MPs back campaign to have 'agent of change' principle introduced into UK law
UK Music has launched a new campaign attempting to convince Parliament to enshrine the 'agent of change' principle into law. If successful, it would put the onus on property developers to design new buildings in a way that ensures future residents do not have problems with existing nearby music venues, particularly in relation to noise.

Many live music venues in the UK have run into problems after new residential developments have been built nearby. This is usually because of a lack of consideration by developers for other existing businesses surrounding their new properties at the planning stage, which in turn leads to noise complaints from new residents after they move in.

The so called 'agent of change' principle - increasing the obligations of the developers which bring new properties into an existing community - has been much discussed in UK political circles in recent years, including in relation to the National Planning Policy Framework. There has been plenty of support for the principle, though the devil is in the detail. And earlier this year, UK Music expressed disappointment that agent of change did not appear in the Queen's Speech setting out the current government's post-election priorities.

Labour MP John Spellar has now agreed to put forward an agent of change proposal at a debate in the House Of Commons early next year. Former Conservative Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and All-Party Parliamentary Group On Music Chair David Warburton have also endorsed the idea. Meanwhile, current Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has hinted that the government is already considering implementing the principle.

"In order to progress their careers, creative artists need lots of work opportunities", Spellar told Bradley this week. "For musicians, that means venues, many of which are now being closed. Will the Secretary Of State give serious consideration to embedding the agent of change principle into legislation, as I hope to propose in a 'ten minute rule bill' in the near future?"

Bradley replied: "We are aware of those concerns and we are working with the Department For Communities And Local Government to look at the proposition that has been put forward". That the government is seemingly already considering introducing an agent of change rule is important, as it has much more chance of becoming law if it is pushed through by ministers.

Lending his support, Vaisey said in a statement: "In order for our creative industries to continue to flourish, it is essential that we do all we can to protect our country's brilliant grassroots venues. These venues are the lifeblood of the UK music scene, a source of immense pride for communities and a springboard for many artists' success. Adopting agent of change into existing planning laws is therefore an important step in safeguarding the future of these vital platforms".

Warburton added: "Putting the agent of change principle firmly into law is simple common sense. Any new development, whether it's a residential project near a music venue, or a music venue opening next to properties, should be responsible for the costs of protecting against the noise - because they're the ones making the change to the environment".

He continued: "It's crazy that you can build right next door to a music venue and then demand they pay for the soundproofing you need. A huge number of popular venues are facing closure because the law just isn't working fairly - so it's now time to make a change and stand up for common sense".

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Sci-hub domains go down as American court order that included web-blocking comes into effect
The website that has often been dubbed the 'Pirate Bay of science' has seemingly lost three of its domains, presumably as a result of the recent legal action by the American Chemical Society, whose academic papers Sci-Hub had distributed without licence.

Although not a music case, the ACS v Sci-Hub legal battle in the US courts was of interest to the wider copyright industries, because - as well as awarding the plaintiff's damages - the judgement in favour of ACS provided a pretty wide-ranging injunction ordering third party internet companies to stop facilitating access to the file-sharing site.

One reading of that injunction suggests that the ruling is, among other things, ordering internet service providers to instigate web-blocks to stop their users from accessing Sci-Hub. That is significant because to date web-blocking has not been available to copyright owners as an anti-piracy tactic in America, even though music and movie companies have secured web-blocks aplenty against piracy sites in an assortment of other countries, not least the UK.

However, after the ruling, legal reps for ACS said they felt the injunction wasn't as ground-breaking as some were suggesting, adding that they only planned to use the court order to target companies and organisations that directly provide services to Sci-Hub, such as domain registries, server hosting companies and outfits like CloudFlare.

It is assumed that - as Sci-hub.io, sci-hub.cc and sci-hub.ac all went offline this week - that is a sign of ACS putting its court order into effect and demanding that registries that administrate web addresses used by Sci-Hub cancel those domains.

Though the person behind Sci-Hub, Alexandra Elbakyan, is playing down the significance of those domains going offline. According to Torrentfreak, she posted an update to social media offering alternative ways for people to access her site.

When copyright owners go after the domain names of piracy sites, said sites often subsequently register alternative domains in countries where American court orders have less sway. Plus there are other ways for people to access sites when domain names go down.

Of course, most anti-piracy tactics - beyond pressuring piracy platform operators to voluntarily shut down their sites under the threat of mega-damages or prison time - only work to an extent, in that web savvy file-sharers can usually find a way around any sanctions. And the same is true of web-blocks, where ISPs are told to block their customers from accessing copyright infringing websites.

However, once ACS has enforced its court order against amenable domain registries and server hosting companies - and assuming Sci-Hub continues to happily distribute its papers without licence - it will be interesting to see if the society then chooses to adopt a wider interpretation of its injunction in order to force more internet companies to help limit access to the piracy platform. Including possible web-blocks.

Not that any one of those tactics would be a panacea by any means, but some copyright owners take the view that the more hurdles you can put in the way as people try to access piracy websites the better.

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Bucks Music signs Dusky Grey
Music publisher Bucks Music has only gone and signed "hotly-tipped pop duo" Dusky Grey, and I'm not sure there is anything you can do about it. The publishing deal follows the outfit signing a record contract with Warner's East West, which in turn followed the success of their self-released track 'Told Me' on the streaming whatnots.

Say the duo in almost perfect unison: "We are so THRILLED to be joining Bucks. It's been such a rollercoaster journey for us since sitting in a basement flat in Wales a year ago putting out a song. Now here we are signing a publishing deal with a company who represent writers who have been involved with some of our favourite music. Dreams can come true".

Dream-maker Sarah Liversedge over at the Bucks place added: "This deal feels so fresh and exciting. Our creative team are energised and ready to spearhead Gethin and Catrin's creative journey into 2018. We are also super excited to be working with Keith and Bex at ROM Management and with Paul, Josh and the team at East West".

"Gethin and Catrin" are the members of Dusky Grey, by the way. "Keith and Bex" are their managers Keith McColl and Bex Redwood. And "Paul, Josh and the team at East West" are Paul, Josh and the team at East West. I should really charge you extra for all these background facts.

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Amazon reportedly abandons bid to enter US ticketing market
Amazon is reportedly abandoning plans to launch its own ticketing service in the US after coming up against The Ticketmaster Problem. Or so reports Amplify.

The mail order company began selling tickets for a small number of events in the UK in 2015, before ramping up operations last year, with plans to "disrupt the ticketing industry". That's the sort of bold claim made by many a ticketing start-up, which later either folds or sells itself to Live Nation's Ticketmaster. However, with Amazon's financial weight and existing channels to music consumers, many wondered if the company might actually be able to make some headway.

The dominance in many key markets of Ticketmaster in ticketing, and parent company Live Nation in venues and artist management, are a hurdle that halts the ambitions of many, if not most, ticketing start-ups as they attempt to scale up to larger shows in those markets. This is something Songkick is challenging in the courts on competition law grounds, although its ticketing business has already wound down. Because, it says, of these issues.

In the UK, Amazon is now selling tickets for a number of big name artists and festivals. Still, earlier this year, at least one analyst reckoned that the newcomer to the ticketing business did not represent a "near-time risk" to Ticketmaster. BTIG's Brandon Ross also noted that any chance of Amazon denting the market leader's revenues would depend largely on its ability to launch and then compete in the US market.

Now, reckons Amplify, Amazon Tickets has all but abandoned attempts to launch in America. "The failure to get a deal with Ticketmaster, coupled with the limited opportunities for the company due to Ticketmaster's venue contracts and exclusivity model, have Amazon quietly shutting down parts of the effort", says the live industry website.

It adds that, according to various sources, Ticketmaster had offered to do a deal to provide slow-moving tickets in its inventory to Amazon to sell on at a discounted rate. But one of Amazon's plans was to secure the best seats at shows to offer to its Prime members, so it knocked that proposal back.

This leaves Amazon in a position where it would need to do direct deal with artists, venues and promoters. In the US, where Live Nation and Ticketmaster's hold over all three of these is strongest, that seemingly proved an unviable option. However, Amplify does note that Amazon may as yet reignite plans to launch its ticketing business in the US in the future, should anything change.

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Independent Venue Week to return for fifth edition in 2018
Independent Venue Week will return for its fifth edition in January next year, with 160 venues due to take part around the UK - 65 of those getting involved for the first time.

Five ambassadors will be the public faces of the event, which will take place from 29 Jan to 4 Feb, with the first two, Nadine Shah and Portishead's Adrian Utley, just announced.

"Don't get me wrong I'm all for a fancy sit down gig in some elaborate venue, but I'll take a sweat fest in some small dive any day of the week", says Shah. "Being so close to a stage and properly submerging yourself in a show is hard to top. As a musician it gives me a proper thrill to have the audience so close, they don't miss a trick so I have to pull my finger out and really up my game".

Utley adds: "I love smaller venues. They are where I started and vital for learning how to do it all really. Sweaty and usually a good sound, it can be really nerve wracking being so close to other humans but also it feels like a shared experience. Massive venues can be a bit impersonal and removed from the audience you are wanting to connect to. There is often a big space between the stage and the audience (sometimes bigger than a small venue in itself) that can have bored security and technical people in, which takes a while to get used to."

"It's sad if you don't get to experience [performing in small venues] and start your career in arenas which I'm sure some people do", he adds. "Some music only suits small spaces - it's so cool to see music that isn't amplified at all and you can sit close and hear".

Shah and Utley will both curate their own shows within the IVW 2018 programme, while Shah will also put in a headline performance in Hebden Bridge on 3 Feb.

BBC Music has also been confirmed as the broadcast partner for the event, with Commissioning Editor Rachel Davies saying: "Independent Venues Week shines a light on the UK's grassroots venues and the work they do to unite artists and music fans across the country. We are proud to be an official IVW partner this year".

Find more information on Independent Venue Week 2018 here.

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Russell Simmons issues statements on sexual assault allegation
Music industry veteran Russell Simmons has now issued two statements responding to an allegation of sexual assault by model Keri Claussen Khalighi.

Khalighi told the LA Times last week that she met Simmons in 1991 at a casting call for a music video when she was seventeen. She says that he and video director Brett Ratner -himself now accused of various instances of sexual assault and harassment - took her to dinner shortly afterwards, and then back to Simmons' apartment.

Once there, she says, Simmons began making aggressive sexual advances. "I looked over at Brett and said 'help me' and I'll never forget the look on his face", she said. "In that moment, the realisation fell on me that they were in it together".

She alleges that the former Def Jam boss eventually coerced her into performing oral sex on him while Ratner watched. Afterwards, she said, she went to have a shower, where Simmons followed her and briefly penetrated her without consent.

In a statement on Facebook, Simmons denied Khalighi's accusations, saying that they had spent a whole weekend together and "everything that occurred between Keri and me occurred with her full consent and participation". Ratner, meanwhile, said that he had "no recollection" of Khalighi asking for help or protesting Simmons' advances.

Subsequently appearing on US TV show 'Today', Khalighi said that Simmons had previously acknowledged and apologised for what had happened between them, saying: "Russell and I have actually had a face-to-face confrontation around this, we've had phone conversations, where we have had a conversation about what happened, where there was no dispute of what we were talking about. We were both talking about what happened on that night and he actually apologised".

She added: "Part of what is so confusing and re-traumatising is what he is speaking about privately with me is completely different than what has come out publicly. And that is the piece that's been really, really upsetting, disappointing and quite honestly, just repugnant with hypocrisy and the lies and the denial".

Now, in a new statement published by The Hollywood Reporter, Simmons has again addressed Khalighi's accusations. In it, he says that a "longtime loathing of any form of violence and abuse has been woven into all of my personal interactions". He goes on to confirm that the two have spoken privately about what happened, but that she "insisted I was not violent" and that she was simply embarrassed that her boyfriend had found out that she and the music mogul had spent a weekend together.

He does concede that he has "made choices that have offended some of the women in my life", but also says that "three witnesses have signed statements that our experiences that weekend with Keri Claussen Khalighi 26 years ago were consensual".

Concluding his new statement, he says: "As the dialogue progresses, let's not lose sight of what's truly happening, a shift in power and all that entails. I want that shift. It must lead to a space where women and also men can heal, even if it means attacking me. I remain an activist for women's rights and all things unjust. This is my life's work and journey, and God knows my heart. To all the #MeToo campaigns and women around the world, I support your healing and will continue to be an honest and imperfect advocate for the voiceless (including animals) and humanity as a whole".

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Liam Payne discusses the toll One Direction's schedule took on him
Liam Payne has said that he was struggling to cope with mental health issues at One Direction's peak, and questioned why he was allowed to continue touring. He added that the group's split was necessary for all four members.

"I shouldn't have been able to do as many shows as we did, if I'm honest about it, if I'm brutally honest about it", he told The Sun. "Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don't really see what's going on".

He added that all of his bandmates at times struggled with their fame, and that putting the group on hiatus was something they all felt they needed to do.

"The more we did, I just don't think we stopped and celebrated enough how great things were and I think that's what got on top of us in the end", he went on. "It was like, 'Oh, you've just won three EMAs, but get on the plane and go to the next place'".

"Even though I know fans are not mad about it,?we needed [to split up]", he added. "We needed a little bit of time away from each other. We needed a realisation point to find the love for it again, rather than it just becoming a job. I'm a totally different person now to how I used to be about it".

Payne has now released two solo singles, 'Strip That Down' and 'Bedroom Floor'.

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Taylor Swift announces 2018 UK and Ireland shows
Taylor Swift has announced UK and Ireland tour dates for June next year, by which time you might actually have heard the album she's promoting.

Tickets for the shows will go on sale on 1 Dec, unless you happen to be signed up to her website, in which case you'll get access on 29 Nov. No one tell the touts.

Here are the dates:

8 Jun: Manchester, Etihad Stadium
15 Jun: Dublin, Croke Park
22 Jun: London, Wembley Arena

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Beyonce, Daft Punk, Scott Walker, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Beyonce has unveiled a load of poorly conceived Christmas merch if you're stuck for a present for one of her fans who really will be happy with any old shit.

• I don't think we should be talking about Christmas yet really, but Daft Punk's new baubles are pretty cool. They'd want to be at that price, though. There's a snowglobe too. No snowglobe should cost $50.

• Faber is publishing a collection of Scott Walker lyrics, titled 'Sundog', featuring songs from across his career. More info here.

• Rae Morris has released 'Atletico', taken from her second album, 'Someone Out There', which is due out on 2 Feb.

• Sufjan Stevens has released the video for 'The Greatest Gift', the title track from his new rarities compilation, which is out today.

• The new expanded edition of what is definitely one of the best albums of 2017, Kelly Lee Owens' eponymous debut, is out today. Here's one of its bonus tracks, 'Spaces'.

• Maxta has released new track 'Keep It Moving', featuring P Money.

• I Prevail have released the video for 'Already Dead', taken from their latest album, 'Lifelines'.

• Young Juvenile Youth have released the video for 'Her', the opening track from new album 'Mirror'.

• Iceage have announced that they will play The Scala in London on 8 May next year. And if you happen to be in Detroit on New Year's Eve, they'll be playing a show with Sky Ferreira at El Club.

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

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Beef Of The Week #382: Wu-Tang Clan v Woof-Tang Clan
Trademark disputes are a strange and wonderful thing. All the more so when they involve small animals. Something that, if recent trends are of any indication, is on the increase.

Alright, I'm not sure two instances of something can really be called "a trend". But the fact that pets have resulted in two trademark disputes in the music industry this year alone must count for something.

As previously reported, Deadmau5 and an online pet accessories store have been locked in a spiral of lawsuits, countersuits and countersuits to countersuits over the last year. This relates to a disagreement over who owns the rights to the name Meowingtons. The producer argues that he had named his cat Professor Meowingtons long before the Meowingtons pet tat selling website launched.

What's more, he claimed, the online pet accessories website was actually named after his cat. And the founder of the shop, Emma Bassir, has been hindering the cat's own line of merch and wider online brand by attempting to trademark the name, he argued.

Anyway, that all seems to still be working its way through the courts, so perhaps we'll come back to it at a later date. What I brought you all here to talk about today is Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA's new dispute with dog walking business Woof-Tang Clan.

New York-based Woof-Tang Clan offers dog walking and pet sitting services. Its website also promises that it will soon offer dog hiking, whatever that is. Walking dogs up an incline, I guess. What inclines are there in New York City though? You'd have to take them further out into the state where there are a few hills. That would surely require an overnight stay though and the website doesn't mention dog camping anywhere. It's a minefield this stuff.

As if the company didn't already have enough issues attempting to source tents for dogs, it's now got to fight off a claim by RZA who says it should not be allowed to register its name as a trademark.

According to New York Daily News, RZA has filed legal papers noting that the Wu-Tang name and logo has been "unmistakably associated" with his group since 1993. Which is true. Although Woof-Tang Clan's logo is just its name written in crayon, so I'm not sure how that's entirely relevant.

To successfully block a trademark from being registered, it helps if you can prove that it would cause confusion in the marketplace if the other party was allowed to use your name or something similar to it. I can only assume, therefore, that RZA is concerned that people will think this is an official Wu-Tang dog walking business. Does it keep him awake at night worried that people are expecting Method Man to swing round and pick up their poodle to go and frolic in Central Park?

Maybe he's just annoyed that he never had the idea of getting Method Man out there walking a few dogs. I'm sure it's something he'd enjoy, and it would fill the time between tours. Run The Jewels did that whole album made up of cat samples. How differently might things have turned out if Wu-Tang Clan had turned in a few tracks detailing their work with puppies? Had they been a bit quicker off the mark, they could also have beaten Big Boi to the dog shampoo market as well.

That didn't happen though, and RZA and co were instead forced to sell CDs to arseholes to make ends meet. Despite that, I'm not sure anyone out there is confused about whether or not Woof-Tang Clan is officially endorsed by the actual Wu-Tang Clan.

Similarly, I'm not sure anyone thinks that unrelated Alaskan husky sled team the Woof Tang Clan is an official Wu-Tang side project either. Although their spin-off Woof-Tang Wear merch does actually bear a logo that looks a hell of a lot like the Clan's.

Speaking to NYDN, the dog walking business's founder Marty Cuatchon (yes, I also read that as Martine McCutcheon every single time) said: "I am a fan. We walk dogs. I thought it was a good idea".

And maybe it is, but having a good idea isn't enough. These things generally come down to who has the most well-connected lawyers. As a nightclub in Burnley found out in this week's other big music-related trademark dispute.

By which I mean The Vogue nightclub in Burnley. Which, I'm sure you all know well, has been forced to change its moniker after legal reps for the magazine of the same name got in touch. Apparently they were worried that people might think that the US-based fashion title had set up a nightclub in a small town in Lancashire.

"No one's going to think, 'I wonder if Kate Moss is at Vogue Burnley this week?'", co-owner Jason McQuoid told local radio station 2BR. "Everyone knows it's nothing to do with the magazine. Bullying, I can't think of any other word ,it's a big business bullying a small one. They've made their millions, they don't care about a little business trying to make something in Burnley".

The magazine also had the club's Facebook page suspended, which McQuoid says is causing them issues with promoting events over the festive period. They do still have their Twitter account however and a new Instagram account set up this week under the Vogue Burnley brand. That Instagram account will have to change its username come the new year, though, when the club has agreed to drop the Vogue in its title.

"The last thing we want to do is change our name - everybody knows Vogue in Burnley", says McQuoid. "It's the signs, the artwork, the logo is on everything. Even smallest of things like staff uniforms - we employ 40 people - the cost of the rebrand is going to be extensive".

I just realised that the latter half of this beef hasn't contained any of the promised small animals. Though I did hear that Method Man is going to take Kate Moss's dog for a stroll down the catwalk at Vogue Burnley this weekend.

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