Business News Week In Five

The music business week in five – Friday 18 Mar 2011

By | Published on Friday 18 March 2011

Chris Cooke

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 reportLA 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 reportSubmissions 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 reportFT 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 reportEU 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 reportGuardian 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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