Tuesday 23 October 2018, 11:16 | By

New Beirut album out in February

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Beirut

Zach Condon has announced that he will release his fifth album as Beirut on 1 Feb next year. It will be called ‘Gallipoli’.

Of the inspiration for the album’s title track, which is out now, Condon says: “We stumbled into the medieval-fortressed island town of Gallipoli one night and followed a brass band procession fronted by priests carrying a statue of the town’s saint through the winding narrow streets behind what seemed like the entire town. The next day I wrote the song entirely in one sitting, pausing only to eat”.

Following the album’s release, there will be gigs, tickets for which go on sale this Friday. Here are the UK dates:

10 Apr: Manchester, Albert Hall
11 Apr: Leeds Town Hall
12 Apr: London, Hammersmith Apollo

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Tuesday 23 October 2018, 11:10 | By

Swedish House Mafia announce 2019 reunion

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Swedish House Mafia

Six years after they announced plans to split – which then came to fruition in 2013 – Swedish House Mafia confirmed yesterday that they will reunite for a show in Stockholm next May.

Axel ‘Axwell’ Hedfors, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso performed together for the first time since 2013 at this year’s Ultra Music Festival, where they appeared for an unbilled set. Next year’s full scale reunion show will also see them unveil new music, they said at yesterday’s press conference.

Originally founded back in 2008, the trio became one of the biggest names in dance music, bowing out while still on a commercial high. Hedfors and Ingrosso continued to work together as Axwell Ingrosso, and first revealed plans to reunite with Angello at a show in New York earlier this year.

The big reunion concert is set to take place at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm on 4 May. Tickets go on sale on Saturday at midnight.

You can watch the full press conference here – although I should probably warn you that once you’ve found your way through the lengthy countdown at the beginning, it’s all in Swedish. I did hear someone say “fuck it” at one point though.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | |

 

Tuesday 23 October 2018, 11:06 | By

Haiku Salut announce secret show and VR experience

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Haiku Salut

Haiku Salut recently released a virtual reality video for their single ‘Occupy’. What’s that though, you don’t have a VR set up in your house on which to watch said video? Don’t worry, the band are playing a show next week where they’ll have all the equipment on hand for you to borrow.

The performance will take place at an undisclosed London location on 2 Nov, before which attendees will be given the opportunity to step inside the video via a VR headset.

“The feeling of ‘Occupy’ is about space and ownership and empowerment, so the memories that appear in the video are ones of joy and union”, says Haiku Salut’s Sophie Barkerwood. “Having a video in virtual reality feels otherworldly, to experience it feels like you’re stepping into a portal to another plane, elsewhere. With the track ultimately exploring ideas of pride and occupation of space, ‘Occupy’ and VR was the perfect marriage”.

Tickets for the show are free, but you’ll need to register here. Or you can stay in the boring old real world and watch the 2D version of the video from the comfort of your own home here:

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Tuesday 23 October 2018, 11:04 | By

One Liners: Devin Townsend, Dawbell, Nine Inch Nails, more

Artist News Awards Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Marketing & PR One Liners Releases

Devin Townsend

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Devin Townsend has signed a new deal with Century Media’s Inside Out Music label. Next year will mark their 20th anniversary of working together. “In an industry that is tenuous at best, we need to make alliances”, says Townsend. “I’m proud to say I’ve been with Inside Out for many of those years that have defined me as an artist”. He is set to release a new solo album through the label, titled ‘Empath’, next year.

• Artist managers Dan Andrew and Matt Rowsell have announced that they are launching a new record label called Be-Known Music, with the backing of Sony Music’s The Orchard. Their first signings are Eliza And The Bear and Lauran Hibberd, whose new single ‘What Do Girls Want?’ is out now.

• PR agency Dawbell has promoted Laura Sinclair to Head Of PR. Head Of Music And Entertainment Kate Etteridge will take on the day-to-day running of the music team.

• Nine Inch Nails have released a dizzying new live video, featuring a performance of ‘Ahead Of Ourselves’ from their current US tour.

• Paloma Faith has released the video for new single ‘Loyal’.

• Bring Me The Horizon have released new single ‘Wonderful Life’, featuring vocals from Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth.

• Holychild have released new single ‘Carmelo’. “‘Carmelo’ is a song I wrote to a family member who sexually assaulted me”, says the duo’s Liz Nistico. “I didn’t write it for you, I didn’t write it for the internet, it’s written for him, and me. Now that we’re releasing it, I hope this song is of some comfort to anyone else who has gone through something similar”.

• Aadae has released new single ‘Carousel Horses’. The song is about “that sinking feeling when everything appears to be moving but you feel really stuck and static”, she says. “It’s like you are riding a burning carousel with no pause button. I guess it’s always fun in the beginning but then eventually all the lights burn out”.

• Pom Poko have announced that they will release their debut album, ‘Birthday’, on 22 Feb. Here’s new single ‘My Blood’.

• The Vaccines have announced UK tour dates for early 2019, which will finish up at The Roundhouse in London on 8 Feb. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

• Architect David Adjaye has been announced as the designer for next year’s BRIT Award trophies. “The BRITs are an iconic, eponymous celebration of British creativity and a true testimony to the wealth of talent working and supporting, making and producing and creating music both in this country and globally”, he reckons. “It is an absolute pleasure to be given the opportunity to participate in honouring fellow creatives in this way”.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

 

Tuesday 23 October 2018, 10:55 | By

Cardi B records an ASMR video, because that’s a thing in music now

And Finally Artist News Digital Media

Cardi B

Hey, do you remember when ASMR wasn’t a thing you needed to know about in the music industry? Well bad luck, those days are over. It’s the hot new promotional technique. Everyone’s at it. Well, two people I can immediately think of. The latest of whom is Cardi B.

The rapper has conducted an entire interview for W Magazine’s YouTube channel in a whisper, aiming to trigger the tingling sensation some people experience when watching such videos. She also purrs, plays with some toys, rubs the microphones a lot, and waves her hand in front of the camera. The latter I’m pretty sure is not an ASMR technique.

This is actually the latest in a long running series of ASMR clips from W Magazine, which also recently featured Alessia Cara (so I guess that’s three people I can think of). At the start, Cardi B says that she watches ASMR videos every day, something her husband Offset apparently finds “very strange”. I don’t know whether that means she’s any better at creating the ASMR experience, but it does seem that she has some idea of what she wants to achieve.

The other musical type dabbling in this space was Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who recently fondled a box of her own brand of hair dye and noisily ate crisps in what she billed as an ASMR video. One person who experiences the sensation told me that it was so bad that it was “offensive”. If the comments under Cardi B’s video are anything to go by – not a sentence I’m used to typing – her effort has been a bit more successful.

You can watch it yourself here and see what you think:

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Tuesday 23 October 2018, 09:57 | By

Approved: Desire

CMU Approved

Desire

Formed in 2009 by vocalist Megan Louise with Chromatics’ Johnny Jewel and Nat Walker, Desire released their debut – and to date only – album, ‘Desire’, in 2009. Two years later, they gained wider recognition when one of their tracks, ‘Under Your Spell’, was used on the soundtrack to Ryan Gosling movie ‘Drive’.

Although the odd new track has appeared here and there on other soundtracks since then, the project has mostly been quiet for the best part of the last decade. But now they’re back with the first single from a second album, which is set for release next year.

“‘Tears From Heaven’ is a song about crossing the divide between being a voyeur on the sidelines of your own life and taking action to make your own destiny”, says the singer of the new single. “Heaven is a metaphor for life after death. A leap into the great unknown”.

“If you never knock on the door”, she goes on, “it will never open. In the song, the tears represent raindrops pouring down from the clouds washing away all of the dirt and confusion. The mundane obstacles of the daily routine are pushed aside for a clearer vision of what’s to come”.

Listen to ‘Tears From Heaven’ here:

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

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 12:14 | By

Camp Bestival future secured by Live Nation deal

Business News Deals Live Business Top Stories

Camp Bestival

The future of Camp Bestival has been secured, after its founders announced a deal with Live Nation and SJM.

In a statement, Josie and Rob Da Bank said: “With the help of Live Nation Gaiety and SJM we will really be able to bring more of our creative vision to life with the support structure needed going forward. Our aim has been and will always be to create the best ever family festival. We look forward to sharing this new chapter with you”.

This follows uncertainty about the 2019 edition of the Camp Bestival festival. It emerged last month that finance firm the Richmond Group, which loaned the Bestival business £1.6 million last year, was attempting to push the festival company into administration. Richmond Group then announced that it had “made an offer of £1.1 million to purchase the brand and assets of Bestival Group, with the intention of running the successful Camp Bestival going forward”.

Although the Da Banks were not involved in that statement, and have never publicly responded to it, the BBC reports that the proposed sale was actually completed last week. The Bestival Group was then seemingly immediately acquired by Live Nation Gaiety – the live industry giant’s joint venture with Irish promoter MCD Productions – and the UK-based promoter SJM.

In their statement, the Da Banks said that they are “THRILLED to finally announce today that they are back in control of Camp Bestival”. It’s not clear if they mean financially or creatively. Live Nation Gaiety has acquired various independent festivals in recent years, generally taking a majority stake. However, the involvement of SJM may split things more equally.

A spokesperson for Live Nation only said, “LN-Gaiety and SJM look forward to working with Rob and Josie on Camp Bestival”, so that’s not exactly confirmation of anything.

The deal seemingly means that those awaiting refunds relating to the final day of the 2018 Camp Bestival event may now see their money. The last day of the festival was cancelled, as it took place on one of the few weekends this summer with extremely poor weather. Responding to one person asking about this on Twitter after the new deal was announced, Rob Da Bank said that it would be “just a few more days” before refunds are fully paid out.

A question still remains over the future of the main Bestival event, from which Camp Bestival spun off. In its earlier statement, Richmond seemed only to be planning to save the latter, and only that festival is named in the latest statement too. Though that might be because it is Camp Bestival where tickets are already on sale for 2019.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | |

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 12:12 | By

Labels insist Russian stream-ripping sites can be sued in America

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal

Internet

The major record companies have insisted that the American courts have jurisdiction to hear a copyright infringement case against two stream-ripping sites based in Russia.

Stream-ripping remains at the top of the music industry’s piracy gripe list. A number of sites that allow people to turn temporary streams into permanent downloads have now shut down because of legal action – or the threat of legal action – from the music industry, Germany-based YouTube-MP3 being the highest profile closure to date. However, there are plenty of other sites offering the same service, so the lawsuits continue to be filed.

Russia-based FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com were sued by the American record industry in the US courts back in August. The man behind the two services then filed a motion to have the case dismissed on the basis the US courts didn’t have jurisdiction. He argued that the two sites are entirely managed from Russia and that less than 6% of users are from the US.

However, the Recording Industry Association Of America has now responded, insisting the American courts do have jurisdiction. In a court filing published by Torrentfreak, it argues that 31 million Americans have used the site more 96 million times. Plus, the RIAA claims, at various points FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com have used US-based servers, domain registrars and advertising networks.

The labels have specifically sued in Virginia, and the RIAA adds that the two stream-ripping sites have been used by 542,000 people in that state alone. And, the labels allege, until recently FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com used servers based in that state.

The Russian operator of the sites has asked – should his request for outright dismissal be denied – that the case be shifted over to the Californian courts, on the basis the labels have bases in that state and that fighting the litigation there would be easier.

The labels add: “Wherever the case is held, there will be some burden associated with accessing evidence. But defendant does not explain why it will be especially difficult to litigate this case in Virginia, or why transferring the case to the Central District of California will resolve those hypothetical problems”.

We now await to see how judges in the Virginia Federal Court respond.

READ MORE ABOUT: | |

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 12:10 | By

Songwriter wins $44 million in dispute over Usher song

Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

Usher

A songwriter in Philadelphia has won $44 million in a dispute over the Usher track ‘Bad Girl’, which appeared on the 2004 album ‘Confessions’.

Writer Daniel Marino sued two former collaborators – William Guice and Dante Barton – in a dispute over the song. Both Guice and Barton are among the legion of people who get a co-writing credit on the Usher track.

Marino argued that he also made a significant contribution to the original song, which at that point was called ‘Club Girl’. His contribution, legal papers argued, included the guitar hook, tempo and chord progression. But he was denied a co-writer credit and his cut of the royalties when Usher recorded his version of the work.

According to the Associated Press, a jury last week ordered Guice to pay $6.75 million in compensatory damages and an additional $20.25 million in punitive damages. Meanwhile Barton, via his company Destro Music Productions, will now pay Marino damages of $17.35 million, bringing the total pay-out to the rather large $44.35 million figure.

Usher himself was not part of the dispute, despite also being listed as a co-writer on the final version of the song.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | |

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 12:06 | By

Research highlights “balancing act” for carers working the in the performing arts

Business News Industry People

Parents And Carers In Performing Arts

Campaign group Parents And Carers In Performing Arts has launched new research highlighting the “balancing act” that must be performed by people who work in the arts and who have childcare or other caring responsibilities to meet. The study found that a series of significant career disadvantages were endured by those caring for others.

More than 2500 people working in the performing arts were surveyed for the research, the majority working off stage. Most worked in theatre, although over 500 were working in music. Of those surveyed, over 1000 said they had caring responsibilities. The study found that people with such responsibilities generally faced lower earnings, plus a lack of opportunity and support within the industry.

Over half of the respondents were freelance workers – compared to 15% of the general population – with a higher proportion of carers versus non-carers working in that way. The research also found that many respondents were earning far less than the national average wage, with over a third of all participants saying that what they earn does no cover what they need for their typical expenses, and over two thirds saying that they do not earn enough to deal with any unexpected outgoings.

In order to boost income, 40% of carers said that they would like to increase their working hours, typically by two days per week. However, 76% of carers said that they have had to turn down additional work due to childcare issues. This is most true for freelance and part-time workers, and more for women, who are more likely to be a primary carer.

Over a third of carers said that they had changed their role due to their responsibilities outside work. However, only 19% agreed that they received adequate training for any change in role, and only 21% agreed that they received adequate support.

Professor Almuth McDowall from Birkbeck University of London, which conducted the research, says: “The data points to high job insecurity, career penalties for carers and for women, and an urgent need for flexible and inclusive work practices. A recent job share for a performing artist in the London West End made headlines news – but this is common practice in other sectors. Our data shows that there is urgent need for change”.

PIPA founder Cassie Raine adds: “This is a great opportunity to reflect as an industry and investigate more supportive working practices, inclusive of carers and parents, whether they are single parents or caring for sick or elderly relatives. No matter where you start off in life or what happens on the way, as an industry we have to show that we are invested in workforce wellbeing and value their ability to maintain a work-life balance”.

As a result of the research, PIPA has set out three recommendations, including for performing arts organisations to adopt more flexible approaches to recruitment, management and staff development. It also calls on employers and industry bodies to establish career development opportunities for carers and parents returning to work, and for annually reviewed equal opportunities monitoring.

The full report will be published in December, but its interim findings are available to read now here.

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 12:02 | By

Babymetal announce Yuimetal’s departure, release new single

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Babymetal

Babymetal have confirmed that band member Yuimetal has left the group, following an absence of several months.

The first fans knew of the singer’s absence came when she did not appear at shows on a US tour in May this year. Speaking to Alternative Press, the band’s US management company said at the time: “Yuimetal remains a member of the band, but she is not on this current US tour”.

However, with a Japanese tour set to commence tomorrow, the band have now confirmed that she will not be returning, citing poor health.

“Yuimetal had expressed her desire to return [to] performing with the group”, reads a statement. “During her absence, both [bandmates] Su-metal and Moametal, as well as the entire team, had been preparing for her awaited return”.

“However”, the statement then goes on, “Yuimetal [has now come] to a decision that she will not be performing at the Babymetal World Tour 2018 in Japan and that she will no longer be a part of Babymetal. We thank her for all of her contributions and wish her all the best in her future endeavours”.

The band then said that the upcoming shows “will mark a rebirth in which Su-metal and Moametal form the core of Babymetal”. As they made this announcement, they also released a new single called ‘Starlight’:

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 11:50 | By

Massive Attack reissue Mezzanine album as DNA-encoded spray paint

Artist News Releases

Massive Attack Spray Paint

Massive Attack have announced that they are releasing a remastered version of their 1998 album ‘Mezzanine’ as a can of spray paint. This isn’t one of those QR code deals though – the album is actually inside the paint itself as audio encoded DNA.

Yeah, that all sounds quite complicated and confusing, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, it is. Earlier this year, the band announced that they’d encoded the album into DNA. You can try to get your head around that process in this academic paper here.

With that DNA now mixed into the black paint that fills these spray cans, they reckon that each can contains one million copies of the album. Not sure if they’re all chart eligible though.

As well as being a mind-bending way to release a record, the unusual piece of merch is also a nod to the frequent rumours that anonymous street artist Banksy is actually Massive Attack’s 3D, who says of the new release: “It’s a creative way to store your back catalogue, although DNA-encoded spray paint is unlikely to be adopted by street artists seeking anonymity”.

The remastered version of ‘Mezzanine’ is also available in other more traditional, easier to listen to formats.

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 11:47 | By

One Liners: Universal, Tove Lo, De Staat

Artist News Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers One Liners Releases

Universal Music

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Universal Music has promoted Jason Ellis to Managing Director of dance label Positiva. He has been the company’s Head Of A&R since 1999. Says Virgin EMI boss Ted Cockle: “Even though the parent company has evolved through several guises, Jason has at all times remained focused on identifying the very best records, and alongside the teams that he nurtures so well, has helped deliver hits consistently across the years”. Ellis will also remain in his other role as A&R Director for Virgin EMI at large.

• Elsewhere, Universal Music has appointed producer Giles Martin to the newly created role of Head Of Audio & Sound. Based at Abbey Road Studios, he will study new audio formats and consumer technology to see what’s actually worth spending time on. “The landscape of the way people listen to music has changed dramatically”, he says, getting straight to work.

• Tove Lo has released a new short film, ‘Blue Lips’. It features music from her upcoming new album of the same name.

• De Staat have released the video for new single ‘Kitty Kitty’. Their new album, ‘Bubble Gum’, is set for release on 18 Jan.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | | | |

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 11:44 | By

Charlie Sloth says ARIAs Edith Bowman rant was “bants”, departs BBC two weeks early

And Finally Awards Business News Media

Charlie Sloth

Charlie Sloth has departed BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra two weeks earlier than planned, after he made an impromptu appearance on stage at last week’s Audio & Radio Industry Awards to hurl insults at Edith Bowman. An incident he now says was “supposed to be a bit of bants” and not intended to be taken seriously.

It’s been said that Charlie Sloth ‘did a Kanye’ when he stormed the ARIA stage, not least by Sloth himself. Although, to be fair to Kanye, when he pulled his “I’mma let you finish” stunt at the 2009 VMAs, at least he was arguing that someone else – ie Beyonce – should have won something.

When Sloth got up on stage last week, he didn’t give the impression that he thought anyone other than himself should have taken the Best Specialist Music Show prize, which he’d just lost to Bowman.

“Edith Bowman, fuck your life”, he said. “I just wanna say BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Saturday night Rap Show. Fuck your life. God bless”.

Bowman received the prize for her ‘Soundtracking’ podcast, in which she interviews film directors about their music choices in their movies. She was seemingly not in attendance at the ceremony, so wasn’t able to immediately respond to Sloth at the time – although she did tweet to enquire about his hangover the next morning. However, immediately afterwards, Radio 1 was announced as the winner of National Station Of The Year.

Receiving that prize, Radio 1 boss Ben Cooper reminded everyone that Sloth had just resigned from the station, saying: “I’d just like to say Charlie Sloth has left the building and is leaving Radio 1 and 1Xtra. Apologies”.

On Saturday, Sloth returned to Twitter after a brief absence to explain himself, saying that it had all been a big joke that had backfired. “Soooo the ARIAs…”, he began. “It was supposed to be a bit of bants with me jumping on stage, starting with me saying ‘OK I’mma let you finish’. It wasn’t directed at Edith, I love Edith and, like I said, so does my mum. I’ve apologised to Edith privately. I’m sorry to anyone I upset”.

I’m not exactly sure when he previously said that his mum loves Edith Bowman, but whatever. In another tweet, he wrote: “I’ve decided not do the remaining the shows on the BBC that I initially agreed”.

Despite recently announcing his departure from the BBC, Sloth had been scheduled to continue broadcasting his Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra shows until the beginning of November. But now he’s “decided” not to. It’s probably not even related to the ARIAs. He probably just wants more time to chat with his mum about how much they both love Edith Bowman.

In his original statement confirming he was exiting Radios 1 and 1Xtra he mused: “I joined the BBC as a boy and I leave as a man”. No word on any amendment to that now.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | |

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 10:44 | By

Approved: KO

CMU Approved

KO

East London rapper KO is set to release a new mixtape, ‘This Shit’s Ments’, this Friday. Ahead of it comes ‘Intro’ and a video for it that continues a story that also features in his two previous track visuals.

‘Intro’ sees KO again working with producer M1onthebeat who – along with MKtheplug – also worked on previous single ‘9er Ting’. In total, M1onthebeat has contributed to four of the new mixtape’s nine tracks.

On ‘Intro’ – as with ‘9er Ting’ – the producer’s sparse piano-led UK drill sound provides the perfect backing for KO’s slick vocals.

Watch the video for ‘Intro’ here:

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

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Monday 22 October 2018, 07:08 | By

CMU Digest 22.10.18: Distrokid, American Law Institute, IMPALA, Soundtrack Your Brand, ERA

CMU Digest

Distrokid

The key stories from the last week in the music business…

Spotify announced a formal alliance with DIY distributor Distrokid. The streaming service will use the distribution firm to enhance its in-development direct upload tool, so that when artists directly upload their tracks into Spotify they will also get pushed to the other streaming platforms. Spotify has also made a “passive minority investment” into the Distrokid company. It strengthens Distrokid’s position in the very competitive digital distribution marketplace, though possibly puts pressure on its relationships with Spotify’s rivals. [READ MORE]

The US music industry hit out at the American Law Institute’s new Restatement Of Copyright Law. The ALI’s restatement documents aim to summarise recent precedents and trends in different aspects of American law. Although they have no actual legal authority, they can be very influential. Reps for America’s record labels and music publishers argued that the ALI’s new copyright restatement has been mainly drafted by academics and lawyers who are famously anti-copyright. To that end, music industry trade groups have urged the ALI to reject the current draft and have a re-think. [READ MORE]

IMPALA published new data that it reckons backs its argument that competition regulators in Europe should block Sony’s EMI deals. Sony is trying to take complete ownership of the EMI Music Publishing company that it has part-owned since 2012. The indie label trade group reviewed the 2017 music charts in seven European countries. It showed that – if you combine the Sony labels, distribution company The Orchard, the Sony/ATV publisher and the EMI song catalogues – on average Sony controlled, at least in part, somewhere between 68% and 82% of the tracks that charted. [READ MORE]

Spotify-backed B2B streaming firm Soundtrack Your Brand said the music industry is losing $2.65 billion because companies are using personal streaming accounts on commercial premises. Businesses that stream music on their premises need a B2B streaming account, like that offered by Soundtrack Your Brand, but many companies are unaware of this obligation or that B2B streaming services exist. Hence why Soundtrack Your Brand reckons the music industry is missing out on so much money. [READ MORE]

The UK’s Entertainment Retailers Association hit out at global record industry trade group IFPI for failing to mention physical product in their recent music consumption report. ERA boss Kim Bayley said that, by focusing just on trends in the streaming market, the IFPI had a “blinkered view of the world”. While ERA’s membership includes most of the streaming platforms, she added, “all of our members are agreed that the key to a healthy music eco-system is a diverse channel landscape, embracing physical as well as digital formats”. [READ MORE]

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Music Sales allied with SACEM on digital licensing [INFO]
• BMG acquired world music label World Circuit Records [INFO]
• Material Music allied with DMC to relaunch Stress Records and Back To Mine [INFO]
• Big Hit Entertainment re-signed BTS [INFO]

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | | | | | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:25 | By

EU court rejects ‘blame-it-on-the-parents’ defence in file-sharing case

Business News Digital Legal Top Stories

Internet

Back when file-sharing lawsuits were in vogue, one question came up quite often, especially once w-fi became the norm: what happens if someone who has been accused of online copyright infringement claims that someone else used their internet connection to do some sneaky infringing? The EU Court Of Justice answered that question yesterday, ruling that an accused infringer in Germany can’t escape liability for copyright infringement by simply saying that his parents had access to his wi-fi network.

This all began back in 2010 when a man called Michael Strotzer was accused by book publisher Bastei Lubbe of illegally sharing an audiobook that it published. The publisher ultimately demanded damages for the infringement that had occurred via Strotzer’s IP address. But he denied the allegations of infringement, pointing out that his parents also had access to his internet connection. Though he then failed to provide any information about when and how his parents had accessed the net.

Strotzer’s defence – basically blaming family members but providing no information about their use of his internet connection – arguably stood up because of the way European privacy law, and the so called ‘right to family life’, has been interpreted in Germany. However, the courts in Munich ultimately passed the matter up to the EU courts, asking judges there to balance the IP rights of Bastei Lubbe with the privacy rights of Strotzer. They yesterday sided with the copyright owner.

The court basically backed the opinion of the EU’s Advocate General, Maciej Szpunar, who considered the case earlier this year. He concluded in June that: “The right to respect for family life, recognised in article seven of the Charter Of Fundamental Rights of the EU, cannot be interpreted in such a way as to deprive right holders of any real possibility of protecting their right to IP”.

He also wrote that it was “for the referring court to determine whether Strotzer is abusing the right to protection of family life by invoking that right, not in order to protect the members of his family against liability for the infringement of copyright with which they clearly have no connection, but solely in order to escape his own liability for that infringement”.

The EU court formally endorsed that viewpoint yesterday, saying that privacy law shouldn’t be used to try to sidestep liability for copyright infringement by blaming a family member and then arguing further information cannot be divulged. Instead, judges said, a fair balance needs to be struck so that the individual’s right to a private and family life doesn’t block the right of a copyright owner who is seeking an effective remedy in relation to infringement.

Of course, in the music industry the rather loud safe harbour debate has tended to drown out discussions about more straight forward online piracy of late. Where litigation has been pursued in relation to online infringement, in more recent years music rights owners have tended to focus on the platforms and technologies infringers use, rather than suing the infringers themselves. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of common defences in infringement actions remain of interest to any IP owners who may or may not be looking to enforce their rights in the future.

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:23 | By

BTS renew deal with Big Hit Entertainment

Artist News Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Management & Funding

BTS

K-pop big potatoes BTS have renewed their deal with South Korean management company and record label Big Hit Entertainment through to 2026. Well, the BTS machine doesn’t appear to be damaged, so what would be the sense in making an attempt to fix it? As the old saying almost goes.

“We respect our mentor, producer [and Big Hit founder] Bang Si-Hyuk who has continued to show us a vision for our future from even before [our] debut and has helped us [to] form our perspective of the world and music”, say the band in a statement. “With Big Hit Entertainment’s support, we’ll continue to strive to give our best for fans all around the world”.

Big Hit adds: “It is our philosophy that we should cater the best to artists who [are] achieving an unprecedented global success. After [a] thorough discussion with [the] seven members of BTS, we decided to renew the contract before the world tour to ensure more stable, long-term activities”.

That world tour is currently in action, with the band making their way through Europe. They played two shows at London’s O2 Arena earlier this month.

READ MORE ABOUT: |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:22 | By

Field Day to leave Brockwell Park after one year

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

Field Day

After a year at Brockwell Park in South London, Field Day is on the move again. The new location has not been announced, but Lambeth Council has confirmed that the festival is “being re-formatted for a unique new site”.

The now Global-owned festival left its long-term home of Victoria Park in East London last year, after AEG announced its big new All Points East multi-weekend event at that location. The move to Brockwell Park was not welcomed by everyone, though. It was opposed by some local residents, although a licence was subsequently granted by the aforementioned Lambeth Council. Then attendees complained of overcrowding on the site.

Now, according to Brixton Buzz, the event is planning to move to another location in 2019. In a statement, Lambeth Council confirmed: “Field Day will not take place at Brockwell Park in 2019, as the festival is being re-formatted for a unique new site in London”.

Two other former Victoria Park-based festivals, Lovebox and Citadel – owned by Live Nation’s MAMA – had also planned to move to Brockwell Park in 2018. However, both instead moved to Gunnersbury Park in West London, following further opposition in Brockwell about the number of events being staged in the area.

That said, another festival did take place in Brockwell Park this year, Mighty Hoopla, and it is thought to be applying for a licence to do so again in 2019. Although run by East Creative, that event shared infrastructure with Field Day this year.

Registration for access to earlybird tickets for Field Day’s 2019 edition has been opened, but the new location is yet to be revealed.

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:18 | By

Direct-to-fan in the spotlight at final CMU Insights seminar of the year

Business News Education & Events

Music Marketing

The CMU Insights seminar series ‘Building A Fanbase & Fan Business’ finishes on Monday with a session focused on the direct-to-fan relationship.

The two hour seminar looks at how social and direct-to-fan tools – and the data they generate – should be used to inform an artist’s business. It then provides tips on building and developing a direct-to-fan artist store and considers how the artist’s business partners may be involved in that D2F activity.

Says CMU Insights MD and course leader Chris Cooke: “For all the talk about downloading and streaming, arguably the single biggest impact the rise of digital has had on the music industry is that artists can now easily connect and talk directly to their core fanbase. This wasn’t possible in the CD era. This direct connection is hugely powerful and the industry is still getting to grips with how to capitalise on it. We look at current best practice in this seminar”.

The ‘Building A Direct-To-Fan Business’ seminar takes place at the London HQ of Lewis Silkin on Monday at 6.30pm. Tickets are just £49.99 including VAT and booking fee and are available here.

Although this is the final CMU Insights seminar of the year, there are still a number of CMU-led sessions to come for members of the BPI and MMF. The next edition of the MMF’s all new ‘Mechanics Of Music Management’ training programme puts the spotlight on music rights, providing a basic overview of how copyright works, and a guide to how music rights make money in 2018. The ‘Mechanics Of Music Management’ sessions take place at PPL HQ every other Tuesday at 6pm – info here.

And finally, don’t forget CMU:DIY teams up once again with the Featured Artists Coalition this Sunday, 21 Oct, to present another edition of the Artist:Entrepreneur Day in Manchester. Artist entrepreneurs Roxanne De Bastion, Lisbee Stainton and Jack Gourlay will open up their individual artist businesses, and talk to a number of industry guests. Plus Graham Massey will be in conversation with John Robb talking about his career in music. Click here for more info.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:17 | By

All That Remains’ Oli Herbert dies

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

All That Remains

Guitarist with metalcore band All That Remains, Oli Herbert, has died, aged 44. The band confirmed the news on social media, although gave no further details.

In a statement on Herbert’s official Facebook page, his wife Beth said: “Thank you all for the kind thoughts and words. I don’t want to go into what happened until we have a complete picture, but as soon as we do there will be a statement from the family on this page”.

According to reports, Herbert was found dead at his home on Tuesday, after being reported missing. Police have said that the death does not appear to be suspicious.

All The remains are scheduled to tour the UK with Sevendust in December. No announcement has yet been made about the status of those dates.

READ MORE ABOUT: | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:12 | By

Nirvana reunions won’t be a “regular thing”, say Grohl and Novoselic

Artist News

Nirvana

Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic have said that they’re open to further reunions, after the former Nirvana members came together once again earlier this month during a Foo Fighters performance at US festival CalJam. However, fans shouldn’t expect a full-blown tour.

Novoselic also joined Grohl and former Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear on stage in August, playing ‘Molly’s Lips’, the Vaselines song that Nirvana covered on rarities compilation ‘Incesticide’. At CalJam, they stepped things up, performing six Nirvana songs, with the help of Joan Jett, Deer Tick’s John McCauley and The Distillers’ Brody Dalle.

The last time they performed a set of Nirvana songs was at the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014. Now Grohl tells Kerrang: “After we played the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, I considered the idea that, if there was an opportunity, we could do it again. But it’s delicate territory, and you can’t treat it like just another show. It’s very complicated, and very special. In those moments, when it just happens naturally, I think is the best way”.

Novoselic adds: “Personally, it was great to play with those guys again, and to play those songs”. However, he stressed that it would not be a “regular thing” and “won’t become a full circus”.

Watch the CalJam performance here:

READ MORE ABOUT: | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:09 | By

Vic Mensa releases new track in response to XXXTentacion controversy

Artist News Awards Releases

XXXTentacion

Vic Mensa has released a new track, ‘Empathy’, in response to the controversy surrounding his disparaging of late rapper XXXTentacion at the recent BET Hip Hop Awards.

XXXTentacion was posthumously awarded the Best New Hip Hop Artist prize at the ceremony earlier this month. Prior to that, Mensa performed at the show, rapping: “Only time you bear arms is in a wife-beater, loser/Your favourite rapper’s a domestic abuser”.

He went on to say that he doesn’t “respect” someone “posthumously” – the name of the someone having been censored in the TV broadcast, which aired this week. Although it’s said that he directly referenced XXXTentacion in that remark.

Prior to his death, XXXTentacion faced various accusations of violence against women, and was awaiting trial on charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness tampering.

The late rapper’s mother was in attendance at the ceremony in order to collect her son’s trophy. In a post on Instagram after the event, Mensa said that he “had no idea a grieving mother would be in the audience to honour her lost son”. But he then added: “However, I vehemently reject the trend in hip hop of championing abusers, and I will not hold my tongue about it”.

He also later shared screengrabs of violent misogynistic messages that had been directed at a female associate and her daughter, saying: “This is the culture that promoting violence against women in music creates. These are messages to the director of my charity in Chicago. These kids are taught that this mentality is OK by their abusive heroes [who] normalise this shit. I call BS!”

In the new track, Mensa acknowledges that his own past is not uncheckered, having written lyrics previously about assaulting an ex-girlfriend. Referencing this again on ‘Empathy’, he says that his former partner told him that she can “forgive but she can’t forget”.

He also opens the track with the lines: “They say you shouldn’t cast stones from a glass home/The whole world want to see me fall but I stand strong”.

Listen to ‘Empathy’ here:

Following XXXTentacion’s posthumous win at the BET Awards, it was speculated that he may also be nominated for the Best New Artist prize at next year’s Grammys. However, according to Hits Daily Double, he has now been ruled ineligible for the prize.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:07 | By

Little Mix announce 2019 tour dates

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Little Mix

Little Mix have announced 2019 tour dates, which will kick off in Dublin a little under a year from now. By then you should be more than familiar with all the songs on the band’s fifth album, ‘LM5’, which is out on 16 Nov this year.

Anyone who pre-orders said album from the official Little Mix online store over the weekend will get access to a pre-sale for tickets for those 2019 shows starting on 23 Oct.

If you can’t be bothered with that sort of thing, you’ll just have to try your luck when they go on general sale on 26 Oct. Or you could try to blag in. Or get a job working on the shows. Or, I suppose it’s possible you don’t actually want to attend. It takes all sorts. Not really sure why you’re reading this though.

Here are the dates of said shows, which I just want to reiterate are in 2019, so that no one ends up disappointed:

10 Oct: Dublin, 3Arena
13 Oct: Belfast, SSE Arena
18 Oct: Glasgow, Hydro
19 Oct: Glasgow, Hydro
21 Oct: Liverpool Echo Arena
22 Oct: Liverpool Echo Arena
25 Oct: Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
26 Oct: Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
28 Oct: Sheffield, FlyDSA Arena
29 Oct: Sheffield, FlyDSA Arena
31 Oct: London, O2 Arena
1 Nov: London, O2 Arena
2 Nov: London, O2 Arena
8 Nov: Birmingham, Resorts World Arena
9 Nov: Birmingham, Resorts World Arena
11 Nov: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
12 Nov: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
15 Nov: Manchester Arena
16 Nov: Manchester Arena
18 Nov: Leeds, First Direct Arena
19 Nov: Leeds, First Direct Arena

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:06 | By

Westlife announce 20th anniversary tour

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Westlife

Having announced their 20th anniversary reunion earlier this month, Westlife have revealed tour dates for next year. There’s no denying it now.

The band have also signed a new record deal with Universal’s Virgin EMI label and are going to insist on fulfilling that contract by releasing new music.

Anyway, tickets for ‘The 20 Tour’ will go on general sale next Thursday. Here are the dates:

25 May: Belfast, SSE Arena
26 May: Belfast, SSE Arena
30 May: Manchester Arena
31 May: Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
3 Jun: Glasgow, Hydro
7 Jun: Sheffield, FlyDSA Arena
10 Jun: Leeds, First Direct Arena
13 Jun: London, O2 Arena
18 Jun: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
21 Jun: Birmingham Arena
25 Jun: Liverpool Echo Arena
5 Jul: Dublin, Croke Park

READ MORE ABOUT:

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 11:02 | By

One Liners: Britney Spears, Marilyn Manson, Mariah Carey, more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Britney Spears

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Britney Spears announced a 2019 Las Vegas residency yesterday. The big reveal on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ had shambolic similarities to another from five years ago.

• Marilyn Manson is now selling a dildo with his face on it. Your purchase also includes a bag to put it in so that you have a chance to stop laughing.

• Mariah Carey has released new single ‘The Distance’, a collaboration with Ty Dollar $ign and Skrillex. Her new album, ‘Caution’, is out on 16 Nov.

• Lil Wayne has released the video for ‘Tha Carter V’ track ‘Uproar’.

• Troye Sivan has released a new collaboration with Sigur Rós’s Jónsi called ‘Revelation’. The track is taken from the soundtrack of new single ‘Boy Erased’.

• Zara Larsson has released new single ‘Ruin My Life’. She’s also done an interview with Popjustice that I really think you should read.

• Zayn Malik’s released new single ‘Fingers’.

• Mumford & Sons have released the video for new single ‘Guiding Light’.

• Thom Yorke has released another track form his ‘Suspiria’ soundtrack. That’s four now. The album’s out next Friday. Here’s ‘Open Again’.

• Daniel Avery has released the video for ‘Time Marked Its Irregular Pulse In Her Eyes’, from his new EP ‘Diminuendo’.

• Four Tet has shared his headline set from this year’s Lost Village festival. You can listen to it right here.

• Kero Kero Bonito have released the video for ‘Flyaway’, from their ‘Time N Place’ album.

• Flohio has released new track ‘Wild Yout’. She’s also set to head out on her first headline tour at the end of November and into the beginning of December.

• Kiran Leonard has released new track, ‘Legacy Of Neglect’, featuring Let’s Eat Grandma. He’s also about to start a tour that will stretch right out into December.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

READ MORE ABOUT: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 10:58 | By

Beef Of The Week #426: Michael Buble v Retirement

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week Media

Michael Buble

You’ve probably heard by now that Michael Buble has quit the music industry. Sure, it was a weird thing to announce so early in the process of promoting a comeback album. Still, you can’t argue with fairly clear-cut quotes published in a national newspaper.

Oh wait, no, apparently you can. Because that’s exactly what Buble’s people – and now Buble himself – have been doing this week. Buble, in fact, being the sort of zeitgeist-riding artist he is, has gone so far as to dub the retirement story “fake news”.

Responding to the newspaper article, his rep insisted that things Buble had said describing his feelings when his son Noah was diagnosed with cancer two years ago had been misrepresented by suggesting he also felt that way now. Meanwhile, speaking to the Associated Press, Buble himself said: “I’ll keep going until the news of my death comes out, which will probably be fake too”.

He added that he’d first heard that he’d retired for show business when concerned friends began sending him text messages asking if it was true. He says he replied telling them that they should “consider the source”.

Right then, yes, the source. That source would be the Daily Mail. So fair enough, I guess. Except that, even though a Mail journalist was involved, it’s still a little confusing as to exactly what happened here.

The singer’s publicist said, after quotes from that interview had been condensed and mangled by hundreds of other publications, that his various comments all related to feelings that he’d had in the past.

It’s true, a great deal of the interview is given over to his feelings of dissatisfaction about his career at the point Noah received his diagnosis. But taking time off during his son’s treatment gave him space and time to re-evaluate things, the article then explained.

“I’d told my manager I wanted to take a ten-year sabbatical, so I could hang out and be bad”, he said, recalling the time after his son went into recovery. “But I missed the guys in my band. So … I said to them, ‘Come over to the house, let’s drink, order pizza, play video games and jam’. They came over, we partied and we said, ‘Let’s play some music’. I thought, ‘Wow! This is fun'”.

Having rediscovered his passion for performance, he was able to enjoy himself again, make an album that he was happy with, and get some perspective on the elements of the business that had been causing him anxiety in the past.

After all that, it was a bit weird when later in this conversation with the Mail’s journalist Buble apparently said: “This is my last interview. I’m retiring from the business. I’ve made the perfect record and now I can leave at the very top”.

The article itself concludes by noting that this is quite an unusual and unlikely thing for him to have said, placing doubt on whether Buble actually meant it. Which was also a bit weird. I mean, it would be odd for the Mail to remark on how odd Buble’s retirement statement was if the newspaper had invented it with a view to sensationalising an already quite meaty interview.

Anyway, Buble has now denied that he ever said he was retiring. He also referred to the Daily Mail as “negative energy”, showing at least that the paper’s reputation is far-reaching. In addition to this, he repeated something that came up in the now disputed interview – that he struggles with many of the less enjoyable elements of fame. “I’m not strong enough to deal with it, so I don’t deal with it”, he told the AP.

He then added that he’d rather not know what the media are writing about him anyway, saying: “By the way, those friends that wrote me, I said to them, ‘Thank you so much for caring about my well-being. Do me a favour, don’t share [the article] with me. Send me pictures of your kids and tell me how you’re doing, because I much rather know about that'”.

So, I think the moral of this story is that you probably shouldn’t trust anything you ever read about Michael Buble or any quote or statement attributed to him. You should assume at all times that all possibilities are a reality and no one thing is certain. Right now he is both retired and working. He may or may not have a new album coming out. And he may or may not want you to ask him about it.

READ MORE ABOUT: |

 

Friday 19 October 2018, 10:34 | By

Vigsy’s Club Tip: The Hydra at Printworks

Club Tip CMU Approved

Moodymann

The Hydra takes over London’s Printworks venue tomorrow night with an impressive line-up led by Moodymann, Omar S and Theo Parrish, three giants of Detroit house. All three are incredible DJs. Plus Omar S once put out a Fabric mix consisting entirely of his own tracks and somehow pulled it off.

That’s not all though. Fellow Detroiter Marcellus Pittman and Hydra co-founder Dolan Bergin will be along for the ride in the main room. Meanwhile, in the second room will be Dâm-Funk, Jayda G, Mayer Hawthorne, Moxie and Anu.

Saturday 20 Oct, Printworks, 1 Surrey Quays Road, London, SE16 7PJ, 12pm-11pm, £30-£37.50. More info here.

READ MORE ABOUT: | |

 

Thursday 18 October 2018, 10:53 | By

Music industry hits out at American Law Institute’s ‘restatement’ of copyright law

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

American Law Institute

With America’s Music Modernization Act signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, you might think that the music industry’s lobbyists Stateside could take a little time off from endlessly chattering about copyright issues. But no.

Trade bodies for US record companies and music publishers have written to the American Law Institute to raise all sorts of issues with a copyright report which that organisation’s Council is due to discuss today.

The ALI describes itself as the “leading independent organisation in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernise and improve the law”. One of its key areas of activity is compiling and publishing what are called ‘Restatements Of The Law’.

These are documents that seek to compile and summarise key judgements in a specific area of the law, putting together all the key precedents that have been set in the courtroom in one place. In common law jurisdictions like the US – and the UK – precedents set by landmark rulings clarify and arguably expand the law beyond the basic rules and principles set out in statue by Congress, in the case of the US, or in Parliament in the UK.

The ALI’s restatements don’t in themselves have any legal authority, but they are persuasive, and are often relied on by those without specialist knowledge of any one branch of the law. The assumption is that, because they are compiled by specialist lawyers, academics and judges, they are decent summaries of what the US law currently says about whatever area each restatement is focused on.

One restatement currently being compiled is on good old copyright. A draft of that report was shared back in August and is due to be discussed by the ALI’s Council at a meeting in New York later today. It is fair to say that the music industry has some major issues with that draft. And also with the people who have been selected to do the drafting.

In fact, the music industry has also questioned whether now is the right time to be restating copyright law at all, given that some key issues are currently in a state of flux.

For starters, the aforementioned Music Modernization Act makes a number of changes to the way music licensing will work in the US. While the Act may have been passed, those changes still need to be implemented. And when it comes to the reforms it will instigate regarding the payment of mechanical royalties to music publishers and songwriters, there’s still quite a lot to work out.

Then there is the US Copyright Office’s review of the copyright safe harbour, which is still yet to report, despite being launched at the end of 2015. Plus there are some big copyright cases considering tricky issues still to be resolved, including those on the liabilities of internet service providers to deal with infringers among their customer bases, and the various song-theft cases that have been filed in the wake of the ‘Blurred Lines’ litigation.

In a joint letter to the ALI, the Recording Industry Association Of America and the National Music Publishers Association note that “in recent years copyright law for music has faced repeated tests and challenges, including for those who legislate and interpret the law, in large part due to the transformation of the music industry from physical to digital”.

This trend is ongoing they say. “Important copyright law issues for music are before Congress, the courts and agencies”, they add. “Under these circumstances, attempting to ‘restate’ copyright law for music now is a difficult, if not an odd, exercise”.

With regards the people compiling the ALI’s copyright document, music industry reps argue that the team working on the restatement are primarily lawyers and academics who have long pushed for the rights of copyright owners to be restricted, ie members of what is sometimes called the copy-left movement.

The RIAA/NMPA letter alludes to these concerns, though NMPA boss David Israelite was more forthright on this issue in a statement yesterday. “The American Law Institute’s so-called ‘Restatement Of Copyright Law'”, he said, “was written by extremist anti-copyright lawyers in an attempt to redefine copyright law”.

Meanwhile, in a recent op-ed for Billboard, music lawyer Dina LaPolt – a key campaigner for the MMA – wrote: “The ALI’s projects are trusted and admired for playing it straight and have always been known for their neutrality, clarity and precision. But not this time”.

“The copyright project”, she argued, “is being led by some of the most notoriously anti-creator copyleft irritators, many with financial ties to big tech companies – with a goal of tilting the playing field and producing a very biased Copyright Restatement that short-changes songwriters, artists, and the copyright holders”.

Much of the RIAA/NMPA letter deals with specific concerns about each section of the current draft of the Copyright Restatement. This includes the authors’ selective restating of actual copyright statute which, the trade bodies suggest, is being deliberately misrepresented.

Concluding, the two trade groups write: “[We] believe that copyright law is ill suited for restatement by ALI at this time, especially as envisioned by the [authors]. We therefore request that the Council postpone voting on [the current draft] or vote no … and reconsider the project in its entirety”.

In his statement yesterday, Israelite added that it isn’t just the music industry itself which is concerned about the Copyright Restatement. “The restatement has been slammed by the US Copyright Office, the American Bar Association, the US Patent & Trademark Office, and most importantly, the creators themselves”, he said.

Referencing the RIAA/NMPA letter, he went on: “We have written the ALI Council to implore them to vote ‘no’ on approving the restatement draft as we hope they will reject this sham attempt to undermine hard fought principles of understood law. This thinly-veiled attempt to subvert the law and undermine creators and must be stopped”.

READ MORE ABOUT: | |

 

Thursday 18 October 2018, 10:51 | By

Record labels fail to get ISP safe harbour case beefed back up

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal

Grande Communications

The American courts have knocked back efforts by the US record industry to beef up legal action against internet service provider Grande Communications. The record labels had hoped to restore some elements of their lawsuit that were previously dismissed by the courts, but a judge has declined to consider an amended complaint.

The Recording Industry Association Of America sued Grande Communications last year over its failure to deal with repeat copyright infringers among its customer base. The labels argued that the net firm should be deprived safe harbour protection and be held liable for its users’ infringement. The case very much mirrored BMG’s action against another American ISP, Cox Communications, the appeal of which was ongoing when this lawsuit was launched last year, but which has since been settled out of court.

Grande tried to have the entire case dismissed, but failed. However, in April this year the courts did cut down the RIAA’s lawsuit somewhat, by removing Grande’s parent company as a defendant and ruling that the record industry could only sue for contributory infringement and not vicarious infringement. Which might sound like mere semantics, but would likely impact on any potential damages.

Whether Grande could be deemed liable for both contributory and vicarious infringement depends on whether you believe the ISP commercially benefited from failing to deal with repeat infringers. When cutting the lawsuit back, the court ruled that that commercial benefit couldn’t be proven. But in May this year the RIAA said it now had new evidence that it thought strengthened the case for the vicarious infringement claim.

Those new claims were initially considered by a magistrate judge, who recommended that the RIAA’s bid to have elements of its original lawsuit restored be knocked back. In a formal recommendation, that judge stated: “The new allegations still fail to say anything about the motivations of Grande’s subscribers when they sign up with Grande. That is, plaintiffs still fail to plead facts showing Grande gained or lost customers because of its failure to terminate infringers”.

The RIAA then submitted new papers countering the magistrate judge’s conclusion, but earlier this week a district judge nevertheless followed his junior colleague’s recommendation. Writing that he had reviewed the case from start to finish before reaching this conclusion, the district judge said: “Having considered the motions, responses, replies, objections, the case file, and the applicable law, the court will accept and adopt the report and recommendation”.

Although this is a setback for the record industry, it doesn’t stop it from proceeding with its contributory infringement case against Grande. The RIAA is also pursuing its own litigation against Cox on the same issue.

READ MORE ABOUT: |

 

CLICK FOR OLDER STORIES

CLICK FOR NEWER STORIES