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Artist News Labels & Publishers
Morrissey letter shows Universal offered to license Paris tribute
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 1 December 2015
A letter purporting to support claims made by Morrissey and his True To You website last month, relating to discussions about re-releasing the singer’s ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ track, has done the opposite.
As previously reported, the website initially told readers that Universal Music UK CEO David Joseph “has refused the request made by Morrissey and the band to re-issue ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ as a loving tribute to the lives lost in the Paris atrocities” adding that the major label chief “is instead arranging his own tribute to Paris utilising his current crop of Universal artists”.
Universal later responded with a statement, saying: “We have not received – let alone refused – any request from Morrissey himself related to ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’. While we have not been contacted directly by Morrissey, after seeing the comments on his website last week, we asked his representative to confirm his intentions and which charity he had in mind to support via the song’s proceeds. We are yet to receive a reply”.
It was at this point that True To You announced that Morrissey had a letter that would prove otherwise.
The original contact with the label, dated 18 Nov, comes from Morrissey’s guitarist Boz Boorer, in a letter co-signed by the other musicians on the record, excluding Morrissey himself. Rather than suggesting working on a re-release of the single in the wake of the attacks, he berates the label for not having already done so itself.
“Why are you doing nothing?” he asks. “There is no other song in modern music that aptly supports the people of Paris”.
In response, lawyer John Reid of Russells explains that after speaking to Joseph, the label decided that “owing to Universal having a very close connection to the events, much as they see your point, they are not intending to release any records in response to the tragic events of last Friday. They feel it is too raw for them given the death of one of their staff members and instead they are going to show support and solidarity in other ways, including concerts in Paris later this year by some of their artists”.
This does support the claim that Universal was planning its own tribute “utilising its current crop of artists”, though Morrissey’s implication always seemed to be that the label was planning a tribute single, which is not the case.
Far from refusing the release outright, Reid’s letter continues: “I believe that Universal would licence the song back for eg a release for proceeds to relevant charities (which I assume would be the plan). In short there may be a possibility here but it would have to be a release via a third party. Personally I think there could be a very forceful statement to be made. It will of course require M’s input. Have you discussed this with him – I assume so”.
But rather than take this option, the initial claims that any re-issue had been blocked were instead published and Morrissey started badmouthing David Joseph on stage.
