THURSDAY 13 MAY 2021 | COMPLETEMUSICUPDATE.COM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TODAY'S TOP STORY: The Great Escape is upon us. The special online edition of the music conference and showcase festival kicked off at 10am this morning, with three conference strands curated by CMU, six in conversations, six webinars, a series of partner panels, and seven online stages of music from 6pm... [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 special rates - access to each individual webinar is just £25, plus there are additional discounts if you book into multiple sessions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The online Great Escape is go The CMU+TGE strands put the spotlight on future music talent, future music strategies and the future music world. Topics under the spotlight today include fan data, the future of the live sector and how to make the music industry healthier and more diverse. Four of the six webinars are also presented by CMU:DIY, alongside two fact-packed sessions from Sentric Music. Four of the keynote in conversations are still to come, with Merck Mercuriadis today at 5pm, and then CTRL Music's Nadia Kahn, Tik Tok's Ole Obermann and the one and only Björn Ulvaeus tomorrow. And in the Partner Panel strand you'll find this year's artist in conversation with Ghostpoet this afternoon, plus tomorrow the MMF will launch their new mental health guide and the director of the inspirational new film ‘Sisters With Transistors’ will be in conversation. Delegates can access all the live sessions today and tomorrow, plus some bonus panels and speed briefings available on-demand. And from Monday, all the content will be available once again on-demand until the end of the month. To check out more about the conference schedules - plus get the lowdown on all the artists playing the showcases - go to greatescapefestival.com. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hipgnosis acquires catalogue of producer Andy Wallace "Andy has shaped the sound of great records for almost 40 years now and from seminal albums such as Nirvana's 'Nevermind' to Jeff Buckley's iconic 'Grace' and through landmark albums for Coldplay, Foo Fighters et al, he has had an award winning career that has defined what rock music sounds like", says Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis. "It's fantastic to welcome him to the Hipgnosis family". Wallace adds: "The records that I have worked on and the incredible artists that I have had the opportunity to work with throughout my career are very dear to me. I am extremely pleased and honoured that so many people have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, this music. I am delighted to establish this arrangement with Hipgnosis and Merck Mercuriadis with whom I've had a long and fruitful relationship, and I'm fully confident that this substantial body of my work will be in the best of hands moving forward". Beginning his career in the early 80s, Wallace's first hit was in 1986 with Aerosmith and Run DMC's 'Walk This Way', which he engineered. ----------------------------------------------------- Sony Music Publishing signs Rag N Bone Man collaborator Ben Jackson-Cook "Felix, David, Tim and Sarah [at Sony] have been overwhelmingly welcoming and praising of my work", says Jackson-Cook. "I can tell they share the same love of songs that I do and we're definitely going to make some great things happen together. Felix is a force to be reckoned with and I'm honoured to be on the journey with him and Sony". Sony Music Publishing's Head Of UK A&R, Sarah Lockhart, adds: "Ben is an exceptional talent. I love that he is instinctive, taking time with artists to dig deeper. I am THRILLED that we are a part of this creative journey with him". A former musical director for Disney, Jackson-Cook co-wrote and co-produced Rag N Bone Man's new album, 'Life By Misadventure', which is currently on course for the number one spot in the UK album chart. ----------------------------------------------------- Proper signs up reggae label VP Records "We're delighted to be working with VP to distribute their incredible catalogue of reggae, soca and dancehall music, and look forward to working with them on both classic albums and new frontline releases", says Proper's Managing Director Drew Hill. VP's Label President Randy Chin adds: "Proper is known to be the best when it comes to independent music, they share our commitment to selling physical products and we look forward to the partnership". With its 45th anniversary coming up next year, VP Records now controls over 25,000 master recordings in the reggae genre, with music by artists including Sean Paul, Chaka Demus, Maxi Priest and Shaggy in its catalogue. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Live music streaming service Staccs hires Anders Tullgren at CEO "It is an exciting time to join the company in what is going to be an important year for launch", says Tullgren. "Staccs has developed an innovative product which will add genuine value to the music industry ecosystem. The goal of Staccs is to create a premium, high-quality streaming service for the music fan, providing them with a place to relive their favourite, legendary moments but also, to engage and discover music. I'm looking forward to working with the team". Prior to joining Staccs, Tullgren was VP Marketing at HBO Nordics, CEO of film and music distribution company Bonver Entertainment, and was also involved in the launch of Scandinavian video-on-demand service film2home. He previously held a number of roles at Universal Pictures too. COO and co-founder Jonas Sellberg adds: "We welcome Anders to our growing team. Given his proven track record in helping to launch HBO in the Nordics and assisting the team to drive the company to become the second biggest streaming service in the region - Anders brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise that will benefit Staccs. With Anders, we are hoping to combine the best of both music and video-on-demand know-how which will be strategically important in establishing our brand positioning in the market. We are laying the foundations down for us to become the global home for concerts on demand". Three years in development, Staccs will offer a catalogue of video and audio live music content when it launches in the Nordics later this year. An announcement on the company's UK launch is expected in due course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fantasy label app FanLabel signs deal with Tuned Global for music delivery "Timely releases are critical in our industry, as it directly impacts our user retention and engagement", says FanLabel CEO Jeff Sloan. "While we had some challenges in the past, Tuned Global has been meeting expected timelines which give us more confidence moving forward". "In the short time we have been working with Tuned Global, we have found them to be an invaluable partner", he goes on. "We look forward to substantial scale and growth with them". Tuned Global CEO Con Raso adds: "We love the concept behind FanLabel, how they entertain fans and support established and emerging artist promotion in an innovative way. Their requirements were different from the usual streaming services we assist, but with the flexibility of our music APIs we were able to meet their expectations out-of-the-box". FanLabel allows users to create and run their own fantasy record label, using real world music - including tracks from all three majors, who also all have equity in the company. Players pick the songs and artists they think will find success on the charts, earning virtual royalties that can then be used to discount purchases of actual artist merch, gig tickets and more. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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RELEASES Wolf Alice have released new single 'No Hard Feelings'. "I started out trying to make a really cheesy almost Motown-y, Ronettes kind of song about the end of a relationship, and feeling 'What's the point of being miserable about it?'", says Ellie Rowsell. "But it was short, because originally it was played so fast. I tried to make it longer, but I didn't have any more words - I had said everything I wanted to say perfectly, and didn't want to ruin it with more. So instead we slowed it down, and I felt way more moved by it like that". The band's new album 'Blue Weekend' is out on 4 Jun. Mastodon have released new track 'Forged By Neron', taken from the soundtrack of DC Comics' 'Dark Nights: Death Metal' series. "We are super excited and honoured to be part of the 'Dark Nights: Death Metal' soundtrack", says drummer Brann Dailor. "We've all been fans of DC Comics and the Batman universe since we were kids, so it really means a lot for us to be able to add something to that world". Tom Odell has released new single 'Money'. "No matter where we come from, how much we have, we are all constantly made to feel like we don't have enough [money], and that somehow if we had more, we would be happier", he says. "If you're poor, get rich. If you're rich, get richer. And you know those most absurd thing about it? By the time you get to the end of this paragraph, Jeff Bezos will have made another million dollars". Easy Life have released new single 'Have A Great Day'. Their debut album, 'Life's A Beach', is out on 28 May. Torres will release new album 'Thirstier', on 30 Jul. "I've been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn't feel for most of my life", she says. "I feel like a rock within myself. And I've started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too". Here's first single, 'Don't Go Puttin Wishes In My Head'. Brodka has released new single 'Hey Man', which - she says - "is about role reversal". She goes on: "It is the woman who dominates, conquers and seduces as opposed to a strong but submissive man. The whole thing is full of erotic associations and rock and roll fun". Her new album, 'Brut', is out on 28 May. Nyege Nyege's Don Zilla has released new single 'Bujingo'. His debut album 'Ekizikiza Mubwengula' is out on 18 Jun. Circe has released new track 'Going Down'. Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tina Turner, Jay-Z and Foo Fighters among this year's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductees "This diverse class of talented inductees reflects the Rock Hall's ongoing commitment to honour artists whose music created the sound of youth culture", says John Sykes, Chair of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation. "It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year's Induction ceremony in Cleveland". That half of this year's inductees are women is something of a turnaround for a ceremony not known for its diversity. Both Turner and King have previously been inducted alongside their former husbands - Ike Turner and Gerry Goffin respectively. So, it's welcome to see them recognised for their arguably more successful solo careers. Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, of course, is another person who has already been inducted once, with Nirvana having entered the Hall in 2014. Meanwhile, Jay-Z's addition continues the museum's decision to recognise rap, having made NWA its first hip hop inductee in 2016. The induction ceremony will take place on 30 Oct. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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