| CMU Daily - on the inside 4 Oct 2002 |
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In today's CMU Daily:
• Anti-Download War Reaches Next Phase,
• Coxon Is Out Of Blur – Confirmed,
• 9.11 Single Hits The Airways,
• Digital Download Day A Success,
• Fairfoull Officially Out Of Idlewild,
• Bono The Most Powerful Man In Rock,
• Review: Sigur Ros (),
• MTV Plan Global Concert Airing For World Aids Day,
• DJ Shadow Tour - Now More Than Six Days,
• Review: Various - Laws Of Motion 2,
• Nightmares On Wax Back Live,
• Harrison Tribute Tickets Go On Sale,
• Roxette Star Recovering,
• Freeview Launch Date Announced,
• Another Compilation Series…
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On VH1’s Top 100 Women (airing this week) Courtney Love was referred to as a “great singer and great actress”. But can you actually name six movies she’s been in?
Answer Monday
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ANTI-DOWNLOAD WAR REACHES NEXT PHASE
The next phase of the anti-download war begins in American today when the record labels take an internet service provider to court to force them to name a subscriber accused of illegally trading copyrighted songs. It’s the first time the labels have targeted an individual for legal action, albeit an individual the labels believe is swapping tracks at an incredibly high level. The accused’s ISP – Verizon – claims it goes against their customer privacy policies to give out any information about individuals who use their services. If the courts side with the ISP it cold open the doors for record labels to start seeking out and threatening individual music fans who partake in serial file swapping.
Verizon general counsel Sarah Deutsch told reporters a record industry victory would harm the privacy rights of Verizon subscribers and force ISPs to give up the names of its customers without judicial review. "There are plenty of companies that have business problems that would like to start a letter-writing campaign to hundreds of thousands of people. We'll be a turnstile."
The legal case depends on your interpretation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which was passed to protect copyright holders from piracy. It was created out of a compromise among internet providers, technology firms and content owners. Verizon claim they are only required to act if copyrighted material is held on their servers – ie made available via one of their customers' websites. With music swapping the tracks are held on the customer's own computer – the internet is only use as a channel for sending the track somewhere else – Verizon say this removes any liability from them, the Recording Industry Association of America disagree. "It wasn't the compromise that we agreed to," the RIAA say. "There's nothing in there that suggests that it only applies when they are carrying the material."
Ironically the customer involved in this case, who is alleged to have shared thousand of songs via the Kazaa network, doesn’t actually know it’s them yet! "Our general policy is to inform a user when we receive a subpoena," Deutsch said. "Since in our view this isn't valid, we haven't gotten the consumer involved in the debate."
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COXON IS OUT OF BLUR - CONFIRMED
Graham Coxon has confirmed he is out of Blur in an interview with Q magazine. Talking about his time in psychiatric hospitals, which he has attended twice in the last year due to drink and depression problems, he said he left the band last month after their manager called him and asked him to leave saying it was “something to do with my attitude”. He goes on: "I felt I was going about my work honestly, perhaps they mistook honesty for attitude". But he denies there has been any row with the actual band members.
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9.11 SINGLE HITS THE AIRWAYS
You may remember that shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th last year Michael Jackson recruited a team of pop’s finest – including Britney Spears, NSYNC and Destiny's Child – to record a charity ‘What More Can I Give’ to raise money for the families of victims of the attacks. The track was recorded, but, with the exception of one live performance, never surfaced. During Jackon’s public feud with Sony he blamed them for the delay, though label insiders claimed they had never officially agreed to release the single and blamed the delay on a fall out between producer Marc Schaffel and the Jackson camp when it came to light Schaffel had once made a pornographic film.
Now a New York radio station - WKTU-FM – has unofficially debuted the song and it has put it on their daytime playlist. The station’s programme director Frankie Blue is a longtime friend of Jackson, but he claims he didn’t get the track via Jacko. The song’s producer Marc Schaffel has confirmed at least 200 copies of the single were sent to the artists who participated and their representatives and that the song has since surfaced on the internet. "It's a loose train; there's no stopping it," Schaffel said. "But I would hate to see it out there not doing its intended purpose, which was to raise money for the victims of September 11th and children's charities."
The station actually played the track earlier in the year but was asked to stop airing it by Jackon’s people. But this time there has been no contact from any of the people involved in the project. "This song is a gift to the world," Blue told reporters. "Michael and everyone donated their time for it, and it deserves to be heard. Maybe this will give someone the push to put it out because now would be the time. After the second 9/11, we are coming together. People need a song like this right now."
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DIGITAL DOWNLOAD DAY A SUCCESS
The company behind Digital Download Day say they were swamped by demand, and that the project has been a huge success. The scheme – which launched yesterday – allows fans to download £5 of free music via an official website. The idea is to introduce music fans to legitimate download services, and to discourage illegal music swapping. ""We have not seen a level of activity like this before, and that's really indicative of how much it's captured everybody's imagination. It is a complete poke in the eye for the illegitimate sites," a spokesman for co-ordinating company OD2 said. By 4.30pm yesterday 15,000 people per hour were visiting the site to gain free access to 110,000 songs from everyone from Kylie to Elvis. The free offer runs until next Wednesday. Those who take part are then offered to join the download scheme full time where, for £4.99 a month, they can download up to 50 tracks.
Andrew Yeates of the BPI welcomed the initiative: "Put simply, paying for music has to be a better option than stealing it. Any initiative that helps create that atmosphere is to be welcome.”
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FAIRFOULL OFFICIALLY OUT OF IDLEWILD
Parlophone have confirmed to NME.com that Idlewild bassist Bob Fairfoull has left the band for good. It had already reported that Fairfoull had dropped out of the band’s forthcoming tour, replaced by bass technician Alex Grant. Now the band’s label has said: "Unfortunately, due to personal problems, Bob Fairfoull will no longer continue to play bass in Idlewild. The band will continue with their current dates and commitments until the end of the year with their guitar technician Alex Grant playing bass. Alex has worked with the band for more than two years and previously played bass in other bands. Idlewild are currently planning further dates in the UK, Australia and the US, and will announce a new band line-up in the near future"
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BONO THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN ROCK
In the latest pointless music survey campaigning rocker Bono has come out as the most powerful man in rock. Universal Music head Doug Morris is at number two, and Eminem at number 3 in the survey by Q magazine. The top ten looks like this:
1. Bono
2. Doug Morris (boss of Universal Music)
3. Eminem
4. L Lowry Mays (founder of US entertainment firm Clear Channel)
5. Kurt Cobain
6. Thom Yorke
7. Lyor Cohen (boss of Island Def Jam)
8. Clive Calder (head of Zomba Music)
9. Sir Paul McCartney / Yoko Ono
10. Simon Fuller
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REVIEW: Sigur Ros () (Fatcat Records)
What’s in a name? Spooky post-rock Scandinavians Sigur Ros have done away with titles on new album (), as well you might when your biggest hit to date is entitled ‘Svefn-G-Englar’. But what remains is a collection of songs so beautiful, you wouldn’t be reading the tracklisting anyway. Haunting soundscapes conjure images of desolate Icelandic wastelands, with eerie vocals that Thom Yorke has already admitted heíd kill for. This being Sigur Ros, all four tracks on the sampler are very long indeed, creating what could be taken as a bit of BGM to scare dinner guests with, chill out music or just something to sink into your favourite pillow and absorb. Breathtaking; they’re sure to go on winning those awards with songs of this calibre. DR
Release date: 28 Oct
Press Contact: Cool Delta [all]
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MTV PLAN GLOBAL CONCERT AIRING FOR WORLD AIDS DAY
Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Dave Matthews will be performing in a special World AIDS Day concert to be aired by MTV worldwide on 1 Dec to an anticipated 2 billion audience. The concert, recorded in both Seattle and Cape Town, will also be syndicated on radio stations around the globe. It will feature as part of MTV's yearlong sexual health campaign, Fight for Your Rights: Protect Yourself.
"With more than 50 percent of all new HIV/AIDS infections occurring among people under the age of 25 around the world, this disease is reaching crisis proportions among young people globally. The good news is, that through education, awareness and diligence, this disease is wholly preventable," MTV President of Entertainment Brian Graden told reporters.
The Seattle concert (Missy Elliot and Dave Matthews) will be recorded on 7 Nov, the Cape Town date (Alicia Keys) on 23 Nov. More acts are expected to be announced between now and then.
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NOW MORE THAN SIX DAYS
DJ Shadow has announced extra dates on his forthcoming tour – adding dates at Liverpool University on 24 Oct and Nottingham Rock City on 27 Oct – full dates:
17 Oct - Birmingham Academy
18 Oct - London - Brixton Academy
19 Oct - London - Brixton Academy
21 Oct - Oxford University
22 Oct - Norwich - UEA
23 Oct - Leeds - University
24 Oct - Liverpool University
26 Oct - Manchester Academy
27 Oct - Nottingham Rock City (One Live in Nottingham)
28 Oct - Glasgow Barrowlands
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REVIEW: Various - Laws Of Motion 2 (Laws Of Motion)
From the West London based label comes this future soul compo selected by Ben Wilcox, more house-ish than pure broken beat. Dominic Jacobson aka Modaji gets three remixes in, John Cutler has a take on 'Into Something' and Jazztronik take a rather good pick at 'One and the Same'. Also worthy of mention is the rather chilled Nicholson mix of 'See The Changes' and Hipnotic’s re run of Coltrane's 'Naima' - soulful yet far out. Agent K aka Kaidi Tatham chips in with the hard boogie workout 'Feed The Cat', Green Fridge's 'And Love' is pure sublime house, while BB Boogie adds the stomping vocal cut 'Tell Him.' A very subtle and smooth journey into West London Future Soul. Recommended. PV
Release date: 11 Nov
Press contact: Trailer Media [all]
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NIGHTMARES BACK LIVE
Nightmares On Wax (one George Evelyn) will be performing live for the first time in three years with three dates. A 11 piece band, including M Peopl’s Shovel on percussion, will join Evelyn at the following dates:
14 Nov: Brighton Dome
28 Nov: Leeds Town Hall
29 Nov: London Forum
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HARRISON TRIBUTE TICKETS GO ON SALE
Tickets for the George Harrison tribute concert go on sale next week. Held in aid of the Material World Charitable Foundation, and organised by his widow Oliva and long-time friend Eric Clapton, the concert will take place on the one-year anniversary of Harrison's death, 29 Nov, at the Royal Albert Hall. Clapton, Sir Paul McCartney, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Ringo Starr, Ravi Shankar, Joe Brown, Jools Holland, Jim Keltner, Leon Russell, and members of Monty Python's Flying Circus are all confirmed to perform. Tickets go on sale on 11 Oct at www.bookingsdirect.co.uk.
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ROXETTE STAR RECOVERING
Doctors report that Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson is feeling fine after a successful operation to remove a tumour from her brain. Her fellow Roxette member Per Gessle has told local paper Expressen "Marie is a fighter. She will be back on her feet again. On behalf of Marie and myself I would like to thank everyone for thinking/praying/writing/e-mailing good and positive thoughts regarding her illness. As you know, what happened on Sept 11th (that day again!!) took us by complete surprise and last week has been tumultuous for us all to say the least. Once again, thanks for your support and let's keep our fingers crossed things will turn out for the best for Marie and her family".
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FREEVIEW LAUNCH DATE ANNOUNCED
The BBC’s digital terrestrial TV service Freeview, the replacement to the doomed ITV Digital, will officially launch on 30 Oct. The new service will offer up to 30 free channels, plus digital radio to any TV via a set top box retailing at about £100. There may be up to three music channels on the platform. EMAP announced they would be including a channel yesterday, and it now seems that MTV, who were the only music brand on ITV Digital, will have two channels on the new system.
Radio wise commercial stations Kerrang!, Smash Hits, Kiss, Oneword and Jazz FM will join the main BBC stations and its digital only services including black music station 1Xtra and the eclectic music station 6 Music.
"Freeview is a fresh start for digital terrestrial television," BBC marketing and communications director Andy Duncan told the Media Guardian. "It provides a simple way for people way to see all eight of the BBC's digital television channels, including the soon-to launch BBC Three, and to listen to BBC digital radio stations. It will also offer interactive services, linked to a wide range of BBC programmes from sport to children's and documentaries."
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ANOTHER COMPILATION SERIES…
Reunions website Friends Reunited is launching its own series of branded CDs packed with 80s pop. Users of the site will be invited to vote for their favourite 80s track to be featured on an album released in late November, just in time for Christmas. "In some ways, it could be a bit risky, as you never know how things can turn out by involving your users," the site's co-founder, Steve Pankhurst told internet magazine Revolution.
"The CD could end up being slightly leftfield and feature The Cure and The Icicle Works. Or it could be very mainstream and feature the likes of Kajagoogoo and Katrina and the Waves." The CD will be released through Universal Records and, if successful, is likely to be followed by others concentrating on other decades. There are also plans for a Friends Reunited concert!