| CMU Daily - on the inside Thursday 28th February |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Hands admits EMI is more challenging than he expected
- Super Extra Bonus Party are the Choice
- Music Week Award nominations out
- Winehouse cancels court appearance
- Brown gets community service
- More Britney stuff
- Buddy Miles dies
- McCartney Mills divorce settlement may as yet be made public
- Simmons speaks over sex tape
- Ja Rule not allowed to bail associates
- Mystikal refused parole
- Black Crowes not impressed with Maxim apology
- More on that Eminem book
- New Donna Summer
- Sandhu EP and dates
- Wakestock acts, new event confirmed
- Efterklang limited edition single, digital EP, tour
- DPT to appear at LMHR conference
- I Am Kloot tour
- Brian Wilson hits concerts
- Single review: Jaymay - Gray Or Blue
- More MySpace download stuff
- Are the labels asking too much of digital entrepreneurs?
- US radio industry fights back over royalties debate
- Radio bosses tell Lords ownership rules should be relaxed
- More on Xfm bidder
- Alesha on life after Harvey
- Preston railed against frozen food, says Chantelle
- Music Week award nominations in full
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TOP BIT RECOMMENDED
If you've been wondering to yourself of late what all the fuss is about regards Joe Lean and his Jing Jang Jong, well, here's your chance to find out. Yes, they're headlining the next edition of the CMU recommended Twisted Licks, which takes place, as normal, on the first Friday of the month, which is a week tomorrow, 7 Mar.
Doors open 8.30pm, it goes on till 3am and you can get a pint for a mere £1.50 before 10pm. Along side Mr Lean And The Jing Jang Jong you'll also get live sets from The Alones and Christopher D Ashley, 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. More info at www.myspace.com/twistedlicks. Info of the press variety from Leyline.
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JOBS N STUFF
NATIONAL RADIO PLUGGER
Experienced national plugger wanted for established radio & TV promotions company working with a diverse range of mainly independent labels. We are looking for someone who is highly organised, reliable, dedicated, self-motivated and friendly. Must have excellent communications skills and a genuine passion for music and gigging. Will be responsible for managing campaigns as well as working as part of a team. This is an excellent opportunity for the right person. Please send CV with cover letter to [email protected]
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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.
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BOSTER GROUP - PA AND OFFICE MANAGER - £20K (London, W1)
Do you have a passion for arts, culture and luxury brands? Boster Group is a unique strategic arts consultancy with a blue chip client list. We are looking for a PA to work with our Managing Director. You will enjoy real variety and be responsible for diary management and drafting correspondence, along with managing the office and assisting with events. You must be bright, articulate and well presented with excellent attention to detail, a real interest in the arts and a positive attitude. Previous administration experience would be an advantage. To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to [email protected] quoting ref: SS13
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CMU CLASSIFIEDS
DESK SPACE IN CAMDEN
Backstreet International Merchandise have desk space available for creative/music/media types looking for affordable workspace in central Camden. For enquiries please contact Steve Faye on 0207 428 1107 or email [email protected]
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GO ONLINE WITH CMU...
Tommy D of the Jing Jang Jong on what he'd say to someone listening to his band's music for the first time: "Play it at a loud volume and don't talk over it".
Tommy D 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 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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SNAP OF THE DAY: FM BELFAST
This column first noted Iceland's FM Belfast after they appeared on former SNAP Of The Day Kasper Bjorke's last album, 'In Gumbo', delivering a sassy vocal contribution to opening track 'Back And Spine'. Why it's taken this long to recommend them separately is, therefore, beyond me, but rest assured that their own material is every bit as satisfying as their Danish counterpart's. Plying their way between Hot Chip, Portishead and VNV Nation, they make downbeat electro that frequently strays into punk funk territory with songs like 'VHS', a pulsing, seductive club tune that could quite happily mix into LCD Soundsystem et al. Listen, admire and balk at their nasty pink wallpaper at the link below.
http://www.myspace.com/fmbelfast
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HANDS ADMIT EMI IS MORE CHALLENGING THAN HE EXPECTED
The new owner of EMI has admitted that reinventing the music conglom has proved much harder than he expected. Speaking at what I'm sure was a riveting conference of private equity chiefs in Munich, Terra Firma/EMI boss Guy Hands told his money buddies more about one of the highest profile private equity purchases of the last twelve months, admitting: "The strategy we have is exactly the same as planned, the issue is the execution. Emotionally and physically it's a lot tougher to do than we expected".
He also further dissed the culture at EMI before his arrival, saying that the major's 260 A&R execs had far too much power, and that the other 4500 employees, including those with sales and marketing expertise, had too little influence on what artists the company worked with and how their albums were promoted. That, he said, contributed to the high number of artists who got nowhere near to providing returns on their investments.
According to Reuters, he later referred to one unspecified EMI label which, over three years, spent five times more money on marketing than they generated in gross CD revenue. He recalled telling the A&Rs in the imprint: "I said to them, you could have just put a £50 note on the outside of every CD and you probably would have done a better job ... and then we wouldn't have had to employ you".
Of course Hands and his Terra Firma team has done quite a lot of bitching about working practices at EMI since they acquired the major, both on and off the record, and he admitted that "people don't like to hear things like that" after delivering his fifty pound note anecdote. But he said that 90% of his A&R team had accepted without much controversy his proposals to give marketing people much more autonomy over how the record company markets their acts.
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SUPER EXTRA BONUS PARTY ARE THE CHOICE
Ireland's sort of like the Mercury Music Prize thing, the Choice Music Prize, was awarded for 2008 in Dublin last night, and went to Super Extra Bonus Party for their eponymous debut. They get 10,000 euros and will presumably enjoy a sales boost after being selected from a shortlist of ten by a panel of twelve music and media types.
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MUSIC WEEK AWARD NOMINATIONS OUT
More awards, though for all you behind the scenes types this time. The nominations for this year's Music Week Awards are out. You'll find the full list at the bottom of today's CMU Daily, and you'll find more info (though not much more info) at http:// http://www.musicweekawards.com. The awards themselves will be presented at Grosvenor Hosue in London on 3 Apr.
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WINEHOUSE CANCELS COURT APPEARANCE
Amy Winehouse has cancelled a court appearance due to take place in Norway this Friday, in relation to that previously reported incident in which she and two others - one of them banged-up hubby Blake Fielder-Civil - were caught in possession of cannabis in Bergen in October and spent a night in the klink. All three were expected to appeal against their 500 euro fine this week, but now lawyer Ole Kvelstad has successfully filed a petition to postpone the hearing.
Kvelstad argues that Norwegian police had not made adequate arrangements for Fielder-Civil, due in London's Snaresbrook Crown court on the same day, to attend the hearing. He explained to reporters that the Bergen court had insisted that all three of his clients be present for the hearing, an impossibility for Fielder-Civil, who will be answering charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and GBH on Friday. The lawyer says that they all still want to appeal, but that a new date has not yet been set.
Amy's father Mitch maintains that his daughter was duped into signing a confession following the incident, saying that the drugs didn't actually belong to her, and she put her name to the document believing it to be a release form. Swedish police, however, maintain that fluent English speakers had ensured that the singer knew exactly what she was doing.
Elsewhere in Winehouse news, The Sun reports that Amy is back up to her old tricks, despite her recent stint in rehab. As with many tabloid stories, one can assume that it's been mostly fabricated from speculation and hearsay, but there could be some truth in it. She was recently photographed with scratches on her arm (don't know if they looked fresh or not) and a swollen hand, and, according to the paper, some so-called friends have said she's drinking and smoking cannabis - which can't be as bad as smoking crack, but I suppose it could only be a matter of time.
A source is quoted as saying: "Amy's in an awful state again - she's clearly on drugs. Many of us think full time residential rehab is the only option but she won't go back. It was hoped her new album and fashion range would keep her focused but it hasn't worked. Everyone who's seen her in the last week or so has been really disturbed by the state she's in. She's getting back to her worst".
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BROWN GETS COMMUNITY SERVICE
Bobby Brown has avoided prosecution, and potentially a jail sentence, by agreeing to a one year community service sentence in relation to that previously reported incident in December when he was charged with possession of cocaine in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Brown is to mentor some children, hope he's a good influence on them. Lawyer Stephanie Soriano confirmed that "no criminal charges will issue. Mr. Brown will be accepting the recommendation of the court", and added that working with youths is "something he wants to do anyway", so not much of a lesson to learn there, then.
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MORE BRITNEY STUFF
LA Police have said that they are looking into those allegations that Britney Spears has been drugged. A statement was issued yesterday in which Captain Kyle Jackson said that the accusations "are being considered" by the Robbery-Homicide unit.
He says that no suspects have as yet been identified, but it's common knowledge, as previously reported, that Spears' mother has made accusations in court papers that sometime manager Sam Lutfi had been drugging and controlling her daughter. A restraining order was, of course, issued as a result.
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BUDDY MILES DIES
The drummer from Hendrix group Band Of Gypsys, Buddy Miles, has died at the age of 60 in Austin, Texas. It's not clear what the cause of death was.
Miles was born in Nebraska in 1947 and was exposed to music from a young age by his father, who belonged to a band called The Bebops, and began his career playing with the likes of Wilson Pickett, The Delfonics and The Ink Spots. He first met Hendrix in 1960 but didn't work with him until 1969 when Hendrix produced an album by the drummer's own outfit, The Buddy Miles Express. Miles subsequently performed on Hendrix's 'Electric Ladyland' album, then joined Band Of Gypsys.
When Hendrix died in 1970, Miles drummed on a few posthumous releases, and in 2004 released a new Band Of Gypsys live album with bassist Billy Cox. In the intervening years he spent some time in prison on drugs charges, but also found new notoriety as the voice of the California Raisons claymation ads. His family are planning a tribute event, details of which aren't yet available.
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MCCARTNEY MILLS DIVORCE SETTLEMENT MAY AS YET BE MADE PUBLIC
The details of the Paul McCartney/Heather Mills divorce settlement may be made public after all. A court spokesman for Mr Justice Bennett, who is due to decide on how much Macca will pay Mills on 17 Mar, said yesterday that while divorce hearings and settlements are normally kept confidential at first instance, because of the high level of public interest in this case he may as yet choose to go public with his ruling. A spokesperson for the Judicial Communications Office told the Press Association: "The judge will hand down his judgment in private on March 17 2008. He will then decide, having heard submissions from the parties, whether or not to make the judgment public in whole or in part".
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SIMMONS SPEAKS OVER SEX TAPE
Kiss man Gene Simmons has commented again about that previously reported sex tape featuring him and a blonde which has found its way on to the internet. He has explained via his website that he has in fact been aware of the footage for some time and that the people who have now published the tape had actually attempted to blackmail him.
Simmons, who is currently taking legal action, wrote: "You should know for the record, the garbage was recorded without my knowledge and is a page from my past. It happened and there's nothing I can do to repair that... The entity behind the garbage has repeatedly tried to make money off of this and we have always refused. This is not the first time the entity has tried to blackmail and extort us. We have always refused and we will continue to refuse".
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JA RULE NOT ALLOWED TO BAIL ASSOCIATES
A New York judge has said that hip hopper Ja Rule can't cover the bail payments for two of his associates who were arrested with him last July in relation to illegal gun possession charges after police pulled over his car.
Ja, real name Jeffrey Atkins, paid his own $150,000 bond after his arrest, and also the combined $170,000 demanded for the bail of his driver Mohamed Gamal and road manager Dennis Cherry. The bail payments are secured on his $3.5 million New Jersey home.
But State Supreme Court Justice Micki Scherer said yesterday that Atkins couldn't pay for his associates' bonds, I think because he thinks that it gives the hip hop star too much influence over his associates, who may not, as a result, testify honestly against their boss when the case goes to court. Scherer said the current bail payment situation put Atkins "in the position of perhaps controlling the outcome of the case". Attorney Stacey Richman, who represents all three men, has said they are making other arrangements for the payment of Gamal and Cherry's bonds.
Elsewhere in the case, prosecutors have asked the court to order each defendant to give DNA samples so they can garner information that might help them identify the real owner of the offending gun.
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MYSTIKAL REFUSED PAROLE
Rap type Mystikal has been refused parole again. The Louisiana rapper is currently serving a six year sentence in relation to that incident where he forced a hair stylist to perform sex acts on him after she was accused of stealing money from him. He was jailed for sexual battery and extortion. The latest refusal for parole probably means the rapper will now serve out his full sentence.
A source told AllHipHop.com this week: "Mystikal is in great spirits, despite the parole board's decision not to release him. He's been writing and focused on his career once he is finally released".
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BLACK CROWES NOT IMPRESSED WITH MAXIM APOLOGY
The manager of The Black Crowes says he thinks the Editorial Director of Maxim's statement on the whole made up review debacle was insufficient, and that the magazine owes the band a full apology.
As previously reported, Maxim featured a review of the new The Black Crowes album, complete with star rating, even though no media had been serviced the album by the band's label. The cheeky made up review was found out because promo copies of the albums still hadn't been sent before the magazine came out.
Maxim's Editorial Director issued a statement earlier in the week saying the review, or, more specifically, the star rating, was included in the latest edition of the mag by mistake. He said that the magazine would not normally publish star ratings for albums that their team had not "heard in their entirety".
But the band's manager, Pete Angelus, says the statement isn't satisfactory. In particular he's not impressed with the phrase "heard in their entirety", because he says that implies that Maxim's reviewers had heard a substantial part of the new The Black Crowes album when, he reckons, they can only have hear one single, which was being played on radio.
Manager Pete Angelus told CMU: "In my opinion, Maxim's fabrication of an album review is highly unethical and indefensible. This issue potentially pertains to all artists and their craft, and a publication which apparently has no respect for either. Maxim seems to continue in their attempt to deceive the public with their usage of the word 'entirety'. At the most, Maxim could have only heard the one complete song that has been released to radio, before publishing their 'album review'. It comes as no surprise that Maxim has elected to apologise to their readers now that the world has been informed of their deception; however, that is not full accountability",
He concluded: "In my opinion, Maxim's 'apology' is self-serving damage control by failing to mention The Black Crowes. The appropriate action from Maxim is to immediately issue a public apology to The Black Crowes for disparaging both the band and their soon to be released new album 'Warpaint' without having heard the material".
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MORE ON THAT EMINEM BOOK
Well, colour me confused. Recent reports that Eminem was to release a memoir type thing this autumn said that it would be released via Orion books, but now reports are saying that actually it'll be Dutton Books, a Penguin Group imprint that will release the work, and as far as I can see, there's no relationship between the two publishers. Of course, Eminem might have fallen out with Orion, given that his rep Dennis Dennehy responded to earlier reports about the book by saying that someone at the publisher had jumped the gun by revealing an expected publishing date.
Dutton said in a statement that the book, 'The Way I Am' offers "a window on the star's private thoughts on everything from his music and the trials of fame to his love for his daughter, Hailie, this title is every bit as raw and uncensored as the man himself ", and went on to say that it will be " illustrated with never-before-seen photographs of Eminem's home and life along with original drawings".
The aforementioned Dennehy is still a bit tight-lipped, saying that the work "is still in the process of being written and edited".
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NEW DONNA SUMMER
Another hurrah is surely due. Donna Summer will release her first new album in over seventeen years in May. With a working title of 'Crayons', among the collaborators involved in the project are Danielle Brisebois, Greg Kurstin, JR Rotem, Lester Mendez and Evan Bogart. On the project and its working title Summer told Billboard: "My dream is that when people hear the music it will remind them of their youth, their childhood and the joy and wonderment they felt exploring their first pack of crayons".
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SANDHU EP AND DATES
Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Sandhu is about to launch a solo career, and will release a debut EP on 21 Apr, 'Blaggers & Liars', via This Feeling records. He'll also play the following live shows:
20 Mar: Portsmouth Atrium
22 Mar: Bristol Croft
26 Apr: London Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes
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WAKESTOCK ACTS, NEW EVENT CONFIRMED
Organisers of Wakeboard festival Wakestock have announced that the likes of Groove Armada, The Streets, Supergrass, Funeral For A Friend, The Hoosiers, Hadouken! and Audio Bullys are all set to appear at this year's festival, plus, they've revealed that they'll be staging a second complementary festival due to take place at Blenheim Palace from 27 - 29 Jun in addition to their usual stint from 4 - 6 Jul in Abersoch.
Wakestock founder Mark Durston says this: "2008 is going to be the Year of Wakestock! We've built the festival up over the last eight years in Abersoch to be a really cool mix of the world's best wakeboarders, bands & DJ's right at the forefront of the live music scene and a lifestyle that is unrivalled by any other festival! With the help of Stuart Galbraith, CEO of Kilimanjaro, to develop the festival and to add a second venue as stunning as Blenheim Palace was an opportunity we've relished. The grounds at Blenheim Palace, as a festival venue, are first class. Add to this a stunning lake sat right in front of the Palace and you have the perfect setting to showcase the coolest sport on water".
And just in case, like me, you've never been quite sure what wakeboarding is, it's like waterskiing, but with surfboard type things.
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EFTERKLANG LIMITED EDITION SINGLE, DIGITAL EP, TOUR
Danish post-rockers Efterklang will release a limited edition single, 'Caravan', on 7 Apr - with just 1000 hand numbered copies available - to coincide with a UK tour. A digital only EP will also be available from 31 Mar. The tour dates go like this...
26 Mar: Southampton, The Talking Heads
27 Mar: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
28 Mar: Sheffield, Corporation
29 Mar: Dublin, The Button Factory
30 Mar: Cork, Cyprus Avenue
31 Mar: Cardiff, The Point
1 Apr: Manchester, The Ruby Lounge
2 Apr: London, Queen Elizabeth Hall
3 Apr: Brighton, Pressure Point
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DPT TO APPEAR AT LMHR CONFERENCE
Dirty Pretty Things are to speak at the Love Music Hate Racism/Unite Against Fascism national conference next month in a special session focusing on the previously reported LMHR-organised Rock Against Racism event, which takes place in Victoria Park on 27 Apr. Kate Nash and Patrick Wolf are amongst those rumoured to be playing at the free carnival.
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I AM KLOOT TOUR
Ah, this is exciting. I Am Kloot will return in April with a new album called 'I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge', and will follow up the release with a UK tour playing these here dates. Press info from Some Friendly.
14 Apr: Oxford, Zodiac @ Academy
15 Apr: Brighton, Komedia
16 Apr: Wolverhampton, Civic Bar
17 Apr: Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
19 Apr: Bristol, Trinity
20 Apr: Cardiff, Barfly
22 Apr: London, Koko
23 Apr: Cambridge, Junction
24 Apr: Liverpool, Academy 2
25 Apr: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
27 Apr: Glasgow, ABC 2
28 Apr: Newcastle, The Cluny
29 Apr: Sheffield, Academy 2
30 Apr: Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
3 May: Manchester, Academy
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BRIAN WILSON HITS CONCERTS
Brian Wilson has announced three greatest hits concerts for the UK which will take place this summer. The first will be on outdoor bash at Kenwood House in London on 28 Jun, then at the Regent Theatre in Ipswich on 29 Jun, and then the Royal Albert Hall in London on 1 Jul. The gigs are expected to include both Beach Boys and Wilson's solo songs.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Jaymay - Gray Or Blue (EMI)
Brilliant brilliant brilliant! From the moment Jaymay's beautiful lyrics first came out of the speakers I knew that this singer would be getting my respect. Jaymay sings from the heart and is one of the best folk writers that I have heard in quite sometime - every line in 'Gray Or Blue' ends with a rhyme that makes you think, "wow, that's damn good". In fact it's the kind of single that sends you straight to her MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/jaymay) where I spent a pleasant twenty minutes listening to her other songs, and can gladly report this is not a one hit wonder. This girl has the goods and definitely did her homework. If you like folk and good song writing, go check this girl out. Go check the MySpace and see for yourself. JPR
Release Date: 10 Mar
Press Contact: EMI IH [all]
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MORE MYSPACE DOWNLOAD STUFF
More on the plans to launch a fully fledged MySpace download store.
According to Digital Music News, market leader Universal Music is leading the negotiations from the record industry's point of view, and therefore - as predicted - the ongoing lawsuit between Universal and MySpace owner News Corp is very much part of the proceedings.
Universal have accused News Corp of copyright infringement because of the ease with which people can distribute music via MySpace, and the major is looking to reach an out of court settlement on that dispute as part of any deal to make their music available - without DRM - via the new MySpace store. DMN quote one insider as saying: "They [Universal] are unwilling to move forward with MySpace without successfully resolving the suit".
DMN also says Universal are still ploughing forward with their own download store plans - the previously reported Total Music project - and that they are dabbling with the idea of including some kind of MySpace/Total Music alliance as part of their deal with the social networking website which would, of course, give their own download venture access to a big community of people at launch. That said, insiders say Universal don't consider a Total Music arrangement as being a deal breaker regarding their MySpace discussions, so the alliance remains a maybe.
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ARE THE LABELS ASKING TOO MUCH OF DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS?
Talking of new digital music ventures, entrepreneur types at the Digital Music Forum in New York this week have reportedly accused the major record companies of treating start ups unfairly, and in doing so in killing off promising digital ventures - which could deliver whole new revenue streams to the record companies - before they have even got off the ground.
According to Digital Music News, David Del Beccaro, founder of Music Choice, said that high upfront payments to the majors in order to get access to record companies' catalogues can make it difficult for start ups to get through the tricky first few years in business, using up a big portion of initial investment. He said: "There's too much squeeze up front, and companies can't survive five, seven years. This is a ten-year transition".
Former EMI exec and now digital consultant Ted Cohen admitted that record companies could be too set on getting quick up front payments instead of taking a longer term viewpoint, though current digital chief at Interscope, Ted Mico, wasn't so understanding of the entrepreneurs, observing: "it's not unreasonable for us to want to get paid for our content". But Del Beccaro responded: "The question isn't whether businesses should get paid upfront, the question is how much".
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US RADIO INDUSTRY FIGHTS BACK OVER ROYALTIES DEBATE
There are two sides to every argument, or so I'm told, and to that end the US's National Association Of Broadcasters is about to launch a major advertising campaign to give the other side of the debate regarding radio royalties in America.
As previously reported, unlike other Western countries, in the US terrestrial radio stations do not pay royalties for music they play on their stations - mainly because for years the radio owners said they were giving record labels free publicity. Moves are afoot to push for new laws that would force radio stations to pay albeit relatively modest royalty fees to the record industry, and the issue has been much discussed in US political circles of late.
Earlier this week global record industry trade body the IFPI and UK royalties people PPL published a petition signed by 6000 artists around the world calling on the new royalty rules to be introduced. Now the radio industry's trade body is fighting back, basically by saying it's a bit rich of the major record companies to use artists in the fight for radio royalties because - they say - some labels have a reputation for being very bad at paying out royalties to artists, and therefore artists should be more angry with the record companies than the radio stations.
Which, while true to a certain extent, doesn't seem to be that compelling a reason as to why terrestrial radio stations in the US should get to play music for free when radio stations in most other countries, and satellite and online stations in the US, don't. Even if it can be hard for artists to extract royalties from their record companies, surely its better to have 'hard to extract royalties' than no royalties at all. But there you go.
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RADIO BOSSES TELL LORDS OWNERSHIP RULES SHOULD BE RELAXED
Reps from the UK radio industry gave evidence to a House Of Lords select committee yesterday and told the political types that British radio ownership rules were too constraining, especially when compared to rules governing the ownership of newspapers and TV stations. The Lords are currently looking into media ownership in the context of news provision.
Commenting on the issue, the boss of commercial radio body RadioCentre, Andrew Harrison, said after the hearing: "We welcome this opportunity ahead of new legislation to explain why the existing approach to radio ownership is outdated and counter-productive. Digital media have transformed the way in which news is produced and consumed, making mono-sector approaches to securing plurality unnecessary. In fact the current restrictions are stifling innovation in local radio news provision for listeners and holding back the economic health of our sector".
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MORE ON XFM BIDDER
More has been revealed of the Scotland based bid to buy the three Xfm regional stations which have been put up for sale by GCap following the publication of CEO Fru Hazlitt's plans to turn round the fortunes of the radio group. As previously reported, PR man Gordon Beattie and entrepreneur John Quinn are reportedly bidding for the stations, and according to the Guardian their bid also involves Adam Findlay, the son of SMG chairman Richard Findlay.
Beattie has spoken to reporters about his plans for the station, and I don't think Xfm purists will necessarily be that pleased with his plans (especially those who think the alternative station is already too lowest common denominator). He told reporters: ""We believe by changing the format of the stations we can quickly turn them around by boosting the audience and growing the advertising revenue. A big focus would be on the internet. There is absolutely no reason why you couldn't have one format in Scotland and a totally different format in Manchester. Our feeling is that the stations are a bit edgy, a bit young. We would look to change the demographic slightly. I listened to the [Scottish] station for two hours and I hardly knew anything they were playing. Maybe that shows my vintage and perhaps I shouldn't admit that. You can understand why they are doing less well than they should in terms of audience".
Although GCap are reportedly keen to flog off all but the London bit of Xfm quickly, any deal will depend on whether or not Global Radio's expected bid to buy GCap, which should come any day now, is accepted. It's not clear what Global Radio's opinion is of Xfm.
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ALESHA ON LIFE AFTER HARVEY
Alesha Dixon, fresh from a new lease of life/fame on TV's Strictly Come Dancing, has spoken to Company magazine about how devastated she was when she found out that her husband, So Solid's Harvey, was having an affair with Javine Hylton, who has now given birth to his daughter.
She's quoted as saying: "It was like my whole world had just collapsed around me. I thought, what have I done to deserve this? I'm a big believer in karma, and I felt I must have done something to invite it into my life. I tried to take the blame".
Poor lass. To add insult to injury, her band Misteeq were dropped by their label: "I lost my relationship and my record deal - which was pretty much the second most important thing in my life. But it happened so close together I had no choice but to think it must be happening for a reason. There are things in life far worse than your husband having an affair - that's how you get through it. I have a roof over my head, I have my health, I have family and friends - that means more".
Anyway, she says she's moved on and forgiven Harvey now, but she's clearly still cross about something else - her former label bosses wanted her to lose weight, when she was clearly not overweight. She said: "I've lost weight from Strictly and I don't want to. I put some skinny jeans on the other day. I used to have to tuck my love handles into them. But now they're baggy. I was like 'Nooo!'. I don't care about having boobs, but I care about filling my jeans. That's when you look womanly".
She continued: "I found out the other day that, a while ago, some old bosses asked someone to have a word with me about losing weight. It's disgusting. I'm not overweight and I'm not skinny, so to tell me to lose weight - what kind of message is that to girls?"
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PRESTON RAILED AGAINST FROZEN FOOD, SAYS CHANTELLE
Chantelle Houghton's latest complaint about her time with ex-husband Preston Ordinary Boy is that he complained when she didn't eat healthily enough. She told Heat: "One day I came home from work starving. I didn't care what I ate, so I got some frozen chips out of the freezer and some Quorn chicken nugget things. Preston said, 'You do know that's frozen food? As I started eating, he was saying, 'You know there's no green there, there's no green there... It's all beige! He kept on and in the end I threw all the dinner in the bin. I couldn't deal with him moaning on.".
Houghton also chatted about her recent look, revealing that she's not happy looking so orange from so much sunbed abuse, but says that all that was due to the break up: "It's part of me getting over a relationship. Some people go off the rails and drink and party, but mine's a looks thing. I lost all my confidence being with Preston".
Commenting on the fact that she's been compared to Jordan in the looks department of late, she added: "Jordan is a good-looking person anyway, so it's quite a compliment anyway". Why do people think that Jordan is good-looking? She's a deeply ordinary looking woman with a permatan, hair extensions and huge fake tits. Honestly.
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MUSIC WEEK AWARD NOMINATIONS IN FULL
Regional Promotions Sponsored by Nielsen Music Control: Island Records, Mercury Records, Polydor, RCA Regional Promotions, Virgin Records
National Promotions: Columbia Promotions, Hungry and Woods, Polydor, RCA National Promotions, Island Records
Regional Radio Station of the Year Sponsored by PPL: 99.9 Radio Norwich, Heart 106.2, 102.5 Clyde1, Xfm London, XFM Manchester
National Radio Station of the Year Sponsored by PPL: BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, XFM
Venue of the Year: The O2, Carling Academy Brixton, The Leadmill, The Royal Albert Hall, Shepherds Bush Empire
Concert Promoter of the Year: Harvey Goldsmith - Artiste Management Productions, Rob Hallett - AEG Live, Simon Moran - SJM
PR Campaign of the Year: Stuart Bell, The Outside Organisation (Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full); Barbara Charone, MBC (Rufus Wainwright - Release The Star); Azi Eftekhari - W14 Music/Universal (The Proclaimers - Life With You); William Luff, EMI Records (Roisin Murphy); William Rice & Carl Fysh, Purple (Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion)
Artist Marketing Campaign of the Year Sponsored by T-Mobile: Sarah Boorman, Universal Island Records (McFly - Greatest Hits); Ted Cockle & Tom March, Universal Island Records (Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion); XL Recordings (The White Stripes - Icky Thump); Integral (Enter Shikari); Integral (The Pigeon Detectives - Wait For Me)
Catalogue Marketing Campaign of the Year: Sue Armstrong, Universal Music (Sandy Denny - Live at the BBC); Steve Bunyan, Union Square Music (Very Best of Ethiopiques); Hik Sasaki, Rhino UK/Warner Music (Led Zeppelin - Mothership); Duncan Scott, Mercury (Soup: The Housemartins Condensed / Cream of the Beautiful South); Charlie Stanford, Sony BMG (DYLAN)
Distributor of the Year: Consolidated Independent, EMI Records, Universal Music, Pinnacle, Proper Music Distribution
Sales Force of the Year: EMI Music, PIAS UK, Pinnacle Records, Sony BMG, Universal Music
High Street Retail Store of the Year: Avalanche Records - Edinburgh, HMV - Dudley, Rough Trade East - London
Online Music Store of the Year: Recordstore.co.uk, HMV UK, Play.com
Digital Achievement of the Year: Gcap Media - My Classic FM, Outside Line - Now Play It, Parlophone - Kylie Konnect, VUE Entertainment - Music On The Big Screen, WE7 - Global Launch
Music and Brand Partnership of the Year: MOBO Awards & Western Union, Music on the Big Screen & VUE Entertainment, Nokia New Years Eve & Ignition, Take It Away with Now Play It & Outside Line, The O2 & AEG Europe
Music Sync of the Year:
Lloyds TSB/For The Journey, Elena Kats - Chernin, Boosey & Hawkes;
Skins, Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control, Back Yard Productions;
Marks & Spencer/Hollywood Christmas 2007, Andy Williams - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, SonyBMG;
Stardust, Take That - Rule The World, Universal Music;
Cadburys Dairy Milk/Gorilla, Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight, EMI Records, EMI Music Publishing and I10Q