CMU
Daily - on the inside Wednesday
9th March
In
today's CMU Daily:
- US media criticise Universal for glorifying violence
- Ja Rule pleads guilty after punch up
- Durst sues over sex tape copyright
- Nothing but the truth? Jacko trial update
- Live Review: The Bravery at Koko, Camden
- O2 and Clear Channel announce new London festival
- Stereophonics dates
- Cover mounts no more?
- Live Review: The Arcade Fire at London King's College
- Chrysalis defend performance
- Mel says Robbie's Spice Girl claims not true
- IFPI appeal to ISPs for collaborative effort against online
piracy
- Warner flotation could be imminent
- EP Review: Efterklang - Springer
- Smile DVD due
- QOTSA Homme thanks fans for their get well wishes
- Billie looking for a new record deal
- Kylie on kids
- Ashlee on her hard year
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CMU
PRESS ROOM>>
KILL
ALL HIPPIES RETURNS
After a short break, legendary rock night Kill All Hippies returns
in 2005 with a special music alliance with TuneTribe.com, fabulous
new artwork and two new rooms!! In 2004 Kill All Hippies introduced
some of the bands of 2005: Kasabian, The Duke Spirit, The Others,
The Rakes, 80's Matchbox B-line Disaster and Little Barrie,
to name a few. Watch out again because this year Kill All Hippies
will be the nurturing ground for another clutch of fabulous
British talent, destined for great things. This month the live
line up includes Planet Of Women, Youth Of Britain, Riff Random
and Elviss, with DJ sets from residents Eddy Temple Morris,
Jeff Automatic and Syrinx, plus the NME DJs. All take place
on Friday March 25th at Canvas, York Way, London, N1; 8.30pm
- late; tickets £5 (£3 in advance). Full press release
at:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/killallhippies
Advertise
your releases and events to CMU Daily's 6500+ readership - classified
ad and online press release package just £50 a year. Email
sales@cmumusicnetwork.co.uk for details, or check:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/info.pdf
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US
MEDIA CRITICISE UNIVERSAL FOR GLORIFYING VIOLENCE AFTER 50 CENT
/ THE GAME RUN IN
An editorial in the New York Daily News yesterday hit out at
the Universal Music Group for profiting from artists whose music
and actions would seem to incite violence - seemingly focusing
mainly on the hip hop artists signed to its hugely successful
Interscope division. The article accused Universal Music execs
Doug Morris and Zach Horowitz, and Jean-René Fourtou,
head of parent company Vivendi Universal, of building a business
around a culture which condones and participates in violence:
"each has made a devil's bargain to prosper by peddling
the destructive and the dangerous".
That
article is in response to the highly public feud between 50
Cent and his former band mate The Game, which was allegedly
behind two New York shootings last week. Some in the media feel
that those events, coming so close to Universal's huge marketing
push for 50 Cent's new album, means the label and their artists
are seen to glorify violence. As previously reported, those
same events also led to Rev Al Sharpton telling reporters earlier
this week that he thought media regulator the FCC should punish
artists who are involved in violence by banning their music
from the airwaves - "There has to be a way to step in and
regulate what's going on with the airwaves and with violence.
We may not be able to stop people from shooting, but we can
stop people from profiting from the violence."
However
the new pressure on Universal with regards to its relationship
with the more violent parts of the hip hop community may be
short lived, with signs the media agenda may turn back onto
the New York Daily News themselves with a number of New York
based civil rights groups reportedly angry with the paper's
editorial, which they say had a racist tone.
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JA
RULE PLEADS GUILTY AFTER PUNCH UP
Talking of hip hop stars in trouble, Ja Rule has pleaded guilty
to punching a man in a Toronto club last Jun. He was fined C$1500,
but avoided the more serious charge of assault causing bodily
harm, which could have resulted in jail time.
After
the court hearing the rapper, real name Jeffrey Atkins, told
reporters: "I just want to say I apologise to the city
of Toronto. I am just sorry for my actions."
His
lawyer explained that while the rapper was sorry for his actions,
in his defence he was taunted by other clubbers before lashing
out: "He is sorry for what he had done. But the judge found
the conduct of the patrons at the club unacceptable and called
it disgraceful. They had been taunting him earlier before the
assault took place. It was one punch to the eye of the victim
who he believed was insulting him."
The
judge hearing the case said: "Hopefully this was a one-time
outburst. He is a role model, looked up to by many people. Clearly
what Mr Atkins did was wrong... He has taken responsibility."
The
club bust up took place last summer when Ja Rule was in Toronto
filming 'Assault on Precinct 13'.
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DURST
SUES OVER SEX TAPE COPYRIGHT
Despite playing down the hacking and subsequent online release
of a home-made sex tape that had been stored on his personal
computer, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst has kicked off several multi-million
dollar lawsuits against various websites and ISPs who have been
hosting the video, and even against record label Roadrunner
because of their links with the Blabbermouth website which has
presumably been hosting the vid too.
The
lawsuits are accusing those websites who have been making the
video available of copyright violation - the singer apparently
copyrighted the sex tape shortly after it first surfaced online.
However, the Durst camp admits the lawsuits are just a strategy
to force websites to take the video off line and the Limp Bizkit
man's lawyers don't expect any of the litigation to actually
go to court.
Of
course given that Limp Bizkit are signed to Interscope, a Universal
label, presumably websites streaming the sex video will be required
to pay a penny each time the tape is streamed.
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NOTHING
BUT THE TRUTH? JACKO TRIAL UPDATE
The brother of Michael Jackson's accuser was back on the witness
stand yesterday as the Jacko child abuse trial continued. Again
Star Arvizo claimed he witnessed Jackson 'touching' his brother
sexually, as well as listing other ways the singer had behaved
inappropriately around the two brothers.
As
defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau took to the floor, once again
the strategy was clearly to discredit the whole Arvizo family
as witnesses (as yet the prosecution's whole case seems to rely
on their testimonies). Under questioning by Mesereau, Star admitted
that he had lied to the court in a previous case that the family
brought against retailer JC Penney five years ago. In that case
Star told the court that his parents never fought and that his
father never hit him. That, Star admits, wasn't true, though
he couldn't recall why he had lied.
Elsewhere
in Mesereau's attempts to discredit the Star witness (little
gag there, at no extra cost to yourself), the lawyer proved
that a porn mag it was claimed the singer had shown to the brothers
wasn't actually published at the time of the alleged incident.
He also seemed to uncover inconsistencies in Star's evidence
relating to whether or not an alarm outside Jacko's bedroom
was triggered on the two occasions he claims to have entered
the room and witnessed the alleged sexual abuse. While the teenager
denied he had changed his story, on numerous occasions he said
he "couldn't remember" what he had previously said.
To be fair, given the intensity of this trial, the hardline
style of Mesereau and the fact this kid is only 14, that was
kinda understandable.
After
the day in court a spokesman for Jackson, who isn't allowed
to comment on the trial himself, told reporters: "These
scurrilous and salacious accusations and details, all untrue,
were hurtful and embarrassing to Mr Jackson".
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LIVE
REVIEW: The Bravery at Koko, Camden on 2 Mar
The latest act to emerge from New York's rejuvenated music scene
is, of course, the Bravery, a five-piece from the Lower East
Side who are leading the way in '80's retro-gothic punk revival
along with The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. They can probably
be most closely compared to The Cure although there are also
undeniable similarities to New Order, Duran Duran, early U2
(before they all disappeared up their own backsides) and even
Adam And The Ants. The Bravery are by far the most stylised
band to jump on the 80's band wagon and their image is every
bit as important as their music. Recent single 'An Honest Mistake'
has to be their finest song to date and has aroused enormous
industry hype. But, while Koko was rammed with a hip crowd eager
to hear The Bravery's music, it seemed very few actually knew
much of the material. But the band, seemly unperturbed despite
the somewhat stilted atmosphere and deficient sound quality
at Koko, ploughed through their energetic set of electro-pop
rock anthems in their usual powerful, enthusiastic manner. Frontman,
Sam Endicott with his greasy quiff and leather wristbands, strikes
a sultry pose and lets the audience know who's in control while
heavily made-up bass player Mike H tears off his military wear
and reveals his customary bare-chested demeanour before diving
into the audience for a crowd surfing episode. In the meantime,
Endicott picks up the bass and nonchalantly continues where
Mike left off. 'An Honest Mistake' together with previous EP
title track 'Unconditional' are both show-stoppers and the audience
soon appreciate that the Bravery are every bit as good as their
hype suggests. They're sexy, dynamic, relentlessly energetic
and one of the few bands that are trying to break the mould...so
compare them to their contemporaries at your peril but more
importantly, revel with these revivalists while they last! JG
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O2
AND CLEAR CHANNEL ANNOUNCE NEW LONDON FESTIVAL
Phone company O2, Clear Channel and the Princes Trust have announced
the launch of a new multi-stage festival that will take place
in London's Hyde Park across four days in June. Each day will
essentially be a mini-festival in itself, headlined by New Order
(24 Jun), Basement Jazz (25 Jun), Keane (29 Jun) and Kasabian
(30 Jun) respectively. Alongside those headliners will be a
load of other artists and usual festival shenanigans, with a
specific remit to champion exciting new music.
Commenting
on the new festival Clear Channel's Festival Director Stuart
Galbraith told CMU: "We are proud not only to be continuing
the great tradition of live music in Hyde Park, but also to
be developing the template in conjunction with the Royal Parks
and Princes Trust for central London's first true festival.
Presenting emerging artists on the brink of breaking through,
alongside a mix of fantastic established acts is very rewarding".
O2's
Marketing Director Russ Shaw added: "O2 Music's sponsorship
of the Wireless Festival demonstrates our commitment to Music
and offers an opportunity to enhance the experience for our
customers. We are pleased to be supporting this event and bringing
the festival experience to central London."
Tickets
for all four days will go on sale on 12 Mar. Press info from
Velocity (press) or Scream Promotions (radio/TV).
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STEREOPHONICS
DATES
Now that you've brought up live music, Stereophonic have announced
some arena dates for later in the year. Here they are.
6
Sep: Glasgow SECC
9 Sep: Birmingham NIA
12 Sep: Sheffield Hallam FM Arena
13 Sep: Newcastle Metroradio Arena
14 Sep: Nottingham Arena
16 Sep: Manchester MEN Arena
19-21 Sep: London Carling Apollo Hammersmith
24-26 Sep: Cardiff International Arena
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COVER
MOUNTS NO MORE?
The Guardian is predicting the end of newspaper cover mounts
following that recent decision by Universal Music to stop allowing
any of its back catalogue music to be used by the newspaper
groups. Coming after EMI's decision last year to restrict the
use of their music on cover mounts to new artists or "deep
catalogue" only, the Guardian reckons that it will soon
become impossible for newspapers to aggregate enough content
for any cover mount that isn't based around the new artists
the labels are looking to actively promote.
The
increasing resistance of the labels to participate in cover
mounts is, the Guardian say, down to lobbying by the music retailers
who argue that while the labels earn a licence fee on promotional
CDs, the record shops lose out because of the impact the freebies
have on compilation sales.
They
quote HMV's Gennaro Castaldo as saying: "There has been
a noticeable impact on compilation sales ... Universal and EMI
have responded to lobbying from retailers and the managers who
represent the artists."
However
Universal head honcho Lucian Grainge says his company's new
no-covermount policy was an internal commercial decision rather
than a reaction to lobbying by the retailers: "We decided
to stop supplying them for a variety of reasons, partly oversupply.
It was purely based on commercial reasons."
Either
way, cover mounts are probably about to peak not so much because
of the new policies of the majors, but more because the medium
is becoming less effective for the newspapers because of the
shear number of generic cover mount releases. The next big craze
is almost certainly free DVDs, with a number of weekend newspapers
already plundering the movie studio archives for such promotions.
If
only there were people developing new promotional platforms
that serve both the newspaper publishers and the artists and
record labels. Ah, but there are. More on that tomorrow.
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LIVE
REVIEW: The Arcade Fire on 8 Mar at London King's College
Music, if nothing else, is a universal language that can bridge
people together, able to instigate visions that are mystic yet
apparent in equal measure. Privileged and gifted musicians can
evoke such emotion to yield more than joy and sorrow alike,
creating a drama so harrowing and a beauty so unique. With that
in mind, here come along a Montreal five-piece who have all
recently undergone the trauma of family members passing on,
nine in total in the midst of recording their debut album, the
fittingly titled, 'Funeral'. Tonight is the band's first ever
show outside North America, and 2004/2005's word-of-mouth sensations
meet an expectant but rather small crowd at the intimate, romanticised
setting of the Kings College Student Union, just next to the
River Thames. Singer Win Butler is observant to this - 'you
can also see your reflection'. Other than that, the band are
generally a quiet bunch with not much to say excluding the occasional
'thank you' and mandatory track introductions. It would be easy
to say the Arcade Fire walked onstage, played tracks from 'Funeral'
and walked off leaving us with smiles on our faces but, returning
the original theme, it's the way our hearts and minds were enraptured
full of emotive, heartwarming treasure to cherish that is most
worthy of note. All the band members are so talented at their
trade that they swap each other's instruments every other song
- without the slightest ounce of being pretentious or arrogant.
They opened up with 'Wake Up' - almost borderline with Polyphonic
Spree in terms of euphoric 'aahs'. Following that an epic cover
of Talking Heads' followed immediately by 'Neighborhood 2 (Laika)'
and 'Naïve Melody (This Is The Melody)' with real steel
drums in force rather than keyboards. Regine Chassagne was in
theatrical-mime artist mode for the time she was on vocal duties
for 'Une Annee Sans Lumiere' - with arms flailing around, a
great performance, though my personal favourite from the set
was 'Rebellion (Lies)' with a violin solo to make eyes water.
Closer 'In The Backseat' featuring a double-bass no less, prompted
the crowd to assume the band had left the stage with their instruments
in tow, only for them to walk through the door and into the
wild and unsuspecting audience. But enough of the specifics
- it is hard to put pen to paper to convey the sheer intensity,
energy, enthusiasm and wonder of Arcade Fire live. Frankly you'll
just have to see for yourself and find out just why we were
all blown away tonight. YN
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CHRYSALIS
DEFEND PERFORMANCE
Radio company Chrysalis has assured the City that trading is
in line with expectations despite disappointing audience and
advertising figures. The assurance was necessary after the company
issued a profit warning for forthcoming accounts, with income
hit mainly by recent ratings disappointments at its main London
music station Heart 106.2. But the company were keen to stress
recent profit disappointments were also down to the "volatility
in the national advertising market", and that recent improvements
in that area meant revenues were now back on track.
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MEL
SAYS ROBBIE'S SPICE GIRL CLAIMS NOT TRUE
Mel C has rubbished stories that Robbie Williams has bedded
four of the five Spice Girls. Those stories reportedly come
from an interview Robbie gave to an Argentinian radio station
at the end of last year when he said: "I've only got one
left to have had all of the Spice Girls".
Speaking
to Closer mag, Mel C says: "Victoria asked me about that
and said 'Well I know I've not slept with him.' And I know Emma's
not slept with him. I'd like to ask Robbie about this because,
to my knowledge, there are a few of the Spice Girls he didn't
sleep with."
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IFPI
APPEAL TO ISPS FOR COLLABORATIVE EFFORT AGAINST ONLINE PIRACY
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has
asked Europe-based internet service providers for their support
in fighting online piracy. The relationship between the ISPs
and the record labels has been strained in recent years, with
the former unwilling to reveal the identity of web users suspected
of copyright violation unless forced to do so by the courts
(the record labels can only track copyright violation to an
IP address, the ISP holds the name and address of the person
using that IP address).
Speaking
at a meeting of the European Telecommunications Network Operators
Association, IFPI chief John Kennedy suggested that the two
industries could work together on copyright issues in order
to end the legal wrangling between the two. He proposed the
ISPs take on the job of monitoring suspicious activity, alerting
the record labels of suspected copyright violation - some ISPs
have objected to demands by record labels to hand over the identities
of suspected violators because they do not trust the way the
music industry tracks file sharing online and they fear of falsely
accusing their customers. Kennedy continued: "As an industry
we ask you to help us build a bigger and better market for our
legitimate, authorized professionally created content and that
in turn will mean a bigger and better market for your commercial
services."
The
ISPs have always had an interesting relationship with the music
industry. They recognise that the music business is a useful
partner in encouraging increased usage of the internet - however,
at the same time, in recent years it has been the existence
of illegal P2P networks that has persuaded many music fans of
the need to upgrade to broadband. The music industry would argue
there are now sufficient legal music web services to provide
that incentive - whether the ISPs agree remains to be seen.
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WARNER
FLOTATION COULD BE IMMINENT
Word in the US is that the much talked about flotation of Warner
Music might be just days away. If so, that would mean Edgar
Bronfman Jr and his investment backers would be profiting from
a share sale less than a year after they bought the music company
off TimeWarner.
Experts
say a flotation could raise over $5 billion, considerably more
than the $2.6 billion Bronfman et al paid to acquire the label.
After paying investors and senior executives a handsome bonus,
the extra money would most likely be used to expand Warner's
music business interests, with some saying the major is interested
in branching into artist management by acquiring some of the
key players in that sector.
Some
are questioning why Warner would be so keen to push ahead with
a flotation so soon, while others claim the music company's
seemingly good recent performance has more to do with cost cutting
that growth, making it a less good investment than it may first
seem. Whether that talk will have any effect on the Warner top
guard's plans remains to be seen.
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EP
REVIEW: Efterklang - Springer (Leaf)
If ever a group's music could be described as "glacial",
then that group is Denmark's Efterklang. Like their acclaimed
recent album 'Tripper', this EP (a re-release of their limited
edition debut) comprises vast slow-moving, Arctic soundscapes
that take about 1000 years to drift by but leave you in doubt
about the monumental beauty and power therein. Elfin vocals
float by - like ships in the night, or ghosts in the machine
even - whilst the rest of the barren, snow-white landscape is
inhabited by classical strings and piano and subtle, windswept
laptronica sounds. The rattling guitar that punctuates the calm
of 'Bright' almost makes the track sound like a conventional
slice of post-rock, but elsewhere Efterklang really are on an
island of their own making. Recalling a heavily sedated Sigur
Ros, at best (the lovely plaintive 'Antitech') it's gripping
listening but, for the most part, frustratingly lacks the emotional
clout the instrumentation would suggest. But even if the destination
disappoints somewhat, it's still an intriguing journey. MS
Release date: 11 Apr
Press contact: No 9 [all]
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SMILE
DVD DUE
Warner imprint Rhino have confirmed they will release the DVD
'Brian Wilson Presents Smile' at the end of May. A two disk
set, the first disk will chronicle the making of the long lost
Beach Boys album, which was finally released last year, with
a Showtime documentary on the album plus four interviews with
Wilson. Disc two will include a full live performance of the
album in surround sound.
Meanwhile
Wilson has been speaking to Billboard about his next album:
"I think it will be a rock'n'roll album. Wouldn't that
be great? 'Smile' was a pop album. We need rock'n'roll for sure.
We just want to try to make something that makes people get
out of their seats and dance."
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QOTSA
HOMME THANKS FANS FOR THEIR GET WELL WISHES
Queen Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme has written a note on his
band's website to thank fans for their get well messages. As
previously reported, the band had to cancel three shows after
Homme began coughing blood.
Homme
writes: "I'd like to say thank you to all well wishers.
Your words and thoughts were printed out for me to read and
you know what, it mean a lot to me. It was just cool to see
sweet things instead of bottles of meds that were not meant
for recreation. I'm trying to think of something cool for all
who still got the tickets for the shows missed. I'm thinking
of a free vinyl 45. I just wanted to say thanks for understanding.
I feel better already."
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BILLIE
LOOKING FOR A NEW RECORD DEAL
Well here's something to brighten up your day - Billie Piper
is planning on relaunching her pop career. One source tells
the Sun: "Billie would love to make a return to the music
scene but she has to be happy with what's being offered. She
has been having talks with a number of labels, including Sony
BMG, but hasn't put pen to paper yet." Word is Billie,
who will play Dr Who's sidekick in the new series of the legendary
sci fi show, wants to record a mature, funky album.
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KYLIE
ON KIDS
More talk from Ms Kylie Minogue on whether she has left it too
late to start a family. Speaking to OK mag, Kylie says: "When
I was younger I always thought that I would have kids and thought
it was something that would happen naturally. But now I'm older,
I realise that it's something that might not happen. But I really
want to have children."
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ASHLEE
ON HER HARD YEAR
And talking about the woes of life, Ashlee Simpson has been
telling her fans about what a tough year she's been having.
She told her audience at a Chicago gig: "I've had a tough
year. But, I've learned a lot of lessons and the most important
is that I don't have to be perfect".