In today's CMU Daily: Live Nation is facing a class action lawsuit in the US that seeks to represent millions of ticket buyers. Like the recent legal action launched by the US government, it accuses Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary of anticompetitive conduct - although particularly focuses on Live Nation’s dominance in the ticket resale sector

One Liners: KT Tunstall signs with BMG; Proper deal with Firebird Music Holdings; Warner Chappell sync appointment; Simon Raymonde memoir; postponed or cancelled shows for Nicki Minaj, The Black Keys and Bruce Springsteen; new releases from Stefflon Don, FLO, Beak>

Also today: PRS announces record royalty distributions; Select committee Chair urges next government to continue work on streaming and grassroots venues; French collecting societies announce joint venture

Plus: Sophie May is CMU Approved

Live Nation faces class action that could involve millions of ticket buyers

Following the US government’s explosive lawsuit against Live Nation last week, a class action has been filed with the New York courts potentially on behalf of millions of American ticket buyers. Like the government’s litigation, the class action lawsuit accuses Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary of anticompetitive conduct. Although the impact of Live Nation’s dominance on the ticket resale sector seems to be of particular concern.

“Over the past three decades”, the new lawsuit states, “Live Nation and Ticketmaster collectively built empires in several key markets within the live concert and event economy”. The merger of the companies, in 2010, then created “a vertically integrated monopoly and juggernaut trust”.

As with the government’s legal action, the class action sets out Live Nation’s dominant position in tour promotion, venue management, and both primary and secondary ticketing across the American market.

The allegation is that it exploits its dominance in the various different strands of live music to force venues into exclusivity deals, and to prevent rival ticketing companies and ticket brokers from selling tickets to many major shows, even when Live Nation itself isn’t the promoter. And where Live Nation is the promoter and the primary ticket seller, it also seeks to restrict the flow of tickets to rival resale platforms.

“To access the majority of significant concert and event tours in the United States, a consumer must interact, directly or indirectly, with Live Nation”, claims the lawsuit. That, it alleges, allows Live Nation and Ticketmaster to set uncompetitive ticket prices and charge excessive ticketing fees, on both primary ticket sales and tickets resold by touts (or ‘scalpers’ or ‘brokers’ if you prefer) on its secondary ticketing platforms.

Although the new lawsuit goes to great lengths to explain how the live music business works, the different business partners involved, and Live Nation’s role at multiple links in the supply chain, Live Nation will almost certainly insist that the legal filing misrepresents - or at least misunderstands - industry practices and market pressures.

Just two days before the US government filed its antitrust lawsuit on Thursday, Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold discussed his company’s venue exclusivity deals at a conference organised by JP Morgan. He insisted that exclusivity was not a condition of working with Live Nation or Ticketmaster, but something the company’s venue partners usually wanted.

“I’ve got no issues with any venue that says they want to be non-exclusive and want a financial arrangement that reflects that and want an operational arrangement that reflects that”, he told the conference. “All of that is fine, as far as we’re concerned. We just find that that’s not generally what the venues are asking for”.

Meanwhile, as the US government's Department Of Justice worked on the investigation that led to last week’s lawsuit, Live Nation started pushing out blog posts arguing that high ticket prices for the most in-demand shows are down to market demand, surging production costs and artists relying heavily on touring income. And Ticketmaster's fees, it also claimed, are very competitive and - on its primary platform at least - not even set by Ticketmaster.

That the consumer class action lawsuit is focusing on ticket resale is interesting. Plenty of people working across the live sector have expressed concerns about the market dominance of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Among the critics are artists, managers and promoters, but also ticket touts and the resale platforms they use. And groups representing artists, managers and promoters are also often critical of the touts and resale platforms.

Unlike in the UK, Ticketmaster is still directly involved in ticket resale in the US. However, Live Nation has nevertheless introduced or proposed some measures to restrict resale in the American market. Measures which have often been welcomed by those artists, managers and promoters who are critical of the touts. Although the outcome is often the strengthening of Ticketmaster’s own resale platforms or things like dynamic pricing on its primary platform. Which means it can be hard for artists, managers and promoters to know who to root for.

Live Nation has certainly used ticket resale as a distraction tactic when lawmakers in Washington have been investigating the ticketing sector. It tells lawmakers that they should focus their efforts on regulating touts and resale platforms, rather than other aspects of Live Nation’s business. Meanwhile, when the US government filed its lawsuit last week, Live Nation blamed the regulatory intervention on “a long-term lobbying campaign from rivals and ticket brokers seeking government protection for themselves”.

Nevertheless, assuming these cases are not settled and therefore get to court, they should shine at least some light on how the live industry works and where Live Nation’s market power is problematic.

The DoJ lawsuit ultimately calls for Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be split up. The class action, meanwhile, demands “statutory, actual, compensatory, consequential, treble, punitive and nominal damages” for the potentially millions of ticket-buyers who could end up being members of the class.

terrible* // Finance Assistant/Bookkeeper (London)

Secretly Distribution // UK Account Relations Director (London)

Republic of Music // Label Manager (Brighton Hybrid)

Domino Publishing // Copyright & Royalties Assistant (London Hybrid)

All Flowers Group // Project Manager (London)

Your Culture // Campaign Management Assistant (Brighton)

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ONE LINERS

KT Tunstall, Simon Raymonde, Stefflon Don + More

DEALS

KT Tunstall - as well as winning the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection last week - has announced a new publishing deal with BMG. Speaking at the awards event, she stated, “I am starting a new era with the amazing Alistair Norbury and his team at BMG, and I am so excited for what's coming next”. Norbury, who is BMG’s President Repertoire & Marketing UK, responded, “We are delighted to join the world of songwriting in honouring KT for her Outstanding Song Collection, and we are even more delighted to welcome KT and her future work to BMG”.

Proper Distribution has signed a deal with US-based Firebird Music Holdings. Under the new agreement, Proper will provide physical distribution services in the UK and Europe to select artists from Firebird’s partner labels, artist management agencies and other creative businesses. Proper Distribution CEO Drew Hill says, “We're delighted to work with a forward thinking company like Firebird whose unique model offers hugely exciting opportunities for physical music. Our agreement will open new doors for Firebird’s diverse repertoire of partners and artists, with Proper providing essential boots on the ground and helping maximise international reach and sales relationships”.

APPOINTMENTS

Andrew Howell is being promoted to the role of VP Of Sync at Warner Chappell Music in the UK. Says the music publisher’s EVP and Global Head Of Sync Rich Robinson, “Andrew embodies Warner Chappell’s proactive approach to sync, with a forward thinking mindset that sees his ideas prevail in an often saturated space. He is respected across the industry by peers and clients alike and I’m so pleased that he’s agreed to step up and take this new role”.

ARTIST NEWS

Bella Union boss Simon Raymonde will publish his memoir ‘In One Ear - Cocteau Twins, Ivor And Me’ via Nine Eight Books on 12 Sep. The title, of course, name checks both Raymonde’s band Cocteau Twins and his musician father Ivor Raymonde. A description of the book on social media says, “It covers all the good and bad bits, falling over, getting up, shorts, big boy pants, Ivor, and a big ole love letter to Cocteau Twins too”.

GIGS & TOURS

Nicki Minaj has apologised after her show at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena was cancelled at the very last minute on Saturday. This time it had nothing to do with the venue, instead - on her way to the UK - the rapper was detained by police in The Netherlands on suspicion of exporting drugs. Dutch prosecutors claim Minaj was carrying 30 to 100 grams of cannabis - though the rapper insists the “pre-rolls” belonged to her security guard. Apologising and announcing a rescheduled performance, Minaj said on social media, “I apologise for all the inconvenience this has caused. I really hope you can make the 3 Jun show. It'll be really special”.

The Black Keys have issued a statement after cancelling an North American arena tour that was due to take place this autumn. They are going to tour smaller venues instead. They wrote on Instagram, “Following the recent run of shows in the UK and Europe, including stops at iconic venues like Brixton Academy and the Zenith in Paris, we have decided to make some changes to the North American leg of the International Players Tour that will enable us to offer a similarly exciting, intimate experience for both fans and the band, and will be announcing a revised set of dates shortly”.

Bruce Springsteen has cancelled a number of shows on his current European tour due to vocal issues, with a statement explaining that doctors have determined “that Bruce should not perform for the next ten days”. The tour will resume on 12 Jun in Madrid, with dates in Marseille, Prague and Milan all being postponed. Last week Springsteen went ahead with a show in Sunderland despite what he called “hellacious” weather. Commenting on his decision to go ahead with that show at the Ivor Novello Awards last week, the musician said, “Driving rain storm, the wind blowing, blowing, blowing, and standing… in front of me, in the rain, I realised: these are my people”.

NEW RELEASES

Stefflon Don will release her debut album ‘Island 54’ on 14 Jun via 54 LDN and BMG. The vision for the album, says the rapper, is “a futuristic private island. An island that will put you in awe. An island that is magical and can only make you feel high vibrational frequencies. The music on the album represents the unforgettable vibes the island will be giving you: A perfect fusion between dancehall and afro”.

FLO are back with new single ‘Caught Up’.

Beak> have surprise released their first album for six years, titled ‘>>>>’. They’ve also announced UK tour dates in October and November, including a performance at the Kentish Town Forum on 1 Nov.

PRS For Music announces record revenues distributed to rightsholders

UK performing rights organisation PRS For Music has announced that it paid out a record £943.6 million to songwriters, composers and music publishers in 2023, having collected over £1 billion in revenues for the first time. Among the contributors to this increase were the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool and Download Festival extending its line-up for its 20th anniversary.

“Our remarkable performance in 2023 is a testament to the team's hard work behind the scenes of the music industry”, says CEO Andrea Czapary Martin. “We're not just surpassing financial milestones at the lowest cost-to-income ratio amongst our peers; we're orchestrating a significant shift in the music business. My vision to ascend to a billion pound society in royalties paid out isn’t just a goal - it reflects our commitment to music creators worldwide”.

Total distributions were up 12.8% year-on-year from 2022, and have more than doubled in the last decade. The collecting society also reports that its cost-to-income ratio - how much of the money it collects is spent on admin and running costs - has fallen slightly to 9.2% (down from 9.3% in 2022. This means more of the money PRS brings in can be paid out to its members.

PRS membership also grew by 10,000 in the last twelve months, the highest annual increase the society has ever seen. Many of those new members came from Africa and Asia. In 2023, the organisation represented 41 million compositions and songs from around the world - around 4.5 million more than in 2022.

Broken down, £360.3 million of the money paid out to rightsholders came from digital platforms (from £366.5 million collected), up 23.2% from 2022.

Not all digital income on the songs side of the music industry flows through PRS, because many publishers have their own deals with the streaming services and, where that is the case, only a portion of the money flows through the collecting society. So that figure represents what was paid through by PRS rather than total digital income for writers and publishers.

International income was also up, with distributions rising 19.45% to 284.4 million (from £339.3 million collected). These are revenues that are initially collected by another collecting society elsewhere in the world on behalf of PRS members whose songs have been performed or broadcast, and - in some cases in some countries - streamed. World tours by PRS members including Harry Styles, Sam Smith and Shania Twain helped to boost international collections, with international live income up 93%.

Public performance income, including music played in bars, shops and at live music events, was up by 10% to £22.8 million, with £188.2 million of that distributed to rightsholders - an increase of 2% on 2022. Tours from Arctic Monkeys, Burna Boy and Busted, as well as Eurovision and Download, were among the drivers of this increase.

One area where things were less positive was broadcast royalties, so money paid by UK radio stations and TV channels for their use of music. Overall revenues fell by 1% year-on-year to £127.4 million, with distributions dropping by 9.3% to £110.2 million.

In her statement, Czapary Martin said that PRS is “shaping the future of our business and redefining how rights are managed globally”. In particular, she championed Project Nexus, the data initiative which aims to ensure that songwriter and composer information is linked to recordings prior to release.

Approved: Sophie May

Sophie May’s latest single ‘Brian Cox’ comes with an introductory message from the song’s physicist namesake. “I’m Brian Cox and I approve this message”, he says cheerily. An impressive endorsement for a rising artist. Not least because the song that follows is not complimentary about space or anyone who studied it. “God, I hate the cosmos”, she sings.

The track is taken from May’s new EP ‘Deep Sea Creatures’, which is set for release in July. It sees her filled with existential dread about the sheer size of space and her small space within it. Although her use of scientific language also suggests that she can’t help but find out more about it despite this.

“My third EP ‘Deep Sea Creatures’ includes five tracks that were predominantly written from my bedroom over the past year”, she says. “Each song leans into all things existential, varying from the overwhelming size of our solar system to the inability to escape your own thoughts. I feel as though these songs are a good representation of the most important factors of my life, my biggest fears, biggest loves and the appreciation I have for the world around me”.

The EP is out on 26 Jul. You’ll also be able to catch May live at Camden Assembly on 24 Jul.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘Brian Cox’ here

Culture select committee urges the next Parliament to continue its work on streaming and grassroots venues

Following last week’s surprise calling of a General Election in the UK, the Chair of Parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee has issued an open letter calling on future MPs and the next government to utilise the blueprints they have developed for building a fairer and prosperous creative sector.

Campaigners in the music community who have worked closely with the CMS Committee on things like streaming and grassroots touring will be hoping that the new intake of MPs following the General Election - and the next iteration of the select committee - do just that. Particularly as some MPs who have championed their causes in the past are stepping down, in particular Labour MP and former CMS Committee member Kevin Brennan.

In her letter, CMS Committee Chair Caroline Dinenage MP says that, since the last UK election in 2019, “our committee has been at the forefront of standing up for our world class creative industries, supporting strong, independent media and working to ensure that our sporting heritage is protected for generations to come”.

“If the UK is to continue to lead the way in the world of art, music and drama”, she adds, “we must not take the success of our many talented artists, performers and producers for granted. The committee’s efforts pushing for agreements on fairer pay and conditions, and ensuring the opportunities and challenges posed by the rise of AI are met head on, have been a constant thread throughout our work”.

In music, stand-out inquiries undertaken by the CMS Select Committee include the one on the economics of music streaming in 2021 and, much more recently, one focused on the challenges facing grassroots music venues.

The streaming inquiry resulted in various government-led projects to address issues in the digital music market, all of which are ongoing. The grassroots venues report, meanwhile, called on the live music sector to urgently introduce a levy on large-scale shows to provide funding for venues, promoters and artists operating at the grassroots.

The role of a select committee is to scrutinise and make recommendations. To what extent that brings about change depends on how the government and any scrutinised industries respond. However, when the committee continues to take an active interest in a topic, momentum is maintained and tangible change is much more likely.

After the General Election, there will be a lot of new MPs in Parliament as well as a new government. Campaigners in the music community will be hoping that the next iteration of the CMS Committee will, as Dinenage proposes, build on the work of recent years, and that the new government will factor the committee's recommendations into its policies around music.

One champion of the music community who won’t be in Westminster after the General Election is Kevin Brennan, who was particularly proactive during the committee’s streaming inquiry.

In a statement yesterday, Brennan said that he had originally intended to stand again in this year’s General Election but, after speaking to his family, he has “concluded that this is the right election for me to stand down”.

In 2022, Brennan revealed he had undergone surgery to treat prostate cancer, which he referenced in his statement. “The job of a member of Parliament is immensely rewarding but hugely demanding for the individual and their loved ones”, he wrote. “I have always enjoyed its intensity and challenge, but after surgery for prostate cancer a small seed of doubt was sown as to whether I should continue in such a full-on role”.

Brennan was also one quarter of MP4, a cross-party band made up of MPs who were also musicians. The other members were Pete Wishart, Ian Cawsey and Greg Knight.

There could be a number of new musician MPs following the General Election, to form a new band and - more importantly - to seek a place on the next CMS Committee and continue the recent campaigns on behalf of music-makers. Ivors Academy Chair and Gomez founding member Tom Gray is standing for Labour in Brighton, while Blur drummer and FAC board member Dave Rowntree is the Labour candidate in Mid-Sussex.

Setlist Podcast: “Spotify is not a business partner”, says NMPA boss

In this week's Setlist Podcast: Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the battle between the music publishers and Spotify as it ramps up another gear, Sony Music's lawsuit accusing the Marriott hotel chain of “rampant” copyright infringement, and more.

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

French label and performer collecting societies announce joint venture

SCPP and ADAMI, two French collecting societies that respectively represent record labels and performers, have announced a new partnership that will see them form a joint venture. That new entity will allow them to pool their databases and systems for distributing payments from the broadcast and public performance of music, as well as money generated by France’s private copy levy.

Both record labels and performers receive payments when their recordings are broadcast or played in public, with those revenues flowing through the collective licensing system.

In some countries there are separate societies for labels and performers, while in some countries a single society represents both groups, as PPL does in the UK. In France, there are four societies, SCPP and SPPF representing labels, and ADAMI and SPEDIDAM representing performers.

In a statement announcing their new partnership, SCPP and ADAMI say that they recognise having multiple collecting societies in one country “creates inefficiencies” and “weakens negotiating power”.

Labels and performers, they add, “are partners in creation, who may have opposing interests, but clearly have common interests to defend”. And as the amount of data for collecting societies to process continues to increase, the two societies go on, more collaboration makes even more sense.

Work is now underway “to outline the operational implementation” of the joint venture, although, the statement adds, “ADAMI recently modified its distribution rules, which are now close to those used by the SCPP”, which should help simplify things.

The new agreement between SCPP and ADAMI also includes a provision that could see the two organisations fully merging in the future, including an outline of how that would work in terms of governance so that the interests of both labels and performers are respected.

The French record industry’s four societies already have a number of existing partnerships to facilitate the licensing process, though this new joint venture ramps things up quite a bit. ADAMI board President Anne Bouvier describes the partnership as a “historic collaboration” which “can only strengthen collective management in the face of today’s and tomorrow’s challenges”.

SCPP’s membership includes all three major record companies as well as many indie labels. Universal Music France CEO Olivier Nusse is its current board President and, in that role, he welcomes what he calls an “unprecedented agreement”, in which labels and performers have chosen to “overcome antagonisms” within the music community to “build a stronger defence of our interests in a constantly transforming music industry”.