Ninja Tune // Marketing Assistant (London/Hybrid)

Erased Tapes Records // Label & Production Manager (London)

ICE Licensing // Senior DSP Audit & Assurance Manager (London)

ICE Licensing // DSP Audit and Assurance Manager (London)

Today's music business news

TOP STORY

Music industry contributed £6.7 billion to UK economy in 2022, UK Music report confirms

Cross-sector trade group UK Music has published its annual study on the economic impact of the British music industry, stating that the music sector at large "contributed £6.7 billion to the UK economy during 2022 in terms of gross value added. Exports topped £4 billion and employment stood at 210,000".

UK Music and its research partners changed their methodology when compiling this latest report, which makes comparisons with previous editions in terms of GVA, export and workforce figures tricky. And, of course, in 2020 and 2021 the figures were considerably down on normal anyway because of the COVID pandemic and the shutdown of live music.

However, the trade body says, while side-by-side stat comparisons are not possible, "in 2022 the UK music industry outperformed 2019 by a significant margin to produce its best year ever. We know this from assessing various contributing metrics, including revenue figures".

So that's all good. Although reports like this one - which are in no small part targeted at government - need to strike the balance between "everything is really great, we're brilliant" and "actually everything is fucked, we need more government support".

Of course, in the top heavy music industry - and especially the top heavy live sector - that's not actually a contradiction, because while everything is going great at the upper end of the market, lots of things are fucked at the grassroots.

The hangover of COVID, surging energy prices, a cost of living crisis and lots of Brexit bullshit are creating what are sometimes insurmountable challenges in the grassroots music community.

The report notes: "Small venues, independent festivals, recording studios and music creators all face financial pressures at home in the UK and from the consequences of Brexit, particularly for touring artists and musicians".

Plus, more generally, when it comes to exports, plenty of people point out that the global music market is becoming ever more competitive. And while the UK continues to punch above its weight, the British industry can't afford to be complacent.

Says UK Music Interim CEO Tom Kiehl: “The UK music industry and its exports have grown beyond doubt to hit new heights, which is fantastic news in terms of our sector’s contribution to jobs and the economy. However, the competition for international markets is intensifying rapidly".

"The UK’s competitors are increasingly well funded and can often count on far more support from their governments", he goes on. “South Korea, Australia and Canada have invested heavily in music and cultural export offices to help grow their overseas markets".

"The UK has several successful export schemes, such as the Music Export Growth Scheme and the International Showcase Fund", he adds. “However, we need far more support - otherwise we risk the UK being left behind in the global music race and that would be a bitter blow for music industry and a missed opportunity to grow our export market”.

You can download the 'This Is Music 2023' report here.

ONE LINERS

Yaeji, Pet Shop Boys, Tate McRae + more

DEALS

Universal Music Publishing has signed singer-songwriter Carin León to a global publishing deal. “I feel deeply honoured to embark on this creative journey alongside Universal Music Publishing Group”, he says. “This partnership marks a thrilling new chapter in my career, and I’m eagerly looking forward to expressing my passion and creativity through the art of music”.

Concord Music Publishing has announced two new signings, Victor Rådström of Swedish pop duo Neiked and Nashville songwriter-producer Aaron Eshuis. Rådström is “really happy”, while Eshuis is “THRILLED”.

APPOINTMENTS

Warner Music in the UK has appointed Alexandra Condon as VP Public Policy & Government Affairs. “This is a pivotal time for the music industry with many exciting challenges and opportunities in front of us”, she says. “It's never been more important to ensure policymakers understand our business and the need for a legal framework that enables us to keep investing in artists and songwriters”.

Artist management and booking agency group ATC has appointed Emma Stoker to its board as an Executive Director. “As a highly valued member of the team, we are delighted to appoint Emma to the board of ATC Group”, says CEO Adam Driscoll. “Her wealth of relevant sector experience and expertise will help strengthen the board at ATC as we continue to grow. Emma has been instrumental in the company’s [initial public offering] and ongoing business affairs and we look forward to continuing to work with her at this exciting time as we further develop the business”.

RELEASES

Yaeji has released new single ‘Easy Breezy’. She says the track “feels like a sequel that weaves a thread through my past releases - and my past selves”.

Gruff Rhys has released new single ‘Silver Lining (Lead Balloons)’. “Its about facing reality and not trying to overstate something that isn’t all that”, he says. “But it’s deadpan. I’m not being totally serious. At the end I’m singing ‘I left my dreams in a rental car’, which is quite a pathetic image, and then it’s followed by the last lines, ‘Live for now / and dream afar’”.

Porij have released new single ‘You Should Know Me’, taken from their upcoming debut album. It’s the “most balls to the walls tune on this record”, say the band. “This song sonically and lyrically is all about bravado. It explores the moments of anticipation before something could happen”.

Pillow Queens have released new single ‘Suffer’. "We wrote it in the depths of winter at our rehearsal studio in Dublin and the cold really penetrates the song”, say the band.

Revival Season have released new single ‘Pump’.

GIGS & TOURS

Pet Shop Boys have added new UK dates to their ‘Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live’ tour in June next year in Glasgow, Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

Tate McRae has announced UK and Ireland tour dates in April next year, including a show at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on 22 Apr. Her new album ‘Think Later’ is out on 8 Dec.

LEGAL

Stream-ripper gets court order to identify who is behind rick-rolling Google takedown notices

The operator of stream-ripping sites Y2Mate and YTMP3 last week secured a court order granting it access to any information Google has about entities that have been issuing takedown notices against its services.

While it is usually copyright owners, such as record labels, who submit takedown notices against streaming-ripping services, in this instance the dispute is - it is assumed - between Y2Mate and YTMP3 and a rival stream-ripping operation.

In court papers filed earlier this year, the stream-ripper said that an entity called End Of YouTube Converter had issued a takedown notice against it accusing Y2Mate of facilitating the unlicensed ripping of Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.

It seems unlikely End Of YouTube Converter owns any of the rights associated with Astley's track and that it was listed in the takedown notice simply as a nod to the rick-rolling phenomenon.

The publicly available version of the notice had an email address, so Y2Mate sent a cease and desist letter. Two days later another takedown was filed against Y2Mate, but this time linking to Cee Lo Green’s ‘Fuck You’.

When takedown notices are submitted to Google against allegedly copyright infringing websites, it generally results in specific links being removed from the Google search database and websites being more generally downgraded in search results. So Y2Mate is keen to stop these rogue takedowns from being submitted.

In theory it can legally do so, because under copyright law only the copyright owner or their agent can submit a takedown, and the entity submitting these notices is neither. However, to take legal action Y2Mate needs to know who is behind the rick rolling fuck you takedowns.

Which is why it went to court seeking an order forcing Google to share all the information it has about who is submitting these notices, in addition to the basic information that is made public. It secured said order last week, giving it access to any names, addresses, phone numbers or Google account information the tech giant is sitting on.

APPROVED: MALI HÂF

Returning with ‘Jig-so’ - her first EP in a year - Mali Hâf also brings with her a marked change in musical direction. Adopting a fully electronic sound, she also delivers all five songs on the record entirely in Welsh, having previously switched out the language for English on some tracks. The move gives her new focus and finds her songwriting sharpened.

Taking influence from folk and at times inspired by rural Wales, Hâf’s aim was nonetheless to create something sounding utterly modern. And in that, she has succeeded, delivering an enthralling pop record that blends dark and light to build tension and release.

Latest single ‘Boudicca’ is inspired by the story of the Celtic warrior-queen, with chords selected to conjure the moody British winter landscapes through which she would have ridden her horse and chariot. Lyrically, meanwhile, Hâf’s perspective is that, according to a press release, “although ultimately defeated, Boudicca’s story is about standing up to power and injustice”.

‘Jig-so’ is out now. Watch the video for ‘Boudicca’ here.

ARTIST NEWS

The Weeknd postpones down under dates due to “unforeseen circumstances

The Weeknd has postponed a tour of Australia and New Zealand two weeks before it was due to start, citing “unforeseen circumstances”. New dates for the shows are yet to be announced.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, we must reschedule the Australia/New Zealand tour”, reads an email from the musician that was sent to ticketholders. “New dates will be announced next year and current tickets will be valid for the new shows. Refunds will be available for those unable to attend the new dates. [I’m] deeply disappointed but can’t wait to be there with you!”

The tour’s promoter Live Nation added in a statement: “We understand fans will be disappointed, and Live Nation is focused on working with The Weeknd to secure a new tour schedule. We will make a further announcement as soon as possible”.

The first date on the antipodean leg of the tour was due to take place in Brisbane, Australia on 20 Nov, with shows running into December, ending with two nights at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. UK shows took place this summer.

LABELS & PUBLISHERS

GESAC welcomes European Parliament report on buy-outs in the creative sector

GESAC has welcomed a new report on buy-out contracts within the creative sector which proposes that EU law-makers should seek to stop the spread of a deal-making practice that is more common in the US into the European market.

The organisation's General Manager, Véronique Desbrosses, says that the new report - commissioned by a committee in the European Parliament - “rightly underlines the disastrous impact of the growing phenomenon of buy-out on creators and on the cultural sector” and “provides independent evidence and adds to the recent calls from the European Parliament and the member states for legislative proposals from the European Commission".

GESAC - which represents song right collecting societies across Europe - has been increasingly vocal about buy-out contracts in recent years.

These are deals where an entity that is commissioning original music - usually for an audio-visual production - seeks to own all the rights in the music it commissions. Under such agreements, the music-maker gets a one-off fee but no subsequent royalties when their music is used.

There are also partial buy-outs where the commissioning entity takes ownership of some of the rights but, for example, the performing rights on the songs side might stay with the songwriter and their collecting society.

Buy-out contracts have traditionally been more common in Anglo-American markets and especially the US, though music-makers in other countries are increasingly under pressure to agree to at least partial buy-outs, mainly because of the rise of the big global video platforms.

According to GESAC, this new report commissioned by the JURI Committee in the European Parliament confirms that "buy-out practices are increasingly widespread in Europe and present a considerable risk for the European creative sector, in particular for authors and composers".

With that in mind, it "calls for legal solutions at an EU level" to ensure that measures in European law designed to protect and benefit creators "are not bypassed by non-EU-based giant platforms imposing US rules and jurisdiction in their contracts, as it has growingly become the case".

There is already some support in the European Parliament for such legal solutions. Last month the Parliament's culture and employment committees adopted a report that called on on the European Commission to "propose the necessary measures to address [the] coercive and harmful practices of global players that try to bypass EU laws through choice of law and jurisdiction clauses”.

LEGAL

ISP Grande claims win after film producers drop copyright infringement lawsuit

A group of film producers who sued US internet service provider Grande Communications over its allegedly inadequate systems for dealing with copyright infringement have dismissed their lawsuit. That's despite the record industry winning $46.8 million in damages in its similar legal battle with the internet firm.

The record labels successfully argued that Grande failed to properly deal with repeat copyright infringers among its customer base, meaning that it could not rely on the copyright safe harbour under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and could therefore be held liable for its users' infringement. The ISP is currently appealing that ruling in the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court.

Grande failed to have the film producers’ similar lawsuit dismissed earlier this year and the case was due to get to court next year. However, according to Torrentfreak, the litigation has now been withdrawn. And, seemingly, without any out-of-court settlement having been reached. So much so, Grande parent company Astound is positioning this turn of events as a win.

The company’s General Counsel Jeff Kramp said last week: “This completely vindicates our DMCA programme. The plaintiffs had an opportunity to vet our programme and after doing so they decided the case was not worth pursuing. To be clear, we did not pay a cent to resolve this case because we believe strongly in the effectiveness of our DMCA policy".

This group of independent movie makers have sued a number of internet businesses in the wake of the music industry’s successful lawsuits against ISPs like Grande and Cox Communications. The film producer lawsuits have often sought both damages and court-ordered anti-piracy measures such as web-blocking and the disconnection of repeat infringers.

One of those other lawsuits was filed against another Astound-owned ISP, RCN, and - it seems - that case is still ongoing. For now, at least.

AND FINALLY

Barbra's Siri showdown: "There's no Z in Streisand"

We all get annoyed when people mispronounce our names. Well, I don’t. I couldn’t give a shit. But Barbra Streisand does and you’re probably more interested in her than me. She got particularly annoyed when she discovered that Apple’s voice assistant Siri was saying her name incorrectly.

On hearing an iPhone pronounce her name as ‘StreiZand’, she says in an interview with the BBC, she exclaimed: “My name isn’t with a Z! It’s ‘StreiSAND’, like sand on the beach. How simple can you get? How simple can you get? Sand on the beach. Streisand”.

In such a situation, you might just shrug and get on with your day - I know I would - but Streisand thought to herself, “how do I change this?”

“See, I like solving problems”, she goes on. “I figured I’d better call Apple. I mean, the head of Apple, Tim Cook. And he had Siri change the pronunciation of my name to be correct. That’s one perk of fame!”

I hope she made that call by shouting: “Hey Ziri! Get me Tim Cook!” It’s nice that all of that was sorted out though. Lovely that an almost imperceptible change was made to the way a robot voice speaks. Like I say, I don’t think I would have bothered.

Then again, I do miss the days when Siri pronounced my surname ‘Mayult’. Apple fixed that for me and I didn’t even have to ask. Tim Cook, if you’re reading, I'd quite like that changed back.

Anyway, this story - Streisand’s Siri story, I mean, not mine - features in her new memoir ‘My Name Is Barbra’, which is out today. The book shares its name with a 1965 TV special and two albums that also came out the same year. Not to mention 1996 album ‘Je M’appelle Barbra’.

Maybe if she’d named any of those things ‘It’s StreiSAND, Like Sand On The Beach’ we would never have got into this mess.

Anyway, at least it turned out better than her other bout of complaining. Her 2003 attempt to have an aerial photograph of her Malibu home scrubbed from the internet backfired so spectacularly that it now has a phenomenon named after it.