EMI LOSES APPEAL OVER DOWN UNDER SONG
An appeals court in Australia has upheld that previous ruling that said Larrikin Music, publishers of Aussie children's song 'Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gumtree', are due a cut of all royalties on the Men At Work classic 'Down Under', because the short but distinctive flute bit in the 1981 pop hit borrowed from the folk tune.

Australia's Federal Court last year ruled that Larrikin should get 5% of all 'Down Under' royalties paid back to 2002. It was considerably less than Larrikin had asked for, but EMI - who argued no royalty should be due, and even questioned whether Larrikin really owned the 'Kookaburra' song, nevertheless appeal.

But a panel of three appeal judges upheld last year's ruling this week, and ordered EMI to also cover Larrikin's legal costs in relation to the appeal.

After the original ruling last summer, Men At Work's Greg Ham told told TheAge.com: "It has destroyed so much of my song. It will be the way the song is remembered and I hate that. I'm terribly disappointed that that's the way I'm going to be remembered - for copying something. I'll never see another cent out of that song again. We'll face massive legal costs. At the end of the day, I'll end up selling my house".

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RIHANNA HAPPY TO NEVER SPEAK WITH BROWN EVER AGAIN
Rihanna has said she'd be happy to never talk to Chris Brown "again ever" in an interview with Rolling Stone, in which she touches on the beating she received at the hands of her ex-boyfriend back in 2009.

Remarking that "we don't have to talk again ever in my life", she recalls the months after the incident, saying: "I put my guard up so hard. I didn't want people to see me cry. I didn't want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, 'I'm fine, I'm tough'. I put that up until it felt real".

Despite having no wish to speak to her ex ever again, she said she was happy with the relaxation of the restraining order that prevents Brown from coming too close to her, telling the music magazine she has no interest in hindering his pop career.

She said: ""What he did to me was a personal thing - it had nothing to do with his career. Saying he has to be a hundred feet away from me, he can't perform at awards shows - that definitely made it difficult for him. That was the only thing it was going to change, so I didn't care. But you can never please people. One minute I'm being too hard, and the next minute I'm a fool because I'm not being hard enough".

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MARKETING AGENCY SUES BRITNEY OVER PERFUME CUT
A US marketing company called Brand Sense Partners is suing Britney Spears and her father Jamie, who is still looking after her financial affairs of course, over allegations they have cut the agency out of the perfume deal they negotiated between the singer and cosmetics firm Elizabeth Arden seven years ago, depriving them of their 35% commission.

Brand Sense say that they set up the original partnership between Spears and the cosmetics company in 2004, and had been receiving their commission until Spears Senior renegotiated the arrangement with Elizabeth Arden last year, cutting them out of the picture. They say those new negotiations breached their original agreement with the singer.

The lawsuit is looking for damages and a court ruling to the effect Brand Sense is still due its 35% of Britney's perfume revenues. Team Spears is yet to comment.

More Britney, and her former bodyguard Fernando Flores, who has made various claims of sexual harassment and child abuse against his former employer, has now said that he has nude photographs sent to him by the singer.

As previously reported, Fernando Flores sued Spears in September for sexual harassment and also made various allegations about the singer mistreating her two sons. Flores had made these same claims previously, prompting the Los Angeles Department Of Children And Family Services to investigate. It ruled that there was "absolutely no truth" in the former bodyguard's allegations.

This week, a source told Heat that Flores is "determined" to prove what he has claimed is true in court, telling the magazine: "The nude pictures are Fernando's smoking gun. They're apparently explicit images that will shock everyone who sees them. I don't think he cares if his court case affects her album sales or career - he says that should be the least of her concerns. Fernando is convinced that Britney is just as troubled now as she was when he was working for her. She needs help and she needs to admit what she did was wrong".

Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline and another former bodyguard, Mark Chinapen, have both come to her defence, saying they do not believe that Flores' claims are true.

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SONY AWARD NOMS ARE OUT
So, the noms are out for the Sony Awards, the UK radio industry's big awards bash, and BBC Radio 4 leads the way with a massive 22 nominations. The most shortlisted commercial station is Absolute Radio, who appear in 15 categories. People wise, both BBC 5Live's Victoria Derbyshire and Absolute Radio's Frank Skinner are up for three prizes each.

Announcing the nominations in London yesterday, Tim Blackmore, Chairman of the Sony Radio Academy Awards, told reporters: "Once again, more than 1,000 entries have demonstrated the huge diversity and the impressive standards delivered by Britain's radio industry. The power of audio continues to enrich all our lives through the ever increasing range of platforms celebrated by these awards".

The Guardian has published the full nomination lists here:
www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/30/sony-radio-academy-awards-2011-nominations

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DEFTONES FRONTMAN REVEALS NEW PROJECT
Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has revealed that he his working on a new project with Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, called Crosses, which he describes as "minimal and southing".

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, Moreno said: "Shaun [has] been a good friend of mine since we were kids. He's my neighbor and we've done stuff together before. But just recently, during these little breaks that [Deftones has] had, we've been recording this real minimal project where it's just me and him and another buddy of mine, Scott Chuck, and we're just writing these little pieces of music, whether it starts with piano or some down tempo beats. It's really minimal and soothing and it's sort of like the stuff I like listening to when I'm not screaming my head off".

After revealing they had sixteen tracks completed, Moreno quickly remembered what happened last time he announced he was working on a side-project: "I don't want to talk about it at all - which I'm doing right now. The main thing about it is, I don't want to hype it up and give people all these expectations. To me, that's what made [previous side-project] Team Sleep so hard to do. It was supposed to be this underground thing that would happen whenever, and it developed so much hype around it that it kind of ruined the whole thing for me".

So, everyone, forget you heard anything, right?

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STREAM THE NEW KILLS ALBUM NOW
The new album from The Kills, 'Blood Pressure', is out on Monday. But you can hear it now, which is good in these impatient times.

Have yourself a listen via the SoundCloud widget on their website: www.thekills.tv/bloodpressuresstream.php

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50 CENT TO STAR WITH ROBERT DE NIRO IN NEW FILM
50 Cent is set to star alongside Robert De Niro in a new film called 'Freelancers', according to Deadline. Forest Whittaker is also apparently in talks to join the cast of the Jessy Terrero-directed police drama.

The film is the first made by Fiddy's own production company, Cheetah Vision, since receiving a $200 million cash injection from a consortium of investors, including healthcare executive Richard Jackson and real estate developers Gary Sakwa and Daniel Ret.

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FOO FIGHTERS DOCUMENTARY TO GET CINEMA RELEASE
What's the difference between JLS and Foo Fighters? Nothing, that's what. Absolutely nothing. Well, so long as you limit your comparison considerably. Exactly like their dopplegangers JLS, Foo Fighter have announced that they will release a 3D film in cinemas for one night only. Not on the same night, though. So there is one difference.

'Foo Fighters: Back And Forth' will appear in over 100 UK cinemas on 7 Apr, showing behind-scenes footage of the band throughout their career, finishing up with the making of new album, 'Wasting Light'. It'll then be released on DVD on 11 Apr. Much like the JLS film, I suspect this is really just a clever way to promote the DVD release; Dave Grohl must be fuming that JLS announced first.

Watch the trailer for the documentary here: youtu.be/6-tS8mlfEKM

As previously reported, The Prodigy are also releasing a concert film in cinemas for one night only. They are basically the embodiment of both JLS and Foo Fighters in one. Keith Flint is mad for backflips.

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STEVE MASON ANNOUNCES TOUR, WORKING ON DUB ALBUM
Number three in our Artists Of The Year 2010 rundown, Steve Mason has announced that he will head out on tour again next month, which is never not going to be good news.

Also good news is that the former Beta Band frontman is working on a dub version of his 'Boys Outside' album with producer and noted reggae musician Dennis Bovell. Meanwhile, in addition to all this, Mason will re-release his single, 'All Come Down', via Domino/Double Six on 2 May.

Tour dates:

12 Apr: Manchester, The Deaf Institute
13 Apr: London, Scala
15 Apr: Belfast, The Spring and Airbrake
16 Apr: Dublin, The Button Factory
17 Apr: Galway, Roisin Dubh
17 May: Brighton, Komedia
19 May: Liverpool, Masque Theatre

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL, Cherry Hinton Hall Grounds, Cambridge, 28-31 Jul: Set to partake in the merriment at this Cambridge fest are folk acts including James Vincent McMorrow, Frank Turner and Femi Kuti & The Positive Force. The Robert Cray Band will bring a soul flavour to proceedings, while folk-jazzers Pentangle and multi-instrumentalists Penguin Cafe add further variety to a bill that thus far stars Laura Marling, Bellowhead and Newton Faulkner. www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk

CHESTER ROCKS, Chester Racecourse, 2-3 Jul: Feeder are newly confirmed to the line up of this Chester-based bash, as are Leftfield. Previous announcees Echo & The Bunnymen, Iggy Pop & The Stooges and I Am Kloot will share the spotlight with Eliza Doolittle and The Saturdays on a line-up that is, at the very least, diverse. www.chester-rocks.com

DAZED LIVE, Various Venues, London, 9 Apr: Held across various trendy dives in London's east end, this multi-arts festival will feature live performances from in-demand Canadian synth-popsters Austra and local bands Factory Floor and Fiction, as well as an intimate acoustic gig by Arab Strap's Aiden Moffat. Tastemaking New York collective Gang Gang Dance will venture a DJ set, as will Caribou, DarkStar and Black Devil Disco Club. www.dazedlive.com

ESCAPE INTO THE PARK, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, 11 Jun: Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder, Pendulum and YasmIn are all set to feature highly on the bill at Wales' premier dance and urban music event. Also amongst the first batch of those confirmed to flee to Swansea's Singleton Park are veteran DJs Eddie Halliwell and Judge Jules, who will spin decks in the festival's Trance Arena; and Caspa and DJ Zinc, who will perform with Pendulum in the CYNT Arena. www.escapefestival.com

GET LOADED IN THE PARK, Clapham Common, London, 12 Jun: Joining Razorlight at this year's rock ruckus will be the suitably raucus Cribs, Noisettes, Darwin Deez, and British Sea Power. www.getloadedinthepark.com

HIDEOUT FESTIVAL, Zrce Beach, Pag, Croatia, 1-3 Jul: Organisers have revealed that this dance-dominated seaside soiree is to host 2manydjs and Eric Prydz for its first edition, having already bagged Chase & Status, Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco, Mount Kimbie and Sub Focus. www.hideoutfestival.com

LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY, Various Venues, Liverpool, 19-21 May: With the early bird ticket price soon to expire, here comes a timely addition of ten further acts to the Sound City bill, with indie upstarts Hot Club De Paris, Pete & The Pirates, Django Django and Wolf Gang amongst the most notable new bookings. They join a host of previously confirmed acts like Kurt Vile & The Violators, Black Lips, Jamie XX and Yuck. www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

LONDON FEIS, Finsbury Park, London, 18-19 Jun: The latest introductions to Feis' two-day gaelic gala are Thin Lizzy, The Gaslight Anthem, Jimmy Cliff and Eddi Reader. Keeping things eclectic at this year's event, these newly-confirmed acts will be kept company by existing headliners Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. www.londonfeis.com

RADIO 1'S ONE BIG WEEKEND, Carlisle Airport, Cumbria, 14-15 May: The UK's biggest free festival pops up again, this time in Carlisle, bringing in another haul of huge US names including Lagy Gaga, Foo Fighters, Black Eyed Peas, My Chemical Romance, and Bruno Mars. Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Plan B and Jessie J are amongst the more homegrown acts poised to perform. www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend/2011/

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MUSICCONNEX CHIEF ON INAUGURAL PROGRAMME
The CEO of MusicConnex, the new London-based conference that aims to "support and encourage artists and creative business minds to best position, manage and monetise their careers" has been speaking about the programme for his inaugural event, which now includes over 100 speakers and representatives from 40 digital platforms.

Jon Mansfield told CMU: "We have had tremendous support for MusicConnex which has enabled us to pull together for the first time at one event an amazing roster of over 100 high calibre speakers and over 40 of some of the most important digital platforms for music. These are both exciting and challenging times for those wanting a career in music. There are many new opportunities being created but it is a difficult landscape to navigate. MusicConnex hopes to help through the exchange of ideas to provide inspiration to each other to build sustaining careers in music".

MusicConnex takes place at the Kings Place complex near Kings Cross from 19-21 Apr. More info at www.musicconnex.co.uk

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TINIE TEMPAH AND TRAVIS BARKER FIGHT FOR LUCOZADE
Tinie Tempah, Blink 182's Travis Barker and world champion boxer Katie Taylor have teamed up to perform a remix of Tinie's 'Simply Unstoppable' in a new advert for Lucozade. This will "launch Lucozade's new YES campaign and demonstrate that when different forms of energy collide, great things happen" apparently.

Says Tinie: "When we arrived at the shoot in Los Angeles, Katie, Travis and I didn't know what would happen, but when we came together, the energy flowed and I think we've captured something very special on screen and on record. I'm a big boxing fan and while Travis set the pace on drums, it was great to be put to the test by a world champion like Katie".

Taylor added: "Tinie's done a bit of boxing in the past so you'll see in the film I test out his skills, although he made sure he didn't get too close!"

Watch a clip of the ad at www.facebook.com/lucozade.

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ORCHESTRAS AMONG THOSE TO LOSE ARTS FUNDING
A number of orchestras are among the arts organisations facing an uncertain future following an announcement yesterday about which companies the Arts Council will continue to fund, and at what level. The body, which distributes taxpayer funding to arts groups in England, has had to cut the number of organisations it supports after the government cut the money it hands over to the Council by 30% last year.

While arts groups and political types generally held back from criticising the choices the Arts Council had made in deciding which organisations should get funding, recognizing that the arts body was in an incredibly difficult position given the overall budget cuts, various groups used the announcement to again criticise the government for cutting arts spend, warning about the impact it might have on Britain's cultural future.

Music Week quoted Labour's culture spokesman Ivan Lewis, who said more then 500 organisations would suffer as a result of the cuts, and that "some will go to the wall, many will have to increase ticket prices, at a time when people's incomes are being squeezed. I fear a return to the 80s and 90s when the arts were for the few, not the many".

Speaking for those music organisations affected, the Musician's Union's John Smith told CMU: "The Musicians' Union appreciates that the Arts Council had some very difficult decisions to make. The news was never going to be good with the Council having received a 30% cut from the Government. Together with some of the disastrous local authority cuts to arts organisations, however, today's announcements will signal the start of the end for many organisations. It will be a while before the full impact of today's cuts becomes apparent, but we hope that as many music organisations as possible will be able to survive the tough times ahead".

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BT PLANNING NEW MUSIC SERVICE
The dudes at BT want to launch a digital music service; yeah, don't we all.

And the plan is to make the new service, let's call it bTunes, available to BT's 5.5 million broadband customers for free for six to nine months, to convince them that legitimate digital content services are the sound choice for the modern citizen of Planet Pop.

After that free trial period BT customers who wanted to continue to access the music service - which will be a streaming platform I think - will have to pay a subscription fee, added to their broadband bill.

Which all seems nice and dandy, though it seems BT might be expecting record labels to "participate" in the free trial, and presumably that means making their music available at bargain basement rates, or for free, during that period. Though details of BT's plans are sketchy at best, so don't quote us on that, will you?

According to The Guardian, talks are ongoing with EMI and Universal Music regarding them licensing bTunes.

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LADY GAGA TO WRITE FOR V MAGAZINE
Lady Gaga will start writing a regular column for US fashion magazine V, which will presumably encourage the ladies of America to don some quality meat this season. Or travel around by egg. Gaga announced that she had been appointed as a fashion and art columnist for V Magazine via Twitter earlier this week, and her first ramblings are due to be published in May. She also asked fans to send in illustrations of herself, the best one of which will be used at the top of the new column

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LILY ALLEN'S WEDDING INVITATION REVEALED, LILY NOT HAPPY
Someone who has been invited to Lily Allen and Sam Cooper's wedding has handed over the card to The Sun. The invitation shows Allen and Cooper's faces superimposed onto a photograph of a couple riding a tractor. It also reveals that the wedding will take place in Gloucestershire on 11 Jun.

Is Lily pleased that the invite has appeared in a national newspaper? No she is not. She addressed the anonymous party who'd given it up via Twitter, saying: "Whoever leaked my wedding invite to the press, you're a dick and you're not invited anymore, have some respect and stay at home".

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KATY B AUDITIONED FOR HARRY POTTER
Katy B's life could have turned out very different. Instead of being the poster girl for dubstep's crossover into the mainstream, she might have been Hermoine Granger in the 'Harry Potter' films. Maybe Emma Watson would have gone into dubstep. Maybe I should stop thinking about this so much, because it doesn't sound like it was ever an option.

Speaking to The Guardian, Katy said: "I auditioned to be Hermione in 'Harry Potter'. They were like: 'Have you read the book?' I was like: 'No'. 'Next!'"

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JUSTIN BIEBER'S HAIR HAS TWO BODYGUARDS
Can a piece of hair have bodyguards? Hair doesn't have a body to be guarded once it's been removed from someone's head, does it? 'Hairguard' sounds weird, though. Like you're trying to stop it from catching fire. Not that I want Justin Bieber's hair to catch fire, I just don't think that's why these two security guards are there. Oh, there you go. Security guards. We'll call them security guards.

According to Undercover, the person who paid over $40,000 to own a piece of Bieber's hair last month is to put it on display at the Lucky Strike Lanes in Miami, where two security guards will stop Bieber fans from running off with it as they pay to have their picture taken with it. All money raised will be donated to the relief effort in Japan.

Part of me wants to say, you wouldn't think that would raise that much money, but someone did pay $40,000 to own the hair in the first place, so I guess that would be a silly thing to say.

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