Russian prison service move jailed Pussy Riot member, location currently unknown
The Russian prison service has confirmed that jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been moved to a new penal colony, adding that her family will be informed of her whereabouts within ten days of her arrival at the new prison.

The statement, issued via the Interfax news agency, followed comments made to Buzzfeed by Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov, who told the website that he'd not know where the authorities were keeping his wife since 21 Oct, when she was put on a train destined for another unknown prison facility. She was then spotted three days later by another passenger as that train arrived in the city of Chelyabinsk, in the Ural mountains.

As previously reported, since being jailed last year for her involvement in the controversial Pussy Riot protest performance in a Moscow church, Tolokonnikova hit out at the conditions at the prison where she was incarcerated, and twice went on hunger strike in protest. Supporters of Tolokonnikov and her group have also protested outside the prison where she was being held.

And Verzilov thinks that it was those protests that motivated the authorities to move his wife to a new location. He told Buzzfeed: "They want to cut her off. This is basically the only way they have to punish Nadya - 'let's cut her off from the outside world'".

Meanwhile Tolokonnikov's father raised concerns for his daughter's safety, especially given the two hunger strikes had left her weak. Andrei Tolokonnikov said: "No one knows anything. There's no proof she's alive, we don't know the state of her health. Is she sick? Has she been beaten?"

Under the Russian prison system's own rules, Tolokonnikov's family should learn of her current location anytime now.

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easyDNS to test whether suspending domains of file-sharing sites breaches ICANN rules
Canadian domain registrar easyDNS is testing whether other domain companies that complied with a request from the City Of London Police's IP Crime Unit last month may have breached the rules of global domain overseer ICANN.

As previously reported, the recently established IP Crime Unit last month wrote to the companies that administrate the domains of various file-sharing websites, pointing out that said sites infringe copyright and possibly violate other laws, and that in doing so were likely also contravening the domain firms' own terms and conditions. Therefore, the police letter concluded, the registrars might want to think about suspending the offending sites' domains.

And some duly did. Though for its part easyDNS went public about the letter, stating that it had no intention of suspending the domains of its clients on the say so of correspondence from the City Of London Police, because under law it is only obliged to respond in this way if served a court order. And the IP Crime Unit's note made no pretence that it had the authority of any court of law.

Not only that, easyDNS said, but if a registrar suspended a domain because of a terms and conditions breach, and then prevented the owner of the domain from moving it to another registrar instead, that would violate the rules of ICANN. And now that argument could be tested, because three sites whose domains were suspended by a firm called PDR are trying to move to easyDNS, but PDR won't currently release the domains. So easyDNS plans to take the matter to ICANN for mediation.

In a new blog post, easyDNS CEO Mark Jeftovic says that PDR has no duty to follow the instructions of the City Of London Police, but does have a duty to follow ICANN policies. Noting that the UK police were unlikely to turn around and say "we have no actual power here, transfer the domains", Jeftovic writes: "They should not be waiting for the London Police to articulate this, what they should be doing is reading up on the ICANN Inter-Registrar Transfers Policy, since they are actually bound by their Registrar Accreditation Agreement to abide by it".

It remains to be seen how this one turns out. Though most of the file-sharing sites that did lose their domains as a result of the IP Crime Unit's letter have relaunched using alternative URLs, which will be easily accessible via Google.

Paul Gambaccini latest celebrity arrested under Operation Yewtree
Veteran BBC presenter and famous dead-musician-tribute-giver Paul Gambaccini is the latest person to be arrested on suspicion of sexual offences as a result of the Operation Yewtree investigation launched in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

As previously reported, Operation Yewtree has three elements to it, one focused on the numerous allegations of sexual assault made posthumously against Savile himself, a second focused on colleagues of Savile with links to his crimes, and a third bigger strand looking at claims made against other celebrities unrelated to Savile but also involving allegations of historic sexual abuse.

It's as part of the third strand that Gambaccini was questioned. Details of the allegations against him are not known, but the presenter - who spoke candidly about Savile's reputation at the BBC when the scandal that led to Operation Yewtree first exploded - has denied any wrong doing. A friend of Gambaccini said that the DJ had been co-operative with police and strongly denied all the allegations that had been made.

While Gambaccini himself is quoted as saying: "On Monday night, 28 October, I attended an excellent production of the Kander and Ebb musical 'The Scottsboro Boys' at the Young Vic theatre. It concerned a group of black men in Alabama in the 1930s who were falsely accused of sexual offences. Within hours, I was arrested by Operation Yewtree. Nothing had changed, except this time there was no music".

Despite Gambaccini denying the claims against him, the BBC quickly decided to suspend his Radio 2 output, though it insisted that it did so at the request of the presenter himself. A BBC spokesman said: "Paul Gambaccini has decided that, in light of today's media attention, he would rather not be on-air at present and we respect that decision. Therefore, Paul will not be presenting on BBC Radio in [the] coming weeks and replacement programmes for the period will be announced soon".

Gambaccini is the fifteenth person to be arrested under Operation Yewtree. After several hours of police questioning last Tuesday he was bailed until January.

Memphis Industries sign Marijuana Deathsquads
Minneapolis ear-killers Marijuana Deathsquads - a 'gang' featuring Gayngs producer Ryan Olson, vocalist Isaac Hale and, occasionally, Har Mar Superstar and part of Poliça - have been picked up by Memphis Industries, and subsequently will release their first LP via the label in 2014.

Titled 'Oh My Sexy Lord' (honestly), the outfit's un-divine tribute will be sent out on 20 Jan. Listen to one of its inner songs, 'Ewok Sadness', now.

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Proper announce deal with classical grouping NAI
Distribution firm Proper last week announced a new alliance with New Arts International, via which it will take on the UK distribution of a number of classical labels, including MDG, ABC Classics, Australian Eloquence, Kairos, New World Records and Atma Classique.

New Arts International has been created by Challenge Records to provide sales and marketing support for both its own catalogue, and to other labels who previously used a Belgian company called Codaex for distribution. Coadex was recently shuttered, and NAI will fill some of the gap in the market the company's closure created, with the former Coadex UK MD Ginny Cooper leading the new operation.

Through the new deal Proper will provide the logistical side of the NAI business, and on the arrangement the UK firm's Drew Hill told CMU: "With New Arts' labels alongside our existing roster of classical labels such as ECM, Avie and Challenge Classics, we now have an even greater selection of quality catalogue to offer our customers and an opportunity to grow our classical business further".

He added: "It is also a great privilege and benefit to be working with Ginny Cooper who commands such incredible respect from everyone in the classical industry".

Sharman to depart Warner Music
Warner Music's European VP of digital strategy and business development, Leanne Sharman, is to depart the major.

Her exit, which will take place at the end of the month, was confirmed internally in a memo last week in which, according to Music Week, Warner's EVP of Digital Strategy And Business Stephan Bryan noted that the last decade had seen a "revolution" occur in how fans discover and experience music, adding "Leanne's wide-ranging experience, commercial acumen and partnership skills have played an important role in that transformation".

Bryan added: "She leaves us very well positioned to continue to innovate and I have no doubt her impressive and dynamic team will build upon the strong foundations she has laid and continue to build upon their close relationships with each of our affiliates".

Noting ongoing changes at Warner in Europe as it absorbs the Parlophone Music Group division it acquired off Universal, Sharman herself said "at a time of transition within the company I feel like this is the perfect time to pursue new entrepreneurial opportunities".

Sharman has seen the growth of the digital music market from both sides of the fence, having worked at MP3.com and then overseen the rather lacklustre UK launch of the legit Napster before joining Warner and dealing with digital developments from inside the record industry.

Kanye doing GOOD Music clothing line
Kanye West, who - though he doesn't like to talk about it much is - in fact, 'big into fashion', is working through his troublesome truck-stopped 'Yeezus' tour by flogging lots of new GOOD Music merch.

Presumably co-designed by West, his label's clothing line includes a $160 hoodie, $34 socks (as a pair, not per sock), and his and hers jogging pants, which sadly aren't made of leather.

Vevo has a revamp
Good news for all of you who consume Vevo via its own website rather than YouTube. Anyone? Yes, you. Well, the Vevo site has had a revamp. And the video service's other proprietary channels are set for a refresh too.

Says the company's VP Product & Technology Michael Cerda in a blog announcing the changes: "I always tell people the best products are never done. They always change and evolve, otherwise they wouldn't be the best products for long. At Vevo, we constantly challenge ourselves to evolve and make your experience better".

He goes on: "Today's changes feature a complete ground-up rebuild of our web and mobile web apps. We're starting with web and mobile web today, but our mobile, tablet and TV apps will also be updated over the next few weeks. Whichever platform you prefer, the new Vevo includes a more prominent Vevo TV with multiple channels, plus new search, a video feed and even better ads!"

Fans of details can check out Cerda's full blog here.

Jonas Brothers to bow out with last mini album
Having confirmed they were splitting indefinitely last week, The Jonas Brothers are to mark their passing by releasing one final, digital, mini-LP. The trio announced via an open letter to fans that it'll feature some of the songs they made for their planned fifth album 'V', which will now remain unreleased, and, additionally, ten live tracks. A title, issue date, and tracklisting are still TBA.

They write: "It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that our time as the Jonas Brothers is over. This decision has not come lightly, and we know that many of you will be disappointed. [But] the time has come for us to move forward on individual career paths".

"We have been a band of brothers for 10 years and are now choosing simply to be brothers. Going forward, you can expect exciting things from each of us, and we will of course continue to support each other in all things".

"We would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who has supported and inspired us through the years, and stood by us in this difficult decision. We feel and appreciate your love. Because you waited so long for new music, we want to honour our Team Jonas fan club members by giving you our final album".

This is all so very emotional.

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Mick Jagger denies being creepy old man
Mick Jagger has released a press statement "categorically denying" that he 'hit on' an 18-year-old Katy Perry. Speaking last week via Australian radio station Nova FM, Perry claimed Jagger, who would've been about 60 at the time, had made a pass at her when she was acting as a backing singer on Jagger's solo song, 'Old Habits Die Hard'.

She said: "I actually went to dinner with him one time, and he hit on me when I was like 18!". Asked if she fended off his alleged advances, Perry added: "Well yeah, you bring a friend and then they do them. You sacrifice your friend".

Yuck. Camp Jagger's rebuttal ran: "Mick categorically denies that he has ever made a pass at Katy Perry. Perhaps she is confusing him with someone else".

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Pharrell, Johnny Marr scoring Spider-Man film
A weird gaggle of pop/rock stars are collaborating with composer Hans Zimmer on a sticky score to the new film sequel to 'The Amazing Spider-Man' says exhibit A, a telling Twitter picture.

Inevitably, Pharrell Williams is in on the project, as are the less predictable Johnny Marr and Incubus's Mike Einziger. The film is due to open in May 2014. So, that's all totally amazing. Though I doubt it'll turn out as amazing as this all-time 'Spider-Man' OST classic.

Release round-up: Metronomy, Illum Sphere, bEEdEEgEE and Linnea Ollsonn
Yeah! Metronomy are doing things again, things to do with astrological pop. In fact, they're releasing a new single next week titled 'I'm Aquarius', which will be available to fans inside a 99p 'Night Sky' app, though only if they point their phone in the direction of the 'Aquarius' grouping of stars. Which is going to be good in London, where you can hardly ever see any stars. Perhaps it's a protest song against light pollution.

Anyway, the band magicked a brief clip of the track onto their official site last Friday, so why not play that on a continuous loop and have the world's most one-note disco whilst you wait for something more substantial?

Away from the night sky (ghosts are generally at ground level, right?), Ninja Tune signings Illum Sphere, aka Manchester's Ryan Hunn, has announced details of a new LP, 'Ghosts Of Then And Now'. Released on 10 Feb 2014, it'll feature this track, 'Sleeprunner', and twelve others whose titles you can find here.

Next, Gang Gang Dance lynchpin Gavin DeGraw has confirmed his first LP as a solo artist. Released via 4AD on 2 Dec neath his alias bEEdEEgEE, the nine-track 'SUM/ONE' apparently melds deep synthscapes with "audacious pop moments", and will feature guest singing by Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, Lovefoxxx of CSS, Gang Gang Dance's Lizzi Bougatsos and Douglas Armour.

We'll wrap this up with a free gift from sweet-voiced Swedish cellist-singer Linnea Olsson, who having won CMU approval for her debut LP 'Ah!', is now offering 'All 4 U', a track off it, as a £0 download, all for you. Take a copy via SoundCloud.

James Murphy confirms Despacio DJ dates with Soulwax, shows short film
James Murphy's vinyl-only DJ franchise Despacio, a collaboration with Soulwax brothers David and Stephen Dewaele and DFA tech John Klett, is coming to London for two nights in December. Last seen/heard at the Manchester International Festival earlier this year, Murphy et al with install their giant speaker rig at Hammersmith Town Hall for parties on 19 and 20 Dec.

Speaking about that rig at MIF way back when, Murphy said: "It's a simple, floor-standing series of giant stacks, comfortably doing full, smooth sound. It's pretty wide-open, pretty raw. The stacks will be arranged in a circle that people can wander in and out of, literally immersing themselves in sound".

Having gone on sale last Friday, tickets to the nights may've sold out, but they might not have. Click this link to find out which.

Also, that short film James co-created with Ron Howard for Canon's Project Imaginat10n initiative, this one, is finally available for all to watch. Titled 'Little Duck' and filmed in Japan, its plot follows a man "pulled from his life in Manhattan back to his home in rural Japan when his estranged brother runs into trouble".

Screen it here.

YouTube Awards presented
So it was the YouTube Music Awards this weekend, and in amongst a quirky, unscripted show the following honours were dished out. Each winner was presented with a gold-plated DMCA takedown notice.

Artist Of The Year: Eminem

Video Of The Year: Girls' Generation - I Got A Boy

YouTube Phenomenon: I Knew You Were Trouble

Innovation of the Year: DeStorm - See Me Standing

Response Of The Year: Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix - Radioactive

Breakthrough Of The Year: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

RIAA and BPI website code breaks copyright rule
Well, it's always fun when a pro-copyright body inadvertently infringes someone else's copyright, and the latest red-faced trade organisations in this regard are record industry groups the RIAA in the US and BPI in the UK.

Last week TorrentFreak noted that the websites of both trade bodies used open source scripts issued under the so called MIT licence, which allows any person or organisation to use, modify or distribute the code, but on the condition that the original copyright notice remains. Both the RIAA and BPI's web developers had deleted said notice.

In the wider scheme of things it's a small error, though when you spend half your time chasing infringers and calling for tougher anti-piracy laws you don't really want to fall foul of the rules. TorrentFreak says that it approached both organisations for comment and, while neither have so far responded with a statement, both quickly rectified the errors on their respective sites.

Which, the trade bodies would probably point out, is quicker than the average website responds to takedown notices when issued by the labels. And the code slip has nothing on the best 'copyright body infringes copyright' story of all time.