Setlist Complete Music Update (CMU)

On this week's show we discuss the bidding war compounding the latest in a long line of dramas at Hipgnosis, the faltering start for Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena and more. 

SECTION TIMES
01: Hipgnosis (00:04:59)
02: News in brief (00:18:48)
03: Co-op Live (00:12:15)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Hipgnosis debacle might be over as Concord offers to acquire entire share capital of SONG - but there’s a catch…
• Blackstone tops Concord offer for SONG, hints at invoking call option
• The state of Hipgnosis
• To the moon! Concord reaches for the high notes as it ups its SONG bid to $1.25
• Co-op Live GM says grassroots venues are “poorly run”, before cancelling thousands of tickets to test event at the very last minute
• Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena cancels launch shows as power issues delay opening

NEWS IN BRIEF
• The clock is now TikTokking as US Senate votes through sell-or-be-banned law
• Amazon AI employee claims she was told to breach copyright rules because “everyone else is doing it”
• Moving BBC radio to an ad-funded model would be a disaster, says Radiocentre
• Drake threatened with legal action over AI Tupac in Kendrick diss track

ALSO MENTIONED
• AI and music one year later: What happened? And where are we at? (Spot Festival, 3 May, 1pm)
• Dissecting The Digital Dollar: What’s changed? (Spot Festival, 4 May, 11.45am)
• The new pay-out models: What are the consequences for you as an artist and as a songwriter? (Spot Festival, 4 May, 1.15pm)
• The great streaming swindle: That’s how much money is swindled every year in the music industry (Spot Festival, 4 May, 2.15pm)

On this week's show we discuss the warning from UK politicians that there need to be “tangible steps to improve musicians’ remuneration and performer rights” by this time next year, and Blur drummer Dave Rowntree’s class action lawsuit against PRS For Music over songwriter royalties, and more.

SECTION TIMES
01: Performer remuneration report (00:05:39)
02: News in brief (00:14:53)
03: Dave Rowntree v PRS (00:19:23)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• “Fundamental reform of music streaming” must come soon, say MPs
• Blur’s Dave Rowntree leads class action lawsuit against PRS For Music seeking “hundreds of millions of pounds” for songwriters

NEWS IN BRIEF
• WIN renews shared values of the independent music community
• GEMA says German song right income is booming, but digital growth is lacking
• Timeline for TikTok law in Senate still to be confirmed, though Minority Leader says its deserves "urgent attention"
• Universal relaxes TikTok boycott - but only if your name is Taylor Swift
• Have a playlist idea but don’t know what songs to put on it? Spotify’s AI bot can help with that
• Spotify planning tools to allow users to remix tracks

ALSO MENTIONED
• Westway Lab

On this week's show we discuss UK Parliament's Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee's hearing on the grassroots live music crisis, and the Nirvana logo legal battle's return to court.

SECTION TIMES
01: Grassroots live music crisis (00:08:13)
02: News in brief (00:17:09)
03: Nirvana logo (00:21:43)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• MPs hear about the crisis in grassroots live music - a ticket levy might help, but how would that work?
• Nirvana ‘smiley face’ copyright dispute back in court

NEWS IN BRIEF
• Rapper ordered to pay $800,000 to Sony over TikTok hit with unlicensed sample
• Sean Combs properties raided in federal sex trafficking investigation
• Discrimination, lower pay and shorter careers are the norm for female musicians in the UK, study shows
• RIAA 2023 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report

ALSO MENTIONED
• As BMG’s 2023 numbers show continued growth, could a merger with Warner Music or Believe be on the cards?

On this week's show we discuss the ruling in the long-running noise dispute involving Manchester's Night & Day that allows the venue to continue running club nights but potentially puts other nearby venues at risk, plus the BPI’s legal threats against a service that uses AI to create cover versions of songs in seconds.

SECTION TIMES
01: Night & Day (00:08:13)
02: News in brief (00:15:15)
03: Voicify (00:19:57)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Night & Day ruling makes it “open season” on Manchester’s night-time economy says Music Venue Trust boss
• BPI threatens to sue voice cloning site Voicify

NEWS IN BRIEF
• More performers seeking specialist health support, says BAPAM
• Music and visual arts organisations back new climate change charity Murmur
• Black Eyed Peas sued for licensing interpolation but not sample of Scatman
• IFPI report shows 10.2% growth in global recorded music market
• MIDiA shows $35.1 billion in global recorded music revenues - but what does that number actually mean?

ALSO MENTIONED
• Spotify publishes new Loud & Clear, says the focus now is artists “dependent on streaming as part of their livelihood”
• Thom Yorke calls Spotify 'the last desperate fart of a dying corpse' (The Guardian)

On this week's show we discuss proposals voted through the US House of Representatives this week to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the video-sharing app or face a ban in country, and the UK Labour Party's pledge to introduce a cap on ticket resale prices if it wins the next election.

SECTION TIMES
01: TikTok ban (00:03:20)
02: News in brief (00:14:21)
03: Ticket resale (00:17:00)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• Selling TikTok would be last resort for ByteDance, sources say as House votes through sell-or-be-banned law
• TikTok insists it isn't forcing Americans to phone politicians as ban proposal gets fast-tracked in Congress
• Labour commits to UK ticket touting price cap, as Ed Sheeran's team welcomes guilty verdict in ticket tout court case

NEWS IN BRIEF
• EU AI Act “world-first” say music trade bodies as European Parliament votes it into law
• Texas governor tells SXSW boycotters “don’t come back”
• Joe Rogan is back on Apple and Amazon - so Neil Young is back on Spotify
• Bad Bunny sues fan over unofficial concert recordings on YouTube
• Glastonbury announces headliners, as UK festival cancellations pass 20

ALSO MENTIONED
• Believe x WMG takeover dance warms up as financial regulator is called in

On this week's show we discuss the €1.8 billion fine Apple has been ordered to pay by the EU following an investigation into claims of anti-competitive behaviour made by Spotify, and Live Nation's explanation of why everyone else in the music industry is to blame for rising ticket prices.

SECTION TIMES
01: Apple v Spotify (00:06:26)
02: News in brief (00:20:48)
03: Live Nation (00:25:33)
(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)

THIS WEEK'S MAIN STORIES
• EU fines €1.8 billion at end of Spotify initiated competition law investigation
• Apple hits out at EU competition ruling that “ignores the realities of a market”
• Live Nation says rising ticket prices definitely not its fault

NEWS IN BRIEF
• WMG is toying with an offer for Believe that would wipe out Warner’s cash reserves - but is it serious, would Believe shareholders sell and can WMG afford to bet the farm?
• Hipgnosis Songs Fund takes a haircut - and might have bigger problems to come
• New US-wide TikTok ban proposed in Congress
• Mean Millennials scrap streaming subscriptions, mail order music is booming - and Apple Music might be making £500 million or more in the UK
• Raye wins record-breaking six BRIT Awards

ALSO MENTIONED
• Tidal phases out HiFi Plus tier, makes higher quality audio part of its standard subscription product
• The Truth About Ticket Pries (Live Nation)