Friday 30 November 2012, 13:42 | By Chris Cooke

CMU Digest – 30 Nov 2012

Business News Week In Five

The five biggest stories in the music business this week…

01: The BPI asked The Pirate Party to stop circumventing Pirate Bay blocks. The UK record industry trade body sent a letter to the boss of the Pirate Party requesting that his organisation stop operating a proxy that means that customers of those ISPs which are, under court order, blocking access to the Pirate Bay, can still access the controversial file-sharing site. The quick route to circumventing the Bay block is accessible via the Pirate Party’s website and appears high up in Google searches for the file-sharing site too. Pirate Party boss Loz Kaye said he was considering his response. The letter may be a precursor to legal action by the BPI in a bid to stop those people trying to help others circumvent the Pirate Bay blockades. CMU report | BBC report

02: Newzbin2 closed down. The file-sharing community is important in the context of UK copyright law, because it was the movie industry’s successful efforts to force British ISPs to block access to it that set the precedent that let the BPI get injunctions to block The Pirate Bay. The original Newzbin was forced offline by the British courts on copyright grounds, but Newzbin2 was set up outside the UK. Despite being blocked by many British net firms, most users would have been able to get passed the blocks. However, the movie industry also put pressure on various payment service providers to not take monies from Newzbin2 users, meaning the operators of the site cannot afford a much needed upgrade, motivating the shut down. CMU report | Slyck.com report

03: Four bidders remained in the EMI song catalogues race. BMG, Because and Kobalt/G2 have all put in second round bids for the EMI song catalogues being sold by Sony/ATV, which agreed to offload some European assets in order to get regulator approval for its takeover (with others) of EMI Music Publishing. Warner Music is also expected to put in a full bid to buy the Virgin and Famous UK catalogues. Nine parties are thought to have made initial bids, but only these four are still in the running. CMU report | Billboard report

04: Universal appointed a Sony man to run Capitol. Most of the frontline label operations in the US previously owned by EMI will now be headed up by Steve Barnett, who was headhunted by new EMI owners Universal Music this week. Barnett has been a long-time staffer with Universal’s rival Sony Music, most recently running Columbia Records in the US. His new division within Universal will include the Capitol, Virgin, Blue Note and Astralwerks labels Stateside, plus The Beatles catalogue. Capitol will be an autonomous division within Universal, which also has ambitions to launch a Capitol label in the UK once its sold off EMI’s Parlophone business (a sale forced by European regulators, of course). CMU report | LA Times report

05: Adele album passed the ten million units landmark in US. Somewhat aptly, ’21’ is the 21st album to sell that many copies in the US since Neilsen SoundScan began recording such data in 1991. Meanwhile Louis Walsh told Q magazine that he thinks Adele is crazy for having a relaxing year, she having performed and recorded very little in 2012, firstly because she was recovering from a bad throat, then there was the having a baby business. “Fine, have a baby, but then get back out there”, said Walsh. Perhaps she’ll take his advice once she realises she’s only the 22nd best paid musician in the world this year. CMU report | Guardian report

This week on CMU, we interviewed Japanese instrumental post-rock/classical hybrid band Mono, Liverpudlian folkists Stealing Sheep put together a playlist for us, and Eddy Temple-Morris selected some of the artists he’s most looking forward to hearing more in 2013. Meanwhile, in the Approved column we had new music from Francis Neve, Hype Williams, Autre Ne Veut, and US Girls.

CMU Beef Of The Week #138: The US Government v Andrew WK

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

You’d think Andrew WK would have run out of ways to surprise people by now, having in the past denied conspiracy theories about his identity, unveiled a dark organ-led ode to a teenage crush, and addressed a My Little Pony convention, not to mention his regular motivational speeches on his philosophy of partying hard. But when he was appointed as a Cultural Ambassador to the Middle East by the US Department Of State… that was pretty surprising.

The news was broken with a statement on the musician’s website last Friday, announcing that “the US Department of State in partnership with the US Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, has invited Andrew to visit the Middle East to promote partying and positive power”. Just in case you hadn’t quite taken that in, it reiterated that he had “been invited by the State Department to travel to the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain and share his music and partying with the people there”.

Details, so the statement claimed, were being kept fairly vague for security reasons, but it explained: “Andrew will begin his journey sometime in December 2012 and will visit elementary schools, the University Of Bahrain, music venues, and more, all while promoting partying and world peace”.

Well, they’ve tried everything else. Let’s be honest, the US sending Andrew WK over to bring about peace in the Middle East is no less bizarre than the UK sending Tony Blair. But nonetheless, I’d imagine you’re thinking that this all sounds a bit far fetched. Luckily the US State department holds a press briefing each Monday, where this sort of outlandish rumour can be cleared up.

Asked if she knew anything about it, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland acknowledged that there had been some contact with Andrew WK, but added that the collaboration was not now going ahead. She told reporters: “We had a Bahraini entity that approached the Embassy about co-sponsoring a visit by this guy, who I take it is pretty popular there in Bahrain. That was initially approved. And then when more senior management at the Embassy took a look at this, the conclusion was that this was not an appropriate use of US government funds”.

Asked if it was song titles such as ‘Party Till You Puke’ that led to the rejection, Nuland refused to get into specifics, but added: “I think the conclusion was, when they looked at the body of his work, that we didn’t need to be part of this invitation”. She added that while “there may have been some preliminary conversations with him”, it was certainly not quite the done and dusted deal that the musician’s website had claimed.

All of which suggested that Andrew WK had got a bit ahead of himself when he announced his Bahrain trip and exaggerated the whole thing. Nevertheless, he continued, telling his Facebook-based fans on Monday that the trip had been cancelled because he was “too party”.

The accusation that the US government had only had a fleeting involvement with any plans for a motivational tour of Bahrain subsequently irked the usually jovial singer. In a second statement on his website on Tuesday, he gave a detailed breakdown of his communications with the people at the State Department, going so far as to claim that it had all been their idea.

“I’m disappointed and puzzled by their change of heart and last minute decision”, he wrote. “I was personally invited to take this trip by the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Bahrain over a year ago. They came to me. The first email they sent me is dated 13 Sep 2011 asking me to give a motivational lecture in Bahrain. I was overjoyed and accepted their invitation immediately. We moved forward and completed their extensive approval process, background check, booked all the flights and travel, and had numerous phone calls with the US Embassy Public Affairs Office in Manama, Bahrain, who were handling the details”.

He added that a plane was booked to fly him to Bahrain on 1 Dec, to begin his tour the following day, and that he and his team had “received our official itinerary from the State Dept at 5:58am, on Monday, 26 Nov 2012”.

“When I was originally invited by our contact, it seemed everyone was aware of what I stand for with my positive attitude”, he continued. “They were aware of how I look and my high-energy rock music. They were excited to bring my message of living life to the fullest to the people in the Middle East. I was thrilled at the opportunity to represent my country and the spirit of inclusive and open-minded freedom that makes our nation so special and inspiring. So, for a Department of State representative to [now] say Andrew WK ‘doesn’t meet their standards’ after they invited me and planned my trip for a year… well, that doesn’t meet my standards either”.

He concluded: “You can’t judge a book by its cover. I would’ve done a great job and represented our nation with dignity and pride. Despite all these challenges, I still would love to go and I vow to continue partying, and working every day to unite our human race through the power of positive partying”.

Presumably, if we’re to take Andrew WK’s account over that of the State Department’s, it was the rush of press coverage following the rocker’s initial announcement of his cultural ambassadoring that gave political types cold feet. Perhaps prior to that senior figures in the State Department had not looked too closely at who Andrew WK was, and when pictures of him with blood pouring from his nose appeared in front of them they got a little worried.

But will we ever know what sort of job Andrew WK would have done as a Cultural Ambassador in Bahrain? Well, yes. It seems we will. Because, as he said in that there quote about, he is still keen to go. And Bahrain is seemingly still keen to have him.

Speaking to Spinner yesterday, he said: “In the face of a lot of disappointment and confusion there has been an incredible amount of support, especially from Bahrain. They’ve now invited me personally, regardless of whether or not my own country wants me to go, and we’re actively working on that. You know, I’ve never been to the Middle East so this was such an exciting trip. I was so proud and honoured, and humbled at the same time to be able to go there formally with the State Department’s invitation. But just because they changed their minds at the last second doesn’t mean that we still can’t go, so we actually are working on that and we’re very thankful and very moved by the kindness of the Bahrainis”.

So, there you go Bahrain. And if you’re still in any doubt about WK’s credentials in relation to peaceful endeavours, take a look at what he’s already done for yoga:

Approved: Circus LDN at Egg

Club Tip CMU Approved

Just six months in and Circus LDN has already grown into one of the capital’s grander Friday night parties. This month, helmsman Yousef welcomes legendary French house and techno visionary Laurent Garnier for the final ever London performance of his LBS project.

Support will, of course, come from Yousef himself – his recent second album, ‘A Product Of Your Environment’, having pleased many critics – backed up on the ones and twos with Circus recordings starlets Acid Mondays, showcasing their effervescent take on house and techno.

Roll up, roll up for Circus LDN. It’s house, Jim, but perhaps not as we know it…

Friday 30 Nov, Egg, York Way, Kings Cross, London, N7 9PX, £15 adv, more info at this link.

BPI asks Pirate Party to take down Pirate Bay proxy

Digital Legal Top Stories

Record labels trade body the BPI has written to the UK branch of the Pirate Party requesting that it shut down its Pirate Bay proxy, which provides a very simple way for British web users to access the controversial file-sharing website, even if their internet service providers are blocking the core TPB domain.

As much previously reported, earlier this year the BPI successfully secured injunctions against all the major UK ISPs forcing them to block access to the Bay, after a judge ruled that the file-sharing service was liable for the copyright infringement it enabled. However, for anyone with a bit of know-how, it is possible to circumvent those web-blocks. Using the Pirate Party’s ‘proxy’, which is accessible on the political organisation’s home page and now comes up very high in UK Google searches for “The Pirate Bay”, is one of the simplest ways.

Confirming he had received the letter requesting his organisation stop operating the proxy, Pirate Party chief Loz Kaye yesterday posted on his party’s website: “Late this afternoon I received an email from Geoff Taylor at the BPI indicating that a letter had been sent to The Pirate Party, as well as an electronic copy of that letter which refers to our provision of a Pirate Bay Proxy. We have not yet received the letter by post. As this letter seems to have been made available to the press, I would like to make it clear that we will respond to the BPI by 6 Dec as requested by Mr Taylor, as well as informing our members of the letter, its contents and our response”.

He continued: “The Pirate Party UK has hosted a proxy, allowing people to connect to The Pirate Bay via Pirate Party servers, since April 2012, a little before The Pirate Bay was blocked by some UK ISPs after being issued with court orders. These court orders remain in place and some ISPs continue to prevent access to The Pirate Bay. As we stated in May 2012, we provided the proxy as a tool for users on networks where The Pirate Bay is blocked through filtering, we will continue to do so as long as this situation continues”.

He concluded: “The proxy continues to be a legitimate route for those affected by court orders issued to some (but not all) UK ISPs requiring the site to be blocked. Whilst some providers continue to allow access to the web in an unfiltered manner, others are limiting access to specific parts of the internet”.

The ‘legitimacy’ of proxies designed to circumvent web blocks put in place by a court injunction isn’t really clear at the moment, certainly such proxies are not in the spirit of the court orders. Whether separate injunctions could be secured against proxy operators through the courts is yet to be tested, web-block injunctions on copyright grounds in the UK still being a relatively new phenomenon, though the BPI’s letter could be seen as a precursor of legal action. In the Netherlands, anti-piracy body BREIN has pursued separate legal action against the Pirate Party there to shut down its TPB proxy.

According to the BBC, The Pirate Party, which is not formally affiliated with The Pirate Bay, says it operates the proxy as an act of “freedom of expression” to support “the right to share information and ideas without interference”. The BPI’s letter seemingly deals with that claim specifically.

The Beeb says the BPI’s Taylor writes: “Freedom of expression is not an absolute right. It comes with a duty to respect the rights of others, including those whose talent, hard work and investment help to create music and other entertainment. We are passionate believers in freedom of speech. But it doesn’t justify The Pirate Bay helping themselves to other people’s work. The human rights implications of blocking this illegal site have been fully considered by the High Court. Whatever their views, Pirate Party UK are no more above the law than anyone else”.

Newzbin2 goes offline

Digital Legal Top Stories

Newzbin2, the file-sharing community that set the web-block precedent in English law, allowing the record industry to subsequently force major ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay, has gone offline. Though it’s not the circumventable web-blocks that have led to Newzbin2’s demise, rather it was the movie and music industries’ campaign to put pressure on payment service providers to cease working with any service offering access to unlicensed content.

Newzbin2 was launched after legal action by the movie industry through the British courts forced the original Newzbin site offline. The new site was located beyond the jurisdiction of the UK courts, hence the web-blocks. The site, based on the long-established Usenet indexing network, provided links to all sorts of content, and relied on premium users who paid subscription fees to cover technical costs.

But, operators of the site say, pressure has been put on those services that accept payments on behalf of Newzbin, making it difficult to accept monies, meaning some vital upgrading work cannot be undertaken. Other factors have played their part in persuading Team Newzbin to call it a day, including a decline in the number of users contributing editorial skills, making the service less efficient, though the financial issues seem to have been key.

In a statement confirming the closure of the service, published by Slyck.com, the Newzbin2 operators insist that their service was actually compliant with copyright law as set out in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ie they adhered to takedown requests when submitted by rights owners. They conclude: “The tragedy is this: unlike Newzbin1, we are 100% DMCA compliant. We have acted on every DMCA notice we received without stalling or playing games: if there was a DMCA complaint the report was gone. Period. That was a condition of our advertising and payment partners so we complied but we never got a single complaint from the MPA. Not one”.

US three-strike-style warning letters delayed

Digital Legal Top Stories

Plans by major internet service providers in the US to start sending out warning letters to suspected file-sharers have been delayed, according to Torrentfreak.

As previously reported, a number of major ISPs in the States, many of which also have interests in the content industries, have voluntarily agreed to start sending out warning letters to customers suspected of accessing illegal sources of content, similar to those the 2010 Digital Economy Act in the UK obligates net firms to send (not that any have yet).

It was thought the letter sending could kick off anytime now, but the Center For Copyright Information, which will coordinate the letter sending, says not all stakeholders are ready to go, some having suffered setbacks because of the impact Hurricane Sandy had on East Coast facilities. It now seems likely letters will start going out in early 2013.

Customers who ignore the letters could ultimately suffer sanctions, to be determined by each individual ISP, though it is likely up to five warning letters would be mailed first, meaning the scheme has been dubbed ‘six strikes’. Similar warning letter schemes have been set up in a number of other countries, of course, most as a result of statutory measures, though some ISPs elsewhere have voluntarily agreed to mail out letters alerting their users to the fact they may be infringing copyrights.

Moscow court rules that access to sites hosting Pussy Riot videos should be restricted

Legal

The Moscow Zamoskvoretsky District Court has ruled that videos made by provocative Russian punk group Pussy Riot are “extremist” and that access to sites hosting them, which would include their website at pussyriot.com and their blog on livejournal.com, should therefore be restricted. It’s the latest attack against the all-women group, who are very critical of the current Russian regime, by the country’s authorities and courts. The ruling may still be contested at a higher court, though it is not clear who will launch the appeal.

According to Russian news agency Interfax, the judge ruling on the case said: “The video materials in question contain evidence of extremism, specifically statements and actions belittling various social groups based on religious affiliation. There are hidden calls for a riot and resistance of the authorities, and also the organisation of mass unrest”.

Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich attempted to launch an appeal against the decision, but the court refused to recognise her as an interested party. Despite this, she vowed to continue to fight the decision, either through the courts or by moving the Pussy Riot website to servers outside Russia, saying yesterday: “Today’s decision was expected. I will try to contest it”.

The Russian Orthodox Church, meanwhile, welcomed the decision – perhaps unsurprisingly since it too has been criticised by the group, and it was the band’s performance of a ‘punk prayer’ in the church’s Moscow cathedral that landed three Pussy Riot members in prison earlier this year (two are still in jail). And it’s the video of that performance which is the band’s most popular, with almost 2.5 million views on YouTube.

Father Vsevolod of the Church told Interfax: “There are no grounds not to respect this court decision. Many such tests and videos have been put on the federal list of extremist materials, and the decision to put this video on this list is quite appropriate. Texts that were even less insulting and hostile towards other religious groups have been recognised as extremist materials before, [therefore this new ruling] is well in line with the current law enforcement practice”.

He added: “If this law is adopted, it should protect the interests of the minority and the majority, it should exercise justice and be effective in all cases when insulting and hostile words are said about a specific group of people, and concepts, symbols and persons that are important to them”.

TVShack operator to avoid US extradition

Digital Legal

The British student facing extradition to the US for running a website that provided links to unlicensed streams of TV shows has seemingly successfully overcome that threat by reaching an out of court agreement with the American authorities, that will see the defendant agree to pay damages to affected copyright owners.

As previously reported, Richard O’Dwyer ran TVShack, a website that provided regularly updated links to where users could find TV shows that had been uploaded, mainly without licence, to YouTube-style services. Sites like TVShack – and another UK-based one called TV-Links – became useful once user-upload sites started properly responding to takedown requests from the TV industry.

On most video-sharing sites unlicensed content is constantly being taken down and then re-uploaded by other users, though if you just want to watch the latest episode of ‘Family Guy’, navigating all that is a major arse. Sites like TVShack mean users can visit one website which will link them to the latest uploads which are still live.

The existence of such sites made the whole takedown system less effective, so rights owners started targeting the link sites too, claiming their operators were liable for contributory or authorising infringement. Although UK-based with a website hosted in Sweden, O’Dwyer was targeted by the US authorities. In probably his biggest mistake, he ignored a cease and desist from the American government, moved his site to a new domain and carried on regardless. Until UK police and US representatives showed up at his door. Extradition proceedings, to force O’Dwyer to face copyright charges back in the US, followed.

Operators of sites like TVShack always say that they don’t actually host any infringing content, and therefore cannot be held liable for any infringement that occurs when a user clicks on one of their links. In most jurisdictions that’s not an especially effective defence – such linking services are considered to constitute contributory infringement – although there are exceptions.

But even if there was a civil case for O’Dwyer to answer, it’s debatable whether there is a criminal case against the student; criminal liability would depend very much on his motivation and how commercial his operation was. In the UK attempts to prosecute the operators of infringement-assisting websites have had mixed results. And anyway, O’Dwyer’s supporters, including Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, have stressed, even if there was a criminal case to answer, why in the US?

Nevertheless, the extradition proceedings continued, with Home Secretary Theresa May rubber stamping the American’s application back in March. However, as O’Dwyer’s lawyers pursued every appeals process available, they also continued to negotiate with the American prosecutors, leading to this week’s deal.

According to the BBC, O’Dwyer has signed a provisional agreement, which his mother Julia O’Dwyer will complete in the US. It’s not clear why the US authorities, which initially seemed adamant that O’Dwyer should face the charges against him in an American court room, have had a change of heart, though Wales’s high profile support and petition, signed by quarter of a million people, may well have helped.

Loz Kaye, the boss of the UK Pirate Party welcomed the deal, telling Torrentfreak: “This decision vindicates the Pirate Party’s view that the extradition request was disproportionate and unnecessary all along. It does not remove the underlying problem though. The US can not be allowed to be the copyright cops of the world. I hope that Richard and Julia O’Dwyer will be able to begin to rebuild their lives now”.

Beastie Boys respond in sampling lawsuit

Business News Legal

Legal reps for the Beastie Boys have responded to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against them in May, the day before the death of group member Adam Yauch.

As previously reported, US label Tuf America alleged that four of the hip hop outfit’s tracks from 1986 and 1989 used samples from two songs it owned without permission. Tuf America had only acquired the rights in the allegedly sampled songs in 1999, and had only noticed the alleged samples in the Beastie Boys tracks very recently.

Yauch’s death delayed the group’s response to the action, but this week legal papers were filed. Lawyers have argued that Tuf America has not provided convincing evidence that the samples in question originate with the recordings it owns, while adding that, even if it could provide that evidence, the case should be dismissed under the statute of limitations – ie the claimant waited far too long to sue.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the legal reps say: “What precipitated plaintiff to bring this action two decades after the release of the songs in question, and the day before the passing of defendant Adam Yauch, is not explained. Plaintiff is attempting to sidestep the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations and the defenses of laches and estoppel in light of its decades-long delay in taking any action”.

Tuf America is yet to respond.

Australia’s ARIA Awards given… majority go to Gotye

Awards

So Australia’s equivalent of the BRIT Awards, the 2012 ARIAs, were awarded this week. Amid myriad magic pop moments – not least Taylor Swift and Russell Brand doing things, and Nicki Minaj wearing this – some winners were announced, mainly Gotye, who won in four categories.

Winners:

Best Male Artist: Gotye – Making Mirrors
Best Female Artist: Kimbra – Vows
Best Group: The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap
Breakthrough Artist: 360 – Falling & Flying
Best International Artist: One Direction
Best Australian Live Act: Gotye

Album Of The Year: Gotye – Making Mirrors
Best Independent Release: The Jezabels – Prisoner
Best Adult Contemporary Album: Missy Higgins – The Ol Razzle Dazzle
Best Blues & Roots Album: Jeff Lang – Carried In Mind
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album: DZ Deathrays – Bloodstreams
Best Pop Release: Gotye – Making Mirrors
Best Rock Album: The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap
Best Urban Album: Hilltop Hoods – Drinking From The Sun
Best Children’s Album: The Wiggles – Surfer Jeff
Best Comedy Release: Buddy Goode – Unappropriate
Best Country Album: The McClymonts – Two Worlds Collide
Best Dance Release: Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl feat Georgi Kay – In My Mind
Best Classical Album: William Barton – Kalkadungu
Best Jazz Album: Sarah McKenzie – Close Your Eyes
Best Original Soundtrack: Triple J – Straight To You: A Tribute To Nick Cave
Best World Music Album: Joseph Tawadros – Concerts Of The Greater Sea

ARIA Song Of The Year: Matt Corby – Brother
Best Video: Missy Higgins – Everyone’s Waiting

Best Cover Art: Frank De Backer & Wally De Backer- Making Mirrors
Producer of the Year: Styalz Fuego – 360, Falling & Flying

Gotye has most streamed track on Spotify in 2012

Artist News

More Gotye now, because his song ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ has been confirmed as the most streamed track on Spotify this year, perhaps unsurprisingly. The album it was taken from, however, was relegated to the ‘second most streamed’ position by David Guetta’s ‘Nothing But The Beat’.

Flo Rida managed to get two entries in the tracks top ten, as well as just sneaking into the ten most popular albums. Only one other artist, Sia, managed two top ten tracks, though on both occasions it was as a guest vocalist (one of them on Flo Rida’s track ‘Wild Ones’).

Stats are fun, huh? Presumably everyone will start listening exclusively to Christmas music tomorrow and therefore these lists won’t change before the year is out. You can listen to a playlist of the 100 most popular tracks on Spotify in 2012 here, or check out the single track and album top tens below.

Most streamed tracks:

1. Gotye feat Kimbra – Somebody That I Used To Know
2. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
3. Fun. feat Janelle Monáe – We Are Young
4. Flo Rida – Whistle
5. Flo Rida feat Sia – Wild Ones
6. Train – Drive By
7. Nicki Minaj – Starships
8. Maroon 5 feat Wiz Khalifa – Payphone
9. David Guetta feat Sia – Titanium
10. Loreen – Euphoria

Most streamed albums:

1. David Guetta – Nothing But The Beat
2. Gotye – Making Mirrors
3. Drake – Take Care
4. Lana Del Ray – Born To Die
5. One Direction – Up All Night
6. Fun. – Some Nights
7. Rihanna – Talk That Talk
8. Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
9. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
10. Flo Rida – Wild Ones

Dre tops musicians earnings list

Artist News

Everyone loves a list of how much richer rich pop stars have become this year, right? Well, everyone is in luck, because Forbes has published a list of the highest paid musicians of the year, according to their number crunchers.

Dr Dre tops the poll, though – as we pointed out when he also topped the Forbes hip hop rich list back in September – HTC taking a rather large stake in his Beats company has helped there. Elsewhere, the usual suspects dominate, with quite a few Brits towards the top of the poll, and elsewhere, including Sade at number 25 with annual earnings of $33 million. These polls are always good for reminding us just how big Sade is in the US.

Anyway, here’s the list…

1. Dr. Dre ($110 million)
2. Roger Waters ($88 million)
3. Elton John ($80 million)
4. U2 ($78 million)
5. Take That ($69 million)
6. Bon Jovi ($60 million)
7. Britney Spears ($58 million)
8. Paul McCartney ($57 million)
8. Taylor Swift ($57 million)
10. Justin Bieber ($55 million)
10. Toby Keith ($55 million)
12. Rihanna ($53 million)
13. Lady Gaga ($52 million)
14. Foo Fighters ($47 million)
15. Diddy ($45 million)
15. Katy Perry ($45 million)
17. Kenny Chesney ($44 million)
18. Beyonce ($40 million)
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($39 million)
20. Jay-Z ($38 million)
21. Coldplay ($37 million)
22. Adele ($35 million)
22. Kanye West ($35 million)
24. Michael Buble ($34 million)
25. Sade ($33 million)

Nick Oliveri working with QOTSA and Kyuss

Artist News

Bassist Nick Oliveri is working with both Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age again, which is a bit of a turn up for the books. A post on the Facebook page of Oliveri’s other band, Mondo Generator, notes: “Nick has re-joined Kyuss, and has recently recorded his vocals on a new Queens Of The Stone Age song! Stay tuned”.

Savages recording LP

Artist News

Punk quartet Savages are in the studio making their first LP, a revelation they shared with the populace yesterday via this Facebook photo. Look, they’re doing a swear in it, the anarchists.

Something else Savages have done, aside from starting the LP, is to collaborate with Bo Ningen on an alternate version of the band’s ‘Line The Wall’ LP track ‘Nichijyou’. It’ll be released as a single via Stolen Recordings on 7 Jan.

Matador announces 2013 singles club releases

Releases

Having kicked off its new seven-inch singles club in 2012 with releases from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, LA Guns, The Men and Kurt Vile, amongst others, Matador Records has announced the initial line-up for 2013.

The next series will see a new release pumped out every month of the year (unless you’re outside the US and Canada, in which case they’ll arrive in a pack of three every quarter). A subscription in the UK will set you back $105 all in, and can be purchased here.

Artists confirmed for the first six months of releases are as follows:

Jan: Jeffrey Novak
Feb: Superchunk
Mar: Cian Nugent
Apr: Lower Plenty/Dick Diver split single
May: Bits Of Shit
June: Royal Headache

Julian Casablancas signs The Virgins

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Releases

The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas has said he is “psyched” to have signed “rad” NYC quartet The Virgins as the first artists to his vanity label, Cult Records. Last heard circa their eponymous 2008 debut, the band will release their new LP, ‘Strike Gently’, on 18 Mar.

An oddly animated Casablancas says: “When I first saw The Virgins I was psyched there was such a rad new band from NYC. [Singer] Donald [Cumming] is such an awesome guy and it’s great to meet someone who’s such a true artist. I think they’ve made a classic record and we’re really excited they chose to work with us”.

Tracklisting:

Prima Materia
Wheel Of Fortune
Flashbacks, Memories, and Dreams
Figure On The Ice
Impressions Of You
What Good Is Moonlight?
Travel Express (From Me)
The Beggar
Amelia
Blue Rose Tattoo

Springsteen sets E Street stadium dates

Gigs & Festivals

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour – aka a tour in honour of Bruce’s seventeenth studio LP of the same title – will crash its way into various British and Irish stadiums in about six month’s time. Keep track of its dates via this mini-itinerary:

15 Jun: London, Wembley Stadium
18 Jun: Glasgow, Hampden Park
20 Jun: Coventry, Ricoh Arena
16 Jul: Limerick, Thomond Park
18 Jul: Cork, Páirc Uí Chaoimh
20 Jul: Belfast, King’s Hall

Tall Ships to tour

Gigs & Festivals

Falmouth fleet Tall Ships have made a rather… erm, tall list of the places they’ll stop at as part of a 2013 tour. They’ll most likely be playing a set of tracks from their new LP, ‘Everything Touching’, and perhaps the odd brand new one. But moving back to the tour, its individual dates are thus:

28 Feb: Bristol The Fleece
1 Mar: Falmouth, Inc Falmouth
2 Mar: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
3 Mar: Leeds, Brudenell
5 Mar: Liverpool, Kazimer
6 Mar: Leicester, Firebug
7 Mar: London, Scala

Lowell, Cold Specks add solo Sebright shows

Gigs & Festivals

CMU approved Canadian artist Lowell has just arranged to promote her new mini-LP, ‘If You Can, Solve This Jumble’, via a one-off live date at London’s Sebright Arms on 11 Dec.

In similar info, Mute’s Cold Specks will play her own solo set – also at the Sebright – on 21 Dec. It’s a special Winter solstice party, and tickets are free to those who RSVP via this Facebook page.

And now, in line with the show’s Christmassy theme, it’s time to listen to ‘Christmas Evermore’, a Mary Margaret O’Hara cover and Cold Specks’ donation to Sartorial Records festive new compilation ‘All Ready For The 25th’.

Festival line-up update – 30 Nov 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

So some initial artist announcements are in for 2013’s Reading and Leeds festivals, and what announcements they are… Alt-J, Deftones, Sub Focus and Boy Better Know’s Wiley et al, so diverse.

As previously reported, next year will see the twin festivals add new stages, including one hosted by BBC Radio 1Xtra, making room for more artists from non-rock genres. Of that, Reading/Leeds boss Melvin Benn told CMU: “This is a dynamic time for the festivals. Not only do we have a fresh look for next year, but we are also adding to the fans’ experience of the festival with the introduction of more stages and genres of music, which also inevitably means an increase in the number of artists playing across the weekend.

Elsewhere, Austria’s Snowbombing has piled the electro-centric Simian Mobile Disco and Tiga onto its existing live programme, as features Kasabian, Example, Katy B, Disclosure and Rudimental. ‘Extreme’ French do Hellfest has acquired its first acts – not least Twisted Sister, Bullet For My Valentine, Bad Religion (and Korn) – while Bloodstock enlists four further bands.

This what that same info looks like in list format:

BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR, Catton Hall, Walton-On-Trent, South Derbyshire, 8-11 Aug 2013: Avantasia, Whitechapel, Kataklysm, Ex Deo. www.bloodstock.uk.com

HELLFEST, Clisson, France, 21-23 un 2013: Kiss, Twisted Sister, Accept, Korn, Stone Sour Avantasia, Bullet For My Valentine, Volbeat, Sick of it All, Bad Religion, The Acacia Strain, Anti-flag, Arch Enemy, Atari Teenage Riot, Aura Noir, Between The Buried And Me, Black Spiders, Candlemass, Carpathian Forest, Coal Chamber, Converge, Cradle of Filth, Cryptopsy, Danko Jones, For Today, God Seed, Haemorrhage, Hardcore Superstar, Heavens Basement, Insahn, Karma To Burn, Krisiun, Leprous, Marduk, Mass Hysteria, My Sleeping Karma, Nachtmystium, Negative Approach, Parkway Drive, Punish Yourself, Red Fang, Rotting Christ, Senser, Skindred, Spiritual Beggars, The Sword, Terror, Testament, Truckfighters. www.hellfest.fr

LEEDS FESTIVAL, Bramham Park, Leeds, 23-25 Aug 2013: Deftones, Alt-J, Sub Focus, Boy Better Know (Wiley, Skepta, JME). www.leedsfestival.com

READING FESTIVAL, Richfield Avenue, Reading, 23-25 Aug 2013: Deftones, Alt-J, Sub Focus, Boy Better Know (Wiley, Skepta, JME). www.readingfestival.com

SNOWBOMBING, Mayrhofen, Austria, 1-6 Apr 2013: Above & Beyond, Dub Pistols, Simian Mobile Disco, Tiga, Heidi, Plastician, Catz N Dogz, Maribou State, South London Ordnance, krankbrothers, Hot Since 82, Union, Rattus Rattus, Clouds, Gingy & Bordello, Tom Staar, Marc Roberts, Wax Wreckaz, North Base, Dave Beer, Adeline, Brinsley Kazak, Josh T, Ben Gomori, BBC, Smak Pony, DJ Shorterz, Neil Parkes, Ernest, Serene, Paddy Lopaski, Seedy Sonics, F.O.H., Dutch Settlers, Hugo Heathcoate, Will Weaver, Jolyon Klean. www.snowbombing.com

Westfield and 4Music partner to promote Rihanna tour

Brands & Merch

4Music has created bespoke content to be shown on screens at Westfield’s two London shopping centres promoting Rihanna’s 2013 tour, possibly initiating a series of pop content partnerships between the broadcaster and retail operator. Further Rihanna content will be made available to download via free wi-fi connections in both shopping malls. It is predicted that all this will reach an audience of 60 million shoppers.

The partnership, brokered by 4Music co-owner Bauer Media and Sold Out Advertising, will also see additional content broadcast on other music channels operated by Channel4/Bauer JV Box TV, plus E4 and Bauer radio stations.

Westfield’s Brand Alliance Manager, Fiona Kyle told CMU: “The partnership with Sold Out and 4Music will result in an exciting content package, initially showcasing Rihanna, giving consumers and fans a unique shopping experience at Westfield. Our digital broadcast screens offer a fantastic platform for Rihanna’s management to interact with consumers in a retail environment, to promote the must-see show of 2013. We’ll also be able to drive consumers to download Rihanna’s content on the spot via the free wi-fi we offer in our centres”.

Meanwhile Julie Wright, Commercial Director at Box TV said: “We’re bringing our TV expertise and premium production values to a retail environment for the very first time. Echoing 4Music’s unique tone, we will produce a compelling Rihanna video tribute, fit for a global superstar as part of this groundbreaking multiplatform campaign. This partnership is the first of many, creating a unique synergy benefitting each of the brands involved”.

AEG appoints SBO chief

Business News Industry People Live Business

The UK division of AEG Live has announced the appointment of Sam Bush, of live and management company the Sam Bush Organisation, to the role of Director Of Promotions.

Confirming the new appointment, Bush told CMU: “I am excited to be joining an internationally renowned company such as AEG Live at a time when live entertainment is more popular than ever. There are many exciting opportunities and I look forward to bringing my experiences as Chairman of SBO to this new role”.

Meanwhile AEG’s President of International Touring Rob Hallett added: “We are very much looking forward to working with Sam and having him as part of the team. He brings a huge amount of experience to the job and will be a great addition to AEG Live”.

The Sam Bush Organisation will continue to operate as an independent promoter and management firm under the leadership of Bush’s former co-Chair Aaron Kirkhouse.

iTunes 11 goes live, at last

Digital

With just one day to go to Apple’s second self-declared deadline, iTunes 11 went live yesterday, meaning that you too can now be underwhelmed, and on your very own PC. Enjoy, people.

Robbie forced postman to listen to new album

And Finally

Prior to its release, Robbie Williams was worried that his new album ‘Take The Crown’ was no good, and, being too close to it to form a proper critical opinion, he sought the opinion of as many third parties as possible. These apparently included anyone who came anywhere near his property.

Williams told The Sun: “I’ve been having all sorts of people come in and have a listen – the mail man, the dustman, people delivering things from Amazon… I said, ‘Come and have a listen to this. What do you think should be the first single? Is it good?’ You see, this is a really important album for me. Every album is important but this one definitely shows where I am in today’s society and pop culture”.

Presumably the conclusion the postman et all reached was that Robbie’s now irrelevant to teenagers and slightly less important than Westlife.

Eddy Says: It’s OK, we’re all on the same side here

Eddy Says

The end of 2012 is nigh, this time next week it’ll be December. And that means one thing. Well, two. It means we’ll soon know if the Mayans were right about that whole end of the world thing, but also that it’s time to start looking back at music just gone and music to come. For his latest column, Eddy Temple-Morris has pulled together a selection of his favourite new artists, all of whom make us really hope the Mayans were wrong. But first, he has a little story about another tips list.

“You want me to do what?”

I was floored by the request. OK, not so much the request as whom it came from.

“The BBC want you to contribute to their Sound Of 2013 poll”.
“Really?”
“Really”.
“After all that kerfuffle that time?”
“We didn’t even know about the kerfuffle…”

So now I had to explain the kerfuffle.

Years ago, when my last compilation album came out, a few of the more friendly Radio 1 DJs whom I’d had on my Xfm show when they had something to promote wanted to reciprocate, and I was pencilled in to do some mixes on their shows, live or otherwise, as they had done for me.

I’ve always called a ‘radio amnesty’ in these situations. Most specialist radio DJs are artists in their own right, and I think it’s hideously unfair to hobble them for the fact they have an outlet on a ‘competitor’ station. I’m always bigging up Radio 1 DJs on Xfm, and sometimes I get mentioned on other stations, and that’s the way it should be.

These people were all artists before they were on Radio 1 and they’ll continue to be artists long after they’ve left Radio 1. It’s the same for me and almost all of us, we are hired by our respective radio stations BECAUSE of who were are, not IN SPITE of it.

Unfortunately my colleagues’ BBC producers didn’t see it that way at the time. In an astonishingly mean spirited way, they laid down corporate law and said, “No, you can’t have Eddy on the show, he’s an Xfm DJ”.

So the reciprocal mixes never happened, I had embarrassed calls and emails from friends and colleagues, and messages via the increasingly frustrated radio plugger working the album and banging his head against a brick wall.

The lovely Loose Cannons had me on their Kiss FM show, but my dear Auntie Beeb, for whom I’d worked for years, whom I’d held so close to my heart, went all frosty on me, closed her once welcoming bingo wings and refused to give me a long overdue hug.

That was ‘The Kerfuffle’. And you can probably see why I was so surprised to now be asked into the ‘Sound Of’ panel.

The thing is, I don’t see other specialist presenters as the enemy. I don’t see them as competitors. I see them as allies. We’re all on the same side, we’re fighting the good fight to keep new music on the airwaves, to feed the mainstream from the outer channels, to find, help develop and encourage new bands, artists, producers, tweak-heads and fader pushers.

New Music, as a concept, sounds sexy to you and I, but to a shareholder of an independent local radio station, or a BBC exec looking for ratings, to the accountants upstairs, or the new boss looking for more bums on seats, it’s the enemy… the unfamiliar. It’s a challenge to the status quo.

Jesus, even the BBC was prepared, for a time, to throw their charter out of the window and axe 6music. I was one of the most outspoken and vigorous opponents of that insane move. We – those presenting specialist shows on commercial radio, and those working for BBC services like 6 – really are on the same side, and it really is a battle. It’s a constant battle against the accountant who’ll maintain that by simply having a computer segue songs by Snow Patrol into songs by Coldplay, “research shows we will save money and rate higher than [insert name of specialist here]”.

So, united by a common enemy, and an innate sense of fair play, I let bygones be bygones and took the recent request to select the new artists I’m currently most excited about in the spirit with which it was offered, and feel utterly delighted to be part of such a high profile promotion of that golden thing, music that is so fresh it’s still not connected with its audience.

Heartfelt thanks to the Kate Holder and the BBC Sound Of 2013 team therefore, I applaud your new sense of togetherness, we are clearly cut from the same cloth and my hat goes off to you.

I, along with 212 other new music lovers from within and outside the BBC, was asked to pick three artists and one under-rated album. The terms and conditions I agreed to prevent me from sharing these choices with you now, but as our thoughts, at the end of the year, turn towards the next and what’s on the horizon, I’d like to share with you a wider selection of artists I’m really looking forward to hearing more from in 2013. My three choices may or may not be in here. This is just something I do at this time of year anyway.

I don’t have time to give you the full list that’s in my head, but allow me to cherry pick a few people that will, hopefully, ignite in the coming months, or at the very least, give us a reason to wash our hands with invisible soap as we look ahead towards the next year in music.

Eighteen reasons to be cheerful*:

Monsta – Quite simply the finest musicians I’ve ever seen in dance music, I asked them to appear at the Remix takeover of Camden Crawl after their demo blew me away. Months later, Skrillex heard them and they are now on his OWSLA Records label, one of the most forward thinking and interesting labels out there.

The Other Tribe – They are utter perfection. One of the best live shows I saw in 2012 and the only band I’ve booked for The Secret Garden Party 2013 before actual booking begins.

Kase Prince – I’ve been tipping him for a while, yes, but I think he’s just taking his time finding the right team. He’s perfectly placed, if he plays his cards right, to unite the worlds of grime and rock.

Mikill Pane – There’s an irresistible London cheekiness about Mikill that I really like. He’s got that catchiness that you’d find in a Blur song, but without the buttock tightening pretentiousness.

Clean Bandit – Their sound is so unique, and their approach so assured and professional. Their videos all look like they were directed by Ridley Scott. A stratospheric rise is inevitable I feel, now Black Butter has signed them.

Dream McLean – Sometimes it just takes a remix to see how great a band are. The Chase & Status gangsta-trap mix of ‘Network’ is right up there with the best of them.

Maxsta – A ferocious, precocious talent, only 21 the other day and already picked up by Sony/RCA. His energy when he plays is infectious and he and I share similar rubber legs – mine are just a lot older.

Jenn D – The artist formerly known as Vela. She’s included here just on the strength of that incredible Loadstar remix. That’s one of the tunes of the year for me so of course I want to hear more. She was hampered a bit this year by a forced name-change, but it’ll be hard to ignore a face as disarmingly gorgeous as hers in 2013.

Koan Sound – They may have been on my ones to watch list last year, but they seem to have subsequently metamorphosed into the UK’s sonic equivalent of Daft Punk, but in bass music. Phenomenal.

Jacksun Fear – This is MC Gaika, from Manchester’s Murkage Kartel. He’s now making the most blissful stripped down techno-housey-post-something with his trademark baritone vocals soaking everything in the most warm and inviting way.

Shock One – Yes, Karl’s been around for a while but he’s only just hitting his stride, his debut album will be one off the biggest surprises and pleasures of 2013. A ‘concept’ album of breathtaking scope. You just wait.

Gemini – An obvious cross genre bass music poster-boy, speaking of which…

Zomboy – SkisM protégé and Never Say Die wunderkind is third in a line of phenomenally talented Joshes: Shadow, Fluxy, now him. This young man will end up, like Stuart Price, producing the future equivalent of Madonna, mark my words.

San Zhi – On a more chilled tip, this girl fronted international duo will charm the very air from your lungs.

Big Beat Bronson – There’s something about this North Eastern crew that’s caught my ear, a really natural flair and a combination of tongue in cheek and genuine coolness that’s hard to pull off.

Bipolar Sunshine – Ex-Kid British, this youngster is writing really poignant, moving lyrics, and I think he’s found a sound that suits this seriousness. And anyone who has the balls to call themselves Bipolar Sunshine gets my vote.

Stenchman – I just have a feeling Stenchy’s going to pull some kind of rabbit out of a hat in 2013. I’ve played almost everything he’s ever sent me and he has a breadth of vision I love. Dubstep, house, techno, trap, all produced with enviable ease and a high quality threshold.

Xilent – Everything I get from this Polish producer is top notch. He’s one of the big beat dubstep producers and has a real crowd pleasing style. You can hear him going from strength to strength with every mix and his original stuff sounds massive too.

*But like any good DJ set, there’s always one more…

Angel Haze – Her mixtape version of Eminem’s ‘Cleaning Out My Closet’ put even the brilliant Marshall Mathers in the shade. This is the most raw, brutal, visceral, honest, harrowing, heart-breaking piece of music I have ever heard in all my life. Angel, whatever you do from here, you have my undying love and respect. I cannot wait to hear more.

The fact there are nineteen acts in total here is no accident – Xfm is going to publish a list of nineteen new acts, one announced each weekday in January from 7th, so I thought it’d be nice to reflect that, with a Remix Nifty Nineteen.

My first Xfm show of 2013 will be called ‘Dig The Nu Breed’ and I’ll be showcasing all these, plus the ones I didn’t have time to list, plus a few I’ve forgotten and one or two I haven’t yet found.

Eddy x

Eddy’s upcoming DJ sets:
17 Dec: London, The Lexington
22 Dec: Barcelona, Razzmatazz

Losers’ upcoming gigs:
30 Nov: Reading, Sub 89 (supporting Jack Beats)

Approved: US Girls

CMU Approved

US Girls is in fact just one girl, solo American Meghan Remy, who finessed her new LP, ‘GEM’, for release via FatCat last month. A dark and haphazard carousel of styles, it sidles past baroque doo-wop (‘Work From Home’) and ghosting glam (‘Another Colour’), halting a while at a Lynchian drive-in (‘Rosemary’) and fading to the strains of lonestar chant ‘North On 45’. Which is really great, by the way.

US Girls plays at London’s The Lexington on 5 Dec. But in the meantime, the promo to match ‘Slim Baby’ – Remy’s “pep rally for L-O-V-E” and a 100% non-pro-Gary-Glitter ode to Gary Glitter’s ‘I Love You Me Love’ – has just premiered, so I’d start with that:

Four bidders remain in EMI Publishing catalogue sale

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Four parties are still in the running to buy the EMI publishing catalogues being sold by Sony/ATV as a condition of their acquisition of the EMI publishing business. As much previously reported, the Sony publishing firm led a consortium to buy the EMI songs company, and agreed to sell off a small number of European catalogues belonging to its new acquisition – namely the Virgin and Famous UK catalogues – in order to get regulator approval for the deal.

An assortment of possible bidders came forward expressing interest in the song catalogues for sale, with nine submitting initial offers, but insiders say that only four parties are now still bidding. Bids are in from BMG, Because Music and a joint venture between Kobalt and the G2 Investment Group, while Warner Music is expected to submit an offer in the next 24 hours (even though technically the deadline for second round bids has closed).

The sale is being coordinated by lawyer John Branca, one of the executors of the Michael Jackson estate, which owns half of the Sony/ATV company.

Louis Walsh wins damages from The Sun over assault claims

Legal Media

Louis Walsh has been awarded 500,000 euros in damages from News International’s News Group Newspapers in relation to that report in The Sun last year which accused the ‘X-Factor’ judge of groping a man in a Dublin club. The News Corp-owned company will also pay Walsh’s legal costs of 180,000 euros, in a ruling made at the Irish High Court yesterday.

As previously reported, in June last year Leonard Watters told Irish police he was groped by Walsh in the toilets at a Dublin nightclub. The Sun reported the story, but less than a week later Watters admitted he had lied about the incident, and was himself promptly arrested and jailed for wasting police time.

Reading a statement from the company to the Dublin court, the Guardian reports, NGN’s legal rep Eoin McCullough said: “The Sun published an article in its editions of 23 Jun 2011, in which we reported that Louis Walsh was being investigated in relation to a sexual assault on Leonard Watters. In fact, it transpired that Leonard Watters had made a false statement to [Irish police force] An Garda Siochána, and he has since been convicted in relation to this matter. The Sun fully accepts that the alleged assault did not occur in the first place and Louis Walsh is entirely innocent of any such assault. The Sun unreservedly apologises to Louis Walsh for any distress caused to him as a result of our article”.

Walsh’s lawyer Paul Tweed, said: “This is a prime example of what we would look to see come out of [the] Leveson [report, due to be published today]. We are not trying to gag the press or stop investigations, but if there was a strong body that we could have rung before to get them to stop the story for 24 hours, we could have provided proof that Louis wasn’t even in the place at the time and all this would have been avoided. They gave us just a few hours [notice about the story], they were determined to run it”.

Meanwhile, speaking outside the court, Walsh himself said that he was “relieved” the litigation was over, adding that he had informed the writer of the story, The Sun’s celebs man Gordon Smart, that the allegations were false prior to publication but “no amount of pleading could stop them [from publishing the story]”.

He said: “Gordon Smart called me and said ‘you could be nicked for this’. I told him it was not true; it was totally totally not true, but they still ran the story. It has been a very traumatic experience for me. I will never get over it. I am very satisfied with this total vindication for me, but I remain very angry at the treatment at the hands of The Sun. I was absolutely gutted and traumatised that these allegations against me should have been published, particularly as I had made it clear at the time there was not one iota of truth in them, and was totally bewildered who would have made up this type of story”.

Record Of The Day awards presented

Awards Business News Marketing & PR Media

The great and the good of music journalism and PR amassed in Shoreditch last night for the Record Of The Day Awards.

Amongst the many gongs dished out were three presented in association with CMU, one championing up and coming music journalism talent, Best Student Music Writer, which went to Sam Briggs of York University, and two more celebrating the music publication and writer most popular in 2012 amongst the UK’s student music writers, which went to Pitchfork and Alexis Petridis respectively.

The other winners were as follows:

Magazine Of The Year: Q
Digital Publication Of The Year: The Line Of Best Fit
Most Effective Music Coverage In A Newspaper: Guardian Guide
Best Online Content: Noisey
Best Blog: Crack In The Road
Best Music Book: Pat Long for ‘The History Of The NME’
Idea Or Innovation Award: 405 Discovery

Editor Of The Year: James McMahon, Kerrang!
Record Reviews Writer Of The Year: Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
Live Reviews Writer Of The Year: Simon Price, The Independent On Sunday
Most Effective Breaking Music Writer Of The Year: Matt Wilkinson, NME
Business Writer Of The Year: Eamonn Forde
Feature Of The Year: Alex Marshall at The Stool Pigeon for ‘Investigation: ATP’

Best In-House PR Person: Duncan Jordan, Bella Union
Best In-House Online PR Person: Roz Mansfield, Warner/Atlantic
Best Independent PR Person: Adrian Read, Inside/Out
Best Independent Online PR Person: Debbie Ball, Create Spark
Communications Person Of The Year: Adam White, Universal Music

Best In-House PR Department: 4AD
Best Independent PR Company: Dawbell

Best PR Campaign For An Established Act: Bat For Lashes (Anna Mears, Dog Day Press)
Best PR Campaign For A Breakthrough Act: Alt-J (Adrian Read & Caroline Beashel, Inside/Out)
Best PR Campaign For A Reissue: Blur – 21 (RMP and EMI)
Most Effective PR Campaign For A Live Event Or Festival: Cornerstone Agency for Converse Represent at The 100 Club

Outstanding Contribution To Music PR: Regine Moylett
Outstanding Contribution To Music Photography: Jill Furmanovsky
Outstanding Contribution To Music Journalism: Miranda Sawyer

More Greener Festival awards presented

Awards Business News Live Business

The team behind AGreenerFestival have announced thirteen more events that have been given a Greener Festival Award for being nice to the planet beneath our feet, as all groovy festivals should be. The new list comes in addition to that published last month, and brings the total number of fests impressing Team Green this year up to 41.

Here are the latest additions:

Lightening In A Bottle (USA) – Outstanding
Latitude (UK) – Highly Commended
Rock The Green (USA) – Highly Commended
Symbiosis Gathering: Pyramid Eclipse (USA) – Highly Commended
Calgary Folk Music Festival (Canada) Commended
Leeds Festival (UK) – Commended
Reading Festival (UK) – Commended
Hadra Trance (France) – Commended
Sled Island (Canada) – Commended
Barclaycard Wireless (UK) – Improving
Hard Rock Calling (UK) – Improving
Milton Keynes Festival Fringe (UK) – Improving
T In The Park (UK) – Improving

And here is a quote from AGreenerFestival co-founder Ben Challis: “This year we saw a reduced number of events winning our award – 41 winners, down from 47 in 2011. The appallingly wet weather in the UK certainly had a negative effect, as did festival cancellations around the world, and the global recession didn’t help either. But we are so proud of our winners, especially as some events had to battle against extreme weather just to stage their shows. All are worthy winners”.

Four winners of Green Inspiration Awards have also been announced, for eco-initiatives that have particularly impressed the AGreenerFestival team. And those go to…

Boom Festival for their STAR waste water recycling scheme (Portugal)
Shambala Festival for their ‘Surplus Supper Club’ food recycling scheme (UK)
Food and farming alliance Sustain for their ‘Good Food For Festivals Guide’ (UK)
Open Air Festival for their on-site biodigesters (Czech Republic)

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:42 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Adele | British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | EMI | Newzbin | The Pirate Bay | The Pirate Party | Universal Music

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:41 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Andrew WK

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:40 | By Paul Vig

READ MORE ABOUT: Circus LDN | Laurent Garnier | Yousef

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:39 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | Loz Kaye | The Pirate Bay | The Pirate Party

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:37 | By CMU Editorial

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Friday 30 November 2012, 13:36 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: DEA | ISPs | Three-Strikes

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:35 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Pussy Riot | Yekaterina Samutsevich

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:34 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Richard O'Dwyer | TVShack

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:33 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Adam Yauch | Beastie Boys | Tuf America

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:32 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: ARIAA Awards | Gotye

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:31 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Gotye | Spotify

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:30 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Dr Dre | Forbes | Forbes Rich List

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:29 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Kyuss | Nick Oliveri | Queens Of The Stone Age

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:28 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Savages

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:27 | By CMU Editorial

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Friday 30 November 2012, 13:26 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Cult Records | Julian Casablancas | The Virgins

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:25 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Bruce Springsteen

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:24 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Tall Ships

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:23 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Cold Specks | Lowell

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:22 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Bloodstock Open Air | Hellfest | Leeds Festival | Reading Festival | Snowbombing

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:21 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: 4music | Bauer Media | Rihanna | Sold Out Advertising | Westfield

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:20 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Sam Bush

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:19 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | iTunes

Friday 30 November 2012, 13:18 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Robbie Williams

Thursday 29 November 2012, 13:05 | By Eddy Temple-Morris

READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Sound Of | BBC Sound Of 2013 | Eddy Temple Morris

Thursday 29 November 2012, 13:03 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: US Girls

Thursday 29 November 2012, 13:02 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Because Music | BMG | EMI | EMI Music Publishing | G2 Investment Group | Kobalt | Sony Music | Sony Music Publishing

Thursday 29 November 2012, 13:01 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Leonard Watters | Louis Walsh | News Group Newspapers | News International | The Sun

Thursday 29 November 2012, 13:00 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Record Of The Day | Record Of The Day Awards

Thursday 29 November 2012, 12:59 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: A Greener Festival