CMU Daily 25.07.16: Guvera CEO stands down, labels finally settle with isoHunt, Pono store goes offline after Omnifone sale

CEO of struggling Guvera stands down
Just ask Crowdmix, when one of you co-founders gives up the post of CEO, leaving the job to another co-founder, that means things are going really well. Really, really, really well. Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, well. So fucking well, in fact, you couldn't even picture just how well things are going. Unless you had a really deep well.

Anyway, Guvera co-founder Darren Heft has stood down as CEO. His co-founder - and the flagging streaming firm's new Chief Exec - Claes Loberg confirmed this development to The Courier-Mail late last week, adding that Heft will remain on the company's board.

Said Loberg: "I am stepping in to the role of CEO. Darren will still have a seat on the board and work with us going forward. My focus as CEO will be to further develop our platform in our top markets including India and Indonesia, as well as my current research into China".

Heft's departure follows the decision to put two of Guvera's subsidiaries into administration, after the Australian Securities Exchange blocked the loss-making streaming set up's plans to float.

Given the figures Guvera that shared as part of its failed attempt to IPO, there has been much speculation about the future of the company, which maintains that there is a gap in the market to be the ad-funded free-to-access streaming platform, even though no one - market-leaders Spotify and Pandora included - have managed to make free streams pay.

Confirmation that Heft had stood down emerged alongside other reports, also in The Courier-Mail, to the effect that creditors of the two defunct Guvera companies could see just 10-25 cents for each dollar they are owed.

The tabloid adds that a report by administrators Deloitte says the streaming firm may have been insolvent back in 2014, and that directors, including Heft and Loberg, "possibly contravened the Corporations Act by 'not acting with the standard of care and diligence required or in good faith by using their position and information'".

None of which will help calm speculation about the insecure future of the wider Guvera business, however many YouTube videos get posted.

isoHunt founder settles with the labels
Just as recent file-sharing leader Kickass Torrrents was given a good kicking last week following the arrest of its alleged overseer, the founder of a file-sharing platform of old has finally settled with the record industry.

isoHunt founder Gary Fung seemed to relish battling with the music and movie industries over the legalities of his file-sharing platform, but he finally gave up in 2013 in a deal that took the then ten year old service offline. Though that deal was with Hollywood, not the music industry.

The labels' settlement then took another two and half years to hammer out. Because Fung is Canadian, it was Music Canada that led on those negotiations, and an agreement has finally been reached. Fung will pay the labels $66 million, breaking down as $55 million damages, $10 million in aggravated punitive damages and $1 million in legal costs.

Confirming a deal had finally been done, while referring to Music Canada by its old name of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, Fung said this weekend, according to Torrentfreak: "After ten long years, I'm happy to announce the end of isoHunt's and my lawsuits. And I want to congratulate both Hollywood and CRIA on their victories, in letting me off with fines of $110 million and $66 milliojn, respectively. Thank you!"

So that's that done and dusted. Who's next? I wonder what file-sharing platform all the cool kids are now using. Anyone know a cool kid?

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vKontakte boss wants his company taken off all the piracy lists
The boss of Russian social network vKontakte has been a chit chatting to Torrentfreak following his company finally settling with Universal Music earlier this month.

As previously reported, that deal brings to an end vKontakte's long-running legal battle with the record industry. Universal is the final major to settle its copyright infringement action and concurrently sign up to work with the social network and its parent company Mail.ru Group on licensed streaming services in Russia.

Though, while the majors are now allies of Boris Dobrodeyev's company, he maintains that the rampant distribution of unlicensed music files across vKontakte's social network, which is what got the labels so pissed off in the first place, was never "piracy".

"The term 'piracy' is not applicable to user generated content services", he says, relying on a familiar argument. "Our position, which we have successfully defended in legal disputes, is that we do not distribute pirate content. vKontakte's content is user-generated, and so the rights holders' requests were directed to them. From our side, we do everything that we can to protect the rights of the holders and remove content that violates their ownership rights".

Though it does seem that vKontakte might be doing even more "everythings" now that they are in business with the record industry. "Now that vKontake has signed the respective agreements with the major music companies", he goes on, "it is implementing substantial measures to identify the ownership of user content on the basis of the original files provided by the rights holders".

Which is all lovely. Though in return - aside from getting lots of content for his company's legit music services - Dobrodeyev would also like the music industry to ensure that his firm is removed from the copyright hall of shame, aka the US government's Notorious Markets list, which documents those who the entertainment industry reckons don't pay much respect to the intellectual property of others. Amid all that former criticism from the major record companies, the Russian social media firm found itself included on that list.

"We certainly hope that vKontakte will be removed from 'piracy' lists following the settlements and taking into account the enormous amount of work that the network has undertaken in this area".

Don't worry Boris, I just took a sneaky look at the list of the 20 websites most hated by the music industry in 2016 and you're not on it. In fact, here it is...

1. YouTube
2. YouTube
3. YouTube
4. YouTube
5. YouTube
6. YouTube
7. YouTube
8. YouTube
9. YouTube
10. YouTube
11. YouTube
12. YouTube
13. YouTube
14. YouTube
15. YouTube
16. YouTube
17. YouTube
18. YouTube
19. YouTube
20. YouTube (actually, that one might be a Vevo channel)

The Lottery Winners sign to Sire
Lancashire indie band The Lottery Winners have signed to Warner's Sire label, snapped up by Sire chief Seymour Stein himself.

"For us to be added to Seymour's star-studded list of artists is an absolute honour", says guitarist Rob Lally. "He has signed many of our influences over the years. We are very excited to continue our hard work along side him".

Frontman Thom Rylance adds: "It's hard for me to get my head around how much of a big deal this actually is. I've barely had time to process it. It's such a privilege to sign with a company as prestigious as Warner, and I'm very excited about our music being released in the States, as well as here. I've always wanted to go to New York!"

Meanwhile, Stein himself says: "It's so refreshing to see a band that have both truly amazing songwriting AND a unique and exceptional live show. I expect great things from this very special bunch of musicians". Time for one quick pun, Seymour? "I feel like it's Sire that's won the lottery with this great signing". Perfect.

The band will be heading out on a UK tour in September and October. Here's the video for new single 'Young Love'.

The Maccabees' Felix White launches label and club night
Maccabees guitarist Felix White and Warner publicist Morad Khokar have launched a new label called Yala! Records and an accompanying club night.

"We thought this could be a nice opportunity to bring this community together, whether it be producers or designers or promoters we have known for a long time, working together on helping new music find its own way, and after that, the sky's the limit", says White of the new venture. "Everything starts with the club night though; it will be the focal point of what we do going forward, and with this opening line up we've set the bar suitably high for future nights". Wanna know the line-up? Well, be patient then.

First you need to know that a further inspiration for the new company is White's fear that new bands have fewer opportunities to build a career in nice neat stages these days - The Maccabees having gone from small gigs, to self-releasing their debut single, then working with Fierce Panda, followed by signing to Fiction.

"All those avenues and opportunities for bands don't seem to be as prominent anymore, and those interim labels are important", he says. "If we hadn't taken those little steps, I'm not sure if we'd have gotten to a point where a label wanted to take a chance on us. [The Maccabees' debut single] 'X-Ray' was limited to 500 copies, but it was released on vinyl with a sleeve and everything, and it ended up getting played by Steve Lamacq. That was the biggest buzz I can remember, even now".

As for the new venture's name, he explains: "My grandmother was Palestinian and she used to cross between speaking Arabic and English, and it's something she used to say all the time: 'Yala! Hurry up! Let's go!' It's always stuck in my head and it felt like it fitted - let's stop talking about it and try to make it happen".

Too right. And that first edition of the new night's line-up? Well, the first Yala! club night will take place at the Bermondsey Social Club in London on 5 Aug, headlined by The Magic Gang with DJ sets from The Maccabees and Mystery Jets.

eBay to buy Ticket Utils to boost large scale touting on StubHub
eBay has announced plans to acquire ticket-selling-management-software maker Ticket Utils, with plans to incorporate it into its secondary ticketing set-up StubHub. Ticket Utils makes a variety of applications for large scale sellers on the secondary market, which allow users to automate and manage listings for tickets across multiple stores.

"As StubHub seeks to become a truly global brand, we are working on new ways to ensure that sellers have effective, useful tools to better manage their inventory, pricing, distribution and internationalisation", says StubHub President Scott Cutler. "Ticket Utils is an example of the ways in which we are listening to our customers and working to improving their selling experience, which is a benefit to our business and theirs".

Ticket Utils President Brian Hampel adds: "Ticket Utils has a strong history of providing large ticket sellers a sophisticated tool for managing their inventory, and with StubHub, we'll be able to expand our reach and increase sellers' success even further. Scaling globally is an opportunity for growth, and we're especially focused on introducing StubHub sellers to the ease and efficiency of entering new markets with Ticket Utils' inventory solution".

Although Ticket Utils already had some official association with StubHub, the acquisition is likely to further annoy those angry that so much of the secondary ticketing market is made up of commercial sellers buying and selling tickets in bulk, rather than individuals who find themselves unable to go to a show.

Pono store goes offline after Omnifone sale
I don't think I've seen the words "under construction" emblazoned across a website since the late 90s. So the website for Neil Young's PonoMusic is making me feel quite nostalgic today - those words appearing in bold across its front page after its download store was taken offline. Until last week, content was provided to the high quality download store by Omnifone, but this source was cut off when that company was purchased out of administration (very possibly by Apple).

"One of our key infrastructure partners - Omnifone - has recently been acquired by a large company", says a notice on the PonoMusic website. "An impact of this purchase is that all Omnifone's supply relationships are being terminated, effectively immediately. Omnifone has been the exclusive content provider for PonoMusic".

In light of this, the Pono download store is being restocked through a new deal with 7digital. "In early anticipation of this change, sometime ago we began, and subsequently concluded, negotiations to move our content provision to 7digital, the leading independent music content/services platform", the statement continues. "This process of transition is now well underway, but not yet complete. Please rest assured that our contractual relationships with all the major music labels remain fully intact and will transition to our new platform".

Access to the store was suspended last Wednesday, and it remains offline this morning, with no indication of when it might return.

Cher Lloyd activates new single
Cher Lloyd has released the first track from her third album, titled 'Activated'.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Lloyd says of the single: "I think when we first started writing 'Activated' - in the very beginning stages - I had said that I wanted a song [reflecting] exactly how I feel. [It's] this feeling that I have of just wanting to run as fast as I possibly can and just move".

"I wasn't going to just record something and release shit for the sake of having a song out", she continues. "I wanted to feel something when I heard [it], and I wanted to feel like I did when I first started, like when I used to sing in my bedroom when I was fifteen. My fans deserve something that's honest and comes from me. It's my new phase. Everything is about to change".

Listen to 'Activated' here.

Kobalt, Marshall, BASCA, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Kobalt has acquired the publishing catalogue of Nettwerk Music Group, via its investment fund KMC. KMC CEO Johan Ahlstrom is "THRILLED".

• Marshall Amplification has announced it is launching its own record label, Marshall Records. The company will be run by producer Rob Cass, industry veteran Steve Tannett and Marshall Brand Licensing Director Grace Pantony.

• Musician and former co-CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition, Crispin Hunt has been announced as the new Chair of songwriter organisation BASCA. Oh, he's also a songwriter, did I mention that? "I am absolutely delighted and honoured", he says.

• 5 Seconds Of Summer have released the video for new single 'Girls Talk Boys', taken from the soundtrack of the new 'Ghostbusters' movie. "We are so excited for the fans to hear our new direction of music", says the band's Ashton Irwin.

• Blossoms are heading out on a UK tour in September and October, following the release of their debut album on 5 Aug. Among the dates, they'll play The Forum in London on 29 Sep.

• Tiga has released the third and final part of his documentary series, 'No Fantasy Required'. It gives an insight into his unorthodox studio technique.

• Spacemen 3's Will Carruthers will be reading from his new book at the next Faber Social at The Social in London. Tickets here.

• Die Antwoord will release new album 'Mount Ninji And Da Nice Time Kid' on 16 Sep. Here's first single 'Banana Brain'.

• Cassius will release new album 'Ibifornia' on 26 Aug. From it, and featuring Cat Power, this is 'Feel Like Me'.

• Following on from that video that appeared to take over your phone, J-pop group Lyrical School have released a more conventional promo clip (though with an unconventional amount of fireworks). Watch here.

• M83 is playing Brixton Academy on 11 Nov.

• NZCA Lines are doing a free show at the Assembly Point art gallery in London tomorrow night, which will showcase new live visuals in collaboration with Taxonym and Amala. Further details here.

• Look, I know you think signing online petitions is pointless and they just facilitate people feeling like they're doing something without actually becoming politically active, but this one is important.

Pokemon invade music venues
All over the world right now, people are busy fulfilling the vital and important work of finding Pokemon and catching them in small balls. And the work being carried out through the new 'Pokemon Go' app never stops, not even on a night out.

You might be waiting for Garth Brooks to come on stage, or watching Kaiser Chiefs play a few of their songs, but there's Pokemon catching work to be done. So much so, Bandsintown has already compiled a list of US gig venues where these creatures can be found. Pokemon do not respect your leisure time, and they must be trapped and forced to fight each other at every possible opportunity.

Some people don't recognise how vital this work is though, and think that you should leave those Pokemon alone while you watch artists sing. A Beyonce fan called out someone in front of them at a show over the weekend in an Instagram video. You might argue that shouting loudly while Beyonce was performing was worse fan behaviour than having a quick look at your phone, but this person would apparently not agree.

Meanwhile, Rihanna explicitly forbade fans from "catching any Pokemons up in this bitch". But what if there's a rare one in the stadium, Rihanna? What then? They can't just be left to hop off into the sunset, can they? Let's get some perspective here.