The Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament recently voted on a report titled ‘Cultural Diversity and the Conditions for Authors in the European Streaming Market‘. This vote led to a proposal for new legislation aimed at reforming music streaming within the EU. The report, adopted with 23 votes for, three against, and one abstention, seeks to address several key issues in the music streaming sector.

The European Parliament’s initiative comes amidst growing concerns over the distribution of revenues in the music streaming market, which is dominated by a few major labels and popular artists. The proposed legislation aims to create a fair and sustainable environment for music streaming and to promote cultural diversity.

These are the key aspects of the proposed legislation:

1. Transparency of Algorithms: The bill calls for streaming services to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent. This is to ensure that European works are visible and accessible to users.
2. Diversity Indicator: The proposal includes the creation of a “diversity indicator” to analyze the variety of genres, languages, and the presence of independent authors on streaming platforms. This aims to promote a wider range of music and cultural diversity.
3. Rights Identification: The bill would require streaming services to correctly identify right-holders through proper allocation of metadata, facilitating the discovery of their works. This measure also seeks to prevent practices like streaming fraud, which undermines the value of music content.
4. Labeling of AI-Generated Content: A provision in the bill calls for clear labeling of AI-generated tracks, allowing listeners to distinguish between human-produced music and AI-generated songs.
5. Investment in European Music: The bill urges increased investment in European music, particularly in local, niche artists and artists from vulnerable communities. This is aimed at offering a more diverse repertoire and supporting authors in the digital transformation of their business models.

Lead MEP Ibán García Del Blanco commented on the importance of recognizing the role authors play in the music sector and the need to review and improve the revenue distribution model used by streaming services to promote cultural diversity. The Plenary vote on this non-legislative resolution is scheduled for the January 2024 Strasbourg session.

As for our scene, especially the 5th key issue addressed above (aimed at niche artists) will be rather interesting. Nevertheless, the changes to the Spotify royalty model will have a huge impact on the industrial music scene, even if niche artists get more attention on streaming platforms. Its changes includes a controversial policy requiring tracks to get a minimum of 1,000 listens every year to receive royalties.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Houston’s darkpop band Provision breaks its 7 year silence with a brand new album, “Hearts Turn Dark”. It’s their 6th full length to date and comes after 7 long and turbulent years. The band’s most recent album was “A New Revolution” (2012) and was followed by the internal breakdown of the band itself.

Provision’s new album is the first release to feature the legacy era of the band, with founding member Breye 7x now joined by Ian Sol on keyboards, backing vocals and songwriting.

Founded in November 2000 and initially self-described as ‘Electronic Dance with an Edge’, the band won in the “Best New U.S. Artist” section of the American Synthpop Awards at Synthcon 2002 in Los Angeles. In 2004 the band signed a multi-release record deal with A Different Drum. To date, the band has released 5 LPs and 4 EPs and released songs on more than a dozen compilation albums, and produced remixes for more than a dozen other electronic artists.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Matt Willis, the current keyboard player for Christopher Anton (formerly of Information Society), has a new single coming out for his dark pop band Transcendent 7. The single, “Control”, is taken from the full album “Equilibrium” due out this fall.

The project was originally founded in 2012, after 8 years we finally see an album taking shape.

You can watch the video for the single below.

Transcendent 7 is the brainchild of veteran electronic musician Matt Willis. He is most notably known for his other work a former member of Provision and Splendor Projekt. He is currently working with Christopher Anton (formerly of Information Society), contributing keyboards and backing vocals as live member of the band. He has also played live keyboards for Farrington + Mann (When in Rome UK) and The Flirts on the Lost 80’s Tour.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, EBM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: American future-pop project Unitcode:Machine is the sonic brainchild of Eric Kristoffer. The project is already active for a couple of years now, but it seems that the past few years weren’t very prolific. Anyway, “Tyranny” is the project’s debut album released by the end of 2019. The work features twelve songs plus four extra (remixes) on the CD format.

Content: Unitcode:Machine is not exactly what I should call a traditional electro-pop project. The music sounds definitely too raw for that and is even mixed with elements of EBM. The vocals are perfectly matching with this rough approach. You also can hear some anger in the way of singing. The cadence of some songs is also pretty fast, empowering the global production. I also noticed some good-old 80s elements emerging at a few cuts and especially in the leads. Notice by the way three songs are featured by Blue Images, Antonym and Databomb.

+ + + : The least I can say is that this official debut album is well-crafted. But I also like the power of this album and its harsh production, which also comes through in the vocals. “Survive” is my favorite song for its remarkable sound treatments and its danceable tempo. Among the remixes I noticed a real cool one by Provision.

– – – : I think some cuts might have been a little bit harder or into EBM vibes. I think the ‘harder’ side of this album is also the most convincing one.

Conclusion: “Tyranny” is an interesting and rather cool debut for a project with potential!

Best songs: “Survive”, “This Truth”, “Instinct”, “Instigator”, “This Truth – Brighter Future Mix by Provision”, “Damnatio Memoriae – Seeming Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/unitc0de

Label: http://skyqode.com / www.facebook.com/skyqode Read the news on ‘Tyranny’.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Background/Info: This year Mind Machine released their first album in more than twenty years, this way pleasing all lovers of ‘classic’ electro-pop music inspired by bands such as Depeche Mode, New Order ao. This album is revisiting ten from the eleven album songs. Only a remix of “Decade”! We get a total amount of 16 remixes.

Content: This album is a different way to discover the work of Mind Machine; it’s the interpretation of other artists transposing the original electro-pop sound of “Return To The Machine” into their own approach. There’s an interesting twist of remixers featuring familiar, famous names such as Parralox, Frozen Plasma, Eisfabrik and People’s Theatre next to less familiar and/or renowned names such as Darwinmcd, Nature Of Wires, Fused, Provision, Mda, The Frixion, The New Division, Uncreated, Zoon Politicon, Graflex, The Grey Disorder and Circuit3.

+ + + : There’s an interesting diversity featured by the remix artists. It also is another way to get back to the band’s album. My favorite song from the ‘original’ album was the song “Here And There” and here again I have to say it’s a pretty cool track, which has been re-boosted by Parralox into a great retro-styled remix. Another cool song was “We Keep Walking” and here again I discovered a cool remix made by The New Division”.

– – – : I expected a bit more out of the remixes by Eisfabrik and Frozen Plasma.

Conclusion: Remixes are cool for DJ’s and die-hard fans. I discovered some cool remixes, but I prefer the original songs.

Best songs: “Here And There – Parralox Remix”, “We Keep Walking – The New Division Remix”, “The Pain You Feel – Scars Of Anguish by Provision”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/mindmachineband

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

It probably never happened that Pink Floyd fans were so glad and so disappointed in a matter of minutes. But first the happiness ingredient. To mark the 50th anniversary since the tracks were recorded, Pink Floyd have – without any publicity – released a limited edition set of two 7″ singles, containing the band’s first recordings. The set, entitled “Pink Floyd 1965 – Their First Recordings”, holds unreleased material, including the Syd Barrett compositions “Lucy Leave”, “Double O Bo”, “Remember Me”, and “Butterfly”, coupled with Roger Waters’ “Walk With Me Sydney” and a cover of “I’m A King Bee” originally by Slim Harpo.

At the time of recording these tracks the band consisted of Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, Rado Klose and Juliette Gale on backing vocals on “Walk With Me Sydney”. The audio was mastered from the original mono analogue tapes by Andy Jackson of Tube Mastering and Ray Staff of AIR Studios.

The less funny thing, only a 1000 copies were made, and they sold out in record time of course after which they popped up right here on eBay at hefty prices. Not surprising that many fans are disappointed.

The reason why the release was distributed in such a low profile way – and in a very limited run – can be found in the ‘Use It or Lose It’ provision in European copyright law dating from 2012. In that year the European Union said that all copyrighted recordings had to be released within 50 years or else it would become public domain. As a result we have already seen low profile releases popping up from The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys. And now it’s Pink Floyd’s turn to release some recordings in order to extend their copyrights for another 20 years.

For those who missed these items, don’t despair, Pink Floyd has plans to make them available in some physical form towards the end of next year.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com