In today's CMU Daily: Following the crowd surge that occurred at the Boardmasters festival on Friday evening, Cornwall Council has launched a public protection investigation. Promoter Vision Nine has played down the scale of the incident, but nevertheless says learnings from the investigation will inform planning in 2025

One Liners: WIN Annual Report, Hipgnosis vs Barry Manilow, Soundcloud merch store, Kavinsky Shazam record, TikTok group chat and stickers, Molson Coors x All Points East, JYP Entertainment earnings, Jimmy Iovine and Dre’s new school, Sony Masterworks x Black Sky Creative, Mariah Carey lawsuit, + more

Also today: There has been an important ruling in one of the lawsuits filed by creators against generative AI companies. A judge has said the core copyright claims in a lawsuit instigated by a group of visual artists against Stability AI and others can proceed, though other legal claims have been dismissed

Cornwall Council launches Boardmasters investigation

Cornwall Council has launched a public protection investigation following the crowd surge that landed seven people in hospital at Newquay’s Boardmasters festival last weekend.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said yesterday, “The council’s public protection service is currently investigating the incident that took place at the Boardmasters festival on Friday. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing”. 

A number of people who were injured in the incident have been critical of how festival organisers responded to the crowd surge, while other attendees have questioned whether the event should have been allowed to increase its capacity this year to 58,000 attendees, up from 53,000 in 2023. 

Ninja Tune // Copyright Assistant (London)

Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events // Promoter (Whitburn Hybrid)

Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events // Junior Promoter (Whitburn Hybrid)

Playliveartist // Paid Media Manager (London)

IDOL // DSP Editorial & Partnerships Manager (London)

Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events // Marketing Manager (Whitburn Hybrid)

Domino // Junior Radio Plugger (London)

Sentric Music // Revenue Optimisation Manager (London/Liverpool)

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ONE LINERS

Deals

• Sony Music Masterworks has acquired a majority stake in Black Sky Creative, a Los Angeles-based producer of immersive entertainment experiences. 
• Music rights acquisition outfit Iconoclast has partnered with Ujama Designs, a Colorado-based music publishing and management firm, to acquire intellectual property rights of reggae artists, beginning with Jamaican performer Half Pint.
• Universal Music Publishing Group has signed UK producer Scott Forshaw to a worldwide publishing deal in collaboration with Organized Chaos, the independent dance music publisher.
• Warner Chappell Music and Tape Room Music have signed songwriter Ben Williams to a worldwide publishing deal.
• Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Round Hill Music.
• Tia Sillers has inked a publishing deal with Nashville-based Toby & Molly Music. 

Legal

• Hipgnosis Songs Fund has filed a lawsuit against Barry Manilow over bonus payments related to its 2020 acquisition of the American singer's catalogue. 
• Mariah Carey has asked a judge to dismiss a $20 million copyright infringement lawsuit targeting her hit song 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'. 
• Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter has filed a $2.5 million defamation lawsuit against former Dream singer Melissa Schuman, who previously accused him of rape. 
• Kanye West has been hit with a $1.5 million lawsuit from photo agencies BackGrid USA and Backgrid London for alleged copyright infringement.
• Katy Perry's latest music video has sparked an environmental investigation in Spain's Balearic Islands. 

Streaming, Digital & Broadcast

• SoundCloud has launched its own merchandise store, allowing select SoundCloud Next Pro artists to create and sell exclusive items directly to fans while keeping 100% of the profits. 
• Kavinsky’s ‘Nightcall’ has broken the record for the most Shazamed song in a single day following its performance at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday. 
• TikTok has expanded its messaging features, adding group chats for up to 32 people and introducing custom stickers to its direct messaging system. 
• YouTube Music has introduced a new ‘personal radio’ feature that allows users to publicly share their listening habits.
• MTV’s annual backslapper, the Video Music Awards, will be broadcast a day later than planned, pushing back to 11 Sep to avoid clashing with a televised US presidential debate.

Other industry news & events

• Worldwide Independent Network has published its 2023-24 Annual Report, highlighting a year of collaboration and growth. 
• K-pop company JYP Entertainment has reported a 36.9% year-on-year decrease in revenue to 95.7 billion won (USD $70 million) for Q2 2024. 

Live

• Boundary Brighton Festival has launched a 'Pay What You Can Afford' initiative for 1,000 tickets to its 28 Sep event.
• Beer company Molson Coors has signed a five-year deal to become the official sponsor and exclusive pouring rights partner for All Points East festival. 
• HYBE has partnered with internet bank Toss (no sniggering at the back, please) and ticketing company InterparkTriple to develop facial recognition technology aimed at curbing ticket scalping.

Artist News

• Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Enter Shikari, and other prominent musicians have signed a statement from Love Music Hate Racism following violent riots sparked by far-right misinformation. 
• Noah Kahan is bringing his mental health foundation, The Busyhead Project, to the UK. 
• Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are opening a new high school in Inglewood, California, expanding their educational initiatives.
• Texas post-rockers This Will Destroy You, have split into two separate groups, with both continuing to use the original band name for the time being. 
• In his latest rant, Ozzy Osbourne has criticised musicians who attempt to transition into acting, while praising Johnny Depp as an exception.

Releases & Tours

• ARXX have released their new single 'Trouble'. Their new album ‘Good Boy’ is out 4 Oct.
• Confidence Man have released their new single ‘Let Them Bells Ring’. Their fabric mix series, ‘fabric Presents Confidence Man’, is out 23 Aug.
• Okay Kaya has released her new single ‘Check Your Face’. Her new album ‘Oh My God—That’s So Me’ is out 6 Sep.
• TSHA has released her new single ‘Master Peace - Can't Dance’. Her new album ‘Sad Girl’ is out 27 Sep.
• Fousheé has released her new single ‘war’. Her new album ‘Pointy Heights’ is out 13 Sep.
• Blind Pilot have released their new single ‘Brave’. Their new album ‘In The Shadow Of The Holy Mountain' is out this Friday.
• Cairo has released his new single ‘Double Love’. His debut EP ‘Double Love’ is out 27 Sep.
• October Drift have released their new single ‘Tyrannosaurus Wreck’. His new album ‘Blame The Young’ is out 27 Sep.
• Katy J Pearson has released her new single ‘Maybe’. Her new album ‘Someday, Now’ is out 20 Sep.
• wilo wilde has released her new single ‘over you’. Her new EP ‘what is a heart?’ is out 13 Sep.
• Jordan Alexander has released her new single ‘Out Of Reach’.
• HIPPO CAMPUS have released their new single 'Forget It'. Their new album ‘Flood’ is out 20 Sep.
• BE:FIRST have released their new single ‘Blissful’.
• Nada Surf have released their new single ‘Losing’. Their new album ‘Moon Mirror’ is out 13 Sep.
• Ariella has released her new single ‘Now’. Her debut album ‘CryBaby’ is out 11 Oct.
• Dizzee Rascal has announced a UK tour celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of his album ‘Tongue N Cheek’. Shows include London’s Eventim Apollo on 18 Oct. Pre-sale tickets go on sale 27 Aug, you can sign up here.
• Better Lovers have announced a 2025 UK headline tour, including a show at London’s Electric Brixton on 18 Jan. Tickets go on sale this Friday here.

Judge declines to dismiss core copyright claims in Stable Diffusion legal battle

A US judge has upheld the core copyright claims made by a group of visual artists in a class action lawsuit against four AI companies, including Stability AI. 

The artists have also made a number of other legal claims against the AI companies, including for unjust enrichment, breach of contact and the breaking of rules relating to copyright management information. Those claims have now all been dismissed, in some cases ‘with prejudice’, meaning that the artists will not be able to include them again in possible future claims. 

As with other copyright cases involving AI companies, the core copyright claim is that Stability - and the other AI companies involved - used copyright protected content to train a generative AI model without permission.