Jay-Z says Roc Nation's NFL tie-up can "get things done"
Jay-Z has spoken about his decision to start working with American football's NFL, an organisation he has previously heavily criticised over its handling of the controversial national anthem protests. The rapper says that the football league has assured him it is willing to make some changes and utlise its "great big platform" in order to "do some good".

The NFL's deal is with the rapper's Roc Nation business, which has been appointed as the football league's 'live music entertainment strategist'. According to the New York Times, the tie-up will see Roc Nation consult on all and any NFL entertainment events, including the usually headline-grabbing Super Bowl half time show, as well as inputting into the league's activism campaign, which goes by the name Inspire Change.

Jay-Z declined to perform at this year's Super Bowl in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the shunned American football player who kick-started the recent series of national anthem protests. Those, of course, are where players sit or kneel during the pre-game airing of the 'The Star-Spangled Banner', in protest at continued police brutality and racism in the US. The Donald Trump-led backlash to the protests meant they stayed in the headlines, resulting in angry debate on both sides far beyond the sports arena.

Although the NFL is partly positioning the Roc Nation alliance as a way to access high-level musicians for its events, it is also clearly an attempt to allay criticism over its handling of the player protests. Opinion is now divided over whether the NFL will seek to learn from its new ally, or if it will try to exploit its former critic by basically saying "look, we work with one of the most famous black American celebrities, we can't possibly be siding with racists".

Jay-Z himself is obviously hoping it's the former. Talking about the new partnership, he is quoted by the New York Times as saying: "The NFL has a great big platform, and it has to be all-inclusive. They were willing to do some things, to make some changes, [so] that we can do some good".

Speaking for the NFL, Roger Goodell told the Times: "We don't want people to come in and necessarily agree with us; we want people to come in and tell us what we can do better. I think that's a core element of our relationship [with Roc Nation], and with Jay and I personally".

Meanwhile, acknowledging those who are more cynical about the new tie-up, the rapper insisted that his opinions about the national anthem protests, and how the NFL and individual teams have responded in the past, haven't changed. As for the NFL's real motive, he added in his interview: "I have to believe that even if it's not sincere, we're going to get things done".

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YouTubers take centre stage in latest Get It Right campaign
The latest phase in the UK's government-supported anti-piracy programme Get It Right (From A Genuine Site) has been announced. The aim is to educate the YouTube generation about why they should be choosing legit over non-legit sources of content. YouTube being considered "legit" for the purposes of this endeavour. And, with the YouTube generation the target, YouTubers are fronting the campaign. Which makes sense.

Says one of those featured YouTubers, that there Caspar Lee: "The Get It Right campaign is raising awareness of a key issue that so many of us are just not thinking about. When we don't get content the right way, it makes it so much more difficult to make more of it".

And Lee knows this first hand, see. Because, yes, YouTubers are hurting because of all that bloody internet piracy too. Even though, for the music industry at least, piracy shouting has often been put on the back-burner in recent years to allow more time for shouting about, well, fucking YouTube and the bloody copyright safe harbour.

But, Lee goes on: "When our movie 'Laid In America' came out, it was one of the most illegally downloaded films at the time. It's unfortunate because it affects every person who is involved, from the set designers to the caterers to the extras, when content is not sourced from genuine sites. It's important to support the industry as a whole, so everyone involved can continue to make the content we all love and want more of".

The Get It Right campaign grew out of the truce that was negotiated between the creative industries and the internet service providers in the years following the 2010 Digital Economy Act. That Act obliged the ISPs to send warning letters to those customers who were using their internet connection to access unlicensed content. Despite sustained resistance from some of the net firms, an alliance called Creative Content UK was set up which did ultimately result in some warning letters going out. For a time.

Get It Right was the accompanying education campaign which has out-lived the letter sending. Run by movie and record industry trade groups MPA and BPI, it all began with some slightly odd art projects and a telly ad that basically jazzed up the same old tired anti-piracy messaging. But subsequent activity, which has been increasingly online, has generally been better formed and targeted, the YouTuber tie-up in particular making sense given the current target demographic.

Commenting on this latest phase for the record industry, the BPI's Director Of Public Affairs, Ian Moss, told reporters: "It's encouraging to see Get It Right quietly but surely having a positive effect, and that its core message is getting through. Fans have a clear choice – if they value the creative process, and access content legally from licensed sources, creators will be able to invest more of their time and creativity into producing the music, film and other entertainment we love. If they don't, and creators feel less able to take risks and invest, this rich choice will diminish for us all".

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Warner Chappell confirms sub-publishing deal with Round Hill
Warner Chappell has announced an extensive sub-publishing deal with indie music rights firm Round Hill that covers all markets except the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and the Nordics. Under the deal, Warner will administer Round Hill's rights and "explore a diversity of creative opportunities" for the firm's songs and songwriters. Yeah, a "diversity" of creative opportunities. How exciting.

"In less than a decade, Round Hill has built an extraordinary collection of evergreen copyrights and iconic catalogues, while at the same time signing some of today's most exciting and gifted songwriters", Warner Chappell bosses Carianne Marshall and Guy Moot say of their new client, and in perfect harmony too!

"The global potential is enormous", they warble on in unison, "and all of us at Warner Chappell around the world are THRILLED to partner with the entire Round Hill team to find new avenues and audiences for this amazing body of work".

Over at Round Hill, President Neil Gillis adds: "Carianne and Guy have a vision for Warner Chappell that works really well for the Round Hill catalogue overseas. We know and respect their team, and we are looking forward to a long and wonderful partnership".

And so, with the customary sycophancy completed, let's get on with administrating those rights and exploring that diversity of creative opportunities!

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Universal publisher allies with Hillsong Church
Universal Music Publishing has announced a deal with the Hillsong Church, the Christian organisation that is so musical in its worshipping of God that it has its own music companies. And it's the catalogues of those entities - Hillsong Music Publishing and Shout! Music Publishing – that Universal will now administrate in Europe.

The church's catalogue includes an awful lot of Christian music, as you'd expect, though the Shout! Music Publishing set-up works with artists in an assortment of genres. Under the new deal, as well as doing all the tedious admin on the Hillsong/Shout! catalogues in Europe, the major may also collaborate with the church on future signings.

"The administration agreement with Hillsong is a fantastic relationship that has grown from initially exploring collaborative and creative ideas to formalising a partnership in a unique environment", says Universal Music Publishing UK A&R Dougie Bruce. "We are looking forward to integrating their writers into our team and identifying key opportunities across the music sphere. UMPG will also handle some 11,000 existing works, and new signings and songs will further increase this catalogue".

Over at Hillsong, its Publishing Manager Steve McPherson adds: "UMPG are leaders in the music publishing world and we're looking forward to exploring the opportunities for our songwriters and have great respect and trust in their team. We have had fruitful relationships within the Universal family in different parts of the world for many years and we're very excited to extend this to the UK and Europe".

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AWAL provides £50,000 to PRS Foundation's Women Make Music fund
Kobalt's AWAL has announced a new partnership with the PRS Foundation that will see it donate £50,000 and the expertise of its team to the music charity's Women Make Music fund.

Announcing the support, Kobalt's Head Of UK Creative Alison Donald says: "Kobalt and AWAL's values are perfectly aligned with that of PRS Foundation and Women Make Music. We're proud to be a part of such an important cause in the industry to support a significant number of outstanding female creators and invest in the future of music".

The Women Make Music fund offers grants to female music-makers. It was one of the PRS Foundation's first initiatives to encourage more women to pursue music-making careers, prompted by the significant gender imbalance within the membership of PRS itself. The Foundation has since led on other programmes to enable more diversity in the music-making community, of course, in particular its Keychange campaign.

Welcoming AWAL's support on the fund, PRS Foundation's new boss Joe Frankland says: "We are proud that Women Make Music has had a significant impact on hundreds of women music creators' careers. A broader range of talent is being empowered and we are championing the UK's most exciting new music. However, barriers still need to be broken down - particularly around access to funding, effective mentoring and increased networking opportunities. Thanks to the enthusiastic and expert team at AWAL, we are able to proactively address those barriers and look forward to continued success".

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Bauer Media unveils new online stations and podcast
Bauer Media has announced details of the next phase in what it calls its "digital audio innovation product strategy". Which mainly means launching online radio stations and podcasts.

The media firm will launch seven new online stations, all spin offs of existing brands Kiss, Kerrang! and Heat. There's also a new Kiss-linked podcast being launched in partnership with The Prince's Trust.

The new online radio outlets go by the name Kiss Dance, Kiss Garage, Kiss Ibiza, Klassic Kerrang! Radio, Kerrang! Radio Unleashed, Heat Radio School Disco and Heat Radio Soundtracks. And, in case you wondered, they will provide a "deeper genre-specific listen or distinctive nostalgic focus" compared to their parent stations.

The new podcast is called 'Kiss Life: Let's Talk About', and will explore "issues that face young people today - from gangs to exam stress". The new programme will come out monthly over the next five months, with the first edition tackling a particularly serious topic, that being the recent rise in knife crime among young people.

Says Bauer Radio MD Dee Ford: "The new digital station launches and Kiss podcast provide even greater choice for our audiences who seek more from the brands they love. Creating an even deeper more tailored listening experience, they also provide exciting new opportunities for advertisers seeking highly engaged valuable audiences".

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Peter Murphy recovering from heart attack, postpones New York residency
Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy has had to postpone the remaining dates of a New York residency after suffering a heart attack on Tuesday evening.

The musician was rushed to New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on Tuesday night. The cardiologist who provided treatment there, Jason Song, subsequently told reporters: "Mr Murphy was admitted for treatment of a myocardial infarction. He had two stents placed in his right coronary artery and was started on medications to manage his heart condition. He is still in the hospital for continued monitoring of his condition".

Murphy was midway through his residency at the Greenwich Village venue Le Poisson Rouge, where - over a series of shows - he was performing each of his solo albums, with two nights paying tribute to David Bowie also planned.

In a statement, the venue said: "All of us at LPR are devastated by this news. Peter's performance and presence over the past twelve days has been amazing - both onstage and off. We wish Peter a swift and full recovery and look forward to his successful return to LPR".

Meanwhile, Murphy's family also issued a short statement, saying: "We would like to thank the fans for their undying support and hope that Peter will be back on stage with a refreshed heart, stronger than before!"

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New George Michael track to appear in soundtrack to new George Michael themed film
A previously unreleased George Michael song will be unveiled later this year via the latest in this long line of pop star themed films we seem to be getting at the moment. The new track appears in 'Last Christmas', a new movie that tells the story of an aspiring singer whose hero is Michael.

The film's director, Paul Feig, has been chatting to BBC News about this previously unheard song that appears on his movie's soundtrack. "[George] was putting together his new album when he passed [in 2016]", he explains, "and one of our tracks is one of those songs. It's just an absolutely amazing song that I'm so excited the world is going to get to hear now".

The new track closes the film, meaning the whole thing is played, not just a snippet. "When you get a song that has never been heard, you don't want to just use, like, fifteen seconds of it", the director adds. "The song starts at the end of the film, and then goes into the credits".

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