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SECRET PRODUCTIONS SEEKS OPERATIONS MANAGER Secret Productions specialises in cutting edge outdoor & indoor event programming, design and production. Amongst the events it runs is The Secret Garden Party; twice voted the best festival in the UK. We are looking for a new Operations Manager who will primarily be focused on all areas of budget and systems management relating to production of Backwoodsman's projects, which includes the Secret Garden Party. In addition he/she will be required to oversee all back office processes and suggest and design improvements. Operations Manager will be also responsible for overall operational efficiency and general business administration eg PAYE, systems data integrity, providing accurate and timely forecasts and processing of customer invoices. They also need to offer input on decisions that require sound business practices and perspectives. Please send CVs to James Brennan at [email protected], or call 020 8617 3017 for more information. -- Advertise your jobs here: £100 for five editions - [email protected] |
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![]() Name are one of the UK's leading music PR and marketing agencies, with unrivalled specialist knowledge and direct links to the heart of the UK music industry. With over 10 years of experience, Name deliver full-spectrum PR services for a wide range of music clients, both trade and consumer. These include [PIAS] Entertainment Group, the Association of Independent Festivals, Merlin, Digital Stores, MusicTank, WeGotTickets, Blink TV, Corsica Studios and the Soundwave Festival. For more information or to see how Name can help your business, visit www.namemusic.co.uk or email [email protected] -- SHOREDITCH OFFICE, 764 SQUARE FOOT (15-20 DESKS), £1000 PER MONTH -- Advertise your stuff here: £120 for five editions - [email protected] |
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![]() PARLIAMENTARY REPORT DOWN ON THREE-STRIKES Now, not my words, but the words of the All Party Parliamentary Communications Group, one of those cross-party clubs within parliament which concerns itself with issues relating to a certain theme, in apComms' case telecommunications, mobile phones and the internet (in fact three separate groups, one for each of those areas, merged to form the current apComms in 2007). Their thoughts on file-sharing appear in a general document discussing internet issues, and is based on evidence given by interested parties in July, ie before Peter Mandelson's Business Department started talking tough about online piracy. Their viewpoint, which obviously differs from that held in government circles since August, probably isn't a surprise. All party groups, and to a certain if lesser extent parliamentary select committees, often tend to favour the viewpoints of their core target constituency. In apComm's case that is the internet service providers and tel cos, who have generally been very clear where they stand on this issue - piracy is all the record companies' fault, and net providers shouldn't have to step in to help combat it. That said, the net firms might point out they don't agree with everything in the new apComms report, so the group isn't that biased. And more optimistic music execs might say that neither they nor Mandelson are actually proposing all out "disconnection" for file-sharers, so the report's recommendations don't totally fly in the face of the Government's current thinking. Is apComms' summary of the file-sharing situation fair? Well, as always, yes and no. Certainly the record industry floundered for years on the internet issue, throwing money in the direction of lawyers and digital rights management makers when they should have been supporting, honing and developing compelling legit digital services, and reinventing their artist partnerships to generate new income streams for both talent and label. And if only record label execs had paid attention to their CMU Daily, that's exactly what they would have been doing. But for well over three years now the record industry has been making gallant moves towards licensing, enabling and supporting compelling digital music services, so that today there is a whole load of choice out there. True, issues remain. Gaps in digital catalogue, the big upfront payments the majors often demand from new digital services, and the inevitable truth that today's popular digital platforms will require the labels to radically rethink their licencing structures to be viable long term. Not to mention issues around the reporting and payment of digital royalties to artists. But, nevertheless, the record labels have been playing ball for a few years now, and all the great new music services that have arrived in the last year are a result of that. If ISPs or political types refuse to act on online piracy simply because the labels were slow to respond to the internet, well you're basically beating record companies up for albeit bad decisions made five years ago, but since retracted. (It's also unfair to single out the music industry in the copright domain - if anything, the music business is way ahead of the TV and film studios, and book, magazine and newspaper publishers, who are only now grappling with the opportunities and threats of the net). Either way, while the apComms report may not be overly favourable to the record industry, the Public Affairs chief at record label trade body the BPI, Richard Mollet, has found one reason to be optimistic about their findings. According to Music Week, he says that elsewhere in the report the group say ISPs should take proactive steps to detect and remove "inappropriate content". Mollet says that one of the MPs in the Group, Derek Wyatt, has told him unlicensed content would fall under that banner. Mollet adds: "The fact that [the report] recognises ISPs take increased responsibility for what goes on its network is positive". So there you go. Of course none of this is hugely relevant really given Mandelson will almost certainly ignore most of what apComm's report says (let's remember, he's doing a pretty good job of ignoring much of a similar report his own government commissioned - Steve Carter's 'Digital Britain'). Not only that, but unless Mandy can get new anti-filesharing rules onto the statute book extra speedily, it looks increasingly likely that it will the posh boys of Team Cameron who will ultimately decide whether new laws are needed to enable copyright owners to thrive in the digital age. BUSTA RHYMES ORDERED TO PAY DAMAGES IN ASSAULT CASE Duncan said: "I wanted something to come out of it. I don't even go to parties anymore, because there's always someone asking, 'What happened to that Busta Rhymes case?'". According to the New York Post, neither the rapper nor his lawyer appeared at the hearing. -------------------------------------------------- LEWIS ATTACKER SECTIONED Kopwalczyk will appear at the City Of Westmister Court on 26 Oct to face charges of assault. Writing on her website yesterday, Lewis said the attack "was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset". It was also announced yesterday that the singer had decided to cancel the rest of her book tour. SIXTIES HMV OXFORD STREET BOSS DIES Whitmarsh joined HMV as a sales assistant at the chain's flagship Oxford Street store at the start of the sixties, rising to be store supervisor and later store manager. He led the shop during the latter half of the decade, a key time for HMV's London base, it being a boom time for both British music and vinyl sales. To illustrate the importance of the Oxford Street store during that period, at one point it alone sold 2.5% of all recorded music in the UK. With that in mind it's no surprise the store was a high priority for the buoyant London record industry, nor that Whitmarsh therefore became a prominent figure in the business. He continued to run the store through the early seventies, before moving to HMV HQ to help with the expansion of the company's UK wide chain. Another former HMV exec, Mike Autton, has written a long tribute to his former colleague for Music Week. He remarks: "I had the good fortune of working with Ken for many years when we were both at the 363 [Oxford Street] store. Ken was mentor to a great many of us in the seventies and provided a very good start to many careers. He had a way of motivating us through his own enthusiasm. He was approachable and the door to his office was always open to anyone who wanted to speak with him. We all had a great respect for him. He was also good fun to be with". You can read Autton's full tribute at this URL: A-HA SPLIT In a statement, the band said: "We've literally lived the ultimate boy's adventure tale, through a longer, more rewarding career than anyone could hope for. Doing this now will give us a chance to get more involved in other meaningful aspects of life, be it humanitarian work, politics, or whatever else - and of course through new constellations in the field of art and music. We are retiring as a band, not as individuals. Change is always difficult and It is easy to get set in one's ways. Now it is time to move on". RIVERS CUOMO WORKING WITH KATY PERRY -------------------------------------------------- NEW CARIBOU ALBUM NEARLY COMPLETE Snaith told Stereogum: "It just happens that some of the tracks that were supposed to be dance-y were the most interesting to me. They had elements that dance music wasn't supposed to have, or had sounds dance music doesn't traditionally have in it, or some beat or tempo that wasn't characteristic of dance music, or whatever. I've never been successful at being rigid and saying, 'OK, this track is going to be in this genre'. I always follow my nose and throw in any elements that appeal to me". No title or release date have yet been set for the record. -------------------------------------------------- KATONA TO RETURN TO MUSIC The former Atomic Kitten singer told the Daily Star: "I do not do drugs any longer. I am looking after myself mentally and physically as well as I can. Ideally I would like to have a single and an album out at some stage next year". Great to have you back, Kerry. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be on a par with your reality TV shows. DOMINO TO REISSUE THE FEELIES Both albums will come with a code that will give purchasers online access to bonus live track, b-sides and demos. Buy them. -------------------------------------------------- THE SLEW TO GET FULL RELEASE As previously reported, The Slew are turntablists Kid Koala and Dynomite D. A couple of years ago they were asked to record a soundtrack to a documentary, and had completed a whole psych rock-influenced score for the film before the entire project was shelved. More recently, the pair met former Wolfmother rhythm section Myles Heskett and Chris Ross, who convinced them to resurrect the music for a tour with Koala and Dynomite working across six turntables, and Keskett and Ross handling drums and bass. '100%' will be released on download, CD and double vinyl on 24 Nov. -------------------------------------------------- STEREOPHONICS SELL ALBUM/LIVE BUNDLE The bundle offer is powered by Digital Stores. Their Commercial Director, Simon Coates, told CMU: "Stereophonics care a great deal about their fans so it was great to be involved in a project where we were all working on rewarding their loyalty, as well as giving them access to tickets before anyone else. It goes without saying that the 'Keep Calm...' album is going to be a huge success, it's just good to be able to offer a pre-order bundle that goes that bit further". "EXCITING" SPICE GIRLS NEWS PROBABLY NOT ACTUALLY EXCITING The paper claims that Geri Halliwell will produce the show, which will chart the group's rise to fame over the course of two hours (I mean the show will last two hours, their rise to fame took slightly longer). A source said: "The project is Geri's baby really but all the girls are backing it. The idea is for five relatively unknown actresses to take the parts and hopefully the girls will each have a say in who is cast". GAY FOR JOHNNY DEPP ANNOUNCE UK TOUR AND MANTHOLOGY Here are the tour dates. Support will come from Blakfish and Outcry Collective: 13 Nov: Plymouth, White Rabbit ------------------------------------------------- BANG BANG ECHE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR Tour dates: 18 Nov: Cardiff, Ten Feet Tall ALBUM REVIEW: Morrissey - Swords (Universal) Had Universal waited a little bit longer, Morrissey may have released another batch of singles containing the sorts of b-sides that most other artists would be happy to have on their 'best of' albums. As it is, while tracks taken from the single releases that accompanied the soaring '...Quarry' and the biting 'Years Of Refusal' fit into this category, they are let down by the songs that came out of sessions for 'Ringleader Of The Tormentors' - Morrissey's dull, safe filler between those two great albums. Tracks which would otherwise have been sidelined, if not ditched altogether. The dip in quality is all too evident when the likes of 'Munich Air Disaster 1958' and that anthem for virgins everywhere, 'The Never-Symphonies', put into context just what a remarkable selection of songs Morrissey had at his disposal five years ago. His interpretation of Bowie's 'Drive-In Saturday', though dry, is full of awe and becomes a rare treat in the latter part of this compilation. Some other tracks on here fail to match the highlights. There'll be absolute no interest in 'Swords' for those who know and love the man, so it acts as more of a convenience, than a cohesive album, even if it is nice to hear 'My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye' again. Physical release: 26 Oct Buy from iTunes SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVE US RADIO ROYALTY PROPOSALS As previously reported, for historic reasons, record companies don't earn any royalties when radio stations play their music in the US. Songwriters and publishers do get a royalty, but those who own the recordings do not, mainly because the radio industry has long successfully argued that when they play a record they are providing free publicity to the label and artist. That argument has proved less effective in recent years, however, as record labels start to increasingly rely on royalty revenue to compensate declining record sales income. Plus rival radio services who don't enjoy the royalty-free provisions of US copyright law - including online and satellite radio services - have been rather vocal about how their AM and FM rivals have a rather unfair advantage costs wise. A bill is working its way through US Congress in a bid to introduce recording royalties for US radio. Needless to say, the record industry think this is a swell idea, while radio firms are a lot less keen. Before going to the two houses of Congress for a vote, the proposals need to be passed by two so called judiciary committees. The judiciary committee of the House Of Representtives have already approved the proposals, and this week their counterpart in the Senate did likewise. This means the proposed new laws can now go through the main chambers for a vote - although some tweaks are expected to be made to the proposals first. Confirming his support for the new royalty, the chair of the Senate's judiciary committee, Patrick Leahy, said: "When we listen to music, we are enjoying the intellectual property of two creative artists - the songwriter and the performer". The latter, of course, is not currently paid a royalty. The bill still has its opponents in Congress. Some say that smaller radio stations, already struggling in the recession, might be driven out of business by new royalty bills, or might opt to switch to an all-talk format to avoid paying them. -------------------------------------------------- ITUNES WILL SELL THIS IS IT As previously reported, there was talk that Amazon MP3 would be the exclusive digital seller of the new long player, which is basically a greatest hits package, but with a couple of new tracks and rarities. We also reported that Digital Music News had speculated that that decision was in part because Sony and the Jackson clan didn't want individual tracks from the new album to be sold, insisting fans only get access to it as a whole album package. That, of course, contravenes iTunes rules that insist albums be available in a track by track fashion. But after speculating thus, DMN reportedly got a snotty letter from Sony's legal department saying it was still in talks with Apple and no decision had been made about which download platforms would, and would not, being selling 'This Is It'. Adopting that immediately confrontational tone only used by idiot lawyers, Sony US's Deputy General Counsel Wade Leak apparently told the website: "Sony Music reserves all of its rights and remedies, including but not limited to the right to seek any damages resulting from this erroneous report". So there you go. Anyway, it seems that Apple will be selling 'This Is It', but only as a complete album, which is a change of heart from the IT firm. That said, as a compromise, there will also be a special 'This Is It' EP which only includes the new content from the full album. This means that Jacko fans who don't want to have to re-buy all the greatest hits they already own will be able to buy just the new stuff, though they won't be able to pick and choose which of the new stuff they pay for. In related news, Sony Pictures is reportedly claiming the 'This Is It' film is already in profit despite the movie firm's $60 million investment, such is public demand to pre-order tickets to see the documentary. Which is good news for both Sony and tour promoters AEG, the latter are using the movie as a way of recouping their estimated $30 million investment in the 'This Is It' live shows that never happened. Interestingly, Nikki Finke of the Deadline Hollywood Daily has reported that the only reasons AEG is sitting on so much video footage is because Jackson insisted everything be filmed, mainly for his own personal collection. As costs on the planned O2 residency spiraled out of control in the week's before Jacko's death AEG bosses reportedly considered axing the HD film crew recording the backstage footage. As it turns out, it was a damn good job they didn't. -------------------------------------------------- SPAIN TO INVESTIGATE FILE-SHARING ISSUES The country's Council Of Ministers announced yesterday it had set up a committee "to advise on the fight against the violation of intellectual property rights through internet pages, with the aim of dedicating as a priority the study of said violations". The committee will present on 31 Dec. Spain will hold the presidency of the European Union for the first half of 2010, and during that time there will be a telecommunications convention for political types in Madrid where online piracy is likely to be discussed. It may be that Spain's moves in this domain now are to ensure the country doesn't seem completely backwards on piracy issues when that convention takes place. COMES WITH MUSIC STRUGGLING TO ATTRACT USERS Commenting on the figures, a spokesperson for Nokia told MusicAlly: "Comes With Music has been a live service for twelve months in the UK and over the last eight months, has also gone live in eleven other countries. This is a very fast rollout for a service of its kind, especially when you consider the music is a mix of global and local content for each location. In terms of innovation, Comes With Music is a significant shift for both consumers and the industry alike". They continued: "Nokia will continue to bring new services to market and we will continue to add further countries and partners to our Comes With Music rollout. We look forward to being able to share more details on this over the coming weeks. With regard to the statistics presented in your article, as per our longstanding policy we do not comment on industry speculation or rumours". -------------------------------------------------- SPOTIFY SIMPLIFY MP3 SELL THROUGH It's a subtle change, but could revolutinise the sell-through component of the Spotify experience and make the Spotify/7Digital alliance a more serious competitor to Apple's iTunes. I don't know how seemless the download experience is once you've made payment - I was going to check it out, but the OMD track I was going to download is £1.29 on 7Digital and 99p on iTunes, and my curiosity as to how it works didn't extend to thirty pence. In other Spotify news, the digital music service has a new strategy for trying to turn free users into ten pound a month subscribers. They've sold an advertising package to the Conservative Party. Question is - will tedious Tories trying to win your vote in between your Spotify tunes make you pay a tenner to cut out all the politicking, or will it just send you back to your own politics-free MP3 collection, collated via legit or less legit means. CHANNEL 4 DO FULL PROGRAMME DEAL WITH YOUTUBE C4's outgoing CEO Andy Duncan confirmed the deal, saying: "Making our programmes directly accessible to YouTube's 20 million UK users will financially benefit both Channel 4 and our independent production partners and help bolster our investment in quality British content. It demonstrates our ability to strike dynamic commercial partnerships to help underpin our future as a commercially funded, not-for-profit multi-platform public service network". Full C4 shows will start to appear on YouTube early next year. It's thought the network will continue to operate its own online on-demand service 4OD alongside its stepped up partnership with YouTube. Outgoing ITV boss Michael Grade has admitted his company are also likely to do similar deals with YouTube and expanding US-based on-demand video service Hulu, though he added that he feared that such deals would see a sizable portion of online revenues from British television archives going to US companies who wouldn't be investing in future UK TV. Still, given at least half of the decent shows on British TV are American anyways, I'm not sure that's a huge problem. Though I can see it's a concern in you're a UK-based indie telly producer. Perhaps British telly people will have to operate more like Grade's legendary uncle and become movers and shakers in the US telly industry too. FRED DURST FILES FOR DIVORCE -------------------------------------------------- KANYE NOT IN INDIA Perez Hilton confirmed yesterday: "A source very close to Kanye says there is absolutely NO truth to the ridiculous rumour surrounding Kanye and a trip to India". So, just to confirm, Kanye West is not in India. -------------------------------------------------- MR HUDSON NOT DATING FEARNE COTTON He told The Daily Star: "Reports I'm dating Fearne Cotton are just rumours". So, just to confirm, Mr Hudson is not dating Fearne Cotton. |
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SUBSCRIPTIONS>> CMU Daily is a free daily e-bulletin for people working in the music industry and music media, delivered direct to your PC each morning. If you want to stop receiving this e-bulletin click the 'unsubscribe' button below and follow the instructions. If any of your colleagues want to receive the CMU Daily tell them to email their name, company, job title and email to [email protected]. If you would like to recieve the CMU Daily as a text email, send a blank email from the email address you are registered at to [email protected]. MEDIA PEOPLE>> If you are looking for an independent quote on anything to do with the music business, or you need someone to come on your TV or radio show and talk music business, then we can help. There's nothing we don't know about. Email requests to [email protected] or call 020 7099 9050. CMU is published by and (c) UnLimited Media - www.unlimitedmedia.co.uk Send news stories to [email protected]. If we don't respond directly, we do apologise, only we get sent hundreds of emails a day and don't have time to respond to every one of them. However we do check every email sent to the musicnews email address, and do pull out stories that we feel are relevant to our readers. Send CDs for review to CMU, UnLimited Media, 221-222 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PJ. |
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