In today's CMU Daily: The US House Of Representatives has voted through a proposal to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the video-sharing platform or be banned in the country. Only introduced last week, the legislation has been fast-tracked to this point - but ByteDance will continue to fight as it heads to the US Senate

One Liners: Cat Stevens, Debbii Dawson, Robin Schulz, Nothing But Thieves, Gamma deals; Yes Please, CMW appointments; more UMG label restructuring; On The Road Again extended; Bauer leaving Freeview; Rock Sound chart eligible cover; Silver Clef Awards; new music from Tones & I, Saweetie, Villagers and more

Also today: SXSW responds to criticism of military sponsorship; Neil Young returns to Spotify as boycott over Joe Rogan podcast ends; EU AI Act passes

Plus: Setlist podcast on Apple’s EU mega-fine

Selling TikTok would be last resort for ByteDance, sources say as House votes through sell-or-be-banned law

The US House Of Representatives has voted in favour of a law that would force TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance to sell the social media app or face a ban in the country. However, sources have told Bloomberg that ByteDance sees a sale of TikTok as a last resort option, and that it will continue to fight the proposals in the US Senate and, if necessary, the American courts.

That fight will centre on whether or not banning TikTok because of national security concerns violates the free speech protections provided by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. If it does, the act passed earlier today will be unconstitutional.

Supporters of the act say it is worded in a way that circumvents First Amendment issues, but it’s not just TikTok that argues otherwise. Plenty of free speech campaigners and legal experts say the TikTok ban should be blocked on First Amendment grounds.

Ahead of today’s vote in the House, numerous campaign groups sent a letter to Speaker Of The House Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urging them to oppose the act. The groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation, said "Passing this legislation would trample on the constitutional right to freedom of speech of millions of people in the United States".

"TikTok is home to massive amounts of protected speech and association”, their letter continued, “it enables its users to discuss their opinions, share their hobbies, make art, and access news from down the street and around the world. Jeopardising access to the platform jeopardises access to free expression".

The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would give ByteDance six months to sell TikTok before any ban of the app went into effect. The proposals still need to be backed by the US Senate and then signed into law by the President, though Joe Biden has already said, "If they pass it, I'll sign it".

The act is the latest in a number of attempts to disconnect TikTok from ByteDance, based on concerns that the Chinese government has access to US user-data through its China-based owner, something TikTok denies. Only introduced into the House last week, the act was unanimously approved by the House Energy And Commerce Committee within days and then passed by a full vote in the House earlier today, with 352 votes in favour to 65 against.

Previous attempts to ban TikTok in the US - including via an executive order issued by Donald Trump and a state-level law passed in Montana - were stalled in the courts on free speech grounds. If TikTok’s lobbyists and supporters in Washington can't kill the proposed act in the Senate, then plenty of legal action through the courts will almost certainly follow.

Anyone thinking that ByteDance might be starting to think that this all sounds like a big old hassle, and that a speedy megabucks sell off might be an easier option, would be wrong. According to Bloomberg's sources, for ByteDance, a sell off is the absolute last resort. Not least because divesting TikTok would also require approval from the Chinese government, which has previously said it would firmly oppose a forced sale. So that would be quite a big hassle too.

Optimists at TikTok still hope that the company's ongoing work with American software company Oracle, called Project Texas - which is putting in place data management systems that seek to allay the data security concerns that have been raised - can still keep enough politician decision makers on board. Meanwhile the lawyers will be preparing to take those First Amendment arguments to court should the new act get Senate approval.

And those arguments may succeed. Chinmayi Sharma, an associate professor at Fordham University School Of Law, told Law360 this week that it is hard to see how the proposals, as currently drafted, would "get by First Amendment issues".

He explained, "This proposal is still something that's restrictive of speech that would otherwise be legal, and it's a very high bar to show that there is enough of a compelling state interest in restricting speech to pass muster under the First Amendment".

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ONE LINERS

Cat Stevens, Republic Records, Tones & I + more

DEALS

Universal Music Publishing has signed Yusuf / Cat Stevens to a global publishing administration deal. “This is the first time the publishing catalogue has been united under one roof with the master catalogue since Chris Blackwell’s Island Records years”, says his manager and son Yoriyos Adamos. “I was really excited about teaming up with Jody [Gerson, CEO] and Mike [McCormack, UK MD] after our initial discussions. We share a dynamic vision and are all committed to supporting Yusuf’s music and his timeless message of peace”.

Warner Chappell and Katy Perry’s Unsub Publishing have signed a co-publishing deal with Debbii Dawson. “My team and I have fallen in love with Debbii’s ability to fill her songs with a perspective that feels so uniquely her”, says Perry. “She’s the type of artist that gives voice to your subconscious. She’s a rare find and someone I believe has the brightest of futures ahead of her as an artist, songwriter and creative force”.

Producer Robin Schulz has extended his publishing deal with BMG. The company has also acquired the co-publishing rights in his entire songs catalogue. “I am THRILLED to continue my partnership with BMG, a relationship that has been integral to my musical journey for many years now”, he says. “The acquisition of my co-publishing rights marks a significant milestone. Together, we've achieved incredible success, and I'm excited about the continued collaboration with the entire team”.

Peermusic has signed Nothing But Thieves to a worldwide publishing deal, covering their future work. Their existing catalogue will remain with Sony Music Publishing. “I am THRILLED to be welcoming Nothing But Thieves to the Peermusic roster”, says UK MD Nigel Elderton. “This was an extremely competitive deal and a huge priority signing for us! We are honoured that the band are entrusting us with their upcoming music and we are very much looking forward to working with them and their management team”.

Gamma has signed a deal with Three Six Zero Recordings to provide music distribution, marketing and multimedia production services to the label division of the Three Six Zero management company. “Mark Gillespie and his team have established a remarkable and progressive business with Three Six Zero Recordings”, says Gamma CEO Larry Jackson. “We’re philosophically aligned and I know working together with a kindred spirit will help us further advance the work of their innovative artists”.

APPOINTMENTS

Music publicity firm Yes Please has appointed Elli Chappelhow to its broadcast team. She joins from Universal Music’s EMI Records. "I'm really happy to be joining the brilliant Yes Please team and I'm super excited to sink my teeth into a different side of music promo as the landscape continues to evolve”, she says.

Canadian Music Week has hired Brian Hetherman as its International Programmer. “CMW is always adapting with the times”, he says. “I was the international ambassador at Canadian Music Week for many years, working with them on their international marketplace and attending conferences around the world on behalf of Canadian Music Week, as well as my own entities. It is a natural progression to help put together panels, both domestic and international”.

LABELS

Universal Music in the US has announced that its new super-division on the East Coast - which brings together the Republic, Def Jam, Island and Mercury labels under Republic Records co-founder Monte Lipman -will be known as Republic Corps. It’s all part of the revamp of the major’s recordings business in the US, which has also seen West Coast labels Interscope Geffen A&M and Capitol Music Group merged together as the Interscope Capitol Labels Group.

LIVE BUSINESS

Live Nation has announced that it will extend its On the Road Again programme to the end of 2024. Launched in partnership with Willie Nelson last autumn, it provides every artist who plays a Live Nation-owned club in the US with $1500 to cover travel costs, in addition to their agreed fee. Artists are also able to keep 100% of their merch income. "Our goal was to make touring a little easier and we've accomplished that night after night for over 4000 artists, with more on the way”, says Nelson.

DIGITAL

Soundraw has raised $3 million of investment for its AI music generator. “I started Soundraw to make music really open and fun and easy for anyone to create and use, no matter what their technical ability, and we’ve succeeded”, says CEO Daigo Kusunoki. “We can’t wait to put more tools into more hands, so that everyone can make music”.

MEDIA

Media company Bauer is removing seven of its UK radio stations from the Freeview digital TV platform, Radio Today reports. Greatest Hits Radio, Hits Radio, Kerrang! Radio, KISS Fresh, KISSTORY and Magic Radio will become unavailable on 2 Apr, while Absolute Radio will follow on 10 May. The company previously removed all of its stations from satellite and cable platforms in December.

Rock Sound has partnered with Sum 41, Rise Records and Serenade to publish what they say is the first ever chart eligible digital magazine cover. Anyone who buys one of 541 limited editions of the latest issue will be able to tap their phones on the cover to receive a download of Sum 41’s final album ‘Heaven :x: Hell’, along with bonus content. Find out more here.

AWARDS

Music therapy charity Nordoff And Robbins has announced five of the winners of its 2024 Silver Clef Awards, ahead of the ceremony on 5 Jul. Jessie Ware wins Best Female, The 1975 take Best Group, Texas will receive the Outstanding Achievement award, Cat Burns wins the New Music Award and Ezra Collective will be handed the Contemporary Music Award.

RELEASES

Tones & I has released new single ‘I Get High’.

Saweetie has released new single ‘Richtivities’.

Villagers have released new single ‘You Lucky One’ from forthcoming album ‘That Golden Time’, which is out on 10 May.

Metronomy have released new single ‘Nice Town’, their first for Ninja Tune and a collaboration with Pan Amsterdam.

Douglas Dare has shared new single ‘8w9zeros’. New album ‘Omni’ is out on 10 May. He is also set to play London’s Corsica Studios on 9 May.

Lynks has released new single ‘Tennis Song’. Their debut album ‘Abomination’ is out on 12 Apr.

Dea Matrona have released new single ‘Black Rain’. Their debut album ‘For Your Sins’ is out on 3 May.

Texas governor tells SXSW boycotters “don’t come back”

Organisers of South By South West have defended their decision to involve defence companies and the US Army in the showcase festival, but added that they "fully respect" the decision made by some artists to boycott the event because of those organisations' connections to the conflict in Gaza. The festival issued a statement after the governor of Texas tweeted to those acts joining the boycott, "bye - don’t come back".

As well as being home to the Austin-based music conference and showcase festival, Texas also houses various military bases, governor Greg Abbott was keen to note in his social media post. "Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command, San Antonio is Military City USA", he wrote. "We are proud of the US military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here".

This is the same Abbott who once said "we will always defend the freedom of speech in Texas", when signing into law regulations restricting the censorship of posts on social media. So you'd think the governor would welcome artists exercising their freedom of speech by critiquing SXSW's military connections on their social platforms of choice. A hypocritical politician, who'd have thought it possible?

Referencing this week's post by the currently anti-free speech Abbott, SXSW's statement says, “SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott. We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech”.

As the music side of SXSW got underway earlier this week, it emerged that about 60 acts had pulled out from official showcases because the US Army is a 'super sponsor' of the event this year, and some defence companies also have a presence in the conference.

One of the acts joining the boycott, Belfast-based Kneecap, wrote on social media, "We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has the US Army as a ‘super sponsor’ and is platforming RTX (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems, the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children".

Dealing with the specific criticism made against it, SXSW's statement continues, "Across the globe, we are witnessing unspeakable tragedies, the rise of repressive regimes, and the increasing spread of violent conflict. It’s more crucial than ever that we come together to solve these greater humanitarian issues".

Defending its military connections, it goes on, "The defence industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today. These institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives”.

“The Army’s sponsorship is part of our commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world”, it adds. “In regard to Collins Aerospace, they participated this year as a sponsor of two SXSW Pitch categories, giving entrepreneurs visibility and funding for potentially game-changing work".

The statement concludes, "We have and will continue to support human rights for all. The situation in the Middle East is tragic and it illuminates the heightened importance of standing together against injustice".

Joe Rogan is back on Apple and Amazon - so Neil Young is back on Spotify

Neil Young's music is returning to Spotify because the Joe Rogan podcast is returning to Apple and Amazon, and Young ain't no hypocrite.

Nor is he bold enough to remove his music from every major streaming service. But maybe Spotify could meet him halfway and at least start making music available in some kind of higher quality format, because disinformation is bad, but shitty audio is even worse.

Or, in Young's words, "Spotify, the number one streamer of low res music in the world - Spotify, where you get less quality than we made - will now be home to my music again. My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all".

Young's music was removed from Spotify in 2022 after the musician accused the then Spotify-exclusive Joe Rogan Experience podcast of allowing its guests to spread COVID conspiracy theories unchallenged.

“Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy", he wrote in a blog post at the time. "I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform … They can have Rogan or Young. Not both”.

That post resulted in a mini-scandal for Spotify, though it stood by its most famous podcaster while also promising to do more to combat misinformation on its platform.

The streaming service then renewed its megabucks deal with Rogan earlier this year, though his podcast will no longer be a Spotify exclusive under the new arrangement. Presumably because Spotify reckons it can sell more advertising around the programme if it is available everywhere. Hence Rogan is returning to Apple and Amazon.

With Apple, there was actually a work-around Young could have employed to avoid being a hypocrite, in that Apple has separate apps for music and podcasts, meaning that Young's songs would never be side-by-side with Rogan's waffley ramblings. Amazon, like Spotify, does mix podcasts up with songs in its music app, though Young could possibly have relied on the fact that nobody uses Amazon Music to listen to podcasts.

But Young isn't a man for employing technicalities. He is, however, a man who likes his audio to be lossless. Indeed, his beef with Spotify over the audio quality of its streams long preceded the streaming service's exclusivity deal with Rogan.

So committed to high quality audio is Young that he even tried to launch his own digital music service to provide such audio. But then Tidal and Deezer and Amazon and Apple all jumped on the hi res audio bandwagon, rendering Young's Pono service redundant.

Spotify, however, is yet to join its rivals on that bandwagon, despite promising to do so on multiple occasions, and even announcing a planned Spotify Hifi tier in 2021.

"I have returned to Spotify in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve and people will be able to hear and feel all the music as we made it", Young says in his new blog post. "I hope all you millions of Spotify users enjoy my songs! They will now all be there for you except for the full sound we created".

Signing off with a rally call to Spotify itself, he declares, "Hopefully Spotify will turn to hi res as the answer and serve all the music to everyone. Spotify, you can do it! Really be number one in all ways. You have the music and the listeners! Start with a limited hi res tier and build from there!"

Setlist Podcast: Apple blames Spotify for €1.8 billion fine

On this week's show we discuss the €1.8 billion fine Apple has been ordered to pay by the EU following an investigation into claims of anti-competitive behaviour made by Spotify, and Live Nation's explanation of why everyone else in the music industry is to blame for rising ticket prices.

🎧 Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist' wherever you normally listen

EU AI Act “world-first” say music trade bodies as European Parliament votes it into law

The European Union's AI Act was passed by the European Parliament earlier today, with 523 votes in favour, 46 against and 49 abstentions. An assortment of music industry organisations - and groups representing other copyright industries - have welcomed the result of the vote in a joint statement, declaring that the AI Act is "world-first legislation that regulates the development and use of artificial intelligence and sets an example for responsible AI governance".

"It provides tools for rightsholders to enforce their rights", the statement adds. That includes "obligations on providers of general purpose AI to make available a sufficiently detailed summary of the works used for training their models, to retain detailed technical documentation, and to demonstrate they have put in place policies to comply with EU copyright law, regardless of where they acquired data or trained and developed their AI models".

The AI Act - which is now expected to go into force in May - introduces wide-ranging regulation of AI across the European Union. For the music industry, the main focus is what the act says about transparency and copyright in relation to generative AI.

Music companies insist that tech companies must get permission before making use of existing music to train generative AI models, and also want those companies to state what data has been used as part of the training process.

Both copyright owners and the tech sector lobbied hard throughout last year in a bid to influence the final wording of the act. That was agreed in December and then approved by the EU member states last month. With the act now having also got approval from the Parliament, there will be a new round of lobbying on how key components of the regulations are implemented. Including the specifics regarding those transparency obligations.

With that in mind, today's statement from the copyright industries continues, "We call on the European Parliament to continue to support the development of responsible and sustainable AI by ensuring that these important rules are put into practice in a meaningful and effective way, aligned with the objectives of the regulation".

"To achieve this", it adds, "it is essential that the template for the sufficient level of information that general purpose AI model providers must make available enables effective exercise and enforcement of copyright and other fundamental rights, and that creative sectors and rightsholders are formally and directly involved in its drafting".

Music organisations backing the joint statement include CISAC, GESAC, ICMP, IFPI, IMPALA and IMPF. And if you don't know who any of those guys are, just ask ChatGTP, it'll know.