![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NOTE: Make sure you 'enable images' to see this e-bulletin properly. WHAT IS THIS? You are receiving this e-bulletin because you are subscribed to the CMU Daily. Unsubscribe information is given at the bottom of this e-bulletin. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() CITIBANK GETTING TOUGH WITH ITS DEBTORS - WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR EMI? The Post notes that the struggling US bank has been getting rather tetchy about problematic debt payers of late, even going as far, they claim, as to push German fashion designers Escada into bankruptcy last month, while talking tough with another fashion house, Valentino. The Post claims that Citi is so keen to get troubled loans off its balance sheet that it is considering forcing companies to wind up even when there may be backers on the sideline willing to step in and help refinance. All of this is relevant to EMI because, as much previously reported, Citibank provided a lot of the funding that enabled Terra Firma's ambitious takeover of the London-based major in 2007. The music firm has considerable debt commitments to the bank which Terra Firma has been busy trying to renegotiate in recent months, so far without success. In much the same way Terra Firma boss Guy Hands recently admitted he would never have bought EMI had he known the credit crunch was looming in summer 2007, I think it's fair to say Citibank would never got involved had they realised they wouldn't be able to sell at least some of the EMI loan on to other lenders (there being no takers for such deals in a recession). The Post has no evidence to suggest Citibank has decided that, if push comes to shove, it can afford to let EMI collapse, and insiders at the major and its private equity owners recently insisted that the music firm's fortunes have improved sufficiently in the last six months that it is no longer so reliant on renegotiating its Citibank deals to ensure near-term survival. But I think the paper's point is that, with some in the banking sector looking to cut their losses as they attempt some sort of recovery from recent woes, it's not a good time to owe one institution such large sums of money. And while this month's Beatles boom and any possible Robbie revenues may give the major some breathing space, those debt commitments, to an antsy bank that's demonstrated its willingness to press the self-destruct button when necessary, means question marks will remain over EMI's long term future for sometime to come. -------------------------------------------------- VODAFONE CONFIRMS IT WILL SELL IPHONES It's thought the sale of iPhones by three UK mobile networks - Orange, Vodafone and existing seller O2 - will lead to a price war over the devices. The Telegraph quote Steven Hartley from research firm Ovum who says this: "There will be a price war. Research shows that in every country where there is more than one operator selling it, it is cheaper. It could be very disruptive, but it depends how Orange play it. If they get really aggressive O2 will have to respond and a full-on price war could start". So that's nice. Virgin Mobile are also reportedly busy trying to secure a deal to sell the iPhone in the UK, worried that failure to do so will lose them customers. The Apple handset is certainly popular - Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao recently said he thought a key reason his network lost nearly 160,000 subscribers in the last quarter was because his company couldn't sell them an iPhone. And a price war on the device would make it an attractive purchase to an even bigger audience. -------------------------------------------------- BT SAY THREE-STRIKES VERY EXPENSIVE, AND IT JUST WON'T WORK The internet service providers are against any proposals that they play a more proactive role in policing online piracy, and especially those proposals that they limit or suspend the net connections of persistent file-sharers - ie the proposals currently being considered by the UK government. They often cite privacy concerns as a reason for refusing to more closely monitoring their customers' net activity as well as questioning why they should foot the bill for tackling online piracy when it's the content owners who will benefit. One BT exec, John Petter, recently spoke out against the latest three-strikes proposals, telling reporters they wouldn't work, and that they could cost the ISP industry up to £1 million a day to implement, which seems like a bit of an exaggeration, but there you go. A spokesman for the phone firm later added: "Many peer to peer applications are perfectly legal, such as World Of Warcraft and BBC iPlayer. To investigate the exact nature of each case [of P2P traffic] would involve an intrusive level of inspection of people's traffic and customers would rightly complain". But the BPI isn't impressed with BT's claims. They claim that the phone firm is exaggerating the implications of the government's proposals, while arguing that any company whose services can be used for illegal activities has to accept that investing in measures to stop that activity is just a cost they have to bear. BPI boss Geoff Taylor told The Mirror: "It's shameful for a company like BT to know that a high percentage of the traffic it carries is illegal material but do nothing. If you operate a commercial service and know it is being used to break the law, taking steps to ensure it is used legally is a cost of doing business". LADY SOVEREIGN FINED FOR SPITTING Discussing the incident on Twitter, Lady Sovereign said: "Brisbane police need to go catch some real criminals... what a waste. Spitting in someone's face is nasty, but how about a guy dressed up as a girl running at you in the toilets and punching you in the head?" MARILYN MANSON FREE OF BOTH PIGS AND FLU As previously reported, Manson updated his Facebook status on 21 Sep, informing fans that he had "officially been diagnosed, by a real doctor, with the swine flu", but claimed not to have contracted it by "fucking a pig". However, the co-promoters of Manson's show at the Bell Centre in Montreal on 22 Sep followed-up the star's claims with this statement: "The Gillett Entertainment Group and Live Nation confirmed today that contrary to rumours circulating, Marilyn Manson is not suffering from swine flu". Manson's original status update has now been removed from his Facebook page (although it still appears on his Twitter feed) and was replaced on Friday with a statement saying: "Marilyn Manson has a clean bill of health and has fully recovered". CUBAN MUSICIANS ALLOWED BACK INTO THE US Blocked since 2003, the possibility that Cuban performers would be permitted entry into the US arose in April when President Obama announced that he was seeking to improve relations between the two countries. Upon the news, promoters in the states immediately began working on booking shows and securing visas for numerous Cuban musicians, with these three being the first to be approved. FORMER BARD CHAIR DIES He was chair of BARD between 1995 and 1998, during which time he helped re-negotiate the way the music charts worked with the BPI, leading to the creation of the Official Charts Company. Paying tribute, a spokesman for the Entertainment Retailer's Association, the current incarnation of BARD, told Music Week: "Richard was a great inspiration for and supporter of BARD - the former name of ERA - for many years. We would like to express the sincere condolences of everyone at ERA to Liz and the rest of Richard's family". TEEN BAND KICKED OUT OF X FACTOR ROBBIE RECORDING WITH TAKE THAT, REPORTS CLAIM As far as I can tell, the sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York began as part of Mark Owen's stag do, so they were probably all drunk. But it seems things have gone well, as Robbie was filmed outside the studio again yesterday. Speaking to GMTV he claimed to be training as part of a five-man bob-sleigh team. Anyway, here's what a source told The Daily Mirror: "[Robbie] is back with Take That in the studio and they're all writing together again. Robbie wouldn't be happy performing old Take That songs that he has had no part in. But if they can pen new tracks that they're all happy with, they'll record them and he will be back with them on stage". A slightly out of the loop spokesman for Take That said: "I still have not heard word back from management about confirmation that he has been in the studio to write new material with them. I cannot confirm the story. At this point, all I know is that they are over there mixing this live album so there is every possibility that he popped in to just hear the new recording". -------------------------------------------------- LA ROUX CONSIDER SECOND ALBUM SOUND She said: "Maybe I'll go acoustic. Or dancehall. I really like dubstep too. But I'm also into songs that are long and epic. I'd like it to be a worldwide thing. It would be great to sit there at 40 and go, 'Fuck, I sold ten million records. But it's not just about money, it's about creating something that loads of people want to buy. I'm not interested in making money for a niche". STREAM THE NEW DEADMAU5 ALBUM Listen here: www.we7.com/#/album/For-Lack-Of-A-Better-Name!albumId=392058&play=false THOM YORKE ANNOUNCES NEW BAND The group is made up of drummer Joey Waronker (who has previously worked with Beck, REM, The Smashing Pumpkins and Elliott Smith), Forro In The Dark percussionist Mauro Refosco, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. The band's first shows together will be two nights at the Orpheum Theatre in LA on 4-5 Oct. Here's a picture of them together to prove we're not lying (or, at least, that they have all been in the same place at the same time before): www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/showimage.php?fname=80s%20filter.jpg Announcing the new band, Yorke said: "We don't really have a name and the set will not be very long because, well, we haven't got that much material yet!". However, it's pretty safe to assume he's got some ideas on a moniker: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC9-xPAvv70 -------------------------------------------------- DIZZEE AND LILY TO CO-HEADLINE ------------------------------------------------- THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND TOUR DATES AND SINGLE Frontman Tom Lacey said of the song, 'Knees, Toes, Teeth': "It's just a shit storming rock n roll song. It's a full on little number, big sweary chorus, big riffs, big solo, big old drums... it's the tune that AC/DC would write if they grew up listening to Converge rather than Zeppelin!" Tour dates: 7 Oct: Cambridge, Junction ALBUM REVIEW: The Young Republic - Balletesque (End Of The Road) Buy from iTunes ABSOLUTE AND EMI PROVIDE ADVERTISER MUSIC SERVICE EMI Music Publishing UK Head Of Sales Melanie Johnson, says this: "This deal poses a great opportunity for our songwriters and composers, who will be able to use their ability to connect with listeners in order to create significant income generating opportunities for themselves." Vince Lynch, Absolute Radio Creative Director, says this: "It's about creating a sonic identity with our clients that defines their uniqueness, which in turn helps our business sound better. We all know that listeners don't hate adverts, they hate bad adverts. With the musical know-how of EMI Music Publishing and the creative minds at Absolute Radio, we can create ads and programming that people actually want to experience in order to make for a stronger listening experience". FRENCHKISS TEAMS UP WITH !K7 HP COMPUTERS TO COME WITH 1000 DOWNLOADS Basically, consumers buying Hewlett-Packard notebook PCs from October will receive a scratch card and PIN number which enables them to register on a dedicated website where they can download up to a 1000 tracks from Universal Music's catalogue. Presumably those tracks come with digital rights management technology embedded, cos you get to listen to them for a year, and to then choose 120 to keep. Before you get too excited (anyone?), I think this will be restricted to HP's Asian markets. Sandy Monteiro, Universal Music Group's Asian VP of Digital, said: "We are keen to explore such deals to get consumers familiar with the new environment and using devices like computers and mobile phones to listen to music. It incentivises them to learn to enjoy music via devices other than traditional hardware". -------------------------------------------------- NEW VOLUME RESTRICTIONS FOR MP3 PLAYERS BEING CONSIDERED According to EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, Euro-types may make it compulsory for player makers to set volume limiters at 80 decibels. Users would be able to increase this, of course, but would be advised against doing so through health warnings on packaging. Some health types say that increased use of head-phone based music players are damaging the hearing of young music consumers. Obviously this isn't really a new problem - walkmen and discmen users ran the same risks - though new technology does probably mean that players and headphones are capable of outputting ever increasing volumes of music. GLOBAL HIRE NEW WEB GUY Perreau previously worked at IPC on Uncut and NME's websites, and later co-founded music content aggregator Gigulate. Confirming his new role, which kicks off in November, he said these words: "Global represents a rare opportunity to work with a world-class team on the nation's most successful radio brands". -------------------------------------------------- TORY MAN'S TWAT REMARK NOT IN BREACH OF RULES TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART 1. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Warner Bros) ROBBIE DITCHED 'PRETENTIOUS' ALBUM TITLE Williams told The Mirror: "As in spaghetti western - [il protagonisto is the] man who comes in and clears up the town for the bad guys but you're not sure whether he's the bad guy or not himself. People would quite rightly go, 'that's pretentious', which is what my management did. They went 'no that's pretentious' and I went 'yeah, yeah'. So that was a mouthful. Got rid of that. 'Reality Killed The Video Star' is in". -------------------------------------------------- OASIS SPLIT LEFT FURTADO 'INCONSOLABLE' Anyway, here's what she said: "I was inconsolable when Oasis split up. That band meant the world to me. As a sixteen year old I would write letters to Liam with my photo attached and pray that he would ask me out on a date, but he never did. At college I learned to play guitar to 'Wonderwall'. Oasis were everything I loved about pop music. They could express emotions with the most simple song structures. They had the kind of brash attitude I could completely relate to". |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUBSCRIPTIONS>> CMU Daily is a free daily e-bulletin for people working in the music industry and music media, delivered direct to your PC each morning. If you want to stop receiving this e-bulletin click the 'unsubscribe' button below and follow the instructions. If any of your colleagues want to receive the CMU Daily tell them to email their name, company, job title and email to [email protected]. If you would like to recieve the CMU Daily as a text email, send a blank email from the email address you are registered at to [email protected]. MEDIA PEOPLE>> If you are looking for an independent quote on anything to do with the music business, or you need someone to come on your TV or radio show and talk music business, then we can help. There's nothing we don't know about. Email requests to [email protected] or call 020 7099 9050. CMU is published by and (c) UnLimited Media - www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk Send news stories to [email protected]. If we don't respond directly, we do apologise, only we get sent hundreds of emails a day and don't have time to respond to every one of them. However we do check every email sent to the musicnews email address, and do pull out stories that we feel are relevant to our readers. Send CDs for review to CMU, UnLimited Media, 221-222 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PJ. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||