| We've covered the music business each day since 21 Jun 2002 Today's email is edition #5241 |
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| | In today's CMU Daily: Sony Music has reportedly agreed a catalogue deal with Queen for around $1.27 billion, which is a cool ÂŁ1 billion. The agreement will give the major label not only the bandâs recordings and songs catalogues but also their brand and likeness
One Liners: Hope publishing deal; A2IM brings IMPALAâs Carbon Calculator to the US; Hackney Church partners with Ticketmaster; Bauer to broadcast Isle Of Wight Festival, Power Up funding recipients announced; new releases from Pixie Lott, Self Esteem, One True Pairing
Also today: Madonna tardiness lawsuit dismissed; Tom Petty doc accused of using footage without permission; Interpol apologise for tour poster artwork rip off Plus: Famous are CMU Approved
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| Sony wants it all in Queen deal, with a cool billion on the table | Sony Musicâs much rumoured deal to acquire the entire Queen catalogue is reportedly in its final stages, valued at a neat billion. And that is ÂŁ1 billion in pounds, so about $1.27 billion in US dollars. According to sources who spoke to Variety and Hits, there was another bidder in play, who dropped out once the price passed $900 million.
Itâs the biggest in the long line of mega-bucks catalogue deals that have been signed in recent years, although itâs hard to accurately compare any one of these deals with another, because itâs not always clear what specific rights they cover.
Sonyâs Queen deal is reportedly very wide-ranging, covering not only recordings and songs, but also brand and likeness. With a band like Queen, which has a long standing global presence, those brand and likeness rights will be very lucrative. Pretty much the only revenue stream not covered by the deal is live activity, which means that Brian May and Roger Taylorâs Queen shows with Adam Lambert are excluded. Though, of course, royalties relating to the performance of songs at those shows would not be.
Like any deal of this scale, there are some complexities. Disney-owned Hollywood Records acquired the North American rights in the bandâs recordings catalogue - for life of copyright - in a $10 million deal back in 1990. However, the band gets a decent royalty revenue stream from that deal which - assuming the Sony deal completes - will be assigned to Sony.
Universal Music currently controls the recordings in the rest of the world under a distribution deal, which has a couple more years to run. Again, Sony will get the bandâs share of the money generated by that distribution arrangement in the short-term, before taking on distribution directly when the UMG deal expires.
Queen originally signed with EMI in the UK in 1973, and for the US initially worked with Elektra before switching to EMIâs US-based Capitol label in the mid-1980s. They then did the deal with Hollywood Records in 1990, the year before Freddie Mercuryâs death. Outside North America, the bandâs recordings catalogue stayed with EMI until 2010, when the big distribution deal with Universal Music was announced, a couple of years before Universal acquired the whole EMI record company.
On the songs side, the band were published by EMI Music Publishing, which was then acquired by Sony Music Publishing, which means the Sony publisher already handles all the administration of the songs catalogue.
The nitty gritty of these big catalogue deals is rarely revealed, so we don't always know exactly what the buyer gets. However, they do often include a contractual undertaking to direct revenues to the buyer that would traditionally go directly to artists and songwriters via the collective licensing system, even when they are locked in to existing record and publishing deals.
For recordings, that includes performer equitable remuneration from the broadcast and public performance of music. For composition and lyrics, itâs the writerâs share of performing rights income that flows through collecting societies.
With the Queen deal including brand and likeness rights, we can presumably expect a number of significant new products and experiences beyond the music.
While Queen have always been quite prolific when it comes to exploiting the brand, there are a range of new opportunities - including digital brand exploitations and virtual performances like ABBAâs ABBA Voyage. If thereâs a band well primed to follow Abba's lead in getting digital avatars performing their songs on stage every night, you have to think it is Queen - though that is perhaps something that will only be realised when May and Taylor finally decide to retire from touring with Lambert.
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 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.
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| Pixie Lott, Isle Of Wight Festival, Hackney Church + more | DEALS
Wise Music Group has signed Hope to a publishing deal through its Bosworth Music subsidiary. âWe are very much looking forward to working with Bosworth and the people at Wise Music Groupâ, say the band. âWe have encountered individuality, quality and a love for detail, which connects us with our aim as a band to be constantly in pursuit of the new and unknown. From here on, we walk this path together, and welcome our future collaborationâ.
LABELS
American indie label trade group A2IM will make IMPALAâs Carbon Calculator available to US indie labels for free. The calculator, developed by pan-European group IMPALA, is being made available beyond Europe for the first time as part of a one year pilot programme supported by digital rights agency Merlin. âWe are very excited that the US is the first territory in the internationalisation of IMPALAâs Carbon Calculatorâ, says A2IM CEO Richard Burgess. âThanks to Merlin's support, our members will be able to shape the tool for the US market and play a key role in the expansion of its useâ.
LIVE BUSINESS
The 1800 capacity Hackney Church in East London has announced a new partnership with Ticketmaster. âDespite the ongoing economic challenges of running a venue of our size, we are looking ahead with confidence that we will be able continue to deliver high quality events and positively impact the local community in Hackneyâ, says Enterprise Director Thando Zulu. âWe are proud to partner with Ticketmaster and their mission to support local venues. It is an exciting step on our continued journey of being a âcathedral of Creativityââ.
MEDIA
Bauer Media has announced a deal to broadcast coverage of the Isle Of Wight Festival across Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio and Hits Radio. âThe Isle Of Wight Festival is one of the yearâs most anticipated live music events, and we are THRILLED to immerse our listeners in the experience, whether it be winning their way into the event or making them feel like they are there, as we bring their favourite artists to their radio, smart speaker and phoneâ, says Gary Stein, Director Of Audio for Bauer Media Audio UK.
FUNDING
PRS Foundation and Ben Wynterâs Power Up programme has announced the 40 black music creators and industry professionals who will receive funding this year. âAs we move into our fourth year of Power Up, I am incredibly proud of the brilliant selection of Year Four participantsâ, says Wynter. âThis initiative has been recognised Europe-wide as an award-winning programme, and the quantitative evidence of our Power Up Fellows successes across various sectors in the industry proves that when black talent is given an opportunity to succeed, it thrivesâ.
RELEASES
Pixie Lott has announced that she will release her fourth album âEncinoâ on 27 Sep - her first LP for ten years. Out now is new single âSomebodyâs Daughterâ.
Self Esteem has teamed up with Moonchild Sanelly for new single âBig Manâ.
One True Pairing - aka Tom Fleming formerly of Wild Beasts - has released new single âBe Strongâ. | Read online | | First Madonna slack time-keeping lawsuit dismissed | The first of the lawsuits filed over Madonnaâs slack time-keeping has been dismissed. However, the lawyer representing the musician and her promoter Live Nation is keen to stress no settlement deal is behind the dismissal. It seems likely his clients will now seek to force the litigious concert-goers to cover their legal costs.
Madonna and Live Nation, states attorney Jeff Warshafsky in a letter to the court, âbelieve that this action was a frivolous strike suit designed to force them to incur legal expensesâ. The other side has now âabandoned this lawsuit when it became clear that this approach would not result in a settlement payment and that they would need to oppose defendantsâ motion to dismissâ.
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 didnât arrive on stage until after 10.30pm. That, they claimed, was a breach of contract and false advertising that caused them lots of inconvenience.
Two other lawsuits have since been filed by angry concert-goers pissed off at Madonnaâs tendency to arrive on stage late. Madonna and Live Nation have been forthright in their responses, insisting that everybody knows that when a big pop starâs show has an 8.30pm start, that doesnât mean the pop star is on stage at that time. And Madonna in particular is well known for performing late into the night.
Earlier this month Fellows and Hadden announced that they had reached a settlement with Madonna and Live Nation, and to that end they filed a notice of settlement with the court. However, Warshafsky insisted that, while there had been talks of a possible settlement, no such deal had been reached, and Fellows and Hadden had therefore filed a false statement.
The judge overseeing the case rejected the notice of settlement, meaning the concert-goers had until 1 Jul to respond to the motion for dismissal filed by the defendants.
Lawyers for Fellows and Hadden yesterday said they were dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning they will not be able to file any future litigation relating to this dispute. In his letter responding to that, Warshafsky added that his clients âreserve the right to move for sanctions, attorneysâ fees and costsâ because of the false notice of settlement.
| Read online | | Approved: Famous | I had a whole cliched music journo intro worked out for this article. It was all like, âHa! Imagine calling your band Famous! Good luck trying to Google that, suckers!â Then I googled âfamous bandâ and almost all the top links were about them. So now Iâm just left with this fairly boring story about some admin I did.
Without a fun hook to start off with, and to ease both me and you into this introduction to Famous, I guess the only thing Iâm left with is to talk about their music. But that leaves me with another dilemma. Where exactly do I start? Because, you see, their new double A-side single doesnât provide me with an easy route into talking about their sound. Why, Lord? Why is nothing easy?
Right, so, it kicks off with âGod Hold Youâ, a post hardcore track with a guitar part that sounds like a dentist drill slowly wearing away a hole in your skull. In the best possible way. Frontman (the bandâs only consistent member) Jack Merrett delivers low, nonchalant vocals that occasionally fall into the void of noise swirling around him. Despite this, it never feels like they are in anything but complete control of the chaotic elements they are invoking.
Next comes âIt Goes On Foreverâ, a hypnotic folk song, showing off an entirely gentler side. Chaos still hints at its presence, but if thereâs anything consistent about this two-track release, itâs that the exact right amount is being allowed out. If anything, âIt Goes On Foreverâ is the tamed version of âGod Hold Youâ.
Both tracks are taken from the bandâs new album âParty Albumâ, which is set for release on 11 Oct. âWhat's funny is we had this idea of making this very authentic rock recordâ, says Merrett of the LP. âWe were constantly talking about how we wanted to make a classic rock record. A stadium-ready classic rock record. But yeah, it just became different over timeâ. đ§ Listen to âGod Hold Youâ and âIt Goes On Foreverâ here
| Read online | | Warner Music sued over Tom Petty documentary | Photographer, designer and film-maker Martyn Atkins has sued Warner Music over the 2021 documentary âSomewhere You Feel Freeâ, about the making of Tom Pettyâs 1994 album âWildflowersâ. The film, Atkins claims, contains 45 minutes of footage he filmed and owns which was used without permission.
The documentary was actually Atkinsâ idea, according to his lawsuit, with him and Petty regularly discussing the project before the musicianâs death in 2017.
The Petty estate then decided to proceed with the documentary in 2020, approaching Atkins to discuss his involvement and to inquire about how they could access the footage he had recorded in the 1990s.
However, he alleges, the estate then teamed up with Pettyâs label Warner to make âSomewhere You Feel Freeâ without his involvement, and made heavy use of his footage without permission.
âAtkins did not provide consent, did not otherwise license any of the footage, and was not compensated in any manner for the filmâs unauthorised, brazen exploitation of the works Atkins created and ownsâ, the lawsuit declares.
Atkins was initially hired to create the artwork for âWildflowersâ in 1994. He quickly became friends with Petty, he says, and ended up spending lots of time with the musician in the studio and on tour. Along the way he started documenting Pettyâs music-making on film.
Perhaps anticipating a dispute over who owns the rights in that footage, Atkins is keen to stress that the filming was done âon his own volition and at his own costâ. And while the footage was subsequently stored by Warner, he is still the âexclusive owner and authorâ.
As a result, Atkins claims, Warner is liable for copyright infringement and should pay him lots of damages.
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| Setlist Podcast: Spotify referred to FTC over âunlawful conductâ | In this week's Setlist Podcast: Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the latest escalation in the fight over Spotifyâs reclassification of its premium subscription as an audiobook and music bundle in the US, the lawsuit against Drake for putting one of his own song titles on a t-shirt, and the return of the band formerly known as Easy Life, who have nothing to do with easyJet.
đ§ Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast' | |
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| Interpol apologise for tour poster artwork rip off | Interpol have apologised to visual artist Tony Sjöman for copying a piece of his work on their tour posters. The band said that they were âunder the impression that the designer we were working with was presenting us with original workâ until the matter was brought to their attention.
The poster for the bandâs upcoming 20th anniversary tour for their âAnticsâ album is not identical to Sjömanâs original artwork but is so similar that there could be no question that one was based on the other. The original piece, called âDream Factoryâ, was commissioned for a New York property company.
In a statement, the band said, âInterpol would like to apologise to Tony Sjöman and acknowledge that all usage of his work was without his consent or prior discussion. We were under the impression that the designer we were working with was presenting us with original work. We were wrongâ.
âUltimately the responsibility lies with us to ensure we do not disseminate an artistâs work without their permission in our promotionsâ, they went on. âFor that reason we apologise and pledge to do better moving forward to ensure the protection of the artistâs creative propertyâ.
The copying was initially spotted by art collector Andrew Gutterson, who said that he contacted Sjöman to congratulate him on getting a commission from the band. Sjöman replied to say that he did not create the poster and was not previously aware of it. Gutterson then posted about it on Instagram, which is seemingly how Interpol came to be aware of it.
Sjöman himself said, âHaving your work plagiarised is unfortunate, but the way in which Interpol immediately took action is both rare and admirableâ.
âThe band had no prior knowledge of my work being used in their merch and the irony of it all is that - as a decades long fan of their music - I would have loved this commissionâ, he went on. âIf you havenât in a while - crank up âAnticsâ, the bandâs sophomore album, celebrating 20 years this summer, itâs great!â
The tour is set to arrive in the UK and Ireland in November, including a show at Londonâs Alexandra Palace on 8 Nov.
You can buy Tony Sjömanâs work direct from his store here.
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