Lyor Cohen talks data and transparency in latest article thirteen diss
So today's Article Thirteen Letter Of The Day is from your fab friend, your best bud, your old mucker, Mr Lyon Cohen, aka YouTube's top music man. And, it transpires, he is concerned. Deeply concerned. Very deeply concerned. Which is why he's decided to take to the good old fashioned YouTube For Artists blog to put the record straight. Finally!

"I recently met with artists, policy makers and partners in Europe to find a better way forward on article thirteen of the European Copyright Directive", writes the man himself. "In my conversations, there was one question that never came up: what will happen to artists if the European Parliament version of article thirteen is implemented as law?"

I don't know what conversations Cohen has been having, and who was taking part in those chinwags, because I've heard that question asked loads in relation to the latest copyright reforms in Europe. But either way, the YouTube music boss has the answer. "The answer is", he says, "the music industry will make less money from YouTube, not more". Yeah, you read that right people, less money.

And it's the little guys who will lose out most. As usual! "Emerging artists will find it harder to be discovered and heard on a global stage", Cohen claims. "In short, the Parliament's version of article thirteen will harm the very creative industry it seeks to protect. I'm deeply concerned that people don't understand these consequences, so I want to set the record straight".

Article thirteen, of course, you all know, because we've now told you thirteen billion times, is the safe harbour reforming bit of the European Copyright Directive. Safe harbours protect internet companies from being held liable when their customers use their networks and servers to infringe copyright. But the music industry accuses YouTube of exploiting safe harbour to build a streaming service without paying market rate royalties.

The liabilities of user-upload sites like YouTube are increased by article thirteen. The music industry argues that this will just require Google to spend a bit more money on its video site - on both rights management and its licensing deals. But Google says that the new liabilities will mean it will only be able to allow the bigger content makers to upload videos.

Right now, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council are negotiating the very final draft of the directive. And YouTube has been trying very hard to water down the safe harbour reforms, with both the company's CEO Susan Wojcicki and Cohen speaking out at every possible opportunity.

Those interventions generally follow a familiar path. They usually begin - as Cohen does in his latest open letter - by stating that YouTube has already invested loads in its rights management platform Content ID and handed over stacks of cash to the music industry. Then they usually argue that it's the grassroots creators who stand to lose out if new liabilities force YouTube to take more responsibility for its users content.

In a recent letter to the FT, Wojcicki also honed in on the music industry's big music rights data problem - the fact that there is no one-stop place that will tell you what song is contained within what recording, who performs on the record, who wrote the song, and who controls what elements of the copyright where. Plus disputes routinely occur between music industry stakeholders over rights ownership. All of this will make it impossible for YouTube to ensure all music uploaded to its platform is fully licensed, the Google company argues.

Cohen follows Wojcicki's lead in dwelling on that data point in his new missive. "There is no consensus within the music industry on license and rights ownership", he writes. "Well over 50% of music has some portion of unknown ownership. It's a black box that often pits music collecting societies, publishers, labels, and even artists against one another in a fight for who owns what".

Beyond disagreements over ownership of any one song or recording, Cohen then throws song-theft disputes into the mix as well. "Take, for example, the lawsuit against Ed Sheeran alleging his song 'Thinking Out Loud' contained music from Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get it On'. Or the legal battle over Justin Bieber's song 'Sorry' where an artist claimed Bieber and Skrillex stole his song's hook. These lawsuits happen frequently".

Which is true, they do. And they often grab the headlines too. Which is why Cohen could have quite easily discovered - maybe via a Google search - that it was White Hinterland who made those accusations against Bieber and Skrillex, and she is a woman.

Though, while those plagiarism disputes are more newsworthy, I don't think anyone is really suggesting that the writers of the Gaye track could go after YouTube whenever Sheeran's song is streamed, because by that logic every digital platform would also be liable when someone played 'Thinking Out Loud'.

I suppose the big song-theft legal battles are more starry than the never-ending debate over who should build the uber-music-rights database. Though it's that debate that is key here, because Wojcicki and Cohen are both right to point out that those data problems are an issue.

Cohen also includes one new argument in his latest article thirteen moan, which is that - where artists and managers are also down on YouTube - it's because the bloody labels aren't sharing enough information with said artists for them to form educated opinions.

"The creative community has an incomplete picture of how much we pay", he writes. "There is a lack of transparency between the money YouTube pays to labels and the money artists see in their pocket. To fix this, we commit to disclosing revenue earned on YouTube to artists and songwriters directly IF their labels and publishers waive their contractual prohibitions that prevent us from doing this. We welcome more transparency so we can put to rest false accusations from the IFPI and others about our payments".

The less talked about article fourteen of the European Copyright Directive seeks to provide more transparency for artists and songwriters over how their music is used in the digital domain, and it's interesting to see Cohen jump into that debate to try to divide the artist community from the labels when it comes to article thirteen. The dig at the IFPI relates to its statement last week disputing YouTube's claim that it handed over $1.8 billion to the music industry in the last year.

Cohen concludes: "Fortunately, article thirteen is not yet set in stone. We can still shape the outcome. I encourage everyone in the creative community to stop what you are doing and learn the details. Do not leave this up to someone else. Please take a moment to learn more about the impact of article thirteen".

"Let's create a dialogue", he suggests. "Let's ensure we build a better way forward in collaboration with the creative community that doesn't clamp down on the new growth our industry is experiencing", he proposes. "Let's do the responsible thing and ensure that artists and songwriters can continue to find new audiences, connect with their fans, and earn a living making music", he insists. "It's your industry. Protect it. Own it".

Given Wojcicki's recent letter to the FT resulted in immediate responses from IMPALA ("let's not get distracted") and PRS ("fake news, untruths and alarmist propaganda!"), who wants to write the music industry's response to Cohen?

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Majors v Cox Communications will stay in the same court as the BMG case
An American judge has published a written statement explaining why he has resisted efforts by internet service provider Cox Communications to have a copyright infringement case being pursued against them by the major record companies shifted to another courtroom.

The Recording Industry Association Of America sued Cox back in August, following the lead of BMG, which was first to go legal against the ISP. BMG claimed that Cox should be held liable for the copyright infringement of its customers, because it failed to fulfil its obligations under America's Digital Millennium Copyright Act to benefit from safe harbour protection.

Safe harbour rules say that internet companies can't be held liable for their users' infringement providing they have systems in place to remove infringing content and deal with repeat infringers. However, BMG successfully argued that Cox only paid lip service to those obligations, and in fact had a deliberately shoddy system for dealing with those who repeatedly infringed. As a result, BMG said, the net firm should be held liable for that infringement.

BMG won that case at first instance and - while that ruling was set aside on appeal - the appeals court nevertheless agreed with much of the original judgement, the case being dismissed on a technicality. Cox then subsequently settled with BMG.

The RIAA launched its lawsuit in the same court as BMG, which is in Virginia under judge Liam O'Grady. Cox has been trying to have the case shifted to a court in Georgia where it is actually based. However, O'Grady has declined to give the case up, arguing that it makes sense to hear the new action in the court where the BMG dispute was argued out, as many of the issues will be the same.

According to Law360, O'Grady wrote: "Although defendants claim this court's ruling on the DMCA's safe harbour provision will not be relevant to this case, this court's prior ruling will at the very least touch on the issues presented here. The considerable judicial resources this court expended on reaching this ruling on an issue of first impression - a ruling that was upheld by the [appeals court] - cannot be ignored".

Although he conceded that some of Cox's arguments for shifting this lawsuit to Georgia had merit, he said that "judicial economy" required him to keep the case, as neither the district court of Georgia nor the relevant appeals court had previously considered safe harbour issues. The labels, needless to say, have accused Cox of simply want to remove the new litigation from a court that has previously been sympathetic to the rights owner side.

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Universal sues poker podcast over uncleared music use
We may have a podcast where we talk a lot about copyright infringement, but we don't actually do any copyright infringing. However, Universal Music reckons that podcasts published by a global website for poker fans - PokerNews - do infringe copyright by including tracks controlled by the major without permission.

The major sued PokerNews owner iBus Media for wilful copyright infringement in the Californian courts last week. The lawsuit states that: "Among the content made available by iBus Media on PokerNews, and through other forums, are hundreds of podcasts that intentionally incorporate significant portions of plaintiffs' copyrighted musical works".

Licensing music for podcasts can be tricky because, unlike radio, generally licences are not available through the collective licensing system, especially on the recordings side. Therefore podcast publishers would need licences from each individual label for every track played. That's one of the reasons why most of the really big podcasts are spoken word with only library music used for idents and backing tracks.

Universal claims that it first informed iBus Media that it was using its recordings in its podcasts without licence nearly three years ago, but that PokerNews has nevertheless continued to include the major's music in its output. The record company says that its tracks appear prominently in the podcasts and are "undoubtedly used with the intention of making the podcasts more appealing to listeners".

The record company is seeking the nifty statutory damages allowed under US copyright law of $150,000 per infringement, meaning that - with 46 specific tracks listed in the complaint - that could result in damages of nearly $7 million. iBus would have to play quite a few games of poker to get that kind of money back.

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Janelle Monáe signs film production deal with Universal Pictures
Janelle Monáe's film company Wondaland Pictures has signed a new deal with Universal Pictures, giving the studio first dibs on any movie ideas she and her team come up with.

The Universal film firm is not the same as the Universal music company, even though the latter has also been dabbling in movies of late. Universal Pictures is instead a subsidiary of American media giant NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast.

"There is an exciting, artistic revolution taking place in our industry, and Janelle and the talented team at Wondaland are at the forefront", says Universal Pictures Chair Donna Langley. "Their forward-thinking, inclusive approach to content and storytelling make them a perfect fit for our studio".

Monáe has increasingly moved into film over the last few years, taking roles in 2016 movies 'Moonlight' and 'Hidden Figures'. She also currently has two new Universal-released films on the way, 'Welcome To Marwen' and Harriet Tubman biopic 'Harriet'.

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Majors v Cox Communications will stay in the same court as the BMG case
An American judge has published a written statement explaining why he has resisted efforts by internet service provider Cox Communications to have a copyright infringement case being pursued against them by the major record companies shifted to another courtroom.

The Recording Industry Association Of America sued Cox back in August, following the lead of BMG, which was first to go legal against the ISP. BMG claimed that Cox should be held liable for the copyright infringement of its customers, because it failed to fulfil its obligations under America's Digital Millennium Copyright Act to benefit from safe harbour protection.

Safe harbour rules say that internet companies can't be held liable for their users' infringement providing they have systems in place to remove infringing content and deal with repeat infringers. However, BMG successfully argued that Cox only paid lip service to those obligations, and in fact had a deliberately shoddy system for dealing with those who repeatedly infringed. As a result, BMG said, the net firm should be held liable for that infringement.

BMG won that case at first instance and - while that ruling was set aside on appeal - the appeals court nevertheless agreed with much of the original judgement, the case being dismissed on a technicality. Cox then subsequently settled with BMG.

The RIAA launched its lawsuit in the same court as BMG, which is in Virginia under judge Liam O'Grady. Cox has been trying to have the case shifted to a court in Georgia where it is actually based. However, O'Grady has declined to give the case up, arguing that it makes sense to hear the new action in the court where the BMG dispute was argued out, as many of the issues will be the same.

According to Law360, O'Grady wrote: "Although defendants claim this court's ruling on the DMCA's safe harbour provision will not be relevant to this case, this court's prior ruling will at the very least touch on the issues presented here. The considerable judicial resources this court expended on reaching this ruling on an issue of first impression - a ruling that was upheld by the [appeals court] - cannot be ignored".

Although he conceded that some of Cox's arguments for shifting this lawsuit to Georgia had merit, he said that "judicial economy" required him to keep the case, as neither the district court of Georgia nor the relevant appeals court had previously considered safe harbour issues. The labels, needless to say, have accused Cox of simply want to remove the new litigation from a court that has previously been sympathetic to the rights owner side.

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Universal sues poker podcast over uncleared music use
We may have a podcast where we talk a lot about copyright infringement, but we don't actually do any copyright infringing. However, Universal Music reckons that podcasts published by a global website for poker fans - PokerNews - do infringe copyright by including tracks controlled by the major without permission.

The major sued PokerNews owner iBus Media for wilful copyright infringement in the Californian courts last week. The lawsuit states that: "Among the content made available by iBus Media on PokerNews, and through other forums, are hundreds of podcasts that intentionally incorporate significant portions of plaintiffs' copyrighted musical works".

Licensing music for podcasts can be tricky because, unlike radio, generally licences are not available through the collective licensing system, especially on the recordings side. Therefore podcast publishers would need licences from each individual label for every track played. That's one of the reasons why most of the really big podcasts are spoken word with only library music used for idents and backing tracks.

Universal claims that it first informed iBus Media that it was using its recordings in its podcasts without licence nearly three years ago, but that PokerNews has nevertheless continued to include the major's music in its output. The record company says that its tracks appear prominently in the podcasts and are "undoubtedly used with the intention of making the podcasts more appealing to listeners".

The record company is seeking the nifty statutory damages allowed under US copyright law of $150,000 per infringement, meaning that - with 46 specific tracks listed in the complaint - that could result in damages of nearly $7 million. iBus would have to play quite a few games of poker to get that kind of money back.

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The O2 promotes staff after parent company poaches execs
Having lost its Vice President and Finance Director to parent company AEG Europe earlier this week, London's dome-covered venue The O2 has announced replacements in the form of Steve Sayer and Gavin Brind respectively.

Sayer - previously Commercial Director at The O2 - replaces John Langford, who is now COO at AEG Europe. Brind rises up from his job as Deputy Finance Director, taking over from Paul Reeve, who is now AEG Europe's CFO. As Reeve did before him, Brind also gets to be in charge of finance stuff at Wembley Arena. Such fun.

That's not all though. Shit, no. Danielle Kennedy-Clark has also been promoted from Operations Director to Deputy General Manager.

In his new AEG Europe COO guise, Langford says in a statement: "I'm delighted to be announcing that Steve, Danielle and Gavin will be leading The O2 from January. Their combined experience in managing this incredible venue, working alongside the senior leadership team means that the world's busiest arena will continue to flourish".

So there you go. Update your rolodexes, everyone.

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Earl Sweatshirt announces new album
Earl Sweatshirt has announced that he will release his third album, 'Some Rap Songs', later this month. The record is the follow-up to 2015's 'I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside'.

In a statement, the rapper says that the album deals with the death of his father - poet and political activist Keorapetse Kgositsile - in January this year.

"Me and my dad had a relationship that's not uncommon for people to have with their fathers, which is a non-perfect one", he says. "Talking to him is symbolic and non-symbolic, but it's literally closure for my childhood. Not getting to have that moment left me to figure out a lot with my damn self".

'Some Rap Songs' is out on 30 Nov and will feature recently released track 'Nowhere2go', as well as another that he put out yesterday, 'The Mint', featuring Navy Blue. Check that out here.

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Nielsen, Friendly Fires, Marie Davidson, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Stats firm Nielsen Music's parent company The Nielsen Company has appointed David Kenny as its new CEO. "Nielsen is uniquely placed at the intersection of marketing data and technology", says Kenny, employing the sort of meaningless business waffle you'd hope for from a high level exec. "In today's era of fast moving, ever changing consumers and markets, it is this combination that drives businesses forward".

• Friendly Fires have release the video for recent single, 'Heaven Let Me In'.

• Marie Davidson will release a new EP called 'So Right'. It will feature an extended version and a John Talabot remix of the title track, taken from her new album 'Working Class Woman', plus new Lamusa II collaboration 'La Ecstase'.

• Mono have released the video for new track 'Breath'. New album, 'Nowhere Now Here', is out on 25 Jan.

• Fakear has released new track 'Mana'. It's taken from a new compilation marking the fifth anniversary of the Nowadays label.

• Transgressive has signed Kinshasa collective Kokoko and will release an EP, titled 'Liboso', on 7 Dec. From it, this is 'Azo Toke'.

• Chynna has released the video for 'Dough', ahead of shows over this way next month. She'll play Corsica Studios in London on 7 Dec and the Green Room in Dublin on 8 Dec.

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

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Signs the vinyl revival has gone too far #682: Oreo cookie turntable
What do you get the vinyl lover in your life for Christmas? Some vinyl? No, how would you even know what specific records to get them? They've probably already got the latest Ed Sheeran release anyway. Biscuits though, everyone likes biscuits. And now you can play Oreos on a miniature record player, just like you always wanted.

The Oreo Music Box has been put on sale in the US, just in time for the festive season. It looks like a tiny record player with a turntable just big enough for an Oreo. You move a little tonearm over the cookie, press play and it plays a tune.

What next? Well, with that done, you eat the cookie. But wait! If you return it to the turntable after taking a bite, it will play a different tune. How does this work? I don't know, I would assume some form of black magic or other generalised sorcery. What's more, you can record your own message to appear to play out of your biscuit. Something along the lines of, "Why the fuck does this exist?"

This contraption originally launched in China last year, where there was also some sort of augmented reality smartphone app involved. That doesn't appear to be available with the US version, China apparently having misjudged how long anyone would actually play with this thing for.

When it was launched in May 2017, President of the Chinese branch of Oreo maker Mondelez, Stephen Maher, said that the product was "in keeping with the popular trend of playing games", adding: "The launch of the Oreo Music Box is the beginning for us to convey our whimsical love of life to all the people who share in our passion".

It's fine if you just want to get me socks.

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