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Thursday 21 December 2017, 11:48 | By Andy Malt
One Liners: Chilly Gonzales, Gorillaz, Migos, more
Business News Education & Events Industry People One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Two accountancy firms with music and creative industry specialisms will become one in the new year. NWN Blue Squared is merging itself with Raffingers. The former says the merger will “boost the scale of services currently provided to its portfolio of creative sector clients”.
• Chilly Gonzales has selected nineteen artists who will be whittled down to six to join his previously reported eight day music performance workshop – The Gonservatory – next year. They are: Aitua, Alain Legagneur, Andrés Landon, Dadalú, Dalebi, Frida Split, Isla Ratcliff, Jean Despax, Justin Guzzwell, Kasera, Kato Change, Maal, Natalia Spiner, Ramataupia, Raphael Meinhart, Rose Ford, Russell Louder, Van Ludo, Yuliano Acri. Here are Gonzales, Jarvis Cocker, Peaches and Socalled working their way through 700 audition videos.
• When will Gorillaz release another album? Next year, reckons Jamie Hewlett.
• Migos have released new Pharrell-produced track ‘Stir Fry’. It’ll feature on their forthcoming new album, ‘Culture II’.
• Lil Peep’s mother Liza Womack has paid tribute to her son, who died last month, by releasing a new music video for his track, ‘Save That Shit’.
• Imagine Dragons and Khalid have teamed up to record a medley of their songs ‘Thunder’ and ‘Young, Dumb & Broke’.
• Panic! At The Disco have released a Christmas song, ‘Feels Like Christmas’.
• Dashboard Confessional have released the video for recent single ‘We Fight’. The song is taken from new album ‘Crooked Shadows’, out on 9 Feb.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Aitua | Alain Legagneur | Andrés Landon | Chilly Gonzales | Dadalú | Dalebi | Dashboard Confessional | Frida Split | Gorillaz | Imagine Dragons | Isla Ratcliff | Jean Despax | Justin Guzzwell | Kasera | Kato Change | Khalid | Lil Peep | Maal | Migos | Natalia Spiner | NWN Blue Squared | Panic! At The Disco | Pharrell Williams | Raffingers | Ramataupia | Raphael Meinhart | Rose Ford | Russell Louder | Van Ludo | Yuliano Acri
Thursday 21 December 2017, 11:42 | By Andy Malt
Lord Buckethead releases Christmas single
And Finally Artist News Releases
Theresa May’s having a tough time. She’s struggling to keep someone, anyone, with a friendly face in her cabinet. Meanwhile, she’s ultimately in charge of those Brexit negotiations, which David Davis is making a right pig’s ear of on her behalf. And then there’s Parliament fighting to protect the sovereignty of Parliament, a principle all her pro-Brexit ministers are much less keen on now than they were before the EU referendum.
With all that to think about, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the PM has completely forgotten to record a Christmas single. Never mind though, the hero of her stupid snap General Election from earlier this year – Lord Buckethead – has just released one.
As you must surely remember, Lord Buckethead was one of the candidates to stand against May for the parliamentary seat in Maidenhead. Pictures of her standing next to or near him as the votes came in were one of the daft highlights of a very daft election.
Making the most of his return to politics, and the public eye, 25 years after standing against John Major in Huntingdon in 1992, Lord Buckethead has now released a Christmas single, called ‘A Bucketful Of Happiness’. Avoiding focussing too much on politics, the song aims to spread festive goodwill and cheer, with lines like “joy to the whole human race, I’d smile if I had a face”.
If you want something a little more acerbic, you’ll need to go back to Captain Ska’s song about Theresa May, ‘Liar Liar’, which went to number four in the charts the week of the disastrous election. She later said that she “doesn’t much like” that song. No idea what she thinks of Lord Buckethead’s Christmas effort.
If she’s not yet heard it, she can watch the video here (as can you):
READ MORE ABOUT: Lord Buckethead
Thursday 21 December 2017, 10:46 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2017: Kelela
CMU Approved
Every day this week, we’ll be looking at the last twelve months for one of our favourite artists of 2017. Today, Kelela…
When Kelela released her hugely acclaimed mixtape – ‘Cut 4 Me’ – in 2013, it placed her high upon a wave of new artists shifting R&B into new places.
Listening back to it now, compared to her 2017 debut album proper ‘Take Me Apart’, it’s remarkable how rough it sounds. Not that it wasn’t (and still isn’t) a slick, innovative piece of work, but ‘Take Me Apart’ is so meticulous, and takes her ideas so much further.
‘Take Me Apart’ was not an album made quickly. Coming four years after ‘Cut 4 Me’, initial drafts of some of its songs date back to before that mixtape came out.
It’s not really the done thing for an artist so early in their career to work at such a leisurely pace. Especially when Kelela had already worried, before even working on her first songs, that she’d left it too late to pursue a career in music.
However, the proof that her instinct to work, rework and finesse the finished LP was the right one is right there in the music.
The Jam City-produced opening track, ‘Frontline’, immediately sets a futuristic tone for the album with a looping synth line and gentle bass notes. Then comes the first wave of Kelela’s vocals, and you know straight away that you’re in safe hands. As methodically crafted as the music on the record is, it never overshadows that voice.
“Everybody [who worked on the album] has a track, or more than one track, that makes them feel like ‘this is my shit’ and ‘this is home to me'”, she recently told Vulture. “This is what I consider to be zero. For me, this record has been hard to make because I don’t have a singular zero, meaning, there’s not a song where I’m not stretching”.
She adds: “The vocals are a constant – no matter what I sing over, I sing the way that I sing, and it comes from this R&B space. That is the anchor”.
Lyrically, the songs on the album are arranged to follow the end of one relationship through to the beginning of another. Throughout, there’s a pleasing balance of confidence and vulnerability – of knowing what you want and still being unsure of it at times. It’s Kelela’s fragility that ultimately feeds the sense of power felt in her presentation of herself.
For all the positive effects of making this album slowly, Kelela feels like an artist who has now really hit her stride. And she herself has said she wants to find a quicker way of working in the future. If she can do that without losing her grasp on what makes her music so good, then her prompt return will be most welcome.
Watch the video for ‘Blue Light’ here:
Listen to (almost) ever artist featured in the CMU Approved column in 2017 on this Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2017 | Kelela
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 12:00 | By Chris Cooke
Universal and Sony sign new deals with YouTube
Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories
Could YouTube start 2018 without its ‘enemy number one’ status in the music community? Maybe. The Google company has inked a new long-term agreement with both Universal Music and Sony Music, according to Bloomberg.
Universal has confirmed its new deal, which it’s thought includes new commitments from YouTube to further enhance the Content ID rights management system and a basic agreement for the video site to launch its previously reported new subscription music service.
YouTube’s latest commitment to paid-for streaming is likely key to placating the record companies – in the short term at least – they being long annoyed that the video site pays much less into the music industry than Spotify and Apple. The labels generally like paid-for streaming much more than free streaming, seeing the latter as – at best – an upsell platform, and at worst a necessary evil that has to exist to try and stop people using piracy sites.
The video platform’s original plan to move into paid-for music streaming in 2015 was abandoned in favour of the video site’s wider subscription product, the somewhat lacklustre YouTube Red. But it’s rumoured YouTube will now launch a standalone music subscription service in the spring, somehow integrated with the Google Play Music streaming set-up, which operates more in line with the Spotifys of this world.
Either way, Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge said of the new deal yesterday: “This important step forward provides our recording artists and songwriters improved content flexibility and growing compensation from YouTube’s ad-supported and paid-subscription tiers, while also furthering YouTube’s commitment to manage music rights on its platform. I look forward to collaborating with Susan and her team at YouTube on the important work ahead to advance artists’ interests and sustain the music industry’s recent growth”.
The there mentioned Susan is YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki, who is THRILLED about her new deal with the biggest of all the record companies. “We’re THRILLED to strengthen our partnership with Universal Music Group”, said she. “This agreement means we can drive more value to the industry, break and support more artists, and deliver an incredible music experience to fans around the world”.
Yeah, we’ll see about that. Warner Music signed a new deal with YouTube back in May, which is presumably why it was the label said to be already on board for the new standalone music service when that was first mooted earlier this month. Though back in May, Warner Music boss Stephen Cooper was somewhat reserved about the new deal, telling staff in a memo: “We secured the best possible deals under very difficult circumstances. Our new deals are also shorter than usual, giving us more options in the future”.
Various sources, including those talking to Bloomberg, reckon Sony Music has also signed up to a new contract with YouTube, presumably on similar terms to Warner and Universal, although it is yet to formally comment. Deals will also need to be done with the indies, and on the publishing side with the collecting societies, which still control many of the rights YouTube needs to exploit, even though the majors have tended to include the Anglo-American repertoires of their publishing divisions in these talks.
Whether any of this will bring to an end the frequent YouTube dissing in the music community remains to be seen, and likely depends on whether the Google site can actually sign anyone up to its higher-royalty-paying paid-for service.
The music industry’s lobbyists in Europe still hope that the final draft of the European Copyright Directive will limit the extent to which YouTube can use so called safe harbour protection to strengthen its negotiating hand. That could still take some time to be properly worked out. But it might be that – if YouTube’s move into subscription music streaming falters or fails – next time the majors come to renew their deals with the Google company, they’ll feel they are newly empowered by European copyright law to demand more.
Though, if in the short term YouTube’s enemy number one status is put on hold by the powers that be in the music business, perhaps that will allow them to focus their energies on fucking Facebook. That sounds like fun. Plus “fucking Facebook” alliterates. Result!
READ MORE ABOUT: Sony Music | Universal Music | YouTube
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:59 | By Chris Cooke
US appeals court 100% certain fractional licensing is all fine
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
Songwriters and music publishers in America have welcomed an appeal court ruling that confirms that the country’s performing rights organisations can continue to operate a so called fractional licensing system, rather than the 100% licensing system that the Department Of Justice decreed should be introduced.
Will this be the last time I ever have to explain 100% licensing? Let’s hope so. Songs are often co-written and therefore co-owned. In the US, there are multiple collecting societies representing the performing rights in songs, meaning songwriters must decide which one to join. Once the writer is joined up, that society represents their performing rights.
Collaborating writers may choose to join different societies, which means that any one song may be concurrently represented by BMI, ASCAP, GMR and SESAC, with each society representing a percentage of the work. Where that is the case – convention has generally held – anyone wishing to broadcast or perform that work must have a licence from all the societies, and pay royalties to each, pro-rata according to what percentage it controls.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is ‘fractional licensing’. You get every licence you need until you have 100% of the song covered. But when the US Department Of Justice reviewed the consent decrees that govern BMI and ASCAP last year, it announced that – by its reading of said decrees – the two big American collecting societies were obliged to operate a so called ‘100% licensing system’.
That would mean that, where BMI controlled part of a song, a licensee could make use of that song with just a BMI licence. BMI would then collect 100% of the royalties at whatever rates it had agreed with the licensee, but would then have to pass on a share of the money to ASCAP or whoever, who would then pay the writer who was not a BMI member.
The music industry, which had been hoping the Department Of Justice would streamline the aforementioned consent decrees – rather than infer an extra rule from them – were not impressed with the government department’s 100% licensing declaration. ASCAP decided to fight the DoJ’s decision in Congress, while BMI took the matter to court.
BMI’s legal action reached a conclusion much quicker than everyone expected. The judge who oversees the BMI consent decree – Louis L Stanton – almost immediately sided with the society and ruled that the DoJ had been wrong to infer a 100% licensing obligation. The DoJ then appealed that decision to the Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit.
Yesterday that appeals court also sided with BMI, concluding that Stanton’s reading of the consent decree was correct, and that the society can continue to operate a fractional licensing system without being in breach of its regulatory document.
Needless to say, BMI is happy with the latest ruling. Its boss man Mike O’Neill declared yesterday: “This is a massive victory for songwriters, composers, music publishers and the entire industry. We have said from the very beginning that BMI’s consent decree allowed for fractional licensing, and we are incredibly gratified that Judge Stanton and the Second Circuit agreed with our position”.
He went on: “We thank all the songwriters, composers, publishers and organisations who supported us throughout this process, which unfortunately, has been a nearly two-year distraction from our original intent which was to update our outdated consent decree and modernise music licensing. We look forward to our continued efforts to protect and grow the value of music”.
While the ruling specifically related to the BMI consent decree, it is assumed a precedent is set that also covers ASCAP. So it too welcomed the ruling, with CEO Elizabeth Matthews remarking that: “The Second Circuit’s ruling today is an important victory for music creators across the country. The court affirms what we have known all along, that the right of public performance allows for the fractional licensing of musical works in our repertories, and the consent decrees do not limit that right”.
America’s National Music Publishers Association was also happy, with its CEO David Israelite announcing that the appeal court ruling was a “vindication for all songwriters and music publishers”. He added: “The DoJ’s disastrous interpretation was an attack on songwriters and we congratulate BMI and the industry effort on successfully fighting against this massive government overreach”.
Hoping that yesterday’s ruling meant the 100% licensing issue was now resolved, and perhaps the DoJ might want to return to thinking about streamlining the rules governing collective licensing, Israelite added: “We are encouraged it is a new day at the Justice Department with new leadership that we trust will respect the rights of songwriters and ultimately address the larger problems with the outdated World War Two-era consent decrees that continue to harm music creators”.
So, everyone is happy! Hurrah for that. Oh, what’s this, someone’s not happy? Who let them in? Yes, that’s right, not everyone is happy. The MIC Coalition – the lobbying group representing tech, broadcasting and hospitality companies who use music – is not happy.
“Today’s decision by the Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit will have devastating consequences for the future of music licensing”, it said, building up the drama in a way that really needs a suitably dramatic soundtrack. Though you’d have to pay for that.
“If left unchallenged”, the MIC Coalition added, “this decision will fundamentally alter decades of business practices while destroying the value of collective licensing and threatening to throw the entire music marketplace into chaos. We urge the Department Of Justice to challenge today’s decision all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. We believe that the clear precedent on the scope of the consent decree will prevail”.
It remains to be seen if the Justice Department – under new management since its consent decree review – wants to continue to fight on this. Or whether Israelite is right to be optimistic that the US government’s competition regulators might actually be up for reducing the rules governing collective licensing Stateside. Either way, it’s not entirely certain that this is definitely the last time I’ll ever have to explain 100% licensing. So I’m not happy.
READ MORE ABOUT: ASCAP | BMI | US Department Of Justice
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:56 | By Andy Malt
Casey Dienel drops lawsuit against Justin Bieber and Skrillex
Artist News Business News Legal
Musician Casey Dienel, formerly known as White Hinterland, has dropped a lawsuit against Justin Bieber and Skrillex in which she claimed that they ripped off one of her songs for their hit ‘Sorry’.
As previously reported, Dienel went legal in May last year, claiming that Bieber and Skrillex had lifted the “unique characteristics of the female vocal riff” from her 2014 White Hinterland single ‘Ring The Bell”.
“Like most artists that sample music, Bieber could have licensed my song for use in ‘Sorry'”, she said at the time. “But he chose not to contact me. After the release of ‘Sorry’, my lawyers sent Bieber a letter regarding the infringement, but Bieber’s team again chose to ignore me”.
The accusation prompted Skrillex to post a video online showing how he created the vocal riff himself, using vocals recorded by one of the song’s co-writers Julia Michaels.
Dienel nonetheless pressed on with her legal action. Although now, according to TMZ, more than a year and a half later, she has moved to have the case dismissed. It’s not clear what prompted this or if any behind the scenes negotiations have taken place.
READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber | Skrillex | White Hinterland
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:55 | By Chris Cooke
Artists urge Congress to back legislation fixing the 1972 quirk
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
A group of 41 artists has urged US Congress to finally sort out the bloody 1972 quirk in American copyright law by backing the somewhat clumsily named Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service & Important Contributions to Society Act. That translates to the CLASSICS Act see. And this is all about classic rock and pop music. Ha ha!
As previously reported, earlier this year Republican Darrell Issa and Democrat Jerrold Nadler proposed a new law that would confirm that online and satellite radio services in America need to pay royalties to artists and labels when they play tracks released before 1972.
US-wide federal copyright law says such royalties must be paid, but – for reasons of history – federal copyright law only applies to recordings released since 1972. Earlier recordings are protected by state level copyright law, and working out what those old laws say about online and satellite radio has proven to be fucking tedious.
The CLASSICS Act would overcome the ambiguities of state level copyright rules – and the possible unsatisfactory conclusion that the royalty obligations of national radio services might differ from state to state – by confirming once and for all that when an online or satellite radio station plays a golden oldie, both artist and label should get a royalty.
With those proposals now on the table, a consortium of artists organised by the Content Creators Coalition – and including T Bone Burnett, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt and Henry Rollins – has suggested that 2018 might be a good year to finally sort out a copyright anomaly created all the way back in 1972.
They stated yesterday: “Digital radio makes billions of dollars a year from airplay of music made before 1972. Yet, because of an ambiguity in state and federal copyright laws, artists and copyright owners who created that music receive nothing for the use of their work. The ‘CLASSICS Act’ would correct this inequity and finally ensure that musicians and vocalists who made those timeless songs finally get their due. We urge Congress to pass the CLASSICS Act and other pro-artist reforms quickly”.
READ MORE ABOUT: CLASSICS Act
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:53 | By Andy Malt
Insane Clown Posse lose latest legal bid over fans’ gang classification
Artist News Legal
Insane Clown Posse have lost a court appeal to have their fans, known as Juggalos, delisted as a criminal gang by the FBI. This story dates back to 2011, when Juggalos were listed as a “loosely-organised hybrid gang” in the FBI’s National Gang Threat Assessment report.
The hip hop duo have launched a number of legal actions against this listing, arguing that simply liking their music was becoming problematic for many ICP fans. The group claim that people have lost jobs, lost custody of children, been unfairly arrested, been refused entry into the military, and more, simply for being Juggalos.
In September this year, more than 1000 Juggalos marched on Washington as an attempt to raise awareness for their plight. They argue that the gang classification is a violation of their fans’ first and fifth amendment rights. The first amendment allows for freedom of expression, while the fifth amendment protects US citizens against having to incriminate themselves.
In court this week, ICP’s legal team called up various Juggalos to describe issues they had faced by being fans of the group. According to the New York Post, one said that he had been detained by police for displaying an ICP window sticker in his truck. Another said that he had been told by an army recruitment officer that he would have to have ICP tattoos permanently removed in order to join the military.
However, the Sixth Circuit court of appeals did not sympathise, saying that the duo had “failed to demonstrate that the Juggalo gang designation results in legal consequences”.
The court added that the 2011 FBI list was for information purposes only and not legally binding in itself. Therefore, any view taken by officials on how to treat Juggalos was their own and not the cause of the FBI report for the National Gang Intelligence Center.
“The government officials who harmed appellants were not bound by the Juggalo gang designation nor were they required to consider the 2011 NGIC report”, said the court in its ruling. “Thus, the government officials’ actions are not the direct consequences of the Juggalo gang designation in the 2011 NGIC report, but are the product of their own independent decision making”.
Insane Clown Posse have not yet commented on the ruling.
READ MORE ABOUT: Insane Clown Posse
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:52 | By Chris Cooke
Alexi Cory-Smith departs BMG
Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers
Alexi Cory-Smith has announced that she is standing down from her senior role at BMG, having led the growth of the v2 BMG business in the UK since joining the firm in 2011. Her job title since the start of the year had been President, Repertoire & Marketing.
Confirming that Cory-Smith was departing the business, a spokesperson for BMG stated yesterday: “Alexi deserves full credit for all she has brought to BMG over the past seven years. We hold her in the highest personal esteem. And we wish her well in her future plans”.
After paying tribute to her team and her bosses, Cory-Smith said it was “time for me to start a new chapter” in a memo to staff confirming her departure.
Looking back on her time with the music rights company, she added: “In my time we have signed so many great artists and songwriters including Bring Me The Horizon, Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, Liam Howlett and The Prodigy, Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, Jamiroquai, Giggs, The National, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones – Messrs Jagger and Richards, specifically – twice”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Alexi Cory-Smith | BMG
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:51 | By Chris Cooke
Black Diamond adds publishing wing, Kobalt to administrate
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Having launched a joint venture label with Warner Music earlier this year, Black Diamond Music has now added a music publishing wing to the business. And earlier this month it allied with Kobalt, which will administrate the new venture’s songs catalogue. Kobalt is already working with Black Diamond managed artist Mullally.
The company’s co-founder, David Olusegun, says: “Our vision at Black Diamond Music has always been to discover, sign and develop the most forward-thinking music creators in our generation and give them the platform and infrastructure to succeed. We expressed this to Alison Donald and she understood the vision immediately and now we are excited about signing unique, culture-defining writers to Black Diamond Publishing with Kobalt”.
The there mentioned Alison is Kobalt’s Alison Donald, who adds: “We’re delighted to be working with Black Diamond and the next stage of their development as a company. We’re looking forward to administering their roster of writers including those currently working closely with our recent signing Mullally”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Black Diamond Music | Kobalt
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:50 | By Andy Malt
Amazon begins to shut down digital music locker service
Business News Digital
Amazon has announced that it has begun the process of shutting down its online music storage service. You’d forgotten Amazon even had such a thing, hadn’t you? And to think, it was all so controversial back in 2011.
Launched in the US that year, Amazon Music Storage sparked a dispute with record labels and music publishers because it didn’t have any licences from those companies. The online retailer argued that licences were not required, because its customers were entitled to back up their digital files online under their private copy right. The labels and publishers countered that, while that may be true, playing back those files online did require licences.
After months of refusal to budge on either side, Amazon eventually caved and negotiated licences with the labels and publishers. The service eventually launched in the UK in September 2012, where licences were always required, as there is no private copy right under British copyright law (except for that very brief period when there was).
Users of the free version of the service, which allows storage of up to 250 tracks, lost the ability to upload new files on Monday. Music already stored in people’s accounts will remain accessible until January 2019. Meanwhile no new subscriptions – free or paid for – will be accepted after 15 Jan next year.
Exactly how long paying subscribers – who could be storing anywhere up to 250,000 files – will still have access to their accounts remains to be seen. In the short term, those subscribers will be able to renew their existing subscriptions. But should a subscription lapse, there won’t be an option to sign-up anew. Instead, they will be downgraded to a free account, with one year’s access to 250 of their tracks before being locked out altogether.
For those who continue to pay, it seems that Amazon Music Storage will live on for at least sometime after January 2019. How much longer will likely depend, at least in part, on how many of those paying users there are left.
For those still keen on having both an MP3 collection and an online back up of that MP3 collection, both Google and Apple still offer music storage services. Apple’s iTunes Match charges an annual subscription, while Google Play Music allows users to store up to 50,000 tracks for free.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:48 | By Andy Malt
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda dismisses suggestion of hologram Chester Bennington
Artist News
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has shot down the suggestion that the band might one day perform with a hologram version of late vocalist Chester Bennington.
It seems like a strange thing to ask someone mere months after a bandmate’s death, but the topic came up in a recent Q&A on Shinoda’s Instagram profile nonetheless. And apparently it’s not the first time it has been suggested.
“I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of a holographic Chester”, he said. “I’ve actually heard other people outside the band suggest that, and there’s absolutely no way … That would be the worst. For any of you guys who have lost a loved one, best friend, family member, can you imagine having a hologram of them? Ugh. I can’t do it. I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but, you know, we’ll figure it out eventually”.
Various musicians have returned to the stage as (sort of) holograms, including Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Tupac Shakur and Ronnie James Dio, and various ventures are underway to start touring hologram versions of deceased pop stars.
Though none of those were designed as a means for a band to continue working in the immediate wake of a bandmate’s death.
READ MORE ABOUT: Chester Bennington | Linkin Park | Mike Shinoda
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 11:47 | By Andy Malt
Liam and Noel are “all good again”
And Finally Artist News
It’s a Christmas miracle! Liam and Noel Gallagher are “all good again”. Expect an Oasis reunion by Boxing Day.
Publicly, of course, Noel has spent the last few months bad-mouthing his younger brother, as both of them promoted new solo albums. Although it has increasingly felt like Noel was mainly trying to one-up himself in each new interview – rather than displaying any genuine animosity for his brother – as he’s asked the same questions repeatedly.
And behind the scenes, it’s a different story, if Liam is to be believed. “I wanna say Happy Xmas to team NG”, Liam tweeted yesterday. “It’s been a great year, thanks for everything, looking forward to seeing you tomorrow”.
Many fans immediately fell over themselves with excitement, while others acted with more cynicism. One predicted that Liam would “have a meltdown” on Twitter on Christmas Day when Noel “doesn’t reach out”.
“He’s already reached out”, replied Liam. “We’re all good again”.
So that’s definitely all sorted. You don’t need to let your concerns about the on going Gallagher brothers feud ruin your festive break. And I know you were all worried.
READ MORE ABOUT: Liam Gallagher | Noel Gallagher
Wednesday 20 December 2017, 10:54 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2017: Jhene Aiko
CMU Approved
Every day this week, we’ll be looking at the last twelve months for one of our favourite artists of 2017. Today, Jhene Aiko…
There’s been a trend in recent years towards longer albums, particularly in R&B and hip hop. Often this can feel like a cynical move. As if the artist is packing in as many different trendy production styles as possible to maximise potential airplay. Or maybe it’s some attempt to game chart rules for how streams are counted.
But in the case of Jhene Aiko’s ‘Trip’, its 22 tracks provide just about the necessary space to explore the album’s intertwining storylines. In fact, these stories and themes spill over into other media too, the project being a MAP – as she calls it – ie a movie, album and poetry book. The movie (or rather short film) goes some way to explaining the themes covered in greater depth on the album itself. Although, actually, a shorter monologue posted on SoundCloud does a better job of that.
Essentially, ‘Trip’ is a document of Aiko’s grief following the death of her older brother, Miyagi Chilombo, in 2012. It sees her attempt to cope through solitude, through romantic relationships, and through drugs. As the album unfolds, it becomes more than that, exploring different facets of all of those things – the good and the bad.
Along the way, she collaborates with artists like John Mayer, Brandy and Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee. However, it’s performances with boyfriend Big Sean, her father Karamo Chilombo, and her daughter Namiko Love, that really pull the record together.
The album is set up with its opening two tracks, ‘LSD’ and ‘Jukai’. The former laying out the influence of drugs over what is to come, while the latter sees Aiko walking through a forest in Japan known as a place where people go to take their own lives, finishing with the line, “I made it out alive”.
‘Jukai’ also features the first appearance of a character, voiced by producer Brian Warfield of Fisticuffs, who – she told NPR earlier this year – “appears at first to be an angel, but then he turns into someone that is not”.
It’s an ambitious project and an album that delivers ever more with repeat listens.
Listen to ‘Jukai’ here:
Listen to (almost) ever artist featured in the CMU Approved column in 2017 on this Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2017 | Jhene Aiko
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:12 | By Chris Cooke
Music companies must “rethink strategies” to end culture of sexual abuse
Business News Industry People Top Stories
Following the lead of women working in the Swedish and Australian music industries, a group of British music executives have launched a campaign to tackle sexual harassment and abuse – and the misogynistic culture that allows such behaviour – in the UK music sector.
The Stop2018 campaign was launched yesterday to coincide with an edition of the BBC’s ‘Victoria Derbyshire Show’ in which a number of women working in music both on and off stage – including Chloe Howl, Yasmin Lajoie and Michelle de Vries – discussed their own experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry.
Artist manager Lajoie told the BBC: “You’d be hard pressed to find a woman working in the industry today who’s never been a victim of sexual harassment or abuse”.
Frustrated by that fact, Lajoie began gathering information about specific incidents from other women working in the business. “I expected stories of sexual harassment”, she said. “What I’ve actually received are stories of rape happening on company property, men insisting on oral sex from young women, men seriously assaulting women, raping them in apartments owned by major music companies”.
After describing the repeated sexual misconduct of a more senior colleague at a major music company where she worked earlier in her career, music supervisor de Vries recalled: “We went to a lawyer and were categorically told that he had committed a serious crime. But the lawyer said, ‘If you report this, you will never work in the industry again'”.
She and a colleague resigned from the company in question but, she adds, the man who committed the crime still works in the industry. De Vries added: “I thought it was a hangover of the 80s and 90s, but it’s very clear that this behaviour is still going on and young women are being sexually assaulted, still today”.
Launching the Stop2018 campaign yesterday, the initiative’s founders write: “We recently appeared on the BBC’s ‘Victoria Derbyshire Show’ to talk about sexual assault, misogyny and bullying in the music industry. This is an issue that affects many women, but also men too. The decision to appear on the show was not taken lightly. It has been painful and has caused us individuals a great deal of anxiety and fear over the past few weeks. We believe that we have to stand up and end the toxic culture of silence around the issue”.
They continue: “We are empowered because we are aware of many stories of severe abuse. These are stories of predatory behaviour, rape and assault usually on vulnerable persons by people in positions of power. As the journalist said on the show, she had interviewed many, many individuals in the industry with horrific experiences all of whom had been afraid of repercussions if they speak out”.
Confirming their key objective, the founders add: “We went on the show to tell our stories. We wanted to let women and men know that you are not alone. If you have experienced a sexual assault or have been made to leave your job because of bullying and harassment you are not the one at fault, however bad you have been made to feel”.
As previously reported, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood, there has been a much more frank conversation about sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry. However, to be of value that conversation now needs to lead to positive action. Or, in the words of Musicians’ Union Assistant General Secretary Naomi Pohl: “We need nothing short of wholesale cultural change in our industry, for every musician to understand what is acceptable in a workplace and what is not”.
With that in mind, the Stop2018 campaign has a specific agenda to kickstart that positive action. The founders continue: “While we applaud many wonderful individuals in the music industry who denounce harassment, misogynistic and bullying behaviour there are still many companies and persons currently working that are in the dark ages with regards to harassment issues, women’s rights and equality”.
They go on: “It has been made clear to us time and time again that when experiencing sexual assault and bullying, individuals currently have nowhere or no one to turn to. History shows that those who have spoken up have been silenced, ostracised and completely let down, usually being the ones to lose their jobs and not the perpetrator”.
The campaign then proposes four immediate action points.
First, that the industry’s trade organisations – possibly via UK Music – set up a safe place “where anyone working in the industry can speak in confidence knowing that they will not be the ones who have to suffer repercussions”.
Secondly, that “all music companies rethink their strategies, and stop working with individuals and other companies who exhibit any predatory or bullying behaviour, whether it be an employee, an artist, a producer, or a manager, a lawyer, a publicist or an agent or anyone associated with the business, however powerful and successful they may be”.
Thirdly, noting that pay inequality helps contribute to a sexist culture within companies, the campaign says it is “calling for women to be paid the same as men and to receive the same benefits in the work place. We want to see an end to the common practice that when men and women are hired at the same time, the man is often given more assistance and offered better opportunities to advance their careers – we want to see women offered the same promotion opportunities as men”.
And finally: “We are calling for an end to managers and labels telling artists they need to wear provocative clothing or to flirt with executives to be successful”.
Concluding, the founders of the Stop2018 campaign write: “Above all our hope is that 2018 is the year that bullying, misogyny, sexual harassment, assault and rape in the music industry stops. We want the business we all love so much to become a safe place for everyone to work”.
You can read more about the ‘Victoria Derbyshire Show’ report here and get more information about the Stop2018 campaign here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Michelle de Vries | Stop2018 | Yasmin Lajoie
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:06 | By Chris Cooke
Judge declines to sack bank administrating the Prince estate
Artist News Business News Legal
A judge in Minnesota has declined to remove the bank Comercia from its role administering the Prince estate. Three of the late musician’s heirs last month filed papers with the court requesting that Comercia be axed from its current role. The other three heirs then objected to that proposal.
As previously reported, there have been various disagreements between Prince’s siblings since his untimely death last year. Though all six heirs did initially agree to Comercia Bank taking over the administration of the estate from the Bremer Trust, which undertook that role on an interim basis until earlier this year.
However, while all six heirs may have approved the appointment of Comercia, three of them almost immediately raised concerns once the bank had started work. Things then seemingly came to a head when it was decided to move the master recordings stored in the vault at Prince’s Paisley Park home to a storage facility in California. Two of the musician’s half sisters – Sharon and Norrine Nelson – said they had not been consulted about that move.
Judge Kevin Eide yesterday ruled that it would not be in the best interests of the Prince estate to remove Comercia from its administrator role. Instead he appointed a retired judge to act as a mediator between the bank and the heirs to the estate, presumably hoping that that can relieve tensions between the disgruntled heirs and the bankers.
READ MORE ABOUT: Prince
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:05 | By Chris Cooke
Apple Music sued over unpaid mechanicals Stateside
Business News Digital Legal
Apple Music has got itself one of those super fashionable mechanical royalty lawsuits in the US – and just in time for Christmas! According to Billboard, lawyer Richard Garbarini filed a class action against the Apple streaming service at the weekend, naming independent songwriter Bryan Eich as the first member of the class.
As much previously reported, pretty much every streaming service has been accused of not paying all the so called mechanical royalties due to US songwriters and music publishers for the songs they stream. The lawsuits on this issue against Spotify have garnered the most attention, but a plethora of other services have also been sued, with Garbarini himself behind previous lawsuits against Tidal, Slacker and Google Play.
The services argue that they’d love to pay everyone their mechanical royalties – adding that they are already handing over all the accompanying performing right royalties due to writers and publishers – but that an entirely inept licensing framework for mechanicals Stateside makes it tricky to ensure everyone gets the money they are due.
The main problem is that, unlike in most other countries, there isn’t an industry-wide mechanical rights collecting society able to offer streaming services a blanket licence.
Such societies do exist for performing rights – in the form of ASCAP, BMI, GMR and SESAC – which means on that side of the song copyright the digital platform can pay a society which then works out which writers and publishers are due the money. But on the mechanicals side of the song copyright no such society exists, so the streaming service must identify the song being streamed, and all the beneficiaries of the song copyright.
There are agencies that can help with that task, and many streaming firms have used the Harry Fox Agency, which was previously owned by the music publishing sector’s trade body. Though that hasn’t stopped a big stack of writers and publishers going unpaid.
Moves are now afoot to establish a mechanical rights collecting society in the US that could offer that all-important blanket licence, though that will require a change to the statutory compulsory licence that covers mechanicals in America. If that does happen, the digital services will no longer need to identify songs and songwriters, instead handing over all the money to one society, which can then take over failing to pass on the money to the right people. Or pay them. It could pay them.
In the meantime, the lawsuits on unpaid mechanicals continue to mount up. Garbarini is seeking statutory damages of $30,000 for every song controlled by a class member which has been streamed by Apple Music without mechanical royalties being paid. Good times. And well done Apple. Now you’ve got an unpaid mechanicals lawsuit in the bag you’re a proper streaming service.
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple Music
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:03 | By Andy Malt
Gene Simmons denies accusations of sexual misconduct in new lawsuit
Artist News Legal
Gene Simmons has “vigorously” denied accusations of sexual misconduct made in a new lawsuit brought against him by an unnamed journalist.
The woman, listed as ‘Jane Doe’ on the lawsuit, says that the Kiss bassist made “several aggressive, unwanted sexual advances” during an interview in November, despite “active and clear discouragement”.
Simmons was, according to the legal papers, being interviewed to promote the opening of a new Rock & Brews restaurant in San Bernadino, California – a chain of which he is a co-owner. The entire incident was captured on video, it adds, with several witnesses also in attendance.
It is claimed that Simmons made repeated attempts to grab the interviewer’s hand as they spoke and “turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendo” throughout their conversation. He is also alleged to have “forcibly flicked/struck plaintiff Doe in the throat”, at which point she attempted to terminate the interview.
His accuser is seeking undisclosed damages and requests a jury trial.
In a statement to Ultimate Classic Rock, Simmons says: “I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media”.
He goes on: “For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence”.
As previously reported, Simmons was recently banned from Fox News following an incident in which it is claimed he acted inappropriately towards female employees at the broadcaster. He denied those allegations.
READ MORE ABOUT: Gene Simmons
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:02 | By Chris Cooke
Universal acquires Stiff Records and ZTT
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Universal Music has managed to squeeze in one more acquisition before the end of the year, taking ownership of the Stiff Records and ZTT labels and the Perfect Songs music publishing outfit. The acquisitions come via a deal with the SPZ Group, the independent music company co-founded by record producer Trevor Horn and his late wife Jill Sinclair.
Under the deal, Universal acquires the two labels, the entire ZTT back catalogue and select Stiff Records releases. Meanwhile Perfect Songs Publishing and its songs catalogue will become part of the Universal Music Publishing Group. Artists whose recordings and/or songs are part of the deal include Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Kirsty MacColl, Shane MacGowan, Art Of Noise and Lisa Stansfield.
Confirming the deal, Horn said: “Jill started Perfect Songs and ZTT in the 80s and I’m extremely proud of what she achieved. Lucian Grange and Jill were really good friends so I’m pleased that these catalogues are going to Universal. I’d like to thank all the writers and the artists on ZTT, Perfect and Stiff. It was a great experience and I enjoyed working with each one of you (most of the time)”.
For his part, Universal top man Lucian Grainge added: “Stiff and ZTT are truly unique and iconic labels that captured the zeitgeist of their generation and experienced great commercial success, whilst influencing contemporary music entirely on their own terms. With Perfect Songs, we are adding an award-winning publishing catalogue, rich with hits, acclaim and global success. UMG is committed to building upon the legacy of these revolutionary labels, in keeping with the spirit of their founders”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Jill Sinclair | Stiff Records | Trevor Horn | Universal Music | ZTT
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 12:00 | By Andy Malt
DJ Kaleb Freitas killed as stage collapses at Brazilian electronic music festival
Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business
A DJ was killed when a stage collapsed at Brazil’s Atmosphere Festival on Sunday. Kaleb Freitas was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and died soon afterwards.
The event had gone ahead despite a severe weather warning, and video of the incident shows the site being hit by high winds. An investigation has now been launched into what exactly caused the stage to collapse. In addition to the death of Freitas, three more were injured during the incident.
In a statement, the festival said: “We are grieving. We have lost a friend, an artist. Our priority now is to assist the injured and their families. Meanwhile we thank the military and the fire department for all their assistance”.
The statement added: “We always value the safety of our audience and follow all the processes requested by local authorities”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Atmosphere Festival | Kaleb Freitas
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 11:57 | By Chris Cooke
UK government to drop genre obligations from radio licences
Business News Media
The UK government has announced plans to further deregulate commercial radio so that the genres of music each station plays will no longer be fixed in its licence agreement with media regulator OfCom. The announcement follows the previously reported government consultation on radio licensing that was launched earlier this year.
Broadcasting rules governing commercial radio have been relaxed numerous times over the years, though radio companies have been pushing for even more flexibility – especially when it comes to their music policies – arguing that fixed genre obligations date from a time when there were far fewer radio stations for listeners to choose from, and no online music services offering other alternatives.
Confirming that commercial radio would now get that extra flexibility, the Department For Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said yesterday that it was “removing these outdated rules that restrict the growth of the sector”. This means “stations will no longer need to play specific genres as part of their licences” plus “there will be no requirement for OfCom to approve changes to programme formats”.
Though, while on the music front the rules will pretty much shift to “anything goes”, obligations for news provision will remain. The DDCMS added: “With recent research showing that radio is the most trusted medium for news, strong requirements will remain on commercial radio stations to provide national and local news as well as travel information and weather”.
Confirming all this, Digital Minister Matt Hancock said: “The UK’s thriving commercial radio sector is highly valued by local communities across the country. Removing these unnecessary burdens means commercial radio stations will have the freedom and flexibility to respond to their local audience and give listeners greater choice”.
Some argue that, while the rule change in theory allows radio stations to experiment more with their musical output, most broadcasters – cut free from any obligations to air niche genres or new artists – will mainly experiment with playing ever more mainstream music. Though radio firms would argue that fans of any niche genres which may ultimately disappear from the FM dial as a result of this rule change can likely access plenty of music of that variety online, via online radio stations or the free streaming services.
Either way, radio industry trade group Radiocentre, which has long been pushing for the removal of genre obligations from radio licences, welcomed the announcement. Its CEO Siobhan Kenny said: “Radiocentre welcomes the government’s plans for deregulation of the pre-internet age rules that govern commercial radio. The new rules will give stations greater flexibility in how they operate, unlocking the potential of commercial radio and giving listeners even more choice from their favourite radio brands. We now look forward to the government enacting these sensible changes at the earliest opportunity”.
READ MORE ABOUT: RadioCentre
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 11:55 | By Andy Malt
As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis comments on 2014 attempted murder conviction
Artist News
As I Lay Dying frontman (and currently the metal band’s sole member) Tim Lambesis has issued a lengthy statement on his conviction for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his wife.
As previously reported, Lambesis was imprisoned in 2014, after admitting that he had asked a man, who turned out to be an undercover police officer, to kill his estranged wife. He was sentenced to six years in prison, but released on parole last December.
Although the other members of the band quit following Lambesis’ conviction, in June this year a message appeared on the band’s Facebook page saying “activity”, suggesting that the project will continue in some form.
“Words cannot begin to express how deeply sorry I am for the hurt that I have caused”, he begins his new statement. “There is no defence for what I did, and I look back on the person I became with as much disdain as many of you likely do”.
He goes on to apologise to his wife and the couple’s children – whom he then commits to never publicly discuss again – and to his wider family, as well as those he was associated with through music, and his fans.
As for his future plans, he says: “I cannot say for certain what life looks like going forward as so much is different now and I’m still learning. Music always has and always will be a part of me, and has helped me get through the darkest parts of my journey. However, this apology is not a part of promoting anything. Rumours circulate, and that’s something I’ve learned to accept, but this apology is just that, an apology to everyone around me”.
His statement now, he adds, comes as his probation period ends, meaning he is no longer under any restrictions from the court.
READ MORE ABOUT: As I Lay Dying | Tim Lambesis
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 11:47 | By Andy Malt
One liners: BMG, Live Nation, Christmas number one, more
Artist News Business News Deals Industry People Labels & Publishers Live Business Management & Funding Media One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• BMG has signed a deal with Steven Spielberg’s film company Amblin Partners to administer its music publishing rights worldwide. “To be aligned [with Amblin] is not an obligation we take lightly”, says BMG’s Keith Hauprich.
• US music publishing company Pulse has signed a sub-publishing deal for Europe with CTM. “We are happy”, says CTM MD André de Raaff.
• Live Nation boss Michael Rapino has signed a new five-year contract to continue leading the live giant through to the end of 2022, according to an SEC filing. The new deal is worth $9 million a year including bonuses plus some lovely stock on top. Which is nice. For him.
• Help Musicians UK and the MOBO Trust have announced the first eleven artists to receive grants from the two charities’ new joint fund. Those artists are Agama, ArA Harmonic, Awate, Cat Delphi, Estée Blu, Griz-O, Haula, Lady Sanity, Merki Waters, Michelle O Faith and Signkid.
• Radio company Jack has announced plans to launch a new digital station early next year, which it promises will be “a brand-new format proposition that has never been heard anywhere in the world before”. What could it be? Maybe it’ll play music backwards.
• Ed Sheeran is currently heading for the Christmas number one spot with ‘Perfect’. However, he has some competition from a collaboration between Eminem and some guy called Ed Sheeran on ‘River’. Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’, Rita Ora’s ‘Anywhere’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ make up the rest of the UK festive top five as of now. The actual Christmas chart for 2017 will be out on Friday, of course. By the way, don’t watch Mariah Carey’s new animated film of the same name as her ever-popular Christmas hit. It’s really terrible.
• Björk has premiered her new video for ‘Arisen’ on WeTransfer. What fun.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amblin | Bjork | BMG | CTM | Ed Sheeran | Eminem | Help Musicians | Jack FM | Live Nation | Michael Rapino | MOBO | Pulse
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 11:43 | By Andy Malt
Morrissey claims he was questioned by the US Secret Service over Donald Trump comments
And Finally Artist News Media
Morrissey has claimed that he was “cross-examined” by the US Secret Service as a result of his recent interview with Der Spiegel.
As previously reported, one of the things the former Smiths frontman said in the interview (although he denies it) was that if a hypothetic button existed that would kill Donald Trump, he would press it “for the good of humanity”.
Somehow, this raised alarm bells within the security force tasked with protecting the president, and Morrissey was called in for a chat. It was all fine though, he says. They were “very very nice” and “assured me that they had no cause for concern”. Although now he may never been allowed back into the US. Possibly.
“It was a direct result of Der Spiegel that I was cross-examined, which is very very sad”, says Morrissey, in something akin to an alternative Queen’s Speech posted on YouTube. “So, congratulations Der Spiegel, you achieved everything that you set out to do. Whether I’m again allowed free access to America, I really don’t know. I have to wait and see if I can enter the country again”.
If that was what Der Spiegel set out to do, then it was indeed very successful. I’ve never had such ambitious aims when I’ve interviewed pop stars. I feel silly now just going into interviews to ask people what they think about stuff.
Of course, what Morrissey thinks about stuff is often problematic. Although me even thinking that makes me one of the “haters” he refers to several times in the speech. And therefore I am part of the machine that has ensured his new album hasn’t done as well as he hoped.
“I feel that the campaign for ‘Low In High School’, and for the surrounding singles, was derailed and damaged purposefully by the haters”, he says. “They’re not listening to the music. They’re not listening to anything really. They see my name and they want to get rid of it as quickly as possible”.
Sneaky hater plans or not, it’s true that Morrissey’s new music has possibly been overshadowed by all the reporting on the things he’s said of late. Can he be blamed for that? What, with all his talking. Whatever, let’s all go and listen to ‘Low In High School’ right now. Though not before we’ve all endured another eight minutes of Morrissey talking:
READ MORE ABOUT: Morrissey
Tuesday 19 December 2017, 10:53 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2017: Kelly Lee Owens
CMU Approved
Every day this week, we’ll be looking at the last twelve months for one of our favourite artists of 2017. Today, Kelly Lee Owens…
I always approach the debut album release of an artist whose early tracks I really liked with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation. Excitement that they might deliver an album that truly makes good on that early promise. Trepidation that they only actually had a couple of really good tracks in them.
Thankfully, in the case of Kelly Lee Owens, who delivered her debut album in March, she falls about as far into the former camp as is possible.
Clearly I’m not alone in my love for this album. She has many cheerleaders eager to lavish praise upon her work. Meanwhile, in interviews, she comes across as incredibly thoughtful about her music, both in its creation and how she translates her own worldview into it.
Merging spiritual with danceable, the mesh of beats and densely layered vocals creates an immersive sound that feels like you could float upon it. Tracks from earlier releases are peppered throughout the album, including her debut single ‘Lucid’, which more than two years later remains astonishing.
Aside from Owens’ own voice, Jenny Hval also appears on one track – ‘Anxi’ – delivering one of the album’s standout moments. It also provides a neat throughline to Owens’ career – her remix of Hval’s song ‘Kingsize’ being one of the first tracks that got the producer more widely noticed.
Watch the video for album track ‘Throwing Lines’ here:
Listen to (almost) ever artist featured in the CMU Approved column in 2017 on this Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2017 | Kelly Lee Owens
Monday 18 December 2017, 13:29 | By Andy Malt
Prince estate court advised to reclaim advisors’ commission on failed Universal deal
Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
An investigation into the failed record deal agreed between the Prince estate and Universal Music has concluded that the estate’s former advisors – Charles Koppelman and L Londell McMillan – should repay the commissions they earned from the transaction. The two men received payment for their part in brokering the deal but, investigators have concluded, they failed to provide “anything of value that would entitle [them] to a commission”.
As previously reported, a deal granting Universal access to a big chunk of the Prince recordings catalogue, along with his vault of unreleased music, was announced back in February this year. The $31 million deal also allowed Universal to pick up recordings currently controlled by Warner Music, as its smaller rival’s previous deals with Prince lapsed.
However, Universal quickly became concerned that all was not as it seemed and that it hadn’t actually got what it thought it paid for.
Both Universal and Warner felt that some tracks promised to the former were actually still under the control of the latter. In an attempt to clear up the confusion, Universal was given access to Warner’s most recent Prince contract to work it all out. Unfortunately, lawyers were unable to make head nor tail of that agreement – leaving what Universal had actually bought still in doubt. As a result, the deal was rescinded in July.
The deal was done under the watch of the Prince estate’s original administrator, the Bremer Trust. Always a temporary overseer, the financial management of the estate then transferred to a more permanent home at the bank Comercia in January. Koppelman and McMillan were dropped as official advisors to the estate at that point, although McMillan remains linked to some of Prince’s heirs. Former Lady Gaga manager Troy Carter then took over as the estate’s official music industry advisor.
Following the collapse of the Universal deal, the judge overseeing the estate appointed a special administrator to produce a report into whether or not Koppelman and McMillan should be allowed to keep the 10% commission they earned on the record deal. Submitted to the court last Friday, that report concludes that, no, they should not.
According to Billboard, said report notes that the Bremer Trust acted “prudently and reasonably” when hiring Koppelman and McMillan, and adds that the two men themselves had acted properly when hiring experts to advise on the various deals done on their watch. However, it notes that at no point during the deal making process with Universal did Koppelman and McMillan – or any of their advisors – look over the existing Warner agreement, despite having access to it.
Had they done this, says the report, “there would have been material questions raised concerning the scope of the rights granted to UMG in the UMG agreement in respect of the WB masters that required further investigation, analysis and diligence”.
Basically, the report implies, all the issues that arose after the deal was done would have been apparent beforehand, had anyone checked what Warner had been given control of in its 2014 deal, made while Prince was still alive.
The report recommends the estate reclaim fees paid to Koppelman and McMillan, as well as legal firm Stinson Leonard Street, on the grounds that “both have received something of value in the nature of an unjust action and are not entitled to it”.
The report adds that, under the circumstances: “It makes no sense to conclude that the estate has received anything of value that would entitle the advisors to a commission”. Those monies could be treated as damages relating to overpaid fees, it also states. Which is important, because that would give the court the power to order repayment.
READ MORE ABOUT: Prince | Universal Music | Warner Music
Monday 18 December 2017, 13:27 | By Andy Malt
Nelly to sue woman who accused him of rape
Artist News Legal
Nelly has said that he will take legal action against a woman who accused him of rape. She subsequently asked prosecutors to drop the case, the alleged victim’s lawyer saying that her client “believes the system is going to fail her”.
As previously reported, prosecutors confirmed last week that they would not be pursuing the case, as Nelly’s accuser had refused to testify. The rapper was originally arrested in October, after the woman made a 911 call in the early hours of 7 Oct saying that he had raped her on his tour bus after a show in Auburn, Washington. He strongly denied the allegations throughout.
After the woman decided that she did not want to continue pushing for a conviction, her attorney Karen Koehler criticised how the system deals with rape victims, saying: “We do not live in a society where a 21 year old college student can feel safe enough to pursue criminal charges against a celebrity for an alleged rape”.
However, Nelly has now announced the he plans to sue his alleged victim. In a statement to the New York Post, his attorney Scott Rosenblum said: “Nelly has suffered very real damage to his reputation. He has incurred economic loss and painfully has watched his family suffer. As a result, Nelly is planning to proceed with litigation as the first step in restoring his reputation”.
“We were confident, that what our investigation revealed from the outset of this allegation would ultimately be clear and Nelly would be vindicated”, he added, saying that the accusation against his client was “an affront to the real survivors of sexual assault”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Nelly
Monday 18 December 2017, 13:26 | By Andy Malt
Two to face trial over Ghost Ship fire
Business News Legal Live Business
Two men will face trial for the manslaughter of the 36 people who died in a fire at Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse venue, it was ruled last week. Derick Almena and Max Harris had a “substantial” role in managing the multi-purpose venue, said the judge, which he then described as a “death trap”.
As previously reported, fire broke out at the converted warehouse, being used as a shared space for artists to live and work in, during a party last December. Seven musical acts were due to perform that night, members of which were among the dead. Almena later gave an interview saying that the party had been held as a means to keep rent low for the artists who lived in the building.
In June, Almeda and Harris, who had a supervisory role at the warehouse, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The two men are accused of knowingly operating an unsafe space, which had been illegally converted into living quarters, having failed to put in place basic safety measures.
At a hearing last week, reports Business Insider, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner ruled that the case could proceed to trial, saying: “I find there is sufficient cause to believe both defendants are legally responsible for what happened on that terrible, terrible night, and are legally responsible for the deaths of 36 individuals”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Ghost Ship
Monday 18 December 2017, 13:24 | By Chris Cooke
Court rejects much of Kim Dotcom’s bid for judicial review over extradition
Business News Digital Legal
We are fast approaching the sixth anniversary of the shutdown of often controversial file-transfer website MegaUpload on copyright grounds, and its founder Kim Dotcom is still fighting extradition to the US to face various criminal charges there.
As previously reported, after various false starts and following the employment of various legal technicalities, courts in Dotcom’s adopted home of New Zealand finally decided at the end of 2015 that the MegaUpload founder should be extradited to America to face those aforementioned charges.
However, Dotcom continues to work his way through the appeal process. Earlier this year, New Zealand’s High Court reaffirmed the earlier judgement that Dotcom and some of his former MegaUpload colleagues could indeed be extradited. But more routes of appeal remain, and the whole matter is expected to reach the country’s Court Of Appeal next February.
Concurrent to that, earlier this year Dotcom filed a claim requesting a judicial review of the extradition process to date. That claim outlined eight specific grievances, including issues with search warrants and the seizure of property, most of which had already been aired in some detail at past court hearings.
Last week the High Court judge considering that claim rejected seven of the eight grievances. Judge Timothy Brewer noted that while there had indeed been some issues with the search warrants secured by officials when New Zealand police raided Dotcom’s home in 2012, that matter went to the country’s Supreme Court which subsequently upheld the validity of said warrants.
Meanwhile, the dispute over whether there are actually grounds for extradition in this case has already been considered by the High Court as part of the initial appeal hearing, and will be considered again in the Court Of Appeal next year.
To that end Brewer sided with US prosecutors, who had disputed seven of Dotcom’s arguments, and dubbed the application for judicial review as a “collateral attack on previous decisions of the courts and an attempt to pre-empt Mr Dotcom’s appeal”.
According to Torrentfreak, last week Brewer wrote: “I have granted the USA’s application to strike out causes of action one to seven of the statement of claim for judicial review dated 21 July 2017. The proceeding is now ‘live’ only in relation to the eighth cause of action”.
That eight gripe related to another legal technicality already raised by Team Dotcom, that being the sharing of digital data seized by New Zealand officials with prosecutors in the US. The USA hadn’t disputed that specific grievance, so that element of Dotcom’s submission for judicial review stands for now.
READ MORE ABOUT: Kim Dotcom | MegaUpload
Monday 18 December 2017, 13:22 | By Andy Malt
Birdy signs to Warner/Chappell
Artist News Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Warner/Chappell has signed singer-songwriter Birdy to a new global publishing agreement, covering her work to date and a new album, due out next year.
“Birdy is an incredible talent”, says Warner/Chappell’s Mike Smith. “The fact that she broke through at such a young age and has been able to hone her songwriting over the course of three albums while still only being 21 is staggering. I think there’s a lot more to come from this amazing singer-songwriter and I look forward to working with her in the years ahead”.
Birdy herself adds: “It’s great to be working with Mike and the team at Warner/Chappell. I started writing music when I was really young and it’s always been something I felt I had to do and I feel very lucky to be able to do it for a living. I’m currently writing for my fourth album and I’m very excited to see it start to come together”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Birdy | Warner Chappell
