| Available to premium subscribers, CMU Trends digs deeper into the inner workings of the music business, explaining how things work and reviewing all the recent trends. | |
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TOP FIVE STREAMING CHALLENGES It's been a while since we've put the spotlight on challenges in the streaming sector. CMU Insights presented a new speed briefing on that very topic at the Output conference in Belfast this week. Based on that, here is a CMU Trends overview of the top five streaming challenges. [READ MORE] |
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TOP THREE MUSIC BUSINESS TRENDS IN JANUARY For the super busy music business professional, CMU Trends helps you keep up to speed on the most important developments in the music industry in recent weeks with a concise summary of the top three trends of the last month: mechanical rights in the US; agent of change; YouTube and safe harbour. [READ MORE] |
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REVIEWING THE SALES V LICENCE DEBATE It's four years now since CMU Trends last looked in on the sales v licence debate. But a new lawsuit filed by Enrique Iglesias against Universal Music is set to pose the question anew, this time very much from a streaming perspective. With that in mind, CMU Trends reviews the debate to date and what might happen next. [READ MORE] |
| TOP STORIES | US Copyright Royalty Board ignored the market when setting webcasting rates, says SoundExchange READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| DEALS | Carly Simon signs publishing deal with Universal READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| MEDIA | Trinity Mirror agrees to buy Richard Desmond's newspapers READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| RELEASES | James Bay releases new single, announces London show Peace release powerful new single READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| GIGS & FESTIVALS | BBC Music to host British Music Embassy SXSW showcases READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | Napster, PJ Harvey, Tove Styrke, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Beef Of The Week #390: Live music v Any fun at all READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| Check out all the latest job opportunities with CMU Jobs. To advertise your job opportunities here email [email protected] or call 020 7099 0906. | |
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O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN - ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER (LONDON) Academy Music Group is recruiting for an Assistant General Manager to assist in all aspects of the Operation of the building in relation to events staged at O2 Forum Kentish Town. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT MUSIC RECORDINGS - INTERNATIONAL LABEL & PRODUCT MANAGER (LONDON) Kobalt Music Recordings is looking for a flexible, confident and highly organised International Label & Product Manager, based out of our London office. For more information and to apply click here. |
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CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING - ROYALTY TRACKING MANAGER (LONDON) Concord Music Publishing's Royalty Tracking Manager role will focus on maximising client royalties through the tracking of missing revenue. A good understanding of UK, and potentially European, music collection societies and royalty processes is essential. For more information and to apply click here. |
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LISTEN UP - SENIOR PRESS OFFICER (LONDON) Listen Up is currently recruiting for a highly motivated Senior Press Manager with a passion for electronic music and industry relevant experience to join our rapidly growing team. For more information and to apply click here. |
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HOUSE OF BESTIVAL - NEW BUSINESS PROJECT MANAGER (LONDON) House of Bestival, the brand activation and creative prop house division of the Bestival group, is recruiting a New Business Project Manager. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT MUSIC GROUP - CLIENT ADMIN ASSISTANT (LONDON) Kobalt Music Recordings (KMR) is looking for a detail-oriented and organised individual to assist with our royalty and accounting responsibilities within our Artist and Label Services department, incorporating the AWAL distribution business. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE ORCHARD - INTERNATIONAL ARTIST & LABEL MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) The Orchard is looking for a savvy, seasoned International Artist & Label Marketing Co-ordinator to promote The Orchard’s artists and labels in Europe and beyond. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE ORCHARD - LABEL MANAGER (LONDON) The Orchard has an immediate opening for a label manager in our London office. Managing key relationships you will be the first point of contact for a number of labels, artists and managers. For more information and to apply click here. |
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FIRE RECORDS - PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION ADMINISTRATOR (LONDON) Fire Records is seeking a Production And Distribution Administrator, experienced in all areas of record production and manufacturing. For more information and to apply click here. |
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SHOGUN AUDIO GROUP - PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER (BRIGHTON) Shogun Audio Group is looking to hire an experienced, highly motivated, passionate Product and Distribution Manager to join our growing team. For more information and to apply click here. |
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ACADEMY EVENTS - TOUR MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) Academy Events is seeking a Tour Marketing Co-ordinator to co-ordinate the sales and marketing function for tours, liaising with promoters, agencies, marketing depts and PR, seeking creative marketing opportunities, maximising ticket sales and other such revenues by developing and managing key marketing campaigns. For more information and to apply click here. |
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WILDLIFE ENTERTAINMENT - FINANCE MANAGER (MATERNITY COVER) (LONDON) Finance Manager for a successful artist management company based in Parsons Green. Accounting for artists, in particular touring for multiple active acts. This is a part time role, three days a week, for a nine month maternity cover contract commencing April 2018. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE MUSIC ROYALTY COMPANY - ROYALTIES ASSISTANT (LONDON) The Music Royalty Company provides financial and administrative services to many record labels, distributors, publishers and recording artists. We require a dedicated Royalties Assistant eager to progress their career alongside other talented people. For more information and to apply click here. |
| CMU Insights provides training and consultancy to music companies and companies working with music. Find out about our seminars, masterclasses and primers here... | |
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CMU SEMINARS: MAKING MONEY FROM MUSIC COPYRIGHT Mondays 12, 19 Feb 2018 at 6.30pm in London These CMU Insights seminars together provide a user-friendly guide to how music copyright works and how music rights make money. Sessions still to come include one looking at music licensing and another at the music rights sector. Places at each seminar are £49.99. CLICK HERE FOR INFO. |
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CMU SEMINARS: BUILDING A FANBASE AND FAN BUSINESS Mondays 26 Feb, 5, 12 Mar 2018 at 6.30pm in London These three CMU Insights seminars together provide an overview of how to build a fanbase for new artists and new music. They also look at how artists can use these channels to build a direct-fo-fan business. You can book into each individual session at £49.99 per seminar or you can book a place on all three at the special price of £125. CLICK HERE FOR INFO. |
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CMU PRIMER: KEY MUSIC BUSINESS TRENDS 2018 These are courses we can run in-house at your company 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 FOR INFO. |
US Copyright Royalty Board ignored the market when setting webcasting rates, says SoundExchange
While the American music industry generally welcomed the recent ruling by the US Copyright Royalty Board on what mechanical royalties streaming services should pay songwriters and music publishers, there remains resentment over an earlier CRB decision on the royalties paid by webcasters and personalised radio services to artists and labels.
The CRB sets royalty rates in the US wherever a compulsory licence applies, ie when copyright law obliges rights owners to license certain licensees in certain scenarios. Compulsory licences cover mechanical rights on the songs side in America and webcasting services on the recordings side. The latter is administrated by the collecting society SoundExchange.
It rocked up at an appeals court in Washington yesterday to argue why the CRB got it wrong last time it set the rates for webcasters and streaming services of the Pandora variety a couple of years back. The society reckons rates should be higher, and also didn't like the CRB setting different rates for free and premium services.
SoundExchange says the current royalty rates came about because the CRB judges failed to meet requirements under US copyright law that say they must set rates akin to those that could have been achieved if there was no compulsory licence and labels and webcasters were negotiating in the open market.
According to Law360, SoundExchange's legal rep Benjamin J Horwich argued that the CRB judges based their rates on what they thought the digital market "should look like" rather than actual market realities. This, he argued, ran contrary to what the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act says about the way the CRB should go about setting webcaster royalties.
Said Horwich of those DMCA provisions: "The purpose there was to move the industry to market rates ... and Congress wanted to get out of the business of having any sort of policy-driven rate-setting proceeding of the sort that it did grandfather in for those legacy services. But it said henceforth, we want this to be on market rates".
The SoundExchange compulsory licence is a one-way commitment, in that licensees can negotiate bespoke deals with rights owners if they so wish, and still fall back on the compulsory licence if needs be. When the CRB last considered webcasting rates back in 2015, some bespoke licences had already been done between services like Pandora and certain labels.
Those deals offered the streaming services better top line rates, though the arrangements were akin to bulk-buy packages, in that the lower royalties were linked to promo and curation benefits that meant participating labels should see more income overall.
Nevertheless, the webcasters used those deals to argue that market rates were lower than the record industry was arguing, and therefore the CRB should set a lower compulsory licence rate overall.
Responding to that, Horwich said yesterday that those bespoke deals needed to be considered in their totality - ie commitments to prioritise catalogue can't be offered to everyone, so the rates in those deals shouldn't apply across the board either. Norwich added: "It's mathematically impossible to steer in favour of everyone. You can't play everyone's record above average".
Arguing against the record industry society in this hearing were both the US government and representatives from the American broadcasting industry, which both claim that the CRB judges compiled with their legal requirements when setting the most recent webcasting rates.
Carly Simon signs publishing deal with Universal
Carly Simon has signed a publishing administration deal with Universal. The global agreement covers Simon's full song catalogue, as well as music published by her C'est Music and Quakenbush Music publishing companies.
"Both as an iconic songwriter and heroine of the heart, Carly has been a huge influence on my life musically", says Universal Music Publishing boss Jody Gerson. "From my generation to my daughter's, her music continues to be a source of inspiration and emotional resonance for people around the world".
Gerson adds: "UMPG is THRILLED to welcome her to our world-class family of songwriters. We look forward to creating outstanding opportunities that support her legacy and introduce her songs to new fans worldwide".
Trinity Mirror agrees to buy Richard Desmond's newspapers
Media firm Trinity Mirror - owner of the Daily Mirror - has agreed to buy the publishing assets of Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell company. These include the Daily Express and Daily Star, as well as OK! and New! magazines.
The deal is reportedly worth £126 million - only slightly above the £125 million Desmond paid for the titles in 2000. It also brings to an end Desmond's near two decade run as a newspaper owner, which will be a relief to many, who have seen him as a negative influence on the British news media.
It will be interesting to see if the editorial line of the Express in particular changes at all under its new owners. The Mirror leans left politically, while the Express goes very much to the right. Trinity Mirror boss Simon Fox said that the newly acquired titles' politics will not shift, but suggested this morning that there will be some crossover with the Mirror papers.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, Fox said that the deal is "a very wise investment" which is expected to make savings for Trinity Mirror of £20 million a year. In part, this will seemingly be achieved by further reducing staff - all newspapers having cut back on headcount considerably in the last decade. Fox went on: "For example, [instead of] sending two reporters to a football game, we can send one".
However, he added: "The Daily Express is not going to become left-wing and the Mirror is not going to become right-wing".
The possibility of an Express takeover by Trinity Mirror has been on the cards for several years now. Although in 2015, Desmond said that he wanted the company's boss to "Fox off". However, last September it was reported that an agreement was close to being signed off.
In a statement this morning, Desmond says: "The Express Newspapers and our celebrity magazine titles have been a key part of the Northern & Shell portfolio for many years, and I am immensely proud of building them into one of the largest newspaper and magazine groups in the UK. Today's transformational transaction is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders".
Once the dominant newspapers in the UK, both the Daily Mirror and Daily Express have seen their circulations decline steeply since the 1960s. By the end of last year, the Express was selling fewer than 400,000 copies daily, compared to over a million when Desmond took over. The Mirror now sells under 725,000, compared to almost 2.3 million in 2000.
The Daily Star, meanwhile, is currently shifting just under 450,000 copies per day - not far off the half million it was shifting in 2000, although it did peak at around 780,000 in 2010.
| Vigsy's Club Tip: Hypercolour at The Nest The Hypercolour label will be settling down in The Nest in Dalston tomorrow night with three of its top names turning in some fine techno. Topping the bill is US tech head FaltyDL, who's been a favourite of mine for a good few years now. He recently released new EP 'Three Rooms' through Hypercolour, but has also put out material on many other excellent labels, including Ninja Tune, AUS Music, Rush Hour and 50 Weapons. His 2011 album 'You Stand Uncertain' on Planet Mu is one I absolutely love. Joining him will be Tom Demac, who'll be cranking out the hardware for a live set. Hypercolour boss Cedric Maison will also be on hand to spin an eclectic mix of techno and house tracks. You should be in for a sonic treat. Saturday 10 Feb: The Nest, 36 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, London, N16 7XJ, 10pm-4am, £7-9. More info here. |
James Bay releases new single, announces London show
James Bay is back with a new single and a new sound. 'Wild Love' is the first track to be released from his still to be announced second album.
"I know some of this new sound was not apparent on my first album - there were hints, perhaps - but I think my new music helps to paint a fuller picture of who I am", says Bay of his quite dramatic and completely awful change of direction.
"As soon as I recognised I was being pinned down as 'the intimate acoustic guitar guy' I realised I knew I had to push myself musically" he adds. "I want it as part of my arsenal, but I don't want that solely to define me. I'm not there yet, but hope that this new music can do for singer-songwriter, loosely, what Drake and Chance The Rapper are doing for their genre: tearing up the rule book".
Yeah, good luck with that. Of the new single, he goes on: "'Wild Love' is about the experience of falling for someone. Something you can feel immediately when you meet them for the first time, or which rekindles throughout a relationship. It's also about yearning for someone - whether that's the person you can't keep your eyes off across the room or, in my experience, the person you don't stop thinking about wherever you are in the world".
Oh, you tear up that rulebook James. Tear it right up. You'll be able to catch him breaking all the rules live at Electric Brixton in London on 15 Mar. If you can handle it.
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Peace release powerful new single
Peace are back with a new single, 'Power', ahead of their sold out NME Awards show next week.
"I watched a giant, pulsating, lightening bolt land near the farmhouse and I instantly associated it with the electricity and power of the kids we'd been quaking with for the last five years at our shows", says frontman Harry Koisser.
"I was inspired to write a song that was an answer to their question", he adds. "I guess it ended up being a call to arms. 'Power' is a song about booting down the door to delirious glory and charging heart first into the worldwide banquet of love".
Ber-limey. This is the second recent single for Peace, who in December put out 'From Under Liquid Glass' in support of mental health charity MQ.
The band will play Omeara in London on Tuesday, as part of the wider NME Awards shows gig series. They're also set to headline both Live In Leeds and Liverpool Sound City in May.
BBC Music to host British Music Embassy SXSW showcases
BBC Music is taking time off from its attempts to make life harder for UK festivals with its Biggest Weekend catastrophe, and has instead announced plans to do something to help British music. The broadcaster - along with AIM, PPL, PRS For Music, PRS Foundation and the Department For International Trade - is taking a load of acts over to South By Southwest to play this year's British Music Embassy venue.
Bugzy Malone, Pale Waves, Idles, Goat Girl, Girl Ray, Shopping, Suzi Wu, IAMDDB, Ider and Superorganism will be among the acts to play showcases hosted by various different BBC radio stations and its BBC Music Introducing initiative.
"Helping British artists take their first steps internationally is a key objective for BBC Music and the current variety and volume of British musical talent is incredibly encouraging", says BBC Music's James Stirling. "Working with our partners at SXSW provides the perfect platform for us to do this through BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2 and 6 Music, and BBC Music Introducing".
The PRS Foundation's Vanessa Reed adds: "Overseas showcasing is a crucial step in any independent musicians' career - 89% of those we supported to perform overseas through our International Showcase Fund gained tangible business outcomes. It's also an important contributor to UK music exports - for every £1 of support, artists embarking on an international career generated an additional £8.90 in revenues".
She goes on: "SXSW is one of the biggest showcasing festivals in the world and I look forward to following the progress of all the UK artists who are benefitting from our investment as well as our showcasing partnership with BBC Music".
The line-ups for the British Music Embassy, at the Latitude 30 venue, are as follow...
12 Mar: DIY presents Life, Our Girl, Francobollo, Catholic Action, Breakfast Muff
13 Mar: BBC Music Introducing presents Touts, Bugzy Malone, Pale Waves, Rachel K. Collier, Jerry Williams, Himalayas
14 Mar: BBC Radio 2 presents Nina Nesbitt, Gaz Coombes, Sam Fender, Frank Turner, Jade Bird, Rhys Lewis
15 Mar: BBC Radio 6 Music presents Idles, Goat Girl, Girl Ray, Shopping, Life, Nilüfer Yanya
16 Mar: BBC Radio 1Xtra presents TBA
17 Mar: BBC Radio 1 presents Benin City, Not3s, Suzi Wu, IAMDDB, Ider, Superorganism
For more information on the British Music Embassy, go here.
Napster, PJ Harvey, Tove Styrke, more
Other notable announcements and developments today...
• Bill Patrizio has been named CEO of often forgotten streaming firm Napster. "Last spring, Bill did a great job", say Rob Glaser and Jason Epstein, co-chairs of parent company Rhapsody International.
• PJ Harvey has released a new collaboration with Harry Escott, 'An Acre Of Land'. The track is taken from the soundtrack of new movie 'Dark River'.
• Tove Styrke has released new single 'Changed My Mind', which is something you should really take note of.
• Daniel Avery is back with new track, 'Slow Fade'. His new album, 'Song For Alpha', is out on 6 Apr. He'll be touring the UK and Ireland in March.
• MGMT have released new track 'Me And Michael'. Their new album, 'Little Dark Age', is out today.
• Today is the day that Eels release new single 'Today Is The Day'.
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra have released the video for latest single 'American Guilt'. At the same time, they announced that they will release new album, 'Sex & Food', on 6 Apr.
• Mark Pritchard will release new album, 'The Four Worlds', on 23 Mar. From it, this is 'Come Let Us", featuring Gregory Whitehead.
• Junglepussy has released 'State Of The Union', the first single from her upcoming third album.
• Band-Maid have released the video for new single 'Domination'. The band will release their second album, 'World Domination', on 2 Mar.
• Half Waif will release new album, 'Lavender', on 27 Apr. Here's first single, 'Keep Out'.
• TesseracT have announced that they will release their new album, 'Sonder', on 20 Apr. Here's new single, 'Luminary'.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Beef Of The Week #390: Live music v Any fun at all
Back in the good old days, music festivals used to be fun. You could turn up, eat a fistful of drugs, take off your clothes, set fire to all your belongings and throw yourself around in the mud for days on end. On occasion, you might even do this close enough to some music to hear it, but it didn't really matter.
Festival organisers turned a blind eye to all this because they were probably doing the same things. Once they'd wheeled a generator onto the site and placed it in a puddle, their work was done. They were happier times, where everyone was free to do whatever the hell they wanted.
Nowadays it's all rules, rules, rules. You can't do this, you can't do that. Don't smoke this, don't eat that, don't put that in there. Sure, you could say that people are safer, but are they naked and on fire? No. And I think we can all agree that's sad.
This week, there have been various news reports about things that have been banned from live music events. Kicking off the trend was a sign placed at the entrance of a Foo Fighters show at the Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Among the prohibited items were:
• Unflattering photos of Ryan Seacrest
• Mixtapes not in CD format
• Scythes
• Pirated VHS tapes of 'Land Of The Lost'.
• Cream magazines that do not mention Ted Nugent
• Any mention of Friendster or 'Webster' (starring Emmanuel Lewis)
• Beige or mustard coloured macramé wall hangings
• Leg warmers
• Free radicals (including antioxidants or Hong King Phuey, as voiced by Scatman Crothers)
• Derogatory press clippings of Shania Twain
• Any pencil that isn't a number two (2) pencil
• Homemade nut milks
It's lucky that I don't live in New Zealand and I'm not really fussed about seeing the Foo Fighters, because it would have taken quite a while to get all of that stuff out of my bag. And I'd have had them in a bag larger than the 200mm x 300mm x 200mm size permitted too. Rather than hand it all over, I'd probably have just set fire to it in the car park, which would have been fun, but it's not the same as doing it among the roar of a crowd.
Sure, you're probably sitting there thinking that it's just the famously-keen-on-rules New Zealanders who are at it. But no, British music events are also pretty keen on stopping you from properly enjoying music as it was intended.
I mean, what festival jaunt is complete without a potato peeler in your pocket? None. And yet Parklife Festival in Manchester had banned them outright.
After Noel Gallagher hired someone to play scissors in his live band, his brother Liam joked that he was "looking for somebody to peel some spuds live on stage". He didn't get anyone up to join him in the end, but there was a plucky young potato player in the audience, peeling away that night.
Since then, it seems, a disparate orchestra of potatoists has formed, all keen to join in when Liam Gallagher plays Manchester's Parklife Festival in June. Sadly, such a beautiful moment has been denied to the city. Nay, the world.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the festival's Sacha Lord-Marchionne said: "We've been so blown away by this week's launch and the demand for tickets, but even more blown away at how many people have asked to bring in potato peelers for Liam's main stage performance. In case you're wondering - the answer is most definitely no!"
Bloody fascists. Speaking of which, Truck Festival has banned people from bringing Katie Hopkins onto the festival site. I'm not sure there is even any flexibility for people who medically need to have Katie Hopkins with them at all times.
The professional outrage peddler and South African ketamine enthusiast is listed as a prohibited item on the festival's website "due to her vile and horrendous opinions that Truck Festival wholeheartedly does not agree with".
I reckon the founders of the Woodstock festival would be spinning in their graves over all this, if most of them weren't still alive.
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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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