| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 4th March |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Warner goes DRM-free on 7digital
- Culture minister says copyright term extension still could be considered
- Qtrax get publishing deals
- Britney dumps Adnan, says the Sun
- Giuseppe di Stefano dies
- Jacko lawyer gets $12 million over plane filming
- Brian Harvey banned from driving
- Kid Rock says not guilty over waffle house fracas
- The Game in jail
- Bonde Do Role change line up
- Disturbing Tha Peace re-sign with IDJ
- More on Nickelback and Warner
- Charlatans album online on Xfm
- Operator please NME preview
- Fall Out Boy live set due
- Polydor licence Jonas brothers
- Van Halen tour not cancelled
- Plant rejects fat reunion deal
- Bjork dropped from Exit? Possibly not
- Yazoo to tour US
- Green Man festival news
- Lennon pie faces to light up venue
- Divine Comedy, etc, headline Wychwood
- WOMAD tickets on sale
- Album review: Bauhaus - Go Away White
- EMI appointments
- Warner appoint former Napster UK chief
- Specifics on Universal's Univision deal
- PPL announce deal with Canadian collecting society
- Motion rebrand
- MTV launch MySpace chart show
- NME launch US awards
- Maybe there won't be a third global offer for GCap
- Virgin and Sky talking again
- Winehouse has impetigo
- Ringo Starr says fans sent Beatles downhill
- Keith Richards fogeying again
- Rihanna not dating someone called Chris Brown
- Cowell insulted by Viagra offer
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TOP BIT - CMU GETS SOCIAL AT THE REMIX ALLNIGHTER
Well, I promised you some exciting announcements this week, and hot on the heels of the news yesterday of the launch of the CMU Social - a brand new monthly get together and bands showcase from Team CMU set to take place at 299 on the first Tuesday of every month from next month - today some more exciting news of the live kind.
We've been busy recommending the upcoming Remix AllNighter here in the CMU Daily for several weeks now, it being the latest all night extravaganza from Xfm's Eddy TM where dance well and truly rocks, with The Whip, Vitalic, Phil Hartnoll (ex-Orbital) all playing live and a whole room of Ninja Tune madness filling the vaults beneath London Bridge station in the seOne club on Easter Thursday 20 Mar.
Well, here comes the exciting bit. As a special preview for the all-new CMU Social, we will be hosting the VIP lounge at the Remix AllNighter. Yep, Team CMU will be getting very social with the Remix crowd in our own area in a special corner of the seOne cavern.
Among other things, we'll have a special CMU interview area where we'll be chatting to many of the acts playing during the night for a special CMU-Tube podcast from the AllNighter. Plus there'll be lots of surprises and some very fine tunes for the VIPs, details on which you'll find here in the CMU Daily between now and the 20 Mar.
A limited number of VIP tickets are available right now via Ticketweb for just £12.00 - follow the link below. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the Top Bit here in the coming days for more info on the CMU VIP lounge.
Order your tix from Ticketweb: http://tinyurl.com/yrr2o6
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JOBS N STUFF
JUNIOR PUBLISHING ASSISTANT VACANCY - FABRIC PUBLISHING
Fabric Publishing, Fabric's music publishing business, is looking for a young, enthusiastic, hard working person with excellent administration and organisational skills to fill a junior publishing assistant vacancy. The job will require the successful candidate to maintain and manage the extensive publishing database, compile monthly royalty tracking reports, liaise with sub publishers, deal with MCPS/PRS song registration, liaise with writers/artists, manage the music library and provide general help with day to day running of publishing company. The successful candidate must have experience in using excel, filemaker pro and have general data basing skills. Please note this is a purely admin role and an in depth knowledge of electronic and alternative music is not required. Please state salary expectations on application.
Please email CV to [email protected] Closing date: Friday 14th March 2008.
http://www.fabricpublishing.com - http://www.fabriclondon.com
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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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LIVE EVENTS - PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
We are an innovative events and marketing company who identify and broker music and cultural partnerships, and develop and deliver experiential brand programmes. We have two high profile retail theatre productions currently in development, in partnership with major brands and are pursuing other exciting opportunities in this growing market.
We need an enthusiastic, organised and conscientious manager to join our team to:
- coordinate the production and logistics of our up coming events
- to identify and capitalise on additional commercial opportunities presented by these activities
- to identify and pursue new partnership and event opportunities
The right candidate will have experience in planning and managing large scale music and/or event projects, and will be brimming with both commercial and creative ideas. Some new business or business development experience will be an advantage, as will language skills, especially French. It may suit someone who has worked in recorded music looking to branch into the live arena, or someone working in the live sector interested in the potential of creating and delivering spectacular Live Brand Experiences with and for prestigious brand partners.
If you are interested email a CV to [email protected]
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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...
Lets Go Outside on the inspiration for his single 'I'll Lick Your Spine': "The track literally just popped into my head in a dream one night. I woke up and wrote down the lyrics as best as I could remember them. Sometimes my day or sleeping dreams have a 'score' to them - akin to something out of a film, and often with lyrics attached. That's what triggers most of everything I produce".
Lets Go Outside 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. Order your tix from Ticketweb: http://tinyurl.com/yrr2o6
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: CAROLINE WEEKS
A member of Bat for Lashes' band - in which she performs under the moniker of Ginger Lee - Caroline Weeks is also an accomplished composer and performer in her own right, with her first EP, 'Five Songs', due for release next month. It's good timing, therefore, to include her as SNAP Of The Day, ensuring you have plenty of time to investigate her haunting, other worldly folk songs before April arrives. Taking inspiration from the work of American playwright and poet Edna St Vincent Millay for this record, Weeks manages to embody Millay's words - which she uses on the filmic 'I Shall Go Back' - with a very English sweetness, inviting comparisons to the traditional folk of Sandy Denny and Eliza Carthy (indeed, she cites Denny as a key influence on her page). Elsewhere, 'See Where Capella' would fit nicely into a Bat for Lashes live set, yet removed of Natasha Khan's Technicolor charm, instead coming packaged firmly in black and white. Emotionally and musically fascinating, ignore the link below at your peril.
http://www.myspace.com/carolineweeks
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WARNER GOES DRM-FREE ON 7DIGITAL
Warner Music's catalogue has arrived in the UK without all that tedious digital rights management technology attached after the major reached a DRM-free licensing deal with independent download firm 7Digital. The download store is already selling some Warner tunes in the MP3 format, and has a special offer on the go offering selected Warner albums for MP3 download for just a fiver.
As previously reported, Warner, long time supporters of digital rights management, finally announced they were going DRM-free over Christmas when they signed up to Amazon's recently launched MP3 download store. The 7Digital arrangement sees Warner make their music available in that format in the UK for the first time - Amazon downloads being yet to expand beyond North America.
Confirming the new 7Digital deal, Warner Music International Vice-Chairman John Reid told CMU: "This deal will offer music fans a new level of flexibility in their use of tracks from our world-renowned artists. We believe that providing consumers with this assurance of interoperability will encourage sales of music downloads and ultimately help the development of new digital music experiences. This agreement will not only enhance 7digital.com's service and expand our digital footprint but also benefit artists and music fans alike".
7Digital chief Ben Drury added: "7digital.com is excited to be Warner Music's first major partner in Europe to bring MP3s to the marketplace. Our 1.2 million registered customer base has proved to us that MP3s sell very well and MP3 is currently the format of choice for digital media consumers. The addition of Warner Music's MP3 catalogue to 7digital.com means that over 80% of 7digital.com's 3.5 million track catalogue is now DRM-free. 7digital.com is committed to becoming the destination for MP3s and we plan to make our entire music catalogue available in DRM-free, high-quality MP3 format by summer 2008".
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CULTURE MINISTER SAYS COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION STILL COULD BE CONSIDERED
In an interview with Music Week, the government's minister for all things vaguely cultural, Andy Burnham, has said he considers the issue of the sound recording copyright term to still be up for debate, despite the government previously saying it agreed with the conclusion of the Gowers Report on the matter - ie that the current fifty year term was adequate.
As previously reported at rather great length, the record industry wants the sound recording copyright term extended, [a] to bring it more in line with the US term (95 years) and the music publishing term (life plus 70 years) and [b] to stop all those valuable pop recordings of the early sixties from coming out of copyright in the next five years. Despite some support in political circles for that extension, the Gordon Brown commissioned Gowers Review of copyright laws said the current term should remain, and the government initially said it backed that finding.
However, in the Music Week interview Burnham says he is now willing to have "another dialogue" on the issue. He admits that the change in heart is in part down to comments made by the European Union's Internal Market Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy, who recently called for an extension to 95 years across Europe. Moves to extend the term at a European level would force the government to reconsider its position. Burnham said McCreevy's comments had "kicked off an important debate that we now have to have within government".
As also previously reported, MP and former Runrigger Peter Wishart is putting a Private Members Bill through parliament that proposes increasing the term to seventy years, and he claims that he has cross-party support for the proposal.
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QTRAX GET PUBLISHING DEALS
Remember Qtrax?
They're the P2P company who announced at Midem back in January that they were about to launch a fully licensed file sharing service, which got everyone excited until it was revealed no major record company had actually entered into a deal with them.
Well, despite the embarrassment of a high profile and, by all accounts, rather expensive Midem launch which achieved little other than pissing off a load of vital content owners, Qtrax continue with their ambitions to become he first legit P2P service to properly come to market.
Last week one label did announce it had signed up with them, though that was US indie TVT Records which, while boasting a good catalogue, is hardly a major player and, as previously reported, is itself on the verge of bankruptcy.
However, yesterday the P2P outfit announced two more significant licensing deals - with major publishers Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing. Both are certainly important for Qtrax, though cynics on the sidelines will remain pessimistic of the legit P2P company's future until at least one of the major record companies comes on board. No word on how the Qtrax/major labels talks are going post the misleading Midem announcement.
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BRITNEY DUMPS ADNAN, SAYS THE SUN
The Sun is saying that Britney Spears has dumped paparazzo lover Adnan Ghalib following a row in which the singer accused her boyfriend of cheating on her. According to the tabloid, Spears confronted Ghalib after two video clips of him spending time with unidentified women appeared online, and subsequently looked at his iPhone and reportedly discovered a number of incriminating messages.
The paper quotes a source as saying of the texts: "There were about a dozen from one girl, all sent on one day. They were pretty saucy stuff with sexual references - certainly not the sort you'd send to just a friend. Britney lost it and started yelling. She was demanding to know who sent the texts and shouting, 'What's this about? You're cheating on me'".
The source continues: "Adnan said the girl was just a friend, but Britney got more and more angry. Then she told him, 'That's it. It's over'. Just before she told Adnan to go, she took the phone and threw it in the pool right in front of him. He didn't even bother trying to get it out of the water".
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GIUSEPPE DI STEFANO DIES
Famed Sicilian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano has died at the San Raffaele clinic near Milan, aged 86. The singer had never recovered from a coma that began in December 2004, following an incident in which he was brutally beaten by unknown assailants attempting to steal his wife's necklace, whilst the couple were en route to their villa in Diani, Kenya.
Famed for the many duets he recorded with the late Maria Callas, di Stefano's career spanned five decades and saw him appear at some of the worl's most prestigious opera houses - including La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan in New York.
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JACKO LAWYER GETS $12 MILLION OVER PLANE FILMING
Michael Jackson's former lawyer Mark Geragos was awarded $12 million in damages yesterday at the conclusion to the civil case relating to the filming of the legal man and Jacko back in 2003 as the two flew to Santa Barbara where the singer was facing arrest over those child abuse allegations.
As previously reported, as the Jacko abuse allegation story broke Jeffrey Borer and Arvel Jett Reeves, who arranged a private plane for Geragos and his client, secretly filmed their passengers as they flew across America, and then tried to sell the footage of their conversation to the media. The media turned down their offers, the duo were shopped to the authorities, and both were found guilty of conspiracy charges for making and trying to sell the video without Geragos' or Jackson's knowledge or permission. Reeves was jailed for eight months, Borer got six months home detention.
Geragos launched civil proceedings against Borer and his company XtraJet on invasion-of-privacy grounds. The courts found in the lawyer's favour yesterday awarding him a substantial payout, though Borer's legal reps immediately announced their intent to appeal the ruling.
Jackson has not pursued civil action against either Borer or Reeves.
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BRIAN HARVEY BANNED FROM DRIVING
East 17's Brian Harvey has been banned from driving for a period of six months, after he was found guilty of driving at nearly double the speed limit. The singer was pulled over by police on the M4 last May, after they caught him driving at 138mph. At least, that's what the arresting officers say. Harvey represented himself and, denying the charges, claimed that the traffic cops saw another car speed past them, lost it in the chase and stopped the wrong car. And, he says, the officers' eyesight was in question. Plus, they were lying.
Well, all that could be true, I suppose, but Chippenham Magistrate Michael Sutton found him guilty anyway and handed down a 180 day ban, a £150 fine, and ordered the singer to pay court costs of £240. Speaking outside court, Harvey said: "The magistrates were very lenient and I appreciate that".
Lenient? Soft, more like. People should be shot for going at that kind of speed. Not fatally, but shot nonetheless. That'd learn em.
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KID ROCK SAYS NOT GUILTY OVER WAFFLE HOUSE FRACAS
Kid Rock has entered a not guilty plea to those battery charges that followed that incident at a waffle house in Atlanta last October. The rocker allegedly became violent after getting involved in a fight at the waffle establishment after playing a gig at the Atlanta Tabernacle on 21 Oct last year. According to the Associated Press, Rock wasn't at the hearing at the DeKalb County State Court himself, his lawyer entered his not-guilty plea.
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THE GAME IN JAIL
I think we sort of said that The Game was in jail already in relation to that firearm felony that occurred when the hip hopper threatened a man after a basket ball game in LA last year. But I was forgetting in the US that criminals are given a few weeks to sort out their affairs, finish their recording commitments and ensure their publicists have their jail time PR schedule fully sorted before being actually incarcerated. As previously reported, The Game pleaded no contest to the felony firearm charge as part of a plea bargain to avoid the more serious charges against him which could have resulted in a five year sentence. The hip hop type reported to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in LA on Sunday night at 8pm.
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BONDE DO ROLE CHANGE LINE UP
Bonde Do Role have announced that two new band members have been added to their line-up, following the departure of the group's Marina Ribatski. The two additions, Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor, were recruited via an MTV reality/idol type show aired in the band's native Brazil.
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DISTURBING THA PEACE RE-SIGN WITH IDJ
Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace label announced it had re-signed a long term distribution deal with Universal's Island Def Jam Music Group yesterday, which presumably brings to an end rumours that had been circulating in recent days that the two companies were ending their working relationship because IDJ boss LA Reid had decided he no longer wanted to work with hip hop label.
The very same Mr Reid told AllHipHop.com yesterday: "The Atlanta hip hop scene and the Dirty South movement in general owe more than they can ever repay to Chris [ie Ludacris]. Our friendship stretches back more than a decade and I never cease to be amazed at his imagination, creativity, and most of all his outrageous sense of humor. Ludacris has built Disturbing Tha Peace into one of the iconic names in hip-hop, one that will remain an important part of the Island Def Jam family".
Reid did admit that Disturbing Tha Peace would be reviewing its roster in much the same way IDJ is reviewing its roster "to ensure that future opportunities and challenges are aggressively achieved" - whether that means a roster cull is upcoming I don't know.
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MORE ON NICKELBACK AND WARNER
HitsDailyDouble which, it should be said, rarely have a good word to say about Warner Music, reckon the major is struggling to persuade Nickelback to re-sign to its Roadrunner division. Chad Kroeger et al reportedly have just one album to go on their current worldwide (outside Canada) deal with the major, and speculators are speculating that the band will be a serious target for a 360 degree style deal from one of the other majors or another big player like Live Nation. Although signed via Roadrunner, Nickelback are a key band in the Warner roster, and HDD reckon that a failure to re-sign them could have serious ramifications for the major and in particular its US chief Lyor Cohen.
Reminding us why Nickelback are a much more important band than you probably realise, HDD say Kroeger and co have "few if any equals in contemporary rock - or in pop music as a whole, for that matter - with total worldwide sales on the band's four albums at a jaw-dropping 26 million and counting. Is it any wonder WMG execs are doing back flips trying to keep the band from going elsewhere? Is it any wonder every other major is salivating over them?"
As previously reported, Nickelback are known to be on good terms with the Roadrunner team, and that could clinch the deal in Warner's favour, though some reckon big offers will be on the table from elsewhere, and Roadrunner/Warner may not be able to write a cheque that big. That would be an issue for Cohen, HDD reckons, because his big money purchase of a majority stake in Roadrunner only really stacks up when it gets the major Nickelback. They conclude: "[This] lends weight to the assertion voiced by many that Lyor Cohen should get fired if he isn't able to re-sign Nickelback. Others believe Cohen is already toast for his body of work at WMG, and that this issue is just the icing on the cake".
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CHARLATANS ALBUM ONLINE ON XFM
The Charlatans' new album is available for free via the recently relaunched Xfm website right now. If you want it go to http://www.xfm.co.uk. The band announced last year that new long player 'You Cross My Path' would be given away via the radio station's website. Speaking to the station as it went live the band's Tim Burgess said yesterday: "We always knew this album was going to be given away for free, even before we started writing so we wanted to make it the best album we've ever made. This isn't a case of left over tracks and b-sides, we wanted to give our fans a quality record".
A physical version of the album will be released on 19 May, for those that prefer their Charlatans tunes to be embedded in plastic. There will also be a deluxe version of the album available to anyone who buys tickets to one of these Charlatans gigs from this URL: http://www.recordstore.co.uk/charlatans.
10 May: Leicester University
11 May: Liverpool Carling Academy
12 May: Oxford Carling Academy
13 May: Bristol Carling Academy
15 May: London Forum
16 May: Southampton Guildhall
17 May: Lincoln Engine Shed
20 May: Glasgow Carling Academy
22 May: Newcastle Carling Academy
23 May: Sheffield Carling Academy
24 May: Manchester University
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OPERATOR PLEASE NME PREVIEW
More free music. Well, of sorts. Aussie pop rockers Operator Please have announced that fans will be able to stream their debut album 'Yes Yes Vindictive' via NME.com ahead of its 17 Mar release. The special preview will also offer a link to where fans can pre-order the physical album and a download of single 'Get What You Want' for £7.99.
Leo Silverman, of the band's label Brille Records, told CMU: "We're excited to be experimenting with the internet in a unique way. The band are really exciting and their album's great so we feel sure they'll at least make a ton of new fans, and NME is the perfect partner for them".
You can do the previewing at http://www.nme.com/artists/operator-please. Press info from Bang On PR.
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FALL OUT BOY LIVE SET DUE
Fall Out Boy have announced the release of a live CD/DVD, due out in the US on 1 Apr. Which is of course, April Fools' Day. Not that it's relevant. Anyway, the two disc set features 22 tracks from their Jun 2007 show at the Cricket Pavilion in Pheonix, Arizona. Also featuring on the package are a studio recording of Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' featuring John Mayer on guitar, plus eight assorted videos dating back to 2005.
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POLYDOR LICENCE JONAS BROTHERS
Universal Music has licensed the eponymous album from US pop punk band The Jonas Brothers for European release, which everyone seems to think is big news, so look, I'm reporting on it, even though I've never heard of The Jonas Brothers. And I've just found out only three fifths of the band are actually brothers, which is a scandal if you ask me. The band are signed to Disney's Hollywood Records in the US, and will be released via Polydor over here.
Universal Music International Exec VP Max Hole said yesterday: "We are thrilled to be working with the Jonas Brothers and the successful team at Disney's Hollywood Records. This band is one of our key priorities for Europe, and we are keen on creating the same phenomenon in the region that has taken hold in the US".
David Joseph, President, Universal Music Operations, added: "If the reaction of the team at Polydor is anything to go by, this could be the biggest pop invasion to come over from the US in many, many years".
I'm starting to feel very foolish for never having heard of these guys. Or for buying into the manufactured hype, one or the other.
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VAN HALEN TOUR NOT CANCELLED
Billboard last night said that rumours that the current Van Halen US tour has been cancelled were untrue. A number of dates for this week have been postponed because Eddie Van Halen is undergoing medical tests, but the band's management say the tour will resume as planned on 11 Mar. A spokesman for the band said Van Halen is "undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures". No further details were given. As much previously reported, Van Halen have been touring with original frontman David Lee Roth since last Autumn.
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PLANT REJECTS FAT REUNION DEAL
According to reports, Robert Plant has rejected a £100million deal to do a Led Zeppelin tour, mainly, apparently, because he already has live dates with collaborator Alison Krauss planned, although it sounds as though he wasn't too bothered in any case, despite having enjoyed the band's one-off reunion last year. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were seemingly up for it though.
A Zep 'source' is quoted as saying: "Despite the enormous offer, the decision did not come down to money. They always said they would do the one-off show and then see how they felt. Jimmy had enjoyed the concert in December enough to want to tour. He argued they still had something to offer. He likes the idea of another chapter in the band - the grown-up tour. John sided with Jimmy. He loved making music with the others again. But Robert wanted to leave last year's concert as their legacy. They had proved they could still do it and that was enough. He has other commitments and is happier looking forward to those. Robert put the mockers on the tour".
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BJORK DROPPED FROM EXIT? POSSIBLY NOT
Well, according to reports, Bjork was booked to play at the Exit Festival in Serbia, but has been dropped from the bill by organisers because at a recent show in Tokyo she dedicated a song, 'Declare Independence', to the liberation of Kosovo. Which presumably didn't go down too well with the massive crowd of Serbs who were in Tokyo for that particular gig. No, not really, I doubt there were any; but the singer is quoted by an Icelandic newspaper as saying "maybe a Serb attended my concert [in Tokyo] and called home, and therefore the concert in Novi Sad was cancelled".
All that said, a performance by Bjork at Exit has never actually been announced, and organisers have denied the rumours, protesting that they would never cancel an artist's set because of a political viewpoint, especially given that Exit was set up as a unifying, multicultural type thing. "Exit was the first forum in the Balkans to gather people from all the former Yugoslavian countries after the civil wars." Says the festival's Bojan Boskovic. "Started nine years ago as a student-initiated protest against the Milosevic regime, Exit has become a symbol of togetherness and cultural diversity and is a social force that every year brings together more and more people, from every background and culture of the region".
On the cancellation story, he commented: "These stories are quite bizarre and untrue. Exit Festival has never cancelled any artist's performance because of their political point-of-view or statements. We'd like to clarify that the festival is right on track and festival preparations are our best ever, we're really looking forward to announcing our program and, moreover, seeing everybody again at the event in July".
As previously report, Exit takes place in Novi Sad, Serbia, from 10 - 13 Jul.
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YAZOO TO TOUR US
Ah, the sun is shining, the baby's not crying, and Yazoo have announced that they'll tour the US for the first time in 25 years this summer. As previously reported, the duo of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet are set to release a four disc anniversary box set (I'd appreciate a copy, by the way, if anyone would like to give me a lovely present) featuring remastered versions of the band's only two albums, and have already announced a clutch of UK live dates. The US gigs take place in Oakland on 7 Jul, Los Angeles on 10 and 11 Jul, Chicago on 14 Jul, and New York on 16 and 17 Jul.
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GREEN MAN FESTIVAL NEWS
The latest additions to the Green Man Festival include Beirut, Nina Nastasia, Black Mountain and The National, joining previously announced headliners Super Furry Animals on the bill for the event which takes place at Glanusk Park, Brecon Beacons, from 15 - 17 Aug, meaning I can't possibly go. Which is a shame, because I am a big Brecon Beacons fan. Actually, that's not a bad name for a band...
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LENNON PIE FACES TO LIGHT UP VENUE
Two John Lennon themed light thingies, formerly part of Blackpool's illuminations, have been bought by the owner of Lathom Hall in Seaforth, a venue which hosted a number of performances by the Beatles back in the sixties. Now, these figures aren't just John Lennon. No, these particular lights, designed to be hung from lampposts on Blackpool's sea front, were in fact sponsored by local pie company Hollands, and so Lennon's face is actually a great big pie. Hardly respectful, is it?
Lathom Hall owner Brian Corrigan, however, thinks they're just the thing to add to his performance space. He told the BBC: "We are well known and we've got a lot of associations with the Beatles. We get a lot of people coming here from all over the world to see our displays. I think it's the only original stage that the Beatles actually played on that is still here - so I'm really pleased the figures are here, they'll just add to everything".
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DIVINE COMEDY, ETC, HEADLINE WYCHWOOD
Ah, it's a dream ticket. This year's Wychwood Festival is to be headlined by The Divine Comedy and The Proclaimers. Can I go? Please? Anyway, the two acts top a bill which also features performances from the likes of Duffy, The Blockheads, The Young Republic and Karen David. The event takes place in Cheltenham from 30 May-1 Jun.
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WOMAD TICKETS ON SALE
More festival news now, and tickets for WOMAD are on sale. So you could get them now, if you wanted. Confirmed artists for this year's event, taking place at Charlton Park in Wiltshire from 25-27 Jul, include the likes of Boy George. Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Eddy Grant, Roni Size and Squeeze, so why wouldn't you want to get tickets right away?
Weekend tickets including camping are £125 (£100 concessions) whilst a day ticket for the Sunday of the event will cost £50. Plus, two children under thirteen can attend free with every adult ticket purchased. Now that I'm a parent, I like to know these things. If I'd have written this story this time last year, I'd've missed that bit off.
As you know, WOMAD is a truly international festival, because it features a truly diverse collection of musicians from all over the planet (including, this year, Tibetan Monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery) and other WOMAD festivals take place all over the world. Plus, there are loads of things for kids to do (see?).
Anyway, here's what Eddy Grant says about his upcoming performance at the event: "I'm delighted to be playing WOMAD. WOMAD is still about real people from all over the world coming together to play real music... I'm thrilled, it's going to be a great event, to be going back on the road after 25 years and play WOMAD is something very special for me".
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ALBUM REVIEW: Bauhaus - Go Away White (Cooking Vinyl)
Bauhaus were perhaps the ultimate goth band. Not only is their best known song, 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', a lament to an actor famous for playing Dracula but they also had a cameo in David Bowie's vampire film 'The Hunger'. Bowie was an obvious influence on the band musically and especially on the vocals of singer Peter Murphy, and the band also had a top twenty hit in the 80's with a cover of 'Ziggy Stardust'. To everyone's surprise the band are back after a couple of decades away and even more surprising they have come up with a rather good album. They are still very much in hoc to Bowie, the guitar sound particularly on 'Adrenaline' is much in debt to 'Boys Keep Swinging'. Stand out track is the opener 'Too Much 21st Century' which has a fantastically meaty and insistent bass line, rather like 'Taxman'. This album may not contain a classic like 'Bela Lugosi' but still this is quite an achievement; unexpectedly the apprentices have overtaken their master. JW
Release date: 3 Mar
Press contact: Cooking Vinyl [all]
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EMI APPOINTMENTS
Senior appointments at EMI news anyone? The EMI Group announced two such appointments yesterday, one promoting from within old-school EMI, the other from within new owners Terra Firma.
Terra Firma MD Stephen Alexander will become Exec VP of EMI Music Catalogue, Compilations, Studios and Archives, which will require a long business card. Existing EMI Exec VP of Global Sales, Ronn Were, will also take on the role of Exec VP EMI Music Licensing and Synch.
EMI Group chairman Guy Hands said this: "I am looking forward to working with Stephen and Ronn in these important roles. We have a responsibility to all our artists to maximise the returns on their music, both when newly released and over many years. Stephen's and Ronn's skills and drive will deliver real benefits to them".
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WARNER APPOINT FORMER NAPSTER UK CHIEF
More major label appointments, and Warner Music International have appointed former Napster UK General Manager Leanne Sharman to a VP Business Development role, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa. She will have a digital and more general new business role, reporting to WMI VP Digital EMEA Eric Daugan.
On the appointment, he says this: "We're delighted to be bringing Leanne on board as we continue to transform our company through innovative, wide-ranging partnerships and investments. The breadth of her experience will be invaluable as we evaluate opportunities in music, music-related and wider entertainment sectors, and her proven ability as a dealmaker, coupled with her high-level understanding of new technologies and business models, makes her a great fit for the team".
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SPECIFICS ON UNIVERSAL'S UNIVISION DEAL
Univision Communications has revealed that Universal Music will pay it $153 million for its record labels and music publishing business which, as previously reported, the major acquired last week. In a regulatory filing the Hispanic media firm said $113 million would be paid on closing the deal, with the remainder following in due course.
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PPL ANNOUNCE DEAL WITH CANADIAN COLLECTING SOCIETY
Recording royalty types PPL have announced a reciprocal deal with their Canadian counterparts the Alliance Of Canadian Cinema, Television And Radio Artists Performers' Rights Society, which will deliver the "equitable remuneration of broadcast and public performance of sound recordings in the UK and Canada" for both societies' members. Whatever that means.
PPL's Head Of International Laurence Oxenbury told CMU: "The Canadian market has significant resonance for the performers we represent. Both the UK and Canada are hugely creative, producing a disproportionately large number of successful international artists, in comparison to the size of their country, whilst both also connect to the English speaking market. We are therefore very pleased to have concluded an agreement, which means these performers will now be paid for the use of their music in Canada."
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MOTION REBRAND
Music PR firm Motion Group have announced a slight rebrand, to Motion PR, a move that comes complete with a nice new logo. The PR company has also announced the appointment of Jen Shord who will work alongside Giovanna Ferin on all projects. Contacts and the new logo at http://www.motionpr.co.uk/
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MTV LAUNCH MYSPACE CHART SHOW
MTV has announced a partnership with MySpace which will see MTV2 air a MySpace chart show voted for by MySpace users. MySpacers will be able to vote on 35-40 videos from the MTV2 playlists each week, with the most popular airing on MTV each Sunday.
Confirming the partnership, MTV's VP Digital Philip O'Ferrall told reporters that "the audience for MTV2 and MySpace are incredibly similar", though I'm not sure if that means that MTV2 viewers are all jumping to Facebook too.
MySpace marketing chief Dom Cook said this: "The way that consumers are accessing music is changing and The MySpace Chart on MTV2 brings together two of the most important forces in this evolution. MySpace is the world's largest online music destination connecting bands and their fans and it will be exciting to see how the community will contribute to the show."
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NME LAUNCH US AWARDS
Media types IPC have announced a partnership with Coachella producers Goldenvoice which will see the launch of a US version of the NME Awards, which is a bit exciting. For the NME anyway. The US awards will work a little like the UK awards which were awarded in London last week, of course. Readers will vote for the gongs via NME.com, while the mag's editorial team will pick a Godlike Genius winner. The awards will take place at LA's El Rey theatre on 23 Apr, just before this year's Coachella Festival.
NME's Publishing Director Paul Cheal said this: "The NME Awards have been bringing together some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll history for over 50 years in the UK. With a special line-up planned for the US as well, the US NME Awards are set to be the alternative rock 'n' roll party of the year. The arrival of the awards in the US not only allows us to build on our amazing heritage, but also to bring our biggest live event to a US audience that is using NME.com in ever greater numbers".
Voting will start on NME.com on 24 Mar.
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MAYBE THERE WON'T BE A THIRD GLOBAL OFFER FOR GCAP
Now city types are saying there won't be a third Global offer for GCap, despite us saying their probably would be yesterday. They're just trying to make us look silly, I'm sure of it. Anyway, word has it that Global Radio, whose second bid for rival radio firm GCap was rejected last week, won't now make a third offer before tomorrow's deadline. Rather they will let the company implement new CEO Fru Hazlitt's previously reported cost cutting regime for six months, and then make a fresh bid in the Autumn. Insiders say Global chief Charles Allen is concerned he will end up spending way too much for the radio firm if he acts too impulsively.
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VIRGIN AND SKY TALKING AGAIN
Virgin and Sky have reportedly resumed talks regarding the former carrying Sky One and Sky News on its cable TV network, which would be good, because then I could watch new Simpsons and old Malcolm In The Middle of a weekend. That said, I'll resist getting too excited, because insiders say that although the broadcasters are back in talks any deal is "someway off". Virgin has begun legal proceedings against Sky who, they say, were demanding too high a price for their channels, and the current talks are seen as an attempt to reach an out of court settlement.
Elsewhere in Virgin telly news, there are rumours that the cable company is considering selling some of its own channels - what used to be the Flextech channels - including Living and Bravo though, most likely, the UKTV channels, which Virgin co-owns with the BBC's commercial division BBC Worldwide. Sky, NBC Universal and Five parent RTL are all being touted as possible buyers of Virgin's UKTV stake, though the BBC would have a veto over any buyer, which would complicate any sale - especially as some reckon BBC Worldwide itself may be interested in getting complete ownership of the network.
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WINEHOUSE HAS IMPETIGO
I think this is doing the rounds at the moment. Amy Winehouse has got impetigo, a bacterical skin infection which makes your face look a bit spotty. It's highly contagious, so don't even give her an air-kiss next time you see her. Anyway, the good news is, she's on antibiotics so it should be gone ASAP. A 'friend' told people: "She's fine. She's not hiding away. She's never been one to care what people think".
And amen to that.
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RINGO STARR SAYS FANS SENT BEATLES DOWNHILL
Ringo Starr has said that The Beatles' musical ability wasn't helped by screaming fans during their mid-sixties heyday. He says: "By 1965 we were turning into really bad musicians because we literally couldn't hear ourselves over the screaming from the audience. I was going downhill as a musician, and so was everyone else in the band".
He adds: "Then, we only did 25 minutes on stage. Now thanks to Led Zeppelin and The Who, everybody has to do two hours".
Well, I should think so too. Actually, I might retract that. Even my favourite bands get trying after an hour.
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KEITH RICHARDS FOGEYING AGAIN
Keith Richards has been saying more things, this time about how he doesn't listen to contemporary acts, because he doesn't like CDs. Or downloads, presumably. Which sounds to me like an excuse for the fact that he's getting old and can't be bothered to keep up any more. He told Uncut: "I don't listen to what's going on. I don't like CDs, quite honestly. They sound tinny to me. I've not even heard the Arctic Monkeys. I know of them but I don't know anything they've done. I didn't like Oasis, I didn't like the Sex Pistols, I don't like any of those English rock n' roll bands. They're all crap".
Yeah, they're not a patch on the good old bands. Like the Stones, no doubt.
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RIHANNA NOT DATING SOMEONE CALLED CHRIS BROWN
R&B star Rihanna has denied rumours that she's dating singer Chris Brown, who may or may not be famous. Oh, hang on, he is, I just checked. Is he big in America?
Whatever, Rihanna says she's not dating him. She says: "Rumours come with the territory and you can't help these things. I'm single. If a good guy comes along we'll make it work, but for now I'm having fun being a single woman".
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COWELL INSULTED BY VIAGRA OFFER
Simon Cowell once turned down a million quid to promote Viagra. You'd need to offer a man as rich as that something a bit better than a paltry million to do something like that, I suppose. He's quoted as saying: "Last year my agent rang me and said: 'You've been offered an incredibly big deal. It's to be the face of Viagra.' And I just said: 'Sorry, but that has to be a fucking insult'".