Prosecutors say R Kelly should be jailed for at least 25 years
US prosecutors have called for R Kelly to be jailed for at least 25 years following last year's guilty verdict in the first of the criminal cases pursued against the star in relation to allegations he abused numerous young people over a period of nearly three decades. In that case, in the New York courts, a jury ruled that Kelly had built up and run a criminal enterprise that allowed him to prolifically groom and abuse young people, often teenagers.

The US Department Of Justice yesterday submitted a letter to the court ahead of an upcoming sentencing hearing explaining why it believes Kelly's sentence should be in excess of 25 years.

The letter first summarises the testimonies of many of Kelly's victims that spoke during last year's trial and then reviews what the law says about the specific crimes he committed, before setting out the maths that prosecutors have employed to conclude any sentence should be in excess of 25 years.

The letter actually notes that, by the DoJ's interpretation of the relevant laws, Kelly could be sentenced to life imprisonment. However, it then states, "the government respectfully submits that a sentence in excess of 25 years is appropriate in light of all relevant factors".

Those factors include "the nature and circumstances of the offence, the history and characteristics of the defendant, and the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offence, to promote respect for the law, to provide just punishment, to afford adequate deterrence and to protect the public".

Elsewhere the letter says: "Relying on his inner circle and his fame and wealth as a successful R&B singer, the defendant engaged in a conscious, repeated pattern of enticement of minors, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, among other crimes, that spanned a period of decades".

"Through his actions", it adds, "the defendant exhibited a callous disregard for the very real effects that his crimes had on his victims and has shown no remorse for any of his conduct. Indeed, the defendant's decades of crime appear to have been fuelled by narcissism and a belief that his musical talent absolved him of any need to conform his conduct - no matter how predatory, harmful, humiliating or abusive to others - to the strictures of the law".

The racketeering and abuse crimes Kelly was found guilty of are clearly serious crimes, it stresses, but "the defendant's conduct was more nefarious than the typical cases involving such crimes because he committed these crimes using his fame and stardom as both a shield, which prevented close scrutiny or condemnation of his actions, and a sword, which gave him access to wealth and a network of enablers to facilitate his crimes, and an adoring fanbase from which to cull his victims".

"Put simply", it goes on, "the defendant's crimes were calculated, methodical, and part a long- standing pattern of using his platform as a larger-than-life musical persona and his deep network to gain access to teenagers, many of whom were particularly vulnerable, and then to exploit them for his personal gain and sexual gratification".

In addition to the 25 year+ jail term, prosecutors also propose a fine of up to $250,000. They write: "The government also asks the court to impose a fine ... the guidelines provide that 'the court shall impose a fine in all cases, except where the defendant establishes that he is unable to pay and is not likely to become able to pay any fine'".

"The defendant bears the burden of proving an inability to pay", they go on. "In this case, the defendant cannot sustain this burden. The government respectfully submits that the sentence in this case should include a fine within the advisory guideline range of $50,000 to $250,000".

While Kelly is currently appealing last year's guilty ruling, his lawyers are also pushing for a shorter sentence should the appeal fail. His lawyer submitted a document last month that disputed the prosecution's position that the crimes her client has been convicted of could justify a life sentence.

That position, she wrote, is "unsupported by the evidence and the law". By her review of the relevant laws, that document then stated, "defendant argues that the range is 168-210 months", so fourteen to seventeen and a half years. The defence is expected to submit additional arguments in support of the shorter sentence next week.

Kelly also faces other charges in relation to the allegations of abuse, with the case against him in his home town of Chicago due to reach court in August.

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Sony asks court to sanction Bang Energy over lost videos in social media marketing copyright case
Sony Music has urged a US court to sanction energy drink brand Bang Energy and its owner Vital Pharmaceuticals for failing to store 171 videos that are central to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the major. It wants to the court to assume those videos contained unlicensed music controlled by Sony and were widely viewed on social media, and to order the defendants to pay any legal fees Sony incurs in relation to this particular side dispute.

Bang Energy was sued by Sony last year in relation to the drink brand's social media marketing activity and the use of unlicensed Sony recordings in videos it made and posted to social platforms, both directly and in partnership with social influencers. The litigation is part of a music industry crackdown, being led by Sony, on brands that use music in social media posts without licence.

Some brands might be under the impression that their videos are covered by the music licences secured by the social media platforms themselves. However, that is very much not the case, with the platform licences only covering user-generated content. That means music used in brand-made content needs to be directly licensed from the record companies and music publishers, even if the content is technically made and posted by an influencer.

"The Bang defendants brag loudly about the billions of views that their videos have received", Sony's lawsuit stated, "but have been silent since Sony Music demanded an explanation for the unauthorised use of at least 132 copyrighted sound recordings - owned or exclusively licensed by Sony Music - in ... videos posted on the social media accounts".

Sony actually identified 252 videos posted by Bang Energy and the influencers it works with that allegedly contained unlicensed Sony-controlled music. As it went legal, it specifically demanded that the drinks company preserve all evidence relating to those videos. However, it turns out, 171 of them were not preserved.

In a new legal filing this week, Sony writes: "After commencing this action, plaintiffs requested in discovery that defendants produce all videos they and their influencers posted to social media. Rather than preserving and producing the requested videos, defendants apparently destroyed hundreds of them, including approximately two-thirds of the videos identified by plaintiffs".

However, the deletion of those videos was not immediately revealed, Sony adds. "Although defendants knew they failed to preserve the videos and that they had been lost or destroyed, defendants misled plaintiffs into believing that the videos would be produced, violated multiple court orders compelling defendants to produce the videos at issue in this action, and then, only when left with literally no alternative but to defy this court's insistence on production of the videos, admitted that 171 videos were lost".

"Plaintiffs have been severely prejudiced by defendants' spoliation", the new legal filing adds. "As an initial matter, plaintiffs wasted almost three and a half months meeting and conferring about videos that defendants knew or should have known they no longer had".

"More importantly", it goes on, "the videos are direct evidence of defendants' infringement and, if properly preserved, would have revealed the 'reach' of the videos on social media (ie the number of views, likes, and comments by other social media users). This evidence is directly relevant to both liability and damages".

With all that in mind, Sony wants the court to rule that, as the case proceeds, an "adverse inference" will be imposed in relation to the lost videos.

Which is to say, for "each video identified by plaintiffs that cannot now be located because that video was not properly preserved", the court will assume that it "embodied the copyrighted sound recording as alleged", and also that "the videos that were not preserved were viewed as many times and had as much social media engagement and reach as the most popular videos posted by defendants or their influencers on social media".

In addition to that, Sony wants the court to order Bang Energy to cover the "attorneys' fees and costs incurred in bringing this motion" and to provide "other and further relief as the court deems just and proper".

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Zara Larsson acquires back catalogue, launches own label
Zara Larsson has announced the launch of her own record label called Sommer House which will release her new recordings, in partnership with Sony Music. She's also secured a deal with her previous label, Swedish indie TEN Music Group, giving her control of her previous recordings too.

Sony was already involved in Larsson's career via its Epic US label, which worked with TEN on the international release of her recent albums. Epic will still be involved Stateside, while the new label also has a distribution agreement with Sony Music Sweden. And the major's alliance with Larsson goes even further, she having signed a publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing last year.

Launching the new label venture, Larsson thanked TEN Music and its CEO Ola Håkansson for both their involvement in her career to date and the deal allowing her to secure control of her previous recordings.

"I really want to say thank you to Ola and everyone at TEN for giving me the opportunity to break out as an artist and helping me start my career", she said. "You are now also making something happen that is so, so rare for a woman in the music industry - the capability to own my own catalogue. With that it makes perfect sense that I would start my own record company. I very much look forward to my future and to a continued collaboration with Sony as well".

Håkansson added: "This is a natural and exciting development in Zara's continuing music career. We have worked together for more than ten fantastic, eventful years and Zara is, despite her young age, an established and respected international artist with extensive experience of the international music scene today. It is going to be really exciting to follow Zara's ongoing music career. I wish her the best of luck, and I am convinced that she is going to achieve all her musical dreams and get to show her amazing artistry on the world's biggest stages".

Meanwhile, Epic CEO Sylvia Rhone chipped in: "Zara is a cornerstone artist for Epic Records. As she continues to deliver incredible music, we're privileged and excited to be part of the next chapter of her dynamic career".

Larsson's first release through Sommer House is a cover of Abba's 'Lay All Your Love On Me' for the Spotify Singles series. New original music is scheduled for release in the autumn.

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UK live sector expresses concern over upcoming train strikes
The live and night-time industries have expressed concern about the train strikes which are due to take place in the UK later this month. The RMT union has announced nationwide strikes on 21, 23 and 25 Jun in an ongoing dispute over pay freezes and possible job losses in the rail sector in the midst of significant inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.

The three strike days notably take place during the week of this year's Glastonbury Festival, impacting on those who planned to travel to that event on public transport. But, of course, countless other shows and events will also be negatively impacted if the strike achieves its aim of pretty much shutting down the entire UK railway system.

Responding to the news of the planned strike action, Michael Kill from the Night Time Industries Association told reporters: "The announcement of UK-wide train strikes has sent a shockwave throughout the industry, over concerns for staff and public safety, and the potential impact on trade. Limited rail services across the UK will leave many stranded at night, compromising safety with very few alternative transport services available".

"The transport infrastructure within the night-time economy is vitally important to our recovery post pandemic", he added, "particularly as we move into peak summer season for festival and events, and a critical time for tourism, who rely heavily on public transport".

Meanwhile, Jon Collins, CEO of live sector trade group LIVE, said: "While we recognise the legitimacy of this action, a large proportion of live music fans, artists and staff are completely reliant on the rail network to get them to events safely".

"Like the rail sector", he added "our industry remains incredibly fragile post pandemic and this action threatens several large gigs and festivals, many of which are back up and running for the first time in two years. We urge both government and the RMT to get back around the table and resolve the dispute before the proposed disruption further damages the rest of the UK economy".

Justifying the strike action, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: "Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously".

"We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1% and rising. Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system".

"Rail companies are making at least £500 million a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the COVID-19 pandemic", he added. "This unfairness is fuelling our members' anger and their determination to win a fair settlement".

The strike action involves employees at thirteen different train companies that operate services across England, as well as workers at the state-owned Network Rail, which manages the tracks. Because Network Rail workers will be on strike, impacting on signalling, the action will likely also affect the services of train companies where employees are not directly striking, including in Scotland and Wales.

Speaking for the railway sector, Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines insisted that talks will continue with the RMT with the hope of finding a settlement that could stop the strikes from going ahead. He said: "There are two weeks until the first strike is planned. We will use this time to keep talking to our unions and, through compromise and common sense on both sides, we hope to find a solution and avoid the damage that strike action would cause all involved".

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Spotify boss says his big ambitions in audio at large will deliver mega-revenues and better margins
Daniel Ek yesterday told investors that Spotify's strategy of recent years to become an audio platform rather than just a music platform will ultimately result in a business that "can generate $100 billion in revenue annually" and "achieve a 40% gross margin and a 20% operating margin". Yeah, maybe. Anything that would allow us to sell our single Spotify share at a higher price than we paid for it in 2018 would be nice.

The Spotify boss was speaking alongside a number of his senior colleagues as part of an event designed to convince investors that - despite recent controversies; years of stats that show growth in users and revenues but not really profit; and a share price that's been in decline for much of the last year - the grand Spotify plan is still a mighty fine plan.

Spotify's bid to become more than just a music platform has annoyed plenty of people in the music community, of course, especially when it has been spending big on signing up podcasters while concurrently trying to push down the royalties it pays songwriters and music publishers in the US. But some investors have also expressed concern about the diversification plan and its impact on the streaming firm's short-term profitability.

Meanwhile, with a temporary COVID-caused surge in home entertainment consumption coming to an end, and an increasingly competitive digital content market place, Spotify has found itself included in a general narrative that the big subscription streaming companies are facing a challenging few years. A narrative fuelled by Netflix reporting a dip in subscriber numbers in the first quarter of the year.

And while just this week analysts at US bank Raymond James stressed that there are significant differences between the Netflix business model and the Spotify business model - insisting that lumping them together was an "overgeneralisation" - Spotify knows it has critics and concerned allies in the investment community.

With that in mind, Ek kickstarted his speech yesterday by acknowledging that - while most of the investors tuning in probably rate Spotify as a product - some of his audience likely think "that we're a bad business or at least [we're] a business with bad margins for the foreseeable future. And others may even think that the audio market is limited and perhaps not that significant".

But those naysayers are wrong, Ek reckons. "I believe we have a great product and importantly, our business is doing really well", he went on. "But what's even more, we're really investing in building a fantastic, multi-sided platform that has all the ingredients to become one of the truly unique creative platforms in the world. And based on what we see, we are accelerating our moves to seize that opportunity in the near term. And the value creation opportunity is very high".

Ek then reviewed how the Spotify business has evolved in the four years since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The core foundations of the business haven't changed, he said: those being that Spotify is a service that aims to be available on as many devices as possible, which offers a free tier that hooks users in, and which then retains those users by offering the very best personalised recommendation and curation tools.

However, the company's commercial ambitions and objectives have evolved since 2018. For starters, while the sale of premium subscriptions remains by fair the biggest revenue generator for Spotify, Ek said that there has also been a focus on growing the company's two other revenue streams - which are advertising sales and its so called marketplace products, ie the provision of services to creators. And it's by growing all three of those revenue streams that Spotify will ultimately reach the 30-35% profit margin targets it previously set itself, Ek insisted.

But, of course, the biggest evolution at Spotify over the last four years is the increased importance of podcasting to the business - which has resulted in the company splashing the cash big time in a bid to become as big in podcasts as it is in music. And that big push into podcasting has, in the short term at least, had a negative impact on Spotify's profitability.

In 2018, he went on, "our company was all about music. And when you isolate music, thanks to our marketplace products, its gross margin has been steadily climbing. And we are performing much better than you probably suspect - roughly 28.5% - which is significant progress in reaching our 30-35% long term goal. What's been dragging it down is our move into podcasting".

So why the podcasting move? Well, as has been repeatedly noted by those following Spotify's evolution, while increased scale and slowly negotiating better terms with the music industry as licensing deals come up for renewal - plus new products like marketplace - would slowly make the music side of the company profitable, growth on that side of the business would nevertheless be constrained and potentially capped by the high cost of licensing recordings and songs. Hence the attraction of moving into other kinds of audio.

Ek reminded his investors that "we saw the potential to be much more than just a music company. By leveraging what we learned - and all of the technology we built - in music across other verticals, our ambitions became much bigger. And here's where those investments have taken us: We are now the world's largest audio streaming platform. But the prize we are going after is actually much greater and as a consequence, the total addressable market is gigantic".

Thanks to its numerous investments in the podcasting space, Ek bragged, "we are now the number one platform that podcast listeners use the most in numerous markets around the world, including here the US. In just three years, we've not only become a leading platform for creators and listeners, but we've expanded the very format of podcasting itself".

And while podcasting remains unprofitable for now, Ek admitted, "we believe it has a 40-50% gross margin potential". And don't be thinking that the evolution from music specifically to audio generally stops with podcasting. "What our successes in music and podcasting have clearly demonstrated is that we have built a powerful machine and solid infrastructure that enables us to go after new verticals", he added. "And we are not waiting around".

Next on the agenda is audiobooks. Ek noted: "So, several months ago, we announced the agreement to acquire Findaway, a global leader in audiobook distribution. And while we are still waiting for this deal to close, we believe that audiobooks, in their many different forms, will be a massive opportunity. Today, the global size of the book market is estimated to be around $140 billion dollars. That's inclusive of printed books, e-books and audiobooks, with audiobooks having only about a 6-7% market share".

"But when you look at the most penetrated audiobook markets", he continued, "it's actually closer to 50% of the market. So call that an annual opportunity of $70 billion dollars for us to expand and eventually compete for. And just as we've done in podcasting, expect us to play to win. [And] while it's still early, we expect audiobooks to also have healthy margins, above 40% and be highly accretive to the business".

And after audiobooks, what next? "We see the opportunity to continue to imagine and explore new verticals across our platform - within audio, but also beyond", Ek confirmed. "And while we aren't ready yet to share the verticals that will come next, I don't think it's hard to imagine how we will deploy this proven playbook against them, ultimately winning market share and innovating to expand the categories we go after".

So, naysayers should note, "the opportunity out there is massive and I continue to believe it's ours to win. From everything I see, I believe that over the next decade, we will be a company that can generate $100 billion in revenue annually, and that we can achieve a 40% gross margin and a 20% operating margin. And I know it seems challenging to put all this into a financial model, because frankly this type of company has never existed before, [but] that is exactly my point".

"The businesses that never existed before are always the most valuable to have invested in over the long term", he concluded. "And this is the Spotify machine: a unique, highly scalable machine that enables a unique platform".

Fun times. And whatever you make of all that, you can be sure that those in the music community annoyed and/or concerned about Spotify's obsession with podcasts in recent years are going to be equally annoyed and/or concerned as it becomes newly obsessed about other rival audio products.

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Editors announce new album, EBM
Editors have announced that they will release their seventh album, 'EBM', later this year. The LP will be their first with new band member Benjamin John Power, aka Blanck Mass.

Speaking about the album, Power says: "There is a strong physicality to this record. 'EBM' started its life with the intention of connecting with people and filling a very physical space. There is also however an emotional physicality running throughout; an urgency and a sense of panic. An unease. Even in its more tender moments there is a yearning for connection".

Speaking about how Power joining has affected the band, frontman Tom Smith adds: "Ben has certainly been a shot of adrenaline in our creative process. The songs are so immediate and in your face".

The first single is 'Karma Climb', of which Smith says: "It's about hedonistic escapism, not only from the world generally, but also from what people think of you".

The band have also booked UK and Ireland tour dates for the beginning of next year. Tickets go on general sale tomorrow. Here are the dates:

25 Jan: Nottingham, Rock City
27 Jan: Manchester, Academy
29 Jan: Glasgow, Barrowland
30 Jan: Dublin, National Stadium
1 Feb: London, Troxy
2 Feb: Bristol, Marble Factory

Watch the video for 'Karma Climb' here.

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Foo Fighters announce Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in London and LA
Foo Fighters have announced two tribute shows set to take place in London and LA to honour the band's drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in March this year.

A statement says that the remaining members of the band - ie Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee - "will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate the life, music and love of their husband, father, brother and bandmate with The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts".

Exact details of what form these tribute concerts will take have not been announced, although "all-star rock and roll shows" are promised.

"Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolised", say the band. "The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor's memory and his legacy as a global rock icon - his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life".

In a separate statement, Hawkins' wife Alison says: "My deepest thanks and admiration go out to the global Foo Fighters community and Taylor's fans far and wide for the outpouring of love each and every one of you have shown our beloved Taylor. Your kindness has been an invaluable comfort for my family and me during this time of unimaginable grief".

"As Taylor's wife, and on behalf of our children, I want to share how much you meant to him and how dedicated he was to 'knocking your socks off' during every performance", she continues. "Taylor was honoured to be a part of the Foo Fighters and valued his dream role in the band every minute of his 25 years with them. We consider every band member and the extended Foo Fighters team our family".

"Taylor's endearing spirit and deep love of music will live on forever through the collaborations he so enjoyed having with other musicians and the catalogue of songs he contributed to and created", she concludes. "In celebration of his life, it is now up to all of us who loved him most to honour Taylor's legacy and the music he gave us".

The first tribute show will take place at Wembley Stadium in London on 3 Sep, followed by the second at The Kia Forum in LA on 27 Sep. Line-ups and ticket details are still to be announced.

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Kylie Minogue says blocking Kylie Jenner's trademark application "just had to be done"
Kylie has commented on that time she had a run in with Kylie over the Kylie trademark. Kylie trying to stop Kylie from trademarking Kylie was something that "just had to be done" says Kylie. You know, because if Kylie was using the brand Kylie at the same time as Kylie using the brand Kylie that would be a bit confusing. As this paragraph has hopefully demonstrated.

So, yes, as you may recall, it was Kylie Minogue who objected to a trademark application in the US by Kylie Jenner back in 2016. Jenner wanted to trademark and therefore have the exclusive use of the brand 'Kylie' for 'advertising services' and 'endorsement services', but Minogue argued that she already owned the trademark for 'Kylie' in the entertainment space and had also used her name for the sale of perfume and clothing products.

In the filing with the US Patent And Trademark Office formally objecting to Jenner's application, Minogue's reps noted that their client was an international pop artiste while Jenner was a "secondary reality television personality" who had courted controversy with her "photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts" on social media. Which was the sort of statement that could have made this dispute fun to watch had it proceeded in public.

But ultimately a settlement was reached between the two Kylies. Although the terms of that settlement were not made public, Jenner subsequently started using the name Kylie Cosmetics for her beauty business, while Minogue launched a makeup range in 2019 using the standalone Kylie brand.

Speaking about her decision to block Jenner's trademark application on Andy Cohen's 'Watch What Happens Live' TV show this week, Minogue said, simply: "I've spent a lifetime protecting my brand and building my brand, so it was just something that had to be done". Although, she was keen to add, "let me also say we came to an agreement".

Cohen then asked if Minogue had thought about contacting Jenner's mother Kris - who, of course, also executive produced the 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' show that made members of the Kardashian/Jenner family famous enough to be launching beauty brands.

"Did you have to call Kris Jenner and be like 'let me tell you something'?" Cohen asked. Minogue confirmed that she did not make any such call, but added that - despite the previous trademark skirmish - "I'd love to meet them".

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