Nuns Get Record Deal

Decca Records announced it is signing the nuns of the Abbaye de Notre Dame de l’Annonciation. Decca is owned by Universal Music, which includes The Rolling Stones, Eminem, Amy Winehouse, U2 and Lady Gaga.

The nuns were chosen after a worldwide search for performers of Gregorian chants. The debut album, “Voices – Chant from Avignon,” is set for a November release.

Overview

We are engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content. As more fully described below, our primary assets and operations include:

• 19 Entertainment Limited (“19 Entertainment”), which owns, among other properties, proprietary rights to the IDOLS and So You Think You Can Dance television brands, both of which air in the United States, and, together with local adaptations of the formats, around the world;

• An 85% ownership interest in Elvis Presley Enterprises (the “Presley Business” or “EPE”), which owns the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, and certain music and other intellectual property created by or related to Elvis and the operations of Graceland; and has partnered with Cirque du Soleil for the creation of Elvis Presley-themed shows and projects around the world, including the recently opened Viva ELVIS in Las Vegas, Nevada; and

• An 80% ownership interest in Muhammad Ali Enterprises (the “Ali Business”), which owns the rights to the name, image and likeness of, as well as certain trademarks and other intellectual property related to, Muhammad Ali.

Our existing properties generate recurring revenue across multiple entertainment platforms, including music and television; licensing and merchandising; talent management; themed attractions and touring/live events.

19 Entertainment

Overview

Through our subsidiary, 19 Entertainment Limited, we own proprietary rights to the IDOLS (including American Idol ) and So You Think You Can Dance television brands, both of which air in the United States and, together with local adaptations of the formats, around the world. 19 Entertainment’s strategy is to create and retain an ownership interest in entertainment content and to seek to enhance the value of its content through the control of multiple complementary revenue streams including, for example, television, music, sponsorship and merchandising, touring and artist management.

In January 2010, we entered into a long-term agreement with Simon Fuller, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of 19 Entertainment, pursuant to which Mr. Fuller will continue to executive produce and provide overall global executive direction with respect to American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance and our new multi-platform property If I Can Dream . The terms of the agreements with Mr. Fuller are more fully described below under “Transaction with Simon Fuller.” In connection with this transaction, management has initiated a thorough review of each of the businesses currently conducted by 19 Entertainment and decided to focus its efforts principally around its established IDOLS and So You Think You Can Dance brands and its new multimedia brand If I Can Dream . As a result of the decision to concentrate primarily on these three brands, management intends to exit most of the other businesses within 19 Entertainment by the summer of 2010. These businesses will either be closed, sold or transferred, including potentially being sold or transferred to Mr. Fuller’s new entertainment venture, XIX Entertainment. These changes are expected to substantially reduce 19 Entertainment’s spending on new development projects and associated selling, general and administrative expenses. The Company expects to incur cash and non-cash charges in 2010 as a result of this process. The amount of such charges will depend on a number of factors including the final determination of which businesses the Company will exit, the amount, if any, of sales proceeds generated or liabilities assumed as part of the sale or transfer of businesses and the ultimate scope of the reductions in selling, general and administrative expenses.

IDOLS Brand

19 Entertainment’s multi-platform approach to the commercial utilization of its entertainment properties is best illustrated by the IDOLS brand. In 1998, 19 Entertainment created what was to become the concept for “Pop Idol,” a televised talent contest for musical artists that allowed the viewing audience to participate in and ultimately select the winning performer via text messaging and telephone voting. The audience participation generates a pre-established market for the winning artists and other finalists who 19 Entertainment then has the right to represent with respect to artist management and merchandising. In the United States and the United Kingdom, 19 Entertainment also enters into exclusive recording agreements with the winning artists and other finalists. The first television program based on this concept was Pop Idol , first broadcast in the United Kingdom in 2001 and in the United States, under the name American Idol.

American Idol — Fox Agreement

19 Entertainment, Fox and FremantleMedia have entered into a series of agreements, the most recent of which was entered into in November 2005, which together encompass the terms under which Fox is granted the right to air American Idol in the United States. Fox has been granted a perpetual and exclusive license, including the right of first negotiation and last refusal, to broadcast any non-scripted television programs featuring the American Idol brand or based on the American Idol format, or featuring contestants who appear in their roles as American Idol winners, intended for broadcast within the United States and its territories. Under the terms of the 2005 amendment, Fox guaranteed production of four additional seasons of American Idol through and including American Idol 8 , which aired during the first and second quarters of 2009, with an automatic renewal for up to two additional seasons upon the show achieving certain minimum ratings in 2009 and potentially 2010. Based on ratings for the 2009 season, the show was automatically renewed for 2010 and began airing in January 2010. Based on the early ratings for the current season, we expect that the automatic renewal for 2011 will be triggered.

Fox pays FremantleMedia a flat license fee per episodic hour, as well as a premium license fee for each hour in excess of the initial season order. These fees are used by FremantleMedia to fund American Idol series production costs, excluding the fees of the judges and host and certain other costs, over and above the license fees, which are paid directly by Fox. FremantleMedia retains the balance of the Fox license fees minus production costs, and pays 50% of the balance directly to 19 Entertainment. Under the terms of the 2005 amendment, Fox pays an additional contractual license fee directly to 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia.

In addition to license fees, Fox also pays bonus fees depending on where the American Idol series is rated and ranked in the 18-49 age demographic. 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia each receive 50% of the ratings/rankings bonus, with 19 Entertainment receiving its share directly from Fox. 19 Entertainment also receives an executive producer fee and a format fee per episodic hour.

Ryan Seacrest Agreement
On July 7, 2009, the Company entered into two agreements with Ryan Seacrest, the host of American Idol , and certain of his affiliates to (i) ensure Mr. Seacrest’s availability for three future seasons of American Idol (years 2010, 2011 and 2012) and acquire Mr. Seacrest’s prime time television network exclusivity for future potential projects during the term of the agreement, and (ii) obtain the right to use Mr. Seacrest’s personal goodwill, merchandising rights, rights to his name, voice and image, and rights of publicity and promotion related to American Idol . Under the terms of the agreements, the Company paid $22.5 million upon execution of the agreements on July 7, 2009 and will pay Mr. Seacrest an additional $22.5 million in monthly installments during the term, for a total guaranteed amount of $45 million. The Company is in the process of negotiating with Fox and Fremantle for compensation related to Mr. Seacrest’s services on American Idol . The amounts paid by such parties, if any, will either be paid directly to the Company or remitted to the Company by Mr. Seacrest.

Los Angeles, California — Toronto Pictures, Inc (PINK: TTOPF) announced the appointment of Ms. Vivian Afriyie as Chief Financial Officer.

Vivian has over twelve years of experience in the forensic, financial accounting and corporate finance. Prior to joining Toronto Pictures, Vivian was the director of financial planning and business operations at Business Management Solutions where she supported senior management to make major decisions and implement improvements which in turn dramatically increased the performance of the firm’s clients. In many occasions she also managed financial planning and analysis functions for the clients’ operations.

“We are privileged to welcome Vivian to Toronto Pictures’ management team. I am confident that she will make significant contributions to the Company and that she will play an important role in realizing our objectives”, says Daria Trifu, COO.

Born in Accra, Ghana and a resident of Los Angeles, Vivian began her career in the public accounting arena working with PriceWaterhouseCoopers as an associate with financial Advisory Services where she provided consulting services for clients with financial and economic issues in complex litigation and other business dispute cases using forensic accounting techniques to analyze and critique opposing party claims. She then moved into the private sector where she worked for top companies such as Northrop Grumman, Occidental Petroleum, Price and Herbalife as senior financial analyst in corporate finance with experience in SEC reporting, financial planning and forecasting. She has a B.S. in accounting and finance from California State University, Los Angeles.

“Vivian’s appointment is yet another milestone as Toronto Pictures expands its operations to the West Coast as well as the Company prepares compliance with rules and regulations in order to become listed on the London Stock Exchange. Her background in corporate finance is also a key factors in raising the funding for the theatrical release of the feature film PUNCTURED HOPE and for the production of the film THE MINNESOTA PROJECT”, says Bruno Pischiutta, CEO.

About Toronto Pictures:
Toronto Pictures produces Hollywood standard, 35 mm feature films that provoke thought not violence. Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures explores different cultures and addresses controversial issues of our time in dramatic format.

Who Needs Labels When You’ve Got ASCAP?
by Laura Sydell for NPR

It’s open mic night at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco. A musician who calls himself Porter steps up with a guitar and harmonica strapped around his neck. The small cafe is packed, though it’s mostly packed with other singer-songwriters.

Porter is 27, and he’s making his first album at a local studio, even though he doesn’t have a recording contract.

“The indie music scene has gone beyond record labels now,” Porter says. “We don’t need Sony giving us $200 million to make an album. We can cut an album fairly cheaply and the quality’s still there, and you can play in so many places online. You can get online like CD Baby and all that, and you’re distributing to all those places. You don’t need a label anymore.”

Porter is also signed up with ASCAP — that’s one of the major organizations that collects royalties for songwriters. They keep track of when songs are played on the radio, in clubs and online, then divvy up the royalties. He might even collect a few cents for NPR airplay. Artists used to wait until they had a recording contract to sign up with ASCAP, but not anymore.

“Performance of that music has never been greater,” says Phil Crosland, vice-president of marketing at ASCAP. “It’s just being used in more ways and more places than ever before. Mobile devices — certainly radio, television, video games — are going through the roof in terms of music use.”

New Ways To Get By

Membership is soaring in ASCAP and BMI, the two biggest performing rights organizations. Over the last decade, ASCAP membership has quadrupled. One of its 375,000 members is Jess Furman. Furman says she doesn’t think she’ll make her money selling CDs. After all, record sales are down by half over the last decade.

“If you’re an artist, you’re trying to make money,” Furman says. “The best thing would be getting your song on a TV show or getting it in a film. You get paid residuals for whenever that airs. So I think that artists now — you’re looking at all those multiple income streams because the sales have kind of dried up.”

So far, Furman hasn’t seen much money from ASCAP. She made between $500 and $800 after a short snippet of one of her songs played on MTV in Europe and Latin America — not exactly a living. And without a label, Furman says she has to keep track of her own music, fill out forms and alert ASCAP about where it plays. A lot of independent musicians find that, without a label, they are their own bookkeepers, publicists, designers and bookers.

“And what started out as this enthusiasm started to lead to this kind of slumped-shoulders feeling of, like, ‘Uh, yeah. I can do it all myself. Great. Now that means I have to,’ ” says Derek Sivers, who in 1997 founded CD Baby, one of the first online outlets for unsigned musicians.

Ponying Up Royalties

There is also an imprecise side of how ASCAP does its work. The owner of the Bazaar Cafe has put a large sign on the wall, easily seen from the audience as the musicians perform. It reads, “ASCAP and BMI want my dough. If you play covers, out you go.”

Owner Les Wisner says he doesn’t want to pay royalty fees because he doesn’t trust that ASCAP can keep track of what gets played in his cafe.

But dreams of being a successful musician never die. Musician Alex Stein says he’s hopeful he’ll see royalties someday, but he’s not holding his breath.

ASCAP says that even though the royalty pool is growing, 20 percent of its members get 80 percent of the money.

Since 1995, sales of recorded music have seen a significant decline. On the other hand, live music has become more significant.

There are four major record labels that dominate recorded music — Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI. The major labels own many smaller labels that serve niche markets and different regions.

Nielsen SoundScan reported for 2005 that the major labels accounted for about 82% of the U.S. music market:
Universal Music Group (USA/France based) — 31.71%
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan based) — 25.61%
Warner Music Group (USA based) — 15%
EMI Group (UK based) — 9.55%
Independent labels — 18.13%

The business of live music, concerts and tours is dominated by Live Nation, the largest concert promoter and music venue owner. Live Nation use to be a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel is the largest owner of radio stations in the United States.

In recent years, Apple has become a major player through iTunes. Apple had entered into an agreement with Apple Records to stay out of the music business. Apple continues to face trademark challenges by Apple Records over the matter.

Muse performing a concert at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA.

The Silversun Pickups opening for Muse at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA.

James William “Jimmy” Buffett was born December 25, 1946. He is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman and movie producer.

Jimmy Buffett is one of the most successful musicians-turned-businessman. He is a best selling writer and oversees two restaurant chains named after his most famous songs, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Margaritaville”. Jimmy owns the Margaritaville Cafe restaurant chain, as well as co-developed the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant concept with OSI Restaurant Partners. OSI, the parent of Outback Steakhouse, operates the chain under a licensing agreement with Buffett.

The income from his restaurants, album sales, and tours brings in an estimated $100 million a year.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will be playing:
Sat. Aug. 07, 2010
Camden, NJ
Susquehanna Bank Center

By Scott Rappaport for the University of California at Santa Cruz

The Grateful Dead announced today that the band will donate its archives to the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart made the announcement this morning at a press conference held in the poster room of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore Auditorium.

Documenting the history of the band from 1965 to the present, The Grateful Dead Archive will reside in the University Library’s Special Collections at UC Santa Cruz. The focal point of the collection will be a dedicated room named “Dead Central,” where both academic researchers and the general public will have access to the archive.

“The Grateful Dead Archive represents one of the most significant popular cultural collections of the 20th century; UC Santa Cruz is honored to receive this invaluable gift,” noted UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal. “The Grateful Dead and UC Santa Cruz are both highly innovative institutions—born the same year—that continue to make a major, positive impact on the world.”

The Archive includes business records and correspondence, photographs, and show files with tickets and backstage passes–as well as promotional items such as flyers, posters, shirts, press clips and awards. Framed photos by renowned photographers and unreleased videos of interviews and TV appearances will be available for viewing. Large stage backdrops, stained-glass pieces, and props from live performances are also featured. An extensive collection of Deadhead fan mail and gifts is an important part of the collection.

“We are excited that The Grateful Dead Archive will now have a home at UC Santa Cruz,” said Christine Bunting, the head of Special Collections at the University Library. “It will provide extraordinary opportunities for researchers and the public to examine the music of one of the most influential bands in history, as well as explore the cultural phenomenon of Deadheads—the most dedicated and celebrated fans in music. The study of popular culture has become an important focus in the academic disciplines of the arts, humanities and social sciences.”

Bunting added that as it works to preserve and prepare the archive for public use, UC Santa Cruz will be forming creative partnerships with Rhino Entertainment (distributor of the band’s music and home of the Grateful Dead web site, dead.net), as well as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and key high-tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Two foundations established by members of the Grateful Dead previously contributed to UC Santa Cruz in 2004. The Rex Foundation, founded by the Grateful Dead and friends, and the Unbroken Chain Foundation, established by Phil and Jill Lesh, each donated $10,000 to support the campus’s archive of maverick composer Lou Harrison. UC Santa Cruz music professor Fred Lieberman helped to facilitate those gifts; Lieberman is coauthor of two books with band member Mickey Hart–Planet Drum and Drumming at the Edge of Magic.

Bunting noted that due to the monumental size and scope of the archive, a fundraising campaign is now being launched to support it and to endow a permanent Grateful Dead archivist position. She said that she anticipates the archive will be of great interest to thousands of people around the world.

“We looked around, and UC Santa Cruz seems the best possible home,” Weir noted. “If you ever wrote the Grateful Dead a letter, you’ll probably find it there!”

Harrisburg, PA — An antitrust settlement has been reached regarding the merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc., to preserve competition for concert ticket sales and address other anti-competitive concerns raised by the combination of these two companies.

“The goal of this agreement is to maintain competition in the ticket marketplace for the benefit of concert fans throughout Pennsylvania and across the country,” said Attorney General Tom Corbett.

Corbett noted that Ticketmaster is the largest primary ticketing company in the United States, while Live Nation is the largest concert promoter in the country. The February 2009 merger proposal involving the two companies triggered a review by the Attorney General’s Antitrust Section, along with other states and the U.S. Department of Justice, to evaluate the impact on ticket pricing, availability, competition and other related concerns.

Corbett said the antitrust settlement will require Ticketmaster to sell or license its ticket-selling programs in order to enable two new, independent and economically viable competitors to enter the market for ticket sales at major concert venues across the United States.

Additionally, Corbett said the agreement prohibits Ticketmaster and Live Nation from engaging in conduct that would impede competition, including retaliation against the owners of concert venues that might use other businesses for primary ticket sales. They are also prohibited from abusing their position in the ticket sales market to impede competition by concert promoters or artist managers.

Corbett said the settlement also prohibits Ticketmaster from requiring the use of its ticket sales service if concert venues want to promote shows or artists that are managed by Ticketmaster or Live Nation, or requiring venues to take certain shows or artists in order to be able to obtain Ticketmaster’s services for ticket sales.

Finally, the agreement requires Ticketmaster and Live Nation to provide formal notice, at least 30 days in advance, before acquiring any assets or interest in any business that provides primary ticket sales services in the United States.

Corbett said the antitrust investigation involved Pennsylvania, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, along with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The complaint and settlement agreement were filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Pennsylvania portion of the case was handled by Chief Deputy Attorney General James A. Donahue III, along with Deputy Attorneys General Jennifer A. Thomson, Joseph S. Betsko and Norman W. Marden, of the Attorney General’s Antitrust Section.