Comedian Josh Jones recalls wild night out in Belfast
Josh Jones is hoping to recreate a wild night out in Belfast when he returns next month.
The 32-year-old comedian is bringing his I Haven't Won The Lottery So Here's Another Tour Show to the Black Box in September.
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Belfast Telegraph
04-08-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Comedian Josh Jones recalls wild night out in Belfast
Funnyman back in city for show at Black Box Josh Jones is hoping to recreate a wild night out in Belfast when he returns next month. The 32-year-old comedian is bringing his I Haven't Won The Lottery So Here's Another Tour Show to the Black Box in September.
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- The Guardian
Songwriters ‘missing millions in royalties from more than 100,000 UK gigs'
Songwriters are missing out on millions of pounds a year in royalties because the agency responsible for collecting and distributing payments cannot identify when their songs have been performed at more than 100,000 gigs and performances across the UK. PRS for Music is responsible for collecting royalties for writers when music is played, including on the radio, streaming services, in shops and at live events from pubs to stadiums and festivals. In the case of live music, PRS takes a small percentage cut of gross ticket sales from every performance, and after taking a cut for administration redistributes the royalties after successfully matching the set list performed with the relevant songwriters. However, the collection agency is experiencing a ballooning number of gigs, classical performances and theatre and variety shows where it has taken a cut of ticket sales but not been able to allocate it to songwriters because of a lack of information about songs played. In the music industry this growing pot of income at PRS is referred to as the 'black box' and the agency is facing legal action about how it ultimately ends out distributing this money. The case is proceeding at the high court, and there is an alternative dispute resolution meeting scheduled for 25 September. The scale of the problem is evident in documents on the PRS website where it maintains a list of 'concerts available for distribution' – displaying entries of artists, dates and the venue they played - dating back to 2022. That list now tops 106,000 performances where money has been collected but not distributed, with almost three-quarters relating to pop gigs in mostly grassroots venues. Artists on the list are mostly not big names but it does include Ronan Keating, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 10cc, Aled Jones, Alien Ant Farm and All Our Yesterdays. Venues include a number of O2 sponsored Academy sites, the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott's in London, Durham Cathedral, York Barbican and Leicester Racecourse. PRS does not reveal how much income is in the so-called black box, which it refers to as the 'unclaimed pot', however the Guardian has seen a document that showed that for the single year of 2019 it amounted to £2.7m. The agency redistributes unclaimed money to the market after three years using its own formula, which some in the industry believe is not fair for smaller artists and acts. 'One of my members described [it] as a reverse Robin Hood,' said Mark Davyd, the founder and chief executive of the Music Venue Trust, which represents grassroots venues, speaking at a culture select committee session in May. '[PRS] comes in and takes 100% of the songwriter royalty on just about every show, it is unable to distribute it, and it ends up in what is colloquially known as the black box – it is a fund that cannot be distributed.' On its website, PRS has an article about the importance of submitting setlists after live shows in order to receive royalties. However, two of the acts interviewed – You Me At Six and Peaness – appear on the spreadsheet of unallocated royalties for gigs played. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion PRS said that it goes to great lengths to try to match the music performed with the writers, including recently piloting a tool that automatically turns photos of handwritten setlists – which are a common submission – into readable text. 'PRS dedicates significant resources to match live performances to works, and ensure songwriters and composers receive the royalties they are due,' said a spokesperson for PRS. 'We have a team whose primary job is to manually research setlist details. In addition, we provide and widely promote our online tool, designed to make it easy for members or their representatives to report setlists for any performances of their works We also send staff to festivals and events to collect setlist in person. While it is true there is a contractual obligation on venues and promoters to provide setlists, we also work hard fill in as many gaps as we can.' Last year, Dave Rowntree of Blur started a legal action against PRS, alleging it is in violation of UK and EU competition rules over how it distributes 'black box' income. The lawsuit claims that PRS handles this income in a way that benefits music publishers more than songwriters. PRS has said Rowntree's claims are 'factually incorrect and fundamentally misrepresent our policies and operations'. Last month, the two sides attended a hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which is in the process of determining whether or not Rowntree's case will be certified as a class action. In June, PRS said it paid out a record £1.02bn to rights holders last year, up 8% on 2023, beating its five-year plan to top £1bn by 2026. PRS represents the rights of more than 180,000 music industry members, covering more than 45m musical works, collecting and paying royalties when tracks are played in public, broadcast, downloaded, streamed or performed live in the UK and around the world.
BBC News
29-06-2025
- BBC News
Bank of Ideas: Unique Belfast community projects face public vote for funding
A sober rave for older people, a meal to meet your neighbours and a dance event on Black Mountain are just some community events hoping to avail of up to £2,000 in funding at a special event at Belfast City Bank of Ideas will see members of the public cast their votes on at least 75 pitches that are designed to enhance local communities in 14:00 BST to 17:00 BST on Sunday, the event will feature a market stall-style showcase of each idea where the public can vote on what projects should receive part of the prize overall funding is £50,000, which will be divided evenly between a minimum of 25 participants between north, south, east and west Belfast, as well as the city centre. Some 29 applicants claimed the prize last year and BBC News NI caught up with a few of them to get a flavour of how the funding benefited their ideas. Arts projects big beneficiaries Among the winners at last year's Bank of Ideas was Deirdre McKenna, the outreach and projects officer at the Blackbox charity, which provides an arts space in Cathedral Blackbox is Black Moon, which has hosted a nightclub for adults with disabilities on a monthly basis since 2010."We work alongside three DJs who all specialise in different music genres," said Ms used the money to help host an event at Ormeau Park with up to 300 people in attendance."What Belfast City Council has done is secure additional funding so we can now set up changing facilities at the event," she said."They are also helping us make this event bigger and bigger, year on year." Hopes to extend special projects Pearse was one of those who attended Blackbox's festival. His aunt is Antoinette Campbell who set up the Wonder Bubble project, with Pearse as the is also a winner from last year's explained that Wonder Bubble "is an immersive experience for kids and adults with learning disabilities which we hope to extend beyond that"."I set it up with my nephew Pearse, who has learning difficulties," she said"We use giant bubble and bubble bath displays and interactions to allow those that come to us have a good time."The money that we got from the event last year was used to extend the programme to up to 300 people at Mater Dei in north Belfast."It also helped us get better equipment such as speakers for audio tools, as well as a better bubble machine." Upcycling denim and clothes swap Jess McCourt is a volunteer at Climate Craic and as one of the recipients of last year's reward, she was able to help set up a festival around climate change. She told BBC News NI: "The message of climate change can be all doom and gloom; we look to the more positive side and see what people within NI are doing to help the climate."To highlight this we host events with stalls and activities with the money we received from the Bank of Ideas."The event was a three day festival called the Autumn Equinox Festival. "We had panels on climate change," Jess said, "as well as stalls of businesses that are environmentally sustainable."We also had workshops on a range of stuff from upcycling denim for aprons and bags, as well as clothes swaps and sign making for issues in your local area."
