2 MusicWeek 15.11.13 NEWS EDITORIAL
Artists must protest louder over ticket resale
IT’S BEEN OVER A MONTH since Ricky Gervais gave the new CEO of Seatwave a rollicking. As discovered by Music Week, the secondary ticketing group’s
new CEO Ajay Chowdhury decided to remove extortionate listings for Gervais’ first musical live shows as David Brent - but only after the comedian’s team directly lambasted the company for their users’ avaricious pricing of resold tickets. Gervais (or his people) got on the phone, presumably shouted
about how disgusted he was that fans were being ripped off outside his control - and got a major result. Why? Because Ricky Gervais has more than 5 million Twitter
followers, in addition to traditional media influence and an army of engaged fans. Watching him publicly berate Seatwave loudly and repeatedly with a commendable pro-fan message is not the kind of PR any CEO - let alone a newbie - wants to entertain. What a shame, then, that we haven’t heard of any musical act following suit in the past four weeks.
“What a shame that, following Ricky Gervais’ effective public protest against secondary ticketing, no music artist has followed suit”
It’s widely known in industry circles that certain artists not only
support the freedom of the resale market, but actively partake in its arrant profiteering. Indeed, Live Nation told us not so long ago (Live And Dangerous cover story, March 2012) that it’s only ever engaged in the murky, widespread practice of pushing new tickets onto the secondary market - that’s beforemaking them available on the primary market - at the behest of artist teams. The giant promoter is not alone. No fingers have ever been
publicly pointed, but basically, if really pricey tickets are on sale on Viagogo before a ‘legitimate’ official on-sale begins, question marks have to be raised about the artist’s involvement. Yet for those acts that abhor watching secondary ticketing sites
sub-peddle tickets to their gigs for massive profits - and there are plenty of these laudable souls big enough to pack out Wembley Arena -
the time to strike would appear to be now. Thom Yorke, himself a great and honest believer in fair ticket
prices for fans, recently lambasted Spotify for - in his view - keeping new artists out of profit due to meagre streaming royalties. But following Gervais’ example, wouldn’t Yorke’s concern for emerging acts be more effectively channelled by directly, personally banging down the door of Seatwave, Viagogo et al? These third-party resale platforms offer hardly any of their
massive income to the music industry - as the live sector becomes a bedrock for everyone from labels to publishers, as well as the more traditional players like agents and promoters. That means no investment back into A&R from music-based profit: directly harming a hugely valuable source of funding for emerging performers. Behind the scenes, managers fighting the most underhand
elements of today’s secondary ticketing market are calling for legislation - usually, to bring in a resale cap on ticket prices. But perhaps this isn’t the most potent approach. Perhaps, like
comedian Gervais, the answer is for artists to take charge, kick up a fuss in front of millions - and show money-counting resale platforms that this really isn’t a laughing matter.
Tim Ingham, Editor Do you have views on this column? Feel free to comment by emailing
tim.ingham@
intentmedia.co.uk BMG signs You Me At Six ARTIST SERVICES DEAL INKED, FOURTH LP DUE JAN
L-R: Chris Miller, Josh Franceschi, Matt Barnes, Max Helyer (all YMAS), Ben Bodie (BMG), Alexi Cory-Smith (BMG), Dan Flint (YMAS), Carina Berthet (manager), Tom Overbury, Danny Watson (both BMG)
www.musicweek.com
LABELS n BY TIM INGHAM
B
MG has signed an artist services deal with rock band You Me At Six to
release Cavalier Youth, their fourth studio album, due out January 27, 2014. You Me At Six are the
latest act to sign up to BMG’s masters model, which offers artists a bigger share of royalties from their records than traditional label deals and the right to maintain their copyrights - but with an agreed marketing investment from BMG, rather than an advance. BMG has previously issued
records from the likes of Dexys, Glasvegas, The Fratellis and Deaf Havana - whose Old Souls LP reached No.9 in September. The new deal means BMG
Artist Services will release Cavalier Youth exclusively
around the world in a deal signed by BMG Chrysalis UK. Separately, the band have
signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with the rights company. Cavalier Youth follows the
success of You Me At Six’s latest single Lived A Lie, which reached No.11 on the Official Singles Chart in September, making it the group’s highest- charting single to date. The video of the track has attracted nearly one million views on YouTube. With career sales of over
400,000 albums, all three previous LPs by You Me At Six have gone gold, with their last release Sinners Never Sleep debuting at No.3. The band are currently
supporting 30 Seconds To Mars on their international arena tour, which will see them play to a combined audience of over 250,000 across the UK
and Europe. Band manager Carina Berthet said: “When we started talking about finding a new deal, the most important thing was to find a team of people who believed in the band and their music. “In BMG we have certainly
found that. The band have never felt such support and warmth before. The BMG Artist Services deal gives us real involvement in the whole process - and the flexibility to choose licensees on a territory-by- territory basis.” BMG Chrysalis SVP Alexi
Cory-Smith said: “This is a career-defining record which just has so many layers. I’ve found myself playing it again and again. “ The band have worked
incredibly hard to hone their sound and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with them at this important stage of their career.”
PRS sponsors RADAR event
PRS For Music has signed up to sponsorMusic Week’s RADAR night this month, which will present up-and-coming acts at Under The Bridge in London. RADAR, presented by Music
Week with ILUVLIVE and MusicConnex, will take place on November 28. The event will be held four times a year, with the aim to make the night the go-to industry showcase.
Music Weekwill not only
publicise the event, but also providing extra exposure for artists on the bill. This month’s line-up includes
Nick Brewer, The Boxettes, Izzy Bizu, Lianne Kaye and Aiden. A limited number of free
RADAR tickets are available to Music Week readers. For more information, email
RADAR@intentmedia.co.uk.
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