Erased Tapes Records // Label & Production Manager (London)

ICE Licensing // Senior DSP Audit & Assurance Manager (London)

ICE Licensing // DSP Audit and Assurance Manager (London)

Nonclassical // Executive Director (London)

IDOL // UK Label Manager (London/Hybrid)

Today's music business news

TOP STORY

Music industry restates artificial intelligence priorities ahead of UK government's AI Safety Summit

Cross-sector trade group UK Music has set out its key priorities in terms of how artificial intelligence should be regulated as the British government prepares to host an AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park tomorrow and Thursday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the interim CEO of UK Music, Tom Kiehl, confirms that for the music industry there are two key priorities: consent and transparency.

According to a government blurb, the AI Safety Summit will "bring together international governments, leading AI companies, civil society groups and experts in research" in order to "consider the risks of AI, especially at the frontier of development" and "discuss how they can be mitigated through internationally coordinated action".

Kiehl's letter concedes that the impact of AI on the music industry is not really on the Summit's agenda, but adds: "Given the significant cultural influence of music and artists on the public, our concerns are not purely limited to economic and creative impacts. Our issues overlap with how society safeguards democratic freedom, as well protects against the spread of misinformation and consumer harm".

Therefore, "we kindly ask you to ensure any outcomes from the summit and future discussions align with policy solutions to address our music industry’s concerns regarding the future regulatory landscape for AI. While we understand the need to look at the coming opportunities and threats that AI poses, there is an urgent need to address the clear and present threat that generative AI poses to the creative industries and to our members’ livelihoods".

The copyright industries - including the music industry - are adamant that whenever an AI model is trained using existing content, the AI company must first get consent from whoever owns the copyright. To that end, the copyright industries want to ensure that lawmakers and courts do not introduce or recognise any copyright exceptions that could remove that obligation.

"Upholding copyright does not present a barrier to AI development", Kiehl's letter continues. "This is amply demonstrated by many responsible AI developers already operating within the music landscape. Our industry is adept at creating new avenues which give mutual benefit to music and technology, allowing both to flourish".

The UK Music boss then also notes that other creator and performer rights beyond copyright are also relevant with certain uses of generative AI. "The personality, voice and likeness of human creators should be further protected by law against abuse", he states, "in particular misappropriation of the personality in deepfakes and similar manipulations".

As for transparency, Kiehl confirms that the music industry wants AI companies to keep detailed records of any copyright-protected works they use to train their models, and also for AI-generated content to be clearly labelled as such.

You can read the full letter here.

ONE LINERS

Sampha, Daniel Johns, Folly Group + more

DEALS

Daniel Johns has signed a new publishing deal with BMG covering his entire songs catalogue. “There is nothing without a heartbeat that I value more than my songwriting catalogue”, says Johns. “Bringing my life’s work as a composer to BMG signifies the level of faith I have in this company and their people”.

LIVE BUSINESS

Italian music company Artist First has launched a new concerts division, Artist First Live. “We have launched Artist First Live to work with great artists, domestic and international, who want to perform to Italian audiences”, says Artist First CEO Claudio Ferrante. “We are going to be very selective about who we work with to ensure we can fully focus on their individual needs and to offer a bespoke, transparent, collaborative service. Unlike some of the bigger promoters in Italy who have built their businesses purely on volume we are passionate about music and are approaching things in a much more artist-focused way”.

RELEASES

Folly Group have released new single ‘I’ll Do What I Can’. Their new album ‘Down There!’ is out on 12 Jan 2024, and they will be touring the UK next spring.

Sean Nicholas Savage has released new single ‘Say No’.

GIGS & TOURS

Sampha is set to play London’s Alexandra Palace on 16 Apr 2024. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

Echo & The Bunnymen have announced a UK tour in March next year, including a performance at London’s Roundhouse on 8 Mar. Tickets are on sale now.

Cast have announced UK tour dates in March next year, including a performance at London’s Kentish Town Forum. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.

AWARDS

Oram Awards winners announced

The winners of this year’s Oram Awards have been announced. The six UK-based winners are Cecilia Morgan (aka afromerm), Hannan Jones, Geo Aghinea, Helen Anahita Wilson, Charlotte Joseph (aka No Home) and Natalie Roe. Joining them are two international awardees, VIKTORIA (aka rEmPiT g0dDe$$), who splits her time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and Jerusalem-based Palestinian Maya Al Khaldi.

Named after BBC Radiophonic Workshop co-founder Daphne Oram, the awards “celebrate women, trans, non-binary and gender expansive artists who are pushing the envelope of creativity in sound, music and related technology”. It is now in its seventh year and each winner receives a bursary and access to a six month mentoring programme.

“This year we had 30 incredible shortlisted applications”, says Oram Awards co-director Karen Sutton. “It’s always a joy listening to and discovering so many talented artists. The hardest part is deciding on only eight winners. After seven years, I really hope this is a turning point for the programme and that with more financial support we will be able to support more artists and the wider community in the future”.

“We are very proud that the Orams has become such an important award in this field and that its recognition and support transforms the careers of creatives who are breaking artistic boundaries but there is so much more work to be done”, she adds.

The awards ceremony will take place at King’s Place in London on 19 Nov. There will also be workshops and panel discussions during the day, as well as live performances from a selection of the winners in the evening.

Find out more here.

APPROVED: CHROMA

Having released their debut album ‘Ask For Angela’ earlier this month, Welsh bilingual band Chroma have headed off to Aotearoa in New Zealand to take part in a project examining the connection between Mãori and Welsh language culture through live music.

For the initiative, the group have teamed up with Māori band Half/Time, who recently visited Wales to perform at FOCUS Wales, perform a number of other gigs around the country, and give a talk at Cardiff University.

“It’s an absolute honour to be invited to Aotearoa to play some shows with our new friends Half/Time”, says Chroma drummer Zac Mather. ”We played with them earlier this year when they visited the UK and can't wait for them to show us their favourite venues and places they like to hang out”.

Half/Time guitarist Wairehu Grant adds: “After the amazing time we had in Cymru earlier this year and the manaakitanga (hospitality) we were shown by both the Cardiff University team and the folks in Chroma, we’re super excited to welcome them all to Aotearoa. Really looking forward to playing more shows with Chroma and collaborating with the Cardiff team further”.

Back in the UK, Chroma are also looking forward to supporting Foo Fighters at Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground next June. Right now, watch the video for recent single ‘Don’t Wanna Go Out’ here.

LABELS & PUBLISHERS

Labels really don’t want other artists mimicking Taylor Swift’s re-recording initiative

Some record companies in the US are seeking to extend re-record restrictions in record contracts, according to lawyers who have spoken to Billboard.

The move is seen by many as a response to Taylor Swift's high profile project releasing new versions of old albums. That project was motivated by the sale of her old label Big Machine to Scooter Braun's company, a sale she called her “worst case scenario”. The re-records went ahead even after Braun sold on the rights in Swift's first six albums to private equity firm Shamrock Holdings.

Swift’s re-records have been doing very well indeed, enjoying much hype and media coverage, and generating huge numbers of streams. Tracks on Taylor’s Version of ‘1989’ - released on 27 Oct - have already been streamed 382,106,157 times on Spotify alone. By comparison, the top 200 tracks on Spotify racked up 1,649,397,641 streams in that time, so she had 23.2% of the streams in the top 200 tracks globally.

Record contracts usually have some restrictions around re-records barring artists from recording new versions of old tracks for a number of years after they are out of any one deal with a label. This aims to avoid the negative impact on the value of the recordings that the label owns or controls that would likely occur if there were new versions in circulation.

Traditionally very few artists have actually recorded new versions of old songs, even once the re-record restrictions no longer apply, for various creative, commercial and logistical reasons. Though, with digital, the costs associated with releasing re-records are much lower, especially if an artist is connected to a big audience on social media, reducing marketing expense.

That fact - coupled with the success of Swift's re-releases - has possibly motivated both major and indie labels to seek longer re-record restrictions in order to discourage artists from considering Swift-style re-record projects. Billboard reports that some record labels are now "demanding artists wait an unprecedented ten, fifteen or even 30 years to re-record releases".

Lawyer Josh Karp tells the trade title: “The first time I saw it, I tried to get rid of it entirely. I was just like, ‘What is this? This is strange. Why would we agree to further restrictions than we’ve agreed to in the past with the same label?'”

Another attorney, Gandhar Savur, states: “I recently did a deal with a very big indie that had a 30 year re-record restriction in it. Which obviously is much longer than I’m used to seeing. I think the majors are also trying to expand their re-record restrictions but in a more measured way - they are generally not yet able to get away with making such extreme changes".

Responding to Billboard's report, Universal Music - which has been working with Swift on the release of her re-records - said that it "does not comment on legal agreements".

However, it did point to a Wall Street Journal article that said changes to the major's template contracts, including around re-record restrictions, had gone into effect before Swift's big re-release project began.

LEGAL

Human Artistry Campaign welcomes Joe Biden's AI executive order

The music industry-led Human Artistry Campaign has welcomed a wide-ranging executive order issued by US President Joe Biden yesterday that puts in place an assortment of measures in a bid to ensure the "safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of artificial intelligence".

Biden himself called the executive order "the most significant action any government anywhere in the world has ever taken on AI safety, security and trust".

It instructs various US government departments to step up their efforts in regulating different aspects of AI. Among many other things, it touches on the copyright and transparency concerns that have been raised by the creative industries.

For example, the Department Of Commerce is given the task of developing standards for watermarking and clearly labelling AI-generated content. And the US Copyright Office - which has already instigated a consultation on AI - will advise the President on "potential executive actions relating to copyright and AI", including in relation to "the scope of protection for works produced using AI and the treatment of copyrighted works in AI training".

Commenting on the executive order, the Human Artistry Campaign said yesterday: “The inclusion of copyright and intellectual property protection in the AI executive order reflects the importance of the creative community and IP-powered industries to America's economic and cultural leadership".

"On behalf of over 170 members spanning the creative and technology communities", it went on, "the Human Artistry Campaign applauds this effort to craft a responsible, ethical AI policy that will promote innovation and allow both AI and human creativity to strengthen each other and thrive".

DIGITAL

Meta announces ad-free premium option in Europe to comply with data regulations

Meta is introducing a new ad-free premium option on Facebook and Instagram in Europe as part of efforts to comply with laws regulating the big digital platforms within the European Union - including both data protection regulations and the new Digital Markets Act.

Recent rulings in Europe have said that, under EU rules, major digital services cannot "force consent" by telling users that they must either accept how their data will be used or leave a platform. The EU courts also said that Meta should offer an option where users do not have to share their data, even if there was a cost associated with taking that option.

The new premium version of Meta will cost €9.99 a month - or €12.99 a month if people sign up on mobile because of the commissions charged by Apple and Google on in-app payments. It will be available in the EU, EEA and Switzerland - so not the UK.

Announcing the new premium option, Meta made it clear that it is still very much committed to its ad-funded business which is powered by user data, and that the new premium option in Europe was entirely designed to meet regulatory obligations.

"We believe in an ad-supported internet", it wrote in a blog post, "which gives people access to personalised products and services regardless of their economic status”.

“And like other companies”, it went on, “we’ll continue to advocate for an ad-supported internet, even with our new subscription offering in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. But we respect the spirit and purpose of these evolving European regulations, and are committed to complying with them".

Earlier this year Meta also announced a premium service for creators on its platforms, providing account verification and other added benefits for a monthly fee. However, that was seemingly about generating an additional revenue stream for the social media firm - similar to moves made by Elon Musk’s X - rather than complying with any regulations.

LEGAL

Visual art copyright case against Stability AI stripped back but will proceed

A judge in California removed both plaintiffs and defendants from a copyright lawsuit filed against three image-generating AI platforms. Some of the claims made by the remaining plaintiff were also dismissed, though one core claim remains.

Artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan and Karla Ortiz filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt of infringing their copyrights and publicity rights, and of removing copyright management information from digital works in violation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

A number of lawsuits have been filed to test the copyright obligations of AI companies, which are very relevant to the music industry even when - like this one - they are not music cases.

The plaintiffs in this litigation claimed that Stability AI scraped billions of images from the internet - including theirs - to train its Stable Diffusion model so that it could generate new images. No licences were sought to make use of those existing images, the lawsuit stated, and therefore the creator's rights had been infringed. The defendants all submitted motions for dismissal.

Yesterday McKernan and Ortiz's claims were dismissed entirely because they had not registered their images with the US Copyright Office. Midjourney and DeviantArt were removed as defendants because - although those platforms utilise the Stable Diffusion model - it hadn't been clearly shown how they had directly made use of the artists' work.

Some of Andersen's claims against Stability - in relation to publicity rights and copyright management information - were also dismissed, albeit with the option to file an amended complaint to deal with the issues raised by the judge. However, her core complaint, that Stability infringed her copyrights by using her works to train its AI model without licence, still stands.

The judge wrote: "Even Stability recognises that determination of the truth of these allegations – whether copying in violation of the Copyright Act occurred in the context of training Stable Diffusion or occurs when Stable Diffusion is run - cannot be resolved at this juncture".

AND FINALLY

Rolling Stones collect UK streaming trophy

The Rolling Stones have become the latest recipients of a BRIT Billion Award, having surpassed one billion UK streams.

“Few artists have crossed generational divides in quite the way the Rolling Stones have”, says Jo Twist, CEO of BRIT award giver the BPI. “Their iconic songs and albums are era-defining, but the band remain as contemporary as ever. The BPI is THRILLED to honour them with a BRIT Billion Award, which underscores both the timeless appeal of their music and the extent to which they are now also connecting with a new wave of fans thanks to streaming”.

Since May this year, a total of 25 artists have received BRIT Billion Awards.

They include Abba, Coldplay, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Queen, AJ Tracey, Headie One, Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi, Raye, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish. Ed Sheeran recently became the first artist to be handed the gold edition of the award for racking up more than ten billion streams.

Earlier this month, The Rolling Stones released their new LP ‘Hackney Diamonds’, their first album of new material in eighteen years.