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Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:58 | By Chris Cooke
Aggrieved Viagogo customers were just “exceptionally careless”
Business News Digital Legal Live Business Top Stories
Viagogo has told an Australian court that the consumers who claim they have been misled by the ticket resale website were just “exceptionally careless” and not the victims of any misleading or deceptive conduct on its part. Also, when the secondary ticketing firm used the word “official”, it obviously meant that it was officially Viagogo, not that it was the official ticket agent of one show. And what the hell is misleading about that?
The always fun Viagogo company is currently facing legal action by government agencies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission launched its action first in August last year, accusing Viagogo of breaching Australian consumer rights law by making false or misleading representations, and by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The Commission’s more specific list of complaints was very familiar. It criticised the ticketing firm for failing to disclose upfront its significant booking fees; for making misleading statements like “less than 1% of tickets remaining”, without explaining that that only referred to Viagogo’s own supply of tickets; and for using the word ‘official’ in Google ads, implying it was an approved primary ticket seller rather than a market place for touts.
That action is now in court, and Viagogo’s legal rep has been busy trying to pull apart the individual complaints of five former users of the site, whose experiences form the core of the Commission’s case against the company. Lawyer Kate Morgan pointed to inconsistencies in some of the evidence presented by those complainants, and then asked whether those five people had taken reasonable care to protect their own interests.
According to Sydney newspaper the Daily Telegraph, Morgan cited a 1982 case in Australia involving the sale of knock-off furniture where the court ruled that while the law protects consumer rights to an extent, there was still an obligation on individual consumers to protect their own interests when making buying decisions. The lawyer argued that the five complainants had failed to fulfil that obligation.
That argument will require some consideration of what constitutes reasonable care on the part of the consumer when buying tickets online. Many consumers end up on touting platforms like Viagogo after searching for tickets for a show on Google. Those consumers often assume that whatever tops a Google search list must be an official source of tickets, not realising that companies like Viagogo can buy themselves to the top.
Critics of the company argue that Viagogo has a long history of exploiting this consumer ignorance, by utilising search advertising, and then adding to consumer confusion by using words like “official”. Alerts suggesting that all tickets for a show are about to sell out also put pressure on consumers to buy there and then without researching other options. The fact that the consumer is buying from a tout and that Viagogo will apply a significant fee on top of the ticket price have traditionally been obscured.
Morgan nevertheless sought to put the blame on the careless consumers. According to the Telegraph, she told the court: “Here we have people searching for particular tickets, they are seeing an advertisement that refers to a name they’ve never heard of before and they don’t take care, let alone reasonable care”.
She went on, “they didn’t do a basic check. Not one of them checked the ‘about us’ tab”. Then, noting the obligation for consumers to take some responsibility for their actions, she said of the complainants: “We say they are not taking reasonable care. They are exceptionally careless”.
As well as defending her client’s infamous use of the word “official”, Morgan also argued that the five former customers had only complained to the ACCC because they’d been through an expensive ticket-buying experience and were unhappy about that fact.
Since the ACCC filed its legal action last year, Viagogo has ceased some of the criticised practices in some markets, sometimes under pressure from regulators, other times to comply with new rules instigated by Google.
However, critics argue that Viagogo has deliberately exploited consumer ignorance for years, and only changes its ways when under considerable pressure. And mainly when failing to do so might threaten its ability to buy its way to the top of Google search lists, which is where the consumer confusion usually begins.
The ACCC v Viagogo case continues.
READ MORE ABOUT: Viagogo
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:56 | By Chris Cooke
Led Zep ask appeals court to reconsider its Stairway song-theft judgement
Artist News Legal
Legal reps for Led Zeppelin have requested that the Ninth Circuit appeals court in the US reconsider its recent decision to overturn the original ruling in the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ song-theft case.
The band argue that by overturning the original judgement, the appeals court could upset the “delicate balance” between copyright protection and the freedom on music creators to employ common techniques and musical elements when songwriting.
Led Zep, as you may remember, were sued by the estate of songwriter Randy Wolfe – aka Randy California – which alleged that ‘Stairway To Heaven’ ripped off a song written by Wolfe. However, they ultimately defeated the litigation in June 2016 with the jury concluding that ‘Stairway’ wasn’t sufficiently similar to Wolfe’s song ‘Taurus’.
The Wolfe estate then appealed that ruling in March last year, arguing that the jury had been badly briefed by the judge, in particular regarding some of the complexities of American copyright law that were relevant to the case. Last month the Ninth Circuit concurred with the estate, overturning the original judgement and forcing a retrial.
One of the complexities relates to what copyright law should do when two songs share certain elements, but those elements are arguably common features of certain genres of music and therefore probably not in themselves protected by copyright.
Do you therefore say that the fact the two songs share those elements cannot constitute copyright infringement? Or do you consider the way in which those elements have been employed in the first song, and whether that employment is copied in the second? If it is, could copyright protect the way in which those common elements have been employed?
Tricky stuff. The Wolfe estate argued that in the original court hearing the judge incorrectly advised the jury on that specific complexity. The Ninth Circuit agreed. However, in a new legal filing made last week Led Zep argue that the judge first time round actually gave the correct advice to the jury. Moreover, they say, suggesting otherwise sets a dangerous precedent.
The band’s legal filing states that “if uncorrected”, the Ninth Circuit’s recent conclusion will “allow a jury to find infringement based on very different uses of public domain material” which, it then argues, “will cause widespread confusion in copyright cases in this circuit”.
Led Zep’s lawyers want the Ninth Circuit to reconsider last month’s ruling ‘en banc’, which means all the judges of the court would take part rather than just a panel of three. That only usually happens for very important cases. But the band’s legal team argue that this dispute has “exceptional importance not only to music, but all creative endeavours, and en banc review is necessary to avoid the widespread confusion the panel decision will create”.
We await the Ninth Circuit’s response.
READ MORE ABOUT: Led Zeppelin | Randy California
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:54 | By Chris Cooke
Sony/ATV extends GEMA/PRS alliance on digital licensing
Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers
Following the news last week that BMG had extended and expanded its alliance with German collecting society GEMA on digital licensing, Sony/ATV yesterday announced it was likewise extending its partnership – with both GEMA and UK society PRS – for the direct licensing of its Anglo-American repertoire to digital services.
The big publishers – and an increasing number of indie publishers too – often license their Anglo-American repertoires to multi-territory streaming services via direct deals, rather than relying on deals negotiated by the collecting societies, as is the norm elsewhere.
However, somewhat confusingly, publishers negotiate and administrate these direct deals in partnership with the collecting societies. Partly because of the complexities of processing digital royalties on the songs side of the business. And partly because, even when direct deals are done, some of the money said deals generate – that allocated to the ‘performing rights’ of the songs – still needs to flow through each songwriter’s collecting society of choice.
Sony/ATV has an alliance with both GEMA and PRS which covers both its own catalogue of Anglo-American songs and the Anglo-American works in the EMI Music Publishing catalogue it co-owns and controls (and which it is in the process of buying outright). The deals are handled via a GEMA/PRS joint venture called SOLAR, with copyright hub ICE – co-owned by GEMA, PRS and Swedish society STIM – doing a bulk of the day-to-day admin.
That’s all been going on for many years now and will continue to do so following yesterday’s announcement, which confirmed that “in a multi-year deal SOLAR will continue to provide administration services in connection with licences that cover the exploitation of the combined Anglo-American catalogues of Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing for digital services across Europe and other territories”.
Sony/ATV’s boss man Marty Bandier added: “I am excited that we have extended our successful relationship with PRS For Music and GEMA and with their SOLAR joint venture. This will continue to make the licensing of our Anglo-American catalogue across Europe as efficient as possible while ensuring that our songwriters receive first-class administration services in the European digital market”.
Meanwhile Dr Till Evert, MD of SOLAR, said: “Long-term and stable partnerships such as this are rare and of great value in today’s complex and highly dynamic music market. Sony/ATV Music Publishing is an ambitious partner who has time and time again set standards for the music market with its innovative technical solutions. Together with our strong partner ICE, we are ideally positioned to meet the challenges of digital use and licensing of music for the next three years”.
READ MORE ABOUT: GEMA | PRS For Music | Sony Music Publishing
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:52 | By Andy Malt
Kanye West vows to step away from politics, after being associated with ‘Blexit’ campaign
Artist News
Kanye West has denied involvement with the ‘Blexit’ campaign in the US, which is encouraging black voters to leave the Democratic Party. In a tweet, he declared that he had “been used to spread messages I don’t believe in”.
The campaign was launched last week by activist Candace Owens, who claimed at a conference organised by conservative advocacy group Turning Point America – for which she acts as Communications Director – that West had been involved with the visual branding of the project.
According to the New York Post, she told that event: “Blexit is a renaissance and I am blessed to say that this logo, these colours, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero Kanye West”.
Who describes themselves as a superhero? And thinks that compound words akin to ‘Brexit’ are a good thing? Well, Candace Owens, obviously.
And West does have an association with her. Earlier this year he tweeted that “I love the way Candace Owens thinks”, and then subsequently met with her. He also admits to acting as a middleman with the designer who did create the Blexit logo, but denies that he himself created it, as Owens claims.
“I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn’t want their name on it so she used mine”, he says. “I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it”.
He continues: “My eyes are now wide open and [I] now realise I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative”.
I’m sure many will breath a sigh of relief at that latter commitment. After all, the rapper has done and said plenty of stuff in recent months to make people think that he would be involved in a campaign like Blexit in some way.
Elsewhere in Blexit news, The Fader has done some light Googling and discovered that many of the images of apparent supporters of the project are in fact stock images, public domain photographs, or photos used without a proper licence.
READ MORE ABOUT: Kanye West
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:51 | By Andy Malt
Massive Attack re-imagine Mezzanine for 21st anniversary shows
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Massive Attack have announced a new live show, ‘Mezzanine XX1’, re-imagining their ‘Mezzanine’ album for its 21st anniversary.
Featuring Cocteau Twins’ Liz Frazer, among other collaborators still to be announced, the show features new audio created from the original samples used on the album.
The band’s Robert Del Naja proclaims that it will be “a one-off piece of work; our own personalised nostalgia nightmare head trip”.
The live show follows the re-issue of the original album, including as DNA-encoded spray paint. Tickets for the live shows will go on general sale on Friday. Here are the dates:
28 Jan: Glasgow, Hydro
29 Jan: Manchester Arena
22 Feb: London, O2 Arena
24 Feb: Dublin, 3Arena
1 Mar: Bristol, Steel Yard
READ MORE ABOUT: Massive Attack
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:49 | By Andy Malt
The Specials announce 40th anniversary tour
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases
The Specials have announced that they will head out on tour next year, marking their 40th anniversary. The dates will also follow the release of a new album, ‘Encore’, which features their first new material for 37 years.
The album is out on 1 Feb. Tickets for the shows go on sale on Friday, here are the dates:
11 Apr: Dublin, Olympia Theatre
15 Apr: Bournemouth, Academy
16 Apr: Portsmouth, Guildhall
17 Apr: Brighton, Dome
19 Apr: Plymouth, Pavilions
20 Apr: Exeter, Great Hall
21 Apr: Cardiff University
23 Apr: Blackburn, King George’s Hall
24 Apr: Leicester, De Montfort Hall
26 Apr: Birmingham, Academy
27 Apr: Liverpool, Olympia
28 Apr: Manchester, Academy
30 Apr: Leeds, Academy
1 May: Carlisle, Sands Centre
2 May: Glasgow, Barrowland
4 May: Newcastle, Academy
5 May: Middlesborough, Town Hall
6 May: Scarborough, SPA Grand Hall
8 May: Scunthorpe, The Baths Hall
9 May: York, Barbican
10 May: Sheffield, Academy
12 May: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
13 May: Southend, Cliff Pavilion
14 May: Margate, Winter Gardens
16 May: London, Brixton Academy
READ MORE ABOUT: The Specials
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:44 | By Andy Malt
One Liners: Thundercat, Deerhunter, Flohio, more
Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Thundercat has released a new collaboration with Badbadnotgood, ‘King Of The Hill’. The track is taken from the upcoming ‘Brainfeeder X’ compilation, marking the label’s tenth anniversary. Thundercat will also perform at a ‘Brainfeeder X’ show at Brixton Academy on 15 Dec, headlined by label boss Flying Lotus.
• Deerhunter have announced that they will release their new album, ‘Why Hasn’t Everything Disappeared?’, on 18 Jan. Here’s first single ‘Death In Midsummer’.
• Flohio has released the video for new single ‘Wild Yout’. She has tour dates lined up in November and December.
• Planningtorock has released a new single, ‘Beulah Loves Dancing’, about their sister’s love of house music in the 90s. It’s taken from new album ‘Powerhouse’, out on 9 Nov.
• Helena Deland has released the video for her song ‘Claudion’.
• DeWolffe have released a new single aiming to get people to listen socially. Split into different parts across five tracks, you can only play it in full by getting four or five smartphones with Spotify accounts together. Here’s a video to explain.
• Bodega have released the video for ‘Name Escape’ from their ‘Endless Scroll’ album. The band are set to tour the UK again in February.
• Peluché have released the video for new single ‘Figure Me Out’. They’ve also announced UK tour dates next month, starting at The Pickle Factory in London on 14 Nov.
• Gary Numan has announced that he will sit down for two on-stage interviews in London and Manchester in January. He’ll appear at Manchester’s Stoller Hall on 15 Jan and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 16 Jan.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bodega | Deerhunter | DeWolffe | Flohio | Gary Numan | Helena Deland | Peluché | Planningtorock | Thundercat
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 12:39 | By Andy Malt
Little Mix dragged into feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B
And Finally Artist News Releases
Little Mix have now been dragged into the feud between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, which remains a thing that is happening between two actual adults.
On Tuesday, Cardi B posted a series of videos on Instagram responding to claims Minaj had made on her Beats 1 radio show. In one video, she asserted that a number of opportunities had come to Minaj recently only after she had passed on them first. This included new Little Mix single ‘Woman Like Me’, on which Minaj provides a guest verse.
“That ‘Woman Like Me’ record?” she said. “I had to decline it because I’ve got a lot of pop records, so I can’t over exaggerate myself. But that came to me first and then they gave it to you”.
As proof, she played a version of the track she’d been sent off her phone, with space left for the then still required guest verse. However, Little Mix have now said that, while they did indeed approach Cardi B about a collaboration, Minaj was always their first choice.
“We love and respect both Nicki and Cardi B”, they said in a statement on Twitter. “Both were approached by our label to work with us on ‘Woman Like Me’, Nicki then Cardi. We went with Nicki because, like we’ve said over and over for years, it’s been a dream of ours to work with her since the beginning. We have nothing but love and positivity for both Nicki and Cardi”.
So that’s very diplomatic. Although it followed some less diplomatic comment-liking from the group’s Jade Thirwall, and an Instagram story from Perrie Edwards saying: “Sorry Cardi hun but this is the T. We’ve always wanted the Queen”.
Anyway, entirely coincidentally, Nicki Minaj has a new track out. She features on Tyga’s ‘Dip’. Presumably he asked Cardi B to guest first, but she was still worrying about over exaggerating herself.
READ MORE ABOUT: Cardi B | Little Mix | Nicki Minaj
Wednesday 31 October 2018, 11:59 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Beast
CMU Approved
Koen Holtkamp has released numerous albums as a solo artist, as part of the duo Mountains, and as part of other collaborations. His latest project, Beast, sees him working alone again, developing music and visuals in tandem.
His first two releases under the name, ‘EPs ‘Vol 1’ and ‘Vol 2’, soundtracked a series of installations using 3D laser projections. For the first Beast album, ‘Ens’, he opts for simpler though no less arresting visuals, based on the colours he sees matching the music.
Of the red and blue shapes which move and pulse through the video for new single ‘Paprika Shorts’, he explains: “For me there’s something mesmerising in simple combinations of colours that activate one another in such a way that even when static they seem to create movement”
He goes on: “In parallel to making ‘Ens’ I was working on a series of structural animation studies that explored different colour dynamics. My intention was to create a sort of visual character or identity to go along with the music for this album through a specific colour relationship”.
‘Ens’ is out on 9 Nov. Watch the video for ‘Paprika Shorts’ here:
Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beast | Koen Holtkamp
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:42 | By Chris Cooke
SoundCloud amends its Premier contract following criticism
Business News Digital Legal Top Stories
SoundCloud has rewritten the contract that accompanies the monetisation programme it offers DIY artists. Or, officially speaking, it has “clarified [and] removed elements” of the contract it had previously written. This follows criticism of the terms it was offering under its SoundCloud Premier scheme.
Previously, monetisation – ie sharing in advertising and subscription income – was only available to DIY artists on an ad hoc and invite-only basis. But earlier this month the programme was rolled out to all musicians with a SoundCloud Pro account.
Then last week The Verge ran a piece criticising the terms and conditions that accompany that programme. It raised various concerns, particularly in relation to a clause that says that anyone participating in the scheme must give up the right to sue over any previous unlicensed distribution of their content on the SoundCloud platform.
The tech site quoted one entertainment lawyer as saying it was “unusual, at best, for a platform to open their terms and conditions with a provision that requires the artist to entirely release it of all prior violations and infringements committed by that platform”.
SoundCloud initially insisted that the deal it was offering DIY artists was fair and in line with – if not better – than industry standards. However, yesterday it announced it had now amended the terms and conditions of its Premier programme to deal with The Verge’s specific concerns.
It wrote in a blog post: “We’ve … received feedback that some language in the original programme agreement was too broad, and we want to avoid any doubt around your rights and how we run the programme. Our team reviewed the agreement, and we’ve clarified or removed elements that may be unclear or not relevant to the open service we have now”.
The removals include the clause regarding any future legal action over any alleged past copyright infringement, which SoundCloud said was a hangover from earlier agreements on which these terms are based. It confirmed that the review had resulted in the “the removal of the outdated covenant not to sue language that was part of our previous invite-only agreement”.
SoundCloud stressed that the amendments to its contract don’t actually change the core deal it is offering artists who participate in the Premier programme, in terms of what rights they are granting, how income is shared, and how and when artists are paid.
It then concluded: “SoundCloud is and will always be a creator-first platform. We’re committed to building industry-leading products and services for you to share, connect and grow your career. As part of that commitment, we’ll always take feedback and respond as quickly as we can to keep improving the platform for you”.
For its part, The Verge has been through the revised contract and says that SoundCloud “has revised every major contentious point listed [in our] original report”.
READ MORE ABOUT: SoundCloud
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:40 | By Chris Cooke
Music industry comments on UK budget fun times
Business News Education & Events Retail Top Stories
UK music industry reps have welcomed some of the initiatives announced by the Chancellor Of The Exchequer Philip Hammond in his budget speech yesterday, including a cash boost for schools, a rates cut for small businesses and a proposed new tax for digital platforms. Though, of course, the devil is very much in the detail.
The state of music education provision in the UK has been quite a talking point in recent years. Music educators – and increasingly the music industry too – have expressed concerns that funding cuts, curriculum priorities and the criteria by which schools are assessed have all resulted in access to decent music education becoming a privilege rather than the norm.
Hammond didn’t deal with any of that directly, although he did announce a one-off £400 million cash boost to be spent on “that extra bit of kit” that each school needs. Teaching unions noted that, given the financial pressure many schools are under to deliver just basic services, having an extra bit of cash to buy some new gadgets isn’t much of a fix. Although, in theory, some of that extra money could be spent on musical kit.
Michael Dugher, boss of cross-sector music industry trade group UK Music, said yesterday: “UK Music called for a review of music funding in state schools to halt the spiral of decline that is the current worrying situation in state education. The Chancellor’s decision to provide schools with new funds could offer much needed short term relief, providing that this can be invested in new music facilities and instruments”.
Deborah Annetts, CEO of the Incorporated Society Of Musicians, which sits outside the UK Music framework and has many music teachers among its membership, also welcomed the cash boost, presumably also hoping some of it can be spent on music kit. She told reporters: “We welcome the government’s decision to invest a much-needed extra £400 million in our schools. It is vital that our children have access to the very best education within both primary and secondary settings so that they can make the most of all of their talents”.
However, of course – as the teaching unions said about Hammond’s gesture in general – even if some of the £400 million can be spent on music kit, that doesn’t deal with the wider issues around music education provision. To that end Dugher added that “ensuring that children from all backgrounds have access to music, including instruments, is not about providing ‘little extras’. Music should be a right and an opportunity for children to experience everywhere”.
The cut in business rates for small businesses is really about helping the high street and those bricks-and-mortar retailers who continue to lose out to online operators. And that, of course, includes independent entertainment retailers.
But Dugher said that UK Music will seek to ensure that the cut also applies to other small businesses for which business rates can be a killer. He said: “The cut in business rates for small retailers is welcome. The government must ensure that music venues and studios, who have in recent years faced huge hikes in business rates, stand to benefit from this”.
Alongside the cut in business rates, Hammond also announced a relaxation of planning rules to make it easy to build new homes on old retail sites that are now sitting empty. Which makes sense, although – Dugher pointed out – also raises concerns about yet more homes being plonked next to existing music venues, potentially posing future licensing problems as new neighbours complain about noise.
With that in mind, UK Music added, the recently adopted agent of change principle, where those building any new homes next to existing venues must anticipate and address future noise issues in their plans, is more important than ever. Said Dugher: “Plans announced to liberalise the planning system in order to turn commercial properties into residential accommodation must also be carried out with full regard to the ‘agent of change’ principle to protect music venues”.
He added: “This must not be an opportunity for developers seeking more residential building to ride roughshod over struggling, pre-existing music businesses. We need measures that make things easier, not harder, to nurture and grow the night-time economy”.
And finally, there was Hammond’s big announcement of a new 2% tax on the big digital platforms, which he aims to introduce in 2020 following a consultation. Although he didn’t name them specifically, that initiative aims to increase the monies paid by the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon into the UK taxation system, them all being known for employing sneaky tactics to reduce their respective tax liabilities.
On that, Dugher said: “It is absolutely right that tech giants should pay more tax to the UK. We look forward to working with the government in the development of this to ensure it is carefully designed and does not turn into an online sales tax”.
Meanwhile Annetts added: “We also hope that the tech tax of 2% will be used by the government to invest in the creative industries, including music, at this critical time as music faces serious challenges in a post-Brexit world. Never has there been a more important time to invest in both the music industry and music education – the key driver of the talent pipeline for one of our most important industries”.
READ MORE ABOUT: UK Music
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:38 | By Chris Cooke
HMV biggest seller of music discs this summer, though Amazon still leads entertainment retail at large
Business News HMV Timeline Retail
Kantar Worldpanel has published its latest report on the UK entertainment retail sector, revealing that while Amazon strengthened its position as the biggest entertainment retailer overall, HMV was the market leader in physical music sales over the summer quarter.
According to Kantar’s figures, HMV enjoyed a second consecutive quarter of market share growth in the physical music space, rising to 28% of the market, and allowing it to overtake Amazon to become the biggest seller of musical discs in the UK.
Strong physical sales of the ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ soundtrack helped in no small part, it taking over from the soundtrack to ‘The Greatest Showman’ as the physical release that keeps on giving. You know, until they release the covers version of ‘The Greatest Showman’ soundtrack next month.
It’s not just soundtracks though. All the buzz around the 100th edition of ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ helped too, that edition of the legendary compilation series selling twice as many copies as boring old ‘Now 99’.
However, Amazon still has the biggest market share for physical entertainment retail at large, ie when DVDs and games are added into the mix. Amazon had a particularly strong quarter in gaming, which helped it to widen the gap between it and HMV when all three strands of entertainment retail are counted. It increased its market share by 1.8% to 23.2%.
Kantar also noted that while the second ‘Mamma Mia!’ soundtrack has been providing a nice boost to high street retailers in recent months, the DVD release of the movie should also deliver the goods in the all-important fourth quarter. And if the retailers can persuade those DVD buyers to also impulse purchase Cher’s recently released Abba covers album, then the disc sellers could have a decent Christmas courtesy of Messrs Andersson and Ulvaeus.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon | HMV | Kantar
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:36 | By Andy Malt
Attitude Is Everything expands Outstanding Attitude Awards
Awards Business News Live Business
Music charity Attitude Is Everything has announced that it is expanding its Outstanding Attitude Awards, which recognise music venues, festivals and other live music operators that best serve deaf and disabled audience members.
The awards programme will have its own ceremony for the first time, due to take place next March, with the number of awards handed out increased to ten.
“Having trialled the concept in 2016, I am delighted Attitude Is Everything can now present a standalone event that celebrates the best in UK live music access innovation”, says AIE CEO Suzanne Bull. “From DIY events to companies at the cutting edge of ticketing technology, we want to bring the live music world together to shine a light on all of the ways live music can be made more inclusive for deaf and disabled music fans”.
She continues: “By recognising what is possible at every level, we will demonstrate how the UK is a global leader when it comes to live music accessibility, and hope to encourage the industry to take further positive action. If you are working to break down barriers and include deaf and disabled music fans, this is your chance to shout about it!”
Indeed it is, because nominations for this year’s awards are now open. You have until 21 Dec to put forward artists, promoters, venues, ticketing companies and others who have gone above and beyond to improve accessibility.
You can apply for the awards, or nominate others, here. The awards ceremony is set to take place at Islington Assembly Hall on 12 Mar.
READ MORE ABOUT: Attitude Is Everything
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:35 | By Andy Malt
Bon Jovi announce 2019 UK tour
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Bon Jovi have announced that they will tour the UK for the first time since 2013 next year. They’ll play three whole dates in June. “Those huge shows, tens of thousands of people all together as one, that’s what we do”, says Jon Bon Jovi of the three British stadium dates now in the 2019 calendar.
The tour includes a show at Wembley Stadium, with which Bon Jovi have a history. They were meant to be the first band to play the all new Wembley Stadium in 2006, them having been the last band to play the old stadium on that site before it was demolished. But delays in building the new venue meant that didn’t happen and George Michael was then the first artist to play there the following year.
“We’ve got a few things to put right by playing Wembley Stadium”, Jon Bon Jovi goes on. “We were so excited to be the first band to play that new stadium, I would have helped build it myself to make it happen. So we have a new history to write there”.
Namechecking the other shows, he goes on: “We’ve had some great nights at the Ricoh too. Throw in Anfield as a new venue – OK that’s just us showing off! We’re honoured to play there and the first thing I’m doing is getting that iconic picture under the ‘This Is Anfield’ sign”. Look at all that local knowledge he has there. Say what you like about JBJ, but he sure can ask an assistant to look some stuff up on Google when it’s needed.
The band will be supported at all dates by the Manic Street Preachers. Tickets will go on general sale this Friday. Here are the actual dates:
19 Jun: Liverpool, Anfield Stadium
21 Jun: London, Wembley Stadium
23 Jun: Coventry, Ricoh Arena
READ MORE ABOUT: Bon Jovi
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:32 | By Andy Malt
Rita Ora announces UK arena tour
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Rita Ora has announced a UK arena tour for next year. The dates come in support of upcoming new album, ‘Phoenix’, which is due out on 23 Nov.
“I’m so happy to be on tour again”, says Ora. “Nothing makes me happier than performing and travelling to see all my fans. It will be first time performing new songs from ‘Phoenix’ and I can’t wait for you to hear them! I’m looking forward to this tour so much”.
That’s not all she has to say though. She also says this: “One of the most liberating feelings for me is performing and creating music. This album is a true labour of love, and it was important for me to do it my way. I’m so appreciative of the love and support from those who worked with me on the record and allowed me create something I’m really proud of”.
“They gave me the space and freedom to create something from my heart” she waffles on. “Both challenging and euphoric at times. I am really proud of and grateful for the journey that the making of ‘Phoenix’ has taken me on. To my fans, thank you for your patience and thank you always for listening”.
Tickets for the shows go on general sale this Friday. Here are the dates:
21 May: Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
22 May: Bournemouth International Centre
24 May: London, The O2
25 May: Birmingham Arena
27 May: Liverpool Echo Arena
28 May: Leeds, First Direct Arena
29 May: Glasgow, The Hydro
READ MORE ABOUT: Rita Ora
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:28 | By Andy Malt
One Liners: Steve Aoki, Kiss, Deaf Havana, more
Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Deaf Havana have released the video for latest single ‘Worship’. The band are set to play a one-of UK show at Brixton Academy in London on 7 Dec.
• Another new Beirut track has arrived. Here’s ‘Corfu’.
• Almost a decade after releasing the first volume of his ‘Harbour Boat Trips’ compilation series, Trentemøller has announced that he will release the second next month. It’ll feature a new track from the man himself, ‘Transformer Man’.
• Swervedriver have signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action record label and will release a new album, ‘Future Ruins’, on 25 Jan. Here’s new single, ‘Mary Winter’.
• Connie Constance has released new single ‘Fast Cars’. She’s also announced that she will play the Courtyard Theatre in London on 29 Nov.
• Snapped Ankles have released new single ‘Drink And Glide’. New album, ‘Snaps II’, is due out early next year. The band begin a UK tour this week.
• Griz-O has put out the second video for a track on his new ‘Out Of Bounds’ mixtape. Watch ‘The One’ here.
• Kiss have announced dates for their farewell tour, including five shows in the UK. The shows will include a night at London’s O2 Arena on 11 Jul. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
• Having announced his new album, ‘Neon Future III’, last week, Steve Aoki has now confirmed UK tour dates for next year. He’ll play various shows in February, including a night at London’s Brixton Academy on 22 Feb, before closing the run at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on 23 Feb.
• Gogo Penguin will tour the UK next month, including a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 12 Dec.
• Pete Spiby has announced a run of headline shows to promote his debut solo album, ‘Failed Magician’, in December. Here’s a new video featuring Spiby’s version of Dean Martin’s ‘If You Were The Only Girl In The World’.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beirut | Connie Constance | Deaf Havana | GoGo Penguin | Griz-O | Kiss | Pete Spiby | Snapped Ankles | Steve Aoki | Swervedriver | Trentemøller
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 12:22 | By Andy Malt
Beyonce reaches settlement with Feyonce
And Finally Artist News Legal
Beyonce has reportedly reached a settlement deal that brings to an end one of the more fun cases that has been rumbling its way through the pop courts of late.
The settlement is with novelty merch company Feyonce, which sells t-shirts and other items aimed at recently engaged Beyonce fans who can’t spell. The reported deal comes ahead of a court hearing that was due to take place later this week.
According to The Blast, Beyonce’s legal team have requested that the hearing scheduled for Thursday be adjourned. In a court submission, they said: “The parties have met and conferred regarding settlement and are currently involved in advanced negotiations that the parties anticipate will resolve this matter shortly”.
The singer sued the company back in 2016, claiming that Feyonce Inc was infringing her trademarks and confusing consumers, all the more so with the Feyonce products that also contain the line “he put a ring on it”. The plucky merch peddlers were involved in conduct that was “intentional, fraudulent, malicious, wilful and wanton”, her lawsuit declared.
Earlier this month, judge Alison Nathan refused to issue a permanent injunction stopping Feyonce Inc from selling Feyonce products. Nathan said that while Beyonce’s side had made some compelling arguments, she felt that the core dispute required proper consideration in court before a jury, and therefore a summary judgement in the pop star’s favour was not appropriate. She then urged both sides to meet to consider a possible settlement.
That has seemingly now happened, pending a final agreement. The two sides have said that they will inform the court of their plans by 15 Nov.
READ MORE ABOUT: Beyonce
Tuesday 30 October 2018, 11:50 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Unloved
CMU Approved
Unloved – aka vocalist and songwriter Jade Vincent with producers Keefus Ciancia and David Holmes (yes, that one) – have announced that they will unleash their second album, ‘Heartbreak’, on 1 Feb next year. Following the release of the title track last month, now comes new single ‘Crash Boom Bang’.
“It’s about the devastation of a kind of struggle that brings you to your knees”, says Vincent of the single. “Feeling the waves crashing, the tide of emotional distress pulling, pulling you under to the point where you think you’ll drown, against the will, against all reason – but I didn’t”.
“I felt a little more confident in my stride with this album”, she goes on. “I let myself completely go lyrically – and vocally as well. I would sometimes laugh at myself, about where I would go. I’d go high into the world of opera and come back in low. I just threw myself into it and felt uninhibited”.
“It was freeing”, she adds. “And I kept layering, to get to as many emotions as possible. It was like painting: I was layering to add to the immense, vastly wild landscape of music given me from Keefus and David”.
Holmes adds: “There’s a maturity to Jade’s voice and a maturity to the songs that sounds like this is someone who’s lived, and properly had her heart broken, and is full of love”.
The band are set to play two live shows premiering tracks from the new album at Hoxton Hall in London on 3 and 5 Dec. Tickets are available now. Meanwhile, listen to ‘Crash Boom Bang’ here:
Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: David Holmes | Unloved
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:57 | By Chris Cooke
Indies and songwriters hit out as European Commission approves Sony’s EMI deal
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
Songwriters and independent music companies have hit out at the decision of competition regulators in Europe to approve Sony’s deals to take complete ownership of EMI Music Publishing. The European Commission announced it was green lighting the deals on Friday, despite Sony making no concessions to address the concerns of those who opposed them.
Sony led a consortium of investors to buy EMI Music Publishing in 2012. Since then Sony’s own music publisher – Sony/ATV – has administrated the EMI rights. Earlier this year Sony announced its plan to buy out the other investors, taking complete control of the EMI songs catalogue, and allowing a proper merger of the Sony/ATV and EMI publishing businesses.
Various trade groups representing songwriters and independent music companies opposed that move, arguing that it increased Sony’s already significant control over music rights in Europe.
Sony, of course, controls many recording rights – both directly through the Sony Music labels and via its label services business The Orchard – on top of the song rights respectively controlled by Sony/ATV and EMI. Particular attention was put on the Anglo-American repertoires of the Sony and EMI publishers, which are licensed to digital services through direct deals, rather than via the collecting societies as is the norm with other European repertoires.
Pan-European indie label trade group IMPALA did some maths and found that – if you combined the catalogue of recordings released or distributed by Sony Music and the Anglo-American song catalogues of Sony/ATV and EMI – on average the Sony group controlled, at least in part, well over 50% of the tracks that charted in seven key European markets in 2017. In the UK, Sony had control over an average of 73% of charting tracks, while in Spain that control of charting music went up to 89%.
IMPALA argued that EU competition regulators had previously expressed concern over much lower chart domination by any one company. Nevertheless, on Friday the EU’s competition authority announced that Sony’s proposal “raises no competition concerns”.
This conclusion was in no small part based on the fact that Sony/ATV has basically controlled the EMI songs catalogue since 2012 anyway, meaning Sony already enjoyed the power of controlling both catalogues when making direct deals in the digital space. The regulator considered whether the other investors in EMI had “acted as a constraint” over the way Sony negotiated those deals but concluded that the removal of those investors wouldn’t change much.
The regulator did consider Sony’s recording catalogues as well as the combined Sony/ATV/EMI songs repertoire. And in doing so referenced concerns that the company could leverage one side of the business to secure better terms on the other. However, it concluded that the other investors in EMI would have approved of such tactics being employed in deal negotiations anyway, so that their removal from the proceedings wouldn’t alter anything.
Despite this, the competition authority did not specifically deal with the fact that it’s generally in the interest of major music rights holders to exploit their song rights to get better deals on their recording rights, rather than the other way around. That’s because industry conventions mean that labels usually keep the majority of recordings income, while the majority of publishing income is paid over to the songwriter. Therefore it is the interest of big rights owners for recordings rights to see a bigger share of income than publishing rights.
That doesn’t mean that song rights have actually been exploited in that way – indeed Sony/ATV has led the call for songwriters to get a bigger slide of the digital pie – but they could be.
The EC’s statement did allude to this fact by stating that “authors could credibly threaten to switch away from Sony if it attempted to degrade the value of their publishing rights to the benefit of its recording division”. Although it didn’t explain how Anglo-American songwriters who have assigned at least some of their rights to Sony/ATV for long terms – or even ‘life of copyright’ – could credibly make any such threat.
Either way, those who opposed Sony’s EMI deals were predictably scathing of the EC’s conclusions. “This goes against the regulator’s own precedents”, IMPALA boss Helen Smith stated on Friday. “In 2012, it ruled that divestments were required for Sony to become a minority shareholder. Now that Sony is acquiring 100% control of EMI, it is being given unconditional approval. This is inconsistent and simply doesn’t stack up”.
She continued: “This is bad news for the music sector and the digital single market. Sony will have a near monopoly over the charts and the whole music value chain will lose out as a result. Songwriters, composers, independent labels and publishers, digital services, and of course music fans, will all be worse off. This decision has dealt a significant blow to innovation and cultural diversity in Europe”.
In the UK, songwriter organisation BASCA confirmed it was also “disappointed” with the EU approval of deals that will create a “major super power”.
It’s Chair, Crispin Hunt, stated: “It is disappointing that this decision will create a behemoth that could hinder balance, diversity and competition for music. Sony is a great music company but it is through competition as opposed to oligopoly [that] we all move towards market success and the innovative future music deserves – online and off – for indies, the self-releasing sector and majors”.
Back at IMPALA, Smith noted how the fact that Sony/ATV already controlled the EMI catalogue following the 2012 deal had impacted on the decision. She added: “The outcome is perplexing. It sends a message that a move from four to three in a market will simply be approved if done in stages rather than in one transaction. It could be seen as gaming the system and raises questions about whether we need a review of how European merger control rules apply to cases of joint to sole control”.
Smith confirmed that IMPALA will now review the EC’s decision very carefully – and that it expects others to do likewise – before deciding whether to take further action.
READ MORE ABOUT: British Academy of Songwriters Composers & Authors (BASCA) | EMI Music Publishing | Sony Music Publishing | The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA)
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:55 | By Chris Cooke
Italian competition regulator makes demands of collecting society SIAE
Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
Italian song rights collecting SIAE has been ordered to deal with monopoly concerns by Italy’s Competition Authority. The regulator has told SIAE to end what it calls proven market distortion tactics and to ensure such tactics are not employed in the future.
Collective licensing – where music rights owners license as one through a collecting society – always raises monopoly concerns. Even if having single organisations representing song or recording rights in various licensing scenarios simplifies things for licensees as much as the owners and beneficiaries of the copyrights.
How those monopoly concerns are dealt with by copyright or competition law varies hugely from country to country. In the US the big song right societies BMI and ASCAP are regulated by the famously draconian consent decrees, while in the UK collective licensing is subject to the intervention of the copyright tribunal. But in some other European countries the regulation of collective licensing has traditionally been much less formal and severe.
However, the European Union has sought to make the European collecting societies more competitive, both in terms of recruiting members and licensing rights. Responding to those moves within the EU, Italy changed its laws last year to encourage more competition in the licensing market. This led to a dispute between SIAE and two newer licensing organisations called Soundreef and Innovaetica.
According to Italy’s competition authority, SIAE has employed various tactics in recent years to “impair the right” of songwriters to choose alternative societies to represent their rights. To that end the regulator has demanded that the society “immediately end the proven distortion of competition and refrain from behaving in [that way in] the future”. It also instigated a “symbolic” fine of 1000 euros.
Responding to the regulator’s demands, SIAE said it would now carefully read and evaluate the Competition Authority’s order. Though it then added that it was confident it would be able to demonstrate that it was compliant with the country’s competition laws despite the regulator’s demands and fine.
READ MORE ABOUT: SIAE
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:52 | By Chris Cooke
SoundCloud defends terms of monetisation for DIY artists
Business News Digital
SoundCloud has responded to criticism last week about the terms and conditions of the monetisation programme it is now rolling out to all DIY music-makers.
Earlier this month the streaming firm announced that it was finally making monetisation available to all musicians on its platform who had a Pro account.
SoundCloud, of course, placated an angry music community a few years back by adding advertising and then subscriptions to its platform, and entering into licensing deals with labels, publishers and collecting societies.
But the option to monetise content on SoundCloud was only initially available to DIY creators on an ad-hoc and invite-only basis. However, it was opened up to more DJs and producers last year, and then to all musicians with a Pro account earlier this month.
The deal available to DIY creators has parallels with that offered by the other big user-upload site that allows monetisation, ie YouTube. It’s basically a 55% revenue share arrangement, with a minimum amount of money needing to be generated before payments are made.
However, an article on The Verge last week raised various concerns about the specifics of the template SoundCloud deal, in particular terms that allowed the firm to change rates down the line and which prevented a creator from suing the company over any past unlicensed distribution of their copyright-protected work.
User-upload platforms that have distributed plenty of content without licence in the past often seek to have that unlicensed distribution forgiven when signing deals with rights holders. But entertainment lawyer Jeff Becker told The Verge that it was “unusual, at best, for a platform to open their terms and conditions with a provision that requires the artist to entirely release it of all prior violations and infringements committed by that platform”.
Of course, if any creator did sue SoundCloud over the past unlicensed distribution of their content on the platform the digital firm would almost certainly scream “safe harbour”.
And while collecting society PRS did go legal at one point (before settling), few big rights owners have been keen to test that defence in court. Meaning the sorts of artists signing up to direct monetisation are very unlikely to pursue any such action. Although, at the same time, artists should always be wary of signing any contacts where they permanently give up any rights.
Still, although not particularly dealing with The Verge’s specific concerns, SoundCloud insists that its deal for DIY artists is, well, sound. “The SoundCloud Premier monetisation programme operates on a fixed net revenue share of 55% and monthly royalty payments paid net 45 days to creators, which exceeds most other platforms” the company told the tech site.
It went on: “SoundCloud Premier is completely non-exclusive, the creator always retains all their content rights, and reserves the right to exit the agreement at any time. We are always looking for ways to simplify our agreements for the benefit of our creator community, and will take the opportunity here to avoid future confusion”.
READ MORE ABOUT: SoundCloud
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:45 | By Andy Malt
Sara Cox to take over Radio 2 Drivetime
Business News Media
Sara Cox has, as largely expected, been announced as the replacement for Simon Mayo and Jo Whiley on the BBC Radio 2 ‘Drivetime’ show. She will present the 5-7pm slot – an hour shorter than the station’s current drivetime programme – every weekday from January.
The schedule shake-up comes after Mayo’s surprise announcement last week that he will leave Radio 2 at the end of the year. He announced the decision five months after Whiley joined him as co-host on his long-running late afternoon show, an innovation which has proven unpopular with listeners. Whiley will return to an evening slot on the station.
Cox had been one of the favourites to take over from Chris Evans on Radio 2’s breakfast show, although she lost out there to Zoe Ball.
With Ball and Cox presenting the station’s two biggest shows from next year, Radio 2 improves the gender diversity among its presenters, which was the aim of shifting Whiley onto the drivetime show. Although this increase in diversity is a good thing, it seems unlikely that losing Evans and Mayo in the process would have been the preferred choice for BBC bosses.
“I’ve been proud to be part of the Radio 2 family for a few years now”, says Cox. “The opportunity to present such a big show as ‘Drivetime’ – playing fantastic music and hopefully making people smile as they cook tea or head home after a day’s graft – is the icing on what is already a very brilliant cake. I’m beyond chuffed to be given this role and to directly quote my mum on hearing the good news, it is indeed ‘fandabbyruddydozy'”.
With Cox’s current 10pm to midnight weekday slot about to become available, Trevor Nelson will move his Saturday night ‘Rhythm Nation’ show into that position. He says: “To present eight hours a week of the music I love on BBC Radio 2 is a dream come true for me. I’ll be introducing tracks from some soul stars of the future as well as playing some of my favourite songs from the past 50 years of dance music, from Motown to the present day. Bring it on!”
Of both new moves in the schedule, Head Of Radio 2 Lewis Carnie adds: “Sara is hugely popular with the Radio 2 audience and I have every confidence that she’ll make the new ‘Drivetime’ show her very own. Trevor is one of the leading lights in soul music in the UK, and he’ll bring his curated blend of music to Monday to Thursday nights, which I know our listeners will love. With Zoe Ball at Breakfast and Jo Whiley from 7pm-9pm each weekday, 2019 looks to be an extremely exciting year for Radio 2”.
A replacement for Trevor Nelson in his Saturday evening slot is still to be announced.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Radio 2 | Jo Whiley | Sara Cox | Simon Mayo | Trevor Nelson
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:42 | By CMU Editorial
Artist:Entrepreneur Day heading to Belfast next month
Artist News Business News Education & Events
The Artist:Entrepreneur Day from the Featured Artists Coalition and CMU:DIY will be staged in Belfast next month in partnership with Help Musicians NI. It’s the first time the artist-led education day – which provides a practical guide for artists on building a business around their music – has taken place in Northern Ireland.
Once again the day will be led by a team of artist entrepreneurs who will open up their own artist businesses and explain how they generate revenue, how they went about building a fanbase and a brand, and what business partners they have worked with along the way.
Those conversations are accompanied by a series of Artist:Entrepreneur Guides presented by CMU:DIY’s Chris Cooke, plus a number of music industry guests will answer the questions of both the host artists and all the grass roots artists and songwriters in the audience.
The Belfast edition of Artist:Entrepreneur Day takes place at The Black Box on Hill St on Sunday 18 Nov. Full details of the artists and industry people who will be appearing during the day will be going online very soon, with tickets on sale now at just £10. More info here.
The latest edition of the full A:E Day follows a Meet The Artist:Entrepreneurs session at the Industry Takeover All-Dayer event in Bristol this weekend. The A:E session kicked off a day of talks and discussions for early-career artists presented by Urban Development and Multi-Track at Bristol’s Arnolfini gallery.
Emma Mcgann, ShaoDow and Bryde discussed their artist businesses with FAC CEO Lucie Caswell, while CMU:DIY presented a very speedy guide for budding artist entrepreneurs. You can download the slides that accompanied that guide here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Artist:Entrepreneur Day | CMU:DIY | Featured Artists Coalition (FAC)
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:39 | By Andy Malt
Netflix to turn Wyclef Jean’s childhood into animated movie
Artist News Digital Media
Wyclef Jean’s early life in Haiti is to be the subject of a new animated film for Netflix.
Jean himself will produce the film, with a screenplay written by Justin Marks, whose credits include the 2016 remake of ‘The Jungle Book’. The story is set to follow Jean’s childhood in Haiti and his move to the US aged nine, through to the beginnings of his musical career.
“I grew up in extreme poverty but I was rich with imagination”, says Jean. “Now to see that imagination turn into reality with Netflix and my producing partners makes me want to tell the kids from the slums around the world to never stop dreaming”.
Netflix’s VP Of Kids And Family, Melissa Cobb, adds: “When Wyclef first came to us with the rich story idea for an animated film about his personal journey and the evolution of his music from when he was a young boy in Haiti to finding his voice in New York City – we were hooked. Animation is a medium that travels the globe exceptionally well and we cannot wait to share Wyclef’s unique perspective and voice with family audiences around the world”.
No release date has yet been announced for the film.
READ MORE ABOUT: Netflix | Wyclef Jean
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:38 | By Andy Malt
Dua Lipa and Closer Artists to win Artist And Manager Awards
Artist News Awards Business News Management & Funding
Two more winners for this year’s Artist And Manager Awards have been announced. Dua Lipa will take home Artist Of The Year, while Closer Artists will receive the Manager Of The Year prize. The awards are presented by the Featured Artists Coalition and Music Managers Forum.
“Dua Lipa is a phenomenon”, says FAC chief exec Lucie Caswell. “In just one year, from her debut album, she has become one of the world’s most-streamed artists, the first five time BRIT Award nominee – and double winner – and a global success. Equally impressive is how she defies pigeon-holing – moving seamlessly between pop playlists and the Reading festival crowd and from performing to philanthropy. Incredible achievements. The FAC is delighted to crown her our Artist Of The Year”.
Of Closer Artists, MMF boss Annabella Coldrick says: “We are absolutely delighted to recognise Paul, Ryan and the whole Closer team with the Best Manager Award. They’ve had an incredible year with George Ezra, who just goes from strength to strength, and they’ve also overseen another huge second album campaign for James Bay. I hope this win is seen as testament to their expertise at building lasting career successes”.
The Artist And Manager Awards ceremony is set to take place at the Bloomsbury Big Top on 14 Nov.
READ MORE ABOUT: Closer Artists | Dua Lipa
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:36 | By Andy Malt
50 Cent claims he’s bought 200 front row Ja Rule seats to leave them empty
And Finally Artist News Live Business
50 Cent claims to have bought 200 upfront seats for an upcoming Ja Rule concert, with plans to leave them empty when the date comes around. The move is part of a long-running feud between the two rappers over, I don’t know, whatever.
Sneaky tyke Fiddy initially pretended to hold out an olive branch. Posting a screengrab of a Groupon deal for the show at Arlington Backyard as part of the Texas Live festival next month, he wrote: “People think I’m mean, so go see this”. Noting the low ticket price, he added: “$15 [quizzical emoji]. Wait, what [do] I do now [shrugging emoji] LOL”.
Subsequently claiming to have snapped up a bunch of those bargain priced tickets, he posted an image of a mocked up news article announcing that he had bought “200 front row seats to Ja Rule concert so it will be empty”.
He then followed this with a crudely Photoshopped picture of himself sitting at the front of a bank of empty seats, writing underneath: “What a show, I mean just fucking great. Do it again! My kid went to the restroom. LOL”.
Just to reiterate, the show hasn’t actually happened yet. It’s scheduled for 9 Nov. And there’s no actual sign that 50 Cent really did buy those tickets. Either way, Ja Rule thought it was funny. “I get under [50 Cent’s] skin”, he tweeted. “I love it!”
READ MORE ABOUT: 50 Cent | Ja Rule
Monday 29 October 2018, 12:03 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Missy
CMU Approved
New Zealand-based songwriter and producer Abigail Knudson launched her artist project Missy earlier this year with an eponymous debut single. Now she’s back with the follow-up, ‘Hate Me’.
With a dark and atmospheric pop sound, Knudson’s classical training in cello and choral singing brings a depth to her music as Missy. At its core, though, it’s pop with a punch.
Time spent honing a sound and style before going public with any tracks is apparent, and immediately sets her apart. As do the simple but effective videos she’s created for each of her two singles – particularly the tightly-choreographed clip for ‘Hate Me’.
Watch that latest video here:
Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Abigail Knudson | Missy
Monday 29 October 2018, 07:33 | By Chris Cooke
CMU Digest 29.10.18: YouTube, Bestival, BBC, Spotify, IPO
CMU Digest
The key stories from the last week in the music business…
YouTube’s CEO encouraged creators on the platform to speak out against article thirteen of the European Copyright Directive. The very final draft of the copyright reforming directive is now being negotiated. Article thirteen will alter the copyright safe harbour, increasing the liabilities of websites like YouTube. The music industry has lobbied hard for that reform and argues it will simply force user-upload content sites to pay royalties more in line with competitors like Spotify and Apple Music. But YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki wrote that the reform “threatens to shut down the ability of millions of people to upload content to platforms” like hers. [READ MORE]
Rob da Bank confirmed he had done a deal with Live Nation to retain control of the Bestival company. The entity behind the Bestival and Camp Bestival events had been forced into administration by a money lender. That lender had made an offer to buy the latter festival. But da Bank said that – via a new joint venture with Live Nation and SJM – he and wife Josie da Bank were now back in control of the business. This means Camp Bestival 2019 will now definitely go ahead. We await confirmation regarding the future of Bestival itself. [READ MORE]
OfCom said the BBC needed to do more to engage younger consumers. The media regulator published its first review of the BBC’s operations since expanding its regulatory role over the broadcaster last year. Although conceding that engaging younger people was a challenge for everyone because of shifts in content consumption, OfCom said that the BBC “is not currently doing enough, quickly enough, to reach young people” and that “it needs to take significant steps to address this issue, to ensure it delivers content that appeals in ways that suit and reflect young people’s viewing and listening habits”. [READ MORE]
Spotify took its playlist pitching tool out of beta. The tool allows any artist or label to pitch a new track to the streaming firm’s playlisting teams. The company said “over 10,000 artists have been added to Spotify editorial playlists for the first time” since the pitching tool was launched in beta form back in July. It’s one of a number of tools being added to Spotify For Artists to help DIY artists get ahead on the platform. [READ MORE]
The Intellectual Property Office announced it was considering simplifying the web-blocking process in the UK. Web-blocking is a preferred anti-piracy tactic of the music industry. Currently rights owners must seek injunctions in the courts that order internet service providers to block access to copyright infringing websites. However, in an anti-piracy update, the IPO said it was considering “the evidence for and potential impact of administrative site blocking – as opposed to requiring a high court injunction in every case”. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• BMG extended its alliance with GEMA on digital licensing [INFO]
• Century Media’s Inside Out Music label signed a new deal with Devin Townsend [INFO]
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | Bestival | European Copyright Directive | Intellectual Property Office (IPO) | Live Nation | OfCom | SJM Concerts | Spotify | YouTube
Sunday 28 October 2018, 22:29 | By Andy Malt
Richard Ashcroft flips breakfast
CMU Opinion
Breakfast TV serves a very specific purpose. It needs to appear to be providing the viewer with a range of interesting insights into topics from politics to entertainment. However, it’s very important that it actually provides almost no stimulation whatsoever.
It should send people out into their commutes and working days like calm blocks of ice, floating around gently, slowly thawing into their true state as the morning progresses. Life outside those few moments with your TV in the morning is stimulating enough, why enter that outside world already agitated and with thoughts racing?
Of course, sometimes this convention is broken. Due to a clerical error, ITV has accidentally been putting Piers Morgan on its early morning TV show ‘Good Morning Britain’ for three years now, ensuring plenty of unnecessary stimulation, and not the good kind either. And then there was that whole thing in the 90s with ‘The Big Breakfast’ on Channel 4.
BBC One has the formula done to a T though. To the point that on its HD channel, the local news slots are replaced by distant crowd noise and the sound of waves. Sure, they claim this is due to some technical reason, but I really think it’s better.
However, the BBC can’t always be a haven of calm, even if that’s the format the programme strives for. Because it insists on having guests pop in to talk about all the uninteresting things they’ve been up to. And this week saw the most rousing ‘BBC Breakfast’ interview since that time Kevin Hart came on to promote ‘Ride Along’ nearly five years ago.
Yesterday, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft appeared in order to promote his new album and tour dates. Well I assume that was the purpose. It was quite a chaotic interview.
He started by informing any children watching that, as it is currently half term, they should “stop eating those grapes – and any other cereal”. So that’s already turned the world upside down. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, of course, and even during school holidays. And also, grapes aren’t cereal.
Whatever, with that message delivered, Ashcroft announced that the interview could commence. So, co-host Naga Munchetty asked what he was doing wearing sunglasses indoors first thing in the morning. He gave the obvious answer – that it was religious attire.
“I am the only one on the couch who can wear sunglasses right now”, he said. “And also”, he went on, “when music becomes almost a religion – rock n roll is like a religion – don’t ever question one of the key attributes. And it’s very early”.
He returned to this theme later, after the programme had broken away to a clip. Returning to the studio, Ashcroft appeared now lying across the sofa, seemingly mid-flow, explaining: “We’ve been on the nightshift in the music industry for a while, as you’d imagine. So another great thing about the glasses is, I can cover up the fact that I’m getting a bit Nancy Reagan at the moment under here at this time of the day. Seriously. I need an iron on these”.
The show’s other host, Charlie Stayt, added that he wouldn’t be able to pull off a polo neck, like Ashcroft was. “Exactly”, the musician agreed. “Well, sometimes life feels like ‘The Truman Show'”, he went on, climbing over the back of the sofa.
Arms outstretched, he walked up to a screen showing the Manchester skyline on the backdrop behind the sofa. “I just want to say hello to Manchester”, he announced, before walking into the screen, proclaiming: “It is ‘The Truman Show’!”
I think the screen is supposed to look like a window. Maybe Ashcroft just isn’t aware of how windows work. Actually, he was just trying to bring the interview around to his new album, ‘Natural Rebel’, possibly concerned that the entire conversation was going to be about this outfit. “[The album is] about breaking the order of things”, he explained.
“This is your new album”, said Munchetty, playing along, “which has been critically received very, very nicely”.
“Has it?!” blurted Ashcroft. Then, remembering that he’d had more reviews than the one in the NME that caused him to burn an old copy of the magazine, he added: “Only by good looking people. I have never had a bad review off a good looking person”.
Next, in what appears to have been an attempt to get him to share some anecdotes about the good old days, Ashcroft was shown a picture of him headlining Glastonbury with The Verve all the way back in 2008.
Asked if he had happy memories of that time, he thought for a moment before agreeing that he did, but then he added that he felt that “the myth and the name [of Glastonbury] have grown to such a proportion that they sell out before they’ve even told people what the acts are”, admitting that he felt this had “taken away from the power of the music”.
“Is Glastonbury bigger than the acts now?” he asked. Before anyone could respond, he shrugged, “I don’t know”.
So, there you go, having agitated and excited everyone by putting his dirty shoes on a nice clean sofa and then lying down on it – not to mention all the other antics – he left everyone with a question to ponder. Quiet Ashcroft! There are no questions. Not first thing in the morning. No thinking in the morning, that’s the rule. Only the illusion of thinking.
This isn’t the first time Ashcroft has caused a stir on morning TV recently, of course. Last month, appearing on Sky Sports’ ‘Soccer AM’ – while he was climbing down off another sofa – one viewer noticed something fall out of his trouser leg, posting a video of this on Twitter.
Many, including the original poster, suggested that it was a small bag of illegal drugs. In a subsequent video on Instagram, informing “trolls on Twitter” that they were “on thin ice”, Ashcroft had a different explanation.
“My dad didn’t like litter and I don’t really like litter”, he said. “But it gets a bit preposterous in my pocket. In The Verve I was known as Columbo. So get your facts right”. I hope that cleared up all the facts. But if it didn’t, it’s alright, Ashcroft came up with a new explanation this week.
Speaking to LadBible, he said: “I don’t know how many national publications printed a picture that someone had sent in from online. It’s strange when you have been in the game this long that this idea would take place. But to see the effects of a doctored photograph by an individual, who we don’t know who it is. But believe you me, you are going to regret doing that, whoever you are”.
So, I think, after all of this, we can probably all agree that Richard Ashcroft should have his own breakfast TV show. Conventions be damned!
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | Richard Ashcroft
Friday 26 October 2018, 12:24 | By Chris Cooke
BBC isn’t doing enough to connect with younger audiences, reckons OfCom
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The BBC isn’t “doing enough, quickly enough” to ensure it is engaging younger audiences in this here Netflixy, YouTubey, Snapchatty, Instagrammy quick-here-is-a-pointless-video-of-someone-doing-something-stupid-lip-sync-an-opinion-on-that-why-don’t-you age. That’s the conclusion of media regulator OfCom in its first big review of the Beeb, a report it will now be publishing annually since taking over regulation of the Corporation last year.
The report acknowledges that – despite rampant changes in the way people consume media and entertainment content in the digital age, and the plethora of new content services now competing with legacy players – “the BBC continues to play a central role across TV, radio and online platforms”. Plus “audience satisfaction with the BBC remains relatively high”.
According to OfCom’s research, 90% of adults in the UK access at least some BBC content each week, and the average person is consuming in the region of two hours and 45 minutes of BBC stuff each day. But for 16-34 year olds, that average daily consumption level drops to one hour and 20 minutes. And the number of people in that age bracket consuming no BBC content at all is also slightly higher than for the population at large, at 12.5% instead of 10%.
OfCom acknowledges that the lower engagement with younger consumers is the result of general shifts in the market, though it reckons that many commercial media companies are more effectively rising to the challenge of staying relevant to the younger demographic. It added that the young people it surveyed felt the BBC was too reliant on conventional formats and too focused on older audiences. And even BBC Three, the online channel specifically targeted at younger people, was only reaching 8% of the 16-34 age group.
In an open letter to BBC boss Tony Hall, OfCom chief Sarah White said the BBC “is not currently doing enough, quickly enough, to reach young people, who are critical to its future success. It needs to take significant steps to address this issue, to ensure it delivers content that appeals in ways that suit and reflect young people’s viewing and listening habits”.
Responding to those remarks, a BBC spokesperson told The Guardian that the Corporation recognised the challenge, but was nevertheless out-performing its newer rivals in this domain. “Young people spend more time with the BBC than any other media provider including YouTube, Spotify or Netflix”, said spokesperson bragged.
“But”, they went on, “it’s an incredibly competitive market and young people have far more choice today than previous generations. We want to ensure that everyone gets value from the BBC, and this is why we’ve said we want to reinvent the BBC for a new generation by investing in BBC Three, children’s and young people’s services, improving BBC iPlayer and launching the BBC Sounds app”.
Other areas where OfCom reckons there is room for improvement at the BBC include it becoming much more transparent about its working practices, taking more risks with original programming, and doing more to truly represent and portray the whole of UK society. You can access OfCom’s report here.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | OfCom
