Monday 27 February 2012, 11:44 | By

Absolute and Bauer stations to broadcast from Olympic gigs

Media

London 2012

Absolute Radio and Bauer’s Kiss and Magic networks will all broadcast live coverage from Live Nation’s previously reported London park activity during the Olympics this summer. The live music firm will operate stages and screens in London’s Hyde Park, Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square during the London games.

Absolute and Magic will both broadcast from the two big concerts due to take place in Hyde Park on 27 Jul and 12 Aug, the latter of which we already know will feature Blur, The Specials and New Order. The two stations will also broadcast some of the other lower key events due to take place in Hyde Park during the Olympic fortnight, while Kiss will focus on entertainment being staged in Victoria Park, which possibly offers some insight into what kind of events are being planned for the East London site.

Confirming their involvement in what is being called BT London Live, Absolute Radio’s Marketing Director Clare Baker told reporters: “This activity perfectly complements our established live credentials, adding a unique twist to the celebration of Great Britain and the Olympics in 2012 from an iconic, nationally treasured location”.

Meanwhile Bauer London MD Steve Parkinson added: “Magic 105.4 and Kiss are delighted to be working alongside Absolute on what are certain to be some of the most exciting and memorable events in London this summer. This deal will ensure we can bring all the artist and ticketing information to our audiences first, and to be in the thick of the celebrations when they get under way on 27 Jul”.

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Monday 27 February 2012, 11:42 | By

Jay-Z reportedly unhappy about Rihanna’s Brown collaborations

And Finally

Jay-Z

It’s tricky isn’t it? Rihanna should probably be able to get on with her life in whatever way she likes, but the singer came in for some criticism last week after a new version of a track called ‘Birthday Cake’ from her most recent album was unveiled complete with a new verse from ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, who delivers the line “Girl, I wanna fuck you right now/Been a long time, I’ve been missing your body”.

To be fair, Rihanna’s lyrics are pretty sexual too, but still, Brown’s involvement with the song is controversial, of course, because the couple’s last collaboration saw him beat her unconscious in the street. And the apparent reconciliation via song comes just a week after Brown reacted angrily on Twitter to those who suggested it was unwise of Grammy organisers to give the singer star-billing just three years after the domestic abuse incident.

The release of the Brown-guesting remix of Rihanna’s track was accompanied by the launch of a remix of one of his songs featuring guest vocals from her. And in some ways the reciprocal collaborations show Rihanna has been able to move on with her life after the beating at her ex-boyfriend’s hands, which is good, though some of those who already believe the US pop industry has too quickly rehabilitated Brown’s career worry about what message this very public reconciliation sends out.

And among the critics of Rihanna’s remixes, rumour has it, is her long-time supporter Jay-Z, who has never kept his anger towards Brown especially secret. A source told Radar Online: “Jay was absolutely disgusted by what Chris did to Rihanna. Jay doesn’t understand how a man could ever lay hands on a woman; it just goes against who he is and [what he’s] about. Chris is absolutely dead to Jay, he wants nothing to do with him ever”.

Said source continues: “Now that Rihanna is hooking up with Chris and recording songs with him, Jay is deeply disappointed in her actions. He can’t fathom why Rihanna is doing the things she is doing. He understands the need for forgiveness, but he is adamant that Rihanna shouldn’t forget what Chris did to her. Jay wonders what kind of message this is sending to Rihanna’s young female fans. Rihanna knows how Jay feels about Chris, but she doesn’t care, she is going to do what she wants. Jay has told Rihanna he will never give his blessing for what she is doing with Chris. He has told her this isn’t going to end well, it never does. In Jay’s opinion, Chris has rage issues that he doesn’t think have been dealt with”.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 17:24 | By

Editor’s Letter: Band reunions are killing music

CMU Weekly Editor's Letter

Andy Malt

It was the BRITs this week, which meant, as ever, for the two hours the show was on ITV1, my Twitter feed was full of people watching and complaining about it. Not that I have anything against that. I may even have had a little moan myself.

But the complaints (even mine) are generally as predictable as the awards themselves: Mainstream music is bland, Olly Murs is out of tune, no wonder the industry is in such trouble. But here’s the thing: Mainstream music has always been bland. I’m not sure how or why people forget this. And there was no golden age of the BRITs where awards were handed out to obscure artists with no financial backing and pure artistry in their hearts.

Yes, there was that one year when Belle & Sebastian surprised everyone by winning Best British Newcomer, but it was in the early days of online voting, and Belle & Sebastian just happened to have a particularly web-savvy fanbase in an era when pop fans weren’t yet properly online. That era lasted seventeen months, and only Steps were victims of it. The point is, that was a one-off anomaly.

The BRIT Awards are voted for by a group of around 1000 music industry professionals, pundits, artists and journalists. And as with any large voting panel, even if half the voters include some quirky or more alternative artists in their votes, the least offensive acts will always rise to the top. Worse, the best group, breakthrough act and single are selected by the public (in the first two from a shortlist voted for by the Academy, in the latter case from the ten most sold, most played tracks of the year) and the public don’t even attempt to pretend they have taste. Unless you’re a fan of the bland and the mainstream, there is a high chance of you being disappointed by the winners of any BRIT award. That’s just how democracy works.

That bands I don’t like (or just find inoffensive, which is arguably worse) exist doesn’t really bother me that much. Yeah, I could do without hearing Florence Welch’s ridiculously loud voice, completely void of dynamics, holding a single note for what seemed like half the ceremony, but I survived. And I was fine putting up with that Murs’ bloke because my girlfriend’s commentary on his tuneless performance was very funny.

No, I recognise that people have different tastes, and the majority of people aren’t into obscure music. They might be if they took the time to track it down and give it a proper listen and live with it for a few days before making a judgement, but that’s not the relationship most people have with music. And that’s fine. If everyone was seeking out the latest sounds from backwater towns, there would be no joy in it for the people who really enjoy doing such things. And if it wasn’t for music you can just have on in the background, if all music jumped out at you and created a real reaction, nothing would ever get done. You shouldn’t let the fact that new artists you don’t like keep appearing on the scene upset you.

But Blur. That’s a different matter. What are we to do about Blur?

On Tuesday night they only strengthened my resolve that the second I am in charge, no band will ever be allowed to reform ever again. Reunions are bad for bands and bad for fans. I know there are people out there who will disagree with me on this, but trust me, you are wrong.

Reforming a band is like Da Vinci going back and painting a hat on the Mona Lisa five years after he finished it. Or to give you a more contemporary and real life example, it’s like George Lucas incessantly updating the original three ‘Star Wars’ movies. Those films weren’t improved in any way by having scenes added and their special effects spruced up in the 90s (in fact those second generation special effects have just dated way faster than the original movies), just as they won’t be improved by converting them into 3D.

It was Leonardo da Vinci who said: “Art is never finished, only abandoned”. And that was a quote that George Lucas used to justify returning to the ‘Star Wars’ films. But that is because he fundamentally misunderstood what Da Vinci meant. He also said: “Art teaches us that we never finish learning, never finish exploring, never finish growing … Art is eternally unfinished and it knows that… And that’s the point”.

This doesn’t mean art is something that can be left to return to later, it means we should move on to new things and challenge ourselves. To return to what you left behind is to take a step backward in life. Hence, the Mona Lisa never got her hat.

I realise this might look like I’m overthinking an insignificant problem, but I don’t think this is an insignificant problem. When a band splits, that should be it. The end. “I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses”, John Squire once wrote. And given how protracted that band’s descent into their grave was, you can see why he might want to keep it tidy. Though, of course, not even that grave is to be left in peace, as it turns out.

Blur never really split, though. They more fizzled out. This sort of end is always a problem, because it leaves bands feeling like they have “unfinished business” (despite the fact, as we have already established, where creativity is concerned everything is unfinished). But let’s make no bones about it, Blur came to an end. Graham Coxon developed a reasonably successful solo career, Dave Rowntree moved into politics, Alex James got into cheese, and Damon Albarn heralded numerous other commercially successful and often creatively interesting projects, including writing two operas and masterminding Gorillaz.

They continued to learn, explore and grow (yes, even Alex James). As a result, they are not the same people they were before. They are no longer Blur. They are four guys playing Blur songs, but Blur songs in their hands no longer make sense. They are not Blur. They are the disappointing director’s cut of Blur. No, worse, they are ‘The Phantom Menace’.

Art exists in its place and time, so four men in their 40s playing a song about people in their early 20s “following the herd down to Greece” is not the same as four men in their 20s performing it, even if they are the same men. If you think you’re enjoying it, it’s not because you’re watching it now, it’s because in your head you’re watching the gig you went to when you were fifteen, or the gig your mum wouldn’t let you go to when you were fifteen. That gig happened, it’s time to go to a new gig.

I never saw Refused when they were originally together, and part of me would really like to go and see them play now. But anyone who’s seen the film ‘Refused Are Fucking Dead’, which documented their break up, will know how much that band lived and died by the tension between its members. That’s not something you can recreate fifteen years later. True, they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved in the 90s, but they certainly have since their split. And I think it would be better left that way.

And if there’s one thing that the BRIT Awards shows, it’s that people are willing to move on. For the most part, the awards on Tuesday night were not handed out to a parade of old duffers who are there every year. Aside from Blur, Foo Fighters (who won Best International Group) and Coldplay (Best British Group), none of the winners were in the public eye ten years ago. And in the case of Lana del Rey, who received the Best International Breakthrough award, not even ten months ago.

If there must be an Outstanding Contribution To Music award, it should only be handed out to artists who have had the foresight to quit and move on for good. By reforming, Blur add nothing to the musical landscape. If anything, it diminishes their contribution to music. The public gets what the public wants, but if they want music to progress, they need to stop encouraging these old men who can’t let the past lie.

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU

PS – If you want some actual insight into what goes on at the BRITs, you should check out Popjustice’s very funny photoblog.

PPS – We’re adding to our training seminars programme and we’d like to hear from you about what topics you’re interested in. If you have 60 seconds, please fill in our survey. Meanwhile, you can find out about our existing courses and book in here.

PODCAST
We’re back from our brief break in transmission, and on the latest edition of the CMU podcast, Chris and I can be found discussing the Channel 4 secondary ticketing documentary Viagogo didn’t want you to see, the ongoing EMI sale saga, the highs and lows of the BRIT Awards, and One Direction’s falling out with Capital FM. Grab it later this weekend at www.completemusicupdate.com/podcast

IN THE NEWS
Just before Blur played the closing performance of the BRITs, Adele had been given the Best British Album award. Which was nice. But before she could finish her acceptance speech, host James Corden arrived and told her she needed to leave the stage. Thanks to Damon Albarn’s long, tedious speech acknowledging the band’s Outstanding Contribution and the approaching News At Ten, ITV wanted Blur on stage to rattle through a few hits as quickly as possible. Adele, quite rightly, gave ITV the finger.

And there was more broadcaster-based controversy to be had, though this time the anger was directed in the opposite direction, or rather in (at) One Direction. The ‘X-Factor’ created boyband were given one of the few public voted prizes, Best Single. The public in question were iTunes users and Capital FM listeners. But when they went up to claim their trophy, Harry Styles chose to thank Radio 1. As a result, a guest slot on Capital FM the next day was cancelled and, according to Radio Today, they have also been dropped from the station’s playlist.

Secondary ticketing was in the spotlight this week thanks to a ‘Dispatches’ documentary which aired on Channel 4 last night, despite Viagogo’s attempt to get an injunction to block its broadcast. It was Viagogo and Seatwave which came under the most scrutiny in the programme, them and the promoters they partner with like SJM and Live Nation, the main strand of the documentary focusing on promoters who automatically allocate some tickets to secondary ticketing websites at inflated prices.

Universal filed its EMI acquisition proposals with European regulators this week, followed by IMPALA almost immediately restating its opposition to that deal, and to the sale of the EMI publishing business to Sony/ATV. Warner Music is, of course, also opposing the sales alongside the indie labels, although this week insider sources confirmed to Bloomberg that this was mainly because Warner still hopes to get some of the EMI business for itself.

In the ongoing MegaUpload story, the US made more allegations against the company and the file-sharing service’s founder Kim ‘Dotcom’ Schmitz was finally granted bail. The latter piece of news will be a relief for Schmitz as it looks like court hearings to extradite him and three of his colleagues from New Zealand to the US won’t happen until August.

Elsewhere in anti-piracy news, an English court ruled that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright, in Denmark a court ordered Danish ISP Three to block Grooveshark, and the final set of warning letter’s in France’s Hadopi three-strikes system were sent for court approval. However, counteracting all that partying, the EU asked the European Courts Of Justice to review global intellectual property treaty ACTA and check if it contravenes any fundamental EU rights.

Over in the world of legitimate digital music, OK Go manager Jamie Kitman claimed that, contrary to popular opinion, the band do not make very much money from the massive number of YouTube plays of their videos, nor do those plays particularly translate to record sales. He also said that the band didn’t see anything from their earlier videos being on VEVO, which follows on from criticism by indie publishers in the US that they too aren’t seeing any cash from their songs being on the Sony/Universal owned video site. But VEVO boss Rio Caraeff said this week that his site pays out all the royalties it should and it wasn’t any of his concern if record labels were withholding money from their artists or their artists’ publishers. All this chatter about the economics of streaming content services led quite nicely to the MusicTank debate on the issue, which Chris summed up here.

In other news, Charlotte Church settled with News International over phone hacking, the Black Sabbath reunion tour was downgraded to an Ozzy Osbourne solo outing, Kelloggs designed a breakfast cereal for Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, Jazz FM accidentally broadcast five minutes of porn, Chris Brown was attacked by seagulls, and Kreayshawn used the toilet.

FEATURES AND NEW MUSIC
This week we had a very interesting interview with the boss of music distribution company Kudos Records, Danny Ryan, who has been very vocal in his support of streaming platforms like Spotify, when there has been growing resistance from some in the music industry recently. And speaking of streaming services, we had a great playlist from Clock Opera’s Guy Connelly, which you can listen to via Spotify and We7.

CMU approved this week were Micachu‘s recent unbilled DJ set at Ninja Tune’s Boiler Room takeover, foil masked house producer John Talabot, sythn-led krautrockers Siinai, and the shoegaze-influenced pop of Scarlet Chives.

Elsewhere on the site, we also had new music from Santigold, Mystery Jets, Squarepusher, Crocodiles, Zulu Winter, Lone, Willy Mason, Torches, Bad Weather California, and East 17, who are back with a new rock sound (and I’m not even joking).

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Friday 24 February 2012, 16:19 | By

CMU Weekly Podcast – Friday 24 Feb 2012

Setlist

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review the week in music and the music business, including the Dispatches secondary ticketing expose, Universal’s EMI takeover submission to the European Commission, and all the wonder and magic and mediocrity and scandal of the BRIT Awards 2012. Get the CMU Weekly Podcast every Friday by signing up via iTunes or RSS.

 

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:29 | By

The music business week in five – 24 Feb 2012

Business News Week In Five

Chris Cooke

Hello there everybody. The next series of CMU Training courses kick off next week, with our ever popular music rights course. If you work in music, you’re in the copyright trade one way or another, so why not come along and find out exactly how it all works, and where the music rights industry is heading? Everything you need to know in one day. And once you’ve booked your place on that, why not tell us what other training courses might interest you with our incredibly quick training survey here? And then I’ll let you read this week’s week in five.

01: Universal filed its EMI bid with the European Commission. The mega-major wants regulator approval for its plan to buy the EMI record companies. Rival Warner Music and the indie sector will seek to block the sale, arguing it will give Universal too much market share, making it difficult for other music firms to compete, and giving the major too much power when negotiating with digital services. Opponents will also cite concerns already expressed about the size of Universal Music by the EC in 2007, though Universal bosses will argue a lot has changed in the music domain since then. Phase one of the EC investigation into the takeover bid will last about a month, though it’s assumed a second phase will be needed before any decision can be made. Meanwhile, the US regulator’s investigation is ongoing, and Sony/ATV is expected to file its papers regarding its bid to buy EMI Music Publishing any day now. CMU reports | Guardian report

02: ‘Dispatches’ focused on secondary ticketing. The Channel 4 documentary show sent undercover reporters into secondary ticketing companies to show to the wider world that many tickets sold at hiked up prices on the resale platforms actually come from the show’s original promoter, rather than other fans. The promoters argue that they are using the secondary sale sites as ‘premium price primary ticketing platforms’, though opponents are likely to point out that that’s not how said websites promote themselves. Whether the exposé will provide new momentum for those MPs and live music types who’d like new laws that limit the mark-up of resold gig tickets remains to be seen. One secondary ticketing company featured in the programme, Viagogo, tried to block the airing of the Channel 4 show through the courts, but failed. CMU report | Dispatches on 4OD

03: The European Commission asked the European Courts Of Justice to review ACTA, the global intellectual property agreement that is causing new controversy, despite most countries involved in negotiating it having already signed up, including the UK. The EU is a separate signatory, in addition to its member states, though some in Europe, at a national and Union-wide level, are now calling for ACTA to be reviewed. The EC wants the ECJ to check whether anything in ACTA contravenes fundamental EU rights. Commissions expect ECJ judges to say it does not, countering to an extent the treaty’s ever growing number of critics. CMU report | BBC report

04: The UK courts ruled that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright, in part one of a two part legal assault against the rogue file-sharing service by record labels trade body the BPI. Having won that stage, the BPI will now return to court in June to try to get an injunction ordering British internet service providers to block access to the Bay, utilising the precedent set in the movie industry’s legal action against the Newzbin file-sharing community last year. Elsewhere, Labour’s culture lady Harriet Harman called on the government to kick start the anti-piracy three-strikes system set out on the Digital Economy Act her party passed while in power, and then to consider simpler measures to help rights owners block the likes of The Pirate Bay. TPB report | Harman report

05: The Danish courts ordered Grooveshark to be blocked. In a similar case to the BPI’s Pirate Bay assault in the UK, Danish anti-piracy body RettighedsAlliancen this week got an injunction ordering an ISP in Denmark to block access to the Grooveshark streaming service. This is arguably more controversial because the legality of the Grooveshark platform, or not, is more debatable. Though the defence Grooveshark usually uses when accused of infringement for letting users upload unlicensed tracks to its site – that it operates a takedown system for such content – only technically protects it from liability in the US. CMU report | Register report

And that is your lot for now!

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:28 | By

Approved: Breakspoll 2012

Club Tip CMU Approved

Breakspoll 2012

Now into its second decade, the Breakspoll International Breakbeat Awards return to Cable for the second year tomorrow night. Celebrating the best in breakbeat, it’s a must for any fan of the genre, as it also features a whole load of DJ sets from many of the best in the business.

Amongst those playing out tomorrow night are Krafty Kuts, Rennie Pilgrem, A-Skillz, Slyde, Freestylers, Deekline & Ed Solo, Freerange DJs vs Richie Balboa, and my favourite back in the day crew, Aquasky.

Advance tickets are now sold out, but there will be some on the door, so get down early.

Saturday 25 Feb, Cable, Bermondsey Street Tunnel, London Bridge, London, SE1 3JW, 9pm – 6am, more info here.

Here’s a quick catch up of what went down at last year’s awards:

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:27 | By

Industry responds following Dispatches secondary ticketing exposé

Business News Live Business Top Stories

Dispatches

It remains to be seen what the long term impact of last night’s ‘Dispatches’ exposé on the secondary ticketing market will be – it may depend on whether the tabloids pick up on the story, and if it gives Sharon Hodgson, the MP who has campaigned on this issue most prolifically, new momentum for her proposals that the law limit any ticket mark ups to 10%.

As previously reported, the Channel 4 documentary show focused on the ticket resale sector last night, after legal efforts by resale site Viagogo to stop the programme being aired failed. The exposé looked in particular at how certain tour promoters are now working with resale services like Viagogo to put large numbers of tickets directly on to the auction sites as soon as tickets go on sale, cutting the numbers available via primary ticketing agents like Ticketmaster. The tour promoters and resale agents then share any mark up on those tickets.

Although not illegal, some argue that by adopting an ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ approach to the boom in ticket touting that occurred after the rise of eBay and ticket-specific auction websites, these promoters are exaserbating the problem, meaning more fans miss out on primary tickets and are forced to pay artificially hiked up prices.

Others object to the secrecy behind the industrial touting that takes place, with most resale sites officially claiming they don’t get directly involved in ticket provision, and that they merely provide a platform that enables fans to sell to other fans, but the Channel 4 programme shows that in some and possibly many cases that’s simply not true. In terms of the resale sites, Viagogo and Seatwave were the focus of the documentary, while Live Nation and SJM in particular were profiled as the promoters which tout their own tickets.

While, as previously reported, both Viagogo and Seatwave issued individual statements defending their business models before the Channel 4 exposé aired, the promoters have put out a statement via their trade body the Concert Promoters Association, which claims that its members were forced to participate in the ticket resale game after it became clear government would not move to limit the boom in online touting, and that they see the use of Viagogo type platforms in this way as a form of legitimate ‘premium primary ticketing’ rather than strictly participating in the ‘secondary sale’ market.

CPA’s statement reads: “[We] warned the Department Of Culture Media And Sport and a committee of MPs that without legislation [against the rise in touting], promoters, artists and managers would, at least in part, operate in the secondary market in order to catch the lost revenue on behalf of the artists and event owners so that this money would at least stay in the industry. If promoters put tickets into the secondary market then the result is that prices are brought down whilst also ensuring that some of the tickets available in the secondary are actually genuine ones”.

The trade body continues: “In this respect the secondary market is effectively being used as a premium-price primary market for those fans who wish to use it for convenience. We are sure that those fans who use the secondary market for convenience and are prepared to pay a premium would be happier that the premium went to the artist via the promoter rather than went to a tout”.

But, judging by the response to the ‘Dispatches’ programme on Twitter and the Channel 4 website last night fans are not very happy at all about the promoters using the secondary ticketing platforms in this way, with many sending messages to the bands whose tours the show focused on – Take That in particular – urging them to act on this issue, or find new promoters. Realistically, and assuming there isn’t any real will in government to act on touting, it’s only action by artists to distance themselves from the resale phenomenon, possibly for PR reasons, that is going to have any tangible impact on the practice.

Though those in the industry who have retained an anti stance to secondary ticketing throughout, and who resisted the temptation to join the party, may also be motivated to become more vocal on this issue once again. A few of those people issued statements this morning, as follows.

Richard Marks, founder of the recently relaunched ‘ethical ticket resale site’ Scarlet Mist: “What really sticks in our throat is the connivance of the promoters with the scalpers and touts. This is a rotten industry, and one which cries out to be regulated and throttled back. We urge Parliament to support Sharon Hodgson’s proposals to stop this cynical deception”.

A spokesman for the Association Of Independent Festivals: “The ‘Dispatches’ exposé on secondary ticketing sites has revealed that the majority of tickets on these sites are purchased and sold by [professional] touts and in-house buyers. AIF launched the Ticket Trust in summer 2011 in partnership with Sandbag as a direct response to these immoral operations. The Ticket Trust is a genuine fan-to-fan ticket exchange, which offers a safe and secure platform for the resale of unwanted tickets at face value. In 2011, tickets were ethically exchanged for End Of The Road, Bestival, Camp Bestival, Kendal Calling, Creamfields and Secret Garden Party, and watch this space as the world’s biggest and most conscious artists join the exchange and stand up for the very fans who keep them in business”.

Sandbag’s Christiaan Munro, a co-founder of The Ticket Trust: “‘Dispatches’ has made public what many in the music industry have known or suspected for a long time. The wholesale use of the secondary market is not necessarily illegal but is morally abhorrent. We take great pride in having established The Ticket Trust secondary platform with the Association Of Independent Festivals and hope that many more other real music fans can get to sell or buy unwanted tickets at face value in a fair and transparent manner. I guess it is now time for those involved to ask themselves if they are still comfortable biting the hand that feeds them”.

And a spokesman for AIF affiliated Kendal Calling: “[Our festival] is built on creating amazing experiences for fans. That includes the ticket buying process and price. We are proud to be supporting the not-for-profit resales and encourage fans to be a part of this too”.

And finally, Dave Newton, Director of independent ticketing website WeGotTickets: “‘Dispatches’ certainly highlighted how certain parts of the live industry have been complicit in these ‘legitimised’ touting practices – agents, promoters and, in many cases, artists themselves. We need to be careful, however, not to confuse the online and secondary ticketing sectors, thereby tarring the legitimate electronic ticket vendor with the same brush. The water is muddied by companies like Ticketmaster who, as a primary seller, are happy to dance with the secondary ticketing devil with their Get Me In outlet. Also the Concert Promoters Association set up (the quickly defunct) OfficialBoxOffice.com a few years back, which was powered by See Tickets. This was their ‘can’t beat them then join them’ reaction to Viagogo and Seatwave launching in the UK and taking the touting business that they were previously in control of”.

He continues: “This is really just a continuation of the promoters-of-old who themselves used to take physical tickets out of the back door of the Box Office and put them in the hands of street touts for cash at a mark-up over face-value. At the end of the day we encourage customers to investigate where they’re buying their tickets from, if the company is opaque with their processes and don’t account for their fees or where the ticket comes from then questions should be asked. WeGotTickets remains a primary ticketing company with all our tickets sold at face value and supplied directly to us by the event organiser. Every penny of our fees is fully accounted for and our booking fee is also the lowest in the industry – this is a policy of transparency that we have campaigned for years and will continue to adhere to”.

The ‘Dispatches’ programme is now online here.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:21 | By

Charlotte Church settles over phone hacking lawsuit

Legal Media Top Stories

Charlotte Church

Ah Charlotte, you let us down. Singer Charlotte Church yesterday finally reached an out of court settlement with News International over the hacking of her voicemail by former employees of the now defunct News Of The World.

As previously reported, Church was the last of the first batch of celebrities who sued the paper over phone hacking (whose legal claim was court ready) not to settle, and it looked like that case might go properly to court, finally throwing a proper judicial spotlight onto the NOTW scandal, much of which is still shadowed in secrecy as the Metropolitan Police’s criminal investigation crawls along.

But yesterday Church, who said stories about her personal life which she believes were sourced from her voicemail account caused her and her parents great distress, settled with the newspaper company. Reports suggest she may have got £500,000 in damages, £180,000 of which would cover legal costs.

That means News International can avoid any embarrassing revelations in court just as it re-enters the Sunday tabloid market with NOTWv2, aka the Sun On Sunday. Other more recent celebrity civil lawsuits continue to go through the motions, with more being added all the time, though most if not all will be settled out of court, costing NI millions.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:20 | By

Convicted dodgy jukebox operators ordered to pay up

Legal

Piracy

Record label trade body BPI and recording rights collecting society PPL have both welcomed a recent court ruling that will see two men who ran a dodgy jukebox business in the North East pay over £131,000 in compensation.

As previously reported, last July Malcolm Wylie, his son Peter Wylie (not the Mighty Wah frontman) and William Ross were all handed custodial sentences for their involvement in the jukebox enterprise, which provided supposedly fully licensed jukeboxes to North East businesses, but then pocketed all the income without paying any money over to the rights owners via PPL. Since then Ross has been ordered to pay £102,000 to BPI/PPL, and earlier this month Wylie Senior and Junior were together ordered to hand over £131,000.

Welcoming the most recent court rulings in this case, BPI Director of Anti Piracy, David Wood, told reporters: “The outcome of [this latest] hearing is recompense for artists who have been deprived of a fair return for their work. The illegal activity has not only harmed the music industry but also those landlords who, in difficult economic times, believed they were paying for a legitimate service when in fact they were being exploited. We would like to thank PPL for their partnership in bringing this case to a successful outcome”.

PPL’s Head of Dubbing and Tariff Development Richard Stewart added: “This is a great result for both the BPI and PPL. We have worked tirelessly over the past four years to secure justice for our members in regards to the case of Wylie, Wylie and Ross. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the BPI and we will actively pursue any illegal businesses that deprive our members of their rightful revenues or harm the wider music industry”.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:17 | By

Tinie talks album two

Artist News

Tinie Tempah

His sole role at this year’s BRIT Awards being that of an award presenter, Tinie Tempah seems keen to re-enter the spotlight, and has revealed that his near-complete second album will bear the title ‘Demonstration’.

Speaking about the current status of said long player, which succeeds his bestselling debut Disc-Overy’, Tinie tells Capital FM: “Hopefully a couple of weeks after it’s finished all the singles should start trickling out, but I’m so excited about it. It feels so much better than when I did the first one”.

Typical of Tempah tradition, the record will feature contributions from the rapper’s ever-reliable ‘Disc-Overy’ wingman, producer and now ‘Earthquake’ soloist Labrinth. Tinie has in the past hinted at a number of other potential “cool collaborations”, even claiming to have had discussions with Coldplay, Dizzee Rascal and Gary Barlow. Thus far, though, no such collaborations have been confirmed.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:15 | By

Tom Jones and Jack White single to be sold in one store only

Releases

Tom Jones

The physical release of Tom Jones and Jack White’s previously reported single, ‘Evil’, is to be sold only through Spillers Records in Cardiff, and just for one day.

The shop, which is billed as “the world’s oldest record shop”, is where a young Jones used to buy his records in the 50s and 60s. For one day on 3 Mar it will be given the exclusive right to sell all 100 copies of the three-colour seven-inch release of the single.

Says the shop’s website: “The release will be available for one day only to customers over the shop counter with no pre-orders available. We are under VERY strict instructions!”

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:13 | By

James Blake, Squarepusher plotting aggressive LPs

Artist News Releases

James Blake

James Blake has characterised his current studio experiments, as may feature on a second album, as “clubby” and “aggressive” as compared to his eponymous debut.

He informs Spinner in this interview: “A lot of the vocal music I’ve been doing recently has been quite clubby. But that’s mainly because I’ve had more time to go to clubs, and that normally breeds that kind of influence. I’ve been doing quite a few DJ sets recently, which have been really fun”.

He adds: “I think it’s going to be a bit more aggressive, to be honest. It seems that way. In terms of writing more club tracks, I feel like it was all electronically influenced, but now that influence has come to me in a different way”.

Meanwhile, stalwart Warp signing Squarepusher has, in his own indecipherable fashion, also shared several details of his own ‘aggressive’ new LP, which is entitled ‘Ulfaum’. His first official solo output since 2009 (not counting his 2010 collaboration with pseudo-real band Shobaleader One), it’s set for release on 14 May.

Not much else is known about the record, save that Jenskinson has been “thinking about pure electronic music again. Something very melodic, very aggressive”.

And then there’s this trailer:

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:11 | By

Zulu Winter detail debut album

Releases

Zulu Winter

Having signed to [PIAS] towards the end of 2011, hype-heaped London quintet Zulu Winter have announced the release of their forthcoming debut album ‘Language’. Assigned a release date of 14 May, its tracklisting runs a little like this:

Key To My Heart
We Should Be Swimming
Bitter Moon
Small Pieces
Silver Tongue
You Deserve Better
Let’s Move Back To Front
Moment’s Drift
Words That I Wield
Never Leave
People That You Must Remember

And here’s the video for ‘We Should Be Swimming’:

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:10 | By

John Lydon’s PiL to spend two nights in Heaven

Gigs & Festivals

PiL

John Lydon’s post-Pistols outfit Public Image Limited have announced a couple of dates at London’s Heaven to promote new EP ‘One Drop’, which is released (to coincide with Record Store Day) on 21 Apr. ‘One Drop’ will precede studio LP ‘This Is PiL’, somewhat of a momentous record in that it’s the group’s first in over 20 years. That’s due out on 28 May, with the Heaven shows happening on 1 and 2 Apr.

Lydon addresses this missive to fans: “Because you deserve better, there is a PiL in Heaven. Get proper emotions”. Emotions, tickets… it’s all the same.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:09 | By

Benga plots headline tour

Gigs & Festivals

Benga

Accustomed to partnering with Skream on tour, producer and dubstep popularist Benga is at last poised to push out on his first ever headline outing

And, as if anyone needed a reminder of Benga’s triumphs to date, The 405 has drawn up this retrospective.

Tour dates:

24 Feb: Brighton, Audio
25 Feb: Plymouth, University
26 Feb: Swansea, Sin City
28 Feb: Leeds, Mint Club
29 Feb: Coventry, Kasbah
1 Mar: Loughborough, Echoes
2 Mar: London, Fabric
3 Mar: Bristol, Motion
9 Mar: Manchester, Sankeys
10 Mar: Sheffield, Tuesday Club
12 Mar: Liverpool, Magnet
14 Mar: Southampton, Oceana

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:06 | By

Festival line-up update – 24 Feb 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

T In The Park

LOVE SAVES THE DAY, Castle Park, Bristol, 3 Jun: With a focus on delivering the best of today’s dance acts to the festival-going masses, Love Saves The Day will usher in its inaugural instance with able assistance from Annie Mac, Mr Scruff, Roots Manuva, Babyhead, Amirali, Disclosure, Foreign Beggars, Jessie Ware and TEED. www.lovesavestheday.org

STANDON CALLING, Standon, Hertfordshire, 3-5 Aug: Death In Vegas, Beardyman, Casiokids, Field Music, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Dub Pistols are amongst those to have received the Standon summons this festival season, with many more acts yet to be announced. www.standon-calling.com

T IN THE PARK, Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland, 6-8 Jul: Joint bill-toppers Snow Patrol and Kasabian, plus other acts including Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Miike Snow, Chase & Status and Rizzle Kicks form but a fraction of those just added to T’s sizeable 2012 bill. Previously announced bookings include Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Florence And The Machine, Two Door Cinema Club, The Maccabees and line-up supremos The Stone Roses. www.tinthepark.com

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:04 | By

Live Nation sees losses decline, confirms Japanese JV

Business News Deals Live Business

Live Nation

Live Nation made another loss in 2011, but revenues were up and losses were narrower than in 2010. Despite being in profit at one point during the year, the live music conglom confirmed yesterday that by the end of 2011 they had made losses of $83 million on revenues of $5.38 billion.

But compared to losses of $228.4 million on revenues of $5.06 billion in 2010, the latest year end figures, revealed yesterday, were a definite improvement, and fitted in with previous comments by Live Nation chiefs, that after a very wobbly 2010 – especially in the US market – the company turned round its fortunes last year, even though trading conditions remained tough.

Looking ahead, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said 2012 was shaping up to be a good year, especially in the festivals sector, and that big tours by the likes of Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews will provide a boost. Rapino reckoned there should be a “low single digit” percentage increase in overall ticket sales this year, though overall ticket revenues would probably be more or less the same as in 2011.

Live Nation also yesterday confirmed its previously reported alliance with Japanese live firm Creativeman Productions to create Live Nation Japan. Rapino said: “We are very pleased to announce Live Nation’s entry into Japan and to have such a credible partner as Creativeman, which has a long and proven track record of promoting major artists as well as developing highly successful festivals. Expanding our presence in Asia reflects our commitment to growing our business internationally in a region that is becoming increasingly important for touring artists”.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 12:02 | By

EMI Nashville chief could switch to Universal

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

EMI

While competition regulators consider Universal’s plans to buy the EMI record companies, the latter’s Nashville chief is circumventing all that regulatory shenanigans by leaping straight over to the former to head up country music operations there, or at least so says Billboard.

Mike Dungan is currently boss of Capitol Records Nashville, which has been doing rather well in recent years, not least thanks to the output of two key artists, Keith Urban and Lady Antebellum. But, according to Billboard, various sources have said the exec will soon move to Universal Nashville to become President there, taking over from Luke Lewis, who will then move to a new position within the mega-major.

Neither EMI nor Universal has so far commented on the move. Of course if it does happen, and if Universal does then get regulator approval for its EMI deals, Dungan could find himself in charge of both country labels. As previously reported, the regulatory investigation into the Universal/EMI merger could take months, with the European Commission having only just received proposal papers from Universal chiefs, even though the US investigation began last year.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:59 | By

Warner makes digital strategy appointments in Europe

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Warner Music

Warner announced two internal promotions yesterday to its digital strategy team. London-based Leanne Sharman, former UK boss for the legit Napster, who has worked in business development roles at Warner since 2008, will become VP and MD for Digital Strategy & Business Development on the recordings side of the major’s business, with an EMEA remit. Meanwhile Stockholm-based Jacob Key will become a VP for the same unit with a specific Europe focus.

Both will report to Warner’s New York-based EVP Digital Strategy & Business Development Stephen Bryan who said: “Europe has been leading the development of several of the most important new growth areas in the industry’s digital evolution. These promotions not only solidify our European digital business development team, but also ensure that the expertise we have in the region is informing our broader global strategy”.

He added: “Leanne’s wide-ranging experience, commercial acumen and impressive track record in negotiating transformational deals, all mean she is well-placed to help shape the next phase of our digital innovation. At the same time, having been instrumental to the development of many of our Scandinavian subscription partnerships and telco ‘bundle’ deals, Jacob will now be applying his invaluable knowledge and strategic insight to accelerating the growth of those models throughout Europe”.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:58 | By

MusicTank streaming music debate: Many supporters, some detractors, and an awful lot of unrealised potential

Business News Digital Education & Events

MusicTank

In the recent debate on the value of streaming music services like Spotify, during which some artists and smaller labels have expressed concerns about the royalties such platforms pay out, especially if a streaming presence negatively impacts on download sales, the major record companies have generally come to the streaming sector’s defence.

Universal Music’s digital supremo Rob Wells has led the argument that there is no real evidence making music available via Spotify et al cannibalises download sales, while reps for the other majors speaking at MIDEM last month also spoke positively about the potential of subscription and streaming services, and confirmed their commitment in helping make such things work. But what about the indie sector, given some smaller independent labels have already withdrawn from the streaming services?

Well, while the indie community might not think as one on this issue, at MusicTank’s Think Tank on the streaming sector last night, the indie label reps were just as supportive of the Spotifys of this world as their major label counterparts. “The download platforms are still the biggest part of digital of course”, Beggars’ Simon Wheeler observed. “But the streaming sector is now taking off, and two of our top five digital partners worldwide, in terms of revenue, fall into this domain”.

He continued: “And perhaps more importantly, the marketshare for indies on subscription services is generally good, it’s a model that benefits our catalogue. Sure, short term royalty payments are low – and you need to be getting millions of plays for it to really work – but remember, this is the gift that keeps on giving, it’s not a one-off purchase, if fans love a record, then they will keep on playing it, and you will keep on earning. Take a band like The xx – that album’s nearly three years down the line now – and it still performs really well on the subscription platforms, despite initial download sales being impressive also”.

While the indie sector reps spoke positively of most of the streaming platforms, the artists and managers represented at MusicTank’s Think Tank at the University Of Westminster were much more concerned about it all, perhaps unsurprising given the small but significant group of A-list artists who have held back some or all of their catalogue from Spotify et al, despite their labels being supportive of such platforms. Manager Paul Loasby, whose clients include Jools Holland and Pink Floyd, said that while he recognised the streaming platforms were great products, he just felt the labels had undersold music at large when negotiating their deals with the new digital platforms, and that artists simply weren’t receiving the royalties their content deserved.

He was most critical of the ad-funded services, adding that, despite his concerns, Pink Floyd would return their catalogue to Spotify if they could opt to only be available to premium subscribers (which currently they cannot). The labels in the room admitted that the royalties to be got from ad-funded services – whether that be Spotify or YouTube – were negligible, though in Spotify’s case they felt the freemium option was justified, as an up-sell platform that benefited everyone.

Kudos Records’ Danny Ryan, who is convinced ad-funded platforms alone cannot work, is nevertheless a defender of Spotify’s free option. “The free service sells the subscription service”, he said. “And the conversion rates they are achieving are impressive, especially in Scandinavia. I think we all have to see that supporting free Spotify is a way of helping them sell subscriptions and that’s where, in the long term, we can all enjoy the benefits”.

Of course – as analyst Mark Mulligan had confirmed at the start of the Think Tank – the royalties different rights owners receive from the same streaming services can vary dramatically, because when it comes to recording rights most digital platforms negotiate separate deals with each label or distributor. And then, of course, what cut of any royalties the artist receives will depend on their contractual relationship with their label, and quite how that record company chooses to treat different digital revenues.

More transparency on royalties, and the option of licensing more digital platforms collectively with industry standard rates, was touched upon, with Simon Wheeler seeming most open to that latter approach, though only if all rights owners were willing to participate which he reckoned – almost certainly correctly, and with an eye to his major label counterpart down the table – wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

That said, even if everyone was paid the same standard rate via a collecting society and labels found a more transparent way of declaring and paying artists their share, you sense that Loasby’s key concern still wouldn’t be addressed – he’s convinced his artist’s music is worth more that the streaming platforms will (and arguably can) pay.

Actually, for artists and managers, the mainly as yet untapped potential of Spotify, YouTube etc to up-sell other music-related products is probably going to be of more interest long-term, as tickets, merchandise and premium content packages are always going to earn more for artists that a share of an already tiny royalty. YouTube is already dabbling in this area, and Spotify’s rep at the MusicTank Think Tank touched on that potential too, albeit only briefly, with perhaps the streaming service’s recent move into the in-platform app space providing a powerful outlet for such artist-led up-sell services.

Which fits in with the wider cautiously optimistic conclusion of the entire MusicTank event – streaming platforms are growing, the revenues so far are modest and are arguably uncertain long
term, but nevertheless, the whole space seems to contain an awful lot of so far unrealised potential.

You can read our interview with Kudos Records’ Danny Ryan conducted just before the Think Tank debate here, and download Mark Mulligan’s presentation that kicked off the proceedings here.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:55 | By

Google Music under-performing

Digital

Google Music

Google Music is not going quite as well as the web giant expected, according to C-Net, and while the web firm isn’t too bothered just yet, it’s causing concern amongst some music companies. Google execs have reportedly told their label contacts that both customer sign up and revenue for the so far US-only Google Music service have been lower than expected, despite all the hype that surrounded the web firm’s first big play in the download market.

That said, C-Net points out that Google is yet to fully utilise the marketing power its other platforms are capable of delivering for the fledging music service, plus execs at the web company reckon Google Music will truly take off once it moves into the device space, most likely via its acquisition of Motorola.

Nevertheless, C-Net’s sources say, “the numbers are low enough for some in the music sector to be concerned”. Some wonder if Google’s timing was off, launching a download-based service just when streaming music is the flavour of the month (though, of course, download platforms still dominate in terms of market share), and whether more effort should have been made in integrating the new music offer with YouTube, which is arguably the biggest streaming music service on the web.

Others, though, note that the integration between Google’s music service and its Android mobile operating system – a real plus – is yet to be fully realised, partly because the mobile networks and handset makers are all going through another phase of launching their own music offers. Once Google launches properly into the hardware market itself, presumably giving Google Music prime place on its devices, then that’s when sizable uptake may be seen.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:54 | By

Spotify adds gapless listening and cross-fading madness

Digital

Spotify

Spotify has updated its player, and added gapless playback and cross-fade, which means if you’re listening to live or mix albums there won’t be irritating moments of silence ruining the flow every few minutes. Though on the free version presumably ads will still keep appearing in really inappropriate places.

But anyway, no gaps and cross-fading, that’s good news isn’t it? Well it’s cheered up Paul Oakenfold if nothing else. For reasons known to no one he’s quoted on the Spotify blog post on the latest player upgrade as saying: “I use Spotify daily. Many of my own releases are mixed so I’m delighted to hear Spotify will now offer gapless playback and crossfade so my fans can experience the mixes on Spotify in the way they normally do in the clubs”. Super.

The new player has already begun rolling out to users, though you can update immediately via the links at the bottom of Spotify’s blog post about it here.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:52 | By

John Peel Centre will document DJ’s record collection online

Media

John Peel

The John Peel Centre For Creative Arts, an arts centre in Suffolk established in the late great Radio 1 DJ’s memory, has announced plans to document the presenter’s legendary record collection online.

The plan is to scan in the artwork of the 25,000 vinyl LPs and 40,000 singles in Peel’s record collection, and add the DJ’s personal notes and other useful information to each record. Actual recordings won’t likely be included for licensing reasons, though it’s hoped music from the Peel Session archives will be also made available via the online project, which is backed by Peel’s widow Sheila Ravenscroft and funded by the Arts Council. Phase one of the project will aim to put about 2500 albums into the online catalogue between May and October.

Commenting on the venture, John Peel Centre Director Tom Barker told the BBC: “What we’re hoping to do is create an online interactive museum which answers the question ‘what is in John Peel’s record collection?’ but also provides the audience with a visualisation of it. We hope that giving them access to a particular band, or their first album, or listening to his show, will inspire people to tell us their stories. This is the first step in the journey of making one of the most important archives in modern music history available completely”.

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Friday 24 February 2012, 11:51 | By

CMU Beef Of The Week #99: Adele v ITV

And Finally Beef Of The Week

Adele

What else could the Beef Of The Week be this week? A beef so huge that it made the front page of The Sun two days in a row. I refer, of course, to ITV’s decision to boot Adele off the BRITs stage midway through her acceptance speech for the Best British Album award.

It was Adele’s second award of the night, she having already picked up the Best Female Solo Artist prize earlier on (at which point James Corden called her “one successful tranny” – though no one seemed to notice). Damon Albarn had already messed up the schedule by delivering a very long and tedious acceptance speech for Blur’s Outstanding Contribution To Music award, and with the band due to play three songs before the News At Ten began, Adele needed to be stopped. Or so decided ITV.

Corden sidled up to the singer in mid-flow, and apologised as he told her she needed to stop speaking. Adele in response threw her middle finger in the air. Afterwards, she was keen to stress that this gesture was directed at “the suits” at ITV, saying: “It wasn’t to my fans. I’m sorry if I offended anyone, it was the suits that offended me”.

For his part, James Corden told The Sun that he’d wanted no part in ushering her off stage, but was told he had to. Speaking to The Sun, he said: “I was so upset I didn’t even watch Blur. I went straight backstage and spoke to her. I just wanted to say ‘I’m so sorry, if I had it my way…’ – but unfortunately you can’t make those calls. It would have been a wonderful TV moment for Adele to have her moment in the sun and say what she had to say”.

He continued: “Just after Adele said thank you, people were saying: ‘You have to go on now. You have to do it now’. I said: ‘How can we cut her off?’ It was such a surreal moment, all you can hear is five people in your ear having an argument and there’s one overriding voice saying: ‘James you have to’. It’s a shame but it’s a live show and what can you do? It’s one of those things”.

Not everyone was convinced it was “just one of those things”, though. With Albarn allowed to ramble on at length, and Adele booted off so that he could get back on stage again, Lily Allen tweeted: “That was a joke [but] I can’t say I’m surprised. It was like the music industry’s attitude to women played out as a metaphor”.

ITV also received 170 complaints and issued a statement saying: “The BRITs is a live event. Unfortunately the programme was over-running and we had to move on. We would like to apologise to Adele for the interruption”.

A BRITs spokesman also added: “We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short this evening due to the live show over-running. We don’t want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night’s biggest award. It tops off what’s been an incredible year for her”.

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:28 | By

Playlist: Clock Opera

CMU Playlists

Clock Opera

Having spent the last few years turning more and more heads with a string of single releases, avant-pop quartet Clock Opera are readying themselves for the release of their debut album, ‘Ways To Forget’, on 9 Apr via Island/Moshi Moshi. They are also due to play a one-off show at East London’s Victorian Vaults on 8 Mar, followed by a full UK tour beginning in April.

Ahead of all that, we sat down with bandleader Guy Connelly and asked him to tell us about ten of his favourite songs. Here’s what Guy had to say about his choices: “I’ll warn you now, I’m a deliberately late adopter, partly as a consequence of largely filling my time listening to my own music, but also to avoid the chaff. I do miss out on being the first to talk about most new music, and my cutting edge cool factor maybe low as a result, but that’s OK. At least I can be fairly sure that little of this is over-hyped tosh”.

GUY CONNELLY’S TEN
Click here to listen to Guy’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about their choices.

01 Active Child – You Are All I See
Stunning voice, my favourite track from his album.

02 Jagwar-Ma – Come Save Me
Amazing first release from a brand new label called The Blue Rider. I love the way the song ends in a totally different sound to the beginning.

03 The Walker Brothers – The Electrician
Scott Walker is the grandmaster. One of few artists whose work I love throughout their life. Kills me and kills me and kills me.

04 Moderat – A New Error
We play this pretty much every time we DJ. Generates rare emotion in me for an electronic instrumental track.

05 Mozart Parties – Where Has Everybody Gone?
Ideas and production are nothing without brilliant melody, which Mozart Parties seem to have in everything I’ve heard so far. I really love the chorus in particular.

06 Steve Reich – Dance Patterns
His influence is increasingly frequent it seems (bumped into a whole lot of musician friends at his recent Albert Hall show). There’s a strong link between the way he generates his music and we ours, and he can’t fail to get a mention.

07 Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx – My Cloud
Late-adopter factor is high here: I’ve only just realised quite what an incredible record this is. I’m convinced it’s a modern day ‘Screamadelica’.

08 Elliot Smith – Everything Means Nothing To Me
One of my favourite ever repetitions in song. Massively missed.

09 Stevie Wonder – All Day Sucker
Fair amount of gibberish in the words, but the funk is unbridled.

10 Brian Eno – Drift
Listen and float

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:27 | By

Approved: Siinai

CMU Approved

Siinai

Siinai are a fairly bold band. Bold enough to release an album of Olympics-themed instrumentals which opens with a track called ‘Anthem 1&2’ (and is followed by another called ‘Anthem 3’). But the Finnish quartet’s confidence works to their advantage. The album, entitled ‘Olympic Games’, is full of synth-led mini-epics, pinned down with krautrock rhythms, which earned them a nomination at this year’s Nordic Music Prize.

The album was released in Europe last year, and hit the US this week. However, the band already have a Stateside fan in Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, who invited them to record an album with his Moonface solo project. Entitled (boldly, as ever) ‘Heartbreaking Bravery’, that album is due for release through Jagjaguwar in April, with a track from it, ‘Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips’, available as a free download now.

But let’s head back to where we started now, and the video for ‘Anthem 1&2’:

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:26 | By

Viagogo fails to stop Channel 4’s secondary ticketing exposé from airing tonight

Business News Live Business Media Top Stories

Viagogo

Secondary ticketing is to go under the spotlight tonight as Channel 4 airs a ‘Dispatches’ programme about the resale market, including secret filming within the operations of two of the market leaders in the UK resale sector, Viagogo and Seatwave.

The rise of ticket touting online, initially via general auction sites like eBay, and then through bespoke ticket resale services like Viagogo and Seatwave, has been criticised before, of course, by punters, politicians and some key players in the music community, including managers and promoters.

A few years back, the then Labour government called on the live sector to act to stop consumers being ripped off by the growth in touting, threatening to introduce new laws if it failed to do so. Though when some key promoters said there was nothing they could do about it and that they’d welcome new legislation to combat the touts, ministers went quiet on the issue.

The secondary ticketing service providers would argue that there is nothing wrong with fans reselling tickets to in-demand events for profit, even if they bought the tickets specifically to resell, and that doing all that via an independent website that offers guarantees to the end-consumer is better than having touts gathering outside venues selling tickets on the night, old school style, or taking money via websites where there is no assurance that tickets actually exist.

Some would like to see all touting banned outright (as it already is for tickets to football games), but others who oppose the likes of Viagogo and Seatwave would stress that their opposition isn’t to grassroots fans making a few quid reselling a couple of tickets here and there, but to industrial scale touting, where companies buy up large numbers of tickets to in-demand events – either by utilising software that can make multiple bookings via primary ticket websites quickly, or by forming semi-secret alliances with gig promoters or artist managers – and in doing so make it hard for actual fans to get access to tickets from official sellers, so they are forced to pay hiked up prices via the resale services.

And it’s that kind of industrial touting that Channel 4’s documentary tonight will focus on. It will accuse some of the resale services of directly participating in such activities themselves, often in partnership with established promoters in the live sector. Said companies, the programme will allege, are ripping off the consumer by artificially hiking up prices while pretending it is fans selling tickets to other fans. And that latter point – ie the dishonesty – might contravene consumer legislation, an expert is expected to claim on the documentary.

In a trailer for the programme, Channel 4 includes a quote allegedly from a Viagogo employee, who says: “We have allocations, for example, for very big events – Rihanna, Westlife, Take That – we are getting allocations from the promoter, so we are allowed to sell them on our website, with our internal accounts, so on these ones, the seller is basically us. I mean it is really important that we never communicate to anyone that these accounts exist and that we do have tickets, because that is something internal that they are not supposed to know, and as far as we are concerned we are a ticket exchange and we don’t own any tickets”.

Key players in the resale sector went into damage limitation this week. Viagogo unsuccessfully tried to get an injunction to stop the ‘Dispatches’ programme airing on the grounds the secret filming was a ‘breach of confidence’. Confirming that the High Court had declined such an injunction, Channel 4 said in a statement yesterday: “We are pleased that we can now broadcast in full a programme of important public interest. It is disappointing that having provided Viagogo with a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations uncovered by our investigation several weeks ago, they chose instead to seek an injunction which would have effectively stopped the broadcast of our programme”.

Justifying his company’s injunction bid, Viagogo’s UK Director Edward Parkinson told CMU: “We sought an injunction to prevent customer information being made public. Our number one priority is to protect our customers’ data, so we will always do whatever we can to prevent that information from falling into the wrong hands”.

Seatwave, which also seemingly appears in the programme, went the PR route, sending an email to its customers condemning Channel 4’s tactics and encouraging those who have happily bought tickets via the service to take to their social media accounts to communicate their happiness. In the email, the company’s CEO Joe Cohen writes: “We know now that ‘Dispatches’ sent in an undercover reporter some months ago, to pose as an employee and surreptitiously film and record how we do business ‘behind the scenes’. As we’ve been told to expect by the programme producers, there will probably be a selection of Seatwave employees appearing on-screen and speaking – unfairly, and likely out of context, in my view – about the company”.

The email continues: “For the record: Seatwave has done nothing wrong, and in no way do we accept that surreptitious filming was justified in the development of this programme … From the outset, we set up guarantees to ensure that fans would get the tickets they paid for (TicketIntegrity), and wouldn’t be out of pocket if an event they’d bought tickets for was cancelled (TicketCover). With guarantees like these, we have consistently led the ticketing market towards more customer-friendly practices. Transparency and security were, and still are, our top priorities”.

Viagogo said something similar in its response to Channel 4’s investigation, explaining: “Viagogo exists to provide a safe, secure marketplace for the buying and selling of live event tickets. Viagogo is an open marketplace, and while the majority of sellers are individuals we do not disallow larger sellers, including event organisers, from selling on our platform. Above all we provide a guarantee that buyers will get the tickets they have paid for which has helped dramatically reduce ticket fraud and scams in the UK”.

It remains to be seen what impact Channel 4’s exposé has on the UK ticket resale market, if nothing else it will presumably offer a boost to those consumer rights groups and MPs who have been grumbling about the secondary market for some time. Within the live industry it might also reignite a debate that has been off the agenda for a couple of years now, since many promoters went the ‘if you can’t beat then join them’ route and started selling an allocation of tickets to their own events via resale sites, taking a cut of any mark up.

Those promoters will likely argue it is better for artists and their associates than the shady touts to profit from marked-up resold tickets, though if the Dispatches show paints the sector in too bad a light some artists might seek to distance themselves from the practice, giving those in the industry who have been critical of Viagogo, Seatwave et al throughout the upper hand.

‘The Great Ticket Scandal’ airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4, with the broadcaster hoping to spark debate on Twitter using the hashtag #TicketScandal.

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:19 | By

EU asks ECJ to review ACTA

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EU

Global intellectual property agreement ACTA hit another hurdle yesterday when the European Commission, which signed the treaty last month, said it would ask the European Courts Of Justice to review the document and check if it contravenes any fundamental EU rights.

As previously reported, opposition to the agreement has grown in recent weeks, despite it being years in the making, and having been signed by most European countries last month, as well as by the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea last October. That increasingly vocal opposition is making some of those European nations yet to actually sign up, and some who already have, call for further revisions to be made to the agreement. It may also mean that the European Parliament will vote against the treaty when it is discussed there in June.

Opponents to ACTA will likely see the EC’s decision to refer the agreement to the ECJ as vindication of their concerns. Though supporters of the treaty will also likely welcome the move, as EU commissioners actually expect the court to approve the agreement, and hope that judicial approval will help counter some of the more gloomy accusations made against ACTA with regards its affects on the general public’s internet rights.

According to The Guardian, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he hoped an ECJ ruling on ACTA would clear the “fog of misinformation” around the treaty, adding: “This debate must be based upon facts and not upon the misinformation or rumour that has dominated social media sites and blogs in recent weeks. ACTA will not censor websites or shut them down; ACTA will not hinder freedom of the internet or freedom of speech”.

As previously reported, ACTA obliges those countries who sign it to bring their copyright and other intellectual property right systems into line with certain criteria. Supporters in Europe insist copyright systems within the EU already adhere to the agreement, so the impact will be minimal, but opponents fear the treaty will enable governments to force through unpopular anti-piracy measures, claiming they have to in order to satisfy international obligations.

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:17 | By

Warner owner still hopes to buy EMI assets as a result of regulatory investigations

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Warner Music

Warner Music still has ambitions to take ownership of some or all of the EMI record companies, according to Bloomberg. The mini-major is joining with the independent sector, of course, in calling on US and European regulators to block Universal’s planned acquisition of the EMI labels, Universal having outbid Warner owner Access Industries in the race to buy the British music firm last year.

Bloomberg cites three sources as saying that Access, owned by billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik, is watching the regulator investigations into the Universal/EMI deal closely, hopeful the takeover might be blocked outright, or at least Universal may be forced to sell off significant chunks of the EMI catalogue, or even front-line businesses, in order to win regulator approval.

Access, which last year said current EMI owner Citigroup was overpricing its music assets, would then swoop to try to buy any bits of the major back on the market, enabling it to boost its market share.

As previously reported, the New York Post says Universal has pledged to Citigroup to make up the difference if their $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI is blocked and the bank is forced to sell to another party for less money. If true, that would enable the bank to accept Blavatnik’s lesser offer without affecting its bottom line.

Warner, of course, will be dwarfed by its two rivals, Universal and Sony, if their respective bids to buy EMI’s recordings and publishing businesses go ahead, so its opposition to the two deals, and ambitions to nab any bits of EMI left after the regulatory process, aren’t surprising, though it’s interesting to see it confirmed.

Of course if Warner was to buy the EMI record company outright, it too would need regulator approval, but as a combined EMI/Warner (even if Warner had, as originally intended five years ago, bought the entirety of EMI) would still be smaller than Universal even before its EMI purchase, that deal would presumably get the green light much easier.

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Thursday 23 February 2012, 12:15 | By

Mega extradition hearings not likely until August

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MegaUpload

Don’t expect any movement on America’s legal assault on the MegaUpload bosses anytime soon, because the US’s attempts to extradite the Mega execs from New Zealand are not likely to get to court until the summer.

As previously reported, four of the seven men the US accuse of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering for their involvement in the Mega empire were arrested in New Zealand last month. All four, including founder Kim ‘Dotcom’ Schmitz, have now been bailed, pending extradition hearings.

New Zealand’s Ministry Of Justice yesterday said 20 Aug had been pencilled in for a hearing on attempts to extradite Schmitz. No more information was provided, because “extradition requests are generally considered confidential diplomatic communications between state parties”.

Some of the 21 conditions put on Schmitz when he was granted bail earlier this week have also been revealed. Like his former colleagues, he is not to access the internet while on bail, plus he’s also banned from taking drugs (which presumably the law already dictates, unless that includes aspirin) and from having a helicopter on his property. As previously reported, prosecutors have expressed concerns Schmitz might try to flee New Zealand for his home country of Germany, where it would be much harder for the US to extradite him.

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