| TOP STORIES | Spotify drops controversial 'hateful conduct' policy READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LEGAL | Prince estate goes legal over Vanity 6 videos READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| DIGITAL & D2F SERVICES | Spotify ponders becoming a mobile service provider READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ARTIST NEWS | NOFX issue Las Vegas apology READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| RELEASES | Chilly Gonzales's Solo Piano series becomes a trilogy READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| GIGS & FESTIVALS | Beyonce and Jay-Z to reward fans for volunteering READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | Kanye West, Big Boi, St Vincent, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Damon Albarn smoked a cigarette instead of working with Prince READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
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DHP FAMILY - CONCERT PROMOTIONS CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) DHP Family is looking for a creative and motivated individual with a demonstrable passion for music. You will be forward-thinking and able to work autonomously as well as part of a team in a fast-paced environment. For more information and to apply click here. |
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Spotify drops controversial 'hateful conduct' policy
Spotify has revoked its 'hateful conduct' policy, after CEO Daniel Ek admitted last week that it had been badly implemented. But the company said that it would continue to remove tracks containing hate speech.
In a statement, the streaming firm said that the language of its hateful conduct policy had been "too vague", and that it had not spent "enough time getting input from our own team and key partners before sharing [the] new guidelines".
"We don't aim to play judge and jury", it said, noting one particular criticism of the policy, and acknowledging that it had "created concern that a [mere] allegation might affect artists' chances of landing on a Spotify playlist and negatively impact their future".
The new policy on hate content and hateful conduct was launched last month. It formalised a policy of removing content containing hate speech and introduced new rules on the conduct of artists outside of their music. Artists whose conduct was deemed hateful would no longer be included on Spotify-owned playlists.
The first to fall foul of the hateful conduct rule were R Kelly - who faces numerous accusations of sexual abuse - and XXXTentacion - who is awaiting trial for the alleged battery of a pregnant woman. Both had their music pulled from Spotify's in-house playlists, although tracks remained on the platform.
Response to the policy was mixed. Some praised Spotify for taking a stand, but many also asked why the service was not removing other artists from its playlist who faced accusations, or in some case had been convicted of crimes.
Others said that the policy set a dangerous precedent, with the company making judgements on artists who had no criminal convictions relating to accusations against them. It was also noted that the only artists to have their music pulled were hip hop and R&B acts.
There was internal disagreement over the policy too. Troy Carter admitted to the LA Times that he and others at Spotify had raised concerns (although denied that he had resigned over it), saying that the policy was "a work in progress".
It was then reported that the ban on XXXTentacion's music was being lifted, and at a Recode tech conference last week Daniel Ek admitted that there were problems with the policy.
"The whole goal with this was to make sure that we didn't have hate speech on the service", he said. "It was never about punishing one individual. We rolled this out wrong ... we could have done a much better job".
The hateful conduct section of the policy was removed from Spotify's website entirely on Friday afternoon. The company said in its statement that this part of the policy "was related to promotional decisions in the rare cases of the most extreme artist controversies".
"As some have pointed out, this language was vague and left too many elements open to interpretation", it continued. "We created concern that an allegation might affect artists' chances of landing on a Spotify playlist and negatively impact their future. Some artists even worried that mistakes made in their youth would be used against them".
It went on: "That's not what Spotify is about. We don't aim to play judge and jury. We aim to connect artists and fans - and Spotify playlists are a big part of how we do that. Our playlist editors are deeply rooted in their respective cultures, and their decisions focus on what music will positively resonate with their listeners. That can vary greatly from culture to culture, and playlist to playlist. Across all genres, our role is not to regulate artists. Therefore, we are moving away from implementing a policy around artist conduct".
Confirming the policy on hate content remained in force, the statement went on: "Spotify does not permit content whose principal purpose is to incite hatred or violence against people because of their race, religion, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. As we've done before, we will remove content that violates that standard. We're not talking about offensive, explicit, or vulgar content - we're talking about hate speech".
"We will continue to seek ways to impact the greater good and further the industry we all care so much about", the statement concluded. "We believe Spotify has an opportunity to help push the broader music community forward through conversation, collaboration and action. We're committed to working across the artist and advocacy communities to help achieve that".
Head of Top Dawg Entertainment, Anthony Tiggith, whose label represents Kendrick Lamar, SZA and others, told Billboard on Friday that he had warned Spotify of an artist revolt over the policy.
"I reached out to Troy [Carter] over there", he said. "We had a conversation and I expressed how I felt about it, about censorship, how you can't do artists that way. I don't think it's right for artists to be censored, especially in our culture. How did they just pick those [artists] out? How come they didn't pick out any others from any other genres or any other different cultures? There [are] so many other artists that have different things going on, and they could've picked anybody. But it seems to me that they're constantly picking on hip hop culture".
He said that he, Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Sony Music's Tommy Mottola then spoke to Daniel Ek directly to raise their concerns.
"My whole thing with them was, we gotta fix this situation, and if it can't be fixed, then there's gonna be a real problem, we're gonna have to start pulling our music from the site", he explained. "I was willing to get the whole culture to back out. There were other people in the business, other powerful artists that were willing to back what I was saying, because nobody agrees with censorship like that".
"[Ek] understood where I was coming from and he wanted to help change or reverse that decision", he said. "They understood where I was coming from, I understood what their intentions were and we cleared it up. So it's not no bad blood, it shouldn't affect anything going forward".
Prince estate goes legal over Vanity 6 videos
The Prince estate has begun legal action against a man in Oklahoma over claims of copyright infringement. Phil Shadid is accused of illegally distributing music by Prince-backed pop group Vanity 6.
Legal documents state that Shadid distributed music videos featuring seven tracks by the group, whose songs were all written by Prince, through TuneCore.
The DIY distributor removed the music following a complaint from the estate. However, Shadid contested this, and the estate now says that TuneCore will repost the tracks unless a court order is issued stating that to do so would infringe copyright.
The estate is seeking such an order to keep the music off TuneCore's database permanently, as well as demanding unspecified damages and costs from Shadid.
Spotify ponders becoming a mobile service provider
Spotify seems to be pondering a move into becoming a mobile service provider of sorts. A reported survey in its mobile app recently posed a question about a hypothetic Spotify mobile phone account.
Android Police reports a user being asked: "Imagine that Spotify offered a mobile-only data plan (ie without normal voice calls and text) for $30 a month, which included unlimited 4G data as well as a subscription to Spotify premium. How likely would you be to switch from your current mobile phone plan to this Spotify data-only plan?"
Like all streaming services, Spotify has done deals with various mobile providers around the world to bundle its service with their accounts. For many streaming firms, bundle deals of that kind have played a crucial role in their growth.
Quite how the Spotify mobile plan referenced in the survey would compare to that isn't clear - ie would it be the same kind of package but branded differently or would it be something new? Either way, going that route, presumably in partnership with an existing tel co, might be more profitable for the streaming firm than the classic streaming/mobile bundle deal.
| Approved: Mina Rose Mina Rose is preparing to release her second EP, 'London Burning', later this summer. The follow-up to last year's 'Issue 25', with her new music she establishes herself even more firmly as an exciting new name. Rose has already released two tracks from the new EP, 'Blind Man Dreams' and more recently 'Paradise'. The latter in particular marks her out from her peers. Over a Barney Lister-produced track, she really plays with the rhythm of her lyrics, making them dance around the beat. "When I visualise the idea of someone getting lost in their own thoughts, I imagine them sitting in a room with red walls", "'Paradise' focuses on our want to make this life as perfect as we can by finding escape, and the fact that a lot of the time it might appear that the easiest way to do that is to shut the world out: whether that's from taking something heavy or catfishing online to whatever vices you explore within the four walls of your own space, so as to tackle your demons". "'Paradise' is about the idea that if heaven and hell exist on earth", she goes on, "then finding your own heaven here in hell would be the greatest heaven of all". Listen to 'Paradise' here.Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist. |
NOFX issue Las Vegas apology
As promised last week, NOFX have issued a further apology in relation to onstage jokes they made about last year's Route 91 Harvest festival shooting in Las Vegas. The band had been performing at the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival, also in Vegas, when they joked that "you only get shot in Vegas if you're in a country band".
In a brief statement last week, frontman Fat Mike said that the comments had been "shitty and insensitive" and promised a longer statement from the band as a whole.
Published on Facebook last night, that statement reads: "There's no place here to backpedal. What NOFX said in Vegas was shameful. We crossed the line of civility. We can't write songs about how people in this world need to be more decent, when we were clearly being indecent. Las Vegas has always been a welcoming city to our band, and to make light of the tragedy that occurred there was egregious".
"All members of the band would like to sincerely apologise to anyone who experienced loss from the Vegas shooting eight months ago, and to anyone who was at our show who lost a loved one or a friend, or who had to witness the incredibly senseless violence that night", they continue. "We were asked why we didn't release an immediate apology. Well, we didn't feel that we could write a sincere apology without reflecting on the actual damage we had done. No press agent was gonna write this for us. That's why we have struggled with this for the past few days".
They conclude: "We didn't plan or intend on saying anything so insensitive. It was off the cuff, but just as hurtful. We won't blame it on drugs or alcohol or Ambien. That's too easy. NOFX said it, and we own it. We made a tasteless joke. But to be clear, NOFX does not condone violence against ANY group of people, period!"
Chilly Gonzales's Solo Piano series becomes a trilogy
Chilly Gonzales is set to release his third solo piano album, cunningly titled 'Solo Piano III', on 7 Sep. Six years after its predecessor, and fourteen after the original 'Solo Piano' album, the third instalment arrives, he says, at "a more problematic inflection point".
He explains: "Like its predecessors, it's a mostly happy ending in C major, but there is more dissonance, tension and ambiguity along the way. The musical purity of 'Solo Piano III' is not an antidote for our times, it is a reflection of all the beauty and ugliness around us".
Watch a decidedly dissonant teaser video here.
To coincide with the album release, Gonzales will play four UK dates, each featuring a solo piano performance and an ensemble section. Here are the dates:
7 Sep: London, Cadogan Hall
8 Sep: Leeds, Howard Assembly Room
10 Sep: London, Queen Elizabeth Hall
11 Sep: Manchester, RNCM
Beyonce and Jay-Z to reward fans for volunteering
Beyonce and Jay-Z have teamed up with charities The Prince's Trust and Global Citizen to reward fans who do good deeds with tickets for their upcoming 'On The Run II' tour.
The BeyGOOD/DoGood campaign will work with The Prince's Trust for the UK leg of the tour, and Global Citizen elsewhere in Europe. Fans who sign up to volunteer via the charities' website will be entered into a draw for tickets.
"The united efforts of BeyGOOD/DoGood, along with our amazing partners The Prince's Trust and Global Citizen, are calling upon you to lift your voices, lend your hands and share your creativity as active and positive forces for doing good", says Ivy McGregor of Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment. "Wherever you are and whatever skills, talents and resources you possess, are of value to others in your community, country and across the globe".
The Prince's Trust's Nick Stace, adds: "Beyonce has supported The Prince's Trust for many years and understands the importance of giving young people who have faced setbacks in life the chance of a brighter future. We want every young person to have the chance to succeed. We aim to empower them with the confidence and skills they need to take control of their lives and realise their ambitions, so that they can live, learn and earn".
Kanye West, Big Boi, St Vincent, more
Other notable announcements and developments today...
• Get a daily news summary, our latest job ads and more via our Messenger bot. Click here to get started.
• Oh, hey, Kanye West released his new album on Friday. Just wanted to make sure you knew.
• Big Boi has released the video for new single 'All Night', taken from last year's 'Boomiverse' album.
• St Vincent has released a new version of 'Slow Disco' from her 'Masseduction' album, re-titled 'Fast Slow Disco'.
• The 1975 have released new single 'Give Yourself A Try'.
• Abra Cadabra has released the video for his latest single, 'Sherry Coco', taken from his just released debut EP 'Feature Boy'.
• Albert Hammond Jr has announced UK tour dates for September, and released a live video of himself performing 'DVSL'.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Damon Albarn smoked a cigarette instead of working with Prince
Damon Albarn revealed last week that he once turned down the opportunity to collaborate with Prince because the late musician didn't want his studio to stink.
"I'd done a gig in Minneapolis and I was invited to go and play with Prince, so to speak", he told Gordon Smart on Radio X. But the meet-up at Prince's home studio would have been strictly non-smoking, Albarn was informed. "And you know", he went on, "I was having a drink and a fag - I don't actually smoke anymore, so I've knocked that one on the head - [but] I was just like, if you can't be who you are... if I've invited someone, they're my guest and there aren't any conditions like that".
Seems like a bit of a weird reason to object, doesn't it? I mean, if Albarn's refusing to go to anyone's house where they don't like people smoking indoors, well, that's going to limit his options quite a lot. He can't come round mine to watch 'Game Of Thrones', that's for sure. That offer is now completely off the table.
Suddenly becoming animated, he then blurted out a whole load of words that didn't make any sense whatsoever: "I could go and have a cigarette outside if I needed to. I'd be fucking excited, right? And why am I not going to fucking wanna just fucking go mad if I'm with Prince? So I'd rather not do it and not get pissed off with the whole thing. You know, it's one of those could have beens. I've got a few of those".
Yes, well I'm not surprised this isn't the only failed meet up Albarn has had, given the condition he seems to place on people to the effect of them not giving him any conditions. There's that whole 'Game Of Thrones' viewing that was a complete washout for starters. Oh, the things he won't know about Jon Snow now. Oh man, you're really missing out, Damon.
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