Injunction blocking unofficial Prince release extended, but estate must post $1 million bond
A federal judge has extended the temporary injunction preventing the release of an unofficial Prince EP, though the late musician's estate will need to post a $1 million bond to keep the ban in place.

As previously reported, last month producer Ian Boxill announced that he was planning to put out a six track EP of previously unreleased Prince tracks, via a label services company called Rogue Music Alliance, to coincide with the first anniversary of the late musician's death. The new tracks were seemingly the output of some collaborations the producer worked on with Prince between 2006 and 2008, which Boxill has since completed.

The Prince estate was not impressed with Boxill's plan. It said the producer was breaching a contract between him and Prince which stated that ownership of any recordings the two men collaborated on would stay with the musician, rather then the producer. To that end the estate went to court seeking a speedy injunction stopping the imminent release of what was to be called the 'Deliverance' EP.

It got that injunction, with the judge ordering Boxill to hand over the masters of his work with Prince to the estate. Though that court order was temporary and, according to the StarTribute, was reviewed earlier this week. The judge declined to provide the estate with a more long-term injunction, but extended the current ban until 22 May.

However, she also requested that the estate post a bond of $1 million by 5pm on 12 May. Failure to do so would result in the injunction expiring, so that Boxill could put out his EP after all.

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Alanis Morissette's former business manager gets six years for his embezzlement
The former business manager of Alanis Morissette has been jailed for six years after admitting to stealing $7 million dollars from a number of his clients, the bulk of which - almost $5 million - was embezzled from Morissette's accounts.

Jonathan Schwartz could have been put behind bars for over two decades for his crimes, though his legal reps were pushing for just a year in jail and a second on house arrest. The judge hearing the case followed sentencing guidelines to decide on the six year term.

Representing Schwartz, lawyer Nathan Hochman insisted that his client had shown remorse for his crimes, which he blamed on a gambling addiction. The legal man added, according to The Hollywood Reporter: "The sentence the court orders will be in addition to the lifelong sentence of shame Mr Schwartz will suffer because of his actions".

Hochman argued that one year in jail and another on home detention, "in addition to the punishments of losing one's family, job, clients, assets, reputation, and professional licence", was sufficient to deter anyone else who might be considering setting themselves up as a dodgy business manager in order to steal millions from popstars, and therefore "a lengthy prison sentence is not necessary to achieve this additional deterrence".

The prosecution, however, showed little sympathy for Schwartz, arguing that the "defendant was sophisticated and highly intelligent", and that any impact his crimes may have had on his life and career beyond the jail term he will serve wasn't extra punishment, but simply a "natural consequence" of his actions.

Meanwhile Morissette, who had already knocked back a public apology from her former advisor, at the time adding "I would be apprehensive to believe any words that come out of Jonathan Schwartz's mouth", also called for a tough sentence that "sends a crystal clear message" about the seriousness of her former business manager's crimes.

The judge in the main concurred with the prosecution and Morissette, ignoring Schwartz's request for leniency and opting for the six year jail term.

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Hailee Steinfeld signs to Warner/Chappell
Actor Hailee Steinfeld - who is NOT dating Justin Bieber, MailOnline felt the need to report three times over the last two days - has signed a worldwide publishing with Warner/Chappell for her singer-songwriting undertakings. The news comes a week after the release of her latest single, 'Most Girls'.

"I'm honoured to join the many incredible talents who call Warner/Chappell home", says Steinfeld. "I know that this team will give me the support I need to express myself musically and continue to grow as a songwriter".

Warner/Chappell's joint head of US A&R Katie Vinten adds: "Hailee is a creative whirlwind, whether it's in the recording studio, in film, or on stage. The entire Warner/Chappell team is THRILLED to have her in the family, and we look forward to collaborating with Hailee to take her musical career to new heights".

But is she dating Justin Bieber? Who knows, but you'll be able to see her acting and singing AT THE SAME TIME soon, when she reprises the role of Emily Junk in upcoming movie 'Pitch Perfect 3'. For now I advise you to listen intently to 'Most Girls' here.

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The Damned sign new record deal
The Damned have signed a new record deal with Search And Destroy - the joint venture label between Raw Power Management and Universal's Spinefarm Records - to release their first album for almost a decade. The band are set to head into the studio over the summer to record the follow-up to 2008's 'So, Who's Paranoid?'

The band's manager, Jamal Chalabi, says: "There was so much enthusiasm from the guys at Search And Destroy for working with The Damned that we had no hesitation in signing to the label. They are passionate music fans who run a successful, global business and I have no doubts they will do a great job on this new album".

Raw Power CEO Craig Jennings adds: "The Damned are one of my all-time favourite bands and a massive influence on my own musical worldview. Their impact on subsequent generations of bands cannot be underestimated and we are looking forward to releasing their first new album for almost a decade".

The new deal comes off the back of a 40th anniversary tour by the band.

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Australian live industry calls for ticket tout bots ban
As the bots ban becomes law in the UK, the live entertainment industry in Australia has called on the government there to follow suit. The move would outlaw the software employed by some ticket touts to buy up large quantities of tickets off primary ticketing sites as soon as they go on sale.

As previously reported, the new Digital Economy Act that has just passed in the UK parliament introduces a bots ban over here. Initially the British government argued that a specific ban of such touting software wasn't necessary. The use of such technology was possibly already illegal, it said. However, in the end ministers backed proposals made in Parliament for a bespoke bots ban targeting the ticket touts.

Similar measures have been introduced or considered elsewhere in the world, and in Australia independent senator Nick Xenophon recently proposed a country-wide bots ban, winning the support of opposition parties, but not the country's government. Now trade body Live Performance Australia is calling on Australian ministers to back such proposals.

The organisation's CEO Evelyn Richardson says: "Ticket bots are a growing problem around the world. They are being used to scoop up large numbers of tickets to popular shows which make it harder for genuine fans to get tickets to see their favourite artists. Bot activity also affects the operation of ticketing websites, slowing down performance and making it harder for fans to complete their purchase. For some popular shows, bots can make up the majority of visits to online ticketing sites".

Conceding that primary ticketing sites also had a role to play in combating the bots, the LPA added that "governments also need to get behind the campaign with effective legislation and enforcement"

Richardson continued: "The UK and US have taken action, but the [Australian] government is missing in action. Bots are a global problem, and Australia should be part of the global response. Fans and artists in Australia - and around the world - should expect the Australian government to be doing its part to fight the bots and ensure that genuine fans have fairer access to tickets".

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SoundCloud launches daily personalised new music playlist
SoundCloud has announced a new feature, The Upload, a personalised playlist of 20 new tracks available on the streaming platform compiled individually for each user and updated on a daily basis.

"With a constantly expanding mix of music uploaded to SoundCloud every day, we've now made it easier to filter through it all", says the company. "The Upload is all about surfacing more of what you're into, or what you might be, and is the go-to destination for a regularly updated, bespoke playlist of new music relevant to you".

It goes on: "With the largest and most diverse music catalogue around, we want to make discovery on SoundCloud even easier and we're utilising machine learning to offer new ways for you to find more music. This new feature is another opportunity for creators on SoundCloud to get their music heard by our global community and a great way for listeners to be on the pulse of what's next, now".

The playlist will dump a couple of hours of new music on you every day of the week, which is probably a bit much. However, an easier way to navigate brand new music on the platform will be a welcome addition for many of its users. It's not a way of selling the SoundCloud Go premium tier though, because The Upload is available to everyone, so won't assist in the digital firm's top priority of driving new revenue streams.

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CMU Insights @ The Great Escape programme now live
We are now just two weeks away from this year's Great Escape, and the full programme has now gone live for the four CMU Insights conferences that sit at the heart of the TGE Convention. Plus there's a new post on the CMU Insights blog providing a speedy overview.

Four conferences in one, CMU Insights @ The Great Escape offers a mix of presentations, case studies, interviews and panel debates, tapping into CMU's daily music business reportage and the CMU Insights training courses to be timely, educational and entertaining.

The four conferences are as follows...

The Media Conference on 18 May in Dukes 2 explores the new business models being employed by the music media, and the impact they have on music journalism, plus the evolution of music radio and music PR. More on The Media Conference here.

The Drugs Conference, supported by Help Musicians UK, on 18 May in Dukes 1, looks at the impact of drugs on music, both on the industry's venues and festivals from a licensing and logistics perspective, and on the music community itself from a health point of view. More on The Drugs Conference here.

The Export Conference, supported by BPI, on 19 May in Dukes 1, looks at how to launch new artists into new markets, the challenges around visas, the role of showcase festivals, and the potential impact of Brexit on the music industry. More on The Export Conference here.

The Royalties Conference on 19 May in Dukes 2 follows the money as it flows from sale, stream and sync - all around the world - through to the artist and songwriter. With a special focus on live performance, sync and the lack of transparency in digital. More on The Royalties Conference here.

Or check the speedy blog here.

Look out for regular updates in the CMU Daily over the next two weeks with the very final speaker announcements and the top ten questions we'll be answering this year. A small number of delegate passes and conference-only passes are still available if you haven't got yours yet.

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CMU@TGE Top Ten Questions: Where does all the streaming money go?
In the run up to this year's CMU Insights @ The Great Escape conference, we will go through the top ten questions we will be answering during this year's programme. Today: Where does all the streaming money go?

Whereas iTunes was, in some ways, simply a digital version of the record shop, streaming is a fundamentally different business model. That makes the way streaming services pay artists and songwriters somewhat complex. Which is why the Music Managers Forum commissioned CMU Insights to produce the 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' reports, to help artist managers understand how the model works.

The deals done between the labels, publishers, collecting societies and the streaming services are - at their core - revenue share arrangements based on consumption share.

So each month, Spotify works out what portion of total streams were Universal Music recordings, allocates that portion of its overall revenues to the major's catalogue, and then pays it a share of that money according to its revenue share agreement - Universal will likely get somewhere between 55% and 60%. Though that said, a series of minimum guarantees Universal has also secured from the streaming service may mean it gets more of the cash. How artists are paid then depends on their contracts with the record company.

On the publishing side, because a stream exploits both the reproduction and communication controls of the copyright, in the UK some of the money will flow through the publisher, who will then pay the songwriter a share. Some will flow through PRS, who will usually split that money between publisher and writer. So as a songwriter, neither your publisher statement nor your PRS statement will tell the complete story.

It's a bit confusing isn't it? Then you add in the fact that the specific figures in each streaming deal are a secret. In The Royalties Conference at The Great Escape we'll explain in a little more detail how all this works, while licensing expert Becky Brook will come at the whole thing from the perspective of the streaming service.

At the end of the day, we'll put the spotlight on the transparency debate, why are there so many secrets, and why is that a problem? MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick will join that debate alongside artists Dave Rowntree (representing the Featured Artists Coalition), Crispin Hunt (representing BASCA) and Suzanne Combo (representing the International Artists Organisation).

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DJ Mag editors crowdfund "definitive" drum n bass history
Carl Loben and Ben Murphy, current and former editors of DJ Mag respectively, have launched a crowdfunding campaign for a new book on the history of drum n bass. Titled 'Renegade Snares', the foreword of the book will be penned by Goldie.

"Drum n bass has given rise to charismatic figureheads like Goldie and Roni Size, had the patronage of Björk and David Bowie, and periodically mutated into new forms, staying one step ahead of trends and fads", say the duo. "It's an underground, outlaw sound that has had a remarkable impact on popular culture".

However, they continue: "Drum n bass doesn't, yet, have the definitive book. A few have told individual stories or given accounts of the early years, but 'Renegade Snares' tells the whole tale. It charts this extraordinary genre from its fiery beginnings, through its mainstream acceptance and periodic movements back into the underground, gaining unique insights from all the scene's biggest players - both established and brand new".

Various perks for those who chip in for the book on literary crowdfunding platform Unbound have been donated by the likes of Fabio & Grooverider and Hospital Records. Check them out here.

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Mary Epworth announces new album
Mary Epworth has announced that she will release her second album - her first for Sunday Best - on 1 Sep, titled 'Elytral. First single, 'Me Swimming', is out now.

"This is and isn't about me swimming", says Epworth of the single. "It's really more about the mind over matter trick where you visualise yourself in a different place and time. In my case I'm zooming back to being five years old in a Ramada Inn swimming pool in Roanoke Virginia, fluorescent orange armbands in a sunlit turquoise blue pool, totally free and joyfully unselfconscious".

You can catch Epworth live at The Social in London on 13 Jun. And here's 'Me Swimming'.

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Beyonce, Haim, AIM Awards, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Beyonce is releasing a $300 'Lemonade' boxset. So now you know.

• Here's a new Haim song.

• Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie have released a new single, 'Feel About You'. Their first ever album as a duo, the imaginatively titled 'Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie', is out on 9 Jun.

• Lady Leshurr has released the video for 'Juice' off her new EP 'Mode'.

• Section Boyz's Swift has released a solo single, 'Best Friend'.

• Girl Ray have announced that they will release their debut album, 'Earl Grey', on 4 Aug. From it, here's new single 'Preacher'.

• The Divine Comedy will be heading out on tour at the end of this year, including a show at the Hammersmith Apollo on 29 Nov. Tickets on sales via thedivinecomedy.com on Friday.

• Submissions are now open for this year's AIM Awards. Independent music types can be put forward for prizes here. The deadline is 23 May.

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Unreleased Radiohead song kept locked in vault for 20 years for safety of the band
Hey, so you remember how Radiohead announced that they're bringing out a 20th anniversary version of 'OK Computer' with three previously unreleased songs on it? You probably thought to yourself, "if they haven't released those songs for 20 years, they're probably not much good". But you are wrong. At least one of those songs was too good to release before now.

Speaking to BBC Radio 6 Music, the band's Ed O'Brien revealed that the band had kept the too good song, 'Lift', under wraps because they were worried it would make them too popular. Initial testing on Alanis Morissette's audience when they supported her in the US in 1996 proved to them that it was just too dangerous.

"We played ['Lift'] live with Alanis Morissette", said O'Brien. "It was a really interesting song. The audience - suddenly you'd see them get up and start grooving. It had this infectiousness. It was a big anthemic song. If that song had been on that album, it would've taken us to a different place, and probably we'd have sold a lot more records - if we'd done it right. And everyone was saying this. And I think we subconsciously killed it".

"If 'OK Computer' had been like a 'Jagged Little Pill', it would've killed us", he continued. "But 'Lift' had this magic about it. But when we got to the studio and did it, it felt like having a gun to your head. There was so much pressure".

So, now you know. Thinking about it, I should have gone with my original plan of writing a report titled 'We all forgot Radiohead supported Alanis Morissette'.

Whatever, listen to Ed O'Brien talking here.

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