Thursday 27 February 2014, 11:58 | By Aly Barchi

Inga Copeland details first post-Hype Williams solo thing

Artist News Releases

Having quit her affiliation with Dean Blunt (killing the pair’s pop-scrobbling Hype Williams collaboration) in 2013, a solo Inga Copeland has now confirmed her first lone LP.

Infringing on all kinds of trademarks (possibly) with its title, ‘Because I’m Worth It’ (which also lists a track called ‘L’Oreal’) will be released in May, and features a single guest artist in Actress, who appears on ‘Advice To Young Girls’.

And that’s all that’s known for now. Apart from this, its tracklisting:

Faith OG X
Advice To Young Girl (feat Actress)
Insult 2 Injury
Serious
Fit
Diligence
Inga
L’Oreal

Festival line-up update: Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, Dot To Dot and more

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

Green and pleasant Cheshire rave Creamfields has confirmed a big old dollop of artists, all of whom are playing its 2014 incarnation. Calvin Harris and that Avicii are set to headline, which is nice, whilst elsewhere the likes of AfroJack, Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki, Eric Prydz, Tiesto, Booka Shade, Pete Tong, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Above & Beyond and Duke Dumont will play in a non-headlining capacity. The list really is endless.

Meanwhile, I guess it’s time to share updates to line-ups at triumvirate indie fest Dot To Dot, kooky alt-pop social Secret Garden Party, Donington rock-a-thon Download, Leicester’s own Leicester Music Festival, and all the others you’ll find in this short (actually rather long) list…

ALT-FEST, Boughton House, Kettering, 15-17 Aug: Amen, Paradise Lost, Agonoize, Finntroll, Krokodil, Mesh, Parade Ground, Strombringer, Savage Messiah. www.alt-fest.com

THE BIG FEASTIVAL, Kingham, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, 29-31 Aug: Fatboy Slim, Jamie Cullum, Kelis, Stornoway, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Jack Savoretti, Lee Thompson’s Ska Orchestra, Molotov Jukebox, Norman Jay, The Cuban Brothers, Duke, Guilty Pleasures, Bjorn Again, Fleetwood Bac. www.jamieoliver.com/thebigfeastival

CREAMFIELDS, Daresbury Estate, Halton, Cheshire, 22-24 Aug: Avicii, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, AfroJack, Steve Aoki, Eric Prydz, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Above & Beyond, Duke Dumont, Armin Van Buuren, Booka Shade, Steve Angello, Above & Beyond AN21, Max Vangeli, Tiesto, Hardwell, Axwell & Ingrosso, Alesso and more. www.creamfields.com

DOT TO DOT, various venues, Manchester/Bristol/Nottingham, 23-25 May: Peace, The Midnight Beast, Real Estate, We Were Evergreen, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett, Fyfe, Darlia, Kyla La Grange, Barbarossa, Betty Who, Caveman, Frank Hamilton, Norma Jean Martine, Gavin James, George Barnett, Horse Thief, Lapland, Laura Welsh, LSA, Marika Hackman, Mt Royal, Sean McGowan, Sivu, St Paul And The Broken Bones, Sundara Karma, We The Wild, Wonder Villains, Young Kato. dottodotfestival.co.uk

DOWNLOAD, Donington Park, Derbyshire, 13-15 Jun: Bring Me The Horizon, Within Temptation, Behemoth, Sepultura, Skillet, Fozzy, We Came As Romans, Zebrahead, Winger, Reignwolf, Radkey, Dan Reed, Twenty | One | Pilots, The Howling, Zoax, Press to Meco, Collibus, Monuments, Bad Touch, Tyketto, Cage the Gods, Defeater, Skyharbor. www.downloadfestival.co.uk

FARR FESTIVAL, Bygrave Wood, Newnham, 18-20 Jul: Bicep, Move D, Optimo, Darkstar, Molotov Jukebox, Py, Face+Heel, Only Girl, Kaleida, Mirror Signal, Jenny Burdon, Midland, Hunee, Young Marco, dBridge, Citizen, Detroit Swindle, Justin Robertson, Terry Farley, Thunder, Park Ranger, Tom Rio, Sophie Lloyd, Paramount, JDP, Bounty, Troupe DJs, Stamp The Wax, Shut The Front Door. www.farrfestival.co.uk

GROEZROCK, Gestel, Meerhout, Belgium, 2-3 May 2014: Falling In Reverse. www.groezrock.be

LEICESTER MUSIC FESTIVAL, Welford Road Stadium, Leicester, 25-26 Jul: Labrinth, Professor Green, Union J, Katy B, The Saturdays, Sam Bailey, Soul II Soul, Billy Ocean, Aswad, The Real Thing, Stereo Nation. www.leicestermusicfestival.co.uk

LONDON ELECTRONIC MUSIC EVENT, Rich Mix, Shoreditch, London, 12-13 Apr: Theo Parrish, Kirk Degiorgia, Red D, Mr Beatnick. www.londonelectronicmusicevent.com

OSFEST – BREAK FOR THE BORDER, Oswestry Showground, Shropshire, 24-25 May: Wiley, Nina Nesbitt, Foxes, Neon Jungle, Elyar Fox, Wilkinson, Luke Friend. www.osfest.co.uk

PARKLIFE WEEKENDER, Heaton Park, Manchester, 7-8 Jun: Public Enemy, George Ezra, Mnek. www.parklife.uk.com

SECRET GARDEN PARTY, Mill Hill Field, Abbots Ripton, 24-27 Jul: Foxes, Maya Jane Coles, Sub Focus & MC ID, MO, Kwabs, Rosie Lowe, Wolf Alice, Years And Years, Gorgon City, Denai Moore, Bipolar Sunshine, The Amazing Snakeheads, Kyla La Grange, Le Galaxie, Teleman, Superfood, Matrix And Futurebound, David Rodigan, Tunng, Zervas and Pepper, Jack Garratt, My Nu Leng, Kidnap Kid, Tourist, Ulterior Motive, WOZ, The Mispers, Mausi, Pete Molinari, Fickle Friends, Big Boy Bloater, Dvwlx, CoCo and the Butterfields, Beech, Marcus Bonfanti, Imperial Leisure, They Say Jump, Tantz, Danni Nicholls, Planetman and the Internationalz, My Darling Clementine, Gecko, Uzimon, Ghouls, Alison and the Earthquakes, John Crampton, The Damn Jammage, Delaney, Blues Business. www.secretgardenparty.com

SECRET SOLSTICE, Hot Spring Valley, Iceland, 20-22 Jun: Massive Attack,
Woodkid, Kerri Chandler, Damian Lazarus, Carl Craig, Eats Everything, Aphrohead, Skream, Hjaltalín, Múm, Gorgon City, Boddika, Paul Woolford, Ben Pearce, Droog, Waze & Odyssey, Jackmaster, Maus, Oneman, Samaris, Mammút, Sís_ Ey, Moses Hightower, Francesca Lombardo, Clive Henry, Ojba Rasta, Artwork, Klose-One, Cell 7, Plastic Love, Oculus, Voyeur, Intro Beats, Sometime, Futuregrapher, Josh Butler, Agzilla, Vök, My Nu Leng, Amaba Dama, Elín Ey, HaZaR, Harrimannn, Sometime, Rob Shields, Housekell, Py, DJ Kári, Vök, Yamaho, Captain Fufanu, Mia Dora, ThizOne, Casanova, Bensol, Alvia Islandia, Fox Train Safari, Orang Volante, Modesart, DJ Flugvél & Geimskip, Árni2, Rix, Axfjör_, Steve Sampling, Atli Kanill, Kanilsnældur, Axfjör_, Tandri, Árni _ , Bistro Boy, CryptoChrome, Frímann, Ewok, Tanya & Marlon, Gervisykur, Julia Ruslanovna, King Lucky, LaFontaine, Mosi, Quadruplus, Russian Girls, Skeng, Skurken. secretsolstice.is

T IN THE PARK, Balado, Kinross, Scotland, 11-13 Jul: Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris. www.tinthepark.com

NME Awards presented

Artist News Awards

So it’s official people, in case you were in any doubt whatsoever, we now know with absolute certainty that, however sinister you may find pop music’s Misogynist In Chief and rape apologist Robin Thicke, marmite-like wannabe revolutionist Russell Brand, bedroom taxer and NHS destroyer David Cameron, homophobe encourager and critic imprisoner Vladimir Putin, and even hammer licker Miley Cyrus, none of them are as villainous as Mr Harry Styles. Though the irony is, and ask anyone on the inside and they’ll confirm this for you, the real cunt in One Direction is Louis Tomlinson.

Anyway, it was the NME Awards last night, and the good news is that everyone got so drunk so quickly that no one noticed how odd it was to have an American city sponsoring a British indie music back-slapping bash. And while Master Styles winning the only slightly pointless Villain Of The Year prize was pretty predictable, Lily Allen beating Jake Bugg, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and David Bowie to the Best Solo Artist prize was possibly more surprising. But with Haim getting Best International Band and Godlike genius Debbie Harry winning the Godlike Genius prize, perhaps this was a rare and much needed celebration of the ladies of pop. Though of course way more men were given gongs overall, but that is almost certainly Harry Styles’ fault. Villain.

Anyway, here’s a list of winners. And if you want a quote from NME Editor Mike Williams, well, buy the NME. Or get a copy of the awards show press release. I’m bored of quotes from NME Editor Mike Williams.

Best British Band: Arctic Monkeys
Best International Band: Haim
Best Solo Artist: Lily Allen
Best New Band: Drenge
Best Live Band: Arctic Monkeys

Best Album: Arctic Monkeys – AM
Best Track: Disclosure – White Noise
Best Music Video: Eagulls – Nerve Endings
Best Reissue: The Clash – Sound System

Best Festival: Glastonbury
Best Small Festival: Swn
Music Moment Of The Year: Noel and Damon come together for Teenage Cancer Trust

Best TV Show: Breaking Bad
Best Music Film: Made Of Stone
Best Book: Morrissey – Autobiography
Best Band Blog Or Twitter: Alana Haim
Best Fan Community: Arctic Monkeys

Hero Of The Year: Alex Turner
Villain Of The Year: Harry Styles
Worst Band: The 1975

Philip Hall Radar Award: Fat White Family
Songwriters’ Songwriter: Paul McCartney
Award For Innovation: Damon Albarn
Outstanding Contribution To Music Award: Belle & Sebastian
Godlike Genius: Blondie

Harry Styles announces new limited edition 1D perfume

And Finally Artist News Brands & Merch

It’s not cheap being a villain, we all know that, and poor Harry Styles has only made about a million* from his group’s perfume so far.

But the good news is – and this is going to help you sleep at night for certain – an all new limited edition version of One Direction’s bottled smell is coming out, which will help the 1D boys, and their lovely management and label bosses, add a few more pounds to the pile. And I think that’s something we can all get behind and support.

The group’s original perfume was called Our Moment, while the all new version is called That Moment. And this time there’s green apple and violet included in the mix. Imagine that, green apple and violet.

And if you don’t believe me, why not watch Harry Styles, on a break from all his villainy, read off a piece of paper (that’s just off screen) what his brand partnerships team have written about this latest attempt to fleece more cash off his group’s fa… I mean this latest endeavour to provide an extra special treat for all those 1D loving sucke… I mean 1D loving music fans.

*This figure is an idle guess based on some unsubstantiated rumour.

Approved: Zella Day

CMU Approved

A flower child of the Arizona mountains, Zella Day has so far made a slight splash with a simply ‘nice’ take on The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ and 2013’s similarly vanilla single, ‘No Sleep To Dream’.

But now signed to young imprint B3SCI alongside hot and sticky XL acquisitions Jungle, her new track ‘Sweet Ophelia’ signals a sea change in her style and image, from cherry pie prairie girl to LA-schooled popstar with something more to say.

And whilst it hitchhikes brazenly on the highway-to-Lana-Del-Rey, ‘Sweet Ophelia’ is an undeniably sleek ride, a ‘riches to rags’ road song racing over sticky snare rhythms and winding xylo bars towards its focal horizon; that soaring main hook.

AEG suffers knock back in Electric Forest battle

Business News Gigs & Festivals Legal Live Business

Live giant AEG Live has received a knock-back in a legal battle with the owners of the site of the American music festival Electric Forest, in which the live giant now has an interest after buying the event’s co-promoter Madison House Presents earlier this month.

As previously reported, this dispute centres on a 20 year lease that Madison House Presents secured to host its annual festival at a resort in Oceana County. That agreement was with a company called Progressive Resorts which experienced financial problems last year basically resulting in ownership of the site being transferred to two new companies, Antler Bar Amusements and Double JJ PropCo, which now claim that the change in ownership renders the two decade lease void.

For their part, AEG and Madison House Presents argue that the new owners of the festival site bought Progressive Resort’s liabilities, and therefore the lease agreement should stand. The two parties also argue that they were not made aware that the change in ownership finalised last November would affect their lease until late January, by which time the 2014 edition of Electric Forest was already in production.

Of course, what makes this story all the more interesting is that it’s been widely reported that SFX, another significant player in the US live space, has an interest in one of the two companies that now owns the Electric Forest site. And the other promoter of the festival, Live Nation ally Insomniac Events, has previously said: “[This dispute] sounds like a case of sour grapes – Madison House chose AEG as their partner over SFX, and now SFX is seeking to punish us”.

Since becoming involved in the squabble, AEG has filed a motion for intervention (allowing it to be directly involved in the case as a plaintiff), a temporary restraining order against Antler Bar Amusements and Double JJ PropCo, and a preliminary injunction in favour of the live giant and its business partners in Electric Forest. But Judge Terrence R Thomas in the Oceana County Court denied the first of those requests this week.

Not that that means this legal squabble is over by any means, and much confusion remains about the case, and the nature of the lease AEG and Madison House Presents are trying to enforce. Meanwhile the two companies insist that, whatever happens, this year’s Electric Forest festival in June will go ahead.

Man jailed for fake 1D bomb threat

Business News Legal

Who hasn’t fantasised about blowing up a One Direction concert? (Actually I haven’t, and I’m kinda worried that you subconsciously nodded while reading that sentence.) But I think it’s fair to say most of us wouldn’t be stupid enough to actually phone in a bomb threat.

But one William H Klein of Pennsylvania did just that last July, calling the offices of the Hersheypark Stadium to say: “If One Direction plays tomorrow, the stadium will blow up”. And while the event did still go ahead, security had to be stepped up at the venue, with a full bomb sweep of the site and all fans’ bags being searched on entry.

Prosecutors tracked the fake bomb threat to a payphone, and from there CCTV footage showed Klein making the call. He was jailed for eight months for making the threat.

Kate Tempest signs to Big Dada, details LP

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Releases

Ninja Tune’s Big Dada label fam has initiated spoken word/rap artist and sometime playwright/poet/novelist Kate Tempest.

Tempest will release her first LP, a twelve track narrative titled ‘Everybody Down’, on 19 May, having worked with MIA/Hot Chip collaborator Dan Carey as sole producer. Stream (or download at no cost by joining the Kate Tempest mailing list) one of its tracks, ‘Lonely Daze’, now:

New deals and appointments at Believe

Business News Deals Industry People Labels & Publishers

Believe Digital announced a number of new label deals yesterday, confirming it is now working with Canada’s Nettwerk Music Group in all territories outside North America and the British Isles, eclectic London-label Mr Bongo in all markets outside France, and with world music specialists World Circuit everywhere outside North America.

Also with newly confirmed deals are indie distributor and publisher Wienerworld, which will work with Believe worldwide, and dance label Toolroom Records, which will use Believe’s video distribution services.

The new deals come as the digital distribution and marketing firm announces two new recruits, namely James Farrelly, previously at the Association Of Independent Music, who becomes Trade Marketing Manager in the UK, and former Coop Music Label Manager Ed Pearson, who becomes Marketing Manager for Believe Recordings.

Universal Music Group revenues boosted by digital in 2013

Business News Labels & Publishers

Universal Music Group owner Vivendi has confirmed it will “focus on its media and content activities” to take advantage of the growing digital marketplace, after announcing a 9.7% fall in net income year-on-year for 2013. The French conglom has been withdrawing from its other key area of business – telecommunications – for quite some time.

Publishing its annual results, Vivendi said that its music company performed well, with revenues up 12.8% to 4.9 billion euros (£4 billion) year-on-year in 2013. The continued decline in physical music sales was offset by a growth in digital revenues, which accounted for over 50% of sales income for the first time. Meanwhile in the digital domain, subscription and streaming revenue also grew by more than 75% in 2013.

The company said that its biggest sellers of last year were Eminem, Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons, Lady Gaga, Drake, Robin Thicke and French-language artist Stromae

Commenting on Vivendi’s new strategy, chairman of the management board Jean-François Dubos said: “Vivendi has decided to focus on its media and content activities, which hold leading positions and are taking advantage of the growing digital market”.

Warner Music Japan CEO Kei Ishizaka to retire

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Warner Music Japan’s Chairman and CEO Kei Ishizaka has announced his retirement.

Having worked in the Japanese music industry for 46 years, working at EMI for 26 and also spending time at Universal Music before joining Warner Music Japan in 2011, he will step down on 1 Apr, though will remain linked to the company as its Honorary Chairman until October.

Announcing his departure, Ishizaka said: “It has been a true honour to oversee Warner Music Japan for the past two and a half years. It is a company with a rich history and a tireless devotion to serving its artists. I am proud of all we have accomplished in building Warner Music Japan’s reputation as a progressive home for outstanding artists, as well as laying the foundation for the company’s growth for many years to come”.

An announcement about Ishizaka’s replacement is expected in the new few weeks.

SFX buys React Presents

Business News Live Business

If you’re the sort of person who likes to read about eeeeeeeeee-deeeeeeee-em pusher SFX buying up yet more independent festival promoters, then read on. Because SFX has bought up yet another independent festival promoter. This time it’s Chicago-based live event maker React Presents, behind, amongst other things, the Spring Awakening and Summer Set festivals.

Confirming the deal, React co-founder Jeff Callahan said: “After years of being independent festival and concert promoters in the Midwest, we are very exited to join the SFX family. We feel this strategic partnership with SFX Entertainment and its team of like-minded pioneers will make for a massive global company”.

While SFX’s top man Robert FX Sillerman said: “React Presents enhances the nationwide network of promoters for SFX and brings two new and highly successful festivals into our US repertoire. React Presents is a dominant player in the Midwest, so it was strategically important for us to join forces. React’s ability to put together and promote so many quality productions that excite so many fans will greatly add to our success and growth”.

Beats brings in a gang of one to speak to the artist community

Business News Digital

Beats Music has appointed Dave Allen, formerly of Gang Of Four, and recently vocal on the music industry’s digital dilemmas, as an Artist Advocate. His role will be to represent within Beats and to speak for the digital firm to the artist community, especially those musicians concerned about the royalties paid out by streaming platforms.

Admitting that he’d first approached Allen after the bassist wrote a response to criticism of Spotify by the likes of Thom Yorke and David Byrne, Beats chief Ian Rogers told Billboard: “We want to be proactive, rather than reactive, in the discussion of where streaming services sit at the intersection of artists and fans. As an artist, label owner, and thought leader, there isn’t anyone better than Dave to lead the conversation and push us internally to lead the charge instead of follow”.

In a blog post on the Beats website, Allen said of his new role: “In short I will act as an ambassador for Beats Music, reaching out to artists and the recorded music industry to find common ground and debate real issues and real problems, problems that can hopefully be solved without resorting to rhetoric that inflames rather than assuages doubts”.

This will involve writing and speaking on digital music issues, as he already has been, adding that he “will also continue to expand my reach to a broader audience as a LinkedIn Influencer”. So that’s something to look forward to.

In related news, and as previously reported, CMU has teamed up with artist and producer Dan Le Sac to survey the UK artist community on all things digital ahead of this year’s Great Escape. We’ll be speaking to artists on various digital matters over the next two months, and will present the findings during Global Digital Markets, a half-day convention strand taking place at TGE this year. To get into that – and the rest of the TGE convention and festival – at the special early bird rate of £145, you need to buy your delegates pass this week at this link.

Neil Young planning another book

Artist News

Neil Young is writing a book about his love of cars, with some stories about his music and life, hand-drawn artwork, and thoughts on politics and the world’s workings stuck on the side.

Though without a title at this juncture, the new book will form Young’s first tome since his best-selling memoir of 2012, ‘Waging Heavy Peace’. Its publisher in the US, Penguin Random House imprint New Rider, which put out the earlier book too, describes the new one as an “eclectic amalgam”.

Fightstar come off hiatus as Charlie Simpson masters solo LP

Artist News Brands & Merch Releases

Charlie ‘McSpoilsport’ Simpson’s serious rock group Fightstar have been lured out of semi-retirement by Jägermeister. The band, who confirmed a vague ‘hiatus’ in 2010, have now gone back into the studio to do-over their 2009 single, ‘Follow Me Into The Darkness’, which will soundtrack the alcohol brand’s first UK TV ad.

Meanwhile, Fightstar are also due to start writing again once Simpson is done promoting his second solo LP, which though almost mastered is still TBC.

They say as one: “We always strive to bring a strong cinematic quality to our music and ‘Follow Me Into The Darkness’ is a prime example of us creating film score music for films that only existed in our minds. It’s been a pleasure to rework this track and find a visual home for it alongside this extraordinarily filmic and beautifully crafted ad”.

So please all, crowd round, do a shot (only one, and only adults) and look at 40 seconds’ worth of said ad, which will debut in full from 5 Mar:

Oasis reissues confirmed

Artist News Releases

As an extra special treat for their ever faithful fanbase, Oasis are re-releasing some old records with plenty of extra rarity shizzle thrown in for good measure.

There’ll be a single re-release. And an album re-release. And another album re-release. And another album re-release.

And as an extra special treat for humanity at large NO NEW MATERIAL.

So exciting. And to add to the excitement, someone threw together a 33 second long collection of clips for us to look at. Here it is, look. Are you looking?

Coldplay bump out new song

Artist News Releases

Coldplay have a new song out. Weren’t expecting that, were you? They’re like a modern day Beyonce.

The atmospheric song, called ‘Midnight’, sounds a bit like Bon Iver circa 2011, which is a bit of a shift in sound for the band. It’s alright, actually. There you go, naysayers. Coldplay did another alright song. The other one is ‘Square One’, if you were wondering.

Anyway, Coldplay will be performing at the SXSW edition of the iTunes Festival next month. That’s a while away though, and right now there’s a new video to watch and song to listen to, so I’d concern myself with those, if I were you.

Karl Hyde and Brian Eno collaborate on LP

Artist News Releases

A pair of electronica greats at either end of the genre, Brian Eno and Underworld’s Karl Hyde, have convened to make a two-way LP titled ‘Someday World’.

Released 5 May by way of Warp, its nine songs are all composed and executed by both Eno and Hyde, with Eno co-producing throughout with newcomer Fred Gibson. It includes spots from guest musicians like Coldplay’s Will Champion and his wife Marianna, Roxy Music’s Andy Mackay, soul singer Don E, and Brian’s actual daughter Darla.

Karl Hyde says of his and Eno’s experience: “It’s a bit like being nine years old again. You have no idea what you’ve just been given, the record button has been pressed and you’re on. And then these unlikely patterns start to happen. The biggest surprise was discovering we both had a love of afrobeat, cyclical music based in live playing. When Brian played me these early tracks it was, ‘Oh my god, this is home! Can I borrow a guitar?'”

Likening the album’s architecture to a series of building blocks, Brian adds: “A lot of the constructions on the album were deliberately irregular and awkward. I had a big collection of ‘beginnings’ sitting around waiting for something to galvanise them into life, to make them more than just ‘experiments’. That something turned out to be Karl Hyde”.

Ah, how nice. Continue your ‘Someday World’ love-in with this list of its songs:

The Satellites
Daddy’s Car
A Man Wakes Up
Witness
Strip It Down
Mother Of A Dog
Who Rings The Bell
When I Built This World
To Us All

Sharon Van Etten details new LP, Are We There

Artist News Releases

Following a brief behind-the-scenes trailer earlier this week, Sharon Van Etten has since detailed her new LP, ‘Are We There’, giving up its tracklisting and crucial 26 May release date.

Van Etten wrote and produced her first longform disc since 2012’s ‘Tramp’ with ‘kindred spirit’ Stewart Lerman in his New Jersey studio, writing through a series of “impossible decisions, anticipation and then, resolution”.

And while she hasn’t shared any new tracks yet, she has revealed new live listings for a set of dates featuring a single UK show at Koko in London on 5 Jun. So there is that. And this tracklisting:

Afraid of Nothing
Taking Chances
Your Love Is Killing Me
Our Love
Tarifa
I Love You But I’m Lost
You Know Me Well
Break Me
Nothing Will Change
I Know
Every Time The Sun Comes Up

Barbican shuts down Just Jam on police advice

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

The 1 Mar edition of Just Jam, which was supposed to take place live at the Barbican in London, was called off yesterday at the recommendation of the City Of London Police, who raised “public safety concerns” with regards to the event’s management.

The usually basement-based night was due to move above ground for the one-off show, with acts like JME, Mount Kimbie, Loefah, Newham Generals and Omar Souleyman all booked to play against a giant screen, and have their sets streamed live via JJ’s online channel.

Citing amongst other issues the fact that alcohol would be on sale at the event, despite it being open to ticket-holders aged 16 and over, City Of London Police issued a statement yesterday that read (via FACT): “Additionally, there were worries about the lack of adequate measures in place to address potential issues that might arise, including overcrowding if more people decided to attend than the venue could cater for”.

“Ultimately”, it continued, “after consultation the decision to cancel the event was taken by the Barbican as the venue”.

Reacting “with great regret” to news of the event’s cancellation, an apparently baffled Just Jam HQ said: “We’re struggling to understand why this has happened and will try to start a dialogue with the police so we can discuss whatever issues they have with Just Jam at the Barbican”.

And: “The workshops we’ve recently ran with the Barbican in Fellows Court in Hackney have shown how the artists we work with can get young people from all backgrounds excited about making art and music, we hope to continue working on this and on other projects, with the Barbican in the future”.

Festival Line-Up Update: Ibiza/Mallorca Rocks, South West Four, Benicassim and more

Artist News Festival Line-Up Update Gigs & Festivals

High on today’s list of festival updates is the pressing news that acts inc Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Bastille and John Newman will play both Ibiza and Mallorca Rocks, joining the prior-confirmed Haim and The 1975. Skrillex, meanwhile, will bring the ‘frat’ to Mallorca Rocks only. Sorry, Ibiza.

How to follow that revelation? Why, with this list of additional updates, naturally…

ARCTANGENT, Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, Somerset, 28-30 Aug: Maybeshewill, Mutiny on the Bounty, Mylets, Tellison, Gunning For Tamar, Fen, Goonies Never Say Die, The Broken Oak Duet. arctangent.co.uk

BENICASSIM, Recinto De Conciertos, Benicassim, Spain, 17-20 Jul: Lily Allen, Ellie Goulding, Paul Weller, Katy B. www.fiberfib.com

FIELD DAY, Victoria Park, London, 7-8 Jun: Neneh Cherry. www.fielddayfestivals.com

IBIZA ROCKS, Ibiza Rocks Hotel, Ibiza, Spain, 4 Jun – 17 Sep: Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club, John Newman, Clean Bandit, Wolf Alice, Breton, Chloe Howl. www.ibizarocks.com

LAKEFEST, Croft Farm Waterpark, Tewkesbury, 8-10 Aug: Buzzcocks, Shed Seven, The Lightning Seeds, Doctor & The Medics. www.lakefest.co.uk

MALLORCA ROCKS, Mallorca Rocks Hotel, Mallorca, Spain, 3 Jun – 26 Aug: Skrillex, Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club, John Newman, Clean Bandit, Wolf Alice, Breton, Chloe Howl. www.mallorcarocks.com

OFF FESTIVAL, Kotwice, Poland, 1-3 Aug: Belle & Sebastian, Michael Rother’s NEU!, Harmonia, Deafheaven, Chelsea Wolfe, 65daysfstatic, Jacques Greene, Perfect Pussy. off-festival.pl

SOUTH WEST FOUR, Clapham Common, London, 23-24 Aug: Maceo Plex, Marco Carola, Netsky, Skream. www.southwestfour.com

WAKESTOCK GWYL Y MOR, Penrhos, North Wales, 11-13 Jul: Tom Odell, Frank Turner, John Newman. www.wakestock.co.uk

The Buckhead Bieber blocker bombshell? Bullshit

And Finally Artist News

What do the people of Buckhead, a district of Atlanta, think about the rumours Justin Bieber has been looking at properties in their area?

Well, actually they’re pretty uninterested in the news, despite widespread reports of an online petition calling on the singer to stay away, and photos of a small group of locals protesting with banners carrying slogans like “JUSTin say no” and “Keep Buckhead Bieber free”.

“We’re just concerned citizens”, Hank Maguire of the Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition told reporters when asked about the petition and protest.

Except the whole thing was one of those crazy radio show pranks, Maguire being an intern working on the ‘Regular Guys’ show on Atlanta’s Rock 100.5 station. Though as such pranks go, it was quite a success, with calls apparently coming in from news outlets around the world to find out more about the Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition’s concerns.

But a real spokesman for said neighbourhood group told reporters that, despite Bieber’s much publicised run-ins with his neighbours in LA, he’d welcome the pop tyke to his locale.

Approved: Asbjørn

CMU Approved

First approved back in 2011, in his earlier incarnation as Asbjørn And The Strange Ears, and then again the following year as he prepared the release of his debut album, ‘Sunken Ships’, Asbjørn has now begun to unveil his second longform release, ‘Pseudo Visions’.

Having previously only focussed on the Nordic region, and mainly his home country Denmark, Asbjørn is now starting to branch out further, with a release campaign that will sprawl out over the course of 2014. The songs on ‘Pseudo Visions’ tell a complete story, with each of its tracks being released as a video each month until the end of the year.

“Some of the songs may be radio-friendly, others are just beautiful stories I need to tell”, explains Asbjørn. “And no matter their commercial potential all these songs will have equal opportunities. It’s not up to me which ones people respond to, but I will know that all of them had the chance to change something for someone”.

The first track to be released, ‘Brotherhood’, which you can hear below, continues to develop the dark, atmospheric pop sound of ‘Sunken Ships’, driven by some expertly odd whistling, before giving way to a twisted dance breakdown.

The second track in the series, ‘RYB’, will be released on Asbjørn’s YouTube profile this Saturday (1 Mar):

More indie artists reveal their streaming income

Business News Digital Top Stories

As the digital debate in the artist community continues, and following on from independent musician Ron Pope’s recent article on the payments he has received from Spotify – in which he noted the impact having his music on the streaming platform has had on his ticket sales in Norway and Sweden – two more artists have stepped up to talk about their respective digital income streams.

Noting recent(ish) criticism from some corners of the artist community of Spotify et al, Benn Jordan, who records as The Flashbulb, has come out with a positive view of the streaming service in a new blog post, stating that it now accounts for the majority of his income from recordings. But cellist Zoe Keating, who has published a spreadsheet showing her income across various digital services in 2013, found that download sales brought in almost twelve times more revenue than streaming overall.

Taking a quote on Spotify from Thom Yorke given in an interview with Mexican website Sopitas – “No artist needs it, we can do all that shit ourselves” – as his focal point, Jordan wrote: “Really Thom? You’ve created a legal, royalty-paying library of music that will allow me to literally listen to whatever artist I can think of, whenever and wherever I desire to? Because that’s the one thing we, the people, the pirates, the innovators, could not do in the last seven years when we had all the technology in our hands to do it”.

Moving onto numbers, though he didn’t actually divulge exactly what he’s earned from Spotify, he chose to focus on a period when he wasn’t promoting and album or touring, in order to cut out “notable additional variables” to any spikes in listening data. He explained: “I can tell you that Spotify has made me about 30% more than iTunes, Pandora, Amazon, Xbox Music, Google Play, eMusic, Rhapsody, Rdio, Deezer, MediaNet, Simky, Nokia, and Myspace Music combined in [between December 2012 and December 2013]. Even if you tack on my [publishing income] cheques from [collecting society] ASCAP to that long list, Spotify is still ahead”.

He added: “I can tell you that Spotify alone, for the last nine months or so, has paid for my rent in a two floor coach house with garage. But what is predictably notable, is that the numbers for Spotify are growing monthly, and have actually doubled from the first month to the last while sales on other platforms remained the same”. This has also, he said, allowed him to scale back his day job of composing music for TV and focus more on The Flashbulb.

Keating’s figures, meanwhile, showed a very different story. She focussed on 2013, much the same twelve month period as Jordan, when she was also not promoting a new solo album. However, she found that sales through iTunes, Bandcamp, Amazon and Amazon MP3 collectively brought in $75,000 for her last year, while streaming across a variety of services, including Spotify, Pandora and YouTube, were worth slightly over $6000.

Keating does note that only her early recordings, from 2005 and 2006, are currently available on Spotify, and that she’s probably not getting all the royalties she is actually due from third-party uploads of her music to YouTube. So the figures she shared aren’t the complete story, though they would suggest that for her, downloads sales are still key.

That said, Keating isn’t especially anti the Spotify business model, though has previously expressed concerns about how the streaming platforms deal with independent artists. Speaking at the Virgin Disruptors event last year, she said: “I don’t feel like streaming is the evil enemy. I think it’s a good positive thing to get music out there. All I’m asking is make a direct deal with me, let me choose my terms. Let me decide if windowing is good or bad, on my own terms. Work directly with me… The idea of how does a service like Spotify interact with a bazillion artists? That’s an administrative problem that technology could solve… And I’d like them to think more about are there any mutual services in the middle that can help the listeners connect with me to go to the concert”.

Read Jordan’s blog in full here, and take a look at Keating’s spreadsheet here.

Meanwhile, CMU has teamed up with artist and producer Dan Le Sac to survey the UK artist community on all things digital ahead of this year’s Great Escape. We’ll be speaking to artists on various digital matters over the next two months, and will present the findings during Global Digital Markets, a half-day convention strand taking place at TGE this year. To get into that – and the rest of the TGE convention and festival – at the special early bird rate of £145, you need to buy your delegates pass this week at this link.

Dave Lee Travis to face retrial on two sexual offence charges

Business News Industry People Legal

Following his acquittal on twelve sexual offence charges earlier this month, it was announced yesterday that Dave Lee Travis will face a retrial on two others. The allegations are of an indecent assault in 1990 and a sexual assault in 2008.

Travis, real name David Griffin, was found not guilty of the twelve other indecent assault charges, but the jury in that original court case were unable to reach a verdict on the final two, for which he will now face a new trial.

Speaking outside Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Travis said: “All I can say is that this whole thing started when I was 67 and I just hope it’s going to end by the time I am 80”.

A date for the trial, which is expected to last two weeks, has not yet been set. Travis has been bailed until 28 Mar.

Domestic violence charity condemns Oberst’s lawsuit against rape accuser

Artist News Legal

Domestic violence charity Right To Speak Out has condemned Conor Oberst’s defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him of raping her. The organisation says that such a lawsuit will only add to the under reporting of violence against women.

As previously reported, Oberst launched the $1 million legal action last week, a spokesperson saying that his accuser had a “history of inventing stories and personalities online in order to gain attention”. They added that the former Bright Eyes frontman would donate any money awarded to him in court to “benefiting the victims of violence against women”.

But in a statement yesterday, Right To Speak Out said: “As an organisation dedicated to mitigating the harm that lawsuits like Oberst’s … amplify, we find this more than ironic. It is offensive to imply that filing such a lawsuit is a respectable way to procure money regardless of what he declares he intends to do with it”.

The charity estimates that in the US only 21% of rapes are reported to police, while only 7% of those reported then result in a conviction, which already discourages women from reporting violence against them. It added that even if the accusations against Oberst were false, “vilifying discussion of sexual assault by filing such a lawsuit only adds to the problem of under-reporting that enables sexual assault to proliferate at alarming rates”.

Former Imagem President outlines his plans for publishing start up

Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Former Imagem President Richard Stumpf has spoken to Billboard about his new music publishing venture the Atlas Music Group, which now has the backing of some existing music industry players and a handful of investment firms.

And although Stumpf says that the aim of his new venture is to be a mid-sized publisher that can offer a more ‘personal service’ to songwriters, the music rights start up is looking to gain some significance pretty quickly by both signing up new songwriting talent and also acquiring a few existing publishing catalogues. And he tells Billboard that the first songwriter signings have been made – Toby Gadd, Daniel And The Lion and Falls – while two catalogue acquisition deals are currently be actively considered.

To run all that Stumpf is currently putting together a team of about ten people, which already includes former Zomba/Jive exec Jennifer Blakeman and form Kobalt US GM Michael Petersen. His plan, says Stumpf, is to “marry the best possible front office with the best possible back office operations – this results in true full service music publishing”.

Reservoir acquires First State Media catalogue

Business News Labels & Publishers

New York-based publisher Reservoir has made another acquisition – and this one’s quite a biggy – bringing a catalogue of 26,000 copyrights spanning seven decades to the company. The purchase is of First State Media Group, the catalogues of which include the songs of the Wind-Up, Dreamworks and Dimensional music publishing businesses.

Chrysalis, which is now part of BMG of course, acquired the administration rights to the First State catalogue back in 2010, and the European music rights firm will continue to administrate those works outside of North America for the new owners. Though Reservoir itself will take over that work in the US and Canada.

Confirming the acquisition, Reservoir President Golnar Khosrowshahi told CMU: “We are thrilled to represent the writers and the high calibre of works in the FS Media catalogue.Acquisitions like these provide the ideal combination of the scale and quality we consider when strategising the growth of our company. This deal is one of many more to come”.

Meanwhile the firm’s COO Rell Lafargue, who will now spearhead the integration of FS Media with the rest of the Reservoir company, said: “We anticipate a seamless transition. Through our numerous acquisitions, including TVT Music and the UK companies Reverb Music and P&P Songs, we’ve learned that these kinds of transactions are exactly where Reservoir excels. Our team and infrastructure are well positioned to take in catalogues, identify new creative opportunities, and see them thrive. We believe we will implement yet another successful integration, and that Reservoir will provide a lucrative long term home for this wonderful catalogue”.

X-Factor Musical gets stage fright as makers delay first night

Business News Live Business

Producers of ‘I Can’t Sing’, Harry Hill’s true-to-life (in opposite world) ‘X-Factor’ stage musical, have postponed the show’s opening night because of “technical” difficulties.

Its first two performances – this Thursday and Friday at the London Palladium – will now not take place as planned, so as to give its makers Stage Entertainment “some more time to work on technical aspects of the production”.

SE’s Rebecca Quigley explains away the delay by saying: “As audiences will soon see the production is hugely ambitious, and the volume of installation and scale of the set means that technical work has taken slightly longer than could have been anticipated. This is not a decision taken lightly and I’d like to apologise to those who had booked, and indeed sold out, these initial two performances”.

‘I Can’t Sing’ will now, all being as it’s meant to be, premiere on 1 Mar. Ticket-buyers from the cancelled shows are assured full refunds or swaps for tickets to alternative dates.

Smooth Radio relaunch plans revealed

Business News Media

Having solved the tricky challenge of being forced, by the Competition Commission, to sell off most of the FM radio licences it acquired from the Guardian Media Group in 2012, Global Radio has now announced its plans for the future of the one time GMG radio firm’s biggest brand, Smooooooooooooooth Radio.

As previously reported, Global sold the FM licences it was forced to offload to Irish media firm Communicorp, which is then licensing back station formats and syndicated programming from Global, so that basically the UK radio major’s various branded station networks are unhindered by the sale, it just won’t directly own all the frequencies used by those networks.

Smooth is one of those brands, and having been sitting in limbo while Global went through the motions of the competition regulator investigation, it’s now set for a big fat relaunch. And as is par for the course when Global relaunches a radio station, it’ll almost certainly piss off the core listenership, but – the radio giant hopes – will result in bigger audiences overall. Good times.

The overhaul means radio veterans Simon Bates and Lynn Parsons are out, to be replaced by people off the telly, namely one time tennis man and GMTV muppet Andrew Castle and fellow breakfast telly sofa-filler Kate Garraway. Meanwhile that lovely Myleene Klass will have a Saturday morning show, sharing some chatter in amongst ‘Your Relaxing Music Mix’.

A spokesman for the departing Bates, who has been at Smooth for three years after over a decade with another Global station, Classic FM, said that the DJ’s original contract with Smooth was up anyway, and that his departure was “amicable”.

Meanwhile bigging up his all new Smooth service, Global’s owns smooth operator Ashley Tabor told reporters: “Andrew Castle, Kate Garraway and Myleene Klass joining Smooth tell you just how seriously Global takes the [relaunch], and the focus and investment we’re putting behind this brand. It’s a further demonstration of our core strategy of ‘national brands delivered locally’, and it’s very important to us”.

Thursday 27 February 2014, 11:58 | By Aly Barchi

Having quit her affiliation with Dean Blunt (killing the pair’s pop-scrobbling Hype Williams collaboration) in 2013, a solo Inga Copeland has now confirmed her first lone LP.

READ MORE ABOUT: Hype Williams | Inga Copeland

Thursday 27 February 2014, 11:57 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Alt Fest | Creamfields | Dot To Dot | Download Festival | Farr Festival | Groezrock | Leicester Music Festival | London Electronic Music Event | Osfest | Parklife Festival | Secret Garden Party | Secret Solstice | T In The Park | The Big Feastival

Thursday 27 February 2014, 11:56 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: NME Awards

Thursday 27 February 2014, 11:55 | By Chris Cooke

It’s not cheap being a villain, we all know that, and poor Harry Styles has only made about a million* from his group’s perfume so far.

READ MORE ABOUT: Harry Styles | One Direction

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:57 | By Aly Barchi

A flower child of the Arizona mountains, Zella Day has so far made a slight splash with a simply ‘nice’ take on The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ and 2013’s similarly vanilla single, ‘No Sleep To Dream’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Zella Day

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:56 | By Chris Cooke

Live giant AEG Live has received a knock-back in a legal battle with the owners of the site of the American music festival Electric Forest, in which the live giant now has an interest after buying the event’s co-promoter Madison House Presents earlier this month.

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Electric Forest | Madison House Presents

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:55 | By Chris Cooke

Who hasn’t fantasised about blowing up a One Direction concert? (Actually I haven’t, and I’m kinda worried that you subconsciously nodded while reading that sentence.) But I think it’s fair to say most of us wouldn’t be stupid enough to actually phone in a bomb threat.

READ MORE ABOUT: One Direction

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:54 | By Aly Barchi

Ninja Tune’s Big Dada label fam has initiated spoken word/rap artist and sometime playwright/poet/novelist Kate Tempest.

READ MORE ABOUT: Big Dada | Kae Tempest | Ninja Tune

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:53 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Believe | Ed Pearson | James Farrelly | Mr Bongo | Nettwerk Music Group | Toolroom Records | Wienerworld | World Circuit

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:52 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Universal Music | Vivendi

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:51 | By Andy Malt

Warner Music Japan’s Chairman and CEO Kei Ishizaka has announced his retirement.

READ MORE ABOUT: Kei Ishizaka | Warner Music

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:50 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: React Presents | SFX Entertainment

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:49 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Beats Music | Dave Allen

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:48 | By Aly Barchi

Neil Young is writing a book about his love of cars, with some stories about his music and life, hand-drawn artwork, and thoughts on politics and the world’s workings stuck on the side.

READ MORE ABOUT: Neil Young

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:47 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Charlie Simpson | Fightstar | Jagermeister

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:46 | By Chris Cooke

As an extra special treat for their ever faithful fanbase, Oasis are re-releasing some old records with plenty of extra rarity shizzle thrown in for good measure.

READ MORE ABOUT: Oasis

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:45 | By Andy Malt

Coldplay have a new song out. Weren’t expecting that, were you? They’re like a modern day Beyonce.

READ MORE ABOUT: Coldplay

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:44 | By Aly Barchi

A pair of electronica greats at either end of the genre, Brian Eno and Underworld’s Karl Hyde, have convened to make a two-way LP titled ‘Someday World’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Brian Eno | Karl Hyde

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:43 | By Aly Barchi

Following a brief behind-the-scenes trailer earlier this week, Sharon Van Etten has since detailed her new LP, ‘Are We There’, giving up its tracklisting and crucial 26 May release date.

READ MORE ABOUT: Sharon Van Etten

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:42 | By Aly Barchi

The 1 Mar edition of Just Jam, which was supposed to take place live at the Barbican in London, was called off yesterday at the recommendation of the City Of London Police, who raised “public safety concerns” with regards to the event’s management.

READ MORE ABOUT: Barbican | City Of London Police | Just Jam

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:41 | By Aly Barchi

High on today’s list of festival updates is the pressing news that acts inc Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Bastille and John Newman will play both Ibiza and Mallorca Rocks, joining the prior-confirmed Haim and The 1975. Skrillex, meanwhile, will bring the ‘frat’ to Mallorca Rocks only. Sorry, Ibiza.

READ MORE ABOUT: ArcTanGent | Benicassim | Field Day | Ibiza Rocks | Lakefest | Mallorca Rocks | Off Festival | South West Four | Wakestock

Wednesday 26 February 2014, 11:40 | By Chris Cooke

What do the people of Buckhead, a district of Atlanta, think about the rumours Justin Bieber has been looking at properties in their area?

READ MORE ABOUT: Justin Bieber

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:25 | By Andy Malt

First approved back in 2011, in his earlier incarnation as Asbjørn And The Strange Ears, and then again the following year as he prepared the release of his debut album, ‘Sunken Ships’, Asbjørn has now begun to unveil his second longform release, ‘Pseudo Visions’.

READ MORE ABOUT: Asbjørn

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:24 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Benn Jordan | Spotify | The Flashbulb | Thom Yorke | Zoe Keating

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:23 | By Andy Malt

Following his acquittal on twelve sexual offence charges earlier this month, it was announced yesterday that Dave Lee Travis will face a retrial on two others. The allegations are of an indecent assault in 1990 and a sexual assault in 2008.

READ MORE ABOUT: Dave Lee Travis

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:22 | By Andy Malt

Domestic violence charity Right To Speak Out has condemned Conor Oberst’s defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him of raping her. The organisation says that such a lawsuit will only add to the under reporting of violence against women.

READ MORE ABOUT: Conor Oberst | Right To Speak Out

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:21 | By Chris Cooke

Former Imagem President Richard Stumpf has spoken to Billboard about his new music publishing venture the Atlas Music Group, which now has the backing of some existing music industry players and a handful of investment firms.

READ MORE ABOUT: Atlas Music Group | Imagem

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:20 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: First State Media Group | Reservoir Media Management

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:19 | By Aly Barchi

Producers of ‘I Can’t Sing’, Harry Hill’s true-to-life (in opposite world) ‘X-Factor’ stage musical, have postponed the show’s opening night because of “technical” difficulties.

READ MORE ABOUT: Harry Hill | I Can't Sing | X-Factor

Tuesday 25 February 2014, 12:18 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Global | Smooth Radio