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

PROMOTING MUSIC - MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA & MORE
How to build a profile for your artists - the state of the music media, traditional and new publicity techniques, social media and the future of music PR. Wed 13 Jul

BBC RADIO OVERSTAFFED - WHO KNEW? MYERS REPORT SUMMARY
I think we all know that the BBC national radio stations are vastly over-staffed. More people work on the Radio 1 breakfast show than at Xfm in its totality. But then, of course, the BBC national radio stations do also produce some of the best radio programming in the world, and the high head count plays a role in ensuring that is so.

Though, that said, and with cuts needing to be made at the Beeb, you do sometimes wonder: if Radios 1 and 2 were to lose 25% of their people - as sad as that would be for those affected by such a radical headcount cull - would it really make any difference to core output? I mean, if you need help working a basic studio sound desk, why are you a radio presenter? And why does Radio 1 have people focused on making video content when it is a radio station within an organisation that also owns TV stations?

And does the world really need the Teen Awards when it requires extra staff to make it happen? And why is BBC Radio employing people to organise Olympic gigs when commercial media and event companies were more than willing to do that job? And then there's the biggest mystery of them all, how can it possibly take 52 full time members of staff to make Newsbeat? I know they are talking to a distinct audience not serviced by other BBC news shows but, come on, 52 full time members of staff?

I suspect most of these thoughts went through the mind of John Myers, a former commercial radio chief, as he compiled the report he was commissioned to write by the overall boss of the BBC's radio division, one time Pepsi dealer Tim Davie, who wanted guidance on how to cut costs at the Corporation's two big pop stations, Radios 1 and 2, and their sister digital offshoots, 1Xtra and 6music.

In his report, published this week, Myers noted that Radios 1 and 2 were among the best radio stations in the world, but added that, nevertheless, there were many opportunities to save costs. Most notably, it didn't make sense, he said, to have separate management structures above Radios 1/1Xtra and Radios 2/6music, which meant much duplication of expensive senior executives and back-office operations.

He added that too many presenters, especially at Radio 2, relied on studio managers to handle simple technical matters which said DJs should look after themselves - said studio managers were costly 'comfort blankets' for on-air talent, he said. And then there's news. There was no need for a 52 man news operation at Radio 1, while news presenters at Radio 2 spent two minutes an hour reading someone else's script and the other 58 minutes doing very little, he reckoned. The Newsbeat unit should be turned into a central news operation for all of the four stations he was reviewing, Myers proposed.

As for the staff at the BBC stations, Myers reported frustrations among producers and presenters regarding all the compliance paperwork that has been introduced post-Sachsgate, and bemoaned that too much decision making now took place at the top levels of BBC Radio, when it was more sensible and practical for producers to make those decisions on the ground.

Having paid a big fee to Myers to state the bleedin obvious in a bid to, erm, save money, the aforementioned Davie yesterday leapt to the defence of most of the areas Myers criticised in his report, including the aforementioned Newsbeat. He also shunned the idea of merging the management structures of the BBC's four national popular music stations.

Of course, that's no surprise, because doing so would require someone to choose an overall pop station controller, which would mean shunning either popular Radio 2 boss Bob Shennan or experienced Radio 1 chief and professional empire-builder Andy Parfitt, both powerful players in the wider Corporation, and when it comes to BBC cuts, custom dictates you pick off the units whose chiefs have least influence. Hence why the two big BBC radio stations are so over-resourced to start with.

So, what will Davie take from Myers' report? Well, "the BBC needs to prove itself to the outside world to be absolutely behaving efficiently and I think the approach of getting someone from the outside world to literally walk around the building with open access is the approach we should encourage. We want people to see us operate, be utterly transparent about our costs, and go from there. It has been incredibly useful to have someone with a commercial eye to look across the networks".

So, absolutely nothing, then. Expect more Newsbeat, more unnecessary events, more radio-people-pretending-they're-a-telly-station, and then a proposal in eighteen months time to shut down 1Xtra. I mean, no broadsheet journalists, political types or other fuss makers listen to that, do they?

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PWC UPBEAT ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR (THOUGH LESS SO MUSIC)
Good news, people. The outlook for the entertainment and media industries is looking better than it did this time last year, thanks to a rebound in the advertising market and continued technological advancements, especially the growth of the tablet computer and the monetisation opportunities such platforms offer to content owners. Thanks, Steve.

This is all according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose latest 'Global Entertainment & Media Outlook' report is more upbeat than in recent years, reckoning the industry will grow at a compound annual rate of 5.7% over the next five years, though the US and China will enjoy most of that. Though even in Europe things are going to get better. Good times.

Oh, except, what's this? The only two segments of the entertainment sector PWC are less optimistic about are newspapers and - you guessed it - music. Doh. Both these sectors will struggle more than TV, film, gaming, advertising and web services, the bean counters reckon, though even they - yes, even music - could be starting to see some growth in five years time. Good (future) times.

Of course, PWC were one of the big accountancy groups that totally failed to see the recession, credit crunch and banking crisis coming a few years back, when it was totally bleedin obvious something was going to crack, but hey, I'm sure they're right about all this stuff.

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APPLE AND NOKIA SETTLE PATENT LAWSUITS
Various patent disputes between Apple and Nokia have been resolved, and as a result the one time king of the mobile phone sector will earn a royalty on every iPhone sold. Which will be useful. For them. What with no one buying Nokia phones any more.

Nokia originally accused Apple of infringing its patents with the iPhone back in 2009. Apple counter-sued, and various allegations were subsequently thrown around by the two rivals. But yesterday it was announced a settlement had been reached, and Apple will now pay Nokia a one-off sum and a royalty on all subsequent iPhone sales. Although the exact terms of the deal are not known, Nokia says it will have a positive impact on its second quarter financial results.

Patent disputes in the mobile domain have been more frequent than usual of late as newer entrants to the business have stolen considerable market share from the traditional dominant players in the mobile handset sector, Nokia being one of the biggest losers as a result of successes scored by smartphone makers like Apple and Blackberry owners RIM, and as a result of the rise of the Android mobile operating system.

Confirming Nokia had settled all its patent disputes with Apple, the company's boss man Stephen Elop told reporters yesterday: "We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees. This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market".

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METAL HAMMER DISHES OUT SOME GOLDEN GODS
A busy few days for the metalheads reached a climax on Monday when Alice Cooper and Andrew O'Neill presented Metal Hammer's Golden Gods awards over their at the O2 dome, in the cushdy (and simply not grimey enough for the average metal fan, I'm sure) indigO2 venue.

Rob Zombie was declared the overall Golden God of the night, while Judas Priest were presented with an Icon Award. Best Event, meanwhile, went to the announcement that 'The Big Four' - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax - will on the same bill in the UK for the first time at the upcoming Sonisphere festival. Not the actual event, that hasn't happen yet. The announcement of the event.

The full list of winners went as follows:

Best New Band: The Damned Things
Best Underground: Primordial
Breakthrough Artist: Sabaton
Best UK Band: Iron Maiden
Best Live Band: Skindred
Best International Band: Avenged Sevenfold
Best Album: Killing Joke - Absolute Dissent
Best Event: The Big Four coming together for the first time ever in the UK

Metal As Fuck Award: Nergal (Behemoth)
Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award: Gus G
Inspiration Award: Twisted Sister
Riff Lords: Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein (Down)
Spirit of Hammer: Diamond Head
Icons: Judas Priest
Golden God: Rob Zombie

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WEBBY AWARDS PRESENTED
It was the Webby Awards in New York last night, celebrating the best in online shenanigans in the last twelve months, you know, Best Data-spill, Pettiest DDoS Attack, Most Draconian Piracy Laws. There are loads of Webby categories, far too may for us to list all the winners.

But just know that Pandora won the best music service award, while LCD Soundsystem were declared Webby Artist Of The Year. Winners are allowed just five words for their acceptance speech. Pandora's rep said "better than an IPO, almost", while LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy said, simply, "thanks, this is deeply weird".

If you insist on a full list of winners, you'll find it here:
www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=15#web_social_media

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MUSIC PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS ADDS INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES
Organisers of the Music Producers Guild Awards have announced that next year's event will expand to include two new international categories: International Engineer Of The Year and International Remixer Of The Year.

The Live Award will also be renamed the Live Production Award to reflect the fact it now includes those who produce live music for CD or DVD releases, or radio or TV broadcasts, as well as those working on sound at the actual gig.

The fourth annual outing for the ceremony will once again take place at Café de Paris in London and as ever will see the first BRIT Award of the year handed out, for Producer Of The Year.

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MASTODON, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, MARS VOLTA AND JANE'S ADDICTION MEMBERS FORM NEW GROUP
Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds has revealed that he has formed a new band with Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman, former Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen and ex-Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery. Which is exciting.

Of course, the problem is time. Hinds in particular is currently working on the latest album from his main band. He told Noisecreep: "We tried to get together and do an album, but there's been no time. We want to record crazy stuff and Ben is working on that, but it's been hard to get together".

He added that he's hoping to convince his new bandmates to call the band Giraffe Tongue, because in his opinion giraffe tongues "look sick". I fed the giraffes at Colchester Zoo once, so I can confirm that he is correct.

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EAST 17 POSTPONE COMEBACK TOUR
The again reunited East 17 made a big song and dance recently about how they'd be able to go out on tour now they'd got shot of that Brian Harvey fella, who was always holding them back. And now what have they gone and done? They've gone and postponed that tour. Typical.

To be fair, they're not postponing the gigs in order to be sick out of moving cars, they're apparently working on a new album, and those sessions have been going so well that they don't want to break the flow by entertaining their last remaining fans.

Well, that's what I'm reading into this statement, anyway: "Recording commitments mean that East 17, one of the most celebrated and successful boybands of all time, have had to reschedule their impending UK tour".

The shows will now take place in August and September, provided they don't all run themselves over with their own cars.

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ALICIA KEYS ANNOUNCES THREE DISC EDITION OF DEBUT ALBUM
Alicia Keys' debut album, 'Songs In A Minor', was released ten years ago this month. That's right, a decade ago. I suddenly feel very old. Since then, of course, Keys has gone on to become an internationally recognised star, has collaborated with the likes of Jack White and Jay-Z, and even learned to play songs in keys other than A Minor. But back then, she was just a young girl with a dream.

Of course, when you're just a young girl with a dream, record labels tend to be unwilling to release three disc versions of your debut album, no matter how much you think you deserve it. You have to earn those discs, missy.

And lo! That time has come. On 27 Jun, MBK/J Records/Legacy Recordings will release a special collectors edition of 'Songs In A Minor' which will feature not only the original album, but also another CD of previously unreleased demos, remixes and live tracks, and a DVD featuring a making of documentary, all of which has apparently not been deemed worthwhile enough to unleash on the world until now. Um, I mean they've been saving it all up as a special surprise.

For those who hate looking at stuff, there will be a two disc edition that drops the DVD. But how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it? Check out the trailer for the documentary here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbaB4iemr7w

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MACHINE HEAD PREVIEW NEW MATERIAL
Thrash metallers Machine Head have previewed a new track from their forthcoming seventh album, which is due for release later this year. The album is the follow-up to 2007's acclaimed 'The Blackening'.

Frontman Robb Flynn said of the track, entitled 'Locust': "'Locust' is a metaphor. Locusts fly in a swarm, but they can't control which direction they fly; they float on the wind, they land, cause massive destruction, and then float away on the wind to leave you in the aftermath. The song is a metaphor for a type of person that sometimes comes into your life and has a similar effect".

The eight minute track is available from iTunes now, though the version that will appear on the album will be remixed by longtime Machine Head producer Colin Richardson. To help you decide if you want the finished version, or this one mixed by Juan Urteaga, you can hear the track on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jGZJxnJk-4

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STRANGERS TO RELEASE DEBUT EP
The previously CMU Approved Strangers are gearing up for the release of a new double A-side seven-inch which will feature the tracks 'It Was A Sin' and 'If I Found Love'. Released on 4 Jul, it will be followed by their second EP, 'EP2', on 18 Jul, both via Killing Moon Records.

Speaking about the lyrics of 'It Was A Sin', frontman David Maddox-Jones told CMU: "There have been a few moments in my life where the best choices aren't always the right ones, but the right ones aren't always the most exciting. I was brought up in a very Christian background, and so temptation has always seemed particularly alluring. It's about knowing right from wrong, but sometimes choosing to ignore what's right".

Check out the video for 'It Was A Sin' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPsQHLexWsA

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PJ HARVEY TO SCREEN SHORT FILMS
PJ Harvey will perform against a backdrop of twelve short films at festivals and live shows this summer. Created by director Seamus Murphy, each film explores the themes of one of the twelve tracks from her latest album, 'Let England Shake'. Harvey and Murphy will also screen the films at the Prizren Dokufest Film Festival in Kosovo next month followed by a Q&A session, and there will be standalone showings at Glastonbury, and Reading and Leeds.

You can catch Harvey performing in front of the films at Portishead's I'll Be Your Mirror event, Electric Picnic and Bestival. She'll also play headline shows at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall on 4 Sep, and the Manchester Apollo on 8 Sep.

Watch the video for 'The Words That Maketh Murder' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va0w5pxFkAM

And catch the rest of the 'Let England Shake' films on YouTube, here: www.youtube.com/letenglandshake

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THE KILLERS ANNOUNCE LONDON WARM-UP SHOWS
To get themselves ready for their appearance headlining Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park on 24 Jun, The Killers have announced that they will play two nights at The Scala in London on 22 and 23 Jun.

Tickets went on general sale yesterday, so good luck getting hold of them. Although at £42.50, I'm not sure you'd want them anyway.

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ANNA CALVI ANNOUNCES TOUR DATES
That Anna Calvi is going to be touring the UK and Ireland again. Honestly, she only just went out on tour last month. She'll wear herself out. Well, I suppose these dates aren't actually until October, but she's got a whole load of festivals lined up first, starting with Meltdown this Thursday. Tsk! She won't be told.

Here are the dates, but you'll only be encouraging her if you go and see her play. If she hurts her back or something, it'll be your fault:

16 Jun: London, Royal Festival Hall (Meltdown Festival)
25 Jun: Glastonbury
17 Jul: Latitude
6 Aug: Field Day,
26 Aug: Reading Festival
27 Aug: Leeds Festival
30 Oct: Brighton, Concorde 2
31 Oct: Bristol, Trinity
1 Nov: London, Shepherds Bush Empire
4 Nov: Birmingham, Institute Library
5 Nov: Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
14 Nov: Manchester, Cathedral
15 Nov: Glasgow Oran Mor
16 Nov: Leeds, Cockpit
19 Nov: Dublin, Vicar Street
20 Nov: Belfast, The Empire

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

LONDON BLUESFEST, Various Venues, London, 27 Jun - 3 Jul: Late additions to this year's Bluesfest bill are soul singer PP Arnold, acclaimed axe-man Oli Brown and rock outfit The Quireboys. They join an existing line-up that includes such jazz and blues greats as BB King, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Booker T and Liza Minelli, with young pretenders Jamie Cullum and Sandi Thom also due to appear. www.bluesfestlondon.com

READING FESTIVAL, Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, 26-28 Aug: Organisers of this two-legged weekender (this FLUU applies to the Leeds Fest too) have just unveiled the line-up for their Festival Republic Stage, which features acts including Tom Vek, Digitalism, Smith Westerns, Ed Sheeran, Anna Calvi and White Denim. Older news in terms of line-up announcements are co-headliners My Chemical Romance, The Strokes, and Pulp, with other live slots filled by the likes of 30 Seconds To Mars, Elbow, Interpol, Metronomy and Death From Above 1979. www.readingfestival.co.uk

STATION SESSIONS, St Pancras International, London, 15 Jun - 29 Jul: Designed for the entertainment of commuters and tourists alike, this programme of free Station Sessions events will kick off this evening with a performance from folk types Guillemots. Whilst announcements concerning the rest of the billing are running a little late (signal problems down the line), the festival will feature live sets throughout the 50-day period from around 100 musicians. www.stationsessions.com

SPLIT FESTIVAL, Ashbrooke Sports Club, Sunderland, 17-18 Sep: Curated by The Futureheads, this Sunderland bash will also host fellow bill-toppers The Drums and The Charlatans, with Frankie & The Heartstrings, Dutch Uncles and Ganglians. Bouffant-haired Masterchef finalist Stacey Stewart will take charge of the gourmet tent, while an as-yet unconfirmed array of comedy and acoustic acts will frequent the fringe tent. www.splitfestival.com

TRUCK, Hill Farm, Steventon, Oxfordshire, 22-24 Aug: Freshly introduced to the musical portion of the proceedings at Oxford's finest music fest are Camden indie troupe Tribes, local band Dive Dive, Deer Park, and historical Truck headliners of yore The Rock Of Travolta. The existing roster boasts Gruff Rhys, Bellowhead, Graham Coxon, Young Knives, Saint Etienne, Edwyn Collins, The Go! Team and Philip Selway. www.thisistruck.com

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AIM HEADING TO NEW YORK
AIM and UKTI will lead a delegation of independent music types to New York next week, with a focus on all things digital this time round.

As well as various opportunities for doing business over the five day visit, the first two days on 19 and 20 Jun will be taken up by a programme of masterclasses, case studies, roundtable discussions and panel sessions, covering topics such as 'How the US does Digital', 'An analysis of UK successes in the US' and 'How important are online tastemakers?' Speakers confirmed include TAG's Ted Cohen, The Orchard's Jason Pascal, Glassnote's Daniel Glass and Next Big Sound's Alex White.

AIM chief Alison Wenham told CMU: "The US music market has always been hugely important and influential. And now that music has become firmly established as a digital format, it becomes even more important to understand how to make the best of the US digital market. Introducing UK indie companies to their American counterparts, to share in that inspirational 'can do' attitude that is so synonymous with them will lead to some firm new business opportunities".

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PANDORA IPO VALUES MUSIC COMPANY AT $2.56 BILLION
Pandora, the US music service which is among the various American digital firms currently floating themselves for the first time, has sold 14.7 million shares at $16 a piece, considerably more than the upper price of the original proposed price range. Those Wall Street kids really wanted their slice of this loss-making streaming music platform.

The shares sold constitute about 9% of the company, which means the overall market cap valuation for Pandora is $2.56 billion. Some of the money raised will go straight to the firm's existing shareholders, while another chunk will be used by the company for "general corporate purposes"

Although probably one of if not the most successful of the online streaming music services currently in existence, Pandora, which had revenues of $167 million in the last year, and which makes its money through subscriptions and ad sales, is yet to really make a profit.

Given the high royalties it has to pay out to the music companies, many reckon $2.56 billion is far too high a valuation for the firm, and therefore some City experts reckon those who bought shares at $16 yesterday - driven by the hype surrounding the latest dot com bubble - have seriously overpaid.

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DOMINO RADIO ARCHIVE NOW AVAILABLE
Domino Radio may only have been up and running for seven days before shutting down, but in that time it produced a huge amount of essential listening. 168 hours' worth, to be precise. Did you miss it? Don't worry, the whole lot is now available on the Domino Radio website.

Listen back to Domino artists and friends, including Colin Greenwood, Bobby Gillespie, Roots Manuva, Alex Kapranos, James Endeacott, The Guardian's Tim Jonze and Rosie Swash, Steve Mason, Arctic Monkey's Matt Helders, Jon Hillcock, Austra, and a spankload more at dominorad.io.

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SOULJA BOY SAYS FACEBOOK RAGE NOT REAL
Soulja Boy would like you to know that when he said on his Facebook page: "IM TIRED OF WHITE PEOPLE DOING US LIKE THIS MAN!! THEY TREAT US SO WRONG!! fuck THEM" he didn't actually say that, which is just as well, because I hate people who write in capital letters. He also didn't call his critics "white faggots". So, that's alright then.

After a slightly weird rant appeared on the rapper's Facebook page, Soulja Boy quickly issued a statement to TMZ to the effect that his profile on the social network had been "hacked". Or, rather, former associates who were still admins on the page used their continued access to the profile to cause some trouble.

Says the Boy: "I wanted to clear the air and let everyone know that my Facebook got hacked. I had administrators on my account that no longer work with me. The hackers used these old accounts to post hateful messages. This was not done by me or anyone on my team and I'm upset that I am being labelled as a racist and homophobic person".

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LILY ALLEN CHANGES (TWITTER) NAME
Lily Allen has changed her name on Twitter to reflect her recent marriage to that Sam Cooper bloke. No longer is she @lilyroseallen, she is now @MrsLRCooper. It's not as catchy but she's stuck with it, as someone else has already re-registered the name she left behind.

That person subsequently used the account to repeatedly tell Lily Cooper (nee Allen) how much they love her in a way that some might call weird. Yesterday they even drew picture of her and posted it to the account. Let's all go and look at that: http://twitpic.com/5b5ep7

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