| We've covered the music business each day since 21 Jun 2002 Today's email is edition #5149 |
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| | In today's CMU Daily: Maybe: Key Production now owned by an employee trust, securing the long term future of one of the most respected service providers to the physical product side of the industry
One Liners: Morgan Wallen and Elles Bailey sign new deals; Warner Chappel hires Lina Tebbs; PPL announces record royalty payout; Akon announces UK tour dates; London Calling showcase festival to return; new music from Sia, The 1975, Kate Nash, A Savage and Dea Matrona Also today: Industry needs to act on LGBTQ+ discrimination says new report; Hipgnosis £20 million bung approved overwhelmingly at EGM; Capitol Music Group CEO steps down; SoundCloud partners with Trolley for artist payouts; "Wooly words from ministers" not good enough when it comes to copyright and AI says Culture Select Committee chair
Plus: The talent pipeline in the music business is blocked by an image problem says Becky Ayres in an exclusive CMU op-ed |
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| | Key Production now owned by employee ownership trust
| Physical music product specialist Key Production has set up an employee ownership trust. Ownership of the business will now be transferred from founder and CEO Karen Emanuel to the trust on behalf of its staff.
Emanuel remains as CEO of the company, as well as being a director of both Key Production and the newly formed Key Production Employee Owned Trust. She is joined on the trust's board by Lisa Edwards, who has been with Key Production for 28 years, and lawyer Rebecca Mills.
Employee ownership trusts are part of a UK government initiative aimed to promote employee ownership of businesses. PWC explains that "EOTs do not involve direct share ownership by employees, rather a controlling interest in a company is transferred to an all-employee trust which is then held for the benefit of employees".
Commenting on the change, Emanuel says, “After just over 33 ⅓ years of being the sole director and owner at Key Production, it’s time for me to secure the next 33 ⅓ years. I’m truly excited to do this by setting up an employee ownership trust, to empower the people that have helped me build the company and amazing culture that is Key Production, namely the staff. I will be staying on as CEO to transition us into this next stage of growth and development". Music distributor and label services company Kudos Records made a similar move last year, with ownership of that business also being transferred to an employee ownership trust.
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| PPL, Sia, The 1975 + more | DEALS
Warner Chappell has signed a new publishing deal with country artist and songwriter Morgan Wallen. He will also partner with the publisher on signing other writers. “I look forward to working with Warner Chappell as my new music publishing partner and would like to thank them for also offering support in signing songwriters I believe in”, he says. “In many ways, I feel like I've always been a songwriter first, and because of that, the publishing community is especially close to my heart. I'm honoured to use this partnership as an opportunity to give other songwriters a helping hand”.
Cooking Vinyl has signed singer-songwriter Elles Bailey to a worldwide deal, with new music expected later this year. “I’m very proud of my journey and achievements so far as an independent artist running my own label but I’m delighted to partner with the wonderful Cooking Vinyl for the release of my new studio album”, she says.
APPOINTMENTS
Warner Chappell has hired Lina Tebbs as Director of UK Production Music. She joins from Felt Music. “Production music is such an important part of a publishing company and an integral part of many TV, advertising, film and gaming productions, so I’m really excited to join the UK team, as well as the wider global business, to continue to build our business, brand and music offering”, she says.
ROYALTIES
UK record industry collecting society PPL paid out £279.6 million to 165,000 performers and recording rightsholders in 2023 - an increase of £34.9 million (or 14.3%) on 2022. It’s the society’s highest ever annual total. “We understand these payments are critical for many and we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver them consistently and on time”, says CEO Peter Leatham. “As neighbouring rights continue to develop around the world, we see a huge opportunity ahead to grow our market share and maximise revenues for performers and recording rightsholders”.
GIGS & FESTIVALS
Akon has announced UK tour dates in April, including a show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 28 Apr. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
The London Calling showcase festival will return on 28 Feb. Part of the International Live Music Conference programme, it will see artists including August Charles, b1no*, Luna Morgenstern, and Noah And The Loners perform at five venues around Soho - The 100 Club, 21Soho, The Lower Third, Phoenix Arts Club and The Spice Of Life. More information here.
RELEASES
Sia has announced that she will release new album ‘Reasonable Woman’ on 3 May. It’ll include guest appearances from artists including Chaka Khan, Paris Hilton, Tierra Whack, Labrinth and more. Out now is new single ‘Dance Alone’ featuring Kylie Minogue.
The 1975 have released new single ‘Now Is The Hour’, taken from the soundtrack of upcoming Apple TV+ show ‘The New Look’.
Kate Nash is back with new single ‘Change’, her first under a new deal with Kill Rock Stars. She will play EartH in London on 17 May.
Parquet Courts frontman A Savage has released new single ‘Black Holes, The Stars And You’. He begins a tour of the UK and Ireland tomorrow.
Dea Matrona have released new single ‘Stuck On You’ and announced that they will release new album ‘For Your Sins’ on 3 May. They’ve also announced UK and Ireland tour dates in the same month, with tickets going on general sale on Friday.
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| Op ed: Sound City’s Becky Ayres: “The music business’ talent pipeline is blocked by an image problem”
| Becky Ayres is Managing Director of Sound City, the Liverpool-based event promoter and talent development organisation. Here she considers a blockage in the music industry's executive talent pipeline caused by young people simply not being aware of the different roles in the sector, and how they might go about pursuing a music business career. The solution, she argues, is more outreach by the industry into education and especially schools. The music business is facing a critical challenge: a blockage in its executive talent pipeline that begins at the very foundation of the education system. While a lot of attention is rightly dedicated to enriching the music business workforce by attracting a more diverse range of candidates, there is a more fundamental issue that is often overlooked - that is societal perceptions of the music business itself. | 👉 Read Becky's op-ed in full | |
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| LGBTQ+ musicians in the UK face high levels of discrimination and sexual harassment, new report finds | Over a third of LGBTQ+ musicians have seen or been subject to discrimination based on sexuality while working, while more than half of trans musicians have experienced discrimination based on their gender identity. However, few have reported it.
This comes from a new report from the Musicians’ Union, music charity Help Musicians and music development organisation Come Play With Me, based on data from last year’s UK Musicians’ Census. The aim of the report is to “to act as a catalyst” for the music industry to “tackle discrimination as a matter of urgency”, says MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl.
It also states that there is a significant pay gap between musicians in the LGBTQ+ community and those who are not. All of this contributes to poor mental wellbeing among those surveyed.
The findings have parallels with those of the Misogyny In Music report, published last week by the UK Parliament’s Women And Equalities Committee. That found that the music industry remains a “boys’ club” where sexual harassment and abuse is “endemic”.
“LGBTQ+ musicians are an under researched community and because of this very little is known about their earnings, experiences and working lives – until now”, says Pohl.
“Our aim”, she goes on, “is for the findings of Musicians’ Census LGBTQ+ Musicians Insight Report to act as a catalyst which encourages the UK music industry to work together to tackle discrimination as a matter of urgency, and ensure that the music industry is a safer and more welcoming place for LGBTQ+ musicians”.
While 37% of those surveyed said that they had experienced or witnessed discrimination based on sexuality whilst working as a musician, only 27% had reported it. The figures rise when asked about sexual harassment, with 44% saying that they had either experienced or witnessed it. Two thirds of that group said that this had affected their ability to work or their career progression. However, only a third reported what they had seen or experienced.
For trans musicians specifically, the figures are more stark, with 24% experiencing sexual harassment, 41% witnessing it, and just 14% reporting it.
Financial pressures also pose a significant barrier to of LGBTQ+ musicians, with 55% saying that they could not earn a sustainable living from music alone. There are a number of reasons for this, but one significant issue identified in the report is a pay gap. The average annual income from music for LGBTQ+ musicians, according to the report, is £17,600 - around £4000 less than that of non-LGBTQ+ musicians. For trans musicians the gap rises to almost £10,000.
All of this contributes to poor health, with 43% of LGBTQ+ musicians reporting poor mental wellbeing and 30% saying that they had poor physical health. This is significantly higher than the results across the whole Musicians’ Census survey. Of those who had experienced or witnessed discrimination, 90% reported poor mental wellbeing.
“We know that so many people working in music face challenges related to their sexuality or gender identity”, says Tony Ereira, Director of Come Play With Me. “Many face even more acute issues as they exist across multiple intersectionalities, but until now we haven’t been able to evidence that with meaningful research or data”.
“This report”, he adds, “is crucial as it gives us some excellent insights into how LGBTQ+ musicians identify across the country and where their greatest challenges lie”. | Read online | |
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| Hipgnosis shareholders back £20 million bidder fee proposal at EGM
| Shareholders in the Hipgnosis Songs Fund - or SONG - have backed a proposal to give its board discretionary powers to pay fees of up to £20 million to any possible bidder for the music catalogues it owns. At an Extraordinary General Meeting earlier today, 68.4% of eligible shareholders participated in the vote and 99.9% of those participating voted in favour of the plan.
The new board of SONG announced the proposal last month. It means directors will be able to pay up to £20 million to “any prospective bidder(s) who approach the board seeking to make an acquisition of the assets of the company on terms recommendable by the board to shareholders”.
When first making the proposal, the directors said that being able to offer such payments will “provide significant protection to prospective offerors against their due diligence and acquisition costs” and help “ensure that they are not deterred from seeking to engage” with HSF should they wish to buy some or all of the fund’s assets.
At today's EGM, 825 million shareholder votes backed the proposal, while 1.1 million opposed it. It's not clear from the breakdown of the voting how many individual shareholders or entities the 1.1 million shareholder votes cast against the motion might represent. In monetary terms that stake constitutes a relatively modest investment in the company and it's entirely conceivable that those shares could be controlled by just one or two people. The board of SONG is still in the process of conducting a strategic review of the fund's operations, including its relationship with investment advisor Hipgnosis Song Management. There has, of course, been a war of words of late between the two Hipgnosis entities, which were both founded by Merck Mercuriadis. He continues to head up HSM, although he announced last week that he will move from a CEO role to become Chair.
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| Michelle Jubelirer stands down as Capitol CEO as Universal Music restructure goes into effect | Michelle Jubelirer is stepping down as CEO of Universal Music's Capitol Music Group. Her departure comes as the major restructures its US recordings business, a rejig that will result in fewer divisions and some downsizing of the workforce.
“Having joined Capitol shortly after its acquisition by UMG in 2012 I’ve been honoured to be a leader in rebuilding and guiding a company that has played such a storied role in popular culture for more than 80 years", she said in a statement yesterday.
"I thank my senior management team and everyone who has worked with me at CMG for their tireless work ethic, unwavering commitment to our artists and absolute passion for music", she added. "Most of all, I’d like to thank all of our incredible artists; you made me want to rise up each and every day to help you achieve your dreams and present your music to the world".
The restructuring at Universal follows a Bloomberg report last month that said the major would be cutting hundreds of jobs in the first quarter of this year. Responding to that report when it was published, a Universal spokesperson said the company is “creating efficiencies in … areas of the business so we can remain nimble and responsive to the dynamic market".
Last week CEO Lucian Grainge announced that two of the company's senior US execs will be expanding their remit: John Janick, currently head of Interscope Geffen A&M, and Monte Lipman, currently boss at Republic. Much of CMG - which includes the labels Capitol Records, Blue Note Records, Motown Records, Astralwerks, Priority Records and the Capitol Christian Music Group - will become part of Janick's new super division.
Commenting on Jubelirer's departure, Grainge said, “We will miss Michelle. She’s been a part of Universal’s leadership for more than a decade, most recently as the extraordinary Chair and CEO of Capitol Music Group, which remains firmly set on a course toward long-term success. As we proceed to centralise many of CMG’s label functions with those of Interscope Geffen A&M, we respect her decision to pursue other endeavours, and wish her all the best". Capitol came to Universal via its 2012 acquisition of EMI. Jubelirer joined as an EVP of the division in February 2013, becoming COO in 2015 and CEO in 2021. CMG previously also included Universal's label and artist services business, originally called Caroline and then rebranded as Virgin Music. However, those operations became part of a separate Virgin Music Group division in 2022.
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| SoundCloud partners with Trolley on artist payouts | SoundCloud has announced a partnership with Canadian payouts platform Trolley to power payments made by its SoundCloud For Artists programme.
“We pay out millions of dollars to artists every month and getting this right is a responsibility that we don’t take lightly", says Stephen Shirley, SoundCloud’s Product Director for creator services. "Trolley enables SoundCloud to have confidence that royalties will be handled with the care that they deserve. Overall this builds trust between SoundCloud and the artist community which is vital to SoundCloud’s future".
SoundCloud For Artists allows independent artists to manage and monetise their music on SoundCloud itself, as well as offering the option to deliver tracks to other streaming services. The partnership with Trolley, says an official announcement, "signals a pivotal moment in shaping the future of artist payouts".
“As Trolley becomes the backbone of SoundCloud’s payouts infrastructure", Trolley CEO Tim Nixon adds, "it not only streamlines their financial workflows, but also empowers them to accomplish more for artists".
Trolley describes itself as "a cloud-based payouts platform that enables businesses to send payments across the globe, to individuals or companies, in any currency, and to all primary payment methods".
In terms of its offering to the music business, it says it "streamlines workflows in an easy-to-use, end-to-end royalty payouts platform" with "artist onboarding, identity verification, global payouts and tax compliance all in one place”.
For SoundCloud, Shirely adds, having "a solution for payouts in place" will allow the company to now "focus on how to best connect artists and fans in ways that generate more revenue for artists beyond just streaming royalties". | Read online | |
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| Government needs to "urgently reconsider" approach to copyright and AI, says culture committee Chair | The Chair of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee in the UK Parliament has called on the government to urgently reconsider its approach in dealing with the copyright challenges created by generative AI, stressing that “woolly words” from ministers in government reports are no help to creators and copyright owners, including in the music industry.
Caroline Dinenage MP made her comments following confirmation that the Intellectual Property Office has shelved a planned code of practice on copyright and AI after failing to negotiate an agreement between the creative industries and key AI companies.
“We’re disappointed by [the] announcement that the government’s working group of AI developers and creative industries will not be able to agree a voluntary code on AI and intellectual property", the MP said in a statement. "The creative industries have long been raising concerns that their intellectual property is being unfairly used to train AI systems without consent and without compensation. The lack of even a voluntary code will not allay these concerns".
"Woolly words from ministers will not provide rightsholders with certainty that their rights will be respected", she added. "The government must urgently reconsider its approach and bring forward a way of compensating creators for the use of their works in AI development, to ensure mutual benefits for both sectors".
Reports circulated earlier this week that attempts by the IPO to negotiate a voluntary code of practice regarding the copyright obligations of AI companies had failed. That was then confirmed yesterday in a new report from the government providing an update on its plans for regulating AI. The report summarises the findings of a consultation that was undertaken following a previous white paper on AI regulation, as well as providing some other updates.
The IPO working group on copyright and AI, it says, "has provided a valuable forum for stakeholders to share their views. Unfortunately, it is now clear that the working group will not be able to agree an effective voluntary code".
As a result, ministers in the Department For Science Innovation And Technology and the Department For Culture, Media And Sport will "now lead a period of engagement with the AI and rightsholder sectors, seeking to ensure the workability and effectiveness of an approach that allows the AI and creative sectors to grow together in partnership".
That’s a good way of not really saying anything. Worry not though, because, the report confirms, "the government is committed to the growth of our world-leading creative industries and we recognise the importance of ensuring AI development supports, rather than undermines, human creativity, innovation, and the provision of trustworthy information".
The creative industries, including the music industry, want clarity from the government that technology companies using existing content to train generative AI models must first get permission from the relevant copyright owners. Many AI companies argue that no such permission is required because AI training is covered by copyright exceptions in at least some countries or the principle of 'fair use' under American law.
Copyright owners also want AI companies to be more transparent about what content they are using when training models. On that the government is a little more bold. The planned engagement with the AI and rightsholder sectors, it says, "will need to be underpinned by trust and transparency between parties, with greater transparency from AI developers in relation to data inputs and the attribution of outputs having an important role to play".
"Our work will therefore also include exploring mechanisms for providing greater transparency so that rightsholders can better understand whether content they produce is used as an input into AI models", it goes on. "The government wants to work closely with rightsholders and AI developers to deliver this". | Read online | |
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