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Today's music business news

TOP STORY

European Parliament committee calls for new EU rules to regulate streaming

The Culture Committee of the European Parliament yesterday called for new rules in the European Union to "ensure a fair and sustainable environment for music streaming".

That call came as the committee formally adopted a report published back in June that considered the challenges posed by streaming for songwriters and composers, or 'authors' to use the legal term. The proposed new EU rules would cover transparency and data.

On transparency, the committee said there should be rules that "oblige platforms to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent and to guarantee that European works are visible and accessible".

They also proposed the introduction of a 'diversity indicator' that would "assess the array of genres and languages available and the presence of independent authors", and stated that AI-generated content should be clearly labelled.

On the data front, "rules should oblige streaming platforms to identify rightholders via the correct allocation of metadata to help their works to be discovered".

Committee member Ibán García Del Blanco says: “The success story of music streaming services has its own paradoxes. The majority of authors and performers, even those with hundreds of thousands of reproductions each year, do not receive remuneration that allows them to afford a decent living".

"It is of paramount importance to recognise the role authors play in the music sector", he added, "review the revenue distribution model that streaming services use, and explore proportionate and efficient solutions to promote cultural diversity".

The committee's statement has been welcomed by GESAC - which represents song right collecting societies around Europe - and the European Composer & Songwriter Alliance.

ESCA’s President, Helienne Lindvall, says: “Music streaming must be fixed to become fairer and sustainable for music creators, who currently struggle to make a living from it. This report is a crucial step towards future concrete actions for an ecosystem that fairly compensates those who deliver the core product on streaming services: music".

ONE LINERS

One Liners: Richard Ashcroft, Nadine Shah, Music Technology UK + more

DEALS

Spirit Music Group has signed ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons to a worldwide publishing administration deal. Says the man himself: “Spirit rising! As is with Billy F Gibbons and the bonus of joining the Spirit Music team taking large charge and ready to make loud noise! We roll. Spirit rising”.

Audio AI company Audoo has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based music rights organisation ESMAA. “This partnership with ESMAA aligns with Audoo’s mission to ensure artists are fairly compensated”, says Audoo CEO Ryan Edwards. “Our technology promises to bring a new level of precision to royalty distribution across the Middle East and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have on the music community”.

Peermusic and digital licensing hub ICE have renewed their partnership in a multi-year deal that will see the music publisher continue to utilise the ICE Core licensing service. “The ICE Core representation assists us with bringing top-tier digital music licensing and processing to our songwriters at optimal terms, using advanced technology which underpins collections and the efficient distribution of royalties to our songwriters”, says Peermusic UK MD Nigel Elderton.

INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS

New trade body Music Technology UK has launched, aiming to foster better partnerships between the music industry and tech startups. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the launch of Music Technology UK”, says CEO Matt Cartmell. “By working closely with our music industry peers, we’re working towards a thriving future for UK music tech, globally recognised for innovation, collaboration and growth. This is a big tent organisation and all are welcome to join us in this project”.

RELEASES

Nadine Shah has released new single 'Twenty Things’, the second from her fifth album ‘Filthy Underneath’, which is out on 23 Feb. "It’s a love letter of sorts, to the people I met whilst in recovery”, she says. “No one tells you that you’ll end up feeling so deeply for the people you meet there. What makes it more intense is the fact that you know, statistically, that not everyone is going to make it once they’ve left the place”.

Chelsea Wolfe has released new single ‘Tunnel Lights’. The song, she says, “is about actually living instead of just ‘getting by’. It’s about waking up to the fact that you’ve been languishing in the dark and it’s time to start taking steps towards the lights that’ll guide you out of the tunnel-cave”. Her new album ‘She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She’ is out on 9 Feb and she will play Heaven in London on 21 Apr.

Sevdaliza has released a short film called ‘I Don’t Know Where To Start’, featuring new track ‘Who Are You Running From?’ “In this film, I wanted to explore the troubled mind and the subconscious narratives that can keep a person accompanied during a challenging period of time”, says director Sharif Abd el Mawla. “Tapping into thematic hues like loneliness, fantasy and intimacy, ‘I Don’t Know Where To Start’ focuses on human imperfection and vulnerability in a picture perfect society that leaves no room for error. One in five adults experience a mental health problem each year”.

Donna Thompson has released new single ‘Sunny April Showers’. “This song is about that feeling of awareness of multiple states of being existing simultaneously and observing each of them”, she says. “Some of them intense, some of them joyous and others very confusing. Asking questions and trying to figure out if there’s a way to tap into something that calms it all down enough to make some kind of sense of it all. Or figure out if we even need to”. She will play Servant Jazz Quarters in London tonight.

GIGS & TOURS

Richard Ashcroft has announced a hometown show at Wigan’s Robin Park on 20 Jul, the first time he has played the city since 1998. “After 25 years, I’m back playing in my hometown”, he says. “Looking forward to an amazing night in Wigan”. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

LICENSING & COPYRIGHT

Big radio criticised by SoundExchange as iHeartMedia confirms $100 million BMI sale benefit

The boss of US record industry collecting society SoundExchange has used the news that iHeartMedia will make $100 million from the sale of BMI to again call for politicians to back the American Music Fairness Act.

SoundExchange CEO Michael Huppe wrote on Twitter: “The irony of a radio giant profiting millions while underpaying performers is yet another reason why the American Music Fairness Act is so vital for #MusicFairness”.

A quirk in American copyright law means AM/FM music radio stations get away with not paying anything to artists and record labels. The American Music Fairness Act would change that, but is being fiercely opposed in Washington by big radio, including iHeart.

US radio stations do have to pay royalties to songwriters and music publishers, which they do via collecting societies like BMI. Though iHeart now stands to profit in a major way from that side of the music rights business too, because it is a shareholder in BMI, which is in the process of being sold to a consortium led by New Mountain Capital. The radio firm told its investors earlier this week that it expects to make about $100 million from that deal.

Most of the music industry's collecting societies are not-for-profit organisations owned by their members. Which always made BMI, owned by a group of broadcasters, unusual. Nevertheless, it still operated on a not-for-profit basis until last year. When it announced a shift to a for-profit business model last October, BMI said that its broadcaster shareholders wouldn't actually take a cut of any profits in the short-term, but would benefit from any future sale of the society.

The shift to a for-profit model and sale to New Mountain Capital have already proven controversial within the songwriting community, even though BMI insists the changes will ultimately benefit the writers and publishers it represents, who will also get $100 million of the money generated by the sale. That major media firms will profit so much from the deal will likely further annoy writers, many of whom may not have even been aware that the radio sector actually owned the organisation.

Which, given iHeart’s ongoing opposition to the American Music Fairness Act, means music-makers now have two reasons for disliking the radio giant.

LIVE

Live Nation increases minimum wages at club venues as part of On The Road Again programme

Live Nation has announced another initiative as part of its On The Road Again programme, which seeks to support people playing and working at its network of club venues in the US. This time it is rolling out higher minimum wages for people working in these venues.

The live giant said in a statement yesterday: "Moving forward, base pay for hourly club staff will start at $20/hour, while supervisor roles will start at $25/hour - with opportunity for advancement in the company".

"These increases will impact more than 5000 crew members", it went on, "who cover many different roles to support shows, including box office attendants, production crew, artist hospitality, guest services, ushers, parking attendants, cleaning crews, sustainability coordinators and more".

On The Road Again was launched in September, fronted by Willie Nelson, to support those playing and working in smaller venues where the live sector has faced various challenges since the COVID pandemic. Initial commitments through to the end of the year included extra cash for artists towards travel costs and the removal of merch commissions in participating venues, plus financial bonuses for local promoters, tour reps and venue crews.

Confirming the new commitments around wages, Live Nation boss Michael Rapino says: "Shows wouldn't happen without the unsung heroes who work in the background to help support artists and fans. In addition to developing artists, clubs also help industry professionals learn the ropes, and many of our promoters and venue managers worked their way up from smaller venues".

"The live music industry is on track for years of growth and offers a great career path", he adds, "and by increasing minimum wages we're helping staff get an even stronger start as they begin their journey in live".

LICENSING & COPYRIGHT

Brazil-led anti-piracy initiative hails successes

Government agencies in Latin America involved the anti-piracy initiative called Operation 404 have published an update on their latest round of work, stating that "to date the operation has resulted in the suspension of nearly 1500 domains, the removal of 780 infringing music apps and delivery of more than 100 search warrants".

This work - which targets unlicensed MP3 download apps and stream ripping services, among other things - is led by the Brazilian government's Ministry Of Justice And Public Security, working in partnership with the Peruvian Copyright Office INDECOPI and relevant authorities in the UK and US. It's also backed by record industry trade groups.

In the latest phase of the scheme, the Brazilian ministry and INDECOPI together blocked 157 music piracy domains. Meanwhile, the Brazilian authorities also took action against twelve major stream ripping and MP3 download mobile apps by ordering their removal from both the major app stores and other websites where the apps could be downloaded.

Welcoming these developments, Melissa Morgia, Director Of Global Content Protection And Enforcement at the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, says: “This sixth wave of actions by Operation 404 on infringing sites makes this one of the biggest and most concerted efforts in the world against music piracy".

"Not only does it make an impact on infringing websites", she adds, "it has evolved to tackle the growing threat posed by mobile app-based piracy. This would not be possible without international cooperation and we thank the authorities in Brazil, Peru, the US and the UK for their unstinting support in protecting the work of music creators".

LEGAL

Cloudflare must block piracy site, German court confirms

A German court earlier this month upheld a previous ruling regarding the obligations of internet services company Cloudflare to block a piracy site from accessing its services. However, the Cologne Higher Regional Court did not extend that obligation to Cloudflare's DNS resolver 1.1.1.1.

This all relates to efforts in the German courts by Universal Music back in 2020 to force Cloudflare to block DDL-Music, a piracy service that was using the internet firm's CDN - or content delivery network. Cloudflare has always been resistant to requests from copyright owners to cut off websites accused of copyright infringement, generally only intervening if a court orders it to do so.

The major got such a court order in 2020, resulting in Cloudflare blocking DDL-Music. However, it nevertheless appealed the court's ruling, presumably nervous of the precedent set in the case. Earlier this month the Cologne Higher Regional Court confirmed that the original ruling was correct.

There is, however, another question over whether Cloudflare’s DNS resolver 1.1.1.1 should also be forced to block access to sites like DDL-Music. The music industry has become increasingly concerned in recent years that people can use third party DNS resolvers like 1.1.1.1 to circumvent blocks but in place against piracy sites by internet service providers.

To that end, the Italian music industry successfully sought a web-blocking order against Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 - and, in Germany, Sony Music has had some success pursuing legal action against another third party DNS resolver Quad9.

However, in the new Cloudflare judgement, the court was not willing to extend the internet firm's obligations to its DNS resolver, which, it said, "contributes to the connection of internet domains in a purely passive, automatic and neutral manner". It remains to be seen to what extent Quad9 now argues that the judgement in the Cloudflare case is relevant to its ongoing battle with Sony.

MEDIA

Diddy steps back from Chair role at Revolt as he fights two sexual assault lawsuits

Sean 'Diddy' Combs will temporarily stand down as Chair of the TV company he co-founded ten years ago, Revolt, as he fights two lawsuits that accuse him of sexual assault in relation to incidents that allegedly occurred in the 1990s.

A statement on Revolt’s Instagram profile reads: “Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as Chairman of Revolt. While Mr Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all black people throughout this country and the African diaspora”.

A total of three women filed lawsuits against Combs earlier this month utilising New York State's Adult Survivors Act. That provided a twelve month window during which victims of sexual assault or abuse could file new legal proceedings even if alleged incidents occurred sufficiently long ago that a legal claim would usually be barred by the statute of limitations. The deadline for filing lawsuits under the Act was last Friday.

One of Combs' accusers was his former partner Cassie Ventura. However, her lawsuit was settled within a day of it being filed. In the second lawsuit Joi Dickerson-Neal accuses Combs of sexually assaulting her in 1991 and, in the third, an unnamed woman claims that Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall sexually assaulted her and a friend after a music industry event in 1990 or 1991.

Combs has denied all the allegations against him, with a representative for the rapper stating: "The claims involving alleged misconduct against Mr Combs from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute are all completely denied and rejected by him. He recognises this as a money grab. Because of Mr Combs’ fame and success, he is an easy target for accusers who will falsify the truth, without conscience or consequence, for financial benefit".

AND FINALLY

Stolen Penny Lane sign returned by Beatles fan 44 years on

A sign stolen in the 1970s from Liverpool’s Penny Lane - the street immortalised by The Beatles in their song of the same name - has been returned to the city. Local councillor Dan Barrington said that while the theft could potentially carry a prison sentence, the city’s council would on this occasion “let it be”.

The “totally pristine” sign was handed to The Beatles Story museum by an anonymous man who said that he and a group of student friends took it in 1976 while somewhat “worse for wear”.

"Because I am getting on a bit now, I want to return it to the Pool, where I spent six very happy years as a student, undergrad then postgrad, including meeting my wife of 44 years”, he said, according to the BBC. “Obviously, Liverpool is where the sign should now spend the rest of its days”.

The Penny Lane sign is one of many stolen by people wanting a piece of Beatles memorabilia. In fact, so many were taken that city officials eventually gave up replacing them and simply painted Penny Lane signs on the walls of buildings on the street. Proper signs returned in 2007, but with measures to make them more theft-resistant in place. Some do still go missing, however.

Commenting on the return of the sign, Liverpool City Councillor Dan Barrington says: "The removal of street signs is a criminal offence which can lead to a prison sentence. However, given the history of this case and the fact this Penny Lane has got back to where it belongs after what looks like a long and winding journey, then I think we can all agree to just let it be”.

The sign is now on display at The Beatles Story museum on Liverpool’s Albert Dock.