 | THE RIGHTS OF ARTISTS AND SONGWRITERS POST-ASSIGNMENT - PERFORMER AND MORAL RIGHTS Copyright provides creators with control over that which they create, but what happens when the creators themselves don't own the copyright in their work? Artists and songwriters who are no longer in control of their copyrights do still have some rights, sometimes by contract, and via performer and moral rights. CMU Trends considers what the law says about the rights of artists and songwriters after their copyrights have been assigned. [READ MORE] |
 | THE VALUE OF MUSIC Rarely a week goes by in the music business news these days without at least one catalogue acquisition. But who - other than labels and publishers - is buying music rights, and why? Are there opportunities for individual artists and songwriters to do deals with professional investors? And how do you even value music rights? CMU Trends reviews the music rights market - past, present and future. [READ MORE] |
 | MAKING MONEY FROM MUSIC MEDIA IN THE DIGITAL AGE While the challenges faced by the music industry - and especially the record industry - since the mainstream adoption of the internet in the early 2000s have been widely documented, the music media - and especially the music press - has faced many of the same challenges too. CMU Trends reviews recent developments and trends in the music media business, and the ongoing challenges faced by media owners. [READ MORE] |
| TOP STORIES | Chance The Rapper sued over 10 Day sample READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LEGAL | Death metal band Decapitated charged with kidnap and rape READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| DEALS | Tencent and Alibaba both expand music catalogues through new deal READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LABELS & PUBLISHERS | Dance label Armada Music opens London office Music data start-up Soundcharts confirms $3.1 million in new finance READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| BRANDS & MERCH | Epic Rights to sell its artist merch via Amazon READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| MARKETING & PR | New York music PR agency Magnum allies with UG Strategies READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ARTIST NEWS | Caleb Kunle wins NME new act competition READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | A Greener Festival, Radiohead, Princess Nokia, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Abba to return as holograms READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
 | HALF MOON - VENUE MANAGER (LONDON) An exciting opportunity has arisen and we are looking for someone with solid experience of running a live music and entertainments programme at the Half Moon in Putney who is looking to take their career to the next level in a key role at this iconic London venue. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | LISTEN UP - NATIONAL RADIO PROMOTIONS ASSISTANT (LONDON) Listen Up is currently recruiting for a passionate and driven National Radio Promotions Assistant to join our established National Radio Team. You will be a paramount part of the team assisting in key tasks. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | MYTICKET.CO.UK - TICKETING MANAGER (LONDON) MyTicket.co.uk is the ticketing website for promoters Kilimanjaro Live, Raymond Gubbay and Flying Music. We are recruiting a Ticketing Manager to look after the management of the ticket allocations and to ensure accurate content on the website. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | NAME PR - SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/ACCOUNT MANAGER (LONDON) Based in London, Name PR is one of the UKÂs leading music business communications consultancies. You will become an integral member of our team, working across both business and consumer accounts. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | DHP FAMILY - VENUE PROGRAMMER (LONDON) DHP Family is a leading name in the live music industry where we pride ourselves on having an innovative and creative approach to what we do. As the London Venue Programmer you will be responsible for a successful, profitable events programme across our four London venues. For more information and to apply click here. |
| DHP FAMILY - CONCERT PROMOTIONS ASSISTANT (LONDON) DHP is constantly expanding (be it concerts, festivals, venues or ticketing) and this role is all about supporting the development of the company's live music marketing in London. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | MUSIC CONCIERGE - MUSIC TEAM MANAGER (HERTFORDSHIRE) Award-winning music agency Music Concierge is looking for a natural leader who knows how to run a team of creatives. We are looking for someone who can motivate a team making sure they are working efficiently, on-brief, and on-schedule. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | DOMINO RECORDS - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER (LONDON) Domino Recording Co is looking for a Senior International Marketing Manager with five years+ proven experience in international marketing and promotions, including the running of global campaigns. The International Marketing ManagerÂs core responsibility is to oversee international campaigns for our artists from the inception of the campaign strategy to rollout. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | CLAPHAM GRAND - SALES & MARKETING CHAMPION (LONDON) We are looking for a sales driven marketing expert to join our growing promotions team at The Grand, continuing our 117 years record of putting on world class entertainment; ensuring not only that our events are seen and heard by as many people as possible, but that those people are converted to loyal customers through your excellent marketing. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | NUCLEAR BLAST - PRESS OFFICER (LONDON) London office for well-established rock/metal label is looking for a dynamic and creative Press Officer to handle PR for itÂs rapidly diversifying roster. The ideal candidate should have at least two years experience in a similar role with existing contacts within the rock/metal media. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | 9PR - JUNIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER (LONDON) 9PR are looking for a Junior Account Manager to work across print and online. Suitable candidates must have a demonstrable understanding of PR and ideally some music industry experience. This is an excellent opportunity within one of the UKÂs leading music PR companies. For more information and to apply click here. |
 | Digital Deals, Dollars And Trends - Explained! MASTERCLASS | Monday 18 September 2017, London | INFO This half day masterclass, presented by CMU MD and Business Editor Chris Cooke, will explain how digital music platforms are licensed and royalties distributed, as well as reviewing the digital market in 2017 and which services are leading in terms of users and revenue. |
 | How The Music Business Works SEMINARS | from Monday 25 September 2017, London | INFO Our 'How The Music Business Works' programme consists of eight two-hour seminars which together cover: the various ways the music industry generates revenue, building and engaging a fanbase, the business partnerships artists form with music companies, and how the artist/label relationship is changing. |
 | Enforcing Music Rights - Safe Harbours And Piracy MASTERCLASS | Monday 20 November 2017, London | INFO In this half day masterclass, CMU MD and Business Editor Chris Cooke will look at how the music industry enforces its copyrights, at the long-running battle with online music piracy, and at the controversy around the copyright safe harbour. |
Chance The Rapper sued over 10 Day sample
Chance The Rapper has been sued over a sample on his 2012 debut mixtape '10 Day'. A jazz musician who is now working as a lawyer says the track 'Windows' samples - without permission - a 1980 recording that he composed.
Many hip hop artists launch their careers by putting out free mixtapes, which are sometimes actually mixes, and other times more like original albums by another name. Back in the day aspiring MCs and producers would actually distribute physical copies of their mixtapes, before the phenomenon moved online, initially as downloads, and more commonly today as streams via SoundCloud and various mixtape platforms.
These unofficial releases commonly include samples and those samples are often not licensed. But copyright owners frequently turn a blind eye to such non-commercial releases, assuming that - if any music on the mixtape gets properly released once an act is signed - the artist's future label will get the required licences at that point. And now most mixtape consumption is via streams, if any one copyright owner doesn't feel like playing that game, they can just issue a takedown request against any platform streaming the mix.
Though fiercely independent Chance The Rapper is rewriting the rules of the hip hop business, of course. And with his 2016 release 'Coloring Book' - what might have been considered a debut album had he signed with a major label - also usually referred to as a 'mixtape', that kind of elevates the status of earlier releases '10 Day' and 'Acid Rap'. Even though the latter two records never had proper commercial releases, despite an accidental appearance on Apple's download and streaming platforms.
Of course, as far as copyright law is concerned, an uncleared sample is an uncleared sample oblivious of whether or not the track doing the uncleared sampling had a commercial release. Though in practical terms, release status tends to affect the chances of legal action.
Either way Abdul Wali Muhammad, formerly known as Eric P Saunders, says that he only became aware that 'Windows' samples the Lonnie Liston Smith record 'Bridge Through Time' (technically a remix of it) earlier this year. Muhammad says he wrote that song and filed a copyright registration in 1979.
In a legal filing made this week, Muhammed - who now works as a criminal and civil rights lawyer - says he reached out to Chance The Rapper's representatives in May, but they are yet to respond. He is now seeking damages for copyright infringement and a court order halting the future distribution of 'Windows'.
Death metal band Decapitated charged with kidnap and rape
Polish death metal band Decapitated are being held in custody in the US on charges of kidnapping and rape. All four members of the band are accused of assaulting a woman on their tour bus after a show in Spokane, Washington.
According to court documents released on Monday, reports The Spokesman-Review, two women say that they met the band following their performance on 31 Aug and were invited back to the outfit's tour bus for drinks.
The court report states that one of the women "described being excited to be on the bus" but that "then one of the band members began grabbing her breasts ... [She] was uncomfortable and said the band members began speaking to each other in Polish. She described [how] the 'vibe' in the bus changed, and one of the members began looking at them like they were prey".
The woman said that she looked at her friend "to signal they needed to get out of there" and then went to use the toilet. She alleges she was followed by vocalist Rafal Piotrowski, who began kissing her and attempting to remove her clothes. When she resisted, she says, he restrained her and then he and the other members of the band took turns to rape her.
Meanwhile, the other woman says that she "was pushed to the ground" when she refused to perform oral sex on Piotrowski. At some point she managed to leave the bus and was later pulled over by police on suspicion of drink driving. Officers allowed her to call her friend, who then reported the alleged crime. She was later found around two miles from the venue where the band had been performing. It was noted that she had "significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained".
Police attempted to locate the band, but they had already left the area for their next show. They were arrested in California on Saturday on charges of first degree kidnapping, with the rape charges added later. Prosecutors have said that there may yet be more charges applied.
When questioned by police, drummer Michal Lysejko denied recognising either woman. However, the other three confirmed that the women had been on their tour bus, with lead guitarist Waclaw Kieltyka saying that he had seen Piotrowski and bassist Hubert Wiecek engaged in sex acts with the woman allegedly raped.
Currently the band are awaiting transfer from California back to Washington. A Spokane-based attorney representing the band, Stephen Graham, said that they would not oppose moves to return them to the city, adding: "Decapitated plan to fully fight the allegations that are brought against them, and we are fully confident that the other side of this story will be heard".
Decapitated made headlines last year when they crowdfunded legal action against their former label, Earache.
Tencent and Alibaba both expand music catalogues through new deal
Two of China's biggest internet companies have agreed a music-based deal that will expand the catalogues of recordings available to both firms.
Legitimate streaming is finally gaining real momentum in the Chinese market, of course. An interesting quirk of the digital music sector in China is that companies like Tencent both operate the services and distribute or control the content, meaning other streaming set-ups need licences from their rivals to access catalogue.
The new deal is between Tencent and Alibaba. Under the arrangement, the latter will gain access to music the former is distributing in the Chinese market for global labels like Sony and Universal. For its part, Tencent will get access to Chinese and Japanese recordings controlled by Alibaba.
The FT quotes tech columnist Li Jun as saying that deals like this improve the growing streaming market in China by ensuring - as elsewhere - any one subscription service offers users pretty much all the music they'd want to access.
"This deal will protect the newly-nurtured paying habits of the Chinese audience", says the columnist. "In the past the Chinese audience had to pay several times on different platforms to enjoy the complete music pool of only one singer - it greatly hurt the user experience. Now they can pay only once to enjoy all the music".
Dance label Armada Music opens London office
Armada Music, the Dutch dance music label co-founded by Armin van Buuren, has opened a UK office in London, a year on from launching a US base in New York.
The new office will focus on local A&R and promotion efforts, as well as providing a London base for employees based out of Amsterdam. Confirming the new office, the label's CEO, Maykel Piron, said: "Opening our office in London truly is the next step in the international development of Armada Music".
He went on: "It has always been our goal to develop stronger roots in the UK market. Not only to benefit the performance of our releases in this region, but also to establish better relationships with our partners. The UK is one of the most important music markets in the world, and we're extremely excited to be right there in the thick of the action".
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Music data start-up Soundcharts confirms $3.1 million in new finance
Paris-based music data start-up Soundcharts - which aggregates social, chart, playlist and radio data for labels, publishers, managers and live industry clients - has completed a $3.1 million funding round. The new financing has been led by Alven Capital, with Kima Ventures and Global Founders Capital also putting some cash on the table.
Says the firm's founder, former Universal Music exec David Weiszfeld: "Soundcharts processes, analyses and archives a mass of information in real-time and gives meaning to this data thanks to an intuitive personalised dashboard and automated reports. What is magical about Soundcharts is that we help artists, managers, product managers, digital marketers, sales team, radio programmers, playlists curators and brands, as well as with the A&R discovery process".
Continuing with his elevator pitch, Weiszfeld adds: "We provide a service to anyone serious about doing business with artists or, more generally, with music content. This puts Soundcharts at a central position within the ecosystem. We are THRILLED to see that many industry-leading companies chose us to power their daily workflow and we hope to keep building the platform for tomorrow's usages and help our users execute their strategies more efficiently".
Clearly sold by said pitch, Jeremy Uzan at financial backer Alven Capital chips in thus: "The global music business has been dramatically changed by digitalisation and the development of revolutionary new ways of producing and consuming music. As a new generation of professionals is entering this growing and changing industry, there will be space to develop a must-have SaaS [software as a service] platform offering real-time market intelligence".
The money man goes on: "We have been really impressed by David's vision and ambition, and by his ability to structure a highly talented tech team around him. Soundcharts is already experiencing a strong traction on the market, and we are convinced that soon every music professional will have to switch to this cutting-edge product to stay in the game".
Epic Rights to sell its artist merch via Amazon
Music merchandise and brand licensing firm Epic Rights has announced a formal tie-up with Merch By Amazon, which will see the former flog clothing and smartphone accessories bearing the branding of artists it works with via the latter's platform.
Amazon in the US has been pursuing ambitions in the merch space for a couple of years now, its merch set-up being yet another service that could ultimately see the web giant control pretty much every aspect of an artist's commercial activity. The tie-up with Epic Rights will bring products from Kiss, Aerosmith and John Lennon to its merch store, with official David Bowie, Duran Duran, Wham! and Def Leppard junk all likely to follow.
Says Epic Rights boss Dell Furano: "Amazon not only provides high quality products but also a trusted user experience. By launching artist merchandise on Amazon, we can offer fans the world over a destination for products associated with their favourite bands, while also insuring a seamless purchasing process and reliability of shipping that customers have come to enjoy with Amazon. It's a great benefit to everyone involved, and adds another engaging layer to the artist's brand-fan experience".
Speaking for our future almighty overlords, Amazon's Ivan Lopez added: "Epic Rights and Dell Furano's long-standing relationship with legendary artists, and innovative approach, has been renowned in the music industry. We are excited to work with them and develop incremental opportunity for their artists, while delighting Amazon customers with increased merchandise selection and timeless designs".
New York music PR agency Magnum allies with UG Strategies
American marketing agency UG Strategies has acquired Magnum PR, the New York-based music publicity firm founded by industry veteran Sioux Zimmerman - aka SiouxZ - who has worked with countless artists and events over the years, including a long-term alliance with Nine Inch Nails. Under the deal she will head up a new publicity and media relations division at UG Strategies.
The latter's CEO, Parag Bhandari, confirmed the deal, saying: "I've had the pleasure of working with Sioux Zimmerman for over ten years, and have relied on her expertise and media prowess to support countless UGS client campaigns. We have always seen the potential of further aligning our businesses and networks. I could not be more THRILLED to now partner with her officially, to build out a new division of the company, and further strengthen our service capabilities for our clients".
SiouxZ herself added: "I am beyond excited to join the UG Strategies team and amplify the agency's capabilities in so many areas. With our combined resources, we can push traditional publicity strategies beyond print, broadcast, online and social media to a whole new level, offering innovative services uniquely tailored to each client. The launch of our new publicity and media relations division, built on UGS' exemplary track record in bespoke marketing, sponsorship, and digital advertising, is very exciting".
| Approved: Art School Girlfriend The latest signing to Paul Epworth's Wolf Tone label, Art School Girlfriend is set to release her debut EP, 'Measures', at the end of this month. First single 'Bending Back' is an enthralling entry point into her sound. Its slow pace holds back a wave of tightly wound energy, while the vocals ride over the top of this with a grace and control that holds the whole piece in place. It really feels like the beginning of something. With the EP out on 29 Sep, Art School Girlfriend will perform live at The Nines in Peckham on 27 Sep. Listen to 'Bending Back' here. Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist. |
Caleb Kunle wins NME new act competition
The NME has announced Caleb Kunle as the winner of its new emerging artist competition, launched earlier this year in partnership with the Thatchers cider brand.
Kunle won the Thatchers Haze x NME Emerging Artists Project with his song 'Another Life', beating 650 rivals to take the prize. As well as the warm feeling of recognition, he was also given £10,000 worth of studio time to record a four track EP, which he's already done and now released. Thatchers Haze and NME are hosting two launch shows for the release in London and Birmingham - the latter of which will be broadcast live on the NME Facebook page tonight from 7pm.
"Caleb's winning track, 'Another Life', totally floored us", says NME writer Thomas Smith. "His vision and talents shone through on the song, and it became apparent very quickly that he had all the makings of a future star. His debut EP 'Eden' feels like a big step up, and we're as excited for it to be out in the world as Caleb is".
Kunle himself adds: "I just threw that song into the universe to see what would happen. Two or three weeks later I got the call and I was speechless. I'm not a big conspiracy-head, but I definitely thought there was a huge prank going on. I've been trying to write an EP for three years and I'd been doing that all on my own, so it's been hard. 'Another Life', the song that I won with, was written and recorded in a shed at the bottom of my mum's garden".
A Greener Festival, Radiohead, Princess Nokia, more
 A Greener Festival is teaming up with the Amsterdam Dance Event to bring its Sustainable Event Management training to the dance music festival and conference as parts of its ADE Green strand. More info here.
 The song Radiohead suppressed for 20 years for fear of it making them too famous, 'Lift', now has a video. It features Thom Yorke in a lift.
 Princess Nokia has released a video for 'Flava', in the wake of the re-release of her '1992' album last week.
 Fatima Al Qadiri will release a new EP, 'Shaneera', on 13 Oct through Hyperdub. Here's the first track from it, 'Alkahaf'.
 Visionist will release his second album, 'Value', on 20 Oct through Big Dada. Here's first single 'No Idols'.
 Luna Shadows has released a new single, 'Tokyo'. "In art, especially music, we regularly see a definitive before and after, but rarely is the actual moment of change depicted", she says. "'Tokyo' is intended to be like a musical time lapse, detailing a precise moment where something unfolded in front of me".
 Kesha has announced that she will play a one-off show at Electric Brixton on 14 Nov. Tickets go on sale on Friday.
 Sigrid plays the first of two sold out nights at The Scala in London tonight. It's alright though, she's just announced a UK tour in March, including a show at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 14 Mar.
 Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Abba to return as holograms
Abba's Benny Andersson has given some more details about the band's previously reported virtual reality project. Though he says it's not going live anytime soon because his face is still being digitalised.
It seems that the Abba's great VR adventure will basically see the band reunited as computer generated holograms for a future tour. Which does seem like a fairly loose use of the term 'virtual reality'. And the technology usually used for shit like this doesn't actually create true holograms either.
As previously reported, the band announced last year that they were working with Simon Fuller on "a new entertainment experience [to] see, hear, and feel ABBA in a way previously unimagined".
Speaking about Abba and the new project to Swedish newspaper Expressen (as translated by The Local), Andersson said: "We see each other every now and then, we've done a few different things, and now we've got a project ahead of us. It will take a bit of time [though] - it takes time to digitalise a face. [But] it's fun that it's so technologically advanced. It will be interesting".
So, regardless of how excited you are to basically watch a live animated video of Abba, you'll have to wait. You can fill the time by visiting the upcoming Abba exhibition at London's Southbank Centre though. Opening on 14 Dec and running until April next year, it will feature numerous items from the band's archives.
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