NO UK TAXATION ON SPONSORSHIP FEES WITHOUT RESIDENCE 29/11/04
The Court of Appeal has held that income tax was not chargeable on a proportion of Andre Aggasi's sponsorship payments made by a non-resIdent sports equipment manufacturers to the sportsman's own company which had no UK tax presence. In overturning the decision of Lightman J, the Court of Appeal held that there was a general presumption in UK law that a taxing statute did not have an extra terrorial effect. The case is important for enterainers as much as for sportsmen and women but it will be interesting to see if the UK legislature now moves to provide for a taxable charge where associated companies are used by entertainers to receive sponsorship monies ouside of the UK from non-UK companies but where some or all of the activities being sponsored take place in the UK.
Source: Agassi v Robinson (Inspector of Taxes) 2004
BPI SAY PIRACY SUITS VINDICATED 29/11/04
Quickly following on from EMI's positive results for 2003-2004 the BPI have confirmed a positive fourth quarter for the UK recorded music industry both traditional and online sales Peter Jamieson, chair of the British Phonographic Industry has said that legal actions taken against unauthorised fileshares was justified and had been 'vindicated'. EMI's figures for album sales showed increased growth and the combined sale of CD singles and download singles through legal sites such as Napster, iTunes and SonyConnect showed a 9% increase in sales.
26 pirates had law suits issued against them in the Uk as part of a Europe wide initiative by the IFPI. The BPI indicated that from 2005 download single sales would fetaure in the UK singles charts and that mobile ringtone sales were also being considered. About 1.75 million singles were purchased in the fourth quarter to September 04 compared with 7.3 million physical sngles. The BPI said that download sales were running at up to a quarter of a millon units per week.
Source: The Times 27 November 2004.
TEACHER - PAY THE KIDS SOME MORE 29/11/04
The original choir members who featured on Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' are looking to receive royalty payments for their performances. The children who were at the Islington Green School in 1979 took time out of lessons to record the contribution at Britannia Row with the help of ther music teacher.
Through the website www.friendsreunited.com a number of orignal choir members have got together and have ask PAMRA, the Performing Artists Media Rights Association, to collect royalties on their behalf. 'The Wall' album has sold 12 million copies worldwide. At the time the children's school received a payment of £1,000. Not all of the choir members have yet been confirmed or identified and it appears that no paperwork exists from the session.
KINGSTREET LOOKS AT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS EXPANSION 27/11/04
Kingstreet Media Group , headed by former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Wilkinson,
is looking to spend E100 million (£69 million) on acquiring music catalogues
in Europe and the USA. The company features a board of industry veterans
including Paul Russell (former chair of Sony Europe), Tim Hollier (founder of AIM Listed Music Copyright Solutions), Rupert Perry (ex CEO EMI) and promoter and Band Aid trustee Harvey Goldsmith. The Group have identified various publishing catalogues for acquisition and the Times reports that the Group are in advanced negotiations for a number of assets.
Source: The Times 26 November 2004
UK SALES FIGURES SHOW GROWTH FOR NEW ACTS AND DVD 27/11/04
The BPI has issued its Q3 shipment figures. A total of 51.9M albums were shipped in the quarter and 237M were shipped in Q4 2003-Q3 2004. The BPI cites the breakthrough of key new British acts as contributory factors here. Half of Q3's 20 best-selling acts were British acts such as Keane on their first or second albums.
These figures, of course, do not include legal downloads and the BPI suggests that the download chart will be rolled into the full singles chart early next year. The singles market dipped 12%, but the BPI argues that, had legal downloads been included, there would have been a 9% rise in the singles market.
The music DVD market - generating £51M in the past 12 months - makes up 4% of total sales, putting it on an almost level footing with the singles market.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
US JUDGE WAXES LYRICAL 27/11/04
A New York judge delivered a fairly unusual summary of his decision in a case of medical malpractice using lyrics to make his point. The case involves Dr Gil Lederman who is accused of forcing George Harrison to autograph a guitar on his deathbed. Dr Lederman had applied for a change of trail venue claiming he could not get a fair trial in Staten Island. Judge Robert Gigante agreed saying "Something
in the folk he treats .... attracts bad press like no other .... he's in our
jurisdiction now ... he gets Beatles autographs somehow ...." adding (with apologies to George Harrison) "If
this case I were to keep, The Defendant would surely weep". The case will be moved to Albany
ILMC 17 GOES ONLINE 25/11/04
Next years International Live Music Conference will take place at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London between 11th - 13th March 2005, for full details on the forthcoming schedules, meetings, agenda, events and features, please consult our new Conference Guide, you can also Register Online using our secure server.
DVD FORMATS TO FIGHT FOR SUPREMACY AS VHS DIES A SLOW DEATH 24/11/04
In a battle reminiscent of the Betamax - VHS tape format battle of nearly 25 years ago, the DVD format is already being subjected to a new battle with two new future formats fighting for supremacy. In the red corner is HD-DVD (literally, with red laser technology and backed by NEC and Toshiba) with Blu-ray in the blue corner (driven by blue laser technology and backed by Sony, Philips and JVC).
Both formats claim to offer high definition pictures when used with a hi definition television screen. Both sides are aquiring content for their formats with 20th Century Fox joining the reds HDTV team (for the time being) and Sony's purchase of MGM giving the blues a massive back catalogue of classic films along with titles from Columbia Tri-star. Both new formats would be able to play current DVD format discs. The IFPI recently identified DVD as a major growth area in worldwide music sales. UK retailer Dixons has recently announced that it would discontinue selling VHS players after Christmas 2004 as currently DVD sales outnumber VHS machine sales 20 to 1.
THIEVES
GRAB £2 MILLION FROM THE OSBOURNE MANSION 24/11/04
Thieves made off with over £2 million in gems from Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's UK home in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire after using a ladder to scale the outside of the building. It is not known how they managed to evade a comprehensive security system but the intruders woke the couple and 55 year old Ozzy at one point had one of burgulars in a headlock before the intruder escaped after jumping 9m from a window. The thieves are thought to have targeted high value gems which Sharon often wears on the 'X Factor' TV show where she is a judge.
WELSH CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES TO BENEFIT FROM £7 MILLION FUND 24/11/04
Welsh Musicians, film directors and computer game programmers will receive £7
million from the Welsh Assembly's creative intellectual property fund which will be used to stimulate growth in the creative industries in the country. The fund will take an equity share in the intellectual property rights in any project it co-funds. Welsh minister for economic development Andrew Davies pointed out that Wales had a rich cultural history but that the country often failed to benefit from the creative effort.
Naming bands such as the Manic Street Preachers and the Super Furry Animals (both signed to Japanese/German owned Sony BMG) he said "we produce some of the best rock bands in the world but the wealth and IP copyright does not come back to Wales. The creative industries are an area of strength and we need to give the focus and support". The fund will become operational in April 2005.
Source: Five Eight magazine
BOOSEY & HAWKES
TO PROVIDE AN UPMARKET TONE 24/11/04
Boosey & Hawkes , the world's largest classical music
publisher, have confirmed that they are entering the $3.2 billion (£1.7
million) global ringtone market confirming a deal with The Music Solution (TMS)
to provide several hundred classical hits as ringtones. The company will
provide £10,000 for digitization of recordings and will be a joint
venture partner with TMS.
UBC AND CHANNEL 4 TO LAUNCH DIGITAL RADIO STATION IN UK 24/11/04
UBC Media has said that it is planning to launch a national UK digital radio station with Channel 4 and has said that it is 'confident' the deal will go ahead with the broadcaster according to the Guardian newspaper (23 November 2004). It is thouhgt that the UBC Oneworld channels are all the more important to the broadcaster after it annouced that it had pulled out of talks of a possible merger with Channel 5 in the UK and made a pleas for additional public funding.
UBC, which owns Classic Gold radio network,
the announced turnover up 10% to £7.2 million and strong growth in
prodction with changes at the BBC offering new opportunities for radio programme production.
CHARTERIS LEAVES STAGE ACCESS 22/11/04
Lee Charteris , founder of www.StageAccess.com, has announced that he is to step down as Managing Director of the organisation in December to pursue other projects. A press statement issued by the company says that he will remain a director and still play a very active part in any future development of the website, however.
EMI'S TURNOVER DOWN BUT PROFIT UP 22/11/04
EMI 's costcutting and a the release of a number of strong
albums have meant that the label has posted increased profits up 8.1% to
a pre-tax profit of £39.4 million despite sales slipping by 11.4% to £851
million in the six months to September 2004.
Releases included Robbie Williams new album, a Tina Turner best of and a live album from the Rolling Stones along with albums from newer artists such as rapper Chingy and Perfect Circle. EMI say that digital sales rose fourfold and chairman Eric Nicoli said the group were looking at the digital market - including downloads and ringtones - to produce 25% of revenues in the near future.
STONES MUST ARBITRATE WITH DECCA 22/11/04
in the UK Mr Justice Pumfrey has held that the Rolling Stones must settle their royalty dispute with Decca by way or arbitration. The band had been seeking to audit Decca's books to force the label to pay out millions of pounds allegedly owed to the band. However the High Court hearing resulted in a ruling that under the terms of an agreement between the label and Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, disputes over royalty payments must be referred to arbitration rather than being dealt with by the court. The dispute arose out of royalties from the best selling compilation 40 Licks. The band were given leave to appeal.
Source: The Times 13 Nov 2004 & www.billboard.com
US DOMINATES MTV EUROPE AWARDS 20/11/04
American stars swept up all but one gong at the MTV Europe Music Awards held at the Tor de Valle racecourse on the outskirts of Rome.
Brit rockers Muse were the only European winners, picking up Best Alternative Act. The main winners were Outkast for Best Group and Best Song ('Hey Ya'), Britney Spears as best female and Usher as Best Male and winner of the prestigious Best Album award for 'Confessions'. D12 won Best Hip Hop and Maroon 5 - Best New Act. Alicia Keys got Best R&B act, Linkin Park - Best Rock act and Black Eyed Peas - Best Pop act.
High hopes for Natasha Bedingfield, Robbie Williams and Scotland's Franz Ferdinand proved to be unfounded.
Source: www.mtveurope.com
BAND AID SECURES PRESTIGIOUS MULTI CHANNEL LAUNCH IN THE UK 20/11/04
The UK's five main terrestrial channels including BBC1 and Channel 4 - along with 20 cable and satellite channels - all simultaneously screened the new Band Aid single (the reworked 'Do They Know Its Christmas') at 5.55 on the 18th November.
The new single features stars from Travis, Coldplay and The Darkness along with Dido, Paul McCartney, Bono, Jamelia, Ms Dynamite and Joss Stone. The new single will be in the UK shops from November 29th.
Source: www.bandaid20.com
UK COURT STRIKES OUT AT COMPENSATION CULTURE 19/11/04
The House of Lords, the supreme court in the United Kingdom, had put a brake on the developing compensation culture in allowing an appeal by a land owner in the case of Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council in an important case for promoters, event organisers and venues.The case arose out of an accident sufferd by a 18 year old man who dived into a lake and broke his neck, Swimming was banned in the lake and the defendant went to great lengths to prohibit swimming and warn of the dangers of swimming. The court said that:
"it should never be, the policy of the law to require the protection of the foolhardy or reckless few to deprive, or interfere with, the enjoyment by the remainder of society of the liberties and amenities to which they are rightly entitled. Does the law require that all trees be cut down because some youths may climb them and fall? Does the law require the coast line and other beauty spots to be lined with warning notices? Does the law require that attractive water side picnic spots be destroyed because of a few foolhardy individuals who choose to ignore warning notices and indulge in activities dangerous only to themselves?
The answer to all these questions is, of course, no. In truth the arguments for the claimant have involved an attack upon the liberties of the citizen which should not be countenanced. They attack the liberty of the individual to engage in dangerous, but otherwise harmless, pastimes at his own risk and the liberty of citizens as a whole fully to enjoy the variety and quality of the landscape of this country. The pursuit of an unrestrained culture of blame and compensation has many evil consequences and one is certainly the interference with the liberty of the citizen"
Comment and further detail will be found in the December Law Updates
KORDA MARSHALL TO LEAD WARNERS IN UK 17/11/04
Warner Music UK is restructuring its management several months after the acquisition of the company by the Bronfman-led consortium at the start of the year. Korda Marshall will head the Warner Brothers UK labels while Max Lousada will take over Marshall's old post as MD of Atlantic Records. Meanwhile, EMI has
reported pre-tax profits of £30M for the first half of the year. For the same period 2003, pre-tax profits were £39.4M. The company says the second half sales will see a boost and analysts are sticking with a year-end figure of £168M:
Source: news.ft.com
INDIES OPPOSE SONY-BMG MERGER 11/11/04
Impala , a group representing 2,000 indie labels is appealing to the EU's high court in an attempt to reverse the decision by regulators with approved the merger between the Sony Corp and Germany's Bertlesmann Group. 80% of the international music business (95% in Europe), is controlled by just a handful of major companies and Impala state that "we need to take a stance against US domination of our cultural, political & economic
interests". If Impala win the appeal, then the court could order a de-merger.
BERTLESMANN AND UNIVERSAL POST RESULTS 11/11/04
Bertlesmann , the worlds fourth biggest media group, is expected to report higher than expected profits for the current financial year despite economic gloom in its key german territory. Operating profits to 30 september were up 116% to E812 million.
The Group have recently mereged their recorded music division BMG with Sony's recorded music division and the Group hope that this will show savings.
Vivendi Universal 's posted third quarter music sales up 4%.The strong performance is due to "soaring" sales in the UK and North America as well as frugal directorialship from Jean-Rene Fourtou. The Group which includes media, utilities and telecoms reported a successive quarter of growth as part of a generall upbeat trading statement. Universal is the world's largest recored label by market share.
MUSIC PAY GOES LIVE 10/11/04
MusicPay - a payment system developed specifically for online music sales - goes live on the 5th November after 18 months in development. It integrates a range of payment methods including cash, bank transfers, credit/debit cards and reverse SMS billing into one system and also opens up digital music sales to the largely untapped non-banked public and under 18s.
MusicPay users pay record companies or artists for music from their online accounts, which can be opened instantly.
These accounts can be topped up worldwide using credit/debit cards; in banks and various retail outlets with cash; banks transfers via phone, mobile phone or Internet; e-vouchers, and scratch cards. The system incorporates a plug in SMS payment service - MusicPay Mobile - that can also be used independently to enhance existing e-commerce capabilities. It uses one the fastest SMS gateways available to ensure a rapid transaction. It is available to consumers worldwide.
With its alternatives to credit card payments, MusicPay enables non credit card holders, including under 18s, and the large number of adults around the world who do not have a bank account to buy music online.
NEW US STUDY SHOWS LEGAL DOWNLOADS ON THE RISE 10/11/04
A new report estimates that some 20M Americans aged 12+ have paid to download music. Over a third (35%) of downloaders in this age bracket paid for downloads in July this year, representing a 150% increase from the same period last year.
The 25-54 year olds are the key downloading group, with 40% of 25-34 year olds and 46% of 35-54 year olds paying for tracks digitally. 12-17year-olds (16%) emerged as the least-likely to use legal services (despite being thought to be the widest users) although it is possible that many young consumers do not have access to a credit card (or much disposable income). The launch of pre-paid credits and gift vouchers from many of the main services could help to open up what appears to be a resistant youth market as will the use of mobile mphone accounts to pay for downloads. Males (37%) are more likely to pay for downloads than females (30%).
Source: fiveeight
ERIC GETS HIS GONG 06/11/04
Eric Clapton arrived at Buckingham Palace yesterday (Nov 3rd) to collect his honour as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). The guitar star collected his gong from the Princess Royal and Clapton joins a growing array of honooured rock stars including Sir Paul, Sir Mick and Sir Elton who are all Knights of the British Empire. 'Sir' Bob Geldof also has the KBE as an honour but is an Irish citizen so cannot use the title - just so you know.
TENNIS CASE HAS TAX IMPLICATIONS FOR TOURING ARTISTS SPONSORSIP 06/11/04
Andre Agassi has launched an appeal against the Inland Revenue in the United Kingdom in a case which will have implications accross the sporting and entertainments worlds. The tennis star is fighting an Inland Revenue decision to allocate a taxable charge against some of his sponsorship income even though he is a foreign national and the monies were paid to him outside of the UK by a non resident sponsor. The Inland Revenue deemed that some of the income from the sponsorship must be attributable to tournaments and public appearances made in the United Kingdom.
The High Court (Mr Justice Lightman) has already rejected his challenge against the assessment of a tax payable of £27,250 (E40,000 approx) in respect of payments from Nike and Head even though neither company had a tax presence in the UK. The High Court ruled that the payments, made in the 1998/99 tax year, fell within the provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 and supported the Inland Revenue assessment on the basis that at least part of the payment was dervied from time Agassi spent at tournaments in the UK including the Wimbledon grand slam event.
The Court of Appeal hearing continues. The case has clear implications for touring artists where a sponsor payment could be subject to tax charges in a number of countries on an international tour even where the original payment may have been taxed in the country of origin and/or where the artist is a taxpayer.
The Times 5 November 2004
ITALIAN BALLET STARS FEE PENSION PINCH 06/11/04
Italian ballet stars have threatened to strike if proposed reforms to pension laws mean they have to keep working until normal retirment age. Italian dancers escaped reforms eight years ago when new pension laws designed to harmonise retirment ages excused ballet dancers allowing retirement at age 45 for women and 52 for men. The new rules would mean ballet dancers would not be eligible for pensions until at least 60 years of age post 2008. Deputies in the Italian parliament are lobbying the Parliamentary Budget Commission for amended legislation allowing ballet dancers to retire between the ages of 47 and 49. The new legislation covers dancers employed by Italy's opera and ballet companies including dancers at La Scala and the Rome Opera House.
JAY-Z CONTINUES WITH FRIENDS 05/11/04
Having 'cancelled' the Best of Both Worlds tour with co-headliner with R. Kelly, Jay-Z has reversed course and opted to continue playing shows under the banner Jay-Z and Friends.
The next performance will take place Friday (Nov. 5) in Miami, where Jay-Z will be joined by P. Diddy and Mary J. Blige, among others. The Best of Both Worlds tour fell apart after R. Kelly walked out after allegedly spotting firearms in the audience at a New York Madison Square Gardens show and further alleged that a member of Jay-Z's entourage attacked the star with pepper spray backstage.
BONO AND McCARTNEY COMMIT TO NEW BAND AID 20 05/11/04
More artists have committed to the new band aid single by Band Aid 20 which is being released on the 20th anniversary of the first "Do
They Know Its Christmas?" single.
The release coincides with the release of the Live Aid DVD from the legendary UK and US concerts in 1995.which will be credited to Band Aid 20 in acknowledgement of the anniversary of the 1984 release. The single will be issued Nov. 29 in the U.K. on Mercury/Universal.
Recently committed to the recording are Paul McCartney, U2 frontman Bono, Robbie Williams, Dido, Snow Patrol and Natasha Bedingfield. McCartney will play bass on the track and Bono will reprise one of the most famous lines in the original lyric: "Well
tonight, thank God it's them instead of you."
MUSICWORKS ROCKS GLASGOW 03/11/04
The cross music and media conference Musicworks rocked Glasgow from October 27th to October 29th with a number of interesting panel sessions and a large number of evening events for delegates. The keynote speech from Gergor Erkel of Sony Connect and the keynote interview of Feargal Sharkey by Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts were highlights of the panel session. Other panels included a fascinating debate on the future of record and music publishing rights - asking the question if there is a future for music and recording rights in the digital download age and bringing up the idea of a future monetized by levies on equipment and recording formats chaired by Solicitor Alexander Ross and a wide ranging debate on the role the major record labels will play in the future.
PARADIGM BUYS MONTEREY BOOKING AGENCY 03/11/04
As expected, Paradigm Artists, a talent and literary agency based in Los Angeles, has acquired successful boutique booking agency Monterey Peninsula Artists, based in Monterey, Calif. The Monterey roster includes such hard-touring acts as Aerosmith, Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio, The Dead and Toby Keith.
Source: www.billboard.com
Visit Billboard's new industry site: www.billboard.biz
NEW LIVE MUSIC BRIT AWARD ANNOUNCED 03/11/04
The BPI, organisers of the UK BRIT Music Awards have announced a new award celebrating the Best UK Live Music Performance of the Year. The award will be shortlisted by a panel of experts but final voting details are not as yet confirmed. Both venue and artist are expected to be criteria. The BPI also announced they were dropping the Best Dance Act from future BRIT awards.