| CMU Daily - on the inside Thursday 14th February |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Play.com enter the download market
- Blue boy charged with assault
- Juvenile arrested over cannabis possession
- Henri Salvador dies
- Smoky Dawson dies
- Sixx denies Motley Crue Live Nation deal
- Britney: maybe wedding, possible law
- Amy's brother speaks about her recovery
- AMP shortlist announced
- Futureheads say no future for majors
- AmpLive puts Radiohead remixes online
- Was Not Was back with new album
- New Ladytron album
- Bowie helps out Scarlett
- Extra Bravery
- Infadels return
- Hegarty and Yoox team up on dress
- Single review: Glasvegas - It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
- Fatboy to play Wireless
- Muse to headline V
- Stone Temple Pilots to reunite on the Range
- Parton postpones tour
- Kravitz apologises for cancellations
- Mel B denies feud stories
- Police to play further reunion dates
- Frank Black forced to move pre-show
- Adam Green tour
- Album review: Guillemots - Red
- Music publishers set to sue MusicNet
- Warner/Chappell appoint new CFO
- Stephen Budd add Mike Hedges to roster
- Global keep options open re GCap
- Offers submitted for Virgin Radio
- All new Classic FM
- Rajar recount
- Shakira fan buys expensive bra
- Robbie Williams not happy at new neighbour
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TOP BIT RECOMMENDED
It is with a big degree of pleasure that I announce to you all out there the line up for the March edition of the CMU Recommended Twisted Licks, which takes over the 229 place on Great Portland Street on Friday 7 Mar.
Doors open 8.30pm, it goes on till 3am and you can get a pint for a mere £1.50 before 10pm. But the reason to come is this flippin fine line up - Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, The Alones and Christopher D Ashley all God damn live, plus Guy from Fierce Panda joining Slim Jim on the decks.
Tickets are six quid before 10pm or in advance from http://www.ticketweb.co.uk, £8 after 10pm. Info of the press variety from Leyline.
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JOBS N STUFF
GET INVOLVED ACCOUNT EXEC/ACCOUNT MANAGER
Get Involved are recruiting for Account Executive / Account Manager with experience in Consumer Technology PR. Must have a passion for music and a good and active understanding of social networking, blogging and new media. A solid contact base is essential and must be a team player. CVs to [email protected]/ www.getinvolvedltd.com
MARKETING ROLE AT NINJA TUNE
Supporting Ninja Tune, Big Dada & Counter Records marketing team. Organising marketing activities and materials inc merchandise, adverts, events, appropriate brand hook-ups etc etc. Chasing publicity people and compiling weekly reports, writing sales notes. Tenacious, intelligent, likeable. Starting salary £18,000. Contact [email protected]
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CMU CLASSIFIEDS
OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE IN CREATIVE HUB IN LONDON DOCKLANDS
We have desk and office space available at our spacious, newly refurbished base in London's Docklands. You'd be sharing with a company operating in the creative, cultural and marketing space, and the facility would best suit individuals or SMEs operating in those sectors. We are just minutes from South Quay DLR station, and ten minutes walk from the main Canary Wharf complex and Jubilee Line station. Rent includes broadband internet access and meeting room facilities. Spaces available immediately. For more information contact [email protected]
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CMU RECOMMENDED
REMIX ALL-NIGHTER
The next CMU recommended Remix All-Nighter takes over the seOne Club at London Bridge next month for a brilliant pre-Easter party.
There'll be three rooms of fun. In the Remix room you'll get live sets from The Whip and Vitalic, plus Remix chief Eddy TM on the decks and VJ Fay Buzzard doing visual stuff. Next up will be a room hosted by Orbital co-founder and general dance music pioneer Phil Hartnoll, named for and showcasing his new venture Long Range. And then, to top off all that, there will be a whole room of all things Ninja Tune, featuring no less than DJ Food & DK, Coldcut (Jon Moore DJ Set), Bonobo, Daedelus, The Qemists and VJ Mox. Oh, and they've just added Busy P (Ed Banger) to the bill too. This night is going to be storming.
It all takes place on 20 Mar. Full info from: http://www.myspace.com/theremix
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SNAP OF THE DAY: PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT
I still haven't decided what the hell Psychedelic Horseshit is about; hell, I haven't even decided if I like them yet, and I certainly haven't worked out what the name references, though I'm taking an (obvious) punt at the hallucinogenic properties of said ungulates' (Google it) faeces. Moving on to the important stuff, 'New Wave Hippies' is perhaps the best track on their MySpace, fuzzier and more feedback-heavy than a My Bloody Valentine best-of, with a creepy, carnivalesque organ sound running throughout as lead singer Matt lambasts the 'movement' in the song title: "New age hippies....it's like a new disease". They've already got the attention of a few publications in the UK, though this is mostly due to the fact that they've labelled their music 'shit gaze' than anything else. See what you make of them at the link below; it's perfect Valentine's Day listening, honestly.
http://www.myspace.com/psychedelichorseshit
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PLAY.COM ENTER THE DOWNLOAD MARKET
Etailer Play.com yesterday announced it was launching a new UK download platform that will make music available in good old DRM-free MP3.
In fact, the press release called the new digital music service and its supply of music without digital rights management restrictions - which, of course, mean the tracks can be played on any digital music player, including the iPod - a "revolutionary new development", adding: "Online retailer Play.com has today thrown down the gauntlet to the competition by becoming the first major UK retailer to offer digital tracks and albums without digital rights management meaning you can download tracks for your iPod and share that file between your MP3 devices without having to use iTunes".
The key word in that quote is "major UK retailer", because, on closer inspection, at launch PlayDigital will only stock music from EMI and the independents - the former having made its music available without DRM since last May, the latter having been selling music without DRM for years. Clearly Play.com's definition of "major UK retailer" discounts both iTunes and UK based 7Digital, who are already selling that catalogue without DRM, the latter as uber-compatible MP3s.
Although Play.com's launch bumf positions itself as a serious competitor to iTunes, the PlayDigital service is probably more of a threat to the download platform being developed by Play's existing competitor Amazon. The Amazon MP3 service is some way ahead of Play's in that it has all four major record companies on board, though unlike PlayDigital there is currently no word on when Amazon downloads will launch in the UK. It may well be that by the point Amazon's service reaches us Play.com will also have all four majors on board, and that's when the competition is likely to really begin.
In fact the most interesting part of Play.com's announcement yesterday, and the thing that could make that competition interesting, is PlayDigital's price point. Play.com is renowned for low prices in the mail-order domain, and they are extending that concept to downloads. They will be selling MP3s for 65p a track or £4.95 an album. The iTunes standard price, of course, is 79p (whether there is DRM or not - at first DRM-free music was more expensive than that) while 7Digital seem to sell MP3s for 99p.
Play.com are not the first download service to undercut the standard 79 pence price point, with those download platforms that have dabbled in variable pricing often selling their lower-price tracks somewhat below that, while others have opted for a price in the 69p region. However, because the iTunes Music Store has been able to maintain its position in the market because, in the DRM-era, it was the only place selling iPod compatible major label music, attempts to beat Apple on price haven't been successful in the past, and for sometime now the 79p price point has generally become standard across most major download stores. (The exception, of course, being the infamous Russia based AllofMP3.com which sold iPod compatible major label music for mere pennies until action by the labels all but closed it down).
However, if it is able to secure iPod compatible MP3 tracks from all four majors, then Play.com's price war might, this time, actually work, and threaten both iTunes' existing market dominance and Amazon's potentially significant future market share. A price war will be interesting though, given how small the margins are on downloads, especially for the retailer - it will be interesting to see how low the download platforms will go price wise, and how quickly they start trying to persuade the record labels to cut the wholesale rates.
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BLUE BOY CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
Former Blue boy Lee Ryan has been charged with common assault after a run in with a taxi driver back on New Year's Eve. Specifics are a bit hazy, but it seems Ryan is accused of assaulting a man after a minor traffic accident in Oxted, Surrey on New Year's Eve. He was charged at Reigate police station and is now due to appear before magistrates in Redhill on 29 Feb.
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JUVENILE ARRESTED OVER CANNABIS POSSESSION
Elsewhere in the pop courts, rapper Juvenile was arrested this week after he was pulled over by police for having "expired tags" on his car (which we think is a bit like not having a valid MOT certificate) and police found marijuana in his vehicle. The hip hopper, real name Terius Gray, was arrested for misdemeanour marijuana possession. No comment from Gray's people as yet regarding the charges.
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HENRI SALVADOR DIES
Singer Henri Salvador has died in Paris at the age of 90. The musician, said to have inspired the bossa nova, was known for his rich, booming laugh and elegant singing style. Born in French Guiana, he started out as a session musician, accompanying other singers on the guitar, before beginning a career as a vocalist himself. He recorded several songs arranged by the legendary Quincy Jones, and is credited with recording the first rock n roll song in French, a track written by Boris Vian and Michel Legrand. Salvador also had a TV career, hosting a number of programmes on French TV, and was among the first artists to set his music to images and film, meaning that he's often credited with helping to start the video promo tradition. He was planning to record a new album in 2008.
It was his track 'Dans Mon Ile' which it's claimed influenced Tom Jobin, and in turn his part in creating the Brazilian bossa nova style. He once said of the song: "When I recorded that little tune, holed up in my apartment in Paris, I could never have imagined it would change musical history".
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has paid tribute, saying "for more than a half-century, with humour and elegance, Henri was the incarnation of the art of song 'a la Francaise'".
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SMOKY DAWSON DIES
Australian country music star Smoky Dawson has died aged 94.
Born in the suburbs of Melbourne, he was raised in the rural area of Warrnambool, but lost his parents at an early age and spent some years in an orphanage. During the second world war he served with the Australian Entertainment Unit, and in 1944 married his lifelong partner Florence 'Dot' Cheers. The couple went to the US for some time to record, and to appear on long running radio programme Grand Ole Opry. It was in the fifties, however, that Dawson became a household name in Australia when he started his radio show, 'The Adventures Of Smoky Dawson', which aired for ten years on 69 stations across Australia.
Awarded an MBE for services to music, and inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, Dawson was the oldest recording artist in the world at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife Dot.
James Treloar, mayor of Tamworth (Australia's 'country music capital') offered this tribute: "The loss of Smoky Dawson is a sad day for Tamworth, the Country Music Industry and Australia. Smoky was a treasured icon and legend who brought so much joy to so many, his memory and recordings will live on within country music".
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SIXX DENIES MOTLEY CRUE LIVE NATION DEAL
The gossipers seem keen for every major band and artist to be the next one to sign a multi-million 360-degree deal with Live Nation's new artists division. As much previously reported, Madonna was the first major signing to Live Nation Artists, a deal which will see the traditionally live music firm work with Madge on live, recording, mechandising and brand partnership projects.
The latest band rumoured to be considering a Live Nation deal were metallers Motley Crue, but the band's Nikki Sixx has denied those rumours. Well, actually, what he's really denied is that the band have entered into a new deal with anyone, he didn't really comment on whether they were considering any deals. Anyway, this is what Sixx wrote on his MySpace: "Motley Crue has not signed any deals. Any information reported to the contrary is false and misleading".
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BRITNEY: MAYBE WEDDING, POSSIBLE LAW
Yes, more Britney, with rumours this morning that the Brit-ster last month married her boyfriend, British pap photographer Adnan Ghalib.
The rumours go that shortly after her first stint of being sectioned (after her run in with police over handing back her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline), Britney went to Mexico with Ghalib and there the two got married. The marriage probably doesn't stand, not because she wasn't in any mental position to consent to it, but because he was still married to his ex AzLynn Berry. Other gossip has it that when Spears found out Ghalib was married she firstly got angry, but then gave him £125,000 to help him speed up divorce proceedings, to enable a second future proper wedding in the US.
Who knows if any of that is true? We do, however, know that this is true: An LA City Councilman has put forward a bill to introduce new rules that would recognise 'safety zones' around celebrities' homes, cars and offices, and around hospitals and the likes, and that would force photographers to get licences in order to take pictures in those zones. Any photographer snapping without licence, or contravening the rules of the licence, would have any royalties earned by their pictures seized by authorities.
Councilman Dennis P Zine is proposing the rule after the charade that surrounded Britney's trip to the UCLA Medical Center last month, where £12,000 of police escort was required to ensure the media pack that descended on Spears and the ambulance she was in didn't endanger her or others using the roads between her home and the hospital. Citing other similar incidents in LA, and even the circumstances around Princess Diana's death in 1997, Zine said he thought legislators needed to act. Zine: "The straw that broke the camel's back is the £12,000 we spent to escort an LA City ambulance to the hospital. I'm not infringing upon the right to take a picture. I'm concerned about the impact they have on the general public.
Zine's fellow Councilmen will vote on what is being dubbed the 'Britney Law' on 1 Mar.
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AMY'S BROTHER SPEAKS ABOUT HER RECOVERY
Amy Winehouse's brother Alex is the latest member of her family to express his relief that the singer appears to be on the road to recovery. Writing in The Times he explained how a few weeks ago, he had visited his sister when she was "clearly in the wake of a hit from the old crack pipe" and said "it was hard to take in that the barely communicative shell in front of us was my own flesh and blood".
He continued: "I should mention here that we all knew how bad her condition was. There was never any denial on the part of my parents, whose fears and anxiety over their only daughter had made them both ill".
He went on to say that Amy's Grammy performance had made his family "truly happy", adding: "Yes, the best of weekends. Spurs continue their resurgence, but most importantly of all very definite signs that Amy - the real Amy - is back among us. The hope, of course, is that this time it's for real".
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AMP SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
The short list is out for this year's Australian Music Prize, which is an Australian music award akin to the UK's Mercury Music Prize. Judges aimed to have a shortlist of nine for the Prize, but said yesterday that they couldn't get their list of favourite albums of 2007 down to nine, so instead they have a shortlist of ten. Given that last year judges went from the aimed eight shortlisted albums up to nine, you have to wonder if in ten years time the AMP will be publishing a rather long shortlist. Award founder Scott Murphy told reporters he didn't think that would happen though, explaining the increase, he said: "The increase from 8 to 9 and now 10 is simply a reflection of the quantity of high quality releases in 2007. The judges were asked for eight short listed titles but this year they told me that would have meant cutting out two artists from a huge leg-up for their career. That's not what we're about".
Anyway, you want to know what's on the list presumably. Well, here it is. The overall winner will be announced, and awarded the A$25,000 prize, at a bash in Sydney on 13 Mar.
New Buffalo - Somewhere Anywhere
Perry Keyes - Last Ghost Train Home
Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia
Lisa Miller - Morning In The Bowl Of Night
Devastations - Yes, U
Architecture In Helsinki - Places Like This
Dardanelles - Mirror Mirror
The Mess Hall - Devil's Elbow
Urthboy - The Signal
bluejuice - Problems
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FUTUREHEADS SAY NO FUTURE FOR MAJORS
The Futureheads who, as previously reported, have set up their own indie label since parting company with Warner, have told Gigwise that they think the major labels are finished. I'm not so convinced myself but still, here's what the band's Barry Hyde told the music website: "The infrastructure for indie labels to be successful is still being built up, but once it is, major labels are finished. Every time a band signs with a major label they're putting themselves into a really bad position. But they don't realise it because of the smokescreen, the false smile and the bottle of champagne. People are fed up with the way major labels work. We're embracing the revolution that is happening in the business. We're hoping bands will realise they can do it, take our lead".
Hyde added that he greatly admired Radiohead for their innovative approach to recent album 'In Rainbows' - though more so the pay-what-you-want online self-release, and less so the subsequent CD release, even though it was distributed by indie label XL. Hyde: "They [Radiohead] are in a league of their own. But what disappointed us was that they released it physically after. That was kind of hypocritical".
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AMPLIVE PUTS RADIOHEAD REMIXES ONLINE
Talking of Radiohead, US DJ and Producer AmpLive has put together an unofficial 'In Rainbows' remix album featuring contributions from the likes of Del The Funky Homosapien and Chali2na and, true to the original release of the Radiohead long player, he's making it available online for gratis.
The remix project didn't involve the band themselves and for a moment it looked like Yorke et al may move to stop the remixes being given away, but after being contacted by Radiohead's people AmpLive managed to convince the band his intentions were good, and he has now had the all clear to continue with the venture, though he is now being more explicit about the unofficial nature of the project.
The tracklisting for the remix album is below, the URL where you can get it beneath that.
Rainydayz
Video Tapez (ft. Del The Funky Homosapien)
Nudez'(ft. Too $hort & MC Zumbi of Zion I)
Weird Fishez
All I Need
15 Stepz (ft. Codany Holiday)
Reckonerz (ft. Chali2na)
Faustz
http://www.onesevensevensix.com/amplive/index.html
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WAS NOT WAS BACK WITH NEW ALBUM
Was (Not Was) are back with a new album after a hiatus of sixteen years, the band's last LP being 1992's compilation work 'Hello Dad I'm In Jail'. The record features new material but also some rerecorded stuff, plus guest contributions from the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan.
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NEW LADYTRON ALBUM
Ladytron have announced that their fourth studio album, 'Velocifero' will be out in the US on 3 Jun, not sure about the European release date, but chances are it's 2 Jun. The new record was recorded in Paris assisted in the production by Vicarious Bliss and NIN's Alessandro Cortini. The album tracklisting is as follows:
Black Cat
Ghosts
I'm Not Scared
Runaway
Season of Illusions
Burning Up
Kletva
They Gave You A Heart They Gave You A Name
Predict The Day
The Lovers
Deep Blue
Tomorrow
Versus
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BOWIE HELPS OUT SCARLETT
David Bowie is featured on the forthcoming debut album from actress Scarlett Johansson, providing vocals for two tracks on the LP, 'Fannin' Street' and 'Falling Down'. The record is a collection of Tom Waits covers entitled 'Anywhere I Lay My Head', and is scheduled to be released in the US in May. The collaboration apparently came about when the pair met at a party, and Johansson asked the legendary music star to help her out. And he agreed.
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EXTRA BRAVERY
That The Bravery outfit will release a track a week for four weeks via iTunes. The first track will be a reworked version of 'Believe' which will be available next week. The US based promotion will lead up to the re-release of the band's 'The Sun And The Moon' in a two-CD additional tracks form.
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INFADELS RETURN
Oh, oh, oh, this is EXCITING. So exciting I broke the CMU rule of never using upper case to emphasise a word. Upper case is bad, except when you want to communication that you are really, really EXCITED. Wall Of Sound have confirmed that a brand new Infadels single, 'Make Mistakes', will be released on 31 Mar, ahead of the release of their brand new Youth produced long player 'Universe In Reverse'.
The band's Matt Gooderson told CMU: "'Universe In Reverse' is an inspirational album that makes you feel anything's possible". Explaining the process behind new Infadels, Matt continues: "Infadels is a sound clash between [bandmate] Bnann's ideas and mine. He is the acoustic troubadour who thinks Bob Dylan's a genius and I'm the sonics guy who would rather listen to Steve Reich or Brian Eno. We are both incredibly passionate about what we like".
And the good news continues in this paragraph with confirmation that the band will go on tour before the single release, playing the following dates...
10 Mar: Joiners Club, Southampton,
11 Mar: Thekla, Bristol, Southwest
12 Mar: The Roadhouse, Manchester
13 Mar: Fibbers, York
15 Mar: Stereo, Glasgow
16 Mar: Barfly, Birmingham
17 Mar: Scala, London
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HEGARTY AND YOOX TEAM UP ON DRESS
Antony of The Johnsons aka Antony Hegarty has collaborated with online boutique Yoox.com to create a dress, designed by Hegarty and created by Yoox, to be sold on eBay for charity. The one off hand-made frock made from white jersey and finished by the singer himself, will go on sale as of today, with proceeds from the auction going to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the organisation formed "to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence". See more on here: http://www.ebay.com/yooxforlove
It's the first in a series of Yoox collaborations with a variety of musicians.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Glasvegas - It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry (Sane Man)
Dark clad and wearing the kind of quiffs that nobody apart from Morrissey wears nowadays, Glasvegas stand out among a sea of skinny jean bands. Their 50's doo-wop and grand orchestral influenced pop also sets them apart from all the somewhat dreary lo-fi indie that is currently inescapable. The band even acknowledge their debt to Phil Spector with a cover of the Ronnettes' 'Be My Baby' on the single's flipside. Their sound reminds me of the epic moody rock of bands like Liverpool's Wah!, except that singer James Allan sings in a distinct Glasgow accent. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," has never sounded so poignant. Things are looking good for Glasvegas; they were one of the BBC's tips for the sound of 2008, their first single 'Daddy's Gone' was raved about by NME amongst others, and their fans include Lisa Marie Presley. Alan McGee has also been bigging them up: He may have had his share of mistakes in the past but this time he could just be right. JW
Release date: 14 Feb
Press contact: Scruffy Bird [all]
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FATBOY TO PLAY WIRELESS
Fresh from the announcement that Fatboy Slim has got the go ahead for another beach party in Brighton this year, organisers have announced that Fatboy Slim will play London's Wireless festival this summer, appearing on 5 Jul. Other acts set to appear at the event include Underworld and Bootsy Collins.
Speaking about his appearance, Fatboy says this: "For a long while I've wanted to play outdoors in London, but I just couldn't find a beach! Hopefully we can bring some of the spirit of the Brighton shows into the heart of London town".
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MUSE TO HEADLINE V
Elsewhere in festival news, organisers have confirmed that Muse are to headline this year's V Festival. The band's two appearances at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and at Weston Park in Stafford will apparently be their only European festival appearances of this year. Tickets for the event, which takes place from 16-17 August, go on sale from 7 March.
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STONE TEMPLE PILOTS TO REUNITE ON THE RANGE
The Stone Temple Pilots reunion promised by frontman Scott Weiland last month will take place at the US's Rock On The Range festival. It's not yet clear if the festival appearance will be followed by a tour or any other festival dates. Other bands due to play the Rock On The Range fest in Columbus, Ohio on 17 May are Kid Rock, Papa Roach, Seether and Staind.
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PARTON POSTPONES TOUR
Dolly Parton has been forced to postpone her upcoming US tour because she has back ache, but her European dates scheduled to promote new album 'Backwoods Barbie' will go ahead as planned.
Acknowledging that her famous chest is the root of the problem, she said in a statement: "You try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don't have back problems. I know I have been breaking my neck and bending over backwards trying to get my new 'Backwoods Barbie' CD and world tour together, but I didn't mean to hurt myself doing it. Seriously though, the doctors said I will be good as new in a few weeks, and I can't wait to get back out there".
Her European tour starts in Sweden in June.
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KRAVITZ APOLOGISES FOR CANCELLATIONS
Lenny Kravitz has apologised to fans after being forced to cancel upcoming European dates because of ill-health. The singer, as previously reported, was hospitalised a few days ago because of a nasty bout of bronchitis, and the scheduled gigs, planned to promote new album 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution', have been postponed, but are expected to be rescheduled.
Kravitz said in a statement: "I would like to apologize to my fans in Europe. I am extremely disappointed that I am not able to come to Europe to see everyone and also perform. Unfortunately I need to take this time to rest and get healthy and so I was forced to make this decision".
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MEL B DENIES FEUD STORIES
Mel Brown has denied those rumours that the Spice Girls cancelled a number of world tour dates because of an ongoing feud between her and bandmate Geri Halliwell. She says: "Everybody knows that Geri and I have had our problems in the past because at one stage we were inseparable and that can never last, but having time apart and then coming together has been incredibly healing. We have a real bond. The stories suggesting the end of the tour was anything to do with rows are complete rubbish".
Of course it's rubbish. Everyone knows they couldn't sell enough tickets for those dates. Just kidding.
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POLICE TO PLAY FURTHER REUNION DATES
The Police have announced that they'll play another leg of North America on their highly successful reunion tour before they split again for good. According to Billboard.biz, the trio will play an extra 30+ dates during May and July, in addition to their European commitments in June, supported on all the US dates by Elvis Costello & The Imposters. The reunion has been a lucrative one, and is expected to make around $340m, making it one of the top five grossing tours of all time, but a source told Billboard that the band have no plans to ever reunite again once the tour ends at the start of August.
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FRANK BLACK FORCED TO MOVE PRE-SHOW
Frank Black was forced to move a special pre-show set from an outdoor to an indoor venue yesterday because of fears of overcrowding. He's done a couple of these 'pre-core' events of late, and you'll remember that police had to come to the rescue when he did it in Dublin due to overcrowding. Black had been planning to play an acoustic set on the street ahead of his solo NME Awards show gig at Camden's Koko, but the show was moved to The Social because of fears that too many people would turn up and things would get crazy-dangerous.
During the set, Black explained the concept of these 'pre-core' events: "I don't like doing encores, so I thought I'd do an encore before the show".
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ADAM GREEN TOUR
Adam Green has announced those previously touted tour plans, and will play six dates around the UK this Spring. Woo. Hope I get to go. Here are the dates:
5 Apr: Birmingham Academy 2
6 Apr: Leeds Faversham
8 Apr: London Koko
9 Apr: Sheffield Plug
10 Apr: Glasgow King Stereo
11 Apr: Manchester Club Academy
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ALBUM REVIEW: Guillemots - Red (Universal/Polydor)
As a huge fan of 'Through The Windowpane' I wasn't entirely sure what to make of the disco stomp that seems to have taken hold of Guillemots like some sort of glam rock infection. I have reminded myself that their debut was a grower and I should be pleased they are not just repeating a winning formula. New long player 'Red' comes across as hewn from a Tears for Fears style pop sensibility, albeit with a beat behind it. 'Falling Out Of Reach' is perhaps the closest to something that could have been on the last album, and this is immediately my favourite track, with beautiful harmonies in the chorus and a tune to die for. Lead single, 'Get Over It', out on 17 Mar is the opposite end of the spectrum though, showcasing the new stompy electro sound, complete with shouty vocals. 'Cockateels' has a middle eastern riff running through it while 'Last Kiss' features the girls on vocals and sounds like a club track. The album is co-produced by Adam Noble who has worked with George Michael amongst others, and there are moments on this album when Fyfe Dangerfield sounds quite a bit like the former Wham! man. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not but I'll leave that to your discretion. So it's fair to say this is quite a different album, edgier, making use of beats and feeling like it has much more drive to it than the first. It has grown on me since the first listen but time will tell if it has the same effect on other Guillemots fans. IM
Release Date: 24 Mar
Press Contact: Polydor IH [all]
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MUSIC PUBLISHERS SET TO SUE MUSICNET
The US's National Music Publishers' Association is reportedly launching legal action against back-end digital music provider MusicNet in a dispute over the royalties the digital content firm should pay - especially over mechanical royalties due (or not due, depending on who you side with) on on-demand services and temporary downloads.
MusicNet, which now goes by the name of MediaNet, is one of the big white label digital music providers, powering numerous download stores and digital music services run by other brands and retailers. The NMPA has told Digital Music News that it believes the company is guilty of "willful and ongoing copyright infringement". The lawsuit is reportedly a class action, and DMN reckons it is supported by Sony/ATV, Peer International, Frank Music Corporation and MPL Publishing.
As previously reported, the digital royalties debate rumbles on in the US - especially in the domain of mechanical royalties, the royalty traditionally paid by record labels every time they make a copy of a song owned by a publisher (eg every time they press a CD). The debate is hottest in the domain of streaming services and limited-play downloads where music providers already pay a radio station style 'performance royalty' but where, because an actual copy is, in theory, made as part of the content delivery process, the publisher argue a mechanical royalty is also due.
The publishers' grievance with MediaNet seems to be not only the ongoing dispute over mechanicals, but the perception that the firm has reneged on past commitments to make good on old royalty payments once royalty rates had been agreed.
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WARNER/CHAPPELL APPOINT NEW CFO
More from the music publishing domain, and Warner/Chappell has appointed Brian Roberts as a Senior VP and CFO. He will take over from existing CFO Nick Thomas, and lead all the finance nonsense that goes on at the publishing major. He will report to Warner/Chappell CEO Dave Johnson, who said of him this: "I'm extremely pleased that Brian is joining the company. It's a very exciting time for Warner/Chappell as we continue to transform our business, devise new business models and seek out new revenue streams. Brian's in-depth industry knowledge, his strategic ability and his accessible approach will quickly make him a valuable member of our senior management team. I look forward to working with him and continuing the great work that has already begun to gear our operations towards maximising the many new opportunities ahead".
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STEPHEN BUDD ADD MIKE HEDGES TO ROSTER
Producer management agency Stephen Budd Management has announced it has added producer Mike Hedges to its roster. Hedges is a long-term hit maker, having worked with the likes of Manic Street Preachers, U2, Travis, Texas, Dido and Faithless over his four decade career. Confirming the deal, Budd told CMU: "Mike and I have worked very successfully together in the past, and having lots of hits and winning several Producer Of The Year awards were of course highlights. I'm delighted to re-establish the partnership we enjoyed and my colleagues and I look forward to developing new areas and new ways of working together at a time where 'real' record producers are in short supply".
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GLOBAL KEEP OPTIONS OPEN RE GCAP
Global Radio is keeping its options open regarding a possible takeover bid for rivals GCap. As previously reported, new GCap chief Fru Hazlitt earlier this week outlined her vision for turning round the fortunes of the radio firm, by dumping DAB and selling off three quarters of the Xfm network. But her shareholders may as yet decide a sell out to Global Radio is preferable.
Ever since the GCap board knocked back an initial takeover offer from Global rumour has been rife the potential buyer was busy sounding out key GCap shareholders about a second bid or possible hostile takeover. However, they have reassured the City's Takeover Panel that they will either make a new offer before 5 Mar or hold off from making an attempt to acquire their rival for six months.
With all chatter post the publication of Hazlitt's strategy centring on whether Global will now bid again, Global last night told the City that it might make a new offer but at the same offer price of 190p per share, or it might make a new offer with a higher per share offer, or maybe even a lesser per share offer, or maybe no offer at all. Basically they didn't really say anything, accept that the industry should continue to keep an eye on the Global/GCap situation.
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Global Radio big cheeses Charles Allen and Ashley Tabor are expected to meet with key GCap investors like the Daily Mail & General Trust, Schroders and Fidelity in the next week or so.
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OFFERS SUBMITTED FOR VIRGIN RADIO
Talking of Global Radio, proving they are indeed acquisition hungry, they are among four outfits who are believed to have submitted offers to buy Virgin Radio off media firm SMG yesterday. SMG, who have been talking about selling off the national music station for a while now, had set a deadline of yesterday for first round offers. Radio and TV firm UTV (who at one point tried to merge with SMG) are also thought to be bidding for the Virgin station, as are Absolute Radio and a private equity outfit Vitruvian Partners. Rumours last year that the Virgin Group were considering buying the station back don't seem to have been true.
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ALL NEW CLASSIC FM
And talking of GCap, the radio firm's big national station, Classic FM, has announced a schedule overhaul which will give new shows to the likes of Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, Margherita Taylor and Blur type Alex James. Llewellyn-Bowen will present a Sunday morning show, Capital Radio presenter Taylor will get evenings and James will host a 100 parter A-Z Of Classical Music which will also air on Sunday mornings.
With Classic FM's sister digital station theJazz - dubbed as the jazz version of Classic FM when launched - now closing down, the FM station will launch a daily jazz show every night at midnight.
The new schedule kicks off on 25 Feb.
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RAJAR RECOUNT
Radio ratings types RAJAR will re-issue the most recent batch of listening figures for 280 local radio stations after it was discovered a software glitch had affected the results previously published. The glitch affects stations who report twice yearly - so none of the major national or London stations who report quarterly.
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SHAKIRA FAN BUYS EXPENSIVE BRA
A Shakira fan has paid $3k for a bra once worn by the singer. The pop star has been auctioning off various items to raise money for charity, specifically the Bare Feet Foundation, which is presently engaged in building schools in Colombia, Shakira's native country. She's raised $60k in total so far, one fan paying $14,100 for the opportunity to meet her.
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ROBBIE WILLIAMS NOT HAPPY AT NEW NEIGHBOUR
According to The Sun, Robbie Williams is not best pleased that Paris Hilton has moved into his neighbourhood. A source told the tabloid: "Paris has a new house five doors down from Robbie Williams - and he is spitting mad about it. Robbie sped past her the other day in a chauffeur-driven car and completely ignored her. He hasn't got any time for her and would rather they didn't have any contact with each other".
Also, she might, apparently, be getting ready to upset him with some of that loud disco-pop, as she plans to build a disco beneath her new house.
The source continued: "She is in the process of building a disco underneath her mansion so she can keep the parties going long after the clubs shut. If the late-night high jinks start disturbing Robbie, he will be absolutely furious".
I can just see him now. Slippers, pipe, penning a letter to the local newspaper signed "angry in LA..."