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A LOT MORE THREE-STRIKES NONSENSE
So, this is all hotting up, isn't it? More artists have laid into the debate on if and how the government should try to stop the kids from illegally file-sharing, and these guys don't back the Featured Artist Coalition's stance on the issue.

As previously reported, the FAC (and the Music Producer's Guild, Music Managers Forum and British Academy Of Songwriters) have said they do not back any measures to combat file-sharing that could result in music fans losing their internet access. They mean, of course, the controversial three-strike proposal which is now seemingly on the government's agenda.

But Lily Allen and Patrick Wolf aren't so convinced on the FAC's stance. Allen, in particular, says that it's all well and good for FAC supporters like Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Pink Floyd's Nick Mason to oppose tougher measures against net users who steal music because they've already made their money.

She wrote on her MySpace blog: "Mason, O'Brien and the Featured Artists Coalition say that file-sharing's 'like a sampler, like taping your mate's music', but mix tapes and recording from the radio are actually very different to the file sharing that happens today ... in digital land pirated tracks are as good quality as bought tracks, so there's not a need to buy for better quality. The Featured Artist Coalition also says file-sharing's fine because it 'means a new generation of fans for us'. This is great if you're a big artist at the back end of your career with loads of albums to flog to a new audience, but emerging artists don't have this luxury. Basically the FAC is saying 'we're alright, we've made it, so file-sharing's fine', which is just so unfair to new acts trying to make it in the industry".

Although she added: "If this sounds like I'm siding with the record [cpmpany] bosses, I'm not. They've been naive and complacent about new technology - and they've spent all the money they've earned on their own fat salaries not industry development ... [and] I don't think what's out there [ie legitimate digital services] is perfect. It's stupid that kids can't buy anything on the internet without credit, forcing them to steal Mum's credit card or download illegally. It's this kind of thing that the record company bosses, artists, broadband providers and government should be sitting down and discussing. [But] file-sharing's not okay for British music. We need to find new ways to help consumers access and buy music legally, but saying file-sharing's fine is not helping anyone - and definitely not helping British music. I want to get people working together to use new digital opportunities to encourage new artists".

To be fair to the FAC, I don't think they've ever said there should be a file-sharing free for all, rather that they don't believe draconian net suspension programmes will have a huge impact on how many people file-share (keen file-sharers already have ways to hide their file-sharing from the labels and authorities), and that such measures will just piss off music fans and make them even more prone to steal off artists and labels. Though that's not to say Ms Allen doesn't make some valid points either. Damn, look at us, sitting on the fence on this issue. Oh for the days when the major record labels were completely deluded on all this and we could just slag them off.

Anyway, back to Lily and Patrick Wolf backing her up. Wolf, who recently released an album funded by fan-to-band investment company Bandstocks, lent his support to Allen yesterday, saying via his own MySpace blog: "I don't have a Liberace helicopters and limousine lifestyle. I'm currently deciding whether I spend the last of my earnings this year from touring on recording the string and choir section of my new album or on the rent until December - just an example of how a lot of other musicians have it".

He continued: "I dreamt as a teenager I would be able to buy a house one day, somewhere peaceful so that I could focus on writing and composing and perhaps set up a gorgeous studio with all the instruments I have collected to record and produce other bands. In the early 2000's it seemed likely, but file-sharing means that most musicians will probably just make ends meet their whole life now and most musicians dreams will have to be put aside for need for part time work and doing the odd gig and free download-only single made on Garageband".

Of course all this disagreement within the music industry as to how to tackle the file-sharing issue is really testing UK Music, the trade body set up just under a year ago to represent the wider music business, and not just one of its constituent groups. That's tricky when some of the trade bodies affiliated with UK Music have issued conflicting statements as to whether or not net suspension should be on the government's agenda.

The UK Music team seem basically in favour of tougher measures against P2P, though two of their affiliates - the Music Managers Forum and British Academy - have aired their concern regarding government plans. But the cross-sector body issued a new statement yesterday trying to demonstrate some unity on the issue. Though said statement was suitably vague in order to gain approval of all eight of the UK Music affiliates, as well as non-affiliated trade bodies the Music Producer's Guild and Entertainment Retailer's Association.

Following an official statement that read, "In context of an evolving licensed digital music market, we believe that government intervention is extremely welcome and that, subject to assessment, [media regulator] OfCom should be granted appropriate and proportionate powers as directed by the Secretary of State", UK Music chief Feargal Sharkey said: "Like all of society, like all creative businesses, the UK's commercial music industry reflects a wide spectrum of viewpoints and opinions. Discussions over recent weeks have drawn us much closer together and helped us to realise with greater certainty our shared vision of the future. We continue to welcome the government's support and intervention, both of which will be vital to ensure that those who create and invest in music have the opportunity to deliver their full potential and reap the benefits, rewards and promises of an ever-evolving digital marketplace".

Yeah, so, that doesn't really say anything, does it? I propose a big wrestling match between those who support three-strikes and those who don't. Get us some file-sharers and depending on who wins the wrestling, they're either given a box of chocolates and a 300GB hard drive to take home, or they have all their fingers broken. Yeah try file-sharing with broken fingers.

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FRENCH ASSEMBLY PASS THREE-STRIKES FOR A SECOND TIME
No such debate required in France, where the government is hell bent on making three-strikes law whatever it takes, though in a market where selling four and half units gets you to number one (more or less) probably most of the industry would welcome any measure that might make recordings make some money again.

As much previously reported, the government in France had already got its proposals for a three-strike system, whereby persistent file-sharers who ignore warnings lose their net access, through the country's parliament. But those proposals fell at the final hurdle - the French Constitutional Council - who expressed concern that a government agency rather than a court of law would be depriving file-sharers of their internet access.

To deprive a citizen of such an important right, the Council argued, should only be possible if their case has been considered by the judiciary. The French government's solution? Appoint a judge to rubber stamp the disconnections. And so revised proposals are now working their way back through the French parliamentary process.

And yesterday the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, passed the new proposals. The upper house, the Senate, had already done so back in July, and first time round it was the Assembly who caused problems for the French government, so their approval is significant.

The revised proposals will still need approval from the Constitutional Council, and those who oppose three-strikes will speak out against the system once more, arguing this time that the new proposals do not provide a suitable process for those accused of persistent online copyright infringement to defend themselves.

Government officials seem confident this time three-strikes will become law, though they were pretty confident before the Council hearing on the issue first time round, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

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THE FRAY SUE MANAGEMENT
Joseph King and Isaac Slade, songwriters in chart-topping US rock band The Fray, are suing their manager, Gregg Latterman, claiming that he fraudulently obtained a percentage of their publishing rights when he helped them sign a publishing deal back in 2005.

King and Slade say that Latterman told them that his company, Gregg Alan Corp, would receive a finders fee for his role in the deal but instead took a significant cut of their royalties, which has netted the company around $2.1 million directly from the deal, and a further $700,000 from other income relating to it. They also say that the band's other two members, David Welsh and Benjamin Wysocki, are entitled to some of the money but were not given a cut in the deal.

In legal papers filed on Monday, they said: "[The band] would not have been deprived of valuable assets and income that should rightly be theirs but for defendants' fraud".

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COLDPLAY AND SATRIANI SETTLE
Coldplay have settled their legal dispute with Joe Satriani.

As you'll remember, Satriani accused Chris Martin et al of nicking some of his track 'If I Could Fly' for their song 'Viva La Vida'. Satriani said he'd received hundreds of emails from fans pointing out the striking similarities between the two tracks as soon as the Coldplay song was released, but the Coldplayers denied any wrongdoing saying, "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him".

Details of the legal settlement between Coldplay and Satriani are unknown, though it's thought the former may have paid the latter a sum of money, though without admitting any wrongdoing. Either way, Billboard reports that Satriani's lawsuit has been dismissed.

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ARTISTS RUIN SONG IN NAME OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The Midnight Oil track 'Beds Are Burning' is being re-recorded by a cast of 55 music stars as part of a musical campaign on climate change ahead of that big UN meeting on the issue in Copenhagen in December, when those mega-polluting Yanks will probably scupper any efforts to save the world, as usual.

The Midnight Oil track has presumably been chosen because if we don't act now temperatures will continue to rise and all our beds will burst into flames. I think this is due to happen next August, which is fine by me, because that's the Edinburgh Festival and I rarely get to see my bed during that month.

To be honest, while I like the sentiment, having heard a snippet of the all-star version of 'Beds Are Buring' I kind of wish they'd just re-released the original, but presumably that wouldn't have got as much world attention. You can check the snippet here...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmytmG9ZE2M

By the way, while we're talking about climate change, watch this short lecture on the ice caps. The time lapse photography of the shrinking glaciers is exciting and terrifying in equal measure. It's got nothing to do with music, though it was Adam Freeland who drew my attention to it, so that makes it CMU relevant, yes?

www.ted.com/talks/james_balog_time_lapse_proof_of_extreme_ice_loss.html

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POP TO GET CLASSIC ROCK'S LIVING LEGEND PRIZE
Iggy Pop will be presented with the Living Legend gong at this year's Classic Rock Roll Of Honour awards, assuming he's still living by 2 Nov. He's well insured, I'm sure he will be.

Past winners of the music mag's Living Legend prize include Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Page and Alice Cooper. Noting that fact, Pop told reporters: "The other people who have received this award are absolutely awesome, and I feel very lucky to be included".

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EX-KORN GUITARIST WANTS BACK IN
Korn guitarist James 'Munky' Schaffer has claimed that his former bandmate, fellow guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, recently asked to rejoin the band. Which is kind of strange, because when he found God and quit back in 2005 he seemed pretty adamant that their sinful ways were no good for anyone.

Speaking to Altitude TV, Shaffer said: "It's kind of a strange thing. Brian actually contacted us recently and wanted to come back to the band. And it was not the right time... for us. We're doing well, and it's kind if you divorced your wife and she went on and she stayed successful and her career flourished, and you go back and [say], 'My gosh, she's still hot'. 'Baby, can we get back together?' 'Wait a minute... All the stuff's been divided', and it's like... I don't see it happening right now. It's not gonna happen right now".

Staying on the subject of former band members, Schaffer was more concerned at the news that Korn's former drummer, David Silveria, who left the band in 2006 in search of a quieter life, has subsequently sold all of his drumming equipment (which would make things quieter, I guess). He said: "As far as David goes, I heard he sold every single drum he owns... or he gave it away. He doesn't even own a drum stick. I mean, it blows me away. Wow, one of the best drummers I've ever played with and I think a lot of people have ever heard. Just to go the opposite direction. The music business can be dirty and some people can endure it and some people just don't want anything to do with it once something bad has happened to them".

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COURTNEY LOVE ANNOUNCES NEW YEAR RELEASE. AGAIN
Hmm, this all seems very familiar. Courtney Love has announced that 'Nobody's Daughter', the album she didn't release on 1 Jan this year, will now be released on 1 Jan next year.

Fans were disappointed when the album didn't materialise at the start of this year. Love took a while to give an explanation, and when she did she said that she'd failed to finished recording it on account of the studio she was using being haunted. Since then various things have happened, the most major being that Love decided that it's no longer a solo album and will be released under the name of her former band Hole instead. This despite the fact that she's the only original member of Hole involved.

Announcing the release date, Love said on Twitter yesterday: "New Year's Day, what are you guys doing? Buying my record? That's what I thought. If you don't, expect angry @replies all year long".

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VAMPIRE WEEKEND ALBUM STUFF
Vampire Weekend are releasing a new album. I don't really care, but a lot of people seem to like them. It'll be called 'Contra', it's got ten songs on it (the names of which are needlessly taking up space below) and it will be released by XL on 11 Jan.

Tracklist:

Horchata
White Sky
Holiday
California English
Taxi Cab
Run
Cousins
Giving Up The Gun
Diplomat's Son
I Think Ur A Contra

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REMIX ALL-NIGHTER THIS FRIDAY
The next Remix All-nighter takes place at Matter in London this Friday, and will be extra special because it kicks off the club's first birthday celebrations. What's more, Remix chief Eddy Temple-Morris will be broadcasting the whole thing live on Xfm.

The line-up looks like this: The Whip, Pendulum (DJ set), Zombie Nation, Mixhell, Stereo:Type, Firas, Crystal Fighters, Hervé, Streetlife DJs, High Rankin, Ali B, and Rawkus Noise. Which looks like a lot of fun.

Get yourself in the mood with this download of one of the DJs on the bill, High Rankin, remixing 'No Man Is An Island' by Losers - EddyTM's band with ex-Cooper Temple Clause man Tom Bellamy, here.

Tickets for the Remix All-nighter are available here.

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COOL TO BE KIND ANNOUNCE OXJAM MATTER GIG LINE-UP
More from the Dome, and not-for-profit live music promoters Cool To Be Kind have announced details of an impressive-sounding gig at Matter in London next month in aid of Oxfam, as part of this year's Oxjam festival.

Performing live will be Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Mylo, Kissy Sell Out, Dan Black, Mpho, Addictive TV and Robotwon, with artist Shantell Martin providing live sketched visuals. Attendees will also be able to sample the Oxfam Pop Up Shop, which will feature its own bar, DJ booth and dancefloor.

Tickets are on sale now from www.c2bk.com. They'll cost £15 plus booking fee, with all profits (and 50% of the booking fee) going to Oxfam.

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EDWYN COLLINS TO COMPLETE 2005 TOUR
Edwyn Collins has announced a tour of the Scottish highlands and islands next month, as well as some dates that you might actually be able to get to. The tour was originally planned for 2005, but was cancelled after he suffered two brain haemorrhages in February of that year. He is also working on a new solo album, due for release next year.

Tour dates:

14 Oct: Kirkwall (Orkney), Fusion
15 Oct: Thurso, Skinandies
16 Oct: Helmsdale, Community Centre
18 Oct: Aberdeen, Lemon Tree
19 Oct: Inverness, Ironworks
21 Oct: Portree (Skye), Aros
22 Oct: Fort William, Fired Art
23 Oct: Stornoway (Lewis), An Lanntair
25 Oct: Glasgow, ABC
27 Oct: Manchester, Deaf Institute
7 Nov: London, Bloomsbury Ballroom

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ELECTRIC PROMS RETURNS
Smokey Robinson, Doves and Dizzee Rascal will all appear at this year's BBC Electric Proms, which will take place in London from 20-24 Oct. Look, here's Smokey saying something about it: "It's an honour and a privilege to return to the UK and perform at the BBC Electric Proms. The show is definitely going to be something I will be proud to present to all of my beautiful fans who have supported me throughout my career".

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FIRST FAC PANEL EVENT TALKS DIY
Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, Marillion's Mark Kelly and Master Shortie will all be sharing their "experiences and observations" at the Featured Artists Coalition's first educational event in London next week.

Called 'Survival In The 21st Century', panellists will be discussing new income streams for artists, and the DIY and direct-to-fan approaches of releasing music and generating revenues. It takes place on 24 Sep at the PRS For Music HQ.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Kid Harpoon - Once (Beggars/XL)
When your press release starts off with the sentence: "Yeah, Chatham-born Tom Hull, Kid Harpoon, started on the London live music scene in early 2006" - like I'm supposed to know that or something - I'm going to be a little, well, let's just say dubious, from the get-go. So he's been on the scene for a whopping four years, he's worked with Metallica and Bob Dylan (okay, that is pretty damn impressive), but has the Kid actually released something that's worth being so smug about? Well... not really. When I sat down and listened to 'Once', really listened to it, I tried to pull apart the good parts from the bad - and that was the problem. I couldn't. It's a little hit and miss - some of the melodies are beautiful, catchy, and laden with the sharpest instrumentation ('Hold On' has a great introduction - really great), but they get slogged down by hooks that are just too bland, and a voice that, I'm sorry to say, reminds me a little bit too much of - shudder - that poor bloke from The Feeling. Sadly, this is the kind of music that could be found on the soundtrack of a melodramatic American high school TV series, and what irks me about it is the fact that it has the potential to be so much more than that. 'Once' isn't bad - it just isn't particularly interesting. TW
Physical release: 28 Sep
Press contact: XL IH [All]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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TOMMY SPARKS TO FEATURE ON IPOD AD
Do I need to write the usual, iPod adds are the new Levi's ads and help artists sell records intro required by these announcements? No? Good. Let's just get on with it then.

Tommy Sparks' single, 'She's Got Me Dancing' will feature on an advert to promote the new range of iPod Touch MP3 players. It'll give the track, and Sparks' album, a much-needed boost. Despite being one of CMU's favourite pop tracks of this year, 'She's Got Me Dancing' seems to have got lost in a pop haze up until now.

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MICROSOFT LAUNCH ZUNE TOUCH
Poor Microsoft, Apple add a camera and FM radio to an iPod and we give it 779 words in the Top Stories section. The Windows firm launches a slimmer, touch screen Zune digital media player, an obvious bid to compete with the iPod Touch, and it gets 69 words in Digital news. There is no justice. Of course if they launched Zune in the UK we might write more. Maybe. Why not give it a go, Billy.

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DATZ IS NO MORE
Remember Datz, the unlimited downloads digital music service that revolved around some sort of dongle you plugged into your PC? No? Anyone? Well, doesn't matter, they've just gone into liquidation.

Datz launched last October with EMI, Warner and various indies on board. Despite promises, they never sent us a version to test, so I never really got my head around how it worked. Anyway, the firm's MD Michael Richardson has admitted the company is closing, unable to pay various debts, mainly to the labels.

He says the proposition needed bigger start up funds to get off the ground, adding that sister company Comment lost out when Woolies went bankrupt (they provided the retailer with mobile phones), and that as a result they'd not been able to back the company as much as they had hoped.

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YOUTUBE FOR RADIO TO LAUNCH
An interesting London-based web service called Mixcloud formally launches next week. A sort of YouTube for audio, the new service invites anyone to upload their own radio shows, which anyone can then log on to listen to. Mixcloud host the shows on their servers and, they tell us, own the licences to cover the music that gets played.

They will presumably sell advertising around the programmes uploaded to make it all pay. Organisations already planning on making radio shows available via Mixcloud are fashion brand Diesel, music blog Curb Crawler and former Radio 1 DJ Chris Coco. You never know, we might even do a CMU show. Leave that one with us.

Go check it out at www.mixcloud.com

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MAYO CONFIRMED FOR RADIO 2 DRIVETIME
As expected, the BBC has confirmed that Simon Mayo will take over Radio 2's drivetime slot when Chris Evans moves to breakfast next year, meaning Radio 2's daytime schedule will now feature three former Radio 1 breakfast show presenters. Hey Radio 2 listeners of the future, looking forward to the day Chris Moyles and Sara Cox arrive? Well, at least Kevin Greening won't be bothering you.

Confirming his new role Mayo told reporters: "It's a fantastic thrill to be given one of the iconic Radio 2 shows like drivetime, succeeding greats like John Dunn, Johnnie Walker and Chris Evans". Mayo will continue to present a film guide for his current employer 5Live, basically turning the bit on his current show where Mark Kermode does the film reviews into a stand-alone programme.

In related news, new Radio 2 breakfast host (as of next year) Chris Evans has been writing about the last time he presented a breakfast programme for the BBC. The Mail On Sunday are serialising the DJ's autobiography, and last weekend featured a bit where he recalled his time on Radio 1's primetime show, and his stormy relationship with former friend and Radio 1 chief Matthew Bannister, a relationship which started to freeze as Evans made more and more demands of his then employer, while frequently arriving late for work.

He recalls: "There was no doubt about it, I was beginning to display the first signs of pottiness. As a result of my 'resignation' I had caused absolute carnage, lost much of the respect I had worked so hard to build up over the years, as well as a whacking great pay cheque in the process. And the worst thing of all? I had acted like a spoilt child. I was dying because I knew that for the first time in my career I had really messed up. I should have known better".

Perhaps remembering that period in Evans' career, some 195 people have complained to the BBC about their choice of replacement for Terry Wogan in the Radio 2 breakfast show slot. But the Beeb has defended the appointment, writing on their complaints site: "There's always going to be a period of adjustment when someone has ruled the airwaves as long as Terry has. But loyal listeners will be able to enjoy the Togmeister's new weekend show and it seems only fair to wait and hear Chris Evans' breakfast show before drawing any conclusions. After all, even Terry had to start somewhere when - at the age of 34 - he first began presenting the Radio 2 Breakfast show".

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IAIN LEE GETS DAILY SHOW ON ABSOLUTE
More radio appointments, this time in the commercial domain, and Absolute Radio have announced that former bloke-off-the-telly Iain Lee will take over a daily show on the station. Currently presenting a Sunday night show, he will move to a late night slot from Monday through Thursday as of 12 Oct.

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CULTURE SECRETARY TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF LICENCE FEE TOP SLICING
Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw is expected to speak in favour of some of the TV licence fee being used to fund regional news output on ITV when he delivers a speech at a Royal Television Society conference this week.

As previously reported, ITV have said they will not be able to fund regional news programming past 2012 from commercial revenues, and one proposal is that licence fee money currently being set aside to fund digital switchover activity could be diverted to the commercial broadcaster to enable them to continue to provide regional news. BBC bosses, though, want that money to revert to them, they being the real experts when it comes to pissing licence fee payers money up the wall. Presumably they'll point out that ITV's entire news output is rubbish and the world would be a better place without it anyway.

Either way, government officials seem to be increasingly in favour of the licence fee top slicing idea, and have prepared some research that will show the majority of the public (65%) think it's a good idea too. That research is expected to feature in Bradshaw's speech on the issue this week.

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C4 BOSS COULD GO THIS WEEK
Channel 4 boss Andy Duncan could be leaving the struggling broadcaster this week. Duncan's imminent departure has been expected for a while now, even though he denied it at last month's TV Festival in Edinburgh. But gossipers say the final touches are being put to his departure agreement, and that his appearance at the aforementioned Royal Television Society shindig could be his last as a Channel 4 representative.

PS: As we were clicking send Channel 4 News announced Duncan was standing down. So there you go.

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ORIGINAL ABERDEEN SOLD
A three-way consortium have bought Aberdeen based radio station Original 106, one of the three 'Original' stations set up by Canadian company CanWest before they withdrew from the UK radio market. CanWest sold their Aberdeen outpost to the station's management, and they have now, in turn, sold it on to a JV owned by Adam Findlay, formerly top man at Edinburgh station Radio Forth, John Quinn, shareholder in Stirling radio station Central FM, and Murray Strachan, a local businessman.

The station's old owners - the management who bought it off CanWest, last year - said in a statement: "We are delighted to have been a part of Original 106 from its very inception through to this stage. We are pleased for both the staff and the client base that the station has been acquired by well known existing radio operators. This did form part of our deliberations when we considered the various offers for the station".

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MARR LOVES HIS CRIB-MATES
Johnny Marr has been saying some very complimentary things about his current bandmates. As you all surely know, the former Smiths man and one time Modest Mouse member is now an official member of The Cribs.

Despite having almost two decades on his new bandmates, Marr says: "There's nothing I could teach them. They're not kids. That's good for me, because I couldn't be in a band where there was a big gulf in experience. It wouldn't be good for anyone. It wouldn't be appropriate. I think people expect there to be cultural differences when there aren't any".

On the age difference, Marr said there are no problems because "we're from the same part of the world". So that's all lovely.

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