In today's CMU Daily: Music Canada, which represents the major record companies, has issued a statement about the 5% streaming levy being introduced in the country. Unlike the indies, the majors agree with the streaming services that the levy plan is really bad. If the proposed approach “sounds like outdated thinking”, says Music Canada, “it’s because it is”

One Liners: Lucian Grainge's massive bonus looks a lot less certain as UMG's share price falls off a cliff. Wise Music signs The Staves, Armada Music partners with Warner and Africori, Kobalt ups Bob Bruderman and Maximilian Kolb leaves BMG

Also today: American jailed for nearly five years over concert bookings scam that involved fake contracts, fake emails and a fake Justin Bieber; TikTok criticised over missing safety features on its Lite app 

Plus: Antony Szmierek is CMU Approved 

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Major label trade group criticises Canada’s 5% streaming levy

The trade body for the three major record companies in Canada has spoken out against the new 5% streaming levy that is being introduced in the country, the size of which, says Music Canada CEO Patrick Rogers, is “unprecedented” and “staggering”. Rogers is particularly scathing about the decision to direct 40% of the money raised by the levy to the Canadian radio sector. “If that sounds like outdated thinking”, he declares, “it’s because it is”.

This contrasts with the position taken by the trade body for indie labels in Canada, which previously said that plans devised by the Canadian Radio-Television And Telecommunications Commission for how the streaming levy would work were “good news for the Canadian music sector”. However, the majors are allied with the streaming services, which have dubbed the levy a “protectionist subsidy for radio” and are already fighting the CRTC’s plans through the Canadian courts. 

Rogers published his statement on the levy earlier this week after, he says, “weeks of consideration and consultation with members of the music community”. The levy for streaming services - extending a principle that already applies to broadcasters in the country - was introduced by Canada’s Online Streaming Act. The act left the specifics of how the levy would work and who would benefit to the CRTC. 

Domino // Junior Radio Plugger (London)

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

Sentric Music // Copyright Manager (Liverpool/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

Deals

• Tim & Danny Music and Warner Chappell Music UK have signed an exclusive global publishing deal with rising British R&B/soul singer-songwriter Elmiene. 

• Wise Music Group has signed an exclusive worldwide songwriter agreement with indie folk duo The Staves. Armada Music has partnered with 

• Warner Music Africa and Africori to launch ‘AMAPIANO TO IBIZA’, an EP featuring amapiano reinterpretations of classic Ibiza house tracks.

Appointments

• PULSE Music Group has promoted Steven Gringer to Senior Vice President Of A&R.

• BMG has announced that Maximilian Kolb will step down as EVP Of Repertoire & Marketing Continental Europe after twelve years with the company.

• The Scottish Music Industry Association has appointed seven members to its inaugural Equalities, Diversity, Inclusion And Access Advisory Group: Jayne Stynes (Chair), Jim Muotune, Beth Black, Sof Staune, Jo D’arc, Ailie Robertson and Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi. 

• Kobalt has promoted Bob Bruderman to the newly created position of Chief Digital Officer.

Labels

• Mushroom Group has launched Mushroom Music, consolidating its recording, publishing and neighbouring rights activities. 

• Influence Media has launched a new frontline label called SLANG, led by Partner and founding Advisor Rene McLean, with early signings including Will Smith.

• Universal Music Group’s share price has fallen off a cliff, dropping as much as 30% to €19.93 following disappointing streaming revenue growth reported by the company in its Q2 earnings report yesterday. The decline makes CEO Lucian Grainge’s massive bonus, which kicks in at €30 per share, seem increasingly remote. 

Digital

• Spotify has rebranded its Ad Studio as Spotify Ads Manager, introducing enhanced advertising capabilities for all advertisers. 

Legal

• Japanese music piracy site Hikari-no-Akari has voluntarily shut down following legal pressure from Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

• Young Thug’s attorney has filed a renewed motion for the rapper’s pre-trial release from prison in the ongoing YSL racketeering case. 

• Udio has launched Version 1.5 of its AI-powered music creation platform, introducing improved audio quality, key control and stem downloads amidst an ongoing copyright lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association Of America and major labels. 

Industry News & Events

• IMPALA has released the results of its first qualitative survey on the economic benefits of sustainability practices in the European independent music sector. 

• LIVE, the trade body for the UK live industry, has announced new ‘committed partners’ for its 2024 LIVE Talks programme, including Royal Albert Hall, OVO Hydro, See Tickets, Skiddle and The O2. 

Artist News

• Timothee Chalamet has been revealed singing as Bob Dylan in the first trailer for “A Complete Unknown”, set for US release in December.

• The Mercury Prize has announced its twelve ‘Albums Of The Year’ for 2024, showcasing a diverse range of British and Irish talent. The shortlist, revealed earlier today by BBC Radio 6 Music, includes: Barry Can’t Swim, BERWYN, Beth Gibbons, Cat Burns, Charli XCX, CMAT, Corinne Bailey Rae, corto.alto, English Teacher, Ghetts, Nia Archives and The Last Dinner Party.

• Loyle Carner and Kojey Radical have received honorary doctorates from the University Of The Arts London. 

Releases & Tours

• SOPHIE has released two new singles ‘Berlin Nightmare’, featuring Evita Manji + ‘One More Time’, featuring Popstar. Her posthumous album ‘SOPHIE’ is out 27 Sep.

• Pixies have released their new single ‘Chicken’. Their new album ‘The Night The Zombies Came’ is out 25 Oct.

• Peter Cat Recording Co have released their new single ‘Foolmuse’. Their new album ‘BETA’ is out 9 Aug.

• LANA & LEX have released their new single ‘ティファニーで朝食を (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)’.

• mxmtoon has released her new single ‘i hate texas’.

• Ma Sha has released her new fourt track EP ‘Pull To Stop’.

• muque have released their new single ‘nevermind’.

• Angie McMahon has released her new single ‘Just Like North’.

• Nine Below Zero and Dr Feelgood have announced a UK collaboration tour. Tickets are available here.

Man jailed for nearly five years after defrauding $3 million from concert organisers eager to book Justin Bieber

An American man has been jailed for nearly five years in relation to a series of scams in which he tricked several concert organisers into thinking he could arrange performances by pop stars including Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Post Malone. The scheme involved fake contracts, emails and bank accounts, and even a video call attended by a fake Bieber. 

In total Terronce Morris, working with fellow scammer Blake Kelly, made nearly $3 million by falsely claiming he had booked artists to play at a number of different events. 

In pursuing the fraud, Morris and Kelly created several fake contracts supposedly signed by the likes of Bieber and Eilish; set up email accounts using those artists’ names to make it appear like they had been communicating with the stars; and banked cheques made payable to the musicians. 

🎧 Approved: Antony Szmierek

Armed with the ability to pluck beauty from the everyday, Mancunian poet-turned-artist Antony Szmierek stands among contemporaries whose talent for crafting melodies and lyrics can translate beautifully into both songs and written works. 

His latest release, ‘Rafters’, is a dance-driven track that combines propulsive beats with Szmierek’s trademark reflective lyrics and flow. Tales of love, hope and ambition are set against atmospheric stuttering synths and UK garage kick patterns. The song’s vivid storytelling evokes scenes reminiscent of ‘Trainspotting’, blending visceral intensity with infectious melodies.

Reflecting on the song, Szmierek says, “We follow a single piece of confetti as it falls over a gig, observing the stories unfolding beneath it. People falling in love, pints being thrown, glimpses of weddings and birthday celebrations. So much can happen in the time it takes for a little paper square to reach the ground”. 

🎧 Watch the video for ‘Rafters’ here

TikTok criticised over missing safety features in its Lite app 

TikTok has been criticised for failing to include a number of key safety features on the Lite version of its app, which is designed to perform better over slower internet connections and is particularly popular in some Asian, African and Latin American markets. 

According to a new report by the Mozilla Foundation, TikTok Lite “lacks basic protections that are afforded to other TikTok users”, including labelling for videos that contain graphic, misleading or AI-generated content. In those countries where TikTok Lite use is common, the Foundation says, the missing safety features could have “potentially dangerous consequences in the context of elections and public health”. 

When Universal Music had its big falling out with TikTok earlier this year, the music company raised various platform safety concerns, and the wider music industry has been calling for AI-generated content to be clearly labelled by all digital services.