Deals
RoEx has partnered with UnitedMasters to offer AI-powered mastering to independent artists through the UnitedMasters web platform and iOS app. The integration utilises RoEx's intelligent audio engine Tonn to finetune sonic elements, with mastering priced at $4.99 per track. UnitedMasters analysis shows that mastered tracks gain 34% more streams in their first three months compared to non-mastered tracks. Linnea Sundberg, VP Corporate Development at UnitedMasters, says, "By partnering with RoEx to bring professional-grade mastering to our platform, we're putting high-quality tools directly into artists' hands". Additionally, RoEx has appointed Tom Nield as Head Of Partnerships to drive B2B growth and strengthen industry relations.
Secretly Distribution, Beggars Group and Cargo Records UK have formed a new independent UK distribution partnership called Cargo Independent Distribution. The venture will see Secretly Distribution and Beggars Group supporting CID's technological development, personnel investments, and strategic direction. CID will maintain its UK/Ireland fulfilment relationship with Proper/Utopia and continue to provide global physical, digital and marketing services to Cargo UK's distributed client roster. Phil Hill, President of Cargo Independent Distribution, says, "All of us at Cargo are really excited for our new partnership with two of the most important independent music companies in the world, who continue to remain fiercely independent and committed to preserving a totally independent UK distribution outlet".
ATC Group Plc has launched Circa, a new transatlantic music promotions company with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London. Circa will take over the operations of Your Army America, offering integrated marketing and promotions campaigns across major music markets. Matt Black, former Managing Director of Your Army's American office, leads Circa as CEO, while Charlie Reid heads the new London office as General Manager. Black says, "I'm THRILLED to be starting down a new path with Circa, which is an exciting moment for myself and the whole team, a few of whom I've worked alongside for the better part of a decade". The company will work with clients including Atlantic, Warner, RCA, and AWAL, running campaigns for artists such as Nia Archives, RÜFÜS DU SOL and The Hives.
Prescription Songs has signed artist-songwriter-guitarist Kora Puckett in partnership with Hazheart Music. Puckett, a founding member of Narrow Head and solo artist, will be managed by Prescription Songs A&R Caitlin LoPilato. He has recently collaborated with artists such as YUNGBLUD, nothing,nowhere, Sara Kays and Gym Class Heroes. Puckett says, "I'm proud to join the ranks of the many talented artists who work with Prescription and excited to have a team of such wonderful people pushing my songs". LoPilato adds, "We're THRILLED that Kora is officially part of the Rx family. His taste, talent and versatility are beyond inspiring and we can't wait to watch him grow as an artist and songwriter".
Rimas Publishing has launched Faith Sounds, a platform dedicated to supporting and elevating Christian music artists. The initiative aims to provide Christian artists with collaboration opportunities, songwriting camps and a support network to boost their careers. Faith Sounds currently has a roster of twelve artists covering various genres within Christian music, including Lizzy Parra, a Christian trap singer from the Dominican Republic, and Barajas, a producer from Puerto Rico. Emilio Morales, Managing Director of Rimas Publishing, says, "We invest in ensuring that our A&Rs, who are exposed to the biggest artists and producers in the world - the same person who may be serving Cris MJ, Lyanno or Eladio [Carrión] one day - are the same persons who will be providing service to the client who is participating in the camp".
Warner Music Korea has launched MPLIFY, a new label focusing on English-language music by Korean artists with international connections. Olivia Marsh, a Korean-Australian singer-songwriter, has been announced as the label's first signing, with her debut single set for release in October. MPLIFY is headed by Samuel Ku, Executive Producer at Warner Music Korea, who brings over fifteen years of industry experience to the role. Marsh says, "I am delighted to sign with MPLIFY and to work with such a warm, passionate and innovative team. I am grateful for their support and kindness, and I am excited to begin my journey with them".
Dirty Hit has renewed its UK physical distribution partnership with Universal Music for three more years, extending a collaboration that began in 2010. The partnership has contributed to the success of artists such as The 1975, Beabadoobee and Wolf Alice, resulting in several UK number one albums including Beabadoobee's 'This Is How Tomorrow Moves' and The 1975's five studio albums. Warren Querns, Head Of Third Party Sales & Label Partnerships at Universal Music UK, says, "Jamie, Ed and the Dirty Hit team passionately care, nurture, guide and create long-term careers for their artists. They are a true powerhouse of an independent label and we are excited to see what we can develop and deliver together with them and their incredible artists, over the next three years".
Appointments
Oak View Group has appointed Guy Dunstan as General Manager and Senior Vice President of Manchester venue Co-op Live four months after its troubled launch. Dunstan, who has over 25 years of experience in the live events industry and was previously Managing Director of arenas for NEC Group, will take up the post on 21 Oct. He succeeds interim GM Rebecca Kane Burton, who has been promoted to Executive Vice President Of Venue Management for OVG International. Dunstan says, "What's really exciting for me is that this venue has been specifically designed for live music and live entertainment."
Legal
Miley Cyrus has been sued over her Grammy-winning song 'Flowers'. Tempo Music Investments has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles federal court, alleging that Cyrus and her co-writers copied elements of Bruno Mars' 2013 song 'When I Was Your Man' without authorisation. The lawsuit claims, "It is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that 'Flowers' would not exist without 'When I Was Your Man'". Sony Music Publishing, Apple, Target and Walmart are also named as defendants for publishing and distributing 'Flowers'.
Associated Production Music has filed a lawsuit against the American Hockey League and nine of its teams for alleged copyright infringement. APM, the production music company owned by Sony and Universal, claims the AHL and its teams have used APM's copyrighted recordings without permission in over 230 social media videos. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal district court on 12 Sep, seeks monetary damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work and an injunction to prevent further use of APM's songs. APM says, "AHL teams use their Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media channels to engage in rampant infringement of APM's recordings". It follows APM’s recent lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over its use of music on social media.
Streaming, Digital, Broadcast & Retail
MacPaw has launched its alternative iOS app store, Setapp Mobile, in open beta for EU users. It is utilising changes to Apple’s rules forced by EU law. The Ukraine-based Mac and iOS app developer's marketplace offers over 50 productivity, finance, video, photo and creativity apps through a $9.99 monthly subscription with a seven-day trial. Users must be running iOS 17.4 or later on a device with an Apple ID associated with an EU member state. Yaroslav Stepanenko, Director Of Marketing at MacPaw, says, "We think there is demand for the alternative app store, so we decided to launch it and tune our business model based on the feedback from users". MacPaw aims to maintain a balance between the number of applications and users, with Stepanenko noting, "We can't have a low number of apps and a lot of users and vice versa".
ByteDance's social app Lemon8 has surged to the top of the US App Store as the Chinese company’s TikTok subsidiary fights its impending ban in the country in the American courts. Lemon8, which launched globally in 2020, has seen increased advertising and influencer marketing in the US market. Appfigures, an app intelligence provider, reports that ByteDance has been running a "massive" Apple Search Ads campaign, using 5300 keywords in the past week alone. The app received an estimated 78,000 downloads on 16 Sep, 44% higher than its average over the previous few weeks, according to Appfigures. The app has seen 16 million global downloads this year, with 6.4 million coming from the US.
Guvera, the failed Australian music streaming company, has announced plans for a comeback in 2024. Darren Herft, who was disqualified from managing corporations for two years in 2020 by regulator ASIC, has returned to the company's board. The business has formed a joint venture with partners in South Korea, overseeing technology aspects while their Korean partners supply streaming rights to over 600,000 K-Pop songs. Herft says, "We've seen this as an opportunity to rebuild the Guvera brand itself".
Live
Coldplay has announced plans to donate 10% of the band's proceeds from their 2025 UK dates in London and Hull to the Music Venue Trust. The initiative comes amid ongoing concerns about the crisis facing smaller venues in the UK, with 125 small venues closing in 2023. Mark Davyd, CEO of Music Venue Trust, says, "Coldplay are the perfect example of a UK band who came through the grassroots circuit on their way to worldwide, stadium-filling success. It's fantastic to see them celebrating their own pathway to Wembley by giving back to the grassroots music venues that supported them". The band's upcoming London dates at Wembley Stadium pledge to be the world's first stadium shows powered by 100% solar, wind and kinetic energy.
Motel 6 has launched a songwriting contest, offering artists a chance to win a $6000 cash prize and 20 free nights in their hotels to support their next tour. The budget-friendly hotel brand, which operates nearly 1500 locations across the US and Canada, is accepting entries through 29 Sep. Julie Arrowsmith, President and CEO of G6 Hospitality, says, "We recognise that touring is an important step for up-and-coming musical artists, yet it can be extremely costly to be on the road for an extended period of time". The contest aims to help musicians take their music on the road, with five runners-up also receiving six nights each in the company’s hotels to support their own road trips.
Watergate, a long-running Berlin nightclub, has announced it will close permanently at the end of 2024 due to financial pressures. The venue's co-founder, Ulrich Wombacher, cites "the realities of inflation, the energy crisis, rising costs in general, and, not least, the high rent" as reasons for the closure. Watergate, which opened in 2002, has hosted artists such as Carl Cox and Charlotte de Witte during its 22 year tenure. Wombacher tells Resident Advisor, "Continuing blindly without sense or reason and risking an uncontrolled financial decline is out of the question for us", adding that the club has chosen to "step down" while they still "have control".
Artist News
An Post, Ireland's postal service, has released a new stamp series called 'Iconic Irish Voices' featuring four Irish musicians who died in 2023: Sinéad O'Connor, Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, Christy Dignam of Aslan, and traditional accordion player Séamus Begley. The stamps honour these artists' contributions to Irish music and culture. An Post says, "They were proud Irish artists whose work explored – often critically – our identity as a people". Family members of the featured artists, including O'Connor's son Yeshua Bonadio and MacGowan's wife Victoria Mary Clarke, attended the launch event to celebrate their loved ones' legacies.
Jane's Addiction have cancelled the remainder of their tour following an on-stage altercation between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro. The band issued a brief statement announcing the cancellation. Farrell has separately apologised for the incident, saying, "This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologizse to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday's show". Farrell added, "Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation".
Tyler, The Creator has been cast in his first feature film, 'Marty Supreme', directed by Josh Safdie. The movie, which also stars Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, is reportedly inspired by the life of professional ping pong player Marty Reisman. While plot details remain undisclosed, the film marks Tyler's transition from television projects to cinema. According to Deadline, the film's subject, Reisman, was "known for his flamboyant style and exceptional skill".
The Postal Service has announced an indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of their co-headlining tour with Death Cab For Cutie. The indie trio, consisting of Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis, reunited last year for a joint tour celebrating the 20th anniversaries of their 2003 albums 'Give Up' and 'Transatlanticism'. The final show of the extended tour is scheduled for 21 Sep at the HFStival in Washington DC Gibbard says, "Getting the opportunity to perform these two albums live has been one of the greatest thrills and honors of my entire life".
Kanye West has encouraged audience members to chant "fuck Adidas" during a listening event for 'Vultures 2' in Hainan, China. The incident follows a similar occurrence at a previous event in South Korea in August. Adidas ended its partnership with West in October 2022 due to his controversial remarks, stating, "Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness". Following the termination, Adidas reportedly sued Ye's Yeezy brand for $75 million, with both parties later agreeing to move the case to private arbitration in May 2023.