BEATLES TO ARRIVE ON ITUNES TODAY... EVERYONE RECKONS
To be honest, I feel a bit dirty having spent at least an hour last night speculating what Apple's big iTunes announcement might be. Argh, I've succumb to the increasingly evil looking IT giant's sneaky hype machine. Damn those clever marketers in Cupertino. I bet they all wear polo necks as well. I mean, who cares what Apple is announcing at 3pm this afternoon London time? It doesn't matter. Oh fuck, I care. Damn you Steven Paul Jobs.

So, yesterday afternoon - just as the geekdom was getting ready to hear Mark 'challenging Steve for the cool-geek crown' Zuckerberg announce his shit new Facebook messaging service - Apple sneakily diverted the world's attention away from the upstart by replacing the Apple.com home page with a rather cryptic message: "Tomorrow is just another day, that you'll never forget, check back here tomorrow for an exciting announcement from iTunes".

Four clocks underneath the message promised that all would be revealed at 3pm London time, which in itself was intriguing as most big Apple announcements are made on America's West Coast at 10am, but that's 6pm our time. When today's announcement comes it will only be 7am in California, but 10am in New York.

Is this big announcement linked to something East Coast? A big Apple TV development linked to one of the New York-based broadcasters? Or some new streaming service run out of the data centre Apple is known to be constructing in North Carolina? Or, given the big press event that usually accompanies these big announcements isn't happening, is the timing not relevant? And why only four clocks? What's so special about California, New York, London and Tokyo? So many fucking questions. WHO CARES? Oh yes, I do.

Both the geek press and, given the mention of iTunes, the music business were speculating wildly yesterday afternoon. What could it be? The link up between Ping and Twitter? Old news. The launch of 90 second previews? Even older. A new alliance with Facebook? Then why time it to screw the social network's big announcement? The long awaited launch of a streaming or music locker service? Then why the blank faces among so many major label digital execs who would surely have to be in the loop on such a development?

Of course, it doesn't have to be music-related. iTunes is about a lot more than just, well, tunes these days. A major software upgrade? New TV or magazine functionality? The long expected expansion of the app store? A new iTunes linked device? Another acquisition? But would any of these really result in a day "you'll never forget"?

It's customary, of course, whenever Apple promise a big announcement, for at least 27 journalists to speculate that The Beatles are finally going digital. That Apple has struck an exclusive deal with the biggest of all the digital holdouts. Which is why at least 27 people yesterday afternoon, myself included, we're busy Googling the lines "Tomorrow is just another day, that you'll never forget". Could they be found in some lesser known Beatles track?

Alas no, 'Tomorrow Is Just Another Day' is a Madness song. Though, Billboard, seemingly digging deeper than the rest us (or, perhaps, just willing to accept a more tenuous lyrical link that the rest of us) did remember that 'Another Day' is a Paul McCartney song and, get this, it was recorded during the 'Let It Be' sessions. And if you thought that was tenuous, by late evening everyone was comparing the four clocks on the Apple home page (remember, "why four?") to the cover of the 'Help' album.

Despite all that seeming rather unlikely, an exclusivity deal with The Beatles which will see the Fab Four's entire catalogue arrive on iTunes, along with the launch of some sort of special edition iPod or iPad, is currently favoured by, well, nearly everyone as the most likely thing Apple will announce at 3pm today. Partly because every other possible announcement seems to have been discounted as being old news, too premature or just not that newsworthy.

Of course, whether the arrival of The Beatles online, approximately six years too late, really constitutes an unforgettable moment in time is highly debatable, though Steve Jobs is a big fan so, for him at least, it probably would count as a major achievement. Either way, after all that rampant speculating, see you all on Twitter at 3pm for a collective disappointment. Good times.

back to top

GEOFF ELLIS TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
T In The Park top dog Geoff Ellis is to receive the lifetime achievement award at this year's UK Festival Awards, it has been announced.

James Drury, Managing Director of the UK Festival Awards told CMU: "Under Geoff's leadership, T In The Park has grown into Scotland's largest and most successful festival winning numerous accolades, including two UK Festival Awards for Best Major Festival".

He continued: "Not only do artists such as Brandon Flowers of The Killers and Caleb Followill of Kings Of Leon say it is their favourite festival, but Geoff also takes great care to heed the requests of that other vital element - the fans - whose enjoyment and safety is at the forefront of his thinking, which is why T In The Park is such an innovator. It is Geoff's charismatic leadership, dogged attention to detail and inspirational good humour which makes him such a worthy recipient of the UK Festival Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award".

As previously reported, the UK Festival Awards will take place at IndigO2 in London this Thursday, following the Festival Conference, which also takes place under the O2 Dome the same day. Tickets for the individual events are still available.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

BY:LARM LAUNCH NORDIC MUSIC PRIZE
Organisers of by:Larm, the Oslo-based festival and music business conference that celebrates all things Nordic music, have announced they will launch a new award at next year's event. The Nordic Music Prize will celebrate new music from across the Nordic region, ie Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

A shortlist of twelve new albums will be put to a panel of music journalists and industry types like Domino Record's Laurence Bell, Rough Trade's Jeannette Lee and Columbia Records' Mike Pickering, who will pick an overall winner, who will then be honoured at the by:Larm conference, which takes place from 17-19 Feb.

More at www.bylarm.no

back to top

BLUR TO REUNITE YET AGAIN IN 2011
Blur will reunite again in 2011, Damon Albarn has confirmed. Though it might just be for a cup of tea, he wasn't really that specific about the details.

Albarn told BBC 6music: "Well, we met up yesterday and had a really nice chat. I think we'll probably do something, well we did talk about doing something, maybe, in January... Something small, no career-based world-domination ideas".

back to top

MARTIN GRECH ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN
Martin Grech has launched himself back into the world with a new compilation of demos and talk of a fourth studio album.

Announcing the demo compilation, entitled 'Meta' and available to buy as MP3s from Grech's Facebook page, the musician said: "'Meta' is a small collection of demos in various states of completion and production quality spanning a period of about three to four years. Including original and remade demos from the [now aborted] Meatsuit [side] project, and early attempts at a fourth official record".

As for a proper studio album, Grech continued: "'The Watcher' is what I would call the fourth official record, and if I can convince myself to stop tampering with it, it is basically done ... As for when it is going to come out, I am unsure. I am confident that it will come out, though, which is a lot more than I would have said at one point. Overall, 'The Watcher' represents the movement from the state of intentional self destruction, to a more conscious intention toward inner, and therefore outer, peace".

Grech's facebook page is here: www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Grech-official/

back to top

WILL.I.AM STILL NOT HAPPY ABOUT JACKO ALBUM
Look at that, we spent so much time last week arguing over whether or not Michael Jackson actually sings on his new album, 'Michael', we all completely forgot that the whole thing is highly disrespectful to the late king of pop. Luckily, Will.i.am is here to remind us.

The Black Eyed Pea, who worked with Jackson on unreleased tracks in 2006, reiterated previous comments over the weekend, telling Entertainment Weekly that he was isn't impressed with new single, 'Breaking News': "Whoever put it out and is profiting off of it, I want to see how cold they are. Michael Jackson songs are finished when Michael says they're finished. Maybe if I never worked with him I wouldn't have this perspective. [But] he was very particular about how he wanted his vocals, the reverb he used ... He was that hands-on".

Needless to say, none of Will.i.am's tracks are due to appear on the album, which features contributions from 50 Cent, Akon, Mark Ronson and other cold souls. 'Michael' is due for release on 14 Dec.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

HOLY ROAR ANNOUNCE FOURTH CHRISTMAS COMPILATION
Hardcore label Holy Roar has announced its fourth 'Happy Holy Roar' cassette tape compilation for Christmas. As ever, it will feature exclusive contributions from a variety of underground acts, including live recordings, covers and a complete new EP from one Holy Roar-signed band.

This year the cassettes will be available in fifteen different colours, and buyers will also get the compilation as a download. The full tracklisting will be announced on 13 Dec, though orders will close the day before.

Full details here: holyroarrecords.com/album.php?id=685&shop=1

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

GO! TEAM ARE BACK
Go! Team are back - hurrah, party time. The Brighton-based sextet will return with album number three, 'Rolling Blackouts' next February, it has been confirmed. If you want a sample of it, a new track called 'TORNADO' was plonked on Soundcloud last month.

soundcloud.com/memphisindustries/the-go-team-t-o-r-n-a-d-o

back to top

JUSTIN BIEBER ANNOUNCES UK TOUR
Are you screaming? You probably should be. I'm screaming. That's what you do when one of the world's biggest popstars announces a tour, isn't it? Probably better stop now, people are looking at me strangely.

Anyway, yes, Justin Bieber has announced that he will tour the UK next March. He's been announcing the dates one by one on Twitter, and hasn't quite got around to posting them all yet, which is annoying. He promises to have them all out there by the end of the week, when tickets go on sale. Then we can all get ready to run screaming to HMV to buy his new album, 'My Worlds - The Collection', next week.

If you do go to any of the shows, whatever you do, don't do this: youtu.be/0e50vqY7Szo

Here are the dates so far:

4 Mar: Birmingham, NIA
5 Mar: Birmingham, NIA
14 Mar: London, O2 Arena
16 Mar: London, O2 Arena

back to top

SINGLE REVIEW: Florence And The Machine - Heavy In Your Arms (Universal/Island)
If, like me, you've exhausted all of Florence And The Machine's existing material and have been waiting anxiously for a new song to crank up loud and sing along to at the top of your voice in the comfort of your own home (with or without hairbrush), then fear not fellow Florence sycophant, here it is. Included on this year's 'Twilight' movie soundtrack, 'Heavy In Your Arms' is the latest single from the Machine and a bonus track on the new 'Lungs' special edition release.

Produced by Paul Epworth, it's exactly what I want and need from a Flo song; a dreamy chantyness running throughout that's crushed by Florence's stern vocals and a prominent drum beat, especially so on the chorus. The loud, almost shouty, vocals towards the end bare an emotive tone, utilising the full power of Florence's voice and adding a darkness that makes this song perfect for the 'Twilight' theme.

All that said, 'Heavy In Your Arms' is almost a mix of 'Cosmic Love' and 'Rabbit Heart', or maybe 'Between Two Lungs' and 'Drumming Song'. That is to say, that while this is a welcome new Florence track, it does feel like an add on to 'Lungs' rather than a glimpse into the Machine's next chapter, ie it's much the same as what went before. So, while excited that I have something new to sing along to, 'Heavy In Your Arms' still leaves me wanting something even newer, a different kind of Flo. GS

Digital release: 15 Nov
Press contact: Darling Dept

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

back to top

URIE CALLS ON US PRO-COPYRIGHTERS TO WRITE TO CONGRESS REPS
Universal US exec Jim Urie has sent out an email in his guise as the main Music Rights Now man urging American artists, songwriters and music business types to email their political representatives in support of a bit of new legislation being proposed by a group of senators which would give the US Justice Department new powers to shut down copyright infringing websites.

As previously reported, the Music Rights Now campaign has been lobbying US legislators for new laws to make it easier to battle piracy online arguing that - while the content industries should work with the ISPs to try and find mutually acceptable ways to stop individuals illegally file-sharing - at the same time new laws are required, partly to put pressure on reluctant net firms to act, and partly to speed up the process for getting websites that actively infringe copyrights, or enable others to infringe, offline.

The new laws being proposed by a bipartisan group of senators would obligate the Justice Department to investigate infringing websites. Where it believed a website was involved in or enabled unreasonable levels of infringement, it could get an injunction from the Supreme Court to seize the infringing site's domain name. It could also force ISPs, credit card companies and advertisers to stop doing business with said websites.

CNET have dubbed the proposals "one of the most ambitious attempts yet from the US government to fight online piracy" adding "if the bill passes, it could mark the most significant antipiracy victory for the film and music industries in quite a while".

Calling on his mailing list to email their local representatives in Congress urging them to support the proposals, Urie concludes: "Each and every one of us needs to act NOW if we expect the legislation to gain momentum. Our community has never matched the noise created by those on the 'copyleft' - we need to be louder than ever to drown out those who don't care about our art, our jobs and the difference between right and wrong".

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

UNIVERSAL'S GOOD QUARTER MAKES YEAR MORE OR LESS FLAT
Quarterly financials for the Universal Music Group have just been released, with revenues up 6% and profits before taxes and such what up 47%, which is rather fine.

It's all helped Universal's figures for the year so far look a little bit healthier, albeit still down slightly. For the first three quarters of the year revenues are down 1.7% to 2.9 billion euros while earnings are down 9.3% to 244 million euros.

Universal parent company Vivendi saw its earnings rise by 10%, aided in particular by a strong quarter for its gaming company Activision Blizzard.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

IMAGEM LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE FOR SYNCHERS
Independent publisher Imagem yesterday launched a new website aimed at media, entertainment, corporate, advertising and educational organisations looking to license music sitting in their various catalogues. The aim is to make it easier for potential licensees to browse the songs and compositions that Imagem owns, including those it acquired when it bought The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation last year.

Imagem's VP of Synchs and Creative Services, Natasha Baldwin, told CMU: ''The Imagem Creative Services department are here to offer a flexible, responsive and helpful synchronisation service, ranging from free track searches to total musical supervision. This new digital platform will be a great way to communicate with our clients, and more importantly, for potential clients to communicate with us".

back to top

ELTON JOHN TO GUEST EDIT THE INDY
The Independent has announced that Elton John will guest edit the paper on 1 Dec. Hmm, I wonder if they can get European funding for that.

The 1 Dec is, of course, World AIDS Day, and John's edition of the paper will raise awareness of that fact. He will also edit the recent Indy spin off, I. All circulation revenue from both papers that day will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Confirming his plan to be editor for the day, John told reporters: "I'm really looking forward to spending a day in the editor's chair and I'm pleased to get the chance to put the subject of AIDS at the top of the editorial agenda".

Indy Editor In Chief Simon Kelner added: "Elton has been planning this issue for some time and he has quite a few surprises in store. From football to music to politics and, of course, on the subject of AIDS, Elton has much to say".

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

FELTZ BEING LINED UP FOR KENNEDY'S OLD RADIO 2 SLOT
Vanessa Feltz is reportedly favourite to take over from Sarah Kennedy on the Radio 2 early breakfast show, which I'm not sure will go down well with the slot's regular listeners. As previously reported, Kennedy announced she was leaving Radio 2 after seventeen years in September.

The Guardian says the station's controller Bob Shennan has been busy trying to steal Feltz from the BBC London radio station to take over the pre-Chris Evans slot. Although her presenting career has had its ups and downs, Feltz has gained some acclaim for her BBC London show.

But I'm not sure that will placate the surprisingly dedicated Kennedy fan base, many of whom are still convinced their favourite presenter was pushed out of her Radio 2 role, despite denials from all parties that this was the case.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

ALL NEW CAPITAL PROGRAMMING TEAM ANNOUNCED
Global Radio has announced that Brent Tobin and Alex Jungius - who both previously worked within their soon to be defunct Galaxy division - will oversee the programming on the all new Capital FM network that will launch in January when various Global-owned regional FM stations around the country rebrand under the Capital banner. They will work alongside James Brownlow, also ex-Galaxy, who will continue to head up programming at the main Capital FM station in London.

Each of the new Capital stations (or thereabouts) will also have a local Programme Controller too, with Simon Monk looking after South Coast, Neil Greenslade South Wales, Paul Gerrard Birmingham, Dick Stone East Midlands, Ben Newby Manchester, and Stuart Barrie Scotland and the North East. Tobin and Jungius will undertake this day-to-day job on the Capital network's Yorkshire outpost as well as having a network-wide role.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

WISE BUDDAH APPOINTS TWO NEW MDS
Independent radio producers and presenter talent agency Wise Buddah has announced the promotion of its Head Of Talent Chris North and Head Of Studios & Technology Dave Holt. Both will now be co-MDs of the company.

The promotions come as the firm's founder, DJ Mark Goodier, takes a step back from the day-to-day running of the company. Moving forward he'll take a less hands-on Chairman role.

Confirming the exec rejig, Goodier told reporters: "Chris and Dave are both so committed to the future of Wise Buddah and I have every confidence that under their day-to-day leadership the company will continue to build on its success. This provides me with the perfect opportunity to take a broader role and focus my attention on developing new opportunities for the business".

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

ABSOLUTE RADIO ADD 'RADIO' TO LOGO
Absolute Radio has tweaked its logo slightly, in that they have added the word 'radio' to it. Previously, although the company's main station is called Absolute Radio, its corporate identity just used the Absolute word. Some are speculating the change is part of the company's legal settlement with vodka brand Absolut, which, as previously reported, sued when the national rock station's new owners rebranded what had been Virgin Radio in 2008.

However, writing about the new logo on the company's blog late last week, Marketing Director Clare Baker makes no mention of any such legal requirement. Rather, she says: "Our world is becoming increasingly social and mobile and this update reflects the changing times. The Absolute Radio brand lives across multiple platforms, some of which didn't exist just two years ago - our brand is constantly growing and evolving with new technologies and this brand update reflects this". Yeah, whatever you say, Clare.

back to top

NERD MAN MARRIES
NERD member Shay Haley has married his girlfriend, Jackie Mofett. According to TMZ, fellow NERDer Pharrell Williams was best man at the Miami wedding ceremony last weekend, while Chris Brown sang a song.

Mofett was previously girlfriend of Sean Taylor, an American Footballer who was murdered by burglars who shot him when he disturbed them at his Miami home in 2007.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

ONE DEFTONES SINGER BETTER THAN TWO EMO SINGERS: FACT
Deftones frontman Chino Moreno is good at singing. Anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong. But he's also good at screaming very loud, too. And these days, says Moreno, people who can do both properly are few and far between. Amongst emo bands, anyway, which I guess is the evolution of the nu metal scene that Deftones were always lumped in with back in the 90s.

This is what Chino says: "I was pointing out to my son the other day when he was showing me these bands: A lot of them have two singers; one guy who's the guy who's screaming his head off or doing the 'Cookie Monster' growling vocals or whatever, then they've got the guy who sings the pretty stuff. And I was pointing out to my son that, you know, it's cool that you like all these bands and stuff but, you know, your dad can do both of these jobs in one!"

I've never met his son, but I'm assuming that he doesn't think Chino is as cool as I do.

back to top