Record of the Week
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ISSUE 636 / 16 JULY 2015 TOP 5 MUST-READ ARTICLES record of the week } Germany first-half Summer See page 12 music sales rise 4.5%. for contact (Billboard) Aufgang details Blue Note France } Neil Young withdraws July 17 from streaming Aufgang is a critically acclaimed French pop duo, hugely services over influenced by the incredible underground disco and synth pop poor audio quality. sounds of New York in the 1980s. Rami and Aymeric met whilst in Beirut, Paris and NYC) sees them drawing on their French/ CONTENTS (Facebook) studying piano at the prestigious Julliard School in Manhattan Lebanese backgrounds for a rather unique blend of indie pop, and that classical training shines through here in the intricate electronica and pre-modern Arabic sounds. This great track } Berklee College keyboard flourishes and string arrangements that underpin this has been mixed by Michael Brauer, noted for his work with P2 Editorial: David report criticises music gloriously funky little pop nugget. Both guys have collaborated acts including Coldplay, Sade and Florence & The Machine. Balfour on the industry for lack with the likes of Cassius and Phoenix and their forthcoming Summer’s here, fling the windows open and get ready to sing Rethink Music of transparency. album (due for release next year and currently being recorded your head off to this, undoubtedly with a huge grin on your face. transparency report (Billboard) P4 Interview: LWE discuss promoting } HMV planning in London international expansion. (Telegraph) P6 Compass p8 Gossip and Sony Music } observations asserts right to from Mongrel strike deals which ‘disadvantage’ artists. p16 The week’s best P4 London Warehouse Events P6 Compass: Oslo Parks P11 Records of the Week: Radio (HollywoodReporter) comment pieces Plus all the regulars WORLDWIDE SALES including 6am, Word On, Business News, MARKETING AND Media Watch and DISTRIBUTION Chart Life 1 editorial There are many valid points raised in the Rethink Music transparency report, David Balfour comments, though it’s also quite unbalanced in places. Nevertheless, there are one or two core recommendations that are impossible to dispute. Berklee College of Music’s Rethink Music that fragmented structure presents multiple unattributable income for those rightsholders, leading to lost royalties. For us, it still beggars report on music industry transparency has opportunities for royalties that should flow and a loss of earnings for musicians. It’s hardly belief that digital services reporting to US caused something of a stir this week. This is to artists to get lost, hidden or even willfully surprising that this is highlighted as being an collecting society SoundExchange are not unsurprising, given that it’s the product of a diverted by opaque and sometimes immoral unacceptable way to handle artists’ rights. required to use unique identifiers. Systemic detailed year-long study into music industry licensing practices. These are all familiar The report also complains about the and legislative failures such as this certainly practices from an extremely respected themes for readers of this column. It is lack of cross-industry adoption of proper need to be addressed. academic and music-focused institution. Also refreshing however to read an analysis that standardising tools such as ISRC and ISWC Talking of archaic practices, the report unsurprising, given that it points to a lot of takes a wide view over both recorded music codes. Most music companies would reject also highlights the example of a multi-platinum inefficiencies, anachronisms and sometimes and publishing rights, along with the many this complaint – most royalty systems simply artist who in 2014 received their label royalty dubious practices at work in the global music organisations that administer them. won’t work without such unique codes and reporting quarterly and in a pdf format which industry. In terms of the main problems highlighted, they are already absolutely standard. That they had to manually digitise before they could From our own side, it’s tempting to it’s difficult to argue with most of them. The said, there are also some grounds for this attempt to use if for calculating royalties. This describe this report as the ‘things we already report complains about structural and technical complaint. PROs and other collecting societies is certainly a horrible example, yet it’s also knew presented in a fresh but sometimes limitations that are arguably inexcusable in a come in for great scrutiny in the report and one which does not, for us, demonstrate the worryingly unbalanced way’. More on that modern digital business. Chief amongst these are identified as one of the main buckets general standard in the industry. This is where later. But first, it’s worth examining the main is the continued absence of a centralised where money gets lost or misdirected. the report begins to lose some credibility finding and recommendations of the report. database of rights information. The fact that Lack of proper rights information, inefficient for us – it tends to take the worst examples Despite our rather critical summary above, rights ownership in the music industry is so reciprocal agreements between societies it finds and extrapolate that they are the there’s no arguing with the thoroughness hard to identify is a continuing embarrassment and indeed archaic practices at societies all general standard throughout the industry. of the approach, or the validity of its main for music companies – and a justifiable stick come in for criticism. Rightly so, though the Many labels and distributors would certainly criticisms. It’s incredibly wide-ranging, correctly with which to beat us. Whilst the best way to report is also intelligent enough to realise that take issue with that suggestion, as they have looking not just at digital services and record solve this problem is anything but clear – some whilst working practices at some societies long been accustomed to providing detailed companies, but publishers, distributors and kind of initiative on this front is desperately should be improved, also at fault are the line-by-line reporting of digital income to rights organisations. needed. The absence of such a rights outdated consent decrees which govern such labels and artists. Linked to this is the report’s The report presents a highly accurate database unsurprisingly leads to accusations organisations. As such, legislation governing claim that robust data standards are all but picture, often in easily-understood graphical that some of the biggest rightsholders in the rights flow can play as an important role in absent in the industry. Again, we take issue }} terms, of the complex fragmentation and flow music industry are motivated to keep this of rights associated with commercial music information as untransparent as possible. use. Refreshingly, the report doesn’t really The report picks up on this, noting that when “For us, it still beggars belief that complain about this complex rights structure repertoire can’t be clearly assigned to known in and of itself – understanding that it’s the rightsholders, it often goes into ‘black box’ digital services reporting to US collecting result of a long business history and was escrow accounts, which can end up being society SoundExchange are not required to never intentionally designed that way. What divided amongst rightsholders according to the report does highlight however is how marketshare. Such a system results in a win of use unique identifiers.” 2 editorial features Artist features this week }} with this suggestion. On the delivery and music” certification of transparency for digital Red Bull, Awolnation One of the most French DJs added their supply side, the wide acceptance of the DDEX services and labels. Yet it fails to mention and the evaporating influential EDM- distinctive je ne sais standard means that systems are now largely WIN’s Fair Digital Deal’s declaration which division between bands focused sites, Resident quoi to mid-90s house standardised. On the reporting side, most already goes a long way to doing just that. and brands. (Forbes) Advisor, has remained music... these scenes music companies realise that certain core The report also calls for the introduction staunchly independent, from Parisian clubland information such as unique identifier codes, of bitcoin-style blockchain technology to While JME and Skepta with a devotion to the are evoked in a new time and location of transaction and royalties provide a completely transparent overview are repping a statement underground side of film, Eden. (Guardian - received are a minimum basic standard in and tracking of online payments. This sounds of independence and the culture that is at Killian Fox) reporting. laudable in theory but also sounds rather holding two fingers odds with the music’s We suspect that the 150-page pdf report impractical to implement, especially in an up to the money-men, mainstream popularity. Whether it’s a dispute was an example of a single major label report industry with so many fragmented rights, and people are accusing (NYTimes) The feature over rap or the purpose to a single artist in the US. It’s undoubtedly where confidentiality around rates is often Jamie XX of trading in also reports that rival of culture, music true, but it’s also incorrect to assume that contractually required. credibility for corporate electronic music site lovers need to show this is the standard at all major labels in These are small complaints however pounds. When exactly Dancing Astronaut is less outrage at radical all countries. Nevertheless, the claim that against a report which fundamentally does do you get the label said to be in talks to be art, says Ed Vulliamy. standards could be improved at many large a solid job of highlighting a range of very ‘sell out’? (i-D) acquired by Insomniac, (Observer) labels is justified. What the report fails to real problems which many corporate or a dance promoter note however is that many significant music organisational interests are often quite happy The underground artist whose majority owner is Rihanna reveals the companies already operate to much higher to see swept under the carpet.