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CMU Podcast: Apple Music, Universal, SFX Entertainment, Dr Dre

By Andy Malt and Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 7 August 2015

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review the week in music and the music business, including facts, figures, rumours and deals at Apple Music, Universal’s new playlist marketing boss Jay Frank, the latest on Robert Sillerman’s attempts to buy back SFX Entertainment and the knock on effects for Beatport, plus the surprise new album from Dr Dre. The CMU Podcast is sponsored by 7digital.

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Stories discussed this week:

Apple Music

• Apple Music has eleven million subscribers, licence in place for five Beats channels
• Kobalt-owned collecting society announces global deal with Apple Music
• Apple Music hooks eleven million trial members, App Store has record July (USA Today)
• Apple’s music deals allow for new Beats stations at any time (The Verge)

Universal Music hires Jay Frank

• Universal hires Jay Frank to lead on playlist marketing
• Q&A: Aileen Crowley, DigMark
• Pitching tracks to playlist owners is the secret to driving streams

SFX Entertainment and Beatport

• Sillerman asked to prove finance in place for proposed SFX buy back
• SFX co-founders lawsuit to proceed, as Sillerman’s ‘buy-back’ slows Beatport payments
• Beatport freezes payments to record labels (Resident Advisor)

Dr Dre

• New Dre record confirmed for Friday, no Detox but it’s “bananas”

Listen to this week’s CMU Approved artists:

• Concrete Antenna
• VV
• Semi Precious
• Olga Bell

What we didn’t have time to talk about:

• Live Nation acquires MAMA in UK as German expansion announced
• Vivendi confirms Lucian Grainge deal at Universal extended until at least 2020
• Judges restart legal battle between Ray Charles’ Foundation and heirs
• One Direction not broken as new records broken with new record
• Lenny Kravitz rethinking underwear boycott

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