Rdio confirms it will end Echo Nest alliance
The recently appointed boss of Rdio has confirmed that his company will end its alliance with music data firm The Echo Nest following its acquisition by Spotify last week.

As previously reported, Spotify confirmed it was acquiring the data business last Thursday, presumably in a bid to hone the discovery element of the streaming music platform, and possibly to show interested investors in any upcoming IPO that the company has some of the industry's best music data experts in house.

But the takeover arguably hinders The Echo Nest somewhat, it having benefited to date by being platform and label agnostic, taking data from and providing insights to a plethora of players in the market. And it seems likely Rdio won't be the only streaming service not keen on sharing its data with what is about to become a subsidiary of one of its main rivals.

Speaking to CNBC, Rdio boss Anthony Bay said that while Echo Nest had been a good ally in helping his company provide personalised recommendation tools, there are other data partners out there who offer similar services. Said Bay: "As far as we are concerned, they were a good partner, but we have other good partners and we'll move on".

Rdio also works with Rovi on metadata elements of its platform, and its thought long-established music data gatherers Gracenote will be courting Spotify rivals who have previously used Echo Nest's services following the news of last week's acquisition.

High Court upholds Camden busking restrictions
The High Court has upheld new busking restrictions in Camden, meaning street performers in the borough will have to buy licences and adhere to certain restrictions.

As previously reported, the Council insists that the new licensing process is "light touch regulation" designed mainly to deal with complaints about amplified and louder percussion-based busking. A basic twelve month licence will cost £19, though certain kinds of performance will require a £47 advanced licence which might have other limitations attached. Once licensed buskers will usually be able to play anywhere that its safe to play in the borough between 10am and 9pm.

The court case against the restrictions was launched by the Keep Streets Live Campaign, which gained support from celebrities including Billy Bragg, who himself busked around Camden at the start of his career, as well as comedians Mark Thomas and Bill Bailey. The Musicians' Union has also spoken out against the changes.

Following the court ruling on the matter, Bragg told CMU: "Camden claim that this new bylaw is designed to curb the use of amplifiers by buskers 'late into the evening'. If so, why not target amplified busking after 6pm rather than coming up with this blanket restriction on all types of busking?"

A spokesperson for the Keep Streets Live Campaign has confirmed that it will appeal against yesterday's court decision.

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Prof Green charged with drunk driving
Professor Green has been charged with drink-driving relating to that incident back in November when the rap man called police to his Lewisham home claiming to have been mugged.

On arriving at the scene, police found that Green's car had crashed into a van, and that the rapper himself, real name Stephen Manderson, was seemingly drunk. He was arrested at the time on suspicion of drink-driving and later rearrested over allegations of perverting the course of justice, presumably in relation to the original mugging claims.

Manderson was formerly charged with drink-driving yesterday, though the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed it is not proceeding with the perverting the course of justice claims.

A Met police spokesman told reporters: "Stephen Manderson, aged 30, of Tyrwhitt Road, has this evening been charged with drink-driving following an incident on 3 Nov. He will appear on bail at Bromley magistrates' court on 20 Mar".

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New Bieber DUI trial date set
A new date for Justin Bieber's trial on charges of DUI has been set for 5 May.

The original date for the beginning of the trial was delayed earlier this month while news organisations got into a legal argument that they should be allowed to show videos of Bieber urinating while in police custody. Because that is the world we live in.

As previously reported, Bieber was arrested in January after being spotted allegedly drag racing on a public road in Miami. After being arrested, he tested positive for alcohol, marijuana and Xanax. Bieber has entered a plea of not guilty.

In other news, TMZ this week published some videos of Bieber during his deposition for another court case - one involving allegations one of his security team beat up a photographer - in which the pop star got a bit tetchy and said some things. You can watch the videos here, if you want.

Irving Azoff buys into experiential marketing firm
The new company from former Live Nation co-chief Irving Azoff has bought half of a US-based experiential marketing agency called Pop2Life.

Having departed Live Nation right at the end of 2012, Azoff announced the launch of a new music business in partnership with the Madison Square Garden Company last September. Having kept on some of his long-term artist management clients after exiting Live Nation, at the time Azoff said his new venture would also work in TV production, live event branding and digital marketing.

P2L recently worked with one of Azoff's artist clients, Eagles, as part of a campaign to promote the relaunch of MSGC's Forum arena in California, and the veteran artist manager seems to now be a fan of the company. Confirming he was taking a stake in the marketing firm, Azoff told Billboard: "There is nothing in experiential marketing like Eric and his team. I can't wait for all the fun projects we are going to execute. This is an exciting new partnership that will have my utmost attention".

Meanwhile the there mentioned Eric, one time RCA exec and Pop2Life founder and CEO Eric Murphy, added: "This unlocks incredible opportunities for us and our clients. To be a part of Irving Azoff's next game-changing venture is honestly the best possible scenario for Pop2Life. He's a true entrepreneur with the uncanny ability to recognise opportunities and voids in the industry. Our goals align perfectly".

Former EMI PR to open Southend record shop
Former EMI and XL PR guy, most recently found at independent agency Toast Press, Richard Onslow, has announced a new venture.

Leaving behind the world of trying to convince journalists to write about new releases, from Saturday he'll be cutting out the middle man and pushing them straight onto the public. Basically, this is a very long-winded way of saying that he's going to open a record shop. Called S O U T H, and situated in Southend, the shop will open its doors for the first time at 10am this Saturday (15 Mar)

Speaking about his new endeavour, Onslow told CMU: "Opening a record shop has always been something I've wanted to do, and having recently moved back to Southend it just seemed like an obvious thing to do. Southend has a thriving music scene, it's a massive shame that you have to travel to London to buy new vinyl or non-chart music. Alongside all that, record shops are important! I got my first Velvet Underground album from a recommendation in a shop when I was fourteen, without that I could've spent the last ten years in a proper job instead of working in music".

Beats Music raises new finance
With the competition to become the world's market-leading loss-making streaming music service continuing to hot up, Beats Music has raised another round of funding, according to Bloomberg.

Specifics about the latest round of financing aren't known, but it is thought to provide the standalone Beats streaming business - which last week also acquired the Topspin direct to fan platform - with a further $60 million to $100 million, possibly to fuel global expansion of the late-to-the-party music service, which went live in the US earlier this year.

It is thought the latest funding comes from existing Beats Music backers, which, according to the LA Times, include private equity billionaire Marc Rowan, casino owner James Packer, one of the companies of businessman Lee M Bass and Warner Music owner Access Industries.

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Vevo streams iTunes Festival via Apple devices and browser
Vevo announced yesterday that it will be streaming live footage from the all-new US edition of the iTunes Festival, which is taking place as part of SXSW this week.

Though the deal between the Sony/Universal owned music video platform and big bad Apple will only benefit users of the tech giant's devices, or its 'just never quite as good as Chrome' web browser Safari.

Vevo kicked off its live streams with the Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and London Grammar gig last night, with shows featuring the likes of Soundgarden, Pitbull and Keith Urban still to come. The streams are accessible via Vevo's iOS and Apple TV apps (in countries where said apps are available), or via the Vevo web platform if a user is suing Safari.

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Neil Young's Pono passes Kickstarter target on day one
Well, here's a thing I'm not sure anyone saw coming. People are paying money to own Neil Young's silly Pono thing.

In fact, the Kickstarter campaign to launch the new digital music device passed its $800,000 target within hours of going online, and comfortably sailed passed the $1 million mark too. Those supporting the campaign can opt to buy a variety of Neil Young related nonsense, and pre-order the Pono player itself at a $100 discount on what the device will cost once it goes properly on sale.

The Pono player, which will cost $400, but is available to Kickstarter campaign participants for $300, mimics the iPod circa 2001, in that it will do nothing but play audio files. They're FLAC files though, not MP3s, which a series of artists in an introductory video are all keen to tell you are way better.

And they are. Though your iPhone can also play these files, and has the added bonus of both being designed to fit in your pocket and to connect to the internet so that you can spend money on silly things that you don't need.

Check out all the info, and lay down the cash for a Pono listening party with Neil Young himself, here.

Keith Richards pens autobiographical children's book
Keith Richards has written a children's book. Yes, that Keith Richards. Yes, a book for actual children. No, he has. Look, just accept it, alright? It's happening.

The book, titled 'Gus & Me: The Story Of My Granddad And My First Guitar', is the story of Richards' relationship with his jazz musician grandfather Theodore Augustus Dupree. And continuing the family connection, it's been illustrated by Richards' artist daughter Theodora Dupree Richards - herself named after the titular granddad.

Keith says of the book: "I have just become a grandfather for the fifth time, so I know what I'm talking about. The bond, the special bond, between kids and grandparents is unique and should be treasured. This is a story of one of those magical moments. May I be as great a grandfather as Gus was to me".

Yes, of course I'm sure I've got the right Keith Richards, will you be quiet? He wrote about this story in his autobiography too. Anyway, Theodora added: "When I found out they wanted me to be a part of this project, my immediate instinct was to say yes, and I am so happy I did. To be able to explore my father's relationship with his grandfather was a gift in itself. The things that I've learnt during this whole process have just been life affirming".

The book will be published in the UK on 9 Sep by Orion Children's Books in digital and hardback formats. The hardback edition will also come with a CD of bonus content.

Skrillex rings Recess bell, streams LP via app
So, Skrillex gave EDM-heads a right fright this week, revealing a new LP titled 'Recess' which he will release next week.

It's streaming in its entirety in the meantime via this specially-created Alien Ride app, and features Chance The Rapper, Diplo, K-pop types G-Dragon and 2NE1's CL, and indie kids Kid Harpoon, Niki And The Dove and Michael Angelakos (of Passion Pit) amid a pretty expansive guest-list.

Heck, there's even space for Fatman Scoop and Ragga Twins, the latter of whom are first on, via a track called 'All Is Fair In Love And Brostep'. Because, of course it is.

Anyway, download the app at this link, and look on past it for the LP's tracklisting:

All Is Fair In Love And Brostep (feat Ragga Twins)
Recess (feat Kill The Noise, Fatman Scoop and Michael Angelakos)
Stranger (feat KillaGraham and Sam Dew
Try It Out (Neon Mix) (feat Alvin Risk)
Coast Is Clear (feat Chance the Rapper and The Social Experiment)
Dirty Vibe (feat Diplo, G-Dragon and CL)
Ragga Bomb (feat Ragga Twins)
Doompy Poomp
Fuck That
Ease My Mind (feat Niki And The Dove)
Fire Away (feat Kid Harpoon)

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SBTRKT unveils six new instrumentals
SBTRKT has released a fresh new set of tracks titled 'Transitions'. All six are purely instrumental, and overlap time-wise with SBTRKT's still-TBA second LP, and thus show some of his workings in making that.

"Much of the music I released before my debut album was instrumental and I want to continue to share this side of the music I make", says the producer.

'Transitions' will be released digitally and on vinyl, with its tracks arriving in sequenced pairs, 2 by 2, on 5 May, 19 May, and 2 Jun. Pending that, it's streaming on an interactive site designed by Japanese agency PARTY and A Hidden Place, creator of SBRTK's tribal mask.

Go and have your audiovisual fun with it via www.transitions.sbtrkt.com

Gigs & Tours Round-Up: Pet Shop Boys, A$AP Ferg, Paolo Nutini and White Hinterland
Pet Shop Boys have switched up their current (current!) Electric Tour with some new shows, and news of a headlining set at this year's Bingley Music Live festival. Isn't that exciting? Check each and every detail of the new dates, the first of which is on 29 May at the Brighton Centre, via this link.

The PSBs have been especially active this week, releasing a new track that celebrates a gay rights speech made by Irish drag queen Panti Bliss at an event in Dublin earlier this year. Hear 'The Best Gay Possible', which features Bliss' entire speech, here.

Over to A$AP Rocky's mob cohort A$AP Ferg now, who - having released his first LP 'Trap Lord' last year - will top his first British bill via a solo show at London's 100 Club on 18 Mar. That's 'solo', but with support from A$AP Nast and NTS DJ Martelo. It's one of those Converse-sponsored occasions, and so tickets don't cost a thing. You'll have to make a bid to win a pair, though, at this link.

Household name Paolo Nutini will burn his latest studio album 'Caustic Love' into fans' minds on a solo tour of the UK. It'll take place once the LP has come out (on 14 Apr), starting on 24 May at Manchester's Apollo. The last of the shows, of which eight exist, is on 3 Jun at the Roundhouse in London town.

This is a link to the full tour listings, and this other thing is Paolo's latest single 'Scream (Funk My Life Up).

Finally, dark and dreamy pop aesthete White Hinterland, real name Casey Dienel, has listed a sequence of live dates complementing her third LP 'Baby', which is released via Dead Oceans on 31 Mar. See the dates, which begin 12 May at Leeds' Brudenell Social Club, here, and stream the 'Baby' title track here.

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Rinse and Night Slugs to host London showcases
Dance label and station Rinse is laying on an all-night Easter Party, and inviting an especially heavy load of its affiliated artists to play and DJ. Taking place on 17 Apr at Fabric in London, it'll feature sets by Jam City, Big Narstie, Novelist, Mumdance, Mssingno, and a live showing from approved Disclosure collaborator Sasha Keable.

Tickets are available now via the Fabric site.

Elsewhere in club nights Vigsy may or may not tip closer to the time, South London producer Bok Bok will MC a one-off night c/o his position as boss of the Night Slugs label. It's happening at Oval Space in London on 20 Jun, and will find Bok Bok DJing alongside Night Slugs co-chair L-Vis 1990, with also-billed drop-ins from Kelala's Fade To Mind aide Kingdom and Girl Unit.

The show is the final third of a season of 'Chapter 2' events Oval Space is presenting in May and June. The first, on 24 May, will play host to Ten Walls, KiNK and Canadian pairing Bob Moses, while the mid-way mark on 5 Jun features Brandt Brauer Frick, Johannes Brecht and Sashienne. Find details via the venue's website, and in this trailer.

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Festival Line-Up Update: Hop Farm Festival, Bingley Music Live and more
So the main order of FLUU service today is to present you with new line-up additions to this year's 'better-than-ever' Hop Farm Festival (that's this Hop Farm Festival), Yorkshire pop picnic Bingley Music Live and - as the headline states - more.

So let's get straight to that...

BINGLEY MUSIC LIVE, Myrtle Park, Bingley, Yorkshire, 29-31 Aug: Pet Shop Boys, Shed Seven, Gaz Coombes, Gorgon City, Chloe Howl, MNEK, Naughty Boy, Simon & Oscar (Ocean Colour Scene), John Lennon McCullagh, The Wytches, Champs, Etta Bond. www.bingleymusiclive.com

BLOODSTOCK, Catton Hall, Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, 7-10 Aug: Shining, Skyclad, The Mercy House, Krokodil, Avatar, Morgue Orgy. www.bloodstock.uk.com

BOARDMASTERS, Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall, 6-10 Aug: Snoop Dogg. www.boardmasters.co.uk

BUSHMILLS LIVE, Old Bushmills Distillery, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 11-12 Jun: The 1975. www.facebook.com/bushmills

FURY FEST, East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 10 May: Drug Church, Headroom, Malevolence, Desolated, Shields, Arcane Addiction, Doomed From Day One, Buckle Tongue. www.facebook.com/furyfestuk

HARD ROCK HELL, Haven Holiday Park, Gwynedd, Wales, 13-16 Nov: WASP, MSG, Y&T, Diamond Head, Bonafide, Electric Mary, Grifter, Heavy Metal Kids, Carousel Vertigo. www.hardrockhell.com

HOP FARM FESTIVAL, Hop Farm Country Park, Paddock Wood, Kent, 4-6 Jul: Ray Davies, Deacon Blue, James Blunt, Caro Emerald, Squeeze,Billy Ocean, Dr John, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Eliza Doolittle, Charlotte Church, The Family Rain, Slow Club, Maximo Park, Midlake, Marc Almond, Scouting For Girls, Echo And The Bunnymen, 10cc, Bellowhead, The Feeling, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Treetop Flyers, Cara Dillon & The Orchestra Of Ireland, Nick Lowe, Daptone Super Soul Review, Jukebox the Ghost, Arrested Development, Paul Carrack, Moya, Peter Hook And The Light, The Full English, Ian McNabb, The Beat, Ren Harvieau, Polly and Billet Doux, Bridie Jackson And The Arbour, My Darling Clementine, Loyd Grossman & The New Forbidden, Danny & The Champions of The World, The Royal Southern Brotherhood, Curtis Stigers, Tony Joe White, Brassroots, The All Stars Collective, Zoe Rahman, The Jacqui Dankworth Band, Gabby Young and Other Animals, Dana Fuchs, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Yolanda Brown, Zara McFarlane, Soft Machine Legacy, Babajack, Laurence Jones, Josephine, Toby Jepson, Cameron Pierre, Ian Mclagan, Virgil And The Accelerators, Pacifico Blues, The Weave, Big Boy Bloater And The Limits, Simon McBride. www.thehopfarmmusicfestival.com

INCUBATE, Spoorlaan 400, Tilburg, Netherlands, 15-21 Sep: 65daysofstatic, Current 93, Wovenhand, Joel Phelps, Marissa Nadler, Untold, Skullflower, Tuxedomoon, RAUM, Woods, Basic House, James Pants. incubate.org

TRAMLINES, various venues, Sheffield, 25-27 Jul: Public Enemy, Maurice Fulton, Luke Solomon, Sky Larkin, The Heatwave, Prince Fatty feat Horseman, Cholobian, Battle Lines, Best Friends. www.tramlines.org.uk

Allen concedes new records so far "docile pop rubbish"
Lily Allen has told a fan that while her recent output might be "docile pop rubbish", she has some good new material in the bag, it's just her label and radio chiefs have prioritised the dross. Because that's what labels and radio chiefs always do, everyone knows that.

Allen was responding to a rather rude fan tweet which read "@lilyallen's new music is actually docile pop rubbish. So disappointing. She properly just wrote some rubbish to cash some cheques".

To which Allen responded: "What you've heard so far, yes. All I can do is do my best, the labels and the radio stations won't play the better stuff".

Of course the real villain here has just got off scot free. It was, after all, John Lewis which commissioned Allen's tedious cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' for their yawn-inducing pre-Christmas bears cartoon. And for all their being a cuddly cooperative run for the mutual benefit of employees and customers rather than money-grabbing City types, we all know that deep down John Lewis is actually evil.