In today's CMU Daily: A lawyer representing Madonna and Live Nation in a legal battle over the singer’s time-keeping has accused their accusers’ legal team of enacting a “harassment campaign”. This comes after the fans’ attorneys told the court that a settlement had been reached, which Madonna and Live Nation’s rep denies

One Liners: Mount Kimbie, NTIA deals; Diddy honorary degree revoked; Black Keys on tour cancellation; Beabadoobee, Jamie xx, Shout Out Louds live dates; new releases from Nilüfer Yanya, Berwyn, Hayden Thorpe, Fucked Up, Sløtface, Heartworms, Piglet x Jemima Coulter

Also today: MVT lobbies prospective MPs; Artists shun traditional success metrics; Pink Floyd seek to block unofficial merch website

Plus: Treanne is CMU Approved

Madonna accuses litigious fans of “harassment”

Madonna and Live Nation have accused lawyers working for two fans who sued over the musician’s time-keeping at concerts of instigating a “harassment campaign”. That allegation came amid a dispute over whether or not the fans’ lawsuit had been settled. The fans’ attorneys said it had, but representatives for Madonna and Live Nation were adamant it had not. 

Madonna and Live Nation, says their attorney Jeff Warshafsky, aren’t “necessarily opposed to settlement if certain terms can be reached”. However, a court filing last week stating that a settlement had been agreed was simply wrong, he insists. They will “not be harassed into settlement” and cannot “abide false statements” being submitted to the court. 

That false statement, he goes on, is “part and parcel of the harassment campaign” that the other side “has been waging against” Madonna and her business partners “in hopes of extorting a lucrative settlement”. Part of that strategy is to force his clients to “incur unnecessary legal fees”, he claims.

Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden sued Madonna in January in relation to shows that took place in New York last December. They claimed that the concert was scheduled to start at 8.30pm but Madonna didn’t arrive on stage until after 10.30pm. That meant the concert didn’t finish until after midnight, and Fellows and Hadden were “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs”.

It's not the only lawsuit filed this year over Madonna’s slack time-keeping. In April, three fans who attended a show in Washington DC last December went legal, and then another lawsuit was filed last month over a show in Inglewood, California. That latter lawsuit also raised other grievances with Madonna’s performance, including that it included sexualised content, which somehow surprised at least one litigious fan. 

Where Madonna showed up late, the lawsuits accuse her and promoter Live Nation of breach of contract, false advertising and negligent misrepresentation. Lawyers for the artist and live music giant have strongly contested those claims, reckoning that it’s pretty standard with pop concerts that, when a start time is advertised as 8.30pm, you don’t expect the headline act to be on stage at that time. 

According to TMZ, in a recent legal filing responding to the Fellows and Hadden lawsuit, Madonna and Live Nation stated that, any fan with any familiarity with the musician’s concerts, "would surely know that Madonna typically takes the stage well after the ticketed event time (after an opening act, set transition, and so on) and plays late into the night”. 

It's not currently clear why lawyers working for Fellows and Hadden thought a settlement had been agreed with Madonna and Live Nation. In a letter to the court, Warshafsky says that a possible settlement was discussed in May, but on 4 Jun he informed the other side that his clients would not be proposing any settlement in writing at this time. 

Then, on 6 Jun, Fellows and Hadden’s lawyers sent over a settlement agreement they had written for approval, and - before Warshafsky could query that document - it had been filed with the court as a notice of settlement. Warshafsky says he doesn’t know what the other side’s lawyers “believe they are accomplishing or trying to accomplish with the false notice”. Unless it’s to buy them more time to respond to Madonna and Live Nation’s motion for dismissal. 

Either way, in response to Warshafsky’s letter, the judge overseeing the case rejected the notice of settlement. Fellows and Hadden now have until 1 July to respond to Madonna and Live Nation’s objections to their lawsuit.

Chalk Press Agency // Senior Music Publicist (London)

SJM Concerts // Event Ticketing Manager (Manchester)

Sentric Music // Revenue Optimisation Manager (London/Liverpool)

Sentric Music // Copyright Manager (Liverpool/London)

AXS Europe // Marketing Manager (Birmingham)

Solar // Finance Manager (London/Hybrid)

BSI Merch // Digital Content & Campaign Manager (London)

terrible* // Finance Assistant/Bookkeeper (London)

Secretly Distribution // UK Account Relations Director (London)

All Flowers Group // Project Manager (London)

Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.

Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

ONE LINERS

Diddy, Black Keys, Beabadoobee + more

DEALS

Mount Kimbie have signed a new worldwide publishing deal with Concord Music Publishing. “We are delighted to move into a new era for Mount Kimbie partnering with the fantastic global team across Concord, developing Mount Kimbie and both Kai and Dom’s solo writing”, says their manager Rich Austen-Smith of Giant Artist Management.

The UK’s Night Time Industries Association has announced a partnership with KUVO Powered by DJ Monitor to increase the number of venues where music recognition technology is monitoring tracks played by DJs. Venues can participate at no cost. “The roll out of this cutting edge technology in the UK will go a long way to developing stronger, more tangible insights into the music being played within businesses across the UK”, says NTIA CEO Michael Kill. “The developments within music recognition technology software over the last few years will also allow for more accurate data to be delivered to the music rights industry, ensuring that music creators get paid royalties for what is played by DJs at events”.

ARTIST NEWS

The board of directors of Howard University in the US has unanimously voted to rescind an honorary degree given to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2014. The decision was made following the recent publication of video footage of Diddy assaulting former partner Cassie Ventura which, the university says, is “so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honour”. It will also return a $1 million donation from the music mogul and end a scholarship programme established in his name.

Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney has commented on the band’s recent US tour cancellation and split from their management. “We got fucked”, he wrote on X. “I’ll let you all know how so it doesn’t happen to you. Stay tuned”. Irving Azoff’s Full Stop Management has previously said that the split was “amicable”. 

GIGS & FESTIVALS

Beabadoobee has announced UK tour dates in November, finishing up at London’s Alexandra Palace on 21 Nov. Tickets go on general sale on 21 Jun. 

Jamie xx has announced a second night at Alexandra Palace in London on 25 Sep, after the previously announced 26 Sep date sold out. Tickets on sale now.

Shout Out Louds will mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Howl Howl Gaff Gaff’ with a show at The Dome in Tufnell Park, London on 16 Nov. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. 

RELEASES

Nilüfer Yanya will release her third album ‘My Method Actor’ on 13 Sep. Out now is new single ‘Method Actor’. 

Berwyn has announced that he will release his debut album “Who Am I’ on 12 Jul. Out now is new spoken word track ‘Dear Immigration’. 

Former Wild Beasts frontman Hayden Thorpe has announced that his new solo album ‘Ness’ will be out on 27 Sep. Out now is lead single ‘They’. 

Fucked Up have released new single 'Stimming’. New album ‘Another Day’ is out on 9 Aug, and the band will be in the UK for live shows in October - including a performance at Oslo in London on 26 Oct.

Sløtface have released new single ‘Ladies Of The Fight’ and announced that they will release their third album ‘Film Buff’ on 27 Sep. There are also UK and Ireland tour dates in the offing, starting in September and finishing with a show at The Underworld in London on 3 Oct. Tickets are all, like, available and that.

Heartworms is back with new single ‘Jacked’. She is also set to play UK shows next month, including at London’s Moth Club on 17 Jul.

Piglet and Jemima Coulter have teamed up for new single ‘Panic’.

Approved: Treanne

Following a US tour with Sampha and a three week residency at Young Space - the London collaborative workspace run by indie label Young - singer-songwriter Treanne recently released her debut EP ‘20/20’. 

Preferring to keep instrumentation stripped back, her understated arrangements sound effortless while actually doing a huge amount of work to ensure they deliver the maximum emotional impact. 

On a song like ‘Please’, subtle shifts in the tempo of a very simple guitar underline particularly emotive lyrics. On ‘Sharing My Body’, the core piano riff repeats throughout almost without variation, grounding the song when the vocals on the chorus attempt to pull away. 

🎧 ‘20/20’ is out now. Watch the video for ‘Sharing My Body’ here

Music Venue Trust seeks to gain political momentum with Manifesto For Grassroots Music

The UK’s Music Venue Trust has published a ‘A Manifesto For Grassroots Music’. It is seeking to ensure that the recent momentum the organisation has achieved within the political community is maintained after next month’s General Election. That includes the recent recommendations made by Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee.

MVT External Affairs Manager Sophie Brownlee explains that the manifesto will be sent to every prospective MP, “with the request that they come out in support of it as part of their campaign to be elected. Music communities across the country will also be asking the candidates where they stand on the future of live music in our towns and cities”. 

The challenges faced by artists, promoters and venues operating at the grassroots of live music were put into the spotlight earlier this year by an inquiry staged by the CMS Select Committee. MPs heard that, while the upper end of live music has bounced back since the COVID shutdowns, the grassroots sector is in crisis. 

A subsequent report from the committee in May backed many of the recommendations made by the grassroots music community to help overcome those challenges. That included the proposal, led by MVT, that a levy be applied to tickets for large-scale shows to generate funds that would then be distributed to artists, promoters and venues working at the grassroots. 

MPs said the industry should seek to get a levy scheme of that kind in place by September and, if it failed to do so, that “the government should introduce a statutory levy at the earliest subsequent opportunity”. 

A week after the report was published, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a General Election and Parliament was subsequently dissolved. In an open letter, Chair of the CMS Committee, Caroline Dinenage, urged future MPs and the next government to continue to work on changes proposed by her committee in the last Parliament. And that includes the proposals for grassroots live music. 

MVT’s manifesto sets out its five key priorities for how MPs in the next Parliament can maintain recent momentum and address many of the issues. The levy system is priority number one. Another common request from the live sector, a cut on VAT on tickets, is also included, as is another initiative proposed by MPs, a “fan-led review” of the live music ecosystem.

Musicians now see success from a more long-term perspective, study finds

Streaming has changed how musicians measure their own success, with existing metrics like radioplay and chart positions too short-term in their viewpoints. This is according to a new report published by digital distributor Amuse and research company MIDiA.

With more artists releasing music than ever before, the vast majority - around 95% - are independent. All but 2% of those have never signed to a label. These artists prize connecting with listeners - regardless of the size of that audience - and creating a sustainable career most highly. Their outlook and view of what is successful is more long term, less predicated on finding fame, and largely uninterested in traditional music industry metrics.

“We started tracking the growth of the independent and DIY movement already in 2019 together with MIDiA, and are happy to announce our third deep dive into the market”, says Amuse’s Director Of Communications Sofia Green. “Using MIDiA’s fifth annual survey of global independent music creators, along with in-depth interviews with artists and secondary research on longevity and success, we were able to re-evaluate what success looks like for the modern-day music artist”.

As well as hoping to “shed light on what artists themselves consider success metrics today”, she adds that the research provides insight into “what type of partners they prefer to build their careers”.

Good news for Amuse, it’s not labels that artists are most likely to approach. The majority prefer to maintain their independence, working with distributors or artist services companies. The third preference was indie labels, while just 6% of artists surveyed said that they would want to sign to a major label. 

“Only one out of five artists in the survey consider being signed by a record label as a metric of success, which represents a big shift in the industry”, says Amuse Head Of A&R John Dahlbäck. This represents a major shift, the report reckons, and shows that the record industry is currently not set up to work with musicians in the way that they would like.

MIDiA’s Consulting Director, Keith Jopling says, “Over the past decade, the music industry’s approach to talent discovery, marketing, and artist careers has become too data obsessed, near sighted, and damaging to the industry’s lifeblood. Artists are being sold short and, in turn, this has created a dysfunctional creative-commercial ecosystem”.

With so many people now making and releasing music, there is still a place for companies that can help musicians to navigate the industry and find their audience. But, concludes the study, that should be based on a more long-term outlook. Industry partners should support artists in seeking to create a sustainable career, rather than short-term successes that push them into a cycle of being ‘always on’ as they jump from target to target.

Court orders domain of unofficial Pink Floyd merch website to be disabled

A US court has ordered an unofficial Pink Floyd merchandise website to stop infringing the band’s trademarks, on both the products it sells and the website itself. It has also instructed the registry that issues .com domain names, and the registrar through which the site bought its domain, to disable pinkfloydmerch.com. The end result of which will be that people are unable to visit the online store using that domain name.

These demands are made in a temporary restraining order that was issued in response to a lawsuit filed last week by Pink Floyd (1987) Ltd, the UK-based company that manages the band’s intellectual property. The lawsuit accuses pinkfloydmerch.com of operating “a fake online storefront” designed to look like it is offering official Pink Floyd products when, in fact, it is selling “inferior imitations”. 

The band’s company says it has filed the lawsuit in order to protect the trademarks it owns around the Pink Floyd brand, and also to “protect unknowing consumers” from inadvertently buying knock-off merch online.

Ultimately, the company wants pinkfloydmerch.com to be permanently banned from exploiting the band's brand. It also asked for a temporary restraining order so that it can quickly stop the sale of unofficial merch while its lawsuit goes through the motions. 

The operator of pinkfloydmerch.com claims to have an office in California. However, the Pink Floyd company says it suspects that “address is fictitious” because, when it undertook an online search, it found “there is no building with that number on that street”. The pinkfloydmerch.com website also lists a warehouse address in China. 

It’s because the rogue merch operation is based outside the US that it makes sense for the Pink Floyd company to after the website’s domain, which obviously also includes the band’s trademark protected brand. Enforcing the restraining order in China will be tricky, which makes it easy for the rogue merch seller to basically ignore the legal action in the US. 

Most domain names - including those ending .com -  are distributed on a first come first served basis and a company owning a trademark in a brand name doesn't necessarily give it the automatic right to a domain that matches its trademark. However, trademark owners can seek to seize a domain name where they can demonstrate that the current owner of the domain has acted in bad faith. 

The “bad faith” element of this is critical, however. Just because a domain name has been registered and is being used does not necessarily give a trademark owner the right to stop the activity or take the domain. For example, a legitimate fan site operating using a band’s domain name would not necessarily be considered to be operating in bad faith. Where the use of the domain name is misleading, or misrepresents its relationship with a particular trademark, it becomes easier to make that bad faith argument.

“Defendant has registered and/or used its respective cybersquatted subject domain name with the bad faith intent to profit” from the Pink Floyd trademarks, the lawsuit insists. 

The bad faith claim here is mainly based on the argument that fans are being tricked into thinking that they are buying official merchandise. The website does state that it is “the OFFICIAL merchandise store for Pink Floyd fans”. That’s s a sneaky way of not actually claiming to be officially connected to the band, but very heavily implying it. 

Having accepted the need to quickly issue a temporary restraining order, the court has ordered the domain’s registry and registrar to disable the domain within seven days, and then keep it “inactive and untransferable until further order by this court”. 

While that’s a positive development for Pink Floyd (1987) Ltd, the company’s own lawsuit concedes that rogue merch sellers are adept at switching domain names and internet providers as intellectual property owners target them with takedown notices and legal action. It says that protecting the band’s trademarks has become akin to a game of whack-a-mole, a common complaint by those seeking to protect and enforce trademarks and copyright. 

Though, for now, the band's company will be hoping that, at the very least, the pinkfloydmerch.com domain will soon stop operating.