EXPERIENCED DANCE MUSIC PUBLICIST WANTED
Get In! is a tried and tested PR agency based in east London serving the GLOBAL electronic dance music industry and beyond. Our expanding roster means we're looking for a new publicist to join our young and dynamic team. You'll be enthusiastic, have a least one-year's experience in PR, a real passion for and knowledge of dance music and that 'something extra' that makes you the right person for the job. An ability to write exciting, engaging copy and generate creative PR ideas is essential. This is an ideal opportunity to work with the best people in dance music. Salary negotiable depending on experience. Interested? Send a creative email explaining why you'd be a great addition to the Get In! team, along with your CV, to: Jonathan Llewellyn, jonathan@getinpr.com. Closing date for applications is 27 Aug.

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COME AS YOU ARE: TENENBAUM CASE UPDATE
So the most interesting development during day two of the Tenenbaum court case yesterday came in a meeting away from the jury, to discuss whether details of past out-of-court settlement discussions could now be presented in court. During the meeting, one of the file-sharing student's own attorneys told the judge "we're admitting liability, your honour".

As previously reported, Tenenbaum was one of the thousands of music fans sued by the Recording Industry Association Of America. The trade body accused him of infringing its members' copyrights by making music available to others via P2P file sharing networks. Tenenbaum is unusual in deciding to fight the lawsuit.

The defence lawyers' admission of liability is not really a surprise. Tenenbaum admitted in a deposition to sharing music files via Kazaa. Of course, his lawyers could, technically speaking, have argued that his sharing of the files was covered by the so called 'fair use' exemptions that exist in US copyright law. And they probably would have done, but, as previously reported, Judge Nancy Gertner ruled before the trial began that that would not be allowed - Tenebaum's file-sharing was too rampant to be covered by fair use, not least because he continued to file-share even once the music industry was providing legitimate digital music services like iTunes and the second generation of Napster.

But, nevertheless, it was interesting to hear one of the defendant's own lawyers, Matthew Feinberg, admit his client was, under current laws, liable for copyright infringement. The student's chief legal man, Prof Nesson, is, of course, arguing that it is unfair to hold the student liable for simply doing what millions of other people do every day, while perhaps also implying that the Recording Industry Association Of America, in pursuing infringement lawsuits against a few to try to scare the many, was abusing the legal system. But given Feinberg's comments you have to assume that Team Tenenbaum have accepted that Neeson's arguments are more likely to reduce the damages the RIAA is awarded, than actually get the student off completely.

Back in front of the jury, the record industry wheeled out an Iowa State University IT expert to talk the court through all the evidence the RIAA has amassed of Tenenbaum's file-sharing activity, including the original file-sharing via Kazaa and more recent P2P shenanigans utilising LimeWire.

As previously observed, the lengths with which the RIAA's team are going to in order to prove Tenenbaum did file-share are interesting, given the student has already admitted his guilt. Though Dr Douglas Jacobson seemed to there to particularly demonstrate that Tenenbaum continued to file-share after receiving correspondence and even litigation from the record industry - maybe as recently as last summer. Presumably they want the jury to think the defendant was, by that stage, just taking the piss.

Legal experts add that the RIAA is also trying to prove that Tenenbaum's infringement through file-sharing was "wilful" rather than "regular". It's an important if not particularly well defined distinction, because damages can shoot up from $30,000 per track to $150,000 per track if infringement is deemed "wilful", and if the RIAA wants a headline grabbing damages figure to result from this trial, well that makes quite a different. (Though given the recent coverage of the $1.92 million damages ruling against another file-sharing American, Jammie Thomas, which generally focused on the record industry being a bunch of money grabbing bastards, I'm not sure record damages is necessarily something to aim for, especially given Tenenbaum won't be actually able to afford anything more than a few grand).

Cross examined by Charlie Nesson, Jacobson was asked first about his work for the RIAA and the fees he charged. The IT expert has been used by the record industry trade body a lot in its anti-P2P litigation campaign, and obviously Nesson wanted the jury to think he is therefore not an entirely reliable witness, being on the payroll of the content owners. Nesson also questioned whether the labels could say for sure that the thirty music files Tenenbaum is accused of sharing were all genuine and full tracks. The agency used by the RIAA to monitor file sharing admitted it had only downloaded a small portion of 25 of those tracks, having fully downloaded the first five.

Presumably that's because MediaSentry were monitoring thousands of file-sharers and had no way of knowing this particular file-sharing case would ever get to court - though given, according to the labels, Tenenbaum continued to file-share until as recently as last year presumably MediaSentry could have gone back and rectified this slight flaw in the labels' evidence.

What, Nesson argued, if some of the thirty tracks were fakes, like those the record labels flooded P2P networks with back in the day to try to discourage the use of file-sharing networks? A fair point, though, according to Ars Technica, Jacobson pointed out that Tenenbaum was unlikely to make fake tracks available himself, and noted the student had admitted to listening to and enjoying all thirty tracks before making them available for download.

Next up was Stanley Liebowitz, the University Of Texas economics prof, on hand to discuss the financial impact of file-sharing on the record industry. He pointed to the fact the sector had seen its revenues grow steadily from the early seventies to 1999, but that then things started to slide, dramatically, and had continued to ever since. What happened in 1999? "Napster", said the prof. The expert conceded there were other explanations - price shifts, economic conditions and, most importantly, the rise of the DVD and video gaming markets that take custom away from the music business, but, he argued, none of that explained the severity of the revenue collapse the record industry had suffered. Only the huge supply of free music online could explain that.

Next another major label rep, Universal Music attorney JoAn Cho, whose testimony included a short musical interlude with Nirvana's 'Come As You Are' played out in the court. Cho confirmed that the track, as downloaded from Tenenbaum's Kazaa account, was one of the thirteen sound recordings owned by Universal among the thirty the student is accused of illegally distributing.

According to Ars Technica, the aforementioned Feinberg did the cross-examination of Cho and it got pretty heated, with the defence lawyer seemingly trying to get Cho to admit the major labels had an overly excessive litigious streak and were in essence abusing the legal system to scare kids. Cho, like a Sony rep the previous day, admitted major label litigation against individual file-sharers was designed to act as a deterrent to the masses but added that she was not part of team who planned that legal campaign. Feinberg continued to question abrasively, leading to numerous objections being raised by plaintiff attorney Matthew Oppenheim, most sustained by the judge. As with the previous day when Nesson had questioned Sony rep Wade Leak, at one point Judge Gertner declared "sustained" before Oppenheim even had time to object.

The case continues today with two Warner Music execs expected to take the stand, and then Tenenbaum himself, which could prove to be the most interesting part of this trial, and indeed the whole of the RIAA's P2P litigation campaign to date.

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DODGY PRESCRIPTIONS AT HEART OF JACKO INVESTIGATION
Perhaps keen to keep Jacko here in the upper echelons of the CMU Daily for a couple more weeks, the LA coroner's office yesterday announced that the much previously reported toxicology report which should throw some light on what caused Michael Jackson's death won't now be released this week. I never thought it would be, but the coroner had previously indicated it might. But yesterday he said no results would now be released until next week at the earliest. Toxicology tests always takes week to complete, though previously it had been indicated that the Jackson tests would be rushed through. As previously reported, it's expected that the toxicology report will show the singer died as a result of receiving a shot of a powerful anaesthetic, probably propofol, twelve hours before the cardiac arrest that killed him. It seems Jackson took the drug on a routine basis to try to overcome insomnia.

According to TMZ, police investigations are centring on how Jackson may have got the prescription drug that may have killed him. They say that the recent and previously reported raids of the offices and home of Dr Conrad Murray, Jackson's private physician, were attempts to find dodgy prescriptions sanctioned by the medic in order to get the prescription medication, most using fake names. While there may be no case for saying Murray behaved incompetently or recklessly in administering the propofol shot to Jackson, there may be a case for saying he helped the singer acquire the drug fraudulently.

That said, TMZ reckon it won't just be Murray implicated in any dodgy prescriptions scandal, adding that the investigation into Jacko's death may lead to the unveiling of a Hollywood-wide network of medics who prescribe dangerous and unnecessary medications to rich celebrities, who ask for such drugs on a whim.

Meanwhile, as media attention focuses more and more on Dr Conrad Murray, there were reports yesterday that Jacko's doc is over $100,000 behind on his mortgage and could face foreclosure. While media reports suggest Murray's finances have been in a state for a while, his legal rep Edward Chernoff indicated that the Jackson investigation, and the fact he hasn't been paid for his two months working for the singer - by either the Jackson clan or 'This Is It' promoters AEG - are behind his current mortgage problems. Chernoff added: "His hope is he can forestall foreclosure until he can once again begin working as a doctor".

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SPECTOR PUBLICIST REVEALS PRISON ISN'T NICE
Phil Spector's publicist has revealed that the noted producer and murderer isn't having much fun in prison because there's not a lot to do. Turns out it's not like a holiday camp, after all.

Hal Lifson told the BBC 6 Music: "He's doing fair, at best, if not worse than fair. He's not doing great. He's in a horrible situation with virtually nothing to do all day. Phil Spector was always a highly productive, creative person and now he's in a five by nine foot cell with no windows and maybe a half hour outside to walk around. It's essentially solitary confinement. He doesn't have computer access, he only recently got a little TV. It's a terrible existence for a millionaire record producer who lived in mansions and most recently in a castle, a 35-room home. It's a huge, huge change of life for Phil Spector and a devastating turn in his life".

Yeah, he's got a point. Celebrities should probably be allowed to go to a special, more fun celebrity prison, or just serve their sentences at home.

Lifson also said that Spector was worried about reports in the press that he had been contacted by that other murdering chap Charles Manson about a possible musical collaboration. Quite rightly, he thinks that an association with Manson might not cast him in the best light when he comes to appeal his sentence next year. The publicist said: "Phil Spector has been very, very alarmed and scared at the notion of Charles Manson contacting him for any reason. He is very worried that any association be made between himself and Charles Manson. He mentioned that he used to get phone calls from John Lennon and Tina Turner and now it's Charles Manson calling, so he said, 'Go figure'. It was kind of a dark humour comment".

Speaking about the producer's appeal, he said that he will take his case to state court next year. If that appeal fails, he will go to the federal court of appeal in Washington.

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HALO/ALREADY GONE SONGWRITER HITS OUT AT CLARKSON CLAIMS
American songwriter and producer Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote Beyonce's recent hit 'Halo' and the new Kelly Clarkson track 'Already Gone', has hit out at claims by the former American Idol that he basically sold both singers the same song.

Clarkson was responding to criticism that her song, which is getting a single release, is a rip off of Beyonce's single from the start of the year. She reckons Tedder provided both her and Beyonce with basically the same music for their respective tracks, and that has led to the similarities. Speaking to a Canadian radio station she said: "No one's gonna be sitting at home, thinking, 'Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonce and Kelly the same track to write to'. No, they're just gonna be saying I ripped someone off. I called Ryan and said 'I don't understand. Why would you do that?'"

But Tedder has hit back, saying Clarkson's remarks are "hurtful and absurd". He continued: "'Already Gone' is one of the best songs I've written or produced since [Leona Lewis hit] 'Bleeding Love' and stands tall on its own merits apart from 'Halo'. They are two entirely different songs conceptually, melodically and lyrically and I would never try to dupe an artist such as Kelly Clarkson or Beyonce into recording over the same musical track".

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MEGADETH MAN TO HAVE SURGERY TODAY
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has confirmed he will undergo surgery today to fix his injured back and neck. This treatment is seemingly designed to ensure Mustaine is fit enough to do a tour in September, with more full on surgery planned for later in the year to properly address the problem.

Mustaine blogged, not entirely literately, earlier this week: "I have been working with a very badly damaged neck, and the few lower vertebrae, right beneath my neck in between my shoulders, is damaged too. What I have currently injured, and am requiring the start of what could be a very quick and painless procedure. I would work my ass off to heal again, like I did with my arm injury, and should be back in the saddle in no time".

He continued: "I will have to get a much more complicated procedure done, between my shoulders, after I get back from this year's touring which will end sometime short of the Christmas holidays. I am asking for you to please send some prayers, and good thoughts my way on Thursday morning at 10.30am PST, 30 Jul".

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RONSON DENIES BOYZONE COLLABORATION
Now, if I was working with Boyzone, I'd want to keep quiet, but it seems that Mark Ronson actually isn't doing anything with the embarrassing pop group. Regardless of what Ronan Keating says.

And here, in case you missed it in Monday's CMU Daily, is what Ronan Keating said: "I'm a big fan of Mark's. We wanted to do something really different for this album. We've all grown up and we want to show that with a new sound. It will be colourful, bright and uplifting".

Ronson responded to the claims via Twitter, telling fans: "I read I was working with the group Boyzone. Um, categorically untrue".

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IAN BROWN REVEALS KANYE AND RIHANNA SONGS
Ian Brown has revealed that he penned lyrics for two songs for Kanye West and Rihanna. The music for the tracks was composed by songwriter Dave McCracken, who co-wrote Brown's 2001 single 'FEAR'. And where can we hear these songs? Er, Ian Brown's new album.

Brown told Citylife: "We wrote this song called 'Vanity Kills' [for Kanye West] but we were a bit late sending it in, so I've kept it for the album. 'Stellify', we wrote for Rihanna, but as we got to the end of writing it I thought, 'You know what? I'm gonna keep this for myself, we'll give her another one'. She'd have probably sung it better, but it is too good for me not to do it".

'Stellify' will be released as the first single from Brown's new album, 'My Way', on 12 Sep, followed a week later by the album itself.

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THE FIERY FURNACES TO COVER THE FIERY FURNACES
Brother and sister Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, aka The Fiery Furnaces, have revealed they will release a new version of their recently released album, 'I'm Going Away', later this year. The pair will split the album's twelve songs between them and record six solo tracks each.

Does that even make any sense? Maybe it'll help if you get it straight from the horse's mouth. Here's the band's own statement on the matter: "Matthew and Eleanor are taking time out from watching season two of 'Mad Men' to record separate, complete, cover, tribute, albums, of, to, 'I'm Going Away'. Only the words will remain the same. Though in Eleanor's case, the singer remains the same. The song, never. Or mostly never. In other words: complete cover-album versions of The Fiery Furnaces by The Fiery Furnaces. Or The Fiery Furnaces. By the two of them, separately. To be released in two parts, together. Six songs by one with six by the other. And then another six by six. The first batch comes out sometime in New York City - meaning September".

No, that didn't help at all. Let's just say it a third time very quickly: The Fiery Furnaces will release a new version of their recently released album, 'I'm Going Away', in September.

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EARLY TUPAC DEMOS TO BE RELEASED
You know, I was just saying the other day that there really haven't been enough posthumous Tupac Shakur albums. Luckily, someone has dredged up some early demos recorded on cassette in 1988 and added new music to them.

The new album, entitled 'Shakurspeare' (named, apparently, in relation to Shakur's desire to be a Shakespearean actor), has been put together by childhood friend, Darrin Keith Bastfield. He and Shakur formed a duo called Born Busy while still at school, aged 16. Tupac made the recordings a year later, under the name MC New York. This is Bastfield's second Tupac-related project, having previously published a book remembering his time spent with the rapper.

Bastfield told AllHipHop: "I was there when Tupac heard himself for the first time rapping on a recording. As he sat in the cafeteria of the Baltimore School For The Arts it was as if he couldn't believe that he was listening to himself. Just as Tupac was quietly amazed by hearing himself, I want people to hear Tupac as a young artist in his very first recordings ever having fun, rapping about issues that concerned us, and most importantly giving a cautionary and timely 'Message Of Peace' in his own voice as if he was already a big rap star with a reputation to uphold".

He added that this project is a labour of love and definitely not a cash-in, saying: "This project was a very spiritual undertaking for me, but most importantly it is about creating art and being educational. The vocals to the songs we wrote were all recorded a cappella in 1988 on a cassette tape. Through technology the vocals were able be extracted, digitally mastered, and put to contemporary music that was produced in 2008. I wanted to keep the recordings as close to the vein of our ideas from back in the day. As far as new material to assist with the concept of the album as being like an audio documentary, I chose to work with producers and artists in my own backyard which are native of Baltimore, Maryland which includes International Jazz recording artist Maysa. My life and times with Tupac Shakur all happened in Baltimore, so I wanted the spirit of the 'Shakurspeare' album, just as the book, to stay consistent".

'Shakurspeare' is set for release via digital stores on 13 Sep through Bastfield's own Born Busy Records label.

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ALSO PLAY LONDON TONIGHT
LA-based band ALSO - who we've formed one of those 'feel like you've known them for years' relationships with via some random emailing of late - are in the UK for a short tour of this fair isle. They tell us that they find gigs in Britain by far the most rewarding, so here's a chance to confirm their confidence in the credibility of the average UK music fan, while also getting a glimpse of their rather fine music, so far proudly self-released and available via iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon (links from the website below). They play London town tonight, with some regional gigs still to come next week. Check them out...

30 Jul: London, The Hope And Anchor
2 Aug: Kidderminster, Tap House
3 Aug: Watford, The Horns

www.alsomusic.com

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MACHINE HEAD TO RETURN TO UK SONISPERE LINE-UP?
Following that spat with Sonisphere promoters Kilimanjaro, which lead to them cancelling their appearance at the UK finale of the Sonisphere touring festival, it seems that Machine Head have changed their minds. Thrash Hits noted on Sunday that 'Special Guests' had been added to the second day's line-up underneath Limp Bizkit, and claimed to have been told by a "very well-placed source" that the band were back on the bill. Now Blabbermouth say that they have also been informed by a "very reliable source" that Machine Head will be appearing at Sonisphere this Sunday.

In case you've not been following this story, let's have a quick recap. Machine Head announced that they were cancelling their appearance at the UK leg of the touring festival after Limp Bizkit were added to the line-up above them. In a statement, the band said: "In a turn of events that has left us absolutely baffled, the promoter of the UK Sonisphere festival recently placed, unbeknownst to us, Limp Bizkit in our third slot on the festival. Seeing as the running order was a significant part of the negotiation and agreement between us and the promoter, and the fact that we had been advertised in that slot since the festival's announcement, you can imagine our surprise when we were 'told' that we would now be playing in the fourth slot, under Limp Bizkit, and bizarrely, it was actually expected that we would quietly move down the bill without issue. We will not".

The band did, however, honour the bookings with the other Sonisphere events around mainland Europe, which put them in a good position to continue talks with the festival's organisers. As we reported yesterday, when guitarist Phil Demmel collapsed on stage in Finland last week, bassist Adam Duce told the crowd "I wanna thank everyone for coming out and supporting Sonisphere and supporting Machine Head", which would suggest they were on better terms than they were three weeks ago.

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EVERYONE'S DOWN ON COLLECTING SOCIETIES
Everyone hates the collecting societies today. The public prosecutor in Belgium has accused the country's publishing collecting society, SABAM, of failing to properly distribute royalty revenues back to their members - ie the content owners - and the society and five of its executives are now likely to be charged with forgery and abuse of confidence.

The prosecutor is reportedly set to pounce after a three year investigation into the society's financial procedures which, according to Billboard, showed up "deficient organisation and structure, hazy distribution and a lack of internal controls". It's not clear if some are accused of actually using the shambles to act fraudulently, or whether the case is more about failure to fulfil some sort of fiduciary duty.

The society's spokesman, Thierry Dachelet, played down the pending prosecution, stressing that SABAM had assisted the country's justice department in its investigations, and that considerable restructuring had already begun.

Billboard quote Dachelet thus: "We haven't yet received an official notice from the prosecutor's office and I prefer not to comment on the prosecutor's accusations while we are not aware of any details. [But, while] human mistakes cannot be ignored, is this fraud? A hearing in chambers will decide whether this case will be ruled in court".

Elsewhere in the word of European collecting societies, the German publishing royalty body GEMA is the subject of a petition posted on the website of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag. 106,000 people have already signed it.

The petition precedes a planned investigation into the operations of the collecting society this Autumn, which will look into allegations that GEMA breached the country's copyright laws, and even acted unconstitutionally. It looks likely one political party in the Bundestag, the CDU/CSU, will propose new laws to impose restrictions on GEMA which, the political types say, would protect the interests of both the collecting society's members and those who licence the songs the body represents.

The campaign against GEMA has seemingly stemmed from criticism of it made by the MD of a cultural centre in Sonthofen, Bavaria. Monkia Bestle says the body is unfair in its treatment of smaller concert promoters in Germany, telling reporters: "Over many years, concert promoters and artists have become so frustrated that we plan to set up a self-help group to monitor GEMA".

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YAHOO AND MICROSOFT ALLY
So, an alliance between Yahoo! and Microsoft has finally been confirmed. The two companies have been discussing possible partnerships for ages now of course, including, at one point, the previously reported discussions for Microsoft to completely acquire Yahoo!

The ten year deal that has been done is somewhat less far reaching. It will see Yahoo! use Microsoft's recently rebranded Bing search engine on its sites, rather than its own search whatnot, while Yahoo's advertising division will handle search-related ad sales for both company's online operations.

The deal will be subject to regulatory approval, and it's thought Google may object, though they will still dominate in the search sector. While Bing will have 35% of the US search market once it is installed on the Yahoo! platform, Google still have a 65% market share.

Microsoft and Yahoo! are sure to argue that by boosting Bing's prominence though this alliance, they are making the web search sector more rather than less competitive.

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NEW BEBO CHIEF APPOINTED
Stephane Panier, previously Chief Operating Office of AOL-owned social networking flim flam Bebo, is about to becoming Head Of Global Operations. That might sound like a pretty similar job, but apparently it's a promotion. I think it basically puts him in charge - he will report directly to Jon Brod in parent company AOL Ventures.

Prior to Bebo, Painer worked at Google. In his new job he will be charged with the task of turning round Bebo's fortunes - like MySpace it's been flagging a little of late amid new competition from Twitter and a newly buoyant Facebook. An expansion of Bebo's media and content based services may also be on the cards.

Confirming the promotion, Brod said this: "Stephane is a proven strategist and operator with executive experience from some of the world's leading brands and businesses. He is the ideal leader to build on Bebo's existing successes, to chart a course for its future and to execute against that vision".

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APPLE'S BOLD APP CLAIM APPROVED
Apple has managed to convince the UK's Advertising Standards Authority that it was right to say "There's an app for just about anything - only on the iPhone" in an ad for its mobile phone device. The ASA received complaints about the claim, because, the complainants said, the Google G1 phone via T Mobile also has an apps store. But Apple argued that its app store "provided users with a unique experience unmatched by any other application marketplace, including the Android Market".

The ASA concurred, ruling that: "Because Apple had shown there were far more applications available for the iPhone than the G1 phone, and user experience of the iPhone and the App Store was distinct from its competitor, we concluded that the claim 'only on the iPhone' was justified and not misleading". So that's nice.

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BROWN GETS BOOST THANKS TO WEDDING VIDEO
OK, here is a message for all of you working in sync rights. Stop bugging those ad agencies for money, and start lobbying couples planning weddings. A couple who staged an innovative dance sequence at the start of their wedding, soundtracked by disgraced R&B thugster Chris Brown, have caused a resurgence in sales of the song used - 'Forever'.

A video of the routine (which has the sort of terrible dancing you'd expect from a wedding, though normally not during the service itself) has become a YouTube hit, and the owners of Brown's song, Sony's Jive division, are earning both via YouTube directly, who will pay a royalty each time the video is streamed, and from a surge in iTunes sales of the year old song, which went back to number four in the iTunes chart at one point after the video got 12 million views.

YouTube content partnerships man Jordan Hoffner brought up the wedding video phenomenon at a digital media conference in LA this week, pointing out how their new audio recognition and click-and-buy functions helped Sony monetise the latest YouTube video hit, so to make money out of the least palatable of their pop stars (post Rihanna beating).

You can watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

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KRISSI MURISON NAMED NEW NME EDITOR
Krissi Murison has been named the eleventh (and first female) editor of the NME. She will take over from Conor McNicholas, who is soon to depart the music magazine after six years as editor to take up the same position at BBC Top Gear magazine. Announcing his replacement via Twitter, he said "She's brilliant. I'm delighted".

Murison previously worked at the NME for six years, starting in a work experience position in 2003 and working her way up to deputy editor, before leaving in February to become musical director of Nylon magazine in New York. She has also written for The Guardian, The Observer and The Sunday Times.

Murison said of her appointment: "Editor of NME has to be up there as one of the all-time dream jobs - and certainly the only one I'd ever consider coming back to a British 'summer' for. There's a lot of work to do, but I am beyond excited to be at the helm of what has always been my favourite magazine in the world".

The magazine's publishing editor Paul Cheal added: "There was an enormous amount of interest in this position and we interviewed some very strong internal and external candidates. However, I'm delighted that we've managed to lure Krissi back from New York to become the eleventh editor of the NME".

She is expected to officially take up her new role in mid-September.

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OFCOM MAKE MORE LONDON LICENCES AVAILABLE TO COMMUNITY RADIO
Media regulator OfCom has confirmed it is making extra FM frequencies available to community radio groups in and around Greater London, mainly reusing those FM frequencies handed back by commercial radio companies who couldn't make any money out of them (people in Lewisham probably more keen to tune into bigger London pop stations than one just for the people of Lewisham). The new frequencies now available for community groups are in Thamesmead, High Wycombe, Amersham and the aforementioned Lewisham.

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DAVID BYRNE DON'T LIKE U2
First the people of Dublin, now David Byrne. Is there anyone left who still likes U2 (other than the BBC)?

The former Talking Heads frontman has criticised U2's extravagant and costly tours, which do little for their carbon footprint, or the hungry people of Africa who Bono is always telling us we should be giving our money too. Plus, they have a massive stage, which, as those previously mentioned Dubliners found out at the weekend, can take a rather long time to noisily take down over night.

But anyway, I've digressed a little. Here is what Byrne said: "Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all. Or maybe it's the fact that we were booted off our 'Letterman' spot so U2 could keep their exclusive week long run that's making me less than charitable? Take your pick, but thanks guys!"

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MANSON THREATENS JOURNALISTS
You know how we told you Marilyn Manson was really a zebra called Phil in a pretty unconvincing hat? Well, scratch that. Because Manson has threatened to take on any journalist who writes an untruth about him or his band. I think he was getting angry after LA Weekly alleged he was addicted to cocaine.

Blogging, Manson ranted: "I can, but do not need to defend myself and the absurd accusations that the average press has clinged onto. If we need a nude photo of me to prove that I am far different than the soon-to-be-murdered-in-their-home press has decided to fabricate, that is easy. But if one more 'journalist' makes a cavalier statement about me and my band, I will personally or with my fans help, greet them at their home and discover just how much they believe in their freedom of speech. I dare you all to write one more thing that you won't say to my face. Because I will make you say it. In that manner. That is a threat".

Well, zebras are notorious for having short tempters.

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TWITTER IS WHAT?
Twitter is "gay"... "Twitter this shit, motherfucker". Or so said David Cameron when asked about the popular micro-blogging service on the Absolute Radio breakfast show yesterday. Oh no, hang on. He said "twat" didn't he. No, it was Kid Rock who said the other stuff.

Asked about the Twitter phenomenon by Rolling Stone, Rock said: "It's gay. If one more person asks me if I have a Twitter, I'm going to tell them, 'Twitter this shit, motherfucker'. I don't have anything to say, and what I have to say is not that relevant. Anything that is relevant, I'm going to bottle it up and then squeeze it onto a record somewhere".

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