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MUSIC RIGHTS - INSIDE & OUT
A beginner's guide to music copyright - everything you need to know about copyright law, licensing, monetising copyright, the fight against piracy and the future of the music rights industry. Wed 15 Jun 2011

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 29 Jun

For more information or to book visit www.theCMUwebsite.com/training

ALL FOUR MAJORS ON BOARD FOR ICLOUD, PUBLISHING AND INDIES STILL TO BE SORTED OUT
A deal has been done with Universal Music for Apple's new storage service iCloud, according to the Wall Street Journal, with contracts due to be inked this week. This means that all four major record companies will be on board when Apple formally launches the new service at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco next week - the IT giant having confirmed yesterday that it will use that event to unveil its the new music offer, and that that offer is called iCloud. Speculation is now rife that Steve Jobs will lead the launch proceedings.

Apple, of course, will be the first company to launch a music storage service that is endorsed by the major record companies - the digital lockers offered by Google, Amazon and smaller players in the market currently operating without content licences (legally or illegally so, depending on who you ask). It remains to be seen what limitations Apple has had to apply to its locker service in order to get the labels on board, it seeming unlikely Apple will have gone the 'pay big bucks now and sort out the details later' route that some start-ups have to go through to make the labels embrace new business models.

We know that some in the big record companies remain cautious about the very concept of digital lockers, which they feel potentially compete with subscription-based streaming services like Spotify without delivering anywhere near the same level of revenue for content owners. Others fear that lockers offer too much functionality to those who built up their MP3 collections illegally, and potentially open the doors for even more unlicensed sharing of music.

However, according to Billboard, it wasn't just the concept of digital lockers that hindered talks between Google and the record industry on the issue. Unlike Amazon, Google did try to get the majors on board for its slightly unwieldy digital locker. Billboard's sources say that few at the majors were still resisting the very concept of digital lockers when in talks with Google, rather there were other issues, including how revenues generated by a music storage service would be shared between different stakeholders.

Though, if Billboard is to be believed, execs at the Sony and Universal record companies didn't have a problem with Google keeping 30% of revenue, but with the music publishers getting over a sixth of the content owners' share - Google's proposal, it's reported, was the revenue be split 12% publisher, 58% label, it keeping the rest.

Given that both Sony and Universal own publishing companies as well as record labels it would seem insane that such a grievance could topple the whole Google locker deal, though it's not the first time squabbling between record and publishing companies owned by the same people have hindered digital growth.

The very same issue still has the potential to hinder iCloud, though because Apple did its deal with the labels first, whereas Google seemingly had the publishers sorted before the record companies, it probably won't scupper Steve Jobs' plan to launch his new service next week. Wrangling between Apple and the music publishing sector reportedly continues.

Of course, none of this makes reference to the independent sector, which, as far as we know, is not currently signed up to iCloud. Google reportedly offered the indies a less good deal than the majors on its digital locker, and it wouldn't be a surprise if Apple was doing likewise, though hopefully indie rights agency Merlin will hold fast and embarrass the supposedly independent thinking IT firm into more favourable terms, even if it means holding out at launch.

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ADELE POSTPONES NORTH AMERICAN SHOWS DUE TO LARYNGITIS
Adele has had to postpone a number of shows on her North American tour because of bloody laryngitis. Having cancelled a show on Thursday on doctor's orders, the singer returned to the stage in Denver on Saturday, but reportedly struggled through her set and subsequently scrapped a Salt Lake City gig on Sunday. A spokesman announced yesterday that all this week's shows are being postponed, with hopes the chart topper can be back on stage in San Francisco on Saturday.

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SLAYER WON'T RECORD FOR SOME TIME DUE TO HANNEMAN'S ILLNESS
Slayer won't be going back into the studio in the near future, the band's Tom Araya has confirmed, because guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still recovering from the nasty necrotising fasciitis disease he contracted after being bitten by a spider earlier this year.

As previously reported, Hanneman stood down from the metal outfit's recent touring activity after contracting the serious infection, which is sometimes dubbed the 'flesh-eating disease' - though he did return for a couple of songs during one of the recent Big Four Of Thrash shows. However, Hanneman's recovery is expected to take some time, and Araya has said that while the band are playing live without their guitar man, they wouldn't record new material without him.

Speaking to The Quietus, Araya said: "There's no way we'd go into a studio without him. We require his musical skills, his writing skills. He's an integral part of the band. So we're going to hold off until he's at 100% and can join that process and be part of it".

On that recovery process, Araya added: "He's had skin grafts, and he's got to rehabilitate his arm and get it back in shape again. It's going to require a lot of time".

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NME BEST SMALL VENUE WINNER TO GET FREE KIT
The NME is currently running a vote to identify the best small venue in the UK, and has just announced that the winner of the accolade will be given £2500 worth of stage microphones from AKG and their UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd, a rep from which will join the award's judging panel.

Punters have led the first part of the voting, and shortlists for each region are now on the NME's website, where fans can again vote for their favourites. From the regional winners a judging panel will select the overall winner.

More at www.NME.com/smallvenues

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NEW KOOKS ALBUM TRACKLISTING
Go on admit it, we all know it, you're dying to see the track listing for the new Kooks album 'Junk Of The Heart', which is due out on 12 Sep. I know it, you know it, my Aunt Mable knows it, and there is no point trying to deny it. Well OK, here it is.

You'll see the band has conformed to norm and used words for their song titles, though there are some brackets for the thrill seekers out there, and the word 'fuck' has been used to please the kids.

Junk Of The Heart (Happy)
How'd You Like That
Rosie
Taking Pictures Of You
Killing Me
Fuck The World Off
Time Above The Earth
Runaway
Is It Me
Petulia
Eskimo Kiss
Mr Nice Guy

The album release will be preceded by a series of intimate gigs in venues around the UK picked by the band's fans on that old internet thing.

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LIGHTSPEED HYNES TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM
Lightspeed Champion will not release a new solo album in August. You might wonder why that's news, but it is. Because Dev 'Lightspeed Champion' Hynes will release a new record in August, but using the moniker Blood Orange, for reasons I haven't bothered to find out. The record will be called 'Coastal Grooves', will see the light of day on 8 Aug with a single out the previous week, and has the following track listing...

Forget It
Sutphin Boulevard
I'm Sorry We Lied
Can We Go Inside Now?
Scooled
Complete Failure
Instantly Blank (The Goodness)
The Complete Knock
Are You Sure You're Really Busy?
Champagne Coast

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NEW COLDPLAY
Coldplay drummer Will Champion has taken to his band's website to announce details of a brand new track called 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall', which will be streamed and released later this week. "We're about to play a bunch of summer festivals", says the Will man. "So, it's as good a time as any to put out a new song". I can actually think of a better time, but let's not worry about that.

Champion's blog post came just hours after Team Coldplay posted a new teaser trailer featuring lyrics and a hint of a bassline from the new song, which presumably comes from their Brian Eno produced in development fifth studio album. The trailer is at the URL below, the new song is due to appear on the Coldplay website on Friday.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSWPg9DGCHw

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NEW CHROMEO SINGLE PACKAGE OUT NEXT MONTH
Chromeo will return in July with a new single including guest vocals from that Solange Knowles. The track is 'When The Night Falls' from the electro duo's 2010 album 'Business Casual', and the single package will also come with three remixes and a cover of the track by Mayer Hawthorne. Woo.

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COACHELLA TO DOUBLE UP IN 2012
Promoters of Coachella have announced that next year they will stage the event over two weekends at their Indio, California site, basically staging the same event twice. Organisers say that demand to attend the sell-out fest has been so high in recent years that record numbers of counterfeit tickets have been in circulation. It's hoped that by doing the whole thing twice all those who want to attend can be accommodated with official tickets.

In a statement on the festival's website, organisers said: "We know many of you were unable to attend this year's festival because passes sold out much sooner than anticipated. We were truly surprised by the overwhelming response and remain honoured by your passion and enthusiasm. We also know some of you purchased through non-legitimate sources and were inconvenienced, gouged or totally scammed. We hope that these changes will give everyone the opportunity to purchase directly from Coachella.com".

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

FEEL GOOD FESTIVAL, various venues, Rochdale, 13-14 Aug: Held across assorted venues in and around Rochdale's town centre, this council-backed event will host newcomers Frankie & The Heartstrings, as well as older hands like Fun Lovin Criminals, Badly Drawn Boy and Ellen And The Escapades. www.rochdale.gov.uk/events

KENDAL CALLING, Lowther Estate, Hackthorpe, East Cumbria, 29-31 Jul: Newly poised to perform at this year's 'Beasts And Machines'-themed event will be acts including Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Tom Williams & The Boat and Sophie Barker, who will all appear on the Get Loud In Libraries stage. Previous bookings include headliners Blondie and The Cribs, Chase & Status, plus Frank Turner, Young Knives, Echo & The Bunnymen and Frankie & The Heartstrings. www.kendalcalling.co.uk

LATITUDE, Henham Park Estate, Suffolk, 14-17 Jul: Fresh on the Latitude bill are Sunday afternoon performers Scala & Kolacny Bros, who will perform reworkings of rock classics, including their 'The Social Network'-featured rendition of Radiohead's 'Creep', accompanied by a 26-piece all-female choir. They join a line-up that features The National, Suede and Paolo Nutini alongside a list of acts including Lykke Li, Glasser, Caribou and a solo Kele Okereke. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

OFF FESTIVAL, Katowice, Poland, 5-7 Aug: Public Image Ltd, Frankie And The Heartstrings, Dry The River, Anna Calvi and Blonde Redhead are the latest additions to the switched-on billing at Poland's new music-championing bash, joining previous announcees including Anna Calvi, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Factory Floor, Primal Scream and Warpaint. www.off-festival.pl/en/2011/

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BPI AND MU AGREE ON NEW DEAL FOR SESSION MUSICIANS
Record label trade body the BPI and the Musicians' Union have reached an agreement on new simplified contracts for session musicians, which the two trade bodies say offer musicians enhanced remuneration and labels the increased flexibility they need in the ever changing record industry.

The new contracts, one for studio recordings and one for live recordings, consolidate three old agreements, and it's hoped will make things easier for labels hiring MU musicians. The contract allows for a basic rate and additional fees, and give labels a broader package of musicians' consents up front.

Confirming an agreement had been reached, MU General Secretary John Smith told CMU: "We recognise the difficulties that the record industry has faced in recent years. This agreement represents a new way of working, and we hope that it will lead to increased employment in this valuable sector as well as helping to showcase British musicians as amongst the best in the world".

BPI top dog Geoff Taylor added: "The working partnership between musicians and record labels is at the very heart of the recorded music business. The new agreement delivers greater payments to UK musicians in return for more flexible rights for UK labels, which will make it easier to commercialise recordings in the digital environment. This will help make the UK recorded music industry more competitive and more successful, and secure more work in the UK for our musicians".

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FESTIVALS ENCOURAGE MUSIC FANS TO GOCARSHARE
A number of music festivals are promoting a new online community called goCarShare.com to encourage festival-goers getting to an event by car to fill as many seats in their vehicle as possible, cutting down on the total number of cars heading to any one festival's site.

Festival-goers with cars with empty seats can find extra passengers, while those looking for transport can find drivers with capacity. The whole thing is linked into Facebook, so that drivers can check out prospective passengers, and vice versa, the idea being that somewhere in the wider network there might be a friend of a friend of a friend looking to car share, giving both parties some reassurance about travelling to a festival together. Drivers and passengers will also be able to rate each other eBay style once they have travelled together.

There are obvious environmental, logistical and financial benefits to car sharing, and goCarShare.com offers tips on what extra passengers should contribute towards the driver's costs. Among the festivals advising users to goCarShare are Sonisphere, Wakestock, Reading and Leeds Festivals, The Big Chill, Glade, Latitude and the Secret Garden Party. Some are offering a competition to upgrade to VIP tickets for anyone who car shares.

The founder of the free-to-use car share website, Drummond Gilbert, told CMU: "I had the idea whilst walking down the street and seeing a queue of stationary cars. Pretty much all of them only had one person in. I am a keen festival-goer myself. I love 'being' at festivals, it's just getting to them can be a complete nightmare. It's expensive, logistically complicated, not to mention bad for your carbon footprint. At a lot of the festivals that I have been to, it is part of the spirit to get involved and help people out - if I can do that in a very small way be connecting people so that they can travel together, then for me that's a great achievement".

He added: "We built goCarShare around Facebook so that users can see if they share friends with other users, they can even see if they like similar bands to other users. We made the process super quick and made it simple for passengers and drivers to contact each other. As well as this, there is a big emphasis on fun, on meeting new people and making new friends. The festivals have really got behind it and are being really supportive. Reading, Leeds, Latitude, Sonisphere and Wakestock are offering car sharers a chance to be upgraded to VIP tickets. Clearly petrol prices are squeezing drivers so getting a decent contribution to the fuel costs has encouraged drivers too".

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NET FIRMS HAVE SECOND GO AT OVERTURNING THREE-STRIKES
As you may have seen, BT and TalkTalk are having another stab at blocking the copyright provisions of the Digital Economy Act. Well, why not, sounds like fun.

As previously reported, the two internet service providers object to the still-in-development three-strikes system put in place by the DEA, which will force ISPs to send warning letters to suspected file-sharers and to ultimately instigate 'technical measures' against persistent online copyright infringers (well, those that can be detected) which might include bandwidth throttling or net suspension.

The net firms took the legislation to judicial review last year claiming it was in conflict with various bits of European law, and that parliament hadn't given the proposed system enough scrutiny before passing the DEA because the then Labour government had to rush it all through before last year's General Election.

But the judges who reviewed the legislation did not concur with that viewpoint, rejecting all of the ISPs' arguments (except one on who should cover the costs of three-strikes) back in April. On Friday the net companies confirmed they were seeking leave to appeal that ruling, hoping for another opportunity to fight their corner. The appeals court is yet to respond to their application.

Although in theory OfCom and others have continued to work on developing the British three-strikes system while all this is going on, things are definitely behind schedule, and BT and TalkTalk's legal tactics are surely one of the reasons for that. This latest action could delay things further.

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NEWS CORP WILL TRY TO OFFLOAD MYSPACE THIS MONTH
News Corp is hoping to finally offload MySpace this month, according to AllThingsD, though whether anyone will make an offer over the $100 million mark, which is what the Rupert Murdoch controlled media conglom reportedly wants for the one time social networking giant, remains to be seen.

News Corp confirmed its intent to sell its flagging MySpace business in January, and has been in talks with various interested parties ever since. As previously reported, it's thought that News Corp's bankers Allen & Co at one point proposed to the Universal and Sony owned Vevo that they might be interested in making a bid to access MySpace's sizable database of music fans, indicating the Murdoch company might be willing to accept an offer in part based on equity in the video site, though it doesn't seem there was much excitement for such a deal at Vevo HQ.

According to AllThingsD, it seems that there are currently two realistic options on the table for News Corp's digital chiefs, either sell to Criterion Capital Partners, the equity group that bought Bebo from AOL, or accept an offer by current CEO Michael Jones of a management buy out, though its not yet fully clear in Jones as the investment in place to fund such a deal. It is possible at least one other private equity fund has expressed an interest also, though whether any of these potential bidders would make an offer in excess of a hundred million we don't know.

Apparently News Corp has been sharing stats about MySpace's recent performance with the bidders still in the room, noting that recent innovations like a MySpace-powered Facebook artists profile app have led to increased "user engagement", something they presumably hope might up the offer price. That said, News Corp would also like the whole MySpace issue to be resolved within this financial quarter, so are now pushing quite hard for final offers. With time of the essence they may end up having to except somewhat less than they had hoped for the web phenomenon they bought for $580 million in 2005.

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NEW CARL COX ALBUM TO COME ON SELF-UPDATING USB STICK
When Carl Cox releases his new album, 'All Roads Lead To The Dancefloor', in August fans will get only a taste of what is to come. The release will come on a USB stick which will then log on to the net at various intervals in the subsequent months downloading extra singles, tour updates, videos and, come October, the full album.

Says the techno wizard of his self-updating USB stick release: "You pay the one price for the one product. And the USB will not only give you the album, but it'll also be your key to everything I do in the next twelve months or so".

The innovative release will come via Cox's own label Intec Digital, and will presumably be available to buy from www.intecdigital.com at some point.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY KERRANG!
Kerrang! is thirty years old this month, and to celebrate the magazine will today publish a top 30 countdown of what its editorial team think are the most influential rock and metal bands of the last thirty years. Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Napalm Death, Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Green Day and Marilyn Manson will all be in the list, but in what order man, what order? There'll be other anniversary style editorial in the latest edition of the mag plus a free CD of 'Kerrang! anthems'.

The title's Editor In Chief Phil Alexander told CMU: "When the first issue of Kerrang! was printed 30 years it ago, it's no exaggeration to say that it changed the world as we know it. It was the first magazine to cover the heavier end of music and to do it with the same passion and positivity as those that read it. I should know: I bought the first issue of the magazine! In the last three decades the magazine has proudly supported every major rock band on the planet. We're delighted that so many of these artists have joined us to celebrate our birthday on the Kerrang! Forever CD. It's a heavy duty compilation that genuinely celebrates the very best of Kerrang!'s world".

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PBS SITE HACKED WITH FAKE TUPAC STORY
The website of the PBS TV network in the US was hacked last week, with hackers posting a story on the 'PBS NewsHour' site reporting that Tupac Shakur was alive and well and living in New Zealand, when, of course, we all know he's now working at my local chip shop with Elvis.

The hack was seemingly in response to a recent edition of PBS show 'FrontLine' which looked into WikiLeaks and the publishing of all those American diplomatic cables last year. The hackers seemingly felt the show was biased against the whistle-blowers website, and that it unfairly portrayed its editor-in-chief Julian Assange. A spokeswoman for PBS admitted that hackers has also got and published logins and passwords for the network's press site and intranet.

Frontline Executive Producer David Fanning said he was disappointed by the hack, not least because viewers had been invited to comment on its WikiLeaks documentary on the show's website, and the views of others critical of the programme had been willingly published.

Says Fanning: "From our point of view, we just see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act, especially since we have been very open to publishing criticism of the film ... and the film included other points of view. This kind of action is irresponsible and chilling".

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FORMER DEEP PURPLE MAN JOINS PLANET ROCK
Glenn Hughes, frontman of rock outfit Black Country Communion, though possibly best known for his stint fronting Deep Purple in the mid-seventies, has joined digital rock station Planet Rock. He will take over the Sunday teatime slot previously fronted by The Quo's Francis Rossi.

Says Planet Rock Programme Director Trevor White: "Glenn continues Planet Rock's tradition of bringing rock's biggest names to the airwaves, after a career spanning 40 years he brings a wealth of stories from his life on the road, in the studio, his friendships with the likes of Keith Moon and Bonzo, the highs, the lows, and, of course, the excesses, and his choice of music makes the show a must listen".

Glenn himself added: "I would like to thank Planet Rock for giving me the opportunity to share with listeners the songs that have shaped my life. Every song is chosen by me, and there will rock n roll stories along the away. I am a messenger".

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AVRIL OFFENDS THE WORLD OF BASEBALL
A baseball club in Florida has apologised after it hosted a gig by that pesky Avril Lavigne who then launched into a four letter word tirade after sound problems dogged her set.

The internet seems to be devoid of any footage of said tirade, despite there being several videos of other parts of her performance at the Tampa Bay Rays baseball ground last weekend, which is no fun at all. Let's assume it went something like "oh, for doodies sake, the darn sound at this bloomin baseball park is just not flippin good enough, I tell you".

Actually, I'm not sure the outburst was quite as OTT as some reports have suggested, and there is footage of Lavigne voluntarily apologising for her language at the end of her set, but they don't like even a handful of 'fucks' in Florida, it seems.

Owners of the baseball team said they were "extremely disappointed" with little Avril, adding in a statement: "The Rays demand profanity-free performances from all of our concert performers, and we are extremely disappointed... It is not consistent with the atmosphere that Tropicana Field is known for".

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