Friday 30 August 2013, 11:25 | By

CMU Digest – 30 Aug 2013

Business News Week In Five

Grooveshark

The five biggest stories in the music business this week…

01: Grooveshark announced a deal with Sony/ATV. The often controversial streaming service recently announced it had reached a settlement with EMI Music Publishing, which had sued the digital firm, and now had a licensing deal in place. And this week a similar announcement was made about Sony/ATV, the company that now controls EMI Music Publishing. Details of Grooveshark’s deal with Sony/ATV/EMI are not known, though it does give the digital set-up a little more legitimacy as it continues to fight litigation from all of the major record companies. CMU reportThe Verge report

02: Gatecrasher announced a restructure following a so-called ‘pre-pack administration’ which will see many of the clubbing firm’s club venues spun off into a separate entity. The remaining Gatecrasher business, free of debt as a result of the restructuring, will focus on its flagship venue in Birmingham, and in staging major EDM events around the world, including a new dance music bash at Donington. CMU report

03: Former Ticketmaster President Nathan Hubbard joined Twitter. Following his somewhat sudden departure as global chief for Live Nation’s ticketing business earlier this month, Hubbard quickly popped up in a new role as Head Of Commerce for the social networking firm. He will be charged with the task of building a business that sells things via tweets. CMU report | Business Insider report

04: It was reported that the Gaye family were offered money before Robin Thicke went legal. Billboard reckons that reps for Thicke offering Gaye family members a pay off when they first alleged that his hit ‘Blurred Lines’ borrowed from Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It Up’. That offer was turned down, and, it seems, so followed Thicke’s litigation seeking court clarification that his song does not in anyway infringe Gaye’s work. CMU report | Billboard report

05: The first Momentum Music Fund grants were distributed. The Arts Council funded initiative, managed by the PRS For Music Foundation, launched at The Great Escape back in May. And this week the first ten acts to benefit from Arts Council England’s first artist-centric funding initiative were announced. It was also revealed that Deezer is supporting the programme, by providing additional funding and promoting Momentum-backed artists. CMU report

On the CMU this week, we threw the spotlight onto our timelines covering the Jacksons v AEG Live case, Grooveshark’s legal challenges, and the MegaUpload debacle, all stories that were added to this week. In the approving department, Team CMU got about doing the big-ups for Glasser, Tim Hecker and Willis Earl Beal.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:24 | By

CMU Beef Of The Week #172: The World v Miley Cyrus

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Miley Cyrus

There have been approximately 72,868 articles written about Miley Cyrus’s performance at last weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards over the course of this week. 87% of them negative towards the former teen star. And so, while you might be thinking that the world really doesn’t need another person manufacturing outrage about all this to a deadline for money, I think you’ll find it difficult to find another ‘beef’ that could be described as being ‘of the week’. Well, in music anyway, and that’s my brief.

Ahead of the ceremony, last week Cyrus told MTV News that she was planning something that would be “even crazier than [Madonna and Britney’s] kiss” back at the 2003 VMAs for this year’s show. Which, if nothing else, is a reminder that the Video Music Awards do tend to be more a parade of really weird, pretty much inexplicable attempts to shock than a celebration of the art of video making.

But a) they give the awards to the artists, rather than the people who made the videos, and b) it’s on MTV, and c) look, just read those two things back again and ask yourself why you ever thought this event was about music videos.

Cyrus is currently on a promotional offensive to relaunch herself as an artist detached from the shiny Disney-affiliated child star version of herself we’ve known for so long. Possibly quite shrewdly, she’s acting out some of the core traits of one of those ever-popular former-child-star-style-breakdowns, while not actually having one. On the one hand, she looks a bit silly doing it. But on the other, the first single from her new album went to number one.

As part of this, Miley has been trying to make ‘twerking’ her ‘thing’ for a while now. She’s even recorded a song all about it with Justin Bieber. Why she’s doing this is anybody’s guess. I imagine she’d say, “I’m just that girl who twerks, it’s what I do”. Thing is, it’s not as easy as it looks, and she’s not very good at it, though somehow she kind of has made it her thing anyway.

All it took to do this was two seconds of pushing her arse up against Robin Thicke’s unfeasibly tight trousers and waggling her tongue. Plus those 72,868 (now 72,869) articles about it. Those were partly assured by ensuring that, while doing the arse pushing and tongue waggling, Thicke sang (offensively out of key) about trying to get a woman who’s really not keen on the idea to have sex with him. Oh, those ‘blurred lines’.

That whole tongue thing was a bit weird, though. To some people it made the overt sexual tones of the performance even more so. To others, it just looked really fucking weird. But those people are just old and don’t understand.

The Creative Director of the performance, Diane Martel (who is in her 40s, it’s probably worth noting), explained to MTV News: “For the geriatric crew, the tongue out is not sexual. It’s selfie code. It’s mocking ‘pretty’. It’s not for your gaze. It’s for a young audience’s gaze. There seems to be an enormous generation gap”.

Oh, you guys. It’s all about selfies. And so what if she’s always doing it in photos taken by other people? It’s like in the video for ‘Blurred Lines’, where everyone thought having naked women dancing around fully clothed smug-looking men was in some way misogynistic, but then the director explained that it wasn’t and we all looked rather silly. The director of that video was Diane Martel, incidentally.

She continued: “I am shocked by their shock. I think there is other news we should be focusing on… Syria? Egypt? Not a 20 year old girl wilding out in a campy rendition of her number one song and Robin’s number one song”.

Yes, apologies to everyone disappointed that I didn’t use this column to make light of the situation in the Middle East. I blame the brief.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:23 | By

Approved: Oval Space & Need2Soul present Manuel Göttsching and Schwarzmann

Club Tip CMU Approved

Manuel Gottsching

This newish venue in Bethnal Green seems to be hosting a rather good programme of events, and next week in partnership with Need2Soul, Oval Space brings us Manuel Göttsching for his first London show in THIRTEEN years.

The 60 year old, famed for his seminal 1984 release ‘E2-E4′, is back playing live. And joining him will be Innervisions’ Henrik Schwarz and Frank Wiedemann from Âme, who bring their live ambient-based double act Schwarzmann for its first UK performance at an eclectic evening not to be missed (even if this is a bit more gig than club night).

Thu 5 Sep, Oval Space, 29-32 The Oval, E2, 8pm-midnight, £30 adv, more info here.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:22 | By

HMV brand to expand in Ireland thanks to Xtra-vision alliance

Business News HMV Timeline Retail Top Stories

HMV

It having looked for a time like the HMV brand would disappear completely from the Republic Of Ireland, the entertainment retailer will now expand its presence around the country as a result of both it and video/games rental firm Xtra-vision coming into common ownership.

As previously reported, when the HMV Group fell into administration at the start of the year the company’s Irish stores quickly closed down, even while a buyer was still being sought for the UK business. But once Hilco had acquired the HMV UK company, it opened negotiations with the landlords of some of the firm’s former Irish stores, and will now open four shops in the country.

Meanwhile, in April Irish DVD and gaming retailer Xtra-vision also fell into receivership, with Hilco buying that business in June. And now Hilco has confirmed plans to co-brand 26 Xtra-vision stores in Ireland with the HMV name, introducing some of the product lines more associated with the music seller. It will result in the HMV brand arriving in a number of places where it never previously operated.

The CEO of Xtra-vision and HMV in Ireland, Gerry Butler, told reporters: “This roll out ensures that customers have access to a huge range of exciting movies, games, music and a range of other must-have entertainment products, coupled with Xtra-vision continuing to deliver and expand the movie and game-rental proposition. It’s really the best of both worlds for customers”.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:21 | By

New Canadian laws mean extra expenses for overseas artists

Business News Legal Live Business

Canada

Promoters in Canada have hit out at recent changes in the rules governing foreign workers in the country which will make it much more expensive to put non-Canadian talent on stage in small bar and coffee shop-type venues.

Effective since late July, the new rules from Canada’s Ministry Of Employment, Social Development & Multiculturalism, reports the Calgary Herald, increase the bureaucratic costs of bringing in and staging overseas artists in small venues by up to fourfold. Specifically, any venue with a primary business that isn’t music (coffee shops, bars etc) will be charged increased application fees per musician (this also applies to any members of their management/crew travelling with them) and an extra work permit fee.

Spencer Brown, booker at Calgary haunt The Palomino, says the changes came without warning, and are “anti arts and culture” and “anti small business”.

He adds: “If I have a one four-member American band at the Palomino, I’m looking at CAN$1700 just to get them on the bill – and that’s on top of paying out a sound tech, paying for posters, gear rental, paying the other bands, staffing. Concert promotion at this level is, in itself, a high-risk occupation. So this has just put it through the roof. There’s no way to start already $1700 in the hole and break even. It’s impossible”.

The government agencies at the heart of it all, Employment And Social Development Canada and Citizenship And Immigration Canada, state that the new laws will “ensure that owners and managers of those types of establishments look to hire Canadians first before hiring temporary foreign workers”, adding that “musicians in a band performing several tour dates in Canada and musicians and buskers coming to Canada to perform in festivals” will be exempt from the additional charges, the main stipulation being they don’t play in bars and restaurants.

An independent petition against the extra fees is viewable here.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:20 | By

Boy George announces Kobalt partnership

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Releases

Boy George

Boy George has announced that he will release a new solo album entitled ‘This Is What I Do’ on 28 Oct via his own label Very Me Records in partnership with Kobalt Label Services. This follows his signing with Big Life Management earlier this year.

He told CMU: “This is the first record I have ever made and owned myself. It’s very exciting to be a bit more in control of my work and to be doing this independently feels very liberating. Working with Kobalt adds to the excitement. I feel that I’m going to get more personal involvement from them, and have been very impressed with their work with Pet Shop Boys recently”.

Big Life’s Jazz Summers added: “We at Big Life are truly excited to be able to work with Kobalt Label Services on such an amazing project. The worldwide expertise of Richard Sanders coupled with Paul Hitchman’s experienced knowledge of digital releases and social media heads up an exciting team of people who really understand how to break artists internationally. It’s the perfect home for George’s label Very Me Records and we look forward to great success together”.

Speaking of Paul Hitchman, KLS’s MD, he had something to say to. And it was this: “Kobalt Label Services works with a wide range of artists from the newest developing artists to global icons, but for us it always starts with the music, and with ‘This Is What I Do’ Boy George has created an album of exceptional songs, spanning the personal and universal. We feel privileged and excited to be working with George and the Big Life management team to support the release of such a distinctive record by such a unique artist”.

The record features guest appearances from artists including DJ Yoda, Kitty Durham of Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Ally McErlaine of Texas / Red Sky July, Dreadzone’s MC Spee and Nizar Al Issa, some of whom will form part of Boy George’s live band.

Live band, you say? But surely a live band requires tour dates. Yes, and tour dates they have. Look:

3 Nov: Manchester, RNCM
5 Nov: Birmingham, Glee Club
6 Nov: Leeds, City Varieties Music Hall
7 Nov: Glasgow King Tut’s
9 Nov: Oxford, Academy 2
10 Nov: London Koko (Virgin Records 40th anniversary show)
11 Nov: Brighton, Concorde 2

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:19 | By

Paul McCartney names new LP, new single feat Mark Ronson

Releases

Paul McCartney

‘What’s new with Paul McCartney?’, you may well ask. Well, in answer to that, Macca is back, and has a new single on show. Its name is ‘New’, incidentally a title it shares with a twelve-track LP McCartney is releasing on 14 Oct.

His first album of ‘new’ songs in six years, it features “new collaborators” like Mark Ronson, whose mixing skills appear on ‘New’ the track. So basically, everything is new. New new new.

Hear ‘New’ here.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:18 | By

Trent Reznor on album pricing: “Ten bucks, or go fuck yourself”

Releases

Trent Reznor

Having spent much of the last decade experimenting with new business models for selling his music, including giving much of it away for free, Trent Reznor has come to a conclusion for the new Nine Inch Nails record: “It costs ten bucks, or go fuck yourself”.

As previously reported, the new album, ‘Hesitation Marks’, sees Reznor returning to the major label system with NIN, this time Sony/Columbia (also home to his other band, How To Destroy Angels), having operated independently since leaving Universal/Interscope in 2007.

Reznor told Spin: “I know that what we’re doing flies in the face of the Kickstarter Amanda-Palmer ‘start a revolution’ thing, which is fine for her, but I’m not super-comfortable with the idea of Ziggy Stardust shaking his cup for scraps. I’m not saying offering things for free or pay-what-you-can is wrong. I’m saying my personal feeling is that my album’s not a dime. It’s not a buck. I made it as well as I could, and it costs ten bucks, or go fuck yourself”.

The band are offering something a bit different for your money though. This week they announced that anyone who buys the record from nin.com will also gain access to a special ‘audiophile’ version of the record which will be mastered a bit more subtly than the standard edition.

Mastering engineer Tom Baker said, via the Nine Inch Nails Tumblr blog: “I believe it was Trent’s idea to master the album two different ways, and to my knowledge it has never been done before. The standard version is ‘loud’ and more aggressive and has more of a bite or edge to the sound with a tighter low end. The Audiophile Mastered Version highlights the mixes as they are without compromising the dynamics and low end, and not being concerned about how ‘loud’ the album would be. The goal was to simply allow the mixes to retain the spatial relationship between instruments and the robust, grandiose sound”.

The blog post then goes on to insist that one is not “better” than the other, they’re just different. Which I think is a roundabout way of saying that so-called ‘audiophiles’ are actually pedants who claim to hear things that aren’t there. Not my words, the words of Nine Inch Nails.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:17 | By

Gold Panda adds November dates

Gigs & Festivals

Gold Panda

Berlin-based maker-of-electronica Gold Panda has released new live listings at the same time as revealing a ‘visual’ for his ‘Half Of Where You Live’ single ‘Community’.

A collaboration with designers Lux & Noah and film maker Scott Ward, it features scenes filmed at GPs recent PA at the Electric in Brixton, which apparently give an idea of what fans can expect to see at the newly-set dates.

See it, and the dates, here:

22 Nov: Leeds, Stylus
23 Nov: Liverpool, East Village Arts Club
25 Nov: Glasgow, Arches
26 Nov: Manchester, Gorilla
27 Nov: Brighton, Coalition

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:16 | By

The Script cancel shows citing family illness

Gigs & Festivals

The Script

The Script have, with great reluctance, had to cancel a live date they’d set at Leeds Academy yesterday, and one at the Blackpool Illuminations switch-on gig tonight (where that Gary Barlow has stepped in).

Apologising via Facebook for the late notice (and for inflicting Barlow on Blackpool, presumably), the band said it was “sudden serious family illness” that’d caused them to call off the shows.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:15 | By

The Wedding Present touring in October

Gigs & Festivals

The Wedding Present

The Wedding Present will celebrate a definitive re-release series featuring eight of their greatest LPs (this beginning later this year) by playing a set of ten dates, mainly in late October. That now said, there seems little else to do except list the dates, which are:

22 Oct: Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms
23 Oct: Cardiff, The Glee Club
24 Oct: Leeds, Academy
25 Oct: Glasgow, ABC
27 Oct: Aberdeen, The Lemon Tree
28 Oct: Newcastle, Warehouse 34
29 Oct: Liverpool, Academy 2
30 Oct: Leicester, Academy
31 Oct: Northampton, Roadmender
1 Nov: London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:14 | By

Unsound Festival bans fan-filming and photos of live shows, explains why

Artist News Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

Unsound

Bosses at Poland’s ultra-alternative Unsound have, in keeping with the festival’s 2014 theme of ‘Interference’, placed a ban on all filming and photo-taking at the event (selfies are fine, it seems).

Clarifying his and his team’s anti-cam policy, which in the past has had A-list advocates in Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Savages and even Beyonce, Unsound AD Mat Schulz says: “Our aim is to encourage our audience to focus on being in the moment, and not distract others out of that moment. We want to question the automatic tendency to place photos and videos of concerts online, be it on social networks, music websites or video streaming platforms, to put some tiny glitch in the constant bombardment of images, today’s main tool of communication.

He somewhat strictly adds: “The ban will not be policed by security guards, this is going to be a community action – if you see someone next to you filming, ask them politely to stop”.

Taking place in Krakow between 13-20 Oct, this year’s Unsound will feature the unfilmable likes of Andy Stott & Demdike Stare, Laurel Halo, Pantha Du Prince And The Bell Laboratory, Dean Blunt, James Ferraro, Mykki Blanco, Julianna Barwick and Forest Swords. That’ll all be preceded by a London-based lead-in event, spanning various locations from 26-29 Sep, co-starring Karenn (aka Blawan and Pariah), Forest Swords and King Midas Sound.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:13 | By

Festival line-up update: Iceland Airwaves, Unsound, CMJ and more

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

Iceland Airwaves

Making up a large part of today’s FLUU are the massive initial artist listings (Fuck Buttons, The Dismemberment Plan, HAERTS, Glasser, Savages and Menomena amongst them) attached to NYC-based marathon showcase fest CMJ, which has barely even started to disclose its usually unquantifiable line-up.

Holding its own in the face of all that, meanwhile, is Iceland Airwaves’ final wave of additions, which names Fucked Up, Jagwar Ma, Ásgeir, Nite Jewel and MONEY as the very last acts aligning with main players Björk, Sigur Rós and Kraftwerk.

That all said and done, it’s now time to scan lists of the latest acquisitions to the above; plus Poland’s Unsound and Yorkhire folkfest Musicport:

CMJ, various venues, New York City, USA, 15-19 Oct: ASTR, Betty Who, DIANA, The Dismemberment Plan, Empress Of, Fuck Buttons, Glasser, Godflesh, HAERTS, Half Moon Run, Helio Sequence, Hunters, JMSN, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Lovelife, Menomena, Nick Waterhouse, Obits, Quadron, Saul Williams, Savages, Speedy Ortiz, The Griswolds, The Long Winters, Woodkid, Bad Suns, Ball Park Music, Black City Lights, Bear Mountain, Big Black Delta, Black Light Dinner Party, BLK Kathy, Bored Nothing, Calvin Love, Cardiknox, Caught A Ghost, Chrome Sparks, City Riots, Cloak Ox, Continuum, Courtney Barnett, Dan Croll, Deep Cotton, Deep Dark Woods, Diane Birch, Dorine Levy, Dune Rats, Duologue, Dusted, Ejecta, Eleanor Friedberger, Electric Wire Hustle, Elizabeth Rose, Elle King, Elliot and The Ghost, Emperors, Enola Fall, Ex-Cult, Firehorse, Frontier Ruckus, GEMS, Geoffrey O’Connor, Ghost Wave, Ginger And The Ghost, Gossling, Grizfolk, Gus + Scout, Hopspin, In The Valley Below, INVSN, Jacco Gardner, JBM, Jessy Lanza, Jetta, John Murry, Julia Easterlin, July Talk, Junior Prom, Kid Karate, Kill It Kid, King Dude, Landshapes, Larry Gus, Lawrence Rothman, Le Trouble, Lee Bannon, Little Daylight, Lindi Ortega, Magic Man, Marc Kinchen, Marijuana Deathsquads, Misun, Moonstone, Nicole Mercedes and the Affair, Night Drive, NONONO, North Highlands, Oh Mercy, Okta Logue, Optic Yellow Felt, Orgone, P.O.S.* Panama Wedding, Peachpit, Pelican, People Get Ready, Pictureplane, Ponyboy, Pool Cosby, RATKING, REPTILES, Reuben and the Dark, Royal Bangs, Saint Rich, Sheppard, Shigeto , Slim Twig, Squad, Still Corners, Story of the Running Wolf, Strange Talk, Streets of Laredo, TEEN, The Aprons, The Delta, Riggs, The History of Apple Pie, The Novocaines, The Preatures, Them Swoops, Tiny Ruins, Touch, Sensitive, Tremor Low, TV Ghost, U.S. Girls, Vadoinmessico, WET, Will Stratton, Wilsen, World’s End, Press, Yamantaka, Sonic Titan. www.cmj.com

ICELAND AIRWAVES, various venues, Reykjavik, Iceland, 30 Oct – 3 Nov: Fucked Up, Jagwar Ma, Ásgeir, Nite Jewel, MONEY, Sykur, Caveman, Mikhael Paskalev, Sísý Ey, Gluteus Maximus, Daníel Bjarnason, Pétur ben, Shiny Darkly, Caterpillarmen, Eivör Pálsdóttir, Kira Kira, Samúel Jón Samúelsson Big Band, Electric Eye, Lára Rúnars, Elín Ey, Nadia Sirota, Trust the Lies, Terrordisco, Marius Ziska, Svartidauði, Amaba Dama, Strigaskór Nr 42, Benny Crespo’s Gang, Bárujárn, Byrta, Halleluwah, Loji, Ramses, Cell7, Quadruplos, Subminimal, Thizone, DJ AnDre, Skurken, Jara, Gang Related, Stroff, Vigri, Ragga Gröndal, Árni², Bob Justman, Bellstop, Kaleo, The Mansisters, Dísa, Oculus, Housekell, Úlfur Eldjárn, Fears, FKNHNDSM, Mono Town, Æla, dj. flugvél og geimskip, Hellvar, Jan Mayen, Grúska Babúska, Love & Fog, My Bubba, Myrra Rós, Skelkur í bringu, The Wicked Strangers, Lockerbie, Kippi Kaninus, Skepna. icelandairwaves.is

MUSICPORT, Whitby Pavilion, Yorkshire, 18-20 Oct: Neil Innes, Maia, Snowapple, Jackie Oates, The Peace Artistes, Hekima & the Bongo Flava, Arifa, Latif Bolat, Harp And A Monkey, Salsa Como Loco, Me & My Friends, Soham, The Well-Dressed Gentlemen. www.musicportfestival.com

UNSOUND, Krakow, Poland, 13-20 Oct: Pantha Du Prince And The Bell Laboratory, Laurel Halo, Roly Porter, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Lucy Benson, Marcel Weber, Jacaszek, Kwartludium, Kwadrofonik, Gardland, Powell, Samuel Kerridge, Wilhelm Bras, DJ Marfox, DJ Nigga Fox, Clippping, Tralala Blip. unsound.pl

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:12 | By

Universal and BMG both aid parent company financials

Business News Labels & Publishers

Universal Music

Having completed its acquisition of the EMI record company last autumn, sales at Universal Music shot up 16.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2013, from €1.92 billion to €2.24 billion, though the costs of integrating the former British major meant that profits were down.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were €143 million, down from €156 million in the same period a year earlier. Though for the last quarter EBITA were €88 million, more or less in line with the second quarter in 2012.

The mega-major said that continued sales of Rihanna’s last album, the debut from US alt-rock band Imagine Dragons, the ‘Les Misérables’ movie soundtrack, and the new acoustic version of Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe’ played a key role in generating mega-sales during the first half of the year. Meanwhile major releases from both Eminem and Lady Gaga should assure a successful second half of the year.

Universal Music remains one of the most successful businesses for parent company Vivendi, which saw its EBITA in the second quarter slide 19.9% to $1.01 billion, even though overall sales were more or less the same as a year earlier. As previously reported, it is the telecoms side of Vivendi that continues to struggle, with management at the company still looking to withdraw from that sector to focus on media and entertainment.

Commenting on the latest round of financials, Vivendi CEO Jean-Francois Dubos told reporters: “Vivendi’s subsidiaries are confronted with a challenging economic environment and highly competitive markets. In this context, the group’s media businesses have resisted, benefiting from the first positive impacts of the acquisitions and growth drivers they put in place. Vivendi is realising at its own pace its announced restructuring aimed at achieving new growth milestones. Our priority remains the creation of shareholder value”.

Elsewhere in financial reports, German media group Bertelsmann has reported operating profits for the first half of 2013 up 5.2%, an uplift very much aided by the firm taking full control of the BMG music company in April. As previously reported, Bertelsmann bought business partner KKR out of BMG earlier this year.

Commenting on the first half of 2013, Bertelsmann top man Thomas Rabe told reporters: “The first six months went well for Bertelsmann. We have made good progress on our four strategic priorities: strengthening the core, digital transformation, building growth platforms and expanding our activities in growth regions”.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:11 | By

First Momentum Music Fund grants announced

Business News Management & Funding

Momentum Music Fund

The PRS For Music Foundation has announced the first ten artists to benefit from the Momentum Music Fund, the new Arts Council-funded initiative providing grants to bands looking for help getting to the next level which was launched at The Great Escape earlier this year. It’s the first artist-centric programme for contemporary music pursued by the Arts Council in England.

And the ten bands to receive the first round of Momentum funding are: Brolin, Dutch Uncles, Esco Williams, Floating Points, Hacktivist, Hannah Peel, Kindness, Teleman, Thumpers and The Wytches. They were selected by an industry panel from around 500 submitted applications. There are eight more Momentum funding rounds between now and October 2014 with the judging panel to vary each time.

The fund can grant up to £15,000 to any one artist, and that can be used to fund a range of activities, including recordings, releases, marketing campaigns and touring. The PRS For Music Foundation says the aim of the fund is to “support exceptional artists, to help them realise their potential and contribute to the musical success story of this country”.

Commenting on the first round of applications for the new fund, PRS Foundation boss Vanessa Reed told CMU: “The overall quality of the Momentum applications to our first deadline has reinforced my belief in the importance of this fund and the impact it’s going to have on its first line-up of talented beneficiaries. Our message to those who were not successful this time is not to give up. There are more funding deadlines to come and we’re actively seeking additional sponsors to increase the support we can offer”.

The first such additional sponsor is streaming music service Deezer, which will make a contribution to the Momentum Music Fund and provide support to artists who receive grants. Deezer has also put together a playlist featuring eight of the bands who secured funding on this first round.

Commenting on all this, Arts Council England boss Alan Davey told reporters: “This is a brilliant milestone for Momentum and, after many months of hard work behind the scenes both at the Arts Council and PRS For Music Foundation, it’s marvellous to see artists starting to benefit from this fund. Momentum is all about helping real talent to find its place and I look forward to seeing all ten artists – and those who follow them – grow and flourish with its help”.

Davey, of course, previously ruffled some feathers in the UK record industry when the Momentum Music Fund launched, and he told Radio 4 – who deliberately misunderstood what the Arts Council meant by ‘pop music’ to question the validity of the new fund – that the initiative was needed now because the big record labels weren’t investing in new talent in the way they used to.

In response, the big labels were adamant that they were very much still taking big risks on new music, forcing Davey to backtrack a little. Though presumably the Arts Council now hopes that future major label fall-outs can be avoided, now that the UK boss of the biggest, Universal Music, has been appointed to the organisation’s National Council. David Joseph was one of five people to join the now fifteen strong committee earlier this month, a voluntary team that oversees the state-funded arts body.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:10 | By

Warner/Chappell makes digital appointments

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Warner/Chappell

Warner’s music publishing business Warner/Chappell yesterday made three digitally-focused appointments.

First New York-based Ann Sweeney was named Executive VP for Digital Strategy & Policy, a move which will expand her existing role so she takes on global responsibilities. Meanwhile Stephen Dallas was appointed VP Digital Legal Affairs & Business Development, charged with negotiating licensing agreements with digital service providers and investigating new digital business opportunities.

On this side of the Atlantic, Iain Morris has been promoted to the new role of Head Of Digital, Europe. Based in London, he will become the primary point of contact for digital licensees across the region, and will also lead Warner/Chappell’s Pan-European Digital Licensing initiative.

Commenting on all this, the Warner man who oversees the major’s publishing business, Cameron Strang, told CMU: “Warner/Chappell is a bold and determined digital pioneer. We are committed to providing our outstanding songwriters with dynamic, best-in-class services that maximise revenue generating opportunities for their songs. Thanks to Ann’s extensive experience, outstanding negotiating skills and deep understanding of the industry, she has played a significant role in accelerating the growth of our digital footprint. She and her newly expanded team will help ensure we continue to lead our industry’s fast-paced evolution”.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:09 | By

PledgeMusic announces Canadian hire

Business News Digital Industry People

PledgeMusic

Fan-funding and pre-sale D2F platform PledgeMusic has announced the appointment of musician and artist manager Cole Stephenson to the role of Territory Manager Canada.

The appointment follows Pledge’s previously reported alliance with Universal Music Canada, and he will manage that partnership and support other Canadian artists utilising the Pledge platform.

Confirming the hire, PledgeMusic’s President for North America Jayce Varden told CMU: “We are delighted to welcome Cole to the PledgeMusic team in Canada and see his role as key to growth in this territory and to the success of our relationship with our partners Universal Music Canada”.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:08 | By

Spotify appoints Head Of Global Business Development

Digital

Jorge Espinel

Spotify has appointed Jorge Espinel, previously a digital strategy man at News Corp, to the role of Head Of Global Business Development, seemingly basically replacing Gerrit Meier, who departed the steaming firm nearly a year ago.

According to Billboard, Espinel’s main job at Spotify will be to seek new strategic partnerships with tel cos and suchlike that result in sizable subscriber increases in key territories.

Billboard also speculates that, given Espinel is from Colombia, seeking such partnerships in Latin America, a particular target for most digital music services at the moment, will be a priority.

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Friday 30 August 2013, 11:07 | By

Bank Of England head compares UK productivity to Jake Bugg for some reason

And Finally

Jake Bugg

The new Governor of the Bank Of England, Mark Carney, has compared UK productivity over the last eight years to Jake Bugg, claiming that the teen singer-songwriter has been a lot more successful that the country as a whole in that time.

This soundbite came during Carney’s first speech as Governor, which took place in Nottingham yesterday. Because Jake Bugg is from Nottingham. But so is Bruce Dickinson, and he owns a fucking airline, so I’m not sure why Carney’s looking to Bugg for inspiration.

Anyway, Carney said in his speech: “The UK is no more productive than it was back in 2005. And to put it in context, that was before Nottingham’s own Jake Bugg got his first guitar and since then, as you know (I know), he’s had a number one record and a string of very successful gigs. He’s become a lot more productive, and the critical question is how much more, and how quickly can productivity improve across the broader economy”.

Of course, while Jake Bugg may have become more productive, the quality of his work is of such a low standard that it risks reducing repeat orders from foreign exporters across the board, so I’m not sure we should be taking too much of a lead from him.

Watch a clip of Carney talking Bugg here:

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:54 | By

Approved: Willis Earl Beal

CMU Approved

Willis Earl Beal

Actor/artist/filmmaker Willis Earl Beal, a man of so many ‘hats’ I can’t even fathom, will on 9 Sep release a follow-on to his magic (if patchily so) first try ‘Acousmatic Sorcery’ in new LP ‘Nobody Knows’.

Uncloaking Beal’s real promise as a writer in a way that even the highs of his ‘Acousmatic’-era never quite did, the tracks shared from ‘Nobody’ so far, bony hymnal ‘Everything Unwinds’ and ghosting blues descant ‘Too Dry To Cry’, plus satisfying, molasses-warm Cat Power liaison ‘Coming Through’, are all playable now, in a row. Because, why not:

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:53 | By

Report claims MegaUpload helped smaller movies

Business News Digital Legal MegaUpload Timeline Top Stories

MegaUpload

The shutdown of MegaUpload at the start of 2012 probably benefited big movies, but possibly hindered smaller film releases, or so reckon researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Copenhagen Business School.

As much previously reported, US authorities swooped on the American-based servers of the controversial file-transfer company in January 2012, taking the service offline and seizing the firm’s assets and domain. In New Zealand, meanwhile, four of the company’s executives, including founder Kim ‘Dotcom’ Schmitz, were arrested.

Although there was little love lost between the Mega company and the music business, with Dotcom squabbling with Universal Music over his ‘Mega Song’ in the weeks before the shutdown, it was really the American movie industry that lobbied hard to encourage authorities in the country to take action against MegaUpload on copyright infringement grounds. Hollywood had identified the Mega service as a rampant source of pirated films, including new releases.

In a filing with the Office Of The US Trade Representative last year, the Motion Picture Association Of America said the Mega shutdown, and the impact the move had had on other file-transfer services, resulted in a “massive” benefit for copyright owners around the world. Meanwhile a study by two American universities reckoned an increase in revenues for key movie releases in 2012 could be attributed to the Mega closure.

In the new research, the Munich and Copenhagen academics agree that there was a minor positive impact on the revenues of blockbuster movies in 2012 that could be attributed to the shutdown of MegaUpload. However, they say, there is also evidence that the shutdown led to slightly decreased revenues for mid-sized and smaller budget films.

Although the researchers say its not entirely clear why that might be, they think that having films illegally circulating online via MegaUpload and similar services can aid word of mouth marketing for movies on social networks and suchlike, which in turn can lead to increased ticket sales at the cinema, countering any loss of sales because people have seen the film for free online.

For big movies, where massive advertising campaigns are key to generating interest, the benefit of word of mouth marketing is less substantial, and therefore doesn’t compensate for lost ticket sales. However, the academics reckon, for smaller movies with much smaller marketing budgets, the trade off between online chatter and lost sales results overall in the likes of MegaUpload having a positive effect on box office revenue.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the researchers write: “If some of this word-of-mouth effect [which MegaUpload et al supports] is then taken away with the shutdown of illegal content, performance of smaller movies is likely to be hit harder”.

The big movie and music companies are unlikely to be persuaded, though the report could well be used by Dotcom as proof Hollywood exaggerated the impact his company was having on their wider business.

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:52 | By

2 Chainz arrested after refusing to leave tour bus

Legal

2 Chainz

Rapper 2 Chainz was arrested last week, it has emerged, along with ten members of his entourage, after refusing to leave his tour bus after being pulled over by police.

According to reports, the bus was stopped because none of its rear lights were working on the passenger side. Police said that when the driver opened the door for them officers “smelled an overwhelming odour of marijuana [and] could actually see smoke inside the bus around the door”.

The officers said that they wanted to search the bus, but 2 Chainz and his team refused to let them, resulting in a nine hour stand off before the arrests were made. All were later released after paying $2000 bail.

It all seems like a lot of effort for nothing on both sides, but on Twitter the rapper said he’d simply reached the end of his tether, writing: “Don’t ask me, ask [the Oklahoma] Police Department what they found on the bus. You won’t get an answer because [nothing] was found”.

He added: “This shit will make you go crazy – our bus gets pulled [once] a week and they always say I smell weed I need to search our bus. Shit gets tiring”.

Police have in fact now said that they did find evidence of drugs and may press charges at a later date.

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:51 | By

Timbaland working on new Michael Jackson tracks

Artist News

Timbaland

Timbaland has revealed that he is working on new Michael Jackson tracks, saying the project will be “my music with his voice on it”.

Which you probably could have guessed, but it’s nice to know for sure, isn’t it? Also, he doesn’t really say that much in the short video that’s appeared on YouTube, so you’ve got to take your quotes where you can get them.

One thing Timbaland does reveal is that the first single from the new project will be called ‘Chicago’, and that he is “gonna set it up right”. Yep, set it up right.

Look, if you think you could have done any better turning this into a news story, why don’t you just watch this fucking video and then have a go yourself, alright?

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:50 | By

Daft Punk make playlist

Releases

Daft Punk

Similar (kind of) to the one that LCDJ James Murphy did lately, Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter has compiled a playlist of his fave tracks.

Featuring new-ish hits by Jai Paul, James Blake and Phoenix; Carly Simon, Chic and Diana Ross classics that inspired DPs’s new LP ‘Random Access Memories’; and finally, Michael Jackson singing ‘I Want You Back’ a capella, it’s available to play on an eternal loop now via Spotify.

Oh, and in case anyone missed its first sighting at the VMAs, this is a quick ‘taster’ clip of Daft Punk’s Pharrell-starring new single ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’:

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:49 | By

Sleigh Bells sharing new track next week, maybe

Artist News Releases

Sleigh Bells

Apparently, doom-pop types Sleigh Bells will ring in a new single next week, this via a specially-created site that won’t go live till the day.

Revolt claims to have learned via an informant close to the band that they’ll share a new track at www.bitterrivals.us on 3 Sep. Their guess is that ‘Bitter Rivals’ is either the title of the single, and/or perhaps applies to Sleigh Bell’s third LP.

Certainly, the idea of new material fits with hints SB’s Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller made late last year, mainly that they were on track to release a third LP, the sequel to ‘Reign Of Terror’, in 2013.

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:48 | By

Cate Le Bon details new LP feat Perfume Genius

Releases

Cate Le Bon

Wales-based lady Cate Le Bon has trailed her new LP, ‘Mug Museum’, with a new track featuring an inspired PA by Perfume Genius. It’s titled ‘I Think I Knew’, and I think we’d all better listen to it below.

Mixing West Coast and… well, Welsh Coast aesthetics, the LP’s themes are based on Le Bon’s “maternal familial relationships”, and the shifts that happened in the “female line” of the family after the death of her maternal grandmother. It’s released via Turnstile on 11 Nov.

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:47 | By

Mick Jagger-produced James Brown biopic gets star

Artist News

James Brown

A film about the life of James Brown, produced by Mick Jagger and directed by ‘The Help’ director Tate Taylor, now has a star to play the iconic singer. Chadwick Boseman, who has mostly worked on TV, but has more recently moved into film, will take on the role, reports The Wrap.

The film has actually been in production for several years, with various actors and directors lined up to work on it. However, it now seems that a team is set and filming will begin next year. For an idea of whether or not Boseman will be any good or not, he has another biopic, this seeing him play baseball star Jackie Robinson, out in the UK on 13 Sep.

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:46 | By

Ellie Goulding adds three arena dates

Gigs & Festivals

Ellie Goulding

Finding time in between being ‘friends’ with Ed Sheeran, popstar and hotpant fan Ellie Goulding has fixed to play live at three arenas in March 2014, so that’s a thing. The dates, off the back of Goulding’s number one single ‘Burn’ and repackaged LP ‘Halcyon Days’, are:

5 Mar: Nottingham, Capital FM Arena
8 Mar: Liverpool, Echo Arena
9 Mar: London, The O2

And this is ‘Burn’, by the way:

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:45 | By

Limp Bizkit to headline 2014 Kerrang! shows

Gigs & Festivals

Limp Bizkit

Hate it or love it, it’s still happening. Limp Bizkit’s visit to the British Isles, that is. It all started when Fred et al released their new single ‘Ready To Go (feat Lil Wayne), making them eligible to headline 2014’s Kerrang! Tour.

Thanking Kerrang!, Fred says: “It’s an honour to headline the Kerrang! Tour. It’s a really inspirational and motivational thing for Limp Bizkit. We’re going through a pretty amazing phase in our journey and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Kerrang! Tour will be the official launch of [new album] ‘Stampede Of The Disco Elephants’. I can’t tell you how magical that feels. It’s gonna get chaotic and wild!”

The dates, which will also feature sets by Crossfaith and Nekrogoblikon, with a Limp Biz finale, are as listed:

8 Feb: Cardiff University
9 Feb: Liverpool, Academy
11 Feb: Dublin, Olympia Theatre
12 Feb: Bristol, Academy
13 Feb: Birmingham, Academy
15 Feb: Newcastle, Academy
16 Feb: Glasgow, Academy
17 Feb: Manchester Academy
19 Feb: Norwich, Nick Rayns
20 Feb: Southampton, Guildhall
21 Feb: London, Brixton Academy

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Thursday 29 August 2013, 10:44 | By

Ja Ja Ja to showcase Eye Emma Jedi, Sattelite and Samaris

Gigs & Festivals

Samaris

Active again after a seasonal mini-break, live Nordic night Ja Ja Ja will ease back into its monthly lock-in at London’s The Lexington via a showcase on 26 Sep.

It’ll feature sets by Approved Norwegian punks Eye Emma Jedi, Finnish indie band Satellite Stories and Icelandic noir-tronica act Samaris (pictured), and tickets to it are available at this link.

And so, having given that a click, why not give Samaris’ 2012 track ‘Goda Tungl’ a trial spin:

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