In today's CMU Daily: Margate’s Dreamland has had its licence restricted by local authority Thanet Council at the request of Kent Police after a drugs incident at the Live Nation-owned venue that left a teenager dead and another 21 people hospitalised

One Liners: FUGA deals, YG Plus x Boomplay, A2IM board, King’s Speech, SoundExchange’s Sirius lawsuit moved, Swarovski x Ariana Grande, MITS Award for Jason Iley, We Out Here Festival launches Future Foundations, “blindsided” Jack Black cancels Tenacious D shows, plus releases, gigs, tours + more

Also today: Kakao founder Kim Beom-su faces arrest in a probe relating to alleged share manipulation by the company during the hotly contested takeover bid for SM Entertainment, which saw Kakao pip HYBE to a controlling interest in the K-pop powerhouse; Irv Gotti, founder of record label Murder Inc, has been accused of rape in a new lawsuit.

Margate’s Live Nation-owned Dreamland ordered to cancel drum & bass events after drug-related death

Margate venue Dreamland has been ordered by Thanet Council to cancel any scheduled drum & bass events in response to an incident last month in which a seventeen year old died from a suspected MDMA overdose. The local councilhas made a number of changes to the venue’s licence following a request by Kent Police. 

Teenager Emily Stokes died after attending a Worried About Henry event at the Live Nation-owned venue on 29 Jun. In a document provided to Thanet Council, Kent Police revealed that it was aware of “an additional 21 patients who were admitted to hospital suffering with similar symptoms relating to a drugs overdose, all of whom had also been at the Dreamland event”. One person remains in hospital in a medically induced coma.

Despite the severity of the incident, police aren’t seeking to revoke Dreamland’s licence, stating that “in general the premises have been well run”. However, they noted, “the management of events specifically targeted at over sixteens and particular music genres are historically faced with challenges”, referencing previous events at the venue that have resulted in similar issues. 

The council has made interim changes to Dreamland’s licence, in particular to events involving drum & bass artists. The venue has also been told to cancel any other shows deemed to have “a higher risk association with class A and B drug use by those under eighteen years of age”.

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ONE LINERS

Deals, appointments, legal and live round up including FUGA, A2IM, the King's Speech, Future Foundations + more

DEALS

Downtown-owned FUGA has announced new UK partnerships with One House, Critical Music and Berry’s Room.

Kashus Culpepper has signed a global publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing and Warner Chappell Music, expanding his relationship with Big Loud Records.

Mexican-American DJ and producer Deorro has signed a joint deal with Prajin Parlay Inc and Double P Records for management and label services.

YG Plus, a subsidiary of YG Entertainment, has partnered with Africa-focused music streaming platform Boomplay to distribute its extensive K-pop catalogue.

Former One Direction member Liam Payne has signed with booking agency CAA. 

APPOINTMENTS

US indie label trade organisation A2IM has announced its board of directors for the coming year which includes new and returning members from various independent record labels.

Australia’s MusicNSW, the state music body for New South Wales, has expanded its team, appointing Ricky Simandjuntak as Program Manager. The organisation also recently appointed new board members, including Mardi Caught and Rhoda Roberts. 

Alison Finley, former Executive Vice President of Universal Music Group, has joined law firm Pierson Ferdinand LLP as a Partner. 

LEGAL 

Speculation that the King’s Speech in the UK Parliament earlier today might announce an AI Bill proved to be wrong.

A judge in Virginia has ordered that a lawsuit filed by SoundExchange against Sirius XM should be moved to a court in New York.

Despite widespread speculation that today’s King’s Speech setting out the new UK government’s legislative agenda might include an AI Bill, this was not the case.

A judge in Virginia has ordered that the $150 million lawsuit filed by SoundExchange against Sirius XM should be moved to a court in New York. 

BRAND PARTNERSHIPS

Leading purveyor of sparkles, spangles and glittery things Swarovski has announced Ariana Grande as its new Brand Ambassador, and everyone is THRILLED. 

DIGITAL

SOUNDRAW, an AI music generation platform used by over 800,000 creatives, has launched a B2B API for integration into other creative platforms. 

AWARDS

Jason Iley, CEO of Sony Music UK & Ireland, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Music Industry Trusts Award, recognising his three decade career and contributions to the British music industry. 

MANAGEMENT 

Jesse Atwell has launched Atwell Management, a new artist management firm focused on developing talent across all genres. 

Mushroom Group in Australia has launched Mushroom Connect, a new talent management and partnership agency focusing on digital-age talent and brand collaborations. 

LIVE

We Out Here Festival has launched Future Foundations, a new incubator programme aimed at supporting the next generation of grassroots music promoters.

Resident Advisor has partnered with Croatia’s Dimensions Festival to deliver three specialised workshops in East London this summer. 

The Boardmasters Foundation has announced £115,000 in donations to 40 local organisations in Cornwall, continuing its mission to support community and cultural initiatives. 

Country music promoter, venue operator and media owner Opry Entertainment Group has expanded its artist relations team with the addition of Samantha Kane as Artist Relations Manager and Ariana Cubillos Voegler as Artist Relations Coordinator. 

ARTIST NEWS

Jack Black has cancelled the rest of the current Tenacious D tour after his bandmate Kyle Gass joked on-stage about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump this weekend. 

RELEASES

Sampha has collaborated with Little Simz on new single ‘Satellite Business 2.0’.

Denzel Curry has released his new single ‘HOODLUMZ’, featuring A$AP Rocky and PlayThatBoiZay. His new album ‘King Of The Mischievous South Vol 2’ is out this Friday.

A Place To Bury Strangers have released their new single ‘Disgust’. Their new album ‘Synthesizer’ is out 4 Oct.

TSHA has released her new single ‘Drive’, featuring Ingrid Witt. Her new album ‘Sad Girl’ is out 27 Sep.

Nick Lowe has released a reworked version of his single ‘Different Kind of Blue’. His new album ‘Indoor Safari’ is out 13 Sep.

She Drew The Gun has released their new single ‘Nothing Lasts’.

shiv has released her new single ‘cherry pie’, featuring Kojaque. Her new album ‘the defiance of a sad girl’ is out 12 Sep.

TOURS

Paul Heaton has added extra dates to his UK tour, with it now concluding at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on 16 Dec. Tickets are available here.

Heilung have now announced a full European headline tour for 2025. UK shows include the Brixton Brixton on 15 Apr and Edinburgh’s O2 Academy on 19 Apr. Tickets are available here.

Jamie Webster has announced a UK and Ireland headline tour, including a show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on 27 Nov. Tickets go on general sale at 10am this Friday here.

Kakao founder faces arrest in SM share manipulation probe

South Korean prosecutors are seeking an arrest warrant for Kim Beom-su, founder of internet company Kakao, in relation to allegations of stock manipulation during last year’s battle for control of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment. 

Kim’s legal representative has denied any wrongdoing. After expressing “regret over the prosecution’s decision to file an arrest warrant”, they stated, “Kim has never ordered nor tolerated any forms of illegal actions tied to the purchase of shares in SM Entertainment”.

Kakao secured a controlling stake in SM Entertainment in March 2023 following a short takeover battle with rival K-pop company HYBE, which also wanted to acquire SM. Almost immediately HYBE accused Kakao of artificially driving up SM’s share price in order to obstruct its attempts to acquire stock in the company. 

Korean financial regulators then launched an investigation in April 2023 which led to the indictment of Kakao’s Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun last November. That investigation has more recently focused on allegations against founder Kim, who was reportedly questioned by investigators for more than 20 hours earlier this month. 

Murder Inc founder accused of rape

Irv Gotti, co-founder of Murder Inc Records, has been sued by an unnamed woman over allegations of rape and sexual assault. 

In a lawsuit filed with the courts in Miami, Gotti’s accuser says that she met the music producer and record industry exec in summer 2020. He invited her to join him on vacation in Saint Martin where, she alleges, he coerced her into having sex, threatening to send her home if she did not comply. 

She subsequently embarked on a relationship with Gotti which, she claims, was abusive. He repeatedly demanded that she perform unwanted sexual acts, and often berated and scolded her. The abuse she endured during their time together, she claims, resulted in “severe emotional and psychological harm for which she had to be committed to a psychiatric ward”. 

That harm is ongoing, she adds. She “fears leaving her home” because of Gotti’s apparent “slandering of her to his vast social network in and around Los Angeles”.