FIVE DIE IN PUKKELPOP STAGE COLLAPSE
At least five people have died after a heavy storm hit the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium yesterday afternoon, causing a stage to collapse. Various other stage equipment around the site, such as screens and lighting, as well as trees, fell and some other smaller tents also collapsed, with those trapped inside having to cut their way out. As well as those who died, upwards of 40 people were injured. It's thought that around 60,000 people were in attendance at the festival when the storm hit.

It was at around 6.20pm that the Chateau Stage, the largest tent-covered stage, which was due to be headlined by Tune-Yards, collapsed as The Smith Westerns' began their performance. The band's frontman Cullen Omori tweeted: "Stage collapsed. [Guitarist] Max [Kakacek] almost got crushed by the tress. I hope Pukkelpop has insurance [because] all our shit is broke". Although he later deleted that post and apologised, saying: "Apologise to anyone who mistook tweet. Wrote directly after running off stage. Just found out the extent of damage. All of [our] prayers go out to those hurt".

Omori later told Pitchfork: "We had just finished the first song of our set at Pukkelpop when the stage/tent started shaking. We simply thought it was a storm passing through. I made a comment about Cheap Trick, and we were about to play the next one, when our tour manager yelled at me to run off the stage. Right then the tress collapsed one foot in front of Max. At this point we thought only the stage broke, not the tent. Amid the chaos it was hard to tell exactly what had happened, but after the rescue teams started coming in it became clear that there were severe injuries and we are now being told there are reports of multiple deaths. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones in today's tragedy".

Initially only the remainder of Thursday's shows, including Foo Fighters' headline performance, were cancelled, but as the death toll rose and the extent of the damage became clearer, organisers decided to call off the whole event.

A statement issued by the festival's organiser, Flemish MEP Chokri Mahassine, this morning reads: "Pukkelpop is in deep mourning. We truly sympathise with the families and friends of the victims. Words are not enough. We have struggled with the [initial] decision to continue the festival. Therefore we have decided to cancel Pukkelpop 2011. What has happened is very exceptional and could not have been predicted. We are deeply moved by all the spontaneous support the festival goers and the organisation have received ... We ask everyone to understand that this decision was extremely difficult to make".

According to reports, the storm took just ten minutes to ravage the festival site. Many of those trapped in tents had been sheltering from the sudden onset of rain. One festival-goer told Le Soir newspaper that "the sky suddenly turned pitch black".

This is the second stage collapse caused by a freak storm in less than a week. As previously reported, audience members at the Indiana State Fair in the US on Saturday evening were told that a storm was approaching but that it was still hoped country stars Sugarland could perform on the event's Hoosier Lottery Grandstand stage. Shortly afterwards 60 to 70 mph winds struck, forcing stage rigging to come crashing to the ground, killing five and injuring dozens more.

Cheap Trick and The Flaming Lips have also experienced similar incidents at outdoor shows in recent weeks, though there were no injuries in either of those cases.

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PHIL SPECTOR DENIED APPEAL AGAIN
Legendary record producer Phil Spector has been denied the opportunity to appeal his 2009 murder conviction for the third time in four months.

As much previously reported, Spector is currently serving a nineteen year jail sentence for shooting dead one time actress Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003. His lawyers claim that the judge who oversaw both of the Spector murder trials (the first was declared a mistrial when the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict) made various procedural errors preventing the producer from getting a fair trial.

An initial application for a new trial was knocked back by the Californian appeals court at the start of May, but Spector's defence team had another go later the same month, re-filing their claim. But court officials refused to consider that new application, saying there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.

Team Spector had yet another go with a higher court, but on Wednesday the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled to uphold the previous rulings by the Court Of Appeal.

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GAME APOLOGISES FOR TWEETING POLICE PHONE NUMBER
Game has apologised for the previously reported incident in which he tweeted the phone number of the LA Sheriff's Department as a contact for fans interested in having an internship with him.

Shortly after the original tweet, Sheriff's Captain Mike Parker sent the rapper a message via the social networking service saying: "You tweeted [the] phone [number] of [the] LASD Compton Sheriff and said to call for [an] internship when there is none. [Large volumes of calls] are compromising public safety".

The Sheriff sent several more messages asking Game to delete the tweet containing the phone number The rapper eventually complied, but also posted a new message reading: "Y'all can track a tweet down but can't solve murders! [Posting the LASD number] was an accident, but maybe now y'all can actually do [your] job! I speak for the people".

Brave words. But the rapper subsequently backtracked a little. He appeared on CNN earlier this week claiming that it was all a "joke gone wrong", saying: "I never intended for anybody to take [the tweet] the wrong way or for it to go this far, and just, you know, I think it's all nonsense".

Although there had initially been suggestions that Game could face criminal charges for potentially blocking genuine emergency calls from getting through to the LASD, Park has now said in a statement that this would not be the case. He added: "[Game's] willingness to help share with the media and the community that the safety of the public is what is most important is a great message".

He added that the LASD is now consulting legal experts with a view to developing legislation that would formalise procedure in future cases like this one.

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US INDIE PUBLISHERS REACH ROYALTY DEAL WITH YOUTUBE
The independent music publishers in the US have reached an agreement with Google over royalty payments for songs played on YouTube.

With so many stakeholders, it can easy to lose track of which rights holders YouTube has deals in place with, and which it does not. In the UK, publishing royalties from YouTube are, in the main, handled by the collecting society PRS For Music. However in the US the four majors have direct deals with YouTube for their publishing rights as well as their sound recording rights.

The indies, meanwhile, have had no deal in place, and have been in the process of suing the web giant via the National Music Publishers Association since 2007. But a deal has now been done, the terms of which are confidential, but which means indie publishers will start to receive royalty payments - most likely a share of advertising - whenever their songs are used in YouTube videos, whether that be in previously released sound recordings or unofficial unreleased cover versions.

As the deal was negotiated by the US publishing sector's trade body, each individual publisher is at liberty to opt out of the deal and continue to pursue legal action. It remains to be seen if any do, though interestingly BMG - one of the biggest indie publishers - has yet to endorse the NMPA negotiated deal.

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WILL SMITH MAY RETURN TO MUSIC
Actor Will Smith may be making a return to music. Hip hop producer La Mar Edwards told XXL this week that he is working on new tracks with the Fresh Prince for his first album in six years, saying: "We're working on Will Smith, bringing him back".

Of course, Smith would now be competing for record sales, airplay and chart success with his ten year old daughter, Willow. Though he could just ground her whenever he has a new record out.

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MINISTRY REFORM
Three years after announcing the band's demise, Al Jourgensen has decided to bring Ministry back to life, with plans to tour and record.

"While I was working on [side project Buck Satan And The 666 Shooters' album], me and Mike Scaccia from Rigor Mortis fucked around to pass the time, and we had like, five, six, seven songs and I didn't really want to do anything with them, but Mikey was like: 'Dude, these songs are awesome'. They weren't country, they were more like Ministry. So he's coming by in September, and Tommy Victor's coming by in October with Tony Campos, and we're gonna finish up and put out another Ministry album by Christmas called 'Relapse'".

He added: "We've only got five songs to go. I've been listening to it the last couple of weeks and I wasn't really in the mood, I was just taking it as a joke, just to pass the time at first, but [Mike's] raving about it ... and I think this is actually gonna wind up being the fastest and heaviest record I've ever done ... He just did a Rigor Mortis tour and said it was easy compared to this Ministry stuff, so it's gonna be brutal and it's gonna freak a lot of people out".

As for touring, he explained that for the last three Ministry tours he'd been "throwing up blood", which turned out to be the result of several ulcers "from my oesophagus to my intestines", though he didn't discover this until he suffered a seizure in 2010 and had to have a blood transfusion. All this means that in terms of live shows he's going to "keep it light" for the time being. But with a handful of US shows already booked, he did promise "a limited tour" of Europe, as well.

In addition to Jourgensen and Scaccia, guitarist Tommy Victor will also return to the line-up, which will be completed by former Killing Joke keyboard player John Bechdel, Prong bassist Tony Campos and his former bandmate Aaron Rossi on drums.

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FLEA HAS CONSIDERED QUITTING RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has said he considered quitting the band after guitarist John Frusciante left in 2009. But he didn't, and then they recorded another album. So, now you know who to blame.

Flea told Guitar World: "Oh, I've considered pulling the plug a million times. That's nothing new for me. Things get to be a bummer and I start going: 'Mmm, this is kind of a drag'. And I just couldn't imagine doing it without John. When he did up and leave, though, some time went by and I just started feeling this deep love for the band and wanted to continue it. Plus, I missed Anthony. So we got [new guitarist] Josh [Kilnghoffer]".

The band's new album, 'I'm With You', is due out on 29 Aug.

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SIGUR RÓS TO RELEASE LIVE ALBUM AND DVD
Sigur Rós have announced that they will release a live album and DVD, entitled 'Inni', featuring their 2008 shows at Alexandra Palace in London.

The DVD was directed by Vincent Morisset, who was behind Arcade Fire's 'Miroir Noir' live film. Filmed on 16mm celluloid at the two performances, Morisset then refilmed the original footage through "prisms and other found objects" to give it a "spare and near-monochromatic" feel. So, there you go.

Both the CD and DVD will come out in November through the band's own Krunk label.

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BRANDT BRAUER FRICK ENSEMBLE MAKE ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES ON NEW LP
German experimental outfit The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, who have now swelled from a trio to a ten-piece band, are set to release a new album entitled 'Mr Machine'.

As opposed to the computer-generated sonics that characterised their earlier work, the LP will consist of four tracks from the group's 2010 debut 'You Make Me Real', reworked with more of an organic orchestral treatment. Also featuring on the tracklist are covers of Emika's 'Pretend', Agnes Obel's 'On Powdered Ground (Mixed Lines)' and James Braun's 'A 606 N Rock N Roll'.

The new album is due out in October via !K7.

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT, various venues, Amsterdam, 19-22 Oct: David Guetta, Caribou, Afrojack, Richie Hawtin and Armin Van Buuren are amongst the first performers booked for this year's mammoth ADE electro showcase and conference. Also set to bring the noise are acts including Groove Armada's Redlight, Ferry Corsten, Judge Jules and Fake Blood. www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl

ELECTRIC PICNIC, Stradbally Hall Estate, Co Laois, Ireland, 2-4 Sep: Austra, James Vincent McMorrow, Redinho and Brandt Brauer Frick head up the acts most recently confirmed to appear at Ireland's all-star Electric Picnic, which is to play host to co-headliners Arcade Fire, Pulp and The Chemical Brothers, as well as Interpol, P J Harvey, Public Enemy, DJ Shadow, Oh Land and Santigold. www.electricpicnic.ie

HOUSE OF FUN WEEKENDER, Butlins Resort, Minehead, Somerset, 25-27 Nov: Festival hosts Madness will welcome special guests including Beardyman, Paul Heaton, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Cuban Brothers, The Whip, The Correspondents and Man Like Me to their annual indoor extravaganza. Also on the cards are DJ sets from Rob Da Bank, Toddla T & MC Serocee, Mr Scruff, Norman Jay, Jaguar Skills, Andrew Weatherall and Craig Charles. http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness.aspx

PURE FESTIVAL, The Garage, Highbury Corner, London, 24-25 Sep: The latest additions to Pure's 100% proof line-up include Martin Rossiter, Hatcham Social and Sissy & The Blisters, who join the likes of The Raveonettes, James Yorkston, Steve Mason, Smoke Fairies, Kassidy and Electric Soft Parade at this heady two-day bash, which doubles up as a celebration of all things whisky-like. www.purefestival.com

SWN, Various Venues, Cardiff, Wales, 20-23 Oct: Newly supplementing the bill at this year's Swn bash are acts including Niki & The Dove, Visions of Trees, Tribes, run, WALK!, Gross Magic and DZ Deathrays. They bolster an existing roster boasting the likes of The Fall, The Joy Formidable, Esben & The Witch, Herman Dune and Veronica Falls. www.swnfest.com

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PROPER HELPS [PIAS] GET BACK UP TO SPEED AFTER FIRE
Independent label distributor [PIAS] has announced a deal with Proper Music Distribution to help speed up the process of getting its UK CD and vinyl distribution systems back up to full speed following the fire at the north London warehouse it used last week.

As previously reported, the Sony DADC centre in Enfield used as a key hub by [PIAS] in the UK was burned to the ground after an arson attack during last week's London riots. Numerous labels lost their stock and [PIAS] lost a key base in its UK distribution network.

[PIAS] had already announced that Sony DADC would have an alternative centre up and running almost straight away, and that is now expected to be fully functional by Monday. But to help, [PIAS] has also done a deal with Proper. All supermarkets, HMV bulk orders, international shipments and wholesalers will be supplied from the Sony DADC replacement centre, while Proper will handle indie shops, Amazon and Play.com, and HMV catalogue orders.

Although as the Sony centre gets back into the flow all HMV, Amazon and Play orders will return to that facility, [PIAS] says that Proper will handle indie retailers for its label clients for the foreseeable future.

[PIAS] UK MD Peter Thompson told CMU: "I am overjoyed to have this solution in place so soon after the fire at the Sony DADC warehouse which destroyed the stock of all our labels. Sony DADC have been amazing in getting things up and running so fast, and have excelled in their actions and flexibility in supporting our teams in looking after the needs of our labels. Meanwhile Proper have been extremely accommodating and with their help we now also have the best possible solution for supplying a depth of catalogue to the spectrum of independent retailers."

Proper MD Steve Kersley added: "All of us in distribution looked on in horror at the destruction of Sony DADC and everyone would have considered the consequences on their own business. In these circumstances it's easy to offer to help in any way we can and we are fortunate that we can lend a hand. We wish Sony DADC the best with their new setup and in the meantime are happy to do what we can. [PIAS] is a great company that is the standard bearer for independent music in the UK and beyond and we're privileged to be helping them".

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[PIAS] AND WIREWAX CREATE FANCY WEBSITE FOR OTHER LIVES
For the release of Other Lives' debut album 'Tamer Animals', [PIAS]'s Play It Again Sam label and interactive video service wireWAX have created a website that pulls in content from SoundCloud, YouTube, photo-sharing website Instagram and more, which is then all embedded into the video for the band's song, 'For 12'.

[PIAS] Head of Digital Marketing Darren Hemmings told CMU: "wireWAX is a great platform that allows artists to extend the capabilities of video to include all kinds of interactive elements, which in turn builds greater engagement. We loved the idea of creating a website built around this concept, and think this has delivered a rich experience through which to discover the music of Other Lives".

wireWAX CEO Steve Callanan added: "From the moment [PIAS] discovered wireWAX, we knew they'd do something special - they've surpassed that expectation. Using wireWAX's latest button applications, they've brought the social world around Other Lives right into this awesome video. A truly immersive experience and we're delighted to have [PIAS] as partners in #taggablevideo".

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: 'Oh right, a band has had a website built, whoop-di-fucking-do'. But you're wrong to think that, cos it's dead cool. Go and have a look: www.tameranimals.com

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ABCS: TRADITIONAL MAGS DOWN AGAIN, THREE FREE TITLES ADDED TO LIST
So, the latest magazine circulation figures were released yesterday. What do you want, the gloom or the fun times? Tell you what, gloom first.

Pretty much every established music magazine saw its print circulation fall again, down, down, down. Some by quite considerable margins. Mojo, down. Q, down. Uncut, down. Kerrang!, down. Top Of The Pops Magazine, down. The Fly, down. NME, down, down, down, down, down, down, down. Or if you prefer a list with numbers:

Mojo: 87,262 (-4.8%)
Q: 80,418 (-10.1%)
Uncut: 66,004 (-10.9%)
Kerrang!: 43,033 (-2.2%)
Top of the Pops Magazine: 98,030 (-6.4%)
The Fly: 100,386 (-7.2%)
NME: 29,020 (-14.3%)

The fun times come from the fact three free music magazines which have never had independently verified circulations from ABC before were added to the official stats board. For independent publishers, getting an ABC is sort of 'coming of age', and will usually lead to a boost in ad sales, providing the ABC is similar to or higher than the previously unverified circulations figures released by the publisher. And the three free titles now with ABCs, The Stool Pigeon, Properganda and DIY, all have pretty respectable first ABCs, as follows:

The Stool Pigeon: 51,750
Properganda: 45,212
DIY Magazine: 38,125

Of course ,the publishers of most of the magazines whose print circulations are falling will tell you their mag brands are now multi-media content platforms reaching ever growing audiences through a network of different interactive touch points. And they'd be right. If only we could figure out how to make decent cash out of any touch point that didn't involve ink and paper we'd all be fine.

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BBC CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST
The BBC will mark the 40th anniversary of 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' this autumn with a new sixteen-part radio series hosted by the legend himself, Mr Bob Harris. Archive performances from the 1970s/1980s music programme will be played along with interviews from some of the artists that appeared on the original show. It all kicks off on Radio 2 next week.

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THIS JUST-IN: BIEBER HAS STREET NAMED AFTER HIM (BRIEFLY)
Justin Bieber had the main street in Forney, Texas renamed in his honour this week. Only for a day, though. Everyone has their limits.

This all happened because a fan, eleven year old Caronline Gonzalez, won a competition to briefly rename the street. I'm not really sure why, but on Tuesday they changed the sign from Main Street to Justin Bieber Way.

Gonzalez said: "I just really like Justin Bieber, and I thought it would be cool if we had a street in our town named after him. I thought it was pretty cool, and if Justin Bieber was actually here, I'd probably faint".

Luckily Bieber wasn't there. You know what he's like, he'd probably have stolen her wallet.

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