A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
November 2024 Updates
Pathways weekend
We are at BIMM Bristol ready to go with our second ‘Understand The Pathways Into Music’ weekend, our professional development programme for music educators. Really looking forward to meeting everyone.
Another B city!
Another B city! My visit to Manchester slightly ruined the consecutive run, but after Bergen, Belfast and Berlin, now I’m in Bristol for our Pathways Into Music weekend.
One Step Ahead
IMPALA’s One Step Ahead is back, which is exciting. We have a brand new report summarising all the key developments in music streaming over the last year – including streaming models, UGC, superfans, stream manipulation + more – with a webinar to talk through it all on 5 Dec at 3pm CET. Indie label people: check with your national trade org for info on how to access the webinar.
Data ranting
I was lecturing about music rights data at Confetti today, which may or may not have morphed into a slight rant about why we so desperately need to get ISWCs into the metadata with each new recording. How many years till I can just teach that that’s how it works as standard?
Drake v UMG
There I was ready to present my Most Bombastic Music Business Lawsuit Of The Year award to Universal’s litigation against Believe, and then Drake stepped forward with some big allegations against Universal and its allegedly dodgy promotion tactics for boosting streams of Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-dissing ‘Not Like Us’. Although Drake’s legal filings aren’t technically lawsuits yet, so maybe he loses on a technicality. Here is my CMU report on those filings.
Back to London
Heading back to London this evening after a fun few days up North, first in Manchester and then Holmes Chapel. I have my previously mentioned favourite seat booked for the return journey down South, so that’s all good, except – looking at the number of trains that have been cancelled today – who knows if reservations will be in play? Might end up on the roof.
TW Backstage
Over on our ThisWeek Culture website you’ll find TW Backstage – articles + resources for the creative and cultural industries. In recent weeks we’ve had explainers on the Shambles copyright dispute and Parliament’s Creator Remuneration report, plus updates on the BBC Comedy Festival, ticket levies and EIF 2025. Check it out here.
MIME thanks
Great day at our Music Industry + Music Education Conference in Manchester with so many insights and ideas, lots of food for thought. Many thanks to all our great panellists, including this team who helped us identify some of the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in music.
Manchester view
This has been the view when brewing my coffee for the last two days while staying with Alan here in Manchester. I bought this postcard from the gift shop (by which, I mean, I nabbed the photo from Alan’s Instagram). Now off to meet Phil for some final MIME prep.
Back in Manchester
Great to be back in Manchester for Un-Convention ahead of our Music Industry + Music Education Conference on Saturday – lots of catching up and interesting conversations. I expect more of the same tomorrow, in between doing some final prep for the MIME event.
All hail seat H2
What’s worse, the fact I have a favourite seat on Avanti West Coast trains, or the fact it’s the seat where you don’t have to sit next to or opposite anyone? All hail seat H2. Avanti’s reservations system was down, but – with the help of the train gods – I still got it. Next stop: Manchester.
More Musi v Apple
The Musi v Apple legal battle ploughs on. The free streaming app sued after it was kicked out of the App Store following a “five word complaint” from YouTube. But, says Apple, that followed numerous formal complaints from the record industry; Musi knows exactly what it did wrong; and, anyway, Apple can kick out whoever it likes from the App Store. Read my CMU report here.
Pathways at Output
Here’s me and Phil talking through the latest Pathways Into Music research work at Output last week (with thanks to Ciara McMullan for the photo). We’ll be showcasing more of that at our MIME Conference in Manchester on Saturday, alongside lots of insightful conversations about how industry and education can better support future music talent. Info here.
Pathways Bristol
It’s a busy couple of weeks coming up for Pathways Into Music. As well as our MIME Conference in Manchester on Saturday, we have our professional development weekend for music educators in the South West taking place in Bristol on 30 Nov and 1 Dec. We’ll be selecting the final participants for that on Friday, so there is still time to apply. If you know anyone working in music education or talent development in the South West, do let them know. Info here.
MIME next weekend
This time next week we’ll be presenting our Music Industry + Music Education Conference in Manchester. Don’t forget, if you have an Un-Convention pass, you can get a free ticket to our conference – get info on how to claim that ticket here.
Need more power!
How can an airport that only opened in 2020 have so few power sockets? These were the only ones I could find that didn’t involve dangerously dragging my laptop cable over a corridor – and there weren’t many of those either. And I realise there’s presumably a four year old Reddit thread where this has been said a 1000 times, but yesterday was my first time flying out of Berlin Brandenburg Airport!
Panels galore
It’s been a busy week for panels in Bergen, Belfast and Berlin. This is yesterday’s panel at Most Wanted: Music. Next round of on-stage talking is on 23 Nov at our MIME Conference in Manchester, all about music industry and music education working together to better support future music talent. Hope to see you there!
I’m in Berlin
After some over night travelling, I made it to Berlin this morning and had a great first day at Most Wanted: Music, moderating a panel on all things collective licensing and then delivering a speed briefing on the diversifying digital market. Thank you to everyone who joined us.
Zoom with a view
Thanks to Output for sorting out this room with a view so I could deliver my BPI webinar this afternoon. I’ve had a great day here in Belfast. Next, a very late night bus ride to Dublin Airport to fly out to Berlin first thing tomorrow. What can possibly go wrong with that?
I’m in Belfast
My tour of the B cities continues, I’m now in Belfast! Tomorrow I’ll be discussing evolving record deals and our Pathways Into Music research work at Output – and will then deliver the latest BPI webinar on location. Hope to see some of you there.
MIME Conference
Really pleased with the programme for the MIME Conference we are presenting in Manchester later this month, connecting music industry and music education. Come and join the conversation on how we can best support future music talent. Check out topics and speakers here.
Hotel rankings
I have added an extra criteria to the Chris Cooke hotel ranking system. Hotels which – like Bergen’s Heimen Hotel – keep the breakfast room coffee machine on all day, so you can help yourself to a free coffee at any time, get an extra point!
VVV thanks!
Thanks to my brilliant panellists who joined me for the CMU sessions at Vill Vill Vest earlier today, with insights and practical tips galore on fanbase building and the mysterious world of sync. Great to be back in Bergen!
Back in Bergen
I am back in Bergen for the brilliant Vill Vill Vest. Looking forward to hosting the two panels CMU is presenting tomorrow – on platform overload and sync – kicking off at midday.
Guest lecturing
I’m doing quite a bit of guest lecturing at the moment. Yesterday a masterclass on music copyright at BIMM. Today the first of a number of sessions I’m doing on the record industry and releasing music at Confetti. As always, so many great questions from the students!
UMG v Believe
So, Universal Music’s $500 million lawsuit against Believe and TuneCore then. Let’s just say it doesn’t pull any punches. Here is my CMU report.
Conferences!
This is a very busy month for conferences. Here is a little summary of four events where I will be speaking this month, in Bergen, Belfast, Berlin and Manchester, along the way covering superfans, sync, evolving record deals, collective licensing, the diversifying digital market and the best ways we can support future music talent – hope to see you there!
VVV Platforms Panel
CMU is presenting two panels at Vill Vill Vest in Bergen this year, including ‘Platform Overload’. I’ll run through all the key platforms artists can use to grow, engage and monetise a fanbase, and then chat to Travis Yuxuan Li and Róisín Warner about what you can do with them, and how busy artists on a budget should decide what to prioritise. Get more info here.
VVV Sync Panel
CMU is presenting two panels at Vill Vill Vest in Bergen this year, including ‘Getting A Sync Deal In 2024’. I’ll run through the basics of sync, Gemma Farrington from Sentric will talk us through the latest market trends, and we’ll get practical pitching tips galore from music supervisors Jumi Akinfenwa and Sam Emery. Get more info here.
Vill Vill Vest 2024
I mentioned that I had a trip coming up which involves visiting three B cities. The first of those cities is Bergen, where next week CMU is presenting two panels as part of the magnificent Vill Vill Vest – one on dealing with platform overload and the other on getting a sync deal.