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INTERN OPPORTUNITY AT LEYLINE HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS DROP VICTORY LAWSUIT This has all been rolling along since August 2006, when Hawthorne Heights sued Victory for breach of contract, copyright and trademark infringement, fraud and abuse. The label countersued claiming the band were simply trying to get out of their record deal so they could sign to EMI's Virgin Records and subsequently sued Virgin, too, claiming that the major had paid the band an advance while they were still under contract and helped them to fight their legal battle. Both sides issued statements dissing the other, while courts made various rulings on the dispute, some favouring one side, some the other. In the middle of all this, of course, tragedy struck when, later last year, guitarist and vocalist Casey Calvert died suddenly of accidental 'combined drug intoxication' while the band were on tour. In a final chapter, last week, Victory Records announced that they will release Hawthorne Heights' third studio album 'Fragile Future' on 5 Aug, and that, seemingly, the bitter dispute is over. Victory Records owner Tony Brummel told CMU: "Everyone at Victory is ecstatic about the forthcoming album from Hawthorne Heights. It is by far their best material to date. When Victory and Hawthorne started our relationship in 2003 it was always about beating the odds. We have lived in a reality of petty disputes, unresolved misunderstandings, unhealthy friction and negative sensationalism for too long. Forgiveness and the ability to reunite are powerful gifts. They create a spirit. Couple that spirit with great music and you have something that is extraordinary and transcendental. You cannot change the past but you can affect the future. There is a bigger lesson and story here than just releasing a new album. Victory, and I know Hawthorne Heights, are thankful to be a part of that". Speaking for the band, Hawthorne Heights' Drummer Eron Bucciarelli added: "We now regret having begun the lawsuit we filed in 2006. We should not have listened to those, who, for whatever reasons, were then advising us to pursue this strategy. We are sorry for having put Victory Records and Tony Brummel through this ordeal, and regret any negative publicity that may have resulted. Unfortunately, we cannot change the past, but we're now taking steps to heal the wounds and start fresh." -------------------------------------------------- WARNER PULL CONTENT FROM LAST.FM PREVIEW SERVICE The dispute with Warner seemingly only affects Last.fm's on-demand preview service, which launched earlier this year - the major's music still appears in the music website's internet radio service. Although the first major to sign up to the new Last.fm preview system, Warner reportedly had a month-to-month contract with the company, allowing them to pull their content quickly if royalty discussions didn't work out. Billboard quote a source as saying Warner feel Last.fm's financial offer is "completely out of whack" compared to that being offered by other online music services like MySpace and Imeem. -------------------------------------------------- BOURNE AND WILLIS WIN BUSTED BATTLE As previously reported, Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle claimed they were forced to sign "dubious agreements" when they were "unfairly" kicked out of the boy band just before they were signed to Universal Records and went on to chart-topping stardom. McPhail and Doyle claimed to have co-written hits like 'Year 3000' and 'What I Go To School For' and that they only gave up their rights in the songs after being mis-advised and threatened by their management. The duo eventually sued both said management and their former bandmates in a bid to secure a multi-million pound royalty pay out. Busted's management reached an out of court settlement with McPhail and Doyle, meaning it was just former bandmates Bourne and Willis who were defending themselves in court. And they did so successfully, because Mr Justice Morgan last week completely dismissed the plaintiff's case, criticised their evidence, and accused both McPhail and Doyle of being unreliable witnesses. Of the former, the judge said: "If he did believe the evidence he gave to the court, it can only be because he has indulged in very extensive self-serving reconstruction in the period between the relevant events and the time of the trial and has now convinced himself that his reconstructed version of events really happened". So weak was the claimant's case, the judge said, it wasn't necessary to even consider their claims to have contributed notes or lyrics to the songs at the heart of the case. Needless to say, Bourne and Willis welcomed the ruling, telling reporters: "This was an opportunistic attempt by Doyle and McPhail to cash in on our success. Their claims were a complete fabrication and we are delighted that the judge has seen through this and totally dismissed them. Our position has been completely vindicated and our achievements with Busted remain untarnished". -------------------------------------------------- TRIBUTES APLENTY AT BO DIDDLEY FUNERAL -------------------------------------------------- REUBEN PROBABLY SPLIT Anyway, the band's manager said in a statement on Reuben's official website: "I regret to announce that Reuben are unable to play their slot on the 2000 Trees Festival in July. The band are all in good health but the culmination of several pressures just makes it impossible for Jamie [Lenman, frontman] to go ahead with it. The band are not planning any more gigs or releases for the foreseeable future - I should make it clear that the band members are all on amicable terms and are supportive of the need to call a halt". The statement concludes, in a fairly final manner, by saying: "This seems like a good time to thank everyone who has helped and encouraged Reuben along the way; some of you have been there from the start, others from last week, some are within the music industry, others are simply fans - it doesn't matter which, you are all important and have given great strength to all concerned". -------------------------------------------------- I WAS A CUB SCOUT DEFINITELY SPLIT The bulletin read: "Hello friends, here goes. Tonight we have decided that I Was A Cub Scout has and must now come to a close. We have had countless problems over the past year or so and with yet more occurring we it best to end on what would seem like a decent note. We will be honouring all of our UK shows of which we have confirmed, with the iTunes festival at Koko with Death Cab For Cutie on 14 Jul being our last. We will speak more of it all soon, but for now we must tour. It is a very sad day for us". The band's remaining dates are: 9 Jun: Leeds, Cockpit -------------------------------------------------- WINEHOUSE RACIST, CHEATED ON BLAKE I seriously doubt that Amy Winehouse is genuinely racist. But if I were her, I'd definitely cheat on her husband, and according to more NOTW claims, she has. Her mother in law Georgette told the aforementioned tabloid that Winehouse had confessed about the incidents to Fielder-Civil during a visit to Pentonville, where he's been banged up. According to reports, it's Towers of London bassist Kristian Marr and her manager's assistant Alex Haines who won her favour. Georgette is quoted as saying: "Amy was so riddled with shame she visited Blake in Pentonville and confessed all. Blake sounded terrible when he told me. I find her timing incredibly cruel. He was focused on his trial and fighting for his freedom. Now he's a broken man, knowing his wife has cheated on him twice. He feels humiliated. Amy's infidelity is inexcusable. Blake says she's filled with self-disgust and now feels worthless. She knows she has let him down and blamed the drugs and the booze. She said she hates everything about herself." -------------------------------------------------- COLDPLAY STREAM NEW ALBUM ONLINE The album will be released worldwide on Thursday (12 Jun) and has received more pre-orders on iTunes than any other album ever, and is already topping the record for first-week sales, too. -------------------------------------------------- GO! TEAM GIVE AWAY MP3 More info: www.thegoteam.co.uk -------------------------------------------------- K7 RELEASE BOWIE COVERS ALBUM Au Revoir Simone - Oh! You Pretty Things The album is release on 23 Jun, info at www.lifebeyondmars.com. -------------------------------------------------- KISS MANAGER CONFIRMS REALITY SHOW PLANS Now their manager, Doc McGhee, has confirmed that there are indeed plans to keep the band going with a new line up, though again, implies that it's all still at the 'in talks' stage. In a new TV documentary about the band he says: "I believe that Kiss can go on forever. I believe that there is a way - and we are talking to people and we're pretty close to getting it done - about finding the four new members of KISS." It's not exactly clear when the new band members would take over. -------------------------------------------------- JACKSON LABEL STOP PROMOTING ALBUM Jackson has apparently been in touch with celebrity blogger/shameless self promoter Perez Hilton, who quotes the singer as saying: "We started off with 'Feedback' and the label and myself haven't quite seen eye to eye since [that] so they've kind of basically stopped all promotion. I'm trying to figure out a way to say this, but just to say it and to be quite honest, they just stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album, so I don't think you're going to hear another single off this album." -------------------------------------------------- OASIS GET SILVER CLEF -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- TEEN DIES AT ROCK NESS -------------------------------------------------- EAVIS PROMISES BETTER GLASTO CONDITIONS He told The Times: "I thought the criticisms were valid last year. I can't turn back time, but what I can do is address the problem this year. There's extra camping space. We've ordered in lorry-loads of concrete sleepers which will effectively double the seating". He was also asked about various problems with coach travel many punters had last year, including being turned away from their return buses for being too muddy. Eavis said: "We're working with different people this time and that simply won't happen again". Given the lengths that Eavis and his daughter and co-organiser Emily have to go to in order make the festival happen, only to have it criticised, the newspaper asked Emily why she does it. She responded: "When I was younger, I remember sitting at the window of the house and seeing people walking past when they arrived on the site. It was the oddest thing. There was this real look of determination. An intense look. Like they were going to have the most amazing time. I remember feeling scared by this look. It was like you're going to come here and you're going to do something that's going to change your life. And sometimes it does. I think that sort of... matters". -------------------------------------------------- PAGE AND JONES JOIN FOOS ON STAGE Earlier in the set, he'd promised "We are going to do something special tonight that we have never done before. Tonight this will be the show we are talking about for the next 20 years." Which only seems like a slight exaggeration. I suppose extremely happy Led Zeppelin/Foo Fighters fans, lucky enough to be there on the night might, conceivably might be talking about this in two decades' time. But I won't. -------------------------------------------------- DANCE ISLAND ANNOUNCE LINE UP Early bird tickets for the hotly tipped event have already sold out, and normal tickets are apparently selling pretty quickly. Get info on it from Black Eagle Media. -------------------------------------------------- POLYDOR MARKETER TAKES GM ROLE AT MERCURY -------------------------------------------------- FORMER EMI PUBLICIST JOINS PPR -------------------------------------------------- NEW DAYTIME COORDINATOR FOR KISS LONDON The former Somethin Else man worked at Kiss previously as a Specialist Producer. In his new role he will be responsible for managing the daytime schedule, working with presenters to ensure "engaging content is produced to run on Kiss' on-air and off-air platforms". Confirming his new role, he told CMU: "I am thrilled to be taking on this new role at Kiss 100 as the station nudges ahead of Capital into the number 3 spot in London. There is a real buzz around Kiss 100 at the moment as it continually develops its programming with fresh ideas and I am looking forward to being part of the team that keeps Kiss 100 as the number one dance music station for young London". -------------------------------------------------- OFCOM CONFIRMS FM LICENCES UP FOR THE BID Most of the 25 odd licences up for renewal are for smaller local stations, though Bauer's East England wide Kiss FM licence and GMG's North West wide Century licences will be among those re-advertised. I think I'm right in saying that whether or not the current licence-holder gets any preference depends on the nature of their existing licence. -------------------------------------------------- MTV OWNERS APPOINT NEW EUROPE-WIDE LOBBYING CHIEF He will report to DeDe Lea, Viacom's Executive Vice President of Government Relations, who told CMU: "We're delighted to have Philip join our strong government relations team. He brings tremendous expertise in the area of public policy development on media and communications issues in the U.K. and European Union. His knowledge and understanding of the legislative and regulatory environments will help to ensure that Viacom is an active participant in the process. I look forward to working with Philip and to the many contributions I know he will make". -------------------------------------------------- DIGITAL ONE FOUNDER STEPS DOWN Referring to the recent and upcoming shifts in digital audio broadcasting – following outgoing GCap CEO Fru Hazlitt's bid to sell her company's share in Digital One, coupled with proposals by incoming GCap owners Global that the existing digital firm should work with new rival Channel 4 Radio – Quentin Howard said he thought now was as good a time as any to move on. Confirming his departure, he said: "I think there is obviously a lot of change on the horizon for digital radio at the moment, what with Global taking over GCap and plans for Digital One that may or may not involve Channel 4's multiplex. Clearly, there is going to be a very different approach to digital radio and I think it's the right time for me to let other people get on with it". Howard will remain President of WorldDMB, which promotes the use of DAB and its offshoot multimedia platform DMB as desirable digital content delivery systems around the world. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- CHART UPDATE Albums wise, Paul Weller goes straight in at number one with '22 Dreams', while the aforementioned Radiohead best of goes straight in at 4. Other new entries are Zutons with 'You Can Do Anything' at 6, Alphabeat with 'This Is Alphabeat' at 10, Alanis Morrisette with 'Flavours Of Entanglement' at 15, Disturbed with 'Indestructible' at 20, Paul Simon with a best of at 27, Opeth with 'Watershed' at 34, Hall & Oates with a best of at 35, Tom Petty with a best of at 38 and Eddie Cochran with a best of at 40. Busy week for old guy hits albums – possibly that's a Father's Day thing? -------------------------------------------------- TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART 1. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight (Warner Bros) -------------------------------------------------- SUB.TV PLAYLIST Sub.tv Exclusive A-List B-List -------------------------------------------------- MEL B SOUNDED OUT AS SHARON REPLACEMENT ON X-FACTOR After Osbourne let it be known she would not return to the ITV telly show there was speculation she had pulled out because of a pay dispute, but fellow judge Louis Walsh told the Sunday Mirror this weekend that it's all down to Dannii. Saying he was "devastated" that Sharon was leaving the show, Walsh told the tab: "It's not contracts or money, it's Dannii. They don't get on at all and she wasn't happy with the situation. Sharon has walked off, she's gone. Why didn't they give Dannii the boot instead?" Walsh, who was axed himself at the start of the last series but later invited back after his replacement didn't work out, said of the next series of the show: "I haven't signed yet but I am negotiating. It's a difficult situation. Sharon is a great friend, I talk to her everyday. She is devastated and so am I. I have absolutely no relationship at all with Dannii. I have no idea how she is feeling about all of this because I simply do not talk to her. I am going to miss Sharon greatly. The show won't be the same. Sharon is very very upset about all this. She loves the show and everything about it". Although it is always hard to work out how much of the feuding between the 'X-Factor' judges is part of a PR bid to get the tabs (and gullible fools like us) talking about the show and how much is real, insiders did say that many of the tensions between Osbourne and Minogue during the last series were genuine. Of course 'X-Factor' judges have announced they are quitting before, only to return. But, if the News Of The World is to be believed, fellow judge and exec producer Simon Cowell isn't expecting Osbourne to return, and is currently sounding out former Spice Girl Mel B – one of his original choices for the judging panel before the first series of the show, apparently – about a judging role on the new series, which is due to go into production this week. -------------------------------------------------- DYLAN DON'T LIKE YOU, OFFICIAL -------------------------------------------------- ALANIS ON HER MY HUMPS COVER -------------------------------------------------- ARTIST KILLS PETE DOHERTY Howson, who has battled with drink and drug addiction himself, unveiled a series of six paintings of Doherty in various states of deadness as a warning to the singer and others. He told reporters: "Pete Doherty is someone who has really interested me over the last few months. His spiral downwards reminds me of what I went through myself and I can identify with the way he is acting. Me wanting to paint him dead was pointing the finger at him and saying 'You can influence a whole generation'. He could, if he wanted to, become the right kind of hero". A spokesman for Doherty said: "Peter Howson has never met Pete as far as I am aware, so I don't know where he's getting his inspiration from. We have not seen the drawings and I don't see how Peter knows that much about Pete's lifestyle". -------------------------------------------------- NO DRINKING FOR LEWIS She added: "I don't wear little mini-skirts and low-cut tops. If you want to show off your bits, that's up to you." |
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