| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 8th November |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Britney getting divorced
- Top team rejig completed at Radio 1
- Fan says Brian Jones was murdered
- Alice Cooper gets Legend award
- Prince added to Hall Of Fame list
- Student journalism awards upcoming
- Atlantic founder recovering from fall
- Jay-Z reveals tracklisting
- New Norah Jones album on its way
- New Bright Eyes album kinda dark
- Gallagher wants to get back to the studio
- Client single, dates
- New Husky Rescue single out Monday
- Ripps debut single
- Plan B tour rescheduled
- Lostprophets tour
- Faithless tour
- Additions to Big Day Out
- Genesis announce reunion tour
- Real People line up for memorial gig
- The Egg live
- Doherty clothing line pret to go
- Babyshambler curates anti-racism benefit
- Second Playmusic out
- Universal Music revenues down on third quarter
- EMI shares rise after talk of going private
- MySpace launch in Japan
- Former Capital chief takes board role at Ingenious
- Faith Hill: I was only joking, okay?
- Furtado to guest in soap opera
- Jason Donovan favourite to win latest jungle show
- Cowell: I love Louis, okay?
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TOP BIT>>
One last Top Bit reminder that MusicTank's Production Magic conference is this very weekend. This is the one stop all day event for anyone working in music production, with a stack of top names offering their insights into this exciting sector of the music biz. Dance music pioneer Nile Rodgers will provide the opening address, multi-Grammy winning Phil Ramone will be interviewed, plus Guy Chambers, John Leckie, Magnus Fiennes and Hugh Padgham are among the other producers who will speak at the event. This all takes place at the London offices of the Magic Circle (oh yes) this Saturday - 11 Nov. For full details you need to get on over to http://www.musictank.co.uk. Admission to the conference is £155, but CMU readers can get a £40 discount (ie the trade association rate) - for details of how to book with that discount email [email protected]
While we're busy recommending MusicTank events, don't forget that previously mentioned full day conference dedicated to discussing the future of this here music business. The Beyond The Soundbytes event 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.
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
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HOT OFF THE PRESS>>
ROCK SOUND
This month, Rock Sound cover stars Trivium tell us how they're out to change the world. We also bring you the lowdown on Deftones, Isis, Aiden, Converge, In Flames, Bring Me The Horizon, My Chemical Romance and a whole host of other amazing bands. Plus, don't forget the FREE Sound Check CD featuring 15 noisy nuggets from this month's issue, incl: Trivium, Isis, Botch, Converge and much more. And there's FREE giant Underoath and AFI posters! Bargain!
Available for just £3.50 at WH Smith, HMV, Virgin, Borders and all good newsagents. For more information see http://www.rock-sound.net
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CMU RECOMMENDS>>
KILL ALL HIPPIES NOVEMBER
The next edition of the CMU recommended Kill All Hippies takes place this coming Friday - 10 Nov - at its new home, the Carling Islington Academy, you'll find Archie Bronson Outfit and Kubichek and Broken Dolls all taking live to the KAH stage. DJs wise the Cooper Temple Clause boys will join KAH resident Gavin Nugent in the main room, while in Room 2 you'll find the City Rockers team with Eclectic Aristocracy, GoodBooks, We Hate You, Gaz N Max and the Xerox Teen all taking to the decks. Doors open at 8.30pm, it runs till 4am, and tickets are just £6 if you guest list in advance. Oh yes, and Carling is just £1.80 a pint - bargain.
Full info>> http://www.leylinepromotions.com/killallhippies
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
PRODUCTION MAGIC
Music Tank and the Music Producers' Guild's Production Magic conference is the one stop all day event for anyone working in music production, with a stack of top names offering their insights into this exciting sector of the music biz. Dance music pioneer Nile Rodgers will provide the opening address, multi-Grammy winning Phil Ramone will be interviewed, plus Guy Chambers, John Leckie, Magnus Fiennes and Hugh Padgham are among the other producers who will speak at the event. This all takes place at the London offices of the Magic Circle a week on Saturday - 11 Nov. For full details you need to get on over to http://www.musictank.co.uk. Admission to the conference is £155, but CMU readers can get a £40 discount (ie the trade association rate) - for details of how to book with that discount email [email protected]
Full info>> http://www.musictank.co.uk
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MYSPACE OF THE DAY: LONEY, DEAR
I've been a bit rubbish really, because I meant to run a Loney, Dear MySpace Of The Day much earlier than this, so that you would have the chance to catch his gig at Enterprise on Monday. Now you've missed it. So have I, come to think of it. Which is a bit of an arse. Anyway, of you're not familiar, Loney, Dear is a folky, singersongwritery outfit, one of those 'bands' that's actually the work of one man, in this case Emil Svanängen. He's from Sweden, and he's received lots of praise for his recent UK debut 'Sologne'. So, check out the MySpace, if you like folky, melodic pop, because there are four tracks of it here.
http://www.myspace.com/loneydear
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BRITNEY GETTING DIVORCED
Following months of speculation and denials, Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline have filed for divorce, according to court officials in Los Angeles. Court documents, which state the day of separation as 6 Nov, cite "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for terminating the marriage.
Spears will seek custody of their two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James. Her petition asks that each party pay their own legal fees, but does not request spousal support, which is probably not that surprising, as she is, after all, worth around $123million. The singer also requests ownership of various assets including "miscellaneous jewellery and other personal effects", and asks that earnings from after the date of separation are confirmed as separate from her husband's property. Reports are calling the pair's prenuptial agreement 'ironclad'.
Sources claim that there was no single reason for the separation, but that it was a "series of events" that led Spears to file for divorce. The news does, however, follow reports that Britney was recently forced to flee her home after Federline flew into a jealous rage. Sources say that the alleged outburst happened in response to comments Spears made about her husband's recent appearance on the WWE Wrestling show. One is quoted as saying: "Britney's laughing set Kevin off and he went wild. It was like he had weeks of pent up hostility in him, and all it took was one little comment to light the powder keg. He started screaming at her, smashing things and hitting the walls. Britney's seen him crazy, but she's never seen him like this and she's never been so fearful for her physical safety. He's gotten violent and it's getting worse with each temper tantrum. He hasn't hit Britney or the kids, but after seeing the rage he's carrying around it could happen next."
Elsewhere in Britney news - actually, this rather pales into insignificance given the dramatic divorce disclosure, but anyway - a US judge has dismissed a case brought by Britney Spears and her soon-to-be-ex against Us Weekly magazine for running that previously reported story which claimed that the couple had made a sex video. Judge Lisa Hart Cole said there was no basis for the pair's contention that the report was defamatory.
You may remember that the article alleged that Spears and Federline had been forced to watch the video with their lawyers after a member of their entourage threatened to release the footage, and that Britney had behaved in a 'goofy' manner on that occasion. But the couple denied the existence of such a video, and Spears' legal team argued in their suit that the news item was libellous because it "maliciously and recklessly portrays [Spears] as acting 'goofy' while watching the video with the lawyers". They sought $10millon damages.
However, the judge stated that because Spears had "put her modern sexuality squarely, and profitably, before the public eye", the article could not be considered defamatory. Dismissing the notion that the action was brought because the singer was "falsely accused of acting goofy", Cole judged that "the issue is whether it is defamatory to state that a husband and wife taped themselves engaging in consensual sex".
And apparently, it's not.
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TOP TEAM REJIG COMPLETED AT RADIO 1
Following those previously reported plans to rejig the top team at Radio 1, the BBC station yesterday confirmed who will be doing what from now on over at the nation's favourite.
Ben Cooper, previously Head Of Mainstream, will be promoted to a wider ranging role overseeing the day to day running of the whole station (taking over some of the responsibilities of station controller Andy Parfitt who, if I remember rightly, recently got new responsibilities of his own with a wider BBC wide remit for teen targeted programming).
Lorna Clarke, who recently directed the BBC Electric Proms thingimy, will take over as Head Of Programmes at digital sister station 1Xtra, with current 1Xtra Editor Wilber Wilberforce as her deputy.
Finally Ian Parkinson, currently Head Of 1Xtra and Specialist Music at Radio 1 will take on the new, slightly made up role of Head Of Editorial Standards, as well as overseeing music development projects across the whole of BBC radio and music interactive, whatever that is.
Confirming the new appointments, Jenny Abramsky, general chief of all things BBC Radio and Music, said the appointments would "give Radio 1 and 1Xtra the creative and innovative leadership the stations need to ensure they continue to thrive in the exciting, but challenging, digital radio world".
The Guardian reckon that Cooper's promotion basically make him heir apparent to take over the top job at Radio 1 should Parfitt move on or up, and I think they might be right - radical corporation wide rethinks permitting.
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FAN SAYS BRIAN JONES WAS MURDERED
A Brian Jones fan has told The Mirror that he believes he can prove that the late Rolling Stone was murdered. As is common knowledge, Jones was found drowned in a swimming pool in 1969, having taken a midnight swim, weeks after being kicked out of the band.
The fan, Trevor Hobley, wants to exhume Jones' body to prove his case. He told the tabloid: "I'm 100% certain he was murdered. For any murder you need a motive and I've uncovered two or three motives. We've come across damning new evidence and will present it to the Attorney General. Brian Jones is the silent witness that carries the exact cause of his death and the only way to get to the truth is to have his body exhumed."
Of course, 'Stoned', a 2006 film about Jones' demise, focuses on the idea that the star was killed by his builder. Whether Hobley's theory bears any relation to the film's allegations is unclear.
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ALICE COOPER GETS LEGEND AWARD
Alice Cooper has won the Living Legend accolade at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour award ceremony in London, the annual awards bash from Classic Rock magazine. He was presented with the gong, and a painting of himself, worth £50,000, by Brian May. The Queen guitarist was also a recipient on the night - the veteran act won two awards, one for Best Reissue for 'A Night Of The Opera', and a second, the Classic Songwriter Award, was presented to May and bandmate Roger Taylor.
Iron Maiden were also multiple winners - kind of. They got Album Of The Year for 'A Matter Of Life And Death', and their manager Rod Smallwood was presented with the VIP Award. Elsewhere, Def Leppard got the Classic Album award for 'Hysteria', Whitesnake were given Band Of The Year and Best DVD, Roadstar were judged Best New Band, and New York Dolls got Comeback Of The Year. The Metal Guru Award went to Ronnie James Dio, Phil Lynott got the Tommy Vance Inspiration Award and Event Of The Year was the Monsters Of Rock festival at Milton Keynes Bowl. I think that's everything covered, but for those who prefer their awards round ups in lists, here's the list.
Best New Band: Roadstar
Best Reissue: Queen - A Night At The Opera
Best DVD: Whitesnake
Event Of The Year: Monsters Of Rock At Milton Keynes Bowl
Comeback Of The Year: New York Dolls
Band Of The Year: Whitesnake
Classic Album: Def Leppard - Hysteria
Metal Guru: Ronnie James Dio
Album Of The Year: Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life & Death
Vip Award: Rod Smallwood (Iron Maiden manager)
Classic Songwriter: Queen
Tommy Vance Inspiration: Phil Lynott
Living Legend: Alice Cooper
Commenting on his awards and, I think it would be fair to say, participating in a little dig at Q magazine's recent awards bash, Classic Rock's Editor-in-Chief, Scott Rowley, told CMU: "In only our second year we have managed to attract some of the most influential and celebrated icons from the past 30 years of rock history. Let other magazines give awards to A-ha, Take That and Culture Club, Classic Rock magazine will continue to celebrate the true legends of rock'n'roll for many years to come."
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PRINCE ADDED TO HALL OF FAME LIST
More awards of a sort, and the 2006 induction ceremony of the UK Music Hall Of Fame takes place next week. On top of previously confirmed inductees Brian Wilson, Dusty Springfield, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, James Brown and George Martin, reports now suggest Prince will also be honoured at the event, and word has it he'll be in attendance to accept the honour. All fun.
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STUDENT JOURNALISM AWARDS UPCOMING
And even more awards. The Guardian will announce the winners of their Student Media Awards later today. This is the annual awards event that recognises talent in the student newspaper arena, and should not be confused with the NUS National Student Journalism Awards, because they recognise talent in the student newspaper arena (it's really about time the Guardian and NUS kissed and made up on the whole student media awards thing). The NUS awards take place on 24 Nov.
The shortlist for the Guardian awards are here:
http://media.guardian.co.uk/studentmediaawards/ story/0,,1889609,00.html
The shortlist for the NUS awards are here:
http://www.nusonline.co.uk/studentmedia/270886.aspx
Oh, and well done to all the shortlistees.
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ATLANTIC FOUNDER RECOVERING FROM FALL
Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records, is recovering after hitting his head in a fall at a recent Rolling Stones concert. 83 year old Ertegun and his brother Nesuhi were part of the team that founded Atlantic in the late 1940s, and he remains a popular and influential figure in the US recording industry. He slipped and fell at the beginning of last week at the Stones gig at New York's Beacon Theatre. He injured his head and was admitted to a local hospital, but an Atlantic spokesman said this week that he was now recovering from the incident. The spokesman also denied some reports that Ertegun had been in a coma shortly after the fall.
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JAY-Z REVEALS TRACKLISTING
Jay-Z has revealed the tracklisting for his previously reported new album 'Kingdom Come', including details of which guest stars collaborated on what. And yes, as established, Coldplay's Chris Martin is on there. Here it is:
Prelude (produced by Ghettobot)
Oh My God (produced by Just Blaze)
Kingdom Come (produced by Just Blaze)
Show Me What You Got (produced by Just Blaze)
Lost One (featuring Chrissette Michelle, produced by Dr Dre)
Do You Wanna Ride (featuring John Legend, produced by Kanye West)
30 Something (produced by Dr Dre)
I Made It (produced by Dr Dre)
Anything (featuring Usher and Pharrell, produced by Neptunes)
Hollywood (featuring Beyonce, produced by Science)
Trouble (produced by Dr Dre)
Dig A Hole (featuring Sterling Simms, produced by Swizz Beatz)
Minority Report (featuring Ne-Yo, produced by Dr Dre)
Beach Chair (featuring Chris Martin, produced by Coldplay)
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NEW NORAH JONES ALBUM ON ITS WAY
Norah Jones has announced that her third studio album, 'Not Too Late', is to be released next year. It will be out in the US on 30 Jan (the day before my birthday) but a UK release date is yet to be finalised. Here's the tracklisting, for all you list fans.
Wish I Could
Sinkin' Soon
The Sun Doesn't Like You
Until the End
Not My Friend
Thinkin' About You
Broken
My Dear Country
Wake Me Up
Be My Somebody
Little Room
Rosie's Lullaby
Not Too Late
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NEW BRIGHT EYES ALBUM KINDA DARK
Conor Oberst has said that his new album is really dark and pretty much focuses on the apocalyptic feel of recent nastinesses like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami. He says of the latest Bright Eyes LP: "The apocalypse is a prevalent theme in my new songs. There's a feeling in the world right now like everything is unravelling, but maybe that's not a bad thing. I'm not convinced that the human race is good for this planet anyway."
He continued: "The new songs are mostly stream of consciousness. Telepathy is a big theme. If you just concentrate, you'll know what I'm talking about."
Not sure whether he was joking or not, about that last bit. One can only hope.
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GALLAGHER WANTS TO GET BACK TO THE STUDIO
Liam Gallagher has told Uncut that he'd like to get started on a new studio album right away. The band, as reported ad nauseum, release their best of, 'Stop The Clocks', on 20 Nov.
The singer said: "I reckon we're going to start doing something this month, go to our studio. It's the bollocks. Fuckin' old Tudor ranch in High Wycombe, fucking stay there and get it done. Just got to wait for Noel to finish his tunes I suppose."
On the best of, which will be the final release with SonyBMG, Gallagher added: "I want to get this out of the fucking way, it's doing my head in. To me, it's the last of however fucking long, the last 16 years of that label, that's done. We can start again."
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CLIENT SINGLE, DATES
Electro-poppers Client are to release a new single, a version of Adam & The Ants' 'Zerox' via Loser Friendly Record on 15 Jan on limited edition 7" vinyl and download, ahead of the release of their third album, set for release in April next year.
The all girl trio will also be playing a couple of live dates in the next month or so, should you wish to see them. Or hear them, more accurately. They'll be at London's Mean Fiddler on 25 Nov, and at the city's Proud Gallery on 1 Dec. Press info from Coalition.
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NEW HUSKY RESCUE SINGLE OUT MONDAY
The new Husky Rescue single 'Diamonds In The Sky' is out on Monday on 12" vinyl and digital download. Accompanied by remixes from Emperor Machine, Tunng and Deaf Stereo, it's available from all good record shops (can't believe I just wrote that), from Catskills' e-shop (http://www.catmerch.com), http://www.beathut.com and iTunes.
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RIPPS DEBUT SINGLE
Talking of Catskills, as we just were, the label's latest signing, The Ripps, have a debut single, 'Vandals' coming out on 20 Nov, ahead of the release of album 'Long Live The Ripps', which will be out in February next year. The band are also playing a couple of dates this week - they'll be at Audio in Brighton on Thursday from 7pm, with The Great Danger and Heels Catch Fire, plus the band appear at Camden's Barfly on Friday from 7.30pm, with Violent Delight and Everything on Black.
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PLAN B TOUR RESCHEDULED
UK rap-type Plan B has announced a rescheduled tour, after he was forced, as previously reported, to cancel dates earlier this year due to exhaustion. He's playing Birmingham on my birthday. Send me presents. Was that subliminal enough? Here are the dates:
28 Jan: Dublin The Village
30 Jan: Preston 53 Degrees
31 Jan: Birmingham Carling Academy 2
1 Feb: Leeds Cockpit
2 Feb: Glasgow Arches
3 Feb: Sheffield Leadmill
7 Feb: Manchester Academy 2
8 Feb: Cardiff Solus University
9 Feb: London Shepherds Bush Empire
10 Feb: Bristol Anson Rooms
12 Feb: Cambridge Junction
13 Feb: Liverpool Academy 2
14 Feb: Norwich Waterfront
15 Feb: Southampton University
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LOSTPROPHETS TOUR
Lostprophets have announced a clutch of Spring live dates, in addition to that previously reported headline gig at Pontypridd's The Full Ponty Festival on 26 May. Ticket on sale Friday, dates as follows:
18 Apr: Glasgow SECC
19 Apr: Manchester MEN
20 Apr: Birmingham National Indoor Arena
22 Apr: London Wembley Arena
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FAITHLESS TOUR
Faithless have announced details of a UK tour set for next year, to follow the release of their new album 'To All New Arrivals' on 27 Nov. Dates as follows, tickets on sale Friday at 9am:
17 Mar: Nottingham Arena
18 Mar: Glasgow SECC
19 Mar: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
21 Mar: Birmingham NEC
23 Mar: Manchester Evening News Arena
24 Mar: Bournemouth International Centre
26 Mar: Cardiff CIA
27 Mar: Brighton Centre
28 Mar: London Wembley Arena
30 Mar: Hull Ice Arena
31 Mar: Sheffield Hallam FM Arena
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ADDITIONS TO BIG DAY OUT
Kasabian, Lily Allen and The Streets are amongst the acts added to the 2007 bill for Australasian touring festival Big Day Out. They join previously announced acts such as Muse, The Killers, Peaches, Jet and Tool for the series of events, which take place in January and February of next year, dates as follows.
19 Jan: Auckland MT Smart Stadium
21 Jan: Gold Coast Parklands
25 Jan: Sydney Showgrounds
28 Jan: Melbourne Princes Park South
2 Feb: Adelaide Royal Showground
4 Feb: Perth Claremont Showground
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GENESIS ANNOUNCE REUNION TOUR
As promised, and indeed, previously reported, Genesis have announced that they are to reform for a tour for the first time in fifteen years. Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks will play 20 European dates, including two in the UK - at Twickenham on 7 Jul and Old Trafford 8 Jul. A set of US dates are yet to be announced.
At a press conference Collins told reporters that they're not doing it for the money - although presumably they will make a few bucks. The singer said: "I think we are all loaded enough not to worry about where the next million or two is coming from. I just felt now was the right time to have a go at it."
He continued: "I left the band and I did some things on my own, and the guys carried on. I used to listen to odd bits and pieces at home and I missed the camaraderie a bit. We all get on, we've seen each other many times since I left, and we would bring it up every time we sat down together. Sometimes we talked ourselves out of it and finally we decided this was as good a time as any to do something."
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REAL PEOPLE LINE UP FOR MEMORIAL GIG
According to Gigwise, The Real People are to perform a gig on 18 Nov at the Carling Academy in Liverpool to mark the one year anniversary of the death of musician Paul Bowness. The gig is backed by Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene, and will also feature sets from The Sums, Holden, Kuki and Bowness' former band The Same.
The Real People's Tony Griffiths said: "Music was one of the most important things in Paul's life and this is the way we want to remember him and celebrate what a fantastic musician and person he was. We will be celebrating his life and would appreciate any support for this gig".
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THE EGG LIVE
Hot on the heels of receiving the much sought after honour of MySpace Of The Day in the CMU Daily (or possibly hot on the heels of the release of their acclaimed new album 'Forwards', take your pick) The Egg will play Cargo in London tomorrow night, 9 Nov, with support from Subsource and Ninja Tunes DJs. The Egg are extra special live, so if you haven't seen them do the live thing before, you should definitely make an effort to see them. Doors open 8.30pm, tickets are a tenner. Press info from Emms.
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DOHERTY CLOTHING LINE PRET TO GO
That previously reported Pete Doherty clothing line created by Manchester fashion label Gio-Goi is to launch next month, and Babyshambles are going to play a special secret gig to celebrate. The clothes collection, inspired by Doherty, will go on sale at Selfridges in London on 7 Dec. The proles in the provinces aren't allowed to get their mits on it until January. The singer says: "Gio-Goi are on the fashionista manor. They've tumbled their gain; I love the clothes!"
For more info, plus how to win tickets for that special launch gig, see http://www.gio-goi.com.
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BABYSHAMBLER CURATES ANTI-RACISM BENEFIT
Talking of Babyshambles... one for fans of hate now (generally when directed at racism). Doherty's bandmate Drew McConnell is co-curating a special Love Music Hate Racism benefit bash at Fabric on 30 Nov. On the bill will be all sorts of top acts, including Terry Hall (The Specials), Andy C, Akala, The View, Mystery Jets, Jerry Dammers (The Specials), Jammer, Metro Riots, N.A.S.T.Y., Fionn Regan, Heartless Crew, Nu-Mcs and, if you're lucky, Babyshambles too.
Explaining his support for the Love Music Hate Racism campaign, McConnell told CMU: "The work Love Music Hate Racism is doing is incredible, it restores my faith in humanity's ability to feel solidarity and indignation at injustice, and actually act on it. It's easy to pretend things aren't happening when you can't see them, and especially when they're not happening to us directly. LMHR continues to bring to our attention the reality of what's going on with the BNP, and how they prey on some of Britain's most troubled areas. We should listen to LMHR and feel a duty to use what we have to react. Well what we have is music, so join us, a motley crew of indie bands, grime acts and drum'n'bass DJs - at Fabric on November 30th to help send a unified message to the BNP - Britain is a multicultural society and that's how we like it."
Tickets at £16 each are available from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk. Press info from [email protected]
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SECOND PLAYMUSIC OUT
Issue two of the previously reported new music monthly PlayMusic is out this week. I know this, because my copy landed on my desk just three minutes ago (there's a lesson there for other music mags wanting plugs in the CMU Daily - not that I'm suggesting the editorial selection process at CMU has anything to do with bribery, although obviously it does). I've only flicked through so far, but I know for a fact My Chemical Romance talk about the whole emo backlash thing in the cover interview, plus there's chatter with Plan B, Young Knives, The Futureheads, The Bronx and Mars Volta, a feature on the top 25 rock and pop image disasters, and something about skateboarding on amps. Oh yes, and a CD on the cover. All out now, £3.50.
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UNIVERSAL MUSIC REVENUES DOWN ON THIRD QUARTER
Hey everybody, here's the financial news you've all been scanning down looking for. Fancy putting Britney top, when there's Universal Music's third quarter revenue figures to delve into. Said revenues are down 2.1% on the same period last year, despite a rise in digital sales and US licensing income, and the inclusion of that previously reported 36 million euro settlement payment from Bertelsmann relating to a long running dispute regarding the German conglom's support of the original Napster (a dispute ended prior to Universal's takeover of Bertelsmann's music publishing company). Overall revenues for the period were 1.096 billion euros.
On the upside, download sales continued to boom, with digital revenues up 88% on the same period last year, to 126 million euros. That means that digital now accounts for 11.5% of Universal Music Group's total revenue. The growth in digital sales has helped ensure that, while third quarter revenues were down, revenues on the whole financial year so far are up 2.7%.
Also on the upside, parent company Vivendi saw its overall revenues for the third quarter increase, albeit only slightly. Revenues were up to 4.889 billion euro, 0.8% higher than the same quarter last year.
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EMI SHARES RISE AFTER TALK OF GOING PRIVATE
More city news, and shares in EMI Music rose a little yesterday following gossip that management at the London based major are preparing an offer to take the group private. Shares galore exchanged hands on the London Stock Exchange as a result, with stock price rising 11.5p to 281.75p. Some formal statement is expected from EMI this week. It's not surprising that EMI are keen to go private, given those rumours that Warner chief Edgar Bronfmann Jnr was courting their shareholders re staging a hostile takeover, despite insistence by the EMI board that if any EMI Warner joint venture is going to happen, it will be EMI taking over Bronfmann's company.
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MYSPACE LAUNCH IN JAPAN
As expected, MySpace formally announced its arrival in Japan yesterday. As previously reported, the social networking website will launch in the country through a partnership with Tokyo based telecommunications firm Softbank. The Japanese version of the site, currently operating in a beta format, will offer similar functionality to the US and UK MySpace services.
Confirming the launch, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe told reporters: "The launch of a Japanese community is a huge step for MySpace's international expansion". He said that the Japanese services would be a "community that is localised in terms of language and culture" but very much part of the "MySpace global network".
As in the UK and US, music will play an important role in the Japanese MySpace service. With that in mind, MySpace will stage a secret semi-acoustic show featuring Noel Gallagher next week, following on from similar intimate secret shows held by MySpace elsewhere in the world. Confirming the gig, MySpace Japan CEO Makoto Kouyama told reporters: "The launch of MySpace Japan with a concert by one of the most popular acts in Japan is just the first of many steps we are taking to serve the local community".
At a corporate level MySpace Japan is expected to operate pretty autonomously, although with some direction from its US based parent company.
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FORMER CAPITAL CHIEF TAKES BOARD ROLE AT INGENIOUS
Former GCap chief David Mansfield has been appointed as the main board director of the previously reported media investment firm Ingenious Media. Mansfield, who parted company with GCap after former GWR execs gained the upper hand in the management of the radio company post Capital GWR merger, has been on Ingenious' advisory board for a few months now, but the executive role is new.
Confirming the appointment, Mansfield told reporters: "Ingenious is uniquely placed to benefit as consumers embrace all forms of digital distribution and content. It's a great company and I'm delighted to have an opportunity to join this fast-growing organisation at a time of such rapid change and significant opportunity."
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FAITH HILL: I WAS ONLY JOKING, OKAY?
Country star Faith Hill has had to come out and insist that she was only joking when she was seen on camera having a 'tantrum' following the announcement that Carrie Underwood had beaten her to the Female Vocalist Of The Year accolade at the recent and previously reported Country Music Awards in Nashville.
I've seen a video of the footage. It's that bit at an award ceremony where the screen splits and focuses in on all the nominees looking nervous and preparing to don a gritty smile when they've lost. When Underwood is announced as the winner, Hill screams "what?" at the camera, and flails her arms a bit, then laughs and smiles. Everyone's calling her a diva so she's been forced to defend herself on the issue.
In a statement Hill said: "The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me. For this to become a focus of attention given the talent gathered is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving female vocalist of the year."
Her manager, Gary Borman, added: "I've worked with Faith for many years now and the idea that she would ever insult or undermine another artist, let alone another human being's success is absolutely preposterous. Those who know her know that she's incapable of such actions. She was being playful while the nominations were being read and playful after."
It seems as though she was joking to me. But I kind of don't care if she wasn't. It made my heart glad to see Samuel L Jackson clearly saying "Shit!" when he failed to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar back in 1995.
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FURTADO TO GUEST IN SOAP OPERA
Nelly Furtado is set to make a guest appearance in a primetime Portuguese soap opera. The singer, whose parents emigrated from the country's Azores Islands, will appear in 'Floribella', a remake of Argentine soap 'Florencienta', in an episode set to air next month. Furtado has expressed an interest in pursuing an acting career, and recently planned to appear in independent drama 'Nobody's Hero', but was forced to withdraw because filming clashed with promotional duties for her latest album.
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JASON DONOVAN FAVOURITE TO WIN LATEST JUNGLE SHOW
The Sun's report on the final line up of celebs for the next edition of 'I'm A Celeb, Get Me Out Of Here' says "despite the fanfare, this year's Oz jungle reality show is in danger of looking more like I'm A Nonentity!". Which is strange, because I was surprised just how many of the ten celebs lined up for the show I had actually heard of. Participants with music links include Jason Donovan, Matt Willis and Myleene Klass and, I suppose, Liza Minnelli's ex David Gest. Also on board are Heart FM DJ Toby Anstis, comedienne and impersonator Faith Brown, fashion designer Scott Henshall, former newsreader Jan Leeming, Footballers Wives and The Bill actress Phina Oruche and Tony Blair's sister in law, Lauren Booth. The show kicks off on 13 Nov. Donovan is bookies favourite to win, though Matt Willis and Myleene Klass are also hotly tipped.
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COWELL: I LOVE LOUIS, OKAY?
More reality show nonsense. Simon Cowell says he's back on good terms with Louis Walsh, despite their X-Factor bust up on Saturday night (they had one, apparently). The talent show judge told The Mirror: "We're all fine now, we're friends again."
There you go. You'll all sleep better now tonight, won't you?