Wednesday 23 January 2019, 11:58 | By Andy Malt

Band Of Skulls announce new album and tour dates

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Band Of Skulls are back with a new album produced by Richard X. Titled ‘Love Is All You Love’, the album’s first single is ‘Cool Your Battles’.

“[The single is] an anti-war cry for our turbulent times”, say the band. “All the energy we spend fighting amongst ourselves can be used to do something positive, something real. So don’t forget to go out, to fall in love and to feel alive”.

Of the album as a whole, the add: “This record is tough and tender with a rebellious spirit. It is a positive record. It looks to what is possible and how a little love and human kindness can help bring about positive change”.

“We drew on personal experiences [and] changes in our situation”, they go on, “and couldn’t help but be affected by what has been going on in the world politically, culturally and environmentally. Attempting to overcome that sometimes powerless feeling by creating and connecting with people and making something new”.

The album is out on 12 Apr. Listen to ‘Cool Your Battles’ here. And catch Band Of Skulls live here:

11 Apr: Southampton, Central Hall
12 Apr: Brighton, St George’s Church
14 Apr: Cardiff, Tramshed
15 Apr: Bath, Komedia
16 Apr: London, Islington Assembly Hall
17 Apr: Manchester, Stoller Hall
18 Apr: Glasgow, St Luke’s

Jayda G announces debut album, plus London environmental science talks

Artist News Education & Events Gigs & Festivals Releases

Jayda G has announced her debut album, ‘Significant Changes’, which aims to bring together her two great loves – house music and environmental science.

The album was completed around the same time that the producer finished her masters degree in Resource And Environmental Management. The album’s titled, ‘Significant Changes’, was also the most-used phrase in her thesis on the effects of human activity on the Salish Sea killer whales of Vancouver.

“I’m trying to bring my two worlds together to bridge the communication gap [and] engage people in a new way”, she says. “I don’t know if people in the electronic music world will want to talk about the environment but I think I should try! I think it’s our duty to use a platform like this in a positive way, that’s our social responsibility”.

Those attempts will see her play a four week residency at Phonox in London in February, and also host two talks on environmental science while she is in town. The JMG Talks will invite young scientists to discuss their recent academic work.

“I just want people to feel not so hopeless”, she says. “There’s a lot of really depressing things going on, but people are doing good work out there and finding out really interesting stuff, so I just want people to be informed of those things, so that they feel inspired in whatever work that they do”.

There are further details on all that at Jayda G’s website. And let’s not forget there’s music too. The album is out on 22 Mar, and here’s new single ‘Leave Room 2 Breath’ featuring vocals from Alexa Dash:

One Liners: Ariana Grande, Bring Me The Horizon, Dido, more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Ariana Grande has announced that her new album, ‘Thank U, Next’, will be released on 8 Feb.

• Bring Me The Horizon have released new single ‘Mother Tongue’ from their upcoming new album ‘Amo’.

• Dido has released new single, ‘Give You Up’. “It’s just so perfect”, she says of the song. “It’s a good break up song, where you’ve been hurt but feel strong. It’s that point in a relationship where you are pulling yourself out of the gutter and deciding that it’s their loss. Which I can totally relate to”.

• Emo legends American Football have released a new song featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams titled ‘Uncomfortably Numb’. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming third album, ‘American Football (LP3)’, which is set for release on 22 Mar.

• Flight Of The Conchords have announced that they will release a new live album, ‘Live In London’, on 8 Mar. Here’s a new song from it, ‘Iain And Deanna’.

• Wiley has released a new track with Stefflon Don, Sean Paul and Idris Elba, called ‘Boasty’.

• Trevor Horn has released new Gabrielle Aplin collaboration ‘Dancing In The Dark’. It’s taken from the producer’s new covers album, ‘Trevor Horn Re-imagines The 80s’, which is out this Friday.

• Sleeper have released the video for new single ‘Look At You Now’.

• Ex:Re – aka Elena Tonra from Daughter – has released the video for ‘The Dazzler’, from her debut album.

• Lauryn Hill is set to play Blenheim Palace’s Nocturne Live series on 21 Jun this year. She will be supported by Laura Mvula and Mahalia.

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

Backstreet Boys identify “biggest piece of crap” in their catalogue of songs

And Finally Artist News

Every member of every band has a song in their repertoire that they don’t like. For the Backstreet Boys, they are almost unanimous in their choice.

In a video to promote their new album ‘DNA’, which is out this week, four of the five members picked ‘If You Want It To Be Good Girl (Get Yourself A Bad Boy)’ as the track they really hate. It’s from their 1997 second album ‘Backstreet’s Back’.

It’s “horrible”, says Kevin Richardson. While, AJ Maclean adds: “That song should’ve never been recorded. It is the biggest piece of crap”.

Not everyone’s so certain though. “I don’t really have a song that I don’t like”, reckons Nick Carter. And the song his bandmates hate so much is seemingly one that many fans love too. Brian Litrell has a theory about this: “You know why the fans love that song? Because Nick is singing the whole dang thing”. Which might also explain why Carter won’t diss it.

‘If You Want It To Be Good Girl (Get Yourself A Bad Boy)’ was written and produced by Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange. It was the only song he contributed to that album, but despite the distaste for it among the group, he did get invited back to their party once more. He co-wrote ‘It’s Gotta Be You’, on their next album ‘Millennium’, with Max Martin.

It’s not clear whether he knew how much they hated his first effort when he was given that second gig. For his part, Lange has not yet commented on being awarded the Backstreet Boys prize for creating “the biggest piece of crap”.

Speaking of awards though, elsewhere in the video things turn to, well, DNA, and the Backstreet Boys reveal who the “biggest DNA nerd” in the group is. They’re all unanimous again, picking Nick Carter. He’s apparently done one of those things where you send off a cotton bud you’ve spat on and get back a list of countries that may or may not have something to do with your heritage, you see. What a fucking nerd.

Spotify launches artist blocking feature

Business News Digital Top Stories

Spotify’s hateful conduct policy having backfired so dramatically last year, the streaming service has now introduced a new feature allowing individual users to wipe specific artists from their playlists. Which means it can pass the buck on to its customers over whether or not artists accused of hateful conduct should be banished from its playlists.

In the latest version of Spotify’s iOS app it is now possible to select ‘don’t play this artist’ from any artist’s profile on the streaming service. Turning this on will remove that artist’s music from your library, user-generated and automated playlists, charts and radio stations.

This is a feature that users have requested in the past. However, back in 2017 Spotify said that “after serious consideration” it had decided not to implement it. Subsequently it launched its ‘hateful conduct’ policy, which saw the company draw up its own list of artists it would not promote on its playlists due to allegations or convictions of ‘hateful’ actions.

R Kelly and XXXtentacion were the first artists placed on the list, but there was a backlash due to a lack of clarity on what Spotify deemed ‘hateful’, and the policy was dropped.

The new feature means that the streaming firm itself doesn’t have to decide what conduct, or alleged conduct, is sufficiently hateful to deserve a boycott. Though maybe it could introduce a new recommendations tab along the lines of “here are some hateful artists you might like to block” or “here are the artists other Ariana Grande fans thought were hateful this week”. Then add in a “most hateful artists” chart with an accompanying playlist stripped of all its music. Endless potential!

Sonic Cathedral launches “panicked” and “irrational” singles club in face of Brexit

Business News Labels & Publishers

With continuing Brexit uncertainty making planning all sorts of things for the near future almost impossible in the UK, indie label Sonic Cathedral has decided to mark its fifteenth birthday by pressing loads of vinyl while it still can.

In February, the company will launch a “panicked” and “irrational” new singles club which will then release a seven-inch single every month until the end of the year, after which it will (possibly) “go down fighting (and drowning in debt)”.

“Sonic Cathedral turns fifteen this year and, with Brexit bearing down on us, we can’t help but wonder what the future holds”, says the label in a statement. “All of our vinyl and CDs are manufactured in the European Union and prices have already gone up considerably since the referendum in 2016, so it’s fair to assume they will continue to do so as the value of the pound plummets”.

“If we have to start paying import duties to cover the cost of those blue passports, then running an independent record label will become even less viable than it already is”, it goes on. “And, let’s face it, vinyl will probably start slipping down in people’s list of priorities below such things as food and vital medical supplies”.

Did I mention that this is all part of a birthday celebration? For readers outside the UK, yes, this is what birthdays are like here now. Laying out its plan, the company goes on: “Faced with this potential dead end, we panicked and came up with the most irrational solution possible – pressing more vinyl in one year than we ever have before. If we go down, we will go down fighting (and drowning in debt). Hence the Sonic Cathedral Singles Club”.

The releases will feature eleven of the label’s favourite artists, new and old, the statement reveals, explaining: “We think of it as a shamelessly self-indulgent, eleven course final meal as we await our destiny on Discogs death row”.

The first release will be the debut single by Buffalo Postcard, ‘Morning Chimes/Such A Drag’. It’ll arrive on 6 Feb to all those signed up to receive all eleven releases. Signing up will also get you a pin badge, access to a new club night at The Social in London and three editions of a new Sonic Cathedral newspaper. More info here.

Happy birthday, Sonic Cathedral.

Simon Mayo hired for new classical radio station from Bauer

Business News Industry People Media

When Simon Mayo confirmed that he was departing Radio 2 last year he said he was far too busy with writing projects to be doing a daily radio show in 2019, which everyone interpreted as “I’m fucked off that the BBC fucked up my show, so I’m fucking off to do something else on another fucking radio station”. I don’t know why everyone interpreted Mayo’s statement in such a sweary fashion, but who are we to question the Great British public?

Anyway, we now know that the other fucking radio station Mayo is joining is a brand new one from Bauer Media called Scala Radio. It’s a new classical music station, based on the assumption that – with only two classically-focused radio channels currently available in the UK (BBC Radio 3 and Global’s Classic FM) – there’s definitely room on the digital dial for another.

But Scala Radio, Bauer would like you to note, will offer “classical music for modern life”, and will be just the kind of station equipped to capitalise on an anticipated “explosive growth in the genre”. It’s also going to “break the mould of classical music in the UK”. Which seems unnecessarily violent, but who are we to question Bauer Media’s marketing team and their waffley nonsense publicity blurb generator?

Mayo will be joined by his old mate Mark Kermode at the new station, who is on board to play some film scores – they will also continue to present their film show on BBC Radio 5 Live too, do not panic – while Goldie and William Orbit have also been hired, possibly to do the mould breaking bit. Other presenters include Angellica Bell, Charles Nove, Mark Forrest, Sam Hughes and Jamie Crick.

“There are hundreds of radio stations playing rock and pop, and only two classical music stations”, observes Mayo, who then shrieks in a scary fashion “until now!” His new employer is “different because we’re going all out to entertain, laugh with the listeners, and have a good time”, he adds. “Some of it will be familiar, some new and exciting, but all timeless, beautiful and all absolutely relevant to today”.

Which kind of reads like Mayo has employed the same waffley nonsense publicity blurb generator as Bauer’s marketeers, but who are we to question the Mayo? And, as he’s prone to say (in your head anyway), “fuck yeah, let’s just fucking do this”.

David Walliams to host new classical music podcast for children

Business News Digital Media

Classic FM has announced the launch of a new podcast aimed at introducing children to the crazy world of classical music. Hosted by David Walliams, the ten episode series will launch next month.

“I’m incredibly happy to be working with Classic FM on a brand new venture, bringing the fascinating stories and the works of iconic composers to life, through fun and insightful storytelling”, says Walliams. “It’s wonderful to be able to bring a whole genre of music to a new generation of children, whilst getting the rest of the family listening and enjoying at the same time”.

Classic FM’s Managing Editor Sam Jackson adds: “As a father of four young children myself, I think it’s the perfect way to introduce the next generation to classical music – not to mention adults, too. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s cheeky and we know it will attract many new listeners to enjoy what we at Classic FM proudly declare to be the world’s greatest music”.

‘David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast’ will be available to download for free from 4 Feb.

Foals reveal album and tour details

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Foals have confirmed more details about their two upcoming album releases. Part one of ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’ will arrive in March, followed by its counterpart in the autumn. The band have also released the first track from the project, ‘Exits’.

“They’re two halves of the same locket”, says Yannis Philippakis of the new LPs. “They can be listened to and appreciated individually, but fundamentally, they are companion pieces”.

He goes on: “There’s a definite idea about the world being no longer habitable in the way that it was. A kind of perilousness lack of predictability and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the magnitudes of the problems we face. What’s the response? And what’s the purpose of any response that one individual can have?”

“Lyrically”, he then says, “there are resonances with what’s going on in the world at the moment. I just feel like, what’s the utility of being a musician these days, if you can’t engage with at least some of this stuff? These songs are white flags, or they’re SOSs, or they’re cries for help… each in a different way”.

Here’s ‘Exits’, which is officially out on 8 Mar:

There will be tour dates too. Here they all are:

11 Jun: Manchester, Victoria Warehouse
14 Jun: Tunbridge Wells, Bedgebury Pinetum
15 Jun: Birmingham, Digbeth Arena
18 Jun: Glasgow, SWG3 Yard
20 Jun: Thetford, Thetford Forest
21 Jun: London, Alexandra Palace
26 Jun: Bournemouth, International Centre

Thom Yorke to premiere new classical piece

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

Thom Yorke has announced that he will premiere a new classical composition at a show in Paris in April, followed by a London performance two days later.The piece was written for pianist duo Katia and Marielle Labèque’s new album ‘Minimalist Dream House’. As well as Yorke, performing with the sisters for the upcoming shows will by The National’s Bryce Dessner and Triplle Sun’s David Calmin.

“Good afternoon”, wrote Yorke on Twitter yesterday. “I have written some new music for two pianos for Katia and Marielle Labeque. It will be performed in April. I’ll be there pretending I can read the music on the paper. Which I can’t”.

The London show will take place at the Barbican Centre on 9 Apr. More details here.

One Liners: BTS, 5SOS, Nakhane & Anohni, more

Artist News One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• BTS will release their first book, titled ‘The Notes 1’, in March. It was inevitable. You’ll be able to buy it in Korean, Japanese or English. Or as a package of all three. So that you can compare and contrast, maybe. More info here.

• Five Seconds Of Summer have released a new version of their song ‘Lie To Me’ with singer-songwriter Julia Michaels.

• Nakhane and Anohni have released new collaboration ‘New Brighton’. “Having Anohni [on board] – a musician who created a tectonic shift in my life – is still unbelievable to me”, says Nakhane. “I wanted her to sound like an ancestor in the song: ‘Never live in fear again’. Such a simple line, but sung by that voice, it becomes biblical”.

• James Yorkston has released new song ‘Shallow’ from his upcoming new album, ‘The Route To The Harmonium’.

• Pom Poko have released new single ‘Crazy Energy Night’. Their debut album, ‘Birthday’, is out next month.

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

New Abba music delayed until later this year

And Finally Artist News

If you’re wondering where those new Abba songs that we were promised by the end of last year were, you can now expect them by the end of this year. Probably.

The group announced last April that collaborating on a new hologram tour had inspired them to record together again, for the first time in 35 years. “It resulted in two new songs”, they announced. “One of them, ‘I Still Have Faith In You’, will be performed by our digital selves in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC aimed for broadcast in December”.

You may have noticed that it is now January and as yet we’ve not seen or hear anything of this new music. Speaking to IceTheSite recently, Benny Andersson said that at the point they made that announcement “everything was up and running smoothly, [but] then it didn’t run as smoothly”. The group are “still trying to establish the agreement” with “the other side”, he said, insisting that the delay is “not our doing”.

Speaking to Variety, a spokesperson for the group refused to comment on what Andersson had said or meant, but did confirm the delay, saying there would be “no release before the summer. Hopefully this fall”.

So, you’ll just have to wait. But you should be used to that by now.

Approved: Sarah Walk

CMU Approved

Sarah Walk’s 2017 debut album was good with flashes of brilliance. On her return with new single ‘CTRL’ she takes the better elements of that record and really runs with it. The track also see Walk build on her ability to distil complex issues into three minute pop songs.

“I wrote this song about fighting against those who bind you”, she says. “I feel like it takes twice as much effort for my voice to be heard as a woman and even then it’s often times not taken seriously. We need to be valuing women’s voices and perspectives and listening more. It all starts with listening”.

This idea was developed further for the song’s video by director Zoe Travis, who explains: “I wanted the video for ‘CTRL’ to be a visual representation of how a movement starts and grows. The experience of shooting this was incredible. We cast about 50 women-identified cast members who were very passionate about the project’s message”.

Walk adds: “We are witnessing the emergence of a powerful movement, led by women, on behalf of women, who are determined to seize power from the male-dominated establishment. I hope this video continues that movement”.

Watch the video for ‘CTRL’ here:

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

Article thirteen talks postponed because of disagreements in EU Council

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

A meeting planned for later today where European Union officials and law-makers would have had a good go at agreeing a final draft of the bloody European Copyright Directive was called off at the last minute on Friday, after the EU Council couldn’t agree on the most recent efforts at a compromise. The music industry’s bid to reform the copyright safe harbour, aka article thirteen, remains a key sticking point.

As of the end of last year there were three versions of the directive, the original one drafted by the European Commission in 2016, and the significantly amended versions passed respectively by the European Parliament and the EU Council last year. The three institutions now need to agree on a final single version in what is called the trilogue phase.

Google, of course, has gone into lobbying overdrive in this final stage, Google Search not liking article eleven and YouTube hating article thirteen. Lobbyists for the newspaper and music industries are respectively defending those two most controversial elements of the copyright reforms in an ongoing battle with Google and its big tech allies.

The music industry is backed by other content-owning sectors in seeking safe harbour reform. Though some trade bodies representing TV, movie and sporting interests have started to say that – given recent proposed amendments to article thirteen – they’d rather it be removed entirely, reckoning that a late-in-the-day compromise might put them in a worse position than they currently are. Meanwhile the music business continues to fight for a version of article thirteen more in line with what Parliament and Council passed last year.

So, even in this final stage, there’s lots of wrangling going on. The EU Council is made up of representatives of each member state government. Romania took over the presidency of the Council at the start of the month, so is now tasked with getting consensus within that committee, so that negotiations with the Commission and Parliament can continue.

It was a proposed rework of article thirteen by Romania that the music industry was hitting out at just last week. Meanwhile, within the Council, there are also plenty of critics of the most recent proposed compromises. The governments of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Croatia, Luxembourg and Portugal are all against the current proposals, meaning Council is not yet in agreement with itself.

The member states will regroup later this week to continue discussions. If they can agree a redraft of the redraft of the redraft, the trilogue talks – bringing the Council together with reps of Commission and Parliament – could then continue next week.

Aside from all these delays and ongoing deliberations driving everyone insane, there is a fixed deadline for all this, in that the directive needs to be passed by the European Parliament before its winds down for the European elections in May. The final final final draft will have to go before a full session of the Parliament, and the last opportunity for doing that will be in April. So there is still time, but the clock is very much ticking.

If the directive isn’t actually passed until April – and if the UK Brexits as currently planned on 29 Mar – that could have an impact on whether a post-Brexit British government implements these copyright reforms. Ministers have previously indicated that they do plan to implement the directive, even though the deadline for complying will be after Brexit. But if the directive itself isn’t passed before the UK exits the EU, that position could change.

So, plenty of fun times ahead.

Sony drops R Kelly

Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers

Sony’s RCA label has reportedly dropped R Kelly, following years of pressure for it to do so. It’s the latest development linked to the ongoing abuse allegations against the star that has occurred since the airing of US TV documentary ‘Surviving R Kelly’. The news also follows protests outside Sony Music’s New York HQ last week.

According to Variety, Kelly is no longer contracted to RCA and he was removed from the label’s website on Friday. Sony Music has not commented on the move, but a source said that the major had taken time to assess the claims against the musician and ensure that the company could end their relationship with him while avoiding legal ramifications.

Kelly was still contracted to provide two albums to RCA. It had already been reported that new music had been shelved amid the ongoing scandal.

Sony apparently does not plan to formally announce its decision to part ways with Kelly. However, his manager, Don Russell, told Rolling Stone that various other labels are now “very interested” in working with the musician, which seemingly confirms that the RCA relationship has indeed ended.

Meanwhile, it transpires that Universal Music Publishing has also ended its relationship with Kelly. The company confirmed this to Billboard on Friday, although sources say that he was actually dropped from his publishing deal almost a year ago. However, the major music publisher still controls his catalogue, for now at least.

Sports Direct chief bidding for HMV

Business News Retail

Sports Direct chief Mike Ashley is bidding to buy HMV out of administration and, according to Sky News, has been talking to the record companies and music distributors about how he might go about trying to rescue the entertainment retailer.

HMV, of course, fell into administration for a second time over the Christmas break, with current owners Hilco blaming the latest collapse on high business rates, slumping DVD sales and a challenging Christmas quarter for high street retail in general.

Administrators at KPMG confirmed last week that offers had been made for the HMV business. Ashley had been tipped as a possible buyer pretty much as soon the administration process began, he having bought other retailers on the brink in the last year.

While most commonly associated with the Sports Direct chain he founded, Ashley’s company has stakes in a number of other retail businesses, including another entertainment retailer in the form of Game.

It’s thought that any bid would most likely be made through Ashley’s main parent company Sports Direct International, rather than any subsidiary in which it has a stake, like the Game Digital company for example. Though if he did acquire HMV, Ashley might seek to somehow formally ally it with the Game business.

For its part, KPMG is still yet to confirm who it is talking to about possible bids to buy all that HMV goodness.

Bandcamp to open physical record shop

Business News Digital Retail

Direct-to-fan platform Bandcamp has announced plans to open a physical record store in the US next month.

The shop in Oakland, California will stock various releases that “showcase the diversity and design of the more than five million albums available on Bandcamp”. It will also host live performances to be filmed for an upcoming video series.

“We’re THRILLED to join the thriving Oakland arts community that includes artists and labels like The Seshen, Jay Stone, n5MD and Slumberland Records, and our new neighbours the Fox Theater, The New Parish, The Paramount Theatre and Starline Social Club, to name a few”, says the company while confirming the new physical shop venture.

It goes on: “We’re also partnering with amazing local organisations like Oakland School For The Arts, Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and Transgender Law Center to throw music-focused community events”.

The shop will officially open its doors at 7pm on 1 Feb.

A Greener Festival celebrates 35 environmentally sustainable events

Awards Business News Live Business

A Greener Festival, the globally-focused organisation that encourages festivals and other large events to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable, has dished out another set of its Greener Festival Awards.

These particular prizes aren’t based on pundit or punter voting, but are instead awarded after a rigorous assessment process undertaken by AGF itself. That process identifies those events which have genuinely “demonstrated conscientiousness with regards to sustainability and a reduction in environmental impacts in eleven areas including transport, waste, power, water and local area impacts”.

There is a hierarchy of AGF awards, starting with ‘improvers’ and working up to ‘outstanding’. The latest set of awards were distributed at the Eurosonic conference in Groningen last week. Another batch will then be handed out at AGF’s own Green Events & Innovations Conference in March.

The 35 winners announced this time were as follows:

Outstanding: Boom Festival (Portugal), Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), DGTL Festival (Netherlands), Green Gathering (UK), Øya Festival (Norway), We Love Green (France), Wood Festival (UK).

Highly Commended: Body & Soul (Ireland), Dubcamp Festival (France), Greenbelt Festival (UK), Paradise City (Belgium), Rainbow Serpent (Australia), Roskilde Festival (Denmark).

Commended: Boomtown Fair (UK), Das Fest (Germany), Fire In The Mountain (UK), Hadra Trance Festival (France), Kew the Music (UK), Mandala Festival (Netherlands), Metal Days (Slovenia), Pete the Monkey (France), Pohoda Festival (Slovakia), Primavera Sound (Spain), Spring Utrecht (Netherlands), Wonderfeel (Netherlands).

Improvers: BST Hyde Park (UK), Couvre Feu (France), De Poupet (France), ILMC (UK), Les Escales (France), Manchester Pride (UK), Own Spirit Festival (Spain), Terraforma Festival (Italy), Utrechtse Introductie Tijd (UIT) (Netherlands), Uitfeest (Netherlands).

Spotify planning to launch in-car streaming hardware

Business News Digital

Spotify is planning to launch a voice-controlled audio device for your car later this year. Which I’m sure anyone who has ever actually tried to use voice controls over the sound of engine and road noise will be whooping with excitement about. Even if the voice control can’t hear them.

Presumably aimed at music fans without a super-duper net-connected entertainment system in their cars – which, to be fair, is probably most music fans – the Financial Times says the device will cost around $100 and will connect to your existing car stereo via a Bluetooth connection.

As well as voice controls, it will also have programmable buttons that you can jab at angrily after you eventually give up on your fruitless shouting.

It’s not clear if the new gadget has its own data connection. Though if not – so that it requires a smartphone to stream audio – then why not just connect your smartphone to your stereo? I mean, aren’t you already using that for navigation anyway? It’s nice to have extra things to plug into your cigarette lighter, I suppose.

There have been rumours of Spotify offering streaming hardware for almost as long as Spotify has existed. And there’s been specific talk of the company developing in-app voice controls for drivers for some time too. Last year, some Spotify users reported seeing pop-ups offering pre-orders on an in-car device, charged at $12.99 per month for the unit and streaming package, with a minimum commitment of a year.

So far, the only in-car voice control I’ve ever seen that actually worked was using Siri on an Apple Watch to control an iPhone connected to the car stereo. Although it’s not possible to control Spotify – or any streaming service other than Apple Music – in that way. Maybe Spotify’s developed some magical new system that works without your mouth being pressed directly up against the microphone.

One Liners: Skrillex & Hikaru Utada, Kate Nash, Mabel, more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Skrillex and the legendary Hikaru Utada have collaborated on a new track together. Titled ‘Face My Fears’, it is available in English and Japanese. You’ll also be able to hear it used as the theme song for new video game ‘Kingdom Hearts III’.

• Kate Nash has released new single ‘Trash’.

• Mabel has released new single ‘Don’t Call Me Up’.

• G Flip is back with two new tracks: ‘Drink Too Much’ and ‘Bring Me Home’. She’s also announced that she’ll be back in the UK later this year, playing a show at The Garage in London on 15 May.

• Snapped Ankles have released new single ‘Rechargeable’. Their new album, ‘Stunning Luxury’, is out on 1 Mar.

• Charlotte Adigéry has released new single ‘High Lights’, from her upcoming EP ‘Zandoli’.

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

Ja Rule hits out at his portrayal in Fyre Festival documentaries

And Finally Artist News Business News Live Business Media

Ja Rule has hit out at anyone who, after watching either of the two new documentaries about the Fyre Festival debacle, subsequently concluded that he might be at least partly to blame. He said that the team behind the event had failed to deliver his “amazing vision” and that he too has been “watching the docs in awe”.

Unlike most people watching those docs in awe, of course, Ja Rule actually features in them, he being a co-founder of the doomed luxury festival venture.

Which means you can see him taking a lead in the chaotic creation of the original Fyre promo video. And in a post-event meeting, where he says that he doesn’t believe the Fyre company engaged in any actual fraud by not delivering on what festival-goers and others had been promised. It was just – he reckoned – a case of “false advertising”. Otherwise known as fraud.

Although, what none of the people sitting in that meeting knew at the time, of course, was that the other Fyre co-founder – Billy McFarland – had most definitely been committing fraud. And lots of it. Something the rapper insists he had no idea about.

“I love how people watch a doc and think they have all the answers”, Ja Rule wrote on Twitter yesterday. Adding: “I had an amazing vision to create a festival like no other! I would never scam or fraud anyone, what sense does that make?”

He added that he did not give an interview to either documentary because, he claims, McFarland was involved in both.

McFarland is interviewed in the Hulu documentary, but not in the Netflix film. The director of the latter, Chris Smith, told The Ringer that he and his team did not feel it would be right to pay McFarland for his time. He’s adds that the fraudulent Fyre man had claimed to have been offered $250,000 by Hulu to participate in its doc, although the director of that film – Jenner Furst – denies this.

Ja Rule also questions the involvement of social media agency Fuck Jerry in the Netflix film. The company was behind the online promotion of the festival and comes out of the Netflix version of events relatively unscathed.

Of the various people and companies who lost out due to their involvement in the Fyre Festival, many who have watched the new documentaries have expressed particular sympathy for the residents of the island of Great Exuma, where the event was to take place. Over 200 local labourers who worked around the clock for weeks to try to complete the site are said, in the Netflix film, to have lost $250,000 between them.

Meanwhile, Maryann Rolle, who runs the Exuma Point Bar And Grille and was hired to cater the event, says in the same doc that she used $50,000 of her own savings to pay the people she had hired to work for her at the event.

In the wake of the film, a GoFundMe page has been launched to raise money for her, on which Rolle says, “my life was changed forever, and my credit was ruined by Fyre Fest”. Almost $130,000 has now been donated to the campaign.

CMU Digest 21.01.19: Viagogo, Article Thirteen, HMV, Rihanna, Tidal

CMU Digest

Viagogo claimed that it was now compliant with a court order in the UK, but anti-touting campaigners said that seemed unlikely. Both StubHub and Viagogo had until last Friday to meet demands made by the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority which has been seeking to enforce consumer rights laws in the ticket resale sector. In Viagogo’s case, the CMA had a court order backing up its demands. The often controversial resale firm insisted on Twitter that it was now compliant, but anti-touting campaign FanFair said that – while some changes had been made on the Viagogo site – several obligations in the CMA’s court order had not been met. We now await the CMA’s response. [READ MORE]

Music industry trade groups hit out at the latest attempt to find a compromise on article thirteen of the European Copyright Directive. The European Commission, European Parliament and EU Council are still trying to agree a final version of the directive, including the safe harbour reforming article thirteen that YouTube has been loudly criticising of late. The new presidency of the EU Council recently proposed a compromise, but an assortment of trade groups for the music and wider content industries said the proposal was in fact a backwards step. [READ MORE]

The administrators of HMV said a number of potential buyers had come forward. The music retail chain fell back into administration over the Christmas break. Administrators from KPMG had set last week as a deadline for any possible bidders to come forward. They then confirmed there was indeed some interest in acquiring some or all of the HMV business, though no details were given regarding who the bidders are or what they are interested in acquiring. [READ MORE]

Rihanna sued her dad claiming that a company he set up two years ago has been fraudulently exploiting her name and trademarks. Ronald Fenty and his business partner are accused of falsely claiming to represent his daughter’s business interests and of trying to register a trademark using the family name so to make the official connection seem more genuine. Rihanna’s lawyers say Fenty Senior has ignored various efforts to have him cease and desist meaning that judicial intervention is now required. [READ MORE]

A crime agency in Norway confirmed it was investigating data manipulation allegations against Tidal. It follows the reports in business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv last year that the streaming firm boosted stats for the Beyonce and Kanye West albums it had exclusives over. If true, it means those artists would have received higher royalties and everyone else lower payments. Collecting society Tono asked Norway’s economic crime agency to investigate and it has now confirmed it is indeed doing that. Tidal continues to deny all the allegations. [READ MORE]

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Spotify signed a licensing deal with Indian music company T-Series [INFO]
• London venue The Underworld allied with Dice on ticketing [INFO]
• Warner/Chappell signed a publishing deal with Bernard Butler [INFO]
• BDI Music signed a publishing deal with Æ Mak [INFO]

Setlist: R Kelly, HMV, Rihanna

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CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last couple of weeks, including reactions to the latest documentary on abuse allegations against R Kelly and the pressure on Sony to drop him (which they subsequently did), plus HMV going into administration for a second time and Rihanna suing her dad for fraudulently exploiting her brand. Setlist is sponsored by 7digital.

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Listen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…

Stories discussed this week:
• New US documentary puts R Kelly abuse accusations back in the spotlight
• State Attorney calls for alleged R Kelly victims to come forward
• Lady Gaga announces withdrawal of 2013 collaboration from digital music services
• HMV UK heading back into administration
• HMV administrators confirm offers have been made for the business
• Rihanna sues her dad for fraudulently exploiting her brand

Also mentioned:
• Fabric announces 20th anniversary parties and more
• Setlist 2018 HMV special

Upcoming events:
• Dissecting The Digital Dollar Masterclass – 4 Feb
• Making Money From Music Copyright Seminars – 4-18 Feb
• Music Marketing & Fan Engagement Seminars – 4-18 Mar

Viagogo claims it is now compliant with UK regulator’s rules as deadline passes

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Midnight last night was the deadline for secondary ticketing websites Viagogo and StubHub to comply with the demands of the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority, which took action to ensure that the ticket resale platforms were complying with all relevant consumer rights law. We now await word from the CMA as to whether all demands have been met.

The CMA first announced plans in November 2017 to crack down on all the major secondary ticketing sites in the UK, which at that time included Live Nation’s since shutdown GetMeIn! and Seatwave, as well as Viagogo and StubHub. The government agency was responding to calls from critics of rampant online ticket touting for relevant consumer rights laws be properly enforced in the ticket resale domain.

StubHub and Live Nation subsequently committed to voluntarily update their policies and practices to bring them in line with UK law. But champion rule-breaker Viagogo initially resisted making any such commitments, until the CMA secured a court order in November. As the deadline for compliance approached last night, the regulator yesterday published a summary of the changes StubHub and Viagogo had to make.

This included ensuring that buyers are told any seat numbers linked to tickets they are buying; that the name of the seller is published if said seller touts tickets commercially; and that any risks of touted tickets being cancelled by a promoter are clearly stated. Viagogo was also told to stop using misleading messaging and to sort out its notoriously useless refunds system for people who buy tickets via the platform that then fail to get them into a show.

Yesterday morning Viagogo took to its corporate Twitter account to declare that: “Further to the agreement we reached with the CMA we have met the deadline and are now compliant”. Anti-touting campaign FanFair quickly pointed out that Viagogo was – in fact – complying with a court order not an agreement, while others responded to the tweet with various reasons why they felt that the resale site was not actually compliant.

That even included the Fair Ticketing Alliance, the organisation that launched last year to represent ticket touts, though which has also been critical of Viagogo in the past. It tweeted at secondary ticketing firm yesterday: “You are nowhere near compliant. Suggest going back to the CMA undertakings and double checking that”.

If you do a quick browse through the Viagogo site in the UK this morning you will see a bunch of changes that are designed to meet the court order. Though issues do seemingly remain. Commercial level sellers are identified but the required information about them doesn’t seem to be shared. There are some seat numbers, but this information is not being provided on anything like the level of StubHub. And there still seems to be plenty of messaging around the site that is arguably misleading.

Having undertaken its own quick review of changes made on the Viagogo site, the aforementioned FanFair campaign stated: “Although a few minor changes have been implemented, some of which may add even more confusion for consumers, we would be astonished if the site is compliant with the terms of its court order”.

It then added: “FanFair Alliance urges all music fans to avoid Viagogo. Its practices are an affront to audiences, to artists and to the law. We feel the CMA must now step up and take urgent action”.

For its part, the CMA yesterday tweeted back at those who were sceptical of Viagogo’s bold claim that it was compliant with the court order. It said that “following the deadline today there will be a comprehensive independent review of changes made and we will publish the results. If required changes haven’t been made, the CMA won’t hesitate to take action”.

So, as we said, we now await word from the CMA as to whether all demands have been met. With some anticipation.

Music industry says proposed article thirteen compromise a backwards step

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The next round of formal talks to try to agree a final draft of the new European Copyright Directive will take place on Monday, with the music industry supported article thirteen still one of the most contentious elements of the proposed new copyright laws. And those talks begin with the music industry hitting out at the most recent proposed compromise.

Article thirteen, of course, seeks to reform the copyright safe harbour and increase the liabilities of user-upload platforms like YouTube. The music industry argues that YouTube et al exploit the safe harbour to force music companies into much less preferential licensing deals. Even though the main YouTube site competes with more conventional music streaming services like Spotify that pay much higher royalties.

There are currently three versions of the directive. There is the original one penned by the European Commission in 2016, and two significantly amended versions respectively passed by the European Parliament and EU Council last year. The three institutions are now in what is called the ‘trilogue’ phase where they must agree a single final version.

While YouTube and its owner Google have lobbied hard behind the scenes throughout the evolution of the directive, since the trilogue phase began they have gone into overdrive with a consumer-facing campaign claiming that article thirteen – especially the version passed by the European Parliament – would dramatically alter the service they could offer in Europe. The music industry insists that those claims are untrue and YouTube just doesn’t want to pay something closer to market-rate royalties for the music it streams.

All of which means that, for article thirteen, the trilogue phase has been as much about trying to find a compromise between YouTube and the music industry as between the three EU institutions. Meanwhile, the presidency of the EU Council switched to Romania at the start of the month. It has now circulated a proposed compromise text for article thirteen which, music industry reps said yesterday, is a big backwards step.

In an open letter they wrote: “After years of hard work, the Copyright Directive is at a very critical point. The proposed text circulated by the Romanian Presidency [on 13 Jan] falls below the standard of the three texts produced by the three European institutions and would not be an acceptable outcome of the negotiations”.

“The European Union cannot miss this unique opportunity”, it went on, “to achieve one of the key objectives of the European Commission proposal, which was to correct the distortion of the digital market place caused by user-upload content services. Therefore, the undersigned call on negotiators to urgently make substantial changes to the 13 Jan proposal by the Romanian Presidency in order to get the directive back on the right track”.

The “undersigned” included music industry organisations like IAO, ICMP, IFPI, IMPALA and IMPF, plus also trade bodies repping the film, media, broadcast and book sectors.

Beyonce’s lawsuit against Feyonce merch company dismissed

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Beyonce has dropped her lawsuit against a company selling ‘Feyonce’ merchandise. This follows reports last year that the two sides had reached a settlement.

Court papers show that the case was dismissed on Wednesday at Beyonce’s request. The judge overseeing the case had previously rejected Beyonce’s call for a permanent injunction against the Feyonce company.

The dispute has been going through the courts since 2016, when Beyonce argued that t-shirts and other items bearing the word Feyonce – a deliberate misspelling on fiancé, of course – infringed her trademarks and was confusing consumers.

As well as the word itself, Beyonce’s legal team also took issue with items the Feyonce firm sold with the phrase “he put a ring on it” printed on them, a reference to her 2008 hit ‘Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)’.

It was reported in November that a settlement between the two sides had been reached, after judge Alison Nathan said that she could not grant an injunction against Feyonce Inc without the case going before a jury. Beyonce then formally requested that the case be dismissed in December, though there has as yet been no confirmation that a deal was indeed agreed, let alone word on what the terms of any deal may have been.

New pan-European anti-touting campaign launches

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Face-value European Alliance For Ticketing (FEAT)

In the UK yesterday the anti-ticket touting lobby was busy refreshing the Viagogo site as the deadline approached for it to comply with the court order secured by the Competition & Markets Authority. Elsewhere in Europe, those against rampant ticket-touting for profit launched a new organisation at the Eurosonic conference called FEAT.

That stands for the Face-value European Alliance For Ticketing, a name that communicates that – like with the FanFair Alliance in the UK – the new grouping isn’t against the concept of fans reselling tickets they can no longer use, but wants a crackdown on commercial enterprises that hoover up tickets for in-demand events and then sell them on at a mark-up.

In the last few years we have seen moves to crackdown on and better regulate secondary ticketing in multiple countries around the world. This has involved lobbying for new laws and better enforcement of existing laws, as well as increased efforts by high profile artists to educate consumers and cancel touted tickets.

Progress has been made in a number of countries – including the UK – though issues remain, both across the board, and in markets where there hasn’t been a specific industry, consumer and/or politician-led anti-touting movement to date.

The people behind the new pan-European campaigning organisation say: “While a number of initiatives aimed at tightening up ticket resale have begun in recent years – some of which, like the UK’s FanFair Alliance, have had considerable success – global platforms continue to operate with impunity, ignoring guidance, legislation and rulings from courts”.

FEAT involves tour and festival promoters from across Europe – including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland – and is also supported by anti-touting groups in the UK, including FanFair. It will be led day-to-day by the also UK-based Sam Shemtob of Name PR.

Key aims for the group include encouraging better regulation of ticket resale at a national and EU level; connecting live industry professionals to share knowledge on how to combat industrial-level touting; and ensuring the concerns of both artists and fans are heard.

One of the founding directors of the new organisation, Scumeck Sabottka of German live firm MCT-Agentur, said yesterday: “We need to get this right as otherwise fans and artists alike will be robbed by thieves. If we all pull this together and get EU legislation to follow our lead, we can ultimately make it work”.

Confirming its support for the new initiative, the UK’s FanFair campaign said its work had shown that “legislation and regulation can have a disruptive impact on exploitative secondary ticketing and help foster a more consumer-friendly approach to ticket resale”. It added that it looked forward to supporting FEAT as it worked on “building wider European networks and improving EU legislation”.

Spotify updates preferred distributor lists

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers

Spotify has rejigged its preferred distributor lists so that there are now two levels: ‘preferred’ and ‘recommended’. Hypebot spotted the revamp on the Spotify For Artists webpage that explains how artists and labels can get their music onto the streaming platform.

Both Spotify and Apple now recommend distributors that artists and labels might want to use, Apple following Spotify’s lead in publishing a list of preferred distributors last November. Spotify says that preferred status is awarded based on quality of metadata and efforts to stop infringing content from being uploaded into its system. Apple’s rankings also take into account the quantity of content a distributor uploads each month.

Following the rejig of Spotify’s lists, Distrokid, CD Baby and The Orchard have preferred status, while Emubands, FUGA and Believe have recommended status.

The difference between the two levels, the streaming firm says, is that preferred distributors meet the “highest” standards on metadata and anti-infringement activity, while recommended distributors meet “basic” standards. Which doesn’t sound so good, though there are loads of distributors on neither list, so mere recommended status is still a badge of honour.

FUGA is also listed as a preferred ‘delivery platform’. Which is because FUGA, unlike the other listed companies, also offer content delivery as a standalone service for labels that already have deals (possibly a Merlin-negotiated deal) with any one streaming firm.

Of course, cynics might be quick to point out that Spotify recently announced an alliance with Distrokid, which will collaborate on the streaming firm’s in-development direct-upload tool for DIY artists. At the same time it also invested some money into the distribution business. So, of course Distrokid is a preferred distributor.

However, Spotify is keen to stress, “our investment in any provider does not affect who is featured on [these lists], nor does it affect any decisions about how content is treated on Spotify’s service”. So that’s alright then.

CMU Insights: The Key Music Business Trends 2019 seminar

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Next week, CMU’s Chris Cooke will be presenting a streamlined version of the CMU Insights seminar ‘Key Music Business Trends 2019’ for participants on the brilliant she.grows mentoring programme run by the UK wing of the shesaid.so network.

The session – also available to any music company as an in-house training course from CMU Insights – provides a punchy overview of the key developments that occurred in the business of music in 2018, with some pointers on what to expect in the year ahead.

While we all know the headlines, it can be hard to keep up with all the key developments, let alone understand what any changes and innovations actually mean for artists, songwriters and their business partners. This seminar helps people navigate and understand what’s going on, with sections covering things like the streaming business, copyright reform, the big ticketing debates and the ongoing challenges around music data.

Among the questions tackled: What are the challenges and opportunities for the streaming sector as it becomes the record industry’s most important revenue stream? What do copyright reforms in the US and Europe really mean for how artists and songwriters get paid? Can out-of-control online ticket touting really become a thing of the past? And how can the music industry better utilise the mountain of fan data it is now sitting on?

For those involved in the she.grows programme, we look forward to seeing you next week! If you think your team could benefit from the full seminar, click here to find out more, and click here for information on our full range of in-house training services.

James Blake discusses mental toll of touring

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With his new album out today, James Blake has spoken to Dazed about the mental toll of touring, and the pressure to continue working even when an artist is struggling.

“There’s a lot you don’t confront because you’re not really exposed to a usual routine or other people that will challenge you in a meaningful sense on a personal level”, he says. “Especially if you’re in the limelight, that can definitely stop you from really needing to confront anything. There are a lot of musicians just starting out now who might not be aware of the pitfalls of touring and the pitfalls of a musician’s life”.

“Mental health on the road is something which has generally been left until this generation to really deal with”, he continues. “I think we’ve seen the effects of the artist’s life laid out for us in previous generations, and I think we’re just starting to go, ‘maybe I shouldn’t use these methods to cope with it, maybe I should talk to somebody'”.

Read the full interview here, and check out ‘Mile High’ from the new LP – featuring Travis Scott and Metro Boomin – here:

Wednesday 23 January 2019, 11:58 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Band Of Skulls

Wednesday 23 January 2019, 11:52 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Jayda G

Wednesday 23 January 2019, 11:47 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: American Football | Ariana Grande | Bring Me The Horizon | Dido | Ex:Re | Flight Of the Conchords | Hayley Williams | Lauryn Hill | Paramore | Stefflon Don | Trevor Horn | Wiley

Wednesday 23 January 2019, 11:43 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: The Backstreet Boys

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:19 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Spotify

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:17 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Buffalo Postcard | Sonic Cathedral

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:13 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Bauer Media | Scala | Simon Mayo

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:09 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Classic FM | David Walliams

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:05 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Foals

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 12:00 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Bryce Dessner | David Calmin | Katia and Marielle Labèque | Thom Yorke

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 11:57 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Anohni | BTS | Five Seconds Of Summer | James Yorkston | Nakhane | Pom Poko

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 11:54 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Abba

Tuesday 22 January 2019, 11:18 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Sarah Walk

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:42 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: European Copyright Directive

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:39 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: R Kelly | RCA | Sony Music

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:37 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: HMV | Mike Ashley | Sports Direct

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:35 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Bandcamp

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:32 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: A Greener Festival

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:30 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Spotify

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:28 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Charlotte Adigery | G Flip | Hikaru Utada | Kate Nash | Skrillex | Snapped Ankles

Monday 21 January 2019, 12:23 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Fyre Festival | Ja Rule

Monday 21 January 2019, 06:39 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: European Copyright Directive | HMV | Rihanna | Tidal | Viagogo

Monday 21 January 2019, 06:17 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Fabric | HMV | R Kelly | Rihanna

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:37 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Competition And Markets Authority | Secondary Ticketing | Viagogo

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:34 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Independent Music Publishers Forum (IMPF) | International Artist Organisation (IAO) | International Confederation Of Music Publishers (ICMP) | International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) | The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) | YouTube

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:31 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Beyonce

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:29 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Face-value European Alliance For Ticketing (FEAT) | Secondary Ticketing

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:26 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Believe | CMU Baby | DistroKid | Emubands | FUGA | Spotify | The Orchard

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:22 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: CMU Insights | Shesaid.so

Friday 18 January 2019, 12:20 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: James Blake | Metro Boomin | Travis Scott