Ownership of master rights as determining factor in label deals

The always interesting Helienne Lindvall has a smart post on her blog over at the Guardian about the question of musicians’ rights in today’s label landscape. She makes the the case for acts who refuse to sign with a record company that tries to obtain too many rights. The article highlights the push by the recently established Featured Artists’ Coalition (FAC). A good read.

The issue of ownership is a hot topic among artists and managers at the moment. Traditionally, when an artist signs a record deal (particularly with a major label), they assign the copyright of their recordings to the label. This means they no longer own them and only have a right to royalties. In fact, the only way artists might get them back would be if the label went bust.

One of the main problems with labels owning recordings is that once artists are no longer under contract, the label isn’t obliged to do anything with them. The label may have been bought by another, the people who cared about your music may have been sacked, or maybe the label is too busy focusing on “the next big thing”. This is known as your music being in “the lock-up”.

Twitter the Höf

Höf’s Mixtape has created a Twitter account a few weeks ago but I still haven’t quite figured out how to best promote this line extension. I suppose the best thing is to keep telling my readers: Höf’s Mixtape on Twitter is active and being updated regularly. Go there to follow and be followed. 

The plan to extend the copyright term in Europe – a good idea?

For years the recording industry in Europe and especially in Great Britain has been pushing for an extension of copyright protection for performing artists. Last year these plans arrived on the EU stage with Charlie McCreevy, the EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, introducing a term extension directive that will be voted on sometime this year, possibly as early as February. 

Most music industry trade organisations have welcomed McCreevy’s plans that tries to be balanced in extending the protection term from 50 to 95 years while including a “lose it or use it” provision that would pass copyrights back to the musicians if the labels don’t publish their work, and a fund for session musicians. But not all interested parties are seeing the balance in the EU’s plans. While McCreevy claims that under his directive session musicians would benefit considerably the Open Rights Group  says that some 80 percent of recording artists would only receive between €0.50 and €26 each year if the proposal becomes law.

McCreevy, however, is positive that the new proposal would allow performing artists to make a claim for remuneration based on sales, giving them an average yearly payment of €2,000. “Opponents to the extension argue that an additional annual income of around €2,000 per year for session players is not significant enough to allow performers to participate fairly in the millions that the proposal would provide for record companies,” McCreevy recently said. “Well, to that criticism I can say that the average annual pay-out might not appear significant to academic critics but €2,000 extra per year is significant for an average session player.”

But most study groups and economic experts have concluded that a term extension would give little benefit to artists and a lot to major media and record companies who could continue to market their catalogs. Most prominently, Andrew Gowers, the man who held a far-reaching investigation into copyright reform for the British government, called the proposals “out of touch with reality” and Prof. Bernt Hugenholtz at the University of Amsterdam, who advises the EU on copyright matters, called McCreevy’s directive a “deliberate attempt to mislead Europe’s Parliament”. 

Add to that Martin Kretschmer, a professor at the University of Bournemouth, who said that the market penetration of the four largest music labels is so vast “there are almost no significant recordings reaching back more than 50 years which are controlled by other companies.” More than 70 percent of the revenues resulting from a copyright extension would go to the record labels, he added. As lengthening their exclusivity over pieces of music would enable them to charge higher retail prices, they could reap extra profits of between €44 million and €843 million per year. Notably, the only study supporting an extension came from UK label body BPI. 

The Open Rights Group doesn’t want to let this proposal pass by the Commission and the European Parliament. That’s why they produced a little clip to inform MEPs on the background: 

Becky Hogge, director of the Open Rights Group, accuses McCreevy of concocting a “fairy tale” with the story of the “poor performer who has played on a track in the 1960s and has collected royalties for 50 years. We are told that [without extension] he will lose the main source of income at the very time he needs it most. This looks simple enough for MEPs to give it a happy ending.” However, Hogge adds, “all the evidence shows that the term extension directive will do very little and almost nothing to help the poor performer and everything to line the pockets of the world’s record labels.”

The directive will be discussed at a meeting of the EU Parliament’s legal affairs committee, scheduled for February 11 & 12. 
What do you think? Should Europe introduce a term extension? Who would benefit from it most? And why would that be a good/bad thing? Drop me a line in the comments.

Free download: Sepalot – “120plus”

It is time for Höf’s Mixtape to start promoting artists that deserve exposure. For the premiere of this feature I chose an act that I’ve known personally for a while now, so any accusations of nepotism are completely justified. 

Sepalot’s debut album “Red Handed” (Compost Records) is no new release, in fact, the album first hit retail in early Q3/2008. Nevertheless, it is still an incredible record that I encourage everybody to buy. In the U.S. “Red Handed” is available at shops like iTunes or eMusic (not at Amazon MP3, though). German readers can also find a copy at Musicload. 

Due to the independent nature of the release and the ever shrinking budgets at indie record labels there is no video clip. But you might enjoy the live performance of “Go Get It”, an album track Sepalot and the amazing Ladi6 gave on Ken FM in Berlin. 

Sepalot (born Sebastian Weiss) is a Munich, Germany-based HipHip DJ/producer who has been really successful as a member of Blumentopf (Top 10 entries). His first works outside the band included a record of AC/DC covers, “Fraud”, and “Eskapaden”, a soulful project he did together with fellow Munich music charmer, singer/songwriter Esther Adam.

Sepalot is a DJing staple around Europe and as such he developed new musical styles in recent years. Apart from his HipHop roots he also includes soul, funk, and more & more electronic elements in both, his DJ sets and his records. 

Living proof of his eclecticism is “120plus”, Sepalot’s latest mixtape that he did for Red Bull Music Academy Radio. You can listen to it here. And this is the tracklisting: 

• Kill Bill /// LA Riots
• Hardcore Girls (JC Remix) /// The Count & Sinden
• Massive – Original Mix /// Crookers
• Turn It Up 4 Dilla /// Crookers
• I Get Money (DJ Mickell Remix) /// 50 Cent
• Roll With Winners /// Hervé & A-Trak Feat Cadence Weapon
• Fix Up Look Sharp (Mick Matias Remix) /// Dizzee Rascal
• Bump Uglies (Stupid Fresh ‘Wizards In Oz’ Mix) /// Bass Kleph
• Run It (Sinden Remix) /// EPMD
• Nervous Breakdown – Original Mix /// Nervous Breakdown – Original Mix
• Mango Meat /// Mandrill
• Fever – Sinden Rmx /// La Lupe
• Did it Again – Sepalot (Zed Bias Remix) /// Sepalot
• Robot Club Rock /// DJ B Stee
• Restless (Fake Blood Remix) /// UNKLE
• Shut Up and Let Me Go (LAZRtag Remix) /// The Ting Tings
• Bassline Time /// AC Slater
• Love to Push It  Ursula 1000  /// Crookers vs. Salt n Pepa
• Pro Nails (Rusko remix) /// Kid Sister

If you care for more of Sepalot’s mixtapes check out his blog. He posted the best of his mixes there as free downloads.

But I am not going to send you all over the web to find his stuff without offering you a free download here as well, courtesy of the artist himself. The .zip-file you can find here includes two versions of “Go Get It”. More remixes of tracks featured on “Red Handed” are on their way, including works by AC Slater, LAZRtag, DJ Rob 3, Barletta and HanzSolo. 

For those of you who want to know more or get in touch with Sepalot I recommend his manager and publisher Sophie Raml at En4er and his booking agent at Little Black Dress.

Is MySpace slashing staffers?

According to the Wall Street Journal Fox Interactive Media (FIM), the News Corp. division that also houses MySpace, is aligning its workforce to the current global economic climate. FIM has started last month to cut back about 5% of the head count, or approximately 100 people.

Layoffs include all units of FIM and MySpace is not exempt, even though spokeswoman Dani Dudack is quoted in WSJ, saying: “We are constantly aligning our business and resources to focus on the core strategic initiatives of MySpace. We currently have open positions, are actively hiring in areas including but not limited to MySpace Music, Business Development, and other product initiatives. We expect to have more MySpace employees at the end of this fiscal year than we currently have.”

Everybody who thought social media networks are somewhat recession-proof should probably rethink. Econalypto is everywhere. It’ll be interesting to see what this could mean for the planned launch of MySpace Music in Europe.

UPDATE: Word from inside the FIM camp (check comments below) is that there were at least 13 staffers let go today at MySpace. There’s no assurance there won’t be anymore cuts in the future …

So bad, I’m at a loss of words

If this is indeed an in-house Microsoft spoof (as some people believe it to be), then can somebody explain to me why the laptop looks a whole lot like a MacBook Pro?

Sony Music will adhere to its German-speaking roots for a little longer

One would think with the separation of Sony and BMG the newly re-labled Sony Music Entertainment (SME) might become a little less Bertelsmann-influenced. Not just yet, apparently. After having his employment contract renewed for another three years recently, CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz is actually strengthening the German-speaking upper management levels at the now wholly Japanese-owned major company. Edgar Berger, who until recently served as President & CEO of Sony BMG Germany, has been promoted to the post of CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Germany/Switzerland/Austria (GSA). That’s effective immediately. 

The promotion came via the offices of Schmidt-Holtz and Richard Sanders, who is President of International at SME. In a prepared statement Sanders said Berger’s leadership qualities were “impressive”, pointing out how well Sony BMG Germany has been doing in terms of establishing new revenue streams for the company. You might remember an earlier post here: Back in November Berger predicted that Sony will generate 30 percent of its revenues in 2009 from sources other than CDs. Berger is banking on digital sales, live entertainment, artist management, merchandise, comedy and kids entertainment. Newcomers will only be given a contract, if they agree to Sony’s 360 package. Without these kinds of business extensions music companies would be left in the rain, Berger said back then.

Besides Berger, Schmidt-Holtz also managed to recruit another German-speaking executive for a senior position. Bogdan Roscic will become SME’s President of Classical on April 6. In this newly created role Roscic will oversee all of Sony Music’s Classical operations and report directly to Schmidt-Holtz. After some years at Austrian pubcaster ORF, Roscic had made a career in the music business at Universal Music where he first served as MD of its Austrian division. He later became VP of A&R at Deutsche Grammophon and was then promoted to MD of the Decca Music Group. Roscic has a reputation for being an expert in the classical arena and Schmidt-Holtz wants him to grow this part of the business again at Sony. ”While genres like Classical remain under tremendous pressure in the marketplace, we believe it has enduring appeal with consumers and we plan to harness it with a renewed commitment to strong leadership, a rich catalog and a world-class roster,” Schmidt-Holtz said.

The music business is no place for pessimists and naysayers

Yesterday I allowed myself to look at recent events in the industry with a worried attitude. Wrong, say people who know better. Pierre Perrone at the UK’s The Independent walked the grounds of Midem and talked to some industry figures who all seem to be rather upbeat about the times ahead. Here are some examples of their quotes. Quite infectious. 

“The doom and gloom people, it’s time they left and retired” – Harvey Goldsmith
 ”It’s tough out there, nobody’s denying it, but what do we do to get out of it? (…) How can new bands utilise the internet to help them break through? How does it all work for the fans? How do the fans hear about new artists and start to get involved with them? The new braves, Reverb Nation and Hot Spin, and all these new technology opportunities, basically help acts break through and help fans get to the acts. MidemNet showed the solutions are coming through. There are ways of connecting fans with new acts so everyone’s gung-ho. The doom and gloom people, it’s time they left and retired. Every day you wake up, somebody sends you a track to listen to or you hear about a band you go and see them live, you just get really invigorated and turned on by it. (…) We’ve got ourselves in a mess, now let’s dig ourselves out of it and just get on with it. I feel we’re going to have a great year.”

“I’m very optimistic about the future of live music” - Michael Eavis
“This is my first Midem and I got this green award. I’m very optimistic about the future of live music. People respond to an artist, they buy the records, or now the downloads and they come to the concerts. Live music, especially in Britain, is a very vibrant force. It’s very attractive and it’s good fun.”

“This industry has always lived with piracy” – Alison Wenham
“The British are good at internationalising their business – we only have 8 per cent of our sales in the UK. This industry has always lived with piracy. The supply chain has been disrupted by the demise of Pinnacle but the independent industry is mercurial. We don’t like the duopoly, Sony and Universal, routinely controlling 80 per cent of the charts and the visibility, but I’m always hopeful. You’ve got to remember this industry has been going through an agonising decline for eight years. We haven’t suddenly hit the buffers like the finance industry. So we are rather war-torn but we’re also hardened and resourceful.”

“Are music fans going to stop enjoying music? It’s not going to happen” – Feargal Sharkey 
“All of us have to grapple with a little thing called evolution which has a nasty habit of sweeping you aside as irrelevant should you decide not to cooperate. But the most important thing is the music. We know 63 per cent of 14- to 24-year-olds in Britain are downloading music and not paying for it but, on the upside, we also know they are passionate about music. It registers above mobile phones, game consoles, DVDs. Are young people going to suddenly stop wanting to be creative and make music? Are music fans going to stop enjoying music, wanting it as part of their lives? It’s not going to happen. All the music industry ever did was provide a bridge between creators and fans. That bridge is always going to be there.”

“We have to accept that there’s going to be a new way of doing things” – Brian Message 
“I’m really optimistic about the future of the music industry. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. The gravy train of the past is gone. It was a great production line, great returns, being able to buy copyrights and own them forever. Managers used to make 20 per cent commission for no investment. We have to accept that there’s going to be a new way of doing things. Flexibility is the key. There are no rules anymore. The key word is value. Free music is a valuable part of the artist proposition. If we need to get into a market where we don’t have a base, we can do something with free music to stimulate interest. Let’s focus on that artist-fan relationship. But there’s a myriad of choices out there. There’s no one model any more. It’s not easy. Everybody needs to be creative and come up with what they think is the best plan for their artist. “

EMI to be sold again in “five to seven years”

Much has been said and written about Terra Firma’s real intentions for EMI Music. Some commentators never let go of the idea that TF head Guy Hands might try to combine EMI and Warner Music – a match made in heaven for many financial analysts, not so much for the people actually working at either company. 

Won’t happen anytime soon, though. Roger Faxon, EMI’s publishing CEO and a man known for only going on record when there is something substantial to say, told the Times that EMI will remain in TF’s hands for the overseeable future. “Do we need a huge alternative catalogue when we already have the best in the world? I don’t think so,” Faxon said in regards to ongoing speculation about a possible merger of EMI Music Publishing with Warner/Chappell Music. 

His publishing business represents a “standalone structure” within EMI, Faxon said. He did, however, acknowledge that Terra Firma isn’t interested in holding on to the music business forever. “Terra Firma’s aim is to sell EMI as a whole or spin off separate businesses within five to seven years.” Buyers, start saving.

Creating surefire hits: 6-4-5-1 chord progression

If you’re still wondering how that spat between Coldplay and Joe Satriani turned out you should give it a rest and check out this little clip. I’ve seen this posted on multiple sites today, so I’m just going to repost it here for some weekend amusement. 

Plagiarists of the world unite. A&R people rejoice. They have found the hit formula.