Lostprophets' Ian Watkins pleads guilty to child sexual abuse charges
Appearing in court in Cardiff yesterday at the start of formal proceedings in his trial for sexual offences, former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins changed his plea at the last minute to guilty on thirteen on the 24 charges against him. He had previously "furiously denied" all of the charges, claiming he had been set up.

As previously reported, Watkins was arrested last December and has been held in custody awaiting trial ever since along with two female accomplices, as it turns out the mothers of the two child victims, which means they cannot be named. Amongst the charges Watkins admitted to were two counts of attempting to rape an eleven month old baby and conspiring to rape another similarly aged child. His co-defendants, seemingly fans of Watkins' band, admitted to sexually abusing their own children at the musician's behest.

Described as "a determined and committed paedophile" by prosecutor Christopher Clee, Watkins also admitted to sexually assaulting a child under the age of thirteen, aiding and abetting a female co-defendant to sexually assault a child under the age of thirteen, various charges of possessing, taking and distributing indecent photographs of children (dating back as far as 2007), and possessing "extreme pornography" involving a person and an animal.

Speaking on his behalf, the singer's barrister, Sally O'Neill QC, said that her client insists that he "cannot remember" attempting to rape the baby, being under the influence of drugs at the time, though it was the conclusion of a series of similarly sinister activities that he did seem to recall orchestrating. Evidence amassed by prosecutors included messages sent between him and a co-defendant referring to past activities with Watkins concluding that he now wished to "cross the line".

The key piece of evidence in the case, though, was harrowing video footage of the attempted rape Watkins claimed to not remember, discovered by police in a cloud storage account operated by the singer. Prosecutors accepted Watkins' guilty plea for attempted rather than actual rape, conceding that it wasn't clear from the video footage what exactly occurred during the incident, while noting that, given the scale of the crime, whether the attempt was successful or not was almost irrelevant.

The prosecution also admitted that concerns about the impact the footage could have on the trial's jury had been taken into account when they decided to accept Watkins' guilty pleas, and to not proceed with the case in a bid to pursue the other specific charges made against the singer.

Describing the actions of Watkins and his co-defendants as "the most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I've ever seen", DCI Peter Doyle of South Wales Police said in a statement: "There is no doubt in my mind that Ian Watkins exploited his celebrity status in order to abuse young children. Today's outcome ensures that the three people responsible have been brought to justice".

He added that the investigation into Watkins will continue, as police "work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve".

The other members of Lostprophets have sensibly made few comments about the charges against their former bandmate since he was first arrested, except to tell fans that they were learning about Watkins' crimes at the same time as the wider public, and later to confirm that they did not intend to continue recording or performing under the Lostprophets name. Though, after yesterday's court proceedings, the band's guitarist Lee Gaze expressed relief on Twitter that the matter had been resolved much more quickly than expected.

Gaze tweeted: "That was over quick. Thank fuck". He added later: "Thanks for the kind words. At least there is closure now".

All three defendants will be sentenced on 18 Dec.

Pandora reportedly drops bid to reduce royalty payments
Pandora has given up on attempts to convince the US government to pass new legislation to reduce royalty payments for online broadcasters, according to Billboard.

AM and FM radio broadcasters in the US are not obliged to pay royalties for the sound recordings they play (though they do pay money to the music publishers for the rights in the songs). However, satellite and online radio-style services are obliged to pay the labels, but can do so through the Sound Exchange collective licensing system with rates set by statute.

Though because of the way it was all set up, satellite radio - ie Sirius XM - pays lower rates than online services. And to that end, Pandora has been busy campaigning in Washington for a change to the rules, so its royalties would be more in line with what Sirius pays. Though that activity, coupled with other legal shenanigans to cut down what it pays the collecting societies that represent the music publishers, has proven a little controversial in the music and artist community.

It may well be the bad press surrounding Pandora's support for the so called Internet Radio Fairness Act that has persuaded the policy change at the digital firm, though it doesn't mean the company has given up trying to get its royalty obligations reduced.

But, according to Billboard, rather than lobbying Congress for a change in the law, it seems Pandora will now focus its efforts on the Copyright Royalty Board, the panel that sets the aforementioned statutory royalty rates. Those are due to be reviewed in 2015, and it seems Pandora hopes that it can persuade the all important judges to bring its royalty obligations down.

Pandora wasn't the only online music service lobbying for the Internet Radio Fairness Act, though it was its biggest advocate, so much so most people seem to think that those proposals will now fall off the agenda completely on Capitol Hill.

Especially as the two other big players in the personalised radio space in the US - Clear Channel and Apple - are busy negotiating deals directly with the labels, circumventing the statutory licensing system completely (something Pandora hasn't ruled out trying itself). The boss of record label trade body RIAA therefore noted that Pandora's change of heart on this issue was "a historic moment" for the music industry.

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Pirate Bay founder faces new litigation in relation to Russian file-sharing site
So, perhaps it's just as well Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm is in prison, it means he has more time to focus on his ever mounting legal woes.

As previously reported, Svartholm was one of the three Pirate Bay founders prosecuted in Sweden for their role in setting up and operating the controversial file-sharing website. He went AWOL after being sentenced to a year in jail for the copyright infringement TPB enabled, and in doing so lost the right to appeal that ruling (though his fellow founders ultimately failed to overturn the judgement anyway, but did get their jail terms reduced).

Svartholm was eventually extradited back to Sweden last year after being accused of various hacking crimes, and has been in jail ever since, partly serving the TPB sentence, and partly because of the hacking charges, some though not all of which were upheld in court. He also faces separate allegations that he was involved in the hacking of servers belonging to the Danish police, and earlier this month failed in his attempts to avoid being sent to Denmark to face those charges. He is due to be extradited there this week.

And now the computer man is facing a new round of legal problems, though this time civil litigation rather than another criminal prosecution. A number of TV and film companies in Russia have filed legal proceedings in the Moscow courts against two Russian file-sharing sites, Rutor.org and Kinozal.tv. And, it transpires, Svartholm and his company are listed as owning the Rutor.org domain, so he has been listed as a key defendant in the case.

According to The Hollywood Reporter a hearing on the Russian file-sharing cases is due to take place on 10 Dec. Svartholm is unlikely to attend, though at least this time he has a good excuse, what with the Swedish prison sentence and Danish criminal trial.

Universal owner confirms plans to offload telecoms business
As expected, Universal Music parent company Vivendi has confirmed it will spin off its French telecommunications business SFR so that it is listed separately on the stock market.

That will leave the company with two key assets, Universal Music and Canal+, plus a smaller interest in the Brazilian telecoms market and a minority stake in the Activision gaming firm. It's thought that a Vivendi divested of SFR would then focus on media and entertainment, with Arnaud de Puyfontaine, currently CEO of Hearst Magazines UK, set to join the firm in the new year as Senior Executive VP responsible for media and content.

According to the Financial Times, Vivendi's supervisory board has now approved the spinning off of SFR. That news has come a few weeks earlier than expected, though the move has been anticipated for sometime, and the company admitted it was actively considering the split back in September.

Vivendi also confirmed yesterday that, once the split has occurred, Vincent Bolloré would take over as the entertainment company's Chairman, replacing incumbent Jean-Rene Fourtou.

Bolloré, the biggest shareholder in Vivendi, controlling 5%, became Vice-Chairman in September. He had been tipped to replace Fourtou for a while, though was more recently linked to the firm's currently vacant CEO role. Either way, it seems likely that Bolloré and de Puyfontaine could be spearheading the next stage in Vivendi's development by late 2014, if not sooner.

Vivendi will now submit its plans to both regulatory authorities and its shareholders.

No takers for On The Beat Records, says owner
Oh, this is a shame. On The Beat, the previously reported-on record shop in Soho, London, has failed to find a buyer, despite having been listed on eBay for a month. It will now, says owner Tim Derbyshire, close in January.

Derbyshire, who first opened the store in 1979, gave the retail business a 'Buy It Now' price of £300,000 when first putting it up for sale. Whilst the shop drew bids of up to £125,000, Derbyshire now tells NME he isn't interested in listing it a second time, saying: "I gave it a go, it was on eBay for 30 days. I'll be closing down in January [and] I'll be gone by the end of the month. This is my last Christmas. I got about three phone calls about it in total".

Asked if he felt disappointed at all, he answered: "I'm not too bothered really, that's life. I'll move on to something else, I may take up brain surgery. Most people have got a brain. Well, maybe not everyone".

And hey, brainless, cashless vinyl fans with retail experience, Derbyshire did add he might just "leave the key in the door" when he leaves the premises next year. So yeah, stay alert.

Phillips upbeat about AEG departure
Randy Phillips remained upbeat yesterday following the news that he was being axed from the top role at AEG Live, the concerts division of the AEG company. Phillips' departure came as a surprise - he has been with the company for thirteen years and signed a new five year contract last year - though is possibly a logical conclusion of the also surprise departure of overall AEG CEO Tim Leiweke earlier this year.

With AEG itself making next to no comment about Phillips' sudden exit, the man himself told Billboard yesterday: "They want to start the new year with the re-org, and it gives them time amongst the holidays [to put the new team in place]. Part of it is, I was a larger than life presence there, and the face of the company. What's the best time to get rid of a king? Right before the holidays. By the time Monday starts, it's all new".

Phillips insisted he wasn't angry about his departure, though admitted his lawyers were now negotiating the terms of his exit. Saying he was pleased to have turned AEG Live into a serious number two competitor to Live Nation during his tenure there, and that he was leaving at the end of "the biggest year" the firm ever had, Phillips told Billboard he is now looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity, though the exact terms of his exit agreement with AEG will have to be finalised first.

Of his next project, he said: "Whatever it is will probably involve management, touring, marketing. I know a lot of people say that, but having had the experience of running a big company the last thirteen years, I really know what works and what doesn't. If there's anything I learned from this whole experience it's having a good eye and the ability to hire great people and mentor them. That's what I'm leaving behind, and that's the saddest thing, and it is for them to. But life goes on, and at the end of the day it's just a job, it's not who I am".

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Opening of DHP Family venue in Hackney delayed by nearby building collapse
So, CMU Editor Andy Malt went into a restaurant in East London the other day, and minutes after he left the entire building was declared unsafe, half the scaffolding available in the capital was set up outside, and now the whole place (or at least some of it) is scheduled for demolition. Coincidence? Well, you decide.

Either way, a Victorian terrace on Amhurst Road in Hackney being declared unsafe last weekend, after the collapse of part of a basement wall last Friday, has forced live music firm DHP Family to postpone the official opening of its new venue in an adjacent building, Oslo.

The new bar, restaurant and live music space was due to have its official opening on 6 Dec, but, while venue itself is structurally unaffected by the nearby building collapse, the aforementioned scaffolding is blocking access to its fire exits. Planned Dry The River and Indiana gigs are also affected.

DHP Family Owner George Akins told CMU: "While first and foremost our concern is for the occupants of the flats and businesses that have been affected by the structural damage, we would like to clarify that there is no structural damage to Oslo".

He added: "We have a number of events lined up this week but regrettably, due to matters beyond our control, these will have to be postponed while we await further news from Hackney Borough Council. Please keep checking for further updates. We will advise of any changes to planned gigs as soon as possible".

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Dutch club Trouw to close in 2015, bans photography
Netherlands dance/weed mecca Trouw is to close in 2015, it's been confirmed.

Team Trouw detailed the Amsterdam-based nightspot's final "climax" year earlier this week, also revealing that, as of 1 January 2014 at 9am, the club will ban all on-site photography because, apparently: "We go the club to lose ourselves in the music, to escape our daily activities and to together form a temporary family for one. We hope that when the cameras are gone, a feeling will emerge whereby everyone can do, act and wear whatever he/she pleases. What happens in Trouw, stays in Trouw".

Hmm. The club's other stipulation for its last year in action is that it'll only sell advance tickets for special events, rather than - as in the past - for regular nights too.

The bit in the statement explaining that decision reads: "Currently, we're witnessing that a lot of popular events sell out completely in presale, which automatically excludes a lot of people. We want people to come to Trouw for the artists, the music and the freedom. Trouw is where the magic happens, and we want everyone to be completely 'in the moment'".

BIMM not for sale, despite reports otherwise
If you were hoping to own a music school, well I'm afraid you'll have to hold on a bit longer. Despite a report in the Daily Telegraph yesterday, BIMM has denied that it is on the market.

BIMM, which has colleges in Brighton, Bristol, Dublin and, since earlier this year, Manchester, as well as owning the London-based Tech Music School, has itself been majority owned by Sovereign Capital since 2010.

The Telegraph reported that the equity firm had appointed Rothschild to lead "a strategic review of the business", seemingly after a number of parties expressed an interest in buying the music education business, which currently boasts 3400 students across its facilities.

However, while a spokesperson for Sovereign admitted that Rothchild had been brought in "to review strategic options", BIMM Marketing Director David O'Connor told Brighton newspaper The Argus that that didn't mean the firm was up for sale, rather further expansion was on the cards.

O'Connor said: "We conducted a strategic review eighteen months ago which was when we decided to expand the courses to include event management and to open a new college in Manchester. BIMM has appointed financial advisor, Rothschild's, to help it access further investment to build on the group's success in 2012-13. This process will aid the ongoing development of existing centres, further UK college expansion and setting up BIMM internationally in Europe, US or Asia".

Late drummer to appear on new Charlatans album
Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess has said that recordings made by drummer Jon Brookes, who died earlier this year, will appear on the band's next album.

Burgess told BBC 5 Live: "He has left us a lot and we can piece together a few things. We have got one song and we think that it is fantastic. That to me is the starting point and it is the first time we have really agreed on a song completely in quite a long time. This particular one can feature Jon's drumming. The album will feature Jon, even songs that aren't written will include Jon in the writing. He's just going to be part of it".

Listen to the full interview here.

Release round-up: Cypress Hill, Britney Spears, Harmonomix and Sky Ferreira
First order of this round-up is the report that all three original members of hip hop group Cypress Hill - that's B-Real, Sen Dog and producer DJ Muggs - are at present making their first LP since 2004's 'Til Death Do Us Part'. Whilst the last Cypress Hill album was actually, some would argue, 2010's 'Rise Up', that wasn't produced by Muggs so... doesn't count, see.

Aaanyway, the still-untitled new record, which is due in 2014 (apparently the exact date is encrypted via the CH site), is only in its "beginning stages but moving along smoothly". Muggs relayed in a statement earlier this week that "The sound is anti-everything that's popular and is in a world of its own. The lyrics delivered with the vocal tenacity of a stoned gypsy roaming across the country through the mist".

Meanwhile, B-Real adds: "It's great to have DJ Muggs back at the helm of the production. When Muggs, Sen and I work together there's a chemistry between us that brings forth powerful music. It's going to be ill, man. He's got fire and a lot of people have been waiting for us to reunite like that, so we're all looking forward to it".

As well as revealing she has a "simple" new beau, Britney Spears has, as an added extra, decided to stream a little piece of herself, aka her new LP 'Britney Jean', a week early via t'internet. GB-based Britney fans can hear it here, and then pay for it when it's released on 2 Dec.

In 'James Blake freebies' news, this year's Mercury Prize-winning artiste is giving away a Destiny's Child 'Bills' remix he made under his Harmonimix. The track, which till now was available on vinyl only, is in stock digitally, at no cost, via this JB-approved link.

In last place, Sky Ferreira has premiered a sinister new clip to go with the title song to her irritatingly-still-not-available-in-Britain first LP, 'Night Time, My Time'. It's co-directed by Ferreira herself, and usual 'visual collaborator' Grant Singer, and features an array of wigs (okay, two). Watch it now anyway, and why not appraise Sky's slightly shaky showing on 'David Letterman' while you're at it?

Morrissey and Omar Souleyman booked for Nobel Peace Prize Concert
International pop diplomats Morrissey, Omar Souleyman, Mary J Blige and... Jake Bugg (and James Blunt) will all play and sing live at this year's Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which takes place at the Spektrum in Oslo on 11 Dec.

Whilst Jake Bugg couldn't be arsed to say anything at this point, a post on Moz's Facebook states he (Morrissey) will do three songs, one or all of which may not relate to meat.

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Tori Amos to tour around 2014 LP
Popstar-of-our-time Tori Amos has announced a world tour in honour of her (possibly) Ginger Spice-inspired forthcoming LP, 'Unrepentant Geraldines', which will have a TBC release in spring. The UK shows, tickets to which are on pre-sale at the moment, will go on as follows:

7 May: Dublin, Olympia
10 May: Glasgow, Academy
11 May: Manchester Apollo
12 May: Birmingham, Symphony Hall,
14 May: Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
15 May: London, Royal Albert Hall

Liam Gallagher weighs in on Spotify debate
Yeah, your Thom Yorkes, and Dave Stewarts, and David Byrnes, and Billy Braggs, and Yannis Philippakises might have all had their say on Spotify. But it's not over until Liam Gallagher has had his say. And what does he have to say?

"I don't even know what Spotify is".

So there you go. According to NME, former Oasis frontman told Xfm: "Listening to it on vinyl is always for me. I don't even know what Spotify is. The first vinyl I ever bought, it really changed my life, got me into music, was the Stone Roses album. I remember I bought it in Mr Sifters in Burnage. And then I bought a Greggs pasty right after it. And a big bag of weed. I know exactly what I did that day".

So, if it wasn't for vinyl, Liam Gallagher might have starved.

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Tomato stops Lupe Fiasco show
Not-nice rapper Lupe Fiasco stopped a whole show in Salt Lake City on Saturday because someone chucked a tomato at him. Whilst the fruity red missile actually missed him ultimately, as seen in a fan-filmed clip at about 1.55, Fiasco took serious offence and cut the concert short.

On sidestepping the 'attack', according to The Salt Lake Tribune, "Fiasco pointed at the balcony, wiped himself off and called out the assailant as a "fat white bitch".

He then ordered that the venue's upper floors, where he thought the tomato had been thrown from, be emptied by security so he could continue. Despite staff managing to get most people to leave, amid angry jeers from the crowd, the Tribune reports that Fiasco nonetheless stormed off and didn't come back.

Reflecting on the incident via his private Twitter feed, Fiasco is cited by All Hip Hop as saying: "The show was cancelled [even though] I asked for the balcony to be cleared just in case it was other snipers [who threw the tomato]".

While on his erm... really 'enlightened' description of his "fat white bitch" non-assailant, he said: "I call her a fat white bitch cuz she was a fat white bitch... once you throw things you become a bitch... who just happens to be fat and white".

Before adding the "disclaimer" that "this rhymer Lupe is not using bitch as lesson. I didn't say stop using bitch. I gave you options. Tonight's choice is BITCH".

If only fat white bitches had better aim.