CITIGROUP'S EMI GRAB POSSIBLY TOOK TERRA FIRMA BY SURPRISE
There is a chance that the first Terra Firma and its top man Guy Hands knew about Tuesday's big announcement that Citigroup had taken ownership of EMI was when said announcement was posted on the newswires. According to the FT, the move by the US bank came weeks and possibly months earlier than Terra Firma had expected.

Of course, we were all pretty certain that Terra Firma's backers would not provide EMI with the cash it needed to meet the covenants of its loan with Citi, causing the bank to take ownership this spring. But when The Observer claimed early last month that that could happen within weeks, a Terra Firma source - speaking off the record as usual - told Music Week such talk was "a nonsense" and that "nothing will happen regarding the equity group's ownership of EMI until March at the earliest".

So, how could Citigroup make its grab for EMI without consulting Terra Firma? Well, according to Billboard, because the specific holding company to which the multi-billion pound debt was directly linked - Maltby Investments Ltd - only had two directors, EMI CEO Roger Faxon and EMI CFO (and former Terra Firma exec) Ruth Prior.

While one of the other Maltby holding companies has five Terra Firma twonks on its board, that didn't matter because once Maltby Investments was put into administration, and PricewaterhouseCoopers had been appointed administrator, the unstoppable process had begun which allowed Citi to take ownership of EMI.

Billboard says Citigroup asked Faxon and Prior, as directors of Maltby Investments, if there was a "balance sheet insolvency/technical default" with the company. They had to conclude there was, and so the administration could begin. With the clear benefits to EMI of Terra Firma being cut out of the equation, neither Faxon nor Prior were likely to put up any fight to stop the administrators doing their job.

Of course, Terra Firma knew that, aside from handing over £100 million to EMI, Citigroup taking ownership was inevitable, and there was nothing it could do to stop it. Still, it would have been nice to be kept in the loop as to what was going on, which, if these reports are to be believed, was very much not the case. All Terra Firma has said this week about losing control of a company into which it pumped £1.75 billion is one sentence issued by its retained financial PR agency Finsbury, which went like this: "Terra Firma is pleased that EMI's debt burden has been reduced". Less pleased with everything else, presumably.

Elsewhere in EMI news, the FT cites sources as confirming that Citigroup is not in a mad panic rush to sell the music major, and any sale could take up to a year to complete. Meanwhile Music Week quotes Tim Clark, co-manager of one of the music firm's biggest acts, Robbie Williams, as saying he thinks this week's move by Citigroup was good news for EMI, and that their current label partners will be very much on the meetings list as they negotiate a new record deal for the Robster.

Clark: "We are not discounting a new deal with EMI and we will be looking at them in the same way we will every other record company. EMI is in a fantastic position right now. All of the debt has now disappeared, they are making a profit and there is now a real hope for the company".

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FESTIVAL BOSS JAILED FOR CHARGING DEBTS TO TESCO
The founder of the Standon Calling festival, Alexander Trenchard, was jailed for two and a half years yesterday after he was found guilty of theft and fraud by false representation, having run up debts of almost £200,000 in relation to the running of the festival on the company credit card provided to him by his employer, Tesco.

Trenchard, the eldest son of Viscount Trenchard, began the festival in the grounds of his family's sixteen century home in 2001, initially as a small party for friends. It has since grown to a 5000 capacity festival open to the public, though the event has always remained a not-for-profit venture, and donated some of its revenues to charity.

The court heard that Trenchard had begun using his company credit card, provided to him in his role as Corporate Affairs Manager at Tesco, to provide some cash flow for the festival in 2007, having already pumped his £70,000 salary into the project. But the festival that year made a loss, making it impossible to pay the unofficial loan back.

Further losses two years later added to the amount of money Trenchard had taken, while he also employed a fraud technique known as "cut and paste" to temporarily raise the credit limit on the card. By the time the fraud was uncovered by a company audit last year, the Standon man had spent £196,000 of Tesco's money on the festival, a figure which grew to £355,000 when related fees were added.

The court heard that, when interviewed by Tesco security staff in May last year, Trenchard immediately made a full confession, and it was discovered he had already been composing an email admitting to his misdeeds. He was subsequently arrested by Hertfordshire Police, with whom he co-operated fully.

Trenchard's lawyer, Patrick Gibbs, admitted that his client's actions had been a "serious breach of trust", but added that the two words that summed up the defendant were: "kind and obsessed". He said: "Standon Calling is a festival which has always been run by this defendant. He became completely obsessed with it. He has let down his family, his wife and two children, [and is] thoroughly ashamed".

The court also heard that Trenchard's parents have repaid Tesco all the debts run up by their son, but that he was expected to pay them back once out of prison. Ruling that Trenchard should spend 30 months in prison, the judge said: "I accept this became an obsession, rather like gambling, but the fact is it went on for a significant amount of time".

Despite all this, organisers of Standon Calling have announced that this year's festival will still go ahead on 11-14 Aug, with the first line-up announcement due later this month.

Festival Director Graham MacVoy said in a statement: "I know that Alex very much regrets his actions and feels great remorse for the distress he has caused, but the festival is about more than just one person. Standon Calling 2010 was a resounding success and we are building on that".

More information at www.standon-calling.com

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EX-PARAMORE GUITARIST ANNOUNCES NEW BAND
Having left Paramore last December, making accusations about his former band being manufactured and blasphemous as he went, guitarist Josh Farro has announced that he has formed a new musical outfit, Novel American.

Speaking to MTV, he said: "We want to be a breath of fresh air to the music scene. We all love Jimmy Eat World, so it's hard not to sound like them, but there's a little of everything in there. We're huge fans of Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Explosions In The Sky".

Having turned his departure from Paramore into a huge drama, Farro said of the split: "I think we just disagree on a lot of things. I don't think it's wrong to disagree with someone ... I just wish them the best in the future, I really don't want to make this a huge drama".

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FREEBASS STILL ON, MAYBE
Peter Hook has said that Freebass, the short lived bassist supergroup he formed with Primal Scream and former Stone Roses bassist Mani, may still work together again in the future. Something that may come as a surprise to anyone who remembers Mani's rant about Hook last year.

If you need reminding, a month after former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke announced his departure from the group in August, saying that Freebass was "entirely unviable as a band", Mani went one step further and accused Hook of having a "wallet stuffed with [Joy Division frontman] Ian Curtis's blood money". Although Mani later apologised, it did seem that Freebass was over.

But Hook now says that the venture would have gone on hold anyway because of his and Mani's other commitments, and that last year's falling out doesn't necessarily mean the project will never resume. Speaking to Spinner, he said: "I'd have to say I don't know at the moment. Both Mani and I knew we had big projects coming up. We were both aware what we were doing with Freebass took second place. We'd already committed ourselves to that, regardless of the fact Mani and I fell out for that short period. The truth is, it would have gone on the back burner anyway".

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METALLICA TO RETURN TO THE STUDIO
Metallica may return to the studio to record their next album, the follow-up to 2008's 'Death Magnetic', next month, drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed. Last September, frontman James Hetfield announced that they were working on new material.

According to Blabbermouth, Ulrich told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet: "There's a really good vibe in the band at the moment. In the past, we would be fed up with Metallica whenever we returned home after a gigantic world tour, but this time it's different. Therefore it won't be that long before we start working on a new album. I think that we'll probably already get the creative process going in March or April and go into the studio. We really want to get back to Metallica quickly because we are enjoying it so much right now".

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LADYHAWKE STRESSED ABOUT NEW ALBUM
Ladyhawke has said that she's stressed about how her second album, the follow-up to 2008's eponymous debut, will be received by fans.

She told Stuff: "It's been really weighing me down. It's that second album thing, people always talk about it and it's true. It is really stressful and I just keep thinking people are going to want to hear a 'Paris Is Burning' or 'My Delirium' but I'm not going to have those songs, it's going to be a completely different album and style".

Describing the sound of the new record, she said: "It's still pop, it's just a bit darker and a bit rockier. I guess I'm just playing a lot more guitar and having a lot more fun in the guitar-sense. I'm making an album that's making me really excited but you never can tell if it's going to make other people excited too".

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JESSIE J ALBUM RELEASE BROUGHT FORWARD
The release of Jessie J's debut album, 'Who You Are', has been brought forward four whole weeks from 28 Mar to 28 Feb, which is nice. As previously reported, her new single, 'Price Tag', is already on course for the number one spot this Sunday.

The singer tweeted yesterday: "So, due to my amazing Heartbeats showing so much love and support, myself, Island Records UK, and Republic Records have decided that you deserve the album EARLY. The new date for 'Who You Are', my debut album, has been brought forward to 28 Feb. That's four weeks early".

I should probably have explained that she calls her fans 'Heartbeats'. Well, I have now.

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METRONOMY TO RELEASE THIRD ALBUM
Metronomy will release their third album, 'The English Riviera', on 11 Apr via Because Music, preceded by a single, 'The Look', on 4 Apr. They will also tour in April, so it's going to be a busy month.

Since the release of 2008's 'Nights Out', the band has officially expanded to a four piece, with bassist Gbenga Adelekan and drummer Anna Prior joining keyboard player Oscar Cash and founder member Joseph Mount.

The album's tracklist is as follows:

The English Riviera
We Broke Free
Everything Goes My Way
The Look
She Wants
Trouble
The Bay
Loving Arm
Corinne
Some Written
Love Underlined

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TUNE-YARDS ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM
The prize for the most creative use of the shift key goes to Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-yArDs, who, having released debut 'Bird Brains' in 2009, now returns with sophomore offering 'w h o k i l l'. The album, released on 4AD on 18 Apr, marks a move away from the deeply DIY production of the first LP, which, some argued, tended to stifle Garbus' singing talents under a layer of lo-fi fuzz.

Despite the mixed critical response to 'BiRd-BrAiNs', Garbus demonstrated in live performances the breadth of her vocal and musical range. Though, that said, she says of the follow-up LP "I had no interest in making a live album. But, at the same time, I wanted to record it better than I had been able to record the last album. So I went into a real studio with a real engineer and real microphones".

Watch an in-studio session which includes 'w h o k i l l' track 'Powa' here: 4ad.com/sessions/001

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ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI ANNOUNCE LONDON SHOW
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti have announced a one-off show in London this May, which will be the band's biggest UK gig to date. The show will take place as the band are en route to the Animal Collective curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival, and will itself be promoted by ATP.

The band will play Koko on 13 May. Tickets are available here:
www.atpfestival.com/events/arielpinkkoko/tickets.php

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

END OF THE ROAD, Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset, 2-4 Sep: Twice Mercury-nominated songstress Laura Marling leads the latest group of acts announced to appear at this Dorset festival. Also joining in with the folksy merriment will be Kurt Vile & The Violators, The Black Angels, Daniel Martin Moore, Darren Hanlon, The Leisure Society, Megafaun and Lia Ices. Among the acts previously confirmed to play are Beirut, Midlake Wild Beasts, The Fall, and Gruff Rhys. www.endoftheroadfestival.com

FRIENDS OF MINE, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, 21-22 May: The inaugural edition of this two day bash will play host to the very venerable trio of Twisted Wheel, The Farm and The Lightning Seeds, the latter of whom will be co-headlining with Buzzcocks and The Charlatans. Other acts fresh on the bill include Mr Scruff, Toro Y Moi, The Longcut, The Answering Machine and that busiest of festival bands, The Whip. They join a motley gang of already confirmed acts including Black Lips, The Wedding Present, Flats, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly and Dutch Uncles. Amongst those DJing at the "country house Party" will be mop-haired Manc hero Tim Burgess, and Wales' most famous drug trafficker, Howard Marks. www.fomfest.com

LARMER TREE FESTIVAL, Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset, 13-17 Jul: The second festival taking place at Larmer Tree Gardens in today's line-up update, though this one more obviously so. Among the first acts announced for this year's event are Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra with Sandie Shaw, Bellowhead, The Penny Black Remedy, The Dodge Brothers, and Polly And The Billets Doux. BBC film critic Mark Kermode will also be hosting a film strand, too. www.larmertreefestival.co.uk

NOVA ROCK, Nickelsdorf, Austria, 11-13 Jun: Alt-dnb Aussies Pendulum are newly added to the Nova Rock line-up, along with groove-metallers Cavalera Conspiracy, and Duff McKagan's Loaded. Already confirmed to headline is the heavyweight quartet of Iron Maiden, System Of A Down, Linkin Park and, err... Volbeat. www.novarock.at

ROCK WERCHTER, Rotselaar, Belgium, 30 Jun - 3 Jul: This year Belgium's biggest rock festival will play host to White Lies, Kaiser Chiefs, The National, Social Distortion and All Time Low, organisers have just confirmed. They reinforce an already hefty line-up that includes Coldplay, Kings Of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Iron Maiden, The Chemical Brothers, Portishead, Robyn, Elbow, P J Harvey, The Gaslight Anthem and Two Door Cinema Club. Oof, that's hefty. www.rockwerchter.be/en/home/

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ALBUM REVIEW: Blancmange - Blanc Burn (Proper Records)
It's safe to say that the world was probably not expecting a new Blancmange album, let alone clamouring for it in huge droves, but with the likes of La Roux shamelessly plagiarising their sound, it was perhaps inevitable the duo would return, 'Blanc Burn' being their first album in 23 years.

Unlike many of their early 80s new pop peers, Blancmange sensibly split up in 1984, thus relieving the world of a series of confused/mediocre post-Live Aid albums, but history still has not afforded them perhaps the recognition they deserve. (Bizarrely, Channel 4 completely omitted the duo from their Top Ten Electropop show some years back, instead affording air time to the likes of Bronski Beat).

With its blend of analogue synths and Indian percussion, 'Blanc Burn' is business as usual for the duo, Stephen Luscombe creating rich electronic tapestries over which singer Neil Arthur can weave his tales of everyday life and occasional oddness. There's no shortage of melodic nous, and although 'The Western' is a slightly shameless retread of their biggest hit 'Living On The Ceiling', it's still glorious fun nonetheless and the most memorable thing here. Some dubious lyrics aside, this is a solid comeback album, and certainly much better than it has any right to be. MS

Physical release: 7 Mar

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SONY PROFITS DOWN
Sony Corp saw its operating income slip 5.9% year on year during the last quarter of 2010. Although sales were down in many Sony divisions and that played its part, much of the fall in profit can actually be accounted for in currency fluctuations between the dollar and the yen.

Revenues at Sony Pictures and TV sales for the Sony electronics business were both down, while the gaming side of the company had yet another good quarter. Sony Music was also one of the declining revenue units, with sales down 14.5 percent to despite good performing releases from Michael Jackson, Susan Boyle, Bruce Springsteen and the 'Glee' franchise.

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[PIAS] APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR FOR SERVICES BUSINESS
[PIAS] has appointed music marketer Clare Britt to the role of Director of its Global Project Management division, which was launched last year, bringing together the music company's label and marketing services businesses.

Britt has work in marketing roles at various music companies over the years, including Rough Trade and Universal's Island Records, and more recently has been working via her own consultancy directly with artists like Faithless, McFly and Charlotte Church. As well as heading up the [PIAS] division, Britt and her business partner Pru Harris will continue to run their management and brand consultancy, which will now be based at [PIAS] HQ.

Confirming the appointment, [PIAS] MD of Repertoire Edwin Schroter told CMU: "We're delighted to have Clare on board with us. Her vast experience in marketing and project management, combined with her strategic and out-of-the-box thinking will help us develop the Global Project Management service into a unique and unrivalled offering for artists and labels".

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HMV SHAREHOLDER ASKS BANKERS TO REVIEW FIRM'S OPTIONS
Alexander Mamut, the business man who has been buying up shares in HMV of late, has reportedly hired consultants from investment bank Credit Suisse to advise him on options for the retail and entertainment group, which issued a profit warning earlier this year after disappointing pre-Christmas sales. Some commentators reckon the bankers will recommend selling off part of the HMV business, most likely the Waterstones chain, to raise cash.

Of course, the immediate future of HMV is not in Mamut's control - he only owns 6% of the company. However, he's an increasingly influential shareholder, and it is thought the results of the Credit Suisse review will impact on to what extent he throws his support behind the current management team at the firm, led by CEO Simon Fox.

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COULD DERMOT HOST X-FACTOR USA?
Dermot O'Leary is on a shortlist of seven to front the American version of 'X-Factor' it has been reported. According to the Mirror, the current host of the UK version of the Simon Cowell owned talent show is the only Brit in consideration, despite past gossip Channel 4 presenter Steve Jones was a contender.

Presumably if Dermot got the 'X-Factor USA' gig the UK version would need a new host. ITV wouldn't be happy with that, given they are already facing the prospect of the next series launching minus two of its key judges - Cowell and possibly Cheryl Cole.

Americans apparently on the list include one time 'Saved By The Bell' star Mario Lopez, now a presenter on US entertainment show 'Extra', E! channel reporter Jason Kennedy, and the wild card rumoured contender, actor Zac Efron.

Last weekend O'Leary was asked about the chances of him fronting the US version of the show, and in doing so launching a new career in American telly, to which he said: "I've sat down with Simon. I've made pitch, but to be honest there's not a lot more I can do. It's all a bit odd. I didn't do any screen tests, which would be normal, because I'm already doing the job here, and they can see exactly what they'll be getting. I get the fact that they might want an American doing it. I'd be miffed if an American came over here and took a presenting job I thought I could do".

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BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD RETURN CONFIRMED
MTV has confirmed those rumours that 'Beavis & Butt-Head' is returning to the music network. The cast of the youth broadcaster's latest high profile new show - a US version of 'Skins' - announced the return of the animated metal fans to MTV in New York earlier this week. Rumours that Mike Judge was planning a new series of 'Beavis & Butt-Head', basically applying the same format as before but with the latest music videos, began to circulate last summer.

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ELEVEN YEAR OLDS ARE THE BANE OF TOURING, SAYS MY CHEMICAL MAN
Um, okay, that headline's maybe a little bit misleading. But only a little bit. My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero has said that it's annoying when fans complain that the band's tour dates don't come to their home town. Eleven year olds in particular.

Speaking to AOL Music, Iero said: "It's so hard these days, the touring industry is rough. If you don't go to every single town then you have eleven year old over privileged brats tweeting, 'You didn't come to my city and now I fucking hate you!' There's not enough hours in a day and there's not enough days in the year and you can't do it for everybody. And that's a shame, because you want to be able to. We love to play but at a certain point you have to do things for yourself".

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BIEBER WANTS HIS CAREER TO MIRROR JACKSON'S
Justin Bieber's quite young, it's possible he's not completely au fait with the career of Michael Jackson and its intricacies. Presumably when he told Love magazine that he'd like a career similar to Jacko's, he didn't mean that he'd like to be driven insane by an overbearing father and relentless media hounding, be accused of child abuse and have plastic surgeons destroy his face, and then be brought to a close by an overdose of surgical drugs. He probably just fancies selling a lot of records and recording a song with Janet Jackson.

Anyway, Bieber said: "There can only ever be one Michael Jackson - he kept things appropriate. He kept them right. His songs weren't crazy and never went out of his lane. Anyone would be lucky to have a career like Michael's - that's the kind of the level I want to go down. You don't want to grow up too quick. A lot of people make that mistake".

Yep, if there's one thing you can say about Michael Jackson, it's that he never made any mistakes.

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FRED DURST SET TO BECOME RUBBISH DUMP NAMESAKE
Well, this is a nice final news story of the week, a rubbish dump in Austin, Texas is currently holding a public vote to find a new name. Currently known as the Solid Waste Services Department, in the lead to become its new name, with 11,000 votes, is the Fred Durst Society Of The Humanities And Arts.

There's nothing I can say to make that funnier. So I won't even try. Voting is open until 10 Feb at austin.uservoice.com, and the new name will be announced in April.

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