VIGSY'S THEME PARK TIP: Chuff Chuff's Ride The Seven Seas at Alton Towers
Chuff Chuff is the longest running dance event in the UK I'm told, and this weekend they present a night of mayhem with a Seven Seas event at good old Alton Towers - all staged in their very own pirate style. There are three themed areas spanning current global rocking beats, classic house, and soulful, eclectic type stuff. Going Global in Treasure Island will be Judge Jules, Micky Slim, Jeff Jefferson, Dave Thatcher, and Alex Schmitz, while on the bill for Les Classiques at Mutiny Bay are partyman Brandon Block, Hacienda veteran John Kelly and the Hoxton Whores. The third arena is Soul Vision at Smugglers Cove with Gilles Peterson, Steve Young and Adam Regan (from Leftfoot). Tickets include accommodation in the Alton Towers hotel and an after party. I don't know if there are tickets without accommodation, but either way, if you're going I'd book Monday off pronto.

Sunday 16 Nov, 2.30pm-7am, Alton Towers, Staffordshire. Info from 0121 693 6960 and www.miss-moneypennys.com, ticket and room packages around £110 adv. Press info from Jo at Phuture Trax

OFFICE SPACE IN SHOREDITCH, AVAILABLE FROM JANUARY
Self-contained office space available in the centre of Shoreditch, on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street, next to the CMU HQ. 5-8 minutes walk from Liverpool Street and Old Street tube stations. A top floor workspace with plenty of natural light in an exciting neighbourhood that is home to numerous music, media, PR and creative companies. 764 square feet, with room for 15-20 desks plus its own kitchen area and adjacent toilets. £1000 per month plus service charge and business rates. Includes heating, water and electrics. Available from January 2009 for minimum of six months. For more information contact [email protected].

NO. 1: RINGO STARR
Welcome to a brand new, occasional feature in which you, our readers, tell us your fond memories of being told to "fuck off" by pop stars. To kick things off, Mr Ringo Starr, with a follow up to that report earlier in the week that the former Beatle had told a fan who accosted him at the World Music Awards in Monaco to "fuck off". It seems Ringo has a history of getting sweary with fans.

A reader tells us: "Your article about Ringo Starr telling a fan to "fuck off", is nothing new. As a fourteen year old boy way back in 1964, I was one of an invited guest audience at a television show produced by the makers of 'Ready Steady Go', called 'Around The Beatles'. As a huge fan of the Beatles, and most especially Ringo, because I also played the drums, I was most disappointed, when pushed forward by a camera crew into Ringo's left arm along with a couple of other people to be told by the man himself to 'Fuck off the lot of you'. There you go, once a fucker always a fucker".

Have you ever been told to "fuck off" by a pop star? Send your stories to [email protected]

ABDUL ON FAN'S DEATH
'American Idol' judge Paula Abdul has released a statement in reference to the previously reported news that a fan of hers who once auditioned for the TV talent show had committed suicide near the singer and TV star's home. Abdul said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday. My heart and prayers go out to her family".

It's believed that thirty year old Paula Goodspeed, who was discovered in a car accompanied by pictures of and CDs by Abdul, died from an overdose, but an official cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

When she appeared on 'American Idol' back in 2005 she told the host Ryan Seacrest that she was a fan of Abdul's, saying that she had done life size drawings of her, but when she sang for the judges, they laughed and gave her performance a mercilessly poor review. Her parents had reported her missing in the hours before her body was discovered, and were concerned that she might be a danger to herself.

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SUGE SUES KANYE OVER PRE-VMA SHOOTING
Former hip hop mogul Suge Knight is reportedly suing Kanye West over a shooting at a party ahead of the 2005 MTV VMAs in Miami. Former Death Row chief Knight was injured during a shoot-out that occurred at the party, and according to TMZ.com he says West is liable because his security reps let the never-caught gunman into the venue.

Knight was shot in the leg during the shoot out (some speculated at the time he'd actually shot himself by accident during the fracas) and he is suing West for the cost of the medical treatment required after the incident, and the cost of flying across the country to receive that treatment back in California.

The lawsuit also mentions a diamond stud earring worth $135,000 that Knight claims he lost during the shooting - there are some reports he claims one of West's entourage picked up the jewel and promised to look after it for him. In an amusing choice of words, the lawsuit apparently asks for damages for "the loss of use and enjoyment of the earring".

Knight, of course, lost what was left of his Death Row empire after declaring himself bankrupt after losing a legal battle with one of the label's co-founders, who claimed she had been denied her share of the hip hop firm's profits. It's been reported that Knight has negotiated with the bankruptcy courts so that he could keep a portion of any damages paid out in relation to the Kanye West lawsuit, though some legal experts doubt he'd win anything if the case went to court - people involved in organising the party might, however, settle out of court for an easy life.

West is yet to respond.

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ARETHA GREATEST SINGER, SAYS ROLLING STONE
A Rolling Stone magazine poll has named Aretha Franklin the greatest singer of the rock era. The list, which was compiled with the votes of musicians, producers and other industry professionals, also featured the likes of Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke. There are a few not very strong singers on there, though, so it must be about the delivery rather just having a conventionally good voice. Bob Dylan, for example, is in the top ten...

And here, for your information, is that top ten:
1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown

Paul McCartney just missed the top ten, coming in at 11, whilst Mick Jagger is at 16. The full list of 100 is published in the new issue, out today, and includes comments from voters on their chosen singers.

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FLEET FOXES WIN UNCUT MUSIC AWARD
Fleet Foxes have won the first Uncut Music Award. They overcame competition from the likes of Elbow, The Raconteurs and Radiohead to win the magazine's inaugural gong, their debut album judged by a panel of industry experts to be the best of the last twelve months. The award was, as previously reported, launched back in August and is a little bit like the Mercury Music Prize except it's open to artists of any nationality.

The US band's frontman Robin Pecknold said: "It's awesome. It's crazy, I never expected to be in contention for this kind of thing. It makes us want to step up our game. I see it as you throwing down the gauntlet - now we have to live up to it. Obviously prizes are not something you should think about or hope for when you're making music. I hope our next album isn't like an awards grab, like the equivalent of a Clint Eastwood movie, y'know, Oscar bait. If we set out to try and win album of the year, we'll end up sounding like Coldplay or something".

One of the judges, Mark Radcliffe said this: "I think it's an extraordinary piece of work, and a worthy first winner of the prize. It's a beautiful vocal creation, a record that seems to have echoes of all kinds of indigenous American music, but also African music and even medieval strains. All the songs on the album are absolutely brilliant, and it just has a magical, ethereal quality".

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JUANES WINS BIG AT LATIN GRAMMYS
The Latin Grammys took place last night, and Colombian rock star Juanes swept the board, taking five awards, amongst them Record Of The Year and Album Of The Year. He also set a record in the process, as those five gongs bring the number of Latin Grammys that he's won to seventeen, beating a record of fourteen, previously held by Alejandro Sanz.

Accepting his Record Of The Year gong he said: "This is incredible. A million thanks, truly. I have to thank my father, who is in heaven, God, my children. Since I was very young, my family taught me to listen to Latin-American music... They have all been an influence".

Other winners on the night included Puerto Rican singer Kany Garcia, who won New Artist and Female Pop Vocal Album awards, Mexican rock band Cafe Tacuba who got Rock Song Of The Year and Alternative Song Of The Year, and Gloria Estefan who received a Person Of The Year gong.

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CHESNEY WINS TOP COUNTRY PRIZE, AGAIN
Yes, more awards news. That Kenny Chesney has won the Country Music Association Awards top prize, Entertainer Of The Year, for the fourth year running. It was, however, the only award he got this time, despite being nominated in seven categories. Receiving the honour, he said: "It's very wonderful to stand up here and hold this trophy for the fourth time". I'll bet. He's another person celebrating a record win, as he's now won a total of 22 awards at the event, more than any other country music type.

Elsewhere, former American Idol winner (will she ever lose that tag?) Carrie Underwood was judged Female Vocalist Of The Year for the third time in a row, whilst George Strait got two awards, Album Of The Year, for 'Troubadour' and Single Of The Year, for 'I Saw God Today'. That Robert Plant, of whom we've heard much lately with his refusal to do a Led Zeppelin tour, got Musical Event Of The Year alongside collaborator Alison Krauss.

Here's a list of the awards:
Entertainer of the year - Kenny Chesney
Female vocalist - Carrie Underwood.
Male Vocalist - Brad Paisley
New Artist - Lady Antebellum
Vocal Group - Rascal Flatts
Vocal Duo - Sugarland.
Single of the Year - I Saw God Today, George Strait
Album of the Year - Troubadour, George Strait
Song of the Year - Stay, Jennifer Nettles
Musical Event of the Year - Gone, Gone, Gone, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Music Video of the Year - Waitin' on a Woman, Brad Paisley
Musician of the Year - Guitarist Mac McAnally

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JUSTICE ALBUM FILLED WITH UNCLEARED SAMPLES
French electro duo Justice have been accused of using a number of uncleared samples on their debut album by, er, Xavier De Rosnay from French electro duo Justice.

De Rosnay told MTV: "Say we use the 'In Da Club' hand clap - not even 50 Cent would notice. If you listen to 'Genesis,' the first track [on the album], there are samples of Slipknot, Queen and 50 Cent, but they are such short samples no one can recognise them. The ones from Slipknot, for example, are just tiny bits of the voice".

He added that they did get proper approval for samples that were recognisable, though: "On the album, we used three big samples that we had to clear, and all the rest are just impossible to recognise. We're using the very short samples to improve the sound, because we are just writing melodies on piano and then we are listing each note taken from other records, so we make a trade between those notes and the proper loops".

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S CLUB'S JO INJURED BY AUDIENCE MEMBER
Well, it seems the S Club 7 reunion tour is getting off to a good start. At a show in Bradford on Wednesday night (or Thursday morning, as it was by then), the group's Jo O'Meara (one of only three original members to rejoin the septet, you might remember) was injured when a "glass object" was thrown at the stage, causing the set to be cut short and all in attendance to rejoice. No, sorry, we shouldn't joke when people get hurt. No one rejoiced. Jo was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary, where she received treatment for a two inch gash to her head, although the injury didn't require stitches.

S Club 7's management issued a statement, saying: "At 01:35 on Thursday 13th November, former S Club 7 singer Jo O'Meara suffered a minor injury whilst performing at Tokyo nightclub in Bradford, with former bandmates Bradley McIntosh and Paul Cattermole, as part of the sold-out nationwide S Club Party Tour. The group were 15 minutes into their 25-min set when the incident happened whilst performing the No 1 hit single 'Never Had A Dream Come True'. A white male, thought to be approximately 19 years old, was arrested for throwing a glass object at the stage and is being questioned by Bradford Police. Immediately after the incident, the accused made an apology to Miss O'Meara claiming the incident was an 'accident' and he 'meant her no harm'".

Aaron Mellor, manager of the club and the man who drove Jo to hospital, said: "My company owns ten venues across the UK and we had the S Club Tour at our Oldham site last week. The gig sold out so we immediately rebooked them for Bradford. The gig was going really well until one individual had to spoil the fun for everybody else. Jo, Bradley and Paul are the nicest people you could wish to work with, they are friendly and professional and I will be booking them in for my other sites during December. Jo was clearly very shocked by the event, as anybody would be, but her band mates were very supportive and totally cooperated with my staff and with the police".

Matt Wynter from S Club's booking agents Action Talent added: "The 25 date tour has been a huge success with every venue selling out. We have a full diary until the end of the year, and have a larger tour booked in for May-June 2009. This incident will not affect the rest of the tour".

And just because you can never issue too many statements on the same thing, the group themselves said: "We were all having a great time In Bradford until the incident happened and we would like to apologise to our fans that our set was cut short".

Everyone rejoiced.

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METALLICA DRUMMER SELLS PAINTING FOR $13.5M
Metallica's Lars Ulrich has sold a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $13.5m at auction. He must be pleased, now he can afford to buy all the basic items he's not been able to afford since all those Napster users stole all his money.

The 1982 painting, called 'Untitled (Boxer)', which shows a boxer holding his arms in the air against a graffiti-filled background, was sold by Christie's in New York and beat its estimated sale price of $12m.

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BORRELL TO BLAME FOR BAD RAZORLIGHT REVIEWS
Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell has said that many critics aren't giving his band's new album, 'Slipway Fires', a chance because they don't like him as a person. He told The Daily Star: "I'm not happy with the reviews on the whole because I don't think people have given the album a chance. A couple sounded like they hadn't even bothered listening to it. If I go to a gig and see a band I don't like, at least I can be objective, but it seems people want to believe the crap that's written about me. But the haters aren't going to win".

He added that he thinks those "haters" are just following a great British tradition of slagging people off when they become successful. He continued: "I've spoken to superstars in many different fields - art, music, film - and what they've all said to me is: 'Hello, this is the famous English backlash'. All I want to do is give the fans a great album. What we've recorded is an honest album with no preconceptions. I believe it will resonate in time".

That said, he did once write the lyric, "I met a girl, she asked me my name, I told her what it was", so he probably should take some of the blame for the band's previous bad reviews, even if he's made up for it on this new album.

But whether or not it's people's dislike for his lyrics, his success or his personality, if it's him that's holding the band back from further success, shouldn't he just quit the band and go solo? Apparently he doesn't agree, though. Asked if rumours that he is going to go it alone are true, he said: "It's total rubbish. I've never said I want to release a solo album. But it doesn't matter if I say a hundred times 'I'm in a band', nobody wants to listen. Noel Gallagher writes the songs for Oasis but he doesn't get the amount of flak I get. It's like when somebody asks to photograph Razorlight for a magazine we'll say: 'Yes put the band on the front', but then they go and use a picture of just me and then people have a pop at me for it. People prefer to think I'm always throwing a strop but I'm committed to this band".

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SINGLE REVIEW: Florence And The Machine - Dog Days Are Over (Moshi Moshi)
South London's Florence And The Machine has been on Britain's indie circuit for a good few years now, producing pretty, multi-instrumental and often breathtaking tunes. 'Dog Days Are Over', Florence's newest release, does not disappoint - it, in fact, does anything but. Beautiful, exhilarating and anthemic, 'Dog Days Are Over' is a true testament to Florence's integrity as an inspirational and endearingly charismatic artist. Produced by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco, 'Dog Days' is gorgeously composed and builds up just at the right moments, proving that a pretty song by a pretty lady can be a pretty bloody awesome sing-aloud anthem. Listen out for B-side 'You've Got The Love', a spine-tingling cover of The Source's hugely popular dance hit that Florence truly makes her own. TW
Release Date: 24 Nov
Press Contact: Darling Department [all]

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IT'S THE CMU/MUZU MOST WATCHED INDIE CHART
Here it is, our weekly guide to the most watched and most highly rated videos from independent artists as watched on MUZU. Click the artist name to check out their MUZU channel for yourself, or watch all the videos for yourself in the Indie Chart playlist on the CMU-Tube at www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/tube

1. [1] Basshunter - Angel In The Night (Live) (Ministry/Hard2beat)
2. [4] Platnum - Love Shy (Ministry/Hard2beat)
3. [2] Axwel & Bob Sinclair - What A Wonderful World (Defected)
4. [NEW] September - Cry For You (Ministry/Hard2beat)
5. [8] The Cake Sale - Some Surprise (Oxjam Records)
6. [7] Blackout Crew - Put A Donk On It (All Around The World)
7. [NEW] Guru Josh Project - Infinity 2008 (Maelstrom Records)
8. [17] Heathers - Remember When (MUZU Session) (Hide Away Records)
9. [NEW] Scooter - JumpThat Rock (Whatever You Want) (All Around The World)
10. [13] N-Dubz - Ouch (All Around The World)
11. [3] Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo (Rubyworks)
12. [NEW] The Futureheads - Radio Heart (Live) (Nul Records)
13. [9] N-Force - All My Life (All Around The World)
14. [NEW] Evil Nine ft EL-P - All The Cash (Marine Parade)
15. [12] Roses Kings Castles - Entroubled (360 Degree)
16. [5] Fedde Le Grand - Put Your Hands Up For Detroit (Ministry/Flamingo)
17. [NEW] Darren B - Race Day (Jutland Ave Studios)
18. [NEW] Sheffield Jumpers - Jump With Me (All Around The World)
19. [NEW] Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz - Silence (BME)
20. [NEW] Stereo MCs - Soul Girl (Grafitti)

YOU'VE GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT: Every video from artists signed to independent labels, or who is unsigned or self-releasing, are counted in the CMU/MUZU Most Watched Indie Chart. All you need to do to be in with a chance of charting is make sure your tunes are available on the MUZU network. Full details of how this works are available at www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/tube, click the 'Get Playlisted' button.

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FIDDY ALBUM PUSHED BACK TO ADD SOMETHING EXTRA
Another major hip hop release that had originally been penciled in for a late 2008 release now won't hit the streets until 2009. Following reports earlier in the week that both Jay-Z and Eminem's new long players won't now be released until the New Year, now it seems that the new 50 Cent album will get a 2009 release too, despite Fiddy himself originally promising it would be out in November.

In a new statement, Fiddy says he's pushing back the release because, in these difficult economic times, he wants to give his fans something extra - a DVD about the life of his late mentor and friend Jam Master Jay. The DVD will be bundled in with the new long player, but 50 Cent's people need time to get that together.

Explaining why he wanted to offer something extra with his next album he told reporters: "Times are hard. Everyone is trying to make the most of what they have. I want to give my fans something extra for their hard earned dollars. They'll get a free bonus when they pick up the album".

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OUTKAST TO RELEASE THREE ALBUMS NEXT YEAR
Outkast have revealed that they plan to release three new albums next year, although it seems that two of those will be solo albums, akin to 2003's 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'.

Big Boi told The Daily Star: "Y'all gonna get three records from the 'Kast next year. Me and 'Dre [Andre 3000] were on the conference call recently. He's working on his album. Mine's done. Then we're gonna do the Outkast album."

Andre 3000 added, on the subject of the duo's strange working practices: "I work best when people doubt me. We wouldn't be Outkast if people didn't call us 'weird'".

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STEWART CONFIRMS THAT THE FACES WILL REUNITE
Following some media speculation on the matter, Rod Stewart has confirmed that The Faces are set to reunite for some live performances. Previous reports suggested that he and fellow original members Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones had booked a rehearsal slot, and Stewart has now confirmed that it's so, saying "We have our first rehearsal on Monday. It will be next summer and I am looking forward to it. It'll be great".

He adds that Ronnie Wood's recent break-up from wife Jo won't affect his commitment to the planned tour, saying "Ronnie is up for it. I think he feels great. He is full of energy and very excited. We try not to mix our family problems with work. I'll see him Monday".

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LED ZEPPELIN TOUR WON'T BE A LED ZEPPELIN TOUR
A member of Robert Plant's management team has said that any tour featuring Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham plus a singer of their choice will not, repeat, will not be a Led Zeppelin tour.

As previously, endlessly, tiresomely reported, the aforementioned Page, Jones and Bonham are all up for a big tour with a replacement for Robert Plant - though it's not 100% clear if they'd use the Led Zepp name. But Plant's spokesperson says this: "Whatever this is, it is not Led Zeppelin. Not without the involvement of Robert Plant".

I seem to remember other bands who've had this kind of problem ultimately going to court over the matter. I hope this one doesn't, because I'm not sure I could bear having to report on this any more.

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RIHANNA: CANCELLED JAKARTA CONCERT, BOYZONE BRAWL
Rihanna has cancelled her concert due to take place in Jakarta tonight over security concerns. The singer was scheduled to play the Indonesian capital later today, but pulled out because of increased political tension in the country following the execution of three Islamic militants convicted of the 2002 Bali bombings. According to the Associated Press, Islamic militants are encouraging their supporters to carry out attacks of revenge, and it's feared events involving Western artists would be a particular target. It's hoped the concert can be rescheduled in the new year once political tensions have died down.

Elsewhere in Rihanna news, Boyzone, except for Mikey Graham, who wasn't there, were recently involved in a drunken brawl with a member of Rihanna's live band members at a bar in Australia, where the Zone were drinking with former Westlife member Brian McFadden.

Apparently, one member of the Irish boyband flirted with a woman who turned out to be the aforementioned crew member's girlfriend. Stephen Gately, who presumably wasn't the flirter, told The Daily Star: "Well, we did get into a fight - certainly more than a difference of opinion. We are keeping up that fine image of the Irish and too much alcohol. It was over a girlfriend of one of Rihanna's band members. We just wanted to chat and be friendly and this guy tried to rough us up. It was his girl and then all the other guys from the band started getting fresh with us - so it was on there and then".

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THE UNBENDING TREES TO PLAY LONDON
Budapest-based trio The Unbending Trees, who released their debut EP in September via Buzzin' Fly's sister label Strange Feeling, will return to London next month for a special one-off show, which is rather exciting, and a good excuse to remind you that frontman Kristof is an ex-friar who was thrown out of his monastery at 18, and pianist Havasi is already a world renowned classical performer.

You can download a free live track, 'Everybody's Lover', here.

And then you can catch the band live in the flesh at The Luminaire in London on 4 Dec, where you will also be treated to a support set from The Lost Levels and a downtempo DJ set from Strange Feeling/Buzzin' Fly label boss and one half of Everything But The Girl, Ben Watt.

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LIVE REVIEW: Laura Marling at The Scala on 12 Nov
London's Scala was a suitably intimate venue for Laura Marling and band to try out some new material and draw the curtain on what has been a particularly successful year for the young singer. Her debut album 'Alas I Cannot Swim' has had critical acclaim from all corners and her blend of folky pop has a large following in these electro-dominated times. A lot of the material on show here was so brand new it was little more than a sketch, as she sat alone on the stage with an acoustic guitar or banjo to deliver heartfelt musings with little more than an outline of backing. However, when the full band was present on tracks like 'My Maniac And I', we saw the other side, a joyous accordion led stomp through some really catchy tunes all underpinned by that voice. It's hard to believe how young Marling is when you hear her sing; she doesn't have the affected cockney mannerisms of your Nash/Allen types and isn't of the same bombastic school as Duffy or Adele, she just has a beautiful, yearning sound that gives these songs a quality hard to match at the moment. She seems like a lovely girl as well, self-deprecating banter and a shyness that is endearing when backed up with her talent. IM

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VIVENDI PROFITS DOWN, UNIVERSAL DOING QUITE WELL
Universal Music parent company Vivendi saw its net income boom to 2.76 billion Euros in the third quarter of its current financial year, up fourfold year on year, though that was mainly due to the merger of its video gaming division with Activision, and various complicated share issuing whatnots that came with the deal. Overall, profits for the quarter were actually down 13.3 percent to 625 million euros, slightly less than analyst expectations. While the company's gaming and pay TV divisions performed well, its French mobile phone business SFR saw its revenues fall.

As for the French conglom's music assets, the Universal Music Group reported increases in both revenues and earnings, helped in the main by new revenue streams created by its 2006/2007 acquisitions of BMG Music Publishing and Sanctuary Music's management and merchandising businesses. Needless to say, income from record sales dropped, but the major says that through acquisitions and the expansion of its licensing efforts it is compensating for that decline through expanding publishing, merchandising and licensing income.

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BAUER PUBLISH REPORT ON MUSIC CONSUMERS
Bauer Media has published the results of a five year research project it has undertaken, called Project Pheonix, which looks into the habits of music consumers. According to Music Week, it found that three quarters of consumers considered themselves to be "passionate about music", that music was more popular than any other interests (films, games etc), that 44% reckoned they had consumed more music this year than last year, and that consumers generally responded well to consumer brands that operated in the music space through sponsorship and marketing programmes, with 69% of the "passionate music fans" surveyed saying they recognised brand partnerships provided increasingly important support to the music community.

Stuart Williams, Publishing Director of Bauer Media's music and film portfolio, is quoted thus: "This unique insight into the habits of music consumers is an invaluable resource to our business, influencing the development of our market-leading music brands such as Q, Mojo and Kerrang! and informing our advertisers, who want to use music associations effectively as part of their marketing strategy. Understanding music fans and industry trends allows us to work with our clients to create bespoke campaign solutions that truly reach out and engage the passionate music consumer via our world-famous, cross-platform music brands".

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SPECULATION GALORE OF THE FUTURE OF LONDON'S PAPERS
There's quite a lot of chatter going on about the future of Associated Newspapers' two evening papers in London, the Evening Standard and free sheet London Lite.

The chatter follows reports in the Guardian that Associated had approached rivals News International, who publish the other evening freesheet The London Paper, about some kind of deal to reduce the costs of both the free titles, both of which are thought to be loss making. The Guardian reports that the proposed deal, the specifics of which are not known, was knocked back by the Murdoch-owned News International, who launched The London Paper with the express aim of reducing Associated's hold over the London local press (they own Metro as well as the Lite and Standard).

But if no deal is to be done with NI to help make Lite more viable, what to do? Media commentators reckon Associated couldn't afford to close the Lite while The London Paper still exists, which means any changes are more likely at the Standard, which is struggling more than ever now it competes with not one but two free rivals.

When The London Paper launched in 2006, Associated did two things - they relaunched the free lunch time 'lite edition' of the Standard as the later-in-the-afternoon London Lite to directly compete with the NI title, and started marketing the Standard as a premium publication with much more in-depth reporting, analysis and feature content than its free rivals. Although the paper's circulation has gone up in that time, the Guardian says 41% of those papers are given away free at hotels and airports, and actually the circulation figures obscure a struggling title.

Despite the fact there's already been quite a bit of cost cutting at the Standard, some insiders reckon something dramatic will have to happen to truly safeguard the title's future, which might include a dramatic cut in the Standard's cover price to make it more attractive to those currently relying on the freesheets, or even merging the Standard with the Lite, basically making the Standard free to all. Some are even saying that Associated might just close the Standard (given the popularity of Metro, I'd scrap both the Standard and the Lite and launch an evening Metro), though the Guardian points out that would leave Associated with a lot of empty time on their London printing presses, which would be very costly.

Those slightly more optimistic about the future of Associated's London titles point out that News International may not be able to justify bankrolling the loss making London Paper as the economy collapses, and that it may be them that have to make some difficult decisions regarding the capital's evening paper market.

Asked by the Guardian about whether his company had, in fact, proposed a deal to News International to make the Lite more viable, the boss of Associated's free newspaper division, Steve Auckland, said: "I believe we've had discussions with News International in the past, which is no surprise really, as they struggled from day one to make a success of the London Paper. We can see from today's NRS figures, London Lite has increased yet further its readership over News International's the London Paper. I expect we will be getting another call from them pretty soon".

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TIME OUT TO MAKE STAFF CUTS
More downsizing in the local London media, and Time Out is set to cut 13 jobs, about 8% of its staff, as it tries to better integrate is online and print teams. The move follows that previous announcement that the listings bible was reviewing all of its London operations amid increased competition from online culture and listings services, with some talk the print edition might become a stripped down free title to promote an expanded online offer. The magazine has already been cutting back on its use of freelance and casual staff.

The Guardian quote Time Out publisher Mark Elliott thus: "We've had a shared unit working across print and online for some time. It's about making that a bit more explicit than it has been and also, unfortunately, the potential redundancies are about trying to consolidate. The Time Out group, the magazine, online and the other businesses in the building including the guides, numbers about 165 people. Potentially, about 8% is the number [of redundancies] we are looking at across the group".

The publisher is reportedly talking to the NUJ reps at the company regarding redundancies, though the cuts aren't expected to be exclusively made in editorial.

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LOCAL RADIO COMPANY NOT MERGING WITH UTV RADIO
The Local Radio Company has told Radio Today it is not in merger talks with UTV Radio, despite suggestions they may be in industry magazine Broadcast.

A source had said that the decision of TLRC Exec Chairman Richard Wheatly to stand down so to focus his energies on the company's recently relaunched Jazz FM station was a sign that wider changes were expected at the radio firm, which owns 21 local stations, including the possibility of a merger with UTV's radio division, which owns TalkSport and about 16 local stations.

But a TLRC spokesperson has told Radio Today no such merger is being considered.

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SACHSGATE DUO GET COMEDY AWARD NOMINATIONS
As both Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand receive nominations for this year's British Comedy Awards - the former for his currently suspended chat show, the latter in the Best Stand Up category - here's what I hope is the last word on Sachsgate, courtesy of the always brilliant Dara O'Briain, who revealed this week he'd been booked to appear on one of the cancelled editions of Ross' BBC 1 show. He told reporters: "I was due to be on Jonathan Ross with Robert De Niro... I am in many ways the real victim of this situation".

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X FACTOR PRODUCERS ON WHITE CONTROVERSY
The producers of 'The X Factor' have released a statement about this hoo-hah about ejected contestant Laura White, and the fact that 50,000 or so fans have petitioned OfCom for an inquiry into why she ended up getting the boot on last week's show. Their claims are based, seemingly, on whether the phone votes were properly counted, with some claiming they were unable to register their votes.

Laura Reading, who set up the online petition, said: "X Factor takes the public's money, but doesn't reveal how many votes each artist received. Then, they try to gag young artists and stop them earning a living, because the producers make more money that way. It's a disgrace".

And this is what The X Factor people say: "We would never reveal the voting figures during the competition, as it could give contestants an unfair advantage and spoil the competition for viewers. At the end of the series, we are more than happy to reveal the voting pattern to the public which will very clearly demonstrate who the viewers have been voting for each week. There were absolutely no issues with the phone lines or the voting system which is subject to rigorous procedures and protocols. Our viewers vote for the act they want to keep in the competition and last Saturday, Laura White and Ruth Lorenzo received the least number of votes."

The statement added: "There are no plans to bring Laura back to The X Factor."

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KANYE: EMAS WERE A FIX
Kanye West says he thinks this year's MTV Europe Music Awards were fixed, and not as you might think, because he didn't win. It was actually because he did.

He says: "I won nothing last year and I'd brought out 'Stronger'. Then this year, just because I was there, I won Best Urban Act. This was Lil Wayne's year". Hmmm, maybe it's because it's a public vote thing. I mean, maybe the public voted for him after a year of listening to his album?
Anyway, the criticisms didn't end there. "Britney Spears over Rihanna? Are you serious? I mean fucking Jared Leto? He's my boy but he shouldn't have won over some of those other artists".

He might have a point with that last comment.

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CORGAN HECKLES FAN
So, The Smashing Pumpkins live shows at the United Palace in New York this week don't seem to have gone very well. After the first show, fans were left disappointed when the band played a two and a half hour set made up almost entirely of new material and featuring a 40 minute, formless, atonal guitar drone.

Reacting to the instantly critical world of the internet, the band did insert a few hits into their second set the following night, but not enough to stop members of the crowd shouting abuse. Frontman Billy Corgan chose the strange option of inviting an audience member on stage to discuss his criticisms. Once on stage, the fan shouted at Corgan: "Last night's show sucked!" The frontman replied: "Would you like your money back?" before the pair moved away from the microphone to discuss the matter more privately.

Seemingly placated, the fan left the stage, at which point Corgan returned to the mic and, adopting a mocking tone, said: "By the way, I liked that song you wrote. What was it called? 'Take Your Dick Out of My Ass And Stick It In My Mouth?' That was a big hit in Europe".

As I said, the shows don't seem to have gone very well. And you wonder why I'm always saying that bands shouldn't reform.

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