| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Click JUMP to skip direct to a section of this email or ONLINE to read and share stories on the CMU website (JUMP option may not work in all email readers). For regular updates from Team CMU follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CMU Jobs is a proven way to recruit the best music business talent for roles across the industry at all levels, from graduate to senior management. To book an ad contact Sam on 020 7099 9060 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gaye family win Blurred Lines dispute Now, I happen to think that 'Blurred Lines' was an irresponsible ode to the rape apologist, with lyrics that shocked not out of creative intent, but because of an ingrained misogyny and rape complacency that runs through the pop machine that created it. And I'm of the opinion that everyone involved in making, distributing and profiting from the record should be ashamed of themselves. So I'm glad that half of those profits are now being taken away from the perpetrators of the offence. Though in mere copyright terms, this is a controversial decision. It sets a "horrible precedent", according to the lawyer representing Williams and Robin Thicke, and not just for those popstars out there who were planning on ripping off Marvin Gaye this week. The debate over when imitation becomes infringement has long been mused over by copyright lawyers, but it's rare that cases of this kind ever get to court, especially if, as here, the new track is clearly similar to the old track, but clearly not the same. Of course, when disputes of this kind arise, there will always be a musicologist on hand to explain in scientific terms how one song is clearly just a rework of another. Though there'll usually be another musicologist waiting in the wings to say the opposite. And it's hard not to listen to such explanations without wondering, "What the fuck is a musicologist?" For his part, Howard King, representing Williams and Thicke, had three core arguments, which actually seemed quite compelling from where I was sitting. First he honed in on what elements of the song 'Got To Give It Up' (because this case was about the song not the recording) were actually protected by copyright, which might seem like a lawyer resorting to one of those technicalities to further his case (it was), but the judge overseeing the dispute generally agreed with King's interpretation of American copyright law. Next, King focused on the fact that - while 'Blurred Lines' and 'Got To Give It Up' are clearly similar - so are lots of pop songs. Every popstar, not least a certain Mr Gaye, is influenced by the oeuvre of other artists they rate. And to prove that fact, King had Thicke play a pop medley on the piano, something akin to Axis Of Awesome's 'Four Chords' routine (after we noted that fact, we were quickly informed by a reader that 'Four Chords' had basically been done years earlier by comedian Rob Paravonian, showing that, even in musical comedy, nothing is truly original). And finally, King asked the courtroom why a pop producer as successful as Pharrell would decide, on a whim one day, to rip off Marvin Gaye. Which - while Williams was the man behind the 'Blurred Lines' lyrics, about which you already know my views - is a pretty fair point to make. The Gaye family's attorney, Richard Busch, relied heavily on one of those musicologists, then cried foul at King's insistence that the tedious technicalities of American copyright law should be considered. King was just trying to confuse the jury, said Busch. And finally the Gaye's legal man revelled in the fact that Robin Thicke's testimony required the singer to admit to lying in media interviews about his role in creating 'Blurred Lines' and the influence of Marvin Gaye on that process. By his own admission Thicke was a liar, so why trust his testimonies now? Except, as King pointed out, media interviews aren't conducted under oath. And whatever you think about Thicke (I think he's an odious dick), that doesn't mean he'd lie in court. It was there that the legal arguments rested. And as I say, for my money - and despite my self-confessed bias against Pharrell and the Thickster - theirs was the stronger case. But not in the eyes of the jury who, while rejecting the unprecedented $25 million in damages the Gayes wanted (citing the impact 'Blurred Lines' had had on Thicke's concert trade as justification), ruled very much in the family's favour, with the $7.3 million damages figure still record breaking. An appeal will almost certainly follow, so this matter is likely far from resolved. Though in the short term the ruling arguably extends the reach of American music copyright into realms it shouldn't really tread, in a way that, ironically, can only hinder the people copyright is meant to protect, the music makers of the future. Speaking outside the court, King told reporters: "While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter". Though on the upside, this turn of events might stop the ongoing distribution of 'Blurred Lines' itself, in the short term at least. Busch told Rolling Stone overnight: "We'll be asking the court to enter an injunction prohibiting the further sale and distribution of 'Blurred Lines' unless and until we can reach an agreement with those guys on the other side about how future monies that are received will be shared. We'll be doing that in about a week or so". Blimey. What a good day for Gaye rights. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Holly Herndon signs to 4AD Speaking about the signing, 4AD boss Simon Halliday told CMU: "We are always looking to partner with the most innovative and original artists possible and Holly's new music is diverse and magical and we were thrilled she chose to work with 4AD on the next chapter of her career". The CMU approved (twice) Herndon describes the album, the follow-up to 2012's 'Movement', as "a rupture, a parasitic gesture". What might that sound like? Well, here's the first track from the record, 'Interference'. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ministry chief lays into streaming and freemium at fiery Mobile World Congress debate Of course, you might argue that that viewpoint is in no small part the result of Ministry's original label business being dominated by compilations, with the superclub's record company traditionally known more for curation than signing and nurturing new artists (though the latter element has grown over the years). Digital has not been kind to the compilations business, and while some brands in the market did eventually find a way to make things work on iTunes, it's much harder for compilation makers - who are curating tracks owned by other labels - to generate revenues on the streaming platforms, where thousands of bedroom curators - not to mention labels and media looking for exposure - are making playlists that arguably render compilations redundant. And when those bedroom curators rip off the tracklists of your carefully planned compilations you end up in a very grey area of copyright law. Ministry, of course, sued Spotify on that issue, though subsequently settled, meaning we never got any judicial guidance on whether curated lists of songs have copyright protection. But it's interesting that, while Ministry boss Lohan Presencer has sometimes been out of kilter with other label bosses when dissing streaming services (and not just easy targets like Pandora and YouTube, all the streaming services), some of his opinions are now echoing around other record companies as concerns grow over the size of the freemium market, which generates a minority of streaming income. And Presencer was back in diss mode at the recent Mobile World Congress in a fiery panel that partnered the Ministry boss with reps from Deezer and Rdio. As Music Ally reports, Presencer didn't hold back, saying of the streaming execs to his side: "Your objective is to grow your user base, to tell a story such that you can IPO or you can sell, and you can exit, and you can put money back in the pockets of your investors". He went on: "You are not the ones who are investing in developing talent. You are not the ones who are signing artists. And our artists and investment - our creative community - is contracting daily, as a result of the free services that are out there and giving music away, with the objective of you achieving some sort of exit at the end". Later laying into the freemium services in particular - the domain where record industry opinion may be swinging in his direction - Presencer questioned the argument, put forward by Spotify et al, that freemium drives premium subscriptions, where the real future revenues lie. He said: "My beef continually over the last few years has been with the free aspect, the freemium model. I just can't see how that is sustainable or supportable". He continued: "The argument goes that by making a free ad-funded service available, you capture - you give - the pirates an alternative. I just don't buy it. I think what you do is you take casual consumers of music and you turn them from purchasers into noshers, into browsers, into snackers. They don't have to engage in the subscription model. The reality of some of the bigger streaming services is that 75% of their user base are free, which has a horrific impact on the music industry and its ability to invest in talent going forward". Of course, while Presencer was keen to stress what a small role streaming revenues play in his label business, many other record companies now see the likes as Spotify as a key revenue generator, and might argue that it is because of Ministry's resistance to streaming that it is yet to see the benefits. Though when it comes to freemium, even those labels that are big fans of Spotify, Deezer and Rdio might nod when the Ministry boss speaks. Music Ally has a detailed summary of the panel here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SFX appoints committee to consider Robert FX Sillerman's proposals over ownership As previously reported, some key investors and analysts on Wall Street reacted negatively to Sillerman's recent proposal that he buy back all the shares he doesn't currently own in the EDM festival maker and Beatport owner, he having only floated SFX in 2013. In a statement yesterday, SFX said that among the independent directors who will now consider the proposal are John Miller, Chief Investment Officer of WP Carey and Co; Michael Meyer, Partner and Head Of Sales And Trading at The Seaport Group; and D Geoffrey Armstrong, CEO of 310 Partners. Moelis & Company LLC will provide financial advice and Steptoe & Johnson legal counsel. The statement confirmed that Sillerman is proposing to "acquire all of the outstanding shares of SFX that he does not already own, at a price of $4.75 per share in cash. Sillerman owns approximately 37.8% of the outstanding common stock of SFX Entertainment". It went on: "The special committee will also consider alternatives to the proposed transaction that enhance shareholder value, including any other offers to acquire the company. The committee is charged with, among other things, maximising shareholder value in any proposed transaction". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Holy Moly and GigaOM close Announcing the news, staffer Tim Chipping wrote in a statement: "Holy Moly managed to keep doing pretty much exactly the same thing every day for thirteen years, which is just one year less than Westlife. But there is no key change for Holy Moly. No encore. And no awkward televised reunion that starts off emotional but ends with us shouting the words 'mouthbreathing shit-eagle' across a car park. For some reason a website dedicated to being needlessly unpleasant about Olly Murs is no longer financially viable. Go figure". Oh, well that's particularly upsetting news. Now I'm conflicted. Maybe I should say that Olly Murs is lovely. Oh god, I'm so conflicted. "To all the celebs we've slagged off over the years, please take it personally", added Chipping. "You are awful". Right, I think it's best if I just don't mention Olly Murs anymore. Let's just move on to a farewell from founder Jamie East, who departed the website in 2013. "It did some stupid things (as my lawyer's bills testified) but also achieved things I will always be proud of", East wrote on Medium. "Two Amazon #1 best-selling books, selling about 20,000 t-shirts saying 'Jack Bauer wouldn't stand for this shit', having to explain Cunt's Corner to the Leveson Enquiry, going on Richard & Judy wearing a balaclava, having Sinitta pour me a glass of wine whilst Simon Cowell slipped into the biggest bubble bath I've ever seen, winding up my tabloid counterparts on a weekly basis by catching them off guard with this new fangled ideal of not giving a shit about legals, making a shitload of incredible friends and, importantly, being a brilliant first place of employment for many, many incredibly talented people". Elsewhere in 'online media operation operations suddenly closing' news, tech site GigaOM promptly shut up shop on Monday, due to financial problems. In a statement it admitted that the company "recently became unable to pay its creditors in full". It continued: "As a result, the company is working with its creditors that have rights to all of the company's assets as their collateral. All operations have ceased. We do not know at this time what the lenders intend to do with the assets or if there will be any future operations using those assets. The company does not currently intend to file bankruptcy". One of the site's final articles was about the "broken" music business. So you should probably all take note. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hudson Mohawke lights the way with new album Speaking about the record, the producer said: "This album is everything I've been working towards. I wanted to make a classic - at least for me and my friends. I never wanted to be any genre. I wanted to be my own thing. Everything". Bold words. Here's a trailer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tyler, The Creator announces UK shows "I don't know when I'm doing this again", he said in an Instagram post announcing initial dates. "Come fuck". So, um, those are some words. Here are the dates: 12 May: Glasgow, Barrowlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emmylou Harris and Evelyn Glennie named Polar Music prize winners Announcing the winners, the award's MD Marie Ledin said: "In Evelyn Glennie and Emmylou Harris, the [Stig Anderson Music Award] Foundation has chosen two exceptional Laureates for this year's Polar Music Prize, as both represent the spirit of the award that my father envisaged when he founded the prize. We look forward to honouring Evelyn and Emmylou and paying tribute to their exceptional music careers". The two artists will receive their trophies and one million Swedish krona (just shy of £80,000) at a ceremony in Stockholm on 9 Jun. -------------------------------------------------- Arthurs dished out at ILMC First Venue To Come Into Your Head: Royal Albert Hall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Snoop Dogg speaks, Mumfords debut, Alexisonfire reunite, and other verbs Other notable announcements and developments today... • Peter Rhodes, the London MD of Reed Midem, the makers of MIDEM (amongst other things), has stepped down after 32 years with the company. He will remain on hand as an advisor for a time after he leaves, chief exec Paul Zilk told Music Week. • Snoop Dogg has been announced as the keynote speaker at this year's Snoop By Snoop West festival. • Mark Mumford and his so called 'Sons' have debuted their new electric sound. Bit boring. • Stop everything! There is another new Mew song. • Ane Brun has a new single out called 'Directions'. But from whence has it arrived? From a new album due out in the autumn, my child. • Approved last year, Zella Day has released a video for her track 'Hypnotic'. • Tink has released a new Timbaland-produced single called 'Ratchet Commandments'. • Pop innovator Thomas Truax has announced his eighth album, 'Jetstream Sunset', will be released on 20 Apr. Here's a song from it, 'Pancakes'. • The artist whose name I am still most likely to pronounce incorrectly, Taragana Pyjarama, has announced a new EP on True Panther Sound. Titled 'Ariel' it'll be out on 4 May. Here's the title track. • Alexisonfire are reuniting to play a number of festival dates this summer, including Reading and Leeds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
McDonald's manages to scrape together some cash to pay artists at SXSW showcase As previously reported, alt-rock duo Ex Cops recently published an 'open letter' on their Facebook page calling out the fast food chain for refusing to pay for the one thing absolutely necessary for its SXSW showcase event to exist. The band's Brian Harding said that he was told there was "no budget" to cover artists' costs. In an initial statement, McDonald's put the mounting interest in this story down to a "#SlowNewsDay", and said that it was just following "the same standard protocol as other brands and sponsors" at SXSW. Standard protocols that, Harding told Rolling Stone, were news to him, given that some other brands had offered to pay the band to play. In a statement yesterday, McDonald's said it was now also ditching these imagined standard practices, telling Billboard: "SXSW started as a conference and festival for the music industry, related press and up-and-coming musicians bringing the community together to showcase their talents. We are excited to expand our support of music at our SXSW activation where the line-up features a great assortment of more than 20 bands, honouring the spirit of the festival. To further support these artists, all bands performing at our showcase will be compensated". Ex Cops will not be one of those bands raking in the Maccy D's dollar, but said via Facebook: "We are thrilled that our letter made a difference ... Artists should be paid for their work". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Send ALL press releases to musicnews@unlimitedmedia.co.uk - this is checked daily by the whole editorial team meaning your release will definitely get to the right person. For details of the training and consultancy services offered by CMU Insights click here - Andy and Chris are also available to provide music business comment, just email them direct. To promote your company or advertise jobs or services to the entire UK music industry via the CMU bulletin or website contact Sam on 020 7099 9060 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment
Make a Nice Comment .....