WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2020 | COMPLETEMUSICUPDATE.COM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TODAY'S TOP STORY: CMU Insights will put the spotlight on the rights of songwriters and performers, streaming trends in key emerging markets and the ins and outs of brand partnerships as part of a new series of weekly webinars that will kick off later this month... [READ MORE] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Expand your knowledge about the inner workings of the music business, best practice across the music industry, and all the latest trends and developments, with CMU’s weekly webinars. Taking place every Tuesday afternoon at 2.30pm London time, these one hour online training sessions are delivered by CMU's Chris Cooke. Each webinar presents timely and easy-to-understand insights about a different music business topic, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Attendees can also access online resources - including downloadable slides - and a recording of the webinar available for a month after the live session. BOOK NOW at early bird rates - access to each individual webinar is just £25, plus you can book into four webinars for £75 and all nine for just £150. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New series of CMU weekly webinars announced This new series of online training sessions follows the hugely popular CMU Lockdown Webinars that took place in April and May this year as the COVID-19 shutdown first took hold, and follow the same format. Hosted by CMU's Chris Cooke, each one-hour webinar will kick off with a quick summary of the biggest music business news story of the week, followed by a 40 minute lecture on the day's main topic, and then a live Q&A with attendees. The topics covered also complement this spring's season of webinars. On the copyright front there is a session looking at the rights of songwriters and performers over songs and recordings they no longer own the copyright in. And in the digital domain there'll be fact-packed sessions on emerging markets and streaming service playlists. Elsewhere there will be brand new webinars on topics like fanbase building, brand partnerships and direct-to-fan. Plus, in November, there will be three sessions summarising the key developments in the music business in the eventful year that has been 2020, first for the industry at large, then specifically streaming, and finally music rights. Aware that the music industry is still facing many challenges as a result of COVID-19, CMU is also keeping the prices down for this series of webinars with special early-bird rates currently available. Access to each individual webinar is just £25, plus you can book into all nine for just £150. CMU's Chris Cooke says: "With our Lockdown Webinars earlier this year we were able to take our training truly global, with music industry practitioners tuning in from all over the world. For our new series of weekly webinars this autumn we have picked some great topics that both stand alone, but also continue what we started during lockdown. Plus we'll be presenting our traditional year-in-view sessions online for the first time". Bookings are now open at the special early bird rates - click here for more information or to sign up. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Paradigm agents launch new agency TBA All the talent and booking agencies have faced unprecedented challenges this year thanks to the COVID-19 shutdown, with many furloughing staff and downsizing their teams in a bid to weather the storm. The extent and nature of the layoffs has varied from agency to agency, and also from country to country depending on what government support was available. Though it's probably fair to say that the Paradigm cutbacks in the US grabbed the most headlines. The five founders of TBA - Avery McTaggart, Amy Davidman, Devin Landau, Marshall Betts and Ryan Craven - came to Paradigm via The Windish Agency, which allied with Paradigm in 2015 and then started operating under that brand two years later. They were part of the significant round of early layoffs at Paradigm as COVID first struck. Commenting on the new agency, which launches with offices in New York and LA, McTaggart told Variety: "TBA is only able to exist because of the incredible artists we work with, and it has been with them in mind that we have built every part of this company. For me that has been and will remain what I am most passionate about: Seeing our artists grow and succeed, knowing we are working tirelessly to support them in new and better ways". Noting that the impact of COVID on the live industry is likely to be felt long after shutdown, he added: "The agency business is changing and we see TBA as part of the shift towards a better culture within the music business. We are focused solely on the future and how to ensure that integrity, accountability and transparency are standards at our company and others". -------------------------------------------------- FKP Scorpio ramps up UK operations by recruiting DHP promoters Daniel Ealam and Scott O'Neill have been charged with the task of building up a UK arm for the FKP Scorpio business, which is already a prolific promoter in multiple other European markets, and is allied to the promoter network of German ticketing giant CTS Eventim. Confirming his company's new UK focus, FKP Scorpio boss Folkert Koopmans says: "We are very much looking forward to working with Daniel and Scott, who have built up an excellent reputation and have excellent contacts. We are convinced that with their support we will be able to significantly expand FKP Scorpio's activities in the UK". Ealam and O'Neill add in a joint statement: "We are so excited to build FKP Scorpio in the UK. We have long admired the company's ethos and ethics and we truly believe that it is a force for good within the industry [which is] expanding at a time when we need strong promoters with good values working across Europe". "Folkert shares our vision for the business", they go on, "and we have big plans to make this a huge success and support our artists, agents and managers, and give fans the ultimate live experiences". The new recruits and Koopmans will all sit on the board of FKP Scorpio UK, alongside Barry Campbell and James Cassidy, who - among other things - previously promoted the concert spin-offs of the BBC's 'Blue Planet' and 'Planet Earth' shows as part of a tie-up between the broadcaster and the FKP Scorpio business. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amazon Music incorporates Twitch livestreams Artists who are active on Twitch can connect their accounts to Amazon Music, thus getting access to fans already streaming their tracks on the more conventional streaming platform, as well as those who have bothered to download the Twitch app. "The combination of live streaming, coupled with the on-demand playback of songs on Amazon Music is groundbreaking", reckons Ryan Redington, Director of Amazon Music. "We're providing artists with more tools to instantly engage with fans, and this new feature couldn't arrive at a more crucial time in the industry". "More than 1000 artists have already connected their Amazon Music accounts to Twitch, and this is just day one", he goes on. "Together with Twitch, we're making it possible for artists across all genres, at all moments of their careers, to harness the social power of live streaming to create more engagement with their recorded catalogue". Just in case you don't think Redington's enthusiasm was enough, Twitch's Head Of Music Tracy Chan adds: "Twitch has always been about connecting amazingly talented creators live with fans everywhere. That's why we're excited to announce the next phase of our ongoing partnership with Amazon Music that unlocks an entirely new world of live music experiences and engagement by connecting Twitch live streams and Amazon's catalogue of recorded music". "Especially now, in a time when traditional venues are closed and tours have been cancelled, musicians are looking for new ways to continue creating, connect with fans, and build community", she continues. "Twitch has become the place to co-create shared live experiences, and it's now accessible in-app for Amazon Music's 55 million customers". There are various ways that Amazon Music will now push Twitch streams. Fans of individual artists will get notifications on their mobile devices as artists go live. And there will also be a new 'Live' page on the main music app, where users can browse livestreams underway. Artists wanting to connect their Twitch profile to Amazon Music can do so here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slits guitarist Viv Albertine's memoirs to be adapted for TV Albertine says in a statement that she is "so happy" about the TV project, adding: "Right from the start [the show's producers] were sensitive to the extremely personal nature of the work and I knew the books were in the hands of producers with integrity. Their vision is perfectly in tune with the work, they understand the subject and the times, I can't wait for the project to get started and to see all the characters in my story come to life". Meanwhile, those producers - Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley and Rachael Horovitz - state jointly: "What an exciting and exhilarating prospect to re-explore a time when music, fashion, political ideologies and sexuality were turned on their heads. So beautifully evoked alongside personal insights and frank reflections of an extraordinary woman's life in Albertine's two incredible memoirs". "Nothing that has happened before or since can match the explosion that was 70s London punk, and Viv Albertine helped pack the dynamite, place the detonator and light the fuse", they go on. "The Slits forged the soundtrack to a gender-bending, iconic cultural revolution and guitarist Viv Albertine was right in the thick of it. She helped create an uninhibited new attitude, a unique musical language and a DIY aesthetic that invaded and ingrained itself into the mainstream". The two critically acclaimed books - 2014's 'Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys' and 2018's 'To Throw Away Unopened' - detail Albertine's upbringing, experiences in the late 70s and early 80s punk scene, and her return to music later in life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Erick Morillo dies Morillo was due to appear in court later this week on sexual battery charges. He was accused of assaulting another DJ at his home last December, after they both performed at a private party in Miami. He initially denied the accusation, but turned himself in to police after DNA evidence supported his accuser's allegations. He was formally charged early last month. Born in New York in 1971, Morillo spent much of his early youth in Colombia, before returning to the US aged eleven - at which point he began DJing at family events. He started DJing in clubs in the early 1990s, while also moving into producing music at around the same time. A 1991 collaboration with Latin reggae star El General, 'Muevelo', subsequently became a hit. Probably his best known track is 'I Like To Move It', which he released under the name Reel 2 Real in 1993. A hit in its own right at the time - reaching number five in the UK singles chart in 1994 - the much-synced track has reached new audiences in recent years through its inclusion in the 'Madagascar' animated movies. Concerned that the massive success of 'I Like To Move It' and other hits had damaged his credibility, Morillo began to distance himself from Reel 2 Real and worked on other projects with a range of collaborators. He also launched the Double Platinum management company and Subliminal record label. As well as this, he became an increasingly prominent figure on the US and international club scenes. He consistently continued to release new music and remixes throughout his career, up to last year. No cause of death has yet been announced, but police have said that there were no signs of foul play. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DEALS Bucks Music has signed an admin deal with live and management firm Talentbanq, which is launching a new label and publishing side to its business. Bucks will administrate the firm's song catalogue, which will include works by Georgia & The Vintage Youth, a Talentbanq management client who is also releasing her upcoming EP with the company's new label. Music rights firm Reservoir has signed writer-producer Twysted Genius to a worldwide publishing deal. The agreement covers the producer's full catalogue, including his collaborations on Lil Baby's latest album 'My Turn'. "His much-celebrated work with Lil Baby cemented him as a sought-after collaborator and it's only the start of what is to come", reckons Reservoir's Faith Newman of the new signing. -------------------------------------------------- MEDIA Mariah Carey will host a Christmas TV special on Apple TV+ this festive season, titled 'Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special'. It'll follow the publication of her memoir, 'The Meaning Of Mariah Carey', on 29 Sep. -------------------------------------------------- APPOINTMENTS Universal UK's Polydor division has promoted Stephanie Duncan-Bosu to Head Of Press, and Ali Tant, Karen Dagg and Jade Bradshaw to Heads Of Marketing. "I'm absolutely THRILLED that Steph is stepping into the Head Of Press role", says the label's Director Of Press, Susie Ember. "In the eleven years we have worked together at Polydor, she has risen consistently to the challenges of the job, proving herself the consummate publicist". -------------------------------------------------- RELEASES Arab Strap have released their first new song for fifteen years, 'The Turning Of Our Bones'. The song, says the duo's Aidan Moffat, "is an incantation, a voodoo spell to raise the dead. Inspired by the Famadihana ritual of the Malagasy people of Madagascar, in which they dance with the corpses of loved ones, it's all about resurrection and shagging". Eels have released new single 'Who You Say You Are'. "Here's a way to forget your troubles for two minutes and 55 seconds", says frontman Mark Everett. "Listen to this song and think about my problems instead. You're welcome!" Emmy The Great has released new single 'A Window/O'Keeffe'. "In many ways, this song is about colour, though it's also about the friendship between women, something I leaned on as I moved into the next phase of my life", she says. Her new album, 'April /月音', is out through Bella Union on 9 Oct. Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante will release a new solo album, titled 'Maya', consisting of early 90s influenced jungle and breakbeat, on 23 Oct through Aaron Funk's Timesig label. From it, this is 'Amethblowl'. Daniel Avery has released two new tracks, 'Lone Swordsman' and 'Dusting For Smoke', in tribute to Andrew Weatherall, who died earlier this year. "I was in my studio the morning I heard about Andrew Weatherall's passing", says Avery. "The track 'Lone Swordsman' is what formed that day. Andrew was a hero, a friend and someone who regularly reminded us all how it should be done, not to mention the funniest fucker around". Proceeds from the release will be donated to Amnesty International. Yemi Alade has released new single 'True Love'. Actress has released new track 'Walking Flames', featuring Sampha. His new album, 'Karma & Desire', will be out on Ninja Tune on 23 Oct. Lady Leshurr has released new track 'Unleshed 4'. It's her first new track since she released her 'Quaranqueen' album in June. Vaccines keyboard player T Truman has released new solo single 'Loretta'. "I came up with the riff on a tiny keyboard in a hotel room in five minutes", he says. "It then took me over three months to come up with lyrics and a chorus that complemented it. 'Loretta' should be my entry to Urban Dictionary as a term used for somebody who doesn't reciprocate". His debut EP 'Born To Be Right' is out on 25 Sep. Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty has launched new project Ghost Of Vroom with longtime collaborator Andrew 'Scrap' Livingston. Their debut EP 'Ghost Of Vroom 2' is out this week. From it, this is 'Rona Pallona'. Kruder & Dorfmeister have released new track 'Johnson'. The track is the first taken from upcoming new album '1995'. -------------------------------------------------- GIGS & TOURS Lamb Of God have announced two livestreamed shows this month. They will perform their new eponymous album in full on 18 Sep, followed by their 2004 LP 'Ashes Of The Wake' on 25 Sep. Info right here. The band have also announced the rescheduling of their 2020 UK tour to December 2021. Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eddy Grant sues Donald Trump Countless artists and songwriters, of course, have hit out at Trump over him using their music without permission ever since he first started dabbling in politics five years ago. And as the US President's stint in power has become ever more controversial, an increasing number of those musicians have started talking about taking legal action. When the music is used at an event, there are complications with any such litigation, as both the Trump campaign and most of the venues it makes use of will have licences from US collecting societies BMI and ASCAP. While songwriters can opt out of the specific political licences provided by the US societies, and in that scenario licensees aren't meant to then rely on any venue licence instead, there are still some legal ambiguities over whether or not copyright has actually been infringed. Though Neil Young is testing all that out with his recent lawsuit. However, when Team Trump use uncleared music in a video, things are more straightforward, as a direct licence is generally required for such things unless any sort of fair use defence can be mounted. So, providing the facts as described by Grant in his new lawsuit are sound, he probably has a much stronger case for copyright infringement against the President. That lawsuit provides a description of the Trump video in which Grant's 1983 hit 'Electric Avenue' was used. "The infringing video contains a visual depiction of a high-speed red train bearing the words 'Trump Pence KAG 2020'", it notes, "in stark contrast to a slow-moving handcar bearing the words 'Biden President: Your Hair Smells Terrific'". An animated likeness of Biden also features, while "out-of-context excerpts of Former Vice President Biden's speeches and interviews are played over plaintiffs' recording". The lawsuit then states that none of the plaintiffs - which are Grant and two of his companies - "nor any agent on their respective behalves, has licensed any rights" in the 'Electric Avenue' song or recording "to either Mr Trump or [his campaign organisation], or otherwise consented to defendants' use of the [track] in connection with the infringing video". When Grant spoke out against Trump's campaign video when it was first posted last month, his legal rep also noted that the nature of the President's use of 'Electric Avenue' - which was written by Grant in response to the 1981 Brixton Riot in London - "indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of the very meaning of the underlying work". Twitter has now confirmed it has removed the offending video because of the legal action. We await to see how Trump responds to the lawsuit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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