In today's CMU Daily: A judge in Denmark has sentenced an unnamed music executive to prison for a long term but seemingly unsophisticated streaming fraud that saw hundreds of thousands of pounds of royalties extracted over a six year period using manipulated audio from legitimate artists

One Liners: Dr Albarn and Shaznay Lewis deals; BMG’s Dominique Casimir departs; Fairly Trained certificates issued; BBC review panel; Joni Mitchell returns to Spotify; Paloma Faith book; Cat Burns and Foy Vance tours; new music from Girl In Red, Bugzy Malone, Florrie, Kojaque, SiR and Pearl Jam

Also today: Academy Music Group faces legal action over Brixton Academy crowd crush, University Of Kent to close its music department, Tennessee extends publicity rights to combat unauthorised voice clones with the ELVIS Act

Plus: James Blunt asked AI to write lyrics in his style and it “totally humiliated” him - find out why

Prison sentence for unnamed Danish music executive in landmark “industry insider” streaming fraud case

A Danish music industry executive has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison after what appears to be the first publicly reported example of “industry insider” streaming fraud. 

The case is also - as far as we know - possibly the first criminal prosecution of music streaming fraud resulting in a prison sentence. While there have been a number of successful prosecutions relating to streaming fraud of video - and in particular pay TV sports - these have generally been people reselling subscription TV services at scale, rather than fraud related to stream manipulation.

The man who has been prosecuted - who is as yet unnamed, but whose identity has been confirmed to CMU by sources - is a Danish music executive with a “long career” in the music business. Danish media are not naming the man - apparently while the case goes to appeal - and, while his identity is an open secret in the Danish industry, there seems to be an agreement that until all legal options are exhausted he should not be named, so we will refer to him as “NN” - nomen nescio. 

The case is remarkable for three reasons: first, the perpetrator was an “industry insider” who apparently used his knowledge and connections to game the system, generating several millions of danish kroner in royalties. Second, the case involved taking legitimate music owned by legitimate artists - who were not parties in the fraud - and altering it slightly, releasing it under different names. Third, the duration of the fraud, which was apparently committed over a six year period.

Here is what we know from court reports and other sources. NN is a long time executive who, for some time, worked providing distribution services, including to a specific Danish label. 

His long term but apparently unsophisticated fraud was seemingly discovered by accident when a member of folk group Trias discovered one of the band’s own tracks on streaming service Tidal, with an altered tempo and shorter run time. Another artist discovered that his music had been released under a different name, and contacted NN to query this. 

The Danish Rights Alliance became aware of the case in 2017, after being contacted about unusual streaming activity on a number of platforms, and then conducted its own investigation before contacting Spotify. 

According to Danish music and culture website Gaffa, the perpetrator created 69 different subscriber accounts on streaming services to stream 689 different songs - apparently via playlists. Thomas Heldrup, Head Of Content Protection And Enforcement at the Rights Alliance, told Gaffa “Some tracks went from 0 to 8000 plays in one or two days from a very small number of users”. In evidence heard in court NN admitted that streams came from user accounts that he had created.

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ONE LINERS

BMG, Fairly Trained, Girl In Red, Bugzy Malone + More  

DEALS 

BMG has acquired Dr Alban’s interests in his recordings catalogue, it already owning the label share in those tracks, which include, of course, 'It's My Life'. "The acquisition of Dr Alban’s interests means BMG now has control of the key works of three tentpole Eurodance artists – Snap!, Haddaway and Dr Alban", brags BMG in its official statement. The music company's Maximilian Kolb is "delighted" about the new deal, whereas Dr Alban is "THRILLED" about it. 

Absolute Label Services will manage the release of Shaznay Lewis's first solo album in 20 years, which is called 'Pages' and will be released on 17 May. “Working with Absolute on my album 'Pages' has been a liberating experience", says she. 

APPOINTMENTS 

BMG's Chief Content Officer Dominique Casimir is stepping down. She joined the current iteration of BMG shortly after its launch in 2008. “It has been an exceptional journey to have been part of shaping BMG’s story from almost day one”, she says. “We built something unique - a global company with a genuinely artist-focused spirit - and celebrated many milestones together. I am truly grateful for the possibilities I have been given and the amazing people I work with, but I have decided that it is time for something new in my life and career".

DIGITAL

Fairly Trained, the initiative that certifies generative AI companies which commit to only use licensed content as part of their training processes, has certified five more companies and projects: KL3M, Voicemod, Infinite Album, Lemonaide and Frostbite Orckings. A number of organisations representing creators and copyright owners have also come on board as supporters, including The Authors Guild, MMF US, SAG-AFTRA and ASCRL.

MEDIA 

The UK government has appointed a panel of nine independent experts to advise on the BBC funding review, and to "help evaluate the current funding model and assess alternative funding options". The panel includes Times Literary Supplement Editor Martin Ivens; former Endemol UK and ITV Chairman Peter Bazalgette; former CEO of commercial radio trade group Radiocentre Siobhan Kenny; economist and journalist Frances Cairncross; former Channel 5 boss David Elstein; co-founder of Blue Zoo Productions Oli Hyatt; Director Of Communications for the Financial Conduct Authority Helen Bower Easton; broadcast journalist and former Director Of Communications at Ten Downing Street Amber de Botton; and Executive Chairman of investment and wealth management firm Dowgate Capital Lorna Tilbian. 

ARTIST NEWS

Joni Mitchell's music has returned to Spotify. She followed the lead of Neil Young when he began a Spotify boycott in 2022 in protest over the streaming service's exclusivity deal with podcaster Joe Rogan, who had been accused of allowing COVID conspiracy theories to be aired unchallenged on this podcast. Young recently announced that his music was returning to Spotify because the Rogan podcast is available again on other platforms - including Apple and Amazon - so just boycotting Spotify doesn't make sense. Mitchell has presumably applied the same logic. 

Paloma Faith is publishing a book called 'Happy Place' on 6 Jun. "Infused with Paloma's characteristic humour and raw honesty about the challenges of IVF and the early years of motherhood, this book is a beautiful celebration of women's work and the invisible load women carry", says an official blurb. The book's launch will be celebrated at an in conversation event at London's Union Chapel on 12 Jun, info here. 

GIGS & TOURS

Cat Burns has announced tour dates across Europe for October, which will build on the release of her debut album 'Early Twenties' on 12 Jul. The tour will kick off in Amsterdam on 6 Oct and wrap up at London's Roundhouse on 18 Oct. Tickets go on sale on 28 Mar. 

Foy Vance has announced a UK tour for November which will include a four night residency at the Grand Opera House in Belfast and then three nights at EartH in London. Each show will feature support from a comedian, with Shane Todd, Diana Doherty and Micky Overman among those set to appear. 

RELEASES

Girl In Red has posted new track 'You Need Me Now?', which features Sabrina Carpenter. It is from her upcoming new album 'I'm Doing It Again Baby!', which will be released on 12 Apr. 

Bugzy Malone has announced he will release new album ‘The Great British Dream’ on 10 May via B-Somebody Records. The announcement is accompanied by a new Daily Duppy which premiered on GRM Daily yesterday. 

Florrie will release her debut album 'The Lost Ones' on 14 Jun via BMG and Xenomania Records. Here is the title track. 

With Kojaque releasing a deluxe edition of his ‘Phantom Of The Afters’ album on 5 Apr, here is new track ‘London Lido’. 

SiR has released his eagerly awaited album ‘Heavy; featuring collaborations with Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul, Ty Dolla $ign, Isaiah Rashad and others. Check out the video for ‘You’. 

Pearl Jam have released their latest single ‘Running’ from the upcoming album ‘Dark Matter’, which is set for release on 19 Apr.

Mother of security guard killed in Brixton Academy crowd crush commences legal action against Academy Music Group saying “we will never let this rest”

The family of Gaby Hutchinson, the security guard who died during the crowd crush that occurred at the Brixton Academy in 2022, is launching legal action in a bid to "find out the truth" of what happened on that night, having so far been met by a "wall of silence" when seeking answers. Legal letters have been sent to venue operator the Academy Music Group, and its security contractors County Enforcement and AP Security.

"We will never let this rest", says Gaby's mother Christine Hutchinson. "We are determined to get answers to ensure there are learnings from this and that nobody else attending or working in a similar environment has to endure what we have over the past fourteen months". 

Criticising Live Nation's AMG, she adds, "At no point since Gaby's death has anybody from Academy Music met us to discuss what happened or asked our thoughts on safety measures to be introduced to protect the public from this happening again. As a family, we are not reassured that a tragedy like this will not happen again". 

AMG is yet to comment on the legal letter. Both County Enforcement and AP Security issued responses to the BBC, stating that their "thoughts remain with the deceased, their families and friends", but that it would be inappropriate to comment on the events of 15 Dec 2022 while a police investigation is still ongoing. 

Both Hutchinson and concert-goer Rebecca Ikumelo died when a crowd crush occurred during a sold out Asake show at the South London venue. A third person who was injured in the incident remains in a critical condition in hospital. 

A police investigation into what caused the crowd crush is ongoing. A BBC report on the incident in 2023 included allegations that security staff had been colluding with ticket touts to allow people with fake tickets into the venue, which could have put a sell out show at above capacity. 

The venue has been closed ever since the crowd crush, but is now due to re-open on 19 Apr. London's Metropolitan Police wanted AMG's licence to run the venue to be revoked. However, the licensing committee of local authority Lambeth Council said the company could reopen the venue providing it met 77 conditions to ensure the safety of both concert-goers and employees.

Confirming the planned legal action, the lawyer representing the Hutchinson family, Patrick Maguire, says, "We have now initiated a civil case against those in charge of the venue and those who were operating the security arrangements on that fateful evening". 

His clients, he adds, have so far faced a "wall of silence" from the venue and security operators, and they are now "seeking accountability" from those who, they believe, "failed in their duty to protect Gaby and others who were killed and injured as a result of the shambolic and chaotic security procedures in place that night".

University Of Kent axes music courses

The University Of Kent has announced it is axing its music and audio technology courses as part of wide-ranging cutbacks that will impact on six departments in total. The cuts, the university says, are a response to “a number of financial challenges including the fixed tuition fee, rising costs and changes in student behaviour". 

As with the announcement last year that Oxford Brookes University is closing its music department, music education and music industry organisations have expressed concerns about the latest cutbacks in higher education music courses. 

The Musicians’ Union says a root cause is the Conservative government’s failure to invest in music education more generally. It also notes recent commitments made by the Labour Party which, the union hopes, will result in more support for the arts and arts education if Labour forms the next government after this year’s General Election. 

Meanwhile, UK Music’s Interim CEO Tom Kiehl, an alumni of Kent University, says, “As we approach a General Election in the UK, I hope that the government and political parties will reflect on the policy decisions and messaging that has led to universities deciding to close their musical offerings”. 

Justifying the cutbacks - which also impact anthropology, art history, health and social care, journalism and philosophy courses - a statement from the University Of Kent says, "Like many in the sector, we are responding to a number of financial challenges including the fixed tuition fee, rising costs and changes in student behaviour". 

These and other changes, part of what the university calls the Kent 2030 plan, are "to ensure we get ahead of this, adjusting what we do to match changes in demographics while meeting the ambition of students in what they can study at Kent and the ways we support them in doing that". 

On logistical matters, the university says, "Students on the courses to be phased out will be supported with normal teaching and supervision through to the end of their degrees, including ongoing careers advice after they graduate. We will be working with staff in the weeks ahead to ensure we have appropriate teaching in place to support this, recognising that those affected will need time to think through their options".

Kent Online reported last month that a number of courses were set to be cut resulting in redundancies at the university. Courses in English, modern languages and forensic osteology were also facing the axe, but the university now says they will be retained "in some form". 

Tennessee passes ELVIS Act to help musicians stop unauthorised voice clones

Tennessee yesterday signed into law the Ensuring Likeness Voice And Image Security Act which extends publicity rights in the US state in the context of generative AI, deep fakes and voice clones. 

The law was only proposed in January, but was sped through with bipartisan support, partly because of how rapidly generative AI tools are developing, and partly because once you've come up with a name for your legislation that spells out ELVIS Act, you gotta get that on the statute book, right?  

“From Beale Street to Broadway, to Bristol and beyond, Tennessee is known for our rich artistic heritage that tells the story of our great state”, Governor Bill Lee declared as the ELVIS Act became law. “As the technology landscape evolves with artificial intelligence, I thank the General Assembly for its partnership in creating legal protection for our best-in-class artists and songwriters". 

The new law has widespread support from the music industry. Recording Academy boss Harvey Mason Jr said yesterday that his organisation, "celebrates the passage of the ELVIS Act as a groundbreaking achievement in the effort to protect human creators in the age of AI". 

"Today is just the beginning", he added, "as AI continues to develop, the Recording Academy and our members will continue to support meaningful legislation across the country that uplifts music people and human creativity". 

The use of generative AI to clone a performer's vocals - or otherwise exploit an artist's likeness - has prompted much debate as to how any one person can stop the unauthorised use of their voice or likeness in that way. 

Copyright law may help to an extent, in that an AI model will likely need to be trained using copyright protected content featuring the person. But the copyright obligations of AI companies are still being tested in court, plus a person may not own the copyright in a recording, film or photo that contains their voice or image. 

That has put the spotlight on publicity or personality rights, which allow people to control use of their image or likeness, possibly including their voice. In the US, publicity rights sit in state law, meaning exactly how they work varies from state to state. 

The ELVIS Act amends and extends the previous publicity right in Tennessee, which was last updated in 1984 in part to provide more protection for the estate of a certain Elvis Presley. 

Even after the changes in the 1980s, the Tennessee publicity right mainly related to the use of someone's image or likeness in advertising. The ELVIS Act widens the reach of the right and also explicitly includes protection of a person's voice. 

There are also proposals in Washington to introduce a US-wide publicity right in response to deep fakes and voice clones, with the No AI FRAUD Act in the House Of Representatives and NO FAKES Act in the Senate. 

In the UK - where there is currently no publicity right - music industry groups have called on the government to consider how such protections could be introduced. 

Meanwhile, record industry trade group BPI has threatened legal action against Voicify, a platform that facilitates unapproved voice cloning. Though that litigation, if it goes ahead, will likely primarily focus on copyright infringement.

And Finally! Not even robots like James Blunt

There’s been a lot of discussion about the use of AI in the music industry. Is it an incredible new tool that will aid and enhance human creativity? Or one that will destroy the music business as we know it? Those seem to be the main two options. 

A third, less talked about possibility, is that AI is actually irritatingly unhelpful a lot of the time, and forces creators to just carry on doing things in the same way as before. As James Blunt will tell you.

Appearing on the latest edition of Squeeze frontman Chris Difford’s I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, Blunt was asked his feelings about younger musicians using AI to write lyrics - something Difford said is becoming increasingly common, citing “a friend” who had told him so that very morning.

Turns out, AI doesn’t think James Blunt is very good at writing lyrics. Check out this and a round up of this week’s other funniest music news stories...