MAMA closes The Fly
MAMA & Company has announced that it is closing its music magazine, The Fly.

Announcing the somewhat sudden decision in a statement on Friday, MAMA said: "After nearly fifteen years of pioneering new music journalism, the owners of The Fly are officially closing the magazine as a result of current market conditions surrounding publishing. We offer gratitude to and wish well all the staff and contributors that have allowed us to deliver the UK's longest serving monthly freesheet. To the multitude of artists and musicians that have graced our covers, the advertisers and sponsors who have supported us and our loyal readers, we salute you".

It adds: "Ownership of the digital and online brands will now pass to the magazine's longest-serving member of staff, editor JJ Dunning. We wish him luck in taking the brand forward". Quite what Dunning has planned for an online version of The Fly is yet to be confirmed.

Originally launched as a listings leaflet for the Barfly venue in Camden, in 1999 the title grew into a free monthly magazine. As a free title with wide distribution, for a number of years it was able to boast that it had the largest circulation of any music magazine in the UK though, despite a relaunch in April last year, the demise of half of the HMV store network - one of its core distribution routes - meant the mag's official circulation fell to just over 70,000, with recent monthly reach probably somewhat less than that.

Last month, the first (and now, it seems, last) edition of The Fly Awards was held at The Forum in London, featuring performances from The Horrors, Thurston Moore, Bombay Bicycle Club, Peace and Wild Beasts.

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More speculation over a Spotify IPO
For those of you keeping a 'reasons to speculate a Spotify IPO is incoming' list on your office white board (you've all got yourself an office white board by now, yes?), add this: late last year the digital company reportedly secured a $200 million credit facility via banking organisations Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.

Rumours that Spotify was seeking debt financing first circulated last September, with sources saying that some key investors in the business were now nervous of further diluting their equity by raising further finance though the selling of shares. Though in November the Wall Street Journal revealed that another batch of shares in the streaming set up had nevertheless been sold raising another $250 million, and valuing the company somewhere north of $4 billion.

But, it seems, the separate $200 million debt-based credit facility was also negotiated by the end of 2013, and even though the Financial Times' sources say that the company is yet to dip into the overdraft, the fact that such a facility was secured, and the fact that four big City banks were willing to provide it, all points to an initial public offering - or flotation if you prefer - now being very much on the agenda.

As previously reported, a recent job ad at the digital firm seeking an External Reporting Specialist to "prepare the company for international financial standards" also suggested IPO prep is now underway.

Meanwhile many see last week's surprise acquisition by the streaming company of music data specialists The Echo Nest as being primarily motivated by IPO plans. Having the music industry's market-leading data and discovery specialists in-house will look good in a Spotify IPO prospectus, especially if you buy the mantra that, in a crowded streaming music market, having the best 'discovery tools' is key to market dominance.

Also, it's debatable that the acquisition is, in the long-term, for the good of The Echo Nest, in that being owned by Spotify will likely hinder its gathering of music usage data from a wide range of sources, and will limit its ability to sell B2B data services to other digital service providers. That The Echo Nest's founders and investors nevertheless chose to sell in a deal where - according to TechCrunch - 90% of the $100 million asking price was paid in Spotify stock possibly suggests they are confident they'll be able to cash in that equity in the near-future.

As much previously noted, the Spotify IPO will be a big pay-day for the music industry, with many labels having equity in the firm stemming from their original licensing deals. Though, once the share sale is complete, then the real challenge begins: making streaming music actually profitable.

Post-EMI legal battle between Terra Firma and Citigroup to be fought in London
So it turns out that a British court will, after all, play host to the little epilogue to that bizarre period in recent record industry history when pantomime villain Guy Hands bumbled into EMI HQ, sacked everyone, threw a few billion out of the window, and then left the way clear for the British major music company to be split up and sold on abroad (I'm simplifying things slightly there, and let's not forget, as Guy himself will tell you, it was all really the fault of the credit crunch).

As much previously reported, in 2009 Hands and his private equity group Terra Firma sued US bank Citigroup over its involvement in his audacious and ultimately disastrous 2007 purchase of EMI. Citigroup advised both Hands and EMI on the takeover, financed the deal with massive loans, and ultimately repossessed the music company in 2011, before selling on its constituent parts to Universal Music and a Sony-led consortium.

Hands accused Citigroup of providing misleading advice during his EMI takeover, adding that had he not been allegedly misled by the bankers he may not have gone ahead with what turned out to be a very costly deal. The dispute was heard in a New York court in 2010 and, although neither party came out of the proceedings looking especially good, the jury sided with Citigroup. But last year a NYC appeals court ordered a retrial, on the basis that the judge in the original hearing gave bad advice to jurors on some English law relating to the dispute.

For its part, Citigroup had always wanted the case to be heard in London, because that's where the EMI acquisition was actually done, but Terra Firma fought hard to have the case dealt with in the US. More recently the bankers had another go at forcing the case out of the New York courts on the basis that Hands' company had already launch separate proceedings in the UK, through a court in Manchester.

And now, it seems, the two sides in the dispute have reached at least one agreement, on the jurisdiction point. Last week the two parties said they had agreed to fight this one out in London, moving both the New York and Manchester cases to the capital's commercial courts.

The statement read: "Terra Firma and Citigroup have together decided that their disputes should be resolved in one set of proceedings. As a result, the parties have consented to the transfer of the claim before the New York Court to England, to be consolidated with the proceedings that are ongoing before the English Court".

So, that's something to look forward to isn't it?

Shogun Audio announces Full Thought publishing deal
Electronic music label Shogun Audio - best known for its origins in drum n bass - has announced a new deal that will see its publishing catalogue managed by Full Thought, the publishing company of the Tru Thoughts label. Owned by Radio 1 DJ Friction and Keir Tyrer, Shogun's catalogue includes over 700 song copyrights.

Tyrer told CMU: "We're delighted about this new partnership with Full Thought Publishing who have a proven track record and a global network that will allow us to connect with whole new territories. Having worked with [Full Thought and Tru Thoughts boss] Robert Luis and the team over the last few years I'm confident that they have fully understand our vision and ambition and I'm extremely pleased to collaborate in a way that will grow the publishing opportunities not only for sync but across creative and production capacities for all of our artists".

Luis added: "Having been playing their records for a number of years I am really excited to be working with the SA catalogue in a more pro-active way. Although known by many for their dnb releases their artists make and create all styles of music with an emphasis on forward thinking beats, basslines and production. Having heard some of their forthcoming releases it's very exciting to be able to help push their music to all new audiences around the world".

Beats opens up its API
Beats Music has followed the lead of rivals like Spotify and Rdio by making its API public, thus enabling and encouraging the developer community to create apps that tap into the streaming service's library of tracks, artwork, metadata and curated playlists (though playback will only work for Beats subscribers, of course, given the service doesn't currently offer a freemium option). The Beats API was only previously available to specific partners.

Confirming that his company was looking to engage with the developer community, with a mission to make his service available via multiple devices and apps, Beats chief Ian Rogers told C-Net: "If you're willing to pay $100 a year for music - which in my experience for all the world's music is a tremendous bargain - you should have access to music anywhere you might want it, in your car, house, anywhere".

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Samsung launches new streaming service in US
Samsung is having yet another go at digital music, after possibly phasing out its most recent musical endeavour Music Hub (though this new service is currently US-only, so it's not clear what's happening elsewhere, because Music Hub was in multiple territories).

The new offer is called Milk Music, for reasons no one's clear on, and is a Pandora-style streaming set up that is both subscription and ad free - for the time being at least - but only available to consumers using Samsung Galaxy or Galaxy Note phones in the US.

The new service is actually powered by an existing player in the streaming music space, Slacker Radio, which already operates a platform of the interactive radio kind in North America with ad-funded freemium and subscription-based options.

Next CMU Insights course announced
The next season of CMU Insights evening courses will kick off in two weeks time, it's been confirmed. 'The Music Business In 2014' course is an acclaimed programme of eight two-hour sessions taught on Monday evenings in Shoreditch.

Over eight Monday evening sessions (which avoid upcoming bank holidays), the course provides an overview of the music industry in 2014, looking at an artists' various revenue streams, tools for building and engaging fanbase, and the kinds of deal artists are now doing with labels and other business partners to realise their potential.

For details of the course and to book places click here.

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British Library to discuss 21st century music archiving
The British Library Sound Archive is to hold a one day symposium looking at music archiving in the digital age, called 'Keeping Tracks', on 21 Mar. The event invites labels, archives, institutions and individuals to come and discuss preserving music in the 21st century.

Curator Of Digital Music Recordings at The British Library, Alex Wilson told CMU:
"'Keeping Tracks' is a fantastic opportunity for The British Library to talk about its collections and how we preserve, conserve and give access to them; be they a 100 year old wax cylinder or a brand new born digital file. It's also a great chance to gather different sectors of the industry - tech, labels, metadata, archives - in one room to talk about an area that usually gets overlooked in music conferences".

Further details on the free event can be found here.

Ke$ha free at last, "feeling healthy" after rehab
Ke$ha has ended her extended two-month stay in a Chicago rehab clinic, leaving the facility "feeling healthy" last week.

As previously reported, the popstar, real name Kesha Rose Sebert, was admitted to Timberline Knolls Center with various eating disorders back in January. She was advised by doctors to remain at the centre for longer than was the original plan, which meant having to cancel all her live appearances in March and April.

Still, never mind that, because Ke$ha said via Twitter last Friday that she is: "Happy to be back! Feeling healthy and working on tons of new music".

In that same tweet she added: "I can't thank my fans enough for all the love and support you have given me".

Meanwhile, it seems the post-rehab Ke$ha will be known as the simpler Kesha, which has required even the Wall Street Journal to amend its style guide.

Morrissey declares new LP
Pop icon and exemplary vegan Morrissey, has revealed the typically-Moz title of his forthcoming solo LP. 'World Peace Is None Of Your Business'. That's it.

Copping the scoop this past Friday, his long-cherished fan-site True To You claimed its provisional release will take place in late June/early July. So it'll be, like, this year's summer smash. Like 'Random Access Memories', in a way. Hurrah!

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Posthumous Jackson record nearly ready, likely to launch on Sony phone
A new album of previously unreleased Michael Jackson tracks is near completion, but will reportedly first surface as exclusive content on a new high-end Sony smart phone. Meaning fans will have to shell out for the expensive device if they want immediate access to the new recordings, which will presumably then be made available via more traditional means in due course.

LA Reid, now in charge at Jackson's long-time label, Sony's Epic Records, is personally overseeing the new album, which will see unreleased recordings by the late king of pop made into full tracks, with Timbaland producing several of them. A sixty second snippet of one song appeared online over the weekend, very possibly the bit of the new album that is expected to soundtrack the ad for the Sony Xperia phone that will come preloaded with the new recordings.

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Matt Berry makes album for insomniacs
Actor and TV hilarioso Matt Berry is also a musician, you know, and it's under that last hat that he's announced a new album on the Acid Jazz label.

'Music For Insomniacs' is composed of two longform pieces, and rooted in Matt's own condition. Of which he says: "Insomnia was something I suffered on my own, so I wanted the creation of this album to be an equally solitary experience. It had to be completely personal so I knew I had to record every note myself".

With every last note recorded, he'll release the LP on 19 May. Arriving first, on Record Store Day aka 19 Apr, is a single not on the album, titled 'Music For Insomniacs Part IV'. And this is it.

Seriously though, you should so watch 'Toast Of London'.

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Cher Lloyd asks fans to release new album (whatever that means)
Lil Cher Lloyd has written a lil note to illuminate us all on the status of her only slightly (not) tardy LP, 'Sorry I'm Late', which is apparently finally set to arrive in May. Hey, at least she's sorry. Cher says she wants "YOU", the fans, to release the album, not that I know what that means. Still, all will be revealed soon, Cher swears.

This is what the letter says: "The thing that I love most about my fans is that you speak your minds. I want you to know that I've heard you! I know how excited you are about 'Sorry I'm Late' and I know how tired you are of waiting. And quite frankly so am I! So I've made a decision... I want you to release my album!!! More info to come - STAY TUNED".

So yeah, SIT TIGHT. The 'Sorry I'm Late' release date has been delayed twice already, of course, with Cher saying last year that she'd been sent back into the studio by label bosses to "find the magic", and that she wasn't happy about it, because she thought the magic was already there. It's a tricky thing, that magic.

Gigs & Tours Round-Up: John Grant, Pizza Underground, Chance The Rapper
BRITs-nominated artist John Grant will run a last lap in honour of his solo LP of 2013, 'Pale Green Ghosts', playing a number of UK shows in June. The dates, which fit in around Grant's summer festival appearances, range from 22 Jun at Stratford Upon Avon's Royal Shakespeare Theatre, to the Brighton Dome on 27 Jun. Go to his touring page for full listings.

Now to the latest from Macaulay Culkin's pizza-based Velvet Underground tribute band, Pizza Underground. Culkin and co are taking a pizza the live action (sorry) via a sprinkling of UK dates, the first of which is on 21 May at Concrete in London, the bunker underneath the Pizza East eatery. You could not make this up if you wanted to. The other shows are on 1 Jun at the Adelphi Club in Hull and on 4 Jun at Gloucester Guildhall. Peace out.

James Blake collaborator Chance The Rapper is to take his 'Acid Rap' mixtape and other hits to London in July. Coinciding with his showing at this year's Wireless Festival, the one-off gig is at The Forum on 15 Jul. Head to chanceraps.com for details.

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Festival Line-Up Update: Exit, Rebellion, BoomTown Fair and more
Like festivals? Love finding out about updates to the line-ups at said festivals? If so, you're in the right place, because this is the Festival Line-Up Update, and today it features additions to the bills at BoomTown, the Cheltenham Jazz Fest, Serbian indie sortie Exit, and Brighton rock-a-thon Rebellion...

BEYOND THE REDSHIFT, various venues, London, 10 May: PG Lost, Abraham, Petter Carlsen, Shield Patterns, Hark, Canaya. www.facebook.com/beyondtheredshift

BOOMTOWN FAIR, Matterley Estate, Nr Winchester, 7-10 Aug: CoCo and the Butterfields, Jess McAllister, The Odd Folk, House of Trees, Echo and The Empress, Rusty Shackle, Gypsy Rebel Rabble, Poor Old Dogs, RatBag, The Fontanas, Miss Maud's Folly, Gentlemen Of Few, Aelfen. www.boomtownfair.co.uk

CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham, 30 Apr - 5 May: Roberta Flack. www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz

GODIVA, War Memorial Park, Coventry, 4-6 Jul: Happy Mondays, Roddy Radiation & The Skabilly Rebels. www.godivafestival.com

REBELLION FESTIVAL, Blackpool Winter Gardens, 7-10 Aug: The Selecter, Street Dogs, Morning Glory, Evil Blizzard, Faster Than Bulls, The Toasters, The Fits, Acidez, Healthy Junkies, and Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs, UK Decay, The Crunch, Menace, October File, New Town Kings, F UK, The Go Set, Cadaver Club, and Dinosaurs Are Shit Dragons, Deaf School, The Outcasts, Implants, Captain Hotknives, Steve Ignorant's Slice Of Life, Viva Las Vegas, Headstone Horrors, A-M-I, Strength In Blunders, The Domestics, A Pretty Mess, Crisis Warning, Gone And Lost It, Angry Itch, Cretin 77, 4130's, TV Smith, Patrik Fitzgerald, Vic Ruggiero, Chris Murray, Louise Distras, Mike Only, The Fits, Tom Hingley, Max Splodge (solo), Nick Cash, Jonny One Lung, Arthur Kitchener, Paul Carter, Jim Sorrow, The Crows, Arturo Lurker, Kelly Kemp, Tina Lee, Villy Raze, John Lamb, Efa Supertramp. www.rebellionfestivals.com

New Tool album "100% [not] done"
So, the new Tool album is "100% done" and coming out any day now. Or so said Crave Online on Friday citing a conversation with guitarist Adam Jones backstage at one of the band's gigs last Thursday.

And why would Crave lie about such a thing? Well, it didn't. What it failed to hear/report on was the follow up line, "just kidding". After the Crave story emerged online, Jones took to Twitter to clarify: "FYI, 'The record's done and it's coming out tomorrow' is what I said yesterday, followed by 'just kidding...'"

Of course Justin Bieber followed up his first retirement announcement last year with a "just kidding" type get out, and yet he hasn't been seen or heard from since. But Tool HQ has confirmed that the 'kidding' here is for definite.

Said the band to Rolling Stone: "Last night, Adam Jones, in a private conversation with fans attending the Portland Tool concert, joked that the band's new album was not only finished but coming out the next day. Unfortunately, his off-the-cuff joke was taken out of context. Work on the forthcoming album is ongoing and as soon as it is done, trust me, we will be the first to let everyone know".