Tuesday 31 December 2013, 10:30 | By Chris Cooke

One Direction’s Midnight Memories the 2013 bestseller

Business News Labels & Publishers Retail

One Direction have the best selling album of 2013 in the UK, the Official Charts Company has confirmed, the 1D boys having sneaked passed Emeli Sandé when she wasn’t looking. Typical of the Syco boyband to wait til poor Ms Sandé is enjoying a pre-Christmas drinks party, and then to elbow their way into first place.

So yes, Sandé’s debut long player ‘Our Version Of Events’ had been set to be the biggest selling album of the year, no mean feat given it was released in early 2012, but then 1D released their third long player on 25 Nov and everything changed. Having sold 237,000 units in its first week, making it the fastest selling album of the year and of One Direction’s career, by yesterday ‘Midnight Memories’ had shifted 685,000 copies, making it the overall best seller of 2013.

Told this fact by the Counter In Chief at the OCC, 1D’s Liam Payne blurted thus: “This tops an amazing year for us! We’re so excited to have the biggest selling album in the UK this year, especially with a record we are all so proud of. We’d like to thank everyone who has bought the album, it really means a lot to us”.

Meanwhile charts boss man Martin Talbot took a moment away from blowing up balloons for his New Year’s Eve bash to tell CMU: “Hearty congratulations should go to One Direction. It is a huge honour to become the biggest seller of any year. To do so in such a short amount of time is a very impressive achievement”.

Hearty congratulations indeed. And now lets just imagine what those 1D boys could have achieved if they’d released a good album! Mind blowing isn’t it?

Pete Tong becomes an MBE

Artist News Awards Media

So, it’s that time of year when celebrities you like disappoint you slightly by accepting a nonsense honour from the political establishment, by which I mean, hurrah and hurray the Queen’s New Year Honours have been announced.

And though plenty of people are being honoured for their services to music this time round, there are actually very few famous music-types on the list. Most prominent is probably Radio 1 DJ and all round EDM champion Pete Tong, who becomes an MBE for his services to both music and broadcasting.

Confirming the honour, Tong told CMU: “It’s great to receive this honour for being a DJ. I’m proud that it acknowledges a profession that I care about a great deal, and one that’s made a huge impact around the world. I’d like to thank BBC Radio 1 for its unerring commitment to dance and electronic music and for supporting and encouraging me for over two decades”.

“I’d like to thank all the club promoters in the UK and around the world for their passion and commitment to putting on amazing events and the artists, producers and DJs that have been making and innovating with the music. This wouldn’t have happened without so many great tunes. Finally, to my family and team who have supported me on this journey in so many ways – thank you”.

Elsewhere, classical pop lady Katherine Jenkins has been made an OBE, and composer and conductor ‪Peter Maxwell Davies‬, already a knight, a CBE and the Master Of The Queen’s Music, receives a Companion of Honour. And why not? Well done one and all.

Rdio shuts down video-on-demand spin-off Vdio

Business News Digital

Streaming content company Rdio has shut down its film-on-demand spin-off Vdio, just over a year since it went into private beta and just six months since it opened its doors to all.

There is an argument that for streaming audio to go truly mainstream, music services will need to become integrated with film and TV on-demand set-ups down the line, so there was a logic to Rdio moving into movies before it had even got its music offer properly established. Though the film and TV studios are less prone to licence large catalogues of content, and the video-on-demand space is already dominated by Netflix and Amazon, while many of the traditional broadcasters have ambitions in that direction too.

Either way, Rdio has decided that its early play in online video – which in the end was more like the rentals side of iTunes than Netflix – was a mistake and it has written to those who signed up for it to say that Vdio, still officially a ‘beta service’, is no more. The firm’s email noted: “Despite our efforts, we were not able to deliver the differentiated customer experience we had hoped for, and so Vdio is now closed”. Those with credit in their Vdio accounts will get Amazon vouchers.

Presumably, as well as Vdio not proving to be as revolutionary as hoped, running the video-on-demand service put a further strain on the Rdio’s company’s resources. Last month it reduced its workforce by about 35, leading to speculation about the firm’s ability to continue expanding in an increasingly competitive marketplace where even the market leaders are making a loss.

Spotify and Deezer continue to dominate in the subscription streaming space in Europe, while in the US interactive radio services like Pandora and iTunes Radio have had the biggest impact, and in the fully on-demand domain Beats and YouTube are likely to become serious competition in 2014. All of which means, it will be interesting to see how Rdio fares in the coming year.

Google blocks Rap Genius over link affiliate scheme

Business News Digital Legal

Popular lyrics website Rap Genius has been banished from Google for breaching the search engine’s rules on incentivised reciprocal links, though bosses at the site are currently in talks with the web giant to try and get their pages relisted in Google search results. Possibly by saying some seasonal Hail Marys or simply by playing snitch.

It emerged that Rap Genius was not appearing in Google searches yesterday, and as speculation rose as to why the site may have been banished from the uber-search-engine – which will account for significant portion of the site’s overall traffic – reps for the lyrics operation admitted they had “effed up”.

According to The Register, the fuck up was a recently announced ‘Rap Genius blog affiliate’ programme. One blogger enquired about the new scheme, promoted on the lyric firm’s Facebook page, and was told that if he included links to Justin Bieber lyrics stored on the Rap Genius platform in his blogs, the lyrical site would send out a promotional tweet about his site. Said blogger then posted the email exchange he’d had with Rap Genius to his site.

Because of the way Google’s search engine works, if enough bloggers linked through to Bieber lines on the Rap Genius platform using the right keywords, Bieber pages on the lyrics site would rate higher for anyone Googling the possibly retired pop tyke. Which means more traffic for Rap Genius.

But Google doesn’t like websites playing its system in this way, so responded quickly and severely once aware of the Rap Genius ruse. For their part, bosses at Rap Genius admitted they’d made an error, but insisted that they thought the affiliate scheme was kosher because links would only occur in artist-relevant posts, and no money was changing hands. They then added that they were pretty certain that their competitors in the lyric site space were all doing things that violate Google’s rules to an even greater extent.

Said Rap Genius: “We effed up, [but] other lyrics sites are almost definitely doing worse stuff, and we’ll stop. We’d love for Google to take a closer look at the whole lyrics search landscape and see whether it can make changes that would improve lyric search results”.

Last month it was the US music publishing sector that was hitting out at Rap Genius, which has so far operated without a licence from the owners of the lyrics it publishes. Many lyrics sites are unlicensed of course, though Rap Genius is of particular interest because of the $15 million in investment it has secured. The site’s operators were evasive when the National Music Publishers Association put it at the top of its list of lyrical piracy offenders last month, but then it almost immediately emerged that the company had actually just agreed a licensing deal with Sony/ATV, and that other publisher talks were ongoing.

The copyright debate around Rap Genius isn’t relevant to this week’s developments. Except perhaps for the record companies and music publishers which frequently call on Google to block sites that rampantly infringe copyright from search results (which is most record companies and music publishers). Those companies will surely note that, while Google continues to resist such action, and often says that such blocking would be unworkable, the web giant can do a pretty good job of cutting a site off, very quickly indeed, when one breaches its own laws.

Justin Bieber is retiring after all. Possibly

Artist News

So Justin Bieber is retiring after all. Or is he? Well, he’s going on a break. Possibly.

Though he did seemingly begin his retirement by retweeting a flood of big-ups for his latest behind-the-scenes movie ‘Believe’ before posting some impromptu performances on Instagram for his fans, which isn’t that different to the kind of things a pre-retirement Bieber might have done on a Christmas day.

But yes, after announcing – and then immediately retracting – his retirement on an LA radio show earlier this month, just before Christmas Day began Bieber took to Twitter to announce “my beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring”. Though in amongst dissing the media and praising God, he did then note: “They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I’m never leaving you”. So make of that what you will.

Following the LA radio interview – which was initially released without the “I’m just messing around” punchline – Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun told reporters that the pop star would be taking a proper break in 2014, but that he would return. Perhaps with a new record. Or at least a new perfume. And I should think so too.

Accountant admits stealing $380,000 from Pearl Jam

Business News Legal

Pearl Jam’s former financial manager Rickey Goodrich is to be sentenced in February after admitting at King County Superior Court in Seattle last week to stealing from the band over the course of four years.

Goodrich joined Pearl Jam Touring Co in 2005 as accountant and financial manager, a year later moving to the group’s management company Curtis Management to oversee all financial matters relating to Pearl Jam’s touring activity and fan club. He was fired in September 2010, after the theft of $380,000 from the band’s accounts was uncovered by a private investigator hired by the company to look into “cash flow issues” the previous year.

According to Seattle PI, Goodrich used the stolen money to pay off debts, book family holidays and purchase wine. When initially confronted, he claimed that he had got permission for a number of loans from his line-manager at the band’s company, and subsequently paid back $55,000. But further investigation of the band’s accounts showed further records of payments to band and crew members which had never been received, as well as other suspicious bank transfers.

Prosecutors will push for a minimum of six months in prison, when Goodrich returns to court for sentencing on 21 Feb. However, if he fails to pay back all of the stolen money by this date, it’s expected that they will ask for a fourteen month jail term.

Tribune buys Gracenote from Sony for $170 million

Business News Deals Digital

Gracenote

Media firm Tribune has purchase music metadata company Gracenote outright from the Sony Corporation Of America for $170 million, it has been announced.

Gracenote is the largest provider of music data in the world, currently holding information on over 180 million tracks and videos, which it provides to services such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Xbox Music and various net-connected car dashboards. It also provides movie and TV show information for listings in over 30 countries, and overall its database is accessed over sixteen billion times a month. Under the deal, the company will merge with Tribune’s existing metadata company, Tribune Media Services.

Announcing the deal, President of Tribune Digital Ventures Shashi Set said: “Gracenote and TMS are an ideal fit. Both companies have substantial digital footprints and are well-respected leaders in their areas globally. Together we will become an even greater force in the global entertainment data business by servicing new and existing customers with better data, new products, and new services to help an evolving entertainment industry”.

Gracenote President Stephen White added: “Given the breadth of the Tribune Company and its commitment to revolutionising digital media, I firmly believe that we have found the right home to grow our business and realise Gracenote’s long-term vision. The marriage of these world-class music and video data platforms, from TMS and Gracenote, will help us reimagine how people discover and connect with music, movies and TV shows across all devices”.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, pending regulator approvals. If all goes ahead as planned, Sony said in a statement that it expected to record a gain of $60 million in operating income, above its earlier forecast for the year to 31 Mar.

Playlist: CMU Artists Of The Year 2013

Artists Of The Year CMU Playlists

Each December, we select our ten favourite artists of the year – acts who we think have gone above and beyond the usual requirements of a performer. This year’s selection features a real mix of artists, spanning rock, hip hop, pop, classical and more, and hailing from all across the world.

In no particular order, the ten artists chosen were Janelle Monáe, Kanye West, Yasutaka Nakata, Arctic Monkeys, Perfume, Dev Hynes, The Heritage Orchestra & Scanner, Charli XCX, Dear Reader, and Fat White Family.

You can read all about why we chose each of these ten artists here. Or you can cut to the chase and watch videos from all ten in this YouTube playlist:

Spotify users can also listen to eight tracks in this Spotify playlist.

Dan McCarroll named President of Warner Bros Records

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Former President of Capitol Records within Universal (and when it was part of EMI), Dan McCarroll, has been appointed to the same role at Warner Bros Records US.

Warner Bros CEO Cameron Strang told CMU: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dan to Warner Bros Records. Enormously admired and respected throughout the music community, Dan brings a rare combination of talent and experience to our company. An accomplished musician, publishing executive, A&R man, and label head, Dan has a deep understanding of artists and record making. He is the perfect fit for our music-driven mission at Warner Bros, and I’m looking forward to working closely with him as we deliver more great records from the incredible artists on the Warner Bros label”.

McCarroll added: “I am thrilled to join Warner Bros, whose creative culture has long been a model for our industry. The company has a fantastic team, and it’s an honour to join with everyone to build on the label’s iconic legacy. I want to thank Cameron for this truly exciting opportunity; I can’t wait to get to work with everyone and make some great music”.

As previously reported, some of that music will be made by artists signed to the Parlophone label in the UK. Last week Warner Music announced that, following its acquisition of the former EMI label earlier this year, Warner Bros would represent many of its artists in the US.

US DoJ publishes some of its evidence against MegaUpload

Business News Digital Legal MegaUpload Timeline Top Stories

Since its audacious swoop on the Mega empire at the start of 2012, which took the popular file-transfer and video-sharing platform offline with next to no warning, the US Department Of Justice has been relatively quiet about its case against the former digital business.

Certainly when compared to MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom, who has routinely spoken out against the criminal case being amassed against him and his former company, claiming that all allegations of copyright infringement are unfounded, that his prosecution is the result of an unholy alliance between Hollywood moguls and America’s political establishment, and that raids on his home in New Zealand were unlawful. Though on that latter point at least, Dotcom has a point.

Anyway, last week the US DoJ unsealed a big batch of its evidence against Dotcom and the Mega masses. The 191-page report reasserts the American government’s claim that Dotcom et al participated in rampant copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering by running a business that generated $150 million in subscriptions and $25 million in ad revenue, much of it secured because of the access MegaUpload gave to vast amounts of unlicensed TV, movie and music content.

And while some people will have used MegaUpload and MegaVideo to store and share legitimate files – ie content that they created and owned – prosecutors argue that most of the traffic on the site was linked to copyright infringing videos.

According to The Verge, the DoJ report claims that of the 14.9 million videos on MegaVideo at the point of shutdown, only 8.6 million had ever been viewed, and of those 12.8% had been the subject of a takedown request from a rights owner via the system set out in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. But, while the content that we know was infringing copyright may have accounted for a minority of the overall files stored on the Mega platform, it accounted for 43% of all MegaVideo views.

Of course, the fact that MegaUpload accepted DMCA takedown requests from rights owners, and seemingly did respond to them, at least sometimes, is a key part of Dotcom’s defence, because that bit of law is supposed to provide protection for the operators of platforms used by others to infringe copyright, providing they operate a takedown system.

But, says the DoJ report, MegaUpload operated a deliberately shoddy and misleading takedown operation, removing only content stored at any specific URL identified by a rights owner, and ignoring the fact that multiple people had usually uploaded the same movie, TV show or music video, and that each upload would have a different URL. So that Mega could claim to have acted on a takedown notice, but could still offer the infringing content to its paying users.

Of course, US courts have in the past generally been willing to accept similarly shoddy takedown systems as sufficient to grant the operators of user-upload services ‘safe harbour’ protection from infringement claims. But prosecutors hope to distinguish MegaUpload, partly because of its Uploader Reward scheme, which provided financial incentives to those who uploaded the most content, oblivious of their right to do so.

That scheme, the DoJ’s report says, meant that MegaUpload management couldn’t be blind to the rampant infringement being committed on their servers, because they were actively monitoring the upload of blatantly infringing content, so to reward the infringers. The DoJ papers include correspondence between Mega bosses about one particularly prolific uploader that show that they saw him as an important contributor to their business, even though he was clearly using the Mega platform to infringe.

Keen to stress the point that Team Mega should not get safe harbour protection from the DMCA, the report lists a number of reasons why this case is different, including that Mega management were “wilfully infringing copyrights themselves; they have actual knowledge that the materials on their systems are infringing; they receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the copyright-infringing activity; they failed to terminate repeat infringers; and they have not removed, or disabled access to, known copyright-infringing material from servers they control”.

Needless to say, Dotcom’s legal reps, still fighting efforts to extradite the Mega man to the US, have hit out at the report, arguing that while there might be a civil case for the former MegaUpload business to answer, if the movie studios were to sue (which they almost certainly will), the allegations are not sufficient to warrant a criminal prosecution. The distinction is important, because if criminal charges were dropped Dotcom couldn’t be extradited, or jailed, and the aforementioned safe harbour clauses of the DMCA could apply.

Pussy Riot two freed under Russian’s amnesty law

Artist News Legal Top Stories

As expected, the two jailed members of punk protest group Pussy Riot have been released from prison just in time for Christmas as part of an amnesty bill recently pushed through the Russian parliament by President Putin.

The clemency legislation was officially written to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution, though many see it as a bid by the Russian government to put to bed various controversial prosecutions that have occurred in the country in recent years ahead of next February’s Winter Olympics. Presumably the hope is that, with many political prisoners freed, Russian spin-doctors can focus their efforts instead on countering international opposition expected during the big winter sports fest to the country’s recent anti-gay legislation.

Either way, neither Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were especially pleased with the circumstances of their early release, which they have dubbed a pre-Olympics “PR stunt”. As it was, the two women, jailed for their part in an anti-Putin protest performance in a Moscow church in early 2012, were nearing the end of their jail sentences anyway, and their prosecution and jailing has been called into question by the Russian Supreme Court.

Whereas another high profile Putin opponent let out of jail by the amnesty law, businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been pretty conciliatory since his release last week, the husband of Tolokonnikova has told the BBC of his wife and fellow jailed Pussy Riot member “the only thing they have acquired over their two years in prison is their confidence to continue fighting Putin’s regime even harder”.

Tolokonnikova herself said after being freed from the Siberian jail that she had recently been moved to: “They [the government] just put on another show ahead of the Olympics, such is their big desire to prevent all European countries from boycotting our Russian Olympics. But let us remember about all those people who are not much talked about and are even forgotten but who still need to come out of their jails as they don’t belong there”.

Earlier, Alyokhina called the way she had been released “a profanation” and “a PR exercise”, adding: “If I had a choice to refuse [the amnesty], I would have, without a doubt”.

The two women are now expected to consult other human rights groups about future protests, including a campaign to call for prison reform in Russia.

X-Factor winner scores Christmas number one

Artist News Media Top Stories

Sam Bailey

The ‘X-Factor’ machine has regained the Christmas Number One crown after re-entering the festive chart battle for the first time in three years.

The winner of the talent show’s 2013 season, Sam Bailey, has just topped this year’s Christmas chart with her debut single ‘Skyscraper’, a charity single that has – according to the Official Charts Company – outsold its nearest rival this week, Pharrell’s ‘Happy’, by more than two to one.

Commenting on receiving the Xmas number one accolade, once an annual tradition for the ‘X-Factor’ victor, Bailey said: “Being number one is absolutely amazing! It really is the icing on the cake and it means Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity and Together For Short Lives will benefit even more from the single, which makes it extra special”.

Meanwhile Charts Company boss Martin Talbot told CMU: “Congratulations to Sam Bailey, the UK’s Official 2013 Christmas number one! ‘X Factor’ winner one weekend, Christmas number one the next. Life can’t get much better than that, especially when you have taken the crown with one of the biggest weekly sales totals of the year”.

Those looking for a festive tune in this week’s chart need to slip down to number three where another former ‘X’ star, Leona Lewis, can be found with her Christmas-themed single ‘One More Sleep’. Or down to number 20, where there’s another song that originates from a tedious ITV show, a cover of ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’ by the pop-has-beens that appeared in ‘The Big Reunion’.

Or they could make do with Robbie Williams’ ‘Swing Both Ways’ record at number one in the album charts, which isn’t Christmassy, though he did top the Christmas chart with a swing album once before (in 2001), so at least it’s sort of a festive tradition.

CMU Artists Of The Year 2013: Janelle Monáe

Artists Of The Year CMU Approved

Each weekday in the run up to the Christmas break, we’ve been revealing our ten favourite artists of the year. To see the full list, check this page. Our final artist is Janelle Monáe…

As well as being the last to feature in this year’s Artists Of The Year rundown, Janelle Monáe is also the first returning artist we’ve ever had in our customary end-of-calendar best artists review, having previously made the list in 2010, the year she released her debut album ‘The ArchAndroid’.

This year she was back again, with a second long playing record (third if you count her debut mini-album ‘Metropolis’) loosely themed on the plight of her android alter ego from the future, Cindi Mayweather, who faces disassembly for falling in love with a human, goes on the run and becomes a figurehead (possibly even messiah) for the android community. At nineteen tracks long (three of them story-furthering interludes), ‘The Electric Lady’ is quite a journey.

Of course, like all the best science fiction, Monáe’s music is not really about robots from the future, its commentary very much based in the human present. The story is a centre point to hang other ideas from, which you can choose to engage with as much or as little as you want. Part of Monáe’s genius is to present music that you can take as a fictional narrative, commentary on issues such as feminism, civil rights, poverty and homophobia, or just a collection of great love songs. If you just want to have fun, she won’t stop you, because at her heart she is a diehard entertainer.

I don’t want to fall into the trap of pitting female musicians against each other, but I think there are a few clear parallels to be drawn between how Janelle Monáe and Lady Gaga present themselves. Both hold tight reigns on their images, with a certain amount of self-mythologising, and both have created organisations in which to work – the Wondaland Arts Society and the Haus Of Gaga respectively.

Both also make bold claims about what they want to achieve with their music, and it’s here that Monáe really pulls ahead – the music she makes is the music she describes beforehand, whereas Gaga talks a good talk but fails to back it up with anything of real substance. The difference, perhaps, is that Gaga lives for the applause, while Monáe wants to give em what they love.

It’s a subtle, but important distinction, and it comes back down to Monáe’s role as an entertainer first, artist second. If the art doesn’t entertain, then it’s not for her. And on ‘The Electric Lady’ she entertains more successfully than ever before. Nineteen tracks the album may have, but none of that is filler. It’s a collection of well-crafted songs matched with perfect production that easily earn regular repeat plays.

Musically, she hasn’t strayed from the R&B sound of ‘The ArchAndroid’, but her second LP holds together more consistently across the course of the whole album. And it sounds timeless. This isn’t a record you’ll be able to immediately place in 2013 in five or ten year’s time, but nor does it sound like pastiche.

I haven’t yet had the chance to see her perform these songs live in person, but TV and YouTube show me that she’s the same infectious ball of energy she was when touring ‘The ArchAndroid’. Also, it looks like she might be getting closer to creating the stage show she didn’t quite have the budget for three years ago.

And best of all, as great as everything she’s done this year has been, it still feels like she has more to give. The marker that has appeared on the covers of her previous two releases shows that there are still two suites to come in the Cindi Mayweather story, and Monáe has talked of films, stage productions and graphic novels in the past too. All of which I’ll happy believe she could pull off with flair.

It’s testament of the quality of ‘The Electric Lady’ that I can come this far in my write-up before mentioning the impressive array of guests on it, including Prince, Solange, Erykah Badu and Esperanza Spalding. But to close, I’ll leave you with the collaboration that’s stood out the most for me, and my personal favourite track on the album, ‘Primetime’ with Miguel – a song where the rhythm laps underneath you as you lie back into it. Watch the video for the song now:

Approved: Christmas and New Year club tips

Club Tip CMU Approved

With Christmas coming up next week, you’ll have a few days to relax with family and to recover from the strains of the Christmas party season. But with the biggest party night of the year fast approaching, you’ll need to get back on the horse as soon as you can. So, to get you limbered up, I’ve selected a couple of nights worth checking out during the festive break, as well as my picks of the New Year’s Eve parties on offer.

Boxing Day: Back To 95’s Boxing Day Back To Back Special at Club Coliseum
Back To 95’s Boxing Day Back To Back Special is back, with six DJ duos head to head (or back to back, I suppose). The line-up features original Dreem Teem legends DJ Spoony and Mikee B; Scott Garcia b2b and Ray Hurley; Pied Piper and Mike ‘Ruff Cut’ Lloyd; Hermit and Daniel Ward; Jason Kaye and Listener; plus Chris Lavish and Jerry Rankin. They’ll all be flanked by a solid line-up of the scene’s best-loved MC’s, to transport you back to the old skool at Club Coliseum in Vauxhall.

Thursday 26 Dec, Club Coliseum, 1 Nine Elms Lane, London SW8 5NQ, 10pm-5am, more info here.

28 Dec: 2manydjs at Sankeys
Filling that weird gap between Christmas and New Year, 2manydjs will be hitting up Manchester’s premier dance venue, the newly reopened Sankeys. They’ll be joined by The Freestylers and other still-to-be-confirmed guests.

Saturday 28 Dec, Sankeys, Radium Street, Manchester, M4 6AY, 10pm-5am, £17.50, more info here.

New Year’s Eve: Bruk Out at Big Chill House
The Bruk Out crew usher in 2014 at The Big Chill House with the help of two of UK garage’s big hitters, Zed Bias and Wookie. The House will be transformed into a tropical playground, as beat obsessives Jus Now and a ten-piece Brazilian drum troupe also feature on the line-up alongside Bruk Out residents Nasty McQuaid and Mangno.

Tuesday 31 Dec, Big Chill House, 257-259 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9BL, 9pm – 5am, £20, more info here.

New Year’s Eve: Heavy Disco Meets Eat The Beat at The Star Of Kings
Heavy Disco Meets Eat The Beat will offer an intimate house party vibe at The Star Of Kings in King Cross. If you are into real house and disco, lap it up on two floors at this mid-size venue. Some real musical connoisseurs are on board, including West London’s original Ballistic Brother Ashley Beedle, plus Balearic Mike and Sean Johnston from ALFOS.

Tuesday 31 Dec, The Star Of Kings, 126 York Way, London, N1 0AX, 9pm-5am, £20, more info here.

New Year’s Eve: NYE House Party at The Social
The Social’s NYE event will be hosted by The Ragga Twins, who will create a house party vibe at this rather good venue just off Oxford Street. They’ll be joined by Rob Pursey of the Hip Hop Karaoke club nights and the Heavenly Jukebox DJs, Found A Cure and Mr Midnight.

Tuesday 31 Dec, The Social, 5 Little Portland Street, London, W1W 7JD, 9pm-5am, £10-£15, more info here.

New Year’s Eve: Holic at Café 1001
US Detroit techno visionary Dan Curtin and Berlin’s Panorama Bar resident Oliver Deutschmann land feet first on Brick Lane for Holic’s NYE bash, with Tomoki Tamura and many others. And if you’re looking for more party for your pound, this one goes on until 10am on News Year’s Day.

Tuesday 31 Dec, Café 1001, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL, 8pm-10am, £20, more info here.

New year’s Eve: Jamais Vu Party at a secret Shoreditch location
Stuck looking for a bit of drum n bass? Then look no further than the Jamais Vu NYE party, with Fabio, Bailey, Randall and Jumping Jack Frost. It’s a great line-up, all going down at an as-yet-to-be-revealed East London location.

Tuesday 31 Dec, secret location in Shoreditch, 9pm-6am, £20, more info here.

The Pirate Bay returns to Swedish domain name

Business News Digital Legal Top Stories

Having tried on a few various domain names for size in countries all around the world over the course of this year (and mostly the last week and a half), The Pirate Bay has returned to its Swedish web address. Well, it’s always nice to put on a familiar jumper at Christmas.

As much previously reported, having switched to it from a .org domain in 2012 after the US authorities seized MegaUpload’s also American-registered .com address, The Pirate Bay then abandoned its .se domain in favour of a Greenland-registered URL in April this year, in anticipation of its Swedish domain being seized by the authorities there.

However, a few days later the company that oversees Greenland’s domain registration said that it would block the new URL, due to the country’s affiliation to Denmark where the file-sharing service is deemed illegal, leaving TPB to sail over to Iceland to try a new domain there.

The site was again on the move mere days later, after an injunction against the .se domain went into effect in Sweden – with Swedish lawyers arguing that as the Icelandic domain was registered in the name of TPB co-founder Fredrik Neij, who is a Swedish national, the injunction counted against that URL too. Which takes us up to the beginning of May, and a slightly longer stint registered on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, which lasted until last week.

Since then, it’s been all action, with a move from Sint Maarten to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, followed by Peru, then on Wednesday Guyana, the latter domain briefly forwarding back to the .se domain name before being taken offline yesterday. The original .org address is also now functioning, forwarding onto thepiratebay.se.

Although the move back to the Swedish domain raises more questions than any of the other domain shifts this year, The Pirate Bay has been unusually quiet about it, not even announcing that it was using the Swedish address as it’s primary URL again.

Earlier this week a spokesperson for The Pirate Bay told TorrentFreak that the site would continue to shift to new domains (reckoning there were 70 more possibilities) until it “find one that sticks”.

It seems unlikely that the Swedish domain will be the one that fits that bill, given legal moves against it began earlier this year and the famous 2009 court battle the Bay lost in the country confirmed the file-sharing operation breaks Swedish copyright laws, but we shall see how long it manages to hold out back on its home territory.

Belfast courts hand down suspended sentences to file-sharing site operators

Business News Digital Legal

Two men have received suspended sentences in the Belfast Crown Court for their involvement in running a file-sharing operation called Araditracker, which was mainly known for providing unlicensed access to movies and software. The case confirms that, under UK law, there can be a criminal element to the operation of a profit-generating online platform that enables others to infringe copyright.

Hugh Reid and Marcus Lewis, a father and son-in-law now based in Belfast and Suffolk respectively, took donations for about a year from people who used Araditracker to access free music, movie and software files. In late 2007 the film industry’s Federation Against Copyright Theft took action, forcing Araditracker offline, though Reid and Lewis quickly set up an alternative service.

That led to Reid’s Belfast home being raided in August 2008, and a second raid of Lewis’s home, then in North Wales, three months later. Prosecutors said that they secured a range of evidence to prove the two men’s involvement in the file-sharing operation, which Reid seemingly first set up when his radiator business hit the hard times in 2006.

The two men pleaded guilty to the infringement crimes, which the judge hearing the case described as “nothing less than theft”, adding to the two men “you must have known from an early stage that this was criminal behaviour”.

According to Belfast Daily, the judge added: “There are people who work here locally making films, both in this jurisdiction and elsewhere, as well as the people who work in cinemas and in DVD distribution. These are the people who are all affected by your copyright infringements”.

A confiscation hearing will now take place, with prosecutors seeking to recover £33,000 from Reid. His defence team said their client “had the means” to settle that matter.

The Belfast ruling follows a judgement in the Swedish courts earlier this week, where a former moderator of file-sharing site Swebits received a suspended sentence and was fined a massive $652,000 for sharing over 500 movies and TV shows on the site.

Katherine Jackson disputes legal costs claimed by AEG

Business News Jacksons v AEG Timeline Legal Live Business

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine is involved in a new legal squabble with AEG Live after losing her court battle with the live giant earlier this year, in which the Jackson family matriarch wanted the concert promoter held liable for the death of her son, as the employer of the doctor convicted for causing his demise in 2009 through negligent treatment.

While Mrs Jackson got about appealing the ruling, AEG passed its legal bills onto the court, requesting that the Jacksons cover them as the unsuccessful party in the case. And those bills top $1.2 million.

According to TMZ, legal reps for the Jacksons are now dissecting those charges, and are questioning the costs cited by AEG for process servers, creating court exhibits for use in the trial, and for covering the costs of witnesses whose depositions were, the Jacksons claim, unnecessary.

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic settles lawsuit with Sony Music

Business News Digital Royalties Timeline Labels & Publishers Legal

Weird Al Yankovic has settled the lawsuit he launched against Sony Music last year, in which he claimed, amongst other things, that he was due a higher cut of digital revenues on his music than the major was currently paying.

As much previously reported, various artists with pre-iTunes contracts have gone legal over their cut of digital royalties, after FBT Productions won a case against Universal Music relating to early Eminem recordings. The production outfit successfully argued that if a contract doesn’t explicitly say how digital royalties are divided up, they should be treated as licensing revenue, rather than sales income, the former usually paying out a higher percentage to the artist.

Shortly before Yankovic launched his lawsuit, Sony Music offered a settlement deal to all affected artists, as the result of earlier digital royalties litigation launched by The Allman Brothers and Cheap Trick back in 2006 (though it was still to get court approval). That Yankovic went legal anyway suggests that he didn’t think much of the offer of a 3% increase in download revenue.

It’s not clear what deal Yankovic has now received – though he was originally asking for $5 million in damages.

Beatles release confirms intricacies of copyright extension

Business News Labels & Publishers Legal

The release of a bunch of Beatles rarities on iTunes earlier this week has confirmed some specifics about the much previously reported copyright term extension for sound recordings.

It emerged that a new collection of 59 Beatles recordings was about to be released last week, including demos, outtakes and BBC sessions. The digital compilation has been released as part of the exclusivity deal between the Fab Four’s company Apple Corps and record label (now Universal Music) and the other Apple and its iTunes store.

So, a nice treat for Beatles fans, though with all the tracks, previously unreleased, coming from 1963 it quickly became clear something else was going on here too.

As much previously reported, until recently the copyright term for sound recordings was 50 years, meaning records released in 1963 would become public domain in Europe next month. But, after much lobbying from the record industry, the term was extended to 70 years, meaning The Beatles catalogue (‘Love Me Do’ aside) now has an extra 20 years of copyright protection.

However, there’s a catch. The copyright term in the sound recording is linked to the date the recording was made, or the date the recording was released. Normally those dates are pretty close to each other so that the distinction isn’t so important. But what it means is that labels sitting on unreleased recordings that are nearing the end of their copyright term can, in essence, reboot the copyright by releasing the record (or even just giving it a public performance). Though that late-in-the-day release must occur before the copyright term based on recording date ends.

Or even sooner, as it turns out. Because the deadline for releasing unreleased recordings to reset the copyright term has stayed at 50 years, because the copyright in unreleased master recordings will still expire after five decades (in that such recordings are not included in the European Directive that extended the term). Hence Universal and Apple Corps needed to give the 1963 bootlegs an official release now, rather than in 20 years time, to ensure copyright term reboot, and to stop the recordings from going public domain.

Earlier this year Sony did something similar with some Bob Dylan archive recordings, and you can expect all the major labels to be releasing collections of previously unheard records from their most bankable artists in the coming years as the 50 year deadlines expire.

As also previously reported, the copyright extension, which came into effect on 1 Nov, also includes a use-it-or-lose-it element which enables any musician involved in a recording which a label is not currently distributing – including session musicians and producers – to force the record company to put out a physical and digital version of the track or album, or risk losing their economic rights over the copyright work.

The use-it-or-lose-it element was included because politicians were persuaded of the need for copyright extension based on the benefits to performers rather than labels, and performers only get those benefits if a label ensures a recording is in circulation. However, it turns out that the use-it-or-lose-it clause is not relevant to The Beatles release, which is why Universal and Apple only need to put out a cheap and cheerful digital album, and not a full-blown CD box set.

William Morris Endeavor acquires IMG

Business News Deals Live Business

Talent agency William Morris Endeavor earlier this week confirmed it was acquiring one of its major competitors in a $2.3 billion deal backed by private equity group Silver Lake.

The combination of WME and IMG Worldwide will create a talent management and partnership powerhouse, with particular significance in the sports domain where IMG was strongest. Though it will also further extend WME’s reach into the live music space too, with IMG working with both Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.

Confirming the deal, WME bosses Patrick Whitesell and Ariel Emanuel said in a statement: “IMG has incredible strategic value to WME. Supported by Silver Lake’s continued partnership, WME and IMG together will deliver a broad range of opportunities and resources to the companies and talent we collectively represent”.

Investigation underway after West End theatre ceiling collapses on audience

Business News Live Business

It may have occurred at Theatreland’s Apollo Theatre (as opposed to the other Apollo venue over in Hammersmith that’s better known for music and comedy), but the live sector at large is likely to watch with interest as investigators work out how a ceiling could collapse at a West End theatre injuring 76 people, seven seriously.

The incident occurred during an almost sell-out performance of the National Theatre’s show ‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time’. Audience members report of hearing a cracking noise and seeing dripping water before a large section of ornate plasterwork fell from the roof, with debris seemingly landing on all levels of the 775 capacity venue.

Emergency services were called as a panicked audience evacuated the building at about 8.15pm last night. According to reports, 76 people suffered injuries with 58 being taken to hospital, and seven incurring serious though not life threatening injuries. It’s still not clear what caused the ceiling collapse.

Speaking to the BBC, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Graham Ellis, said last night: “We’ve manage to stabilise the situation inside the theatre, we’re working closely with colleagues at Westminster City Council, their building surveyors. The scene has now been sterilized, nobody is going in there and investigations have started”.

While the impact of the ceiling collapse could have been much worse, in that there were no fatalities, questions are now likely to be asked as to how the incident was able to occur, and whether there were any failings in the management and regulation of the building. And while incidents such as this at the capital’s entertainment venues are very rare, all eyes will be on the venue’s owners and the local authority’s licensing unit for reassurances about safety elsewhere.

Although Apollo operator Nimax Theatres is yet to make any comment on its social media channels, a spokesman for the company last night called the incident “shocking and upsetting” adding that an investigation was under way and that “our thoughts are with the audience and staff”.

Council approves Finsbury Park for Live Nation’s Wireless, though not all locals happy

Business News Live Business

The London edition of Live Nation’s Wireless festival is almost certainly moving to Finsbury Park after Haringey Borough Council approved a licensing application earlier this week, though the live giant may have to deal with some unhappy neighbours, something which previously hindered its summer festivals operation in Hyde Park.

Wireless was one of the flagship events Live Nation created in 2005 once it secured the rights to stage concerts in Hyde Park. But in more recent years complaints by residents living near the park led to limitations on sound levels and curfews, and ultimately the partnership between the live firm and the Royal Parks ended after the 2012 season. The latter then struck up a new deal with Live Nation rival AEG Live, which staged a streamlined and reworked live event programme in the park earlier this year, seemingly without pissing off the locals so much.

But while AEG was busy telling the world that it could succeed where its rival failed by using Hyde Park as a festival venue while keeping both punters and locals happy, Live Nation scored a coup by announcing it had the rights to stage music events in the Olympic Park in East London, and that’s where Wireless took place in 2013, with a headline-grabbing bill led by Live Nation business partner Jay-Z.

But, insiders say, while the Olympic Park was a good venue in publicity terms, there were issues with using the space for a music festival which have not yet been resolved, which is why Live Nation decided to look for another London space for its summer city centre festivals programme. Resulting in the shift to Finsbury Park.

The North London park has been host to numerous concerts and festivals over the years, so locals there should be used to it, though some critics of the licence Live Nation has secured say that Wireless is significantly bigger than any event previously hosted at the site, and will result in more inconvenience for locals, and more of the park being cut off from the public.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Katherine Reece told the Haringey Independent: “[We] believe that far greater co-ordination with police and transport authorities needs to take place for larger concerts in the park, and that the Labour-run council has not provided assurances that enough will be done to lessen the impact on residents. And Live Nation’s indefinite license for concerts in Finsbury Park means that far larger parts of the park will be unavailable to residents for longer periods than ever before”.

But local Council Leader Claire Kober defended the decision to grant the license, telling the local paper: “We’re proud that Finsbury Park is home to such a rich programme of events that brings visitors to our borough and supports local traders. This policy will not increase the number of large events, but it will bring in vital income to help us maintain our Green Flag award-winning parks at a time when our budget is being significantly reduced. We’re committed to better licensing and enforcement to minimise disruption from events to local residents – as well as funding free community events and festivals that continue to make use of Finsbury Park’s stunning facilities”.

As previously reported, earlier this week Live Nation announced that Wireless would take place from 4-6 Jul in 2014, with a second edition for the first time since 2007, this time taking place in Birmingham.

Matt Willis to join Eastenders

Artist News Media

McPopstar-by-day, actor-by-night, showbiz all-rounder Matt Willis has taken on another TV role (aside from his part in ITV’s ‘Bird Of A Feather’ revival, that is), this time in ‘EastEnders’.

Although married to Emma Willis in real life, Matt will pretend to be Stacey Branning’s naïve new squeeze on the telly soap, ambitious city boy Luke, because he really is that great at acting.

Theatre school grad Matt says: “I am so thrilled to be a part of such an iconic show. I grew up watching ‘EastEnders’ so this is really exciting for me!”

Willis will apparently, thinks the Mirror, make his first Albert Square appearance in the new year, perhaps even January. He can’t stay for long, mind, if he’s to honour all those McBusted tour dates he possibly wishes he hadn’t agreed to.

CMU Insights evening course provides complete overview of the music business in 2014

Business News Education & Events

The first CMU Insights course for 2014 has just been announced, offering a chance for music business professionals to get a complete overview of their sector, with a focus on revenue streams and music rights; how artists can build, analyse and monetise a fanbase; and the deals they need to do to capitalise on all the opportunities.

CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke, who leads the course, says: “Challenges remain, but there is plenty to be optimistic about as the music business moves into 2014, as we learn to put the artist at the centre of what we do, and better capitalise on all elements of each act’s fan relationship. This course provides an overview of the various revenue streams that exist in music, and then considers how artists should build and analyse their fanbase, and build a business to make it all happen”.

The Music Business In 2014 is a great course for anyone working in music, whether looking for a beginner’s guide, or an overview of latest trends and new approaches. It’s an eight part evening course, consisting of eight two-hour sessions every week from Monday 20 January, taking place in Shoreditch, East London.

Places are just £299, including VAT and booking fee, and can be secured now, here.

Adele gets MBE

Artist News

The British Empire has deemed Adele Adkins a member of its ‘Most Excellent Order’, which means she’s been handed an MBE for her services to pop and the ‘James Bond’ franchise.

Adele was named an MBE amidst the Queen’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year, as was PJ Harvey and a customary list of other music types, and went to Buckingham Palace to get it via Prince Charles yesterday.

And here she is, finding it all very silly:

Dev Hynes rethinks donations drive following NYC fire

Artist News

Dev Hynes, aka alt-pop artist Blood Orange, has broken his not very long silence on the fire that destroyed “everything” he owns earlier this week. As previously reported, an online donations drive was launched in Hynes’ name following the blaze – which totalled his New York apartment, taking with it his dog Cupid.

In a blog post, Hynes has said that – on reflection – he’s decided to give some or all (he isn’t certain yet) of the cash raised by the crowd sourcing campaign set up by the mother of his girlfriend, Friends’ Samantha Urbani, to three charities he’ll reveal at a later date.

He writes: “This happens to so many people, people that don’t have a girlfriend’s place they can stay at. People who don’t have a job they can do to try and help themselves money wise to attempt to get back on their feet. This is in my mind every second. I truly have lost everything I own, hard to wrap your head around, but I have”.

He adds: “If I am honest, the fundraiser makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. This isn’t me saying I don’t need the money, to reiterate, I have lost everything. But maybe it’s time I down some anxiety medication, see a doctor and try and play some shows y’know? There are things I can do, although it will take years, that can help myself rebuild, a huge part of me is still struggling with understanding the events of two nights ago, and where to take my life from here”.

The still-active gofundme.com campaign has so fair raised over $24,000, almost five-times its original goal of $5,000. Something which irked Vagenda co-founder Holly Baxter, who used the campaign as a launchpad to criticise crowdfunding in general on The Guardian’s Comment Is Free site – an article published shortly after Hynes announced that he would likely give the money away.

Originally bearing the headline ‘Dev Hynes’s puppy sob story has left me burnt out’ (later changed to the less reactionary ‘Why celebrity crowdfunding has little appeal’), Hynes posted a link to the piece on his Facebook page, commenting: “This is disgusting. I’m so hurt. I want to go on the record and say I will never talk to The Guardian ever again, I want nothing I ever make to be on their website, or in their magazine. Please pull the interview I did recently. I don’t want it to come out”.

Baxter later responded on the Vagenda Twitter account to criticism she had received there, saying: “Guys. That was a tongue-in-cheek article about crowdfunding. While I welcome criticism, please stop threatening to ‘shank’ me. My article was intended as a discussion about crowdfunding in general, and included a paragraph on Dev Hynes. Offence not intended, so sorry”.

So there you go. Though, while Baxter probably wasn’t responsible for that rather insensitive headline, or the big picture of Hynes at the top of her article, she did actually write three paragraphs about him. And if she really didn’t intend to offend anyone, maybe rather than piggybacking off someone’s house burning down, she should have published her article back when debating the pros and cons of crowdfunding was still ‘a thing’.

Jamie xx, Sampha preview new tracks

Artist News Releases

So, the team at XL Recordings division Young Turks took over Benji B’s BBC Radio 1 slot for a two-hour show on Wednesday night, as part of the station’s sporadic Label Focus series.

The programme featured live Maida Vale sets by Koreless – who bought a string quintet with him – and Spanish John Talabot collaborator Pional. Most exclusively, though, DJ-to-The-xx Jamie (xx) played a new, recently-leaked track titled ‘Sleep Sound’, which he confirmed on the show will be on his first solo LP, which will be released – and this is an extra revelation – in 2014. Drake’s new bezzie Sampha also played a song no one had previously heard, and its name was ‘Courtesy’.

Listen to the entire Young Turks special, which also features interviews with label head Caius Parson, and Romy xx, who speaks softly for a bit about the band’s present activities, here.

Danny Brown announces UK shows

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

US rapper Danny Brown has announced that he’ll be back in the UK in February, for another promotional push on his ‘Old’ album. He’ll also be back once more to play London’s Field Day festival in June.

Check out the dates here, after which you can see the video for ‘Dip’:

21 Feb: London, Koko
22 Feb: Brighton, Coalition
23 Feb: Manchester, Gorilla
25 Feb: Dublin, Academy
26 Feb: Glasgow, The Arches

Festival line-up update: Glastonbury, Liverpool Psych Fest, Fresh Island, Off The Tracks

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

Stand by… this is big, if not exactly a shock. Arcade Fire have confirmed themselves, having made outrageous hints only last month, as the first headlining act at 2014’s Glastonbury fest. Tweeting the news in this pic, the band revealed they’ll play a Pyramid Stage set on 27 Jun, news which was later double confirmed on the Glastonbury website (just in case you thought they were lying).

With that, it’s on to Liverpool’s International Festival Of Psychedelia, or Liverpool Psych Fest, which will in 2014 feature as its main attraction Swedish herd Goat, and additional artists like Lay Llamas, Teeth Of The Sea, Anthroprophh, Gnod, The Janitors, Zombie Zombie, Les Big Byrd and Vaadat Charigim.

And with that, it’s on to a variety of additions in the following mixed festival bag…

DERBY FOLK FESTIVAL, Assembly Rooms, Derby, 3-5 Oct 2014: Kate Rusby, Show Of Hands, Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Folk 3D Showcase, Lester Simpson, Merry Hell, Winter:Wilson. derbyfolkfestival.co.uk

FRESH ISLAND FESTIVAL, Zrce Beach, Pag, Croatia, 23-25 Jul 2014: Method Man, Redman. www.fresh-island.org

HEBCELT, Stornoway, Isle Of Lewis, Scotland, 16-19 Jul 2014: Donnie Munro, Gordie MacKeeman And His Rhythm Boys, Willie Campbell And The Open Day Rotation. www.hebceltfest.com

GLASTONBURY, Worthy Farm, Somerset, 25-29 Jun 2014: Arcade Fire. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

LIVERPOOL PSYCH FEST, Camp & Furnace, Liverpool, 26-27 Sep 2014: Goat, Hills, Lay Llamas, Teeth Of The Sea, Anthroprophh, Gnod, The Janitors, Zombie Zombie, Les Big Byrd, Vaadat Charigim, Dark Bells, Sudden Death Of Stars, In Zaire, One Unique Signal, Cantaloupe. www.liverpoolpsychfest.com

OFF THE TRACKS, Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel, Derbyshire, 23-25 May 2013: Big Country, Moulettes, Eat Static, Plantec. www.offthetracks.co.uk

CMU Beef Of The Week #188: The year in beefs

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

It’s the week before Christmas and everyone’s in a good mood, so there are no beefs to be had. No, let me stop you there, there are absolutely none. Not even one. So, instead of dissecting a single event from the last seven days this week, we’re going to look back at some of our favourite beefs of 2013. And they’re all top quality prime beefs too, there’s no horse meat here.

January: Bunny Wailer v Snoop Dogg
Hey, remember when Snoop Dogg stopped being Snoop Dogg, like, forever, and instead we were all supposed to call him Snoop Lion? All because he was a Rastafarian and ‘reggae star’ now. Well he did do all that, much to the annoyance of Rastafarians everywhere, particularly the religion’s official representatives, including Bunny Wailer, who said that Snoop had failed to meet “contractual, moral and verbal commitments” to them, adding talk of legal action. Meanwhile this month reggae expert Roger Steffens said that it “would be a travesty if Snoop wins” the Best Reggae Album Grammy he’s nominated for. So that went well.

February: Ex-HMV staff v HMV management
We all know now that HMV has been saved and will never ever be forced to close down (never, right?), but back in February things were not so clear. With administrator Deloitte still trying to secure a buyer for the music retailer, it one day decided to cut 190 jobs at the company’s HQ in one go. And in a perfect demonstration of how managers at big companies often don’t understand social media, or why they even should, the person in charge of HMV’s Twitter account (whose job the Marketing Director was apparently not even aware of) live-tweeted the whole thing.

March: Morrissey v Bowie
Until March 2013, everyone thought that the finest example of ‘Rickrolling’ of all time was Rick Astley being voted Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. We all also thought that ‘Rockrolling’ was an exhausted meme best left in the past. But then David Bowie refused to allow a picture of himself and Morrissey to appear on the artwork of a re-issue of Moz’s ‘The Last Of The Famous International Playboys’. Rather than fight, the photo was replaced with a photo of the former Smiths frontman and Mr Astley. Oh, we laughed.

April: Busta Rhymes v Cheeseburger Baby
Quick quiz: If you are Busta Rhymes, do you have to queue up to purchase food in fast food restaurants? If you answered no, I’m afraid you have not won a prize. If you answered yes, you’ve also not won a prize, but you were at least correct. Busta got it wrong too when he visited Cheeseburger Baby in Miami back in April. Silly Busta.

May: The Jacksons v AEG Live
Granted, this was a story that stretched out far outside May of this year (and if that annoys you, please skip straight to our other favourite beef of that month), but back then the Jackson family’s lawsuit against AEG Live was just grinding into court-side action. And grinding was the word, when amongst the petty points debated during the first week was the defence’s initial refusal to concede that Michael Jackson was actually dead.

June: Tom Odell’s dad v The NME
Tom Odell was the winner of the 2013 BRITs Critics’ Choice Award. Which means he was the year’s top choice of all UK critics. So what the NME was doing publishing a review saying that his album wasn’t very good, I don’t know. And neither did Tom’s dad, who rang the magazine to complain, which was definitely not embarrassing.

July: Wiley v CockRock
Everything that Wiley does has some intrinsic entertainment value. I bet just seeing him brush his teeth would raise a little chuckle. Oh, I’m imagining it now. It’s quite amusing. Though I am confused as to why Wiley is in my bathroom and using my toothbrush. Anyway, his headline set at this year’s CockRock festival entertained far more than the few thousand people who witnessed it – all fifteen minutes of it – before he walked off, claiming he had been endangered by the crowd. When pressured to either give back his £15,000 fee, or at least donate it to charity, he announced that he was going to “piss this 15k up the wall”.

August: Fans on the rampage
August was a month of pop fans waging war online. First it was (as usual) One Direction fans, who took against the series of covers GQ had designed to go with an interview with the boyband. Rather than just not buying the magazine, they instead started sending death threats to its publishers and one used the word ‘cupcake’ in anger. After that, fighting broke out between Katy Perry and Lady Gaga fans, after it emerged that the former was planning to release a single in the same week as the later – clearly an act of war, and one that no amount of peacekeeping attempts from the artists themselves could stop. Out in the real world, Brandy was shunning her fans. Well, the 40 who turned up to see her in a 90,000 capacity stadium in South Africa, anyway.

September: Bromley Beekeepers Association v Bez
Bez has started keeping bees, and he thinks other people should do so too. He even got involved in a campaign to set up rooftop hives in Manchester. Admirable, no? No. Not according to the Bromley Beekeepers association, who wrote to The Guardian to complain that Bez was encouraging people to pick up the hobby without enough thought. Though an anecdote about 100 bees getting into Bez’s pants was as much thought as I needed (to shun the idea for life).

October: Arashi fans v Arashi trees
In another tale of fans gone wild, devotees of Japanese boyband Arashi began travelling in droves to the island of Hokkaido to visit a group of trees that the band had touched in an advert. The locals were not best pleased, but it seemed impossible to stop the fans arriving, making a mess of the place and cutting pieces off the trees. Until the owner of the land they stood on came up with an ingenious (possibly not ingenious) plan.

November: Lily Allen and James Arthur
November was a busy month for popstars rubbing the public up the wrong way. First Lily Allen released a new video, that was widely praised and widely derided. No, not that bloody advert, the video for ‘Hard Out Here’, which some suggested might be a bit racist. But if there was some ambiguity in that debate, there seemed to be little in the one revolving around homophobic lyrics written by James Arthur. Unless you were James Arthur of course, in which case you’d think it reasonable to argue that calling someone a “fucking queer” wasn’t homophobic.

December: (Definitely) BBC Radio Lancashire v (Probably not) Radio Caroline
December has been a little quiet on the beef front (what with people getting into the Christmas spirit and all), but what it lacked in venom it made up for in confusion. In perhaps the year’s most perplexing BOTW, a man who had been interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire about his time as a presenter on Radio Caroline in the 60s was thoroughly cross examined by BBC Local Radio’s political correspondent Paul Rowley and accused of lying about his former job. His inability to answer even the most simple questions about Radio Caroline suggested that Rowley was right, which made for one of the year’s most unusual pieces of radio.

Tuesday 31 December 2013, 10:30 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Emeli Sandé | Official Charts Company | One Direction

Tuesday 31 December 2013, 10:11 | By Chris Cooke

So, it’s that time of year when celebrities you like disappoint you slightly by accepting a nonsense honour from the political establishment, by which I mean, hurrah and hurray the Queen’s New Year Honours have been announced.

READ MORE ABOUT: Katherine Jenkins | Pete Tong | Peter Maxwell Davies

Saturday 28 December 2013, 15:19 | By Chris Cooke

Streaming content company Rdio has shut down its film-on-demand spin-off Vdio, just over a year since it went into private beta and just six months since it opened its doors to all.

READ MORE ABOUT: Rdio | Vdio

Friday 27 December 2013, 13:44 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Google | Rap Genius

Thursday 26 December 2013, 12:21 | By Chris Cooke

So Justin Bieber is retiring after all. Or is he? Well, he’s going on a break. Possibly.

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber

Tuesday 24 December 2013, 15:05 | By Andy Malt

Pearl Jam’s former financial manager Rickey Goodrich is to be sentenced in February after admitting at King County Superior Court in Seattle last week to stealing from the band over the course of four years.

READ MORE ABOUT: Pearl Jam

Tuesday 24 December 2013, 14:40 | By Andy Malt

Media firm Tribune has purchase music metadata company Gracenote outright from the Sony Corporation Of America for $170 million, it has been announced.

READ MORE ABOUT: Gracenote | Sony Corp | Tribune

Tuesday 24 December 2013, 13:42 | By CMU Editorial

Each December, we select our ten favourite artists of the year – acts who we think have gone above and beyond the usual requirements of a performer. This year’s selection features a real mix of artists, spanning rock, hip hop, pop, classical and more, and hailing from all across the world.

READ MORE ABOUT: Arctic Monkeys | Charli XCX | CMU Artists Of The Year 2013 | Dear Reader | Dev Hynes | Fat White Family | Janelle Monáe | Kanye West | Perfume | The Heritage Orchestra & Scanner | Yasutaka Nakata

Tuesday 24 December 2013, 12:09 | By Andy Malt

Former President of Capitol Records within Universal (and when it was part of EMI), Dan McCarroll, has been appointed to the same role at Warner Bros Records US.

READ MORE ABOUT: Dan McCarroll | Warner Music

Tuesday 24 December 2013, 11:16 | By Chris Cooke

Since its audacious swoop on the Mega empire at the start of 2012, which took the popular file-transfer and video-sharing platform offline with next to no warning, the US Department Of Justice has been relatively quiet about its case against the former digital business.

READ MORE ABOUT: Kim Dotcom | MegaUpload | US Department Of Justice

Monday 23 December 2013, 14:57 | By Chris Cooke

As expected, the two jailed members of punk protest group Pussy Riot have been released from prison just in time for Christmas as part of an amnesty bill recently pushed through the Russian parliament by President Putin.

READ MORE ABOUT: Pussy Riot

Sunday 22 December 2013, 19:00 | By Chris Cooke

The ‘X-Factor’ machine has regained the Christmas Number One crown after re-entering the festive chart battle for the first time in three years.

READ MORE ABOUT: Martin Talbot | Official Charts Company | Sam Bailey | X-Factor

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:10 | By Andy Malt

Each weekday in the run up to the Christmas break, we’ve been revealing our ten favourite artists of the year. To see the full list, check this page. Our final artist is Janelle Monáe…

READ MORE ABOUT: CMU Artists Of The Year 2013 | Janelle Monáe

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:09 | By Paul Vig

READ MORE ABOUT:

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:08 | By Andy Malt

Having tried on a few various domain names for size in countries all around the world over the course of this year (and mostly the last week and a half), The Pirate Bay has returned to its Swedish web address. Well, it’s always nice to put on a familiar jumper at Christmas.

READ MORE ABOUT: The Pirate Bay

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:07 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Araditracker | Belfast Crown Court | Hugh Reid | Marcus Lewis

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:06 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Katherine Jackson | Michael Jackson

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:05 | By Andy Malt

Weird Al Yankovic has settled the lawsuit he launched against Sony Music last year, in which he claimed, amongst other things, that he was due a higher cut of digital revenues on his music than the major was currently paying.

READ MORE ABOUT: Sony Music | Weird Al Yankovic

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:04 | By Chris Cooke

The release of a bunch of Beatles rarities on iTunes earlier this week has confirmed some specifics about the much previously reported copyright term extension for sound recordings.

READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Apple Corps | iTunes | The Beatles

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:03 | By Chris Cooke

Talent agency William Morris Endeavor earlier this week confirmed it was acquiring one of its major competitors in a $2.3 billion deal backed by private equity group Silver Lake.

READ MORE ABOUT: Endeavor | IMG Worldwide | Silver Lake

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:02 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Apollo Theatre | Nimax Theatres

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:01 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Finsbury Park | Live Nation | Wireless Festival

Friday 20 December 2013, 13:00 | By Chris Cooke

McPopstar-by-day, actor-by-night, showbiz all-rounder Matt Willis has taken on another TV role (aside from his part in ITV’s ‘Bird Of A Feather’ revival, that is), this time in ‘EastEnders’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Matt Willis

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:59 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: CMU Insights

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:58 | By Aly Barchi

The British Empire has deemed Adele Adkins a member of its ‘Most Excellent Order’, which means she’s been handed an MBE for her services to pop and the ‘James Bond’ franchise.

READ MORE ABOUT: Adele

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:57 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Dev Hynes | Holly Baxter

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:56 | By Aly Barchi

So, the team at XL Recordings division Young Turks took over Benji B’s BBC Radio 1 slot for a two-hour show on Wednesday night, as part of the station’s sporadic Label Focus series.

READ MORE ABOUT: Jamie XX | Sampha | Young Turks

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:55 | By Andy Malt

US rapper Danny Brown has announced that he’ll be back in the UK in February, for another promotional push on his ‘Old’ album. He’ll also be back once more to play London’s Field Day festival in June.

READ MORE ABOUT: Danny Brown

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:54 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Derby Folk Festival | Fresh Island | Glastonbury Festival | HebCelt | Liverpool Psych Fest | Off The Tracks

Friday 20 December 2013, 12:53 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Arashi | BBC Radio Lancashire | Bez | Brandy | Busta Rhymes | Cockrock | David Bowie | HMV | James Arthur | Katy Perry | Lady Gaga | Lily Allen | Michael Jackson | Morrissey | One Direction | Radio Caroline | Rick Astley | Snoop Dogg | The Jacksons | Tom Odell | Wiley