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![]() MAIL ORDER / ONLINE SALES PERSON REQUIRED Apply to [email protected] ref Mart. Closing date for applications 8 Jan. -- 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 -- 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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![]() ANTI-LIVEMASTER CAMPAIGNERS LAUNCH TICKETDISASTER WEBSITE With support from other consumer rights groups and some political types, the site's home page lists five reasons why allowing the LiveMaster merger would be a very bad idea indeed. The reasons are as follows... 1. Ticketmaster and Live Nation dominate the live entertainment industry and any further integration will allow the new company unprecedented control over pricing and access, thereby relinquishing consumer purchasing power. 2. Ticketmaster uses multiple means to take advantage of consumers and increase the price of tickets and services, a practice that will grow with increased control over the market. 3. A Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger will guarantee the new company full and exclusive access to competitively sensitive live entertainment information. 4. Ticketmaster has a track record of initiating anti-competitive practices to block competitors from accessing their events. 5. Blocking the merger outright is preferable to approving it with conditions. While for many in the music industry it's Live Nation who are the dangerously dominant big player, it's clear this campaign is motivated more by a long held hatred of Ticketmaster. Presumably the ticketing giant would deny any allegations of past anti-competitive practices, while the other claims regarding the negative impact of the merger have already been countered by submissions by the two live entertainment giants. Point five is perhaps most interesting, given approval with conditions seems the most likely conclusion of both the US and UK authorities' investigations into the merger proposals. Competition authorities hope measures, such as forcing the merged entity to sell off some divisions, or to commit to use the services of third parties, will placate those who oppose the merger. This campaign wants to make it clear from the start that it wants the proposed deal completely blocked. Helping launch the site at a press conference in Washington, congressman Bill Pascrell told reporters: "All of us agreed that it was time to take this fight to the seats. That's where the fans are, and they are the people who have had virtually no opportunity to represent their interests in the pending merger of these two companies - until now. This website will give the fans, the ticket buyers, the information they need to understand how they will be affected by the proposed merger, as well as giving them the chance to voice their opposition to the pending deal to the US Department Of Justice's antitrust authorities". All four of the key US congress members supporting the website are Democrats, which is possibly important, given this merger has been positioned by some as a test as to how willing the still newish Democrat regime at the White House are to stand up to big business. Presumably the Congressman have some useful contacts in this regard. Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation have responded to the new website as yet. -------------------------------------------------- BORDERS COULD BE GONE BY NEXT WEEK Administrators overseeing the collapse of the UK version of the books and CDs company say that the Borders chain is likely to close next Tuesday unless a serious buyer emerges. Administrators MCR say they are in ongoing negotiations with people interested in acquiring certain stores or assets from the chain, but it seems no one has come forward to takeover the company as a going concern. Unless that happens, most of the firm's 1150 employees will be out of work as of Christmas Day. Merry Christmas, everybody. LADY GAGA TOPS LAST.FM LISTENS Here's the top ten in full: Artist (track plays/listeners) See the full rundown here: www.last.fm/bestof/2009 -------------------------------------------------- MORE RATM V X-FACTOR CHATTER First up, RATM guitarist Tom Morello has again come out in support of his band. Which is big of him. He's also said that he'll donate some of the money he receives from the boost in sales 'Killing In The Name' has received this week to charity. Speaking to BBC 6music about the campaign, Morello said: "This shouldn't be misinterpreted. This is a grass roots effort. It's nothing against the candidates or the guy that runs the show ['X-Factor]. A little dose of anarchy for the Christmas holidays is good for the soul. I love the independent spirit of the British rock fans. Your country has a great rich history of cutting-edge, exciting rebel music. Whether it's the early Stones and The Who, or The Clash and The Sex Pistols, or Prodigy and Muse, I think that people are just fed up with being represented every Christmas holiday, being spoon fed some overblown, sugary ballad that sits at the top of the charts. That top spot doesn't belong to anybody - any TV show or any 90s political rock band. Let the people decide". He added: "The one thing about the 'X-Factor' show, much like 'American Idol', if you're a viewer of the show, you get to vote for one candidate or the other but you don't really get to vote against the show itself... Until now!" Well, apart from all the other times. But, yeah, this is for charity, so we'll let him off. Morello revealed that he will be making a donation to a UK-based children's music organisation in the near future in the hope that some of the kids it supports will follow in his footsteps. He explained: "Me personally, I am going to donate part of my proceeds from the sales to an organisation in the UK called Youth Music, which is the UK's largest children's music charity. My hope is that one of the results of this whole thing is that there will be a new generation of rockers who will take on the establishment with the music they write". In addition to that, the official Facebook-based campaign group to get RATM to the top of the chart has raised nearly £40,000 for Shelter, and now online retailer Recordstore.co.uk has also announced that all proceeds from the sale of 'Killing In The Name' on its site will go to the same charity. Recordstore manager Steve Wheeler explained on the company's blog: "This isn't about money. It's about the statement it makes: that millions of pounds in TV exposure may make a powerful tool but when dissenting voices join together they can make an equal impact. Some may scoff that this is hardly an important cause for people power to suddenly take effect but if the members of the public who have joined the Facebook group that began this quest take a minute to check out Rage Against The Machine and the views they hold then maybe we'll see some real changes in the world". Which all sounds like battle lines have been firmly drawn. So, what message would Morello like to send to Simon Cowell? He said: "I bear him no ill will. He's going to be fine either way". That's all good, then. But what stage is this race at now? Well, as we reported yesterday, while Rage took an early (and substantial) lead, the band and their supporters were dealt a potential blow by the release of the CD single of the 'X-Factor' song yesterday. Hmm, it's the physical CD single release that might make the difference, not words I have to type very often these days. Official Charts Company boss Martin Talbot explained: "Joe McElderry's single will do disproportionately well physically. The single's market now is 98-plus per cent digital. The physical market doesn't really exist for most releases, but for releases of this status and ones that are going to cross over to the gift purchase market as well, is going to sell significantly on CD". However, bookmakers Ladbrokes are backing the underdog, having slashed the odds on RATM making it to number one on Sunday to 8/11, making them the favourite. The move comes just days after they said that RATM had no chance and closed the book on Christmas number one bets. The company's Nick Weinberg, said: "Joe's loss of favouritism is a landmark moment in Christmas number one betting. It was inconceivable just a few days ago, but the gamble on Rage Against The Machine has taken us completely by surprise. For so long the battle for festive supremacy has been a procession for the 'X-Factor' - not any more". The bookies' decision is unsurprising given then RATM are still way ahead in this morning's midweek chart figures - though Saturday could be the big day for Joe's CD sales. In other related news, stars of both 'X-Factor' and 'Britain's Got Talent' have come out in favour of Rage Against The Machine, sort of (www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AYUqVNSsY) and others are just wondering why they can't all get along (www.rathergood.com/climb). -------------------------------------------------- ZIGGY STARDUST NAMED GAYEST ALBUM The full list is as follows: 1. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars What, no hip hop or dancehall? FLORENCE TO TRY BEFORE SHE BUYS ON NEXT ALBUM -------------------------------------------------- JAMES BLUNT PROMISES "FUN" ALBUM He told The Daily Star:"I have a few musicians I'll be collaborating with, not famous but phenomenal. I've been playing some of the stuff live and it's a fun album". 4AD RELEASE FREE COMPILATION Go and get it here: 4ad.com/features/2009/ -------------------------------------------------- SSS RELEASE CHRISTMAS SONG Explaining the decision to write the song, frontman Foxy said: "We are following in the footsteps of some of the greatest Christmas songs ever written from yesteryear - Slade, Wizzard, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Shakin Stevens, FEAR and Band Aid - that have all placed themselves firmly in our hearts and on cheap Christmas compilation CDs at this time of year. Now here's our meagre festive rattler that will be played for years to come at family discos and shake the false teeth from all our nans' heads". Download the track here: rapidshare.com/files/321679834/SSS_-_Merry_ChristmaSSS.mp3 And, just in case you missed the lyrics, here they are too: earacherecords.com/myspace/SSS_MerryChristmaSSS_Lyrics.jpg GALLOWS CANCEL GIGS In a statement, the band said: "Steph is still unwell and has been told that he will not be able to play any more shows this year and so this has forced us to pull out of these shows. We're really sorry to disappoint all our fans who were looking forward to seeing us in 2009 but we promise we'll come back better and stronger than ever in 2010 and we hope you'll join us next year". The affected shows are as follows: 17 Dec: Watford, Coliseum ------------------------------------------------- BEACH HOUSE ANNOUNCE UK TOUR DATES Here are the headline dates: 10 Feb: Glasgow, King Tut's LIVE REVIEW: The Mars Volta at The Forum in London on 14 Dec Upon stepping into the venue, my attention is immediately drawn to the giant backdrop stretching across the main stage wall. On first appearance, it boasts a patchwork of decorative Aztec designs that are elegantly blended together. The opulent banner is a visual hallmark for the band's experimental approach towards sound, and when they arrive on stage, they dispense with formal introductions and break straight into 'Halo Of Nembutals'. Rather than sticking to a setlist of more recent recordings, the band deliver a wealth of tunes across the 'Bedlam In Goliath' and 'Deloused In The Comatorium' LPs; their cardinal bodies of work. The cumbersome headlamps flanking each side of the stage are suddenly taken up to full glare, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez begins to assume a series of pseudo tribal bodily postures as he churns out the almost overbearing opening chord of 'Goliath'. The crowd fluidly sways to the meandering notes echoing from Rodriguez-Lopez' fret board. The banner above burns brightly, and I am captivated by the fragmented patches of phosphorescent pink bleeding into brightly swirling traces of nuclear green. This lavish light display unites with the energy emanating from the frantic bodies in the mosh pit, as the band tie off the evening with the mighty 'The Haunt Of Roulette Dares'. Overcoming the need for staple rules with fervent shakes from their flamboyant maracas, a sonic eruption explodes as Cedric Bixler-Zavala screams the words "trademark amoeba lands-craft!" With a lively glint in their eyes the audience trips the psychedelic fantastic. SG Buy from iTunes EMI BUY LOUDCLOTHING EMI began boosting its interests in the music merchandising sector earlier this year by striking up deals with the merchandise divisions of live music congloms Live Nation and AEG Live, deals which mean they now distribute the two live company's merchandise products to non-venue based retailers and etailers. Most of the majors have shown an interest in the increasingly lucrative merchandise (and especially t-shirt) market in recent years, Universal buying the mess that was the Sanctuary Music Group mainly to secure ownership of its primary success story, the Bravado merchandising company. Confirming the Loudclothing.com deal, EMI Music Services boss Ronn Werre told CMU: "Expanding our merchandise capability is a key part of EMI Music's strategy of providing artists and labels with a range of services that deliver real value. Combining the great team and assets of Loudclothing.com with rights from Live Nation and AEG Live gives EMI a stellar product range and a world class, full-service retail merchandise business that delivers first rate services to consumers, retailers and our artist and business partners". As part of the deal, Loudclothing.com and CID founder Nic Wastell will run EMI's European merchandising operations. He said this: "We're very excited to be joining [the merchandising] team at EMI. They have successfully built a strong merchandise operation within a major music company, a textbook case of how to develop and scale up this capability alongside other music services. With this new partnership we have created a competitive new player in this important market and have the finance and resources to grow and develop our business". I'm a bit confused about what the acquisition of Loudclothing.com and the appointment of Wastell to a role within EMI means for the future of Completely Independent Distribution. Seemingly Wastell will continue to head up that company too, which will continue to operate independently from EMI, though it will provide services to the major as well as, presumably, continuing to run its second main business Bandstores.co.uk. Either way, given the alliance with major music firm EMI, I'm not sure CID can really claim to be 'completely' independent any more. -------------------------------------------------- US VP HOLDS IP PROTECTION CONFERENCE - THOUGH SOME KEY STAKEHOLDERS NOT INVITED I don't think many specifics were discussed, except for one specific operation to stop people taping films at the cinema on a camcorder, which is apparently more of a problem than I realised. The content industry men also had a chance to air their IP concerns. It's not clear whether online piracy was discussed in any major way, though assuming it was some of those interested parties outside the content industries expressed their disappointment at not being invited to the table. The boss of US Consumer Electronics Association, Gary Shapiro told reporters yesterday: "We urge that other stakeholders be consulted and brought to the White House to continue this important dialogue and to ensure that American consumers are not treated like criminals. Too often the Recording Industry Association Of America and other groups advocate an overly aggressive vision of intellectual property that discourages innovation and limits lawful consumer conduct. The resulting environment of excess litigation and disproportionately high statutory damages and other penalties discourages entrepreneurism and burdens America's innovation future". Meanwhile, Ars Technica quote Gigi Sohn of consumer rights group Public Knowledge thus: "Although the meeting with Vice President Biden purports to bring together 'all of the stakeholders to discuss ways to combat piracy in this rapidly changing technological age,' some stakeholders are noticeably missing. Many representatives of media companies will be there. No consumer or public-interest groups, technology companies, technology associations or internet service providers are on the guest list. No one who questions the need for draconian governmental policies on behalf of the privileged special interest group for whom this meeting is being held is on the guest list". YOUTUBE MIGHT ENTER THE SUBSCRIPTION DOMAIN The specifics of the deals between YouTube and the broadcasters are not known, though to date Google has planned to cover any content licensing costs with advertising revenue. But, as YouTube's dabblings in the music space has demonstrated, ad revenues rarely get close to covering the sorts of licensing fees the content owners want to charge, even those content owners willing to slash the prices they were demanding eighteen months ago. Which is presumably why Google are now considering charging a subscription fee for users who want to access full-length properly-licensed TV programmes on demand. Such an arrangement would put YouTube into more direct competition with US web-TV platform Hulu, which has global expansion plans. Google exec David Eun admitted subscriptions were being considered in an interview with Reuters, in which he said: "We're making some interesting bets on long-form content; not all content is accessible to us with the advertising model". C4 AND TALKTALK JOIN CANVAS Canvas bosses reckon the project will cost £115 million over four years, so obviously the more companies there are to share the cost the better. The project aims to facilitate the introduction of video-on-demand and internet-based services to Freeview-style set top boxes, providing something similar to what BT Vision are already doing. Confirming C4 and TalkTalk's involvement, Canvas boss Richard Halton told reporters: "The potential for innovation [here actually] goes far beyond bringing video on-demand to the TV set and there's a huge opportunity for a wide range of new commercial models to thrive. We always wanted all the UK's public service broadcasters and at least two ISPs to be involved in the venture at launch, so we're delighted that Channel 4 and TalkTalk have joined the project". As previously reported, the BBC's involvement is still reliant on the venture getting BBC Trust approval. Some - well Sky mainly - feel that the BBC throwing its weight behind one standard is a misuse of its privileged position. Presumably they'd think differently if they threw their weight behind a standard that Sky endorsed. -------------------------------------------------- COWELL TOPS TELLY CHART OF THE YEAR It seems unlikely that any of the big Christmas shows will beat the 15 million who tuned into the 'X-Factor' results show in the middle of November when Jedward-mania was at its height, and certainly not the 18 million rating scored by the final of this year's 'Britain's Got Talent' when we all tuned in to see whether Susan Boyle would have a nervous breakdown live on air. The only new show not to appear in this list likely to compete with either of them is last weekend's 'X-Factor' final. The list of the ten most watched TV shows of the year will make for pretty depressing reading if you hate soap operas and reality/talent shows. It seems that if you want to compete with that lot you either need a doctor or deprived children, and arguably the doctors should be looking after the kids rather than competing for TV viewers. Anyway, here's the most watched ten TV shows of the year, with channel, ratings and audience share. I should add the usual proviso that the margin of error in the way TV Ratings are calculated is significant, we never really know who watches what. 1. Britain's Got Talent Final Result (ITV1) 18,294,000 (68.1%) -------------------------------------------------- FULLER LAUNCHES YET ANOTHER WANNABE FORMAT Called 'If I Can Dream', it will see five wannabes - an aspiring musician, model and three actors - plonked into a Big Brother-style house in Hollywood. Viewers will then be able to watch as all five try to make it big in their chosen industry, sharing thoughts and advice with the wannabes via the web interface. Or something like that. Footage from the venture will be available via web-based, mobile and radio formats, and MySpace, Hulu and US radio giant Clear Channel are all on board as partners. Twitter and Facebook will also be part of the mix, obviously. If any wannabe drops out - presumably due to either success or failure - another one will be shipped in, maybe picked from the online community watching the show. No TV output is planned just yet, though it seems that might be a future spin off. Look, here's the man Fuller speaking about it all: "I am determined to continue challenging convention and pushing the boundaries of mainstream entertainment. The next frontier is the video world of authentic real-time interaction. It is time the public got to see the truth behind what it takes to launch the careers of young artists who have a dream that one day on pure merit they can be professional entertainers and gain the recognition they crave. This is the dawning of a new age". -------------------------------------------------- UTV SHUT DOWN PRESTON STATION As previously reported, other smaller radio firms have done the same, some arguing that excessive OfCom regulations stop smaller stations from succeeding in the ever more competitive world of regional media. Until a few years ago radio companies handing back FM licences to OfCom was unheard of. Though arguably that was because there were less to be had overall. Commenting on Central Radio's demise, UTV's local radio chief Calum Macaulay told reporters: "We won the licence against strong competition, but unfortunately had to launch the station in the middle of the worst recession in memory. We have been looking closely at the station's viability and unfortunately given the economic climate we have taken the difficult decision to close the station". -------------------------------------------------- XFM SWAP BREAKFAST AND DRIVE The swap will happen in the middle of January at the same time as a rejig of the station's overall schedule, which will see a switch back from four hour daytime show slots to three hour ones. Between the breakfast and drive time slots there will be two presenters, Dan O'Connoll in early afternoon and the continuing Xfm anomaly that is Richard Skinner, who will continue to confuse the station's listeners between 10am and 1pm. Confirming the rejig, Paul Jackson of Xfm owners Global Radio said this: "Dave's consistent listening figures clearly demonstrate how well he connects with his rapidly growing audience. With Dave's cheeky wit, great sense of humour and love for Xfm's music, together with Ian Camfield on Drive-time, we'll certainly have the best combination to continue to push the station forward with our goal of music that matters in the London market!" I'm assuming Pete Mitchell and Clint Boon will continue to present the prime time slots on the Manchester version of Xfm, Manchester-based programming airing at those times. And presumably the Manchester outpost will also rejig its daytime programme timings between breakfast and drive, given it carries London-based programming in those slots. THIS WEEK'S STUDENT RADIO CHART EVANS COVERS FOR GEORGE'S "FUCKING" The druggy pop man claimed he thought there was a delay on the show whereby producers could bleep out his swearing. It's all been captured on Radio Fail (radiofail.wordpress.com), though Evans being the pro he is it's not as funny as it could be - these things are always more amusing when the presenter crumbles as a result of the swear. Evans takes over from Terry Wogan on Radio 2 breakfast in the New Year, of course. |
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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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