| We've covered the music business each day since 21 Jun 2002 Today's email is edition #5191 |
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| | In today's CMU Daily: Song rights income was through the roof in Germany last year, according to GEMA. Thatâs no thanks to digital services though, says the collecting society, where growth was underwhelming, especially when compared to stats from the recordings side of the industry
One Liners: Bella Figura funding; Sony Music buys Neon Hum; Feed.fm x Cyanite; MaMA appointments; Apple App Store rule change; Glastonbury resale; Dream Theater, Chilly Gonzales, Rise Against shows; new music from Caribou, Greg Saunier, Mandy Indiana, Girls In Synthesis
Also today: Dave Rowntree launches class action lawsuit against PRS For Music; Push for US Senate to âurgentlyâ consider proposed TikTok sell-or-be-banned legislation; Universal Music Publishing sued over unapproved sample in 1992 Mary J Blige track; Billie Eilish details sustainability plan for new album release Plus: NikNak is CMU Approved
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| GEMA says German song right income is booming, but digital growth is lacking | German song rights collecting society GEMA yesterday hailed its "most successful financial year to date", but noted that digital growth in 2023 was somewhat disappointing.
Contrasting its own numbers with the digital revenue growth rates reported by the record industry, the society said it would continue to campaign "intensively" and "consistently" to secure a "fair share" of digital income for its songwriter and music publisher members.
Globally, the record industry saw digital revenues grow by 10% last year, with German record industry trade group BVMI stating that digital revenue in its market was up 7.9% year-on-year. GEMA saw digital income grow by just 3%, and that was partly due to "new video-on-demand contracts".
"Although the market is growing, GEMAâs revenues from music streaming have barely increased year-on-year", the society said in a statement. "This makes it all the more important for GEMA to continue intensive and consistent campaigning for a fair share of the revenues from digital music use in its negotiations with digital music platforms and politicians".
There was more upbeat news within the GEMA figures related to live music. The German live sector at large has fully bounced back after COVID, it said. Total public performance income was up by 24% to âŹ444 million, significantly up on the pre-pandemic peak in 2019 of âŹ407.4m. Total GEMA collections were up âŹ99 million year-on-year to âŹ1.27 billion.
In terms of the digital disappointment, GEMA clearly believes that part of the problem is the streaming business model. Many songwriters have long criticised the fact that, with music streaming, 50-55% of revenues flow to the record industry and the services keep 30-35%, while 10-15% normally flows to songwriters and music publishers.
The share allocated to songs on a stream is higher than with a CD, in some markets more than double, though not in Germany where the rate on a CD is higher than in the UK. The share allocated to the song has also increased since the streaming services first launched, while the share going to the recording has decreased.
Nevertheless, many songwriters argue that - given the different role played by labels and retailers in digital - the song share should be significantly higher. Achieving that is tricky, given that streaming services separately negotiate recording rights and song rights, so there isn't a forum where all the stakeholders come together.
GEMA's statement suggests that, while it will continue to negotiate hard to get a better rate directly with the services, it also hopes the political community may be able to help in some way. Quite how isn't clear, although the Culture Committee of the European Parliament last year called for new rules to regulate music streaming, stating that âpre-digitalâ conventions that tend to favour record labels should be ârevisedâ. | Read online | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Horizon is CMU's new weekly newsletter - published each Friday - that brings you a hand-picked selection of early-stage career opportunities from across the music industry.
Whether you're looking for your first job in music or you're ready to take a step up, Horizon is here to help you find your dream job faster.
đ Click through to see the current selection. | |
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| Apple, Glastonbury, Caribou + more | DEALS
Bella Figura Music has closed a new round of funding led by private equity firm Freshstream to continue its run of buying up music catalogues. âWe aim to continue building and enhancing our catalogue of beautiful music while generating significant value for creators and rights ownersâ, says CEO Alexi Cory-Smith. âBella Figura is built for the digital music age, unburdened by legacy systems with a strategy that truly reflects how we all access and consume music in todayâs world. We are delighted to have a growing base of investors joining us on this journeyâ.
Sony Music has acquired podcast production company Neon Hum. The deal comes five years after the major made a strategic investment in the company and sees Neon Hum founder Jonathan Hirsch become VP Global Podcasts and Head Of US Creative at Sony Musicâs Global Podcast Division. âNeon Hum and Sony Music have always been aligned in our audio-first mentality and approachâ, he says. âIâm excited for the next steps as the Neon Hum team becomes a full part of Sony Music Podcasts and we continue to produce premium audio contentâ.
Feed.fm has partnered with AI music tagging and search company Cyanite to improve music discoverability on its platform. âWe are very excited about AI solutions' potential to help the music industry strengthen licensing compliance while also growing total revenues for recorded musicâ, says Feed.fmâs VP Product Brita Nordin. âCyanite is a leader in building AI technology that delivers tangible value to music rights holders and companies that rely on music to grow their businessâ.
APPOINTMENTS
Paris-based music festival and conference MaMA has announced that co-founder Fernando Ladeiro-Marques has taken ownership of the organisation, following the retirement of its other co-founder Daniel Colling. It has also announced a number of appointments to its conference programming team. Emmanuel Legrand becomes coordinator of the main programme; Emily Gonneau joins as curator of the MaMA Invent strand; Flavien Appavou becomes coordinator of new ideas and social trends forum Le CosyLab; and Elise Yacoub is coordinator of the overall MaMA convention.
DIGITAL
Apple has announced that it will relax its App Store rules that prohibit app developers from signposting users to payment methods outside its own ecosystem. Under the changes, which will only apply within the European Economic Area, music streaming apps will be allowed to invite users to submit an email address to receive information about other ways to pay for subscriptions. This follows the âŹ1.8 billion fine levied against Apple by the EU for "abusing its dominant position" in relation to the distribution of music streaming apps for iOS devices. Apple is appealing that fine.
GIGS & FESTIVALS
If youâre hoping to get Glastonbury tickets in this yearâs resale, there is good news and bad. The good is that the date when youâll get your chance will be announced shortly. The bad is that, according to Emily Eavis in a post on Instagram, the event had the âhighest percentage of ticket balances paid everâ when the deadline passed last week. As a result, the amount of tickets set to be put back up for sale is âvery limitedâ.
Dream Theater have announced that they will play a 40th anniversary show at the O2 Arena in London on 20 Oct. It will be their first show since reuniting with drummer Mike Portnoy. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
Chilly Gonzales has announced that he will play the Royal Albert Hall in London on 28 Oct. Tickets go on sale on Thursday.
Rise Against have announced that they will play the Ritz in Manchester on 20 Aug and Londonâs Shepherdâs Bush Empire on 21 Aug. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
RELEASES
Caribou has released new track âHoneyâ.
Deerhoofâs Greg Saunier will release his debut solo album âWe Sang, Therefore We Wereâ on 26 Apr. Out now is âGrow Like A Plantâ.
Mandy, Indiana are back with new track âIdea Is Bestâ, their first new music since last yearâs excellent âIâve Seen A Wayâ album.
Girls In Synthesis have released new single âDeceitâ. Their third album âSublimationâ is out on 3 May. | Read online | | Blurâs Dave Rowntree leads class action lawsuit against PRS For Music seeking âhundreds of millions of poundsâ for songwriters | Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has launched a class action lawsuit against PRS For Music, accusing the collecting society of breaching UK and EU competition rules in relation to unallocated royalties. He is requesting that all 160,000 writer members of the organisation be beneficiaries of the action.
The musician, working with law firm Maitland Walker, claims in a recent legal filing that PRS misallocates âblack boxâ income. These are royalty payments that have been received by the society but, usually due to a lack of data, it doesnât know which members to pass the money on to. The lawsuit claims that PRS handles this income in a way that benefits music publishers more than songwriters.
âIâve agreed to be class representative because musiciansâ royalties, perhaps to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds, have been paid to the wrong peopleâ, says Rowntree. âItâs because of bad data and processes, and in todayâs digitally connected world, thereâs no excuse for eitherâ.
PRS denies the allegations made against it in the filing, which was submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal last week.
In the UK, royalties from the broadcast and performance of songs are collected on behalf of songwriters and publishers by PRS. It then distributes those royalties to the members whose music has been used, with 50% usually flowing to the writer and 50% to the publisher.
However, in some cases it doesnât know which specific members to pay, usually because it doesnât have data about what specific songs were broadcast or performed. Those unallocated royalties - often referred to in the industry as the âblack boxâ - are then distributed to members based on a set of distribution rules, with money usually being allocated based on market share.
The new lawsuit claims that there is no transparency on exactly how this money is shared out, and alleges that far more of it should be flowing to songwriters than is currently the case. However, it adds, as much of the income that is in the âblack boxâ gets there because of incorrect or missing data, it is difficult to establish exactly what is owed.
In a statement to its members, PRS wrote: âPRS For Music rejects the allegations set out in this claim, which are factually incorrect and fundamentally misrepresent our policies and operations. PRS is owned by its members and its rules, which are robust and determined by members, treat the interests of both writers and publishers fairlyâ.
It says that the legal claim is based on âa misinterpretation of PRSâ governance and operational practicesâ and adds that it âprovides far greater transparency than other collecting societiesâ.
Adding that it has been âconstructively engagedâ with the lawyers who have now gone legal with this claim for over two years, it concludes, âUnfortunately, this means PRS will need to allocate significant resources to defend a proposed class action brought in the name of members - against their own society. Nonetheless, PRS will continue to operate in the best interests of its members by robustly defending itself against these allegationsâ.
Rowntree is himself a trained solicitor, although currently not practising, and is currently also preparing to stand as an MP for the Labour Party in Mid Sussex at the next General Election.
His class action lawsuit is structured to automatically include all 160,000 writers who have been members of PRS since March 2017 - although they are able to opt out if they so wish. All those who remain opted in will be able to share in any award granted by the court, should the claim be successful. Further information on the legal action is available at prssongwriterclaim.co.uk
| Read online | | Approved: NikNak | NikNak, a trailblazing musical polymath, has established herself as a unique force in the electronic music scene with her high-octane experimental jungle that borders on the truly cinematic.
Her latest single, â12000RPMâ, released via Accidental Records, serves as a captivating preview of her fourth studio album 'Iretiâ, scheduled for release on 21 May. Embracing her identity as a self-proclaimed nerd, NikNak draws inspiration from iconic films and video games such as 'Blade Runner' and 'Cyberpunk 2077â.
With a fusion of turntablism, experimental synthesis, haunting vocals and dynamic electronic elements, NikNak crafts a cinematic experience that transcends genres, encompassing jazz, jungle and experimental.
Describing the context of '12000RPM' within the album, NikNak explains, "â12000RPMâ is a fight scene. The main character is being chased by enforcers around the city, doing parkour through the rainy streets before an epic fight scene unfolds like something out of âDistrict 13â or âThe Boondocksâ. It's also arguably the most dancey track on the album too⊠one for the DJs, for sureâ. đ§ Listen to â12000RPMâ here
| Read online | | Timeline for TikTok law in Senate still to be confirmed, though Minority Leader says its deserves "urgent attention" | Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate Minority Leader in US Congress, yesterday endorsed the proposals to pass a "sell-or-be-banned" law targeting TikTok, stating that he would support "common sense steps" that take "one of Beijing's favorite tools of coercion and espionage off the table".
Last month the lower house of Congress, the House Of Representatives, speedily passed a proposed law that would force TikTok's China-based owner ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban in the US. It's based on concerns that the Chinese government has access to TikTok user-data via ByteDance, something TikTok continues to deny.
Having been voted through in the House super fast, the proposals are expected to get more scrutiny in the Senate. The timeline for that scrutiny is still to be confirmed. Last week Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, did say that the TikTok legislation was a priority and would be among the bipartisan proposals to be considered in the "weeks and months ahead". Though it remains to be seen if we are actually talking weeks or months.
Meanwhile, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell was due to meet with the other Democrat members of that committee yesterday to discuss the TikTok proposals, promising a "game plan" after that meeting. She has previously said that she might stage a public hearing on TikTok and the "sell-or-be-banned" law.
According to The Hill, McConnell stated in the Senate yesterday that, âAmericaâs greatest strategic rival is threatening our security right here on US soil in tens of millions of American homes. Iâm speaking, of course, about TikTok".
Some have raised constitutional concerns about the proposed TikTok law, predicting that - even if passed by Congress - it could still stall in the courts, most likely on First Amendment free speech grounds.
However, McConnell insisted that ârequiring the divestment of Beijing-influenced entities from TikTok would land squarely within established Constitutional precedent. And it would begin to turn back the tide of an enormous threat to Americaâs children and to our nationâs prospects in the defining competition of the 21st century".
He then concluded, âThis is a matter that deserves Congressâs urgent attention. And Iâll support commonsense, bipartisan steps to take one of Beijingâs favorite tools of coercion and espionage off the table". | Read online | | Universal sued over sample on 1992 Mary J Blige track | Universal Music Publishing has been sued over a sample on Mary J Blige's 1992 song 'Real Love', with the owner of the sampled track expressing bemusement that the label which released Blige's record has settled its claim but the publisher will not. That label being, well, Universal Music.
New York based independent Tuff City Records says it has "repeatedly" advised the Universal publishing company that 'Real Love' includes an unapproved sample of 1972 Honey Drippers track 'Impeach The President', in which it controls both the recording and song rights. And yet, it says, UMPG "has repeatedly refused to engage in substantive negotiations to rectify the foregoing, let alone agreed to compensate plaintiff for the past infringement or on an ongoing basis".
In a lawsuit filed last week, it adds that the publisherâs ârefusal to cooperate with plaintiff is difficult to reconcile with the fact that plaintiff reached an agreement with UMG Recordings Inc with respect to the presence of the uncleared sample from âImpeach the Presidentâ on the master sound recording of 'Real Love'.
It's not entirely clear why it took Tuff City more than three decades to go legal over the uncleared sample in 'Real Love'. This is by no means the company's first time filing a lawsuit as part of a sample dispute, having previously instigated litigation over allegedly unlicensed samples on tracks released by the likes of Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Frank Ocean. Although many of those lawsuits were ultimately dismissed.
In terms of the 'Real Love' legal battle, Tuff City would like actual damages plus the defendant's profits from the alleged infringement, or statutory damages of up to $150,000.
| Read online | |
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| Setlist Podcast: Make big shows fund grassroots music, politicians told | Chris Cooke and Andy Malt discuss UK Parliament's Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee's hearing on the grassroots live music crisis, the Nirvana logo legal battle's return to court, and more.
đ§ Click here to listen - or search for 'Setlist Podcast' | | Billie Eilish wonât release any singles ahead of new album release, details efforts to make physical editions more sustainable | Billie Eilish has announced that she will release her third album âHit Me Hard And Softâ on 17 May. Wanna hear a song from it? Well, you canât. Sheâs also said that there will be no singles released ahead of it coming out. What she has made available though is full details of the sustainable manufacturing processes for the physical releases of the album. Which is the next best thing, Iâm sure youâll agree.
An advocate for more sustainable practices in the music industry throughout her career, she has announced that eight different variations of the record will be released on vinyl. The standard black edition will be made from 100% recycled black vinyl. Seven coloured editions will be made using a combination of two different solutions, Eco-Mix and BioVinyl.
Eco-Mix is made using leftover material from other records during the manufacturing process meaning âevery disc will be unique and look different from the lastâ, according to Eilishâs website. BioVinyl, meanwhile, is made using ânon-fossil fuel materials like used cooking oil or industrial waste gasesâ.
The shells of the cassette edition will be manufactured from other recycled cassettes, while the packaging of all physical releases, including CDs, will be made out of card using a combination of recycled and sustainable fibres.
Although producing multiple editions of her own album, Eilish was recently critical of artists producing multiple physical editions of their records in order to boost sales and therefore chart positions - particularly when done in an unsustainable way.
âI canât even express to you how wasteful it isâ, she said in an interview published by Billboard. âI find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable [that] some of the biggest artists in the world are making 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying moreâ.
However, she also noted that this is the result of the structure of the industry and the way charts weigh physical sales against digital streams. This creates a system where putting out multiple physical editions is âthe only way to play the gameâ and simply highlights âthis already kind of messed up way of this industry workingâ.
Recognising that, even with her efforts to be more sustainable, she is still playing into this system by producing eight different vinyl editions of her new album, her website notes, âsustainable design [is] an imperfect journey of effortsâ but she and her team are working âtowards constant improvementâ. | Read online |
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