In today's CMU Daily: The drama never ends at Hipgnosis. Concord has upped its bid for the music rights fund in order to see off a rival offer from Blackstone. But does that matter when Blackstone has said that it would invoke a ‘call option’ to buy up the Hipgnosis Song Fund catalogues if it doesn’t become the new owner?

One Liners: Luminate, Jack Savoretti, Elijah Noll, Liana Flores deals; University Of Kent, Como No, Symphonic Distribution appointments; TikTok ban; TuneCore Publishing expansion; Radio 2 In The Park; new music from Mabel, Overmono, Bat For Lashes, Porter Robinson, Los Bitchos, Orbury Common

Also today: Drake make be sued over AI generated Tupac; global electronic music industry saw strong growth in 2023; more criticism of government’s refusal to legislate to protect women in the music industry; independent music publishers together now bigger than any one of the majors
Plus: Human Interest are CMU Approved

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To the moon! Concord reaches for the high notes as it ups its SONG bid to $1.25

In an announcement circulated at 6.30pm yesterday evening, Alchemy Copyrights, LLC - the backer of Concord Chorus Limited - said that it has increased its offer for Hipgnosis Song Fund (SONG) to $1.25 a share. This represents an increase of $0.09 over its previously tabled bid of $1.16, or $0.07 over the maximum value of that bid reliant on Hipgnosis Song Management agreeing to terminate its advisory agreement with SONG, which would make a further $25 million - or 2 cents per share - available to shareholders.

This comes hot on the heels of Blackstone's indication that it would consider offering $1.24 a share for SONG. Blackstone - the owner of Hipgnosis Song Management, SONG's investment advisor - has also made it clear that, should its bid not be successful, it - and HSM - would take legal action to invoke the 'call option' that HSM holds, allowing it to buy the SONG catalogues in the event of a sale. That legal action could - potentially - put a poleaxe to any other deal for SONG.

"Concord remains committed to becoming the new owner of Hipgnosis", says the announcement, and has "engaged with the Hipgnosis board and its advisers in relation to the value of the original Concord offer. Today the boards of Concord and Hipgnosis are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of an increased cash offer... which has been unanimously recommended by the Hipgnosis board".

The announcement continues, saying that the directors of SONG "believe that the increased Concord offer is in the best interests of Hipgnosis shareholders as a whole, and accordingly unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the offer at the court meeting and general meeting which are due to be held on or around 10 Jun".

As with Concord's previous offer, the music rights investment vehicle has obtained irrevocable commitments from a number of shareholders - including the directors of SONG, who between them hold 327,796 shares in the fund, or 0.03% of the total share capital.

Those irrevocable commitments now include additional support from a number of funds run by Kite Lake Capital. Kite Lake was co-founded by Massi Khadjenouri and is notable for being one of the largest hedge fund managers "in Europe, or globally, co-founded by a woman", with Khadjenouri saying "a firm run by a woman has a different culture and a different perspective. We are very down to earth with our feet on the ground. Our culture is not conducive to creating 'egos'".

Alongside Kite Lake's irrevocable commitment is another new addition - musician and entrepreneur Josh Gruss, owner of Quad Studios in Nashville, guitarist and songwriter in band Rubikon and - possibly more notably - CEO of Round Hill Music. According to regulatory information, Gruss owns 12,893,227 shares in SONG which represents 1.066% of the share capital.

This now gives Concord's bid irrevocable commitments "or letters of intent" over 378,162,890 shares in SONG, which represents "in aggregate, approximately 31.27% of the issued share capital" of the fund.

What is not clear is when Gruss secured his holding in Hipgnosis: despite any shareholders with more than 1% of the share capital being required to file a Form 8.3, CMU has - as yet - been unable to find such a disclosure filed by Gruss, suggesting that his shareholding may only recently have crossed the 1% threshold.

There are a number of notable points in the latest Concord announcement: first that the directors of SONG are not only recommending the offer to shareholders, but very explicitly and publicly endorsing it, by way of making an irrevocable commitment to the offer using their - admittedly modest, by other investors' standards - stake in the fund.

There are a number of other notable points... click through below to read the full story.

Spiritmuse Records // Label Manager (London Hybrid)

Your Culture // Campaign Management Assistant (Brighton)

Gondwana Records // Part Time Social Media, Online Marketing & Digital Content Manager (Manchester Hybrid)

The O2 // Production Supervisor (London)

AXS Europe // Technical Project Manager (London)

The Halls // Assistant Box Office Manager (Wolverhampton)

Como No & La Linea // Operations & Reporting Manager (London Hybrid)

Kilimanjaro Live // Promoter Assistant (London)

foundation.fm // Account 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

Mabel, TikTok, Radio 2 In The Park + more

DEALS

Record Store Day, The Music Business Association and entertainment industry data provider Luminate have announced a new partnership on physical music sales reporting in US independent stores. “Luminate is always working towards the goal of providing quality and accurate data to the industry”, says Director Of Partnerships Chris Muratore. “We always strive to be a good partner to those across the many sectors of the music and entertainment industries, and we are happy to announce this new partnership in alignment with that mission and our values”.

Absolute Label Services has partnered with Universal Music’s Capitol Records Italy to manage distribution and marketing of Jack Savoretti’s first Italian language album, ‘Miss Italia’. “The team here at Absolute are THRILLED to be working with Jack again”, says Absolute MD Henry Semmence. “Having been part of the original team that broke him in the UK, we are excited that UMO/Capitol Italy had the faith and confidence in our label service's record with Jack and countless other artists to partner with us for the release of this wonderful new album”. The album is set for release on 17 May.

Pulse Music Group and songwriter Jon Bellion’s publishing company Beautiful Mind have launched a new joint venture. Their first signing is Bellion’s frequent collaborator Elijah Noll. “I’m excited to continue working with Jon and the Beautiful Mind crew, and for what’s to come from this new partnership with the Pulse Music Group team”, says Noll. “Grateful to be surrounded by so many talented, creative and like-minded people”.

Verve Records has signed Liana Flores to a new record deal in the US, partnering with Fiction Records for UK releases. “Liana Flores has an incredibly unique sound, voice, and vision that fills a unique place in music right now”, says Fiction MD Jim Chancellor. “We at Fiction are THRILLED to partner with Verve to share Liana’s exceptional music with audiences in the UK”. The first release under the deal is new single ‘I Wish For The Rain’.

APPOINTMENTS

Musician, broadcast and Chair of the BPI - among other music industry roles - YolanDa Brown has been appointed as Chancellor of the University Of Kent. “The University Of Kent has always been at the forefront of fostering a diverse, inclusive, and vibrant community”, she says. “I am excited to work alongside the talented staff, and students to build on this foundation as the university strives towards new heights of achievement”.

Elena Beltrami has been appointed as the new Director of Como No and La Linea Festival. She replaces founder Andy Wood, who is stepping down after nearly 40 years running the company. "I am honoured to take on the role of Director at La Linea and Como No and incredibly excited about the opportunities that lie ahead”, she says. “My goal is to build on the organisation’s rich legacy while also exploring new avenues for growth and creativity. By providing a platform for emerging talent, we can showcase the vibrant diversity of voices within the Latin music scene and foster greater connections between cultures”.

Symphonic Distribution has appointed Stephen Nightingale as VP A&R And Business Development, Canada. “With Symphonic’s already impressive presence across the globe, I couldn’t be more excited to head up the Canada team”, he says. “[Their] passion and track record for finding top independent talent and setting them up for success made this opportunity a no-brainer for me. I can’t wait to dive in and help Symphonic continue to grow in Canada”.

LEGAL

US President Joe Biden yesterday signed into law the new legislation forcing Chinese tech firm ByteDance to sell TikTok in the US or face a nationwide ban. Effectively this means the clock is now ticking to find a buyer, although TikTok has said it will fight the new law in the courts on the basis it is unconstitutional on free speech grounds. In a post on TikTok yesterday, CEO Shouzi Chew told the app's users, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the constitution are on our side”.

DISTRIBUTION

TuneCore has expanded its publishing administration offering to independent songwriters, including allowing the submission of unlimited songs and the collection of royalties on multiple artist collaborations under the same account. “By expanding our services and enhancing our interface, we are proud to offer self-releasing artists the most comprehensive suite of music publishing services that will put more money in their pockets - more quickly - wherever in the world it is earned”, says CEO Andreea Gleeson.

GIGS & FESTIVALS

The BBC has announced that this year’s Radio 2 In The Park festival will take place at Moor Park in Preston on 7-8 Sep. “Following last year's epic extravaganza in Leicester, we can't wait to head north with our fantastic family of Radio 2 presenters, as well as some of the most loved music artists on the planet, to party with the good people of Lancashire”, says Head Of Radio 2 Helen Thomas. Find out more here.

RELEASES

Mabel is back with new single ‘Vitamins’. “This song is my family and friends' favourite song out of all the music I’ve made over the past couple years”, she says. “It's a reminder to the man I love to take care of himself but also that in difficult times I’ll always be there in his corner”.

Overmono have released their version of The Streets’ ‘Turn The Page’.

Bat For Lashes has released new single ‘Home’. The track is taken from her sixth album ‘The Dream Of Delphi’, which is out on 31 May.

Porter Robinson has released new single ‘Knock Yourself Out XD’. His new album ‘Smile! :D’ is set for release on 26 Jul.

Los Bitchos have released new single ‘La Bomba’. They’re also announced UK and Ireland tour dates in October and November, finishing with a performance at the Forum in London on 7 Nov.

Orbury Common have released new single ‘Jaundice & The Pipermen’. The track is taken from their debut album ‘Sylvan Chute’, which is out on 7 Jun.

Approved: Human Interest

Human Interest have returned with ‘Shapeshifting’, their first new material since last year’s ‘Empathy Lives In Outer Space’ EP. It also follows support slots with artists including Self Esteem, Hinds and labelmates English Teacher.

“The song is about feeling like you’re not being your true self; thinking about the different people you shift into day to day to navigate the world”, says vocalist and guitarist Cat Harrison. “I think it’s hard, when you’re queer, to feel like you’re being truly authentic to yourself. There are so many experiences that happen while growing up that make you hide who you really are”.

“When you spend your formative years doing this, I think it becomes such a part of your fabric and so ingrained in you that you end up as an adult not really knowing where your true self begins and the person you felt you had to be ends”, she goes on.

“On the whole, it’s dealing with alienation, but an alienation from yourself and who you feel you have to be. It’s about feeling like you’re not dealing with the things, and you choose to ‘go out’, have a good time instead. We all have to toe the line between the self and what society wants from us”.

The track is taken from new EP 'Smile While You’re Losing (An Audio Guide To Wellness)’, which is set for release on 6 Sep. The band also have live shows coming up in May and June, as well as an EP release show at The Lexington in London on 13 Sep.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘Shapeshifting’ here

Drake threatened with legal action over AI Tupac in Kendrick diss track

Last year’s big voice clone track was fake Drake. And now we have a Drake fake. In that a new diss track released by Drake as part of his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar includes a verse by an unauthorised AI Tupac, and the Tupac estate is not impressed.

“The estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorised use of Tupac’s voice and personality”, a legal letter seen by Billboard reads.

“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights”, it goes on, “it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip hop artists of all time. The estate would never have given its approval for this use”. To that end Drake has 24 hours to pull down the offending track or the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies”.

The track in question, ‘Taylor Made’, is the latest diss track released as part of a back and forth between Drake and Lamar. It features an AI-generated verse from Snoop Dogg as well as Tupac, both rappers highly rated by Lamar.

Continuing, the legal letter says, “The unauthorised, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult”.

The use of AI to generate vocal clones was a big talking point last year, especially following the release of a track called ‘Heart Of My Sleeve’ which included cloned vocals that imitated both Drake and The Weeknd. It prompted much debate about how artists can legally protect their voices and stop unauthorised vocal clones.

For an AI model to generate vocals in the style of a specific artist, it needs to be trained on recordings by that artist. As far as the music industry is concerned, that can only be done with the permission of whoever controls the copyrights in those tracks and the accompanying songs.

Many AI companies dispute that position, however, arguing that training an AI model constitutes ‘fair use’ and therefore no permission is required. Plus, an artist may not control the copyright in their music.

As a result, there has been much discussion about the use of publicity or personality rights, in those countries where they exist, to allow artists to control the use of their voice. The legal letter from the Tupac estate specifically referenced the late rapper’s publicity rights.

Quite how publicity rights work differs from country to country, and in the US from state to state, though there are moves to introduce a new US-wide federal publicity right specifically to stop the unauthorised use of someone’s voice or likeness in AI-generated content.

It’s not clear if Snoop Dogg’s lawyers are also penning an angry cease and desist letter. In a video on social media over the weekend his response to learning about the track was, “They did what? When? How? Are you sure?”

Global dance music industry saw strong growth in 2023

The annual IMS Business Report was launched at the International Music Summit in Ibiza yesterday. Now in its tenth edition, it found that the global electronic music industry continued to build on 2022’s strong growth last year, with revenues up 17% in 2023. The report values the industry at $11.8 billion.

“2022 was an unusual year, in that it reflected the post-pandemic bounce back effect for live”, says the report’s author Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research. “There was a risk that 2023 would struggle to live up to those inflated expectations, but instead the electronic music industry grew strongly once again, with impressive growth across virtually all of its constituent parts”.

“What is more, electronic music culture grew its fanbases faster than other leading genres, in part due to the rapid rise of African music and fans, illustrating the growing cultural footprint of electronic music culture and its vibrant global scenes”, he adds.

Nearly half of electronic music revenues came from festivals and clubs, the report finds. Following that, the next biggest contributor, at around 25%, is hardware and software. Recorded music saw growth last year, with physical and streaming both up 10%, and that trend was particularly pronounced in the independent sector, with indie labels increasing their market share to 31%.

“The new IMS Business Report reflects how deeply electronic music is now integrated into mainstream culture - from festivals to films, finance to fashion - with the genre now ever-present in society”, says IMS co-founder Ben Turner. “We had shifted from segregated stages or one-off moments to an always-on culture that is hard to get away from! It’s testament to the industry that the valuation is now showing continual growth post-pandemic”.

“The pent-up demand experienced in 2022 is also reflective of a new generation coming through who are proving to be passionate, loyal, and keen to experience everything possible”, he continues. “We are pleased to see the IMS Business Report also grow in stature and impact with all eyes on the genre like never before”.

Download the full report here.

UK government “choosing not to” better protect women in the music industry

There has been further criticism of the government’s response to the Women And Equalities Select Committee ‘Misogyny In Music’ report. Among them, Black Lives In Music CEO Charisse Beaumont says that the dismissal of recommendations to strengthen discrimination legislation in the UK “reveals a grave misunderstanding or, worse, a blatant disregard” for the issues highlighted by MPs.

The report was published in January and was highly critical of the music industry, saying that discrimination against women who work within it is “endemic”. It made numerous recommendations, many of which were directed to the music industry itself, but it also called for new and updated legislation to better protect women working in the sector. In its response last week, the government rejected all of these recommendations.

“The Women and Equalities Select Committee, through their report, has devised a blueprint to address these issues proactively”, says Beaumont. “We need a government that moves beyond deadlock and actively protects all workers in the music industry”.

Also commenting, founder of The F-List, Vick Bain - who gave evidence in the inquiry - says, "The inquiry heard in great detail from women who have experienced the corrosive and controlling impact of misogyny in the UK music industry .... That the UK government has the ability to update the Equalities Act in order to give greater protection to these women and yet is choosing not to, speaks volumes”.

“We will therefore continue to campaign alongside our sister organisation Black Lives In Music to ensure that this vital issue is not forgotten and the voices of black women in music are heard”, she adds.

Nadia Khan, founder of Women In CTRL, who also spoke at the inquiry, says, “The government's decision to reject the reasonable steps recommended by the select committee is shocking. It further reinforces the invisibility of women in the industry, and sends a clear message that nothing will change for women. Women In CTRL urge the government to reconsider its stance and prioritise the safety and equality of women in the music industry”.

These responses follow a statement issued by the Musicians’ Union, which also urged the government to “rethink its position and implement the recommendations from the report”.

Black Lives In Music last week launched a new survey on bullying and harassment in the music industry, called YourSafetyYourSay.

On that, Beaumont says, “We're spearheading a survey at Black Lives In Music to put an end to the pervasive bullying and harassment within the creative sectors. As James Baldwin said, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced’. We need everyone’s voice in this fight. The more we share stories of bullying and harassment, the harder they become to ignore”.

“We are at the cusp of the music industry's #MeToo movement”, she continues. “Share your experiences by participating in our anonymous survey. You can be as loud as you want, it is a safe space to share your story. Let's bring about change in the music industry together, right now. Your voice can be the difference”.

Complete the survey here.

Setlist Podcast: MPs want to see action on musicians’ income

Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the warning from UK politicians that there need to be “tangible steps to improve musicians’ remuneration and performer rights” by this time next year, and Blur drummer Dave Rowntree’s class action lawsuit against PRS For Music over songwriter royalties, and more.

🎧 Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast'

Indie publishers criticise digital platforms that “do not pay fair value for the music” in Global Music View

Independent music publishers accounted for 26.7% of publishing sector revenues in 2022. That’s slightly down on 2021, even though total revenues were up 16.8% to €2.43 billion. It also means the indies together are bigger than any one of the majors.

This is according to the latest report from the Independent Music Publishers International Forum - or IMPF - which also sets out an agenda of five key priorities for independent publishers: AI, fair-pay, buyouts, tax breaks, and reviewing the operations of US mechanical rights collecting society MLC.

“It’s a pleasure to show the continued growth of our sector and the ongoing dominance of the independent music publishing community in terms of market share”, says IMPF President Annette Barrett of Reservoir Music. “It is, however, also important to acknowledge independent music publishers’ as the early champions of emerging creators, and as their first professional affiliates”.

“Wherever we operate”, she adds, “we are usually the strongest supporters of local talent covering a wide range of musical genres, including those at the fringes that don’t necessarily make the headlines or the big numbers. Our latest ‘Global Market View’ shines a light on all these facets of our thriving community”.

The IMPF 'Global Market View' collates stats from various sources - including CISAC, Music & Copyright and the economist Will Page - in order to assess the performance of indie publishers.

For the purposes of the study, an independent is defined as any company with a global market share below 5%, which excludes the Sony, Universal and Warner publishing companies, as well as BMG and Kobalt. The €2.43 billion figure is the money that flows through the publishers, so doesn’t include writer’s share income that is paid directly to writers by collecting societies.

Although the report is focused on 2022, it also notes that “estimates for 2023 suggest that the growth rate of the publishing sector is going to be at minimum 8-12% and may be more depending on the state of the sync market after the Hollywood strikes”.

In terms of priority issues, it's no surprise that the IMPF is talking about AI, it being at the top of the lobbying agenda for much of the music rights industry. The big dispute relates to the copyright obligations of businesses training generative AI models with existing music, with the industry adamant that permission is required, but many AI companies disagreeing.

IMPF, like the rest of the sector, is urging governments and lawmakers to clarify the obligations of AI companies, in particular welcoming the recent EU AI Act. “The organisation believes that AI, if applied responsibly and with respect for songwriters and rightsholders, can bring many appreciable opportunities to the creative community”, it adds.

Interestingly, when it comes to digital platforms more generally, the report doesn't discuss how streaming income is shared between the recording rights and the song rights. Songwriters, and some publishers, have become increasingly vocal in recent years in calling for a higher portion of streaming money to be allocated to the song, which would most likely result in the recording getting less.

Instead, the IMPF focuses on those digital platforms which “do not pay fair value for the music”, which likely means user-generated content and social media platforms that allow users to insert music into their videos. Some of those platforms don't have any licensing deals with the music industry at all, X being the big one. And it is no secret that many in the industry believe that the platforms that do have licences should still be paying more.

After noting changes to European law in 2019 that arguably removed one of the legal loopholes that some platforms exploited to get away with paying less, the IMPF report says, “getting the platforms to 'pay fair' for the music content they are generating big profits from remains at the core of what music publishers and their songwriters demand”.

As for the other priorities, there is criticism of production music platforms and media companies that seek to buy out all the rights from the songwriters they work with; a call for the kinds of tax breaks that are offered to record labels in some countries to be extended to publishers; and the indies say they will be following the first five year review of US mechanical rights society the MLC, which was created following the 2018 Music Modernization Act.