| We've covered the music business each day since 21 Jun 2002 Today's email is edition #5367 |
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| | In todayâs CMU Daily: The independent music sector has called on competition regulators to investigate and block Universalâs Downtown Music deal, which is a âhuge market shareâ grab according to IMPALAâs Helen Smith and part of the majorâs bid for âutter dominance and controlâ according to Beggars boss Martin Mills
Also today: The UK government has formally proposed introducing a new copyright exception for AI companies that use existing content to train their models, but with an opt-out for copyright owners. The music industry will oppose that proposal via a consultation that the government has just opened
Plus: The current operator of The Leadmill in Sheffield says he will gut the venue, including demolishing its toilets, if forced to leave by landlord Electric Group, which wants to run the venue itself. Electric Groupâs legal bid to evict current operator Phil Mills is back in court in Leeds this week
Approved: Listen to every track weâve featured in CMUâs âApprovedâ slot in 2024 â and see our top tracks from this yearâs selection.
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| | Beware the âwolf under the capeâ in Universalâs Downtown land grab, warns Beggars boss as IMPALA calls for regulators to block the deal | | When Universal Music announced its deal to buy Downtown Music yesterday, the mega-major was keen to position the $775 million acquisition as being driven by its distribution and label services division Virgin Music Group, âone of the worldâs leading partners to independent music entrepreneursâ.
Today, Beggars Group founder Martin Mills says that this is nothing more than a âcynical useâ of the Virgin brand that was âonce synonymous with independent entrepreneurshipâ, and that Universal is set on âutter dominance and controlâ.
That statement comes as part of IMPALAâs call for regulators to strike down the deal, saying that it expects competition authorities in key jurisdictions to investigate and block Universalâs âland grabâ and that âthe time has come for cutting UMGâs market position backâ.
In a robust statement, IMPALA Executive Chair Helen Smith says âthis is a huge market share grab by UMG and seriously reduces independent routes to marketâ, adding âwe look to the new European Commission to set the standard internationallyâ by instigating an investigation into the deal.
In its announcement of the acquisition, Universal said that Virgin and Downtown together would âoffer the independent music community a dynamic and innovative global infrastructureâ. But this, says Mills, is just âanother step on the road of UMGâs pretence to be the independentsâ fairy godmotherâ. He then warns, âthereâs a wolf under that capeâ. | Read the full story | |
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UK government proposes copyright exception to help make UK attractive to AI companies as part of new consultation | | The UK government has formally launched its keenly anticipated consultation on copyright and AI. The consultation, which is open for responses from today through to 25 Feb, will consider a âbalanced package of proposalsâ that will âgive creators greater control over how their material is used by AI developersâ.
Technically the proposed new copyright exception for AI companies that forms the backbone of the governmentâs proposals will actually give creators less control over how their copyright-protected works are used. However, as a trade off, creators are being promised more clarity and transparency, and possibly more protection for personality rights.
The creative industries, AI companies and anyone else interested in the issue now have just over two months to tell the government why its proposed compromise will or won't work, so that ministers can be fully informed before ignoring everybody and ploughing ahead with their proposals anyway, or doing something else entirely. Who knows? âThis government firmly believes that our musicians, writers, artists and other creatives should have the ability to know and control how their content is used by AI firms and be able to seek licensing deals and fair paymentâ, insists Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who adds, âachieving this, and ensuring legal certainty, will help our creative and AI sectors grow and innovate together in partnershipâ.
| Read the full story | |
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| Leadmill venue operator threatens to demolish toilets and gut venue if evicted, claiming Electric Group canât afford refurbishment costs | |
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| The dispute over who should get to run Sheffieldâs Leadmill venue - the current management team or the building's landlord Electric Group - is back in court this week, with the costs involved in Electric Group taking it over very much in the spotlight.
Demonstrating how far he is willing to go in order to stay, current venue operator Phil Mills says that he plans to gut the premises if he is forced to leave. As part of that plan, he has filed for planning permission from the council to demolish the venueâs toilet block in order to âreturn the building to pre-leasing conditionâ, according to the Sheffield Star.
Mills and his team have been clear from the start that, if they are forced to leave the building, they plan to leave it as they found it, with all the fittings they have added over the years removed.
If that plan goes ahead, the costs for Electric Group to get the building up and running again as a venue would be substantial and immediate. So much so, lawyers working for Mills have suggested that Electric Group would not have the necessary funds to get the venue operational.
Thatâs not true, says Electric Group, and the numbers Mills is proposing are based on âabsurdly overcookedâ estimates of the possible refurbishment costs. According to the BBC, Electric Group boss Dominic Madden told the court this week that the numbers cited by Millsâ team âseem illogicalâ. They reckoned the costs could top ÂŁ4.7 million, but Maddenâs own estimates come in more like ÂŁ2 million. âI still think thatâs rightâ. Madden added, âeven with the future work required if Mr Mills decides to take things outâ.
| Read the full story | |
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| đ§ Approved in 2024 | | Each Tuesday and Thursday, CMU's Approved introduces a new artist weâre excited about. They may already have a strong catalogue of music behind them or might be releasing their first single, but we think each one is deserving of wider attention.
Spanning a wide range of genres, from mainstream to deeply experimental, thereâs a vast amount of music to delve into by the end of the year â and what better time than now to revisit it all?
Weâve collected music from all of the artists that we featured in 2024âs Approved into a playlist that you can listen to on Spotify or you can explore the original articles.
Itâs the perfect escape from Christmas music, an ideal soundtrack to last minute shopping, and a ready-made way to make visiting friends and family think that you know far more about music than they do. | đ Click through to see our selection of stand-out Approveds from 2024 |
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