| CMU Daily - on the inside Friday 22nd February |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Bestival line up announced, tickets on sale
- Lutfi restraining order extended
- Foo Fighters sue Marvel over trailer tune usage
- Vampire Weekend NME show cut in half by fire alarm
- Akon fans stage mini-riot after free show halted by fire alarm
- Chinese pop star quits career over sex photo scandal
- Linkin Park stalker jailed
- Brits ratings up, complaints healthy
- Coldplay album complete
- The Lemonheads re-release It's A Shame About Ray
- Air re-release Moon Safari
- Los Campesinos! don't care about downloading
- My Morning Jacket man talks up Hanson
- Add TignesFest to your winter festival programme
- Snowbombing additions
- REM to headline Oxegen
- Evolution line up confirmed
- Radiohead and Johnson headline All Points West
- Little Man Tate headline Sheffield band night
- Liberal Democrats air privacy cautions over government file sharing plans
- LimeWire enters into deal with indie distributor
- Tax law change may speed up Chryalis sale
- International music chief leaves William Morris Agency
- BMG Japan to distribute Hostess releases in Japan
- Lavigne pregnant?
- Gene Simmons alleged sex tape appearance
- Lightbody admits to nerves at Stormont
- Tunstall thanks Mark Owen for quid
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TOP BIT - WIN AN AIM SYNC GUIDE
As you know, the Association Of Independent Music recently launched a brand new 'e-guide' to all things to do with Synchronisation Licensing - ie the licensing of music by labels for use in adverts, games, films, TV shows or other such what not. It's an increasingly important part of the music industry, of course - with AIM reckoning that the licensing of music to TV and film alone generate £25 million of revenues for the record labels. And that's before you consider the role synchronisation has had in recent years in launching new talent into the mainstream, especially indie talent. The guide offers anyone in music - label owner, song publisher, artist manager, independent artist - all the essential info on the synchronisation licensing business plus a directory of over 100 key contacts.
The e-guide is free to AIM members, and it's available to everyone else for £40 via this link: http://www.musicindie.com/306.asp?sub=General%20Resources. However, we here at CMU have five copies to give away to Daily readers - one each day this week. Each day we are asking a sync related question, and the first person out of the hat with the right answer gets a free copy. And hurrah for Deb Porritt from Mood Media who wins a copy by identifying that it was Nettwerk Music who joined with EA Games to form music company Artwerk.
Time now for the very final question - and it's an easy one for all you slow starters. To enter all you have to do is email the answer to this question to [email protected] by 4pm today - we'll pick out a winner and tell you the answer on Monday. Easy.
QUESTION: Which movie catapulted Underworld's 'Born Slippy' into the mainstream?
Email your answer to [email protected] by 4pm today to be in with a chance of winning the e-guide.
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JOBS N STUFF
OUTPOST PLUGGER
Outpost is a successful music and events PR agency based in London. We currently have a vacancy for a radio plugger with a minimum of 1 year's experience. A varied role, the successful candidate will be looking after key radio projects, while assisting in the area of TV plugging.
You will be hardworking, motivated and intelligent with first-class writing skills and computer literate. An outstanding knowledge of cutting edge music is fundamental to this role, and you will have a bulging book of contacts. With a flexible attitude in terms of out of normal hours work, and an eye for detail, you will be a confident, team-player who would relish an opportunity to grow and develop with a young, dynamic and fast moving company.
Please apply via e-mail with CV and cover letter to [email protected] explaining why we're right for each other. Salary dependent on experience. Please put 'Outpost Job Vacancy' in the subject line.
DIGITAL MARKETING INTERN
Live Nation is looking for a Digital Marketing intern to assist the Digital Marketing Manager in the promotion of all of Live Nation's tours and festivals including O2 Wireless Festival, Download Festival and Hard Rock Calling. This post will look to start late March/early April 2008 for around 9 months.
We're looking for someone with a real interest in the digital arena who knows their way around MySpace, Facebook and Bebo etc and keen to learn about online PR and marketing. You'll be taking direction from the Digital Marketing Manager, helping to maximise as much online coverage and exposure as possible.
We're looking for a team player with a passion for music and all things digital, with great organisational and communication skills and attention to detail. This role has the possibility to lead to further opportunities at the end of the placement period.
Please send cv and covering letter to [email protected] Only successful applicants will be contacted. Closing date for applications is Friday 29 Feb 08.
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GO ONLINE WITH CMU...
Aiden frontman William 'wiL' Francis on how he got into music: "I started in the fourth grade when I was nine by playing violin in music class at school. Though I was always more interested in playing my mom's guitar, and quickly dropped the violin and started learning guitar".
William answers CMU's Same Six Questions online this week - www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk
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CMU RECOMMENDED
REMIX ALL-NIGHTER - PLUS SPECIAL OFFER FOR STUDENTS
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
SPREAD THE WORD! SPECIAL STUDENT DISCOUNT FROM CMU
CMU and Remix All-nighter promoters Leyline have teamed up to offer students a special price for the night of just £7. To get the discount you need a special code for when you order your tickets, and you can get the code by emailing your name and university name to [email protected] But do it quick - there are a limited number of discounted tickets available.
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CMU FRIDAY TIPS
VIGSY'S CLUB TIP: Grace at Herbal
East London's Herbal will be hosting Grace this week, albeit under the dark dark shadow of the club's head honcho, Grooverider, not being in attendance as a result of him being banged up for a four year stretch in Dubai for his possession of 2.16g of cannabis. Ram's Andy C, V's Bryan Gee and the lady like Flight step in, and step up to rinse out some drum 'n' bass ballistics in the main room, with MC 2Shy spitting lyrics on top. Shame it's a school night, but hopefully drum and bass soldiers will show some solidarity for the Rider's night as he begins his time in lockdown.
Sunday 24 Mar, 9pm - 2am, 12-14 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London E2, ladies free before 11.30, then £6, NUS £5 all night, more info from http://herbaluk.com.
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BESTIVAL LINE UP ANNOUNCED, TICKETS ON SALE
So, why does Bestival announcing their line up for 2008 appear here in the lead story spot and not down there in the bulging festival news slot? Well, for those of us who publish the Edinburgh Festival newspaper and who therefore tend to be indescribably busy throughout July and August, safely-in-September Bestival is one of the few music festivals I will actually make it to this year - which is why the news that I'll be getting to see CSS, The Breeders, Lee Scratch Perry, Pendulum, Grand National, Aphex Twin, Foals, The Wedding Present, Baaba Mal an My Bloody Valentine later this year makes me very excited. And in a 'get that in the lead news story spot' kind of way.
So, yes, Rob da Bank and the rest of the Bestival crew made their initial line up announcement last night at midnight, and among the long list of acts confirmed was the first headliner - My Bloody Valentine - who will headline night one of the proceedings. The other two headliners are tbc, but meantime take a look at this long list of acts who will be playing, in addition to those mentioned there in paragraph number one: George Clinton And Funkadelic/Parliament, Gary Numan, The Human League, Jamie Lidell, 808 State (live), Baaba Mal, Jeffrey Lewis, Metronomy, The Cuban Brothers, The Count & Sinden, Sebastien Tellier, Transglobal Underground, Two Gallants, King Creosote, Chas & Dave, Ladyhawke, Ebony Bones, Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, The Duke Spirit, Teenagers, Crystal Castles, Ox Eagle Lion Man, These New Puritans, Tawiah, Red Snapper, Jon Hopkins, Lets Wrestle, Little Dragon, Subway, Imperial Leisure, Gideon Conn, Zombie Zombie, George Pringle, Subgiant, The Restaurant, Cage The Elephant, Vessels, The Ghost, Peter Von Poehl, St Vincent, Fuck Buttons, Drew, Micah P Hinson, Fleet Foxes, FM Belfast, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Grand National, Christopher D Ashley, Sportsday Megaphone, Kid Carpet and Bastila.
Obviously that's just too long a list to even begin to take in, so just take my word for it that it's a flippin marvellous selection of top bands. Hurrah. Tickets are now on sale for Bestival 2008, which takes place on the Isle Of Wight from 5-7 Sep. See you there.
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LUTFI RESTRAINING ORDER EXTENDED
The restraining order against Britney Spears' friend and some time manager Sam Lutfi has been extended, even though he is reportedly working with publicist Michael Sands on a PR campaign to reinvent the popstress' image (Sands having quit as PR to Kevin Federline's lawyer and switched to Britney's side).
As previously reported, the courts ordered Lutfi to stay away from Britney after a request to that effect by the singer's mother Lynne - she claimed he had drugged and verbally abused her daughter and, in doing so, contributed to her recent mental breakdown.
A month on from the issuing of the original restraining order, US District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez yesterday extended the order until 17 Mar when another hearing will be held to review the matter. A lawyer for Spears' father also revealed to the court that it had taken over two weeks to find Lutfi in order to hand him the original order - the sometime manager having been seemingly keen to avoid being formally given the paperwork that bans him from seeing the singer.
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FOO FIGHTERS SUE MARVEL OVER TRAILER TUNE USAGE
Those Foo Fighters are reportedly suing Marvel Comics over allegations the comic book firm used "substantial excerpts" from two of their songs to promote a new animated TV series without the band's permission. According to Rolling Stone, Foo tracks 'Best of You' and 'Free Me' reportedly appear in the trailer for new Marvel series 'Wolverine And The X-Men', and the band say use of those songs was not cleared with them or their people. The producers of the TV series - First Serve International, Toonz Animation India and First Serve Toonz in the lawsuit - are also named in the lawsuit.
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VAMPIRE WEEKEND NME SHOW CUT IN HALF BY FIRE ALARM
Vampire Weekend's set at an NME Awards Show in London last night was cut in two by one of those pesky fire alarm situations. The band and their audience all had to evacuate the University Of London Union half way through their gig after the fire alarms started ringing.
According to the NME, for a brief moment there was chatter that Damon Albarn, who was watching the show, had set off the alarm, possibly because he left the venue just before the alarms started ringing, but organisers say that [a] Albarn had actually left for another engagement ten minutes before the alarm situation and [b] why the hell would the Blur man set an alarm off?
Unfortunately the band lost some of their audience when the building was evacuated (ie they won't home, they didn't disappear or die or anything), meaning that when they finally got back on stage frontman Ezra Koenig announced: "I don't know what happened but it ain't my fault, but it's more intimate [this way]". He then told those who had waited for part two of the gig that the band were going to play them a brand new song as a thank you, with Koenig saying: "We're going to play a new song to make up for going outside". It was so new it didn't even have a name.
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AKON FANS STAGE MINI-RIOT AFTER FREE SHOW HALTED BY FIRE ALARM
A few of Vampire Weekend's audience members may have gone home after the fire alarm sounded, but at least they didn't riot. Some fans at a free Akon gig in Copenhagen, on the other hand, got rather angry when a fire alarm caused that show to halt. The already oversubscribed free show at a shopping mall in the Danish capital was stopped by a false fire alarm three songs in. As police evacuated the 2000 plus people watching the gig some didn't want to move, and, having been forced outside, responded by throwing bottles and rocks at the officers. Eight people were arrested during the mini-riot, while Reuters reports that emergency services had to attend to others who were injured during the fracas - though no serious injuries have been reported. Management at the shopping mall have admitted they struggled to cope with the higher than expected turn out for the Akon appearance, and that they will be looking into what they could have done to manage the situation more successfully.
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CHINESE POP STAR QUITS CAREER OVER SEX PHOTO SCANDAL
Chinese hip hop pop star and actor Edison Chen has announced he is putting his career on hold following a sex photo scandal which has been very big news in China of late. The Canadian born Chinese c'leb had taken over 1000 sexually explicit photos of various women, something which became a problem when he took his laptop in to a computer repair shop to be fixed and staff members there found the pics and decided to upload them to the internet. Among the photo collection were pictures of six female Chinese celebrities - so you can imagine it caused quite a stir, especially given China's strict rules on pornography and the internet. Ten people have already been arrested in relation to the scandal.
Chen held a press conference to formally comment on the scandal, where he told reporters he was "deeply saddened" about the whole thing and that he wanted to "apologise to all the people for all the suffering that has been caused". He continued: "I admit that most of these photos being circulated on the internet were taken by me. But these photos were very private and have not [previously] been shown to people and were never intended to be shown to anyone. There is no doubt whoever obtained these photos had been uploading them on the internet with malicious and deliberate intent. This matter has deteriorated to the extent that society as a whole has been affected by this, and in this regard I am deeply saddened".
He concluded by saying he didn't feel he could continue with his music and movie career in light of the scandal, and that he would dedicate his life to voluntary and charity work instead. He said: "I have decided to step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry. I have decided to do this to give myself an opportunity to heal myself and search my soul".
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LINKIN PARK STALKER JAILED
That woman who stalked Linkin Park man Chester Bennington, to the extent that she hacked into his email and voicemail, stole private family photos, and then threatened the singer's wife, has been jailed for two years.
Devon Townsend admitted to cyber-stalking the Linkin Park star almost as soon as she was formally charged, admitting that she first hacked into Bennington's internet and mobile accounts, and then used the information she obtained to track his movements and go and stalk him in the real world. She admitted: "On at least one occasion, knowing that Chester Bennington was in Arizona, I travelled to Arizona solely for the purpose of trying to see him. While I was there, I monitored Chester Bennington's voicemails as a means of trying to locate where he might be eating".
Townsend is expected to start her sentence in a minimum-security prison in the next two months, and should receive mental health treatment while there.
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BRITS RATINGS UP, COMPLAINTS HEALTHY,
Those Brit Awards scored ratings of 6.1 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 800,000 on 2007, possibly because this year the show didn't take place on Valentines Day, and there was no FA Cup game on the other side, which there was last year. In terms of audience share the show scored a 24% share, up 2% on last year.
But who cares about ratings? What's important is how many people did the music business' big night out piss off, and media regulator OfCom has reportedly already received 43 complaints, which is good going. Most of the complaints were reportedly about bad language - mainly from co-host Sharon Osbourne. No word on whether anyone was offended that Arctic Monkey Alex Turner's ironic thanking of the Brits School was faded out by show producers - though with a mosh pit full of Brit schoolers it's possible producers were just concerned for Turner's safety.
No word yet on whether the Brits have had a noticeable impact on record sales, I guess we'll see when the chart is published on Sunday. The recent Grammys had a big impact on one album for certain. The surprise winner of the Album Of The Year prize at the US industry's big night out, Herbie Hancock's Joni Mitchell covers album 'River: The Joni Letters' has seen its sales increase tenfold after the win - it sold 53,812 copies last week in the US, compared to 5,044 the previous week.
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COLDPLAY ALBUM COMPLETE
Oh joy, Coldplay have completed recording on their fourth album, and it is now being engineered. Manager Dave Holmes told Billboard: "They're in the final mixing [stage]. They'll start mastering, and away we go. I think it's their best album. They've really delivered. It's a fantastic record".
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THE LEMONHEADS RE-RELEASE IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY
The Lemonheads will re-release their classic 1992 album 'It's A Shame About Ray' complete with ten extra tracks, including nine demos and former b-side 'Shaky Ground'. The special edition will also have a DVD of the band's 1993 video release 'Two Weeks In Australia', never before released on DVD. The demo tracks include...
It's A Shame About Ray
Rockin' Stroll
My Drug Buddy
Hannah & Gabi
Kitchen
Bit Part
Rudderless
Ceiling Fan In My Spoon
Confetti
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AIR RE-RELEASE MOON SAFARI
Another re-release - Air are releasing a special, limited edition of 'Moon Safari' to mark the album's tenth anniversary, which is good news because my copy of this album sticks on the last track sending it into an eternal loop. The special edition will come with remixes, rarities, radio sessions, a book and a DVD. Tracklisting for the two CD package as follows...
Disc One
La Femme d'Argent
Sexy Boy
All I Need
Kelly Watch The Stars
Talisman
Remember
You Make It Easy
Ce Matin Là
New Star In The Sky
Le Voyage De Pénélope
Disc 2 Two: rarities, remixes and sessions
Remember (David Whitaker Version)
Kelly Watch The Stars (Live on the BBC 1998)
J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau (Live on the BBC 1998)
Sexy Boy (Live on the BBC 1998)
Kelly Watch The Stars (Moog Cookbook Remix)
Mabrouk (Live on KCRW 1998)
You Make It Easy (Live on KCRW 1998)
Bossa 96 (Demo)
Kelly Watch The Stars (Demo)
Sexy Boy (Beck Sex Kino Mix)
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LOS CAMPESINOS! DON'T CARE ABOUT DOWNLOADING
Los Campesinos! have told Gigwise that they don't really care if people download their new album, which is out on Monday. I am guessing Wichita would disagree. Ellen told the music website: "I have downloaded music illegally in the past. And if I really like it I'll buy a tangible copy. We're not that driven by money anyway, with seven of us in the band". So there you go.
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MY MORNING JACKET MAN TALKS UP HANSON
Bo Koster of American rock types My Morning Jacket has admitted that he's a secret Hanson fan, and I should think so too, Hanson are great. Both My Morning Jacket and the Hanson boys will play the SxSW music convention next month, and on the SxSW website Koster says: "A friend of mine used to play bass with this Oklahoma City Trio. He swore by their [Hanson's] musicianship and told me that they really know how to put it down. Every time I think of them, I think of that movie Slapshot starring Paul Newman (a classic). They should dress up as the Hanson brother from that movie, that would be sweet. But seriously, these kids have grown up, and have been taking their music very seriously their whole lives from what I understand. So, I'd be interested to see what kind of adults they've become and what kind of music they're making. Don't hate, or I'll mmmmm bop you on your head".
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ADD TIGNESFEST TO YOUR WINTER FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
OK, back to festival news, and there's about 8 million to report on today. First up, the upcoming festivals in the snow. And a brand new one for you - TignesFest - which will take place in Tignes, France from 17-20 Apr. This one is exciting for three reasons - Eddy Temple Morris, Kissy Sell Out and The Loose Cannons - who are each curating their own bits of the music-meets-winter-sports fest. And what a fantastic bunch of artists they've selected, including Autokratz, Trash Fashion, Primary 1, Speakerjunk's Trevor Loveys, South Central, David E. Sugar, Alex Metric, Boy8-Bit, Naomi Roper, James Yuill, The Shoes and more to be announced.
Here's what Eddy says: "Imagine if the kind of music I play on The Remix had its own 'In The City'... now picture that city being a town on top of a snow covered mountain... It's a nice picture isn't it? You carve down a beautiful French mountain on a snowboard, then take your apres ski with the Autokratz and Boy 8 Bit, and while you go nuts at a brilliant gig, your mates can hear it go out on Xfm and curse the fact they're not there with you".
On top of the music there'll be plenty of chances to ski and snowboard and all that malarkey. Oh, and did I mentioned all the music stuff is free? More info here: http://www.myspace.com/tignesfest. Press info from [email protected]
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SNOWBOMBING ADDITIONS
More music in the snow stuff, and Dirty Pretty Things, Lightspeed Champion and Stephen Fretwell have all just been added to the live bit of the bill for Snowbombing 2008. Which is groovy. They join a bill that already boasts Madness, Pigeon Detectives, Calvin Harris, Foals, Palladium and the brill Kid Carpet. This one takes place from 31 Mar to 6 Apr at Mayfhofen in Austria. Press info from Get Involved.
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REM TO HEADLINE OXEGEN
Organisers have announced that REM are to headline the Oxegen Festival this year, in addition to their T In The Park headline slot and one-off special at the Royal Albert Hall. Joining them on the bill for the event are the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Hot Chip, Kings Of Leon, Justice, The Raconteurs, Ian Brown, Interpol, The Fratellis, Aphex Twin and Alabama 3. As I'm sure you're aware, it all takes place from 11 - 13 July at the Punchestown Racecourse in County Kildare.
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EVOLUTION LINE UP CONFIRMED
The line up for this year's Evolution Festival has been announced, and appearances by acts such as Kate Nash, The Streets, Does It Offend You Yeah? and CSS have all been confirmed. The Newcastle and Gateshead event, held on the May Bank Holiday (the one at the end of May), is expected to attract more than 60,000 music fans, but this year, unlike previous years, they'll have to buy a ticket to get in. They're only £3 each, however, and all the money will go straight to charity, specifically Water Aid.
Festival Director Jim Mawdsley says: "We are again extremely proud to put together such a diverse and exciting programme for Evolution this year. This event is without doubt the biggest music festival in the North and is a massive celebration of both our musical heritage and prominence on the world stage. It is only left for everyone to enjoy the whole weekend of gigs and events".
Here's the full list of who's been announced so far:
Spillers Stage: The Streets, Kate Nash, Reverend And The Makers, Duffy, Glasvegas, Lightspeed Champion, The Whip, This Aint Vegas
Baltic Stage: CSS, New Young Pony Club, Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You Yeah, Hercules and Love Affair, WhoMadeWho, The Ghost Frequency, Kinevil
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RADIOHEAD AND JOHNSON HEADLINE ALL POINTS WEST
Last bit of festival news now, and one from the US, and as widely speculated, Radiohead and Jack Johnson are to headline the first All Points West festival which, as previously reported, will take place from 8-10 Aug at New Jersey's Liberty State Park, across the Hudson river from Manhattan. Radiohead, interestingly, are to headline two nights of the event, the first and second, whilst Jack Johnson headlines on the third and final evening.
Also featuring on the bill are Underworld, Kings of Leon, Cat Power, The Roots, The New Pornographers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Youssou N'Dour, The Go! Team, Amadou & Mariam, Black Kids, and Your Vegas. Tickets go on sale on 29 Feb at a cost of $89 for a day ticket and $258 for a three day pass. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Friends Of Liberty State Park. Meanwhile, a Ferry service will run from Manhattan directly to the festival grounds. Wish I could go, but you know what August's like around here.
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LITTLE MAN TATE HEADLINE SHEFFIELD BAND NIGHT
Little Man Tate are to top the bill of a music night showcasing Sheffield bands, set to celebrate the opening of the city's new Academy venue on 19 Apr. Also appearing that night will be The Dodgems, The Wallbirds, Alvarez Kings, The Headliners and Bohemian Mods. Tickets priced at £10 are on sale now.
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LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AIR PRIVACY CAUTIONS OVER GOVERNMENT FILE SHARING PLANS
That government report outlining proposals to be considered regarding combating the illegal distribution of music on the internet - the one the Times reckons will include proposals to make internet service providers operate a three strikes system whereby persistent file sharers will lose their internet connections - is due to be published today.
Commenting on those potential proposals ahead of the report's publication, the Liberal Democrat's culture man Don Foster told reporters that while he recognises the need to combat illegal file sharing, that moves to do so should not impeach consumer privacy rights. He said: "Illegal file sharing is a serious threat to the British music industry, but the Government must ensure that the right to privacy remains an absolute priority. We will resist any new laws which undermine the principles behind existing data protection laws. We need to find a balance which allows rights holders to target the criminals raking in huge profits from this crime without threatening basic civil liberties or dramatically changing the relationship between internet service providers and users. Self-regulation would be preferable and it is now up to the internet service providers to demonstrate this will work".
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LIMEWIRE ENTERS INTO DEAL WITH INDIE DISTRIBUTOR
Anti-P2P efforts may be turning towards the internet service providers, but one of the old school P2P lawsuits is still outstanding - the one against the last big boy in P2P, LimeWire, which is still working its way through the US courts.
Despite the fact that the legal battle is still pending, LimeWire are talking to music firms about entering into deals whereby labels and the like can use LimeWire's massive membership to promote their music. I'm not quite sure on the specifics of those deals - and whether they are part of an effort to relaunch LimeWire as a licenced P2P service whereby the owners of content shared get a cut of ad revenues - though there is talk of LimeWire launching a legit download store, so maybe the plan is for the P2P bit to be an ad funded preview service which aims to make people click through to the download store where they can buy copies of tracks. Who knows?
Anyway, with deals already reportedly in place with Nettwerk Productions, Ingrooves and IRIS, the news is that LimeWire have entered into an agreement with RedEye Distribution, who represent some 20,000 tracks from 200 independent labels, including music from the likes of Lisa Loeb, Donna Lewis, Martin Sexton, Widespread Panic, Afroman, Chuck D, Jim Lauderdale, and Bell X1. I've no idea what the deal involves, but the fact LimeWire is forming partnerships with a growing number of independents is [a] interesting in itself and [b] will presumably be used by the P2P firm to show they have good intentions when the big majors v LimeWire case goes to court.
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TAX LAW CHANGE MAY SPEED UP CHRYALIS SALE
While independent music publishing firm Chrysalis has in the past indicated that they were in no rush to sell their operations, despite inviting bids, the Financial Times says that management there are actually now keen to finalise a sale before April because doing so would avoid changes in capital gains tax laws that could cost the company's founder and owner Chris Wright £8 million.
Wright has previously indicated that, while he does plan to sell off his music company, he is in no rush to do so and would only do it if the right offer was made. However, according to Music Week, with the change in tax laws upcoming he is now thought to be keen to have a deal done before the new laws come into effect on 6 Apr.
As previously reported, four bidders have reportedly made offers for Chrysalis, which is most proactive in the music publishing space, including EMI and Warner Music.
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INTERNATIONAL MUSIC CHIEF LEAVES WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY
Head Of International Music at the William Morris Agency, Ed Bicknell, who led the artist agency's recent expansion in the UK market, has announced he is leaving the company. WMA's Worldwide Head Of Music, Peter Grosslight, confirmed Bicknell's departure yesterday, saying Ed had done "an incredible job in setting up WMA's expanded U.K. music operation. Now that we are fully up and running, Ed has decided to move on".
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BMG JAPAN TO DISTRIBUTE HOSTESS RELEASES IN JAPAN
BMG Japan which, confusingly, is part of SonyBMG (it's confusing because Sony Japan isn't), has announced a new agreement with Japanese sales, marketing and management outfit Hostess Entertainment, who represent a number of European indies in the Japanese market, including Domino and PIAS. The agreement will see BMG Japan distribute releases represented by Hostess. They will also provide sales and broadcast media support.
Confirming the deal, Hostess Founder and President Andrew Lazonby told CMU: "With Hostess continuing to evolve and grow at such a rapid rate it's been clear we needed to align ourselves with a distribution partner who could both help us maximise the potential of our clients' exciting repertoire and also show a level of flexibility and a dynamic that's generally all too rare within the Japanese industry".
Upcoming releases that will be distributed through the alliance include Kills, Los Campesinos, Blood Red Shoes, Vitalic, Mogwai, Yo Majesty and Bloc Party.
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LAVIGNE PREGNANT?
Rumour has it that Avril Lavigne is expecting a baby, after she and husband Deryk Whibley were reportedly seen spending fairly large amounts on baby clothes in a variety of LA baby boutiques. Of course, they could just be buying gifts for a pregnant friend or family member. Also, the gossips have been saying lately that Lavigne has been dressing to disguise a bump, but the singer dismissed pregnancy reports back in January.
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GENE SIMMONS ALLEGED SEX TAPE APPEARANCE
According to reports, for I assure you, I have not seen it myself, a grainy sex tape featuring a person said to be Kiss frontman Gene Simmons has been posted on a website (presumably specifically set up for this purpose) called genessecret.com. The video apparently shows someone who looks like Simmons engaged in a variety of sexual activities with a blonde woman.
Simmons, of course, is in a long term relationship with former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed, and they have two teenaged children. The family have recently appeared in their own reality show, 'Gene Simmons' Family Jewels'.
Simmons has a statement on his personal website, which reads: "Hi everyone, You may have heard or seen garbage that has sprung up from my past. Rest assured the proper legal team is looking at all ramifications and options. And us? Shannon, Nick and Soph are happy and healthy. All is well. And thank you all for the kind words of support".
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LIGHTBODY ADMITS TO NERVES AT STORMONT
Gary Lightbody has admitted to being nervous as he appeared before Northern Ireland's assembly to urge members to support the previously reported Oh Yeah project, a scheme set to transform an old Belfast warehouse into a dedicated music centre for young musicians. Speaking to Stormont's Arts committee, he said: "I'm sorry but I'm a bit nervous. It's not very often musicians get to meet politicians and generally when we do we're asking for something. I'm sorry not to be bucking that trend".
The singer went on to explain that, having sunk a lot of their own money into the project, he and his band Snow Patrol would like to see the government give them a hand in finishing the programme. "We have given an awful lot of money, we've done an awful lot of fundraising and we've done an awful lot of charity work for this facility already", he said. Now it's time we got some help from government".
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TUNSTALL THANKS MARK OWEN FOR QUID
KT Tunstall apparently accosted Take That's Mark Owen at the Brits on Wednesday to thank him for giving her a pound one time when she was busking in Edinburgh. She says, "Mark Owen is lovely because he gave me a quid (pound) when I was busking when I was 19. When we met I told him that".
You know, I agree. I think Mark Owen is lovely. But you'd think he could spare more than a pound, wouldn't you? Perhaps he's just not given to extravagant gestures.