CMU Daily 10.10.16: Government backs new round of MEGS funding, future of Isle Of Wight Festival in doubt, Glastonbury sells out

Government provides new funding for indie artist export initiative
The UK government has committed up to £2.8 million for the next phase of the Music Export Growth Scheme, the BPI-managed programme that offers funding to independent music companies seeking to launch artists who have enjoyed success at home into international markets.

Over £1.6 million was awarded in MEGS grants between January 2014 and March of this year, with the likes of Young Fathers, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Ghetts, Afrikan Boy, Fearless Vampire Killers and Eska amongst those to have received funding to date. Under the programme eligible artists and their business partners can apply for anywhere between £5000 and £50,000.

This time the funding is coming from the all-new, nice-and-fresh, post-Brexit, we're-gonna-get-lots-of-super-deals-in-place-super-quick-honest-guvnor Department For International Trade, from which minister Mark Garnier shouted: "UK music has a long history of inspiring millions across the world and influencing generations of artists".

He went on, in a more calm fashion: "We are the second biggest exporter of music in the world and one in every six albums sold globally belongs to a British act. From The Beatles to Skepta, British music is part of the very fabric of our nation and heritage. Our Music Export Growth Scheme will champion the incredible raw talent that we have to offer by giving the support and financial backing many artists need to take that next step".

Meanwhile Geoff Taylor, boss at record industry trade group BPI, said: "The Music Export Growth Scheme has proved a big hit with independent UK artists and their labels, supporting their promotional plans with crucial investment as they look to break into new markets and helping to boost British music sales overseas".

He went on: The strength of Britain's music and creative industries are a strategic asset for this country and can act as a powerful international calling card in a world in which new international trading relationships need to be forged". Yeah, too right.

Applications are now open for the latest round of MEGS funding, full information on which can be found here.

Quincy Jones lawsuit to include sales v licence debate, delays court date
A court hearing set to consider Quincy Jones's legal dispute with Sony Music and MJJ Productions over various posthumous Michael Jackson releases, which was due to kick off tomorrow, has been postponed because of technicalities around legal representation.

As previously reported, Jones sued the two companies, the latter of which is controlled by the late king of pop's estate, in 2013. The legendary producer, who worked on a number of Jackson's most famous hits of course, had various grievances about how the singer's catalogue had been exploited posthumously, reckoning that old agreements he had with one or the other of the two companies had been breached, while new deals had been structured to reduce any royalty obligations to him.

The dispute has been quietly working its way through the system ever since, with the judge overseeing the case, Michael Stern, denying a summary judgement in Sony and MJJ's favour earlier this year. An initial court date was then set for June, only to be pushed back to this week, before the latest delay was revealed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest issue is that the good old fashioned sales v licence debate has become a key element of the dispute. That, of course, relates to whether artists on legacy contracts should be paid the lower 'sales' royalty or higher 'licence' royalty on digital income. Labels have mainly argued that downloads (and streams for that matter) are the digital equivalent of sales so the lower royalty applies, while artists point out digital income stems from licensing deals with the download stores and streaming platforms.

This debate has been had for years now in the music industry, and is a key element of the ongoing legal dispute between Sony and 19 Entertainment, in that regard in relation to streaming income. Jones's lawsuit, though, is still quibbling about how download income is treated. A report submitted to court by the producer's side in August seemingly focuses on the sales v licence issue in some detail.

This has apparently created an issue because to date Sony and MJJ have had the same legal representation in this lawsuit. But when it comes to what rate Sony should be paying on the digital exploitation of Jackson's recordings catalogue, if it is underpaying Jones then it is underpaying MJJ Productions too. So it seems unwise for both parties to have the same attorneys on this particular issue.

So, now Sony needs more time to hire new lawyers. How much time is as yet unclear, though if and when this does all get to court it will once again put the spotlight on how heritage artists are paid on digital income.

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Dr Dre and Ice Cube removed from civil action relating to Suge Knight homicide
Dr Dre and Ice Cube have been removed from a previously reported civil lawsuit that stemmed from that incident last year when one time Deathrow Records boss Suge Knight drove a vehicle into two men, killing one of them.

Knight is still fighting murder charges in relation to that incident, but in June 2015 the widow of the man who was killed, Terry Carter, also filed civil proceedings, and included Dre and Ice Cube as defendants.

That was because the altercation that led to the homicide began on a nearby film set where a commercial for the NWA biopic 'Straight Outta Compton' was being filmed. Carter's lawsuit alleged that the man her husband was with at the time of his death, Cle Sloan, had been hired to recruit local gang members to participate in the film shoot, as both extras and security.

Dre and Ice Cube were seemingly at the shoot, and it was the former who asked Sloan to remove Knight from the property after he showed up uninvited. It was that removal that subsequently led to the incident outside a burger bar a few miles away in which Carter was killed. The film's makers, and Dre and Ice Cube, should therefore accept some responsibility for Carter's death, the lawsuit concluded.

Unsurprisingly, legal reps for the two former NWA members quickly objected to that claim, arguing that they could not have been expected to foresee that their request that Knight be removed from the film set would "create undue risks for anyone, let alone Carter".

According to TMZ, the judge overseeing the case seems to agree, striking the two men's names off Carter's lawsuit last week.

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Snoop Dogg settles lawsuit with brewery
Snoop Dogg has settled his lawsuit against the Pabst Brewing Company, in which he claimed he was owed a cut of profits from the sale of a brand he endorsed.

As previously reported, the rapper was hired to be the face of Blast By Colt 45 in 2011. In his lawsuit, he says that his deal entitled him to 10% of the profits if the brand was sold before January this year.

In 2015, he sued, claiming the company had failed to pay him his cut when Pabst Holdings Inc, which is the sole shareholder in Pabst Brewing, was indeed sold to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings - a joint venture between Pabst CEO Eugene Kashper and a private equity firm - for $700 million.

Pabst argued that that deal was merely a change in stock ownership, rather than a sale of the company, and therefore Snoop was owed nothing. His lawyers argued that the company had intentionally structured the deal to cut the rapper out, which Pabst countered would have been "ridiculous". However, in August it was ruled that the case should go to trial.

That trial was due to begin on 31 Oct, but has seemingly now been called off after a settlement between the two sides was reached. Snoop's attorney Alex Weingarten told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday: "We are pleased that the parties were able to reach agreement and resolve this matter amicably".

Pabst has not yet commented and details of the settlement have not been released.

Future of Isle Of Wight Festival in doubt
The 2017 edition of the Isle Of Wight Festival may not go ahead, unless costs can be significantly reduced. This news has been revealed in a report prepared for the island's local council, as it prepares to consider a request to waive the cost of hiring Seaclose Park, which the council operates and is where the festival takes place.

Originally staged between 1968 and 1970, the festival was revived by Isle Of Wight Council in 2002, and has been run by private company Solo Promoters for the last fourteen years. The current agreement between Solo and the council runs until 2019, but the company has said that changes in the festival market mean it must drastically reduce costs in order to be able to continue.

Solo has proposed that the council waive the £55,000 land use charge for Seaclose Park. A council meeting on Wednesday this week will consider reducing it to £13,000, if Solo agrees to take on £42,000 worth of work currently managed by the council - including traffic management and providing additional toilets at travel hubs. However, a report prepared for the council suggests that this move may not be enough.

"Over recent years there has been a significant increase in major festivals being staged across the country which has started to impact on the viability of both new and established events with some being cancelled", states the report. "Others have been scaled back and most are reporting significantly reduced ticket sales as the choice and range of venues and events has increased".

"It would be unreasonable to assume that the reduction in the land hire charge is the sole determinant as to whether the festival is staged, but Solo has made it clear that unless costs can be reduced the event may not be viable to stage in 2017", it adds. "Solo have indicated that they need to resolve all their costs by the end of October 2016 in order to make a decision as to whether the 2017 event will go ahead".

In other words, this decision needs to be made quickly. Though the report also notes that the council's decision will not be the only factor in the festival's future, saying: "Solo has confirmed that they are looking to negotiate with all of their suppliers and therefore the decision to stage the event will also be depended on the decisions of others".

The cancellation of the festival would have a significant impact on the local economy, says the report - last estimated at upwards of £10 million per year in 2009. It also adds that, given the short timescale remaining, it would be difficult to secure a new promoter to stage next year's festival and for that company to secure the necessary licences, if Solo did pull out.

"It is vital we continue to work closely in partnership with Solo to ensure that the festival continues to thrive and develop, and to continue to bring economic and many other benefits to the island", Council leader Jonathan Bacon told the Isle Of Wight County Press. "The council's executive will fully and properly consider the recommendation to revise the terms of the agreement, together with the other options detailed in the report, when it meets on 13 Oct".

Hannah Diamond returns with new single
Hannah Diamond is back. The, er, diamond in PC Music's crown has released her first new single since 2015. The track is taken from an EP due for release later this year.

The new song, 'Fade Away', doesn't quite reach the heady heights of her breakthrough hit 'Pink & Blue', but frankly what could? Nevertheless, it might still be a sign that there's some life left in the old PC Music bellows.

"'Fade Away' is kind of about that horrible feeling you get in the bottom of your stomach when you can tell someone's feelings for you have changed", says Diamond. "It's about trying to work out if it's because of something you did or said, and worrying about not being good enough. It's also about realising the person you are with likes the idea of you, or the idea of being in a relationship with you, more than they actually like you as a person. At the same time it's about letting go of those horrible feelings and self doubt and moving forwards".

She continues: "The inspiration for the track comes from things I wrote years ago in my old diary, but also ties in with things that had been going on in my life when AG Cook and I were writing it. It's a bit sad, but sometimes I feel like telling the whole world how you feel can be really empowering - it's like deleting it, or transforming it into something fun and positive".

An interactive micro-site acts as the artwork for the track, she explains: "I really wanted to take the idea of a single cover to the next level, so rather than making one image I shot an entire editorial to accompany the track. I tried to really push the images as far as I could, both technically - in terms of the compositions, post production etc and conceptually - starting to play with a sense of narrative in them. That's an approach I'm going to carry over to the EP I'm working on at the moment, and then with the album/magazine I'm planning to release next year".

Watch the lyric video for 'Fade Away' here.

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MØ releases new single ahead of UK tour
MØ is back with a new single, 'Drum', which features Charli XCX, Noonie Bao and BloodPop.

"'Drum' is about setting each other free", says MØ. "Whether it's an old friend, a lover, a lifetime partner or even yourself, it's about letting go in order to pursue your dreams, for better or worse. Sometimes we have to accept that we might not have a plan, but that we have to figure out our own shit - take the punches and get stronger - and the same goes for those we care about".

The single comes out ahead of the musician's first UK tour, which begins in Brighton tomorrow and finishes with a sold out show at London's Roundhouse on 22 Oct.

Listen to 'Drum' here.

Bros announce UK tour
Bros have announced that they will play a full UK tour next year, after their lone O2 Arena show sold out in what, we are told, was record time.

Before we go any further, I feel it's important that we remember two things:

1) Bros once headlined Wembley Stadium
2) Bros is, was and always will be Matt and Luke Goss

They may have mentioned those points once or twice last week, but I thought you might want a reminder. It's very important that you don't forget either of those two things.

Anyway, tickets for the O2 Arena show went on sale at 11am on Friday, and 42 minutes later they'd announced a tour "due to overwhelming demand". Apparently the demand caught them completely by surprise, which is why it took them a whole 42 minutes to book and announce the extra dates. They were not - I repeat - not, waiting to see how the one-off date sold before putting the rest of the shows on sale.

"This has been the fastest sell out in history for any Live Nation show at The O2 and is utterly amazing", said Live Nation's Andy Copping, stressing the need for more shows.

Matt and Luke issued a joint statement, saying: "We're so excited to play these shows, we wish it was next week. Summer can't come soon enough".

They probably whispered something under their breath about Wembley Stadium and Bros always being just them too.

So, the Bros 2017 reunion tour is now a thing. It's a reunion of all the members of Bros, of course. All of them except that one who doesn't really count. Craig something. Who can remember? Doesn't matter. He didn't play Wembley Stadium with the actual members of the duo.

These are the dates:

19 Aug: London, O2 Arena
20 Aug: London, O2 Arena
22 Aug: Manchester Arena
23 Aug: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
25 Aug: Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena
26 Aug: Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
27 Aug: Glasgow, SSE Hydro

Boy George, Beggars Group, Entertainment One, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Boy George will now be repped by CAA for bookings rather than UTA. Apparently he's set to appear on the US reboot of 'The Celebrity Apprentice' with Arnold Schwarzenegger replacing Donald Trump. At least Arnie got his political ambitions out of the way before starting his reality TV career.

• Beggars Group made loadsamoney last year, thanks in no small part to Adele. Operating profits for the group were up 229.2% to £16.68 million, on revenues of £72.94 million, according to a Companies House filing. Adele's buggering off to Sony now of course, so where will the next loadsamoney come from? Perhaps they could sign Harry Enfield. Which is a very archaic reference, is it not?

• Entertainment One has announced it will close down its physical distribution operation, only providing digital distribution services moving forward. Warner's ADA will handle dishing out the discs for the firm's own labels.

• PPL and PRS For Music will open an office in Leicester next year, they have told Music Week, as part of the two collecting societies' previously reported move to offer joint licences for public performance licensees.

• Remember BitTorrent Now, the streaming service launched earlier this year by the company behind the BitTorrent technology? No, me neither. But don't bother. They've just shut it down as well as firing newish co-CEOs Robert Delamar and Jeremy Johnson. Or so says Variety.

• Coldcut are back with a new Roots Manuva collaboration, 'Only Heaven'. The release also sees the revival of their pre-Ninja Tune label Ahead Of The Time. Listen to the new track here.

• Bayonne has released the video for new single 'Living Room'. "'Living Room' sounds different than anything else I've released", says the musician. "It's much more sporadic and wild. I wanted the video to be different as well and I love the way the animation makes it feel so playful, bizarre, and cartoonish".

• So Glastonbury Festival 2017 sold out this weekend. Super fast. Super super super fast. That's damn fast, people. Damn super fast. So fast it was faster than fast. Did you get a ticket? Well did you? They sold out fast, you know. Though, if you missed out, here's the up side: I hear they're planning on booking some non-British bands to play, so our new government will probably ban the whole thing anyway.

Insane Clown Posse warn against "army of scary, terrifying and dangerous clowns" in Time magazine editorial
Insane Clown Posse's Violent J has written an editorial for Time magazine, in which he rails against the "army of scary, terrifying and dangerous clowns out there in this country trying to suppress the rights of thousands of people to exercise the most basic part of the Declaration Of Independence". Because it's 2016 and anything can happen.

"I'll tell you what would be funny", said someone in Time's offices last week. "If we got Insane Clown Posse to write an opinion piece about all these scary clown sightings".

Maybe you're unaware of the epidemic of 'creepy clown' sightings across the US. That may be because you're cowering at home hiding from all the creepy clowns spotted in Canada, New Zealand and England from north to south. Or maybe you're a non-creepy clown struggling to find work in these increasingly coulrophobic times.

Whatever, a mixture of possibly genuine and definitely hoax creepy clown sightings have been fuelled by social media, newspapers and TV, Chinese whispers and humanity's underlying fear of clowns. Even Stephen King is tired of being asked about it.

I'd imagine King was the first choice for a Time op-ed, but ICP are a good alternative. Maybe the magazine was imagining something along the lines of ICP classic 'Miracles' in their heads as they fired off the email proposing the article. But more creepy clown focussed.

What they possibly forgot is that Insane Clown Posse are no long angry about scientists lying about how magnets work, and are instead angry about things that are actually happening. Since 2011, the duo have been trying and failing to get their fans removed from a list of dangerous gangs produced by the FBI. Could they bend a light-hearted article about clown sightings round to that topic? You bet they could.

"After 25 years of unquestionably being The World's Most Hated Band, Insane Clown Posse has just about seen it all", writes Violent J, opening with two definitely false statements. "We've had an album censored and then yanked from stores by Disney, been completely slaughtered by music critics despite selling over twelve million albums and, for the first time in music history, had our entire fanbase - The Juggalos - officially labelled a 'hybrid gang' by the FBI".

To be fair, those are all things most bands haven't experienced. And Violent J even claims to have lived through a 'clown sightings' epidemic before. Which is possibly true, because it is seemingly a thing that pops up in the media from time to time. The problem, he reckons, is the latest clown fad is a distraction.

"There's a whole army of scary, terrifying and dangerous clowns out there in this country trying to suppress the rights of thousands of people to exercise the most basic part of the Declaration Of Independence, which evokes the freedom to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'", the rapper continues. "The only difference is these clowns don't wear greasepaint".

Warming to his theme, he goes on: "These clowns threaten the very fabric on which our nation was supposedly founded upon - and for some fucking crazy-a reason, they're getting away with it. From keystone-cop clowns shooting unarmed citizens, to racist clowns burning down Islamic centres or clowns in the NSA spying on us through our cell phones and laptops, America has turned into something far more terrifying than Insane Clown Posse's Dark Carnival. Even a scrub like me who dropped out of school in ninth grade can see what's going on. Today's reality is scarier than anything you'll ever hear on one of our albums".

Yeah, that's right, a member of Insane Clown Posse did just say something quite poignant about the US - and in many ways the wider world - in 2016. Even though he switched the distraction to his own band, rather than the topic he was supposed to be talking about. This is just one of many confusing shifts in tone, tense and focus throughout the article.

Having made that shift, the rest of the article is largely about ICP's battle with the FBI, before making another sudden shift back for a conclusion, saying: "Just know that, despite these sensationalised reports about 'killer clowns' wreaking mischief across the nation, there are real clowns out there killing ours and your very rights as an American citizen. Now that's truly scary, and nothing to clown around about".

Read Violent J's full op-ed here.