Islington Assembly Hall // Assistant Bars and Duty Manager (London)

Wienerworld // Social Media and Marketing Assistant (London/Hybrid)

FEAT // Junior Policy Officer/Industry Liaison (Remote/London)

Ninja Tune // Marketing Assistant (London/Hybrid)

Today's music business news

TOP STORY

London mayor blocks MSG's grand plan to build a Sphere venue next to the Olympic Park

London mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked plans to plonk a big bright MSG Sphere venue in the middle of Stratford, concluding that East London is not a suitable place to replicate the Vegas entertainment complex.

Confirming the decision, a spokesperson for Khan said that, while the mayor "wants to see more world-class, ambitious, innovative entertainment venues in our city", when investigating the plans for building an MSG Sphere next to the Olympic Park in Stratford, "the mayor has seen independent evidence that shows the current proposals would result in an unacceptable negative impact on local residents".

Implying that Khan's decision means it is now abandoning its plan to open a Sphere venue in the UK, a spokesperson for MSG said: “While we are disappointed in London’s decision, there are many forward-thinking cities that are eager to bring this technology to their communities. We will concentrate on those".

MSG's plans were originally considered by the London Legacy Development Corporation, the planning authority for property developments in and around the site of the 2012 Olympics. It granted approval for the building, despite plenty of opposition from local residents and politicians.

The Sphere venues - the first of which recently opened in Las Vegas - contain lots of high tech wizardry. But most notable is the LED skin that turns the outside of the building into a massive screen, used to display a combination of quirky imagery and plenty of advertising. For people living near the site of the proposed Stratford venue, that was a key concern.

Others also noted that there are already two sizeable venues in the Olympic Park - including a stadium - while The O2 complex in Greenwich is just three tube stops away. Many felt that adding another major venue into the mix could cause significant local transport issues.

According to Evening Standard, three factors ultimately persuaded Khan to block the new venue: "The amount of light pollution that it would cause for Stratford residents, its huge electricity bill and associated lack of 'green' credentials, and the impact it would have on heritage sites in the area".

Having been approved by the LLDC and then knocked back by Khan, in theory there could be a final stage of planning consideration by the UK government, because earlier this year minister Michael Gove issued a so called ‘holding direction’, which gives him the right to intervene.

However, campaigners mainly saw that move as another way to block the Sphere had Khan approved it and MSG's statement seems to suggest that it has now given up on its London venue ambitions.

Its rival, AEG, which operates The O2, welcomed Khan's decision. Its EVP Of Real Estate & Development, Alistair Wood, said yesterday: “We welcome the mayor of London’s decision to direct refusal of the Sphere’s planning application today. We do not oppose competition in the live entertainment industry and specifically do not oppose another large music venue in London. However, this proposal had fundamental flaws from the beginning. It was the wrong design, in the wrong location, and this was the right call".

ONE LINERS

One Liners: Music NDA inquiry, Black Music Coalition, Everything Everything, + more

DEALS

Universal Music has agreed a licensing deal with Ethiopian streaming service Sewasew Multimedia - the major’s first deal in the country. “We are THRILLED to partner with UMG”, says Sewasew MD Abraham F. “This partnership is a testament to Ethiopia’s growing importance in the global music industry and we are confident that it will be a success for both companies”.

B2B music services provider Tuned Global has announced three new deals in Africa. The company will work with Jumamo in Nigeria, Sewasew in Ethiopia and Tieme Music in Ghana. “The energy and innovation in African markets are inspiring and we’ve found that our partners there are looking for new ways to engage listeners, highlight local artists and solve complex technical problems,” says Tuned Global MD Con Raso. “Every market and country is unique and streaming services are embracing this, taking international and regional heavyweights on. They turn to us to help make sure their ideas come to market fully formed and highly functional”.

APPOINTMENTS

Downtown Music Holdings has confirmed that Tracy Maddux has stepped down as Chief Commercial Officer, although he has “committed to continue providing his insights and expertise” to the company. He says that he is “eager to embrace new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead”.

DIGITAL

Apple Music Classical is now available on the iPad with a number of new features making use of the larger screen. The classical music specific app was launched on the iPhone in March.

GIGS & TOURS

Pink will be back in the UK for tour dates next June, including two nights at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tickets go on sale on 30 Nov.

Tom Odell has announced new UK and Ireland shows next summer, including his biggest headline show to date at Alexandra Palace in London on 19 Jul. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

The Damned have announced UK tour dates in December 2024, which will see the band re-joined by drummer Rat Scabies. They will wind up at the Roundhouse in London on 18 Dec. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

DIGITAL

Spotify says it will exit Uruguay next year because of new performer ER right in copyright law

Spotify yesterday said that it plans to go through with its threat to shut down in Uruguay because of a change to the country's copyright laws, specifically the introduction of a performer equitable remuneration right in relation to streaming.

In a statement, the streaming service said it “will unfortunately begin to phase out its service in Uruguay effective 1 Jan 2024, and fully cease service by February". It added that it really wants to continue operating in the country, but the copyright reforms "regrettably leave us no choice but to stop being available in Uruguay".

Copyright law often provides performers with a statutory right to payment when their recordings are used in specific ways, usually when they are broadcast or played in public. However, in most countries that right does not apply to streaming. This means that streaming services pay royalties to record labels and music distributors which then share that money with artists subject to the record and distribution contracts they have negotiated.

How much of that money ends up with the artists varies hugely, from a few percent to 100%. Heritage artists often receive a much lower cut - depending on how their label has applied CD-era contracts to streaming - while session musicians get nothing. To that end, some have proposed that there should be ER on streams to guarantee artists a minimum share of any revenue generated by their recordings.

One key question with ER is who pays it: whoever controls the copyright in a recording or whoever actually makes use of the music? If it’s the former, the new ER right on streams in Uruguay won’t really impact on Spotify, it will continue to pay labels and distributors and they must pay the ER to performers. If it’s the latter, Spotify would have to pay the ER and then try to get a discount on its label and distributor deals when they next come up for renewal.

With ER on broadcasts and public performance, it works differently in different countries. Spotify says that, the way Uruguay copyright law has been updated, it’s not clear who is responsible for paying the ER. But, it argues, if it is responsible, it would have to "pay twice for the same music" which "would make our business … unsustainable".

It remains to be seen if Spotify's exit from the market can be stopped by the Uruguayan government clarifying how the new ER right will work and/or by labels and distributors in the country committing to be flexible so that the new performer payments do not entirely come from Spotify's cut of the digital pie.

APPROVED: FREDDY RUPPERT

Freddy Ruppert returns with new album ‘The Inner Room’, which is described by record label Stoned To Death as “an album that focuses on haunting, tension-filled interludes that linger between acts of terror and tragic loss”.

The record contains echoes of Freddy’s previous work - particularly 2010 album ‘New Love’, released as Former Ghosts - in its slow-build, tense soundscapes and layers of distortion.

Freddy has collaborated with Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart as well as Zola Jesus in the past and traces of both of those artists’ more ambient works linger here, as well. However, the music presented on ‘The Inner Room’, whilst being familiar, exists entirely within its own world.

A brilliant release from an artist who we thought had thrown in the towel, it’s well worth a listen - headphones highly recommended for that ‘am I in an actual slasher film’ feeling of creeping dread.

Listen to The Inner Room here.

LEGAL

Missy Elliott makes new filing in ongoing copyright dispute with producer Terry Williams

Missy Elliott has filed new papers with the US courts in an ongoing dispute with producer Terry Williams who is claiming co-ownership of a number of songs written by the rapper back in the 1990s.

In her new filing, Elliott insists that Williams has failed to provide any evidence that he co-wrote the songs, while also adding that his claims are time-barred because he didn't go legal until 2018, more than 20 years after the disputed songs were written. For his part, Williams has dubbed Elliott's arguments a "sham".

Elliott did use Williams' studio in the early 1990s when writing songs for herself and others. The dispute began in 2017 when a representative for Williams tried to sell Elliott the master rights in a set of tracks that had been recorded during that time. That led to a disagreement over who owns the rights in the songs contained in those recordings, with both rapper and producer filing lawsuits along the way.

Williams specifically claims that he should have a co-writing credit on the Aaliyah song 'Heartbroken', which Elliott co-wrote with Timbaland, and on four songs from the one album released by Elliott’s early 90s group Sistas. Her new legal filing states: "As with many other lyrics, vocal arrangements and melodies Elliott created during this time, Elliott independently wrote the lyrics and melodies for the song 'Heartbroken'".

And as for the Sistas songs, "Elliott did not even know of or meet Williams until after the production on the Sista album entitled '4 All The Sistas Around Da World' was completed and the album was publicly released in 1994".

"In contrast to Williams’ unsupported claims”, last week’s court filing concludes, “Elliott has produced admissible and compelling evidence that clearly establishes Williams’ lack of a valid ownership interest in the disputed musical works".

To that end, the filing states, the court should dismiss his claims and confirm Elliott’s position regarding the ownership of these copyrights.

LIVE

US Senate committee subpoenas Live Nation to access documents for its investigation into "abusive consumer practices"

Live Nation has been sent a subpoena by a subcommittee of the US Senate demanding access to documentation in relation to its Ticketmaster business, with the chair of the committee stating that he has taken this action because the live giant has "egregiously stonewalled" an ongoing investigation into "abusive consumer practices".

The subpoena requires Live Nation to provide senators with internal documents and communications, as well as financial data, that will provide further insight on how ticket prices are set, the fees Ticketmaster charges on ticket sales, and how deals are structured between the ticketing business and the artists and venues it works with.

Responding to the subpoena, a Live Nation spokesperson said that the company is happy to provide the information the subcommittee has requested, but only if assurances are provided that "standard confidentiality measures" will be employed, and so far those assurances have not been forthcoming.

The ticketing sector has been back in the political spotlight in the US ever since the debacle last year when tickets for Taylor Swift's tour went on sale via Ticketmaster. There are an assortment of issues with the ticketing sector that politicians can look into, though for some the dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster is a key concern.

It's the Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations that has issued this subpoena. Its Chair, Richard Blumenthal, said on X yesterday: "Live Nation has egregiously stonewalled my subcommittee’s inquiry into its abusive consumer practices - making the subpoena necessary. This subpoena demands that the company promptly comply with our request for documents essential to understand its business practices".

"American consumers", he went on, "deserve fair ticket prices, without hidden fees or predatory charges. And the American public deserves to know how Ticketmaster’s unfair practices may be enabled by its misuse of monopoly power".

In its own statement, Live Nation insisted that it has "voluntarily worked with the subcommittee from the start, providing extensive information and holding several meetings with staff". But, "in order to provide additional information requested about artist and client compensation and other similarly sensitive matters, we’ve asked for standard confidentiality measures".

“Thus far", they added, "the subcommittee has refused to provide such assurances, but if and when those protections are in place we will provide additional information on these issues".

LABELS & PUBLISHERS

New York judge dismisses Black Sheep lawsuit over Universal Music’s original Spotify deal

A New York judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by rap duo Black Sheep against Universal Music over the first deal the major label did with Spotify back in 2008. The rappers argued that Universal got Spotify equity in that deal in return for accepting a lower royalty rate, despite knowing that that would disadvantage its artists.

Judge Jennifer L Rochon said that Black Sheep members Andres 'Dres' Titus and William 'Mista Lawnge' McLean were far too late in filing their legal action against the record company because of an obligation in their record contract to file any litigation relating to royalty disputes within two years from when the disputed royalties were paid.

Black Sheep only filed their lawsuit in January this year, long after the 2008 Spotify deal they were taking issue with. And even if they restricted their claim to royalties that were due in the two years prior to filing, their legal arguments still fail, the judge concluded.

That’s because the wording of their record contract basically says that Universal can structure licensing deals around Black Sheep's recordings in any way it sees fit, providing it pays a royalty on income directly attributable to their music.

Black Sheep's lawsuit claimed that Universal Music agreed a deal with Spotify in which it accepted a lower ongoing royalty rate in return for receiving equity in the streaming business, knowing that the ongoing royalty payments would have to be shared with its artists.

“Universal is withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties from artists", the lawsuit stated, "through a previously undisclosed arrangement whereby Universal licensed artists’ recordings to the Spotify music streaming service in exchange for Spotify stock and lower royalty payments”.

All the majors and indie label repping Merlin took equity in Spotify as part of their original licensing deals with the streaming company. They then had the option to sell that equity for profit when Spotify listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.

However, the labels would almost certainly argue that the equity part of the deal didn't have any significant impact on the core revenue share part of the deal. Plus, ultimately, the labels committed to share the profits of the sale of the Spotify stock with their artists, even though arguably they were not contractually obliged to do so.

Rochon dismissed Black Sheep's case with prejudice, meaning they will not be able to file new proceedings on this dispute.

AND FINALLY

LadBaby bow out of Christmas number one race

What song are LadBaby releasing in their sixth bid for Christmas number one this year? That’s the big question, isn’t it? Well, no. But it is a question. And one that now has an answer: There will be no new LadBaby Christmas single in 2023.

Mark and Roxanne Hoyle announced this morning that five consecutive Christmas number ones is enough for them and they’re finally going to let someone else have a go.

In a video posted online, Mark Hoyle says that the run of chart-topping singles in aid of food bank charity The Trussell Trust had been “the most amazing, incredible, loving, life-changing five years”.

“We never expected one, let alone five Christmas number ones”, adds his wife Roxanne Hoyle. “The impact it can have on a charity is incredible … So we want to pass the baton over and say, if there is anyone who is backing a charity this Christmas with a song … go for it”.

Mark then goes on to say that he’d like to see “the whole charts to be charity songs this Christmas - the top 40, top 100”. That might reduce the impact somewhat, but sure.

What will the Hoyles be doing with their lives, now that they’ve hung up their Christmas song boots? Well, right now they’ve got their second children’s book to promote - ‘Greg The Sausage Roll: Twelve Days Of Christmas’. But also, you probably shouldn’t assume they won’t be back with another bid to top the festive chart in the future.

“I’m not retiring”, insists Mark at the end of the video. “This isn’t me done for good. I’m just saying I’m out this year. Mariah Carey, if you ever want a Christmas number one, I’ve started on the lyrics, ‘all I want for Christmas is a… sausage roll’”.

Inspired. Bookies had - until today’s announcement - placed LadBaby as evens favourite to take the Christmas number one spot, with Ed Sheeran, Adele and Taylor Swift each coming in at 7/1.

LadBaby’s sudden announcement now means a cut throat Christmas race between three of the biggest artists in the world. Ed Sheeran, of course, previously collaborated with LadBaby and Elton John on 2021’s ‘Sausage Rolls For Everyone’. Neither Adele nor Taylor Swift have (yet) collaborated with LadBaby.

Of course, if - like LadBaby - you’d like to see a charity single top the Christmas chart, you could back Nala The Station Cat’s debut single ‘Check Meowt’. 

Speaking exclusively to CMU, the TikTok famous moggy said: “With LadBaby taking a paws, I feel like it could be the purrfect moment for ‘Check Meowt’ to claw its way to the top of the charts. After that, who knows, maybe by 2024 Adele or Ed will be ready to collaborate with me on 'Rolling In The Catnip', or 'Shape Of Mew'”.