Key YouTube music man steps down
One of YouTube's main music men, Chris LaRosa, is departing the video streaming giant to go and join one of those trendy start-ups you have these days.

LaRosa has been with the Google subsidiary for seven years, and played a key role in the expansion of music content on the video platform, and in managing the firm's relationships with the music companies, including getting YouTube stats to count towards the Billboard 100 singles chart.

And more recently, of course, he has been involved in YouTube's somewhat delayed attempt to move into streaming audio with a Spotify-competing subscription-based music offer. You know, the one for which YouTube has been trying to strong-arm the indies into agreeing to less favourable rates by threatening to withdraw their video-monetisation privileges.

There was speculation yesterday that LaRosa's departure would further delay the launch of the new YouTube music service, though Google has denied that is so, confirming it has a whole department of people dedicated to screwing over independent labels, musicians and songwriters, so the screwing can continue unaffected without LaRosa's hands-on guidance.

Well, what a Google moogle actually told Billboard after the Wall Street Journal claimed that LaRosa's exit created "yet another hurdle for the long-delayed [audio streaming] project" was this: "It's a loss and he will be missed, but there are several people, senior and frontline, working on music. We're not that concerned from a product perspective".

No word yesterday as to what start-up LaRosa is joining, except that it is being led by a "long-time associate". I bet it's a game-changing, disruptive, ephemeral, frictionless, curated, fully immersive gamification of something though. That's a no-brainer.

Pharrell Williams seeks summary judgement in his favour in 'Blurred Lines' dispute
Legal reps for Pharrell Williams have filed a motion calling for the legal battle he, and his cohort in rape-promoting-pop-pap Robin Thicke, are fighting against the descendants of Marvin Gaye to be ruled in his favour without going to trial.

As previously reported, Williams and Thicke themselves kickstarted the litigation on this one, after it was alleged that pop hit 'Blurred Lines' (a track which, it turns out, should have been about grammar) lifted heavily from Gaye's song 'Got To Give It Up'. The two men wanted a judge to confirm that their controversial smash hit did not infringe the Gaye work. The Gaye family promptly responded with their own litigation seeking damages for the alleged infringement.

Lawyers for popular producer and prolific hat wearer Williams cite various arguments as to why the case should now be resolved by summary judgement, without trial, in their client's favour. For starters, they claim that the whole dispute began because Thicke admitted to being heavily influenced by the Gaye track in an interview and, says Williams' attorneys, "the defendants smelled money and rushed to make their infringement demand".

But influence does not an infringement make, the legal men continue, before pulling apart one of those musicologist reports, prepared for the Gayes, which formally outlines the lifting that took place. According to The Hollywood Reporter Team Pharrell say many of the similarities cited in that report are generic elements of many pop songs.

And others, they say, while appearing in the 'Got To Give It Up' sound recording, were studio production add-ons rather than being part of Gaye's original composition. A distinction that's relevant because the Gaye family are suing for infringement of the publishing rather than recording rights.

Unsurprisingly, Williams' lawyers also point out that the Gaye family's own music publisher, EMI, recommended against suing over 'Blurred Lines'. Though the Gayes, of course, have argued that that was because EMI Publishing parent company Sony/ATV also reps Williams, so had a conflict of interest. Separate litigation between the Gayes and EMI on that matter has been settled, with Williams and Thicke's lawyers last seen trying to find out what was said between the Gaye family and the music publisher to aid their case.

Concluding, Williams' legal reps say that there is just no actual tangible similarity between 'Blurred Lines' and 'Got To Give It Up', beyond Thicke being influenced by the latter when recording the former. It remains to be seen how Team Gaye now respond to this latest filing.

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Adele's son awarded damages over paparazzi photos
Adele's one year old son Angelo has been awarded damages off a photo agency which took pictures of him and his parents without their permission. The singer argued that the photographs infringed the child's privacy.

The legal action was launched after Corbis Images UK shopped a number of photographs featuring Angelo to the UK press. These, said Adele's lawyer Jenny Afia yesterday, captured his "milestone moments, such as his first family outing and his first trip to playgroup, [and] were photographed and published worldwide expressly against his family's wishes".

Afia added: "The parents' view is that these images were of routine, everyday family occasions which the paparazzi has no right to intrude upon, profit from and file away in picture libraries for future reference and use".

Corbis agreed to pay undisclosed damages, which will be held in trust for Angelo, and legal costs, as well as agreeing not to use the photos again in future. The company also passed on the names of the freelance photographers who took the pictures, to whom Afia's Schillings law firm has now written, warning them of further legal action if they target Angelo again.

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Ian Watkins' appeal application refused
Former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins' bid to appeal against the length of his sentence on child abuse charges has been rejected.

As previously reported, Watkins was sentenced to 29 years in prison, plus an additional six years on licence, after pleading guilty to charges including the attempted rape an eleven month old baby, and making and possessing images of the sexual abuse of children.

He did not contest his conviction, but argued that he had been treated too harshly when sentenced. However, a panel of three judges at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday refused him leave to appeal, along with one of his two unnamed co-defendants.

Watkins' representative Sally O'Neill argued in court that her client's sentence should be reduced because the singer's offences were "not the worst that can happen".

However, ruling on the application to appeal, judge Christopher Pitchford said: "These were offences against infant children of such shocking depravity that a very lengthy sentence of imprisonment was demanded, not withstanding the absence of physical injury. It is not demonstrated that the total sentence of 29 years together with the extended licence period was arguably manifestly excessive. Accordingly, the application in his case is refused".

Meanwhile, an Independent Police Complaint Commission inquiry into claims that police did not do enough to bring Watkins to justice earlier continues. In May, seven officers from three police forces were served with gross misconduct notices.

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Duran Duran sue their own fanclub
Duran Duran are suing their own fanclub because, well, it makes a great headline so why not?

Technically they are suing Chicago-based WorldWide Fan Clubs Inc, which entered into a deal to run a fan club for the British band back in 2010. Under the contract WorldWide would take membership fees, service fans, sell merch and keep accurate accounts.

And crucially pay Duran Duran 75% of any profits. According to a lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court and reported on by the Chicago Sun-Times, the band claim that accurate accounts were not infact provided and that they haven't been paid all they are due either.

According to the Sun-Times the band is seeking $40,000 in damages. WorldWide Fan Clubs is yet to comment.

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Tulisa's PA issues apology over Simon Cowell gay claims
Tulisa Contostavlos' personal assistant Gareth Varey has issued an apology to Simon Cowell, after a recording of him claiming that the 'X-Factor' chief is gay was played during the N-Dubz star's high profile drugs trial last week.

As previously reported, following the collapse of the trial earlier this week, a spokesperson for Cowell said: "In 2014 the question of whether someone is or is not gay is antiquated. However, the issue was the false suggestion made by Mr Varey that Simon - who is renowned for his honesty and candidness - had thus not been truthful in the public arena and this is what we have been obliged to clarify".

In a statement yesterday, Varey said: "On 10 May 2013, in the course of seeking to entrap Tulisa, Mazher Mahmood supplied Tulisa, me and others with a lot of alcohol... I can no longer recall all of the details of that evening but I have listened to the recording made by Mahmood. I was clearly very drunk".

He continued: "At some point and utterly out of the blue Mahmood asked me if Simon Cowell was gay. I said he was. This is not true. I do not know why I said it, but assume it is because I was so drunk and felt that I was giving Mahmood the type of information he was seeking. I am very sorry for this".

Culture Minister to address BPI AGM in September
One for fans of annual general meetings now, and the next AGM extravaganza for members of record label trade group the BPI is on 1 Sep in London town. At the ME London Hotel on The Strand no less.

It will see Tony Wadsworth give his final address as Chairman of the organisation, plus there will be guest speeches by the government's culture dude Sajid Javid and the BBC's Director Of Music Bob Shennan. There'll also be a panel discussion on funding for labels.

Full details of the day and the BPI Council elections that will also take place will be sent to members. So keep an eye on that letterbox, people.

Marvin Hume returns with LuvBug
Former JLS singer Marvin Humes has announced the debut single of his new project, dance music trio LuvBug. 'Resonance' featuring Talay Riley will be out through Universal/Polydor on 28 Sep.

Speaking about the group, completed by producers JKAY and The White N3rd, Humes said: "LuvBug has been a project in the making for a long time now and I'm so excited that it's finally out there! Working with JKAY and N3rd over the years has been brilliant and I can't wait for everyone to hear all of our music!"

So there you are. Here's the track.

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Kele announces second solo album
Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has announced his second solo album, 'Trick', will be released on 13 Oct, via a partnership with Kobalt Label Services.

I don't really know a lot else apart from that. The press release says that one of the tracks, 'Closer', features "a female vocal". So that's something to look forward to.

Here's one of those teaser trailer things.

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SBTRKT announces new album, tour dates
SBTRKT has proclaimed details of his new album. It will be called 'Wonder Where We Land'. It will be out on 22 Sep. The label will be Young Turks. And the first single will be 'New Drop. New York', which features Ezra Koenig off of Vampire Weekend.

Other guests on the album include Jessie Ware, Sampha, Chairlift's Caroline Polachek, Koreless and A$AP Ferg.

This is 'New Drop. New York', with all that Ezra Koenig singing I mentioned:

Oh, and there are tour dates too. Look:

26 Sep: Leeds, Academy
27 Sep: Glasgow, ABC
29 Sep: Bristol, Academy
30 Sep: Manchester, Albert Hall
1 Oct: Nottingham, Rock City
2 Oct: London, Brixton Academy

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Hudson Mohawke announces new EP
With his TNGT partner Lunice now work solo again, it's Hudson Mohawke's turn to put out some new music on his tod. He's announced that a whole EP, called 'Chimes', is due for release on 29 Sep.

There's good news for fans of not waiting for things though, the title track is out now. You can buy it on iTunes and stuff. Or you can stream it here.

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Esben And The Witch announce new album
Esben And The Witch have announced details of their third album, 'A New Nature', which will be released through their own Nostromo Records on 1 Sep.

You may remember that the band asked fans for help in funding a trip to Chicago to record the record with Steve Albini. And that's what happened. The system works.

But what do the band have to say about the LP now that it is recorded? This, this is what they have to say: "We wanted to create a record that had a level of purity to it. To strip away the layers and loops and see what lay beneath. To keep things naked, unadorned and raw. The three of us, in a room, making noise".

They go on: "We looked to create a more primal record, full of human emotion and sonic intensity. Drawing on themes of endurance, strength, determination and self-actualisation. Themes that have always inspired us but perhaps, only now, a few years down the line, a few years of touring under our belts, we feel we have the confidence and maturity to explore and shout about".

The band will play London's Oslo on 4 Sep, and you can listen to the first single from the album, 'Dig Your Fingers In', here.

Dry The River announce October tour
Dry The River have announced some tour dates for October, which will follow the release of their new album, 'Alarms In The Heart', on 25 Aug. Obviously.

The band have also just put out the video for the long player's first single, 'Everlasting Light', a song about which frontman Peter Liddle says: "At the time [we wrote it] Dry The River were in something of a wilderness, creatively and temporally. For me, 'Everlasting Light' represents the path out of the wilderness - a kind of unlikely moment of clarity where we remembered what its like to be a band in a room".

Here's the video. And here are those tour dates I mentioned:

2 Oct: Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
3 Oct: Cambridge, The Junction
4 Oct: Manchester, Academy 2
5 Oct: York, Fibbers
7 Oct: Hull, Welly
8 Oct: Glasgow, Oran Mor
9 Oct: Newcastle, Northumbria University
10 Oct: Birmingham, Institute
11 Oct: Oxford, Academy
14 Oct: Cardiff, Globe
15 Oct: Leeds, Cockpit
16 Oct: London, The Forum

Eels frontman to receive freedom of the City Of London
Eels frontman Mark Everett has been awarded the freedom of the City Of London ahead of his gig at the Barbican tonight. Which might lead you to think that this sort of thing happens all the time, but apparently not. Everett is apparently the first contemporary rock musician to ever receive the honour.

It's different from the last bit of recognition he got in London, anyway. Back in 2010, he was questioned by police in the city who suspected him of being a terrorist. I think because he had a beard and they were looking for someone with a beard.

Anyway, later he made a video in which he loomed large over parts of London, making it look like a toy town. He told NME at the time: "It's my way of saying, 'thanks for making me feel bad by accusing me of being a terrorist in Hyde Park this June. I'll show you. I'll make your city look like a toy'".

Now I'm not sure giving him the freedom of the city is such a great idea. Who knows what he'll do? Look at what he's already imagined doing to us. Though I suppose if he does try anything, the City authorities can just release the death metal band they're keeping in a box over by the Gerkin.