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![]() 26 or younger and have never attended MIDEM? Grab your reduction now! Networking: Seek out key contacts and extend your professional network; make deals with your partners and identify new business opportunities. Educational content: access to the renowned MidemNet digital business conference at no extra cost; get concrete, practical knowledge and training from experts through workshops. Live concerts: hook up with partners and new contacts at the Opening and Closing Night Parties; discover new international artists with Talent showcases. MIDEM: the one stop destination for the world’s music community, 23-27 January 2010. Register now! Click here -- MIDEM 2010, Cannes: Intimate club venue available for hire in the Palais du Festival - to showcase your artists and bands. www.splashpromotions.co.uk - www.leylinepromotions.com -- 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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![]() TERRA FIRMA'S LATEST EMI DEBT PROPOSALS KNOCKED BACK As much previously reported, private equity firm Terra Firma bought the London-based music major with a big fat loan from the American bank just before the pesky credit crunch. Citigroup intended to share the risk of the big lend by selling on a big chunk of the debt to other money lenders, but as the credit crunch, well, crunched, the market for such risk sharing disappeared. And even as that market recovers, with EMI still struggling, despite a radical overhaul by its new owners, and with Terra Firma themselves admitting their biggest acquisition gamble to date was, with hindsight, something of a mistake, few are going to want to share Citigroup's burden. With EMI saddled with loan repayment commitments it can barely afford to meet, and Terra Firma preferring to not have to keep injecting new money into the firm in order to help it meet those loan repayments, the private equity types have been busy negotiating with Citigroup in a bid to restructure the music major's debts. I'm not 100% certain how such negotiations work, but I think the basic gist is that, on the basis neither Terra Firma nor Citigroup can really afford to let EMI collapse (some argue Citigroup have more to lose) the former is trying to talk the latter into writing off some of the music firm's debts. To sweeten the deal, Terra Firma is proposing to increase its investment commitments to EMI, to convince Citigroup it still thinks EMI is a goer, and will therefore be able to meet those debt commitments that remain. According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest proposal was that Terra Firma inject another billion pounds into EMI, in return for which Citigroup would write off debts of a similar sum, what would amount to about 40% of EMI's debt commitments to the bank. The bankers though, it seems, were not willing to play ball. In some ways Terra Firma's position is weakened because, while some say Citigroup have more to lose if EMI folds, others argue otherwise. They argue that EMI's catalogues, and especially EMI Music Publishing's songs catalogue, is much more valuable than the music major is as a going concern. That's not to say Citigroup want EMI to fail, but perhaps it's Terra Firma who would have more to lose if the music company were to collapse. Whatever, insiders say that Terra Firma have a bit more time to play with in their ongoing Citigroup negotiations, because this Autumn's Beatles reissue programme has buoyed the major's recorded music division, where all the losses are made, and the new Robbie long player could mean another couple of rosy months are ahead. The result of that is that EMI Music can just about survive for the time being without a dramatic cash injection from Terra Firma or loan rearrangement from Citigroup. But insiders also say that, with EMI Music still reliant on a handful of often reluctant artist partners for much of its income, it will need more than Fab Four and Robbie income to make it through 2010. Therefore Terra Firma really do need Citigroup to give a little if it is to achieve its ambitions to eventually turn a profit on its EMI adventure. If no such deal can be struck in the first half of 2010, perhaps it will be time for Terra Firma to bail - meaning Warner Music may, as yet, acquire its rival at a bargain basement price. -------------------------------------------------- JLS RESPOND TO BIRMINGHAM GIG RAMPAGE Organisers didn't seem to expect that 20,000 people might want to see the 'X-Factor' runners-up, leading to overcrowding in the corner of the city hosting the free gig. It was when a metal barrier holding some of the crowd back collapsed that it got scary. As the crowd started to get angry, and people started to be injured, organisers of the event decided to call everything to a halt, meaning the other pop acts booked, including Calvin Harris, didn't get to perform. As media focus fell on the organisation of the event and the specifics as to how crowd management had failed, Birmingham City Council confirmed it had launched an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile the local authority's Assistant Director For Sport & Events, Steve Hollingworth, said his department had done everything it could to plan for the event, that they had anticipated crowds of the size that showed up, and that problems only began because the security fence failed to hold up. He also defended the decision to cancel the show once said security fence had collapsed. But a local MP, Khalid Mahmood, hit out at council officials. He told reporters: "This could have been far far worse than it was, we are very very lucky. There was no real assessment of what the dangers were and how many people there could be. Of course the young people are going to be excited by the whole thing, it was a good thing to do, but again the council did not organise it properly. I am going to be writing to the chief executive asking who was responsible for doing the safety assessments, and what measures will be taken against those who failed to deliver in ensuring the safety of people there". Phil Riley, the boss of Orion Media, who acquired BRMB earlier this year, also issued a statement. He said: "We are all as disappointed as everyone else that we had to cancel the event, as you can imagine we've worked hard across the last three months to ensure that today's line up was bigger and better than ever before. However the safety of our listeners is our utmost importance and once this was compromised there was no other option than to cancel the event". Meanwhile a statement from JLS said that the teen group were "devastated" that over 60 people had been hurt while they performed. The group's Marvin Humes wrote on the JLS website: "We are devastated to see what happened at the BRMB event in Birmingham yesterday. We are so, so sad to see that people got injured at the gig. It was meant to be a great event with some other amazing acts on the bill and we're just gutted that everyone's day was spoilt. We are very sorry for the people who were injured". He added: "After we opened the show the police took the decision to cancel the gig for public safety. The safety of our fans is so important to us. I have personally spoken to some of the other acts who were meant to perform and everyone was so upset that people got injured and that they didn't get to see the rest of the show. We just hope that everyone who was injured has a speedy recovery". DJ AM FAMILY BLAME PLANE CRASH FOR HIS DEATH As much previously reported, Goldstein and Barker were the only survivors when the private jet they were in crashed in South Carolina in September 2008. Two of their friends and the plane's two-man crew were killed. Although Goldstein survived and recovered from his injuries he died of an overdose of prescription drugs and cocaine this August. According to People magazine, Goldstein's mother Andrea Goss reckons the mental trauma of the crash caused her son to be depressed which led to his untimely death. This despite the fact the official line on the overdose that killed the DJ is that it was accidental and not suicide. And despite the fact Goldstein had a long history of drug addiction before the crash. There are several defendants listed on the new lawsuit, most notably Clay Lacy Aviation and Learjet Inc. Neither have as yet responded to the new legal action. ROBBIE LETS SLIP ABOUT TAKE THAT STUDIO REUNION Now, in an interview with Radio 2, the Robster has revealed all. Speaking in a programme due to be broadcast on Christmas Day, he was asked about the possibility of a full Take That reunion, and he replied: "We'd have to have written some incredibly great songs together for me to be very, very excited about the project. I might be 'very, very excited' about a project that's currently happening. Gaz is an amazing, amazing singer-songwriter, I'm honoured to be in the same studio as him... erm... when we do, in the future. Oh sod it, we've been in and the songs are absolutely amazing". So, there you go. Robbie, of course, joined the rest of Take That on stage at a concert held in aid of Children In Need last week, but did not sing with the group. MASTODON ANNOUNCE REGAL RE-RELEASE -------------------------------------------------- FREE CARBON/SILICON ALBUM -------------------------------------------------- SONY RELEASE ELVIS BEST OF FOR HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY The new compilation is released on 4 Jan, but I'm hoping we get a finished copy of the three CD collection before Christmas, because that'll be my Mum's present sorted. With that in mind, you'd have thought Sony would have wanted this one out before Christmas, but perhaps they are hoping to get some extra press in that quiet first week of the year, Elvis' actual birthday was 8 Jan. Of course Sony need to cash in on their Elvis catalogue as best they can, just in case the European record industry never gets the extension on the sound recording copyright they so dearly want. By my maths, some of the songs on this compilation are already out of copyright. THE WHO MIGHT BE PLAYING THE SUPERBOWL A Superbowl appearance would be good timing for Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, who are reportedly working on a new Who album as we speak. -------------------------------------------------- MUSE ANNOUNCE 2010 GIGS Tickets go on sale this Friday for these dates right here: 4 Sep: Manchester, Lancaster County Cricket Ground ------------------------------------------------- MOS DEF ANNOUNCES LONDON SHOW ARTIST REGISTRATION OPENS FOR THE GREAT ESCAPE Unsigned or independent artists keen to play might also want to sign up to digital distributor Zimbalam. There will be three slots available at the music convention for artists who sell the most music via the digital distributor in the next three months. A short list of the best sellers on Zimbalam will be drawn up on 1 Mar, and three artists picked to play The Great Escape by a team of judges from both Zimbalam and TGE. SINGLE REVIEW: Brakes - Why Tell The Truth (When It's Easier To Lie)/Worry About It Later (FatCat) The first track, 'Why Tell The Truth (When It's Easier To Lie)', shows off their more raucous side, with frontman Eamon Hamilton explaining that he only drinks to help the cigarettes go down, while 'Worry About It Later' is a more languid number with typically political overtones. Brakes know how to cover the bases and they do it well in two tracks here. Be sure to check out their new live album, 'Rock Is Dodeljik' (which was released earlier this month), too. IM Physical release: 16 Nov Buy from iTunes MORE ON IMU We said IMU would represent Moshi Moshi, Wichita Recordings, Because Music and Bella Union for sync rights deals. However, the agency will not be operating in the traditional sync domain, licensing tracks for TV ads and the like - in fact all four indies will continue to use their existing reps for traditional sync deals. IMU will work with brands on more strategic projects, especially in the online domain, some of which might involve syncing tracks, but for so called branded content rather than traditional advertising. As an example, IMU's Ruth Clarke told CMU about a recent project with fashion chain Oasis, which saw the retailer form a mini-partnership with one of their labels. Clarke: "The Oasis hookup was a small deal in which we licensed a track for use in a fashion film previewing their upcoming collection online and at a recent press day. It was licensed by their agency, Yellow Door. A simple deal, but our first opportunity to demonstrate the ease and speed with which these kinds of deals can be done through IMU". ULSTER MUSIC BODY CLOSES DUE TO BOARD DISAGREEMENTS A spokesman for Invest NI told reporters: "Due to irreconcilable issues within NIMIC's board, Invest NI and other potential partners were unable to consider any further funding. NIMIC has made a significant contribution to the development of the music industry in Northern Ireland since 2001 through the support provided by Invest NI and the Arts Council". Invest NI do not currently intend to divert their NIMIC funding to any other music-based organisations. Commenting on the demise of NIMIC, Kieran McCarthy, arts spokesman for Northern Ireland's Alliance political party, told reporters: "This is bad news for music in Northern Ireland. Our music professionals and experts should be able to work together to help new talent develop and gain recording contracts. It's rather ironic that NIMIC has folded due to differences, given that 'musical differences' is the oft-quoted factor behind many bands splitting. Our music scene is vibrant and it's a real pity that this group has ceased to exist. I would however encourage other experts to take the initiative and come together to provide assistance for up-and-coming bands and musicians here. Musicians working together here to help pool their skills and assist each other seems logical and I would like to see a new network emerge if possible". -------------------------------------------------- 229 PUT HUNDRED GRAND INTO ENHANCED SOUND 229, underneath the International Students House next to Great Portland Street tube station, has two spaces, and has played host to gigs by the likes of Primal Scream, Keane, Gnarls Barkley, Biffy Clyro and Razorlight in the last two years. CHART UPDATE JARVIS COLLECTS HONOURARY DEGREE back to top -------------------------------------------------- COWELL V CALVIN Cowell was forced to have an opinion on Harris, of course, after the chart-topping producer decided to run on stage during the latest performance on 'X-Factor' by those increasingly tedious twins. In tribute to the twin's ridiculous hair styles, Harris balanced a pineapple on his head as he hugged which ever of John and Edward was on the left on Saturday night. Even though you could hardly see the stage invasion thanks to some clever editing by 'X-Factor' bosses, and despite the fact Harris insisted he was a fan of the Jedward phenomenon, the producer was promptly ejected from the building, and his appearance on the talent show's ITV 2 spin off cancelled. You can accuse Simon Cowell and the 'X-Factor' franchise of many things, but never of having a sense of humour. Harris, who had earlier tweeted a link to a picture of the pineapple, confirmed he had been kicked out of 'X-Factor' central, also via the micro-blogging network. He tweeted: "Was just thrown out of 'X-Factor for jumping onstage during Jedward with a pineapple on my head". Cowell later accused Harris of staging the stage invasion as a publicity stunt. He seemed a bit pissed off. Though if Calvin's intent was really to publicise his current album 'Ready For The Weekend', perhaps Cowell was faking the anger to ensure more column inches. Harris is, of course, signed to Sony, Cowell's principle business partner in all things Syco. |
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