MD of Universal's Globe to keynote brands strand at The Great Escape
With less than a month to go until The Great Escape 2015, today we're revealing the line-up for another of the CMU Insights conference strands that will take place at the heart of the TGE Convention this year, this one fully focused on brand partnerships.

And leading the proceedings will be Marc Robinson, Managing Director of Globe, Universal Music UK's commercial and creative partnerships division. In a keynote presentation he will provide an overview of the music industry's brand partnerships business, and will explore how artists, managers, labels, agents and promoters can better collaborate to fully capitalise on the creative, commercial and promotional potential of brand alliances.

Then his colleague at Universal Music, Head Of Insight Jack Fryer, will explain how data and analytics play their role in identifying brand partners and crafting effective brand partnerships, before both Robinson and Fryer are joined on stage by representatives from other parts of the music industry to discuss how to best collaborate when artists work with brands, with Cake's Adrian Pettett and Turn First Artists Cassandra Gracey amongst those joining the debate.

Later in the day we'll present a series of case studies looking at exciting brand partnerships from the last year, including artist/brand alliances, and brands that have worked with festivals, venues and media to create interesting live experiences. Amongst the brands whose projects will be under the spotlight are Dr Martens and Boohoo.

Completing the day will be two panels focused on deal-making and legalities. First we'll look at how sync deals work - how do you ensure all rights are covered, how do you know what a sync is worth, how does the revenue come in and what factors concern each side of the deal? Verity Griffiths from Cooking Vinyl, Simon Pursehouse from Sentric Music, Richard Kirstein from Resilient Music and Nathalie Du Bois from 6 Degrees will join Mark Gordon from Score Draw Music for the debate.

And finally, while artists and brands increasingly work together, sometimes an artist feels a brand has ripped off their music or ideas for a campaign. But what can artists do if this happens? What does the law say about soundalike songs? And are there PR solutions that can help? Hear insights and opinions on this particular challenge from Sheridans' Tahir Basheer, Bella Union's Simon Raymonde and more.

'How To Sell Out Gracefully: Better Brand Partnerships' is one of four full-day conference strands presented by CMU Insights at The Great Escape this year. Initial line-ups have already been released for 'Music Marketing Is Broken: Let's Fix It' and 'Music Licensing: Explained At Last', while details of the final strand, 'What's The Point Of A Record Label Anyway', will follow next week.

For details on all of the CMU Insights activity at TGE this year click here, meanwhile to access all this you need to get yourself a Great Escape delegates pass right now, click here to buy yours.

IFPI puts 'safe harbours' at the top of its copyright action list
The record industry has long included a piracy gripe at the end of any figures it publishes, usually calling on governments to act in one way or another to stop copyright infringement online. But in a telling confirmation of a change in priorities within the music industry, yesterday the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry wrapped up the presentation of its 2014 figures by focusing on a specific element of copyright law being exploited not by filthy file-sharers and pesky pirates, but by the yobbish YouTube.

2014 was, of course, the year in which growing resentment amongst the music community over the royalties paid by the Google subsidiary resulted in YouTube being routinely bashed at music industry events, often more even that The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents. The video site was routinely dubbed the "elephant in the room" in debates over digital licensing and royalty payments, to the extent that the elephant in the room was too obvious to be a metaphorical elephant in the room, and God knows you don't want an actual elephant in the room.

The labels reckon that YouTube exploits the so called 'safe habours' contained within American and European law that are designed to protect internet service providers and web hosting companies from liability for any copyright infringement committed by their customers. This allows services like YouTube to operate an 'opt-out' rather than 'opt-in' streaming service, where the onus is on the rights owner to request its content be removed, rather on the streaming service to ask for permission to put the content in.

This, the labels argue, gives YouTube an unfair advantage at the negotiating table, because the company already has a rights owner's content on its servers.

And if the label or publisher refuses to do a licensing deal, it will have to monitor the YouTube servers for the foreseeable future at its own expense to ensure its content doesn't pop up there. Because while YouTube's Content ID may be a market leader, it's not 100% reliable, and still requires management on the rights owner's part. Which forces the rights owner's hand, meaning YouTube secures preferential rates, and the labels have less control over how the service works.

Which results, the record industry argues, in what the IFPI calls a "value gap". The trade group says: "An illustration of this can be seen in comparing the share of revenue derived by rights owners from services such as Spotify and Deezer, and those derived from certain content platforms like YouTube or Dailymotion. IFPI estimates music subscription services have 41 million paying global subscribers, plus more than 100 million active users in their 'freemium' tiers. This sector generated revenues to record companies of more than $1.6 billion in 2014".

It goes on: "By contrast, YouTube alone claims more than one billion monthly unique users and is thought to be the world's most popular access route to music. Yet total global revenues to record companies generated by certain content platforms including YouTube amounted to just $641 million in 2014, less than half the total amount paid to the industry by subscription services such as Spotify and Deezer".

Calling for action, IFPI chief Frances Moore said: "The value gap is a fundamental flaw in our industry's landscape which sees digital platforms such as Dailymotion and YouTube taking advantage of exemptions from copyright laws that simply should not apply to them. Laws that were designed to exempt passive hosting companies from liability in the early days of the internet - so-called 'safe harbours' - should never be allowed to exempt active digital music services from having to fairly negotiate licences with rights holders".

She added: "There should be clarification of the application of 'safe harbours' to make it explicit that services that distribute and monetise music should not benefit from them".

As previously reported, copyright law in Europe is currently under review alongside the so called Digital Single Market, and the IFPI and other music industry groups hope to put the safe harbours at the top of the agenda.

Though YouTube tends to operate according to the rules of American copyright law, even when working outside the US jurisdiction. There the issue isn't scheduled for active review in political circles anytime soon, though Moore told CMU that she'd be working with her colleagues in the US to seek opportunities to pursue this agenda in Washington too.

But even in Europe the music industry will face opposition. A representative for one "large internet company" told the Financial Times yesterday that the removal of safe harbour provisions "would be absolutely catastrophic for digital services" and that "checking every single piece of user-generated content before it is uploaded to popular internet sites would be impossible".

Though, of course, the music industry isn't asking for the safe harbours to be abolished, just that a specific kind of service be excluded from protection: ie those that not only allow users to upload, store and publish content on their servers, but which then aggregate that content and distribute it through their own media platform.

And while YouTube would definitely argue that if it had to check every upload individually it would no longer be a commercially viable operation, harsher rights owners would argue that YouTube - as a music service - was never a commercially viable operation, it was a business built through the deliberate exploitation of a loophole in the law.

To read more on the background to safe harbours and the music industry's current arguments against them, check the latest edition of the CMU Trends Report. Get your copy by going premium for just £5 a month here.

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Man injured in Suge Knight hit-and-run refuses to identify driver
The surviving of the two men hit by Suge Knight in a hit-and-run incident in January, Cle Sloan, admitted in court earlier this week to punching the former Death Row Records boss through the window of his truck prior to being run down. Though he refused to specifically identify Knight as the person driving the truck when it struck him, leaving him seriously injured and friend Terry Carter dead.

According to AP, Sloan, an advisor on NWA biopic 'Straight Outta Compton', which was being filmed nearby, told the court at a preliminary hearing for Knight's murder trial on Monday that he did not want to be a "snitch" and "will not be used to send Suge Knight to prison".

In court, Sloan said that he struggled to recall details of the incident, adding: "I just know I screwed up and Terry's dead".

However, in an interview with police after the event, which was also played to the court, he described the incident in some detail. He explained that he had attacked Knight twice in the carpark where the incident took place, and that Knight had threatened to kill him when his second punch landed. But, he added, he didn't want to "be the guy who says [Knight] killed Terry".

Currently incarcerated and struggling to meet a $25 million bail demand, Knight faces life in prison if he is convicted.

Recorded music revenues flat in 2014, as digital matches physical for the first time
After that very temporary uplift in 2012, the global record industry saw revenues slip slightly last year - by 0.4% - following the 3.9% decline in 2013. The slight fall came despite booming streaming revenues because, of course, the rapidly growing subscriptions sector is now compensating for declines in both CD and download sales.

Given the figures already released for various key markets, the worldwide stats were not surprising, and indeed the overall slippage was possibly less than expected. The other key trend widely expected and confirmed yesterday was that digital now matches CD sales income, with both accounting for 46% of the global recorded music sector's revenue, the other 8% coming from sync and public performance licensing.

Some other bullets for stat fans...

• Digital revenues overall rose 6.9% to $6.9 billion.
• Subscription revenues were up 39% while download sales were down 8%.
• This means subscription services account for 23% of the digital market worldwide.
• The rest of digital goes: downloads (52%), ad-funded (9%), mobile (3%), other (9%).
• "Other Digital" now includes SoundExchange income in the US, by the way.
• Physical sales still dominate in France (57%), Germany (70%) and Japan (78%).
• Vinyl revenues were up 54.6% worldwide, accounting for 2% of overall income.
• Performing rights income was up 8.3% and accounts for 6% of total revenues.

And now a quote from IFPI chief Frances Moore: "The recorded music business has always led the way for creative industries in the digital world. That leadership continues today as the music industry's digital revolution continues through new phases, driven by the consumer's desire for access to, rather than ownership of, music. It is a reflection of how much we have adapted that digital revenues today are, for the first time, on a par with physical".

And more: "The headline statistics of 2014 speak for themselves, with overall revenues still largely flat, down by 0.4%. Music companies are charting a path to sustainable year-on-year growth. That path was never going to be straight, but we are making great strides along it, embracing new models, licensing, investing and improving consumer choice".

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How Asthmatic Kitty learned to stop worrying and embrace the leak
At the end of March, Sufjan Stevens released his seventh studio album, 'Carrie & Lowell'. But weeks ahead of the release the album leaked onto file-sharing sites. This is a common occurrence for record labels these days, of course, but the way in which Stevens' label Asthmatic Kitty - of which the musician is a cofounder - responded to the leak seemed very unusual.

Under a post on Reddit alerting users to the leak, a comment from the label appeared. "Let us know what you think!" it began. Links to pre-order the album in physical and digital formats were added too, but the label added: "If you can't afford it - don't worry about it! Enjoy the music!"

Coming shortly after Björk's label One Little Indian rush-released her latest album, 'Vulnicura', in the wake of a similar leak, in an interview for the latest CMU Trends Report, Asthmatic Kitty's Label Manager John Beeler explained how his company's response over 'Carrie & Lowell' was standard procedure for the label.

"We don't issue takedowns on leaks or shares", said Beller. "It just doesn't make sense to us. Why chastise fans of your music? We do visit download sites and usually leave a comment pointing people to a purchase point, and thanking them for listening. We have pre-order links up and ready, and we have those up early. We always have plenty of purchase points well before a record comes out. In some ways a leak can even help move things forward, like ticket sales, or building buzz about a record. People are generally good people and they'll find a way to support music".

On the urge to rush-release music that has leaked, he continued: "What I learned from watching Björk's label One Little Indian is that the story became more about the leak and less about the music. We've surprise released music before - we did that in 2010 with Sufjan's 'All Delighted People'. But Sufjan wanted the story here to be about the music, so we opted instead for a 'regular' album campaign. The leak is a flash in the pan in what will be a long life for this album. There's no need to respond in a panicked state to something like a leak when you have something as good as this record".

He added: "Of course, it's always easier to judge these things from the outside and I can't say I wouldn't have made the same decision in One Little Indian's shoes. No doubt someone is criticising the way we've handled this, and I welcome that. That critique is how we as an industry iterate and evolve and it's a good process".

To read the full interview check the latest edition of the CMU Trends Report. Get your copy by going premium for just £5 a month here.

William Morris Endeavor IMG acquires Australian booking agency Artist Voice
William Morris Endeavor IMG (which apparently we're now calling it, following the acquisition of IMG Worldwide in 2013) has announced the acquisition of Australian booking agency Artist Voice.

Founded in 2010 by Brett Murrihy and Matt Gudinski as part of Mushroom Group, the company books artists throughout Australia and Asia, and now has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong. Artists on its roster include 5 Seconds Of Summer, Chvrches, Tegan & Sara, Empire Of The Sun, Neil Finn and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Announcing the deal, WME's Head Of Music Marc Geiger said: "We have admired what Brett has built at Artist Voice, and are incredibly excited to welcome him and his team to WME IMG. We share the same passion for our artists and entrepreneurial approach to business that made this partnership a natural fit. This addition will help us continue to elevate the level of service we are committed to providing our clients around the world".

Artist Voice will be absorbed into WME IMG's music division, with Murrihy given the role of Head Of Asia Pacific For Music.

Byta aims to improve experience for recipients of pre-release music
A new service for sending out pre-release music to media and industry contacts has entered 'preview release' ahead of a full launch later this year. Named Byta - the Swedish word for exchange, in case you wondered - it aims to overcome many of the complaints made by journalists, editors and DJs about other pre-release distribution services on the market.

Founder Marc Brown, who also works as a radio plugger, tells CMU: "Being a plugger, I had the normal complaints about SoundCloud and other services. Then I realised no matter where we fit into the musical landscape we all share the same problem - how do we manage the sending and receiving of so much music?"

On the advantages of Byta over other services, he explains: "Byta takes the exchange of digital audio out of email, offering senders and receivers control over their experience. Senders control security and format options, eliminating the need for multiple services. And Byta offers a free account which recipients can use to listen, download and manage received audio instead of searching for links in emails".

"I speak with journalists and people in radio on a weekly basis and am frequently told I'm the first to ask for feedback on how we can improve their experience", he continues. "This is reflected in all the other services which range from ugly to unworkable. Even the concept of a 'digital promo' is pretty 1999, the world has moved on and these services have not".

Industry people who regularly send or receive pre-release music can check out Byta for themselves at byta.fm.

Gary Barlow working on Take That musical
Gary Barlow has said that he is working on a Take That musical, to tell the band's story on stage. This comes after he wrote the score for Broadway musical, 'Neverland'.

Speaking to The Sun, Barlow said: "The Take That musical has got to happen. I think it's a great story. I watched 'Jersey Boys' and it's not too dissimilar to our story. I would love to get that on stage. We've got 25 years of music so the hard bit is done. I'd look to put it on a stage in the next five years".

For those not familiar with 'Jersey Boys', which is based on the story of The Four Seasons, it basically tells how a group of petty criminals formed a band, only for it all to collapse years later when the band's leader wracks up $150,000 of debt with a loan shark, not to mention half a million in unpaid taxes. I think I see where he's spotted the similarity.

There was a Take That musical already, of course. 'Never Forget' ran for two years in the West End, but Barlow refused to have anything to do with it.

MoZella re-signs with Sony/ATV, US Girls sign to 4AD, some Drake stuff, and more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Sony/ATV has extended its publishing deal with MoZella, who has written songs for artists like Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Rihanna, One Direction and Kelly Clarkson. "Successful", said Sony/ATV US Co-President Rick Krim.

• The twice approved US Girls have signed a new record deal with 4AD, and will release a new album later this year. First single, 'Damn That Valley', is here.

• Drake would like it to be known that his surprise mixtape 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' will be released in physical form on 21 Apr, and also that kissing Madonna wasn't as bad as those photos made it look. And also, if there's still time, that he has a new track you can listen to.

• Approved musician Empress Of has released a new track, called 'Water Water'. Listen to it right here.

• Field Music have recorded a new score for 1929 film 'Drifters', which they'll be releasing for Record Store Day. They'll also be performing the score in cinemas around the UK in May and June. Details here.

• Former Gallows frontman Frank Carter will release an EP with new band Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes on 4 May. They'll also be touring in June. Dates here.

• D'Angelo will play the Roundhouse on 13 Jul. Details and tickets here.

• Happy Mondays will tour to mark the 25th anniversary of their 'Pills N Thrills And Bellyaches' album. Dates here.

Justin Bieber choked by Coachella security, even though he is the nicest guy alive
Apparently the news of what a great guy Justin Bieber now is hasn't reached Coachella security yet, with TMZ reporting that the singer was choked and ejected from the festival last weekend for the simple crime of wanting to see Drake do a bit of rapping.

So the story goes, Bieber and some friends arrived at the VIP area to watch Drake's set, but were told that the area was at capacity. Bieber explained, very nicely I am absolutely sure, that it would be quite impossible for him to go and watch the show with the normal people, because normal people can't cope with the awesomeness he now radiates. Still, the cold-hearted security guard would not relent. Bieber pleaded. Still no.

Eventually, a member of Coachella staff told Bieber that it was no good, and Bieber, being a great guy, just walked away. Then the security guard, it is alleged, came up behind him and choked him. No, I can't imagine why anyone would do such a thing to the reformed JB, but we live in a strange world.

Bieber's people are apparently considering legal action. He's too nice to think of such things himself.