A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
Here is some stuff I did in May 2022…
Setlist Take Two!
I know you have to be careful naming and shaming and blaming on social media, but this is the Zoom player that lost the first half of this week’s Setlist podcast. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t operator error – and it’s the operator’s birthday – so the player has agreed to take the blame. Hey ho. Maybe it was better on take two anyway. Tune in to find out.
Digested CMU
It’s the music business week digested, because that’s a thing I do. This week: Sony Music’s latest commitment on heritage artist royalties, the Music Venue Properties initiative, festival line-up diversity, another Travis Scott negligence lawsuit, and a digital-first BBC. Check the CMU Digest here.
A:E Days upcoming
This week we announced two upcoming in-person editions of our Artist:Entrepreneur Day – one in Hull and one in Southampton. This is the event where I explain how artists go about building businesses around their music – and then a team of FAC artist entrepreneurs provide lots of great practical case studies based on their experiences making and releasing music, touring and gigging, and building a fanbase. In Hull on 25 Jun I’ll be joined by Elle Chante, Stewart Baxter and Katie Spencer – info here.
Edinburgh!
I’ve done the maths and can confirm I am equally excited about returning to the magnificent city of Edinburgh for the first time since 2019 and getting to attend my first in-person Wide Days since 2019. I’ve three Wide Days sessions tomorrow, check the info here.
Slides frenzy
Here’s my submission for the Music Conference Presentation Slide Awards. Now I just need someone to launch the Music Conference Presentation Slide Awards. I’ve packed up all my TGE slides and will be sending them out to delegates tomorrow – so if you were there and want them, make sure you’ve given me an email address here.
TGE thanks!
Thank you to everyone who joined us on stage at the Great Escape Conference this week and made it all so magnificent. There we so many great insights, ideas and opinions shared, I’ll need a few days to process it all! Plus I launched a label, signed an artist and released a record all live on stage. Well, we uploaded a three minute version of the Setlist theme tune to Spotify for data tracking purposes. Same thing really. Go check it out.
TGE here we go!
The Great Escape kicks of tomorrow at 10am! This year we are presenting three CMU+TGE strands, the TGE ELEVATE Sessions and three keynote in conversations. We’ll be busy. You can get info about all the sessions we are presenting in one handy guide on this webpage. Or download yourself the TGE app to browse the full conference and festival programme.
Digested CMU
It’s the music business week digested – because, you know, everyone’s busy. There’s the new proposal to increase the song royalty rate on discs and downloads in the US, plus Coldplay’s eco-friendly tour app, Live Nation’s upbeat statements, TuneIn blocking UK radio stations without music licences, and Kanye getting sued for an uncleared religious sample, again! Check the CMU Digest here.
Setlist Live!
So with all my Great Escape prep busy-ness we’ve skipped a couple of weeks of Setlist – but we’ll be coming back with TWO editions of Setlist Live, one recorded live at The Great Escape next weekend and one at Wide Days the following week. So if you’re at those events, come say hello! And if you’re subscribed, they’ll be landing in your feeds later in the month. We’re also releasing the Setlist theme tune as a track on Spotify, but that’s a whole other story!
Mapping music education
So next week during the MUSIC+EDUCATION strand at The Great Escape we are going to launch a new phase of Pathways Into Music research that will map music education in all its many forms – plus we’ll be joined by these brilliant people to discuss how different strands of music education connect and interact. It all takes place on Wednesday 11 May. Meanwhile, if you work in music education or talent development, put your organisation on our radar right now right here.
Digested CMU
It’s the music business week digested! And that single Spotify share we bought back when the company listed in 2018, well, the value of that hit an all-time low this week. So that happened. Plus NetEase v Tencent, EU law good times and some PRS stats. Check the CMU Digest here.
