In today's CMU Daily: Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena has now cancelled all of its opening week shows and the man in charge has quit. These are just teething issues though, and operators insist that everything will be up and running by the middle of next week

One Liners: Will.i.am, Jeremy Lutito deals; Astroworld litigation; Sony launches new dance label; IMPF board appointments; MPG Award winners; new music from Twenty One Pilots, Tems, Berwyn, Salute x Rina Sawayama, Nilüfer Yanya, Bright Light Bright Light, Louis Cole, Sen Morimoto

Also today: TikTok would rather shut down in the US than sell; Independent music publishers criticise Spotify’s audiobooks bundle plans; Pathways Into Music professional development programme launches this weekend; Spotify says Apple is breaching EU law by refusing to accept its app update

Plus: ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ is the world’s most popular song

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Co-op Live’s opening week woes continue

Manchester's new Co-op Live arena has yet again pushed back its opening, and has cancelled this weekend's show by The Black Keys. Peter Kay’s shows - which were already postponed once - have also been postponed again. 

Last night the venue's General Manager Gary Roden quit, which at least allows the arena’s owner Oak View Group to distance itself from his comments that some grassroots venues are “poorly run” - a statement that seemed all the more foolish following the various issues that have occurred with the building's grand opening.

Last weekend the capacity for a test event was cut back from 11,000 to 4000 people because of what the venue said were power issues. 

Shortly after that it was announced that Kay's two performances - due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday - were also being postponed because of a need to “ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue”.

Announcing the latest delay and postponement, a Co-op Live statement issued earlier today reads, “we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans. To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows”.

“Today’s announcement comes with reassurance that we will welcome fans to Co-op Live from Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on 1 May, and into Olivia Rodrigo on 3 and 4 May 2024”, the statement adds, setting a new deadline.

Former Co-op Live GM Gary Roden made comments about grassroots venues being “poorly run” - presumably a statement he now somewhat regrets - during an interview about the opening of the venue. 

He was responding to a question about the proposal that booming arena venues should be providing some financial support to a grassroots live sector that is currently in crisis. He added that the Music Venue Trust's proposal to apply a £1 levy on arena show tickets to support grassroots venues, promoters and artists was “too simplistic”, and said that the levy campaign as a whole had been “quite aggressive”.

After confirming Roden had “decided to resign”, Oak View Group’s VP International, Jessica Koravos, was keen to distance the company from the former GM’s remarks. “Neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry”. 

In her statement, OVG’s Koravos didn’t address the ticket levy proposal head on, instead honing in on other ways the venue is trying to support grassroots music and the local community.

“As OVG chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated”, she said, “Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist Of The Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music. Co-op Live also donates over £1 million a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund”.

She also added that Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain “happy” to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is “fully operational”. Sounds like a good idea. Perhaps the Co-op Live team could get some pointers on how to successfully run a music venue. 

Following Roden’s departure, Rebecca Kane Burton, formerly General Manager at London's O2 Arena, will be Interim General Manager.

Commenting on Burton’s appointment, Music Venue Trust boss Mark Davyd said, “Gary's replacement comes to Co-op Live with a history of working at The O2, an arena and operating company with a markedly different approach to these discussions and their relationship with MVT. Let's hope that this new General Manager brings a new and positive attitude and understanding with them”.

Spiritmuse Records // Label Manager (London Hybrid)

Your Culture // Campaign Management Assistant (Brighton)

Gondwana Records // Part Time Social Media, Online Marketing & Digital Content Manager (Manchester Hybrid)

The O2 // Production Supervisor (London)

AXS Europe // Technical Project Manager (London)

The Halls // Assistant Box Office Manager (Wolverhampton)

Como No & La Linea // Operations & Reporting Manager (London Hybrid)

Kilimanjaro Live // Promoter Assistant (London)

foundation.fm // Account Manager (London)

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ONE LINERS

One Liners: Astroworld, Will.i.am, MPG Awards + more

DEALS 

Talent agency UTA has signed Will.i.am for worldwide representation in all areas, reports Variety. 

Concord Music Publishing has extended its deal with producer Jeremy Lutito. Under the expanded agreement, they will launch new joint venture Mezzanine. “We are THRILLED that we get to continue our rewarding partnership”, says Brad Kennard, SVP A&R at Concord Music Publishing in Nashville. Lutito himself adds, “I’m THRILLED to begin a new chapter with Concord”.

LEGAL

Travis Scott, Apple and a number of other entities have failed in their bid to be removed from litigation over the 2021 Astroworld festival. This comes less than two weeks before the first trial over the fatal event is set to begin.

LABELS

Sony Music Germany has launched new electronic label noted. records. It will be overseen by Sony Music's Vice President Of A&R for Europe & Africa, Jean-Sebastien Permal. The label’s first signing is Anfisa Letyago. “I'm THRILLED to join Sony Music”, says Letyago. “We are THRILLED to have Anfisa Letyago as our first signed artist”, adds Permal.

APPOINTMENTS 

Rosa M Vizcaíno Gómez, Emily Stephenson, Claudia Mescoli, Cecilia Léon Rodrigo, Tatjana Bukvić and Denise Andrikopoulou have been elected to the board of the Independent Music Publishers International Forum. “It’s a pleasure to welcome six new faces to the IMPF Board, alongside those that have been re-elected for the college 2024 to 2026”, says President Annette Barrett.

AWARDS

The Music Producers Guild Awards took place in London last night with Catherine Marks taking the top Producer Of The Year award for her work on Boygenius album ‘The Record’. "Congratulations to all the winners”, says MPG Executive Director Matt Taylor. “What a fantastic year”.

RELEASES

Twenty One Pilots have released new single ‘Backslide’. Their new album ‘Clancy’ is out on 24 May. 

Tems has released new single ‘Love Me Jeje’. The track is the first to be taken from her debut album ‘Born In The Wild’, which is out next month. 

Berwyn has released new track ‘Neighbours’. 

Salute has released new single ‘Saving Flowers’ featuring Rina Sawayama. His new album ‘True Magic’ is out on 12 Jul.

Nilüfer Yanya has released new single ‘Like I Say (I Runaway)’, her first under a new record deal with Ninja Tune. 

Bright Light Bright Light has released new single ‘Heartslap’ featuring Mykal Kilgore.

Louis Cole will release his fifth album ‘Nothing’ on 9 Aug, for which he collaborated with Metropole Orkest and Jules Buckley. Out now is new single ‘Things Will Fall Apart’. 

Sen Morimoto has released surprise EP ‘Bonk!’ Watch the video for EP track ‘American TV’ here.

ByteDance would rather close TikTok in the US than sell the app, sources say 

When US Congress was first debating the sell-or-be-banned law that orders TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance to sell the app or face a US-wide ban, sources said that actually divesting the app was a “last resort” option for ByteDance bosses. With that law now passed, sources have told Reuters that selling TikTok has become a “no resort” option. 

“The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance's overall operations”, Reuters reports, citing those sources. “TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the US in a worst case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer”.

Although the US reportedly accounted for about 25% of TikTok’s revenues last year, TikTok itself is a small part of ByteDance’s wider business. It makes most of its money from the apps it operates in China, including Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok. 

Shutting down TikTok in the US would therefore “have limited impact on ByteDance's business while the company would not have to give up its core algorithm”, Reuters’ sources insist. 

Under the final version of the sell-or-be-banned law, ByteDance has 270 days to sell TikTok before any ban goes into effect. If a deal is still being negotiated at that point, the US President can extend the deadline by 90 days. That said, TikTok is still hoping it can scupper the new law in the courts on the basis it breaches constitutional rights to free speech. 

When Joe Biden signed off the new law earlier this week, TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew told the app's users in a video post, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the constitution are on our side”.

When the law was being debated in US Congress, its supporters were keen to stress it wasn’t really a TikTok ban, because ByteDance would sell the app and it would then carry on operating. But TikTok’s lobbyists were adamant it was, in fact, a ban, because if the new law can’t be blocked in the courts, access to the video sharing app in the US really will be cut off. 

When Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok back when he was President, there was talk of the TikTok US business being spun off and ByteDance retaining ownership in the rest of the world. A key challenge with that option though is splitting up ByteDance’s all important algorithm. 

A recent report in The Information suggested ByteDance was looking into the option of selling TikTok US without the algorithm, so the buyer would just get the brand, userbase and basic platform. But ByteDance issued a statement yesterday insisting that wasn’t true. 

Many supporters of the law in Washington likely believe ByteDance is still bluffing about allowing a US ban to go into effect, relying on its constitutional arguments in court to at least extend the deadline of any sale, even if they ultimately fail to defeat the law entirely. 

However, TikTok has been banned in India since 2020, which is a priority growth market for many of ByteDance’s competitors. This means the Chinese company is used to achieving growth while being absent in some key countries. So maybe ByteDance’s ban bluff isn’t a bluff at all. 😅

Indie publishers hit out at Spotify’s bundling trick to lower songwriter payments

A group of independent music publishers has hit out at Spotify’s sneaky trick of reclassifying its main premium subscription product as a ‘bundle’ in order to reduce the royalties it has to pay publishers and songwriters in the US. 

“Subscribers to the premium service expect Spotify to pay songwriters their fair share of any royalties”, a new statement from the Association Of Independent Music Publishers reads. “Spotify’s decision shows a remarkable lack of appreciation for music rightsholders and the value of music”. 

Because Spotify premium now includes access to audiobooks - and in the US Spotify also has a standalone audiobooks subscription offer - the streaming service has decided that the main Spotify subscription product should be considered a bundle. 

That’s important in the US where the rates Spotify pays on the songs side are set by the compulsory licence that covers mechanical rights. That licence includes a different lower rate for bundles, a rate already relied on by things like Amazon Prime and the Apple bundles that include music, video and other content. 

AIMP goes on, “We are disappointed to learn that Spotify believes it should pay songwriters a lower royalty rate for music streams by unilaterally bundling a service - audiobooks - for existing premium subscribers who were not given an opportunity to ‘opt out’ of the offering. Spotify provided no advanced notification to music creators, rightsholders, or music fans, and provided no clear explanation for its decision”.

As part of a wider reshuffle of Spotify’s subscription products, the price of the main premium subscription is set to increase by another dollar, while a new basic tier will be made available at the current price point with no audiobooks. That new basic tier, as a music only service, will continue to pay the higher royalty rates to publishers and songwriters.

With that in mind, AIMP adds, “At the least, we hope that Spotify will properly alert its subscribers of the change and inform subscribers that they may switch from their current premium subscription to the new basic tier. At the basic tier, songwriters will be paid the settled streaming mechanical rate”. 

The US National Music Publishers Association previously said it would “not stand” for Spotify’s “perversion” of the compulsory licence”, adding that it is “looking at all options”. Alluding to that, AIMP added, “We support and join with our sister organisations to speak out against the unfair reclassification of the new premium bundle tier”.

Pathways Into Music brings together 50+ music educators this weekend

This weekend CMU’s Pathways Into Music Foundation is launching a new professional development programme which will see over 50 music educators meet to discuss music careers and how to best support future music talent.

Pathways Into Music helps build connections between the music industry and music education, recognising the key role educators play in ensuring that young people have access to the knowledge and resources they need to pursue a career in music. The new programme outlines that knowledge and signposts those resources, while encouraging the exchange of insights and ideas within the music education sector, and between educators and industry.

Dr Sini Timonen, one of the team running this weekend’s activities, introduces the programme in more detail here.

Spotify says Apple “defying” European law as its updated app is knocked back

Spotify has accused Apple of “once again defying” a ruling made by the European Union regarding the App Store rules on signposting alternative payment options within an app.

The streaming service says that Apple has refused to approve updates to its iOS app which were made in response to the EU ruling “unless we pay Apple a new tax”. It then added, “Apple’s disregard for consumers and developers is matched only by their disdain for the law”.

Spotify has long objected to the Apple rules which say that in-app purchases must be taken via the tech giant’s commission charging transactions system, and alternative payment options outside the app cannot be signposted. Those rules, it argues, are anticompetitive.

The EU’s competition regulators investigated the matter following a complaint by Spotify, ultimately focusing on the rule prohibiting the sign-posting of other payment options, aka the anti-steering provision. 

They ultimately ruled that that provision was anticompetitive and ordered Apple to start allowing app developers to include information about and links to other payment options in their iOS apps. As it happened, by that point, Apple was already obliged to do just that by the new EU Digital Markets Act.

As a result, Apple is now allowing the signposting of those other payment options. But with a big catch: An app developer must agree to still pay a commission on any transactions that begin in an iOS app. Unsurprisingly, Spotify does not want to agree to that new commission. 

It has had two goes at updating its app since the EU ruling. First it inserted links to alternative payment options. Then, when that didn’t get approved, it added text describing where payments could be made, but without any links. But Apple argues neither of those updates are possible until Spotify agrees to the terms of a document called the Music Streaming Services Entitlement, which include the commission agreement.

“This entitlement is required even if your app does not include an external link”, Apple said in a message to Spotify. The new version of the app will be approved, it added, “after you accept the terms of the Music Streaming Services Entitlement (EEA) and resubmit it for review”.

Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins has now called on the EU to intervene. “By charging developers to communicate with consumers through in-app links, Apple continues to break European law”, he said in a statement. “It’s past time for the European Commission to enforce its decision so that consumers can see real, positive benefits”.

And Finally! Cotton Eye Joe is the world’s most popular song - this is not the future I asked for

I still vividly remember the first time I heard ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ by Rednex. I’m sure the same is true for all of us. Such moments in culture do not arrive often, and when they do you just have to grab hold of them and enjoy the ride. 

It was the summer, I was in the back of my parents’ car, waiting outside a friend’s house for some reason, when it was played - as far as I remember without warning - on Radio 1. The catchiness of the song was undeniable. And much as I felt I should not like it, I found it hard to resist.

Read this week's And Finally! and a selection of other funny, weird or downright peculiar music stories here