As for the Vevo playlist, it said that neither it nor Vevo were involved in its curation, but that it featured other artists tagged as of interest to the people it was trying to reach. In addition to One Direction, other artists apparently of interest to the sort of person who might want to see if the people behind ‘Paranormal Activity’ had worked out how to make a good film after six attempts include Beyonce and Selena Gomez.

Also, the film producer said, information provided by users and assumed from their internet activity was used to ensure that the trailer was not served to anyone under the age of fifteen. So there.

In its assessment, the ASA noted that, while One Direction do appeal to a variety of ages, including those under the age of fifteen, the Mail website is not likely to be a particular destination for children. Also, it said, the Vevo playlist in question was one created by the complainant themselves. As well as featuring artists flagged as of interest to the target audience, the Apple account through which it was viewed showed that the user was over fifteen.

“We noted that the ad had appeared before videos from artists who would be popular with people of various ages, including under fifteens, but that they appealed primarily to the target demographic of 15-24 year olds”, it said. “As such, we did not consider that the ad was placed within content specifically aimed at children or likely to appeal to them particularly. For those reasons, we concluded that the ads had not been irresponsibly targeted”.

I think the moral of this story is, don’t let your children see the Daily Mail website.

READ MORE ABOUT: One Direction

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 10:03 | By Andy Malt

Approved: I Wear Experiment

CMU Approved

I Wear Experiment are described as everything from post-rock to electro. While those elements do both exist to varying degrees throughout the band’s music, the thing that really binds it all together is the great songwriting at its heart.

Having released a trilogy of EPs – ‘Crickets Empire I-III’ – over the last few years, the band spent last year working on their debut album, ‘Patience’. Its lead single, also called ‘Patience’, is a soaring, anthemic pop song that takes their sound to new levels.

With the album due out in May, check out the title track and its video here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2016 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

READ MORE ABOUT: I Wear Experiment

Tuesday 22 March 2016, 10:26 | By Chris Cooke

Kesha files appeal in renewed bid to be cut free from Dr Luke and Sony

Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

Legal reps for Kesha have filed their appeal over the court ruling last month that denied the singer an injunction that would have allowed her to release records with another label while her litigation against producer Dr Luke slowly goes through the motions.

As much previously reported, the court hearing that considered Kesha Sebert’s injunction request put her long-running legal battle with Lukasz Gottwald much more into the media and social media spotlight, putting pressure on both the producer and his business partner Sony Music to cut the singer free from her contractual obligations, despite their court win.

Sebert accuses Gottwald of plying her with drugs and alcohol and raping her as a teenager. He denies all of those allegations, and has sued both the singer and her mother for defamation, saying that the accusations were invented in a bid to force his hand in a contractual dispute.

The singer’s supporters say that the legal battle has put her career on hold indefinitely, to the point that it could destroy her chances of future success in music. With her litigation not due in court until some time next year, the injunction would have allowed the singer to work with another producer and another label in the short term, so that she can continue making and releasing music while waiting for her day in court.

As previously reported, the judge considering the injunction request said that interfering in Sebert’s past agreements with Gottwald’s companies, including his Sony Music imprint Kemosabe would set a dangerous precedent. Moreover, she was convinced that an offer by Sony to allow Sebert to record with a different producer and label within the major music group was a suitable compromise.

Sebert’s chief attorney Mark Geragos called that offer “illusory”, arguing that it would be impossible to assure that Gottwald would not have some kind of overseer role, while adding that his client feared that any record produced under Sony’s proposed compromise would not be promoted properly on release, because the major’s loyalties lie with the producer. In papers filed yesterday, Sebert’s reps again noted that Sony’s proposed compromise had a big influence on the judge. But, the appeal argues, that proposal wasn’t workable or ethical.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawyers write: “The court erred in basing its decision on its finding that Kesha could record without interference from Gottwald. Although it recognised that ‘slavery was done away with a long time ago’ and that ‘you can’t force someone to work … in a situation in which they don’t want to work’, the court’s ruling requiring Kesha to work for Gottwald’s companies, purportedly without his involvement, does just that”.

The appeal goes on to argue that any harm caused to Sony Music in the short term by granting the injunction could be compensated for down the line if Sebert’s legal action against Gottwald is ultimately unsuccessful. The court didn’t explain, say the lawyers, why this fact didn’t overcome concerns about interfering in Sony and Kemosabe’s contracts.

Says the appeal: “The court did not explain, nor could it, why any potential harm to Sony Music could not adequately be compensated by money damages if it were to prevail in the litigation. Indeed, Sony Music, Gottwald, and all the related entities are each free to make music (and money) with other young talent. In the event they prevail in the litigation, they can recover money damages from Kesha for her breach of contract”.

As also previously reported, Sony Music has responded to the increased public pressure to cut Sebert free from her contractual commitments by insisting that it isn’t in a position to unilaterally act in that way because the singer’s contracts are with Gottwald’s companies, which in turn have agreements with the major. So it isn’t a direct party to the contracts Sebert’s supporters want to see torn up.

Meanwhile, Gottwald continues to deny all the allegations against him, and seems keen to continue with the legal fight. Responding to the appeal filing, the producer’s legal rep Christine Lepera is quoted by THR as saying: “The court repeatedly stated Kesha was already free to record without Dr Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That’s because all the evidence – including Kesha’s own sworn testimony – show her allegations are false”.

She goes on: “Her attorneys can continue manufacturing even more false and outrageous claims, but the fact remains that her time would be better spent in a studio than wasting time having her lawyer and mother spin lies in the media”.

READ MORE ABOUT: Dr Luke | Kemosabe Records | Kesha | Sony Music

Tuesday 22 March 2016, 10:24 | By Chris Cooke

Russian rights group proposes banning all talk of circumventing web-blocks

Business News Digital Legal

While Russian courts and copyright laws haven’t always been too helpful to the music industry – see the bulging file marked “vKontakte” – some reforms to the copyright regime in the country have pandered to the interests of rights owners, and some new proposals on the table would introduce anti-piracy rules more draconian than in the West.

The process of web-blocking is currently being reviewed by Russian lawmakers, with rights owners seeking legislative changes that would help overcome some of the weaknesses of what has become a preferred anti-piracy tactic in a number of countries.

Web-blocking, of course, is where a court orders an internet service provider to stop its customers from accessing a copyright infringing website. A key weakness of the system is that it’s pretty easy to circumvent the blockades, with a mere Google search often helping users to access blocked sites.

One of the proposals put forward by the Russian music industry is that web-block injunctions should have enough flexibility so that when site X is blocked, and someone immediately sets up proxy Y to help users circumvent the blockade, the original injunction should immediately apply to proxy Y too, without the need for new legal action by rights owners. Such flexibility is already available in some other jurisdictions.

However, the book industry repping AZAPO – last seen trying to get a web-block injunction against the aforementioned vKontakte – has a more radical proposal: outlawing web pages that explain to users the various techniques that can be employed to get round a blockade. And, according to Torrentfreak, a paper from AZAPO proposing such a move has been approved by Russia’s media and telecoms regulator Rozkomnadzor.

The proposal isn’t entirely new, in that rights owners have, in the past, attempted to use copyright law to target those who overtly educate others in how to infringe copyright. In a famous Australian case in early 1980s, a publisher was unsuccessfully sued by the record industry over an article on home taping. Meanwhile, more recently, record labels prevailed in a French case over a magazine that had published a guide to file-sharing techniques.

Though AZAPO’s proposals would seemingly go much further than that, with anyone publishing information on how to circumvent a web-block – including on a message board – risking a fine for doing so. Which, of course, would constitute intellectual property rights very much infringing of free speech rights, which is always a tricky area. Even in Russia.

There is also the issue of how any such ban would be policed. Who would do the fining and how do you overcome jurisdiction issues? Russia’s internet industry will definitely oppose the proposals, with such logistical questions no doubt at the heart of their argument.

So it remains to be seen if the proposals from AZAPO – which is certainly becoming one of the more radical bodies representing rights owners – actually make their way into legislative plans in the Russian parliament.

READ MORE ABOUT: AZAPO | web-blocking

Tuesday 22 March 2016, 10:22 | By Chris Cooke

The Orchard launches mobile-friendly analytics service

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers

Distribution business The Orchard has announced the launch of a new mobile analytics application, which is a ‘mobile-optimised version’ of the company’s existing stats platform, meaning labels distributing music via the firm can get label and release-level data about streams, downloads and user-generated content matches on the go. All you need is an account, a phone, an internet connection and the inclination. Easy.

“The Orchard clients have experienced a robust dashboard and full digital transparency for a decade”, says Brad Navin, CEO of the Sony Music-owned distributor. “Analytics and data remain core to our value proposition and our clients depend heavily on this real-time information. We are proud to offer portable and detailed insights to our clients in an intuitive and first-of-its-kind mobile application”.

The company’s CTO JP Lester then chipped in: “The message from our clients has been loud and clear – fast and accurate analytics are becoming increasingly critical to informing key business decisions. Our team has responded by delivering a solid first step in this product which not only caters to that need, but also lays a solid foundation for us to build upon as we watch our data volumes continue to grow exponentially”.

READ MORE ABOUT: The Orchard

Tuesday 22 March 2016, 10:21 | By Andy Malt

Spotify passes 30 million paid subscribers, updates mobile ad platform

Business News Digital

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek yesterday confirmed that Spotify had passed the milestone of 30 million paying subscribers. And he did so with a nonchalant, ‘oh was that a thing people were wondering about?’ sort of tweet.

Retweeting a photograph of Barrack Obama arriving in Cuba for the first US presidential visit there since the country’s 1959 revolution, Ek wrote: “We have 30 million Spotify subscribers, but none of them are in Cuba… yet. So cool to see Cuba opening up!”

I think everyone can agree that one of the first things people in Cuba are going to need once trade restrictions are fully lifted are premium Spotify accounts. Well done Daniel for highlighting their plight.

Anyway, now that he’s made this all about him, let’s carry on running through the numbers. It had been rumoured recently that Spotify was getting closer to the 30 million premium subscriber milestone. The last time figures were announced, it was 20 million last June. Before that it was fifteen million in January 2015. And that, kids, means that Spotify is converting users to paid accounts at an increasing rate, despite Apple Music.

The other rumour going around is that Spotify’s total active user count – ie premium plus freemium – has now reached 100 million. However, at an event on the streaming service’s Discover Weekly feature at the Convergence festival in London on Saturday, reps for the company were sticking firmly to the official 75 million figure announced last June. Which either means that Spotify has lost a lot of free users since then or they were lying. FYI, they were lying. But hey, they made that Discover Weekly thing, so we’ll forgive them.

Sticking with Spotify’s freeloading users, Spotify has announced an update to the way it serves adverts to them on its mobile apps. The company yesterday announced the launch of Overlay Mobile, an extension of the existing Overlay ad option on its desktop software. The adverts pop up when a user returns to the software, and on mobile apps will stay put until dismissed by the user.

The company has also added 100 new interest groups for advertisers to use for targeting their adverts to US Spotify users. According to Mobile Marketing Daily, the new groups include things you’d think were already covered, like ‘moviegoers’, ‘car buyers’, ‘luxury shoppers’, and ‘sports fans’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Spotify

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