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PRESS OFFICER WANTED Leading independent music PR company looking for a Press Officer with experience in both online and traditional PR. Must be passionate, enthusiastic, intelligent, and a creative thinker. Knowledge of communications: PR, marketing, and blogging would be ideal, but not essential. If you are looking for a challenge within a dynamic company, please forward a copy of your CV to: [email protected] -- Advertise your jobs here: £100 for five editions - [email protected] |
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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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![]() VIRGIN TO TRACK FILE-SHARING There have, of course, been numerous bits of research over the years testing the levels of illegal file-sharing that goes on, much of it commissioned by the music and movie industries. How accurate said research has been is anyone's guess. Virgin Media seem pretty confident that their methods for tracking file-sharing, which uses technology created by UK-based tech firm Detica, will be more reliable than most. The aim of this tracking programme isn't to identify the individuals who file-share - the sources of illegally file-shared content will not be recorded - but rather to assess the extent of illegal file-sharing, so to track whether any future endeavours to cut illegal content sharing, whether they be the launch of Virgin's planned new download service, or the three-strikes style measures being proposed by government, have any real impact. It's not clear what kind of file-sharing Detica's system will measure, ie whether it will focus on P2P-client-based file-sharing networks and bit-torrent streams, or whether it will somehow include the sharing of content via email and the likes. We do know the tracking will not cover the whole of Virgin's ISP network, but just an undefined portion. Commenting on the tracking programme, Detica director Andy Frost told reporters: "We hope the launch of Detica CView [the technology Virgin will use] will pave the way for stronger collaboration between ISPs and the media industry, by enabling all parties to more accurately measure the success of shared initiatives, reduce digital piracy and provide an unparalleled level of accuracy". Virgin Media's Jon James added: "Understanding how consumer behaviour is changing will be an important requirement of Virgin Media's upcoming music offering and, should they become law, the government's legislative proposals will also require measurement of the level of copyright infringement on ISPs' networks. [Detica's CView technology] offers a non-intrusive solution which enhances our understanding of aggregate customer behaviour without identifying or storing individual customers' data". -------------------------------------------------- MORRISSEY TALKS DEATH ON DESERT ISLAND DISCS -------------------------------------------------- READ'S RECORDS UNDER THE HAMMER The collection, which was on show at the Chiswick Auction House in West London yesterday, includes some 120,000 vinyl records, including master discs of The Jam's 'Going Underground' and The Clash's 'London Calling', over 100 Motown demos and several records signed by the artists, including ones from Paul McCartney, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Cliff Richard. The collection has been valued at around a million, and is offered as a whole or in parts. Meanwhile, Read is busying himself promoting not the sale of his old records, but the sale of his new one, a charity single he has co-penned and recorded with fellow former DJs David Hamilton and Ed Stewart. 'My Christmas Card To You' is being released in aid of charity rather than Read's creditors, with all monies going to The Shooting Star Children's Hospice. ONLINE RAP VIDEO USED TO THREATEN EYEWITNESSES TO MURDER Ishmael McLean and Rowan Simon were found guilty of perverting the course of justice last week for posting a rap and video on YouTube relating to the murder last year of one Jason Johnson. Prosecutors claimed the message of the rap video was that anyone who spoke to police about the murder could be shot. McLean got four years for his role in creating the rap, while Simon was jailed for 30 months. Oliver Glasgow, speaking for the prosecution, told the court McLean and Simon were among eight people arrested in connection to Johnson's death. They were not prosecuted, but after apparently hearing that an unknown eyewitness had spoken to the police, they posted the rap online, and promoted it via MySpace and Facebook. Glasgow said: "[The rap's] connection to this case and its chilling message were immediately obvious to the officers. The video had but one purpose - to threaten any witness to this incident to frighten them to such an extent that they would refuse to co-operate with the police. They made it clear exactly what it was they wanted to do to them. Namely, kill them or to use their own words, 'I can't wait for the snitch to drop, I still show up at his wake just to see him off'". -------------------------------------------------- MORE ON THE LATEST DEATH ROW LAWSUIT Lara Lavi, who led the second acquisition of the label after its 2006 bankruptcy (the first acquisition having fallen through) is suing her financial partners in the takeover claiming they diverted company assets without her knowledge and were guilty of other "fraudulent, self-dealing actions". Well, it seems Lavi's backers, New Solutions, tried to fire her as CEO of Death Row earlier this month, which possibly resulted in the court action being launched in the first place. Lavi seemingly questions New Solutions' power to dismiss her. A judge held a prelim hearing on the case last week, and issued a temporary restraining order against New Solutions, I think stopping them from making an deals on behalf of Death Row ahead of a proper court hearing later this week. Lavi was asked to file a $2 million "undertaking" ahead of the hearing for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Lavi has told Billboard she's not now allowed to comment on the case. Presumably we'll learn more about what's been going on once the court hearing begins on Thursday. FOUR ACES FOUNDER DIES Alberts formed The Four Aces after meeting bandmate Dave Mahoney while serving in the US Navy. They scored a number of hits in the early fifties, most notably with 'Three Coins In The Fountain' and 'Love Is A Many Splendored Thing', both of which were from Hollywood movies and won Best Song Oscars as well as enjoying chart success. He left the band after just six years, initially in a bid to launch a solo career. The Four Aces continued with a new frontman, and eventually totally new line up, and continue to perform to this day. Having had only minor success as a solo act, Alberts later reformed with the original Four Aces line up, performing as The Original Four Aces Featuring Al Alberts after the newer Four Aces line up won the rights to the band's name. In actual fact, Alberts had a longer career in television than music, hosting a popular US talent show that helped launch the careers of Andrea McArdle, Sister Sledge and Teddy Pendergrass. The reformed Four Aces retired in the late eighties, and Albert ended his TV work in the mid-nineties. He died on Friday, seemingly after suffering from kidney failure. DOWNLOADABLE MUSIC MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IN THREE DECADES OF MUSIC Anyway, one more interesting question asks users to name the most important event in music in the last 30 years. There's a slightly weird mix to choose from (from Take That reforming to the launch of the iPod) but respondents can also suggest their own important events. Though currently leading the poll is one Music Choice do suggest - the launch of downloadable music - which if you extend to mean the internet in general, probably is the most important event in music in the last three decades. Here, according to MusicNews.com, is the current top ten in relation to that question: 1. Launch of downloadable music (19%) - most important innovation You can take part in the whole silly survey at this URL: www.musiccensus.com CELEB AUDIENCE FOR GATELY TRIBUTE CONCERT IN LONDON The event was organised by Gately's civil partner Andrew Cowles and saw a celeb-filled theatre celebrate the life of the singer. -------------------------------------------------- DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN TO PLAY ONE-OFF UK SHOW -------------------------------------------------- ROLO TOMASSI TOUR DATES Tour dates: 17 Jan: Nottingham, The Chameleon -------------------------------------------------- NANCY ELIZABETH TOUR DATES Tour dates: 5 Dec: A Weekend In The Country SINGLE REVIEW: Alice In Chains - Your Decision (EMI/Parlophone) It's a shame that Alice In Chains' new offering is so drenched in fist-clenching cheese that it actually has the power to make ears bleed, not to mention the fact that the once respectable pain-prog outfit sound like Radio 2 darlings; but that's the conundrum, isn't it? It's fucking Alice In Chains. 'Your Decision' may be a bit crap, but then again, they might just get away with it. TW Release Date: 16 Nov Buy from iTunes RADIO NEEDS TO REGROUP TO FIGHT NEW ON-DEMAND STREAMING COMPETITORS I was reminded of this on Saturday as I quickly switched off 6Music as Liz Kershaw came on after Adam & Joe. Even though I quite rate the playlist of the BBC digital station, without Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish's humorous banterings, frankly, what's the point? If all a DJ is going to do is introduce the records and read out dedications, I'd rather play my own playlist on Spotify or similar. Anyway, I'm pondering this today because new research from law firm Olswang has confirmed that young consumers are shunning traditional radio stations in favour of Pandora and Spotify style services, or, simply, their own MP3 collections which are, of course, much easier to playlist than a CD collection. According to the law firm's survey, 61% of thirteen to seventeen year olds access online streaming services, compared to 38% of those over seventeen. Just under half of the kids would listen to their own playlisted music collection on a long car journey, while just over a quarter would listen to the radio. One of the report's authors, John Enser, comments: "Across all media, convergence is primarily about people taking control over what content they consume and when. That doesn't sit well with traditional radio, where the broadcaster sets the agenda. Today's kids are reacting to that". He continues: "Traditional broadcasters must look to turn themselves into trusted guides to music in the new world. When users are faced with the choice of what to listen to from a catalogue of millions of tracks, broadcasters can hold onto a taste-making role. We are already seeing radio stations, music magazines and other taste-makers offering their own playlists for others to access. However, at the moment, none of these people are making any money out of this - which will be the challenge for the future". Of course the commercial radio sector has been even slower than the music industry to respond to the internet, perhaps because the consequences of the net on their low-cost high-profit 1990s business model were not so immediate. The problem facing the sector, though, is that most commercial stations have fired anyone with taste-making musical knowledge, or interesting things to say, and replaced them with bargain basement button pressers. But to succeed that low-cost model relied on all commercial radio players doing the same - which they did - and a highly-regulated FM network, access to which, for new broadcasters, was very limited, blocking newer more sprightly competitors from coming to market. But just like with music, the net changes everything. And now the commercial radio firms are suffering, and are set to suffer even more in the coming years as more and more people seeking "more music" services opt for on-demand web-based music systems, more so if the mobile internet extends and in-car web-radio becomes a reality. But, as Enser says, there is still an appetite for taste-makers directing people to good new music. And there's also still an appetite for intelligent witty banter. The good news is that some of the commercial radio industry's button pressers have the potential to be both these things. And some commercial stations are still broadcasting engaging new music shows, albeit usually in late night slots. The idiots running the sector really should figure out who those people are, or they'll find it increasingly hard to compete with the Spotifys of this world. The music industry has a vested interest in all of this, of course. I suspect that record companies and music publishers will find that it's not a-la-carte download sales that are seriously hit by the new generation of on-demand streaming services, but their radio royalty revenues. -------------------------------------------------- NEW WEEKLY FREESHEET FOR LONDON Not much is known about the exact format of the new title, nor who is involved in its creation, though its publisher is called Global Publishing Group and, according to the media pack they are circulating, they have raised £5.5 million, and plan to launch a website and online TV and radio service alongside the paper. Which all sounds rather ambitious. Their website is due to go live just before Christmas, with the print product lauched sometime early next year. -------------------------------------------------- INM SHAREHOLDERS BACK INDY SAVING RESTRUCTURE The vote is most important because it safeguards, for the time being at least, the future of INM's daily and Sunday UK-based broadsheet. As previously reported, one of INM's key shareholders, Denis O'Brien, has spent much of the year trying to force the company to offload the Indy, which has already slashed its running costs and given up its London HQ to share offices with the Daily Mail. In the current climate, INM offloading The Indu would almost certainly have led to the broadsheet's closure, the impact of which would have been to further destabilise the British newspaper market, and may be resulting in other closures. But INM's biggest shareholder, Tony O'Reilly, remains committed to his company's UK paper, and he and his son Gavin, the company's CEO, argue it would be costlier to close it than keep it open. Votes at one shareholder meeting earlier this month, and two EGMs on Thursday last week, mean that the O'Reilly led restructuring plans that safeguard the future of the Indy have now been approved. The title, therefore, will definitely see it into 2010, which at one point earlier this year many commentators doubted. -------------------------------------------------- TELEGRAPH TO INVEST FIFTY MILLION IN DIGITAL Lewis is expected to focus the majority of his time into what is being dubbed the 'Euston Project', with his former deputy Tony Gallagher promoted to the role of Editor on the Telegraph itself. Lewis, who recently spent two months swatting up at the Harvard Business School, has confirmed that not only will his new division oversee all of the Telegraph's existing digital operations - so it's website, podcasts and whatnot - but it will also develop a number of new net and mobile-based products, a bit like Absolute Radio's One Golden Square Labs. But, the Guardian says, Lewis is being very "coy" about what those new products will be. It is very possible he doesn't yet know. -------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER COMMUNITY RADIO STATION MIGHT CLOSE Following the previously reported announcement that Forest Of Dean Radio, one of the first full-time community radio stations to launch in the UK, will go off-air this week due to funding difficulties, news today that another - 209radio in Cambridge - will also close down at the end of the year unless new funding can be found. The station's chairman, Clive Woodman, this weekend called on anyone who might be able to help by providing new funding, or by buying advertising, to come forward. Woodman: "We have reached a point now whereby we need stable regular financial support to help with our core costs and continue to provide this incredible and unique service to the residents and community groups of Cambridge. We are calling for anyone who can help financially to come forward now!" CHART UPDATE ROBBIE WILLIAMS NOT ENGAGED Anyway, gossipers thought Williams and Field were engaged after the pop star said they were on an Australian radio station, and even more so when his mother told 5Live the couple were indeed planning to wed. But it all turned out to be one of those crazeeeeeeeeeeeeee jokes. Unless, of course, Robbie claiming that the engagement talk was a crazy joke was, in fact, a crazy joke. With crazy jokes it can be hard to tell. Even for us. And as regularly readers of the CMU Weekly will know, we're the experts when it comes to crazy Robbie Williams jokes. -------------------------------------------------- WESTLIFE BOY REGRETS 2004 SINATRA ALBUM Feehily: "Let's forget that [album], actually. That was a weird time in our career. I'm not making excuses for it, but Brian McFadden had just left. We kind of didn't know what to do". Commenting on his band's new album 'Where We Are', which is out today, he continued: "Our new album, 'Where We Are', is genuinely a move in a certain direction. I mean it's definitely not the predictable same old thing, covers or whatever". So that's nice. You know, when it comes to Westlife I like to forget 1999's 'Westlife', 2000's 'Coast To Coast', 2001's 'World Of Our Own', 2003's Turnaround', 2005's 'Face To Face', 2007's 'Back Home', as well as 2004's 'Allow Us To Be Frank' and 2006's 'The Love Album'. Give it a week and I'll probably be ready to add 'Where We Are' to that list. But those weaker albums aside, I'm a big fan. -------------------------------------------------- GROHL DISSES TWITTER Perhaps he's just upset that since Courtney Love closed down her Twitter feed he can't keep track of what she's accusing him of this week. |
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