City Of London Police's IP Crime Unit talks up progress so far
The City Of London Police's Intellectual Property Crime Unit, officially launched back in September and now using the acronym PIPCU because, well, why not, has issued an update on the progress of Operation Creative, which has been targeting 61 websites identified by the content industries as being rampantly involved in copyright infringement.

The police unit has confirmed there have been three stages to its operation to date. First, once "analysts" had confirmed copyright infringement was indeed occurring on the 61 sites, the owners of them were contacted and encouraged to get in touch with the authorities and demonstrate how they would stop infringing copyright.

Second, the names of those sites which failed to get in touch (which was probably most of them) were distributed to the ad industry, encouraging advertisers, ad agencies and ad networks to ensure they didn't post any advertising on these sites.

And third, the registrars of the offending sites' domains were alerted to the fact said sites were likely in breach of the domain firms' terms and conditions, and that there might be grounds to suspend their domains.

According to PIPCU, as a result of the operation the number of ads from well-known brands on piracy sites dropped by 12%, resulting in an increase in the number of ads for porn sites and dodgy software, which copyright owners hope might make said sites less attractive to mainstream users, or at least make their unofficial status more apparent.

Commenting on the operation so far, which is being treated as a pilot by the new police unit, PIPCU's Bob Wishart told CMU: "Operation Creative is being run by PIPCU and the digital and advertising sectors to really get to grips with a criminal industry that is making substantial profits by providing and actively promoting access to illegally obtained and copyrighted material".

He went on: "Together we have created a process that first and foremost encourages offenders to change their behaviour so they are operating within the law. However, if they refuse to comply we now have the means to persuade businesses to move their advertising to different platforms and, if offending continues, for registrars to suspend the websites. The success of Creative thus far is evidence of a growing international consensus that people should not be allowed to illegally profiteer from the honest endeavours of legitimate business enterprises".

While welcomed by the trade bodies of all the content industries (and if you don't believe me, just check out the quotes fest below), Operation Creative has not been without its controversy.

Some have questioned whether police should be actively taking moves to hinder the activities of targeted sites - in depriving them of ad revenue and requesting domains be suspended - without the alleged copyright infringement being confirmed in a court of law. And while most if not all of the sites being targeted clearly are involved in or are enabling copyright infringement, skipping the judicial stage could be consider bad process.

Meanwhile one of the domain registrars contacted by PIPCU has argued that if any domain company suspended a user's domain without a court order and then refused an application to transfer that domain to an alternative registrar, then the original domain firm would likely be in breach of the rules of global domain overseer ICANN.

But for the time being, at least the copyright brigade are happy...

Geoff Taylor, CEO at record industry trade body BPI: "The early results from Operation Creative show that through working with the police and the online advertising industry, we can begin to disrupt the funding that sustains illegal websites. These sites expose consumers to scams and malware, deny creators their living, and harm brands by associating them with illegal and unsafe content. We hope to broaden the initiative to include more brands, advertising networks and other online intermediaries, to support innovation and growth in the legal digital music sector".

Frances Moore, boss of the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry: "This pioneering partnership between PIPCU, rights holders and the advertising industry is a welcome development that has the potential to help make the internet a better place for legitimate businesses. Brands do not want their advertising misdirected onto sites where it may harm their reputation and Operation Creative will help address this problem. I believe that this issue needs to be tackled worldwide, and this initiative will be watched closely by both law enforcement agencies and the private sector in other countries".

Kieron Sharp, Director General of the movie and TV industry's Federation Against Copyright Theft: "FACT is delighted to be working with PIPCU and partners from the advertising, music and publishing sectors to protect UK consumers from websites that promote illegal content and also provide an unsafe platform that puts themselves and their families at risk. Many of these sites have no content filters and contain material that is unsuitable for children. The UK's creative sector is a vital driver of the economy, employing over 1.5 million people and driving £36 billion pounds of GVA (gross value added) to the UK economy. Film and TV production in the UK is looked upon as the best in the world and FACT continues to work on behalf of its members to protect jobs and future investment".

Guy Phillipson, CEO at the Internet Advertising Bureau: "We welcome the Operation Creative pilot as a major step in understanding how the advertising industry can assist in tackling the issue of advertising appearing against sites under investigation by police for copyright infringement. This unprecedented collaboration with PIPCU across rights holders and the digital advertising industry will help us as we continue to work towards protecting brand reputations within digital environments".

Tulisa charged with drugs offences
Tulisa Contostavlos has been charged with drugs offences, related to her arrest earlier this year following a sting by The Sun On Sunday.

As previously reported, the former N-Dubz singer agreed to put journalists from the tabloid in touch with a friend - rapper Mike GLC - with a view to buying cocaine, believing that she was actually meeting with producers who were going to put her in a lucrative film role.

Following the arrest, Contostavlos' manager Jonathan Shalit wrote to parliament to complain that The Sun had embarked on a long campaign of deception, meeting with the singer over a number of weeks before convincing her to help them to buy drugs. It was, said Shalit, entrapment and had not uncovered any prior criminal activity, and was also another example of the tabloid press's alleged misconduct.

This protest, and the singer's meetings with police since, have not been enough to convince the Crown Prosecution Service that the case was without warrant though.

In a statement yesterday, the CPS's Chief Prosecutor for London, Baljit Ubhey, said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge Tulisa Contostavlos, 25, with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs ... We have determined that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest".

Contostavlos will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 19 Dec.

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Russian 'amnesty bill' could free Pussy Riot two
A Russian newspaper has said that a bit of legislation submitted to the country's parliament by President Vladimir Putin could lead to the two Pussy Riot members jailed for staging a protest performance in a Moscow church being freed. The third Pussy Riot performer who received a suspended sentence for her role in the protest could also be pardoned.

It's not entirely clear how the proposed amnesty law would work, and legal reps for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina say that while they could "theoretically" benefit from the legislation, what happens in parliament will ultimately impact on whether or not it applies to their cases.

The amnesty bill looks to free prisoners who have been jailed for certain non-violent crimes, and could favour women with dependent children, such as Tolokonnikova and Alekhina. Putin-supporting newspaper Izvestia also reckons that Greenpeace activists arrested in Russia after protesting about Russian oil drilling in the Arctic could also benefit.

Quite how quickly the amnesty law would kick into action isn't clear, with the Pussy Riot two in the latter part of their prison terms now anyway.

Though given cynics reckon that the law, while officially designed to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Russian Constitution, is partly designed to put to bed various international controversies that have occurred over the actions of the Russian authorities before next February's Russian Winter Olympics, Putin's proposals could lead to some pretty speedy results.

Warner to handle CD distribution for Sony in Russia
Sony Music has announced a distribution deal with Warner Music Russia which will see the latter handle for the former the distribution of physical products in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Sony Music Entertainment Russia itself will continue to coordinate digital distribution, sync deals and public performance royalties for its catalogue in the region.

Confirming the deal, Warner Music Russia top man Alexander Blinov told reporters: "We are delighted to have Sony Music Entertainment as a partner. Our companies share the same passion for music and for providing local consumers with compelling legal products of the highest quality. We're sure that this deal will create many new opportunities that will benefit both companies, our artists and Russian music fans".

Meanwhile Sony Music International's Adam Granite added: "By combining Warner Music's strength in this area with our own local expertise in core strategic functions we are offering the best of both worlds for our current roster and catalogue artists".

The distribution of Sony's CD releases in Russia was previously handled by local independent CP Digital. It is thought the move to Warner will step up the scale of Sony's distribution in the region.

Nine Inch Nails split with manager
Nine Inch Nails have prised themselves apart from their long-term manager Jim Guerinot, and/or vice versa, Guerinot confirmed to Billboard last Friday.

Billboard also believes that Trent Reznor's band-that-isn't-Nine-Inch-Nails, How To Destroy Angels - who were also on the roster of Guerinot's management firm Rebel Waltz - have likewise moved on. Rebel and Camp NIN are yet to comment.

What Nine Inch Nails have done, though, is to share 'Tension', a 90 minute HD concert film charting a show they played last month at the LA-based Staples Center. A physical and digital version carrying extra features and footage will be available to pay for in spring 2014.

In the meantime, check the 'Tension' preview here.

Shazam announces further integration with Rdio in iOS upgrade
The latest upgrade to Shazam's iOS app steps up the "I wonder what that is" technology's integration with streaming service Rdio.

Shazam users who discover the identity of songs via the app can already click through to buy the track from iTunes or listen to it on services like Spotify and YouTube. But once a user connects the updated app to their Rdio account anything they 'tag' using the technology will automatically add itself to a special playlist within the streaming platform.

Which makes sense, given that the Shazam user will already be listening to a track at the point of tagging, so will want to listen on Rdio at a later date, rather than straight away.

Confirming the tie up, Shazam Chief Product Officer, Daniel Danker told CMU: "Streaming services have become a part of music lovers' everyday lives. Simplicity has always been at the heart of the Shazam experience, and, today, Shazam builds on that simplicity by making it effortless for Rdio users to listen to all their Shazamed songs".

Rdio's VP Of Product Chris Becherer added: "Integration with Shazam's service is a great fit that leverages both our strengths. Shazam is the best way to discover new music when people are out at clubs, cafes and restaurants. This update makes it easy for Rdio users to relive an amazing night out, song for song, through the Rdio app".

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Yahoo! acquires gig streaming firm
Yahoo! has acquired Evntlive, a US-based live concert streaming business that launched in 2012 and went live in beta earlier this year after raising $2.3 million in funding.

The aim of the business - like the plethora of other gig streaming enterprises that have launched in the last fifteen years - was to provide pay-per-view and brand-sponsored streams of live music. The challenge for such services, certainly since bandwidth issues were resolved, has often been the tricky licensing deals that need to be put into place to stream gigs, though there's also the question as to how much demand there is for such a service.

It's thought that the Evntlive team will now roll their technology and industry contacts into Yahoo's existing music and video streaming operation, certainly the start-up's own site is now due to go offline. Yahoo, of course, was an early pioneer in streaming music, though the fact no one can remember that fact tells you a lot about what the web giant has done in the last five years.

Said Team Evntlive in a statement: "We are thrilled to announce that Evntlive has been acquired by Yahoo! When we started Evntlive in early 2012, we set out to change the way that fans engage with live music online by creating an interactive, virtual venue. Since launching our beta service in April 2013, we have live streamed hundreds of performances from amazing artists and festivals to fans all over the world. Although our service will no longer be available, we are excited to be joining Yahoo's video team".

Susan Boyle reveals she has Asperger's
Susan Boyle has told the Observer that she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, one of the milder forms of autism linked to social interaction and communication, last year.

Speaking in an interview printed on Sunday, Boyle said she was given a misdiagnosis of "brain damage" as a child, but on learning of her real condition from a specialist in 2012, she now has a "clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself".

She adds: "It will not make any difference to my life. It's just a condition that I have to live with and work through. I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do".

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Pixies hire new bassist Paz Lenchantin
One pair of ex-Kims down the line, the Pixies have now hired a new bassist, Paz Lenchantin.

Having played in A Perfect Circle and Billy Corgan's other band Zwan, and currently also in The Entrace Band, Lenchantin replaces long-time Pixies member Kim Deal, who exited the group earlier this year, and Kim Shattuck, who was initially drafted in as Deal's stand-in, but seemingly 'let go' after a matter of months.

Lenchantin will now accompany Black Francis and co on Pixies' extensive world tour in 2014, which includes festival dates at Lollapalooza, Primavera and London's Field Day.

Her new bandmate, Pixies drummer Dave Lovering, comments on the situation thus: "We are really looking forward to playing with her on these dates. Working with different bass players is very new for the band, but we're having a great time doing it".

St Vincent details funereal new LP, gives away track
St Vincent has made official various bits of info on her forthcoming post-'Strange Mercy' LP, which is to be titled none other than: 'St Vincent'.

Released 24 Feb, one of its tracks, 'Birth In Reverse', is available to stream here and take free here.

"I knew the groove needed to be paramount", St Vincent's Annie Clark has said of her latest creation. "I wanted to make a party record you could play at a funeral".

Tracklisting:

Rattlesnake
Birth In Reverse
Prince Johnny
Huey Newton
Digital Witness
I Prefer Your Love
Regret
Bring Me Your Loves
Psychopath
Every Tear Disappears
Severed Crossed Fingers

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Theo Parrish to release EP via Trilogy Tapes
Detroit-born techno pro Theo Parrish is to release a new EP via a three-way split between Will Bankhead's imprint, The Trilogy Tapes, his own Sound Signature label, and also Palace Skateboards.

Available on 20 Dec on twelve-inch vinyl only, it'll team its title track, '71st & Exchange Used To Be...' with B-sides 'Petey Wheetfeet' and 'Blueskies Surprise'. Info is at this link, and this is a trailer for it.

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Rebecca Black shares new single, Saturday
Rebecca Black has flipped the page in her pop filofax to reveal new this-is-what-day-it-is single 'Saturday', the both logical and chronological follow-on to that other song, whatever that was called.

Last seen reminiscing (and *cringing*) over day-based pop hits past, Black appears in 'Saturday' with guest singer Dave Days (no, me neither) at her side, playing with silly string, eating cereal and twerking mildly on a beach. Lol.

Miley Cyrus announces Bangerz UK tour
Pop phenomenon and noted feminist Miley Cyrus is off on a spring-time UK tour, you guys, first and foremost to support her new LP 'Bangerz'. Luckily or otherwise, tickets will go up on public sale this Friday 13 Dec.

These are the full listings:

6 May: London, O2 Arena
10 May: Leeds, First Direct Arena
12 May: Glasgow, SSE Hydro Arena
14 May: Manchester, Phones 4U Arena
16 May: Birmingham, NIA

Elsewhere in pertinent Miley news, here the singer is, wearing a wig.

Oh, and this is a trailer advertising the above bangin dates.

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Festival line-up update: Barclaycard British Summer Time and Dimensions
Having launched earlier this year, Barclaycard and AEG Live's big party-in-Hyde-Park, British Summer Time, has gained its first headlining and 'standard' acts for 2014. Neil Young & Crazy Horse and rival rock titans McBusted lord it over the bill so far, whilst The National, Tom Odell and Backstreet Boys (who are no doubt delighted to be 'supporting' McBusted on 6 Jul), are also all playing BST 2014.

But what does Penny Boyd, Head Of Events & Filming at The Royal Parks, with whom AEG Live has a five-year contract to stage British Summer Time fests, make of it all, and of this year's bash?

This is what: "We can't wait to welcome Neil Young and Crazy Horse along with supporting act The National to Hyde Park. We are very proud with what was achieved in 2013. Working with our partners AEG Live, we not only delivered a truly unique event for Central London, we also raised the bar in terms of sustainability, customer experience and service and local engagement. We are looking forward to building on that success and continuing the great work for 2014".

Another big development you might be interested in is that Biffy Clyro and Calvin Harris have been hired to play next year's Isle Of Wight Festival, along with lower-billed artists The 1975, Passenger and The Waterboys.

Allowing it all to sink in, Biffy mon Simon Neil states: "To follow the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam is an honour. We cannot wait to get back to this iconic Festival, and this beautiful island!"

More on the Isle Of Wight Festival, British Summer Time, and a first line-up-related missive via multi-faceted Croatian dance event Dimensions, to follow...

BARCLAYCARD BRITISH SUMMER TIME, Hyde Park, London, 4-13 Jul 2014: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, McBusted, Backstreet Boys, The National, Tom Odell, Caitlin Rose, Phosphorescent, Flyte. www.bst-hydepark.com

DIMENSIONS, Fort Punta Christo, Pula, Croatia, 27-31 Aug 2014: Caribou, Jon Hopkins, Gilles Peterson, Mala, Tikiman + Scion, Vakula, Om Unit, Vatican Shadow, Ebo Taylor, John Wizards. www.dimensionsfestival.com

ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL, Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle Of Wight, 12-15 Jun 2014: Calvin Harris, Biffy Clyro, The 1975, The Waterboys, Passenger. www.isleofwightfestival.com

European Festival Awards noms out
Hey, if you thought you'd used up your Festival Awards fun-time allocation for another year with last week's UK Festival Awards, think again you lucky people you. Because there's still the European Festival Awards to come. And they'll take place, once again, during the festivities of Eurosonic Noorderslag in Gronigen next month. Woooosh.

And to get you in the mood, the nominations for this year's European festival back-slapping bash are now out, based on the 620,000 votes made by festival fans around the world, and some input from one of those 'panel of experts' that the kids are always talking about. We're going to put all the noms in a list for you shortly, but not before Festival Awards boss James Drury has his moment in the CMU Daily Awards News spotlight.

Here he goes: "This has been a record-breaking year for the European Festival Awards and the hardest-fought competition we've had. There have been so many wonderful festivals involved from across Europe and it's testament to the passion of the festival-goers that there has been such a level of engagement. I can't wait to reveal the winners at the awards ceremony on 15 Jan".

Best Small Festival: 8 Tauron Festiwal Nowa Muzyka (Poland), Blues In Hell (Norway), Camden Crawl Dublin 2013 (Ireland), Dimensions Festival (Croatia), Feest In Het Park (Belgium), First We Take Berlin Festival (Germany), FUSION Festival (Romania), Indiependence (Ireland), Mini-Rock-Festival (Germany), The Garden Festival (Croatia).

Best Medium-Sized Festival: Balaton Sound (Hungary), Berlin Festival (Germany), Deichbrand Festival (Germany), Electric Castle Festival (Romania), I Love Techno (Belgium), Kubana (Russia), Lokerse Feesten Festival (Belgium), Melt! Festival (Germany), Positivus Festival (Latvia), VOLT Festival (Hungary).

Best Major Festival: Dour Festival (Belgium), EXIT Festival (Serbia), Hurricane/Southside (Germany), Open'er Festival (Poland), Pukkelpop (Blegium), Rock Werchter (Belgium), Sziget (Hungary), Tomorrowland (Belgium), Wacken Open Air (Germany), Woodstock Festival (Poland).

Best New Festival: B.my.Lake (Hungary), Burning Eagle Festival (Germany), First We Take Berlin Festival (Germany), Groove Music Festival (Ireland), Last Summer Dance (Luxembourg), Metal Hammer Festival (Germany), Snowboxx (Andorra), Solar Ibiza (Spain), WeitjeRock (Netherlands), Your'in (Belgium).

Best Indoor Festival: Blues In Hell (Norway), Camden Crawl Dublin 2013 (Ireland), Doomsday Festival (Belgium), Eurosonic Noorderslag (Netherlands), First We Take Berlin Festival (Germany), I Love Techno (Belgium), MAYDAY (Germany), Metal Hammer Festival (Germany), Rolling Stone Weekender (Germany), Waves Vienna (Austria).

Artist's Favourite European Festival: Glastonbury (UK), Lowlands (Netherlands), Paleo Festival (Switzerland), Park Live Moscow (Russia), Primavera (Spain), Pukkelpop (Belgium), Rock Werchter (Belgium), Roskilde (Denmark), Sziget (Hungary), Woodstock (Poland).

Best European Festival Line-Up: Berlin Festival (Germany), Glastonbury (UK), Hurricane / Southside (Germany), Latitude (UK), Positivus (Latvia), Primavera Sound (Spain), Rock am Ring/Rock im Park (Germany), Rock Werchter (Belgium), Roskilde (Denmark), Sziget (Hungary).

Festival Anthem Of The Year: Bastille - Pompeii, Blur - Song 2, Daft Punk - Get Lucky, Die Toten Hosen - Tage Wie Dieser, Disclosure - White Noise, Imagine Dragons - Radioactive, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop, Major Lazer - Watch Out For This (Bumaye), The Lumineers - Ho Hey, The National - Demons.

Headliner Of The Year: Arctic Monkeys, Atoms For Peace, Björk, Blur, DieToten Hosen, Editors, Nick & The Bad Seeds, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age, The xx.

Newcomer Of The Year: Bastille, C2C, Chvrches, Disclosure, HAIM, Imagine Dragons, Jake Bugg, Metz, Skip & Die, Woodkid.

Promoter Of The Year: Alter Art (Poland), FKP Scorpio (Germany), Live Nation Europe, Primavera Sound (Spain), Marek Lieberberg Konzertagenteur (Germany)

The Green Operations Award: Bestival (UK), Fusion (Germany), Rock For People (Czech Republic), Shambala Festival (UK), Tollwood Festival (Germany), Way Out West (Sweden).

(Safety) Innovation Award: Opener Festival (Poland), Paleo Festival (Switzerland), Wacken Festival (Germany).

Macaulay Culkin releases pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute
There are two options available to former child stars when they grow up. First is to remain famous and in demand in your chosen creative discipline for the rest of your life. The second is to form a band that writes pizza-based reworks of Velvet Underground songs. Those are the only two options. And what did Macaulay Culkin go for? Why, the pizza band, of course.

Formed almost two years ago (apparently), the band have now honed their songs into a form that they think the world can handle. And so, last week they released a demo on Bandcamp. The nine minute, nine song medley runs through tracks such as 'Papa John Says' ('Stephanie Says'), 'I'm Waiting For Delivery Man' ('I'm Waiting For The Man') and 'Pizza Day' ('Perfect Day').

Oh wait, I just remembered that some former child stars take drugs too. Pretty sure that's got nothing to do with this though. Have a listen here.