DYNAMIC, AWARD WINNING VENUE SEEKS A NEW VENUE MANAGER (£26,000-£28,000) An exceptional and inspirational candidate with intimate knowledge of the student entertainment market needed. KUSU operates two venues and a new outdoor space, five bars and several catering outlets, alongside other services. You will be operationally responsible for Entertainment, and strategic development of our bar and associated services (including security). Letters of application and CV required by 7 Aug. Interviews on 14 Aug. Address: Keele University Students' Union, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5BJ. Email: [email protected]   Advertise your jobs in CMU Daily for just £100 a week (five editions) - more info at www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/advertising, or email [email protected] to book.

RAWRIP LAUNCHES BETA SERVICE
The latest digital music platform to come to market beta launched yesterday. RawRip's claim to fame is that it pledges to pay 100% of royalties to artists - ie it won't take a cut from download sales, not even transaction costs. Instead the service, owned by Rockbury Media, will be funded by selling advertising on the website itself.

At launch the service says it has a catalogue of 1 million full-length tracks. These are mainly supplied by independent labels, though they also have some deals with digital aggregators who are reportedly supplying some catalogue music from one or another of the major record companies. However, specific deals with the majors are not, so far, in place.

Artists and labels signed up to the service can automatically manage how their music in distributed and how much they charge for downloads. They can then post a Rawstores widget thing on their MySpace or Facebook pages and sell tracks direct to fans via those pages.

RawRip founder Vartan Sarkissian told CMU: "Who said musicians should be poor? At RawRip we're helping to create a new form of digital distribution which puts the artist right at the centre. We even incur the cost of the sale, we allow the artist to leave any time they want, and have made the service non-exclusive".

For punters the site operates one of those last.fm-style music recommendation systems, called The Rippler, which will classify songs in no less than thirty ways. On that Sarkissian continues: "The way The Rippler works means it really gives independent and unsigned artists the chance to get heard alongside more established acts that may sound similar. So, if you sound like Radiohead, you could get automatically 'rippled' from them. We're therefore hoping to create a more level playing field where every artist has a chance of being discovered on the strength and sound of their music alone".

The RawRip site should go properly live in November.

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PAUL MCCARTNEY REMEMBERS SHEA STADIUM
Paul McCartney has spoken about returning to the Shea Stadium last week to play one final gig there before it is demolished. The Beatles, of course, played one of their most iconic shows at the home of the New York Mets baseball team in 1965.

McCartney told the NME: "Shea was a blast! I can't tell you what it felt like to be back there onstage after all these years. Standing out there on stage and hearing the crowd, all the memories came flooding back of being there all that time ago with the band when we first toured the US. It was mad the first time round because we didn't really know what to expect, as no-one had ever played a stadium show before. Like a lot of things we did, it was going into the unknown. The technology was so different. We couldn't really hear ourselves when we played there as the crowd were so loud. Vox had specially designed us 100-watt amplifiers but they were nowhere near loud enough. The crowd were just as loud this time round but technology has moved on now so we can hear what we are playing. This stadium is such a special place to us. We'll never forget it and its memory will live on".

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ASH TO RELEASE NEW MATERIAL IN 2009
Ash have announced that they will release new material next year. The band revealed in 2007 that they would not release any more albums, but since then have released nothing at all. However, they say they are working on some exciting new releases.

Tim Wheeler told BBC Newsbeat: "We knew what we said [about not releasing any more albums] was quite shocking but we didn't think it would create waves that big. Loads of people have copied us since, a lot of bands are saying they're going to do the same thing so it's been inspirational for a lot of people already. I just can't wait to put it in effect. We've been working up some diabolical inventions to come out next year. It's been very freeing being away from the album format and not thinking, 'Oh, this track has to fit with that track'. We're just trying all sorts of crazy stuff. We've got one album worth so far but we want to get a double album worth of stuff".

There may be no new albums, but the band will be re-releasing their debut album, '1977' and will perform the album in full at the Roundhouse in London on 5 Sep.

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KEYS APOLOGISES FOR TOBACCO GIGS
Alicia Keys has apologized to fans after learning that a concert due to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia later this month was sponsored by tobacco giant Philip Morris International's A Mild brand. The singer learned of the sponsorship deal after she was sent a letter by US anti-tobacco charity Tobacco-Free Kids and said that she had now asked for "corrective actions" to be put into practice.

In a statement Keys said: "I apologise for any misleading advertising initially associated with the show. I'm an unyielding advocate for the well-being and health of children around the world and do not condone or endorse smoking. I look forward to bringing my music and message to my wonderful fans in Jakarta".

We agree. Don't smoke, kids. No matter how cool it makes you look. Which can be pretty damn cool. In the right light.

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UNION SQUARE MUSIC TO RE-RELEASE UNDERTONES
Union Square Music have announced that they have obtained an exclusive license to re-release the first four Undertones albums. The deal will see all four albums remastered and reissued on the Salvo/Ardeck imprint with bonus tracks and new liner notes, as well as a two disc anthology compilation, including 27 unreleased demos, live, session and rehearsal tracks.

First off, though, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of its original release on 31 Aug, the label will reissue the 'Teenage Kicks' single. It will appear as a download single, with a previously unreleased live version of the song and its original promo video, as well as a physical re-release of the original four track single, complete with the original fold-out poster.

Peter Stack, MD at Union Square Music told CMU: "We look forward to bringing the Union Square Music care and attention to the Undertones re-issue campaign and to giving the fans the releases they deserve".

Undertones manager Andy Ferguson added: "Union Square do great re-issue work.  We are happy to be working with them on The Undertones catalogue and look forward to a great set of releases". 

Feargal Sharkey commented: "Our recently-published research, in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire, highlighted conclusively the changing nature of young people's relationship with music. Quite simply, they are screaming out for new kinds of digital services. I am incredibly optimistic that we are now much closer to that goal, and that our creative community of songwriters, composers and artists will be major beneficiaries". Though I fail to see how that's relevant.

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HEAVEN AND HELL TO RECORD NEW ALBUM
Heaven And Hell, aka the Ronnie James Dio-era line up of Black Sabbath, have announced that they will record a new album later this year, their first since 1992's 'Dehumanizer' (as Black Sabbath).

Guitarist Tony Iommi told Music Radar: "We got about six or seven new songs and then we stopped to do this Metal Masters tour. When we finish that, we'll take a couple of weeks off, then carry on writing".

Iommi also said that the band (that's Ronnie James Dio-era Black Sabbath for this paragraph) would not be including any rare or unreleased material in their forthcoming box set, 'The Rules Of Hell'. He said: "I've got tapes and stuff of many years ago of jams and things we've done in the studio, but it's not suitable for release. Instead of going backwards in time, we're going forward and coming up with new stuff".

Of the band's dual identity, Iommi added: "It does get confusing. It really is Black Sabbath, whatever we do. We just choose to go out as Heaven And Hell so everyone knows what they're getting and so people won't expect to hear 'Iron Man' and all those songs. We've done them for so many years, it's nice to do just all the stuff with did with Ronnie again".

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SPRINGSTEEN DENIES BEING UNPATRIOTIC
The most American musician in the whole entire world, Bruce Springsteen, has hit out at claims that he is unpatriotic, due to his politically-charged songs and outspoken remarks about the way America is run.

He said: "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging a place that you love so dearly and has given me so much. I still feel like a beacon of hope and possibility. When it gets dark you're supposed to be singing. And it's dark now. The American idea is a beautiful idea and it needs to be preserved, served, protected and sung out".

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KATONA WASN'T A PROSTITUTE
Former Atomic Kitten turned TV eyesore (it's compulsory to mention Atomic Kitten here, so that this qualifies as music news) Kerry Katona has won substantial but undisclosed libel damages from The Sunday Mirror after the paper claimed that she had worked as a prostitute prior to her pop career. The paper claimed in June that Katona's mother Sue had secured a six-figure deal to publish a tell all book and that one of the things she would tell all about would be her daughter's streetwalking days.

Katona's solicitor-advocate, David Price, told Mr Justice Eady at the High Court in London: "The truth is that Sue Katona has never alleged that the claimant worked as a prostitute in the book or at any other time and such an allegation would be entirely untrue. Moreover, Sue Katona has not to date written an autobiography nor does she have a publishing agreement to publish such a book. [Kerry] was particularly distressed that such an allegation was said to have been made by her mother, thereby giving it added credibility".

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SINGLE REVIEW: Satin Peaches – Emma (Island)
After listening to this single I'd assumed Satin Peaches were a female-fronted indie rock band. So, I was a little surprised to see photos of the band that proved otherwise. They're an all male four-piece from Detroit who met at High school. Regardless of gender, the drawled, slightly nasal vocals are rather good. Also, contrary to expectations, they sound nothing like any of the famous bands from Motor City (The White Stripes et al). Instead they are a sharp-edged new wave-influenced band with a mouthful of angst and the guitar pedals of grunge. The fuzzy  guitars and soaring chorus are offset with George Morris' falsetto. The B-side, 'Wash It Away' is also very good and the band have a mini-album 'Morning Maid' on the way. So, in summary, these Peaches are anything but Moldy. JW
Release date: 28 Jul
Press contact: Scruffy Bird [All]

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MORE NEW WHITNEY LEAKED
Following on from a collaboration with Michael Jackson, a second track has been leaked from Whitney Houston's forthcoming new album. 'Like I Never Left', a duet with Akon (and also thought to have been produced by the rapper), appeared in various places online yesterday but was swiftly removed from many of them.

The album will be Whitney's first since 2002's 'Just Whitney'.

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FOO FIGHTERS TO RELEASE LIVE DVD
The Foo Fighters have revealed that they will release a DVD of one of their Wembley Stadium gigs. The film, recorded on the second of two nights at the London stadium in June, features guest appearances from Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and will be released on 23 Aug:

Here's the tracklist:

The Pretender
Times Like These
No Way Back
Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)
Learn To Fly
Long Road To Ruin
Breakout
Stacked Actors
Skin And Bones
Marigold
My Hero
Cold Day In The Sun
Everlong
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
Rock And Roll
Ramble On
Best Of You

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BYRNE AND ENO TO RELEASE ALBUM
David Byrne and Brian Eno have announced that they will release their second album together next month, 27 years after the first. 'Everything That Happens Will Happen Today' will be released through www.everythingthathappens.com on 18 Aug, with a free track, 'Strange Overtones', available to download from 4 Aug.

Eno says of the album: "When we started this work, we started to think we were making something like electronic gospel: a music where singing was the central event but whose sonic landscapes were not the type normally associated with that way of singing".

The duo will also will also embark on a brief US tour in September, giving fans the chance to hear songs from this album and their debut 'My Life In The Bush Of The Ghosts' performed live.

Tracklist:
Home
My Big Nurse
I Feel My Stuff
Everything That Happens
Life Is Long
The River
Strange Overtones
Wanted for Life
One Fine Day
Poor Boy
The Lighthouse

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THE CORAL ANNOUNCE SINGLE COMPILATION
The Coral will release a collection of singles, called 'The Singles Collection', on 15 Sep. It will be preceded by a brand new single, 'Being Somebody Else', on 8 Sep.

Here's the tracklist:

Dreaming Of You
In The Morning
Pass It On
Don't Think You're The First
Jacqueline
Secret Kiss
Goodbye
Shadows Fall
Liezah
Who's Gonna Find Me
Bill McCai
Put The Sun Back
Something Inside Of Me
Being Somebody Else

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WOMAD DECLARED A SUCCESS
Yeah, we know that festival organisers always declare their events an unparalleled success, even when it's clear to all that they weren't. However, WOMAD does seem to have gone extremely well this year. The 30,000 people who attended were rewarded with glorious weather and almost no crime. Arrests at the event came in at just six (down a staggering 75% on 2007), the most serious of which was assault on a security guard. There were nineteen reported thefts from tents (down from 100 the previous year).

Inspector Mark Levitt of the Wiltshire Police said: "Crime was significantly down in the region of 75%, no disorder, fantastic traffic management and visitors, staff and artists have created a wonderful atmosphere. We work really hard in regards to targeting organised criminals who seek out such festivals for stealing from tents. We are confident that this effort has resulted in far fewer arrests at this years event".

Festival Director, Chris Smith told CMU: "2008 was an important year as we had to win back the trust of our audience and the local community after the mud bath of 2007. I am delighted that the success of this year has achieved both of these things and so much more, a fantastic festival with a great vibe in a beautiful place!"

Festival founder Peter Gabriel added:  "It was musically one of the best festival we have ever had".

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CZECH CREAMFIELDS DECLARED A SUCCESS
What was I just saying? The organisers of Creamfields Central Europe, which took place in the Czech Republic earlier this month, have declared the event a success, despite it being hit by a freak storm that forced the main stages to be closed and caused most people to leave.

A statement said: "At 21.15 the storm swept the event away; 5,000 people ran away and the rest (some 2,000 revellers) spent the night in five tents (Intel Techno stage, Red Zone, Metro Studio 54 VIP stage, Kiss Stage and Seat Zone) where the party was going til eight in the morning and the atmosphere was great. The main two stages were stopped by technicians, because the construction was weakened by winds of 26 m/sec and the electricity wasn't safe and because of that we asked the artists who were on the program here to stay at the hotels, specifically John Digweed and Sasha in Le Meridien, Vienna, and the bands from the live stage in Hotel International, Brno. We also contacted Ferry Corsten´s management to cancel the outbound flight of his private jet from the Netherlands. Nobody was hurt, nobody died and there was no major damage to equipment".

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ANDREW WK RETURNS TO UK FOR MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH
Andrew WK will be returning the UK for the first time in four years for an unusual live performance this September. Dispensing with music, he will be delivering a motivational lecture on his philosophy of partying hard and living without regret. It might sound like a hastily thought up commitment-filler, but Andrew WK has actually been giving these lectures around prestigious US universities, including Yale and NYU, since 2005. And now, for the first time in the UK, he's bringing it to, er, Madame Jojos in Soho on 19 Sep.

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JUANA MOLINA ALBUM AND UK GIGS
Juana Molina returns with her fifth album of hypnotic pop songs, 'Un Dia', via Dominon on 6 Oct. Prior to that, she will make a rare trip to the UK to play three shows.

Dates:
30 Aug: Electric Picnic Festival, Ireland
31 Aug: London, Open Air Theatre, Regents Park
5 Oct: London, LSO, St Luke's

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ALBUM REVIEW: Sea Wolf – Leaves In The River (Dangerbird Records)
Sea Wolf is not a band in the conventional sense, with Alex Church Brown acting as the only constant in the ensemble, accompanied by an ever-changing group of musicians. Church hails from Silver Lake in Los Angeles, a town that has become a virtual hub of indie activity with Silversun Pickups, Rooney and his former musical outlet, Irving, all having burst into life there. Sea Wolf's brand of cute American indie music, made by sensitive boys about sensitive things, echoes Death Cab For Cutie and The Shins, who seem intent on giving the impression that American girls are mostly evil badgers who attacked them and chewed their little delicate hearts up. Shades of Coldplay's wistful melancholy are evident throughout this, their debut long player, but 'Winter Windows' could easily be the milder reprise of 'Violet Hills'. The title track, a gentle fairy-tale lament for a sad girl who sounds long gone, sets the tone for the album, and while this is undoubtedly a heart-rending number, when compared to the bulk of the album, it actually turns out to be one of the more uplifting tracks. 'Leaves In The River' is saturated with Church's overzealous use of nature imagery and whereas I see where he's going with the folk-tinged quality that the album retains, he comes across as having an unhealthy obsession with gypsies. He is a slave to his conceptual style of writing, forcing every song to be a short story and his cliché-laden lyrics, rhyming couplets and inevitable hooky central metaphors are used too often to his detriment. 'Leaves In The River' is speckled with humour that ends up feeling mostly laboured, but the album's true saving grace is the beautifully simple arrangements, which almost balance Church's overreaching lyrics. There is a general Autumnal aura about the album, what with all this talk of leaves and leaving, but I doubt it will make the earth move for many, unless you are a nature-loving manic depressive. MB
Release Date: 28 Jul
Press Contact: Darling Dept [All]

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MOTLEY CRUE MOVIE NEWS
Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee has revealed that the band are still working hard trying to get their autobiography, 'The Dirt', turned into a movie. The wait may be a long one, despite the band touting a 2009 release date, as they don't seem to have a producer or director on board yet - David Fincher reportedly walked off the project back in 2005. However, drummer Tommy Lee does know who he wants to play him, so they're halfway there.

Lee said: "We're working on the film, trying to find the right producers and director and all that sort of stuff. Johnny Depp would be my choice to play me. He's the best [actor] ever".

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EMI PUBLISHING SIGN EDDY GRANT
EMI Music Publishing has signed a worldwide publishing deal to represent that Eddy Grant chap, including both catalogue and new tracks. I know this because EMI Publishing UK boss Guy Moot just said this: "Eddy has been writing hit songs for well over 40 years, and his music still resonates with people all over the world. He's an entrepreneur, can still cause controversy and discussion to this day and above all is a true creative spirit whose influence and importance cannot be questioned. We're really happy to enter this partnership with Eddy, and are looking forward to working with him to introduce his songs to a whole new generation of music fans. It is my sincerest hope that this relationship will set a new trend in the strategic relationship between a major and a small independent publisher".

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SONYBMG US MARKETING VP PROMOTED
Some SonyBMG appointments for you. Well, one. In the US. Mark Flaherty, formerly VP Marketing for the major's RCA Music Group, has had a 'senior' added to his title, so that he is Senior VP Marketing for the division, reporting to Executive VP and GM Tom Corson. A former sing songwriter and marketing consultant, in his new role Flaherty will develop and manage marketing campaigns for various artists signed to the RCA US label.

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THE WALKMEN ALBUM AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY VIA AMIESTREET CHARITY PROGRAMME
US based download-store-come-social-network AmieStreet.com has exclusively released the new album by New York indie types The Walkmen - 'You & Me' - as part of their Download To Make A Difference programme. For three weeks the album will be sold via the service for five dollars, all of which will be donated to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The album will then go on general release on 19 Aug, for those who don't like the idea of their music purchases helping cancer sufferers.

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ORANGE LAUNCH NEW MUSIC PROGRAMME
Orange have announced they are launching a new online music programme called, in a stroke of show titling genius rarely before seen in the mobile content arena, 'The Music Show'. The six minute programme will have music news, interviews and reviews, and will be available via the Orange website or via the Orange World mobile internet platform.

Orange Head Of Music Partnerships Richard Wheeler says this: "The launch of 'The Music Show' further proves that Orange is committed to music in all its forms. It will showcase top quality exclusive content with the very best bands and artists every week. 'The Music Show' will also highlight other music content and offerings on the portals that users will be interested in via various dynamic links".

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OFCOM MAY LET ITV CUT LOCAL NEWS OUTPUT
Media regulator OfCom is reportedly set to let ITV reduce its regional news commitments as part of a package of concessions to the third channel broadcaster who are trying to reduce their so called public service commitments which they argue are making the whole operation uncommercially-viable. A leaked document reported on by the Guardian says that ITV will be allowed to cut regional news in so-called 'sub-regions'. They will not, however, be able to merge the smaller ITV franchises like Borders and Westcountry into larger neighbouring ones. All that said, it should be noted OfCom have denied any firm decision has been made yet.

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VMA ORGANISERS FEAR BRITNEY
Those in charge of MTV's Video Music Awards are allegedly fearful that Britney Spears will ask to reprise this year her much-mocked appearance at last year's ceremony. The singer has been nominated in the Best Female Video category but the VMA's organisers are not keen to have her back.

A source told The Mirror: "They are going to leave it up until the week before to decide. But they can only advise her - Brit will do her own thing".

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COURTNEY LOVE HYPNOTISED BY PAUL MCKENNA
Courtney Love has revealed that she regularly visits TV hypnotist Paul McKenna to help her to control her weight. She told The Daily Mail: "I've known Paul for years. I lost weight last year the old-fashioned way by dieting and living off protein shakes. But it was hard to stay disciplined. He's brilliant and is totally responsible for me staying so skinny. Whenever I start to feel my resolve weaken, I go to Paul for another hypnosis session".

In other Courtney news, her attempts to stop blogging by placing a sign on her computer seem to be faltering. Since telling readers of her blog about the sign last Thursday she's posted numerous missives and rants. However, she did delete two of them and says she stopped herself from posting an angry tirade against fellow blogger Perez Hilton.

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ALICE COOPER INSPIRED BY BARBARELLA
Alice Cooper has said that his onstage persona was inspired by The Great Tyrant in 1968 film Barbarella and, er, Emma Peel from The Avengers.

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