Warner UK boss to head up the major's global recorded music business
Warner Music has announced that it is promoting the boss of its UK business, so that'll be Max Lousada, to a new role overseeing the mini-major's record labels worldwide.

This means that by the end of the year all three of the major record companies will basically be under the command of British music industry executives. Which means that when this whole streaming malarkey goes to shit and the entire record industry collapses in a way that makes 2004 look like the good times, leaving a recorded music business that only exists to soundtrack make-up demonstration videos on YouTube, it will all be our fault. And worse still, Donald Trump's strict anti-immigrant stance will have been vindicated. These are dangerous times to be alive.

So yes, as of October this year Lousada will become CEO Of Recorded Music for the whole Warner Music Group, which will put him atop all the Warner labels around the world, as well as the firm's artist and label services divisions WEA and ADA. Though if that sounds like a bit of a cushy job, don't worry, he'll continue to head up Warner Music UK too, which means he'll divide his time between London and Warner's global HQ in New York.

Lousada will report in to overall Warner Music Group CEO Steve Cooper in his new role, who said yesterday: "With WMG breaking more superstars and leading the industry's transition to streaming, this is the perfect time to appoint a proven leader to turbocharge the success of our recorded music division. Max's wide-ranging achievements make him the natural choice".

Noting that Lousada had "transformed our UK operation" - which presumably doesn't just mean signing Ed Sheeran, though possibly mainly that - Cooper added: "[Max is] the consummate music man, always exploring what we can do differently to benefit our artists, their fans, our people and our partners. I'm looking forward to working with Max as he leads our outstanding recorded music management team".

For his part, Lousada added: "I came to Warner because it's always been such a fantastic melting pot of independent spirits uniting to champion artists that change culture and make music that matters. Fourteen years later, that ethos is as strong as ever, so I'm delighted to have the opportunity to build on those foundations with my extremely gifted partners around the world. Together, we'll continue to create an environment where talent has the support and the freedom to flourish, where we empower our artists and our people to be true pioneers, and where we inspire audiences to be as excited about music as we are".

Sounds exciting. While Lousada prepares to take up his new job heading up Warner Music's labels business worldwide, the two other US headquartered majors are under British charge as well, of course. Universal Music continues to be headed up by your favourite knight of the British Empire Lucian Grainge, and over at Sony Music another Brit, Rob Stringer, is just settling in to the big cheese role as we speak.

So that's kind of inspirational for all you UK music execs just starting out, isn't it? You too could rise to the very top and get yourself ideally positioned to spectacularly fuck everything up once and for all. Or to march the recorded music business into a new golden age maybe. Though spectacularly fucking everything up sounds like more fun.

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Second bill in US Congress seeks to address radio royalties issue
Another proposal has been unveiled in US Congress to tackle the anomaly in American copyright law that means AM/FM radio stations pay no royalties to artists and labels for the recordings that they air.

As previously reported, whereas in most countries broadcasters must pay royalties to the owners of both the song and the recording copyrights, in the US traditional radio firms only pay money to the former. This is because there is no general performing right associated with the sound recording copyright under US-wide federal law, though there is a digital performing right meaning online and satellite broadcasters do pay royalties.

The record industry has long been lobbying for this anomaly to be removed, so to bring US copyright law in line with that of most other countries. In recent years the key bit of proposed legislation in Washington that would do just that has been the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, which was reintroduced into Congress last month.

The American radio industry always opposes such proposals, usually arguing that when stations play a record it's basically free promo, and therefore the artist and label should be happy with that. To that end, a new proposal has been put forward in Congress that says that - if radio stations are offering artists promotion rather than payment - said artists should have the right to decline the promo and ask that their records not be played.

That proposal comes from Congress members Darrell Issa and Ted Deutch and their legislation is called the PROMOTE Act, which has been somewhat tortuously bacronymed to the Performance Royalty Owners of Music Opportunity To Earn Act.

Says Issa: "The terrestrial stations playing these works without compensating the artists argue that airtime provides exposure and promotional value, while the artists argue the status quo allows radio stations to profit on artists' performances without providing any due compensation. Our bill puts forward a workable solution that would allow those who would otherwise be paid a performance right to opt out of allowing broadcasters to play their music if they feel they're not being appropriately compensated. This is a win-win that helps solve this decades long problem in a way that's fair to both parties".

It seems unlikely that the radio industry will see the PROMOTE Act as any more of a win-win than the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, though the legislation does call the broadcasters' bluff. The proposals have been, unsurprisingly, welcomed by the US music community.

Speaking for lobbying group musicFIRST, Chris Israel said: "The US is the only developed country where music creators have no say when it comes to traditional AM/FM radio stations playing and profiting from their hard work, but without receiving a dime. Congressman Issa's PROMOTE Act addresses this glaring inequity by empowering music creators to seek fair compensation when their works are played on terrestrial radio. The musicFIRST coalition thanks Congressman Issa for his vision and support".

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UK Music urges music employers to read up on government's new apprenticeship initiative
Cross-sector trade group UK Music has urged music companies to get up to speed about a new apprenticeship levy that kicks in this week, both in terms of being aware that bigger companies will have to pay the new tax, but also that all employers can tap the scheme to help fund training for apprentices.

Under the new scheme, as of tomorrow businesses with an annual wage bill of £3 million or more will be subject to a new mandatory tax of 0.5% of total payroll. Companies can then reclaim the money in the form of digital vouchers to pay for apprenticeship training, on which the government will also add a 10% boost (so every £1 paid in can be translated into a £1.10 training voucher). Smaller businesses not paying the new levy can also benefit from the fund created by the new levy, claiming up to 90% of training costs.

A recent survey by recruitment company Manpower found that almost two thirds of employers new little or nothing about the new levy and apprenticeships funding scheme, which is one of the reasons why UK Music has been talking about it this week.

In recent years UK Music has been promoting the introduction of more apprenticeships in the music industry, capitalising on government schemes in this domain. The trade group says that, via its Skills Academy, it has now enabled 70 opportunities to be created, allowing people to earn while they learn while working in roles within venues, recording studios, collecting societies and record labels.

On her organisation's past work in this domain, and the government's latest apprenticeships scheme, UK Music boss Jo Dipple said: "For an industry new to the concept of apprenticeships, music has made a fast conversion. Teaching keen, diverse young people about a fast-changing business while working, and learning, as an apprentice is a win for both sides. Youngsters end up in the industry they love. Businesses profit from the renewed energy and talent which is brought into the workforce".

She went on: "Getting the new system to work will offer huge advantages to the economy as we leave the EU. It needs a commitment from government to guide and explain to employers, especially the non-levy-paying [smaller companies], how they can benefit".

On the prospects of the government's new scheme, Dipple added that UK Music plans to monitor how it performs closely. She added: "If the placement of young people in new jobs is lower than the music industry achieved without it, the levy must be seen to fail the music sector. If the new apprenticeship quango, The Institute for Apprenticeships, becomes a wasteful beast - one the Tories feared during their 'bonfire' phase - the levy will have failed the new qualifying tax-paying companies. Only time will tell. We will review the impact of the levy on our sector in a year's time".

There is more information about the new levy and the new funding programme in England here.

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Managers criticise the continued secrecy as Universal agrees new Spotify deal
The UK's Music Managers Forum yesterday welcomed the news that Spotify had reached a new deal with Universal Music. However, the trade body criticised the continued secrecy that surrounds the deals made between the major record companies and the streaming services. This secrecy means that artists signed to or distributed by those labels are not allowed to know the specifics of how their music is being monetised.

As previously reported, Spotify confirmed on Tuesday that - after long drawn out negotiations - it had signed a new multi-year licensing deal with the world's biggest record company. It needs such arrangements in place before it heads to Wall Street for its widely anticipated IPO. The two companies said that the new deal would "advance their partnership to ensure that streaming realises its full transformational potential for artists, labels and fans".

We officially know that the new deal will allow Universal to window its releases off Spotify freemium for two weeks after release and that the major will get access to more data. It's also unofficially known that the new arrangement alters the financial terms between Spotify and the mega-major, though it's thought the more preferential rates the streaming firm has secured are dependent on it meeting certain growth targets.

Artist managers argue that they need to know more detail about the deals done between the labels and the streaming services, so that they can properly audit the streaming royalties their artists receive. This would allow them to better understand the streaming business and advise their clients on which platforms to champion. They could also then be reassured that the value of the booming streaming market is being fairly shared between all stakeholders within the music community, ie artists and songwriters as well as labels and publishers.

This lack of transparency was identified as the key area of concern by phase two of the Music Managers Forum's 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' research, which was conducted by CMU Insights last year. After significant efforts to secure a commitment on transparency from the majors in the UK failed earlier this year, the MMF - along with the organisations representing music creators, ie BASCA, MPG, FAC and the Musicians' Union - called on government to intervene.

Noting that the new deal struck between Universal and Spotify - and the pending deals due to be agreed with Sony Music and Warner Music - continue to shrouded in secrecy, the CEO of the MMF, Annabella Coldrick, said yesterday: "The news that Spotify and Universal have struck a new licence deal to help support continued streaming growth is welcome. However the lack of transparency around the terms of such deals means it is still impossible to properly understand and verify the flow of money from fan to artist and ensure those who create the music share in the growth in its value. Transparency is essential and should be baked into any new deal, not hidden behind NDAs".

Premium subscribers can read this recent CMU Trends article on the ongoing transparency debate here. Meanwhile, the issue will be debated at two upcoming CMU Insights events, at Canadian Music Week later this month, and The Great Escape next month.

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Radio industry says advertising on air is safer than online
Following Vevo's lead, the radio industry is also capitalising on the recent controversies around big brand ads on YouTube appearing alongside offensive content by telling advertisers that they have more control if they run their commercials on radio. I mean, the most offensive thing your ad can sit alongside on the FM dial is that new David Guetta track, which is pretty offensive, but not a video from political extremists or groups promoting hate crimes and terrorism.

A new B2B marketing campaign from commercial radio trade group Radiocentre, appearing in trade press like Retail Week and The Grocer, advises potential advertisers to "choose the company you keep", before telling brands that radio is a safe environment for their ads.

As previously reported, a flurry of big brands on both sides of the Atlantic have bailed on advertising with YouTube over concerns that automated ad placement systems mean their commercials might sit alongside offensive content. It was a recent investigation in The Times about the ads that appear alongside videos by extremist groups that suddenly made the ad industry squeamish about this phenomenon.

As Google seeks to reassure advertisers that it is evolving its ad serving systems to stop their adverts from funding offensive material, music video platform Vevo recently pointed out that it sells ads that appear on the YouTube platform, but only on the official artist channels that it manages on behalf of the record companies. It therefore provided, Vevo ad sales boss Kevin McGurn said, "a safer way for brands to maximise their reach today, with the confidence of knowing who and what they're aligned with".

Radiocentre admits that its latest B2B campaign promoting radio advertising "comes in the wake of the ongoing ad industry debate around the issues of safe environments for brands". Though the campaign also claims other benefits for advertising with radio over rival platforms, including transparency and trust. On the latter point, the trade group cites research that apparently found that radio is trusted more than any other medium.

Boss of Radiocentre Siobhan Kenny says: "Our ads follow themes of trust, environment, transparency and ad-blocking - four issues that we believe keep marketers awake at night and to which radio offers a strong solution".

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Dave Grohl's mum interviews other rock n roll mothers for new book
Dave Grohl's mum has written a book about other rock n roll mothers and their experiences, titled 'From Cradle To Stage'.

Virginia Hanlon Grohl has apparently taken a close interest in her son's career, following him to numerous Nirvana and Foo Fighters shows over the years. She was surprised not to bump into other mothers along the way, so she went down the other traditional route for meeting people and interviewed a load of them for her book.

"They all said, 'Oh, there's nothing interesting about me except for my son or daughter'", Grohl Snr tells Rolling Stone. "And then it turned out that wasn't true at all".

Among those she met were the mothers of artists such as Amy Winehouse, Josh Groban, Adam Levine, Tom Morello, Miranda Lambert and Beastie Boys' Mike D.

And if you're hoping for some dirt on famous nice guy Dave Grohl in the new book, here's the level of anecdote you can expect: "I didn't need to tell him that, even when we just had peanut butter and jelly for dinner, he should still say thank you. He thanked me every time".

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Halsey releases new single, Now Or Never
Halsey has released the video for new single 'Now Or Never', taken from her upcoming second album 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom'. It's already been watched a fair few times, so maybe you've seen it. In which case, why are you even reading this?

"The video for 'Now Or Never' (my directorial debut!) is one part in the centre of a long narrative that tells the story of two people in love despite the forces trying to keep them apart", says Halsey. "On its own the song is about two impatient young lovers, but in the context of the 'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' universe, the stakes are much higher for these two star-crossed lovers".

Now knowing all of that, take a look at the video here.

'Hopeless Fountain Kingdom' is out on 2 Jun.

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Com Truise returns with new album
Com Truise is back with his first album for six years, 'Iteration', on 16 Jun. The last one, 'Galactic Melt', was dead good. Maybe this one will be too.

"I try hard not to write from my personal life, but it's inevitably going to seep into the music", says the producer of the new record. "It's basically like I'm scoring this film in my head, but that film I'm scoring is also somehow my life. I put more air, more breathing room in the music [this time] - that was the big change".

You'll be able to catch him live in the UK at London's Oval Space on 8 Nov. Sure, that's a long way away, but you've already waited six years for another album, so I'm not sure what you're moaning about really.

Here's first single, 'Memory'.

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Rivers Cuomo, The Drums, Actress, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Weezer's Rivers Cuomo and Allister's Scott Murphy are releasing a second Japanese language album this week, titled 'Nimaime'. From it, this is 'Fun In The Sun'.

• The Drums have released the video for new single 'Blood Under My Belt'.

• Actress has released 'Dancing In The Smoke', the second single from forthcoming new album 'AZD'.

• Nite Jewel has released new single 'The Answer'. She'll play The Assembly in Camden on 4 Jun too.

• The artist formerly known just as Alex G, now to be called the more catchy (Sandy) Alex G, will release his debut album 'Rocket' on 19 May. Here's new single, 'Proud'.

• It was the Music Week Awards last night, and here is the full list of winners courtesy of, well, Music Week, obviously. Well done to each and every one of the winners, you're all brilliant. Except for you. You clearly didn't deserve it. Ha, you don't know who I'm talking to, do you? Don't worry, it wasn't you.

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Prince wouldn't be angry at Harry Styles' song title, reckons Sheena Easton
If he was still alive, Prince would give his blessing for Harry Styles to release a solo single called 'Sign Of The Times'. Or so says Sheena Easton. And that's lucky, because Styles plans to do just that this Friday.

"I'm sure he doesn't mind", Easton told the BBC. "Prince was such a giving, loving person, I'm sure he's up there saying 'go for it'. Nobody has a claim on a song title. So long as the song is different, that's the important thing".

Is it different though? We'll find out soon enough. It's exciting, isn't it?

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