| CMU Daily - on the inside Friday 1st September |
|
In today's CMU Daily:
- Panic! at VMAs - actually, the action's outside
- Dixie Chicks left out of CMA nominations
- Hope Of The States split
- 50 Cent sued over Springfield incident
- Wonder Stuff drummer speeding ahead of accident
- Manilow recovering after hip surgery
- Dinosaur Jr kit stolen
- Farrell samples Morrison poem
- New Sleepy Jackson
- New Polyphonic Spree
- New Gorillaz DVD planned
- Chemical Brothers launch Tate Tracks
- Pope cancels Vatican pop concert
- Bragg turns concerns to MTV networking site
- BMG Publishing house sale enters third phase
- EMI likely to appeal Beatles royalty ruling
- IFPI 2005 stats lack market share data
- Robbie questions future
- Beyonce denies Diana dress rumours
--------------------------------------------------
TOP BIT>>
Hey, it's September, hurrah! After an exhausting but incredibly successful month at the Edinburgh Festival (http://www.threeweeks.co.uk), the CMU team are back in London raring to go as the music industry and college community both get back into the swing of things for the Autumn. We've got lots of new projects planned for the new academic year - both in our CMU guise, and through our sister ventures, ThreeWeeks and the College Media Network. Needless to say, we'll plug everything here in the Top Bit, though if you want to discuss our plans one on one (or how you could get involved, or how you could use our marketing, content, design or media services) then drop us an email to [email protected] and we'll fix things up.
Meanwhile, the Daily should return to its usual morning delivery for the Autumn (sometime between 10am and 11am, depending on how much congestion there is in the ether), with all those gimmicky add ons - The Chart Update, My Space Of The Day, Friday Tips and this here Top Bit back from next week, hurrah! So, go on, tell a friend. Anyone working in music or media in anyway is welcome to join the CMU Music Network and to receive the CMU Daily each morning - just tell them to email their name, company and role to [email protected] Sorted.
--------------------------------------------------
JOBS N STUFF>>
HEAD OF LABEL MANAGEMENT
Digital music store TuneTribe.com is looking to recruit a senior member of staff to take responsibility for managing TuneTribe's label team and music catalogue. The role incorporates managing the delivery of all music products; maintaining and building relationships with record labels, distributors and aggregators; and helping to exploit the content commercially. You should be a fast learner as well as meticulously well-organised and able to deal effectively with numerous systems and simultaneous projects. You will be adept at signing up new labels and aggregators, whilst handling enquiries from existing content suppliers. You will work closely with labels to help implement on-site marketing initiatives for their artists. You will also regularly devise and manage off-site commercial opportunities maximising the exploitation of our digital catalogue. It goes without saying that you will be at ease with online content management systems and financial reporting. You should be used to dealing with major labels as well as independents. Applicants need to demonstrate a good understanding of the digital music market and the commercial and technological issues associated with it. You will have a minimum of 5 years experience in the music industry with emphasis on the retail, label and digital end of the business. A passion for music and all things digital will certainly help.
Please send a covering letter detailing how your experience is relevant to this position alongside a current CV to [email protected]
--
ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS, SERVICES AND PRODUCTS here for just £50 a week, or £150 for two weeks in the Daily and four weeks on the web. Email [email protected] for details.
--------------------------------------------------
PANIC! AT VMAS - ACTUALLY, THE ACTION'S OUTSIDE
So, Panic! At The Disco won the overall Video Of The Year prize at last night's MTV VMAs for the pop promo to their song 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies', which is nice. They beat fellow nominees Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to the prize. James Blunt took Best Male Video and Best Cinematography for 'You're Beautiful', while Kelly Clarkson won Best Female Video for 'Because Of You'. Shakira, nominated in seven categories, took home just the one, Best Choreography for 'Hips Don't Lie'. Madonna, nominated for five gongs, won none.
For list fans (or those who don't have six and half days to extract the information from MTV's very flash but completely unusable VMAs website), the winners in the major categories at last night's big bash ran as follows:
Video Of The Year: Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
Male Video: James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Female Video: Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You
Group Video: The All-American Rejects - Move Along
Rap Video: Chamillionaire - Ridin'
R&B Video: Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug And Bun B - Check On It
Hip-Hop Video: Black Eyed Peas - My Humps
Dance Video: Pussycat Dolls Featuring Snoop Dogg - Buttons
Rock Video: AFI - Miss Murder
Pop Video: Pink - Stupid Girls
New Artist In A Video: Avenged Sevenfold - Bat Country
Video Game Soundtrack: Marc Ecko's Getting Up (Atari)
Video Game Score: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Jeremy Soule)
Ringtone Of The Year: Fort Minor - Where'd You Go
Viewer's Choice: Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance
Press coverage of the awards, which returned to New York after two years in Miami, generally concluded that the whole event was a bit lacklustre. The highlight of the evening seemingly occurred outside the party, where Mos Def was arrested for 'disorderly conduct' after staging an impromptu performance atop a flatbed truck. The rapper was reportedly performing a new track that is critical of the Bush regime's response to Hurricane Katrina last year. Police apparently initially allowed the performance of one track after one of Mos Def's entourage claimed they had a permit to be there, but officers then started to arrest the rapper's people after a request to end the show was ignored.
Mos Def's publicist has subsequently claimed the NYPD's treatment of the rapper and his entourage was excessive, telling reporters: "Mos Def was unjustly arrested tonight while performing on a flatbed truck in New York City outside the Video Music Awards. Mos Def was not out to break any laws. His only goal was to heighten the awareness of a serious situation that still exists in our country. He does not want people to forget that although it's one year later, the people and cities hit by the hurricane still need the help of the American people". Members of the rapper's entourage reportedly filmed the whole thing, and a video is expected to be posted on a website sometime soon.
Finally in VMAs news, Gwen Stefani has issued a statement denying US press reports that her non-attendance at the awards bash was a protest at the "shoddy treatment" she received at last year's event. Stefani said yesterday: "Despite what you may have heard, the only reason I am not attending the MTV Video Music Awards is because I will be recording and spending time with my family. Any other speculation out there is false. I congratulate all of this year's performers and nominees and I look forward to being back at the VMAs next year". Whether she plans to perform any politically contentious songs in a truck outside VMAs 2007 is not clear, though MTV bosses might be hoping she does, given the critical response to their 2006 event.
--------------------------------------------------
DIXIE CHICKS LEFT OUT OF CMA NOMINATIONS
More awards, and possibly more politics. The shortlists are out for this year's US Country Music Awards and, despite having one of their most successful years to date, previous winners The Dixie Chicks are not nominated for anything. Some might argue that their recent album, 'Taking The Long Way Round', was less country than previous releases, and therefore not eligible. Others will say their exclusion is entirely political - the Chicks' anti-Bush stand still unpopular amongst the country music faithful.
Politics aside, the most nominated contender at the CMAs this year is Brad Paisely, who is up for six awards, including Best Album, Best Male Vocalist and Entertainer Of The Year. Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney are both up for four awards each. Meanwhile Bon Jovi are also up for a gong - with their duet with Jennifer Nettles, 'Who Says You Can't Go Home', nominated for Musical Event Of The Year.
The awards will be, erm, awarded at a Nashville ceremony on 9 Nov.
--------------------------------------------------
HOPE OF THE STATES SPLIT
Having told fans that their Reading and Leeds sets would be their last ever live shows, Hope Of The States yesterday confirmed they were splitting. In a statement the SonyBMG signed band said: "We can walk away at this point as friends and be increasingly proud of what we have done. Thank you to everyone for all your support and the incredible times we have shared with our fans and supporters".
Hope Of The States, who were hit by tragedy early on when founding member Jimmy Lawrence committed suicide back in 2004, enjoyed success with two albums during their short time together - 2004's 'The Lost Riots' and this year's 'Left'.
--------------------------------------------------
50 CENT SUED OVER SPRINGFIELD INCIDENT
50 Cent is being sued by two female fans who claim he assaulted them at a concert in 2004. This case relates to that previously reported gig in Springfield, Massachusetts where Fiddy stormed into the audience after someone threw a water bottle at him. Two fans, Donna DeJesus and Taneka Nisbitt, claim that the rapper's actions that night left them with serious injuries - the former says Fiddy punched her in the face, while the latter claims he pushed her to the ground causing a knee injury that later required surgery. They are seeking compensation to cover medical costs and other expenses related to the incident.
50 Cent is yet to comment on the lawsuits.
--------------------------------------------------
WONDER STUFF DRUMMER SPEEDING AHEAD OF ACCIDENT
Martin Gilks, former drummer with The Wonder Stuff, was seen speeding and tailgating moments before he was involved in a fatal crash on his motorbike, an inquest was told this week.
Witness Tim Dunn told the inquest into the accident, which occurred back in April and killed Gilks and left his pillion passenger Erica Boyle with a broken leg, that he "was watching Gilks because he was right on my tail, speeding and going around the [central] island the wrong way". He said that Gilks had been riding "like a muppet" prior to the accident.
Concluding, the coroner recorded a verdict of 'traumatic road death', adding: "He failed to negotiate the bend for some reason and clipped the kerb. The bike fell on its side and maintained a speed of 47mph, the riders were thrown off, fatally injuring Mr Gilks."
Gilks was a member of The Wonder Stuff when they scored hits in the early nineties with the likes of 'The Size Of A Cow' and 'Dizzy'. After the band initially split in 1994 he moved into management, working with the likes of A, Reef and Hundred Reasons.
--------------------------------------------------
MANILOW RECOVERING AFTER HIP SURGERY
Barry Manilow is recovering after the previously reported surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips. He had the operation shortly after winning an Emmy Award for Best Individual Variety Performance at the weekend. Following the surgery, his publicist Carol Marshall told reporters: "He's doing great. He's still on a high from winning an Emmy". It is hoped that Manilow, who had to cancel a series of gigs because of the pain he was in, will be ready to start performing again in October, when his new album 'The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties' is due to be released.
--------------------------------------------------
DINOSAUR JR KIT STOLEN
American rockers Dinosaur Jr have had all their kit stolen from a trailer that was parked outside the New York hotel where they were staying after a performance in Brooklyn. In an email to friends and colleagues they have listed the missing equipment, and appealed for information on its possible whereabouts. The email reads: "We would appreciate spreading the word and passing this list around in hopes of recovering their gear. Please notify and alert your local guitar shops, pawn shops, music and web stores etc to keep an eye out for this gear. Feel free to send this list to any and all band, tour and production managers, guitar freaks, touring personnel, venues, musicians and/or thieves that you think could help us".
--------------------------------------------------
FARRELL SAMPLES MORRISON POEM
AOL Music report that Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell has used a recording of Jim Morrison reading a poem on a track for his upcoming 'Satellite Party' album. The Morrison recording, previously unreleased, will appear on a song called 'Woman In The Window', with music especially created to accompany the verse. It's not clear where or how Farrell came across the poem, though the track is reported to be really rather good.
--------------------------------------------------
NEW SLEEPY JACKSON
The Sleepy Jackson will release a new single, 'I Understand What You Want But I Just Don't Agree', on 2 Oct - it's the second release from album 'Personality', released back in July.
--------------------------------------------------
NEW POLYPHONIC SPREE
The Polyphonic Spree will release a new EP in the US next week called 'Wait', which will feature two new tracks and three cover versions - of Nirvana's 'Lithium', Tripping Daisy's 'Sonic Bloom' and Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way'. I'm not sure if it's getting a UK release, though there'll be a digital version on iTunes, which I'm guessing you'll be able to access over here.
--------------------------------------------------
NEW GORILLAZ DVD PLANNED
A new Gorillaz DVD will be released on 30 Oct featuring the videos, performances and short animated films that accompanied the band's second album 'Demon Days'. There will also be an interview with band member Noodle. The DVD will be called 'Phase Two - Slowboat To Hades' for reasons that elude me.
--------------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL BROTHERS LAUNCH TATE TRACKS
The Chemical Brothers, Graham Coxon, The Long Blondes, Union Of Knives and Estelle are among the musicians who have been asked by the Tate Modern to create tracks inspired by works of art. The first track is the one from The Chemical Brothers, called 'The Rock Drill', which was inspired by the Jacob Epstein sculpture Torso In Metal from The Rock Drill. Visitors to the gallery will be able to hear the track while looking at the artwork.
On the project, The Chemical Brothers told reporters: "We chose to write music for The Rock Drill as it seemed so dynamic, powerful and modern - it just seemed so techno - we could imagine music as soon as we saw it. The sculpture has a feeling of movement. We wanted to capture the latent feeling of force that the figure has. Having heard music in art galleries before that is largely ambient, we wanted to make something rhythmic and structured that connected to the piece."
Tate Media Director Will Gompertz added: "Tate Tracks highlights just how powerful the relationship between music and art can be and we're delighted to work with so many major musicians. Each act has responded distinctly to the artwork chosen and the results are inspirational."
--------------------------------------------------
POPE CANCELS VATICAN POP CONCERT
The Pope has abolished what had become a modern tradition, a Christmas pop concert at the Vatican. Organisers of the annual pop event will now stage it in Monoco rather than in the Paul VI auditorium in the holy city.
Reports say that Pope Benedict XVI does not share his predecessor's taste for pop music, and that he is concerned about the potential scandal that hosting pop events might cause. Italian newspaper La Stampa reports: "Pope Ratzinger prefers Mozart and Bach to 'pop' music and thus, after 12 years, the traditional Vatican Christmas concert comes to an end".
The Christmas concerts began in 1993, and each year Pope John Paul II either granted an audience with the performers or prepared a video-taped message. However, Pope Benedict chose not to be involved in last year's event, a sign that he did not actively support the tradition. A commentator from Italian news agency ANSA commented this week: "It is impossible not to notice a change under the new pontiff. Benedict XVI is a very sober pope and is not inclined toward variety shows. He is more concerned about leading the faith of Catholics to its spiritual essence".
Of course, the political problems the concerts sometimes caused were surely part of the decision to stop holding them at the Vatican. Last year there was some controversy after Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury was axed from the line up after she took part in a campaign promoting the use of condoms in her home country. And in 2003 Lauryn Hill annoyed some in the Catholic community when she told her audience at the concert that the church should ask forgiveness for the crimes committed in the United States by paedophile priests.
--------------------------------------------------
BRAGG TURNS CONCERNS TO MTV NETWORKING SITE
Having persuaded both MySpace and Bebo to change the terms and conditions of their music services to clarify that ownership of tracks posted on artist pages remain with the artist, Billy Bragg has now turned his attention to MTV's new and previously reported social networking service MTV Flux - does he spend his whole life surfing the net for dodgy t+cs? Anyway, Bragg claims that the terms and conditions of the new service, which, like MySpace and Bebo, allows registered users to upload their own original audio or video content, are ambiguous as to who owns the copyright on uploaded content. You can see him discussing his concerns on his website - http://www.billybragg.co.uk.
However, MTV dispute the singer's claims, saying their existing terms quite clearly state that users maintain the ownership of their copyrights when they upload content to their Flux service. Writing on the Media Guardian website, MTV's UK VP Of Legal, Nayeem Syed, says: "Although Mr Bragg says that most artists are 'unlikely to read the terms and conditions with which they are required to agree before joining the service' we would actively encourage them to do so because they would come across an important passage which he chose not to mention. Namely, 'By uploading or sending any material to us ... you continue to retain ownership of such material and may continue to use the content outside the website'".
That said, Bragg's specific concern is over the term which says users who upload their content must "waive" their "moral rights" over their content. This is included because part of the Flux concept is that content uploaded to the MTV website might also appear on the MTV Flux TV channel (ie giving participants TV as well as online exposure). While that concept is probably a good one, Bragg worries that that term implies MTV is claiming some kind of ownership of uploaded content.
On that specific concern, Syed continues: "It is accepted practice to ask artists to "waive" - not assign - their moral rights. Otherwise, we couldn't even shorten any material in terms of length or to suit the medium in which it is broadcast. The terms and conditions are clear and clearly protect anyone who uploads content to MTV Flux. Had Mr Bragg read them fully, there would have been no room for his misunderstanding. Furthermore they are consistent with the other main broadcasters. But let's make one thing very clear - the rights remain with the individual".
In Bragg's defence, I think his point is that while the terms might have been written in good faith, and while they might make complete sense to Ms Syed, given that the people who will sign up to Flux are not likely to be completely up to speed with legal jargon and all that nonsense, they can't really be expected to interpret the small print in the same way as MTV's legal team - ie without suspicion. Whether Bragg will accept Syed's reassurances on the matter, or whether he'll push for changes in the actual terms to ensure clarification, remains to be seen.
--------------------------------------------------
BMG PUBLISHING HOUSE SALE ENTERS THIRD PHASE
The auction procedure for Bertelsmann's publishing company BMG Music Publishing has now entered a third phase as the deadline passed for preferred buyers to submit their firm bids.
In the end between 12 and 15 companies who expressed an interest in buying the music publishing house were invited to submit firm bids. Bertelsmann has not confirmed who those companies are, though according to Billboard it is thought final bidders include Viacom, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI Group (backed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts), Charles Koppelman (backed by GTCR Goldner Rauner), BC Partners (supported by former Sony/ATV Worldwide President Richard Rowe and former Sony Music UK Chairman Paul Russell); Apollo Management (supported by former BMG chief Strauss Zelnick) and a management buyout led by BMG chairman/CEO Nicholas Firth and backed by Bear Stearns. Sony Corp, Bertelsmann's partners in record company SonyBMG, have not bid.
Bertelsmann are now expected to take a few days to consider each firm bid before deciding on the final contenders, of which there may be up to three.
--------------------------------------------------
EMI LIKELY TO APPEAL BEATLES ROYALTY RULING
The EMI Group yesterday said it is "likely" to appeal a decision in the New York courts to allow The Beatles to pursue litigation against them regarding a royalties dispute.
As previously reported, The Beatles claim that EMI's Capitol division has defrauded them out of millions in royalty payments by secretly selling recordings which the band were told were either damaged, lost or used entirely for promotional purposes. They are seeking both compensation, and ownership of their master recordings.
As reported yesterday, EMI had hoped to have the case thrown out of court because, they claim, there is simply too little information about the illegitimate practices that Capitol executives are accused of - with most of the alleged incidents occurring in the early and mid nineties. However a New York court this week said the band's case was strong enough to proceed.
Despite indicating that they are likely to appeal that decision and try again to stop The Beatles' legal proceedings, Billboard quote an EMI spokesman as acknowledging that royalty disputes do sometimes have to go through the courts: "Artists from time to time seek audits on their accounts. We are not unhappy with that and are happy to have full financial transparency. There are sometimes differences of opinion, especially when contracts are so complex and there may be issues of contractual interpretation. In these situations the parties may resort to the courts or mediation".
--------------------------------------------------
IFPI 2005 STATS LACK MARKET SHARE DATA
The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry yesterday published its global sales figures for 2005, but market share information was excluded because the trade association's members (ie the record labels) can't agree on how digital sales (increasingly important in the whole scheme of things) should be taken into account when deciding the relative market share of different industry players. Problems in the way mobile music data is supplied (ie different phone companies do it in different ways) are also being blamed for the delay in getting together market share figures. The IFPI say they hope to have all the stats for 2005 available later this year.
--------------------------------------------------
ROBBIE QUESTIONS FUTURE
With his new single 'Rudebox' out next week, Robbie Williams has been questioning how much longer he wants to work in the wacky world of music. The Daily Star quote Robbie thus: "I've got to take the view over the next 18 months and see if I want to be part of the machine anymore, because I don't see me singing again. It's a question of what I want and where I want to be. Can I live without radio picking my song and putting it on the playlist? Or is this fame thing something I'm addicted to? I don't know where I stand with it all at the moment. Do I take things into my own hands and dismantle this monster and have a nice life?"
--------------------------------------------------
BEYONCE DENIES DIANA DRESS RUMOURS
Beyonce has denied reports that she is planning to marry boyfriend Jay-Z at a lavish ceremony wearing a replica of the dress worn by the late Princess Diana at her wedding. Beyonce told reporters this week: "I wish I could talk to whoever wrote that, because it's fabulous. Somebody is so creative that they should plan weddings, because they have a great one planned for me and Jay! It even has a menu of caviar. I don't even like caviar!".