M70

Members Music Magazine Issue 70 December 2018

NADINE SHAH Stepping out of the echo chamber

LIBRARY MUSIC Coming of age

INDEPENDENT VENUES Grassroots green shoots

digital edition

contents COVER FEATURE

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NADINE SHAH From cult concern to national hero

MUSIC REGOGNITION TECHNOLOGY

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LIBRARY MUSIC

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Strange sounds from way out

Revolutionising royalties

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JACOB BLICKENSTAFF, RIKARD ÖSTERLUND

JUST JOINED Familiarise yourself with some of PRS for Music’s most exciting new members 4

60 SECONDS Shiva Feshareki on her ‘hyper-physical’ live compositions

INDEPENDENT VENUES

I WROTE THAT

Celebrating the backbone of British music

Tanita Tikaram remembers penning her 1988 hit Good Tradition

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SOCIAL @m_magazineprs @m_magazineprs prsformusic prsformusic m_magazineprs

cover photo: nadine shah

EDITORIAL

PRODUCTION

Editor Paul Nichols

Production & Design Carl English

Associate Editor Anita Awbi

Membership Advisors Simon Aldridge Myles Keller

CONTRIBUTORS Ali Condon, Maxie Gedge, Ashley Howard, Alex Sharman, Coral Williamson, Harriet Wybor.

If you would like to stop receiving a print copy of M Magazine from PRS for Music by post please contact us, confirming your full name, postal address and CAE number, at writerquery@prsformusic.com or publisherquery@prsformusic.com

PRS for Music, 2 Pancras Square. London N1C 4AG T 020 7580 5544 E magazine@prsformusic.com W prsformusic.com The printing of M Magazine is managed on behalf of PRS for Music

by Cyan Group Ltd, Twickenham. cyan-group.com Advertising T 020 3225 5200 E tim.price@media-ten.com Advertising does not influence editorial decisions or content. The appearance of advertising in M is neither a guarantee nor an endorsement by PRS for Music of the product, service, or company or the claims made for the product in such advertising.

ISSN 0309-0019© PRS for Music 2018. All rights reserved. The views expressed in M are not necessarily those of PRS for Music, nor of the editorial team. PRS for Music accepts no responsibility for the views expressed by contributors to M, nor for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations, nor for errors in contributed articles or advertisements. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

M is printed on paper manufactured using chlorine-free pulps and the raw materials are from fully managed and sustainable forests.

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just joined yakima

sign up for information about becoming a member visit prsformusic.com/join

blasio kavuma

Shimmering Scottish shoegazers fresh off their first UK tour

ben comeau London-based composer straddling new classical and esoteric jazz

tim parker Regular NTS Radio selector and fast-rising beat-maker

the kvb Audiovisual twopiece fusing postpunk with tripped out electronics

Find out about some of the other new PRS for Music members at m-magazine.co.uk

Blasio Kavuma is a London-based composer, arranger and curator flexing his creative muscle across the film, visual and performance art worlds.

He explores the links between contemporary classical music, gospel and physical movement to bring new contexts and audiences to his soundworld.

Blasio is particularly drawn to the primal connection between music and dance, and experiments with the devotional and communal

aspects of both via the African aural tradition.

Since receiving an MA from Bristol University under the tutelage of Michael Ellison, he’s written for ensembles and soloists across the UK and beyond. Recent highlights include a collaboration with Voice(ed) in Chicago to commission black composers influenced by the issues facing their communities. Blasio is also a member of Sound and Music’s Pathways composer series. kavumamusic.com

NEELAM KAHN VELA, WIKTOR MALINOWSKI, REPEAT PATTERN

zamilska Natalia Zamilska is a Polish techno producer blurring the boundaries between noise, electronica and global sounds.

Her rough and dirty productions are defined by their grinding industrial rhythms and vibrating basslines, while samples from far-flung corners spin the claustrophobia right on its head.

Since her music first soundtracked a 2014 catwalk show by Christian Dior, she’s released her debut album Undone, performed at electronic music festivals across 4_december 2018_m70

Europe and won love from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Iggy Pop, Mary Anne Hobbs and Tom Ravenscroft.

Nine Inch Nails have also pledged their support, tipping Zamilska in an official Spotify playlist.

She’s recently stepped into the gaming world too, lending her uncompromising sound to Ruiner, an action shooter created in the spirit of cult cyberpunk anime and game classics.

instagram.com/zamilska

members & music

SIxty SEcondS

SHIVA FESHAREKI Shiva Feshareki is an award-winning experimental composer, NTS radio DJ and turntablist. Her diverse output explores acoustics, cultural perspectives, memories and nostalgia through classical methodology and cutting-edge technology.

Her solo turntable performances fuse together sonic palettes from drum and bass, garage, gabber, minimalism and classical orchestral works to create complex live compositions. Her scored work for orchestra is equally fluid, exploring the physicality and movement of sound through instruments and venues.

In 2017, Shiva was honoured with a British Composer Award for Innovation, adding to accolades including the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Award, the Elgar Memorial Prize and the London Music Masters Award.

When did you first get hold of a pair of decks?

As a teenager, I’d played on lots of turntables at friends’ houses, but I was 21 when I finally got my own pair.

I’d just won the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Award and the first thing I spent the money on was some really nice Technics 1210s.

Were there any DJs or composers you were looking up to at the time?

No, not really. I had a really playful attitude to the decks and I was happy to explore them on my own.

Everyone else who was messing around with turntables seemed to be part of a scene, but I wasn’t - I was just a loner doing my thing. I was fascinated by the technology. It was a visceral obsession for me.

When did turntables become so integral to your compositional work?

It was almost as soon as I started formally composing music; they were there from the word go. Over the last 14 years, my relationship to turntables, and my music, has constantly transformed and changed. When I started out, I never imagined that I’d be a turntablist or a performer. As a teenager, I liked playing the violin. The obsession I developed for turntables was completely accidental.

Can you talk us through your technique?

I guess, over time, I have developed some processes which are quite Shiva Feshareki #fundedbyPRSF

unique to me. It’s as much to do with the technology as my own methods. I wasn’t captured by tricks like beat-matching, or hiphop scratching. Instead, I like to take a variety of records from different times, eras and genres, alongside my own music, and create sonic manipulations on the spot. It comes down to hyper-physical, quickmoving arm manipulation, which I sample immediately in the moment.

I’m using the decks to deconstruct the sounds, focusing on the sculptural and textural dimensions of the music. It offers new perspectives: I’m not reimagining, or remixing. My aim is to present a new dimension to something that already exists.

How do you know when something is really working?

I feel it in the moment - it’s all through the physical movement of my arm.

Sometimes it can create something really amazing and unexpected, other times something really shit happens and I have to find a way of eliminating that texture and moving on.

How does it go down with audiences?

It can be an engaging experience as I’m able to invite listeners into the compositional process. I’m not just presenting a finished form.

If I was a violinist and I played a Brahms piece, a month later I might perform it again and it would sound completely different. What I’m trying to do with my performances is create

something that’s really live, and really in the moment. For electronic music, I think it’s vital to show the lengths you go to.

How does the improvisation inform your compositions?

There’s a really interesting dialogue between my improvisation and my scored compositions. For example, some things that work really well when I’m improvising wouldn’t have happened if I’d tried to compose them. Then, when I’m scoring, I try to have that perspective in mind.

And it’s the same the other way around. Because I’ve created so much structured composition, when I’m in the moment, I find I can restructure sounds very well. It’s not just a free improv; I’m scoring the composition live.

What kinds of sounds are you naturally drawn to?

There are a wide variety of reasons why I choose the records I do.

Orchestral music is amazing to manipulate because of its acoustic depth.

Orchestral music is amazing to manipulate because of its acoustic depth. What’s fascinating about dance music is its physical form, it’s very sculptural. I can further amplify that sculptural effect by making it more angular.

Also, I really love manipulating soulful music; I find that using original source material which is smooth and pleasant on the ear lends to a great contrast of sound palettes. Contrasts are important to me. That’s why I use records from different eras too; there’s something lovely about nostalgia.

Shiva Feshareki is performing live across the UK in early 2019. Details at shivafeshareki.com m70_december 2018_5

members & music

GRASSROOTS GIGGING Independent Venue Week returns in early 2019 for its sixth year, with Mercury Prize-nominated Novelist confirmed as ambassador. From 28 January to 3 February, gig-goers will have the perfect reason to shake off the New Year blues by getting out to see hotly-tipped artists and supporting their local venues.

South London grime ace Novelist (pictured), who turned in a buzzing performance at the latest PRS for Music Presents event, will be touring the UK across the week.

He’ll also curate a special show and Q&A session in association with PRS for Music, a leading sponsor of Independent Venue Week.

Licensing at PRS for Music, said: ‘Grassroots venues are integral to the UK live music scene and are an essential platform for many of our members to hone their craft and reach audiences across the country, as well as earn an important income stream. We are proud to support Independent Venue Week’s work to champion and celebrate these vital spaces for emerging talent.’

Nearly 200 venues have signed up to the initiative so far, with 92 different villages, towns and cities taking part around the country. Alongside Novelist, artists confirmed include Beans on Toast, Billy Bragg, Public Service Broadcasting, Swim Deep, This Is The Kit and Thurston Moore.

In the same week, PRS for Music will honour The Stranglers with a Heritage Award at the site of their first ever gig, The Star Inn in Guildford. The iconic punkrockers, formerly known as The Guildford Stranglers, played at the pub in the autumn of 1974, before going on to release a string of hit singles including Golden Brown, No More Heroes, Peaches and Always the Sun. The venue has hosted thousands of gigs since the fifties but is now threatened with closure due to a nearby property development.

Paul Clements, Executive Director of Membership, International and

Read more about independent venues in our feature on page 28.

FRESH AGENDA

JENNIFER MCCORD

The Psappha Ensemble was first formed in 1991 by Artistic Director Tim Williams to celebrate living composers and the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The seven-strong group is based at St Michael’s, a former Italian chapel in inner-city Manchester, which was once the cradle of the Industrial Revolution.

of projects. These have included performances of his ensemble works and some smaller scale operas such as Twice Through the Heart. I have always been a fan of his music and his unique compositional voice.’

Tim and his players have carried on this industrious tradition, featuring regularly at most of the country’s major music festivals. They have also toured North and South America, Australia and Europe.

Following the death of their patron, composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, in 2016, Tim appointed MarkAnthony Turnage CBE to the role earlier this year.

Psappha’s 2018-2019 programme is now underway, with a string of performances which look back as well as forward. ‘I feel it’s important for our audience to get a handle on how music has developed since the start of the 20th century,’ Tim explains. ‘We have a series of Demystifying New Music events that precede each performance and give our audience access to the composers we feature. It’s so important for composers to engage with audiences.’

He tells M: ‘Over the years we have worked with Mark on a number

Visit psappha.com for the full programme.

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Novelist, This Is The Kit, Public Service Broadcasting #fundedbyPRSF

members & music

GOING GLOBAL FOR 2019

Country-hopping pop innovator Rina Mushonga gets her musical kicks from fusing the heritage and history of India, Zimbabwe and The Netherlands. ‘Like Paul Simon in a sweaty African dancehall club’, she crosses continents without missing a beat – serving up a perfect antidote to the rising tides of nationalism and populism.

Now residing in London, following stints in cities around the world, she’s preparing for the release of her new album In a Galaxy. Choc-full of buoyant melodies, shifting synths and Afropop beats, it serves up a smorgasbord of styles that reference everyone from Blood Orange to Baloji, Nina Simone to Sharon Van Etten.

Four years in the making, In a Galaxy sees Rina filter out her distractions and focus on her own unique abilities and instincts. Working with Grammy Award-nominated producer Brett Shaw and Rotterdam synth whisperer Frans Verberg, she’s turned in a clutch of intelligent, diverse pop songs that will surely set the agenda for 2019 on their release in February.

She tells M: ‘I feel like a global citizen and that’s made me much more open: open to messing around with borders and messing around with genres. My whole life was mixed; mixed race, mixed cultures, mixed countries and music. So, it’s always been a part of how I write – but now more than ever, because I’ve taken the time and space to reflect on that and look back.

‘It’s scary sending something you’ve created out into the world to be judged, but I think the album is an accurate representation of these past few years. It’s joyful but there’s a lot of frustration and pain in there too.’

In a Galaxy is released on 19 February. Read the full interview at m-magazine.co.uk/features

Rina Mushonga #fundedbyPRSF

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members & music Sound EFFEct

Erol Alkan has been changing the game in dance music since he launched the iconic London club night, Trash, back in 1997. Serving the capital’s musical misfits for nearly a decade, it defined the promiscuous relationship between electronics and indie, and hosted debut UK shows from the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Now more than 10 years in the grave, its progressive vibe lives on in Erol’s eclectic Phantasy Sound record label, home to Daniel Avery, Gabe Gurnsey, Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve, Ghost Culture, Connan Mockasin and Erol himself.

As a producer, remixer and artist, Erol distils his love of house, techno, psychedelia and krautrock into pulsing slabs of analogue modulation. Recent reworks for Depeche Mode, Todd Terje and Tuff City Kids have underlined his studio prowess, while latest solo release, Spectrum/Silver Echoes, finds him at his most dancefloor-friendly.

The first record I ever bought was…

Boney M’s Daddy Cool on seven-inch single. I bought from Woolworths in Archway, North London.

The first track I developed an obsession for was…

Possibly New Order’s Blue Monday in 1983, when my uncle told me to focus on the LED lights on his hi-fi amp as the kick drum pattern began. It would have been the first time I had experienced some form of visual synchronisation with music and it opened a whole new dimension within music for me.

My favourite cover version is…

The Isley Brothers’ version of Fire and Rain. It’s been covered so many times, but they have made it their own as far as I’m concerned.

TOM MEDWELL

The song that should’ve been a hit but never made it is…

Either of the first two World of Twist singles, The Storm or Suns of the Stage.

track forward like this, then it may as well be one which changed everything.

The song that makes me cry is…

Anything which would make me cry is more likely to be a memory attached to a song rather than the song as such. I can’t remember the last time I cried to any music.

The song that I know all the words to is…

I think I know all the words to quite a few songs, but I always get a few wrong.

But that’s also quite good when you discover the correct words, and it brings a brand new slant on a song you felt you knew inside out. I sometimes can’t be sure if what I have in my head is right or wrong. But that’s the beauty of music, our minds make up for the gaps we are missing. I’m sure I know all the words to is The Supremes Be My Baby, which ranks as one of my top three records of all time.

The last great record I listened to was…

The Electrician by The Walker Brothers. I was referencing it earlier today in respect of something I’m currently working on in the studio.

My all-time favourite film soundtrack is…

The Monkees’ Head. As great a music or band-related movie as possible, and the soundtrack is an incredible record in its own right. One of the best records of that era for me in general.

The track I wish I’d written is…

Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. If you are going to have the opportunity to put a

Spectrum/Silver Echoes is out now on Phantasy Sound.

Erol Alkan is published by Bucks Music Group.

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members & music

what was your first gig?

With Independent Venue Week looming large on gigging calendars, we ask music-makers up and down the country to tell us about their first ever concert experience…

Mali Hayes The first gig I went to was the Spice Girls in Manchester with my mum when I was about five. I’m ridiculously (and embarrassingly) excited they’re doing a reunion tour! It would be so lovely to go with my mum. I promise I won’t tell you to stop dancing and sit down this time, mum! @malihayesmusic

Emma Smith, Hairband Gig on the Green in Glasgow. It was 2001 and I was 14. We went to see Green Day, but there was this guy Iggy Pop playing beforehand… and he blew our tiny minds. Looking back at the line-up now, I can’t remember if we even watched The Strokes or knew who they were! @hairbanddd

Ruarri Joseph, William the Conqueror A band called Leash were playing at The Watering Hole in Perranporth when I was about 12. I’d never heard music that loud or that close before, and to be honest I can’t remember what they were like. But I made up my mind that’s what I wanted to do with my life. @ProudDisturber

Rebekah Ubuntu My sixth form friends’ all-female black punk band at the Amersham Arms in New Cross. It was my first ever mosh pit. I jumped in with both feet, flailing around with total abandon. We compared bruises on the train home, never wanting them to fade. It was a massive purge for my pentup teenage angst. @RebekahUbuntu

John Metcalfe Poison Girls and Crass on Hastings pier. I was very young and the atmosphere was great until a coachload of skinheads turned up and started fighting.

Crass weren’t that kind of band so they stopped playing while a seemingly lone (but massive) bouncer sorted it all out. @JMetcalfeBand

Big Zuu I went to the Under The Radar club night at Ministry of Sound in South London when I was about 16. I remember JME and Frisco were performing and man went crazy! I had a great time and got to experience grime live in the flesh. @itsBigZuu

Big Zuu #fundedbyPRSF

m70_december 2018_9

money & business YOUTUBE’S ‘FAKE NEWS’ COPYRIGHT CAMPAIGN BACKFIRES

and Parliament. These three institutions have rightly concluded that the ‘value gap’ is real, and that YouTube ought to take some responsibility for the content it publishes, just like other publishers. YouTube now seems to be trying to scaremonger the EU into reversing decisions taken after a full debate, because it doesn’t like the outcome.

‘Lyor Cohen argues that ad-supported revenues are helping to fuel music industry growth. That’s far from our experience.

Despite many billions of views, ad-supported video now generates less than half the revenue labels make from vinyl, and only one-sixteenth of the revenue from premium subscriptions. This problem needs to be fixed.

‘It’s time for YouTube to respect the EU legislative process and focus its energy on working with labels to grow the value generated by recorded music, for example through its excellent new YouTube Music subscription service, rather than trying to protect an outdated safe harbour that has given it an unfair advantage over both competing services and individual musicians and creators.’

A YouTube campaign which falsely claims internet users and musicmakers will suffer under the European Commission’s (EC) new copyright proposals has been slammed by digital music experts and the EC itself.

The campaign, which is calling on YouTube’s own community of creators to fight the proposals, has ratcheted up over the last few weeks with comments from the company’s Chief Executive Susan Wojcicki and Head of Global Music Lyor Cohen appearing in the national press and online.

‘If you are a YouTuber or a YouTube lover, don’t worry. You will continue to do what you do today: watching your favourite vlogs, filming and publishing for your beloved followers, learning from tutorials, listening to music and much more! Go on and keep enjoying all that as much as we do!’

Both have painted an incorrect picture of the Copyright Directive and its Article 13 clause, saying it will block access to content online without producing any evidence to prove this.

The post went on to explain that the EC is proposing the copyright reforms because ‘we believe artists, performers and creators sharing their content online should get a fair remuneration for their creativity and hard work. We need to close this value gap and make sure the remuneration for creators and online platforms is fairly shared. We want to empower and strengthen the position of authors and artists in negotiations with big platforms which largely benefit their creations. We want contracts between online platforms and creators to be transparent.’

An accompanying video and email campaign targeting YouTube users has further propped up the spurious claims, which led the EC to release the following statement: ‘There’s some misinformation going around about the copyright law reform we’re proposing.’

YouTube ought to take some responsibility for the content it publishes, just like other publishers.

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Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive of the BPI, has also commented on YouTube’s ‘carpetbombing propaganda’ in a blog post for the organisation’s website. In it he said: ‘Article 13 has been carefully scrutinised over four years by the European Commission, Council

Taylor’s post follows a similar rebuttal from PRS for Music’s Chief Executive Robert Ashcroft, which said YouTube was ‘attempting to subvert the democratic process’ by spreading misinformation. ‘Over the last few weeks, Ms Wojcicki has been extremely vocal in her attempts to paint Article 13 of the proposed EU Copyright Directive as the harbinger of “unintended consequences” for the creator economy,’ he said.

‘I am not at all surprised by this, because since July this year YouTube has continued to spread misinformation about Article 13 in a direct attempt to subvert the democratic process. Despite this, members of the European Parliament voted to send the draft Copyright Directive into the final stage of its legislative journey before it passes into law.’

In September, music-makers and rightsholders became a step closer to achieving fairer pay for their work online, as MEPs voted to approve the Copyright Directive and close damaging legal loopholes. The result of the landmark vote was 438 in favour and 226 against.

The Copyright Directive is now in ‘trilogue’ stage, involving representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. It is expected to be ready for final review early in 2019.

Keep up-to-date at m-magazine.co.uk/news

business

business news

for all the latest business news visit m-magazine.co.uk

SONGWRITERS & COMPOSERS UNITE FOR COPYRIGHT FIGHT Britpop icons, alt-folk singersongwriters, media composers and pop topliners have come together to take on the ‘greedy’ tech giants they claim aren’t paying their fair share to music-makers.

Suede frontman Brett Anderson, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, chart-topping singersongwriter Newton Faulkner and alt-folk artist Misty Miller have been among those taking the fight to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels and even to the London headquarters of Google.

Brett Anderson, Suede

Newton Faulkner

‘I think everyone should be deeply worried that marginal musicians and new acts are finding it increasingly hard to make money in the current climate. That might not matter to those at the top echelons of the pop industry, but all the strata are linked. If you take away the interesting marginal music, the whole musical ecosystem will crumble. We need to get Google to pay artists more money, it’s as simple as that.’ @BrettAndersonHQ

‘I wouldn’t be angry if the money wasn’t being made at all; I’d be ok with that. It would be bad, but we’d have to find a way around it. The thing which annoys me most is that it’s still there, people are still making money out of fans listening to music, but it’s just not getting to the right people. As soon as the cash is made, it’s kept. It should go to the people who made the music – that’s only fair.’ @NewtonFaulkner

Misty Miller

Dave Rowntree, Blur

‘Artists aren’t getting the money they deserve from platforms like YouTube. It’s hard enough being a musician and earning a living; you put your soul into everything and you can’t work another job so easily. When you can’t get your fair share for the music you create, it’s a fundamental problem. It’s been going on for a while, but now that so many people are listening to music on YouTube, it’s become a much bigger problem. It’s a situation we must try to change.’ @MistyMillerNews

‘I’ve been to Brussels trying to pick off individual MEPs to persuade them the Copyright Directive is a good idea. I want to highlight the unfairness of the social media industry and how they pay artists for the use of their work. This is an important issue for up-and-coming artists who rely much more on platforms like YouTube. If the platform doesn’t pay those new artists it’s very hard for them to get on the first rung of the professional ladder.’ @DaveRowntree

They recently gathered for an organised busk outside the tech giant’s UK base to highlight how even the spare change from passers-by brings in more cash than tens of thousands of streams on YouTube. The event was put together by trade organisation UK Music and attended by creators, industry partners including PRS for Music, and the national media.

At present, Google pays just a tiny fraction of its multi-billion-pound profits to creators of the music which is streamed everyday by millions of users on YouTube. This is despite the fact 85 percent of visitors go to the site for music alone, and YouTube accounts for 84 percent of the total video streaming market.

At least £2.33bn of the platform’s revenue in 2017 was generated by music, according to figures from market analysts, MIDiA Research.

We need to get Google to pay artists more money, it’s as simple as that.

It is hoped the Copyright Directive, which is now passing through the European Parliament (see opposite), will correct the market imbalance and force tech giants like Google to remunerate creators fairly for the use of their music.

m70_december 2018_11

money & business GLOBAL ROYALTIES HIT NEW HIGH

Global royalty collections for creators of music, audiovisual, visual arts, drama and literature rose to a record high of €9.6bn (£8.4bn) in 2017, according to the CISAC Global Collections Report 2018.

Royalties from digital income topped the €1bn mark for the first time (£761.6m), with a 24 percent increase in 2017. Figures over five years also show that digital royalty collections have nearly tripled (up 166 percent), boosted by the audio streaming boom and new video streaming services.

Across all regions, Europe led the way in 2017, with $4.9m (£3.7m) in collections, up 5.2 percent. The UK is the third largest collecting country in Europe, with annual growth in 2017 up 4.9 percent. It follows Germany in second place (up 13.9 percent) and France as the largest collecting country in Europe (up 2.6 percent).

The report is published by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and shows data on royalty payments in 121 countries. Commenting on the report, CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said: ‘This impressive performance proves that authors’ societies are delivering value to the millions of creators they represent around the world.

‘They have responded to rapidly changing technology, licensing digital services in new flexible ways and handling trillions of data transactions.

And they are fighting for the best licensing terms and the highest royalties possible in a world where powerful users are determined to avoid, or minimise, paying a fair return for their work.’

Despite digital’s rise, only 13 percent of creators’ royalties come from digital sources (up from 11 percent). Commenting on the disparity between the volume of works available digitally and the amount actually being returned to creators, CISAC President and electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre said: ‘CISAC is at the heart of a battle for the future of over four million creators worldwide.

‘I am passionately involved in this struggle. Europe has now recognised that it is time for change: it is not acceptable for the law to shield large tech monopolies and sustain a systemic injustice for creators. There is now a message to get to the rest of the world: it is time for other governments to sit up and follow.’

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PRS CEO TO STEP DOWN

Robert Ashcroft has announced he will step down as Chief Executive of PRS for Music on the tenth anniversary of his appointment, at the end of December 2019.

During his time, Ashcroft has transformed the society, modernising its operations and leading it to significant growth during a time of unprecedented industry change.

Under his leadership, PRS for Music has been at the forefront of this change, transforming the way in which online services are licensed and launching three industry joint ventures, ICE, NMP and PPL PRS Ltd, each designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of collective rights management.

Ashcroft has also played a major role in the adaptation of European copyright law to the internet era. His 2010 ‘hubs strategy paper’ was central to the 2014 European Collective Rights Management Directive, while it was his argument about the ‘transfer of value’ that convinced the European Commission that user-upload platforms and other social media should be made liable for copyright.

Nigel Elderton, PRS Chairman, said: ‘Robert has given the organisation a decade of stability and growth, making it the considerable success it is today. He should be rightly proud of his legacy and the health in which he leaves PRS for Music. On behalf of all our members, staff and industry partners I would like to thank Robert for his service and the positive impact he has had. We wish him every success for the future.’

Your next paydays Performing (PRS): 15 April, 15 July, 15 Oct Mechanicals (MCPS) Non-Recorded Media: 15 Jan, 15 Feb, 15 March, 15 April Recorded Media: 31 Dec, 31 Jan, 28 Feb, 29 March

business

PRS WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR

PRS AGM 2019 GET INVOLVED

The next Performing Right Society Limited Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on 21 May 2019 at 30 Euston Square, London.

The AGM provides an opportunity to hear from PRS Chairman Nigel Elderton and the senior leadership team, ask questions and receive the annual report and accounts. PRS is urging all full and associate members to make their votes count in the Directors Ballot leading up to the AGM and all full members to consider standing.

Ivor Novello Award-winning singer, songwriter and vocal producer Michelle Escoffery has joined the PRS Board as a writer director.

She takes over from Imogen Heap, who has stepped down from her position.

Escoffery started her career in the singing family group The Escoffery’s, before signing to Atlantic Records in 1991. Her first taste of chart success came soon after as one third of RnB trio Truce, who released the Top 20 single Eyes Don’t Lie and album Nothin’ But the Truce in the mid-nineties. After they split, she became one of only two female stock writers at EMI Music Publishing alongside Cathy Dennis.

Over the years, Escoffery has penned songs for acts including Tina Turner, All Saints, Beverley Knight and Artful Dodger, worked on vocal arrangements for Rod Stewart and performed with Stevie Wonder and George Michael. Recent international success includes a charttopping collaboration with Danish artist Nabiha and writing credits on South Korean boyband SHINee’s latest album, which was number one in six countries.

Escoffery said: ‘I’m pleased to join the PRS Board alongside some of the most talented and experienced songwriters and publishers in the UK. It’s only right that an organisation that looks after such a vital income for songwriters should be represented and guided by the creators themselves. I’m extremely honoured to be given this opportunity and hope that the knowledge I have gained throughout my career will help to steer PRS for Music to make the best choices on behalf of its members both on home soil and internationally.’

Escoffery sits on the PRS Board until the next Annual General Meeting in May 2019, alongside writer directors Barry Blue, Jim Duguid, Nicky Graham, Edward Gregson, Steve Levine, Drew Masters, Mitch Murray, Julian Nott and John Truelove.

The Board plays an important role at PRS shaping strategy and working to promote the society on behalf of all members. It consists of 25 directors: 11 writers and 11 publishers, two external directors and the Chief Executive. The Board meets up to six times a year at PRS for Music’s Kings Cross office and directors are also expected to serve on at least one committee. Publisher director Simon Anderson said: ‘New board members bring fresh views and perspectives to the table, and this is important in a rapidly evolving music industry.’ For more information see prsformusic.com/about-us/governance/agm Full writer or publisher members wishing to stand must be nominated by 10 other full members, and the deadline for applications and supporting information is 5pm on 21 February 2019. Directors are appointed for a three-year term and are usually eligible to stand for reappointment following their retirement at the third AGM after their appointment.

John Truelove, writer director, told M: ‘Directors make the important decisions that affect all members. It is vital for the future health and success of the society that there are new faces with different experiences bringing fresh perspectives. Please, go for it - we need you!’

Writer director Jim Duguid added: ‘This society has a great purpose in this new digital age and I would urge songwriters in particular to get involved. It exists for you and your works and that of the member writers and publishers. Your opinion and experience as a writer is incredibly valuable to the wider society and you really can make a difference by getting involved.’

Any full member interested in standing for election should contact Jenny Goodwin, PRS for Music’s Head of Secretariat, at jenny.goodwin@ prsformusic.com

m70_december 2018_13

GET GET PAID

MARCELA LASKOSKI ON UNSPLASH

Coral Williamson lifts the lid on music recognition technology, an audio fingerprinting system that’s quietly revolutionising the way royalties are paid out to songwriters, composers, artists and publishers.

TECH

Back in October, PRS for Music hit an important technological milestone for music-makers – but you’d be forgiven for missing it. After several years of collaboration, planning and test runs, around 5,000 songwriters, composers and publishers received their first royalty payment from a pilot scheme that uses cuttingedge music recognition technology.

Working with PPL and DJ Monitor, the pilot saw nightclubs like Ministry of Sound, Fabric and PRZYM fitted with small black boxes to better track what music DJs were playing, by generating an ‘audio fingerprint’ for each and every track.

It was a big moment in the world of royalties: with the average recognition rate well above 80 percent, and even going as high as 95 percent in some venues, it was a huge success, and is now integrated into the distribution policies of both PRS for Music and PPL. But it’s been a long road to get here.

Ash Howard, PRS for Music’s Dance Account Manager, says: ‘Before I joined PRS for Music, I worked as Head of Publishing at Hospital Records. I was involved in conversations with PRS about music recognition technology, probably going back six years, or maybe even longer. It's been a long journey, but the real work has been going on in the last two-and-a-half years in terms of the pilot and actually getting devices installed.’

The pilot has been backed by the dance music sector, with iconic figures like Lohan Presencer, Ministry of Sound Chairman, and Simon Dunmore, founder of Defected Records, appearing in a short film supporting the initiative, which was shown at the recent international electronic music festival, ADE. Lohan says: ‘We are pleased with the progress being made with music recognition technology. Working with established brands and premises on British high streets will give us greater insight into the music being played in bars and clubs around the country.

‘The readiness of all participating venues to install the recognition devices is a positive move for the recording rightsholders and performers whose music is being played.’

Future focus Now, PRS for Music is gearing up to expand the tech even further in 2019. Currently, 28 devices are installed in venues in the UK; Ash wants to up that number to 50. With music recognition technology providing more accurate distributions than sampling or analogies alone, there are also tentative plans to use it in other cost effective ways – by creating a kind of specialist clubs analogy, where data from participating clubs can inform the pay-outs from other venues, ‘on the basis that we feel that there's an overlap in terms of lineups of those venues, who's playing them, and what kind of music's being played,’ says Ash. ‘Alongside that, there's also the ambition to pay out branded chains; so instead of having a chain with six venues, all with a device, we could potentially look at the data, and say, “Actually, all six of those venues pretty much play the same thing, we just need one device in one of those venues and we can pay out the entire chain based on that information.” So that's another strategy going forward.’

Convincing venue owners – who often don’t see what they have to gain from it – to sign up to the scheme is one of the hardest challenges, says Ash. ‘The only reason to do it, and it's a very good one, is to ensure your money – as in the venue's licence fee – goes to right people,’ he adds. ‘But I think sometimes, venues, through a lack of education, are a little bit afraid of it, which is partly why we made a video.

‘They're literally not able to entertain the idea, on the basis that they haven't got enough resource. Some smaller venues are just a one-man operation, or a couple of people, and they think they don't have the time to let us in.’

We all rely on each other, so it’s necessary that club owners, songwriters, artists and rightsholders understand and adapt to the changing climate and work together to keep all areas of the music industry alive.

Anna Calvi #fundedbyPRSF

M70_DECEMBER 2018_15

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TECH

It's really important for clubs and festivals to back this so that younger up-and-coming underground artists can actually make a proper living off their music.

Above: Simon Dunmore Centre: Lohan Presencer Right: B.Traits

Watch the Music Recognition Technology video at prsformusic.com/mrt

Once the device has been installed, another issue is keeping it online, with everything from flooding and renovations to employee turnover having impacted devices during the scheme.

Adrienne Bookbinder, Publishing and Repertoire Manager, Defected Records, says: ‘We all rely on each other, so it’s necessary that club owners, songwriters, artists and rightsholders understand and adapt to the changing climate and work together to keep all areas of the music industry alive.’

Live and kicking As well as the pilot with PPL, PRS for Music has also placed music recognition devices at a series of music festivals, starting with Creamfields in 2017. The first Creamfields trial compared the tech to the efficiency of setlist collecting on three stages over two days, which Ash describes as ‘no contest, basically’.

The success at Creamfields – recognising in the region of 90 percent of music recorded on the devices – gave PRS for Music the opportunity to expand further in the festival sector.

This summer, the organisation placed boxes at five festivals – Creamfields, SW4, We Are FSTVL, Mint Festival and some stages at Bestival – which involved 10 event days, across 20 stages, capturing 349 DJ sets, and ultimately recognising nearly 7,000 pieces of music.

DEFECTED

‘Festivals are paid on a census basis, so any data we collect is used to pay the money from that festival,’ Ash explains. ‘Our tech slots in quite easily in that respect – it doesn't require a change on distribution policy, it basically just enables us to use a more accurate dataset instead of relying on setlists.’

DJ, producer and presenter B. Traits, who performed at Creamfields this year and features in PRS for Music’s video, says: ‘It's really important for clubs and festivals to start backing this so that younger, up-and-coming underground artists can actually make a proper living off of it, by just getting their music played, rather than DJ gigs alone.’

Supporting creativity So how can those all-important writers effectively ensure they’re getting paid via music recognition technology? Ash says: ‘If your music's being played in a club, and you want to make sure that the technology is going to pick it up, your best bet is: if you have a label, approach them and say, “Do you supply DJ Monitor, or does your distributor or aggregator supply DJ Monitor?” Try and find out that way. It will be a lot easier if artists put pressure on their record labels to make that connection to DJ Monitor.

‘If they don't have a record label, that doesn't stop them getting in touch with DJ Monitor; you just email them and they'll tell you how to do it, basically. The recommended way is to get the record labels, distributors and aggregators to do it, because then they're acquiring a larger amount of sound recordings from a smaller number of people, and everyone will benefit.’

Simon Dunmore, founder of Defected Records, adds: ‘My advice is that you register your records properly, you put the correct ISRC code and you put the metadata in there to say who the composer is and who the publisher is. So, even if you don't concern yourself with collecting income at that very time, two or three years down the line you can go, “These are my works, there's money out there for me”, and it makes it easily identifiable… That way, everyone would get the money that they truly deserve from making great music.’

Email info@djmonitor.com to find out more about PRS for Music’s work with music recognition technology.

M70_DECEMBER M68_JUNE 2018_29 2018_17

PIERRICK GUIDOU

When I have severe anxiety, music is cathartic – especially the recording process and the live side.

PROFILE

OUT

THE

WAY

Outspoken songsmith Nadine Shah has emerged as one of the most vital voices in British music. Here, she chats to Anita Awbi about her rite of passage...

‘Am I living in an episode of Black Mirror?!’ Nadine Shah asks in her singsong Geordie twang. It’s a wintry evening and she’s in high spirits, even though it’s freezing out and the topic of conversation is pretty grim. ‘All around, there seems to be a Charlie Brooker-style dark humour to world events,’ she continues. ‘The political landscape is definitely worsening: it’s all getting a bit daft.’

Mercury rising The ‘Mercury effect’ is a well-documented phenomenon: fringe artist makes the shortlist and sees a dramatic rise in interest/streams/ticket sales… Nadine’s nod has obviously helped keep Holiday Destination alive in that sense, but she’s convinced the social context has also ensured its longevity.

The award-winning artist is talking about life in the wake of her biting third album, Holiday Destination, which catapulted her from cult concern to national mouthpiece when it landed in mid-2017. On it, she fused post-punk clatter with highly-politicised commentary, and despite its modest release via James Endeacott’s 1965 Records, it’s still holding fast.

‘Normally with any other album, I'd be tired of it by now.

But because it's such a hugely political album, it still feels very relevant,’ she says. ‘Yes, it got a new lease of life because of the Mercury Prize and the AIM Award, but it feels like we shouldn't be putting it to bed yet.

We’re playing it further afield in countries outside the UK, and that feels super-important. We need to tell those stories.’

Relaying personal fears of the growing populist movement in the UK and the refugee crisis in Syria, the album struck a chord with music fans ‘who are shifting what they demand from their artists’, Nadine says. ‘A lot of the things I talked about on the record aren't front page news anymore. Or, the context has changed. Now we've got to look at the problem in Yemen and the Rohingya community. There are other sufferings all over the place, unfortunately, all the time.’

It’s against this backdrop that Nadine says her audience is ‘getting bigger and angrier,’ propelled by a Mercury Prize nomination this autumn, and her triumphant Album of the Year accolade at the AIM Awards.

Audience reach aside, she’s not that much into the industry back-patting and statue-chasing. Having grown up idolising the Mercury Prize and all it stood for, she used to covet it. Soon after her second album, Fast Food, was released in 2015, the bookies had it down as a favourite, but it didn’t even make the shortlist. ‘I sunk a bottle of whisky that day, I was so upset about it.’

Now, Nadine gets her creative kicks elsewhere, citing a recent gig in Cairo as one of her biggest career highs so far. ‘Playing for young Muslim women was pretty awesome,’ she says, herself a Muslim of Pakistani descent. ‘They need Muslim role models and we've got a

M70_DECEMBER 2018_19

I’m really angry at how we treat our artists still.

The industry is a fucking joke. I wish things would start changing. whole new audience who haven't seen this album live. I'm happy to be playing it still. It doesn't feel like, “Ugh, here we go again,” or just a money job.’ She’s laughing now: ‘Bloody hell, I’ll happily play those songs to anyone who asks!’

Music minds matter Another by-product of the Mercury Prize glow has been the chance to ‘step outside the usual echo chamber’ of BBC Radio 6 Music listeners and indie-rock fans.

In the last year, Nadine has courted the broadsheets, entertained music industry panels and delivered talks on her experiences both inside and outside the studio.

‘As my name gets a bit bigger, I have a bit more clout. It's been a really great opportunity for me to speak to a larger audience about some of the subjects that I'm passionate about,’ she enthuses.

Although she admits to fleeting worries about people misunderstanding her message for tokenistic or opportunistic activism – and evens threatens to ‘be quieter next year’ – she quickly counters: ‘Being a Muslim female musician, there are quite a lot of battles that we have to deal with in this industry.’

She turns her ire on the business she has grown up in, first as a young jazz performer and now as a guitar-wielding singer-songwriter. It’s been a bumpy ride with several record label switches, and no doubt wider exposure to latent prejudices and blatant bad practices.

‘I think it's genuinely one of the most caustic industries going. I hate it with a passion,’ she says, the trademark joviality ebbing from her voice. ‘I don't know any other industry where you would encourage somebody to turn up to work drunk.’

She’s railing against the ‘rider’ culture, which entices musicians to drink before, during and after shows, a habit that damaged her own mental health and wellbeing early in her career. ‘I’m really angry at how we treat our artists still,’ she says. ‘The industry is a fucking joke. I wish things would start changing.’

Giving back Not one to sit back and lament the state of the nation, Nadine loves to roll her sleeves up and get stuck in. Among her many extracurricular activities, she supports the work of Music Minds Matter, a Help Musicians UK initiative, also backed by the PRS for Music Members Benevolent Fund.

It’s a subject close to her heart: her first album, Love Your Dum and Mad, tackled mental health, and was prompted by the suicides of two old boyfriends.

She has been open about her own struggles with anxiety and depression too, using writing and performing to selfmedicate. ‘When I have severe anxiety, music is cathartic

in that sense,’ she says. ‘The recording process and the live side are especially so. Writing not always so much, because it's a very solitary process, so sometimes I find that quite stressful.’

Part of the issue with life as a musician is the tension between work and down time. She talks about the plague of social media, which forces artists to reveal more about their lives. ‘Artists are struggling with it but they're very pressured to give so much of themselves. I think the biggest problem is, how do you switch off? That's work. This is private time.

There's an overlap. That's where one's own mental health is not so great,’ she says.

‘There are artists I love, who I have a curiosity for. But I don't really need to know what they're having for breakfast. Or, how their bowels are doing today. I feel like it’s just too much!’

Written agenda So, what does 2019 hold for the Tyneside troublemaker? Will she be revealing all on a new live-streaming app? ‘I'm just going to sit the fuck down!’ she laughs. But no one believes that for a second. With her fourth album nearly written, she’ll be hitting the studio with her right-hand man, Ben Hillier, from January to March. Will it be political too? More laughter. ‘I'm not making any more bloody political albums,’ she singsongs. ‘You can't sync those songs on car adverts!’

No one believes that either. She admits: ‘For research, I’ve been attending a lot of different meetings and organisations – it’s about gender politics.’ Like Holiday Destination, where she wrote from the perspective of others, she’ll be putting herself in the shoes of various protagonists, a trick she picked up from her older brother’s political documentary-making and PJ Harvey’s album Let England Shake.

‘I find other people more interesting than I am,’ she explains. The technique also provides freedom to discuss female fertility and societal pressures on 30-something women without having to cross the line into personal narration. Back to the catharsis of songwriting.

‘I hardly ever carry a notebook around with me now, I tend to write in my phone or make voice notes,’ she says, her process a discreet advancement on the ‘shite, leather-bound journals’ that cluttered her teenage bedroom.

‘It’s a great method for when I'm overhearing an interesting conversation – it’s a lot easier to get away with as it looks like I’m just texting.’ From these tiny fragments, her next record is fast-emerging. Are there any feelings of pressure to follow-up or out-do Holiday Destination?

‘None,’ she confirms, ‘I'm fine. I keep realising people are a lot kinder than you’d assume. I don't think they’re stupid either.

In general, there is a problem in the industry where some people assume audiences are stupid. But they’re not, they’re very open.’

PROFILE

Teacher training It’s easy to see how Nadine has emerged as such a relevant voice inside the music business and beyond. With female role models still fairly thin on the ground – especially those from immigrant families – she’s sticking her head high above the parapet and she’s not ducking for anyone.

‘My dad is a businessman. He has a curtain shop and I grew up working with him in that company. I always think you have to speculate to accumulate. It just makes sense,’ she says. ‘The more people who know who I am the better.’

Sounds like good advice for any songwriter starting out. ‘It's unfortunate, but it's just a reality that you have to become a business as much as you are an artist,’ Nadine figures. Wise words from someone who’s clearly learned the hard way... ‘I'm such a boring old lady these days, aren’t I?’ she concludes, descending back into laughter.

Nadine Shah is published by Mute Song

M70_DECEMBER 2018_21

BEYOND RETRO From classic TV themes to slasher movie scores and beyond, library music is all around us but many of its composers remain largely unknown. Jim Ottewill flings open its doors to celebrate some of the UK’s most unsung musical heroes‌

LIBRARY

After Drake sampled me, my grandaughters now think their grandad is cool!

‘Everyone knows and loves the music to Grandstand, Ski Sunday, Mastermind or Grange Hill. Yet most people have no idea who the people behind these wonderful pieces are.’

Composer and HutTwenty9 documentary maker Paul Eliott is reflecting on the magical universe of library music, a parallel pop dimension where many classic sounds have been born.

Shawn Lee, artist, radio presenter and library music nut, helped make and narrate HutTwenty9’s The Library Music Film. His Ping Pong Orchestra project features new music inspired by these vintage sounds. ‘It’s honestly some of the greatest music I’ve ever heard,’ he says. ‘It’s collectible. But, coupled by the fact it’s so mysterious, it’s hard to resist.’

Sampled by hip-hop stars from Jay-Z to Kanye West and fetishised by audiophiles, the best sonic creations from the genre, opened up in Paul’s new Library Music Film, offer a uniquely unusual conundrum: the music’s ubiquity is at odds with the mystery surrounding its creators. ‘The majority of the general public have no idea what library music even is,’ Paul says. ‘But it’s a huge part of pop culture; it’s the soundtrack to many of our lives.’

The new documentary unearths the stories around the remarkable careers and adventures of the music’s key players. Alongside a season devoted to the music at the British Library and the publication of American aficionado David Hollander’s new Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music book, it now feels as if this secret world is beginning to receive the critical love it at last deserves.

Open up your mind So what is library music? Made for films, TV and other visual media, it offers an off-the-shelf option cheaper than commissioning a composer to score an entire soundtrack.

Also known as production or stock music, the sound was born in the twenties, enjoyed a heyday during the sixties and seventies but is currently revelling in a resurgence. Hardly ever commercially released, the genre’s pioneers have always been loved by record collectors but, increasingly, more mainstream ears are pointing adoringly towards their creations.

Cult classics Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett, 81 and 78 respectively, are two of library music’s most revered.

Alan’s distinctive keyboard skills can be heard on muchloved themes to Grange Hill and the Channel 4 News, while The Champ is one of hip-hop’s most sampled moments. Best known as a drummer in The Shadows, Brian has received Ivor Novello Awards for his TV and film compositions, while his grooves have been sampled by everyone from Drake to Nas.

M70_DECEMBER 2018_23

SONGWRITING RETREAT

OPEN UP YOUR IMAGINATION FRI EVE TO SUN EVE T C HALSWAY MANOR O 8 2 6 SOMERSET 2 Suitable for songwriters of all genres and levels of experience, this retreat in the beautiful house and grounds of Halsway Manor consists of workshops and songwriting exercises designed to help you open up your imagination to new ways of songwriting, with plenty of space to walk, relax, think and write as well as two evening sessions in the bar where everyone gets a chance to share songs with the group and facilitators (REG MEUROSS, MELISSA HOLDING, KATIE WHITEHOUSE & JESSI NORGARD).

“REG MEUROSS will be a good man to listen to when the time comes to look at developing your own way to be your own singer-songwriter” PETE TOWNSHEND

REG MEUROSS SINGER SONGWRITER STORYTELLER

PHOTO: RACHEL SNOWDON

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23/05/2018 15:16

LIBRARY Pictured: Jon Tye

‘From my first Nas hit, it’s never ceased to amaze me how rap artists continue to use my music,’ remarks Brian. ‘After Drake [who sampled Brian’s music on his Summer Sixteen hit], my grandaughters now think their grandad is cool!’

Both were star composers for the legendary KPM library music label in the sixties and have just released their latest LP together, Full Circle. It seems the rest of the music world has almost caught up with them.

Renewed passions So why the renewed interest? If you blow off the dusty moniker, the music of Alan and Brian, as well as fellow luminaries Barbara Moore and Keith Mansfield, is full of wild, innovative sounds and incredible musicianship.

Jon Tye, DJ, record collector, producer and head of the Lo Recordings label, has a deep passion for library music. To him, it’s a constant source of inspiration. ‘Some of the more experimental sides of this music are like nothing else,’ he says.

‘Back then, few people would have been able to release music that was so strange. Now you take it for granted that there’s an independent music scene but at one point it never existed.’

DOM MOORE

CHARLOTTE RUTHERFOD / EILON PAZ for Dust & Grooves - dustandgrooves.com

‘Apparently hip-hop originated with a song called Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang that was inspired by my Love De-Luxe Here Comes That Sound Again composition,’ says Alan. ‘There have been at least 150 samples of my music released, but the biggest was probably Pray, the lead track on Jay Z’s American Gangster album. It has and continues to be a great surprise that my music has been so influential.’

Production Music Awards While this reverence for the past is understandable, contemporary production music is simultaneously booming.

Thanks to the accessibility of quality recording technology and the explosion in video content, there’s now more demand for library works than ever before.

The Production Music Awards, sponsored by MCPS Production Music and PRS for Music, recently took place for its fifth consecutive year. Organiser Richard Canavan believes its expansion is a barometer of how far the industry has come.

‘The first event in 2014 was the culmination of a year of industry consultation and planning. Since then, the awards have grown to attract 300 entries from music libraries all over the world,’ he states.

Simon James, Head of Production Music at PRS for Music/ MCPS, agrees that the industry is in a state of rapid expansion.

‘The UK has driven the library business for decades and the music of our writers is woven into the fabric of many cultures across the world,’ he says.

‘We represent the most respected production music catalogues and our mission is to help our writers’ and publishers’ business grow in this new digital media landscape, as illustrated by our comprehensive new licence recently agreed with the BBC’

Paul agrees: ‘The fact that this music has lasted is testament to the combination of brilliant musicians playing really well written pieces. These guys were at the top of their game.’

New labels While demands for production music grow, other established players are looking for opportunities in this exciting musical space. In October 2017 experimental electronic label Ninja Tune opened its Production Music division, making thousands of tracks from the likes of Coldcut and Amon Tobin available.

Martin Dobson, Ninja Tune’s Head of Publishing, says the move was a natural progression for the innovative company.

The anonymity of many of the composers means the only thing for listeners to focus on is the music. As an act of musical expression, there are arguably fewer purer forms. ‘No one is pushing an artist,’ says Jon. ‘It’s all about the effect of the music rather than the image it projects or the identity that lies behind it.’

‘We wanted Ninja Tune Production Music to be artist-focused as we felt a credible catalogue fronted by known recording artists was missing from the library music world,’ he reveals.

‘There are plenty of media people who only use production music. We wanted to expose our roster to these clients at a fee structure they could afford.’

M70_DECEMBER 2018_25

LIBRARY

It’s all about the effect of the music rather than the image it projects or the identity that lies behind it.

Creative licence With some of the label’s biggest names channelling their energies into this offshoot, Ninja Tune is blazing an exciting new path. But what creative opportunities does production music afford?

‘Writing for media allows our artists to step outside the usual constraints of making commercial music,’ says Martin. ‘It can give them freedom to experiment with different production techniques, instruments and styles - something we actively encourage.’

Louisa Rainbird, Head of Creative at publisher Music Sales, is a Production Music Awards judge and industry expert. For her the exceptional quality of production music means big name composers are looking to muscle in and get involved with libraries.

‘Composers such as Hans Zimmer, Daniel Pemberton and Ruth Barrett write brilliant music for a host of libraries. It really works as they are so adept at reading what visuals need from music,’ she explains.

Ninja Tune’s Martin Dobson agrees that the wider industry’s attitudes towards production music are shifting. ‘Previously, library music used to be a dirty word in sync with artists and writers composing under aliases to keep their involvement secret,’ he says. ‘But now, our clients are happy to use production music in their bigger and more well-known productions. It feels like an exciting time to have a library catalogue.’

New talent As with the collectible music of the past, the library music of today continues to offer composers a potentially lucrative income stream as well as creative outlet.

Award-winning composer Justine Barker has worked on music for a wide variety of TV programmes including the likes of Casualty and Holby City. ‘Not only is it a great opportunity to experiment with genres and styles but there are good financial benefits too,’ she explains. ‘Once the work is done, it can potentially keep earning you royalties for years after.’

Above left: Alan Hawkshaw guests on Mr Beatnick's NTS radio show Above right: Shawn Lee and Paul Elliott

But how can get new composers and music writers get on the radar of libraries? Justine believes new composers need to focus on what many specific libraries lack. ‘Do your homework when approaching them as they get hundreds of submissions every day. Co-writes can be a good way to work with a library that doesn’t know you. So, if you can buddy up with an artist that already writes for them, that may get your foot in the door.’

Future sounds of library music As with ever increasing demands for content, alongside growth in music consumption via digital, it seems the possibilities for production music are endless. But can this revival and renewed audience sustain itself?

Jon Tye believes attention spans are cyclical and musical fashions are liable to change but new sounds will always hold some appeal. ‘You would never have time to listen to all the library music that’s been made,’ he states. ‘Instead, people focus on certain eras – so in 20 years’ time people might be digging around for library music made in the noughties or now.’

For KPM’s Alan Hawkshaw, to stand out as a composer and enjoy a long and successful career, it’s all about making great music. ‘I am personally tickled and secretly proud to have been anointed “The Undisputed King of Library Music”.

But you’ve got to remember this is a title that could apply to any of my KPM colleagues; they all wrote such powerful and enduring library music.”

M70_DECEMBER 2018_27

Over the last decade, the barrage of stories about UK venue closures has made for depressing reading. But Lucy Doyle takes a look beyond the headlines to tentatively ask: are we starting to see green shoots for the grassroots?

LIVE

You don’t just lose a space, you lose a community; an entire vibe where you had a connection with.

Roots aren’t easy to grow.

Disused public toilets, dentist surgeries, ballrooms, carparks – over the years, grassroots venues may have become more creative with the spaces they’re co-opting, but they all still have one thing in common: they remain a lifeline to new artists across all genres.

In a music ecology reportedly struggling to find festival headliners – a study by Music Week last year found that just six acts who released their debut studio album in the past decade went on to top a major UK festival bill – it’s more important than ever that emerging acts are given the platform to develop their live prowess. And there’s no better place to do that than at one of the many independent venues found around the country.

However, while they may be the place to discover the next big thing, small venues don’t exist without struggle: the rate of closures over the past 10 years makes for dire reading, with more than 40 percent shutting their doors for good. Issues such as increased business rates, strict licensing laws and property development are making it harder than ever for venues to survive, but pressure from the industry is mounting.

New lifelines In July, the Agent of Change principle came into effect, following a high-profile campaign by UK Music and backed by artists including Paul McCartney, Brian Eno and our latest cover Nadine Shah. Where previously, a developer could move in next to a music venue and demand soundproofing, now the onus is on them to take responsibility for the impact of their build on preexisting businesses.

Meanwhile, there are initiatives and models in place to help small venues: PRS Foundation’s Open Fund invites organisations to apply for support for projects that involve the creation, performance and promotion of new music. One venue to benefit from the scheme is The Albany in Deptford, South East London.

The multi-purpose arts centre launched its music programme this autumn, using the Open Fund for marketing and promotion, as well as its first gig with Noisettes frontwoman and bassist Shingai Shoniwa.

‘The funding has allowed us to be really creative with presentation,’ says Rachel Nelken, Head of Creative Programmes.

‘We gave Shingai three days of rehearsal in the theatre. Normally the theatre would be hired out, but it allowed us to prop up the income that we would have raised and meant that she could really craft her show.’

It’s this ‘above and beyond’ relationship with the artist that drives The Albany. From offering grant application support to artists, to inviting musicians to become workshop facilitators, it’s a venue model that aims to nurture the talent that comes through its doors – which can only mean good things in return. ‘We’re “growing our own” as it were’, Rachel says of the venue’s talent incubation.

Elsewhere, initiatives like Independent Venue Week (IVW) have gone from strength to strength. Returning for its sixth edition in January 2019, the week-long celebration shines a spotlight on indie venues through a nationwide series of gigs.

‘I think people see the venue as more than just somewhere to see live music; they see it as a place where they can hang out with mates, where they can be immersed in local culture,’ says founder Sybil Bell. ‘They’re proper cultural hubs.’

Learning about live With IVW now expanding into the US, Sybil says that grassroots venues are ‘vital’ to new artists. ‘No venue of any substantial size or with a very commercial slant is going to put an artist on that has never played shows or only played a handful of shows,’ she says. ‘It’s not just about the artists, it’s also about the crew: the sound guy, the lighting guy, the tour manager. They’ve got to learn their craft somewhere as well.’

Joining the IVW family as Ambassador this year is Mercury Prize-nominated South London MC Novelist, who says grassroots venues are ‘a vital testing ground’ for artists. ‘This is where you get a real feel for what it's like to perform publicly, learn about yourself and grow your talent,’ he says.

It’s a similar story for indie-punk trio Muncie Girls, who cite the Exeter Cavern as key to their development. ‘It's where Muncie Girls came from, learned how to be a band; it’s where we met people from other bands and how we started touring,’ says lead guitarist Dean McMullen.

Former long-term Muse tour director, Glen Rowe, shares the same perspective on the venue. ‘Put it this way: if there was no Exeter Cavern, there would be no Muse.’

Glen recently announced plans for his charity, NEKO Trust, to build five new UK venues. ‘Through talking to lots of young people around the country when on tour, I kept hearing the same alarming problems about venues closing down or venues making young bands pay to play,’ he explains.

M70_DECEMBER 2018_29

The venue is more than just somewhere to see live music; it’s a place where you hang out with mates, where you’re immersed in local culture. They’re proper cultural hubs.

Above: Muncie Girls Right: Sybil Bell and Novelist Over: Benin City

The NEKO Trust aims to avoid some of the common issues faced by venues by building its sites ‘with noise leakage management as our main priority,’ he adds.

For Josh Idehen, Tom Leaper and Shanaz Dorsett of Benin City, there were three London venues in particular that helped shape them. ‘Passing Clouds was the first place we were paid a decent wage, Hootenanny gave us the chance to try out our music in front of several live, packed audiences. Vibe Bar was where we decided to change our sound for good,’ they say.

Small venues are vital for the group, whose sound is rooted in spoken word and jazz-funk, but sadly two on their list have already met their demise. ‘East London is grimmer without Passing Clouds and Vibe Bar, and that’s the honest truth. You don’t just lose a space, you lose a community; an entire vibe where you had a connection with. Roots aren’t easy to grow.’

DARREN RUSSELL

Pulling shapes With closures affecting all genres, in the classical community, innovators are looking outside the traditional concert hall setup and turning to unconventional spaces.

Composer Freya Waley Cohen is Artistic Director of Listenpony – a series which hosts concerts in venues such as crypts and art galleries. She says unusual venue spaces are ‘vital to help create an atmosphere that allows the audience to experience a close connection with the music and the musicians themselves.’

Freya’s roaming performance artwork, Permutations, explores this idea further. ‘It has nearly 70 rotating doors, and different doors are moveable depending on the shape and size of the venue in which it is installed,’ she says. ‘This gives the listener an infinite variety of possible

listening experiences – it’s up to each individual to create their own version.’

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is a period-music orchestra that has been challenging convention since its inception three decades ago. Its classical music events series, The Night Shift, takes place in smaller-scale pub and gig venues, attracting a new and younger audience.

John Holmes, Director of Marketing and Audience Development, says that venues such as The George Tavern in Whitechapel, London – which it helped campaign to save from closure – are crucial to the series, offering something new to musicians and audiences alike.

‘The musicians themselves have often found the intimate atmosphere in pubs transformative; often commenting that despite the lack of the usual “rules” around behaviour you’d find in a concert hall, the audience listens more intently to the music and engages with it in a more open way.’

Green shoots Innovation is likewise key to the 10-year story of Kazimier Productions. The redevelopment of Wolstenholme Square in Liverpool resulted in the closure of the beloved Kazimier Club, which was ‘a devastating blow to us all’, says Director Liam Naughton. However, the group found a new home in 2016, opening Invisible Wind Factory – a 1,200-capacity warehouse on Liverpool’s North Docks and a ‘cultural theme park for the future.’

With a team made up of artists, musicians and filmmakers, Kazimier Productions has an interdisciplinary approach to its multimedia programming, also running a gallery which supports the local arts scene. ‘The Output Gallery is keeping us curious, and running this has cemented our cross-arts approach to running venues,’ Liam says.

Shingai Shoniwa, Muncie Girls, #fundedbyPRSF

LIVE

‘It’s difficult running music venues in this era – we are all constantly up against it with restrictions, especially when running venues in old factory buildings’ he says. But challenges are to be embraced: ‘We are fine with market forces kicking in, it keeps us fresh with having to find ways to deliver our objectives and overall activity in a viable and relevant way. It’s exciting really.’

Across the country, many more venues are adopting a multifunctional approach to stay afloat: from The Tin in Coventry, which also offers a rehearsal space, artist studio and large community room, to London’s vintage-shop-by-day, musicvenue-by-night, Paper Dress. Pointing to The Boileroom in Guildford, Rachel says: ‘Dom Frazer, who runs it, has made great strides. She has lots of non-music activity on the downtimes that the venue is not being used, and I think that’s something that’s really interesting to look at.’

With IVW approaching, for Sybil, it’s about turning people’s attention to the fact that new venues are opening – and thriving. Last year’s programme featured several venues that had been open less than a year, while two new venues have signed up for the 2019 edition. ‘I think it’s a story that should be told more’, she says.

As for the enduring relevance of grassroots venues and artists, she adds: ‘There’s something about the romance of walking through the door of a venue, feeling the atmosphere, watching the bands play, the engagement that goes on. You can’t touch that. Nothing replaces the importance of being in a venue.’

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors

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We campaign to protect the rights of composers and songwriters and celebrate excellence through world-class awards ceremonies – The Ivor Novello Awards, the British Composer Awards and the Gold Badge Awards. We also offer our members an array of benefits to help support their careers as music writers. From professional development seminars, industry training, critiques and master classes, joining BASCA provides the opportunity to join a community of the UK’s most talented music creators. info@basca.org.uk

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song writing

i wrote that Multi-million-selling singersongwriter Tanita Tikaram became instantly synonymous with sassy, classy pop in the late eighties, when she stormed the UK charts while still a teenager. Her debut album Ancient Heart, released in 1988, sold four million copies and spawned four hit singles, including Good Tradition and Twist In My Sobriety. Here, she casts her mind back 30 years to the moment when lead single, Good Tradition, came to her…

When I was about 18, I listened to an album over and over by Nina Simone called Nina Sings the Blues. On it, there’s a great gospel track called Real Real. It really inspired me and I wanted to write a song just like it. But it didn’t turn out that way, and I ended up with Good Tradition instead. It’s very simple, like Real Real, so I guess somewhere along the line I was influenced by the song’s lyrics and chord structure.

NATACHA HORN

Back then, I was writing very quickly on my guitar. It was the only instrument I could play – and not very well either! Often, I would sing the whole song straight through: they seemed to write themselves back then. I was still at sixth form college and in English class we were reading Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. We talked a lot about the symbolism of family, and I think that’s where I found the language for the song.

I recorded it in 1988 at the Red House, Rod Argent’s home studio near St Albans.

It was really beautiful, a bit like a rambling old manor house. He co-produced the first record, Ancient Heart. The album contains some really original instrumentation for back then; oboes, violin solos – there’s a lot going on musically. The amazing violinist Helen O’Hara played on Good Tradition. She’s probably best known for her rousing work with Dexy’s Midnight Runners, but she has a very soulful, melodic way of playing.

When we were working on the album, Rod and co-producer Pete Van Hooke would talk about all sorts of influences, Celtic, classical, m70_december 2018 _33

When it went into the Top 30 I was performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival everyone was so excited and surprised a record like that would make the charts. blues. On Good Tradition we also had Paul Brady, the Irish singer-songwriter, playing mandolin and the pipes. We were creating a little sound world of our own, and I think it confused some people who presumed I must’ve had a connection to Celtic music!

It turned out to be a really joyful track, even though the lyrics aren’t. The drums are lovely, and I think the whole rhythm section brings a bit of a party atmosphere. When I listen to it, I hear me learning about all the things that happen when you make a record.

It was a really eye-opening time for me.

Shortly after we recorded it, I made my first video, I started to appear on television and the song went on to do very well in the UK and Germany. I remember when it went into the Top 30; it was a big deal for me. I was

performing at the Cambridge Folk Festival and everyone was so excited because it was a big surprise that a record like that would make the charts. Then when we broke the Top 10, things started to get a little crazy.

It’s 30 years since its release, which is sometimes hard to believe. But I think my bigger anniversary will be next year, when I turn 50! Looking back, it’s so lovely and amazing that people are so kind about that song, and the whole album. It made such an impression on people.

A 30th anniversary edition of Ancient Heart is out now.

Good Tradition Written by: Tanita Tikaram Published by: Warner/Chappell

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10/07/2018 09:57

23/05/2018 15:

:43

The Truth About TAXI… An Unedited Forum Post from TAXI Member James Kocian http://forums.taxi.com/post353820.html#p353820

H

i Friends, It's been awhile, but I'm still here!!

TAXI has been the singular catalyst for me in the past 2 years. I am closing in on 2 years of membership and my experience has been overwhelming. I will be at the Road Rally this year, as I've recently been invited to speak at the 'Successful Members' panel.

This is all beyond humbling to me, and I feel indebted to Michael and his incredibly talented staff.

Taking Risks…

In a nutshell, TAXI has motivated me and allowed me to take creative risks; to dabble in genres I didn't even know existed, and to develop relationships with high-level music professionals I otherwise would NEVER have had access to.

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!

I'm writing Hip Hop tracks for a well known rapper's next project, and I'm connected to a MultiPlatinum, Grammy-Winning Producer who allows/asks me to regularly send him material to pitch to the biggest artists in music. That in and of itself is enough is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's been ongoing for nearly a year.

There's more, but this isn't about me. It's about: T-A-X-I Have I mentioned that I live in GREEN BAY, WI? I mean, sure, we have the Packers — but it isn't exactly a music hub for anything more than Journey tribute bar bands.

I really can't stress how invaluable TAXI is to people who are willing to put the CRAFT into the ART of songwriting and music production. The "Forwards" section of the [TAXI] forum itself is worth the membership fee. Why?

Figured Out What Elements I Missed…

It's not to brag about Forwards.

What I did was hit the [TAXI] Forums after I got “Returns” and found members who received “Forwards” for the same listings.

Then I went and LISTENED. I analyzed the differences in our songs.

Lyrics. Vocals. Arrangements.

Instrumentations. Productions. I re-read the listings, and figured out what elements I missed. And I adjusted accordingly.

Where else can you get that?

Major Publishers

So far this year I've signed 13 songs with major publishers. I'm writing with people all over the USA, and have made regular trips to Nashville a part of my routine.

I've been co-writing with a guy who has had multiple (recent) #1's.

It boggles my mind actually.

The success of members (at least this member) is a TEAM effort. And I am honored to consider TAXI part of my team. It is possible to succeed.

To “make it.” To realize our dreams.

Don't quit. Don't settle. Don't lose hope. And stick with TAXI.

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