| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 25th July |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Channelfly owners attempt Sanctuary takeover
- Jacko jet-filmer jailed
- Film stole our character, say Steely Dan
- Rave culture back on the rise?
- City centre Manchester warehouse parties planned
- Single Review: Junior Boys - In The Morning
- Concretes singer quits
- Sony Publishing sign up two Dirty Pretty Things
- Xzibit signs to Koch
- Killers full album details announced
- Patrick Wolf single, tour
- New REM anthology upcoming
- Doherty to release solo album
- Barker and Hoppus talk about new project
- Arctic Monkeys on new video
- Jurassic 5 asking for trouble
- Album Review: The Mules - Save Your Face
- Pavarotti says show will go on
- Noir cancels US tour
- Axl on his Newcastle departure
- Geldof cancels Italian gigs due to poor turn out
- International DJ Expo
- Roadrunner expand A&R team - looking to work with classic acts
- Eagle enter intro burn-to-DVD partnership with CinemaNow
- SonyBMG merger review could take some time
- GCap say radio ad sales no so good
- EMI rethinking ad buying things
- Hot Chip bet on Monkeys for Mercury
- Lily Allen gets 20k bonus apparently
- Aguilera on stuff
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TOP BIT>>
August is almost upon us, which means the CMU team will be heading North at the end of the week where the Edinburgh Festival is about to be unleashed once again. All of which means that the latest CMU radio show is the last edition until September. It is now available for listening at the usual place - http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk/cmuradio. In fact, I'm listening to it right now. Hey, that presenter sounds really good - who is he? You'll find a round up of everything that has been happening in the music world of late - taking in Jacko in court, RIAA in court, Shayne Ward, Eminem, We Are Scientists, Art Brut, ticket touts, iTrips, and the Mercury Music Prize. And then there's a one hour mix featuring a stack of our favourite tunes from the last six months - something trendsetters are calling the 'CMU Best Of 06 So Far Montage Thing (With One Older Than That)'. You can listen at anytime courtesy of TotallyRadio.com. And don't forget that the ThreeWeeks Radio Show, live from the Edinburgh Festival, kicks off on 7th August, on 87.7FM all over Edinburgh and, we hope, online too - check http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/radio for details.
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ON AIR>>
TODAY ON TOTALROCK
Feebz chats with hot young American metalheads Wicked Wisdom, fronted by Jada Pinkett Smith. Her husband's Hollwyood star Will Smith ('Helldrive', 3-6pm). Natasha's special guests are Canadians The Birthday Massacre ('The Batcave', 9pm to midnight). Listen live at http://www.totalrock.com
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: Peeping Tom
This is fun. Peeping Tom is basically a pop project (of sorts) from the legend that is Mike Patton, and their eponymous album has been doing the rounds for a couple of months now, released on Patton's own Ipecac Recordings, and distributed over here by Southern Records. To be honest I've only just stumbled across this latest Patton outlet, but it is really rather good - especially 'Mojo', a collaboration with Rahzel and Dan The Automator which I have a feeling Southern are planning on releasing over here as a single. Anyway, they obviously have some kind of special relationship with the MySpace people because the entire album seems to be available for preview here - so what better reason do you need for go seeing?
http://www.myspace.com/peepingtomispatton
This and more at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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CHANNELFLY OWNERS ATTEMPT SANCTUARY TAKEOVER
More fun over at the Sanctuary Music Group yesterday after the frequently trouble music firm confirmed that it had received an unsolicited share-only (ie no cash) takeover approach from MAMA, the group who own Sanctuary's smaller rival, cross-sector music company Channelfly.
MAMA made the all-share takeover offer on 14 Jul, but said yesterday that they were yet to receive a "meaningful response". They also indicated that if the Sanctuary board declined their offer, that they may attempt a hostile takeover anyway, believing that their proposed merger is in the best interests of shareholders of both companies.
In a statement to the city, they said: "The board of MAMA Group believes that the Possible Offer is in the best interests of the Sanctuary shareholders and the MAMA Group shareholders and, whilst the Board of MAMA Group would prefer to work with the Board of Sanctuary, the Board of MAMA Group is considering proceeding with the Possible Offer whether or not the Possible Offer is or will be recommended for acceptance by the Board of Sanctuary".
In response, the board of Sanctuary said yesterday: "The Board is continuing to evaluate the proposal and whilst this evaluation remains at a very preliminary stage the Board has already indicated a willingness, in principle, to meet with MAMA Group plc following the publication [later this week] of Sanctuary's interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2006".
As previously reported at length, the Sanctuary Music Group continues to try and overcome recent financial hardships, with recently appointed Frank Presland overseeing the latest restructure.
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JACKO JET-FILMER JAILED
That airplane maintenance company owner who pleaded guilty to installing the hidden cameras on a jet hired by Michael Jackson nearly three years ago, cameras that recorded conversations between Jacko and his then lawyer Mark Geragos as they flew to Santa Barbara so that Jackson could be arrested on those then new child abuse charges, has been jailed for eight months.
Executive Aviation boss Arvel Jett Reeves will also face an additional six months in a 'half way house' for his part in attempts to secure the highly private recordings, which he and Jeffrey Borer, who owned the company who chartered the plane, hoped to sell to the highest bidder (as it happens, given the controversial way that the recordings were made, no one bid).
Reeves pleaded guilty to federal charges brought against him in relation to the incident back in March.
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FILM STOLE OUR CHARACTER, SAY STEELY DAN
Steely Dan founders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen have hit out at a new film starring Owen Wilson, saying that the part the actor plays is based on the character depicted in a song appearing on their 2001 album 'Two Against One'. The pair allege that the title role in 'You, Me And Dupree' is a clear lift from their song 'Cousin Dupree', and have posted an open letter to Wilson's brother (fellow actor Luke) on their website. To be honest, I can't quite understand what Luke Wilson has to do with it, as he has no involvement in the film, but there you go.
Anyway, the song is about a musician who goes home to find that he rather likes his grown up cousin and decides to stay. The film is about a man who goes home to see an old friend who is getting married and decides to stay.
Becker and Fagen wrote on their website: "What we suspect may have happened is this: some hack writer or producer or whatever they call themselves in Malibu or Los Feliz apparently heard our Grammy winning song 'Cousin Dupree' on the radio and through, hey, man, this is a cool idea for a character in a movie or something. OK, so the "cousin" idea was no doubt eliminated so as not to offend the fundamentalist ticket buyers in the flyovers. Nevertheless, they like, took our character, this real dog sleeping on the couch and all and put him the middle of some hokey "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" rip off story and then, when it came time to change the character's name or whatever so people wouldn't know what a rip the whole thing was, they didn't even bother to think up a new fucking name for the guy!"
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RAVE CULTURE BACK ON THE RISE?
Now this is exciting - according to the Guardian the police have reported a recent significant rise in the number of illegal "rave" parties being held in the UK. Akin to the famous raves of the late eighties and early nineties, police are now reportedly monitoring websites and phonelines believed to be guiding party goers to illegal gatherings.
The Guardian reports: "Officers are warning landowners and the public to be on their guard after receiving intelligence that large raves may be being planned for weekends in August, particularly over the bank holiday". Apparently police in the South West fear that a particularly big gathering is being planned in Devon or Cornwall, while other police forces have reported using the Tories famous 1994 anti-rave legislation, or newer ASBO laws, to close down illegal parties.
The Guardian reckons the possible rebirth of rave culture (if that's what it is) may be a "rebellion against 'chav culture'" which, some say, has taken over the once credible dance clubs. Others reckon that it might be a sign of a swing back towards dance music as those cool kids get bored with an indie heavy scene dominated by "the likes of Coldplay" (hey, that's the Guardian dissing Coldplay, not me). Or, of course, it might be that legitimate clubs and festivals are just getting too damn professional (and expensive) - parties of the shambolic, illegal and really quite dangerous nature often proving much more fun, especially if you're so fucked on drugs you don't notice all the bad stuff associated with such events. Either way, International DJ Clubs Editor confirms that: "Rave has been bubbling under since its heyday - every so often there's a new influx of young people who get into it. This year there has been a huge rebirth."
All of which means that if you find cryptic stories in a Friday edition of the CMU Daily subtly drawing you to a field just off the M40, then get your raving shoes on. No, not really, clearly we're just not that cool. I just quite like the idea of being monitored by the police.
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CITY CENTRE MANCHESTER WAREHOUSE PARTIES PLANNED
If you prefer your all night parties to be legal, well this might be of interest. Promoters in Manchester have announced that they will stage 25 fully licensed parties in a large warehouse somewhere in the centre of the city (the exact location is a secret, so don't go asking). The parties will take place over twelve weeks between 6 Oct and 1 Jan, finishing up with a New Year's party before the venue closes down.
Among the DJs and acts set to appear over the 25 nights are 2manydjs, 3chairs, Aim, Ali Love, Andy C, Annie Mac, Black Strobe, Boys Noize, Cosmic Twins, Dave Clarke, De La Soul, Derrick May, Dexter (The Avalanches), Dynamite MC, DJ Craze, DJ Krush, DJ Yoda, Doves, El Presidente, Fingathing, Francois K, Evil 9, Gilles Peterson, Hybrid, Lorraine, James Zabiela, John Digweed, Justice, Kasabian, Krust, Krysko, Lemon D & Dillinja, Mad Professor, Mike Pickering, Moodymann, Mr Scruff, Optimo, Pendulum, Qbert, Rahzel & Js1, Roni Size, Sasha, Scratch Perverts, Simian Mobile Disco, Soulwax Presents Niteversions Live, Spank Rock, Steve Lawler, Theo Parrish, Virus Live Presents Chameleon and Yousef - so quite a lot then.
The exact location and line up will be announced in mid-August. There's more (though not all that much more) info at http://www.thewarehouseproject.com. Press info is from ePM. Perhaps if you bug them they'll tell you where all this is going to take place. Though obviously they'd have to kill you immediately. Well, gag you until mid-August for sure.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Junior Boys - In The Morning (Domino Records)
Junior Boys' debut album 'Last Exit' was possibly the best album of 2004; a landmark future-soul album that explored majestic new territory in electro-pop. Two years on, expectations are rightly high for its follow up, but on the strength of the tracks showcased here on the first single from it, we've no need to fear disappointment. 'In The Morning' is simply brilliant. The beats are chunky and robotic but less jerky than previous efforts (the lack of 2 step-esque stop-start jittery rhythms can in part be attributed to the departure of founder Junior Boy Johnny Dark), whilst the soulful vocals seem to consist of little more than "Do ya?", but the waves of synths wash over you, in tandem with some beautiful iridescent guitar. Resistance is simply not an option. 'The Equalizer' is effectively more of the same, sounding redolent of all manner of things but atypically managing to sound like no-one else on earth at the same time. There's some remixes too: Alex Smoke's minimal glitch-house take on 'ITM' is a passable rework but hardly essential listening; Morgan Geist fares much better on 'The Equalizer', rendering it superior to the original by virtue of bringing the synths to the fore and having more fun with the beats. With the subtly impassioned vocals of Jeremy Greenspan suggestive of Hall and Oates, the only valid modern reference point that springs to mind is Zoot Woman, but Junior Boys are streets ahead of Stuart Price's admittedly fine combo. Moving the heart, head and feet in equally sublime measures, this is a very fine slice of modern pop indeed. MS
Releas date: 14 Aug
Press contact: Domino IH [all]
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CONCRETES SINGER QUITS
Vocalist Victoria Bergsman is leaving The Concretes after eleven years. The band have released a statement which reads: "The Concretes have announced that lead singer Victoria Bergsman is departing the band to pursue a solo career. The band will continue playing together and are currently drafting songs for a new album. They performed without Bergsman at the Summercase Festival in Spain. They apologise to fans who were hoping to see them perform together."
The statement continues: "The Concretes' performance of recent single 'On The Radio' on the last series of the Jonathan Ross TV Show is the last time the band will have played together prior to Bergsman's departure. Anyway... Life goes on. We are working on new stuff and so is Victoria. We wish her the best of luck."
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SONY PUBLISHING SIGN UP TWO DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
Sony/ATV Music Publishing has announced it has signed up two members of Dirty Pretty Things - guitarist Anthony Rossomando and drummer Gary Powell - to a long-term publishing deal, giving the publishing firm access to no end of guitar chords and, erm, drum beats? Ah, no, access to Rossomando and Powell's share of the Dirty Pretty Things catalogue, and their own songwriting skills.
Confirming the deal, Sony/ATV MD Rakesh Sanghvi told CMU: "We think that Dirty Pretty Things are going to become one of biggest UK acts around and are delighted to have signed Gary and Anthony. They are both talented songwriters in their own right and between them they contribute to a large percentage of the bands current output so it's a great deal for us".
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XZIBIT SIGNS TO KOCH
Rapper Xzibit has confirmed a deal with Koch which will see him launching his own imprint, Open Bar Entertainment, ahead of the release of his sixth album 'Full Circle'.
Confirming the deal, Xzibit, also host of MTV's original Pimp My Ride show, of course, told reporters: "After 10 years of being signed to a major label, I have learned a lot. Koch Records is giving me the opportunity to put this knowledge to work. I am excited to be putting an Independent record out through Open Bar Entertainment/Koch Records and am looking forward to doing what I love to do best."
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KILLERS FULL ALBUM DETAILS ANNOUNCED
The Killers have confirmed that their upcoming second album, entitled 'Sam's Town', as previously reported, will be released on 2 Oct. The first single will be 'When You Were Young', out on 18 Sep. And here, for your pleasure, is the tracklisting:
Sam's Town
Enterlude
When You Were Young
Bling
For Reasons Unknown
Read My Mind
Uncle Jonny
Bones
My List
This River Is Wild
Why Do I Keep Counting?
Exitlude
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PATRICK WOLF SINGLE, TOUR
Patrick Wolf is to release a new single - 'Accident And Emergency' - on 9 Oct. Which is interesting, because I seem to remember him being a bit accident prone. Anyway, it'll be the first single release from his third album 'The Magic Position', due out in 2006. He's also announced a series of October tour dates, as follows, tickets on sale 26 Jul, which is tomorrow, fact-fans:
1 Oct: Oxford, Zodiac
2 Oct: Manchester, Academy 3
3 Oct: Glasgow, G2
4 Oct: London, Koko
5 Oct: Norwich, Waterfront
6 Oct: Stoke, Sugarmill
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NEW REM ANTHOLOGY UPCOMING
An anthology of REM's early releases via IRS Records is to be released via EMI Catalog Music Marketing on 12 Sep, as both a single-disc CD package and as a double-disc set featuring rarities, live tracks and previously unreleased material. Entitled 'And I Feel Fine' the CD will comprise tracks from REM's first five years, including the likes of 'Begin The Begin' and 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It'. A DVD release, 'When the Light Is Mine', will feature music videos and live TV performances.
The band were involved in creating the new releases, says band manager Bertis Downs, who adds: "This is a good history lesson on the days of yore when the band first started out and were writing sometimes 2-3 songs a day, many of which became classics, and some of which were lost in the mists of tape and time and vault."
And now it's time for tracklisting heaven. Take it away, REM.
CD: 'And I Feel Fine':
Begin the Begin
Radio Free Europe
Pretty Persuasion
Talk About the Passion
(Don't Go Back to) Rockville
Sitting Still
Gardening at Night
7 Chinese Bros.
So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
Driver 8
Can't Get There From Here
Finest Worksong
Feeling Gravity's Pull
I Believe
Life and How To Live It
Cuyahoga
The One I Love
Welcome to the Occupation
Fall on Me
Perfect Circle
It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Bonus disc:
Pilgrimage (Mike's pick)
These Days (Bill's pick)
Gardening at Night (slower electric demo; previously unreleased)
Radio Free Europe (Hib-tone version)
Sitting Still (Hib-tone version)
Life and How to Live It (Live at the Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland 9/14/87; previously unreleased)
Ages of You (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
We Walk (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
1,000,000 (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
Finest Worksong (other mix)
Hyena (demo; previously unreleased)
Theme From Two Steps Onward (previously unreleased)
Superman
All the Right Friends (previously unreleased)
Mystery to Me (demo; previously unreleased)
Just A Touch (live in-studio version; previously unreleased)
Bad Day (previously unreleased)
King of Birds
Swan Swan H (live acoustic version)
Disturbance at the Heron House (Peter's pick)
Time After Time (Annelise) (Michael's pick)
DVD: 'When the Light Is Mine':
Wolves, Lower
Radio Free Europe
Talk About the Passion
Radio Free Europe (Live, The Tube, 11/18/83)
Talk About the Passion (Live, The Tube, 11/18/83)
So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
James Herbert's Left of Reckoning
Pretty Persuasion (Live, The Old Grey Whistle Test, 11/20/84)
Can't Get There From Here
Driver 8
Life and How To Live It
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Can't Get There From Here (Live, The Tube, 10/25/85)
Fall On Me
Swan Swan H (Inside/Out)
The One I Love
It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Finest Worksong
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DOHERTY TO RELEASE SOLO ALBUM
Pete Doherty has told NME that he is planning to release a solo album shortly. The singer told the publication, while stating the obvious a little: "There'll be a solo acoustic album released this year. It differs from Babyshambles because it will just be me."
Asked if he'd ever considered leaving London to get away from his lifestyle problems (can't believe I just wrote that) he said: "That's so strange you say that, I've just been talking about getting a cottage ... a little pond and my guitar."
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BARKER AND HOPPUS TALK ABOUT NEW PROJECT
Former Blink 182 boys Travis Barker and Mark Hoppis have spoken to MTV about their new project, Plus 44, which has been the subject of much speculation since Blink 182 announced an 'indefinite hiatus' back in 2005.
Explaining the band's sound, Hoppus said: "There's all kinds of stuff going on. Guitars mixed with keyboards, and electronic drums mixed with live drums. It's based on guitars and rhythms, and both [bandmates] Shane [Gallagher, ex of The Nervous return] and Craig [Fairbaugh, ex of Transplants] are great guitar players."
A Plus 44 album, 'Little Death', is due out in October.
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ARCTIC MONKEYS ON NEW VIDEO
Arctic Monkeys have taken a break from their tour to return to Sheffield to make their new video for 'Leave Before The Lights Come On', out on 14 Aug. On location on the city's Shoreham Street, drummer Matt Helders, speaking about the promo, told the BBC: "It's all around this road really, we've got a few other bits to do as well. I don't want to give anything away yet. It's quite an interesting one to watch, probably be more understandable when you watch it than me trying to tell you about it."
On the new bassist Nick O'Malley's apparent transition to permanent fixture, he added. "He replaced Andy on the American tour and it just kinda stayed that way."
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JURASSIC 5 ASKING FOR TROUBLE
I heard that when you do things like this, the CIA come calling. The video for Jurassic 5's 'Work It Out', from forthcoming album 'Feedback', depicts US Pres George W Bush jogging in Los Angeles, taunting unemployed people, urinating in public and raising gas prices. The members of Jurassic 5 only appear briefly in the video themselves.
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ALBUM REVIEW: The Mules - Save Your Face (Organ Grinder Records)
The Mules debut album, 'Save Your Face', follows the release of single 'Polly-O' back in December and current second single release 'Here to Help'. Although The Mules do have an essence of today's popular rock and roll, lamely titled 'indie', the similarities do not stretch beyond Ed Seed's British vocal style. The combination of guitar, bass, drums, violin and occasional piano with five slightly eccentric Oxford students produces a staccato storytelling cabaret. Focusing on the percussion parts, title track, 'Save Your Face' is a screeching, oom-pah rhythm, slightly too fast to keep up with but which wouldn't seem out of place in a modernised performance of Oliver. 'Seasonticketholder', the shortest but possibly the fastest track on the album, feels more like a street musician trying to fit in as much as physically possible in that window of opportunity that is the earshot of the passing public. Blues number, 'Live Feed', stands out like a sore thumb on this album, being so laid back you begin to feel like The Mules sugar rush has abruptly hit a wall, a foot thick iron wall. That is until the ska guitar, country fiddle and "HEY" of 'Tule Lake' slowly brings you back to the party mood. 'We're Good People' has an eerie air to it, reminiscent of Tim Burton films, reinforcing The Mules compatibility with the stage and film. With a whopping 15 tracks, 'Save Your Face' as a whole is an excellent debut showcasing five fantastic musicians obviously bored of the mindless song writing of today. AW
Release Date: 21 Aug
Press contact: Trailer [all]
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PAVAROTTI SAYS SHOW WILL GO ON
Luciano Pavarotti has said that he has every intention of rescheduling his recently cancelled farewell tour dates, despite his recent health troubles. The 70 year old singer, who recently underwent surgery on his back as well as treatment for pancreatic cancer, told Italian newspaper La Stampa: "I have every intention of returning to singing. I want to finish my tour. I can't give precise dates because I'll have to discuss it with the doctors, but I think I'll start again next year."
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NOIR CANCELS US TOUR
CMU favourite Jim Noir has cancelled a series of appearances he was due to make in the US, starting yesterday, citing health issues as the cause of the postponement. Don't know if the dates, arranged to coincide with the release of 'Tower Of Love' on 8 Aug, will be rescheduled.
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AXL ON HIS NEWCASTLE DEPARTURE
From gig cancellations to gig walk-offs. Guns N Roses made something of a dramatic departure at a gig in Newcastle last week - leading to reports they were "bottled off the stage". While that seems to be a slight exaggeration, it was certainly things being thrown from the crowd that motivated Axl to call it a night earlier than expected.
Following media reports on the incident, he told reporters yesterday: "We stopped the song and gave a warning. We came back and started the song over and completed it. We then said goodnight. The house lights went down and I got hit a second time, in the mouth, by a solid object thrown by someone in the audience. After having warned the crowd that we would leave, and having played more than two hours, we left the stage and called it a night with the full support of everyone in the band, our guests and management."
So, there you go.
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GELDOF CANCELS ITALIAN GIGS DUE TO POOR TURN OUT
And onto a last minute gig cancellation - this time involving poor old Bob Geldof. He had to cancel a live show in Italy after just 45 fans showed up to the 12,000 capacity venue. Those 45 fans were reportedly very keen for Geldof to perform anyway, but he told them that there weren't "the right conditions for a concert" - though he did sign autographs and pose for photos. Bob then reportedly met with his Italian promoters, who together decided to cancel a second Italian date, also due to poor ticket sales.
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INTERNATIONAL DJ EXPO
One for all you superstar DJs out there. The 2006 International DJ Expo will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center in, erm, Atlantic City from 21 to 24 Aug. Now in its seventeenth year, there'll be seminars, and a trade fair, and loads of parties. Plus a special segment called La Revolucion focusing on emerging Reggaeton genre and the Latin Hip Hop movement. For more info check http://www.djtimes.com/djexpo - press info from [email protected]
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ROADRUNNER EXPAND A&R TEAM - LOOKING TO WORK WITH CLASSIC ACTS
Roadrunner Records have expanded their international A&R team by appointing Dante Bonutto and Derek Oliver. The new duo, who have worked with the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Bad Company and Yes during their long music industry careers, will aim to bring 'classic artists' to the label to work on new studio recordings and DVDs.
Confirming the new appointments, Roadrunner International's VP Of Marketing And Acquisitions, Wally Van Middendorp, told CMU: "In recent years we have been developing Roadrunner's A&R activities in Europe and it is great to have two experienced A&R managers like Derek and Dante join our international A&R team enabling us to cover a broad range of musical styles and bring some great bands to the label."
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EAGLE ENTER INTRO BURN-TO-DVD PARTNERSHIP WITH CINEMANOW
London based Eagle Vision has announced a new partnership with US video download service CinemaNow which will enable subscribers to burn music-based video content to DVD via a web based platform.
Video recordings of Diana Krall, Willie Nelson, Yes, The Doors, Marilyn Manson and Metallica will be among the catalogue of content made available via the new 'Burn-To-DVD' service.
CinemaNow customers can download copy-protected 'virtual DVDs' to their PCs which they can either watch on their PC or, crucially, burn to DVD, just once, for watching on any PC or any DVD player.
Eagle plan to launch a similar service in the UK later this year via a partnership with BT's new internet TV service, while they already offer the service in France through via Free Telecom's iConcerts.
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SONYBMG MERGER REVIEW COULD TAKE SOME TIME
Hey, don't you go expecting a quick resolution to the whole SonyBMG thing. When the EU courts first ruled that the Sony BMG merger should never have taken place, it was said that Sony Corp and Bertelsmann would have to resubmit their merger proposition to the European Commission more or less straight away, so the EC types could review it afresh within a few months. But, given that Sony Corp and Bertelsmann probably want to submit something a bit different now than what they would have submitted two years ago, the authorities have said they can have more time to get things together. In fact, as far as we can see, no deadline for submission has actually been set - so basically they have forever to resubmit. And HitsDailyDouble quote Bertelsmann as saying: "We do not expect the formal process to start soon. We shall first need to liaise with the European Commission to see what additional information they may need". So, no need for you SonyBMGers to get your business cards reordered just yet.
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GCAP SAY RADIO AD SALES NO SO GOOD
Your good friends over there at GCap have said that the radio advertising market is "weaker than anticipated", which isn't great, given that I think everyone was anticipating that it was pretty weak to start with. The radio company says its revenues are therefore down for the three months to the end of June (down 6% year on year), with July revenues down by as much as 14%. However, with just a slight air of optimism about the forthcoming months, they said they reckoned June and July were particularly difficult months because there was "an exceptional decrease primarily due to lower advertising spend around the World Cup".
The always struggling these days Capital Radio suffered the most, with the new 'we never play more than two ads in a row don't you know' policy still establishing itself. In a statement to its shareholders the radio group says: "As anticipated, the Capital Radio inventory policy has affected revenues in the quarter to June 30, 2006. However, the board remains confident that management are taking the right steps to improve audience performance with improved presentation, music and general content across the station; with the arrival in August of a new programme director and the rollout of a marketing plan."
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EMI RETHINKING AD BUYING THINGS
So, perhaps recent incorrect reports in some marketing magazine or other that Universal Music were planning on moving their media buying account came about because of rumours relating to this story.
Because EMI yesterday confirmed they are definitely reconsidering which media agencies they use to book their ads. That's not to say that they think current agencies Carat or MCS are hopeless - and in fact both are being invited to rebid - rather that they are undertaking "a wider media review to keep its media strategy in line with the constantly evolving media landscape". So there you go.
They should ask all possible contenders "will you be placing ads in that excellent sounding CMU Freshers' Week newspaper that was announced in the CMU Daily yesterday?" Whoever says "well of course, what better way is there to enthuse the student market with my top releases?" should get the contract. And a healthy bonus.
Anyway, here's a PDF: http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/freshersweek.pdf
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HOT CHIP BET ON MONKEYS FOR MERCURY
Alexis Taylor out of Mercury-nominated Hot Chip says he's going to have a flutter on fellow nominees Arctic Monkeys to win the Music Prize, because he thinks they're a sure thing. Taylor told MTV: "I'm gonna put some money on them. I haven't actually checked our odds yet."
He added: "We had a nice time with the Arctic Monkeys in Sweden. We played at a festival called Accelerator over there and they were around and it was very nice. We were backstage and there was a nice kind of balcony and the sun setting on the water and Alex was there sort of playing his guitar and it was really quite strange. I didn't actually say hello to them, they looked a bit pissed off about being there but they seemed nice."
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LILY ALLEN GETS 20K BONUS APPARENTLY
More Mercury Music Prize related stories. According to tabloid reports, Lily Allen has been given a £20,000 bonus to give her a boost after her album 'Alright, Still' wasn't nominated for the Prize, despite much expectation that it would be. One of those 'sources' said: "Behind the scenes it was widely expected Lily would be on the Mercury list as she's an innovative performer with genuine lyrics. Her label thought the Mercurys would love her. When the nominees came through, Lily was naturally dismayed but didn't let it get her down. But her team thought she deserved a perk and have put £20,000 in her bank account."
Other reports suggest that Allen is not too concerned about not getting a nod. She's said to have commented: "It's nice to be nominated, but look at the previous winners. Where are they now?"
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AGUILERA ON STUFF
Christina Aguilera has been talking about various things in a new interview with Newsweek. On her new album, 'Back To Basics', she says she's toned down the pretty aggressive sexual image she's projected previously. "The sexuality coming forward on this record is more softened. It's more pin-up, tongue-in-cheek. It's playful. People take sex far too seriously," she says.
She added, however, that she's proud of earlier outing 'Stripped', because it made a statement and elicited decided responses, saying: "If you liked it, you wanted to root for me - 'Look, she's empowered.' If not, well, you'd stick all those labels on me."
On the much reported alleged feud between her and Britney Spears, Aguilera claims that there never was one, saying: "We were like best friends, but the media saw a navel and blond hair and had to create some drama."