WARNER BOSS HAS NO REGRETS OVER EMI SALE
Despite rumours that newish Warner Music owner Access Industries is already regretting its big buy into the music business, the label's CEO, Access man Stephen Cooper, was upbeat during a conference call with bondholders yesterday, even after initially revealing that in the quarter up to 30 Sep the firm saw revenues fall and, depending on how you interpret the figures, losses double year on year.

A light release schedule during that quarter contributed to the revenue decline, Cooper said, though a similar drop in revenue was seen across the full financial year also, with full year losses down only slightly or up significantly, again depending on what special items in the accounts you take into consideration.

Cooper added that the record industry was still a business in flux, especially in the US, and that also played a role in any declines. He added, optimistically, "in the quarter and throughout the fiscal year, WMG continued to perform. The company grew digital and '360' revenue, executed on its strategy of establishing more comprehensive artist partnerships, and continued to position itself well for the opportunities that exist in the rapidly evolving recorded music and music publishing industries".

So that's all fun. That Cooper name checked both the recorded music and music publishing sides of Warner's business was significant, because there had been chatter that Access might sell off Warner/Chappell, the publishing company, perhaps to BMG, in order to quickly recoup some of the monies its spent buying WMG earlier this year.

But that, Cooper insisted yesterday, was not an option currently on the agenda. In fact, he said, future success likely relied on music companies more closely aligning their recordings and publishing operations, an opinion shared by outgoing EMI CEO Roger Faxon of course, though Cooper spoke in more abstract terms that the EMI chief.

According to the Financial Times, Cooper said: "Both the recorded music side as well as the publishing side are both viewed as integral parts of this business. In fact, my view is that, as we move along, that the working relationships between the recorded music side of the business and the publishing side of the business will get stronger".

Talk, of course, quickly moved on to the recent sale of EMI, and the failure of Access and Warner to secure ownership of the British music company's record labels, a deal which would have helped the US-based major gain some ground on bigger rivals Universal and Sony. As previously reported, Access bailed on the EMI talks at the last minute, allowing Universal to secure the EMI record company, meaning the market leader will dwarf the Warner Music Group even more so.

But, Cooper has no regrets on pulling out of the EMI bidding, despite that decision allowing his company's bigger rivals to get even bigger. Current EMI owner Citigroup simply wanted too much money, he said, and Access isn't in the business of overpaying for things.

Interestingly, though perhaps not so surprisingly, BMG said the same thing about its decision to pull out from talks to buy EMI Music Publishing, despite being the favourite on that side of the bidding. Though one or two cynics might argue that in Access's case, claims that it is just too sensible to overbid in acquisition deals doesn't completely stack up given what it paid for the Warner Music Group in the first place.

Whatever, Cooper said that he remained optimistic about the future of the Warner music company despite it being the lone mini-major alongside the Sony family and Universal Music Group. Would he buy any EMI assets Sony or Universal are forced to sell as part of any settlement with competition regulators in the US or, more likely in Europe? It would be "pointless" to say at this point, said the Coop, but, he implied, such spoils were not necessary to assure WMG's successful future.

So, that's all lovely. Probably won't stop the rumours of a radical cost cutting plan being initiated in the first half of 2012 though.

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SOULJA BOY SUES HIS FORMER MANAGER
Soulja Boy has sued his former manager, lawyer Philip Ransom, claiming that he is now being held to, well, obviously, ransom, by "unconscionable, oppressive, and unjust" contracts that he was coerced into signing as a teenager when his music first started to gain momentum online.

In legal papers filed with the Georgia Superior Court the rapper, real name DeAndre Way, says that Ransom exploited his youth and inexperience to coerce him into signing contracts that were "commercially unreasonable" and "contrary to music industry custom and practice".

Amongst the disputed contract terms Way mentions in his lawsuit are that his former manager gets 5% of revenue in perpetuity for all output created under the management agreement, as well as 50% co-ownership of copyrights.

But Ransom has denied the allegations made against him, and has reportedly filed his own legal papers claiming Way owes him monies from his time managing the rapper.

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WOMEN SPEND MORE ON MUSIC THAN MEN, SAYS NEW SURVEY
With the perceived importance of the good old '50 quid man' on record sales, you might be surprised to know that, according to new research by IPC Media, women are bigger spenders on music than men, though only when tickets and merch are taken into consideration.

The new survey by the NME and Uncut publisher found that while the average man spends more than the average woman buying actual recordings (£381 versus £327), women spend more on live music and merchandise, so overall they spend £803 on music products, versus the £793 the blokes lay out.

Though, I suppose we should note, that's only a £10 difference, which could probably be explained away by statistical anomalies, possibly meaning there's no real gender difference. But hey, that would make me writing this story a waste of time, so pretend I didn't say that.

Elsewhere in the Great British Music Survey - "an extensive study of British music listening and consumption" according to IPC - are claims that Britons spend on average 51 days a year listening to music, that 82% of Brits don't go a single day without listening to some songs, that radio and personal recommendation are the most important music discovery routes, and that 61% of us talk to our friends at least once a week about musical matters.

I prefer to talk to my friends about what Amanda Wigginton Director Of Insight at IPC Media has been saying of late, so you can imagine how excited I am about the next paragraph. Needless to say, the following two sentences will be dominating my pub chatter tonight.

Says Wigginton: "Music is a massive part of our lives in this country and this survey shows both men and women are huge fans. It's interesting to see that men are spending more to build their music collections whereas women part with more cash to soak up the live experience".

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QUEEN MAY PERFORM SHOWS WITH ADAM LAMBERT
Queen drummer Roger Taylor has said that the band may perform shows with former 'American Idol' contestant Adam Lambert. Taylor and guitarist Brian May first played with Lambert on the final of the 2009 series of 'Idol', and recently reprised that when they performed at the MTV Europe Awards in November.

Taylor told Billboard: "He has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice with a range that's great. We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but we're talking about live dates. It could be very exciting".

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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT DISCUSSES MARK RONSON PRODUCED NEW ALBUM
Rufus Wainwright has been speaking to Stereogum about his new album, 'Out Of The Game', which has been produced by Mark Ronson and is due out next year. It also features contributions from Wainwright's sister Martha, Sean Lennon, The Dap Kings and Wilco guitarist Nels Cline.

Speaking about the making of the album, he said: "[Working with Ronson] was one of the great joys of my life; I have to say, at this point. Mark and I have developed this intense bromance that's making our respective others - I wouldn't say nervous but definitely attentive to the situation. I hate to say it, but it's kind of a very manly record, I think, which I think is cool. I've certainly made enough gay records".

As for the tone of the record, he said: "There are like two sides of this album. First being a sense of relief and lightness and joy about cherishing life because y'know, certainly the last three years were the darkest I'd ever experienced, considering my mother's death. But by the same token they were also the most joyous, because my daughter Viva is going to be one this year, so that's sort of intermingled with it".

He continued: "I think on one hand there's a real 'it's time to party' kind of atmosphere and 'let's enjoy what time we have left'. But then there are certain reflections on my mother's passing - I wrote a song about her called 'Candles'. And then there's another song about my daughter Viva called 'Montauk', which is ... there's a sorta bittersweet quality to it cause it does talk about her being without her grandmother and so forth".

Read the full interview here: stereogum.com/897482/progress-report-rufus-wainwright/franchises/progress-report/

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JANELLE MONÁE ON NEW MATERIAL: 'IT'S 84.799% DONE'
Since it's Artists Of The Year season here at CMU, it seems only fitting we have a little catch up with last year's runner-up, Janelle Monáe. Having stunned with the visionary neo-soul sound of her debut album 'The ArchAndroid', she's apparently plotting two album releases for 2012. But only if her "soul clock" says so.

Granting a rare interview to local blog while on a flying festive visit to her hometown of Kansas City last week, she said: "I am eager to get back to the studio and work on finishing my album. Actually, I plan on releasing two albums next year".

Though Monáe remained cagey as to a timeframe for releasing those LPs, she did say: "84.799% of the writing is done. I will release them according to my soul clock. But I will try to stick to the scheduled release dates, which I know but can't say".

Read more here: backtorockville.typepad.com/back_to_rockville/2011/11/janelle-monae-big-plans-for-2012.html

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ATP RECORDINGS SIGNS TENNIS FOR NEW LP
Blissful pop specialists Tennis have announced they've signed to ATP Recordings for their second album 'Young And Old'.

The band - comprising drummer James Barone and Colorado-based couple Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley - enlisted The Black Keys' Patrick Carney to produce the new LP, recording it over three weeks in a Nashville studio. Characterised by Moore as sounding like "Stevie Nicks going through a Motown phase", it's due out on 13 Feb.

Meanwhile, view the video for lead single 'Deep In The Woods' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NEmE6fkMVA

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AIR UNVEIL BEACH HOUSE COLLABORATION
Beach House singer Victoria Legrand has lent her distinctly dusky voice to 'Seven Stars', a song just debuted by French electro-pop types Air. It's taken from Air's new album, an extended version of the duo's soundtrack to a hand-shaded reissue of Georges Méliès' seminal silent film 'Le Voyage Dans La Lune'.

Nicolas Godin said of the album, which takes its title from the movie: "[It is] undoubtedly more organic than most of our past projects. We wanted it to sound 'handmade and knocked together', a bit like Méliès' special effects. Everything is played live and like Méliès' film, our soundtrack is nourished by living art".

Also featuring guest vocals from Au Revoir Simone, the album is set for release on 6 Feb 2012.

You can listen to 'Seven Stars' below, and find a clip from the film here: www.nme.com/news/air/60821

consequenceofsound.net/2011/12/video-air-soundtracks-110-year-old-film-le-voyage-dans-la-lune/

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PEARL JAM TO TOUR, HEADLINE ISLE OF WIGHT IN 2012
Pearl Jam have just confirmed a raft of live listings for around the world for 2012. While the band's only UK arena date falls on 22 Jun at Manchester's MEN Arena, British fans will also be able to catch them at the Isle Of Wight Festival, where they've been booked as second-day headliners on 23 Jun.

Also in the PJ calendar; festival appearances at Belgium's Rock Werchter on 29 Jun, and at the Main Square Festival in Arras, France, on 30 Jun.

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BRETON ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES
Hypnotic-pop collective Breton, who also - when they're orchestrating live audiovisual goings-on - go by BretonLABS, have announced their first ever headlining dates.

Before that, they'll appear on the bill at AV night Videocrash, which takes place at London's Koko on 14 Jan. Set against a full-sized cinematic screen backdrop, the stage will also be graced by headliners Plaid, The Beaufort Scale and Holotronica. More info on that here: www.soundcrashmusic.com/january-videocrash/

In the meantime, the Breton lot have made a mix featuring two of their own new tracks titled 'The Hague' and 'Harp'. Be sure to press play on that while you scan these tour dates: soundcloud.com/bretonlabs/the-diamond-tile-mix

28 Mar: London, Corsica Studios
29 Mar: Manchester, Islington Mill
30 Mar: Leeds, Nation Of Shopkeepers

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THE MILK ANNOUNCE TOUR
Soul climbers The Milk are set to be kept very busy during the first part of 2012, having plotted a 28-date tour to promote their previously reported EP, 'B-Roads and B-Sides'.

With that due out on 19 Dec, here's what the rest of the band's schedule looks like:

1 Mar: Canterbury, The Farmhouse
2 Mar: Brighton, Green Door Store
4 Mar: Bournemouth, 60 Million Postcards
5 Mar: Southampton, Joiners
7 Mar: Oxford, Jericho
8 Mar: Bristol, Start The Bus
9 Mar: Bath, Moles
10 Mar: Gloucester, Guildhall
12 Mar: Cardiff, The Globe
13 Mar: Doncaster, Leopard
14 Mar: York, Stereo
16 Mar: Leeds, Nation of Shopkeepers
17 Mar: Stoke, Sugarmill
18 Mar: Birmingham, The Rainbow
19 Mar: Sheffield, The Plug
21 Mar: Nottingham, Bodega
22 Mar: Manchester, Deaf Institute
23 Mar: Liverpool, Shipping Forecast
24 Mar: Preston, 53 Degrees
26 Mar: Middlesbrough, Westgarth Social Club
28 Mar: Edinburgh, Electric Circus
29 Mar: Glasgow, King Tut's
30 Mar: Aberdeen, Tunnels
31 Mar: Dundee, Doghouse
2 Apr: Newcastle, Cosmic Ballroom
3 Apr: Norwich, Open
4 Apr: London, Scala
5 Apr: Southend, Chinnerys

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TWISTED LICKS AND KILLING MOON ANNOUNCE CHRISTMAS PARTY
Promoter Twisted Licks and record label Killing Moon have announced their joint Christmas party, which will be held at The Star Of Kings in London on 14 Dec. The night will be headlined by Worship, with support from Blackeye, Belgrade, Pushing Hands, Volunteers and DJing from Strangers. All this can be yours for just £5, with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Society.

More information can be found right here: www.facebook.com/events/124758000969347/

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE

END OF THE ROAD, Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire, 31 Aug - 2 Sep: Headliners Grizzly Bear get End Of The Road's 2012 announcements off to a promising start, flanked on the bill by the likes of Beach House, First Aid Kit, The Antlers, Tindersticks, Mountain Man, and Outfit. The Strange Boys and Robyn Hitchcock are also amongst the latest confirmed acts, with more to follow shortly. www.endoftheroadfestival.com

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle Of Wight, 22-24 Jun: As aforementioned, Pearl Jam complete the line-up of headliners for next year's Isle Of Wight fest, joining Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers and Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band. Maybe they should call themselves Eddie Vedder And The Pearl Jams for one night so as to fit in. Also new on the bill are Professor Green, Feeder, Wretch 32, Loick Essien, amongst others. www.isleofwightfestival.com

WYCHWOOD, Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire, 8-10 Jun: Festival headliners and Manchester indie legends James are first on Wychwood's family-friendly 2012 programme. The existing line-up also features Fisherman's Friends, Dhol Foundation and The Roving Crows. www.wychwoodfestival.com

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BIEBER LESSER OF TWO EVILS, SAYS PERFUME AD
Any dads of Justin Bieber fans out there? Mainly of the teenage girl variety. Well, Bieber has a message for you. You really ought to buy your daughter some of Bieber's overpriced perfume this Christmas, because that'll ensure she remains besotted with Justin, rather than rejecting terrible pop music and shagging the boy next door instead.

I'm paraphrasing slightly, but not much. The Bieber has posted a new video on the net to flog his fragrance brand Someday and in it he addresses his fans' fathers, saying "I'm a great distraction. The next time you hear her scream my name, relax. It's better than hearing her scream 'Joey' who lives next door. Am I right?"

Those Beliebers not otherwise occupied with Joey next door can also upload their own photo so that it appears in the frame on the table next to their idol in the video. Though given recent allegations about Bieber's backstage liaison with a certain fan, I suspect most fathers would rather not think that the teen star has actually selected their daughter for special attention, however ludicrous those allegations may be. I mean, there's distractions and there's distractions. Am I right?

Dads can see the video below. Non-dads are presumably not welcome.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMOY9dYECsU

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CANADIAN SUPREME COURT CONSIDERS COPYRIGHT MATTERS
There were two days of copyright debates in the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this week as the country's highest court considered five separate intellectual property disputes in one go. Good times.

A number of those debates had music rights at their heart, and so reps from the Canadian record industry and publishing collecting societies SOCAN and CSI (performing rights and mechanical rights respectively), plus licensees from the digital, tel co and gaming industries, arrived in Ottawa to present their respective sides of the argument.

Even though some elements of the disputes being considered by the Supreme Court judges are arguably already being dealt with in ongoing efforts by political types to reform Canada's copyright laws, which many rights owners argue have struggled to protect their rights in the digital age.

Perhaps most interesting of all the debates is the one related to iTunes previews, the thirty second clips consumers can stream in order to decide whether they want to buy a song (or more likely to confirm it's really the song they think it is). Most rights owners and agencies, including the aforementioned SOCAN, will tell you that constitutes a performance of the music that plays during the clip, and that therefore a royalty should be paid.

However, in a Canadian case called Bell v SOCAN it's been argued that those clips constitute private research on the part of the consumer, and should therefore be covered by so called 'fair use' rights - or, to be technically correct, for copyright systems with their origins in English law, 'fair dealing'.

The Canadian Recording Industry Association, SOCAN and CSI each presented arguments as to why fair dealing should not apply in the case of preview on download platforms, the latter relying primarily on Canada's obligations under international copyright treaties.

It's too soon to say whether those arguments made an impact, although some commentators - albeit those generally opposed to the music industry's viewpoint on this - felt the Supreme Court judges weren't too receptive to any of the arguments presented by music business reps.

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SOUND CITY TO RUN NEW MUSIC VENUE IN LIVERPOOL
Organisers of Liverpool Sound City are taking over the running of the city's Epstein Theatre and plan to run it as a year round music venue and cultural hub. The venue, formerly called The Neptune but now named in honour of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, recently underwent a million pound refurbishment.

Wendy Simon of Liverpool City Council confirmed the Sound City team had been selected to run the venue earlier this week, telling reporters: "Sound City's vision was inspiring and will make the venue a hub of excitement and creativity which is sure to be embraced by this music-loving city. I look forward to seeing the Epstein back in use once again and for a new generation to experience this beautiful venue".

Sound City boss Dave Pichilingi added: "We are absolutely delighted to be taking on the Epstein Theatre. It is such an amazing venue and facility. We plan to turn it into a space that will be a gemstone in the cultural offer for Liverpool. Such an amazing building needs to be used and seen by an international and local audience. We believe our vision for the Epstein will put our city firmly on the map and show Liverpool as a 21st century pop culture city".

The Epstein will go someway to filling a gap left in Liverpool's live music scene after the recent closure of two venues in the city, the former Barfly venue The Masque and the Contemporary Urban Centre.

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FULL VOICE UK JUDGING PANEL REVEALED
So, who will be joining Will.i.am and Jessie J as judges on 'The Voice UK', the new music talent show coming to a BBC 1 near you soon? Well, Tom Jones, obviously, and Danny O'Donoghue. You know, Danny O'Donoghue. Danny. Dan. Daniel. The Danster. The Donny Hue. He's in The Script. Yeah, that's ruined the mood hasn't it? But don't worry, BBC One boss Danny Cohen is "delighted" with the judges lined up for his new show. And that's what really matters in these cold uncertain times.

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BEEF OF THE WEEK: KORN V THE ILLUMINATI
Last week Korn frontman Jonathan Davis was claiming to have invented dubstep in 1994 (or rather, a style of metal that had some elements in common with dubstep), this week he's accusing Barack Obama of being no more than a yes man for the Illuminati. Bless him, his music may have gone down hill in the last ten years, but he's still good for a quote.

Davis tells Billboard that he has been researching the Illuminati and New World Order recently, and although he insists that he's just interested and doesn't really care if all the conspiracy theories are true or not, he adds: "It's all coming down [to] a one-world government, and I can see it and I read about it, and this stuff's actually starting to happen".

His basis for this seems to be that the respective economic and political unions of the USA, Europe and Russia exist. Next we'll have an Asian union, he reckons, which suggest he's not that up on the state of relations in that geographic area now and over the last few thousand years. And, of course, the EU might have collapsed by this afternoon, so we may not be as close as Davis reckons to the "one-world government" he claims all this will lead towards.

Anyway, he's more concerned with how The Illimunati is ruining America by forcing Barrack Obama to do all sorts of terrible things, like, erm, well, presumably introducing healthcare for the poor and trying to grapple with the dire worldwide economic situation he inherited.

Speaking about the track 'Illuminati', from Korn's new album 'The Path Of Totality', he then goes on: "I feel like Obama's an Illuminati puppet. He's basically dragged this country down into the worst it's ever been. I mean, like, one of [the lines is about the White House]: 'You've built this house of shame'. Everybody looked up at the White House and America and now I think it's like a house of shame. It's like, just hang your head down. I miss the old days when people were proud to be an American".

Watch Davis say more as bandmates Fieldy and Munky mostly look bored or like they're planning their escape: bcove.me/nz3eep63

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