More ticketing regulations proposed in Congress as Bill Pascrell updates his BOSS ACT
US Congress members Bill Pascrell Jr and Frank Pallone Jr yesterday officially introduced proposals in the House Of Representatives that would put in place new laws to regulate the American ticketing business with the aim, they say, of addressing transparency and other issues in the "badly corrupted live events ticket marketplace".

Proposing new ticketing regulations is in vogue in Congress at the moment, so it's no surprise that Pascrell has some regulations to propose, as he has been seeking to better regulate the sale of tickets ever since 2009. Indeed, the proposals introduced yesterday are an update of what has been proposed before. Though those proposals now have a new name: The BOSS and SWIFT ACT.

Back in 2009, issues with the ticketing business popped up on the political agenda after a mini controversy around ticket sales for Bruce Springsteen shows. That was caused by a glitch in the system that meant some fans found themselves being directed on Ticketmaster's official resale platform to touts selling tickets on the ticketing giant's own resale platform, even though tickets were still actually available on the main Ticketmaster site.

Ticketing has become political again recently due to issues that occurred around the sale last year of tickets to Taylor Swift's current tour via Ticketmaster's Verified Fan system. The Swift ticketing debacle led to a Congressional hearing and two sets of legislative proposals being introduced in the US Senate. And it's in reference to that more recent ticketing controversy that Pascrell's proposals - originally known as the BOSS ACT - have been renamed The BOSS and SWIFT ACT.

An assortment of different issues have been raised about ticketing, some specifically relating to secondary ticketing and the touts, and some to how tickets are managed and sold by official primary sellers. And some of the issues relate specifically to Ticketmaster and its owner Live Nation. Some argue that - as the biggest promoter and biggest ticket seller in the US - the combined Live Nation/Ticketmaster is too powerful, and its market dominance is behind some of the problems.

Keen to steer the political debate away from that latter point, Live Nation has expressed support for some new rules for regulating the ticketing market. Most of those rules would apply to secondary ticketing. Although - unlike in Europe - Ticketmaster is still involved in resale in the US. Therefore, those new rules would apply to its own operations.

With the two sets of legislative proposals recently introduced in the Senate, one set - proposed by Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell - is very much focused on the regulatory reforms that Live Nation supports. However, the other set - proposed by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal - aims to provide "protection against the clear excesses and abuses of Ticketmaster". So is clearly not supported by Live Nation.

The BOSS and SWIFT ACT is more wide-reaching than the proposals introduced in the Senate and does include some of the reforms that Live Nation is supporting. And, unlike the Klobuchar and Blumenthal proposals, there are no rules that overtly seek to deal with the anti-competitive business practices that Ticketmaster has been accused of.

However, it is likely that at least some of what Pascrell and Pallone are proposing won't be enthusiastically welcomed at Live Nation HQ. And certainly Pascrell and Pallone themselves seem to reckon that their proposals address some of the grievances consumers have specifically regarding Ticketmaster.

Commenting on his latest ticketing proposals, Pascrell says: "For too long, millions of American fans have been unable to get a fair shake for their tickets and cry out for relief. The recent experience of Taylor Swift fans being locked out of her tour is not new and Swifties are just the latest victims of Ticketmaster's policies and a broken market".

"For decades, the ticket market has been the Wild West: mammoth, opaque, speculative and brutally unfair", he goes on. "A fan shouldn't have to sell a kidney or mortgage a house to see their favourite performer or team. At long last, it is time to create rules for fair ticketing in this country and my legislation will do exactly that for all the fans".

Pallone adds: "Consumers deserve to enjoy their favourite artists and live entertainment without breaking the bank. It's past time to update the ticket marketplace to ensure it's fair, transparent and working for ticket buyers - not Ticketmaster or resellers".

"That's why I'm proud to be an original co-sponsor of Rep Pascrell's BOSS and SWIFT Act", he adds, "which will help protect consumers when they buy tickets from ticket sellers and resellers".

The Pascrell proposals are also backed by a number of organisations, including the National Consumers League, Consumer Federation Of America, Sports Fans Coalition, FanFreedom Project and Protect Ticket Rights.

The key proposals in the the BOSS and SWIFT ACT are as follows...

All platforms:

1. Mandatory all-in pricing to ensure the true ticket price is clearly displayed and does not change during check out process.
2. Clear disclosures of refund policies and guarantees for consumers to have the choice of a full refund or a replacement ticket in a comparable or upgraded location if a ticket is not delivered.
3. Disclosing to buyers whether a ticket is being offered as a primary sale or secondary sale.

Primary ticketing platforms:

1. Transparency on the total number and cost of tickets that will be offered for sale to the general public.
2. Preserving ticketing transferability so consumers are not restricted from reselling their tickets or facing a price ceiling or floor on ticket resales.
3. Ensure fans cannot be sanctioned for reselling a ticket.

Secondary ticketing platforms:

1. Clamping down on unauthorised speculative ticket sales.
2. Protecting consumers who receive tickets that do not match the description of those purchased.
3. Disclosing to purchasers when the secondary seller is the primary ticket seller, venue, team, or artist associated with the event.
4. Prohibiting unauthorised insiders from selling tickets at marked up prices
5. Restricting resellers from selling the same seat to more than one person at the same time.

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Reservoir acquires song rights of Miami Sound Machine's Enrique Garcia
Reservoir Media has announced a new deal to acquire the full songwriting catalogue of Miami Sound Machine's Enrique 'Kiki' Garcia.

Garcia wrote hits for the band, including 'Conga' and 'Dr Beat', as well as co-writing several more hits with vocalist Gloria Estefan, such as '1-2-3', 'Give It Up' and 'Rhythm Is Gonna Get You'.

"You never write a song thinking you're creating an anthem that will be loved around the world", says Garcia. "'Conga' is just that. I'm really excited that Reservoir will be taking the lead with my music and elevating it to the level it's always deserved".

Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi adds: "Kiki has contributed so much to the face of modern music as we know it. His collaborations with the Miami Sound Machine brought Latin music to mainstream audiences".

"Embarking on this deal with Kiki marks a notable expansion of our rights in Latin American music", she goes on, "and is an exciting opportunity to further diversify our catalogue while maintaining our focus on acquiring the rights to evergreen hits".

After Miami Sound Machine split, Garcia went on to work with Latin artists like Chayenne, El Puma and Julio Iglesias.

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CISAC provides updates on ISWC developments in its annual report
CISAC - the global grouping of song right collecting societies - has published its annual report. Among other things, it includes updates on developments around the ISWC identifier for songs and the organisation's work addressing issues with the collective licensing system in certain markets, in particular Greece.

The ISWC is the code that allows the music industry to uniquely identify every individual song and is a key part of the music industry's rights metadata set. It's no secret that the music industry's management of its rights metadata is far from perfect, and in the streaming domain that is having a big impact on how songwriters get paid.

There are various things the industry needs to do to start addressing those problems, which includes the full adoption of the ISWC, and ensuring that codes are created and distributed for each new song as quickly as possible.

The ultimate aim is that the ISWC is included alongside every recording that is delivered to a streaming service, so that both the service and the industry knows what songs are contained in every track.

As the overseer of the ISWC, CISAC has a role to play in helping the industry to achieve all this. And to that end it has made a number of changes to its ISWC systems in recent years, in an effort to speed up the process of issuing codes, and to ensure more people have access to the data.

"The global music identifier ISWC, administered by CISAC, was comprehensively upgraded in 2020 to be faster, more accurate and more efficient", the new annual report states. "In the last year, work has been stepped up to get the new system implemented across the whole music value chain and produce fairer remuneration for creators".

"Use of the ISWC among societies and publishers has been steadily increasing", it adds, "helped by educational efforts led by CISAC to help all stakeholders understand the benefits. The key objective now is that the ISWC is uploaded with songs to digital service providers, together with the recording information identified by its ISRC, the recording industry's identifier".

Regarding its work to address specific problems facing songwriters in Greece - which resulted from the collapse of the old collecting society in the country - the CISAC report states: "Responding to many calls for help from both within and outside Greece, in 2018 CISAC launched a project to support AUTODIA, a small [collecting society] set up by a group of creators who left the former for-profit society AEPI in the face of its collapse".

The aim, it adds, was to "restore stability to the Greek market and establish a well-functioning entity compliant with CISAC's professional standards. The ultimate objective was to revive the flow of royalty income to creators and publishers".

"Five years later, AUTODIA has shown remarkable progress in reviving the market in Greece", it goes on. "Helped by a memorandum of understanding signed [with CISAC] in June 2018, [AUTODIA] is now a well-functioning society that has weathered the impact of COVID and is seeing strong collections growth".

You can download the full annual report here.

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BBC announces second Open Music programme for new radio talent
The BBC has announced the second edition of its Open Music training scheme, which will offer 30 successful applicants hands-on experience, masterclasses and mentoring in the fields of radio production, sound engineering, presenting and digital content production in classical music.

"We're always on the lookout for future talent at the BBC and as we call for applications for Open Music 2023, I'm so pleased we'll be building on last year's amazingly successful cohort", says BBC Radio 3 Controller Sam Jackson. "We're looking for people with an undeniable spark of creativity, who feel that what they offer can help us to create truly special and memorable radio".

"The BBC may just be the place for you", he adds. "We are one of the biggest media organisations in the world, with a staggering reach, and we commission more new music than anyone in the UK. If you have creative ideas and want tailored mentoring and inspiring career experience as part of this unique organisation, whatever your ideas, age, talent or background, we want you to be part of our story - so, please do put in an application!"

The scheme will run from September 2023 to September 2024, culminating in a BBC Proms programme created by this year's trainees.

Find out more and apply here.

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Busted team up with Hanson for new version of MMMbop
Busted have taken a break from releasing new versions of their own songs to team up with Hanson for an updated rendition of their song 'MMMbop'. Hanson will also be joining Busted as special guests on their upcoming 20th anniversary tour.

"It's been such an honour to sing this 90s classic song with the band who made it 25 years on from original release", says Busted's James Bourne. "To have them as special guests on tour with us in September will be really special too, we're huge fans of Hanson!"

Hanson's Taylor Hanson adds: "It's been a thrill to reimagine 'MMMBop' with Busted and to see how a song with such history comes to life in a new way. This is a true fusion of Hanson and Busted".

Listen to 'MMMBop 2.0' here.

The full dates for Busted's upcoming tour are as follows:

2 Sep: Plymouth, Pavilions (SOLD OUT)
3 Sep: Cardiff, International Arena (SOLD OUT)
5 Sep: Swansea, Arena (SOLD OUT)
6 Sep: Bournemouth, BIC (SOLD OUT)
7 Sep: Brighton, Centre (SOLD OUT)
9 Sep: Birmingham, Utilita Arena (SOLD OUT)
10 Sep: London, The O2 (SOLD OUT)
12 Sep: Bridlington, Spa (SOLD OUT)
13 Sep: Newcastle, Utilita Arena (SOLD OUT)
15 Sep: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena (SOLD OUT)
16 Sep: Newcastle, Utilita Arena
17 Sep: Leeds, First Direct Arena
19 Sep: Aberdeen, P&J Live
20 Sep: Glasgow, Hydro (SOLD OUT)
22 Sep: Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena (SOLD OUT)
23 Sep: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
24 Sep: Manchester, AO Arena (SOLD OUT)
26 Sep: Cardiff, International Arena
27 Sep: London, The O2
29 Sep: Birmingham, Utilita Arena
30 Sep: Manchester, AO Arena
1 Oct: Glasgow, OVO Hydro
4 Oct: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
6 Oct: Dublin, 3Arena
8 Oct: Belfast, SSE Arena
10 Oct: London, The O2

In the run up to the dates, Busted are releasing fifteen re-recorded songs with special guests. They have previously put out new versions of 'Loser Kid' with Simple Plan and 'Meet You There' with Neck Deep.

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Sam Smith cancels shows due to vocal injury
Sam Smith has cancelled a number of UK shows due to a vocal injury. This follows the abrupt end to their Manchester show on Wednesday, just four songs into the set.

The singer left the stage suddenly at the show on Wednesday and the venue was plunged into darkness, leaving fans in confusion. Said fans were then informed that the show would not continue as Smith had "issues with their voice".

Smith then said in a statement on Instagram later: "Dearest sailors, I don't know what to say honestly. I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have travelled across Europe and had such incredible shows".

"Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was so excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight, with a special surprise at the end", they went on.

"During my third song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the fourth song I could feel something was really wrong. I came off the stage and have tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won't".

"I'm honestly heartbroken I couldn't finish the show tonight for you all", they concluded. "I love you all and I'm sorry I'm sorry".

It is rumoured that the "special surprise" was a performance with Madonna, Smith having teased a new collaboration with the pop star earlier this week.

This week's shows in Glasgow and Birmingham were subsequently cancelled, with a statement reading: "Doctors have advised due to a vocal cord injury, Sam must have complete rest".

"Sam is heartbroken to have had to cancel these shows", it added, "but they have been told by doctors that if they keep singing they will do permanent damage to their voice. If they take some rest they will be able to perform again".

Refunds will be available for the Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham shows. Smith is currently due to begin performing again at the Orange Warsaw Festival in Poland on 2 Jun.

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APPOINTMENTS

Concord Music Publishing has promoted Jen Hubbard to Director Of Sync And A&R - she having previously been Director Of A&R.

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RELEASES

Foo Fighters have released another new track 'Show Me How', taken from new album 'But Here We Are', which is out next week.

Swedish House Mafia have released new track 'See The Light', featuring Fridayy, taken from the soundtrack of EA Sports' new 'Formula 1' video game.

Cat Burns has released new single 'You Don't Love Me Anymore'. "It gently speaks about a fear loads of us have in relationships where we're worried our partner may wake up one day and no longer love us", she says. "I truly hope this song brings comfort to anyone going through this exact thing right now.".

OneRepublic have released new single 'Runaway'.

This year's UK Eurovision entrant Mae Muller has announced that she will release her debut album 'Sorry I'm Late' on 15 Sep. "I'm so excited about the album coming out", she says. "I can't wait for the fans that have stuck by me from the beginning to hear the record, and for those that have been so supportive on my Eurovision journey to hear more music. I'm really showing a different side of myself on this album: a vulnerable one, one that I haven't spoken about before".

Moneybagg Yo has released new single 'Ocean Spray'.

Royal Blood have released new single 'Mountains At Midnight'. New album 'Back To The Water Below' is out on 8 Sep.

Ashnikko has released new single 'Possession Of A Weapon', taken from her album 'Weedkiller', which is out on 25 Aug.

Julian Casablancas And The Voidz have released new single 'Prophecy Of The Dragon'.

Teenage Fanclub will release their eleventh studio album 'Nothing Lasts Forever' on 22 Sep. "These songs are definitely personal", says the band's Norman Blake. "You're getting older, you're going into the cupboard getting the black suit out more often. Thoughts of mortality and the idea of the light must have been playing on our minds a lot. [The songs are] fairly optimistic, there's an acceptance of a situation and all of the experience that comes with that acceptance". Out now is new single 'Foreign Land'.

Piri & Tommy Villiers have released new single 'Nice 2 Me'. "Relationships can be so complicated but at the end of the day all you really want is to be treated nicely", says Piri. "Although it seems obvious, I don't feel like this sentiment is expressed enough and I'm sure a lot of people can relate. We really wanted to capture some DJ Marky-esque Brazilian energy in this track, and Tommy smashed it with the guitar part and percussion. 'Nice 2 Me' is a summer banger for all the lovers who just wanna have a nice time!"

Squid have released new single 'The Blades'. "On the surface it's a song about police brutality with the last section kind of inspired by 'The Tell Tale Heart' by Edgar Allen Poe, although I've never read the book, I've just seen The Simpsons' spoof of it", says vocalist Ollie Judge. "Narratively it follows a police helicopter pilot's day, ending with him in bed hearing another pilot circling the skies as if he were taunting him". The band's new album 'O Monolith' is out on 9 Jun.

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete have released new single 'Invisible'. "We feel 'Invisible' is one of our most poppy songs", says the duo's Alberto González. "It is also emotionally intense. It came from merging two different ideas. Sometimes we restrain ourselves from certain decisions that might expose ourselves too much, but with this one we went all in. When the song gets too ethereal the disintegrating guitar riff comes in to add some kind of hopelessness". Their new album 'Datura' is out on 16 Jun.

Niki & The Dove and The Greys have teamed up on 'This Is The Music', the title track from an upcoming collaborative EP, which is out on 30 Jun. "This is for the young people who think their youth is wasting away because too much is put on their shoulders to fix from earlier generational mess ups", says Niki & The Dove vocalist Malin. "We wanted the lyrics to acknowledge that feeling. To say: 'I hear you, I see you, there is a silver lining, you know. I wanna try to soothe you with this music, cause we have a battle ahead of us with an exhausted Earth that gets hotter and hotter but you also have beautiful days in the park ahead of you and many kisses to kiss. Let's try to make things better'".

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GIGS & TOURS

Louis Tomlinson has announced that his Away From Home Festival will this year take place at Lido di Camaiore in Italy on 19 Aug. In addition to a headline set from Tomlinson himself, there will be performances from acts including Blossoms, The Cribs, HotWax and Andrew Cushin. Tickets go on general sale on Monday.

Pabllo Vittar has announced UK and Ireland shows in August, including a performance at the Kentish Town Forum in London on 27 Aug. In addition to this, she's just put out the video for 'Cadeado' from her fifth studio album 'Noitada'.

Speech Debelle has announced UK tour dates in October in support of her new album 'Sunday Dinner On A Monday', which is out on 9 Jun. Out now is the single 'Wayward'.

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

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Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Haim and more to feature on Barbie movie soundtrack
The soundtrack for the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed 'Barbie' movie has been announced, with Lizzo, Haim, Charli XCX and Tame Impala among the artists who have contributed new music. Out now is new Dua Lipa track 'Dance The Night'.

Executive produced by Mark Ronson, the album is also set to feature contributions from Ryan Gosling - who stars as Ken in the movie - plus Nicki Minaj, Khalid, PinkPantheress, The Kid Laroi, Ava Max, Ice Spice, Dominic Fike, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Kali, Karol G, Aldo Ranks and two more names still to be announced.

Aqua's 1997 song 'Barbie World' is set to appear on the soundtrack as well, although it's a new version performed by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice. Also, in addition to having a track on the soundtrack, Dua Lipa is set to appear in the film as a mermaid.

The full soundtrack as it currently stands is as follows:

1. Lizzo - Pink
2. Dua Lipa - Dance The Night
3. Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice - Barbie World (with Aqua)
4. Charli XCX - Speed Drive
5. Karol G - Watati (feat Aldo Ranks)
6. TBA
7. Tame Impala - Journey To The Real World
8. Ryan Gosling - I'm Just Ken
9. Dominic Fike - Hey Blondie
10. Haim - Home
11. TBA
12. The Kid Larry - Forever & Again
13. Khalid - Silver Platter
14. PinkPantheress - Angel
15. Gayle - Butterflies
16. Ava Max - Choose Your Fighter
17. Fifty Fifty - Barbie Dreams (feat Kali)

The album is set for release on 21 Jul, the same day that the Margot Robbie-starring movie hits cinemas.

Watch the video for 'Dance The Night' by Dua Lipa here.

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