YouTube to start issuing ISNI numbers to creators
YouTube has become a registration agency for the International Standard Name Identifier system, which means it will now start requesting and issuing ISNI codes from and to any creators who publish content via the video platform, including musicians and songwriters.

The ISNI system was launched in 2011 to deal with the fact that - because of a general lack of imagination amongst all parents ever - people who create stuff often have the same name as other people who create stuff. By using the ISNI code it makes it easier for distribution and publishing platforms to identify which exact people were involved in any one piece of content, which helps with attribution and royalty payments.

It wasn't the first time it occurred to people that artists and songwriters having the same name could cause confusion. Other similar standards systems already exist in music for identifying specific performers and writers. In particular the IPN (International Performer Name) system for artists, and the IPI (Interested Party Information) system which is used by the music publishing sector and its collecting societies to identify songwriters, composers, arrangers and publishers.

The ISNI system is not specific to any one creative discipline, and codes can be allocated to anyone who contributes to a creative work. Which, according to the ISNI International Agency, might include "researchers, inventors, writers, artists, visual creators, performers, producers, publishers, aggregators, and more".

Given that many musicians are also songwriters, and may also have careers as authors, actors, designers, producers and so on, the ISNI system is useful. Rather than having a code for each aspect of their career, they can have a single identifier. Or, as is more likely to happen - given how well established IPNs and IPIs already are - the ISNI could be used to unite all those codes that are specific to a creative discipline. Because you can never have too many codes.

Either way, YouTube will use the ISNI code to identify musicians and songwriters on its platform, allocating numbers to those who don't already have one. It also plans to share those codes with any one creator's business partners, such as record labels and music publishers, to encourage wider adoption of the identifier system.

Thinking about it, it would be a whole lot more efficient if everyone could just start writing, producing and performing under their ISNI code. In this social, sharing, blockchain age, we really should be moving beyond old fashioned names. I mean, I'd wear 0000 0001 1479 1200 on a t-shirt, and I'm not even a fan of Justin Bieber.

Says YouTube's Technical Program Manager FX Nuttall: "By adopting ISNI, artists, songwriters and other creators will be unambiguously identified, enabling better visibility and tracking on YouTube. Bringing the ISNI open standard to music opens the door to more accurate credit for creators, discovery for fans, and transparency for the industry".

Speaking for the aforementioned ISNI International Agency, which oversees the identifier system, its Executive Director Tim Devenport said: "We're delighted to partner with YouTube on such an ambitious effort. Many organisations active in the music sector have already shown interest in using ISNI identifiers as part of the infrastructure they need to manage rights and royalties effectively".

He added: "Working closely with YouTube, ISNI is very pleased to contribute its experience and skill-sets to these critical objectives. We view this as a transformative opportunity to offer the music industry a valuable identifier scheme and in so doing, to deepen ISNI's knowledge of this domain and improve its technical facilities and approaches".

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Shakira investigated by Spanish tax authority, as she announces world tour
Shakira announced that she would play her first UK show since 2010 yesterday, which, for a few hours, was Monday's big Shakira news. Then tax authorities in Spain announced that they are investigating the musician for possible tax evasion.

According to La Vanguardia, the Colombian pop star, who is married to Barcelona football player Gerard Piqué, became a full resident, and therefore tax payer, of Spain in 2015.

However, the authorities reckon, she should also have been paying tax on her worldwide earnings between 2011 and 2014. They reckon that she was basically resident in the country then too, even though she had not declared herself as such. Anyone who spends more than six months of a year in Spain is considered liable for tax in the country.

Various sources argue that she has not, in fact, done anything wrong, adding that the pop star's tax affairs were managed properly throughout. Either way, her case has been passed by the country's tax authorities onto prosecutors, who will now decide whether or not to pursue any legal action against her.

It seems this is all the result of wider scrutiny into the earnings of footballers by the Spanish government, which has seen several players prosecuted in recent years. Last year, Piqué's teammate Lionel Messi was sentenced to 21 months in prison, although a quirk of the Spanish legal system has meant he's never actually been locked up.

With Shakira planning to head out on a world tour this year - including her 11 Jun show at the O2 Arena in London - a prison sentence would not be ideal. Though a prison sentence that never actually involves any jail time would be less of a hassle.

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Hotel California is still Hotel California after settling Eagles lawsuit
Hotel California in the Mexican town of Todos Santos will continue to operate under the name of Hotel California after it settled a lawsuit with The Eagles last week.

The Eagles sued Hotel California last year, claiming that the hotel was implying to guests that it was in someway endorsed by the band. It did this, the band, not only by sharing its name with one of The Eagles' most famous songs, but by piping their music around the building and selling merchandise that suggested some sort of official connection.

The bricks and mortar Hotel California was actually named such long before The Eagles wrote their song, it being located on the Baja California Peninsula that runs alongside the Gulf Of California. See, there's more to California that just California.

However, it changed its name at various points in the latter half of the 20th century before reverting to Hotel California in 2001. It is since then, The Eagles alleged, that marketing materials have falsely implied an association with the band and/or their song.

Things actually went legal after Hotel California, which already owns trademarks in that brand in Mexico, tried to trademark the name in the US. Last week's settlement of the lawsuit followed the news the hotel had withdrawn its trademark application north of the border.

Terms of the deal are not known, though the hotel confirmed it would continue to operate under its current name. It's not clear whether it will stop selling all that merch that the band specifically objected to. A lawyer for the hotel did state that his client "claims no association with The Eagles or with [their] song and record album 'Hotel California'".

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Sony/ATV extends deal with Jack Antonoff
Sony/ATV has extended its deal with in-demand songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff. So that's good news for all of them.

"Jack is a much-loved part of the Sony/ATV family and I couldn't be prouder of his success, especially over this past year when he has enjoyed a run of number one successes as well as receiving two Grammy nominations", says Sony/ATV boss Marty Bandier. "He is one of the most talented and successful songwriters in music today, which is why so many of the world's biggest artists want to work with him. I am very happy that Jack will continue to be part of our team".

Antonoff adds: "Sony/ATV has believed in me before I had any songs on the radio or any songs that sold more than a couple hundred copies. That means the world to me".

Releases Antonoff had a hand in last year included albums by Taylor Swift, Lorde, Pink and St Vincent. Not a bad run. He also has his own joint venture with Sony/ATV - Rough Customer - which he launched in 2015, making Grimes his first signing in 2016. So that's all great, and the busier he is, the less likely it becomes that his own band Fun will release any more music. Everyone's a winner.

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Childish Gambino allies with Sony Music's RCA
Childish Gambino is allying with Sony Music for his next record, which will be put out by the major's RCA US division via a partnership with the actor/rapper's LA-based management firm Wolf & Rothstein.

The deal sees Gambino - aka Donald Glover - shift over to Sony from Glassnote, which released his previous three albums, backed up by Universal Music distribution.

The Rothstein of Wolf & Rothstein said that they were attracted to Sony because the major was willing to enter into more of a partnership with the management firm. According to Variety, Fam Rothstein noted "being malleable is important to us, and that's what this partnership allows".

Meanwhile RCA CEO Peter Edge says: "Donald is undoubtedly one of the most talented, multi-faceted, young entertainers of this era. We are excited to join forces with him and Wolf & Rothstein to usher in the next phase of Childish Gambino's musical career".

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Warner/Chappell signs Moss Kena
Warner/Chappell has signed a worldwide publishing deal with rising singer-songwriter Moss Kena, who came to wider attention via a soulful cover of Kendrick Lamar's 'These Walls'. The publishing deal comes as she preps the release of a new EP - 'Found You In 06' - via Sony Music's Ministry Of Sound label.

Confirming the deal, Warner/Chappell's Katie Vinten said: "Moss Kena is an incredible talent who approaches songwriting with a fresh and forward-thinking style. The world has only experienced a small taste of the powerful music Moss has to offer, and we are so excited to help amplify what is already a rapidly growing career".

"But why is the new EP called 'Found You In 06'?" is the question you're all surely not asking but which I'm going to answer anyway. 2006 is "basically the time in my life when I really had my musical awakening", says Kena. That was partly via Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black' album, she adds. "I really felt I had found music I connected with [and] that started to shape my musical identity". So now you know. You're welcome.

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Apple Music to launch analytics for artists
Apple has announced the launch of Apple Music For Artists, which is like Spotify For Artists, but on Apple Music rather than Spotify. I'm glad to have cleared that up. It aims to provide artists and managers with stats and data to better understand their fans' listening and buying habits.

The new stats dashboard offers data on streams and iTunes downloads dating back to the 2015 launch of Apple Music. It also identifies key milestones as bullet points for specific tracks or an artists' entire catalogue. Stats can further be broken down by country, city and demographic.

Currently in beta, the feature will initially only be available to a few thousand artists, in order to test it out and highlight any improvements required. A full roll out is expected in the spring.

Apple Music is quite late to the 'let's provide some stats to artists and managers' party. As well as Spotify, companies including Pandora and YouTube already offer data and analytics directly to artists. In part it's a means of trying to stop those pesky artists from constantly moaning about how small their royalty payments are.

Of course, anyone who wants to know how licensing and royalties on streaming services work, should buy a copy of 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' from Amazon.

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Neil Diamond retires from touring, following Parkinson's diagnosis
Neil Diamond has announced that he is retiring from touring, following a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Taking immediate effect, the announcement means the cancellation of the remainder of his 50th anniversary tour.

In a statement, Diamond said: "It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honoured to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years. My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows".

He assured fans that he was not retiring from music altogether, saying: "I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come. My thanks go out to my loyal and devoted audiences around the world. You will always have my appreciation for your support and encouragement. This ride has been 'so good, so good, so good' thanks to you".

Diamond had been scheduled to perform a string of shows in Australia and New Zealand in March and April this year.

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Relentless Records, Warner/Chappell, Migos, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Relentless Records has named Lloyd Murray as its new A&R Manager. Murray says this is a "dream come true", while company president Shabs Jobanputra is "THRILLED".

• Warner/Chappell has made Javier Dean A&R Director at Warner/Chappell Music Spain. "I'm very excited", says Dean.

• EMI Production Music is launching a new show on Soho Radio called 'The Music Library'. It'll feature a mix of new and old tracks from the library music label's various catalogues. The first show is on 24 Jan at 4pm.

• Eight composers have been selected to take part in PRS For Music's new Accelerate initiative. The seven men and one woman will develop new works for a concert in November. They are: Daniel Chappell, Michael Cryne, Eloise Gynn, Robin Haigh, Patrick John Jones, Robert Laidlow, Matthew Olyver and George Stevenson.

• The latest recipients of funding from the Momentum Music Fund have been announced. They are: Abi Ocia, Black Honey, Caro, Flohio, Hak Baker, Inheaven, Leon Vynehall, Litany, Lyla Foy, Nilufer Yanya, Nimmo, Only Girl, Orla Gartland, Ralfy, Rina Sawayama, Suspect, Swimming Tapes, Szun Waves, Tempa and Whyte Horses.

• Migos have released new track 'Supastars', taken from their imminent new album 'Culture II'.

• Julian Casablancas' band The Voidz have released a new single, 'Leave It In My Dreams'. There'll be an album later this year apparently.

• Vic Mensa has released the video for new single 'We Could Be Free', taken from his 2017 album 'The Autobiography'.

• There's a new IAMX album coming out on 2 Feb, called 'Alive In A New Light'. Here's a preview of the title track.

• Tricot have released new single, 'On The Boom'. The performance in the video was filmed as part of Japanese TV show 'Live Tips'.

• Ed Sheeran is joining the big BRITs Week party. He'll play IndigO2 on 19 Feb. As with all the pre-BRITs live shows, tickets will be given out by ballot. To be in with a chance, you'll have to donate £5 to War Child. More info here.

• Run-DMC will play the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 5 Jul. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

• It looks like Slayer are splitting up - or at least not touring anymore. They have announced a "final" world tour, with support from Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Behemoth and Testament.

• Art School Girlfriend has announced that she will play the Sebright Arms in London on 13 Mar. She's also released the video for 'Measures', from her 2017 debut EP.

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

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Andy Rourke denies involvement in Classically Smiths show
Well, the (sort of) Smiths reunion is going well. Already lacking a Morrissey and a Marr, now Andy Rourke says he's not taking part.

Yesterday, the Manchester Camerata Orchestra announced a new show featuring orchestral versions of Smiths songs. Like the orchestra's Hacienda Classical show, a big selling point is the involvement of some of the people originally involved in the music being performed. In this case, the big names are Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, drummer Mike Joyce and guitarist (for a few months in 1986) Craig Gannon.

In a press release, Rourke was quoted as saying: "To have been there the first time round and seen it first hand, and to still be such a big fan of The Smiths today, I am both THRILLED and excited to be involved in Classically Smiths. I'm really proud of the band's work, and being able to present those songs again in this particular production format promises to be a real gift for audiences everywhere".

Except he's now claiming that he didn't say that at all. In fact, he says, that whole quote - even the bit about being THRILLED - had nothing to do with him.

In a statement, Rourke says: "I am deeply saddened that during the week of the death of my dear friend Dolores O'Riordan, that false statements are made on my behalf. At no time did I give my consent for anyone in connection with this Classically Smiths project to act on my behalf or my name and nothing was ever confirmed, approved or contracted by me or my team".

In a further statement, a spokesperson for Rourke says: "At no point in time did Andy Rourke agree to participate or otherwise license or authorise the use of his name, likeness or any personal quotes in any manner in connection with this Classically Smiths project. The parties involved were advised of this on multiple occasions prior to them going to press. A press conference and press release were scheduled and serviced to the media without Andy Rourke's or his team's knowledge or approval".

"Any quotes by Andy Rourke that were attributed in any press materials in regards to the Classically Smiths project were not provided, authorised or otherwise approved by him or his representatives", they add.

Neither production company Bad Productions or the Manchester Camerata Orchestra have offered any comment as yet. Nor have Joyce and Gannon, although they have been pushing the show, including Rourke's involvement, on social media.

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