A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
Here is some stuff I did in December 2021…
Smells like Anka
My favourite discovery of the Christmas break – this search recommendation suggests a decent number of people have asked Google who wrote the Paul Anka song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. I suppose it is the iconic version of the song (even if I was Googling to confirm to myself his cover actually existed and I hadn’t just imagined it in a dream sometime).
Festive jigsaws
Not in fact a photo of my Christmas lunch, but rather the output of my Boxing Day jigsawing (I mean, there’d be no peas and sprouts if it was my actual Christmas lunch). I reckon this is the first jigsaw I’ve done since I was about six – but it’s actually two jigsaws in one (plate and food), so that’s an average of one every 20 years. See you back here in 2041 for my next jigsaw work!
On The CMU Stereo
Do you want to know my favourite artists and albums of 2021? No, of course you don’t, but maybe I’ll do a list of my favourite music industry legal battles. However, Andy has put together a playlist of the 40 artists that got CMU most excited in 2021, and that is worth checking out, if that’s the sort of thing you check out at this time of year. Here it is.
Review of 2021
Last time we did a ‘review of the year’ edition of Setlist it ended up running to about nineteen hours. So this time we set ourselves a time limit and a countdown clock, so we could only talk about any one story for five minutes. I think it worked. See what you think by tuning in here.
Four Tet v Domino
Occasionally my reports on disputes in the pop courts turn into short essays. Or – like happened yesterday – short dissertations. But the Four Tet v Domino dispute is becoming really interesting, both in its own right, but more so in the context of the wider #digitaldollar #fixstreaming #brokenrecord debates. If you’re also interested, brace yourself and then read my thesis here.
BRITs voting
Doing my BRITs voting is reminding me how – in 2019 – I submitted my votes from a field in Thailand surrounded by mad installations like this one. Then again, in 2017, I voted while stuck on a plane at Leeds Airport, having been diverted there instead of Heathrow because of some snow. So, all things considered, voting from my desk in Leytonstone isn’t that bad.
Eyeife Festival
Today I’m hosting an online workshop as part of series of sessions being presented by the British Council for the Eyeife Festival in Cuba. It’s all about ‘How The Digital Music Business Works’. This one is delivered from my desk in Leytonstone, but comes complete with Spanish subtitles, which is exciting. You can tune in at 3.30pm GMT here.
Mystery floors
Great time in Zagreb for the Runda Digital Day. I talked about digital music trends and debates globally – and learned about the key music industry trends and debates in this part of the world. Although, must admit, never completely worked out what happens on floors 2 and 16 of the hotel I stayed in.
Powerless in Zagreb
Remember a few weeks ago when I plugged my UK>EU power adapter into a dodgy plug socket in Brussels and it blew up? That was annoying because I had a laptop without power and a webinar to run. This time I forgot to even bring my UK>EU power adapter to Zagreb. Which was double annoying, because I had a laptop without power and CMU Daily stories to write, plus I had to deal with being the monumental idiot who forgot to bring his UK>EU power adapter. I’d like to propose a round of applause for this little electronics shop, a short walk from my hotel, which was able to sell me an adapter and restore the power
I’m in Zagreb!
It’s my last international jaunt of the year. I am in Zagreb to talk digital pies, digital debates and the diversifying digital market at Runda’s Digital Day. Basically everything’s digital except my presentation, which will be live on stage. And hurrah for that – I like it that way! It’s even worth filling out three COVID travel forms and taking three COVID tests for.
Setlist break
There was no Setlist podcast last week because I was busy gallivanting around Macedonia during our weekly Friday lunchtime recording slot. There is no Setlist podcast this week because I was sitting through a FIVE hour Parliamentary debate on streaming during our weekly Friday lunchtime recording slot. There’ll be no Setlist podcast next week because, well, I need at least a week to recover from sitting through a FIVE hour Parliamentary debate on streaming. But there’ll be one more podcast before Christmas, promise! In the meantime, don’t forget all the specials in the archive.
Brennan bill
It had been a long time since I last watched a full Parliamentary debate – I’d forgotten just how much of a nonsense institution it really is. Almost makes the inner workings of the music industry seem sensible. Anyway, here’s my write up of the big Parliamentary debate on Kevin Brennan’s proposed copyright reforms in response to the economics of streaming inquiry. It was a very long debate. It’s actually quite a concise write up, all things considered.
Spotify Wrapped
No prizes at all for guessing which artist I listened to most on Spotify this year. Given I apparently listened to more hours of music than 94% of other UK listeners, some of you low level Spotify subscribers were presumably subsidising some of the artists I listen to. Well done, they were great artists!
