HMV CONSIDERING SALE OF WATERSTONES AND CANADIAN ARM
HMV Group last week said it was "exploring strategic options" with regards both Waterstones and HMV Canada, which basically means it is looking into selling off the two divisions in order to raise some quick cash to combat those much previously reported debt problems.

HMV bosses were in meetings with their bankers last week amid expectations the entertainment retailer will breach covenant terms on its approximately £130 million of debts next month. Although the retail firm says it is still on good terms with its money lenders, it is thought the banks are looking for some assets to be sold off to reduce overall debt obligations, given the disappointing performance of the HMV chain in the UK of late.

Waterstones has always been the obvious contender should HMV Group need to sell an asset to raise some quick cash, especially given reports that Russian business man Alexander Mamut is keen to buy, possibly in partnership with the bookseller's original founder Tim Waterstone.

However, that a sale of HMV Canada is also being considered suggests the retail firm needs more than the £75 million the Waterstones sale is expected to raise. The Independent also reported this weekend that HMV management is in talks with both Poundland and JD Sports about them taking over eleven of the entertainment firm's UK stores between them.

All that said, in a statement on Friday, HMV added that there was currently "no certainty that any transaction would be concluded", while adding that a sale of the whole HMV Group was not on the agenda, despite some rumours Mamut might bid for the whole shebang and not just the Waterstones book shops.

While HMV top man Simon Fox has in the past resisted pressure to sell off some of his company's retail assets, if it's a necessary evil to enable his strategy of diversification, it is probably the right thing to do. Most of the debts now causing problems were run up buying live and management firm MAMA and half of 7digital, but an HMV with live, management, digital and fewer retail assets has better prospects long term than a company whose only business is entertainment retail.

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BMG UNLIKELY TO WIN WARNER BID BATTLE
BMG is unlikely to win the battle to buy Warner Music Group, according to Music Week.

As previously reported, the KKR-backed music rights firm recently submitted a new bid to Warner management, who are considering selling off some or all of the US-based music major. BMG's original bid for the Warner/Chappell publishing business was deemed too low by Warner's bankers Goldman Sachs. In their second bid they've gone for the whole of the Warner music business, but insiders say that their offer for that - between $2.8 billion and $3 billion - was also way too low.

A source told Music Week: "Warner has received a number of bids for more than $3bn - it would be ridiculous to think they would then choose to sell to BMG who have offered far less than that. BMG and KKR have been too arrogant and will lose out because of that".

While BMG have long been tipped as a lead contender to buy both Warner Music and EMI, they are facing touch competition for both, in particular from Access Industries and the Yucaipa Companies, and also possibly Sony Music and, in the case of EMI, Universal Music.

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CHRIS BROWN AND PUBLICIST PART WAYS
Chris Brown's US publicist, Tammy Brook, has announced that she and the R&B star have parted ways. The announcement comes after Brown's much publicised violent outburst at the offices of US TV network ABC last week, when he broke a window with a chair after being questioned about his 2009 attack of former girlfriend Rihanna during an interview with 'Good Morning America'.

Brook's decision was probably because of the fallout from that incident, and the media interest in it, such fire-fighting not being the kind of PR she signed up for. Though she added that she had been hired to do the publicity on Brown's new record 'FAME', and that now that was out her job was basically done.

She told TMZ on Friday: "I am an entertainment/music publicist and was hired as a publicist, as they often are, to work specifically on his music publicity for the term up to the release of Chris Brown's 'FAME' album, which was released on Tuesday 22 Mar and is entering the Billboard and iTunes charts at number one this week. I love and support Chris and it has been an honour to be a part of this album and I look forward to the possibility of working with him again in the future".

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POISON MAN SUES OVER TONY AWARDS ACCIDENT
Despite previously telling reporters that he was "taking the high road" and not suing over the injuries he suffered at 2009's Tony Awards, Bret Michaels' legal reps have just filed a lawsuit against the awards show's producers.

As previously reported, the Poison frontman was knocked on the head by moving scenery as he left the stage at the 2009 Tonys show. The programme's producers said Michaels had messed up his exit resulting in him being in the wrong place at the right time, but the singer's people insisted he'd never been told scenery would be lowered onto the stage immediately after his performance. Nevertheless Michaels said he wouldn't sue.

Though that was before the nearly fatal brain haemorrhage Michaels suffered last year. And the lawsuit says that the haemorrhage was a result of the Tony Awards incident. It again insists that the singer was given no warning about the scenery or the dangers it presented, adding that the subsequently near fatal subarachnoid haemorrhage was "at the hands of the Tony Awards".

The lawsuit adds that the awards show's producers have consistently "failed and refused" to remedy the situation, while also criticising them for blaming Michaels for the accident in the media. Both the Tony Awards company and broadcasters CBS are named on the lawsuit. Neither has responded as yet.

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ARCADE FIRE DOMINATE AT JUNOS
Following their successes at both the Grammy Awards and BRITs earlier this year, Arcade Fire were also the big winners at their home country's flagship awards show, the Junos, which took place last night. They took a total of four gongs home, beating both Neil Young and Justin Bieber who got two prizes each.

Picking up the first award of the night, main man Win Butler said: "We're so happy. I want to just give a shout-out to all the bands that we kind of came up with from Royal City to Hidden Cameras to The Unicorn to Wolf Parade and all the amazing Canadian bands and thank you so much. We're so honoured".

The winners list in full is as follows:

Artist Of The Year: Neil Young
Group Of The Year: Arcade Fire
New Artist Of The Year: Meaghan Smith
New Group Of The Year: Hidden Pony - Said The Whale
Songwriter Of The Year: Arcade Fire
Juno Fan Choice Award: Justin Bieber

Album Of The Year: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Pop Album Of The Year: Justin Bieber - My World 2.0
Alternative Album Of The Year: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
International Album Of The Year: Katy Perry -Teenage Dream
Country Album Of The Year: Johnny Reid - A Place Called Love
Adult Alternative Album Of The Year: Neil Young - Le Noise
Electronic Album Of The Year: Caribou - Swim
Rock Album Of The Year: Matthew Good - Vancouver
Vocal Jazz Album Of The Year: Kellylee Evans - Nina
Contemporary Jazz Album Of The Year: Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra - Treelines
Traditional Jazz Album Of The Year: John Macleod's Rex Hotel Orchestra - Our First Set
Instrumental Album Of The Year: Fond Of Tigers - Continent & Western
Francophone Album Of The Year: Karkwa - Les Chemins De Verre
Aboriginal Album Of The Year: Ceramony - Ceramony
Children's Album Of The Year:Peter Lenton - Proud Like A Mountain
Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year - Solo: Old Man Luedecke - My Hands Are On Fire And Other Love Songs
Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year - Group: Le Vent Du Nord - La Part Du Feu
Blues Album Of The Year: Jim Byrnes - Everywhere West
Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year: Greg Sczebel - Love & The Lack Thereof
World Music Album Of The Year: Élage Diouf - Aksil

Dance Recording Of The Year: Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs A Ladder
Rap Recording Of The Year: Shad - Tsol
R&B/Soul Recording Of The Year: Quanteisha - Stars
Reggae Recording Of The Year: Elaine Lil'bit Shepherd D'maestro - Likkle But Mi Tallawah

Classical Album Of The Year - Solo Or Chamber Ensemble: Gryphon Trio - Beethoven: Piano Trios Op. 70 No. 1, Ghost & No. 2: Op 11
Classical Album Of The Year - Large Ensemble Or Soloist(S) With Large Ensemble Accompaniment: Scott And Lara St John/The Knights Lara St John - Mozart
Classical Album Of The Year - Vocal Or Choral Performance:Gerald Finley - Great Operatic Arias
Classical Composition Of The Year: R. Murray Schafer - Duo For Violin And Piano

Jack Richardson Producer Of The Year: Daniel Lanois For Hitchhiker (From Neil Young - Le Noise) / I Believe In You (From Black Dub - Black Dub)
Recording Engineer Of The Year: Kevin Churko For Let It Die / Life Won't Wait (From Ozzy Osbourne - Scream)

Recording Package Of The Year: Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record Vinyl Box Set
Video Of The Year: Kyle Davison - Perfect
Music DVD Of The Year: Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage

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STROKES TO GO BACK TO THE STUDIO NEXT MONTH
There was a debate at CMU HQ last week as to whether the new Strokes album contains zero or six good songs. Either way, it doesn't make for a glowing review of a record that took a very long time to make. Maybe the band realise this. Speaking to Steve Harris on Xfm last week, bassist Nikolai Fraiture said that the band had already agreed to begin work on a follow-up in "mid-April".

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SUEDE WORKING ON NEW MATERIAL
Following the success of their reunion shows over the last few months, Suede have announced that they are working on new material. However, the music may never actually see the light of day.

Brett Anderson told Rolling Stone Indonesia: "I wouldn't want to make another record that I look back on and regret it again. Whether anyone else hears what we've been writing recently isn't set in stone. Unless it turns out to be outstanding, then no one will ever hear it".

He added that the quality of the new songs would also have a bearing on how long the band's current reunion continues. He said: "It depends on what happens with writing. I don't know how long you can go on touring playing songs from the past".

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THE PRODIGY TO SCREEN LIVE FILM IN CINEMAS
The Prodigy have announced that they will screen a concert film, entitled 'World's On Fire' and recorded at the Milton Keynes Bowl last July, in cinemas from 31 Mar.

The band said of the film: "A lot of thought went into the place where we could throw the best party, we never wanted the typical stadium venue so Milton Keynes Bowl was perfect for our own Warrior's Dance Festival cos it felt like a mad party in a field. The night was massive for us. It was important to us to bring a proper festival day and night for the people to remember and bring the same intense atmosphere like when we play Brixton Academy... and it was. Standing on that stage was a truly triumphant feeling for us as the whole place kicked off, we looked out and we were fuckin proud".

Watch the trailer here: vimeo.com/20872462 and check which cinemas are showing the film at theprodigy.com.

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RAEKWON WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Wu-Tang member Raekwon has announced that he is planning to begin work on his autobiography soon.

Speaking to AllHipHop, he said: "That's in the making soon. I just gotta deal with certain things at certain times in my life. When it's time to happen, yeah I got a great story and I'm going to tell the truth. It'll be something that you can jump on a plane or get on the bus and say: 'Yo that kid evolved as a man'".

Of his life, the rapper said: "I aint perfect, nobody's perfect. We all do dumb shit and we all get caught up in certain situations but at the end of the day I know I became a man. I'm not no sucker nigga running around not doing right by my children, or raising them the wrong way. I'm in their life, I wish I could be in their more. But daddy gotta work. I got a vicious story that I'ma tell sooner or later".

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MANCHESTER AID TO KOSOVO COMPILATION LAUNCH NEXT WEEK
Manchester Aid To Kosovo, a charity which has for the last ten years provided aid to the areas of Kosovo worst affected by the war with Serbia in the late 1990s, will release a compilation, entitled 'Ten' and curated by The Travelling Band's Jo Dudderidge on 4 Apr.

The album features various Manchester-based musicians who work with the organisation, including Elbow, Badly Drawn Boy and Doves. A number of these artists will also take part in two shows in Manchester and London next month.

Performing at both shows will be Badly Drawn Boy, Jim Noir, Liz Green, Gideon Conn, Josephine Oniyama, Jo Rose, The Travelling Band and Silverclub, with other special guests announced on the night. Details of both shows are as follows:

4 Apr: Manchester, The Deaf Institute
7 Apr: London, Union Chapel

For more information on the compilation, go to www.makonline.org/ten/Index.html

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HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Recently CMU Approved purveyors of the finest Americana, Hurray For The Riff Raff have announced that they will tour the UK in May. Their eponymous debut UK album, created from tracks on their two US releases 'It Don't Mean I Don't Love You' and 'Young Blood Blues', was released by Loose Music last week.

Tour dates:

19 May: London, The Windmill
20 May: Liverpool Sound City (venue tbc)
21 May: Winchester, The Railway
23 May: Leeds, The Wardrobe
24 May: Nottingham, The Glee Club
25 May: London, The Old Queen's Head
26 May: Bedford, Civic Theatre
27 May: Hull, Adelphi
28 May: Glasgow, King Tut's
29 May: Newcastle, Evolution Festival

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

BLISSFIELDS, Woodmancott, Hampshire, 30 Jun-3 Jul: Amongst the latest acts fitting the bill at this diminutive family festival are Tricky, Fenech Soler, Delays and James Yuill. Summer Camp, Chad Valley and Sound Of Rum are also fresh on the line-up, which already included the likes of Frank Turner and Andy Burrows. www.blissfields.co.uk

CREAMFIELDS, Daresbury Estate, Halton, Cheshire, 27-28 Aug: A DJ set from Mark Ronson is newly on the cards at the three-day Creamfields bash, as are Mark Knight, Max Vangeli, Chris Lake, and production duo 2 Bears. Previously announced bill-toppers are Chemical Brothers and David Guetta, who lead a host of other top notch dance talent including Tiësto and Calvin Harris. www.creamfields.com

ELECTRIC ELEPHANT, Petrcane, Croatia, 14-18 Jul: Set amidst idyllic woodlands, this coastal boutique festival is set welcome Sheffield sensation Toddla T and innovative London-based producer Sampha. Mosca and Zed Bias top off a stellar list of DJs and live acts including James Pants, Horse Meat Disco and Bok Bok. www.electricelephant.co.uk

GUERNSEY FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS, The Rabbit Warren, Guernsey, 2-3 Jul: Event co-ordinaters have rolled out the big guns for the festival's first outing, with Lissie and Frank Turner the latest acts booked to expand an existing roster that includes The Go! Team, Ocean Colour Scene, Example and The Gaslight Anthem. www.guernseyfestival.gg

HEINEKEN OPEN'ER, Gdynia, Poland, 30 Jun-3 Jul: Revelatory line-up additions for Poland's premier music event are Simian Mobile Disco, Kate Nash, Chromeo and the incendiary These New Puritans. They will join an array of acts of which Coldplay, MIA, Big Boi Hurts and Foals are highlights.www.opener.pl/en

ICELAND AIRWAVES, Various Venues, Reykjavík, 12-16 Oct: Organisers have newly added Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and blissed-out US duo Beach House to the Airwaves bill, which features, amongst other previous announcees, The Vaccines and "crab-core" rockers Endless Dark. www.icelandairwaves.is

RHYTHM FESTIVAL, Old Warden Park, Bedfordshire, 26-28 Aug: Rising rockabilly star Imelda May and legendary singer-songwriter Nick Lowe are a couple of the names lately added to the eclectic Rhythm roster, which boasts such already-confirmed acts as Oysterband, Sandi Thom and From The Jam. www.rhythmfestival.com

ROCK WERCHTER, Rotselaar, Belgium, 30 Jun-3 Jul: This giant German festival is newly set to host Brandon Flowers, Seasick Steve, Jimmy Eat World and Chase & Status. Big names as these are, they are but drops in the ocean of rock talent at this year's Werchter, which is to welcome Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon, Iron Maiden and Queens Of The Stone Age. www.rockwerchter.be/en

WOMAD, Charlton Park, Wiltshire, 29-31 Jul: I Am Kloot, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Baaba Maal are among the first acts announced for this year's WOMAD. Also set to dazzle crowds are Maori three-piece Pacific Curls, Nomfusi & The Lucky Charms and Aurelio & The Garifuna Sould Band. womad.org/festivals/charlton-park

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ALBUM REVIEW: Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting (Polydor/Candent Songs)
When I heard 'Night Air' for the first time I thought it was a fantastic single; soulful, coldly atmospheric and Woon's vocals complemented it perfectly. The track, co-produced by the soundtracker of London himself Burial, was surely one of the main reasons Jamie Woon was featured high on many a list of 2011's next big things.

But I'm so disappointed by 'Mirrorwriting' that I can barely contain the many yawns that wanted to escape from my starved brain. It begins, as you can imagine, with 'Night Air', a strong start no doubt, a song that gives you the sort of confidence that a great album full of diverse and uniquely brilliant tunes lays waiting for you. Then 'Street' begins, and you say to yourself 'OK, so it's not as good as 'Night Air', so what? There's another ten songs to go'. Then it nosedives, drastically and rapidly. Dull and monotonous, it doesn't even sound like it's been made by the same person. The rest of the tracks rely on echoed and reverbed percussion to build presence and atmosphere, but without the grounding and substance of better song writing and more accessible vocal melodies, these are lost.

I'm not saying Jamie Woon isn't good, far from it. He is a talented guy, with a great voice that could melt hearts, but this record is no evidence of that. I hope when his sophomore effort comes out in the future, it will have more of the punctual grooves we love, and won't be so painfully forgettable. JJB

Physical release: 11 Apr

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CMU PUBLISHER TO LEAD CRASH COURSE IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, PLUS NEW CMU TRAINING DATES ANNOUNCED
CMU Publisher and Business Editor Chris Cooke will this week Friday lead an all day 'Crash Course In The Music Industry' at the Norwich Arts Centre.

The full day course is aimed at aspiring artists and songwriters, and anyone working in the music business, and will provide a comprehensive introduction to the modern music industry, including sessions on music rights, traditional and new business models, the DIY approach and building a buzz through media and social media. The course will be followed by a Sound Lounge Live event featuring Sargasso Trio, Lowery, Tawny Owl & The Birds of Prey and Kamilla Lovett. More information can be found at norwichartscentre.co.uk/hot-city-sound-and-vision-presents-a-crash-course-in-the-music-industry

New dates have also been announced for the regular CMU Training courses, full day seminars also led by Chris Cooke, which include full six hour sessions on music rights, music PR and music business models. The next editions of these acclaimed courses will take place in Shoreditch on 6 Apr, 20 Apr and 4 May respectively. Each course costs just £95 plus VAT, and you can book now at www.thecmuwebsite.com/training

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MOOD MEDIA BUYS MUZAK
Mood Media, a Canadian provider of muzak (with a little m) is buying Muzak (with a big M) for $345 million. Once combined, Mood and Muzak will provide music services to some 470,000 commercial outlets in 40 countries.

Both companies provide rights-included soundtracks for shops and such like which don't require licences from collecting societies. Mood Media also operate in-store music kiosks, an online service and digital signage.

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GOOGLE MUSIC BEING TESTED
Team Google are busy testing their new music service - a music-based digital locker - according to CNET, leading many to speculate that a launch is now imminent.

Insiders say Google bosses had originally hoped to have their new music offer ready to demo at this month's South By Southwest, but are still hoping to go live this spring despite missing that deadline. As previously reported, a member of the XDA Developers forum recently said he had accidentally stumbled across a beta version of the Google music locker, and reported that it was already basically working. Insiders say that that platform is the one now being tested by Google staffers.

That said, it is more likely to be licensing rather than technological challenges that delay the launch of Google Music. As previously reported, the labels remain cautious about digital locker services, and many are uncertain about what kind of royalty they should be charging for such a platform - especially given the ongoing EMI v MP3Tunes litigation, in which one party is arguing no royalty needs to be paid at all.

It seems unlikely Google has any labels signed up to their locker service as yet.

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RADIOPLAYER TO LAUNCH THIS WEEK
The UK Radioplayer will launch this week with 150 stations initially available. As previously reported, this is the iPlayer-style service which will carry simulcasts and programmes from both BBC and commercial radio stations. The service is due to launch on Thursday morning. Some commercial stations are expected to use the Radioplayer as their exclusive online service, shutting down their existing streaming platforms once the new site is live.

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ENDEMOL BUYS INTO HOLY MOLY
TV production giant Endemol has bought a 50% stake in celebrity website Holy Moly in a deal which will apparently see the gossip brand move into TV, music, film and fashion.

Confirming the deal, the site's founder Jamie East told reporters: "Eight years after starting Holy Moly on a hidden laptop underneath my work desk, no one is more surprised and happy than me to find myself joining forces with Endemol, which I've always thought of as the most handsome and intelligent media company on the planet. Their track record for whipping companies like Holy Moly into shape is second to none and I'm really looking forward to the adventures that lie in wait".

Endemol UK CEO Tim Hincks added: "Holy Moly is a brilliant success story in online entertainment. That makes it a great fit for Endemol and Jamie is an inspired creative talent who we are tremendously excited to be working with".

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HUMAN LEAGUE LIKE GLEE, BUT SAY SHUT UP MURPHY
The Human League quite like 'Glee' and were pleased when the show asked to use their 1981 hit 'Don't You Want Me' in one episode, though the group's main man Phil Oakey still thinks 'Glee' creator Ryan Murphy is a bit of a dick for publicly dissing any musician that refuses permission for their songs to be featured.

As previously reported, Murphy called Slash a "washed-up old rock star" when he told journalists he'd turned 'Glee' down because he didn't like the show, and the Kings Of Leon were "self-centred assholes" for not allowing their songs to be used. Last week Dave Grohl spoke out against Murphy's artist dissing, telling Hollywood Reporter: "Dude, maybe not everyone loves 'Glee'. Me included'".

The League were actually rather happy when 'Glee' wanted to include one of their songs, with the group's Joanne Catherall telling Digital Spy: "I love 'Glee'. It's so camp. I just think it's fantastic. I think it's good that they've done a song of ours. Through the series they're charting different sorts of music and I think I would have been slightly annoyed - because we have got a place in pop history - if they hadn't popped us in somewhere".

But Oakey added that it was "out of order" that Murphy had criticised Slash and Kings Of Leon just because they didn't want their songs to feature. He told DS: "The producer was a bit out of order with them. It's their music. If they wanna ban it from being in there, I think they've got a right to ban it from being in there".

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