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CMU Planner – w/c 9 Sep 2013
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 9 September 2013
There are a lot of potentially big news stories stirring up on the fringes of the music industry this week. I say potentially big, depending on your view and level of cynicism, some of them may seem completely inconsequential. Whatever, it’s a mix of stuff from politics to awards. We’ll be reporting on all of it here at CMU, alongside a bunch of features including a report from last week’s Berlin Music Week and an interview with Volcano Choir.
Now, here’s a round up of all the news stories, events, new releases and gigs you should be looking out for this week.
Music biz bosses to breakfast with David Cameron. It’s thought the PM will discuss cracking this piracy thing once and for all with record industry execs this week (actually the Sunday Times originally reported this would happen last week, but apparently it’s this week coming). The music bods will presumably push for a date to be set to finally launch the three-strikes programme outlined in the 2010 Digital Economy Act. But Dave’s probably got an app that’ll fix it all without the bother. Possibly by auto-blocking so many random websites, everyone gives up on the internet entirely.
Apple to launch iTunes Radio in the US. We expect this to happen tomorrow, along with the announcement about the new iPhone(s). Specifics of Apple’s new Pandora-style music service will thus finally become clear. And Pandora’s share price will almost certainly wobble.
Inquest into the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha following the Australian radio hoax begins. Saldanha took her own life last December after putting through a call from two Australian radio presenters to the ward where the Duchess Of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness. An inquiry by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service cleared Michael Christian and co-host Mel Greig, who had pretended to be The Queen and Prince Charles, of criminal charges. An inquiry into Saldanha’s death begins on Thursday.
Mercury shortlist announcement. It’s time once again for the Mercury Prize shortlist to be announced. This Wednesday at 5.30pm, Lauren Lavern will read out the always unnecessarily controversial list at The Hospital Club in London. Check out a selection of contenders for the prize, as rounded up by CMU Editor Andy Malt, here.
Arcade Fire announcement. Arcade Fire are announcing something today at 9pm (New York time). That’s 2am here in the UK. So, you can either stay up. Or you can just assume all the cryptic stuff they’ve been doing with that ‘Reflektor’ logo is something to do with new song ‘Reflektor’, which leaked over the weekend.
New releases. Hey, there’s a new Arctic Monkeys album out this week, which starts well but then drags a little. It does start really, really well though. The same could probably be said for the new Janelle Monáe album. But it just occurred to me that I should probably play both a bit more before I pass judgement like that. Ignore me. Actually, don’t, because I still need to tell you about new albums from The Weeknd, London Grammar, Willis Earl Beal, Factory Floor, Summer Camp and Earth, Wind & Fire. Oh, and a seventeen disc John Martyn boxset. Plus some (much) shorter releases from FKA Twigs, Rainer, Society and Mark Professor.
Gigs and tours. Giant Drag and I Was A Cub Scout will be playing farewell shows this week – both a good few years after bowing out. Also departed, in the considerably more final sense, is Gil Scott-Heron, whose oeuvre will be revisited by Dead Prez’s M1 at The Jazz Café. Plus you can catch Leonard Cohen, Postiljonen and Altrego, plus Jessie Ware and Duke Dumont, all playing one-offs in the capital this week. Getting out on tour are Caitlin Rose, Soundgarden and Fuck Buttons.
