US radio industry takes its BMI royalty dispute to the rate court
As US Senate last week put the spotlight on the radical overhaul of music licensing that is being proposed Stateside via the Music Modernization Act, new court papers were filed in New York in a long running dispute that relates to the debates ongoing on Capitol Hill.

The Radio Music License Committee, which represents many US broadcasters, has been in long-drawn out negotiations with one of the big American song right collecting societies - BMI - over a new licence, with neither side being able to agree on rates.

An interim deal was done in early 2017 on what royalties RMLC-affiliated stations should pay while negotiations were ongoing, but no agreement has been reached on long-term rates. With that in mind, the radio grouping filed papers with the federal rate court on Thursday evening, requesting that a judge now intervene.

Most attention given to the current incarnation of the Music Modernization Act has focused on its efforts to fix the way streaming services are licensed by publishers and songwriters, and the bid to end the pre-1972 quirk on the sound recordings side.

But the legislation also has something to say about the way the rate courts set royalties on BMI and ASCAP licences. One of the proposed kickbacks to the songwriter community for making the licensing process easier for streaming services, is that the criteria employed by the rates courts when hearing disputes on ASCAP or BMI licences are changed so to more accurately reflect market rates.

In the meantime, it remains to be seen how this rate court battle plays out. BMI argues that the royalty rates proposed by the RMLC are based on "flawed market data".

The society's Executive VP Of Licensing & Creative, Mike Steinberg, said on Friday: "BMI has spent more than two years attempting to negotiate a new rate with the Radio Music License Committee that fairly and accurately reflects the scope and quality of the music we represent".

He went on: "As anticipated, the RMLC is trying to use a below-market rate they negotiated with the only US PRO they were able to come to an agreement with; an agreement based on flawed market share data and one that has since been made irrelevant by newly-agreed to and adjudicated rates in the marketplace. We look forward to presenting our position before the court and demonstrating the dominance of BMI's repertoire".

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Celebrate 20 years of CMU with Setlist specials: The end of EMI
As we might have mentioned last week, once or twice, I don't know, CMU celebrated its 20th birthday in the middle of this year's Great Escape festival.

To mark that occasion, Setlist - the music business podcast from CMU - will publish 20 special editions over the next twelve months, each one focused on one of the 20 biggest stories that CMU has reported on over the last two decades. The first of those special editions is out now, focused on the end of EMI.

As noted in the accompanying article last week: "The final chapter in EMI's history began in 2007 - in the midst of the record industry's decade of decline - when the music firm was acquired by private equity outfit Terra Firma. Not that they knew they were kickstarting the final chapter at the time".

"Terra Firma's EMI buy was eventful and, at times, controversial", said article continued. "The new owners wanted to very quickly downsize and re-invent the music company. Given the state of the wider record industry in 2007, that wasn't too bad a proposal, although the way they went about it, and the speed with which cuts were made, proved counter-productive".

An eventful few years ensued, ultimately resulting in EMI being basically repossessed by the bankers at Citigroup and split up for sale. CMU's Andy Malt and Chris Cooke give the final chapter in EMI's history the Setlist treatment in this week's special edition of the podcast.

You can listen to this week's Setlist here. And check out the 20 stories we'll be chatting about over the next year here.

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Next Artist:Entrepreneur Day confirmed for London
The next edition of the Artist:Entrepreneur Day, the artist-led education programme from the FAC and CMU:DIY, has been confirmed. This edition will take place in London - at the Islington Assembly Hall on Monday 11 Jun - with support from Resonate, Dice and AIM.

Once again the day will be hosted by three artist entrepreneurs, this time Roxanne De Bastion, Eckoes and Femme, who will each open up their own artist businesses and discuss what is going on inside. They will also question a team of music industry experts on how to build a fanbase, get on the road and manage your music rights, and about the role each of an artist's business partners plays.

More details about those music industry experts, and other artists set to lift the lid on their own careers and businesses, will be announced next Monday, when tickets will also go on sale. For more information on the topics that will be discussed along the way, check the A:E Day running order here: artistentrepreneurday.com

Confirming this latest edition, FAC CEO Lucie Caswell says: "We've been developing our Artist:Entrepreneur programme with CMU:DIY and our amazing artist advocates since last summer and are really excited to now be taking the whole project on a UK tour, kicking off in London next month".

She goes on: "Artists sharing their experiences and supporting their peers is invaluable, and really helps empower the next generation of artist entrepreneurs. FAC has always pioneered this artist-to-artist approach with its education projects, and the A:E Day takes that ethos to a whole new level. It's a platform where artists can connect with other artists and share practical knowledge, while also hearing from role models, mentors and partners who can inform and support the growth of each artist's own business".

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CMU Insights launches two new research projects at The Great Escape
During The Great Escape last week, CMU Insights launched two major new research projects. One putting the spotlight on music education in the UK, and the other setting out to map the digital music supply chain for the first time.

CMU Insights has teamed up with Urban Development and BIMM for the 'Redefining Music Education' project. The Education Conference that kicked of the TGE Convention last week was designed to both launch and inform that research.

Ahead of last week's conference, CMU Insights began mapping music education in its widest sense across England, from what happens in schools, through college and university, and extra-curricular programmes, as well as industry-led initiatives, internships and apprenticeships, and continued professional development. Concurrent to that, CMU Insights has also been busy identifying the plethora of music careers available, and the skills and knowledge required to succeed in those careers.

Last Wednesday's conference put the spotlight on many of the different segments of music education identified and some of the career routes, speaking to people involved in each of them. Based on those conversations, CMU Insights, Urban Development and BIMM will now investigate more in-depth the link between music education and music careers, with the aim of reporting back at the second edition of the Music Education Conference in a year's time.

You can download the slides CMU Insights presented at The Education Conference here and find out more about the 'Redefining Music Education' project here.

Meanwhile, CMU Insights has been commissioned by the Association Of Independent Music to map the digital supply chain, and that project was formally launched at AIM House at The Great Escape on Friday afternoon.

This project will put the spotlight on music distribution. We know distributors remain key business partners for most independent record companies. But the role of the distributor has changed a lot over the last fifteen years, and not just because they are now mainly distributing digital content rather than physical product.

The 'Mapping The Digital Supply Chain' project is reviewing the music distribution sector with a view to helping labels make more informed decisions when choosing their partners. That review is already underway, and the next phase of the project will involve a survey of the AIM membership about what services they need from their distributors, and how they go about choosing which companies to work with.

You can download the slides CMU Insights presented at AIM House here and find out more about the 'Mapping The Digital Supply Chain' project here.

In addition to these two new research projects, CMU Insights is also embarking on phase four of the 'Dissecting The Digital Dollar' project with the Music Managers Forum, as revealed in the CMU Great Escape Special magazine distributed at TGE.

Building on three years of activity explaining how the streaming business works, phase four will do two things. First, managers will be encouraged to assess the labels and distributors they work with based on the MMF Transparency Index published last year. And secondly, the spotlight will fall on the song rights sides of streaming.

When it comes to how songwriters are paid when their music is streamed there are added complications caused by compulsory licensing, the split between mechanical and performing rights, the involvement of the collecting societies, and music data issues.

Phase four of 'Digital Dollar' will map how the songwriters' royalties flow, including how money passes between different societies around the world; the territorial nature of music publishing having proven to be a particular challenge in the streaming domain, and another way songs differ from recordings. The aim is to identify all the key issues that occur along the way, including data, deductions and delays.

For more information on the 'Digital Dollar' project, or to buy the book that summarises all the work done to date, click here.

Ed Sheeran speaks out against use of his music in anti-abortion campaign
Ed Sheeran has spoken out against an anti-abortion group in Ireland, which has used one of his songs in adverts ahead of the country's referendum on abortion rights later this week.

The song being used is 'Small Bump', from Sheeran's 2011 album '+'. It features the lyrics "You're just a small bump unknown, you'll grow into your skin / With a smile like hers and a dimple beneath your chin / Finger nails the size of a half grain of rice, and eyelids closed to be soon opened wide / A small bump, in four months you'll open your eyes".

In an Instagram story post, Sheeran said on Friday: "I've been informed that my song 'Small Bump' is being used to promote the pro-life campaign, and I feel it's important to let you know I have not given approval for this use, and it does not reflect what the song is about".

Ireland will vote this Friday in a referendum on repealing the eighth amendment to the country's constitution, which bans abortion in almost all circumstances.

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Róisín Murphy releases first of a new series of rave-influenced videos
Róisín Murphy has released the first in a series of eight new tracks set to be released over the summer. 'All My Dreams' is one of a number of tracks recorded with producer Maurice Fulton, each of which will arrive in the coming months with videos filmed during a two day residency at The X Store in London.

"All of Maurice's music has an authentic club music backbone to it, [and] I responded to that visually", says Murphy of her self-directed videos for the project. "I wanted it to resonate club/rave culture but in its most innocent form. This is really a piece about memory and melancholy for me".

She continues: "The process has been interesting. To start with I made films using found footage of raves and parties from 20 years ago or more and with that I created advertisements, asking people to come and join me for two days in a warehouse space in central London. I used my social media outlets to get the message across".

"The response was incredible" she adds, "so many beautiful children came. I get really quite emotional when I think about it. This experience has been epic, I have been immersed in this project for four months now and it's changed me. I think I just became a filmmaker!"

This is the first piece of plenty of new music to come, she concludes: "I've got more projects on the go. I've got some new and exciting collaborators on board and I'm hoping an interesting patchwork of ideas and formats will emerge in due time".

You can also see Murphy live at this year's Somerset House Summer Sessions on 15 Jul. Watch the video for 'All My Dreams' here.

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Talons announce all-knowing new album
Talons have announced that they will release their third album, 'We All Know', on 27 Jul, having recently premiered new single 'The Drowning'.

"'We All Know' is both an exploration of the ominous and unpromising beliefs we often associate with collective self-assurance as well as a deeper reflection on our own ability to fully comprehend and make sense of the world", say the band.

"The album internalises this complexity to provide a soundtrack that is dense with intrigue whilst at times deeply unnerving", they add. "The songs reflect such themes through combining feelings of dread and horror with euphoria and ecstasy in order to try and paint a more revealing picture of our own collective insecurities, doubts and fears".

They go on: "The album therefore touches upon collectively felt, but ultimately individually endured, experiences and feelings. The idea that we all share these feelings of dread and fear in life because this is part of our makeup and a mechanism of being a human and part of this species; but at the same time, when felt, these feelings are - or are often - felt alone, in isolation, not with others".

The band have various festival dates lined up over the summer. Listen to 'The Drowning' here.

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Beyonce owns a church now
You'd think with all the problems Katy Perry's had buying a convent, pop stars might be put off buying religious properties entirely. Not Beyonce though. She's gone and bought herself a whole church.

According to TMZ, Beyonce is the new owner of a New Orleans church, recently sold for $850,000. The small, early 20th century building has seemingly been out of use for a while, and was listed as a "redevelopment opportunity". Although it is currently still set up as a church, should she want to get in on that game.

Beyonce as a religious figure is already a tried and tested thing. Recently the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco held its first Beyonce Mass, as an attempt (and seemingly quite a successful one) to draw a new and different audience into the Catholic church using secular music.

Have a look around Beyonce's church here.

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