Music companies must "rethink strategies" to end culture of sexual abuse
Following the lead of women working in the Swedish and Australian music industries, a group of British music executives have launched a campaign to tackle sexual harassment and abuse - and the misogynistic culture that allows such behaviour - in the UK music sector.

The Stop2018 campaign was launched yesterday to coincide with an edition of the BBC's 'Victoria Derbyshire Show' in which a number of women working in music both on and off stage - including Chloe Howl, Yasmin Lajoie and Michelle de Vries - discussed their own experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry.

Artist manager Lajoie told the BBC: "You'd be hard pressed to find a woman working in the industry today who's never been a victim of sexual harassment or abuse".

Frustrated by that fact, Lajoie began gathering information about specific incidents from other women working in the business. "I expected stories of sexual harassment", she said. "What I've actually received are stories of rape happening on company property, men insisting on oral sex from young women, men seriously assaulting women, raping them in apartments owned by major music companies".

After describing the repeated sexual misconduct of a more senior colleague at a major music company where she worked earlier in her career, music supervisor de Vries recalled: "We went to a lawyer and were categorically told that he had committed a serious crime. But the lawyer said, 'If you report this, you will never work in the industry again'".

She and a colleague resigned from the company in question but, she adds, the man who committed the crime still works in the industry. De Vries added: "I thought it was a hangover of the 80s and 90s, but it's very clear that this behaviour is still going on and young women are being sexually assaulted, still today".

Launching the Stop2018 campaign yesterday, the initiative's founders write: "We recently appeared on the BBC's 'Victoria Derbyshire Show' to talk about sexual assault, misogyny and bullying in the music industry. This is an issue that affects many women, but also men too. The decision to appear on the show was not taken lightly. It has been painful and has caused us individuals a great deal of anxiety and fear over the past few weeks. We believe that we have to stand up and end the toxic culture of silence around the issue".

They continue: "We are empowered because we are aware of many stories of severe abuse. These are stories of predatory behaviour, rape and assault usually on vulnerable persons by people in positions of power. As the journalist said on the show, she had interviewed many, many individuals in the industry with horrific experiences all of whom had been afraid of repercussions if they speak out".

Confirming their key objective, the founders add: "We went on the show to tell our stories. We wanted to let women and men know that you are not alone. If you have experienced a sexual assault or have been made to leave your job because of bullying and harassment you are not the one at fault, however bad you have been made to feel".

As previously reported, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood, there has been a much more frank conversation about sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry. However, to be of value that conversation now needs to lead to positive action. Or, in the words of Musicians' Union Assistant General Secretary Naomi Pohl: "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".

With that in mind, the Stop2018 campaign has a specific agenda to kickstart that positive action. The founders continue: "While we applaud many wonderful individuals in the music industry who denounce harassment, misogynistic and bullying behaviour there are still many companies and persons currently working that are in the dark ages with regards to harassment issues, women's rights and equality".

They go on: "It has been made clear to us time and time again that when experiencing sexual assault and bullying, individuals currently have nowhere or no one to turn to. History shows that those who have spoken up have been silenced, ostracised and completely let down, usually being the ones to lose their jobs and not the perpetrator".

The campaign then proposes four immediate action points.

First, that the industry's trade organisations - possibly via UK Music - set up a safe place "where anyone working in the industry can speak in confidence knowing that they will not be the ones who have to suffer repercussions".

Secondly, that "all music companies rethink their strategies, and stop working with individuals and other companies who exhibit any predatory or bullying behaviour, whether it be an employee, an artist, a producer, or a manager, a lawyer, a publicist or an agent or anyone associated with the business, however powerful and successful they may be".

Thirdly, noting that pay inequality helps contribute to a sexist culture within companies, the campaign says it is "calling for women to be paid the same as men and to receive the same benefits in the work place. We want to see an end to the common practice that when men and women are hired at the same time, the man is often given more assistance and offered better opportunities to advance their careers - we want to see women offered the same promotion opportunities as men".

And finally: "We are calling for an end to managers and labels telling artists they need to wear provocative clothing or to flirt with executives to be successful".

Concluding, the founders of the Stop2018 campaign write: "Above all our hope is that 2018 is the year that bullying, misogyny, sexual harassment, assault and rape in the music industry stops. We want the business we all love so much to become a safe place for everyone to work".

You can read more about the 'Victoria Derbyshire Show' report here and get more information about the Stop2018 campaign here.

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Judge declines to sack bank administrating the Prince estate
A judge in Minnesota has declined to remove the bank Comercia from its role administering the Prince estate. Three of the late musician's heirs last month filed papers with the court requesting that Comercia be axed from its current role. The other three heirs then objected to that proposal.

As previously reported, there have been various disagreements between Prince's siblings since his untimely death last year. Though all six heirs did initially agree to Comercia Bank taking over the administration of the estate from the Bremer Trust, which undertook that role on an interim basis until earlier this year.

However, while all six heirs may have approved the appointment of Comercia, three of them almost immediately raised concerns once the bank had started work. Things then seemingly came to a head when it was decided to move the master recordings stored in the vault at Prince's Paisley Park home to a storage facility in California. Two of the musician's half sisters - Sharon and Norrine Nelson - said they had not been consulted about that move.

Judge Kevin Eide yesterday ruled that it would not be in the best interests of the Prince estate to remove Comercia from its administrator role. Instead he appointed a retired judge to act as a mediator between the bank and the heirs to the estate, presumably hoping that that can relieve tensions between the disgruntled heirs and the bankers.

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Apple Music sued over unpaid mechanicals Stateside
Apple Music has got itself one of those super fashionable mechanical royalty lawsuits in the US - and just in time for Christmas! According to Billboard, lawyer Richard Garbarini filed a class action against the Apple streaming service at the weekend, naming independent songwriter Bryan Eich as the first member of the class.

As much previously reported, pretty much every streaming service has been accused of not paying all the so called mechanical royalties due to US songwriters and music publishers for the songs they stream. The lawsuits on this issue against Spotify have garnered the most attention, but a plethora of other services have also been sued, with Garbarini himself behind previous lawsuits against Tidal, Slacker and Google Play.

The services argue that they'd love to pay everyone their mechanical royalties - adding that they are already handing over all the accompanying performing right royalties due to writers and publishers - but that an entirely inept licensing framework for mechanicals Stateside makes it tricky to ensure everyone gets the money they are due.

The main problem is that, unlike in most other countries, there isn't an industry-wide mechanical rights collecting society able to offer streaming services a blanket licence.

Such societies do exist for performing rights - in the form of ASCAP, BMI, GMR and SESAC - which means on that side of the song copyright the digital platform can pay a society which then works out which writers and publishers are due the money. But on the mechanicals side of the song copyright no such society exists, so the streaming service must identify the song being streamed, and all the beneficiaries of the song copyright.

There are agencies that can help with that task, and many streaming firms have used the Harry Fox Agency, which was previously owned by the music publishing sector's trade body. Though that hasn't stopped a big stack of writers and publishers going unpaid.

Moves are now afoot to establish a mechanical rights collecting society in the US that could offer that all-important blanket licence, though that will require a change to the statutory compulsory licence that covers mechanicals in America. If that does happen, the digital services will no longer need to identify songs and songwriters, instead handing over all the money to one society, which can then take over failing to pass on the money to the right people. Or pay them. It could pay them.

In the meantime, the lawsuits on unpaid mechanicals continue to mount up. Garbarini is seeking statutory damages of $30,000 for every song controlled by a class member which has been streamed by Apple Music without mechanical royalties being paid. Good times. And well done Apple. Now you've got an unpaid mechanicals lawsuit in the bag you're a proper streaming service.

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Gene Simmons denies accusations of sexual misconduct in new lawsuit
Gene Simmons has "vigorously" denied accusations of sexual misconduct made in a new lawsuit brought against him by an unnamed journalist.

The woman, listed as 'Jane Doe' on the lawsuit, says that the Kiss bassist made "several aggressive, unwanted sexual advances" during an interview in November, despite "active and clear discouragement".

Simmons was, according to the legal papers, being interviewed to promote the opening of a new Rock & Brews restaurant in San Bernadino, California - a chain of which he is a co-owner. The entire incident was captured on video, it adds, with several witnesses also in attendance.

It is claimed that Simmons made repeated attempts to grab the interviewer's hand as they spoke and "turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendo" throughout their conversation. He is also alleged to have "forcibly flicked/struck plaintiff Doe in the throat", at which point she attempted to terminate the interview.

His accuser is seeing undisclosed damages and requests a jury trial.

In a statement to Ultimate Classic Rock, Simmons says: "I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media".

He goes on: "For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence".

As previously reported, Simmons was recently banned from Fox News following an incident in which it is claimed he acted inappropriately towards female employees at the broadcaster. He denied those allegations.

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Universal acquires Stiff Records and ZTT
Universal Music has managed to squeeze in one more acquisition before the end of the year, taking ownership of the Stiff Records and ZTT labels and the Perfect Songs music publishing outfit. The acquisitions come via a deal with the SPZ Group, the independent music company co-founded by record producer Trevor Horn and his late wife Jill Sinclair.

Under the deal, Universal acquires the two labels, the entire ZTT back catalogue and select Stiff Records releases. Meanwhile Perfect Songs Publishing and its songs catalogue will become part of the Universal Music Publishing Group. Artists whose recordings and/or songs are part of the deal include Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Kirsty MacColl, Shane MacGowan, Art Of Noise and Lisa Stansfield.

Confirming the deal, Horn said: "Jill started Perfect Songs and ZTT in the 80s and I'm extremely proud of what she achieved. Lucian Grange and Jill were really good friends so I'm pleased that these catalogues are going to Universal. I'd like to thank all the writers and the artists on ZTT, Perfect and Stiff. It was a great experience and I enjoyed working with each one of you (most of the time)".

For his part, Universal top man Lucian Grainge added: "Stiff and ZTT are truly unique and iconic labels that captured the zeitgeist of their generation and experienced great commercial success, whilst influencing contemporary music entirely on their own terms. With Perfect Songs, we are adding an award-winning publishing catalogue, rich with hits, acclaim and global success. UMG is committed to building upon the legacy of these revolutionary labels, in keeping with the spirit of their founders".

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DJ Kaleb Freitas killed as stage collapses at Brazilian electronic music festival
A DJ was killed when a stage collapsed at Brazil's Atmosphere Festival on Sunday. Kaleb Freitas was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and died soon afterwards.

The event had gone ahead despite a severe weather warning, and video of the incident shows the site being hit by high winds. An investigation has now been launched into what exactly caused the stage to collapse. In addition to the death of Freitas, three more were injured during the incident.

In a statement, the festival said: "We are grieving. We have lost a friend, an artist. Our priority now is to assist the injured and their families. Meanwhile we thank the military and the fire department for all their assistance".

The statement added: "We always value the safety of our audience and follow all the processes requested by local authorities".

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UK government to drop genre obligations from radio licences
The UK government has announced plans to further deregulate commercial radio so that the genres of music each station plays will no longer be fixed in its licence agreement with media regulator OfCom. The announcement follows the previously reported government consultation on radio licensing that was launched earlier this year.

Broadcasting rules governing commercial radio have been relaxed numerous times over the years, though radio companies have been pushing for even more flexibility - especially when it comes to their music policies - arguing that fixed genre obligations date from a time when there were far fewer radio stations for listeners to choose from, and no online music services offering other alternatives.

Confirming that commercial radio would now get that extra flexibility, the Department For Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said yesterday that it was "removing these outdated rules that restrict the growth of the sector". This means "stations will no longer need to play specific genres as part of their licences" plus "there will be no requirement for OfCom to approve changes to programme formats".

Though, while on the music front the rules will pretty much shift to "anything goes", obligations for news provision will remain. The DDCMS added: "With recent research showing that radio is the most trusted medium for news, strong requirements will remain on commercial radio stations to provide national and local news as well as travel information and weather".

Confirming all this, Digital Minister Matt Hancock said: "The UK's thriving commercial radio sector is highly valued by local communities across the country. Removing these unnecessary burdens means commercial radio stations will have the freedom and flexibility to respond to their local audience and give listeners greater choice".

Some argue that, while the rule change in theory allows radio stations to experiment more with their musical output, most broadcasters - cut free from any obligations to air niche genres or new artists - will mainly experiment with playing ever more mainstream music. Though radio firms would argue that fans of any niche genres which may ultimately disappear from the FM dial as a result of this rule change can likely access plenty of music of that variety online, via online radio stations or the free streaming services.

Either way, radio industry trade group Radiocentre, which has long been pushing for the removal of genre obligations from radio licences, welcomed the announcement. Its CEO Siobhan Kenny said: "Radiocentre welcomes the government's plans for deregulation of the pre-internet age rules that govern commercial radio. The new rules will give stations greater flexibility in how they operate, unlocking the potential of commercial radio and giving listeners even more choice from their favourite radio brands. We now look forward to the government enacting these sensible changes at the earliest opportunity".

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As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis comments on 2014 attempted murder conviction
As I Lay Dying frontman (and currently the metal band's sole member) Tim Lambesis has issued a lengthy statement on his conviction for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his wife.

As previously reported, Lambesis was imprisoned in 2014, after admitting that he had asked a man, who turned out to be an undercover police officer, to kill his estranged wife. He was sentenced to six years in prison, but released on parole last December.

Although the other members of the band quit following Lambesis' conviction, in June this year a message appeared on the band's Facebook page saying "activity", suggesting that the project will continue in some form.

"Words cannot begin to express how deeply sorry I am for the hurt that I have caused", he begins. "There is no defence for what I did, and I look back on the person I became with as much disdain as many of you likely do".

He goes on to apologise to his wife and the couple's children - whom he then commits to never publicly discuss again - and to his wider family, as well as those he was associated with through music, and his fans.

As for his future plans, he says: "I cannot say for certain what life looks like going forward as so much is different now and I'm still learning. Music always has and always will be a part of me, and has helped me get through the darkest parts of my journey. However, this apology is not a part of promoting anything. Rumours circulate, and that's something I've learned to accept, but this apology is just that, an apology to everyone around me".

His statement now, he adds, comes as his probation period ends, meaning he is no longer under any restrictions from the court.

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BMG, Live Nation, Christmas number one, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• BMG has signed a deal with Steven Spielberg's film company Amblin Partners to administer its music publishing rights worldwide. "To be aligned [with Amblin] is not an obligation we take lightly", says BMG's Keith Hauprich.

• US music publishing company Pulse has signed a sub-publishing deal for Europe with CTM. "We are happy", says CTM MD André de Raaff.

• Live Nation boss Michael Rapino has signed a new five-year contract to continue leading the live giant through to the end of 2022, according to an SEC filing. The new deal is worth $9 million a year including bonuses plus some lovely stock on top. Which is nice. For him.

• Help Musicians UK and the MOBO Trust have announced the first eleven artists to receive grants from the two charities' new joint fund. Those artists are Agama, ArA Harmonic, Awate, Cat Delphi, Estée Blu, Griz-O, Haula, Lady Sanity, Merki Waters, Michelle O Faith and Signkid.

• Radio company Jack has announced plans to launch a new digital station early next year, which it promises will be "a brand-new format proposition that has never been heard anywhere in the world before". What could it be? Maybe it'll play music backwards.

• Ed Sheeran is currently heading for the Christmas number one spot with 'Perfect'. However, he has some competition from a collaboration between Eminem and some guy called Ed Sheeran on 'River'. Wham's 'Last Christmas', Rita Ora's 'Anywhere' and Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' make up the rest of the UK festive top five as of now. The actual Christmas chart for 2017 will be out on Friday, of course. By the way, don't watch Mariah Carey's new animated film of the same name as her ever-popular Christmas hit. It's really terrible.

• Björk has premiered her new video for 'Arisen' on WeTransfer. What fun.

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

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Morrissey claims he was questioned by the US Secret Service over Donald Trump comments
Morrissey has claimed that he was "cross-examined" by the US Secret Service as a result of his recent interview with Der Spiegel.

As previously reported, one of the things the former Smiths frontman said in the interview (although he denies it) was that if a hypothetic button existed that would kill Donald Trump, he would press it "for the good of humanity".

Somehow, this raised alarm bells within the security force tasked with protecting the president, and Morrissey was called in for a chat. It was all fine though, he says. They were "very very nice" and "assured me that they had no cause for concern". Although now he may never been allowed back into the US. Possibly.

"It was a direct result of Der Spiegel that I was cross-examined, which is very very sad", says Morrissey, in something akin to an alternative Queen's Speech posted on YouTube. "So, congratulations Der Spiegel, you achieved everything that you set out to do. Whether I'm again allowed free access to America, I really don't know. I have to wait and see if I can enter the country again".

If that was what Der Spiegel set out to do, then it was indeed very successful. I've never had such ambitious aims when I've interviewed pop stars. I feel silly now just going into interviews to ask people what they think about stuff.

Of course, what Morrissey thinks about stuff is often problematic. Although me even thinking that makes me one of the "haters" he refers to several times in the speech. And therefore I am part of the machine that has ensured his new album hasn't done as well as he hoped.

"I feel that the campaign for 'Low In High School', and for the surrounding singles, was derailed and damaged purposefully by the haters", he says. "They're not listening to the music. They're not listening to anything really. They see my name and they want to get rid of it as quickly as possible".

Sneaky hater plans or not, it's true that Morrissey's new music has possibly been overshadowed by all the reporting on the things he's said of late. Can he be blamed for that? What, with all his talking. Whatever, let's all go and listen to 'Low In High School' right now. Though not before we've all endured another eight minutes of Morrissey talking.

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