Tuesday 30 March 2010, 13:02 | By CMU Editorial

Libertines to reform for Reading

Artist News

So, all the many many many rumours of a Libertines reunion were true. Well, all the recent ones. Not the 409 reunion rumours that preceded them.

As expected, organisers of the Reading Festival announced last night that Peter Doherty, Carl Barat, Gary Powell and John Hassall will reform for their event in August, for what will be the band’s first gig since 2004. Well, they will providing Barat and Doherty don’t kill each other during rehearsals. And providing Doherty isn’t in prison. Which he really could be by late summer, given the latest round of drugs and motoring offences he is facing.

Speaking to the NME about the reunion, Barat said: “We’re reforming the band to play the songs that people want to hear. We’re going to get together, play songs which have been collecting dust in the garage. People want to hear them, so we’re going to give them a run. We’ll be playing them like we’re playing them for the last ever time”.

Doherty added: “I can’t really believe it yet. I haven’t quite digested it. It’s been a bit of a pipedream”.

Also headlining the Reading and Leeds festivals this year are Guns N Roses and Blink 182, so a real celebration of yesterday’s pop heroes. Other acts on the bill include Paramore, Dizzee Rascal, Biffy Clyro, Lostprophets and Klaxons.

Pope Joan free download

Releases

To celebrate the release of their new single, ‘Dictator’, Brighton-based post-punkers Pope Joan have released another track, ‘The Ground Is Shakey’, as a free download.

‘Dictator’ is out this week via Furious Recordings and you can download ‘The Ground Is Shakey’ here.

You can catch the band live at these dates:

24 Apr: Reading, The Bleep Test Club
3 May: London, Notting Hill Arts Club
8 May: London, The Rest Is Noise

City Showcase announces classical strand

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

City Showcase has announced that this year’s multi-venue London-based festival and convention will include a strand, dubbed ‘Roots & Flutes’, which will celebrate the depth and diversity of classical music from around the world that can be found being created and performed in London.

Taking place at the British Music Experience at The O2 and in the Arts Pavilion in Mile End Park, there will be performances from the first signing to Garry Barlow’s new record label, vocalist Camilla Kerslake, string quartet The Raven Quartet, Indian folk musician Raghu Dixit, African multi-instrumentalist Mosi Conde and China’s Guzheng Ensemble, amongst others.

Festival line-up update – 30 Mar 2010

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BEARDED THEORY FESTIVAL, Hulland Ward, Derby, 14-16 May: The King Blues head up the acts announced to play at this year’s Bearded Theory Festival, with the line-up also including New Model Army, Dreadzone, The Wonderstuff, Dodgy and Banco De Gaia. www.beardedtheory.co.uk

THE GARDEN FESTIVAL, Croatia, 2-11 Jul: Rob Da Bank, Killer Whale and 2020 Soundsystem have all been announced to play at Croatia’s Garden Festival, along with Qool DJ Marv, Metro Area, The Revenge, Filthy Dukes and Cuban Brothers. www.thegardenfestival.eu

LOUNGE ON THE FARM, Merton Farm, Canterbury, 9-11 Jul: Martha Reeves And The Vandellas have been confirmed as Saturday headliners at this year’s Lounge On The Farm. Other acts confirmed to play include Courtney Pine, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, DJ Yoda, The Glimmers, Fionn Regan plus many more. www.loungeonthefarm.co.uk

MELT FESTIVAL, Ferropolis, Germany, 16-18 Jul: Kings Of Convenience, Goldfrapp and Kele Okereke lead the latest artists confirmed for this summer’s Melt Festival. Other acts added to the bill are Miike Snow, Hercules And Love Affair, Jamie Lidell and Hurts. www.meltfestival.de

Partisan PR launch new merchandising business

Brands & Merch Business News Marketing & PR

Rob Dix and Peter Hall of Partisan PR have announced the official launch of a ‘print-on-demand’ merchandise service, which allows artists to make and sell brand merch to demand, so they don’t have to shell out large upfront payments, and don’t risk being lumbered with boxes of unsellable t-shirts. Toto Merch has been through a period of beta testing, and is now ready to go properly live.

Rob Dix told CMU: “Toto Merch makes the business of selling merchandise completely hassle-free, and removes bands’ typical problem of scraping funds together to buy in bulk then being left with boxes of unwanted sizes and colours that they can’t sell. At a time when it’s more important than ever for bands to identify new revenue streams, some of our artists are already making more than £400 a month in passive income. Toto also allows more established acts to make limited edition shirts available, creating the exclusivity that fans crave and will pay a premium for. We also make fan data with bands available so they can connect with buyers directly”.

The service can be used by labels as well as bands. One label using the service during its beta stage, Transgressive, said in a statement: “Toto Merch have allowed us to have more great designs on offer via our new t-shirt club. It is a reliable, great quality service and completely hassle-free”.

For more info, take a look at www.totomerch.com

Idol firm may be bought

Business News Media

CKX, the US entertainment firm which owns the Elvis brand and the Simon Fuller-created 19 empire, including the ‘Idol’ franchise, may fall into the hands of a consortium of equity types, led by JP Morgan Chase & Co’s equity division.

Currently trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York, word has it JP Morgan’s One Equity Partners are plotting a takeover. It’s thought the company’s founder and CEO, Robert FX Sillerman, would stay on and retain his 21% stake in the firm.

Merlin have reservations about Virgin download proposal

Digital

According to Music Week, the independent labels are yet to be convinced by the offer being made by Virgin Media to launch some sort of all-you-can-eat download service, most likely as part of an ISP package.

As previously reported, Universal last year gave its support to a truly all-you-can-eat MP3 download service, but the other majors are yet to be convinced that Virgin’s proposals are workable, with some fearing a properly all-you-can-eat MP3 platform could cannibalise other digital music services, iTunes in particular, which have become a good income stream in the last few years.

Music Week has published a memo which shows that Merlin, which represents the big independents on digital licensing issues, are also unhappy with the exact proposal Virgin has put on their table. Though it may be that Merlin object to the specific deal currently being offered, rather than the actual concept of all-you-can-eat MP3s. The memo says: “Although we are deep into negotiations with Virgin Media, we do not believe we have yet reached a point where Virgin Media’s offer in our view acceptably values a collective licence to our members’ repertoire”. But it adds that Merlin bosses are confident a deal can eventually be done.

Some in the indie community had previously worked with Virgin with a view to launching a licensed P2P file-sharing network, which arguably is just another way of positioning an all-you-can-eat MP3 service, though those plans were scuppered by major label resistance. Whether Virgin could or would launch its new digital service without the indies on board we don’t know, though it seems increasingly likely this new Virgin plan will be scuppered by the majors too, so it is unlikely the importance of the indies to the ISP will ever be properly tested.

Spotify US launch not definitely third quarter

Digital

Spotify told Music Ally yesterday that it plans to launch in the US “later this year”. Crucially, that official line is less specific than comments credited to Spotify exec Paul Brown by Bloomberg last week, who reportedly suggested the streaming music service was planning a third quarter launch in the US market. You might also take Spotify’s latest statement to mean a fourth quarter launch is looking more likely.

As previously reported, it’s speculated some of the majors won’t licence a free version of Spotify in the US market, forcing them to operate only their premium service in North America.

Total Rock World Album Chart – w/c 29 Mar 2010

Artist News

It’s this week’s Total Rock World Album Chart, as counted down on Total Rock last weekend – www.totalrock.com. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.

1. Muse – The Resistance (Warner Bros) (pictured)
2. Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back (EMI/Virgin)
3. Nickelback – Dark Horse (Warner/Roadrunner)
4. Jimi Hendrix – Valleys Of Neptune (Sony)*
5. Journey – Greatest Hits (Sony)
6. Pearl Jam – Backspacer (Universal)
7. Queen – Absolute Greatest (EMI)
8. HIM – Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice (Warner Bros)
9. Guns N Roses – Greatest Hits (Universal/Geffen)
10. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures (Sony)
11. Train – Save Me, San Francisco (Sony/Columbia)*
12. Fleetwood Mac – The Very Best Of (Warner Bros)
13. Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits (Sony)
14. Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (Warner/Roadrunner)
15. Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue (EMI)*
16. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (Warner Bros)
17. Airbourne – No Guts, No Glory (Warner/Roadrunner)*
18. Daughtry – Leave This Town (Sony)
19. Alkaline Trio – This Addiction (Hassle)
20. Paramore – Brand New Eyes (Warner/Atlantic)

50 Cent gets 50 grand for doing nothing

And Finally

Being a rapper, 50 Cent knows a thing or two about the spoken word. As a result, you have to pay top dollar if you want him to speak – £50,000 per word, apparently.

A Mirror report last weekend revealed that Fiddy attended the launch party for a new Liverpool club called Bamboo last Thursday. I’m not sure what the club’s owners were hoping for when they handed over 50 grand to secure the rapper’s attendance, but presumably more than a momentary appearance on stage and the utterance of the word “hey”. But that’s all they got.

That said, if I’d been shot nine times, I’d probably be a little nervous about staying in one place for too long. You can never be too careful.

Some Ricky Martin news

And Finally

Ricky Martin is gay. Which I thought we already knew, but apparently not. The singer and father of two issued a lengthy statement on his website yesterday to reveal the news. He said he’d kept his sexuality a secret until now on the advice of others, who told him it would adversely affect his career, but he’s now writing his autobiography and wants the truth to be known.

He told fans: “If someone asked me today: ‘Ricky, what are you afraid of?’ I would answer: ‘The blood that runs through the streets of countries at war, child slavery, terrorism, the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith’. But fear of my truth? Not at all! … I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am”.

Approved: Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

CMU Approved

Hip hop is such an uncouth genre of music, what it really needs is a bit of style and class. Thank heavens, then, for Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer. Armed with a banjolele and a full grasp of the Queen’s English, he performs odes to pipe-smoking, cricket and the fact that Lord Byron doesn’t accept friend requests from bands on MySpace, on occasion by reworking a hip hop classic in a ‘chap hop’ stylee.

Speaking of MySpace, a number of tracks from Mr B’s debut album, ‘Flattery Not Included’, can be found there. For a quick introduction to the man and his music check out ‘Timothy’, which asks why old school chum Timothy Westwood has dropped his accent (and is also available as a free download), and ‘Straight Out Of Surrey’, a reworking of a certain NWA classic which opens with the immortal line: “You are now about to witness the extent of my cricket knowledge”.

www.myspace.com/mrbthegentlemanrhymer

Q&A: Motion City Soundtrack

Artist Interviews

Starting out in 1997, Motion City Soundtrack are a pop-punk band from Minneapolis. With only two of the founding members remaining, the band now consists of original members Justin Pierre and Joshua Cain, plus Matthew Taylor, Thony Thaxton and Jesse Johnson. Motion released their debut single ‘Promenade/Carolina’ way back in 1999, followed by two EPs, and then a debut album, ‘I Am The Movie’, in 2002. Support slots with the likes of Blink 182 followed, and three further albums were unleashed over the decade via their deal with Epitaph Records. Now signed to Sony’s Columbia, they have just released their latest LP ‘My Dinosaur Life’. We caught up with Justin Pierre to ask the Same Six.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
It was truly by default, mainly because I wasn’t really any good at anything else, like sports or friendship making. I played the saxophone in my school band to start with, but eventually graduated to guitar and learned how to play Metallica songs via tablature books. I started my first band with fellow outcasts in high school. It was called Whatchufunado? True story.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
The last couple years of my life. Although, I didn’t know that at the onset. It is quite fascinating to me that the order of the songs on the record traces an almost perfect trajectory of my life, from the recording of last album ‘Even If It Kills Me’ to the beginning stages of this one.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
One of us will have a song almost put together, and bring it to the rest of the band, and we tinker until it is completed. Or somebody plays an idea to the rest of the group, and we all just instinctively join in and come up with the song on the spot. The latter method happens a lot less often, but does happen from time to time. Usually we struggle to get songs finished. There are a lot of tracks that don’t make the cut.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Too many to name, but a handful of my favourites include: Tom Waits, Ben Folds, Pavement, The Flaming Lips, Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate, Superchunk and anything else from the early to mid 90s.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
“I apologise for what you are about to hear”. Then I would say: “Just kidding”. Then I would pause for a brief moment and add: “But not really”.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I hope that it allows us to continue touring and doing what we do. That’s always been the goal.

MORE>> www.motioncitysoundtrack.com

Eddy Says: Cast your opinions into the fire

Eddy Says

That ‘Joy Of Compilations’ special that aired while I was in Andorra earlier in the month really got me thinking. Yes it was a gloriously random bit of radio programming, and it triggered some really nice messages from the extended Remix family, which ranged from “really interesting” to “radio gold”. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

While I could single out several of the compilations that featured on the show and talk about them for hours, it was one particular tune I played – Anthony Johnson feat Charjan’s ‘Every Day Is A Gunshot’ – that has left an echo in my head, and which has resonated through til now, and connected with some other thoughts and tunes to make a single thread.

That tune is from a little known compilation on Fresh Records, a division of Freskanova Records, which reflected a movement in youth culture in the late nineties that, much like dubstep now, ignited and galvanised urban youth, then spread through the country and left its legacy, like a time capsule, buried in the minds of kids who would go on to discover Pro Tools or Logic years later and resurrect those sounds.

The original is on a compilation called ‘Orijanahl’, put together by a chap called Simon Smugg, who I remember appearing on Nick Luscombe’s Flo Motion show years ago, and is a tune loved by reggae-weaned trainspotters like Dan Le Sac and Iain Baker. But, more to the point, the version on Fresh Records’ ‘Hype The Joint’ album is a remake, a DJ mash up, using beats from a scene which, at the time, I had virtually no love for but which, interestingly, I am now increasingly looking back on with much more fondness: UK garage.

When I see the phrase written down now, I still recoil slightly, remembering the waves of awfulness perpetuated in the name of that genre years ago. I remember the loathing I had for many of the characters involved in it, but the interesting thing for me is how all these things can be changed by one powerful, all conquering force: Time.

Music, and indeed pop culture, which it is a part of, are so cyclical, and I’m finding myself now fascinated by the positive echo which started with UK garage, and which you can hear right now in the most gloriously post modern productions of Jamie from The XX (his version of Florence & The Machine’s ‘You’ve Got The Love’) or Doorly’s wonderfully wonky version of Marina And The Diamonds’ ‘I Am Not A Robot’. You can hear those crisp snares in productions by Skream, and be reminded of the very best the genre had to offer when you hear Nero’s luscious remix of MJ Cole’s ‘Sincere’. Amazingly, I’m finding myself missing something I didn’t think I liked.

All of this has, as I say, got me thinking, mostly about time, and how it can really, profoundly change the way you feel about something, or someone. It’s obvious, I guess, in the context of an old flame, or an old argument, or an injury, that time heals… but less so with a perception of music.

I do love a good turn around. Robert Miles proved this, unknowingly, when he remixed The Loose Cannons, years ago, and ended up on my show, and at Remix Night. Same for Enter Shikari. Both went from being loathed to being loved in a short space of time. I love how a simple thing like a bit of time, plus a few random variables to do with the Remix show, can inexorably shift emotion and feeling.

In my head, all that shit I used to hate about garage has fallen by the wayside, gone into the fire I lit last weekend at Persian New Year, which my family celebrates each year at the vernal equinox. Without fail, we gather, build a fire and ceremonially jump over it, giving all our bad thoughts and feelings from the year to the fire, so we can start the year with a clean slate.

It’s my favourite time of year. Proper new year, from before the time organised religion showed up and ruined everything. The winter is entirely behind us and the summer is entirely ahead of us, and that optimism is embodied, for me, right now, by the fact I’m now feeling love for a genre I hated. Just time plus the positivity garnered from looking at something through somebody else’s rosier tinted eyes, has effected a marvellous u-turn in my musical memory, and made me a better person as a result.

Enjoy this time, it’s so short, but so wonderful. It starts the week before the equinox, when you get a little glimpse of warmth, a reassuring hand on your back, after the seemingly endless winter, and it ends when Wimbledon is around the corner and you’re enjoying delicious Cotswold asparagus.

Spring. It’s here. It’s maximal, it’s sexual. Love it and live it. Breathe it in, smile, and share that smile with everyone around you.

Much love,
eddy X

Eddy Says from this edition of the CMU Remix Update.

Album Review: Temposhark – Threads (Paper & Glue)

Album Reviews

Temposhark are one of a few groups who have been plying their electro-pop wares for a good few years now (ie long before Little Boots et al all made it terribly fashionable), but sadly with little commercial success or wider public acclaim.

Their second album may not change that: it’s a more rounded pop album than the more full-on synth-pop overload of previous material, but for the most part it lacks the melodic touch and electronic deftness that made their debut ‘The Invisible Line’ such a heady listen.

The brash hectoring of the first two tracks grates somewhat, though things are more relaxed from then on, with string-drenched anthemic indie pop being a surprising choice of sound for a group with a forward-thinking mentality. The title track is a notable highlight: an effortless slice of sleek mid-tempo pop suss that is exactly the kind of thing the Sugababes should now be doing, rather than all the sub Pussycat Dolls nonsense.

Elsewhere there are nods to R&B; whilst ‘Bye Bye Baby’ lacks the memorable pop hooks of Lady Gaga or Timbaland at their best, ‘Stuck’ is more successful.

By no means a bad album then, but still disappointing from a group who are capable of soaring so much higher. MS

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UK Music launch ‘Liberating Creativity’

Business News Legal Top Stories

Cross-industry trade body UK Music will today publish its previously reported ‘Liberating Creativity’ report, which includes seven proposals for how government and the creative sectors can work together to ensure a booming future for the country’s music and wider creative industries.

The main bold ambition the report sets for the UK music industry is to become the biggest in the world by 2020, an aim which will require Britain outperforming the US as the biggest music-producing country. The report notes that the UK market already has the highest CD sales to consumer ratio, the biggest greenfield festival and the most successful ticketed venue in the world. The wider music business also contributes at least £5 billion a year to the economy, of which £1.3 billion comes from export earnings. Currently second to the US, UK Music reckons becoming the world’s number one music maker is in Britain’s grasp.

UK Music chief Feargal Sharkey told reporters: “It may sound a bit jingoistic of me – and frankly I don’t care if it does – but the music thing is something we are really bloody good at. We are phenomenally good at it and we think we can go out there and genuinely dominate the world. We think we can give the Americans a good run for their money if not take them out, but we are going to need government’s help to do that”.

How the government can help is set out in the report and its seven proposals. At the top of the tree is the proposition a ‘Creative Industries Cabinet Committee’ be formed which would bring together ministers whose portfolios touch the creative sector (so culture, business, employment, IP) with executives from the major content and entertainment companies and entrepreneurs from the independent sector to talk shop, and enable decision makers and industry leaders to discuss how to further grow the influence of the UK creative industries on a worldwide scale. Or something like that. It’s proposed that the committee report directly into the Prime Minister.

That committee would presumably take the principle of UK Music, which aims to bring together the sometimes conflicting different strands of the music industry, and apply it to the wider creative sector, providing a forum where music, film, TV, gaming, theatre and art types can share ideas and opinions, with key decision makers in the room.

Elsewhere, the report will make proposals to try to make the ‘music business’ seem more professional to the outside world. Sharkey: “I think people still look at music and think it is not a proper grown-up profession and that has got to change because ironically what some people in the world of finance might dismiss as nothing more than a couple of kids making noise in the back of a pub on a Friday night, when they grow up to be big boys and girls, the contribution and the impact that they will have on the rest of society is just – if not more – significant as some bloke with a double first from Cambridge working for a merchant bank in the City of London”.

The report will be formally launched with a shindig at the Houses Of Parliament tonight.

6 fans rally outside Broadcasting House: “Leave us alone”

Media Top Stories

Hundreds of 6music fans braved the rain and amassed outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House on Saturday lunchtime to protest at the much previously reported plans of BBC management to shut the music station down.

Various presenters and supporters from and of the station spoke, while bands who have enjoyed support from 6 played acoustic mini-sets. Liz Kershaw kicked off the proceedings by telling the amassing crowd that the battle was not lost, and that if enough people lobbied the BBC Trust – who must approve the Corporation’s top guard’s plans – the station could still be saved.

Gideon Coe thanked the crowd for their support, and encouraged everyone there to ensure they, and everyone they know, made a formal complaint to the aforementioned BBC Trust, because, he said, the more people who lobby the Beeb’s regulator the higher the chance of the station being saved.

Tom Robinson said both 6 and the Asian Network were being closed mainly as the result of a “tidying exercise” by BBC management. “BBC chiefs have decided they want five radio brands, with ‘extra’ digital spin offs”, he told the protesters. “Neither 6 nor the Asian Network fit into this plan, and that’s why they are being shut”. To that end, he said it was important those make submissions to the Trust stress the need for a whole 24/7 channel dedicated to showcasing and championing new and alternative music, otherwise the Trustees might agree to a fudge where a handful of 6 shows get shoved into the graveyard shift on Radio 2.

Away from Team 6, Liberal Lord Tim Clement-Jones gave his formal support to the Save 6 campaign. He said it wasn’t for MPs to dictate how the BBC should be run, but it was right for licence fee payers to tell BBC management when they believe they’ve got it wrong, and that parliamentarians provided another forum through which 6 fans, as licence fee payers, could air their opposition. “You should write to your MPs and tell them how you feel about 6music”, he told the crowd. “The good news is, they’re going to be particularly sensitive to your opinions in the next couple of months”.

Allo Darlin and The Brute Chorus were among those who made musical contributions, while Black Soul Strangers led the crowd in a reworked version of ‘Hey Jude’ (“na na na na na na na, Save 6” etc). Mirrorkicks frontman Anil Kamalagharan shunned his guitar, climbed on top of his drummer so he could be seen by the whole crowd, and sang two songs a capella. As an outfit supported by both 6 and the Asian Network, he rallied a cheer in support of the other BBC digital station also facing the chop.

All of which led up to the grand finale, when Mr Adam Buxton took to the megaphone and joked “this is the only station in the world that would air a shambles like ‘The Adam & Joe Show’; and just when it was going so well, they shut down the whole station, that’s obviously the only way to get Adam & Joe off the air!” While admitting that Mark ‘Tommo’ Thompson and his chums had a difficult job, he said “6 is a totally unique station, providing shows and playing music and showcasing bands that simply no other radio station does, which I thought was exactly what the BBC was meant to do!”

Keen for the Save 6 massive to have a chant, he led the crowd in a call of “What do we want”, “Leave us alone”, “When do we want it”, “For a long time”. Happy faces all round, one just hopes they are happy again in May when the BBC Trust reports back on the cutback proposals.

Speaking to Radio Today, one of the 6 fans who organised the protest, Georgina Rodgers, explained why she’d proposed the rally in the first place. She said: “What I wanted to do, when I suggested that we have a protest outside Broadcasting House, is to bring the web campaign on Facebook into the real world. I think it’s very easy to say: ‘Yes, I’ll join this group on Facebook’ – but today a couple of thousand people actually turned up to vote with their feet and say: ‘We’re angry about this… we’re not happy about it… we’re very passionate about this radio station'”.

Video coverage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQjnnlQuWw
Protest Gallery: www.forfolkssake.com/news/4088/save-bbc-6-music-protest-gallery

Pictured: Adam Buxton rallies the Save 6 crowd, taken by Edward Drummond.

War Child auction off BRIT-related stuff

Prince ordered to pay €2.2 million for cancelled Dublin gig

Legal

Irish concert promoters MCD have been awarded 2.2 million euros in damages as a result of their litigation against Prince. As previously reported, MCD sued the singer after he pulled out of a Dublin concert at the last minute back in 2008.

The concert had been arranged via talent agency William Morris, a rep from which admitted in court that it was hard work getting Prince to commit to anything, and that as a result – while he had been consulted about the show – the singer hadn’t actually formally signed a contract at the point at which he pulled out of it. At that point the agency had been trying to get a meeting with the singer for some time, but one early attempt at a formal discussion regarding the concert was turned into a impromptu dinner party that was cut short when the singer left the room before any actual business could be discussed.

Interestingly, the judge specifically held Prince, and not William Morris, liable for the last minute cancellation and therefore the multi-million damages. The judge said he was making the damages public because an earlier deal between the promoter and the singer’s people had not been honoured.

MCD’s lawyer said that if payment was not now forthcoming they might apply for a European Enforcement Order in a bid to get the cash.

Jacko estate confirm no widow

Legal

In response to one of the stranger lawsuits being dealt with by the estate of the late Michael Jackson, the estate’s legal reps have submitted court papers dismissing claims by a London-based woman called Nona Paris Lola Ankhesenamun who seems to be claiming that she was the king of pop’s wife at the time of his death.

She seemingly filed a lawsuit last year claiming to be Jackson’s legitimate partner, and demanding all of the late pop star’s assets be transferred to her.

It’s apparently not the first time Ankhesenamun has claimed to have been in a relationship with Jackson; prior to his death she reportedly claimed to be the actual mother of his three children, and at one point sued for child support and co-custody of the kids while asking the courts for a legal separation from the pop star. The courts seemed a little confused at the time, and dismissed her actions due to a lack of evidence.

With Ankhesenamun’s claim now against the singer’s estate, their legal reps filed papers last week which, according to TMZ, stress: “Michael Joseph Jackson did not have a surviving spouse. He was not married at the time of his death”.

Belle & Sebastian announce Bowlie 2

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Belle & Sebastian curated the first Bowlie Weekender in 1999, before it morphed into the All Tomorrow’s Parties festivals. But, as part of ATP’s tenth anniversary celebrations, Bowlie will be back this December.

The first acts announced to play the event are Julian Cope, The Vaselines, Frightened Rabbit, Field Music, Howlin’ Rain, Those Dancing Days and, of course, Belle & Sebastian, who are back on board to curate the whole thing, hand selecting around 40 bands in total.

It’ll take place exactly where it started, at the Butlins Resort in Minehead, Somerset on 10-12 Dec. More information here: www.atpfestival.com/newsview/1003290738.php

Festival line-up update – 29 Mar 2010

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

CREAMFIELDS, Daresbury, Cheshire, 28-29 Aug: This year’s Creamfields headliners will be David Guetta and Tiesto. Also announced this weekend were Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Armin van Buuren, Leftfield, Audio Bullys, Erol Alkan, Crookers, Andy C, Benga, Kissy Sell Out and The Japanese Popstars, amongst many others. www.creamfields.com

GLASTONBURY, Worthy Farm, Somerset, 23-27 Jun: Vanilla Ice, yes, Vanilla Ice, has been confirmed to play the Sony Playstation Bar. I blame Jedward. Meanwhile, “upbeat alt-folk outfit” Ellen And The Escapades have won the Glasto Emerging Talent competition and got themselves a main stage slot, according to eFestivals, plus Bristol dance troupe Dr Meaker have been confirmed to play the Arcadia stage. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

THE GREAT ESCAPE, various venues, Brighton, 13-15 May: The Big Pink, The Walkmen, Fionn Regan, The Sunshine Underground and These New Puritans are amongst the latest acts confirmed to play at this year’s Great Escape, along with Chapel Club, Fenech Soler, Reverend Soundsystem, Goldheart Assembly and many more. www.escapegreat.com

HOP FARM FESTIVAL, Hop Farm Country Park, Kent, 3 Jul: Bob Dylan has been announced as this year’s headliner at Hop Farm, with other acts confirmed as Mumford & Sons, Seasick Steve, Pete Doherty and Laura Marling. www.thehopfarm.co.uk

LATITUDE FESTIVAL, Henham Park Estate, Suffolk, 16-18 Jul: The Temper Trap, Wild Beasts, Darwin Deez and Frank Turner head up the latest additions for this summer’s Latitude. Other acts added to the line-up are Dirty Projectors, Spook, James, Midlake, Archie Bronson Outfit, Lupen Crook and Active Child. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

WIRELESS FESTIVAL, Hyde Park, London, 3-4 Jul: Missy Elliott has been announced as the headliner of the Saturday night at this year’s Wireless, which will be her only UK festival appearance this year. Also on the bill are Friendly Fires, Chase & Status, Chipmunk, Tinie Tempah, Drake, Professor Green, Wale and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins with his side project Taylor Hawkins And The Coattail Riders. www.wirelessfestival.co.uk

Diversification to continue at HMV: Bring on the catwalk

Business News HMV Timeline Retail

HMV last week confirmed that its recent diversification strategy will continue in the coming years, as the one time record seller repositions itself as an all-round entertainment brand.

Following its recent acquisition of live music and talent management group MAMA, HMV CEO Simon Fox confirmed on Friday that live entertainment was now a key strand of the company’s operations, with ambitious targets to boost ticket sales across MAMA’s venues and festivals, and to further expand HMV Live’s venue portfolio.

The HMV high street stores will also further diversify, with fashion and technology both priorities. With an increasing number of artists dabbling in fashion lines in recent years, HMV intends to expand the clothing departments in its stores beyond the usual band t-shirts and into other music-influenced fashion products. On the technology side, it’s hoped the retailer can boost its reputation as a seller of digital media devices and even other computer kit, in particular laptops.

On the net, Fox said he hoped to use HMV’s 50% stake in 7Digital to tap into the former independent download store’s knowledge and expertise, so to improve HMV’s own online operations, in particular music downloads and eBooks.

And talking of books, a diversification plan is also in place for HMV’s other major retail enterprise, Waterstones, which has been struggling more than the main HMV chain of late. Waterstones has a new MD in place, Dominic Myers, formerly of Blackwells, and he plans to expand the sale of book-based technologies, so e-readers and stationery products, through the Waterstones chain.

He also plans to give more control to the book parts of his stores to local managers, rather than enforcing nationally-orchestrated campaigns that invariably meant all Waterstones shops had to put tedious celebrity books in prime locations near the door. While such books will be best sellers in some Waterstones stores, of course, Byers said that the nationwide approach often didn’t work.

Giving examples, he explained how the Ant & Dec book had dominated at the firm’s Hampstead branch, whose clientele probably aren’t really looking for the ramblings of telly hosts past their prime (the Hampstead branch sold four copies of the book); and even better, the chain’s Glasgow store had been forced to give front-of-store racking to a book about the England football team. Byers hopes some local input on such things will help differentiate Waterstones from book-selling supermarkets.

Concluding his grand plan for the HMV Group on Friday, Fox told reporters: “Having rebuilt profitability over the last three years, we have a clear strategy to continue the transformation of the group and to ensure it has a vibrant and sustainable future, even though the markets in which we operate continue to change. We will continue to evolve HMV as a brand able to offer our customers a wide range of entertainment products and related experiences to be enjoyed at home, live and on the move. We have moved from being a one-dimensional retailer selling entertainment products to a broadly-based entertainment brand”.

As previously reported, despite all this diversification, and the general good fortune it has delivered HMV in the last eighteen months, until recently the City still seemed to think of the company as primarily a traditional entertainment retailer, resulting in a relatively low share price. However, Friday’s strategy statement has possibly helped turn things round a little in that domain, with the HMV share price shooting up more than 10% to 87p after Fox’s presentation.

As also previously reported, CMU publisher Chris Cooke will be talking to Fox about his diversification policy and what the future holds for HMV at this year’s Great Escape, on 13 May in Brighton.

BMG buy Cherry Lane

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

BMG Rights Management confirmed on Friday that it had bought Cherry Lane Music Publishing, the deal having been speculated on in the Financial Times last week.

Cherry Lane is one of the leading independent names in music publishing, representing the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Wolfmother and John Legend, and the catalogues of Elvis, John Denver, The Sex Pistols, Quincy Jones and movie studios like DreamWorks and Lionsgate.

Specifics of the deal are not known, though some speculate BMG, owned by German media giant Bertelsmann and equity types KKR, might have paid up to $100 million for the Cherry Lane business.

Confirming the deal, BMG’s CEO Hartwig Masuch told CMU: “We chose to acquire Cherry Lane given its highly-regarded, service-oriented approach with its artist/songwriter clients, its extensive catalogue of legendary songs, and its breadth of relationships within the music, television, and filmed entertainment communities”.

Cherry Lane’s CEO Peter Primont added: “Having already established itself once as a leader in the music publishing industry over several decades, BMG, via its partnership with KKR, has quickly begun to take on a leadership position again on a global basis. We are excited to be part of the team that will continue to grow the business at this important juncture in music publishing’s evolution”.

As previously reported, there has been speculation that BMG might bid to get some or all of the EMI Music Publishing catalogue should it come up for sale later this year, if and when current owners Terra Firma default on their bank loan to Citigroup. Terra Firma needs to show to the bank this week how it plans to meet its May deadline to pay about £120 million in fees relating to the loan, and it’s thought the likes of BMG and backers KKR will be watching carefully for indications as to whether or not EMI will go under the hammer before the summer.

Syco appoint new CEO

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers Media

The all new Syco Entertainment has appointed a new CEO, in the form of Ellis Watson, whose background is in TV and newspapers. Watson will report directly to Simon Cowell, and will be responsible for the global development of Syco, and in particular the launch of ‘X-Factor’ in the US market next year.

As previously reported, Syco, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music, was reconstituted earlier this year when Cowell’s latest deal with the major rewarded him with a 50% stake in the entertainment company and its back catalogue. The all new Syco hopes to rapidly expand worldwide, through the extension of Cowell’s existing TV franchises and pop roster, and other media and music ventures.

Confirming Watson’s appointment, Cowell told CMU last week: “I’m delighted that Ellis will be joining Syco, his broad experience in TV and media will be a huge asset”.

Watson himself added: “I’ve got the most exciting job in entertainment anywhere in the world – it’s not a vocation, it’s a calling”.

The Orchard, revenues up, but loss overall

Business News Labels & Publishers

Independent digital aggregator The Orchard announced last week that its revenues rose 9% in 2009, though they made an overall loss of $17.8 million. That said, one of those tedious “impairments of goodwill” accounted for over $14 million of the loss, which is one of those accounting technicalities only 47 people in the world understand, but means the overall loss wasn’t as bad as it possibly sounds.

Commenting on the financials, Orchard boss Bradley Navin said this: “Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, The Orchard recorded its highest quarterly revenue ever, while reducing operating expenses for four consecutive quarters, excluding the one-time adjustments for goodwill and reduction in force in the third quarter. We expect the company to continue on this path and remain excited about the future”.

As previously reported, one of the The Orchard’s main shareholders, Dimensional Associates, is in the process of taking complete ownership of the digital firm.

Warner buy two production music catalogues

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Warner Music’s publishing company made two acquisitions in the production music domain last week, the LA-based Groove Addicts Production Music Library and the London-based Carlin Recorded Music Library. The two catalogues will now be administered by Non-Stop Music, the production music firm wholly owned by Warner/Chappell since 2007.

Warner/Chappell CEO Dave Johnson told reporters: “The acquisitions of Groove Addicts and CRML further expand our global presence in a fast-growing, high-margin segment of the music publishing business and provide many more opportunities to showcase the songs in the Warner/Chappell catalogue on a wide array of music platforms and services. Together with Non-Stop Music, these valuable libraries will strengthen our standing in the production music business and allow us to offer the music licensing community an even broader and deeper range of music from our catalogue”.

Spotify aiming for third-quarter US launch

Digital

Spotify exec Paul Brown told Bloomberg last week that the streaming music service still plans to arrive in the US this year, with a third quarter launch now planned. Brown confirmed that Spotify are still to secure server space in North America, and that some content licences are yet to be agreed.

As previously reported, there has been speculation that at least one of the majors won’t licence a free-to-use version of Spotify in the US market, where some similar subscription-based services have started to enjoy some success, and where ad-funded platforms like Pandora, which offers much less ‘on-demand’ functionality, are starting to become profitable. This has led others to predict that only the premium version of Spotify will launch in North America.

Brown also revealed that the digital music firm are in talks with both Blackberry makers Research In Motion and Palm about launching mobile-app versions of Spotify for their devices.

Five owner talking to C4 about possible partnerships

Media

The boss of Bertelsmann’s TV company, RTL Group, which owns Channel Five, has reportedly made another approach to Channel 4 about the creation of some sort of commercial partnership between the two British TV networks. According to The Guardian, Gerhard Zeiler met with new C4 Chairman Terry Burns and incoming CEO David Abraham last month to discuss a possible tie up.

With Channel 4 facing an uncertain future amid new competition for advertising and sponsorship revenue, there has been speculation that the TV company will eventually have to merge with another broadcaster to ensure long term survival.

Both Five and ITV have been mooted as possible merger candidates, though with C4 being state-owned any merger with a privately-owned (or publicly listed) company would be complicated. Some reckon that if there is a merger to be done, it would make more sense for C4 to merge with the commercial division of the BBC, and indeed Abraham comes from BBC Worldwide’s commercial TV division UKTV.

Although RTL have previously let it be known they’d consider an all out merger with Channel 4, it seems more likely any recent discussions would be based on a more limited commercial partnership, such as the merger of the two broadcaster’s sales operations. Neither RTL nor C4 have commented on any talks between the two broadcasters.

Chart update – w/c 29 Mar 2010

Artist News

Hey! It’s another exciting Chart Update. You wanna know what’s going on in the chart? This is the place. Well, it’s a place, anyway.

At number one in the singles chart this week Lady Gaga has held firm with ‘Telephone’, despite strong competition from Tinie Tempah, who’s desperately trying to get back up there. Maybe this excellent Wrong Tom remix, which takes the track back to the 80s dancehall, will help.

Aside from the vicious battle for the top spot, there’s little going on in the top ten. After eleven weeks on the chart, Young Money’s ‘Bedrock’ has moved up to number nine, the single’s highest chart position to date, but you have to travel right down to number thirteen to find a new entry in the single chart this week, Usher’s ‘OMG’. And then there are only two other tracks making their debut appearance this week: Timbaland’s ‘Carry Out’ at 29 and David Guetta’s ‘Memories’ at 38.

The album chart is mildly more exciting, with another Lady Gaga-fuelled battle for the number one position. This is a fight the Gaga hasn’t won, though. After one week back at the top with ‘The Fame’, she’s been knocked off by Boyzone, who saw a 60% increase in sales this week to take them back to the top for the second time in three weeks.

Down at number four, Laura Marling’s second album, ‘I Speak Because I Can’, launches itself into the chart, ahead of Goldfrapp’s ‘Head First’, another new entry at six. Meanwhile, outside the top ten, Joe Bonamassa’s ‘Black Rock’ is another new entry at fourteen, Gabriella Cilmi is at 28 with ‘Ten’ and Mary J Blige is at 33 with ‘Stronger With Each Tear’.

The charts are compiled by The Official Charts Company. Not, contrary to popular opinion, by employing black magic.

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