Universal Music Publishing confirms direct deal with Pandora for BMI-repped songs
The shift away from collective licensing in the digital domain stepped forward again yesterday as Universal Music's publishing business in America announced it had entered into a direct licensing agreement with Pandora.

The US-based streaming service has previously licensed all the rights for its American platform via the collective licensing system. In the US the record companies are forced to license Pandora type services through the SoundExchange collective licensing programme. And the music publishers too, although not explicitly forced to do so by copyright law, initially licensed such services through their collecting societies, ASCAP and BMI, the music publishing sector at large initially adopting a collective licensing approach to most digital services.

But in the last couple of years some of the big publishers have started to withdraw from the collective licensing system in the digital domain, mainly because they reckon that they can negotiate more favourable deals directly, because any arrangement negotiated by a collecting society is subject to extra regulation, and usually, ultimately, a copyright court can step in to set rates. Some digital service providers prefer direct dealing too, and one of Pandora's most recent new competitors, Apple's iTunes Radio, did just that.

In the States, the publishers' move away for the collectively licensing of digital has posed two questions. Can the rights owners withdraw their catalogues from existing deals Pandora has with ASCAP and BMI? And can the publishers opt to withdraw just digital rights from their collecting societies?

Those questions have been tackled twice in court as both ASCAP and BMI have tried to alter the catalogues made available to Pandora through their respective deals with the streaming service. In the ASCAP case, the judge ruled that, because of the wording of the society's deal with Pandora, the group and its right holder members were obliged to continue licensing their full catalogue to the streaming firm for the duration of the current licence period (even though Pandora had already negotiated some contingency direct deals).

But in the BMI case, the judge ruled that its publisher members could withdraw from the society's Pandora licence with pretty much immediate effect. Though there was a complication because of the big bad second question, can the publishers just withdraw their digital rights from BMI, but continue to use the society for licensing radio, the live sector and other public performances of their songs? The court hearing the BMI case seems to be of the opinion that no they can't.

With so much consolidation in the radio industry in the last decade, it's not unfeasible to suggest that the big publishers could start to do direct deals in that domain too. Indeed on the record industry side, some US radio groups have done direct deals with the record companies (though those arrangements are really about digital services, because the labels aren't actually due a performing royalty from terrestrial radio services under American law). But it seems unlikely that any music publisher would want to get into direct deal licensing in the live or pub/club/shop side of public performance.

Either way, it's all a bit of a mess at the moment, leaving the BMI-represented catalogues of some big publishers sort of in limbo - can Pandora use them or not under its BMI licence? It seems certain that no publisher is going to accuse Pandora of infringement for continuing to use their songs in the short term, but nevertheless, the digital firm is busy negotiating direct deals. Even if you sense it sees such deals as a short-term fix, while the publishers consider them a brave new era in online song licensing.

Anyway, Universal has done such a deal, and the boss of the mega-major's publishing business Zach Horowitz told reporters yesterday: "Our deal with Pandora is another step toward reaching our goal of ensuring that there is a vibrant digital marketplace where both music services and the songwriters and composers who make those services possible can thrive. This arrangement will allow music fans to enjoy our music on Pandora while protecting our songwriters and composers".

Though a Pandora spokesman told Billboard: "[The recent rulings] created uncertainty within the music industry and threatened to negatively impact songwriters and performers by having their music removed from the largest US internet radio service. With only days to act before a 1 Jan deadline, we moved quickly to reach an agreement to keep their music playing on Pandora. This agreement should be viewed as a specific approach to address a short term-issue resulting from a legal decision".

--------------------------------------------------

Believe Digital is latest CMU sponsor
CMU is pleased to announce that another sponsor has come on board to enable us to continue expanding the free news and information services we provide the wider music community.

And the latest sponsor is independent digital specialist Believe Digital, which will be promoting its distribution, marketing, neighbouring rights and other services, plus the Believe label and Zimbalam platform, through the CMU Daily and website.

Confirming the company's support, Believe's Lee Morrison, Head of Sales and New Business/SVP Neighbouring Rights, told us: "We are extremely happy to be supporting Complete Music Update, continuing our relationship with one of the leading providers of insightful, high quality music industry news. We see great value in CMU and their extensive readership, one which we feel is highly relevant to Believe and the digital services we offer to independent artists and labels".

Meanwhile CMU Publisher Chris Cooke added: "It's always been our mission at CMU to bring together the wider music community, from the biggest major players through to the most exciting start ups, grass roots independents and self-releasing artists, by providing a big chunk of our news and information services free of charge. But it's only thanks to the support of companies like Believe that we are able to do this".

Believe is the second new sponsor signed up this month, following ticketscript, which began sponsoring the Gigs & Festivals section of CMU at the start of the year. Other music business service providers interested in becoming CMU supporters, and promoting their companies to CMU's 25,000 strong audience of music people, should call Sam Taylor on 020 7099 9060 or email sam@unlimitedmedia.co.uk.

Warner signs Westlife's Kian Egan
Ex-Westlifer and king of the 'I'm A Celebrity' hill, Kian Egan, is to release his first solo LP via a still-wet deal with Warner Bros.

Whilst, he says, it "won't be a million miles away" style-wise from his Westlifian zenith, the new record will have "more rocky, good pop/rock songs". Rocky and good, both critical qualities to bear in mind while making a pop/rock song.

#kiansdebutalbum (let's get this trending, Kian fans), which I hope isn't its actual title, will be released on 17 Mar.

--------------------------------------------------

Troy Carter now managing Sky Ferreira
Having signed Miguel and John Mayer to his Atom Factory firm late last year, Lady Gaga's acquisitions-mad one-time manager Troy Carter has now taken pop waif Sky Ferreira under his wing.

Ferreira revealed news of her "new beginning" via Facebook, adding that she felt "so excited <3333333" by it. As previously reported, Sky's first LP, 'Night Time, My Time', will have its British release on 17 Mar.

Mogwai sell limited edition whisky
Having released their very good indeed new album 'Rave Tapes' earlier this week, Mogwai have announced their next release already. This time it's not new music though, it's a whisky. And arguably that's better.

Given the next available number in the band's Rock Action label's catalogue, the drink goes by the name of RockAct81w, and has been brewing at the Glenallachie Distillery in the Speyside area of Scotland. Now it sits in 324 individual bottles somewhere in Glasgow. If you want one, it'll cost you £55. And that might seem like a lot, but it's 57.1% alcohol. Basically, when you drink it, you'll sip it quietly and then scream loudly for seven or eight minutes. Like a Mogwai song.

Once they're gone, they're gone. So if you're interested in grabbing a bottle, you should head over to mogwaiwhisky.com to find out more.

Elsewhere in Mogwai news. Tour! There is a tour. You missed a show in Newcastle last night (unless you didn't). Next are two shows at London's Royal Festival Hall, but they're both sold out. Your best bet would be to go to Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Monday, of the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on Tuesday. Or, if you enjoy planning ahead, there's a date at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 8 Mar.

Rap Genius announces Universal deal
Lyric site Rap Genius has announced a licensing deal with Universal Music Publishing, its second deal with one of the majors since scoring Sony/ATV in November. It's also the second deal since the US National Music Publishers' Association named the site the "worst offender" for publishing lyrics without permission.

Announcing the news, Rap Genius co-founder Ilan Zechory said: "We love UMPG! They have a truly incredible stable of writers - we will lend them a wheelbarrow for the Grammys they are about to win! Rap Genius lets UMPG's writers connect with their most obsessed fans, and we couldn't be more excited about solidifying this partnership".

This comes as UMPG reaches its aforementioned agreement with Pandora on its BMI-represented songs. Busy, busy.

Calvin Harris and Irvine Welsh developing TV comedy series
Well, here's something. 'Trainspotting' writer Irvine Welsh has apparently penned a comedy series set in the world of dance music, developed with the help of top producer and fellow Scot Calvin Harris. What's more, Jay-Z and Will Smith are on board as executive producers and it's being lined up to air on US TV network HBO.

Called 'Higher', the show is to be a production of Overbrook Entertainment, which is co-owned by Smith. In addition to Smith and Jay-Z, Harris' managers, Three Six Zero Group's Mark Gillespie and Dean Wilson, are also listed amongst the many names down to executive produce.

As well as 'Higher', Smith and Jay-Z are also involved in a remake of classic film 'Annie'.

London Electronic Music Event confirms 2014 conference
Details and a list of guest speakers have been released for the third edition of the London Electronic Music Event, a two-day conference directed at those working in the electronic music industry.

Playing host to XOYO owner/head booker Andy Peyton, Bloc co-founder George Hull, Hypercolour Records' Jamie Russell, artist manager Anna Russell and the MPG Mastering Engineer Of The Year 2013, Alchemy's Matt Colton, the event will feature a wide scope of Q&As, hands-on masterclasses and debates on hot topics like 'The Art Of Sampling', 'Club Nights - How To Survive And Thrive' and 'The Role Of The Record Label Today', as well as networking opportunities and technical demos.

Oh, and on the lighter side, there'll be live sets by the likes of Legowelt, Kris Wadsworth and Neville Watson, and some parties.

Early bird tickets to this year's LEME, which takes place at Rich Mix between 12-13 Apr, are available here.

The Wanted to "pursue personal endeavours"
The Wanted have announced that they will take a break from each other after they complete their upcoming March tour dates. They're definitely not splitting up though, they're just going to "pursue personal endeavours" for a while.

Announcing the news yesterday, the group's website said: "This tour will be their last for a while as Tom, Max, Jay, Siva and Nathan have collectively decided to take time to pursue personal endeavours following the tour's conclusion. The band wants to stress to their fans that they will continue on as The Wanted and look forward to many successful projects together in the future. They thank their fans for their continued love and support and look forward to seeing them on tour".

And that's not a statement that sounds like several lawyers have been at it, does it? Rumours that something wasn't right in the Wanted camp began to circulate last year, after their third album, 'Word Of Mouth', failed to meet sales expectations and a European tour was cancelled. As a result, the 'World Of Mouth World Tour' (a name they seem to be sticking with) now numbers just nine dates in the UK. They will be playing the Dubai Jazz Festival in February though.

--------------------------------------------------

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to score Gone Girl
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are to collaborate on another film score, this time on the OST to the forthcoming 'Gone Girl'.

The on-screen version of Gillian Flynn's 2012 novel is directed, like the two movies Reznor and Ross previously composed (and won an Oscar and a Grammy) for - the 'The Social Network' and 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' - by David Fincher. It's set to premiere in October.

Here's Trent tweeting the concrete proof.

--------------------------------------------------

Vivian Girls split
Oh, boo. Cassie Ramone, Katy Goodman and Ali Koehler are amicably killing off their long-ish-time band Vivian Girls, following a final show in the States on 1 Mar.

To be fair, this isn't really a surprise given the three-piece has been fairly quiet since 2011's LP, 'Share The Joy', with Ramone instead playing in The Babies, Goodman in her sideline La Sera, and Koehler c/o Upset, her duo with one-time Hole drummer Patty Schemel.

The band write via their site: "It's been a long and crazy journey in the seven years since [we formed], and we feel as though the time has finally come to let our band rest in peace. It's been an experience that we'll look back on and cherish and we'd like to thank you for sharing it with us. We have had such an amazing time being a band, touring the world, releasing records and meeting all of you".

Release round-up: Outfit, Eagulls, Willow Smith and The Anchoress
Liverpool off-pop group Outfit got their nine-show UK tour off to a strong start last night, also putting the video for their new single, 'Thank God I Was Dreaming', online. The track, a child of the band's 2013 LP, 'Performance', is released via Double Denim on 10 Feb, so kill time till then by seeing its clip with your eyes, here.

Also putting out a single (and touring) in the coming months, it's Leeds' Eagulls, who'll let rip with new song 'Possessed' on 3 Mar, coincidentally the same day their debut LP, 'Eagulls', is due via Partisan Records. Check 'Posessed' here.

Leaning on the pop side of the fence for a sec, Will Smith's lil daughter Willow, who at thirteen is actually not all that lil now, laid a brand new track titled '5' on the internet this time last week. It isn't necessarily anything to do with an LP, but it does feature Jaden (as in her sibling, Jaden Smith), and is really pretty ace. Hear the Smith kids at play here.

Last, it's over to The Anchoress, aka London-based Catherine Anne Davies, who has a debut single in 'What Goes Around' to show you all. Out on vinyl-only on Too Pure come 5 May, it's up on SoundCloud, so listen now.

Bands to play live soundtrack to new film, Only Lovers Left Alive
White Hills, Jozef Van Wissem, Yasmine Hamdan, and Jim Jarmusch's band SQÜRL, all contributors to the soundtrack to Jarmusch's forthcoming film-loosely-about-music 'Only Lovers Left Alive', will play parts of the movie's score live at a one-off show on 6 Feb.

It'll follow a preview screening of the film - a kind of rock/horrorcore love story starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston - at London's Leicester Square Odeon, and will take place at Heaven, which is a place in London.

Click here to find info and links to tickets for both the screening and the live show, and look here to see the film's promo.

--------------------------------------------------

Universal's Sons & Lovers, Eliza & The Bear and Fred Page to visit satellite cities
Three of Universal's newest 'indie' - in the genre sense - signings Sons & Lovers, Eliza & The Bear and Fred Page, will transmit a combined live show (ie featuring all three bands) to fans in less-visited cities on a thing titled the Satellite Tour.

Moving off on 5 Feb at The Ballroom in Canterbury, the fourteen date circuit will come to stop on 22 Feb at The Cavern in Exeter. Very reasonably-priced £4 tickets are here, and this is London quintet Eliza & The Bear's special Satellite rendition of their 2013 single 'Friends'.

--------------------------------------------------

Festival line-up update: Sonar, Sziget, Sonisphere and more
Today in the shifting world of festival line-ups, there's big news of new listings at three events beginning with 'S', plus some others beginning with... different letters.

Behold:

FARR FESTIVAL, Bygrave Wood, Newnham, Hertfordshire, 18-20 Jul: Hercules And Love Affair, Mount Kimbie, The Skints, Scuba, George Fitzgerald, Andrew Weatherall, Daniel Avery, Gentleman's Dub Club, Marcus Intalex, Waze & Odyssey, Robert Owens, Kim Ann Foxman, South London Ordnance, Skeptical, Indigo, Greg b2b Krysko, Alfresco Disco, Pardon My French, Hush House, Croz, Oli DAB vs Robin, Sharkbait, Larji Hans & The Ok Jones Band, Sense O, Movement DJs, Rich Wills, Jacques Adda, Pional, Rosie Lowe, Outboxx, Dems, FTSE, Womans Hour, Gaps, Nathan Ball, Georgia Buchanan, Delaire, Jenny Plant. farrfestival.co.uk

LAKEFEST, Croft Farm Waterpark, Tewkesbury, 8-10 Aug: Neville Staple, Ade Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds. lakefest.co.uk

LIFE FESTIVAL, Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, 23-25 May: Groove Armada, Four Tet, LFO, Maya Jane Coles, Joy Orbison, Nina Kraviz, Dixon, Ben Klock, DJ Koze, Tensnake, Nathan Fake, Ben Pearce, Waze & Odyssey, Ejeca, New Jackson, Parasense, Egorythmia, Kormac's Big Band, Sunil Sharpe, Frank B, Lumigraph, Barry Redsetta, Nathan Jones, Slowburn, Lunar Disko DJs, and Apartment Records DJs. www.life-festival.com

ROCK WERCHTER, Werchter, Rotselaar, Belgium, 3-6 Jul: Imagine Dragons, Metronomy, Agnes Obel, Dropkick Murphys, Passenger, The Naked And Famous. www.rockwerchter.be

SONAR, various venues, Barcelona, Spain, 12-14 Jun: Pretty Lights, Flux Pavillion, Rudimental, DJ Harvey, The Martinez Brothers, MachineDrum, Tiga, Laurel Halo, Ben Frost, Yelle, MachineDrum, Recondite, Uz, Visionist, Alizzz, DJ Nigga Fox. www.sonar.es

SONISPHERE UK, Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, 4-6 Jul: Chas & Dave, Limp Bizkit, Anthrax, Carnifex, The Sisters Of Mercy, Devin Townsend,m Dropkick Murphys, Silverstein, The Virginmarys, Vooddoo Six. sonisphere.co.uk

SZIGET, Margit-sziget, Budapest, 11-18 Aug: Queens of the Stone Age, Calvin Harris, Placebo, Bastille, Imagine Dragons, Stromae, Klaxons, Laidback Luke, Starlight Girls. www.szigetfestival.com

YO1, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, 4 May: De La Soul, Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Bicep, Kryder, Danny Howard, Waze & Odyssey, Futuristic Polar Bears, The Mouse Outfit, Jacob Plant, Voyeur, Aartekt, Traams, Viewer, Renegade Brass Band, Grinny Grandad, The Federals, Juffage, Boss Caine, Fawn Spots, The Hangnails. www.yo1events.co.uk

Bieber's mum wants us to pray for Justin
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Justin Bieber's mum.
Has asked it be done,
That we all pray for his conduct.
We all know he's been off his head,
But forgive him his trespasses,
As we forgive those who have led him astray.
So we can stop our condemnation.
Because it's not like he's evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Believe.