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UNIVERSAL TALKING TO YOUTUBE ABOUT NEW VIDEO SERVICE The new service, working title Vevo, would be a video-based website featuring pop promos from across the Universal catalogue, plus other content made bespoke for the site featuring artists signed to the major's labels. In essence it would be an extension of Universal's channel on YouTube, already the most watched channel on the video site, though it would be a Universal-owned platform powered by YouTube technology, rather than just a Universal channel on the YouTube-owned platform. Crucially, Universal would control advertising sales on the new service, which would presumably give them a much bigger cut of ad revenues generated by their content than their current YouTube deal, although they take more risk in return in terms of developing, marketing and selling the platform. It's also thought Universal execs reckon they could command higher advertising fees because of the official nature of their service over videos uploaded to video sharing sites like YouTube. Universal insiders talk about Vevo as being their version of Hulu, the US-based online ad-funded video service provided by American TV giants NBC and Fox. It's thought that means Vevo will be available both via its own website and also via other web partners - Hulu is syndicated by web portals like AOL, Yahoo!, MSN and MySpace. YouTube's involvement is both logical and interesting. Universal would probably initially run its existing YouTube channel in tandem with its own Vevo service, though if the major wants to secure premium advertising rates on its new service it will have to make sure consumers get more from its own platform than from its channel on YouTube's website or, in other words, ensure that consumers get less from the latter than the former. YouTube are, therefore, involved in a new venture that will compete with and probably reduce the attractiveness of the biggest channel on its own website. But as Universal are aiming to do that anyway, it's better for YouTube to be involved in its new competitor than not to be. Moreover, given rumours that YouTube owners Google are struggling to secure sufficient advertising sales to make their video platform pay for itself, letting someone else run the front end - and the ad sales that go with it - and just taking a cut of someone else's revenues for providing the technical delivery of content is probably a business model that sounds good to the execs heading up YouTube. Also interesting is reports Universal are - as they have been with most of their digital music ventures - interested in getting some or all of the other majors involved in Vevo. Of course all the major record companies have dabbled in setting up and running their own digital music services ever since the early days of the internet - both individually and together - though not with much success. That said, all of the majors have been adding more multi-media to their label and group websites in recent years, which they may see as the forerunner for launching their own Vevo style services. EMI, of course, are currently experimenting with their own new multi-media service at EMI.com. The challenge for the record companies is to balance their ambitions of owning their own direct-to-consumer digital media platforms with the more lucrative - in the short term certainly - licensing deals they can do with media giants and start ups also dabbling in that space. The record companies would ultimately prefer to control the consumer and advertiser relationships rather than just licence their content to other brands with consumer/advertiser relationships, though doing so assumes record companies are any good at servicing consumers as a media and selling advertising to brands, neither of which should be taken as read. -------------------------------------------------- RIHANNA DROPS CHARGES, AS SHE AND BROWN MARRY? The latest twist in the Rihanna/Chris Brown affair, following the claim that the couple are back together, is that Rihanna has dropped all charges against her ex-ex and that they have got married. According to a 'friend' of the couple: "[Rihanna] believes in fairy tales, and she wants to live hers with Chris". Well, I guess fairytales like those of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen do tend to have a dark side. Married or not, it does sound like Rihanna won't be all that much help to the prosecution who could, of course, continue to press charges against Brown without the singer's support, given that it's quite common for the victims of domestic violence to make up with their beaters once they've come round, and subsequently drop any charges they previously made. That said, with no witnesses to this altercation, Rihanna not cooperating could seriously hinder the prosecution's case. On that side of the story, a police source apparently told The Sun: "Rihanna says she doesn't want to testify against him. She has had a change of heart and doesn't want the case to proceed. However detectives are still building their case based on what she originally told them and accounts of witnesses. If the DA decides they have enough evidence, they can proceed without Rihanna's testimony". As far as we are aware, police continue with their investigation into the altercation with the intent of providing the District Attorney with the evidence he needs to make a decision regarding prosecution. In the mean time Brown is reportedly due in court later today, I think for a routine hearing relating to his $50,000 bail. -------------------------------------------------- JACKSON ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY The deal between Jacko and Dome owners AEG has reportedly been in development for two years, which would explain all the past Jackson comeback show rumours that have done the rounds. AEG have a record for putting on successful residencies at The O2, of course, it having hosted multiple night runs by The Spice Girls, Take That, Kylie and Prince's 21 night run since opening in 2007. The residency will see Jackson's first proper shows since 2001 taking place, and presumably Jacko and AEG hope they will bring out the Jackson faithful in their hordes, helping put a few million quid into the singer's bank account to help tackle those much previously reported debts. That said, some say that while Jackson's megafans remain insanely dedicated, there's a lot less of them now than a few years back - though the shows would still have a certain curiosity factor that could boost ticket sales. There's already speculation as to whether Jackson would be fit enough to do a multiple night run, given all the recent reports of his ill-health, though a residency is a lot less gruelling than a proper tour and Fox News gossip man Roger Friedman wrote this week that the singer had undergone and passed medical tests that gave him the all-clear to do the London shows. Nevertheless, William Hill are already taking bets on whether Jackson will show up for the first O2 gig - they are offering 5/1 odds he won't. Elsewhere in Jacko news, the singer has reportedly begun legal action to try and stop an auction of his belongings at the LA-based auction house run by Darren Julien. Jackson's people had been involved in planning the auction, but it seems Jacko had asked to see an inventory of the proposed goods for sale before it was published, and he claims the auction house announced what was under the hammer without doing so. Julien is yet to respond to the lawsuit. -------------------------------------------------- OASIS DENY RUMOURS ABOUT CHINA GIGS Following the group's initial statement that the authorities in China had revoked their licences, a subsequent report appeared on Reuters quoting promoters Beijing All Culture Communication Co Ltd as saying the cancellations had come about as a result of cash flow problems. Oasis insist that this is not the case, a spokesperson telling NME.com: "We don't want to dignify this nonsense with a response", but then responding: "Our promoter, as already documented, was Ticketmaster China and the shows had each already sold in excess of 3,500 tickets and were on course to sell out. End of story". A show in Hong Kong on 7 Apr, as well as the band's other world tour dates, will go ahead as planned. DRUGS CHARGES AGAINST LIL WAYNE DROPPED FATBOY SLIM ENTERS REHAB The DJ and producer's manager Garry Blackburn said: "Norman's gone in voluntarily to sort out his drinking problem". But given that I just told you that, he probably needn't have bothered. A more cynical journalist might say something here about the fact that Cook's new album, recorded under the moniker The Brighton Port Authority, was released this week. JAPE WIN CHOICE MUSIC PRIZE Fight Like Apes - Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion FULL BLUR REUNION MAY NOT LAST LONG Rowntree revealed that his currently doing part-time work experience with a London law firm whilst training as a barrister and hopes to find a full-time job as soon as his commitments with Blur have passed. He said: "I only went along for a day but then they said I could go in once a week as work experience. Now I go in three times a week. Hopefully I can go and work there when I'm finished with the Blur tour". -------------------------------------------------- DAMMERS DENIES SPECIALS' REUNION CLAIMS Last month Hall told reporters: "I've read Jerry's statement and I just don't get it. 'They're trying to kick me out of the band' - not at all mate, not at all. I spoke to Jerry night after night all through 2008. He wanted to do one date, in Coventry, in front of 30,000 people, at the football stadium. I thought that was a bit of a Take That thing. We wanted to play 2,000 to 3,000-sized venues. I don't think he likes the idea of touring, to be honest. I think he hid that a bit in his statement. But apart from that, I have no idea why Jerry isn't doing it. Hand on my heart, this is what I feel is a bit sad for Jerry. He's fucking missing out. He's missing out on being in this incredible band. We haven't changed that much, we still take the piss out of each other, there's an understanding that hasn't gone away. And he's missing out on that, and it's sad for him, to be honest". Now Dammers has written a response in a letter to The Guardian. Dammers said: "The fact is that I would not have been invited to the first 'reunion' meeting at all had John Bradbury not told me about it. Terry's manager circulated emails from which I was excluded. Rehearsals were held without me, and I only managed to attend two - one of which was attended by only four people". On Hall's claim that he was "missing out", Dammers added: "Whether that is supposed to be his way of trying to say I'm still welcome in the band would be hard enough to work out if, at our meeting, he had not also said to me of the reunion: 'I promise I won't do it without you, hand on heart.' Despite all this I never give up hope of some sort of reconciliation". PHISH TO OFFER LIVE SET DOWNLOADS -------------------------------------------------- NEW SUPER FURRY ALBUM Crazy Naked Girls TING TINGS CAUSE PAINTY CHAOS Not sure if it's supposed to be 'art' or not. -------------------------------------------------- MACCA AND RINGO TO JOIN UP FOR CHARITY? The David Lynch Foundation, set up by the film director, promotes meditation through schools, and the show is being held with the aim of raising enough cash to teach one million at-risk children how to meditate. McCartney said in a statement that he's been meditating for forty years. "In moments of madness, it has helped me find moments of serenity", he said, adding, in reference to the children he hopes to help: "I would like to think that it would help provide them a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world". McCartney and Starr last performed together at a George Harrison tribute in 2002. The likes of Sheryl Crow, Moby and Donovan are also on the bill for next month's gig. ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, Newport, Isle Of Wight, 12-14 Jun: Neil Young just announced as headliner (so, does that mean he's not headlining Glastonbury, as widely rumoured?). www.isleofwightfestival.com UNDERAGE FESTIVAL, Victoria Park, London, 2 Aug: The Pigeon Detectives, LadyHawke, Hadouken!, Metronomy, Rolo Tomassi, Esser, Tinchy Stryder, Kissy Sell Out, First Aid Kit and The Whip all announced for the line up of this under 19s only festival. www.underagefestivals.com HARTERA FESTIVAL, Rijeka, Croatia, 12-13 Jun: Klaxons and Sasha added to the bill. www.hartera.com JERSEY LIVE, Jersey, 5-6 Sep: The Kooks joined Basement Jaxx as co-headliners. www.jerseylive.org.uk SINGLE REVIEW: Air France - No Excuses (Something In Construction) Buy from iTunes SCRUFFY BIRD REJIG AND REBRAND Their PR and management divisions are to become two separate companies, the former to be known as Anorak London and the latter as Scruffy Bird Mgmt. Laura Martin and Emily Cooper, two of the three Scruffy Bird co-founders, will head up Anorak, while their co-founder Duncan Ellis will take over the management business. Commenting on the rejig, and the rebrand of the PR business, Martin and Cooper told CMU: "Well, we're never ones to turn down the opportunity to talk about ourselves and have a good party. We felt changing our name would mean we would be able to do both! With the split away from the management arm and the start of a new year we decided to live out the old saying; out with the old in with the new. It's important to us that our staff at Anorak London are all part of something new and exciting for 2009". Although now two separate companies, they add: "Anorak London and Scruffy Bird Mgmt remain working together on various acts and wish each other all the best in the future". -------------------------------------------------- NEW MAN AT MOTION Confirming his appointment, James told CMU: "I am very excited by the move to Motion PR as this is a great opportunity to combine my existing roster with developing new artists and platforms". Motion PR MD Stuart Knight added: "Mark is a fantastic addition to the team here and will help us to increase the services we offer not just our artist clients but also lifestyle and brand clients as well". -------------------------------------------------- MOTION GIRL LAUNCHES SURE SHOT -------------------------------------------------- EDEL GO THE ABSOLUTE ROUTE Absolute, who specialise in providing independent labels or individual artists with the kind of logistical and marketing support traditionally provided by a record company, have appointed former Really Useful Records MD John Waller to handle the earMUSIC account. Confirming the new partnership, Absolute MD Henry Semmence told reporters: "By taking advantage of our fully managed service, Edel will be able to release product and compete effectively in this market without having to put a large overhead and infrastructure in place in the UK." earMUSIC director Max Vaccaro added: "We are excited to have found in Absolute a UK partner who shares our philosophy and ambitions, and who is able to offer our artists both the visibility normally associated with a major label and the skill and dedication of an independent label". -------------------------------------------------- RSK TAKE LOGISTICS TO TRILOGY Confirming the decision, RSK joint-MD Simon Carver said they had moved from Arvato to Trilogy for "strategic reasons", adding that he felt Trilogy would be better equipped to help them deal with the "new challenges and ever-changing opportunities of the music and wider entertainment industry". Trilogy, who are probably better known in the gaming and DVD industries, say they hope the RSK deal will be the first of many in the music sector. Billboard quote their MD, Matthew Allen, as saying: "This signing is a clear statement of our intentions within the music market and will give us a strong foothold within this channel". -------------------------------------------------- CONFIDENTIAL MAN JOINS MISSION CONTROL GROUP The new Mission Control outfits will look to develop new acts, and to provide production and songs for acts represented by both their sister companies (which include management agency ASM Damage and the Mission Control booking agency) and third parties. The first artist to work with the new Mission Control company will be Welsh classical singer Annelies. Music Week quote Cowell thus: "It is an amazing opportunity to work with Albert and an existing company run by forward thinking people and it gives the acts an amazing set up. I honestly believe there is no UK company that can offer this set up with the level of experience and success that all the Mission Control team can offer artists". -------------------------------------------------- LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY ANNOUNCE CONFERENCE SPEAKERS Lined up to speak will be Steve Schnur, who is Head Of Music & Marketing for EA Games; Aaron Axelsen, who is Programme & Music Director for San Francisco radio station KITS Live 105; and Michael Kramer, who heads up TBWA-owned 'branded entertainment' agency Stream. As previously reported, the conference part of Liverpool Sound City will also include an event where the music industry is put "on trial" by young music fans inside the old Victorian Law Courts in Liverpool's St George's Hall. More at www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk PEEBLES GOES SMOOTH NATIONALLY Smooth Radio's Brand Programme Director Steve Collins says this: "Andy has a wealth of radio experience and his show in the North West has grown from strength to strength and become a must listen across the region. Now the rest of the country will be able to experience this great show". -------------------------------------------------- BAUER WANT LESS TALK AT CITY As previously reported, OfCom recently dropped rules that stopped radio stations from changing their programming formats within their first two years on air. The rule existed to stop radio stations from proposing regulator-friendly services - say all talk radio - to win a licence, and then immediately switching to a much cheaper or more mainstream service, say pop music programmes, once on air. Bauer says that, having heard that rule was being dropped, they reviewed the output of City Talk, which went on air in January 2008, and decided that including some music in off-peak programmes would work better for them. Confirming it was applying to OfCom to make the format change, Bauer Radio's Travis Baxter told reporters: "We believe the proposed changes will keep a significant part of the original character of the station intact while maintaining the current competitive dynamic in Liverpool and increasing listener choice overall. Introducing music and other elements to the format which listeners have clearly said they would like added to the output will secure the future of the station and listener choice in the City for the future". OfCom is considering the application, and will consult with the station's stakeholders and competitors before making a decision next month. -------------------------------------------------- ARENA TO CLOSE Arena had an ABC last year of just over 17,000, putting it along way behind rivals GQ and Esquire, and a long long way behind sister title FHM which, although traditionally not in Arena's territory, has been moving more upmarket in recent years. Arena was, of course, created by The Face founder Nick Logan in 1986 as a more mature version of his original magazine. Both titles were somewhat controversially acquired by Bauer predecessors EMAP in 1999. The Face was closed down in 2004. -------------------------------------------------- HEAT LAUNCH NEW C'LEB-FREE SPIN OFF The new supplement will be celebrity free - it's strapline is "because there's more to life than Celebrity (who knew?!)" - though from what I can see the celebs will be replaced with the publishing equivalent of a freak show, so I'm not sure it's going to do any more to the average reader's intellect that the latest embarrassing photos of some Big Brother contestant of old. Explaining the motivation for the new magazine, Heat Editorial Director Julian Linley told reporters: "Heatworld magazine will be unlike anything else on UK newsstands. The idea came from us realising that the daft and the downright hilarious stuff we find ourselves obsessing about in the office isn't always to do with celebrities. And there's nothing more valuable to our audience than laughing out loud". The first issue of Heatworld is in the current edition of Heat. Somewhat confusingly, Heatworld is also the name of Heat mag's website, though that is mainly celebrity focused like the main magazine. THIS WEEK'S SUB.TV PLAYLIST A-List MARTIN SAYS IMBRUGLIA TRACK IS HIS BEST EVER Ah well. They can always do a version of it in a few years time. And then people will say things like "I preferred Natalie Imbruglia's original". Which will no doubt be frustrating. -------------------------------------------------- WINEHOUSE GETS FITNESS HELP FROM MEL B -------------------------------------------------- MILEY CYRUS CONFIRMS SPECULATION ABOUT BITTER SINGLE Cyrus adds: "It's hard to imagine that our love is a story with an end. But you know, at least I'm getting some really good songs out of it". Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas are both sixteen years old. |
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