Friday 31 January 2014, 12:11 | By Paul Vig

Approved: Groove Odyssey presents House Legends at Pacha London

Club Tip CMU Approved

Groove Odyssey arrives at Pacha tomorrow night, with Masters At Work’s legendary singer India flying in for an exclusive live show alongside East Coast US headliner DJ Spen, of Quantize Records and Muthafunkaz fame, plus the UK’s Neil Pierce making his debut alongside the residents, ex-Garage City lads Bobby & Steve Zoo.

India, real name Linda Viera Caballero, is the vocalist responsible for ‘To Be In Love’, ‘I Can’t Get No Sleep’ and the utterly brilliant River Ocean track ‘Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochun)’. Dubbed the “Princesa de Salsa”, she sincerely cemented the Nuyorican Soul into the beats created by Masters At Work.

Groove Odyssey hosts two other rooms too, one with old skool 80s soul and funk headlined by Sammy Confunktion and Lloyd Life, whilst radio station du jour HouseFM.net bring the latest beats to room three with their residents Lady T, Joel S, Steve Harrington and Kev Chase.

Saturday 1 Feb, Pacha London, Terminus Place, Victoria, London, SW1V 1JR, 10pm-6am, £17.50-£20. More info here.

Appeal court upholds publicity rights for Hendrix in Washington State

Business News Legal Top Stories

A long running legal squabble in the US over what rights the Jimi Hendrix estate has to prevent others from selling goods using the late guitarist’s likeness has moved forward, with an appeals court overturning a contentious 2011 ruling on the matter.

So-called ‘publicity rights’, the American legal concept at play here, are complicated, and even more so for dead celebs, because the protection comes from state law, and some states protect the name and image of dead stars and others do not.

And that has been very relevant in the dispute between HendrixLicensing.com, a company which sells various flim flam bearing the musician’s image, and the Hendrix estate. There is a family dimension here too, in that Hendrix’s brother Leon has an involvement in HendrixLicensing.com, while their adopted sister Janie manages the estate.

Although Hendrix was resident in New York at the time of his death – a state where posthumous publicity rights do not apply – the estate’s company Experience Hendrix has endeavoured to stop HendrixLicensing.com from selling goods in Washington, a state where such rights are on the statute book.

But in 2011, in what was a surprising decision, a Washington judge ruled that using the state’s publicity right laws in this way was unconstitutional, in that it violated some rules set out by the US Constitution. That ruling limited the use of Washington’s state laws on publicity rights where interstate dealings were involved.

However, this week the Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals overturned that judgement. Admitting that the matter “raises difficult questions regarding whether another state must recognise the broad personality rights that Washington provides”, the appeals judge said that, nonetheless, this case was specifically about HendrixLicensing.com trading in Washington state, so concerns about applying the publicity rights laws were limited.

The appeals court also made rulings favourable to the Hendrix estate on trademark and damages issues. It remains to be seen where this dispute goes next.

CI announces five new deals

Business News Deals Digital

CI, which provides a digital delivery platform to independent labels and distributors across the world, has just announced five new deals.

Amongst the companies signing on the dotted line with CI are Ignition, the management and label services company best known for its work with Oasis, Primal Scream, Stereophonics and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds; and Unisys, a large Indian aggregator which works extensively with Bollywood content.

Also entering into new agreements with CI are New York-based Reservoir Media Management, Canadian indie Secret City Records and Nigeria-based Jungle Ventures.

Confirming that lot, CI GM Kieron Faller told CMU: “We are very pleased to be adding these exciting clients to the stellar client base CI has built up over the last ten years. The range of these new clients illustrates that CI’s services are valuable across all sorts of record labels, label services companies, aggregators and more, across territories all over the world. Most importantly, we are helping independents take control of their business for themselves, on their own terms”.

Cooking Vinyl announces four new signings

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

London-based independent Cooking Vinyl has just announced new deals with Röyksopp and the newly-formed Ali-Campbell-Astro-Mickey-Virtue version of UB40. Meanwhile the company’s Australian business has signed a licensing deal with Calling All Cars, and a services deal with Kate Miller-Heidke, who has funded her fourth long player via a Pledge campaign.

Confirming the deals, Cooking Vinyl chief Martin Goldschmidt told CMU: “I’m thrilled to see Ali Campbell join with his brothers Astro and Mickey in order to record and tour as UB40, and look forward to a new album from them. Added to this, we get to work with the fantastic Röyksopp whilst [our Australian team] continue to sign quality local and international acts to CV Australia, meaning that 2014 is already shaping up to be an amazing year for Cooking Vinyl”.

Meanwhile Stu Harvey at CV Australia added: “Kate Miller-Heidke and Calling All Cars are both compelling artists and we have two brilliant albums ready to go. For Kate, she’s embarking on a completely different venture this time round, having written so much of her record and enjoying complete control over how it came together. We’re also really looking forward to taking the guys from CAC’s music to an international audience”.

Merlin launches new member dashboard

Business News Labels & Publishers

Indie label digital rights group Merlin has announced the launch of a new member dashboard, which will enable the 600 labels and distributors the organisation represents to access all their deal activity information and, moving forward, other data such as royalty reporting, financial statements and market analysis. The new facility is powered by a web-based reporting and analytics application called OTTO.

The dashboard will go live during Merlin’s upcoming member meeting at MIDEM, where refreshed branding for the rights group will also be revealed. Confirming this, Merlin boss Charles Caldas told CMU: “Merlin has always taken seriously our commitment to offer our members the most efficient and transparent service possible. Given the pace at which the market is moving, we believe this dashboard will greatly enhance our members’ interaction with Merlin, and with the digital market”.

Meanwhile Merlin’s Head Of Operations And Member Services Tom Deakin added: “After all of the hard work designing this tool with OTTO, I’m excited to see the launch of the system to the labels and distributors we represent. Via this dashboard, we can significantly enhance the way we interact with our members”.

New President for US pop division at Imagem

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Independent music publisher Imagem has announced the appointment of Jason Jordan, the former Columbia and Hollywood Records A&R chief who also co-founded the SynchTank platform, to the role of President at Imagem Music US, the firm’s “pop division” in America.

Confirming the hire, Imagem Group CEO André de Raaff told CMU: “We are very happy how our Imagem Music pop business has developed during the last few years in the US, with signings such as Mark Ronson, John Shanks and seminal catalogues like Elvis Presley and Sammy Cahn, and of course the success of Daft Punk in 2013; however we want our US company to focus even more on the A&R activities of our current and new roster. This has led our long search for finding the right candidate to Jason, whom I’m convinced will do an excellent job”.

Jordan, meanwhile, added: “André and his team at Imagem have built a dynamic multi-national company with a fabulous catalogue of songs and roster of writers. It is with great pleasure that I join them in growing and nurturing Imagem Music’s creative vision and brand”.

Ticketing firms agree to show fees up front

Business News Live Business

A number of UK ticketing firms have agreed to declare booking fees and commissions up front, rather than at the checkout stage of the ticket booking process, following the most recent ‘ticket commissions are evil’ campaign from consumer rights group Which?, according to The Guardian.

Ticketmaster, Ticket Web, See Tickets, Stargreen, BH Live Tickets, ATG Tickets and Ticket Soup have all promised to make extra fees much clearer from the moment ticket buyers land on their websites, so that there are no surprises at the final payment screen.

As previously reported, in its latest report on the issue Which? said that ticket prices sometimes increased by up to a third when extra fees are added at the end of a transaction. Which?’s Executive Director Richard Lloyd told The Telegraph that these last-minute increases left consumers feeling “ripped off” and showed a “lack of transparency”, making it harder for punters to make buying decisions before starting a purchase.

At the time of the Which? report, Ticketmaster refuted claims that its additional fees were “hidden” and insisted that it was upfront about how much tickets would cost. Though presumably the ticketing giant plans to now up the frontedness of that information. The seven agencies altering the way add-on fees are communicated are in part responding to a Which? petition that got 37,000 signatures after the magazine’s ticketing report. So that’s good.

Who knows, perhaps one day the live sector will think about selling tickets to its events at a fixed rate, covering all its costs with the actual declared ticket price, you know, like normal product and service sellers. Perhaps.

RadioCentre confirms new boss

Business News Industry People Media

The commercial radio sector’s trade body RadioCentre has a new CEO, following the departure of Andrew Harrison last September. Taking the reins on 31 Mar will be former civil servant and most recently communications chief at HarperCollins UK, Siobhan Kenny.

Confirming the appointment, Stephen Miron of Global Radio, one of the companies RadioCentre represents, told CMU: “To attract someone of Siobhan’s calibre to the commercial radio sector is testament to the current strength of the industry. Siobhan brings a whole new perspective from a strong leadership background in politics, media and communications which will prove invaluable as we look to build and evolve the sector over the next few years connecting our distinctive brands with existing and new audiences”.

Meanwhile Dee Ford of Bauer Radio added: “We found in Siobhan someone with a passion for radio which matched our own. It’s her job now to bang the drum for commercial radio – so I’m pretty sure everyone will be hearing a lot more about us in the future”.

Kenny herself said: “If I could have designed my perfect job, it would have looked a lot like being CEO of RadioCentre. Radio is a terrific, thriving sector and consumers tend to have a very strong emotional connection with their favourite stations. There will inevitably be challenges, which means there is plenty to do. I have been more than impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the leaders in this industry and I can’t wait to get started”.

Billy Bragg to lead at next MusicTank debate

Business News Education & Events

MusicTank has announced its next event, which will focus on both the hoo and the haa that has surrounded the growth of the streaming music sector in the last year, and especially what the move towards ad and subscription-funded all-you-can-eat music services means for the artist community.

And leading the debate will be Billy Bragg, who first shared his views on the matter via Facebook last November (those planning on attending the MusicTank event who don’t want to know the result should turn away from this report here).

Confirming the topic for his group’s next discussion, MusicTank Chairman Keith Harris told CMU: “Streaming represents a significant shift in the way people consume music, and as a new model its growing prevalence cannot be ignored. If this is to be the future, then all parties need to understand how they will come to be paid, and that’s an area that for many artists is still unclear. It is our hope that with the input of our expert speakers, MusicTank can help shed some light on this subject”.

The event takes place on 7 Apr in London, details here.

AIF confirms latest marketing seminar

Business News Education & Events

The Association Of Independent Festivals will host an all-day seminar on festival marketing next month, looking at how events can stand out in an ever-crowded market place.

Amongst those set to share insights is Joe Elkins of Bestival, Andy Smith of Kendal Calling, Lee Denny of Leefest and Matias Llort of YouTube.

It all takes place on 18 Feb in London, details and booking here.

The Who “raring” to start making a new LP, says Daltrey

Artist News

Roger Daltrey has let the NME (and therefore, the world) in on his intention to begin working on a new LP with the rest of The Who before the year is out.

Indeed, he’s confirmed Pete Townshend has already written “hundreds of songs” for the record, going on: “So the only question is whether we get around to it, but he wants to make an album and I’m always ready and raring to go. We’ll see”.

He went on: “I never know what I’m doing next, it’s about what comes through my letterbox tomorrow, but I don’t see why we wouldn’t [make a new Who record]. My voice is still in good shape. The hearing isn’t so great, but the voice is fine”.

Asked if the LP might arrive in time to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary year, which is this year, Daltrey said: “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it, to be honest. We didn’t think it was going to last the week, let alone 50 years. We were The Who, we used to break up after every show”.

As indecisive as that is, Daltrey is set to have a pretty active 2014, with a collaborative LP with the terminally-ill Wilko Johnson, ‘Going Back Home’, set for release on 10 Mar. And a previously hinted at ‘last ever’ tour with The Who to do. And his annual round of Teenage Cancer Trust shows – which this year feature Ed Sheeran, The Cure, Suede and Paolo Nutini – to curate. I’m going to have a sit down.

Elton John announces Goodbye Yellow Brick Road re-issue, cinema screening of Las Vegas show

Artist News Releases

To mark the 40th anniversary (back in December) of the release of his 1973 album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, Elton John has announced a new remastered version of the album on various formats and with various extras depending on how much money/enthusiasm you have.

At the very least, you’ll get a download of the album in its remastered form. You could also have it on CD, Blu-ray or vinyl, plus get a load of extra cover versions by various hip young artists – including Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé and Fall Out Boy – and a best of-style live recording. You could even buy a big old box full of all that (except the vinyl and Blu-ray) and some other tat.

Two days before its 24 Mar release date (so 22 Mar), a film of his Las Vegas show, ‘The Million Dollar Piano’, will be shown in 200 cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

Is the show worth seeing? Well, let’s ask someone who would know. Mr Elton John: “I’ve had the best time [in Las Vegas] because I always thought of it as a challenge and wanted to put on the best show. I don’t think there could be a better looking show than this in Vegas or in any venue anywhere”.

So there.

Slint’s Spiderland to get deluxe re-issue

Artist News Releases

Slint’s cult classic second album ‘Spiderland’ is to get a deluxe boxset release, for no particular reason that I can see (it’s not a major anniversary, I mean).

As well as remastering the original six tracks, the Touch & Go label has added a further fourteen demos, outtakes and live tracks, all provided on vinyl and CD. As well as that, it’ll come packed with a 104 page book, with foreword by the album’s cover photographer, Will Oldham, and a 90 minute documentary directed by Lance Bangs. And a t-shirt if you pre-order early enough.

The 3138 limited edition boxsets will be available to the public from 15 Apr, so if you want one, you should get your pre-ordering done here.

If you want, you can watch a trailer for the release here. I can’t imagine why you would want to, but I don’t think Slint ever made any music videos, so tough luck, there’s nothing else to look at.

Here’s the tracklist:

Breadcrumb Trail (remastered)
Nosferatu Man (remastered)
Don, Aman (remastered)
Washer (remastered)
For Dinner… (remastered)
Good Morning, Captain (remastered)
Nosferatu Man (basement practice)
Washer (basement practice)
Good Morning, Captain (demo)
Pam (rough mix, Spiderland outtake)
Glenn (Spiderland outtake)
Todd’s Song (post-Spiderland song in progress)
Brian’s Song (post-Spiderland demo)
Cortez The Killer (live Chicago 1989)
Washer (four track vocal demo)
Nosferatu Man (four track vocal demo)
Pam (four track vocal demo)
Good Morning, Captain (Evanston riff tape)
Nosferatu Man (Evanston riff tape)
Pam (Evanston riff tape)

McBusted announce outdoor shows, with support from Backstreet Boys and 5ive

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

McFly plus Busted, or McBusted, announced earlier this week plans to stage a couple of outdoor shows once summer comes, with ‘support’ from the Backstreet Boys, Scouting For Girls and 5ive.

The first is on Weston-super-Mare Beach on 28 Jun, and the other one is in Ipswich Chantry Park on 29 Jun. Admirers of McFly, or Busted, or McFly plus Busted, can buy tickets from THIS MORNING. Here. Good McLuck to you.

Gigs & Tours round-up: School Of Languages, The Warlocks and Dean Blunt

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Gigs & Tours Round-Up

Rounding up the latest gig news…

A solo David Brewis, sometimes of Field Music, is to bring his new LP under the alias School Of Languages (pictured), ‘Old Fears’, to a series of live shows chiming with its release via Memphis Industries on 7 Apr.

Moving off that same day with a date at Newcastle’s The Cluny, the trip reaches its end at the Deaf Institute in Manchester on 28 Apr. Check Brewis’ live listings here, and listen in on ‘Old Fears’ track ‘Between The Suburbs’ here:

Drone shamans The Warlocks, from LA, have put listings for a UK tour out in the world. It starts on 11 Mar at Corsica Studios in London, and rolls on through Glasgow, Liverpool, and Leeds, before its foregone conclusion at Manchester’s Antwerp Mansion on 15 Mar. The run – listed in full here – is in honour of the group’s 2013 LP ‘Skull Worship’, their first since 2009’s ‘The Mirror Explodes’.

More concisely, Dean Blunt of possibly-dead pop mystics Hype Williams has confirmed a solo date on 1 Apr at London’s Café Oto. It’s a ‘FREE JAZZ’ set, apparently, which might mean anything, really, because that kind of ‘secrecy’ is the Hype Williams way. And while we’re on topic, Dean has released a new mixtape, titled ‘Skin Fade’ and featuring singer Joanne Robertson, which is free to stream as you please here:

Festival line-up update: Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Isle Of Wight, Ultra Europe and more

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

Ah, Radio 1’s big Big Weekend. This year’s free-entry (if you’re lucky enough to win one of the 60,000 tickets on offer) event will be based in Glasgow, and feature headliners in the twin forms of pop royals Rita Ora and Paolo Nutini, plus some other acts that haven’t so far been announced, so there.

Bristling with excitement, Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw says: “So excited to announce that we are going to be partying in Glasgow this summer! There is a rule that the further north you go, the more fun the gig will be, so I’m psyched to be in Scotland this year. Big Weekend always has the best line-up and kicking things off are Rita and Paolo. I can’t wait!”

As south as you can go without falling in the English Channel (but I’m sure this’ll be fun, whatever Grimmy says), on to the Isle Of Wight and it’s namesake festival, which has gained a pinch of naff pop spice, aka the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who pile on top of a bill also boasting Calvin Harris, Biffy Clyro, Rudimental and The 1975. Hey, remember when Isle Of Wight was a ‘rock’ festival?

The Chilis sure do, and to that end they say all together: “To headline the Isle of Wight Festival is a once in a lifetime opportunity, following in the footsteps of Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. When we were offered the slot, we jumped at the chance… it will be our only show in the UK/Ireland this year… so we intend to make it really special”.

Now flip through a list of recent updates made to the following festivals, which are all very special too:

ELECTRIC ELEPHANT, The Garden, Tisno, Croatia, 10-14 Jul: Norman Jay, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Prosumer, Awesom Tapes From Africa, Begin, Stevie Kotey, Man Power, Neil Diablo, Joe’s Bakery. www.electricelephant.co.uk

FOUND, secret location, East London, 14 Jun: Damian Lazarus, Cassy, DJ Sneak, Heidi, Ben Pearce, Noir, Dense & Pika, Ejeca, Josh Butler, Leftwing & Kody, Frankie Knuckles, Moodymann, Bicep, San Soda, Citizen, Son of Sun, Visions, Magda, Anja Schneider, Darius Syrossian, Francesca Lombardo, Geddes, Simon Baker, Matt Tolfrey, Jay Shepheard, Krankbrother, Jack C. www.foundfestival.com

HAMMERFEST, Haven Holiday Park, Gwynedd, Wales, 13-15 Mar: Avatar, Feed The Rhino, Savage Messiah, Attica Rage, Honour Is Dead, Sworn Amongst, Cyclamen, The Vintage Caravan, Skam, Throne, Desert Storm, One For Sorrow, Druganaut, Toranaga, Death Valley Knights, Primitai, Imicus. www.hammerfest.co.uk

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, 12-15 Jun: Red Hot Chili Peppers. www.isleofwightfestival.com

LARMER TREE, Larmer Tree Gardens, Tollard Royal, Wiltshire, 16-20 Jul: Tom Jones. larmertreefestival.co.uk

LENTE KABINET, Het Twiske, Amsterdam, 31 May: Dixon, Julio Bashmore, Theo Parrish, Actress, Machinedrum, Omar S, DJ EZ, Dusky, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Prins Thomas, Efdemin & Lawrence, Addison Groove, Tama Sumo, Fred P, Eye, Jungle By Night, Anthony Naples, Ron Morelli, Tom Trago, Huerco S, Mr Ties, Cinnaman, Jameszoo, Awanto 3, Casper Tielrooij, Thomas Martojo, Young Marco, Jan Van Kampen, Tako, Malawi, Orpheu The Wizzard, Radna Rumping. www.hetkabinetfestival.nl

PENN FESTIVAL, The Big Park, High Wycombe, 18-20 Jul: Betty Boo and Buzzcocks, Betty Boo, Robin S, CeCe Peniston, SL2, Baby D, Liquid, Livin Joy, Phats & Small, The Selecter, Ruts DC, Whigfield, From The Jam, Neville Staple, Hot Chocolate, The Dualers, The Members, Brother Beyond, Ed Tudor Pole. www.pennfestival.com

RADIO 1’S BIG WEEKEND, Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Scotland, 24-25 May: Rita Ora, Paolo Nutini. www.bbc.co.uk/events/ep3g9r

SNOWBOMBING, Mayrhofen, Austria, 7-12 Apr: Tom Odell, Clean Bandit, Pete Tong, Foxes, Apex Ape, Raffle Mafia. www.snowbombing.com

STOP MAKING SENSE, The Garden, Tisno, Croatia, 31 Jul – 3 Aug: Nick Höppner, Gerd Janson, T Williams, Leon Vynehall, Severino, Will Saul, Harri & Domenic, Kiwi, Danza Macabra, Mr Solid Gold, Park Ranger, Luka K, Zero, Anomalous DJ, Rufus & Bambi, Orlando Boom DJs, Ali Tillett, Ollie Seaman, Rob Aldritt, Blonde Ambition, Lovesick DJs, Madera Verde. stopmakingsense.eu

ULTRA EUROPE, Poljud Stadium, Split, Croatia, 11-13 Jul: David Guetta, Tiesto, AfroJack, Armin Van Buuren, Carl Cox, Hardwell, Blasterjaxx, Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke, Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, W&W. ultraeurope.com

Nordic Music Prize shortlists The Knife, Iceage, Rhye and Múm

Artist News Awards

‘Shaking The Habitual’ by Sweden’s The Knife, ‘You’re Nothing’ by Danish band Iceage, Icelandic group Múm’s ‘Smilewound’ and Norwegian singer Jenny Hval’s ‘Innocence Is Kinky’ are five of the twleve finalists shortlisted for 2014’s Nordic Music Prize, the Mercury-style ‘album of 2013’ award for Nordic nationals only. Though based in LA, ‘sensual R&B’ pairing Rhye’s ‘Woman’ also qualifies since it has original Dane Robin Hannibal on side.

Won in the past by Jónsi, Goran Kajfeš, and First Aid Kit, the prize is given under industry jurisdiction, by an international round-table of journalists and label execs. It’ll be awarded to one of the following artists, for one of the following LPs, as part of by:Larm festival, on 1 Mar.

Atlanter – Vidde
Death Hawks – Death Hawks
Hjaltalín – Enter 4
Iceage – You’re Nothing
Jenny Hval – Innocence Is Kinky
Jenny Wilson – Demand The Impossible
Minä Ja Ville Ahonen – Mia
Mona & Maria – My Sun
Múm – Smilewound
Rhye – Woman
Synd Og Skam – Lad Mig Falde Ind Til Dig/Center
The Knife – Shaking The Habitual

CMU Beef Of The Week #192: Prince v The Internet

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Prince has a beef. And that beef is with The Internet. No, not the Odd Future offshoot, the actual internet. All of it. Except his own website, I guess. Though you never know.

The artist currently known as Prince’s long running battle against those who would upload his music without asking him first is long and well documented. It all began in 2007, when the musician issued a takedown notice to YouTube, asking for a video of a baby dancing to his song ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ to be removed from the site. Which YouTube did. But the mother of the baby, Stephanie Lenz, then issued a counter claim to YouTube and got the video reposted. It now has over 1.25 million views, despite being really rubbish.

Not content with that, Lenz then sued Universal (which had actually issued the takedown) with the backing of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, saying that the music in the 29 second clip was covered by US fair use doctrine. Amazingly, through a series of rulings and appeals, this case is yet to reach a conclusion, with appeals from both sides currently awaiting a hearing in the Ninth Circuit appeals court.

What can we learn from this case? Well, arguably it has cost everyone involved far more in legal fees than any sum Prince has lost from having that video online. Plus that clip has now been watched over 1.25 million times more than you might have expected it to be. So from Prince’s side, a bit of a backfire.

Nonetheless, Prince’s crusade against the internet continues. And in 2010 he declared himself the winner, telling The Mirror: “The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it. The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you”.

He seemingly backtracked on that theory last year though, when he made a new video available for sale via his own website. Only via his own website mind, and only for money. Much to the distaste of many of his fans, who would have rather watched it on YouTube for nothing. And maybe put it into a playlist with that baby video too.

Shortly after that, Prince had another shot at taking down some short, barely audible videos. And more successfully this time, getting a whole load of six second Vine vids filmed at his SXSW performance last March taken offline. And this time no one even sued him for the takedowns, which is probably good news, as he’d had to fork out $4 million for failing to help promote some perfume just a year earlier. I’m sure he would have done all that promo work, had he not been distracted by all that internet.

Anyway, bolstered by that success (possibly), this month Prince went in for the kill. Having discovered that there were people in the world sharing bootlegs of his live performances, earlier this month he sued 22 bloggers making these recordings available. Given that this must have been going on amongst his fans since online music sharing first began, and via bootleg cassettes way before that, you have to wonder what took him so long to act.

Whatever, he filed a lawsuit stating that each of these file-sharing people – identified only by their Blogger usernames – now owed him $1 million each, plus whatever other money might be knocking around. Their sharing of his work, said the lawsuit in an attempt to justify the purple one’s claims for damages and demand for a jury trial, had “caused and will continue to cause substantial, immediate and irreparable injury to Prince for which there is no adequate remedy at law”.

It’s now three and a half years since even the Recording Industry Association Of America realised that this sort of lawsuit, ie directly suing music fans over file-sharing, is not a great course of action – mainly because of all the PR damage it does and the massive losses it leads to as legal costs mount up and damages payments only trickle in, if they come in at all.

And the good news for Prince fans hoping not to be sued, is that he’s seemingly realised this too. Or he got bored. One of those two things. Either way, he has withdrawn his litigation. His lawyer told TMZ yesterday: “Because of the recent pressure, the bootleggers have now taken down the illegal downloads and are no longer engaging in piracy. We recognise the fans craving for as much material as possible, but we’d prefer they get it from us directly than from third parties who are scalpers rather than real fans of our work”.

Prince has reserved the right to re-file the case if he sees fit though. But with all that off the agenda for the time being, at least he can concentrate fully on arranging the cushions on Lianne La Havas’s sofa for maximum comfort at his press conference in her living room next week.

Approved: Holly Herndon – Chorus

CMU Approved

Having released her debut album, ‘Movement’, through RVNG Intl in late 2012, experimental electronic musician Holly Herndon has returned with a new release for the label, a single called ‘Chorus’.

Despite having featured her in the Approved column once before, I should nonetheless admit that not everything Herndon does grabs me. Perhaps that’s the nature of music by someone so experimental. However, I’ll always eagerly hit play on any new music she puts out, because when she hits that biting point, it’s glorious. And ‘Chorus’ is one of those tracks that bites down hard.

Beginning as an abstract collection of noises, ‘Chorus’ quickly draws itself together, building into a thrilling six minute sonic ride of carefully woven beats and vocal samples. Check out the Akihiko Taniguchi-directed video here:

ReDigi secures patent for “copy-less” digital transfer technology

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal ReDigi Timeline

While the copyright legalities of MP3 resale service ReDigi remain very much in the air, the digital start-up has secured a US patent for its “copy-less” digital transaction technology.

As previously reported, ReDigi allows users to resell their digital content, making it an online version of the second hand record shop. But the record industry is pretty certain that such reselling of MP3s constitutes copyright infringement.

In the US much of the debate has centred on the so called ‘first sale’ doctrine, which specifically allows consumers to resell CDs. But the record companies – and in particular former-EMI-now-Universal division Capitol, which has led the legal action here – insist that principle doesn’t apply in the digital domain, because when CDs are transferred no copying takes place, but that’s not the case with MP3 transfers.

Except ReDigi insists that its technology means that no copying actually takes place when digital files are moved from one PC, over the net, to another via its system. And said system ensures the seller won’t have a version of the sold track on their computer post-transaction. Though all that possibly depends on your definition of “copying”. And either way, last year, after initially failing to secure a summary judgement on the matter, EMI got a court ruling in its favour.

Judge Richard Sullivan said: “ReDigi facilitates and profits from the sale of copyrighted commercial recordings, transferred in their entirety, with a likely detrimental impact on the primary market for these goods. It is beside the point that the original phonorecord no longer exists. It matters only that a new phonorecord has been created”.

But fighting on, ReDigi immediately said it would appeal that ruling, and anyway it now had a new version of its technology to which Sullivan’s judgement shouldn’t apply. And that technology has now been patented in the States. ReDigi says that its patent covers “a method for atomic transaction: a cloud-based mechanism that instantaneously transfers an ‘original’ good from one owner to the next, without making a copy”.

According to Computer World, the patent also covers a “verification engine: a mechanism that analyses each digital media file that enters the ReDigi system to ensure that it is legally eligible for resale” and “a removal and monitoring mechanism: a digital management application that helps sellers identify and ensure personal-use copies of the sold media are removed”.

Confirming his company had now secured patents for its content-transfer system, ReDigi founder John Ossenmacher told reporters: “ReDigi’s technology is significant and readily corrects early industry issues that have plagued digital retailing, including piracy, and opens new opportunities that allow consumers to use their digital media as currency for funding new purchases, in some ways transforming digital media analogous to digital bit coins. We are committed to ongoing innovation and ensuring that all parties, including consumers, copyright holders, and those who create the content have the opportunity to benefit greatly from the multi-billion dollar market in digital media that is owned by the consumer”.

The big question now is: if the patent system recognises the existence of “copy-less” technology, is that enough to circumvent copyright rules?

Of course, given that Sullivan explicitly stated that the aforementioned ‘first sale’ doctrine does not apply in digital in his ruling last year, the labels could argue that the terms and conditions of download stores don’t allow MP3 buyers to transfer ownership of the content they buy, oblivious of whether or not any copying takes place. Though while that would put the punters in breach of contract, it wouldn’t necessarily make ReDigi liable in the same way a copyright infringement would.

It remains to be seen what lawyers at Capitol or elsewhere in the music business do next.

Topspin makes “significant” number of staff redundant

Business News Digital Top Stories

LA-based direct-to-fan specialist Topspin made a number of employees redundant yesterday, with the cuts being described as “significant”.

The firm confirmed to Gigaom that staff cuts had occurred, but there has been no official word on quite how many employees were axed. Rumours of “major layoffs” stem from Twitter, where some axed staff indicated as many as half of the company’s workforce may have been for the chop.

Topspin was, perhaps, the highest profile start up in the direct-to-fan space, as artists and labels first began to appreciate, about five years ago, the potential of proprietary online retail set ups, selling content, tickets and especially merch and premium releases direct to core fanbase. And direct-to-fan arguably remains the domain of most opportunity for the music business.

Though, despite being a leading player in a booming strand of the industry, Topspin is also operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace, with numerous other start ups around the world gaining momentum, while some labels and distributors build their own in-house platforms, and the risk remains that Amazon could swoop in and take the top end of the market. And, in the early days at least, Topspin was often quite a bit more expensive than its competitors.

Which isn’t to say Topspin isn’t doing good business, and it continues to strike up high profile partnerships, such as the recent alliances on merch sell-through on the Spotify and Beats Music platforms. Though yesterday’s news suggests the company knows it needs to become ever more efficient to succeed in an increasingly competitive sector.

Bieber charged for striking limousine driver

Artist News Legal

I once got briefly hooked on a silly little typing-test-meets-Asteroids game after Justin Bieber mentioned it in an interview, such are the lengths I go to in monitoring the pop tyke’s life.

That admission probably tells you I’m not very discerning when it comes to gaming. So could someone who is please recommend a videogame that we could hook Bieber on to that would let him fulfil the needs of his “inner twat” in the virtual world? Then he could get on with the business of singing songs and staying out of everyone’s way in the real world.

Though I suppose we should stress that the Biebster is denying the latest police charges he is facing, these in Toronto relating to an incident last month. The popstar, having taken some time out since his last run in with the law in Florida last week, reported to a police station in the Canadian city yesterday to be charged with assaulting a limousine driver.

Police say that Bieber and five others were picked up outside a club in the city on 30 Dec by a limousine. They continue: “While driving the group to a hotel, an altercation occurred between one of the passengers and the driver of the limousine. In the course of the altercation, a man struck the limousine driver on the back of the head several times. The driver stopped the limousine, exited the vehicle and called police. The man who struck him left the scene before police arrived”.

Bieber’s legal rep denied the charge to the media on the popstar’s behalf, and said the case should be treated as a summary offence. The singer is now due to appear in court in Toronto on 10 Mar.

Meanwhile back in Florida, where Bieber faces charges of DUI, resisting arrest and driving with an expired licence relating to that alleged drag racing incident last week, the singer’s lawyers formally filed a written not-guilty plea yesterday. The same legal reps said it hadn’t been decided if their client will personally attend the previously reported 14 Feb court hearing relating to those alleged offences.

In other Bieber news, a petition on the White House website calling for the star to be deported from the US back to Canada because of last week’s charges has now reached over 100,000 signatures (just under 180,000 at the time of writing), which means it must receive an official response. Like with all these things, when the statement comes it’ll most likely say something along the lines of, “Don’t be so silly”. You never know though, do you? Though it’s worth noting the White House doesn’t actually have that power anyway.

Anyway, back to more important matters, I’m thinking Pacman for this video game. Though I read somewhere they’ve released games more recently than 1980.

Ministry Of Sound extends video partnership with Base79

Business News Deals Digital

Ministry Of Sound has renewed its deal with online video company Base79 for a further five years. Having worked together since 2009, Base79 now manages sixteen YouTube channels for the clubbing brand, and is looking to increase the firm’s audience and revenues on the Google-owned video platform as the deal continues.

Base79 is one of the largest companies of its type, managing YouTube channels for over 100 partners in music, including Tiësto, Richie Hawtin, Gilles Peterson, Black Hole Recordings and RAM Records, and apparently generating over 300 million views per month.

Chief Content Officer at Base79, Patrick Walker told CMU: “Ministry Of Sound has been a valued partner of ours for four years and continue to be pioneers in this space. Their long term commitment to YouTube and focus on audience development has created a template for dance music labels to follow, and we are privileged to ride shot-gun with them on this journey”.

Meanwhile Martin Kummer, Ministry Of Sound’s Head of Digital Channels & Group Marketing, added: “Exponential growth in video has become one of the big opportunities in music and Base79 has been instrumental in significantly growing our audience and monetising our content. We are excited to continue our partnership with Base79 and to fully leverage the synergies across our businesses”.

One Direction most successful recording artists in 2013, so take that America

Business News Labels & Publishers

One Direction were the most successful recording artists in the world last year, which we probably knew already, but it’s been confirmed by guys at the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, who’ve spent most of the last month counting.

And that’s counting every last CD sale, every vinyl transaction, every download and every single stream, to work out which artists enjoyed the most record selling, downloading and streaming action in 2013. Which is an awful lot of counting. I’d imagine Team IFPI could now do with a day focused exclusively on words instead of numbers, an away-day poetry seminar perhaps. Maybe focused on One Direction’s literary gem ‘Best Poem Ever’.

So, here they are, the ten biggest recording artists in the world. And while the Americans might dominate overall, hey, take that America, none of your hip hop stars, pop innovators and singing ladies could top our boys. And screw you Barbados, Canada and France, cos your top stars couldn’t beat Team 1D either. And you know what, we set up One Direction as a joke. How does that make you feel?

So, compulsory patriotism over, here’s the top ten.

1. One Direction
2. Eminem
3. Justin Timberlake
4. Bruno Mars
5. Katy Perry
6. P!nk
7. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
8. Rihanna
9. Michael Bublé
10. Daft Punk

Pleased as punch with our national team’s victory, we got on the old dog and bone and asked the 1D boys how they felt about this achievement. And they responded thus…

Niall: “Incredible news!”
Zayne: “Wowser!”
Liam: “Yowser!”
Louis: “Who were The Wanted again?”
Harry: “Motherfucking cunt of God, this is darn swell news”.

And at least one of those quotes is real. See if you can guess which one.

Ellen DeGeneres to front Beats Music’s Super Bowl ad

Business News Digital

Ellen DeGeneres will appear in the Beats Music advert due to be aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, the US talk show host announced on her programme yesterday. The advert, which she aired in full on the show, features her as Goldilocks dancing with three bears. And a wolf, for some reason.

The streaming service also aired an advert during the Grammy Awards on Sunday, featuring a voiceover by the company’s Chief Creative Officer, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. But the Super Bowl calls for something special – a talk show host and some dancing animals.

Watch DeGeneres’ ad, and her introduction to it, here:

Last.fm reinstates on-demand streaming through Spotify partnership

Business News Deals Digital

Last.fm has announced that it is re-instating on-demand streaming on its website, via a new partnership with Spotify.

Last.fm turned off its own on-demand streaming service in the last remaining territories where it was available – the UK, US and Germany – in 2010. Never the most user-friendly streaming service in the first place, Last.fm instead provided links to other places for on-demand listening purposes, including Spotify, MOG, Hype Machine, We7 and Vevo.

Though those links all involved users leaving the Last.fm website. This new deal will bring Spotify-hosted tracks into a player built into the Last.fm site (for people with a Spotify account), rather than sending them away somewhere else. This is something Daniel Ek said he’d like to provide Last.fm with at an OpenMusicMedia event in London back in 2009. Better late than never.

In a blog post explaining the partnership, Last.fm said: “We’ve teamed up with Spotify to bring their entire catalogue, on demand, to the world’s leading music recommendation service. Whether it be your own profile page, artist pages or album pages – if Spotify has it, you can play it and control it on Last.fm via the Spotify playbar at the bottom of the screen. Using your Spotify account (premium or free) you can listen to any track simply by pressing the play button. This will load all tracks on a Last.fm page as a playlist in Spotify”.

Last week, Last.fm also announced that it was testing changes to its personalised radio service to source music from YouTube videos, rather than tracks hosted by the site itself. Moving entirely away from self-hosted tracks would presumably mean substantial cost savings for the loss-making website, which may or may not placate current owner CBS.

BBC Radio 3 to run radio production workshops at Southbank Centre

Business News Education & Events Media

BBC Radio 3 has announced that it will run a series of radio production workshops in March, as part of a residency for the station at London’s Southbank Centre. The residency will also see a temporary studio built in the Royal Festival Hall, where members of the public can come and watch shows being broadcast.

A free, open session called ‘From The Concert Hall To Your Radio’ will run on 23 Mar and 29 Mar. In this talk, BBC technicians will discuss the process of a broadcasting a live performance, with a look specifically at the complexities of recording the organ. There will also be one-on-one sessions with BBC sound engineers to build a multitrack recording.

For those less technically minded, there will be a concert featuring young classical musicians on 23 Mar, as well as free lunchtime performances from clarinettist Mark Simpson on 21 Mar and saxophonist Trish Clowes on 28 Mar.

The events were announced yesterday as part of Radio 3’s spring season, which will also feature a new series from Norman Lebrecht about the relationship between music and Jewish identity, a day of music in celebration of Ravel’s birthday, and a new series of interviews with composers in their workspaces.

Slowdive reunite, confirm London show

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

1990s noise-pop longhairs Slowdive have, with minimal hoo-hah, confirmed their first shows in 20 years. They will, as fans might’ve noticed, play this year’s Primavera festival in Spain on 30 May, and one other date at London’s Village Underground on 19 May.

All five Slowdive originals – Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, Christian Savill, Simon Scott and Nick Chaplin – are involved, and they have said that the gigs are designed to finance the release of a brand new LP, the band’s first non-compilation since 1995’s ‘Pygmalion’.

Speaking to The Quietus this week, Halstead explained: “The initial impetus was the idea of doing some new music. It seemed easier to do that because it’s not so public. But then we thought it would be good if we could raise a bit of money to make the record, and doing a couple of gigs would enable us to do that. And that’s the way it shaped up – while we’re rehearsing we can see if we’ve got another record in us”.

He added: “We want it to be fun for us, but we also want the people who are into Slowdive to come and see the band and enjoy it for what it is. I’m not interested in any critical reappraisal. I meet a lot of kids who got into the records after we split up and they say, ‘I’d love to have got the chance to see Slowdive play live’. So for them, this is a nice opportunity and I hope they come out and enjoy it”.

Read the entire Quietus interview here.

Gruff Rhys digs up American Interior album, book, film and app

Artist News Releases

Super Furry pop auteur Gruff Rhys has announced an album, a book, a short film and an app, all at once, and all about an eighteenth century farmhand.

That is to say, all four parts of the venture, titled ‘American Interior’, draw in various ways from the story of one of Gruff’s ancestors, a John Evans, who in 1792 journeyed from his home in Wales to the US, looking for a long-rumoured Native American tribe called the Madogwys. Who, he’d heard it said, could speak Welsh.

What follows involves all kinds of wild creatures, capers, and coups, volcanoes and map-making, and a path Rhys himself retraced in 2012, taking an ‘Investigative Concert Tour’ over north America in search of Evans’ grave.

Gruff writes on his Gruffington Post blog: “Evans was last sighted in New Spain in 1799 under a new name: Don Juan Evans. Did he find the tribe he was looking for? What became of him? What is it that sends men and women to the ends of the Earth in the vain pursuit of glory?”

So since that’s largely unanswerable at this stage, I’ll move on, to the goods. The LP is out via Turnstile on 5 May, and was written partly whilst Gruff was on the tour. The book, a “historical travelogue” on both Evans and his own adventures, is published later that same month. The app is a sort of collage of over 100 pieces of animation, artwork, prose and audio clips.

Meanwhile the film, which charts the trip, is due via Soda Pictures on 9 May. This is its trailer:

Wye Oak to plant new LP

Artist News Releases

Baltimore folk rustics Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, known as Wye Oak, will on 28 Apr cut loose a new LP to follow 2011’s ‘Civilian’.

Constructed and co-produced by the duo and Nicolas Vernhes of the Rare Book Room studio in Brooklyn, ‘Shriek’ is, says its blurb, their “most personal” record to date. But then, they all say that.

Look on a bit further for the LP’s first single ‘The Tower’, and even further for its tracklisting:

Before
Shriek
The Tower
Glory
Sick Talk
School Of Eyes
Despicable Animal
Paradise
I Know The Law
Logic Of Color

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:11 | By Paul Vig

READ MORE ABOUT: Bobby & Steve Zoo | DJ Spen | Groove Odyssey | India | Masters At Work | Neil Pierce

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:10 | By Chris Cooke

A long running legal squabble in the US over what rights the Jimi Hendrix estate has to prevent others from selling goods using the late guitarist’s likeness has moved forward, with an appeals court overturning a contentious 2011 ruling on the matter.

READ MORE ABOUT: Experience Hendrix | HendrixLicensing.com | Jimi Hendrix

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:09 | By Chris Cooke

CI, which provides a digital delivery platform to independent labels and distributors across the world, has just announced five new deals.

READ MORE ABOUT: CI

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:08 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Calling All Cars | Cooking Vinyl | Kate Miller-Heidke | Röyksopp | UB40

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:07 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Merlin | MIDEM

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:06 | By Chris Cooke

Independent music publisher Imagem has announced the appointment of Jason Jordan, the former Columbia and Hollywood Records A&R chief who also co-founded the SynchTank platform, to the role of President at Imagem Music US, the firm’s “pop division” in America.

READ MORE ABOUT: Imagem | Jason Jordan

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:05 | By Andy Malt

A number of UK ticketing firms have agreed to declare booking fees and commissions up front, rather than at the checkout stage of the ticket booking process, following the most recent ‘ticket commissions are evil’ campaign from consumer rights group Which?, according to The Guardian.

READ MORE ABOUT: ATG Tickets | H Live Tickets | See Tickets | Stargreen | Ticket Soup | Ticket Web | Ticketmaster | Which?

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:04 | By Chris Cooke

The commercial radio sector’s trade body RadioCentre has a new CEO, following the departure of Andrew Harrison last September. Taking the reins on 31 Mar will be former civil servant and most recently communications chief at HarperCollins UK, Siobhan Kenny.

READ MORE ABOUT: RadioCentre | Siobhan Kenny

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:03 | By Chris Cooke

MusicTank has announced its next event, which will focus on both the hoo and the haa that has surrounded the growth of the streaming music sector in the last year, and especially what the move towards ad and subscription-funded all-you-can-eat music services means for the artist community.

READ MORE ABOUT: Billy Bragg | MusicTank

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:02 | By Chris Cooke

The Association Of Independent Festivals will host an all-day seminar on festival marketing next month, looking at how events can stand out in an ever-crowded market place.

READ MORE ABOUT: Association Of Independent Festivals (AIF)

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:01 | By Aly Barchi

Roger Daltrey has let the NME (and therefore, the world) in on his intention to begin working on a new LP with the rest of The Who before the year is out.

READ MORE ABOUT: Roger Daltrey | The Who

Friday 31 January 2014, 12:00 | By Andy Malt

To mark the 40th anniversary (back in December) of the release of his 1973 album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, Elton John has announced a new remastered version of the album on various formats and with various extras depending on how much money/enthusiasm you have.

READ MORE ABOUT: Elton John

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:59 | By Andy Malt

Slint’s cult classic second album ‘Spiderland’ is to get a deluxe boxset release, for no particular reason that I can see (it’s not a major anniversary, I mean).

READ MORE ABOUT: Slint

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:58 | By Aly Barchi

McFly plus Busted, or McBusted, announced earlier this week plans to stage a couple of outdoor shows once summer comes, with ‘support’ from the Backstreet Boys, Scouting For Girls and 5ive.

READ MORE ABOUT: Busted | McBusted | McFly

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:57 | By Aly Barchi

Rounding up the latest gig news…

READ MORE ABOUT: Dean Blunt | School Of Languages | The Warlocks

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:56 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Electric Elephant | Found | Hammerfest | Isle Of Wight Festival | Larmer Tree Festival | Lente Kabinet | Penn Festival | Radio 1's Big Weekend | Snowbombing | Stop Making Sense | Ultra Europe

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:55 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Iceage | Múm | Nordic Music Prize | Rhye | The Knife

Friday 31 January 2014, 11:54 | By Andy Malt

Prince has a beef. And that beef is with The Internet. No, not the Odd Future offshoot, the actual internet. All of it. Except his own website, I guess. Though you never know.

READ MORE ABOUT: Prince

Thursday 30 January 2014, 13:00 | By Andy Malt

Having released her debut album, ‘Movement’, through RVNG Intl in late 2012, experimental electronic musician Holly Herndon has returned with a new release for the label, a single called ‘Chorus’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Holly Herndon

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:59 | By Chris Cooke

While the copyright legalities of MP3 resale service ReDigi remain very much in the air, the digital start-up has secured a US patent for its “copy-less” digital transaction technology.

READ MORE ABOUT: Capitol | EMI | ReDigi | Universal Music

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:58 | By Chris Cooke

LA-based direct-to-fan specialist Topspin made a number of employees redundant yesterday, with the cuts being described as “significant”.

READ MORE ABOUT: Topspin

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:57 | By Chris Cooke

I once got briefly hooked on a silly little typing-test-meets-Asteroids game after Justin Bieber mentioned it in an interview, such are the lengths I go to in monitoring the pop tyke’s life.

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:56 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Base79 | Ministry Of Sound

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:55 | By Chris Cooke

One Direction were the most successful recording artists in the world last year, which we probably knew already, but it’s been confirmed by guys at the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, who’ve spent most of the last month counting.

READ MORE ABOUT: International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) | One Direction

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:54 | By Andy Malt

Ellen DeGeneres will appear in the Beats Music advert due to be aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, the US talk show host announced on her programme yesterday. The advert, which she aired in full on the show, features her as Goldilocks dancing with three bears. And a wolf, for some reason.

READ MORE ABOUT: Beats Music | Ellen DeGeneres | Super Bowl

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:53 | By Andy Malt

Last.fm has announced that it is re-instating on-demand streaming on its website, via a new partnership with Spotify.

READ MORE ABOUT: last.fm | Spotify

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:52 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Radio 3 | Southbank Centre

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:51 | By Aly Barchi

1990s noise-pop longhairs Slowdive have, with minimal hoo-hah, confirmed their first shows in 20 years. They will, as fans might’ve noticed, play this year’s Primavera festival in Spain on 30 May, and one other date at London’s Village Underground on 19 May.

READ MORE ABOUT: Slowdive

Thursday 30 January 2014, 12:50 | By Aly Barchi

Super Furry pop auteur Gruff Rhys has announced an album, a book, a short film and an app, all at once, and all about an eighteenth century farmhand.

READ MORE ABOUT: Gruff Rhys