Friday 27 January 2017, 11:36 | By

Thundercat announces new album, featuring Pharrell, Kenny Loggins and more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Thundercat

Thundercat has announced that he will release his third album, ‘Drunk’, next month. It features contributions from Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams, former Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Wiz Khalifa, Kamasi Washington and Flying Lotus. I didn’t even make one of those up.

“These are guys that I’ve listened to and where I felt that I’ve learned that honesty in the music”, says Thundercat. “Kenny Loggins is one of my favourite songwriters. [And] I think one of the most beautiful moments was realising how amazing Michael McDonald is. He would go through so many ideas and have so much to offer”.

Listen to the single, ‘Show You The Way’, featuring Loggins and McDonald, here:

Speaking about the album’s title, ‘Drunk’, he adds: “I’ve always tried to hold true to what Erykah Badu and Flying Lotus told me: ‘It has to come from an honest place’. I feel like it’s a place that I’ve been in different ways, seen different angles of and it’s been a bit inspirational – the drinking. It has its ups and downs and everything, but I felt like it showed the human side of what goes on behind things, something that I see with all of my friends. I felt like it was kind of interweaved in the music culture. And it’s something that’s never talked about”.

Following the album release, Thundercat will be on tour in the UK and Ireland. Here are the dates:

22 Mar: Bristol, Thekla
23 Mar: Manchester, Gorilla
24 Mar: Liverpool, Invisible Wind Factory
27 Mar: Dublin, Vicar Street
28 Mar: London, Heaven

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Friday 27 January 2017, 11:33 | By

NZCA Lines release visual version of Infinite Summer

Artist News Releases

NZCA Lines

NZCA Lines, aka Michael Lovett, has released a new visual version of his 2016 album ‘Infinite Summer’. Like a regular Beyonce, he’s made videos for each track on the record, which were first aired at a show at Village Underground in London last September.

“‘Infinite Summer’ was inspired by concept-driven albums such as Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery’ and ‘Interstella 5555’, and Drexciya’s ‘Neptune’s Lair'”, says Lovett. “It was always my dream to have a visual for each song, something that would draw an audience deeper into our world”.

He goes on: “Our Village Underground show was an opportunity to bring the album to life onstage in a way we hadn’t done before. I worked closely with Taxonym and Amala Studio to articulate my thoughts, feelings and ideas behind each song on ‘Infinite Summer’, which they interpreted to create each of the videos”.

Watch the album here:

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Friday 27 January 2017, 11:30 | By

CMU’s One Liners: Kobalt, Universal Music, BBC Radio 2, more

Artist News Awards Business News Digital Gigs & Festivals Labels & Publishers One Liners Releases

Kobalt

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Kobalt’s digital distribution platform AWAL has put together a micro-site presenting stats about how the music it reps did on the old streaming networks last year which – although mainly about how AWAL acts performed – also has some more general nuggets of information about streaming trends. It’s here.

• Universal Music has announced that its key London sites – including its main HQ in Kensington and those Abbey Road Studios – are now getting their power from Ecotricity, which gets most of its energy from the good old wind and sometimes super sun. So, next time you’re moaning about the mega-major, remember not to use the firm’s carbon footprint in your ranting, because that’s all fine.

• BBC Radio 2 is bringing back its country-focussed pop-up station for the third year running, to coincide with the C2C: Country To Country festival at the O2. It’ll be available via DAB from 9-12 Mar.

• Rag N Bone Man has released a new song called ‘Skin’. So that’s something.

• Yasutaka Nakata, Charli XCX and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu have released the full video for ‘Crazy Crazy’.

• Austra have released the video for ‘I Love You More Than You Love Yourself’. They’ll be over here in the UK for shows in March.

• Swet Shop Boys have released the video for ‘Zayn Malik’. As in, their song ‘Zayn Malik’, not the Zayn Malik. Although I’m sure he’s welcome to watch it too.

• So Below has released the video for ‘Hard’. As previously reported, she has her first UK shows coming up.

• Wiley’s going to get the Outstanding Contribution prize at the NME Awards. Quite right.

• Jay-Z: Not a fan of being asked questions about Donald Trump.

• Slayer: All over the fucking shop on Donald Trump.

• Nigel Tufnel: Not a fan of inauguration crowd estimates.

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Friday 27 January 2017, 11:27 | By

CMU Beef Of The Week #340: Newt Gingrich v Madonna

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Madonna

Madonna was at an event and said something that turned out to be a bit controversial. That’s a sentence you could pretty confidently put out as a news story around once a month without checking if it actually happened or not. If you want people to talk about your event, booking Madonna is a pretty safe bet for making sure that happens.

Of course, this can prove counterproductive. Sometimes the things Madonna says can distract from the actual message of your event and/or protest. Although, thankfully, I think last Saturday’s Women’s March was too big for even Madonna to mess up.

As is usually the case, the sentiment of what Madonna was saying was positive and good. She just happened to mention that it had crossed her mind to blow up the White House, and for some reason people latched onto that.

“Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House”, she said, addressing protesters at the main march in Washington, DC. That wasn’t all she said, but if you’ve heard any more of the speech than that this week, you must have gone looking for it. Actually, she followed it up with the line: “but I know that this won’t change anything”, trying to get across to people that violent actions are not the answer to opposing Donald Trump, who is now the actual president of the actual United States of actual America.

Many live TV broadcasts had cut away by that point though, meaning anyone still watching was now spinning into a blind rage at what they assumed was a call for her audience to head straight round Trump’s new gaff and set it off like the 4th of July.

Donald Trump’s administration weren’t keen to comment on the large-scale protests against his inauguration on Saturday – focussing instead on how 95% of the world’s entire population had stood in the cold in central Washington to watch him crowned Phenomenal President Of The Year 2017 the day before. However, most other people on the right of US politics were quick to grab onto that one sentence from Madonna’s speech

“I spoke in metaphor and I shared two ways of looking at things”, she said after her speech had become a mini controversy. “One was to be hopeful, and one was to feel anger and outrage, which I have personally felt. However, I know that acting out of anger doesn’t solve anything. And the only way to change things for the better is to do it with love”.

Asked for his view on all of this, as he so often is when something of no real importance happens, former Congressman Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News shouting about having the singer arrested. It also allowed him to talk up the tiny proportion of protesters who engaged in a bit of vandalism last weekend. There are always a few, and it always plays into the hands of the people who oppose any protest. Well done, guys.

“She is parallel to the young fascists who ran around town breaking windows, all of whom should be given the maximum sentence”, he said. “What you have is an emerging left-wing fascism. She’s part of it, and I think we have to be prepared to protect ourselves”.

That’s right, Madonna is the leader of an army of window breakers, who will be coming to break your windows any time now, no doubt. Lock em all up, before it’s too late.

Presenter Steve Doocy countered that Madonna had said that her comment had been “wildly taken out of context”, at which point things turned weird.

“I love the left”, snorted Gingrich. “When they say ‘I dreamed about blowing up the White House’, they didn’t mean they dreamed about blowing up the White House. They actually meant ‘the yellow purple banana’, but they didn’t wanna say yellow purple banana because it was too shocking, so they said blow up the White House. Give me a break! She now understands she’s at risk”.

Let’s break that down quickly…

“I love the left”

Untrue. Newt Gingrich has a long history of thinking people with views opposing his own are well shady.

“When they say ‘I dreamed about blowing up the White House’, they didn’t mean they dreamed about blowing up the White House”.

OK, Madonna said she’d thought about it, rather than dreamed about it, and she was very clear that she had thought about it, but I guess he has something of a point there.

“They actually meant ‘the yellow purple banana’, but they didn’t wanna say yellow purple banana because it was too shocking, so they said blow up the White House”.

Dude, what now? What the fuck is a yellow purple banana? And what are you talking about? Madonna didn’t say ‘blow up the White House’ to cover up for something more shocking, she said it to emphasise a point. And in that moment, for that purpose, she definitely meant ‘blow up the White House’.

“Give me a break!”

No.

“She now understands she’s at risk”.

Of what? Being arrested? Is that really likely? I think if you watch her full speech it’s pretty clear what Madonna meant. She wasn’t inciting people to go and torch the White House. She just had a little think about it and decided that it wasn’t a good idea. I mean, does Madonna even have the necessary skills to pull off a job like that?

Aside from needing to make the right contacts and gaining their trust in order to get hold of that many explosives, it would require immense skills in sneaking around in order to set them all up undetected. She has trouble even walking up stairs, let alone running around and jumping behind bushes. Also, she’d surely be suspect number one, given that she’d just made her plans public.

Oh wait, I got a bit distracted over thinking things there, didn’t I? And while I was writing that last paragraph, President Trump probably signed seventeen executive orders forcing women to have unwanted babies in gold-plated debt-generating hospitals heated with fossil fuels and staffed by unqualified Americans because all skilled immigrants have been put in cages.

But it’s hard, I guess, to crowbar all of that into some music news. Even for me. It’s a lot easier to talk about how Newt Gingrich had an opinion on a speech he hadn’t actually watched in full, and then on another statement he hadn’t actually read. And I think that’s probably how we got into this mess.

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Friday 27 January 2017, 10:13 | By

Vigsy’s Club Tip: Shut The Front Door at Brixton Jamm

Club Tip CMU Approved

The 2 Bears

Brixton Jamm yet again pulls in some biggies. For the Shut The Front Door night tomorrow, The 2 Bears will headline, with Moullinex also on board.

The 2 Bears comprises Joe Goddard (him from Hot Chip) and house head Raf Rundell. Regularly packing out shows and featuring on a wide array of major festival bills, this duo are guaranteed to rock the Jamm.

Moullinex, meanwhile, play as a full band, citing influences from soul, funk, garage rock, Brazilian music and psychedelia. The Get To Know and STFD crews will also be on hand to present groovy disco and house vibes all the way through to the late close of 5am.

Saturday 28 Jan, Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, London, SW9 6LH, 10pm-5am, £20. More info here.

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Friday 27 January 2017, 08:59 | By

CMU Podcast: Tidal, Piracy, Madonna

And Finally Artist News Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Setlist

Tidal

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Tidal’s bid to boost subscriber numbers by selling out to US tel co Sprint, a bid to answer all of your questions about piracy, and why Madonna’s thoughts about the White House could (definitely won’t) land her in prison. The CMU Podcast is sponsored by 7digital.

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Stories discussed this week:

• Sprint takes 33% stake in Tidal
• Tidal user figures questioned
• Piracy FAQs site launched as ISPs prepare to send out ‘educational emails’ to infringers
• Calls for Madonna to be arrested for her views on yellow purple bananas
• Texas radio station bans Madonna over White House comments

In brief…

• Jean Michel Jarre talks “value transfer”
• Prince heirs accuse former estate administrators of mismanagement
• UK Music welcomes government’s new review of the creative industries
• Team Glastonbury are planning a Variety Bazaar, but not to replace Glastonbury
• BBC unveils UK Eurovision hopefuls

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:12 | By

Piracy FAQs site launched as ISPs prepare to send out ‘educational emails’ to infringers

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

Get It Right From A Genuine Site

As British internet service providers prepare to finally start sending out warning letters to customers that the entertainment industries reckon are accessing content from unlicensed sources, a frequently asked questions site has been put live by the ‘Get It Right From A Genuine Site’ campaign, which – remarkably – still hasn’t been put out of its misery.

As previously reported, the warning letters – or ‘educational emails’ as they are being called – ultimately stem from the 2010 Digital Economy Act, which obliged net firms to alert customers suspected of infringing copyright via their internet connections. Despite that obligation being enshrined in the law in 2010, it wasn’t until 2014 that the copyright industries and the ISPs agreed a way forward via a government initiative called Creative Content UK.

That agreement said that the ISPs would finally start sending out letters to suspected infringers which would be educational rather than threatening. But it was also agreed that that wouldn’t begin until a bunch of cash had been thrown at an ad agency and a PR firm to first stage possibly the most pointless anti-piracy publicity campaign to date. And so all that ‘Get It Right From A Genuine Site’ flim flam began.

Now the ISPs are ready to get going with the nitty gritty of sending out some educational emails. The launch of the FAQ microsite under the ‘Get It Right’ banner – which was spotted by Torrentfreak – suggests that those emails will point recipients to this central resource to answer questions like: “What are P2P networks?”, “How do I get rid of P2P file sharing software?” and “How can I tell is something is copyrighted?”.

The answer to that last question, by the way, is that “using a genuine source or service is the quickest and easiest way to legally access the content you love”. Which doesn’t really answer the question, does it? Though it does provide an excuse to link back to the ‘Get It Right’ campaign’s list of genuine digital music services, which includes all my favourites like the now closed Sainsburys download store, the well shutdown MixRadio and the no-longer-in-business Muzu. Good times.

The FAQs also provide some more information about the educational email campaign itself. For example, although the ‘graduated response’ system set out in the Digital Economy Act originated in the ‘three strikes’ anti-piracy approach that was popular for a time – a system that says people who ignore the warnings could lose their internet connection – the FAQs confirm that that is not part of this programme.

In answer to the query “will this programme shut down my internet connection”, the site confirms: “No. This Get it Right Educational Email Programme is intended to provide you with information and will not automatically trigger further action. However copyright infringement is against the law and the rules of your account do not permit it. To ensure you are not at risk of potential penalties in the future, please take action now to stop any illegal uploading and sharing of files occurring on your internet account”.

Though, while there are no formal sanctions against the naughty infringers, they could find themselves receiving repeat emails about their activity if they continue to access content from dodgy sources. However, if no notices are sent over a twelve month period, any record of past educational emails being sent will be removed from the records associated with the customer’s account.

For the question “what happens if I don’t think the information is correct?” – ie what if you’re pretty certain no file-sharing has occurred on your net connection – the FAQs site fudges the answer slightly by simply suggesting someone else might be doing the infringing, and therefore you should lock down your wi-fi connection. Which is to say, there is no formal route of appeal, though given that there are no sanctions as part of this programme, presumably the ISPs, rights owners and government reckon no such procedure is required.

The logos revolving on the FAQs site suggests that Virgin Media, BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Plusnet are all participating in the educational emails programme, with the first emails expected to be sent out any day now.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:10 | By

Apple sued over sample in synced Jamie XX track

Artist News Business News Legal

Apple

So, here’s a complicated bit of litigation. If I’m being honest, writing this story gave me a headache. It’ll be interesting to know what effect reading it has.

OK, so Jerome Lawson, previously frontman of American a cappella group The Persuasions, has sued Apple over its use of Jamie XX’s ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’ in a TV ad for the iPhone 6.

The Jamie XX track samples the Persuasions record ‘Good Times’. On its release in 2015, there was some chatter to the effect that the band was saying the sample had been used without permission, but it then transpired that it had in fact been cleared by Universal Music. Billboard reported at the time that Jimmy Hayes, a former bandmate of Lawson who is still in the group, admitted that “I was told about it but forgot”.

Lawson isn’t suing Apple on copyright grounds though, very possibly because he doesn’t own the copyright in the track. Rather he is citing his publicity rights under Californian law, the argument being that the ‘Good Times’ samples that appeared in the ad were recognisable as his voice, which implies he was endorsing the iPhone.

Whether or not a sync implies endorsement of a product by an artist is a not uncommon debate in the music community, though that chatter doesn’t usually centre on legalities.

Californian law does recognise a publicity right in an individual’s voice, though arguably legal precedent in the state says that when that voice is contained within a recording protected by copyright, the copyright owner does not infringe a performer’s publicity right by licensing out the work.

Though past cases of this type have seemingly centred on post-1972 recordings, and let’s not forget US-wide federal copyright law does not apply to tracks released before that date. You know, like 1971 Persuasions record ‘Good Times’. So the question is: would that principle also apply to recordings protected by state-level rather than federal copyright law? As a very esteemed and acclaimed lawyer once said to me, “fuck knows”.

Says Lawson’s lawsuit, filed in the LA courts this week and spotted by The Hollywood Reporter: “Lawson’s voice is prominent and recognisable in the Apple commercial. Lawson is informed and believes and on the basis alleged that plaintiff’s voice was recognised by fans of his who saw the commercial and those fans were deceived into falsely believing that Lawson endorsed Apple and the iPhone and/or that Lawson consented to the use of his voice to advertise Apple’s products”.

If you’re not convinced by that, Lawson’s litigation then throws in something else, that the Apple ad is also a “deliberate violation of the collective bargaining agreements with SAG and AFTRA” (that’s the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists) that requires separate bargaining with singers for use in commercials. The litigation claims Apple’s ad agency Media Arts Lab offered Lawson the minimum fee provided by that SAG/AFTRA agreement once the iPhone ads was airing.

This doesn’t feel like a dispute that’s actually going to get to court, but if it did, it could result in some complicated discussions around the status and rules of sampling and sync, the clash of publicity rights and copyright, and of state and federal law. I’ll stock up on Nurofen just in case.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:09 | By

Prince heirs accuse former estate administrators of mismanagement

Artist News Business News Legal Live Business

Prince

Two heirs to Prince’s estate, his sister Tyka Nelson and half-brother Omarr Baker, have accused temporary estate administrator the Bremer Trust and its advisors – L Londell McMillan and Charles Koppelman – of mismanaging a tribute concert last October and refusing to hand over profits from the event.

The concert took place at the Xcel Center in St Paul, Minnesota last year, with performances from Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan, among others. However, it had originally been planned to be held in the larger US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The venue was downgraded after several artists and the event’s original promoter pulled out.

According to the Star Tribune, Nelson and Baker filed legal documents yesterday seeking at least $7 million from the Bremer Trust, McMillan and Koppelman. The figure is apparently the amount the estate was guaranteed from the show. Although this promised amount and the payment actually received had been kept confidential, the $7 million figure was revealed accidentally at a recent estate court hearing.

The two heirs say that the Bremer Trust failed in its commitments to the estate by mismanaging the concert, and by not firing McMillan and Koppelman. They also say that the bank has provided “insufficient” details of the value of the overall estate, having not completed its valuation of most of its assets.

It seems that this dispute is the reason that Nelson and Baker opposed McMillan being made permanent administrator of the estate, against the wishes of the other heirs. They instead asked for Anthony ‘Van’ Jones, who had previously advised Prince on philanthropic endeavours, to be appointed as the individual overseeing the estate, who would sit between the heirs and the estate’s corporate administrators.

As previously reported, after a number of delays to the appointment of a permanent administrator, caused by this fall out, the judge overseeing the case ruled earlier this week that the estate did not need an individual overseer. The Michigan-based Comerica Bank will instead take on the management of the estate as corporate administrator without a court appointed individual advisor.

Meanwhile, the Bremer Trust is demanding payment of over $1.5 million for work carried out between October and December, while five other law firms are seeking payment of almost $400,000 from the estate.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:07 | By

T In The Park replacement TRNSMT announced

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

TRNSMT

DF Concerts has announced details about its new Glasgow-based festival, TRNSMT, which will run in place of this year’s T In The Park in July.

As previously reported, DF confirmed in November that T In The Park would be taking a year off in 2017, after two troubled editions following a move to a new site at Strathallan Castle. Rumours of a new event to take place at Glasgow Green park over the traditional T weekend had already been circulating by that point. The launch of that new non-camping event has now been confirmed.

Few details have yet been announced, aside from the name, its location on Glasgow Green and that it will take place on 7-9 Jul. The Scottish Sun reckons that Radiohead and Coldplay are possible headliners though.

Here’s a video with less detail than I just gave you, but more sound effects:

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:04 | By

Tech firm launches merch-selling Facebook bot

Business News Digital

The Bot Platform

Tech company We Make Awesome Shit has officially launched a new Facebook messenger bot for artists, which has been piloted with a number of major label acts. The bot allows artists to communicate with fans and then sell them stuff.

Using The Bot Platform artists can invite fans to join in with conversations through Facebook Messenger, sidestepping the need to endlessly buy advertising and boost posts. In a two month test of the service with Axwell /\ Ingrosso, Olly Murs, Bastille, Hardwell and Zara Larsson, WMAS reports that it sold over £10,000 worth of merch for Axwell /\ Ingrosso alone.

The bot can be programmed to give a range of responses to different interactions from fans, as well as pushing out scheduled messages. “We wanted to build a system for non-technical people to create their own bots and to experiment with them”, says Tom Gibby of WMAS.

CMO of ATM Artists Sean Hill adds: “Thanks to The Bot Platform we can now send broadcast messages to 10,000+ fans so that’s mega powerful for releasing new music etc, we’ve managed to sell over £10,000 worth of merch directly via Facebook Messenger in just a couple of months. It’s going to be at the forefront of all our marketing for 2017”.

For more information on The Bot Platform, check it out here.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 11:03 | By

WorldstarHipHop founder Q dies

Business News Industry People

WorldstarHipHop

Founder of WorldstarHipHop.com, Lee ‘Q’ O’Denat, has died aged 43, the popular video website announced yesterday.

The statement reads: “With profound sadness, WorldStarHipHop and its employees, state that Lee O’Denat, known as ‘Q’, the founder, leader and genius behind the website and brand has passed in San Diego”.

“Q was a brilliant businessman who championed urban culture, ultimately creating the largest hip hop website in the world”, it continues. “But more than that, he was a devoted father and one of the nicest, most generous persons to ever grace this planet. We will miss his hearty laugh and warm spirit. WorldStarHipHop will continue in its various endeavors. We ask that you remember Q in your prayers and raise a toast to the sky in his name”.

As tributes poured in from around the world, it was reported variously that O’Denat had died from a heart attack in his sleep.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 10:57 | By

Pond announce new album

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Pond

Pond have announced that they will release new album, ‘The Weather’, on 5 May. The news arrives with the first single and notice of an intimate London show.

“It’s a concept album, not completely about Perth, but focusing on all the weird contradictory things that make up a lot of colonial cities around the world”, says the band’s Nicholas Allbrook of the album. “Laying out all the dark things underneath the shimmering exterior of cranes, development, money and white privilege. It’s not our place, but it is our place. British, but Australian, but not REAL Australian”.

He goes on: “On the edge of the world with a hell of a lot of fucked things defining our little city, still we try and live a wholesome respectful life, while being inherently disrespectful. At the end of all this confusion in our weird little white antipodean world, there’s the beach, purity and nature that brings us all together”.

Ahead of the release, the band will play the Moth Club in Hackney on 14 Feb. Here’s the video for first single, ‘Sweet Me Off My Feet’:

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 10:55 | By

Celine Dion announces first UK shows for over eight years

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Celine Dion

Celine Dion has announced that she will play her first UK shows for the best part of a decade in June and July, as part of a wider European tour.

“I am so looking forward to returning to the UK and Europe this summer”, she says. “These wonderful cities hold such special memories for me and I’m really excited to be coming back and seeing all my fans again”.

Which cities? Well, in the UK: London, Manchester and Birmingham. All the classics.

Tickets go on sale on 3 Feb, and here are the dates:

20 Jun: London, O2 Arena
21 Jun: London, O2 Arena
25 Jun: Manchester Arena
27 Jul: Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 10:50 | By

CMU’s One Liners: Nickelback, Sony Music, SoundCloud, more

Artist News Business News Deals Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Management & Funding Media One Liners Releases

Nickelback

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• BMG has signed one of those worldwide recording agreements with those Nickelback tykes. The band are “honoured” to be putting out their next album with the BMGers, while the music firm’s Zach Katz is frankly “THRILLED” about the whole set up.

• Your man Edgar Berger is leaving Sony Music because of an insatiable urge to “pursue new entrepreneurial interests”. And why not? The departure of the major’s CEO of International was confirmed in one of those internal memos.

• As SoundCloud continues to ramp up its advertising business it has announced two sales hires in Australia, recruiting former Pandora ads guy Shaun Alexander as a Commercial Director for the region and former Facebook brands liaison exec Marta Bonzanini who will lead on sales strategy and brand partnerships.

• Sixteen artists will be enjoying more momentum in 2017 thanks to some funding from the Momentum Music Fund. Ha ha! Good times. Another batch of acts getting money from the PRS Foundation/Arts Council England fund was announced earlier this week and includes: Cattle & Cane, Champion, Darq E Freaker, Jalen N’Gonda, Jamie Isaac, Jammz, Jaykae, Jerry Williams, Meadowlark, Mista Silva, Ms Banks, Mt Wolf, Nubiyan Twist, Our Gir, The Comet Is Coming and Wildwood Kin.

• It’s all about playlists these days, we all know that. But ever wondered what tunes David Attenborough would be curating into his Spotify library if he had such a thing? Well, he’s picked five tracks on the covermount that comes with the new edition of Songlines, so now you know.

• Angel Olsen has released the video for ‘Pops’, from her brilliant ‘My Woman’ album.

• Featuring Le Butcherettes’ Teri Gender Bender, the Melvins’ Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover with At The Drive-In’s Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Crystal Fairy will release their debut album on 24 Feb. Here’s a new track, also called ‘Crystal Fairy’.

• High Contrast has released new track ‘Shotgun Mouthwash’, taken from the ‘Trainspotting 2’ soundtrack.

• Real Estate have announced that they will release their new album, ‘In Mind’, on 17 Mar. Here’s first single ‘Darling’.

• Ed Sheeran is going on a world tour. A world tour! He’s touring the world. There’s even talk of him playing Birmingham. Irish and UK dates are on his home page.

• Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson will perform together at the Barbican in London on 17 May and Norwich’s Theatre Royal on 19 May. Details here.

• Sylvan Esso have announced that they will play London’s Village Underground on 4 May. They’ve also released a video for ‘Kick Jump Twist’.

• Chelsea Wolfe has announced shows in the UK and Ireland in April, including a performance at Heaven in London on 18 Apr.

• Swedish metallers Katatonia have announced UK and Ireland tour dates for May, finishing up at the Academy in Dublin on 14 May.

• Lily Allen: Not a fan of Donald Trump.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 10:44 | By

Insane Clown Posse plot march on Washington

And Finally Artist News

Insane Clown Posse

So far in office, President Trump’s actions have largely involved cutting, blocking and abolishing. Oh, and a bit of lying. It’s hard to know if that is a positive or negative sign for Insane Clown Posse’s continued hopes of removing their fanbase from the FBI’s list of active gangs, but maybe we’ll have a better idea come September, when they march on Washington. If there’s anything left to march to by then.

You may remember that the rap duo gave ample notice of the planned march last July. “In 2017, the weekend of 17 Sep, we need you”, rapper Violent J told fans. “We’re gonna do a fucking march on Washington. They call the Juggalo World a movement, right? Well, let’s move! We are going to explain to the world who the fuck we really are”.

ICP fans, known as Juggalos, were added to a list of criminal gangs in the FBI’s 2011 National Gang Threat, remaining there ever since. To date, attempts to have them removed, including via legal action, have been unsuccessful.

With the new president now in place, a new website officially confirming the march on 16 Sep – www.juggalomarch.com – was launched yesterday.

“We need you and your voice to make sure that we shout above the chaos of this noisy world and are heard loudly and clearly as we deliver a message right into the nerve center of America that the Juggalo Family is not a joke, punchline, or any form of criminal organization”, say Insane Clown Posse in a statement.

“This is our chance to make a difference. A real difference”, they go on. “To show the world that we will we not tolerate anymore discrimination against our Juggalo brothers and sisters. If being a Juggalo has made a difference in your life, we beseech you to be a part of the important critical day in Juggalo history”.

Yes, perhaps this will mean the Juggalo history books will need to be rewritten. Don’t laugh, here’s one that could at least need an extra chapter right here.

The march will end with a free concert at Jiffy Lube Live, 35 miles outside Washington, DC. It’s not clear if everyone will have to march there too. Maybe there’ll be a bus. Either way, more than 20 acts are already apparently confirmed for the show, including 2 Live Crew, Vanilla Ice and Insane Clown Posse themselves.

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Thursday 26 January 2017, 10:06 | By

Approved: Rina Mushonga

CMU Approved

Rina Mushonga

Rina Mushonga has released her latest single, ‘Atalanta’, the first in a series of releases leading up to her second album this autumn.

The song is named after the character from Greek mythology of the same name, who was known for her skills as a runner, hunter and fighter. Inspiration for the track apparently comes in part from Mushonga’s recent move from Holland to the UK, and the excitement she felt for the vibrancy of her new home in Peckham.

A clash of genres, reflecting her Afro-European upbringing, though settling in the edges of electronic pop, ‘Atalanta’ is a bold first offering from Mushonga’s second LP.

Listen to ‘Atalanta’ here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2017 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:15 | By

Jean Michel Jarre talks “value transfer”

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Jean Michel Jarre

It’s just occurred to me we’ve not said “value gap” once in a CMU Daily yet this year. That can’t be right, can it? Just because it’s 2017, that’s no reason to stop banging on about the value gap. So well done Jean-Michel Jarre for getting it back on the agenda.

Jarre was speaking in his capacity as President of global author rights organisation CISAC at an event in Italy yesterday to launch a new report by the Italian collecting society SIAE. That report was one of those studies aiming to show the economic importance of the creative industries, in this case specifically in Italy, though Jarre also referenced CISAC’s own past globally-focused research covering similar ground.

Jarre told his audience, including Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini: “For many years, we have known that our economic growth in the future will not come from manufacturing or traditional industries, but from knowledge and creativity. But now, we also have comprehensive studies – domestic and global studies – spread across multiple sectors and territories, to prove it”.

He added: “These studies translate the forecasts into hard evidence and data. This data shows a truly impressive picture. Not only of what our creative sectors have achieved, but also what they can go on to achieve if the right environment is provided for them in the future”.

So, an upbeat start, but note the need for “the right environment” for future success there. That sounds like the perfect set up for some ‘value gap’ chatter doesn’t it?

Continued the CISAC President: “Today is not about self-congratulation. It is about building more success. Identifying where progress is being held back. And proposing solutions to unlock potential where it is being stymied. Because the truth is that the creative economy, for the creators whose works are driving it, is still under-performing. We need to fix flaws in the environment in which creators are working. And if we do, the economic benefits will be enormous, leading to further growth and many more jobs”.

Got any particular flaws in mind, Jean-Michel? “The biggest flaw I want to highlight today is what is known as the ‘transfer of value’ or the ‘value gap'”, he went on. “To survive and thrive, creators must be fairly paid for their works. Yet today, some of the world’s major digital music services are building large businesses on back of creativity while paying next to nothing in return. This is not fair. It is a market distortion. And it is holding back growth in the creative sectors”.

The ‘value gap’, of course, is the music industry’s favoured term (though contrary Jarre does actually seem to prefer ‘transfer of value) for the revenue the creative sector feels it is losing as a result of certain digital firms exploiting certain aspects of copyright law.

In particular, the safe harbours that protect ‘intermediaries’ via which third parties distribute content without a licence. It’s the safe harbour dwelling companies who have built overt media businesses based on user-uploaded content that the music community really object to, which has mainly meant YouTube and possibly SoundCloud to date, though Facebook is very much in that territory now.

As previously reported, last year’s draft European Copyright Directive contains an article attempting to revise safe harbour rules in Europe, though the wording is currently a little wishy washy, and both music and tech firms are busy lobbying the European Parliament and EU member state governments to edit those lines to their advantage.

Jarre, meanwhile, remains hopeful that the Directive could address “the biggest flaw”. He went on: “The good news is that the problem of the ‘transfer of value’ has been recognised by policy makers. The EU is addressing the ‘transfer of value’ through the new Copyright Directive proposed last year. It would hopefully end the misapplication of copyright laws that currently devalues creative works online”.

Concluding, he said: “This will be great news for creators and unlock economic growth in the sector. We must throw our support behind the proposal as it works its way through the European Parliament this year. And after that, we should look beyond Europe to address the problem across the rest of the world”.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:14 | By

Judge rules on Prince estate administrator

Artist News Legal

Prince

The judge overseeing legalities around the Prince estate has confirmed Michigan-based Comerica Bank as its permanent administrator. As previously reported, all six of Prince’s prospective heirs told a Minnesota court earlier this month that they were happy with Comerica taking over from the Bremer Trust in administrating the estate on a permanent basis.

However, there was disagreement between those heirs regarding who should be appointed the individual rather than corporate administrator. That individual would advise the bank on the estate’s music industry dealings, and would also be the go-between between the heirs and the bankers.

Some of the heirs wanted entertainment lawyer L Londell McMillan – who has been advising and assisting the Bremer Trust alongside one-time EMI executive Charles A Koppelman since Prince’s death last April – to take on the role on a permanent basis.

But Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson and half-brother Omarr Baker wanted Anthony ‘Van’ Jones to be the formal individual administrator, he having previously advised Prince on his philanthropic ventures and other deals.

Not only were the two sets of heirs backing different men for the individual administrator role, they also raised objections about the other side’s preferred candidate, with both McMillan and Jones being accused of having possible conflicts of interest.

In the end the judge overseeing the matter, Kevin Eide, solved the problem by deciding that the court didn’t need to actually appoint an individual administrator at all.

He ruled that, while all the heirs had said there should be an individual representing their interests, citing communication issues they had had with the Bremer Trust, he felt that the estate’s affairs were no longer subject to the “mayhem” that followed Prince’s death, and that therefore Comercia should be able to communicate effectively itself.

The bank will presumably still want assistance in navigating the music industry as it seeks to maximise the return from Prince’s catalogue and legacy. It remains to be seen if it will call of the expertise of Londell, Koppelman and/or Jones, or whether it will seek other parties who might be able to get at least the informal support of all the heirs.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:13 | By

Warner/Chappell signs Swifta Beater

Artist News Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Warner/Chappell Swifta Beater signing

Warner/Chappell has announced that it has signed a worldwide publishing deal with prolific grime producer Swifta Beater. As well as releasing his own solo material, he has worked with the likes of JME, Kano, Wiley, P Money, Bugzy Malone and Giggs.

“I’m delighted to welcome Swifta Beater to Warner/Chappell”, says the publisher’s Creative Director, A&R Amber Davis. “He is a phenomenal talent whose beats and productions have been right at the heart of grime’s resurgence and momentous growth. I can’t wait to see how he continues to develop as a songwriter and an artist”.

Swifta Beater adds: “It’s such a pleasure being alongside the talented artists and producers that Warner/Chappell has. Thanks to Amber, I have no doubt that I can continue to be myself creatively and push my sound even further”.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:10 | By

Twickets opens Australian office

Business News Industry People Live Business

Twickets

Face value ticket exchange Twickets has launched in Australia, hiring Danny Hannaford to head up its new operation. Hannaford, formerly Head Of Ticketing at Global Live, will relocate from the UK to Australia to be the company’s first international staff member.

“We are very excited about the launch in Australia and to welcome Danny to the team”, says Twickets founder Richard Davies. “Having someone as experienced in the ticketing market as him to head up the Australian operation is a big step towards Twickets’ goals for international development in 2017”.

Hannaford adds: “Richard and I, along with the whole Twickets team, are looking forward to launching this new venture and helping event organisers, artists and fans exchange tickets fairly and safely. It’s an honour to be part of something truly changing the industry for the better and we are already having exciting conversations with some of Australia’s leading industry figures”.

As well as working for Global Entertainment’s live division, Hannaford previously worked for AEG’s AXS primary ticketing platform, and was Box Office Manager at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Twickets’ international expansion comes after the successful completion of its previously reported new crowd-funding round, which raised over £1.2 million from more than 900 investors.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:09 | By

Simon Turner named new Roundhouse chair

Business News Industry People Live Business

The Roundhouse

The Roundhouse in London has announced private equity guy Simon Turner as its new chair. He replaces Chris Satterthwaite.

“I am THRILLED to become Chair of the Roundhouse”, whistles Turner. “I have long admired and respected its commitment to promoting inspiring young artists and attracting some of the world’s top talent to its stage. I look forward to working with Marcus Davey and the board of trustees, and wish Chris Satterthwaite the very best for the future”.

Roundhouse chief exec Marcus Davey adds: “We’re delighted to welcome Simon at such a momentous time for the Roundhouse – 50 years as an arts venue and ten years since we reopened as a charity. His dedication to charities working with young people really inspired us throughout the process and Simon is a highly experienced, successful and widely respected businessman. We know he will provide invaluable leadership in helping us shape our future and support the next generation of young creatives”.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:05 | By

Young Fathers release Trainspotting 2 end credits track

Artist News Releases

Young Fathers

Young Fathers have released ‘Only God Knows’, one of six tracks they provided for the soundtrack of the upcoming ‘Trainspotting’ sequel, which is out this week.

Speaking about the band’s involvement in the film, director Danny Boyle says: “‘Trainspotting’, the original book, is like a modern ‘Ulysses’. It’s unsurpassed I think, and reading it is still like the ‘rush of ocean to the heart’. You’re always looking for the heartbeat of a film. For ‘Trainspotting’ it was Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’. For ‘T2’ It’s Young Fathers. Their songs are my heartbeat for the film. And ‘Only God Knows’ is that rush again. The ocean. The heart”.

Listen to ‘Only God Knows’ here:

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 11:01 | By

Mew announce new album, tour dates

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Mew

Mew have announced a new album, which is always exciting. ‘Visuals’ is due out on 28 Apr, and comes relatively quickly (for Mew) after their last album, 2015’s ‘+-‘.

“The live shows around [‘+-‘] saw us hit a creative peak, writing tracks on-the-road and the spark was lit”, says frontman Jonas Bjerre. “Breaking the normal cycle felt right and we wanted to make an album spontaneously retaining the energy we’d generated on that world tour, rather than wait the normal three or four years”.

He adds that lyrically the album is influenced by what is happening in global politics, saying: “It was pretty dark last year on many levels, so lyrically that definitely came into play, it’s an important reminder to treasure the here and now”.

You can listen to lead single ‘Carry Me To Safety’ here:

You’ll be able to catch the band live in May too, which you definitely should. Here are their UK dates:

21 May: Bristol, Trinity
22 May: Manchester, Ritz
23 May: London, Shepherds Bush Empire

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 10:58 | By

Cherry Glazerr announce tour dates

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Cherry Glazerr

Having released new album ‘Apocalipstick’ last week, Cherry Glazerr have just announced a load of UK and Ireland tour dates.

Before we get to those, here’s the video for ‘Nuclear Bomb’:

Now, tour dates:

28 Feb: London, Camden Assembly
9 May: Dublin, Whelan’s
22 May: Norwich, Open
24 May: London, Garage
30 May: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
31 May: Newcastle, Cluny
1 Jun: Glasgow, Broadcast

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 10:55 | By

CMU’s One Liners: Rough Trade, Roar, Jade Jackson, more

Artist News Awards Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases

Rough Trade

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Rough Trade Records has expanded its US team with the hiring of Ryan Naideau to head up A&R in the country.

• Jonathan Shalit’s Roar management company has acquired comedy agency Christian Knowles Productions, which counts acts such as Micky Flanagan, Hal Cruttenden, Mark Watson and Zoe Lyons on its roster. “We resisted previous offers from elsewhere to buy CKP, but Roar’s ambition and vision matched our own perfectly”, says Knowles.

• Anti- has signed Jade Jackson to release her new album, produced by Social Distortion’s Mike Ness. From the album, here’s new single ‘Motorcycle’.

• Wire have announced that they will release their fifteenth studio album, ‘Silver/Lead’, on 31 Mar, marking their 40th anniversary as a band. Here’s first single ‘Short Elevated Period’.

• Jaga Jazzist have released a new track, ‘Relative Peace (Oban Rework)’, featuring Young Dreams and Kimbra. The band will play the Roundhouse in London this Friday.

• Methyl Ethel will release new album ‘Everything Is Forgotten’ on 3 Mar. From it, this is ‘Ubu’.

• Neil Diamond has announced 50th anniversary tour dates, with various UK and Ireland dates finishing up at the O2 Arena on 17 Oct.

• Agnes Obel has announced that she will headline the Roundhouse in London on 4 Jun. Here’s new single ‘Stretch Your Eyes’.

• Nominations for the 2017 Radar Awards are now open. Put forward your music related content – videos, photography, design etc – by, filling out this form here.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 10:50 | By

Texas radio station bans Madonna over White House comments

And Finally Artist News Media

Madonna

A Texas radio station has banned Madonna from its airwaves following her controversial comments at Washington, DC’s Women’s March on Saturday. Hits 105 in Texarkana is also urging other stations to follow suit, lest they be infected with a distrust of new president Donald Trump.

As previously reported, Madonna said in her speech that she had thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House” but that actions such as that would not bring about positive change. Controversy kicked off around the comment – partly due to several TV stations cutting to elsewhere upon her mention of blowing up the White House – but the singer later said that her comments had been “taken wildly out of context”.

“I spoke in metaphor and I shared two ways of looking at things”, she wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. Meanwhile, Republican Newt Gingrich was calling for her to be arrested, accusing her of being part of “an emerging left-wing fascism” in an interview with Fox News. He also said that her statement after the speech was an attempt to save herself, as “she now understands she’s at risk”.

Now, in a move that is definitely not capitalising on all this in a bid to boost listener figures for the relatively new station, Hits 105 in Texakarna has banned the “un-American” Madonna from its local programming “indefinitely”.

“Banning all Madonna songs at Hits 105 is not a matter of politics, it’s a matter of patriotism”, said the station’s General Manager Terry Thomas (not that one) in a statement. “It just feels wrong to us to be playing Madonna songs and paying her royalties when the artist has shown un-American sentiments. If all stations playing Madonna took their lead from us, that would send a powerful economic message to Madonna”.

As we all know, US radio doesn’t actually hand over very much by the way of royalties to the music community – not paying any royalties at all to artists and labels, and just a little to songwriters and publishers – so I’m not sure quite how powerful that message would be. It’s also not entirely clear how much of Madonna’s music the station was playing in the first place either.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017, 10:20 | By

Approved: Lady Leshurr – #Unleshed 2

CMU Approved

Lady Leshurr

One of our favourite artists of 2016, Lady Leshurr, is already off to a strong start in 2017. Best known these days for her ‘Queens Speech’ collection of tracks, she returns this week with the second in her darker ‘#Unleshed’ series.

Starting off in similarly aggressive style to the first ‘#Unleshed’ track, the second makes a masterful switch in tone at its mid point. Letting the unflinching confidence of the first half fall away, she talks instead about the fears and pressures that come with an increase in fame, revealing a struggle with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. And while being recognised in the street can bring unwanted attention, she also speaks about being attacked just “for being black”.

If there were any doubts about her skill and importance as an artist, this pushes them all aside. Watch the video for ‘#Unleshed 2’ here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2017 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Tuesday 24 January 2017, 11:13 | By

Sprint takes 33% stake in Tidal

Business News Deals Digital Top Stories

Tidal

Tidal countered all that renewed scrutiny of its user numbers yesterday by announcing that US phone company Sprint had taken a 33% stake in the streaming service and would be offering subscriptions to its 45 million customer base. As a sweetener, there will be exclusive content offered only to Sprint customers.

There have been rumours, of course, that Jay-Z wanted to sell off some or all of Tidal pretty much ever since the day he bought the streaming firm back in 2015; indeed Sprint was one of the first companies to be linked to such a deal.

Some reckoned that the hip hop mogul was increasingly keen to get rid of the digital business altogether, though a new backer will reduce the ongoing financial burden of the Tidal operation and could provide a new marketing push.

Certainly on the face of it, access to 45 million potential new customers is nice, and tel co bundles have helped other streaming platforms boost their user numbers in the past. Though, as some of those platforms have found, you can lead a mobile phone customer to the stream, but you can’t necessarily make them drink.

Exactly how Sprint customers will be presented with Tidal isn’t clear. The two companies have said that news on “exclusive offers and upcoming promotions” will be made available soon, suggesting that it won’t simply be that Sprint users get Tidal bundled in with their existing contracts automatically.

As well as all this, Sprint has also committed to set up a marketing fund for artists – though details of what that will involve are also unclear.

“Sprint shares our view of revolutionising the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential”, says Jay-Z of the deal. “Marcelo [Claure, Sprint CEO] understood our goal right away and together we are excited to bring Sprint’s 45 million customers an unmatched entertainment experience”.

Claure adds: “Jay saw not only a business need, but a cultural one, and put his heart and grit into building Tidal into a world-class music streaming platform that is unrivalled in quality and content. The passion and dedication that these artist-owners bring to fans will enable Sprint to offer new and existing customers access to exclusive content and entertainment experiences in a way no other service can”.

So, it’s bold talk all round. Tidal is good at bold talk though. What it’s less good at is signing up paying customers, its campaign of big name exclusives having failed to make it a significant contender against Spotify or Apple Music, regardless of which user figures you believe. As previously reported, Norwegian business paper Dagens Næringsliv recently claimed that the number of paying subscribers could be as low as 850,000.

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Tuesday 24 January 2017, 11:12 | By

Global Music Rights seeks dismissal of radio industry’s monopoly case

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

Global Music Rights has filed a motion seeking to dismiss legal action launched by the US radio industry last year, questioning the jurisdiction of the court where the Radio Music License Committee lodged its initial lawsuit, and continuing with the “your monopoly is bigger than mine” line of argument.

As previously reported, the RMLC sued GMR last November. GMR is the boutique performing rights organisation set up by artist manager Irving Azoff that represents the performing rights in songs written by 73 writers. To broadcast those songs, radio stations need a licence from GMR in addition to licences from the other US song right collecting societies BMI, ASCAP and SESAC.

Because BMI and ASCAP both represent such large catalogues of songs, they are subject to the consent decrees administered by the US Department Of Justice to overcome competition law concerns, which mean a rate court can intervene when licensees can’t agree royalty terms with either society. SESAC, although not governed by a consent decree, also agreed to third party mediation on royalty disputes during a past legal battle with the RMLC.

The radio industry group is now trying to force the newer GMR to also accept such third party mediation with its new lawsuit. But Azoff’s rights agency argues that – given its size – GMR can’t be credibly accused of having any sort of monopoly, and therefore there shouldn’t be any competition law concerns. Which means GMR should be allowed to negotiate with licensees without the risk of a court intervening.

According to Billboard, in its legal filing calling for the RMLC case to be dismissed, GMR stresses that its catalogue of songs makes up about one eighth of 1% of all the songs available for radio stations to play, and that the works it reps account for 5-7.5% of radio play. Meanwhile, the RMLC represents 10,000 radio stations that together account for 90% of American terrestrial radio revenues.

If anyone is a monopoly, GMR is arguing, it’s the RMLC. Indeed, that’s what GMR argued in its own lawsuit filed against the radio industry body last month. That litigation which, unlike last week’s filing, wasn’t a countersuit to the RMLC’s action, argued that it was the licensing committee who was acting in an anti-competitive manner.

In addition to the squabbling over who, exactly, is the monopoly here, in its countersuit GMR also says that the RMLC was wrong to file its litigation in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. It argues that the case – if it must proceed – should be considered in the Californian courts. GMR is based in California, and while the RMLC is headquartered in Nashville, that’s Tennessee, and the Committee has way more member stations in California than it does Pennsylvania.

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