Hope & Glory's statement scores high on word count, but placates no one
Organisers of the abandoned Liverpool festival Hope & Glory yesterday issued a rather lengthy statement about the events that unfolded last weekend. And like much of the communications on the festival's official social media channels over the weekend, it was certainly an unconventional response. The whole section dedicated to a spat over what happened to foods destined for Sunday's artist riders was a particular stand out.

As previously reported, the second day of the new Hope & Glory festival was called off on Sunday morning over health and safety concerns after excessive queuing and overcrowding dominated the first day of the proceedings. That first day also opened late, meaning stages ran behind schedule resulting in some bands having their sets cut short, and Charlotte Church being jettisoned off the line-up entirely.

Sunday's cancellation having been originally announced via a three-word statement - "no festival today" - the subsequently promised explanation published yesterday lunchtime ran to 1700 words. We already knew that there were grievances between the Hope & Glory company, the production management firm working on the show and Liverpool City Council, and those grievances were very much outlined in the short essay.

Although organisers said that they were "desperately saddened" and "devastated" about having to cancel the second day of their festival, and apologies were dished out for the queues and late running of stages on Saturday, and the cancellation of Sunday's show, much of the statement was about apportioning blame to other parties.

Council officials had set capacity levels, the statement said, and the over-crowding problems were really the result of failings of the production management company hired to set up the event. Festival boss Lee O'Hanlon had sought to overcome the obvious issues on day one of the festival - the statement insisted - by temporarily closing the festival's entrance, stopping the sale of additional tickets on the door and calling in the police. But such were the level of the issues, it was ultimately decided day two should not go ahead.

The production management firm working on the festival has yet to respond to the various allegations made against it by O'Hanlon and the Hope & Glory company, while Liverpool City Council has promised an investigation into the event and the allegations made against its staff. Though it seems unlikely yesterday's lengthy statement will placate many disgruntled ticket holders, who are less interested in behind the scenes squabbles between business partners and suppliers, and more interested in the event's refund policy.

It remains unclear if and how ticket-holders will get their refunds. A number of ticket agents were selling tickets for the festival, while purchases via the event's own website were initially handled by Eventbrite and then Skiddle.

At least some of the ticket monies generated had already been handed over to the Hope & Glory company, and given many of the festival's expenses would have been incurred prior to cancellation, it seems unlikely there will be much of that money left. Which may well mean ticket-holders will be relying on their credit card companies and banks for refunds. The guarantees offered there vary from provider to provider, though generally there is more protection with credit cards than debit cards.

Even if ticket holders can get a refund - from their ticket agent or credit card provider - those who travelled to the event obviously won't get their transport and accommodation costs back. That's a common form of collateral damage when festivals collapse at the last minute or mid-event, such events generally attracting more punters from far away than conventional gigs. You can only hope those who did travel to Liverpool on Sunday took advantage of the various local venues who staged impromptu events for Hope & Glory ticket holders who found themselves at a loose end.

Since last night O'Hanlon has been personally fielding questions about the failed festival on Twitter, while insisting that tweets sent during the weekend - including the flippant responses to customer complaints and criticism of Tim Booth of headliners James - were written by a junior member of staff. Meanwhile last night the promoter took part in an at times fiery interview with Iain Lee on his Talk Radio show where, again, blame was diligently apportioned to production management and council officials, and guidance on refunds was somewhat vague. Though a further statement on refunds has been promised.

With promoter, production and local authority at loggerheads over the failed event, the chances of litigation coming out of the Hope & Glory festival seems quite high, meaning this story could run for some time yet.

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Prince estate could get new special administrator, possibly to pursue legal action
The bank administrating the Prince estate has asked the judge overseeing the late musician's affairs to appoint a second 'special administrator' who could "pursue claims" on behalf of the estate where the bankers can't act because of a conflict in interest. According to Billboard, Comerica Bank recommended that a lawyer be appointing to this new role.

Specifics of the bank's proposals aren't known, because its letter to the court was heavily redacted when it was made public, and the judge has now given the all clear for future documentation in relation to this matter to be filed under seal, meaning it will remain confidential.

However, the proposal is very possibly being made in relation to the collapsed deal between the estate and Universal Music over the rights to represent Prince's recordings catalogue.

As previously reported, Universal requested that that $30 million+ deal be cancelled after it became clear that some of the Prince recordings it thought it would get to represent were already controlled by Warner Music, on the back of a complex agreement the pop star reached with the mini-major prior to his death.

The Universal deal was done prior to Comerica's involvement in the estate, and was instigated by former advisors L Londell McMillan and Charles Koppelman on the watch of former administrators the Bremer Trust. Agreements relating to the hand over of the Prince estate's affairs from Bremer to Comercia block the latter for entering into a legal dispute with the former, so the plan to appoint a separate special administrator might be a sign that some kind of dispute between the estate and Bremer is in the pipeline.

There have been disagreements between Prince's heirs on the way the estate's affairs have been handled, with some backing the cancellation of the Universal recordings deals and others arguing it should be enforced. That complicates things, though Comercia's proposals would remove one blockage if the heirs want to take action against former estate advisors.

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Y Not festival confirms 50% refund for all ticket holders
Organisers of the Y Not festival - which was set to win the UK category of Festival Shambles Of The Year until Hope & Glory stepped up to plate to this weekend just gone - have announced that they are providing all ticket-holders with an automatic 50% refund after the final day of this year's proceedings was cancelled.

As previously reported, the Derbyshire event was a wash-out this year turning the festival's site into a total mud-bath. There was considerable criticism of the way festival management dealt with the weather conditions - given heavy rainfall is always a possibility - while many ticket-holders also criticised onsite and online communications. Some made a link between those perceived failings and the festival's change of ownership last year, Y Not now being part of Global's growing festival empire.

During the immediate fallout of the event, organisers insisted that they did have measures in place to deal with the heavy rainfall. Meanwhile in a new statement, management say that it was the "extraordinary and highly unpredictable" weather conditions that made matters so bad, and ultimately required that the final day of the event be called off.

The festival's apologetic new statement begins: "Over the past twelve years Y Not has built a reputation as an honest and sincere music festival, providing the promise of a good time. A lot of the same team have been involved with the festival since the beginning and we know that Y Not could never have existed without the trust and support you have shown us over the years. It has been so distressing to see that damaged over the past few days".

It goes on to explain: "We were hit with extraordinary and highly unpredictable weather both during the build and over the weekend itself. There were levels of infrastructure in place to deal with adverse weather, however we reached a point when the forecast was changing hourly and there became a risk that emergency services would not be able to access areas of the site. Everyone's safety will always come first and the most difficult decision we've ever had to make became the only responsible option".

Acknowledging the various criticisms about festival staffing, security and communications, in addition to punter disappointment about the final day being cancelled, the statement adds: "This year we completely recognise this was not the Y Not festival you deserved and it's not the experience we wanted to give you. We have listened to all your concerns about how the event was delivered and there will be more detailed information on how we're addressing this, coming soon. Our intention with every Y Not is to give you the best weekend of your year. We are very sorry that so many of you did not have the experience you had hoped for, and we deeply regret the disappointment caused to all of you".

Looking to the future, the statement concludes: "We will return in 2018, fully committed to delivering the best show in our history and putting right what went wrong in 2017. We want to address the feedback we've received about the festival this year, which we will release further information on in the near future. Thank you all for your support and again, our apologies".

Ticket-holders will automatically receive a 50% refund of the face value of their ticket, not including booking fees and such like.

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Craig David puts some t-shirts in a capsule
Your old mate Craig David has launched a new "fashion capsule collection", so that's a thing isn't it? And we all like things. I know I do.

The Craig David Collection - available exclusively in Selfridges - consists of t-shirts and hoodies "inspired" by David's music and sound, with typography and imagery "influenced" by not only his lyrics, but also his career. Which presumably means these t-shirts will start off annoying cool and popular, then become something of a joke, then spend several years at the back of a cupboard all but forgotten, before becoming weirdly credible again.

Says David himself about his all-new fashion range: "I'm really honoured to be working together with Selfridges to launch this collection. I wanted to create a fresh and exciting new clothing line for my fans that represents where I am musically today, but also influenced by the style of where I came from".

The new tie up between David and Selfridges - which coincides with the retailer's previously mocked Music Matters shindig - has been orchestrated and delivered by Universal's merch-tastic Bravado division.

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Former Kobalt President now CEO at Tidal
I think it's my turn to run Tidal in October, and when I last checked the list you were down for next January. Which is exciting, because that means you'll get to shut the whole thing down. But this month, it's the turn of Richard Sanders.

Yes, following the departure of Jeff Toig from the top job at the Tidal company earlier this year, Sanders - most recently President at Kobalt and before that a long-time Sony Music exec - is now running the streaming music firm. He is the fourth CEO at Tidal since Jay-Z bought the company back in 2015.

Sanders will be charged with the task of exploiting the financial and marketing backing of newish Tidal investor Sprint to help build a long-term future for the company, which - despite all the hype - is a small player in a streaming music market where even the major players are losing money.

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New music scheduler for local stations at Wireless Group
News UK-owned radio firm the Wireless Group has appointed a new Group Music Scheduler for its network of local radio stations. Sarah Henderson returns to the radio industry after a break from the business, having previously worked at Bauer and the old GWR radio company.

Confirming the new hire, Group Programme Director at Wireless, Terry Underhill, told RadioToday: "It's great to be able to convince Sarah to get back into the industry she knows so well and we're really looking forward to her help in crafting our music [policy] and continuing our audience growth".

Henderson, who joins the company later this month and will be based in Stoke On Trent, added: "I've been looking for just the right opportunity to tempt me back into radio and this role is just perfect - I can't wait to get started!"

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Royal Blood and Wolf Alice design t-shirts for cancer charity
Cancer charity Trekstock has launched a new collection of t-shirts designed by musicians which are being sold in aid of its work with young adults facing cancer.

It's part of a venture called the Yellow Bird Project, which has recently been relaunched, and the new t-shirts have been designed by the likes of Royal Blood, Wolf Alice, Everything Everything and Oh Sees. They are retailing for £22 with all proceeds going to the charity.

Says Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell of her design: "I tried to draw a werewolf but he came out looking all sad and vulnerable. I quite like the idea of things that are supposed to be menacing and scary showing their human, sensitive side - much like the Beast in 'Beauty And The Beast' - so here is the loneliest werewolf on earth".

On the project, Trekstock founder Sophie Epstone adds "We are incredibly grateful that our Yellow Bird Project has garnered support from some of the very best artists in the world. Every individual design makes an invaluable difference to not only helping fund our vital services but generating much needed awareness for Trekstock and the young adults with cancer that we support".

Buy the t-shirts here.

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Liam Gallagher would rather be promoting a new Oasis album
Liam Gallagher would rather he was speaking about a new Oasis album rather than a new Liam Gallagher album. I think we'd all prefer that Liam Gallagher was speaking about a new Oasis album rather than a new Liam Gallagher album. So, at least we can all agree on something. That's nice. In these challenging times and all.

Despite Noel Gallagher continuing to show no great interest in reforming the old band, Liam said of his brother in a recent Rolling Stone podcast: "I know he doesn't want to be supporting U2 and playing a third of a stadium half-empty when he could do it himself with his brother. I would prefer to be speaking about an Oasis album than a Liam solo album. And I know Noel Gallagher would. We're better together".

But an Oasis reunion will first require a reunion of sorts between the Gallagher brothers, Liam concedes. Clarifying recent comments on Beats One, he went on: "All I said the other day on that Beats Radio was before we get back together, if we get ever back together, we'd have to become brothers and friends again".

He added: "Then I imagine, once that happens, and we start hanging out or whatever, and we're mates, and we're talking, and we're each on a nice respectful level, I guess there would be, inevitably, we'd go, 'fuck it, should we take the fuckin band out for a spin, go on tour?'"

Yeah, maybe. Good luck with that.

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