Lords back new ticket touting regulation beyond the bots ban
The House Of Lords yesterday backed proposals to go beyond the much talked about bots ban in the latest attempt to increase the regulation of secondary ticketing in the UK.

As much previously reported, the in-development Digital Economy Bill is set to outlaw the use of ticket touting bots, ie special software used by the touts to hoover up large quantities of tickets off the primary sites when they first go on sale.

Although the government initially argued that the use of such bots was probably already illegal under the Computer Misuse Act, ministers subsequently confirmed that they would support a specific bots ban being introduced via the DEB.

But as the legislation works its way through the Lords, Conservative peer Colin Moynihan, a former Chair of the British Olympic Association, proposed additional new regulation of the ticket resale market. His proposals basically involve expanding the obligations that already exist under the Consumer Rights Act that say ticket resellers must provide certain information about any tickets they are reselling, including seat numbers.

In part that compulsory information makes it easier for the buyer to see the kind of ticket they are buying, the mark-up they are paying and any restrictions on the ticket being bought. But in theory it also makes it easier for a show's promoter to see any tickets that are being touted and, if they so wish, to then cancel those tickets.

However, campaigners complain that the rules introduced in the 2015 Consumer Rights Act are not being properly enforced and that even when touts do provide the required information, they sometimes fudge some of it - like the seat numbers - so that promoters can't identify the specific tickets that are being touted. And, of course, at festivals and many smaller music venues tickets don't usually come with a seat number anyway.

Under Moynihan's proposal resellers would be obliged to provide additional information, including the booking reference of the original ticket purchase. This would in part stop speculative ticketing, where touts put on sale tickets they haven't yet actually acquired themselves. It would also make it easier for promoters to identify touted tickets, including at events with no allocated seat numbers.

The bots ban is unusual in the secondary ticketing regulation domain in that the ticket resale sites like eBay's StubHub and Live Nation's Seatwave and Get Me In! generally support the move. However, the resale sites are opposed to further regulation like that being proposed by Moynihan in his DEB amendment.

The government also opposes the peer's proposals, arguing not entirely convincingly that the Waterson Review of secondary ticketing rejected additional information requirements of this kind. But in the politically balanced Lords it's easier to defeat the government, and peers voted in favour of Moynihan's amendment despite the opposition of ministers.

That doesn't mean that the government can't try to get the extra secondary ticketing regulation taken out of the DEB as it goes through the final stages in Parliament, and it probably will. Though if these new regulations were to become law - and if that law was to be properly enforced - it would make it much easier for anti-touting artists and promoters to cancel tickets being resold on the big resale platforms as a matter of course.

The Lords' vote was welcomed by the FanFair Alliance, which said in a statement this morning: "Despite concerted media and political scrutiny, the resale of tickets on platforms like Viagogo, Get Me In!, Seatwave and StubHub remains wholly lacking in transparency. This is the only online marketplace where buyers are given no identity about sellers - a peculiarity which is massively helpful to touts whose activities are anonymised, but not so much to consumers. It's is a recipe for bad practice at best, and outright fraud at worst".

It went on: "That's why this small amendment to the Consumer Rights Act is so important, as it could help provide more certainty that a ticket actually exists in the first place, as well as crucial details about terms and conditions of resale. FanFair Alliance warmly welcomes the Lords' decision last night, and alongside the other recent commitments we look forward to further discussions with government about how ticket resale can be made more transparent, honest and consumer-friendly".

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Lawyer says Sony/ATV's delaying tactics are "devaluing" Paul McCartney's rights
Lawyers for Paul McCartney have responded to the recent bid by Sony/ATV to have his US lawsuit in relation to the reversion or termination right under American copyright law dismissed, telling the judge that the major music publisher is basically employing delaying tactics that puts "a cloud over the title to his works" and "devalues his rights".

As much previously reported, under US copyright law a songwriter who assigns their rights to a music publisher has the statutory right to terminate that assignment agreement after 35 years, or 56 years for copyrights assigned before the termination right was introduced in the late 1970s. That right to terminate only really kicked in a few years back - ie 35 years after it was introduced - and so various technicalities around it are still be explored.

One big fat technicality is what happens with non-US songwriters who - say - assigned their rights to a British publisher under English law. Can those writers still reclaim the US rights in their songs? Or, more specifically, can those non-US publishing contracts interfere with the statutory right under American law, or make it impractical to employ? And if so, what specific contract terms are able to do the interfering?

The test case on all this from an English law perspective is Duran Duran's legal battle with a Sony/ATV subsidiary called Gloucester Place Music. The publisher won at first instance but Duran Duran are now appealing. If Sony/ATV do ultimately prevail in court, a precedent would be set that said English publishing contracts can interfere with the US termination right, depending on how they are written of course.

Either way, McCartney is seeking assurances from Sony/ATV that it won't interfere in his exercising of the termination right. He wants to reclaim the US rights in his half of the Lennon/McCartney songs repertoire. But the major publisher - while not specifically saying it will throw any spanners in the work as he goes through the termination process - hasn't as yet provided those all important assurances. It is seemingly waiting to see how the Duran Duran case turns out before making any commitments.

McCartney went to court earlier this year in a bid to get those assurances sooner rather than later. But earlier this month Sony/ATV argued that the case should be dismissed, on the basis that there wasn't actually currently a dispute between it and McCartney - because it hasn't actually said it plans to interfere with the termination process - and anyway it would be wrong to discuss what is a matter of English law before the UK courts have had a chance to rule on the Duran Duran case.

Such delaying tactics are damaging for McCartney, his lawyers said in a response this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lawyer Michael Jacobs argues: "Delay would not simplify the parties' dispute, but it would prejudice McCartney. As long as Sony/ATV refuses to disavow any right to sue for breach of contract, McCartney has a cloud over the title to his works, which devalues his rights".

Jacobs continues: "By seeking to dismiss this lawsuit, Sony/ATV intends to leave McCartney in suspense. Is he exposed to claims for damages if he relies on his undisputed rights under US copyright law or not? Will it sue him for breach of contract or not? Can he license his copyrights as his termination notices become effective, or does that present legal risks? Will third parties be willing to negotiate with McCartney, and at what reduction in price, concerned that they may ultimately face a Sony/ATV lawsuit for interference with contractual relations?"

Meanwhile, on Sony/ATV's argument that the UK case should be resolved before a US court gets involved in this debate, Jacobs adds: "Because McCartney's termination notices apply only to his rights arising under US copyright law, the court need not undertake a traditional conflicts of laws analysis".

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Spinal Tap creators hit out at Vivendi's "distracting and obfuscatory conduct"
Talking of the technicalities that surround American copyright law's termination right, the creators of 'This Is Spinal Tap' have responded to Vivendi's response to their $400 million lawsuit, mainly focusing on the termination right element of the case.

Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Rob Reiner all accuse Vivendi - which controls the 'Spinal Tap' movie via its StudioCanal business and the soundtrack via Universal Music - of misreporting financial information about the cult film and its spin offs in order to short-change the four creators who had a profit-share arrangement with the original producer.

Having gone legal on the matter, the four men say that Vivendi "wilfully manipulated certain accounting data, while ignoring contractually-obligated accounting and reporting processes, to deny [the] co-creators their rightful stake in the production's profits".

For its part, Vivendi called the litigation "absurd", insisting that the movie's financial performance had always been modest, and accusing the four creators of not going through the correct formalities before filing their lawsuit.

In its response, Vivendi also noted Shearer's bid to reclaim the rights in all things 'Spinal Tap' in the US by exercising the termination right in American copyright law, which allows creators who assign their rights to third parties to reclaim them after 35 years. Vivendi is opposed to those efforts - and is threatening to go legal over the termination claim - on the basis that the various 'Spinal Tap' outputs were produced on a 'work for hire' basis.

This is one of the big get-outs for corporate rights owners in America keen to stop performers and creators from reclaiming the rights in their 35 year old work. The termination right does not apply to so called work for hire contracts, though that has led to much debate over what kinds of contracts in the entertainment industry actually constitute work for hire arrangements. Not the 'Spinal Tap' deals, reckon the movie's creators.

Having filed a response with the court overseeing the case yesterday, Shearer told reporters this morning: "Vivendi's distracting and obfuscatory conduct is entirely in line with our experience of the corporation to date - failing to provide participation statements; declaring piddling revenue share from exploitation over 33 years, particularly 'Tap' music and merchandise; and neglecting or abandoning the protection of 'Tap' trademarks worldwide. As a result, we have seen a deluge of unofficial Spinal Tap-branded apparel, dishware, pet accessories, and god knows what else. And perhaps the greatest irony? Learning that the only party against whom Vivendi threatens to enforce copyrights, is me!"

He went on: "That Vivendi suddenly appears concerned about certain exploitation opportunities would be laughable if it were not so disingenuous. The hypocrisy on display is unreal. On the one hand, Vivendi claims 'Spinal Tap' and all its associated collateral have hardly made the thinnest of dimes. On the other, they hold the rights with the ferocity of a death grip, all the while refusing to enforce them, excepting the recent threat targeting me. Seemingly Vivendi is prepared to allow anyone but the creators to enjoy enrichment from these works".

The other three 'Spinal Tap' creators, who followed Shearer's lead in suing Vivendi, have also followed suit in filing termination notices under US copyright law. Giving his take on this specific issue, Guest added: "It's absurd that Vivendi now claims our creations were 'works for hire' and that Harry's termination - notwithstanding we have all given notices - places a 'cloud over the movie and music copyrights' which 'threatens Studio Canal's ability to distribute 'Spinal Tap' and to otherwise enjoy its lawful rights to the movie'".

He added: "Vivendi is re-writing history and showing a complete lack of understanding of copyright law. The band, the characters, the distinctive logo and most of the songs performed both live and televised all existed long before any agreement to produce a motion picture".

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Universal Music signs Carrie Underwood
Universal Music, which, remember, is, and I quote, "the world leader in music-based entertainment", has signed up "seven-time GRAMMY(r) Award winner" (and please never forget the registered trademark symbol there) Carrie Underwood to one of those record deals via its Capitol Records Nashville label. The one time American Idol has previously put out her records with Sony Music, but, you know, Sony doesn't have a knight of the realm in charge does it? And everyone knows how much country stars like colluding with knights.

Taking a break from slaying some dragons, Universal Music big cheese Sir Lucian Grainge confirmed his latest signing by saying: "I'm so THRILLED that Carrie has decided to make Capitol Records Nashville and UMG her home globally. As a talented writer, recording artist, performer and actor, Carrie is that exceptionally rare artist who can do it all. I know I speak on behalf of our teams around the world when I say that we look forward to executing her creative vision and bringing her musical career to the next level".

Some other non-knights at Universal also welcomed Underwood to the fold, but who cares what non-knights have to say? No one, that's who. So let's just skip straight to the quote from Dame Baroness Lady Underwood herself. "It's so inspiring to me as an artist to feel this excited about the future", says she. "The incredible team at UMG shares the heart and passion I have for music as well as the drive, and their innovative spirit has shown that together the possibilities are endless". Ain't that the truth. No.

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Henrik Schwarz launches new classical label with !K7
Producer and DJ Henrik Schwarz has partnered with !K7 to launch a new label, Between Buttons. Focusing on acoustic sounds and contemporary classical music, the label's first release will be an EP from Schwarz himself, titled 'Works Piano'.

"In these times of constant turbo mode, likes and thumbs-up, we need to go back to basics", says Schwarz. "We want to move away from the idea that relentless hasty productivity is a must, and instead take time to create space, to let ideas mature and to focus the mind on subtler sounds".

Listen to the first track from 'Works Piano' - '4011 Liter' - here.

Schwarz's EP will be released at the end of next month, and will be followed by another EP from the new label by Syrian artists Khaled Kurbeh & Raman Khalaf Ensemble, titled 'Aphorisms'.

As previously reported, !K7 launched a new contemporary classical division - 7K! - late last year. Through that label, Schwarz will release a studio recording of his 'Scripted Orchestra' show, which he performed with Metropol Orkest at the opening of the Amsterdam Dance Event last year. He will also release new electronic music through !K7.

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MU, FAC and MMF publish example fair management contract for artists
The Musicians' Union, Featured Artists Coalition and Music Managers Forum have collectively created an example of what they deem to be a fair management contract. The aim is to provide artists with a document that they can compare with potentially unfair deals they are offered.

The three organisations note that "there is no such thing as a 'standard' contract" in the artists management domain and that "artist-centric business models are constantly developing". However, they say that the frequency with which they are shown contracts unfairly weighted against the artist highlighted the need for some sort of guidance. Especially as artists, particularly those early in their careers, may not have access to any other contracts for comparison.

Soon-to-be General Secretary of the MU, Horace Trubridge says: "This example management agreement grew out of the MU's Contract Advisory Service, to which our members submit contracts for legal scrutiny. Our lawyers raised concerns about the poor contract agreements widely available online to performers, managers, recording companies and others. Once both parties have signed an agreement, it's very hard to do anything about it. By using this example management agreement, all parties can be confident that they are using a document that is up to date and fair to all concerned".

Meanwhile, speaking both as an artist and head of the FAC, Imogen Heap adds: "How I wish I had had something like this when I was starting out as an artist. A really useful piece of collective work that I'm certain every artist at the start of his or her career will find invaluable".

On the management side, MMF GM Fiona McGugan says: "This is a result of a lot of hard work and a long negotiation process, demonstrating how complex these things are. We hope that artists and managers will use this agreement to protect themselves in the early days but also to think entrepreneurially about their future partnerships as they become more attuned to the business they're in".

The document is available now to members of all three organisations through each of their websites.

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Native Instruments acquires unofficial mix monetisation service MetaPop
Ah, licensing and monetising unofficial mixes and remixes, that's very much in vogue at the moment, isn't it? In the 'start-ups trying to make that work as a business' sense of being in vogue, I mean. Music production tech maker Native Instruments has acquired a start-up called MetaPop, which aims to get unofficial remixes licensed and monetised. Presumably NI wants to offer that service alongside its music production products.

MetaPop was set up by former Beatport CEO Matthew Adell, who becomes Chief Digital Officer at NI as part of the deal. Confirming the acquisition, NI boss Daniel Haver said: "At Native Instruments we want to inspire and empower music lovers to express themselves, and in a very short time MetaPop has enabled thousands of new producers and remixers to do just that. With MetaPop and Matthew joining, we're very excited to take our online offering to the next level".

Adell added: "MetaPop was born from an ambition to redefine the world of remixing music. Joining Native Instruments opens up new doors to build on our shared vision, working alongside leading talent and world-class products. We are excited to inspire even more creativity and revenue opportunities for our users and partners".

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Billy Bragg announces Bridges Not Walls tour
Yesterday, the UK stood defiantly on the white cliffs of Dover, hoisted the Union Flag above its head, tripped and began the slow fall onto the rocks below. So now seems like a good time to see what Billy Bragg is up to. Thankfully, he's going on tour.

"Music can't change the world, but it does have the power to bring people together", says Bragg, ahead of his 'Bridges Not Walls' tour. "In such divisive times, it seems a good place to start".

Tickets for the dates in November will go on sale here on Friday. Here's where you can catch him:

5 Nov: Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion
6 Nov: London, Islington Assembly Hall
8 Nov: Cambridge, The Junction
10 Nov: Oxford, Academy
11 Nov: Birmingham, Town Hall
12 Nov: Sheffield, Leadmill
14 Nov: Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
15 Nov: Edinburgh, Queen's Hall
16 Nov: Newcastle, Wylam Brewery
18 Nov: Nottingham, Rock City
19 Nov: Cardiff, Tramshed
21 Nov: Southampton, The Brook
22 Nov: London, Clapham Grand

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Throbbing Gristle, Spotify, Elton John, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Throbbing Gristle have re-signed to Mute Records, bringing their catalogue to streaming services for the first time. The label is also planning a series of physical and digital reissues.

• Spotify has teamed up with Russell Simmons' All Def Digital to create an original content series called 'Traffic Jams' where a rapper and producer will work on creating a new song in the back of an SUV while stuck in rush hour traffic. So that's a thing.

• Elton John is working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice on an animated adaptation of their musical 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'. So that's a thing.

• Danny Brown has released the new John Hill-directed video for 'Ain't It Funny'.

• Coldcut and On-U Sound have released 'Vitals', featuring Roots Manuva, from their upcoming 'Outside The Echo Chamber' album.

• PWR BTTM have released the video for new single 'Answer My Text'. Their new album, 'Pageant', is out on 12 May.

• Sarah P has released the video for 'Who Am I', the second single from her forthcoming debut solo album.

• Half Waif has released the video for 'Frost Burn' from her 'Form/a' EP.

• Perfume Genius will play Heaven in London on 8 Jun. His new album, 'No Shape', is out on 5 May.

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Bob Dylan has decided to pick up his Nobel Prize
Bob Dylan will collect his Nobel Prize chequebook and pen this week, it has been announced. Although it's still not clear if he'll jump through the necessary hoops to get an actual signed cheque from the Nobel gang.

As previously reported, Dylan is due in Stockholm this weekend to perform two concerts. However, Sara Danius, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awarded the musician its Nobel Prize In Literature last year, said in a blog post earlier this week that Dylan had not yet been in touch about collecting his as yet uncollected award. Seemingly that jogged his memory about that whole Nobel Prize thing.

"The Swedish Academy and Bob Dylan have decided to meet this weekend", said Danius in a new blog post yesterday. "The Academy will then hand over Dylan's Nobel diploma and the Nobel medal, and congratulate him on the Nobel Prize In Literature. The setting will be small and intimate, and no media will be present; only Bob Dylan and members of the Academy will attend, all according to Dylan's wishes".

If an award is handed over and there is no one from the media there to report on it, does it really happen? Well, I suppose it might. Anyway, there's still the matter of that lecture. As per the rules, Dylan will only receive his $900,000 prize money if he gives a lecture "relevant to the work for which the prize has been awarded" before 10 Jun. Not to worry though, it's all in hand.

Although Danius notes that "no Nobel Lecture will be held" while Dylan is in town this weekend, she says that "the Academy has reason to believe that a taped version will be sent at a later point".

This is not unprecedented. Writer Alice Munro provided a pre-recorded interview in place of travelling to Sweden in 2013. The then 82 year old she said that she was unable to travel to Sweden from Canada due to health problems. In case you forgot, Bob Dylan will be in Stockholm this weekend. It's nearly six months since he was announced as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize In Literature.

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