| CMU Daily - on the inside Thursday 20th July |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- BBC revamp for digital age
- Muse on their funkier sound
- Badly Drawn Boy returns
- Fall Out Boy go back into the studio
- Robbie returns
- Village People cop reaches plea deal over drugs charges
- Simple Minds approach 30th anniversary
- Ryan Adams tour
- Kasabian to play one off Brixton gig
- BMG Publishing acquire Complete
- UK consumers generally positive of brand music partnerships
- Apple finances healthy - though iPod growth slows
- Indie journalist's YouTube lawsuit to test US copyright law
- EMI and Death Row enter into mobile partnerships
- SMG CEO stands down
- Lucy video pulled after single viewer complaint
- Limp Bizkit man engaged.
- UK Enquirer apologises over Britney divorce story
- Timberlake film goes straight to DVD
- MTV to form ultimate boyband
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TOP BIT>>
With the Lovebox Weekender just days away, probably ought to remind you that our good friends at Kill All Hippies will be in full effect at the second day of the proceedings (ie this Sunday) with their own stage. As previously mentioned, on stage will be a stack of CMU favourites, including Battle, White Rose Movement, Longcut, Rumple Strips, The Delilahs and the extra wonderful Little Barrie. Not only that, but Kill All Hippies founders Eddy TM and Jagz Kooner will be hosting the day and taking to the decks - supported by KAH regular Gavin Nugent and guest DJ Charlotte
Hatherley, she formerly of Ash. Surely a must-go festival in itself but, of course, just one part of the full Lovebox Weekender. You'll find more info on all this at http://www.leylinepromotions.com and http://www.volvicloveboxweekender.com. And if you can't make it to that, make sure you get Friday 4 Aug in your diary because that's when KAH returns to the 333 club in Shoreditch, with Humanzi and Apartment both playing live. More on that next week.
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PRESS ROOM
REMIX NIGHT JULY
Get ready ... the next edition of Remix Night takes place this week, yep, this Friday, 21 Jul. This one is going to be extra special because Remix favourite Space Cowboy will be launching his storming new album 'Digital Rock' (out 31 Jul) with a live set. Plus, on the decks, we will have Coldcut, Stone Lions, Slim Jim and, of course, Eddy TM. It all takes place at Cargo from 8pm to 3am. Admission this time is free before 9pm - after then it's a tenner, although you can get in for £8 if you guest list in advance at http://www.leylinepromotions.com.
More info: http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/remixnight
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ON AIR>>
TODAY ON TOTALROCK
Chris Dale, From The Pop Troupe Sack Trick, talks to Bob Kulick, guitarist extraordinaire, who's worked with Kiss, Meat Loaf, Skull and W.A.S.P. ('Helldrive', 3-6pm). Listen live at http://www.totalrock.com
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: Uxfest
We've mentioned Uxfest before - it being the very loud rock festival completely organised by volunteers, all under the age of 30. It used to be staged in Uxbridge (hence the name) but will this year take over the Carling Islington Academy on 6 Aug. But the volunteer and charity fundraising ethos remains. As the line up has fallen into place there have been regular postings here on the festival's MySpace, and they've just added the last headline act to the bill, I won't tell you who, you can find out by going to their MySpace page! As well as the full line up and some very loud music, you'll also find out a bit about the charities who will benefit from the event, so certainly worth a go see.
http://www.myspace.com/uxfest
This and more at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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BBC REVAMP FOR DIGITAL AGE
OK, back to that BBC restructure story we touched on yesterday - and a quick summary of how the Corporation will be divided up in the coming years. As previously reported, and as expected, the Beeb announced yesterday that it is about to embark on one of those always expensive often pointless reorganisations, aiming to build an organisation capable of achieving, what BBC boss Mark Thompson likes to call, "360 degree multiplatform content creation". My very favourite kind of content creation.
Thompson claims that the revamp will enable the Corporation to identify, develop and produce new creative ideas quicker, while ensuring that online or mobile elements of shows are developed in unison with broadcast elements - rather than being add ons developed by a separate department once the TV or radio bit is done and dusted. All of that stuff will now be based in one mega-division, to be called BBC Vision, and which will incorporate existing commissioning and production departments like 'Television', 'Drama, Children's and Entertainment' and 'Factual and Learning'.
Sitting next to that will be a Future Media And Technology department, which will do all the techy stuff associated with new media - whether that be web or digital or mobile. They will develop and manage new ways of getting programmes and content out to the BBC's audience, and will be responsible for the main BBC website, the BBC iPlayer and the digital archive. They won't, however, develop specific programme websites because those, as I believe we've just mentioned, will come from the same teams creating the programmes themselves in that BBC Vision department.
News and sport and all that local, national and global current affairs nonsense will sit in one new big department called BBC Journalism. Meanwhile the Marketing, Communications And Audiences department will be given new influence as "an advocate for audiences" within the Corporation, whatever that means.
Commercial division BBC Worldwide will continue pretty much as before, though its boss, John Smith, will relinquish those responsibilities he currently has over non-commercial parts of the Corporation. BBC Finance will, well, do finance things I guess; BBC People will fire people, I mean recruit, develop and support the BBC workforce; and BBC Operations will, I don't know, operate?
Finally there'll be the slightly revamped Audio & Music division - probably most important for everyone round here given that it will have responsibility for all network radio (speech and music), and for music across the Corporation, including on TV (not that there will be much of that once TOTP is dumped - the music playing in the café on Eastenders I suppose).
And that's it. BBC bosses hope to have the organisation properly reorganised by next Spring. Concluding his summary of the revamp plans, Thompson told his staff: "We need a BBC ready for digital and for 360 degree multiplatform content creation, which brings different kinds of creativity together - in technology as well as content - to deliver what we need in this converging world".
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MUSE ON THEIR FUNKIER SOUND
Talking of revamps, Muse have been talking about their revamped sound - after fans and pundits noted that new album 'Black Holes And Revelations' has something of a funkier sound than past releases. On that change, the band have told NME that living and DJing in New York had the greatest influence.
Frontman Matt Bellamy: "Going to New York tightened everything up. It got us more groove orientated. I don't know if that was the vibe of the city or what."
Drummer Dominic Howard: "It was a vibe thing. We found loads of positivity in New York. It's so fast and so busy, and it's hard to feel so dark about stuff when you're surrounded by thousands and thousands of people. We started going out to clubs and hanging out with friends and dancing."
On the DJing, Matt continued: "I got a little too into it. I didn't really know how to use the mixer properly, yet there was this moment where I was playing Depeche Mode, with a fag in my mouth, and people were asking what the tune I was play was. I was like, 'Yeah, this is what DJing is about."
More on all that in this week's NME, I think.
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BADLY DRAWN BOY RETURNS
Badly Drawn Boy will return - but this time on EMI rather than Beggars imprint XL. His new album, 'Born In The UK', will be released by the major on the 23 Oct. As the title might suggest, BDB's main influence on this one is Bruce Springsteen - which could be interesting.
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FALL OUT BOY GO BACK INTO THE STUDIO
All these bands and artists with 'boy' in there name - it's very confusing. Fall Out Boy have confirmed they are going back into the studio this month to begin recording a new album - apparently they've already written 20 songs for the next release.
Bassist Pete Wentz has told reporters that, actually, the band have been ready to start recording for a few weeks now, but have suffered a few set backs because of changes going on at their label in the US - Island/Def Jam. Wentz: "We've been ready to record for about the last three weeks but ... there have been some changes at our label, [there has been] a little bit of strangeness there. Half the phone numbers I have for people at the label don't have people on the other end of them anymore. It slowed us slightly, but we're getting back to speed".
He said the band had hoped to get the new album out within the year, but admitted that was looking less likely, saying: "We'd really love to do it, but in order for us to...the turnaround time would be insane". But he adds: "there will definitely be a single out by year's end".
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ROBBIE RETURNS
EMI have confirmed that Robbie Williams will release the first single from his upcoming new album in September. The track, called 'Rudebox', will be in shops on 4 Sep. Apparently it's a "nasty, dirty, bass infused electro-funk-pop monster" - which is nice - produced and co-written by Danny Spencer and Kelvin Andrews, aka Soul Mekanik, who, like Robbie, also hark from the Potteries.
On the single Andrews says: "Rudebox is wonky pop music, influenced by the underground. It was just three lads from Stoke having fun in the studio, no rules and no knobheads".
As previously reported, the Sun reckons that EMI are pushing the release of the new Robbie album back into October to avoid going head to head with the new long player from Justin Timberlake. That's probably true because, as yet, we have no release date for the album.
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VILLAGE PEOPLE COP REACHES PLEA DEAL OVER DRUGS CHARGES
I've lost track of this story, but this seems to be new news. Former Village People police man Victor Willis who, you'll remember, went on the run after being charged with various drugs offences, has now apparently reached a 'plea deal' which will see him plead no contest to cocaine possession charges in return for a lenient sentence - which could be two years in jail, but which is more likely to be six months prison time followed by a compulsory rehab programme. Willis' lawyer told reporters this week: "His plans are, first of all, to deal with his addiction. After that, he hopes to get back into creating again". It's a shame Willis didn't get caught possessing cocaine in Dubai - then a friendly US senator could have helped him get a full pardon. That's how it works, right?
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SIMPLE MINDS APPROACH 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Simple Minds man Jim Kerr has been speaking about his band's long history as they prepare to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. Following a string of recent sell out live dates, the band will play at the Edinburgh Festival's T On The Fringe on 28 Aug at an open air gig that will be filmed for a 30th anniversary DVD.
On the his career with the band, Kerr told reporters this week: "We've got quite a history and quite a story, but three decades seems overwhelming. We could never have imagined when we started the band we were going to go on and on". On the Edinburgh date, he added: "It will have an added dimension, because it's the last date on our tour. It will feel like crossing the finishing line of a marathon".
Other Simple Minds dates upcoming are as follows:
22 Jul: Audley End House, Saffron Walden, Essex
23 Jul: Orange Ashton Court Festival, Bristol
24 Jul: Dock Rock, ExCel Centre / Docklands, London
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RYAN ADAMS TOUR
CMU favourite Ryan Adams has announced a seven date UK tour as follows.
21 Sep: Newcastle Academy
22 Sep: Glasgow, Academy
24 Sep: Nottingham, Rock City
25 Sep: Birmingham, Academy
27 Sep: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
28 Sep: Manchester, Academy 1
30 Sep: London, Shepherds Bush Empire
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KASABIAN TO PLAY ONE OFF BRIXTON GIG
Gigwise are reporting rumours that the recently reduced in size Kasabian are set to play a last minute one off gig at the Brixton Academy on 15 Aug. As far as we know tickets are yet to go on sale. More if and when we get it.
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BMG PUBLISHING ACQUIRE COMPLETE
Despite being in the process of being acquired itself, BMG Music Publishing is still being quite acquisitive. They have just confirmed they have taken over indie publishing firm Complete Music, which has music from the likes of The Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Everything But The Girl, The The, Malcolm Arnold and Primal Scream on its catalogue.
BMG are buying the firm off its founders, Iain McNay and Martin Costello. Costello will continue to oversee the Complete catalogue in a consultancy role with BMG. McNay will continue to run Cherry Red Records, his record label, which is not included in the takeover deal.
Confirming the acquisition, BMG Music Publishing top guy Paul Curran told CMU: "I am thrilled that BMG Music Publishing has acquired Complete and that Iain and Martin have chosen to do this with us. I am also delighted that Martin will continue to be involved with us. This is a great catalogue of timeless classics, and is great for BMG"
Martin Costello added: "I have spent half my life running Complete Music so I am delighted that Paul Curran has invited me to continue my involvement with Complete through my ongoing relationship with BMG. I am also very pleased to be dealing with a man who has a piano in his office."
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UK CONSUMERS GENERALLY POSITIVE OF BRAND MUSIC PARTNERSHIPS
A new survey from Entertainment Music Research says that UK customers are generally positive about brand / artist associations, which is just as well, given that their research was being presented at a Music Week conference on brand / artist associations - it would have been a bit of a depressing event if the research had revealed such partnerships are universally loathed.
The survey said that the vast majority of consumers are either positive or indifferent to brands sponsoring music - though certain specific partnerships were viewed more negatively. 51% of those interviewed thought brands sponsoring or partnering with music was a "great or good idea", while only 12% said it was a "bad or very bad idea". Teenagers were most positive about brand music associations, with 59% of that demographic rating such partnerships positively.
Regards specific past brand / artist relationships, 62% thought Gap's association with Madonna was a good fit and 66% rated positively Apple's association with U2, but only 17% thought McDonalds 2003 tie up with Justin Timberlake worked, while 44% said they thought it was a "bad fit".
Kind of stating the bleeding obvious, the research report concluded that certain things were necessary for brand / artist relationships to work: awareness, appropriateness, fit, emotional connection and optimised content. So, now you know.
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APPLE FINANCES HEALTHY - THOUGH IPOD GROWTH SLOWS
Apple's finances are still in good health according to a third quarter earnings summary posted this week, though iPod sales remained fairly flat quarter on quarter. That said, that's still a lot of iPods (8,111,000), and it is no doubt healthy for the computer firm to be able to show other none iPod related products delivering growing revenues. Either way, those city types seemed happy with the computer firm's ongoing performance. So that's a relief.
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INDIE JOURNALIST'S YOUTUBE LAWSUIT TO TEST US COPYRIGHT LAW
With concerns rising in the music, film and TV sectors regarding the unofficial distribution of their video content via video-sharing site YouTube, industry execs are sure to watch with interest a lawsuit just filed in LA by a journalist who claims the website has infringed his copyright.
Anyone can upload video content to the YouTube website, and while many members upload their own home made videos, a significant portion of the content available to view consists of music videos or clips from films and TV shows, which have been uploaded without the content owners' consent. The site has so far avoided legal action from the content industries partly because some in those sectors recognise the promotional potential of YouTube, and partly because the company has been generally good about removing any unofficially distributed videos if and when a copyright owner makes a complaint. On a legal level, the company claims America's Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects it from liability for any copyright violation committed by its members.
But US journalist Robert Tur of the LA News Service, best known for filming the infamous beating of Reginald Oliver Denny during the 1992 LA riots, seemingly disagrees. He claims that his Denny footage has been uploaded to YouTube without his consent, and has been viewed more than 1000 times. He is suing YouTube for $150,000 for each time the video was uploaded, and is seeking an injunction to stop any additional distribution of his work via the service.
Should the case go to court the interpretation of the DMCA in this case could set a precedent regarding distribution sites like YouTube, and if it ruled in Tur's favour could spark numerous other lawsuits by content owners against the site and rival services.
Owners of YouTube maintain that they are protected by the DMCA in this case, stressing that Tur never approached them directly regarding the video, and that they removed it from their site as soon as his objections were known.
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EMI AND DEATH ROW ENTER INTO MOBILE PARTNERSHIPS
EMI have confirmed that they have entered into a deal with mobile giant Vodafone which will make their catalogue available to the phone firm's music services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The deal gives the mobile company the ability to offer ringtones, ringbacks and full track downloads of some 200,000 tracks, including music by the likes Robbie Williams, Coldplay, and Gorillaz.
Meanwhile in the US, content aggregator Hudson Entertainment has licensed the entire Death Row Records catalogue off Koch Records, who handle distribution for the controversial hip hop label. Hudson say they will develop ringtones and ringbacks from music in the catalogue, which includes tracks from the likes of Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre. It expects to make those available to US mobile firms from as early as next month.
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SMG CEO STANDS DOWN
The Scottish Media Group, who own Virgin Radio, among other things, has confirmed that its chief executive, Andrew Flanagan, is to step down with immediate effect after ten years in charge. He will be replaced, for the time being, by Donal Emslie, who currently heads up SMG's TV business. The company say that Flanagan's departure is completely amicable, with the company's chairman, Chris Masters, telling reporters that the former chief exec had made an "outstanding contribution" to the development of the company, which he said was now "well positioned to capitalise on the strength of its brands through the opportunities that digital technology presents". The company will start to look for a permanent replacement more or less straight away.
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LUCY VIDEO PULLED AFTER SINGLE VIEWER COMPLAINT
OK, here's you're homework for the day. Go and watch this pop promo video for a track called 'Lucy' by the Purple City-signed dance act Jealousy. And then have a guess at what it was that one viewer found so offensive that they felt compelled to write to OfCom demanding it be banned from our TV screens. Having received that complaint, OfCom have passed on the viewer's concerns to video requests channel ChartShow TV, who have subsequently withdrawn the video from its playlist. Which is really rather annoying for the artist and their label, because the video had been proving very popular with the music channel's viewers, getting requested so often the track had risen to number 3 on Music Week's TV airplay chart. Go on, see if you can guess what it was. Answers on a postcard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6FrElXvhY
If, while you're there, you discover you quite like the song, you will find more info on Jealousy at http://www.myspace.com/jealousylucy, press info from [email protected]
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LIMP BIZKIT MAN ENGAGED.
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst is set to marry his mystery new girlfriend, or at least that's what he says on his MySpace. He reports that he has met "a wonderful girl named Krista" and that when he proposed to her "she said yes".
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UK ENQUIRER APOLOGISES OVER BRITNEY DIVORCE STORY
Thanks to lovely British libel laws, the National Enquirer has been forced to apologise to Britney Spears over reports it published in its UK edition that claimed she was about to divorce husband Kevin Federline.
Spears sued the magazine through the English courts, and as a result the magazine has published the following statement: "Contrary to what our articles might have suggested, we now accept that their marriage is not over and they are not getting divorced. These allegations are untrue and we now accept Britney's position that the statements are without foundation. We apologise for any distress caused."
Spears' people say that such a resolute apology from a magazine like the National Enquirer is pretty unprecedented, though some might argue they got off quite lightly - the magazine will not pay any damages or be forced to publish the retraction in its US edition.
Spears' UK lawyer Paul Tweed has told the BBC the he will now launch legal proceedings against a number of other newspapers and magazines that followed up the Enquirer's articles. Mmmm, I wonder how we reported on that one?
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TIMBERLAKE FILM GOES STRAIGHT TO DVD
Let's hope Justin Timberlake's new album does as stormingly well as his solo debut, because it's not looking likely that he'll have a booming film career to fall back on. Reports suggest that his debut movie, 'Edison', is going to go straight to DVD without a cinema release - which suggests it is pretty awful, given that you'd think a cast that included Timberlake, Morgan Freeman, LL Cool J and Kevin Spacey would be guaranteed some box office success. MTV reports the film, to be renamed 'Edison Force', will appear in DVD stores in the US next week. Meanwhile his other movie, 'Alpha Dog', which is a pretty controversial affair because it is based on a real life murder, has reportedly been hit with all kinds of legal issues regarding where fact meets fiction, so much so no release date has been set. Which means Justin should make the most of those album launch parties, because lavish film premiere parties are by no means guaranteed.
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MTV TO FORM ULTIMATE BOYBAND
Ah well, if things don't turn out so good, perhaps Timberlake could apply to join this show. MTV are launching a new reality series called Totally Boyband, which will bring together five former boyband boys (none of whom are really boys anymore) to form the "ultimate boyband". Well, I say former boyband boys - I suppose Steps and S Club 7 weren't actually boybands, though Lee and Bradley were boys.
Anyway, the five former pop stars forming the uber-boyband will be Another Level's Dane Bowers, age 26; 911's Jimmy Constable, 34; Steps' Lee Latchford Evans, 31; S Club 7's Bradley McIntosh, 24; and Danny Wood - yes, he of New Kids On The Block, now aged 37.
All are said to be very excited about the "comeback", and I bet you're pretty excited too. Not only will you be able to watch their attempts at a second blast of fame on MTV, but on 23 Oct you'll be able to buy their debut single too. Does life get any better than this?