Spotify launches new artist data platform
Spotify yesterday announced it was putting Fan Insights into beta, a new dashboard that aims to give artists and their management teams access to data about how their music is being consumed on the streaming platform, and also some help in processing and utilising that information.

The streaming firm has provided data tools to managers before as part of its Spotify Artists outreach programme, recognising that an artist's management team doesn't necessarily have access to the information labels receive about listening on the platform. But that stat-sharing was initially achieved via an alliance with Next Big Sound, the music data firm bought by rival Pandora back in May.

The new Fan Insights platform is an in-house solution, which has been developed with the input of managers who are data-hungry but, at the same time, have sometimes struggled to process the flood of data the growth of digital sales and content channels have provided. With desktop and mobile versions, the service is currently in beta - managers can request access - but will be rolled out properly in the coming months.

Announcing the new service, and dropping some new stats in the process, Spotify said: "With over 75 million users and 1.7 billion hours of listening each month - which adds up to 20 billion listening hours a year (and growing) - Spotify has the largest, most engaged audience in the world. This high level of fan engagement opens up a big opportunity for artists to understand their fans more deeply".

It went on: "We're constantly looking for ways to bring artists and fans closer together and we've worked closely with artists and their teams to understand the most useful insights we can provide. We're excited to get additional feedback from more artists as we continue improving the product. Our ultimate goal is to help artists make more informed decisions about how to establish meaningful connections with their audience".

Spotify was perhaps first among the streamers to recognise that - with some artists getting tetchy about streaming royalties - providing data to help inform each act's live, marketing and direct-to-fan activity was one way of placating critics in the artist community.

Pandora has also increasingly been dabbling in this space, hence the Next Big Sound acquisition, and - with the US-based personalised radio firm possibly set to compete more head-on with Spotify, through global expansion and a move into on-demand - the two big streaming companies will likely seek to out-perform each other in the data delivery domain.

That will likely also mean bringing sales and marketing tools into the mix in a more full-on fashion, though streaming firms will be wary of damaging their user experience if they give artists - and labels for that matter - too much direct access to fans streaming their tunes.

Gary Glitter loses appeal over assault and rape charges
Gary Glitter has lost an appeal against his conviction earlier this year on assault and rape charges. Appeal judges ruled that there was nothing "unsafe" about the conclusion reached in the one-time popstar's trial earlier this year.

Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was jailed for sixteen years after being found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, one of attempted rape, and one of having sex with a girl under the age of thirteen. The charges related to incidents that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In the appeal hearing, Gadd's legal team argued that media coverage had meant it was impossible for their client to get a fair trail. But the appeals court rejected that argument. In the original hearing, the judge overseeing the case said that Gadd had done "real and lasting damage" to his victims.

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US man gets three years jail time for running piracy site
A man has been jailed for three years for running a US-based piracy website called RockDizMusic.com, which distributed millions of tracks without permission from copyright owners, including pre-release music.

Rocky P Ouprasith will also have to serve two years on supervised release, forfeit just over $50,000 and make a restitution payment of over $45,000, after pleading guilty to criminal copyright infringement in relation to his former venture.

RockDizMusic.com, which paid affiliates to upload content, was shut down by the authorities just over a year ago. The Recording Industry Association Of America reckoned that, during its three years online, RockDizMusic.com became the second largest online music piracy operation in the US. Although Ouprasith was based in North Carolina, his site was hosted in France and Canada, while content files were stored on servers in Russia, France and the Netherlands.

Music rights owners will likely welcome the custodial sentence. Some record industry leaders have been calling for the operators of prolific online piracy operations to receive sentences more in line with those that people who run bootleg CD factories often face.

Meanwhile Dana J Boente, US Attorney for the Eastern District Of Virginia, whose office announced the sentence, told reporters: "Ouprasith operated the second largest online file-sharing site in the United States, averaging nearly 4.5 million visits per month and resulting in an estimated collective loss of more than $10 million per month to the rightful owners".

Commenting on the sentence itself, he continued: "I believe this sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and will promote greater respect for the law and property rights of others. I want to thank my prosecutors and our investigative partners for their outstanding work in this case".

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Law firm Lee & Thompson merges with litigation experts Forbes Anderson Free
Media and entertainment law firm Lee & Thompson has announced it is merging with specialist media and entertainment litigation company Forbes Anderson Free. The combined company will trade under the Lee & Thompson name, with the Forbes Anderson Free team relocating to the former's London office.

The company says that the merger will "further strengthen Lee & Thompson's well established media and entertainment litigation group to create the largest contentious music practice of its kind in the UK, with a total of thirteen lawyers handling contentious matters for the music, entertainment and media world".

Following the merger, Forbes Anderson Free founder Andrew Forbes will head up the combined firm's Dispute Resolution Group, while Gordon Williams, who currently leads Lee & Thompson's litigation team, will continue to run the company's Brand Protection Group.

Confirming all this, Lawrence Engel, Head of Music at Lee & Thompson, told reporters: "Andrew Forbes and I go back a long way, and he and his partners at Forbes Anderson Free have done a superb job in building a firm that is truly at the top of its game. We are delighted to be able to come together in this way, adding further expertise and depth to our already strong contentious and non-contentious offering for the music industry".

Meanwhile Forbes added: "We have, of course, been aware of Lee & Thompson and its first class reputation in music for many years. This merger feels like the perfect fit, both firms sharing a very similar culture, approach and vision. This is a fantastic opportunity to create an even greater powerhouse in the music and wider entertainment world, which we believe will bring great benefits to our respective clients and teams".

New board elected for digital rights group Merlin
Indie label digital rights agency Merlin yesterday confirmed the results of its board elections. The organisation, which negotiates digital deals for a sizable slice of the indie label community, has a board of fifteen label representatives, five from North America, five from Europe and five from the rest of the world.

Beggars Group boss Martin Mills was re-appointed as chairman of the organisation, while Because, Phonofile, !K7 and [PIAS] are the other European labels represented on the board. From North America, there are reps from Epitaph, CV America, Secret City Records, Tommy Boy and the Secretly Group, while Hong Kong's Evolution Music, Australia's Inertia, Brazil's Delira Musica, New Zealand's Dunedinmusic.com and South Africa's Africori all also provide execs to the committee.

Commenting on the latest elections, Merlin CEO Charles Caldas told reporters that he was "delighted that so many of our members took the opportunity to vote in this election, and that Merlin remains of such importance to their digital business. The two years ahead will be critical for the independent label sector, but Merlin is in better shape than ever to help our members realise the opportunities ahead".

Stornaway members seek to raise £300,000 for new show-booking platform
Members of indie folk band Stornoway are in the final stages of a Crowdcube fundraising campaign to further develop an online gig booking business they began last year after winning a £20,000 prize from the Oxford Business School.

The start-up business, called Tigmus (or This Is Good Music), provides tools for artists to book and manage gigs at 750 "unusual venues across the UK and Europe". The band's bassist Oli Steadman, who is co-leading the new venture, says: "We've played on some of the biggest stages all over the world, but the gigs that stand out for me are those intimate ones in slightly crazy spaces. The fans absolutely love it because they get right up close to the music and get to be part of the action. That's what inspired us to create Tigmus".

Tigmus describes itself as being similar to Airbnb "where live music spaces are listed for artists to book one-off shows or entire tours. Social media analytics on the site guide artists on when and where to play and also recommends appropriate local support acts, to maximise audiences and revenue for each show. Acts can set their own fee and entry price, monitor ticket sales and connect with fans direct".

Tom Hodgson, trumpet player for the band and CEO of the Tigmus company, adds: "We want to revolutionise the live music scene, from the very biggest bands to the newest acts. Tigmus is a music community that uses smart data to help bands and fans interact. We have already found that, using Tigmus, artists earn an average 30% more per show and fans are paying around 30% less for tickets".

Just over a hundred shows have so far been booked via the platform, which is now seeking up to £300,000 to fund expansion. Details of the Crowdcube campaign are here.

Bauer closes FHM and Zoo
Magazine maker Bauer Media yesterday announced it was "suspending publication" of lad mag titles FHM and Zoo. Despite Bauer using the word "suspension" in its statement, it is thought both the print and online outlets of these two publications will be wound down by the end of the year.

FHM launched in 1985 as the quarterly For Him Magazine, but really took off after being revamped as a monthly in the mid-1990s, as the British lad mag phenomenon first started to gain momentum. At its peak FHM was selling over 700,000 copies a month, compared to its recent monthly circulation of 67,000.

Weekly magazine Zoo launched in 2004, even though the lad mag market already seemed to be peaking. The title mainly competed with Nuts, another weekly launched the same year by IPC, now Time Inc UK. Nuts ceased publication last year.

With just a few exceptions, the magazine sector at large continues to struggle, with print circulations declining across the board. Many established titles were relatively late to the party online, having initially used their websites to mainly sell subscriptions to their print products, while even those that quickly embraced the web and built sizable audiences online often find it hard to turn their websites and apps into serious revenue.

Some have been able to build sponsorable or premium products around their publications, while others are turning to the dreaded branded content business. Some still hope the online subscription model can work long-term, though few consumer titles have as yet cracked this, or even dared to construct a pay-wall around their entire website.

Of all the magazine categories, the good old lads mag has possibly experienced the fastest decline in print circulations (though music is a close runner-up), as readers have turned to social media for quirky stats and inane chatter, and to online porn hubs for nudity and sex. Plus freebie title Shortlist probably fills any remaining editorial gaps.

Even the archetypal lads mag, Loaded, shut down earlier this year, despite a shift in editorial priorities last year. Though it did relaunch as an online-only set up earlier this month, which may or may not as yet work out.

Meanwhile, confirming its lad mags were dead, Bauer Publisher Gareth Cherriman said yesterday: "I greatly appreciate [Editor In Chief] Damien McSorley's leadership and the dedication and effort from both teams. I would like to thank our advertisers and retailers who have supported the brands and I'm sure that everyone who has worked on FHM and Zoo over the years will be sorry to hear this news".

Zayn Malik speaks, previews new music
Zayn Malik has done a big interview with Fader, thus cementing his position as the coolest ex-member of One Direction. Or only ex-member of One Direction, as I guess he technically still remains for the moment.

Some highlights of the interview:

• Zayn's "fired up a spliff" within six paragraphs
• Fans ring his doorbell in the middle of the night hoping he'll be too tired not to realise he shouldn't talk to them
• He's proud to be a Muslim popstar but doesn't consider himself or want to be a spokesperson for his religion
• The members of One Direction find fan conspiracy theories that they're in various relationships with each other difficult, because it affects how they act around each other in public
• Zayn himself is slightly perplexed about having been cast as "the mysterious one" but recognises that it helped sell stuff
• If he tried to put some of his own style into a vocal recording in 1D it would be re-recorded "50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as fuck, so they could use that version"
• He "wanted to go home from the beginning", and then in March woke up one day and realised it was time to do just that
• He's recorded his album with Frank Ocean producer James 'Malay' Ho
• Some of their recording was done on camping trips
• This is where Zayn got into archery
• Zayn is into archery
• He has enough money now, so doesn't "need you to buy [his solo music] on a mass scale for me to feel satisfied"

Find out about all this and more in the full interview here.

Meanwhile, Malik - as we clearly just said - has now recorded a debut solo album, and you can hear a bit of a new song, called 'Befour', in the background of this video that accompanies the Fader interview. A video in which the singer says these words: "As I got older I guess I just started listening to a lot of my dad's old records, like 90s stuff". And if that doesn't make you feel old, well done on being so fucking young, you little shit.

New Adele album clips accidentally leaked
Sometimes when you're putting stuff on the internet, you accidentally put up something you shouldn't. A slip of the finger and suddenly something's be made available a few days sooner than intended. Sometimes you notice straight away and take it down before anyone else sees it. Sometimes you don't. But of all the things in the world, one thing you definitely don't want to accidentally put up in this way is the new Adele album. Fucking hell, anything but that.

So pray a moment of silence and deepest sympathy for online music store Juno this morning, for whom the worst happened last night. When putting the product page for new Adele record '25' live, two minute clips of every song on the album were also uploaded. The files were removed after the matter was brought to the retailer's attention. Though unfortunately, the matter was brought to the retailer's attention by a great many people who had already noticed.

As word of the Juno leak spread, it was also rumoured that Target in the US had begun selling CDs of the album early, but this was apparently a hoax. So at least there's that.

Anyway, please make sure you wait until New Music Friday(s) to listen to '25' in an appropriate manner. What fun are two minute clips anyway? Here, watch this video of Adele singing a live studio version of a whole song, 'When We Were Young'.

Prince postpones solo piano tour
Prince's previously announced solo tour has been postponed "until further notice" in the wake of events in Paris last Friday night.

Danish promoter ICO Concerts, which was booking the European tour said in a statement: "Due to the tragic event in Paris, [we] have decided to postpone the European tour until further notice".

Prince announced earlier this month plans to perform various dates around Europe with just a piano and a microphone, with a run of four UK shows starting in Glasgow on 27 Nov. As previously reported, the release of tickets had already been suspended after some turned up on secondary sites before even going properly on sale on Friday morning.

Various other artists, including U2, Deftones, and Foo Fighters, have cancelled European shows since Friday's attacks in the French capital, the most deadly of which took place at an Eagles Of Death Metal concert.

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MS MR recall performing in Paris the night of attacks, vow to continue tour
MS MR have posted on Facebook that they are feeling "rattled and deeply distressed", having been performing near the Bataclan venue in Paris on Friday night. But, they add, they are continuing their European tour as "our form of resistance".

The band had just finished their show at Le Trabendo when the attacks at Bataclan began. "The whole thing simply hit too close to home - it started only ten minutes away from where we were, in a venue so similar to the one we were playing, to another American band", they wrote. "In all of its randomness, it could have been us, it could have been our fans, and it WAS our promoter, who was shot in the chest (thankfully he will survive) after leaving our show to attend the performance at the Bataclan".

They continued: "It was a huge challenge to perform the next night in Amsterdam and last night in Zurich, but the only way to fight this kind of attack on the people and spaces we hold close is to continue on with our lives. Playing a rock show is our form of resistance: every night we try to create a safe space for the wildest forms of personal expression and to bring a little joy and fun to the world, the very things this sort of terrorism is trying to extinguish".

The duo are currently in Germany, where they have a number of shows booked, and will finish their tour in Prague on 23 Nov. "We would be lying if we didn't admit that there is a deep sadness and unsettledness surrounding the tour", they said. "But now more than ever we need to continue to support and share our love and enthusiasm for music and community".

Read the full post here.

The Qemists, Dave Grohl, Andy Burrows, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Amazing Media's Amazing Record Co has another new signing, this one The Qemists. Their first single under the deal will be 'Run You', out on 15 Jan. They'll also be on tour later this month into December.

• Dave Grohl is going to appear in an episode of the new series of 'The Muppets', according to Variety.

• Drummer Andy Burrows has been cast in the role of the drummer in Ricky Gervais's upcoming David Brent movie. That's typecasting for you.

• The second Last Shadow Puppets album is "finished" and will be "out next year sometime", according to producer James Ford.

• Here's another new song from Kyla La Grange. This one's called 'Skin'.

• Tool have announced some US live shows in January. Which may or may not mean there will be a) more elsewhere b) a new album next year.

• So the Common People festival from Team Bestival, launched in Southampton back in May, will have a line-up-sharing twin in Oxford next year. Bestival HQ is "buzzing with excitement", says boss Rob Da Bank. I hope it is excitement and not an infestation of bees.

If asked, Louis Tomlinson might become an X-Factor judge
Louis Tomlinson would "probably" and "maybe" become an 'X-Factor' judge, if asked. Not quite the insight of Zayn Malik's Fader interview, but you can't have everything. The One Direction singer was rumoured for the job earlier this year, but it didn't happen on account of him being in the world's most successful pop group and therefore quite busy.

With all that soon to be over though, he told James Corden in an interview for Apple Music: "Yeah, I probably would [be an 'X-Factor judge]. I mean, if they asked me, but yeah, maybe, yeah".

He's going to need to be a bit more committal than that if he actually wants to do it, because the rumour is that the talent show's deal with ITV won't be renewed when it comes to an end next year. Claims fuelled by ITV's recent nabbing of 'The Voice' from the BBC.

That said, an ITV spokesperson has told the Daily Star that the broadcaster "fully intends" to keep flogging the 'X-Factor' horse "into 2017 and beyond", so maybe he's OK.