Music consumption at all time high powered by streaming and video apps
Audio-streaming services account for 32% of music consumption in 2022, although so do video and social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Make of that what you will. This is all according to the latest music consumption stats pack from the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry which goes by the name 'Engaging With Music'.

That stats pack also tells us that people on average are spending more time each week listening to music. Average listening time is up to 20.1 hours, from 18.4 hours in last year's survey. That, the IFPI reckons, means people are listening to more music today than ever before. And they are accessing that music via more channels than ever before too, with the average person engaging with music via more than six different methods.

The global trade group for the record industry surveyed 44,000 internet users in 22 countries across the world. The global stats in the new report are based on the surveys that took place in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK and US. There are then standalone summaries of the surveys conducted in China, India, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Of those internet users included in the global figures, 74% were listening to music through an audio streaming service. Though that obviously includes both paid-for premium services and ad-funded free-to-access services. The music industry makes much more money from the former. 46% of respondents were signed up to a paid-for service, either directly or via a family plan type package.

Paid-for streaming was most popular among 25-34 year olds with 56% signed up, closely followed by the 16-24 year olds at 54%. Engagement with premium services then declines with age, so among 35-44 year olds 44% were paying to stream, with 45-54 year olds it was 36% and with 55-64 year olds it was 26%.

In terms of which countries are most likely to pay to stream music, Sweden - home of Spotify and a real early adopter market for streaming - comes out top with 56% of respondents there signed up to premium. The next biggest markets for premium streaming were the UK (52%), USA (51%), Germany (51%) and Mexico (50%).

Premium subscribers are unsurprisingly more engaged with the music than the free streamers, so when all the stats are crunched together to work out what formats account for total music consumption, premium streaming accounts for 24% and free streaming 8%.

But what about the music being consumed via video and social media platforms and apps? The IFPI reckons that video streaming via platforms like YouTube accounts for 19% of consumption, short-form video apps like TikTok for 8% and social media services like Facebook and Instagram 5% - which is 32% in total, the same as premium and free streaming combined.

The IFPI study found that 50% of respondents were using short-form video apps, with 78% of respondents in South Africa and Mexico busy swiping through at least some short-form video nonsense on a regular basis. Crucially for a music industry busy renegotiating its deals with many of those very apps, the IFPI reckons that music "was central to 63% of all the time spent watching videos on short form video apps".

In terms of other forms of music consumption, beyond the 32% on streaming services and 32% on video and social platforms, 17% of consumption came via the good old fashioned radio, 10% is from music purchased on disc or download, 4% is from live music and 6% from other things like TV.

The live music figure also includes livestreaming. Of those surveyed, 32% said they had watched some live-streamed music in the last month. Engagement with livestreams was highest in Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina and South Korea.

The IFPI report also talks about the positive impact of music on health. 69% of respondents said that music is important to their mental health, and the same number reckoned music was particularly important when they exercise.

Talking about health, what about the health of the record industry? Obviously, all that streaming has powered a lot of revenue growth in the recorded music business in recent years, although what about all that piracy that caused plenty of health problems for the sector in the 2000s and early 2010s?

Well, while piracy isn't the big problem it was in the early days of digital, the IFPI survey found that 30% of respondents are still accessing music via unlicensed platforms, and that goes up to 43% among 16-24 year olds. 27% had used stream-ripping sites to access music and 17% had used a mobile app to illegally download music. Which is very naughty indeed. I mean, can't they just watch a musical TikTok video and be happy?

Commenting on the latest 'Engaging With Music' report, IFPI boss Frances Moore says: "This year's 'Engaging With Music' report paints a fascinating picture of how fans around the globe listen and engage with music today. It shows the results of record companies' partnership with artists and their work to harness new technologies to connect fans with their favourite tracks in even more ways".

"We continue our work to ensure that those seeking to profit from unlicensed and unauthorised music can't threaten the vibrancy of a music ecosystem that is essential to artists and fans", she adds. "'Engaging With Music 2022' serves as a healthy and celebratory reminder of the true global importance and value of music and the need to protect and support it".

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James Brown estate and Primary Wave sued by Bowie Bonds creator
The James Brown estate and Primary Wave have been sued by an entity called The Pullman Group over the big deal that was announced last year around the late musician's song rights, recording royalties and brand.

Primary Wave announced its deal with the Brown estate last December. It saw the music rights firm acquire a stake in the James Brown songs catalogue, as well as securing involvement in the musician's recording royalties, plus Brown's name and likeness rights. But, claims The Pullman Group, that deal should not have gone ahead without its involvement.

The Pullman Group is headed up by David Pullman, who all the way back in the 1990s was doing deals with musicians around their music rights and royalties. Basically, Pullman's investors paid artists a big upfront sum of money in return for control of their future royalties.

So, it was the 1990s version of the recent trend of investors buying up music copyrights and royalty rights from premiere league artists and songwriters who are eager for a big old upfront pay day. Pullman's best known deal was with David Bowie, resulting in his music right investment products being dubbed Bowie Bonds.

Another artist who did a deal with Pullman in the 1990s was James Brown. According to a new legal filing, in 1999 Brown and his company James Brown Enterprises approached Pullman about doing a Bowie Bond style deal in a bid to get the musician's finances under control.

Despite his success in the music industry, the lawsuit says, "Brown faced financial difficulties due to his exorbitant spending and myriad legal problems and liens, including a multi-million dollar federal tax debt, which led the [US tax authority] to seize Brown's Beech Island, South Carolina property in 1985".

A deal was done which "led to The Pullman Group securitising Brown's assets". To reduce Brown's upfront costs, The Pullman Group waived the upfront fees it would usually have charged, meaning it would only get paid if and when the project was a success.

"In exchange for taking on the risk that the transaction would not be successful", the lawsuit goes on, "The Pullman Group negotiated for and received valuable exclusive future rights" from Brown and his company. That included "exclusive rights regarding financial transactions related to James Brown's assets, including the right to arrange any future refinancing or asset sales".

Those extra rights would stay in place for 60 years, so until 2059, the lawsuit then claims. Which means that they were still very much in force when the Brown estate negotiated its big deal with Primary Wave.

"On or about 13 Dec 2021", the lawsuit continues, "The Pullman Group learned for the first time when The New York Times broke the story that the Brown defendants, secretly and behind The Pullman Group's back, had sold Brown's assets - 'including music rights' - to Primary Wave, 'a New York company that specialises in marketing estates and song catalogues' in a deal 'estimated at about $90 million'".

That deal, The Pullman Group argues, violates its "exclusive rights regarding financial transactions related to James Brown's assets". Which means, it alleges, that the Brown estate is in breach of contact, while Primary Wave and its agents are accused of 'tortious interference with a contract'.

As a result of all that, The Pullman Group would like lots of damages. Like, lots and lots of damages. We're talking $11 million from the Brown estate and $125 million from Primary Wave. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the estate has told Billboard that Pullman's lawsuit "has no merit" and that it intends "to vigorously defend the action".

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Scissor Sisters sign to Warner Chappell
Warner Chappell has signed a new publishing deal with Scissor Sisters covering the on hiatus band's songs and principle songwriters, Jake Shears and Scott 'Baby Daddy' Hoffman.

"Baby Daddy and I are really proud of all the music we've created together and couldn't be happier to have Warner Chappell Music looking after our songs going forward", says Shears. "The worldwide team have some really awesome and ambitious ideas of how they'll reinvigorate our catalogue and we can't wait to see what they do".

Baby Daddy adds: "The Scissor Sisters songs still connect with so many fans all over the world, and we're so excited to have found a home with the worldwide acclaim of Warner Chappell Music. We're stoked to announce that the incredible team at Warner Chappell will be continuing the Scissor Sisters journey along with us".

Emily Foreman, Creative Manager at Warner Chappell Music UK, also comments: "Scissor Sisters are such an iconic name in dance and pop culture and their early songs still sound as fresh and innovative as they did when they first came out. I'm honoured that we'll represent these classic records at Warner Chappell Music and I'm looking forward to finding ways to connect their songs with new audiences".

The band have also recently appointed Fascination Management as their legacy managers. The company's Peter Loraine says: "It was an honour to be asked by the band to caretake, nurture and develop their business. Their catalogue of music and visuals is first class and has so much potential. I worked with the band during my years at Polydor, so to be reunited professionally is a dream come true".

With the exception of a charity project in 2017, the band have been pretty much on hiatus since the promo of last album 'Magic Hour', which was released in 2012.

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BBC's launch of Radio 1 Dance - and OfCom's scrutiny of it - back in court
The dispute over the launch of BBC Radio 1 Dance - and whether media regulator OfCom should have ordered a 'public interest test' before said launch - has been back in court in London this week.

Commercial radio trade body Radiocentre reckons that the regulator erred in not ordering more rigorous scrutiny regarding the impact a bespoke Radio 1 Dance channel would have on other dance music radio services.

The BBC launched Radio 1 Dance within its Sounds app in 2020. Because it's a service that aggregates and repurposes dance music content from elsewhere on the BBC radio networks, the Beeb reckoned that adding the new channel to its app did not mean it was actually launching a new radio station and therefore didn't constitute a "material change" to its overall output.

That's important because if Radio 1 Dance was deemed a new service - and its launch a "material change" - then more scrutiny and a so called public interest test would have been required. OfCom basically agreed with the BBC, telling bosses there to ensure there was "effective engagement" with its commercial rivals before launching Radio 1 Dance, but not insisting on any full public interest test.

Radiocentre argues that both the BBC and OfCom were wrong in their conclusion that Radio 1 Dance did not constitute a "material change" to the Beeb's output. It did, it insists, and therefore a public interest test should have been conducted.

The commercial radio trade group is sufficiently convinced that the BBC and OfCom got it wrong that it launched legal proceedings against the regulator. It was those proceedings that were back in court earlier this week.

According to the Press Association, Radiocentre's legal rep, Timothy Otty, told the court that while Radio 1 Dance does not exist as a radio station outside of the BBC Sounds app, within the app it is presented as an equal to all the other BBC stations, including Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra.

And yet, the fact that Radio 1 Dance only exists within Sounds was a key reason why the BBC and OfCom did not consider it a new service. But that, he argued, is "irrational".

"This question has wide implications for the regulatory landscape", he added, because it means the BBC could launch, without undertaking any public interest tests, "any number of new radio services and television services designed, marketed and operated in identical manner to existing radio stations and television channels, provided only that those services were not broadcast, in the case of radio, on DAB or other terrestrial radio".

He also questioned the BBC's insistence that Radio 1 Dance only curates existing content. "The BBC did create new content for Radio 1 Dance - or at least 'with [Radio 1 Dance] in mind' - such that it could not accurately be said that Radio 1 Dance was merely curating existing content or content that would have been commissioned in any event".

Noting why the BBC has the obligation to undertake public interest tests for new services, Otty said that the broadcaster enjoys "a privileged, unique position as a publicly funded organisation with the freedom not to need to make money to survive".

Because of that privilege, OfCom is meant to ensure that the BBC doesn't exploit its competitive advantage in order to "crowd out" the commercial sector.

OfCom's legal rep, Tristan Jones, reaffirmed the regulator's position in written arguments, insisting that Radio 1 Dance does not include any exclusive content, that it airs a large number of repeats, is not available via broadcast channels and has a "very small audience".

He added that it is "well established" that online-only offerings from the BBC are not treated as new stations or channels, even if they resemble a station or channel within an online platform. Therefore, OfCom's decision over Radio 1 Dance was the correct one.

We await to see how the court rules. Meanwhile, a Radiocentre spokesperson told RadioToday this week: "This case has huge ramifications for both the commercial market and the regulatory landscape. It's deeply troubling that the BBC's lack of transparency and hopes of avoiding regulatory scrutiny didn't prompt OfCom to act".

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Outgoing AIF CEO Paul Reed announces new role at Musicians' Union
Former Association Of Independent Festivals CEO Paul Reed has announced he is moving to the Musicians' Union, heading up its operations in the North of England.

"I have long admired the Union's vital work and it is crucial that musicians are supported and represented", says Reed. "They are facing a myriad of challenges and their work underpins our entire industry".

"On a personal level, it is fantastic to be working for an organisation that my grandfather, as a trumpet player, was a member of for most of his life", he goes on. "I look forward to working alongside the team to advance and protect the interests of MU members across the North of England, returning to the region where I started my career. I can't wait to get started".

Reed takes over from Matt Wanstall, who is becoming the MU's Assistant General Secretary.

Confirming the appointment, MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl comments: "Paul has been a great advocate for the festival sector and we know he will be an invaluable asset to MU members. In his new role, he will represent almost 6000 musicians in the North of England, including nine orchestras, in an area spanning from Cheshire in the West to Grimsby in the East, from Manchester to Newcastle, and including the Isle Of Man".

"I am also THRILLED that Matt Wanstall has joined the Union's leadership team", she adds. "His experience will be crucial as we tackle challenges including the ongoing impact of Brexit, arts funding cuts and the cost of living crisis".

Reed announced that he would step down from AIF, after four years as CEO, back in August. Sŵn Festival founder John Rostron will officially take over from him tomorrow. Reed takes up his new role at the MU on Monday.

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Manchester's Night & Day Café announces show to raise awareness of noise complaint legal battle
Manchester music venue the Night & Day Café has announced a special show next week, raising awareness for its ongoing battle with Manchester City Council over an outstanding noise abatement order. The show will be staged under the banner Decades Of Decibels.

The Lounge Society, Deaf Deaf Deaf, Soup! and the incredible Slap Rash will perform at the event, with a DJ set from The Orielles. There will also be a live panel discussion, with speakers including the Chair of the Greater Manchester Music Commission, Jay Taylor.

All profits from the show will be donated to the Music Venue Trust. Live performances on the night are also set to be recorded and made available for sale on cassette at the show - any remaining copies will then be sold at nearby cassette store Mars Tapes.

Night & Day revealed last month that it is continuing to fight a noise abatement notice served against it by Manchester City Council last year. It explained that the council is refusing to retract the notice, meaning that an appeal will likely have to go to court later this month. If it loses that legal case it will probably mean "the closure of the venue altogether".

The notice was issued following complaints from one person who lives in a flat next to the venue. It transpires the when the building where the complainant lives was most recently redeveloped, the property developers did not consider or mitigate future noise issues, despite that being a requirement of the planning permission provided by the local council.

"After receiving a copy of the MCC planning file for the redevelopment where the complainant lives, we were shocked and appalled to find that a crucial acoustic report had not been provided, nor acoustic works completed to the development before it was occupied", the venue has stated.

Night & Day's owners added that they have brought all this to the attention of council leaders and "feel strongly that Night & Day has been mistreated and that this is the council's problem to resolve", but the local authority still refuses to retract the notice.

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council responded at the time: "The council is, and remains, supportive of the music scene in Manchester which Night & Day has championed, but we have to comply with our duties in respect of statutory noise nuisance".

"It is important to note that the source of complaints regarding this venue relate to very loud music played into the early hours of the morning and not live band performances", they added. "The council is not seeking to close down the venue and we want to work with the venue to address the noise, for example through suitable acoustic measures".

No resolution has yet been reached, so court proceedings are now set to begin on 29 Nov.

The Decades Of Decibels show will take place on 26 Nov. Book tickets here.

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APPOINTMENTS

Blue Raincoat Music's Chrysalis Records has hired James Meadows as SVP Marketing. He joins from BMG. "I'm over the moon with this new role and I feel privileged to be a part of the next chapter of Chrysalis Records, ensuring it rightly remains at the forefront of the modern music industry and one of the UK's most respected, creative, artist friendly labels", he says. The label has also appointed Rachel Forde and Aaron Skates to the roles of of Campaign Marketing Manager and Catalogue Marketing Manager respectively.

Warner Music Japan has hired Kazuhiro Shimada as its new COO. "Kazuhiro is an outstanding exec who has a proven track record in the entertainment sector and an extensive understanding of the Japanese music industry", says CEO Kaz Kobayashi.

HYBE America has hired Marissa Thompson as Manager, Crystal Huh as director of SB Projects, and Jennifer Coen as a Director of Big Machine Label Group. "These three dynamic, promising executives have proven track records of executing partnerships with vision, determination and skill, and will undoubtedly produce meaningful results for our team", says Jules Ferree, SB Projects' President Of Brands & Ventures.

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RELEASES

PinkPantheress has released new Kaytranada-produced single 'Do You Miss Me?'

Joy Orbison has released new single '2M3 2U'. "I see this one as a bit of a UK take on hyperpop", he says. "But with a bit of bass weight. The vocal part could be a sample of some garbled message of love in 'Bladerunner' or the 'Fifth Element', and the main riffs had me thinking about the DJ Narrows records we'd play at youth club parties. Interesting top lines seem to be a bit absent in my world these days and I've definitely been influenced by contemporary drum & bass and their endless search for the catchiest wobble".

Nia Archives has released new single 'So Tell Me'.

Jenny Hval has released new single 'Buffy'. "Somehow I improvised some lyrics that referred to 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', probably just because I have watched it many times", she says of writing the song. "'Buffy' is not a song about a slayer, a superhero or feminist icon. If anything, it's a song about hope, but in an understated and episodic way. Because to me, hope is more hopeful when it is presented in a subtle way".

Tennis have announced that they will release new album 'Pollen' on 10 Feb, and have also released new single 'One Night With The Valet'. They will also headline London's Islington Assembly Hall on 14 Feb. Tickets on sale on Friday.

Rosie Thomas has released Christmas single 'We Should Be Together', featuring Sufjan Stevens. "Christmas can be a bittersweet time", she says. "Though this story is framed within a relationship, the larger themes and longings are more universal. We all need hope and we need each other. This song's a beauty and it was great having Sufjan hop in and make it even richer of course - our little Christmas miracle himself".

Alexander Tucker has a new album, 'Fifth Continent', which is a posthumous collaboration with Keith Collins, who died in 2018, using spoken word pieces and field recordings he made while still alive. "It was strange collaborating with someone who wasn't there anymore", says Tucker. "But I had this idea of knitting Keith's recordings into the track, not just to play alongside them but to integrate him into the fabric of the music". The album is out on 24 Feb. From it, this is 'In Smiling In Slow Motion'.

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GIGS & TOURS

Iggy Pop, Blondie and punk supergroup Generation Sex (Billy Idol, Steve Jones and Paul Cook) will play Crystal Palace Park on 1 Jul. "We are excited to reunite with our friend, the one and only prince of punk, Iggy, for this special show in Crystal Palace Park next summer", says Blondie's Debbie Harry. Tickets go on general sale tomorrow.

N-Dubz have announced five open air shows next summer in London, Brighton, Margate, Scarborough and Cardiff. Tickets go on general sale on 25 Nov.

Moonspell have cancelled their upcoming UK tour, citing the cost of living crisis. "We are obviously desolate in bringing such sad news yet we had no other option", say the band. "The reasons behind this decision are, as you can imagine, the huge financial crisis UK and Europe are living through that affects entertainment sales. We wish to meet you under better circumstances and will work hard to bring a show that is worth your money and time, hopefully in 2023".

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

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Akon says Kanye's offensive comments are all part of his bid to become President
Akon reckons that Kanye West's recent spate of offensive remarks and stunts - which have drawn much criticism, of course, and seen him banned from both Twitter and Instagram, and also lose numerous business deals - are all part of a bid to become the next President of the United States.

Even stranger, Akon presents this like it's some kind of good and clever thing. West - he has decided - is not only planning to run for the US presidency again in 2024, but has recognised that if he's going to be successful he needs to draw votes away from Donald Trump. And the best way to do that, it seems, is to be racist and antisemitic.

"I think Kanye is smarter than y'all think", says Akon in a new interview with sports commentator Shannon Sharpe. "What is his next plan? To run for office, right. I'm just sayin! From our knowledge, his next plan is to run for office, right? Who was his main endorser? Trump. In order for Kanye to have a shot, he needs to have a piece of that base. This is how he's getting it. And he knows this!"

West, of course, ran a pretty disastrous presidential campaign back in 2020, where he only stood in a few states and secured a little over 60,000 votes. It has subsequently been claimed that his main goal was to split the vote in key areas to the detriment of Joe Biden, in the hope that it would help Trump to get re-elected.

Earlier this year West did say that he "absolutely" plans to run for President again, although he has not yet announced formal plans to stand in 2024. Akon, meanwhile, has previously said that he'd like to be West's Vice President, so maybe his comments are all a ruse as well.

Actually, Akon says in this new interview that he's really just keen for West to be given a fair hearing.

"I'm always defending the people that nobody wants to defend", he says. "I'ma always defend Kanye West because I always believe, in life, an opinion is just an opinion. If Ye says something that I don't agree with, I just don't agree with it. But I'm not gonna go jumping all mad and letting it affect my energy".

In the event that West does stand for President again in two years time, it's still not a given that Donald Trump will be going up against him. The former President did announce plans this week to stand for a third time, however it's not a given that the US Republican Party - which finally seems to be growing weary of him - will select him as its candidate.

Though, I guess, he could also stand as an independent, which is unlikely to result in success in the election itself, but could tangibly harm the Republicans, which Trump would presumably be keen to do if they rejected him in the primaries.

No idea what that turn of events would mean for any presidential bid from West. Though, if Akon's right, maybe super smart Ye has already factored that into his grand plan.

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