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EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCH INTERNET RIGHTS GUIDE The eYouGuide has been set up in response to a call by the European Parliament in 2007 who asked that the Commission better advise European citizens on their rights as internet consumers. On file-sharing, the guide advises that unless people know for certain a track available via a file-sharing network is out of copyright or under some kind of royalty free licence then they shouldn't download it, because doing so will probably infringe someone's copyright. It adds that copyright exists "to promote the progress of knowledge and arts", and warns that in some European countries copyright law may "provide civil or criminal sanctions even for infringements of copyright for non-commercial purposes". It says that civil sanctions "may involve paying damages or just an injunction ordering you to stop the infringing behaviour", while criminal sanctions, normally reserved for infringement for commercial gain, they note, may include "the seizure of devices containing protected work, fines and in some extreme cases also imprisonment". Common sense, many of you out there in CMU land may think, but you'd be surprised how little the average consumer knows about such things, which is part of the problem in terms of combating online infringement. So in that respect the new EU guide is probably a good thing, assuming anyone ever reads it. Though I'm not sure the "to promote the progress of knowledge and arts" line is the best way to convince the average file-sharer that copyrights are something they should respect, it's a bit too bold a statement to ring true. Launching the site, the EU Commissioner For Information Society & Media Viviane Reding said the guide was part of the Commission's attempts to ensure web users across Europe have and are aware of the same rights. In the same vein, they published a digital agenda encouraging European governments and businesses to work to ensure more consistency regarding internet rights and rules across the Union. Reding: "In the EU, consumer rights online should not depend on where a company or website is based. National borders should no longer complicate European consumers' lives when they go online to buy a book or download a song. In spite of progress made, we need to ensure that there is a single market for consumers as well as businesses on the web". The aspects of the 'digital agenda' most relevant to the music business are probably a call for Union-wide consistency on the issue of private copying and more pan-European licensing. The former, of course, is about whether or not you should have the right to make private copies of tracks you have bought so you can listen to them on another device (eg rip a track from a CD to a PC) and whether content owners should be compensated for such coping. In the UK all private copying is currently, technically speaking, illegal. In many European countries it is allowed but a private copying levy has traditionally been charged on the sales of recordable media - eg blank tapes and CDRs - which is passed onto content owners. There are moves to make private copying legal in the UK - given everyone does it anyway - though the music industry is pushing for some confusing quasi-levy system which complicates what could be a simple deletion of a clause of the Copyright Act. The latter issue - the need for more pan-European licensing - is one of the European Commission's favourite grumbles. The collecting societies are normally the main targets in that domain. EC types feel current collecting society systems, where societies have (or had) virtual licensing monopolies in their own territories, are anti-competitive, and blanket licences should be available from any one society for the whole of the European Union. Such a move would make it easier to licence music for pan-European services, and force national societies to compete with each other. The collecting societies, for their part, say that the EU's proposals for pan-European licensing will actually make the whole royalties world less competitive, and also negatively impact on the societies, and therefore music communities, of smaller nations. Or something like that. -------------------------------------------------- ADELE APOLOGISES FOR RUDE JEW COMMENTS The singer reportedly ended a story about a "rude" pawn shop owner in the city by saying: "He wasn't Canadian, he was Jewish". When this drew an unfavourable reaction from the audience, she added: "I just meant he wasn't a rude Canadian... I'm digging myself deeper". In an apology issued via her US label, Columbia, Adele said: "What I said on stage in Toronto on Wednesday night at Massey Hall was not meant how it came across. But I completely understand how it was offensive. I sincerely apologise for being so naive and disrespectful! It was not my intention to be hurtful and I'm very sorry". BRAXTON IMPERSONATOR STILL IN JAIL, PROMOTER ARRESTED Finn says that Trina herself was duped by Ventura, as she had no idea that the concert was being promoted as an actual Toni Braxton gig. He says of the forty year old singer, who has had a long career as a tribute artist "Trina's been isolated there for two months. She doesn't understand why she's being used as a scapegoat". He also expressed relief that Angel Ventura had been tracked down, after his disappearance following the ill-fated concert. It's difficult to know what really happened here. Johnson-Finn seemingly had a contract with Ventura which read "purchaser agrees that there will not be any advertisements or promotions, whatsoever, listing the performer as literally being Toni Braxton", and supporters claim that's enough to prove her innocence. Others say she knew what she was doing. Her Surinamese lawyer Kathleen Brandon is quoted as saying: "She has done no wrong, so it is difficult for her to spend so much time in jail to await the start of the trial". -------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER THRILLER LAWSUIT FOR JACKO Ray's lawsuit follows the previously reported litigation filed by John Landis, the video's director, who says he is due 50% of the profits from the video, but has not had a financial report or royalty cheque in years. You sometimes really do wonder about the people who manage the affairs of people like Jacko - you'd think he'd be able to hire at least one person to keep on top of all these past agreements wouldn't you? Or would said person have to deliver so much bad news to Jackson s/he'd be fired in a week? DEFTONES BASSIST OUT OF COMA A message posted on the One Love For Chi website, set up by the band and Cheng's family to help raise money to cover his medical costs, reads: "Hi all - just wanted to update everyone and let you know that Chi was released from ICU over the weekend and is no longer on any sort of life support. His symptoms continue to improve. So keep the prayers coming... they are obviously helping a great deal! Thanks everyone for your support and well wishes... It means so much to the Cheng family". -------------------------------------------------- N-DUBZ OFFICIALLY SWINE FLU FREE A spokesman for the band said: "Hopefully she'll get better and be able to fly back towards the end of the week, but we don't know if she will be well enough". MOJO NOMINATIONS OUT Album of the Year: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Bella Union), Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night (Sony/RCA), Paul Weller - 22 Dreams (Universal/Island), Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid (Universal/Fiction), PJ Harvey And John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By (Universal/Island). Best Live Act: Fleet Foxes, Paul Weller, Leonard Cohen, Seasick Steve, Radiohead. Breakthrough Act: Gallows, White Lies, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed & the True Loves, School Of Seven Bells, Glasvegas. Compilation of the Year: Dark Was The Night (Beggars/4AD), Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story (Ace), 'War Child: Heroes' (EMI/Parlophone), 'The Sound Of Wonder: The First Wave of Plugged-In Pop At The Pakistani Picture House' (Finder's Keepers), 'Cadillac Records OST' (Sony/Columbia). Song of the Year: Elbow - One Day Like This (Universal/Fiction), Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal (Bella Union), Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire (Sony/RCA), Franz Ferdinand - Ulysees (Domino), Animal Collective - My Girls (Domino). MERCER REORGANISES THE SHINS Explaining his reasons for the shuffle, Mercer told Pitchfork: "I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people. It's mainly about that. It's an aesthetic decision. It's kind of hard to talk about stuff like that, isn't it? Because I don't want to bum anybody out. I'm on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that. I wouldn't say I'd never work with them again. I love working with those guys". ![]() GREEN DAY PREVIEW NEW SONGS You can listen to them here. Explaining the songwriting process for the new album to LA's KROQ radio station, where the songs were originally aired, the band's frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said: "If you're writing topical songs or political songs or rebel songs or whatever you want to call 'em, it's important for them to come from the same place as a love song would come from because you want people to draw their own conclusions. It's just like capturing a moment". -------------------------------------------------- STELLASTARR* RETURN Speaking to Billboard, frontman Shawn Christensen said: "I think we're definitely excited to get new material out there. When we left RCA, as a result, we took a year off to regroup. We did a polished record for a second one and wanted to go back to basics. Make sure everything was really raw, aggressive, urgent, fun, and dark. On the second record, we went for something more atmospheric, and this time, we went in the other direction". The album will be released in the US On 7 Jul. The band are still working to secure deals to release it in other countries. While you wait, here's the tracklist: Robot -------------------------------------------------- TRENT LIKES THE HORRORS SPECIALS CANCEL BRIXTON SHOW BECAUSE OF THROAT TROUBLE Tickets for the 6 May show will be valid for the 16 May, or ticket holders can get a refund by 11 May. -------------------------------------------------- LOST HANDEL PIECE TO RECEIVE FIRST PERFORMANCE FOR 250 YEARS Burrows' son George, a lecturer at The University Of Portsmouth, is staging the performance of the 40 minute piece, which will take place at the city's New Theatre Royal on Saturday. Burrows Jr told The Telegraph: "Handel's music has an extraordinary energy and emotion, he seems to be able to tap into something deep and universal in people. This is a tremendously exciting opportunity to perform a piece of music with real emotional power". -------------------------------------------------- RIHANNA CANCELS DUBAI SHOW Yassin Matbouly, managing director of the concert's promoters Vibe Entertainment Management Agency, told the Associated Press that although negotiations to confirm the show were never completed, he had received "nothing in writing" to say that the gig would not go ahead, but that he had "heard it was inappropriate timing for her to have a public concert". -------------------------------------------------- GREEN DAY ANNOUNCE FREE GIG DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL, Donington Park, Castle Donington, 12-14 Jun: Hollywood Undead have been announced to play the main stage at this year's Download. Trigger The Bloodshed and Sacred Mother Tongue have been confirmed for the second stage, with Lauren Harris, Steel Panther, Hexes and Hunting The Minotaur all set to play the Tuborg Stage. www.downloadfestival.co.uk GLASTONBURY, Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, 24-28 Jun: Lady GaGa has been confirmed to play this year's Glastonbury Festival, joining previously announced headliners Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Blur. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk LOOP FESTIVAL, various venues, Brighton, 11-12 Jul: Fever Ray, Karin Andersson, Telepathe and The Juan Maclean are the latest acts to be announced for Brighton's Loop festival, along with The Qemists, Zomby, Riton, Squarepusher, The Field, Datarock and Matthew Herbert Big Band. www.loopbrighton.com WOMAD, Charlton Park, Wiltshire, 25-27 Jul: Neo-soul legend Roy Ayers is amongst the latest acts to be announced to play Womad this year. The Apples, Che Sudaka, Charlie Winston, Mamer, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, CirKus, Los Desterrados and 17 Hippies have also been confirmed. www.womad.org SONISPHERE, Knebworth House, 1-2 Aug: Slipknot's Corey Taylor has been confirmed to play a solo show at this year's new metal fest. The Chapman Family, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Fighting With Wire, Rolo Tomassi, Twin Atlantic, Attack! Attack! and Cancer Bats are also set to perform. www.sonispherefestivals.com CREAMFIELDS, Daresbury Estate, Cheshire, 29-30 Aug: Producer and remixer Diplo has been confirmed to play Creamfields this summer, along with Casiokids, Young Fathers and Example. They will join previously announced Tiesto, Basement Jaxx, David Guetta, Paul Van Dyk, Calvin Harris plus many more. www.creamfieldsfestival.co.uk COMING TO YOU FROM THE INSIDE: NEW CMU SEMINAR Run by CMU Co-Editor Chris Cooke, this session will provide an introduction to how the music business works in 2009, looking at the different ways artists, entrepreneurs and companies can make money from music in the ever diverse digital age, and at the decisions and deals that need to be made to capitalise on the opportunities that exist in the modern music world. The session is in some ways a beginners guide to the modern music industry, specifically aimed at any artist, band, songwriter, producer or entrepreneur wanting to make it big in music, or anyone considering a career in the music industry. Though with the business in a total state of flux, it should also provide food for thought for anyone currently working in the industry wanting a catch up on current issues, or an insight into areas of the business other than their own. Commenting on the session, Chris says: "We've run beginners guides to the music business for years, though this one is quite different. We'll provide newcomers with all the basics, but we also hope to present a summary of all the ongoing music industry stories we write about every day in the CMU Daily, and look at what those developments mean for people working in music, whether they be embarking on their career as an artist or music industry exec, or even if they've been working in the business for much longer than I have. It should be fun". Holders of any Great Escape or Liverpool SoundCity wristbands can attend the respective sessions at the two music conventions. -------------------------------------------------- CITY SHOWCASE KICKS OFF Among the sessions is one today at 4pm called Listen To The Music where a panel of pundits, including Radio 1's Bobby Friction, The Independent's Simon Price and producer Dave Enringa, will offer advice on a selection of new music brought in by the audience. Entrance to all the workshops, and the numerous gig showcases, is free with a special wristband. More details at www.cityshowcase.co.uk ALBUM REVIEW: Zoey Van Goey - The Cage Was Unlocked All Along (Left In The Dark Records) Buy from iTunes SONY MOVE TO COMBAT ILLEGAL LYRIC READING The label announced this week that they will add a audio streaming player to its artist websites this summer, which will allow users to create personalised playlists and access song lyrics. The latter feature is thanks to a new deal with Gracenote (which is now owned by Sony Corp) to license lyrics, establishing it, the company said, "as the first music major to broadly offer song lyrics on its artist websites". -------------------------------------------------- EMI UPBEAT ABOUT 2008/9 FINANCIALS RADIO LISTENING AT ALL TIME HIGH -------------------------------------------------- BBC BEGINS RADIO 2/6 REVIEW -------------------------------------------------- CHANNEL 4 NOT ON ITS LAST LEGS FINANCIALLY, OK? Clarifying the situation this week, Duncan told reporters: "Survival has never been an issue - [it] has genuinely been misunderstood by some people. We have talked of a [funding] gap, not survive or die. In any scenario going forward Channel 4 will survive and be there". Duncan says that what is at risk is his channel's commitment to public service broadcasting, and providing an alterative to the BBC in that domain. Channel 4's role as an alternative public service broadcaster was more important than ever, he added, because ITV has "all but walked away" from a number of its PSB obligations. He said that if government couldn't help his company find new sources of income other than traditional advertising and sponsorship revenue, then "what will suffer substantially is programming and content spend, which will in turn diminish [our] public impact and plurality to the BBC". -------------------------------------------------- MURDOCH DESPERATE TO CHARGE US FOR ACCESSING HIS WEBSITES Rupert Murdoch has said that he expects to start charging for access to his newspapers' websites within a year as he single-handedly fixes a "malfunctioning" business model. That malfunctioning business model - though Murdoch didn't specifically say so - is the whole newspaper industry, which is struggling to stay afloat as sales and ad revenues from print titles nosedive, and key newspapers' websites - while seeing sometimes rapid increases in traffic - are struggling to cover even their basic costs through ad sales. The subscription model, whereby users are charged a fee to access some or all of a website, has been much touted in media circles since the early days of the internet. Some trade-based titles have had some success in charging users for access to their online content, and it seems to be based on the success of one such title - albeit a more mainstream trade title - that Murdoch is basing his plans to charge for online access to The Times and Sun. Murdoch has owned the Wall Street Journal since 2007 and has been impressed with their successes in the online subscription domain, and hopes that his other newspapers can adopt their model to drive new online revenues. In a conference call with journalists and analysts this week he said that such subscriptions could come into effect within a year, adding "the current days of the internet will soon be over". Of course, the Journal has a business-based audience who are arguably more likely to pay for the sort of information the WSJ can provide - and in the UK the Financial Times, while fiddling with its own subscription model over the years, is still able to charge for those online services that have real value to those working in the City. For business titles it's a viable model. Whether it will work for more consumer-facing titles is another matter entirely. Still, good content costs at least some money, and as demand for declining ad revenues increases, someone might have to find a subscription model that works to stop the internet - and all digital media - from becoming one big platform for shit. MTV2/MYSPACE CHART 1. [NE] Placebo - For What It's Worth Meanwhile, added to the list for viewer voting this week are... Empire Of The Sun - We Are The People More at www.myspace.com/mtvtwo STOP BEING SO SERIOUS ABOUT EUROVISION, SAYS WOGAN Appearing at the European Broadcasting Union's Eurovision TV summit in Lucerne, Wogan criticised the tendency for countries to vote politically, telling delegates: "Eurovision is an exciting, camp, foolish spectacle. You can't top it. It is fun, light entertainment. It is the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world. It is not about politics or asserting your place in the community, not even about national pride. It is not an opportunity to show your neighbours how much you love them. It is about picking the best popular song in Europe". Asked if there was a gulf between the UK and the rest of Europe, Wogan replied: "There has always been that there. There has always been that general feeling of distrust of Johnny Foreigner, but of course it is mutual. Britain has attacked nearly every country in Europe and people don't forget". The TV and radio presenter, who has been criticised for not taking the event seriously enough, described the event as a "triumph of appalling taste", and added: "Everybody knows it's rubbish. Everybody in the UK knows it's rubbish. I think I have brought the British public along with me and we now share an interest in it. Many of you may have heard my comments and don't think I take it seriously enough and you are right, I don't. But I am a friend of this Contest, possibly its oldest friend. How do friends behave to each other? They tell each other the truth. They don't indulge in idle flattery". Asked to elaborate on his allegations of politically motivated voting, he immediately said that he was not interesting in starting an argument, but felt it was "transparently obvious" that politics are involved. "I can only speak for the UK, but as the Eurovision Song Contest has grown bigger and bigger, the opinion in Britain - and this may well be true in France, Germany and Spain as well - is that there is a certain disenfranchisement". He concluded: "The UK has always had the edict of fair play. It doesn't matter where the song is from. But people don't feel that is being reciprocated in certain areas and I think the voting is an indication of that". -------------------------------------------------- RUSSIAN MUSEUM ANGRY ABOUT MADONNA GIG |
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SUBSCRIPTIONS>> CMU Daily is a free daily e-bulletin for people working in the music industry and music media, delivered direct to your PC each morning. If you want to stop receiving this e-bulletin click the 'unsubscribe' button below and follow the instructions. If any of your colleagues want to receive the CMU Daily tell them to email their name, company, job title and email to [email protected]. If you would like to recieve the CMU Daily as a text email, send a blank email from the email address you are registered at to [email protected]. MEDIA PEOPLE>> If you are looking for an independent quote on anything to do with the music business, or you need someone to come on your TV or radio show and talk music business, then we can help. There's nothing we don't know about. Email requests to [email protected] or call 020 7099 9050. CMU is published by and (c) UnLimited Media - www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk Send news stories to [email protected]. If we don't respond directly, we do apologise, only we get sent hundreds of emails a day and don't have time to respond to every one of them. However we do check every email sent to the musicnews email address, and do pull out stories that we feel are relevant to our readers. Send CDs for review to CMU, UnLimited Media, 221-222 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PJ. |
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