In today's CMU Daily: In the latest phase of the battle against Spotify’s reclassification of its premium subscription as a bundle in the US, the streaming service has now been dobbed in to the Federal Trade Commission. A letter from the NMPA asks the FTC to “address unlawful conduct by Spotify that is harming millions of consumers and the music marketplace” 

One Liners: Meta x Merlin; UTA, Songtradr appointments; Resorts World Arena name change; Edinburgh approves new AEG arena; PRS Foundation Beyond Borders; LIVE Awards, UK Music Video Awards; new releases from Leigh-Anne, Joan As Police Woman, Hamish Hawk, Emmeline, Faux Real, Shhe

Also today: Drake sued over ‘members only’ t-shirts; Programme to support mental health of young music professionals launches; Merchbar accused of withholding payments

Plus: Zaho de Sagazan is Approved

Music publishers now fighting Spotify audiobook bundling trick on multiple fronts

The war between the US music publishers and Spotify over the streaming service’s sneaky audiobook bundling trick is now being fought on several fronts. While collecting society The MLC sues Spotify through the courts, the National Music Publishers Association has sent a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and three Congress members have raised concerns with the Copyright Office. 

In a letter sent yesterday, the NMPA urges the FTC to “address unlawful conduct by Spotify that is harming millions of consumers and the music marketplace”. 

It notes how Spotify first added audiobooks to its main premium subscription product, and then added a dollar to the cost of that product and reclassified it as a ‘bundle’ to lower what royalties it pays to songwriters and music publishers. In doing so, it adds, Spotify “has engaged in a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system”.

More specifically, the NMPA argues that that scheme violates the US Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, because Spotify failed to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose the changes it was making to its products and didn’t get each subscriber’s “express informed consent” before making those changes. It also reckons that Spotify is violating Section Five of the FTC Act by “falsely representing that the ‘bundled’ premium plan adds substantial value to consumers”. 

In Congress, Representatives Adam Schiff and Ted W Lieu, and Senator Marsha Blackburn, have all signed a letter to the Copyright Office. They say that the streaming service should not be able to “manipulate” the compulsory licence that covers song rights in the US in order to “slash royalties” and “deeply undercut copyright protections for songwriters and publishers”. 

Seeking advice on what steps those writers and publishers should take to address the alleged manipulation, they add, “A fair system should prevent any big tech company from setting their own price for someone else’s intellectual property, whether the owner wants to sell or not”. 

Spotify last year added fifteen hours of audiobooks access to its main premium subscription product. More recently it launched a standalone audiobooks subscription product in the US and added a dollar to the cost of the main premium product. More importantly, it also declared that its main product was now an audiobooks and music bundle, which has a big impact on the royalties it pays writers and publishers in the US. 

Whereas in most countries Spotify negotiates bespoke deals with publishers and songwriter collecting societies in order to legally exploit song copyrights, in the US it relies on the compulsory licence, with industry-wide terms set every five years by a panel of judges. That licence allows services that bundle music with other content to pay a lower rate to publishers and writers, and Spotify is now relying on the bundle discount. 

However, the publishers argue that Spotify's premium product isn't a true bundle, because the 50 million people signed up to it didn’t pick an audiobooks and music bundle. They just got audiobook access thrown in without asking for it, initially for free and now for an extra dollar a month. 

Plus, to qualify for the bundle discount in the compulsory licence, the non-music content must have “more than token value”. The publishers reckon that the addition of audiobooks doesn't meet that requirement. 

The MLC, which administers the compulsory licence, has sued Spotify over its decision to reclassify its main product as a bundle. The NMPA, meanwhile, has been very bombastic in its criticism of the streaming service, while also pointing out other grievances with Spotify's licensing practices in the US. 

Speaking at the NMPA Annual Meeting yesterday, CEO David Israelite also revealed that, as well as the letter to the FTC, the organisation has urged state-level attorneys general in Tennessee, New York, California, Colorado, Georgia, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC, North Carolina and Oregon to investigate the streaming service’s recent conduct. 

He added that, for anyone who thinks this multilayered approach to fighting Spotify “is overkill, welcome to our version of a bundle. We unapologetically will defend the rights of songwriters and music publishers, and this attack on songwriters ultimately will fail”.

ICA // Music Event Manager (London)

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)

terrible* // Finance Assistant/Bookkeeper (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

Meta, Leigh-Anne, LIVE Awards + more

DEALS 

Instagram and Facebook owner Meta and indie label digital rights agency Merlin have only gone and renewed their licensing deal. Expanded it, even. Oh, the indie tunes you’re gonna be hearing all up in your stories and reels. “Meta is THRILLED to renew our partnership with Merlin, one of the leading champions of independent music”, says Tamara Hrivnak, VP Music & Content Business Development at Meta. “Our continued collaboration will foster further innovation in music discovery and creative expression. We're excited for what the future holds”.

APPOINTMENTS 

Talent agency UTA has hired former Ingrooves CEO Bob Roback to be its new COO. “I’ve long admired UTA’s dedication to its clients and ability to lead the way in defining what it means to be a global agency during a time of tremendous change and opportunity”, he says. “I’m THRILLED to be joining the company at this exciting time and look forward to shaping the future with UTA’s talented and ambitious team”.

Songtradr has added Director of Epic Games Alex Rigopulos and entertainment lawyer Priyanka Khimani to its board of directors. "We are THRILLED to welcome Alex Rigopulos and Priyanka Khimani to our board of directors”, says CEO Paul Wiltshire. "Alex's visionary approach to integrating music, technology and video games, along with Priyanka's extensive rights knowledge and dedication to the creative community, will provide strategic insights and strengthen our leadership as we continue to innovate and grow in the global music marketplace”.

LIVE BUSINESS 

Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena is dead, long live BP Pulse LIVE. Actually, hold that thought for a few months, the arena is set to change its name in September thanks to a change of headline sponsor. “We are delighted to partner with the innovative BP Pulse, providing electrifying experiences in the venue as well as supporting audiences to make the transition to electric vehicles”, says Melanie Smith, CEO of venue owner NEC Group. 

AEG has secured planning permission to build a new 8500 capacity arena in Edinburgh, plans for which were revealed last November. “We are delighted to have been granted planning consent for a cutting-edge new venue for Edinburgh”, says AEG Europe CEO Alex Hill. “Having worked closely with City Of Edinburgh Council, we strongly believe the arena will deliver huge benefits to the city throughout every stage of the building’s life cycle - from development to completion, for years to come when we’re bringing the world’s best artists to the Scottish stage”.

FUNDING

PRS Foundation’s co-commissioning and touring initiative Beyond Borders is now open for applications. It aims to stimulate collaboration between composers, performance groups and music organisations across the four UK countries and the Republic Of Ireland. More info here. 

AWARDS

The LIVE Awards - hosted by trade body LIVE - will return on 11 Dec, taking place again at Troxy in East London. Nominations will open on 8 Jul and close on 11 Oct. You can book your table now. 

Submissions have opened for this year’s UK Music Video Awards. The deadline to enter is 1 Aug. More info here. The ceremony will take place at Magazine London on 24 Oct. 

RELEASES

Little Mix's Leigh-Anne has released new track ‘Nature’, which has been added as a bonus track to her recently released debut solo EP ‘No Hard Feelings’. She’s also announced UK and Ireland tour dates in October, including a performance at Koko in London on 28 Oct. 

Joan As Police Woman will release her tenth studio album ‘Lemons, Limes And Orchids’ later this year. Out now is new single ‘Long For Ruin’. She will also be touring the UK and Ireland in October. 

Hamish Hawk has released new single ‘Nancy Dearest’. New album ‘A Firmer Hand’ is out on 16 Aug. 

Emmeline has released new single ‘Night Rider’. 

Faux Real have released new single ‘Walking Away From My Demons’. Their debut album ‘Faux Ever’ will be released on 11 Oct. 

Shhe has announced that she will release her new mini-album ‘Dýra’ on 19 Jul. Out now is the single ‘Hólar’.

Drake sued over t-shirts referencing his track ‘Members Only’

Drake has been selling t-shirts on his most recent tour that feature the words ‘Members Only’ - that being the name of a track on his 2023 album ‘For All The Dogs’. Unfortunately, there’s already an American fashion brand called Members Only. And it sells lots of clothes featuring those words, and owns lots of Members Only trademarks, especially in clothing categories. 

To that end, the current owner of the fashion brand, JR Apparel World, has sued the musician’s touring company Away From Home Touring Inc for trademark infringement. 

It says that the Drake t-shirts are “identical, overlapping and/or highly similar” to goods it sells “bearing its Members Only marks”, and will therefore confuse at least some consumers into thinking there is a connection between Drake and the clothing business.

It has to be said that Drake’s t-shirts are quite different to anything sold by JR Apparel. Clothing from Members Only generally has the brand name featured quite subtly in a simple font with the brand name written out in capital letters. The Drake t-shirts have Members Only written in large lower case text across the middle of the shirt in an ornate font. 

Aside from that, the Drake fans buying the t-shirts at his shows will surely know why they have the words Members Only printed on them, recognising that it’s name checking a recent track rather than suggesting any tie-up with the fashion brand. 

Whatever, that does not matter, claim JR Apparel’s lawyers. “The fact that ‘Members Only’ is a song on Drake’s album ‘For All the Dogs’ does not obviate the likelihood of confusion”, they write, and nor does it give the musician “licence to use our client’s ‘Members Only’ marks in such a confusing manner, particularly on or in connection with apparel items”. 

JR Apparel says it first tried to settle its dispute over the Drake t-shirts with the musician’s company in April but - as of 6 Jun - no settlement had been reached. That is why it is now suing seeking both damages and a court order stopping Drake from selling his Members Only shirts.

Approved: Zaho de Sagazan

A rapidly rising star in her native France, Zaho de Sagazan released her debut album ‘La Symphonie Des Éclairs’ last year. A mix of electronic music and a classic French chanteuse sound, it's a striking and satisfying juxtaposition. 

Recently, her career got its latest boost when she performed a cover of David Bowie’s ‘Modern Love’ at the opening ceremony of Cannes Film Festival 2024. The performance was an homage to the festival’s jury president Greta Gerwig, who danced to the song in her 2012 film ‘Frances Ha’. 

The studio version of that cover has now been released and de Sagazan has also announced a London show at the Islington Assembly Hall on 21 Oct. 

🎧 Listen to ‘Modern Love’ here

Tonic Futures to support young music professionals’ mental health

Mental health charity Tonic Music has announced a new programme called Tonic Futures. It will support the mental health of young people aged 18-25 who are taking their first steps in the music industry.

The programme was developed based on research carried out by the charity. It found that more than a third of young people working in music have received a diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression. Higher numbers report experiencing these mental health conditions without a formal diagnosis. 

Tonic Futures, the organisation says, “is designed to tackle this problem at source, creating better mental health for the next generation in the music industry, embedding a better mental health culture, and destigmatising the issues encountered by music artists, crew and industry professionals”.

Commenting further, Tonic Music Programmes Lead, Jeordie Shenton, says, “The Tonic Music team are delighted to be launching the Tonic Futures programme. It is essential that everyone working in the music industry, particularly young people at the early stages of their career, are provided with mental health support to reduce and even prevent the onset of poor mental health”.

In its initial phase, Tonic Futures will partner with Beacons Cymru, BIMM London and Roundhouse, supporting 63 people from these organisations over a twelve month period. They will be able to attend free therapeutic sessions, peer groups and preventative workshops. There will also be access to online resources and guides.

Organisations interested in joining the 2025 programme are invited to register their interest now. 

Australian merch companies say they are owed $250,000 by Merchbar

Two Australian merchandise companies say they are together owed more than $250,000 from Merchbar, the music merchandise platform that also integrates with YouTube and Spotify. 

According to a report from The Music Network, both Sound Merch and Love Police ATM say that they stopped receiving payments from Merchbar in relation to the sale of their products on the platform late last year. Sound Merch adds that it has paid the artists it works with for all the products that were sold between the payments stopping and it deciding to halt sales via Merchbar, increasing its losses. 

“Sound Merch is a small Australian business of 25 employees”, says the company’s Tim Everist. “This is a massive loss to our business – most don’t recover after a hit like this. We have covered the merch losses incurred by our bands and paid them accordingly. Now Sound Merch shoulders the debt owed to us from Merchbar”. 

Merchbar was quite buzzy within the music industry for a time, in part because of its integrations with YouTube and Spotify, making it easier for artists to promote their merchandise via those platforms. However, there are now other options for artists and music merchandise companies wanting to promote their products in that way. In particular Shopify, which also has partnerships with both YouTube and Spotify. 

Following up the TMN report, Hybebot notes that Merchbar has also been getting lots of negative customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot of late. Disgruntled merch buyers have complained about products not being shipped and unresponsive customer service. Meanwhile, according to an out of office responder, co-founder and CEO Ed Afton is currently on indefinite leave. 

Responding to TMN itself, a spokesperson for Merchbar said the allegations made by Sound Merch and Love Police ATM are “simply not accurate”, adding that they couldn’t comment any further because of “mutual confidentiality provisions within our partnership agreements”.