In today's CMU Daily: Fair use does not equal fair training for AI says ex-Stability exec Ed Newton-Rex; first Musicians' Union members strike in 44 years sees English National Opera set to be disrupted; posh lads mag GQ swallows Pitchfork; ticket touts on trial in Leeds.

Also today: UK Music interim CEO Tom Kiehl talks AI, Brexit, US Visas and education.

CMU's virtual masterclass Music + AI In 2024 takes place on Tuesday 20 Feb. Attendees can access the session live on Zoom and then on-demand via the CMU learning platform. Click here for information on all of the upcoming CMU online masterclasses and to book your place.

Former Stability exec Ed Newton Rex launches Fairly Trained AI certification

Ed Newton Rex, the former VP Of Audio at Stability AI who resigned over the company's position on fair use, has launched Fairly Trained, a new initiative that will certify generative AI companies with “training data practices that respect creators’ rights". The scheme has the backing of a number of copyright owners, including music companies Universal Music and Concord.

There is an ever-growing dispute between the tech sector and the copyright industries, including the music industry, over the copyright obligations of AI companies. The music industry is adamant that if a company trains a generative AI model with existing music, they must get permission from the relevant copyright owners.

However, many tech companies argue that AI training is covered by copyright exceptions in at least some countries and, under US law, constitutes fair use, which means that no permission is required. That includes Stability AI, even though its music product, which Newton Rex oversaw, was training with licensed music.

"There is a divide emerging between two types of generative AI companies”, says a blog post launching Fairly Trained, “those who get the consent of training data providers, and those who don’t”. However, “right now it’s hard to tell which AI companies take which approach". Fairly Trained, it goes on, aims to change that by offering a number of certifications.

The first to be made available is called Licensed Model Certification, “which can be awarded to any generative AI model that doesn’t use any copyrighted work without a licence”. At launch, nine AI companies have been awarded the mark, covering image, music and singing voice generation. They are: Beatoven.AI, Boomy, BRIA AI, Endel, LifeScore, Rightsify, Somms.ai, Soundful and Tuney.

Welcoming all this, Universal Music's SVP Strategic Technology Christopher Horton says: “Universal Music Group has taken an industry-leading position in calling for responsible and ethical uses of AI technology that further enhance creativity, support artists and respect copyright. We welcome the launch of the Fairly Trained certification to help companies and creators identify responsible generative AI tools that were trained on lawfully and ethically obtained materials".

The Fairly Trained blog post also sets out some of the initiative's future objectives. While the initial Licensed Model certificate is relatively basic, other certificates will be developed to deal with some of the complexities. For example, "to address more nuanced questions about dataset acquisition, such as opt-in vs opt-out".

Within the music community, artists and songwriters agree with record labels and music publishers that AI companies should get permission to use existing music to train models. However, they also want their labels and publishers to secure consent from each music creator before allowing their recordings and songs to be used to train AI, and would likely argue that that commitment is also required to truly respect creators' rights.

It remains to be seen if that kind of commitment could also be confirmed by a certification programme.

CMU AT EUROSONIC

Hands on with CMO data: value, transparency and user experience

Lots of people talk about the importance of data in the music business - but sometimes getting hold of that data and making sense of it isn’t so straightforward.

CMU’s Chris Cooke hosted a panel today at Eurosonic looking at the current state of CMO data in multiple territories, as well as how creators and their teams should access and utilise that data to identify missing money, spot problems and add value.

Following on from a MusicAIRE funded research project and whitepaper produced by Amsterdam-based technology company FXR in conjunction with CMU, the panel explored some of the strategies and best practices highlighted within that research, as well as helping the wider communities of songwriters, artists and managers be aware of some of the hidden pitfalls they may encounter when working with data from their CMO partners.

Speakers included: Hanne Valckenaers, Musickness; Henry Marsden, ATM Catalog Management; Tjeerd Bomhof, FXR; Willemijn May, singer-songwriter.

Read the whitepaper at fixingmusicdata.com - and look out for a more detailed look at this topic in next week's CMU.

ATC Management // Day-to-day Manager (London)

Full Time Hobby Music // D2C Marketing Assistant (London)

terrible* // D2C Customer Service Representative (London)

terrible* // Logistics & Production Assistant (London)

Snapper Music // Press & Promo Coordinator (London)

Como No & La Linea // Director (London/Hybrid)

UK Music // Chief Executive (London/Hybrid)

Deviate Digital // Digital Marketing Assistant (London)

ONE LINERS

Tim Burgess, European Festival Awards, Southbank Centre + more

DEALS

Rimas Publishing has signed a deal with catalogue management software company Reprtoir. Rimas MD Emilio Morales says that “Reprtoir’s innovative platform is a game-changer for our operations and will enable us to provide our clients with the best support and expand our business”.

APPOINTMENTS

Natascha Augustin has been promoted to Managing Director of Warner Chappell Music Germany. She replaces Lars Karlsson, who will now focus on the publisher’s business in the Nordics. “This appointment feels like an organic development in my career, and part of the exciting changes within Warner Chappell Music”, says Augustin.

SYNC

Former Hipgnosis exec Tom Stingemore has launched sync licensing platform ALLOY Sync Distro. “Sync is arguably the last area of the music industry to be modernised”, he says. “I’ve spent my career to date working to further the interests of the world’s greatest artists and songwriters and with ALLOY I wanted to build something that can not only enhance their collective outlook but also improve the service that we can provide to our commercial partners across the wider entertainment industry”.

INDUSTRY EVENTS

UK record industry trade group BPI has announced an event as part of its Insight Session 50 series taking place at Sony Music UK on 6 Feb. The panel is titled ‘The Future Of Music Communities & Worldbuilding: Lessons From The Games Industry’ and will take place from 5pm to 6.30pm. Tickets to attend in person or via a livestream are available here.

GIGS & FESTIVALS

The Southbank Centre in London has partnered with BBC Music Introducing for the return of its free gig series showcasing emerging artists, called futuretense. The first of the fortnightly shows takes place tonight in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer with performances from Respair and Ashaine White.

King Creosote has announced a tour of UK coastal towns in April and May this year. Alongside the announcement, he’s also released a live film recorded at EartH in Hackney on YouTube.

AWARDS

This year’s European Festival Awards took place last night in Groningen in The Netherlands. Among the winners, Glastonbury took Line-Up Of The Year and former Eurosonic Noorderslag boss Ruud Berends was handed the Lifetime Achievement award.

Babatúndé Aléshé and Indiyah Polack have been announced as hosts of this year’s MOBO Awards, which will take place at Utilita Arena Sheffield on 7 Feb.

RELEASES

Tim Burgess has announced a new ‘Tim’s Listening Party’ compilation, which is set to be released on 15 Mar. The 62 track collection brings together some highlights from the Twitter listening parties the Charlatans frontman hosted during lockdown and beyond.

Villagers will release new album ‘That Golden Time’ on 10 May. The title track is out now, and live dates have been announced for June, including a performance at Royal Festival Hall in London on 8 Jun.

Shygirl has announced that she will release new EP ‘Club Shy’ on 9 Feb featuring collaborations with artists including Empress Of and SG Lewis. Out now is her new track with Boys Noize, ‘Tell Me’.

Allie X has released new single ‘Off With Her Tits’. Her new album ‘Girl With No Face’ is out on 22 Feb.

Tusks will release new album ‘Gold’ on 12 Apr. Out today is new single ‘Adore’.

Odetta Hartman has released new single ‘Goldilocks’. Her new album ‘Swansongs’ is due out on 22 Mar.

The year ahead: UK Music

As we head into 2024, CMU has been sitting down with the bosses of many of the music industry’s trade organisations to talk about their work, the key challenges faced by their members, and what to expect in the year ahead.

Today UK Music interim CEO Tom Kiehl discusses the organisation’s work around AI, education, Brexit and US visas, and shares some insights from UK Music’s research reports.

English National Opera singers to join orchestra members in strike action

Chorus members of the English National Opera have agreed to strike action at the beginning of next month in a dispute over proposed changes to their employment. They voted unanimously in favour in a ballot held by their union Equity.

The singers join Musicians’ Union members in the ENO’s orchestra and other music roles, who voted 92% in favour of striking last month. The first day of the strike is set to coincide with the opening night of the ENO’s production of ‘The Handmaid's Tale’, which will be cancelled if a resolution cannot be reached.

ENO management announced plans last year to make chorus members, orchestra and music staff redundant. Most would then be reemployed, but only for six months of the year, while some orchestra members have been offered only ad hoc freelance work.

The decision to implement the cuts came after a reduction in Arts Council funding forced the company’s 2024 opera season to be reduced. However, say the Musicians’ Union and Equity - which represents the chorus members - the changes to their employment are “disproportionate, unsustainable for our members at the ENO and show disregard for the artistic workforce”.

“It gives me no pleasure to vote for strike action”, says chorus member and union rep Ronald Nairne. “I joined the ENO Chorus to sing, and to share opera with as many people as possible”.

“Management’s proposals to fire and rehire me and my colleagues with a 40% salary cut and worsened working conditions will make remaining in the chorus unsustainable for many”, he continues. “I voted yes to taking strike action to force our management to reconsider their plans and come up with a different, more creative model that protects the workforce”.

If the strike goes ahead, it will be the first time Musicians’ Union members have taken such action since 1980.

APPROVED

Mal Not Bad

Following on from last year’s well-received ‘AP’, Mal Not Bad returns with new single ‘Dodgeball’ ahead of their third EP later this year.

Building on the sound of 2022's 'Continuous Short Feature Film' EP, the new music incorporates more electronic elements, while still maintaining an organic, fragile feel overall.

“At the time of writing ‘Dodgeball' I was struggling to learn how to love myself”, they say of the new song. “The concept of dodgeball felt fitting to express that struggle where you feel like you are working on yourself and want to grow/feel good but keep dodging the main parts of you that are inflicting pain - like self hate - which prevents the growth from happening”.

Watch the video for ‘Dodgeball’ here.

Job cuts at Pitchfork as its team is merged in with GQ

Magazine publisher Condé Nast has announced a restructure that will see Pitchfork merged into the division that produces men's magazine GQ, resulting in a number of job losses at the music title. That includes Puja Patel, who took over from Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber as Editor In Chief in 2018.

The merger was confirmed in a memo to staff from the publisher's Chief Content Officer Anna Wintour, who said that the decision to bring the Pitchfork team "into the GQ organisation" had been made "after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance” and is “we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company".

“Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism", she continued, “and we are excited for the new possibilities together". However, she then confirmed, "with these organisational changes, some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company today".

Brooklyn Vegan notes that a number of Pitchfork employees have confirmed on social media that they are impacted by job cuts, including Jillian Mapes, Evan Minske, Allison Hussey, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Marc Hogan and Hattie Lindert.

Wintour confirmed that Patel was among those exiting, adding that the Editor In Chief had been "a wonderful colleague and advocate for the brand, and I’m grateful for her and the team’s many contributions".

Most music media have struggled over the last decade as they have faced increased competition for audience and advertisers from social media. Many have expanded their operations in a bid to secure other revenue streams - often through events and, more recently, membership products - with mixed success.

The magazine sector more generally has also faced many of the same challenges, and Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch stated last November that the media firm would be cutting about 5% of its total workforce in a bid to reduce costs.

However, in a statement criticising yesterday's announcement, the Pitchfork Union and Newsguild Of New York revealed that they were reassured in December that those cuts would not affect Pitchfork.

Wintour's memo, therefore, they added, shows "just how untrustworthy Condé Nast management is. The reporters, editors, producers, researchers and all the people who make award-winning journalism for Pitchfork deserved better than to be treated like disposable parts".

CMU GUIDE: AI + MUSIC

Artificial intelligence + the music business: CMU's guide to (nearly) everything that mattered in 2023

There was a lot of discussion in 2023 within the music community about how AI will impact on music creation, music marketing, and the music business more generally.

There are clearly opportunities created by AI, and many ways that AI technologies will enhance the business.

An increasing number of music creators and music companies are exploring and identifying way to capitalise on those opportunities, and figuring out which AI products and services may offer ways to enhance their work.

Read CMU's (very) deep dive guide to the deals, disputes and debates, lawsuits and lobbying, and innovation and exploration that informed the conversation.

Ticket touts on trial over £6.5 million "dishonest enterprise"

The trial of two former ticket touts has got underway in Leeds Crown Court, with the defendants accused of involvement in a "dishonest enterprise" that "exploited the love and passion that many of us have for our favourite pop bands".

Mark Woods and Lynda Chenery were both involved in a company called TQ Tickets which was subject to an investigation by UK National Trading Standards in 2018, amid efforts to enforce the laws that regulate the resale of tickets for profit. Both are charged with three counts of fraudulent trading, which they deny.

There were originally four defendants in the case, with Woods and Chenery's spouses - Maria Chenery-Woods and Paul Douglas - also facing charges of fraudulent trading. However, they pleaded guilty as the trial began earlier this month, which delayed the proceedings by a week.

According to the BBC, Jonathan Sandiford - speaking for the prosecution - conceded that Chenery-Woods "was the driving force behind this dishonest scheme", but added that the two remaining defendants were also involved.

Sandiford told the court that TQ Tickets resold tickets on an industrial scale, bringing in around £6.5 million between June 2015 and December 2017 via resale sites like Viagogo. In order to access tickets they ran a scheme to circumvent restrictions put in place by official ticket sellers, using "corrupted" students and fictional identities to buy tickets from primary sites.

They would also put on sale tickets they were yet to actually source, meaning sometimes buyers wouldn't get into shows. And there were even dodgier practices, such as sending customers ripped envelopes so that they could pretend tickets had been lost in the post, a tactic they referred to as "doing a fraudie".

There is "no dispute that the fraudulent scheme exists", Sandiford declared, also citing a message sent by Douglas to Chenery-Woods which openly stated that the aim of their business was to "simply rinse consumers for as much profit as they are willing to pay".

This isn't the first ticket tout trial stemming from a National Trading Standards investigation. In 2020 two other touts, Peter Hunter and David Smith, were sentenced for a total of six-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of fraud in relation to their touting businesses Ticket Wiz and BZZ.

Many in the music industry continue to call for tighter regulation of ticket touting, including the better enforcement of existing rules, and ultimately an outright ban of for-profit resale.