Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:27 | By Chris Cooke

YouTube CEO says music service coming soon, hopefully

Business News Digital

YouTube’s long-awaited much-anticipated and sure-to-be-swell audio streaming service, code name evil.fm (well, that’s what the indie labels have code named it, I’m sure), will be with us very soon, oh yes it will be, soon I tell you, soon! How soon? Soon soon, that’s how soon. So put it in your diaries, people. Next to the word ‘soon’.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki was asked about her company’s much-mooted Spotify competitor at a Re/code conference on Monday and, according to CNet, said: “I remain optimistic that you can see it soon”. And you can’t say fairer than that. Optimism! Half full glasses are presumably in abundance around YouTube’s music department.

The Google subsidiary’s subscription-based music service has been a long-time coming, presumably hindered in no small part by the company’s big fall-out with many of the indie record companies, who argued that YouTube was offering below-market terms for its Spotify-rivalling set-up, while threatening to cut off access to the firm’s existing video platform if they didn’t play ball. The tough deal making backfired on Google when the labels went public.

Nevertheless, said Wojcicki of the YouTube music service: “I think there’s a lot of opportunity. It’s amazing how much music we have”. So that’s good.

Given the more mainstream audience enjoyed by YouTube’s existing video platform, and the amount of music consumed on it, there definitely is an opportunity for the Google subsidiary to make a serious play in the audio streaming market. Though the jury is still out on whether those more mainstream music fans will pay to access a Spotify-type set-up, because while YouTube may have much greater reach than the streaming music start-ups, it has little experience in charging users for content (digital music analyst Mark Mulligan has just published a report on this very matter and more generally on the potential impact YouTube’s streaming business could have).

Though Wojcicki indicated that YouTube might make a wider move into the subscription space in the future, offering ad-free access to video content as well as its planned new audio service. If a wider subscription option was available on the YouTube platform, that might make the music service upsell easier. Though there again, will consumers be persuaded to pay for ad-free video content? Especially given that more prolific YouTube users, for whom the pre-roll ads are probably an irritation, may well have ad-blocking software installed anyway.

Still, interesting times ahead.

Tidal launches streaming service for men

Business News Digital

High quality streaming service Tidal has gone live, banking on the assumption that men (and only men, according to a video promoting it) will pay more money for better quality audio.

As previously reported, the service – which went live in the US and UK yesterday and plans to become available in a total of 50 territories – is a spin-off from Norwegian streaming service Wimp, rebadged with a more appealing name for English speakers (male ones). It has a catalogue of over 25 million tracks, plus 75,000 videos, and editorial content. And for all this, you’ll pay a monthly subscription of £19.99.

Given that’s double the going rate for standard audio streaming services, that price point is going to be a turn-off for a lot of men (and apparently all women), but the USP of higher quality audio may be enough to build a sustainable if niche business. At least until lossless streaming becomes the norm across all services. Which it will.

Switching between music playing at Spotify’s current highest quality setting and the same music playing in Tidal on a fairly bog standard set of headphones, it was hard to hear much difference. The bass was slightly more pleasing in Tidal though. And the new service does have a much nicer and more user-friendly app. But while I’m all for streaming services having better apps, I’m not sure that’s enough to convince me to spend an extra tenner a month. Maybe that’s my feminine side talking though.

Tidal CEO Andy Chen (a man) said in a statement: “We are delighted that Tidal has launched and that music lovers can now appreciate music the way it is meant to sound. But the music is just one part of the service. The expert editorial educates, entertains and enriches the music experience while the music videos complement the music perfectly. We are sure that Tidal will quickly become the music streaming service of choice for all who appreciate high quality at every level”.

Anyway, you’re probably wondering what ‘the five things a man should have’ are. Knock yourself out fellas:

Ladies, please don’t feel left out. Remember that you can still buy headphones with flowers on them that are designed not to hurt your inferior ears.

Media delivery service Fluence launches

Business News Media

After several months in beta, new content submission service Fluence has gone live. Set up by Topspin co-founder Shamal Ranasinghe, the site allows creators (musicians, say) to share their content (music, I guess) with ‘curators’ (maybe bookers, A&Rs, radio types and, of course, journalists).

The idea is that creators get access to people they think would be interested in what they do, and the ‘curators’, who presumably are interested in accessing good, new, relevant content, are able to “manage demands on their time”. And those demands can be managed by charging the creators for that time (payment that can be donated directly to charity if the curator so chooses).

Writes Ranashinghe in a blog post explaining how Fluence came to be: “Our goal with Fluence is to make a transformative impact and fundamentally improve the way media is promoted across the web. We believe the best way to reach your full audience is to first connect directly to curators, domain experts, and other trusted sources who can give you feedback or recommend you to others. As more media is produced than ever before and everyone’s attention fragments limitlessly online, curators are increasingly essential in reaching the right people”.

While receiving more music than they can possibly listen to is certainly a gripe of many a music journalist, there do seem to be a few hurdles for Fluence to overcome before it achieves its goal. For one thing, unless there is mass adoption of the platform on the part of labels as well as self-releasing musicians, it’s just going to be another thing demanding a journalist’s attention, in addition to everything else. And potentially more time if gate-keepers are being paid to check out content and curators are therefore obliged to comment on it.

There may also be issues with journalists and other curators using the names of their employers to earn money in this way. And, arguably, it is already a music journalist / booker / A&R’s job to listen to new music, so is it ethical to then charge musicians to listen to their music above others? There’s also the issue that really good new music probably won’t need to pay to get attention, so a sizable part of those musicians who do pay are likely sharing less good (maybe because it’s not developed or finished) music. Which will become a turn off for curators.

These are all questions that will need to be answered, but Ranashinghe seems hopeful that Fluence can be used to benefit all involved, also saying in his blog post: “We believe that by improving the way media reaches its intended audience, it will help the creative economy reach its full potential. More people will engage with media that they are likely to enjoy and new fans will be reached who ultimately turn into paying customers”.

Here’s a video showing off the service:

And you can find the site itself here.

Bye bye Dirty Beaches

Artist News

Dirty Beaches

Taiwan-born and now Canada-based artist Alex Zhang Hungtai is casting off his nine year-old Dirty Beaches alias, and will take on another ‘stage name’ for whatever it is he’s going to do next. Because why stick with the same name all your life? Quite. That’s strictly for squares, losers and… erm, most of the human race.

Confirming the final dissolve of Dirty Beaches yesterday, Hungtai said in a series of tweets: “Hi guys thank you all for the support of [new album] ‘Stateless’, its sad to say goodbye to DB, but rest assured NEW PROJECTS NEW MUSIC COMING SOON 2015. This may not be a smart move and painful one too, but in the long run I’ll look back and be glad I moved on from Dirty Beaches. Thank you all x. RIP DIRTY BEACHES 2005-2014. Time to move on”.

‘Stateless’, Hungtai’s forthcoming all-instrumental LP, is arriving next week. Nice timing. Get familiar with it in the meantime via Pitchfork’s advance streaming thing, Pitchfork Advance, and please, don’t cry for Dirty Beaches, it’s already dead.

Official Charts Company announces “real winners” of Mercury Prize

Artist News Awards

The Official Charts Company has this morning announced what it’s calling the “real winners” of the Mercury, ahead of tonight’s apparently now pointless prize-giving ceremony.

Whoever ‘wins’ tonight, FKA Twigs, Kate Tempest and GoGo Penguin can be happy in the knowledge that they’ve had the biggest percentage sales increases of all the nominees, while Royal Blood have had the biggest sales overall.

GoGo Penguin saw the biggest uplift at 138% – going from 1522 sales of their album ‘V2.0’ pre-nomination to 3617 in total after. Kate Tempest comes next, with a 124% lift for ‘Everybody Down’ – from 3075 to 6881 – followed by bookies’ favourite FKA Twigs, whose album ‘LP1’ leapt from 6980 sales to 12,750.

But they all look like clueless layabouts next to Royal Blood, who’ve been at their market stall day and night since they were nominated, and have sold an extra 59,060 of their eponymous debut album since the shortlist was announced – taking them from 95,258 units to a total of 154,318 – an increase of 62%.

They beat nearest sale figure rivals Bombay Bicycle Club, who have to date sold 79,888 of their latest album, ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’. They’ve only seen a 7% increase in sales since nomination (second from last ahead of Anna Calvi with 6%), but that album’s been out for ages, hasn’t it?

Anyway, OCC supreme leader Martin Talbot had this to say about all these stats: “Royal Blood set the Official Albums Chart alight this summer when they hit number one with the fastest-selling British rock debut in three years, and if the Mercury Prize was decided based on pure sales, it would most definitely be a one-horse race for the band”.

He added: “This year’s shortlist is full of faces yet to land on the radar of the wider British public, but all deserving of a place under the Mercury spotlight. Who the judges ultimately choose, is anyone’s guess. But certainly, if this were the public choosing, it could be between FKA Twigs, Kate Tempest, Royal Blood, or GoGo Penguin”.

Could be, sure. But thankfully this is one prize that the public aren’t allowed anywhere near. Mercury judge John Kennedy stressed: “The aim of the Mercury Prize is to try and highlight albums that might have got slightly overlooked. This year’s list is a good example of the Prize doing that. If the artists on this year’s list are lesser known by the general public then hopefully the Prize will help get them better known as they certainly deserve to be. The winner has to reflect a particular year in music but also potentially to have a created a classic piece of work that can stand the test of time. Craft, skill, context, innovation, individuality and talent all come into play”.

Anyway, we’ll find out this evening who’s actually won the whole thing, and then we can get on with our lives.

Eric Clapton shares Jack Bruce tribute track

Artist News Releases

Eric Clapton has shared a song dedicated to his late Cream bandmate Jack Bruce, who died last Saturday at the age of 71.

Titled ‘For Jack’, the short instrumental builds on a statement Clapton released on hearing news of Bruce’s death, in which he said his former collaborator was a “great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me”.

Listen to the song here.

Tune-Yards confirms 2015 shows, WoW fest appearance

Artist News Gigs & Festivals

The indescribable Tune-Yards, aka Merrill Garbus and friends, are flying in with the spring next year to play a sequence of UK shows as Tune-Yards, so now you know.

And if you still don’t know what Tune-Yards are, a good way to find out is to watch the band’s appearance (playing ‘Water Fountain’) on last night’s ‘Later… With Jools Holland’:

Falling in behind Garbus et al’s reigning LP ‘Nikki Nack’, the tour starts on 3 Mar at Vicar Street in Dublin, and will feature a visit to the London-based Southbank Centre’s Women Of The World Festival, which promotes gender equality and celebrates female achievers. That show’s on 5 Mar, by the way.

And what follows is that reiterated in the full list of live dates, tickets for which go on sale tomorrow at 10am:

3 Mar: Dublin, Vicar Street
5 Mar: London, Southbank Centre
6 Mar: Liverpool, Anglican Cathedral
8 Mar: Gateshead, Sage
9 Mar, Glasgow, Art School

CMU’s One Liners: Pandora, Slayer, Jose Gonzalez and some other fine treats too

Artist News Business News Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• Chris Phillips has been announced as Pandora’s new Chief Product Officer. He was previously Amazon Digital Music’s Director of Product Management and User Experience.

• Slayer are releasing a new track in partnership with Scion AV (a website owned by car maker Toyota’s Scion brand that “champions independent progressive urban culture”, apparently). Here they are in the studio and stuff.

• Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne’s new albums have been delayed. Minaj’s ‘The Pinkprint’ will now land on 15 Dec. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter V’, which was due out this week, has been delayed indefinitely.

• Bearded folk guy Jose Gonzalez is releasing his first solo LP in seven years, ‘Vestiges And Claws’, on 16 Feb. Please all celebrate very, very quietly. Acting as, says Gonzalez, his own “zoomed-out eye on humanity on a small, pale blue dot in a cold, sparse and unfriendly space”, as in Planet Earth, the new record already has a little trailer, so watch that here.

• The Bug and Dylan Carlson of Earth have teamed up for a new double A-side single. Have a listen to the first of the two tracks, ‘Boa’, here.

• Approved solo singing wit Frankie Cosmos, aka Greta Kline, has made a video for ‘Art School’, a track off her most recent LP ‘Zentropy’. In it, Kline larks about acting as if she likes Justin Bieber. No mean feat. Press play on the clip here.

• Baauer off of ‘Harlem Shake’ and other hits’ next EP will be ‘ß’ (ie ‘Beta’), and will feature long-lost pairing AlunaGeorge on a track titled ‘One Touch’, which I’m quite disappointed isn’t a Mini Viva cover. Check the real track, which is available now, as is the entire EP, via iTunes, at this live link.

• Jack White has hired a new live keyboardist and pianist, QOTSA/Dead Weather man Dean Fertita, in place of his late keys player Isaiah ‘Ikey’ Owens, who sadly died of a heart attack earlier this month. This will have a bearing on White’s forthcoming solo tour of the UK, which starts on 17 Nov at Leeds Arena. Confirms JW in a statement: “Although it is impossible to replace Ikey, the incredibly talented Dean Fertita will be joining the band to play piano and keyboard for all of Jack’s currently announced tour dates”.

Harry Potter can rap

And Finally Artist News

The number of child stars who manage to go on to become legitimate actors post-puberty is not a large one, percentages-wise (just ask Corey Feldman). But Daniel Radcliffe seems to be managing it, despite spending his youth apparently typecasting himself to oblivion.

His latest movie, in which he does some only slightly above average acting but earns extra points by not playing a wizard, is about to come out. It’s called ‘Horns’, if you’re interested. Anyway, as a result he’s doing the interview circuit in the US, and earlier this week ‘stopped by’ (ie was booked to appear on) ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon.

In his interview, Radcliffe ‘revealed’ (ie had prepared in advance) the information that he’s reasonably adept at rapping, having spent much time at school learning Eminem lyrics off by heart. So far, so like the back story of every cringe-inducing improv comedy rapper from Surrey. But it turns out he is actually pretty good at it. Like, confident enough in his skills to attempt, and good enough to pull off Blackalious’ unfeasibly difficult ‘Alphabet Aerobics’.

I think I would have stuck with the ‘Harry Potter’ films a lot longer if the battles had involved less wand-waving and more of this:

Approved: Passepied

CMU Approved

Mixing an almost unwieldy number of styles – disco, electro-pop, rock and funk to name just four – Passepied headlined the second night of last week’s Tokyo International Music Market. Despite the extensive array of influences, they hold together their dance-friendly sound with apparent ease, as vocalist Natsuki Ogoda coolly delivers her vocals over the top.

Usually hidden behind the impressive animations of their frontwoman in their videos, Passepied’s live performances are the only time anyone is allowed to see their faces (something much easier to control in Japan, where if you ask people not to post pictures on social media they won’t). Ogoda, dressed in a red and white tunic, cuts a striking image in person that matches her striking vocal delivery – some might say the high pitched sound that emits from her lungs is an acquired taste, but the shock passes as the smart rhythms and arrangements of the band’s songs cut through.

Yesterday I talked about final night TIMM headliner Sakanaction’s concerns about finding an international audience when all of their lyrics are in Japanese. This is clearly something that has crossed Passepied’s mind too, and four albums into their career they’ve just released their first English language EP on iTunes, re-recording four songs from their latest album, ‘Makonouichi-ism’.

It’s probably a step in the right direction for international expansion, but at first attempt it feels like something has been lost in translation. Passepied’s sound is intelligent and complex, and issues with pronunciation and lines that don’t quite scan undermine that somewhat. The sheer strength of the songs does keep them afloat, but currently I’m happy to stick with the originals.

But, hey, why not make your own mind up; here are the Japanese and English versions ‘Tokyo City Underground, plus, for good measure, the original of ‘Makonouichi-ism’ standout track ‘Matatabistep’ and the band’s latest video release for the English version of ‘Tokyo City Underground’ (the original of which you’ll find here).

Music creator group CIAM calls for balancing of streaming royalty split between rights holders

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories

A new report launched last week at a congress organised by the International Council Of Creators Of Music, or CIAM, called for a more equal distribution of streaming royalties between the respective music rights owners. It’s a formal demand for an overhaul of the streaming royalty system that’s been a long time coming, and a rally call that’s only likely to get louder as streaming becomes an ever bigger part of the music rights pie.

There are, of course, three separate copyrights in a recording of a song with lyrics – one in the words, one in the music and one in the recording itself. In the music rights game, the first two get lumped together as the ‘publishing rights’, repping by the music publishers, and the latter, the master rights, are generally controlled by record companies.

In the CD market, and the cassette and vinyl domain before it, the majority of the money made by selling records went to the record company because it took all the risk involved in releasing recordings, covering the upfront costs of making, releasing and marketing the music, and the logistics of getting physical product onto the high street. It varies from country to country, but the publisher’s cut was usually under 10%.

In the digital domain, similar splits have been adopted, despite some wrangling between the publishers and labels in the early days of iTunes, the former arguing that a label’s risk and upfront costs were less in the digital domain.

But over in the realm of public performance licensing, which covers things like radio, the split between the publishers and the labels has always been much more equal. And as we move from CDs to downloads and ultimately to streaming, and as streaming services add curation and programming into the mix, there is a strong argument that digital is becoming more akin to radio than it is the record shop.

Making it inevitable that the music publishers, and the non-performing songwriters especially, were, at some point, going to cry foul on the way streaming services are being licensed, in terms of royalty splits. And this issue is likely to become more hotly debated as all or any of the following trends come into play:

1. The music rights sector realises that music copyrights will never again be as lucrative as they were in the 1990s.

2. The rise of streaming starts to hit the profitability and therefore royalty income from music TV and radio.

3. Labels start to make an increasing amount of their new talent investments back through merch, brand partnership and direct-to-fan revenue streams, rather than straight monetisation of the sound recording copyright.

CIAM is a global body that sets out to “protect the rights and assert the cultural aspirations of music creators”, while its report also has the backing of CISAC, the global grouping of music publishing collecting societies, as well as Music Creators North America and Canadian collecting society SOCAN.

The report was written by Professor Pierre-E Lalonde, and it says: “The split in revenues between the different sets of rights holders is imbalanced. A combination of regulatory constraints, market imbalances and situations where major record labels negotiate with digital services for all categories of rights holders, has led to a significant disparity between the revenues paid to record labels and to creators”.

He goes on: “In the business of streaming, the split of monies from streaming platforms is geared more favourably towards record labels and performers vs songwriters and music publishers”, before recommending “a more equitable division of revenues between the various rights holders, with a 50/50 split between recording and composition”.

Some have previously noted that the big music rights companies, which own both sizable sound recording and publishing catalogues, will likely favour the current system, because corporate rights owners are usually obliged, under contract, to share a bigger cut of publishing income with songwriters than they are sound recording income with recording artists, so they’d prefer more digital money to come through their labels.

Which means the songwriters and standalone publishers will likely face an uphill battle to shift rights holder splits from streaming to 50/50, though it’s interesting that such a proposal has now been made in a formal report by an organisation like CIAM.

The same report also proposes that streaming services should give up more of their revenues to the music industry, and that there should be greater transparency on how the labels do their digital deals.

CIAM calls for more money and more transparency

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories

As well as calling for a more balanced streaming royalty split between rights holders a new CIAM report by Professor Pierre-E Lalonde also makes a number of other proposals about digital licensing, including arguing for streaming firms passing over a higher proportion of their revenue to the music rights owners, and calling for more transparency in the way the labels’ digital deals are done.

Streaming services like Spotify licence music on a revenue share basis, albeit with some advances, guarantees and equity thrown into the mix. It means the amount of money paid over to the labels and publishers, artists and songwriters each month varies depending on how much money has been generated by advertising and subscription sales.

Beyond the initial advances and guarantees, it protects the digital service providers during periods when revenues are down but overall listening is high, but also means that as the revenues of these companies boom – as is currently happening with Spotify – the rights owners enjoy a boom too. Most of the streaming start-ups are paying about 70% of their revenue to the rights owners, which is then split between labels and publishers (the majority going to the former), and is then divvied up based on content usage.

But Lalonde reckons that the DSPs have got themselves too good a deal at 70%, and should actually be paying something nearer to 80% of revenue to the rights owners. The report’s executive summary states: “The current level of revenues paid by music-streaming services to rights holders is between 60% and 70%. This amount undervalues music. With these services poised to become the predominant model for music consumption in the future, the remuneration paid out needs to be re-balanced in favour of rights holders. The current level of remuneration is inadequate given the dependency of these services on music content”.

Of course, the vast majority of the streaming music companies are currently loss-making, so the chances of them agreeing to increase revenue shares in the rights owners’ favour at this time are very low. Indeed, if and when services like Spotify float and get a listing on a stock exchange, investors are likely to put pressure on the DSPs to negotiate their licensing commitments downwards (as is happening with Pandora in the US).

And the way these services are currently developing is also relevant here. As the streaming platforms put more and more effort, and money, into curation services and maybe even original programming, while music will still be at the core of what they offer, these operations will become more and more akin to radio. And the commercial radio sector in the UK, which also has a revenue share license, pays a fraction of what the DSPs are currently committed to. An increase from the current 70%, therefore, seems ambitious.

Indeed, of the big proposals in the CIAM report, the transparency point is likely to gain the most traction, because on that issue the music creator group allies with artist collectives and the management community worldwide. As previously reported, the International Music Managers Forum has become very vocal on this issue of late, calling for an end to the non-disclosure agreements which make it really hard for artists to work out what deals have been done between the labels and the DSPs. Check out a full write-up on the matter in the latest CMU Digest Report.

Either way, all the points raised in Lalonde’s paper are interesting to consider.

European Court Of Justice ruling says embedding not infringement

Business News Digital Legal

The European Court Of Justice has ruled that embedding a YouTube video on a website without the permission of the video owner does not constitute copyright infringement. Which is just as well, given how much YouTube video embedding goes on.

The ECJ seemingly made the ruling in relation to a dispute in the German courts between a water filtering company and two men working as contractors for a rival who had used one of its videos on their personal websites. The court concluded that the defendants could embed the plaintiff’s video on their site without specific permission, providing the content was being pulled in from a publicly available source through a frame. So a YouTube embed.

The full ruling is yet to be published, but a copy has been seen by Torrentfreak. What isn’t clear is what the deal would be if the original video on YouTube hadn’t been posted by the rights owner; ie whether any liability for copyright infringement would extend to the embedder as well as whoever originally uploaded the video without permission.

Of course, YouTube allows people who upload videos to stop third parties from embedding their content, so the system pro

Injured Ultra security guard sues for negligence

Business News Gigs & Festivals Legal Live Business

The security person injured when gatecrashers pushed down a perimeter fence at the Miami edition of the Ultra festival earlier this year has filed legal proceedings against pretty much everyone involved, seeking $10 million plus for the injuries she suffered. Amongst the defendants in the lawsuit are Ultra and its parent company Event Entertainment Group, the city of Miami, the firm handling security at the festival, and one of the concession operators at the event.

Erika Mach suffered two skull fractures and a broken leg when people pushed over fencing to gain access to the festival back in March. As previously reported, city officials subsequently said they’d warned festival organisers that the particular area of fencing that Mach was guarding was in risk of collapse if targeted by gatecrashers, leading to Miami mayor Tomas Regalado threatening to block future Ultra festivals in the city.

According to Billboard, in her litigation Mack also alleges that a less sturdy kind of fencing had been used in that zone because the concession company also targeted in the lawsuit had requested a less severe kind of barricade to make it easier for them to access the festival site. Allowing such a thing was negligent of all parties, Mack argues, especially given the police warning about the vulnerability of that particular area of fencing.

Ultra are yet to comment.

House label 240 Volts revived by !K7 label services deal

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

British tech house act Swayzak have announced a services deal with !K7 to revive their 240 Volts label.

Launched in 1999, 240 Volts began as an outlet for some of the demos the then duo picked up on their international travels. The label eventually slowed and then stopped releasing music in the mid-2000s. The !K7 deal will not only make the company’s full catalogue available again, but will also make many releases available digitally for the first time.

Swayzak’s David Brown, aka Brun, said in a statement: “It’s very exciting to be relauching the 240 Volts label. We have worked with some cool labels over the years from Minus, Playhouse and Mille Plateaux to Fabric, Pokerflat and Tresor, and with all our !K7 catalogue available again it feels like a good time to draw a line under the old material and make it available under one roof, whilst having a singular home for our forthcoming productions, and perhaps the productions of a few old chums along the way”.

Releases on the various imprints run under the 240 Volts name – Swayzak Recordings, Voltmusik, Snooploops and Disco Dub Plates – will also be made available. Amongst the artists included in the deal are Konrad Black, Prosumer Mike Shannon, Jay Haze, Richard Davis, as well as Swayzak.

Global Gathering taking gap year in 2015

Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business

Thirteen years into its life cycle, big-scale dance-fest-in-a-field Global Gathering will take a year off in 2015, its promoter MAMA & Company has confirmed, following the 2014 weekender which ‘went off’ at Long Marston Airield with headliners Chase & Status, David Guetta and The Prodigy.

The motivation for taking the break is, apparently, so that the GG team has time to “review all elements of the show, ensuring it remains at the heart of the UK dance market”. All of which gives little away. Still, as Michael Eavis has proven with Glastonbury, a so-called ‘fallow year’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Though Glastonbury doesn’t have to worry about SFX zooming in and stealing its audience.

By the way, MAMA wants fans of the Global Gathering brand (and maybe the bosses at SFX) to know that the whole ‘no British festival in 2015’ thing won’t affect any other GG-related events, so don’t go saying it will.

Beyonce and Topshop kickstart 50/50 sportswear company

Brands & Merch Business News Deals

Topshop is collaborating with the one, the only Beyonce Knowles on a line of street-style sportswear and accessories. Or, as WWD phrases it, an ‘ath-leisure brand’. Take your pick.

The main point is that Bey’s Parkwood Entertainment and Topshop owner Arcadia have formed a 50/50 joint venture – Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd – which differs from many of today’s fly-by-night ‘band-brand’ alliances (like the time she ‘designed’ beachwear for Topshop rival H&M, for instance) in that, instead of simply acting as the face of the clothing line and taking a quick fixed fee, Beyonce will, via Parkwood, take back half of the cash the project generates. Smart thinking.

Reiterating the ways in which this particular JV isn’t like all the others, Arcadia boss Philip Green tells WWD: “This not a collaboration. This is about building a brand and building a business – a separate, proper business, with separate overhead and a separate office”.

Tracking back to the origins of the ‘not a collaboration’, Green adds: “Basically, when she was in London in February we arranged to get together. We started talking generally, about doing something together. We’ve been looking at that [athletic] sector for a while. It’s something we need to be in. Based on what she does, how she works out, the conversation got into that category. We started getting into proper conversation in May or June, as to how it would work. It took six or eight weeks to put a deal together. On Friday, Beyonce came to our office for the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle”.

Meanwhile Bey has said of the non collab, which will bridge the style ‘realms’ of dance, fitness and sports: “I could not think of a better partner… I have always loved Topshop for its fashion credentials and forward thinking. Working with its development team to create and produce a technical and fashion-led collection is exciting and I’m looking forward to participating in all aspects of this partnership”.

John Cale releases track in homage to late Lou Reed

Artist News Releases

John Cale has released a new version of ‘If You Were Still Around’, a track from his 1982 LP ‘Music For A New Society’, to commemorate his long-time musical sparring partner, the late Lou Reed.

Revealing the track nearly a year to the day since Reed’s death aged 71, Cale added a metaphorical note on their relationship.

It reads: “A moth and a candle met. They decided to become friends. Everyone enjoyed watching their discourse – especially the risk takers. Then one day a big rain came. The moth couldn’t fly and the candle puttered out. Everyone laughed in bitter awe and blamed the rain. Most however knew the deeper truth – the candle remains lit and the moth will stay close”.

View the video for the song, which plays on the images of Cale, Reed and their bandmates from the back sleeve of the Velvet Underground & Nico’s 1960 eponymous LP, here:

CMU’s One Liners: Tool, OK Go, Liverpool Sound City and more

Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases

Other notable announcements and developments today…

• You might think this new Tool album is never going to make it out into the world, but you’d be wrong. Probably. The band have at least made it into the studio long enough now for guitarist Adam Jones to post an Instagram photo.

• OK Go have posted their latest ludicrously complicated new video up on that YouTube. Filmed in Japan there are bonus points for it featuring a cameo from J-pop trio and CMU faves Perfume. The song’s alright too. Watch here.

• Pop wonderboy Fryars, real name Benjamin Garrett, has released a new mixtape titled ‘The Boy In The Hood’. Whilst Lily Allen sings on one of its tracks, ‘King Many Layers’, that’s really only the tip of the iceberg. Traverse the entire iceberg by streaming the mixtape (which Garrett says is the ‘B-movie’ to his forthcoming LP ‘Power’, out 17 Nov) here.

• THE synthpop act of yesteryear (well, 2012), NZCA Lines aka Michael Lovett, is back with a new track titled ‘New Atmosphere’. Whilst Moshi Moshi will release it as an advent treat on 8 Dec, stream it in the meantime here.

• One-time tall ship sailor now popstar Kiesza is showing off the video for her new single ‘No Enemiesz’, from the album ‘Sound Of A Woman’, which drops anchor on 1 Dec. It’s a bit like her ‘Hideaway’ video in that it displays Kiesza’s dancing skills, only the trick with this latest visual is that Kiesza’s backing dancers appear from discarded coats and things. BEHOLD.

• Granddad-of-goth Marilyn Manson’s abysmally-titled new track ‘Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge’ is available now to download upon signing up to his mailing list. Or waive that commitment and simply play it on YouTube now.

• CMU approved fellow Altrego has announced a new single, called ‘Coming At You’. And coincidentally, he’ll be coming right at you next month when he plays a gig at The Barfly in Camden. On 11 Nov, to be exact. Make a note.

• Approved tropical pop trio Juce have invited fans to sip whatever it is they’re selling via a new five-track mini-LP titled ‘Taste The Juce’. Hear the band’s new single ‘6th Floor’ here, and catch them live this exact night when they play London’s Electrowerkz.

• Liverpool Sound City 2015 already has a headliner in the form of Belle & Sebastian, though the bigger news is that the showcase festival will be setting up shop at the city’s Bramley Moore Dock and popping up a bunch of stages, tents and other such contraptions to host the bands who play, rather than using city centre venues as in the past. Which is all rather exciting. More here.

You can buy Sia’s breath in a jar, if you want

And Finally Artist News

Sia released her single ‘Breathe Me’ ten years ago this year, and it’s taken all of that time for someone to come up with this idea. This Friday, as part of the Adelaide Film Festival, a jar containing the singer’s breath will be auctioned off to raise money to help to support filmmakers in the South Australian capital. Really.

AFF CEO Amanda Duthie explained: “Gorgeously and magnificently, she breathed into a jar for us. Her breath is in a Mason jar with silver sealing wax, so no one can accidentally open it. Whoever wins it will be able to break the seal – or just let it be”.

I know that opening the jar and breathing in its contents would fit the whole ‘Breathe Me’ set up at the start of this story, but why would you do that? For one thing, it would destroy any resale value the jar might have. And this might be the only family heirloom the winning bidder has to pass down to their children (especially if this is the type of thing they waste their money on). Plus why risk the possibility that Sia had eaten a really garlicky lunch before depositing her breath? These are important things to consider.

Anyway, the auction will take place at the Channel Nine studios in Adelaide at 6.30pm this Friday. Silent bids are being accepted from people who can’t attend too, but I think that would be taking this whole thing a bit too far.

Approved: Sakanaction

CMU Approved

Of the three bands who played last week’s Japan Night showcase at the Tokyo International Music Market conference, Sakanaction perhaps had the most work to do in the goal of reaching an international audience.

“We sing in Japanese, and we don’t know what the reaction to this will be”, said frontman Ichirō Yamaguchi at a press conference last week, noting co-billings [Alexandros] and Vamps’ more travel-friendly English lyrics. But, he said, in pushing their music outside of Japan, they hoped to raise awareness of the diverse music Japan has to offer. “When you look at Japan from abroad, anime and [pop] idols are the most prominent image. But we have a rich music scene and we would like to give that more exposure”.

Filling the headline slot at the Japan Night showcase, the group began by performing some of their more house-leaning tracks, stood side by side in a visually uninspiring line behind a table, which didn’t fill me with much hope that their performance would be the one to win over a new audience of international fans. But a few songs in, a clever sleight of hand saw the room plunged into darkness with them re-emerging in a full-band set up. From here the show really took off, the band joined on stage by dancers dressed as geisha, and their sound complemented by a mind-blowingly impressive laser show.

Oh and the music – the music was good. Right then and there, they needn’t have worried about not being understood. While it is likely that their style of dance-inspired rock would struggle to find an mainstream audience in the UK on record without English lyrics, when exposed to their performance the language barrier couldn’t have been further from my mind.

Check out 2012 single ‘Night Dancer’ and their latest release, ‘Eureka’:

As iTunes revenues dip 14%, what next for Apple and the record industry?

Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories

As the shift from downloading to streaming escalates, the Wall Street Journal has cited insider knowledge that says music sales on the iTunes store worldwide are down around 14% this year, seemingly confirming the consensus that – iTunes music download sales having peaked in the US last year – that trend is now being matched around the world.

iTunes is so dominant in the download space, of course, that such significant slippage at the Apple store gives an indication of what is happening in the wider digital music market, ie that the high-consuming music fans who helped drive the iTunes boom in many territories are now shifting over to subscription-based streaming services.

Meanwhile younger consumers, many of whom likely tapped illegal music services in the past, but who might have been expected to grow up into legit downloaders, are more likely – if going legit – moving over to streaming services. Anecdotal evidence also suggests those consumers are opting for the free streaming set-ups, whether that be YouTube or the audio streaming platform’s freemium options. They may or may not subsequently mature into subscribers.

This poses different challenges for Apple and the music industry.

For Apple, despite iTunes originally being a means to an end to sell iPods and later iPhones, it creates a revenue gap in what had nevertheless become a very profitable content business. The IT giant needs to properly establish itself in the streaming domain of course. And iTunes’ first go at streaming – iTunes Radio – having had limited success, that’s now in the hands of Ian Rogers, who came to the firm via the Beats acquisition earlier this year.

He’s now got to work out a way of mashing the fledgling Beats Music fully on-demand streaming service with the iTunes userbase and the cheaper-to-run iTunes Radio to create a killer streaming offer ready to go fully live in 2015. It’s a tall order, though Rogers is very possibly the ideal man for the job.

For the record industry, it means an even trickier balancing act, capitalising on the boom in streaming whilst maintaining two declining revenue streams that are, nevertheless, still significantly bigger earners overall – ie CDs and downloads.

Whilst the peaking of iTunes-type income has been foreseeable for a while now, the labels are still learning to adapt to the streaming future, certainly in terms of album marketing, and in explaining how the much more complex ad and subscription revenue models work, to both staff and artists. Though, to be fair, most strategy chatter at the labels this year has been streaming focused, and these stats back up that approach to a point, providing everyone remembers that CD and download income is far from dead as yet.

Though it will be interesting to see how the peaking of download money impacts on overall record industry figures, fifteen years of decline having slowed significantly in recent years (Japan aside). Streaming money is booming, but is it booming enough to compensate for declines in both CD and download sales? While labels are right to focus on streaming to an extent, making those multi-revenue stream artist deals really work should also be a priority.

Deezer acquires Stitcher

Business News Deals Digital

Deezer announced on Friday that it had acquired US-based podcast app Stitcher in a deal that will bring a big library of radio-style content into the streaming music platform.

Stitcher is sort of a Pandora for podcasts, helping users navigate content from podcast makers large and small via a proprietary app which has probably been most prolifically used through in-car systems. The alliance will see Deezer also step up its partnerships with in-car digital entertainment platforms.

Confirming the deal, Deezer founder Daniel Marhely said: “Almost every music listener listens to some form of talk radio, whether it is news, entertainment or sports. We see the ability to deliver better talk streaming solutions, in the same way that we are doing in music, [as a way] to super serve the needs of our global audience of sixteen million users and growing. The acquisition of Stitcher helps us realise this opportunity”.

Meanwhile Stitcher CEO Noah Shanok said: “Deezer has become a market leader by meeting the different needs of music consumers around the world. We look forward to continuing to evolve our offerings and delivering the most complete and best digital audio experience for listeners everywhere”.

Bringing a big batch of radio-style and speech-based content into the Deezer ecosystem is an interesting move as the various big players in streaming music compete for market share.

Most of the content available via Stitcher is accessible through other podcasting or radio channels, and other streaming services could likely access said audio if they so wished. Though, by acquiring Stitcher, Deezer gets a significant batch of constantly updating content in one go, as well as access to users for whom such audio is as, if not more, attractive than straight streaming music.

Sony/ATV signs TI

Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Your good mates at Sony/ATV have only gone and done a worldwide long-term deal with that there TI, which includes his share of the publishing rights in ‘Blurred Lines’, in which the mega-publisher already has a stake via its alliance with Pharrell.

But why wouldn’t you want to represent a little bit more of the most successful rape anthem in pop history? After all, there’s big bucks to be made from providing rape apologists with a funky beat over which to spout their misogynistic bilge, and why not share more of those rapey dollars – the majority of which went to Robin Thicke’s business partners Universal – with Team Sony?

TI’s future works, which won’t necessarily all champion rape, are also covered by the deal, which is the sort of arrangement that might make you humble and excited, once you’ve caught your breath after treading through the ‘Blurred Lines’ moral vacuum.

“I am incredibly humbled and excited to be working with TI”, said Sony/ATV’s Shawn Holiday, just a little breathless from the trip. “He’s one of the premiere and most successful artists of this generation. I am thrilled that Sony/ATV will now be part of this exciting new journey”.

TI, meanwhile, used to the vacuum by know, didn’t missed a beat in declaring: “I’m excited about this partnership and am looking forward to the opportunities that will come of this new venture. Sony/ATV is a world renowned entity and I’m honoured to be a part of this family and to be allowed to contribute to its legacy”.

AEG makes UK hires to develop Goldenvoice brand in UK

Business News Industry People Live Business

AEG Live made two new UK appointments last week who will sit within the live music major’s Goldenvoice division, which is perhaps best known for making the Coachella festival in California.

Laura Davidson becomes a VP for Goldenvoice/AEG Live, while Oscar Tuttiet joins the firm as a promoter. Davidson will report into AEG Live COO Colin Chapple, and with Tuttiet will be charged with the task of developing the Goldenvoice brand in the UK.

Chapple told reporters: “We are delighted to welcome the hugely talented Laura and Oscar to the Goldenvoice and AEG Live team. Both have strong promoting backgrounds having worked with a range of artists and genres. As AEG Live looks to expand its UK operations these new appointments will bring additional expertise and experience to the organisation”.

More Momentum Music Fund grants dished out

Business News Labels & Publishers Management & Funding

These come around quickly, don’t they? Yes, another round of funding has been dished out by the Momentum Music Fund, the Arts Council initiated PRS For Music Foundation managed funding programme for artists. And look people, here are the acts getting some funding love this time, with details of the projects being supported…

Attaque (album campaign and autumn touring)
Fear Of Men (UK album release)
Laura J Martin (recording and promotion of third album)
Melt Yourself Down (second album)
One Bit (EP and tour)
Pale Seas (album release)
Py (EP tour, album production)
Ronika (single promotion)
Roo Panes (UK Album Release)

In related news, Woman’s Hour, who received Momentum funding back in June, have received an additional £2500 from scheme supporter Deezer, in the form of the Momentum Deezer Award.

The next deadline for applications to the fund is 28 Oct, aka tomorrow. Better get applying quickly.

First acts confirmed for BBC Music Awards

Awards Business News Media

Remember back in June, when the BBC launched its big fat music strategy, part of which was the launch of a new music awards show hosted by Fearne Cotton and Chris Evans?

Well, anyone out there thinking that bosses at the cash-strapped BBC might see sense over the summer months, and realise that this was the absolute last thing British music – let alone British television – needs, were sadly deluded.

Yep, the whole thing is going ahead regardless, because why spend money on unique and world-beating specialist radio shows when you can gather together the same popstars that every other media network in the world is after and get them to record yet another shitty one-line-each cover version or perform at the UK’s 38th music awards show of the year? (And that’s an actual figure – if you want the list click here).

But hey, the BBC Music Awards, I bet they’ll be championing the sorts of artists that only get championed, and that can only exist, because of the support of a media organisation uniquely funded by a form of special taxation like the British Broadcasting Corporation’s magnificent licence fee. Acts like, erm, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Calvin Harris. Oh, and One Direction of course, a pop act whose very existence would have been impossible without, well, the BBC’s primary competitor for 60 years, ITV.

Oh well, on the upside, this whole money-draining utterly-pointless exercise gives those Tories who hate the BBC further ammunition to have the whole thing dismantled and thrown into the North Sea. So, at least someone’s getting something out of all this.

And here’s host Evans getting very excited about that very prospect (well, about the Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Calvin Harris and One Direction-featuring awards show): “Every year is a marvellous year for music in the UK and 2014 has been no exception. The inaugural BBC Music Awards will be the new icing on an ever mouth watering end-of-term cake. We shall gratefully be tipping our hats to those whose lights have shone brightest and whose music has helped water the inner flowers of our souls, hearts and minds over the last twelve months. Call it a review with prizes, or a show full of surprises, I cannot wait. Get your ears on, the BBC Music Awards is coming to get you”.

Tickets went on sale for the Earls Court show on Friday priced £25 to £45, because if the BBC is going to saddle the labels with the costs of funding all the hoo and the haa that inevitably surrounds glitzy awards shows, it’s only fair to screw over the promoters too by pulling a load of cash out of the London live sector to fund a pointless backslapping party for BBC executives.

TLDR: I don’t think the BBC should be doing a music awards show.

Accountancy firm NWN Blue Squared appoints music specialist

Business News Industry People

Accountancy firm NWN Blue Squared has announced the appointment of Jackie Da Costa, who will become Business Support Manager, Music. She brings with her over a hundred music-based clients, and will offer accounting and tax expertise to the company’s wider music client base too.

Confirming the appointment, NWN Blue Squared CEO Nick Lawrence told reporters: “The timing, the person and the business synergies could not have been better. The music industry is exciting, but often unpredictable and, while we always talk about delivering ‘unexpectedly’ high service, the one thing our clients always expect is sound, consistent and practical advice. Jackie has demonstrated a really strong track record in all of these and I’m certain our current and future clients will appreciate her expertise. The fact that she can now share this with the rest of the team is also a huge boost to the NWN brand”.

Meanwhile Da Costa added: “I’m incredibly excited to become part of such a fast-growing and progressive company. What really attracted me to NWN was their passion for the creative sector and the music industry in particular. They just ‘get it’ and my experience and client portfolio will fit perfectly with theirs”.

Liam Gallagher closes his Beady Eye

Artist News

In case anyone hasn’t heard it on the grapevine already, here’s the weekend’s breaking Beady Eyes news: Liam Gallagher has said via Twitter that his post-Oasis band is “no longer” and… well, that’s that, really. Ta-dah.

“Thanks for all the support”, adds LG, with his one-time Beady band peer Andy Bell reiterating the split, and wishing the world “big love” in its wake.

So, RIP Beady E, we barely liked nor disliked ye especially. The band’s closedown comes only four years and two LPs (in 2011’s ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ and 2013’s ‘BE’) into its lifespan. Oh, and coincidentally, it’s happened a week or so ‘hence’ from Liam’s distant acquaintance and brother Noel confirming his own post-Oasis band the High Flying Birds’ latest LP, ‘Chasing Yesterday’. Perhaps Liam’s had an early listen to that, and it’s so magnificent that he was all like “nah man, fuck this, can’t top that”, and has just… given up.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Anyway to play this story out, and because I can’t think of any Beady Eye songs, this Noel Gallagher & The High Flying Birds’ latest single ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’:

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

Artist News Obituaries

Scottish musician Jack Bruce, who’s maybe most famed for his time in super-band Cream, but also as one of the most gifted bass players in rock history, died on Saturday, aged 71, at his home in Suffolk. A spokesman for his family confirmed that the cause of his death was liver disease, Bruce having received a liver transplant as a treatment for cancer in 2003.

Paying tribute to his late Cream bandmate, Eric Clapton has said that “he was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me”.

Born in Lanarkshire in 1942, Bruce initially trained as a classical cellist and composer at the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music & Drama, later finding a love for jazz and, in 1962, joining Alexis Korner’s London-based band Blues Incorporated, in which he played upright bass alongside Ginger Baker on drums.

Having made the switch to electric bass, Bruce moved on, with Baker, to form the Graham Bond Organisation, releasing a chain of singles and two LPs. He exited the band in 1965, partly over his volatile relationship with Baker, and later collaborated with guitarist Eric Clapton via a short stint in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, which he quit for a profitable placement in Manfred Mann.

Clapton, Baker and, on the former’s insistence, Bruce, formed Cream, one of rock’s first ‘power trios’, in 1966, mixing shades of jazz, blues and florid psych rock on their first LP ‘Fresh Cream’, a split of covers and original songs released that same year. Bruce acted as lead vocalist on the lion’s share of its tracks, and on Cream’s headily psychedelic 1967 follow-on ‘Disraeli Gears’, this featuring classic Cream single ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’, a co-write by Bruce, Clapton and lyricist Pete Brown.

Cream became a live sensation in America on playing their first dates in the States that year. Their deafeningly-amplified shows became known, as Clapton later defined it, for their “endless, meaningless solos”, which occasionally meant songs were extended to 20 minutes or more. As Baker said in a 2006 interview with Music Mart magazine: “It damaged my hearing permanently, and today I’ve still got a hearing problem because of the sheer volume throughout the last year of Cream. But it didn’t start off like that. In 1966, it was great. It was really a wonderful experience musically, and it just went into the realms of stupidity”.

The release of 1968’s prog-leaning dual-LP ‘Wheels Of Fire’ signalled the end of days for the band – this in spite of the lasting legacy of tracks like ‘White Room’, and of the longplayer as a whole. Cream released one final LP, the aptly-titled ‘Goodbye’, after their split in 1968. Thereafter Clapton and Baker reconciled to form the short-lived Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and Ric Grech, whilst Bruce released his first solo LP ‘Songs For A Tailor’, following that with the jazzy ‘Things We Like’, which he’d actually made earlier than the conventionally ‘rock’ ‘Tailor’.

‘Harmony Row’, released in 1971, was followed by a latter eleven solo records, most recently this year’s ‘Silver Rails’, over which span Bruce was a prolific collaborator with the likes of Frank Zappa (on 1974’s ‘Apostrophe’), Mick Jagger and John Lennon (on one-off track ‘Too Many Cooks’) and Alexis Korner’s ‘Rocket 88’, all the while maintaining his so-named ‘Jack Bruce & Friends’ circle with guitarist Larry Coryell, one-time Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and Carla Bley, also singing on the latter’s triple-LP ‘jazz opera’ circa 1971, ‘Escalator Over The Hill’.

Bruce was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, and given a liver transplant, recuperating in time to take part in Cream’s high-profile reunion in 2005, which saw the trio play a handful of sold out (obviously) shows in London and New York. They received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 2006.

Bruce is survived by his wife Margrit, four children, and a granddaughter.

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:27 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: YouTube

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:26 | By Andy Malt

High quality streaming service Tidal has gone live, banking on the assumption that men (and only men, according to a video promoting it) will pay more money for better quality audio.

READ MORE ABOUT: Tidal

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:25 | By Andy Malt

After several months in beta, new content submission service Fluence has gone live. Set up by Topspin co-founder Shamal Ranasinghe, the site allows creators (musicians, say) to share their content (music, I guess) with ‘curators’ (maybe bookers, A&Rs, radio types and, of course, journalists).

READ MORE ABOUT: Fluence

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:24 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Alex Zhang Hungtai | Dirty Beaches

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:23 | By Andy Malt

The Official Charts Company has this morning announced what it’s calling the “real winners” of the Mercury, ahead of tonight’s apparently now pointless prize-giving ceremony.

READ MORE ABOUT: FKA Twigs | GoGo Penguin | Kae Tempest | Mercury Prize | Official Charts Company | Royal Blood

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:22 | By Aly Barchi

Eric Clapton has shared a song dedicated to his late Cream bandmate Jack Bruce, who died last Saturday at the age of 71.

READ MORE ABOUT:

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:21 | By Aly Barchi

The indescribable Tune-Yards, aka Merrill Garbus and friends, are flying in with the spring next year to play a sequence of UK shows as Tune-Yards, so now you know.

READ MORE ABOUT: tUnE-yArDs | Women of The World

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:20 | By Aly Barchi

Other notable announcements and developments today…

READ MORE ABOUT: Baaer | Chris Phillips | Dylan Carlson | Frankie Cosmos | Jack White | José González | Lil Wayne | Nicki Minaj | Pandora | Slayer | The Bug

Wednesday 29 October 2014, 12:19 | By Andy Malt

The number of child stars who manage to go on to become legitimate actors post-puberty is not a large one, percentages-wise (just ask Corey Feldman). But Daniel Radcliffe seems to be managing it, despite spending his youth apparently typecasting himself to oblivion.

READ MORE ABOUT: Daniel Radcliffe

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 12:23 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Passepied | Tokyo International Music Market

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 12:00 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: CIAM | CISAC

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:59 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: CIAM | Pierre-E Lalonde

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:58 | By Chris Cooke

The European Court Of Justice has ruled that embedding a YouTube video on a website without the permission of the video owner does not constitute copyright infringement. Which is just as well, given how much YouTube video embedding goes on.

READ MORE ABOUT: European Court Of Justice | YouTube

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:56 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Ultra Music Festival

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:55 | By Andy Malt

British tech house act Swayzak have announced a services deal with !K7 to revive their 240 Volts label.

READ MORE ABOUT: !K7 | 240 Volts | Swayzak

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:54 | By Aly Barchi

Thirteen years into its life cycle, big-scale dance-fest-in-a-field Global Gathering will take a year off in 2015, its promoter MAMA & Company has confirmed, following the 2014 weekender which ‘went off’ at Long Marston Airield with headliners Chase & Status, David Guetta and The Prodigy.

READ MORE ABOUT: Global Gathering | MAMA & Company

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:53 | By Aly Barchi

Topshop is collaborating with the one, the only Beyonce Knowles on a line of street-style sportswear and accessories. Or, as WWD phrases it, an ‘ath-leisure brand’. Take your pick.

READ MORE ABOUT: Beyonce | Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd | Topshop

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:52 | By Aly Barchi

John Cale has released a new version of ‘If You Were Still Around’, a track from his 1982 LP ‘Music For A New Society’, to commemorate his long-time musical sparring partner, the late Lou Reed.

READ MORE ABOUT: John Cale | Lou Reed

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:51 | By Aly Barchi

Other notable announcements and developments today…

READ MORE ABOUT: Altrego | FrYars | Juce | Kiesza | Liverpool Sound City | Marilyn Manson | NZCA Lines | OK Go | Tool

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 11:50 | By Andy Malt

READ MORE ABOUT: Adelaide Film Festival | Sia

Monday 27 October 2014, 12:01 | By Andy Malt

Of the three bands who played last week’s Japan Night showcase at the Tokyo International Music Market conference, Sakanaction perhaps had the most work to do in the goal of reaching an international audience.

READ MORE ABOUT: Japan Night | Sakanaction | Tokyo International Music Market

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:52 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Beats Music | Ian Rogers | iTunes

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:51 | By Chris Cooke

Deezer announced on Friday that it had acquired US-based podcast app Stitcher in a deal that will bring a big library of radio-style content into the streaming music platform.

READ MORE ABOUT: Deezer | Stitcher

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:50 | By Chris Cooke

Your good mates at Sony/ATV have only gone and done a worldwide long-term deal with that there TI, which includes his share of the publishing rights in ‘Blurred Lines’, in which the mega-publisher already has a stake via its alliance with Pharrell.

READ MORE ABOUT: Sony Music Publishing | TI

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:49 | By Chris Cooke

AEG Live made two new UK appointments last week who will sit within the live music major’s Goldenvoice division, which is perhaps best known for making the Coachella festival in California.

READ MORE ABOUT: AEG | Goldenvoice | Laura Davidson | Oscar Tuttiet

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:48 | By Chris Cooke

READ MORE ABOUT: Momentum Music Fund | PRS Foundation

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:47 | By Chris Cooke

Remember back in June, when the BBC launched its big fat music strategy, part of which was the launch of a new music awards show hosted by Fearne Cotton and Chris Evans?

READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | BBC Music Awards

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:46 | By Chris Cooke

Accountancy firm NWN Blue Squared has announced the appointment of Jackie Da Costa, who will become Business Support Manager, Music. She brings with her over a hundred music-based clients, and will offer accounting and tax expertise to the company’s wider music client base too.

READ MORE ABOUT: Jackie Da Costa | NWN Blue Squared

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:45 | By Aly Barchi

In case anyone hasn’t heard it on the grapevine already, here’s the weekend’s breaking Beady Eyes news: Liam Gallagher has said via Twitter that his post-Oasis band is “no longer” and… well, that’s that, really. Ta-dah.

READ MORE ABOUT: Beady Eye | Liam Gallagher | Noel Gallagher

Monday 27 October 2014, 11:45 | By Aly Barchi

READ MORE ABOUT: Cream | Jack Bruce