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Friday 28 August 2015, 12:04 | By Paul Vig
Vigsy’s Notting Hill Carnival Tip
Club Tip CMU Approved
It’s that time of year again – oh yes – the huge West London street party takes place this Sunday and bank holiday Monday. And even if we don’t quite agree with their press accreditation policies this year, this is still set to be a magnificent event. Sunday is the more relaxed of the days, traditionally being children’s day, while it all gets a bit more exuberant on Monday.
There is, of course, the traditional calypso, soca and reggae from the Caribbean, the always excellent steel pan bands, and lots of hugely detailed costumery. Plus the taste of the Caribbean is ever present: the smell of jerk chicken and curried goat (very very nice), or saltfish and ackee with rice and peas, is all around.
The Carnival also forays into jungle, ragga, hip hop, house and broken beat via the numerous soundsystems dotted around Notting Hill over the weekend. They’re certainly worth hunting down – and while a bit of planning is always advised – don’t be too rigid with that plan, ultimately it’s better to just go with the flow.
Of the 38 officially listed soundsystems, the five I’d really try to check out are…
1. CMC/Matrix and 4Play playing drum n bass and garage.
2. King Tubbys for excellent reggae.
3. Aba Shanti4 also on a reggae tip.
4. Rough But Sweet featuring the Rinse FM DJs.
5. Rapattack taking us from funk to house to soul.
Make sure you have a map with you, Time Out has one here, and remember it gets very crowded indeed, so keep an eye on friends and maybe have a plan for regrouping, because phone networks often fall down during the Carnival festivities. Oh, and take enough money because the cash points are often drained by Monday. And, given the forecast, maybe take your waterproofs too.
Meanwhile, let’s not forget the pre and post Carnival parties. Later today the Trouble Vision Carnival Warm Up is at Corsica Studios with Osunlade and Jay Daniel, while tomorrow you’ll find Don Letts and Fabio at Big Chill House N1 for Jamaica Rum Tings, and the We Love Soul (Carnival Special) night at the Scala in Kings Cross has Steve Sutherland and Norris Windross.
Sunday sees Peckhams’ CLF Arts Cafe host the Deadly Rhythms after party with Karizma and Alex Nut, while Dingwalls in Kensal Rise sees Mungos Hi Fi takeover for some sonic antics. And on Monday, Benji B’s Deviation sets up camp at The Paradise, and West Side Story sees Terry Farley and Barry Ashworth hit the decks at the Masons Arms. Oh, and Jamie Rodigan hosts a Carnival After Party at Notting Hill Arts Club too.
All in all, a great line up for an often underrated London tradition. Let’s hope the sun does shine this weekend on West London. And if you’re one of those Londoners who has never quite made it to this event, then do it, trust me, you’ll love it. Big Up Carnival!
READ MORE ABOUT: Notting Hill Carnival
Friday 28 August 2015, 12:01 | By Chris Cooke
PRS sues SoundCloud
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
So, in what was threatening to be a quiet news week, PRS yesterday informed its members that it was suing SoundCloud. And so, boom, things got all kinds of interesting.
Like with YouTube, the music industry has had something of a love/hate relationship with SoundCloud for sometime, though unlike YouTube, until very recently SoundCloud was a no-royalty rather than low-royalty service.
And while most artists and labels like the SoundCloud interface, and want to reach the massive audience of music fans SoundCloud has amassed, as the years went by resentment grew that there was no way to monetise content on this platform, whether it was uploaded by creator or fan. And for years the digital start-up didn’t seem to have any ambitions in the content monetisation space; it was simply a digital distribution service for creators, which made its money charging content producers subscription fees.
But in more recent years, and especially the last eighteen months, SoundCloud has shifted its business plan somewhat and started to engage with rights owners about how they might monetise content on its platform, through both ads and subscriptions. This shift might have been in response to several years of pressure from the labels, though it seemed to be more a result of investors demanding that the company find new ways of making revenue beyond charging content producers fees for hosting and streaming their audio files.
Some labels, pissed off that their various attempts to discuss licensing deals had been ignored for several years, were initially resistant of SoundCloud’s new approach, especially as it became clear it was interested in a licensing model more akin to YouTube than Spotify.
But at the same time, those labels knew SoundCloud was a great marketing platform, a popular service with artists and fans, and had access to a massive community of music consumers. And if there was now an opportunity to monetise all of that, well, you’d be mad to turn that down. And so a deal with Warner Music was announced, and then with indie-label repping Merlin. Plus an agreement with Universal is seemingly imminent, though Sony Music is still holding out for a better offer.
But what about the bloody publishers? Well, SoundCloud has been speaking to those who control the song copyrights as well as recording copyright owners, and it reached a deal with the National Music Publishers’ Association in the US back in May, seemingly providing a template to cover the mechanical rights of the group’s indie members. But back in the UK it seems negotiations have not been going so well.
In its memo to members yesterday, PRS wrote: “After careful consideration, and following five years of unsuccessful negotiations, we now find ourselves in a situation where we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against the online music service SoundCloud. Launched in 2008, the service now has more than 175 million unique listeners per month. Unfortunately, the organisation continues to deny it needs a PRS For Music licence for its existing service available in the UK and Europe, meaning it is not remunerating our members when their music is streamed by the SoundCloud platform”.
It is important to note that the PRS memo doesn’t actually talk about the new SoundCloud business model – or sharing in ad revenue and licensing the new subscription service – but instead expresses frustration about the current SoundCloud business, and the fact the digital firm “continues to deny it needs a PRS For Music licence” at all. Which means that really this is a safe harbours case that – if it got to court – would test some important elements of copyright law, which SoundCloud would probably rather not be tested.
The safe harbours contained in US and European copyright law have come under increased scrutiny this year, and for a full primer on all that check out this CMU trends article, which we just made free-to-access for all. The safe harbours assure that internet service providers and server hosting companies are not liable for copyright infringement if and when their customers distribute or store copyright material without permission; they get the protection providing they have a system in place for removing infringing content from their networks when made aware of it by a rights owner.
But plenty of services beyond ISPs and server hosting firms utilise these safe harbours, with MegaUpload, Grooveshark, YouTube and SoundCloud amongst those claiming safe harbour protection. Which is how SoundCloud can say it didn’t need a licence from any label, publisher or collecting society up until this point. It never uploaded any of the content that appears on its platform, and it was always happy to remove any recordings containing PRS-controlled songs, if only PRS had asked.
As it does proper deals with the labels – safe harbours or no safe harbours – SoundCloud needs to woo the publishers, because no label wants to pump all its content into a streaming service and then see it all taken down at the request of whoever controls the publishing rights. And, of course, most labels are also publishers, so will usually insist digital service providers also license any songs they stream (even if the labels have, by this point, taken more than half the available money, meaning the songwriters and publishers will always see much less cash).
Now, SoundCloud has no problem wooing publishers for its new ad and subscription funded services – as it did in the US – but it seems that, with PRS at least, it is facing problems putting aside the issue of the service it is offering as of now, and has been for the past few years. “Where’s our royalties for all the songs you’re exploiting right now” the songwriters and publishers are saying, “and for the songs you exploited yesterday and three years ago?”
For it’s part, SoundCloud calls the newly announced legal action “regrettable”, insisting that talks are ongoing with PRS about its service moving forward, and that going legal in this way is counter-productive for everyone. Though for PRS there is a point of principle and precedent here, the society does not want to change its position that SoundCloud has required a songs licence from day one and has been infringing copyright ever since.
“It has been a difficult decision to begin legal action against SoundCloud but [it is] one we firmly believe is in the best, long-term interests of our membership” PRS said in its letter yesterday. “This is because it is important we establish the principle that a licence is required when services make available music to users”.
It will be fascinating to see what happens next. PRS says it provided SoundCloud with a list of 4500 songs it controls currently streaming on the platform, of which the digital firm has so far removed just 250. It could now takedown the rest, and any other PRS-controlled songs that it is made aware of.
Though – in the same way GEMA’s stand-off with YouTube in Germany has greatly restricted that platform’s position as a music service in the country – if SoundCloud were to start removing all PRS-repped songs it would have a massive impact on its ability to operate in the UK, just as it’s trying to get its all-new business model off the ground.
So it seems unlikely it will go that route, unless it feels doing so would annoy enough singer songwriters who use SoundCloud that they’d put pressure on their collecting society to backtrack. Though at the moment there seems to be enough support for PRS’s litigation in the songwriting and publishing community that that would be a dangerous tactic.
Presumably the digital firm hopes that it can still do a licensing deal with PRS for the future, and in doing so write off the past. PRS would also presumably prefer to not have to see this through to court. Though if it did, it would put safe harbours properly under the judicial spotlight, just as the music industry is busy trying to have those laws rewritten anyway.
So, as I say, things got all kinds of interesting.
READ MORE ABOUT: Merlin | PRS For Music | SoundCloud | Warner Music
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:57 | By Chris Cooke
PRS’s memo to members about its SoundCloud litigation
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
After careful consideration, and following five years of unsuccessful negotiations, we now find ourselves in a situation where we have no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against the online music service SoundCloud.
When a writer or publisher becomes a member of the Performing Right Society, they assign certain rights to their works over for us to administer, so it’s our job to ensure we collect and distribute royalties due to them. SoundCloud actively promotes and shares music. Launched in 2008, the service now has more than 175m unique listeners per month. Unfortunately, the organisation continues to deny it needs a PRS For Music licence for its existing service available in the UK and Europe, meaning it is not remunerating our members when their music is streamed by the SoundCloud platform.
Our aim is always to license services when they use our members’ music. It has been a difficult decision to begin legal action against SoundCloud but one we firmly believe is in the best, long-term interests of our membership. This is because it is important we establish the principle that a licence is required when services make available music to users. We have asked SoundCloud numerous times to recognise their responsibilities to take a licence to stop the infringement of our members’ copyrights but so far our requests have not been met. Therefore we now have no choice but to pursue the issue through the courts.
We understand SoundCloud has taken down some of our members’ works from their service. With our letter of claim, we sent SoundCloud a list of 4500 musical works which are being made available on the service, as a sample of our repertoire being used, so that they understood the scale of our members’ repertoire and its use on the service. We asked them to take a licence to cover the use of all our members’ repertoire or otherwise stop infringing.
SoundCloud decided to respond to our claim by informing us that it had removed 250 posts. Unfortunately, we have no visibility or clarity on SoundCloud’s approach to removing works, so it is not currently clear why these particular posts have been selected by them given the wider issue of infringement that is occurring. Ultimately, it is SoundCloud’s decision as to whether it starts paying for the ongoing use of our members’ music or stops using these works entirely.
If the streaming market is to reach its true potential and offer a fair return for our members, organisations such as SoundCloud must pay for their use of our members’ music. We launched our Streamfair campaign in June to raise awareness of this issue and highlight how music creators need to be properly remunerated from streaming. We believe that all digital services should obtain a licence which grants them permission to use our members’ music and repertoire, in this case the works of songwriters, publishers and composers.
The streaming market cannot fairly develop unless this happens. We have always been pro-licensing and pro-actively work with organisations in order to propose an appropriate licensing solution for the use of our members’ works.
We remain hopeful that this matter can be resolved without the need for extended litigation. Members will appreciate that this is now a legal matter and our ability to communicate around it is therefore limited by the legal process. However, we will try to share information and updates whenever we can.
READ MORE ABOUT: PRS For Music | SoundCloud
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:52 | By Chris Cooke
BASCA backs PRS action against SoundCloud
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
The British Academy Of Songwriters, Composers And Authors yesterday gave its backing to PRS’s litigation against SoundCloud, insisting that the digital firm’s current business model “financially damages our members”.
The organisation’s CEO Vick Bain said: “As an organisation that works to protect our members’ rights we fully support PRS For Music’s decision to commence legal proceedings against SoundCloud. We acknowledge that streaming is a fantastic means of listening to and enjoying music but SoundCloud’s intransigence in refusing to be licensed through PRS For Music means their model financially damages our members”.
Referencing BASCA’s campaign for an overhaul of the way digital income is shared between stakeholders, she continued: “BASCA exists to protect the professional interests of its members and when we launched our The Day The Music Died Campaign earlier this year one of our key aims was to ensure the removal of safe harbour provisions – platforms such as SoundCloud hide behind this legislation to deny responsibility for the amount of music that is illegally uploaded and shared on its site”.
“But we know they are very much aware of how their platform is used. We encourage all online services to establish frameworks that will fairly compensate songwriters, composers and authors – the PRS For Music online licence is the best way that this can be achieved. SoundCloud has had five years to respond to PRS’s request and should not be allowed to continue to hide behind safe harbour as a reason to deny our members the royalties they’re rightly entitled to”.
Those sentiments were echoed by BASCA’s new Chairman Stephen McNeff, who said: “At BASCA we are always happy to embrace innovative technology as a way for music creators to be heard, but our rights must be protected through the proper licensing mechanisms”.
READ MORE ABOUT: British Academy of Songwriters Composers & Authors (BASCA) | PRS For Music | SoundCloud
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:48 | By Chris Cooke
Sony/ATV launches JV with leading MCN
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
The German wing of music publishing major Sony/ATV has announced a global JV with one of those multi-channel networks, Divimove, a big player in the MCN space in Europe in which TV production giant Fremantle has a controlling stake.
The move into music publishing follows Divimove launching a talent management wing earlier this year. The JV with Sony/ATV will be called Divimove Music Publishing, and it will look to evolve the careers and output of songwriters it works with on YouTube and elsewhere.
READ MORE ABOUT: Divimove | JV | MCN | Sony Music Publishing
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:45 | By Chris Cooke
First Lynsey de Paul Prize presented
Business News Management & Funding
The PRS For Music Foundation has announced the winner of the first Lynsey de Paul Prize, a new grant it launched in partnership with the PRS For Music Members Benevolent Fund earlier this year in memory of late singer-songwriter de Paul, who died last October.
The aim of the prize is to enable young female singer-songwriters to work on new material and develop their careers with the support of a mentor. And the first recipient of the grant is Emma McGrath, a 15 year-old acoustic singer-songwriter from Hertfordshire.
PRS For Music Foundation chief Vanessa Reed told reporters: “Congratulations to Emma McGrath for winning the first Lynsey de Paul Prize. We received over 100 applications, of which the standard was very high, showing there is an exciting wealth of talented emerging female singer-songwriters in the UK. We’re proud that through the Lynsey de Paul Prize we are able to encourage and support more talented female singer-songwriters to take the next steps in their career.”
READ MORE ABOUT: Lynsey de Paul | PRS For Music
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:41 | By Chris Cooke
Ian Rogers departs Apple
Business News Digital Industry People
Ian Rogers is departing Apple just two months after the new streaming service he helped develop launched, seemingly to join a non-music-based company in Europe.
Rogers enjoyed a high profile in the music industry while running direct-to-fan service TopSpin, and was then head-hunted by Beats to develop and launch its big streaming service. When Beats was bought by Apple, Rogers also joined the tech giant, though he had a much lower profile role in the subsequent evolution and launch of Apple Music. That said, he seemed to mainly work on the launch of Apple’s online radio station Beats 1, which did enjoy most of the hype once the firm’s new music platform finally went live.
Rogers’ departure, confirmed to the FT, has seemingly come out of the blue for both colleagues and the tech giant’s music industry partners, who generally saw the former TopSpin chief as an ally within the Apple empire.
Elsewhere in Apple news, the company has put another big press announcement in the diary for 9 Sep, likely to launch the iPhone 6S and an upgraded Apple TV.
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Ian Rogers | Topspin
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:39 | By Chris Cooke
Vine adds musical whatnots in app upgrade
Business News Digital
Twitter’s mini-video-message app Vine is having an upgrade and it is getting all kinds of musical. Well, I say that. They’re adding a ‘featured tracks’ section where users can pick soundtracks for their videos. And they’re adding a thing called Snap To Beat, which will help users trim the track so it loops nicely. And they will help other users identify what music appears in Vine videos. Which, I think sounds like Vine is getting all kinds of musical. I don’t know why there was all that doubt in my second sentence.
There has been some chatter of late in music circles, as video and messaging apps have started to encourage users to include music in their messages, as to how exactly such usage is being licensed. Though it seems that Vine will select music to appear in its ‘featured tracks’ tab and then licence it from the relevant labels and publishers.
That said, there is talk of the promotional value to artists of being featured in the Vine tracks tab, which is usually tech firm speak for: “give us your music for free, promo, promo, promo, promo, sell more t-shirts”. Which, by coincidence, is something I’m planning on having printed on a t-shirt.
READ MORE ABOUT: Twitter | Vine
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:33 | By Chris Cooke
Xfm relaunch reportedly imminent
Business News Media
More gossiping this week about the planned relaunch of Xfm, with Popbitch reckoning an official announcement is due within the next ten days.
Though, while initially saying that – as previously mooted – the revamped station would become Capital Rocks, better intelligence this morning suggests owner Global has actually opted for Radio X. That, presumably, is a result of Global’s plan to make X properly national, but via mainly online and digital rather than FM channels.
Though, while the new look Xfm will be keeping its X, other rumours that the revamp will shift the station more into Absolute rock radio territory seem to stand, with Chris Moyles, Vernon Kay, Johnny Vaughan and Ricky Wilson all tipped for shows. As for incumbents, Popbitch says: “Dan O’Connell, Phil Clifton and John Kennedy are thought to be staying on too … we’re not sure about the rest of the line-up”.
UPDATE 28 Aug 2015, 16.30: Some people inferred our original report on this story – as contained in the CMU Daily – as if we were saying that all the other current Xfm DJs were being axed as a result of the relaunch (possibly because that’s how it inadvertently ended up reading). This is not what we meant at all. Meanwhile – to the people asking us what this means for occasional CMU columnist and Xfm DJ Eddy Temple Morris – we can confirm he will be making an announcement next week.
READ MORE ABOUT: Global | Popbitch | Xfm
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:25 | By Chris Cooke
CMU’s One Liners: Tegan And Sara, Tidal, Alt-J and other stuff
Artist News Business News Deals Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Live Business Media
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Booking agency WME has nabbed Tegan And Sara for worldwide representation, according to Billboard, they previously having been booked by The Agency Group in the US.
• Indie publisher Imagem Music yesterday announced that Chimene Mohammed had joined its UK unit as Junior A&R, joining from Atlantic Records where she worked in marketing.
• In Billboard’s latest survey of US industry types, 71% of respondents said they thought Tidal would be gone within a year, with another 17% giving the Jay-Z led streaming service up to two years. Oh well, if it does quietly get parked in the next two years, it will always live on in the “how not to relaunch your company” section of any PR textbook ever published in the future.
• Hey everybody, one-time Westlifer Brian McFadden is joining Heat Radio for a new weekly show! And while you might not care, the cover star of the final issue of our sister Edinburgh Fringe magazine ThreeWeeks will be excited.
• Ahead of their Reading/Leeds sets this weekend, Alt-J have announced details of an arena tour for later in the year, kicking of in Manchester on 29 Nov. And while you might not care, neither does the cover star of the final issue of our sister Edinburgh Fringe magazine ThreeWeeks.
READ MORE ABOUT: Alt-J | Brian McFadden | Chimene Mohammed | Endeavor | Tidal
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:18 | By Chris Cooke
CMU Beef Of The Week #271: Theresa May v Tyler, The Creator
And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week Legal
So, if there’s one thing we learned this week, it’s that having Tyler, The Creator play the Reading or Leeds festival would not be “conducive to the public good”, because, just in case there was any doubt whatsoever, the Odd Future rapper simply does not respect our “shared values”. All in all, it was a close shave. Thank you Theresa.
So yes, Tyler, The Creator revealed earlier this week that he was cancelling his planned appearances at Reading and Leeds, and gigs in Belfast and Dublin, because UK Home Secretary Theresa May didn’t want him to get on a British stage. May, of course, has no power over the Irish gig, though presumably it wasn’t commercially viable for him to fly in for just the one show.
Tyler himself took to Twitter to declare “BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS (although I was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED”. While his manager, Christian Clancy, revealed in a Tumblr post that: “Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the Secretary Of State for the home department of the United Kingdom. The letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote six to seven years ago for his albums ‘Bastard’ and ‘Goblin'”.
A spokesman for said home department – or the bloody Home Office, as we call it – said they couldn’t comment on any one visa application, but that: “Coming to the UK is a privilege, and we expect those who come here to respect our shared values. The Home Secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds”.
Now, it’s not the first time a musician has been refused entry into the UK for a gig, though usually such visa issues relate to criminal charges back home, where as this seems to be all about certain offensive lyrics the Odd Future man once wrote and rapped. And while Tyler, The Creator has written, and said, and rapped some silly – and at times offensive – stuff over the years, it does seem a bit extreme to ban him from the entire country as a result.
And that’s before you consider the fact that the lyrics that seem to have led to this ban are over five years old. As Clancy said, that means the Home Office has ignored Tyler’s entire output, and change in tone, in the intervening time. Plus it raises the question why the rapper has been let into the UK so many times since releasing ‘Bastard’ and ‘Goblin’ if the lyrics on the records were really so harmful.
But ignoring all of that, there is, of course, a free speech dimension to all of this. Perhaps Tyler, The Creator did rap and say some silly and offensive and inappropriate things five years ago. Perhaps he rapped and said some silly and offensive and inappropriate things much more recently than that. But is the solution to deny the rapper entry into the country? And if so, do you not have to also ban any other artists who have said or sung similarly contentious things?
Of course any artist who is deliberately or inadvertently controversial should be challenged, by journalists, campaigners, opponents and, preferably, allies and fans. Protests can be staged, both online and in the real world whenever the offending artist performs.
But to protest in a way that stops a performance, or which results in an actual ban from a venue or a festival or even a whole country, well, is there not a danger that you just end up opposing illiberal ideas with illiberal actions? And do you really change opinions and attitudes by just shutting up those who offend you? Do you not risk giving those who share the opinions and attitudes of the offending artist – or the character the artist has chosen to play – a firmer resolve to hold their bad beliefs?
So, like Clancy himself said, “I’m not defending [Tyler’s] OLD lyrics”, but I don’t see how a blunt ban, let alone a belated blunt ban, achieves anything for anyone. Whatever Theresa may think.
Though, all that said, British radio should still have banned ‘Blurred Lines’. And if you want to know why, well, you’ll have to wait until I restage my Edinburgh Fringe show in London, and then I’ll tell you.
READ MORE ABOUT: Theresa May | Tyler The Creator
Friday 28 August 2015, 11:14 | By Chris Cooke
CMU Podcast: PRS v SoundCloud, MegaUpload, Tyler The Creator, One Direction
Artist News Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Live Business Setlist
CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review the week in music and the music business, including PRS suing Soundcloud, more recent developments in the dispute over the lost MegaUpload data, Tyler, The Creator being refused a visa by the UK government, and One Direction’s upcoming hiatus. The CMU Podcast is sponsored by 7digital.
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Stories discussed this week
PRS v SoundCloud
• PRS sues SoundCloud
• PRS’s memo to members about its SoundCloud litigation
MegaUpload
• EFF responds to server firm seeking to delete lost MegaUpload files
• Lawyers say the US government should buy servers holding lost MegaUpload data
• Once again, MegaUpload user asks court for his files back (EFF)
• MegaUpload wants US Govt to buy and store its servers (TorrentFreak)
Tyler, The Creator
• Tyler cancels UK and Ireland shows
• Tyler, The Creator says UK gig cancellations were down to visa issues
• Christian Clancy statement (Tumblr)
One Direction
• One Direction hiatus in the diary, apparently
• 1D to disband in March after crunch talks (The Sun)
What we didn’t have time to talk about
• Spotify apologises for confusion over new privacy terms
• Sony Music acquires Century Media Records
• Talent agency UTA boosts music credentials by acquiring The Agency Group
• Sony’s catalogue unit secures bulk of Van Morrison catalogue, reissues aplenty incoming
• PRS announces a new deal with Spotify
Please subscribe, rate, review and share the show once you’ve listened!
READ MORE ABOUT: MegaUpload | One Direction | PRS For Music | SoundCloud | Tyler The Creator
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:48 | By CMU Editorial
From The Fringe: Grande Messe Des Mortes
From The Fringe
Each day this month we are looking at some of the shows, performers and events being championed at the Edinburgh Festival this year by our sister magazine ThreeWeeks.
And today something a little bit classical, actually from the Edinburgh International Festival, with a highly rated performance of ‘Grande Messe Des Mortes’ last week. Says our reviewer: “Hector Berlioz’s requiem had drama, spectacle and the tremendous Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. The Edinburgh Festival Chorus celebrated their 50th anniversary by contributing a blend of poignantly angelic and impressively devilish voices; tenor Laurence Brownlee was masterful”.
She goes on: “Berlioz experimented by expanding orchestral and choral sound – even going so far as making extraordinary new instruments to further his musical ideals. Tonight was sonorous and bold in tone and execution, expressing the wild spirit of Berlioz by scattering most of the brass section around the auditorium. The audience felt present at the last judgement itself, as the very air around them shook. Did we go to heaven or hell during this performance? Heaven, definitely!”
READ MORE ABOUT: Edinburgh Fringe | Grande Messe Des Mortes | ThreeWeeks
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:44 | By Chris Cooke
Tyler, The Creator says UK gig cancellations were down to visa issues
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Legal Live Business Top Stories
So, the “circumstances” that have prevented Tyler, The Creator from playing the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend seem to be primarily visa issues.
Having been slightly vague earlier this week as to why he was pulling from the two festivals, plus dates in Belfast and Dublin, the Odd Future rapper returned to Twitter yesterday, pushed down caps lock once again, and declared: “BASED ON LYRICS FROM 2009 I AM NOT ALLOWED IN THE UK FOR 3-5 YEARS (although i was there 8 weeks ago) THAT IS WHY THE SHOWS WERE CANCELLED”.
His manager, Christian Clancy, then took to Tumblr with a much more detailed summary of recent events, and to express both confusion and frustration as to this new decision by the UK authorities, given it seems to relate to early Tyler, The Creator output, and the rapper has been in Britain many, many times since that material was released.
Clancy writes: “Tyler has been banned from entering the UK for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the Secretary Of State for the home department of the United Kingdom. The letter specifically cites lyrics he wrote six to seven years ago for his albums ‘Bastard’ and ‘Goblin’ – the type of lyrics he hasn’t written since… highlights from the letter include that his work ‘encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality’ and ‘fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts’. I grew up on NWA, Eminem and Rage Against The Machine, so it’s hard for me to fully wrap my head [around] this thought process and its implications”.
He goes on: “To say that I am confused would be an understatement. Can you imagine being beholden to things you said when you were 18? Tyler has been to the UK over 20 times in the last five years without incident (shows, in stores, meet and greets). We rented out a movie theatre … in London for a private showing of ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ for his fans literally last month”.
“More importantly” he says, “this is a broader issue of free speech, with new lines being drawn that include reaching back in time without acknowledging growth. In fact, punishing growth. What I do know is Tyler is part of an argument that is counter to who he has become. How do you punish someone for growing up?”
Expanding on the issues, he muses: “Since the letter acknowledged he was writing from an alter ego perspective does this then apply to book writers? The fact that he has evolved into someone who has acknowledged and grown out of that is simply lost in the narrative. Is he not worthy of the pat on the back for becoming aware and making changes? What message does that send? Is race a conscious or subconscious factor at all?
He concludes: “I’m not defending [Tyler’s] OLD lyrics. To be honest they make me cringe, but I stand beside him because of who he actually IS. Our eight year old daughter, who is constantly inspired by him, said it best; ‘why would they ban Tyler? that makes no sense'”.
As previously reported, the rapper also recently cancelled dates in Australia, where there had been calls for his visa application to be denied because of similar issues with past lyrics, though in the end Tyler said he was pulling the dates because he simply didn’t want the shows to be surrounded by a controversy. We await word from the UK Home Office regarding the exact circumstances of these new visa issues.
READ MORE ABOUT: Christian Clancy | Tyler The Creator
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:40 | By Chris Cooke
T-Mobile Austria refuses to take recent ruling against rival ISP as reason to web-block
Business News Legal
T-Mobile in Austria has knocked back a request from the local music industry to block its customers from accessing The Pirate Bay, though this isn’t so much the phone firm rebelling against the concept of web-blocking in principle, but rather insisting that blockades be ordered by the courts rather than rights owners.
As previously reported, Austria recently joined the web-block party with a court there ordering internet service provider A1 Telekom to block access to The Pirate Bay and some other copyright infringing websites. Deciding that set a precedent, a local music industry group wrote to other large ISPs in the country urging them to voluntarily instigate blockades against the sites listed in the court order against A1.
And that included T-Mobile. But, according to Torrentfreak, a spokesman for the phone firm in the country, Helmut Spudich, told Futurezone “we will not to comply with this request and access to The Pirate Bay will not be blocked”, before adding that the Austrian government “should implement clear legal regulations with regard to internet blocking in Austria. We don’t want our customers to be blocked inadvertently and would like a clarification on the correct procedure”.
As previously reported, web-blocking on copyright grounds has proven controversial in a number of countries, not least the US, with ISPs and tech firms often arguing that introducing such blockades sets a dangerous precedent and/or that web-blocking doesn’t work anyway (the second argument has more legs).
Though, in those countries where web-blocking has become the norm, such as the UK, the ISPs no longer seem so bothered about the concept and, as previously noted, at a recent Music 4.5 event in London, a legal rep from Telefonica talked up the tactic as being one of the more effective anti-piracy practices.
Though, that said, few ISPs would instigate a web-block simply at the request of a rights owner, or entertainment industry trade group, usually insisting that a court order be issued so that some sort of due process is gone through before any blocking occurs. Which seems reasonable, and these days in the UK the music industry normally speeds things up by including multiple ISPs and multiple sites to be blocked on each court order.
So until T-Mobile in Austria starts objecting to web-block court orders, it probably isn’t going against what is increasingly the consensus viewpoint amongst ISPs in Europe, ie web-blocks are fine. Though it calling for more clarity on the issue suggests there remains some confusion as to what precedents the recent A1 ruling actually sets in the country.
READ MORE ABOUT: A1 Telekom | T-Mobile | The Pirate Bay
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:34 | By Chris Cooke
Sony Music partners on new live-data-driven talent discovery network
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Sony Music in the US has signed up to a new talent discovery network being run by Artist Growth, which is an online artist management service which aims to help managers keep track of their artists’ activities, finances, audience and success.
The idea of the new discovery network, called AG Accel, is that decision makers in the music industry – including labels, distributors, agents and brands – can track the output and success of artists, and in doing so make informed decisions about which talent they might want to work with. Or something like that. Any artist with a premium account with Artist Growth can opt-in to the AG Accel network.
Says Artist Growth of the value of the data it stores on behalf of those artist and managers using its core product: “For artists seeking investment and sponsorship opportunities, tour history is a key fan engagement data point to tout when in talks with potential industry partners. Touring data provides a quantifiable, concrete representation of an artist’s success and marketability that can often be overlooked when using more qualitative metrics like social media engagement”.
Confirming it was joining the new AG Accel initiative, Justin Eshak, VP of A&R at Columbia Records, told reporters: “Data is playing an increasingly important role in our A&R process. How information is gathered and ultimately used is paramount in our goal to distance ourselves from competition, and we view touring data as another key metric in this equation”.
READ MORE ABOUT: AG Accel | Artist Growth | Sony Music
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:31 | By Chris Cooke
Russia might hand collective licensing to a state agency
Business News Labels & Publishers
The Russian government might be about to meddle some more in the country’s collective licensing system, with a new proposal that a state agency be set up to process royalties for music rights owners – both songs and recordings – where collective licensing applies.
As previously reported, the three collecting societies in Russia, which collect song royalties, recording royalties and private copy levies respectively, announced they were merging last month, though the boss of the recording rights society, VOIS, claimed the decision to merge had been taken at a meeting where he wasn’t present, and as a result he was asking the Russian culture ministry to intervene.
Since then, proposals have been floated that rules that mean only state-approved collecting societies can operate in Russia be relaxed, allowing rights owners to choose which societies represent them, and to set up new performing rights organisations if they so wish.
That proposal was criticised by some, including Andrei Krichevsky, who heads up a state run record label and is Deputy General Director of the country’s song rights collecting society RAO. He was subsequently beaten up in Moscow, though it is still being investigated whether that incident was linked to his outspoken remarks about copyright reform.
But now, according to Billboard and Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, ministers are proposing more or less the opposite of that recent plan, having one organisation run by the state to manage all collective licensing in music. The country’s Deputy Communications Minister Alexei Volin said: “Our principal stand is that [collective licensing should be managed by] an organisation completely controlled by the government. It should be absolutely transparent so that it could be regularly audited by the Audit Chamber”.
So, make of that what you will. It is thought amendments to relevant Russian laws are now being drafted, which might offer some clarity as to what’s actually going on.
READ MORE ABOUT: Russian Authors' Society (RAO) | Russian Organization for Intellectual Property (VOIS)
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:30 | By Chris Cooke
High Definition promoter in liquidation after second aborted event
Business News Live Business
I think it’s fair to say that when it comes to festivals, the Hop Farm may indeed be cursed. Another company has gone into liquidation after attempting to stage a festival at the Kent site.
As previously reported, live music veteran Vince Power’s Music Festivals plc struggled to make its Hop Farm Festival a long-term commercial success, with that business ultimately collapsing. An attempt to resurrect the event in 2013 was cancelled, and then Power fell out with the owner of the actual Hop Farm, so that for a time it looked like there would be two Hop Farm Festivals in 2014, one on the Hop Farm, the other run by Power elsewhere. Only the former actually happened, though the company behind it subsequently hit the wall with its promoter calling the Kent farm “cursed ground”.
But when dance music festival High Definition fell out with the owners of the Tunbridge Wells park where its fifth edition was due to take place in July, it announced that it would be shifting to the Hop Farm with new dates in September. Then earlier this month the firm behind High Definition seemingly fell out with the owners of that site too, in a dispute over whether or not the promoters had met all their licensing requirements, and the take-two version of the 2015 event was also axed.
And now that company is going under. According to the Kent & Sussex Courier, organisers have sent out a message to ticket-holders that reads: “Due to the actions of The Hop Farm last week it is with great regret that the directors have taken the decision to cancel all future events. The decision is beyond their control due to the action of third parties and the impending insolvency of the company. Professional advice has now been received in this respect and steps to place the company into liquidation have been taken. Notice of the creditors’ meeting under Section 98 of the Insolvency Act 1986, to place the company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation will be shortly issued”.
Ticketholders are advised to seek a refund from their bank or credit card company, or they can opt to swap their tickets to the cancelled festival for a ticket to one of three other events taking place in September. Meanwhile, what the future holds for High Definition long term is far from clear. Though I’d guess no return to the Hop Farm.
READ MORE ABOUT: High Definition | Hop Farm Festival | Vince Power
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:28 | By Chris Cooke
Australia’s Mushroom Group announces new management business
Business News Management & Funding
Australia-based independent music group Mushroom has announced the launch of a new artist management business to be called Role Model Artists.
The new agency will be headed up by Matt Gudinski, son of Mushroom founder Michael Gudinski, with managers Adam Jankie, Jon St Clair, Tig Huggins and Cara McDonald on the team. The new unit’s roster at launch will include Bliss N Eso, Lila Gold, Lurch & Chief, Mossy, Pearls, Slum Sociable and Total Giovanni.
The new Mushroom business will formally launch at the BIGSOUND festival in Brisbane next month.
READ MORE ABOUT: Mushroom Group | Role Model Artists
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:22 | By Chris Cooke
Eazy-E’s son makes bold allegations about his father’s death
Artist News
Following the mini controversy around NWA biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’s failure to portray the young Dr Dre assaulting some of his girlfriends – discussions of which forced the hip hop veteran to apologise for his younger self – chatter has now shifted to the portrayal in the movie of Eazy-E, the late NWA rapper who died in 1995 one month after being diagnosed with AIDS.
His daughter, EB Wright, has said she feels quite a lot of her father’s story is missing from the biopic, but that’s alright because “I’m producing a documentary that will show everything including his death”. Meanwhile the late rapper’s son, Yung Eazy, has been making some bold allegations about the circumstances that led to his father’s passing, basically accusing Suge Knight – the one-time boss of Death Row Records, where Dre headed amidst his early 1990s feud with Eazy-E – of having had a hand in it all.
He basically accuses Knight – who, of course, is currently facing murder charges relating to an incident that occurred nearby the filming of a trailer for the NWA film – of injecting his father with blood contaminated with the AIDS virus, referencing an old interview Knight gave in which he discussed such a thing.
Yung Eazy wrote in a recent Instagram post: “I’ve known my pops was killed. His death never added up 2 what ppl have always said, maybe they think we’re idiots blind to the truth idk … but 4 u new fans, youngsters & ppl who just don’t know much notice in #StraightOuttaCompton, Eazy did not get sick until after a studio incident with Suge and look how he acknowledged & admits on this interview with #JimmyKimmel injecting ppl instead of shooting them is a new thing that’s done. The truth is out there, it’s just blinded by the fact that Eric had a lot of sex #FreeYourMind #RipEazyE #EazyE #FuckSugeKnight”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Dr Dre | Eazy-E | EB Wright | Suge Knight | Yung Eazy
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:08 | By Chris Cooke
CMU’s One Liners: BPI AGM, Vevo sponsor, Foals tapes and two more
Artist News Brands & Merch Business News Deals Education & Events Industry People Media One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Record industry trade group the BPI has confirmed the government’s culture man Johnnie Whittingdale will be keynoting at its AGM next month, on 9 Sep to be precise. I thought we already knew that, but it’s possible I dreamt it. Because that’s just the kind of thing I do dream about.
• No one has ever been able to explain to me why the Toyota AYGO is mainly marketed at teenagers, but it must be working for them, because the former T4 sponsors have signed up for a third year working with music video platform Vevo, including on their presenter-led show ‘VVV’, which is only bloody well relaunching tomorrow.
• Music telly channel operator the Box Plus Network has promoted its business affairs chief Stacey Mitsopulos to the much grander sounding role of Director Of Commercial & Business Affairs. Because we all know commercial affairs are much more fun than business affairs. Though I do fear that will all these affairs, Mitsopulos’s private data may now be stolen by hackers.
• Foals have been pre-empting the release tomorrow of their rather fine new long playing record ‘What Went Down’ by hiding cassette copies of the album around the world and providing information on social media as to where fans can find them. It’s a double treasure hunt: stage one, use the band’s clues to find the tapes; stage two, find a cassette player to play them on.
• Is Paul Weller softening in his old age about the possibility of a Jam reunion? Well, see what you think based on what he said when the word ‘reunion’ was mentioned during a new Sky documentary about the band: “Absolutely, categorically, fucking no. To me it would be against everything we ever stood for”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Box Plus Network | British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | Foals | Paul Weller | VVV
Thursday 27 August 2015, 10:03 | By Chris Cooke
Fat Whites demand Mac Demarco withdraw from music, otherwise, well, ISIS
And Finally Artist News
Fat White Family have declared that if Mac Demarco doesn’t stop with his music making malarkey they’re going to fly out to the Middle East and join ISIS.
Or, in their own Facebook-published words: “Unless Mac Demarco immediately withdraws from music and the public eye, me and Saul will be on the first plane to Syria to join ISIS. Peace be with you”.
Given Demarco has not, to our knowledge, yet cancelled his Roundhouse show next Tuesday, we’re assuming the Family are already on their way to the desert.
READ MORE ABOUT: Fat White Family | Mac DeMarco
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:28 | By CMU Editorial
From The Fringe: Soweto Afro Pop Opera
From The Fringe
Each day this month we are looking at some of the shows, performers and events being championed at the Edinburgh Festival this year by our sister magazine ThreeWeeks.
And today ‘Soweto Afro-Pop Opera’ at the C venue, which may sound like a mish-mash of genres, but really it’s anything but. Says our reviewer: “This trio delight with their obvious joy for performance, combining soulful vocals with infectious personalities to demonstrate the huge variety and versatility of South African music”
She goes on: “From the traditional ‘pata-pata’ to ‘Ave Maria’, they show the influences of the western world on the sounds of their own country. They’re great characters, keeping the audience totally enthralled as they flit between slower and livelier pieces”.
The show runs at C at the Edinburgh Fringe until 31 Aug.
READ MORE ABOUT: Edinburgh Fringe | Soweto Afro Pop Opera | ThreeWeeks
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:26 | By Chris Cooke
Lawyers say the US government should buy servers holding lost MegaUpload data
Business News Legal MegaUpload Timeline Top Stories
Legal reps for MegaUpload have argued that the American government should buy the shed load of servers that contain files once uploaded to the defunct file-transfer platform, so that the data stored on them can be kept as evidence, and be ultimately returned to the people who uploaded the content in the first place.
As much previously reported, when the US authorities took controversial file-transfer set-up MegaUpload offline in 2012, at the same time charging its management with various crimes, users of the service lost access to files they were storing on the company’s servers without warning. A lot of it was copyright infringing music and movies, but not all of it, and some people lost access to content they themselves had created.
MegaUpload actually rented server space from other companies, which were left with disconnected hard-disks full of content after the shutdown, and nobody paying them to continue storing the files those servers contained.
A debate then ensued as to what should happen to those servers, and whether those who had used MegaUpload for legit purposes should and could get their files back. Although the courts were sympathetic with customers caught in the crossfire, the US government, music and movie industries weren’t very helpful when it came to finding a way to reconnect users with their non-infringing content.
One server company in Europe then deleted the MegaUpload data it had stored, but the biggest server firm used by the defunct business, US-based Carpathia, is still storing its former MegaUpload files, not least because the American authorities said they might need access to them as part of the criminal investigation into the former file-transfer service and its management.
But, as previously reported, Carpathia was recently acquired by another company called QTS, and it is not so keen to carry on covering the costs of storing a shed full of servers it can’t actually use, and therefore went to court earlier this month seeking permission to wipe those hard-disks clean once and for all.
The former MegaUpload management – and especially founder Kim Dotcom – are against this proposal, as is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has been assisting some of those who lost their files during the 2012 shutdown. The former reckon that they might need access to the servers to gather evidence if the criminal or civil cases against them ever reach court, while both remain hopeful former MegaUpload customers might one day get their content back.
According to Torrentfreak, in a new court filing, reps for the former MegaUpload managers write: “The database servers can show safe harbour compliance. The web servers can show the copyright neutral nature of the interface design. The content servers in combination with other data can show fair use and substantial non-infringing uses and users”.
The filing goes on to allege that the US authorities’ blasé attitude to the lost MegaUpload data might not just be indifference or arrogance towards affected customers, but a deliberate attempt to beef up their case in court, should America ever successfully extradite Dotcom et al.
Because, say Team Mega, the feds have taken a copy of a small sample of data from the Carpathia servers which will show MegaUpload being used to infringe copyright, though that might not show the full picture of the defunct operation. But if the rest of the Carpathia data is now deleted, it would be impossible for anyone to demonstrate that.
The legal men write: “The government cannot criminally and civilly indict all the revenues arising out of all the global users of the MegaUpload cloud storage site in the largest copyright case in history, while at the same time cherry picking a sliver evidence to retain for trial and throwing away the rest to manifestly prevent the mounting of a fair defence”.
The MegaUpload lawyers seem to concede that it is unfair that Carpathia should have to continue to cover the costs of storing the lost data. The solution, they therefore reckon, is that the US government should buy and store the servers until progress can be made on the legal case against Dotcom and his former colleagues. “The government should bear the cost of such purchase and preservation”, they add.
It remains to be seen how the judge overseeing the case now rules regarding the lost MegaUpload data.
READ MORE ABOUT: Carpathia Hosting | MegaUpload
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:22 | By Chris Cooke
Sony’s catalogue unit secures bulk of Van Morrison catalogue, reissues aplenty incoming
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Sony Music’s catalogue division Legacy Recordings has got itself control of every Van Morrison album ever, apart from those that pre-date 1971, apart from those he recorded with the band Them.
Which is to say, Legacy has acquired the rights to Morrison’s post-1971 solo output, and recordings by his 1960s band Them, which – while missing a couple of big releases – is nevertheless the “most complete discography of contemporary music legend Van Morrison ever assembled under one label imprint”. So that’s a thing.
But what does that mean for you, exactly? Well, a flurry of compilations, some deluxe Legacy Editions, and a load of Van Morrison tunes hitting the streaming services for the first time this Friday.
And now here’s Legacy Recordings President Adam Block with a quote: “Van Morrison is one of the great singers, performers and musical artists in the history of recorded music”.
True, true. But there’s more. “He continues to touch the hearts and souls of millions with the emotional power and spiritual truths of his songs” adds Block. “Legacy Recordings is proud to partner with Van to help him protect and curate his astounding catalogue and to be given the opportunity to bring his music to whole new generations of fans around the world”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Legacy Recordings | Sony Music | Van Morrison
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:18 | By Chris Cooke
Eventbrite ticketing app comes to wearables
Business News Live Business
“Self-service ticketing platform” – as it calls itself, and it kind of works – Eventbrite is bringing ticketing to your watch. So watch out for that. Ha. Can you tell I’ve been living in the middle of the Edinburgh Fringe for twenty days? Such is the comedy. And such is the tiredness that will stop me from deleting that line in the edit.
Anyway, the Eventbrite ticketing app is now available for Apple Watch, Android Wear and Pebble Time, which are all things, meaning promoters selling tickets via the platform will now be able to check-in punters by scanning the code displayed on their wrist.
Punters will also be able to use to the app to discover events that are happening near their wrist and, should they be up for then shifting said wrist to the exact location of said event, they’ll be able to buy tickets through their watch as well. If only they had some sort of device to help make sure they then showed up on time.
Says Eventbrite’s Head Of Marketing in the UK, Marino Fresch: “At Eventbrite, we’re constantly improving the ticket purchase and check-in experience. Bringing our ticketing technology to wearables is another step in our efforts to remove friction wherever possible, eliminating queues and waiting times for attendees and making vital data available to organisers whenever and wherever they need it”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Eventbrite | Marino Fresch
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:17 | By Chris Cooke
Radio app TuneIn launches premium service
Business News Digital Media
TuneIn, the radio app that gives you free access to radio stations and podcasts from across the world, has launched a new premium version of its service.
It puts the app into competition with Sirius in North America, and possibly any other radio firms with ambitions in the subscription service space. Though arguably – if it works – TuneIn Premium could be a way for radio programme makers to generate new indirect subscription revenues, in much the same way Netflix works with TV companies.
People who sign up to TuneIn Premium – which is available in the US, Canada and UK at launch – will get access to 600 commercial-free radio stations provided by a stack of broadcasting partners, and which together will offer a lot of music options.
Though the premium app is being mainly marketed at the moment with the sporting content that has been secured, with deals in place to provide coverage of Major League Baseball games in the US, and football from the UK Premier League and German Bundesliga.
Announcing the new premium level, TuneIn CEO John Donham said: “With the introduction of TuneIn Premium we are taking the world’s best audio content and putting it all in one place. In today’s crowded audio landscape, our focus on exclusive news, talk, sports, and music allows us to deliver an unparalleled listening experience to our users”.
Of course, if apps like this, offering a plethora of music-based radio channels, were ever seen to be competing with streaming music services of the Spotify model, that might throw up some interesting licensing chatter within the music industry.
In that, should radio services operating under something akin to a traditional broadcast music license, usually provided by the music industry’s collective licensing system, be then bundled up into a subscription-based app that competes with a Spotify, which is more directly licensed by the music rights sector at considerably higher rates? That could be a fun conversation to have someday, couldn’t it?
READ MORE ABOUT: John Donham | TuneIn
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:12 | By Chris Cooke
BBC radio allowed to premiere programmes online, but not with music shows
Business News Media
The BBC Trust has given permission to the Corporation’s radio stations to make certain programmes available online ahead of actual broadcast by up to seven days, though only for speech-based shows, not music radio.
Previously BBC radio was not allowed to do any ‘first listen online’ type promotions via the radio version of the iPlayer, but following a BBC Trust review of Radio 4, 5live and their sister channels such a thing will now be possible.
Confirming this rule change, BBC Trustee Elan Closs Stephens told reporters: “The BBC was built on its radio services, and the continued success of Radio 4 and 5live are testament to the quality of what they continue to provide millions of listeners with every day. As more people go online for news and sport, the BBC must make sure it’s continuing to provide what they want, so we’ve approved some changes to help with this and we’ll expect the stations to continue to develop what they’re offering online”.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Radio | BBC Trust
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:08 | By Chris Cooke
Una to stage monthly Twitter chats on live music issues
Business News Education & Events
Previously reported on new ticketing service Una, a sort of Oyster card for ticketing, has announced a new initiative via which it will stage a monthly Twitter conversation about the live music and festival market, the first of which will be co-hosted by the Association Of Independent Festivals.
Says the innovative ticketing start-up: “The chat, labelled Una Asks, is designed to generate discussion, ask questions and give some insight into the workings of the events industry. It will take place on a monthly basis – taking place on the first Thursday of every month, starting at midday and running until 1pm, allowing those with busy schedules to have their say while eating some lunch”.
The first Una Asks will take place on @UnaTickets on 3 Sep at midday looking at the issue of headliners, and how important the top billed acts are for ticket sales.
READ MORE ABOUT: Una
Wednesday 26 August 2015, 10:04 | By Chris Cooke
Video director says The Weeknd promo rips off his work
Artist News Legal
A video director called Mitch Moore reckons that the promo for The Weeknd’s most recent single rips off a video he made for Canadian duo Majical Cloudz which was never actually released.
The video for The Weeknd track ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ went online late last month, and in it the singer is performing to an unimpressed audience in a club venue, until someone sets him on fire and the everyone really starts to dig the show. Moore says that’s all very similar to his Majical Cloudz promo.
The director wrote on the Instagrams yesterday: “So about a year ago, I directed a video for Majical Cloudz. Because of creative differences, it never came out. But the production was large, and many feedback emails were sent out with private uploads of the edit”.
He goes on: “It’s come to my attention that somebody at the helm of a certain mega popular video must have seen one or more of these unreleased edits. The resemblance is too uncanny. My mind is a mansion of creativity, so this petty theft is NBD to me. But I’m still calling the police!!”
And if you want to compare and contrast, Moore included a little clip too.
READ MORE ABOUT: Majical Cloudz | Mitch Moore | The Weeknd
