WANTED: SENIOR PRESS OFFICER / ACCOUNT MANAGER
Get Involved are seeking an experienced Senior Press Officer / Account Manager with solid print and online contacts. Must have at least 2 years experience in house or within an agency with a proven track record of working diverse music campaigns. Experience of working events would be good but not a deal breaker...We are looking for someone special to join our vibrant West London offices. Must be hard working and results driven with a keen eye for a story and the ability to write engaging press releases. CVS to [email protected]

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OUTPOST OPPORTUNITIES

ONLINE ACCOUNT MANAGER
Our online department has handled campaigns as far reaching as Madlib, Red Stripe, Bomb The Bass and The Big Chill. We're looking for an online genius to take it to the next level. We'd expect you to live your life on the web in addition to displaying an excellent knowledge of music and consumer websites, social networking, video sites, seeding, viral campaigns and forums. A minimum two years proven online experience and a trainspotter's knowledge of music is required for this role. Web design skills and consumer PR experience a distinct advantage. £17k-£21k + bonuses.

RADIO PLUGGER
Looking after our key radio projects, you will have an outstanding knowledge of cutting edge music as well as possessing excellent radio contacts. You will be hardworking, motivated and intelligent with first-class writing skills and a good standard of computer literacy. With a flexible attitude and an eye for detail, you will be a confident team-player with a strong understanding of the inner workings of a radio station. A minimum of one years experience is required. The role will also include some TV plugging and press work.
£15k-£18k + bonuses

Both roles require event attendance outside normal working hours as well as a strong desire to search out new and exciting music/projects! Please apply in writing, including CV, to [email protected] clearly stating which role you are applying for.

FIND OUT HOW TO ADVERTISE HERE

SONY ERICSSON LAUNCHES ALL YOU CAN EAT MUSIC SERVICE
Sony Ericsson is the latest handset maker to announce its own all-you-can-eat digital music proposition, putting it into competition with the mobile networks who sell its phones, and who would probably rather consumers used their digital music offers.

Sony Ericsson's PlayNow Plus service, which will launch in Sweden via operator Telenor later this year, repurposes Omnifone's subscription based digital music service already used in the UK market by Vodafone under their MusicStation brand.

The difference between the PlayNow Plus and the MusicStation services - both of which offer Napster-style all-you-can-eat access to music downloads, but access which only continues as long as a subscription is valid - is that PlayNow Plus will allow users to keep permanent copies of their most listened to tracks at the end of their subscription.

This, of course, copies the soon-to-launch download service from their competitors Nokia, Comes With Music, which is a unique take on the subscription model because users can keep everything they download during the year they have access to the Nokia music catalogue (which includes music from all four majors), and, in theory, they could download everything during that time.

The Ericsson/Omnifone service is less generous in terms of quantity - the press release promising users that they can keep a somewhat vague "number of tracks" if and when their contract expires. However, those tracks will be DRM-free. The word on the net is that the Nokia service will provide tracks in a digitally rights managed format locking songs to Nokia devices and/or the Nokia PC player - and, more than that, some say to the actual phone and/or PC that tracks are initially downloaded too, meaning in reality, while the download is permanent, users will stop using them after a couple of years or so.

Following its launch in Sweden, there are plans to roll out PlayNow Plus into other territories in 2009. Meanwhile, Ericsson's PlayNow Arena, an existing mobile multi-media platform that includes an iTunes-style a la carte download service, and which launched in Scandinavia last month, is set to launch in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland later this year. The PlayNow Arena download service provides tracks without DRM, and has all four majors on board, which I think makes it the first mobile download platform to have DRM-free music from all the record companies.

Anyway, here's what Rikko Sakaguchi, Senior Vice President and Head of Creation & Development at Sony Ericsson, has to say about all this: "Expanding our PlayNow service portfolio by adding PlayNow Plus and by launching PlayNow Arena in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and the UK during the fourth quarter, are key elements of the Sony Ericsson service strategy. These steps and the addition of Universal's catalogue to the music offering in both services gives us every possibility to provide customers and consumers with what we feel is important and requested - an unparalleled user experience on Sony Ericsson devices".

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MORE ON THE LEAR CRASH
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board have revealed more details about the previously reported Lear jet crash that took place in South Carolina on Friday, killing four and injuring Travis Barker and DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein.

The NTSB weren't able to comment on what actually caused the crash, but they added credibility to the previously reported theory that a burst tyre was responsible by confirming that a cockpit voice recorder had revealed that the pilot and co-pilot thought that a tyre had blown and as a result attempted to abort their take-off. Sadly, they weren't able to stop the plane, and the jet went off the end of the runway, ripped through a fence, and, engulfed in flames, came to a stop on a nearby motorway. NTSB's Debbie Hersman added that pieces of tyre had been recovered from the runway, and that the tyre's manufacturer, Goodyear, are co-operating with their investigations.

Details have also emerged as to Barker and Goldstein's escape from the plane via an interview given by Josh Shumpert of the South Congaree Police Department, the second person to arrive at the scene, who reported that the pair "slid down the wing on the right side of the plane. They said they were on fire, and that they tackled each other and put each other out". He added that by the time he got there, they were pacing the side of the road, and were in shock. The moments after the crash were captured on tape, though you can't hear much. If you want to not hear much for yourself, the recording is, of course, online at uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OWIIeeD7sN0

The two men have, of course, received treatment for second and third degree burns, but were otherwise uninjured and are expected to make a full recovery, although the burns could take up to a year to heal completely. As previously reported, their fellow passengers Chris Baker and Charles Still, pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland all died in the accident, Baker and Still on impact, Lemmon and Bland from smoke inhalation and burns.

Meanwhile, Barker is reportedly trying to stay positive, despite the loss of two close friends and colleagues, and having undergone several episodes of surgery on his burns. Bill Nosa, a spokesman for the former Blink-182 star's clothing line Famous Stars And Straps, is quoted as saying: "If you make it out of a crash of that magnitude, somebody's looking out for you. He's trying to stay upbeat". Commenting on those who died, the spokesman added that Barker's assistant Baker "was like extended family".

Elsewhere, singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw has expressed his shock at the crash, and the fact that he was with with those who died minutes before their demise. Speaking to US news show Extra, DeGraw said: "The people that you travel with when you're doing this for a living, they become your family. I was shaking somebody's hand who was about to die... That could just as easily been our reality too. You have no idea what your own fate or their fate is going to be".

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TI ORDERED TO PAY MORE CHILD SUPPORT
A US Superior Court judge has ordered rapper TI, real name Clifford Harris, to pay the mother of his two children more child support. LaShon Dixon had been receiving about £2k a month, but her legal action means that he will now have to pay her just over £3k a month. Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane also told Harris that he must continue to pay for the boys' private education, their uninsured medical bills, and all extracurricular activities. Tipton Lane also awarded the pair joint custody of the children, although Dixon was given primary physical custody. By the sounds of it, Dixon still thinks she should get more. Her lawyer Randy Kessler said she welcomed the increase, however, saying: "Every little bit helps. She was just getting by with the children, while they lived a different life with their father. It can't be complete opposites on the other side".

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DAVIES SAYS KINKS REUNION ALMOST THERE
The Kinks' Ray Davies has told Radio 4's 'Front Row' show that the band are "three quarters of the way" towards a reunion. Davies explained: "The stumbling block is my brother because he was seriously ill recently [he had a stroke in 2004] and whether he feels ready to do it. There is a desire to do it, but the thing that would make me decide yes or no would be whether or not we could do new songs, even if it's four or five. But I couldn't do it just for nostalgic reasons. My pitch to the other guys in the band - because I'm really for it - was what would we have written if we hadn't have had our first hit, 'You Really Got Me?' What if we put ourselves in that situation, what would have happened? So I think new work is important for artists as they mature and get older. The amazing thing is that The Kinks are the only band, of that period, where all original members are still alive".

Davies was speaking ahead of the opening of his new London musical 'Come Dancing'.

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OASIS CANCEL EDEN GIG, PLUS ALBUM LEAKS
Oasis have cancelled their upcoming gig at the Eden Project on 27 Sep, as well as dates in Cologne and Paris, as Noel Gallagher continues to recover from the injuries he sustained when he was attacked on stage at the Virgin Festival in Canada.

A statement issued by the band's management says: "A CT scan has now revealed that Noel suffered three broken and dislodged ribs in the attack and he has been advised by his doctor that he will not be able to perform for at least another week".

Those with tickets for the cancelled shows will have to make do with enjoying leaked versions of the band's new album, 'Dig Your Own Soul', which have surfaced on various websites in the last few days.

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TAKE THAT DRUMMER JAILED FOR BANK ROBBERY
Session drummer Steve Washington, real name Steve Tate, who has performed with acts including Take That and Texas, has been jailed for four years for bank robbery.

Tate admitted to holding up the Folkestone branch of Lloyd's TSB with a gift-wrapped music stand last July and stealing £1200. He was also charged with four other offences, including stealing alcohol worth less than £20. Maidstone Crown Court heard that the once successful and financially well off drummer had stopped working after he became addicted to drugs.

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AZNAVOUR TO GET MIDEM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Legendary French singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour is to get a lifetime achievement award at MIDEM next year. The 84 year old star, currently on a farewell tour of Latin America, has written more than 800 songs during the course of his career, and appeared in more than sixty films. He is shortly to release a new album via EMI, 'Duos', featuring duets of some of his best known songs with guest performances from the likes of Sting, Bryan Ferry, Celine Dion, Placido Domingo, Elton John, and Liza Minnelli.

MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk said in a statement: "Charles Aznavour is without doubt the most famous French singer throughout the world, and he is a living legend in the pantheon of chanson francaise. His songs have become standards covered by some of the greatest artists of successive generations, and the films in which he has starred are classics. It is a pleasure for MIDEM to be able to honour this incomparable personality".

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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE MOTOWN RECORD
Universal's Motown Records has teamed up with the previously reported Poll The People website to find out what the UK's favourite 50 Motown records are. The most popular tracks will be then included on a special 'Motown 50' compilation designed to celebrate the label's 50th anniversary. Which all sounds good to me. Voting has already begun - so you can vote now at www.pollthepeople.com. Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' is currently number one. The album will be released just in time for Christmas on 1 Dec. Everyone who votes will be entered into a draw to win the top 50 Motown albums, which is a rather good prize I'm sure you'll agree.

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SINGLE REVIEW: Forever The Sickest Kids - Whoa Oh! (Universal/Island)
A lazily-titled single with an even lazier premise, this is relatively forgettable stuff from Dallas pop-punk rockers Forever The Sickest Kids, also known as FOTSK for, well, the lazy amongst us. Seemingly othe latest "answer to Fall Out Boy" (oh, joy!), FOTSK fail to make an impression. The first few chords of the track however are promising, but unfortunately jump straight into a familiar-sounding shouting match between band members that sound more shrill than harmonious. Don't get me wrong - I wanted to like this single, I really did, and I was looking forward to hearing a mainstream guitar band break the mould and raise a few eyebrows. Unfortunately the only thing 'Whoa Oh!' raises is questions about where all of this reiterated guitar slog is really going. To the top of the charts, then the bottom of the Woolworths bargain bucket probably. TW
Release Date: 13 Oct
Press Contact: Wild [CP, CR] Island IH [RP, RR, NP, NR]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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WILCO AND FLEET FOXES GIVE AWAY TRACK
Wilco and Fleet Foxes are giving away a free copy of a cover of Bob Dylan track 'I Shall Be Released' to those who promise to vote in the upcoming US election. In order to access the MP3 recording, fans must tick a box stating "I pledge to VOTE in the 2008 Election", enter their name and email address, and the song will be sent to them. Alas there's no box for "I would VOTE if I could, because I find myself more interested in who is the next US President than who is the next UK Prime Minister, but I can't, but you should send me the free track anyway". Which presumably means UK fans will just have to cheat in order to get the track. Which is quite apt for a promotion linked to the US elections. The track was recorded at a show in Bend, Oregon on 23 Aug.

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KORN MAN REVEALS SOLO TRACK
Korn's Jonathan Davis has uploaded a track from his upcoming solo album to his website. It's a cover of 'Got Money', a track by T-Pain and Lil Wayne, and features a guest performance from Jim Root of Slipknot, and Korn touring drummer Ray Luzier. The track can be downloaded from www.jdsfa.com.

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THE KILLERS ANNOUNCE ALBERT HALL SHOW
The Killers have announced a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London to preview their new album, 'Day & Age' on 3 Nov. The album is due for release on 24 Nov. The whole gig will be broadcast live on Radio 1 on Zane Lowe's show (7.00-10.00pm) and will include tracks from the new album.

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BLOC PARTY ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Bloc Party have announced their first UK tour since December 2007, which will kick off in January next year. The dates, obviously, will promote the band's latest album, 'Intimacy'.

Tour dates:

25 Jan: Glasgow, Academy
26 Jan: Glasgow, Academy
28 Jan: Manchester, Apollo
29 Jan: Manchester, Apollo
31 Jan: Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
1 Feb: Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
11 Apr: London, Olympia

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LYKKE LI ANNOUNCES UK TOUR
Swedish singer Lykke Li has announced another round of UK tour dates. Which is nice.

Tour dates:

29 Sep: Sheffield, The Plug
1 Oct:London Scala
2 Oct:Brighton Concorde 2
5 Oct:Birmingham Glee Club
6 Oct:Bristol Thekla
8 Oct:Liverpool Academy 2
9 Oct:Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
10 Oct:York The Duchess

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SSS POST NEW TRACK
Thrash metallers SSS have posted another new track from their forthcoming second album on their MySpace page. 'Can't Burst The Bubble' is taken from 'The Dividing Line', which will be released via Earache on 20 Oct.

Click here to hear it: www.myspace.com/shortsharpshockuk

The band will be heading out on a headline tour to promote the album in October, followed by dates in November supported Fucked Up.

Tour dates:

24 Oct: Liverpool, Barfly
26 Oct: Newport, Le Pub
27 Oct: Plymouth, White Rabbit
28 Oct: Sheffield, Corporation
29 Oct: Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
30 Oct: Manchester, Star & Garter
31 Oct: London, Islington Bar Academy
1 Nov: Norwich, The Queen Charlotte
9 Nov: Birmingham, Barfly (w/ Fucked Up)
13 Nov: Stoke, Sugarmill (w/ Fucked Up)
16 Nov: Glasgow, King Tut's (w/ Fucked Up)
17 Nov: Sheffield, Corporation (w/ Fucked Up)

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PRE RETURN TO THE STUDIO
CMU favourites Pre head over to Chicago next month to record the follow-up to their debut album, 'Epic Fits', with none other than the legendary Steve Albini.

On their ambitions for the album, the band say: "Hopefully, the new record will put a stop to people leaving comments on our MySpace page like: 'Your music makes us feel very chubby down stairs'. Seriously..."

Before heading Stateside, the band will be playing a few gigs around London town to warm themselves up. On 7 Oct, they'll be supporting another CMU favourite, Rolo Tomassi, at Madame Jojo's in Soho.

Here are all the dates:

3 Oct: London, The Luminaire
7 Oct: London, Madame Jojo's
16 Oct: London, Hoxton Bar & Grill

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ALBUM REVIEW: Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke (Modular)
The post Live Aid musical landscape was generally a barren affair, with all the flamboyant post-punk and new romantic outfits releasing the worst music of their career and not much else to entertain us other than The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode. But Ladyhawke (aka New Zealander Pip Brown) takes '85/'86 as her year zero, and manages to make the era sound positively thrilling. I was skeptical at first, mainly on the back of the underwhelming first singles from the album, which made me think that perhaps Modular were onto something less than incredible for once, but the album is a grower and slowly reveals itself to be packed full of glistening pop moments. It starts well: opener 'Magic' has crunchy guitars and a PSB-style bassline, whilst riff-tastic 'Manipulating Woman' rivals Bailey and Collins' 'Easy Lover' as a classic slice of suit-sleeves-rolled-up stadium funk rock. Meanwhile, elsewhere the album recalls vintage Gary Numan, Kim Wilde, Blondie, Stevie Nicks and the kind of electronic angst rock you'd expect to hear soundtracking a John Hughes movie. Whilst 'Back Of The Van' and 'Paris Is Burning' still lack the killer choruses that could have made them huge hits, the likes of 'My Delirium', 'Better Than Sunday' and 'Professional Suicide' are by no means lacking in that department. This is a great debut album and as good as electronic mullet-pop gets, frankly. MS
Release Date: 22 Sep
Press Contact: Bang On [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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CHINESE TEENAGER ARRESTED FOR FILESHARING
A 14 year old boy in Hong Kong has been arrested by Chinese customs officials on suspicion of uploading around 2000 songs to the internet. The boy, who has not been named for legal reasons, is accused of uploading mainly Cantonese dialect songs to an internet discussion forum, which he then advertised as free downloads. According to the The New Zealand Herald, the boy has been freed on HK$2000 bail and is awaiting charge while the investigation continues.

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ISPS STILL RESISTANT TO FILESHARER DISCONNECTIONS, BPI SAY OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE
According to Digital Music News, a Virgin Media exec recently discussed the practicalities of internet service providers cutting off individuals who the record companies believe are illegally uploading or downloading music via their net connections.

As much previously reported, while a number of UK-based ISPs have signed up to a scheme where they send warning letters from the record companies to people who its believed illegally access and share unlicensed music, they have all resisted calls from some in the record industry to actually cut off file sharers should they continue to infringe copyrights after two warnings.

Some in the record industry reckon cutting infringers off is the only way to actually have a real impact on illegal file sharers, who may otherwise see the warning letters as a badge of honour. But the ISPs are not keen - partly because of the PR challenge of cutting off paid up customers, partly because of the potential loss of business given how widespread file sharing can be, and partly because without some industry-wide monitoring scheme, the whole thing would be ineffective because cut-off net users would just sign up to a rival ISP.

Speaking at the EconMusic Conference in London this week, the unnamed Virgin Media exec reportedly said his company would not be willing to go the disconnection route, and also asked whether, if forced to do so, ISPs would be compensated for lost customers. BPI boss Geoff Taylor - who was also at the conference - was reportedly conciliatory though, saying the record label trade body wasn't pushing for the disconnection policy and that they were looking into other ways to follow and beef up the warning letter programme.

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MAMA ACQUIRE HEAVEN, MOVE G-A-Y THERE
The ever-expansive MAMA Group has bought the Heaven nightclub in London, and plans to move the G-A-Y club to the venue.

MAMA acquired the G-A-Y brand as part of its purchase of the Mean Fiddler venues last year. G-A-Y, of course, has been traditionally housed at Mean Fiddler's Astoria venue - but the Astoria was not part of MAMA's acquisition of the venue network, mainly because it's due to be demolished and replaced by offices and shops which will link into the expanded Tottenham Court Road station underneath it.

Heaven, underneath Charing Cross Station, is an obvious new home for G-A-Y, itself a venue closely associated with the capital's gay community.

Confirming the acquisition of the venue and the plans to move G-A-Y there, MAMA chiefs Adam Driscoll and Dean James told reporters: "Heaven is a historical venue which has been at the heart of the London nightclub scene for almost thirty years. It has a phenomenal reputation, not just in London but internationally and we are delighted that the acquisition of Heaven (London) Limited has enabled us to add this unique venue to our expanding live music portfolio. The transfer of the G-A-Y club nights to Heaven together with other popular club nights currently staged at the venue will ensure the continued growth and development of Heaven".

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AMAZON USE ANDROID TO GO MOBILE WITH MP3S
Amazon US is taking its MP3 download store mobile by launching a version of it to be used on Google's new Android mobile phone platform. The news comes as the first phone compatible with Google's mobile operating system - the G1 - went on sale, via T Mobile in the States. The Amazon MP3 mobile app will let users stream thirty second previews of tracks over their mobile connection, though they'll have to use the G1's WiFi functionality to actually download tracks. Downloads will, though, be DRM-free, as is the norm with Amazon's download service. The app will be preloaded onto the G1 device, and is supported by T-Mo, who don't have their own download service in the US.

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US STREAMING MECHANICAL ROYALTY RATES REVEALED
Details of a deal between the record labels, publishers and online music services in the US that was reached back in June have been revealed.

The deal was part of the ongoing dispute between the music industry and web firms in America regarding what royalties should be paid by digital music services - and in particular whether both a performance and mechanical royalty should be paid.

The former is normally paid by broadcasters who broadcast music, the latter by companies who make mechanical copies of songs, mostly record companies. Normally a licensee would only need one or the other, but arguably digital music services both broadcast music and make mechanical copies.

In the UK, where both kind of royalties are handled by the same collecting society - MCPS-PRS - this hasn't been much of an issue, but in the US, where different collecting societies are involved, it has.

Anyway, a deal was reached in June regarding streaming and limited download services, but the details have only just been published because they were awaiting approval by the country's Copyright Board. The mechanical royalty will be 10.5% of revenue generated by a digital music service, but minus any performance royalties already paid.

No agreement has been reached regarding proper download services, and the Copyright Board will have to form a conclusion on that based on the arguments of both music owners and the digital service providers.

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IMAGEM ANNOUNCE NEW RECRUITS
Recently formed publishing company Imagem Music has announced two new appointments, the first Lucy Francis, an A&R Manager at the recently defunct Gut Records, who will take on the same post at the publisher. Meanwhile Stephen Phillips, who worked at the Sync Department at Universal Music, will become Imagem's Sync & Marketing Manager.

Imagem Music MD Tim Smith says this: "Lucy and Stephen are already experienced in their respective fields and are valuable additions to our growing team here in the UK. We are an ambitious company and want to recruit top quality, creative people - both Lucy and Stephen fit that bill and I am very much looking forward to working with them".

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NEW LOOK MUSIC WEEK TO INCLUDE NEW CATALOGUE CHARTS
Industry trade mag Music Week undergoes its latest relaunch next week, with a new logo and everything. There'll be new content sections too, part of a mission to expand the weekly's editorial remit to include more stuff on the live, publishing and media sectors.

Charts will still be an important part of the mix, though, and yesterday they announced they'd be including three new catalogue charts in the magazine from next week, recognising the ever increasing importance of catalogue sales to record companies. The charts will only include releases more than two years old, and will split catalogue sales into studio albums, greatest hits albums and downloads.

Music Week editor Paul Williams says this: "These charts reflect the growing importance of the catalogue market for today's music business. While sales of new releases have struggled this year, artists such as Abba and Neil Diamond have enjoyed strong catalogue sales, while retailers such as zavvi and hmv are increasingly focussing their attentions on catalogue".

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METAL HAMMER GOES EXTRA METAL FOR METAL RELEASE
This is fun - rock mag Metal Hammer is marking the release of the latest album by Metallica by publishing an edition with a cover made out of, you guessed it, metal. There are just 4000 copies of the limited edition metal Metal Hammer, and they are available via HMV or mail order for £5.99. The metal cover has Metallica's logo pressed into it. The mag also features an eight page feature about the band and their new long player 'Death Magnetic'.

Commenting on the metal cover - two years in development, apparently - the magazine's editor Alex Milas said this: "We wanted to celebrate Metallica's return and there was no way we could make the Metal Hammer cover more metal than this". Copies of the mag with one of those tediously predictable paper covers will also be available for the usual cover price of £3.99.

As you may have noticed, we too are celebrating the release of the new Metallica album by delivering your Daily via a special kind of metallic email. You won't spot it at first, but if you lick today's Daily you'll notice it has a definite metallic taste.

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LOTS OF GLOBAL RADIO APPOINTMENTS
Global Radio yesterday announced a senior exec rejig as part of their mission to integrate their existing operations with those of the recently acquired GCap. I'm going to talk you through all of it, even though there's a high chance you'll fall asleep half way through. That's just the kind of radical risk takers we are here at CMU.

First up, Capital Radio boss Paul Jackson has been elevated to the role of Group Programme Director for a division that will include The Hit Music Network - which is those GCap local stations not being rebranded as Heart - plus Capital in London and the two Xfm stations in London and Manchester.

Second up, Global's Executive Director Richard Park will take personal control of the firm's two core brands, Heart and Galaxy, which, as previously reported, will both expand through the relaunch of various GCap local stations in the Heart or Galaxy format. Jackson will also report into Park, giving the Exec Director ultimate programming control over a huge chunk of the group. That particular line management decision is interesting of course, with Jackson generally referring to his new boss as Dad and all that.

Elsewhere, Darren Henley, currently Classic FM MD, will continue to run the national classical station. For reasons I can't quite fathom, he'll also continue to oversee London urban station Choice FM, despite the fact said station is reportedly going to become a Galaxy station in all but name. It's perhaps because the Choice brief will become less taxing that Henley has also been given a new job title -Director Of Brand Innovations - because it's always nice to innovate in branded ways when you get bored of running your radio stations.

Other changes: Mark Lee, previously head of GCap's now redundant One Network, will become MD Regions, and oversee operations and sales for the Hit Music Network and the Heart and Gold stations; Will Harding, previously strategy development man for GCap, will become Group Strategy & Development Director for the merged firm; and Robin Pembrooke, online and interactive chief at GCap, will become Director Of Online & Interactive for Global.

Some more changes: John Legg becomes Business Development Director, John McGeough becomes Trading Directior, Clive Petterell becomes Director Of Business Legal & Company Affairs, and Mandy Edwards becomes HR Director.

The merged GCap and Global sales divisions will be overseen by a newly created Group Commercial Director, though someone for that job is still being sought. In the mean time Global's COO Don Thomson will head up the sales operations, which will include four agency sales teams - to be headed up by Ed Chalmers, Dan Durling, Dom Barker and Jennie Stubbs. Elsewhere in sales, Mark Burl will look after the agency sales group, Ali Page will lead the client sales team and Paul Sigaloff will lead the interactive sales team. Classic FM will retain its own sales team, led by new Classic FM Sales Director Nikki Vidler.

And that, I think, is it. Well done if you made it through without dozing off. As a prize, here's a quote from Global CEO Ashley Tabor: "I am convinced we have a strong senior management team now in place to take the company forward to the next stage".

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GCAP SELL FUN RADIO
More Global Radio news, and ahead of the formal Global/GCap merger, the latter has sold off another of its digital radio services, this time kids' station Fun Radio. The station has been bought by consultancy Folder Media, who bought both GCap's stake and shares held by other partners, including GCap's main partner on the venture, Hit Entertainment, the company behind Bob The Builder and all sorts of other iconic kids characters.

Folder's intent for the station isn't entirely clear, though it will hire GCap's content division Creation to run it on a day to day basis, and Hit Entertainment are likely to stay involved so to use the service to promote its other ventures, so there are unlikely to be any major changes short term.

Folder Media's Creative Director Matt Deegan told reporters: "Fun Radio is a successful little radio station that is well loved by a growing audience. Its audience size, when ranked alongside children's magazines shows, shows it to be a great choice for advertisers wanting to reach young parents and their children. We're very excited about it joining the Folder family".

The sale of Fun Radio is part of GCap's withdrawal from the digital-only radio space begun by Fru Hazlitt during her short time as CEO of the radio company. The withdrawal has also led to the sale of Planet Rock and the closure of theJazz and Core.

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NME TO GO FM FOR A MONTH TO TAKE ON XFM
More GCap related stories, and NME's recently launched digital station will go head to head with its main competitor, GCap's Xfm, when it stages two month-long FM broadcasts in London and Manchester. The RSL FM broadcasts will aim to attract listeners away from the GCap alternative rock station, and then persuade them to choose NME Radio via the net or digital TV platforms after the FM broadcasts go off air. NME will be on FM in London from 6 Oct to 2 Nov, and in Manchester from 10 Nov to 7 Dec. As much previously reported, NME Radio is being led by Sammy Jacob, the original programming chief at Xfm back in its independent days.

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CHANNEL FIVE REBRANDS
With most of the world seemingly shunning capital letters completely in their corporate branding these days (remember the previously reported mysterious disappearance of capital letters from music retail - hmv, zavvi), it takes an institution as radical as Channel Five to bring big letters back into fashion. They've got a new logo and it - wait for it, you're not going to believe this - will consist of the word five written completely in capital letters. That's right - FIVE. Radical. The new logo will launch on air on 6 Oct, alongside a new slogan - 'We Are Five'.

As is often the case, the excitement of a new corporate identity has led to bosses at the TV station talking absolute nonsense. Head of Marketing Carl Ratcliff waffled: "We feel this new work is closer to the truth of the brand - playfulness and colour sit at the heart of this new identity", while the station's Head Of Creative Services, Nol Davis, used these made up words: "The new on-air identity reflects a constantly evolving, energetic and enthusiastic brand and tone of voice. There is real synergy on and off air which reflects a true collaboration between all our creative services and agencies".

All I can say is BRILLIANT.

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AIKEN CONFIRMS HE'S GAY
Former American Idol runner-up and all round American pop star Clay Aiken has confirmed he's gay, just in case anyone was in any doubt. There has been speculation about Aiken's sexuality ever since he rose to fame via the Idol show in 2003, however he's always avoiding discussing the matter in the past. He seemingly officially comes out in the latest edition of People magazine, in which he also discusses the birth of his son Parker Foster Aiken, the mother of whom is Jaymes Foster, both a friend and exec producer on Aiken's last three albums. The cover of People reportedly carries the headline "Yes, I'm Gay", and the strapline "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things".

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RONSON DENIES SHUNNING GAY BAR GIG
Also from the file marked 'gay news', Samantha Ronson has denied reports that she refused to DJ at a bar because of its gay clientele. The story, that she turned down an offer to DJ at a New York bar frequented by the local lesbian community, was interesting, of course, because she's gay herself.

The story, that she'd turned down a gig at New York's Rubyfruit bar, surfaced in the New York Post who quote the bar's resident DJ Stacy Ledwith as saying: "At first, her agent said it was $8000 for the night plus airfare and hotel. Then, he was informed it was a gay and lesbian bar, we were told she doesn't do those kind of venues. She doesn't do gay and lesbian bars and clubs. I thought it was kind of strange considering she's a lesbian. It would have been really great to have her in there and help... It's really like betraying her sisters. It just doesn't make sense".

But a spokesman for Ronson denies she or her agent ever even discussed a DJ gig at the venue, telling reporters: "It is not true. I can tell you that I am the only one that runs her calendar and was never approached by Rubyfruit".

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KELLY OSBOURNE WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Kelly Osbourne is writing her autobiography, which really isn't necessary if you ask me, but no one at Virgin Books did. Fools. Kelly plans to reveal all about her 23 years on planet Earth, including the drugs, the rehab, the celebrity feuds, the vaguely successful Madonna cover, the Dannii Minogue hating, that kind of thing. Virgin Books presumably hope Kelly's book replicates the success of her mother's autobiography 'Extreme' which sold more than two million copies, though the plan might be slightly flawed in that Sharon had an extra 30 years of material to play with when she wrote her book and actually has had a rather interesting life. But people are stupid, so the Kelly book might sell too. Virgin Books boss John Sadler said this: "We can't wait for Kelly to take the book trade by storm in the way her mother did".

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KEATING VS YORKE: IT'S ON!
Ronan Keating has branded Thom Yorke "an idiot" after the Radiohead frontman ignored him in a hotel. Keating told Metro: "Thom Yorke from Radiohead was pretty rude. We were at the same hotel in Dublin and I went over to say hello as I'm a big Radiohead fan, and he just blanked me. I still love the music - he's just an idiot". Thom missed a trick there, of course. A better response would have been "really, wow, what a coincidence, because I really hate everything you've ever done".

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DOLLY PARTON IS DEAD
No, not really. Dolly Parton has said she's getting sick of constant rumours in the US media that she's died, saying the false reports are upsetting her family. She told reporters: "I was at the lake house with my husband and it came across Fox News that I had died of a heart attack. My husband comes and wakes me up saying, 'Wake up! You're dead! You need to call some people to let them know its not so!'" Just for reference, if Dolly Parton was really dead we'd not be running it as an 'and finally' story. We'd never run an obit in the 'and finally' spot. Well, perhaps if it was Ronan Keating, but he wouldn't mind - at least we wouldn't be ignoring him.

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