In today's CMU Daily: As TikTok gets busy trying to scupper the new sell-or-be-banned law in the US courts, could the app also face a ban in Europe at some point? European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says we shouldn’t rule it out. TikTok owner ByteDance insists it will shut down in the US rather than sell the app, but would it be willing to shut itself off from both the US and the EU?

One Liners: IMRO x Audoo, Budde Music x Billy Mann; Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Steven Tyler legal updates; Co-op Live opening date; South Asian music accelerator Lila launches; Billie Eilish, Max Richter, Overmono shows; new music from Eivør, Patrick Higgins, Faux Real

Also today: We Are FSTVL is cancelled after council says excessive rainfall has made its site unsafe; Wide Days kicks off in Edinburgh tomorrow; HYBE’s battle with the CEO of its Ador subsidiary, the label behind girl group NewJeans

Plus: Canty is CMU Approved

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EU TikTok ban “is not excluded” says European Commission President, as FCC Commissioner says US ban won’t be scuppered in the courts

A TikTok ban in the European Union could happen, according to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.Her comments come as TikTok prepares to challenge the sell-or-be-banned law recently passed in the US through the courts. On that, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a regular critic of TikTok, has said he's confident those legal challenges will fail.

The TikTok-targeting sell-or-be-banned law in the US came up during a debate in Maastricht staged ahead of the upcoming European elections, where von der Leyen was appearing as a representative of the European People's Party rather than in her role as Commission President.

Under the new US law, TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance has 270 days to sell the app or face a US-wide ban, based on concerns that the Chinese government has access to TikTok user-data via ByteDance.

According to Politico, when asked about whether or not a similar measure might be considered in the EU, von der Leyen said, simply, “it is not excluded”. She then noted that the European Commission was “the very first institution worldwide to ban TikTok on our corporate phones”, adding, “We know exactly the danger of TikTok”.

TikTok has had run-ins with EU regulators since the Digital Services Act became law, though that's in relation to platform safety concerns rather than data security issues.

Regulators have alleged that TikTok does not do enough to protect teenagers using the service. Then, earlier this month, they said that the social media app should have undertaken a risk assessment before launching a rewards programme as part of TikTok Lite in France and Spain. In response, TikTok disabled the rewards programme within Europe.

Back in the US, platform safety concerns have also been raised, especially in relation to the use of the app by young teenagers, though the Chinese government getting access to user data was the primary motivator for the sell-or-be-banned law.

TikTok is hoping to scupper that law in the courts by arguing that it breaches First Amendment free speech protections and is therefore unconstitutional. Similar arguments successfully stalled previous attempts to ban TikTok in the US, including the ban instigated by former President Donald Trump and an anti-TikTok law in the state of Montana.

However, Brendan Carr, a commissioner with US media regulator the Federal Communications Commission, has told reporters he is confident that the US government will defeat any efforts to scupper the sell-or-be-banned law in the courts.

Carr has been an outspoken critic of TikTok for a while now, in 2022 calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their respective app stores because of the alleged data security risks.

According to Law360, he spoke about the new TikTok law following a meeting of the FCC last week. He said, “The Supreme Court's First Amendment law draws a distinction between regulations based on conduct on the one hand and content on the other. This is based on conduct. So I think this is a pretty easy case under the First Amendment”.

While the courts have stalled the TikTok ban in Montana, that was down to the limitation of state powers, said Carr. The court, he told the meeting, concluded that “TikTok involved a matter of national security and foreign policy, where Congress has authority, not the state”.

“So that Montana case is not analogous here”, he added, “because what was missing in that case for the court was valid exercise of state power, and we have that here because Congress has the power in the Constitution to pass a law like this”.

In an interview with the Economic Times, Carr also noted that India banned TikTok back in 2020, adding that that could be relevant in the upcoming court proceedings. “Imagine that TikTok is going to argue that this is some sort of unique American obsession with China to foresee threats that don't exist”, he mused.

“The fact that India, a bordering neighbour to China, has seen a similar threat from TikTok and taken similar action, is going to be potentially relevant in some of the court filings to show that this is a broad deep concern about TikTok and not simply some unique feature of America's viewpoint on China”.

ByteDance continues to deny there are any data security issues with TikTok and has vowed to shut the app down in the US if its legal efforts in court fail. Sources have told Reuters that this is not a mere bluff. ByteDance bosses don't want to sell on or split up the company’s algorithms, and are primarily concerned about the impact any spin off of TikTok could have on its Chinese operations, which generate most of the firm’s revenues.

However, if the EU was to follow the lead of the US, shutting off two massive markets for TikTok, ByteDance might be forced to rethink its strategy. Von der Leyen was speaking off the cuff at a political debate of course. Though she's not the sort of politician to make such comments on a whim if she didn't believe there was at least some possibility of the EU putting the same emphasis on TikTok's data security as it already is when it comes to platform safety.

Spiritmuse Records // Label Manager (London Hybrid)

Your Culture // Campaign Management Assistant (Brighton)

Gondwana Records // Part Time Social Media, Online Marketing & Digital Content Manager (Manchester Hybrid)

Como No & La Linea // Operations & Reporting Manager (London Hybrid)

Kilimanjaro Live // Promoter Assistant (London)

Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.

Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.

👉 Click through to see the current selection.

ONE LINERS

Billie Eilish, Co-op Live, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs + more

DEALS

Irish song rights collecting society IMRO has partnered with music recognition tech company Audoo. "IMRO continuously invests in new technologies and services to ensure faster and more accurate royalty payments, providing the best service to members”, says Chief Commercial Officer Seán Donegan. “Partnering with Audoo adds another layer of advanced technological tools and music usage data, ensuring IMRO distributions are as precise as possible”.

Budde Music has announced a new agreement with songwriter Billy Mann. Confirming his new deal with the music publisher, Mann bigs up the “entrepreneurial spirit that the entire team consistently demonstrate towards their songwriters. They share my passion and competitive spirit for songs and possess a tenacious, independent mentality - with the results to prove it. I look forward to learning from them in this next chapter”.

LEGAL

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has asked for two of his companies to be removed as defendants on one of the sexual assault lawsuits against him. Bad Boy Entertainment and Combs Enterprises are named on a suit filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal over an alleged rape. However, he says that neither company was in existence in 1991 when the attack is alleged to have taken place. "Furthermore, even if the company defendants existed at that time, no allegations of wrongdoing are pled against them”, his filing states.

A new York judge has denied former model Jeanne Bellino’s request to amend her dismissed sexual assault lawsuit against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. She proposed filing the lawsuit under the Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law, which came into effect 25 years after the alleged assault in 1975. The judge said that the law is not applied retroactively, so the allegations are outside the statute of limitations.

LIVE BUSINESS

New Manchester arena venue Co-op Live has assured ticketholders that its opening night will be A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show tomorrow night. The venue was supposed to open last week, but issues with its power supply meant that all events were postponed, resulting in the resignation of General Manager Gary Roden.

INDUSTRY PEOPLE

Music producer and entrepreneur Vikram Gudi has founded Lila, a company aiming to improve the inclusion of South Asian talent in the UK music industry. “The idea of Lila has been in the back of my mind throughout my music career”, says Gudi. “I’ve always known that I wanted to do something more, after seeing a distinct lack of funding, initiatives and the infrastructure for South Asian musicians and music professionals. There’s an overwhelming amount of South Asian talent in the UK, and we want Lila to act as an accelerator”.

GIGS & FESTIVALS

Billie Eilish has announced UK and Ireland tour dates in July 2025, including a six night run at the O2 Arena in London. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

Composer Max Richter and film and television composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer are among the new line-up additions to The Other Songs Live. The event in aid of The BRIT School, The Ivors Academy Trust and Nordoff & Robbins takes place on 20 May at the London Palladium.

Overmono have announced a show at London’s Brixton Academy on 11 Oct. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

RELEASES

Eivør has released new single ‘Hugsi Bert Um Teg / Still Just You’. Her new album ‘ENN’ is out on 14 Jun.

Patrick Higgins has released ‘Versus’, the title track from his new album, which is set for release on 12 Jul.

Faux Real have released new single ‘Love On The Ground’. Their debut album ‘Faux Ever’ is out on 11 Oct.

Approved: Canty

Following on from last year’s ‘Boyfriend / Girlfriend’ EP, Canty will put out four track collection ‘hahahahahahahahahahahahaha’ next month. The first track from it is new single ‘hahaha’.

Despite the outward signs that this could all be a dizzying barrage of enthusiasm, the new song is far more downbeat than its own or the EP’s titles suggest. It also features the most forlorn ‘woohoos’ you’re likely to hear any time soon. But somehow that makes it more endearing.

It's not actually a depressing listen, with glimmers of hope bringing warmth. Both ‘hahaha’ and the EP’s final track ‘blah blah blah’ are inspired by the Filipino phrase “Bahala Na”, or “the combination of fatalism and determination in the face of uncertainty and the possibility of failure”.

‘Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha’ is set for release on 24 May.

🎧 You can watch the video for ‘hahaha’ here

We Are FSTVL 2024 cancelled over health and safety concerns

Organisers of We Are FSTVL have said that they are “devastated” by the news that recent rainfall has made the festival’s site too unsafe for it to go ahead this year. The event was set to be headlined by Eric Prydz and Chase & Status.

“Sadly, and just days before we were due to attend on site to start the build, London Borough Of Barking And Dagenham accepted that they could not deliver a safe event space that was fit for the purpose of allowing us to stage We Are FSTVL 2024”, reads a statement.

The dance music festival was set to return to its original home at Dagenham’s Central Park, where its first edition took place in 2013. Its move from the Damyns Hall Aerodrome in Upminster and shift back to a May weekend - having taken place in August in recent years - was announced at the end of last year.

In its own statement, the council said, “This difficult decision has been made due to health and safety concerns. LBBD's recent assessment of Central Park, after record levels of rainfall this year, has found the site cannot safely host the physical demands of We Are FSTVL’s equipment and audience”.

Organisers said that they had “invested time and money into the new site, new stages and brought in a new creative team to bring the weekend to life with immersive experiences and large art installations, alongside the already fantastic line-up”.

The number of festivals taking place in London parks has grown in recent years, providing a good revenue making opportunity for local authorities. However, given that these are intended to be public spaces, there is always a balance to be met with the needs and expectations of local residents.

It’s not unusual for there to be significant opposition from locals, with various concerns being raised, from noise to portions of the park being out of action for significant periods of time.

This may have had a bearing on the decision to pull approval for We Are FSTVL, going ahead on an unusually damp site may have resulted in damage to the park, in addition to any health and safety issues during the festival itself. Fixing any damage would not only result in extra costs, but would have also meant even more disruption to people wanting to use the park for its usually intended purposes.

We Are FSTVL ticketholders should expect an email about refunds in due course. Meanwhile, organisers have said that they are “heartbroken” but “can’t wait to dance with you again in 2025 and show you everything we have been working on”.

Wide Days 2024 kicks off in Edinburgh tomorrow

The Wide Days music convention in Edinburgh kicks off tomorrow, with an array of talks, panels and artist showcases over three days.

Among the conference sessions, CMU’s Sam Taylor will be taking part in a roundtable discussion titled ‘Computer Says Yes’, looking at the creative opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and other tech. Joining him will be Arnold Travieso of Crypto Música Récords, Gryphon Records’ Bishi Bhattacharya, Camilla Waite from PPL, artist Leif Coffield, and Micke Lindevall from Stockholm music venue Debaser.

That takes place tomorrow, 1 May, at 1.15pm.

Other sessions set for Wednesday and Thursday include a market focus on the Czech Republic, a comparative look at the differing ways in which booking agents work in the UK and US, and the heads of key industry associations looking at the challenges lying ahead in the near future.

Find out more here.

Setlist Podcast: Hipgnosis v Hipgnosis - the saga continues...

In this week's Setlist Podcast: Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss the bidding war compounding the latest in a long line of dramas at Hipgnosis, the faltering start for Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena and more.
🎧 Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast'

CEO of NewJeans label Ador refuses to convene board meeting as parent company HYBE tries to push her out

The latest corporate bust up in the world of K-pop continues to gain momentum, with the CEO of HYBE subsidiary Ador refusing to convene a board meeting. Mainly because HYBE bosses are trying to push her out of the business, amid allegations she’s been trying to split her label off from its parent company.

Ador is headed up by Min Hee Jin, who worked for the main HYBE company before creating the Ador subsidiary, which then launched the girl group NewJeans in 2022. HYBE owns 80% of Ador, while Min reportedly controls 18%.

Tensions have clearly been building between Min and HYBE management for some time, in part at least over another girl group launched within the HYBE empire, ILLIT, who Min reckons are heavily ripping off NewJeans in terms of look, visuals and marketing strategy.

All of that has now resulted in a very public war of words, while HYBE has got its accountants and lawyers on the case. Earlier this month it emerged that HYBE had instigated a surprise audit of Ador and its top executives. It’s alleged that Min and her team have been working on ways to pressure HYBE to sell its stake in Ador, a claim Min denies.

HYBE has now called for Min’s resignation and requested a board meeting to discuss taking resolutions to that effect to a shareholder meeting.

A spokesperson for Min said yesterday that there were no legal grounds for forcing a meeting of that kind and therefore no meeting will take place. Presumably anticipating that would be Min's response, HYBE has already filed court papers seeking to force a general meeting of shareholders. Local media report that that process will likely take four to five weeks.

HYBE, of course, is now a big player in the global music business via the export success of its acts, its alliance with Universal Music and acquisitions in the US market, with HYBE USA headed up by veteran artist manager Scooter Braun.

Though back in South Korea, it’s HYBE’s corporate dealings within the K-pop business that get particular attention, including last year’s battle with Kakao for control of SM Entertainment.

As with the battle for SM, there has been lots of media coverage and social media commentary in South Korea regarding the bust up between HYBE and its Ador subsidiary. And there have been some fun revelations along the way.

That includes the claim that Min consulted a shaman for advice on Ador corporate matters. That then led to gossip about old claims of links between HYBE and the “yoga cult” Dahn World. So who knows what forces will ultimately influence who gets to run the Ador business.