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Friday 26 August 2016, 10:05 | By Andy Malt
Music and tech hackathon Buzz Jam to return
Artist News Business News Education & Events
The Young Guns Network’s music and tech event Buzz Jam will return for another year next month. The three day hackathon sees five artists and five coders teamed up and challenged to design and build five new musical instruments for a performance as the finale.
The event will take place at Red Bull Studios from 16-18 Sep, with Sony Music again offering up artists to get involved. Artists so far confirmed for this year’s event are Tiggs Da Author, Nimmo and Tom Walker.
Says Sam Potts, Head Of Radio Promotions at Sony’s Columbia Records, and founder of Buzz Jam: “Tech is the new frontier of the music industry, and with Buzz Jam we connect music artists and creative coders to collaborate on something truly special. Mashing code and music making together in this way creates a unique performance and a profound experience for participants and our partners”.
Find out more on the Buzz Jam website, or watch this here video:
READ MORE ABOUT: Buzz Jam | Nimmo | Sony Music | Tiggs Da Author | Tom Walker | Young Guns Network
Friday 26 August 2016, 09:51 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Cooking Vinyl, Jason Alden, Lemmy, more
Artist News Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Independent music firm Cooking Vinyl has announced a number of initiatives to celebrate its 30 years in business, including the launch of a new £30k fund that will be invested in artist projects, music start ups and ventures that “want to use the power of music to make the world a better place”.
• Country star Jason Alden is planning on holding his new album ‘They Don’t Know’ off all the streaming services for a month, according to Hypebot. Which is amusing given he was one of the artists that got up on stage at that big embarrassing Tidal press conference to declare himself a shareholder in the streaming firm. Good times.
• A statue of Motorhead frontman Lemmy has been erected outside his favourite bar, The Rainbow on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. See photos and video from the unveiling here.
• Those Kings Of Leon have taken time off from their regal duties to record their seventh album. ‘Walls’ will be released on 14 Oct.
• There’s a new Florence And The Machine song on the soundtrack for the new Tim Burton movie ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’. You can listen to the song, ‘Wish That You Were Here’, here.
• Check out this new Metronomy video for ’16 Beat’, shot live in Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.
• Tom Chaplin off of Keane has only gone and released the video for his new solo single ‘Quicksand’. Is there anything he won’t do?
• Yann Tiersen has released another track from his forthcoming solo piano album ‘Eusa’. Here’s ‘Kereon’.
• You could listen to Efterklang’s new single ‘The Colour Of Falling’, if you wanted.
• Clipping have released the video for new single ‘Air Em Out’.
• Hammerfall have released the lyric video for new single ‘The Sacred Vow’, taken from their forthcoming new album ‘Built To Last’, out on 4 Nov.
• Esben And The Witch have released ‘Sylvan’, the first track from their upcoming new album. “We wanted to paint a picture of a forest in flames”, say the band, even though they actually ended up writing a song.
READ MORE ABOUT: Clipping | Cooking Vinyl | Efterklang | Esben And The Witch | Florence And The Machine | Hammerfall | Jason Alden | Keane | Kings Of Leon | Lemmy | Metronomy | Motorhead | Tidal | Tom Chaplin | Yann Tiersen
Friday 26 August 2016, 09:45 | By Andy Malt
CMU Beef Of The Week #320: Corey Taylor v Your Inability To Focus
And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week Gigs & Festivals
People using their mobile phones at gigs has been a big topic in recent years. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Savages put up signs at their shows asking people to put their phones away. Kate Bush wrote a plea on her website. Adele and Beyonce shouted at people from the stage. Pianist Krystian Zimerman refused to play while an audience member filmed him. Mumford & Sons confiscated phones at the door. And Apple patented technology to stop phone cameras from working at live shows.
All those objections manifested in so many different ways and yet not one of those people thought to just smack phones out of their fans’ hands. Thankfully, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is here to do that important work on their behalf.
Last month, a video appeared on Slipknot’s Facebook page showing Taylor at a gig slapping a phone out of the hands of a guy in the front row mid song. Boom! Down on the floor it goes. No more phone for you, sonny. You’ll just have to enjoy this one the old fashioned way.
Taylor’s distaste for mobile phone use doesn’t just extend to his own live performances though. He hates them in many different situations. Well, definitely at live shows, while walking, and while crossing the road.
“You watch people walk down the street, and they can’t get their beaks out of their stupid phones to cross the street”, the musician told the Los Angeles Review-Journal in a new interview. “I love watching people get buried in their tiny little technological worlds, and then reality comes and smacks them in the face”.
Of course, most of the other anti-phone artists are mainly down on people using their mobiles to film gigs. But, as you might have guessed, Taylor’s mobile gripes go further than that. And, actually, don’t even include the filming of his shows. Which you might have already assumed, given that in the aforementioned phone slap video the next guy along is happily filming the show and gets away unscathed.
“I don’t mind people who take pictures”, he said. “I don’t even mind people who shoot video. I love that because you’re still engaged in the show. A lot of people get the wrong idea, they think that if I just see someone on their phone, I’m trying to rage quit their fun. I’m not trying to do that at all”.
See? He’s actually of the school of thought that when someone films a live show, that’s just their way of enjoying it and engaging with it. Because for some people, having fun and engaging means doing something that totally takes you out of the moment and distracts everyone standing around you. Like I said, it’s a school of thought.
Taylor’s problem is when people start checking stuff on their phones mid-gig, texting or looking at their social media feeds. Just pay attention to the fucking show will you? And if you don’t, well, that provides Taylor with the perfect opportunity to slap that phone right out of your hands.
He explains: “If I see someone, and it’s so obvious they’re not even there, you’ve got to poke them with a stick to get their attention sometimes. Sometimes that means smacking the phone out of their hands. You can hate me all you want. It’s not going to stop me from smacking those things out of people’s hands”.
Take heed then. If you’re at a Slipknot show and you feel the need to very urgently look at something on your phone, make sure you’re not in the front row, or if you are, make it look like you’re filming the performance.
Unless, of course, you’re playing a round of the new game I’ve just invented called ‘How Many Text Messages Can You Send Before Corey Taylor Slaps Your Phone Out Of Your Hand?’ Send in your scores, we’ll start a leaderboard.
READ MORE ABOUT: Corey Taylor | Slipknot
Friday 26 August 2016, 08:46 | By Paul Vig
Vigsy’s Club Tip: Notting Hill Carnival 2016
Club Tip CMU Approved
It’s Notting Hill Carnival weekend again. Finally. The big highlight of my annual calendar takes place on Sunday and Monday, starting with the traditionally more family-focussed day one before that extra day off is used to its fullest potential.
At the Carnival itself, you’ll find a wealth of musical genres on offer through the many soundsystems – 38 officially listed again this year. My picks are King Tubby’s, Saxon, Latin Rave Street Jam, Channel One, Rap Attack, TKO and Gaz’s Rockin Blues. Those – together with the floats, the costumes, the food, and maybe a little rum – make for a party vibe you’ll want to keep going into the night.
Thankfully, as ever, there are plenty of Carnival-themed parties on offer to help you do just that. Here are a few of my picks for the weekend:
Big Chill House Takeover Carnival Special
Why wait until Sunday to get into the Carnival mood, when there’s a whole Saturday on offer? Big Chill House will be running a pre-Carnival party, with the Dime & Grind Soundsystem and Kiss FM’s DJ Swerve.
Friday 27 Aug, Big Chill House, 257-259 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9NL, 9pm-4am, Free/£5. More info here.
Southbound Carnival Party with Mike Skinner
On Sunday night, Mike Skinner heads up this Carnival afterparty at Paradise in Kensal Green. He’ll be backed up by Madam X, Siobhan Bell, JD Reid and more.
Saturday 28 Aug, Paradise, 19 Kilburn Lane, London, W10 4AE, 7pm-3am, £20. More info here.
Quantic’s Carnival Afterparty
If you’re heading from west to east on Sunday night, then this is the party to check out. Tru Thoughts’ Quantic will be DJing and The Flamingods will be throwing in some live music.
Saturday 28 Aug, Stour Space, 7 Roach Road, London, E3 2PA, 6pm-1am, £19.50. More info here.
Before you head down to Notting Hill, make sure you download Time Out’s route map with all the soundsystems plotted out. And if you can’t make it down this year, remember that Boiler Room will be hosting a livestream of the event from midday on Sunday to 7pm on Monday.
READ MORE ABOUT: Notting Hill Carnival
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:54 | By Andy Malt
ERA welcomes Universal’s possible exclusives ban, as speculation about Frank Ocean release strategy continues
Artist News Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Top Stories
The UK’s Entertainment Retailer’s Association has welcomed the reports that Universal Music top man Lucian Grainge has officially discouraged the major’s labels from doing exclusivity deals with specific streaming platforms around individual album releases.
As discussed yesterday, the use of album exclusives by the likes of Tidal and Apple Music to build market share has been controversial in some quarters, even if it’s a strategy that does seem to have worked for the DSPs to an extent. Some see the locking of big album releases to single digital platforms as being anti-fan, and of ultimately damaging the wider streaming market, in that it annoys paying subscribers – the record industry’s best customers – who happen to have signed up to the wrong streaming service.
Following the rumours that Grainge had instigated an exclusives ban at Universal, ERA CEO Kim Bayley said yesterday: “We have long believed that a level playing field is the key to healthy competition in the entertainment market”.
And this means no exclusives, she said. “The premium music streaming sector has grown rapidly with a clear promise to consumers that they can effectively access all the music they might want for a single flat fee per month. [But] the proliferation of exclusives means consumers are effectively forced to take out multiple subscriptions to gain access to all key releases. We believe this is damaging not just to individual services but to the market as a whole”.
Bayley concluded: “We welcome reports that Universal is now moving away from exclusives and call on other labels to follow their lead”.
Of course, as also noted yesterday, even if the record companies do adopt a ‘no exclusives’ policy, the sorts of big name artists who the streaming services actually want exclusivity deals with often have the power to force their labels’ hand, with a number of the exclusivity arrangements already seen in the streaming domain being as much management as label led.
And, of course, you have big name artists who are free agents. Universal’s apparent exclusives ban follows the latest big release exclusive, with Frank Ocean providing two new albums to Apple Music last week. Ocean was signed to Universal, and the first of those releases – the special ‘visual album’ – was put out by the major, but the second, the main album, was actually a self-release.
There is now much speculation as to how that happened, in that it seems that Ocean may have cleverly fulfilled his contractual obligations to the major with the pre-release release, allowing him to then self-release and fully control his long-awaited and much anticipated second album proper. Some wonder whether his deal with Apple facilitated that process, either by providing funds to allow Ocean to buy himself out of his contract with Universal, and/or by providing assurance that the singer could release the record without the weight of a Universal marketing campaign behind him.
Either way, even if all the labels were to be officially down on streaming exclusives, there would still be some big name artists able to pull off of deal one way or another if a digital service were to make it worth their while. And, indeed, if Apple Music is willing to continue writing exclusivity deal cheques, there may be more big name artists who are free agents, able to make such arrangements without involving a label at all.
Artists may also come to feel that locking their music to one platform short changes their fans, which might make such arrangements less and less attractive, whatever money or marketing an Apple Music offers. If Ocean’s manoeuvres result in legal action from Universal, which some reckon they might, then artists in contract with a label may be less willing to take on a record company in order to get their way.
Though, if the Frank Ocean sneaky pre-release release thing does result in litigation, perhaps Apple Music – what with its recent move into documentary making – could try to score the exclusive rights to covering that.
READ MORE ABOUT: Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) | Frank Ocean | Universal Music
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:52 | By Chris Cooke
Specifics of Blurred Lines appeal filed with court
Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
And so round two of the ‘Blurred Lines’ legal battle officially begins. Legal reps for Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke have submitted an initial filing to the Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals in their bid to overturn last year’s ruling that concluded ‘Blurred Lines’ ripped off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It Up’.
As expected, much of the filing focuses on copyright law technicalities regarding what elements of ‘Got To Give It Up’ were actually protected. The legal dispute focused on the song, not the recording, and under US law only the core composition of the Gaye work, as filed with the country’s Copyright Office, enjoys copyright protection, not extra elements that may have been added in the studio. Lawyers for Thicke and Pharrell always argued that any similarities between ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got To Give It Up’ came from these extra elements, not the core composition.
The judge hearing the initial case generally agreed with Thicke and Pharrell on this point, though during the trial itself he arguably wasn’t particularly strict in ensuring that legal reps for the Gaye family didn’t discuss and present elements of ‘Got To Give It Up’ not protected by copyright. Certainly that’s what the ‘Blurred Lines’ writers are arguing now in their bid to have the jury’s ruling set aside.
Their lawyers note that the judge correctly banned the famous version of ‘Got To Give It Up’ from being played in court, on the basis not all elements of the song as heard in that recording are protected by copyright, but, they say, “the court erroneously allowed the Gayes’ experts to testify about the sound recording anyway, including by playing their own musical excerpts based on the sound recording”.
And, the legal filing adds, “the court then instructed the jury that it could consider all this testimony in its substantial-similarity analysis, failing to instruct them to consider only the protectable elements of the copyrighted work and indeed pointing them explicitly to elements omitted from the deposit copy”.
Similar limitations regarding what, exactly, had copyright protection applied in the recent ‘Stairway To Heaven’ plagiarism case, in which it was ultimately decided that the Led Zeppelin song was not sufficiently similar to the work the band were accused of ripping off. The lawyers for Thicke and Pharrell note this, saying that in that trial the judge correctly briefed the jury on the copyright complexities.
Says the legal papers: “The importance of instructions that correctly filter out unprotected elements in popular music cases is illustrated by the jury’s non-infringement verdict in the recent case involving Led Zeppelin’s song ‘Stairway To Heaven’. There, unlike here, the district court identified specific musical elements that were not protected by the plaintiff’s copyright and directed the jury to ‘disregard’ such elements in assessing similarity”.
It remains to be seen how the next phase of the ‘Blurred Lines’ action progresses, with this week’s legal filing noting that the matter is of concern to the wider music community, who still wonder what precedent last year’s ruling may have set.
Talking of ‘Blurred Lines’, if you happen to be in Edinburgh, CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will be discussing the song – but more why he thinks it should have been banned by British radio – at ‘Chris Cooke’s Free Speech’, which he is delivering tomorrow and Saturday morning at 10.30am at the Edinburgh Fringe. Free tickets are available for the event, which is being recorded for future podcast, at chriscookesfreespeech.com
READ MORE ABOUT: Marvin Gaye | Pharrell Williams | Robin Thicke
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:51 | By Chris Cooke
Believe buys French indie Naïve out of administration
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Digital distribution firm Believe has acquired the assets of French independent record company Naïve, which fell into administration back in June. The deal, which was approved by the commercial court in Paris yesterday, is thought to be worth about €10 million, and will see Believe take on the indie’s core operations and catalogue, though not its debts.
Believe’s bid for Naïve was backed by the label’s staff, of which 25 will stay on with the company. Confirming its acquisition yesterday, Believe said that it will rely on this team to make a success of the Naïve roster and catalogue, while the new parent company will “offer its expertise in the digital business, its global presence in 30 countries, its physical and digital distribution network and its investment capacity with full respect to the editorial line that made Naïve successful: musical diversity, nonconformity, artists with global reach, close relationship to the artists and transparency”.
Set up by former Virgin France boss Patrick Zelnick in 1997, Naïve was a high profile indie in the French market, with Zelnik both vocal and active in the French and wider European indie label communities. Despite many successes over the years, the company had faced various financial challenges in recent years, downsizing quite a bit before finally going into receivership earlier this summer.
READ MORE ABOUT: Believe | Naïve Records
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:49 | By Andy Malt
Chuka Umunna becomes ambassador for PRS For Music Foundation
Business News Management & Funding
Labour MP Chuka Umunna has been named as a new ambassador for the music-community-funding PRS For Music Foundation. He’ll go around telling everyone that we should support a diverse range of music in the UK and help it to get out into the wider world. Like a dick. Just kidding, that sounds great. I am in favour. Let’s hope he can get a seat on the train while he’s going around telling everyone that.
Getting a kickstart on all that positive talk, Umunna says in a statement: “I’m excited to become an ambassador for the PRS For Music Foundation. Music has been such a big part of my life, and part of the fabric of our community. I went to my first gig at the Electric in Brixton to see Soul II Soul in 1991. Brixton was the birthplace of David Bowie, the inspiration for the Clash’s ‘Guns Of Brixton’ and Eddy Grant’s ‘Electric Avenue’, and a favourite jamming spot for Jimi Hendrix. Today, the bars and cafes along Streatham High Road regularly host new artists who are trying out new material and honing their craft”.
Thanks for the history lesson. He goes on: “Our community embraces our rich diversity and heritage to make it a melting pot of musical sounds and cultures from all corners of the globe. I look forward to supporting the excellent work of the PRS For Music Foundation to help support the next generation of musicians breakthrough”.
Is the PRS For Music Foundation actually pleased to have him on board though? You bet. Here’s exec director Vanessa Reed: “We’re very excited to have Chuka as an ambassador for the Foundation. As Chuka is very supportive of the UK’s music scene and is always ready to speak out on important issues such as diversity, which are only just beginning to be fully acknowledged across the creative industries”.
“Chuka’s involvement as an ambassador will resonate with those who know about Chuka’s own passion for electronic music whilst helping us to champion both the creative and business impact of the diverse talent we’re funding”, she adds. “We’re grateful for his help and support”.
By the way, if Chuka was here right now, I’m sure he’d tell you that the deadline to apply for the next round of funding via the PRS For Music Foundation managed Momentum Fund is 15 Nov. Details here.
READ MORE ABOUT: Chuka Umunna | PRS Foundation
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:47 | By Chris Cooke
SpinMedia is up for sale, if you want it
Business News Media
SpinMedia, the US-based firm that operates an assortment of music and entertainment websites, including the current output of iconic music magazine Spin, which it acquired in 2012, is up for sale, according to the New York Post.
Despite acquiring some established music titles, SpinMedia has seemingly struggled to make its online media empire deliver in terms of revenue, with the Post citing sources as estimating the company could be currently losing about $5 million a year.
Investment bank Petsky Prunier has reportedly been hired to seek potential bidders, who would also be buying up websites like The Friskly, Idolator, Go Fug Yourself, Celebuzz, Buzznet and Death & Taxes.
An existing web or media player would be the most likely contender to buy the firm. It’s thought broadcaster Univision had expressed some interest, before it bought up various websites out of the bankruptcy of the Gawker company, though it seemingly decided not to proceed with any formal bid.
READ MORE ABOUT: SpinMedia
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:43 | By Andy Malt
Prince’s Paisley Park to open as museum in October
Artist News
Prince’s Paisley Park home will be opened to the public as a museum in October, it has been announced. Providing public tours of the 65,000 square foot complex is something the musician was already working on at the time of his death, his estate says.
From 6 Oct, members of the public will be invited into the building to be guided around the studios, private club and concert hall, and will see some of Prince’s personal items, which are housed inside.
“Opening Paisley Park is something that Prince always wanted to do and was actively working on”, says Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson in a statement. “Only a few hundred people had the rare opportunity to tour the estate during his lifetime. Now, fans from around the world will be able to experience Prince’s world for the first time as we open the doors to this incredible place”.
Fans have been calling for the building to be turned into a museum since the musician’s death earlier this year, so they’ll be pleased. There were concerns over the future of Paisley Park earlier this month, when it appeared on a list of properties that the trust managing the star’s estate were seeking court permission to sell. Though said trust then denied it had any intent on selling this particular site.
Tickets for the museum will go on sale tomorrow at www.officialpaisleypark.com. Shortly after it opens its doors for the first time, Prince’s family will hold an official tribute concert at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on 13 Oct.
READ MORE ABOUT: Prince
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:42 | By Andy Malt
Empire Of The Sun announce third album
Artist News Releases
Empire Of The Sun will release their third album, ‘Two Vines’, on 28 Oct. The album features pianist Henry Hey and bassist Tim Lefebvre from David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ band, Wendy Melvoin from Prince’s Revolution and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham.
Of the inspiration for the new album, the duo’s Nick Littlemore says: “There was an image we talked about very early on with this record, before we wrote the title track, ‘Two Vines’, and that was this image of a modern city overtaken by jungle, almost like mother nature taking back the planet. All the buildings will turn back to sand. All it will be nature again. We wanted to make something that reflected the beauty of that”.
His partner Luke Steele adds of their decision to record in Honolulu: “Going to Hawaii to record was the best idea. That was the catalyst for me. I’d spend the morning surfing then roll in and make music into the night”.
Well, don’t they have a nice life? Here’s a track from the album, ‘High And Low’:
READ MORE ABOUT: Empire Of The Sun
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:38 | By Andy Malt
Agnes Obel announces new album, Citizen Of Glass
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases
Agnes Obel has announced that she will release her new album, ‘Citizen Of Glass’, through Play It Again Sam on 21 Oct. She’ll preview tracks from it at an invite-only show at Hoxton Hall in London on 13 Sep.
“There’s an increasing sense in this world that you have to make yourself into a citizen of glass”, Obel says of the title. “To be willing to open up, to let everybody see you, to use yourself as material, and not just if you’re an artist or a musician. Everything about our lives these days seems to be about revealing the private self, the self in every little detail. It’s the new way we’re meant to embrace”.
“I worked with the title from the very beginning to push myself to do new things”, she continues. “I wanted to push the glass theme throughout the songs in different ways – in the lyrics, in the instruments – to do things in a very new way. As an album, it feels bigger to me, a lot bigger”.
Here’s the video for recent single ‘Familiar’:
And if you can’t get an invite to that Hoxton show, here are some dates that are open to the general public:
26 Nov: Bristol, Anson Rooms
27 Nov: London, Shepherds Bush Empire
29 Nov: Birmingham, Town Hal
30 Nov: Manchester, Albert Hall
READ MORE ABOUT: Agnes Obel
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:28 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Bucks Music Management, Sharon Van Etten, DJ Shadow, more
Artist News Business News Deals Gigs & Festivals Labels & Publishers Management & Funding One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Bucks Music’s newish management unit has signed producer Dan Weller and production duo Artery Music. “Being able to add Dan Weller and Artery Music to the Bucks Music Management roster is a big step forward early on in the company’s history”, says Anthony Hippsley, who is leading the music publishing firm’s move into artist management.
• Sharon Van Etten has released new single ‘Not Myself’ in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting earlier this year. Proceeds from the sale of the track on Bandcamp will go to the Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund.
• DJ Shadow and Run The Jewels have released the video for ‘Nobody Speak’. It answers the question, ‘What if these lyrics were the basis of political debate?’
• Angel Olsen has released the video for ‘Sister’, taken from her new album ‘My Woman’, which is out next week.
• Enter Shikari will release a live album on 4 Nov featuring their Alexandra Palace show from earlier this year. From that very show, here’s ‘Redshift’.
• Thundercat has released a new single, ‘Bus In These Streets’, billed as “a comedic ode to our dependence on technology”.
• Kishi Bashi has released the video for new single ‘Hey Big Star’.
• Coinciding nicely with them being in the news this week, Sleigh Bells have announced that they will release their new album, ‘Jessica Rabbit’, on 11 Nov. From it, this is ‘Hyper Dark’.
• Akala will release new album ‘Ten Years Akala’ on 23 Sep. Here’s new single, ‘Giants’.
• MJ Hibbett And The Validators have put together a video for new single ‘The 1980s How It Was’ using the photographs taken by Chris Porsz that inspired it.
• Ela Orleans has released the video for this is ‘You Go Through Me’ from her seventh album ‘Circles Of Upper And Lower Hell’.
• The Kenneths are releasing a new EP called ‘Double N’ on 30 Sep. Here they are confirming that news, if you don’t believe me.
• The Comet Is Coming will be heading out on tour this winter, including a date at XOYO in London on 15 Nov. Here are all the dates.
• The full line-up of headliners for this year’s Apple Music Festival, which will take place at London’s Roundhouse next month, has been announced. Performing this year will be Elton John, The 1975, Alicia Keys, OneRepublic, Calvin Harris, Robbie Williams, Bastille, Britney Spears, Michael Buble and Chance The Rapper.
READ MORE ABOUT: Akala | Angel Olsen | Apple | Apple Music Festival | Artery | Bucks Music | Dan Weller | DJ Shadow | Ela Orleans | Enter Shikari | Kishi Bashi | MJ Hibbett | Run The Jewels | Sharon Van Etten | Sleigh Bells | The Comet Is Coming | The Kenneths | Thundercat
Thursday 25 August 2016, 09:22 | By Andy Malt
Mariah Carey probably didn’t throw a laptop out of a window
And Finally Artist News
In an old job I used to have, I used to joke that the reason we couldn’t open the windows in our office was the stop us all from throwing the crappy laptops they gave us out of them*. That’s just the sort of wit that makes me a delight to work with. And it’s also one of the many ways Mariah Carey and I are similar, in that we both haven’t thrown any laptops out of any windows.
But that’s not what gossip website The Fix was claiming earlier this week. It wasn’t alleging anything regarding me chucking a laptop out of a building – so full marks for accuracy there – but it did say that Carey recently threw fiancé James Packer’s laptop out of a window because he played a Beyonce song on it.
“To get her in the mood last month, he turned on ‘Crazy In Love’, and oh boy, was that a disaster”, an anonymous source told the website. “Mariah threw the computer that was playing it via speakers out the window! Seriously, just trashed it. She ran out of the room screaming. So the night was obviously finished for James, and they retreated to separate parts of the house. And she had a few glasses of wine to cool down”.
It’s not just Beyonce whose music is banned when Carey is in the house, added the source. They went on: “He put on five bars of [Jennifer Lopez’s] ‘Waiting For Tonight’, and Mariah coughed out her courgette at dinner, so James made a beeline for the Spotify and immediately put on Mariah’s greatest hits! He has learned never, ever to play another female artist in the house. It’s either Mariah, jazz or classical!”
I’ll tell you what, it’s a real shame this source is anonymous, because they deserve full credit for adding the detail about the courgette there. It was worth making this whole thing up just for that.
Because it is all made up, you know. A spokesperson for the singer told GossipCop that the whole story is “false”. It’s not clear whether or not Carey and Packer have eaten courgettes together, though. Or whether she has switched from calling them zucchinis out of respect for his Australia heritage. Maybe it’s the other way around. Why is no one asking these important questions?
* It was actually to do with ensuring the efficiency of the air condition system, something I understand Mariah Carey is a big fan of.
READ MORE ABOUT: Mariah Carey
Thursday 25 August 2016, 08:09 | By Andy Malt
Approved: Soccer96
CMU Approved
Back in 2012, synth guy Danalogue The Conqueror and drummer Betamax released an album as Soccer96. It was very good.
The following year, they formed The Comet Is Coming with saxophonist King Shabaka (also of Melt Yourself Down and Sons Of Kemet), after he appeared on stage during one of their gigs with no prior warning. And earlier this year they released their debut album, ‘Channel The Spirits’, which is also very good and is up for this year’s Mercury Prize.
All of which might lead you to believe that Soccer96 is a project left dead and buried in the past. Why am I writing this then? Well, because you are wrong. Dead wrong. On 23 Sep, the second Soccer96 album, ‘As Above So Below’, will be released. And sticking to a theme, it is very good.
“Our aim was to monitor the effects on the conscious mind when accelerating musical elements at great velocities into high energy collisions”, say the duo of their latest creation. “We took specific genre plasm and begun to create sonic compounds with completely alien properties. Avant-garde, hip hop, electronic, pop, prog, jazz and psychedelic particles have been mixed together at an atomic level”.
The fuck does something like that sound like? Well, listen to first single ‘Megadrive Lamborghini’ here to find out:
Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2016 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: Soccer96 | The Comet Is Coming
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 09:29 | By Chris Cooke
Cox Communications begins appeal process in landmark safe harbour case
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal Top Stories
US internet service provider Cox Communications has formally announced its intent to appeal the landmark copyright infringement ruling made against it last year in a legal battle with BMG.
As much previously reported, BMG basically accused Cox of operating a deliberately shoddy system for tackling suspected file-sharers on its networks. Most other ISPs in the US signed up to the Copyright Alert System, under which they commit to forward warning letters to suspected file-sharers on behalf of rights owners who have spotted some file-sharing. Cox is not part of that programme, but insists it has its own procedures in place instead.
However, BMG demonstrated in court that those procedures were ineffective, in particular presenting internal correspondence between Cox employees that suggested the policy was to be lenient with file-sharing customers, so as not to lose their custom. BMG successfully argued that this meant Cox should lose its protection under the safe harbours of copyright law and be held liable for the infringement of its users. The net firm was ordered to pay $25 million in damages to the music rights company.
Cox initially tried to have that judgement overturned – or a retrial declared – by seeking a motion in its favour based on various points of law, including whether or not BMG had sufficiently proven any infringement actually took place on Cox’s networks, and whether the ISP could, in fact, be held liable for so called contributory copyright infringement. But earlier this month the judge overseeing the case declined to grant such a motion.
Hence the formal appeal. The ISP filed papers with the courts earlier this week confirming its intent to now take the case to the US Court Of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The wider internet industry in the US will be watching the appeal closely. The Cox ruling arguable sets an important precedent that makes it more likely that other ISPs could be likewise held liable for the copyright infringement of their customers. And the anti-piracy agency employed by BMG, the sometimes controversial RightsCorp, has been writing stern letters to that effect in a bid to pressure other internet companies to become more compliant in helping rights owners identify and target suspected infringers.
READ MORE ABOUT: BMG | Cox Communications
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 09:27 | By Andy Malt
Black Keys frontman sued over Howlin Wolf documentary
Artist News Legal Media
Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach is being sued over claims that he breached an agreement when he quit his role working on a documentary about blues musician Howlin Wolf after he’d pushed the project over budget.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a lawsuit filed by the production company behind the film, Smokestack Lightning Inc, says that it approached Auerbach to take on the roles of director and executive producer of ‘Smokestack Lightning: The Legendary Howlin Wolf’ after he was interviewed for the documentary. Even though the project was already in post-production, Auerbach agreed to get involved, but demanded full creative control over the venture, it is claimed.
From this point, Auerbach “quickly demanded certain material alterations and vast expansions to the then existing picture”, says the lawsuit. He wanted certain interviews reshot, new interviews added, more photographs licensed, a new writer, a new camera and a different filming format. All of which nudged the budget up out of the production company’s comfort zone.
If Smokestack Lightning Inc ever complained about the spiralling budget, it is claimed, Auerbach or his people threatened that he would pull out of the project. Which he then did anyway.
The company is seeking damages of no less than $100,000, accusing Auerbach of breach of a verbal agreement as well as unfair business practices and negligent misrepresentation.
Auerbach has not commented on the lawsuit as yet.
READ MORE ABOUT: Dan Auerbach | Howlin Wolf | Smokestack Lightning Inc | The Black Keys
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 09:21 | By Chris Cooke
Judge grants Idol owner permission to end contracts with the show’s creator
Business News Legal Media
The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of ‘American Idol’ owner CORE Media has granted a motion requested by the TV producer to quash its consultancy agreements with the creator of the talent show franchise, Simon Fuller.
As previously reported, shortly after the final edition of ‘American Idol’ aired earlier this year, US-based CORE Media applied for chapter eleven bankruptcy protection, seemingly in part because of demands made by Fuller for allegedly unpaid consultancy fees. Fuller has not had an executive role at CORE – previously called CKX – for some time, but continued to consult on the shows he created that the TV business now owns, which includes ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ as well as the various ‘Idol’ franchises.
CORE has been busy negotiating with its various creditors in a bid to come out of bankruptcy. But then Fuller filed legal papers requesting access to more information about the firm’s affairs, seemingly in an attempt to derail the deal that the media company was close to reaching with its other creditors.
CORE responded by asking the bankruptcy courts for permission to cancel its agreements with Fuller, stating: “The recent decline in the debtors’ businesses, coupled with the recent conclusion of ‘American Idol’ on American broadcast television, has caused the Fuller consultancy deed to become more burdensome than beneficial”.
On Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the judge overseeing the case granted said permission. Which is likely to further anger Fuller, who has already told the court he wants to propose his own rescue plan for CORE, as an alternative to the one being negotiated by the firm’s management, and which would likely include Fuller taking on a more hands-on role at the telly firm.
It remains to be seen how Fuller responds to the latest development.
READ MORE ABOUT: American Idol | CORE Media | Simon Fuller
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 09:03 | By Andy Malt
Sterling Simms joins Universal Music Publishing
Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers
Universal Music Publishing has appointed songwriter and former recording artist Sterling Simms as its new Director Of Creative.
“With a fantastic ear, enthusiasm and A&R skills, Sterling brings good energy to the team”, declared Ethiopia Habtemariam, who will jointly manage him with David Gray. “I’m very happy he’s come to UMPG to help us build upon our already great success”.
Realising Habtemariam had left a crucial word out of her statement, Gray rushed in to add: “As a well-rounded and established writer, artist and an A&R exec, Sterling has everything it takes to support our writers and expand their reach. He speaks their language and understands the business from all sides. We are THRILLED to welcome him to UMPG”.
Simms himself said: “I was privileged to be a songwriter signed to UMPG in 2010, and I’m proud that now I get to come back home as an executive to help curate and facilitate opportunities for this amazing roster – including a lot of people I have worked with myself as a writer. I’m humbled that David and Ethiopia have brought me in, and super excited to join the company”.
Based in LA, Simms joins from Songs Publishing, where he held a similar role.
READ MORE ABOUT: Sterling Simms | Universal Music | Universal Music Publishing
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 09:01 | By Andy Malt
Cloud 9 Music buys BMG’s stake in Phrased Differently
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Cloud 9 Music has become a 50% shareholder in music publishing company Phrased Differently, buying BMG out of the business. BMG acquired its slice of Phrased Differently when it bought Talpa Music in 2014, Talpa having bought into the UK independent in 2012.
Confirming the new deal, Cloud 9 MD Raymond Van Vliet says: “Hiten [Bharadia, Phrased Differently MD] and his company have a great catalogue and an amazing track-record on developing songwriters and pitching songs and can be considered one of the best young independent publishers in the world. Just in 2015 alone, Hiten had 120 international cuts”.
“Our companies are independent and intend to stay that way”, he continues. “The companies blend together wonderfully so I’m looking forward to a very productive future together”.
Bharadia adds: “What impresses me most about Raymond, his team and Cloud 9 is that they possess a truly independent culture, a go-getter spirit, a genuine love of good music and an enthusiasm which is infectious. Our visions are very much aligned in terms of music, future strategy, growth and desire to build a US roster of writers and I’m proud to be able to work alongside such a great team”.
Writers signed to Phrased Differently have credits on singles by artists including Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris, Avicii, Demi Lovato, Iggy Azalea, Olly Murs and Little Mix, among others.
READ MORE ABOUT: BMG | Cloud 9 Music | Phrased Differently
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:56 | By Andy Malt
Sadiq Khan seeks Night Czar, as Fabric remains closed
Business News Legal Live Business
Mayor Of London Sadiq Khan is advertising for a Night Czar, to oversee the capital’s night time economy. The title will get you £35,000 a year for two and a half days’ work a week. That’s two and a half days. You won’t even have to work nights.
A job ad posted on the London Assembly website states: “Working with the Mayor, the Night Time Commission, local authorities, businesses, the Metropolitan Police Service, Transport For London and other agencies, the Night Czar will create a vision for London as 24 hour city and a roadmap showing how the vision will be realised”.
Khan, of course, made big claims about his commitment to London’s night time economy before he was elected mayor, aiming to go beyond Boris Johnson’s tokenistic task force and occasional report commissioning. And last week he said that he was “urging” Fabric, the police and Islington Council to come to an agreement that would keep the club open.
Because, yes, London night time economy bastion Fabric has been closed for two weeks now, following an investigation into two recent drug-related deaths at the venue. It is now awaiting a licence review by Islington Council, and has confirmed that it will be closed for a third weekend over the lucrative August bank holiday period.
Yesterday, the club put out a longer statement addressing the recent deaths at the venue while also reaffirming the steps it takes to prevent drug use.
“We recognise that illegal drugs are a particular issue in the clubbing sphere which many venues like ours have challenges in addressing”, the statement says, after offering condolences to the families of those who died. “We have zero tolerance to drugs on the premises and, as recently as December last year, we were described by district judge Allison in a court judgement as a ‘beacon of best practice’ in managing this issue”.
It continues: “We know there are always areas where we can improve, and, following the recent tragic deaths, we are undertaking a thorough review of the lessons we can learn. As part of this we are independently reviewing all of our procedures to ensure that we have the best possible processes in place to keep our customers safe”.
Referencing Khan’s support, it adds: “As acknowledged by the Mayor of London, clubs are a central part of the night time economy and London’s music and creative industry and they are in real danger of extinction. We hope to work constructively with the police and the London Borough Of Islington to ensure that, in providing the safest possible environment for music-lovers, we continue to operate after nearly two decades as a leading part of the London club scene”.
The exact date of the review of Fabric’s licence remains unclear, though Islington Council did commit to complete it within 28 days. The council has offered no statement itself so far, though did welcome the launch of the night tube last week.
READ MORE ABOUT: Fabric | Sadiq Khan
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:54 | By Andy Malt
Japanese live music industry launches anti-touting campaign
Business News Live Business
A group of Japanese music industry trade bodies, festivals and artists have launched a new campaign against ticket touting in the country. It launched the #ResaleNO campaign with an advert in Japanese newspapers Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun.
Signed by big name artists, including Arashi, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Perfume, Babymetal, Mr Children and Sexy Zone, the advert sets out a manifesto for tackling the problem of reselling tickets in Japan. It opens: “We are against the high-priced reselling of tickets, which is depriving music of its future”.
On the website for the campaign, president of the Federation of Music Producers Japan Kadoike Mitsunori states: “Artists and concert staff work hard every day to present great performances to as many music fans as possible. High-priced reselling of tickets is a problem that can destroy the positive relationship that exists between artists and music fans”.
A number of the acts who have put their name to the campaign – Arashi, Mr Children, B’z and Momoiro Clover Z – have recently begun using facial recognition technology at concerts, in order to combat the reselling of tickets.
In the UK, of course, we have a similar campaign in the form of FanFair, which was launched last month. For analysis of the secondary ticketing debate as it stands, check out this CMU Trends article – available to CMU’s premium subscribers.
READ MORE ABOUT: #転売NO | Secondary Ticketing
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:48 | By Chris Cooke
Universal memo puts spotlight back on streaming exclusives
Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
The chit chatters are chit chatting that streaming platform exclusives are officially out of favour at Universal Music, with a memo from top man Lucian Grainge seemingly discouraging the major’s labels from parking new releases with just one digital service.
Both Tidal and Apple Music have been using such exclusives as a marketing tool this last year, of course, in a bid to create hype, and drive people to their respective free trials, the hope being they’ll then become full time subscribers, either by being wowed by all that is on offer in the big house that is subscription streaming, or because they never quite remember to cancel their subscription. Tidal’s big exclusives have included new output from Beyonce, Rihanna and Kanye West, while Apple’s stand-out exclusives have included Drake’s new record and last weekend’s new material from Frank Ocean.
Just going by Tidal’s user-figures, the exclusives strategy does deliver some results for the platforms, even though there are plenty of critics of the approach. Many see the practice of only allowing one streaming service to access a big new release – for any length of time – as being anti-fan, and possibly driving consumers who have embraced legit digital music back to piracy whenever the big new release of the moment is locked to a streaming service other than the one they are signed up to.
Though a cynic – if you could find such a thing – might wonder whether a major label being down on streaming exclusives was entirely motivated by the interests of the fan. After all, if the streaming platforms are open to writing large cheques to big name artists for exclusivity rights, that provides said big name artists with another option for getting their new music out there, rather than securing an advance and marketing budget by signing on with a traditional record label.
Either way, it has always felt a little like the steady stream of big album releases being locked to either Tidal or Apple Music might be something of a temporary phenomenon, with the streaming services possibly using original content – like Apple’s documentary project with Cash Money Records – rather than album exclusives to differentiate their offer in the long-term.
Though, of course, even if Universal is making it default policy not to do exclusivity deals with the streaming services, many of the big name artists who the digital platforms would want such deals with anyway will have the power or influence to force their label’s hand if they really want to ally with a Tidal or an Apple on one project or another.
Then there are those big name artists who are basically free agents. It’s been noted that the latest big Apple exclusive, Frank Ocean’s ‘Blond(e)’, is seemingly a self-released album, last week’s other Ocean release, ‘Endless’, possibly fulfilling his contract with Universal.
Which means that, even if the biggest record company of them all is taking an official position on this, that doesn’t mean exclusives will stop over night.
READ MORE ABOUT: Universal Music
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:47 | By Andy Malt
CMU’s One Liners: Bastille, You Me At Six, Jamie N Commons, more
Artist News Gigs & Festivals One Liners Releases
Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Bastille have released the video for new single ‘Fake It’, taken from their forthcoming new album ‘Wild World’.
• You Me At Six have announced that they will release their new album, ‘Night People’, on 13 Jan. That is bloody ages away. Here’s the first single, also called ‘Night People’.
• Jamie N Commons has released a new single called ‘Not Gonna Break Me’. It has a video, which you can watch here.
• Kero Kero Bonito will release their debut album, ‘Bonito Generation’, on 21 Oct. Here’s the new single ‘Graduation’.
• Twin Atlantic have released new track ‘The Chaser’, the video for which you can see here.
• Broncho have released the video for new single ‘Speed Demon’. The band will be touring the UK in September and October, finishing up at The Lexington on 6 Oct.
• Ministry Of Sound is celebrating its 25th birthday on 3 Sep. It’ll be quite the blow out. Check the full line-up and buy tickets here.
• Thee Oh Sees will play The Coronet in London on 2 Sep and Stylus in Leeds the following night. Here’s the video for ‘Dead Man’s Gun’.
READ MORE ABOUT: Bastille | Broncho | Jamie N Commons | Kero Kero Bonito | Ministry Of Sound | Oh Sees | Twin Atlantic | You Me At Six
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:42 | By Andy Malt
Fox News names Red Hot Chili Peppers “the worst band on the planet”
And Finally Artist News Media
Fox News has proclaimed Red Hot Chili Peppers to be “the worst band on the planet”. Which would make the two of them perfect partners.
According to Alternative Nation, on an edition of Fox News show ‘The Five’ earlier this week, that video of a gorilla playing Flea’s bass guitar that has been doing the rounds was shown.
“As most musicians know, this is a vast improvement over the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the worst band on the planet”, said co-host Greg Gutfeld.
“The producers said, ‘You should do this story'”, cut in co-host Eric Bolling. “And I said no, Gutfeld is going to say the ape is better than Flea”.
“The ape is better than Anthony Kiedis”, Gutfield hit back. “By the way, the ape is 45, which is half the age of Anthony Kiedis. Red Hot Chili Peppers, poor man’s Faith No More, don’t ever forget it”.
It is not true that Anthony Keidis is 90 years old. Also, the other comment there would suggest that Gutfield hasn’t actually heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Faith No More since 1989.
But look at me, defending RHCP. I don’t even need to, because Bolling was on hand, adding: “I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, big fan”.
And so it was that everyone came out of this looking bad.
READ MORE ABOUT: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Wednesday 24 August 2016, 08:07 | By Andy Malt
Approved: I Am Karate
CMU Approved
Electro-pop duo I Am Karate have released an impressive run of singles over the last twelve months or so. ‘Bloom’, ‘Elevate’, ‘Bitter’ and ‘Lock’ are all great songs, with some excellent b-sides to match.
The latest addition to their canon is ‘Swayze’. An ode to the act of ‘ghosting’ – a pitfall of modern dating – and also released to coincide with what would have been Patrick Swayze’s 64th birthday, the song is wrapped in warm, rhythmic pop, and showcases some of their most dynamic songwriting to date.
With a growing catalogue of strong, well-produced music behind them, they shouldn’t have to resort to any martial arts to get people to listen to them.
Listen to ‘Swayze’ here:
Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column in 2016 by subscribing to our Spotify playlist.
READ MORE ABOUT: I Am Karate
Tuesday 23 August 2016, 10:20 | By Chris Cooke
Amazon plans half price streaming service locked to Echo
Business News Digital Top Stories
Amazon is reportedly hoping to offer a mid-priced tier when it properly enters the on-demand streaming market later this year, with the discounted version of the service locked to the firm’s proprietary hardware.
Amazon already offers music streams, of course, as part of its Prime package, though users only have access to a relatively limited catalogue of tracks. But the company is now seeking to enter the streaming music market proper with a standalone service of the Spotify and Apple Music model, which will work in a similar fashion to those competitors, so on-demand access to tens of millions of tracks for ten dollars/pounds/euros a month.
However, according to Recode, the standalone Amazon streaming set up would also offer a package at around the $4/5 price point. This cheaper version would offer access to the same catalogue with the same functionality, but would only work on Amazon’s wireless speaker device Echo, which has proven rather popular since being launched last year.
There have been various attempts at launching a cheaper subscription-based streaming music service over the years, of course, based on the assumption that the majority of consumers will never spend $10 a month on recorded music. The challenge with developing a $5 a month streaming set-up, though, is coming up with a service that is less good than what people already pay $10 a month for, but still better than the free-to-access ad-funded streaming services that are out there.
Some have tried personalised radio without the ads at the $5 price point, while others have offered on-demand streams but with less catalogue or less functionality. Or, as with what Amazon have planned, an ad-free on-demand set-up that works on fewer devices. For example, at one point you could subscribe to Spotify for £5 a month and lose the ads but not gain the extra mobile functionality that comes with £10 a month premium.
None of those mid-range offers have really gained any momentum, possibly because they entered the market too soon, or possibly because the more mainstream consumer is more likely to be attracted not by a cheaper price-point, but by bundling music in with other content-on-demand, as Amazon are already doing with Prime. But still, it will be interesting to see if Amazon finds any takers for its cheaper Echo-only streaming service, assuming the web giant secures the licences it needs from the labels and publishers to launch such a thing.
Elsewhere in mid-price streaming, that start-up pitching itself at more mainstream consumers interested in musical streams but not willing to spend $10 a month – Cür Media – seems to be imploding, perhaps unsurprisingly given that we knew the firm was already struggling to pay the advances it had promised the record companies.
Former Universal exec Jim Urie, who became the company’s interim President, interim CEO and Chairman in May, has departed, as have other board members and pretty much all the firm’s staff. Good times. Bring on some Echo streams, I say.
READ MORE ABOUT: Amazon
Tuesday 23 August 2016, 10:18 | By Andy Malt
Sleigh Bells sue Demi Lovato over song-theft claims
Artist News Business News Labels & Publishers Legal
Now, you all surely remember that day back in December 2015 when Demi Lovato’s career reached its absolute peak as she was presented with the prestigious – and some would say, prestigious – Beef Of The Week prize by your best buds over at the CMU abattoir. She secured that accolade and the resulting career high simply by (allegedly) ripping off some Sleigh Bells tracks on her song ‘Stars’.
Well, I bring this up now because the whole thing’s just gone legal. Sleigh Bellers Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller are suing Lovato, her label and her producers – Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub – claiming that they lifted elements of Sleigh Bells track ‘Infinity Guitars’ without permission when making ‘Stars’.
When the Sleigh Bells first accused Lovato of ripping them off – via Twitter, obviously – Falk and Yacoub told Entertainment Weekly that “we did not use any samples in Demi Lovato’s song ‘Stars'”, before noting that the singer herself wasn’t directly involved in the production of the track.
But, in their legal complaint, Sleigh Bells allege that ‘Stars’ nevertheless contains “compositional elements” of ‘Infinity Guitars’, which basically means – even if the Lovato track didn’t contain any samples – its producers are still accused of lifting elements of the Sleigh Bells track, even if they then recreated them.
“A comparison of the two songs reveals that, at the very least, the combination of the hand claps and bass drum, structured as three quarter beats and a rest, with the bass drum providing a counter-rhythm to the hand claps, is at least substantially similar in both works”, says the lawsuit.
The similarities, the lawsuit adds, “transcend the realm of coincidence”. Which is actually a good name for an album, now I think about it. ‘Transcending The Realm Of Coincidence’. I might suggest it to Ed Sheeran.
Lavato et al are yet to respond.
READ MORE ABOUT: Carl Falk | Demi Lovato | Rami Yacoub | Sleigh Bells
Tuesday 23 August 2016, 10:14 | By Andy Malt
Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning admits further sexual offences against children
Business News Legal Media
Former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning has pleaded guilty to 21 sexual offences against eleven boys between 1969 and 1986. He is already serving thirteen years in prison for sexual assaults against 24 children.
As previously reported, Denning, who was part of the original line-up of Radio 1 presenters and left the station after two years, pleaded guilty two years ago to 29 offences involving boys aged from nine to sixteen between 1964 and 1987.
The conviction stems from the Operation Yewtree investigation launched in the wake of the posthumous allegations of sexual assault made against Jimmy Savile. He has previously also been jailed in the UK, the Czech Republic and Slovakia for sexual offences against children.
The latest charges arose during a separate investigation by Surrey Police into the Walton Hop Disco for teenagers in Walton-on-Thames between 1958 and 2001. Detective Chief Inspector Jo Hayes told the BBC: “Denning, who was looked up to and sometimes idolised by many young people, has used his status to prey on innocent children which he has now admitted to. We can never go back and take away the abuse these … men suffered as boys but I hope, in some way, today’s guilty plea brings some closure for them”.
Denning denied three other charges, but will not face trial for those. He will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 6 Oct.
READ MORE ABOUT: Chris Denning
Tuesday 23 August 2016, 10:06 | By Chris Cooke
BMG in theme tune frenzy following BBC deal
Business News Deals Labels & Publishers Media
‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ has been named the best sitcom of the 21st century so far, in a public poll conducted by the Radio Times, as if – in this age of Brexit – we needed any more proof that the public really shouldn’t be consulted about anything.
Anyway, this counts as music news today because BMG has just acquired the rights to the ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ theme tune in a deal with the BBC’s commercial division BBC Worldwide. Though not just the theme tune to ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’. I mean, what would be the point of that? Other than pandering to popular opinion, I suppose.
No, the music rights firm has scored itself a nice little slice of BBC Worldwide’s music publishing catalogue, which also includes the theme tunes to programmes like ‘Luther’ and ‘Frozen Planet’, and incidental music from shows like ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Wolf Hall’.
Composers whose works are amongst those now to be repped by BMG include Ty Unwin, Murray Gold, George Fenton, Paul Englishby and Debbie Wiseman.
Confirming all this, BMG UK chief Alexi Cory-Smith told reporters: “It’s a real honour to be entrusted with these great BBC works from world class composers that have made numerous important contributions to British culture throughout their careers”.
She went on: “Shows like ‘Luther’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ and many others in this catalogue are household names and the composers behind them have unrivalled track records. As with all our clients at BMG, we’re committed to providing them with similarly unrivalled service and transparency”.
READ MORE ABOUT: BBC | BBC Worldwide | BMG
