FanFair Alliance launches 'guide to beat the touts'
FanFair Alliance, the recently-launched campaign against industrial-scale online ticket touting, and the Music Managers Forum have today published a guide to help managers minimise the touting and resale of their artists’ tickets on secondary ticketing websites. Available as a free download from www.fanfairalliance.org, the guide offers Ten Tips To Beat The Touts, as well as case studies from leading managers and music industry professionals - including Adam Tudhope (Everybody’s), Caius Pawson (Young Turks), Alex Bruford (ATC Live), Angus Baskerville (13 Artists) and Richard Jones (Key Music Management). It will be circulated by the MMF to its 500 manager members. The launch follows yesterday's Live & TIcketing Summit at Grosvenor House Hotel, organised with Songkick and the MMF, which was attended by some of the UK's most high-profile music managers and booking agents.
Tidal records £21 million loss
Tidal's holding company Aspiro AB, the Swedish recorded a net loss of 239 million Swedish kronor (£21m) in 2015, the year it was taken over by Jay Z, according to a legal filing. That compared with a net loss of 88.9m Swedish kronor (£7.9m)in 2014. Revenue rose 30% to 402m (£36m) Swedish kronor from 309m (£27m) kronor in the same period. (Wall Street Journal)
Beatles' Apple Corps sued over Shea Stadium footage
A company representing late businessman Sid Bernstein, who promoted The Beates' 1965 Shea Stadium concert, has filed a lawsuit against two Beatles-related companies, Apple Corps Ltd. and Subafilms Limited over the footage. The suit, filed in US District Court in New York, says Bernstein, who died in 2013, produced the concert and hired the Beatles and the supporting acts to perform. It acknowledges that Apple Corps. and its Subafilms Limited company had acquired copyright to the Shea Stadium footage in 1965 from an agreement between Brian Epstein's NEMS Enterprises and Sullivan Productions, but disputes the legality of that copyright. The 30-minute concert footage is used as part of supplementary material in Rod Howard's new Beatles documentary Eight Days A Week. (Billboard)
IFPI research highlights rise of streaming
IFPI has released new consumer research from Ipsos that gives new insights into how the patterns and practices of music consumption are changing worldwide. The research was conducted across 13 major music markets and with internet users aged from 13 to 64. Nearly four in 10 (37%) internet users use audio streaming services and nearly half of these (18%) are using a paid version, an increase of one-fifth from 2015. Adoption of streaming is highest amongst 16-24-year-olds.
Gaga 'in talks' over Super Bowl appearance
Lady Gaga is reportedly in talks to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show in 2017. The singer sang the National Anthem at this year's event, which featured performances from Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. (Billboard)
NEC Group appoints non-exec directors
The NEC Group has appointed Sir David Arculus, former ExCeL London chair and Mike Rusbridge, former CEO of Reed Exhibitions, as non-executive directors. The NEC Group operates Birmingham's Genting and Barclaycard arenas. The appointments supplement the previous appointment of Peter Phillipson, former chair of Merlin Entertainments, as NEC Group chair in December 2015.
Vincent Degiorgio named CMPA president
The Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA) has announced the election of Vincent Degiorgio as president of its board of directors. Degiorgio, who is also a highly successful songwriter, is currently president of Cymba Music Publishing, a division of Chapter 2 Productions Inc. Formed originally as a production and publishing house, Cymba has become one of the most active and creative music publishing entities in Canada with global reach and a focus on the international market for recorded music and sync.
Spinnin' Records unveils trio of new signings
Spinnin' Records has recently signed three new artists. TheDutch label has inked deals with DJ/producer Hasse de Moor, 16-year old prodigy Trobi and Amsterdam based Tavi Castro.
