OFFICE MANAGER
Cooking Vinyl are looking for an Office Manager / PA to MD. The ideal candidate is organised, works well under pressure and has an impeccable phone manner. You will also have to be familiar with Word, Excel and Outlook. The role includes full reception responsibilities, and also assisting the marketing, international and production departments when needed, as well as ensuring the office is running smoothly. Cooking Vinyl's office is in Acton, West London. Please send CV and covering letter to [email protected]. Closing date 10th October.

GETTY LAUNCH NEW SYNC RIGHTS SERVICE
Getty Images has announced it is launching a new music service to sit alongside its picture libraries - the logic being that as advertisers and TV producers search the Getty catalogue for images, they might also want to licence music for their ads or programmes too.

Getty Premium Playlist will offer sync rights for around 1000 songs at launch, via non-exclusive licensing deals with various music companies, including publishers Kobalt and Warner/Chappell, record label Koch Records and management firms Red Light and Nettwerk. Those deals mean music from the likes of Barenaked Ladies, Smash Mouth and Norah Jones will all appear. Negotiations are also apparently under way with other labels and publishers to expand the catalogue further.

It's not Getty's first move into providing access to music, and the Premium Playlist will sit alongside its existing Pump Audio facility which offers access to a library of over 100,000 tracks by independent artists. But the new service sees the firm more proactively working with labels and publishers to offer sync rights to well known tracks by big name artists.

Announcing the new service, Getty's VP Of Multimedia Product, Craig Peters, told reporters: "We have seen significant growth and success in our Getty Images music product and our Pump Audio Collection. Representing music content through Premium Playlist is the next step and a natural fit for our business model".

Supporting the service, Warner/Chappell's Ann Sweeney said: "We are continuously seeking new ways to market our rich catalogue of music to a broader, more diverse set of music users. Getty Images' high quality network and easy-to-use service is a great complement to Warner/Chappell's high calibre roster of artists, songwriters and producers in reaching the synch and licensing communities".

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KELLY ASKS COURT TO HELP HIM GET DOUBLE UP PAYMENTS
R Kelly has asked an LA judge for help in collecting $3.4 million which he reckons he is owed by the promoter of his Double Up tour from late last year. Kelly's pay dispute with promoters Rowe Entertainment, and its owner Leonard Rowe, began even before the tour had been completed.

Last month an arbitrator in the dispute between the singer and the promoter ruled that Kelly was owed $3.4 million, but Rowe are yet to pay and reportedly continue to dispute the monies owed, despite not issuing a formal defence during arbitration. Kelly is looking for the LA courts to confirm the $3.4 million settlement and to help him get the cash out of Rowe.

The R Kelly tour has been nothing but a disaster for Rowe. Ne-Yo, who was initially the support act on the tour but was dropped after just two shows, won a $700,000 judgement against the promoter, while investors in the show have alleged they have been misled about the venture's finances and lost out as a result, and they are now taking legal action on the matter.

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FIRST GLASTONBURY TICKETS SELL OUT WITHIN HOURS
As previously reported, the first batch of Glastonbury tickets, just under 70,000 of the 137,500 total places, went on sale on Sunday morning, and it seems they were all sold out or reserved within the day, which is a far more promising start than last time. We shall see how things go when the second half of the tickets go on sale on 5 Apr.

Glastonbury spokesman John Shearlaw told The Press Association: "We are very calm about it - it's a vote of confidence. While it's been too early for some people, our regulars, like students, obviously see it as a good deal to put £50 now and pay the rest later. We are pretty chuffed. It's brilliant that here we are in October talking about a festival that isn't happening until next year. This is the third year of pre-registration and we are the one festival that can say our tickets are not going to touts".

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ROBBIE ENDS 'ALBUM STRIKE'
Robbie Williams has reportedly ended his 'album strike', which supposedly started in protest at Terra Firma's running of the singer's label EMI earlier this year. His manager Tim Clark has now told BBC Newsbeat that Robbie is working on a new album and preparing to made a comeback next year.

Clark said: "He's been writing and we heard some wonderful stuff. I was with Robbie last week. He was at home and he was writing songs and he played some of them to us. He's in very fine spirits, in very fine form and I think what he's doing sounds really wonderful".

Sounds wonderful. Clark also said that claims that Williams has become obsessed with UFOs were not entirely true. He said: "It's been pretty much exaggerated in the press, as if that is anything new".

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COLDPLAY LEAD WINNERS AT Q AWARDS
Coldplay were the biggest winners at the Q Awards yesterday, with the dull-as-paint-drying quartet winning two awards for Best Album and Best Band In The World, which is just silly. Unless watching paint dry is back in fashion with Q readers. Which it possibly is.

Amongst the other winners, Keane's 'Spiralling' was name Best Track, Kaiser Chiefs took Best Live Act, Best New Act went to The Last Shadow Puppets, Duffy was named Best Breakthrough, Vampire Weekend's 'A-Punk' was name Best Video, John Mellencamp won the Classic Songwriter award and Meat Loaf's 'Bat Out Of Hell was named Classic Song.

Accepting the Outstanding Achievement award, Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour paid tribute to Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, who died last month. He said: "[Rick] deserves this just as much as I do. There's all sorts of music I won't be able to play without him which is a source of great sadness for me. One of the last things he wanted to do was play a big outdoor festival such as Glastonbury which we were unable to do. Anyway, as I say he deserves this just as much as I do. You could say that he worked in the position of second fiddle to the pushier chaps at the front, but his work was vitally important to our entire career".

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SINGLE REVIEW: CSS - Move (Sub Pop)
When their second album 'Donkey' came out, CSS somehow managed to slightly pass under my radar, but I am totally hooked on this new single and they are once again my favourite band. The third track to be released from said second album, 'Move' is almost more CSS than they have ever been before, with out and out unashamed 80's tinged electro pop, and even a calypso riff. Lovefoxxx's passion in her vocals and that edge of her Brazilian accent, which makes her so endearing, as ever crowns the track. It's the perfect song to help you forget that it's actually freezing cold outside and quite likely to start pissing with rain at any second. The gratuitous pop credentials of CSS make 'Move' one of their most danceable songs and it really is so infectious that it's been swimming around in my head for days. DH
Release date: 13 Oct
Press Contact: Wild PR [CP, CR]

Buy from iTunes
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LIL WAYNE WORKING ON NEW ALBUM
Lil Wayne has said in a post on his blog that he's already begun recording a new album, following the huge success of this year's 'Tha Carter III'. He's also set to release a new mix tape.

The rapper wrote: "I've been busy in the studio and right now I'm working on a mix tape, along with 'Tha Carter IV'. The mix tape you can expect real soon. It's called 'Dedication 3', and it's going to be 'Gangsta Grillz' by DJ Drama. And then right after that, I'm putting that same mix tape out with 20 extra songs for free on my website".

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AU REVOIR SIMONE RELEASE REMIX ALBUM
Au Revoir Simone are to release a new LP next month, an album of remixes of the band's debut album 'The Bird And The Bee'. The new long player, entitled 'Reverse Migration', will feature reworkings from the likes of Hot Chip, We Are Scientists, Air's Jean-Benoit Dunckel and The Teenagers. Meanwhile, the band are currently working on their second album in New York. 'Reverse Migration' is out on 11 Nov.

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ENO TO WORK WITH DONOVAN
Yes, that's Brian Eno and Jason Donovan. Eno, who recently made Coldplay sound almost bearable, has produced the new album by the former Neighbours star, 'Let It Be Me', which is said to be inspired by classic songs from the 50s and 60s, such as 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' and 'Blue Velvet'. Eno also co-wrote a song, 'Nobody But Me', which will be a bonus track on the iTunes version of the album.

'Let It Be Me' will be released on 10 Nov.

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SUBLIMINAL GIRLS CHARGE £600 FOR NEW SINGLE
London indie quintet The Subliminal Girls have announced details of their new single, 'Self Obsession', which will be released on 17 Nov via Pop Art. However, if you want a copy, you might want to start saving. The single, with artwork designed by Stuart Semple, will be limited to just ten copies and will be sold for £600 via various art galleries around the world. These will be the only physical copies of the single ever made, although you will also be able to get it via download stores too.

The band will play four shows to promote the single:

15 Oct: London, Selfridges (press only)
18 Oct: Winchester, The Vault
21 Oct: London, Dublin Castle
8 Nov: London, The Fly

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BEN FOLDS RELEASES NEXT DAY LIVE TRACKS
Ben Folds is building himself a little live album while on a brief US tour this month. Folds will record one track at each of his 10 upcoming dates and release them the next day via iTunes. In fact, the whole thing's a bit of a Apple love-in. Apparently, "tracks are recorded to a Mac, previewed on an iPod, original cover art is made by Folds with Apple's Photo Booth application and sent to iTunes for sale the next day". The final 10 tracks will be compiled into one album at the end of the tour.

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KILLERS TOUR DATES
The Killers have announced some UK tour dates for the New Year, which will see them show off their shiny new album, 'Day & Age' - not that it will be that shiny or new by then, it being released on 24 Nov by Vertigo. The two nights at the O2 in London should please all those people who failed to get tickets for that one-off Albert Hall show on 3 Nov, which sold out in a very short period of time.

Tour dates:

23 Feb: London, O2
24 Feb: London, O2
26 Feb: Birmingham, LG Arena
28 Feb: Cardiff, Arena
2 Mar: Sheffield, Arena
3 Mar: Nottingham, Arena
5 Mar: Aberdeen AECC Arena
6 Mar: Glasgow SECC
7 Mar: Newcastle Arena
9 Mar: Manchester MEN Arena

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THE HOLD STEADY ANNOUNCE RESCHEDULED DATES
As we reported last week, The Hold Steady have been forced to postpone their UK tour dates this month because lead guitarist Tad Kubler has been hospitalised with pancreatitis. But look, the band have already rescheduled the dates for December. Hurrah!

Tour dates:

7 Dec: Sheffield, Leadmill
8 Dec: Oxford, Academy
9 Dec: Nottingham, Rock City
10 Dec: Manchester, Academy
12 Dec: Bristol, Anson Rooms
14 Dec: Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
15 Dec: Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
17 Dec: London, Roundhouse
18 Dec: Glasgow, Glasgow SECC

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ALBUM REVIEW: Saint Etienne - London Conversations: The Best Of Saint Etienne (Universal)
Although this double CD Best Of performs a similar function to 2001's 'Smash The System' (i.e. hits on the first CD; b-sides, album tracks and other singles on the second), 'London Conversations' is still a welcome release, not least given that the three albums released since 'STS' have included some of the best songs in their generally lustrous 18 year career. First off, the small quibbles: it's not a completist's wet dream, given that it omits two singles - '52 Pilot' and 'Saturday' - and the version of 'Sylvie' included was always limp compared to the far superior Trouser Enthusiasts version. On the plus side however, there are over 30 pristine examples of pop at its best, of music as a reason for living. There's a perversity and open-mindedness about Saint Etienne that informs their history. They're a group with an eloquent love of London but who make records that (also) evoke the distant glamour of Germany, Scandinavia and Ibiza, a group excited by the thrill of now!, but with a retro-futurist spirit attuned to the past and the future, a group equally at home collaborating with Kylie or Berlin post-rock experimentalists, and a trio with an indie aesthetic but whose remixes read like a history of dance music since the early 90s. Above all, Saint Etienne are a pop group, and an impeccable one at that. From 1990's euphoric 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' through to the nostalgic new track 'This Is Tomorrow', they have consistently turned out immaculately svelte songs with impossibly good choruses, clever lyrics and (occasionally, as on 'Hobart Paving' or 'Avenue') heart-breaking melancholy. It's nothing short of a scandal that Bob, Pete and Sarah were never more frequent visitors to the Top 40, let alone to the Top 10, but their place in history as one of the best pop groups of the last two decades remains assured nonetheless, and 'London Conversations' captures it very well indeed. MS
Release Date: 13 Oct
Press Contact: Bang On [O] Universal IH [CP, CR, RP, RR, NP, NR]

Buy from iTunes
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EMI LICENCE LYRICS FOR CLOTHES
EMI Music Publishing has entered into an interesting deal with Sainsbury's clothing division which will see the supermarket sell clothes marked up with lyrics from famous EMI owned songs like 'My Girl', 'ABC', '(Theme From) The Monkees', 'Wild Thing' and 'Dancing In The Street'.

Confirming the deal, EMI's Head Of Media Licensing Steve Hills told reporters: "Classic songs are part of the fabric of everybody's lives, and we're delighted that people will now be able to wear their favourite songs through this deal. The people at Sainsbury's and Tu Clothing really understand the importance of music and its legacy, and we're looking forward to bringing lyrics to life through what will hopefully be a long partnership".

Michael Gottlieb of Corporate Creative Licensing, who brokered the deal, added: "The EMI catalogue contains the world's greatest lyrics, and now Sainsbury's customers will be able to wear inspirational clothing featuring some of the most famous words ever written".

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UNIVERSAL SIGN UP TO DADA
US-based bundled-subscription download service Dada has announced it has secured a licensing deal with Universal Music, meaning music from the major will now be available via the platform. Dada is a little like eMusic in that it charges a monthly subscription for which users can download a set number of MP3s which are theirs to keep forever, though in Dada's case ringtones are also available. SonyBMG are already on board, and the Universal deal will significantly add to the Dada catalogue. Negotiations are reportedly also under way with other major and indie labels.

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THE ORCHARD ANNOUNCE PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION CLIENTS
Independent digital aggregator The Orchard has announced more about its move into physical music distribution, following its acquisition of TVT Records earlier this year. It has already signed up other indies Acrobat Music, Wu Music Group and the Ernest Jenning Record Co to its new TVT Distribution service. Independent CD distribution firms have been struggling on both sides of the Atlantic as both record sales and profit margins slip, but The Orchard will be hoping that through a combined digital and physical service they can make things work.

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MORE LABEL CHIEFS ADDED TO MUSEXPO LINE UP
Time to get your diaries out. First up, two more names have been added to the previously reported MUSEXPO music industry convention which is taking place in London at the end of the month. It's the first time the US conference has had a European version, and its line up of panellists and speakers reads like a who's who of the industry. Added to the list this week are Mute Records founder Daniel Miller and XL Recordings boss Richard Russell. MUSEXPO Europe takes place at the Cumberland Hotel in London from 27-29 Oct.

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AIM ANNOUNCE SHOE STRING MARKETING EVENT
Another date for your diary, and the Association Of Independent Music has announced details of this year's 'marketing on a shoe string' event, which will offer labels tips and advice on how to market music with little or not budget. The event will include a presentation by Mark Mitchell of King Harvest, some case studies on past cost-efficient but successful marketing campaigns, and an ask the experts slot featuring Max Bloom from Concept Music, Rosie Bryant from One Stop Shop, David Emery and Stephen Hallowes from Beggars and Ben Watt from Buzzin Fly. It all takes place on 29 Oct at the MCPS-PRS headquarters from 6pm. More info including prices etc in the events section at www.musicindie.com

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MUSIC WEEK ANNOUNCE AWARDS DATE
One very upfront date for you, and Music Week have announced that their 2009 Awards will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 8 Apr. There'll be some new categories this year, including Music Retail Brand Of The Year, which will be open to both high street and online retailers, plus there'll be an Independent Publisher Of The Year category to accompany the main Publisher Of The Year prize. There will also be a special category to celebrate the trade magazine's fiftieth anniversary. So, don't go saying we didn't tell you. Details of how to enter will be published next month.

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COMMERCIAL RADIO DISCUSSES DAB
The commercial radio sector met last week to discuss the future of digital audio broadcasting, following the decision earlier this year by GCap, who own half of the national DAB network Digital 1, to pull out of the medium, saying they wanted to concentrate on their analogue and online services rather than continuing to support DAB.

Although Global Radio's subsequent takeover of GCap meant the proposed sale of its half of Digital 1 never happened, a number of GCap digital services have gone off the air, and some of its rivals are also reconsidering their digital-only services given current uncertainty in the advertising market.

While others, and especially the BBC, say they remain committed to DAB, the future of medium has been put into further doubt because of the continued delays in the launch of the second national DAB network, which was awarded to Channel 4. There are increasing questions as to whether Channel 4's much hyped move into digital radio will ever actually go live, while some, including Global, are proposing that C4 take a stake in Digital 1 and return is own DAB licence, because there simply isn't a big enough market to support two national digital networks.

It was with all this stuff in mind that the commercial radio body RadioCentre called a meeting of radio chiefs last week, to see if they could reach an industry-wide consensus on the future of DAB to share with government early next year. However, it seems little was agreed at the meeting, with one insider blaming Channel 4 for hindering the bid for industry-wide consensus.

The Telegraph quote one source thus: "Channel 4 are particularly difficult to get to agree to anything. They seem to want to have endless meetings without reaching a conclusion".

Despite not reaching any agreement on the future of DAB, the bosses of commercial radio did seemingly agree to regroup to discuss the topic further in the next few weeks. An exact date for those discussions is tbc.

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NEW ARTISTS BEING FAILED BY TV, SAYS MP
It seems UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham was a bit of a Top Of The Pops fan. Speaking at the In The City convention in Manchester on Sunday, the MP told the conference that he thought TV was failing new musicians, who no longer have the chance to be widely recognised that programmes like Top Of The Pops once offered.

He said: "We need a programme like Top of the Pops again. This was a great thing that was always putting a great mix of new music before the public. [Broadcasters must] promote and champion new music in this country, rather than having just very safe options on prime-time TV".

Speaking to BBC News after his speech, he said: "I just worry a little that the relationship between prime time TV and radio and the music industry has at times become a little cosy. It's relying on safe formats and not sufficiently putting out those new names that can then all of a sudden go from the margins right into national prominence. That was what was great about the past - The Smiths did become a national name, even though I can remember my dad moaning about them on 'Top Of The Pops'".

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VIRTUAL FESTIVALS GO PAN-EUROPEAN ONLINE AND AT THEIR AWARDS
VirtualFestivals.com, whose UK Festival Awards will take place on 30 Oct, have announced there will be a new category at this year's awards event, Best European Festival, which is being launched to celebrate a new website being launched by VF to cover festivals across the continent. The VirtualFestivals.com pan-European festivals portal has been set up in association with Yourope, the European Festival Association, and is now operating in a beta version. The aim is to aggregate information about more than 3000 music festivals across Europe.

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NME RADIO GOES FM
NME Radio went on air on FM in London yesterday with the first of its previously reported RSL one month broadcasts. The radio spin off of the music weekly, normally available via Sky, Virgin and the net, will be available via 87.7FM across the capital for the rest of the month. A similar RSL broadcast will then take place in Manchester throughout November.

NME Radio MD Sammy Jacob says this: "We're committed to making the station available on as many platforms as possible and over the next few months we'll be rolling out NME Radio on further platforms".

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JAZZ FM RETURNS
More radio news, and Jazz FM has returned to the airwaves, albeit not on FM. The jazz service has arrived on DAB digital radio in London, Glasgow, the North West, the West Midlands and South Wales. As previously reported, the jazz station, which previously turned into the easy listening Smooth FM after broadcasting on analogue radio in both London and Manchester, is being brought back to life by Richard Wheatly, founder of The Local Radio Company, who has licensed the use of the name off its previous owners GMG Radio.

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SPRINGSTEEN ON THE AMERICAN DREAM
Bruce Springsteen has told supporters at a Barack Obama rally that US citizens have lost sight of the American Dream due to the incumbent government led by George W Bush.

The musician performed a seven song acoustic set for tens of thousands of people gathered in Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia as part of a tour in support of the democratic candidate, and he criticised the Bush administration's handling of things like the war in Iraq and the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Springsteen said: "I've spent 35 years writing about America and its people and the meaning of the American promise - a promise handed down right here in this city. Our everyday citizens ... have justifiably lost faith in its meaning".

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EDDIE VAN HALEN ENGAGED
Eddie Van Halen has reportedly got engaged to his girlfriend and manager, Janie Liszewski after proposing in a private room at jewellers Tiffany's earlier this year.

A source to People: "They are happy, healthy, very much in love and looking forward to living life together forever. They are devoted to each other and to experiencing life in a whole new, positive and passionate way".

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HAS AMY TURNED TO SCIENTOLOGY?
Rumours are rife that Amy Winehouse has turned to Scientology to ease her various addictions. According to reports, the 'church' got in touch with the singer recently and urged her to try their drug quitting programme, Narconon. While I can believe that - when better to prey on someone but at their lowest ebb? - it remains to be seen if she actually took them up on the offer.

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OASIS VS CLIFF
Oasis aren't exactly newcomers to the world of rock n roll feuds. Or being accused of plagiarism, for that matter. But now they've got themselves into a fight with Cliff Richard. And Cliff started it. Or, at least, his fans did. They are claiming that 'The Turning', a song from the new Oasis album, sounds quite a lot like Cliff's classic 'Devil Woman'.

Janine Castle from the International Cliff Richard Movement (yes, really), told WENN: "I can hear the similarities. It's about time Cliff's musical genius got some recognition".

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