CMU
Daily - on the inside Friday
8th April
In
today's CMU Daily:
- Juicy revelations what we need: Jacko trial update
- Warner receive third subpoena from Spitzer
- Cash in for Warner top guard
- Napster announce partnership with Toshiba
- A sign for Cobain
- Single Review: Le Tigre - After Dark
- White Stripes single
- Papercut launch
- MTV confirm launch fate for new online service
- More Killers v Bravery bitching
- Royksopp back with new album
- 1000 entries for Mercury Art & Music Prize
- Glasto ticket agency looking into complaints
- Oasis leading in battle for pre-orders
- Coldplay secret gig
- Sanctuary to manage Fightstar
- Single Review: Etienne De Crecy ft Camille - Someone Like
You
- C4 likely to get additional Freeview channel
- Eminem single release
- Elton compares Eminem to Hendrix
- Gaming edging ahead of music in popularity stakes
- J-Lo to be J-Ant
--------------------------------------------------
CMU
PRESS ROOM>>
CARLING
LIVE 24
Carling, the beer behind some of Britain's biggest and best
live music events, is presenting another 24 hour music marathon.
Following the success of 2004's Carling Live 24 event in London,
this year Carling will be bringing an all day all night line
up of great live music to both London and Manchester, the former
on 30th April, the latter on 28th may. 26 bands and 13 venues
will take part in the event, with Embrace, The Zutons, Ian Brown,
Babyshambles, The Chemical Brothers, Doves and Kaiser Chiefs
among the artists on the bill. For full press information check
the CMU Press Room - where more media information will appear
as it is available:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/carling24
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
--------------------------------------------------
CMU
FRIDAY TIPS
VIGSY'S
CLUB TIP: Koko Saturday at Koko
I've heard a number of good reports of the former Camden Palace
since the Mint Group threw all that cash at it, and certainly
they've had a nicely varied line up since it reopened as Koko.
This week KOKO Saturday sees the mighty Gilles Peterson, host
of Radio One's Worldwide show of course, presenting a Heavy
Hitters Vol 2 night, with a live PA from Eska, a set from MC
Dynamite(-e), and shenanigans courtesy of those broken beaters
- Bugz In The Attic. Resident GP (still worth checking) will
be on the decks, as will his sidekick Benji B and DJ's Perry
& Seymour, and MC Earl Zinger (a bit hit and miss, but his
'Escape From Ibiza' single did make me smile, well, a little).
All in all, should be good busy night.
Saturday 9 Apr, Koko, 1A Camden High Street, London NW1 7JE,
10pm-4am, £10, info www.koko.uk.com
--------------------------------------------------
JUICY
REVELATIONS WHAT WE NEED: JACKO TRIAL UPDATE
Well, after a pretty dull week in the Jacko trial, yesterday
there were some decent juicy revelations to keep the gossip
hungry crowds satisfied - and about time too.
Those
juicy revelations, however, centred on the Jordy Chandler case
from back in 1993 rather than the current allegations being
made by Gavin Arvizo. As you will remember, the prosecution
have been given permission to drag up past child abuse allegations
that have been made against Jackson as part of their bid to
portray the singer as a serial child abuser. The Chandler case,
of course, was the first time major child abuse allegations
were made against Jackson, but the claims were never tested
in either the civil or criminal courts because the Chandler
family reached an out of court settlement with Jacko and committed
to not testify in court.
Yesterday's
court proceedings centred on the evidence of one Ralph Chacon,
a security guard at Neverland back in the early nineties, who
claims he saw Jackson misbehaving with a then 13 year old Jordan
Chandler. Chacon said he once saw Jackson and Chandler in a
whirlpool bath. They then headed to the shower together. Because
they had been in the bathroom for sometime Chacon took a peek
through an open window to see what was happening. It was then,
he alleges, that he saw Jackson first caressing the boy's hair,
then kissing his body, before moving down and kissing the boy's
penis. On another occasion he claims he saw Jackson kiss Jordy
passionately on the lips and touch his groin.
He
told the court room: "I was thinking: 'What's going on
in there? Grown man in the shower with a boy... it wasn't right
... I saw Mr Jackson caressing the boy's hair. Then he moved
down and started kissing him." When he claimed that Jackson
had kissed the boys genitals prosecutor Tom Sneddon asked "Did
you actually see that happen?", to which Chacon replied:
"Yes". Asked why he didn't report the incident at
the time - he first told police what he saw when put under oath
during a 1994 police investigation - he said that prior to that
he didn't think police would believe him if he told them his
allegations.
Needless
to say, Jackson's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, set about questioning
Chacon's credibility as a witness. He argued Chacon had an axe
to grind after being sacked from Neverland. He sued Jackson
for wrongful dismissal when he lost his job in 1994. Jackson,
Mesereau said, successfully countersued, and Chacon was ordered
to pay more than $1m in legal costs and damages, as well as
$25,000 for stolen property. The case continues.
Elsewhere
in Jacko trial news, officials have been told that jurors were
overheard during a break laughing about some of the evidence
given that day, mocking the witnesses who have been testifying.
Sky News' Robert Cole claims he walked past an area where jurors
were taking a break and heard one of them mimicking someone
crying while others laughed. The joking followed the tearful
testimony of Jason Francia, who claimed he needed five years
of therapy after Jackson molested him on three separate occasions.
Cole
said: "All I heard was, 'He was like uh-huh-huh (imitating
a crying sound)' and then I heard laughter. It sounded like
they had just heard this kid crying and they were kind of laughing
at what had happened, mimicking him". The Sky reporter
discussed the jurors' comments with former Santa Barbara sheriff
Jim Thomas, who is an analyst for NBC News and a close friend
of the aforementioned prosecutor on the case, District Attorney
Tom Sneddon. Thomas then told a media manager at the court so
that the incident could be reported to the court administrator
Darrel Parker because jurors are not meant to discuss the case
with each other until all the evidence has been delivered and
they move into the jury room. However Parker said he did not
feel the need to look into the matter, telling reporters: "It
is an unsubstantiated rumour and there is no investigation".
It
is most likely that it was what Cole heard that led to the previously
reported rumour that a juror had been overheard sarcastically
mimicking a witness in the case by saying "Oh boohoo, Michael
Jackson tickled me." However Cole stresses: "I didn't
hear any names or anything - so I don't know [for sure] if they
were talking about him or not."
--------------------------------------------------
WARNER
RECEIVE THIRD SUBPOENA FROM SPITZER
Warner Music has received another subpoena from New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer as part of his ongoing investigation into
alleged payola in the music industry. Spitzer has already subpoenaed
documents from most of the major music and radio companies as
he looks into allegations that some in the former have been
paying the latter in order to guarantee radio play for their
artists - US media law bans radio stations from selling airtime
that isn't obviously advertising.
Both
the music and radio industry are keen to position any incidents
of payola as isolated cases initiated by individual middle management
employees and not high level strategy makers. But, while payola
is certainly not as widespread as it was back in the seventies,
many at the top of the big music companies still await Spitzer's
final report with interest.
However
the fact that documentation has now been subpoenaed from Warner
Music on three occasions - the latest subpoena follows similar
moves by Spitzer last Sep and Nov - is more interesting in light
of the major label's pending flotation. No one is suggesting
that Warner is likely to get any particular criticism in Spitzer's
final support, but some industry insiders are wondering whether
the fact there is a potential music business scandal in the
making will deter possible investors from ploughing their money
into the industry just at the moment. If so, Warner Music, as
the label most in need of a favourable image in the investment
world at the moment, might suffer more than most.
--------------------------------------------------
CASH
IN FOR WARNER TOP GUARD
The fact that Warner had received a third subpoena from Spitzer
came to light in the latest filing the major has made to the
US Securities and Exchange Commission. Also in that document
was confirmation that the music company plans to distribute
a $141.5 million cash dividend to top Warner Music executives
before the upcoming flotation takes place. An additional $73
million "management termination fee" will be paid
to Music Capital Partners, the company owned by Warner Music
boss Edgar Bronfmann Jnr. Of the $581 expected to be raised
from the flotation, most will be used to repay debt, including
the debts the major's current investors incurred when they bought
the music company off Time Warner. Warner bosses also confirmed
that when they float they plan to list their stock on the New
York Stock Exchange.
--------------------------------------------------
NAPSTER
ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH TOSHIBA
Napster UK have announced another strategic alliance. The new
partnership is with Toshiba, who will preload a bit of software
on several of their laptop models, giving consumers a free 30
day trial of their subscription service. Bigging up the new
partnership, Toshiba's Head Of Product Marketing told reporters:
"We chose to bundle Napster on the new Satellite and Qosmio
systems because it is the most innovative and advanced digital
music service in the world and it also works seamlessly with
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition." Lovely.
--------------------------------------------------
A
SIGN FOR COBAIN
Kurt Cobain is to be honoured by a sign in his home town of
Aberdeen (not that Aberdeen, the Aberdeen in Washington State).
This
follows the creation last year of a memorial committee who began
by petitioning for a park or youth centre to be set up in memory
of the Nirvana vocalist but evetually settled for the sign,
to be placed under the town's 'Welcome to Aberdeen' notice,
and bearing the legend 'Come As You Are.'
The
words are a reference, of course, to the so named track on the
'Nevermind' album. A committee chairman said the song title
was chosen for the dual meaning of its words, adding "Nirvana
fans will understand the significance, yet it's vague and appropriate
enough that the meaning is applicable to everyone."
Cobain's
grandfather thinks that it's about time a memorial went up.
"I think it's a good idea and it's about time" said
Leland Cobain. "I drive by there every day and look for
it. I have been waiting for it to go up."
--------------------------------------------------
SINGLE
REVIEW: Le Tigre - After Dark (Universal / Island)
Music and politics rarely work well together. Le Tigre's founder
Kathleen was previously in riot grrrl band Bikini Kill but although
noted for their politics the band remained underground. So Le
Tigre always seemed like a project very much intending to take
sexual politics to the mainstream. 'After Dark', the second
single from their third album 'This Island' is an exhilarating
blend of electro rhythms and punk attitudes. Hanna's vocals
recall Debbie Harry, and like Blondie, Le Tigre have an irresistible
pop sensibility and new wave cool. Radical feminism has rarely
seemed so fun or sexy. JW
Release date: 4 Apr
Press contact: Wild [CP, CR], Island IH [RP, RR, NR, NP]
--------------------------------------------------
WHITE
STRIPES SINGLE
The first White Stripes single to be released from that so far
untitled new album is a track called 'Blue Orchid.' The news
was posted then removed, from the band's UK record label website
on Wednesday night. The release date is unconfirmed but it's
thought it will precede the Stripes' appearance at Glastonbury
in June.
--------------------------------------------------
PAPERCUT
LAUNCH
Independent Manchester based Papercut magazine ("a self
financed independent free spirited publication which harnesses
the talents of Manchester's finest artists, writers and musicians")
will celebrate the launch of their next issue with a gig night
at Big Hands on Manchester's Oxford Road on 20 Apr. The five
band line up includes No Hope In New Jersey, The Conversation,
Finka, Ed Cottam & The Everythings and special guests The
Greats. More info on Papercut at http://www.paper-cut.co.uk/
Press info from Northern Lights Music.
--------------------------------------------------
MTV
CONFIRM LAUNCH FATE FOR NEW ONLINE SERVICE
MTV Networks have confirmed that their new US based online video-on-demand
service, Overdrive, will launch on 25 Apr offering a range of
artist interviews, music videos, live performances, news updates,
movie trailers plus segments from MTV and MTV2 programmes.
Commenting
on the new service MTV Networks Group President Van Toffler
told reporters: "Like our audience, we are always evolving,
finding new ways to create compelling content for breakthrough
technologies, and Overdrive is a powerful new platform that
allows users to have more control over the way they experience
MTV. Combining short-form linear viewing with an on-demand experience,
Overdrive is a great example of our ability to provide viewers
with personalized versions of MTV programming that is available
whenever they want it."
The
company's Senior VP of Digital Music and Media, Jason Hirschhorn,
added: "With an incredibly high percentage of young people
using broadband, it seemed essential to create a new hybrid
screen with its own content to complement MTV, MTV2, MTV.com
and *MTV."
As
previously reported, the new service will see MTV compete with
the likes of Yahoo, MSN and AOL who have all be developing their
own music based video on demand services. Needless to say MTV
will be hoping to gain some dominance in the space by cross
promoting their service via their TV channels, and making highlights
of their existing shows available online. Meanwhile, the new
online service is expected to be used to promote MTV's download
platform when it launches later this year.
--------------------------------------------------
MORE
KILLERS V BRAVERY BITCHING
The Bravery's frontman Sam Endicott has hit back at Killers
vocalist Brandon Flowers, following the incendiary comments
he made in an interview with MTV at the end of last month. Flowers
accused The Bravery of jumping on the bandwagon and that they
are a pale imitation of The Killers.
Endicott,
speaking on San Francisco's Live 105 said of Flowers: "I
feel bad talking bad about him because it's like hitting a girl.
It's like picking on a kid in a wheelchair because he has no
personality and no sense of humour at all. So what can you say
to that?"
He
also had a bash at Killers bassist Mark Stoermer, saying "There's
the one guy who's like nine feet tall. He looks like a little
Dutch girl with a beard, but like a nine-foot-tall Dutch girl
like a mutant radioactive."
The
bitch fighting bands are in fact label mates in the US. One
might think that someone could step in and confiscate the handbags.
Except that someone is probably too busy counting the column
inches.
--------------------------------------------------
ROYKSOPP
BACK WITH NEW ALBUM
Royksopp are returning with a new album this summer. The Norwegian
duo will release long player 'The Understanding' on Wall Of
Sound on 27 Jun, preceded by a single release, 'Only This Moment'
on 13 Jun. They will also be playing a series of yet to be announced
live dates.
Commenting
on the new album, Royksopp told CMU: "I can tell you that
this is definitely a sound which for us is more looking towards
the future, than being as reminiscent of the past as our last
album was. We always feel we have to move on and venture into
things we really haven't done before. Even though the last one
was called Melody AM, this one is even more about melody."
The
full tracklisting for the album is as follows:
Triumphant
Only This Moment
49 Percent
Boys
Follow My Ruin
Beautiful Day
What Else Is There?
Circuit Breaker
Alpha Male
Someone Like You
Dead To The World
--------------------------------------------------
1000
ENTRIES FOR MERCURY ART & MUSIC PRIZE
Organisers of the 2005 Nationwide Mercury Prize 'Art & Music'
competition have received over 1000 entries with submissions
from over 100 art colleges and universities. As previously reported,
the Art & Music programme was set up to highlight the link
between art and music. Young artists were encouraged to create
a music inspired piece of art, with the chance of winning £5000
and seeing their design on the cover of the 2005 Nationwide
Mercury Prize album, which will be released late this year.
The entries will now be judged, with the winner and three highly
commended works announced on 9 May. There will then be a display
of the winners and 50 odd runners up at The Air Gallery in London
from Tuesday 10 May until Friday 20 May.
Commenting
on the competition, Dan Ford from the Nationwide Mercury Prize
told CMU: "We're really pleased that the competition has
generated such a positive response from students in its first
year and that the standard of entries has been so high. The
Nationwide Mercury Prize celebrates the diversity and creativity
of British music. 'Art & Music' sits naturally alongside
it as an event that recognises the talent coming out of our
art colleges."
--------------------------------------------------
GLASTO
TICKET AGENCY LOOKING INTO COMPLAINTS
The company who coordinates the sale of Glastonbury tickets
says it is looking into a handful of incidents where music fans
seem to have lost their passes to the event because of a "payment
obtainment problem". A number of fans have posted messages
on the BBC News website saying they successfully bought tickets
to Glasto when they went on sale last weekend, but that they
were then later told their tickets had been cancelled because
of problems "obtaining payment". Some of those affected
by this kind of problem said they felt even more aggrieved because
everyone involved in selling the tickets were so vocal about
what a big success the whole thing had been.
Nick
Blackburn, the MD of SeeTickets, who oversee the Glastonbury
ticket sale, has told Music Week that he is aware of isolated
problems and that his company are dealing with them on a case
by case basis. Blackburn: "It is possible that this is
a mistake which lies more with the credit card companies. Until
we check the queries on a customer by customer basis, we won't
know the facts," he added.
Both
SeeTickets and Glastonbury organisers urged anyone who has experienced
these kind of problems to contact their ticket inquiry line,
which is apparently advertised on their websites.
--------------------------------------------------
OASIS
LEADING IN BATTLE FOR PRE-ORDERS
CMU fondly remembers the days when it was all about the battle
between Oasis and Blur. But now Oasis are slugging it out against
Coldplay for poll position at top of the Amazon chart, even
though their albums are not yet released.
Oasis
album 'Don't Believe The Truth' and Coldplay LP 'X+Y' are both
available to pre-order now at Amazon.co.uk prior to respective
releases in May and June, and the online retailer has reported
that since they became available three weeks ago they have both
shot right to the top of the Amazon hot 100 pre-order chart.
Oasis
are currently number one, but that may change. Amazon's Helen
Marquis told CMU "Although Oasis seem to be currently beating
the competition, with two months to go before release I would
say to Coldplay fans Don't Panic. There's plenty time to order
the album so Don't Look Back in Anger just yet!" Wacka
Wacka.
--------------------------------------------------
COLDPLAY
SECRET GIG
Given that we're in pre-election period, we here at CMU need
to maintain an unbiased stance, so following on from a positive
Oasis story, we need to do a Coldplay big up. Christ Martin
et al were on top form this week when they played a secret gig
in Europe. The band are road testing the new album with a series
of low-key dates and appeared on Wednesday in Amsterdam, premiering
some songs from new album 'X&Y'.
It
also transpires that the album's artwork resembles 1990s computer
game 'Tetris', which can only be a good thing. Hurrah.
--------------------------------------------------
SANCTUARY
TO MANAGE FIGHTSTAR
Sanctuary Artist Management have announced the addition of Fightstar
to their roster of management clients.
"We're
really happy to be part of the Sanctuary family and stand alongside
everyone from Funeral For A Friend and yourcodenameis:milo to
Iron Maiden & Guns N' Roses. Now we're looking forward to
making the music we love, recording a great debut album and
touring everywhere this year," guitarist and vocalist Alex
Westaway told CMU.
Charlie
Simpson, former Busted eyebrow supremo, added "Fightstar
has been something we've been doing in our spare time for quite
a while now and it's great to finally be able to devote 100%
of our time to it with the backing of a manager like Craig (Jennings)
and Sanctuary who understand what we want to achieve and how
to achieve it."
The
group are also going on tour again, dates as follow:
25
May - Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
26 May - Norwich, Waterfront
27 May - Portsmouth, Pyramids
28 May - Truro, Hall For Cornwall (Springloaded Festival)
30 May - Newcastle, Quayside (Evolution Festival)
31 May - Glasgow, QMU
1 Jun - Sheffield, Leadmill
3 Jun - Liverpool, Academy
4 Jun - Manchester, Academy 2
5 Jun - Cardiff, University
7 Jun - London, Electric Ballroom
--------------------------------------------------
SINGLE
REVIEW: Etienne De Crecy ft Camille - Someone Like You (PIAS)
Taken from the much-lauded long player, Super Discount 2, 'Someone
Like You' is another blistering example of De Crecy's extraordinary
talents with electronic music. Upon learning that this track
actually bounds along at a startling 140bpm, you'd be forgiven
for thinking that it was something to be truly fearful of, but
trust me, you'd be wrong! In reality, the track just wouldn't
be the charming, outstanding little gem that it is if it didn't
happily skip along in this refreshingly fast paced manner, proving
that you can't judge dance music solely on its tempo - just
because it's above a 100bpm doesn't imply it's only for pill-heads
and the Dutch. The vocal, supplied by Nouvelle Vague vocalist
Camille, beautifully slices through the boisterous electronic
bass with a razor-sharp sassy voice and alluring punky chic.
And the combination of bouncy live bass as well as all those
synthetic delights, ensures a satisfying balance that keeps
the dangers of cold, sterile electro firmly at bay. Backed by
much more main-room interpretation by Benny Benassi - keeping
all the best elements but amplifying them 10 fold, as well as
a quirky unpredictable little affair from Munk, this release
is definitely one of my personal favourites and De Crecy further
proving how original and fun dance music can still be. OG
Release date: 11th April
Press contact: PIAS IH [all]
--------------------------------------------------
C4
LIKELY TO GET ADDITIONAL FREEVIEW CHANNEL
I don't think I realised that Crown Castle had two Freeview
channels to give away (well, sell for vast sums of money), but
perhaps I did, I don't know. Anyway, following the news that
ITV had successfully bid for another channel on the Freeview
terrestrial digital TV network, news today that Channel 4 is
also likely to receive new channel space from Crown Castle,
one of the companies who run the Freeview network. If true C4
might use that new channel space to extend the reach of its
new factual digital station More 4, or as an output for its
existing entertainment channel E4, or for a new gaming channel
it has been developing with a German broadcaster, or for a new
movie channel that the company is reportedly developing in partnership
with the BBC.
--------------------------------------------------
EMINEM
SINGLE RELEASE
Eminem will release a new single, 'Mockingbird', next month,
the fourth track to be released from the 'Encore' album, following
two official releases and the targeted leak of that protest
track 'Mosh'.
The
rapper said: "'Mockingbird' is for (daughter) Hailie and
(niece) Alaina. It explained a lot of what was happening to
them and is probably the most emotional song I ever wrote."
--------------------------------------------------
ELTON
COMPARES EMINEM TO HENDRIX
And elsewhere in Eminem news, Elton John has said that the artist
is on a par with Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger.
His
comments appeared in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, which
ran a second 'Immortals' edition featuring a further 50 music
greats with appreciations written by their fellow artists. The
original top 50 Immortals was published in 2004, with The Beatles,
Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley topping the list. Other contributors
to the new list included Dave Matthews writing on Radiohead,
Beck on Hank Williams, David Bowie on Nine Inch Nails and Mos
Def on Miles Davis.
On
Eminem Elton writes that he got goose bumps when he first rehearsed
with him for their 2001 Grammy duet. "From the start, I've
always admired Eminem's thinking," he says "That's
the reason I wanted to appear on the Grammys with him when I
was asked, despite all the nonsense talked about his being homophobic.
Let the Boy Georges and the George Michaels of the world get
up in a twist about it if they don't have the intelligence to
see his intelligence."
--------------------------------------------------
GAMING
EDGING AHEAD OF MUSIC IN POPULARITY STAKES
Good news for, well, none of you. Unless any of you are working
for games publishers. A new survey by US survey people Nielsen
Soundscan suggests gaming is taking over music in terms of popularity
and monthly spend among male consumers. Only DVDs proved more
popular than video games in the survey into male consumers'
entertainment choices. Which all means more labels and artists
vying to have their music incorporated into video game soundtracks.
It might also give the new PlayStation Portable a bit of power
in the music space (it being a combined games console and MP3
player). So, actually, good news for senior Sony execs then.
--------------------------------------------------
J-LO
TO BE J-ANT
According to The Sun, Jennifer Lopez has decided that henceforth
she would prefer to be known as 'Jennifer Anthony'. The singer,
who married husband Marc Anthony last summer, has allegedly
decided that the time is right to take her husband's name. A
source said: "Marc never liked the whole J-Lo thing. He
thought it wasn't very classy."
Whether
she can successfully shake off the J-Lo tag, or indeed, hang
on to the name Anthony, given the success of previous marriages,
remains to be seen. Presumably if the J-Ant name does take off,
and then Jennifer and Marc do split up, we'll have to start
calling her Jo-Dec