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

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

ISPS' JUDICIAL REVIEW EFFORTS AGAINST THREE-STRIKES FAILS
BT and TalkTalk's application to appeal that judicial review ruling over the copyright section of the Digital Economy Act has been turned down.

As much previously reported, the two net firms wanted judges to send the DEA's copyright provisions back to parliament for reconsideration based on claims that the three-strikes style system for combating illegal file-sharing that those provisions introduce breaches various bits of European law, and also because of the argument that, because the Act was rushed through parliament by the outgoing Labour government, it did not get sufficient parliamentary scrutiny.

But at the initial judicial review in April judges rejected pretty much all of the net firms' arguments. BT and TalkTalk then announced late last month that they had applied to the High Court to appeal that ruling, but on Monday Judge Richard Buxton refused that application, effectively ending this line of fire for those in the ISP sector who still oppose the concept of the three-strikes system, though TalkTalk in particular have previously vowed to pursue every possible route of legal challenge before sending out the warning letters which are the first stage of the three-strikes process.

Work to launch the letter sending stage of three-strikes is already underway, of course, albeit someway behind the originally desired schedule. It now seems likely the first warning letters will go out in early 2012. Meanwhile a spokesman for BT and TalkTalk yesterday said the two companies were considering their positions.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

UNIVERSAL INTERESTED IN BIDDING FOR EMI
Universal Music will be amongst the bidders for EMI, according to the LA Times, who cite a 'person close to the label' as their source. The biggest music major is interested in acquiring the British music company - labels especially, publishing catalogues possibly - despite the regulatory hurdles such a deal would almost certainly result in.

The Times says that Universal held off from making a full on bid for Warner Music, despite showing initial interest, because it was felt a Universal Warner merger would never have got past competition regulators. However, the paper's source says, legal beagles have advised that a Universal EMI merger might be possible because the British company has a smaller market share than Warner in some key territories, especially the US. I'm not sure I concur with that analysis, though stranger things have happened.

But anyway, in reality it seems unlikely Citigroup - who this week announced a 'strategic review' of EMI in preparation for a sale later this year - would sell to Universal, for at least three reasons.

First, if Universal do just want the labels as some reckon, Citigroup have already indicated they don't want to split up EMI for sale.

Second, even if Universal were right to be optimistic of regulator approval for a full on merger, the regulatory process would delay things, which won't be an attractive proposition to Citigroup.

Unless Universal was offering more money. But that seems unlikely because, and here's reason three, rival bidders from the investment and private equity domain will likely have more cash at their disposal.

But what does seem certain, is that all of EMI's big music business rivals, so Universal, Sony, Warner, and you should probably include BMG in that, do have some interest in buying the British music firm, even if that interest doesn't ultimately result in actual serious bids.

Many still reckon a bid by Warner's new owners, Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, to create a combined EMI Warner - which once created would probably still be slightly smaller than both Universal Music and Sony Music - is now the most likely outcome.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

AMY WINEHOUSE TOUR CANCELLED
So, no surprise her then, Amy Winehouse has cancelled the rest of her European tour after someone decided the local newspaper review of her Serbian show last weekend - "the worst concert in the history of Belgrade" - probably wouldn't look good on the poster.

As previously reported, Winehouse, clearly not on top of any of her addictions, fell about the stage, repeatedly hugged her band, and mumbled incoherent lyrics into her microphone at the Belgrade show, leaving an initially supportive crowd jeering and booing.

Many wondered if Winehouse's very brief stint in The Priory's London clinic in May to "get back in control of her drinking" would be enough, and clearly it wasn't. A spokesman, confirming the cancelled tour yesterday, said the singer would now be "given as long as it takes" to return to her best.

Of course that might require a time machine. Still, one hopes somebody somewhere can help the singer control her addictions and get back in the studio and on stage one day.

back to top

GLASGOW'S KING TUTS NAMED BEST SMALL VENUE
Want an NME survey? Hey, have two. First, the results are in for the music weekly's long running poll to identify the UK's best small venue. And from a shortlist of best gig spots for each region of the UK voted for by NME readers, a panel of agents, promoters, artists and journalists selected the overall winner, which was King Tut's Wah Wah Hut over there in Glasgow-land.

Says NME Editor Krissi Murison: "It was incredible to see such a huge response in the regional voting. It truly proves how important small venues are to music fans across the UK. Congratulations to King Tut's - a brilliant venue and a very worthy winner!"

Meanwhile Geoff Ellis of DF Concerts, who run the winning venue, told CMU: "It's fantastic! Since we started in 1990 the ethos has been about really looking after the audiences and really looking after the bands. If you look after a band, they're gonna be happy when they go onstage and they're going to play a better gig. There's method in the madness!"

The shortlist of regional winners was as follows:

South East: Tunbridge Wells Forum
South West: Bristol, Thekla
Wales: Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
Midlands: Stoke, Sugarmill
London: Camden Barfly
East Anglia: Norwich Arts Centre
North East: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
North West: Manchester, Band On The Wall
Scotland: Glasgow, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Northern Ireland: Belfast, Limelight

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

MICHAEL JACKSON TOPS NME SINGERS POLL
What, you want another NME poll? Oh, go on then. Michael Jackson has been declared the greatest singer of all time in a NME.com poll, which I have a feeling might have got taken over by the world's more obsessive musical fanbases, given Jacko was at one and Axl Rose was at four, but whatever.

The late king of pop ultimately outperformed Freddie Mercury in the poll, the Queen frontman being the early leader. Interestingly, perhaps, most of the singers in the final Top 20 began their singing careers some time ago, with only Kurt Cobain and Matt Bellamy coming out of the last 25 years. Here is the list of 20...

1. Michael Jackson
2. Freddie Mercury
3. Elvis Presley
4. Axl Rose
5. John Lennon
6. David Bowie
7. Robert Plant
8. Paul McCartney
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Matt Bellamy
12. Ray Charles
13. Jim Morrison
14. Bob Marley
15. Elton John
16. Kurt Cobain
17. Steven Tyler
18. Mick Jagger
19. Marvin Gaye
20. Tina Turner

back to top

NEW EVANESCENCE ALBUM MORE COLLABORATIVE
Amy Lee of the only slightly tedious Evanescence has told Billboard that creative work on her band's third album, due out in the Autumn, has been far more "collaborative" than on the previous two,

She told the mag: "This time everybody had something to do with it, from the ground up. That way everyone is playing strong, it's like we've been playing the songs on tour for a year".

Work on the new long player should be completed this month, with an early October release planned for the new album, the follow up to 2006's 'The Open Door'.

back to top

RADIOHEAD PREVIEW THE BASEMENT
Having sent critics reeling with their dense and difficult new album 'The King Of Limbs' (and not to mention Thom Yorke's body contortions in that 'Lotus Flower' video), Radiohead have provided fans with a premature glance of them playing the long player live as part of that 'From The Basement' TV special we reported on before, which is due to be shown on the telly like.

Earlier this week the band posted up a performance clip of what is actually a new track - 'Staircase' - accompanied by a quote from drummer Philip Selway, who quickly cleared up any mystery regarding the pair of identical-looking bald percussionists who feature in the video.

"No, you're not seeing double. The doppelganger drummers are myself and Clive Deamer. Clive has long been one of my favourite drummers and so I was really excited when he agreed to perform with us. Hope you like what we've all done", he said.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

WEIRD AL YANCOVIC TEAMS UP WITH QUESTLOVE
Musical comedian and professional spoof-man 'Weird Al' Yancovic recently helped The Roots' drummer Questlove celebrate his 1.6 millionth Twitter follower in "historical" fashion, by teaming up with him on a short but sweet instrumental cover of Madvillain's underground hip-hop classic 'Accordion'. Which was nice.

Apparently the unlikely duet came about when Questlove, bandleader on 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon', encountered the madcap accordion aficionado backstage at the show, and took advantage of Al's skills on the keys 'n' bellows. You can listen to the duo's spontaneous version of 'Accordian' here at the link below, complete with peripheral laughter and shouts of disbelief from the band members.

swift.fm/#!/song/the-roots-weird-al-yankovic-madvillian-accordian-d-minor/95853/

Al was appearing, by the way, to plug his new album 'Alpocalypse', which features parodies of tracks by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Miley Cirus among others. In the run up to the album's US release on 21 Jun, the entire thing is available for unlimited streaming here on Spinner.

music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/1

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

LEVINE AND AGUILERA DUET
Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera - co-judges on the US version of talent show 'The Voice' - have recorded a one off duet, which is billed as 'Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera'. Both stars have posted the song on their respective YouTube channels, plus Levine has linked through to where you can buy it on iTunes. It's called 'Moves Like Jagger' if you're interested, and apparently Aguilera does very little for the first two minutes. So do enjoy that. Here's the link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRsxpoAc5w

back to top

FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATES

CLOUD 9 FESTIVAL, Love Lane Farm, Cheshire, 6 Aug: This rural one-day bash will host Ed Sheeran, The Futureheads, Scratch Perverts and The Sunshine Underground on its eclectic roster, with performances from Inspirational Carpets man Clint Boon, Too Young To Love, Rotating Leslie and Cassette Jam also on the cards. www.cloud9festival.co.uk

STANDON CALLING, Standon, Hertfordshire, 11-14 Aug: Closing additions to this year's Standon Calling line-up are Dananananaykroyd, Bastille, The Hempolics and Pushing Hands. They join acts including Lamb, Spiritualized, Battles and Hercules & Love Affair on the overall bill. www.standon-calling.com

SWN, Various Venues, Cardiff, Wales, 20-23 Oct: The Fall, The Joy Formidable and Herman Dune lead the first portion of acts confirmed to appear at this year's Swn showcase, closely followed by the likes of Benjamin Francis Leftwich, And So I Watch You From Afar, The History Of Apple Pie and The Victorian English Gentlemens Club. Founded by DJ Huw Stephens, the newly-extended festival will also showcase the best from Welsh and worldly film and arts projects across assorted Cardiff-based venues. www.swnfest.com

back to top

LIVE REVIEW: Wye Oak at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen in London on 16 Jun
"Thanks for making my whiskey dreams come true, y'all". The opening lines from Baltimore-bred Jenn Wasner. Sipping unashamedly on a tumbler of bourbon, Wasner and bandmate Andy Stack stare wide eyed into the packed Hoxton venue, clearly overwhelmed by the huge, adoring crowd present tonight.

The duo (Wasner on guitar/vocals and Stack on drums/keys) form indie-folk outfit Wye Oak, the next band getting all those A&R types posting mysterious messages on Twitter, demanding we listen to this music, but without actually revealing who exactly it is we should all be listening to. You should however, believe the hype.

Playing tracks predominantly from their debut LP, 'Civilian', Wye Oak seem to be able to induce the crowd into some sort of trance. Audience members are obsessed, taking photo after photo and filming every second. Wasner croons like KD Lang did back in the 1990s, standing glowingly on stage as Stack offers nods of guidance to his bandmate, bursting into the individual tracks with his stature beats and surf pop synth sounds.

After another couple of shots of whiskey Wasner stands alone on stage, strumming like it's the last time she'll ever play the guitar. She stands fulfilled and the audience leave, perplexed. FL

back to top

ABSOLUT MAKE FILM ABOUT CEE LO GREEN
Wonder what Cee Lo Green gets up to on the odd occasions he's not accusing critical journalists of being "gay" and "offended by his masculinity"? Well now you can, courtesy of Absolut vodka, who, come to think of it, might have been responsible for the singer's bizarre and previously reported Twitter response to a bad review - in that he was pissed when he wrote it, not that partaking in social media based homophobia is part of his partnership agreement with the alcohol brand.

Anyway, the Gnarls Barkley man and 'The Voice' judge has done a deal with Absolut, who have filmed a 'day in the life of' mini-film about the singer, which will appear in two parts of the vodka firm's Facebook profile on 27 Jun and 6 Jul respectively. A trailer was posted on YouTube earlier this week, suggesting a few shots of vodka might be advisable before watching the film. Cee Lo will also edit the brand's Facebook page around the launch of the doc, and there's a 'Forget You' themed app.

See the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgg5sSHZ9-M

back to top

NEW CHAIRMAN FOR GEFFEN US
More good news for Universal Music US's business card printers, the major has announced another new appointment. New York based artist manager Gee Roberson has been named Chairman of the major's Geffen US label, reporting to Jimmy Iovine, who heads up Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M division. Roberson, who previously worked in an A&R role at Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella label and Warner's Atlantic, and who is co-CEO of the Hip Hop Since 1978 management agency, will focus on discovering and developing new talent for the Universal imprint.

Robeson told reporters: "I am delighted to be joining Jimmy, [Universal chief] Lucian Grainge and the entire Interscope Geffen A&M team. Jimmy has always been a pioneer who goes against the grain and builds successful companies known for great music, a keen sense of focus, hard work and tremendous team spirit. And with the opportunity to be part of Lucian's global creative plans, the decision to join IGA was easy".

back to top

ALL NEW MP3.COM LAUNCHES
The all new MP3.com launched yesterday offering a bucket load of free downloads, presumably paid for by the ads that pop up when you click a download button. In amongst the free music are artist profiles and preview streams powered by sister website last.fm, plus videos from Vevo and other bits n pieces of editorial.

CBS acquired the MP3.com brand and URL in 2008 when it bought the C-NET websites, and announced it would relaunch the service - with closer links to the also CBS owned last.fm - earlier this month. At a quick glance, it does seem like a bold proposition offering users a lot of free content. Independent and self-releasing artists are also encouraged to upload music, perhaps suggesting CBS has ambitions for a combined MP3.com/last.fm platform to takeover from MySpace as the place where artists host their multimedia content.

Announcing the relaunch, CBS Interactive Music Group President David Goodman told reporters: "MP3.com has been a cornerstone of the online music movement since the early days of the internet. The time is right to build on that history with this robust content offering. In so doing, we are confident we can continue to invigorate our long-standing relationship with the music industry in a mutually beneficial way. We look forward to the many contributions MP3.com will make in that regard, and to bringing the full resources of CBS Interactive Music Group to bear in order to make a compelling product for music fans".

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

APP OFFERS HD LIVE STREAMING OF ITUNES FESTIVAL
Live Nation have released an app which will enable fans to stream live footage of the upcoming iTunes Festival in London. The app will work on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and will offer HD video streams of the iTunes Festival shows both live, and on-demand after the event.

Footage will also be accessible via any computer through the iTunes Store which will also sell EPs of live recordings from the London fest.

Among the 60 odd artists due to appear during the iTunes festival this year are Paul Simon, Manic Street Preachers, Adele, My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, Raphael Saadiq, Rumer, Swedish House Mafia, Kasabian and Moby.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

SCANDINAVIAN MUSIC SERVICE COMING TO IRELAND
WiMP, the streaming music service that has enjoyed success in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, is coming to Ireland via a deal with one of the country's big net firms. WiMP operators Aspiro Music said they had signed a "letter of intent" re the Irish service, with more information expected to follow soon ahead of an Autumn launch. Aspiro already provide WiMP as a white label streaming music service to a net company in Portugal.

Aspiro's CEO Gunnar Sellaeg told reporters: "We are still experiencing very strong growth and our user base is increasing every day. As we launch with a strong partner in Ireland this autumn, we'll be available in five countries. Simultaneously, we are also negotiating with several additional partners for launch in more markets".

back to top

4MUSIC LAUNCHES NEW LOOK WEBSITE
4Music, the music telly channel operated by Channel 4 and Bauer Media's Box TV company, today relaunches its website. The new look site will include, among other things, an interactive chart where viewers can vote for their favourite tunes, the results of which will appear on a 4Music.com chart show.

Says Box TV's MD Gidon Katz: "4Music.com has become a central pillar of the Box TV business: we're creating a truly unique space to facilitate our viewers' connections between on-air programming and online activity. Our audience's feedback has helped to drive SOCI growth of over 40% in 2011 and this investment should help us sustain this phenomenal trend". For those of you that don't work in TV advertising, SOCI stands for the Society Of The Chemical Industry. Honest. Google it.

A promotional campaign to promote the new look site will run across Channel 4, E4 and the 4music channel itself, and on other websites owned by both Channel 4 and Bauer Media.

back to top

--------------------------------------------------

NEW DEPUTY EDITOR FOR ROCK SOUND
Following the promotion of former Deputy Editor Ben Patashnik to the job of Editor at Rock Sound, Terry Bezer, formerly web man at Metal Hammer, has been recruited for the Deputy role.

Patashnik told CMU: "Terry's eye for spotting new bands and flair for building social networking communities as well as his infectious love for music make us extremely excited about the future as we continue to grow the reach of Rock Sound both online and in print".

back to top

WALSH CALLS BOYZONE "YESTERDAY'S MEN"
So, what does Louis Walsh think of his former client Boyzone's chances of succeeding in 2011?

Asked about why he stepped back from managing the reformed man band, Walsh has told Heat: "They're like Blue - yesterday's men. There's too much competition for them. You have to have something amazing as there's so much talent out there - JLS, One Direction, Westlife, The Wanted". It has to be said, if you're generally considered less talented than The Wanted, it's definitely time for a career review.

"Boyzone can carry on" Walsh added, noting the group have said they have no intention on splitting up again, "but it wasn't working" he continued, "it was great while it lasted, but it's time for me to move on".

I wish someone had told the manager of that Holborn restaurant I was in on Sunday that Boyzone were 'yesterday's men', then they might have stopped playing their hits album on a loop. Ronan Keating singing, always guaranteed to ruin an otherwise good meal.

back to top