Following the indie label community's recent Fair Digital Deals Declaration, which saw hundreds of independent record companies commit to be fair and transparent with their artists when it comes to the often complex and secretive world of digital music deals, the International Music Managers Forum – which brings together artist manager trade groups around the world – has issued its own call for more clarity in the digital domain.
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
British artists remain super popular around the world, responsible for one in eight of all albums sold worldwide in 2013, according to new figures from the BPI. That's 13% of the global market.
One Direction, unsurprisingly, led the charge again, shifting four million copies of their 'Midnight Memories' album in the final six weeks of 2013, following its November release, making them the world's overall best-selling artist. Their second album, 'Take Me Home', was also the fifth biggest-selling...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
Veteran promoter Vince Power has issued a slightly confusing statement in response to that High Court ruling last week that said he may not stage any live events in the UK until a legal dispute with PRS For Music is settled.
As previously reported, editions of the Hop Farm music event from 2009-2012 seemingly went ahead without a licence from PRS, which covers the copyright fees that are due for the performance of songs in the public domain.
The company through which Power ran...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
Alt-Fest's organisers issued a lengthy statement on Friday evening, confirming that the event has been cancelled two weeks before it was due to take place.
As previously reported, following signs that all was not well in the Alt-Fest camp when organisers admitted that they were dealing with "some extremely challenging and stressful issues", it was two of the artists on the line-up, Marilyn Manson and Gary Numan, who actually broke the news of the cancellation.
The event, which...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
So, perhaps you should have all listened to the boss of the rescued HMV, Hilco's Paul McGowan, when he told the Telegraph last month that the high street entertainment retailer was doing just fine thank you very much, rather than you all shaking your heads and muttering, "Yeah, right, you're doomed really aren't you?"
Of course, now in private ownership, HMV's financials aren't so public, but McGowan claimed like-for-like sales were up 9.2% for the second quarter of the year, and while...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
So, the assets of MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom were being discussed in court again this week, on two separate levels.
First up, as previously reported, both the US authorities and the American music and movie industries have called for assets seized from Dotcom when his MegaUpload enterprise was shutdown by the feds in 2012 to remain frozen.
Dotcom is, of course, accused of enabling rampant copyright infringement by running MegaUpload, and is facing both criminal and civil action...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from CMU Online
UNITED STATES Live Nation Entertainment-owned Ticketmaster (TM) has launched a free mobile app which enables fans' iPhones to become their ticket.
The app provides comprehensive listings of tickets available on the primary and secondary markets, a "Swipe to Buy" feature where customers can swipe left to quickly buy tickets and "Sell/Transfer" which allows users to sell and transfer their tickets. Read more
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from Audience Magazine
DENMARK Preparations for next year's Roskilde Festival were already well underway before this year's event, headlined by the Rolling Stones, organisers have revealed.
Other actc that appeared this year included Arctic Monkeys, Stevie Wonder, Outkast, Kasabian, Damon Albarn, Bastille, Haim and Jack White, who stepped in at short notice after Sunday night headliner Drake cancelled his performance due to illness. Read...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from Audience Magazine
WORLD SFX Entertainment and secondary ticketing website Viagogo have signed what the companies call an international sponsorship agreement worth $75 million, in which Viagogo becomes the authorised resale outlet for SFX events worldwide.
Founded in 2012 by Robert FX Sillerman, EDM conglomerate SFX has spent the past two years buying up some of the largest brands in the sector, including Netherlands-based ID&T – producer of festivals such as Belgium's Tomorrowland (cap. 60,000)...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from Audience Magazine
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND Promoter C3 Presents has taken full ownership of the troubled Big Day Out (BDO) touring festival and announced the event will not take place in 2015.
The traditionally annual festival featured shows in the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth in Australia, and in Auckland, New Zealand, in January and February. Acts this year included Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Snoop Dogg and Major Lazer. But reports claimed BDO's six festivals attracted 135,000 people overall,...
Posted on: 07/08/2014Categories: News from Audience Magazine