Music Week’s round-up of essential music biz stories you might have missed…
Mighty Hoopla
Mighty Hoopla has announced that Cathy Dennis will be making her first live appearance in 20 years after being added to their 2019 lineup.
The six-time Ivors winner and four time Grammy nominee has penned global hits such as Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Britney Spears’ Toxic, Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl and has released three solo albums. Mighty Hoopla will take place in Brockwell Park on June 8.
SoundExchange Sues Music Choice
SoundExchange filed a lawsuit against Music Choice to recover underpaid royalties.
This action, which comes after an audit of Music Choice's royalty statements, reflects SoundExchange's commitment to protect the value of music.
SoundExchange VP and general counsel Colin Rushing said, “Music Choice's actions reflect a persistent effort to avoid paying royalties for its use of protected sound recordings. Its creative accounting has cheated creators out of the royalties they are due and is inconsistent with the Copyright Royalty Board's regulations.”
ASCAP Appoints Ed Razzano
ASCAP has appointed Ed Razzano as SVP, administration services.
Razzano will report to ASCAP chief strategy & digital officer Nicholas Lehman and will lead operations and strategy for ASCAP’s royalty administration arm, Songwize, which processes and matches performances and pays royalties for music publisher clients in partnership with a broad range of digital music services, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google Play, Pandora and YouTube.
“Songwize provides an invaluable service for rightsholders and digital music services,” said Razzano. “I’m excited to build on this essential business which ensures that songwriters and publishers can have confidence that their performances are processed and paid with the same trusted standards and systems that ASCAP uses to pay its members.”
AT Joins Downtown
Downtown Music Holdings the parent company of Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, and AVL Digital Group has appointed Anne-Taylor “AT” Adams as SVP of global communications.
In this role Adams will oversee the global communications strategy for Downtown Music Holdings and its portfolio companies and will be reporting to CEO Justin Kalifowitz.
Downtown CEO Justin Kalifowitz said: “I am thrilled AT is joining Downtown at such a transformational time in our industry. Her thoughtful perspective and strategic experience from across entertainment and technology make her an invaluable addition to our global leadership team, an important partner to all of our portfolio companies, and a tireless advocate for the creators we serve around the world.”
IFPI
IFPI has appointed Jenny Wong as Asia Regional Director.
Wong will represent the interests of IFPI’s 1,300 record company members and, working in collaboration with IFPI’s National Groups, she will be focused on driving the continuing evolution of the music markets in Asia. She will also oversee IFPI’s work in the region in the areas of legal and policy engagement, licensing operations, content protection, market analysis, and charts and certification.
Wong said: “I am delighted to be joining IFPI in Asia. I am looking forward to working with our member record companies and National Groups to ensure continued growth for the recording industry in Asia.”
By Carol Wright
