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The ten most-read news stories on theCMUwebsite.com in May 2013

By | Published on Monday 3 June 2013

Steve Mason

The news story that caught the most attention on theCMUwebsite.com in May was a report on Steve Mason’s accusations that Samsung had plagiarised a video by his former group The Beta Band for a new TV advert. As Mason noted when speaking to us, such accusations are not uncommon by artists, but the story still gained a lot of interest, with additional reports by NME and Private Eye, amongst others.

At number two was perhaps a more predictably popular story – that of rapper Danny Brown receiving oral sex from a fan during a gig. Though it’s also worth reading the follow-up to this, comments from Kitty Pryde, who was the support act at the show, on exactly what happened and the aftermath both in the media and on the tour bus.

Hip hop-related stories make several appearances in this month’s top ten. Dr Dre sits at number three, with a report on his plans to get back to the studio – though apparently not to finish his long awaited ‘Detox’ album – and also to make a film about his former group, NWA. Meanwhile, at six, is the news that a judge ordered the arrest of rapper Tim Dog, despite his death being widely reported earlier this year.

Making the first of two appearances, at four is the sudden closure of London’s Cable nightclub by Network Rail – the last of three venue spaces under London Bridge Station. Coming in at number eight is a further statement from the club’s founder, saying that he’d had assurances that it wouldn’t be affected by plans to redevelop the station.

At number five is a report on apparent plans by the BPI to see a court injunction to force UK ISPs to block Grooveshark, along with a number of file-sharing websites. And speaking of file-sharing, after last month’s dance around different domains, The Pirate Bay settled in Iceland, at least for now.

Elsewhere, at number seven is the news of the cancellation of the Hop Farm festival, while coming in at number ten is a story published right at the end of the month, on Arts Council England chief Alan Davey’s claim that state funding is required in pop music to counter “failure” on the part of record labels to invest in new talent. Needless to say, those comments didn’t much please the record labels, causing him to backtrack a little the next day.

Our five most popular features in May were a report from The Great Escape by Dan Le Sac, in which he asked why more artists didn’t attend the conference section of the festival, where their futures are directly discussed. After that came a playlist from folk musician Sam Amidon, followed by a Beef Of The Week column looking at the bizarre entrance exam employed by security at Venue Cymru for a Vaccines gig there, an interview with Ninja Tune-signed singer-producer Emika, and a Festival Line-Up Update column featuring the announcement of a London edition of the Electric Daisy Carnival.

The top ten most-read news stories in full:

01 Samsung accused of plagiarising Beta Band video for new advert
02 Danny Brown keeps rapping despite some special attention from a fan
03 Dr Dre to go back to his first love: the studio, making NWA film
04 London nightclub Cable closed down as Network Rail sends in bailiffs
05 BPI to call on courts to block Grooveshark
06 Judge orders arrest of “dead” rapper Tim Dog
07 Hop Farm Festival cancelled
08 Cable founder says Network Rail gave assurances club would not be closed
09 The Pirate Bay moves to Icelandic domain
10 Record industry hits out after Arts Council chief says new fund is required to counter market failure

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