Twitter reportedly in talks to buy SoundCloud
So roll up, roll up, place your bets, which mad mega-bucks tech deal will be completed first?

Will it be Apple's $3.2 billion bid to buy Dr Dre's crappy headphones and fledgling streaming service, with added Iovine to numb the pain and sweeten the deal? Will it be Google's attempt to buy live gaming streamer Twitch, the online phenomenon that's set to make people who pretend to play football as irrationally rich and famous as the people who kick real balls for a living? Or will it be Twitter, who now seem to feel the need for a SoundCloud in which its tweetering tweeterers can tweet?

Because yes, the latest techquisition being mooted in techsville is that Twitter is in talks to buy audio sharing network SoundCloud in what could be the second place social networking giant's biggest company purchase to date, given that the last round of funding for the Berlin-based audio platform valued the firm at around $700 million. Neither side in this possible big tech deal have commented as yet since rumours that a purchase was being negotiated surfaced online last night, mainly via this Re/Code report.

There would be some logic to Twitter and SoundCloud combining. For the former, it would expand reach over night - something the now publicly-listed company's shareholders have been calling for - even if there is presumably quite a bit of crossover between the user-bases of the two companies. It would also bring what research has shown to be the most shared source of music on the Twitter platform in-house, and allow the firm to have another go at capitalising on all the music-based messaging that takes place over its network.

Though, of course, there is a problem there, in that, although many artists and some labels opt to use SoundCloud to distribute streams of their content - it being popular with core music fans, the music community itself, and many gatekeepers in the industry and the media - the audio-sharing service doesn't have any direct licensing deals with the music industry.

Because, and despite sometimes dubbing itself as the "YouTube of audio", SoundCloud has generally resisted calls for it to become a fully licensed music service, it's core business originally based on up-selling premium accounts to content makers, rather than selling subscriptions or pumping out advertising to content consumers. Something which has created tensions between SoundCloud and the labels, the latter generally loving the technology, but not necessarily the business plan.

Those tensions reportedly scuppered plans for Twitter to include SoundCloud within its ill-fated music app, the labels worrying that - although SoundCloud does comply efficiently with takedown notices from copyright owners - the Twitter music service might still have been helping distribute unlicensed content if it had included SoundCloud embeds.

There have been various moments of speculation over the years that SoundCloud was considering a new approach to help the labels generate revenue as well as distribute content, and the company has been dabbling in the advertising space of late. Which might be where this deal adds value to the audio-sharing company beyond the big pay-day for early investors, in that Twitter has a much more developed ad sales operation that could be used to properly take any new ad-funded SoundCloud products to market.

Indeed, if Twitter did buy SoundCloud in a mega-bucks deal, making the firm's backers and founders a load of cash in the process, the pressure from the music industry on the audio service to become a revenue generator for content owners would likely increase significantly overnight, making such a plan an essential part of any acquisition.

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Secret 7" confirms £41,500 raised for War Child via this year's programme
Organisers of the Secret 7" project have announced that this year's initiative raised £41,500 for War Child, taking the total raised for the charity by the programme over the last three years to £105,000.

One of the real standout elements of Record Store Day, as much previously reported, the Secret 7" venture puts white label seven-inch singles from seven musical acts inside 700 one-off record sleeves created by a range of artists and designers. This year's cover makers included Jake and Dinos Chapman, Antony Gormley, Paul Smith, Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja, Stanley Donwood, Alex Chinneck, Fred Butler and Pete Fowler.

The sleeves are exhibited in early April, and then sold for £45 a piece on Record Store Day, the neat twist being that buyers don't know whose artwork or whose music they are buying at the point of purchase. So collectible have releases from the initiative become, that this year people reportedly started queuing 36 hours ahead of doors opening to be first in line.

Confirming how much War Child would receive from this year's project, the man behind Secret 7", Kevin King, told CMU: "I'm thrilled. The project could not have gone any better in 2014. Each year I've felt as though the previous one would be difficult to top, and I've thankfully proved myself wrong each time. Secret 7" continues to grow and develop in every area and to surpass £100,000 feels very special. A big thank you to everyone who supports the project in so many ways; our partners, our sleeve designers and purchasers and volunteers. I am already looking to 2015 and the challenge to make Secret 7" even more special".

Meanwhile War Child's Director of Music, Marketing and Communications Ben Knowles told CMU: "War Child is thrilled to have been part of Secret 7" this year. It's huge success will save and change the lives of hundreds of the world's most vulnerable children. The £41,500 raised this year will directly enable us to take children living with the brutal effects of conflicts in places likes Syria and Central African Republic away from danger and into safe spaces, where we can give them the care, education and hope they need for a better future. Without Secret 7" and the support of all who gave their time, creativity and money, these children would not get this life-changing help. Thank you."

You can see this year's Secret 7" cover designs in the online gallery here.

Digital Music News does not have to reveal Grooveshark commentor's identity
Grooveshark last week was told it couldn't force the music business website Digital Music News to reveal the identity of an anonymous poster who, in 2011, made allegations against the often controversial streaming service, after DMN took an earlier ruling to the Californian appeals court.

As previously reported, the DMN poster claimed to have worked for Grooveshark and that while there s/he had been ordered by management at the company to upload copyright infringing content to the firm's platform.

Such an admission - if proven to be true - would have a big impact on Grooveshark's legal position, in that it claims that only users upload content to its servers, which allows the company to circumvent liability for copyright infringement if and when it hosts unlicensed tracks, under provisions in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That protection ceases if Groovesharkers themselves are uploading such content.

One of the major label lawsuits against Grooveshark is based on this premise, and the labels cited the DMN commentator in their initial litigation. Leading to Grooveshark demanding to know the identity of the comment poster, who - the digital firm argued - had defamed them, and in doing so hindered their legal battle with Universal Music et al.

DMN refused to hand over the data it had relating to the anonymous poster, leading to a legal battle that centered on the commenter and website's First Amendment rights, whether Grooveshark's allegations of defamation limited those rights, and whether Californian privacy laws provided further protection to the streaming firm's accuser.

At first instance the courts sided with Grooveshark, but last week the Court Of Appeal overturned that decision because, according to Torrentfreak, this "out-of-court quarrel is of no consequence to the determination of [the major labels'] lawsuit [against Grooveshark]" and "even if [the poster's] identifying information was reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence [in that case], his or her right to privacy under the California Constitution would outweigh [Grooveshark's] need for the information".

Maroon 5 sign to Interscope, confirm fifth LP
Hear this, and hear it good, because I'll say it only once. Maroon 5 have signed to Universal's Interscope Records, and will release their fifth LP, 'V', via the label on 1 Sep. It's not a radical move in that the band were already within the Universal fold, but the imprint to which they were directly signed - the JV label A&M Octone - seems to have been wound down following the most recent rejigs at the mega-major.

The follow-on to the shining sonic revelation that was and is 'Overexposed', new long player 'V' has writing and production contributions from OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Shellback and Sam Martin, and finds M5 reuniting with guitarist Jesse Carmichael, who took time out from the group in 2012, to pursue studies in "music and the healing arts".

A first 'V' single, and a series of Live Nation-backed shows, are still TBA.

Nas co-founds label
Rap lord Nas is starting a label, called Mass Appeal Records after the culture publication with which he's involved, with co-founder Peter Bittenbender. Its releases, which will include Nas' own once his deal with Universal's Def Jam is up later this year, will be distributed by Sony's RED distribution business.

Amongst the first releases to come from the new venture are a compilation LP carrying tracks by Future, Pusha-T, the A$AP Mob and Mac Miller, a set of unreleased Nas tracks titled 'The Lost Tapes 2', and a posthumous tribute to late MC Pimp C, with new beats by Mile WiLL Made It, Juicy J and DJ Mustard.

Nas informs Billboard: "I'm excited to be a part of creating and supporting future careers and legacy artists, promoting love and finding new genius to help the world. I'm going to be as involved as I need to be, but I also want to be respectful of the art and give artists the space they need to grow and become themselves".

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Downtown Publishing does deal with Amsterdam's Hot Streak
Following the launch of its London office in March, the US-based Downtown Music Publishing is now spreading to Amsterdam via a new JV with Dutch publisher Hot Streak Music, a division of Cloud 9, named Downtown Music Benelux.

Hot Streak already represents Zedd, Diplo and Armin van Buuren, and also has sub-publishing rights to catalogues including tracks by Fatboy Slim and Skrillex.

Hot Streak co-founder Lucas van Slegtenhorst will act as MD at the new firm, and he says: "I am very excited to be joining forces with Downtown to develop the premiere full service music publisher in the Benelux. This will increase our international power due to their worldwide offices from which all of our writers will benefit".

Downtown boss Justin Kalifowitz adds: "We are thrilled to partner with Lucas and Raymond [van Vliet, MD Cloud 9] in expanding Downtown to Amsterdam. It has long been one of the most vibrant music centers in the world and we couldn't be more excited to develop new opportunities for our clients and their work".

New survey confirms rising problem of tent dumping at music festivals
The Love Your Tent campaign and Buckinghamshire New University have published the results of a survey of festival-goers about the waste left by punters on festival sites, an increasingly big issue for the festival sector with logistical, environmental and commercial ramifications, and something previously highlighted by the A Greener Festival organisation.

Juliet Ross-Kelly has set up the Love Your Tent initiative on the back of environmental work she has done with the Isle Of Wight Festival, and aims to discourage an increasingly common practice amongst festival-goers in the UK and beyond, buying a dirt cheap tent for attending a festival, with the intention of just leaving it in the camping field at the end of the event. So that someone else has to dispose of it.

In the survey of 1200 festival-goers from multiple countries, 60% admitted to discarding tents at the end of festivals, with a third then saying they intended to continue doing so, and another third unable to say for certain they wouldn't do it again in the future. This despite the fact 86% of those surveyed recognised waste was a major environmental factor at festivals.

Bucks New University's Teresa Moore told CMU: "Through our research we wanted to put some data behind the annual media coverage of campsite waste at festivals. What we found confirms a growing problem which is not confined just to the UK. As tent prices continue to fall, more cheap tents are discarded at festivals. It's time for retailers to take their share of their responsibility and work with event organisers to tackle this problem".

Ross-Kelly's work at the Isle Of Wight Festival has included inviting festival-goers to sign up to a commitment regarding taking responsibility for their waste, and their tents, pointing out that by camping alongside similarly committed people festival-goers will be able to stay in a much more pleasant campsite for the duration of the event. She is encouraging other festivals to introduce similar measures, with a bid to reducing campsite waste at festivals by 10% year on year.

Ross-Kelly: "Thanks to the great support and work by Bucks we can see how much work still needs to be done to encourage a change in audience behaviour. By targeting festivals to reduce their campsite waste by 10% year on year we are leading a change that will help to protect festival culture for future generations and from the work that we've done with the Isle of Wight Festival, we know it's achievable".

Perryscope partners with Epic Rights on Woodstock brand management
International licensing and merch company (and recent SFX pick-up) Perryscope Productions is teaming with global branding, licensing and rights management firm Epic Rights to take joint charge of marketing and selling products developed around the Woodstock brand, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year.

The partnership with Woodstock Ventures - the firm that launched the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and now owns the Woodstock brand's intellectual property - will find Perryscope and Epic leading new social media and e-commerce initiatives, and Woodstock's "fashion-driven" online store, which reflects "the ongoing trend of natural and homegrown products including apparel, accessories, home goods and stationery".

A joint statement from Woodstock Ventures' Joel Rosenman, Michael Lang, and daughter of original Woodstock co-producer John Roberts, Jen Roberts, reads: "Woodstock Ventures is excited to be collaborating with these two highly successful companies. We believe this partnership will move Woodstock forward in a relevant and deserving way that respects the history and culture of the brand. At Woodstock, the gathering changed our lives, the music changed the world, and, through this new partnership, we intend to continue to be a force for positive change".

Perryscope boss Norman Perry adds: "Woodstock has remained a classic brand over the decades. There have been both a consistent presence and an ongoing expansion of the brand thanks to the many licensees engaged with it. Woodstock made a global cultural impact, awakening the world to the power of music, community and respect for nature. We look forward to working with the Epic Rights team to continue to deliver the brand's message to new generations".

New messaging highlights Spotify hold outs
In what seems to be a new move, Spotify has posted a frank message within its player alongside listings for some of the new albums that it hasn't been allowed to stream, yet.

While some artists (with the contractual right to veto) are withholding their content from Spotify et al completely, even though their labels have deals in place with the streaming services, a small group of other mainly big name acts have given access to archive content, but have chosen to delay the delivery of new releases to the streaming platforms.

This may be because of exclusivity arrangements with iTunes specifically, or simply in the belief that initial download sales will be higher if new long players are kept off the freemium and subscription services for a few months. Though whatever the motives, it's annoying for the streaming companies who are trying to provide a one-stop shop to all music content.

Whereas such albums were just inaccessible without explanation on Spotify in the past, Kieron Donoghue from Playlists.net noted yesterday that new LPs from Coldplay, The Black Keys and Beyonce are now all listed within the firm's player but with the message: "The artist or their representatives have decided not to release this album on Spotify. We are working on it and hope they will change their mind soon".

The messaging only seems to be appearing alongside records where Spotify expects to get full delivery of the music down the line, and where single releases have been made available to the service already, ie the company isn't going to start listing all and any albums not licensed to it with the "we are working on it" promise.

But still, it will be interesting to see how Coldplay, The Black Keys, Beyonce et al respond. Spotify may say it's simply communicating the facts to its customers - which it is - though you can't help thinking the message is also designed to put a little pressure on the artist to release their content to fans using the streaming platform. Which may or may not work.

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Rdio extends into nine new markets
Rdio has gone live in nine new markets, bringing the total number of countries the streaming service is operating in up to 60, compared to Spotify's 56 and Deezer's 182. The countries being Rdio-ed for the first time as of today are Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Confirming this, Rdio CEO Anthony Bay told CMU: "Rdio continues its focus to deliver the best music listening and discovery experience to every territory we bring into our global network, and to provide this premiere experience at a great value to our listeners".

He added: "We're thrilled to have been able to expand from two to 60 countries in less than four years, while also pairing this rapid growth with regular catalogue increases reflective of the amazing and distinct music that impacts the culture of each country we serve".

Uncut Editor Allan Jones steps down
Uncut Editor Allan Jones is leaving the magazine at the end of the month, its publisher IPC Media has confirmed. A music journalist since 1974, one-time Melody Maker writer Jones launched the publication back in 1997, with his departure first revealed last week. Current Deputy Editor John Mulvey will take over in his stead.

Uncut Publishing Director Jo Smalley says of Jones' time in charge of the mag: "Allan is one of a handful of editors whose encyclopedic knowledge and a history of delivering exclusives made him a legend within our industry and with our readers. Uncut was his idea, and he launched and guided it to great success at IPC, never losing sight of what affluent men with a passion for music wanted. He also cultivated a fantastically talented team at Uncut and I know he will be sorely missed by us all".

New series of CMU Insights evening seminars kick off next month
Full details are now online about the series of eight CMU Insights evening seminars that kick off on 2 Jun and which together provide a complete overview of the music business in 2014.

Exploring how artists can generate revenue, the deals they do to unlock this potential, the ins and outs of music rights, the tools and strategies for fanbase engagement, and how artist businesses are changing, over eight Monday evenings this programme provides a concise and insightful guide to the business of music, and is perfect for those seeking an introductory guide, or looking to fill the gaps in their existing knowledge, or who want to keep up to date with the latest trends and developments.

A place on the full course is just £299 and can be booked here. You can also book places at individual sessions by following the links below...

2 Jun: Revenue Streams And Music Companies
An overview of the key ways in which artists can make money from their work, and an introduction to the companies they work with, and how deals are structured. BOOK HERE

9 Jun: Music Rights - The Basics
An introduction to copyright law and how it applies to the music business, including ownership, copyright terms and how copyrights make money. BOOK HERE

16 Jun: Music Rights - Licensing
An introduction to how music licensing works, including an overview of the collective licensing system and the UK collecting societies. BOOK HERE

23 Jun: The Music Rights Sector
An overview of the various elements of the music rights sector and how they are performing in 2014, including trends in the digital music market. BOOK HERE

30 Jun: Other Music Revenues - Live, Brands & Fan Services
An overview of the other key strands of the music industry, including the live sector, brand partnerships, and the increasing importance of direct-to-fan services. BOOK HERE

7 Jul: Building A Fanbase - Social Media Tools
The role of social media in building, engaging and understanding core fanbase. BOOK HERE

14 Jul: Building A Fanbase - Music Media
The role of traditional music media - in print, online and broadcast - in building industry profile for new talent, and getting music to a more mainstream audience. BOOK HERE

21 Jul: Building A Fan-Orientated Business
How social and direct-to-fan tools, including the fan mailing list, should be used to inform an artist's business, and the new kinds of deals being done to capitalise on the potential of direct-to-fan. BOOK HERE

Jennifer Lopez has written a 'cathartic' book
Jennifer Lopez's limitless creativity has spilled over into the literary world, meaning she'll release her first book in late October.

Titled 'True Love', the diary-style text will incorporate photos, and look back on a "most defining period" in J-Lo's life, aka "the transformative two-year journey of how, as an artist and a mother, she confronted her greatest challenges, identified her biggest fears, and ultimately emerged a stronger person than she's ever been".

'She' bravely says: "Writing 'True Love' has been a deeply cathartic, personal, and vulnerable experience. If it were not for the love and courage given to me by my children, this story wouldn't have been possible. While I struggled with the decision of whether or not to release this book, I recognised that if it could touch even just one person then it would honestly become one of the most fulfilling endeavours of my life".

More fulfilling an endeavour than 'I Luh Ya Papi'? Raymond Garcia, of Penguin Group division Celebra, thinks so, and adds: "Jennifer Lopez is a remarkable author who fully invested her heart and soul into every page of her book. She channeled her unparalleled work ethic, fearless honesty, perpetual creativity, and artistic vision to realise an absolutely beautiful story that will surely touch and inspire readers around the world".

Meanwhile, linguistically in line with the book, it looks as if J-to-the-Lo is also going to release another thing, an LP possibly, titled 'First Love'. At least, that's what this photo posted on Facebook is intimating.

Gigs & Tours Round-Up: OneRepublic, Gruff Rhys, St Vincent, Girls Names, Lone and Yung Lean
So-oooo. Soft-rock optimists OneRepublic are touring in the autumn. And what a wild ride that's going to be. It's more of a 'two show run' than a tour, if I'm honest, consisting of shows at Liverpool's EchoTwo (21 Oct) and The O2 in London (22 Oct). It's one way to mark the fact that the band's third LP, 'Native', is coming forth on 27 Jul.

1R's Ryan Tedder calls it "a very modern record, a snapshot of life in 2013", adding: "It's so important to us that every album be an evolution, where we make these huge lateral movements with our sound and then from there write a bunch of great songs. It's definitely a mother of a process, but it's really the only way for us".

Anyway. Tickets to the above shows go on sale this Friday. Fix your gaze in the meantime on the new video for lead 'Native' single 'Love Runs Out'.

And guess what? Gruff Rhys has agreed to an additional show - on top of his existing festival commitments, that is - at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on 20 Sep. Tickets to the show, which will find Rhys showboating his new film/book/app release, concept LP 'American Interior', are available right now, via this link.

The always-sparkling St Vincent will follow a looming UK tour in August with another one in October, since clearly the fans are still thirsty for St V's most recent LP, 'Digital Witness'. Moving off from a first show at Manchester's Albert Hall on 22 Oct, it consists of four dates in all, at the Floral Hall at Eastbourne's Winter Gardens (23 Oct), The Institute in Birmingham (24 Oct), and the Roundhouse in London (25 Oct).

Touring the UK as soon as June are Belfast-based darkwave band Girls Names, who'll breathe new meaning into their latest LP, last year's very fine 'The New Life', via a fairly imminent series of live dates. The first British show, midway into a wider inter-continental trek, is at Brighton's Prince Albert on 16 Jun, after which the band will move on to Leeds' Brudenell Social Club (17 Jun), Norwich's Epic Studios, and twice, on the Crack Stage and at Underworld, on 20 Jun, as part of London's Camden Crawl. Here are the listings, listed.

Now it's Lone's go to confirm a show. The R&S Records-signed alt-dance artist is to play extracts of his forthcoming LP, 'Reality Testing', at the Red Gallery in London on 18 Jun, two days after its release. It's his first ever live set, and will feature a special AV display, with visuals by Display Copy/Planet Mu creative Konx on Pax. Click here to get tickets, and direct your ears to this stream of 'Reality Testing' track '2 Is 8' to hear that:

Now, you may not care a lot for 'emotional' 'Kyoto' hit-boy Yung Lean and his 'Sad' rap leanings, but the fact still remains that he's playing live at The Garage in London on 14 Aug. So you might as well get used to the idea, and, if you like, maybe get tickets to the show. And - and this is also optional - watch a trailer for his upcoming 'White Marble Tour' with all the Sad/Emotional Boys lot.

Macklemore hits back at costume critics
Macklemore has defended a costume he wore at a surprise show in Seattle last week.

Although no one seem too bothered at the gig itself, since photos of the show have surfaced online the rapper has been accused of dressing like a caricature Jewish stereotype by donning a large prosthetic nose, black wig and beard, leading to allegations the performance was anti-Semitic. That he seemingly performed his hit 'Thrift Shop' in the garb has added to accusations of pandering to negative stereotypes.

Actor Seth Rogan has been the most high profile critic of the costume, saying to the rapper via Twitter: "First you trick people into thinking you're a rapper, now you trick them into thinking you're Jewish".

Macklemore responded that there was no intent in his performance to appear like a Jewish stereotype, or to offend anyone through his costume, noting: "A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody".

Though Rogan for one wasn't impressed with the reply, responding: "Really?? Because if I told someone to put together an anti-Semitic Jew costume, they'd have that exact shopping list".

So there you go, that's a thing.