Mark Geragos expands his Fyre Festival litigation
So, this is a story that keeps on giving, isn't it? With organisers of the failed Fyre Festival now facing at least six lawsuits in relation to their abandoned event, the lawyer behind the first of those has submitted new paperwork expanding on his allegations against the festival's organisers.

Celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos filed the first class action lawsuit against Fyre Media and the festival's co-founders Ja Rule and Billy McFarland 48 hours after the Bahamas-based event - billed as a luxury experience - was cancelled just as it was about to start. The cancellation left one set of festival-goers trapped on an island with minimal infrastructure and catering, while others got stuck on grounded planes that were meant to take them to the festival site.

In his amended lawsuit, filed in California on Monday, Geragos now accuses Fyre Festival's organisers of fraud, claiming that they knew for weeks that their event would be a "post apocalyptic nightmare", but that they went ahead anyway in the hopes of making huge sums of money.

Never one to shy away from dramatic allegations, Geragos goes on to claim that Ja Rule and McFarland set up the entire Fyre Festival venture "merely as a front for a massive financial fraud akin to a Ponzi scheme in which the founders ... in Fyre Media Inc misappropriated funds from attendees".

The lawyer goes on to say that he intends to add additional defendants to his class action in due course including - according to the Daily Telegraph - "a prominent socialite, a social media personality and a venture capitalist", who were all seed investors in the Fyre venture.

Geragos argues that seed investors often have "roles, involvement and control" at and over companies they invest in, so therefore could be held liable for Fyre Festival's decisions and actions.

The New York Post has subsequently linked investor Sam Yagan to the festival, and speculated that he could be the venture capitalist Geragos references. Though a rep for Yagan, a co-founder of dating service OkCupid and now Vice Chairman of the company that acquired his site, Match.com, said he only invested in the doomed festival's app, not the wider business.

"We had no involvement in operating the business or the conception or execution of the Fyre Festival", the spokesperson added, insisting that Yagan's companies "unequivocally disavow the handling of the situation in the strongest possible terms".

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Fourth Circuit refuses to intervene in fight to regain lost MegaUpload data
The Fourth Circuit court of appeal in the US has refused to intervene on behalf of a former MegaUpload user who is still trying to get back the files he lost when the US authorities shut down the often controversial file-transfer platform over five years ago.

As much previously reported, when the US authorities shut down MegaUpload in 2012 on copyright grounds, as well as cutting off access to mountains of pirated material, some people lost access to the files they legitimately stored on the now defunct company's servers.

In the main the American authorities have shown little concern over those caught in the crossfire during their big assault on MegaUpload, noting that the file-transfer firm's small print urged users to keep local back-ups of their files. Meanwhile the entertainment industry, which pushed for the shutdown, has put various barriers in place that have, in practical terms, stopped small-time copyright owners from retrieving their files.

The former MegaUpload user who has fought hardest to regain access to his files is video-maker Kyle Goodwin who is backed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The district court overseeing the whole thing has been more sympathetic, but to date hasn't forced the US authorities to reconnect legitimate former MegaUpload users like Goodwin to their content.

To that end, last month the EFF took the matter to a higher court, the Fourth Circuit, seeking a so called 'writ of mandamus', which is where a superior court instructs a junior court to act. However, the Fourth Circuit has now said that such a writ would not be appropriate in this case.

The appeals court wrote: "Although, as Mr Goodwin points out, his motion for return of property has been pending for a significant period of time without decision, we do not find on this record that the district court has refused to adjudicate the matter. Accordingly, the petition for writ of mandamus is denied without prejudice".

Responding to the decision, the EFF's Senior Staff Attorney Mitch Stoltz told TorrentFreak: "We're disappointed that the appeals court refused to step in to get this case moving. Kyle Goodwin and many others have been waiting five years to get their data back, and soon it might be unrecoverable. We will continue asking the district court to act on Mr Goodwin's request".

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Dice to offer refunds on unwanted tickets
Ticketing platform Dice has announced that it is to offer customers the option to receive refunds on tickets they find they no longer want or are able to use. This is, amazingly, something of an industry first.

According to Dice, music fans in the UK spend around £169 million per year on tickets for shows that they are then unable to attend. Many of these tickets end up on secondary sites at inflated prices, while around 17% of tickets are simply unused. For gigs costing under £10 to get in, the no show rate rises to around 21%, says the company.

"If someone can't make a show they either don't turn up or are forced to put their tickets on secondary ticketing platforms", says Dice CEO Phil Hutchen. "Those tickets are often snapped up by speculators and sold at insane prices. We believe a fan shouldn't be allowed to sell their tickets for more than they paid for it, but they have the right to get a refund. By being 100% mobile we make it super easy for fans to do exactly that".

Refunded tickets will be placed back on sale, or offered to people signed up to Dice's waiting list service for sold out shows.

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Amazon's new Echo device will show you song lyrics as you listen
Amazon has unveiled its latest Echo personal assistant device, the Echo Show, adding a screen to the previously audio-only tech.

The addition of a screen to the device means various new features, including video calls, the ability to request videos, and to view feeds from compatible net-connected cameras. On the music side, one of the features being pushed hard is the ability to see the lyrics of a song that you are listening to via Amazon's music streaming service.

Launched in the UK last year, Amazon Music Unlimited is pretty similar to every other on-demand streaming service. However, it offers multi-level pricing. Standard access is £9.99 a month, but Amazon Prime customers can sign up for £7.99, and if you're willing to only use it through your Echo device, you'll pay just £3.99 per month.

The market for these voice-controlled gadgets is still pretty small, but Amazon and Google are both banking on that changing. Apple marketing man Phil Schiller recently mocked both companies' efforts in this domain, in part for building them without screens. 0

Set to start shipping on 28 Jun, the Echo Show is currently only available in the US, and will set you back $229.99.

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CMU@TGE Top Ten Questions: How do you get your music onto a journalist's radar?
In the run up to this year's CMU Insights @ The Great Escape conference, we are going through the top ten questions we will be answering during this year's programme. Today: how do you get your music onto a journalist's radar?

Here's a fun thought for anyone who's ever agonised over writing the perfect press release for an artist, a show or a record. There is always a chance that not one of the hundreds of journalists that you sent it to actually read it.

That's not because music journalists all get a kick out of ignoring your hard work; in fact most journalists want to be up to speed with most new music, certainly from within their specialist genres. The problem is time or, more to the point, a lack of it.

We are currently surveying UK journalists, and of those a quarter report that on average they receive more than 1000 PR emails a week. Another third say they receive somewhere between 250 and 1000 a week. So it's probably unsurprising that over 40% of respondents admit that they are unlikely to open any more than half of the emails they receive.

So, how do you get your press releases read? Personal relationships are a key factor of course, journalists are inevitably more likely to open emails from people they know and like. That's one of the reasons why artists and labels pay PR agencies, who have those personal relationships. But is there anything else you can do to stand out?

Of course, it's not just about the press release. Of the journalists we've surveyed so far, 80% say they also find out about new music by monitoring the music blogs, by catching support acts at gigs and by chatting to people they know in the industry. Which means getting some love on the music blogs and getting out there to gig are also key to getting noticed by the wider media.

We'll be sharing more facts and figures from our journalists' survey during The Media Conference at The Great Escape next week. We'll also consider how - in the streaming and direct-to-fan age - artists need to get media coverage on a more regular basis, rather than just around the album release, and what this might mean for the way artists and labels plan their marketing and PR campaigns.

For that latter conversation, we'll get the input of five great music PRs and marketers from a number of different strands of the industry, including Afryea Henry-Fontaine from Virgin EMI, Jane Kearney from Festival Republic, Jodie Banaszkiewicz from Stay Golden PR, Michelle Kambasha from Secretly Canadian and Rosie James from Tru Thoughts.

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Robert Miles dies
Trance producer Robert Miles, best known for his 1996 hit 'Children', has died, aged 47.

According to 24 Horas, Miles - real name Roberto Concina - passed away in Ibiza yesterday evening. DJ Mag Italia added that the cause of death was an undisclosed illness.

"The tragic news of the death of a very talented artist of our time, makes me incredulous and upset", said fellow DJ and friend of Miles, Joe T Vannelli. "I will miss the fights, brawls, criticism, judgments but especially your talent in finding sounds and melodies unparalleled".

Miles' last studio album, 'Thirteen', was released in 2011.

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Kasabian livestream one-take music video
Kasabian recorded the video for new single 'Are You Looking For Action?' in one take last night. And for an added layer of fun, they livestreamed it straight onto the internet via their Facebook page.

The video was co-directed by Aitor Throup and Sing J Lee at a secret location in East London, following the band's Tom Meighan and Sergio Pizzorno around a nightclub setting, leaving portions of its outcome to chance.

"The beauty and magic of this video will be the fact that all outfit changes and camera moves will happen live", said Pizzorno. "We wanted to nail it, but we are also excited about the mistakes".

Watch the video here.

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Grammy Awards ceremony heading to New York for 60th edition
The Grammy Awards will return to New York next year, for the first time since 2003. The 60th edition of the event will take place at Madison Square Gardens on 28 Jan, after fifteen years in LA.

"It had always been something I had thought was of interest to us; it was really all about the details", Grammy boss Neil Portnow tells Billboard. "We've been in LA for many years; we used to bounce back and forth from time to time. With the East Coast being the home for half the membership of the Academy - certainly there's a very vibrant, vital part of the music industry on the East Coast and in New York - and given that this is an anniversary year for us, it's a special chance to celebrate".

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement: "It is incredibly exciting that Music's Biggest Night will return to the world's greatest city. Playing host to the music industry's marquee awards show is a unique creative, artistic and economic boon to the rich cultural fabric of our city. We welcome the Grammy Awards back to New York City with open arms and we look forward to continuing to partner with a music industry that supports access and empowerment in the arts".

He shouldn't get too comfortable with it though, plans are already in place to take the awards ceremony back to LA in 2019.

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Hype Machine, TeamRock, Calvin Harris, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Universal Publishing Production Music in the US has promoted Michael Sammis to the role of President, taking over from Gary Gross. He's "THRILLED" about the new gig.

• The all-new SFX - which is called LiveStyle now remember - has hired former Universal Music exec Chris Monaco to be Chief Revenue Office, Brand Partnerships & Sponsorships.

• The team behind music blog tracker Hype Machine are asking users to consider making monthly donations to help cover running costs, because "online advertising only works well at immense scale and venture capital prioritises returns over sustainability". Info here.

• Having sold Kerrang! to Mixmag, Bauer Media is launching a new rock magazine to sit alongside its Planet Rock radio station. The first issue is out on Friday.

• Some of the people who used to work for TeamRock Radio are crowd-sourcing in a bid to raise £130,000 to launch a new rock radio station called Primordial Radio. It will combine "the intimacy and personality of radio with the freedom, control, and choice of digital streaming", says the team behind it. Info here.

• MusicTank has announced details of a panel event called 'The Economics Of Streaming: Full Stream Ahead?' in London on 15 Jun, with a keynote from academic Peter Tschmuck based around his upcoming book 'The Economics Of Music' which questions the sustainability of the streaming business.

• Alt-J have released the video for 'In Cold Blood' from new album 'Relaxer'. It features opening and closing monologues from Iggy Pop.

• Die Antwoord have released 'Love Drug', the first single off what they are saying is their last album.

• Calvin Harris will release a new album on 30 Jun, titled 'Funk Bounces Vol 1'. Among the many guest vocalists on the record are Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Schoolboy Q and Harris's former nemesis Katy Perry.

• Shabazz Palaces have already announced that they'll release one album, 'Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star', on 14 Jul. Turns out a second, 'Quazarz Vs The Jealous Machines', will also be released the same day. From that, this is '30 Clip Extension'.

• Perfume Genius has released the video for 'Die 4 You', from new album 'No Shape'.

• Ahead of new album 'Iteration', out on 16 Jun, Com Truise has released new single, 'Isostasy'.

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Celebrations for Femi Kuti's longest saxophone note record cut short
Nigerian musician Femi Kuti celebrated at the weekend, believing he had broken Kenny G's record for the longest ever note played on a saxophone. And while he did beat the American easy listening saxophonist at a concert last week, it turns out Kenny G wasn't the actual record holder.

G played a single note for 45 minutes and 47 seconds in 1997, using the circular breathing technique - where the player breathes in through their nose and out through their mouth continuously. Kuti lasted 46 minutes and 38 seconds at a show on Sunday, according to Pulse NG.

Initially celebrating his win, it was subsequently pointed out that another US saxophonist, Vann Burchfield, actually broke Kenny G's record in 2000, playing for 47 minutes and 5.5 seconds.

No problem, said Kuti, he "will work to achieve the 50 minute mark".

Even if he does though, it won't be recorded by Guinness World Records. The organisation said that the category for the longest note using circular breathing was "rested several years ago" and it now only accepts "claims not using circular breathing".

The good news is, if Kuti wants a listing in the big book of records, the Guinness recognised achievement - ie long notes without circular breathing - won't take anywhere near as long to break. Held by Turkish musician Alpaslan Durmuş since last year, the record currently stands at 1 minutes and 52 seconds. Kuti could also go for the longest burp, which apparently stands at 1 minute 13 seconds 57 milliseconds.

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