Laden...
WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2018 | COMPLETEMUSICUPDATE.COM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TODAY'S TOP STORY: Chinese web giant Tencent has bought into Indian streaming service Gaana, which was set up in 2010 by the internet business of media firm The Times Of India Group. It further expands Tencent's interests in the global streaming music market... [READ MORE] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tencent further expands music interests, invests in Indian streaming firm Tencent has become a dominant player in the rapidly expanding Chinese digital music domain. Through its music division - which is set to be spun off as a standalone company later this year - it operates streaming services, including QQ Music, and has become a key distributor of international catalogue in the Chinese market. Last year it announced an equity swap with the global market-leader in subscription streaming, Spotify. Under that deal Spotify took a minority stake in the Tencent Music business, while Tencent and Tencent Music both took a minority stake in Spotify. The new deal sees Tencent make what sources have called a "sizeable investment" into Gaana, although Times Internet remains a partner in the business. Like China, India is seen as a key emerging market for streaming music, mainly because of the size of its population. There has been substantial growth in subscriber numbers in both countries in recent years, albeit more for ad-funded services. However, as with everywhere, streaming remains a tricky and mainly loss-making business. Presumably, given its investments in this space, Tencent reckons that long-term the big streaming services will ultimately become lucrative once they reach sufficient scale. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atlantic launches in-house podcast studio "As I discovered doing my own podcasts, they are an incredibly powerful way of feeding fans' hunger for intimate knowledge of the artists they love, while also connecting them to new voices", says Mullen. "The birth of Atlantic Records Podcasts has been a labour of love for many of us at the company, and I'm looking forward to working with our incredible artists and my label teammates to create an outstanding series of shows devoted to Atlantic music past, present, and future". The first show to be aired is called 'What'd I Say', named after the Ray Charles song released by Atlantic in 1959. On the show, various Atlantic artists will be kicked into the podcast studio and forced to talk about their careers. Out now, episode one features a chat with Jason Mraz. Already lined up for future episodes are Whethan, MILCK, Lil Skies, Chappell Roan, Trivium, Sweater Beats, Josie Dunne and Molly Kate Kestner. Atlantic CEO Craig Kallman and COO Julie Greenwald say in a joint statement: "Music-making is at the heart of our company, and we already have a state-of-the-art recording studio at the centre of our offices. We have a constant stream of artists coming through the building, so the next logical step for us was to create an environment where we could spontaneously capture them telling their stories and talking about their music". They continue: "With our own podcast team and a dedicated podcast studio, we are able to give fans a unique, insider's view of our artists, our label, and the creative process in action. With Tom's deep musical knowledge and podcast expertise leading the charge, we are generating exciting audio content under our own roof, marked by unprecedented insight and immediacy". Other shows planned to launch in the near future are titled 'Inside The Album' and 'Respect: Women Of Atlantic'. You can check out the Atlantic Podcasts website here. There's hardly anything there yet though, so once you've glanced at that, check out CMU's Setlist podcast instead. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rob Hallett joins Live Nation Hallett then retweeted Rapino's tweet, and also posted a link to another report on him joining the company. So we'll take all that as confirmation. Although it's always possible there's been a misunderstanding along the way. Maybe all this Twitter activity has somehow accidentally got Hallett a new job. It'd be like that episode of 'Seinfeld' where George goes to work for a new company because the boss didn't finish a sentence. As you might remember, that's one of the good ones in the patchy fifth series. I think you can definitely gauge the quality of that show based on how loud people cheer when Kramer appears on screen. It really started to lose its edge when the biggest reaction in any episode was for him just appearing on screen. Though, that's not entirely fair. There are some classic episodes in the later series. Like the 'accidentally getting a job' one. I'm glad to have cleared that up. Hang on, wasn't I talking about something else? Oh yeah, Rob Hallett joining Live Nation. According to Billboard, at one point yesterday, the 'about' page on the Robomagic website described it as "a Live Nation music company". However, that and the previous reference to it being "an independent music company" have now both been scrubbed. Hallett was formerly boss of Live Nation rival AEG Live in the UK, stepping down in 2014. In early 2015, he launched Robomagic as a '360°' operation, operating in various strands of the music business. Although its main focus has always been live. -------------------------------------------------- V Festival replacement will not take place in Staffordshire this summer Announced earlier this week, Rize will take place on 17-18 Aug in Essex, headlined by Liam Gallagher and The Stereophonics. The event is being launched following Virgin's decision last October to pull its sponsorship of the V Festival after 22 years. V Festival always took place on two sites, launching at Victoria Park in Warrington and Hylands Park in Chelmsford in 1996. The more northerly edition eventually settled at the not particularly northerly Weston Park in Staffordshire. South Staffordshire Council had said that it was expecting the V Festival replacement to go ahead at Weston Park. However, it has now been confirmed that this is not the case. Chief Executive of the Weston Park Foundation, Colin Sweeney, told local paper the Express & Star: "We have been enormously proud to have been home to the former V Festival over the last nineteen years. The significant contribution that hosting the event has made to the charitable objectives of the Weston Park Foundation and the wider regional economy cannot be underestimated". He added that the foundation was "very excited" about working with the Festival Republic-allied company that actually owned the V Festival, Roseclaim, on "a future project here on the estate in 2019". This would suggest that the new event in Staffordshire may not be a second edition of the Rize Festival, but rather something else. Either way, Weston Park Foundation bosses have said that the unexpected lack of a major festival in the park this year will affect their finances. However, other non-music events are being planned in order to somewhat fill the gap. -------------------------------------------------- Sena Live acquires Iceland Airwaves Iceland Airwaves always had a showcase festival element to it, putting the spotlight on new acts that got to play for an international industry and media audience. Though the event, sponsored by airline Icelandair, was also about encouraging music fans from North America and Europe to visit the country, possibly extending their trip beyond the festival itself. According to IQ, Sena Live CEO Ãsleifur Ãórhaldsson told Icelandic media that he thought the festival should "go back to basics. We don't think Airwaves should be chasing the big acts, but should be a festival for up-and-coming and indie bands". He added that long-term sponsor Icelandair backed these plans. Seeking to reassure the festival's fans that the event was safe in his hands, even if some changes are made, Ãórhaldsson added: "Airwaves is a deep-rooted cultural institution which we know and feel immediately that everyone cares about. We will not be the people who destroy Airwaves". Coinciding with the change in ownership, long-time Festival Director at the event, GrÃmur Atlason, has confirmed he has decided to step down from that role, adding: "It's been a privilege and pleasure working for this great festival with all my marvellous co-workers over the years". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sirius XM owner proposes bid to solve iHeartMedia's debt problem iHeartMedia - the radio company once known as Clear Channel - has been involved in long-drawn out negotiations with its money lenders in a bid to restructure $20 billion in debts. Those mega-debts are mainly the result of a $24 billion private equity buyout of the radio firm in 2008. As debt restructuring talks continued to go through the motions last year there was various talk of the company going into bankruptcy. According to the Denver Business Journal, Liberty has approached iHeart debt-holders with a proposal it pump money into the flagging firm. Under the suggested investment, Liberty would take a 40% stake in the radio company, restructure its board, and put itself in an influential position should the broadcaster slip into so called chapter 11 bankruptcy. Liberty Media already has a controlling interest in satellite broadcaster Sirius XM. So, if Liberty's new proposal was to go through, it would give the company controlling interests in both iHeart, a major player in AM/FM radio Stateside, as well as America's big satellite radio business. From a music perspective, it would be an interesting deal for two reasons. First, Sirius is now a key shareholder in streaming music firm Pandora, which is mainly known for its personalised radio service. Its main competitor is iHeartRadio, the streaming music platform operated by iHeartMedia. Secondly, Liberty Media is also a significant shareholder in live music giant Live Nation. If it got itself a controlling interest in iHeartMedia, that would mean it would be a key shareholder in America's biggest terrestrial and satellite radio groups, the country's biggest live music promoter and ticketing company, and its biggest streaming services. So, a lot of big fingers in the musical pie. There being some common ownership between iHeart and Live Nation would also be interesting from a historical perspective. The two businesses were previously two divisions of the same company - ie Clear Channel - before the live entertainment side was spun off to create the standalone Live Nation business in 2005. All that said, it's far from assured that Liberty's bold bid to rescue and then control iHeart will come to pass. The Wall Street Journal notes that "despite the potential benefits of the merger, there is no certainty that a merger would survive the often-contentious bargaining sessions played out in bankruptcy court". It then quotes analyst Lance Vitanza who muses that: "I think some of iHeart's bondholders understand the potential power of a merger between iHeart and Sirius, but not all creditors understand that". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full line-up unveiled for Green Events & Innovations Conference Now in its tenth year, GEI is the annual conference event organised by the A Green Festival organisation. It puts the spotlight on the environmental impact of festivals and live events, and the ways promoters and organisers can make their events more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Roskilde, Glastonbury, Bestival and Pohoda are among the festivals due to take part this year, while representatives from organisations including New Internationalist, Greenpeace and the Soil Association will also speak. Summarising this year's programme, organisers say: "From poo to power, from waste to water, from activism to eco-currencies, and even a brand of beer that is brewed using stale bread, delegates can expect to have their minds boggled by innovation, and their spirits ignited by green experts and inspiring individuals who will present tried-and-tested solutions to common event management problems". CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will lead two sessions, including the there mentioned 'poo conversation'. That panel is titled 'The Facts of Live: Poo, Pee & Water'. He'll also speak to three experts on how event organisers can ensure their procurement choices are truly sustainable. Full details about this year's Green Events & Innovations Conference, which takes place on Tuesday, 6 Mar, are available here. A small number of tickets are still available here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Secret 7" to return this summer The songs that will be in the sleeves this year are as follows: The Clash - I'm Not Down Organisers are now accepting submissions for the artwork via the project's website. Those are open until 24 Apr. The exhibition will take place at The Jetty in Greenwich from 8-24 Jun. The sleeves will also be sold off for £50 each at the end of the exhibition, after which, the designers will be revealed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Russ, Everything Everything, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, more Other notable announcements and developments today... Â Sony/ATV has signed US rapper Russ to a worldwide publishing deal. "We will work closely with Russ and his management", insists the publisher's US Co-President Danny Strick. Â Everything Everything have released a new EP, 'A Deeper Sea'. As well as new song 'The Mariana' and a remix of 'Ivory Tower' by Tom Vek, the release also features this outtake from last album 'A Fever Dream', 'Breadwinner'. Â Unknown Mortal Orchestra have released new single, 'Not In Love We're Just High'. New album, 'Sex & Food', is out on 6 Apr. Â Yo La Tengo have released new song, 'For You Too'. Their new album, 'There's A Riot Going On', is out on 16 Mar. Â Gwenno has released a new track from her upcoming Cornish language album, 'Le Kov'. Here's 'Hi A Skoellyas Liv A Dhagrow'. Â Girl Ray have released new single, 'The Way We Came Back'. The song was written by frontwoman Poppy Hankin when she was sixteen years old. "It's cute, I guess", says her bandmate Sophie Moss. "You kinda wanna skip to it, you know?" Â Warmduscher are back with a new video for previously released track, 'Big Wilma'. Their new album, 'Whale City', is out on 1 Jun. Â Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charlie Watts not bothered if Rolling Stones split up "I love playing the drums and I love playing with Mick and Keith and Ronnie, I don't know about the rest of it", he tells The Guardian. "It wouldn't bother me if the Rolling Stones said that's it... enough". "I would hate it to dissolve not amicably", he adds. "I would like Mick to say, or me or Keith or whoever, I don't want to do it any more, for whatever reason, and we just say that's it. I wouldn't want it to be an argument or whatever". That's definitely the sort of gusto you want from someone charging ticket prices people are already calling "fucking outrageous". Some people seem to think there's something wrong with standing tickets for a stadium show being priced at between £89.95 and £451.95, before booking fee. Watts, meanwhile, says that he "would like to be standing" by the end of the final show on the tour. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Laden...
Laden...