Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:53 | By

Gabrielle Aplin launches record label

Business News Labels & Publishers

Gabrielle Aplin

Singer-songwriter and John Lewis serenader Gabrielle Aplin is to launch her own record label, to be called Never Fade, the first release through which will be a single by Hannah Grace. Grace will also support Aplin on her upcoming tour.

Aplin told The Daily Star: “When I went to City Of Bath College I studied the music business. I like being able to understand that side of things, so I’ve started my own label, Never Fade. Hannah’s voice is amazing. It’s like Beyonce covering Michael Kiwanuka. I’ve been advising her on how to pick producers and which of her songs she should record”.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:52 | By

Universal’s Aussie man promoted

Business News Labels & Publishers

Universal Music

The head of Universal Music’s Australasia operations has been promoted, assuming concurrent responsibilities for the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan.

The latest in a string of executive rejigs at Universal Music’s International division since the acquisition of the EMI record labels last year and the promotion of Max Hole to CEO of the unit last month, George Ash will be charged with the task of matching his successes to date for the major, initially in New Zealand and subsequently in Australia, across the Asia Pacific market.

Says Hole: “In Australia and New Zealand George has built one of our most dynamic international operations with a very strong roster of artists and an immensely talented team of people. I’m very pleased that he will now be applying his energy and ideas to our business across the Asia Pacific region”.

Meanwhile Ash told CMU: “I have been lucky enough to work alongside the best in the industry in Australia and New Zealand. With Max now giving me this great opportunity and with our diverse and exceptional artists I’m very positive about Asia Pacific’s unprecedented growth potential and what we can achieve together”.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:51 | By

Spotify and Ford announce app alliance

Digital

Spotify

A stand-out announcement from day one of the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona yesterday was news of a partnership between Ford and Spotify which will see the popular streaming music service included on the car maker’s app platform when it launches its first ‘Sync-equipped’ vehicles in Europe later this year.

Numerous music services are already available via the Sync AppLink platform in net-connected Ford cars in the US as part of the company’s mobile-internet-powered in-car entertainment platform, including Spotify rivals like Pandora, Rhapsody and Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio.

It’s long been said that the arrival of net-connected services in the car could have a major impact on the digital music market, not least because it puts Spotify-type platforms more head-to-head in competition terms with music radio, which has long benefited from having a car-based captive audience. Ford hopes to have 3.5 million Sync-equipped cars on the road in Europe by 2015.

Although you can expect numerous content services to appear on Ford’s app platform once it goes live over here, having Spotify on board was seemingly important for the car maker.

The company’s Doug VanDagens told The Guardian: “With both Sync and AppLink coming to Europe for the first time this year, we wanted to have a great partner. We’ve been pursuing Spotify, because of their leadership position. They’re the leader for streaming music in active subscriptions, paid subscriptions and number of countries, so it’s a good deal for us”.

Services on the Sync AppLink platform are voice-controlled, and the demo of the voice-activated Spotify app has been generally well received at WMC.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:50 | By

Shazam unveils upgraded iPad app

Digital

Shazam

Shazam has unveiled an upgraded version of its iPad and Android tablet app as the music identification service announces it now has 300 million users worldwide.

Shazam says that its tablet app is becoming an increasingly important part of its operations, and is certainly important as part of the digital firm’s move to capture some of the emerging ‘second screening’ market, whereby users interact with the company’s identification, data and sharing services while concurrently watching TV. In the US the Shazam platform now also lets users see what television shows other people are watching.

The revamped app features a new design, a mapping feature that reveals what music is being listened to where, enhanced social networking and sharing, and “lightning-fast tagging” that will, Shazam claims, identify what a user is listening to in as little as a second.

Shazam CEO Andrew Fisher told CMU: “The number of Shazam users and their level of engagement continue to grow rapidly. We now have over 300 million Shazamers globally, an increasing proportion of whom use our app on their iPad or Android tablet devices to interact with television. This new version of Shazam optimizes discovery, engagement, transactions and exploration in a tablet environment. It’s the most efficient way to experience more of the media around you whether you are in your home or in any other environment throughout the world”.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:49 | By

Omnifone releases some usage stats

Digital

Omnifone

Digital music back engine Omnifone, which powers music services like Sony Music Unlimited and Blackberry’s BBM Music, has revealed some stats about usage across the platforms it powers, which, the company says, saw a collective increase of 300% in terms of subscriber base in 2012, though it’s not clear what that equates to in terms of overall user numbers.

Of those people using Omnifone services, 79% accessed music from “devices in the home” rather than portable gadgets; of the company’s smart-phone users 76% were using Android-enabled devices; peak usage time in Europe was 6-8pm, while in North America and Australasia its 2-4pm; and across all services in all countries, Christmas Day saw the highest number of streams in 2012. So there are some stats for you all to enjoy.

Commenting on the released data, Omnifone CEO Jeff Hughes reckons the much mooted shift of digital music services into the mainstream is nearly upon us, telling CMU: “The data we are releasing today is further evidence that streaming is the fastest growing area of digital music and ready for mass market adoption. Next generation connectivity such as 4G and the latest internet-enabled home technology will drive growth further. We are continually investing in our cloud-based music platform to enable our customers to take advantage of that opportunity on a global scale”.

He added: “Looking ahead we envisage further bundling of music with other services which will really bring streaming to the mainstream. Music discovery, re-discovery and innovative curation and recommendation, combining recommendation engines with human experts, will enhance the user experience and accelerate demand”.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:48 | By

Morrissey pulls out of Kimmel Live over duck killers

Media

Morrissey

While it remains unclear whether LA’s Staples Center will be completely meat free when Morrissey plays there on Friday (reports said it would be, but the AEG-operated venue now says that while back-stage catering will be sans-meat, and consumer-facing concessions will be encouraged to be more vege-friendly, burgers will still grill front of house), the famously anti-meat singer has pulled out of a spot on the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ TV show in defence of the ducks.

With Morrissey seemingly on the mend after his recent hospital stint, and back on stage this week, he was due to appear on Kimmel’s show tonight. But he has pulled out of the programme after learning that it would also feature the stars of an American reality show called ‘Duck Dynasty’, which follows the lives of the Robertson family, who made their fortune selling products for duck hunters.

Not wanting to share the green room with the beneficiaries of duck death, Morrissey pulled out of the show, with a rep telling reporters: “Morrissey is thankful for being invited to perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live. However, he cannot morally be on a television programme where the cast members of ‘Duck Dynasty’ will also be guests. Morrissey would be honoured to play the show, if ‘Duck Dynasty’ were removed”.

The singer himself is quoted thus: “As far as my reputation is concerned, I can’t take the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount to animal serial killers. If Jimmy cannot dump ‘Duck Dynasty’, then we must step away”.

Reports say producers for the late night talk show tried to find a compromise that wouldn’t require the dumping of any guests, but no such deal could be struck. Though insiders say the singer’s appearance on the show could be pushed back to a future duck-killer-free edition of the programme. If and when such a thing arises.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:47 | By

BBC announces line-up for Baroque Remixed recording

Media

BBC

More details have been announced about ‘Baroque Remixed’, the previously reported BBC venture due to air as part of Corporation’s upcoming Baroque season. The Remixed programme will see various music types collaborating with the BBC Concert Orchestra to reinvent works from the Baroque era of classical music (approx 1600-1750, if you were wondering).

Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory will be joined by his Moog Ensemble for a world premiere of their new version of Johann Bach’s ‘Sarabande’, whilst Scandinavian singer-songwriter Ane Brun will both sing and play guitar in an arrangement of ‘When I Am Laid In Earth’ from Henry Purcell’s opera ‘Dido And Aeneas’.

Elsewhere, Matthew Herbert will rework the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau by combining orchestral and electronic sounds, while composer and conductor Thomas Adès will be performing his popular ‘Three Studies from Couperin’. 6music’s Lauren Laverne and Radio 3’s Andrew McGregor will host the proceedings, which will be broadcast live on R3 from London’s Roundhouse on 11 Mar.

Andrew Connolly, General Manager of the BBC Concert Orchestra, told CMU: “We hope to open people’s ears to the great masterpieces of the Baroque era through these exciting and original 21st century makeovers”.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:46 | By

Arcade Fire babies on way

And Finally

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire ‘chanteuse’ Régine Chassagne is pregnant with her first baby via Arcade Fire chanteur Win Butler. The band’s Mariska Shaw is ‘with child’ too, only not by Win, so that’s nice. The Stool Pigeon dies, and two Arcade Fire babies are born… such is the circle of indie life.

This is a photo to prove that both AF ladies are, in fact, enceinte.

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Tuesday 26 February 2013, 11:45 | By

Bieber welcome in space, if not Sankeys

And Finally

Justin Bieber

Following all the chatter about Justin Bieber being refused admission to Manchester club Sankeys last Thursday, the good news for the Biebster is that he’s welcome to have a boogie in space.

Bieber, currently on tour in the UK, was refused admission to the popular Manchester club last week, perhaps because management didn’t believe having the pop teen on the premises did much for their street cred, or at least realised turning the star away would play well with their target demographic and get them lots of positive responses online. If the latter was the plan, it worked.

Or maybe door staff on the night simply saw the once-in-a-lifetime chance to put a global teen star in his place and couldn’t resist the temptation. Though officially speaking it was Bieber’s dance moves that got him barred, with the club tweeting on Friday: “Yes the rumours are true…we turned Justin Bieber away last night. He shuffles on stage and we can’t be having that in Sankeys now can we!”

But while the doormen at Sankeys sent Bieber packing, the doormen of space seem much more welcoming. Not letting the knock back in Ancoats dent his ambitions all that much, the Biebster tweeted this weekend: “I wanna do a concert in space”. To which NASA responded: “Maybe we can help you with that. ‘All Around the World’, next off it?” What makes me think there’s someone in NASA’s marketing department with a teenage daughter to impress.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:55 | By

CMU Planner – w/c 25 Feb 2013

CMU Planner

Ministry Of Sound

A round up of music and music business events happening in the next seven days…

Boris’ decision on MoS flats. Ministry Of Sound will find out this week what London Mayor Boris Johnson has decided with regard to a planning application to build a block of flats opposite the superclub. Property developer Oakmayne’s proposals were unanimously rejected by Southwark’s planning committee in October 2011. However, a few months later London Mayor Boris Johnson’s office agreed to reconsider the decision, placing the club under threat once again.

NME Awards. One time alternative to the BRITs, now very much a part of the establishment itself, the NME Awards show takes place this Wednesday. Featuring heavy on the nominations list this year are David Bowie, Arctic Monkeys, Biffy Clyro, Florence Welch, The Maccabees and bloody Jake Bugg. The Cribs will pick up the Outstanding Contribution prize, while their former bandmate Johnny Marr will be named Godlike Genius.

IFPI’s Digital Music Report. The global record industry trade body’s annual report on all things digital is published tomorrow, 26 Feb. It covers “the latest global industry trends, market data and analysis of the music markets internationally”. So a good day for digital stat junkies.

AIM Sync event. The Association Of Independent Music’s 2013 sync licensing masterclass is this Thursday, 28 Feb, at Deloitte’s London HQ. Music supervisors set to share their expertise with the indie label community at the event include Alex Hancock, Sergio Pimentel of Nimrod Productions, Nick Angel of Working Title Films, Will Quiney of Vamanos Music and Sophie Urquhart of Tin Drum Music, while from the rights owner’s side, Mute’s David McGinnis will be offering advice.

New releases. Coinciding entirely coincidentally with their respective awards from NME, Johnny Marr and The Cribs have new records out this week. Marr’s in the form of his debut solo album displaying his godlike genius and The Cribs’ a career-spanning compilation showcasing their outstanding contribution to music. Also, Atoms For Peace, Doldrums, Caitlin Rose and Palma Violets are releasing albums. Oh and that David Bowie has a new single out.

Gigs and tours. Well, we just can’t seem to get shot of that Bieber boy, can we? His UK arena tour continues this week. Jessie J and One Direction are also doing the circuit. The arenas won’t know what’s hit them. And if those don’t take your fancy, you could check out The Jackson Four, Chase & Status, Fall Out Boy, Sigur Rós, James Blake or Lianne La Havas. If you’d prefer something a little more intimate, then also on those road this week are Chrvches, Death Grips, Egyptian Hip Hop, Tall Ships, Clinic, Christopher Owens, Iceage, MØ and Bleached.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:54 | By

Approved: The Deer Tracks – Lazarus

CMU Approved

The Deer Tracks

‘Lazarus’, the second single from new Deer Tracks album ‘The Archer Trilogy Part 3’, continues where its predecessor ‘W’ left off.

And it’s delightful, with subtle glitches, sweeping strings, hands-in-the-air rave synths and clattering percussion that could be anything from gunshots to lightening bolts hitting the top of a glacier. Imbued with a sense of playfulness, it’s topped with an effortlessly emotive vocal from Elin Lindfors which reminds you of the melodic sensibility at the heart of the group’s adventures.

Whilst some might lament the absence of guitars and the move to a more electronic sound, redolent of a less morose and more elfin version of The Knife (as opposed to the more organic Sigur Rós-remixed-by-Múm-in-a-blizzard tracks of debut album ‘Aurora’), all the best groups evolve their sound as they go on a sonic, and no doubt physical and metaphorical, journey as their career develops.

‘The Archer Trilogy Part 3’ is out now, and the balloon-tastic video for ‘Lazarus’ is available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure here:

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:53 | By

Google negotiating licenses for streaming service, says FT

Digital Top Stories

Google

Google is in talks with the majors seeking licenses to launch its own streaming music service, according to the Financial Times. The web giant plans to launch a service to compete with the likes of Spotify later this year, copying the Swedish digital player’s model of offering both ad-funded free and subscription-based premium options.

There has been talk of Google launching a “killer music service” for years, of course, with sources at the web firm originally talking up an in-development Google platform that would take on Apple’s dominance of the download market.

With it sitting on such great data about the likes and preferences of its hundreds of millions of users worldwide, there are reasons why Google could be the company to shake up the digital music market, though all of its music products to date have been pretty lacklustre; it’s most recent innovation being the Google Play download store and digital locker service, the closest the firm has got to directly competing with iTunes. It’s certainly not done much to bother Apple to date.

Though, while Google-branded music services have all been rather rubbish so far, the web firm is actually already sitting on the biggest, most popular and most lucrative streaming music service on the internet in the form of YouTube, even if an ever increasing amount of music consumption on the company’s video site is actually hosted by the music industry’s own VEVO platform.

YouTube, of course, doesn’t have the functionality or the catalogue of its audio-streaming rivals, it not being specifically designed for music, and being generally (though not exclusively) limited to those tracks that come with a promo video. Though plenty of research suggests that for the youth demographic those limitations aren’t all that off-putting (nor is the variable sound quality of recordings), especially while the service is free, very searchable and easily sharable.

The new Google streaming service would, it seems, be a separate product to YouTube, more closely aligned to the existing Google Play platform, and really designed with the Google Android smartphone and tablet operating system in mind, though obviously a desktop version would be required to assure mainstream appeal.

Given many still believe the future of online music is very much mobile-centric, the continued growth of the Android eco-system makes Google seem ever more like an obvious major player in the digital music market. And especially in the emerging streaming space, where Apple doesn’t dominate (yet – rumours of an iTunes streaming service persist), and where no one player can really claim global dominance, especially if Pandora and Spotify-style services are all considered to be part of the same market.

And Google would have the resources to enable a major play in the freemium streaming domain, both in terms of cash and, perhaps more importantly, ad sales power. Of course Google hasn’t, in the main, been all that keen to put its own money on the line when it comes to developing content-services, whereas most start-up streaming firms are still operating at a loss. Though on the YouTube side the web giant has starting spending a little more, and with such a well established in-house ad network to call on, Google’s required investment would likely be less than for almost any other rival.

All of which means the launch of any Google streaming service could be very interesting indeed, and possibly a bigger game-changer than any Apple plans to launch a Pandora rival. All the company needs now is licences from the record labels and music publishers.

The big music companies will likely use any licensing negotiations to bang on some more about their pet gripe of the moment – the web giant’s perceived inaction in stopping music pirates from performing well in Google searches – though the labels have long had a love/hate relationship with the web firm, and that hasn’t stopped lucrative partnerships via YouTube and VEVO, nor the licensing of the albeit disappointing Google Play download store.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:52 | By

Judge throws out Lohan’s Pitbull lawsuit

Business News Legal

Pitbull

A US judge has thrown out a lawsuit being pursued by Lindsay Lohan against Pitbull. Lohan took offence at a line from the rapper’s 2011 track ‘Give Me Everything’ in which he alluded to the singer-actress’s runs in with the law with the line: “Hustlers move aside, so I’m tiptoeing, keep flowin/I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan”.

Although Pitbull apologised for any offence caused by the rap, Lohan sued under New York law claiming her publicity and privacy rights were violated by the track.

It was an ambitious legal claim, and when it finally got to court this month the judge unsurprisingly said that works of art are exempt from the New York laws on which Lohan relied, and that the First Amendment gazumped the lawsuit.

Lohan tried to claim the song was a commercial venture not a work of art, but the judge knocked that argument on the head, saying that just because something was “created and distributed for the purpose of making a profit” doesn’t stop it being art.

As previously reported, Pitbull counter-sued Lohan in 2011. The counter-suit disputed Lohan’s claims, questioned her ability to sue under New York law as a Californian resident, and sought a sanction against the plaintiff for filing a “frivolous lawsuit”.

On the latter point, the judge said that case law on this issue to date had been limited, so that while Lohan’s litigation was ambitious, it couldn’t be considered ‘frivolous’.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:51 | By

Harry Styles talks politics

Artist News

Harry Styles

One Direction’s Harry Styles has come out… as pro-Labour. He apparently – or so says The Mirror – boasted of his political inclinations at a post-BRITs party last week, saying: “I’m a Labour supporter. I lean to the left. I’m for the people”.

Awkward.

 

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:50 | By

Adele and Epworth’s Bond theme takes Oscar

Awards

Adele

So, Adele and Paul Epworth took the Oscar for Best Song last night for their track ‘Skyfall’, the first Bond theme to ever win an Academy Award.

An emotional Adele told the Oscar audience: “Thank you so much, this is amazing. I’d just like to thank Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson at Eon, Sony Pictures, MGM and Paul Epworth… And my man, I love you, baby!”

Echoing his collaborator’s corporate thanks, Epworth added: “I can’t really believe I’m up here to receive this. I’ve got to thank my wife Danielle and my daughter Vivienne… [also] Joe and Matt who spent hours working on this… and most of all I’d like to thank Adele for being the best person I’ve ever worked with, she’s absolutely amazing”.

It was a timely win for the latest in a long line of Bond themes, given the 007 movie franchise’s 50th anniversary last October was one of the things being specifically celebrated at the Academy Awards this year. Former Bond girl Halle Berry introduced a video montage about the film series’ history before Shirley Bassey took to the stage for a rendition of ‘Goldfinger’.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:49 | By

Music+Sound Awards presented

Awards Business News

Music+Sound Awards

Following on from last Wednesday’s BRIT Awards, on Thursday night just gone the second ever Music+Sound Awards took place, celebrating the use of music and sound with moving image, so original composition, sound design and sync in the TV, film, gaming and advertising sectors.

And the winners were…

BEST COMPOSITIONS

TV Advertising: The Guardian – Three Little Pigs (Woodwork Music, Phil Kay and BBH)

Cinema Advertisting: Pearl & Dean – Doomed Planet (Nick Samuel and BETC London)

Non Broadcast & Viral Advertising: Hoss Intropia feat Florrie – Make Your Own Rhythm (RSA Films, Erik Olsson & Christian Larson [Red Pipe])

Trailers & Promos: BBC 2012 – Stadium UK (Warner/Chappell & RKCR/Y&R and Elbow)

Titles & Branding: Downton Abbey Series 3 (Carnival Films and John Lunn)

Film Score: Ill Manors (Universal Music Publishing and Plan B & Al Shux)

TV Programme: Sherlock Series 2 (Hothouse Music and David Arnold & Michael Price)

Gaming: Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment and Austin Wintory)

BEST SOUND DESIGN

TV Advertising: GlaxoSmithKline – The Crowd Is My Only Drug (Factory Studios, Anthony Moore & Jon Clarke and TBWA London)

Cinema Advertising: Vogue Italia – Get Richard (750mph and Sam Ashwell)

Radio Advertising: Cocaine Unwrapped – One Life. One Line (Grand Central Recording Studios, Munzie Thind and Leo Burnett)

Non-Broadcast & Viral Advertising: Radio Soulwax – Machine (Rogue Films and Alex Grossman)

Trailers & Promos: Channel 4 – Meet The Superhumans (Envy Post Production and Rich Martin)

Titles & Branding: Honda Channel 4 Idents – The More We Look, The More We Learn (Factory Studios, Daniel Beckwith and Wieden+Kennedy)

TV Programme: The Hollow Crown (Gold Crest Post and Antony Bayman, Sue Harding, Adam Horley, Rob Humpage, Ben Norrington, Julien Pirrie, Adrian Rhodes, Philip Syversten, Christopher Wilson)

Gaming: Battlefield 3 (EA Digital Illusions CE)

Best Audio Mix In A Commercial: Lurpak – Rainbow (Wave Studios , Aaron Reynolds and Wieden+Kennedy)

BEST SYNC

TV Advertising: The Bee Gees’ Staying Alive in British Heart Foundation – Hard & Fast (Grey London & Grand Central Recording Studios)

Cinema Advertising: Woodkid’s Run Boy Run in Nike/O2 Priority Sports (Soho Music & VCCP)

Trailers & Promos: Max Richter & Dinah Washington’s On The Nature Of Daylight/This Bitter Earth (Shutter Island Remix) in The Secret World (Simon Poole & Funcom and Nimrod Productions)

Film Soundtrack: Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra in Moonrise Kingdom (Imagem Creative Services and Randall Poster)

TV Soundtrack: Piney Gir’s Letting In The Sunshine in Hit & Miss (Manners McDade and Iain Cooke)

Re-records/Adaptations: Masters In France’s Playin With My Friends in Playin With My Friends (A&G Sync Music and Mother)

Non Broadcast & Viral Ads: The Bee Gees’ Staying Alive in British Heart Foundation, ‘BHF – Vinnie’ (Grey London)

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:48 | By

Madonna tops Billboard’s list of US pop earners

Artist News

Madonna

While digital revenues, whether download or stream-based, are booming, and a solid online base is ever more important for artists, if you want to be amongst music’s biggest earners it pays to be [a] an old man and [b] a major concert draw. Or at least that’s what we can take from Billboard’s review of the most commercially successful artists in the US in 2012.

Of course Madonna, at number one in the 2012 US earners list, isn’t a man, and the artist at the other end of the top ten, Justin Bieber, isn’t old, though much of the rest of the ten most profitable American acts last year were of the aging male variety – though if the survey also took artists’ corporate and brand partnership earnings into account, the list might have looked more diverse.

An artist’s ability to pack out some of America’s biggest arena and stadium venues plays a key role in this poll. Of the revenues counted in Billboard’s Top 40 big earners, 68.9% comes from live. And if you remove Adele and Taylor Swift from the proceedings (who are at eleven and fifteen respectively despite not touring), that figure moves up to 72.5%.

Check the full top 40 and other Billboard analysis of the stats here, or just quickly digest the top ten big earners in American music below, complete with each artist’s US earnings…

1. Madonna ($34.6m)
2. Bruce Springsteen ($33.4m)
3. Roger Waters ($21.2m)
4. Van Halen ($20.2m)
5. Kenny Chesney ($19.1m)
6. Dave Matthews Band ($18.9m)
7. Tim McGraw ($18.3m)
8. Jason Aldean ($17.6m)
9. Coldplay ($17.3m)
10. Justin Bieber ($15.9m)

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:47 | By

New Ocean track surfaces

Releases

Frank Ocean

A new Frank Ocean track has seemingly appeared online, apparently recorded during the sessions for his debut album ‘Channel Orange’. It’s called ‘Eyes Like Sky’.

Meanwhile, the Odd Future star recently chatted about work on the follow up to that acclaimed debut LP, saying: “I’m like ten, eleven songs into the next thing. It’s another cohesive thing bordering on a concept album again”.

He added: “At the end of ‘Channel Orange’ there’s ‘Golden Girl’ and I kind of want to extend that feeling into the next record. I’m going to Bora Bora and setting up a studio there and we’ll see what happens”.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:46 | By

Cirque Du Soleil planning second Michael Jackson show

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Michael Jackson One

Cirque Du Soleil has announced a second alliance with the Michael Jackson estate to create a new stage show called ‘Michael Jackson One’. The new production follows the success of the circus firm’s first show utilising the Jackson oeuvre, ‘Immortal’, which was one of the highest grossing concert tours last year, and which continues to travel the world.

The new show will be based in Las Vegas rather than touring. It was originally planned that ‘Immortal’ would eventually set up permanent residency in the US city, though the creation of the new production suggests that show will remain a touring venture for the foreseeable future. ‘Michael Jackson One’ will start previewing at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on 23 May, with an official premiere on 29 Jun.

Says Cirque chief Daniel Lamarre: “Michael Jackson is an all-time phenomenal artist, both timeless and contemporary. As a creative challenge, this project is the ultimate. Through the use of cutting edge technology, we will produce a new Cirque du Soleil theatrical experience not only respectful of Michael’s legacy but also very distinctive from ‘Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour'”.

Meanwhile John Branca and John McClain, as co-executors of the Jackson estate, added: “We are guided by Michael’s own philosophy in all that we do. In preparing for this production, Michael’s message to the cast and crew for his ‘This Is It’ concerts was foremost in our minds”.

They continue: “He counselled them on what the audience experience should be: ‘They want wonderful experiences. We want to take them places that they’ve never been before. We want to show them talent like they’ve never seen before. We’re putting love back into the world to remind the world that love is important. We’re all one. That is the message’. We feel the same, and that is what we are delivering both to lifelong fans and those just discovering his artistic genius with ‘Michael Jackson One'”.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:45 | By

Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake to make US summers legendary

Gigs & Festivals

Legends Of The Summer

Sartorial ‘Suit & Tie’ popstars Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z have arranged to circle America and Canada’s stadiums on a grandly-titled live manoeuvre, so that’s nice… if you’re American. There are twelve ‘Legends Of The Summer’ dates in all, the first one being at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on 17 Jul.

Whether the Wireless co-headlining pop collaborators will have the time and/or inclination to provide a tour that is legendary in Britons’ eyes is still tbc. ‘Legends Of The Fall’ is taken so… winter, perhaps?

Anyways, this is ‘Suit & Tie’:

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:44 | By

Dirty Beaches adds May dates

Gigs & Festivals

Dirty Beaches

So, it transpires Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang really is releasing that pair of LPs he hinted at back in July. In fact, it’s official; ‘Drifters’ and ‘Love Is The Devil’ will be released as “one conceptual piece” on 20 May via Zoo Music.

Zhang and band will take a promotional trip prior to that, moving as follows:

5 May: Newcastle, The Cluny
6 May: Dundee, Soul Function Suite
7 May: Glasgow, Nice & Sleazy
8 May: Dublin, The Workman’s Club
9 May: Liverpool, Forecast
10 May: Chester, The Compass
11 May: Manchester Soup Kitchen
12 May: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

Scoring the wait until May, this is the title track to ‘Love Is The Devil’:

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:43 | By

Emmylou Harris touring with Rodney Crowell

Gigs & Festivals

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

Country girl – well, lady – Emmylou Harris and her live guitarist of 38 years Rodney Crowell, who are releasing a duets LP titled ‘Old Yellow Moon’, will play a series of live dates in May behind it.

Comprising four original Crowell-authored tracks – and covers of Hank DeVito’s ‘Hanging Up My Heart’, Roger Miller’s ‘Invitation To The Blues’ and Allen Reynolds’ ‘Dreaming My Dreams’ – ‘Old Yellow Moon’ will be released on 4 Mar via Nonesuch Records.

Says Harris to Rolling Stone: “I think we always knew we would do a record together one day. I guess it was sometime last year that I said, ‘You know, if we’re going to do this record, we’ve got to put a fence around some time and get started'”.

The shows shall go as follows:

8 May: Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
9 May: London, Hammersmith Apollo
10 May: Birmingham, Symphony Hall
12 May: Belfast, Waterfront
15 May: Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
16 May: Gateshead, The Sage

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:42 | By

Festival line-up update: Wireless, 2000trees, ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror and more

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

2000Trees

So, as the Jay-Z/JT-headlined Wireless sells all its tickets in record time, what of other festivals it’s still viable to buy into? Indie fete 2000trees has added an abundance of new artists to its leafy-green, Future Of The Left and Gallops-featuring live bank – not least Stornoway, We Are The Ocean, Funeral For A Friend and And So I Watch You From Afar.

2000trees warden Andy Rea is pleased with the way it’s all going so far, and says: “Tickets for our Thursday Early Entry Evening are almost sold out and standard weekend tickets are flying too, it’s all pretty exciting here right now. Plus we have booked some pretty special headliners for the main stage which we’re keeping under our hats until later on, to give our hard core 2000trees fans the chance to buy tickets first”.

Whilst Rea et al may be keeping certain acts a secret, the same can’t be said for ATP’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Grizzly Bear co-hosted I’ll Be Your Mirror, which has made space amid the festival’s heaving listings for grindcore band The Locust – who’ll be having a live renaissance after a considerable break – Chilean ace Nicholas Jaar, and ex-LCD bloke James Murphy.

Also notable in today’s FLUU summary is the addition of Thom Yorke, Flea, Nigel Godrich et al’s collaborative love-in Atoms For Peace as headliners to Serbia’s Exit and Germany’s Melt! Atoms For Peace! Hurrah!

Oh, and flaxen-haired BRITs darling (and potential new beau of Taylor Swift) Tom Odell joins The Vaccines and Basement Jaxx (and Ben Howard) at Relentless’s Boardmasters ‘bash’.

Oh, and this lot:

2000TREES, Upcote Farm, Cheltenham Gloucestershire, 11-13 Jul: Stornoway, Funeral For A Friend, And So I Watch You From Afar, We Are The Ocean, InMe, Wet Nuns, Adebisi Shank, Stealing Sheep, Nine Black Alps, Fight Like Apes, HildaMay, Childhood, Beans on Toast, Cold Crows Dead, Brontide, Sky Larkin, Park Bench Society, Bovine, Wot Gorilla?, The Family Rain, Emperor Yes, Portasound, The Physics House Band, Her Name is Calla, John J Presley, Bats, Hot Feet, Gnarwolves, The Retrospective Soundtrack Players, Empress, Black Moth, Crash Of Rhinos, Landscapes, Grappler, Bear Cavalry, Woahnows. www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

ATP’S I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR, Alexandra Palace, London, 4-5 May: The Locust, Nicholas Jaar, James Murphy, Prince Rama, K-Holes. www.atpfestival.com/ibymlondon2013

BOOMTOWN FAIR, Matterley Bowl, Winchester, Hampshire, 8-11 Aug: Les Hurlements D’Leo, Les Yeux D’La Tete, Rafven, The Fat Bastard Gang, Gadjo, Flap!, Slamboree, Tragic Roundabout, The Carny Villains, The Zen Hussies, Gentle Mystics, Gypsy Hill, Mad Dog Mcrea, Pas De Probleme, Gypsy Fever, Pronghorn, Bootscraper, Worldly Savages, The Great Malarkey, Johnny Kowalski & The Sexy Weirdos, Boot Hill All Stars, Seas of Mirth, Drunken Balordi, The Binewski Murder, Buffo’s Wake, Biere De Luxe. www.boomtownfair.co.uk

COCOON IN THE PARK, Temple Newsam, Leeds, 13 Jul: Sven Vath, Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin, Craig Richards. www.cocoon.net/events/cocooninthepark

DOUR, Plaine De La Machine À Feu, Dour, Belgium, 18-21 Jul: The Vaccines, Klaxons, Darwin Deez, Brns, Gold Panda, Petite Noir, Com Truise, Sinkane, Fauve. www.dourfestival.be/en

EDEN FESTIVAL, Raehills Meadows, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, 7-9 Jun: Caravan Palace, The Correspondents, Sam And The Womp, Craig Charles, Shy FX & Stamina, The Carny Villains, Electric Swim Circus, Slamboree. www.edenfestival.co.uk

EXIT, Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia, 10-14 Jul: Atoms For Peace. eng.exitfest.org

GHOSTFEST, Leeds University Student Union, 29-30 Jun: Terror, KnuckleDust, Breaking Point, Azriel, Mind X Control, Grader. www.ghostfestofficial.com

MELT!, Ferropolis, Gräfenhainichen, Germany, 19-21 Jul: Atoms For Peace. www.meltfestival.de/en

RELENTLESS BOARDMASTERS, Watergate Bay, Cornwall, 7-11 Aug: Tom Odell. www.boardmasters.co.uk

SPLENDOUR, Wollaton Park, Nottingham, 20 Jul: Jake Bugg, Squeeze, KT Tunstall, Maximo Park. www.splendourfestival.com

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:41 | By

Jepsen to flog shampoo

Brands & Merch

Carly Rae Jepsen

So, Carly Rae Jepsen is now officially bigging up güd, though please note the lower case type and umlaut there (the Canadian Idol loser is not promoting GUD as in genital ulcer diseases, or GUD as in Groupe Union Défense, the mainly 20th Century French far right movement).

For the uninitiated, güd is a “millennial natural personal care brand”, which isn’t much of an initiation it’s true, but that’s how makers Burt’s Bees describe the soap and body lotion line. And Jepsen is the American brand’s first ever spokeswoman.

The appointment was “obvious” of course, because, as you’ve all surely noted, Jepsen’s “high energy, sing-along sound which is self-described as ‘flower-child pop’ is a perfect match for güd’s mash-up of indulgent fragrances and natural formulas”.

Or in Jepsen’s own words: “To be able to use a brand that you know has natural ingredients but also smells scrumptious is the best of both worlds. I love these products because I know I can count on them, they’re good for me, and make me feel beautiful”.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:40 | By

AEG bids reportedly under expectations

Business News Live Business

AEG

Bids for the Anschutz Entertainment Group have come in at the lower end of expectations, according to a report by the New York Post, which is someway below the price AEG’s current owner Philip Anschutz had been reportedly pushing for.

When Anschutz put his entertainment company – which includes venue real estate, various sporting interests and the AEG Live tour and festivals business – up for sale last year, the global entity was valued by most commentators at between $6 and $8 billion. Though reports later in the year mentioned a price tag closer to $10 billion, possibly based on briefings by Anschutz insiders.

But, according to the Post, two serious bidders through to the second round of the auction – Guggenheim Partners and Qatar Sports Investment – are both offering less than $7 billion. And some insiders are apparently predicting that Anschutz might call off the sale if that’s the sort of money the deal would generate.

One issue, it seems, is Anschutz’s reported insistence that any buyer should keep the wider AEG company going as one entity after purchase. Indeed, some reckon that to maximise return Anschutz should split up AEG himself before sale, not least because some of the firm’s US sports club interests would attract generous bids from individual billionaires who have neither the desire nor the means to bid for the group in its entirety.

AEG reps say simply that sale talks continue with various parties.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:39 | By

Craig David and Colin Lester form new publishing venture with Universal

Business News Labels & Publishers

Craig David

Craig David and his manager Colin Lester have launched a new joint venture with Universal Music Publishing to be known as JEM Music. David has also signed a global publishing deal with Universal and the new business, and will merge his existing publishing company Bootyman Music into JEM. Lester is also a partner in the new entity and as he also heads up Universal’s artist management unit Twenty First Artists, the deal keeps everything very much in the family.

Confirming the new deal, UMPG’s President Of North America Evan Lamberg told CMU: “To be in business with a great manager and song man such as Colin Lester is going to be pure fun. He is timeless in his approach as to what really matters… the song. And to make things even better, we get to work with one of my favourite songwriters of the last fifteen years, Mr Craig David”.

Lester added: “I have worked with Craig David for many years and we both decided it was about time we formed a music publishing company that would allow us to work with the many great artists, producers and writers that we encounter. We have partnered with Evan Lamberg and his team at Universal Music Group because they are the best in the business and because their global reach and ambition gives the best platform to develop this exciting new company”.

And finally David said: “I’m really pleased that I am working with a publisher in Evan Lamberg whose opinion I really value and respect and who has a great understanding of artists and songwriting”.

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Monday 25 February 2013, 11:38 | By

Kanye rants and rambles

And Finally

Kanye West

So Kanye, “what do you think about the good old business of music?”, no one at the rapper’s first London show this weekend shouted out, though they got to find out anyway.

West used one of his three Hammersmith Apollo shows to share, telling his audience: “I hate business people. People get on the phone with me and tell me, ‘What kind of business can you do, though? What type of business are you doing? What’s the numbers? How much did you sell? What’s the radio spins? How much shampoo can you sell with your face on it and shit?'”

He rambled on: “Remind me again why we in this shit. Can you remind me again why we in this shit? Since when [is] making music about getting rich? Since when [is] making art about getting rich? Remind me again why we in this shit. Remind me again why the Grammys couldn’t suck my dick”.

He’s right you know, making music isn’t about getting rich. And the £125 ‘Diamond Upgrade’ ticket his promoters are selling for next weekend’s Apollo show, which gets the lucky buyer almost front row seats, access to a special bar and a ‘complimentary’ drinks voucher, is all about expanding the artistic credentials of the experience, and nothing to do with maximising revenues.

Away from the commerce v art debate, West also turned to his sometimes collaborator Jay-Z moonlighting with another creative partner, ie Mr Justin Timberlake. “I got love for Hov [Jay-Z]” he noted, “but I ain’t fucking with that ‘Suit & Tie'”. Well, that’ll keep the laundry bills down. Not that it’s about the money, remember.

Enjoy the ranting for yourself here:

And some more:

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Friday 22 February 2013, 12:12 | By

CMU Digest – 22 Feb 2013

Business News Week In Five

Parlophone

The five biggest stories in the music business this week…

01: IMPALA and Merlin announced a deal with Warner regarding PLG. The pan-European indie labels trade body and indie label digital rights agency announced an agreement with Warner Music which will see the major allow independents to “buy, license or distribute” some of the former EMI assets it is in the process of acquiring from Universal. Warner was confirmed earlier this month as the buyer of the Parlophone Label Group, which includes most of the European EMI assets Universal was forced to sell by regulators when it acquired the wider EMI recorded music business last year. Warner’s PLG deal will have to approved by European regulators too though, but as part of this week’s agreement the indie label community has pledged to not oppose that acquisition. Quite how the Warner/indies arrangement – which could as yet prove controversial – will actually work is not yet clear, but IMPALA and Merlin said it would “bring more scale into the independent sector”. CMU report | FT report

02: HMV announced more store closures. 37 more branches of the flagging retailer will shut in the next month or so, in addition to the 66 UK stores and sixteen Irish outlets already closed or set for closure. The boss of the Entertainment Retailers Association, Kim Bayley, had already predicted more closures, but told the BBC “everyone in the industry hopes that they come through the other side, and that with a slimmer and leaner organisation HMV can still make a high street presence work”. CMU report | Sky News report

03: The Met called for more efforts to crack down on ticket crime. The London police force published a report on ticket fraud on the back of its efforts to combat the dodgy distribution of tickets to last year’s Olympics. The report said that the live industry should work with search engine operators to ensure legit ticket sellers score higher than fraudsters in web searches, and encouraged consumers to report any incidents of ticket fraud so the authorities could better ascertain the extent of the problem, which could be costing punters and the live sector up to £40 million a year. CMU report | Radio 1 report

04: The RIAA said Google should do more to stop illegal sites appearing in search results. The US record industry trade body said it had assessed the impact of a change in the Google search algorithm made last year, which was meant to downgrade unlicensed sources of music in Google search results, but had found the tweak had had little effect, and illegal music still appeared too high in Google search lists. The trade body wants the web giant to do more in this domain. Google, though, according to reports, is currently focusing on stopping pirates from using its ad networks. CMU report | C-Net report

05: The Pirate Bay squabbled with Finnish anti-piracy group CIAPC. The controversial file-sharing website cried foul last week when CIAPC launched an anti-piracy website that spoofed its site, accusing the pro-copyright body of infringing the Bay’s copyrights by lifting a bunch of code off the actual Pirate Bay to create the parody. The Bay threatened to sue, but CIAPC said it would welcome any legal challenge, because it would force TPB’s anonymous operators to reveal themselves. So far Team Bay are yet to actually sue, though reports suggest they have reported CIAPC to the police for copyright violation. Remains to be seen if police get involved in what would usually be handled by a civil action. CMU report | Register report

Here at CMU, the Insights team launched six brand new half-day training courses and announced new dates of the popular Music Business In 2013 programme, while we chatted to Marnie Stern, got ourselves a grand playlist from Comanechi, and grabbed some tips for aspiring pop stars off A&R and promoter Jessica Pinkett. Approved this week were Philco Fiction, White Fence, Retro Stefson and Keep Shelly In Athens.

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Friday 22 February 2013, 12:11 | By

CMU Beef Of The Week #146: Kelly Clarkson v Clive Davis

And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

Clive Davis

Music mogul Clive Davis has had an interesting life. Currently Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music, he’s headed up the Columbia, RCA and Arista labels, as well as his own company, J Records. He’s also been heavily involved in the careers of artists such as Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, and most notably Whitney Houston. He should write a book about it.

Oh, he has. You probably knew that already. Most reports on his autobiography, ‘The Soundtrack Of My Life’, have concentrated on what he says about his sexuality. Well, they did, until another artist he worked particularly closely with, Kelly Clarkson, took issue with some of the things he’d said about her.

In a statement, distributed via Twitter, Clarkson said that she wanted to “clear up his memory lapses and misinformation”. First she addressed a claim that she had burst into “hysterical sobbing” when Davis “demanded” that she include ‘Since U Been Gone’ on her second album ‘Breakaway’. Far from it, she said, “his stories and songs are mixed up. I did want more guitars added to the original demo [of that track] and Clive did not. Max, Luke and I still fought for the bigger sound and we prevailed and I couldn’t be more proud of the life of that song. I resent him dampening that song in any way”.

But the office-based crying was caused by a different song, she continued, explaining: “I cried after I played him a song I had written about my life called ‘Because Of You’. I cried because he hated it and told me verbatim that I was a ‘shitty writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me’. He continued on about how the song didn’t rhyme and how I should just shut up and sing. This was devastating coming from a man who I, as a young girl, considered a musical hero and was so honoured to work with. But I continued to fight for the song and the label relented. And it became a worldwide hit. He didn’t include that in the book”.

Moving on she addressed Davis’s evaluation of her third album ‘My December’, which he seemingly concludes was unsuccessful because she co-wrote it and thus it contained no “pop hits”. But, while it is Clarkson’s least successful long player to date, she noted: “‘My December’ went platinum. Hardly a huge failure. [And] ‘Never Again’, the ONLY single they released in the US from that record was a top ten hit”.

She continued: “He doesn’t mention how he stood up in front of his company at a convention and belittled me and my music and completely sabotaged the entire project. It never had a chance to reach it’s full potential. ‘My December’ was an album I needed to make for myself for many reasons and the fact that I was so completely disregarded and disrespected was so disheartening, there really aren’t words to explain”.

Such is the beauty of social media, Davis was also able to issue a speedy response via Twitter. He said: “As anyone who has read ‘The Soundtrack Of My Life’ knows, I think Kelly Clarkson is a tremendous vocal talent and performer. In the book, I provide an in-depth look at our years together during which we shared major multi-platinum success, as well as a few creative differences. I am truly very sorry that she has decided to take issue with what I know to be an accurate depiction of our time together”.

Stopping just short of saying “I am lawyered up to the hilt”, he added: “Before the book was published, I had every fact checked with five independent individuals who were present on a daily basis throughout it all. The chapter as it is written was thoroughly verified by each and every one of them. I stand by the chapter as written in my book. At the same time I wish, and will always wish, Kelly’s talent and her career to soar to ever new heights”.

So, there you go. In the book he also reveals that he had a beef with Bob Dylan, but Bob hasn’t said anything about that on Twitter.

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Friday 22 February 2013, 12:10 | By

Approved: Layo & Bushwacka! Miami Send-Off at Egg

Club Tip CMU Approved

Layo And Bushwacka

Presumably still on their final lap, Layo & Bushwacka! pre-empt next month’s Winter Music Conference and all the festivities upcoming in Miami with a special night at Egg this weekend that also features electronica guru Ewan Pearson, Wiggle’s Terry Francis and master blaster Omri H. Expect to hear some exclusive tracks that are set to rock Miami in the coming weeks.

In Room 2 L&B’s London friends from Leading Astray take over with guests Elek-Fun, Danniel Selfmade and Alvaro Ponce, whilst the Sunday West Sound System, headed up Rufus!, Seb Rumore, Yousif Do.Mania and Wesley Pitter, bring their late night party fare to Room 3.

Spread across three floors and with that all-important garden area, Egg’s party faithful are ready for yet another rather mighty house music session. And with an 11am finish, this is not for the faint-hearted.

Saturday 23 Feb, Egg Club, Kings Cross, London, N7, 10pm-11am, £15 – £22, more info via this link.

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