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CMU Digest
CMU Digest 03.11.17: FanFair, Sainsbury’s, Prince, Webster PR, V Festival, Apple
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 3 November 2017
The key stories from the last seven days in the music business…
New research from the FanFair Alliance reckoned that 82% of people thought ticket resale sites needed to be more transparent. The anti-ticket touting campaign surveyed 1158 people. The vast majority thought touts reselling on the secondary ticketing sites should have to reveal their identity, so that consumers know precisely who they are buying a ticket from. Many also said that secondary sites needed to be more clearly marked, as some consumers can’t distinguish between primary ticket sellers and those touting tickets. [READ MORE]
Sainsbury’s announced it was launching a vinyl-only record label. The news follows the supermarket’s move into selling vinyl in March 2016, which it says has been very successful. Via new project Own Label, Sainsbury’s – in partnership with Universal and Warner – will put out vinyl releases exclusively available in the supermarket’s stores. The venture will launch with two compilations curated by Saint Etienne member and pop historian Bob Stanley. [READ MORE]
Three of Prince’s heirs requested that the bank administrating the late musician’s estate be removed. The decision to shift Prince’s large archive of unreleased sound recordings from his old home in Minnesota to a secure facility in California was cited as a key reason, though the three heirs said there had been other issues too. The bank Comercia, which began administrating Prince’s estate earlier this year, insists the archive move was a good decision and that the heirs were consulted before it occurred. They also told the court that removing them as administrators now could negatively impact on five deals currently being negotiated. [READ MORE]
Nashville-based music PR company Webster PR announced it was changing its name in the wake of sexual abuse claims made against its founder Kirt Webster.Various allegations have been made against Webster by former country singer Austin Rick. For a time it looked like the company, which reps the likes of Dolly Parton, Billy Ray Cyrus and Meatloaf, was shutting down entirely, but then it said it was simply rebranding as Westby Public Relations. Webster denies the allegations made against him. [READ MORE]
Virgin confirmed it would no longer sponsor V Festival. As a result the two-site annual music event will rebrand and likely seek a new sponsor. Confirming the move Richard Branson said his company would look for “new ways we can disrupt the [music] industry”. [READ MORE]
It was confirmed that Apple’s new HomePod device won’t allow other music services to integrate with Siri. The tech giant is about to launch its voice-activated interactive home device that will compete with Amazon Echo and Google Home. The device’s high quality speaker is its big USP, but users will only be able to play tracks on Apple Music using voice controls. Other streaming services will be available on the HomePod, but you will have to control it via an iPhone or iPad using AirPlay. [READ MORE]
The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• Hospital Records allied with licensing platform Lickd [INFO]
• Entercom’s merger with CBS Radio got DoJ approval [INFO]
• Chrysalis acquired five more artist catalogues off Warner Music [INFO]
• Kobalt signed a new deal with Shane McAnally [INFO]
• Sony Music’s Columbia signed Remy Ma [INFO]
• Reservoir signed DVBBS [INFO]
• Reservoir/Reverb signed Cutfather [INFO]
