Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:49 | By CMU Editorial

Q&A: Polly And The Billets Doux

Artist Interviews

Having played their first gig in a Winchester backroom in 2006, Polly And The Billets Doux made their recording debut with ‘Head Of Steam’, combining a sumptuous musical mix of jazz, blues, folk, country and soul. Lead by vocalist Polly Perry, the genre-defying quartet is completed by Andrew Steen on guitar, Daniel Everett on double bass and Ben Perry on percussion. The band released first album ‘Fiction, Half-Truths And Downright Lies’ via indie label Bleak Mouse Records in 2009, going on to tour extensively throughout the UK with acts including Fun Lovin’ Criminals.

Having kicked off a season of live summer appearances at the just-gone Wood Festival, Polly And The Billet Doux also have upcoming dates booked at Blissfields and Larmer Tree. In the run up to a one-off show at The 100 Club on 5 Jun, we spoke to Polly to get her thoughts and reflections on our now infamous Same Six Questions.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I have never studied music but grew up listening to my parent’s eclectic vinyl collection and sang along. They listened to a lot of X-Ray Spex, Ian Dury, Led Zeppellin, Boney M, Nina Simone…. all sorts of stuff. I started performing music at the local ‘roots’ open mic night, singing a capella. I guess I have always enjoyed making up melodies while out walking and writing lyrics on the train or in the bath. I really could do with a waterproof 8 track recorder for the shower. When I was younger I was filmed for a documentary series about young people around the world (I was Miss Winchester). The crew came to film me singing at the venue and I had to totally make up the whole song on the spot. Melody, lyrics and everything. It was kind of terrifying but good for me at the same time…do something that scares you every day!

Q2 What inspired your current album?
The album, and indeed the whole band, are inspired by so many different things, it would be impossible to pin point anything in particular to sum up the record. ‘Follow My Feet’ was written in a matter of minutes after Steeny couldn’t sleep, went out for a midnight stroll and had an encounter with a fox. ‘Lead Me On’ was written following a lone night in a dancing hall. Each song has a story behind it, but they don’t all tie in with each other, nor do they need to. You can’t help but be influenced by everything you experience. To only write about the good things that happen, or only the bad things, offers a limited view.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
There is never one rule. Ideas are brought to practices, often from different angles, and then we squash ourselves into one of our living quarters and drink tea and work on melodies and harmonies. Despite the name of our band implying that I am the leader with a backing band, we very much work together as a whole. In fact, the others are the real talent. I just jumped on the band waggon, hoping to not get caught out!

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I am particularly influenced by old gospel music such as Mahalia Jackson, The Staple Sisters and The Sensational Nightingales. We are into everything from old-skool R&B to Captain Beefheart to Tinie Tempah. There is a 50 year goldmine of blues and roots-inspired music from which to dig (not to mention millennia of other music before that).

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Nothing, cos I wouldn’t want to talk over it while they were listening! I’d probably introduce it with a shaggy dog story about the financial and emotional cost of making it, so they’d feel too awkward to give it a bad rap in front of us! …and perhaps they’d buy another ten copies for all of their friends!

Q6 What are your ambitions for the next album, and for the future?
Completing it – haha! We’d like it to pack a punch…to gain much greater coverage and to reach out to a wider audience…to make Melody Maker’s top ten, centrefold lyrics in Smash Hits and to bring ‘Top Of The Pops’ back to life, so that we can mime a performance of all our own songs! On a serious note, I would like to travel to other lands with our next album just for the fun of it. I would love to tour Germany. Perhaps get ourselves into some dangerous situations (somewhere in the middle of America), meet some interesting people and gather ammo for the next record after that. I’d like to play good venues with honourable promoters, play to excitable audiences, and share a stage with talented musicians. Much of what we are doing already! Just more, more, more, please.

MORE>> www.myspace.com/pollyandthebilletsdoux

Approved: Karen O Covering Led Zep

CMU Approved

Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O has covered Led Zeppelin’s ‘The Immigrant Song’ for the Trent Reznor produced soundtrack of the upcoming American movie version of ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’, which is something I’d like to hear. And hurrah, now I can.

The cover has surfaced online, or at least a 90 second version of it has, set to a trailer for the movie. It doesn’t seem to cut off at the end, so I don’t know whether there will be a longer version on any resulting soundtrack release. Karen has Robert Plant’s wailings off to a tee, and Reznor’s more electronic backing works well too – definitely worth a listen.

Gil Scott-Heron dies

Obituaries Top Stories

The legendary Gil Scott-Heron died on Friday afternoon, aged 62, after falling sick during his recent trip to Europe.

Born to a football playing father and musical mother, Scott-Heron spent his early years in Tennessee before moving to New York with his mother aged twelve. There a teacher spotted his potential as an emerging poet and writer, and helped him win a scholarship to the private Fieldston School. He subsequently attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he met his long-time musical collaborator Brian Jackson, though he dropped out of college to work on his first novels, ‘The Vulture’ and ‘The Nigger Factory’, and a collection of poetry.

His first musical project, ‘Small Talk At 125th And Lenox’, was released in 1970 and, despite everything that followed, may well be the work for which he is most remembered: politically-charged spoken word over a musical backing. It also included what is probably his most famous track, ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. Four albums followed in the next five years – ‘Pieces Of A Man’, ‘Free Will’, ‘Winter In America’ and ‘Midnight Band: The First Minute Of A New Day’ – in the main more musical than the debut, as Scott-Heron and Jackson explored the potential of the soul, jazz and funk genres.

As the eighties began Scott-Heron’s work became ever more influential, especially on the emerging hip hop scene, earning him the oft-used title of the Godfather Of Rap. Despite that, Arista Records decided to drop the Godfather from its roster in 1985, and though he continued to tour, Scott-Heron’s recorded output halted for a time. He maintained his political edge throughout though, supporting both the anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid movements, and becoming a regular critic of Ronald Reagan’s government during the 80s.

And when he briefly returned to recorded music via a deal with TVT in 1993, he made another of his more famous tracks, ‘Message To The Messengers’, calling on the increasingly violent hip hop fraternity to focus their lyrical efforts on pushing for political and social reform, rather than pursuing personal vendettas. Although he continued to write, record and perform, and to garner acclaim, in his later years Scott-Heron struggled with drug addiction, and ran into trouble with the law on various occasions as a result. His output declined, despite promises of new work being in the offing.

But then, in 2010. he released his first studio album in sixteen years, over two years in the making, the widely acclaimed ‘I’m New Here’. Seemingly back on form, many were excited about what was to come, though his health was always an issue, he having admitted to being HIV positive in 2008. The exact cause of his death last week is not known, though it was very likely linked to that condition.

Among the many artists paying tribute on the internet this weekend were Eminem, who tweeted “RIP Gil Scott Heron, he influenced all of hip hop”, while Chuck D wrote “RIP GSH… and we do what we do and how we do because of you, and to those that don’t know, tip your hat with a hand over your heart and recognise”. One time Black Star member Talib Kweli added: “I met Gil Scott-Heron at SOBs in 1993, I went to see him perform, he completely influenced me as an artist”.

XL Recordings chief Richard Russell, who worked on and released ‘I’m New Here’, wrote a tribute on his blog, remarking: “Gil meant a massive amount to me, as he did to so many people. His talent was immense. He was a a master lyricist, singer, orator, and keyboard player. His spirit was immense. He channelled something that people derived huge benefit from. He was incredibly generous in how he dealt with me, encouraging me to write and produce with him and rediscover my own creativity through him. He never questioned my ability to do these things, even when I did. I have shared some of the best experiences of my life with Gil, and I feel so privileged to have known him”.

XL boss says he hopes Adele success will change pop industry’s attitude to female talent

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Talking of the boss of XL Recordings, Richard Russell has said that the music industry is guilty of “over-sexualising” female artists, often putting sexual imagery before the songwriting, and resulting in “boring, crass and unoriginal” music. But in an interview with The Guardian he said he hopes the phenomenal success of Adele might persuade labels to put their money into female artists where it’s the music wot sells it.

Russell: “The whole message with [Adele] is that it’s just music, it’s just really good music. There is nothing else. There are no gimmicks, no selling of sexuality. I think in the American market, particularly, they have come to the conclusion that is what you have to do”.

Saying that some of the ‘faux-porn” pop promos for artists like Rihanna made him queasy, he added: “But now you see that Adele is No 1. What a great thing, how amazing. Not only are young girls going to see that, but [also] the business people who are behind all those videos. It’s going to make them rethink what they should be doing”.

Another Spector appeal application knocked back

Legal

The Californian Court Of Appeals has knocked back yet another application to overturn the 2009 murder conviction against legendary producer Phil Spector. As much previously reported, he is currently serving a 19 year jail sentence for shooting dead one time actress Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003.

His lawyers claim that the judge who oversaw both of the Spector murder trials (the first was declared a mistrial when the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict) made various procedural errors preventing the producer from getting a fair trial.

An initial application for a new trial was knocked back by the Californian appeals court at the start of the month, but Spector’s defence team had another go last week, re-filing their claim. But court officials refused to consider the new application, saying there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.

Love sued over tweet for a second time

Business News Legal

Courtney Love is being sued for a second time over something she said on Twitter.

According to Reuters, the Hole frontwoman is being sued by a lawyer who the singer hired to investigate allegations money had been stolen from her late husband Kurt Cobain’s estate. Love eventually fired attorney Rhonda Holmes, claiming on Twitter that the lawyer had been “bought off” by the people she was meant to be investigating. It’s that claim that Holmes is suing over.

Of course, always the pioneer, Love has already been sued once for defamation based on a tweet – quite an achievement for such a new phenomenon. In that case Love settled with fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir, agreeing to pay $430,000 in damages after calling the fashion lady an “asswipe nasty lying hosebag thief”.

Winehouse back in rehab

Artist News

Amy Winehouse is back in rehab, yes, yes, yes. The singer’s spokeswoman confirmed Winehouse was back in The Priory on Friday, adding that her client wanted to get back in control of her drinking before embarking on a series of European tour dates this summer. People.com later reported that the latest rehab stint had been instigated by Winehouse’s father Mitch, while The Sun say that doctors had told the singer she was risking her life if she didn’t take action to cut back on alcohol consumption.

Sean Kingston injured in jet ski crash

Artist News

Hip hopper Sean Kingston was still in intensive care yesterday after being involved in a jet ski accident in Miami on Sunday, though his condition has stablised.

A spokesman for Epic Records told reporters: “Sean Kingston is now stabilised and has moved from the trauma unit to ICU. Sean’s family thanks everyone for their prayers and support during this time”.

The extent of Kingston’s injuries are not known, but both he and a female passenger were injured when the singer’s ‘watercraft’ hit the Palm Island Bridge on Miami Beach.

Pan’s People co-founder dies

Obituaries

Flick Colby, a co-founder of the Pan’s People troupe of dancers who were synonymous with the BBC’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ for much of the seventies, has died aged 65.

Having attended ballet and dance classes in the US, Colby moved to London with her then husband in the sixties, and there got work as a dancer and choreographer, mainly working in TV. She co-founded Pan’s People in 1966. They made regular appearances on ‘TOTP’ over an eight year period, dancing to music by artists unable to appear on the show themselves, this being the era before the pop promo video became the norm.

Colby was also involved in setting up Legs & Co, the dance group successors to Pan’s People on ‘TOTP’. She later returned to the US. She died at her home in Clinton, New York, on Thursday, the group’s publicist confirmed this weekend.

Lady Gaga has biggest first week sales of the year

Artist News

Lady Gaga sold 215,000 units of her new album ‘Born This Way’ in the UK last week, scoring the biggest first-week sale of any album this year, and outselling the rest of the top ten combined. The Gaga pushed Adele off what had become her adopted home of late, the album chart top spot, those she does still fill positions 2 and 3 of the top ten countdown.

In the US, ‘Born This Way’ seems set to shift 1.15 million units in its first week on sale, though, of course, some will still be moaning that with Amazon selling the album at a multi-dollar-losing 99 cents at the start of last week, the pop queen had an unfair advantage.

As previously reported, Billboard last week said that every sale, including the one dollar purchases, will count in this week’s chart, adding that it’s not their job to dictate what price records should be sold for. Which led some (well, one commentator on theCMUwebsite.com) to wonder if the music chart of the future should be based on revenue generated rather than units shifted – film industry style – which is an interesting proposal me thinks.

Festival line-up update – 31 May 2011

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

FLOW FESTIVAL, Suvilahti, Helsinki, Finland, 12-14 Aug: Empire Of The Sun are a shining example of a brand new Flow Festival booking, as are Spanish electro artist El Guincho and New York DJ Danny Krivit. Longer-standing line-up residents include Kanye West, Lykke Li, Q-Tip, James Blake and Warpaint. www.flowfestival.com/en/

GLADE FESTIVAL, Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, 10-12 Jun: Glade organisers have added a set from Sub Focus plus clubnight/blog showcases from the likes of Hypercolour, Filth and You Can Call Me Pelsk to this buzzing electro fest’s running order, which prior to these latest amendments already included appearances from Trentemoller, Drumcode feat Adam Beyer, Andrew Weatherall Dub Pistol’s and The Losers. www.gladefestival.com

HARD ROCK CALLING, Hyde Park, London, 24-26 Jun: Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart aka The Kills and rockabilly starlet Imelda May are fresh acts on the bill for this year’s Hard Rock bash, joining co-headliners Rod Stewart, The Killers and Bon Jovi. www.hardrockcalling.co.uk/2011/lineup/

JERSEY LIVE, Royal Jersey Showgrounds, Jersey, 3-4 Sept: This Channel Island-based bash welcomes obnoxious duo The Ting Tings, who take their place on the line-up beside such other luminaries as Madness, Plan B, Zane Lowe, Mr Oizo, Katy B and a newly-reformed The Rapture. www.jerseylive.org.uk

ROCKNESS, Loch Ness, Scotland, 10-12 Jun: Ms Dynamite and YasmIn lead the recent additions to RockNess’ thriving line-up, which will also welcome other new introductions including Swedish popsters Niki And The Dove and Scottish bands James McKenzie & The Aquascene and Strawberry Ocean Sea. Previously announced prime time performers include Kasabian, DJ Shadow, Erol Alkan, Katy B and Two Door Cinema Club. www.rockness.co.uk/

Universal confirm Hilfiger tie up

Brands & Merch

Universal Music chief Lucian Grainge and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger have both commented on the two parties’ previously reported joint venture which will see the creation of fashion ranges around a number of the artists signed to Universal’s labels. The deal is specifically between Universal’s merchandising division Bravado and Hilfiger affiliate Music Entertainment Sports Holdings.

Says Grainge: “Bravado’s clients are among the most iconic musical artists in pop culture. Bringing them together with MESH’s creative ability and global distribution resources will be transformative for Bravado in terms of its scale, the unique opportunities it provides our artists, and the diversification it brings to our portfolio of global brands. This is a new approach that takes the current notion of artist merchandise and propels it into those places which have, up until now, been reserved for major designers and major brands”.

Hilfiger added: “I am incredibly excited to be a part of this historic fusion of fashion, music, and retail,” Tommy Hilfiger said in a statement. “Between the unrivaled roster of artists under the Universal / Bravado umbrella and the unparalleled ability to produce quality product through our partnership with MESH, finally, the marriage between music and fashion is official”.

Fox says HMV is back from the brink

Business News HMV Timeline Retail

HMV is “back from the brink”, CEO Simon Fox has told games industry magazine MCV.

Keen to draw a line under months of speculation about the entertainment retailer’s future, caused by profit warnings and admissions the firm is likely to fail the terms of its multi-million bank loans, Fox says the sale of the Waterstones chain for £53 million will allow his company to move on.

Fox: “The Waterstones sale is a turning point. We went through a very tough restructuring, but that is behind us. We still have to get the bank facility in place and we need shareholder approval for this transaction. That will all complete, I expect, by the end of June. And then we will be free to drive the business forward and become an entertainment brand across all channels”.

Looking forward, he continued: “We need to continue to invest in our stores. We want to continue to grow our share in games. We are going to increase in-store space for technology products such as iPads. We need to build our online and digital presence. And then we have actually had a good year and a good quarter with our live division. We had some 16 per cent growth with our music venues. It is an evolution at speed. We need to change the mix of what we sell and we need to do that quickly”.

Noting the rampant press speculation about his company in recent months, Fox added that he hoped the Waterstones deal and resulting restructure of the firm’s loans would bring to an end predictions of his company’s imminent demise, letting him get on with the entertainment group’s reinvention. Yeah, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Raphael to relaunch London Records for Universal

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Universal have announced that Nick Raphael, who is joining the major from Sony Music, will relaunch and head up an all-new London Records. Raphael worked for London back in the day in one of his early music industry roles, before joining BMG and later Sony.

London Records was originally a subsidiary of Polygram, which merged with Universal in 1998. After the merger London was sold to Warner – who announced last week that they were reviving one of the label’s dance imprints, Pete Tong’s FFRR – but the London Records name itself seemingly reverted to Universal last year.

By heading up a new division Raphael will report directly into Universal Music UK boss David Joseph, who told CMU this morning: “Nick is a hugely welcome addition to our team and I am confident he will create a new force with a re-born London Records. He is a highly talented and respected executive with great energy and creativity – I’m delighted he’s chosen Universal to further his career”.

Raphael added: “I am extremely excited to be joining David and his team at Universal and to start the next chapter of my career under the banner of London Records. Hopefully I can continue London Records’ tradition of launching and breaking a diverse range of global artists that stretches decades from The Rolling Stones to Salt N Pepa to All Saints”.

PRS boss upbeat at AGM

Business News Labels & Publishers

It was the Annual General Meeting of PRS For Music last week, and CEO Robert Ashcroft was upbeat, despite us all knowing the collecting society’s overall revenue was down 1% in 2010. That was due in part, Ashcroft said, to the unusual boom that occurred during the record breaking year that was 2009. Looking forward, he said emerging markets like China and India allowed the potential for future growth. As for the monies distributed to PRS members, Ashcroft insisted that with a 10.4% administration rate, PRS For Music “is one of the most efficient collecting societies in the world”.

The guest speaker was John Whittingdale, the MP who heads up parliament’s Culture, Media & Sport select committee. He praised both the PRS and the wider music business for their engagement in the government’s recent Hargreaves Review of copyright law, in particular noting the proposal in the PRS’s submission encouraging search engines to incorporate a traffic light system, whereby websites where there are copyright concerns are marked with a yellow or red dot.

Content industries welcome G8 commitments

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

Representatives from 16 globally-focused content industry trade bodies have welcomed commitments made at the G8 Summit in France last week regards protecting intellectual property rights.

In a joint statement signed by film, publishing, acting and music trade bodies, including Alison Wenham from the Association Of Independent Music, Frances Moore of the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, and the Musician’s Union’s John Smith (in his guise as President of the International Federation Of Musicians), the collective content industries said: “As representatives of the creative sector we welcome the commitment by the G8 leaders in Deauville to steps that will ensure a thriving digital environment guided by the rule of law”.

They continued: “We welcome the G8 Summit’s recognition of the need for laws and frameworks leading to improved [copyright] enforcement. We also applaud its commitment to ensuring effective action against violations of intellectual property in the digital world. We share the goal of a responsible online marketplace benefitting consumers, the creators we represent and the development of legitimate commerce”.

They added: “Our sector – which includes the book, film, games, music and television industries – is a vital part of the world economy. We are a major source of cultural creation, jobs, growth and tax revenue. Every country has artists, composers, authors, performers, whose contributions to their nations’ cultural and economic wealth depend on the ability to protect their rights online as well as in the physical world. These commitments by the G8 leaders will help ensure that the creative sectors in their countries can thrive in a digital environment guided by the rule of law, with all that this means for jobs, cultural diversity and economic growth”.

Speaking specifically for the record industry, Moore at IFPI issued her own statement, saying: “The G8 summit has sent a clear and unambiguous signal about the importance of protecting intellectual property online. They recognise that if investment in creativity is to be sustained then the internet
cannot be exempt from the rule of law. We greatly welcome the political leadership of the G8 in this area and particularly the role President Sarkozy played in placing this issue at the heart of the discussions”.

Of course whether combined commitments by G8 leaders really make much difference (though any commitments made by Russia and Canada are possibly significant), and whether politician-supported measures to crack down on piracy really work anyway, is all debatable. Nevertheless, the G8 summit’s strong words on protecting IP underline that – for all the influence of Google and the tel cos – more and more governments seem set on helping copyright owners enforce their rights online.

Germany announce copyright reform plans

Business News Legal

Talking of which, the German government has outlined its plans for reforming copyright law – Germany being someway behind other Western European countries in introducing new anti-piracy measures.

Bernd Neumann, Germany’s Minister Of Culture & Media, has resisted calls from the country’s Green Party to put user rights at the heart of copyright reform, and instead seems to be following a similar policy to that employed in the UK and France, in particular making the internet service providers take a more proactive role in policing online piracy. Germany has previously resisted calls for a three-strikes system, though Neumann seems enamoured with at least the warning letters strand of France’s much previously reported Hadopi programme.

Neumann told Billboard: “The cultural damage would be irreparable if artists and creative people who were trying to make a living from their art could no longer support themselves with the income generated by others exploiting their work and in a worst case scenario had to stop their creative work altogether. The economical consequences for large parts of the cultural and creative industry would be incalculable without the enforcement of appropriate copyright legislation”.

Although Germany’s political class does seem to be slowly swinging in favour of the copyright community, some in the German music business are annoyed these plans are unlikely to come into effect until 2013 – they wanting quicker action.

New X-Factor judging panel announced – no Cole

Media

So, Take That’s Gary Barlow, N-Dubz’s Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland will join Louis Walsh on the judging panel for the next series of ‘X-Factor’, if you’re interested.

We sort of knew that already, but of course the whole ‘who will judge this year’ story took an interesting turn last week when Cheryl Cole was spectacularly sacked from ‘X-Factor USA’ for speaking odd and being a bit mopey (so the gossipers say, apparently producers weren’t impressed with her choice of dress for the first audition either, they already being a bit pissed she had shunned their stylist).

There was much chatter that ITV bosses, already nervous about having such a dramatic overhaul of the ‘X-Factor’ UK judging panel in one go, had seized on the opportunity to try and get Cheryl back on their show. Some said she was demanding double the fee to return, while others claimed that she was too angry with Simon Cowell and his entire ‘X’ franchise over her treatment in the US that nothing would get her back onto either versions of the programme. Others still said she was too depressed to be thinking about any new projects.

Either way, with the first auctions due to kick off this week, clearly no deal could be done – assuming one was ever in the offing – in time for ITV’s judging panel announcement this weekend. So what next for Cole?

Well, now there’s speculation she is being courted by makers of the previously reported ‘The Voice’ talent show, which is due to come to the UK on the BBC later this year. Of course Universal Music is the label partner on that show, and Cole is signed to a subsidiary of Universal UK, which might open doors for that deal to be done. The BBC show would unlikely be able to match ITV on money, though given the rumour Cole walked away from ‘X-USA’ with her full series one fee in her pocket, money possibly won’t be a concern.

SeeSaw to close

Media

I’m not sure anyone but me cares, but SeeSaw is shutting, booooo! The TV-on-demand website, which carries mainly Channel 4 and BBC archive programming, plus some US shows, uses technology originally developed by Project Kangaroo, the online telly platform planned by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 but blocked by the competition regulator.

The platform ended up being owned by broadcast infrastructure company Arqiva. They had been looking for a new investor or a buyer for the service, which offers some programming for free funded by advertising, while other shows are available on a pay-per-view basis.

A bit like a commercial BBC iPlayer, SeeSaw competes mainly with on-demand services operated by the broadcasters it licenses shows off, though it many ways it was also set to compete with YouView when it launches, possibly later this year.

YouView, of course, is the newer video-on-demand JV between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, which began life as a technology standard for VOD devices, but which now is set to become a stand-alone service, albeit one based around set-top boxes rather than your computer.

Arquiva announced last week that no buyer had been found for SeeSaw, and that they had therefore decided to turn the service off in late July. The service’s 28 staff were told on Friday.

The asking price is probably too high, but ITV should seriously consider buying SeeSaw; compared to most of the third channel’s other questionable online ventures it would be a good buy, and with their ad-selling power might just work. And if nothing else, it would enable them to replace their proprietary web-based ITV Player with something that actually works.

Ronson sets wedding date

And Finally

Mark Ronson will marry his French model fiancée Josephine De La Baume on the first weekend in September, according to the Mail On Sunday, who say the producer has sent out ‘save the date’ cards to friends. Rumour has it the wedding will have a celeb-heavy guest list, so much so the tab-pack are getting very excitable already.

Borrell on that photo

And Finally

Johnny Borrell has commented on that photo, and the ridicule it garnered.

As you may remember, when Borrell presented the relaunched Razorlight to the world earlier this year, he did so by sending out a press photo that not only included three bandmates no one recognised, but one of them was wearing a crazy crazy hat. It certainly got people talking. And laughing.

But Borrell has told the News Of The World he didn’t mind the mockery, remarking: “If people were laughing, then good! You shouldn’t change what people ridicule you for, because in reality it’s your strength”. So take that mockers.

CMU Weekly – Friday 27 May 2011

CMU Weekly Editor's Letter

Hello from Denmark! I’m currently at SPOT Festival in Århus, familiarising myself with the latest Nordic music. After an epic ferry journey, I arrived here on Thursday afternoon and got straight into the action with the festival’s opening show by Our Broken Garden.

Our Broken Garden is a project led by singer and pianist Anna Brønsted, who was formerly a member of Efterklang’s live band, and this show was put together in collaboration with composer Gustaf Ljunggren. Staged in the city’s cathedral, the Århus Domkirke, the performers – a choir, guitar, viola and cello, bass clarinet, and harp – were spread on raised stages amongst the audience along the aisle, with Brønsted at the front calling down to them.

The cathedral itself is a grand, bright building with whitewashed walls inside and the sound of the music echoed around it as it was played. It was a show completely designed just for that space and that time – at this point, there are no plans to perform that show ever again, making it a real one-off. No audio or video recording could ever capture what it was like to be sat in that church with music reverberating around you from all sides. At times it was a little overwhelming, but so beautiful and I’m so glad I was able to see it.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the festival, which kicks of properly today (Friday). I’m excited about seeing Fallulah, who is a huge pop star in Denmark but has never played in the UK (though that will change next month). She’s one of the artists I chose to play on Now Playing @6Music, a show on (funnily enough) 6Music, presented by Tom Robinson, and on which I appear this week. You can listen here for as long as the Beeb keep that link live.

As well as that, you can also hear my voice on the CMU podcast as usual this week – well, I Skyped my bit in, so my voice might go a bit electronic at times. Me and Chris discuss Amazon’s Lady Gaga deal, Facebook and Spotify’s dealings, Sean Parker’s predictions, Katy Perry’s rider, the Phil Spector movie and Ringo Starr’s ramblings (more on which below). As usual, listen or sign up here.

Finally, I’ve got a couple of things to plug. No, don’t go! They’re good. First, we’ve just announced the dates for our next series of CMU Training events, one day courses in music promotion, copyright and emerging music business models. They cost £95 plus VAT each and people who have been on them say they’re very good, so they much be.

Next, I need to talk to all you students. Are you a student looking to get into the media? Or do you know one maybe? Our sister media ThreeWeeks, is the biggest reviewer at the Edinburgh Festival in August. It produces a weekly print newspaper, a daily reviews sheet and email bulletin, podcasts and more. It’s currently looking for students to join this year’s reviews team, who will given formal training and access to the biggest cultural festival in the world. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and you can find more information here.

Now, I’m going to go and find some sort of pastry to eat. Enjoy what’s left of your bank holiday weekend.

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU

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Playlist: Three Trapped Tigers

CMU Playlists

We’ve been huge fans of Three Trapped Tigers ever since their debut EP turned up in the CMU office.

Their sound is complex, and can be difficult to explain succinctly. When we interviewed him last year, the band’s keyboard player and occasional vocalist Tom Rogerson described their sound with a riddle, saying: “How do you play Aphex Twin live? Answer: make it sound a bit like Lightning Bolt”. But that description doesn’t get over how much they’ve created their own universe of music, with an instantly recognisable sound.

Along with acts like Talons and Gallops, the band are doing really exciting things with instrumental rock music, which is showcased perfectly on their debut album, ‘Route One Or Die’, released through the Blood & Biscuits label on 30 May.

Ahead of the album’s release, we asked the band to put their heads together and come up with a Powers Of Ten playlist for us. The results are as eclectic as we’d hoped for, taking in metal, hip hop, jazz and 80s movie themes.

THREE TRAPPED TIGERS’ TEN
Click here to listen to Three Trapped Tiger’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about their selections.

01 John Foxx – Underpass
Tom: This album came out in 1980 and is one of the pioneering UK synth-pop records. Incredible sounds, and such an original take on harmony, melody, etc. The whole thing is most notable to me for being so ambitious though. It’s entirely its own universe, lyrically, vocally, and musically, and would nowadays be dismissed as pretentious art-house nonsense. Yet it’s pretty representative of a highpoint in UK ‘pop’ music.

02 Moderat – Les Grandes Marches
Tom: This is one of the few recent releases I keep going back to and is a band favourite, too. I love both these artists (Modeselektor and Apparat) individually, but the combination on this record is a bit more sumptuous. It’s that kind of euphoric dancefloor music that is pretty difficult to pull off, managing to be equally tough and glorious at the same time.

03 Vince DiCola – Rocky IV Training Montage
Tom: The best and worst of the American 80s in three and a half minutes. Incredible synths, ADHD harmony and form, and no restraint.

04 Actress – Get Ohn (Fairlight Mix)
Matt: His sound really stands out from the rest of the “bass music” scene. I’d ideally not isolate one track from this album as there’s such a great range, but this track has an awesome dark thump to it. It’s definitely one of my favourite albums of recent times – I’m normally at least a year or two behind.

05 Stian Westerhus – Music For Leaving
Matt: Some strands of Norwegian jazz-with-electronics are really cheesy, but bands on the label Rune Grammofon like Supersilent, Humcrush and Puma are covering way more interesting territory. Puma’s guitarist Stian is one of the label’s younger artists coming through – this album is just solo guitar, from really beautiful ambience through to seriously visceral noise as on this track. I saw him play solo live in a pub – it was incredibly inspirational how balls-out his performance was.

06 Slick Rick – Lick The Balls
Matt: I remember my older brother mixing this track when he first got decks and I love the beat, old school cuts and samples. Perhaps not even the best track on this album or my all-time rap ‘joint’ but it’s something I’ve been playing on Spotify recently. Really my favourite hip hop is the 90s golden era: ATCQ, Snoop/Dre, Biggie, Nas’ ‘Illmatic’, anything produced by DJ Premier, etc.

07 Evil Ex – Cracks
Matt: A shameless plug for my solo EP. Betts is drumming on it, and wanted us to use this track as it’s the best vehicle for his own shredding.

08 Liturgy – Generation
Adam: I think the new Liturgy album is a really exciting record, delivering exactly what metal needs – less polish, less neutered technical proficiency and a more visceral sound. This tune also has a pretty bold compositional idea behind it – one note for six minutes?! Ballsy.

09 The Low Anthem – Boeing 737
Adam: This guy has a glorious voice and the album has a beautiful sound, full of heart. Also this tune coupled with it’s video is pretty sublime.

10 Pig Destroyer – Hyperviolet
Adam: Our driver Ross just introduced me to these guys, and this track manages to combine some slamming drumming and riffs with a real “something’s wrong with the world” outro which is madly exciting!

CMU Beef Of The Week #64: Ringo Starr v The Beatles

And Finally Beef Of The Week

Is this a beef? I don’t know. I just like publishing quotes from Ringo Starr. I mean, come on, he once made this impassioned plea to fans asking them not to send him any fanmail.

This week he’s been talking about The Beatles, which is reasonable, he having joined the band in 1962 and been a member throughout all their most successful years up until their split in 1970. Many would put that success down to the songwriting talents of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Ringo mainly puts it down to him agreeing to join the band.

Speaking to Live magazine he explained: “Within Liverpool, I was a lot more well know than them. [Starr’s then band] Rory And The Hurricanes were big shots in the city. We had the suits. That was our claim to fame. The Beatles were lucky to get me. It wasn’t just that I was a big shot; I was a cool drummer”.

Ringo now wants to return the favour by allowing Paul McCartney to join his current group, Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band. It seems McCartney is having none of it, so Starr has struck him off the list of official members of The Beatles.

He said: “Every time I ask him to tour with the All Starrs, he says he is too busy. We’re as close as we want to be. We’re the only two remaining Beatles, although he likes to think he’s the only one. I actually think it’s people on the outside who perceive Paul as thinking he’s the only member left, when actually it’s me. I am the last remaining Beatle”.

The music business week in five – 27 May 2011

Business News Week In Five

Well, hello there, and well done for making it through another week. And as a reward, have a Bank Holiday Weekend, on me. No, don’t mention it, it’s yours. For free. Though it does mean you won’t be getting a CMU Daily on Monday. What we do have next week, though, is the latest CMU Training course, this one on all things music PR and promotions. It’s taking place in Shoreditch on Wednesday. Why not start June better informed on how to build profile and buzz for your bands and projects? More details at theCMUwebsite.com/training. Meanwhile, here’s your week in five…

01: More artists sued Universal over digital royalties, following the court victory of Eminem producers FBT Productions in arguing that download revenues should be treated as licensing rather than record sales income, on which they contractually earn a bigger cut. Universal insist the ruling in the FBT case does not set a precedent that applies to all pre-internet record contracts, but Rob Zombie, Whitesnake and Dave Mason all followed the lead of the Rick James estate this week in begging to differ, and filing a class action lawsuit that calls for all legacy artists to get the higher share of digital monies. CMU report | Reuters report

02: Leaked Katy Perry rider shows insider touting. Among various diva-ish demands on the Perry rider, published by The Smoking Gun, was one that said promoters should set aside a number of tickets per show for the singer’s team to resell via ticketing agencies of their choice, which might include secondary ticketing auction sites. That some artists and managers tout their own tickets for profit isn’t a secret, but Perry is possibly the first high profile artist to be outed as a touter in this way. Some will argue the singer is ripping off her fans by letting her people sell tickets at hiked up prices. CMU report | Smoking Gun report

03: The European Commission set out its intellectual property plans, which included the usual stuff (for EC statements on IP) about the music industry making pan-European licensing simpler, with various further calls for collecting society reform. Perhaps more interesting were commitments to taking EC-level action to curb illegal file-sharing and other online piracy, even if this paper was vague on what form that action might take. CMU report | European Patent Office Announcement

04: Concerns were raised about the Police Reform Bill, which some say will make licensing music events, especially festivals, more difficult, even as the Live Music Bill tries to simplify such things. Campaigner Hamish Birchall told Music Week that by pursuing both the Live Music Bill and the licensing section of the Police Reform Bill the government was trying to both deregulate and regulate at the same time. The police bill was being discussed by a Lords committee this week. CMU report | Event Industry News report

05: There was chatter about a Facebook and Spotify alliance, which Forbes span as Facebook launching its own Spotify-powered streaming music service. Though some think that Facebook is actually talking to numerous content providers, including various digital music players, about them offering some of their services within the Facebook environment. Some sort of music partnerships announcement from Facebook is expected soon though. CMU report | Billboard report

And that’s your lot – enjoy thank bank holiday now.

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

Approved: Secretsundaze at THAT

Club Tip CMU Approved

Secretsundaze are back, celebrating ten years in the game, with my personal stand out artist from last year, Wbeeza, playing live. Elsewhere Soundstream, aka Frank Timms, will be housing it up, while Manc Trus’me will be playing some dope grooves on the wheels of steel. Also worth checking out is The Beez, who has been tearing up the dancefloors since his first EP on the excellent Third Ear label, and his long player last year, ‘Void’, was rather good too. Finally, residents Priestly and Smith will keep the party moving, a great way to spend your Bank Holiday Weekend.

Secretsundaze at The House, 338 Tunnel Avenue, London, SE10, Sunday 29 May, 2pm to 12am, £14.50 adv, info here.

Guardian publishes its first ever music power list

Business News Industry People Media Top Stories

Power lists, hey? Everybody loves a power list, right? Of course, the publication which produces such a list takes a risk, because while they make 100 people very happy, by definition their pissing off thousands more. Many of you will remember *that* Music Week power list and the subsequent fallout.

But presumably The Guardian doesn’t care if it bruises some egos in music-land. Or perhaps it does, the first ever Guardian Music Power 100 – the 100 most influential people in British rock and pop – does come with the get-out clause: “We know that this list is far from perfect. There will be people we’ve simply missed out; there will be others who are too high, and others who are too low. Maybe there are some who shouldn’t be there at all”.

It’s possibly also worth noting the list doesn’t include any Guardian editors or music critics, presumably not wanting to be seen to show bias towards its own, though in terms of getting new music out to a more mainstream audience the broadsheet’s staff do wield some power themselves.

So who is in this list? Well, the team behind Adele – including Adele herself – top the poll, which does sort of smack of “oh, we better include some artists, whose the biggest at the moment?”, which the paper sort of admits itself when it confesses “our panel [of industry experts] stressed most forcefully teamwork and the artist – ‘none of us would be here without the artists’, they said – hence the choice of No 1, an artist served by a top-rate team.

Elsewhere you’ll find the usual suspects, the top BBC radio types, the major label chiefs, the live music supremos, the retail bosses, the techies who control digital music or artists’ social media activity, a few managers, a couple of producers and songwriters, at least one lawyer, and more artists ensuring most strands of the rock and pop genres are represented. The direct-to-fan technology makers, acquisitive independent publishers and increasingly crucial collecting societies are most notable by their absence, but as these slightly random lists go, it’s an OK first attempt.

Here’s the top ten, but for the full list go check The Guardian website here.

1. Team Adele
2. Lucian Grainge and David Joseph, Universal Music
3. Simon Cowell
4. Nigel Harding, Radio 1
5. Person or persons unknown, iTunes UK
6. Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, YouTube
7. George Ergoutadis, Radio 1
8. Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, Google
9. Simon Moran, SJM promotions
10. Jeff Bezos, Amazon

Finnish industry asks courts to block Pirate Bay

Legal

The Finnish record industry has applied for a court order to force internet service providers there to block access to The Pirate Bay, the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry has confirmed.

Finland’s Copyright Information & Anti-Piracy Centre filed the court papers on behalf of the IFPI, who told reporters: “The development of a legal online market is impossible in Finland if illegal services like The Pirate Bay are freely allowed to continue their operations”.

If the Finnish courts granted the order, they wouldn’t be the first European country to officially block access to the rogue file-sharing site, though, of course, more prolific users will always find ways to circumvent such blocks.

That said, record label types would probably argue that even if such a block stops more casual users from accessing the BitTorrent search engine, that would be a step in the right direction.

George Clinton receiving treatment in hospital

Artist News

Legendary funk man George Clinton is in hospital to receive treatment for a so called staph infection in one of his legs, according to TMZ. A representative for the Parliament-Funkadelic leader said Clinton had gone into hospital for the treatment after a routine check-up with his doctor, adding that “he will be just fine, [but] thank you for all your prayers and concern”.

Youngest ever American Idol crowned

Awards

Do CMU readers care that a 17 year old high-school student called Scott McCreery has won the tenth edition of ‘American Idol’, beating sixteen year old rival Lauren Alaina with an Elton John cover to become the youngest ever winner of the series? I’ve lost my guidelines on this issue. If someone could let me know I’ll make a decision on whether or not to run this story.

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:49 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Polly And The Billets Doux

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:45 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Karen O | Led Zeppelin | Trent Reznor

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:43 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Gil Scott-Heron

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:41 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Adele | Richard Russell | XL Recordings

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:39 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Phil Spector

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:37 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Courtney Love

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:36 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Amy Winehouse

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:34 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Sean Kingston

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:33 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Flick Colby

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:30 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Lady Gaga

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:29 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Flow Festival | Glade Festival | Hard Rock Calling | Jersey Live | RockNess

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:26 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Lucian Grainge | Tommy Hilfiger | Universal Music

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:24 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: HMV | Simon Fox | Waterstones

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:23 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: London Records | Nick Raphael | Universal Music

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:22 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: PRS For Music | Robert Ashcroft

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:20 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Intellectual Property Rights

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:15 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Copyright | Germany | Piracy

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:14 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Cheryl | X-Factor

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:12 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: SeeSaw

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:10 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Josephine De La Baume | Mark Ronson

Tuesday 31 May 2011, 13:09 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Johnny Borrell | Razorlight

Sunday 29 May 2011, 10:00 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Spot Festival

Sunday 29 May 2011, 09:55 | By CMU Editorial

We’ve been huge fans of Three Trapped Tigers ever since their debut EP turned up in the CMU office.

READ MORE ABOUT: Three Trapped Tigers

Sunday 29 May 2011, 09:50 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Ringo Starr | The Beatles

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:37 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT:

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:34 | By Paul Vig

READ MORE ABOUT: Secretsundaze | Wbeeza

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:32 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Adele | The Guardian

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:29 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Copyright | Finland | Piracy | The Pirate Bay

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:27 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: George Clinton

Friday 27 May 2011, 12:21 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: American Idol | Scott McCreery