Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:22 | By

Approved: Hiro Kone

CMU Approved

Hiro Kone

Electronic artist Nicky Mao has been working under the name Hiro Kone since 2011. She released various EPs before unleashing last year’s debut album, ‘Love Is The Capital’.

In May she put out new EP ‘The Ghost Of George Bataille’, a collaboration with Coil’s Drew McDowall, and now she’s back again with ‘Pure Expenditure’, the title track from her new LP.

‘Pure Expenditure’ sees her team up with Japanese experimental trio Group A, who pull her further towards the harder edges of her own style. The results sound like the soundtrack to an industrial dystopia – nimble but nervous.

Listen to ‘Pure Expenditure’ here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:21 | By

Vivendi confirms it will sell a slice of Universal Music, but not by IPO

Business News Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Vivendi

Universal Music parent company Vivendi has confirmed plans to cash in on the renewed interest in music rights by selling off up to 50% of the music major, though it will do so through private deals rather than an initial public offering.

There has been speculation for some time that Vivendi would sell a slice of the Universal Music Group, which includes the Universal record companies and music publishing business, the Bravado merchandise empire, and various other what nots and thingamajigs in music, music entertainment and music partnerships.

Speculation heightened last year when Vivendi bosses started discussing a possible valuation for its music business in the wake of the streaming-fuelled resurgence of the record industry and the resulting renewed interest among investment types in owning and controlling music rights. Said Vivendi bosses subsequently confirmed that they were looking into the possibility of selling off some of Universal by listing the company on a stock exchange.

However, a possible IPO is no longer on the cards, with Vivendi yesterday announcing plans to instead sell off chunks of its music company to one or more “strategic partners”. Floating the business on a stock exchange would just be too complex, it explained.

The French firm told investors that its sale of some of Universal Music will likely begin this autumn, with the intention of having any offloading of equity completed within the next eighteen months. You know, before the steaming market crashes and the record industry is sent spiralling back into a period of doom and gloom.

The Universal Music business is a key asset of Vivendi, which also owns French TV channel and movie studio Canal+, the DailyMotion website, some ticketing and live music interests, and – as of last year – marketing and comms group Havas.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:20 | By

Sony confirms acquisition of Jackson estate’s share of EMI Music Publishing

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

EMI Music Publishing

Sony Corp has confirmed that it has now agreed a deal that will give it complete ownership of the EMI Music Publishing business, subject to regulator approval.

Sony, of course, led a consortium of investors to buy the EMI Music Publishing company back in 2012. Since then Sony’s own global music publishing outfit, Sony/ATV, has administrated all the EMI-controlled song rights.

Back in May, Sony confirmed it had agreed to buy out most of the other members of that consortium in a $2.3 billion deal that would give the Japanese conglom a 90% stake of the EMI songs business. As a result, EMI Music Publishing would become a “consolidated subsidiary of Sony”.

The remaining 10% of EMI was controlled by the Michael Jackson estate. The estate owned half of Sony/ATV at the time of the EMI transaction in 2012, Jackson having originally merged his ATV songs business with Sony’s music publishing division back in 1995. Sony bought the Jackson estate out of Sony/ATV in 2016, but that deal did not include the estate’s concurrent stake in EMI Music Publishing.

However, in its latest financial report to investors, Sony has now confirmed a separate deal to acquire the Jackson estate’s slice of EMI, which will make the publisher a wholly owned subsidiary that will likely be properly merged with Sony/ATV down the line.

However, Sony’s big bid to take complete ownership of the EMI song catalogues is still subject to regulator approval. The indie music sector will oppose the deal, though it seems likely that – if anything – regulators will force the offloading of some catalogues rather than blocking the transaction outright.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:18 | By

Troy Carter to exit Spotify

Business News Digital Industry People

Spotify

Spotify has confirmed that Troy Carter will stand down as its Global Head Of Creator Services in September, though he will continue to advise the company after his departure. One of the firm’s higher profile music industry hires, the artist manager and entrepreneur joined Spotify in June 2016.

With a number of senior execs at the company exiting since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year, there has been much speculation that Carter would be among them. And, of course, there was rumour that he’d resigned in protest during the hoo and the haa that surrounded Spotify’s controversial (though popular in some quarters) ‘hateful conduct’ policy when it was launched in May.

Confirming he was leaving Spotify, Carter told reporters: “I came to this company to help bridge the gap between Spotify and the creative community. Over time, that goal evolved from fixing a challenge to building a global team focused on changing the game for artists around the world, partnering with them to help bring their creative visions to life in new and innovative ways”.

He went on: “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved but with so much accomplished, it was the right time to move out of the day-to-day into an advisory role. The knowledge, relationships and personal experiences will remain with me and I know that this talented team is committed to continuing this important work”.

Boss man Daniel Ek also did some commenting on the news, stating: “By all measures, Troy has made a tremendous impact at Spotify. When he joined our team, there was skepticism from the artist community on streaming overall. Troy has been instrumental in changing that perception and his efforts to establish true partnerships across the industry will be felt for years to come”.

Ek added: “He’s built a very capable, global team that embodies an artist-first approach and this philosophy has been adopted across Spotify. We are in an excellent position to build on the momentum we’ve established well into the future”.

Carter’s departure will also see the merger of his creator services team with Spotify’s original content and playlisting unit, which will all be led by Nick Holmsten.

News of Carter’s departure follows confirmation last week that here in the UK former 1Xtra exec Austin Daboh, who joined Spotify two years ago, has been promoted to the role of Head Of Shows & Editorial. His promotion follows the departure from Spotify of his former BBC radio colleague George Ergatoudis, who has jumped ship to big bad Apple Music.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:17 | By

Abrupt closure of Radar Radio costs half a million in fees and redundancies

Business News Media

Radar Radio

Radar Radio paid out an estimated £270,000 in redundancy payments following its abrupt closure earlier this year, according to a Companies House filing made by the media firm.

The London-based urban-music-skewed online radio station suspended broadcasting in April after presenters left en masse following accusations of sexual harassment, homophobia and racism. At the time the station said it had “made the decision to suspend broadcasting until we are in a position to address the recent commentary around aspects of the station”.

That commentary had begun earlier the same month when DJ collective Pxssy Palace announced that they were leaving the station after “a string of disappointing experiences”.

Among a long list of accusations, they said that Radar aired “sexist, homophobic and transphobic shows”, had a culture of “organisational racism”, and had created “an uncomfortable and toxic environment which has led to the departure of many women of colour staff”. When expressing these concerns to senior execs at the station, they said there had been a “consistent reluctance to negotiate or properly discuss these issues”.

According to The Times, the new Companies House filing from the Radar Radio company states that the station made a loss of just over £1.3 million, up from £826,337, in the year to 28 Apr 2017. It then confirms that the business has had to “cease broadcast operations” since the end of the financial year outlined in the filing, paying out £270,000 in redundancy costs and £230,000 in professional fees as part of that process.

Radar Radio was set up by Oliver Ashley, the son of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, and was supported by loans from the latter’s company Mash Holdings. The broadcaster currently has debts of £4 million, mainly to the Mash Holdings company. The filing said Mash would continue to support the Radar Radio business in the short term, adding that Ashely Junior “has not determined what the future plans are for the company”.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:15 | By

Test Icicles’ Sam Mehran dies

Artist News

Former Test Icicles member Sam Mehran has died, his label GunkTV has confirmed. He was 31.

Mehran was a founder member of Test Icicles with Dev Hynes and Rory Attwell. The band released one album before splitting in 2006. Since then, Mehran had recorded as Outer Limits Recordings, releasing an album through GunkTV in 2016.

Writing on Instagram, GunkTV boss Zak Mering said: “RIP Sam Mehran. You will be sorely missed and loved by many forever. The most talented musician I’ve ever had the pleasure of being close friends with. I know you’re in a better place brother. You will not be forgotten”.

Meanwhile Mehran’s former bandmate Hynes also paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “Every time I was with you we were seventeen again. You were such a gift to this world. The floor has gone and I don’t know where to stand”.

Mehran recently co-produced Ssion’s latest album, ‘O’, which was released in May.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:06 | By

Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry announces two solo albums

Artist News Releases

Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry has announced that he will release two new solo albums over the next year. ‘Quiet River Of Dust Vol 1’ is set for release on 21 Sep and will be followed by volume two next spring. Ahead of them both, he’s released two songs from the first volume: ‘Sai No Kawara (River of Death)’ and ‘On The Ground’.

The seeds of these two releases date back to Arcade Fire’s first tour of Japan, when they visited a monastery on a break from shows. Here, he says, he and his bandmates experienced “the biggest silence you’ve ever heard”. He adds that “the song ‘On The Ground’ was inspired by an encounter with ghost voices in a Japanese forest near a temple on the mountain Koya-S?n”.

Referencing the director of the video that accompanies the tracks, he goes on: “I told director Caleb Wood the story – of being alone in this magical environment of giant cedar trees and hearing a loud chorus of powerful harmony singing that sounded inexplicably identical to my late father’s folk band the Friends Of Fiddler’s Green, who were the soundtrack to my entire childhood and upbringing”.

He adds: “I’m lousy at sitting still and being nothing. But being out in the natural world or being immersed in music is the meditation for me. That’s the heart of this record: the experience of transcending the place that you’re in, getting lost in the feeling of where you end and where the world begins, in a dreamlike world of music and thought”.

Watch the video for ‘Sai No Kawara (River of Death)’ and ‘On The Ground’ here:

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 11:01 | By

One Liners: Toto, Spiritualized, Phosphorescent, more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Spiritualized

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• After Weezer covered Toto’s 1982 hit ‘Africa’ earlier this year, Toto have now confirmed that they’ve recorded a cover of Weezer’s 2001 single ‘Hash Pipe’.

• Spiritualized have released new single ‘Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go’, taken from upcoming new album ‘And Nothing Hurt’. The band will play the Hammersmith Apollo on 21 Sep.

• Phosphorescent will release new album ‘C’est La Vie’ on 5 Oct. From it, this is ‘New Birth In New England’.

• Connie Constance has released the video for her single ‘Yesterday’.

• Petite Noir is back with new single ‘Blame Fire’. The track is taken from his new EP, ‘La Maison Noir’, which is out on 5 Oct.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

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Tuesday 31 July 2018, 10:59 | By

Sky Ferreira sends SOS to Soundcloud via Instagram 

And Finally Artist News

Sky Ferreira sent out an SOS to Soundcloud this weekend, claiming that she had been locked out of her profile on the platform and needed help getting back in. And if you’re thinking Ms Ferreira should do a better job of managing her logins and passwords, according to the musician the lock-out was the fault of her label, who changed the passwords and didn’t tell her what the new login info was.

In a post on Instagram, a frustrated Ferreira said that she was forced to let her label control her Soundcloud presence following the release of debut album ‘Night Time, My Time’ in 2013. She doesn’t name the label she’s aggrieved with, though Universal’s Capitol released that record. Either way, while in control of the page this label apparently changed all the account gubbins and, now that Ferreira wanted to get back in there to post some new music, the person who did the changing was nowhere to be found.

Her Instagram-delivered call for help stated: “I can’t access my own account that I started and uploaded everything myself … I was forced/told I had no choice to hand over my account information to my label after my album came out. They gave me the wrong information and changed it so I can no longer access it. The person who changed the login is unreachable and the contact no longer exist. I need it back ASAP”.

Appealing to Soundcloud’s ‘we’re the creator’s friend’ mantra, she concluded: “I earned the hundreds of thousands of people that follow the account without my label and have never had help for anything on social media or whatever. I think of Soundcloud as the website that allows musicians to have freedom. Please help xx”.

But hey everybody, there’s a happy ended here. “Thanks to my fans and Soundcloud for helping me get my login back so quickly” she declared yesterday, and on her Soundcloud page too, proving this happy ending was definitely for real. She celebrated by posting a new track on that SoundCloud page, with more new music promised. This follows indications that the long-awaited follow up to ‘Night Time, My Time’ might finally be released this year.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:21 | By

Final day of Camp Bestival cancelled due to severe weather

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business Top Stories

Camp Bestival

The UK’s weeks-long heatwave came to an abrupt end this weekend with heavy rain, thunderstorms and high winds. This meant that after a string of festival weekends where the main issue was keeping everyone hydrated, a number of events around the UK were called off because of the wind and rain. The most notable was the final day of this year’s Camp Bestival, which was cancelled due to safety concerns.

The first three days of the festival went off as planned, with headline sets from Orbital, Clean Bandit and Rick Astley. However, on Sunday morning, it was announced that high winds would mean a delay in getting the event’s various arenas opened. Delays continued as the situation was assessed further and ultimately the entire final day of the event was cancelled.

In a statement, organisers said: “We are utterly devastated and heartbroken to say that we have been advised by our safety teams that we can not re-open arenas again today due to the severe weather and the forecasting of continual high winds and rain today”.

“We have had the best three days in Camp Bestival’s history”, they continued. “It’s been our greatest ever show with all our favourite performers, shows, stages and artists which we have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with you all. You are by far the best festival audience and we love you dearly. This has been such a tough decision, but the safety of all you guys, the families, kids, and our working staff has to be of paramount importance”.

While the festival itself stopped, it was announced that the campsites would remain open until 2pm on Monday, with traders continuing to operate in these areas. Some people did choose to stay, although flooding in parts of the campsites and the poor conditions in general meant that others had already begun to leave before the cancellation was even announced.

A ticket refund policy will be published “as soon as possible”, said organisers.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:19 | By

Instrumental announces data deal with Official Charts Company

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Official Charts Company

Instrumental, the start-up which showcased its data-driven talent scouting platform at CMU’s AI Conference at The Great Escape this year, last week announced a new deal with The Official Charts Company. The new alliance will, reckons the firm, “enrich its data set and enhance emerging talent discovery for its UK subscribers”.

The company already pulls in and crunches data from various sources to – it brags in its sales pitch – “deliver real time intelligence on emerging artists to A&R and talent scouting teams in the music and entertainment industry”. It will now include official sales and streaming data as collected by chart compilers the OCC into that mix.

Says Instrumental CEO Conrad Withey: “Our sole purpose is to identify exciting new artists on a daily basis for our customers qualified by data science across the best possible data set. Integrating the OCC allows us to add another level of credibility to those results through verified sales and streaming information across all digital platforms and physical outlets. This deal will expand our data science leadership and ensure Instrumental remains the most comprehensive talent discovery tool in the industry”.

OCC boss Martin Talbot adds: “The Official Charts survey generates the most comprehensive consumption data the music industry has at its disposal and we are delighted to finalise this agreement with Instrumental, to help power their impressive new service”.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:18 | By

Concord acquires Fania

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Fania

US-based Concord Music has announced that it has acquired Latin-orientated music company Fania Records And Publishing. Previously owned by the Miami-based Codgio Entertainment, Fania controls around 19,000 master recordings and a songs catalogue of around 800 works across a wide range of genres.

“Concord has made a very significant commitment to the acquisition and management of key Latin catalogues”, says Concord’s Chief Business Development Officer Steven Salm. “To have the opportunity to add a crown jewel of Latin music like Fania, with its incredible roster of artists and songwriters, excites all of us at Concord”.

The firm’s CEO Scott Pascucci adds: “We are huge fans of Fania and its extraordinary musical legacy. As investors, the acquisition makes sense because of the growth in streaming and the demographic shifts in consumption – and we want to be at the forefront of investing in that shift. But, more importantly, we love the music and couldn’t pass on the opportunity to bring [it] to future generations around the world”.

Among the recordings in the Fania catalogue is Pete Rodriguez’s ‘I Like It Like That’, which is currently earning good money thanks to a sample used in Carbi B’s ‘I Like It’.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:15 | By

House Of Lords warns of lack of clarity on post-Brexit touring

Business News Live Business

Houses Of Parliament

The European Union Committee in the UK’s House Of Lords has published a report warning that the live music industry does not have enough information on how Brexit will affect touring in Europe. And that’s both UK artists heading to the continent and musicians from elsewhere in the EU coming here. The report states “the cultural sector urgently needs more clarity on free movement post-Brexit”.

“The cultural sector relies on highly talented individuals, yet often pays salaries that are less than the UK median”, the report says. “Bringing EU cultural workers under the same restrictions as third country nationals could therefore prove detrimental to the sector, because existing visa rules require a minimum salary in excess of what many cultural organisations can offer. As a result, the UK may struggle to attract talent”.

The Committee then recommends the introduction of a ‘touring visa’ which would also improve access to the EU for British performers and their backstage crew post-Brexit. Currently musicians in the UK can move around other EU countries freely, making touring across the entire region relatively frictionless. However, non-EU artists face much tougher restrictions, which can differ greatly from country to country. These restrictions are often costly and time consuming.

Welcoming the report, UK Music’s Director Of Government And Public Affairs Tom Kiehl says: “UK artists and musicians currently build fanbases and get vital employment opportunities by touring the EU, yet there is a real risk that new restrictions on freedom of movement will make this more difficult”.

“Since the EU referendum two years ago, the UK music industry has been united in its calls for reciprocal arrangements to be achieved to allow UK performers to continue to tour the EU with ease”, he goes on. “The government must now take forward the House Of Lords’ sensible recommendations for a ‘touring visa’ for musicians to guarantee UK performers can continue to benefit from EU touring post-Brexit”.

The House Of Lords report follows an interview in the Radio Times last week where WOMAD Festival Director Chris Smith said the current political climate in Britain is already having a negative impact on his event, which brings in many artists from outside the EU. He told the magazine that he is increasingly finding that artists decline to come to the UK to play because of the complex visa process.

“The saddest thing is always the number of artists struggling to get visas to come and perform”, said Smith of his event. “What we’re seeing this year is unexpected and even more depressing, which is artists saying [they’re] just not going to tackle the immigration system, saying it’s too difficult and too expensive, and it’s humiliating. Artists have accepted our invitation and then looked into the visa process and have told us, ‘sorry we’re just not going to do this’. That’s a situation we should be ashamed of”.

“African artists can get as far as, say, Paris or Rome quite easily”, he added. However, “we’ve had situations where, say, an African artist has been due to come who plays a particularly rare instrument, and we’ll be asked, ‘can’t you find someone in the UK who plays that instrument?’, which is absurd”.

Smith added that the continued chaos of Brexit was also putting off artists from visiting the UK. “It’s always, ‘Brexit – what is happening?’ People can’t understand what we are doing”, he said. “It certainly isn’t painting the UK in a good light internationally”.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:13 | By

Shareholders back Disney’s Fox purchase

Business News Deals Media

21st Century Fox

Shareholders last week approved Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox to create a new entertainment industry powerhouse.

The Walt Disney Company announced late last year that it had agreed to buy most of the Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox in a deal worth $52.4 billion. Much of Fox’s US-based movie and television assets, plus its stake in the Sky TV business in Europe, are part of the deal.

It doesn’t include Murdoch’s media business News Corp – which owns newspapers and radio stations in the UK – and which was spun off from the movie and TV empire back in 2013. A handful of Fox’s news assets – including the infamous Fox News – are also not part of the deal, which will see Fox’s shareholders own 25% of the combined Disney/Fox business.

Shareholder approval for Disney’s big buy was expected. So there were no surprises when stockholders from both companies signed off on the arrangement late last week. The deal is still subject to regulator approval in some countries, although the American competition regulator has already OKed the arrangement.

Disney and Fox hope that by combining their businesses they can better compete with newer online rivals like Netflix and Amazon.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:12 | By

John Maus’s brother and bandmate Joe dies on tour

Artist News

John Maus

John Maus’s brother and bandmate Joseph Maus has died while they were on tour in Latvia. The cause of death has not yet been announced. He was 30.

In a statement, John Maus’s US label Ribbon Music said: “We regret to inform you that Joe Maus passed away on Saturday 28 Jul in Cesis, Latvia while on tour with his brother John”.

“Those of us at Ribbon Music and Domino Recording Co who had the pleasure of working with Joe, a fixture in his brother’s band since its inception, are heartbroken”, the statement goes on. “We offer our deepest and most sincere condolences to Joe’s family Robert, Sue, Kevin, Stephanie and John Maus, as well as his bandmates Luke and Jonathan, and all those suffering this tragic loss”.

All remaining John Maus tour dates have been cancelled.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:09 | By

Researchers say Paul McCartney “misremembers” writing Beatles song

Artist News

The Beatles

The exact authorship of various Beatles songs remains up for debate. However, we may now have an answer to whether John Lennon or Paul McCartney contributed more to at least one song, ‘In My Life’. And it’s all thanks to mathematics.

Mark Glickman, senior lecturer in statistics at Harvard University, and Jason Brown, Professor Of Mathematics at Dalhousie University, have created a computer model which breaks Beatles songs down into 149 different components. From this, it creates a musical fingerprint for each songwriter, which can then be used to identify each member’s work across the band’s oeuvre.

McCartney maintains that Lennon put lyrics over his music on ‘In My Life’, a track from 1965 album ‘Rubber Soul’. Although Lennon reckoned McCartney was only responsible for the middle-eight and harmonies. The researchers have sided with Lennon, saying that there is only a one in 50 chance the whole composition is a Macca original.

“We wondered whether you could use data analysis techniques to try to figure out what was going on in the song to distinguish whether it was by one or the other”, Glickman tells The Telegraph. “The basic idea is to convert a song into a set of different data structures that are amenable for establishing a signature of a song using a quantitative approach”.

“The probability that ‘In My Life’ was written by McCartney is .018”, he says. “Which basically means it’s pretty convincingly a Lennon song. McCartney misremembers”.

The division of labour between Lennon and McCartney on other Beatles songs – including ‘Help!’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ – remain contested. The researchers haven’t yet given a definitive answer on those, but they do reckon that another ‘Rubber Soul’ track – ‘The Word’ – is actually a McCartney composition, despite being credited to Lennon.

Anyway, McCartney refuses to comment and Lennon is dead, so who knows?

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Monday 30 July 2018, 12:07 | By

Justin Bieber’s lyrics analysed for Shawn Mendes beef

And Finally Artist News

Justin Bieber

DJ Khaled has released a new track, ‘No Brainer’, which features vocals from Chance The Rapper, Migos’s Quavo and one Justin Bieber. It’s a partial reunion of the guest list that appeared on last year’s ‘I’m The One’ – missing only Lil Wayne. But what people seem to be most interested in is what Bieber’s lyrics on the track may or may not have to say about Shawn Mendes.

Mendes, you see, is the ex-boyfriend of Bieber’s fiancée Hailey Baldwin. I mean, maybe. Mendes and Baldwin’s rumoured relationship was a hot topic in gossip columns and on social media, although they regularly maintained that they were just friends. Then last month Baldwin and Bieber officially got back together, having split up in 2016, promptly getting engaged.

Anyway, now I’ve infected your brain with all this nonsense too, here’s the latest development. On this new DJ Khaled track, Bieber sings “You stick out of the crowd, baby, it’s a no-brainer / It ain’t that hard to choose / Him or me, be for real, baby, it’s a no-brainer”.

So, obviously what he’s saying there is that Hailey Baldwin is so good looking that his decision to chose her as a potential mate is pretty simple. However, she has another suitor, and she must chose between the two of them. That said, Bieber is clearly the better option, so her decision, like his, should be taken in an instant in his favour.

Of course it might also be that the lyrics are super generic and don’t really mean anything at all. I mean, they sort of relate back to the track ‘I’m The One’, which came out over a year ago, and also sees Bieber pleading with a girl to select him over all others. So maybe it’s just a continuation of a theme deemed relatable to consumers.

But the possibility of it being a genuine dig at Mendes is a better story, I guess. And there are other lines that hint at animosity between the two singers. For example, “Pop the top, drop-top, baby it’s a no-brainer” is obviously a dig at Mendes’s famous clumsiness when opening jars.

Anyway, the track is taken from DJ Khaled’s new album ‘Father Of Asahd’, which came out on Friday. Here’s the video for ‘No Brainer’:

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Monday 30 July 2018, 11:50 | By

Approved: Ishmael Ensemble

CMU Approved

Ishmael Ensemble

Having expanded last year from multi-instrumentalist Pete Cunningham’s solo project – Ishmael – into a six piece group, Ishmael Ensemble have begun releasing music that will make up their debut album, ‘Severn Songs’. The first in a series of seven-inch releases features two tracks, ‘The Chapel’ and ‘Full Circle’.

All the songs that will eventually make up the album are inspired by Cunningham’s hometown of Bristol and the surrounding area. The two newly released jazz and electronic-influenced instrumentals conjure broad scenes of bustle and calm.

Watch the video for ‘Full Circle’ here:

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Monday 30 July 2018, 08:19 | By

CMU Digest 30.07.18: MMA, ticket touts, Eventbrite, Cliff Richard, Spotify

CMU Digest

US Congress

The key stories from the last week in the music business…

Songwriter groups in the US said that last minute lobbying by private equity group Blackstone could scupper the entire Music Modernization Act. Blackstone owns collecting society SESAC and mechanical rights administrator the Harry Fox Agency. It’s bid to amend the copyright law reforming MMA as it works its way through Senate is designed to protect the interests of HFA, with the MMA set to create a new mechanical rights collecting society in America. Blackstone and SESAC insist their last minute lobbying won’t kill the new act, but various songwriter groups criticised them for intervening so late in the day. [READ MORE]

The Irish government confirmed it would back new laws in the country that will outlaw ticket touting at many venues. Ministers there reviewed the secondary ticketing marketing after two Irish MPs – Noel Rock and Stephen Donnelly – proposed new rules to limit the resale of tickets for profit. Following that review the government is backing proposals to “ban the above-face value resale of tickets for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of 1000 or over”. [READ MORE]

Ticketing platform Eventbrite filed confidential paperwork in the US as a first step to an Initial Public Offering. It is one of the few ticketing start-ups to have gained traction in a notoriously hard market to crack. It did this by initially targeting more grass roots promoters and event organisers and then gaining global scale by acquiring a number of rival start-ups with a similar approach. It is expected to become a publicly listed company later this year. [READ MORE]

The BBC agreed to pay £850,000 towards the legal fees run up by Cliff Richard during his court battle with the broadcaster. It follows the recent high court ruling that the Beeb infringed Richard’s privacy rights by broadcasting a police raid on his house in relation to historical sex abuse allegations that never resulted in any charges. The judge who heard the case refused to back an appeal of his judgement last week, though the BBC can still take the matter direct to the Court Of Appeal and may well do so. [READ MORE]

Spotify confirmed it now had 83 million paying subscribers, up from 75 million earlier in the year. The new stats brag came in the streaming music firm’s second quarterly report as a publicly listed company. With Apple now outperforming Spotify in terms of growth in the US, it also stressed growth rates in a number of key emerging markets, in particular in Latin America. [READ MORE]

The big deals from the last seven days in the music business…
• AWAL signed a new deal with Deadmau5 [INFO]
• Merge signed Fucked Up [INFO]

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Sunday 29 July 2018, 20:23 | By

Setlist: Mercury Prize, MMA, Taylor Swift

Artist News Awards Business News Labels & Publishers Legal Setlist

Mercury Prize

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last seven days, including the Mercury Prize and National Album Day announcements, fears that last minute lobbying on the Music Modernization Act might kill it, and claims that noted protector of her own trademarks Taylor Swift might have infringed someone else’s. Setlist is sponsored by 7digital.

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Stories discussed this week:

• Mercury shortlist announced
• National Album Day to celebrate albums nationally on a day
• Campaigners fear Music Modernization Act could falter because of HFA intervention
• SESAC responds to criticism of its late minute Music Modernization Act lobbying
• Taylor Swift sued over Swift Life app

In brief:

Billy McFarland reaches deal with SEC over Fyre Festival fraud
Eventbrite files paperwork for IPO

Also mentioned:

• Chris’s Music Moderization Act panel at Midem:

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:53 | By

Vigsy’s Club Tip: Jazzanova at Islington Assembly Hall

Club Tip CMU Approved

If I’m being honest, my attention this weekend will mainly be on the 100 mile charity bike ride I’m doing in aid of Prostate Cancer UK on Sunday. Yes, in this heat! Any sponsorship much appreciated. But when it comes to music, the arrival of Jazzanova at Islington’s Assembly Hall tonight is this week’s stand out for me.

Jazzanova are ace, of course. Formed in 1995, this Berlin-based collective have taken the nu jazz sound to dance floors the world over. Known for their studio albums, live and DJ sets, and sterling remix capabilities, this outfit also gave us the magnificent Sonar Kollectiv label.

Tonight they descend on Islington to play tracks from their latest album ‘The Pool’, which was released last month. Paul Randolph and Rachel Sermani will be on vocal duties, amongst others.

Friday 27 Jul, Islington Assembly Hall, Upper Street, London, N1 2UD, 7.00pm-11.00pm, £15 in advance, info here.

Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:50 | By

BBC agrees to pay Cliff Richard £850,000 as judge refuses appeal in police raid reporting case

Business News Legal Media

Cliff Richard

The BBC’s initial attempt to appeal last week’s ruling in its legal battle with Cliff Richard was knocked back yesterday, as it emerged it had agreed to pay the singer £850,000 towards his legal costs. The broadcaster now needs to decide whether to take the matter directly to the Court Of Appeal or just accept judge Anthony Mann’s conclusion that it infringed Richard’s privacy rights when it named the singer as the subject of a police investigation.

Richard sued the BBC and South Yorkshire Police, of course, over the former’s coverage of a police raid on his home in Berkshire in 2014. The raid was part of an investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse that had been made against the pop star. No charges were ever pressed as a result of that investigation due to a lack of evidence.

The BBC’s coverage of the police raid was unusually sensationalist for the broadcaster, with a helicopter filming the action from above. Richard argued that the coverage infringed his privacy rights and – in doing so – damaged his reputation.

Although South Yorkshire Police – which had liaised with the BBC on its coverage – settled with Richard, the case against the Corporation went to court. And last week the judge ruled that the BBC had indeed infringed Richard’s privacy rights, adding that the broadcaster’s own right to freedom of expression did not excuse the privacy violation. The broadcaster was ordered to pay the singer general and aggravated damages of £210,000.

The BBC indicated that it might appeal that ruling almost immediately. While admitting that, with hindsight, it could and possibly should have covered the police raid in a different way, it added that it felt Mann’s ruling set a dangerous precedent. In particular, Mann had said that the mere act of naming Richard as the subject of the police investigation was an infringement of the star’s privacy rights, with or without all the sensationalist reporting layered on top.

Responding to the judgement last week, BBC Director Of News And Current Affairs, Fran Unsworth, said: “Even had the BBC not used helicopter shots or run the story with less prominence, the judge would still have found that the story was unlawful … This judgment creates new case law and represents a dramatic shift against press freedom and the long-standing ability of journalists to report on police investigations”.

Lawyers for both sides in the dispute were back in court yesterday as the Beeb sought leave to appeal from Mann himself. According to the Telegraph, the BBC’s chief legal rep, Gavin Millar, argued that issues raised in this case meant that there was a “compelling reason” for an appeal to be heard. He added that last week’s ruling had implications on all media and there was a “real prospect” of success in any appeal proceedings.

He then noted that with last week’s judgement and the damages awarded “the risk is a severe chilling effect on the freedom of the press in relation to reporting police investigations”.

For their part, lawyers working for Richard unsurprisingly opposed the BBC’s request for an appeal hearing. Lead lawyer Justin Rushbrooke told the judge: “What your Lordship has done is faithfully and painfully apply the law to the facts of this case. It is about time the BBC took a realistic view of this matter”.

Mann sided with Richard’s team denying the BBC leave to appeal at this stage. Which means the broadcaster must now decide whether to go to the cost and the hassle of seeking permission to appeal Mann’s ruling from the Court Of Appeal itself.

And those costs are mounting. BBC reps confirmed yesterday that the broadcaster had agreed to pay Richard £850,000 towards his legal costs. This is in addition to the £210,000 damages awarded last week and another commitment by the Beeb to cover £315,000 in legal costs incurred by South Yorkshire Police. The BBC’s own legal costs are on top of that, and those will continue to rise if it decides to head to the court of appeal.

In a statement yesterday, the BBC defended its decision to ask Mann for leave to appeal, though added that it was yet to actually decide on its next move in this dispute. A spokesperson said: “This is a complex case and while we hadn’t decided on whether to pursue an appeal, we sought permission today in order to keep all options open”.

Again noting concerns around the precedent set in this case and the impact it could have on media reporting of police investigations in the future, the spokesperson added: “We reiterate that we are very sorry to Sir Cliff for the distress caused and have no desire to prolong this case unnecessarily, but the ruling has raised significant questions for press freedom and we are considering the best way to address these”.

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:41 | By

Irish government to back ticket touting ban proposals

Business News Legal Live Business

Ticket touts

The Irish government earlier this week confirmed plans to support new laws that would make some ticket touting illegal in the country. In addition to the customary bots ban, the new rules would outlaw the resale of tickets for profit entirely for some venues.

Better regulation of the secondary ticketing market has been a talking point in Ireland – as elsewhere – for sometime now. Two members of the Irish parliament in particular, Noel Rock and Stephen Donnelly, proposed news laws to limit the resale of tickets for profit, resulting in a government review of the resale sector last year.

There were indications earlier this year that, on the back of that review, Irish ministers were considering some sort of outright ban on ticket touting, in addition to outlawing the use of software by the touts to hoover up large quantities of tickets from primary sites.

Earlier this week the country’s Minister For Business, Enterprise And Innovation – Heather Humphreys – announced plans to amend and then support the legislative proposals previously made by Rock and Donnelly.

According to her department, the new rules would “ban the above-face value resale of tickets for sporting and entertainment events in designated venues with a capacity of 1000 or over. It would also prohibit the use of bot software to purchase tickets in excess of the number permitted by event organisers”.

Announcing the move, Humphreys said: “It’s wrong that people who make no contribution to sport or music can profit from the resale of tickets for sell-out matches and shows. In doing so, they deprive genuine fans of the opportunity to attend these events, and the time has come to put a stop to it. I am confident that this bill will have the support of the main sporting bodies, of many artists and promoters in the entertainment industry, and of music and sports fans right across the country”.

Welcoming the government’s moves, Donnelly added: “Time and time again, fans are being told that all tickets are sold out on the primary sales website, while almost immediately being able to buy those same tickets at much higher prices on other websites. Fans suffer, as do artists and sporting bodies. This legislation is a strong move to protect fans, artists and sporting bodies, and I very much look forward to getting it through [parliament] and into law as quickly as possible”.

Rock, meanwhile, said that “Ireland is set to take the lead in effectively banning ticket touting”. He went on: “The legislation proposed is ambitious and sensible: it ensures an effective ban on ticket touting and also a ban on bots from snapping up tickets. I have no doubt that for sports and music fans, this legislation will be a game changer”.

He then added that, assuming the proposed laws are indeed passed in Ireland, he hopes “we see other nations across Europe replicating it”. A number of European countries have been introducing new regulations with regard ticket touting, not least the UK. Though not all countries plan to go as far as actually banning the resale of ticket for profit, even for some venues and shows.

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:40 | By

Latin American markets helped Spotify add eight million new subscribers in last quarter

Business News Digital

Spotify

Spotify’s quarterly reports as a publicly listed company are still novel enough to cause a ripple of chatter among the music community. Meanwhile on Wall Street, yesterday’s update on the market-leading streaming service’s subscriber numbers and revenues initially caused the firm’s share price to wobble a bit. But it then later peaked at $198.99 a share, its highest share price since the company listed in April.

The headline figure of the latest quarterly report was that Spotify now has 83 million paying subscribers, up from 75 million in the previous quarter. Which means the streaming firm continues to boast impressive growth figures, even if it is still a loss-making enterprise for now. Operating losses this quarter were 90 million euros.

With lots of reporting of late about how Apple Music is starting to outperform its main rival in the US market, Spotify made much of its successes beyond the United States yesterday, and especially in emerging markets. Growth rates are particularly impressive in Latin America, it added.

That led to questions about Spotify’s plans to further extend the number of countries it operates in and the licensing challenges that must be tackled with each new country it enters. There has been particular talk recently about how licensing challenges are delaying a launch for Spotify in India.

Responding to that chatter, Spotify boss Daniel Ek conceded that licensing deals are “always a complicated manoeuvre”, according to the Financial Times. As a result, he said, he couldn’t “accurately estimate” when Spotify would launch in India. Nevertheless, Ek added that he was confident Spotify would retain its market-leadership status in paid-for streaming, despite the challenge posed by Apple in America.

CMU, of course, is an important Spotify shareholder. What, with our single share and all. Had we sold that yesterday we’d have been $43.82 up on the deal. Exciting times. We’re holding out for the big $50 pay day, though. Don’t screw it up Spotify!

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:35 | By

Tom Morello announces guest-heavy solo album

Artist News Releases

Tom Morello

Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave and Prophets Of Rage guitarist Tom Morello has announced a new solo album, ‘The Atlas Underground’. Although he hardly recorded it on his own. A long list of collaborators includes RZA, Big Boi, Killer Mike and that Marcus Mumford.

“The riffs and the beats led the way, but the extraordinary talents of the collaborators set my creativity into uncharted territory”, says Morello.

“I’ve been devoted both musically and as an activist to fighting injustice at every turn” he continues. “Amid this heightened sense of impending doom, it’s now time to rally the troops in a last-ditch effort to save the planet and our artistic souls. By challenging the boundaries of what music is and has sounded like before, you can open people’s eyes to changing the status quo in society”.

The album is out on 12 Oct. You can watch the video for ‘We Don’t Need You’, featuring Vic Mensa, here.

And here’s the full list of songs and their guests:

Battle Sirens (feat Knife Party)
Rabbit’s Revenge (feat Bassnectar, Big Boi and Killer Mike)
Every Step That I Take (feat Portugal. The Man and Whethan)
We Don’t Need You (feat Vic Mensa)
Find Another Way (feat Marcus Mumford)
How Long (feat Steve Aoki and Tim McIlrath)
Lucky One (feat K Flay)
One Nation (feat Pretty Lights)
Vigilante Nocturno (feat Carl Restivo)
Where It’s At Ain’t What It Is (feat Gary Clark Jr and Nico Stadi)
Roadrunner (feat Leikeli47)
Lead Poisoning (feat GZA, RZA, and Herobust)

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:29 | By

Estrons announce debut album

Artist News Releases

Estrons have announced that they will release their debut album, ‘You Say I’m Too Much, I Say You’re Not Enough’, in October.

Ahead of the LP, and upcoming UK festival and tour dates, the band have released new single ‘Camera’. The song is written by vocalist Tali Källström as a message to her son to be read (or, I guess, listened to) in the future. 

Listen here…

The album will be released on 5 Oct. Before that, the band are set to support Garbage at three UK dates in September. They’ll then tour the UK under their own steam in November. As well as that, they’ve also announced a standalone London show at The Scala in February. So, fill your diaries with that little lot.

Tour dates:

1 Nov: Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
2 Nov: Glasgow, King Tut’s
3 Nov: Newcastle, Think Tank
7 Nov: Manchester, Soup Kitchen
8 Nov: Bristol, Louisiana
9 Nov: Nottingham, Bodega
14 Nov: Exeter, Cavern
15 Nov: Birmingham, Castle & Falcon
16 Nov: Brighton, Green Door Store
17 Nov: Caernarfon, Galeri
23 Nov: Carmarthen, The Parrot
6 Dec: Cardiff, Globe
7 Feb: London, Scala

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:24 | By

Chance The Rapper to headline 1Xtra Live

Artist News Gigs & Festivals Media

Chance The Rapper

BBC Radio 1Xtra has announced that this year’s 1Xtra Live bash will be headlined by Chance The Rapper. Other acts on the bill include Pusha T, Jorja Smith and Yxng Bane. It’s set to take place at the O2 Arena on 22 Sep.

“I’m very excited to be performing at the O2, let’s turn it into the O4”, says Chance The Rapper. “I haven’t played London in a minute you know, I’d say I’ve got quite a few fans out there so I’m ready to get back and playing with y’all. The 1Xtra audience can expect to see the best show they’ve ever seen”.

Other acts set to join him at the, er, O4, are Chip, Ella Mai, Mist and Mr Eazi, with more acts still to be announced. 1Xtra’s DJ Target, Charlie Sloth and Dotty will also be on hand to keep things running smoothly.

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:18 | By

One Liners: Deadmau5, Jungle, Metric, more

Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Deadmau5

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Kobalt’s AWAL has signed a new deal with that Deadmau5 you all love so much. The new alliance relates to his new ‘Mau5ville’ project, which includes new music and some remixes. AWAL boss Lonny Olinick was keen to note Deadmau5’s “raw talent and clout”. Consider it noted. We love clout.

• Jungle have announced that they will release new album ‘For Ever’ on 14 Sep. They’ve released two new singles, ‘Heavy California’ and ‘Cherry’. Hedging their bets, the video for one is a Spotify exclusive, while the other is on Apple Music only.

• Metric have released new single ‘Dressed To Suppress’. “Lyrically, the song explores the maze of conflicts we encounter in our attempts at finding and holding onto love; the absurd mating rituals we routinely perform; and the vast divide between the desires our appearances can imply and the way we actually feel inside”, says vocalist Emily Haines.

• Yazoo will release remastered versions of both of their albums, plus remixes and BBC sessions, on 26 Oct. Look, here’s a John Peel session version of ‘Don’t Go’.

• Josh T Pearson has a video for ‘A Love Song (Set Me Straight)’. He’ll play St John On Bethnal Green on 4 Dec.

• Felicita has released two new singles, ‘Coughing Up Amber’, which features Caroline Polachek, and ‘Shook’, which doesn’t.

• Peter Murphy has announced tour dates to mark Bauhaus’s 40th anniversary. He’ll hit the UK in December, including a show at The Forum in London on 9 Dec.

• Mercury nominees Sons Of Kemet will play Koko in Camden on 23 Oct. Let’s all go.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily – updated every Friday.

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Friday 27 July 2018, 11:15 | By

Beef Of The Week #414: Ryuichi Sakamoto v bad restaurant music

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Japanese artist, composer and record producer Ryuichi Sakamoto has achieved a lot in his 40-odd year career. Just his output as a member of The Yellow Magic Orchestra alone is worthy of a dissertation. Then there’s his soundtrack work, which has won him an Oscar, a BAFTA and a couple of Golden Globes. He also composed music for the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympics. Plus he’s produced artists from Paul Oakenfold to Aztec Camera. And that’s all on top of his own lengthy discography.

His latest project, though, is… a playlist for a restaurant in New York. This unlikely sounding story was uncovered by journalist Ben Ratliff, who then wrote about it for the New York Times. Having been told by a friend that Sakamoto had curated the music being played at an NYC Japanese restaurant called Kajitsu, he sought confirmation of that fact from said restaurant. When management there confirmed it was so, Ratliff then got in touch with Sakamoto himself in order to ask the obvious question: “why?”

The short answer is that Kajitsu is Sakamoto’s favourite restaurant but he hated the music they were playing there. “I cannot bear it”, he says of situations where terrible music is being played in a public space, but “normally I just leave”. However, “this restaurant is really something I like and I respect their chef, Odo”. Nevertheless, on one occasion the terrible background music got too much. “I couldn’t stay, one afternoon”, he says. “So I left”.

Departing simply because of the background music does seem rather extreme, but Sakamoto takes sound very seriously. The NYT article notes that he “often uses a decibel meter on his phone to measure the volume of the sound around him”. And it does seem that the musician had been working quite hard to force himself to sit through his meals at Kajitsu.

But it was “so bad, so bad”, he says. “Really bad”.

“It was a mixture of terrible Brazilian pop music and some old American folk music, and some jazz, like Miles Davis”, he explains. All stuff that would be fine in the right context, but not while you’re trying to relax with some finely crafted Japanese food. Except the Brazilian pop, for which there is seemingly no right context. It’s “so bad” he reiterates.

So, following that fateful afternoon when the background tunes became just too much, Sakamoto offered to take over the restaurant’s playlist himself, if only so that he could carry on eating there. They took up his offer, but it wasn’t an immediate success, it seems. An initial collection of ambient music selected by Sakamoto proved too dark.

I know how he feels. I recently inserted fifteen minutes of somewhat ‘difficult’ noise-pop into a DJ set in a café in the middle of a sunny Sunday afternoon, which had fairly mixed results too. By ‘mixed’, I mean ‘entirely negative’.

Although I enjoyed it, which I think is the most important thing. Some of my faculties may be a little off, though. My mealtimes are all soundtracked by a three year old repeatedly shouting “Alexa! Play ‘Shake It Off’!” at the moment.

Having subsequently finessed his Kajitsu playlist, Sakamoto says he now plans to update it for each new season, so it appears he’s in this for the long haul.

There are companies out there which do this sort of work for swanky eateries and retailers of course, so Sakamoto didn’t necessarily have to go to all this effort. But it does mean that he can now be sure of being able to enjoy a meal at his favourite restaurant without any jarring musical moments. And it’s quite a coup for a Japanese restaurant to find itself in possession of a bespoke playlist made by a bonafide Japanese musical legend.

I get the impression that Sakamoto is doing this simply because he likes the food at Kajitsu so much. But maybe this could be a new revenue stream for artists everywhere. I’m sure restaurants and other businesses would pay handsomely to have the right playlist by the right artist.

Burgers soundtracked by Bieber. Coffee by Beyonce. You could buy your fruit and veg listening to songs chosen by Mumford & Sons. Pick up your dry cleaning to some of George Ezra’s favourite songs. And then everything else will just be fucking Drake.

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Thursday 26 July 2018, 11:16 | By

Mercury shortlist announced

Artist News Awards Business News Top Stories

Mercury Prize

The Mercury shortlist has been announced, with Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen and Everything Everything among those in the running to have their most recent musical efforts declared the best British album of the last year.

Over 200 of your new British and Irish LPs were submitted for consideration this year, which have now been whittled down to a final twelve. That shortlist of albums was announced at a noble gathering of shortlist of albums fans in London this morning.

The judging panel tasked with making that damn shortlist – and then cutting it down further to just one winner – consists of broadcasters Clara Amfo, Danielle Perry and MistaJam; Radio 2 and 6 Music Head Of Music Jeff Smith and Radio X Head Of Music Mike Walsh; journalists Harriet Gibsone, Phil Alexander and Will Hodgkinson; and musicians Ella Eyre, Jamie Cullum, Lianne La Havas and Marcus Mumford.

This year’s ceremony – where that overall winner will be unveiled as everyone else is officially branded a loser – is set to take place at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 20 Sep. Yeah it’s called the Hammersmith Apollo. Look at us getting through this whole story without namechecking either of the two brands that have bought ‘naming rights’ here.

We’re only namechecking Mercury because it no longer exists. Yeah Hyundai and Eventim, come back to us when you’re a defunct phone network, then we’ll namecheck you.

And the full shortlist is:

Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
Everything Is Recorded – Everythign Is Recorded
Florence And The Machine – High As Hope
Jorja Smith – Lost & Found
King Krule – The Ooz
Lily Allen – No Shame
Nadine Shah – Holiday Destination
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built The Moon?
Novelist – Novelist Guy
Sons Of Kemet – Your Queen Is A Reptile
Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life

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