| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 25th March |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Apple Corps sue over Beatles' Hamburg recordings
- Former Apple Corps chief dies
- Jason Rae dies, fans pay tribute
- Israel Lopez dies
- Emilio Navaira may die
- Winehouse husband accused of seeking heroin inside
- Closing arguments given in Remy Ma trial
- Gibson sue over guitar console games
- Beach Boys settle over long running name dispute
- Billy Bragg wants cut of Bebo action, sort of
- Jay-Z denies high cash demand rumours
- Dead Kennedys frontman news
- Kiss rocker may quit
- George Michael US tour
- Vaughan Williams best classical, say listeners
- Single review: Cut Copy - Lights & Music
- MySpace edge closer to download launch
- Yahoo! searchers pick Wikipedia over MySpace
- Warner US chief renews contract
- US collecting society launches 29 infringement lawsuits against clubs and bars
- More proposals for reviewing Copyright Tribunal
- Good joins Xfm
- More Bauer promotions
- Decision expected tomorrow on Global's GCap offer
- Just two bidders reportedly still in running for Virgin Radio
- US Justice Department gives go ahead to Sirius XM merger
- Chart update
- Total Rock world album chart
- Has Macca warbled about Mucca?
- Guillemot on orgasmic note
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TOP BIT - CMU SOCIAL LAUNCHES NEXT WEEK
Following a simply storming Remix All-Nighter on Thursday night, a CMU-Tube report on which will be going live on the CMU Music Network website very soon, today it's time to remind you about the very first CMU Social, our brand new monthly night for CMU Daily readers to come together to meet, greet, chat, cheer, network, socialise and listen to great new music (I know this because it says so on our flyer).
The first CMU Social takes place a week today, on Tuesday 1 Apr, and just to clarify, its not an April Fools joke, so get it in your diary. It all takes place at the 229 club and is a great chance to meet or catch up with or bug Team CMU, and to network with other people out there in CMU land - from the world of record labels, publicity firms, management and booking agencies, tour and club promoters, publishers of the music and magazine kind, music journalists, DJs, presenters, producers and all that jazz. And it's free to get in - hurrah!
As well as the CMU:DJs, who were unleashed on the world for the first time in the CMU hosted VIP room at the aforementioned Remix All-Nighter, we'll have some of CMU's very favourite bands on stage. Look out for more details of who is playing here in the Top Bit each day this week.
Meanwhile, if you want to come, just email your name and the name of any guests or colleagues you plan to bring with you to [email protected] - CMU Daily readers get in for free, but you need to be on the list, so get your emails in quick.
And see you there.
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JOBS N STUFF
DIGITAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, SHINE COMMUNICATIONS
Shine Communications is an award winning consumer PR agency based in London. We are looking to expand our digital team and have a vacancy for an account executive. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to enter into digital pr and work across music, film, fashion, gaming, events etc. Our clients include PlayStation, EA Games, Paramount Home Entertainment, Vodafone Music, GHD and Ebay to name a few see www.shinecom.com for further details. Applicants must be team players committed to delivering outstanding results. They must have at least one years experience in PR and an excellent understanding of digital media such as blogging, social networking, seeding and viral. Please apply by email to [email protected] with a CV and covering letter which explains why you're right for us. Salary dependant on experience. No calls or follow up emails please, successful candidates will be contacted for interview.
ONLINE PROMOTIONS
Independent rock label looking for an online promo person with experience of social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Rec Center, Last Fm, Habbo Hotel etc) and online music promo for download sites. Additional responsibilities would be viral marketing, maintaining and expanding the label and band street teams, club promotions, newsletters etc. Basic knowledge of Photoshop. Flash, HTML would be useful. Must be an all rounder and happy to get involved with all aspects of an expanding label with substantially successful artists. Please send an email with CV, covering letter and current salary to: Julie Weir - [email protected] Closing Date is Thursday April 3rd.
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CMU CLASSIFIEDS
ALIVE ADVERTISING - ACCESS ALL AUDIENCES
Reach the audience of Camden Crawl via advertising in the official programme or placing your swag in the official goodie bag.
Deadline for this highly targeted opportunity is this Friday and we have just a few opportunities available starting at just £195.
Call us now to find out about advertising opportunities in Plan B, Fact, Loud and Quiet, Disorder and Super Super,
plus over 20 festival programmes this season starting with the Camden Crawl.
Contact [email protected] 07966 555 857
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SNAP OF THE DAY: KAWATA
It's not often that a remix wiz graces the SNAP column, but that's exactly what you've got today in Kawata, an LA based producer and mash-up artist. His MySpace offers a fantastic mix of 'Heartbeats' by The Knife while the pulsating thrill of Daft Punk vs MIA is addictive, taking cuts from both artists' catalogue to form an exciting piece that would sound best blasting out from a club's speakers. The link below should provide all you need, as usual.
http://www.myspace.com/kawatamusic
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APPLE CORPS SUE OVER BEATLES' HAMBURG RECORDINGS
Beatles company Apple Corps has confirmed it is planning legal action against a business which is planning on releasing live recordings of the Beatles singing various cover version during their pre-fame residency days in Hamburg.
As previously reported, Miami based Fuego Entertainment announced in January that they had acquired the rights to the live recordings off one Jeffrey Collins, a producer and promoter who says he represented the DJ who actually recorded the live Beatles show at Hamburg's Star Club back in 1962. They plan to release an album from the recordings, which will include Paul McCartney performing Hank Williams' 'Lovesick Blues' and McCartney and John Lennon singing together on 'Ask Me Why'.
The copyright situation regarding the recordings is a bit hazy. Collins says the DJ who recorded the gig had permission to do so from the venue, though it seems unlikely the band gave their go ahead - but crucially these aren't dodgy 'audience member takes tape player into back of venue' recordings. Collins and Feugo both seem convinced the recordings can be released without infringing the copyrights of the band who appear on them, presumably because technically speaking - assuming you accept the recording was sanctioned - the sound recording copyright would originally belong to whoever made the recording, in this case Collins' DJ.
But the Beatles' own company aren't convinced. Apple Corps this weekend announced it would sue Fuego over the recordings, claiming that they were made illegitimately and therefore neither Collins nor the Miami based company had the right to distribute them. Their lawsuit adds that releasing the live recordings would "dilute and tarnish" the band's memory, mainly because, Apple Corps claim, the recordings are of a poor quality. The company's lawyer Paul LiCalsi added: "This appears to us to be a garden-variety bootleg recording".
But Fuego chief Hugo Cancio denies any wrongdoing, arguing that the recordings were made with permission, and that his company came into ownership of them entirely legitimately. He says that Apple can't "claim that these were just bootlegged", and that "it's unfair to millions of Beatles fans not to allow this recording to be put out. The world deserves to hear these tracks".
Responding to Apple Corps' lawsuit he told reporters that the litigation had come as a surprise because the Beatles firm had been participating "in good-faith conversations" with him about the recordings until just a few weeks ago. That said, the Beatles company previously knocked back an approach by Collins to collaborate on the recordings, and when Fuego announced it had acquired the recordings back in January an Apple spokesman told Billboard "we don't have a comment as such but not surprisingly are looking into the claim".
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FORMER APPLE CORPS CHIEF DIES
Talking of Apple Corps, the man who led the Beatles' business empire for much of its existence died in New York this weekend aged 66.
Neil Aspinall led Apple Corps from 1970 until his retirement last year. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he worked with the band throughout most of their career, initially working as their road manager and PA, and even playing background instruments on a handful of tracks. But his importance in the Beatles story came about in the early seventies when he took control of the band's business ventures, which, after various often unsuccessful dabblings in the wider entertainments industry, focused mainly on protecting and profiting from the Beatles legacy and sound recordings catalogue.
As CEO of Apple Corps, Aspinall represented the band in their often fraught relationships with their record company, EMI's Parlophone, as well as fighting a drawn out legal battle with Apple Computers who the Beatles company claimed were infringing their trademark, especially whenever they operated in the music domain. He also oversaw the occasional but high profile (and highly profitable) Beatles best of releases, including the 'One' album.
Aspinall stood down as Apple Corps chief last year. There was no official reason for his departure, though it may have been because of increasing health concerns - it's thought he was suffering from and ultimately died of lung cancer.
Apple Corps, in a statement representing Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, paid tribute to Aspinall's "trusting stewardship and guidance", adding: "All his friends and loved ones will greatly miss him but will always retain the fondest memories of a great man".
In a separate statement, Starr told reporters: "I've known Neil many years and he was a good friend. We were blessed to have him in our lives and he will be missed".
While Olivia Harrison and her son Dhani issued their own statement, saying: "Neil takes with him the love and history of his extended family. He was our constant and avuncular caretaker for so many years; there is no way to measure how much he will be missed".
Aspinall, who died at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, leaves a widow and five children.
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JASON RAE DIES, FANS PAY TRIBUTE
Tributes and condolences have been made for saxophonist Jason Rae, husband of Corinne Bailey Rae, who has died at the age of 31. The Scottish musician's body was discovered in a flat in Leeds on Saturday, and a thirty two year old male has been arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs. He's since been released on bail. A post-mortem proved inconclusive, but police are awaiting toxicology reports and an inquest is expected to take place this week.
Fans have left messages on web pages pertaining to his band The Haggis Horns, including a Facebook page and MySpace page, as well as on Corinne Bailey Rae's website. Friend and former colleague Jay Smith wrote: "I was really saddened to hear the news, I DJed with Jason when he was doing stuff with the New Mastersounds. Big love to all the band and Corinne, RIP dude".
Corinne Bailey Rae has not made any public comment, but her record label have made a statement, saying: "EMI Records would like to offer its sincere condolences to Corinne Bailey Rae and the Rae family at this tragic time. We ask that the media respects Corinne's privacy and that of her entire family".
The couple met whilst Bailey Rae was working as a cloakroom attendant in a jazz club in Leeds. Jason Rae's funk band The Haggis Horns released their debut album last September, and have performed and recorded with Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson.
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ISRAEL LOPEZ DIES
Cuban jazz musician Israel Lopez has died at the age of 89. The bassist and composer, who left his native land in the early sixties, is credited with creating the mambo through improvisational work with his late brother, Orestes Lopez, during the 1930s.
Lopez, a classically trained musician who performed with Havana's symphony orchestra in his teens, explained to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004: "My brother and I were trying to add something new to our music and came up with a section that we called danzon mambo. It made an impact and stirred up people. At that time our music needed that type of enrichment".
During his long and prolific career, he collaborated with many Latin music stars including Tito Puente, Tito Rodrigues and Gloria Estefan but fell from fame in the 1980s following his move to Miami. His career was revived in the 1990s, partly due to the fact that actor Andy Garcia made a documentary about him in 1993, and in subsequent years he released a number of successful albums. In 2003 he was given a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame and in 2004 garnered a Grammy for his album 'Agora Si'.
The aforementioned Andy Garcia said in a statement: "He is revered by all who have come in contact with him and his music. Maestro... you have been my teacher and you took me in like a son. I will continue to rejoice with your music and carry our traditions wherever I go, in your honour".
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EMILIO NAVAIRA MAY DIE
Grammy award winner Emilio Navaira is in a critical condition after sustaining severe brain injury in an accident involving his tour bus. The 45 year old singer and six members of his band and entourage were hurt in the crash, but only two others remain in hospital, one band member and Navaira's agent Joe Casias.
Navaira, who was apparently driving the bus, was in a coma when he arrived in hospital and underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. The operation went well, but neurosurgeon Dr Alex Valadka, who performed the surgery, says he may not have saved his patient's life. "There is a chance he may not make it," he said. "Everyone needs to understand that right up front. That's how bad it is".
Asked if Navaira's injuries could end his career, Valadka replied: "We're talking about whether or not he even makes it. This is not like you see on TV and the movies where people get hit in the head and people wake up and go home the next day. In the real world, it takes a long time. But we hope every day there will be a little bit of progress".
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, which took place on Interstate 610 near Houston after Navaira and his band Rio had performed at a Houston club. They were on their way home to the San Antonio area.
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WINEHOUSE HUSBAND ACCUSED OF SEEKING HEROIN INSIDE
According to The Sun, Amy Winehouse's incarcerated other half, Blake Fielder-Civil, is still addicted to the hard stuff and has been asking his missus to pass money to another prisoner at London's Pentonville Prison who is, they say, able to get heroin smuggled into the jail. The tab also claims that Pentonville's Head Of Security is increasingly concerned about Fielder-Civil's continued addiction and his attempts to access the drug inside, and that he has written to the prisoner's lawyers telling them "there is a strong and supported intelligence he is involved in attempting to smuggle drugs into the prison". No comment from Winehouse or her people on the story. Fielder-Civil, of course, is inside awaiting trial for grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice charges, and is due in court in June.
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CLOSING ARGUMENTS GIVEN IN REMY MA TRIAL
The closing arguments in the previously reported Remy Ma court case were given in a New York court yesterday. The Grammy nominated rapper's lawyer conceded that his client shot victim Makeda Barnes Joseph during an argument last July, but stands by his claim that the gun was shot by accident during a struggle between the two women. The prosecution stood by its claim that Ma, real name Remy Smith, intentionally shot Joseph in a dispute over money. Assistant District Attorney Michael McIntosh stressed the importance of Smith's actions after Joseph was shot, telling the court "She ran. The reason she ran was because she knew what happened in the car [that she had deliberately shot the victim]. Your friend is shot. Do you run or do you call 911?" Jury deliberations are expected to begin today. The rapper could face 25 years in jail if found guilty of all the charges against her.
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GIBSON SUE OVER GUITAR CONSOLE GAMES
Gibson Guitar has announced it has filed patent infringement lawsuits against the makers and sellers of the 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' games, the two rival video games that involve one of those 'pretend guitar thingys' which you pretend to play in sync with the musical instructions on screen.
Gibson claim that the video games and their pretend guitar thingys violate a 1999 patent that they own for technology that simulates a musical performance. The guitar company first raised patent concerns in relation to 'Guitar Hero' back in January in a letter to the game's current publishers Activision. The games company responded by applying to the US courts for a declaration confirming their product did not violate any Gibson patents.
Gibson initially seemed to be waiting to see how that court hearing would go, but then stepped up the anti early last week by putting various retailers on warning for selling the 'Guitar Hero' game based on their patent violation claim. On Friday they then announced they had filed a patent lawsuit against the makers of 'Guitar Hero's newer rival 'Rock Band', which include MTV, Electronic Arts and Harmonix, the latter the gaming developers who also originally conceived 'Guitar Hero'.
Harmonix immediately disputed Gibson's legal claim, telling reporters: "This lawsuit is completely without merit and we intend to defend it vigorously".
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BEACH BOYS SETTLE OVER LONG RUNNING NAME DISPUTE
More pop litigation, though this one is a settlement. Two members of the Beach Boys have settled a long running dispute over the band's name. There has been so much bickering between Mike Love and Al Jardine over who can tour as what over the years I've kind of lost touch as to who agreed what with whom when, and who breached what agreement how. But Love and Jardine held a two-day conference at the Superior Court in LA last week and announced they had reached a "friendly settlement" regarding the use of the Beach Boys name in touring activity moving forward, a dispute which originally went to court in the US in 2000. The settlement also brings to an end a second dispute relating to $2.2 million in legal costs incurred by Love in the original lawsuit. Specifics of last week's deal have not been revealed.
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BILLY BRAGG WANTS CUT OF BEBO ACTION, SORT OF
Billy Bragg this weekend suggested that the owners of social networking site Bebo, which was bought by AOL for $850 million earlier this month, should pass some of their vast profits onto unsigned bands who put their content onto the social networking site and, in doing so, helped give the service the content substance which, you might argue, has helped them become so successful in terms of users that they can demand those kinds of multi-million dollar price tags.
Writing in the New York Times, Bragg says: "[Bebo co-founder Michael] Birch has cited me as an influence in Bebo's attitude toward artists. He got in touch two years ago after I took MySpace to task over its proprietary rights clause. I was concerned that the site was harvesting residual rights from original songs posted there by unsigned musicians. As a result of my complaints, MySpace changed its terms and conditions to state clearly that all rights to material appearing on the site remain with the originator. A few weeks later, Mr Birch came to see me at my home".
He continues: "He [Birch] was hoping to expand his business by hosting music and wanted my advice on how to construct an artist-centered environment where musicians could post original songs without fear of losing control over their work. In our discussions, we largely ignored the elephant in the room: the issue of whether he ought to consider paying some kind of royalties to the artists. After all, wasn't he using their music to draw members - and advertising - to his business? Social-networking sites like Bebo argue that they have no money to distribute - their value is their membership. Well, last week Michael Birch realised the value of his membership. I'm sure he'll be rewarding those technicians and accountants who helped him achieve this success. Perhaps he should also consider the contribution of his artists".
Interestingly, the majority of the tech websites and blogs commenting on Bragg's comments - despite their usual dislike for the rich guys in IT - have been highly critical of the musician's arguments, arguing instead that artists get free web tools and promotion from social networking services like Bebo, and that they shouldn't then look for a cut of any money made by the techies behind the social networking firms, presumably equating Bragg with the always money grabbing major record companies (who techie types like to dislike even more than the Microsofts and AOLs of this world).
Of course there is an argument that many, possibly most, unsigned bands take a lot more from Bebo et al than they bring back in terms of additional traffic, though Bragg's argument that together they form a vital part of the mix that brought the Birch's their multi-million dollar pay off is also compelling. If you're interested in forming your own opinion on this matter, start with Bragg's rant here...
http://tinyurl.com/yttdat
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JAY-Z DENIES HIGH CASH DEMAND RUMOURS
Jay-Z has denied reports that attempts to launch a new music venture have stalled because he is asking for far too much money from potential business partners. As previously reported, the hip hop star resigned as President of Universal's Def Jam division at the end of last year, and has since been rumoured to be in talks with Warner Music and Apple Computers about launching a new music company, but neither venture has come to fruition. That had led to rumours on US gossip site PageSix.com that negotiations had stalled because of Jay's demands. They quoted a source thus: "[He wanted] way too much. He wants a label to give him $100 million for the Carter Music Group and provide for overhead, development and digital investment. It's crazy. He wants the labels to basically be his venture capital fund, but, unlike a venture cap, they won't get 50 per cent". But Jay's people have denied the rumours, though no word on any potential Carter Music Group launch as yet.
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DEAD KENNEDYS FRONTMAN NEWS
Dead Kennedys frontman Jeff Penalty has left the band. As you may or may not know, original frontman Jello Biafra chose not to rejoin the band when they were reunited in 2003, so the band took on Dr Know's Brandon Cruz. Cruz left after two years and Jeff Penalty took over.
Penalty says that a number of reasons have brought about his departure but that the fact that his bandmates have been looking for a new singer behind his back brought matters to a head. Which is understandable.
Penalty says: "It's likely that, if asked, the band will attribute my departure to scheduling conflicts brought about by my documentary work, but in reality it's a tediously long story involving personality conflicts, creative differences, arguments about splitting money equally, arguments about how the band should be run, arguments about the wisdom of hiring a band manager whose other star client was a Christian folk artist, arguments about whether we should or shouldn't go on MTV, and arguments about many other wretched things."
He continues: "I thought about quitting numerous times over the past year, but I officially did so on Thanksgiving when I found out that the band had been recruiting a new singer behind my back and had even played a secret show with one at a bar in my neighbourhood".
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KISS ROCKER MAY QUIT
Kiss's Paul Stanley has said that he may quit the rock outfit at some point, one day, but that it wouldn't mean the end of the band. As you may know, he and Gene Simmons are the only two remaining founding members.
Stanley says: "I really, firmly believe there will come a time when the band will continue without me. Some people can't imagine it without me, but I'm here to tell you, I can. There is somebody out there with the same amount of passion and the same amount of drive. Which is not to say I wouldn't want to have creative control. I think Kiss is more about a point of view, about a respect for fans and about a loyalty and a direction much more than it is the people in the band. We don't follow the same rules as other bands. I can't live within the boundaries people set for me. I believe Kiss is founded on something so solid that it will continue to live on, the way a football team continues. There have been great players, but there will always be other players".
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GEORGE MICHAEL US TOUR
George Michael has announced a US tour to promote a new hits album called 'Twenty Five'. For those out there in CMU land who are [a] George Michael fans and [b] North America based, here are the dates.
17 Jun: San Diego, San Diego Sports Arena
19 Jun: San Jose, HP Pavilion
21 Jun: Las Vegasm MGM Grand
22 Jun: Phoenix, US Airways Center
25 Jun: Los Angeles, Great Western Forum
2 Jul: Seattle, Key Arena
4 Jul: Vancouver General Motors Place
7 Jul: St. Paul, Xcel Energy Center
9 Jul: Chicago, United Center
13 Jul: Dallas, American Airlines Center
14 Jul: Houston, Toyota Center
17 Jul: Toronto Air Canada Centre
18 Jul: Montreal Bell Centre
21, 23 Jul: New York, Madison Square Garden
26 Jul: Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
27 Jul: Boston, TD Banknorth Garden
29 Jul: Washington DC Verizon Center
31 Jul: Atlanta, Philips Arena
2 Aug: Tampa, St Pete Times Forum
3 Aug: Sunrise, Bank Atlantic Center
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS BEST CLASSICAL, SAY LISTENERS
Vaughan-Williams' 'The Lark Ascending' has come top in the Classic FM Hall of Fame poll for a second year running. He also takes third place in the poll, voted for by the station's listeners, with his 'Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis'. I agree that he's very good, but I do think there's a bit of a lack of Elgar in the top five and Tchaikovsky in the top ten. Sure you'll agree with me, look:
1. The Lark Ascending - Vaughan Williams
2. Piano Concerto No 2 - Rachmaninov
3. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis - Vaughan Williams
4. Piano Concerto no 5 - Beethoven
5. Symphony No 6 - Beethoven
6. Clarinet Concerto - Mozart
7. Cello Concerto - Elgar
8. Violin Concerto No 1 - Bruch
9. Enigma Variations - Elgar
10. Symphony No 9 - Beethoven
Darren Henley of Classic FM says this: "The British public have spoken and declared Vaughan Williams their champion. In the 50 years since his death, Vaughan Williams has cemented his position as among the best-loved English composers of all time".
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SINGLE REVIEW: Cut Copy - Lights & Music (Modular)
Ah, this is more like it. Proof, yet again, that electropop really does make the best pop, this shimmering, soaring slice of post-disco is not totally electronic actually, but has that kind of synthed up pioneering spirit you'd find on all the best Blondie records or New Order circa 83-85. Essentially, 'Lights & Music' is pop, but it's indie too, and whilst it's perfectly rave-tastic dancefloor material, it also has a kind of swirly shoegazy aesthetic underneath as well. Which probably shouldn't work. But it does, and it's great. Oh, and the remixes are boss too. Boys Noize don't quite match the level of genius they achieved on their recent Feist reworking, but their take is still pretty good, bringing in soulful strings and upping the Daft Punkiness at the track's core, whilst Superdiscount press the acid button on their TB303 whilst relocating the ethereal backing vocals to a beautiful ghostly side street. Yeah, pretty good, as perfect pop goes. MS
Release date: 21 Apr
Press contact: Darling [all]
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MYSPACE EDGE CLOSER TO DOWNLOAD LAUNCH
MySpace is reportedly getting ever closer to announcing the launch of a fully blown DRM-free download store which, as previously reported, would sell music from both a central portal and from artists' MySpace pages. According to the New York Post, licensing negotiations with both Warner and SonyBMG are going especially well. Word has it MySpace are offering a cut of the action (ie equity) and a cut of ad revenue to labels who sign up, but are hoping that that offer will help them avoid having to pay large upfront payments that the majors have demanded from other new entrants to the digital music space. Meanwhile, Digital Music News reports that Jamba, the mobile content company part owned by MySpace parent News Corp, will provide the mobile part of the MySpace download service.
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YAHOO! SEARCHERS PICK WIKIPEDIA OVER MYSPACE
While MySpace moves towards launching its expanded music offer, some possibly unhappy reading for the social networking major. A new report says that web users using search engine Yahoo!, when given the choice of an official MySpace page and an unofficial Wikipedia biog after searching for an artist's name, would be twice as likely to click on the grass roots encyclopaedia than the artist networking site. Of course MySpace might say that given that most people search via Google they don't care what stats Yahoo!'s search engine is throwing up. And they might be right to do so. Still, interesting stats nevertheless.
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WARNER US CHIEF RENEWS CONTRACT
Following the renewal of Warner Music boss Edgar Bronfman Jr's contract with the major last week, his right hand man, Warner US boss Lyor Cohen, has also signed a new five year deal with the music firm, and has been given the new job title of CEO Recorded Music North America, which presumably gives him power over Canada as well as the USA. Word has it that Cohen will also see his salary package rise to $3 million a year, with a new increased bonus cap of $5 million. Good work if you can get it.
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US COLLECTING SOCIETY LAUNCHES 29 INFRINGEMENT LAWSUITS AGAINST CLUBS AND BARS
US songwriter royalty society ASCAP has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 29 clubs, bars and restaurants across America which, the collecting society claims, have been playing their members' music without a licence. The society's VP Licensing Vincent Candilora confirmed the lawsuits yesterday, telling reporters: "By filing these 29 actions at the same time, ASCAP is aiming to heighten awareness among music users and the public that it is a federal offence to perform copyrighted music without permission. ASCAP's priority is to serve as a voice and advocate for its more than 315,000 members who are essentially the smallest of small business owners. ASCAP not only has a right to collect license fees from the users of music, but it also has a responsibility to its members to ensure they are adequately compensated for their hard work".
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MORE PROPOSALS FOR REVIEWING COPYRIGHT TRIBUNAL
Parliament's Innovation, Universities And Skills Select Committee, because there is such a thing, last week called for reform of the UK Copyright Tribunal, the legal body which gets involved when owners and licensees of copyright content can't agree on royalty cuts and payments. The nature of the Tribunal was being discussed after the Music Business Forum told the government's recent(ish) Gowers Review on intellectual property that it thought the country's ultimate copyright court was "antiquated" and "in urgent need of reform".
Among the concerns raised by the select committee last week were that the Tribunal was led by an unpaid judge assisted by a relatively lowly paid barrister and two untrained lay assessors. Given the increasing complexity of copyright issues in this here digital age, the committee suggested a paid Tribunal chief, and called for more expertise among those who offer independent advice to that chief. The review also suggested an easier to use fast-track service for copyright disputes involving smaller parties - say a pub or café - which would give them better access to the Tribunal in their royalty disputes.
The select committee urged the government to now act quickly on both its recommendations, and on recommendations put forward by the UK Intellectual Property Office's review of the Tribunal, which was undertaken last year. It remains to be seen if they do.
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GOOD JOINS XFM
Xfm has announced the appointment of Jo Good, formally a presenter of MTV's Total Request Live, to present its 1-4pm show in London. As you'll remember, the alternative rock station recently announced it would be bringing presenters back to daytime after an unsuccessful experiment with a back-to-back request format between 10am and 4pm. Confirming the appointment of Good to the afternoon slot, Xfm London Programme Director Adam Uytman told reporters: "I am really pleased that Jo has agreed to join our team. I think that she will prove to be very popular, providing something really different that will complement the rest of the line-up. It is also great for us to get a strong female voice into the mix".
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MORE BAUER PROMOTIONS
Media firm Bauer has announced another appointment in its rejig of the upper echelons of what was EMAP Consumer Media, and what is now Bauer Consumer Media.
Mark Story, who was MD Of Programming for Bauer's radio division, will become MD National Brands, while his deputy, Alison Finch, currently Commercial Director of Kiss and Magic, will become Operations Director National Brands. The promotions will give Story and Finch a more wide ranging role over all of Bauer's national radio stations, and will see them taking over more responsibility for Magic, whose MD Andria Vidler was last week promoted to Chief Markeing Officer for the whole of Bauer Consumer Media.
Confirming the new roles for Story and Finch, Bauer Radio Group MD Dee Ford told reporters: "Combining the talents of Mark and Alison is a natural marriage of one of the strongest commercial people in the business and one of the strongest creative programmers in the industry. Magic and our digital stations have been the great recent success stories of the UK radio industry. We are still in the foothills of where we can take them in terms of growth and I'm delighted that we can hand that challenge to two such talented people who can make it happen".
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DECISION EXPECTED TOMORROW ON GLOBAL'S GCAP OFFER
So, gossipers are gossiping that the board of radio firm GCap will tomorrow accept the takeover offer from rivals Global Radio - tomorrow being the most recent deadline set by the City's Takeover Panel for the GCap/Global negotiations to be completed. Gossipers also reckon that, should that happen, GCap CEO Fru Hazlitt, who only joined the company at the end of last year of course, will immediately step down, though taking a severance package worth nearly a million with her, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over her speedy departure.
If GCap was to merge with Global Radio, which is essentially the former Chrysalis Radio empire, it will create a considerable force in the UK radio industry, it essentially being the combination of three of the pre-2005 radio majors, Capital, GWR and Chrysalis.
Speculation remains as to whether media regulator OfCom or the UK's competition authorities will have anything to say about the merger - a merged GCap/Global will become particularly dominant in the Birmingham area, plus would own two of the top three commercial music stations in London (Capital and Heart), both of which could cause concern. There is also much speculation as to how many of the plans recently proposed by Hazlitt for turning round the fortunes of GCap might be adopted by Global Radio chief Charles Allen should he gain control of the company - in particular whether he would adopt Hazlitt's plans to dump their share in digital audio broadcasting company Digital One, to close down GCap's digital only stations, to sell the regional Xfm stations and to review the finances of Capital's Gold Network.
Either way, interesting times are ahead at GCap, whether that be under Hazlitt's radical plan for recovery or, as now seems more likely, under UK radio's new uber-chief Allen, a man who received much criticism for his work in his last big media job, boss of ITV.
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JUST TWO BIDDERS REPORTEDLY STILL IN RUNNING FOR VIRGIN RADIO
More radio takeovers, and some reports this weekend suggested Global Radio was out of the running to buy national pop/rock radio station Virgin Radio which, as previously reported, has been put on the market by current owners Scottish Media Group.
One report, in the Sunday Mail, said SMG was now only considering two offers for its radio station, one for talkSPORT owner UTV and another from JACK fm owners Absolute Radio. An offer from a Malaysian company called Astro All Asia Networks, who were reported to have bid last month, is also said to have been rejected by SMG chiefs. That said, another report said that Global's bid was still on the table - it may be that the future of that bid may depend on Global's success, or not, in securing GCap tomorrow.
While SMG is able to sell the national pop/rock radio licence, it will be up to the Virgin Group as to whether the successful bidder will be able to continue to use the Virgin Radio name. Quite how that limitation on SMG's use of the Virgin Radio name figures into the takeover talks I'm not sure.
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US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT GIVES GO AHEAD TO SIRIUS XM MERGER
More radio mergers, and the US's Department Of Justice has given the go ahead for the merger of America's two satellite radio networks Sirius and XM, which will create one big satellite radio service in the USA.
As previously reported, satellite radio is quite a big deal in the States, and there are two rival networks - Sirius and XM - both offering rival subscription based pay-to-listen services. The two companies have been trying to merge since February 2007. The merger has proved controversial because some argue it will give a combined Sirius XM a monopoly in the satellite radio sector, which, opponents argue, will not be fair to consumers. But Sirius and XM chiefs argue that they not only compete with each other but with conventional terrestrial radio services and a plethora of internet radio and music services, so while they will dominate the satellite radio sector they will still be operating in a competitive market.
Such is the controversy around the merger proposals, the two bodies considering the merger, the Department Of Justice and US media regulator the FCC, have both been in consideration for over a year now. The DoJ yesterday said it had decided that Sirius and XM were right, they are operating in the wider content provision industry, and therefore the merger should go ahead. It said in a statement: "The likely evolution of technology in the future, including the expected introduction in the next several years of mobile broadband internet devices, made it even more unlikely that the transaction would harm consumers in the longer term. Accordingly, the division has closed its investigation of the proposed merger".
Normally the FCC would take the DoJ's ruling on a matter like this as a strong lead and reach the same conclusion, but on this one opposition is so strong among some of its key constituencies - including the traditional radio industry and those political types who take an interest in media issues - that the FCC rubber stamping the DoJ's conclusion on the merger is by no means a foregone conclusion. That said, while some in the FCC were very resistant to the merger proposals when they were first touted twelve months ago, they have since conceded that a merger isn't impossible, meaning some analysts now reckon the media regulator will also give the deal the green light though, unlike the DoJ, are expected to do so with certain conditions in place in a bid to placate those who oppose the deal.
Neither the FCC nor Sirius nor XM have commented on the DoJ ruling on the matter, though shares in both satellite radio firms were up yesterday.
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CHART UPDATE
So, that Estelle, possibly aided by the fanbase of collaborator Kanye West, has gone straight in at the top of the singles chart this week with 'American Boy', knocking Duffy off the top spot at last. The next highest new entry on the chart comes from another high profile collaboration - Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and '4 Minutes' - in at 7. Other new entries come from Guillemots at 20 with 'Get Over It', Sam Sparro with 'Black & Gold' at 23, Natasha Bedingfield and Kingston with 'Love Like This' at 27, Gnarls Barkley with 'Run' at 32 and Gabriella Cilmi with 'Sweet About Me' at 38.
Albums wise, Duffy remains top with 'Rockferry', fighting off competition from Muse whose Wembley live album 'HAARP' goes in at 2. Other album new entries come from Elbow with 'The Seldom Seen Kid' at 5, Bryan Adams with '11' at 6, Mike Oldfield with 'Music Of The Spheres' at 9, Van Morrison with 'Keep It Simple' at 10, We Are Scientists with 'Brain Thrust Mastery' at 11, Taio Cruz with 'Departure' at 17, and the Eagles hits album at 26.
For those that are wondering, the Student Radio Chart and sub.tv playlist are on their Easter break, it being the Easter holiday in most of those university type places.
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TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART
It's this week's Total Rock World Album Chart, as counted down on Total Rock over the weekend - http://www.totalrock.com. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.
1. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight (Warner Bros)
2. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (SonyBMG)
3. Simple Plan - Simple Plan (Warner/Atlantic)
4. Bullet For My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire (SonyBMG)
5. Led Zeppelin - Mothership (Swan Song)
6. Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden (Universal)
7. Nickelback - All The Right Reasons (Warner/Roadrunner)
8. Black Crowes - Warpaint (Silver Arrow)*
9. Daughtry - Daughtry (SonyBMG)
10. Eddie Vedder - Into The Wild (SonyBMG/J Records)*
11. Bon Jovi - Lost Highway (Universal/Mercury)
12. Bruce Springsteen - Magic (SonyBMG/Columbia)
13. Buckcherry - 15 (Eleven Seven Music)
14. Paramore - Riot! (Warner/Atlantic)
15. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath (Universal)
16. Queen - Greatest Hits Vols. 1, 2, 3 (EMI)
17. Airbourne - Runnin Wild (Warner/Roadrunner)
18. Kid Rock - Rock - N Toll Jesus (Warner/Atlantic)
19. Guns n Roses - Greatest Hits (Universal/Geffen)
20. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (Warner Bros)
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HAS MACCA WARBLED ABOUT MUCCA?
Conspiracy theorists among the Paul McCartney fanbase reckon a song off his last album 'Memory Almost Full' is about his frustrations regarding ex-wife Heather Mills and the acrimonious divorce battle which, of course, was in its infancy when he wrote the album. The theory stems from the fact that the song title 'Mister Bellamy' is an anagram of Mills Betray Me, and fans are, as a result, reading more than before into the lyrics: "I'm not coming down, no matter what you do, No-one to tell me what to do, no-one to hold my hand".
Chatting about the lyrics in a McCartney chat room, one fan says: "Macca wouldn't be so blunt as to write a song specifically about someone (or a situation) and then say so, but you'd have to be a fool not to understand that he does write these songs", while another observes: "He may not have consciously written about her, but the words certainly seem to apply".
Make of that what you will. Meanwhile, if you want more Macca Mills nonsense, look out for the rushed to screen documentary about the nasty divorce battle which ITV will reportedly screen tonight at 10.35pm (I say reportedly, the TV listings don't currently list it, but reports say it is on). It's called 'The Ex Files' - ha, see what they did there.
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GUILLEMOT ON ORGASMIC NOTE
Guillemot Aristazabal Hawkes has admitted that she was the one who made the claim that her band had discovered a musical note that could make a lady do an orgasm. It sounds as though she felt forced to actually deny the claim, which makes it sound like there might have been some gullible fools out there that believed it in the first place. Or, at least, some almost as gullible fools who thought that the band believed it.
Here's what she said: "It was in one of our first interviews and I didn't have anything to say. I thought I would be funny and it has just haunted me forever. It's a lesson in knowing when to keep your mouth shut. If you don't have anything to say then don't say it!"