Ezra Collective takes Mercury

Ezra Collective have become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize in its 31 year history. “We met in a youth club”, said drummer Femi Koleoso. “This is a special moment for every single organisation across the country ploughing their efforts and time into young people playing music”

  ONE LINERS  

V, Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion collab, Ed Sheeran + more

DEALS

Kobalt has signed songwriter and producer Jake Torrey to a worldwide publishing agreement. “Jake is an exceptional young talent”, says Jamie Kinelski, Head Of West Coast Creative. “Over the last few years through his tireless work ethic and stellar songwriting ability, he has become one of the leading writer/producers in Los Angeles. The entire Kobalt team is honoured to be working alongside Jake and his team as he enters this exciting new stage of his career”.

APPOINTMENTS

The pan-European organisation for the independent music sector, IMPALA, has elected its new board, on which Francesca Trainini of Italian national association PMI will sit as President, while Dario Draštata of Balkan association RUNDA is its new Chair.

Ronnie Gurr - who recently stood down as CEO of the Scottish Music Industry Association - has joined Scotland’s first vinyl pressing plant Seabass Vinyl as Industry Engagement Advisor. “Seabass Vinyl will be one of the greenest pressing plants in the world, with sustainability and efficiency built in from the start”, he says. “These core values and principles make the company a real pioneer and a welcome new addition to Scotland’s music businesses. I’m delighted to have been asked to come on board to assist at the very beginning of an incredibly exciting and innovative venture”.

RELEASES

BTS’s V has released his debut solo album ‘Layover’. From it, this is new single ‘Slow Dancing’.

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have teamed up once again for new track ‘Bongos’.

Busted have released brand new song ‘Good One’, which will appear on their upcoming ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ album. “’Good One’ is all about the nostalgia of friends not seeing each other for a long time and making the most of the moments you get with each other”, says Charlie Simpson. “It seemed particularly appropriate for us to release around our greatest hits tour, when we are seeing so many faces that we haven’t seen for such a long time”.

Old nu metal and nu nu metal have collided on new Wargasm single ‘Bang Ya Head’, which features Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. “When I was working in bars it always drove me insane how much it costs us to live and how little money we make”, says the duo’s Sam Matlock. “Like banging your head against a brick wall over and over and over – you bang your head until you break your fucking neck. We took that energy and put it onto a guitar at our friend’s house in LA, then we asked the one and only Fred Durst if he wanted to join in and he did – now we have this monstrosity”. The band’s debut album ‘Venom’ is out on 27 Oct.

Overmono have released new single ‘Blow Out’. The track was “the first thing we made after finishing the album”, they say. “After that process of being quite methodical, we had an urge to write something that was really out and out lairy and wanted the bass to sound like it was playing out of a blown-out speaker”.

Baby Queen has released new single ‘Quarter Life Crisis’. She’s also announced UK tour dates starting next month.

Ellur has released new single ‘Free’. The song, she says, “is about a character who visited me in a dream and caused me to question my sense of free will and my entire life situation. At the time, I’d been working part-time as a bartender and the song became a metaphor for working for people who don’t respect you and how that has put me in some of the worst mental states of my life. It actually inspired me to take the leap into full time music and quit my day job”.

GIGS & TOURS

Ed Sheeran will play two nights at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 + 19 Nov, performing his new album ‘Autumn Variations’ in its entirety with a full live band and string section. Tickets go on general sale on 15 Sep.

Keane have announced UK tour dates in May next year to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Hopes & Fears’. Tickets go on general sale on 15 Sep.

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  DIGITAL & D2F  

Spotify to offer premium subscribers free access to audiobooks

Spotify is planning to offer its premium subscribers free access to some audiobooks as it seeks to establish itself as a provider of book content alongside music and podcasts.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the streaming service has been developing a pilot programme in partnership with major US book publishers via which it will offer premium subscribers access to up to 20 hours of audiobooks per month at no additional cost.

Currently, audiobooks are available on the Spotify platform on a pay-to-access model. However, within the app it's a pretty clunky experience, mainly because of the limitations on in-app purchases caused by Apple and Google's app store rules, with Spotify not wanting to use the Apple or Google commission-charging transaction systems.

Spotify has repeatedly told its investors that the potential profit margins on podcasts and audiobooks are better than music, which is why it has been investing heavily in growing those sides of its business. Although doing so has been costly and has therefore negatively impacted short-term profitability.

On audiobooks, it is going up against big bad Amazon. The WSJ also reports that Spotify execs have been trying to persuade book publishers that they too have an interest in breaking Amazon's hold over the audiobook market, which is why they should participate in this pilot project and help convince the world that Spotify is also a place to go for book content.

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  LIVE BUSINESS  

French billionaire completes acquisition of majority stake in CAA

French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has agreed to buy a majority stake in the Creative Artists Agency, or CAA to its friends.

It was reported in July that Pinault was in advanced talks with private equity outfit TPG Inc about acquiring its stake in the Hollywood talent agency via his Groupe Artémis company. The deal values the CAA business at around $7 billion.

CAA represents thousands of actors, directors, screenwriters, authors and athletes, as well as being very active in the music space, of course, coordinating the live and touring activities of a big roster of artists.

Pinault is also CEO of the luxury fashion group Kering, which owns the Gucci and Saint Laurent brands, and in which Artémis has a 40.9% stake.

Groupe Artémis also has a stake in Puma, and owns things like the Christies auction house, French news magazine Le Point and cruise ship operator Ponant. Its tech investments division has also invested in the likes of Bytedance and Deezer.

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  LABELS & PUBLISHING  

Concord makes $468.8 million bid for Round Hill Music Royalty Fund catalogue

Concord has made a bid for the catalogue of rights owned by the Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, the UK-listed fund set up and managed by Round Hill Music.

The proposed deal, valued at around $468.8 million, would see Concord acquire the rights in songs by artists including Alice In Chains, Bonnie Tyler, Bush, Bruno Mars, Celine Dion, Lady A, Louis Armstrong, The Offspring, Carrie Underwood, The Supremes, Wilson Pickett and Whitesnake.

The Round Hill Music Royalty Fund board is recommending the cash offer to its shareholders, who will vote on the proposals at the fund's next general meeting next month. In a statement this morning they set out why they believe Concord's bid is a good deal.

Confirming the board's support, RHM Chairman Robert Naylor, adds: "The board is pleased to present this opportunity for liquidity at a premium to both the share price and the initial public offering price, as well as at a narrow discount to economic net asset value per share. The recommended offer represents excellent value for shareholders".

Meanwhile, in a statement on the deal, Concord CEO Bob Valentine says: “Since its IPO, RHM has built an impressive portfolio of music rights which generate revenue across a variety of income streams and have demonstrated their ability to stand the test of time".

"As one of the world's leading music companies with a proven track record of strategic catalogue expansion, Concord has a global team of sync, licensing, marketing, copyright and royalty experts well positioned to maximise the value of this portfolio for all of the songwriters and artists within it".

"This offer enables RHM shareholders to realise their investment in the business at an attractive premium to the undisturbed share price", he concludes, "while the transaction provides an opportunity to create value for all stakeholders"

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  LIVE BUSINESS  

43% of Brexit-hit artists say touring EU is no longer viable, according to UK Music survey

Cross-sector trade group UK Music has published the results of a new survey on the impact of Brexit on the music community. It says the study - which consulted 1461 music-makers - demonstrates how "restrictions on visas, work permits, truck hire and merchandise sales along with excessive red tape are making touring simply unviable for many".

Ever since the UK left the European Union, the music industry has been stressing that the trade deal agreed between the UK and EU did little to address the issues created by Brexit for performers and crew looking to tour around Europe.

Key stats from the new study include the following:

• 30% of music-makers say their earnings have been affected post-Brexit.

• 82% of those affected reported a decrease in earnings, while just 18% said their earnings had increased.
• 43% of those hit by Brexit say touring the EU is no longer viable.
• 59% say that the visas and work permits now required are a major issue.
• 65% say they have received fewer invites to perform in EU countries since Brexit.
• 57% say they have had to decline offers to perform due to increased costs.

Among the artists quoted alongside the stats is Katie Melua, who says “our costs of touring, especially for transport and accommodation, have risen by approximately 25-30% on previous years" and "there remain vague protocols around taxation and compliance which has generated increased accountancy fees".

Meanwhile, Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything notes how "young and developing artists benefit immeasurably from playing mainland Europe", but "excellent lower and middle tier UK artists are now excluded from European shows by the associated costs, admin and man hours [caused] by Brexit, which simply make European touring unviable".

UK Music also uses the new study to again call on government to address the key issues caused by Brexit. Among other things, it proposes a new Cultural Touring Agreement that could help reduce bureaucracy and cut the costs involved in EU touring.

The new UK Music study follows the recent publication of a report on the impact of Brexit by the Independent Society Of Musicians, which similarly outlined the many challenges music-makers now face when looking to work or tour in Europe.

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AND FINALLY...

AI-generated Drake and The Weeknd put forward for Grammys

Drake and The Weeknd have both been very vocal about their decisions not to submit their music to the Grammy Awards in recent years. However, there will be at least one track featuring their voices being considered for the 2024 ceremony. Or something close to them. It has been confirmed that producer Ghostwriter has submitted his controversial track ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ - which features AI-generated vocals mimicking both artists - for consideration.

Released earlier this year, the track quickly went viral on TikTok and sparked much debate. It also appeared on the streaming services, although Universal Music moved quickly to have it taken down as the label for both Drake and The Weeknd. Neither the training of any AI model with their music nor the imitation of their voices had been approved.

Who knows if voting members of the Recording Academy will actually vote for such a track, but in theory it is eligible. Earlier this summer, Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr confirmed that songs using AI could be submitted for awards that focus on songwriting, so long as there was some human involvement in the making of the song.

Mason elaborated that while an AI-generated performance would not be eligible, the human-composed elements of a song could be. He also praised Ghostwriter directly for initiating dialogue around the evolving role of AI in music and recognised the track's potential to stir controversy.

‘Heart On My Sleeve’ was submitted for Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year, categories that recognise the song's writers rather than performers. And while the vocals were computer-generated, the lyrics in the track were written by Ghostwriter.

It still remains to be seen if ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ makes it through to the shortlists though. Particularly as it may fall foul of Grammy rules requiring "general distribution”, or broad availability, of a track. It may be that Universal’s move to have the track removed from the streaming services means it will not be considered readily available enough to be put forward for further consideration.

However, if it does get through, that would make next year’s Grammys very interesting. And controversial. Drake and The Weeknd have not yet commented on all this, but if ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ is shortlisted, it seems unlikely that they’ll stay quiet. No AI will be necessary to get their mouths flapping.

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