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CMU Digest
CMU Digest 10.06.19: iTunes, consent decrees, Eventbrite, SGAE, Viagogo
By Chris Cooke | Published on Sunday 9 June 2019
The key stories from the last week in the music business…
Apple confirmed that it is phasing out the iTunes application, though the iTunes Store will remain. The tech giant will introduce separate apps for music, video and podcasts on its MacOS software, bringing Mac computers in line with the iPhone and iPad. Users will still be able to buy music downloads from the iTunes Store from within the Music app. [READ MORE]
The US Department Of Justice confirmed it was instigating another review of the consent decrees that regulate collecting societies BMI and ASCAP. The last review just three years ago concluded that the consent decrees, designed to overcome the competition law concerns of collective licensing, should remain in place unchanged. But the music industry argues that they are no longer fit for purpose in the digital age. [READ MORE]
Eventbrite managed to have a class action lawsuit over last year’s Ticketfly data hack dismissed. The judge ruled that claimants had not proven they had a specific contract with Eventbrite’s Ticketfly subsidiary or that the data-hack had caused “concrete injury”. Elsewhere, Eventbrite faced new legal action over statements it made about the Ticketfly acquisition ahead its IPO last year and over Ticketfly’s unauthorised use of a photo of indie duo Sylvan Esso in its marketing. [READ MORE]
Spanish collecting society SGAE was fined 2.95 million euros by Spain’s competition regulator. It ruled that SGAE was behaving in an anti-competitive way in a bid to stop a new rival society called Unison from launching in the country. The ruling came shortly after the controversial Spanish society was expelled from global organisation CISAC over its failure to deal with allegations of corruption and bad governance. [READ MORE]
Viagogo admitted that it was wrong to not take part in a select committee hearing on secondary ticketing in 2017. In an interview with ITV News, the controversial resale site’s MD Cris Miller said the company had been “naive” and “immature” when it opted to not answer the questions of MPs in the UK parliament. But he insisted that active litigation prevented him from taking part in a second hearing in 2018. He then defended Viagogo’s business model employing the usual ticket resale defences. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Live Nation acquired Polish promoter Go Ahead [INFO]
• DEAG acquired German promoter C2 Concerts [INFO]
• Mojo Music & Media took a majority stake in Chelsea Music [INFO]
• Spotify did a podcast deal with Obamas firm Higher Ground [INFO]
• Universal partnered with AI company Super Hi-Fi [INFO]
• Dubset partnered with Beatport to sell licensed mixes [INFO]
• Downtown’s Songtrust announced a tie-up with IMRO [INFO]
• AWAL allied with Proper for global physical distribution [INFO]
• Reservoir signed RuthAnne [INFO]
• Capitol and Universal Latin signed Carmen DeLeon [INFO]
• Universal Music Publishing signed Rosalía [INFO]
• TaP Music signed a publishing deal with Balcony [INFO]
