Setlist

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Hybe CEO Park Ji-won’s defence of his company’s recent acquisition of shares in rival SM Entertainment after its management hit out at the deal, plus concerns raised by two more US senators about TikTok and its Chinese parent company Bytedance and what access the Chinese government has to users and user-data on the video sharing platform. SECTION TIMES 01: Hybe (00:06:51) 02:...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the boss of Scottish live music firm DF Concerts' proclamation that any ban on alcohol brands sponsoring shows and festivals would be “nothing short of disastrous for Scotland’s live music industry”, plus the Australian record industry’s anger at TikTok over its ongoing experiment in the country to test the role music plays on the video-sharing platform. SECTION TIMES 01:...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Live Nation and Ticketmaster coming under fire from both sides of the political spectrum, as the US Senate Judiciary Committee staged a session looking at ticketing following the problems that occurred last year when tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour went on sale via Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system, plus one US venue company’s decision to stop taking a cut of income when...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the campaign against proposed cuts to BBC Music Introducing, which gained momentum last week after a plethora of music industry organisations published an open letter to the board of the BBC seeking reassurance that the service does not become an “unintended victim” of any changes being made to ensure the “future stability and viability” of the broadcaster. STORIES DISCUSSED...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge's confirmation that a big old rejig of the way streaming monies are allocated to individual tracks by the digital platforms each month is a key priority for the biggest music rights company in the world, plus Dr Dre’s legal run-in with US Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene. SECTION TIMES 01: Lucian Grainge (00:06:51) 02: Dr Dre...

In the first episode of the Setlist podcast for 2023, CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke look at the five key complaints that musicians have about the modern music industry as we go into the new year, including streaming royalties, venue merch commissions, the difficulties getting music playlisted on streaming services, the pressure to always be active on social media, and a frustration that the music that is popular isn’t always of the highest quality. SECTION TIMES 01: Streaming services...

In this final edition of the Setlist podcast for 2022, CMU's Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last year. That includes: the ongoing economics of streaming debate, the resurgence (or not) of the live music industry, the continued increase in song-theft lawsuits, the growing trend of interpolation in pop, and the licensing of music on social media platforms. Apologies for the slight sound issues on some of this episode - one of us...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including last week's Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee hearing, which saw music industry experts and representatives updating MPs about the work that has been ongoing within the music community since the committee published its report last year on the economics of music streaming. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • Artist remuneration remains a key sticking point as MPs return...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Drake and 21 Savage being sued by magazine publisher Condé Nast for trademark infringement over a fake Vogue cover that formed part of the promotional campaign for their new collaborative album ‘Her Loss’, plus Lorde's discussion of the challenges facing the live music sector at the moment and how for an increasing number of artists the economics of touring currently don’t add...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including former Spotify economist Will Page's claim that “music copyright has never had it so good”, with – by his calculations – the value of the wider music rights business now almost $40 billion worldwide, and the changes over at Amazon Prime Music with more music but less functionality. SECTION TIMES 01: Will Page report (00:09:15) 02: Amazon Music (00:28:04) (Timings may be...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Manchester music venue the Night & Day Café continuing to fight against a Noise Abatement Notice served by Manchester City Council last year, and 5 Seconds Of Summer’s feelings about winning the Worst Band prize at the NME Awards three years in a row. SECTION TIMES 01: Night & Day Café (00:09:52) 02: 5 Seconds Of Summer (00:26:14) (Timings may be slightly different due to...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including confirmation from Festicket's administrators that a number of the promoters who worked with the collapsed ticketing company are insisting that the money it collected for their shows and events was meant to be held in trust although it wasn't, and the news that all seven members of BTS will serve their two years of military service in South Korea after all. SECTION TIMES 01:...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Animal Collective's announcement that they are cancelling their European tour, which was due to take place next month, explaining that – while preparing for the shows – they realised they were looking at “an economic reality that simply does not work and is not sustainable”, plus Mike Batt’s revelation that he’s destroyed his original multitrack tapes for the music he made as The...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including M People's anger at Liz Truss walking on stage at the Conservative Party conference to their song 'Moving On Up' and whether or not her doing so was copyright infringement, plus Apple Music's big brag that it now has over 100 million tracks available for users to listen to. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • M People hit out as Liz Truss walks on stage to Moving On Up • Apple Music...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including songs rights data announcements that saw PRS For Music in the UK set out plans to launch a new online portal that will provide easy access to key data linked to the songs catalogue it represents and American collecting society MLC launch a new tool that allows music distributors to easily access data on unclaimed mechanical royalties in the US for over two million recordings, plus...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the Recording Industry Association Of America’s stats about the US recorded music market in the first half of 2022, and the live music and night-time sectors’ response to the UK government’s energy price cap for businesses and new budget. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • RIAA stats confirm 9% growth in US recorded music market so far this year • Live sector cautiously welcomes...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the ruling that Lizzo can keep the $5 million fee she was paid to play the 2020 LA Virgin Fest that never happened because of COVID, and YouTube's announcement that it handed more than $6 billion over to the music industry in the twelve months to June this year. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • Lizzo can keep $5 million fee from COVID cancelled Virgin Fest, judge rules • YouTube...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including new figures from the UK's Entertainment Retailers Association showing that, so far this year, vinyl albums have risen up the ranks to become the second most successful form of physical media in terms of revenues, plus Taylor Swift's efforts to block two expert witnesses from testifying, and limit the testimony of a third, in the upcoming ‘Shake It Off’ song theft trial. STORIES...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including calls from various music industry organisations urging the incoming new UK Prime Minister to provide urgent support for music venues, recording studios and the wider night-time sector as they tackle surging energy bills and the cost of living crisis, plus bad news for people who invested in merch company Awesome after it went into administration. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK •...

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including the claims of racism that saw 'virtual' rapper FN Meka dropped by Universal's Capitol label, and the controversy surrounding the discovery that digital processes have been used by a supposedly analogue reissues label for more than a decade. STORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK • Capitol drops ‘virtual’ rapper FN Meka after claims of racism • Human voice of ‘AI’ rapper FN Meka says he...