CMU Daily 26.10.21: Leaked government report warns that COVID passports could drive up infections, Epic hits back at Apple's attempt to postpone App Store rule change regarding alternative payment sign-posting

Leaked government report warns that COVID passports could drive up infections
A leaked government report has warned that there is a risk that the introduction of COVID-19 vaccine passports for certain clubs and venues in England could actually increase the spread of the coronavirus. That's because an unintended consequence might be that people avoiding places where a vaccine passport is required to gain entry instead go to pubs and bars with fewer measures in place to combat the spread of the disease, it says.

Currently clubs and some venues in Scotland and Wales are obliged to check the vaccine status of customers before granting admission. In Wales, those who have not been vaccinated can use a recent negative COVID test to gain entry instead. But the UK government abandoned plans to force the checking of vaccine passports at clubs and venues in England, instead leaving it to individual businesses to decide whether to instigate such checks.

Ministers are still considering making the checking of vaccine passports mandatory in England as part of 'Plan B' proposals for counteracting the spread of the virus over the winter months. This would mean that people would have to prove that they were fully vaccinated before attending certain venues and events, including indoor venues with 500 or more attendees, outdoor events with more than 4000, and all nightclubs.

However, the government's own impact study, revealed by The Telegraph, warns: "There is potential displacement between live events venues and hospitality venues. A core concern in the sector is that certification could displace activity and business away from music venues to, say, pubs with music and late alcohol licences, etc, which could be counterintuitive and potentially counter-productive".

"Similarly, if certification displaces some fans from structured and well ventilated sports stadia, this could lead to them attending unstructured and poorly ventilated pubs instead, where they will have access to more alcohol than if there were in the stadia", it goes on. "Evidence from the Euros showed spikes in cases associated with pubs even when England were playing abroad".

Another concern is the feasibility for venues of actually implementing a system to check the vaccine status of all attendees. The report states that the Royal Albert Hall would incur extra costs of £1050 per show, due to the need to hire extra staff to check passes. For stadiums with capacities of 10,000 or more, as many as 5,700 extra staff would need to be hired, with checks taking up to two minutes per person.

The document does, however, suggest that mandatory vaccine passport checks could have positive commercial effects too, particularly in motivating the return to live entertainment of those who are still staying away from venues due to fears of contracting COVID-19.

"Although the impact would not be positive for all consumer segments", it says, "overall the evidence indicates that vaccine proof would be a trigger for tempting many from the more cautious segments to return to indoor attractions and there is also growing support among those who have already returned to visiting - now outweighing those who would be alienated".

In a statement to the Telegraph, a spokesperson for the government's Department For Digital Culture, Media And Sport defended the proposals for implementing vaccine passports as part of any Plan B measures that may nor may not be required in the months ahead.

"There is good evidence to suggest certification would have a beneficial impact on infection rates and it would also avoid the need for capacity caps or closures", they said. "There is currently no evidence to suggest that businesses have been impacted by lower attendance when certification is used, with various venues already using this on entry throughout the year".

"Plan B is as published in the autumn and winter plan and this [leaked] document does not represent government policy", they added. "We have been clear throughout that we would only implement Plan B if evidence suggested the NHS was going to come under unsustainable pressure".

While it is far from certain that vaccine passports will be made mandatory in England, there remain concerns within the live industry that the measure could still be introduced at very short notice, and that doing so will create chaos and have a negative impact on revenues for businesses that have already suffered greatly through the pandemic.

The night-time sector remains critical of the COVID Passport scheme in Scotland, which technically went into force at the start of the month, although there was initially some flexibility, meaning this weekend just gone was the first time venues were obliged to turn away people without a valid vaccination certificate.

The Scottish Hospitality Group said that the full enforcement of vaccine passports this weekend meant that footfall was down 40%, while door staff were put under considerable pressure. It added: "The experience of this weekend shows that the result has been intolerable levels of abuse of our staff, and the creation of an atmosphere that will totally undermine anyone's enjoyment of our night-time venues".

Speaking on behalf of the UK live industry at large this morning, CEO of trade body LIVE, Greg Parmley, said the leaked report "confirms that a move to mandatory vaccine passports would be a mistake. These passports would cost the live music industry billions of pounds while aspects of the roll out would be impractical and potentially dangerous".

"Our industry has been unjustifiably held to a higher standard than any other throughout the pandemic", he went on. "Now the government’s own impact assessment makes it clear that far from reducing transmission rates, insisting on mandatory vaccine passports in venues is likely to do the exact opposite".

"Across the country, music venues and events already have tried, tested and workable systems in place to ensure that live events continue to be safe", he concluded. "As one of the hardest hit industries throughout the pandemic the government should be focused on supporting us to rebuild, not forcing these unworkable conditions upon us".

The British government, of course, is hoping that it will not have to launch 'Plan B' and that its current policy of just pretending that the pandemic is over will keep infection rates down.

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Epic hits back at Apple's attempt to postpone App Store rule change regarding alternative payment sign-posting
Fortnite maker Epic Games has hit back at Apple's attempt to postpone an injunction issued by a US court that would force the tech giant to allow any company with an iOS app to sign-post alternative payment options.

Apple wants the injunction paused while it appeals the ruling in its wider legal battle with Epic, but says it might introduce voluntary changes to address the court's concerns in the short term. Epic counters that that appeal could take years, and Apple can't be trusted to do the right thing on its own.

Epic, like Spotify, has an assortment of gripes about Apple's App Store rules. Not least the fact that in-app payments can only be taken using Apple's commission-charging transactions platform, and app makers can't sign-post alternative payment options elsewhere in the internet.

However, while the streaming music firm has mainly gone the regulatory route in a bid to force Apple to change its rules, the gaming company has gone the litigation route, and in multiple countries. However, its legal battle with Apple in California has got by far the most attention so far.

Both Epic and Spotify argue that Apple's App Store rules constitute anti-competitive behaviour. But in the Californian court battle, the judge mainly sided with Apple and rejected many of the competition law arguments presented by Epic.

However, one aspect of judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' ruling did favour the Fortnite firm, and that was the injunction forcing Apple to allow all app makers to sign-post within their apps alternative payment options that exist elsewhere on the net.

Apple had actually already made some concessions in that domain prior to Gonzalez Rogers' ruling. In order to settle a regulatory investigation in Japan, Apple announced at the start of September that so called reader apps will be able to sign-post alternative payment options from next year.

Those are apps that provide to access digital content like books, podcasts, music and videos that has either been previously purchased or which is accessed via a subscription. So that concession helps Spotify, but it doesn't help Epic. Therefore, for the gaming outfit, the injunction was a considerable win, even if both Spotify and Epic's real end game is to be able to use their own transaction systems within their apps.

The injunction is due to go into force in 9 Dec, but with both Apple and Epic now appealing the wider ruling, the former has asked Gonzalez Rogers to stay the injunction pending appeal. Needless to say, Epic is not impressed with that proposal.

In a new legal filing, Epic says that Apple played down the significance of the injunction when it was issued last month but, in its motion to have the ruling stayed, "Apple now claims that the court's injunction would cause it irreparable harm".

Epic also notes how "Apple suggests that, during the requested stay, it may voluntarily take unspecified actions, in Apple's preferred way and on Apple's preferred schedule, to address (at least in part) the decade-old problem identified by the court".

"But", it goes on, "the stay that Apple requests, until 'the appeals filed by both Epic and Apple have been resolved', could easily last many years. During that time, there is no reason to expect that Apple will cease its longstanding unfair conduct, the legality of which it continues to vigorously defend. As the court found, 'nothing other than legal action seems to motivate Apple' to reconsider its pricing or other restrictions on the App Store".

With that in mind, Epic argues, "a stay would simply let Apple off the hook, and perpetuate the harms to consumers and developers, for a substantial period of time".

It remains to be seen how Gonzalez Rogers responds, and whether a wider change to Apple's sign-posting rule will come into force next month as her court ordered, within the US at least.

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RIAA says latest legal filing by stream-ripper Yout "fails to fix a fundamental deficiency in its pleading"
The Recording Industry Association Of America last week filed its response to stream-ripping set-up Yout's latest bid to have the US courts rule that its service is entirely legit, and that it doesn't circumvent any content protection measures put in place by YouTube.

Yout sued the RIAA last year after the record industry trade group sought to have the stream-ripping service de-listed from the Google search engine. The RIAA made that request of Google on the basis that Yout contravenes the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act by circumventing "YouTube's rolling cipher, a technical protection measure, that protects [the labels'] works on YouTube from unauthorised copying [and] downloading".

Such circumvention, the record industry trade group claimed, clearly breached a provision in the DMCA that "prohibits circumventing a technological protection measure put in place by a copyright owner to control access to a copyrighted work". However, Yout denied that it does any such thing.

Following the subsequent back and forth between Yout and the RIAA, the dispute started to get a little too complicated. So, in August, the judge overseeing the case dismissed Yout's lawsuit without prejudice, allowing the stream-ripper to resubmit a revised and condensed legal claim. Which it did last month.

In that legal filing, Yout provided a twelve step guide for how people can actually grab a permanent download of a YouTube stream through their web browser, if they just know what buttons to press and what code to copy. Yout's stream-ripping system - it then argued - simply automates that manual process. No sneaky circumvention of any rolling ciphers is involved. Therefore, it added, the court should confirm its service is DMCA complacent.

However, in its latest response last week, the RIAA said that Yout's revised lawsuit "failed to fix a fundamental deficiency in its pleading: the lack of any detailed description of how the Yout service operates".

That is required, the RIAA reckons, to prove Yout's key claim that its system doesn't circumvent any YouTube technical protection measures. And merely including some screenshots of Yout's website, and an outline of the "complicated process by which someone not using plaintiff's service can supposedly download a music video from YouTube", does not meet that requirement.

"Plaintiff has conspicuously avoided alleging facts that explain how Yout actually works", the RIAA says. "Instead, plaintiff has merely alleged that 'Yout's software platform enables a person to complete the [manual stream-ripping process], but in fewer steps'. This vague reference to unexplained 'steps' is the antithesis of the non-conclusory, factual allegations the law requires".

The RIAA wants this second lawsuit to be dismissed, but this time with prejudice, preventing further action on Yout's part. It remains to be seen how the judge now responds.

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RCN hits out at "copyright troll" film producers in bid to get safe harbour case dismissed
US internet firm RCN has joined its rival ISP WOW in dubbing the group of independent movie producers that have sued both net firms over the copyright infringement of their users as "copyright trolls", criticising the tactics of the producers and their anti-piracy agency Maverickeye.

A number of American ISPs have now been sued by this collective of film producers. The lawsuits pretty much follow the lead of litigation filed by BMG and the majors against Cox Communications, and then by the majors against an assortment of other ISPs.

The argument goes that the internet companies have not done enough to deal with repeat infringers among their userbases and therefore can't rely on so called safe harbour protection from liability for the copyright infringement of their customers.

BMG set the precedent when it successfully made this argument in a lawsuit against Cox, and the majors then followed with their own legal action, winning a billion dollars in damages. The latter Cox ruling is still subject to appeal, while the other lawsuits against the other ISPs filed by the major music firms are still working their way through the system.

In their lawsuits - filed against WOW in July and RCN in August - the film producers make very similar arguments to the music companies. Although, in terms of sanctions, they are also looking for the courts to force the targeted net firms to instigate a three-strikes style system for dealing with repeat infringers moving forward, while also introducing a few web-blocks against various piracy websites, an anti-piracy tactic not really currently available in the US.

Given most of the arguments in the film producer lawsuits are the same as in the music company cases, it's no surprise that the responses submitted by the ISPs are also very similar.

They mainly question the reliability of the evidence the copyright owners have gathered regarding the direct infringement of their customers. Because if you can't prove that the users have directly infringed any rights, you can't hold the ISPs liable for contributory infringement, even if you can prove that a dodgy repeat infringer system means any one net firm should lose its safe harbour protection.

The ISPs were also usually pretty disparaging about the anti-piracy agencies employed by the music companies, though the language now being employed to disparage the film producers and Maverickeye moves things up a level.

RCN basically makes the same allegations against the film producers and Maverickeye as WOW did in a legal filing it made last month, in some cases using the exact same wording.

"Plaintiffs and Maverickeye are part of a well-known web of copyright trolls", RCN states. "Until now, plaintiffs' modus operandi has been to file John Doe lawsuits [against alleged infringers] in the hope of securing quick settlements and to dismiss them at the slightest resistance. Plaintiffs are rarely successful in contested cases".

“Additionally", it adds, "courts and litigants in these cases have persuasively accused Maverickeye of serious wrongdoing, such as submitting fraudulent 'expert' declarations from fictitious persons, violating state law by engaging in unlicensed surveillance, and even conspiring with copyright owners to offer copyrighted content over BitTorrent and then sue anyone who tries to download it".

It remains to be seen if such tough talking by WOW and now RCN can help get these latest safe harbour testing copyright cases dismissed.

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John Lydon show cancelled due to "aggressive" tour manager
John Lydon had a spoken word show in Glasgow cancelled last night, after the venue's management accused his tour manager of being aggressive and intimidating.

In a statement on social media, General Manager of The Pavilion Theatre, Iain Gordon, said: "Unfortunately, due to the aggression and intimidation made to various members of my staff by John Lydon's tour manager, tonight's show will not go ahead. The days of this kind of behaviour is long gone. We have a zero tolerance policy of abuse, both physical and verbal, and this behaviour has been ongoing for the past two weeks".

"We are sorry if this affects you but as a company we will not accept this kind of attitude to our staff from anyone, including members of the public and touring staff", he went on. "Our box office will be in contact with you directly to organise refund of your tickets".

A statement on Lydon's social media accounts simply said: "Glasgow Pavilion has unexpectedly cancelled tonight's show. We were informed of the cancellation at 2.48pm".

Rescheduled from 2020, Lydon has been on his spoken word tour of the UK since last month, promoting his book 'I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right'. Shows are set to continue into November, and he's due at The Princess Alexandra Auditorium in Yarm tonight. That venue is still listing the show as going ahead on its website.

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New reports from government and MPs put the spotlight on the UK radio sector
Two new reports have been published about the future of the UK radio sector, one commissioned by the government and the other by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Commercial Radio.

The stand out conclusions of the government commissioned report - called the 'Digital Radio And Audio Review' - are that the FM network should stay operational in the UK until at least 2030, and that measures might be required to ensure radio is always freely accessible via smart speakers.

In the UK, the shift from FM to digital radio has been slow-going, with the target date for removing most stations off FM - forcing people to switch their listening to digital channels - having been pushed back multiple times.

The new report notes that about 60% of radio listening in the UK is now via digital channels, whether that is online, via digital TV services, or on the digital audio broadcasting network. But that still means a sizeable audience is relying on the old-school analogue AM and FM networks in order to tune into their favourite radio shows.

With that in mind, an executive summary states that the report recommends "there should be no mandated switch-off of analogue radio until at least 2030 - meaning that FM radio broadcasts can continue for at least another decade so the elderly, vulnerable and people in remote communities can access essential news and entertainment".

Meanwhile, the report also confirms, when it comes to online radio listening, smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home are becoming an increasingly importance device via which radio services are accessed. The report says that a third of UK adults now access content and services via smart speakers; Amazon, Google and Apple control 95% of the smart speaker market; and 64% of audio consumed on those smart speakers is live radio.

That's all lovely for the time being, but concerns have been expressed about whether the tech giant's smart speaker systems will become more limiting in the future. The new report "notes there is nothing within the current regulations to prevent tech platforms from being able to limit or restrict access to UK radio services or to charge stations for carriage".

To that end, "the report recommends new measures to protect UK radio stations' accessibility so that their content is carried on platforms via connected audio devices such as smart speakers and car infotainment systems. This will mean they can continue to reach loyal audiences as radio is increasingly listened to via tech platforms rather than traditional radio sets".

In its own 'Future Of Radio' report - which in part responds to the government's review - the APPG On Commercial Radio backs the calls for measures to ensure radio stations will be easily available via any new-fangled devices that become the norm for audio consumption.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given its remit, the APPG's report also puts the focus on the public service obligations of the licence fee funded BBC stations that commercial broadcasters have to compete with.

It states that media regulator OfCom "is reviewing the way it regulates the BBC, ahead of the government's mid-term review of the BBC Charter which is due to get underway in spring 2022. The changes being proposed could mean the dilution or even removal of the important quotas on radio programming that help ensure the BBC’s distinctive content".

This is not something the commercial radio sector - nor the APPG - want to see. Instead, the 'Future Of Radio' report calls for "a strengthening of public service requirements for BBC radio".

The government has confirmed it will now consider the recommendations in the report it commissioned as it prepares a broadcasting white paper and develops a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. The APPG, meanwhile, wants the two reports to be used to inform a 'government action plan for radio', so to speed up the reforms that have been proposed.

Commenting on the government's report, Media Minister Julia Lopez said: "British radio showcases some of our best creative talent and played a vital role in the pandemic bringing news and entertainment to those in need".

"We must make sure this treasured medium continues to reach audiences as listening shifts to new technologies and that we have a gradual transition away from FM to protect elderly listeners and those in remote areas", she added. "We will not have a digital switchover until at least 2030 and will consider new rules to keep our thriving radio sector at the heart of the UK's media landscape".

Meanwhile the APPG Chair, Andy Carter MP, commented on the launch of the government review and his own group's report: "Radio plays a vital role in the daily lives of audiences across the UK. It connects with people from all backgrounds providing them with trusted news, information, companionship and entertainment. But as listening habits change there needs to be a concerted effort to help the radio industry evolve and secure the tremendous value it provides to listeners".

"Our 'Future Of Radio' report", he continues, "calls on government and OfCom to move quickly to update the framework for radio, so that it can continue to be a great British success story in the years to come".

You can download the 'Digital Radio And Audio Review' here.

You can download the 'Future Of Radio' report here.

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DEALS

Exceleration Music has acquired Chicago indie label Bloodshot Records. "Bloodshot is a vitally important part of American music history, a genre-defining label founded on passion and vision, dedicated to bringing a unique set of artists from its musical orbit to the world", says Exceleration's Dave Hansen. "It represents exactly the kind of company that fits Exceleration's founding ethos, which is to preserve and enhance the legacies of extraordinary independent companies and artists".

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APPOINTMENTS

Warner Records in the US has named Karen Kwak as EVP/Head Of A&R, joining from her own company KK Consulting, which she launched in 2016 after twelve years at Universal Music. "This is my first post at a WMG company, and I'm incredibly excited to become part of such a dynamic and forward-thinking label", she says.

Universal Music-owned music distributor Ingrooves has expanded into Italy, naming Luca Stante as Country Manager. He joins from Believe, where he spent fifteen years. "It was easy to decide to come to Ingrooves, the most advanced digital distributor in the world", he says. "With the backing of Universal Music Group and the independence to quickly react to changing market conditions, I believe Ingrooves has the competitive advantages to ensure our partners achieve the best growth available in the market".

Live giant AEG has appointed Lara Fox as Vice President of AEG Global Partnerships, overseeing sponsorship for AEG at large and the AEG Presents touring and festivals business worldwide. She replaces Caroline Burruss. "Live music is back and going to be bigger than ever", says Fox. "I am THRILLED to have joined such a prestigious team under extremely smart executive leadership. AEG has the best music festivals, sports teams and facilities in the world. This is a dream job for me".

Concord in the US has promoted Andrew Woloz to VP Streaming. He was previously Senior Director of Streaming. "For the last several years, I've had the pleasure of growing with Concord and the incredible range of artists we are fortunate to work with on a daily basis", he says. "We have been early in identifying new verticals of consumption growth and have been building a streaming department positioned to achieve at the highest level for our artists".

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RELEASES

Jonny Greenwood has released two songs - 'West' and '25 Years' - from his soundtrack to new film 'The Power Of The Dog', which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as rancher Phil Burbank. "The main thought I kept returning to was that this film is set in the modern era", says Greenwood. "It's too easy to assume any cowboy story takes place in the nineteenth century. There is so much culture in Phil’s character. He’s well read and it isn’t hard to imagine his taste in music being - alongside his proficiency on the banjo - very sophisticated".

Little Simz has released the video for 'I Love You, I Hate You' from her excellent 'Sometimes I Might Be Introvert' album.

Aminé has returned with new single 'Charmander' - his first new music since last year.

Ladyhawke has released 'Time Flies', the title track from her new album, which is out on 19 Nov. "I wrote this song in one of my first sessions back in LA with producer Tommy English", she says. "I had lived in LA for a number of years, and when I flew back into LA for the first time since moving home to New Zealand I had this intense feeling of nostalgia - the song is an ode to being back in Los Angeles".

Tove Styrke is back with new single 'Start Walking'. "It's an upbeat song with sad lyrics, which is my favourite combination", she says. "It's about a person who knows a relationship is over, and how it sucks to actually be the one to leave but you know there is no other way".

Moonchild Sanelly has released new single 'Covivi'.

Red Fang have released the video for 'Rabbits In Hives' from their latest album 'Arrows'.

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GIGS & TOURS

Adele will play two shows as part of next year's British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park, on 1-2 Jul. They will be her first UK live shows since 2017.

Trivium have postponed their November tour of the UK and Europe due to "the uncertainty of cross border travel and restrictions". They now plan to arrive in the UK in January, kicking off at the Glasgow Academy on 12 Jan.

Band Of Horses will be in the UK for tour dates in March, including a show at the Roundhouse in London on 10 Mar. The band's new album, 'Things Are Great', is out on 21 Jan.

Willow Smith has announced that she will play a one-off show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on 9 Dec. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

Steve Mason is heading out on a lowkey tour of village halls, playing places like Hutton Rudby, St Boswell's and Threlkeld. There's also one in Liverpool. The shows will take place in December and tickets are on sale now.

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

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Paul McCartney no longer signs autographs, and would prefer a chat to a selfie
Thirteen years after Ringo Starr announced that he would no longer sign autographs, his former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney is following suit.

"It always struck me as a bit strange", he tells Reader's Digest. "'Here, can you write your name down on the back of this till receipt please?' Why? We both know who I am".

But I know what you're thinking. You've just recalled that time Taylor Swift said she hadn't "been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera". Well, Macca's not too keen on selfies either.

"What you've usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable", he says. "Let's chat, let's exchange stories".

Oh great, you've already plucked up the courage to approach a miserable looking superstar and now he wants you to cheer him up.

At least this is just a general comment in an interview. Back in 2008, Ringo Starr issued a formal warning in a video posted to his website, saying: "I'm warning you with peace and love that I have too much to do. So, no more fan mail, thank you, thank you, and no objects to be signed. Nothing. Anyway, peace and love, peace and love".

It's still worth watching that video in full. And here it is.

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