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Thursday 17 December 2015, 10:59 | By Andy Malt
Lewis Hamilton Formula One champion and… popstar?
And Finally Artist News
A year ago, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton revealed that he had started making music, though at that point he wasn’t willing to make any of it available to the public. That, it seems, has now changed.
Speaking to US documentary show ’60 Minutes’, Hamilton played clips from two songs, ‘J’Adore’ and ‘Lookin At You’, telling interviewer Charlie Rose: “Music’s been a huge passion of mine since I was young. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen. In [the studio] I can be me, I can be vulnerable, I can show a side to me that people don’t [usually] get to see”.
“The plan has always been [to make music] just as a hobby”, he added. “But it’s starting to get to a point now where it’s very serious, and we spend a lot of time here [in the studio]. When I’m not training and getting ready for the race I’m in here”.
Noting that he potentially has a ready-made fanbase through his racing, he said: “I never thought in a million years I’d have people following me. You know, fans. I want to share [my music] with them. I wanna see what they think. My work ethic here is exactly the same as it is on the racetrack, but it’s just here I can be… me”.
Watch the video (and hear the music) here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Lewis Hamilton
Thursday 17 December 2015, 10:17 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2015: Everything Everything
Artists Of The Year CMU Approved
Every day this week in the CMU Approved slot, we’ll be looking at one of our five favourite artists of 2015. Today, Everything Everything…
Whatever it was Everything Everything were attempting to achieve all this time, it really felt like they nailed it in 2015 with their third album ‘Get To Heaven’. First single ‘Distant Past’, released in February, was a near perfect combination of pop and experimentation, setting a level of expectation that the final LP more than delivered upon.
In terms of favourites, it’s difficult to pick one from the tracklist, but most recent single ‘Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread’ is the song I increasingly find myself returning to. It is perhaps the best example of the record’s sound too, grabbing you with a guitar hook that they build upon, creating a base for Jonathan Higgs’ often staccato and precisely, if unusually, pitched vocals. No part of the track is a simple bridge to the next section, each is paid close attention.
‘Get To Heaven’ sounds like an album made by a band who are thoroughly enjoying what they’re doing, and who keep hearing things fall into place as they tread deeper into the recording careers. It’s a record that’s clearly had a huge amount of time spent on it, but it sounds like it just fell out of them fully formed.
Watch the videos for ‘Regret’ and ‘Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread’ here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2015 | Everything Everything
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 11:04 | By Chris Cooke
Pandora signs direct deal with Warner/Chappell
Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories
While Pandora still awaits the ruling that will decide what it pays the labels via the collective licensing system in the US for the next five years (that decision is now due later today), the personalised radio service has done another one of those direct deals with a publisher, meaning it is even less reliant on collective licensing when it comes to the songs side of the equation. The latest deal is with Warner/Chappell.
As much previously reported, until recently Pandora was fully licensed via the collective licensing system in the US. Sound recordings are covered by the compulsory license that applies to personalised radio in America, so it pays royalties to labels and artists via SoundExchange at rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board. The song rights are licensed via the performing rights organisations like BMI and ASCAP, with rates ultimately set in the rate courts.
The digital firm’s relationship with the music industry has been generally fractious, because Pandora has put a lot of effort into trying to persuade the CRB and the rate courts to reduce its royalty payments. It should find out later today whether its latest efforts to persuade the CRB to cut its royalty commitments to SoundExchange have been successful. SoundExchange – repping the labels – wants the royalty rates increased. A swing either way could have big money consequences over the next five years.
But at the same time as all that, Pandora has started reaching out to labels and publishers direct, circumventing the collective licensing system – as the digital services are allowed to do Stateside – and negotiating direct deals. This is partly because Pandora has ambitions to expand into new territories where there is no compulsory licence on the recordings side, and to move into fully on-demand streaming, where the SoundExchange licence doesn’t apply even in the US.
Meanwhile on the publishing side, there is the consensus that the current review of collective licensing rules in America – of the so called ‘consent decrees’ that govern BMI and ASCAP – will allow the publishers to pull their digital rights from the societies while still licensing radio, live and other public performance collectively. So Pandora could be forced into direct deals with the publishers in the near future.
Which is possibly why, of late, most of the streaming service’s direct deals have been with publishers rather than labels, with the Warner/Chappell tie-up following recent alliances with Sony/ATV and Songs Publishing, and its deal last year with BMG.
Confirming the latest deal, Warner/Chappell CEO Jon Platt told reporters: “It is Warner/Chappell’s top priority to make sure our songwriters are prospering both creatively and commercially, and that the value of their music is properly recognised. We look forward to seeing our songwriters benefit from this new agreement with Pandora”.
Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews, meanwhile, was predictably “thrilled” about this latest direct deal. “We are thrilled to partner with Warner/Chappell Music, which has represented many of the most talented songwriters for over 200 years”, he said. “Pandora is proud to be part of their tradition of maximising the value of music publishing and talent”.
Pandora’s latest deal-making follows the news that the service is adding a new feature called Thumbprint Radio, which is a personalised playlist specifically based on all the music a user has ever liked (so, given the thumbs up) on the platform over the years. The feed will include both the thumbed-up tracks themselves, and other songs the system thinks a user will like. So, it’s basically the standard Pandora system but, we are told, more tightly personalised to the user’s preferences.
So, that’s lovely isn’t it? Though, depending on how today’s CRB ruling on SoundExchange rates turns out, Team Pandora may be needing a playlist of exclusively celebratory songs, or possibly something much more sombre.
READ MORE ABOUT: Pandora | Warner Chappell
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 11:02 | By Chris Cooke
PIPCU arrests three men over karaoke piracy
Business News Digital Legal
The City Of London Police’s IP Crime Unit, aka PIPCU, yesterday arrested three men accused of illegally distributing tens of thousands of karaoke tracks online.
The three men, one in Devon and two in Lancashire, were arrested following an investigation that was instigated when a legit karaoke company noticed a large number of tracks it released were quickly appearing on the Kickass Torrents site. Record industry trade group the BPI referred the case to PIPCU back in June, leading to yesterday’s raids, during which the three men’s properties were searched and computers were seized.
Confirming the arrests, Detective Constable Ceri Hunt of PIPCU told reporters: “The illegal downloading of copyrighted music may seem like a harmless thing to do, but the reality is that these individual offences are collectively damaging one of our key creative industries – costing people who work in the music industry millions of pounds and threatening thousands of jobs. PIPCU will continue to target the individuals and the organised crime gangs facilitating these crimes, working with key partners like the BPI to ensure that those most responsible are brought to justice”.
Meanwhile John Hodge, who heads up the BPI’s internet investigations, added: “Instances of commercial-scale copyright infringement are not exempt from investigation and anyone found to be facilitating such illegal activity is not immune from prosecution. Our work with PIPCU – and all of our partners – will continue to identify pirates across the UK and should act as a red flag to anyone engaging in similar counterfeit or criminal activity”.
This isn’t the first PIPCU investigation focused on karaoke tracks. The police unit shut down a file-sharing site called KaraokeWorld back in March following a complaint from collecting society PRS For Music.
READ MORE ABOUT: British Phonographic Industry (BPI) | City Of London Police | PIPCU
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 11:01 | By Andy Malt
Montserrat Caballé given suspended sentence for tax evasion
Artist News Legal
Opera singer Montserrat Caballé – best known outside classical music circles for her 1992 single with Freddie Mercury, ‘Barcelona’ – has been given a six month suspended sentence and fined a quarter of a million euros for tax evasion.
She had been accused of defrauding Spanish tax authorities of 500,000 euros, which she has since paid. However, in addition to her fine, she was also ordered to pay those authorities an additional 72,000 euros.
According to the Guardian, the sentence came after the 82 year old singer reached a deal with prosecutors, which was ratified by a judge in Barcelona yesterday. Caballé appeared in court via videolink due to health complications stemming from a stroke she suffered in 2012.
READ MORE ABOUT: Montserrat Caballé
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:55 | By Chris Cooke
Imogen Heap allies with Downtown as her Mycelia project gains momentum
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Imogen Heap has signed a worldwide agreement with independent publisher Downtown Music covering a number of her songs, including a co-write with Taylor Swift on ‘1989’ track ‘Clean’.
Though this isn’t just another deal where a songwriter appoints a publishing firm to administrate their copyrights. It is part of an initiative set up by Heap earlier this year to explore new approaches in administering music rights and royalties.
Downtown will support Heap in this rapidly evolving project, which operates under the name Mycelia, and which seeks to capitalise on the potential of the much discussed-of-late blockchain to create a fairer more transparent way for music to be monetised and monies to be shared between all the stakeholders in the music community.
Confirming the deal, Heap told Billboard that she started discussing these ideas with Downtown president Justin Kalifowitz about eighteen months ago, and that she likes the firm’s flexibility, especially when it comes to the potential of new technologies. “It’s really a great opportunity to work with a forward-thinking publishing company when the future is so wide open at the moment”, she said.
Meanwhile Downtown’s VP Technology Joe Conyers said the firm was pleased to be advising on Heap’s Mycelia venture, noting that “she is a true engineer [and] it’s great to partner with somebody like that, who’s really going to be a builder with us. That’s the spirit of this”.
Heap is planning a number of events in the new year to further the Mycelia project, playing with technologies that could power a more transparent and efficient system of music distribution, while also meeting the existing gatekeepers in the industry whose data and participation would be required to make her ambitions a reality.
She has also recently thrown her support behind the DotMusic organisation that is bidding to control the .music domain, which is one of those new-fangled domains still to be allocated by domains overseer ICANN.
Heap hopes that if DotMusic, rather than a Google or an Amazon, gets control of that domain – with a plan to only allow artists to register theirname.music – then that system could also be used to house a new artist-led hub of music data. ICANN is expected to decide whether to give the domain to DotMusic – or to simply sell it to the highest bidder – early next year.
READ MORE ABOUT: Downtown Music | Imogen Heap | Mycelia
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:51 | By Andy Malt
Paramore bassist Jeremy Davis quits
Artist News
Paramore have announced the departure of original bassist Jeremy Davis, leaving vocalist Hayley Williams and guitarist Taylor York as a duo.
In a statement, the band said: “We’ve written and re-written this countless times and there’s just not a good way to put it… Jeremy is no longer going to be in the band with us. To be honest, this has been really painful. After taking time to consider how to move forward, we ultimately found that we really do believe Paramore can and should continue on. And so we will”.
This is not the first departure of members of Paramore, of course. Founder guitarist and drummer Josh and Zac Farro quit somewhat acrimoniously in 2010. With Davis gone, that leaves Williams the only original member of the group.
But there’s no time to think about all that. There’s the Paramore cruise coming up – Parahoy, as they’ve called it – which is in March. So, actually, there’s plenty of time to think about it. Think away!
READ MORE ABOUT: Paramore
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:50 | By Andy Malt
Epitaph to pay all profits from Ghost Inside releases to band
Artist News Industry People
Epitaph Records has announced that it will pass on all profits from records it has released by The Ghost Inside to the band, in order to aid their recovery from injuries sustained in a bus crash last month.
As previously reported, the drivers of the band’s tour bus and the lorry they collided with while travelling through Texas were killed in the incident. The members of the band are still recovering from their injuries. “For some of us, simply learning to walk again will be a monumental undertaking”, they said in a statement recently.
Posting to the label’s Facebook page, Epitaph boss Brett Gurewitz said: “Our hearts go out to our brothers who have endured a catastrophic accident, with devastating injuries. In light of this, Epitaph has decided to donate all profits from the sale of all The Ghost Inside albums worldwide, directly to the band, indefinitely”.
“If you want to support The Ghost Inside in their time of need, you can now do so by buying their music”, he continued. “Epitaph won’t make a profit while the band silently fight to rebuild their lives. We wish them a speedy recovery and return to health”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Epitaph Records | The Ghost Inside
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:49 | By Andy Malt
Wilko Johnson announces 2016 UK shows
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Wilko Johnson has announced a UK tour for April next year, joined by guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Says Shaw Taylor: “I’m more than excited about going on tour with Wilko Johnson. He has had such a huge influence on all of us and I have endless admiration for the man”.
Tickets went on sale this morning. Here are the dates:
14 Apr: Glasgow, ABC
15 Apr: Newcastle, Academy
16 Apr: Manchester, The Ritz
21 Apr: Bristol, Academy
22 Apr: Leamington, The Assembly
23 Apr: London, The Forum
READ MORE ABOUT: Joanne Shaw Taylor | Wilko Johnson
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:47 | By Andy Malt
Shonen Knife announce 35th anniversary UK & Ireland tour
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Shonen Knife have announced a tour of the UK and Ireland to mark their 35th anniversary. The shows will also coincide with the band’s appearance at the Stewart Lee-curated edition of ATP on 15 Apr. The band are also recording a new album, which sees the return of original drummer (now bassist) Atsuko Yamano. That’s due for release in March.
After various line-up changes in recent years, the group have now settled on something of a revolving line-up, as frontwoman Naoko Yamano explains: “Many things have happened to the band this year. Ritsuko is taking maternity and childcare leave, then Naru became the support bassist and Risa joined the band as a new drummer. It is very hard for girls to continue a band. We tour overseas a lot and it’s difficult to keep the balance of private life and band activity. Nevertheless, I’d like to … keep on rocking as an all-girl band”.
“All members, Atsuko, Risa, Ritsuko and Naru, have the same feeling which is ‘I like Shonen Knife'”, she continues. “I’d like to make music with the members who can share the same feeling and have a good time. Basically, the official members are Atsuko, Risa and I – who can go to long tours – but I want Ritsuko and Naru to join the band when there are opportunities”.
Here are the upcoming UK and Ireland dates:
14 Apr: Manchester, Ruby Lounge
16 Apr: Birmingham, Oobleck
17 Apr: London, Dingwalls
19 Apr: Falmouth, Princess Pavilion
20 Apr: Southampton, The Joiners
21 Apr: Brighton, The Haunt
22 Apr: Guildford, Boileroom
23 Apr: Norwich Arts Centre
24 Apr: Colchester Arts Centre
26 Apr: Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
27 Apr: Gateshead, Sage 2
28 Apr: Edinburgh, Summerhall
29 Apr: Glasgow, CCA
30 Apr: Dublin, Whelans
2 May: Cork, Crane Lane
4 May: Liverpool Arts Club
5 May: Nottingham, Maze
6 May: Leicester, Musician
7 May: Bedford, Esquires
8 May: Bristol, Fleece
READ MORE ABOUT: Shonen Knife
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:43 | By Chris Cooke
CMU’s One Liners: Demi Lavato, Shazam, Rdio, Placebo, more
Artist News Awards Business News Deals Digital Gigs & Festivals Industry People Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Universal Music Publishing has signed a global deal to rep Demi Lavato, and has formed a joint venture with the publishing side of Safehouse, the music firm owned by Lovato, her manager Phil McIntyre and that there Nick Jonas (the label side of which also works with Universal).
• Shazam has hired Greg Glenday to be its new New York-based Chief Revenue Officer. Imagine that, a digital music company with revenue! Who’d of thought it possible?
• Rdio will go offline on 22 Dec. At approximately 5pm PST. And just in time for Christmas! Grab your Rdio data here. Then pump it into a new Spotify account here.
• Kobalt Label Services has built an official Apple TV app for Placebo, the first of its kind made for the Apple TV platform. It’s got all of their music videos, some live footage, behind the scenes stuff, and other bits n pieces. It will also be a place for the band to premiere and monetise future content. “We see this”, said the band’s manager Anthony Crook. And now, so can you!
• Latest artists to get themselves a little bit of moola from the Arts Council-backed Momentum Music Fund? Well, Anna Meredith, Big Narstie, Bugzy Malone, Clock Opera, EAGULLS, Fyfe, Get Inuit, Holly Macve, Ibibio Sound Machine, Rozi Plain, Steve Mason and Swifta Beater.
• Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike has sat down to interview US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Watch here.
• It’s a new Purity Ring video!
• Mexican Morrissey rework band Mexrrissey have announced a new album of Mexican reworks of Morrissey songs. It’s out in March. Here’s the video for first single ‘International Playgirl’. They’ll also play the Electric Ballroom in Camden on 14 Apr.
• The BBC has announced that the next edition of the 6 Music Festival will take place from 12-14 Feb, and only in bloody Bristol! Bristol, people, Bristol! And if all you know about Bristol music is Roni Size, Tricky and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, well, yeah, that’s pretty much the line-up.
• Hey everybody, BRITs Week is back, taking over London next February with a BRITy mix of BRITastic British BRITty-ness as the Brits prepare for the BRITs. It’s a collaboration between AEG, London First and BRIT-maker the BPI. So, now you know.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | BBC 6 Music Festival | BBC Radio 6 Music | BRIT Awards | BRITs Week | Demi Lovato | Greg Glenday | Killer Mike | Kobalt | Mexxrrissey | Momentum Music Fund | Placebo | Rdio | Safehouse | Shazam | Spotify | Universal Music | Universal Music Publishing
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:37 | By Andy Malt
Disliking the Bay City Rollers not anti-Scottish, rules BBC Trust
And Finally Business News Media
Disliking the Bay City Rollers is not inherently anti-Scottish, the BBC Trust has ruled. This follows a complaint that Johnnie Walker has never played “Scotland’s answer to the Beatles” on his Radio 2 show, ‘Johnnie Walker’s Sounds Of The 70s’.
The Beeb received a complaint claiming that failing to play the band in any of 310 shows over six years documenting the music of the 1970s was “unreasonably biased” both against the band and Scottish licence fee payers.
In its response, the Trust noted that Walker had made “no secret” of his “poor opinion and dislike of the band”. In fact, back in the actual 70s he quit Radio 1 after falling out with station bosses – partly over his description of the Bay City Rollers as “musical garbage” on air at their height of their fame.
“[The complainant] understood that Johnnie Walker did not like the band but … felt that licence fee payers were entitled to hear what they wanted rather than what Johnnie Walker always wanted”, said the Trust in its ruling.
However, the regulator countered that Walker’s name was in the title of the show and therefore it should be expected that the content “reflected his taste”, even if he does mainly pick tracks he personally feels his listeners will “most enjoy”.
The complaint apparently stemmed from an edition of the show where Walker told someone who requested a Bay City Rollers track that he might consider playing it if they’d donate some money to charity. The presenter later said that the original requester had not responded, but someone else had offered him £20 not to play anything by the band.
The Trust said that there was no evidence that Walker’s refusal to play Bay City Rollers songs was due to them being Scottish and that “it was not appropriate, proportionate or cost-effective to proceed with the [complaint] as it did not have a reasonable prospect of success”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bay City Rollers | BBC | BBC Radio 2 | Jonnie Walker
Wednesday 16 December 2015, 10:24 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2015: Kendrick Lamar
Artists Of The Year CMU Approved
Every day this week in the CMU Approved slot, we’ll be looking at one of our five favourite artists of 2015. Today, Kendrick Lamar…
It’s hard to make a list of artists who really meant something in 2015 without including Kendrick Lamar. Look, here he is, in the CMU Approved Of The Year list proving just that point. The buzz around the release of his latest album, ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, was so great that he promptly broke the record for the most number of streams in a single day on Spotify upon its release (an accolade otherwise claimed by more household names, most recently Adele).
In the months following the release, Lamar also surely broke some sort of record for the number of articles examining an album in minute detail. Because while his 2012 album, ‘Good Kid, Maad City’, put him firmly on the map, ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ fixed his place permanently, earning him titles like, in the words of The Verge, “black America’s poet laureate”.
It’s a record so complex, both musically and lyrically, that nine months later each listen feels both familiar and brand new. It’s both deeply personal and an extraordinary piece of big picture thinking. If Lamar can maintain this level of creativity as he heads deeper into his career it will be amazing, but if this is the last album he ever makes he’s already done more than most ever achieve.
Watch the videos for ‘Alright’ and ‘These Walls’ here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2015 | Kendrick Lamar
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:35 | By Andy Malt
Radio 1 Head Of Music George Ergatoudis to join Spotify
Business News Digital Industry People Media Top Stories
George Ergatoudis has announced he is to join Spotify, leaving BBC Radio 1 where he has been Head Of Music for the last decade. He will take on the newly created role of Head Of Content Programming for the UK at the streaming service.
Prior to joining the BBC in 1997, Ergatoudis was a senior producer at Kiss FM. Initially taking on a producer role at BBC Radio, he went on to manage Radio 1Xtra’s music policy before eventually becoming Head Of Music for both Radio 1 and its sister station. In his new position at Spotify he will lead the company’s in-house music curation strategy and content programming for the UK.
Announcing the news this morning, Ergatoudis said: “I am leaving BBC Radio 1, the world’s greatest music radio station, to join the world’s leading digital music service and I couldn’t be more excited. There are huge opportunities ahead for Spotify and I am delighted to be joining their brilliant team. My passion for music has driven my entire career and this next step is like a dream come true”.
He continued: “It’s been a privilege to have played a key part in the journey of the world’s greatest music radio station over the last ten years. In that time, Radio 1 has successfully moved into a new era of visual and shareable content, helping to drive new young audiences to the BBC. Now I’m ready for the next chapter in my career as I take on responsibility for leading Spotify’s in-house music curation strategy and content programming for the UK. I can’t wait to get started”.
Nick Holmstén, Spotify’s Global Head of Content Programming, added: “George is one of the most well known and well respected figures in the British music industry, and we are enormously proud and excited to have him join us at Spotify. His gifts for music curation and identifying exciting new talent are second to none, and I can think of no one better to help Spotify introduce music fans to a wealth of new music and a new generation of artists that they are going to love”.
Meanwhile, Ben Cooper, Controller of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, said: “Over the past decade, George has been a key part of Radio 1’s discovery of new music for young audiences and has continued to support British artists, giving them a platform for success. He has built a strong team at Radio 1 with excellent contacts across the industry. We would like to thank him for all his hard work and wish him all the very best for the future”.
It has long seemed logical that streaming services should utlise the curation skills of traditional music radio, especially as they endeavour to reach more mainstream audiences. Some Radio 1 staff members went to Apple as it moved into the streaming space earlier this year, of course, so this isn’t the first time a digital platform has tapped BBC talent.
Acknowledging that fact, Cooper added: “Radio 1 has a rich history of developing presenters, producers and leaders, and we see this as being a key part of what we bring to the industry”.
Ergatoudis will take up his new role at Spotify in March. In the meantime, the BBC is on a search for his replacement.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC Radio 1 | George Ergatoudis | Spotify
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:30 | By Chris Cooke
Fabric’s lawyers welcome ruling over club venue’s security measures
Business News Legal Live Business
The legal representatives of London nightclub Fabric have issued a lengthy statement summarising their successful efforts to stop Islington council forcing strict new security restrictions on the venue.
As previously reported, late last year long-standing clubbing set-up Fabric faced the very real threat of losing its licence after the local authority decided to review its operations in response to police concerns about drug-related incidents there.
Fabric insisted that it had a zero tolerance approach to drugs, that it had long enjoyed a good working relationship with local police, and that its existing security measures were more than adequate. Drugs are, of course, part of clubbing culture, and occasional tragic incidents are likely to occur, but Fabric insisted that it employed best practice measures to ensure risks are absolutely minimised.
Nevertheless, with licence withdrawal on the agenda, the venue reluctantly accepted a number of strict new security measures ordered by the council, albeit while stating almost immediately that it intended to appeal the local authority’s rulings on the matter. The two big measures Fabric was left to both test and fight were the use of sniffer dogs and ID scanning on the door.
The venue’s appeal was led by Paddy Whur of law firm Woods Whur, with representation in court from Gerald Gouriet QC, while Professor Fiona Measham, a specialist on the social impact of drug use, and Robert Humphreys, who chairs proof-of-age scheme PASS, were among those who provided expert evidence.
In a post on his company’s website, Whur writes that district judge Gillian Allison “allowed our appeal in full. In relation to the drugs dog she said, on the evidence she had heard, Islington were wrong to impose the condition as it would not promote the licensing objectives. The judge went further and found that the use of a drugs dog could undermine the licensing objectives in a number of unintended ways, including causing drugs to remain in circulation that would otherwise have been confiscated under Fabric’s thorough search procedures”.
On the ID scanning scheme, “the judge said that there was no evidence that the premises had issues with underage entry or sales [and] that to deploy [such a scheme] at Fabric would adversely affect the length of the queue, with possible public order consequences; and that it would create problems for the significant number of non-UK customers who would not necessarily carry photo ID”.
Also, “that Fabric had no issues with violent crime and disorder, which made ID scan a more understandable control measure at other premises. She also noted that the ID scan system Fabric had trialled for seven weeks had not been interrogated once by the police, and that in sixteen years of operation there had only been one incident at the premises where ID Scan might have been of some use in the prevention of crime – although she added that, on the facts, she doubted it would”.
Whur concludes: “Gerald and I have spent the last year wrestling with the issues surrounding this case, and in particular the fact that young people have lost their lives after taking drugs on the way to, or in the venue. [But] after hearing Gerald’s submissions the judge found that the operator was a beacon of best practice, and she urged Fabric to continue its diligence in what is a difficult environment for all who work in the nighttime economy – where so many young people seem prepared, regrettably, to put their lives at risk by taking unlawful drugs”.
Also responding to last week’s ruling on its licence, the venue itself said in a statement: “Everyone at Fabric is delighted with the outcome and are very much looking forward to resuming our positive, long-standing and solid relationships with both Islington Council’s licensing department and the borough’s police to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for our club-goers and local residents”.
Club operators across London and beyond will likely be pleased with last week’s ruling, and that Fabric had the resources and will to fight the case. Some in the so called nighttime economy think that some councils need to rethink the way they deal with club licensing, especially when it comes to issues around drugs.
One concern expressed by venues which operate best practice anti-drug schemes is that such good practices, and the required close working relationship with police, means that occasional incidents that require law enforcement or paramedic assistance are more obvious to authorities than at venues that operate a slacker system, which can ironically make them targets when councils look to crack down.
Some have expressed fears that clubs in Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland are less likely to collaborate with police on drugs issues since licensing problems forced The Arches – another venue with seemingly good security practices and anti-drug policies – out of business. No one benefits from that. So, say club owners, rather than penalising the good clubs for not having a 100% success rate, councils should seek to expand their practices to less pro-active venues.
READ MORE ABOUT: Fabric | Patrick Whur | Woods Whur
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:28 | By Andy Malt
Neil Fox found not guilty of all sexual offence allegations
Business News Legal Media
Neil Fox has been found not guilty of all ten sexual offence charges against him at the conclusion of his trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday. He said that he had “been vindicated”, although his future as a radio presenter is not yet clear.
The broadcaster was accused of eight counts of indecent assault and two of sexual assault against six women between 1988 and 2014. The youngest of his accusers was fourteen at the time of the alleged incident.
As previously reported, Fox was initially arrested in September 2014 at the studios of Magic FM, where he then worked, on allegations made by two separate women. Further women later came forward, a mixture of former colleagues and women who had been teenage fans at the time of the alleged incidents. A number of charges were dropped at the beginning of the trial, leaving the ten of which he has now been found not guilty.
In total the court heard from 50 witnesses, many reporting the alleged attacks in detail. At one point the court was told that Fox sometimes had to leave awards ceremonies early because there was “too much pussy”, while he himself defended bending a female colleague over a desk and simulating sex as “physical banter”.
In its ruling the court said that it “believed each of the complainants”, but that “the question we must ask is whether we are sure of the 45 facts alleged, sure of the context in which they occurred, and sure that they amount to criminal offences”.
Ultimately, the magistrates felt that this was not a conclusion that they could confidently reach. “In the case of the most recent allegation, we are sure it happened but are not sure that it amounts to the criminal offence of sexual touching”, they said in their ruling. “In the other cases, we either cannot be sure the incident occurred as described, or we cannot be sure that in the context it was a criminal offence, namely indecent assault, or in one case sexual touching”.
They continued: “This is not to go back on our original assessment that we believed the witnesses and accept that they had attended to tell us the truth as they remember it. Nor should this verdict be taken as a criticism of the decision to bring this prosecution. It was a strong case and one that needed to be brought to the court for determination”.
What this means for Fox now is unclear. After his initial arrest, Magic FM owner Bauer said that he would be going “off air” to “enable him to devote his full attention to dealing with these matters. All other aspects of his contract will remain unchanged while matters are resolved”. Following the conclusion of the trial yesterday, Fox said that he “cannot wait to be broadcasting again”.
However, in a statement, a Bauer spokesperson said that Fox’s return to Magic was not yet assured: “We will be taking some time to reflect on the outcome of the trial and we have no further comment to make at this stage”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Neil Fox
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:27 | By Chris Cooke
RIAA wins big damages from anonymous Grooveshark cloner
Business News Digital Grooveshark Timeline Legal
Further proof that anti-piracy litigation is much more speedy these days, though even this didn’t go through the motions quite as quickly as the US record industry’s recent legal assault on the short-lived streaming app Aurous.
Nevertheless, the Recording Industry Association Of America has scored another court win in its battle against the Grooveshark clone, the unlicensed music service that popped up shortly after the original Grooveshark was finally forced offline, replicating the original’s look and feel, and using its name.
As previously reported, the people behind the original Grooveshark finally threw in the towel back in May after years fighting off litigation from the record companies which argued the streaming service infringed copyright. The clone version, which claimed to be a restoration of the deleted streaming set-up, appeared online almost immediately.
The RIAA quickly went legal, securing an injunction ordering various domain and internet companies to not provide services to the new copyright infringing site. And in the main, the injunction was successful, with the Grooveshark clone moving around the internet for a while before pretty much disappearing.
The person behind the clone, although initially quite vocal online about their project, never responded to the legal action. On the back of that, the RIAA returned to court to request a default judgement in its favour ruling that the Grooveshark clone definitely infringed copyright, while also seeking an injunction to ban any future incarnations of the site and damages for the infringement it enabled in the few weeks it was online.
The court duly complied, with the resulting judgement stating: “Defendants have engaged in willful copyright infringement of plaintiffs’ copyrights through the counterfeit service, which allows users to download and stream infringing copies of plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings directly from servers operated or controlled by defendants, in violation of plaintiffs’ copyrights”.
In terms of damages, the judge fully utilised the always fun provisions in US law and awarded the labels the top available damages for each of the 89 specific tracks the RIAA said had been infringed, which is 89 x $150,000, so over $13 million in total. The judge then added $4 million to be bill because the defendant used the Grooveshark trademarks without permission. These had been handed to the RIAA as part of its settlement with the original Grooveshark company.
Of course, because the person behind the Grooveshark clone only ever spoke anonymously, and never responded to the legal action, their identity remains unknown, making these theoretical rather than actual damages.
Still, it further demonstrates that the US record industry is now in a position to pursue speedy litigation against new piracy set-ups almost as soon as they go live. Though, obviously, it can’t do that to every new piracy venture that appears online, so it’s those that generate a lot of hype at launch that are likely to be the targets.
But the record industry will nevertheless hope that that may still be a deterrent to some of the geeks planning new online ventures that utilise or link to unlicensed music content. We’ll see, I guess.
READ MORE ABOUT: Grooveshark | Recordings Industry Association Of America (RIAA)
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:26 | By Andy Malt
Sony/ATV boosts neighbouring rights roster
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Music publisher Sony/ATV has signed up various new artists to its neighbouring rights division – which sees the firm dabble in the performing right royalties of sound recordings – with The Weeknd, Slash, Hans Zimmer, Amy Winehouse and Andy C amongst the acts it will now represent in this domain.
Sony ATV UK MD Guy Moot said in a statement: “These are fantastic additions to an incredible roster of clients that we have built up in a very short space of time. Rather than playing a numbers game, we are taking a very different approach to neighbouring rights, which to us is about providing a bespoke, highly personal service in which we work with a handpicked group of the very best artists and plug into our creative, business and administrative skills as the world’s leading music publishing company”.
George Powell, who oversees the UK-based neighbouring rights division, added: “It’s been an exceptionally positive year for Sony/ATV’s neighbouring rights department and we are, of course, honoured that more of the most influential and talented artists in the industry have placed their faith in us. Alongside worldwide NR collections, we also continue to focus on any other areas we can assist our artists. I feel it’s this synergy and personable touch that is assuring our clients that they’re in very capable and caring hands”.
Also new on the roster are Jake Gosling, Roy Thomas Baker, Philip George and Adam Beyer.
READ MORE ABOUT: Adam Beyer | Amy Winehouse | Andy C | Hans Zimmer | Jake Gosling | Philip George | Roy Thomas Baker | Slash | Sony Music Publishing | The Weeknd
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:24 | By Andy Malt
K-pop group were not accused of being prostitutes, says LAX airport source
Artist News
An employee of LAX Airport has denied claims by K-pop group Oh My Girl that they were detained there for fifteen hours and returned to South Korea because they were mistaken for prostitutes.
The group had been travelling to the US for a photoshoot when the incident occurred. In a statement last week, their record label WM Entertainment said that confusion had arisen when the group were asked what their relationship to each other was and one of their entourage had said “sisters” – which in Korean can be used to mean close friends.
“Since the members are young girls, they were mistaken as ‘working women’ (prostitutes) which the US has a big issue with right now”, added the label. “The company was detained for a long period of fifteen hours, and we decided to go back to Korea because of the members who were tired physically and emotionally”.
However, speaking to LA Weekly, an LAX source, who asked not to be named, disputed the group’s version of events. They said that officials had become suspicious of the Oh My Girl party because they were travelling with a large number of outfits but did not have a visa for working in the US – which means the group were accused of being working women rather than ‘working women’.
The source added that the group had not been detained for fifteen hours either; they were simply refused entry to the US and that was how long they’d had to wait for the next available flight back to South Korea.
READ MORE ABOUT: Oh My Girl
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:22 | By Andy Malt
Babymetal announce second album
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases
Babymetal have announced that their second album will be released on 1 Apr – a date hereby known as Fox Day, after the band’s divine inspiration the Fox God. Obviously.
Kobametal, founder of the J-pop metal outfit, explains: “As prophesied by the Fox God, a new album will be released on 1 Apr 2016, also known as the Fox Day. Since the release of Babymetal’s debut album in 2014, we have been racing across the globe non-stop on our world tour. Through the last tour I have come across people from all over the world and have had the chance to feel that miraculous moment when everyone came together via Babymetal”.
He continues: “Our new song ‘The One’ contains lyrics that speak of uniting the world. I continue to believe that the songs of Babymetal continue to push them forward to discover new possibilities. All I can say right now is for all of you to wait patiently for the coming of the Fox Day”.
The day after Fox Day, Babymetal will headline Wembley Arena. Here’s a trailer for the album that sort of explains a bit more about it:
READ MORE ABOUT: Babymetal
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:20 | By Andy Malt
Mariah Carey announces first UK tour since 2003
Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Mariah Carey is coming to the UK. Although not until March, so she misses out on being here for this, the most Mariah time of year. Ah well.
Still, we can hardly start accusing her of being late for Christmas when these are her first UK dates since 2003. Following on from her recent Vegas residency, the shows will also draw on her ‘Mariah Carey #1 To Infinity’ compilation.
This is what Carey had to say on the matter: “Lambily, it’s been too long! I’m so excited to be coming to Europe to perform for you all. I promise we’re going to share the most amazing moments together and I have so many surprises in store for you daahhlings! Can’t wait to see you all in your hometowns”.
Well, she’d better hope all of her fans come from one of these six cities:
15 Mar: Glasgow, SSE Hydro
17 Mar: Leeds, First Direct Arena
18 Mar: Manchester Arena
20 Mar: Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena
21 Mar: Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
23 Mar: London, O2 Arena
READ MORE ABOUT: Mariah Carey
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:18 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Eventim, Concert Promoters Association, Prince, more
Artist News Business News Digital Industry People Live Business One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Simon Presswell, formerly top man at Ticketmaster UK, has just popped up as CEO at the UK arm of European ticketing giant Eventim. “Ticketing”, said overall Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg. Yeah, we get it.
• The long-standing boss of the Concert Promoters Association, Stuart Littlewood, has stepped down after fifteen years. Live Nation’s Phil Bowdery takes over. “Phil Bowdery”, said Littlewood, confirming this one liner to be the truth.
• You all know that Prince has gone and plonked a new album down on the internet right? And by ‘the internet’ I mean Tidal. Titled ‘HITnRUN Phase Two’, this one isn’t yet being sold on CD by the streaming service, but you can get MP3 or FLAC downloads if you insist.
• If you pre-order Pusha T’s new album now, you’ll get three instant grat tracks. The rest will come to you on Friday.
• Aurora has announced that she will release her debut album, ‘All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend’ on 11 Mar. Here’s a short video in which she talks a bit about her music making.
• Once, in about 1999, in the Blue Note in Derby, I pointed out Roy Wood at the bar to a friend. Said friend then went and asked him if he wished it could be Christmas every day. And now look, MJ Hibbett has released a song about what a common occurrence that was back then.
• I know what you’re thinking. Roy Wood seemed to take it in good humour, even smiling like it wasn’t the seventh time he’d heard it that night.
READ MORE ABOUT: Aurora | Concert Promoters Association | Eventim | MJ Hibbett | Prince | Pusha T | Roy Wood | Simon Presswell | Stuart Littlewood | Tidal
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 11:15 | By Andy Malt
Rihanna’s album’s not even finished yet, according to Sia
And Finally Artist News Releases
Earlier this month everyone thought Rihanna was going to release her new album, ‘Anti’. But then she didn’t. Then everyone thought it could be any day now. Maybe last Friday. After all, it’s now more than two months since she unveiled the record’s artwork. And also, it is nearly Christmas. But now, it turns out, she hasn’t even finished recording it.
This (slight) bombshell comes from Sia, who revealed that Rihanna was tapping her for new songs as recently as last week. Speaking to Jo Whiley on Radio 2, reports the NME, the songwriter said: “The other night she came over and listened to half of 25 songs I played her because she’s still looking for songs for her new album. She was there to listen to songs and see if there was anything that she was into. It was a business meeting for sure. She took four [songs] but I don’t know if they’ll end up [on the album]”.
Rihanna’s got tour dates starting in February, so it’ll probably be out by then. Although it would be fun if this all turned out to be some sort of art project to see how long people will stay interested in an album that does not and will never exist, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it?
READ MORE ABOUT: Rihanna | Sia
Tuesday 15 December 2015, 10:26 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2015: Holly Herndon
Artists Of The Year CMU Approved
Every day this week in the CMU Approved slot, we’ll be looking at one of our five favourite artists of 2015. Today, Holly Herndon…
When 4AD signed Holly Herndon in March this year, label boss Simon Halliday told CMU that the company is “always looking to partner with the most innovative and original artists possible”. And in 2015, few others came close.
The first music from her first 4AD album ‘Platform’ actually appeared in early 2014. One of her most accessible tracks to date, ‘Chorus’ was created in part using software that ‘spied’ on her internet browsing habits and turned them into sound. So even when being more accessible, Herndon is still doing things differently.
There’s a balance throughout the album of music that is both deeply experimental and that which will work in a club setting. And while it might not pack the dancefloor on a Saturday night, applied to her own shows it really worked. Her live performances were engrossing and allowed more of her humour to come through – in part with creative partner Mat Dryhurt’s live backdrops, telling stream of consciousness stories and passing on messages from audience members invited to text in.
‘Platform’ is an experimental album that bears up to regular listening, rather than being a record that languishes, waiting for the next time you feel in the kind of very specific mood required to enjoy it. Check out ‘Interference’ and ‘Midnight Sun’ from it here:
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2015 | Holly Herndon
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:40 | By Andy Malt
Approved 2015: Susanne Sundfør
Artists Of The Year CMU Approved
Every day this week in the CMU Approved slot, we’ll be looking at one of our five favourite artists of 2015. First up, Susanne Sundfør…
In the past we’ve commended Susanne Sundfør for not being afraid to completely overhaul her sound. And while this year’s ‘Ten Love Songs’ album might not have been a total move away from her most recent records, it was a bold step nonetheless.
The new LP both walked headlong into a more mainstream sound, but then also toyed with it. It’s pop forced to take on very-grown-up, very-real-feeling relationship problems. The battle is fought so hard that the only way to stop the intensity of both the music and the emotions is to suddenly disappear into a lengthy orchestral interlude halfway through.
Sundfør told The Guardian earlier this year that the creation of the album was just as intense as the finished result, admitting that it had ultimately had a negative affect on her health. Not that I’d recommend that as a work ethic, but it does seem to have paid off. Five albums into her career, Sundfør is knocking it out of the park so far she’s in danger of hitting herself in the back of the head.
She also provided live shows this year that more than did the album justice, her performance at St Georges Church in Brighton at this year’s Great Escape being the highlight of the whole festival for me.
Now, here are the videos for ‘Fade Away’ and ‘Accelerate’:
READ MORE ABOUT: Approved 2015 | Susanne Sundfør
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:32 | By Chris Cooke
Apple Music scores exclusive on Taylor Swift concert film
Business News Deals Digital Releases Top Stories
Fans of Apple Music had better get themselves a Taylor Swift account. Or something like that. I don’t know. The point is, the tech star and pop corporation have put aside all the bad blood that stemmed from that seven-hour feud back in June and are now getting all up close and personal with Apple’s streaming platform getting exclusive dibs and festive dabs on the concert film of Swift’s ‘1989’ world tour. And just in time for Christmas.
The tie-up was announced yesterday, along with details about the concert film, which will include an entire show from the singer’s tour – filmed at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney – plus some of that “never-before-seen” backstage footage and guest appearances from acts who supported the popstar on her most recent live trek. It will go live on Apple Music for paying subscribers or anyone still on a three-month free trial on 20 Dec.
It is, of course, a coup for Apple, and the second time the singer has helped the tech giant’s streaming service grab headlines. Though the first time was a less conventional alliance, when Swift hit out at the tech firm’s plans to pay no royalties during the three month free trial period of its streaming platform, securing an almost immediate back down by Apple bosses, and ensuring them front page news coverage of their new service worldwide.
The new tie-up is also a big exclusive for Apple’s streaming service at the end of a year when the prospect of digital platforms increasingly seeking exclusive content has been much debated in the music community.
With most streaming services basically offering the same library of music for pretty much the same price point, many have predicted that platforms would increasingly demand artist exclusives to give them a unique selling point in a crowded market place, following the lead of the video-on-demand sector, which is dominated by Netflix and Amazon’s exclusive programmes.
Tidal made it clear that exclusives would be part of its game plan after the Jay-Z acquisition at the start of the year, and Apple – with its big pockets and, via iTunes, massive reach – has been expected to play this game too.
Though it seems likely that exclusives will generally be more of the kind seen in this new deal – ie concert recordings, backstage footage, special sessions – rather than artists giving one service exclusive access to a new album for any serious period of time. But it’ll be interesting to see how this side of streaming progresses in 2016.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift fans signed up to Apple Music will have themselves a very nice ‘Swiftmas’. Which is a word the singer is trying to trademark apparently. Yeah. That’s what I thought. Seasons greetings one and all.
READ MORE ABOUT: Apple | Apple Music | Taylor Swift
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:30 | By Andy Malt
Helen Love signs to Alcopop! Records
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Longstanding indie hero Helen Love has signed a new record deal with Alcopop! Records, and will release a new album in April next year.
Says label boss Jack Clothier: “I’ve been a MASSIVE fan of Helen Love ever since I heard the ‘Tommy Gun Clash’ cover on Steve Lamacq’s ‘Bootleg Sessions Volume 2’ back in 1999. My friend Dave sent me the ‘Does Your Heart Go Boom’ single and I was absolutely smitten. On the quest of becoming best pals with Helen and the gang I (genuinely) enrolled at Swansea University where they played exactly no hometown shows and I met them approximately never”.
He continues: “Fast forward ten years or so, and en route to the first HL show in London for many years, I bumped into Helen in a mid-priced chain pub and finally met the queen of the UK music scene. Now we’re working together on her new album and, to put it frankly, I couldn’t be happier about it. This is Helen Love on absolutely sparkling form… From Swansea Bay to the USA!”
Kicking off the new partnership, Alcopop! is releasing a Helen Love Christmas single, which is quite a timely thing to do (it is nearly Christmas). So, here’s ‘The Townhall Band’:
READ MORE ABOUT: Alcopop! Records | Helen Love
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:27 | By Chris Cooke
LA County task force reports back on EDM events
Business News Live Business
The Electronic Music Task Force set up by the Los Angeles County Board Of Supervisors, following two drug-related deaths at the Live Nation-promoted Hard Summer EDM festival in August, has made 55 recommendations, but has rejected a proposal that dance music events be banned from county-owned venues.
As previously reported, the two deaths and other drugs-related incidents at Hard Summer got particular attention, partly because there has been a focus on drugs at dance music events since the EDM boom in the US, but more so because that festival was hosted at a site owned by the LA County – Fairplex – the long-term home of the LA County Fair.
Live Nation cancelled another dance music event at the venue following the Hard Summer incidents, and reduced the capacity of the EDM brand’s Halloween bash. Though 500 of the 40,000 people who attended that latter show were still arrested.
According to the Pasadena Star-News, recommendations made by the LA County task force include: enforcing an 18+ rule on all EDM events at its venues, increasing access to water at such shows, a requirement of four police officers per 1000 festival-goers, amnesty boxes before security checkpoints, and ‘evidence-based educational and informational materials on alcohol and drug use’ to be distributed at all dance music events.
Gary Richards, who heads up Hard Events, declined to comment on the recommendations when approached by the Star-News, except to say that he felt the task force members did “their due diligence”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Electronic Music Task Force | Live Nation
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:25 | By Chris Cooke
Fabric wins appeal over proposed new security measures
Business News Live Business
London club Fabric has successfully appealed a number of new licensing conditions placed on the venue by Islington Council late last year, according to Resident Advisor.
As previously reported, Fabric faced losing its licence entirely after a review of its operations was launched by the local authority last year. The review followed complaints by police, mainly in relation to alleged drug incidents, and claims that there had been a “wholly unacceptable number of deaths and near death incidents at the venue”.
The club managed to keep its licence, but had to agree to a number of strict new security measures, including sniffer dogs and ID scans. Though the venue’s co-founders Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly immediately announced that they would appeal the Council’s ruling, saying: “We need to see their written reasons but we fundamentally disagree on a number of key points. We are on the same page in lots of ways, we just have fundamental differences on how to operate that”.
Most of the new security measures were never implemented, pending the appeal, though ID scanning was trialled for a couple of months. But, following the venue’s successful appeal, it seems those measures won’t now ever have to be introduced.
Despite last year’s license review, police admitted that they had a good relationship with Fabric, while the venue’s management said at the time that “Fabric has always operated a zero tolerance drugs policy and we’re proud to continue to be open and honest in assisting the police with any incident investigations”.
READ MORE ABOUT: Fabric
Monday 14 December 2015, 11:23 | By Andy Malt
Another London venue to close, Power Lunches announces farewell party
Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business
Dalston venue Power Lunches is to close down following one final party on 19 Dec, due to London being a monumental fuckstick.
In a statement, the venue’s owners said: “Yes I’m afraid we are closing, in the last year it has become financially unviable for us to carry on without compromising the integrity of what Power Lunches is known and loved for”.
They continued: “We all know it has become increasingly difficult to do good stuff in a city that is so focused on making a profit without much concern for anything else, but we’ve had four great years and we hope everyone will remember us fondly knowing we did our best to support independent bands and promoters in London”.
As well as this, they added that there is still a chance that they will open at a new premises next year, although that is not confirmed. So, for now, let’s just make sure this farewell show goes off with a bang.
READ MORE ABOUT: Power Lunches
