| CMU Daily - on the inside Friday 5th May |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Bearshare settle with RIAA
- Digital music companies launch data exchange
- French Senate likely to water down DRM laws
- More EMI Warner gossip
- Razorlight race to finish album
- New Paul Simon album due
- The Dears talk about new album
- New Rough Trade Shops compilation
- RHCP not impressed by album leak
- Rolling Stone marks 1000 editions with million dollar cover
- Tahiti 80 tour
- We Are Scientists add date
- Hi:fi get their licence
- goNorth ready to go
- Coachella film released next month
- OfCom criticise C4 show for overplugging of sponsor
- Dylan launches XM radio show
- Cowell earns millions a year off American Idol
- Jack White is a dad
- Dizzee goes to Oxford
- Marginally interesting Eminem stuff
- East 17 hate Take That shock
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TOP BIT>>
We are currently putting the finishing touches to our CMU Music Internship Guide for 2006, but there is still time to get your plugs in. So if you are a music company (label, publisher, management firm, PR, magazine, radio station etc) able to offer internship places to students or recent graduates over the summer, then let us know and we'll let them know. To be included email your company name, a sentence about what you do, a sentence about what interns will do, details of location and a contact name to [email protected]
Not wishing to jump the gun or anything, but CMU itself has a number of internship places in the coming months which all offer great opportunities to gain music and media skills. If you are a student or recent graduate interested in taking up one of these opportunities, just send a CV type thing over to [email protected], and we'll get in touch just as soon as we can.
Oh, and while we're on this kind of stuff, if you are a student who fancies the opportunity of seeing the Edinburgh Festival from the inside as a member of the ThreeWeeks review team - get on over to this URL for all the details:
http://www.collegemedianetwork.co.uk/3weeksedinburgh
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CMU FRIDAY TIPS
VIGSY'S CLUB TIP: Trouble and Dfrnt Drum at Cabaret Voltaire
This independent 'dance' night comes together with its sister 'indie' night in one neat venue in Edinburgh. The main attraction will be Compost Records giant Rainer Truby who has ripped up the floorboards (if there are floorboards in Edinburgh's vaults) at this night before, spinning boogie, disco, soul, tech and house in his true style. Tonight he's on at peak time in the main room, with Trouble residents Hobbes and Erik 'D'Viking' building it up for him with a similar eclectic groove. The smaller room will hold Dfrnt Drums, the anything goes indie party, with a late addition: instead of the billed Clean George IV (not appearing due to bereavement) will be Acrynm, a man into perverse breaks and analogue wibbles. Akin to Squarepusher, Apex Twin, Luke Vibert et al, he'll be on live with just a laptop and a microphone. Sounds like this room needs some vowels too, but I doubt anyone'll mind as complimentary Glenfiddich whisky cocktails will be served on arrival, as it's part of the Glenfiddich Independent Mix. Gilles Peterson has championed this night, making it his runner up for club of the year last year and with this line up, and next month's schedule including Norman Jay, you can see why.
Friday 5 May, Cabaret Voltaire, Blair St, Edinburgh, 11pm - 3am, £8 (£6 concs), info from http://www.thecabaretvoltaire.com or http://www.getintotrouble.com
CARO'S LIVE TIP: The Priscillas at The Luminaire
First off, I'd like to point out that when I promised a henceforward weekly live tip about two weeks ago, I had forgotten that I was going away for a week and would not be here to furnish you with a second. Of course someone else could have done it in my absence, but someone else had too much to do. So there you go. This week's tip is based on my long held conviction that there aren't enough womany bands making it very big. I'm not an idiot, I understand why this is, but it's still a shame, given that there are lots of talented womany bands out there. Here's a nice one, playing at a nice venue, tomorrow.
Saturday 6 May, The Luminaire, Kilburn High Road, 8pm, £5 advance from http://www.wegottickets.com, £6 on the door, info http://www.theluminaire.co.uk/.
CHRIS' CLUB TIP: Kill All Hippies at 333
For those of you in London tonight, our club tip, of course, is this month's KAH which, fresh from the storming success of its Insomniacs Ball last month (Insomniacs Ball 2 coming soon - watch this space!), takes over 333 once more with its unique mix of bands, DJs and general madness. Live wise you have another chance to catch one of the star turns of the aforementioned Ball, The (wonderful) Pipettes, with support from The Glass. DJs wise downstairs it's resident Jeff Automatic and guest Julian (Whitey), while on the ground floor the Fully Comprehensive team are in control, with resident Gavin Nugent plus Mark Beaumont (NME), Syrinx and Owen Hopkin (The Crimea).
Friday 5 May, 333, Old Street, London, 10pm - 5am, £10 (£5 if you guest list yourself at http://www.leylinepromotions.com), press info from Leyline.
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ON AIR>>
TODAY ON TOTALROCK
The Mighty Twang talks to young UK thrashers Evile ('Helldrive', 3-6pm). Tonight, you'll finally get the chance to hear Natasha in conversation with NFD - honest! This time it's happening on 'The Batcave' (9pm to midnight). On Saturday, May 6, Malcolm Dome talks to Area 54 ('Doom & Co., 6-9pm). On Sunday, May 7, there's the welcome return of Ann-Maria to the 'Hardcore Street Sounds' (3-7pm). Listen live at http://www.totalrock.com.
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CMU SUPPORTS>>
THE GREAT ESCAPE: You know the deal by now - three great days in Brighton offering an unrivalled programme of one to one interviews with leading industry figures, including Michael Eavis, ie Music's Tim Clark and David Enthoven and, just added, EMI CEO Tony Wadsworth, plus more great gigs and showcases than you can possibly imagine including The Futureheads, British Sea Power, The Kooks, The Bees, The Feeling, The Cribs and Martha Wainwright. It all takes place 18-20 May - full details at http://www.escapegreat.com - plus if you work for an independent or grass roots media or music company, or in the college space, email [email protected] and we'll tell you how you can get a full delegates pass for the very special rate of £175.
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
Win tickets to Encompass
CMU Beats has tickets to give away that will get you into all three of the great workshop events being staged as part of Encompass on 13 May. As previously reported, these include sessions with Fabric founder Keith Reilly, Wall Of Sound founder Mark Jones and the legend that is Don Letts. More info at http://www.encompass-london.com - and check http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk to enter.
MySpace Of The Day: Angry Boy
Angry Boy have developed an extensive sound range in their conventional singer, guitar, bass and drums line-up. Unpredictably melodic riffs and un-clichéd heavy chord progressions are filled out by bass lines that rarely follow suit. Variable drumming adapts with ease to their tracks' changing mood led by singer Phil's emotive, crowd-punishing vocals. Angry Boy creatively combine their sound with the 5th member, an Apple Powerbook, composed on and manned on stage by guitarist Mike. The use of electronic music not only gives them an incomparable sound as a band, but also keeps the live set flowing as smoothly as one long, well-arranged, piece of alternative chaos. 'Make Noises', on MySpace, showcases a number of tracks for your listening pleasure.
http://www.myspace.com/ragudanny
Read more about our MySpace of the Day right now at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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BEARSHARE SETTLE WITH RIAA
The company behind P2P network Bearshare have reached a settlement with the Recording Industry Association Of America bringing to an end copyright violation litigation that began in the wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling against Grokster. The $30 million settlement has been reached between the RIAA and Bearshare's parent company Free Peers Inc and its principal owners Vincent Falco and Louis Tatta.
Free Peers have also announced they are selling the Bearshare name and selected assets to MusicLab, a subsidiary of iMesh, the former illegal P2P company that is now developing a legitimate RIAA-approved file sharing service. Confirming that deal, iMesh chairman Robert Summer said yesterday: "iMesh is committed to transitioning the compelling experience of P2P to an authorised marketplace. Our strategy includes expansion through acquisition and the purchase of assets".
Bearshare was one of a number of P2P networks put on the RIAA's target list after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the MGM v Grokster case which, as previously reported at length, ruled technology companies who make P2P software could be held liable for the copyright violation their products enabled, even though they themselves weren't illegally distributing copyrighted content. That ruling meant companies like Free Peers could no longer rely on the so called Betamax defence which said technology companies could avoid liability for the illegal use of their software providing it also had legitimate uses.
Since the Grokster ruling several other US based P2P companies have either settled with the RIAA, or gone out of business. Litigation rumbles on with others - including Kazaa, Limewire and eDonkey.
Commenting on the latest settlement, the RIAA's chief legal man Steven Marks, told reporters: "The [Supreme] Court's decision helped pave the way for this transformation of the digital music marketplace. This is another important step in that evolution."
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DIGITAL MUSIC COMPANIES LAUNCH DATA EXCHANGE
Anyone feel like participating in some data exchanging? Well, if you're vaguely digital, read on. Key companies involved in digital music yesterday launched a new organisation with the aim to develop and encourage "voluntary standards to improve the current exchange of data between companies operating in the digital music business".
Digital Data Exchange, or DDEX (you pronounce it 'dee-dex', apparently), says it hopes that by providing a network for communication between different music and technology companies they can help boost value, quality and choice in the digital music space, and to support success in the growing and at times complex digital music sector. Good luck with that.
Organisations signed up to the association include record companies EMI, SonyBMG, Warner and Universal, music rights societies ASCAP, MCPS-PRS and SGAE and digital service providers Microsoft, Real and Apple.
The organisation's first chair, Chris Amenita of collecting society ASCAP, told reporters: "By working together and developing voluntary technical standards, we can
harmonize and streamline the exchange of information relating to digital music. That's great news for the all participants across the whole value chain - from artists and writers through to the consumer. Our work here is just beginning. We invite any organization or company involved in digital music to join us. Together we can help fully empower and unlock the future of digital music."
You'll find more info on all this here: http://www.digitaldataexchange.com.
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FRENCH SENATE LIKELY TO WATER DOWN DRM LAWS
Quite what data those companies will be sharing we're not sure, but we're pretty sure Apple won't be sharing any data relating to just how its proprietary DRM works so that, you know, someone other than iTunes can sell music in a protected iPod compatible format. And it now looks like the French won't be forcing that kind of data sharing either, as the country's political leaders tamper with that previously reported copyright legislation to make it more tech-firm friendly.
As previously reported, the overhaul of the country's copyright laws got global attention earlier this year when France's National Assembly approved a bill that would force technology firms to share their digital rights technology with competitors - a move that would hit Apple the hardest, because their DRM is a closely guarded secret, locking iPod owners to iTunes, and iTunes users to the iPod.
However before those proposals become law they must go through France's Senate and it looks likely that proactive lobbying from the (nasty? evil? corrupt? morally bankrupt? completely commercially justified?) technology sector will lead to amendments being made so that the new laws will not be as hardline as the National Assembly hoped.
Michel Thiolliere, one of the senators who have been reviewing the legislation ahead of a Senate debate on the issue, has admitted that a number of amendments are being proposed that will protect the interests of the technology firms. He told reporters this week: "We fully support interoperability ... [but] there is no reason why Apple or any other company should be forced to give away their technology to everyone for free."
Key changes likely to be made include a revamp of the committee who will monitor interoperability issues on a day to day basis - making that committee respond more to the concerns of technology companies rather than consumers. Measures that would allow individuals to legally tamper with DRM technology that hindered interoperability are also likely to be abandoned in the new proposals.
Commenting on the changes likely to happen to the copyright bill in the French Senate, Aziz Ridouan of consumer rights group the Association of Audio Surfers told reporters: "We had high hopes for these laws, but the Senate has now divided up control of digital culture between Microsoft, Sony and Apple. Internet users will now be forced to choose purchasing their music from one of these monopoly-holders."
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MORE EMI WARNER GOSSIP
Following on from the news earlier this week that Warner had knocked back a takeover offer from EMI, speculation is now rife as to ongoing negotiations between the two major record companies regarding some kind of merger.
The consensus is that Warner's primary objection to EMI's offer was price point, leading to gossip that much bartering is now taking place. We hear EMI are probably willing to go up to $30 a share (their offer at the start of the week was $28.50), but the LA Times reports that Warner's investors will hold out for $32-$35 a share.
Another possible stumbling block is how exactly the shares are paid for. EMI's original offer was a combination of cash and stock in the merged company, but insiders say that Edgar Bronfman Jnr's investment buddies, who own significant stakes in Warner, aren't especially interested in holding any shares in EMI, nor a merged EMI Warner. Persuading them otherwise would probably require giving Bronfman an influential role at the merged record company - but following the debacle caused in SonyBMG's boardroom as former Sony and Bertelsmann chiefs fought for power, it is unlikely EMI would want to create a similar power struggle in its own boardroom by including too many big egos around the table.
Meanwhile, HitsDailyDouble report that, if an EMI takeover does go ahead along the lines that is currently being gossiped about, Bronfman stands to make $300-$400 million while his right hand man Lyor Cohen could pocket $60-$100 million. Which is nice. For them.
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RAZORLIGHT RACE TO FINISH ALBUM
Razorlight are apparently working to a rather tight deadline to get their second album finished. The record is due for a July release, meaning that the long player has to be finished in the next couple of weeks. However, they have decided on the first single, 'Somewhere Else', set for release on 3 Jul, and it's already had its radio debut.
Frontman Johnny Borrell told NME: "From the moment it was born I really liked it and it was one of the first contenders for the album. I suppose it's quite apt that it's going to be the first one off the bat."
On the album, drummer Andy Burrows added: "We're not far from the end of recording now. There's a couple of songs where there's some more work to be done on and it's always a worry until you've finished it, but generally it's going brilliantly."
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NEW PAUL SIMON ALBUM DUE
Paul Simon is to release a new Brian Eno-produced album 'Surprise' on 5 Jun. It's the first time Simon's worked with Eno, and the result, according to the press info, is a record reminiscent of some of the singer's earlier work. Meanwhile, tentative plans for a London show to promote the release are being made. Press info from Noble PR/Warner
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THE DEARS TALK ABOUT NEW ALBUM
The Dears have revealed some details about their new album in a post on the band's official MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/thedears. The record is entitled 'Gang Of Losers' and will be released sometime around the end of August, with a single expected in June.
The band's Murray Lightburn wrote: "We are really proud and are very much looking forward to everyone playing the crap out of it. As clichéd as this may sound, it's by far the 'best work we've ever done.' But seriously, it doesn't sound like anything else and it's pretty relentless. As (I think) we've mentioned before, it is somewhat of a stripped down, raw affair. There is French horn in 2 songs and saxophone in another. Though there is some mellotron-ny stuff, there are no real violins, violas or cellos. I guess that means that we're no longer 'orchestral'."
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NEW ROUGH TRADE SHOPS COMPILATION
The Rough Trade record shops are set to release their newest collection LP 'Rough Trade Shops: Singer Songwriter 01' on 3 Jul via Mute.
It is the latest in a series of compilations that began in 2001with the 'Rough Trade Shops 25 Years' album, and which continued with sets dedicated to electronic music, rock n roll, post punk, country and Iindiepop, all compiled by Rough Trade shop staff.
The new collection, which, as the name suggests, focuses on singer songwriters, features 38 songs from artists such as Bright Eyes, Cat Power, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Kristin Hersch and Antony And The Johnstons. The full tracklisting is as follows, press info from Mute.
Disc One:
Micah P. Hinson - Beneath The Rose
Bright Eyes - The Calendar Hung Itself
Plush - I've Changed My Number
Franklin Bruno - The Irony Engine
Adrian Crowley - The Girl From The Estuary
Cat Power - Metal Heart
James William Hindle - Come Down Slowly
Mark Eitzel - Take Courage
Tracey Thorn - Plain Sailing
The Bevis Frond - Waving
Richard Thompson - Vincent Black Lightning 1952
PJ Harvey - Dress (demo)
Elvis Costello - I Want You
Tom Waits - Little Boy Blue
Barbara Manning - Scissors
Elliott Smith - Needle In The Hay
Simon Joyner - Alabaster
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere
James Yorkston - Someplace Simple
Julie Doiron - When The Snow Falls This November
Disc Two:
Victoria Williams - Summer Of Drugs
Richard Hawley - Hotel Room
Diane Cluck - Easy To Be Around
Vic Chesnutt - Danny Carlisle
Mark Mulcahy - The Way That She Really Is
Matthew Hattie Hein - Number One
Jane Weaver - Is Everybody Happy?
Lou Barlow & His Sentridoh - Forever Instant
Robert Wyatt - Blues In Bob Minor
Jeffrey Lewis - Don't Let The Record Label Take You Out To Lunch
Kristin Hersh - Sundrops
King Creosote - Just After 11 She Left
Charlie Parr - To A Scrapyard Bustop
Mary Margaret O'Hara - Dear Darling
Antony and The Johnsons - Cripple and The Starfish
The Mountain Goats - Masher
Nick Lowe - Endless Sleep
Daniel Johnston - Speeding Motorcycle
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RHCP NOT IMPRESSED BY ALBUM LEAK
Uncharacteristically behind the times, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been complaining because his band's upcoming new album 'Stadium Arcadium' has been leaked onto the internet ahead of release (behind the times because such leaks are surely pretty standard for any hotly-anticipated release these days, and not really worth agonising about).
Writing on the band's website, Flea writes: "For people to just steal a poor sound quality version of it for free because some asshole stole it and put it on the internet is sad to me. I cannot put in words how much this record means to us, how sacred the sound of it is to us, and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could. Now for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor sound quality it is a painful pill for us to swallow."
Personally I think the fact that fans are so eager to hear your new album that they will go to the effort of finding and downloading it, despite the poor sound quality, just to get a sneaky preview, is actually rather a big compliment.
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ROLLING STONE MARKS 1000 EDITIONS WITH MILLION DOLLAR COVER
Rolling Stone magazine is celebrating its 1000th issue with a special 3D cover that cost nearly $1 million to produce. Yes, $1 million. To produce the cover of a magazine. $1 million. On a magazine cover. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why we'll never make poverty history.
Still, it's kind of cool, featuring the images of the great and good of rock, culture and politics in a Sgt Pepper's style montage, and it comes on the front of a special edition celebrating the iconic covers that have appeared on the magazine in its 1000 issue history.
The magazine's founder Jann Wenner told reporters: "The cover is iconic. The cover, more than any other thing we do, resonates in people's minds. By and large the greatest things we've done, the greatest stories, have had the greatest covers."
CMU celebrates its eighth birthday the week after next, and we will be marking the occasion with a special edition of the Daily produced in four dimensions. You are going to all need one of those special 4D computers to experience it (and they haven't been invented yet), but I still think its worth the £7.5 billion were planning to spend producing it.
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TAHITI 80 TOUR
CMU favourites Tahiti 80 have announced a series of UK tour dates. Hurray. Dates are as follows:
12 May: Birmingham Barfly
13 May: York Fibbers
14 May: Glasgow Barfly
15 May: Liverpool Barfly
16 May: Cardiff Barfly
19 May: London Barfly
20 May: London Metro
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WE ARE SCIENTISTS ADD DATE
Yay, more CMU favourites. We Are Scientists have added a new date to their previously announced UK tour. The band will now play a second date at Brixton Academy on 10 Nov. That seems an awful long way away, though, doesn't it? In fact, I feel as though November 2005 only just got finished. And yet suddenly, it's May, and the weather's just got better.
Anyway, here is the full list of dates:
20 Oct: Norwich UEA
21 Oct: Sheffield Octagon
22 Oct: Manchester Apollo
23 Oct: Leeds University
24 Oct: Newcastle Academy
25 Oct: Aberdeen Music Hall
26 Oct: Glasgow Academy
28 Oct: Belfast Limelight
29 Oct: Dublin Temple Bar Music Centre
30 Oct: Cork Cyprus Avenue
1 Nov: Cardiff University
2 Nov: Reading Hexagon
3 Nov: Birmingham Academy
4 Nov: Nottingham Rock City
5 Nov: Bristol Academy
6 Nov: Exeter University
7 Nov: Southampton Guildhall
9 Nov: London Brixton Academy
10 Nov: London Brixton Academy
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HI:FI GET THEIR LICENCE
Good news, everyone, the Hi:Fi North festival can go ahead, because organisers have been granted a licence by the local Castle Morpeth Borough Council for the event, which takes place on 27 May at the Matfen Estate near Newcastle. Granting the licence took four days of court hearing, apparently, which all sounds a bit boring. Anyway, Peter Haywood, the event producer and licensee says: "We're delighted to have the support of the council and look forward to an event which is safe, secure and guarantees minimal disruption to local residents. There is no doubt we have the skills and know-how to host an incredible music festival with some of the most legendary names in rock and dance."
Elsewhere in Hi-Fi Festival related news, Youth Music have announced plans for two music industry masterclasses aimed at young people interested in music careers, staged to coincide with their Opening Sets competition, the finals of which will take place at Hi-Fi. The two events will take place in the same cities as Hi-Fi, though they are happening next week. The guest panel set to appear includes Laurence Verfaillie, MD of Electric PR; Ewen Spencer, Official photographer for The Streets; Russell Deeks, Editor iDJ magazine; DJ Switch, DMC finalist; and DJ/Producer Volley.
The events take place at Tower Arts Centre, Romsey Road, Winchester on 8 May from 6pm-7.30pm and at The Sage Gateshead, St Mary's Square, Gateshead Quays on 10 May, from 6pm -7.30pm. Collect free tickets from the venue or register online at http://www.thesoundstation.org.uk/jsp/Competitions/
HiFi_Masterclass_tickets0.jsp
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GONORTH READY TO GO
More workshops, this time the workshop programme due to be staged at Aberdeen's goNorth festival, which takes place next week as part of the Aberdeen Festival.
There are more workshop type sessions than ever at goNorth this year, including sessions on music tuition, management, online marketing and careers in music. Among the industry types speaking are veteran artist manager Bruce Findlay, music publishing expert Christian Ulf Hansen, and Regular Music's Mark Mackie.
Launching the programme of events, Caroline McLeod of the Highlands and Islands Arts Development Agency, who support the event, told reporters: "The purpose of goNorth is to help bands reach the next stage in their career. At night acts get to show off their live skills, while in the daytime they can now get advice on all aspects of the music business".
You'll find more info on it all at http://www.goevents.info/
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COACHELLA FILM RELEASED NEXT MONTH
That previously reported full length Coachella Festival movie is to be released on DVD on 19 Jun. The film features performances from artists including Radiohead, Morrissey, Pixies, Arcade Fire, and The White Stripes, and is accompanied by a bonus DVD of previously unseen interviews with acts such as Belle & Sebastian, Tenacious D, Rilo Kiley, Mos Def, The Bravery, and Thievery Corporation. Also included is a gallery of around 300 exclusive images.
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OFCOM CRITICISE C4 SHOW FOR OVERPLUGGING OF SPONSOR
Media regulator OfCom has criticised Channel 4 for airing a music show that included "excessive use" of its sponsor's name. OfCom was responding to viewer complaints about the Sony Ericcson Christmas Calling, a show I didn't see but which, I'm told, included live performances from various bands, interactive quizzes and, it would seem, an awful lot of plugging for the phone company. One viewer described the show as a "sponsored advert for Sony", while the regulator themselves concluded the frequent mentions of Sony Ericcson during the show were not "editorially justified".
Channel 4 argued that Sony Ericcson had not had any editorial input into the show, which was made by indie company Freedom TV, and added that neither including a brand's name in a show title nor giving away products made by a sponsor (two of the things the network was criticised for) are against OfCom rules. It admitted that three artists featured were signed to Sony Ericsson's sister company SonyBMG, but pointed out that bands from other major labels also appeared (and let's be fair, Sony Ericcson and SonyBMG are pretty disparate despite sharing a parent company - it is unlikely one would insist on the plugging of the other's products).
Nevertheless, OfCom ruled Channel 4 had, in fact, breached its code, saying the number of references to Sony, taken as a whole, "created the impression that the sponsor had unacceptably influenced the content of the programme".
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DYLAN LAUNCHES XM RADIO SHOW
As you may have seen elsewhere, Bob Dylan kicked off his previously reported new radio show for US satellite radio network XM this week. I haven't heard it myself (I've been far too busy for such things), but I hear he "growled" his way through the hour long show, playing tracks from his personal record collection all based around the theme of the weather. Tracks included Muddy Waters' 'Blow Wind Blow', Hendrix's 'The Wind Cries Mary' and Stevie Wonder's 'A Place in the Sun'. But, alas, nothing by The Weather Girls.
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COWELL EARNS MILLIONS A YEAR OFF AMERICAN IDOL
I'm not sure the huge sums of money Simon Cowell is making off American Idol are much of a secret, but nevertheless the music mogul's reality TV show pay packet is in the news again thanks to a new book from New York Times writer Bill Carter - 'Desperate Networks'. He claims that Cowell will receive $36 million a year for the next five years for his role as a panellist and co-producer on the hit US TV show. American Idol remains a huge hit in the States and in a recent survey Cowell was confirmed as the most popular judge. That survey asked people who had voted on the show which judges opinions they valued - 50% said Cowell, 26% said Randy Jackson while just 6% said they paid any attention to anything Paula Abdul says.
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JACK WHITE IS A DAD
Well, those previously reported rumours that Jack White was set to become a father were clearly true because Jack White has become a father, according to reports. He and his wife, model Karen Elson, apparently announced yesterday, via White's rep Chloe Walsh, that a baby girl was born on Tuesday and has been named Scarlett Teresa.
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DIZZEE GOES TO OXFORD
Dizzee Rascal is to speak at the Oxford Union next week, and is set to talk about his career and plans for the future as well as playing some tracks from his new album 'Maths And English', which is to be released later this year. He appears at 8.30pm on Wednesday.
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MARGINALLY INTERESTING EMINEM STUFF
Kim Mathers has set out what she wants from her divorce settlement with estranged-for-the-second-time husband Eminem. Kim has filed court papers petitioning for financial support, attorney fees and shared custody of their ten year old daughter Hailie. No shocks there, then.
Slightly more interesting, possibly, is the news that Eminem's grandmother is selling his old tape recorder for $5,000. Betty Kresin says the hip hopper used the machine, which belonged to his uncle, to record his early attempts at rapping. She says: "Ronnie had this stereo in his bedroom and him and Marshall would go up there and crank this thing up. They would play records and start rapping over the music and tape it. In the summer, when the windows were open, the neighbours would go crazy. But Marshall didn't care."
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EAST 17 HATE TAKE THAT SHOCK
Some resentments never die, and it seems that East 17's Tony Mortimer has never quite forgiven Take That for being better than them. He's called Take That a "trumped up Village People tribute band", apparently, and implied that they're trading on Robbie Williams fame for publicity: "Would there be that much interest in Take That if they hadn't played the Robbie card?" he's reported to have said.
Given that Take That sold a quarter million tickets in the first half hour that they went on sale for the band's upcoming reunion tour that is to take place without Robbie Williams, it would seem that he's not completely essential to the group's ongoing success. East 17 have sold out one night, as previously reported, at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.