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DISSECTING THE DIGITAL DOLLAR - STEP BY STEP As the UK's Music Managers Forum publishes two new guides as part of phase three of its 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' programme, CMU Trends summarises what we've learned from the project so far in 30 points - ten from part one, ten from part two, and ten from the new guides. Along the way we cover digital licensing, all the key issues with the current streaming business model, and what you need to know about label deals and transparency in the streaming age. [READ MORE] |
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GLOBAL MUSIC DATA AND BLOCKCHAIN There has been lots of debate around the music rights data problem in recent years, and a number of initiatives are underway to tackle the issue. Though Spotify's mechanical royalties dispute and the lack of songwriter credits on the streaming platforms shows the problem persists. As Music 4.5 puts the spotlight back on all things data, CMU Trends reviews discussions to date, challenges to be met, and where progress is being made. [READ MORE] |
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THE RIGHTS OF ARTISTS AND SONGWRITERS POST-ASSIGNMENT - PERFORMER AND MORAL RIGHTS Copyright provides creators with control over that which they create, but what happens when the creators themselves don't own the copyright in their work? Artists and songwriters who are no longer in control of their copyrights do still have some rights, sometimes by contract, and via performer and moral rights. CMU Trends considers what the law says about the rights of artists and songwriters after their copyrights have been assigned. [READ MORE] |
| TOP STORIES | Over 300 women call out sexual harassment and abuse in the Australian music industry READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LEGAL | Sony/ATV extends deal with Jamie Scott READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LIVE BUSINESS | Richard Howle joins The Ticket Factory READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| MEDIA | Der Spiegel releases audio from Morrissey interview READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| EDUCATION & EVENTS | Lyor Cohen to give SXSW keynote READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ARTIST NEWS | Miguel denies re-emerging sexual assault accusation Gene Simmons denies doing anything to warrant Fox News ban Cibo Matto split READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | Frank Ocean, Lily Allen, The Cure, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Harry Styles (briefly) replaces James Corden as Late Late Show host READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
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SJM CONCERTS - VIP ASSISTANT (MANCHESTER) SJM offer exclusive VIP ticket packages across many of our major tours for artists such as Take That, One Direction, Little Mix and Coldplay which over the last year has amounted to over 60,000 packages. Working as an assistant to the VIP Manager within our VIP department, the VIP Assistant is responsible for the day to day administration of our exclusive VIP packages, as well as providing general office admin support. For more information and to apply click here. |
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ISOBEL GRIFFITHS LTD - TRAINEE ORCHESTRAL FIXER (LONDON) A Trainee Orchestral Contractor (aka Fixer) is required to join an office of six staff, based in the Chelsea Harbour area of SW10. The company books freelance orchestral and specialist musicians for feature films, video games, TV film scores, records and TV commercial recordings. For more information and to apply click here. |
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MAMA FESTIVALS - HEAD OF CREATIVE PRODUCTION (LONDON) MAMA Festivals is one of the UK’s leading festival businesses. The Head Of Creative Production works alongside managers and consultants to deliver creative aspects of Lovebox, Citadel and Wilderness festivals. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KILIMANJARO LIVE - MARKETING ASSISTANT (LONDON) This role spans two areas within Kilimanjaro Live; working with the Promoters and the Head of Marketing to co-ordinate and implement marketing strategies and plans, and working across the company as a whole on office administration and support as well as providing support to all roles when required. For more information and to apply click here. |
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GARGANTUAN MUSIC - SENIOR MUSIC CONSULTANT UK (LONDON) Gargantuan Music is looking for a highly experienced Senior Music Consultant with an excellent proven track record in sales, marketing and music supervision within the music industry. For more information and to apply click here. |
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GARGANTUAN MUSIC - MUSIC PRODUCTION MANAGER (LONDON) This is an exciting opportunity to work at a world class production music company. Gargantuan Music is looking for an experienced Music Production Manager. For more information and to apply click here. |
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I AM POP - MARKETING & PARTNERSHIPS EXECUTIVE (LONDON) POP is the simplest way for musicians, labels, brands and others to launch a Facebook Messenger bot. The Marketing & Partnerships Executive will work closely with POP’s Head of Partnerships and our Marketing team to help POP connect with customers and grow our presence globally. For more information and to apply click here. |
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STONES THROW RECORDS - JUNIOR PRODUCT MANAGER (LONDON) Stones Throw is seeking a full-time Junior Product Manager at its European office in London. You'll work closely with the UK & Europe Label Manager to deliver marketing campaigns in these territories, and provide general support to assist in the day to day running of the label in the UK and Europe. For more information and to apply click here. |
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ATC LIVE - SENIOR BOOKING ASSISTANT (LONDON) ATC Live is a live booking agency based in Camden, London, and we are looking for a senior booking assistant to join our team. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly organised and motivated senior booking assistant to join a busy live booking agency. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT - SENIOR ONBOARD MANAGER (LONDON) The primary focus of the client Onboarding team is to work in conjunction with our Tech team to transition the new clients' data onto Kobalt's proprietary systems and into the ongoing day-to-day processes of the core Operational teams. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT - AWAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT ASSISTANT (LONDON) AWAL serves a growing roster of emerging talent and already established independent artists from all over the world. As our AWAL community continues to grow, we're now looking for someone to join our client management team to help support these labels and artists using the cutting-edge AWAL tools. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT - ASSISTANT, CLIENT RELATIONS (LONDON) Our growing Client Relations team in London is looking for a confident and detail oriented self-starter to support with crucial day-to-day tasks such as transitioning new clients into the Kobalt system and carrying out internal reviews and quality checks. For more information and to apply click here. |
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DOMINO - PRODUCT MANAGER (LONDON) Domino seeks a Product Manager to join its London team. Product Managers at Domino are in charge of running artist campaigns inside the company. For more information and to apply click here. |
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SONGULAR MUSIC - PLAYLIST PROMOTIONS (LONDON) Join the UK's top streaming promotions company and play a key role in helping some of the world's most exciting new artists get heard. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE ORCHARD - INDIE SALES MANAGER (LONDON) The Orchard has a vacancy for an Indie Sales Manager servicing independent record shops and online accounts. Candidates should ideally have experience working with music retail, distribution or at a label. For more information and to apply click here. |
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CMU PRIMER: KEY MUSIC BUSINESS TRENDS 2018 These are sessions that we run in-house at music companies or companies working with music. As we head into 2018, CMU Insights is now offering music companies a special two-hour primer session reviewing five key areas of the music business, summarising important developments from the last twelve months and looking at the challenges that lie ahead in the next year. Including: the streaming business, piracy, safe harbour, ticketing and data. CLICK HERE to find out more about this CMU Insights primer. |
Over 300 women call out sexual harassment and abuse in the Australian music industry
Inspired by the nearly 2000 women working in the Swedish music industry who last month demanded an end to a corporate culture that too often tolerates sexual harassment and abuse, over 300 women working in the Australian music business have now signed an open letter calling for similar reform.
As previously reported, as Hollywood dealt with the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and as the #metoo movement gained momentum online, a much more frank conversation began within the music community about sexism - and sexual harassment, abuse and assault - within the music sector.
Last month's open letter in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter overtly put the spotlight on the misogynistic culture within Sweden's music industry that allows incidents of sexism and sexual harassment to become common place, and which makes victims of such harassment nervous of speaking out, fearing the negative impact doing so could have on their careers.
Just as that letter was being published, it emerged a senior executive at Warner Music Sweden had been suspended over allegations of sexual misconduct. That exec has since been fired, with Warner insisting it was seeking to learn from the incident and put better procedures in place to protect its employees from such abuse.
The new letter signed by women working in the Australian music business begins: "We are artists, musicians, managers, lawyers, booking agents, record label employees, publicists and more. We are not whingers or vibe-killers. We are passionate people dedicating our lives to music. In the face of uncountable discrimination, harassment, violence and the general menace of sexist jargon, we have gritted our teeth and gotten on with the job. But today we say, no more".
As with the open letter from the Swedish music community, the new letter describes various specific incidents of sexism and sexual harassment experienced by some of the signatories.
It then goes on: "Together we say #meNOmore. Together, we give a voice to these issues and demand zero tolerance for sexual harassment, violence, objectification and sexist behaviours. There is no place for sexual entitlement in the workplace and in our industry. Change starts today".
It continues: "We have listened to our friends. We have names of perpetrators. We know the same names that are repeated in unrelated circles. It saddens us that the people who hold us in fear and keep us silenced are people we work with, people who many of us have aspired to work under, and people who some of us have known as friends. These people need to be held accountable".
"To the men who support and work alongside us - you are a vital part of this conversation. Be kind, listen and act if you know of something happening. Stand beside us and call out those who let us all down and who hurt our friends. To everyone who has a story to share, we hear you and this letter is for you to know that you are not alone".
Concluding, the letter states: "To future workers of the Australian music industry - this is for you. We will continue to fight together so that one day, we can all work safely in a respectful, inclusive and supportive industry".
The 300+ women signing the new letter also acknowledged their Swedish counterparts. They say: "We want to thank our colleagues in the Swedish music industry who came forward with a powerful open letter that inspired us to do the same. In its honesty and precision, it relays an experience which is so often hard to pinpoint or qualify".
You can read the Swedish letter here and the new Australian letter, via The Industry Observer, here.
As previously reported, in the UK, the Musicians' Union has staged open meetings for their members to discuss harassment and will be working with its counterparts elsewhere in Europe to identify practical initiatives to make the music industry a better place to work. Commenting on those conversations, the Union's Assistant General Secretary Naomi Pohl recently wrote: "We need nothing short of wholesale cultural change in our industry, for every musician to understand what is acceptable in a workplace and what is not".
Sony/ATV extends deal with Jamie Scott
Sony/ATV has extended its existing worldwide publishing agreement with songwriter Jamie Scott. The deal covers his entire catalogue, including work for One Direction, Major Lazer, Rag N Bone Man, The Vamps, Jessie Ware and Rudimental.
"Jamie Scott is a true melodic genius and a songwriter who develops hits constantly with a real understanding of the artist", says Sony/ATV UK MD Guy Moot. "He has a unique perspective of what it means to be a new artist, with a compassion for and an understanding of where they come from".
Scott adds: "I'm so grateful that Guy and the great team at Sony/ATV have given me so much support over the last few years. I'm excited for the years ahead and for all that we can achieve together".
Among Scott's credits, he has contributed his songwriting skills to all five of One Direction's albums. He also continues to work with 1Der Niall Horan on his solo career. He was executive producer of Rag N Bone Man's 'Human' album, as well as co-writing a number of its songs, and also co-wrote 'Cold Water' by Major Lazer, featuring MØ and Justin Bieber.
As well as working behind the scenes, he also released a solo album, 'My Hurricane', in 2014, and two LPs as Graffiti6, a collaboration with producer Tommy D.
Richard Howle joins The Ticket Factory
Ticketing firm The Ticket Factory has appointed Richard Howle as its Director Of Ticketing, which seems like a good thing for a ticketing firm - not to mention an actual ticket factory - to have.
"I am THRILLED to join The Ticket Factory and to bring my experience of running in-house ticketing operations to the role", says Howle. "It is a company I have long admired with a well-deserved reputation for delivering excellence".
You see how Howle mentioned his experience of running "in-house ticketing operations" just there? Well, that was in his previous job as Commercial Director of Really Useful Theatres, a position he held for nearly five years.
Howle goes on: "I am looking forward to building The Ticket Factory brand at this pivotal point in the company's history, having just celebrated its tenth anniversary. Over the past decade, The Ticket Factory has established itself as an industry challenger in a highly competitive, fast-moving industry and has an exciting future ahead".
The Ticket Factory is owned by Birmingham-based venue operator the NEC Group, whose MD Phil Mead adds: "Richard's appointment will serve to further strengthen the offering of The Ticket Factory in an increasingly competitive marketplace. It has a unique partnership with the NEC Group Arenas, and with Richard's direction, the businesses will be able to work even closer together to provide a seamless experience for clients and customers alike".
Der Spiegel releases audio from Morrissey interview
Having been accused of fabricating quotes by Morrissey, German news magazine Der Spiegel has released the full unedited audio of its interview with the former Smiths frontman. And, hey, it turns out he did say those things.
"Morrissey said in a Facebook post that Der Spiegel had incorrectly reproduced his statements, concluding that the fact that we have not yet published the recording of the conversation is an indirect admission of guilt", said the publication. "To counter this, we have decided to put the interview online now - even if it is self-evident from our point of view that interviews published in Der Spiegel do not contain false or misleading citations".
As previously reported, Morrissey has twice denied that he said a number of the things that were quoted in the original published interview. In a written statement over the weekend, he specifically denied that he'd said he would kill Donald Trump or that he defended Kevin Spacey against sexual assault accusations.
However, in the recording, he is heard to say that he would press a button to kill Trump if such a thing existed. He also suggests that the teenage boy who Spacey is accused of assaulting, and the teenager's parents, should accept some responsibility for what happened. Other comments on Brexit, nationalism and Harvey Weinstein that were widely reported also feature the recording.
Lyor Cohen to give SXSW keynote
Record industry veteran Lyor Cohen has been announced as the keynote speaker for SXSW's music conference next year. It'll be Cohen's first big speaking engagement since becoming Head Of Music at YouTube, and since the music industry subsequently turned on him.
As previously reported, YouTube hired "lion of the music industry" Cohen last year. It was seemingly hoped that the former Universal and Warner exec would rebuild some bridges between the video platform and an increasingly hostile music industry. To date, it's not gone so well.
In August this year, Cohen wrote a blog post, in which he basically said that music companies should just trust that YouTube is going to deliver them big revenues eventually.
He added that the music industry's campaigning against YouTube's use of safe harbour law is "a distraction". If you've somehow missed all this, I hope I'm not spoiling it when I tell you that Cohen's optimism and advice was not received positively.
Various music industry trade bodies - including the RIAA and AI2M in the US and the BPI in the UK - quickly moved to reject Cohen's proclamations. Which is why, with some heckling already done in written form, this SXSW keynote may become a sequel to that MIDEM panel a few years ago, where Vice President of YouTube Content Tom Pickett was the recipient of a lot of angry shouting.
SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest managed not to rub his hands together and say "I hope so" when announcing the keynote yesterday. Instead, his statement on the matter went like this: "Over his 30 year career Lyor Cohen has been behind the most prolific musical acts and at the helm of the biggest labels. His creativity and passion to keep the music industry innovative continue to flourish with his leadership at YouTube".
So, yes, get ready for some shouting in March.
| Approved: Qrion It's a couple of years now since we last featured Qrion in this column, and since then she's continued to put out excellent new tracks, mixes and remixes at a pretty consistent rate. Now she's back with a new two track release - featuring 'Quick Turn' and 'Bring Back' - through Skrillex's Nest HQ label. "The songs I create are always meaningful to me, but these two specifically are special", she tells Fader. "I really tried to re-discover an older style that I have written in before. I listened to my old stuff again and again, back and forth, and it brought the old me back". She goes on: "I was finally able to re-connect with some of my traditional inspiration. It was a wonderful experience musically, I felt like I was time travelling within my own life. The result is truly heart warming for me and hopefully for anyone that hears these songs". It's certainly true that, running throughout their infectiously upbeat sound, there is a real sense that Qrion particularly enjoyed making these new tracks. Download and stream both for free on the Nest HQ website. Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist. |
Miguel denies re-emerging sexual assault accusation
Miguel has denied an accusation of sexual assault, initially made earlier this year, which has re-emerged in a new article published by Spin.
In March, a woman named Xian Bass said in two Instagram posts that she had met the musician in a club and approached him for a photograph. After she'd taken a selfie, she says he pulled one of her breasts out from her top without consent.
"You then proceeded to look at my naked breast with such a disgusting look on your face", she said. "Have you gotten away with this in the past? Well, it stops HERE and NOW. I will not sit in shameful silence and allow sexual assault to be normalized".
Asked about the accusation by TMZ at the time, Miguel said: "I think we're just in a time where people are really looking for attention in the wrong ways. In this age, I guess, you just gotta be more aware of how things can be and how things can be spun".
Speaking to Spin in a newly published article, Bass has further detailed the alleged incident. She also says that she reported it to police the same night, but that she was subsequently told that - without other women coming forward to say that they had also been assaulted or harassed by the musician - there was little that could be done.
In a new statement, Miguel says: "I felt I had already addressed how bizarre and twisted this accusation was when I was asked about it in March. Her story of what transpired is not accurate and the accusation is unfair and unwarranted".
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Gene Simmons denies doing anything to warrant Fox News ban
Gene Simmons has denied doing anything to warrant being banned from appearing on Fox News. Despite being banned from appearing on Fox News.
As previously reported, a source recently told The Daily Beast that Simmons had barged into a meeting at Fox after appearing on Fox Business's 'Mornings With Maria' programme to promote his new book. It was claimed that he shouted "hey chicks, sue me", and then tore open his shirt, before making jokes about Michael Jackson and paedophilia, and hitting two people on the head with his book.
Simmons subsequently said that the report was "highly exaggerated and misleading" but that he was "sincerely sorry that I unintentionally offended members of the Fox team during my visit".
Now, speaking to BBC News's 'Hardtalk' show, he denied that he did anything at all, saying: "Somebody there apparently had the goods in for me and called something called The Daily Beast or something and said whatever they said I did. I did nothing. I always had people around me. Like when I come here, I've got handlers and everybody sees what I'm doing. You can't go into a public area and do anything".
He added that Fox had "closed ranks" because the broadcaster is "afraid of getting sued by everybody".
As for questions about further allegations of sexual misconduct made against the Kiss man in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, he said: "All of a sudden, 44 years on in a rock band, somebody's coming up and saying, 'This guy is a bad guy'. It's not true. I think the climate is horrifically bad and yet at the same time empowering to the right women. There are some really bad guys out there, I just happen not to be one of them".
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Cibo Matto split
Cibo Matto have announced that they are splitting up again, with the group's two members Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori returning to their solo projects.
The duo reformed in 2011, having originally split in 2002, and released an album, 'Hotel Valentine', in 2014. Despite a flurry of activity around the world around the release of that album, they have done little together since 2015.
Confirming that their creative relationship has again halted, they said in a statement: "We'd like to announce that Cibo Matto is moving to a new phase. Miho and Yuka will be doing their solo works and 'Hotel Valentine' will be our last album. We'd like to thank you so much for your love and support. Hopefully you understand that this is a necessary and positive change for us".
Their third long player, 'Hotel Valentine', came fifteen years after their second, 'Stereo Type A'. We made them one of our artists of the year that year, because it's a great album. Go and listen to it now.
Frank Ocean, Lily Allen, The Cure, more
Other notable announcements and developments today...
• BMG has promoted Allegra Willis Knerr to the role of VP Film & TV Licensing. "Over the last years she has played an invaluable part of building and growing the US Film & TV Licensing team to what it is today and we are confident this success story is going to continue", says Global EVP Licensing & Marketing Patrick Joest.
• Frank Ocean now has his own radio station in videogame 'Grand Theft Auto V'. As well as six Ocean songs, it also features music from Migos, Aphex Twin, Chief Keef, JME, Marvin Gaye, Todd Rundgren and more.
• Lily Allen has released a new single, 'Trigger Bang', featuring Giggs.
• MGMT have released the second single from their upcoming new album 'Little Dark Age'. This is 'When You Die'.
• Austra have released 'Future Politics' outtake 'Change The Paradigm'. "I wish 'Change The Paradigm' had made it onto the record because it directly embodies what I wanted to express on 'Future Politics'", says band leader Katie Stelmanis.
• Susanna has released the second single from her upcoming new album 'Go Dig My Grave', a cover of folk song 'Freight Train'.
• Girl Ray's Christmas single, '(I Wish I Were Giving You A Gift) This Christmas' now has a video.
• The Cure will play a 40th anniversary show in Hyde Park in July next year, as part of the British Summer Time festival. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
• Chloe Howl has announced that she will play The Pickle Factory in London on 7 Feb. She's just put out a video for recent single 'Do It Alone' too.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Harry Styles (briefly) replaces James Corden as Late Late Show host
Sometimes you forget that James Corden hosts a major late night chat show in the US now, don't you? It just doesn't seem like a thing that would happen. Well, last night we could all pretend it never did happen, because Corden was nowhere to be seen when the show went to air. Instead, that bloody Harry Styles was there, cracking jokes and grinning to the camera.
Styles stepped in to host the show at short notice after Corden's wife Julia went into labour with their third child. Explaining his presence as the show opened, Styles said: "This is very exciting, just half an hour ago, James and his wife Jules had a beautiful baby girl. In fact, I was just at the hospital before I came to fill in, and she looks a lot like James. Mainly because James looks like a giant baby".
He added: "I want you to know that I of course realise that this is James's show and this is a one time only thing. Unless, CBS like what they see".
If his success on the show does mean he becomes a permanent replacement for Corden, it could mean the end of Styles' singing career. Which would be two birds, one stone I guess. Corden doesn't seem too concerned though. He later thanked Styles for stepping in at "two and a half hours' notice".
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CMU supports the music community by providing news, business intelligence, training and education. CMU Daily covers all the latest news and developments direct by email. Setlist is a weekly podcast dissecting the biggest music business stories. CMU Premium gives you access to the weekly CMU Digest and CMU Trends. CMU Insights provides training and consultancy for music companies. CMU:DIY provides workshops and resources for future music talent.
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