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Thursday 21 March 2019, 12:26 | By Andy Malt
Roger Daltrey doesn’t understand Brexit pressures on younger g-generation, says MEP
And Finally Artist News
The Who’s Roger Daltrey once sang about old people not understanding his generation. But now that he’s old, he’s fallen into the same trap, says MEP Julie Ward. This follows claims by Daltrey that Brexit would have no effect on musicians.
The Who frontman reacted angrily to being asked about Brexit’s effect on rock music by Sky News last week. “What’s it got to do with the rock business?” he asked, when queried on whether Brexit would be bad for his industry. At the suggestion it might make touring in Europe more difficult, he spat: “Oh dear, as if we didn’t tour in Europe before the fucking EU”. He then suggested that being an EU member was like being governed by the mafia.
Earlier in the interview, Who guitarist Pete Townshend had already said that things are harder for bands now than when he and Daltrey started out, mainly because there are so many more acts vying for the same work these days. So at least one of them realises that times might be a little bit different for newer artists today.
In a statement to the NME, Labour Party MEP Julie Ward says that there would undoubtedly be greater costs to UK musicians wishing to tour Europe if we leave the EU. However, it wouldn’t be the likes of Daltrey who would suffer from this.
“The 60s were filled with music that defined political movements – in many cases responding to the growing cultural and generational divide between the young and the old”, she says. “Today, Brexit is driving a wedge between generations once again”.
“Despite what Daltrey says, Brexit will impact bands in the form of additional visas and carnets that will fall heavily on touring musicians and technical staff”, she goes on. “Perhaps a mega-band like The Who can absorb the additional costs, but it is the up and coming younger artists and the smaller to medium sized venues that will suffer the most from Brexit”.
She adds: “As a Labour MEP and a member of the Culture Committee in the European Parliament, I know just how important music is as a cross-cutting issue in respect of economic and social well-being, not to mention the role of music in cultural diplomacy as an effective bridge-builder in foreign affairs”.
Yes, although perhaps we should drop The Who off the list of “bridge-builders” for the moment. The good news is, with the Brexit deadline just over a week away, the UK government still has no real clear plan for what it wants or intends to do. Despite Parliament voting that there’s at least one thing it doesn’t want, that one thing – crashing out of the EU without a deal – is still a very real possibility. In which case, touring anywhere will probably become much less of a priority as we all fight over food and medicine. Good times.
READ MORE ABOUT: Julie Ward | Roger Daltrey | The Who
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 12:10 | By Chris Cooke
Great Escape launches new professional development programme for early-career delegates
Business News Education & Events Industry People Top Stories
The Great Escape has today announced more details about this year’s TGE Conference, including 25 more speakers for the three CMU+TGE conference strands, and a brand new professional development programme called TGE Elevate. This will offer an enhanced, subsidised and curated delegate experience for 30 music professionals, helping them to fully utilise the conference to elevate their careers.
The new TGE Elevate programme is funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and will be delivered in partnership with CMU Insights and CMU:DIY. The official blurb explains that these thirty “super delegates” will get “a personally created conference schedule, access to invite-only seminars and networking events, and Q&A sessions with a number of music industry VIPs”.
Basically, music conferences like TGE are a great place for music people at all levels to make connections, get up to speed on the latest developments and participate in the debate around the big issues of the moment. But at events the size of TGE, when you’re starting out it can be hard to navigate the programme, connect with the right people and ensure your voice is heard. TGE Elevate will help those in the first phase of their careers overcome these challenges and get a whole lot more from their time at the conference.
The 30 people who get to participate in the core programme will include artists, managers, promoters, label executives and educators. Participants will be nominated by trade groups like the Association Of Independent Music, the Association Of Independent Promoters, the Featured Artists Coalition, the Music Venue Trust, Creative & Cultural Skills and the Music Managers Forum and then selected by the TGE team.
Other early-career delegates will also benefit from TGE Elevate with a series of new Elevate Seminars – presented by CMU – that are open to all TGE Conference attendees, plus an Elevate Guide will be available online offering tips galore about how to get the most out of showcase festivals and music conferences.
Announcing the new scheme, Rory Bett, CEO of TGE promoter MAMA Festivals, said: “The Great Escape is all about future music talent, on and off stage. We want to enable those early on in their music careers to meet, question and learn from the very best in the industry. Thanks to National Lottery funding through Arts Council England, we can be even more proactive in making this happen via the TGE Elevate programme. By building closer relationships with, and hearing from, our Elevate delegates, we can also ensure that the TGE Conference remains at the forefront of the very latest developments and debates in the music business”.
Meanwhile, Hedley Swain at Arts Council England added: “We’re really excited by TGE Elevate and what it can do to support new and early career music professionals as they establish themselves in the industry. The opportunity to meet and quiz senior industry professionals as part of the curated delegate experience could be an invaluable part of their development. We’re pleased to help make that happen thanks to National Lottery funding”.
You will find more information about TGE Elevate online here and all the latest updates on the CMU+TGE conference strands, which this year are focused on music education, digital dollars and music marketing, here.
READ MORE ABOUT: The Great Escape
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 12:08 | By Andy Malt
Pete Paphides launches re-issues label, bringing Ian Broudie and Stephen Duffy albums to vinyl for the first time
Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Releases
Music journalist Pete Paphides has announced the launch of a new record label, Needle Mythology. The aim of the company is to put out re-issues of old records on vinyl, focusing on albums which have not previously been made available in that format.
The first two albums to be put out by the new company are Ian Broudie’s sole solo album, ‘Tales Told’, and Stephen Duffy’s ‘I Love My Friends’. In the case of the latter, it will be restored to the version originally planned by Duffy – the version released by Cooking Vinyl in 1998 having had its tracklist re-ordered, two tracks removed and two new tracks added. Both albums will feature new artwork and have been remastered.
Speaking to Super Deluxe Edition, Paphides says: “I wanted to buy these records and they didn’t exist in the form that I wanted to own these records. Literally, all I could do was dream about owning them, because they didn’t exist in real life. I think any record collector has probably had that same fantasy. So, that was the long and short of it really. I couldn’t sit around waiting for someone else to do it any longer”.
The two albums will be released on 10 May, with CD versions also available.
READ MORE ABOUT: Ian Broudie | Needle Mythology | Pete Paphides | Stephen Duffy
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 12:05 | By Chris Cooke
Viagogo “disappointed” about culture select committee’s live music report
Business News Live Business
Viagogo has responded to the live music report published by the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee yesterday. Needless to say, it is disappointed with the MPs’ conclusions on secondary ticketing.
Although the report covers various aspects of the live music business, its statements were bluntest when it came to secondary ticketing, and Viagogo in particular. It said that the often controversial ticket resale site “has yet to prove itself a trustworthy operator given its history of resisting compliance, court orders and parliamentary scrutiny, and flouting consumer law”.
Urging the Competition & Markets Authority to proceed with its latest legal action against Viagogo as fast as it can, the committee said that, in the meantime, “we advise the public not to buy or sell tickets via Viagogo”.
Responding, the ticketing site said in a statement yesterday: “We are disappointed that the DCMS have singled us out particularly, when hundreds of thousands of British citizens use our service to buy and sell tickets to their favourite live events every day and never experience any problems. We provide an invaluable service to UK consumers by giving them access to events in the UK and all over the world”.
As for those tickets bought on the Viagogo site that then don’t get the buyer into a show, it added, “the overwhelming majority of cases are due to the unfair and potentially illegal restrictions the event organisers pose simply because customers have chosen to purchase tickets from a competitor of theirs”.
That is a reference, of course, to those promoters who cancel touted tickets, which they are allowed to do providing the terms of the original ticket sale says so.
Viagogo concluded: “We have been complying and will absolutely continue to work constructively with the CMA to make further amends where necessary, all the while putting all of the buyers and sellers who use the platform first”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Secondary Ticketing | Viagogo
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 12:03 | By Andy Malt
More than 500 arts reps decry cuts to Radio 3 specialist schedule
Business News Media
More than 500 representatives from across the arts have signed a letter hitting out at the BBC’s decision to make cuts to the Radio 3 specialist programme schedule.
This follows the announcement of planned changes to the BBC Radio 3 schedule, as part of ongoing attempts to meet government pressure for the Beeb to reduce its overall costs. Although two shows – ‘Jazz Now’ and ‘Geoffrey Smith’s Jazz’ – are to be dropped entirely, most criticism has been levelled at plans to cut experimental music show ‘Late Junction’ from three nights a week to a two hour slot on Friday nights.
Announcing the wider cost-cutting measures last week, Radio 3 controller Alan Davey said: “In making changes we have tried to enhance the distinctive nature of the network, and to make sure we continue to offer a rich mix of music and culture to existing and future audiences. It’s what makes the network the great thing it is”. And as is so often the case, all of that would seem to encompass exactly the things BBC bosses have now decided to cut.
The new letter, published in The Guardian yesterday, responds to the planned cuts and is signed by over 500 people, including musicians, artists, record label owners, venue owners, festival programmers and journalists.
“British jazz is experiencing a renaissance”, they write. “Folk acts are attracting broader audiences. Electronic and experimental music is thriving, and boundaries between genres, media and scenes are being dissolved and swirled into ever more exciting permutations”.
“It is staggering, therefore, that, in the month of its sold out festival in London, ‘Late Junction’ is being reduced from three shows a week to one” they add. “‘Jazz Now’ and ‘Geoffrey Smith’s Jazz’ are being ‘rested’. ‘Music Planet’, Radio 3’s only dedicated programme exploring music from around the world, is having its running time cut by half. We welcome new show ‘Unclassified’, but it has only an hour in the schedules. This is not enough”.
They then argue: “Our culture benefits so much from these programmes. Music lovers tune in to make new discoveries and build new creative communities. Music makers rely on these shows as lifelines to support and share their music with enthusiastic audiences, nationally and internationally”.
“New works and unexpected collaborations have happened either directly or indirectly due to these shows”, the letter goes on. “This flourishing cultural ecosystem will be damaged, and musicians’ careers profoundly affected, as opportunities for their work to be experienced by the mainstream will be drastically reduced, at home and abroad”.
They conclude by urging Radio 3 to “think again about the changes they are making, and how they will profoundly affect our broader culture”.
As well as this, songwriter group BASCA has published an open letter to Davey, also urging him to reconsider the cuts to Radio 3’s output.
“When questions arise as to whether Radio 3 is ‘dumbing down’,
our first line of defence as composers is to site those programmes which
uphold the BBC’s mission statement ‘to enrich people’s lives with
programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain'”, says
BASCA’s letter. “This would include ‘Composer Of The Week’, ‘Hear And
Now’, the live evening concerts, ‘Music Matters’, ‘Record Review’,
‘Private Passions’ etc, but particularly ‘Late Junction’ and ‘Jazz
Now'”.
“‘Late Junction’ and ‘Jazz Now’ are important”, it continues.
“They are varied and unpredictable and explore areas that no other
programmes do. They provide exposure to some of the most under
represented artists and cultures. ‘Late Junction’ cuts across genres and
is gender blind. These last two elements alone are culturally vital at
this time and make it a beacon of public service broadcasting”.
“‘Late Junction’ and ‘Jazz Now’ self-evidently ‘inform, educate
and entertain'”, it continues, returning to the broadcaster’s core
values. “We are therefore particularly concerned to learn of the BBC’s
decision to cut the weekly broadcasts of ‘Late Junction’ from three to
one and that ‘Jazz Now’ is to be axed. BASCA represents music creators
in their totality and no other BBC programmes support such a wide
variety of living writers and performers with such consistency and
erudition”.
BASCA says it is supporting an online petition to save ‘Late Junction’, which has already gained almost 5000 signatures.
This is not the first time the BBC has attempted to cut programming that differentiates it from commercial broadcasters and in the past public campaigns have been successful in reversing BBC decisions like this.
Most successful, of course, were the campaigns to save BBC Radio 6 Music and the BBC Asian Network in 2010. While the BBC is placed in a difficult position when told by government to save £800 million, making those savings by dropping niche but popular programming that supports the development of new music and emerging music makers always appears counterproductive.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | BBC Radio 3 | British Academy of Songwriters Composers & Authors (BASCA) | Late Junction
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 12:02 | By Andy Malt
Bob Shennan promoted to BBC MD
Business News Industry People Media
Bob Shennan has scored himself a new promotion at the BBC, becoming Managing Director of the whole shebang as of next month.
In an email to staff, Director General Tony Hall said: “I want the BBC to be the best led, best managed and most creative media company in the world. Bob Shennan’s appointment will help deliver just that”.
Hall went on to say that current radio and music boss Shennan will “have a wider remit, joining up our corporate leadership, supporting our creative ambition and co-ordinating what we’re doing between our commercial and public service operations”.
“He’ll also work”, Hall added, “with the output directors to develop and deliver a new broadcasting talent strategy – something that will lead to stronger relationships and opportunities for new and emerging talent to show what they can do”.
Shennan has been Director Of Radio And Music since 2016, having been controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music prior to that.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | Bob Shennan
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 11:58 | By CMU Editorial
CMU Insights: 25 more speakers added to the CMU+TGE conference strands
Business News CMU Insights Update Education & Events
CMU will present three full-day conference strands at the TGE Conference this May, each one packed with punchy training elements, original research, case studies, interviews and panel discussions.
Over 60 speakers have already been confirmed for these strands, which will put the spotlight on music education (Wednesday 8 May), digital dollars (Thursday 9 May) and music marketing (Friday 10 May). Each strand will be co-hosted by CMU’s Chris Cooke alongside Phil Nelson (music education), Fiona McGugan (digital dollars) and Jen Long (music marketing).
Among the speakers added to the CMU+TGE line-up today are Aaron Bogucki, AWAL Recordings; Andreas Ahlenius, Amuse; Camella Agabalyan, MAMA Festivals; Chloe Johnson, Dot Blockchain Media; Dan Francis, RSL Awards; Diane Widdison, Musicians Union; Fiona McGugan, Music Managers Forum; Helen Smith, IMPALA; Helienne Lindvall, BASCA; Ian Moss, BPI; Jane Beese, The Roundhouse; Jason Edwards, Dice; Jen Long, Take Care Management; Kevin Graux, Diabolical; Matt Bolton, IMPEL; Matt Phipps-Taylor, PPL; Mel Thornton, BIMM Group; Nick Faber, Diabolical; Nigel Dewar Gibb, Lewis Silkin; Paul Dilorito, PRS For Music; Paul Craig, Nostromo Management; Sam Hawkins, Creative & Cultural Skills; Silvia Gargiulo, BIY People & Talent; and Tomas Ericsson, AMRA.
Find out more about the music education conference here, the digital dollars conference here and the music marketing conference here. And get your TGE delegate pass here.
READ MORE ABOUT: CMU Insights | The Great Escape
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 11:56 | By Andy Malt
Two Door Cinema Club release new single, Talk
Artist News Releases
Two Door Cinema Club are back with new single ‘Talk’, the first track from their fourth album.
“I love the pop thing”, says frontman Alex Trimble, of making the new record. “I love experimenting and going to different places, I love doing things that are a little bit wonky and I love the idea of doing something we haven’t done before, why can’t we do all of those things at once? That’s what it was, doing whatever felt right”.
As for what to expect, well, he says, “it sounds like Two Door Cinema Club – not a Two Door Cinema Club there’d ever been before, but that’s what I love. We can always do something new but it always feels like something we’ve done”.
Produced by Jacknife Lee, ‘Talk’ is the first release on Prolifica Inc, the joint venture label set up by [PIAS] and TDCC’s management company Prolifica last year.
Watch the video for ‘Talk’ here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Two Door Cinema Club
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 11:50 | By Andy Malt
One Liners: Will Young, Karen O & Danger Mouse, Grimes, more
Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Will Young has signed a new deal with Cooking Vinyl, and will release a new album, his seventh, through the label later this year.
• Spike Jonze has shot a one take music video for Karen O and Danger Mouse’s ‘Woman’. The duo were also performing live on ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ at the time.
• Grimes has announced that her new album will be called ‘Miss_Anthropocene’. It will be “a concept album about the anthropomorphic goddess of climate change: a psychedelic, space-dwelling demon/beauty queen who relishes the end of the world”. Cool.
• Logic has announced that he will release a new album called ‘Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind’ “soon’.
• The Cranberries have released a new track from their upcoming final album, ‘In The End’. This is ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’.
• Loyle Carner has announced that he will release his second album – ‘titled ‘Not Waving, But Drawing’ – on 19 Apr. It features guest appearances from Jorja Smith, Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun, Kwes, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Tom Misch and more.
• Soap&Skin has released the video for ‘Creep’ from her latest album, ‘From Gas To Solid/You Are My Friend’. She will play a one-off UK show at EartH in London on 15 Apr.
• Kero Kero Bonito have released the video for ‘Swimming’, from their ‘Time N Place’ album.
• Full Of Hell have announced that they will release new album, ‘Weeping Choir’, on 17 May. From it, this is ‘Burning Myrrh’.
• Easy Life have released new mixtape ‘Spaceships’, featuring six tracks, including recent single ‘Sunday’.
Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Easy Life | Full Of Hell | Grimes | Jordan Rakei | Jorja Smith | Karen O | Kero Kero Bonito | Kiko Bun | Kwes | Rebel Kleff | Soap&Skin | Spike Jonze | The Cranberries | Tom Misch | Will Young
Wednesday 20 March 2019, 11:46 | By Andy Malt
Bohemian Rhapsody editor discusses quick cut criticism
And Finally Artist News Media
Film editor John Ottman has responded to criticism of his work on Freddie Mercury biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. In particular, he tells the Washington Post, that one scene that went viral makes him “want to put a bag over my head”.
Ottman and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ won the Oscar for Best Editing last month, a move many criticised (although many also praised). There were numerous complaints about quickfire editing found in the film, although one scene in particular drew a lot of attention. It’s a scene featuring a conversation outside a pub between the band and manager John Reid and includes a dizzying number of fast-paced cuts around the various faces present.
“Whenever I see it, I want to put a bag over my head”, Ottman says. “Because that’s not my aesthetic”.
That scene, he explains, was one of several shot for the film close to the end of its production, after Dexter Fletcher had been brought in to replace fired director Bryan Singer.
Ottman says that he was then told to speed up several scenes to get through the first act more quickly. However, when test audiences actually seemed to prefer spending more time in the early part of the band’s career, he went back and slowed most of those scenes down again. Except for that one of the pub meeting, simply because he ran out of time.
Now, he insists, “if there’s ever an extended version of the film where I can put a couple scenes back, I will recut that scene!”
A part of the movie he feels more proud of, he says, is the ‘Live Aid’ performance, which concludes the film. Originally 25 minutes long, this had to have twelve minutes removed from it for the final cut.
“No matter how good the film was up to that point, if ‘Live Aid’ didn’t work, the entire film would collapse and be a downer”, he says. “It had to feel emotionally exhausting, in a good way. It couldn’t feel like it was being cut down. Because the moment you knew it was being cut down, it was no longer experiential”.
And there’s the problem I guess. Good editing goes unnoticed. Bad editing goes viral on Twitter.
READ MORE ABOUT: Freddie Mercury | John Ottman | Queen
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:32 | By Chris Cooke
MPs tell public to steer clear of Viagogo in wide-ranging live music report
Business News Legal Live Business Top Stories
The UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee has published its report on live music. In it MPs back a number of the music community’s ongoing campaigns on topics like business rates, education, discriminatory licensing procedures and secondary ticketing. On the latter, the committee specifically urges British citizens to not buy or sell tickets on the always controversial resale site Viagogo.
The committee, which scrutinises the work of the government’s Department For Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, while also debating issues around the sectors that department supports, launched its inquiry into the UK’s live music business at the start of last year, taking evidence from promoters, venues, ticketing firms and artists, among others.
Unsurprisingly, one key topic for discussion was the challenges faced by grassroots music venues which provide an important platform for new artists to hone their craft and find an audience. It’s no secret that rising rents, business rates, licensing issues and other challenges have put those grassroots venues – which already operate on very tight profit margins – under pressure, with a significant number going out of business.
In its report, the select committee says that this trend could put at risk “the UK’s position at the forefront of the music industry because the next generation of musicians will be denied spaces to hone their live craft”. And while this is a problem that needs industry as well as government attention, the committee adds that ministers have “failed to act promptly to stem the tide of the closures happening on a scale unprecedented in other cultural sectors”.
Of course, one area where the government could immediately help is business rates. Just last week cross-sector trade group UK Music criticised Chancellor Of The Exchequer Philip Hammond for not using his spring statement to extend a business rates relief scheme designed to support small businesses on the high street to venues. Pubs and restaurants already benefit from that scheme, but music venues do not.
The committee states: “The government should immediately review the impact of recent business rates changes on the live music sector and introduce new or extend existing relief schemes such as those for pubs or small retail properties to lessen the burden of business rates on music venues in order to protect grassroots venues and independent festivals”. Beyond that, it says, “further support should be given by the government by extending tax relief, already given for orchestra performances, to other forms of music production”.
Another area where government needs to take the lead is discriminatory licensing, with allegations that some local authorities continue to be biased against urban music, or at least give the impression they are so that cautious venues skew against booking urban acts. The Metropolitan Police’s since abandoned form 696 has got the most attention in this domain over the years, though it’s claimed that “institutionalised racism” still persists in the way live music licensing is administered in various parts of the country.
Rapper ShaoDow was among those who spoke to the committee on this particular issue. He recalled one particular incident, saying: “I had a venue cancel on me on the day that I was meant to go there. I was booked for a performance in a club and called them ahead of time to say, ‘I am on my way’, and they said, ‘Oh, by the way, we were just listening to your music – you make hip hop’. I said, ‘yes’, and he said, ‘Oh, we cannot do that here, we will lose our licence'”.
With all that in mind, the committee calls for “cross-departmental action by government to develop guidance for licensing authorities, police forces and music venues on risk management to ensure that urban music acts are not unfairly targeted”.
Ensuring more support for new talent in general is also a key priority for the committee. Politically speaking, that puts the spotlight on some of the widely documented issues facing music education in the UK, and especially the fact that English schools are not properly assessed on the way they teach creative subjects because said subjects are not included in the government’s so called EBacc criteria. Though the committee also urges the music industry itself to “ensure that a greater proportion of its revenues is channelled into supporting artists at the early stages of their careers”.
Which is all good stuff, although the report’s boldest statements are reserved for secondary ticketing. In particular big bad Viagogo, which has now twice declined to attend a hearing of the select committee. Noting that the Competition & Markets Authority was now planning new legal action against the resale site for failing to comply with consumer rights law, the committee says Viagogo has “caused distress for too many music fans for too long”.
The report then states: “We believe that Viagogo has yet to prove itself a trustworthy operator given its history of resisting compliance, court orders and parliamentary scrutiny, and flouting consumer law”. While the CMA’s legal action is a welcome move, “consumers remain vulnerable to the site’s misleading sales practices” in the meantime. “It is imperative that the CMA acts promptly and decisively to bring Viagogo into line with consumer law and, until it does so, we advise the public not to buy or sell tickets via Viagogo”.
Beyond bringing Viagogo in line with the law, the committee also has some more general recommendations regarding the secondary ticketing sector. This includes a better process for fans to resolve disputes with touts and the resale platforms they utilise, and a review of efforts to crackdown on the use of software by touts to hoover up tickets on the primary sites. The committee also has some things to say about Google’s role in all this.
Acknowledging the web giant’s decision to apply extra rules to resale sites advertising on its search engine, the committee adds that it nevertheless “notes that Google has repeatedly allowed tickets to be [advertised] in breach of UK consumer protection law. The committee calls on the government to set out the responsibilities of companies such as Google to ensure that advertisements comply with consumer protection law”.
The FanFair Alliance, which campaigns for a more transparent and better regulated secondary ticketing market, welcomed the report and especially its blunt conclusions on Viagogo. It said in a statement: “FanFair Alliance welcomes all aspects of the committee’s wide-reaching report and especially their condemnation of Viagogo. What we now need is action. If a restaurant poses a risk to public health, we expect inspectors to close it immediately on grounds of consumer protection. Unfortunately, such powers of enforcement are seemingly absent when it comes to online ticket touting”.
“So despite the huge consumer harm caused by Viagogo’s practices, and despite the best efforts of the Competition & Markets Authority and other regulators, the site has continued to operate in clear disregard of the law”, it went on. “This needs to change. Viagogo is already facing legal proceedings for contempt of court. While that case is pending, there is surely a compelling argument for the website to be temporarily blocked and for platforms like Google to cut off its advertising”.
Back in Parliament, Sharon Hodgson MP, who has led the campaign against secondary ticketing in Westminster, added her support, saying: “I welcome the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee’s report today into live music. I am pleased that ticket abuse has played a large role in this review, and that once again the committee has been clear that the public must not buy or sell tickets through Viagogo”.
She went on: “I hope that the government will respond positively to the report, particularly to the recommendations about reviewing the effectiveness of current regulations, and act appropriately if they are found to be ineffective. Ticket abuse is a widescale problem, and requires action from the ticketing industry, promoters, artists, search engines, consumers and government. I have been committed to tackling this problem for almost a decade, and will not stop until fans are put first”.
Finally, UK Music hailed what it called a “landmark” report from the select committee. Noting that the report backs its call for the government to extend business rates relief to music venues, the trade group’s boss Michael Dugher said: “This committee has now joined MPs from all parties who have called on the Chancellor to end the present system which discriminates against music venues, including by not allowing them to get the same rates rebate as pubs and clubs. It is time the government listened and threw a lifeline to venues who are struggling to survive”.
Also endorsing the committee’s statements on big bad Viagogo and issues around discriminatory licensing, Dugher then said: “We particularly welcome the recommendation that a new taskforce is needed to help and support emerging talent. We urgently need help to nurture the music industry’s talent pipeline if we are to continue producing world-leading superstars like Adele and Ed Sheeran”.
“With the decline of music in education in particular”, he went on, “there is a real danger that having the chance of a successful career in music means that you have to have access to the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’. We are, in effect drawing water from a well that’s getting smaller and smaller”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Secondary Ticketing | Viagogo
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:30 | By Chris Cooke
Court denies ISP safe harbour protection in record label legal battle
Business News Legal
A US court has ruled that American internet service provider Grande has no safe harbour protection in its ongoing legal battle with the Recording Industry Association Of America. Which firstly means that the net firm will be held liable for its users alleged copyright infringement, but also that the previous BMG v Cox case has set an important precedent under American law regarding the liabilities of ISPs claiming safe harbour protection.
The safe harbour, of course, says that internet companies cannot be held liable for their users’ copyright infringement, providing they have systems in place to remove infringing content and deal with repeat infringers when made aware of such things.
There has been much debate over the years as to quite how far internet firms must go with this anti-infringement and anti-infringer activity in order to benefit from the safe harbour. In the BMG v Cox case, ISP Cox Communications was accused of running a deliberately shoddy system for dealing with repeat infringers, so that it could claim to be safe harbour compliant but without actually doing anything about those who repeatedly infringe.
BMG argued that such behaviour should mean Cox did not enjoy safe harbour protection. It won the case, though the original ruling was overturned on appeal because of a procedural technicality. The appeals court pretty much upheld the conclusions of the initial judgement regarding Cox’s liabilities, but the net firm settled with the music company before a second full trial could take place to fully set those conclusions in stone.
Grande has been accused of operating a similarly slack system for dealing with infringers and infringement on its network. With that in mind, the RIAA reckoned that, if Cox was liable for its users’ infringement, so was Grande.
The court has now concurred with that position in a summary judgement. Noting that US copyright law says that those seeking safe harbour protection must “reasonably implement” a policy for cutting off repeat infringers, that new court ruling then quotes the BMG v Cox judgement, to the effect that “an ISP has not ‘reasonably implemented’ a repeat infringer policy if the ISP fails to enforce the terms of its policy in any meaningful fashion”.
The new judgement also cites a magistrate judge’s opinion on the case from back in December, which concluded that the “undisputed evidence shows that though Grande may have adopted a policy permitting it to terminate a customer’s internet access for repeat infringement, Grande affirmatively decided in 2010 that it would not enforce the policy at all, and that it would not terminate any customer’s account regardless of how many notices of infringement that customer accumulated, regardless of the source of the notices, and regardless of the content of a notice”.
Grande tried to distinguish itself from Cox by arguing that its rival “failed to follow through on its own policy” because it considered the evidence against certain users, concluded that said users should probably have their accounts terminated, but then declined to do so. Grande said it never got as far as considering the evidence and concluding that any one infringing user should be disconnected.
The court ruled that that was worse. The judgement notes that “Grande thus did even less than Cox to ‘reasonably implement’ the kind of policy required for the protections of … safe harbour”. It then concludes: “If lax enforcement and frequent circumvention of existent procedures disqualifies a defendant from the safe harbour’s protections, the complete nonexistence of such procedures surely must do likewise”.
After considering other arguments relating to the case beyond safe harbour, the judge ruled in Grande’s favour on a couple of points, and then declined to make summary judgement on a bunch more, meaning that the legal battle will now proceed to a full court hearing.
Crucially, if it gets that far, Grande will have to go to court without safe harbour protection. And, more importantly, this judgement seems to suggest that BMG v Cox has definitely raised the bar regarding what net firms must do to rely on the safe harbour.
READ MORE ABOUT: Grande Communications | Recordings Industry Association Of America (RIAA)
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:28 | By Andy Malt
Women Produce Music announces new collaboration series
Artist News Business News Industry People
Women Produce Music has announced a new project – titled !N_KoLAB – which will bring together various female producers to collaborate in different settings. First to work together will be the organisation’s founder Katia Isakoff and electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
“I am honoured to be part of Katia Isakoff’s latest initiative to catalyse the role and visibility of women in the recording studio”, says Ciani. “Noticing a lack of female presence in the professional arena of producing, she is not just lamenting this fact, but taking action to prime the pump that will release a flow of future talent”.
Isakoff adds: “!N_KoLAB is, in essence, the culmination of every idea, hope and vision I have ever explored whilst considering how to move the conversation forward and tell our story. The answer was, and is, where it’s always been – in music – in the studio – through collaboration, friends and community”.
The project is being supported by the PRS Foundation Open Fund and Moog Music and will begin in May. Also working with Isakoff and Ciani on their collaboration will be new artist Anil Aykan of Fragile Self and studio engineer Marta Salogni.
A film showing the process of their work together is set to be screened in September. Find out more on the Women Produce Music website, and watch a video preview here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Anil Aykan | Katia Isakoff | Marta Salogni | Moog Music | PRS Foundation | Suzanne Ciani | Women Produce Music
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:23 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Faith Eliott
CMU Approved
Faith Eliott’s debut album, ‘Impossible Bodies’, is a conceptual work, of sorts, each song represented by a different animal. Looking at these different creatures allows for a broad range of topics across the album, with lyrics delving into religion, space travel and climate change. And while dogs, rabbits, monkeys, snakes (on previous single, ‘Lilith’) and more make the cut, there are also some less often considered beasts. Such as on new single ‘Loomis’, which may be the first love song to the humble sea sponge ever written.
“I feel like we have so much to learn from sea sponges”, says Eliott. “It seems so common to see our innate and primal ‘nature’ as individualistic, defensive, and violent. Sea sponges, on the other hand, are one of the first examples of single cells teaming up and co-operating as a composite being. Many of them exhibit really beautiful instances of symbiosis. I think we would do well to keep in mind that sponges are potentially our oldest ancestor. It shows that we have it in our biology to help each other and work together, as much as we have it in us to be destructive”.
“In this song I am addressing the sea sponge; the primordial, asymmetrical lump we all evolved from”, Eliott continues. “I want to reassure it that once we all die out, the Earth will just go ahead and change again, and that that is OK. Of course, climate change is very real and not at all OK. But sometimes feeling utterly overwhelmed by the horrors of reality distracts from what you can actually do to make the world better. Like being kind and gentle. Or in the case of the sea sponge, converting sunlight into nutrients in order to create a symbiosis with the photosynthesising algae that it hosts”.
‘Impossible Bodies’ is set for release on 19 Apr. Watch the video for ‘Loomis’ 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: Faith Eliott
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:21 | By Andy Malt
Slipknot part ways with percussionist Chris Fehn following legal action
Artist News
Slipknot have announced that they have parted ways with percussionist Chris Fehn. Which is not entirely surprising, as he sued his bandmates last week.
Fehn – a member of Slipknot since 1998 – claimed in his lawsuit that until recently he believed that all of the band’s touring and merch income was channelled through one company and then divided up among band members. However, he says he has now discovered that some of his bandmates – specifically singling out frontman Corey Taylor and fellow percussionist Shawn Crahan – have set up other companies to receive some of this money, which he believes he is due a cut of.
A statement on Slipknot’s website announced Fehn’s departure from the band. Saying that the remaining band members are focussing on completing their new album and preparing for upcoming tour dates, it went on: “Chris knows why he is no longer a part of Slipknot. We are disappointed that he chose to point fingers and manufacture claims, rather than doing what was necessary to continue to be a part of Slipknot. We would have preferred he not take the path that he has, but evolution in all things is a necessary part of this life”.
Tweeting about the lawsuit last week, Taylor said that there was “a lot of bullshit” being reported, and implied that there was a greater truth behind Fehn’s claims. In a reply to a fan on Twitter yesterday, he said that he is being “wrongfully accused of stealing money from someone you cared about” and having to deal with a portion of Slipknot’s fanbase believing Fehn’s claims.
The band are set to release their sixth album later this year and will begin a world tour in June. The sole UK date on that tour will be at Download Festival on 15 Jun.
READ MORE ABOUT: Slipknot
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:20 | By Andy Malt
RSPB to release birds into the UK charts
Artist News Releases
The Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds has announced that it will release the first ever UK single to feature nothing but birdsong next month. So that’s fun. It aims to highlight the massive decline in some species of bird, which is less fun.
Titled ‘Let Nature Sing’, the two and a half minute track will feature 25 of the UK’s most endangered birds, including the blackbird, robin and nightingale. The RSPB says that the UK’s bird population has shrunk by 44 million since 1966, due to destruction of habitats, pollution and climate change. The number of cuckoos has dropped by around 50% since 1970, while the number of turtle doves is down 98%.
The different types of birdsong were recorded by the RSPB’s Adrian Thomas, and then combined into the single track by folk singer Sam Lee and music director Bill Barclay.
“Birdsong has been one of the biggest influences of English song, poetry and literature”, says Lee. “The loss of it should concern us all, because it is a signal that all is not well in the world. We should see birdsong as a barometer for the health of this planet, and hence of ourselves”.
Thomas adds: “Our track, as well as being a wake up call, is really an invitation to go and experience it for yourselves. You only have to step outside your door on a fine spring day and hopefully you will hear some birdsong, but the tragedy is that with each generation we are losing more. We need to cherish it; we need to save it”.
‘Let Nature Sing’ is set for release on 26 Apr, with the hope of breaking into the UK singles chart.
Birdsong has proven popular with the British public in the past. In 2009, people complained when a test broadcast of constant birdsong was shut off on the DAB radio network, ahead of the launch of music station Amazing Radio.
More recently, birdsong has been used to censor swearing and other content that does not meet BBC guidelines on Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s film review show on BBC Radio 5 Live. Which could mean this RSPB single sounds quite controversial to any fans of that show.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bill Barclay | Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds (RSPB) | Sam Lee
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:14 | By Andy Malt
Stephen Malkmus announces solo UK tour
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Stephen Malkmus has announced a solo tour of the UK and Ireland to promote his new album ‘Groove Denied’.
His first electronic album, ‘Groove Denied’ is also Malkmus’s first proper solo album since 2001’s ‘Stephen Malkmus’. While much of his summer tour of Europe will see him perform with longtime band The Jicks, the newly announced dates will be entirely solo shows.
Here are the dates:
13 Sep: Glasgow, CCA
14 Sep: Dublin, Whelan’s
16 Sep: Manchester, Yes
17 Sep: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
18 Sep: London, Moth Club
READ MORE ABOUT: Stephen Malkmus
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:13 | By Andy Malt
One Liners: Sony Music, JEM, Arca, more
Artist News Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Sony Music has hired Amanda Collins to head up its corporate communications department globally. “Amanda is a highly respected executive who understands the media and entertainment landscape”, reckons CEO Rob Stringer.
• Artist management company JEM Music Group has appointed Naz Idelji as its Managing Director. “Bringing in someone of Naz’s amazing experience, skillset and pedigree sets out a very clear mandate for our future”, says founder Colin Lester.
• Arca has created the start up music for retro gaming company Analogue’s new Mega Sg console, a remake of the Sega Megadrive. This follows Squarepusher composing the bootup music for the same company’s Super Nintendo update in 2017.
• Billie Eilish has released the video for 2018 single ‘You Should See Me In A Crown’.
• Saudade – made up of Deftones’ Chino Moreno, members of Bad Brains and others – have released their first new song for three years, ‘Shadows & Light’. The song features guest vocals from Chelsea Wolfe.
• Devin Townsend has released new track ‘Evermore’, from his upcoming new album ‘Empath’.
• Animal Collective drummer Avey Tare has released the video for new single ‘HORS_’. His new album, ‘Cows On Hourglass Pond’, is out this Friday.
• Daniel O’Sullivan has released new track ‘Under The Knife’, from his upcoming new solo album ‘Folly’.
• Josephin Öhrn And The Liberation have released new single ‘Feel The Sun’. They’ll be touring the UK in April and May, including a show at the Islington Assembly Hall on 26 Apr.
Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amanda Collins | Animal Collective | Arca | Billie Eilish | Chelsea Wolfe | Chino Moreno | Daniel O'Sullivan | JEM Music | Josefin Öhrn And The Liberation | Naz Idelji | Saudade | Sony Music
Tuesday 19 March 2019, 12:10 | By Andy Malt
Fall Out Boy sued for excessive use of llamas
And Finally Artist News Legal
Fall Out Boy are being sued by puppet maker Furry Puppet Studio Inc for using the stuffed llamas created for their ‘Young And Menace’ video far beyond the remit of the original licence. The legal action also says that the band are “dishonestly and absurdly” claiming to be co-creators of the puppets.
FPS says that the llama puppets were made for the music video and licensed for that use only. However, since then they have been brought out on stage at live shows, featured on various pieces of merchandise, had their own emojis created, made TV appearances and more. These uses are “so far beyond the scope of the initial project”, says the lawsuit, that the creators would require “omniscient clairvoyance” to have foreseen them.
“At no point was plaintiff ever told that the puppets would be consistently performing on stage, or for all 80 concerts on the tour”, says the lawsuit, according to Billboard. “And it certainly could not be inferred that they were being used for merchandise (t-shirts, key chains, stuffed animals), GIFs, television appearances, emojis, apps and social media. At no point did plaintiff give permission for the puppets to be used/exploited in the widespread way they were”.
The company is also annoyed that Fall Out Boy allegedly claimed in correspondence before FPS took legal action that they co-created the puppets in 2017.
This is “impossible” for a number of reasons, says the lawsuit. First, the original designs for the puppets were made two years before FPS was contacted about the Fall Out Boy video. Secondly, the only creative suggestions the company was sent during the project came from video production outfit Rubrik House and the band’s management firm Crush Music, rather than the band themselves, and these were just “other artists’ monster concepts … for ideas”.
“Not only were these ideas not used”, the legal filing notes, “but ideas are not even copyrightable expression which could give rise to joint authorship”.
Furry Puppet Studio is being represented by Francis Malofiy in the case, who also represented the estate of Randy Wolfe in its claim that Led Zeppelin ripped off Spirit song ‘Taurus’ for their hit ‘Stairway To Heaven’. The company is seeking damages and a court order to stop the band using the puppets beyond their original licence.
Fall Out Boy have not commented on the new lawsuit. You can see the llamas at work here though:
READ MORE ABOUT: Fall Out Boy
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:22 | By Chris Cooke
“Monopolists” always deny wrongdoing, Spotify says of Apple’s competition complaint response
Business News Digital Legal Top Stories
Spotify has hit back at Apple’s response to the competition law complaint it has filed against its rival in Europe, saying that the tech giant’s counter arguments are pretty much what it expected and that “every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong”.
After Spotify filed its long-expected complaint with the European Commission last week – a filing accompanied by a blog post from founder Daniel Ek and a whole micro-site setting out the company’s arguments – Apple quickly published a reaction statement.
Disputing most of its rival’s allegations – including the key claim that Apple exploits its operating system and App Store to give Apple Music an unfair advantage – the tech giant said that Spotify simply wanted to make use of its platform and technologies without paying for the privilege.
It then connected its dispute with Spotify with its competitor’s concurrent run-in with the songwriters and music publishers of America, ie the one over the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to increase the royalties streaming firms must pay for the song rights they exploit.
Apple is one of the few digital music companies not appealing that rate increase, which allowed it to include a sneaky extra dig in its response to the competition law complaint, to the effect that Spotify is keen to short change all of its key business partners.
The Apple statement last week concluded: “Spotify wouldn’t be the business they are today without the App Store ecosystem. But now they’re leveraging their scale to avoid contributing to maintaining that ecosystem for the next generation of app entrepreneurs. We think that’s wrong”.
Responding, Spotify said on Friday: “Every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong and will argue that they have the best interests of competitors and consumers at heart. In that way, Apple’s response to our complaint before the European Commission is not new and is entirely in line with our expectations”.
Standing its ground, Spotify went on: “We filed our complaint because Apple’s actions hurt competition and consumers, and are in clear violation of the law. This is evident in Apple’s belief that Spotify’s users on iOS are Apple customers and not Spotify customers, which goes to the very heart of the issue with Apple. We respect the process the European Commission must now undertake to conduct its review”.
As do we all, I’m sure.
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Spotify
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:20 | By Chris Cooke
Campaigners say free-speech loving YouTube should pass on the music industry’s article thirteen arguments too
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal
As the very final vote on the European Copyright Directive gets ever closer, music industry campaigners have sent an open letter to YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki. In it they suggest that – given her company is so keen on freedom of expression – she should deliver the music community’s position on the incoming copyright reforms to all the YouTube users who have had the Google position pushed into their apps in recent months.
Opponents to the Copyright Directive – and especially to the music-industry-supported safe-harbour-reforming article thirteen – often cite free speech concerns when criticising the new liabilities the copyright reforms will put on platforms like YouTube.
The music industry has long argued that those concerns are not justified. In the new letter, the Europe For Creators campaign group goes one step further by stating that, if Google is really concerned about free speech, it would surely want its users to hear both sides of the argument around the directive.
Google and YouTube, of course, went into campaigning overdrive on article thirteen late last year. They dropped their previous strategy of back-room lobbying and allowing supposedly grass roots groups to lead the public facing communications, and instead pushed out messaging directly to consumers.
In its letter to Wojcicki, the Europe For Creators campaign – which is led by GESAC and backed by various music industry organisations – writes: “You have taken advantage of your considerable influence over 1.8 billion monthly users as the biggest media entity in the world to circulate your own message to video makers and YouTubers”.
And also to YouTube’s users, of course, via “a portal comprising all videos defending your position… [and by running] banners, pop-ups and push notifications on YouTube defending your point of view and directing traffic to your unique YouTube.com webpage”.
“This is unprecedented and raises ethical questions”, the letter goes on, before accusing the web giant of including misleading statements in all that communication that constituted “scaremongering”. It then states: “We believe it is totally unfair and unacceptable that your service, which dominates the online market, is exclusively used as a media service to promote your own commercial interests in a debate over European legislation”.
“You advocate freedom of expression”, the letter then says, “but what we have seen is a media service dedicated to the promotion of its own views, based on false information and scare tactics. We believe in pluralism and open, democratic debate. We believe our views also need to be voiced to your audience. That is what freedom of speech is all about. This is why we are asking you to let us … send a message to the same YouTubers so we can share with them our vision of article thirteen”.
Although the short-term objectives of the letter are obvious, interestingly the concerns it raises feed into the next big web-related debate in the EU once all the current copyright matters are addressed.
And that is platform responsibility, a debate that includes concerns over the ability of tech giants to exploit their platforms to their own commercial advantage. Which in turn includes the kind of anti-competitive tactics Spotify accuses Apple of employing, but also the exploiting of platforms to skew political debate, as YouTube is accused of in this letter.
You can read the full message to Wojcicki here.
READ MORE ABOUT: European Copyright Directive | YouTube
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:17 | By Chris Cooke
Warner/Chappell calls on songwriters to back campaign against Spotify’s rate rise appeal
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal
Warner/Chappell has joined Sony/ATV in asking its songwriters to back the US National Music Publishers Association’s PR offensive against Spotify in the dispute over the new mechanical royalty rates Stateside.
Spotify, of course, is appealing the recent Copyright Royalty Board ruling that will increase the streaming service revenue share allocation paid to the song copyright from 10.5% to 15.1% by 2022. So are Amazon, Google and Pandora, although Spotify is getting most of the heat so far.
The streaming firm published a blog post last week defending its position, and arguing that it didn’t object to the rate rise in principle, but that it had some issues with the specifics of the revised compulsory licence. The company is now reportedly planning face-to-face meetings with songwriters in America to present its case.
The NMPA argues that Spotify’s blog post was full of misinformation and spin and that the streaming firm just doesn’t want to pay a fair rate to songwriters. The trade group is now also appealing the CRB ruling, but says its preferred option would be for the tech firms to back down so that it didn’t have to go ahead with said appeal.
Sony/ATV boss Marty Bandier last week urged songwriters signed to the major to get up to speed on the dispute and to speak out in favour of the NMPA. Warner/Chappell’s COO Carianne Marshall has now done likewise.
In her letter, she writes that the CRB ruling on mechanical royalties “came after rigorous consultation with many parties, including a wide range of tech companies, as well as songwriters and music publishers. There were strong arguments made on both sides, and the resulting rate increase was fair as well as overdue”.
“That is where the debate should have rested”, she adds. Noting the appeals that have now been filed by the streaming firms, she goes on: “We value our relationships with the companies who help us deliver music to fans, but we have to draw a line on this issue. Their attempt to roll back rates fairly determined through the CRB process is unacceptable. As such, we will vigorously seek to protect the value of music and passionately promote the rights of songwriters”.
Concluding she says: “We are working with NMPA and policy makers in [Washington] DC to defeat the appeal. We also encourage you to lend your support to NMPA”, mainly by passing on the trade body’s messaging to fans.
If you’re still a little confused as to what this dispute is all about, we go back through all the basics on this week’s edition of our Setlist podcast.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon | Google | Spotify | Warner Chappell
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:15 | By Andy Malt
Session aims to embed credits in songs at the point of creation
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
Music data start-up Auddly has a new name and is expanding its service. Previously focussed mainly on ensuring that songwriters agree and log royalty splits at the point any new song is created, the company – now called Session – will also seek to ensure that recordings of songs have full credit information attached to them from the moment they enter the world.
The aim is to embed this information into digital music files, which is something that other groups have been championing for a while, with mixed success. Session will be integrated with the Pro Tools software, allowing for both the logging and – crucially – the verification of various music industry identifiers. The IPI code for songwriters and IPN for performing artists can be included, as well the ISNI, which identifies content contributors of various types. It will also record the ISRC recording identifier and ISWC composition identifier.
The result, it is hoped, will help to overcome the various metadata issues of the digital music age, where proper credits are often not available on tracks uploaded to digital services. If it locked ISWC to ISRC, it could also help with royalty processing challenges.
“I’m convinced that the best way to involve the creators in the data collection is as early as possible in the creation process”, says Session CEO Niclas Molinder. “Session’s technology performs a short handshake with music society systems to authenticate creators and associate their vital industry identifiers with their account. When a creator walks into a Pro Tools powered studio their presence will be automatically detected and their identifiers, along with their typical contributions, can be easily added to a song”.
Director of Pro Tools maker Avid, Francois Quereuil, adds: “With Pro Tools software at the core of many of today’s music production environments around the world, the Avid team shares in the vision that all contributors to a piece of music or any audio work should be clearly identified, recognised and rewarded appropriately throughout the production and distribution process. We are particularly excited to enter a technology collaboration with Session and work with key players in the music industry to provide a durable solution to the challenges associated with capturing and recognising creators’ credits in an increasingly complex digital world”.
Universal Music is also among the partners at the initial stages of getting Session’s product off the ground.
READ MORE ABOUT: Auddly | Pro Tools | Session
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:13 | By Chris Cooke
Competition regulator investigating Bauer’s recent flurry of acquisitions
Business News Media
The Competition & Markets Authority is investigating Bauer Media’s recent flurry of local radio acquisitions, which will significantly boost the media firm’s portfolio of local radio stations around the UK.
The competition regulator confirmed last week that it is now looking into the most recent of those purchases, of the UKRD company. An investigation into the acquisitions of Celador Radio, Lincs FM Group and the local stations of the Wireless Group was already underway. It means those four businesses will remain standalone concerns until the CMA’s investigations are complete.
Bauer tells Radio Today that “this is a standard procedural step and [we are] co-operating fully with the CMA”.
The regulator will be looking into whether any of the acquisitions gives Bauer too much dominance in any one region, in particular regarding the local advertising market.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bauer Media | Competition And Markets Authority | UKRD
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:11 | By Andy Malt
Beastie Boys to film book show
Artist News
Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz have announced plans to film three upcoming shows on their ongoing ‘Beastie Boys Book: Live & Direct’ tour.
Outings at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on 5 Apr and the Kings Theater in Brooklyn on 8-9 Apr will be filmed by director Spike Jonze. In what form these recordings will eventually emerge isn’t clear.
On how the live show developed, Diamond said at SXSW last week, according to Billboard: “We wrote this book, and instead of going to book stores and us reading chapters, which probably would’ve kind of sucked, we did these shows where we were on stage, coming together”.
“It was kinda like a production, and we forgot to film the things we did before”, Horovitz added. “We were like ‘fuck, why don’t we just film it?'”
During the SXSW interview, the pair also revealed that there is already a sequel to their book, although it’s unlikely to be made available publicly. “We have a whole other book called ‘Funny To Us'”, said Horovitz. “The three of us together for so many days and weeks and months and years and traveling all over the place, you encounter so many super-weird people. And it’s not funny to everybody else, but to us it’s funny”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beastie Boys
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:10 | By Andy Malt
Clean Bandit and Aurora to play Youth Music’s Give A Gig Week
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Clean Bandit and Aurora are among the artists to perform in aid of Youth Music this year, as part of the charity’s Give A Gig Week.
Each year, Youth Music asks artists, managers, promoters and other music companies to put on a gig to raise money for the charity. This year, Give A Gig Week will take place from 5-14 Apr.
Aurora’s show will take place at the Courtyard Theatre in Shoreditch on 8 Apr, while Clean Bandit will place Omeara in Southwark on 7 Apr. Tickets for both shows will be allocated as part of a prize draw – entries costing a £5 donation to the charity.
“Our lives would have turned out very different if we didn’t have access to music but we are aware we have been very fortunate in our opportunities”, says Clean Bandit. “It’s a position not everyone finds themselves in, so we see the work of Youth Music as incredibly valuable. Music really can improve lives so we are THRILLED to partner with the charity in raising money to help them with their many music-making projects across the country”.
Aurora adds: “I am so happy to have been invited to ‘give a gig’ at the Courtyard Theatre. I played there back in 2015 before my first album came out and so much has changed since then, so this is going to be a very special show”.
Enter the draw for Clean Bandit tickets here and Aurora here.
Find out more about Give A Gig Week here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Aurora | Clean Bandit | Youth Music
Monday 18 March 2019, 12:08 | By Andy Malt
MySpace loses pre-2015 archive
And Finally Artist News Digital
MySpace – which is still going, by the way – seemingly lost twelve years of data when it moved to new servers. Although I’m sure everyone will be relieved to hear that everything put up on the site in the last three years is completely safe.
A notice on the website now reads: “As a result of a server migration project, any photos, videos, and audio files you uploaded more than three years ago may no longer be available on or from MySpace. We apologise for the inconvenience”.
A previous note, suggesting that people should “retain … back up copies” of uploaded files, appears to have been removed from this notice. Possibly because that’s really not the most helpful thing to say after you’ve just lost someone’s stuff.
While MySpace has fallen out of the public consciousness since other social and streaming services rose up and took its place, it was once the biggest social network, of course, with a particular focus on music. Noting that importance in its heyday, the LuckyMe label said on Twitter of the data loss: “They had demos. First songs. They had communications. Connections between artists. An important archive of youth culture. And completely fucked it”.
Then observing how services come and go, so that artists can never assume one platform will be a route to their fanbase forever, the label added: “Jumping from MySpace to SoundCloud was the first time we realised that this wasn’t a given. That there’s no audience a musician can build on these platforms that guarantee you reach forever. And that ultimately they can just sorta… disappear”.
Reminisce further about the rise and fall and fall and fall of MySpace in this special edition of CMU’s Setlist podcast.
READ MORE ABOUT: MySpace
Monday 18 March 2019, 09:17 | By Chris Cooke
CMU Digest 18.03.19: Apple, Spotify, Nirvana, Kanye West, UK Music
CMU Digest
The key stories from the last week in the music business…
Apple and Spotify went to war after the latter accused the former of anti-competitive behaviour. Spotify filed a formal complaint with the European Commission arguing that Apple exploits its operating system and App Store to give Apple Music an unfair advantage. The streaming firm’s top gripe was the so called Apple Tax, ie the 30% it must pay its rival on in-app purchases. For its part, Apple said Spotify just wanted all the benefits of its platform and devices but without paying its way. It also referenced Spotify’s dispute with songwriters and music publishers in the US, arguing that its competitor was trying to short change many of its key partners. [READ MORE]
A war of words ensued over Spotify’s decision to appeal the US Copyright Royalty Board’s mechanical royalties rate increase. The streaming firm published a blog post to artists saying that it didn’t object to the top line increase – so that song rights will be allocated a 15.1% revenue share – but said that it had an issue with the specific rights that higher royalty rate covered. The National Music Publishers Association said Spotify’s statement was full of misinformation and spin, while many US publishers urged songwriters to back NMPA’s PR offensive against the streaming company. [READ MORE]
A designer accused of ripping off Nirvana’s famous happy face image on a grunge celebrating fashion line launched last year denied he had infringed the band’s rights. The Marc Jacobs fashion business questioned whether the Nirvana company even owned the copyright in the Kurt Cobain created image that was a staple of the band’s merch in the early 1990s. It then argued that the image on its Redux Grunge collection was sufficiently different to the original so as to not constitute infringement. [READ MORE]
Sony/ATV’s EMI Music Publishing filed legal papers in its contract dispute with Kanye West. The rapper is trying to get out of his current publishing deal, in part by citing the seven year limit put on services contracts by Californian law. EMI argues that publishing deals are not services contracts so the seven year limit does not apply. But more importantly, its contract with West specifically states that it is governed by New York law, so West can’t sue in a Californian court or cite Californian law. [READ MORE]
UK Music said that the UK government had missed a great opportunity to help music venues by not updating its business relief scheme in last week’s spring statement from the Chancellor Of The Exchequer. The relief scheme seeks to help small businesses on the high street, but music venues are excluded. There is now cross-party support in Parliament for extending the scheme to venues, but Chancellor Philip Hammond made no commitment to do so in his latest budget statement. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• JYP Entertainment signed a distribution deal with The Orchard [INFO]
• Publisher S2 signed a worldwide administration deal with Universal [INFO]
• 7digital signed a deal with Music Powered Games [INFO]
• Q announced a partnership with the All Points East festival [INFO]
• TaP allied with The Weird & The Wonderful on an electronic division [INFO]
• BMG signed Cage The Elephant [INFO]
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | EMI Music Publishing | Kanye West | Marc Jacobs | National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) | Nirvana | Sony Music Publishing | Spotify | UK Music
Monday 18 March 2019, 08:48 | By Andy Malt
Setlist: CRB appeal, closing venues, Kanye
Artist News Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Setlist
CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last seven days, including Spotify’s appeal of the US Copyright Royalty Board’s new mechanical royalties rate, ongoing challenges for grassroots music venues in the UK and EMI’s counter-suit in its contract battle with Kanye West. Setlist is sponsored by 7digital.
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Stories discussed this week:
• Spotify defends its appeal of the new US songwriter royalty rate
• NMPA responds to Spotify’s “spin” and “falsehoods” in mechanical royalties spat
• Spotify goes to war with Apple, asks EU to investigate anti-competitive behaviour
• Oxford’s Cellar venue closes following two-year battle to stay open
• The Social says it needs to raise £95,000 in two weeks to avoid closure
• Chancellor “missed a great opportunity” by not fixing venue business rates issue in spring statement
• EMI fires back in Kanye West publishing contract dispute
Also mentioned:
• The Social crowdfunding campaign
• Buy the ‘Dissecting The Digital Dollar’ book
READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon | Apple | Google | National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) | Pandora | Sony Music Publishing | Spotify | The Cellar | UK Music
Friday 15 March 2019, 12:47 | By Chris Cooke
Apple hits back at Spotify’s competition complaint, then lays into CRB appeal
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
Apple has responded to Spotify’s complaint to European regulators about its App Store policies. It accuses the streaming firm of making misleading statements, before getting in a sneaky little dig about its rival’s current fall-out with the songwriters and music publishers of America.
Spotify boss Daniel Ek penned a blog post earlier this week confirming that his company had now filed a formal complaint with the European Commission over what he thinks is Apple’s abuse of its App Store to give its own streaming service an unfair advantage.
Although Ek listed various gripes, he focused on mainly on the so called Apple Tax, which has been discussed many times before by those operating in the digital music market.
It means that if services like Spotify take subscription payments from users through their iOS apps, they must pay a 30% commission to Apple. But in the streaming market, that is the digital music service’s entire profit margin.
One solution is to just not take subscriptions through the app, forcing users to sign-up on the digital music company’s own website, before returning to the app to actually consume some music. But, Spotify et al complain, Apple – keen to stop this happening – imposes rules around consumer communications, to make this option less viable.
Ek argued that, despite trying to negotiate a better way forward with Apple, the tech giant has refused to budge. Which raises competition law concerns that the European Union should investigate.
But that’s just not true, Apple countered yesterday. It argued that Spotify simply wants all the benefits of Apple’s iOS platform and App Store without paying for the privilege. Meanwhile, it said that Ek’s missive was misleading. He failed to mention that the 30% commission drops to 15% after a year. And he incorrectly said that Apple was locking Spotify out of some of its devices and platforms.
Writes Apple: “Spotify claims we’re blocking their access to products and updates to their app. Let’s clear this one up right away. We’ve approved and distributed nearly 200 app updates on Spotify’s behalf, resulting in over 300 million downloaded copies of the Spotify app. The only time we have requested adjustments is when Spotify has tried to sidestep the same rules that every other app follows”.
“We’ve worked with Spotify frequently to help them bring their service to more devices and platforms”, it adds. “When we reached out to Spotify about Siri and AirPlay 2 support on several occasions, they’ve told us they’re working on it, and we stand ready to help them where we can. Spotify is deeply integrated into platforms like CarPlay, and they have access to the same app development tools and resources that any other developer has”.
As for the Apple Tax, many iPhone-owning Spotify users are on the streaming service’s free level, and Apple doesn’t ask for a share of any ad income, the tech giant points out. With premium subscribers, Spotify is just treated like every other app maker. Though the statement does then concede that Apple only charges a commission on apps providing digital services, which means apps like Uber aren’t charged.
Even so, Apple argues, that seems fair. “Apple connects Spotify to our users. We provide the platform by which users download and update their app. We share critical software development tools to support Spotify’s app building. And we built a secure payment system – no small undertaking – which allows users to have faith in in-app transactions. Spotify is asking to keep all those benefits while also retaining 100% of the revenue”.
“Spotify wouldn’t be the business they are today without the App Store ecosystem”, it goes on. “But now they’re leveraging their scale to avoid contributing to maintaining that ecosystem for the next generation of app entrepreneurs. We think that’s wrong”.
And you know who else Spotify is trying to short change? Not just Apple and all its shareholders. Oh no, all those lovely artists and songwriters as well!
Because, of course, Spotify has filed its formal complaint about Apple in Europe at the same time as appealing the rate rise payable under the compulsory licence that covers the mechanical copying of songs in the US.
That appeal has angered the American music community big time, all of whom have been quick to point out that lovely cuddly best-mate-to-all-music-makes Apple hasn’t filed an appeal, despite operating the other main streaming service.
“We share Spotify’s love of music and their vision of sharing it with the world”, Apple’s statement goes on. “Where we differ is how you achieve that goal. Underneath the rhetoric, Spotify’s aim is to make more money off others’ work. And it’s not just the App Store that they’re trying to squeeze – it’s also artists, musicians and songwriters”.
“Just this week”, it said, “Spotify sued music creators after a decision by the US Copyright Royalty Board required Spotify to increase its royalty payments. This isn’t just wrong, it represents a real, meaningful and damaging step backwards for the music industry”.
“Apple’s approach has always been to grow the pie”, it argues, “by creating new marketplaces, we can create more opportunities not just for our business, but for artists, creators, entrepreneurs and every ‘crazy one’ with a big idea. That’s in our DNA, it’s the right model to grow the next big app ideas and, ultimately, it’s better for customers”.
Concluding, Apple’s post states: “We’re proud of the work we’ve done to help Spotify build a successful business reaching hundreds of millions of music lovers, and we wish them continued success – after all, that was the whole point of creating the App Store in the first place”.
So, there you go, two major Spotify disputes on both sides of the Atlantic now officially joined up, in PR terms at least. Keeps things interesting, I guess.
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Apple Music | Spotify
