Viagogo no show at MPs' touts debate
Viagogo grabbed the headlines at yesterday's select committee hearing on secondary ticketing by not showing up, which was quite an achievement. An unnamed representative for the ticket resale platform had been billed as being among those due to answer MPs' questions as Parliament's Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee again put the spotlight on ticket touting, but in the end the company declined to attend.

It's rare for companies with a UK base to refuse to attend select committee hearings. Viagogo apparently told MPs on the culture committee on Monday evening that it would not be attending yesterday's session. Committee chair Damian Collins MP said that he felt "considerable disappointment that Viagogo have decided not to send a representative despite the fact that they have a substantial office on Cannon Street". Meanwhile committee member Nigel Huddleston MP said Viagogo had shown "if not contempt for Parliament, a lack of respect to Parliament and by extension the British public".

In the early days of secondary ticketing Viagogo was always on hand with a quote from its founder Eric Baker, but in more recent years - and especially since opposition to touting in the UK artist and political communities has risen once again - it has tended to employ a wall of silence strategy. Which possibly makes yesterday's no-show unsurprising.

Maybe next time MPs could invite a rep from one Viagogo's key financial backers, Index Ventures, which - somewhat ironically - is also an investor in passionately anti-touting ticketing business Songkick. Danny Rimer looks after the Viagogo investment at Index and he has an OBE, so surely wouldn't decline a parliamentary invite.

He could explain what it's like being in business with a bunch of shits like Team Viagogo, who were recently in the news for helping touts profit off Ed Sheeran's Royal Albert Hall show in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Meanwhile, MPs at yesterday's select committee heard from Claire Turnham, who set up the Victims Of Viagogo group on Facebook after struggling to get a refund from the company following a particularly confusing experience on its website that left her £1421 out of pocket - £1,150 than she believed she was being charged for some Ed Sheeran tickets. She said that she had now been contacted by 425 people from 26 countries who had had similar experiences using the Viagogo service.

Sheeran's manager Stuart Camp also took part in yesterday's select committee hearing, saying that he was motivated to speak out because of that touting of vastly over-priced tickets to the Teenage Cancer Trust show. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "That's a charity show, we put that show on to raise funds and people are just taking advantage, and it's something that needs to be controlled. We're looking for the enforcement of laws that already exist but we need to have greater transparency. At the moment [the touts] can hide behind certain things and it's not great and that's why there's some confusion and anger".

As previously reported, earlier this month the UK government said that it accepted the findings of last year's Waterson Review of the secondary ticketing market. It will now seek to enable National Trading Standards to enforce existing regulations contained within the Consumer Rights Act, while putting pressure on Viagogo and its rivals StubHub, Seatwave and Get Me In to do more to identify industrial-level resellers on their platforms, who are likely subject to extra consumer rights rules.

Meanwhile, the anti-tout campaign FanFair has published a guide to help consumers navigate the slightly confusing ticketing market - primary and secondary - so that they can better identify official sources of tickets.

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Kesha has amended lawsuit against Dr Luke rejected
While Kesha has certainly won the PR war in her legal battle with Dr Luke, in court she has generally been less successful. That run continued yesterday when the judge overseeing the case rejected her amended lawsuit against the producer.

As much previously reported, this complex and multi-layered case centres on claims by Kesha Sebert that she was drugged and raped by producer Dr Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald. She is seeking to be released from her various contracts with him and his companies, including his Sony Music imprint Kemosabe Records. He, meanwhile, says that the allegations against him have been fabricated and is suing for defamation.

Both sides asked for permission to amend there respective lawsuits last month, after negotiations to reach a settlement collapsed. Sebert's updated suit re-introduced a previously rejected request to be released from her record deal. However, her new legal team, rather than asking for an injunction, attempted to invoke California's 'seven year rule' in order to get their client out of her contracts with Gottwald.

Many artists have used this bit of employment law - which allows 'personal services' contracts entered into in California to be ended after seven years - to try to extract themselves from record deals, with varying success.

The contracts at the heart of this dispute were written under New York law, though Kemosabe Records is based in California, and Sebert and Gottwald's collaborations were centred there, hence the claim that the courts should also consider the former's rights under Californian state laws.

However, this argument has now been rejected by the New York court hearing the case. The judge said that if either side had wanted the contracts to defer to Californian employment law, this should have been stated explicitly when the contracts were written.

"The parties' choice of New York law should be enforced, unless the public policy of another jurisdiction has an overriding concern so strong that it trumps New York's strong public policy in maintaining and fostering its undisputed status as the pre-eminent commercial and financial nerve centre of the world", says judge Shirley Kornreich, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She continues: "Turning to the case at bar, the parties to the Gottwald agreements could have provided that they would terminate in seven years. The parties, represented by sophisticated counsel, chose not to put such an explicit provision into the agreements. Thus, their choice of law should be enforced. Moreover, the single 1944 case cited by Kesha that mentions California's public policy in enacting [the seven year rule] does not demonstrate an overriding public interest that is materially greater than New York's interest in enforcing the parties' choice of New York law".

The judge also rejected a number of other amendments put forward by Sebert's team. On claims that Gottwald is withholding royalties from her, the judge says that Sebert has "made no showing that it would have been futile to send an appropriate notice or that she was prevented from doing so". Therefore, the dispute over royalties cannot be included in this ongoing case. Gottwald has made similar claims that Serbert owes him money, which may be similarly rejected.

Meanwhile, on a claim that Gottwald's deal with Sony Music is about to come to an end, and that if it is not renewed that would leave her without a go-between, thus worsening her situation, Kornreich said: "It is speculative, not justiciable, whether Sony's contract is ending and whether it will be able to assist after this month".

Sebert may as yet appeal this ruling.

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Wyclef Jean detained by police in case of mistaken identity
Wyclef Jean was detained by police in LA yesterday after they apparently mistook him for a mugger. The LA County Sheriff's office has since apologised to the musician.

Jean was stopped by police at a petrol station on Sunset Boulevard at around 1am, shortly after he had left a recording session, as they searched for an armed robber who had stolen a person's wallet nearby. The suspect had been described as a black man wearing a red bandana, driving a car similar to Jean's.

Posting a video of himself in handcuffs to Twitter, Jean says to the camera: "LA, right now, coming from the studio ... Y'all see the police have handcuffs on me. They just took off my Haitian bandana. That's what's going on right now with Wyclef in LA right now. The LAPD have me in cuffs for absolutely nothing". In a later video, he is also shown threatening to sue.

Tweeting about the incident, Jean wrote: "As someone who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behaviour of the LAPD. I am sure no father wants his sons or daughters to see him in handcuffs especially if he is innocent".

He continued: "They proceeded to ignore me and I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person. Nor was I told why I was being cuffed. In the process I said my name and told them they have wrong person. I was asked by the police to put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly handcuffed before being asked to identify myself".

In a statement, the LA Country Sheriff's Department said: "It is unfortunate that Mr Jean was detained for six minutes during this investigation, as he had no involvement whatsoever in this violent crime. However, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs are frequently required to make lawful detentions, under the strict parameters provided by law, in the interest of catching often dangerous and armed suspects in our communities and keeping the public safe".

"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is apologetic for any inconvenience this process caused Mr Jean", it continued. "We are grateful we were able to apprehend the robbery suspects and that no one was seriously injured".

The statement also explained that police had been acting with caution due to the violent nature of the crime, and that Jean's "furtive movements and demeanour" were what had led to him being placed in handcuffs.

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Proper hires ex-HMV man Jon Higgs to oversee warehouse move
Music distribution firm Proper Music Group has hired former HMV national fulfilment boss Jon Higgs as its new Head Of Operations. His first job will be to oversee the company's move to its new warehouse in Dartford. After that, he will lead the firm's distribution and warehouse staff.

Higgs previously managed the move of HMV's warehouse from the Channel Islands back to the mainland, so this project should be a doddle. He also oversaw mail order and high street fulfilment during fifteen years at the retailer, before leaving in 2014.

"It's great to begin my time at Proper as it enters its next phase of development and growth", says Higgs. "As we move from the current Sydenham branch into our new premises, I'm particularly excited to embrace the new automation and system developments which our projected growth plans have allowed us to invest in. I can't wait to get started".

Proper MD Drew Hill adds: "I'm delighted that Jon is coming on board to employ his expertise as we settle into our new home. Going forward, Jon's experience will prove invaluable as we continue to grow, and adapt to the challenges and opportunities thrown our way".

The hiring of Higgs comes as Proper announces record gross profits of £283,000 for 2015 to 2016. The move to new premises sees the company double its warehouse space, while promising that new technology will improve capacity and efficiency.

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Global adds two more festivals to its portfolio
Continuing in its admirable mission to ensure that there are at least a few UK music festivals not owned by Live Nation, Global Entertainment has bought a majority stake in Portsmouth-based family event Victorious.

Meanwhile, aware it has Global in its name, the live entertainment division of Global Radio has also taken a majority stake in Croatian festival Hideout, it already having the various international Snowbombing events on its roster.

A relatively new player in the live entertainment business, Global now has quite the festival portfolio. Those with a 'who has a stake in what festival' blackboard in their offices (that's not just us, right?) should make sure that in the Global column you now have Boardmasters, Electric Elephant, Festival No.6, Field Day, Hideout, Lost Village, Rewind, Snowbombing, South West Four, Standon Calling, Transition, Truck, Victorious Festival and Y Not.

Your list doesn't have to be in alphabetical order, but we always rub the list off the blackboard and rewrite it A-Z whenever there is another festival takeover. We now have a full-time member of staff to do this.

"We are excited to welcome Victorious and Hideout Festival to the family", Global COO Ian Hanson said yesterday. "Each of them is a renowned music festival with a strong and loyal following, and we look forward to working with the festivals' management teams to grow them to the next level. We are continuing to grow our portfolio, with more to come".

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Feargal Sharkey to unveil £50,000 battle of the bands competition
A new digital platform for DIY artists will formally launch at an event in London later today. Called Salute Music Makers, like around 7000 unused websites and apps that litter the internet, it's based on the premise that unsigned bands have no platform for their music. However, this one is being run as a talent competition with the winner taking a £50,000 prize. And who doesn't want £50,000? Also, some people you've heard of are backing it.

The face of the project is Feargal Sharkey, who returns to giving quotes about the music industry six years after standing down as chief exec of UK Music in 2011. It also has the backing of SBTV's Jamal Edwards and sponsorship from Unilad.

Here's how it works: Unsigned bands upload their music for it to be judged by a load of "respected curators". All entries will be whittled down to a top 100. These will then be put to a public vote, after which the six with the biggest mailing lists will be awarded £10,000 each. They'll then battle it out on a TV show (it's not clear where this will be broadcast), creating new original material based on a different theme each week. The overall winner will receive another £40,000 to spend on whatever they like. Maybe they could use it as start-up finance and launch the next digital platform for DIY artists.

"British music can justifiably claim to conquer the world but that incredible success is built upon one thing, talent", says Sharkey. "In an age of television static and bewildering musical consumer choice, it is now more important than ever that we give the right, focused support and opportunity to the next generation of great British talent. Salute is set to make that happen".

The competition will open on 5 Apr, with the final 100 announced on 15 May. The 'TV show' will begin in September, with the winner announced in October. Here's more information.

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Five sessions just added to CMU@TGE 2017
Today we revealed details of five more sessions taking place during CMU Insights @ The Great Escape this May. CMU@TGE is four conferences in one: The Media Conference, The Drugs Conference, The Export Conference and The Royalties Conference.

Having confirmed details of the first five sessions two weeks ago, the latest additions to the programme are as follows...

1. What drugs policies will actually save lives? Following last year's battle over Fabric, we'll consider practical and effective ways to make clubs and festivals safer, with Sacha Lord-Marchionne from The Warehouse Project and Nathalie Wainwright - who campaigned to save Fabric and produced a short documentary on the wider challenges facing UK clubs - among those joining the debate.

2. How do sync deals work, and where do original commissions and production music fit in? Sentric Music's Simon Pursehouse and CMU's Chris Cooke will provide a concise guide to how sync deals work and how money from TV, movies, games and ads flows through the system. Plus we'll explain how rights and royalties work with original commissions and production music.

3. How do you even make money out of music journalism in 2017? We find out how four leading music media are driving revenues around their content, with DJ Mag's Managing Director Martin Carvell, Vice's Head Of Music Alex Hoffman, GRM Daily's CEO Posty, and DIY magazine's Publisher Rupert Vereker and Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson.

4. Don't get stuck at the border. With artist visas in the news so much lately, we'll talk Andy Corrigan from Viva La Visa through his list of the top five mistakes music people make when securing visas.

5. Do music PR better. CMU Insights will present the findings of a brand new survey of UK music journalists, revealing the best ways for artists, labels, festivals, publicists and pluggers to reach out to and engage music media.

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Perfume Genius announces new album
Perfume Genius has announced that he will release a new album, 'No Shape', on 5 May through Matador Records.

Speaking about the new record, the musician says: "I pay my rent. I'm approaching health. The things that are bothering me personally now are less clear, more confusing. I don't think I really figured them out with these songs".

However, he continues: "There's something freeing about how I don't have it figured out. Unpacking little morsels, magnifying my discomfort, wading through buried harm, laughing at or digging in to the embarrassing drama of it all. I may never come out the other side but it's invigorating to try and hopefully, ultimately, helpful. I think a lot of them are about trying to be happy in the face of whatever bullshit I created for myself or how horrible everything and everyone is".

Here's the video for first single, 'Slip Away'.

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Agnes Obel wins IMPALA European Independent Album Of The Year award
Agnes Obel has taken this year's IMPALA European Independent Album Of The Year award for her 2016 record 'Citizen Of Glass'. So, we will never know what would have happened if Danny Brown had won it.

"The title comes from the German concept of the gläserner bürger, the human or glass citizen", says Obel of her record. "It's actually a legal term about the level of privacy the individual has in a state, and in health it's become a term about how much we know about a person's body or biology or history - if they're completely made of glass we know everything".

Commenting on the win, IMPALA Executive Chair Helen Smith adds: "This year's shortlist was once again a set of great albums. This year's deserved winner is a Danish artist, living in Germany and signed to a British label first launched in Belgium. That really sums up the European independent music sector today".

Ah, collaboration throughout Europe, isn't that a great thing? Something worth celebrating, maybe. Let's all celebrate it by triggering Article 50.

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Record Store Day, Mariah Carey, Chuck Berry, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• US collecting society ASCAP has elected its board for the next to years, including new addition singer-songwriter Michelle Lewis. See the full list here.

• So, Record Store Day is still definitely a thing, and here are the exclusive releases that will be unleashed on that very day this year. By which we mean 22 Apr.

• Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' is being turned into an animated movie for some reason.

• Following the confirmation that Chuck Berry's new and final album, 'Chuck', would be released later this year, it has now been confirmed that it will be out on 16 Jun. Here's first single 'Big Boys'.

• Blondie have released another single from their upcoming new album 'Pollinator'. This one, 'Long Time', was co-written with Dev Hynes.

• Nite Jewel has announced that she will release a new album, 'Real High', on 5 May. From it, this is '2 Good 2 Be True'.

• Kelly Lee Owens has released the video for 'Anxi', her single featuring Jenny Hval.

• Gallops have released new track 'Crystal Trap'. They're also touring in April and May in support of new album 'Bronze Mystic', out on 21 Apr.

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John Lydon says he'll miss the Queen when she's gone
John Lydon has said that he'll miss the Queen when she dies. Well, she's been very good for him, hasn't she? He also hopes none of you lot does anything tasteless with the Sex Pistols' 'God Save The Queen' when her maj does finally kick the bucket. Like try to get it to number one, a la 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' upon Margaret Thatcher's death.

"That [song's] about a political situation and the demand for obedience to a monarchy I don't believe in", says Lydon on this week's edition of The Quietus Radio Hour, due out later today. "But she's a human being and I will sorely miss her as a human being on Planet Earth. It's not her fault she was born into a gilded cage. Long may she live".

It's true, it's not her fault she was born into the royal family. Though she could have used her stint in charge to wind down the whole bizarre institution of monarchy, couldn't she? Still, rather than unnecessarily sticking it to her once she's dead, perhaps we could all just focus on giving some grief to the new King Charlie. That's probably everyone's plan anyway, isn't it?

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