CMU Daily 20.02.18: Irish government could back ticket touting ban, Aussie movie exec says Google "facilitates crime"

Irish government could back ticket touting ban
The Irish government might give its backing to legislative proposals that would basically make the touting of tickets for profit illegal in Ireland.

Two members of the Irish parliament, Noel Rock and Stephen Donnelly, have been calling for tough new regulations limiting online ticket touting for a while now. That led to a government review of the secondary ticketing market last year by the Department Of Business, which included a public consultation.

Some in the Irish live music industry gave full backing to strict new rules, while some in the ticketing sector questioned how effective an outright ban would really be. Though that did include Live Nation's Ticketmaster which, of course, has interests in both primary and secondary ticketing, so has generally lobbied for light regulation of the latter.

That review of the ticket resale sector is complete and, according to the Irish Examiner, Rock and Donnelly will now meet with the Department Of Business to discuss the outcomes. It is thought the two politicians will then re-introduce their proposed new law that would ban the resale of tickets for profit and that the Irish government may formally back the proposals.

On those plans, Donnelly told the Examiner: "This will change mindsets. Anyone trying to sell at an inflated price will be breaking the law. It will be a culture change".

Specifics of those proposed new rules are not yet clear, with questions still to be asked including what happens if tickets are touted for Irish events on websites based outside of Ireland, and who would be responsible for enforcing any ban. Similar proposals were passed in the Australian state of New South Wales last year.

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Aussie movie exec says Google "facilitates crime"
An Australian movie industry boss has hit out at Google for "facilitating crime" by failing to play its part in combating online piracy. Graham Burke, co-CEO of and a shareholder in film producer Village Roadshow, added that the web giant is welcome to sue him if they take offence at his "facilitating crime" accusation.

Burke's comments come as two piracy debates continue in Australia. First, the expansion of Australia's currently very narrow safe harbour. Second, a recently announced review of the country's web-block system.

Although the safe harbour in Australian copyright law operates in much the same way as the similar principle in the US and Europe, it currently only protects internet service providers. In America and the European Union a wide range of web operators also enjoy safe harbour protection, so that they can't be held financially liable for their customers' copyright infringement. In the EU, of course, efforts are under-way to restrict the safe harbour a little so that user-upload sites like YouTube are no longer protected.

In Australia moves are afoot to expand safe harbour protection to the likes of libraries and educational or cultural institutions. However, under pressure from the copyright industries, web firms like Google will not be included in the expanded Australian safe harbour.

Needless to say, Google is not impressed with that decision. According to Torrentfreak, in a recent submission to ministers the web firm said that the Australian government's current plan "falls far short of a balanced, pro-innovation environment for Australia. Further, it takes Australia out of step with other digital economies by creating regulatory uncertainty for investment and start-up/entrepreneurial success".

Google then added that, without safe harbour protection, it and other web firms would have less incentive to work with copyright owners on developing anti-piracy tools. It stated: "If Australian-based service providers are carved out of the new safe harbour regime post-reform, they will operate from a lower incentive to build and test new voluntary tools to combat online piracy, potentially reducing their contributions to innovation in best practices in both Australia and international markets".

For its part, Village Roadshow urged the government to resist pressure to extend safe harbour to protect the likes of Google, stating in its submission: "It is very unlikely given their size and power that as content owners we would ever sue [Google], but if we don't have that right then we stand naked. Most importantly if Google do the right thing by Australia on the question of piracy then there will be no issues. However, they are very far from this position and demonstrably are facilitating crime".

Burke then repeated the "facilitating crime" remark when discussing web-blocking in Australia. Specific new laws were passed in the country to allow copyright owners to request that internet service providers block their customers from accessing piracy platforms. Since those rules went into effect, Village Roadshow has been a key participant in demanding blockades against an assortment of copyright infringing websites, alongside other music and movie companies. The whole web-blocking system in Australia is now being reviewed.

Of course, a key issue with web-blocking is how easy it is to circumvent the blockades, usually via a simple Google search. Burke, like many copyright owners, reckons the web giant should be much more proactive in keeping web-blocked piracy sites - and proxies that help users get around the blockades - out of its search engine.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said of Google's failure to proactively remove piracy sites from its search results, "my view is they are complicit and they are facilitating crime". And, he added, Google is welcome to sue him if they take issue with that remark.

Unlikely to want to participate in any such messy legal battle, instead the web giant had a spokesperson tell the Herald that the company takes piracy "very seriously", that it has invested "tens of millions of dollars" to deal with the issue, and that it continues to have "meaningful and earnest conversations with industry about copyright". Fun times.

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Scottish government adds agent of change to planning law
The Scottish government last week announced that it would update its planning policies in line with England and Wales, meaning that the 'agent of change' principle will be introduced in all three countries. This will force property developers to protect new property developments from noise created by existing venues.

In a statement, the Scottish government said the new guidance recognised "the cultural and economic contribution of Scotland's music industry, as well as the importance of live music to the vibrancy of our town centres and to our night-time economy".

The UK government announced plans to update the National Planning Policy Framework, so to include agent of change, in January, following pressure from campaigners. However, this policy only applies to planning laws in England. In Wales, plans to implement the change were already announced in May last year. As a result, music industry reps in Scotland began their own campaign to have the law changed there.

"The Scottish government recognises the significant cultural and economic contribution of our music industry", Housing Minister Kevin Stewart told The Scotsman. "It is only right we do what we can to protect the established and emerging musical talent and that is why we are embedding the 'agent of change' principle in our planning guidance".

He continued: "Music venues should not have to make high cost changes or deal with expensive disputes because of new developments. Developers will be responsible for identifying and solving any potential issues with noise, giving residents of new homes a better quality of life and allowing our music venues to continue to operate".

Chief Planner John McNairney has reportedly written to all local authorities in Scotland asking them to "act now" on the changes to planning rules.

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My Vitriol sign to Killing Moon Management
My Vitriol have signed a new management deal with Killing Moon. The band are set to release new music later this year.

"We are excited to partner with Killing Moon", says frontman Som Wardner. "On meeting Achal and his team, we knew the positive energy and enthusiasm that they bring to the projects they work on would be a great asset alongside their collective experience in their respective fields. We are looking forward to getting creative together!"

The company's MD, Achal Dhillon adds: "The music industry has taught me that life is generally just one gag after the other - the things you want the most sometimes never work out, and the things that you've only dreamed of being possible just suddenly happen almost by themselves".

He continues: "My Vitriol were one of the most important bands to me in my teenage years, and of course that means they're still very important to me now and the band's debut 'Finelines' is still an album that I hold so dear to my heart. If you had told me all the way back in 2001 that I would ever be working with My Vitriol, I'd have told you to shut your lying gob. I'm beyond pleased the band have decided to join the KM family and can't wait to show the world what we have in store for them".

The band released that debut album, 'Finelines', in 2001, going on hiatus two years later. Since 2005, they have performed a number of live shows, as well as releasing a handful of EPs and direct-to-fan album 'The Secret Sessions'.

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One Little Indian's Katie Malcolmson to head up Brixton Agency UK office
Katie Malcolmson is to head up the new UK office of US music PR firm Brixton Agency. Currently Head Of Press for indie label One Little Indian, she will continue to represent the company in her new role.

"I'm incredibly excited to be able to give Brixton Agency a home in the UK, as well as continuing to work with the fantastic roster of One Little Indian Records", says Malcolmson. "Coming from a label background as a PR, you are equipped with a far greater understanding of the inner workings of an entire campaign, from marketing to radio to international - something that some agency PRs tend to overlook. You are able to look at the bigger picture and create bespoke campaigns to suit each artist and label".

She continues: "I've admired Brixton Agency co-founders Sean Patrick Rhorer and Talia Miller for many years, having seen first-hand how they've grown the company in the US. They've been the first to discover some of my favourite artists and they truly have their respective fingers on the pulse of new music. I think their success is rooted in the fact that they are genuinely fans of every artist they work with. I'm excited to be able to do the same thing in the UK, presenting some awesome US artists to the UK music media as well as home-grown talent".

The Brixton Agency currently represents acts including Circa Survive, La Dispute, Modern Baseball, and Kevin Devine.

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Facebook planning two smart devices
"I like small speakers, I like tall speakers", sang Cliff Richard on 'Wired For Sound'. But he was conspicuously quite on smart speakers. Well, he's going to have to make a decision some time soon, because Facebook looks set to join the ever-expanding market for speakers you can shout at.

According to DigiTimes, the social network is set to launch two smart devices in July. Both will feature touchscreens and built in speakers, with a focus on allowing you to video chat with friends and family. Sounds like an utter fucking nightmare.

Sources told the website that the two devices are codenamed Aloha and Fiona. Aloha is the more technically advanced model, using facial recognition as well as voice commands.

The race to put pointless shouty boxes in homes is hotting up at the moment, of course. Amazon is the market leader with its Echo range, followed by Google Home. Apple recently finally got around to launching its HomePod this month, to a fairly lukewarm reception.

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Pirate Studios launches new talent initiative The Pirate Prodigies
Pirate Studios - the network of rehearsal, DJ and production studios that have been quietly popping up all around the UK - has announced a new talent initiative called The Pirate Prodigies that will provide proactive support to three artists among the thousands who regularly book space with the company.

Launching the new initiative, Pirate Studios co-founder David Borrie said: "We have 20,000 musicians in our community, a lot are producing amazing music. We find it incredible some of these guys aren't already household names so we thought it would be awesome if we could be the ones to give them a helping hand".

The artists selected for the programme will have access to mentoring from experts across the music industry, will attend masterclasses and workshops, including one run by CMU:DIY, will get unlimited free use of Pirate Studios' facilities, and additional support producing both recordings and video content.

Other companies supporting the programme include PPL, Flying Vinyl, Various Artists, Fear PR, Music Glue, Radio X, The Great Escape, United Talent Agency, This Feeling and Sentric, while a team of artists, journalists and industry types will also help select the three acts who get to participate in the programme.

Interested artists should apply by 19 Mar here.

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Chris Martin supports proposed freelance paternity leave legislation
Coldplay's Chris Martin has leant his support to a campaign calling for the principle of shared parental leave to be extended to the self-employed.

Campaigners will gather outside Parliament tomorrow morning in support of Labour MP Tracy Brabin's proposed Shared Parental Pay And Leave (Extension) Bill.

In 2015, the law was changed to allow parents to split parental leave between them. However, self-employed mothers are only able to take maternity leave and their statutory maternity pay in one block. Self-employed fathers have no access to paternity leave or pay.

Brabin's proposed legislation would change this, and would be of particular benefit to those who work in the creative industries, where the rate of self-employment is around 44%.

In a statement, Chris Martin said: "So many of our crew, both in the studio and on the road, are freelance, and we don't want to lose half of that talent when they become parents - we want them to be able to share their parenting in a way that works for them, and isn't dictated by being a man or a woman".

Other musicians supporting the campaign include from Laura Marling, Keane, Ed Harcourt and Fyfe Dangerfield.

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Tinashe, Diplo, Stefflon Don, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• All the bits of Tinashe's new single that don't have Future on them are brilliant. Here's the video for the track.

• Diplo has released the video for new single 'Look Back', featuring Dram.

• Stefflon Don's collaboration with Skepta, 'Ding-A-Ling', now has a video. The track remains not good.

• Melvins have released new track 'Stop Moving To Florida', taken from upcoming new album 'Pinkus Abortion Technician'.

• The Chemical Brothers have announced a show at Alexandra Palace in London on 5 Oct. Tickets on sale on Friday.

• Every Time I Die have announced that they will play The Garage in London on 29 May. They will have spent the preceding weekend playing the multi-site Slam Dunk festival.

• Cut Chemist will play an AV set at the Scala in London on 17 May to launch his first solo album since 2006.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.

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Fergie apologises for US national anthem performance
Fergie has apologised for her rendition of the US national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game 2018 this weekend. The singer performed a weird jazzy version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' before the sporting match on Sunday.

"I've always been honoured and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA", she told TMZ yesterday. "I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best".

Yes, if there's one thing we all know about Fergie, it's that she's "a risk taker artistically". Watch her performance here.

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