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UK music sales reached £1.55 billion in 2020
We already know that music consumption levels were up in the UK last year by 8.2%, but given that - in the streaming domain - consumption and revenue are not necessarily directly linked, what did that mean in terms of money through the till? Well, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association, all that music consumption generated £1.55 billion, a 6.8% increase on 2019.

That's the retail value of music consumption, ie it includes the retailer or digital platform cut as well as the monies passed on to the music industry itself. Of the £1.55 billion generated, £271.6 million came from physical sales, £72.2 million from downloads and just over £1.2 billion from your streams.

It was the streams that generated most of the growth of course, with streaming income up 15.5% across the year. Download revenues were down 19.5%, while monies generated by physical product sales slipped 14.6%. Though vinyl sales were up, obviously, by 13.3%, so much so that vinyl records now account for 40% of the physical music market.

Physical product sales were hit by the COVID shutdown, of course, which forced high street retailers to close their doors at various points during the year. That likely escalated the ongoing decline in CD sales, which dipped 28%, with those music fans seeking to support their favourite artists or record stores through mail order and home delivery probably boosting vinyl sales more.

For entertainment retail at large - also including video and games - continued growth in digital ensured that the sector was COVID-proof, with the upside of lockdown being consumers wanting and needing more home-based entertainment.

In the video domain, digital revenues grew by 37.7%, aided by the high profile launch of new video-on-demand services that arguably complement as much as they compete with the existing players in the market. With DVD sales still slumping, that meant total video revenues were up 25.6%.

After a wobbly 2019, the gaming sector had a decent 2020, with both physical and digital sales enjoying growth, up 4.6% and 16.3% respectively. Again, lockdown helped with more consumers needing home entertainment, and the year ended with the big boost always delivered by new PlayStation and Xbox consoles arriving on the market (anticipation of those new consoles contributing to the wobbles in 2019).

When all the strands of home entertainment are combined, digital was up 22.8%, physical down 10.7%, and total revenues were just over £9 billion. Digital now accounts for more than 80% of those total revenues.

Commenting on all this, ERA boss Kim Bailey says: "If there was ever a year in which we needed entertainment, it was 2020. The trend towards an increasingly digital entertainment market may be long-established, but no one could have foreseen this dramatic leap as digital services filled the gap left by shuttered cinemas, concert halls and retail stores. With much of the country shut down, ERA's members provided a welcome revenue stream for thousands of musicians, actors, directors and countless backroom staff".

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Ingrooves buys South African distributor Electromode
Universal Music owned label services business Ingrooves has entered the African market via the acquisition of South Africa-based Electromode.

Announcing the deal, Ingrooves boss Bob Roback said: "Music consumption in Africa continues to increase year over year and has become one of the most exciting growing music markets in the world".

Electromode will continue to be led by its MD Chris Ghelakis and his team in Johannesburg. Roback went on: "Chris and his team have built one of the most vibrant independent music distributors in Africa and we are THRILLED for him to be leading our expansion into the region".

He concluded: "We look forward to growing artists in Africa and introducing African artists to new audiences around the world".

Ghelakis himself added: "Ingrooves has the same kind of independent spirit that we have fostered over the last two decades at Electromode. Their technology platform is second to none and their expertise around the globe make them a perfect fit for our artists and labels as we look to expand their audiences".

"Ingrooves will help us open the door for many South African and African artists to be introduced to new global audiences", he went on, "while growing and developing some of the great new and established independent artists creating music in Africa".

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Primary Wave acquires Dan Wilson songs catalogue
Primary Wave has acquired the songs catalogue of singer-songwriter and Semisonic frontman Dan Wilson. The deal covers Wilson's Semisonic work as well as songs he has written for and/or with Adele, The Chicks, Taylor Swift, John Legend, Pink and Josh Groban, among others.

Announcing the deal, Primary Wave Music Publishing President Justin Shukat said: "The musical art that Dan has created as a songwriter is undeniable. His work has been enjoyed by fans around the world through both the lens of his own band Semisonic, as well as through the voices of the countless artists he's collaborated with and written for. We are honoured and THRILLED to have him join Primary Wave".

Name checking Semisonic's big hit and Wilson's most successful co-write with Adele, Primary Wave's Associate Director Of Creative, Matt Herzfeld, added: "From 'Closing Time' to 'Someone Like You', Dan Wilson's honest and original songs have been the soundtrack for the highs and lows of so many lives around the world. We could not be more honoured to be working with a writer of such universal esteem as Dan and we look forward to sharing the beauty of his words and music with generations to come".

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Sony offers bursaries as part of Nordoff Robbins' music therapy masters programme
Sony Music UK is offering four bursaries for musicians interested in training to become a music therapist via the masters programme run by music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

Each bursary covers the full £10,000 cost of studying the degree course, which is validated by Goldsmiths, University Of London. Graduates of the two year programme can subsequently apply to the Health And Care Professions Council for registration as a music therapist.

Sony says that it is offering the bursaries as part of its "ongoing work against social inequality" and to help meet the pledge it made as a founder member of the Valuable 500 campaign "which asks businesses to put disability at the top of their agenda".

The major adds: "With musicians facing unprecedented difficulties during the pandemic, the Master Of Music Therapy programme provides the opportunity to retrain and use their skills to make lasting, positive change to a wide range of people's lives".

More information about the bursary scheme and the masters programme itself, which starts in September in Manchester and Newcastle, is available here.

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Playlist sponsorship added to Deezer's advertising options
Hey everybody, did you hear that you can now sponsor a playlist on Deezer? Not sure what the playlist is doing. Maybe a sponsored swim? A sponsored abseil? A sponsored jelly eating contest? Presumably not a sponsored silence. Tell you what, if Deezer Hits runs a marathon, I'm in for 40p per mile.

So yes, brands can now "choose to exclusively sponsor any of Deezer's popular, curated editorial playlists that fit their offering and target audience", Deezer Brand Solutions said yesterday, formally launching this surprisingly new advertising option on the Deezer freemium service.

"The ability to sponsor our curated editorial playlists opens up new opportunities for brands to connect to relevant and engaged audiences", adds the company's VP Of Advertising Sales Emilie Proyart.

"Deezer's playlists are curated by our expert editors and the sponsorship option provides brands with the opportunity to stay close to the music with complementary visual and audio ads", she goes on. "We are already working with brands in France, Turkey and Egypt, and look forward to offering this solution to more companies around the world".

As do we all, I'm sure. Brands already being worked with include Marshall, which is currently sponsoring two of Deezer's biggest playlists in its biggest market of France, those being Poptop and Pop All Stars.

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Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds to release new album recorded in lockdown
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (or at least one Bad Seed) will release a new album called 'Carnage' later this year. We found this out via an entry on Cave's Red Hand Files website which responded to a fan question about how he has found the lockdown experience.

"In many ways lockdown has felt weirdly familiar, like I've experienced it before", he replied. "I guess this should come as no surprise as I was a heroin addict for many years and self-isolating and social distancing were the name of the game. I am also well acquainted with the mechanics of grief - collective grief works in an eerily similar way to personal grief, with its dark confusion, deep uncertainty and loss of control".

"I am surprised, though, at just how hard not being able to play live has felt", he went on. "I have come to the conclusion that I am essentially a thing that tours. There is a terrible yearning and a feeling of a life being half-lived. I miss the thrill of stepping onto the stage, the rush of the performance, where all other concerns dissolve into a pure animal interrelation with my audience".

"I miss the complete surrender to the moment, the loss of self, the physicalness of it all, the feeding frenzy of communal love, the religion, the glorious exchange of bodily fluids - and The Bad Seeds themselves, of course, in all their reckless splendour, how I miss them. As much as sitting behind my desk can bring me a lot of joy, and the imagination can be a stimulating, even dangerous place, I long for the wanton abandon of the live performance".

Yeah, yeah, but what about this album? Well, he says, "I did go into the studio - with Warren [Ellis] - to make a record. It's called 'Carnage'".

That's all the album news I'm afraid. Sorry if the length of this article led to you believe there would be more.

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APPOINTMENTS

Warner Chappell France has appointed Michèle Domi to the role of Senior Artistic Director. "I'm very excited and honoured to share my experience with a company that has both stimulating challenges and inspiring ambitions", she says.

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RELEASES

Saweetie and Doja Cat have released a new song together, titled 'Best Friend'. If that sounds familiar, it's because the track was briefly released in December, before being withdrawn by Warner Records after Saweetie complained that it had been put out earlier than planned.

Bugzy Malone and Chip have overcome their past feud to record and release new single 'Notorious'. Malone's new album, 'The Resurrection', is out on 12 Feb.

The KLF have released a new film about their attempt to build a pyramid out of cremated human remains in 2017. Watch the trailer here.

Nao has released new single 'Antidote', featuring Adekunle Gold. "It's a song born out of lockdown, which was something that affected everybody's lives all over the world", says Nao. "Both Adekunle and I had daughters born weeks apart during this time, they lifted our vibrations and we wanted to share that good energy with the rest of the world".

Mod Sun has released new track 'Flames', featuring Avril Lavigne.

Melanie C has released the video for 'Into You', from her new eponoymous solo album.

Depeche Mode's Martin Gore has released new single 'Howler', from his upcoming solo EP 'The Third Chimpanzee'.

Melvins' Dale Crover has released new song 'I'll Never Say', from his upcoming solo album 'Rat-a-tat-tat!', which is out on 15 Jan.

Ragz Originale has released new single 'Brush U'. His new mixtape, 'Woah', is out on 29 Jan.

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GIGS & TOURS

Tinie (Tempah) will livestream a show from the Royal Albert Hall on 16 Apr, marking the tenth anniversary of his debut album, 'Disc-Overy'. Tickets are available now.

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

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Jamiroquai's Jay Kay was not one of the "freaks" who stormed the US Capitol building
Jamiroquai's Jay Kay has denied that he was part of the Trump mob that stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday. Not that anyone thought he was. But one member of said mob resembled him a bit and a joke was made about it. And I guess it's for the best to clear it up anyway.

"Some of you may be thinking you saw me in Washington ... but I'm afraid I wasn't with all those freaks", he said in a mock American accent in a video posted on Twitter. The rest of the video update was a run of the mill new year message to fans. But the key thing to remember is that the musician did not attempt to overthrow US democracy this week.

That's not to say no musicians had a good go at tearing up the American constitution, though. Guitarist of metal band Iced Earth, Jon Schaffer, is now a "person of interest" in the police's investigation into the attack, after he was photographed inside the Capitol building.

Other musicians also attended the pro-Trump protest against the presidential election result in the American capital on Wednesday, which led to the assault on the US Congress.

Indie musicians John Maus and Ariel Pink were also in attendance, it's been revealed. No, surely not! Loveable indie stars John Maus and Ariel Pink? Not the Ariel Pink who once said that allowing gay people to marry someone they are sexually attracted to was the same as affording such rights to paedophiles and necrophiles? He's turned out the be a deluded right winger? Who'd have thought it possible?

That said, writing on Twitter, Pink was keen to distance himself from the violence at the event, saying: "I don't and never have advocated for violent confrontation or rioting. I was in DC to peacefully show my support for the President. I attended the rally on the White House lawn and went back to hotel and took a nap. Case closed".

Having spent months inciting his supporters into violent action which - surprise, surprise - resulted in some violent action, there are now calls, of course, for Donald Trump to resign or to be forcibly removed from office.

Given that resignation is highly unlikely, the speediest way to get Trump out of the White House is for Mike Pence - Vice President and Trump's newest verbal punch bag - to invoke the 25th amendment of the US constitution and persuade his cabinet colleagues to formally divest the President of all and any authority. But Pence is seemingly not keen on that proposal.

That means Congress will have to begin new impeachment proceedings against Trump. Either that, or just collectively hold their breath and cross their fingers for twelve days, desperately hoping that Trump and his supporters can't cause too much more damage before Joe Biden takes over the top job on 20 Jan.

Two people who might be hoping that the latter approach is taken are rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. Both are reportedly being considered for presidential pardons to absolve them of firearms charges on the final day of Trump's presidency, according to Bloomberg.

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