FILE-SHARERS ALSO BUY MORE MUSIC, NEW RESEARCH SAYS
There have been plenty of studies in recent years into whether or not file sharers buy more or less music as a result of having free access to every song ever made via the interweb, some concluding they buy more, some they buy less, none, interestingly, that it's impossible to say and pointless to try and find out.

This new survey on the matter is getting more press than most because it's come out so soon after the much reported ruling in The Pirate Bay case in Sweden, and it's written by Norwegian academics - Sweden, Norway, same thing really isn't it?

The top line finding from the Norwegian School Of Management is that someone who downloads music illegally is, at the same time, ten times more likely to buy music. The implication, therefore, is that the record industry, instead of suing the likes of The Pirate Bay out of business, should support the providers of P2P services, because they have direct access to the best music consumers and, possibly, encourage those consumers to discover (for free) and then buy (for a fee) more music.

The study questioned over 1900 internet users over 15 years old, examining those users' download habits - both how much music they downloaded illegally and, by checking their accounts with legit digital music providers, how much music they paid to download. They also checked how many CDs each user had bought. There was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a correlation - generally speaking those who download more tracks illegally also bought more music.

Of course it stands to reason that people who dedicate large amounts of their time to downloading music via P2P are going to be music fans, people who are therefore likely to also spend a considerable amount of their expendable income on music products - whether that be on recordings (as this study suggests) or gig tickets or merchandise or whatever. It may also follow that by being able to experience new or unfamiliar music in a convenient way without financial risk, P2P users may discover artists or songs they wouldn't otherwise know they liked, and then buy that music from an a la carte download store.

It has to be said that most studies that claim file-sharers buy more music, including this one, haven't really been able to say whether that's just because the sorts of people who file-share are also the sorts of people who buy music, or whether the discovery of new music via P2P actually leads to extra music sales.

Either way, it seems fair to say that the 'file-sharing community' has in it many of the biggest music fans and biggest music consumers (especially within the youth demographic), and that, of course, has always been the biggest challenge for the record industry with regards the file-sharing issue - taking legal action against file-sharing, especially against individual file-sharers directly, invariably means suing some of your best customers.

Meeting that challenge doesn't necessarily mean turning a blind eye to all illegal file-sharing, nor letting P2P software makers and BitTorrent trackers build their businesses by providing the tools that enable piracy. However, automatically suing all major file-sharers and providers of file-sharing services - which was certainly major label policy for a time, in the US at least - isn't a clever way to meet the challenge either, there must be opportunities for the record industry out there in P2P land, if only someone could figure out what they were and how to capitalise on them.

Perhaps some university could try figuring that out, rather than contributing to the pile of reports on the links, or not, between illegal file-sharing and legit digital music consumption.

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C-MURDER TO LOSE LAWYER BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL TROUBLE
US hip hop star C-Murder is in serious financial trouble, according to reports. The rapper's long term lawyer, Ron Rakosky, has announced that he wishes to withdraw as Miller's attorney because he's owed hundreds of hours worth of legal fees.

As previously reported, C-Murder, born Corey Miller and these days more usually known as C-Miller, was convicted of the killing of sixteen year old Steve Thomas during a 2002 altercation in a Louisiana club and sentenced to life in prison. It was Rakosky who successfully got that conviction overturned in March of 2006, after proving that prosecutors has expunged the record of some of their witnesses to boost their credibility. But now the lawyer says he's owed monies dating back three years and has, as a result, asked the court to remove him from the second murder trial, which is scheduled to begin on 3 Aug.

Reports suggest that Miller's need for cash may also get him sent back to prison, as prosecutors claim that his fund-raising website proclaims his innocence, which he's not allowed to do, according to a gag order.

Miller writes on www.coreymillerinnocencefund.com: "Let me finally take a moment to personally thank all of you for the outpour of love and support you have given me in the past seven difficult years, due to postponements and red tape. When justice is delayed, then justice has been denied. Had this faulty justice system been as slow arresting me as they have been in validating my innocence, it would've known they had 'the wrong man'. As the evidence shows, ' I am innocent!...As my day in court approaches, my family and I pray and are confident I will be acquitted and cleared of all alleged incidents. When that day finally comes, we'll be looking forward to celebrating with you in prayer".

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IVOR NOVELLO NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED
The nominations for this year's Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting are out. Leading the pack are Coldplay, Duffy and The Ting Tings, who all receive three nominations, while Elbow are down for two. However, the most noise is being made about The Leisure Society, a largely unknown unsigned band who find themselves up against The Last Shadow Puppets and Elbow in the Best Song Musically & Lyrically category for their song 'The Last Of The Melting Snow'.

The band's songwriter, Nick Hemming, who juggles his music career with a job in a fabric factory, told the BBC: "It hadn't even crossed my mind [to enter the awards] - so I sent it [his entry] in literally a couple of days before the closing date and never thought about it again until a couple of weeks ago. When I got the letter through the door, I thought it was some kind of wind up - in fact even my mum thought it was a hoax".

However, he added, he did know that the song had something special about it. "As soon as we started playing this one at gigs, we'd get women coming up in tears afterwards", he said. "You know you've done something that's affecting people and people are taking it to their hearts".

Here are the nominations in full:

Best Song Musically & Lyrically:
The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made For You
Elbow - One Day Like This
The Leisure Society - The Last Of The Melting Snow

Best Contemporary Song:
Dizzee Rascal - Dance Wiv Me
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

Best Original Film Score:
David Arnold - Quantum of Solace
Benjamin Wallfisch - The Escapist
Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood

Best Television Soundtrack
Ben Bartlett - Fiona's Story
Anne Dudley - Trial and Retribution 2008
Julian Nott - Wallace and Gromit (A Matter of Loaf and Death)

PRS For Music Most Performed Work
Duffy - Mercy
Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me
Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Best Selling British Song
Duffy - Mercy
MIA - Paper Planes
Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Album Award:
Duffy - Rockferry
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing

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BRITNEY TOPS POP TWITTER POLL
So, forget about the singles chart and the album chart, and even those all import t-shirt and calendar charts, here's the stats poll that matters this month. The Musical Tweeters top ten, as compiled by internet monitoring types BigChampagne. Yes, following the news that movie star Ashton Kutcher had beaten news network CNN in getting a million followers, here are the most followed pop stars on the micro-blogging network.

1. Britney Spears (995,807)
2. John Mayer (760,522)
3. Diddy (612,586)
4. Coldplay (542,764)
5. Sara Bareilles (424,737)
6. A Fine Frenzy (394,429)
7. Soulja Boy (350,114)
8. Jimmy Eat World (281,989)
9. Heidi Montag (247,120)
10. Ashlee Simpson (222,548)

I'm not sure what constitutes 'pop star' for the BigChampagne team, because Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor has 357,334 followers, which would put him at number seven, and 50 Cent has 450,680 followers, which would put him fifth, and while Reznor isn't really pop, I'm not sure why Fiddy would be excluded if Diddy and Soulja Boy are in. Perhaps he was excluded for admitting he had an assistant post his updates.

In case you're wondering who the hell Heidi Montag is, well she's one of the people featured on MTV reality show 'The Hills' who has been trying to get a pop career off the ground for two years now and who has, I think, finally got a deal with Warner Music, which is why she appears on the pop Tweet list. Digital Music News reckons she's only got so many followers because her boyfriend, 'The Hills' co-star Spencer Pratt, has been telling the media how he plans to get more Twitter friends than the aforementioned Kutcher, and that he and Montag have been winning new followers as a result.

So there you go. Have we ever mentioned the CMU Twitter feed in the Daily? I think we keep meaning too but never quite got around to it. Well, go follow www.twitter.com/cmu people. We'll let you know the big music news stories as they break.

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OASIS TO TAKE FIVE YEAR BREAK
Noel Gallagher claims that Oasis will go on a five year hiatus following the band's upcoming stadium tour because he calculates that is how long it'll take to get over the trauma of seeing his brother Liam every day. He also claimed that his distaste for his brother is now so strong that he's never even allowed him to see his 19 month old nephew, Donovan.

Noel told Q: "He's never seen my little lad, just pictures. To a stranger it sounds ludicrous, but you wouldn't have him in the house if he spoke to you the way he speaks to me and my family. He's rude, arrogant, intimidating and lazy. He's the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup".

He added that he's also still annoyed that Liam skipped out on recording sessions for the band's recent album, 'Dig Out Your Soul', to marry his then girlfriend Nicole Appleton in a secret Valentine's Day ceremony last year. "There's two great tracks lying there not finished from the last record, because Liam fucked off to get married", he said. "That annoys the fuck out of me. We've got a 50-piece choir on both, they're enormous. There's no talking to be done. Maybe that's the problem - there's no fall-out from it. I never said to him, 'What are you doing, you dick?'. If albums mean that little to him, I don't want to argue. He can fuck off as far as I'm concerned. By the time we make another record we'll be five years older".

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GERRY MARSDEN GETS FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL
Gerry Marsden of Gerry And The Pacemakers has been awarded the freedom of Liverpool. The 'Ferry Across The Mersey' singer boarded a, er, ferry across the Mersey for the presentation by Lord Mayor Steve Rotherham. He also got out his guitar and sang his famous track for the benefit of assembled commuters travelling on the Royal Iris.

Marsden said: "It is a thrill and an honour to be receiving the freedom of the city - and what better way to receive it than on Liverpool's most famous ferry. I am delighted to be awarded this honour in the city that I love. Everyone knows that I'm extremely proud of Liverpool and this really is the icing on the cake for me. I am especially honoured that the freedom is being awarded by my fellow Liverpudlians for my charity work".

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SMASHING PUMPKINS TO FLOG HALF-FINISHED TRACKS
Bands often give fans free insights into what they're doing in the studio as they work on new material. U2 had a webcam in their studio during sessions for their 2000 album 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', and in 2002 Weezer posted demo versions of works-in-progress as free MP3s on their website while writing songs for their 'Maladroit' album. But were they missing out on making a bit of fast cash? Billy Corgan seems to think so.

The official Smashing Pumpkins website announced on Monday that plans are under way to launch a paid subscription service which will give fans access to videos and photographs "detailing the creative process within the studio" over twelve weeks. The site proclaims that "subscribers will be able to watch the next era of Smashing Pumpkins music take shape" in an effort to make it sound like something worth paying for.

The service will cost $40 and fans are guaranteed at least five updates per week and all videos will be at least five minutes long. The content will later be made into an "art film", although the site doesn't say if subscribers will receive this as part of the package or if they'll have to fork out more to get hold of it.

However, this is not about making money, says Corgan. It's about, er, inspiration, or something. Here's what Billy says: "The goal is to create a working model that is not profit motivated but rather information and access motivated. In exchange for a fixed resource base fans will be let inside in an unprecedented way to the creative process of preparing to make the next SP album while also inspiring an inter-active dialogue that will help shape the work. Because of the open window, further efforts will be made to provide content so that anyone participating can more readily follow the arc over the twelve weeks, with unprecedented access to lyrical and musical content".

He adds: "I am excited to make this offer to anyone who might be interested what goes on behind the wizard's curtain. It is my goal to far exceed the normal documentary process and use the moment to create something that invokes synchronicity, electricity, and faith into a moment that is ever unfolding".

And though this is definitely not about making money, the site does state: "If we don't find that there is enough demand for this, the project will be set aside for a future time". That's right, Smashing Pumpkins fans, it'll all be your fault!

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NIRVANA READING SET TO BE RELEASED ON DVD
When Kurt Cobain came on stage at the Reading Festival in 1992 in a wheelchair, poking fun at rumours that the band were about to split up due to his ill health, he probably didn't think it would become one of the most talked about moments in the band's history. But it did. Mainly because he then leapt out of the chair and the band proved that they were at the top of their game, tearing through old and new material, as well as a cover of Boston's 'More Than A Feeling'. Since then, fans have been clamouring for its release.

Well, fans of Nirvana, you don't have much longer to wait. A DVD of the full show, entitled 'Life Takes No Prisoners', will be released on 4 May.

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PIXIES CONFIRM BOX SET RELEASE
Pixies have confirmed that they will release a luxury box set of material from the band's whole career. 'Minotaur', available for pre-order from 15 Jun, will feature five re-released albums, 'Come On Pilgrim' (1987), 'Surfer Rosa' (1988), 'Doolittle' (1989), 'Bossanova' (1990), and 'Trompe Le Monde' (1991). A deluxe version will include a DVD of the band's 1991 performance at Brixton Academy, all the group's videos, and a 54-page book. A limited edition version of 'Minotaur' will additionally feature all five albums on 180-gram vinyl. The box set can be pre-ordered from www.ainr.com.

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WEEZER MAN TO RELEASE DVD
Weezer man Rivers Cuomo is to release a live DVD of a performance recorded at a record shop in Long Beach, California. 'Not Alone - Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints' was recorded as a celebration for the release of 'Alone II - The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo' on 25 Nov last year. The gig featured fans who helped form a makeshift band and pick a set list. The DVD will include the video for the track 'My Brain Is Working Overtime', and a clip of Cuomo speaking just before the event. It's due out in October.

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FALL OUT BOY FORCED TO RELOCATE GIG
Fall Out Boy have had to reschedule a Florida gig at a new venue because of security worries at the original venue.

The band were originally set to play Boca Raton's Mizner Park Amphitheatre, but the venue decided against allowing the concert to take place there. A spokesperson is quoted as saying: "There have been known disturbances associated with Fall Out Boy. We anticipate that the concert will generate security challenges".

The band's manager Bob McLynn retorted: "I'm not sure what these 'challenges' are that they are speaking of. The town said that if we tried to keep the show on we would have to pay an extraordinary amount of money in extra costs".

The band will now play at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, eight or nine miles south of the original venue.

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BADDIES GIGS
The rather fine Baddies will release new single 'Holler For My Holiday' on 1 Jun, via their own label Medical and distributed by Proper Music. Before then, you can catch them playing live like at these following dates/club nights/festivals...

23 Apr: New Slang (with Art Brut) Kingston, London
24 Apr: Camden Crawl, London
1 May: Lost & Found Club, Manchester
4 May: Lock Tavern, London
9 May: Radio 1's One Big Weekend, Swindon
14 May: The Great Escape, Brighton
22 May: Koko (Club NME), London
23 May: Dot To Dot Festival, Bristol
24 May: Dot To Dot Festival, Nottingham

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DIZZEE RASCAL ANNOUNCES OCTOBER TOUR
Dizzee Rascal will tour the UK this October, following the release of his fourth album, 'Tongue N Cheek', in September.

Tour dates:

6 Oct: Newcastle, O2 Academy
7 Oct: Manchester, Apollo
9 Oct: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
10 Oct: Exeter, University Great Hall
11 Oct: Bristol, O2 Academy
12 Oct: Nottingham, Rock City
14 Oct: Bournemouth, Opera House
16 Oct: Norwich, UEA
17 Oct: Birmingham, O2 Academy
24 Oct: Liverpool, University
25 Oct: Sheffield, O2 Academy
26 Oct: Leeds, O2 Academy
27 Oct: Brighton, Dome

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FESTIVAL LINE UP UPDATE

DOWNLOAD, Donington Park, Castle Donington, 12-14 Jun: Hatebreed, Suicide Silence, In This Moment, A Day To Remember and God Forbid have been confirmed for the second stage at this year's Download. Therapy?, Backyard Babies, Hostile and Middle Class Rut have also been confirmed and are set to play the Tuborg Stage, with We Are The Ocean, Turbowolf, Sylosis and No Americana confirmed for the third stage. www.downloadfestival.co.uk

SOMERSET HOUSE SERIES, Somerset House, Central London, 9-18 Jul: Grace Jones, Lily Allen, Pendulum, Athlete and The Ting Tings have all been announced to perform at this year's Somerset House Series. www.somersethouse.org.uk/music

LATITUDE, Southwold, Suffolk, 16-19 Jul: Regina Spektor and Passion Pit are the latest to be confirmed for this year's Latitude, joining previously announced headliners Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

THE BIG CHILL, Eastnor Castle. Herefordshire, 7-9 Aug: Playing a rare festival date, Norwegian producer Lindstrom has been confirmed to play The Big Chill this summer. Kim Hiorthroy, The Juan Maclean, Tim Goldsworthy and TimSweeney are also set to perform, alongside Greg Wilson, Annie Nightingale, Metro Area, Daddy G, Queen Bee and Mr Benn. www.bigchill.net

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CITY SHOWCASE WORKSHOP LINE UP
Organisers of the City Showcase have announced details of the workshops that will take place as part of this year's programme.

The workshops will take place at the Apple Store on Regent Street, and among the people due to offer advice are singer songwriters Chris Difford and Judie Tzuke; artist managers Brian Message, Chris Morrison and Seven Webster; the boss of concert promoters Kilimanjaro Stuart Galbraith; trade body types Jon Webster (MMF), Patrick Rackow (British Academy) and Nigel McCune (MU); media types Mark Sutherland (Billboard), Darren Saddler (Rocksound) and Matt Priest (NME Radio); music publishing experts Sean Devine and David Stark; plus Guy Lowman of Fierca Panda and Paul Brown, the new UK chief of Spotify.

All events are free, though you need a wristband to get in. Details of specific events and how to get said wrist band can be found at www.cityshowcase.co.uk.

City Showcase takes place in venues around central London from 7-9 May, with the workshop type events running alongside a whole load of artist and band showcases.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Caspa - Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening (Fabric/Subsoldiers)
Caspa's been there. Through every increment of the history of dubstep, he's stalked its trajectory from filthy little basements in Croydon to the colossal megaclub that is Fabric. He's set up labels that have thrown maestros such as Rusko into the shining limelight. As for himself, he's been rather bashful about getting his own music out there. Or maybe he's just a perfectionist. Engage in a conversation about music with most adolescents and you'll find them trying to wedge dubstep knowledge in at any opportunity, however inappropriate (no, the folk movement of the 1970s did not inspire Benga's "sick choons"). Although seemingly nodding towards this with the album title 'Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening', Caspa knows that dubstep is the genre du jour and consequently tries to appeal to all camps. There are uncompromising sub-bass earthquakes like 'Low Blow' and 'I Beat My Robot', paeans for the purists with melody being a scant framework for relentless, filthy beats. This is dubstep at its finest, which doesn't care whether you like it or not (it's rather apt that one of these songs is called 'Marmite'). But when Caspa attempts to entice those at the fringes, he fails disastrously. 'Lon-Don City' sounds like a crippling Akon cover with the bass turned up, and 'Disco Jaws' would be fine were it not featuring the single most annoying cockney in the world speaking in Chipmunk to himself. Caspa knows how to do it old school, and maybe he should just stick to what he knows best to keep his aficionados salivating. GB
Release Date: 4 May
Press Contact: Darling Dept [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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ANOTHER EMI DIGITAL EXEC GOES
Another digital exec has departed the all new EMI. Morvan Boury joined the major last October to head up digital business development in the EMEA region, but following the departure of the major's top digital man, former Google exec Douglas Merrill, last month, Boury has now also quietly exited the record company.

The major says Paris-based Boury's departure has come about as a result of the closure of Merrill's digital unit. At the time of Merrill's somewhat sudden departure it was explained that digital had become such an important part of EMI's day to day operations in the last year that it no longer made sense having a separate digital unit and that, instead, digital distribution and marketing would be integrated with physical product distribution and marketing departments.

Boury's responsibilities in the EMEA region will be assumed by New York-based Mark Piibe in his role as Global Head Of Business Development.

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IMAGEM BUY THE RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN ORGANISATION
Imagem Music Group, the relatively young contender in the music publishing domain, which has already bought up some of the pop catalogues of the now defunct BMG Music Publishing, and prominent classical publisher Boosey & Hawkes, has announced it has acquired the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation which owns and administers all the songs and musicals written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II - which includes the likes of 'Oklahoma!', 'Carousel', 'South Pacific', 'The King And I' and 'The Sound Of Music' - as well as the works of over 200 other writers, including many other stage musicals. They also currently represent Andrew Lloyd Webber's catalogue of tunes in North America.

The deal will see Imagem take ownership of both the Rodgers & Hammerstein catalogues, and its New York based business operations. The publisher's existing management team, including President Theodore S Chapin, will continue to run the company.

Confirming the deal, Imagem top man André de Raaff told reporters: "Our purchase of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire the publishing and theatrical rights of some of the most beloved shows and songs ever written. We are also delighted to have the benefit of the knowledge and expertise of Ted Chapin and the RHO staff within the Imagem Music Group and I see great synergy opportunities with our Boosey & Hawkes organisation. I personally believe that the world of musicals in which RHO is a leading player will grow further on a worldwide basis and we look forward to adding value to these rights through long term cultivation and development".

Representatives of the Rodgers and Hammerstein families both welcomed the deal.

Rodger's daughter Mary Rodgers Guettel said: "My father always believed in moving forward. This is a big and wonderful step, and I am thrilled by the new opportunities that André and his team bring to my father's songs and shows. The Rodgers family is committed to this phenomenal organisation, which will continue to [also] represent the shows my father wrote with Larry Hart, as well as a few shows I wrote, and my son Adam's shows".

Meanwhile, Hammerstein's daughter, Alice Hammerstein Mathia, said: "The collaboration between my father and Richard Rodgers was extraordinary. That they kept everything together, including the management of their copyrights, is a testament to their shared vision, and now that vision will be continued in this promising new venture".

Aside from the many songs and musicals the R&H Organisation has acquired over the years, the late Rodgers and Hammerstein's own musical collaborations continue to generate much interest and income, of course, aided in the UK by the recent Lloyd Webber/BBC initiated revival of 'The Sound Of Music', not to mention the continued popularity of the sing-a-long version of that musical's film adaptation. Though if they want a post takeover royalties boost, perhaps Imagem could persuade Simon Cowell to get showtune loving Susan Boyle to sing 'You Never Walk Alone' when she next appears on 'Britain's Got Talent'. Get Ashton and Demi tweeting and earn some YouTube cash. Though not via PRS. They probably ought do their own deal with Google first.

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MUZU SIGN NEW DEALS APLENTY
Video streaming website and CMU-Tube enabler MUZU TV has announced that it has signed a deal with Universal, meaning it now has deals with three of the four majors in place (Warner are still being killjoys).

That means they now have access to the same amount of premium music video content that YouTube did before their much publicised dispute with PRS For Music which led to a lot of that content being blocked, of course. And while YouTube's owners Google continue to argue PRS's royalty demands are just too high to make their business work, MUZU make much of the fact that their business model accommodates the collecting society's rates, by separating premium from user generated content which, they say, makes their product more attractive to advertisers who foot the royalty bill.

Taking a further step towards becoming the music video streamer of choice, MUZU has also announced that it is now powering all of Sony Music's video content on Bebo and is also the official partner on Michael Jackson's UK & Ireland website.

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MORE ON UNIVERSAL'S VEVO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOOGLE
More news on Vevo, Universal Music's planned music video platform which will be powered by Google's YouTube but operated by the major record company.

The major recently confirmed the YouTube tie up we first reported on in early March, and Google's Director Of Video Partnerships Patrick Walker has confirmed to Music Ally that, as expected, it will be the major that controls both content and advertising on the new service, and that Universal hope to licence music from other record companies making it a one-stop music video platform and not just a window for promoting their own releases. YouTube's role is as technology provider - providing streaming and advert delivery services.

Walker told Music Ally: "Vevo will be run by Universal Music, but we are providing the technology and sales capabilities. Their aspirations are beyond their own content, but they will drive the business terms and relationships".

Universal's control of Vevo is what distinguishes the planned new service from, say, Universal's official channel on YouTube. On the YouTube channel, Google sells advertising and pays the major a royalty for the use of their content. On Vevo, Universal will sell the advertising, and pay Google a fee for delivering the content and advertising.

If successful, the partnership could lead to a reworking of Google's ambitions for YouTube outside the user-generated content domain. Rather than trying, with mixed success, to enter into licensing deals with content owners so that it can host and sell advertising around their music and videos, it might adopt a take it or leave it approach, offering its video delivery systems ad free for a fee, letting content owners worry about how to monetise their online video content.

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ALEX ZANE LEAVES XFM
Alex Zane is leaving the Xfm breakfast show like, now. Well, tomorrow. The Global owned alternative music station yesterday announced Zane was leaving their prime time show this week. The station's afternoon show presenter, Ian Camfield, who recently returned to Xfm after a stint with New York's K-Rock, will return to the breakfast slot.

Although Zane was suspended from the station for a week last year after playing a spoof song which seemed to make light of rape, his departure is seemingly uncontroversial - he is leaving via something lacking in that controversial rape song, "mutual consent". It's thought the presenter's contract was up for renewal and he decided not to renew.

A spokesman for the station told reporters: "Alex Zane is a busy man right now and by mutual agreement he is moving on to do other things. We wish him every success for the future". Despite the busy-ness, it's thought Zane will still find time to do some radio, with a show on BBC 6Music being tipped.

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THE LIPSTER TO CLOSE
Music website The Lipster, one of the sites that launched as part of Drowned In Sound's short lived alliance with BSkyB, and which became an independent concern after the end of that alliance, will close down this week.

Explaining the reasons for the closure in an article for Media Guardian, the site's co-editor, Rebecca Nicholson, thinks that "in the current online market, editorial-based music sites (or at least those run as any sort of business) seem out of date; what matters is functionality". She suggests that those wanting to make a living out of running music websites are better off developing effective aggregators that make it easier for music fans to navigate the plethora of music content that already exists on the net, rather than adding to that, erm, pleth.

Citing Gigulate as a good example of that kind of site, she continues: "Real innovation is happening with sites that aggregate music content. Simply put, Gigulate brings everything from reviews to news to gig listings into one place. It tells you which acts are getting the most online buzz. Crucially, it is functional".

She also quotes the boss of the aforementioned Drowned In Sound, Sean Adams, who observes "There's no real business model for starting a music editorial magazine online. It needs to be viewed like fanzines were. Anyone who thinks they can do it for a living without spending three years living off baked beans is delusional. Sites like Mog [another aggregator] and Gigulate are much better business ideas than trying to start an editorial music site. Unless you're reaching half a million people it's near impossible to make any real money from a website".

So there you go, cheerful thoughts for your Wednesday morning. Especially for all those nutters running editorial-based online music services like, oh. Hmm. That's depressing. I know what will cheer me up, Miley Cyrus' thoughts on gay marriage. But first, a chart.

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MTV2/MYSPACE CHART
It's the MTV2/MySpace chart, based on votes by MTV2 viewers on MySpace. The top ten this week is as follows...

1. [1] Elliot Minor - Discover
2. [2] The Maccabees - Love You Better
3. [7] Go Audio - Drive To The City
4. [3] Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This
5. [5] Madina Lake - Never Take Us Alive
6. [RE] Fei Comodo - Behind Bars
7. [8] Fightstar - Mercury Summer
8. [RE] Twisted Wheel - We Are Us
9. [4] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
10. [NE] Ladyhawke - Back Of The Van

Meanwhile, added to the list for viewer voting this week are...

Ebony Bones - The Muzik
Team Waterpolo - Route 44
The Horrors - Who Can Say
The Panics - Don't Fight It
You Me At Six - Finders Keepers

More at www.myspace.com/mtvtwo

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MILEY CYRUS DEFENDS GAY MARRIAGE
Don't know if y'all heard about it already, but there's been a bit of a hoo-hah in the gossip media over Carrie Prejean, aka Miss California, and her views on same sex marriage. Appearing at the Miss USA pageant at the weekend, she was asked by celebrity blogger and judge Perez Hilton what she thought about the issue, and she responded to the effect that she thinks marriage should be only for straight couples.

Hilton has since been lobbying various celebrities for their own thoughts on the issue, and staunch Christian Miley Cyrus is one of those. Responding via her Twitter.com account, she wrote, "Jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! thats like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz hes gay and that is WRONG and very sad! like i said everyone deserves to be happy". All the mistakes (grammatical I mean, not theological) are hers.

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GROHL IS A DAD AGAIN
Dave Grohl and his wife Jordyn are celebrating the arrival of their second daughter. Harper Willow Grohl was born last Friday weighing 7lb8oz and according to the Foo Fighter's man, is "loud as hell". Grohl also said that the little girl is named after his great uncle Harper Bonebrake.

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CHRIS AND RIHANNA MIGHT BE BACK ON
What with everything being quite quiet on the Chris Brown/Rihanna front of late, it's probably about time we started spreading tenuous (ie made up) rumours in order to keep the story alive.

But before we get on to those tenuous rumours, let's just tell you that Chris and Rihanna are definitely back together. According to Heat, Chris checked out of an LA hotel he was staying in recently and went over to Rihanna's house, where he stayed until the following day. He was later seen buying chocolates.

Now for those tenuous rumours. Erm, Rihanna is quitting music and opening a fish and chip takeaway. Chris Brown will catch the fish using a big boat he just bought - given his recent fist throwing performances, possibly employing the fish catching method recently illustrated in TV show 'The Inbetweeners'.

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