In today’s CMU Daily: Clarity on how EU law helps creators protect their rights in the context of AI and new laws to stop buy-out contracts are among the requests of pan-European songwriter and composer group ECSA, in a new manifesto setting out its current policy priorities

Also today: HYBE label Ador has formally reappointed founder Min Hee-jin as a director, but she still wants to be CEO. HYBE’s boss, meanwhile, has urged staff to not stress too much about the public feud with Min nor the fact the K-pop company has to pay £223 million to investors who previously bought bonds

Plus: Victims of the Astroworld crowd surge have urged a Texas appeals court to reject a motion filed by Travis Scott that could further delay their lawsuits from getting to trial. They say Scott's motion is based on a “supposed ‘emergency’ of his own creation and an incorrect argument”

Releases & tours: Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week Confidence Man, FKA twigs, 070 Shake, Bon Iver, TAAHLIAH, Ab-Soul + more, while tour announcements include Sam Fender, Osees + more

Songwriter group sets out policy priorities of EU law-makers

ECSA, the pan-European organisation for songwriters and composers, has published a manifesto aimed at European Union lawmakers setting out the policy priorities of music creators, or ‘music authors’, across Europe.

There are nineteen recommendations in total, grouped around AI, streaming, contracts and EU support. In particular, ECSA wants greater clarity on how existing EU law is helping creators protect their copyrights in the context of AI, more efforts to restore the value of the song in streaming and new laws to stop buy-out contracts. It also calls for the creation of a Music Observatory in Europe.

Launching the manifesto, ECSA’s President Helienne Lindvall says that it is a way to “convey concrete recommendations for policy makers to enact in order to tackle” an assortment of challenges, “so that we can achieve an equitable, sustainable – even thriving – future for European music creators”.

This is necessary, she adds, because in 2024 composers and songwriters face numerous challenges, including “AI companies using their works without consent [and without] transparency, a broken music streaming landscape, and unfair contractual practices – making it harder and harder to survive even for music authors whose works are enjoyed far and wide”.

The manifesto raises some EU-specific issues in relation to AI. In particular, ECSA wants EU officials and lawmakers to check that the EU’s ‘opt out’ for AI training is working for creators...

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Min Hee-jin formally reappointed as Ador director, but legal battle to reclaim CEO role continues

The dramas continue in the world of corporate K-pop between HYBE and its Ador label, and Ador’s co-founder and former CEO Min Hee-jin. She has been formally reappointed as a director of Ador, but her legal battle to take back her job as CEO of the label she founded continues, with a court set to rule by the end of the month.

In a new interview critical of HYBE, Min said that she is determined that Ador-signed NewJeans will be able to move forward, despite the ongoing legal wrangling and corporate politics.

Meanwhile Lee Jae-sang, the CEO of HYBE, last week sought to reassure his staff that the company was acting in a responsible way and that the very public feuding would come to an end, adding, “We are handling things in a principled and rational manner”.

That meeting came amid the somewhat gloomy backdrop of the news that the K-pop powerhouse will have to repay millions in debt after spooked investors in the company’s bonds have opted to redeem their investments, something it plans to finance via a new bond issue.

Min’s latest interview on her battle with HYBE was with Japanese news network ANN. According to The Korea Times, she told the broadcaster, “when I wanted to create a new type of label that could bring a new wave to K-pop” she had “many options” on the table for Ador, but “HYBE asked me to do it together” with them. Had she known that they were going to interfere in the running of her label “I wouldn’t have joined HYBE”.

It’s important for production, investment and management at Ador to work together for her vision to succeed, she went on, which is why...

Astroworld victims say Travis Scott’s “last minute attempt” to delay their trial should be rejected

The first three Astroworld injury lawsuits are due to finally go to trial in the US courts this week and the festival-goers involved are concerned that Travis Scott could scupper things - or at least cause more delay - via a ‘motion to compel’ he recently filed. Scott’s legal team are trying to get information about settlements that have been reached with some of the other defendants involved in the wide-ranging litigation that followed the 2021 Astroworld tragedy.

Angel Dominguez, Elizabeth Martinez and Henry Nguyen - who were all injured in the crowd surge that occurred during Scott’s headline set at the Houston festival he founded - are “anxious for their day in court”, a new legal filing states. Scott’s recent move is nothing more than “a last-minute attempt to delay the trial”, adds the filing. His arguments, add lawyers for the three, are simply a “supposed ‘emergency’ of its own creation” that is based on “an incorrect argument”.

Hundreds of lawsuits were filed in the wake of the Astroworld crowd surge, naming Scott, promoter Live Nation and various other companies as defendants.

The ten cases involving the families of those who died have all been settled, but many lawsuits filed by those injured are continuing to move through the legal system. The lawsuits filed by Dominguez, Martinez and Nguyen will go to trial as ‘bellwether cases’ and the outcome of these lawsuits will inform all the other cases that are pending.

There were originally six of these bellwether cases, but now...

⏩ Releases & Tours: Oct 2024 (Week 42)

Each week CMU rounds up standout releases and tour announcements from the last seven days. This week: Confidence Man, FKA twigs, 070 Shake, Bon Iver, TAAHLIAH, Ab-Soul + more, while tour announcements include Sam Fender, Osees + more.