GAME GROUP - GROUP UK PR MANAGER Basingstoke, Attractive salary "Video games are the new rock n roll" - even the Daily Telegraph thinks so! GAME Group plc is Europe's leading video games retailer. The popularity of our GAME and Gamestation brands has helped us grow rapidly to become one of the UK's largest retail groups. We are on the hunt for a Group UK PR Manager to create and deliver our PR strategy in the UK. It's a brand new position, so we need someone who can deliver outstanding campaigns in a creative, fast-paced environment. You'll need to use and grow your relationships with key UK media to manage day-to-day press enquires and implement proactive campaigns. You will also have to deal with senior management and manage a PR Exec, so strong interpersonal skills are required. You must be a PR practitioner with consumer and trade experience in either the retail or entertainment industries and have an eye for a good story. You should be calm under pressure and be self-motivated as well as having excellent attention to detail and a sense of humour. To apply, send your CV and a covering letter stating your current salary and why you are the right person for this role to [email protected] quoting reference SS27
Advertise your jobs in CMU Daily for just £100 a week (five editons) - more info at www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/advertising, or email [email protected] to book.

REMY MA VICTIM LAUNCHES CIVIL SUIT
As expected, the victim in the much previously reported Remy Ma shooting is suing the US rapper in a multi-million dollar civil action.

Ma is currently serving an eight year sentence after being found guilty of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion back in March in relation to an incident in July last year when the rapper shot an associate after an argument over money. Ma claimed the gun went off by accident during a struggle, but the court believed victim Makeda Smith-Barnes, who said the rapper deliberately shot her before speeding away from the scene.

The civil lawsuit is seeking over $160 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus legal costs, which seems a tad optimistic, but whatever. Barnes claims that as a direct result of Ma's action she continues to suffer severe pain and mental anguish, and that she is still unable to hold down a normal job.

Although Ma herself is the primary defendant, there are various other defendants listed on the lawsuit, including the Universal Music Group and various Universal subsidiaries, with the legal papers pursuing that argument previously pursued in other legal cases involving law-breaking major-label-signed hip hop types, that the major recognised and fostered Ma's reputation for misbehaving in order to hone her image as a rapper, and that they profited from that image.

The record companies, the legal papers say, knew of and profited from Ma's "history of unlawful, violent and anti-social behavior", and had a duty to protect the public from her "unlawful and illegal behavior" rather than using it to market music. It's quite a leap in legal logic to make a record company liable if one of their artists shoots someone, but given suing multi-national conglomerates is generally more profitable, you can see why Barnes and her lawyers will have a good go.

The defendants now have until 14 Jul to respond to the lawsuit.

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DMX ARRESTED AGAIN
If there was an award for most arrested hip hopper I'd put my money on DMX to win, though I doubt I'd get particularly good odds. Yes, DMX, real name Earl Simmons, was again picked up by police in the early hours of yesterday morning, this time in Miami. According to the Associated Press, there was an arrest warrant out for the rapper for not having a valid driver's licence. According to reports Simmons was taken to the city's Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Institute, and was still behind bars by 5.30pm despite his bail having been set at just $500. Simmons, of course, has had a number of run-ins with police in recent years, too many for me to summarise here, though may favourite remains that time he drove through a barrier at an airport and then claimed to be an FBI agent.

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RYAN IN COURT OVER CAB DRIVER ASSAULT
Former Blue boy Lee Ryan has appeared at Guildford Magistrates' Court this week facing those previously reported allegations that he assaulted a taxi driver last New Year's Eve. The singer is accused of punching Naeem Ibrahim up to three times in the head during the course of an argument over a traffic incident - Ryan was a passenger in his fiancée Samantha Miller's Ford Ka when it apparently ran into the back of the cabbie's vehicle.

Ibrahim claims that Ryan refused to give the driver's details following the incident, in which he claims the rear of his people-carrier had sustained some damage, and that events escalated from there. He told the court: "The female driver did not get out. The male passenger got out and I said I wanted to exchange details but he ignored me. He said there is no damage and he is not going to pay for it. I told him if I didn't get the details I would have to call the police. He was swearing at me, saying 'I don't give a damn shit'. I didn't answer and just went to write down his registration number. As I was writing I got punched on the side of my head. I think he punched me twice and I fell down. I was in shock".

One of Ibrahim's passengers at the time of the incident, Peter Collier, corroborated the story of the attack, saying that he saw Ryan punch the driver three times, leaving him with a swelling "the size of a tennis ball". Collier's girlfriend Jane Claydon added that she saw the singer and his girlfriend giggling immediately after the crash and also when he was led away in handcuffs, saying: "They seemed to find it amusing."

Commenting on the case, Ryan's defence Raymond Lewis in particular denied allegations that the altercation was racially motivated on Ryan's part, while also claiming that his client was responding to an aggressive movement by Ibrahim. He also accused the cabbie of exploiting the incident for gain - ie, exaggerating his injuries once he found out that Ryan was a famous (or formerly famous?) singer in order to make money out of the situation. "You're milking this aren't you?" said Lewis. "You call a man a racist for no reason".

At the time of his arrest Ryan told police: "I think he knew who I was. I've had this before when people know who I am and think they can make a pound note out of me".

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BARAT RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
According to reports, Carl Barat is resting at home after being released from hospital at the weekend. As previously reported, The Dirty Pretty Things star was apparently diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, after suffering from stomach pains. He was rushed into hospital on Tuesday last week and was forced to cancel two live dates. The singer and his band are expected to return to live duties this weekend, however, with a performance at the Sun Jam Festival in Bern.

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FICEK TO RELEASE SINGLE
Talking of people with a connection to Pete Doherty (well, he's the only person in the world really worth reporting on, isn't he?), Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek is to release his first solo single under the moniker Roses Kings Castles. The track is called 'Sparkling Bootz', and a limited number of 7"s will be available via Rough Trade, Pure Groove and Alphaville Records. UK fans also have the opportunity to send in an SAE and receive a free signed copy of the single, info on that from www.myspace.com/roseskingscastles.

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LILY ALLEN POSTS ANTI-RACISM SONG
Lily Allen has posted a clip of a new song that is anti-racism or, as I'm sure Boris Johnson would prefer to look at it, "pro-diversity". The new track is called 'Guess Who Batman?', which Allen says started as a rant against the BNP, but which has expanded to be a more general song hitting out at racism and homophobia. Writing on her MySpace Allen said: "This song is not a direct attack at anyone, it was originally written about the BNP in the UK, but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere".

Lyrics include: "Look inside your tiny mind, then look a bit harder/'Cos we're so uninspired, so sick and tired of all the hatred you harbour/So you say it's not OK to be gay, well I think you're just evil/You're just some racist who can't tie my laces, your point of view is medieval/Fuck you, fuck you very much/'Cos we hate what you do and we hate your whole crew, so please don't stay in touch". I expect Boris to learn it word for word.

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MORE TALK ABOUT BEATLES HERO GAME
So, much press reporting yesterday about those previously reported plans to release a 'Guitar Hero' style game featuring the music of the Beatles. According to the FT, representatives for the Fab Four (or the estates of the dead ones) are talking to the makers of both 'Guitar Hero' and its rival 'Rock Band' in relation to what is considered by many to be a potentially landmark deal in music licensing, though whether the Guitar Hero playing kids are all that interested in playing along with Lennon and McCartney I don't know. Perhaps I'll ask some. Some reports suggest a deal is close to being done on this, though others say talks are just ongoing so really there isn't much new to report in this domain. Whether Beatles company Apple Corp would plan to coincide a Beatles Hero game with the long awaited launch of the Beatles catalogue via legit download platforms I don't know - that could be quite interesting and rather profitable for the band, Apple and EMI.

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GOLDIE COMPILATION LAUNCH
Goldie is to appear at a free event celebrating the launch of his 'Watch The Ride' compilation at East Village in Shoreditch on 10 Jul. As it's free, you should get down there early. Press info from Get Involved.

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BASSEY WITHDRAWS FROM MANDELA GIG
Shirley Bassey has pulled out of the previously reported Nelson Mandela birthday concert which will take place in London this weekend. Bassey is still recovering from that recent operation and doctors have said she isn't fit enough to travel from her home in Monaco to London. A spokesman told reporters yesterday: "On the advice of her surgeon, Dame Shirley Bassey will now not be able to perform as scheduled at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert. Dame Shirley has been advised not to travel at the present time, so as to aid her continued full recovery following surgery last month. The Dame is hugely disappointed and was looking forward to the show immensely".

As previously reported, it is also unclear whether Amy Winehouse will be able to fulfill her booking for the Mandela event given that she is currently undergoing tests for an illness which may or may not be emphysema.

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BOY GEORGE REFUSED US VISA, MAY AFFECT TOUR
Boy George has been refused a US visa, meaning that his 24 date tour of North America, due to begin in Las Vegas on 11 Jul, may not go ahead. It's not related to those events in New York a couple of years back, rather the previously reported allegations by a 28 year old male escort that the singer imprisoned and assaulted him last spring - allegations which as yet have not been dealt with in court.

A statement from George's management said: "At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration. This is not in respect of anything he has done in the past but because he is facing a trial in November in London for something that happened in April last year. George's lawyers in London have absolutely forbidden us to speak about the facts of that case and all I can say is that George is astounded at the decision and is having lawyers here in the States look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind. George really would love to come to America and repay his American fans loyalty and that is why we are asking the US Authorities to reconsider their decision".

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ELBOW TOUR
Following the release of their fourth album 'The Seldom Seen Kid', Elbow have announced their second tour of the year, set to take place in the autumn. Here are the dates, press info from Hall Or Nothing:

6 Oct: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
7 Oct: Portsmouth, Guildhall
8 Oct: Truro, Hall For Cornwall
10 Oct: Cardiff, University Great Hall
11 Oct: London, Roundhouse
12 Oct: London, Roundhouse
15 Oct: Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
16 Oct: Leicester, De Montfort Hall
18 Oct: Leeds, Academy
20 Oct: Gateshead, Sage
22 Oct: Liverpool, University
23 Oct: Manchester, Apollo

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HANCOCK TO PLAY ABBEY ROAD SET
Herbie Hancock is to perform his (surprise) Grammy winning album 'River: The Joni Letters' for the 'Live From Abbey Road Studios' TV series at, er, Abbey Road next week. He'll be joined at the event on 26 Jun by Corinne Bailey Rae, her first performance since the sudden death of her husband Jason Rae earlier this year.

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CORNERSHOP GIG AND ALBUM NEWS
Cornershop have announced that will play a set at London's Amersham Arms on 5 Jul, the day before they're due to appear at London's Wireless festival in Hyde Park. It'll be their first non festival appearance since 2002 (they did a set at the Jarvis Cocker curated Meltdown last year). The band have also said they've finished their new album, and have told NME.com that they're planning to release two LPs in 2009.

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EDDY GRANT TOUR
Eddy grant has announced his first UK tour dates for more than twenty years, presumably to celebrate the release of his upcoming best of, out at the end of this month. Here are the dates.

27 Jun: Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Concert, Hyde Park
29 Jun: Glastonbury
1 Jul: Brighton Concorde 2
2 Jul: Cambridge Junction
3 Jul: Norwich Waterfront
5 Jul: Wolverhampton The Civic Hall
6 Jul: Wireless Festival
7 Jul: London Bush Hall
8 Jul: Liverpool Carling Academy
9 Jul: Manchester Club Academy
10 Jul: Sheffield Carling Academy
11 Jul: Gateshead Sage

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SINGLE REVIEW: Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Modular)
Well, this is a turn up for the books - a pop release on Modular that isn't absolutely brilliant. Ladyhawke's Pip Brown taps into the 80s in a different way to the likes of Cut Copy, NYPC and The Presets - referencing the music she grew up with, in particular, it seems, the likes of female mullet icons Suzi Quattro, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks. Not quite as memorable as previous single 'Back Of The Van' (which was the most blatantly Stevie Nicks-influenced track since Stuart Price's coke-tastic remix of Gwen's 'What You Waiting For'), the vocals and bassline sort of nick the synth melody from Gary Numan's 'Cars' in the verses, before quickly giving way to a chorus not half as melodic or memorable as it thinks it is, sadly. Nonetheless, it's a half-decent pop song and suggests better could follow. The remixes meanwhile haven't got much to work with in the way of killer riffage, so they just do their own thing really - there's a particularly chunky remix courtesy of Peaches, a tough and percussive acid workout from Alex Gopher and a rather bored-sounding piece of electro from Kid Gloves that was so dull I ended up leaving the room to see if my washing had dried (though by the time I came back, some housey pianos had enlivened things considerably). MS
Release Date: 30 Jun
Press Contact: Bang On [all]

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ISPS IN SERIOUS TALKS WITH LABELS OVER P2P WARNING LETTERS
Virgin Media aren't the only internet service provider in talks with record label trade body the BPI about participating in some kind of anti-P2P warning letter campaign.

As previously reported, Virgin recently agreed to send out letters to any of its customers that the record companies reckon are illegally sharing music online, telling them they are evil and will almost surely go to hell if they don't both cease and desist with immediate effect, or something like that.

Virgin's activity in this area follows increased efforts by the record companies to persuade the ISPs to take a more proactive role in policing P2P file sharing, efforts that have been aided by indication by the government that if the ISPs cannot agree a voluntary code with the content owners then ministers may try and pass new laws forcing them to.

According to Digital Music News, other ISPs are now likely to follow Virgin's lead, with even those who really really don't want to get involved in the messy business of shouting at their copyright infringing customers accepting that they might have to. DMN quotes one top level ISP exec as admitting: "The British government just put a gun to our head".

Citing sources met at last week's London Calling convention, Digital Music News claim more than one label exec said meetings between ISPs and label reps are ongoing, with Tiscali, Talk Talk and BT among the net firms involved. They add that UK Culture Minister Andy Burnham and Feargal Sharkey, the head of music publishing body British Music Rights, who has been most vocal on the music industry side on the need to find a voluntary rather than legislative system, are both playing key roles.

Sharkey is quoted as being optimistic that a widespread agreement between the labels and net firms will be reached without any more government intervention, observing: "At this moment, I am completely optimistic. Three months ago these guys wouldn't even get into the same room".

The BPI has also confirmed talks with ISPs are ongoing, with the label trade body's spokesman, Matt Phillips, telling DMN: "While Feargal is playing an important role on behalf of the authors community, so too are we. In terms of voluntary solutions with ISPs [on anti-piracy measures], BPI is negotiating on the labels' behalf, arranging the Virgin Media campaign, for instance".

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ZAVVI ANNOUNCE FIRST SALE SINCE REBRAND
Music retailer Zavvi - which nobody is still calling Virgin Megastore, are they? Good - has announced a major sale promotion which will see discounts applied to over a million items. The retail firm's first sale since the rebrand as Zavvi will include 600,000 discounted CDs, some going for as little as two quid. Needless to say, the firm is planning a rather large media campaign around the promotion.

Confirming the sale, zavvi CEO Simon Douglas told CMU: "We have created the best ever sale that entertainment retail has ever seen, we are offering what amounts to possibly the largest range of discounted music and games with our warehouse clearance stock plus we have hundreds of great discounts across our extensive catalogue of DVDs, Games and CDs - there's a huge range of real gems in the sale stock. With prices starting at only £2, we think our very first sale will hit a chord with our customers".

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MUSIC ALLY EVENT TACKLES RETAIL
Talking of music retail, those Music Ally people have announced they will be hosting a seminar type event at the Deloitte Auditorium in New Street Square London on 14 Jul looking at the future of the music sellers, physical and digital. Panelists set to take part in the shenanigans are Omnifone chief Rob Lewis, HMV E-commerce boss Gideon Lask, EMI's Keith Jopling, Derek Dunlop of consultancy Conchango and Deloitte Media Director James Bates. Tickets are sixty quid. Details here: www.musically.com/events. Press info from [email protected]

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TICKETMASTER TO TAKE DEBT AND CASH WITH IT WHEN IT SPLITS FROM PARENT COMPANY
As ticketing giant Ticketmaster prepares to split off from its parent company (we reported last year plans by InterActiveCorp to split its five divisions into separate public companies) news today that the new independent ticketing outfit will take with it about $750 million in debts and $450 million in cash, which is nice. Asked how plans for the split up of the company were going, IAC CFO Thomas McInerney told analysts recently: "In general we're making good progress on the timeline we have discussed". I'm told that means the split should be completed by the end of July. So now you know. As much previously reported, Ticketmaster will face new and substantial competition in the ticketing market when Live Nation, up until now clients of the ticketing firm, launch their own rival.

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UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING DEMO-ING REAL TIME ROYALTY TRACKER
Universal Music Publishing is demo-ing a new online system called RoyaltyWindow.com which will let the major's songwriters and clients access statements and the likes at any time, and see how much money their songs are making day to day, hour to hour. I think it's a bit similar to that online system announced by independent publishing enterprise Kobalt last week. UMPG top geezer David Rezner says this: "As the world's leading publisher, UMPG is pleased to be the 'first mover' in providing our clients access to their royalty and copyright information in a secure, online environment".

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REALPLAYER'S RECORD BUTTON
Ah, when CMU's chief RealPlayer monitor told me earlier this year that the latest version of the player would come with a big fat record button that enables users to record streaming audio and pop it out as a lovely MP3, I wondered how long before the record companies would start panicking. And this week Music Week has reported on this issue, so the panic is sure to set in bigtime.

Of course other players that capture streams have been around for ever, but RealPlayer is so much more widely used, and seen as very much a legitimate digital media player, that it may make the recording of streams much more common. Given that the labels have widely assumed streams as opposed to downloads only give web users temporary access to their music, the fact it is becoming easier to capture permanent copies of those streams won't go down so well. Especially when you consider how many people listen to radio services - including the BBC's stations - via the RealPlayer.

Music Week quote Reverb Music's Paul Harris thus: "This software has been available for some time, but the problem now is that whereas previously it was obviously illegal and came from clandestine websites, now as big a company, and one with as huge a market penetration as RealPlayer, is endorsing it".

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WORKING GROUP PROPOSES ANALOGUE RADIO SWITCH OFF PLAN
Talking of radio, a government working group has put forward more firm plans regarding the switch off of the medium wave band and the move of stations on it over to digital. That said, the report doesn't give a definite timeline for turning off analogue radio signals, though says MW could be gone by as soon as 2020.

As previously reported, the government supports an eventual turn off of both analogue TV and radio services so it can flog off the airwaves to the highest bidder. TV and radio firms also advocate the switch over, not least so that they can stop the expensive business of broadcasting both analogue and digital signals at the same time.

But the switch off is tricky because it relies on viewers and listeners all having the required digital receivers and, while ownership of digital TV receivers and DAB radio sets continues to grow, many people concurrently use old analogue sets. That is especially true of radio - which is why talk of a switch off of analogue radio has so far been less proactive.

While not advocating firm switch off dates just yet, and advising that listeners be given at least two years notice, the Digital Radio Working Group says the government should start to plan for the move away from analogue radio, if only because it might encourage consumers who have been lapping up Freeview digital TV boxes to be similarly keen about DAB digital radio sets, sales of which have been slower.

Some believe internet-radio-over-WiFi will take over before DAB properly has time to establish itself as a preferred digital broadcast system, but those that advocate DAB as the better option continue to look to government to help them develop the broadcast medium.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Camper Van Beethoven - Popular Songs (Cooking Vinyl)
This is a greatest hits album, although it comes from an age when "indie" wasn't synonymous with "rock" and when the "hit" parade was possibly a little harder for bands with that tag to break into. Camper Van Beethoven released these songs between 1985-1990 (although five of the tracks here have been re-recorded as they don't own the recording rights to the original versions on their third album) but they don't sound particularly dated. While they can broadly be categorized as an indie band they manage to cover ska, punk and middle-eastern instrumentals throughout the course of this record. 'The Day Lassie Went To The Moon' and 'Take The Skinheads Bowling' are perhaps their best known tunes, and they are both lyrically clever, jangly of guitar and upbeat in rhythm. This is a great introduction to a band, championed by the likes of Teenage Fanclub and more recently Electric Soft Parade, who are happy to have a bit of fun with their music. IM
Release Date: 23 Jun
Press Contact: Cooking Vinyl IH [All]

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COLLINS NOT INTERESTED IN MUSICAL OF HIS SONGS
Phil Collins has criticised, sort of, musicians who allow their songs to be turned into West End musicals. Following his involvement in creating the soundtrack to Disney's 'Tarzan', the former Genesis frontman admits he'd quite like to pen a new stage musical, but says he won't be using any of his existing songs. He told reporters: "I would like to do a Broadway musical, well, not even Broadway, just a musical. I wouldn't use my own songs, I don't really approve of that. I don't think it's something I would want to get involved in". Damn, and I was half way through writing 'Sussudio: The Musical', performed entirely by gorillas. I knew I should have got his permission first.

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RONSON SAYS JACKO HATES PORN
Mark Ronson is apparently one of these boys who spent some time hanging out with Michael Jackson when he was growing up, and so was Sean Lennon. He told C4's 'Sunday Night Project' that he's not traumatised by it, and also, that Michael Jackson doesn't like porn.

Ronson says: "Me and Sean said 'Michael do you want to see something cool?' We turned the dial to the porn channel and there were strippers shaking their tits around. We were like, 'Michael, Michael how cool is this?' We turned around and he was cringing saying, 'Ooh stop it, stop it, ooh it's so silly'. He was not down with the program whatsoever. I think he just had really strong feminist views on porn and the use of it".

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