ROUGH TRADE RECORDS SEEKS A PRODUCT MANAGER
A rare and exciting opportunity has arisen within the Rough Trade label for an experienced, creative & hardworking individual.

Working closely with managers and artists, you'll be responsible for devising and implementing release plans for the Rough Trade roster.

You'll be highly organised, motivated and capable of effectively marketing and promoting our artist's visions and output.

CVs + covering letters should be sent to [email protected]. Please note this position is based in our London, UK office and the deadline for submissions is 12 Aug 2009.

ANOTHER EMI EXEC QUITS
Another day, another resignation. EMI should get that put above their door. According to Billboard, Second Life co-founder Cory Ondrejka is quitting his role as VP Digital Marketing with the major.

Ondrejka, like former Google man Douglas Merrill, who has also since quit, were two of the all new EMI's bold digital appointments, designed to bring web expertise into the business.

EMI have said that Ondrejka "misses his life as an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley" and wants to travel less so he can spend more time with his family. He's not frustrated with the slow progress being made in reinventing the major record company, nor is he jumping from a sinking ship. So stop saying those things will you?

Those who previously reported to Ondrejka will now report to Ernesto Schmitt, the sinking ship's, sorry, I mean EMI's marketing and catalogue top man.

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OLIVER TWIST CLAIMS JACKSON PATERNITY
Former child star Mark Lester has announced that he may be the father of Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris. The godfather of all three of Jackson's children said that he donated sperm so that the singer could have children in 1996 and is willing to take a paternity test.

Lester rose to fame as the star of the 1968 film version of 'Oliver Twist', based on the stage musical. He and Jackson were close friends for almost 30 years and their two families had spent time together while the singer rehearsed in London for his ill-fated O2 residency.

Speaking to the News Of The World, Lester said: "I believe Paris is my daughter. It's a been a secret for so long. In 1996, Michael asked me if I would give him my sperm and I said yes. It was a gift to him, no money was paid, it was something I was honoured to do. He wanted children so badly".

He added: "I am coming forward at this time because I have concerns about the welfare and upbringing of the children".

Although he could potentially be the father of any of Jackson's children, if what he says is correct, he said that physical similarity between Paris and his own daughter Harriet, and the bond he has with her, lead him to believe that he is Paris' biological father. He also added that he has now been barred from seeing any of the children by Jackson's family.

He told the tabloid: "I do feel a definite bonding with Paris and I think there's a definite possibility that she's part of me. I want to have contact with her, Prince and Blanket regardless of whether any or all of them are mine. I think it's cruel that I've now been excluded from them. Paris is very pale, with blue eyes. All my daughters, apart from my eldest, are fair with blue eyes. So many people have commented on how alike Harriet and Paris look".

Responding to Lester's claims, the Jackson family's lawyer, Londell McMillan, told People magazine: "These are just merely claims with no legal standing whatsoever".

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JACKO: INSURANCE, DRUGS, BRAIN AND BURIAL
Michael Jackson's life insurance policy has reportedly been settled by the executors of his estate, John Branca and John McClain. Although initial reports claimed that the policy was worth $20 million, it is said that they have accepted just $3 million, possibly due to fears that if they held out for a better deal they might get nothing once the cause of the late king of pop's death is confirmed.

The same fears, of course, currently hang over the insurance policy taken out by AEG Live on the singer's O2 residency, which has not yet paid out. The Associated Press claims that the $17.5 million policy, which was taken out in April, will be declared null and void if it is decided that Jackson's death involved the "illicit taking of drugs".

Further reports about Jacko's drug use, which surfaced over the weekend, will no doubt suggest to Branca and McClain that they did the right thing, while striking fear on the hearts of those at AEG Live (assuming they haven't already given up on getting any insurance money - which they might have done). According to a new toxicology report, anxiety drug Xanax was also found in Jackson's system, along with the anaesthetic propofol. However, police sources claim that propofol is still "front and centre in terms of why he died".

With toxicology tests now completed, Jackson's brain has been returned to his family, meaning they can now go ahead with his burial. In further Jacko burial news/speculation, a 'family friend' has claimed that the singer will be buried in an unmarked grave because of fears that people may try to steal his body. The source said: "They are afraid someone is going to do something terrible to his body. That is not a risk they can take so they are burying him in an unmarked plot".

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JACKO'S FAMILY SEIZE 100 UNRELEASED SONGS
Michael Jackson's family seized up to 100 unreleased songs by the singer, amongst other possessions, from his home the day after his death, his former manager has claimed.

Frank DiLeo told Rolling Stone that LaToya Jackson has taken possession of several hard drives containing the songs, which include collaborations with stars, such as Will.i.am, Akon and Ne-Yo, as well as some "sensational" outtakes from his 1987 album, 'Bad'. He added that the executors currently overseeing Jackson's business affairs wanted access to the music and other items in order to log them as part of his estate.

DiLeo told Rolling Stone that the family's clearance of Michael's home on 26 Jun had been particularly thorough. He said: "They backed up trucks, removing everything. They thought Michael owned it all, so they took even the rented furniture".

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INVESTIGATORS RELEASE TRVSDJ-AM CRASH TRANSCRIPTS
A transcript of the conversation between the pilot and co-pilot of the plane carrying Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ-AM, aka Adam Goldstein, prior to its crash last year has been released.

As previously reported, the Learjet came off the runway in Columbia, South Carolina last September, as it was taking off, coming to a stop engulfed in flames on the embankment of a nearby five lane motorway. Pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland were both killed, as were Barker's security guard Charles Still and his personal assistant Chris Baker. Both Barker and Goldstein, who had earlier performed a show in Columbia as TRVSDJ-AM, managed to escape from the wreckage, but suffered second and third degree burns - Barker around his torso and lower body, Goldstein on his arms and head.

In the transcript, Lemmon and Bland are heard to discuss their plans in case of emergency prior to takeoff. "We've got plenty of runway", Lemmon told Bland, before saying that if any major problems developed she would take off in order to burn off some fuel, before trying to find another runway to land on. "We'll look for a longer runway nearby, probably Charleston", she said.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board say that this plan was not followed, even though the plane had been travelling fast enough to take off, because the pilots thought a tyre had blown, although neither explicitly states this in the transcript.

As they made their way down the runway, a series of clicking noises were heard. "What the fuck was that?", Bland asked. Lemmon replied: "I don't know. We're not going though". She then slammed on the brakes and Bland told the air traffic controller: "Roll the [emergency vehicles], we're going off the end".

The final report on the crash has not been released, but will be vital to the numerous lawsuits brought by those involved in the crash against, amongst others, the designers of the Learjet and Goodyear, the manufacturers of its tyres.

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ANDY BURROWS JOINS WE ARE SCIENTISTS
Former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows has joined New Yorkers We Are Scientists, replacing Adam Aaronson, who in turn replaced original drummer Michael Tapper in 2007. The trio, completed by Chris Caine and Keith Murray, are now working on songs for the band's third album.

Announcing the new band member, referring to him as an "honorary scientist", Murray told the NME: "We were thinking for this record that we'd collect all our drummer friends and have different guys do different songs. Andy was one of those guys but after he left Razorlight we got together, fell in love and decided to make a record".

Speaking of his departure from Razorlight, Burrows said: "I'm a fan of Razorlight, but by the end I wasn't a fan of being in Razorlight. I was really pleased to hear that they were going to carry on without me, though. It was good to see the band being positive and moving on".

As well as his new role with We Are Scientists, Burrows also announced that he is working on a new solo album, following his lo-fi debut, 'Colours Of My Mind', which was released in aid of a Winchester charity.

Burrows said: "There was no plan from me to go solo. I've always been comfortable behind the drums, but I've always written songs too and I had a bunch sitting around, and it dawned on me once I'd left Razorlight I had enough for an album".

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TENENBAUM SAYS SOME WORDS ABOUT SOMETHING
As he presumably checks the back of the sofa for a few spare cents, illegal file-sharing blokey Joel Tenenbaum - last month found guilty of copyright infringement for his sharing of unlicensed music via P2P and ordered to pay $675,000 in damages, of course - has given the New Yorker his take on the future of the digital music industry. Or something like that.

Asked about how the music industry could better connect with young music fans on the internet, Tenenbaum told the magazine: "Most people want to pay for music when they know the revenue goes straight to the artist. When an entire generation has been raised without supervision on music as a post-scarcity resource, it effectively becomes free, and it's a little late for an incredibly small but immensely powerful minority to impose its will and alter the norms of an entire generation. It won't work and it's wrong to try".

So there you have it. Tenenbaum's lawyer, Harvard prof Charlie Nesson, plans to appeal the damages payment his client has been ordered to pay. If that doesn't work the file-sharer plans to declare himself bankrupt. Personally I'd take him through the criminal courts and have him cleaning the internet pipes for six months.

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C-MURDER MISTRIAL REQUEST REFUSED
As rapper C-Murder's retrial for murder got underway last week, his lawyer Ron Rakosky called for a mistrial after it was revealed that the prosecution had reached a plea deal with one of the witnesses who was called to testify against him.

As much previously reported, C-Murder, real name Corey Miller, is accused of shooting 16 year old Steven Thomas in a Louisiana club in 2002. He was found guilty of the crime in 2003, but had his conviction overturned after it was revealed that prosecutors had withheld background information on some of their witnesses.

Bouncer Kenneth Jordan was one of thirteen witnesses called to testify against Miller over three days last week. He was one of two who claimed to have seen the rapper shoot Thomas. However, under cross-examination, Jordan revealed that he had reached a plea deal to have a sexual offence charge dropped in exchange for his testimony.

Rokasky claimed that prosecutors had used "coercive tactics" to force Jordan to testify against his client and called for a mistrial. The request was refused by Judge Hans Liljeberg on Friday, after which the prosecution rested its case.

The trial continues.

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HAMPSHIRE JAZZ CLUB NAMED MOST IMPORTANT
A Hampshire jazz club has been voted one of the most important in the UK in a new poll. The Concorde Club in Eastleigh has been open since 1957, and has played host to many leading jazz musicians including Tubby Hayes, Coleman Hawkins, Humphrey Lyttleton, Acker Bilk, and Ben Webster.

As previously reported, the Brecon Jazz Festival launched the '(Kind Of) Blue Plaque Scheme' (named in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis' 'Kind Of Blue' album) last month. One plaque per year will be awarded to a current or former venue associated with legendary jazz performers or deemed to have played a pivotal role in the history of British jazz.

The club's owner, Cole Mathieson, who has been in charge for 53 years, told reporters: "I am delighted that British jazz fans have chosen The Concorde Club to receive the first (Kind Of) Blue Plaque. For over half a century we have kept the jazz flame burning brightly and would like to thank fans, jazz lovers from across the UK and, of course, the Brecon Jazz Festival, for granting us this honour".

Brecon Jazz Festival head Peter Florence added: "Though jazz finds its origins in US and African traditions, it was important that we were able to show just how the British had embraced and supported this unique musical style. We look forward to celebrating more British jazz venues in 2010".

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THE VERVE SPLIT?
The Verve's reunion has come to an end, according to reports, with the band's Nick McCabe and Simon Jones forming a new band, The Black Ships.

In a post on his MySpace blog, McCabe told fans: "The Verve seems to be on holiday and shows no sign of not being on holiday. I've been hesitant to breach Official Secrets-style policy with any missives from the, well, from any front, basically. Don't ask me anything about the big V".

A source claiming to be close to the band told The Mirror this weekend: "As far as Nick and Simon are concerned The Verve no longer exists. They think Richard was just using the reunion as a vehicle to get his solo career on track. Their management called Simon and Nick in for a crisis meeting in September. They were told that Richard refused to tour or work with them again as long as Nick continued to drink. He quickly cleaned up his act. There have been too many problems to put behind them. If Richard came back with cap in hand they'd tell him to fuck off".

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DOVES SPLIT?
Doves may split, or at least never record again, unless they can overcome problems that arose while they were recording their latest album, 'Kingdom Of Rust'. Guitarist Jez Williams has revealed that the band locked themselves away in a converted barn to write and record the record, but struggled with to come up with new songs.

Williams told The Sun: "We almost split up after the last album. It was such hard work and it wasn't an easy ride for us, and it can't be like that again, so we're going to see what happens. I think if there is another Doves album, and we're not sure at this moment whether there will be - we won't be staring at a blank canvas".

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BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE PREPARE "CLASSIC" ALBUM
Bullet For My Valentine are working on new songs with a "more classic" sound for their next album.

Speaking about one of the new songs at the Wacken Open Air festival, frontman Matt Tuck told Metal Hammer: "It's kind of completely new. I don't think it's like anything on [2005 debut album] 'Poison' or [2008's] 'Scream Aim Fire'. It's not thrashy or really intense metal or anything. It's just like a mid-tempo kind of really nice, hard rock song. I don't even class it as metal, really. It's got metal influences and a really cool metal riff, but the song, as a vibe, is more hard rock".

He added: "On the last [album], we tried to be a bit more thrashy, and that was cool, but we just wanna go back to more classic sound now. We want people to [think] it's a good blend of what we've done in the past. It's a lot more mature-sounding. The record, as a whole, is a lot more mature-sounding, it's a lot more classic. It'll stand the test of time [more] than both the previous things we've done".

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CRADLE OF FILTH START WORK ON NEXT ALBUM
Extreme metallers Cradle Of Filth are currently preparing new songs before heading into the studio later this year to record the follow-up to last year's 'Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder' album

Frontman Dani Filth told Kerrang!: "Everything is at an embryonic stage at present, but with a full band contributing towards the writing process, our aim of being in the studio by November is not as far-fetched as it would at first seem".

Discussing the writing process, Dani recently told CMU: "We usually formulate ideas at home and then come together to bash our skulls together in the rehearsal room. From here on we demo on Pro-Tools whilst I address the lyrics, finally meeting up to iron out any flaws before taking it to the studio. Then we make ardent living sacrifices to Moloch and dance naked under the stars".

The album is due for release via Roadrunner next spring.

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MUSE TO PLAY IN DEVON
According to reports, Muse are planning to play two homecoming shows in their hometown of Teignmouth in Devon later this year.

According to the local paper Western Morning News, SJM Concerts have applied to Teignbridge Council to for a licence to hold two shows for up to 15,000 people at the Den park in the town in September. The shows would act as a precursor to the band's ten week tour of Europe and America to promote their forthcoming new album, 'The Resistance'.

A spokesperson for SJM told Western Morning News: "SJM Concerts are in the process of applying for a licence to stage an event in Teignmouth but at this point we have no further comment".

Town councillor Terry Falcão said that he had suggested that the band play in Teignmouth during a "chance meeting" with frontman Matt Bellamy last year. He said: "He was very keen and I think that I have acted as is a catalyst for it to happen. Following that, I think the band and SJM Concerts got together. If we can make it happen, then we must. If it did, it would go down in folklore. I think Muse could open the world's eyes to how beautiful Teignmouth is".

A Council spokesperson also confirmed that the application would be discussed on 17 Aug, while police inspector Glen Mayhew said that he had already met with representatives from SJM to discuss traffic issues.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Imogen Heap - Ellipse (Megaphonic Records)
It's been almost four whole years since Imogen Heap's second solo record, 'Speak For Yourself', was released to the world. A world that had already long fallen in love with Heap's haunting voice and fairy-pop-dance sound. 'Ellipse' delivers more of the same from Heap, which would never, ever be a bad thing. Every song is delivered on a musical platter that genuinely makes you feel like you're dreaming. 'Little Bird', for example, just sounds like a stroll through some kind of fairy tale land. Where the album sounds best is when Heap let's her imagination run wild on the lyrics (see the enchantment of 'Tidal'). But the album takes a definite dip in quality when Heap sings about normal, every day things such as the monotone of everyday life ('Swoon') or the insecurities of a thirty-something ('Bad Body Double'). Her sound certainly works best when she decides to escape normality and take a fantastical approach to her lyrics. These more grounded topics end up sounding contrived when mixed with her silky voice and subtle beats. I think this is because I just like to imagine that Heap exists on some ethereal plane where us mortals are not able to tread. When actually, she was born in Essex. Heap's previous album has been constantly used by producers of US teen drama series' as a way of instantly creating atmosphere and mood. The reason for this is that she manages to layer her tracks with intense emotions that the writers of hit shows like 'Six Feet Under', 'The OC' and 'Heroes' could only ever dream of conveying. Expect to hear plenty of singles from 'Ellipse' on your screens soon. GM
Release Date: 24 Aug
Press Contact: Get Involved [all]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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LIVE NATION LOSSES UP
Live Nation's revenues were down $86.3 million in the second quarter of 2009, though apparently that's all the fault of currency fluctuations or something. The live music conglom said that at a constant currency rate revenues were up 2%, and that we weren't to worry about the $27.2 million overall loss, up from the $652,000 loss the same quarter last year. So we won't.

Instead Live Nation chief Michael Rapino wanted to wax lyrical about his company's new ticketing service. Look, here's the wax: "During the first six months of 2009, we sold 16.3 million tickets which exceeded our plan by more than one million tickets. Highlighting the underlying strength of our business, our ticket sales going into the peak summer concert season surged, as reflected in our record level of deferred revenue".

Of course if Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster does eventually get the go ahead, then the former taking all its ticketing off the latter and bringing it in house will have all been a bit of a waste of time.

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MAJOR LABELS PREPARE NEW DIGITAL ALBUM FORMAT
More on the major labels' attempts to reinvigorate the albums market by releasing digital packages that also include videos and lyrics and what not. I think this might be the one we reported on before - but it might be another - there's lots of these ideas buzzing around at the moment. This one's called CMX and should be available via November.

The labels hope that CMX will revive album sales. Although nine out of ten single sales are currently digital, nine out of ten album sales remain physical and the volume of sales is shrinking. According to The Times, the labels approached Apple 18 months ago to launch the format through iTunes but were knocked back. Apple has since launched the iTunes Plus scheme, of course, which gives fans added extras in return for paying a little extra for an album, and is also reported to be working on its own enhanced digital album format, called Cocktail.

A 'senior record label insider' told The Times: "Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on. Ours will be a file that you click on, it opens and it would have a totally brand-new look, with a launch page and all the different options. When you click on it you're not just going to get the ten tracks, you're going to get the artwork, the video and mobile products".

They added that CMX would only be available on a handful of releases initially, in case it turns out to be as shit as it sounds. The source said: "We are not going out in force. What you are going to see is a couple of releases thrown out there to see what people like. We are working with the retailers now".

A spokesman from the Entertainment Retailers Association told the paper: "It is the great conundrum of the age: what would an album look like online? At the moment a download in no sense replicates that satisfying quality of a physical album. Think about the importance of the gift market for albums. Online it's stripped down to the bare music, and there's a lot more to an album than that".

HMV's Gennaro Castaldo added: "The price of a CD has come down massively in recent years, and there are year-round promotional catalogue campaigns that represent incredible value, such as two CDs for a tenner. This means that tracks on physical albums can often work out quite a bit cheaper than their digital counterparts".

Not wanting to be left out, a spokesman for the BPI said: "Digital downloads have resurrected the single, and the competitive pricing and widespread availability of individual digital songs appeal to teenagers. While the CD remains the bedrock of music sales overall, a key challenge for the industry now is to upscale demand to the digital album".

Obviously, it remains to be seen if CMX can save the album. Or if the album can be saved at all. There are plenty who would say that it can't. It's certainly true that the album originated because it was the most cost effective way to distribute music, and not because there's any creative logic in releasing music in ten track chunks. Now that is no longer the case, it has to be asked, should it be saved?

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WE7 FORM TICKETING PARTNERSHIP
We7 has announced a partnership with ticketing website Ents24 meaning users of the streaming music service will be able to buy gig tickets at the click of a button, and users of the Ents24 website will be able to stream music from bands they might like to see live.

We7 CEO Steve Purdham says this: "Being able to offer our users the opportunity to see when and where their favourite artists are playing while listening to them on We7 continues to further our user experience and open up other potential areas of revenue. This deal is the first of many which will continue to see We7 developing in these areas".

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CHART UPDATE
We've got a new number one again this week, those Black Eyed Peas only having managed one week at the top. And it's that Tinchy Stryder fella who's knocked them off their perch.

Now, we all know what happened last time Tinchy was at number one. He reached that position with a single called 'Number One'. And by doing so he threatened the universe, and reality as a whole, when 'Number One' was knocked off number one. With metaphysical disaster averted at the last minute only a few months ago, Tinch isn't risking getting himself into a situation like that again. His latest single is called 'Never Leave You'.

Oh no, hang on. What happens when 'Never Leave You', leaves the number one position? Tinchy, you fool! You're risking all our lives with your reckless naming of your songs. Sorry, I'm so furious I'm not sure I can continue with this week's chart update. No, it's okay, I will.

Also new in the top ten this week is the Ian Carey Project with 'Get Shaky' at number ten. Other than that there are no new entries in the top 40. None. Not even one. How very boring. Let's just go and look at the album chart instead. Maybe that's more exciting.

Okay, Michael Jackson is still at number one with 'The Essential Michael Jackson'. Florence & The Machine are still at number two with 'Lungs'. The first new entry this week is Michael Jackson's 'Bad', which arrives on the chart, dragging its heals, a full six week's after Jacko's death, when the likes of 'Thriller' and various best ofs have been living it up the whole time.

Next up is 'The Best Of Chicane', a collection of Chicane's best tracks, apparently. Also new are Frankmusic at 13 with ' Complete Me' and The Twang at 20 with 'Jewellery Quarter'.

The charts, even the incredibly boring ones, are compiled by The Official Charts Company.

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LUDACRIS NAMED BEST RAPPER (BY LUDACRIS)
Ludacris has announced that he is the "best rapper" alive, which is why his last album was called 'Undisputed'.

He told the Chicago Tribune: "Rap is real competitive just the same way boxing is. We always talk about taking other rappers out. That being said, I feel like I'm the best rapper. I wanted to get the best boxer in the game for my last album. That's why it's called 'Undisputed'".

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