SoundCloud seeks new funding as key execs leave
SoundCloud has lost two key execs as it heads out "begging for money", according to the Financial Times, which has an anonymous source dubbing the firm's latest funding round as "begging". Chief Operating Officer Marc Strigel and Finance Director Markus Harder have both left the company, it has now been confirmed.

Since Spotify decided not to buy SoundCloud late last year, the digital firm's future has been in increasing doubt. The publication of its 2015 financial results last month didn't help matters. And although the company moved to assure everyone that everything is just fine, founder Alexander Ljung's admission that the company could run out of money before the end of this year has not instilled much confidence.

The company's long-term future now seemingly relies on the successful launch of its Spotify-competing SoundCloud Go subscription service. Management say that they are confident that can be achieved. However, launching such a service is costly, and will take a number of years to bear fruit even if it works.

Last summer, SoundCloud raised $100 million in new funding, including $70 million from former proposed buyer Twitter. It's now reportedly on the search for new investment, but so far without much luck.

"SoundCloud is begging for money, but I wouldn't give them any right now", one German financier told the FT. "They need to rethink their valuation and settle for a down round".

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ISPs start to send out educational emails to file-sharers
An early recipient of one of those anti-piracy 'educational emails' now being sent out by internet service providers in the UK has shared the note they received with Torrentfreak. The ISP in question is Sky, though it's likely other net firms are sending out very similar messages to customers suspected of accessing content from unlicensed services.

As previously reported, British internet companies are finally sending out warning letters to customers suspected of accessing dodgy sources of content, the 2010 Digital Economy Act having obliged the net firms to pass on such warnings to customers using IP addresses where rights owners have spotted piracy of one form or another.

The 'educational email' programme is part of the Creative Content UK initiative launched by the government, ISPs and entertainment industry back in 2014, and sits under the 'Get It Right From A Genuine Site' banner that was launched with a decidedly lacklustre advertising and PR campaign in 2015.

According to Torrentfreak, the educational emails sent out by Sky state that "we've been informed by owners of copyrighted material that the content below has been shared without their permission and we need your help to prevent this happening again". The email then lists the bit of content that has been allegedly accessed from an unlicensed source, and the date and time it happened.

The recipient is then directed to the Sky portal where more information is provided about the alleged copyright infringement, including the software used to access the content and the name and size of the infringing file. There is also a box for listing past piracy alerts sent to the user, so presumably a long list of their infringing activity could ultimately appear.

The email also directs recipients to the previously reported Get It Right FAQs site, which answers questions like "What are P2P networks?", "How do I get rid of P2P file-sharing software?" and "How can I tell is something is copyrighted?".

The person who forwarded the Sky email onto Torrentfreak confirmed that he had indeed accessed an episode of the TV show 'Westworld' from an unlicensed source, as the educational email claimed. Though as a more savvy user of illegal sites, the recipient said that the email wouldn't stop him from accessing pirated content, but that he might be more prone to use a VPN to help mask such activity.

Of course, rights owners realise that the educational emails alone won't stop all people who access illegal sources of content, not least because the current system doesn't make any threats against those who continue to infringe, such as suspension of their internet connection.

Though the hope is that more casual pirates might be persuaded to switch to licensed services. That's arguably an easier sell for the music industry where the content accessed illegally is much more likely to be available via legit platforms, whereas with TV shows and movies - especially if they originate in the US - there is a chance they are not currently available via services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

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Sunday Best signs Mary Epworth
Sunday Best has signed Mary Epworth and will now release her second album later this year. Epworth is set to debut some of the new songs that will appear on that record during Sunday Best's showcase at SXSW in Austin next month.

Confirming the deal, the overseer of all things Sunday Best and Bestival, Rob da Bank, said: "We are so THRILLED we're signing Mary to Sunday Best. She is such versatile songwriter and sings like an angel. You never quite know what she's gonna do next too, dipping into so many styles. Please sink your ears into her magic!"

Meanwhile the label's Sarah Bolshi added: "Indeed, we are very excited to be working with Mary, and look forward to having her perform new music at our first official SXSW showcase in March"

Epworth herself was also on hand with both some quotage and a little more information about the deal - mainly that Sunday Best's pals at [PIAS] Co-operative will also be involved - telling us all that: "I'm very excited to be joining Sarah and Rob and the rest of the Sunday Best family, and look forward to releasing my new music further afield with the help of the extended PIAS/Co-op team".

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Russian collecting society begins to uncover extent of fraud in its system
A new audit of the finances of Russian songs rights collecting society RAO has uncovered evidence of fraud. This follows various accusations of embezzlement, one of which resulted in the jailing of former General Director Sergei Fedotov, who was accused of funnelling over 500 million rubles (£6.9 million) out of the organisation during his time in charge.

Although RAO initially defended Fedotov, at a board meeting last week, new General Director Maksim Dmitriev said that an audit of the years 2014 to 2016 had uncovered 228 million rubles (£3.1 million) of suspicious activity in the last year alone, including the "transfer of funds on spurious grounds and overstating expenses". The largest of these payments was taken out in the second half of last year, he said, ie after Fedotov's arrest.

This contributed to growing losses at the collecting society - an average of 200 million rubles (£2.75 million) annually by the end of 2015 - which have meant that it has not been able to pay songwriters and publishers what they are owed.

"By the end of 2015 RAO had an impossible obligation to songwriters to the total amount of 2.8 billion rubles [£38.5 million]", said Dmitriev. "Obviously, at the end of 2016 the situation has become worse. In the near future we will get the final results of the audit and will be able to draw conclusions and to generate proposals for the improvement of our organisation".

The full results of the audit are scheduled to be announced at the organisation's AGM in April and will be used as the basis for new legal action against former management.

As previously reported, late last year RAO was also accused of being part of another embezzlement scam with Russia's other music rights organisations RSP and VOIS, which may have siphoned off more than £55 million in revenues.

As RAO attempts to uncover the extent of the fraud in its system, the Russian government is also considering taking control of the country's collective licensing. Its latest proposal was to establish a new multi-territory licensing body as part of the Eurasian Economic Union, replacing RAO, RSP and VOIS entirely.

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Universal relaunches Polygram as music film production unit
Possibly aware that it's confusing if Universal Music puts out film content under its own name - what with there being a separate Universal film business that is no longer anything to do with the music firm - the mega-major has had a rummage around its filing cabinet of forgotten brands and pulled out Polygram.

That brand - the name of one of the big old entertainment groups that morphed through merger into Universal in the 1990s - is being revived for the major's new music-orientated film and television projects. First up will be new documentaries about Motown and Michael Hutchence.

The all-new Polygram will be run by UMG's Head Of Film & Television Development And Production, David Blackman. He will report jointly to UMG EVP Michele Anthony and Universal Music Publishing CEO Jody Gerson.

"Polygram will play an important role in furthering UMG's global strategy to produce the very best in audio-visual storytelling and provide our artists with an important medium for their expression and creativity", explains Anthony. "Music is essential to film and television - and the stories surrounding our artists and their music provide compelling narratives for audiences around the world".

Gerson adds: "With Polygram, our multi-talented recording artists and songwriters will have even greater opportunities to work with the very best storytellers, writers, producers and directors in film and television. With David's strong creative instincts and production experience, Polygram will enable new outlets for music-based programming, as well as provide a needed forum for stories about the artists, music and events that have shaped and impacted culture globally".

Blackman meanwhile comments: "It's a tremendous honour to carry on the Polygram name and its legacy of excellence. I'm incredibly proud of the projects we have in development, especially our newest production, 'The Story Of Motown'. I'm thankful to [UMG chief] Lucian [Grainge], Michele and Jody for this opportunity and their continued support of Polygram and our mission to provide music fans with fresh perspectives and stories about their favourite artists and music".

This is the latest step in Universal's bid to make movies around its artists and catalogue, and follows its involvement in the Amy Winehouse documentary 'Amy', 'Montage Of Heck' about Kurt Cobain, and The Beatles' 'Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years'. Two years ago, the major label also bought Eagle Rock Entertainment, gaining access to its raft of concert films.

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Prince returns to streaming services
Hey, so Prince's Warner-controlled catalogue is back on all of the streaming services. It was confirmed on Friday that Spotify would regain Prince's music this weekend. A number of other services also subsequently confirmed off the record - and then yesterday on the record - that they would carry the releases, which have only be available to stream via Tidal since 2015.

Ahead of the Grammy Awards yesterday, with its Prince tribute, 25 of his albums and two singles returned to streaming services worldwide. As well as various compilations and all the LPs released from 1979 to 1995, there are also two more recent albums available from the otherwise still held back NPG Records catalogue - 3rdeyegirl's 'Plectrumelectrum' and solo album 'Art Official Age', both from 2014 - both of which were distributed by Warner.

"Prince recorded his most influential and popular music during his time with Warner Bros and we are deeply aware of our responsibility to safeguard and nurture his incredible legacy", says Warner Bros Records CEO Cameron Strang. "Warner Bros is THRILLED to be able to bring Prince's music to his millions of fans around the world via streaming services, fittingly on music's biggest night".

He adds: "We'd like to thank Prince's estate, Universal Music Publishing, the Grammy Awards and all of the streaming services for their great collaboration in making this landmark event possible".

The involvement of Universal's publishing company - now in control of Prince's songs catalogue again - is significant, because it was by pulling his publishing rights that the musician withdrew his music from the streaming services eighteen months ago.

As well as returning all of this music to the streaming platforms, Warner also announced plans yesterday to release a new remastered version of 'Purple Rain', two albums of previously unreleased music, and two new concert films. And if you think that sounds like Warner's just chucking stuff out quickly to capitalise on the current interest in the late musician, Cameron says no.

Strang insisted: "When we make any of Prince's music available to fans - from the hits to unreleased gems - we are committed to upholding Prince's high creative standards and we know fans will be THRILLED when they hear these albums and see these films".

All of this was, of course, timed to coincide with the aforementioned Grammy Awards' tribute to Prince. For that, Bruno Mars dressed up as the late star and performed 'Let's Go Crazy' with The Time. In keeping with Prince's approach to his music on the internet - particularly live performances of it - while he was still alive, it seems entirely fitting that this is the only official video of the performance that has been uploaded by the Grammys so far.

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Radio 2 rejigs Saturday, shifts Dermot O'Leary into a breakfast slot
Radio 2 has announced a new Saturday schedule which is due to roll out in March and April. It includes no-longer-black-listed Tony Blackburn taking over the 'Sound Of The 60s' programme following the departure of my mum's favourite DJ, Brain Matthew. He's officially retiring from his weekly show due to "ill-health", though the man himself wasn't quite on message when that was announced last month.

I don't know what my mum will make of Blackburn taking over the weekly '60s' show from super laid back Matthew. Though chances are that we'll never find out, because Radio 2 is also shifting the show into a 6am slot that she'll never hear to make way for an all-new Dermot O'Leary Saturday breakfast show, which she will hear and almost certainly hate. Sorry Dermot.

I can't think that O'Leary's "motivational pep talks for the nation's children from sporting icons", "experts telling listeners what movies they should really be watching", a "Pause For Thought, featuring different contributors from a variety of faiths" or "the biggest names in music performing live Saturday Sessions" are going to appeal to any of the 'Sounds Of The 60s' faithful. Though it might force that show's aging audience to finally work out the on-demand functionality of the BBC RadioPlayer.

Despite Matthew's departure from Radio 2 not being entirely amicable, he will still return occasionally with 'The Brian Matthew Years', a new show in which he will "reflect on his life and times in the world of music", mainly on bank holiday weekends.

Old school Radio 2 listeners will likely also be disappointed by the news that Bob Harris is stepping down from his Sunday show in a wider rejig of the station's weekend line-up, though he'll still be playing an hour of country tunes each Thursday night. And hey old folks, do look out for the new Zoe Ball show in Dermot O'Leary's old Saturday afternoon slot and Ana Matronic off of the Scissor Sisters doing a midnight show overnight Saturday/Sunday.

"The new Saturday Radio 2 schedule will give listeners a day of music entertainment from some of this country's most popular and best loved presenters", says Head Of Radio 2 Lewis Carnie. "Brian Matthew is irreplaceable at 8am on a Saturday morning with 'Sounds Of The 60s', so we're moving [it] to a new time of 6am", he continued, in the least convincing explanation for shifting an old favourite out of prime time to make way for a new Dermot O'Leary vehicle.

"I'm confident that Tony will delight listeners with his memories and favourite tunes from the decade", he added, before declaring that: "Dermot's brand new breakfast show from 8am will wake up the nation in style, and I'm delighted to welcome Zoe and Ana to regular shows on the network".

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Al Jarreua dies
Jazz singer Al Jarreua has died, aged 76, his publicist confirmed this weekend. He had been in hospital in LA seemingly being treated for exhaustion, having announced his retirement from live performance after five decades earlier this month.

A note from Jarreua's rep on his official website reads: "A few days ago, I was asked to describe Al to someone who knew of his success, but did not know him as a person. I responded with this: His second priority in life was music. There was no third. His first priority, far ahead of the other, was healing or comforting anyone in need. Whether it was emotional pain, or physical discomfort, or any other cause of suffering, he needed to put our minds at ease and our hearts at rest. He needed to see a warm, affirming smile where there had not been one before. Song was just his tool for making that happen".

Although drawn to music early in his life, Jarreua was nearly 30 before his music career took off. Prior to that he studied psychology at Ripon College in Wisconsin and vocational rehabilitation at the University Of Iowa, becoming a rehabilitation counsellor for people with disabilities in San Francisco.

His first love was jazz, but Jarreau crossed over into other genres too and - his death coming amid Grammy weekend - many of those paying tribute to the singer noted that over his career he won awards in the Grammy's jazz, pop and R&B categories. His was also the voice on the theme tune to the 1980s TV show 'Moonlighting'.

After paying tribute to Jarreau's fans, family and collaborators, the official statement on his site concludes: "To young people everywhere, especially the musicians [Al] was grateful to meet at school workshops, musical competitions, residencies, and at concerts: From you, Al asks a favour. Please find any artistic thing that you can do with passion, and do it. With art in your life, you will be a better family member, neighbour, friend, and citizen".

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Help Refugees supergroup to perform at NME Awards
A new supergroup will come together for a one-off performance in aid of the Help Refugees charity at this week's NME Awards. The line-up features Charli XCX and Pixie Geldof, plus members of Years & Years, Slaves, Circa Waves, Swim Deep, Peace and Black Honey. The performance follows last year's Bands4Refugees and Rave For Refugees shows.

Peace frontman Harry Koisser, who pulled the band together, says: "We got involved with Help Refugees in 2015. Josie Naughton, founder of Help Refugees, has been doing relentless, incredible work and I'm so so so happy that so many people came together to make this happen. I hope that as well as raising funds we can inspire more artists to get involved with the charity this year and turn the heat up in 2017".

NME Editor-In-Chief Mike Williams adds: "It's important in times like these to fight negativity with positivity. Which is why we're incredibly proud to give a platform to Bands4Refugees as they raise money for the amazing work being done by the truly inspirational charity Help Refugees. Tune in on the night to watch, donate what you can to the cause and - as their t-shirts say - Choose Love".

The NME Awards take place at the Brixton Academy on 15 Feb.

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Adele wins Album Of The Year Grammy, gives half of it to Beyonce
The Grammys happened then. And despite seven million thinkpieces in advance asking if they're still relevant, here we all are talking about them. All manner of things happened that we can talk about. I will now proceed to talk about some of them.

The big Album Of The Year prize went to Adele for '25' - one of five she won in total - who went ahead and Kanyed herself, as West himself wasn't in attendance. "I can't possibly accept this award", she said, accepting the award. "The 'Lemonade' album was just so monumental, Beyonce. It was so monumental and well thought-out and beautiful and soul-bearing".

She also, possibly by accident, broke the trophy in two and offered half of it to Beyonce. She still had both halves when she appeared for photos backstage though. But maybe she gave Beyonce her bit later. That would give 'Lemonade' one and a half Grammys - it having already received Best Urban Contemporary Album earlier in the evening.

In a speech accepting that prize, Beyonce said: "My intention for the film and album is to create a body of work that would give voice to our pain, our struggles, our doubts, and our history, to confront issues that make us uncomfortable. It's important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty, so they can grow in a world, where they look in the mirror, first with their own families as well as in the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the White House and the Grammys and see themselves. This is something that I want for every child of every race, and I feel that it's vital that we learn from the past and recognise our tendencies to repeat our mistakes".

Adele was also involved in another of the night's more memorable moments, performing a tribute to George Michael, which she halted and restarted when it didn't go as planned. A minute into her slow-paced cover of Michael's 'Fastlove' she fluffed a note, stopped and told the audience "I'm sorry, I can't mess this up for him", before restarting the performance.

Lady Gaga and Metallica didn't get to stop their performance of the latter's single 'Moth Into Flame', despite frontman James Hetfield's microphone not working. He eventually moved to share a mic with Gaga, but was visibly displeased by the end.

Those accusations of irrelevance though. Those just won't go away, will they? It's a pitfall of any major awards event, but they have increasingly dogged the Grammys in recent years. And with various major artists sitting out the event yesterday, including Kanye West, Drake, Justin Bieber and Frank Ocean, they were only fuelled further this year.

One attempt to bring the event up to speed with 2017 was to allow self-releasing artists and streaming-only albums to be considered for awards. Many saw this as a way to allow Chance The Rapper and his 'Coloring Book' album to receive nominations. It certainly paid off, because he won three trophies in the end - Best Rap Performance for 'No Problem', Best Rap Album for 'Coloring Book', and Best New Artist.

Chance also turned in one of the best performances of the night, playing gospel versions of 'How Great' and 'All We Got'.

A lot more than all that happened, but it's a very long show. There were 20 performances in all. Twenty! Which meant there was only time to give out nine of the 84 total awards at the main show. You can see all the winners here.

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