| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 30th January |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Ticketmaster buy UK secondary ticketing firm
- Universal Publishing and SonyBMG to collaborate on digital licencing in south-east Asia
- Reggae labels merge
- Stones to sign to Live Nation?
- Brown early release request denied
- Tindersticks album release
- Britney sees psychiatrist shocker
- New track on NKOTB website
- Arctic Monkeys win South Bank award
- Parton signs digital deal for new album
- Peter minus Bjorn and John
- Patrick Wolf plans DVD release
- Missy Elliot works with Disney on 3D video
- Israel keen to make up with Beatles
- Lupe Fiasco praises Jay-Z
- Gnarls Barkley album named
- Clapton and Police for Hard Rock in the park
- Jacko to appear at Super Bowl?
- Zeppelin bassist to perform with Foo Fighters
- Clannad tour
- Bestival tour
- Album review: Mademoiselle Caro & Franck Garcia - Pain Disappears
- Spanish courts rule on Telefonica case
- Master P to head Udub!
- Promotion for Bad Boy GM
- Orange big up DRM free
- Yahoo! confirm downsize
- EMI give away digital tracks with New York Daily News
- Sky expected to appeal ITV share ruling
- MTV relaunch UK home page
- Stefani pregnant again?
- Dixie Chick pregnant
- Winehouse takes comfort from Marilyn
- Moby goes busking
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TOP BIT RECOMMENDED
Don't forget that the next CMU Recommended Twisted Licks is this very weekend. Yes, this weekend. Hurrah.
The February edition of this brilliant night takes place at the 229 venue on Great Portland Street, London on Friday, ie 1 Feb. And this time we have Blood Red Shoes heading the live bill, supported by Lovvers and Davey La plus DJ action from that Slim Jim fella. A brilliant line up.
Tickets are £6 before 10pm, £8 after - or £6 all night for students. For full info check http://www.myspace.com/twistedlicks, unless you're a press type, in which case get directly in touch with Leyline for the lowdown.
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JOBS N STUFF
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SNAP OF THE DAY: TINA DICO
With her fourth album set for release next month, Tina Dico is something of a stalwart of the music biz, having already toured the world extensively as part of Zero 7 (she featured on two tracks on their second album, 'When It Falls', including the single, 'Home'). Fans of that record will be pleased to know that she's still creating music with laid-back tones; sultry, acoustic numbers like 'You Know Better' and the Beth Orton-esque 'Back Where We Started' are two of the more popular tracks on her MySpace, for example. A huge success in her homeland of Denmark, where her last record held its own in the charts against international success stories like Coldplay, Dico's tender voice and accessible songs could, with some luck (maybe if Radio 2 picked up on it), make her one the unexpected success stories of 2008.
http://www.myspace.com/tinadico
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TICKETMASTER BUY UK SECONDARY TICKETING FIRM
Following their previously reported purchase of US based secondary ticketing outfit TicketsNow earlier this month, primary ticketing giant Ticketmaster yesterday announced it had acquired a UK based secondary ticketing concern called Get Me In!
The ticketing major seemingly plans to incorporate Get Me In! with its own TicketExchange programme, ultimately creating an integrated ticketing platform where customers can see official and resale tickets that are available for events, in much the same way an Amazon search will give you listings of both new and resale routes for books and CDs.
Ticketmaster's dabblings in the secondary ticketing market is extra interesting given the controversy that continues to surround the growth of online ticket touting. As much previously reported, many in the live sector have expressed concern at the growing trend for individuals to buy tickets to in demand events with the intent of selling them for profit via auction sites like eBay or sites specifically set up for the resale of gig tickets, like Get Me In!
Politicians have also expressed concerns about the growth of touting, though they have generally called on the live sector to find its own solutions to address those concerns, even though some in the sector are of the opinion tighter government regulation would be the best solution. As also previously reported, the artist managers have proposed charging a levy on resales that is passed back to the live and artist communities - the idea being that secondary ticketing sites that sign up to the levy and make certain guarantees to their customers would gain official recognition from the industry. However, the secondary ticketing sites have not responded well to those proposals, and the gig promoters also have been quite quiet about the levy idea.
But with the likes of Ticketmaster now moving into the secondary ticket space it seems likely online ticket touting is definitely here to stay, and the live sector and wider music business will have to make the best of it that they can.
Confirming the deal, Ticketmaster UK MD Chris Edmonds told reporters: "We believe that the best we can do for our consumers, clients and the UK live entertainment ticketing industry is to actively engage the exchange and resale sector of the market. We look forward to working with Get Me In! to provide consumers with the highest levels of choice, protection and service and to keep the value of a ticket as much as possible where it belongs, within the live entertainment industry".
Needless to say, others in the secondary ticketing space, while facing new competition from Ticketmaster's ticket resale platform, see the ticketing giant's move into ticket resales as something that legitimises their whole business.
Always keen to comment on any story relating to his sector, the boss of secondary ticketing outfit Viagogo, Eric Baker, said yesterday: "Ticketmaster has clearly realised what was spelt out in the government's report [on secondary ticketing] - the secondary market offers real benefits for fans and is a booming market. As the largest secondary ticketing exchange in Europe, we are always excited to see the further validation of the industry".
Get Me In! was launched in 2003 by James Gray, Paul Montagne and Don Hughes. Specifics of the Ticketmaster deal have not been revealed, though it is thought the service will continue to operate from its existing London HQ, with current General Manager Andrew Blanchman staying in that role, and Gray and Montagne keeping their Senior Director roles.
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UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING AND SONYBMG TO COLLABORATE ON DIGITAL LICENCING IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Back to MIDEM, and an announcement from Universal Music Publishing and SonyBMG who say they will collaborate to offer digital music services in Southeast Asia and India with a range of licenced music products.
The aim of the collaboration is to simplify digital licencing and royalty reporting in the region, to capitalise on the opportunities of a growing market there, and to better deal with the relationship between recording and publishing licencing - in particular by introducing a mechanical royalty on record sales in India for the first time. The two majors say they will work with local collecting societies in the region to deliver their services.
Confirming the plans, SonyBMG's Senior VP Of Digital And Business Development in Asia told reporters: "For many years, digital music resellers have been challenged with licensing content from a myriad of content owners and similarly challenged in effectively reporting sales in return. We expect to see a significant increase in our respective businesses as content flows to our partners and consumers are able to find their favorite artists and discover new music to get excited about".
Universal Music Publishing's Exec VP Of International, Andrew Jenkins, added: "This multi-lateral deal should enable the legitimate digital business in the region to operate with certainty. Through the combined efforts of UMPG and SonyBMG, and our common line of action with this agreement, we are providing a digital model for the whole industry to adopt".
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REGGAE LABELS MERGE
Two top reggae labels are to become one. New York based VP Records has announced it has bought UK based Greensleeves. The latter was bought by music investment firm Zest in 2006, but will now be sold to VP, subject to the approval of Zest's shareholders. The deal will create a record company that owns recordings from most of the big names in reggae and dancehall, including Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Capleton, Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, Lady G, Vybz Kartel and Gregory Isaacs. It will also give VP one of the world's biggest reggae publishing catalogues.
Confirming the deal, VP Records boss Chris Chin said: "Although Greensleeves has historically been our competitor, we have always had the utmost respect for what Greensleeves stood for. The label and its founders had a long term commitment to reggae music and no one is better positioned than VP Records to understand the need to respect this legacy. We will ensure that Greensleeves remains alive as a brand synonymous with excellence in reggae and dancehall music".
VP hope their Greensleeves acquisition will help them further establish themselves and the genre they specialise in across the European market, though some working in the genre, especially in Jamaica, have expressed some concern at the coming together of the two labels, with the Jamaica Observer quoting one unnamed artist manager as saying the deal gave VP a monopoly within the reggae genre, adding that "this monopoly thing can't work".
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STONES TO SIGN TO LIVE NATION?
With all the talk about the Rolling Stones looking for a new label to manage the bulk of their catalogue and to work with on new recording ventures, Fox News' Roger Friedman has reported that the legendary rockers are in talks with Live Nation about signing a 360 degree deal similar to that the live music conglom entered into with Madonna last year.
He says "with the band's legendary touring prowess and diminishing returns as a recording act, it's the only organization where it makes sense for the self-proclaimed world's greatest rock & roll band to sign". The fact the new division set up by Live Nation to work with artists on non-touring based projects is headed up by Stones tour promoter Michael Cohl will be another possible reason why such a deal might be attractive to all parties.
As previously reported, Live Nation has expressed an interest in expanding into other areas of the music business than its traditional domain of tour promotion and venue management, with its wide-ranging if expensive deal with Madonna being its first major dabble in that domain (not that that deal has really come into effect as yet).
The Stones existing record label relationship with EMI has reached its conclusion. Universal will release the soundtrack to an upcoming documentary about the band, while Jagger et al are known to be in talks with various labels regarding a more long term deal.
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BROWN EARLY RELEASE REQUEST DENIED
Well, it did seem a somewhat optimistic request. Foxy Brown's request to be let out of jail early so she could get ear treatment in LA has been denied. As previously reported, Brown's lawyers said an existing ear condition was deteriorating, and that the only doctors who could effectively treat it were based in California. But prosecutors objected to the hip hop star's request for early release, arguing she could be treated in New York, where she is currently incarcerated at Riker's Island prison. Brown is in jail after violating her probation that stemmed from that much reported nail salon fracas back in 2004.
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TINDERSTICKS ALBUM RELEASE
Tindersticks are to release a new album, five years after the release of 'Waiting For The Moon' back in 2003. The new LP is called 'The Hungry Saw' and will be out on 28 Apr. The band, which I think used to be a six-piece, is now a trio consisting of singer Stuart Staples, guitarist Neil Fraser and keyboardist David Boulter. A track from the new record, 'The Flicker Of A Little Girl', is available to download MP3 from the band's MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/tindersticks.
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BRITNEY SEES PSYCHIATRIST SHOCKER
According to US talk show host Barbara Walters, Britney Spears is seeing a psychiatrist to help deal with her mental difficulties. Walters claimed on TV this week that she's been contacted by the singer's friend and manager Sam Lutfi, who told her that Spears is suffering from "mental issues which are treatable".
Walters continued: "He said that she has been to a psychiatrist and that she, I assume, is starting some kind of treatment. She has been having mood swings. She's been having trouble sleeping, and also she is in touch with her mother - and her mother has been very supportive of whatever it is that Britney is going to do".
Meanwhile, Britney, whose fight to regain custody of her two children is ongoing, has apparently had her hopes of a reunion brightened by the fact that she is now allowed to speak to them over the phone, though I doubt she gets much sense from them given that they're only babes. Nonetheless, it must have cheering for her to have received word that LA Commissioner Scott Gordon had ruled at a recent hearing that she's to be allowed "telephonic contact" with Jayden James and Sean Preston, despite the fact that he maintained that "all prior orders remain in full force and effect". As previously reported, Spears' custody rights have been terminated indefinitely, until a new hearing takes place.
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NEW TRACK ON NKOTB WEBSITE
We reported yesterday that all signs seemed to point to a New Kids On The Block reunion, and now another signal that the band might be intending to get back together has emerged as a previously unreleased song as been added to the band's website, nkotb.com. The track, which has no name, is a ballad which plays over a slideshow of the band's past achievements. Plus, the website boasts some new puff-prose which includes the sentence "millions of fans around the world await their return".
Don't get too excited however, Kids-fans; Danny Wood has announced via his MySpace site that there is no reunion planned. Gossips suggest the rest of the band are up for it and he's not, despite having said that he always thought "maybe someday we'll get back together". Well, we'll see. People are saying there'll be an announcement in February.
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ARCTIC MONKEYS WIN SOUTH BANK AWARD
Arctic Monkeys have won the pop music prize at the South Bank Awards for their second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare', beating competition from Radiohead's 'In Rainbows'. 'Control', the film about Ian Curtis, was nominated for best film but lost out to 'This Is England'. The ceremony, which took place yesterday, will be broadcast on ITV on 3 Feb.
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PARTON SIGNS DIGITAL DEAL FOR NEW ALBUM
Dolly Parton has announced that she's signed a worldwide digital distribution deal with INgrooves for 'Backwoods Barbie', her first mainstream country album for seventeen years.
Parton says in a statement: "Well it ain't no surprise that the music industry is changing in a big way - and trust me, I know big. When we started Dolly Records we knew we had to be cutting edge as well as put out great music. After looking at the choices in digital distribution, INgrooves was the perfect partner for our first release. They had tons of experience and were flexible enough to work with a crazy country girl like me and I know we'll have a ball making waves in the digital world".
The new LP, which includes nine tracks written by Parton herself, plus covers of Fine Young Cannibals' 'She Drives Me Crazy' and Smokey Robinson's 'The Tracks Of My Tears' is set for release on 26 Feb. She's expected to showcase the new album at SXSW in March.
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PETER MINUS BJORN AND JOHN
Peter Moren out of Peter, Bjorn and John is set to release a debut solo album, 'The Last Tycoon', on 8 Apr. The LP was apparently written whilst the singer was on tour in support of his band's 'Writer's Block' album. Moren, who plans to preview tracks at SXSW later this year, says that it consists of "the usual lyrical psychobabble, but with a direct and honest approach". He's also planning some spring gigs to promote the new record, dates to be confirmed.
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PATRICK WOLF PLANS DVD RELEASE
Despite threatening to retire last year, singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf has announced that he is planning a DVD release, a film focusing on a show at Shepherds Bush, the finale to his 2007 tour. Directed by photographer Brantley Gutierrez, the film will be screened on Virgin TV in a shortened form before being released on DVD later this year.
Wolf has also spoken about work on his fourth album via his MySpace page, saying that with his new tracks he's "trying to communicate some of the journeys, misadventures and experiences from the last couple of years since 'The Magic Position' was completed".
Wolf adds: "Trying to remember how to live outside of hotels and six different airports each week is a lot more confusing and tricky than I expected, but life is showing me marvels and slowly vitality, inspiration, and productivity are returning to my days and nights".
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MISSY ELLIOT WORKS WITH DISNEY ON 3D VIDEO
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Missy Elliot has teamed up with Walt Disney Studios to create a 3D music video to promote upcoming film 'Step Up 2 The Streets'. The video, combining two of her songs - 'Ching-a-ling' and 'Shake Your Pom Pom' - was directed by Dave Meyers and will be shown for the first time on MTV on 4 Feb. Those funny glasses you need to see the 3D effect are being distributed via a number of different promotions and giveaways.
Elliot, who, as previously reported, is working on new material, is also to attend a special screening of the video on 5 Feb in New York.
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ISRAEL KEEN TO MAKE UP WITH BEATLES
Israel has invited the surviving Beatles and relatives of all of the Fab Four to help celebrate the country's sixtieth anniversary, despite having banned the group forty three years ago due to fears that the sixties popular beat combo would corrupt young people in the state.
Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor has met with John Lennon's sister Julia Baird in Liverpool, and told reporters: "I would be very happy to have them come on Israel's 60th anniversary. Lots of music lovers in Israel, both young and young-at-heart - and that means me - are really waiting for them".
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LUPE FIASCO PRAISES JAY-Z
Lupe Fiasco has been saying nice things about fellow hip hop type Jay-Z, praising his business acumen and ability to buy things like basket ball teams.
Fiasco says: "We [rappers] want to be Jay-Z, because we can be Jay-Z, and have some of the same lyrics as Jay-Z and even be compared to Jay-Z, but what he trumps everybody with is his business sense. Every couple of weeks there's a new announcement of Jay-Z buying something".
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GNARLS BARKLEY ALBUM NAMED
Gnarls Barkley have confirmed that their new album is to be called 'The Odd Couple', and, Billboard reports, they have nearly finished the new record, which is due to be released in April.
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CLAPTON AND POLICE FOR HARD ROCK IN THE PARK
Eric Clapton and The Police will headline this year's Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park in June. I know this because Live Nation's Toby Leighton-Pope just said so. He also said this: "We are very excited about this year's Hard Rock Calling event as we have two amazing headline acts, following on the tradition from the past two years which saw Roger Waters, The Who, Peter Gabriel and Aerosmith perform". John Mayer and Sheryl Crow will support Clapton, while KT Tunstall and Starsailor will be on the Police day bill. Gigs take place 28 and 29 Jun, tickets on sale on Friday.
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JACKO TO APPEAR AT SUPER BOWL?
So many rumours about planned Michael Jackson appearances. The latest rumours say that Jacko will appear during the always high profile Super Bowl half time show this weekend - no doubt to promote the previously reported 25th anniversary re-release of 'Thriller'. That said, these rumours might stem from reports a big TV ad campaign for the re-release will launch during the big sports bonanza. If he is actually taking to the stage during the game presumably the show's producers will be on guard - we all know what happened the last time a Jackson appeared at the Super Bowl.
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ZEPPELIN BASSIST TO PERFORM WITH FOO FIGHTERS
Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones is to perform with Foo Fighters at the Grammy Awards next month. He's set to arrange an orchestral version of the band's hit single 'The Pretender' for the ceremony, which will take place on 10 Feb in LA.
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CLANNAD TOUR
Ah yes, oo, ooooo, the Hooded Man, bam bam. Classic. Clannad have just announced a UK tour, their first such tour for ten years. Original members Moya Brennan (vocals, harp), Ciaran Brennan (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Noel Duggan (guitar, vocals) and Padraig Duggan (guitar, vocals, mandolin) will all take part in the tour, dates for which are as follows...
2 Mar: Gateshead - The Sage
3 Mar: Glasgow - Royal Concert
4 Mar: Manchester - Bridgewater
6 Mar: Birmingham - Alexandra Theatre
7 Mar: Cardiff - St David's Hall
8 Mar: Southend - Cliffs Pavilion
9 Mar: London - Palladium
10 Mar: Brighton - Dome
12 Mar: Nottingham - Royal Centre
13 Mar: Harrogate - International Centre
14 Mar: Liverpool - Philharmonic Hall
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BESTIVAL TOUR
Oh, oh, get these in your diaries. Bestival have announced a tour featuring some of their favourite artists from past Bestivals. Look, here's the dates and line ups. Go see won't you?
15 Feb: Bristol, Academy - Boy Kill Boy (live), Rob da Bank, Kitty Daisy & Lewis (live), Pete and the Pirates (live)
17 Feb: London, Lock Tavern - Rob da Bank, Skream, Mystery Jets (DJ set), Christopher D Ashley (Live), Sombrero Sound System
21 Feb: Southampton, Orange Rooms - Rob da Bank, The Cuban Brothers (Live)
22 Feb: Portsmouth, Sumo - Rob da Bank, The Go! Team (DJ set), Sinden, DJ Derek
28 Feb: Brighton, Tru - Rob da Bank, Annie Mac, Hot Chip (DJ set), Sinden
29 Feb: Leeds, Faversham - Rob da Bank & Guests (tbc)
8 Mar: Dublin, Button Factory - acts tba
21 Mar: London, Fabric - Rob da Bank, Ebony Bones (Live) & more tbc
23 Mar: Bournemouth, Hush - The Cuban Brothers (Live) & more tbc
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ALBUM REVIEW: Mademoiselle Caro & Franck Garcia - Pain Disappears (Buzzin' Fly)
This is an interesting debut album from a French duo with all the right connections (Ben Watt, Mark Moore, Damian Lazarus) and musical reference points (scratchy post punk, pulsating house and techno). 'Always You' (which parenthesizes the album in its original form and then a typically excellent remix from Ewan Pearson) is a sound templates for the album as a whole: slightly melancholy pop based on minimal house and glitchtronica, with some indie guitars chucked on to mix things up a bit. The very Gallic moody vocals and sweeping synth strings really lift 'Apologies', whilst the same goes for the Daft Punk style electro squelches on 'I Don't Want'. Elsewhere things take a more downtempo turn, with winsome evocative balladry on 'Hold Me' and 'Man Ange', the latter a sumptuous string drenched elegy with some lovely plaintive piano and futurist synth pulses. MS
Release date: 11 Feb
Press contact: Darling [all]
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SPANISH COURTS RULE ON TELEFONICA CASE
As expected, the Spanish court case involving Spain's record label trade body Promusicae and internet service provider Telefonica reached its conclusion yesterday, which the court ruling that the latter couldn't be forced to reveal the identities of suspected file sharers to the former.
As much previously reported, when record labels want to sue suspected filesharers they rely on internet service providers to reveal the identities of the person who has been filesharing. The ISPs will normally only hand over that information if forced to do so by the courts. The courts willingness to force the ISPs to do just that has varied from country to country. Here in the UK they have, in some other countries they have not.
The refusal of the Spanish courts to force Telefonica to hand over such information was more newsworthy because as part of the case the judge asked for clarification from the European Court of Justice as to whether European copyright laws put any obligations on ISPs in this domain. The ECJ said no, it was a matter for national law, and as the Spanish courts didn't think their own copyright laws did force the ISPs to be helpful in civil cases, Telefonica will not be required to be helpful.
Some are speculating whether, because of the European dimension to the case, this ruling will set a precedent in other countries in the European Union - but given that the ECJ said such matters were really for national law, that would only be the case where native courts were unwilling to act. In the UK, for example, there is a precedent for the courts to force ISPs to reveal their customer's identities if illegal filesharing can be proven, so there'd be most likely a different outcome if the Telefonica case went to court here.
Despite the blow to the Spanish record industry's attempts to find the identities of file sharers as part of its legal battle against P2P, the wider European music industry tried to put a positive spin on the ruling, pointing out that it had set a precedent whereby if national courts ordered ISPs to reveal the identities of their customers, said ISPs couldn't rely on European laws to sidestep that order.
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MASTER P TO HEAD UDUB!
Udub! Music, the new US digital label set up by the LA based UrbanWorld Wireless, has announced it has appointed rapper and hip hop entrepreneur Percy 'Master P' Miller as President of the new venture. Meanwhile Czar Entertainment chief Jimmy Rosemond and former MCA Records urban chief Ernie Singleton will join the label's 'advisory board'. Artists set to work with the digital music operation include 40 Glocc, the Clipse, Bonecrusher, Truth Hurts and Keak Da Sneak.
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PROMOTION FOR BAD BOY GM
Talking of US based urban music operations, P Diddy's Bad Boy Records has announced that Harve Pierre has been promoted to become the label's President. The promotion means Pierre, who began work at the label as an intern in 1993, and who was most recently GM and VP A&R, will lead the finance, creative, promotion, sales, A&R and marketing divisions of Diddy's label, which is pretty much everything methinks. He will also have his own imprint within Bad Boy, to be called Crazy Joint.
Confirming the appointment, Diddy said this: "Harve's promotion to President is well deserved. He has been with Bad Boy since the beginning and has worked hard to learn all aspects of the business. He has always been an important part of the A&R process and it is only fitting that Bad Boy would house his imprint, Crazy Joint. I look forward to Harve's continued success".
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ORANGE BIG UP DRM FREE
Orange have jumped on the "DRM is evil" bandwagon, telling Music Week that they plan to take the DRM-free revolution to mobile. The tel co's Head Of Market Development, Dominic Pride, told the trade mag: "It is our intention to remove DRM from our a la carte downloads as early as possible. There is a huge customer rejection of DRM. If we have DRM, customers are going to reject digital music". As much previously reported, all four of the major labels are now moving into making their music available in DRM free digital formats, though to date, with the exception of EMI (and, to a certain level, Universal), that as been primarily restricted to the US version of Amazon's MP3 download platform. Despite Pride's comments, it's unclear how soon Orange sans-DRM will take to launch, because he admitted that "we have to speak to our partners and we have to work out how it will work technically".
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YAHOO! CONFIRM DOWNSIZE
As expected, Yahoo! have announced a somewhat significant downsize. The web firm's co-founder and CEO, Jerry Yang, admitted a thousand jobs will go during a financial update yesterday. The company's profits fell 32% year on year in the last quarter of the last financial year, though they were still $205.7 million. No specifics were given as to where the cuts will come from, though some speculate there will be a cut in the firm's US music services.
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EMI GIVE AWAY DIGITAL TRACKS WITH NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
EMI isn't just doing deals with UK newspapers. Following the new covermount deals the major has done with the Mail On Sunday, news now that the record company will be giving away digital tracks with the New York Daily News on the day of the Superbowl and the Grammys. It will be one of those 'type a code into a website' type promotions, and will include an exclusive unreleased Ringo Starr track.
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SKY EXPECTED TO APPEAL ITV SHARE RULING
BSkyB have four weeks to respond to a ruling issued yesterday by the competition authorities regarding its stake in ITV. As much previously reported, Sky controversially took a 17.9% stake in the third channel in 2006. Although the share purchase was within media ownership rules, many in the TV industry expressed concern at the competition implications of the purchase - arguing it gave Sky too much power over one of its key competitors. Competition officials have been considering the share purchase for a while now and have now ordered Sky to reduce their shareholding to 7.5%. Obviously they aint gonna get what they paid for the sudden sale of the 10.9% stake, and city types reckon they could lose up to £250 million on the deal. Sky is expected to appeal.
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MTV RELAUNCH UK HOME PAGE
MTV has announced it will relaunch the home page of its UK website, building on the MTV.co.uk brand rather than using the MTV One brand. The other MTV channels will still have their own microsites, but at a top level the aim seems to be to build a video on demand destination site to compete with newer players in that market.
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STEFANI PREGNANT AGAIN?
According to The Sun, Gwen Stefani is pregnant again. The tabloid quotes her partner Gavin Rossdale's dad as the source of the information that she is thirteen weeks pregnant with the couple's second child. The pair, who married in 2002, have a son, Kingston, born 2006.
If it's so, then it could have an impact on Gwen's forward plans. She's lately been working on a new No Doubt album, and the band's Adrian Young has been quoted as saying that the LP would "hopefully be out this year".
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DIXIE CHICK PREGNANT
Another pregnancy and this time it's certain. Dixie Chick Martie McGuire has announced via her band's website that she and her husband Gareth are expecting their third daughter. The singer wrote that her three-year-old twin daughters, Eva and Katie, "are very excited to have a new baby sister" and added "Three girls, what a magic number!"
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WINEHOUSE TAKES COMFORT FROM MARILYN
According to Amy Winhouse's dad Mitch, the singer is dealing with her time in rehab by watching old Marilyn Monroe films.
He says, "Amy is very ill and is suffering horrific withdrawal symptoms - shivering and constantly throwing up. Her body is expelling all the rubbish. One thing helping Amy is her Marilyn Monroe films. Amy loves Some Like It Hot. She's a huge fan of Monroe and thinks she's wonderful".
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MOBY GOES BUSKING
Moby did a bit of impromptu busking in London the other day to promote upcoming new album 'Last Night'. He played the unpublicised set in Sloane Square. He reportedly made about six quid during his 40 minute busk, no more than he reckons he would have earned back in the early pre-fame days of his career, when he used to busk for vodka money. Though to be fair to the London commuters, I think it would now be fair to think that Moby could buy his own vodka without relying on the support of passing music fans.