NOKIA PHONES NO LONGER COME WITH MUSIC
So, Nokia's terrible Comes With Music service - or Ovi Music Unlimited as it became last summer - is no more. Turns out the public weren't that interested in an unlimited supply of downloads that they could keep for the rest of eternity, or until they decided to buy a new phone, whichever came first. Who'd have thought it?

The phone firm announced yesterday that its main music offer will shut in 27 of the 33 territories where it operates, including here in the UK. Variations of the unlimited download offer will remain in China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa, while the more conventional Ovi-branded pay-per-track download store will continue to operate elsewhere.

There was a lot of hype around Nokia's big music venture when it first launched in 2008 complete with a big marketing splash. Although, strangely, Comes With Music was accompanied by one of the mobile industry's more inept PR campaigns, perhaps the publicity men were just too aware of the new service's fundamental flaws.

Nokia had ambitions to be game changers when the company first announced its intent to launch an all-you-can-eat download service. With membership bundled in with the price of a Nokia handset, Comes With Music subscribers could download an unlimited number of music tracks for up to a year to play on their phone or PC.

The problem, however, was that the record companies only had a limited interest in the all-you-can-eat download concept, and insisted that Comes With Music tracks came with digital rights management embedded that meant music could only be played on the phone or PC it was first downloaded to. Once a device became redundant the music on it was lost.

It was a major constraint for Nokia's big music play. It didn't help that Comes With Music launched just as the a la carte download market went fully DRM-free - the mantra of the day was that if your music didn't come as MP3 (or, DRM-free AAC) then it wasn't worth jack. Of course, DRM hasn't gone away at all - digital rights management technology enables the Spotify and We7 offline mobile apps - but the restrictive technology there is subtle, whereas with Comes With Music the DRM was somehow right in your face.

Nokia was cagey about how many sign ups it was getting for Comes With Music from the word go, and within months of launch most in the music industry had pretty much written off both it and the concept of DRMed all-you-can-eat downloads in general.

And while everyone recognises a DRM-free all-you-can-eat platform - such as that once proposed by Virgin Media - would appeal to consumers, given that tracks downloaded would outlive any one device, most record companies remain nervous about licensing such a service (except in certain markets - Nokia did manage to persuade the majors to licence a DRM-free Comes With Music in China).

Yesterday Nokia admitted DRM killed its great musical adventure, noting, simply, "these markets [the 27 where Comes With Music is shuttered] clearly want a DRM-free music service".

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STEVE JOBS TAKES MORE MEDICAL LEAVE
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced that he is to take a further leave of absence from the company on medical grounds. Jobs last took time off from his CEO role during the first half of 2009, and it was later revealed that he had undergone a liver transplant.

COO Tim Cook will take over day-to-day control of the tech company during Jobs' absence, as he did on that previous occasion. As always, Apple's share price started wobbling as soon as Jobs' latest health concerns were raised, though the IT giant's City spinners are presumably busy pointing out that Cook's previous efforts at filling in for their CEO were a success, and that in reality the COO is responsible for much of the firm's day-to-day workings even when Jobs is on board full time.

In an email to staff, Jobs said: "At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company ... I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy".

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TRENT REZNOR WINS GOLDEN GLOBE
As you probably already know, but we feel the need to document it here in CMU's finest binary code, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for their soundtrack for 'The Social Network' on Sunday night, one of four awards collected by people involved with the film.

Accepting the trophy, Reznor said: "A year ago I had no idea I'd have the opportunity to score a film. The idea of standing up here to accept this award is surreal".

He added later on Twitter: "Holy shit!"

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BLUR STILL DOING SOMETHING
Following on from Damon Albarn's confirmation in November that Blur would be doing something in 2011, drummer Dave Rowntree has now confirmed that Blur will be doing something in 2011. No word yet from Graham Coxon or Alex James as to whether or not Blur will be doing something in 2011.

To be fair, Rowntree did give a little more information about what the something might be. Or, rather, what it won't be. Telling the NME that the band "were in touch" but that "nothing concrete" had been arranged, he added: "You can't really play the festivals or try and get a big tour together until you release something".

Which presumably means no big festival shows or tour in 2011. Well, unless the something is some hastily thrown together new material.

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DRUGSTORE SIGN TO ROCKET GIRL RECORDS
Drugstore frontwoman Isabel Monteiro has announced that the band have signed a new deal with indie label Rocket Girl to release their fourth album, 'Anatomy'. Last year Drugstore used fan-funding service Pledge Music to raise money to fund the recording of the new album. They are now making that record, having raised 345% of the money they sought from Pledge. Rocket Girl will help with marketing and distribution.

In a message to fans yesterday, Monteiro said: "I'm delighted to announce Drugstore have just signed a recording contract with cool indie label Rocket Girl ... When I started this process, about a year or so ago, I genuinely had no idea what surprises were lined ahead, and was just pleased to have rediscovered my own voice, and a great community of fans, still willing to listen to our bundled up homemade stories and songs".

Explaining why she decided to go the fan-funding route before signing to a new label, she continued: "I realised that, given the current climate, the changes in the music industry, our band's own history and the point we're at in our career - having disappeared for over seven years - that it was gonna take nothing short of a mini-miracle to get a label to commit to the project".

The album is being recorded on Platt's Eyot, an island in the Thames, and is scheduled for a spring release.

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KATE BUSH WORKING ON NEW MATERIAL
Kate Bush is likely to release new material in 2011, a spokesperson for the singer has confirmed to the NME. The last new music released by the singer was 'Lyra', a song for the soundtrack of 'The Golden Compass. Prior to that, she released her eighth studio album 'Aerial' in 2005.

Rumours that the singer was working on new music emerged last week on the WotYouGot blog.

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THE SHOES ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM
French electronic duo and remixers extraordinaire The Shoes have announced that they will release their debut album, 'Crack My Bones', on 7 Mar. It will feature collaborations with Gonzales, The Cocknbullkid, Esser, Primary One and Wave Machines and will be preceded by a single, 'Wastin Time', on 21 Feb by Southern Fried.

The pair will also be in the UK for a handful of gigs later this month. I saw them last week at Eurosonic and can confirm that you would be foolish not to go.

Tour dates:

25 Jan: London, Madam Jojo's
27 Jan: Brighton, Komedia
28 Jan: Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
4 Feb: London, Koko

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FREDDIE MERCURY BIOPIC UNDERWAY
The previously reported film about the life of Freddie Mercury starring Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead role is now at the writing stage, according to Queen guitarist Brian May.

Speaking to Queen's official website, May said of the project: "Peter Morgan has delivered a first draft of the movie, which everyone is very excited about, and Sacha Baron Cohen is chomping at the bit to get into the role in a way which certainly would delight Freddie! The whole team are now working on preparing for a shoot later this year, and a release in the late autumn of 2012".

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JOHNNY MARR PLANNING TO WRITE AUTOBIOGRAPHY AT SOME POINT
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has taken up an offer to write his autobiography, though he gave no timeline for the project.

He wrote on Twitter last week: "I have been offered a book deal, a serious one. I'd get into it and that would mean less time on songs. It will happen though. [It] will be an autobiography, of course. That or [something] about my collection of fascinating public bus tickets from the 80s. That would be cool".

Last January, Faber & Faber editor Lee Brackstone published an open letter to Morrissey pleading for him to write a book for the company. It's not clear if they are the publishers behind this book deal.

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KINGS OF LEON RESCHEDULE O2 GIG
Kings Of Leon have rescheduled that show at the O2 Arena that they were forced to cancel last month after a fire destroyed two of their tour busses outside the east London venue. The reschedule show will now take place on 20 Jun, putting it slap in the middle of their previously reported 2011 UK tour.

All tickets for the original event will remain valid.

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BLACK KEYS EXHAUSTED - CANCEL TOUR DATES
The Black Keys have announced they are cancelling a planned tour of Australia and New Zealand, and some European dates in March, because they are just exhausted after a very busy year.

A statement from the band said: "An arduous year of touring and promotion has drained the band and necessitated time off. Dan and Patrick wish to thank all of you who have shown such incredible support since the release of [2010 album] 'Brothers' and have helped make the album a success".

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MUSICMETRIC SAYS CLOSING THE RELEASE WINDOW WILL DELIVER - BUT NOW WHAT ABOUT INCONSISTENT RELEASE DATES WORLDWIDE?
London-based music analytics company Musicmetric yesterday predicted that those previously reported plans by the UK divisions of Universal Music and Sony Music to close the so called 'release window' will result in a fall in illegal file-sharing, though added that inconsistent release dates around the world also resulted in lost sales to piracy because of the impatient nature of young consumers.

As previously reported, the two major record companies yesterday gave way to pressure that has been mounting from various quarters in the music industry for some time to make new singles available for sale via download stores on the same day they are serviced to radio stations.

Although this messes with the traditional record company marketing approach, where by you build hype over a number of weeks to maximise first week sales and therefore chart position, it means that impatient young music fans will be able to buy new tracks as soon as they hear them on the radio. It's been suggested that one reason young music consumers steal new tracks from file-sharing networks is because when a new song first gets airplay it's not available to buy from any legit download stores. Closing the release window will overcome this issue and, the argument goes, might turn those illegal file-sharers into legit customers.

Musicmetric yesterday said that its regular tracking of BitTorrent file-sharing backed up this theory, meaning that Universal and Sony's decision to close the release window should deliver tangible results. However, the company added, music fans don't just experience new music via radio and TV stations in their own countries any more, and are also affected by contacts on social networks around the world.

This means that if a record is released in one territory earlier than another, file-sharing is likely to occur in the market with the later release date. This is a problem, of course, that affects all content industries, and arguably the gaming, TV and film sectors more so, where the staggering of releases around the world is generally more common and more severe.

Musicmetric's Chairman, Jeremy Silver, probably better known for his work with the Featured Artists Coalition, told CMU: "It is clear that as consumers have changed their behaviour dramatically over the last ten years, record companies need to change their release practices to match. Once consumers hear a song they want to add it to their collection. This means all content owners need to consider simultaneous global release dates in order not to lose sales".

In related news, if you were wondering if yesterday's announcement about simultaneous airplay and digital release dates applied to streaming services like Spotify and We7 as well as download stores like iTunes, well it seemingly does. Wired asked that very question of Universal, a spokesperson for which said "[the new policy] will be across the board - streaming and download".

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THREE SIX ZERO FORMS ALLIANCE WITH ROC NATION
London-based management company Three Six Zero has announced a worldwide partnership with Roc Nation, Jay-Z's joint venture with Live Nation. The deal will see the two music companies collaborating across the Atlantic on various projects across the music business spectrum, including live, recordings, sponsorship, TV and merchandising.

Confirming the partnership, a spokesman for Three Six Zero told CMU: "We are very excited to be in partnership with Roc Nation, we have the same ethos and values and intend this alliance to become something special".

A Roc Nation rep added: "We are very excited about our new business relationship with Mark, Dean, Andy and the entire Three Six Zero family. They have their finger on the pulse of the future of the music industry".

In other Roc Nation news, the US company has reportedly signed a deal with UK rapper K Koke via a partnership with another London-based music company, urban label Suspect Entertainment.

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EMI MAKES PUBLISHING APPOINTMENTS IN JAPAN
EMI's music publishing company yesterday announced some senior appointments in its Japanese division. First up Young Yo, who has headed up EMI's publishing business in Korea since 2004, will become MD of EMI Publishing Japan, while San-e Ichii, CEO of the EMI record company in the country, and Leo Corbett, worldwide COO of the EMI Group, will join the Japanese publishing unit's board.

Confirming the appointments, EMI top man Roger Faxon told CMU: "Japan is a hugely important music market, and it's vital that EMI Music Publishing has strong and dynamic leadership in the territory. Young has been a very successful music executive for more than fifteen years, and his understanding of the market will be critical to our continuing progress in the years ahead".

He added: "With Ichii-san and Leo Corbett also on the board, we have a very strong leadership team in place to provide Young and the business with the support that they need. Ichii-san has already done so much for our Japanese recorded music business, and I believe that new and existing songwriters will benefit greatly from his knowledge and expertise".

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BELIEVE MAKES APPOINTMENTS
European digital distributor Believe Digital yesterday made no less than four appointments. Count them with me.

One, Leigh Morgan, a DJ and producer who has also held executive roles at various music companies over the years, joins as a Label Manager in the UK. Two, Robert Hurst, currently head of Believe's talent incubation unit Zimbalam, is promoted to the job of UK Trade Marketing & Label Manager. Three, Will Headlam-Wells, who started working with Believe as an intern, gets a full time A&R role within Zimbalam. And four, former INgrooves exec Renee Reed has been appointed as Sales &New Business consultant at Believe Digital US.

And look, here's Believe Digital UK MD Stephen King saying something: "As our company continues to grow, attracting and retaining high calibre staff remains a high priority for us. Leigh, Robert, Will and Renee are enormously talented, creative professionals and all will add real value to our offering moving forward".

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WE7 GOES LIVE IN IRELAND
London-based streaming music service We7 went live in Ireland yesterday, the company's first expansion outside the UK. And if you don't believe me, look, I've just taken delivery of some words from We7 CEO Steve Purdham that will make you look very silly.

Here goes: "We're delighted to be making our international debut in Ireland today and are looking forward to a busy few months as we prepare for further expansion across Europe".

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MUSIC WEEK APPOINTS NEW CONTENT MAN, EXPAND INTO 'ANALYSIS SERVICES'
Music Week announced an executive shift yesterday that seemingly sees the music industry trade magazine stepping up its online operations, while also moving into the consultancy business. Hmm, an online music industry news service backed up by a consultancy offer, where've I heard that business model before? And you can fuck off if you just answered "well, Music Ally of course".

On the content side, Michael Gubbins, formerly of film industry magazine Screen International, comes on board as Director Of Content, with the remit of "overseeing and developing Music Week's editorial work on all media platforms and helping shape future brand strategy". Meanwhile current editor Paul Williams will become Head Of Business Analysis, overseeing editorial policy but also developing business analysis services for music companies.

Says Gubbins: "I am delighted to join one of the great industry titles at an exciting and challenging time for both publishing and music. The approach we are taking at Music Week is very much in tune with the way the best media brands are evolving, focusing on providing maximum value to readers on whatever platform they choose".

Says Williams: "These changes aim to enhance our relationship with the music industry. As part of that, my new role will look at new ways in which we can support our readers in their day-to-day work, providing detailed analysis of the business that is not currently available anywhere as well as coming up with new ways of making sense to the industry of the key issues of the day".

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KASABIAN FRONTMAN LINED UP FOR WRESTLING SITCOM
I'm trying to think of the number of times Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan has made me laugh. I'm pretty sure it's none. Intentionally, at least. And I've also never seen him act. Therefore, yes, he does seem like the perfect candidate to take a role in a new sitcom about British wrestling types from the 80s, such as Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy, called 'Walk Like A Panther', which The Sun says is the case. Chef Marco Pierre White is apparently also on board for a cameo.

A source told The Sun: "For anyone who sat with their family on a Saturday and watched the old grannies attacking the wrestlers, this series is going to tickle you. The cast has been assembled thanks to that nostalgia and the love of gritty northern humour".

I'm not quite sure where The Sun saw "Tom Meighan and Marco Pierre White are in it" in that quote, but the tabloid seems pretty sure it's happening. Presumably Meighan is covering 'gritty', while White will be northern. Can't wait.

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