A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
Here is some stuff I did in March 2022…
Digested CMU
In a busy week for music stats, it’s the music business week digested… There’s IFPI’s “ain’t we doing well?” stats and Spotify’s “we ain’t evil honest!” stats, plus some non-stat stories like the Google/Spotify Android tie-up and the big old FLVTO/2conv appeal. Check out this week’s CMU Digest here.
IFPI report
I went to an actual in-person press event today and have an actual printed copy of the IFPI Global Music Report to prove it! I’ll run through all the stats in tomorrow’s CMU Daily. And on next week’s Setlist all the crucial information: Was the pain au chocolat any good? Did the wifi work? Who asked the sneakiest question? Did anyone answer it? And now I’m going to put the printed report on my book shelf and open up the much more useful PDF version.
Digested CMU
It’s the music business week digested, because that’s the custom – Sony’s AWAL deal is CMA approved, Spotify’s big football deal and the inevitable backlash, EMI and Capitol UK labels merge, US senators again urge DoJ to investigate ticketing market, and Genius plan to sue Google not so genius. Check this week’s CMU Digest here.
Industry Takeover Seminars
Well this is exciting. There’s a brand new series of UD Industry Takeover Seminars happening from April through to July at UD’s new home Talent House in East London. I’ll be presenting a CMU:DIY guide at each event, plus we’ll have brilliant panels of experts offering insights, ideas, tips and advice. Info and tickets here: udtickets.com
More webinars
Our next series of CMU webinars kicks off tomorrow looking at all things digital music. A big focus is the subscription streaming business model – how it works, how people get paid and the big old digital pie debate. Plus we’ll be looking at how the digital market is diversifying with the increased importance of UGC platforms, the evolution of direct-to-fan, and the rise of NFTs and the metaverse. With subscription streaming we’re basically selling convenient catalogue access and nifty navigation tools – but what are we selling in the evolving D2F space? Tune in to find out!
More song-thieving!
More song-thieving! For some snappy remarks (from me) about all the ongoing song-theft lawsuits in general, there’s an Observer article I’m quoted in from earlier today. Or for in-depth chatter on the Ed Sheeran song-theft case, look out for tomorrow’s edition of Setlist. Or for concise summaries of the latest developments in both the Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry song-theft cases, check this week’s CMU Digest.
Song-thefts galore!
March is proving to be a busy month for song-theft litigation stories in the CMU Daily, what with Sam Smith being sued, and Dua Lipa being sued (twice), and the ongoing Shake It Off cases. Plus a sample case involving Drake and an aggrieved collaborator case involving Post Malone. Not to mention the big old Ed Sheeran case in the English high court. Most of these legal battles happen in California and are therefore impacted by recent precedents in the US Ninth Circuit appeals court. But it will be interesting to see how the English court rules. Though given these cases swing on musical technicalities as much as copyright technicalities, maybe we should just let this guy make a ruling on every dispute.
Comedy Conference
So next month we’re teaming up with the Sound + Vision festival and conference in Cambridge to put the spotlight on the business of comedy. Really looking forward to talking about comedy careers, making comedy online, livestreaming and the future of the Edinburgh Fringe. We’ve got loads of brilliant speakers who we’ll be announcing soon – in the meantime, find out more about the panels – and all the other great comedy and music taking place at Sound + Vision – via the ThisWeek Culture website here.
