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Click JUMP to skip direct to a section of this email or ONLINE to read and share stories on the CMU website (JUMP option may not work in all email readers). For regular updates from Team CMU follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CMU Jobs is a proven way to recruit the best music business talent for roles across the industry at all levels, from graduate to senior management. To book an ad contact Sam on 020 7099 9060 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A guide to upcoming events from and involving CMU, including seminars, masterclasses and conference sessions from CMU Insights and workshops from CMU:DIY, plus other events where CMU journalists are speaking or moderating. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rob Stringer promoted to top job at Sony Music Stringer, who currently heads up Sony's Columbia Records division in the US, has long been mooted as a leading candidate for the top job at the major, even before former Universal Music chief Morris was hired to run the company in 2011. Back then Stringer's elder brother Howard was in charge of parent company Sony Corp, though that arguably worked against him, as putting the younger Stringer in charge of the conglom's recorded music business at that time may have seemed like nepotism. Rumours that Stringer would finally get the top job at the Sony record company had increased in recent months, and yesterday that appointment was confirmed. He will report into Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton in his new role. Confirming the promotion, Lynton said yesterday: "Rob Stringer is one of the most skilled and successful executives in the music industry. His efforts and achievements at Columbia have contributed immeasurably to the overall strength of Sony Music worldwide". He went on: "Not only is he a tremendous developer of talent and nurturer of stars who has overseen numerous massive hits, but also he is an innovator who understands how to grow revenue and market share in the rapidly changing music business. His ability to adapt to meet the needs of artists and fans in a dynamic marketplace that mixes digital audio, visual media and physical goods makes him the perfect fit to head the company moving forward. I am THRILLED to have him leading Sony Music's next chapter". Stringer himself said: "As someone who has spent his entire career at Sony Music, it is a tremendous honour to be named CEO. I would like to thank [Sony Corp CEO] Kaz Hirai and Michael Lynton for believing in the value and power of music, and for their continuing support of me. I'd also like to extend a special thanks to Doug for both his friendship and mentorship to me personally, as well as for the great leadership and service he has provided to Sony Music". Looking forward with a little smattering of optimism, he added: "This is a time of enormous opportunity and change for the music business. I am excited to work with the great team we have built at Sony Music to continue to be a champion for artists, and further adapt and grow the business as we meet the challenges ahead". Stringer's promotion means that, while with the demise of EMI there is no longer a UK-owned music major, British execs are now in charge of the two biggest recorded music companies in the world. So basically, it's all our fault. Lynton also found a little time in his schedule to thank Morris for his dedication and continued commitment to Sony Music, saying: "I want to thank Doug for his dedication and continued commitment to Sony Music". Yeah, why not? "He has been an innovative force in the music business for over five decades", Lynton added. "I look forward to working with him in this next phase of his outstanding career. In his new advisory role he will report directly to me. Since 2011, he has expertly led Sony Music through some of the most transformative and challenging issues facing the music industry, while each year increasing the company's market share and profitability. His passion for music, devotion to artists and tireless energy has made Sony Music the industry leader it is today". Morris was also on hand to deliver some final words. Said he: "I am extremely proud of the great leadership team and organisation we have built at Sony Music. Our focus on building and maintaining the best creative centres led by world-class executives has yielded fantastic success over the last six years. Rob is a passionate and competitive executive who understands the importance and value of hits, and like a heat-seeking missile, he locks onto great artists. Most importantly, he is one of the finest people I know. And moving forward, Sony Music Entertainment will be in the great hands of Rob Stringer. I look forward to continue working with Michael, Rob and the rest of the Sony family moving forward". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kickass lawyers demand America's criminal case be dismissed As previously reported, Artem Vaulin was arrested in Poland earlier this year at the request of the US government, which wants to extradite him to face charges of copyright infringement and money laundering in relation to the Kickass file-sharing operation. He subsequently hired the services of Ira Rothken, the American lawyer who has been leading the defence of MegaUpload founder Kim Dotom as he fights extradition attempts and copyright infringement charges in relation to his old business. The American authorities have now begun the process of trying to extradite Vaulin, who is from Ukraine, to the US. In the meantime, Rothken is trying to have the whole case dismissed from within America, filing papers with a federal court in Illinois. As expected, Rothken's legal argument is that KickassTorrents did not actually host any infringing content, and that while the site may be liable for so called secondary or contributory infringement - for encouraging or enabling others to infringe - under US law that is a civil rather than criminal matter. Legal papers filed on behalf of Vaulin argue that: "[This] indictment would make defendant responsible for infringements committed by former visitors to KAT who are acting in an entirely different online context. In the global connected culture, such elastic expansions of criminal exposure cannot be permitted to stand absent overt action by Congress updating the Copyright Act". The US government is expected to respond to these arguments in due course. Meanwhile, now you've brought up music piracy, you might be interested to know that the next CMU Insights masterclass is called 'From Napster To Now - The Battle With Music Piracy' and explores and explains the music industry's various efforts to tackle online piracy. It takes place next Monday in London, info and tickets here. Here is a little Insights Blog we just published ahead of the event. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A2IM warns of major CD counterfeiting operation on Amazon "It has come to our attention that there is a serious counterfeit operation selling large numbers of CDs via Amazon's FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) system", says A2IM. "It appears that this product is manufactured in China, but is almost indistinguishable from the genuine article to the extent that even the legitimate manufacturer cannot tell without very close examination". "The pirates are pricing slightly below the legitimate product and getting the 'buy box' on Amazon", it continues. "This enables them to take over sales, leaving the real thing on Amazon's shelves and depriving artists, writers, labels, publishers and distributors of any revenue from those sales". According to A2IM, the counterfeit operation is targeting high selling new releases, getting its product to market within two weeks of the release date. It adds that, because Amazon stores product with the same ID together, regardless of seller, buyers may be getting legitimate products but with the money going to the makers of the fakes. The organisation is asking anyone who suspects that they have seen this counterfeit activity in action, or purchased a counterfeit CD, to get in touch. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TicketWeb unveils new Backline platform at Venues Day The new service will be available to venues up to a 1500 capacity, and as well as allowing promoters to sell their bloody tickets, it also offers other management and marketing tools, including event day functions, PRS reporting and social media integration. TicketWeb says it worked with both the Music Venue Trust and various local venues to develop the new service. Says TicketWeb MD Sam Isles: "At TicketWeb, maintaining a thriving grassroots music industry is at the heart of what we do. With venues finding it harder than ever to stay afloat, we see it as our duty to do whatever we can to make life easier for them. Working in partnership with Music Venue Trust has given us first hand insight into the needs and concerns of venues and promoters, and we are confident that TicketWeb Backline will help solve these issues and support venues, promoters and artists across the UK". Meanwhile Mark Davyd, the boss of the Music Venue Trust, which also runs Venues Day, gave his backing to the new ticketing platform, saying: "Venues Day brings together the UK's industry leaders, experts and music lovers to champion and protect the nation's grassroots live music. Collaborating with TicketWeb has meant both parties have been able to draw on each others' expertise to offer relevant solutions for small venues. It is a challenging time in our industry, and building our community through partnerships such as this one is vital for our success". So look at that, Live Nation's ticketing business once again doing its bit to help the grassroots music community. And don't anyone go mentioning Live Nation's secondary ticketing platforms Seatwave and Get Me In, that'll just spoil this lovely big-guy-little-guy love in. Empowerment, woo! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BBC Asian Network announces presenter rejig in bid to attract younger audience The Trust approved proposals from BBC Radio that it remove an obligation to broadcast at least 20 hours of non-English language programming each week, the Beeb arguing that removing those commitments would allow the station to "focus on reaching a younger British Asian audience". The changes, due to come into action on 9 Jan next year, will see a new selection of presenters taking on weeknight programming. Comedians Mawaan Rizwan and Emily Lloyd-Saini will take over Monday nights, and fellow comedian Guz Khan Tuesdays. Another new show, Friday Night Residency, will fill the 9pm to midnight slot on Fridays (obviously) with a different DJ each week, the first of which will be Jasmine Takhar. Yasser's BBC Introducing show will move to Wednesday nights, and he'll also take over the Official Asian Music Chart show on Saturday afternoons. Harpz Kaur, meanwhile, will move to weekend breakfasts. "These changes to BBC Asian Network's 'service licence' are necessary to help the station evolve its unique offer for the younger British Asian community whilst remaining as distinctive and relevant as ever", says BBC Radio man Bob Shennan. "The station will still be culturally rich and showcase the best content from across Asian communities, and it will continue to incorporate South Asian language in its programming where editorially appropriate". Head Of Programmes Mark Strippel adds: "This is another milestone for BBC Asian Network, a station that is continually evolving, has more listeners than ever before, and is looking firmly to the future. I'm excited to be introducing some brilliant new talents in Mawaan, Emily, Parle and Jasmine to the station, but would also like to thank [departing presenters] Ray Khan, Alpa Pandya and Suzi Mann for their massive contribution". Another newcomer, YouTube star Parle Patel, will have a show on Sunday nights, which gets the jump on the other changes by starting on 6 Nov. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sŵn Festival launches news educational programme for artists That will include an intensive workshops programme from CMU:DIY, reworking the popular CMU Insights seminars series for music business professionals so that it is very much targeted at artists and songwriters, and explaining the different ways musicians can make money, the business partners they work with, how music rights work, and how to build a fanbase. In addition to that, there will a number of a stand-alone artist development workshops, plus a Welsh Music Industry Gathering on 7 Apr. He added: "We want to focus on practical training and workshops to give bands the tools they need to help their career or make their lives in a band much easier, so they can get on making music and playing shows. It's a really exciting step for us to branch out from being promoters and festival makers into offering this new way to support music in Wales". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Olly Murs cancelled Olympic celebration over performance disagreement, says management The parade, which took place on Monday, finished up in the city's Albert Square, where Murs was scheduled to give a headline set. However, on the morning of the show, with organisers citing "unforeseen circumstances", Kaiser Chiefs were brought in to replace him. Murs later drew criticism when he was seen at the Liverpool v Manchester Premiere League match at the former's Anfield stadium that very evening. Staving off assumptions that the "unforeseen circumstances" had been mainly Murs getting a ticket to a football game, his management said in a statement: "Olly was asked to play the Olympic and Paralympic parade in Manchester on Monday and as a huge supporter of the Olympics agreed wholeheartedly. Sadly, after weeks of preparation, 24 hours before the parade he was told to completely change what had been agreed with his performance, and as such his team made the decision to pull him from the show". In its own statement, Manchester Council, which organised the event, said: "We have a very successful track record for working closely with major artists on events in Manchester, and this is the first time an artist has pulled out". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Moby releases new Void Pacific Choir video Speaking about the animated video, director Steve Cutts says: "For me the video is about our increasing dependence on technology and about human interaction today, or a certain lack of it. It focuses on the way tech is changing us - how we have become desensitised". Moby adds: "A few years ago I saw Steve Cutts' 'Man' video and was amazed and blown away. I did some internet sleuthing and found his email address and humbly asked him to make a video for me. And, lucky me, he agreed. The video he made for 'Are You Lost In The World Like Me?' is without question one of the best videos that's ever been made for one of my songs". Moby & The Void Pacific Choir's album 'These Systems Are Failing' is out now. Watch the video for 'Are You Lost In The World Like Me?' here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Warner Music, Sony/ATV, SXSW, more Other notable announcements and developments today... Â The US wing of Warner Music's label services business ADA has appointed Christine Taylor, formerly with Universal's Island Records and before that Warner's Atlantic Records, to the role of SVP Finance. Â Sony/ATV in the US has promoted Brian Monaco to the job of President, Global Chief Marketing Officer; which sort of makes it sound like he's the President of the Global Chief Marketing Officer, which makes no sense at all, but I'm sure he knows what's going on, and that's all that matters. Â Zane Lowe will be delivering the music keynote at next year's SXSW. Â Becky Hill has released new single 'Warm'. She'll be playing live in London on 2 Nov at Electrowerkz. Â Foy Vance has released new single, 'Noam Chomksy Is A Soft Revolution', ahead of his upcoming UK tour. Â Hey, so it's possible that the new Puscifer video isn't 100% pro-Donald Trump. Â Pepe Deluxe have released a new track, 'Go, Girl, Go!', taken from Catskills Records' upcoming 20th anniversary compilation. Â Sofi Tukker have released a video for their track 'Awoo'. They will play Birthdays in Dalston on 10 Nov. Â Hieroglyphic Being has announced a new twelve-inch on Ninja Tune/Technicolour titled 'This Isn't Your Typical 90s Era Techno/IDM Revisionist View'. Here's lead track 'This Is 4 The Rave Bangers'. Â Zyna Hel has released the video for her CMU approved single 'Catacombs'. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Justin Bieber tells fans to stop "obnoxious" screaming The singer was attempting to tell the audience at the Barclaycard Arena about the loneliness of touring, but they refused to sit in reverential silence for long enough to listen. "I've been on tour for a while now", he began. "I've been away from my family. I've been away from a lot of my friends... Hey, guys. Could you do me a favour? Could you guys just relax? For, like, two seconds? Thank you". He may have said thank you, but the screaming didn't actually stop for anything like two seconds. Or at all. Still, he gave it another go: "So I've been on the road for like, ah... I get it, I get it, I get it, but I'm like two feet away from you and I can hear you. I appreciate it, I appreciate all the love, it's amazing, but can you show it in a different way? Just try to show you love me in a different way". That's just the sort of thing Jesus would say, isn't it? Show your love in a different way. This could have been Bieber's sermon on the mount if only everyone would shut up and let him speak. He just wants to deliver a parable about how hard and lonely touring can be. Now, instead, he had to switch to a lecture on the history of and modern views about screaming. "The screaming is just so obnoxious", he said. "I get it, it's been in our blood and some [you think] random good will come when you scream and stuff, but if we could just scream after the songs - enjoy the song, scream, it was awesome, it was fun - and then, you take a chill pill for a second and we just listen to me speak, because I don't feel like I'm being heard sometimes and it gets a little frustrating. So, if when I'm speaking you guys could not scream at the top of your lungs, is that cool with you guys? Could we do that? Okay". The audience was screaming throughout this whole speech of course, though the biggest scream came when he asked "could we do that?" So maybe he was getting somewhere. Though if I were an audience member, I might be slightly miffed that I'd just been called obnoxious by my hero. "Like I was saying", he began again. "I've been on tour for a while now. I'm away from my friends, I'm away from my family. So it can be tough sometimes... but I have all you beautiful people to keep me company. Now scream. There we go". Boom! Save! It might have looked like he was talking about the loneliness of touring and the dehumanisation of crowds, but no. I feel there is much we can learn from this young man. I wish I'd bought tickets to one of his shows now. A fan who videoed this whole exchange and then slung it up on YouTube told the Birmingham Mail that they'd only started recording in order to capture the sound of the screaming "because we didn't think we'd heard anything quite as loud at a concert before". So maybe Justin had a point. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Send ALL press releases to musicnews@unlimitedmedia.co.uk - this is checked daily by the whole editorial team meaning your release will definitely get to the right person. For details of the training and consultancy services offered by CMU Insights click here - Andy and Chris are also available to provide music business comment, just email them direct. To promote your company or advertise jobs or services to the entire UK music industry via the CMU bulletin or website contact Sam on 020 7099 9060 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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