| CMU Daily - on the inside Thursday 26th October |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Another all star, celeb filled RAJAR round up
- Dupri comments on Virgin departure
- Andy Taylor leaves Duran Duran
- EMI admits Brazilian fraud will impact on financials
- Madonna comments on adoption
- Album Review: Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
- Cuban Brothers release
- Cold War Kids release
- New Incubus
- Album Review: Dead Or American - Ends
- McCartney planning tour?
- Black Sabbath boys reunite without Ozzy
- Lily promotes new single through Nabbr hitlist
- Pop Art bought by Coalition
- New service aims to allow indies to go mobile
- The Orchard sign up Iberian independents
- Sony/ATV appoint new synch head
- Trust ownership considered for Press Gazette
- OfCom to allow whole channel sponsorship
- Album Review: Blunted Needles - Sharpest Tools In The Box
- X-Factor bosses considering new presenter
- Britney names son, apparently
- The Dears not impressed with Mozza
- Kylie outfits to be displayed at V&A
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TOP BIT>>
Well, we had a CMU Recommended industry event in yesterday's Top Bit, so we'll continue on that theme (don't worry, we'll have an interview with reality TV show created boy band Upper Street tomorrow, that'll relax you into the weekend). The next event we have to recommend is a full day conference being held by our friends at MusicTank on the future of the music business. This will tap into the issues covered in various rants that have appeared here in the Top Bit in the past year - you know, how the music business has to prepare itself for some radical restructuring as the record labels slowly accept that they won't be able to secure future investments exclusively on conventional record sales. As IE Music's Tim Clark said at a past MusicTank seminar, this fact makes it a very exciting time for the music business, but it also makes it quite a scary one, especially if your company depends on, and people specialise in, a business model which some reckon is about to become redundant. It is with that scariness in mind that MusicTank is staging the Beyond The Soundbytes Conference, which will take as its starting point the previously reported 'lay of the land' report of the same name, penned by artist manager Peter Jenner and recently published by MusicTank. The conference, taking place on 15 Nov, will cover a whole host of topics and will involve a load of leading practitioners from across the music business. You'll find full info, including details of how to attend, at http://www.musictank.co.uk/bts_conference.htm. Whether they'll discuss the creation of uber-boybands through MTV shows I don't know, but we will discuss that, mainly with former S Clubber Bradley McIntosh, tomorrow.
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
OFFICE SPACE TO LET
Space to let in bright open plan office on top floor of building in London's famous Denmark Street area (West End/Soho), sharing with office of internet radio station with approx 4 staff. Suitable for 1 or 2 people max. Rent £135 per week (or nearest offer), incl insurance, bills & all office facilities (internet/own phone line/fax/printer/desk etc). Available now. Call 020 7240 6665
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OFFICE SPACE/ DESK SPACE REQUIRED.
We are a small Music PR company looking for space in either the Shoreditch or Soho areas (for 4-6 persons) immediately. It would be an advantage if there was a meeting area. Please contact Serena on 07931 791 186 [email protected]
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INTERESTED IN SELLING YOUR RECORD LABEL?
Music Gain is acquiring record labels and catalogue. If you are thinking of selling, or are interested
in a long term capital partner, please contact us. Introduction and spotters fees also paid. Please visit us - http://www.musicgain.com
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ADVERTISE YOUR SERVICES & 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.
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JOBS N STUFF>>
LABEL MANAGER
!K7 label group is an independent record company operating worldwide since 1985 whose labels include !K7, Rapster/BBE and Ever Records. We also offer a press and distribution service to partner labels Ghostly/Spectral, BBE/R2, Bubbles (Whitest Boy Alive) and Rush Hour/Kindred Spirits.
TO EXPAND OUR TEAM IN BERLIN WE ARE LOOKING FOR A P&D LABEL MANAGER
Responsibilities include development of all releases on P&D labels, communication to distributors and overseeing marketing/promotion. A good, varied working knowledge of music and minimum two years relevant label management experience required. German language skills are helpful, but not essential.
Email applications to [email protected] or post to: !K7 Records, attn. Marie Clausen, Heidestr. 52, 10557 Berlin, Germany
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CMU RECOMMENDS>>
BREAKING GROUND
Another storming night for your diaries - the second edition of breaks fest Breaking Ground. All the big names are going to be on the bill - Pendulum (Live), Stanton Warriors, Rennie Pilgrem with MC Chickaboo, Splitloop (Live), Precision Cuts, Janette Slack, Breakfastaz, Deekline & Wizard with MC Ivory, Cltr-Z, Freshold, Si Begg, General Midi, Soto, Merka, Symmetrik, Dirtpop, Mr Sushi and Fyoog. Phew. It will all take place at London's seOne Club on Saturday 2 Dec, from 9.30pm to 6am. Tickets are £18.50 in advance - from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk - press info from Leyline.
Full info>> http://www.leylinepromotions.com/breakingground
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MYSPACE OF THE DAY: SIMON AMSTELL
One might argue that the MySpace Of The Day feature is all about championing fresh, up and coming music acts. One might be right. But there's always a reason to break the rules, and on this occasion, championing a TV presenter who's doing very nicely, thank you, and who doesn't make any music at all seems fair enough. Of course, Simon Amstell does have a link to music, and it's not that tenuous. Firstly, he presented Pop World, one of CMU's favourite things in its Amstell-Oliver heyday (that doesn't mean I don't like Alex Zane - I do - but does anyone watch Popworld anymore?). Secondly, and this is the reason why I'm doing his MySpace today, he's the new presenter of BBC2's music quiz, 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks', which starts again tonight at 10pm. Hurrah. It'll be funny, and it's music related, so I can call it 'work' and watch it with a clear conscience. To be fair, there's not a great deal on his MySpace page, no music, no blog entries, etc. That's not really the point though. Just make friends. Watch the show.
http://www.myspace.com/simonamstell
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ANOTHER ALL STAR, CELEB FILLED RAJAR ROUND UP
Ladies and gentlemen, put on your RAJAR hats, yes, it's radio listening figures time once more. That four-times-a-year opportunity to assess what the only slightly made up official radio ratings mean for the UK radio sector. And, as is the norm these days, it generally means bad news for Capital Radio and good news for the BBC. Though some good news for the wider commercial sector too this time round.
Taking the former first, GCap's flagship London station is still in decline, despite that much hyped on air revamp earlier in the year. Capital Radio lost a fifth of its audience in the past year (which is rather a lot) and in the last three months scored its lowest audience and share in the London market for the second successive quarter. All of which means they are now London's third biggest radio station, behind Chrysalis' Heart and EMAP's Magic. Capital does still own the biggest commercial radio show in London - the Johnny Vaughan breakfast show - but that too has recorded its lowest ever audience for the second consecutive quarter. And although the Jamie Theakston breakfast show on Heart also lost some listeners, the fall there was not so dramatic, meaning that the gap between the two shows is now just 14,000 listeners.
Onto the Beeb, and the Corporation maintains its lead over the commercial sector, with a 54.3% audience share. Radio 1, meanwhile, increased its audience year on year. Audience size was up 2.4% while more people than ever were tuning in to the Chris Moyles breakfast show. And digital station 6Music scored considerable success, with listening figures up 40.4% (total audience is now 400,000 listeners, which is significant for a digital station). Bosses there apparently put a big part of their recent success down to the recruitment of Channel 4 irritant Russell Brand, who's been presenting a "headline-grabbing" Sunday morning show for the station and, in doing so, apparently boosted the station's profile and, therefore, their audience figures. Or something like that.
But it's not all good news for the BBC, which is good news for the commercial sector. Radio 2 and 3, while increasing their number of listener hours, were both down in terms of audience size on this time last year (though Radio 3 did recover from something of a slump earlier in the year). Radio 4 was down slightly, and Radio 5 lost about 5% of its audience.
And the commercial radio sector had some of its own success stories, helping them close the overall gap on the BBC (albeit only slightly). Among the successes in the commercial domain were TalkSport, which was up 8.4% year on year (bet they like RAJARs now!), while Classic FM also saw a 1% rise. Commercial digital stations with national reach like EMAP's Smash Hits, GCap's Capital Life and Chryalis' The Arrow also did well.
Commenting on all this, Andrew Harrison from the RadioCentre, the new body representing the commercial sector, told reporters: "Today's RAJARs point to a thriving commercial radio industry which, hot on the heels of last quarter's results, has once more increased both audience and hours. Digital services are changing the landscape of radio as a whole, and commercial radio in particular".
Meanwhile BBC Director Of Radio & Music, that's that Jenny Abramsky, said this: "I'm pleased to see the continued steady growth of Radio 1, and our digital-only networks contributing to the rise in digital listening".
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DUPRI COMMENTS ON VIRGIN DEPARTURE
Producer, rapper and record label exec Jermaine Dupri yesterday issued a statement to the Associated Press confirming his departure from EMI's Virgin Records US, following much speculation in recent weeks that he was being forced out of his President Of Urban Music role at the major because of the disappointing performance of the most recent album from his girlfriend Janet Jackson, on which he played a crucial creative role.
However, in his statement Dupri stressed that he had not be forced out of the record company and that he had chosen to leave his head of urban role. He told AP: "Since there are so many rumors running rampant about my position at Virgin Records, I feel that it is necessary to set the record straight. I was not forced out of the company, I made a decision that it was in my best interest to leave."
It was anticipated that Janet Jackson's recent long player, '20 YO', would mark a comeback for the singer, whose 2004 album 'Damita Jo' did not perform well, and who is still recovering in the US from the whole Nipplegate thing. However, despite the creative involvement of Dupri and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the new album was not as big a commercial success as many hoped.
Whether the disappointing performance of Jackson's album was a motivating factor in Dupri's decision to end his relationship with Virgin is not clear. It is also as yet unclear what Dupri's decision means for his own label So So Def, which has worked in partnership with the major since Dupri took the urban chief role there in late 2004.
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ANDY TAYLOR LEAVES DURAN DURAN
You know, this story broke yesterday afternoon (well, that's when an official posting was made on the band's website) but is only just hitting the news sites. That isn't that surprising, but if you'd checked the band's entry in Wikipedia at 6pm last night you'd have found it updated taking in this change. Which tells us two things. Wikipedia's a great resource. And the average Wikipedia contributor is very committed (and arguably a bit obsessive).
Anyway, following rumours about his involvement in the band's forthcoming live dates and album release, Duran Duran yesterday confirmed that Andy Taylor has left the band, who will continue as a four piece. The news comes just over five years after the band reformed with its original line up.
In a statement the remaining four members said yesterday: "We know that there has been a tremendous amount of speculation over the past few weeks regarding Andy Taylor's continued involvement with the band and we are sorry that we've been unable to provide you with more information until now. The past five years have been an incredible journey for us all - and having the original five back together was something that we had wanted to see happen for some time. As of last weekend, however, the four of us have dissolved our partnership and will be continuing as Duran Duran without Andy, as we have reached a point in our relationship with him where there is an unworkable gulf between us and we can no longer effectively function together. Although obviously disappointed and saddened about this, we are excited about the next chapter of the Duran Duran story and look forward to seeing you all soon".
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EMI ADMITS BRAZILIAN FRAUD WILL IMPACT ON FINANCIALS
City news, people. Shares in the EMI Group yesterday slumped after the major announced that it had uncovered accounting fraud at its Brazilian record company that had incorrectly boosted revenues and operating profits. The fraud meant that EMI Music had overstated its revenue and profits, by £12 million and £9 million respectively.
In a statement, EMI said that the revenue and profit impact would be reflected in the financial results for the six months ending 30 Sep, which will be released on 15 Nov.
It is not entirely clear what proportion of EMI's global sales come from Brazil and therefore what overall impact the discovery will have on the Group's worldwide financial performance. According to Billboard, the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry says that Brazil accounted for about 1% of the world's total recorded music sales last year, which might provide some kind of indication.
EMI has already said that it expects revenues and profit for the first half of the current financial year to be less than initially expected because of the way its release schedule has worked out, though with major releases from Robbie Williams and Norah Jones upcoming, it anticipates meeting expectations at year end. Whether the fraud discovery will affect that judgment on full year performance is also not clear.
The major did confirm it is conducting a full investigation into the fraud, and that it has suspended some of its senior management in Brazil in relation to it.
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MADONNA COMMENTS ON ADOPTION
More Madonna adoption nonsense for you. First up, the father of the child Madge has adopted, has said that, while he was misled about what 'adoption' meant, he doesn't want human rights groups in Malawi to oppose the adoption. As previously reported, Yohane Banda initially supported the adoption, but then seemed to have second thoughts after he realised that his son would stay with the singer for good, something he says he didn't understand was part of the deal. But now he has told Time magazine that "I don't want my child, who is already gone, to come back. I will be killing his future", while telling the BBC that he doesn't want human rights groups in his home country to challenge the adoption (which they intend to do) because he fears the legal stress will persuade Madonna to return his son. So, there you go.
Meanwhile, Madonna herself has been talking about the adoption on the Oprah Winfrey Show. She said: "The media is doing a great disservice to all the orphans of Africa by turning it into such a negative thing". She explained that she first saw her new adopted son, David, in a documentary she is financing about Malawian orphans. She says: "I became transfixed by him. But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him". Commenting on the first time she met the boy, she continued: "I was in a state of panic, because I didn't want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him". She subsequently gained permission to take him to a clinic where he was given antibiotics. And so the road to adoption began.
On more general issues, Madonna added that the conditions she witnessed in Malawi were the equivalent of a "state of emergency", adding: "I think if everybody went there, they'd want to bring one of those children home with them and give them a better life."
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ALBUM REVIEW: Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (4AD)
Ostensibly sounding like some large Balkan ensemble parading through Eastern European streets backed by aeons of history, strife and glory, Beirut is actually the work of a single 20 year old American. Having previously released an electronic album and a doo-wop album whilst still in his teens, it would be easy to think Zach Condon is, however virtuosic, in search of a musical identity. The story goes thus: he dropped out of school at 16 (after his doo-wop album), left Albuquerque to go travelling where he encountered the Borban Markovic Orchestra who introduced him to gypsy music. After consuming and learning about this culture, Gulag Orkestar was born. Ably abetted by fellow American gypsy followers A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Beirut doesn't sound even remotely like the work of a bedroom and a computer. However there are enough concessions to American pop to prevent anyone mistaking this outright for the work of genuine gypsies, but for the most part, the stomping melancholic horns over clattering marching drums, ukuleles and accordions conjure the fiery spirit of 'genuine' Balkan gypsy music. Condon's voice also fits the bill perfectly, giving ample weight to his multitasking songwriting. Time will tell whether Condon has found himself musically, or whether future albums will bring further genre shifts. But even if this does prove a passing fancy, the gusto and ability with which Condon has crafted his songs around the gypsy aesthetic, flags him as an artist to watch in whichever genre he plays. AM
Release Date: 6 Nov
Press Contact: Beggars IH [all]
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CUBAN BROTHERS RELEASE
Hurrah, new Cuban Brothers incoming. Sunday Best will release a new single from the Cubans on 27 Nov, called 'Love Is Alive'. The press bumf explains: "With their debut single 'A Million Stories' already considered a classic, The Cuban Brothers are laying bare their sensitive side with latest single 'Love Is Alive,' one of the many highlights of their live set. And this time Havana's finest have surpassed themselves, with a slice of gilt-edged pop perfection, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's timeless Talking Book era". Press info from Get Involved.
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COLD WAR KIDS RELEASE
Californian indie band Cold War Kids, on whom a slight buzz is emerging, will release an EP via V2, also on 27 Nov. The EP will feature tracks 'We Use To Vacation', 'Harmony In Silver', 'Expensive Tastes' and 'Quiet Please'. Ahead of that, you can catch them at one of the following gigs with fellow Californians Two Gallants.
6 Nov: Newcastle Academy
7 Nov: Glasgow King Tuts
8 Nov: Leeds Josephs Wall
9 Nov: London Scala
Press info from V2 (who are moving by the way, have we told you that? From 13 Nov they'll be based in sunny Fulham).
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NEW INCUBUS
More 27 Nov releases - on that date SonyBMG/Columbia will release the new album from Incubus - 'Light Grenades'. Ahead of that they'll play London's Astoria on 14 Nov. What's that? You want a tracklisting. Oh, all right then.
Quicksand
A Kiss To Send Us Off
Dig
Anna Molly
Love Hurts
Light Grenades
Earth to Bella Part 1
Oil and Water
Diamonds and Coal
Rogues
Paper Shoes
Pendulous Threads
Earth to Bella Part 2
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ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Or American - Ends (Pet Pirhana)
Although beginning like a pastiche of so many post-grunge chaotic rock bands, Dead Or American quickly up their game and start getting really interesting, oh, about two minutes into the album, and from there on in there's nary a moment of boo. Like all great bands, they defy categorisation, even if vocalist Chris Cusack channels the spirits of Kurt Cobain, Gibby Haynes and Mike Patton through his naturally drunk disposed Scottish nature. Likewise, the band is obviously schooled in these influences, but this is no mindless riff-riff rah-rah - every song has an interesting and unique arrangement, from atonal guitar scrape solos to interweaving vocal call-and-responses. There is such an abundance of ideas on display here that it's not until they swing back to good ol' ass kicking rock or a catchy vocal melody you notice that they've been messing with your head so fiercely. There are countless bands that Dead Or American share influences with, but most fail to see that what made the Butthole Surfers, Faith No More, Nirvana or Helmet great was not what they did, but how they did it. Mimicking their sound will not make you great, but mimicking their spirit is certainly a step in the right direction. AM
Release Date: 6 Nov
Press Contact: Workhard [all]
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MCCARTNEY PLANNING TOUR?
The Evening Standard report that Paul McCartney is planning to take his mind off the divorce by undertaking an extensive world tour. A so-called 'friend' of the former Beatle is quoted as saying: "Paul is going on a five-month world tour at the end of next year to get over Heather. But it is also rather a convenient way of recouping the losses he will make in the divorce courts. He'll take in the USA, Australia, Japan and some of Europe as well. He plans to take Beatrice with him for some of the shows, which Heather has agreed to."
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BLACK SABBATH BOYS REUNITE WITHOUT OZZY
Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath bandmates have joined together with sometime vocalist Ronnie James Dio for a tour early next year, according to a spokeswoman. In a statement, she explained that the band are not appearing as 'Black Sabbath', but as 'Heaven And Hell'.
It's not a case of the rest of the group falling out with Ozzy, however, as happened on two occasions back in the eighties and nineties, when the aforementioned Dio filled in. Respresentatives for the singer released a subsequent statement which reads: "there is only one Black Sabbath". He adds that he will be back with the band for a tour and new album late next year.
On his bandmates' new thingy, the statement added that bandmate Tony Iommi and Dio "are working on a project together which has nothing to do with Black Sabbath. However, Ozzy wishes Tony and Ronnie much success in their project together."
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LILY PROMOTES NEW SINGLE THROUGH NABBR HITLIST
Parlophone "again breaks new ground with the latest edition to the Lily Allen digital campaign" (some of our indie label readers were a bit cynical about Parlophone's big 'we accept demos via the net' announcement earlier this week, God knows what they'll make of that claim). The ground breaking digital promotion takes the form of a partnership with a website called Nabbr, which is described as "a fun and easy way to make a hotlist of your favorite stuff, that you can share with friends by posting it on your MySpace profile, your blog, or almost anywhere else on the internet" (no, I'm none the wiser either).
As I understand it, fans of Allen can post a little player on their MySpace, blog or web pages, which will then connect to a bucket of content created by Lily via her 'Nabbr hitlist'. This means that when Lily puts new things into her bucket, they will automatically appear on her fan's blogs or web pages. Which is great news for anyone who likes giving major record companies free advertising on their personal webpage, oh, I mean anyone who wants to enhance their personal web spaces with some quality content courtesy of Ms Allen. And don't forget, fans who put the player on their pages have the chance to win a customised Lily chopper bike. Ha, that's shut you cynics up.
Here's what Parlophone Digital Media Manager Dan Duncombe says: "Lily's online roots and her social network fan-base make this new viral media tool and the Nabbr network, the perfect platform to launch her forthcoming single 'Littlest Things'. We are giving the code for the player to kids so that they can post it into their social network pages. The media centre is centrally updated allowing us to post fresh new content direct to fans websites and social networking pages on a regular basis. Parlophone is engaging with Lily's core online audience in a way which is relevant, viral and interactive. Giving fans the freedom to post dynamically refreshed Lily content into personal web pages and thus enabling friends to easily embed the Lily player onto their own homepage makes this a truly viral campaign."
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POP ART BOUGHT BY COALITION
Philadelphia based hip hop label Pop Art Records, which once boasted Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, Roxanne Shante, 3 Times Dope, Salt N Pepa, MC Shan and the Juice Crew on its roster, yesterday announced that they had been bought out by Californian production and management firm Coalition. As part of the deal Coalition will acquire Pop Art's recording and publishing catalogues, which include tracks like MC Shan's 'The Bridge', Salt N Pepa's 'Show Stoppa' and Shante's 'Roxanne's Revenge'.
Commenting on the takeover, Coalition top guy Troy Carter told reporters: "The acquisition of the Pop Art Catalog is like purchasing a part of music history. We've been aggressively looking to build our content business so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to get us started."
Pop Art boss and founder Lawrence Goodman added: "It is my belief that Troy's involvement will bring new life into the catalog that we've built."
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NEW SERVICE AIMS TO ALLOW INDIES TO GO MOBILE
Mobile services company Kodime has just announced it is launching a new service which aims to enable labels to run their own mobile services, including mobile download and ringtone services, without any especially grand time, personnel or technology investments.
Called STARtxt LABEL (they seem to like the capital letters done that way), the service allows non-technical staff to initiate and run a whole host of mobile services and promotions via a kind of content/promotional management system. The system, which is compatible with some 50 phone networks around the world, even lets labels upload snippets of music which are automatically transformed into ringtones. Use of the service is based on a flat fee, with all revenues generated going back to the label.
Interested? Intrigued? Completely confused? Well, if you got to the previously reported AIM Music Connected event at the Hammersmith Novotel next Wednesday, all will be explained. Meantime, you'll get press info from [email protected]
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THE ORCHARD SIGN UP IBERIAN INDEPENDENTS
Digital music distribution company The Orchard has announced deals with a number of Spanish and Portuguese record labels, expanding the number of independent record companies the content aggregator is now representing in the digital content domain. Among the labels added to The Orchard's catalogue are 18 Chulos, Ediciones Resistencia, Propaganda Pel Fet!, Picap, Elkar, Kasba Music, Musica Global, Sonifolk, K Industria, Ovaçao, Zona Musica, Difference Music and Enchufada.
Confirming the new deals at the 2006 World Music Expo Conference in Seville, The Orchard's CEO, Greg Scholl, told reporters: "Spain and Portugal have produced some of the world's most appealing and ground-breaking music, from flamenco to fado to breathtaking fusions of traditional folk music with cutting-edge sounds. Through our relationships with many of the most important and influential labels in the Iberian Peninsula, The Orchard is committed to marketing the rich musical heritage of this region to music fans throughout the globe".
Confirming his deal, Javier Jimenez, owner of Madrid-based Ediciones Resistencia, added: "We believe that digital distribution will become more and more ingrained in the coming years, and therefore it's important for us to align ourselves with the company that is the clear leader in this area. For independent companies such as ours, The Orchard gives us a presence in the top digital retail sites in the world and also serves as a key partner in helping place and market our tracks in the digital space. We look forward to continuing to work with The Orchard to make our mark in the growing world of digital distribution."
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SONY/ATV APPOINT NEW SYNCH HEAD
Appointments news anyone? Sony/ATV Music Publishing UK have just announced the appointment of Karina Masters to the role of Head Of Synch And Marketing. She joins the company from Universal Music Publishing.
Confirming the appointment, Sony/ATV MD Rakesh Sanghvi told CMU: "Karina will be a great addition to our team. She has already proved herself an exceptional talent in her previous role and we are delighted that she is joining us at such an exciting time for the company".
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TRUST OWNERSHIP CONSIDERED FOR PRESS GAZETTE
Mmmmm, interesting this. You know how PR man Matthew Freud is planning on selling the Press Gazette because no one will come to his awards party (or something like that)? Well, with five different owners in just over ten years all struggling to make a success of the newspaper industry's weekly trade mag, a new proposal is going round that would put ownership of the title into a Trust, that would be overseen my the wider newspaper industry.
Such a proposal would, in theory, ensure the title was independent from any one proprietor's personal agenda (some say the reason some key newspaper groups were refusing to participate in the Press Gazette's awards is because they don't like Freud, a PR man, owning and influencing the title). The mag would still need to be a profitable venture, but it would ultimately be answerable to a board made up of representatives from across the industry, rather than any one proprietor. In order to get the operation off the ground founding trustees (or their companies) would each be expected to put a "modest" sum of money into the pot to fund year one operations, in return for discounted access to Press Gazette services.
Forty of the biggest newspaper orgnaisations are apparently being approached with this idea in the hope enough of them will sign up to be cash giving founding trustees. Current owners Matthew Freud and Piers Morgan both seemingly support the proposal, though it's not clear what they'd want out of it to compensate for their investment to date in the title.
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OFCOM TO ALLOW WHOLE CHANNEL SPONSORSHIP
Media regulator OfCom has said it will amend its broadcasting code to allow brands to sponsor whole TV channels or radio stations, subject, of course, to provisos that broadcasters maintain control on editorial and that viewers are made aware of the sponsorship relationship between media and brand (and that Bacardi don't sponsor the CITV Channel). The change in rules follows a consultation exercise earlier this year. Details of how the new code will work will be published soon.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Blunted Needles - Sharpest Tools In The Box (UNDALI)
Maybe it's the fact that grime is breaking out into mainstream acknowledgment and acceptance, but British hip-hop tends to have a large chip on its shoulder which it wears with pride. Always feeling like they're in the shadow of American accents and consumerism, UK MCs can tend to either brag about being better than their American counterparts without backing this claim up, else mimic them replacing 'ghettos' with 'council estates' and 'locked down' with 'ASBOs'. Thankfully, Blunted Needles do in fact scratch their needles down to stubs under a maelstrom whipped up by 'the sharpest tools in the box'. Dr Syntax, Stig of The Dump, Plan B, Foreign Beggars all flex their idiosyncrasies and lyrical fetishes over beats which are at once recognisably head-nodding and undeniably British. Filled with some fantastic tracks, lyrics, cuts, samples and shout outs, there's nothing that consciously makes the effort to be crowd-pleasing, and this is all the more hip-hop for that. Plan B's cringingly crass collaborative 'Making Love To Hip-Hop' might be crude, but he needs to say it. Jimmy Wha Gwan's 'High Infidelity' makes the most of that old trusty friend to the crate digger: the flute loop; and Stig of The Dump roams a "city where the outlook is bleaker than the weather is". With as individual and crucial joints such as these, who needs a yank accent? AM
Release Date: 6 Nov
Press Contact: Trailer Media [all]
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X-FACTOR BOSSES CONSIDERING NEW PRESENTER
Can you imagine X-Factor without Kate Thornton? I mean, can you? What, you can? And it's better? You're pro the axing of Thornton? You do realize Fearne Cotton is being muted as a replacement? Ah, you see, Ms Thornton's not that bad is she?
Yep, The Sun claims that producers of the pop reality show are seriously considering axing Kate Thornton as their presenter for the next series, with the aforementioned Ms Cotton and that Dermot O'Leary being touted as possible replacements. The tabloid quotes one of those insiders as saying: "Kate is a lovely girl but the feeling is they want to send the fourth series show into the stratosphere... Bosses are constantly looking for ways to revamp the format. Replacing Kate is one of the options for the next series."
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BRITNEY NAMES SON, APPARENTLY
Word has it that Britney Spears has named her new son Jayden James Federline (and not Sutton, as some earlier reports suggested). Frankly I thought Jayden was a made up name, but turns out it's the 54th most popular boys name in the US at the moment. Reports suggest Britney and husband Kevin Federline filed the child's birth certificate at the LA County Registrar Recorder's office earlier this week, though there's been no official word from Britney, Kevin or Jayden.
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THE DEARS NOT IMPRESSED WITH MOZZA
The Dears' Patrick Krief has called Morrissey a "sad sight" after his band supported the former Smiths frontman. Indie music blog Obscure Sound quote Krief thus: "Opening for Morrissey was a sad sight man. Seeing what success can do to people is pretty painful. Being asked to leave the building when he's crossing the corridor, or being told to not look directly at him made me sick. Sometimes it's better to not meet people you admire. The whole band was pretty upset by the whole encounter. Luckily for me, I'm not a fan. I can't deal with Morrissey. I never liked his music".
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KYLIE OUTFITS TO BE DISPLAYED AT V&A
One for fans of high art now. The Victoria & Albert Museum is planning a exhibition of outfits worn by Kylie Minogue during her long career, from Charlene Mitchell to the princess of pop. Around 200 photos, outfits and accessories will be featured in the exhibition, which will open in February. The show was originally staged at the Melbourne Arts Centre and has since toured Australia. And yes, the 'Spinning Around' hot pants will make a guest appearance.