SMALL BUSINESS BODY QUESTIONS WORKPLACE MUSIC ROYALTY
The Federation Of Small Businesses has called on for change of law so that employers don't have to have a licence to play music in the workplace.

As all you royalty fans will now, technically speaking any employer who allows music to be played on their premises - even if it's the radio - should have a licence to do so from those PRS people. Said licence is required because the 1988 Copyright Act classifies music playing in the workplace as public performance, and therefore subject to the public performance royalty. In theory PRS, representing songwriters and music publishers, could sue any company who allows music to be played on its premises without a licence.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, the FSB's Stephen Alambritis said that many small companies were unaware of this rule until they got a call from PRS, adding that he thought the current law was too wide-ranging, and the licensing process too complex.

He said: "We have no problem with the PRS collecting money from restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars. [But sometimes a company will have a] radio that is essentially in a backroom for the boss, not intended for the staff but the staff may be within earshot - or there may be some customers within earshot. [Then] out of the blue our members are being harassed by the PRS". Basically Alambritis wants the law to be changed so that businesses only have to pay a royalty when a company is using music to create an atmosphere - say in a bar - rather than when certain staff members are listening to the radio while they work.

Needless to say, PRS spokesman Adrian Crookes defended the current situation, pointing out licences for employers started from £66 a year, not much more than a pound a week, and stressing the Society would never "harass" a small business. He told the Radio 4 programme: "I think it's important to remember that the 60,000 songwriters and composers who are our members are small businesses themselves, so we're very, very sensitive to the pressures on small business. And we wouldn't choose, for example, sole traders or people working in their home. [But] it is important to recognise the value that music adds to business and ensure that songwriters and composers who've made that contribution are fairly paid. There are studies that have shown that it improves productivity performance, raises morale, team-building".

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METAL HAMMER AWARD GOLDEN GODS
More awards, and it was Metal Hammer's Golden Gods on Monday night over there at the Indigo venue in The O2, and the winners were...

Best Breakthrough: Apocalyptica
Best Underground Band: The Black Dhalia Murder
Best UK Band: Iron Maiden
Metal For The Masses: William Gledhill
Best Live Band: Machine Head
Best Video: Dimmu Borgir - The Serpentine Offering
Best Metal Label: Roadrunner Records
Spirit Of Hammer: Max and Igor Cavalera
Best Debut: Airbourne - Runnin Wild
Icon Award: Eddie
Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award: Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom)
Event Of The Year: Hard Rock Hell
Riff Lord: Dave Mustaine
Best Album: Testament - The Formation Of Damnation
Revolver Best International Band: In Flames
Golden God: Kerry King

Commenting on the awards bash, Metal Hammer Publisher Chris Ingham told CMU: "Metal Hammer magazine is proud to be flying the flag for rock and metal music and will continue to do so vehemently. We have seen the awards develop from a little affair in Hackney to, arguably, the most important rock award ceremony in Europe".

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SPEARS' LA HOME TO BE SOLD
According to reports, Britney Spears' father Jamie has been given the go ahead to sell the singer's LA home, in his role as conservator of her welfare and affairs. Neither Spears nor her father were present at the hearing on the issue, at which our old friend commissioner Reva Goetz agreed to allow Britney's representatives to put the house up for sale on her behalf. Back in March, Spears Senior was similarly given permission to sell off a number of her fleet of seven cars.

It's not clear where Britney intends to live once the house is sold, or whether she herself asked to sell the property, though reports say Britney does want more privacy and space which may have motivated the move, with a 'source' being quoted as saying: "Having more privacy and wide open spaces for her to raise her boys has been a goal for some time".

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WINEHOUSE HAS MORE TESTS
A spokesman for Amy Winehouse says that the singer is having more tests in hospital, following that previously reported fainting fit on Monday. Chris Goodman explained that initial tests had been inconclusive and that more were taking place whilst Winehouse was kept under observation. He commented that Amy "seems to be fine in herself, but they are taking their time to be sure".

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KISS MAN BLAMES THE FANS
Another day another rant from Kiss man Gene Simmons about the digital age and its impact on music. And he reckons the music industry is dead and the fans are to blame. He told reporters recently: "The record industry is dead, it's six feet underground, and unfortunately the fans have done this. They've decided to download and file share. There is no record industry around so we're going to wait until everybody settles down and becomes civilised". So, that's you told.

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ICE-T RELEASES SPECIAL EDITION DOWNLOAD
Ice-T has released a special edition of his 2006 album 'Gangsta Rap' exclusively via download (though possibly only in the US). The hip hop veteran's 'Gangsta Rap Special Edition' features two previously-unreleased tracks and is available through most e-tailers, including iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon. The original album was released by Melee Records, but the special edition is being released via PayUp Records, which is the digital label owned by Ice-T's manager Mickey Bentson.

Bentson told AllHopHop.com: "Like [Ice-T] says, "Hip hop is really on the ER table, and it needs resuscitation, it needs help. We gave Melee a little over a year to work it [as a physical release], and we felt the time was right to give the album a second push. Since a lot of people are claiming to do hardcore, 'gangsta rap,' it's time to see what an OG does and how it's done. Really envision the records, listen to the records, and you can actually feel the records when he's finished. He's always been able to get you to visually see what he's doing, maybe that's why he's on TV today".

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LIL WAYNE PASSES A MILLION, COLDPLAY HEADING FOR NUMBER ONE
So, it seems that, as expected, US rapper Lil Wayne has sold over a million copies of his new album in first week of sale in America alone. 'Tha Carter III' is the first long player to pass a million units in week one in the US since 50 Cent's 'The Massacre' back in 2005. So, well done him.

Elsewhere in chart trivia, Coldplay's new single, the title track off chart topping album 'Viva La Vida', could be the band's first to top the singles chart, though in the midweeks it is only slightly ahead of current number one 'Singin In The Rain' and new Ne-Yo single 'Closer'.

'Viva La Vida' the single has been available online for a while now, and topped the iTunes chart a few weeks back, but hasn't been eligible for the main singles chart because it was bundled in with iTune pre-orders of the band's new album, so wasn't deemed to be a proper single.

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KITTY, DAISY, LEWIS, SHOWCASE, VIDEO
The brilliant Kitty, Daisy & Lewis will play a SxSW showcase at the London Borderline this week - on 18 and 20 Jun. The video for their new single 'Going Up The Country' is, meanwhile, now online - and I'd like to report that both song and vid are really rather good. The song appears on a double a-side release out on Sunday Best on 7 Jul ('Say You'll Be Mine' is the other song). The video is here...

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DOLLS ADDED TO LOUNGE LINE UP
The New York Dolls are to play a headline slot at the Lounge On The Farm festival, which, as previously reported, takes place in Kent from 11-13 Jul. As we have, as aforementioned, previously reported on it, you may be aware that the line-up also includes the likes of The Coral, Lightspeed Champion, and CMU favourites Art Brut.

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KASABIAN LIVE DATES
Kasabian have announced four live gigs in addition to their festival appearances at Creamfields and Hydro Connect on 24 and 29 Aug respectively. The dates are as follows:

15 Aug: Lincoln Engine Shed
16 Aug: Carlisle Sands Centre
21 Aug: Wolverhampton Civic Hall
28 Aug: Newcastle Academy

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RUMBLE STRIPS ANNOUNCE PUB GIG
The Rumble Strips (who last year were buzzing - are they still buzzing this year, do we think?) have announced that they'll play an intimate show at The Star Of Bethnal Green pub in east London on 2 Jul. Tickets will be sold on the door for £5 or so.

Oh, they recently toured with Mark Ronson, so they must be buzzing still. Buzz, buzz, buzz.

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FUCKED UP ALBUM AND GIGS
The always radio friendly Toronto based hardcore outfit Fucked Up have just completed their second album, and it is set for a worldwide release via Matador on 7 Oct. It will be called 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' and feature guest performances from Katie Stelmanis and the Vivian Girls on vocals, and Max McCabe-Locos on organ. If you are extra eager to hear the new material, you could head to one of the following gigs/festivals this summer

3 Jul: The Tap And Tin, Chatham, Kent
4 Jul: Z008 Festival, Ashford
5 Jul: - Eurokennes Festival
12 Jul: T In The Park
13 Jul: Supersonic Festival, Birmingham
14 Jul: Water Rats, London
20 Aug: Limelight, Belfast
21 Aug: Whelans, Dublin
23 Aug: Reading Festival
24 Aug: Leeds Festival
25 Aug: 1 In 12 Club, Bradford

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LEVELLERS LIVE NEWS
Some Levellers live news. You may be already aware that they're appearing at Glastonbury next week, headlining the Left Field Anti-Slavery night on Thursday, but they've also got a number of other festival dates coming up, at which the band will showcase tracks from their forthcoming studio album 'Letters From The Underground' - you can get a free download of current single 'Burn America Burn' from www.lettersfromtheunderground.com, by the way.

If you want to see the band talking about their live shows, check this YouTube vid here, and if you want to see the band actually appearing live, make sure you're at one of the following events:

26 Jun: Glastonbury Festival The Left Field Stage
4 Jul: Guilfest
12 Jul: Arley Hall Northwich
17 Jul: Larmer Tree Festival
1 Aug: Cambridge Folk Festival
3 Aug: Stokes Bay Festival
8 Aug: Cropredy Festival
9 Aug: Harewood House Yorkshire
15 Aug: Beautiful Days Festival
30 Aug: Connect Festival
22 Aug: Arundel Castle
12 Aug: Bowood House
17 Aug: Musicport Festival

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RISE REPOSITIONS AWAY FROM OVERTLY ANTI-RACISM MESSAGE
Good news for fans of, erm, racism. Rise, the annual mini-festival organized by the Mayor Of London's office, is dropping its tagline "London United Against Racism" and will instead position itself as a more wishy washy celebration of diversity. The change, which has come about because of the appointment of new mayor Boris Johnson, is obviously an attempt to make the event less confrontational, and a less open admission that racism is a problem in London, instead focusing on the multi-cultural nature of the capital, and saying that is a good thing. It is arguably a subtle change, though those that fear the continued rise of the BNP in local councils reckon a more explicit rejection of racism is important, and in many ways the whole point of the Rise event existing. It is also why many artists play at the event for reduced fees - and some wonder whether those already booked to play, including CMU favourites CSS, Jimmy Cliff, The Dub Pistols, Kitty Daisy And Lewis and Trojan Soundsystem - will be happy with the repositioning of the 13 Jul Finsbury Park gig so late in the day.

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LAST.FM ADD THOUSANDS OF UNIVERSAL VIDEOS TO ON-DEMAND SERVICE
Last.fm has just added 12,000 music videos from the Universal Music catalogue to its video streaming service, which is quite a lot. The facility to preview so many Universal videos on demand and in full follows the addition of music from all four majors to the Last.fm audio preview service earlier this year though, as previously reported, Warner recently pulled their content from that service in a dispute over revenues.

Commenting on the expansion of its video service through the Universal deal, Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel told reporters: "We want to offer a video library that rivals our unparalleled music [ie audio] catalogue, as we work towards Last.fm becoming the only place you need to go to for all music-related content, and this deal marks the first step towards that goal".

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DANCE GENRE CAN TEACH US ALL SOME DIGITAL TRICKS
Internet critic Andrew Keen, author of 'The Cult Of The Amateur: How The Internet Is Killing Our Culture', recently told a electronic music conference in Ibiza that dance labels and clubbing brands are adapting better to the digital age, in part because dance music fans feel more affinity to the artists and companies operating in the genre, and are therefore "would rather buy than steal". Keen told a session on digital music at the International Music Summit: "Whereas the traditional music industry is in the doldrums, electronica is experiencing a golden age. Electronica has much to teach the rest of the music world and mainstream labels need to take note of the club scene".

The first ever IMS, a new annual invite-only event that aims to bring together all the key names in the electronic music and clubbing communities at the start of the Ibiza season, took place on the White Isle at the end of last month. As well as the digital debate the Summit also saw representatives for every major club operating on the island as well as a member of the Ibiza Council discuss the future of Ibiza as a summer destination of choice for clubbers and dance music fans. Looking back at the inaugural Summit that Pete Tong fella told CMU: "What happened in Ibiza last week will impact our future and the way the music industry moves forward. The response is overwhelming, people have walked away with ideas for the future, with new relationships forged from different aspects of electronica".

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O2 ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH IODA
O2 owners Telefonica have announced a worldwide deal with independent digital content aggregator IODA which will give the tel co access to the million plus songs in the indie distributor's catalogue for use as ringtones and audio/video downloads via its mobile networks around the world.

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AMAZON LAUNCH DISCOUNT OFFERS, EMUSIC SUBSCRIPTION PRICE UP
Amazon have announced new sale promotions on its US based download platform which will mean certain album releases will be available cheaper via the digital store on a short-term promotional basis.

There will be 'Daily Deals', offering new and catalogue releases at special prices, often to coincide with other releases - so you can download Coldplay's old albums for two dollars each as part of a promotion for new album 'Viva La Vida'. There will also be a promotion called 'Friday Five' where five albums will be available for five dollars each on a, well, Friday.

While album prices have often varied more in download land than single track prices, which are often fixed circa iTunes' 99 cents/79 pence price point, these promotions are a sign that discounts will be used increasingly to push download sales, and for one download store to gain advantage over another. In the UK Woolies had already announced it would be running a price promotion on the aforementioned new Coldplay album via its recently relaunched download store.

Meanwhile, independent download platform eMusic, which sells tracks in subscription bundles (ie you pay a $10 a month subscription and get to download thirty tunes) has announced it will increase its lowest subscription rate, in the US from $10 a month to $12 a month. Some indies had expressed concerns that eMusic's lowest price package made their music available too cheaply (ie 33 cents each) without the consumer making an especially big monthly bulk-buy commitment. It is not clear if the subscription price rise is designed to tackle those concerns. Existing eMusic subscribers on the basic package will get an extra ten tracks a month for the extra two dollars for a time - actually reducing the per-track unit price.

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KOBALT LAUNCH NEW LIVE REPORTING TOOL FOR CLIENTS
Music publishing reps Kobalt today launches a new online tool for the 700 odd content owners that it "administrates" for. The new tool means that the content owners will be able to track revenues being generated by their songs in so called "real time" - ie they can logon and see what revenues have been confirmed as of now. It will also enable the rights holders to work out what fees they will pay by taking advances at different levels.

Announcing the new service, Koblat chief Willard Ahdritz told reporters: "[It gives our clients] fast access to their money already in the pipeline for distribution, or access to money we project to be collected through incoming sales data or future earning estimates".

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LIVE NATION EXPANDS OWNERSHIP IN SWEDISH FIRMS
The Swedish bit of live music conglom Live Nation has announced it has secured complete ownership of promoter Luger Inc and management firm Moondog Entertainment. The company previously had a respective 49% and 25% stake in the two Swedish companies. The management at Luger and Moondog are expected to remain the same despite the change in ownership.

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MEL B WRITING SONG ABOUT MURPHY
Mel B has written a song about Eddie Murphy, the reluctant father of her fourteen month old daughter Angel Iris. As you'll remember, Murphy denied he was the father of the child for ages until a DNA test proved otherwise, and he has since let it be known he doesn't want anything to do with her. Mel has told New! magazine that she has been feeding her anger at the situation into a new song for an upcoming solo album, admitting that his lawyers will be vetting the lyrics closely to see if anything she says amounts to libel. Telling the mag about her relationship with her ex she said: "He never bothers with his daughter. I mean, what kind of man is that?"

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CHIODOS GLAD BRITISH FANS HAVE SENSE OF HUMOUR
The frontman of American post-hardcore types Chiodos has said he hopes no one was offended at a bit of crowd banter he partook in during his set at the Download Festival last weekend. One fan was seemingly making suggestive hand gestures at him - I'm guessing the standard hand signal for 'wanker' - to which Craig Owens responded: "What, you want to do that to my dick? You're 11! I could get it out and it could reach you from here. But that would be illegal". After the event he told Gigwise he hoped the audience would take the remark as the harmless joke it was intended to be, observing: "If I made a remark like that in America, I'd have lost about 500 fans. Here in the UK, you guys are really cool and find that sort of shit funny. Thank God". Thank God indeed.

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50 CENT ON ALL THOSE NAKED WARDROBE CHICKS
50 Cent claims that sometimes he opens wardrobes in hotel rooms where he's staying and finds naked women in there. He seems to think that makes him special - little does he know it happens to everyone all the time. Telling Vibe magazine about his more committed female fans, he said: "I've been in hotel rooms, and girls were already there in the closet - naked". Asked if he ever took advantage of the closet inhabiting fans he said no, seemingly comparing them to Dutch prostitutes, which hardly seems fair. He continued: "Hell, no! Are you kidding me? That's like Amsterdam. Amsterdam is fun for some people, but I don't want no one that costs $50. There's too many people that got $50!"

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GIRLS ALOUD JEALOUS OF CHERYL
The Girls Aloud are apparently jealous of bandmate Cheryl Cole over her appointment as the new judge on 'X Factor'.

One of those sources told Heat: "The other girls are very put out that Cheryl has landed the judging role. They knew she really wanted it, but some of them found the news hard to handle, especially Nadine [Coyle]. At the end of the day, all the girls are talented, but Nadine has got the best voice and as it's a singing contest she should be the one for the job".

Another source says this: "Sarah [Harding] and Cheryl both wanted to get into TV, but it seems Cheryl is moving closer to that before her. Sarah booked a magazine deal with her boyfriend Tom (Crane) when Ashley and Cheryl were all over the press and now she's really envious of Cheryl's X Factor deal. It's getting really competitive. Sarah always thought that she'd be the TV girl in the group, not Cheryl".

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DUFFY UPSET BY LYDON
According to reports, Duffy was reduced to tears by John Lydon's attitude towards her at the recent Mojo Awards. Metro say that the veteran punk heckled the singer throughout the ceremony, because, said a source, "he seemed unhappy a popstar was picking up an award at a traditionally rock event".

Duffy apparently tried to engage with Mr Rotten in the press room, and he reacted badly. "He was being interviewed and he had his back to door and she banged into him and then grabbed him," a source is quoted as saying "He then turned round in no uncertain terms to tell her to back off him".

Duffy's spokesperson said this: "She went up to say hello to someone she admired and he knocked her out the way. She was very upset and it wasn't very nice. She's fine now".

Don't worry about it, love. He's not worth it.

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RADIOHEAD'S GREEN EFFORTS LEAVE SEATS EMPTY
Radiohead reportedly had 35 empty seats at a Paris gig after an admirable attempt to promote eco-friendliness backfired when it turned out their French fans aren't tuned in to their green stand point. Either that or they're just lazy. Thom Yorke et al offered 50 free passes for the show at Bercy Arena for fans who called by the Paris offices of XL Recordings on a bike. But only 15 passes were collected. A source told The Sun: "Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all gig-goers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible. Unfortunately the French didn't appear to share their noble intentions and roundly ignored the free ticket tactic".

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