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![]() ![]() A round up of music and music business events happening in the next seven days... Radio 1's One Big Weekend. Radio 1 is heading to Londonderry in Ireland for a Big Weekend on Friday and it won't stop until Sunday. That is a big weekend, I'm sure you'll agree. Amongst those performing will be Calvin Harris, Olly Murs, Vampire Weekend, Little Mix, Disclosure, Kendrick Lamar and a lot more. Primavera Sound. Further afield is the first of two festival/convention combos in Spain. Primavera will be taking place in Barcelona, with performers on the festival side including My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Fucked Up, Rodriguez, Grizzly Bear and Blur. Meanwhile, 4AD boss Simon Halliday and Machine Management's Iain Watt are amongst the industry types speaking at the PrimaveraPro conference. International Music Summit. Down the coast, IMS will see the dance music industry put to rights. This year's theme is 'Beyond The Boom Boom', with sessions focused on the recent rise of the dance music genre, especially in the US, the subsequent interest from big corporate players in the dance market, and how the industry can capitalise on this, but also plan for success beyond the 'goldrush'. Field Day. Closer to home (for us anyway), is the London-based Field Day festival, which will gather a great line-up of bands in Hackney's Victoria Park this Saturday. Amongst those performing will be Animal Collective, Bat For Lashes, Savages, Four Tete, Chvrches, Daughter and more. New releases. Daft Punk have a new album out this week. They kept that quiet. Also filling the shelves anew in record stores this week are The National, Jamie Cullum, Thirty Seconds To Mars, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Is Tropical, Dirty Beaches, Charlie Boyer And The Voyeurs and Club 8. Domino is reissuing Julia Holter's 'Tragedy' too, and there are EPs from His Clancyness, Laurel Halo, Mykki Blanco and Olugbenga. Gigs and tours. Big tours this week are those of Muse and Alicia Keys. The Flaming Lips will be playing a couple of dates at The Roundhouse in London, plus The Postal Service, Foxes, Mount Kimbie, Icona Pop and Melvins all have single shows this week. Also touring are A$AP Rocky, Craig David and Bleached. ![]() ![]() GROOVESHARK EMPLOYEES TAKEN OFF MAJOR LABEL LAWSUIT As much previously reported, the major record companies have a major beef with Grooveshark, which lets users upload music into its libraries, meaning tracks are routinely available on the streaming service without the permission of relevant copyright owners. Because Grooveshark has a takedown system, removing copyright material if made aware of it, the company says it is operating within US law, even if taken-down tracks are soon replaced by users. While the labels consider that an abuse of the 'takedown system' safe harbours in US copyright law, there's a high chance that the Groovesharkers would win if that dispute ever went to court. Therefore the music firms have looked for other ways to litigate, including following up allegations employees of Grooveshark uploaded unlicensed music to the firm's servers. That activity, denied by Grooveshark bosses, wouldn't be protected by the safe harbours. It is in relation to that litigation that the new agreements have been signed. By making a commitment to never again infringe, individual Groovesharkers who had been targeted for infringement will now be removed from the lawsuit. Though the company itself and, seemingly, its founders, remain as defendants listed on the legal action, which was originally launched by Universal Music and is now also backed by the other majors. What all that means for the progress of the wider litigation isn't clear. Possibly nothing, just that the number of defendants on the case will be considerably fewer. Whether the agreements will allow former Grooveshark employees to testify against the company if and when the legal squabble gets to court remains to be seen. For their part, Grooveshark owners Escape Media welcomed the development, telling reporters: "We are pleased that the case between Universal Music and Escape Media has been narrowed and simplified by the removal of some individual defendants from the case upon their stipulation to simply obey the law - something Escape Media does every day through its active licensing of millions of tracks and its strict compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Escape Media Group will continue to deliver innovative new solutions and services that revolutionise music consumption for its growing audience of 30 million plus fans around the world". ![]() ![]() OL DIRTY BASTARD'S WIDOW MOVES TO BLOCK HOLOGRAM SHOW Icelene Jones, who controls the rapper's estate and copyrights, says that she has not been consulted about the plans, adding: "I am disappointed that Rock The Bells would not contact me directly about the use of my husband's image. I am looking forward to talking to Wu-Tang about this matter and coming up with a positive solution". The latest holographic dead rapper show, which follows the appearance of a Tupac hologram at Coachella 2012, is seemingly endorsed by Ol Dirty Bastard's mother Cherry Jones, who attended a press conference announcing the Rock The Bells venture last week. She is yet to comment on her daughter-in-law's legal action. ![]() ![]() GEORGE MICHAEL INVOLVED IN CAR CRASH And I know what you're all thinking, but no, he wasn't driving. And yes, there was a driver, but it wasn't George. Confirming all that, an official note from the singer's PR also adds that there was "no third party" involved, so that's that. TYLER UPBEAT ABOUT BEING A EUROVISION LOSER So instead here's Bonnie Tyler, chatting after coming in nineteenth place out of the 26 countries competing in the Eurovision final this weekend with her performance of the decidedly lacklustre UK entry 'Believe In Me'. Tyler told the BBC: "I'm sure a lot of people will be disappointed on my behalf but I have really enjoyed my Eurovision experience. I did the best that I could do with a great song. I don't feel down and I'm ready to party". So there you go. Red wines all round. LILY ALLEN LP "SHAPING UP PRETTY WELL" Talking to The Mirror whilst at the Ivor Novello Awards last week, Allen said: "Five years ago, what I really wanted to do was have kids and I've had two kids now. As much as I love that, I'm never going to be the type of person who sits at home all day playing with plastic toys and watching 'Peppa Pig'". -------------------------------------------------- DR DRE TO GO BACK TO HIS FIRST LOVE: THE STUDIO, MAKING NWA FILM Basically, whilst talking to LA Weekly (mainly on the topic of his and Jimmy Iovine's new $70 million arts/technology/business programme at the University Of Southern California), Dre said he felt like "going back to the studio", adding: "Beats is rolling, this thing is happening, and it's incredible. Now I'm ready to go back to my first love". But why, exactly, is he going back into the studio? To put the finishing touches to his long, long awaited album 'Detox"? No - in fact, there's no "specific reason" for the new studio stint. He would be there, he said, "just to record because I love to record music. I'm going back in and hopefully the next Kendrick Lamar or the next Eminem walks in the door and I can work with that artist. I'm going to record forever". Of course, film projects may as yet get in the way here. Working with Ice Cube and filmmaker F Gary Gray, Dre has reportedly co-scripted a based-on-real-events type NWA movie. It has, he says, had the "green light" from Universal, so that's another Dre-thing to look forward to. ![]() ![]() JESSIE J TO RELEASLE WILD NEW SINGLE THOM YORKE SCORES FINANCE FILM Directed by Mark Donne and with narration by actor Dominic West, the film features an OST created by Yorke in collaboration with Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja and Elbow's Guy Garvey. It'll have its first screening, as part of this year's East End Film Festival, at The Troxy in London on 25 Jun. ALKALINE TRIO TO PLAY AT ISLINGTON ACADEMY'S TENTH BIRTHDAY The Trio's Matt Skiba says: "It is always an honour to play London. To have been at the beginning of an era with [the Islington Academy] was AMAZING. I remember that show being extra special and playing again for their tenth anniversary is something we're extremely proud to be a part of". FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE: ATP'S END OF AN ERA, T IN THE PARK, JERSEY LIVE AND MORE Mogwai's Stuart Braithwait RSVPs to it all by saying: "It's an incredible honour to be asked to close the final ATP holiday camp festival. We couldn't have imagined when we curated one thirteen years ago that the festival would have had the impact that it's had. Back then festivals were moving further to the mainstream and I think the continued strength of underground music in the UK owes a big debt to the work done by ATP. I think getting to play with LOOP, musical heroes of ours, will be a fitting way for us to close this event". ATP'S END OF AN ERA, Pontins Holiday Centre, Camber Sands, 22-24 Nov/29 Nov - 1 Dec: Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Low, Balam Acab, Ty Segall, White Fence, Tortoise, Magik Markers, Har Mar Superstar, Les Savy Fav, Wolf People, Scout Niblett, Blanck Mass, Los Planetas, Standstill, Follakzoid, Civil Civic, Refree, Headbirds, Dawn Hunger, Kandodo, New War, Jonathan Toubin. www.atpfestival.com JERSEY LIVE, Royal Jersey Showgrounds, Jersey, Channel Islands, 31 Aug - 1 Sep: Bastille. www.jerseylive.org.uk INCUBATE, Tilburg, Netherlands, 16-22 Sep: Wolf Eyes, A Place To Bury Strangers, Neil Halstead, Black Pus, Man Forever. www.incubate.org LIVE FROM JODRELL BANK, Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, 6 Jul - 31 Aug: Public Service Broadcasting. www.livefromjodrellbank.com MELT! Ferropolis, Germany, 19-21 Jul: Babyshambles, Maceo Plex, Owiny Sigoma Band, Karocel, Manamana. www.meltfestival.de SUMMER ALL-DAYER, Village Underground, London, 3 Aug: Theme Park, Gabriel Bruce, MT, Legoland, Transgressive DJs. villageunderground.co.uk/events/theme-park T IN THE PARK, Balady, Scotland, 12-14 Jul: Arches, Blindfolds, DARC, Fake Major, Hector Bizerk, Honeyblood, Machines In Heaven, Michael Cassidy, Poor Things, Pronto Mama, Seams, Sunshine Social, The Merrylees, The Velveteen Saints, Vasa, Waiting For Go. www.tinthepark.com WAKESTOCK, Abersoch, North Wales, 12-14 Jul: James, Swim Deep, Chloe Howl, Esco Williams, Ella Eyre. www.wakestock.co.uk YMCAS CELEBRATE MUSIC CONVENTIONS WORLDWIDE And the winners of the core categories were as follows... Best Delegates Bag: BigSound - Australia BMG'S ACQUISITION OF EMI SONG CATALOGUES APPROVED As previously reported, when a Sony-led consortium acquired the EMI music publishing business last year, it was forced to sell off a number of European song catalogues by European competition regulators. The sell-offs were nothing like those forced onto Universal when it bought the EMI record company, but included the Virgin and Famous UK publishing archives. Confirmation that BMG would buy those catalogues came just before Christmas, though that deal has only just got the nod from the European Commission. The music rights firm also acquired the sound recordings catalogue of the original Mute label as part of Universal's EMI asset sell-off, that deal getting the Euro-nod earlier this month. -------------------------------------------------- NEW MUTE APPOINTMENTS Shirin Foroutan, most recently a senior legal advisor for the London 2012 ceremonies and previously a Legal Affairs Director for Live Nation, will become MD of the whole Mute group, which now encompasses a label, music publisher and management agency. Meanwhile Dick O'Dell, a long-term manager who has worked with the likes of Gang Of Four, William Orbit, Leftfield, Beth Orton and Bat For Lashes, has been brought in to lead the Mute Management business. Confirming the appointments, Mute Founder Daniel Miller told CMU: "Shirin and Dick join Mute at a very important time in our development. After parting ways with EMI in 2010 and re-establishing our own independent record label, we have positioned ourselves for growth. We have strengthened the group's leadership and are committing to expanding the services and support we are able to offer the artists, writers and producers represented across our label, publishing and management divisions". He added: "This is a very exciting time for us. With Goldfrapp and Erasure releases planned for 2013, plus remarkable talents such as Beth Jeans Houghton, Big Deal and Polly Scattergood continuing to develop, we are very well placed to take our next steps". Meanwhile Foroutan said: "It is a privilege to be joining the Mute team. Daniel Miller is a visionary whose commitment to nurturing artistic integrity, creativity and independence is unparalleled. The Mute team has always endeavoured to put artists, songwriters, producers and clients first. The team's commitment is unwavering and the group's longevity is proof of this. I'm thrilled to be joining a team with such rich history, and such a bright future". And O'Dell concluded: "Daniel and I have known each other for years and have always wanted to work together. The creation of Mute Management gives us the opportunity to combine my wealth of management experience with the Mute ethos to develop a benchmark management company". -------------------------------------------------- UNIVERSAL APPOINT NEW MD FOR COMPILATIONS UNIT Confirming Corke's promotion, Universal Music UK top man David Joseph told CMU: "There are few more experienced people in our business than Adam Corke, whose natural commercial instincts have played a key part in our company's growth including the development of our market-leading compilations business". He added: "The growth of digital curation and strong brands like Clubland and Pop Party, alongside the extraordinary success of Now, are making compilations one of the fastest-growing areas of the music market. I know Adam, alongside Cris, Matt, general manager Haydn Williams and the rest of the UMTV team, will be able to realise its potential". -------------------------------------------------- FORMER EMI CHIEF LAUNCHES NEW ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS London-based Wentworth Media & Arts, which is backed by private equity, is looking to get involved in film, TV, social media, theatre, publishing, education and live entertainment projects. Initial ventures include co-producing a new rom com with Filmagine, and backing a TV documentary series called 'Time Of Our Lives' about major concept albums. Nicoli is working with William Lewis, John Stanley and Dean Goldberg on the new business. The one-time EMI Group boss said of his new venture: "We believe content, in all forms, is increasing in value around the world. The strategically vetted approach to financing new films and properties is appealing to us. We're aligning high quality content with funding and business execution in a way that can maximise the exploitation and commercialisation of that content for the content owner, distributor, investor and WMA alike". -------------------------------------------------- LIVE NATION ANNOUNCES NEW JOINT VENTURE IN ASIAN MARKET Confirming the new deal, Live Nation chief Michael Rapino told CMU: "Live Nation continues to enhance and expand our global footprint. Our new joint venture with Lushington will increase our presence in Asia and enable us to bring more live entertainment to more fans in Hong Kong, Singapore and throughout the region". Meanwhile Michael Roche, MD of Lushington Entertainment, added: "After 23 years of promoting in the region, we found a great partner in Live Nation. We share a common vision and work style centred on hard work, integrity and dedication to bring the very best international and emerging stars to Hong Kong and Singapore". ![]() ![]() YAHOO! TO BUY TUMBLR According to the Wall Street Journal, the Yahoo! board has approved a $1.1 billion acquisition of the Tumblr company. It's an expensive commitment, but will give Yahoo! a place in the 'biggest social networks' list alongside (well, below) Facebook and Twitter. Now all that needs to be done is to work out how to make revenue out of Tumblr's 117 million users (without annoying them so much they all run away). BEYONCE HITS BACK AT BABY TALK Now, when you are a mega popstar you arguably owe much of your wealth to low life people who have nothing better to do than talk about you, which is possibly why the singer's people had the moan removed. But still, the idle baby speculation is clearly getting Mrs Z down, and that's no good. So stop speculating people. Especially you low-lifers. |
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