| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 5th December |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Mary J Blige dominates Billboard music awards
- Nas speaks out over New York shooting
- Doherty fined not much
- Ronnie Lippin dies
- Logan Whitehurst dies
- New Klaxons single, etc
- Weiland on Velvet Revolver album
- Enter Shikari to self release with Integral support
- Velvet Underground album to sell for silly money
- Albarn project to broadcast via MySpace
- NME awards shows news
- Duels cancel tour
- Scissor Sisters/Peas get busy on New Year's Eve
- Muse announce Wembley gig
- CSS gig to feature mystery guest
- Music types to fill in for Mr Zane
- Quincy Jones moves songs to Cherry Lane
- ASCAP target clubs and bars over unpaid royalties
- EMI takeover talks ongoing
- Canadian band change label name
- MCD sues insurers over Eminem cancellation
- Live Nation Academy takeover would require venue sell offs
- EMI sign up to BT vision
- Webbe first guest presenter on 3 chart show
- Ninja launch channel on Second Life
- Lance Bass breaks up with boyf
- Mark Owen's getting married
- Amy Winehouse hasn't got a drink problem
- Britney comes top in Yahoo searches
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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE TRACK OF THE YEAR
Email in song title, artist and a sentence on why it's your favourite to
[email protected]
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TOP BIT>>
Not that we're flogging this for all it's worth, nor that the whole Track Of The Year thing is designed to fill end-of-year Top Bits when we find ourselves running out of opinions on anything, but let's dedicate a little more time to our best song poll. We mentioned that Hafdis Huld has been getting rather a lot of votes for her really rather good track 'Tomoko'. Here are two more votes for her, but with much more detailed explanations than normal.
Dan Morfitt, Viking FM: Hafdis Huld - Tomoko
It's a tough one in the year 06, seeing that most albums were a disappointment. Jack White, Brendon Benson and those two Greenhornes! Do you hear me! And a lot of great singles just weren't heard in this new download age. But... Most fun? Divine Comedy 'To Die A Virgin'. The comic wit back in bucketloads. Most disturbingly good cover? Disturbed 'Land Of Confusion'. Genesis with bite. Most fragile and beautiful? Charlotte Gainsbourg 'Everything I Cannot See'. From 5:55, produced by Nigel Godrich with Neil Hannon, Jarvis Cocker and Air helping out? Hello! Hello! Buy this record! Most danceable, stupid remix thingy? Justice Vs Simian 'We Are Your Friends'. Chuffing unbelievable. It makes me sweat therefore it is great. Most camp? MCR 'Welcome To The Black Parade'. Gerard Way has the approval of Freddie Mercury, and by the looks of it, a similar tailor. But with only black and grey fabric available to him. But my Favourite Song of the Year 2006 tho? Hafdis Huld 'Tomoko'. Filthy tongued barmy Icelandic maiden with a casio keyboard in tow in a lush musical marriage that makes my goosebumps grow their own goosebumps. and she's cuter than a cute thing made of cuteness. And I'm missing her tour where she is supporting Paolo Nutini. Boo.
Paul Mawson, Applied Interactive: Hafdis Huld - Tomoko
My favourite track of the year is 'Tomoko'. Take last Saturday afternoon. I was sat in my car, with my partner's seven year old daughter Beth sat in the backseat. We'd just stopped so her mum can get out to speak to someone in our local village. Anyway, I've got a CDR playing; one of my recent compilations... the conversation goes...
Beth: "Can't you put something good on?"
Me: "Beth, I like this" (it's a track by White Town, as it happened, called 'Whenever I Say Hello')
Beth: "But can't you put on something good please? Put on 'Tomoko'"
Me: (getting a bit touchy for someone who's a little bit wiser than that normally, but her mum is taking her time by now) "Beth, you don't like my music and I don't like your music. That's just the way it is sometimes".
Beth: "So you don't like 'Tomoko' then?"
This just goes to prove you should never argue with a small child about anything really. Not even music. They know what's best and they just make you look silly! 'Tomoko' is the one song this year we all love. Even Beth's brother Dan (who's 12 and who normally thinks he's way too cool to do such things) enthusiastically sings along when it comes on... and it's usually followed by a "can you put it back on again". And that's a sign of a top song in my books!
Just to stress, you don't need to provide such detailed explanations with your vote. Nor do you have to vote for 'Tomoko'. In fact, you can vote for any song that first surfaced this year - including single releases, b-sides, remixes, album tracks and bootleg mixes. To vote, just email the name of the track, the artist and (if you can be bothered) a two sentence reason why it's your favourite. Email it in to [email protected] right about now (well, before 8 Dec).
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
DESK AND OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE in North London, sharing with small
independent label. Self contained with all amenities, 2 minutes from tube, 20 seconds from bus, 1 minute from overground. Please contact [email protected]
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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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CMU RECOMMENDS>>
KILL ALL HIPPIES DECEMBER
The next edition of Kill All Hippies, the last one of the year, is this week, and it is all set to be a real stormer, not least because of its huge and really rather good live line up. On the bill are Robots In Disguise who, I am told, "pack a full-on left-field funk punk electro shock that's set to spark something of a revolution", which sounds mighty good to me. Next you'll get the anthemic and defining sounds of Roland Shanks and then the indie electro madness of Deaf Stereo. Then there's South East London's Bolt Action Five, perhaps best known for their own No Pain In Pop club night, but also a really rather good band themselves. And finally there'll be Mr Hudson & The Library, a recent CMU My Space Of The Day artist who have just finished what is sure to be one of the best albums of early 2007. Add to all that DJ sets from The Cooper Temple Clause, Gavin Nugent, The Young Knives, Lois & Pearl and the Scruffy Bird DJs and wow what a night. It all takes place this Friday, 8 Dec, at the Carling Academy Islington, from 9pm to 3am. It's £6 before 11pm then £8 after. Tickets in advance from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk, press info from Leyline.
More info>> http://www.leylinepromotions.com/killallhippies
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MYSPACE OF THE DAY: ADDICTIVE TV
Fans of anything audio-visual will surely be familiar with Addictive TV, and also with their Audiovisual Lounge night which hasn't been staged for a while, but which was always a damn good night out. Well, the good news is that they've teamed up with Cinefeel to stage a special festive edition of Audiovisual Lounge at the Roxy Bar & Screen on Borough High Street near London Bridge tomorrow night (6 Dec). Addictive TV - who, by the way, were recently voted best VJs in the DJ Mag poll - will be doing a VJ set while the Cinefeel people will present a load of great music videos, short films and animations. I'm mentioning all this in the MySpace slot because if you're not familiar with what Addictive TV are all about then there are a stack of videos of them in action here on the MySpace, plus a detailed round up of what they do and more details about tomorrow night's party. Which makes it well worth checking out.
www.myspace.com/addictivetv
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MARY J BLIGE DOMINATES BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS
I think it might be fair to say that Mary J Blige somewhat dominated the 2006 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas last night, given that she won no less than nine awards for her album 'The Breakthrough', which was released a year ago and which has netted 2.6 million sales in the US since then. She won, among other things, R&B/Hip Hop Artist Of The Year, Female R&B Artist Of The Year and R&B/Hip Hop Album Of The Year at the industry trade magazine's annual awards, which recognise the best selling artists from different genres in the US in the last twelve months.
Seventeen year old R&B singer Chris Brown also captured some headlines taking three awards for his eponymous debut album, also released just over a year ago. He won Artist Of The Year, Male Artist Of The Year and New Artist Of The Year. Elsewhere Canadian rockers Nickelback won Rock Album Of The Year for 'All The Right Reasons', former American Idol Carrie Underwood took Album Of The Year and Country Album Of The Year for 'Some Hearts', and TI was named Rap Artist Of The Year and won Rap Album Of The Year for his fourth solo album 'King'. Tony Bennett, meanwhile, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award.
Following those media reports that both Britney Spears and Paris Hilton had pulled out of hosting the awards event, the latter over disagreements regarding her script, the show went ahead without a central host, with a series of guests presenting each award.
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NAS SPEAKS OUT OVER NEW YORK SHOOTING
Rap star Nas has spoken out against the NYPD over the recent shooting of an unarmed man in New York. During last month's incident, which has made international headlines and sparked protest marches in the city, fifty shots were fired at three black men, killing one of them, Sean Bell, whose bachelor party the three men had been celebrating. He was due to get married the following day.
Police say that the shooting was prompted by Bell's erratic behaviour behind the wheel of his car, but friends say that the three friends thought the plain clothes officers were robbers and were attempting to escape them. Witnesses claim that the police opened fire without identifying themselves, following a confrontation, and the city's black community believe that the incident is symptomatic of the police department's attitude towards black people.
Nas released a statement voicing his opinion, on one police officer in particular, who fired 31 times, using two full magazines of bullets. The hip-hopper said: "The one who reloaded should go before the judge and plead guilty. If he was a man, he would be brave enough to face the charges as a man. This brutality bullshit is played out with that slave shit. It has to end now. The cops need to be charged the way gangsters are charged."
In unrelated news, Nas's new album, 'Hip Hop Is Dead' is out on 19 Dec.
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DOHERTY FINED NOT MUCH
Pete Doherty appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court yesterday, as reported yesterday in fact, to plead guilty to possessing class A and class C drugs. Judge Jane McIvor, who, I suspect, quite likes Doherty, because she's always rather nice to him, said that his offences were not serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence. Instead, she fined him the not very enormous amount of £770, and banned him from driving for four months. Tough, eh?
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RONNIE LIPPIN DIES
Music industry executive Ronnie Lippin has died at the age of fifty nine from a rare type of breast cancer.
Lippin, president of her own company Lippin Group, co-managed Brian Wilson, and acted as a PR rep for the likes of Prince, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Steve Stills, Peter Frampton, Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard, and Captain & Tennille. Whilst working has head of publicity for MCA, Rocket and RSO, Lippin also represented the Bee Gees, Elton John, Neil Sedaka, The Who, Dianne Reeves, James Taylor and Andy Gibb.
Lippin is survived by her husband Dick and daughter Alexandra, both of whom work for Lippin Group. They are currently planning to establish a foundation in Ronnie's memory for the study of rare forms of cancer.
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LOGAN WHITEHURST DIES
Singer songwriter and founding member of California band The Velvet Teen, Logan Whitehurst, has died at the age of 29 from brain cancer. He started his career as the drummer for Little Tin Frog in 1995, before starting The Velvet teen in 2000, whilst also developing a cult following for his various solo outings under the name Logan Whitehurst And The Junior Science Club, in which his only 'bandmate' was Vanilla the plastic snowman. Whitehurst left The Velvet Teen in 2004 due to health reasons, and to pursue his solo projects. It's been announced that his final work 'Very Tiny Songs' will be completed and released posthumously.
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NEW KLAXONS SINGLE, ETC
Klaxons have announced that they'll release a new single, 'Golden Skans', on 22 Jan, a week ahead of their highly anticipated debut album 'Myths Of The Near Future'. The band are set to play a few shows in the run up to Christmas, but they're all sold out. I suppose some of you might be able to blag it, so I'll tell you that they're playing Moles in Bath on 14 Dec and Esquires in Bedford on 15 Dec. They play a matinee and an evening show at seOne on 16 Dec.
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WEILAND ON VELVET REVOLVER ALBUM
Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland has been talking about the band's second album. Which is due at some point. The singer said: "There was a definite loss of inspiration for a bit there. It has a lot to do with chemistry. Once Brendan [O'Brien, producer] came on board, I guess it was kind of like a shot in the arm. It was a new energy".
Weiland denied rumours that the band were planning a concept album, saying: "We've thrown that idea out the window. In my opinion, there are so many schlock concept albums that have come out in the past year".
Weiland is also working on his second solo album, a follow up to '12 Bar Blues', which he released back in 1998. The new long player is expected out late in 2007, or early 2008.
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ENTER SHIKARI TO SELF RELEASE WITH INTEGRAL SUPPORT
Enter Shikari, that unsigned band who managed to sell out the Astoria thanks to their 40,000 MySpace friends (not all of them, obviously, the Astoria's not quite that big), have announced they have gone into partnership with Vital/PIAS's previously reported indie-label-support operation Integral. The Vital division will provide a marketing framework to help the band release their debut recordings via their own Ambush Reality label.
Confirming their decision to work with Integral on a self-release approach, rather than signing to a conventional record label, the band's management told reporters: "We met a lot of good, talented people from labels over the past couple of months but at the end of the day, with the amount of work Enter Shikari have put into this already themselves, there was a definite feeling that someone would have to have offered something pretty special in order for us to allow them to the honour of sticking their logo on the back of the records. Despite all the (arguably ridiculous) talk of 'the death of the major label', it's sad to see the amount of bands who still cannot resist the lure of the easy option when the chance presents itself. Ultimately, we couldn't allow Enter Shikari to be one of those bands. We're excited as hell to be working with Pete, Ian and the guys at Integral and Vital. Hopefully we'll not only release some great music together, but maybe even change the landscape a little, AND have a good time doing it (which is what it's all about, right?)".
Vital Group MD Pete Thompson added: "When we first set up Integral it would have been our dream to work on this sort of level with an artist with this potential. A year after starting Integral it has grown from a staff of two to a team of five and one of the most exciting bands in the country is going to be working with us. Enter Shikari have so far done everything themselves and created an enormous demand for their music. They want to do things differently and we are delighted to be able to offer them the infrastructure and support to be able to do so. This band will change things and they've already started!"
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VELVET UNDERGROUND ALBUM TO SELL FOR SILLY MONEY
Talking of bands with 'Velvet' in the title (well we were, two stories back), a rare Velvet Underground acetate album has gone up for sale on eBay, and bidding has reached $120,300 dollars. The reason people are bidding silly amounts of money is because, the seller claims, it's the only surviving copy of the early version of the band's classic eponymous LP.
The seller is calling this "arguably the rarest and most important rock n' roll and pop artifact in the world". Which, I would argue, is overselling it a bit. But the bidders seem to agree, so there you go. If you want to read a great long spiel about what's on it and how it was discovered, or if you want to bid on it, it's here: http://tinyurl.com/yjslt6
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ALBARN PROJECT TO BROADCAST VIA MYSPACE
Damon Albarn's new project, The Good The Bad And The Queen, are to broadcast a gig via MySpace, and apparently they're the first band to ever do it. The concert will take place at Wilton's Music Hall in London on 12 Dec and will be an exclusive event for 300 fans. To be in with a chance of being at that gig, fans need to become a MySpace friend of the group. They will then have to answer a question about the group, or something like that.
The lucky fans will be granted a place on the list and will be sent a confirmation a few days prior to the gig. 'The Good, The Bad And The Queen', the band's debut album, is out on 22 Jan.
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NME AWARDS SHOWS NEWS
An initial line up has been announced for this year's London based Shockwaves NME Award Shows thingy. The shows, taking place throughout February, are part of the build-up to the ShockWaves NME Awards in March, and promise to showcase the very best new and established bands. Don't believe me? Here's what NME Editor Conor McNicholas says, and there's no way he can be wrong: "The ShockWaves NME Awards are famous for bringing some of the very best new and established bands in the world to London for a month-long party. Grab your tickets for February's shows now!"
To be fair, there are several acts in the line-up I'd like to see. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, exclusively for a 24 hour period from www.nme.com/gigs, plus all ticket prices include a 50p donation to Global Cool. The dates thus far are as follows:
12 Feb: Larrikin Love, KOKO
14 Feb: The Holloways, KOKO
15 Feb: The Spinto Band, KOKO
16 Feb: Regina Spektor, Astoria
20 Feb: The Long Blondes, Astoria
21 Feb: Maximo Park, Astoria
25 Feb: Howling Bells, KOKO
26 Feb: Kings Of Leon, Astoria
26 Feb: The Young Knives, Shepherd's Bush Empire
27 Feb: The Maccabees, KOKO
27 Feb: We Are Scientists, Astoria
28 Feb: !Forward, Russia!, KOKO
28 Feb: The Rapture, Astoria
Press info from Amazing Media.
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DUELS CANCEL TOUR
Duels have cancelled an upcoming UK tour because their drummer James Kenosha has injured his wrist. The band released a statement which read: "It is with great sadness and regret that we must announce the cancellation of the December Tour. Drummer James has unfortunately sustained an injury to his wrist, and is under strict instruction from doctors to rest, to avoid more long-term damage. We are incredibly disappointed about this and look forward to hitting the road next year to make up for it. We hope you understand that it is unavoidable, and appreciate we share your feelings. We are upset."
Fans are advised to seek ticket refunds from the point of sale.
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SCISSOR SISTERS/PEAS GET BUSY ON NEW YEAR'S EVE
I'll be in the middle of nowhere on New Year's Eve, deep in the countryside, far away from all of you. Scissor Sisters and Black Eyed Peas have decided not to follow my peaceful example this year, and will play five different concerts in five different global locations. Presumably this is manageable because of time differences or whatever.
So, the two bands kick things off by appearing in Hong Kong and Mumbai. They are also joined by Nelly Furtado in Mumbai. Scissor Sisters will then move on to Berlin, before finishing things off in New York. Black Eyed Peas, meanwhile, will be off to Rio before rejoining Scissor sisters in NY. So that's four each, five gigs altogether. What the frick is going on? Are they Santa Claus or something? Hope they're planning to take the 1 Jan off, in any case.
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MUSE ANNOUNCE WEMBLEY GIG
As expected, Muse have announced that they are to play a headline gig at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium next summer. The band will play the 75,000 capacity venue on 16 Jun. Well, they will if it's open by then.
The band's frontman Matt Bellamy says: "It feels right for us to play this venue. We're ready for this kind of thing."
Tickets go on sale on 9 Dec at 9am.
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CSS GIG TO FEATURE MYSTERY GUEST
Rizla are set to end their year of live music sponsorship with a one-off gig from Brazilian buzz band Cansei de Ser Sexy, aka CSS. Keeping to the 'inspired by' theme, Rizla asked the band to choose their most inspiring musician to perform with on the evening, and thus, the concert will feature a cameo performance from a mystery guest, the identity of whom is, er, a mystery, of course - but the person in question is being described as a 'Britpop icon'.
The band's Lovefoxx says: "When Rizla first approached us about who has inspired us and would like to play with, we never really thought it would happen as this person is such a legend and we're so new to the UK music scene. We now can't wait to entertain London with an unforgettable kick ass show. It's been an amazing year for the band and this is a really special way to round it off".
The event takes place at The Forum, NW5 on 8 Dec. Tickets here www.livenation.co.uk or here www.ticketrush.co.uk, press info from [email protected]
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MUSIC TYPES TO FILL IN FOR MR ZANE
Radio 1 are planning on letting a bunch of singers fill in when Zane Lowe takes a three week break in the new year, which seems like a brave idea, though Kaiser Chiefs are hosting on 2 Jan which should be good. Here's the list of who's presenting when. Me and Caro are thinking of taking a three week break at Easter - so if there are any singers out there who fancy guest editing the CMU Daily during that time drop us a line. It involves a 6am start, a tight deadline and lots of typing, but it'll be a whole load more fun than just showing up at a radio studio and getting a producer to play some records for you.
2 Jan: Ricky Wilson and Nick Hodgson
3 Jan: Editors
4 Jan: The Young Knives
8 Jan: The Streets
9 Jan: The Automatic
10 Jan: Snow Patrol
11 Jan: Kelly Osbourne
15 Jan: Jamie T
16 Jan: The View
17 Jan: The Zutons
18 Jan: Chris Martin
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QUINCY JONES MOVES SONGS TO CHERRY LANE
Quincy Jones has reportedly moved his 1600 piece publishing catalogue from Warner/Chappell to New York based independent Cherry Lane, which is presumably big news for them. Cherry Lane will administrate the catalogue on Jones' behalf, a catalogue which includes songs recorded by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Michael Jackson, George Benson, Barry White, Ray Charles and Ludacris.
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ASCAP TARGET CLUBS AND BARS OVER UNPAID ROYALTIES
More publishing news. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers has confirmed it has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against ten nightclubs, bars and restaurants in eight US states. The businesses targeted do have valid licences from the performing rights organisation but, ASCAP say, they have all failed to comply with their payment terms.
The society's Senior VP For Licensing, Vincent Candilora, told reporters: "The situation with these establishments is certainly regrettable. But it has long been ASCAP's experience that if we do not enforce our agreements with club owners and other music users, many of them will simply continue to avoid their obligations to comply with the law. In the end, this really hurts the individual songwriters who are also, in effect, 'small business owners'".
It is unclear if the lawsuits are in reaction to isolated problems limited to the ten targeted clubs and bars, or whether there is a wider problem with royalty payments in that sector, which ASCAP hopes to overcome by making a stand in these cases.
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EMI TAKEOVER TALKS ONGOING
Latest news on those reports last week that an investment house had made a takeover approach to EMI is that talks are ongoing between the major and investment firm (which is almost definitely private equity fund Permira) but that insiders expect the record company's board to ultimately reject the bid. More when we get it, obviously.
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CANADIAN BAND CHANGE LABEL NAME
A Canadian all-girl nu-metal band called Kittie have had to change the name of their record label after receiving a cease and desist letter from the company who own the intellectual property rights relating to Kiss (the band, not the radio station). Kittie announced they were launching their own label, Kiss Of Infamy, earlier this year, with a distribution deal in place with EMI. But bosses at Kiss Catalog Ltd claim the name was "confusingly similar" to their client's trademark, hence the legal letter. Not interested in going to court over the name, Kittie's label will now be know as X Of Infamy. Legal papers from Liberty X will presumably follow shortly.
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MCD SUES INSURERS OVER EMINEM CANCELLATION
Irish based concert promoters MCD are suing three British insurance companies over a cancelled Eminem concert. As I'm sure we reported at the time (I can't believe we didn't) the rapper was due to play at Ireland's Slane Castle in 2005 but pulled out at the last minute, officially because of "exhaustion", although subsequent media reports suggested that he was admitted to hospital to be treated for a dependency for sleep medication.
It is costs associated with the cancellation of that sold out event that MCD are now trying to recoup. The three targeted insurance companies who, MCD claim, should have compensated them for the last minute cancellation are Liberty Syndicate Management Ltd, Brit Insurance Ltd and Markel International Ltd. It is unclear why the insurers are refusing to pay up over MCD's claim, though it may revolve around the reason given by Eminem's people for cancelling the event at such short notice. Either way, Mr Justice Peter Kelly in the UK High Court yesterday granted an application from the promoter to admit their case to the Commercial Courts and instructed the claimants and defendants to exchange legal documents.
MCD claims it incurred losses of over 2 million euros because of the cancellation, although they are only suing for 1.5 million euros because that was the maximum amount payable under their insurance policy. That said, the promoter may hope to secure a second payout through separate breach of contract litigation against the insurance firms.
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LIVE NATION ACADEMY TAKEOVER WOULD REQUIRE VENUE SELL OFFS
Now that we are in the domain of live music, a story I could have sworn we reported on last week but turns out we didn't. So we'll report on it now. No refunds for the oversight incidentally. The UK's Competition Commission has said that if live music conglom Live Nation wants to take a majority stake in gig venue owners the Academy Music Group (which they do) that they'll have to agree to sell off some of AMG's London venues to third parties so they don't become too dominant in the capital's live music sector.
That ruling has been made because the Commission believe that if Live Nation was to acquire all of the Academy's venues (which include the Brixton Academy), in addition to the London concert halls they already own (which includes the Hammersmith Apollo), it would significantly reduce competition in the live sector, and may therefore cause ticket prices to rise and the quality of venues to decline.
Live Nation announced back in the summer that it plans to acquire a 53% in the Academy Music Group, but that move has faced criticism from various sources, especially independent gig promoters who fear that a venue market dominated by Live Nation, themselves concert promoters, would make it much harder for the independents to compete.
However, Live Nation have said they will lobby against the Competition Commission's proposal and continue to fight for approval for their Academy Music Group bid without any forced sales. Commenting on the Commission's initial ruling Live Nation UK president Paul Latham told reporters: "We're disappointed that the Commission did not take into account the huge volume of evidence and argument that we submitted".
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EMI SIGN UP TO BT VISION
EMI have confirmed they have signed a video-on-demand agreement with BT Vision, the new "next-generation" TV service which has just launched. The deal means BT will be able to make the major's catalogue available via its music services.
Confirming the deal, EMI SVP Commercial & Digital Media Mike McMahon told CMU: "This agreement with BT Vision heralds our first TV on demand deal in the UK. The more ways in which our music videos can reach music fans, the better. This service gives consumers the flexibility and freedom of choice of when to watch our latest releases as well as view our rich back catalogue."
BT Vision top bloke Dan Marks added: "We are delighted to announce this agreement with EMI Music UK. BT Vision's choice of entertainment for devoted music fans is further strengthened by this partnership with one of the most famous names in the business. It will provide music videos from many different genres, as well as concerts by a wide range of well known artists from EMI's fantastic roster."
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WEBBE FIRST GUEST PRESENTER ON 3 CHART SHOW
Talking of EMI and digital music type shenanigans, the 3 phone network has announced EMI signed former Blue boy Simon Webbe is the first guest presenter on their new mobile chart show MPops which [a] is confusing because I thought former TOTP presenter Reggie Yates was presenting and [b] strikes me as a dreadful idea given how dull and humourless Webbe always seems whenever he's on TV. Still, what do I know?
Certainly Mike Dowuona - Digital Media Manager for the bit of EMI Webbe is signed to, the Angel Music Group - seems to be excited by the idea, telling reporters: "The way in which people consume music has evolved, with today's music fans demanding instantaneous access to downloads and music news. Mobile is the ideal fit for music fans, offering greater accessibility and greater interaction 'on the go'. In keeping with the Simon Webbe digital campaign, the launch of MPops is the perfect platform for Simon, enabling him to interact in a direct and personal way to mobile music fans. Simon's latest collaboration with 3 follows an interview on 'Today on 3 Live' and exclusive access of his latest music videos to 3's customers. This further reconfirms Simon's ongoing commitment to bespoke mobile content, reaching out to fans in a way that is fresh, engaging and personal".
Anyway, the show went live last Friday, so 3 owners better go and watch it now if they want to experience first hand Mr Webbe's presenting charm and genius.
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NINJA LAUNCH CHANNEL ON SECOND LIFE
Ninja Tune are launching a virtual music video channel in that previously reported online virtual world Second Life. The channel will feature videos from all sorts of rather fine Ninja artists, including Roots Manuva, Coldcut, Spank Rock, Cinematic Orchestra and Pop Levi, and any of the 1.5 million users of the Second Life thingimy will be able to access it.
Confirming the new channel, Ninja Tune's Head Of Digital Laura Search told reporters: "This is great opportunity for us to showcase our videos in a new and exciting environment, with a new creative outlet for our artists and a new way for fans to access them".
As previously reported, right here in your CMU Daily, the Second Life virtual world will be showcased at a Music Ally staged seminar on all things to do with virtual communities taking place in London tonight. Info on that at http://musically.com/debate/
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LANCE BASS BREAKS UP WITH BOYF
According to US magazine People, N Sync singer Lance Bass has broken up with his boyfriend, reality star Reichen Lehmkuhl. As previously reported, the singer came out earlier this year and announced the relationship with Lehmkuhl, a former US Air Force captain. It sounds like it was a mutual thing.
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MARK OWEN'S GETTING MARRIED
According to a report in The Sun, Take That's Mark Owen has proposed to long term girlfriend, and mother-of-his-four-month-old-son, Emma Ferguson. They quote the singer as saying: "I popped the question and Emma said yes. I can't believe it. I'm so lucky. We plan to get married in the summer."
Owen apparently revealed this news backstage at the band's 'Audience With' at the weekend.
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AMY WINEHOUSE HASN'T GOT A DRINK PROBLEM
Amy Winehouse says that despite the fact that she keeps appearing on TV looking like she's had a few, she does not, repeat, does not, have a drink problem. Speaking to 6music, she said that her family and friends aren't concerned and that's the main thing: "If they were genuinely concerned... I don't like to worry people I love", she said. "The tabloids aren't worried about me so they can do what they want."
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BRITNEY COMES TOP IN YAHOO SEARCHES
It's not a great surprise, to be honest, that Britney Spears was the top search on Yahoo! this year, even if she wasn't promoting an album. She did, after all, have a second child about ten seconds after the first one, filed for divorce from her husband, hung out with Paris Hilton and then flashed her muff at the paparazzi. I expect that's what they'd call a recipe for search term success.
Yahoo! says Britney was well in the lead even before every gossip blog on the interweb had posted pictures of the popstrel sans-panties, however, with spokeswoman Cathi Early explaining that the reason for Britney's dominance of the world of online searches is down to the fact that men and women are both equally interested in her.
Pretty much all of the top ten has some kind of music relationship actually, apart from wrestling thingy WWE. Also in the list were: 'Shakira' 'Jessica Simpson', 'Paris Hilton' (she did release an album), 'American Idol', 'Beyonce Knowles', 'Chris Brown', 'Pamela Anderson' (divorcing Kid Rock, let's not forget), and Lindsay Lohan (she also released an album at some point).
Which just shows you... well, something. Well I do know that it shows you that people are mostly interested in celebrities and reality TV. Which is always worrying.