Monday 30 July 2012, 11:01 | By CMU Editorial

Marshall Teller compiles anniversary LP

Releases

London label Marshall Teller – which has in the past issued singles by The Vaccines, Weird Dreams, Gross Magic and Novella – is releasing an anniversary compilation dating back to its 2010 beginnings.

Out on 10 Sep, its eight component tracks – all by different bands – will be divided between two seven-inch vinyl records.

MS HQ explain its premise: “The idea behind this record was to feature four bands that we have released previously over the last two years, and then get them to choose who they would like to share the compilation with”.

Copies of the collection are strictly limited to just 300, with all artwork and posters designed and drawn by the bands themselves. Pre-order link here.

And here’s Male Bonding/Weird Dreams offshoot Cheatahs’ ‘Let’s Build A Fort’, as features first on the LP, to listen to now:

Tracklisting:

Cheatahs – Let’s Build a Fort
Sauna Youth – Fomo Breakfast
Colours – Paradise
Omi Parlone – A Reason
Warm Brains – Zaragoza
Parlour – My Love
Total Slacker – Sometimes People Suck
Night Manager – Broke Haircut

Killing Joke frontman criticises The Cult over tour downgrade

Gigs & Festivals

So, that previously listed ‘supertour’ featuring alt-rock bands The Cult, The Mission and Killing Joke underwent a serious down-sizing last month in terms of venues – one can only assume after disappointing ticket sales – and now Killing Joke have withdrawn (albeit unofficially) from all updated dates.

Not only that, but KJ frontman Jaz Coleman has blasted touring partners The Cult in a furious Facebook tirade, singling out the punk quartet for extorting fans, lacking all integrity and claiming to be from LA. The Cult are in fact from Bradford, so that last point seems fair.

Initially billed as an arena tour, the outing has since been downgraded to smaller-capacity academies in Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham and London. So far, so not very good.

Or so thinks Jaz Coleman, who last week addressed this Facebook note (since deleted) to his ‘Gatherers’: “It gives me great pleasure to announce the cancellation of the upcoming gigs with The Cult and The Mission. Frankly, playing at a gig with The Cult never appealed to me in the first place. The only reason we allowed ourselves to be talked into it was to blow both bands off the stage and to steal their respective audiences”.

The statement continues: “As the concert has been downgraded to a venue that we have recently headlined (and sold out) it doesn’t make sense. In addition to this Gatherers would only get to listen to a one hour set. Then there would be a problem with the dressing room and witnessing The Cult charge the fans $200 per head for a meet and greet”.

And (almost) finally: “Lastly, all their songs suck! They clearly have no integrity (they refer to their hometown as LA).

Black Jester
PS I don’t want your money
PPS Life without KJ is unthinkable!”

Anyway. In case you want them, here are the new academy dates, which will in all likelihood still take place with or without (unthinkable as that may be) Killing Joke:

10 Sep: Manchester, Apollo
11 Sep: Newcastle, Academy
12 Sep: Sheffield, Academy
15 Sep: Birmingham, Academy
16 Sep: London, Hammersmith Apollo

UPDATE 1 AUG 2012: Killing Joke have issued a further statement. Read more here.

Bardo Pond to tour

Gigs & Festivals

Spaceage psych vets Bardo Pond have just listed a clutch of new live dates, as well as streaming ‘Just Once’, taken from the band’s eponymous eighth LP, by way of an audio premonition:

And those dates are:

1 Aug: Birmingham, Hair & Hounds
2 Aug: London, Nambucca
5 Aug: Bristol, The Croft

Festival line-up additions – 30 Jul 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BEERMAGEDDON, Somercotes, Derbyshire, 24-26 Aug: Allerjen, Illflower. www.beermageddon.co.uk

ITUNES, The Roundhouse, London, 1-30 Sep: Matchbox Twenty. www.itunesfestival.com

IMPALA criticises changes to private copy levy in Spain

Business News Labels & Publishers

Various creative industry trade groups in Europe, including indie label trade body IMPALA, have hit out at changes to private copy compensation in Spain.

In most European countries copyright law allows consumers to make private back-up copies of recordings they buy, but adds a levy to devices and consumables used in the making of such copies, which is paid collectively to the rights owners whose work is being copied. Traditionally the levy was applied to blank cassettes and CDRs, though in the digital age, where back-up copies are made to PCs, smartphones and digital lockers, countries where the system applies have had to work out where to apply the levy instead. Needless to say, the makers of any devices that levies may be attached to have generally hit out at any plans to do so.

In Spain the levy was initially applied to “media content storage devices”, but earlier this year the country’s then newish government repealed that measure, and instead said that rights owners would be compensated by the government directly.

More details of how that will work have now been revealed, and the proposals have met with criticism from rights owners, who say that the new approach makes the measure a ‘subsidy’ rather than a right under copyright, while adding that the sum of money the Spanish government proposes to hand over is far too low. IMPALA and others also say the new system ignores obligations under European Law.

In a statement last week, the various trade bodies wrote: “This change contradicts the aim of developing a creative economy and it also goes against EU law on copyright and the internal market. The Spanish government is now proposing a ridicule subsidy of five million euros per year to compensate for the same economic damage. Meanwhile, the prices of consumer goods used for copying have not been reduced since the levy was abolished”.

“The new system in Spain cuts the link between the act of private copying and the payment of fair compensation due to right holders. [But] such a royalty system cannot be assimilated to a tax. Private copying remuneration is not state aid. It is a system developed at international and EU level to encourage and reward artists as the main agents of creative, cultural and entertainment activities. We therefore call on the Spanish government to comply with EU law and to respect artists and the cultural and creative industries, by reinstating the previously existing compensation system for private copying”.

As previously reported, in the UK there is no levy system because no private copy right exists under British copyright law (even though everyone makes private copies). The recent Hargreaves Review of copyright laws proposed introducing such a private copy right, but without a levy, something the UK music industry is likely to oppose.

Cherrytree man could stay with Universal

Business News Deals Industry People Labels & Publishers

Just over a month after the boss of Cherrytree Records, Martin Kierszenbaum, announced that he was leaving Universal’s Interscope Records, taking his label with him, Billboard has now reported that a new deal has been struck with the major to keep the songwriter and A&R exec and his label within the fold.

Cherrytree had operated as an imprint of Interscope since 2005, but the deal was up for renewal and no terms could be agreed. But, it now seems that, even after Kierszenbaum had announced his departure, talks continued, and a new deal has now been reached, though the specifics of it are not known.

Warner merges its label services divisions

Business News Labels & Publishers

Warner Music is merging the Alternative Distribution Alliance and the Independent Label Group, its two divisions that offer services to independent artists and labels, the former traditionally focusing on distribution and licensing, the latter on marketing and promotions. The major says that the combined unit, which will use the ADA name, will “provide one comprehensive solution to the indie community”. The GM of ILG, Kenny Weagly, will become SVP A&R & Label Services of the new combined division, reporting in to existing ADA chief David Orleans.

Orleans told CMU: “ADA’s mission is to provide the best possible services to extraordinary indies. It is a mutual choice when we work with a label or an artist, and we build deep, lasting partnerships that help our clients develop long-term careers. Expanding our services means greater resource, broader expertise and more senior level support. This is a clear signal that we intend to stay leaders in our field by investing in our future and the futures of our labels”.

While Weagly added: “The combined entity is the best in the business. Two exceptional teams just came together to create an unmatched business partner for our labels and artists”.

HMV seeks to change LSE category

Business News HMV Timeline Live Business Retail

HMV hopes to change its listing category on the London Stock Exchange, according to Retail Week. The move would make it easier for management at the flagging entertainment retailer to make “certain strategic decisions” in a more “timely and cost effective manner”.

Basically it would allow more flexibility for management to sell certain assets without having to go get shareholder approval for every deal. HMV is still investigating how best to sell off the rest of its live music division, having successfully sold the Hammersmith Apollo, in a bid to raise some much needed cash.

The retail company said in a statement: “The board considers that the proposed transfer is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole. The board believes this transfer will facilitate a more cost efficient and timely strategic review of the live business and reduce administrative costs generally. Furthermore, the board wishes to align its regulatory responsibilities and the associated costs thereof with the company’s size”.

The company’s board would need the approval of 75% of the group’s shareholders to make the change. A General Meeting to take the vote is expected to be called anytime now.

Ariel Pink talks drugs, gay marriage and “immature” new LP

And Finally

No doubt you’re all fascinated by lo-fi character Ariel Pink, his band Haunted Graffiti, and their forthcoming new LP ‘Mature Themes’; which is why you might want to hear part of Ariel’s commentary on the album, plus his thoughts on society in general. If so, please read on. If not, maybe go and read about Justin Bieber.

Speaking in the new episode of Pitchfork Weekly, the appropriately pink-haired auteur says that ‘Mature Themes’, which is out via 4AD on 21 Aug, is “for mature audiences only, but there’s a lot of immaturity in this record”.

So that’s nice. But hey, what of Ariel’s views on gay marriage? “I’m very old fashioned, very traditional in my values. I don’t understand what all this gay marriage stuff is about, it really pisses me off. I don’t really even support marriage, per se”.

Still being all provocative/insane, he later philosophises: “I’m all for being a deviant, all for being a deviant, and being proud. Don’t pretend like you’re Betty Crocker. I love gays, by the way”.

And then: “I love paedophiles too, and I love necrophiliacs [sic], and all these other people. When do they get their marriage and orientation, when do they get to talk about their sexual repression and how society doesn’t accept them?”

And on drugs: “What if doing drugs killed you, but it saved other people’s lives? That would be a good reason to do them, I’d say, and I definitely believe in taking drugs to alleviate the pain and suffering of this miserable life”.

And last of all: “I’m just starting to get sick of myself talking”.

Us too, Ariel, us too. You can see the entire interview, plus a shopping trip with slender Brooklynites DIIV, here:

Editor’s Letter: Sea, sand and Syðrugøta – Welcome to G! Festival

CMU Weekly Editor's Letter

“So, you want me to take you to Benjamin’s place?” The G! Festival steward was leaning over to the passenger side window of her car.

“Yes, if that’s where the gig is”, I replied, assuming that Benjamin’s Place was one of the local live music venues. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure where I wanted to go, other than to see a secret show somewhere nearby.

In my defence, I’d been in the village of Syðrugøta on the Faroese island of Eysturoy, where G! Festival takes place, for less than 30 minutes, and hadn’t yet quite realised that its population amounts to just a few hundred people, meaning that bustling live venues were in short supply. So, Benjamin’s place turned out to be a tiny three room bungalow owned by a guy called Benjamin. I might have guessed. But it was where the gig was, I’d got that right.

Crammed into the living room with 20 or so other foreign visitors, I watched a short set by members of Orka and Budam – two of the Faroes’ best bands, who were not on the festival line-up this year. Instead they’d put together a short collaborative set of inventive and highly original material.

And so began my first experience of G! Festival, one of the Faroe Island’s two big outdoor music events (the other being the more mainstream Summarfestivalurin), which could also be described in the same way as that small set at Benjamin’s place – inventive and highly original. The 6000 capacity festival showcases some of the Faroe Islands’ best bands, as well as international acts, from across an eclectic mix of genres (last year’s headliners, for example, were Travis and Meshuggah).

The main stage is situated on the beach, while the second sits just up the hill on what would normally be an astroturfed football pitch, with views straight down a fjord, and of the beautiful landscape surrounding it, all the way out to sea. It’s a pretty stunning place to be.

Benjamin, it turned out, is quite the local celebrity, or so the sizeable crowd that turned out for his 10pm show on the second stage would suggest. His rocked up, singer-songwriter fare certainly had people captivated, and by the end of the weekend had earned him a show at this year’s Iceland Airwaves festival and a record deal in Germany.

I wondered, briefly, if anyone would be impressed if I were to tell them that I’d been in his house earlier. But then I realised that, with the largely local audience, most of them probably bumped into him on a semi-regular basis. Even for those travelling from a bit further afield, in a country with a population of 48,000, it’s not easy to be anonymous.

There is a very local feel about G! Festival, with many of Syðrugøta and its neighbouring village Norðragøta’s residents making up the audience. It’s an incredibly friendly place too – with no hotel or guesthouses nearby, my fellow international delegates and I were put up in the homes of various families in the village.

G! is clearly something this community is very proud of. And even those not especially keen on all the loud music that goes on to 3am each night will, I was told, simply shrug and say: “Well, it’s only three days”. It’s a stark contrast to recent protestations from the residents of Mayfair about shows in Hyde Park. I suspect that the general relaxed attitude to life all Faroese people seem to have helps here.

Either way, it’s just as well they collectively smile on this event, given that, unlike with the Hyde Park festivals, both stages at G! are mere metres away from people’s houses. On Thursday, between 5pm and 9pm, I watched a series of increasingly intense metal bands – Icelandic band Momentum and Faroese quintet Synarchy being particular highlights – and at one point I glanced up from the stage momentarily to see someone doing their washing up.

And just in case that wasn’t weird enough, at 1am I was watching doom metallers Hamferð over at the main stage, which was almost touching one of the nearby houses, and there was someone doing the washing up there too. I guess it’s as good a time as any to get housework done when a doom metal band is playing by your window.

As well as being near houses, the main stage also sits on Syðrugøta’s small, grey-sanded beach, along with hot tubs that people occasionally leap out of in order to run through the crowd and into the freezing cold sea. In fact, this sort of activity begins first thing in the morning before the festival is even properly open and late into the night.

And some didn’t even bother with the hot tub first, such as Haraldur Ari Stefánsson, vocalist with Icelandic pop troupe Retro Stefson. “This is our last song, so I want you all to dance… And take off your clothes”, he announced to the audience, “you’ll find out why at the end of the song”.

No one’s going to fall for that one, I thought. But after a few more prompts – including stripping down to a small pair of shorts himself – a handful of people were stood in just their underwear. His mission accomplished, Stefánsson then leapt off the stage and led his small group of semi-nude followers down into the sea. It was late in the evening and clearly very cold. They didn’t last long, but it still happened and that’s what counts.

Day two began with a foggy, slightly damp wait for a bus to take us to the Islands’ capital, Tórshavn, to visit TUTL Records, a company that has been releasing music by Faroese artists for 35 years. Sometimes putting out up to 50 releases a year, the label is a real focal point for the active music scene on the islands.

Founded and still run by musician Kristian Blak, the vast majority of Faroese recording artists will have had some contact with TUTL, and looking through its catalogue you begin to realise what an incredibly high proportion of musicians the country has amongst its population. To match the ratio of releases to consumers, the UK would need to up its recorded output by tens of thousands of releases per year.

Meanwhile, while we were leafing through the racks of TUTL’s shop before taking a tour of the old town, back in Syðrugøta a ‘situation’ was arising. Being based out in the North Atlantic means that it’s not uncommon for planes to be unable to land on the Faroe Islands due to heavy fog over Vágar Airport. On Friday afternoon it was announced that three of the headline acts due to play over the next two nights had been on planes redirected to airports in other countries for exactly this reason. John Grant and Tim Christensen & The Damn Crystals were due to play on Saturday, but Veronica Maggio’s set on Friday would have to be postponed.

In her place, local musician Eivør (who had guested with Hamferð on the main stage the previous night) was moved over from the second stage. It was a great performance, so atmospheric and grand, that it was surprising she hadn’t been on the main stage all along.

However, one of the best discoveries of that night was something more simple, what we termed ‘the singing hut’ (we were later informed that it actually goes by the name of ‘the hay house’). There my companion and I sang along to various Faroese folk songs, or approximations of them from the lyric sheet we were given. God knows what the noises we made actually sounded like, but no one seemed offended in the least, and we slowly amassed a group of locals to spend the rest of the evening with.

Having spent that night becoming fairly well acquainted with the local beer and ‘akvavitt’ spirit, Saturday became more of a subdued affair. We went to the Væl Á Veg award ceremony, where Benjamin was chosen from all the Faroese artists playing to perform at this year’s Iceland Airwaves, and then took in a selection of music videos and short films.

Sitting in a dark room for a couple of hours proved good preparation for the final night of music. By this point, although hope had been held out for as long as possible, it became clear that Veronica Maggio, John Grant and Tim Christensen were not going to be able to land. But there was still much to enjoy, particular highlights being the infectious pop of Sakaris and the more downbeat fare of Frostfelt.

Also, there was the chance to see some bona fide Faroese rock royalty, Frændur. Active since the 80s, they are the islands’ highest selling native act. “Everyone will sing along”, the festival’s website proclaimed. And, oh my, they did. Everyone of every age knew every word of every song (apparently because their songs are regularly sung at parties and therefore handed down through the generations). It was quite amazing to be stood in the middle of a crowd like that having had no idea what to expect beforehand.

But while Frændur have apparently been content with a career focussed entirely on the Faroe Islands, the vast number of artists in the country means a lot of the other talent is increasingly looking for ways to expand their international reach. Many now base themselves in other countries, particularly Denmark and Iceland, with some success. However, it’s surprising that the Faroese music scene isn’t given the same focus as other Nordic nations, because not only is the number of artists coming out of the Faroes very high, the quality is too.

Not everything I saw at the festival was exactly to my taste, but I didn’t see any act that could be described as ‘bad’. At a festival of a similar size in England, I’d probably expect to be disappointed by the standard of at least a few bands each day. But that was never the case here.

This regular discovery of new music to enjoy, the people I met in the few days I spent in the Faroes, and the incredible landscape that I regularly had to stop and remind myself really was there all around me, went together to make one of my favourite festival experiences. I’ll certainly remember it for a long time.

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU

PS – Speaking of festivals, if you happen to be heading up to the Edinburgh Fringe this August, look out for a couple of events that CMU is involved in. More details here.

PPS – After the Editors’ Letter’s brief holiday last week (while I was at that there mentioned G! Festival), this is now the last missive from me until September, as the column goes on its summer break. See you then.

PODCAST
The CMU Weekly Podcast has also shut up shop and gone on its summer holiday, with the last episode in the series going out earlier this month. But don’t sit there sobbing onto your shoes, you can still listen to the archive of all 61 episodes here.

IN THE NEWS
So, quelle surprise, Universal’s bid to buy EMI is still big news. And it’s a story that is rapidly progressing as we speak – as the mega-major submitted its divestments proposal to European regulators just this afternoon.

Universal hopes that by proposing to sell off a load of EMI’s European assets, it can overcome concerns expressed by regulators to its deal. And – according to a memo from current EMI boss Roger Faxon to his staff – it’s a hell of a load, especially in the UK, where both the Parlophone and EMI/Chrysalis divisions could go, leaving very little of EMI – the mighty British major – remaining in Britain. With just Virgin Records and some periphary labels left, it seems likely EMI Music UK would be absorbed by Universal’s existing UK divisions.

Of course those prospoals will still have to face the scrutiny of the regulator, who will share them with other stakeholders, including the independent label community. Opinion in the indie sector remains divided, with some backing Universal’s latest plans, but other’s remaining opposed to any further growth of the Universal empire, including AIM’s Alison Wenham, Bella Union’s Simon Raymonde and King Crimson label Panegyric’s Declan Colgan, who all wrote open letters on the issue this week.

Also writing letters (or a letter, at least) were a whole load of pop celebrities, including Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Elton John, Simon Cowell, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Robert Plant, Professor Green and Tinie Tempah. They addressed their letter to David Cameron, telling him that as the Olympics are coming up, he should get three-strikes started and force “search engines” (ie Google) to do more to stop online piracy.

Elsewhere in piracy news, Torrentfreak leaked an IFPI internal report on the global trade body’s current thinking on such things, several of the UK ISPs blocking The Pirate Bay blocked it some more, and the New Zealand record industry claimed that the country’s three-strikes system had reduced piracy there.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Amazon now accounts for a fifth of UK entertainment sales, while the iTunes store saw its revenues slip, and a number of retailers complained to The Independent about labels’ tendency to bunch big releases together at the same time of year.

In slightly unusual digital deal news, HTC sold half of the shares it bought in Beats Electronics just under a year ago back to the Dr Dre-owned company (a move Morgan Stanley described as “puzzling” – not something you generally want a bank to say), and DJ Shadow announced a partnership with BitTorrent Inc, the organisation behind the oft controversial file-sharing technology.

In the courts, concern expressed over the guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children led to custody being taken away from Jackson’s mother Katherine and given to their cousin Tito Jackson Jr (on a temporary basis at this stage), Charlotte Church won libel damages from The People, the man who killed four members of Jennifer Hudson’s family was sentenced to life in jail, Lady Gaga was sued over a deal with the maker of Bratz dolls, and the photographer who allegedly caused Justin Bieber to get a speeding fine recently was charged by police.

Hey, how about some festival news now? Well, Melvin Benn has admitted that the excuse he gave for cancelling this year’s Big Chill – a clash with the Olympics – wasn’t strictly true. He said this week that it was more because of an uncertainty about the creative direction of the festival, and that while “something” would be back at the Big Chill site next year, it could be quite different. Over in Germany, music business convention Popkomm was reported to have shut its doors for good, though in more positive news, Green Man announced that it is sponsoring a cricket team.

And finally, Plan B apologised for accidentally wearing a Skrewdriver t-shirt, the original Sugababes discussed their reunion, Timbaland and Katy Perry both gave ridiculous quotes to announce new brand partnerships, and Justin Bieber’s manager revealed that the singer is not a prick just because he’s famous.

FEATURES AND NEW MUSIC
This week’s Beef Of The Week saw the age old war between Hollywood and the internet descend into a stern battle of letter writing. First MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that he just wanted to help the film industry and was upset that it wouldn’t let him. Director Bruce Ledder responded by asking if he could have some of Dotcom’s cars. Maybe they should all go to a festival together, and here are all the latest line-up additions.

In the Approved column this week we had no less than two artists from the Faroe Islands, electro popper Sakaris and atmospheric rocker Eivør, as well as Estonian Maria Minerva and England’s own Olugbenga.

Elsewhere, Snoop Dogg morphed into his Jamaican alter-ego Snoop Lion with the first track from his forthcoming Diplo-produced reggae album, and we had more new music from The Killers, Kreayshawn, Bat For Lashes, Grimes, Crystal Castles, SBTRKT, Boys Noize, Sebadoh, Kindness, Theme Park, and PAWS.

Oh, and we had a video of Lars Ulrich from Metallica playing a trombone.

Universal submits proposals for remedies to EMI bid to EU regulators

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers

Universal has submitted its package of proposed divestments to European regulators, which it is hopes will help win approval for its bid to buy the EMI record company.

In a statement this afternoon, the company said: “Universal Music Group has submitted a package of remedies to the European Commission relating to its proposed acquisition of EMI Recorded Music. We believe the package fully addresses the Commission’s concerns and follows our constructive discussions with regulators, independent labels and competitors. We look forward to working further with the Commission and are confident of receiving clearance”.

As previously reported, The Commission will now take five days to share those plans with other stakeholders who have inputted into its investigation to date. The Commission is due to rule on the merger by no later than 6 Sep, though Reuters says that as soon as Universal formally submits a concessions package that deadline will actually be pushed back fifteen days.

It has been rumoured that one of the remedies in the document could see Universal commit to sell of the Parlophone catalogue, possibly to BMG. Parlophone counts Coldplay, Pet Shop Boys and Kylie amongst its vast roster, as well as, technically, The Beatles recordings, though those would almost be certainly excluded from any deal to sell the EMI division.

The music business week in five – 27 Jul 2012

Business News Week In Five

So, another busy week in EMI developments then. But could we be nearing the end of this saga, in Europe at least, with a set of bold asset-sale promises enabling a speedy all clear from European Commission regulators? Or will this story push all the way to its September deadline? That remains to be seen. This is the last Week In Five until September, so perhaps when we return Universal/EMI will be a done deal already. Needless to say, you’ll get all the updates in CMU each day, and don’t forget you can plot developments on our EMI sale timeline here. And now this week’s big stories…

01: Universal pondered over what divestments to propose to secure regulator approval for its EMI deal in Europe. The major has until next Wednesday to formally propose concessions to overcome concerns expressed by European Commission regulators over the big acquisition. That mainly means pledging to sell off bits of EMI. Up to 20 parties have now apparently come forward expressing an interest to buy some of the British major’s assets, including BMG, which is interested in the all important Parlophone archives.

Various independent sector execs have now confirmed their support for the Universal/EMI deal, providing UMG boss Lucian Grainge sticks by his commitment to offload EMI assets to indie label bidders. Though not all indie types are convinced – Bella Union’s Simon Raymonde, Panegyric’s Declan Colgan and AIM’s Alison Wenham reaffirmed their opposition this week – while Beggars chief Martin Mills says the deal should be blocked, but if it isn’t, artists should have the right to buy back their catalogues from the combined major before any other asset sale takes place. CMU Timeline

02: HTC sold half its stake in Beats back to Dre and Iovine, meaning the phone maker now owners just over a quarter of the headphone and music services company, which recently acquired streaming platform MOG. HTC said that selling shares back to Beats’ founders was a “realignment” to allow more rapid growth for the young company. Morgan Stanley called the arrangement “puzzling”. CMU report | Reuters report

03: Pop celebs called for more government action on piracy, in an open letter to David Cameron. Sort of using the Olympics as an excuse to speak – “as the world’s focus turns to the UK this summer” – Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Elton John, Simon Cowell, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Robert Plant, Professor Green and Tinie Tempah were among the artists calling on the PM to get a move on with enacting the anti-piracy bit of the 2010 Digital Economy Act (three-strikes etc), while also suggesting that search engines – by which they really mean Google – should be made to do more to police the distribution of unlicensed content online. The letter preceded new stats released by the New Zealand record industry this week, that claimed that the three-strikes system enacted there has cut file-sharing. Letter report | New Zealand report

04: Amazon accounted for a fifth of UK entertainment sales, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel. In the last quarter, Amazon grew its market share by 3.2% year on year, meaning it now accounts for 21.1% of entertainment product sales, giving it quite a lead over HMV, which now accounts for 16.6% of sales, down from 17.4% in the same period a year earlier. CMU report | Retail Week report

05: Melvin Benn said he was planning to reinvent the Big Chill festival, which was cancelled this year. The Festival Republic chief admitted that competition from the Olympics was only part of the reason why Big Chill 2012 was canned, adding that he felt the event needed an overhaul, maybe even changing its name in 2013. CMU report | BBC report

And that’s your lot. If you’re into Olympic things, enjoy all the sporty shenanigans, corporate brand controlled festivities and Danny’s big bash. If not, good luck avoiding all that. May I suggest you join me in Edinburgh, where the annual August festival is so flippin big, Olympic nonsense is unlikely to invade your consciousness (follow www.ThreeWeeks.co.uk for more on all that)?

Chris Cooke
Business Editor, CMU

Approved: Afro Acid meets The Pioneers Of House at The Coronet

Club Tip CMU Approved

Chicago house legend and the man credited with creating acid house with his seminal ‘Acid Trax’ anthem, DJ Pierre, makes an exclusive London appearance tomorrow night.

Call him by any of his many monikers – Phuture, Pierre’s Pfantasy Club, Phortune, Phuture Phantasy Club, The Don, Photon Inc, Nat ‘Jammin Jones’, Scratching Pierre, The Creator, or just DJ Pierre – this man is a true legend. Celebrating the growing success of his Afro Acid Records label, DJ Pierre keeps it old school meets nu school, bass-heavy and squelches galore with his definitive take on acid and house music.

He’ll appear on the decks alongside two sterling Chicago house music pioneers, Marshall Jefferson and Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley (now joined by DJ Skip as the SNS Experience). And spread across three rooms of music at The Coronet, the night will also feature sets from Tom Stephan, Bart B More, Aaron Ross and Booker T, with an old school room boasting sets from Chalk E White, Huckle Finn and Mark Rushton.

A nine hour house music marathon session – viva la musica de casa!

Saturday 28 July, The Coronet, New Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, London, SE1, 10pm-7am, £15, info at this Facebook page.

Could Universal sell Parlophone to get EMI deal approval?

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Parlophone

So this is interesting, as Universal Music prepares to submit its final divestment proposals to the European Commission, outlining once and for all the assets it plans to sell in order to get the all clear for its bid to buy the EMI record company, rumour is rife that the unit that might, in fact, be put on the block is Parlophone, arguably the crown jewel of the British music major, and therefore the catalogue few expected Universal to sell.

Various media say that Universal has been talking to BMG about it buying some of EMI’s assets, and that the catalogue on the table in those talks is Parlophone, the label that counts Coldplay, Pet Shop Boys and Kylie amongst its vast roster. The Parlophone catalogue also technically includes The Beatles recordings, though those would almost be certainly excluded from any deal to sell the EMI division.

The version two BMG company, launched by Bertlesmann in 2008 after the German media giant sold off its original record and music publishing companies, has primarily concentrated on the publishing rights in songs to date. Though the company has always made much of the fact it is an ‘integrated music rights’ firm rather than a traditional publishing business, and, indeed, has acquired some sound recording rights over the last four years.

Not only that, but when talk of a new EMI sale first began in late 2010 as Terra Firma’s ownership of the major spiralled into oblivion, the boss of BMG, Hartwig Masuch, when asked whether he would bid for EMI Music Publishing, remarked that he might actually bid for the EMI record company. In the end he didn’t – he unsuccessfully bid for the EMI publishing firm – but, if the current rumours are true, and Universal did do a deal with the German music rights firm, then it could be master recording rights Masuch wins control of after all.

A BMG deal over Parlophone would put to an end Richard Branson’s ambitions to reacquire Virgin Records with his former colleague Patrick Zelnik, because if Parlophone was offloaded then Universal would almost certainly keep hold of Virgin, and the EMI/Chrysalis division. All of that said, while Universal is expected to reveal its intentions to European regulators very soon, it’s too soon to tell which way the mega-major is leaning.

Billboard says the firm has had approaches from up to 20 parties about acquiring parts of the EMI business, including twelve indie labels, six equity types and rival Sony Music. Though Warner – always assumed to be an obvious bidder for any EMI assets (having lost the bidding for EMI Music as a whole to Universal) – has made no approach, the US trade mag says.

Possibly because, given the strong words delivered by former Warner chief and existing board member Edgar Bronfman Jr against the Universal/EMI deal, bosses at the mini-major don’t think they’d get a good reception at Universal HQ. Or perhaps Warner still believes the Universal/EMI deal can be totally defeated in the regulatory environment. Or perhaps Warner has got over EMI and has new ambitions – hey, what about a BMG/Warner merger, that would make sense, and we need something new to speculate about if and when the long-running EMI saga finally reaches its conclusion.

AIM maintains opposition to Universal’s EMI bid, while Beggars chief backs FAC proposal

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Meanwhile, back to the independent label community, where opinions remain divided about the Universal/EMI deal. Though – cynics might argue – if the major does opt to go with a BMG purchase of Parlophone, the mega-major might lose some of those new-found friends in the indie world, whose recent views on the merger may have been affected by the prospect of being able to buy chunks of the EMI catalogue.

Universal chief Lucian Grainge said he’d give the European indie sector first bidding rights on EMI assets for sale, ahead of any private equity types, if indie labels trade body IMPALA ceased its opposition to his takeover deal. Of course IMPALA did no such thing, even though over half of its board thought it should, so presumably that deal is off. Though, technically, selling Parlophone to BMG would be doing a deal with an independent music company. Albeit one half owned by private equity.

Anyway, as previously reported, not everyone in indie-ville is now supporting Universal’s bid, and the boss of the UK’s Association Of Independent Music, Alison Wenham, is among them. In a letter published in Music Week this week, Wenham confirmed her organisation remained opposed to the EMI deal, even if some of its members had differing viewpoints, stressing that she didn’t buy commitments made by Grainge to IMPALA about his good intentions post an EMI acquisition.

Wenham: “The offer to IMPALA from Universal is beguiling, and is clearly intended to make us believe that a company that has controlled the market for ten years has undergone an epiphany, has seen the light and wants to stimulate the market for others, including smaller companies and digital start-ups. Why such ethical corporate generosity of spirit now?”

Meanwhile Beggars chief Martin Mills, who spoke out against the EMI deal in US Congress last month, has written to the Financial Times to reaffirm his opposition, though, interestingly, he says that if the acquisition does go ahead he reckons any concessions package should include the provisions proposed by the Featured Artists Coalition last week – ie that first bid rights on any EMI assets should go to artists not indie labels.

He wrote: “The proposed sale of EMI Music to Universal will lead to the creation of an unacceptably dominant behemoth and should, I believe, be blocked outright in the interests of open and competitive market, of artistic diversity and of consumer choice. If, however, the European Union decides to go down the remedies road – hard though it is to imagine how any could be sufficiently constraining – my opinion is that there is one place they should start with possible divestments and that is with artists”.

“If there is any adequate compensation and counterbalance for the creation of the controlling entity that would result from this deal, it should be that any artist signed to any Universal or EMI label, currently or historically, should have the opportunity when the companies combine to buy their rights back at discounted market value. This would create a happy single moment of opportunity for artists and allow those who so wished to regain control of their masters and utilise the services of the independent sector to distribute their music, thus strengthening the music community and mitigating some of the worst potential effects of the acquisition”.

He concluded: “Universal should not fear this given what they have said about their motives and artist relationships”.

Temporary guardianship of Jackson children given to cousin

Legal

Amidst much confusion, the guardianship of Michael Jackson’s three children has been taken away from their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, and given to one of their cousins, Tito Jackson Jr, son of the late king of pop’s brother Tito.

The temporary change follows reports last week that the Jackson matriarch had gone missing, and tweets from Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris saying she had not seen her grandmother for over a week and was worried. Some of Michael’s siblings subsequently told the media that their mother was fine, but needed some rest, and was staying with one of her daughters, Rebbie. They added that when they tried to visit Michael’s children at their LA home to explain the situation they were turned away at the gate.

Certainly there are tensions between different members of the wider Jackson clan, with Michael’s son Prince seemingly taking to Twitter this week to accuse certain unnamed individuals of trying to stop him and his brother and sister from seeing their grandmother, and of interfering in the way they are cared for. And when a judge decided this week to temporarily grant guardianship of the children to TJ Jackson, he reportedly did so on the grounds that “third parties” were preventing Katherine Jackson from properly fulfilling her guardian role.

As previously reported, rising tensions between rival Jacksons seem to have risen after some of the late singer’s siblings accused the executors of the pop star’s estate of fabricating the will that put them in charge. The estate has denied those allegations and Tito Senior, while originally amongst those Jacksons making the ‘fake will’ claims, has now distanced himself from the conspiracy theory, possibly as part of the move to make his son guardian of Prince, Paris and Blanket.

Though this week’s court decision regards the guardianship is temporary, and Katherine Jackson is expected to fight to remain the three children’s guardian once she returns to LA.

DJ Fresh announces three new deals

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Producer DJ Fresh, real name Dan Stein, has announced three new deals. He has extended his relationship with the Ministry Of Sound record company to include the whole world excluding the US, where he has signed a deal with Sony label Columbia. Meanwhile, on the publishing side, he has entered into a new worldwide deal with Universal Music Publishing.

Confirming the new deals, Fresh’s manager Andy Varley told CMU: “The last two years have been incredibly exciting for Dan, and with the signing of these three major new deals to Ministry, Columbia, and Universal, I truly believe we can make him a global artist. We have worked very hard with Ministry to create a career-defining album, and we look forward to working with Rob Stringer and his team at Columbia to grow the DJ Fresh brand in the US”.

On the publishing deal, he added: “Universal Publishing are already opening some exciting doors, and we will shortly be announcing a major pan-European TV advert sync as well as an enormous global feature film deal”.

Each of the producer’s business partners lined up to comment on the new deals, as follows…

Ministry of Sound CEO Lohan Presencer: “DJ Fresh has been a cornerstone addition to our growing artist roster. Signing to Columbia [in America], the top US label, is a further recognition of his exceptional pop credentials. We are very excited about the forthcoming album and working with Sony to build Dan into a global superstar”.

Columbia Records US CEO Rob Stringer: “We are very excited to pick up the challenge of breaking such an innovative and contemporary artist as Fresh in North America. We already are working on great ideas with him to maximize a successful launch over the coming months!”

Universal Music Publishing Europe/UK President Paul Connolly: “There was never any question in my mind that we should be working with Dan. He’s in the vanguard of dance music’s global popularity but he also has all the attributes of a truly talented and versatile songwriter”.

Metallica may re-enter studio in September

Artist News

Drummer Lars Ulrich has said Metallica may “try to get another record done” as soon as September, but only once they’ve finished with their previously speculated-about 3D feature film. Yes, apparently ‘Metallica: The Movie’ (not its real title, which is still to be confirmed) is definitely happening, and will be directed by ‘Predators’ filmmaker Nimrod Antal.

Anyway, to this potential Metallica LP, what will be the band’s eleventh studio album proper (ie not featuring Lou Reed) to date.

Metal Hammer quotes Ulrich as sharing the news with press at a conference earlier this week. And he said: “Every time James Hetfield picks up a guitar, there are some brilliant riffs that come out of it, and I try to make sure that they are all recorded and try to do my best to keep up with them and try to put some drums in behind them”.

He continued: “So there are, obviously, tons of ideas sitting around waiting to be had at in terms of turning ideas of James’ into songs. Pretty much when we’re done with the movie and with [US music festival] Outside Lands, which should all be wrapped up by early September, we’re gonna basically just concentrate on new music and try to get another Metallica record done”.

So that’s that, then. And look, here’s Ulrich again, making what’s known on Twitter as a ‘trombone #fail’ during a visit to Metallica’s brass concert band, The Soul Rebels:

Grimes writing “dark percussive shit” as someone else

Artist News

Pop futurist and Polaris Prize finalist Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, is considering releasing an “experimental” LP under an alternative alias. Apparently, she wants to strike a balance between “straight vocal music”, “dark percussive shit”, “ethereal reggaeton” and “industrial dance music”, all the while staying within pop structures. Quite a feat, even for a one-time Neuroscience scholar.

Interviewed by MTV Hive as to whether she’s begun making a sequel to this year’s really quite experimental Grimes LP, ‘Visions’, Boucher replied: “Yeah but I’m thinking about making one that is a bit more experimental that I don’t put out as Grimes, because I want to stick with this pop aesthetic as Grimes”.

She added: “I’ve been working on more percussive noise music and also a lot of straight vocal music. I want to make both dark percussive shit and vocal ranging, and release an album that’s halfway between ethereal reggaeton and industrial dance music, but which is still very pop in its song structures”.

Away from the music itself, Grimes was also asked if her signature ‘pussy rings’ (ie vagina-shaped jewellery designed by artist Morgan Black) were a kind of feminist statement. Boucher said: “Not as much as a feminist statement but I feel like vaginas don’t need to be scary and they don’t need to be a curse word. Every dressing room I’m ever in has penises drawn on the walls and touring is so dick-dominated that I just want to be like, ‘Here’s a fucking vagina'”.

And since one can never hear too much of Grimes, here’s the new Jensen Sportag remix of ‘Phone Sex’, her collaboration with Blood Diamonds:

Crystal Castles give away track, threaten to go “vigilante”

Releases

Ontario synth-pop duo Crystal Castles have said that their third long player – which may or may not be their first non-eponymous LP – will be released in late September.

Speaking to NME about the record, which follows 2008’s ‘Crystal Castles’ and 2010’s… ‘Crystal Castles’, Glass said: “There’s lots of themes to the album, but [one is] feeling, like, oppressed… A lot of things not personally happening to us, but to people we know, kind of profoundly influenced everything”.

Further elaborating on this theme of oppression, she then said: “Like, I didn’t think I could lose faith in humanity any more than I already had, but after witnessing some things, it just… the world is a dystopia. I’m one step away from being a vigilante. I’ve thought about it”.

Moving on, you can download CC’s new track ‘Plague’ for free, here:

Halls announces debut LP

Releases

Symphonic synth producer-composer-tenor Halls, real name Sam Howard, has promised he’ll release his first LP ‘Ark’ this autumn, which means he’ll probably do just that. Out via No Pain In Pop on 15 Oct, it’ll mark his first official output since last year’s precocious ‘Fragile’ EP.

As for live appearances, he has a single UK set currently booked as part of London’s Radfest on 19 Aug.

Tracklisting:

I
White Chalk
I’m Not There
Roses For The Dead
Ark
Funeral
Shadow Of The Colossus
Arc
Holy Communion
Winter Prayer

Beak> list tour dates

Gigs & Festivals

Portishead man Geoff Barrow’s Beak> released their highly-recommended second LP ‘Beak>>’ last month, and have now announced a tour of the British Isles later this year in its honour.

Tour dates:

15 Nov: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
16 Nov: Manchester, Deaf Institute
17 Nov: Glasgow, Stereo
18 Nov: Dublin, Whelan’s
21 Nov: London, Lexington

The forward-thinking amongst you can buy tickets for the London date via this link.

Speaking of ‘Beak>>’, it’s still available to stream (or just buy) online via Barrow et al’s Bandcamp Page.

Theme Park announce show

Gigs & Festivals

Hyped indie types Theme Park will prove their on-stage worth at a headline London date, it’s just been announced. Taking place at the capital’s Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on 10 Oct, it will follow a show at Dalston’s Birthdays on 13 Aug and appearances at this year’s Beacons, Reading/Leeds and Underage festivals. Oh, and then they’re lending casual support to Bloc Party’s October tour, so that’s cool.

Meanwhile, here’s the questionable video to match the band’s new single ‘Jamaica’ (out via Transgressive on 20 Aug), which co-stars lots of girls standing about in their underwear. I don’t know, it’s like Grimes’ pussy rings never even existed.

Oh, and here’s an extra TP treat in the form of Becoming Real’s ‘Jamaica’ remix:

Festival line-up additions – 27 Jul 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

BESTIVAL, Robin Hill Country Park, Isle Of Wight, 6-9 Sep: Kissy Sell Out, The Ratpack, Congo Natty, Foamo, Slamboree, JFB, Slipmatt, Stanton Warriors, Hybrid , Smerin DJ set, Eats Everything , Asbo Disco, DJ Die & MC Inja, Wonka, Bertie, Shepdog and Heatwave. www.bestival.net

BT LONDON LIVE, Hyde Park, London, 27 Jul – 11 Aug: Scouting For Girls, Stooshe. www.btlondonlive.com

CMU to share insights with new artists at Edinburgh Fringe

Business News Education & Events

A week today the world’s biggest cultural festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, officially kicks off for 2012, with previews beginning next Wednesday. Comedy, theatre, dance, debate, art, music, musicals, cabaret and spoken word will abound at the biggest Fringe festival ever, with well over 2500 shows taking place. And that’s before you consider the International Festival, Book Festival, Art Festival and Festival Of Politics that also take place in the Scottish capital in August.

In amongst all that, the Fringe Society, the organisation that supports the network of independent performers, promoters and venue operators who stage the Fringe, runs a series of events at its own venue, Fringe Central, aimed at those working in the creative sector, and that includes a session run by CMU on Sunday 5 Aug at 1pm for those starting out in music.

Packed with insights and advice for any artist starting out, or label or manager working with new talent, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will lead the proceedings with contributions from Edinburgh-based label owners Matthew Young (Song, By Toad) and Scott Maple (Armellodie), plus Soundcloud’s Ben Fawkes, the BBC’s James Bursey and Scottish music journalist Lisa-Marie Ferla. Entry is free, and there’ll be drinks after the panel provided by Deuchars. You can reserve tickets right now via this URL.

And for grass roots music makers in Edinburgh this August, that’s not your only opportunity to gain insights into making it as an artist in the modern music industry. The following weekend the CMU Training team will present the first ever CMU Music Business Bootcamp at StageTime, a new two day event for artists about live performance taking place from 11-12 Aug.

The Bootcamp, on Saturday 11 Aug, will cover all the basics that artists need to know about the modern music industry, including how music can be monetised, music companies and artist deals, copyright and licensing, and how to use social and traditional media to build an audience. For more details about StageTime go to www.stagetimeconf.com

Channel 4 screening all-night rave on Castlemorton anniversary

Media

Channel 4 will stage an all-night ‘house party’ rave to mark the 20th anniversary of what’s looked upon as the ultimate 1990s dance happening, Worcestershire free-for-all Castlemorton Common Festival, which hosted a crowd of 40,000 ravers across one very ‘old skool’ week in 1992.

The six-hour event, which will feature DJ sets by Grandmaster Flash and Annie Mac, will be televised live (and minus any ad breaks) on Channel 4 from midnight on 24 Aug. Described by its organisers as “the ultimate DJ booth”, home viewers (or “social media controllers”, if you can bear to say that) of the show will be able to request tracks and interact via Facebook and Twitter. Graphic designers, animators and video artists will cater to people’s eyes as well as ears via a series of a “visual sets”, too.

Prior to all this at 10pm, actor/DJ/musician Idris Elba will present a screening of ‘How Clubbing Changed The World’, which charts the club scene from its basement beginnings to a culture-altering world moveme… well, you get the idea.

Albarn: The corporate side of the Olympics is depressing

And Finally

So, if you’re based in London, it’s entirely possible that you’ve missed that there’s some sporty stuff about to happen. But you won’t have missed the huge amount of corporate dollar being spent in the capital though. Hooray for capitalism!

Or not, as Damon Albarn will tell you. His band, Blur, of course, are playing a big corporate-sponsored concert to mark the end of the Olympics. But they aren’t doing it for BT’s benefit, before you say anything. Speaking to The Sun, Albarn said: “I’m just anti the capitalism of it all. We’re not doing the gig for the corporate side of the Olympics, we’re doing it for the human beings. It feels like you’re drowning in commercialism at the moment. It’s depressing”.

Oh, you lucky human beings.

CMU Beef Of The Week #120: Bruce Leddy v Kim Dotcom

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week MegaUpload Timeline

Over the last few weeks MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom has been leading a PR offensive as he faces extradition to the US to face copyright charges, positioning himself as an innocent victim of corporate entities and politicians out of control. Late last week he released a song on YouTube (which you can see below), positioning the MegaUpload shutdown as a free speech issue and an attack on the little people of the world.

Of course, the free speech argument doesn’t really make a huge amount of sense – sharing copyright material online is not exercising your right to free speech. However, being allowed to say that you think sharing copyright material online is exercising your right to free speech is, in fact, a right of free speech.

And so it was that last week that, via The Hollywood Reporter, Kim Dotcom published an open letter to Hollywood, asking it to let him get on with what he was doing before the US government had his site shut down and him arrested. He speaks of innovation (which anyone who ever tried to use MegaUpload should be laughing heartily at right now) and the freedom of people to access their own data. Even if they choose to store that data on a site whose core business is seemingly profiting off other people’s material. OK, he didn’t say that last bit quite like that. In fact, he doesn’t mention his own personal profit from the MegaUpload venture at all, just the potential profit for Hollywood if it would join him.

“Dear Hollywood”, he begins. “The internet frightens you. But history has taught us that the greatest innovations were built on rejections. The VCR frightened you, but it ended up making billions of dollars in video sales. You get so comfortable with your ways of doing business that any change is perceived as a threat. The problem is, we as a society don’t have a choice: The law of human nature is to communicate more efficiently”.

He continues: “Come on, guys, I am a computer nerd. I love Hollywood and movies. My whole life is like a movie. I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for the mind-altering glimpse at the future in ‘Star Wars’. I am at the forefront of creating the cool stuff that will allow creative works to thrive in an internet age. I have the solutions to your problems. I am not your enemy … Providing ‘freemium’ cloud storage to society is not a crime. What will Hollywood do when smartphones and tablets can wirelessly transfer a movie file within milliseconds?”

Finally, he concludes: “Regardless of the issues you have with new technologies, you can’t just engage armed forces halfway around the world, rip a peaceful man from his family, throw him in jail, terminate his business without a trial, take everything he owns without a hearing, deprive him of a fair chance to defend himself and do all that while your propaganda machine is destroying him in the media. Is that who you want to be? There can still be a happy ending. I am working on solutions. Just call me or my lawyers. You know where to find me. Unfortunately, I can only do lunch in New Zealand”.

Given a right of reply by The Reporter, Hollywood-based TV directior Bruce Leddy, who currently works on ABC sitcom ‘Cougar Town’, penned a response.

And so he began: “Hey, Kim! I read your letter to Hollywood in The Reporter, and I’m so happy you want to be friends! I mean, I’m just an average working ‘Hollywood’ guy and I don’t have any multimillionaire friends with mansions and Rolls-Royce Ghosts, so being buddies with you would make me soooo much cooler! All this stuff in the press about ‘who created what’ and ‘who should make money off of whose hard work’ is so boring, isn’t it? Let’s just agree to disagree! BFFs!”

He continues: “Personally, I’m tired of being a chump and writing and directing stuff for a decent wage when I could just as easily ‘share’ other people’s stuff on the internet and make huge money off it. So I’ve decided to start selling all your property on eBay, beginning with your pile of luxury cars. That Mercedes Brabus SV12 alone will easily pay for my kids’ college tuitions. I mean, sure, they don’t technically belong to me. But if I can find a country where they don’t really have rules about that kind of thing yet, I’m going to be living large! Probably change my name to Bruce Web$tarr. Extra ‘r’ for extra RICH! You like it?”

In conclusion, he writes: “And hey, you’re right; your life is like a movie. In fact, pirate movies have made like a bazillion dollars recently, and I bet we can get Depp or Cruise or someone on board. Let me know when you’re going to be free next, and we’ll grab a bite to discuss. I hear New Zealand is lovely”.

Of course, both men are painting pictures in black and white – trying to “change the facts to fit their views”, as Dotcom accuses Hollywood of doing in his letter – and the debate is not as rigid as either would have it. But at least they’re making this squabble entertaining. I’m not sure what’s funnier; the sarcasm of Leddy’s response or Kim Dotcom’s attempt to reinvent himself as some sort of freedom fighter.

Read Kim Dotcom’s letter in full here.

Read Bruce Leddy’s letter in full here.

And sample Kim Dotcom’s own contribution to music here:

Approved: Eivør

CMU Approved

I wouldn’t normally fall into the trap of comparing a female singer to Kate Bush, but in the case of Eivör I have to make an exception. Mainly because in the track I’ve chosen to feature below, ‘Undo Your Mind’, there is a distinct flash of Bush’s trademark wail at least once. But, as Eivør herself has recorded a cover of ‘Hounds Of Love’, I don’t feel I’m misrepresenting Kate Bush’s influence on her.

Originally from Gøta, the small village that hosts G! Festival in the Faroe Islands, Eivør made a great job of playing to her hometown (and immensely excited) audience last Friday night, when she was bumped up the bill of this year’s event after headliner Veronia Maggio’s plane was unable to land on the islands due to poor weather.

The performance also showed that she’s more than capable of escaping the trap of the Kate Bush-influenced pigeonhole I placed her in earlier, thanks to the enormous range in her musical output, from simple folk to dark, atmospheric rock. Songs like the sparse, percussion-driven ‘Trøllabundin’ play against more mainstream stuff, such as ‘Rain’, the first single from her next album.

And here, as promised, is ‘Undo Your Mind’:

Universal finalises its divestment plan to win EMI bid approval

Business News EMI Sale Timeline Labels & Publishers Top Stories

Universal Music is still working out exactly what package of divestments to formally propose to regulators in Europe in order to win approval for its bid to buy the EMI record company, according to Reuters.

As previously reported, the mega-major has already responded to the statement of objections produced by the European Commission in response to Universal’s EMI plans, and has been busy floating various proposals to placate regulators and the deal’s original opponents in the independent sector. Insiders say that officials are most interested in concessions that involve Universal selling off both catalogues and frontline divisions, and have indicated initial sell-off proposals were not sufficient. The major does now seem willing to do whatever it takes to get the green light for this deal, though it will also presumably be wary of giving way too easily, if only to ensure shareholders in parent company Vivendi don’t get tetchy.

It’s thought that Universal now has to provide its formal divestments plan by next Wednesday, but may do so as soon as this week. The Commission will then take five days to share those plans with other stakeholders who have inputted into its investigation to date. As previously reported, the Commission is due to rule on the merger by no later than 6 Sep, though Reuters says that as soon as Universal formally submits a concessions package that deadline will actually be pushed back fifteen days.

As previously reported, while September is the Commission’s deadline, it is also a timeframe that Universal is keen to stick to, because in its original deal with current EMI owners Citigroup last year it committed to hand over the $1.9 billion it has agreed to pay for the record company that month, oblivious of whether regulatory approval has been achieved. And that may well still be the case, despite reports earlier this week that the major had negotiated a deadline extension with the bank. The New York Post has now reported that the original 10 Sep deadline still stands.

The independent sector remains divided about the EMI deal, despite its pan-European trade body IMPALA still officially opposing the merger. As previously reported, various senior indie label types have recently said they now back the Universal/EMI merger, subject to concessions proposed by Universal chief Lucian Grainge in a letter to IMPALA, mainly to sell divested catalogues to indie labels not equity groups, and to provide funding for indie label trade organisations.

But not everyone in indie land has been placated. And that includes former Cocteau Twin and current Bella Union chief Simon Raymonde, and Declan Colgan of King Crimson label Panegyric Recordings, who have both issued open letters via the Association Of Independent Music.

The former explains what he sees as being the key problem with big music companies, especially in times of crisis, and how allowing Universal to just get bigger is bad news for everyone. While the latter argues that Universal is already far too big, claiming that once – when the major was distributing King Crimson recordings digitally despite the contract with the band the major acquired through the purchase of Sanctuary Music only allowing physical sales – the firm’s lawyer simply said: “We’re so big, you can’t expect us to read every contract we acquire”.

Raymonde concludes by writing: “[Universal] increasing their market share by a few percent via the acquisition of EMI may not SEEM such a big deal (‘what’s a few percent between friends?’) but Universal will want to continue to shape and create digital music services of the future to their own benefit, and such an artificial merger can only spell trouble for smaller labels, and the artists, by monopolising the digital market. The final word … should go to Seth Godin who wrote this: ‘Emerging is when you use a platform to come into your own. Merging is when you sacrifice who you are to become part of something else”.

While Colgan says: “Far from looking for scraps from the UMG table to allow the takeover to proceed, the independent label community should be demanding that UMG is broken up into some of its constituent elements to re-balance the market. With the not entirely surprising news that catalogue sales have outstripped those of new releases in the US for the first time ever, the importance of a broad distribution of music catalogue representation is fundamental to the future of the music industry”.

You can read Raymonde’s letter here.

And Colgan’s letter here.

Monday 30 July 2012, 11:01 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Marshall Teller

Monday 30 July 2012, 11:00 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Jaz Coleman | Killing Joke | The Cult

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:59 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Bardo Pond

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:58 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Beermageddon | iTunes Festival

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:57 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Spain | The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA)

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:56 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Cherrytree Records | Interscope | Martin Kierszenbaum | Universal Music

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:55 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: ADA Worldwide | David Orleans | ILG | Kenny Weagly | Warner Music

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:54 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Hammersmith Apollo | HMV

Monday 30 July 2012, 10:53 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Ariel Pink | Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Friday 27 July 2012, 19:27 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: G! Festival

Friday 27 July 2012, 16:39 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: EMI | European Union | Universal Music

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:44 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT:

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:43 | By Paul Vig

READ MORE ABOUT: DJ Pierre | Pioneers Of House Music

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:42 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: BMG | Edgar Bronfman Jr | EMI | Hartwig Masuch | Parlophone | Patrick Zelnik | Sony Music | Universal Music | Warner Music

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:41 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Alison Wenham | Association of Independent Music (AIM) | Beggars Group | BMG | EMI | Lucian Grainge | Martin Mills | The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) | Universal Music

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:40 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Katherine Jackson | Michael Jackson | Tito Jackson Jr

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:39 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Columbia Records | DJ Fresh | Ministry Of Sound | Universal Music Publishing

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:38 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Lars Ulrich | Metallica

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:37 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Grimes

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:36 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Crystal Castles

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:35 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Halls

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:34 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Beak> | Geoff Barrow

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:33 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Theme Park

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:32 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Bestival | BT London Live

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:31 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Chris Cooke | CMU | Edinburgh Fringe | Fringe Society | StageTime

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:30 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Annie Mac | Channel 4

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:29 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Blur | Damon Albarn | London Olympics 2012

Friday 27 July 2012, 12:28 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Beef Of The Week | Bruce Leddy | Hollywood Reporter | Kim Dotcom | MegaUpload

Thursday 26 July 2012, 12:29 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Eivør

Thursday 26 July 2012, 12:28 | By CMU Editorial

READ MORE ABOUT: Association of Independent Music (AIM) | Citigroup | Declan Colgan | EC | EMI | Lucian Grainge | Simon Raymonde | The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) | Universal Music