Thursday 25 April 2019, 10:44 | By Andy Malt

Ally McCrae and Sophie Paluch front new MMF artist management podcast

Business News Management & Funding Media

The Music Managers Forum has launched a new ten part podcast series called ‘How Did You Manage That?’ revealing the secrets of artist management. And it has the great benefit of being presented by Ally McCrae and Sophie Paluch.

“The goal of these podcasts is simple”, says McCrae. “We wanted to get inside the minds of the most innovative and respected music managers on the planet. We want to find out what makes them tick, what goes on behind the scenes, and the secrets of their success. But we wanted to do it in a low-key, intimate and informative way. ‘How Did You Manage That?’ is like an hour down the pub, in the company of the most inspirational individuals in contemporary music”.

Paluch adds: “We’re both hugely indebted for the support of both [show sponsor] AWAL and the MMF to make this podcast happen. The role of the music manager has never been as important as it is today, and ‘How Did You Manage That?’ will offer an incredible insight into the challenges and rewards of being a manager today all wrapped up with some great stories and laughs along the way”.

Episode one, an interview with The 1975’s manager Jamie Oborne of All On Red, is available now through your absolute favourite podcast app.

Approved: Aldo

CMU Approved

Brothers Andre and Mura Faria began recording under the name Aldo as a means of paying tribute to and processing memories of a childhood spent with their Uncle Aldo.

Back in the 90s, Uncle Aldo seems to have been a somewhat outlaw-ish figure, introducing the two boys to a darker side of Sao Paulo, where they grew up. Illegal car racing, suspicious back-alley negotiations, football gang violence, parties and alcohol were all features of this unorthodox upbringing.

These stories all seem ripe for mining creatively. However, Aldo has since found God and repented his sins, and neither he nor the wider Faria family were particularly keen on dredging up that past. But once the brothers eventually gained their uncle’s blessing, they were free to proceed.

Who knows if any of that is actually true, but whatever, I think it’s safe to say that pretty much all other musicians are failing with their back stories by comparison. Aldo have since gone on to build a strong following in Brazil, last year opening for Radiohead at the Allianz Park Stadium.

Now signed to Full Time Hobby in the UK they are set to release their debut EP, ‘Trembling Eyelids’, later this year. The title track is out now, showcasing a perhaps more restrained sound than you might expect from all I said above. They reference Happy Mondays, Prince and LCD Soundsystem, as well as 70s Brazilian soul and funk bands, among their influences.

Watch the video for ‘Trembling Eyelids’ here:

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

New Mark Lanegan Band album coming in October

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

The Mark Lanegan Band will release a new album, ‘Someone’s Knocking’, in October, it has been announced. They’ve also confirmed UK tour dates for December. So consider that a reminder that – while the weather might have just warmed up – the summer will be over soon and we will all be plunged back into darkness. Thanks, Mark.

Speaking of being plunged into darkness, Lanegan says: “It seems to me that the entire world is in a weird, precarious place right now. I try to not be someone in a constant state of worry and alarm but watching the massive divide that is taking place and the political situations, especially in the US and UK makes me think, ‘what the fuck are these idiots thinking?'”.

He goes on: “The hatred, racism and all this other fear-driven shit, these ‘adults’ that continually drive the machine that perpetuates this ignorance to their own ends should all be in prison cells instead of the non-violent drug ‘offenders’ in them now”.

“I can’t specifically say how any of this effects my writing”, he adds. “But I know that most of the things that occupy my thoughts have a way of coming back out in a song”.

Anyway, as I’ve sure you’re all expecting, the video for the first single for the album, ‘Stitch It Up’, is like a mini-episode of a silly sitcom.

“I had a blast making this video”, says Lanegan. “My head was pounding from laughing so hard the day of the shoot. It was extremely tough to keep a straight face when Donal [Logue] was in character. There’s a reason it’s the first video of mine I’ve been in for the last fifteen years”.

‘Someone’s Knocking’ is set for release on 18 Oct. If you fancy a bit more of Lanegan’s characteristic chirpiness, you can catch him and his band on tour at these dates:

10 Dec: London, Roundhouse
11 Dec: Bristol, SWX
13 Dec: Sheffield, Leadmill
14 Dec: Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms
15 Dec: Manchester, Ritz
17 Dec: Dublin, Button Factory
18 Dec: Belfast, Empire Music Hall

We Are Scientists announce 50th anniversary tour for debut album

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases

We Are Scientists have announced a 50th anniversary tour for their debut album, ‘With Love And Squalor’. It’s hard to believe it’s been so long, but it really has. Who would have thought we’d still be talking about this here in 2055?

“A long time ago our management came to us and suggested we do some ‘With Love And Squalor’ shows on the fourteenth anniversary of its release, which we thought was pretty dumb”, says the band’s Keith Murray. “‘Come back to us on a real anniversary’, we told them. Fast-forward to a couple weeks ago, when they told us the big 50 was coming up. I’d say that’s worth celebrating”.

As well as the tour, the band will be re-issuing the album on vinyl, of which bassist Chris Cain explains: “Fans have been asking us to re-issue ‘With Love And Squalor’ on vinyl ever since the last printing, in 2006, ran out. The fact that it took 50 fucking years to make this happen still blows my mind”.

The vinyl will be out on 18 Oct. Here are the tour dates:

4 Dec: Leicester, Academy 2
5 Dec: Glasgow, Oran Mor
6 Dec: Manchester, Ritz
7 Dec: London, Roundhouse

The 1975, Ghetts, Jorja Smith and Arctic Monkeys among Ivor Novello nominees

Artist News Awards

The nominees for this year’s Ivor Novello Awards have been announced, with The 1975, Ghetts, Jorja Smith and Arctic Monkeys among the nominees for the top awards.

“The works nominated for The Ivors 2019 are brilliantly diverse, and we’re delighted to see so many first-time nominees recognised”, says Ivors Academy Chair Crispin Hunt. “As the only peer-nominated music award in the country, they are a fantastic reflection of the exciting emerging talent of British and Irish music creators today”.

The winners will be announced at Grosvenor House in London on 23 May. Here are all the nominees. All of them:

Best Song Musically And Lyrically: Arctic Monkeys – Four Out Of Five (Alex Turner), Ben Howard – Nica Libres At Duck (Ben Howard), Hozier – Nina Cried Power (Hozier)

Best Contemporary Song: Ghetts – Black Rose (Ghetts, Kojey Radical, Daniel Miles, JoJo Mukeza, Jaime Naldo Menezes), Jorja Smith – Blue Lights (Guy Bonnet, Dizzee Rascal, Roland Romanelli, Jorja Smith), The 1975 – Love It If We Made It (George Daniel, Adam Hann, Matthew Healy, Ross MacDonald)

PRS For Music Most Performed Work: Jax Jones – Breathe (Jax Jones, Ina Wroldsen), George Ezra – Shotgun (George Ezra Barnett, Fred, Joel Pott), Rudimental – These Days (Julian Bunetta, Dan Caplen, Macklemore, John Ryan, Jamie Scott)

Best Album: Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar (Kayus Bankole, Graham Hastings, Alloysious Massaquoi), Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears (Jenny Hollingworth, Rosa Walton), Idles – Joy As An Act of Resistance (Jonathan Beavis, Mark Bowen, Adam Devonshire, Lee Kiernan, Joseph Talbot)

Best Original Film Score: American Animals (Anne Nikitin), Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton)

Best Television Soundtrack: Flowers Series 2 (Arthur Sharpes), Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (Clint Mansell), Requiem (Natasha Khan, Dominik Scherrer)

Best Original Video Game Score: Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (Michael Georgiades, Joe Henson, Alexis Smith), QUBE 2 (David Housden), Sea Of Thieves (Robin Beanland)

One Liners: Mustard, Madonna, FKA Twigs, more

Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Legal One Liners Releases

[L-R] Jennifer Drake, Mustard, Jon Platt

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Mustard, in the Sony/ATV office, with a pen. Yeah, Mustard’s signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV. “Mustard is an amazing songwriter and producer”, says CEO Jon Platt. “I already have friends in the building”, boasts Mustard.

• IMPEL, the grouping of indie publishers that does digital licensing gubbins, has appointed music lawyer Sarah Williams as its CEO. Previously an off-shoot of the Music Publishers Association and collecting society MCPS, IMPEL is now an independent entity that works with French society SACEM on licensing its members rights.

• Global Radio’s grand plan to become a big fat music company – which included launching units doing management, publishing and touring, as well as setting up shop Stateside – is seemingly at an end. Only the festivals side of that venture still existed in the form of Global’s significant stake in Broadwick Live. But, according to IQ, Broadwick’s management is now planning to buy Global out of the company. Meanwhile, the newly acquisitive Superstruct is acquiring some of the Global/Broadwick events.

• Madonna has released new single, ‘Medellín’, the first track from her new album, ‘Madame X’, which is out on 14 Jun.

• PKA FKA Twigs has released her first single in, like, a really long time. Here’s ‘Cellophane’. “Throughout my life I’ve practiced my way to being the best I could be, it didn’t work this time”, she says of recording her new music. “I had to tear down every process I’d ever relied on. Go deeper. Rebuild. Start again”.

• Mumford & Sons have released a short behind the scenes video with a performance of their song ‘Forever’. So that’s nice.

• Diplo has unveiled his new country music alter ego Thomas Wesley. Here’s the first single from the project, ‘So Long’. Play it to a country music fan today, they are sure to love it and recognise it instantly as pure, authentic country music. You probably won’t even get punched that much.

• Two Door Cinema Club have announced that they will release their new album, ‘False Alarm’, on 14 Jun. This is not a false alarm, it’s really happening. Look, they’ve even released a new single, ‘Satellite’.

• The Drums have released the video for ‘Body Chemistry’ from new album ‘Brutalism’.

• Kelly Moran has released ‘Night Music’, the first track from her new EP ‘Origin’, which will be released on 17 May. “These recordings show first hand my musical discoveries in real-time for when I was having my major creative breakthrough”, she says.

• Sacred Paws have released new single ‘How Far’. They’ve also announced UK tour dates in June.

• Petrol Girls have released the video for new single, ‘Big Mouth’. “Thematically, ‘Big Mouth’ follows on from our previous single, ‘The Sound'”, says Petrol Girls’ vocalist Ren Aldridge. “But it focuses in on voice as a physical sound that comes directly from our bodies, and also more generally as self-expression. There’s a lot of politics around who is heard and what that means, and many marginalised groups are only tolerated when they’re quiet. When they refuse this containment and control, they’re met with attempts to silence them”.

• Guitar Wolf are back with new single ‘Love & Jett’. And not a moment too soon.

• King Princess has announced that she will play Dublin Academy on 24 Jun and Heaven in London on 26 Jun.

• Entries for this year’s Mercury Prize are now open. You have until 6pm on 15 May to submit albums for consideration. Email entries@mercuryprize.co.uk with the subject line ‘token jazz act’ for more info.

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

Tyler, The Creator says video mocking his songwriting style is “spot on”

And Finally Artist News

Tyler, The Creator has praised a video mocking his songwriting style. Musician Nat Puff, who records as Left At London, posted the video earlier this week and has gained over six and a half million views.

How to make a Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) song pic.twitter.com/CSOcqrGcun— Left “Left at London” at London (@LeftAtLondon) April 23, 2019

Tackling Tyler’s early work, Puff – seemingly a fan of the man she is mocking – first lays down a backing track featuring a “shitty piano” and “an out of key synth that is nowhere near the original key of the song”. On top of that come backing vocals made up of a “really pitched-down voice, saying, ‘fuck’, ‘yeah’, ‘shit’, and ‘uh'” and finally lyrics featuring “violence, made up words, hating your father and not being gay”.

“I legit laughed, this [is] lowkey spot on”, Tyler said, reposting the video. Although, he observed, “you forgot the ‘ayo'”, noting another key feature of his vocals.

The new video is building on a theme – Puff previously tackled Tyler’s Odd Future colleague Frank Ocean songwriting’s style.

European songwriters hit out at Greek government’s collective licensing takeover

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

The European Composer And Songwriter Alliance yesterday confirmed that it has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission over the Greek government’s intervention into the country’s collective licensing system.

The music industry employs collective licensing in a whole range of scenarios, of course, especially on the songs side of the business where the frequent co-ownership of rights makes the collective licensing approach particularly attractive.

In each country, the local music industry sets up one or more collecting societies to administrate this process. National and – in the EU – European copyright law then regulates these societies in one way or another. It’s no secret that there are good collecting societies and there are inept collecting societies and there are outright corrupt collecting societies.

The Greek song rights society AEIP proudly sat within the latter category, so much so last year it had its licence to operate revoked. Which was a welcome development for long suffering Greek songwriters who set up a new organisation called Autodia to take over the collective licensing of song rights in Greece.

In the wake of the collapse of AEIP, it was hoped that Autodia could set about fixing collective licensing in the country, neatly regulated by the department of government charged with overseeing such things, which is called the HCO. However, instead of getting going with regulating Autodia, the government agency instead decided to set up its own collecting society, in the process hindering attempts by songwriters to get their new rights organisation properly off the ground.

While there are other countries in the world where collective licensing is handled by a government agency, most songwriters and music publishers agree that this is not a good approach, and can leave music makers short-changed. Meanwhile, ECSA reckons that the Greek government’s actions contravene EU competition law.

Explaining its position, the Alliance said yesterday: “[The new society] within HCO is preventing Autodia from accessing any music rights data and Greek music creators are being barred from access to their own information about their own works and income”.

It went on: “The effect is to prevent music creators from exercising their right to join an independent [society] of their choice and to provide an undue competitive advantage to the [society] effectively run by the Greek state. And the unlawful interference in the marketplace at the request of the Greek state is having the effect of preventing important funds from reaching music creators worldwide”.

Confirming that the Alliance had now decided to file a complaint with the EU, the group’s President Alfons Karabuda said yesterday: “The current difficulties in Greece affect first and foremost Greek music authors but also all music creators. We are concerned by the current difficulties in Greece and their detrimental impact on all music creators”.

The European songwriter organisation is backed by global grouping CIAM in its EU complaint about the Greek government’s intervention in the country’s collective licensing system. Its President, Eddie Schwartz, confirmed that support yesterday, declaring that “These actions affect us all”.

He went on: “As creators we stand with our colleagues to ensure that going forward, creators have a sound and lawful administrative system in Greece on which they can rely for their livelihoods. Any music creator should affiliate with the [society] of their choice. No [society] should ever be prevented from responding to the needs of the creators they exist to protect. This is why we are objecting to the situation in Greece”.

Sylvia Rhone named new Epic CEO

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Sony Music has promoted Sylvia Rhone to Chair and CEO of its Epic Records label in the US. She replaces LA Reid, who exited the company two years ago following accusations of “unlawful harassment”.

“Sylvia is a trailblazing and iconic executive who has played a critical leadership role in driving Epic’s recent artist development success”, says Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer. “Her wealth of experience and passionate support of artistic vision will help us further grow the reach of Epic’s roster around the world”.

Rhone herself adds: “I am excited to continue my amazing journey at Epic Records supported by Rob Stringer’s vision and leadership. Everything we do is a testament to our incredible artists who set the bar of the entire Epic culture, inspiring our dedicated executive team every day and enriching the legacy of this great label”.

Rhone has been President of Epic since 2014, and has worked with the company via a distribution deal with her own label Vested In Culture since 2012. During her career, she has also held executive positions at Warner and Universal, including as CEO of Elektra and President of Motown.

AEG sets target for zero carbon emissions

Business News Live Business

Live music giant AEG has announced a goal to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. This follows a previous commitment to reduce emissions by 25% by 2020.

“We are committed to leading the way toward change and continuing to help draw attention to this serious issue by doing more to ensure the safety of our world”, says John Marler, AEG’s VP Energy & Environment. “Today’s announcement builds on that commitment to further drive improvements in our global operations wherever possible. Meeting our current 2020 GHG goal is critical as it reflects the level of reductions required to achieve this longer-term target”.

“While we are pleased with the work we have done to date, we recognise that much more work needs to be done”, he goes on. “In addition to adopting our new 1.5˚c target for GHG emissions, we continue to look for ways to reduce potable water at water-stressed sites by 4.4% per year and diverting 70% of waste from landfill across all AEG operations”.

More information on AEG’s ongoing sustainability efforts can been found in a new report published by the company’s AEG 1Earth project.

Muso raises new funding

Business News Digital

Anti-piracy company MUSO has announced that it has raised a further £3.5 million in funding from Harwell Capital. This follows a £2.5 million injection from the venture capital firm back in 2017.

“Harwell has been a hugely supportive investment partner, who provide far more than cash alone to the company”, says MUSO CEO Andy Chatterley. “They understand our vision and objectives and bring significant advice and acumen to ensure we can execute on our continued growth plans in a most exciting market”.

Harwell MD Daniel O’Brien adds: “Since [our] first investment round nearly two years ago, Andy and the team have delivered significant value to existing and new clients including global leading corporate businesses and trade bodies, transformed the board to include high-profile growth stage veterans, and expanded the product range and application to significantly ratchet their addressable market. We remain supportive backers”.

The money will be used to expand the MUSO’s sales and marketing teams and widen its client base outside of music, in areas such as digital media, gaming and live broadcast.

VMS Live’s Steve Forster dies

Business News Industry People Live Business

Founder and Managing Director of live music company VMS Live, Steve Forster, has died, aged 55. He was involved in a serious car accident last month and died from complications related to his injuries last week.

“Whether you knew Steve from his early days in Newcastle or through the many venues and events he worked with we are sure you will agree that he was a focussed and determined operator”, says VMS Live in a statement. “A man who knew his own mind, and overall a truly unique and talented individual. Steve was respected and influential throughout the industry and has passed on a great deal of knowledge and experience to those around him and for this legacy we can all be eternally grateful”.

Forster launched his first live music company, NPS, in 1987, later becoming Operations Director at Wembley Stadium. In 1999 he joined the Academy Music Group and oversaw its growth until leaving to set up VMS Live in 2007. He also ran MAMA’s live music division until 2011.

Forster’s death follows the death last year of VMS Live consultant Dan Pike who worked on a number of the company’s outdoor events.

CMU Insights at the Brighton Music Conference

Business News CMU Insights Update Education & Events

The dance and electronic music focused Brighton Music Conference kicks off in, well, Brighton later today, with four days of official parties plus the main conference activity taking place on Thursday and Friday.

Over 200 speakers will take part this year, including the likes of David Morales, Paul Oakenfold, Irvine Welsh, Marshall Jefferson, Danny Rampling, Huxley, Norman Jay, Friction, DJ Storm, Teebee, Leftwing & Kody, Kevin McKay, Carl Finlow, Tom Middleton, Brandon Block, Rebekah and Jubilee.

CMU Insights will present a session at BMC for the first time this year explaining in simple terms what all that article thirteen chatter was really about.

With the new European Copyright Directive now passed will YouTube really start paying higher royalties and will artists, producers and songwriters get a better deal? CMU’s Chris Cooke will explain all and then talk through the specifics with John Mottram from PRS For Music, Lucie Caswell from the Featured Artists Coalition and James Tobias from Reed Smith. The session takes place on Friday 26 Apr at 3pm.

Click here for full info and tickets.

Prince autobiography set for publication in October

Artist News

The memoir Prince was working on before his death in 2016 is set to be published in October this year. Titled ‘The Beautiful Ones’, what had been completed before Prince’s death will be bolstered with photos and other things the musician had previously written.

Prince announced that he was writing his autobiography weeks before he died. Last year, literary agent Esther Newberg revealed that there were plans to publish what he managed to complete – amounting to about 50 handwritten pages.

The book will be split into four parts. The first is the memoir itself, in which he focusses on his childhood. The second part will cover Prince’s early life as a musician, through writing and photos from before his debut album was released.

Part three will be a collection of images from across his career. Finally, the fourth section will be the original handwritten treatment for his film ‘Purple Rain’.

‘The Beautiful Ones’ is set to be published through Penguin Random House on 29 Oct.

One Liners: Bingley Music Live, Sheryl Crow, Babymetal, more

Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Live Business One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• The Hipgnosis Songs Fund has acquired the publishing catalogue of Starrah, aka songwriter Brittany Hazzard. Among her co-writing credits are Camila Cabello’s ‘Havana’, Maroon 5’s ‘Girls Like You’, Rihanna’s ‘Needed Me’ and Drake’s ‘Fake Love’. “Starrah is at the forefront of today’s song writing revolution”, says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis.

• Michael Franti has signed a new global publishing deal with Position Music. CEO Tyler Bacon says the company is “excited and honoured”.

• Warner Music has opened a new office in Peru to be headed up by Angela Sarmiento Vera, previously Director Of Marketing for Warner Music Colombia. “The music market in Peru is surging as more people sign-up to digital services”, says Warner Music Latin America President Iñigo Zabala. “This has opened up huge opportunities for our existing artists, who are travelling there in increasing numbers. Angela has the experience and skills to help them build deeper relationships with local influencers and fans alike”.

• The Bingley Music Live festival has announced that it will not take place this year, after making a £300,000 loss in 2018. Festival owner Bradford Council says it plans to use the time off to make plans for a 2020 edition.

• Sheryl Crow has released the first track from her duets album, due for release later this year. The new version of her song ‘Redemption Day’ uses vocals recorded by Johnny Cash shortly before his death in 2003. “He asked a lot of questions about different lines and what I meant [before recording his version]”, says Crow. “He didn’t want to put his voice to the song without being able to believe it heart and soul”.

• Flying Lotus has released two tracks from his upcoming ‘Flamagra’ album, ‘Spontaneous’, featuring Little Dragon and ‘Takashi’.

• Mr Hudson has announced his first album for a decade. ‘When The Machine Stops’ will be released on 21 Jun. “Initially, I began this new project out of curiosity”, says the songwriter and producer. “In September I noticed a lot of people celebrating ten years since ‘808s [& Heartbreak’, the Kanye West album on which he featured] and it made me want to revisit that ‘sad robot’ sound but it turned into a challenge of wanting to break new ground and get out of my comfort zone. I do think I do my best work when I’m a little afraid”. Here’s first single, ‘Antidote’.

• Fabio & Grooverider have announced a new compilation to mark the 30th anniversary of their Rage club night. The first half will be released on vinyl on 31 May, with the remainder, along with full CD and digital releases, following on 21 Jun.

• Ride have announced that they will release new album, ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’, on 16 Aug. From it, this is first single ‘Future Love’.

• Darkthrone have released new track ‘The Hardship Of The Scots’. Their new album, ‘Old Star’, is out on 31 May.

• G Flip has released new track ‘I Am Not Afraid’. “Everyone has roadblocks in life, tough situations that are hard to get through and the only way to overcome them are to say, ‘I am not afraid'”, she says.

• Paws have released new single ‘Joanna’. The band’s new album, ‘Your Church On My Bonfire’, is out this week.

• Babymetal have announced that they will play Brixton Academy in London on 2 Jul. They’ve also announced that they will release new single, ‘Elevator Girl’, next month.

• James Morrison has announced new UK tour dates in October and November this year, including a show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 29 Oct.

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

Ed Sheeran ordered to dismantle sauna and take down pub sign

And Finally Artist News

Poor old Ed Sheeran, they just won’t leave him be. He wanted to build a church in his garden, they said no because it would upset the wildlife. He built a pond for the wildlife, people said it was a swimming pool. Now he’s been told to dismantle a sauna next to that wildlife pond and take down a sign outside a barn he’s turned into a pub.

Local planning laws and the property’s Grade II listed status restrict what changes can be made to Sheeran’s Suffolk estate. Numerous objections have been raised about planning applications made since he moved there, and there have been complaints raised about various modifications he has managed to make.

In March, a number of locals claimed that a wildlife pond, for which Sheeran had received planning permission, had subsequently been turned into a swimming pool.

One of the conditions of building the pool was that it not be used for swimming. Nearby residents noted that a jetty, steps into the water and a Romany caravan have all appeared in and around the pond, making it look more like a swimming pool with a diving board and changing room.

Upon investigation, the council says that there is no indication that the pool is being used for anything other than the cultivation of wildlife. However, it did order him to dismantle a sauna that had been built next to it. Dragonflies and frogs apparently don’t require saunas.

“During a site visit in March, it was found that a sauna has been constructed near to the pond”, a council spokesperson said, following a ruling earlier this week. “We have raised concerns regarding this structure, which requires either planning permission or removal”.

However, they added, “there was no evidence that it is not a wildlife pond, as plants are growing in and around it, or that the planning conditions had been broken. We will continue to monitor the situation”.

While checking out the pond situation, council staff also noticed a pub sign swinging outside a barn on the property. Sheeran has apparently put a bar in the barn so he can hang out and have a beer without locals jabbing him in the ribs and asking about his breaststroke. He’s named the pub The Lancaster Lock, for his wife Cherry Lancaster Seaborn. Sweet, huh? No, not sweet. Illegal, says the council. At least the sign bearing the name is.

“We have also requested that all unauthorised signage be removed from the Grade II listed barn”, said the council spokesperson coldly.

Drinking is apparently still allowed. In the barn, not from the pond.

EFF intervenes in key stream-ripping legal battle

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

The US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation has submitted a so called amicus brief in support of FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com, the Russian stream-ripping sites which the American record industry is trying to sue out of business. The EFF supports the classic line of defence that the two sites have legitimate uses, presented by the man behind them, while also arguing that a US district court was right to dismiss the case on jurisdiction grounds earlier this year.

Stream-ripping, of course, has been at the top of the music industry’s piracy gripe list for a while now. And the record companies have successfully forced offline a number of sites that allowed users to turn temporary streams into permanent downloads. This was achieved by either suing them or – in many cases – simply threatening to sue them.

However, Tofig Kurbanov – operator of FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com – has chosen to fight back after the labels sued him for contributory copyright infringement in the US courts. In January the record industry’s initial lawsuit was dismissed when a district court in Florida said it had no jurisdiction over his sites.

That judgement was reached on the basis that the two sites are based in Russia, only a very small percentage of their users are based in the US, and no sign-up is required to rip a stream, meaning Kurbanov doesn’t have a direct business relationship with any US users.

Unsurprisingly, last month the Recording Industry Association Of America appealed that ruling, arguing that it set a dangerous precedent. The trade group wrote: “The district court’s decision gives carte blanche to internet pirates to set up shop outside of the US, safe in the knowledge that they are effectively immune from the reach of US courts seeking to vindicate the rights of US plaintiffs for violations of US copyright law, even as they cater to US users”.

Kurbanov responded last week by asking the Fourth Circuit appeals court to uphold the initial ruling in the case. The EFF’s submission followed that request, supporting Kurbanov’s arguments on both the copyright infringement and jurisdiction points.

Like pretty much every software maker and website operator accused of facilitating copyright infringement, Kurbanov argues that his website has both legitimate and illegitimate uses. He can’t be held responsible for policing how people use his technology, he says.

Although this argument hasn’t generally worked in past online piracy cases, the EFF reckons it’s a solid defence in this dispute. It writes in its court submission: “As with nearly every technological tool in the world, video converters like FLVTO and 2conv have both legal and illegal uses. And simply providing a tool for copying digital media does not give rise to infringement liability”.

Honing in on the legal uses, it goes on: “People around the world upload hundreds of hours of video and audio every minute to YouTube and other video sharing websites. Much of this content is uploaded with the rightsholder’s permission for users to download and save it. Millions of videos on YouTube are licensed under Creative Commons licenses, which grant permission for anyone to make copies. Millions more are uploaded with the intention that select people will download them, such as business associates and family members”.

Then there are the copyright exceptions or – as this is an American case – good old ‘fair use’. The EFF writes: “Even where a rightsholder has not granted permission for copying, there are numerous circumstances in which downloading audio and video from YouTube is a non-infringing fair use. These include using portions of a video or song as part of a critical review, in a parody, or as raw material for new and different creative work”.

To conclude, the EFF restates: “The law is clear that simply providing the public with a tool for copying digital media does not give rise to copyright liability”.

Of course, the judgement actually being appealed in this case didn’t reach any conclusion on the copyright liabilities – or not – of stream-ripping websites, because the record industry’s lawsuit was dismissed on jurisdiction issues alone. The EFF’s amicus brief deals with that too, first by arguing that the district judge’s reasons for concluding his court did not have jurisdiction over FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com were sound.

Secondly, it then criticises more generally copyright owners who pursue legal action in their home courts against foreign websites. Those foreign websites, the EFF argues, often choose not to fight lawsuits of that kind, meaning default judgements are awarded to the copyright owners without their legal arguments being properly scrutinised.

Those judgements may then be used to pressure domain registrars and server hosting companies to stop providing services to the targeted websites. In some countries – though not the US – a web-block injunction might follow, forcing internet service providers to stop their customers from accessing accused sites. Default judgements of this kind, the EFF argues, are not good for the law at large.

“Over the last several years”, it writes, “major copyright … holders … have sued foreign website owners who are unlikely, or indeed unable, to appear in a US court to respond. Upon the inevitable default, the plaintiffs request staggeringly broad injunctions that purport to bind nearly every type of intermediary business that forms part of the internet’s infrastructure, enlisting them to help make the foreign website disappear from the internet”.

When this happens, the EFF reckons, questions about the liabilities of websites and the companies that provide them services are not properly dealt with. Its court filing goes on: “Confronting these questions in cases that seem designed to lead to default risks short-changing the development of the law, effectively resolving challenging questions by default, without adversarial honing”.

As mentioned above, the “but we have legal uses too” defence has not generally stood up in past piracy lawsuits. Mainly because, when those accused of facilitating online infringement then say “and we can’t control how people use our technology”, the courts have ruled that that’s not in fact true. Such sites could install some kind of filtering system to try to stop their services from being used to infringe, even if such systems have limited success.

As for the jurisdiction point, the music industry will always point to those piracy platform operators which deliberately choose to base themselves or their servers in countries where copyright law is hard to enforce. Thus requiring copyright owners to seek injunctions or web-blocks back home.

In the main, precedents set in the US courts over the last two decades, in cases like this one, have generally favoured the copyright owners on points of liability or jurisdiction. Which is why the US record industry is so keen to get January’s ruling overturned. It remains to be seen if Kurbanov and his friends at the EFF can stop that from happening.

Sepultura barred from Lebanon, accused of “devil worshipping”

Artist News Business News Live Business

Metal band Sepultura have been barred from entering Lebanon for a show in Beirut later this week. Reasons given for the ban include that the band have insulted Christianity, are devil worshippers and have performed in Israel. The the show’s promoters say that none of those accusations are true.

Promoters Skull Session and 2U2C expressed “shock and disbelief” at the decision, adding that they are “outraged and angry”. The company explained that the General Security department of the Lebanese government “has banned Sepultura from entering Lebanon and refused to process their artist visas”.

In a further statement, they explained: “After duly applying for artist entry visas for the band, we were informed that band members had been banned from entering Lebanon. The concert organisers were not even allowed to view the decision”.

“However”, they went on, “after enquiring before the artists’ division, we were told that the issue is delicate as it relates to insulting Christianity, that the band members are devil worshipers, that they held a concert in Israel, that they filmed a video clip supporting Israel, and that the decision was issued by the head of the General Security Forces”.

“We would like to clarify that these accusations are totally untrue”, they continued. “The band did not play in Israel. The aforementioned video clip mentions Israel’s racism without naming it … As for insulting religion, current members of Sepultura fight against all forms of corruption, and call on the world to return to goodness and nature and to reject corruption. Since it’s the nature of metal music, the band uses a violent style of expression. But they did not directly attack Christianity”.

They added: “It is a shame to see such censorship in Lebanon, a country that claims to be the only democracy in the Arab world, where freedom of thought and belief is safeguarded impartially”.

The promoters also noted that other Middle Eastern countries “that are more religiously stringent” have allowed Sepultura to perform, including Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The band have shows in Istanbul and Dubai scheduled for next week.

Sepultura’s manager Frank Hessing has also issued a statement, saying: “The band is NOT satanic. Most of the band and crew members are Catholic. Yes, sometimes they criticise political or other injustices. That can occasionally include criticising church, companies or institutions, but not in a destructive way”.

In 2016, Sepultura had a show in Egypt shut down by authorities on the grounds that the correct permissions had not been obtained. However, at the time the lead investigator said that police were acting on a tip-off that a “satanic party” was being held.

PledgeMusic may still be sold to a new owner, according to reports

Business News Management & Funding

A potential buyer for PledgeMusic is still busy going through the process of due diligence, it has been reported. The troubled crowdfunding and pre-sales platform suspended artist payments in February, while it attempted to find a way to overcome financial difficulties, most likely through acquisition.

According to Hypebot, a number of people with knowledge of the situation have said that a potential buyer is still moving towards acquiring the company. However, the deal is taking longer than expected because that buyer has been discussing with record labels and management companies whether or not they would return to the platform after its high profile payment issues.

PledgeMusic admitted last October that it was experiencing financial problems, but said that it had made internal changes in order to overcome this. However, in January, after numerous artists complained of continued issues with receiving payments, the company said that it was still having difficulties.

The company’s founder Benji Rogers returned to advise on navigating a way forward. Meanwhile, artist payments were suspended. Money owed is still being withheld, causing significant problems for those artists who have completed their pre-order campaigns but not yet received the money. Many require this to manufacture physical releases and other items.

Those artists still waiting for payment have expressed concerns that there has been no news of late, speculating as to what that might mean. However, last week the co-founder of NoiseTrade, which was acquired by PledgeMusic in 2016, said on Twitter, in response to complaints about the ongoing problems from the band Jesus Jones: “Benji told me by text there is in fact a buyer going through due diligence. I trust him that that is taking place”.

Rogers has also posted the Hypebot story to his LinkedIn profile without comment, which would suggest that he believes a sale is still possible.

Amazon and Google launch freebie streams to help upsell subscriptions

Business News Digital

Both Amazon and Google last week added a new ad-funded tier to their streaming music platforms, designed to hook users of their respective voice assistants into the idea of subscription streaming, with the ultimate aim of upselling a paid for option.

Amazon’s move into freebie streaming had been much rumoured before it made the option available to American users of Alexa-controlled devices. The web giant, which is fast becoming the third global player in premium streaming, already offers a selection of streaming music options at different price points.

Amazon Prime members can already access a limited catalogue streaming service for free. They can then upgrade for $3.99 a month to access a much bigger catalogue of music (ie pretty much in line with Spotify or Apple) via their Amazon Echo devices. Then, for the market standard $9.99, they can use Amazon Music Unlimited on all devices.

The new free-to-access limited-functionality service offers an entry point for possible subscribers who are not part of the Amazon Prime programme, which most people initially sign-up to either for the free delivery of products bought from the Amazon store or to access Amazon’s much more high-profile video-on-demand offering.

The freebie service will take users to pre-programmed playlists and ‘stations’ based on the song title, artist name or genre that they angrily shout in Alexa’s general direction.

Although there was more chatter about Amazon’s move into freebie streaming, Google last week also announced a similar free music service that works on its Google Home devices and any other smart speaker using the Google Assistant.

Users of said devices in multiple countries – including the UK – can access a free limited-functionality version of YouTube Music. Which is to say, a free version of the YouTube audio streaming service launched last year, rather than the main YouTube site, which has – of course – long been a free (only slightly) limited-functionality music platform too.

The move is also a further sign of Google shifting all of its music activity over to the YouTube brand, and away from its Google Play platform.

The music industry, of course, has long had a love/hate relationship with free streaming. Music companies generally recognise that ad-funded streaming has helped with the battle against piracy worldwide and has kick-started new opportunities in certain emerging markets.

No one likes the fact free streams result in much lower royalties though. To that end, labels and publishers tend to prefer free services which are – in part at least – trying to upsell a premium offer, with the aim of converting more consumers to more lucrative paid-for streaming options. Which is what these new free services seem to be mainly about.

Approved: Helm

CMU Approved

Producer and musician Luke Younger has been releasing music in his Helm guise for over a decade now. Over time his sound has developed from abstract noise into broader, more composed soundscapes. This really began to emerge on 2012 album ‘Impossible Symmetry’, and then evolved into something more fully formed on 2015’s ‘Olympic Mess’.

On the latter, a greater focus on rhythm brought more shape to the tracks, which drew the listener into dark corners and then out into more optimistic open spaces. It was a real journey of an album which felt like it had definite meaning, although the listener was left to decide what that might be.

For the follow-up, ‘Chemical Flowers’, which is set for release on 17 May, Younger has developed his sound further with the addition of string parts, arranged and recorded by JG Thirlwell aka Foetus. Working in a secluded studio in the Essex countryside, he worked these recordings into his own music.

“My intention was not to use strings in a ‘neo-classical’ way”, explains Younger. “But instead make something that felt a bit darker [and] dynamic”.

The first track to be released from the album is ‘I Knew You Would Respond’. It uses Thirlwell’s strings to seamlessly take the listener from something that initially feels like a traditional musical form into more industrial sounds, and then back again. Overall the piece feels like the soundtrack to images unseen, images which begin to form in your mind with repeat listens.

Check out ‘I Knew You Would Respond’ here:

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

Mabel announces high expectations for debut album

Artist News Releases

Mabel has announced that she will release her debut album, titled ‘High Expectations’, in July.

“‘High Expectations’ – the title says it all”, she reckons. “It’s about the expectations I have of myself, other people’s expectations of me and vice versa, especially in relationships. The general topic of the project is the negatives and positives that come with that. I want to send a positive message to everyone that’s going to listen to it. I’ve gained so much confidence from writing this album and that’s what I want people to take from it”.

Set to play various festivals over the summer, and support Khalid on his UK tour in September, Mabel will release ‘High Expectations’ on 12 Jul.

Lewis Capaldi announces anxiety support teams for 2020 arena tour

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

Set to support Ed Sheeran in the UK this summer and play his own sold out dates later this year, Lewis Capaldi has now announced an arena tour for next March. He’s also announced that he will use that tour to launch a new initiative called LiveLive, which will support fans who experience anxiety and panic attacks who want to attend the shows.

“I always get tonnes of messages from people online who have said they want to come to my shows but can’t because they’re struggling massively with anxiety or are just generally afraid they will have a panic attack during the show”, says Capaldi.

“I really wanted to put something in place to help those people feel comfortable and offer them support to allow them to experience the shows”, he goes on. “I hate to feel that anyone’s anxiety is making them miss out on anything they want to do and LiveLive is my attempt at helping make these shows enjoyable for as many of those people who have been supporting this journey for me”.

There will be a surcharge of 50p on each ticket sold by primary sellers for the tour. This will then be used to fund a dedicated team at each venue qualified to assist any fans with panic attacks and anxiety.

The dates for the tour are:

2 Mar: Manchester, Apollo
3 Mar: Manchester, Apollo
5 Mar: Glasgow, Hydro
8 Mar: Dublin, 3Arena
11Mar: Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
12 Mar: London, Wembley Arena

Capaldi’s debut album, ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent’, is out on 17 May.

One Liners: Downtown, Florence And The Machine, Jonas Brothers, more

Awards Business News Deals Education & Events Labels & Publishers One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Downtown Music Publishing has launched a joint venture with independent publisher Cowboys & Pirates. “We are running the marathon with our songwriters”, says the latter’s Ty Baisden. Actually, they’re going to develop new songwriting talent in R&B and hip hop. No marathons will be run. The first two signings are instrumentalist John Key and songwriter James ‘SuperChilly’ Carver, who may or may not also enjoy long distance running.

• Kobalt has signed a worldwide publishing deal with producer duo Loud Luxury, aka Andrew Fedyk and Joe Depace. “We are THRILLED”, says Fedyk.

• BMG has signed The Allman Betts Band to release their debut album, ‘Down To The River’, across the globe. The band is led by Devon Allman and Duane Betts, sons of the Allman Brothers Band’s Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts. “We’re really psyched”, says Allman. “We are very happy”, says Betts. “We are extremely grateful”, says BMG’s John Loeffler.

• The dance and electronic music focused Brighton Music Conference takes place this Friday and has published its full schedule online. CMU insights will be there to explain what exactly all that copyright directive and article thirteen shouting was all about.

• Florence And The Machine have released ‘Jenny Of Oldstones’, which featured in episode two of the new series of ‘Game Of Thrones’. Played over the credits, it is a version of a song performed by character Podrick Payne earlier in the episode. Listen here.

• Those Jonas Brothers have announced that they will release a whole new album, titled ‘Happiness Begins’, on 7 Jun. Imagine that.

• IMPALA has awarded its European Album Of The Year award to Viagra Boys for their album ‘Street Worms’.

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

Danish rapper reckons record industry nepotism may have stopped the release of his Tekashi 6ix9ine collaboration

And Finally Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

A Danish rapper called Sleiman is suing the incarcerated Tekashi 6ix9ine over an unreleased collaboration. It seems the latter’s US label is now blocking the release of their track, which Sleiman had hoped to put out with Universal Music Denmark. While it may or may not be relevant to the dispute, the lawsuit also hones in on the family connection between the independent label that signed 6ix9ine and the mega-major that is Universal.

According to the lawsuit, filed with a New York court and seen by Billboard, Sleiman paid 80,000 euros to one of 6ix9ine’s companies in order to set up the collaboration. In return for the cash, 6ix9ine recorded vocals for a Sleiman track, which the latter then planned to put out via a deal with Universal Music Denmark.

However, 6ix9ine is signed to 10K Projects, an LA-based indie founded by a certain Elliot Grainge back in 2016. It has seemingly intervened, arguing that its record contract with 6ix9ine includes the customary exclusivity clause, meaning only it has the automatic right to release the American rapper’s recordings. Any other releases need its approval.

That’s a pretty common clause in a record deal. Though Sleiman would presumably argue that – if 6ix9ine is in breach of his contract with 10K – that’s really a matter for 6ix9ine and his label. It shouldn’t affect Sleiman’s ability to release their collaboration, which is something his own contract with his collaborator seemingly allows.

Enter the family connection. Elliot, see, is the son of Universal big cheese Lucian Grainge. According to Billboard, Sleiman’s lawsuit states: “On information and belief, Universal Music Denmark is related to the Universal Music Group, whose chairman is the father of 10K’s owner. As a direct and proximate result of 10K contacting Universal Music Denmark, [it] did not proceed with entering into a recording agreement with Sleiman”.

The major may have been reluctant to release a record that’s already subject to a legal dispute anyway. Though the implication is that the fact the indie label involved in said dispute is run by the big boss’s son might have also swayed Universal’s Danish division.

It remains to be seen what the court makes of all this, though Sleiman is seeking judicial confirmation that 10K can’t block the release of his 6ix9ine collaboration and the return of that 80,000 euros he handed over to his collaborator.

Australian court rules that Viagogo misled consumers

Business News Digital Legal Live Business Top Stories

The federal court in Australia has ruled that always controversial secondary ticketing website Viagogo made false or misleading representations and “engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public”. But the ticket resale platform has already countered that it has made changes to its website, so that the things that it always claimed were not misleading but which everyone else agreed were misleading are no longer there to be misleading. A claim which some would argue is, well, a little bit misleading.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission began legal proceedings against Viagogo back in 2017, accusing the company of breaching consumer rights law by employing various tactics to confuse its customers. The ACCC’s gripe list mirrored that of campaigners and regulators elsewhere in the world who have also criticised Viagogo.

It included the resale site’s frequent use of the word ‘official’, when it is – in fact – not an official seller of any tickets at all. Also, Viagogo’s practice of suggesting that tickets are running out for a show, when statements about the scarcity of tickets only ever relate to the number of touted tickets being sold on its own platform. And the secondary ticketing firm’s substantial but cleverly hidden fees. The court agreed with the ACCC that all of these practices constituted misleading conduct.

When it comes to the use of the word ‘official’ in its Google ads – Viagogo’s defence has always been that links in those ads take consumers through to each artist’s ‘official’ page on the resale site. But the judge said: “In my view an ordinary consumer would understand the words ‘buy now – Viagogo official site’ to convey that if the consumer followed the link, he or she would be taken to a website where tickets for the relevant event could be obtained from the official or authorised vendor”.

The court is still to determine any penalties or orders against Viagogo in relation to the ACCC’s list of complaints, but the government regulator nevertheless welcomed the ruling in its favour. ACCC Chair Rod Sims also added: “We urge consumers to only buy tickets from authorised sellers, or they risk their tickets being dishonoured at the gates or doors”.

Meanwhile Viagogo said it was “disappointed” by the ruling, not least because the ACCC’s gripe list “does not reflect our current ticketing platform and the many changes we have made”. The company added that “we strongly believe our website is compliant and we will continue to work closely and constructively with the ACCC”.

Viagogo has made a number of changes to its website over the last year after regulators in multiple countries began legal action against the company. Though those changes haven’t necessarily dealt with all the gripes. In the UK, where the Competition & Markets Authority secured a court order to force compliance with the law, Viagogo subsequently claimed that it was now compliant, but the CMA disagreed. Meanwhile, campaigners argued that some of the changes actually made Viagogo even more confusing for consumers.

Elsewhere in secondary ticketing news, the European Parliament has voted to introduce new ticketing touting regulations that will apply across the European Union. Contained in an update of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the new rules will outlaw the use of software – or bots – by touts to hoover up tickets from primary sellers, and also require those who tout on an industrial level to declare that they are professional resellers. While some EU countries, like the UK, have already introduced some ticket touting regulations, this directive update will mean the touts are at least lightly regulated across Europe.

Sam Shemtob and Katie O’Leary of FEAT, the pan-European organisation set up to campaign for more regulation of the touts, welcomed this latest development, and noted that it “represents the first step in harmonising regulation across Europe. This approach is critical as secondary ticketing companies tend to exploit regulatory gaps between countries”.

And finally from the ticket tout file for today, anti-touting regulations in Ontario, Canada have been cut back, with the government there confirming that a rule which capped how much a tout could mark up a ticket is to be scrapped. The mark-up cap element of the Canadian province’s Ticket Sales Act was put on hold last year but will now be completely deleted from the rule book. However, the bots ban also instigated by that Act will remain.

Court Of Appeal upholds Royal Opera House hearing damage ruling

Business News Legal Live Business

The Royal Opera House in London has lost its appeal against an earlier court ruling that said the venue was liable for hearing damage sustained by viola player Christopher Goldscheider.

A panel of three judges at the Court Of Appeal unanimously upheld the earlier High Court ruling that the Royal Opera House had failed to take steps to protect Goldscheider from hearing damage during a rehearsal of Wagner’s ‘Die Walkure’. The impairment he suffered ended his career as a musician.

The ruling, the Royal Opera House and others have argued, has potential implications not just for classical music, but the entire live music industry.

Goldscheider said that he suffered hearing damage which made it impossible for him to work as a member of an orchestra. After a period of recuperation, he found that just being near the orchestra caused pain in his right ear, leaving him nauseous and dizzy. He now has to wear hearing protection to carry out simple household tasks, such as preparing food. He ultimately left the Royal Opera House in 2014 after being unable to return to work.

He said that during the rehearsal, the viola players had been placed directly in front of the brass section. This was unexpected and incredibly loud – something he and other players complained about. He added that, on the day he sustained his hearing damage, the principal trumpet was pointed directly at his right ear.

Although he wore hearing protection, he said that the noise was still overwhelming. Sound readings showed that noise levels reached over 130dB in the rehearsal. In court it was argued that ‘acoustic shock’ had caused Goldscheider’s hearing damage and that the Royal Opera House had not done enough to protect him from this.

In its defence, the ROH argued that ‘acoustic shock’ does not exist and that Goldscheider had simply developed Meniere’s disease – which results in symptoms similar to those he complained of – at the same time as the rehearsal. This, the judge in the original case said, was “stretching the concept of coincidence too far”. The venue also argued that a certain amount of hearing loss was justified in the pursuit of great art – an argument that was also rejected.

Although the ruling was upheld on appeal, it was relaxed slightly. The judges accepted the ROH’s argument that it was not practical for players to wear hearing protection at all times during rehearsals and performances.

In a statement, ROH chief executive Alex Beard said: “The original high court ruling, which stipulated that hearing protection must be worn by orchestral musicians at all times, was widely acknowledged by the live music and theatre industries as completely impractical with potentially devastating and far-reaching consequences for the entire sector, and we are pleased that this unworkable solution has been overturned”.

“We are, however, disappointed by other aspects of the appeal court’s ruling and will work closely with our insurers and legal team to explore our next steps”, he added.

In his own statement, Goldscheider said: “I am grateful to the court for acknowledging that more should have been done to protect me and other musicians from the risk of permanent and life changing hearing problems. We all want to find a way to participate and share in the experience of live music in a safe and accessible way and I hope that the guidance which the Court Of Appeal has given in my case will help others. I hope that the Royal Opera House will now support me to get on with rebuilding my life”.

Concluding the judgement, judge Brian Leveson disputed claims that the ruling would have devastating effects for any venue where music is played. “I simply do not accept that this cataclysmic scenario represents a proper understanding of the consequences of this decision”, he wrote. “For most musical venues, space will not be the problem that it is at the ROH”.

“What the case does underline”, he went on, “is the obligation placed on orchestras to comply with the requirements of [employment] legislation (having had two years within which to prepare). It emphasises that the risk of injury through noise is not removed if the noise – in the form of music – is the deliberate and desired objective rather than an unwanted by product (as would be the case in relation to the use of pneumatic machinery)”.

Whether or not this ruling does, in fact, have wider implications for the live music industry remains to be seen. This is certainly the first time that ‘acoustic shock’ has been given court recognition in this way. Damages to be awarded to Goldscheider are yet to be assessed.

Fyre Festival trustee wants to know source of Netflix and Hulu footage

Business News Digital Legal Live Business Media

The trustee administrating the bankruptcy of the Fyre Festival company has asked the US courts to force Netflix and Hulu to reveal whether they paid for any footage that featured in their respective documentaries about the doomed luxury music event.

Gregory Messer wants to know if any footage arguably belonging to the defunct Fyre business was used. Because if such footage exists and has value, it could help generate some money to pay the bankrupt firm’s creditors.

According to Bloomberg, Messer wrote in a legal filing: “In order to create the documentaries, both Hulu and Netflix used unique behind-the-scenes footage of the festival. Due to a lack of information, it is impossible for the trustee to determine where the footage came from and whether such footage was an asset of the debtor’s estate”.

As yet neither Netflix or Hulu have commented on the legal filing, or whether they paid anyone for the footage of the Fyre festival debacle that was included in their programmes.

Bandcamp announces plans to simplify pressing vinyl releases

Business News Digital Retail

Bandcamp has announced a new service to finance, press and fulfil vinyl orders for artists and labels on its platform. The company hopes this will allow more artists who wish to offer vinyl releases to do so. Currently, less than 10% of releases put out via Bandcamp are made available on the format.

“The format’s resurgence – once dismissed as a niche by product of hipster affectation – is now firmly established”, says the company. “And yet most new music is not available on vinyl. A mere 9% of the albums with sales on Bandcamp in 2018 offered a vinyl version, and thousands of those are sold out and appear unlikely to be pressed again”.

It goes on: “The reason for this situation – and the growing pile of untapped artist revenue it represents – is that producing vinyl remains challenging. It’s a costly and risky undertaking, and dealing with fulfilment and returns can be incredibly time consuming. Layer on top of that the mystery and complexity encountered by many trying to press vinyl for the first time, and it’s no wonder so few people do it”.

Bandcamp’s new system aims to overcome this, by requiring no upfront investment from artists and labels, as well as handling pressing and fulfilment. Essentially putting in place a crowdfunding system, orders can be taken from fans, but the records will only be pressed and shipped once a minimum number of orders is taken.

“The new service eliminates risk, since fans’ orders finance the pressing, rather than the artist or label”, says Bandcamp. “It eliminates hassle, since we press the records, print the packaging, and ship to fans – and fulfil digital too. It offers complete control, with the design and pricing up to the artist, and Bandcamp taking no ownership of the record”.

No date for all this going live has been announced, but Bandcamp says that it will be available to artists and labels later this year.

Approved: Scalping

CMU Approved

With influences ranging from techno to doom metal, Scalping combine electronic and guitar music in a manner often attempted but not so often successfully pulled off. They manage to combine programmed and live styles in a way that is satisfying, and which loses none of the excitement of either.

Following time spent nailing this approach down on the live circuit, the band released their debut single featuring two tracks – ‘Chamber’ and ‘Satan II’ – last month. Both tracks are imbued with the driving energy of techno, alongside the cathartic attack of post-punk.

Now, ahead of a long summer of festival shows, they’re back with the video for ‘Satan II’. Watch here:

Thursday 25 April 2019, 10:44 | By Andy Malt

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Wednesday 24 April 2019, 14:00 | By Andy Malt

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Wednesday 24 April 2019, 13:52 | By CMU Editorial

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Wednesday 24 April 2019, 13:50 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Prince

Wednesday 24 April 2019, 13:49 | By Andy Malt

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Wednesday 24 April 2019, 13:43 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:59 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: 2conv.com | Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) | FLVTO.biz | Recordings Industry Association Of America (RIAA)

Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:57 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Sepultura

Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:53 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:51 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon | Google

Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:50 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:48 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:44 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:39 | By Andy Malt

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Tuesday 23 April 2019, 11:29 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Sleiman | Tekashi 6ix9ine | Universal Music

Thursday 18 April 2019, 11:38 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Secondary Ticketing | Viagogo

Thursday 18 April 2019, 11:37 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Christopher Goldscheider | Royal Opera House

Thursday 18 April 2019, 11:35 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Fyre Festival | Hulu | Netflix

Thursday 18 April 2019, 11:34 | By CMU Editorial

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Thursday 18 April 2019, 11:33 | By Andy Malt

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