Gatfield departs Sony Music
So the top man at Sony Music UK has gone rather suddenly. I mean, did you see it coming? I didn't see it coming. CMU Editor Andy Malt did write on our office whiteboard the other day, "I bet Nick Gatfield makes a sudden exit from Sony Music this week", but I got distracted by the much more important news, scribbled alongside it, that One Direction weren't splitting - so anyway that's a thing.

One time Island Records exec Gatfield, of course, earned the admiration of all in the record business as "the guy who had to explain A&R to the Terra Firma twonks who screwed up EMI", him spending over two years with the British major during "the troubles". He then popped up in a senior role at Sony Music UK in 2011, before becoming the British division's CEO in July that year after the also sudden departure of his predecessor Ged Doherty.

Confirming Gatfield's exit last night, a Sony spokesman told Music Week: "It was an amicable decision for Nick to leave the company at this time. We wish him the best in his future endeavours". It's thought that long-term Sony exec Nicola Tuer, basically Gatfield's deputy, will step in to the top role on an interim basis until a full-time replacement is found.

Joey Essex signs with Warner, compiles 'ultimate dance album'
'I'm A Celebrity' and 'TOWIE' tyke Joey Essex has signed a 'reem' new dream-deal with Warner Music, who'll slap his face on the front of a compilation of 'Essex Anthems', aka party hits and remixes by the likes of Clean Bandit, Duke Dumont, Rudimental, Wiley and Daniel Bedingfield. It's a triple-disc spread, and has practically every banger going on it. NOW! That's what I call a compilation.

Essex himself is feeling especially inspired by the idea, and says: "I'm really excited about this record deal, it's amazing to be making the ultimate dance album based on the tunes we play at Sugar Hut. Me and the label have spent loads of time choosing the tracks, mixing up new hits with classic dancefloor bangers". And just in case you wondered, Sugar Hut is that club the 'TOWIE' cast are always at on the ITV show, having fights, dancing and snogging and that.

'Joey Essex Presents Essex Anthems' will descend on 17 Mar. Find its indescribably banging tracklisting via this link.

Scandinavian chief appointed for Caroline International
Universal Music's newish label services business Caroline International - "The premier global partner for independent labels and artists", says this press release, and we all know press releases never lie - has appointed a new boss man for its Scandinavian operations.

Aslak Klever joins the mega-major from Warner Music Norway (where he ended up via its acquisition of EMI's Parlophone Label Group), and will report into Caroline International co-chiefs Michael Roe and Jim Chancellor. He's the latest in a string of regional boss appointments for the new label services venture, which have also included Tina Adams (Germany), Emma Greengrass (UK), Tim Janes (Australia), Fred van Kruining (Benelux) and Thomas Lorain (France).

Say Roe and Chancellor in impressive perfect unison: "Aslak is a fantastic addition to the Caroline team and we're thrilled that he's going to lead our Nordic business. There are so many ambitious independent artists and entrepreneurs in the region and it's such a dynamic and growing market that a strong and thriving Caroline business there is central to our goal of delivering the very best results for all our partners".

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BMG promotes Zach Katz
BMG yesterday announced that Zach Katz had been promoted to the role of Chief Creative Officer within its US division. Katz has been with the music rights firm since 2012.

Confirming the appointment, the company's President of Marketing & Creative Laurent Hubert told CMU: "Zach has contributed significantly to the growth of BMG Chrysalis US and has helped cement our reputation as the preferred home for top talent. I look forward to working together further to build the company and reach new levels of global success".

Katz himself said: "It is with great pride and gratitude that I embark on my next chapter with BMG. Our team has the vision and expertise to help our songwriters and artists reach their highest potential, and shape our industry going forward. This company has some of most dedicated and results driven people I have ever had the pleasure of working with".

US firm set to acquire Koko
Now, you might have always thought of Koko as just being an albeit charming gig venue in Camden, but what you may not have realised as you stood outside the former Camden Palace is that you were looking at an "internationally renowned premiere multimedia and lifestyle brand". So now you know. I suppose quite a lot of telly things have been filmed there in recent years, and MTV took some of them global.

Anyway, this is all relevant today because a US company called Loton Corp has announced its intent to buy Koko, venue and brand. Loton CEO Robert Ellin said earlier this week: "We are excited to announce this letter of intent to acquire Koko's brand and venue. Our team will assist in the expansion of Koko's brand across the globe and the creation of a 360-degree music platform. We are elated to partner with Olly Bengough, Founder and CEO of Koko. His track record of building exceptionally profitable lifestyle brands in London fits perfectly with our assembly of a world-class team of executives and board members".

Ah, 360-degree music platforms. They're my favourite kind of music platforms. Loton's acquisition of the Koko business is expected to be completed in the next three months.

Sara Bareilles takes on Ronson/Mars manager
Middle American pop singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles has hired a new manager, Brandon Creed, a former A&R man at Epic Records (the label to which Bareilles is signed) who also 'does' for Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars.

Bareilles broke it off with her one-time management man Jordan Feldstein the day after last month's Grammys, at which she was nominated for an Album Of The Year award for 2013's 'The Blessed Unrest'.

As E! Online reports here, Feldstein - manager to acts like Maroon 5 and Robin Thicke - was involved in an "explosive confrontation" with Kelly and Sharon Osbourne at a pre-Grammys gala in LA, which climaxed in Mrs O throwing a glass of water at him.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bareilles, who was sat at Feldstein's table at the time, "fired" Feldstein that same week. Ooh, so this is all a bit sensational, isn't it?

IODA founder launches new visuals hub for the music community
Kevin Arnold, founder of indie label distributor IODA (which subsequently merged with The Orchard), has an interesting new venture going on.

OpenAura aims to be a hub for official visuals generated by or associated with musical talent. The new venture will then provide access to all that visual content to companies wanting to use photos, artwork and images for new products or services, whether visuals are at the heart of those ventures, or a way to make for a more compelling audio-based platform.

Said ventures will pay for access to the image library, with income shared between OpenAura, featured artists and whoever owns the copyright in the visual material (likely to be photographer or label). Arnold has struck up alliances with a number of artist management companies to get things rolling.

Commenting on the venture, which has some backing from Sony Music, where Arnold ended up after it bought IODA in 2009, the OpenAura man told Billboard: "In today's world where fans engage directly with artists in many ways across many networks and platforms, the 80s-bio-and-photo-press-kit version of identity isn't good enough. With connected screens everywhere and fans consuming and creating content at breakneck pace, the industry needs a better visual content offering to move music user experiences forward".

Music-specific virtual currency being planned
You know what the music industry needs? Its own virtual currency, that's what. A musical version of that awfully popular and not at all under pressure this week Bitcoin.

And now it has it. And no, I'm not talking about the trademark-litigation inducing Coinye project. I mean Songcoin, a new venture that aims to provide the music community with a global, transaction-fee-free alternative to real cash. Says Kasian Franks, co-founder of Pimovi, the company behind it: "We're looking at providing people with a way to not pay transaction fees, not go through international wires, and a way for people to just kind of have something pretty much alternative to a dollar. The value of alternative currency has been proven by Bitcoin".

Speaking to Evolver FM, Franks added: "If you use Songcoin to purchase a concert ticket, then we can work with ticket vendors to build in discounts so that if you use Songcoin, you're going to get a cheaper rate, for example. We're going to start by building a music recommendation system... and if people can use this system to discover music, we can put tip jars next to each artist, and let the artist know that we've set up these tip jars, and eventually, Songcoin will take on a nice valuation, so Songcoins will be worth more and more".

Which sort of makes all this sound a bit like a cross between Bitcoin and Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde's Flattr venture I think. And if you think that plan has any chance of working, why not read Evolver FM's full interview with Franks here? And if you like what you read, maybe leave a few Songcoins behind to show your appreciation.

Kids In Glass Houses confirm split, final shows
Welsh five-piece Kids In Glass Houses are celebrating their eleventh year as a band by... and there's no easy way to say this... they're splitting. It's an amicable split, mind, and one that comes with a final lot of shows. If that's any consolation. Which it probably is, a tiny bit.

Confirming said shows and the looming amicable split, KIGH said via FB yesterday: "We're as unified in this decision as we have been with any that we've made together, and we're excited by the prospect of ending things in the best possible spirit at the end of the year. We've known this day was coming for quite a while and have done our best to make sure that the next few months are as memorable as those years that have come before".

The group's last tour, which has 21 stops to it in all, starts at Plymouth's White Rabbit on 5 Oct, and wraps inside Cardiff's Great Hall on 31 Oct.

Find its listings, and the band's lengthy farewell, in their entirety via this link.

Rihanna to release cartoon-based 'concept' LP
Rihanna is working on a cartoonish new LP, her most cartoonish so far, Variety reports. Which is saying something. This one's a "concept" piece based on an actual cartoon, forthcoming DreamWorks Animation film 'Home', in which Rihanna is voice-acting and doing some singing too. Of new songs, which will go on the LP, and so on.

The film, which is inspired by writer Adam Rex's kids' book 'The True Meaning Of Smekday' - a story of aliens invading earth - is due to hit cinemas in November. Which might give an idea of when we can expect the Rihanna LP to arrive.

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart break news of new LP, Days Of Abandon
Noise-pop band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have created a new LP titled 'Days Of Abandon', which will follow-on from 2011's 'Belong' on a still-undisclosed date this year.

Carrying the brilliantly-named first track 'Art Smock', which plays over this trailer , it features the guiding hand of MBV/Sigur Ros/The Kills' producer-du-jour Andy Savours.

Art Smock
Simple and Sure
Kelly
Beautiful You
Coral and Gold
Eurydice
Masokissed
Until The Sun Explodes
Life After Life
The Asp at My Chest

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Inga Copeland details first post-Hype Williams solo thing
Having quit her affiliation with Dean Blunt (killing the pair's pop-scrobbling Hype Williams collaboration) in 2013, a solo Inga Copeland has now confirmed her first lone LP.

Infringing on all kinds of trademarks (possibly) with its title, 'Because I'm Worth It' (which also lists a track called 'L'Oreal') will be released in May, and features a single guest artist in Actress, who appears on 'Advice To Young Girls'.

And that's all that's known for now. Apart from this, its tracklisting:

Faith OG X
Advice To Young Girl (feat Actress)
Insult 2 Injury
Serious
Fit
Diligence
Inga
L'Oreal

Festival line-up update: Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, Dot To Dot and more
Green and pleasant Cheshire rave Creamfields has confirmed a big old dollop of artists, all of whom are playing its 2014 incarnation. Calvin Harris and that Avicii are set to headline, which is nice, whilst elsewhere the likes of AfroJack, Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki, Eric Prydz, Tiesto, Booka Shade, Pete Tong, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Above & Beyond and Duke Dumont will play in a non-headlining capacity. The list really is endless.

Meanwhile, I guess it's time to share updates to line-ups at triumvirate indie fest Dot To Dot, kooky alt-pop social Secret Garden Party, Donington rock-a-thon Download, Leicester's own Leicester Music Festival, and all the others you'll find in this short (actually rather long) list...

ALT-FEST, Boughton House, Kettering, 15-17 Aug: Amen, Paradise Lost, Agonoize, Finntroll, Krokodil, Mesh, Parade Ground, Strombringer, Savage Messiah. www.alt-fest.com

THE BIG FEASTIVAL, Kingham, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, 29-31 Aug: Fatboy Slim, Jamie Cullum, Kelis, Stornoway, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Jack Savoretti, Lee Thompson's Ska Orchestra, Molotov Jukebox, Norman Jay, The Cuban Brothers, Duke, Guilty Pleasures, Bjorn Again, Fleetwood Bac. www.jamieoliver.com/thebigfeastival

CREAMFIELDS, Daresbury Estate, Halton, Cheshire, 22-24 Aug: Avicii, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, AfroJack, Steve Aoki, Eric Prydz, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Above & Beyond, Duke Dumont, Armin Van Buuren, Booka Shade, Steve Angello, Above & Beyond AN21, Max Vangeli, Tiesto, Hardwell, Axwell & Ingrosso, Alesso and more. www.creamfields.com

DOT TO DOT, various venues, Manchester/Bristol/Nottingham, 23-25 May: Peace, The Midnight Beast, Real Estate, We Were Evergreen, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett, Fyfe, Darlia, Kyla La Grange, Barbarossa, Betty Who, Caveman, Frank Hamilton, Norma Jean Martine, Gavin James, George Barnett, Horse Thief, Lapland, Laura Welsh, LSA, Marika Hackman, Mt Royal, Sean McGowan, Sivu, St Paul And The Broken Bones, Sundara Karma, We The Wild, Wonder Villains, Young Kato. dottodotfestival.co.uk

DOWNLOAD, Donington Park, Derbyshire, 13-15 Jun: Bring Me The Horizon, Within Temptation, Behemoth, Sepultura, Skillet, Fozzy, We Came As Romans, Zebrahead, Winger, Reignwolf, Radkey, Dan Reed, Twenty | One | Pilots, The Howling, Zoax, Press to Meco, Collibus, Monuments, Bad Touch, Tyketto, Cage the Gods, Defeater, Skyharbor. www.downloadfestival.co.uk

FARR FESTIVAL, Bygrave Wood, Newnham, 18-20 Jul: Bicep, Move D, Optimo, Darkstar, Molotov Jukebox, Py, Face+Heel, Only Girl, Kaleida, Mirror Signal, Jenny Burdon, Midland, Hunee, Young Marco, dBridge, Citizen, Detroit Swindle, Justin Robertson, Terry Farley, Thunder, Park Ranger, Tom Rio, Sophie Lloyd, Paramount, JDP, Bounty, Troupe DJs, Stamp The Wax, Shut The Front Door. www.farrfestival.co.uk

GROEZROCK, Gestel, Meerhout, Belgium, 2-3 May 2014: Falling In Reverse. www.groezrock.be

LEICESTER MUSIC FESTIVAL, Welford Road Stadium, Leicester, 25-26 Jul: Labrinth, Professor Green, Union J, Katy B, The Saturdays, Sam Bailey, Soul II Soul, Billy Ocean, Aswad, The Real Thing, Stereo Nation. www.leicestermusicfestival.co.uk

LONDON ELECTRONIC MUSIC EVENT, Rich Mix, Shoreditch, London, 12-13 Apr: Theo Parrish, Kirk Degiorgia, Red D, Mr Beatnick. www.londonelectronicmusicevent.com

OSFEST - BREAK FOR THE BORDER, Oswestry Showground, Shropshire, 24-25 May: Wiley, Nina Nesbitt, Foxes, Neon Jungle, Elyar Fox, Wilkinson, Luke Friend.

PARKLIFE WEEKENDER, Heaton Park, Manchester, 7-8 Jun: Public Enemy, George Ezra, Mnek. www.parklife.uk.com

SECRET GARDEN PARTY, Mill Hill Field, Abbots Ripton, 24-27 Jul: Foxes, Maya Jane Coles, Sub Focus & MC ID, MO, Kwabs, Rosie Lowe, Wolf Alice, Years And Years, Gorgon City, Denai Moore, Bipolar Sunshine, The Amazing Snakeheads, Kyla La Grange, Le Galaxie, Teleman, Superfood, Matrix And Futurebound, David Rodigan, Tunng, Zervas and Pepper, Jack Garratt, My Nu Leng, Kidnap Kid, Tourist, Ulterior Motive, WOZ, The Mispers, Mausi, Pete Molinari, Fickle Friends, Big Boy Bloater, Dvwlx, CoCo and the Butterfields, Beech, Marcus Bonfanti, Imperial Leisure, They Say Jump, Tantz, Danni Nicholls, Planetman and the Internationalz, My Darling Clementine, Gecko, Uzimon, Ghouls, Alison and the Earthquakes, John Crampton, The Damn Jammage, Delaney, Blues Business. www.secretgardenparty.com

SECRET SOLSTICE, Hot Spring Valley, Iceland, 20-22 Jun: Massive Attack,
Woodkid, Kerri Chandler, Damian Lazarus, Carl Craig, Eats Everything, Aphrohead, Skream, Hjaltalín, Múm, Gorgon City, Boddika, Paul Woolford, Ben Pearce, Droog, Waze & Odyssey, Jackmaster, Maus, Oneman, Samaris, Mammút, Sís_ Ey, Moses Hightower, Francesca Lombardo, Clive Henry, Ojba Rasta, Artwork, Klose-One, Cell 7, Plastic Love, Oculus, Voyeur, Intro Beats, Sometime, Futuregrapher, Josh Butler, Agzilla, Vök, My Nu Leng, Amaba Dama, Elín Ey, HaZaR, Harrimannn, Sometime, Rob Shields, Housekell, Py, DJ Kári, Vök, Yamaho, Captain Fufanu, Mia Dora, ThizOne, Casanova, Bensol, Alvia Islandia, Fox Train Safari, Orang Volante, Modesart, DJ Flugvél & Geimskip, Árni2, Rix, Axfjör_, Steve Sampling, Atli Kanill, Kanilsnældur, Axfjör_, Tandri, Árni _ , Bistro Boy, CryptoChrome, Frímann, Ewok, Tanya & Marlon, Gervisykur, Julia Ruslanovna, King Lucky, LaFontaine, Mosi, Quadruplus, Russian Girls, Skeng, Skurken. secretsolstice.is

T IN THE PARK, Balado, Kinross, Scotland, 11-13 Jul: Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris. www.tinthepark.com

NME Awards presented
So it's official people, in case you were in any doubt whatsoever, we now know with absolute certainty that, however sinister you may find pop music's Misogynist In Chief and rape apologist Robin Thicke, marmite-like wannabe revolutionist Russell Brand, bedroom taxer and NHS destroyer David Cameron, homophobe encourager and critic imprisoner Vladimir Putin, and even hammer licker Miley Cyrus, none of them are as villainous as Mr Harry Styles. Though the irony is, and ask anyone on the inside and they'll confirm this for you, the real cunt in One Direction is Louis Tomlinson.

Anyway, it was the NME Awards last night, and the good news is that everyone got so drunk so quickly that no one noticed how odd it was to have an American city sponsoring a British indie music back-slapping bash. And while Master Styles winning the only slightly pointless Villain Of The Year prize was pretty predictable, Lily Allen beating Jake Bugg, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and David Bowie to the Best Solo Artist prize was possibly more surprising. But with Haim getting Best International Band and Godlike genius Debbie Harry winning the Godlike Genius prize, perhaps this was a rare and much needed celebration of the ladies of pop. Though of course way more men were given gongs overall, but that is almost certainly Harry Styles' fault. Villain.

Anyway, here's a list of winners. And if you want a quote from NME Editor Mike Williams, well, buy the NME. Or get a copy of the awards show press release. I'm bored of quotes from NME Editor Mike Williams.

Best British Band: Arctic Monkeys
Best International Band: Haim
Best Solo Artist: Lily Allen
Best New Band: Drenge
Best Live Band: Arctic Monkeys

Best Album: Arctic Monkeys - AM
Best Track: Disclosure - White Noise
Best Music Video: Eagulls - Nerve Endings
Best Reissue: The Clash - Sound System

Best Festival: Glastonbury
Best Small Festival: Sŵn
Music Moment Of The Year: Noel and Damon come together for Teenage Cancer Trust

Best TV Show: Breaking Bad
Best Music Film: Made Of Stone
Best Book: Morrissey - Autobiography
Best Band Blog Or Twitter: Alana Haim
Best Fan Community: Arctic Monkeys

Hero Of The Year: Alex Turner
Villain Of The Year: Harry Styles
Worst Band: The 1975

Philip Hall Radar Award: Fat White Family
Songwriters' Songwriter: Paul McCartney
Award For Innovation: Damon Albarn
Outstanding Contribution To Music Award: Belle & Sebastian
Godlike Genius: Blondie

Harry Styles announces new limited edition 1D perfume
It's not cheap being a villain, we all know that, and poor Harry Styles has only made about a million* from his group's perfume so far.

But the good news is - and this is going to help you sleep at night for certain - an all new limited edition version of One Direction's bottled smell is coming out, which will help the 1D boys, and their lovely management and label bosses, add a few more pounds to the pile. And I think that's something we can all get behind and support.

The group's original perfume was called Our Moment, while the all new version is called That Moment. And this time there's green apple and violet included in the mix. Imagine that, green apple and violet.

And if you don't believe me, why not watch Harry Styles, on a break from all his villainy, read off a piece of paper (that's just off screen) what his brand partnerships team have written about this latest attempt to fleece more cash off his group's fa... I mean this latest endeavour to provide an extra special treat for all those 1D loving sucke... I mean 1D loving music fans.

*This figure is an idle guess based on some unsubstantiated rumour.