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

ICLOUD LAUNCHES
So, Apple boss Stan 'The Man' Jobs took to the stage at the not at all dull sounding World Developers Conference in San Fran yesterday to unveil a number of new software innovations, including new Mac operating system Lion, which poses the question, when you name your OS releases after cats, where do you go after 'lion'? Our money is on a series of upgrades named after the Thundercats.

But, of course, for us music bods, it wasn't operating system upgrades we were in the house to hear about, we wanted to know about Stan's big bad cloud, and by that we don't mean the Apple chief's persistent ill health. No, we want our content and data to be automatically available across all our devices, without having to partake in any of that tedious syncing nonsense. And, providing all your portable devices are made by Stan, the iCloud will do just that.

"Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up to date across all your devices", Stan admitted. "iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it's integrated into our apps you don't even need to think about it - it all just works".

So, that means updated contacts, calendars, photos, emails and apps will be automatically pumped to any Apple device from a storage unit in the sky (well, a server connected to the internet, if you prefer accuracy to metaphor). Said Apple locker will also keep back ups of any purchased content or apps, ready to be pumped to new devices, or old devices if they - say - happen to be dropped on arrival at the Edinburgh Fringe wiping your local hard disk clean.

But what does this mean for the music side of iTunes? Well three things. First, iTunes will keep a back up of any tracks you buy from the digital music store in your locker, which can be downloaded or redownloaded to any net-connected device. Existing iTunes customers should find everything they have previously bought via the platform already in their locker. Second, when you buy tracks in future, as well as the back up kept in your iCloud locker, the track will automatically download to all Apple devices as well as your iTunes-carrying computer. Both these new services will be free.

But thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, come this autumn the iCloud will allow you to upload your whole MP3 collection to your locker, oblivious of where you got your digital music from. This will then be backed up and accessible from any Apple device. This full digital locker service - which is the bit we didn't know for sure would be announced at this stage - will cost $25 a year to use.

Because iCloud is licensed (albeit not yet by most of the indies) Apple will be able to offer 'scan and match' functionality as part of its upload facility, whereby before uploading any MP3s the system will check what tracks in a user's collection are already in Apple's catalogue, which for most people is likely to be the majority. Those tracks will then be moved into the user's lockers directly from Apple's own server, saving said user the time and hassle of actually uploading content.

Neither the rival lockers from Google or Amazon can offer this service because, unlike a basic storage offer, where the licensing situation is ambiguous, most agree a 'scan and match' service requires some sort of licence from the content owners.

Stan's big plan was generally well received yesterday, even if most of his announcements had already been leaked this time. Though some point out that when it comes to portable devices, the iCloud only works with Apple gadgets, which is a limitation in a world where Android phones are starting to dominate.

Quick to point out this weakness was 7Digital chief Ben Drury, who told CMU: "We've always supported the concept of making consumers' personal music collections accessible on all their devices - indeed we've allowed customers to re-download their purchases for several years. As consumers use more and more connected devices in their daily lives, accessing all their content easily and instantly on all their devices has become a compelling need".

He continued: "The new services from Apple are a step in the right direction but only if all your devices are Apple devices. Their platform is essentially closed and proprietary - customers are forced into choosing Apple for all their devices. 7Digital's approach, through our open APIs and partnerships, is to offer cloud functionality that is independent of device - you can use our service on Android, BlackBerry, PC, Mac, Linux, Safari, Chrome etc".

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LADY GAGA NAMED MOST PLAYED ARTIST OF 2010
PPL has released its annual list of the tracks which had the most plays on radio and in public places in the previous year. So, that's fun, isn't it? Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' tops the list, with another of her songs, 'Alejandro', in at three. Interestingly, only four of the songs in the top ten were released as singles in 2010, five of them having been originally released in 2009 and one, Kings Of Leon's 'Sex On Fire', released way back in 2008.

The top ten is as follows:

1 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
2 Alicia Keys Empire - State Of Mind
3 Lady Gaga - Alejandro
4 Plan B - She Said
5 Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
6 Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go
7 Ke$Ha - Tik Tok
8 Florence And The Machine - Rabbit Heart
9 Train - Hey, Soul Sister
10 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire

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ANA NETREBKO SIGNS TO DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Operatic soprano Anna Netrebko has re-signed to Universal's classical label Deutsche Grammophon, which should result in both album and DVD releases.

Confirming the new deal, Deutsche Grammophon's Michael Lang told CMU: "Our long-term partnership with Anna has created the most inspired, beautiful, and artistic recordings. We are thrilled to continue this tradition with such a superb artist".

Netrebko herself added: "I am happy to continue my collaboration at Deutsche Grammophon - it's one of the most rewarding experiences in my career. We have many exciting new ideas - that I look forward to begin recording. Thank you, DG! Here's to many more years together".

Netrebko will be playing Donizetti's 'Anna Bolena' at The Met in New York this autumn, after performing at the Vienna State Opera.

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THE ROOTS TO BRING IN ORCHESTRA FOR NEW CONCEPT ALBUM
Hip hoppers The Roots are working on a "narrative concept album" which will see them move towards a more orchestral sound, ?uestlove has revealed.

Speaking to Billboard, the drummer said: "This is going to be our first fully-fledged narrative concept album. It's going to be heavy on sort of orchestral chamber music with harder beats in it".

This sound, he added, was inspired by a recent performance with French multi-instrumentalist Keren Ann and various other collaborators for the Philadelphia International Festival Of The Arts: "I did this project called the Philly-Paris Lockdown, [which centred on a] period of French music from Debussy to Satie and Stravinsky ... it was almost like the dawning of jazz in the early 1900s".

With just two rough songs for the album written, there is no firm release date for the album yet. ?uestlove said he was hoping it would be ready for a November release, but admitted it may be more realistic to expect it in early 2012.

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JAMIE XX FINALLY RELEASES SINGLE
Back last September we told you that Jamie Smith of The xx would be releasing a solo single, entitled 'Far Nearer' via Numbers. We said, and I quote: "The exact release date for the single has not yet been announced". Well, I thought we should probably inform you now that that release date was yesterday. We do like to give you this information upfront.

Commenting on the track when he premiered it on John Kennedy's show on Xfm back in September, Smith remarked: "It's a tune I made on one of our short breaks from touring and I was eager to make some new music. I got a steel pan and made this track".

You can hear 'Far Nearer' and b-side 'Beat For', here: soundcloud.com/nmbrs/sets/jamie-xx-far-nearer-nmbrs10/

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RADIOHEAD TO RELEASE REMIX TWELVE-INCHES
Radiohead are going to release a series of twelve-inch singles which will feature remixes of songs from 'The King Of Limbs'. The first will be released on 4 Jul and will feature Caribou's take on 'Little By Little' and Jacques Greene's version of 'Lotus Flower'.

The singles will be available through selected independent record stores and www.radiohead.com.

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RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS NAME NEW ALBUM
Red Hot Chili Peppers have decided to call their new album 'I'm With You', ditching the much better working title 'Dr Johnny Skinz's Disproportionately Rambunctious Polar Express Machine-head'. The album will be released in the Satates on 30 Aug, so presumably 29 Aug in the UK.

The news was announced via Twitter by bassist Flea, who said: "I'm With You August 30th!!! whahoooooo!!! yip! yippeeee!!!! whaaaaaaa!!!!!!! yes y3es ys ye s yes yes yeyeyeye yes yes yeslovelovelove".

Yes indeed.

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BRITNEY SPEARS ANNOUNCES UK SHOWS
Britney has announced some UK dates on her 'Femme Fatale' tour, which the popstress is promising will be her best shows yet. Apparently she'll be singing (miming? does she still do that?) no less than 21 songs, with two "surprises". I'm putting money on one of those surprises being her rendition of 'Snooker Loopy', which I hear is awesome. Tickets for the shows go on sale on Friday.

Tour dates:

27 Oct: London, O2 Arena
30 Oct: Birmingham, LG Arena
6 Nov: Manchester, MEN Arena

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THE HORRORS ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES
As previously reported, The Horrors will release their third album 'Skying' through XL on 11 Jul. Such a trauma will this be for them that they won't be able to tour in support of it until October. Oh, actually they're playing a load of festivals, and they are playing three dates later this month. Maybe I've misjudged them. Tickets for the October shows go on sale on Friday.

Tour dates:

11 Oct: Norwich, Waterfront
12 Oct: London, The Roundhouse
14 Oct: Birmingham, Academy 2
15 Oct: Manchester, The Warehouse Project
16 Oct: Leeds, Cockpit
18 Oct: Newcastle, Digital
19 Oct: Edinburgh, Liquid Room
20 Oct: Liverpool, The Kazimer
21 Oct: Oxford, Academy 2
23 Oct: Bristol, Trinity
24 Oct: Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
25 Oct: Brighton, Concorde 2
26 Oct: Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
27 Oct: Southend, Chinnery's

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

BELSONIC, Custom House Square, Belfast, Norther Ireland, 17-27 Aug: Organisers have responded to an overwhelming response to this year's billing by adding Tiësto and Tinie Tempah as final headliners for this Belfast-based music bash. Tinie and Tiësto complete a line-up of fellow notables including Elbow, The Specials, Primal Scream, Beady Eye and 30 Seconds To Mars. www.belsonic.com

GLASTONBURY, Worthy Farm, Somerset, 22-26 Jun: Glastonbury's late night Arcadia area will host on its 360 degree stage a DJ set from Orbital, as well as appearances by French D&B supremos Dirtyphonics, Monk3y Logic, Stanton Warriors and The Specials' own Neville Staple. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

SHAMBALA, secret location, Midlands, 25-28 Aug 2011: First acts confirmed for this enigmatically-situated Midlands fest are Lamb, Willy Mason, Johnny Clarke and The Bollywood Brass Band. Also amongst this initial portion of announcees are The Correspondents, Red Snapper, Engine-Earz Experiment and Nick Harper. www.shambalafestival.org

WAKESTOCK, Abersoch Bay, Wales, 8-10 Jul: Beatboxer Beardyman and rap-star Lethal Bizzle are fresh on the bill at Wakestock's surf-tastic seaside weekender, joining an existing roster that boasts the likes of co-headliners Biffy Clyro, The Wombats and Ellie Goulding, plus other acts including Kelis, Example and Chase & Status. www.wakestock.co.uk/abersoch

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EP REVIEW: Debukas - Debukas001 (2020 Vision)
Debukas is part of a new movement - if you can call it that - of artists for whom 1988 is their year zero. Along with contemporaries like the 2 Bears and some of the new acts on the rejuvenated R&S label, Debukas mines the territory of Detroit techno, Chicago house and IDM in a richly seductive way to make music that still sounds more futurist than retro-futurist.

Awash with spacey synths, deep house beats and acid squelches, the four tracks here are given warmth and humanity by the teenager's (yes, we have another young prodigy here) occasional vocals. 'Some Days' does this perfectly - built on looped vocal fragments and an insistent P-Funk beat, its shimmering Bladerunner washes and poppy chorus hook prove irresistible. Meanwhile 'Set Myself On Fire' effortlessly drops the tempo... the vibe could be blissed-out Balearica were it not for the metropolitan sensibility.

Constantly melodic deftly-executed dance music is rarely done as well as this, making this debut a joy from start to end. MS

Physical release: 30 May

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COULD TESCO FORCE A RETHINK ON TICKETING?
Lots of people in the ticketing sector are curious as to Tesco's ambitions in their industry after the supermarket giant last week announced it would be selling tickets to a series of concerts being promoted by the Liz Hobbs Group, and taking place at racecourses around the UK.

Tickets for the events, which include a day at the races followed by a gig by the likes of Tom Jones, Blondie and the Scissor Sisters, are available from various agents, but that includes Tesco's online entertainment store. And the supermarket giant isn't charging any booking or credit card fees, and offer loyalty card points for those who buy their tickets via its website.

Says Tesco's Entertainment Director Rob Salter: "We know our customers are increasingly keen to experience live music and we wanted to meet this growing trend, by providing a ticket offer that would deliver great value and a reliable service. Tickets to see music at the races are a perfect summertime treat to enjoy with friends or family, at an affordable price. What's key when money is so tight is that customers don't need to worry about unexpected additional ticket costs when they buy from our entertainment website".

Although currently only selling tickets for this one series of concerts, everyone assumes this is a pilot for a more extensive ticketing service in the future which, if it continued to be commission free and with loyalty card incentives thrown in, could force other ticketing agents to radically rethink their business models.

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T-PAIN TO LAUNCH AUTO-TUNE RIVAL
Having been an avid user of Auto-Tune audio technology for some time, even launching an official iPhone app with the software's makers Antares, T-Pain has announced that he's shunning it in order to launch his own rival.

He told AllHipHop: "I vow right here, right now, to never use Auto-Tune again. I'm onto something that I think is bigger and better called The T-Pain Effect".

Created in conjunction with Izotope, the rapper announced that he would officially unveil the voice manipulation software at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles today.

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RAJAR DISCOVERS THE INTERNET
The people who compile the official ratings for the UK radio industry are going digital, people. Which, given the many and much previously reported weaknesses of the RAJAR system sounds exciting. Until you realise that all that is happening is that the small sample group of radio listeners who keep diaries of their radio listening for RAJAR will be able to submit their lists of the stations and shows they listened to via a website rather than by post. Which, I think it's fair to say, most of us probably assumed was the way it was already done.

But no, RAJAR is even more of a 1980s operation than we thought. Say what you like about Kelvin McKenzie, but when it came to his 'RAJARS are rubbish' rants during his brief stint running TalkSport, he did raise a number of very good points.

Seemingly very pleased that his team have worked out how to connect to the internet, RAJAR boss Jerry Hill announced the latest innovation by saying: "This is probably the biggest event in RAJAR's history in terms of data collection. The notion of future-proofing the survey is a very powerful reason why this is so important for RAJAR".

Of course, if we ever get to a point where the vast majority of radio listening is via the internet (assuming the internet could cope with such a thing) it would be fascinating to see the listening stats generated. While not foolproof, such stats would be much more reliable, and you can't help thinking quite revealing.

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JAMES MCMAHON ANNOUNCED AS NEW KERRANG! EDITOR
James McMahon has been announced as the new editor of Kerrang!, taking over from the recently departed Nichola Browne. The rock weekly has been celebrating its 30th anniversary sans-Editor.

Although having contributed as a freelancer to Metal Hammer at the start of his career, McMahon spent much of the last ten years at the NME, as a contributor, New Music Editor, Features Editor and latterly Film Editor. After leaving the NME, McMahon initially planned to launch his own music website called Stunt, before deciding to return to more conventional media, having taken the role of Deputy Editor at Future's GamesMaster title as recently as March.

Confirming his new role at Kerrang!, McMahon told CMU: "When I was a kid I wanted to be the singer in Slayer. Then I found out that they already had a singer so I decided I wanted to be the editor of Kerrang! instead. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to fulfil my dream. Furthermore, I am excited to be joining at a time when the rock scene is so healthy, especially in Britain. Kerrang! has been the guardian of all that's great and heavy for 30 years, I'm looking forward to booting off 30 more".

Phil Alexander, Editor In Chief of Kerrang! and MOJO, added: "James brings with him a vast range of experience and expertise, but most significant of all is the fact that he is a rock fan. In his younger days he promoted gigs, when he got older he learnt how to translate that same passion on to the page. I look forward to working with him as he takes Kerrang! to the next level".

James will start his new post on the 27 Jun.

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CHERYL COLE'S X EXIT CONFIRMED
So, it's official, Cheryl Cole has been axed from 'X-Factor USA' and will not be returning. As expected, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, originally set to co-host the show, will take over from Cole on the talent show's judging panel. Brit telly presenter Steve Jones will host the programme on his lonesome.

In a rather straight forward statement, the show's makers said: "Nicole Scherzinger will be replacing Cheryl Cole on the judging panel of 'The X Factor'. Nicole will join Simon Cowell, LA Reid and Paula Abdul on their search across America to find the next global superstar or group to win the life-changing $5 million dollar recording deal. Nicole has previously joined Simon Cowell as a guest judge on 'The X Factor' for the UK version of the show in 2010. Steve Jones will act as sole host of 'The X Factor'".

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TAKE THAT MEMBERS CAPTURED AND HELD HOSTAGE BY GIANT ROBOT
Take That's Mark Owen and Howard Donald were captured by a giant robot in Manchester on Saturday night. Which, as with most things Take That, is no where near as exciting as it originally sounds.

The robot, called Om apparently, is just part of the group's current stage set up, and last weekend it stopped working, leaving the two That-ers hanging three metres up in the air. Still, presumably keen to ensure the machines didn't win, Owen and Donald adopted a 'show must go on' policy. The former was subsequently rescued with a ladder, while the latter hung on until being able to lower himself after singing 'Never Forget'.

If you want some sort of official statement on this, well, here it is: "The mechanical man did stop in motion at the end of 'Love Love' but the matter was resolved and by the end of the show he was standing tall again. There is no guarantee that with a mechanical structure the size of Om, there will be no recurrence at some point but all seems fine now".

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