MUSIC BUSINESS MODELS - MAKING MONEY, FINDING INVESTMENT
How to make money out of music - both now and in the future, with a look at alternative investment and revenue streams, and a new approach to monetising artists and their music. Wed 4 May 2011

SONY PSN AND QRIOCITY USER DATABASES HACKED
Sony has revealed that user information on the company's PlayStation Network and its Qriocity music service was accessed by a hacker last week, including a great deal of personal information, possibly including credit card numbers.

Access to both the PlayStation Network and Qriocity were suspended on 20 Apr, with users notified that this was due to an "external intrusion" two days later, but the database compromise was only announced yesterday when it was uncovered by a security firm assessing the scale of the attack. It's not clear how many accounts were stolen, but it is estimated that PSN and Qriocity collectively have up to 79 million users.

Qriocity, of course, powers Sony Entertainment's Music Unlimited service, which launched in the UK and Europe last year, followed by the US, Australia and New Zealand in February, and provides streaming music through any net-connected Sony device. The PlayStation Network meanwhile allows PS3 and PSP console users to play multiplayer games online, plus gives access to a variety of services including the PlayStation Store, LoveFilm, VidZone and the BBC iPlayer.

In an email to users, Sony said: "We have discovered that between 17 Apr and 19 Apr 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorised intrusion into our network ... Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorised person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address, country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address, and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained".

Adding that there was "no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time", the company admitted that it "cannot rule out the possibility", saying that credit card numbers and expiry dates (though not the cards' security codes) could have been stolen.

Many users expressed anger that it had taken so long for Sony to inform them that their personal data had been compromised. The company this morning assured users that it had not withheld news of the breach from them, saying: "There's a difference in timing between when we identified there was an intrusion and when we learned of consumers' data being compromised. We learned there was an intrusion 19 Apr and subsequently shut the services down. We then brought in outside experts to help us learn how the intrusion occurred and to conduct an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident. It was necessary to conduct several days of forensic analysis, and it took our experts until yesterday to understand the scope of the breach. We then shared that information with our consumers and announced it publicly yesterday evening".

Despite these assurances, many users are understandably still upset at the company's handling of the situation, and the fact that it was possible for hackers to gain access to the PSN databases at all. And the repercussions from this incident may have longer term effects.

Security firm Sophos' senior technology consultant Graham Cluley told the BBC: "This is a big one. The PlayStation Network is a real consumer product. It is in lots of homes all over the world. The impact of this could be much greater than your typical internet hack. Some people will use the same passwords on other sites. If I was a hacker right now, I would be taking those email addresses and trying those passwords".

Of course, the hacker in question has already had over a week to begin doing just that. Sony urged user "to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information", but, as Cluley noted, the potential for someone to gain access to accounts on other unrelated services remains a concern, too.

Online security and identity theft consultant Robert Siciliano told The Telegraph: "If the bad guys have [username and password] information, they can use it to access social networking and banking accounts, and that's where the problems begin. They can log into your email and change the password and go through looking for other accounts. There's no end to what they can do. There's enough data that the bad guys can turn that into cash with relative ease".

Currently the PlayStation Network and Qriocity remain down, with Sony unable to comment on when they might return. This morning users were told: "We are taking the investigation seriously. We will keep the service down to allow us to conduct a thorough investigation and verify smooth operation of our network services but are working hard to resume the services as soon as we can be reasonably assured security concerns are addressed".

Presumably other online services with large user databases are assessing their security procedures as we speak. I hope they are, anyway.

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VEVO LAUNCHES IN THE UK
Hey, look at that, those rumours last month that Vevo's UK launch was mere weeks away turned out to be true: YouTube-powered music video platform Vevo has launched in the UK. Well, CEO Rio Caraeff saying at last month's Abu Dhabi Media Summit that VEVO was "planning to launch in the UK imminently" did put those rumours on fairly firm ground, but hey, it's here now, so let's all be excited and give everyone a pat on the back for being right.

A joint venture between Abu Dhabi Media, Sony Music and Universal Music, Vevo rebadges YouTube content and sells its own advertising; the music majors' theory being that if they stripped out all that user-generated content, they could get better advertising rates. The site's UK team will be headed up by Channel 5's head of digital media Jonathan Lewis.

Caraeff told New Media Age earlier this month: "It won't be the same home page [as the US site], everything will be filmed locally, although obviously the big US artists will be on there, too. We think we can put our weight behind new musicians, breaking their debuts in the market. We'll create new content with them. We broke Jessie J and we've signed Tinie Tempah, who we'll break next in the US. Fundamentally we're a marketing platform for new artists".

As well as the website - www.vevo.com - VEVO is available through various mobile. I've been playing with the iPhone one. It is nice.

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JOHN BARRY TO BE GIVEN POSTHUMOUS CLASSIC BRIT
Best known for his work on theme music for films such as 'Born Free', 'Midnight Cowboy' and several Bond films, composer John Barry, who died in January, is to be given a posthumous Outstanding Contribution award at next month's Classic BRITs, it has been announced. 

Barry's widow Laurie Barry told the BBC: "John would be so honoured to be receiving the outstanding contribution to music award... we are very grateful".

A number of Barry's best-known works will be performed by the London Chamber Orchestra at the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on 12 May. Joining them for a rendition of Bond theme 'Goldfinger' will be Shirley Bassey. Bassey will also be amongst the artists due to perform at a John Barry tribute concert at the Royal Albert Hall in June.

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METALLICA TO TEAM UP WITH RICK RUBIN AGAIN
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo has confirmed that the band are again working with producer Rick Rubin, who produced their 2008 album, 'Death Magnetic'.

Speaking to US radio station 93.7 KCLB Rocks!, Trujillo said: "I love working with Rick. Rick, to me, he's sort of a Zen guru spirit that Metallica needs right now. Not to say that we need it, because we're getting along incredibly well, we're really excited to write some new music. There's no shortage of riffage in Metallica world right now. And I think it's only gonna get better".

He continued: "The first album with Rick was the first album with me, so in a lot of ways you're testing the water. Now that we're comfortable ... it's a great team. It's only gonna get better, I'm super excited. I know that we've got another couple [of albums] in us, and I think there's a demand".

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REBECCA BLACK WORKING ON MINI-ALBUM
Rebecca Black, the thirteen year old pop sensation responsible for the best track of 2011 so far, 'Friday', has confirmed that she is working on new music. Sadly, she seems to have parted company with Ark Music Factory and is hoping to break away from the reputation her work with the vanity label afforded her.

Black told Associated Press: "I don't want to be known as the 'Friday' girl. Hopefully, I can be known as Rebecca Black and not the 'Friday' girl. I want to be a performing artist. That's what I've always wanted to do ... I want to see everyone's opinion of my actual voice. I don't care if they love it. I don't care if they hate it. Well, I'd like it if they loved it, but I just want to hear their opinion".

The singer is working on a five track mini-album with Hilary Duff producer Charlton Pettus, though is currently without a record label. Whether any follow-up material will be able to reach the heights of 'Friday', which has now scored over 120 million views on YouTube, remains to be seen.

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BEASTIE BOYS STREAM NEW ALBUM, RELEASE SHORT FILM
Beastie Boys have put their new album, 'Hot Sauce Committee Part Two', up on SoundCloud for all to hear ahead of its official release next week. The album is the band's first since 2007's instrumental offering, 'The Mix Up'. This one even features vocals.

Listen here: soundcloud.com/beastieboys/sets/hot-sauce-committee-part-two

As well as this, the band have released a 30 minute short film entitled 'Fight For Your Right - Revisited', which sees the Beastie Boys circa 1986 (played by Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Danny McBride) battle their future selves (played by Will Ferrell, John C Reilly and Jack Black). Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, Chloe Sevigny, Alicia Silverstone, Ted Danson and Stanley Tucci also appear.

Watch that here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=evA-R9OS-Vo

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THE PRODIGY ANNOUNCE LIVE DVD DETAILS
The Prodigy have released a trailer for their upcoming live DVD, which was screened for one night only in cinemas last month. The performance was filmed at the Milton Keynes Bowl last summer and the audio on the DVD and Blu-Ray was engineered in 5.1 surround sound by Liam Howlett himself. It will also be available on CD and download.

Watch the trailer here: www.dailymotion.com/video/xie576_the-prodigy-world-s-on-fire-dvd-blu-ray-trailer_shortfilms

The tracklist for the Milton Keynes show is as follows:
 
Intro
Breathe
Omen
Colours
Thunder
Warriors Dance
Firestarter
Run With The Wolves
Weather Experience
Voodoo People
Omen Reprise
Invaders Must Die
Smack My Bitch Up
Take Me To The Hospital
Everybody In The Place
Their Law
Out Of Space

Purchasers of the DVD and/or Blu-Ray will also get these extras:

Run With The Wolves at Brixton Academy
Spitfire/Mescaline in Brazil
Breathe at Slane Castle
Poison at Glastonbury
Warning at T In The Park
Smack My Bitch Up at the Isle Of Wight and Download festival
Voodoo People at Bestival and Paris
Japan tour film
USA tour film
UK arena tour film

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U2 DRUMMER MAKES ACTING DEBUT
A film featuring the acting debut of Larry Mullen Jr is to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Crime drama 'Man On The Train' is a remake of 2002 French film 'L'homme Du Train', which starred French musician Johnny Hallyday, and sees the U2 drummer star opposite Donald Sutherland.

Directed by Mary McGuckian, Mullen Jr plays the role of a bank robber. He also co-produced the film and also composed its score with Simon Climie.

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ALLIE MOSS ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES
New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Allie Moss has announced that she will release her debut album, 'Late Bloomer', on 9 May through Soundy Music, preceded on 2 May by a single, 'Melancholy Astronautic Man'. 

Moss is best known for her single, 'Corner', which was featured on a BT advert, resulting in 850,000 hits for the video on YouTube and 30,000 downloads via iTunes.

You can watch the video for 'Melancholy Astronautic Man' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsSSzUyRd6w

Following the release, Moss will be touring the UK as follows:

11 May: London, Proud Galleries
12 May: London, Covent Garden Apple Store (in-store)
16 May: London, Water Rats
18 May: Southampton, The Joiners
19 May: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
20 May: Liverpool Sound City @ Parr Street Studios
22 May: Kinross, Green Hotel, Kinross
24 May: Glasgow, Captains Rest
25 May: London, Glasgow Apple Store (in-store)
26 May: Stoke, The Sugarmill
28 May: Bristol, Dot To Dot Festival
29 May: Nottingham, Dot To Dot Festival
30 May: Manchester, Dot To Dot Festival

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BONJAY ANNOUNCE UK TOUR
Brilliant Canadian dancehall pop duo Bonjay have announced that they will be in the UK for some tour dates next month. This is exciting. And if you need more than just me telling you that in order to be convinced (you bastards), look no further than their UK debut single, the double A-side 'Creepin/Stumble', which is released through One Bird Records on 6 Jun.

You can hear both tracks on SoundCloud now: soundcloud.com/onebirdrecords/sets/bonjay-stumble-creepin/

Tour dates:
 
11 May: London, The Garage
12 May: London, Notting Hill Arts Club
14 May: Brighton, Komedia (The Great Escape)
14 May: Brighton, The Queens Hotel (The Great Escape)
15 May: London, Brixton Windmill
4 Jun: London, CAMP (DJ set)

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

THE BIG CHILL, Castle Deer Park, Herefordshire, 4-7 Aug: Annie Nightingale is new to the Big Chill bill, finding herself on the line-up with such fellow musical luminaries as Kanye West, Wild Beasts, Warpaint and Calvin Harris. www.bigchill.net/festival

THE BIG FEASTIVAL, Clapham Common, London, 1-3 Jul: An all-new event combining food, music and a family-friendly atmosphere, the inaugural Big Feastival is to host Soul II Soul feat Caron Wheeler, Athlete, New Young Pony Club, The Charlatans and Mystery Jets, with all funds raised going to The Prince's Trust and The Jamie Oliver Foundation. Sounds royally pukka. www.thebigfeastival.co.uk

THE BIG MIX, various venues, Shoreditch, London, 18 Jun: In yet more 'Big' festival news, this Macmillan Cancer Trust fundraiser will take place across assorted pubs n clubs across London's trendy Shoreditch, welcoming Clare Maguire, Tim Burgess and Edith Bowman for solo sets along the way, with Treetop Flyers and Zero 7 also snagged to perform. www.thebigmix.org.uk

LATITUDE, Henham Park Estate, Suffolk, 14-17 Jul: Another festival date for Annie Nightingale, with the long-running Radio 1 legend just booked to provide a snappy soundtrack to Latitude's three-day extravaganza. Suede, The National, Glasvegas and Bombay Bicycle Club are amongst the names already on the roster. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

OXEGEN, Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare, 8-10 Jul: In-demand dance acts Tiga and Afrojack are fresh on the Oxegen bill, with Fun Lovin Criminals and 90s favourites Ocean Colour Scene also joining the array of previous bookings including Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas and Arctic Monkeys. www.oxegen.ie

SOUTHERN SOUNDS, Clapham Common, London, 11 Jun: Organisers have revealed the line-up for their third stage, with DJ sets booked from DJ Yoda, Krafty Kuts, Freestylers, Adam Freeland, Rennie Pilgrem, Utah Saints and Elite Force. New Zealand's I Am Giant and South African dance duo Goldfish will fit nicely into the festival's antipodean theme, joining a bill of previous announcees including INXS, Just Jinjer and Shihad. www.southernsoundsfestival.com

TRAMLINES, various venues, Sheffield, 22-24 Jul: Ash, Toddla T, Rolo Tomassi and busy festival bees Frankie & The Heartstrings are amongst the first acts confirmed for the sprawling citywide bash, with Los Campesinos! and Dananananaykroyd also set to delight non-paying crowds at the entirely free event. Hurrah! www.tramlines.org.uk

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CITY SHOWCASE ANNOUNCES WORKSHOP PROGRAMME
Organisers of the City Showcase: Spotlight London 2011 festival have announced a programme of workshops as part of its first Student Music Week, which will take place on 3-10 May, running in addition to the main festival, which runs from 9-11 May.

Run in conjunction with the University Of Westminster under the banner 'Finding The Future', various speakers, including Topspin's Ian Rogers and Squeeze songwriter Chris Difford, will offer advice to young people hoping to have a career in the music industry.

Hussein Boon, Programme Director of the BMus Commercial Music Performance course at the University of Westminster, said: "The music department of the University Of Westminster is proud and very excited about the 'Finding The Future' event and look forward to establishing it as a 'must see' in the industry calendar. Every year our students progress to key roles where they not only enter the music business - they are also leading and changing it. 'Finding The Future' is the next logical step in demonstrating to the industry that there is a wealth of talent on their doorstep".

More information at www.cityshowcase.co.uk.

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FLAVOR FLAV QUITS THE CHICKEN BUSINESS
Public Enemy's Favor Flav has announced that he is taking his name off friend chicken restaurant, Flav's Fried Chicken in Iowa. Since it opened four months ago, the restaurant has been criticised from various angles, including by some former employees who recently claimed that they had not been paid, which co-founder and manager Nick Cimino put down to a "credit card glitch".

The rapper, who now plans to open a new restaurant in Las Vegas called Flavor Flav's House Of Flavor, told local TV station WQAD-TV on Sunday that he had made the decision to pull out of Flav's Fried Chicken because Cimino "isn't running the business right". Cimino retaliated by saying that his former business partner was "a fraud", adding: "I came up with the idea and now he wants to run without me? That's fine ... I'm just glad I'm free of somebody like Flavor Flav".

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MARY ANNE HOBBS EXPLAINS RADIO 1 DEPARTURE
Writing a guest blog for Billboard, Mary Anne Hobbs has spoken about her decision to leave Radio 1 earlier this year, and her new appointment at Xfm.

She wrote: "The truth is, I needed to take a risk ... BBC Radio 1 gave me fourteen years of freedom as a broadcaster, for which I will always thankful ... But in 2010, I felt the time was right to attempt some real progression in radio. I wanted to break out of my 2am - 4am BBC slot, which in truth, was beginning to feel like a dungeon, at best testing and at worst prohibitive for even the most committed listener. I could not betray my instincts".

She continued: "Traditionally, artists beloved of 'specialist' programmes like my own, are only able to gain primetime plays or support from 'bigger' DJs, once they are commercially successful and already proven. I wanted to try to break this mould and achieve something much more profound. I longed for a chance to elevate my entire radio platform, for every artist, on the basis of their creative and cultural significance. This was my mission".

Despite the popularity of her show via the iPlayer and other sources, it became clear that the Beeb was not the place to carry out this mission. She explained: "The BBC did not wish to make a schedule change (a decision that I fully respect). But Xfm had a different kind of vision and true belief in me. They have given me a three hour primetime Saturday night platform, and it's such a VICTORY for everyone in my world".

As previously reported, Hobbs will return to the Xfm airwaves on 9 Jul.

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MARILYN MANSON LOVES GREGGS
Yeah, so last year Lady Gaga was reportedly seen frequenting a branch of Greggs, now Marilyn Manson has come out and professed his love for the bakery chain. If there's one thing you can say about big American stars, it's that they have absolutely no taste.

According to The Sun, Manson said: "What's that place in good old England? The bakers? Greggs, that's right Greggs. They do the best pasties there. I always go there when I'm in London, the cheese and onion is great. Good old-fashioned fare".

Jesus, no one let him near Weatherspoon's.

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SCOUTING FOR GIRLS DISPLAY FAKE TWITTER FEED ON WEBSITE
Scouting For Girls launched a new website yesterday and, like many bands, gave their Twitter feed pride of place right on the homepage. Except they weren't linking to their Twitter account, the site was pointing to an unclaimed account. 

Spying an opportunity, the profile was duly registered by Stockport-based music blogger James Chapman, who began posting such gems as "Oops... turns out Elvis IS dead. Let us know of factual inaccuracies in our other songs and we'll write (irritating) corrected versions" and "Just off to the toilet. One of us is going for a wee - the other two poo-poos. See if you can guess who!"

Chapman also alerted Scouting For Girls' management to the error, which meant it was fixed fairly promptly. But let that be a lesson to you, bands. Take a look at the My Clever Agency blog to see what sort of rubbish could end up on your website if you're not careful: social.mycleveragency.com/scouting-for-girls-in-an-epic-social-media-fa

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SNOOP DOGG TO PERFORM WITH ORCHESTRA AT ROYAL WEDDING
Hey, we all scoffed when he announced that "the royal family wanted to have me perform in celebration of Prince William's marriage" last year, but it looks almost certain that he will. Honest, I'm not making it up. Okay, I am. 

The news is actually that the London Chamber Orchestra will perform at the wedding on Friday. Musical director and conductor Christopher Warren-Green told People: "The couple have very, very strong ideas of what they want". But when asked which pieces would be performed, he replied: "I'm terribly sorry. Both Prince William and Catherine really want to try and keep things a surprise".

Which, actually, I think is a pretty clear indication that Snoop Dogg will indeed be part of the performance. He'll almost certainly be playing an orchestra version of the track he penned for William's stag do, 'Wet'. Reacquaint yourself with the original ready for a singalong here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-FpVjmLfSA

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