Wednesday 31 May 2017, 12:23 | By

Both sides get more vocal in European safe harbour debate

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal

European Commission

Songwriters and composers called on European lawmakers to do more to close the bloody value gap at an event in Brussels yesterday, just as a coalition of organisations representing tech firms and libraries urged the same lawmakers to stop meddling with the copyright safe harbour. So that’s all good fun, isn’t it?

As you may remember, because I know you always pay full attention to these things, a proposed new European Copyright Directive is currently going through the motions in Brussels. It includes an article that aims to restrict the safe harbour rule that says that internet companies whose customers use their servers or networks to infringe copyright cannot be held liable for that infringement, providing said companies removing infringing material when made aware of it by a copyright owner.

Under pressure from the copyright industries – and especially the music business – the European Commission has proposed adding into law an obligation on larger safe harbour dwelling user-upload platforms to do more to monitor the content being distributed over their networks, and to proactively remove or licence copyright material.

It’s all come about, of course, because of YouTube. The music industry argues that the Google-owned video site – which is the largest streaming music platform in the world – is able to force record companies and music publishers into signing licensing deals that provide relatively poor remuneration for rights owners by exploiting the copyright safe harbour. It means that YouTube, while having the most users and streams, pays much less into the music industry overall than other streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

The aim of article thirteen of the draft Copyright Directive is to increase the obligations of platforms like YouTube. The music companies hope that that increased obligation will pressure YouTube into agreeing to deals that are more preferential to the labels and publishers. Though as it’s currently written, there is arguably enough wriggle room in article thirteen for YouTube to argue it is already compliant with the new obligations.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of critics of the safe harbour article in the tech sector, who argue that the new obligation will have a negative impact on innovation and free speech, and all that gubbins they say about every new copyright rule. Meanwhile in the music community, campaigners want article thirteen as it is currently written to remain unaltered, or if possible tightened up a little to remove the aforementioned room for wriggling.

At an event called Meet The Authors staged yesterday by GESAC, which brings together many of the European collecting societies that represent song rights, creators told the assortment of European politicians in the room that “unless clear and strong legislation is adopted at an EU level, free-riding platforms will continue to have carte blanche for siphoning value from creative and cultural works for their own profit, depriving Europe of one of its main economic assets: the creative sector”.

Among those speaking at the event was Oscar-winning composer Jan AP Kaczmarek, who stated that: “As creators, we need to know that there is a sound framework to ensure that those who commercially benefit from the use of our works have our consent and remunerate us appropriately. Without this very basic principle, living as a professional author with full dedication to our work is simply not possible”.

Political types also gave their support to safe harbour reform, with Pierre Sellal, France’s ambassador to the EU, declaring that: “The transfer of value, which is the massive distortion in the sharing of the value between creators of cultural content and the platforms that make them available, is today a threat both for cultural diversity and to the development of the digital single market. This is why a better sharing of the value should be a key objective for the European Union”.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the debate, an organisation calling itself Copyright For Creativity, which brings together an assortment of groups representing tech firms, libraries and digital rights campaigners, published an open letter calling for article thirteen to be scrapped altogether. The open letter was also signed by a plethora of other trade bodies.

The letter says: “The provision on the so-called ‘value gap’ is designed to provoke such legal uncertainty that online services will have no other option than to monitor, filter and block EU citizens’ communications if they want to have any chance of staying in business. The Commission’s proposal misrepresents some European Court rulings and seeks to impose contradictory obligations on Member States. This is simply bad regulation”.

It goes on: “Article thirteen should be removed from the copyright negotiations and dealt with in appropriate contexts. We strenuously oppose such ill thought through experimentation with intermediary liability, which will hinder innovation and competition and will reduce the opportunities available to all European businesses and citizens”.

So, make of that what you will. Meanwhile CMU will moderate a discussion on all things safe harbour at MIDEM next week.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 12:21 | By

Approved: Barbarossa

CMU Approved

Barbarossa

Barbarossa, aka musician James Mathé, has just released new single ‘Griptide’. The release coincides with the use of the song on the season finale of US TV show ‘Elementary’, and is the first to be taken from his still-in-production new album.

The song sees Mathé moving back away from the more electronic sound of 2015 album ‘Imager’, towards something with more of a classic singer-songwriter feel. Crafted with producer Ghost Culture, the slow waltz of ‘Griptide’ is given a spontaneous, intimate feel, reflected in the song’s lyrics. Listening to it feels like you’ve stepped into a low-lit room, where your presence hasn’t yet been noticed.

Look out for more music, and news of the new album, in due course. For now, listen to ‘Griptide’ here.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 12:20 | By

Big Life allies with Reservoir

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Management & Funding

New York-based music rights firm Reservoir has announced another deal to expand its UK interests, this time with artist management firm Big Life and its music publishing wing Big Life Music.

Under the deal, Reservoir will acquire a stake in Big Life’s music publishing catalogue, and “will expand its business operations to include participation in artist management activities”. Big Life will still be led by Tim Parry, who co-founded the firm with the late Jazz Summers, but the company will now be allied to Reverb, the UK music publisher run by Annette Barrett,which Reservoir acquired in 2012.

Says Parry: “I’ve known Reservoir/Reverb Music Managing Director Annette Barrett and Reservoir SVP Of Creative & A&R Spek for many years, and what they and the Reservoir team have achieved globally over the last decade is remarkable. They are one of most creatively focused and innovative independent music publishers and always put the songwriter right at the middle of their decision making”.

He adds: “Our approaches to working with creative talent are aligned and this new agreement will see us both benefit from the experience and expertise of our respective teams. When the opportunity came up to work with Spek and Annette it seemed like the perfect fit for Big Life”.

Speaking for Reservoir, the firm’s COO Rell Lafargue added: “We have a longstanding relationship with Big Life and have been discussing ways of working together for some time. Helping the company build on the success of its publishing activity and working closely with them to develop interesting new opportunities in the artist management sector is a natural fit for us and we are excited to be working with Tim and his team”.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 12:12 | By

Huw Stephens partners on new music supervision agency

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens is involved in a new music supervision agency called Land Of Sound, which is a joint venture with LA-based music supervisor Aminé Ramer, who has previously worked on sync projects for a plethora of producers and brands.

The new business will have bases in LA and London, and is supported by London-based music company Manners McDade. Ramer and Stephens say the new business will specialise in music searches, sync licensing and bespoke commissions, working for ad agencies and film and TV producers. It will also seek to facilitate artist/brand partnerships.

Ramer: “We decided to launch Land Of Sound after talking about how important the art of discovery is for both of us. Over the years we have turned each other onto new and important acts. To put both of our areas of expertise together to form a fresh take on supervision is a dream. My passion for finding the right music in film, TV and ads, as well as the licensing processes this involves, is matched by Huw’s years of being the consummate tastemaker and proven abilities as one”.

Stephens: “We are excited to launch Land Of Sound at this great time for music supervision. With Aminé in LA and myself in London, we swap music tips and ideas constantly, and are excited to launch this project. Aminé’s track record in supervision speaks for itself, and together we are excited to take on interesting and diverse projects”.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 12:05 | By

Propaganda club brand launches label

Business News Labels & Publishers Live Business Releases

Indie club brand Propaganda is launching a new label in partnership with artist and label services business Autonomy Music Group. It’ll be called Propaganda Records, obviously, though don’t go confusing that with the Finnish label of the same name. I know I won’t.

Richard Engler, who co-founded the Autonomy Music Group with David Rowell, confirmed the tie up with Propaganda yesterday, remarking that: “Propaganda have a loyal fanbase and between us we’re finding great new talent and exposing it to a ready audience. Just like Factory Records had the Hacienda – what could possibly go wrong?”

Meanwhile Propaganda founder Dan Ickowitz-Seidler added: “I have known Richard and David for a number of years. We have been discussing Propaganda Records for a long time and I could not have wished for better partners in this really exciting project. I’m THRILLED to be working together on it”.

The first signing is London band MOSES, who will tour each of the Propaganda nights around the UK alongside their new single release.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:59 | By

BMG appoints new European legal chief

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

BMG

The BMGs have appointed media lawyer Ama Walton to be the firm’s SVP Business & Legal Affairs and in house general counsel for Europe. She joins from German film producer Constantin, where she was co-MD of the movie maker’s music interests, and will be based out of BMG’s Berlin HQ reporting to big cheese Hartwig Masuch.

It’s not Walton’s first role at a music company, she having previously worked for EMI Music Germany, and she advised the then all-new BMG on some of its earliest acquisitions back in 2008.

I’m telling you that so this quote from Walton herself makes sense. “Having been there at the beginning, I have been deeply impressed by the scale and breadth of what the new BMG has achieved”. See, that wouldn’t have made sense had I not provided the background information, would it? Well done me.

“I have the deepest respect for people who create music”, Walton continues, “and look forward to playing my part in BMG’s mission to be a better kind of music business”.

And here’s boss man Masuch with the customary quote. I bet he’s delighted. “I am delighted to welcome Ama Walton to our team” says he. “She is both an exceptional commercial lawyer and someone who aligns with our values and strategic objectives”.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:57 | By

Radio industry chief will tell digital platforms to get better at regulating their output

Business News Legal Media

Radiocentre

Digital media platforms – whether they call themselves ‘media’ or not – should expect a little bit of regulation and live with it. Not my words people, but the words of Siobhan Kenny, boss of UK commercial radio industry trade group Radiocentre. Well, they were my words actually. But I was paraphrasing her sentiment. Sort of.

According to Radio Today, Kenny will tell a radio industry event in Brussels that she agrees with the Conservative Party manifesto when it says that there should be consistency in the way online and traditional media are regulated, adding that regulation – whether statutory or stemming from industry-led initiatives – is something you have to accept when you are talking to large audiences.

Kenny will say: “We are at a critical turning point in our digital development. Technology has changed consumers’ lives beyond recognition in the past ten years and we have all rightly celebrated the innovation of the companies who have driven this transformation”.

“But it is time for digital companies to fully grasp the ramifications of that rapid change” she will add, “and for governments to act in the interests of their citizens, in line with longstanding practice in broadcasting. The current Conservative Party manifesto notes the need for consistency in regulation for both online and offline media, and there is so much more that can be done, especially in terms of self-regulation”.

Noting how commercial radio in the UK is regulated by OfCom, she will go on to argue that: “Digital media owners have been slow to move to effective self-regulation. Therefore we do now need to ask whether national and international agreements on sanctions for those who continue to broadcast or publish inappropriate or, worse, extremist material on their platforms is the next step. Digital media owners should understand their responsibility as broadcasters, whether they choose to term themselves as such or not”.

The radio industry recently capitalised on criticism thrown at Google for allowing – via automated systems – big brand advertising to appear next to extremist content, telling companies that radio is a safer medium on which to advertise.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:55 | By

Ariana Grande announces benefit concert for Manchester

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Ariana Grande

Coldplay, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are all set to join Ariana Grande at a benefit concert in Manchester this weekend.

The concert, at the 50,000 capacity Old Trafford Cricket Ground, will raise money to support those directly affected by the bomb attack that occurred during Grande’s show at the Manchester Arena last week and which left 22 people dead. Anyone who attended that show has been offered free tickets to this weekend’s concert.

Take That, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell, Niall Horan and Usher are all also set to appear at the charity show, most playing with Grande’s tour band. The tribute event will also be broadcast on BBC One, and on BBC and Capital radio stations.

Proceeds will go to the We Love Manchester emergency fund set up by Manchester City Council and the British Red Cross in the wake of last week’s bombing.

Commenting on the benefit concert, Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins told the BBC: “When the idea of the concert came up, my first reaction was, we need to speak to the families of the victims and see what they feel. It’s fair to say that the majority of them are very much in favour, [though] there are some that clearly aren’t and that is absolutely understandable”.

Tickets for the concert go on sale tomorrow here.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:50 | By

Acts announced for Earache’s Glastonbury stage

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Glastonbury Festival

You know how Glastonbury is working with Earache Records on a punk and metal stage for this year’s festival?

Well, the full line-up has now been confirmed for the new stage, which is being built in a recycled London Underground tube carriage. And the line up includes HO99O9, Heck, Hacktivist, Petrol Girls and Puppy, alongside Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and former Crass frontman Steve Ignorant, plus Grindcore trio Wormrot and one-time KLF collaborators Extreme Noise Terror.

The new stage is located in the Shangri La zone of the festival, and some heavier sounding acts will be playing on the Truth Stage there too. Good old Napalm Death had already been announced for that stage, and Dead Kennedys have now been added as well.

Says Napalm Death’s Shane Embury: “I haven’t been to Glastonbury since 1989! A wild weekend I recall where I was a baby sitter for a Japanese punk band all on acid! All I can say is myself and the rest of the Napalm Death boys are very happy to finally play this prestigious event, lets hope it’s a fucking mad one!”

UPDATE 2 Jun 2017, 06.00: Additional acts added to the story so to include the full line-up.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:47 | By

CMU’s One Liners: APRA/AMCOS, SoundCloud, Pitchfork, more

Artist News Business News Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Media Releases

APRA/AMCOS

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• The CEO of Australian collecting society APRA/AMCOS, Brett Cottle, will leave the organisation in June 2018 after a long career there, initially as in-house counsel, and as CEO since 1990.

• SoundCloud’s Chief Content Officer, ex-Warner Music exec Stephen Bryan – who played a key role in securing the music licences that enabled the digital platform to shift its business model, in a bid to generate revenue from ads and user subscriptions, rather than just charging hosting fees to content creators – is leaving the company.

• The President of online music magazine Pitchfork, Chris Kaskie, is departing the company after fourteen years. He will leave the now Conde Naste-owned title in July.

• OK Go’s recent TED talk was posted online at the weekend. The talk is called ‘How To Find A Wonderful Idea’. The band also played acoustic versions of two of their songs, because they write songs too, did you know that? Don’t worry, they had the video for each song playing in the background too. See the talk here.

• Kitty, Daisy & Lewis will return with a new album on Sunday Best on 29 Sep. The new LP is called ‘Superscope’. The first track from it is called ‘Down On My Knees’. You can listen to that here. I just did.

• Alt-J have announced a five date sea-side tour for September, a bit like the old Radio 1 Roadshow but without the fun. They’ll play Brighton, Margate, Bournemouth, Weston Super Mare and Blackpool.

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Wednesday 31 May 2017, 11:44 | By

Theresa May the ‘Liar Liar’ set to chart

And Finally Artist News

Captain Ska

So, it looks like the Theresa May themed record ‘Liar Liar’ – from London-based band Captain Ska – is set to be the highest new entry in the singles chart this Friday. You remember the singles chart, right? Yes? Good.

Captain Ska originally released their political song in 2010 about the then coalition government, but with the General Election looming they put out a new version last week including soundbites from speeches and interviews given by May. “She’s a liar liar, you can’t trust her, no, no, no”, the song’s lyrics then add.

The release is backed by The People’s Assembly Against Austerity, and proceeds from the track will be given to that organisation and various UK food banks. According to the Official Charts Company, the single is at number seven in the latest Official Chart Update.

Say the band: “The success of this song shows people are fed up with this government of the rich, for the rich. We’re overwhelmed with the support and our message is that people do have the power to change society if we act together”.

Listen to the track on YouTube here. Though that won’t help its chart position. You’ll have to buy it or stream it on Spotify for that.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:56 | By

Approved: Washed Out – Get Lost

CMU Approved

Washed Out, aka producer Ernest Greene, is back with his first new material for four years. New single ‘Get Lost’ heralds a new record deal with Stones Throw.

A slight shift away from earlier material, ‘Get Lost’ is a woozy disco track, with vocals that drift across its surface. Underpinned by solid drums and bass, the other instruments are allowed to work at varying levels of focus. Some percussion elements sound completely sharp, a decayed piano runs throughout, and a saxophone solo appears like the recording has been cut up and played back through a wall.

The track’s video, directed by Harvey Benschoter, adopts a complementary cut up and otherworldly feel. Watch that here…

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:45 | By

Spotify settles its big mechanical rights dispute Stateside

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories

Spotify

Spotify has settled the class action lawsuit that it faced in the US over unpaid mechanical royalties. The deal will see the streaming firm set aside a fund worth $43.4 million to compensate songwriters and publishers whose songs it streamed without licence.

As previously reported, it is generally agreed that streams exploit multiple elements of any one music copyright – so both the so called performing rights and the mechanical rights.

In some countries, the music publishing sector has traditionally licensed the performing and mechanical rights separately through different entities, meaning streaming firms need to ensure that – not only do they have deals in place for both recordings and songs – those deals cover both the performing and mechanical rights of any works streamed.

In the US this has proven challenging, because while there are collecting societies that licence performing rights, there is no one-stop society that represents mechanical rights. In other countries where the two elements of the copyright are licensed separately, there is a mechanical rights society that can provide a licence to cover any songs that are not subject to direct deals between the streaming firms and the big music publishers.

On one level this shouldn’t matter because there is a compulsory licence covering mechanicals in the US, which includes a set statutory rate to be paid, so streaming services don’t need to negotiate terms and they know from the outset what the mechanical costs will be. However, the compulsory licence obliges the streaming service to alert each and every rights owner that it intends to exploit their work or – where they can’t identify the owner – it should file paperwork with the US Copyright Office instead.

Few services did this, mainly because of the big music rights data problem, whereby there is no one stop publicly accessible database to tell you who controls which song copyrights, nor which song is contained in which recording. However, by failing to adhere to the formalities of the compulsory licence, whenever a streaming service streams a song in the US which is not covered by one of its direct publisher licences, it is technically committing copyright infringement.

There have been various lawsuits against various streaming platforms in relation to this technicality, though the highest profile suits were those respectively pursued by songwriters David Lowery and Melissa Ferrick against Spotify. The two suits were ultimately merged into one multi-million dollar class action.

After Lowery and Ferrick’s lawsuits had been filed, Spotify announced a settlement with the National Music Publishers Association in the US over the unpaid mechanicals, under which unpaid royalties would be handed over, a compensation fund would be set aside, and the big publishers and the streaming firm committed to tackle the continuing music rights data problem. However, any rights owners who didn’t actively sign up to that settlement were still free to join the class action instead.

It’s that litigation – another headache for Spotify as it prepares to list on the New York Stock Exchange – that has now been settled, subject to court approval. Like with the NMPA settlement, in addition to the $43 million set aside to compensate songwriters whose songs have been streamed without licence, the two sides in this dispute will also “work collaboratively to improve the gathering and collecting of information about composition owners to help ensure those owners are paid their royalties in the future”.

Of course, there has been much talk in recent years about possible solutions to the big music rights data problem, and various projects are now underway, some involving the briefly buzzy blockchain. It remains to be seen whether any of those initiatives – or Spotify’s endeavours with the NMPA and the members of this class – actually overcome the issues.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:45 | By

Absolute Label Services upgrades its portal, adds plain English notifications

Business News Labels & Publishers

Absolute Label Services has announced an upgrade to its client portal which, the label services company reckons, makes it “the most holistic and user-friendly data analysis tool available to the music industry”.

Absolute has directly distributed its clients music to digital platforms for a while now, providing the labels and artists it works for access to the flood of data that comes back from the download and streaming services via its Absolute Project portal. The portal also pulls in physical product sales and distribution data plus chart, airplay, gigging and social media information.

The upgraded service also offers a thing called Absolute Insider, which aims to help labels and artists navigate all the data available to them. Absolute says that the Insider function is “an intelligent system that is able to monitor developments in a campaign, identify the most significant changes and notify the user in plain English”.

Kobalt’s AWAL also recently added plain English summaries of the data its platform is crunching, though Absolute reckons its service goes further because it pulls in a wider variety of data and can therefore offer advice on a wider range of distribution and marketing points. Clients can also opt to receive some or all of these updates by email.

Absolute’s Simon Wills says: “This latest update makes the Absolute Project portal the most powerful and relevant data analysis tool available to independent artists, managers and labels in the music industry today. We want to ensure our clients have unrivalled access to everything at a free access point; that way we help each other make the best of a campaign”.

Stressing the wide range of data his company’s portal pulls in for its clients, Wills continues: “We understand that big data needs to be manageable data. We created Absolute Insider so that our partners are kept up to date with the most significant developments of their campaign through easy-to-digest news items and advice. Of course, they can always log on to the web portal if they want to drill down and view things in full detail”.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:38 | By

Huka Entertainment downsizes after collapse of Pemberton Music Festival

Business News Live Business

Pemberton Music Festival

The boss of US-based live music firm Huka Entertainment has confirmed that the company has started laying off staff following the collapse of the Pemberton Music Festival.

As previously reported, the Canadian festival, due to take place in July, went into bankruptcy earlier this month, with poor ticket sales and currency fluctuations being partly blamed. As Ernst & Young began work on the bankruptcy, those who had bought tickets were told that they’d have to join the queue of unsecured creditors seeking to get their money back, unless their bank or credit card company provided any guarantees, in which case a refund may be available there.

Huka Entertainment promoted the festival, though the business had been set up so it was basically a supplier to the owner of the event’s site, which in turn controlled the Pemberton Music Festival company. It was said site owner, rather than Huka, who decided to put that company into bankruptcy.

Speaking to Billboard, Huka CEO Evan Harrison confirmed that the collapse of the event had had an impact on his business. “We had layoffs to scale down appropriately”, he confirmed, before adding that the company still had “a concert-tour team as well as a scaled-down festival team”.

Again stressing that Huka was basically a supplier to the festival, he went on: “We, too, are a vendor of Pemberton who was caught off-guard by this”.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:36 | By

Tidal loses another CEO

Business News Digital Industry People

Tidal

Perhaps Jay-Z’s steaming company Tidal should put the word ‘guest’ in front of all its senior executives’ job titles, that way when they keep exiting they could say “oh, him, her, they were just here for the season”.

Actually, Jeff Toig was CEO at the firm for nearly eighteen months, or possibly fifteen months given the chatter that says he actually stood down in March. But he is still the company’s third chief exec since it relaunched as a Jay-Z led business in 2015.

Tidal Towers said it wished Toig all the best with his future endeavours, before excitedly stating that “as part of Tidal’s continued expansion this year we will be announcing a new CEO in the coming weeks”. Oh yes, all that continued expansion, I forgot about that. Definitely best to get a new CEO in with all that planned expansion ahead.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:34 | By

iHeartMedia extends debt renegotiation deadline again

Business News Media

iHeartMedia

US radio giant iHeartMedia – which also operates the iHeartRadio streaming platform of course – last week announced an “extension of private offers to holders of its five series of priority guarantee notes and its senior notes due 2021 to exchange such notes for new securities”. What an exciting time to be in the radio business! Get that on a t-shirt please.

As previously reported, the broadcaster is trying to restructure its mountain of debt via a proposed ‘exchange offer’. The mega-debts are mainly the result of a $24 billion private equity buyout of the media firm in 2008. As talks with iHeart’s money-lenders continued, last month the company raised concerns about its “ability to continue as a going concern”, a statement which sparked much chatter about possible bankruptcy.

iHeart has now postponed the deadline for money-lenders to take up the exchange offer a number of times. Last week a new deadline of 9 Jun was set.

It’s thought that most of the finance firms iHeart is busy negotiating with are still holding out for a better offer from the broadcaster. Though iHeart management may well be hoping that the creditors will ultimately play ball, given that it’s not really in anyone’s interest for the company to go into chapter eleven bankruptcy.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:32 | By

Topics confirmed for CMU-hosted conversations at M.I.A.’s Meltdown

Business News Education & Events Gigs & Festivals

The topics have been confirmed for the three conversations CMU will host at M.I.A.’s Meltdown festival at Southbank Centre, London next month.

Under the banner ‘Where Next For Music?’, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will lead three discussions delving into topics selected by M.I.A. herself, which together explore the process and business of making music in the digital age.

Taking place in the Clore Ballroom at the Royal Festival Hall on the first weekend of this year’s Meltdown – Saturday 10 Jun – admission is free and open to all on the day.

The first discussion at 1pm is called ‘The Power Of Sound’. Music can instigate a wide range of emotions, but what is it about the science of sound that makes that possible? What draws us to certain combinations of sounds, to certain harmonies? How much is innate and how much is cultural? And how can music affect human behaviour? We will consider the power of sound from a creative, commercial and political perspective. How can music be used to communicate, to affect how someone consumes, or even as a tool of torture?

The second discussion at 2.30pm is called ‘The Political Artist In The Social Media Age’. In a period of increasingly polarised politics, should artists seek to be more political? And if so, how? Through their songwriting, videos and alliances, or by simply speaking out? Can musicians really change public opinion? Can political activity impact on an artists’ own brands, in a positive or negative way? And do the digital platforms that give artists a direct channel to their fans help or hinder? We will consider the political influence of artists, the challenges of the echo chamber, and the power of the platform owners.

And the final discussion is called ‘Music & The Machines’. The industry is increasingly relying on big data and AI technologies to dissect and classify songs and recordings, to power recommendation services on the streaming platforms and music identification systems like Shazam and YouTube’s Content ID. But how do these technologies work? What do they tell us about music and the way we consume it? And can the machines use what they learn to become the music makers of the future? We will analyse how the leading technologies work, and what they tell us about music and music-making.

Details of who will be joining each of these conversations will be announced soon. For information on everything else taking place during M.I.A.’s Meltdown festival, click here.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:30 | By

Gregg Allman dies

Artist News

Gregg Allman, best known as keyboardist and singer in the Allman Brothers Band, the outfit he co-founded with older brother Duane, has died aged 69. The musician had been forced to cancel various tour dates in the last two years due to ill health.

A statement on Allman’s website this weekend read: “It is with deep sadness we announce that Gregg Allman, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia. Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years. During that time, Gregg considered being on the road, playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times”.

Allman’s long-time manager Michael Lehman paid tribute, adding: “I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music. He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard. His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him”.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:24 | By

Marcus Intalex dies

Artist News

Marcus Intalex

Drum & bass producer Marcus Intalex, aka Trevino, has died. He was due to play Soul:ution nights in both Manchester and London this weekend.

His label Soul:R confirmed the news, posting on Facebook on Sunday: “It’s with heavy hearts and great sadness that we have to announce that Marcus passed away this morning. Thanks for the kind words so far and we appreciate the privacy and respect shown for his loved ones and friends at this sad time”.

Numerous fellow producers and DJs have paid tribute to Trevino since the news broke, including Gilles Peterson who wrote “shocking to hear of the passing of one of the true greats of UK underground dance culture and production”. Meanwhile Roni Size tweeted: “I’m utterly saddened that we have lost a soldier Marcus Intalex, my thoughts are with his family and friends. RIP AND KEEP ON ROLLIN ON”.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:22 | By

Frank Ocean pulls out of Primavera Sound

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean has cancelled another festival appearance, this time his set at this week’s Primavera Sound in Barcelona. The festival said that Ocean was bailing on his set there “due to production delays beyond his control. The artist has apologised and has reiterated his wish to come to Barcelona soon”.

Production issues were also cited when Ocean previously pulled out of his sets at two US festivals, Sasquatch! and Hangout. His next scheduled performance is at the Northside festival in Denmark, which takes place from 9-11 Jun.

Back in Barcelona, Primavera has announced that Jamie xx will now be doing a solo set as part of its Friday programme, which essentially replaces Ocean. The xx are already playing the festival.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 10:20 | By

Glastonbury social sharing will use 40 terabytes of EE data

And Finally Brands & Merch Business News Gigs & Festivals

Phone firm EE has said it will be setting up the “most powerful temporary 4G network seen at any UK event” for this month’s Glastonbury Festival, where it is the “official technology and communications partner” no less.

All that power is necessary because of all the live streaming nonsense that has become popular on the social networks in the last year. EE reckons that fad means more content will be digitally streamed and shared from Worthy Farm than ever before this month, with 40 terabytes of data likely to be used across its 4G network.

Of course anyone about to live stream their Glastonbury moments to friends back home could just be reminded that said friends would probably be better advised to tune in to the BBC’s coverage if they are in any way interested, which will have better sound and less chance of a stupid flag blocking the camera’s view. I read somewhere that the internationally recognised hand gesture to communicate all that to a budding Glasto live streamer is a short sharp slap in the face.

Says EE’s Mat Sears: “Since EE first launched 4G in the UK, we’ve worked with the team at Glastonbury to give festival-goers the best possible network experience. A few years ago that meant making sure people could simply post status updates and photos, but with social media continuing its rapid growth – including the addition of Instagram Stories, Facebook Live and Snapchat Stories – those on site now require more data for video than ever before. Our customers will be able to treat their friends at home by sharing their own personal view of all of the awesome stuff that Glastonbury has to offer over our superfast 4G network. We’re incredibly excited to be able to help make that happen”.

Yeah, can someone slap Mat in the face. I’m joking. No one should ever slap anyone in the face. Just slap their phones into the mud.

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 06:58 | By

CMU Digest 30.05.17: Manchester Arena, KickassTorrents, Prince, Pandora, PPLPRS Ltd, The Great Escape

CMU Digest

Manchester Arena

The key stories from the last seven days in the music business…

The music industry responded to the bomb attack on the Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert which killed 22 people. While expressing both shock and sorrow, many in the music community also said that they were determined that the terrorist attack would not have a big impact on the UK’s wider live music programme. New UK Music boss Michael Dugher added: “Music has the power to bring people together and is so often a celebration of peace and love. We will not let terrorism and the politics of violence, hatred and division conquer that spirit”. [READ MORE]

The founder of KickassTorrents was granted bail in Poland. He had been in prison since his arrest last summer while efforts by the US authorities to extradite him to America to face charges of criminal copyright infringement go through the motions. Previous attempts to secure bail had failed, but earlier this month the Polish court suddenly changed its mind, though Ukranian Artem Vaulin is not allowed to leave the country until the extradition process is complete. [READ MORE]

The bank administrating the Prince estate recommended that the court rescind the $30 million deal previously done with Universal Music to represent the late musician’s recordings. The mega-major has said that it was mis-led with regards the rights that Warner Music still has over the most famous Prince albums stemming from a 2014 deal. Former Prince estate advisor L Londell McMillan has denied those allegations. [READ MORE]

Paypal sued Pandora over its new logo. The payments company says that the new branding the streaming service adopted last year is too similar to its logo – in particular the ‘P’ symbol Pandora now uses on its app icon. Paypal says its customers have been confused by the similar logos, resulting in them opening the wrong app on their smartphones. [READ MORE]

UK collecting societies PPL and PRS announced that their new joint venture will be known as PPLPRS Ltd. The joint public performance licence the JV will administer will be called TheMusicLicence. Former Experian exec Suzanne Smith has also been confirmed as the MD of the new licensing business. [READ MORE]

We have been reporting on panels presented by CMU Insights at The Great Escape earlier this month. Check out the reports published so far below…

• The top five visa mistakes made by musicians [READ]
• New music media business models – DJ Mag [READ]
• Tackling Addiction In The Music Community – Simon Mason [READ]
• When Music Gets Synchronised – TV and beyond [READ]
• Facilitating Export – UK Export Initiatives [READ]

Look out for more reports in the CMU Daily this week, plus from next week a series of six CMU Trends articles based on insights we presented at TGE, putting the focus on music media, music PR, royalty flows, direct licensing and drugs education.

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Bucks Music announced it was supporting Floor Sixx [INFO]
• Music Glue announced an alliance with merch firm Probity [INFO]
• Nugs.net announced a deal with MQA [INFO]
• Universal’s Interscope signed Ice Cube [INFO]
• BMG signed Fergie [INFO]

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Tuesday 30 May 2017, 03:20 | By

CMU and M.I.A.’s Meltdown present Where Next For Music?

Artist News Business News Education & Events

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Sunday 28 May 2017, 21:58 | By

CMU Podcast: The General Election, Prince, Festival Republic

Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Live Business Setlist

Houses Of Parliament

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the upcoming General Election in the UK and what it might mean for music, a round-up of all the latest Prince legal news, and plans for Festival Republic to introduce facilities for ticketholders to test the safety of drugs at its events. The CMU Podcast is sponsored by 7digital.

Subscribe to the CMU Podcast

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Stories discussed this week:

• 22 dead in bomb blast at Ariana Grande show in Manchester
• Chris Cornell death ruled suicide
• BPI responds to Conservative and Labour election manifestos
• Preliminary injunction extends ban on release of unofficial Prince recordings
• Prince estate recommends rescinding Universal’s $30 million recordings deal
• Festival Republic to begin offering drug testing services

In brief:

• Jon Webster steps down as MMF President
• MMF launches mental health guide for artist managers
• Guvera ceases operations as co-founder exits
• Paypal sues Pandora over logo

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Friday 26 May 2017, 11:08 | By

Spotify makes new board appointments ahead of Wall Street listing

Business News Digital Top Stories

Spotify

Spotify is reportedly seeking to add four new directors to its board, a move widely seen as further prep for the streaming music firm becoming a publicly listed company.

According to the Financial Times, former Disney COO Tom Staffs is among the new board appointments, along with Padmasree Warrior, who heads up the US division of Chinese electric car maker NextEV; former YouTube Head Of Product Shishir Mehrotra; and Cristina Stenbeck, an owner of Swedish investment firm Kinnevik.

Bringing the expertise of Staffs and Mehrotra into the boardroom, alongside Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, who joined Spotify’s board eight months ago, could be seen as confirmation that the digital firm has increasing ambitions in the video space. Not that its dabblings in video have been hugely successful to date, though original programming is seen as a key way for the streaming services to distinguish themselves from one other, and on the freemium side brands usually spend more when a project has a video element.

Spotify, of course, is now very much on its march towards becoming a publicly listed company. It is now widely believed that the firm will opt for an unusual ‘direct listing’ on the New York Stock Exchange, whereby no new shares are issued at the point of listing. Though sources tell the FT that a final decision on going that route – rather than pursuing a more conventional cash-raising Initial Public Offering – is yet to be made.

Getting new multi-year deals in the bag with the big music rights owners is, of course, also required before going to Wall Street, even if Spotify goes the direct listing route. As previously reported, Universal and indie label repping Merlin are already on board in that regard, with deal negotiations ongoing at Sony Music and Warner Music.

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Friday 26 May 2017, 11:06 | By

Fergie signs to BMG

Artist News Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Fergie

BMG has announced a new deal with Fergie of them there Black Eyed Peas in the form of a partnership that will see the singer set up her own record label, Dutchess Music. The first release through the label will be her new solo album, ‘Double Dutchess’, the follow-up to 2006’s ‘The Dutchess’.

“This new era, which includes starting my own label and creating a global partnership with BMG, is a dream come true”, says Fergie. “It’s an opportunity to release my solo music as well as develop and nurture new artists. This next chapter in my career will allow me the independence to evolve both as an artist and as a businesswoman. BMG has such an incredible legacy in the music industry, and I look forward to working with their very experienced team to make new music, memories and magic!”

“Fergie is part of an elite group of talented artists who continue to evolve and redefine the meaning of originality”, says BMG’s Zach Katz, seemingly trying to set some sort of new record for over-the-top press release statements. “From her creativity and style to her stature in pop culture, simply put, there’s only one Fergie”.

Other than the other Fergies, of course. At least one of whom is an actual dutchess. Anyway, I wonder if fellow BMG exec Jon Cohen can outdo Katz in his big statement? “What Fergie has put together with ‘Double Dutchess’ is so inventive it redefines her as an artist”, says he. “Her prolific output has already made our collaboration one of my most exciting times with BMG and we can’t wait for its reveal”.

Nice try Jon, but Zach really is the master at this. ‘Double Dutchess’ is due out later this year. Expect a new definition of ‘originality’ to follow.

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Friday 26 May 2017, 11:03 | By

Twickets launches in Australia

Business News Live Business

Twickets

Twickets has officially launched its face value ticket exchange in Australia, having opened an office in the country in January.

The new site launches in partnership with Eddie Sheeran, who has made it the official resale platform for his sold out Australian tour. Also hooking up with Twickets for Australian shows are Stormzy, Rag N Bone Man, Sigur Rós, DJ Shadow and Laura Marling.

Live company Frontier Touring will also work with Twickets. Its COO, Dion Brant, said in a statement: “The last excuse used by scalping sites to justify their existence is that they ‘provide a service to legitimate fans stuck with unwanted tickets’. We know this is really a cover for misleading and dishonest profiteering at the expense of fans and artists. Partnering with Twickets to provide a service where real fans can sell unwanted tickets in a transparent and fair way removes all legitimacy from other resale sites”.

As previously reported, the Australian branch of Twickets is being headed up by former Head Of Ticketing at Global Live in the UK, Danny Hannaford. He said yesterday: “It is great to get this venture off the ground in Australia. We have had many exciting conversations with promoters, managers and ticketing companies, and are very pleased to have Frontier Touring and so many exciting artists on board. We look forward to announcing more in the coming weeks”.

Find out more at twickets.com.au

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Friday 26 May 2017, 11:01 | By

Councillor on Fyre Festival island criticises Bahamas tourism agency

Business News Live Business

Fyre Festival

As the lawsuits continue to mount in the US in relation to the failed Fyre Festival, back in the Bahamas – where the luxury event was meant to take place – increased pressure is being put on the Ministry Of Tourism for its involvement in bringing the Ja Rule-backed venture to the island of Great Exuma.

As previously reported, Bahamas-based newspaper The Tribune recently interviewed some of the local businesses who were left out of pocket when the Fyre Festival collapsed just as it was due to kick off at the end of April.

Now the Chief Councillor of Exuma, Brian Strachan, has insisted that, while his body did give the necessary permission for the Fyre Festival to go ahead, it was the Bahamas’ Ministry Of Tourism which led on all the dealings and conversations with the event’s management team, including the other co-founder Billy McFarland.

Strachan told the Tribune: “We had nothing to do with this event. We made sure we kept our distance, because it wasn’t for us to take charge, but somebody has to now. Tourism took the wheel, so they [should lead] now [on dealing with the fall out]”.

The Councillor added that, when the required paperwork was provided to the island authorities by the Fyre Festival team, their main concern was the dates, because the start of the festival clashed with the end of the island’s George Town Regatta.

Strachan reckons that Fyre clashing with that event, which already stretches local resources, could have added to the festival’s problems. Though even without the clash it seems unlikely the Fyre Festival site would have met the expectations of ticketholders who had been sold such a luxury experience.

The Bahamas Ministry Of Tourism was quick to put out statements criticising the Fyre Festival as it collapsed over the last weekend in April, seemingly concerned that media reporting and social media chatter about the disastrous event was damaging the Bahamas brand. Though the government agency has yet to respond to more recent local criticism of its involvement in bringing Ja Rule and McFarland’s ambitious party to its shores.

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Friday 26 May 2017, 10:59 | By

CMU@TGE 2017: Facilitating Export – UK Export Initiatives

Business News Education & Events Management & Funding The Great Escape 2017

Chris Tams & Bhavesh Patel - The Great Escape 2017

Look out for reports on all the key sessions at the CMU Insights conferences at The Great Escape over the next few weeks. Plus, from next Monday, we’ll be publishing a series of CMU Trends reports providing more in depth versions of the insight presentations CMU Insights delivered during TGE this year – go premium to access CMU Trends. Today, we look at two UK funding initiatives that support new acts looking to build their audiences overseas, both of which were profiled at TGE last week.

There is no one-stop music export office in the UK, but there are a number of government and industry supported initiatives in this area. As part of the BPI-supported CMU Insights Export Conference at this year’s Great Escape, BPI’s Chris Tams and PRS Foundation’s Bhavesh Patel ran through two of the schemes that support artists and music companies looking to grow their businesses overseas.

Patel started by focussing on the PRS Foundation’s International Showcasing Fund. “This is the result of a partnership between different organisations across the UK music industry”, he explained. “Including Arts Council England, British Underground, PledgeMusic and the Department For International Trade”.

“We have nine different partners across the scheme and everybody collectively puts money into this fund” he added. “The job of the PRS Foundation is then to distribute that money across the industry to help bands and artists build their presence internationally. This involves supporting British acts playing showcase festivals like SXSW, Eurosonic or Reeperbahn – if bands have been invited to play any of those events, then we have grants available to support them in that activity”.

“We work closely with the top tier showcase festivals, so the main criteria for this fund is that you’ve got to have an invite to play one of these festivals directly from the organisers”, he explained. “That’s an initial filtering process. We trust the judgement of a lot of these showcasing festivals, and that invite is the first step to applying for funding”.

Artists also have to demonstrate to the PRS Foundation that they are “export ready”, he added. “If you can show that domestically there is demand for your music, and that there is some interest, say from the local industry, in the other market you plan to play, then that means you have a strong case that can help you get the funding from us”.

Artists who have received International Showcasing Fund funding this year include Dream Wife, to play SXSW, and Anna Meredith, to perform at Eurosonic. In total, between 60 and 80 artists receive this funding per year.

Tams focussed on the Music Export Growth Scheme, which the BPI runs on behalf of the government’s Department Of International Trade. Since launching in January 2014 the scheme has handed over £1.85 million to 131 artists.

“It’s a matched funding scheme”, explained Tams. “MEGS puts 70% in and then the artist, the label, or whoever applies, has to put 30% in. It’s a grant, so you don’t need to repay it, and it’s basically open to anyone who’s a UK-based ‘SME’ – so less than 250 employees or a turnover of less than £50 million”.

“Those SMEs can be labels, artists, management companies, tour agents, promoters, anyone”, he continued. “Roughly about 94% of all the money we’ve given out so far has been given to artists that are working with independent labels”.

With regard to the application process, Tams admits: “It’s fairly laborious process – we make it difficult on purpose, because we want people who have actually got a sound business case. Whereas a lot of funding schemes are based on how great the artist is, we’re more commercially focused, we are looking to back sound business cases. We’re looking at whether or not we think the project will succeed”.

The government provides the funding in order to help grow the UK music industry’s exports, contributing back to the country’s economic growth. “Hence it’s called ‘Music Export Growth Scheme'”, Tams joked. “It’s not the ‘Music Export Go-away-and-have-a-lovely-time-at-SXSW Scheme'”.

Of the expected return, he continued: “We’re looking at, on average, about 10:1 return on investment that we give you. If we give you £10,000 to go on tour somewhere, we want to see at least £100,000 come back to that artist’s business. More than that, if possible”.

“It’s very competitive”, he added of the demand for the funding. “Last round, we had £150,000 to distribute, but we had applications totalling £2.3 million. Those applications come from a diverse range of genres – and for projects involving artists from many different backgrounds. But we don’t have no quotas on genres, or anything like that, projects are selected purely on merit, those that we think are most likely to succeed”.

So what does MEGS specifically fund? “Overseas music-based projects where we can add value and make the difference between a plan happening or not happening. The funding can cover digital marketing, press and PR, promotion, tour support, including the costs of session musicians, travel, per diems, visas. We like projects to be creative and innovative”.

“The applications that really stand out are the ones that are slightly different”, he said. “We have hundreds and hundreds of applications for bands to go and play the same four gigs in America, or the same fifteen gigs in Germany. If you have an application that’s slightly different in any way shape or form, you do tend to stand out”.

“We don’t particularly cover the costs of performing at international showcases, because that’s already covered by PRS Foundation fund”, he added. “But we will fund things like SXSW if it is part of a broader activity. If you do a fifteen date US tour and SXSW is one of your dates, we might be able to fund that. But we have a constant dialogue with PRSF, because you’re not allowed to get public funding for the same thing twice”.

Both panellists then offered tips for filling out funding applications. “It differs for each fund”, said Tams. “We’re looking for you to answer the specific questions on the form. The amount of people that don’t actually answer the questions is unbelievable”.

“There’s an old phrase ‘bullshit baffles brains'”, he continued. “Don’t waffle on. If you have two pertinent points to put over in an application, then just put those two. You don’t need to fill the form up with erroneous details. Certainly for us at MEGS, we’re looking for bands that are going to give us a good return on investment. We’re not a cultural fund. We’re not an arts fund. We are a business fund. We’re looking for a business case. If you are applying for arts funds then you need to tailor your application differently for that”.

Patel said that a lot of that advice applies to the PRSF showcasing fund too. Plus, he repeated, demonstrating some interest for the artist in the country where they are heading is also key. That may be media support or industry interest. “You need to generate that interest from the industry out there”, he went on. “They really have to want to see your band over at SXSW, or Eurosonic, or whichever event is it you’ve been invited to play. Demonstrating that builds a stronger case and foundation for your application”.

Asked about a good case study of a band who had received MEGS funding, Tams picked the Temperance Movement, who had already been discussed in the Export Conference by Phil Middleton from their management firm ATC. “Due to the MEGS funding, they got seen by a tour promoter in Germany”, said Tams. “That promoter then put them on at some Rolling Stones gigs, which gave them a six-figure PRS cheque at the end of the shows. That was a great return for us as a scheme, and obviously a great pay off for the band as well”.

“We have a fairly rigorous reporting structure for those who receive funding to meet”, he added. “We are constantly asked for updates from the government about what the return on investment has been. Since 2014 we’ve probably had about a 10.5-11:1 ROI on all the money we’ve handed out via the fund”.

“Those results don’t come over night”, noted Patel on how you assess the impact of funding. “We’re not expecting bands to go and play whichever festival and then come back the week after and tell us they’ve been offered a tour to go back. Sometimes it takes a year or two to really see the results of doing that show”.

Check out all the reports and resources CMU has published around this year’s CMU Insights @ The Great Escape conferences here. Find out more about MEGS funding here, and the PRS Foundation here.

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