So, here we go, the final Week In Five of 2011, because this time next week we’ll have eaten far too many mince pies to be writing a CMU Daily. Talking of food, somehow today I’ve got to fit a Music Publishers Association Christmas lunch in around four publication deadlines, which should make for an interesting few hours. Do you think Team MPA will mind if I’m editing a podcast while eating all their food? Hmm, oh well, better get on with this then…

01: MegaUpload sued Universal. The file-sharing platform said the major had misused US copyright law to force a promotional video Team Mega had made off YouTube, because it was pissed off various artists signed to its labels could be seen bigging up the file transfer service at the same time the big music majors were accusing the Mega company of fuelling piracy. Universal said it was acting for artists featured in the video without their permission, but MegaUpload said it had signed agreements from all participating talent. The major then said it couldn’t be sued over the takedown notice it had issued over the video, because it had issued the notice according to a contractual agreement with YouTube, and not using the statutory system set out in the DMCA. CMU reports | Wired report

02: Madonna signed to Universal. The label will release the first album coming out via the singer’s partnership with Live Nation. The live music conglom has a multi-layered partnership with Madonna from a multi-million dollar 2007 deal, but Live Nation’s initial plans to have a division to handle things like record releases have long been dropped, so it’s been assumed for a while that the company would look to work in partnership with an existing record company on such things. It’s another big name signing for Universal, Madonna having previously worked with Warner on record releases. CMU report | BBC report

03: iTunes Match went live in the UK. The scan-and-match bit of Apple’s digital locker service, which distinguishes it from its Google and Amazon-owned rivals, had only been previously available in the US. There was some confusion as to whether the arrival of the functionality in the UK and elsewhere yesterday was a mistake, but seemingly not. It means that for 22 quid a year, users can access their MP3 collections via Apple’s servers from any net-connected device without actually having to upload any content. Elsewhere in digital news, iTunes launched in Latin America, Spotify revamped its personalised radio service, and Omnifone launched something new called Rara.com. CMU report | ZDnet report

04: The government announced a review of copyright laws. The wide-ranging review will look into the practicalities of putting recommendations made by the Hargreaves Review of intellectual property law into action. Much of it will focus on expanding fair use principles under UK copyright law. It will also consider introducing a private copy right in the UK. The record labels are OK with that, but want some sort of levy attached to digital music devices as in some other European countries where a private copy right already exists. Hargreaves proposed a private copy right with no such levy. CMU report | FT report

05: Warner complained about Sony dominance on the ‘X-Factor’ final shows. Four of the guest artists on the final two ‘X’ programmes were Sony-signed. Sony Music, of course, is co-producer of ‘X’ via its Syco division. Warner complained to OfCom, saying that ITV had failed to ensure Sony didn’t abuse its position as producer of the UK’s biggest music show. But Sony says that overall this series Universal has had more artists feature on ‘X’, that both EMI and Warner had three artists each, and of four Sony acts on the final shows, three were former ‘X’ contestants, making their appearances editorially justified. CMU report | Guardian report

And that is your lot. But do look out for the final CMU Weekly podcast of the year going online this weekend.

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

Well, what a busy week that was. If you’d wanted to, you could have spent pretty much the entire seven days sitting in a music-related awards ceremonies, what with that big MTV bash in Belfast last weekend, the Music Industry Trust celebrating all things Jools Holland on Monday, then the Music Video Awards, the Student Radio Awards, the Classic Rock Awards and last night’s inaugural AIM Independent Music Awards. Frankly, with that little lot, if you didn’t get an award this week you weren’t trying.

Aside from all the gong giving, there was a Conrad Murray verdict (guilty, man, guilty), the never-ending EMI sale saga, and loads of music and digital types announcing partnerships, planning takeovers and/or making wild predictions. Good times.

Unfortunately I got a bit distracted from all this on Tuesday while researching a Justin Bieber story for you – somehow I stumbled across an interview the pop teen gave where he bigged up a crazy Asteroids-meets-typing-exam web-game which I’ve been playing ever since. Yes, my life has become dominated by a silly computer game recommended by Justin Bieber. Oh well, at least I wasn’t too distracted to notice this lot happening:

01: EMI wasn’t sold. But talks between current owners Citigroup and Universal regards the EMI record labels resumed and as of last night things were looking promising – the big issue of pension liabilities has seemingly been addressed. An announcement could be imminent, and this morning Sky News went as far as to say that the deal would be announced later today. Though some insiders are still airing caution, possibly aware that Warner’s talks got pretty close to a deal two weeks ago, only to fall through at the last minute. Sony/ATV are currently favourite to get EMI’s publishing business, though BMG are still in the running. Meanwhile indie label body IMPALA confirmed this week that it would lobby against any Universal and/or Sony deal with regards EMI. CMU reports | Sky report

02: LVCR was axed. The government announced it would end the tax relief system that has, for years, allowed mail-order firms based on the Channel Islands, including Play.com, The Hut, HMV.com and the supermarkets, to sell CDs without charging VAT, giving them a 20% advantage over mainland retailers. Independent traders who have campaigned on this issue for years were jubilant. Though the end of LVCR, which will kick in next April, only applies to the Channel Islands, and there are fears most mail-order giants will move to other non-EU countries where the VAT relief on imports will remain, for the time being at least. CMU report | Channel Online explanation

03: Warner announced a big exec rejig. The revamp was led by worldwide recorded music CEO Lyor Cohen, whose control over the Warner Music labels has increased since Access Industries took ownership earlier this year, and overall Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr took the backseat role of Chairman. More global units were created, but the big news was that the European management team was being phased out, with country divisions in Europe reporting directly into the global top team. As part of this, Warner Europe boss John Reid announced he would leave the major. CMU report | MusicWeek report

04: The BPI called on BT to block access to The Pirate Bay. Leading a coalition of content industry trade bodies, the record label organisation asked BT to stop its internet customers from accessing the rogue file-sharing site, citing the recent ruling in the MPA v BT case, in which the tel co was forced to block access to the Newzbin file-sharing service. BPI hopes that BT may put the block in place voluntarily, rather than forcing the content firms to go the injunction route. It might happen, BT is apparently trying to get its own digital music service off the ground, so may be more willing to play ball than before. CMU report | ZDNet report

05: ‘X-Factor’ confirmed it was withdrawing its Rhythmix trademark application. The girl group on the telly talent show named Rhythmix changed their moniker (eventually) after being told that name was already used by a music education charity which feared its fund-raising efforts would be hindered if Team X trademarked the name in the music space. But despite the name change, the Rhythmix charity revealed this week that the ‘X-Factor’ trademark application hadn’t been withdrawn. Though after some more uproar, the telly show’s bosses promised it would be asap. CMU report | Guardian report

And that’s your lot, until podcast time later this afternoon. Meanwhile, enjoy all the ones this day promises to deliver.

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

So welcome back to Friday, and another round up of the big developments in the music world this week. With the ongoing EMI sale, more speculation about Google’s download store, and, outside the industry news zone, the Conrad Murray trial rumbling on, it sort of felt like we were on the verge of some really big news stories this week, none of which actually delivered. Though that’s not to say it’s been a quiet news week in the good old music biz, Thursday being such a busy news day that various stories that would usually lead your Daily got pushed well down the pile. But what were the big five developments of the week? Well…

01: Citigroup didn’t sell EMI, but everyone thinks they’re about to. Although the US bank has been taking its time deciding who to sell its music company to, sources close to the deal making seem certain a sale will happen imminently, that the company will be split for sale, and that Warner will get the record companies (Universal having seemingly fallen out of the race), with BMG or Sony/ATV getting EMI Music Publishing. An announcement, certainly about the former, could now be very imminent indeed, though wrangling about EMI’s pension liabilities does continue. CMU reports | Guardian report

02: Google indicated it’d launch a download store with only two majors in place. This was news that explained how Google insiders were indicating an imminent launch of the company’s new MP3 download store, while some major label sources were saying licensing deals were someway off being signed. Sony and Warner are reportedly the hold outs, the former wanting more action by Google to stop copyright infringing websites from benefiting from the web giant’s search engine and advertising sales network. As anticipation of some sort of imminent launch grew this week, some tech bloggers (in particular News On Droid) noted that the mobile homepage of the Google music locker service temporarily had a button linking people to an Android music store, offering to sell MP3s, and offering access to free tracks too. CMU reports | WSJ report

03: BT was served its Newzbin2 injunction. This stemmed from a legal case earlier this year in which the Motion Picture Association convinced a judge that BT – as the UK’s biggest ISP – should be forced to block its customers from accessing the Newzbin2 website, which provides access to loads of unlicensed movie and music content. The actual injunction was issued this week, and possibly sets the framework for future injunctions that rights owners are now expected to apply for – against other infringing websites and ISPs – in a bid to make it harder for web users to access illegal sources of content. CMU report |ZDnet report

04: Morrissey’s libel case against the NME was allowed to proceed to trial. NME publishers IPC Media tried to have the case – relating to a 2007 interview – dismissed earlier this month, but this week the UK’s most senior libel judge said that, even though the singer had taken four years to sue, the case could proceed. Morrissey claims NME’s editor Conor McNicholas deliberately misrepresented his words to make him sound racist, in order to create controversy and sell more magazines. CMU report | Telegraph report

05: X-Factor’s Rhythmix agreed to change their name. The girl group, manufactured by judges on the talent show, had picked a name already used by an excellent children’s charity which involves disadvantaged young people in music projects. When the charity initially complained that a bid by ‘X-Factor’ to register the name as a trademark in the music space would hinder its work, TV bosses were unrepentant. But after the charity’s CEO put out an open plea to Simon Cowell to step in, ‘X’ chiefs announced the fledgling girl group would find a new name. Hurrah. CMU report | Kent News report

So look at that, a happy ending. For more on these and other stories, but in an audio chat format, don’t forget the CMU Weekly podcast, out later today. Sign up here now to avoid disappointment!

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

So, what’s in a name? A lot of bother sometimes.

A girl group competing on the UK version of ‘X-Factor’ was this week forced to change their name after an online campaign.  The name they had chosen, Rhythmix, was the same as that of a British charity which works with disadvantaged young people on music-based projects.

Bosses at the charity feared that if the ‘X-Factor’ group, which had been created by judges on the show, used their name, people may become confused and it would become harder to find out about their work online. ‘X-Factor’ producers also wanted to register the trademark in the name in the music sector (Rhythmix the charity already owning it in the educational space) which, charity chiefs said, might hinder their fundraising work, where they stage events and sell merchandise using the Rhythmix name.

When the charity first reached out to ‘X-Factor’ producers with their concerns, the TV bosses weren’t very helpful, simply saying that the law was on the girl group’s side. This left the charity with the prospect of having to shell out thousands in legal fees to fight the TV show’s trademark application.

But the good news is, common sense prevailed. Various UK media picked up on the story, an online campaign calling on the ‘X’ group to pick a new name followed, and the charity’s CEO made a personal appeal to Simon Cowell via Facebook. Yesterday ‘X’ producers announced the girl group would be choosing a new moniker.

It’s not the only band name dispute going on in the UK at the moment between a big entertainment company and a little guy, though in the other case it’s the little guy who’s the band. As you may have seen, gaming company Ubisoft recently launched a new music-based game called Rocksmith, which is a bit like ‘Guitar Hero’ except you use a real guitar. Its European release has been delayed, very possibly because an unsigned British band also called Rocksmith is opposing the game’s company’s attempts to nick their name!

Now, I’m not really here to comment on the rights and wrongs of either of this disputes (though I happen to think the team at ‘X-Factor’ were very right to change their new girl group’s name to ensure they don’t hinder the work of an excellent charity), but I think this all demonstrates the challenges new bands face when trying to decide on a name these days.

Not only do they need a name they like, one that is Google friendly, and one where a suitable dot com domain and social media tags are available, they need to check no one in the world is currently using that name, and maybe even that there are no conflicting trademarks in any key countries (unlike copyright, when you register a trademark you only get protection in the country where the registry is based). Which sounds like a lot of work just for a name!

Though, that said, while lawyers will gladly take a lot of money off you to check out your name, new bands on more modest budgets – ie all bands – can do some checking themselves for free. Check on Google, Wikipedia and Amazon for possible conflicts, use a domain registration site to check if other people are using your name online, and even trademark registries are can be accessed online for free. It might be a couple of hours bother, but if it saves you the hassle of finding out you’re hindering the work of a children’s charity later, it’s got to be worth it.

Sign up to Inside Track here.

So here we go again people, another edition of the Week In Five digest whatnot. But first, a quick plug if you don’t mind.

The latest season of our CMU Training programme continues next week with our rather excellent – if I do say so myself! – music business models course, looking at ways to monetise music, and how such things are a-changing. There’s a couple of spots left, so if you’re interested in the future of this here industry, do checktheCMUwebsite.com/training for info. As for the recent past, well, here’s the week in five…

01: It looked increasingly likely that EMI would be split up, as part of Citigroup’s attempts to offload the British music major. The US bank is considering various bids for some or all of the music company, but insiders say that the bankers will be able to make more money by selling the EMI record companies and EMI publishing catalogues separately. It’s thought Universal or Warner are favourites to get the former, and Sony/ATV or BMG the latter, regulatory hurdles permitting. CMU report | Reuters report

02: Chart company and ticketing body launched new logos. The Official Charts Company hopes that anyone using its data from now on will include its new ‘two arrows crossover to make a number one’ logo so that punters learn to recognise it as a mark of ‘officialness’. Meanwhile the Society Of Ticket Agencies And Retailers launched a new kitemark for use by accredited ticketing agents, in a bid to help consumers workout which ticketing firms are legit, and which might rip them off. Chart Company report | STAR report

03: A Demos report said creative start-ups were not specifically risky. The left-leaning think tank criticised banks for automatically assuming creative companies looking for finance, including music ventures, are doomed to fail, citing stats that show new creative firms are no more likely to go bad than any other new business, and actually possibly less so because the people involved are usually more committed. The report also criticised the government for having a misleading definition of what constituted the ‘creative industries’ that ignores some of the more lucrative parts of the sector. CMU report | Independent report

04: Digital firm financials revealed. Music Ally reported on the latest Companies House submissions from both We7 and Spotify. The financial reports for 2010 showed both companies were still making substantial losses, though We7′s were down while Spotify’s were up. We7 made a loss of £2.97 million while Spotify lost £26.54 million. While the business plans of both companies no doubt anticipated sizable losses at this stage in their expansion, it’s a reminder that the money these services pay into the music business – which, of course, some argue isn’t enough already – comes primarily from venture capital rather than customer or advertiser spending, unlike iTunes and YouTube revenue respectively. Of course both We7 and Spotify have cut back on their freemium options this year, reducing their overheads substantially and, in Spotify’s case, pushing up the number of paying subscribers. And Spotify has recently launched in the US, now boasting 250,000 paying subscribers over there apparently. All of which means next year’s financial reports from both We7 and Spotify will likely be even more interesting reading. CMU report | Billboard report

05: ‘X-Factor’ bosses screwed over a children’s charity. Bosses of the ITV talent show were making much this week of their plans to release a charity single involving this year’s finalists in aid of ACT & Children’s Hospices UK. But we also discovered that the X machine is only interested in supporting charities when it can do so on its own terms. When another children’s charity, which uses music to aid personal and communicative development of young people, asked the TV franchises if it might pick another name for the girl group judges had created on air, Rhythmix, because that’s its name and having another music venture using it might cause confusion, ‘X-Factor’ bosses basically told them to fuck off. Trademark law says the charity doesn’t own the name in the music space, the telly franchise’s lawyers boomed, and as for basic human decency? Well, that’s just something you fake when you want to get your telly show – with its declining ratings – into the newspapers, isn’t it? CMU report

And that’s your lot. Though for more musings and chatter, don’t forget the CMU Weekly podcast, which will be online at theCMUwebsite.com/podcast later today.

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

So, what will the music business of the future look like? Well, I’ve not got enough space to tell you here, not least because Vigsy’s done a double tip this week, but I can tell you the three places you should go to for intelligent comment on what the future holds (if I do say so myself!).

First, don’t forget it’s the Ten In Ten debate at the Roundhouse tonight, discussing the results of that previously reported survey of music business types on what the music industry will look like in ten years time. A panel will be discussing the results including me, ie:music’s Tim Clark, PledgeMusic’s Richard Lyne, Helienne Lindvall, Andrew Missingham and Adam Ficek. More here.

Second, we have a CMU Training course on this very issue, where we discuss how music and artists can be monetised now and in the future, and investigate how this will be achieved, what future music companies will look like, and how artist deals might be structured. The next edition of this is next Wednesday, and we have a few places left. So why not sign up now? Details are at www.theCMUwebsite.com/training.

And finally – and you already knew this – we’ll be providing all sorts practical advice on how the ‘new music business’ will work – and is already working, for that matter – at The Great Escape convention in May. More on that next week, but get your delegate passes now at escapegreat.com.

Meanwhile, from the future to the very recent past.

01: LA Reid left Island Def Jam, and Barry Weiss took his place, in the latest round of record industry musical chairs. Reid announced he was quitting his job at the top of the Universal division to become a judge on ‘X-Factor’, which has led to speculation he might now join that TV franchise’s owners Sony. Meanwhile, it was announced recent Universal recruit and former Sony man Weiss will take over as CEO of IDJ, as well as overseeing the major’s Universal Motown Republic division. In the UK, the boss of Sony division Epic, Nick Raphael, also announced he will move over to Universal later this year. CMU report | LA Times report

02: Hargreaves shared the BPI’s submission to his copyright review. The Prof reviewing copyright laws for the government is slowly publishing most of the 200 submissions he received from interested parties. This week that included the submission by record label trade body the BPI, which disputed Hargreaves’ key assertion that so called fair use provisions needed reviewing in order to ensure the growth of the digital content market. CMU report | Submissions website

03: HMV prepared a presentation for its bankers, as it tries to renegotiate the terms of its loan facility so as not to breach covenants. The presentation is expected to be delivered next week. Meanwhile HMV top dog Simon Fox told a Retail Week conference that, despite his firm’s recent woes, their money lenders remained supportive and he was confident new achievable loan terms could be agreed eventually. CMU report| FT report

04: Ticketmaster launched a new analytics business in the US, which will offer promoters who use their ticketing platform extensive stats about the people who buy their tickets. The move is almost certainly a response to a growing belief in the live sector that promoters should have more control over their ticket sales, and a better knowledge of their customers. CMU report | EU Ticket News report

05: The BBC Asian Network was saved, which was nice, even if bosses there are going to have to cut their costs considerably while also building audience. The Asian Network was set for the axe after the same strategic review published last year that also called for the closure of 6music. BBC 6 was saved last summer, and this week it was confirmed the Asian Network would also stay on air, albeit in a streamlined form. CMU report | Guardian report

And that’s your lot, though do look out for more week in view chatter on the CMU Weekly podcast this afternoon.

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

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