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MORE OF THE SAME: PIRATE BAY TRIAL UPDATE
I was wrong, things didn't, as I'd predicted, get more interesting when the most eloquent of the Pirate Bay Four took to the witness stand. The rogue BitTorrent Tracker's main spokesman, Peter Sunde, was questioned on day five of the Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm on Friday, but the proceedings in court were still somewhat dull compared to most previous chapters of the Bay story.
As with his co-defendants, Hans Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, who also testified last week, Sunde, while questioning the very concept of copyright in debates outside court, relied more on denial and ignorance inside the court room. He too claimed to have limited knowledge of the Pirate Bay operation, beyond his direct remit of writing press statements.
He also claimed that the Pirate Bay team didn't realise they were involved in copyright infringement until the cease and desist letters started to arrive, and that, anyway, the vast majority of content linked to via the Bay was legit - ie provided with the content owner's consent - and was not, in fact, dodgy unapproved uploads of albums and movies, many ahead of official release.
It's not really my place to judge, but I find both those claims hard to believe. Firstly, they called the site The Pirate Bay - are they really claiming they didn't know people would use it to share and accessed pirated content? Secondly, Sunde claims that a review of 1000 files linked to by the Bay found 80% went to legitimate content sources, unsigned bands or extra-indie film-makers presumably - are there really 800 unsigned bands that the average Bay user is interested in?
Sunde went onto say he thought he and his co-defendants were the victims of what was a "political trial", a theme he extended to his much-read Twitter feed, where he posted the message: "That was annoying. Now it's certain this is political. Anyone hear a question that was not based on ideology?"
Despite the embarrassment suffered by the content owners at the outset of this trial, when, as previously reported, the prosecution announced it was dropping half its charges against the four defendants, by the end of the week the fortunes of both sides in this trial felt much more balanced. Three of the Pirate Bay four, including media-savvy Sunde, had given lacklustre testimonies totally lacking the bullishness and conviction of their out-of-court statements, and relying on pretty weak excuses, mainly along the lines of: "oh, I never realised that was going on, honest sir".
And then even the prosecution's initial blunder - the sudden charge dropping - was lessened slightly when the court ruled that the move constituted an "amendment" rather than a "dropping" of charges. Such a ruling was given in response to the defence's attempts to have the whole case thrown out of court because of the prosecution's last minute change of plan.
All of which means, I reckon, this trial could still go either way as it enters week number two.
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MORE RIHANNA/BROWN STUFF - RIHANNA ISSUES STATEMENT
There's been a mixed response to the publication of that image of a bruised Rihanna, initially on celebrity website TMZ.com.
As LA police announced it was investigating how the picture, seemingly taken after the pop star was beaten up by her now ex boyfriend Chris Brown, was leaked to the press, and as the photo was reprinted by media around the world, some expressed the opinion that those publishing it were guilty of a gross invasion of Rihanna's privacy. They're probably right. Some of the most vocal criticism came from domestic violence campaigners in the US, though there wasn't consensus in that community either. Some campaigners thought the image might make people take both this story and domestic abuse in general more seriously.
The publication of the image motivated rapper and TV host Xzhibit to Twitter about the whole affair, and to make the somewhat predictable link between Brown and the late Ike Turner, whose musical achievements were invariably overshadowed in the public consciousness by the allegations he abused Tina Turner during their marriage.
He wrote: "Damn Chris Brown. The photo of Rihanna is making you look like the new Ike Turner. All jokes aside, dude is about to have BIG problems". But he later countered that statement by cautioning people from drawing too many conclusions before all the facts are know, tweeting: "Everybody is going off on Chris Brown now, before we get all the facts. there are 3 sides to EVERY story, lets just wait for the TRUTH", and later: "I am in no way condoning what the media says he did, if it was my sis, I would want answers as well. Just hate 'WITCH HUNTS'".
Elsewhere, as the photo story broke, the first official statement from the Rihanna camp regarding the Brown altercation was issued to the press. Saying very little, the statement read thus: "At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown. She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time".
Finally from this file, there were rumours this weekend that prosecutors might add attempted murder to the list of charges they file against Brown. As previously reported, he's only been charged with making criminal threats so far, but the police investigation is ongoing and additional more serious charges are expected to be added to the list. That said, the attempted murder charge - based on him shouting "I'm going to kill you" I think - seem a bit unrealistic. Even E! News, who like a bit of OTT gossip more than anyone, cited a LAPD source as saying it would be difficult to make such severe charges stick, especially given the lack of witnesses.
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NME SORT OUT BIG GIG TICKETS PROBLEM
The NME has announced that people who booked tickets for their Big Gig via their official Trinity Street powered online store will get their tix mailed out today. It was previously thought that fans who booked tickets for the Cure-headlined show, which takes place at The O2 this week, through the official store would not get their tickets as a result of Trinity Street going out of business.
As previously reported, Trinity Street had failed to send out any Big Gig tickets bought via their website before going under earlier this month, leaving fans who had ordered tickets that way ticketless, and facing the prospect of having to buy new tickets and join the list of Trinity Street's other creditors to try and get back their money back through the company's administrators. Big Gig promoters AEG sent out an email to that effect last week.
But with growing criticism that fans who had, after all, bought their tickets from the official NME store, were going to lose out - and news that Cure man Robert Smith had expressed concerns - the music mag announced on Friday that it had managed to get the information it required from Trinity Street's administrators to allow them and AEG to replace the original tickets without asking for more money.
New tickets will be sent special delivery today, and anyone affected is advised to consult the information given on this page on NME.com:
www.nme.com/news/shockwaves-nme-awards-2008-big-gig/42904
The Big Gig takes place at The O2 as the grand finale to this year's NME Awards programme, during which The Cure will be named this year's Godlike Geniuses.
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JAMAICA GOES HARDLINE WITH NEW MUSIC RULES
This is interesting. Media regulators in Jamaica have passed a new rule banning all explicit references to sex and violence from the island's radio and TV services. The new rules mean radio and TV stations will not be allowed to broadcast any songs or music videos that depict sexual acts or which glorify gun violence, rape, murder or arson.
The new rules presumably target, in particular, the sometimes controversial dancehall genre, where those themes are often explored. Though, while criticism of some dancehall artists elsewhere in the world has centred in the main on misogynistic or homophonic lyrics, Jamaican authorities have possibly acted now because of concerns about the growing popularity of a dance fad call "daggering". This is basically a kind of sexually provocative dancing which, while part of the Jamaican dancehall scene for years, has been increasingly popularised of late.
It's thought that the ban may also impact on some hip hop and soca (dance music that originates in calypso, and which mainly comes from Trinidad and Tobago) which is popular among young Jamaicans.
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T-PAIN CANCELS GIGS BECAUSE OF DEATH THREATS
US hip-hop/R&B star T-Pain has cancelled an appearance in Guyana after he received apparent death threats. Promoters confirmed that his headline set at the Mash 2009 event, part of the country's carnival festivities, was called off because of emails and phone calls containing "credible death and kidnapping threats" and that authorities will be investigating the matter.
THE KILLERS COUNTERSUE FORMER MANAGER
The Killers have responded, somewhat late in the day, to a 2006 lawsuit filed against them by their former manager Braden Merrick by countersuing.
Merrick's original lawsuit, which followed his sacking as the band's manager in 2005, named both the band and their new manager Robert Reynolds as defendants. He claimed the band had fired him without legal justification, that Reynolds had interfered in his relationship with the band, and that he was owed royalties from a separate producer agreement.
In their countersuit, the Killers accuse Merrick of incompetence and double dealing which, they say, led to a loss of revenue for the band. Among the allegations are that Merrick worked as a paid consultant for Universal's Island Def Jam, who release their music in the US, without their knowledge, and in breach of his managerial contract.
The band previously responded to Merrick's lawsuit by claiming their former manager had represented them without the appropriate licence, as required under Californian law. They wanted past contracts, on which Merrick's litigation relied, to be voided, and for past commissions paid to the former manager returned.
Merrick's people say a ruling on that matter is still pending, but that a judge has said that even if the former manager is found at fault regarding the agent licence it is unlikely the court would order the voiding of all contracts and returning of all commissions as a result. The fact the band have launched this new litigation may suggest they too are no longer certain the licence action will fully defend them against claims in the 2006 lawsuit.
GARY BARLOW INJURES BACK
Gary Barlow has hurt his back whilst training for a charity climb of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. A statement on his website explained that because of a "hectic training schedule" the muscles in the Take That star's back "have gone into spasm". It adds that he's been "treated appropriately" and should be able to complete the charity climb. I should think so too. My back is constantly going into spasms and I've never pulled out of a charity climb of the highest peak in Africa on account of it.
He's one of a number of celebs attempting the climb, with a couple of Girls Aloud and Chris Moyles also involved in the event, which has been organised to raise money for Comic Relief. It's hoped they'll raise £1million for the cause, some of which would be used in Tanzania to fight malaria.
ELO BASSIST DIES
Kelly Groucutt, who was bass player in ELO from 1974 until 1983, has died from a heart attack at the age of 63.
Born in Cosely, Staffordshire, Groucutt began his career at fifteen, initially as a singer with a variety of different bands, but he picked up the guitar as his career progressed. He joined ELO for the band's 'Eldorado' tour, and quickly endeared himself to fans, enjoying a good rapport with audiences, and taking over lead vocals on some tracks. After almost a decade with the band, Groucutt became unhappy with his royalty payments, so left the group and sued band leader Jeff Lynne, a case settled out of court for £300k. During his time with the band he also released a solo album, 'Kelly', which featured performances by a number of his ELO colleagues.
The BBC quote his friend Mike Sheridan, of Mike Sheridan And The Nightriders, as saying that he was "gob smacked" by Groucutt's sudden death. He added: "When I heard the news this afternoon I just couldn't believe it. He seemed to be such a fit guy".
He's survived by a wife, four children and two grandchildren.
SLUMDOG WINS MUSIC OSCARS
As was mildly predictable, the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' swept the Oscars last night, taking a total of eight Academy Awards, including two music awards.
Composer AR Rahman won the gong for Best Original Score, and the honour for Best Song. As previously reported, Rahman had two songs nominated in the latter category, 'O Saya' which was co-written by MIA, and 'Jai Ho', co-written with Indian lyricist and poet Gulzar, which was the winner on the night. Rahman said: "God is great - thank you! The essence of the film is about optimism. All of my life I've had a choice of hate and love, and I've chosen love - and I'm here".
Rahman performed his tracks as part of the three song medley celebrating the Best Song category, unlike Peter Gabriel, who, as previously reported, dropped out of performing his track, 'Down To Earth' from Best Animated Feature winner Wall-E, because he wasn't happy with the minute long time slot allocated. Gabriel did, however, attend the event.
Other musical performances on the night included selections of the music nominated in the Best Original Score category, played by the Academy Awards orchestra, a Baz Luhrmann directed tribute to film musicals, and a rendition by Queen Latifah of 'I'll Be Seeing You', during the traditional 'parade of the dead' (as I like to call it) montage.
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BOOKMAKERS CLAIM THEY LOST 100K IN BRITS/WELLER STING
Bookmakers say that they are the victims of a music related gambling sting, after losing £100,000 in payouts to people who bet on Paul Weller to win Best Male. It's thought that the fact Weller had won somehow leaked out before the awards show last week, and gamblers took advantage of that.
As previously reported, gambling outlets closed bets on Paul Weller winning Best Male ahead of the ceremony on Wednesday after a sudden spate of widespread bets on the singer emerging victorious. All the big bookies are said to have been affected, and a spokesman for Coral claims that "eighty per cent of all bets we took [for that Brit award] were on Weller. It cost us a five-figure payout".
Responding to claims the Weller result was leaked, a Brits spokesman says this: "Every precaution is taken to keep results under lock and key". Every precaution doesn't always work, though, as you all surely know.
HANSON BOY SIDE PROJECT SIGNES TO S-CURVE
Hits Daily Double report that Tinted Windows, a new super-group featuring Fountain of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, ex-Smashing Pumpkin James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E Carlos and a certain Taylor Hanson, have signed to S-Curve Records, the US indie headed up by Steve Greenberg (who first signed Hanson to Mercury Records back in the day). We'll leave it to you to debate how super that group actually sounds - the CMU team couldn't agree.
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SONY DROP AIKEN
Sony Music have dropped the runner up of the second ever season of 'American Idol' - that Clay Aiken fella - presumably because they don't want a gay on their pop roster. Oh, hang on, perhaps it's because his 2008 album only sold 159,000 copies rather than the 2.78 million his 2003 debut shifted. Though that slump in sales among the American pop buying public might be linked to him coming out last year, they generally preferring their gay-like celebrities to not actually be gay. Or perhaps the album was rubbish, I don't know. Anyway, he's dropped, gone, forgotten. Which is good news for Aiken, because it means he'll have more time to concentrate on his new career as, erm, guest judge on 'America's Next Top Model'.
BSP ANNOUNCE SOUNDTRACK RELEASE
British Sea Power have announced the release of a new soundtrack they've written for 1934 film 'Man Of Aran', which is an award winning 'docufiction' chronicling the archaic living conditions of people living on the Aran Islands off the West Coast of Ireland (not to be confused with the Isle Of Arran, which is off the coast of Scotland).
The film will be re-released on DVD complete with the new music, accompanied by a CD featuring the soundtrack. The band will perform live to the film on 23 Apr at BFI Southbank. The double package is out on 5 May.
NEIL TENNANT ON BALLET SOUNDTRACK
Neil Tennant has been speaking to Radio 2 about a ballet score that he and fellow Pet Shop Boy Chris Lowe have been working on. The singer says that the work will be staged at Sadler's Wells, possibly in 2011, and will feature "electronics and strings".
Tennant said: "It's quite a big project. There's a lot of music to write but we've written half an hour of it and we've done a bit of a workshop with them. It's got a story, it's like a Tchaikovsky ballet in that it's based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen but we've got the choreographer sorted out now".
As previously reported, the band release their tenth studio album 'Yes' on 23 Mar.
JACKSON PLANNING MASSIVE LIVE COMEBACK?
The Daily Mail claims that Michael Jackson is planning a thirty-date live comeback event at London's The O2, and that he could receive up to £1.5m per night to perform. They say that organisers AEG Live are planning to start the series of gigs in July, and are confident that fans will travel from across Europe to attend.
A source is quoted as saying: "It will be the greatest comeback in the history of pop and there would be no problem selling out the O2 every night. No-one is concerned about his reputation and people don't feel it is a risk. Organisers are confident people will come from all over the world to see him".
It's not the first time 'Jacko to play O2' rumours have done the rounds, though if this story is true it should help with his money troubles. Assuming he's anywhere near fit enough to do thirty shows.
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FIRST AID KIT GIGS THIS WEEK
First Aid Kit, aka sisters Johanna & Klara Söderberg release their very lovely debut EP, 'Drunken Trees', today via Wichita Recordings. Originally released in their native Sweden on The Knife's label, Rabid Records, 'Drunken Trees' serves as an introduction to the girls, in anticipation for their debut album set for release in September this year. The EP includes a bonus track, the much YouTubed cover of Fleet Foxes' 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song', along with a DVD with three tracks performed and recorded live in the Swedish forest.
See the video of that Fleet Foxes cover here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMrqBldlqzA
The girls will be in London this week to perform two shows:
23 Feb: The Enterprise
24 Feb: The Borderline
MANSON CONFIRMED FOR DOWNLOAD
The organisers of Download have announced that Marilyn Manson are to appear at the festival this year, as are ZZ Top and Killswitch Engage. They join a line-up, as previously reported, that already includes the likes of Slipknot, The Prodigy, Motley Crue, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Whitesnake, Def Leppard and Pendulum. It all takes place at Donington Park from 12 - 14 Jun.
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ACOUSTIC FEST ANNOUNCES LINE UP
The Acoustic Festival Of Britain has announced its line up for this year, and the event will be headlined by former Supertramp star Roger Hodgson in his only UK appearance for 2009. Other artists lining up to appear include Deacon Blue, The Christians, The Blow Monkeys, The Animals, Chris Difford from Squeeze and Jackie Leven.
The event takes place over four days from Friday 22 - Monday 25 May in the grounds of Catton Hall in Derbyshire. According to this here press release, the event features four stages, as well as crafts, food outlets, bars, a cinema and children's activities including juggling, drumming, art & football skills workshops. Early bird tickets are on sale during February and March at a cost of £80, a ticket which includes five nights camping and parking. More from www.acousticfestival.co.uk.
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FIRST ACTS CONFIRMED FOR CAMDEN CRAWL
The first lot of acts have been confirmed for this year's Camden Crawl, and the line-up thus far includes many a fine artist like Patrick Wolf, Josh Weller, Brakes, VV Brown, The Von Bondies and The Whip. The event, which also features comedy and theatre events this year, as well as the previously reported and now customary Indie Idle contest, takes place from 24-25 Apr at a number of Camden venues. Tickets are available at a cost of £55 for two days, £32.50 for one. Check www.thecamdencrawl.com for more details.
SINGLE REVIEW: Sneaky Sound System - I Love It (14th Floor Records)
It's a single that broke all records in their native Australia, spending a terrifying 73 weeks on the Australian chart. And from a country that can boast Sleepy Jackson and Avalanches to its name, Aussie music fans presumably know a thing or two about good dance-pop. A familiar fuzz bass and tight drum loop pattern sets the rhythm for Connie Mitchell's elegant, pure-pop vocals, that would easily win 'X Factor' if she ever wanted to throw away all credibility for a shot at fame and money. On the evidence of this though, they'll both come her way anyway. Yes, I do love it. TM
Release Date: 2 Mar
Press Contact: 14th Floor IH [NP], Momentum PR [RP], Partisan PR [O]
Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon
ESSENTIAL TO WORK WITH R&S
Essential Music, Cooking Vinyl's sister company that provides sales and distribution services, has announced a deal with Belgian indie label R&S Records, who have worked with innovators like Aphex Twin and Derrick May during their twenty year plus history. The deal will see Essential working on R&S releases, including upcoming editions of its 'In Order To Dance' compo series, and a new compilation series called 'In Order To Edit' where the compiler "re-edits classic tracks from the imprint to create their own seminal R&S Records audio journey".
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ZEST PR REBRAND
Zest PR, who work on a fair few music accounts, are Zest PR no longer. They are rebranding as A Star PR, a relaunch prompted by their, and I quote, "changing direction towards areas such as marketing, events, reputation management and more recently fashion". The relaunch coincides with an office move too, the company will now operate from a Covent Garden HQ.
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DANCE INDUSTRY CONVENTION LINE UP ANNOUNCED
Details of the second ever International Music Summit have been announced. As previously reported, the Ibiza-based IMS aims to bring together leading names from across the dance music industry to share, network and debate.
The 2009 Summit will take place from 27-29 May at the White Isle's Gran Hotel, and among the industry types set to participate this year are artist managers Marc Marot and David Enthoven, Bestival chief Rob da Bank, Wall Of Sound boss Mark Jones and Radio 1's Pete Tong, who is actively involved in the development of the event.
Elsewhere, Richie Hawtin will take part in a one-to-one interview with IMS co-creator Ben Turner. Confirming his involvement, Hawtin told CMU: "I heard great reports about the first IMS, and as this is a critical time for the industry and the world at large, this intimate gathering feels more important now than ever before. I am excited to share my experiences and vision for the future with the leaders of the genre".
For more information go check www.internationalmusicsummit.com
MEXICAN ISPS BLOCK OFF COPYRIGHT INFRINGING BLOGS
An anti-piracy body representing both the record and movie industries in Mexico has persuaded internet service providers there to block access to 35 blogs which they say existed mainly to distribute pirated content. According to the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, ACPM Mexico has managed to have blogs containing no less than 66,000 "infringing links" closed down. Quite how much persuasion the Mexican ISPs needed to comply isn't clear, but it seems unlikely European net firms would agree to such measures without a court order telling them they have to.
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NEW RED BULL LIVE STREAMING WEBSITE GOES LIVE
Energy drink Red Bull are launching a new online music venture today called Red Bull Bedroom Jam. The promotion encourages unsigned bands to upload their music, and then asks fans to vote on their favourites. The most popular bands will then be invited to perform a live set from their bedrooms (with a bit of help from Red Bull's techie people), a set which will be streamed live at 5pm each Monday via the Red Bull site. The live programme will also include interviews with signed bands - so today at 5pm you get new band My Passion performing live plus an interview with Youmeatsix, who will soon re-release their aptly titled (for this promotion) single 'Save It For The Bedroom'. You can check all this out today at 5pm at www.redbullbedroomjam.com
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U2 ALBUM ON SPOTIFY
Hurry everyone, the new U2 album is available via Spotify. Though I think you have to go to it via The Guardian website, it won't come up on a normal Spotify search. So, you'll need to start at www.guardian.co.uk/music to access it. Should you want to.
Of course, the album is available elsewhere on the net already, though mainly from less legitimate sources (US readers can legitimately stream if via MySpace too). Access to the album via file sharing networks ahead of its official release was aided by Universal Music Australia, who put the new album live on a legit Australian download store last week by mistake.
Given the major has not been sending out review copies of the CD to try and reduce the unapproved, pre-release distribution of the album online, the slip up at the major's Aussie division is rather embarrassing. Needless to say, it was quickly removed from sale as soon as someone noticed, though presumably not before copies of it had been dropped into the more popular of the world's P2P networks.
CHART UPDATE
What's been happening in the charts, then? Well, Lily Allen is still at number one, Lady GaGa is still at number two, Kings Of Leon's 'Use Somebody' has risen from 12 to three, following their performance of the song at the BRIT Awards last week, and The Prodigy have risen a few places to number four, bumping Alesha Dixon back down to five, and the Pussycat Dolls are up to number 10 from 15.
Another BRIT performer, U2, get a lukewarm vote for their shoddy new single 'Get On Your Boots', which enters the chart at number 12, while Lady GaGa gets ever closer to having two songs in the top ten, with 'Poker Face' climbing to 13, and Miley Cyrus rises from 44 to 16 with her new single, 'Fly On The Wall'. Taylor Swift is a new entry at 22, Rudenko follows at 24, as does Gary Go at 25. On into the 30s and Honey Ryder enter at 31, and Take That's new single 'Up All Night' continues it's slow climb up the charts (while Gary Barlow prepares for a slow climb up Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, assuming that back injury he sustained last week heals), moving from 59 to 37, which is better than it might seem, considering it's not officially released until 2 Mar.
Over to the album chart now, and there have been some big moves there. While the BRITs did have some affect on the singles chart, it is far more pronounced when it comes to long-players. Best International Album 'Only By The Night' by Best International Group Kings Of Leon returns to number one, thanks to a 50% boost in sales last week. Since its release on September last year, this album has not been out of the top ten, which, whatever you think of the BRITs or the band, would seem to justify their awards.
Meanwhile, Best British Album 'Rockferry' by Best British Female and Breakthrough Artist Duffy also saw a massive sales boost, taking it from 19 to four. Despite what you think of the BRITs or Duffy, there is no justification for this.
Best British Group Elbow saw 'The Seldom Seen Kid' rise from 18 to five, while The Ting Ting's album 'We Started Nothing' saw sales rise by 80%, taking it from 33 to number eight, despite them putting in an awful performance at the BRITs ceremony. The new best of album by winners of the Outstanding Contribution To Music awards The Pet Shop Boys entered the chart at 19.
But its not all about the BRITs. Morrissey, who was not nominated for anything, has been instead using the old go-on-everything technique to promote his new album, 'Years Of Refusal', which led to a bizarre appearance on The One Show on BBC 1. It clearly paid off, though, as the album has gone straight in at number three. The only other new entry this week is Empire Of The Sun's fantastic debut album, which goes in at 21. There are a lot of re-entries further down the chart, though, with Miley Cyrus back in at 30, Kings Of Leon's 'Because Of The Times' at 36, Girls Aloud's 'Out Of Control' at 37, Adele's '19' at 38, and N-Dubz 'Uncle B' at 39.
The charts are apparently compiled by The Official Charts Company.
ROBERT SMITH DOESN'T APPROVE OF RADIOHEAD RELEASE
Robert Smith has said that he doesn't like the pay-what-you-like way that Radiohead released 2007 album 'In Rainbows', because he thinks it devalues the music.
Smith said: "The Radiohead experiment of paying what you want - I disagreed violently with that. You can't allow other people to put a price on what you do, otherwise you don't consider what you do to have any value at all, and that's nonsense. If I put a value on my music and no-one's prepared to pay that, then more fool me, but the idea that the value is created by the consumer is an idiot plan, it can't work".
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CILMI MAKES MORE ENEMIES
Aussie singing star Gabriella Cilmi has followed her criticism of US popstrel Lady GaGa ("she needs to put more clothes on") with a pop at another US singer, Katy Perry. Well, some might not think it was an all out attack, but she said she likes Beyonce better, which has got to hurt. Commenting on Perry's Best International Female win at last week's Brits, the Daily Star quote Cilmi as saying: "Katy is okay but I don't think she should have won. Beyonce is amazing".
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