Wednesday 29 August 2012, 11:09 | By CMU Editorial

IFPI appoints new legal man

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry yesterday announced the appointment of David O Carson to the roll of Head Of Global Legal Policy. Carson joins the globally focussed record industry trade body from the US Copyright Office, where he has been General Counsel since 1997 (with a brief stint as Associate Register For Policy & International Affairs in 2007/8).

In his new role he will report to IFPI boss Frances Moore, and will “coordinate the recorded music industry’s legal policy strategy worldwide, working with governments, lawmakers, other industries and international organisations on a wide variety of copyright issues, including the need to achieve robust legislation to help tackle online piracy and establish a sustainable digital music market”.

Confirming the appointment, Moore told CMU: “I am delighted that David O Carson has agreed to join IFPI. He has a long and impressive track record of work in the field of intellectual property rights and understands their vital importance to the recorded music sector. He will be a powerful advocate for our industry”.

Carson himself added: “This is an exciting time to join the recorded music industry. I look forward to working with Frances Moore and the rest of the IFPI team to make the case for ensuring intellectual property rights are respected online, enabling record companies to have a fair opportunity to recoup their costs and invest in the next generation of artistic talent”.

Grooveshark app returns to Android store

Digital Grooveshark Timeline

Grooveshark’s Android app has reappeared in Google’s app store, over a year after it was evicted from the official Android app platform, seemingly because of pressure put on the web giant by the major music companies.

The majors have long had problems with Grooveshark, of course, and while EMI did at one point licence the streaming music service, it fell out with the digital firm earlier this year. Universal, meanwhile, has been trying to sue Grooveshark out of business for some time, with its most recent legal onslaught also endorsed by Sony and Warner Music.

The majors, of course, accuse Grooveshark of enabling copyright infringement, by letting users as well as rights owners upload their own MP3 collections into the Grooveshark catalogue, meaning large amounts of music is available via the digital platform without the copyright owner’s permission. For its part Grooveshark insists it operates a takedown system inline with the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, so is fully legal (in America at least).

Official Grooveshark apps were removed from both the Apple and Android stores as Universal stepped up its assault on the rogue digital platform in 2010/11, and earlier this year the digital firm launched an HTML5 app, available via a web-page, thus circumventing the official app stores.

But then the Wall Street Journal noticed in recent days that a Grooveshark app was available via the Google app store once again, and a spokesman for the streaming service subsequently told Billboard: “After working closely with Google to get rogue apps removed, we’re delighted that the official Grooveshark app has been reinstated in the Android market. Grooveshark is dedicated to helping music fans search, discover and share music while pioneering new artist promotion, distribution and monetisation techniques. We look forward to continuing to build a relationship with Android and leverage this fantastic platform for our partners”.

Neither Google nor the major labels have responded to the news so far.

Norwegian piracy spotters lose monitoring licence

Digital

Whether or not copyright owners monitoring file-sharing networks in a bid to track down online pirates contravenes net users’ privacy rights has been discussed at various points in the last decade, though in most jurisdictions such monitoring has been allowed, partly because any online activity monitored can only be attributed to an IP address, and it takes a court order to force an internet service provider to reveal the actual identity of the customer registered at that location.

But in some territories data protection rules have played a more significant role than others (such rules derailed three-strikes in Ireland for a time), and according to Torrentfreak privacy laws in Norway mean that, as of March, rights owners are no longer allowed to monitor any online activity. And while that rule might be hard to enforce in practice, it means no copyright action could be pursued that relied on evidence gathered via online monitoring.

It seems that in Norway online monitoring has always been more strictly regulated, though the country’s Data Inspectorate did issue a licence to one law firm allowing it to monitor file-sharing according to set rules. Which was good news for that law firm, called Simonsen, it more or less giving them a monopoly when it comes to helping rights owners target file-sharers.

Except earlier this year the Data Inspectorate chose not to renew Simonsen’s licence, and Norway’s Privacy Appeals Board rejected the law firm’s appeal of that decision. Cecilie Rønnevik, senior advisor to the Norwegian Data Inspectorate, told Torrentfreak last week: “As of today no hunting of file-sharers is allowed in Norway”.

Needless to say, Simonsen are critical of the current situation, telling Norwegian magazine Teknisk Ukeblad: “When no one is authorised to process personal data in order to stop copyright infringement, it weakens licensees’ ability to pursue violations happening online, and thus their ability to protect their interests. We hope and believe that this problem will soon be solved”.

BuzzMedia acquires four more US music sites

Media

Fresh from buying Spin magazine last month, US digital media company BuzzMedia has announced the acquisition of four punk rock websites: Under The Gun Review, Alter The Press!, PropertyOfZack and Punknews.org. These will be allied with existing Buzz website Absolute Punk to create a family of punk-themed sites under the umbrella heading AbsoluteVoices.

Says BuzzMedia GM Of Music Bill Jensen: “AbsoluteVoices puts a spotlight on some of the most unique and up-and-coming voices in punk rock reporting, and brings them to AbsolutePunk.net, which over the years has become the largest online gathering place for the punk rock fan community”.

Slash remembers the naked Bowie of his childhood

And Finally

Slash once discovered his mother naked with David Bowie, he’s revealed to Aussie radio station Triple M. And before you think the one time Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist has gone a bit crazy, his mother, Ola Hudson, was a costume designer who worked for various music stars, including, in the mid-1970s, Bowie. And during that time Mrs Slash and the Thin White Duke had a bit of a romantic fling, Slash now claims.

Talking about his late mother, who died in 2009, the NME reports that Slash said: “My mom started working with David professionally at first. I’m pretty sure that’s how it started. Then it turned into some sort of mysterious romance that went on for a while after that. She did his wardrobe for his whole Thin White Duke period and ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ movie that he did. She did all that and he was around for a while”.

Slash was about eight at the time, and he adds: “He was always over – they were always together. I caught them naked once. They had a lot of stuff going on, but my perspective was limited. Looking back on it, I know exactly what was going on! When I look back on that whole combination of people, I can only imagine how freaky it was”.

Approved: Chad Valley – Fall 4 U feat Glasser

CMU Approved

Chad Valley’s Hugo Manuel, who last year released his resplendent ‘Equatorial Ultravox’ EP, has at last translated his radiant pop retroisms into a debut LP titled ‘Young Hunger’. It’ll feature special guests like Twin Shadow, Active Child, El Perro Del Mar and Glasser girl Cameron Mesirow, who voices the heartsick girl-in-love to Manuel’s contrite boy on first-heard LP track, ‘Fall 4 U’.

It’s a slow-pivoting, prism-like thing of pearly synths and ambrosial disco chords, and one that – when you factor in its marbling of Manuel and Mesirow’s faraway tenors – sounds really quite special.

‘Young Hunger’ is released by Loose Lips on 19 Nov.

Federal court upholds Tenenbaum damages

Digital Legal Top Stories

A US federal court last week upheld the $675,000 in damages that one-time file-sharer Joel Tenenbaum must pay the American record industry, with a judge ruling that the figure was “not excessive”.

As much previously reported, Tenenbaum was one of the few people targeted during the Recording Industry Association Of America’s big sue-the-fans lawsuit party last decade to actually let his case get to court. He was accused of sharing 31 songs. He lost his court battle, and was ordered by a jury to pay $675,000 in damages.

But the judge hearing the original case felt that was way too much and tried to cut the damages payment down to size. But she did so on constitutional grounds – arguing that such a high pay out for an act that in itself caused nominal damage to the plaintiffs was unconstitutional, despite it being based on parameters set out in US copyright law – rather than using a more complicated damages review process called remittitur. An appeals court subsequently criticised that judge’s process, and reinstated the $675,000 damages sum.

Tenenbaum’s lawyer, Charles Nesson, tried to take the matter to the US Supreme Court, but it refused to hear the case earlier this year, meaning future appeal efforts are now confined to lower federal courts. More recently, Nesson has been pushing for a new jury trial for his client, but last week Judge Rya W Zobel said no new full court hearing was necessary, because the original jury had appropriately considered the evidence regards Tenenbaum’s actions.

According to C-Net, Zobel also said last week that, despite the original judge hearing the case expressing concerns at the size of the damages sum chosen by her jury, the $675,000 was actually at the lower end of the range allowed by American copyright law for wilful infringement, and that “in light of these factors, a rational appraisal of the evidence before the jury, viewed in the light most favourable to the verdict, supports the damages award”.

Needless to say, the Recording Industry Of Association Of America welcomed the ruling, while Nesson told C-Net he planned a further appeal on behalf of his client. As previously noted, either way, Tenenbaum doesn’t have $675,000 and has previously suggested he’d have to bankrupt himself if that figure stuck.

Creamfields calls off second day after flooding

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business Top Stories

Organisers of the now Live Nation-owned Creamfields festival had to call off the show half way through this weekend after heavy rainfall left parts of its Cheshire site flooded. On Sunday morning those with day-tickets were told not to come to the festival’s site, while those camping were asked to leave early. Sets from the likes of Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and Sub Focus had been due to take place later that day.

A statement on the dance event’s website read: “Following heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours, significant and heavy flooding is affecting the Creamfields arena near Warrington. No serious casualties have been reported, and Cheshire Police and partner agencies are supporting event organisers in ensuring the safety and welfare of festival goers during this time”. Extra public transport was laid on to help festival-goers depart the flooded site, while an announcement regarding any ticket refunds is still pending.

In nearby Liverpool, much of the city’s Mathew Street Festival was also cancelled because of very strong winds. Some indoor events did go ahead, but the street-based activities that were expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors were called off. Liverpool City Councillor Wendy Simon told the BBC: “It’s when you mix rain and heavy wind that you have got the risk of barriers broken down, street signs and the potential for flying objects. And when you have got a lot of people in a small place moving quickly you then risk crushing and people being trampled, and we are not prepared to risk that”.

The latest cancellations round off a bad summer for British festivals. Poor weather forced a number of events to cancel, while also routinely putting off last-minute ticket buyers from attending events that desperately needed some extra sales, as the combination of a poor economic climate and extra competition from Olympic-related entertainments took hold. And with insurance premiums likely to be up significantly in 2013, given the cancellations and weather-based site damage caused this summer, next year could be a challenging year too.

Patrick Wolf shares anniversary LP tracklisting

Releases

Bathtime bard Patrick Wolf has shared the final tracklisting for that tenth anniversary acoustic retrospective compilation of his, ‘Sundark & Riverlight’. At a glance, he’s narrowed his catalogue to a capsule collection of 16, then matched each track to either the ‘dark’ or ‘light’ side of the LP.

Just look…

Sundark:
Wind In The Wires
Oblivion
The Libertine
Vulture
Hard Times
Bitten
Overture
Paris

Riverlight:
Together
The Magic Position
Bermondsey Street
Bluebells
Teignmouth
London
House
Wolf Song

Wolf will release ‘Sundark & Riverlight’ on 25 Sep, and here’s a beautifully apt overture for it in… well, the new version of ‘Overture’:

Fink records live LP

Releases

Brighton singer-songwriter Fin Greenall, alias Fink, will release a collection of live recordings, titled ‘Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet’, on 8 Oct.

Made during a tour organised in promotion of Fink’s last LP, ‘Perfect Darkness’, the album features multi-national tapings taken from stages in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon, Prague and Vienna.

For some live Fink now, though, here’s a video of him doing ‘Perfect Darkness’ single ‘Fear Is Like Fire’ at London’s Koko back in February.

Francois & The Atlas Mountains to re-issue long player, tour

Releases

Domino Records is to oversee the reissue of ‘Plaine Inondable’, the sophomore LP by ethereal French folkists Francois & The Atlas Mountains. First released in 2009, it’ll be available this time on 5 Nov. Francois Marry et al’s newest studio player, ‘E Volo Love’, is also out now.

The band have accompanied word of the re-release with details of a forthcoming tour, and its five dates are:

24 Oct: Reading, South Street Arts
25 Oct: London, Village Underground
26 Oct: Bristol, Exchange
28 Oct: Paisley, The Paisley Spree
30 Oct: Dublin, Academy 2

Motown musical to open next April

Artist News

A new stage musical telling the Motown story will formally open on Broadway next April with previews from March, the show’s producers have announced.

‘Motown: The Musical’ will be directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, and will feature Brandon Victor Dixon playing the legendary record label’s founder Berry Gordy, and Valisia LeKae playing another key character, Diana Ross. Songs aplenty from the early Motown catalogue are expected to appear.

Gordy himself is one of the producers of the show, alongside Sony Music chief Doug Morris and leading Broadway producer Kevin McCollum.

Hydra series to host James Blake DJ set

Gigs & Festivals

A James Blake DJ set – staged as part of a night hosted by his label R&S Records – is one of the many, many facets of London club promoter Broken & Uneven’s new Hydra Series of events.

Taking place on 23 Nov at a ‘tba warehouse location’, the R&S showcase will also feature cameos by Lone, Pariah, Airhead and The Chain, plus live performances by Vondelpark, Space Dimension Controller and new signings Egyptian Hip Hop.

In addition to this, the Hydra Series will also present events curated by Ostgut Ton, A Bunch Of Cuts, Dial Records, Deviation, Bleep.com, Innvervisions x Permanent Vacation, Non Plus x Workshop, Bugged Out, Border Community and Electric Minds x Aus/Simple. All listings here.

The Cribs to tour

Gigs & Festivals

The release of their fifth studio LP, ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’, accomplished back in May, The Cribs have now detailed twelve live dates during which they’ll probably just carry on promoting and playing said long player. Or promote and play a new one, anything’s possible.

Tour dates:

23 Oct: Oxford, Academy 2
24 Oct: Norwich, Waterfront
25 Oct: Liverpool, Academy
26 Oct: Manchester, Apollo
28 Oct: Edinburgh, Haddow Fest
29 Oct: Newcastle, Academy
30 Oct: Sheffield,Academy
1 Nov: Leicester, Academy
2 Nov: Hull, University
3 Nov: York, Barbican
5 Nov: Leamington Spa, Assembly
6 Nov: Birmingham, Institute

Enter Shikari unwrap festive dates

Gigs & Festivals

Just as Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds today releases his solo charity EP ‘Nourishment’, the band have also confirmed they’re to headline a series of December shows.

Reynolds et al will play with Cancer Bats and Engine-Earz Experiment in Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Norwich in the run up to Christmas – what a nice festive treat for us all.

Here’s all that information again, only more specific and in a list format:

6 Dec: Manchester, Ritz
7 Dec: Manchester, Ritz
9 Dec: Newcastle, Academy
10 Dec: Glasgow, Barrowlands
11 Dec: Glasgow, Barrowlands
14 Dec: Birmingham, Institute
15 Dec: Birmingham, Institute
16 Dec: London, Roundhouse
17 Dec: London, Roundhouse
19 Dec: Norwich, UEA
20 Dec: Norwich, UEA

Kaiser Chiefs declare 2013 tour

Gigs & Festivals

Olympic mods-for-hire Kaiser Chiefs, who have just released an archival singles collection titled ‘Souvenir’, will on 11 Feb take topmost billing on their very own tour.

Taking in various sights and scenery across our fair British isle, it’ll culminate on 1 Mar at London’s Brixton Academy.

And now, the relevant dates:

11 Feb: Carlisle, Sands
12 Feb: Glasgow, Barrowlands
14 Feb: Dunfermline, Alhambra
15 Feb: Manchester, Apollo
16 Feb: Bridlington, Spa
18 Feb: Newcastle, Academy
19 Feb: Preston, Guild Hall
21 Feb: Cheltenham, Racecourse
22 Feb: Wolverhampton, Civic
23 Feb: Exeter, Great Hall
25 Feb: Southampton, Guild Hall
26 Feb: Margate, Winter Gardens
27 Feb: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
1 Mar: London, Brixton Academy

Blanck Mass to play XOYO

Gigs & Festivals

Blanck Mass, aka Fuck Buttons’ Benjamin Power, has announced a show at London’s XOYO venue, which will see him joined by director Alex Turvey, who will provide live visuals. Support comes from producer Russell Haswell.

Power’s debut album as Blanck Mass was released last year through Mogwai’s Rock Action label. He recently followed it up with a new double A-side single, ‘White Math/Polymorph’, on Oneohtrix Point Never’s Software/Mexican Summer label.

The London show will take place on 19 Oct. You can get yourself tickets here.

Festival line-up additions – 28 Aug 2012

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

PITCHFORK FESTIVAL PARIS, Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, France, 1-3 Nov: Death Grips, Rustie, How to Dress Well, DIIV, Purity Ring, Julio Bashmore. www.pitchfork.com/festivals/paris/2012/

Grammy Academy launches recording credits campaign

Business News Labels & Publishers

Grammy organiser The Recording Academy has launched a new campaign to persuade digital music services to ensure that everyone involved in any one recording – ie the people who would be name-checked in the liner notes of a physical release – are credited via digital releases too.

That songwriters, producers, session musicians and other people involved in the creation of sound recordings are losing their credits in the digital age has been debated in certain quarters of the music community for sometime, with the Music Producers’ Guild perhaps being most vocal on the matter here in the UK. The Grammy campaign, though, spins this trend from the point of view of music fans rather than music creators, arguing that not only do music people have the right to be credited on their work, but consumers have a right to access that information.

Recording Academy boss Neil Portnow told reporters: “The staggering pace of digital innovation gives consumers access to more and more information, but in this case – digitally released music without liner notes – the music fan is getting less information. We can watch movies online with the credits included, and the same should be true for digitally released recordings. If music devices can access millions of tracks in the cloud, we’re confident we can find a way to acknowledge those who created the tracks here on Earth”.

The Give Fans The Credit campaign will encourage music consumers to sign a petition in support of digital credits, while various representatives of the music industry will talk to digital service providers about how they could make such information available. The Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, meanwhile, will continue in its efforts to ensure that accurate meta-data including all appropriate credits is contained within digital music files.

BMG acquires Fred Ahlert Music

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Music rights company BMG US last week announced it had purchased the catalogue of Fred Ahlert Music, a roster of songs it has been administering since last year anyway.

Fred Ahlert Jr created his publishing company in 1953, mainly to administer the works of his late father Fred E Ahlert Snr, which included songs like ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter’. The company subsequently acquired songs by the likes of Ted Koehler, Mort Dixon and Joe Burke, and worked with songwriters like Juice Newton, Bones Howe, Burt Bacharach, Hal David and Chris Kenner.

Confirming the acquisition of the catalogue, BMG Chrysalis North America President Creative Laurent Hubert told CMU: “We’re thrilled to add Fred Ahlert’s emblematic catalogue of 20th Century American classics to the BMG roster and equally delighted to introduce a new generation of music lovers to its timeless favourites”.

Townsquare buys MOG ad network

Digital

US radio company Townsquare Media has reportedly bought those parts of the MOG company not snapped up by Beats earlier this year.

As previously reported, the Dr Dre/Jimmy Iovine led Beats (partly owned by HTC, of course) bought the MOG streaming music platform back in July, but they didn’t buy the original MOG business, a blog and online advertising network. And it’s that that Townsquare has now bought in a deal reportedly worth $10 million.

According to All Things D, the deal makes sense, given that Townsquare also owns a network of music-based websites, most linked to its radio stations, and has been trying to transform those online operations into a standalone ad-funded business for sometime. Neither MOG nor Townsquare have commented as yet.

A fifth of commercial radio listeners say there are too many ads

Media

In a new listener survey by media regulator OfCom, over 20% said that they felt there was now too much advertising and sponsorship activity on most commercial radio stations, while 59% said that they thought any more ad-based output would be a bad thing.

Which possibly isn’t surprising, radio listeners have always complained about the ads, but in most cases that doesn’t actually stop them from tuning in to their commercial station of choice. Though whether the growth of online music services that offer an ad-free option, albeit in return for a subscription fee, will change that, especially as such services reach the kitchen and car dashboard (and especially if any such services attempt to more closely replicate the radio experience), remains to be seen.

Elsewhere in the same OfCom listener poll, it was revealed that only 10% of those surveyed said radio was their main source of local news, with TV the main source (53%), while newspapers and the web were cited by 15% and 6% respectively. Which is interesting, given that radio and newspaper services are generally more local than TV services, where local news is more regional than truly local.

Though of those that did look to radio for local news and information (including weather and travel news, and information about extreme weather conditions or other emergencies), in the main local commercial services were relied on more than BBC services. And while the differences were in the main only nominal – 4-10% – that’s still possibly surprising.

Jessie J won’t quit The Voice

Media

The nation’s favourite anti-materialist popstar Jessie J has said that she’ll stay loyal to ‘The Voice’ when it returns to British TV screens, and will be back on her electric swivel chair when a second series eventually airs.

It had been rumoured that the ‘Domino’ hitmaker – considering the programme’s disappointing viewing figures and her own solo commitments (and the comments she made on the cancellation of ‘The Voice’ official arena tour back in June) – might not want back in. Or might not be invited back by the BBC. But no, she’s “B B B BACK” alright? With a v v v vengeance.

J confirmed she’d reprise her role as ‘Voice’ ‘coach’ via Twitter, writing in a specially extended message: “I WILL be a coach on the second series of ‘The Voice’ UK! I’m B B B BACK! As I have always said. Unless you hear it from me, don’t always believe what you read! Can’t wait!”

J is so far the only ‘coach’ guaranteed to be on the ‘panel’ (ie row of four people in swivel chairs) of a second series of ‘The Voice’ in the UK. Tom Jones has expressed interest but is yet to make things official, while Danny O’Donohue and Will.i.am, well… maybe they’re just waiting to see who else commits first, just like on the show.

Madonna pardons Elton John

And Finally

A truce may just be in sight for warring pop icons Elton John and Madonna, after the latter forgave the former for likening her to a “fucking fairground stripper” (and other unmentionables) on Australian TV several weeks ago.

Appearing on stage – pretty appropriately – in Nice as part of her ever-controversial ‘MDMA’ world tour, Madge devoted an acoustic version of LP low-point ‘Masterpiece’ to her ‘Rocket Man’ rival, informing the crowd: “I’d like to dedicate this next song to a Mr Elton John. Yes, I know he’s a big fan of it – and I know he’s a big fan of mine. And you know what? I forgive him. You gotta start somewhere”.

So that’s nice. You can watch her Madgesty grant regal, semi-sarcastic pop clemency as only she can here:

Approved: Notting Hill Carnival 2012 (Vigsy’s Tips)

Club Tip CMU Approved

The 48th incarnation of this massive West London street party takes place this Sunday and bank holiday Monday. Carnival’s music policy embraces and fuses many genres. There is, of course, the traditional calypso, soca and reggae from the Caribbean, and the Steel bands are excellent, along with the costumery – the attention to detail and planning is astounding. The taste of the Caribbean is there too – roti and curried goat or saltfish and ackee with rice and peas, to soak up the rum and Guinness punch.

But Carnival goes further than that, into jungle, ragga, hip hop, house and broken beat, all of which can be found at the numerous soundsystems dotted around Notting Hill over the weekend. They’re certainly worth hunting down, alongside seeing the precession of floats. Soundsystems particularly worth checking out are CMC/Matrix and 4Play playing drum n bass and garage, Aba Shanti-I on a reggae tip, the Latin Rave Steet Jam System, RapAttack and Rampage, plus stalwarts Sancho Panza, Mr Norman Jay’s returning Good Times bus, and Shy FX, who is taking control of Sir Lloyds system on Monday.

Sunday is traditionally kids day, and it gets a bit more lively on the Monday all round Notting Hill. Get a map and plan where you’ll be heading. It can be mobbed at times, so keep an eye out for one another. Time Out still does a little pull out guide, which is handy for knowing the location of the soundsystems or float route and there is now also a carnival smartphone app from the official website.

This weekend also sees some superb post carnival parties and events taking place. On Sunday there is more choice. If you want to stay in West London, in Kensal Green Ninja Tune is taking over The Paradise Green with Zed Bias and Coldcut in effect and The Sancho Panza crew head to The Regent. Across town in Shoreditch, Wookie can be spotted in the Horse And Groom, while Stuart Patterson and Phil Asher go wild at East Village. Finally, if you’re heading south, David Rodigan goes for it at Electric Brixton (formerly The Fridge) with Kenny Ken and Toddla T.

What a great line up for a great London tradition – let’s hope the sun shines on West London, it just makes it so much more enjoyable. Long live Carnival!

Approved: Mixmag Live #6

Club Tip CMU Approved

If you fancy a bit of a Carnival warm up, look no further than Shoreditch’s Village Underground tomorrow night, which will being playing host to some proper bass music.

Mixmag touches down for the latest of its ‘Live’ series, after hosting events featuring Richie Hawtin, Simian Mobile Disco and Visionquest. Saturday sees RAM records affiliate and drum n bass man Sub Focus giving the venue’s system a good outing, with a selection of his faves and possibly a sneak preview of a few forthcoming tunes from his new LP. MTA’s purveyors KillSonik pledge a rumbling bass workout, as does Shogun Audio label boss Friction and rising trio MONSTA. OWSLA signings Kill The Noise will also be on hand to offer their take on things.

As an added extra there’s a free copy of Mixmag and exclusive Sub Focus mix for all who enter. Woo hoo!

Saturday 25 Aug, Village Underground, 25 Holywell Lane, London, EC2A, 8pm – 4am, £12, more info via this link.

Music Festivals plc moves Leonard Cohen shows to Wembley Arena, as share price plummets

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business Top Stories

Leonard Cohen’s two planned shows at the Hop Farm in Kent next month have been cancelled and replaced with performances at Wembley Arena on the same dates, it has been announced.

While the worldwide tour in support of Cohen’s ‘Old Ideas’ album is promoted by AEG Live, the UK shows are being organised by Vince Power’s Music Festivals plc company, which also runs the Hop Farm festival. Wet weather this summer is officially being blamed for the decision to switch to an indoor venue for the Cohen shows.

A statement from Music Festivals plc about the venue change reads: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Leonard Cohen’s two shows at Hop Farm, Kent on 8 and 9 Sep will no longer be taking place at that venue. However, Cohen will now be performing at a new London venue on the same dates. Cohen will still bring his much anticipated ‘Old Ideas’ world tour to the UK with the scheduled shows now taking place in the fully seated and historic Wembley Arena on 8 and 9 Sep”.

Power added: “I can confirm the venue for the two Leonard Cohen performances has been moved to Wembley Arena. The concerts will be jointly promoted by AEG Live and Music Festivals plc. The decision to change the venue has nothing to do with the suitability of Hop Farm as a venue. Wembley Arena is a world class venue and being an indoor arena offers protection from the unseasonal cold and wet weather this summer”.

Announced yesterday, ticketholders were offered refunds or the opportunity to exchange their tickets for the new shows, as well as an exclusive pre-sale for the best seats in the house (though as the change was only announced yesterday and tickets went on general release this morning, that didn’t leave much notice to take up that option).

Tickets for the new shows range from £65 to £95 (depending on which site you choose to book them through), the same as those for the original Hop Farm performances. Each set will apparently last three hours, justifying the high cost of entry.

As previously reported, this year’s Hop Farm Festival made a loss after disappointing ticket sales. Power’s company’s other key festival, Benicassim in Spain, turned a profit, but a lower one than in 2011. As a result, the company told shareholders earlier this month that “financial results for the year ending 31 Dec 2012 would be significantly lower than market expectations” and that it expects to report “a material loss” for that twelve month period. It also emerged in July that Power had made an unsecured loan of £750,000 to the company in order to provide more working capital.

Power floated his latest festivals company on the Alternative Investment Market in June 2011 to create Music Festivals plc. The flotation raised £6.5 million, but shares slipped from 65p each when trading first opened to less than 30p a year later. They currently stand at 3.5p, just above the company’s lowest share price to date of 3p, which it hit on 9 Aug.

Despite the poor sales for this year’s Hop Farm Festival, it’s hoped that 2013 will see a turnaround for the company. Early bird tickets for both the Hop Farm Festival and Benicassim’s 2013 are already on sale.

LL Cool J burglar faces life imprisonment

Legal

The man caught by rapper LL Cool J burgling his LA home earlier this week faces life imprisonment, according to TMZ.

As previously reported, LL Cool J discovered the man, named as Jonathan Kirby, in his kitchen at around 1am on Wednesday morning. He tackled the intruder and detained him while his daughter called the police – according to reports, breaking the man’s jaw and nose in the process.

A police spokesperson said yesterday: “A physical altercation occurred between the suspect and the victim, James Todd Smith, also known professionally as LL Cool J. My understanding is he just had him in custody with his physical strength”.

Yesterday police announced that Kirby faced a maximum prison sentence of 38 years to life, after being charged with “first degree burglary with a person present”. Bail was set a $1.1 million.

“Ball rolling” on Kings Of Leon LP, as Jared Followill confirms side project

Artist News

So, Kings Of Leon are definitely going to release a sixth studio LP. They haven’t even started recording it yet, but that sixth LP ball is definitely rolling. Just ask KOL bassist Jared Followill, who confirmed that fact to Radio 1’s Zane Lowe on Wednesday night. He’d really have rather talked about his new side project Smoke And Jackal – more on that in a sec – but Zane wasn’t having any of it.

Asked if and when Kings Of Leon might begin making a new long player, Followill said: “We’ve been meeting with producers every day so we’re starting to get the ball rolling on album six”, adding: “I don’t know what I can say, but we’re definitely planning on starting the record at some point in the near future”.

Meaningless quote supplied, he was then allowed to discuss Smoke And Jackal – a collaboration with Nick Brown of Nashville rock quartet Mona. He confirmed that the pair have prepared their first EP, ‘EP1’, for release on 15 Oct, and will precede it with a single titled ‘No Tell’ on 27 Aug. And you can listen to the latter here:

But, back to KOL, and the good news is that the new side project is also contributing there. Back onto the nearly-in-development sixth album, he added: “Doing the side project got my creative juices flowing again, and just doing something completely different, I feel like it can bring more creativity to [Kings Of Leon]”.

Rihanna, Ellie Goulding, Dizzee Rascal to feature on Calvin Harris LP

Releases

Calvin Harris has drafted in pop music’s most chart-worthy stars to feature on his new LP. It’s titled ’18 Months’, approximately half the time that has elapsed since the DJ released his last long player, ‘Ready For The Weekend’.

And, or so tweeted Harris yesterday, the surprise guest artists are: Rihanna, Nicky Romero, Ellie Goulding, Tinie Tempah, Ayah and that Dizzee Rascal. Oh, and Dillon Francis.

Less revelatory names on the list were Kelis, Ne-Yo and Example, who have all collaborated on various already-released ’18 Months’ singles. Florence Welch will also lend her lungs to Harris’ next track, ‘Sweet Nothing’, which is out on 14 Oct. All of which means we’ll have heard much of the LP prior to its release, but oh well.

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