DJ did grope Taylor Swift, jury rules
Taylor Swift yesterday won her legal battle with former DJ David Mueller. The jury deliberated for about four hours before deciding that the one time radio host had groped the pop star during a meet and greet in Detroit in 2013, while her management team were not liable for "tortious interference" in his contract with his then employer.

As previously reported, it was Mueller who first went legal over the groping incident, denying that he had inappropriately touched Swift, and claiming that her allegations to that effect had lost him his radio job. She then countersued for assault.

After a week of testimonies, many of Mueller's claims against Swift and her management team - which includes her mother - were dismissed by the judge on Friday. Meaning that the jury had just two issues to consider yesterday: the remaining claim of "tortious interference" against Swift's team, and her counter-allegation of assault. The jury found in favour of Swift on both points.

While Mueller was at one point seeking $3 million from the case, Swift's countersuit was very much about the principle of matter, seeking a mere dollar in damages. But that dollar, her lawyer said during summing up, was a "symbolic dollar, the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation". By finding in favour of Swift and awarding her that single dollar, he told the jury, "you will tell every woman... that no means no".

Earlier in the day, according to the Associated Press, Mueller's legal rep - during his summing up - had asked why his client, having recently landed his dream job in radio, while having his photo taken alongside his then girlfriend, would use that moment to grope a pop star on camera. Or, in the words of attorney Gabriel McFarland: "I don't know what kind of person grabs or gropes a powerful music star, but it's not that guy. It's not the guy standing next to a woman he loves. It's not the guy who just landed his dream job with his best friend in the mountains of Denver".

But Swift's legal rep insisted: "The guy did it. Don't be fooled. Don't be snookered". He also compared the photo at the heart of the case – the one featuring Mueller and Swift - with another picture of the singer and a different adult couple taken during the same meet and greet. Noting that in the latter photo the man had his arm on Swift's shoulder, rather than positioned lower down her body as Mueller's arm was in his picture with the music star, the lawyer declared of the other photo: "[His arm] goes where my arm goes when I give a hug to my daughters' good friends. I don't go anywhere near their rear ends".

Although Swift earns no real damages from the case, she pledged to donate her own money to organisations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves, hoping that her win in this case will encourage other women to do so.

The musician said in a statement: "I want to thank Judge William J Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four year ordeal and two year long trial process".

She went on: "I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this. My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organisations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves".

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Ignition Records allies with FUGA
Digital distribution firm FUGA has announced a new deal with Ignition Records, the record label owned by London-based artist management outfit Ignition, which works with artists like Primal Scream, Courteeners and The Coral.

Confirming the deal, FUGA boss Pieter van Rijn said: "It is wonderful to see FUGA's roster keep expanding, with huge names like Ignition and a broad range of labels and services across the world choosing to use our best-of-breed digital distribution services".

While John Leahy at Ignition Records added: "We're excited to be partnering with FUGA and working with them for our digital distribution. We're especially looking forward to seeing them bring their unique brand of innovation and dedication to our artists".

In addition to the Ignition deal in the UK, FUGA has also confirmed a number of new clients in both North and South America, including mtheory, TTT, Prodigy Music Group, Fresh Goods Music and Interline Music Group.

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Flow Festival vows to investigate after artist is assaulted by security
Organisers of Finland's Flow Festival have said that they are "at a loss for words" and "very sad" after an artist performing at the event last weekend was allegedly assaulted by security, while another artist who tried to intervene was thrown off the festival's site.

The booking agency representing both Inga Mauer and Marie Davidson – Futura - issued a statement about the incident yesterday, in which it stated: "Last Saturday Inga Mauer was brutally beaten up by the security team at Flow Festival. She was taken off the festival site by the same team and handed over to the police, who arrested her and took her to a police station where she was forced to spend the night cut off from any communication".

Futura's statement goes on: "It also needs to be mentioned that the security team actively took action against people who wanted to intervene in the situation, as Marie Davidson did, [she] was pushed away and kicked out of the festival. She had no luck reaching anyone from the festival throughout the incident. It was a nightmare for all victims involved, and also for us trying to get hold of people and to solve the situation".

Davidson had earlier reported on the incident herself, in a statement republished by Resident Advisor. In it she wrote: "I witnessed a bunch of security guys hold a girl on the ground while she was screaming. As I approached to try to help, I found out that this girl was actually my friend Inga Mauer, an artist who had played a killer set only two hours before. She said they violently dragged her out of the festival area because she refused to leave right away. I tried to explain that I knew her and that I wanted to help her calm down because she was extremely confused and scared. As a result, we were both put aside, in a corner, isolated from the rest of the crowd. I tried to reach out to my friend but they wouldn't let me touch her".

Davidson says she told security staff that both she and Mauer were sober, and that she would like to take her fellow artist back to her hotel, so to bring the altercation to an end. But, she says, security didn't respond to the request. Instead, "the cops came and took my friend away to send her to jail. I begged them to let me go with her because she was crying and very scared, she was bleeding from her knee and was in shock. I just said, 'Please, let me stay with her'. Two security guys [then] took me by the arms and threw me out in the street out of the festival zone".

Davidson continues: "I told them I needed to at least be in touch with someone because I had no internet, no driver and no taxis were taking people to any place at this hour. They laughed and said 'go figure it out' and then closed the fence, leaving me in a totally unknown place without any way of reaching out for help".

Responding to the incident - and Futura and Davidson's respective commentaries on it - the festival put out its own statement yesterday, which reads: "We, the three partners of Flow Festival - Suvi Kallio, Tuomas Kallio and Toni Rantanen - are still at a loss for words and very sad about the episode that happened at the Flow Festival area early Sunday morning. Inga Mauer and Marie Davidson are artists and lovely friends who Toni Rantanen booked to perform at the festival".

It goes on: "It came to our knowledge that members of the security staff had used violence against Inga Mauer. Marie Davidson, who approached to try to help her, was inappropriately thrown out of the festival area. Even the police who came to sort out the situation acted threateningly and refused to give us any information after taking Inga Mauer to jail overnight. Flow Festival does not approve the use of violence and we were shocked and very sad to hear this. We are truly sorry for what Inga Mauer and Marie Davidson had to go through".

Confirming an investigation into the incident was now underway, the festival's statement added: "Luckily we have video, photos and eyewitnesses. As festival organisers, we take responsibility of this incident and will make sure everything will be investigated and taken care of properly. Serious discussions are underway with our lawyers and the subcontractor Local Crew Oy that was responsible for Flow Festival's 2017 security. Compensation for the victims must follow and something similar can never ever happen again. The security company has been a trusted subcontractor for many years, but now they have failed to do their job in the right manner".

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New CEO appointed at Pandora
It seems it's the season for appointing new CEOs at flagging but newly cash rich streaming music companies. And like SoundCloud, Pandora is hoping that an exec from the world of video can help turn their audio business into a profitable concern.

Pandora yesterday announced that it was appointing Roger Lynch into the CEO role left absent after the firm's founder Tim Westergren stepped aside in June. Lynch was most recently CEO of net-delivered telly platform Sling TV, and previously worked at television businesses the DISH Network in the US and Video Networks International in the UK.

He joins the Pandora company following the previously reported round of restructuring there, which saw Sirius XM pump $480 million into the firm and take up to a 19% stake, the sell off of ticketing business Ticketfly, and the aforementioned departure of Westergren.

Lynch's task ahead is to boost the ad sales of Pandora's core free-to-access personalised radio service, while concurrently upselling paid-for options (the ad-free personalised radio 'Plus' offer and the fully on-demand 'Premium' set-up) to the freebie subscribers.

Pandora commands a significant user-base in the US market, though the vast majority are on the free option. So, the key questions to determine Pandora's long-term survival are: can the company secure a much bigger slice of the internet advertising dollar, and/or can it sign up enough users to the paid-for options to be profitable.

Lynch's appointment was announced by Pandora Chairman and former EMI chief Roger Faxon, who said that the new CEO "brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience and a lifelong passion for music to Pandora – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company. We are absolutely confident that Roger is the right leader for Pandora who can create value for shareholders by marrying Pandora's numerous assets with the opportunities ahead".

As for those assets and opportunities, Faxon embellished so: "As I have said before, with 'digital radio' at the core of our business, and both 'Plus' and 'Premium' as new, integral parts of our arsenal, Pandora is now in an ideal position to leverage changing consumer behaviours to further expand and monetise our listening audience. We are very excited to welcome Roger as our CEO as we embark on our next chapter with renewed focus, a strong balance sheet, a strategic partnership with SiriusXM, and an incredible team of loyal and creative employees".

Good times. Pandora also announced it had appointed another entertainment industry veteran to its board, to sit alongside the likes of one-time EMI man Faxon and former AEG chief Tim Leiweke. The new recruit is Michael Lynton, who ran the US-based Sony Entertainment business until earlier this year.

Leiweke stepped forward with a statement about that appointment, stating that: "We are also truly excited to welcome Michael Lynton to the Pandora board. Michael is a seasoned executive with strong business acumen and a long track record of leading public companies. He brings critical skills to our board and will lend valuable counsel as we focus on driving meaningful, long-term value for our shareholders and capturing an increasing share of the music listening audience".

The new appointments at Pandora come hot on the heels of the change of management at SoundCloud, where former Vimeo chief Kerry Trainor has been appointed as CEO, following a substantial cash injection by The Raine Group and Temasek.

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1Xtra to get nostalgic on fifteenth birthday
BBC Radio 1Xtra is fifteen years old tomorrow, and the urban music station is planning to celebrate by dedicating an hour of airtime to each of its fifteen years, featuring music and archive clips from said years.

Artists who have been championed by the station are also appearing, tomorrow and throughout the week, both on the evening show and via the 1Xtra Live Lounge. Chip and Tinchy Stryder will guest on the latter, tomorrow and Thursday respectively, joining DJ Ace, who has been a 1Xtra host since its launch in 2002.

Commenting on the 1Xtra anniversary, Controller Ben Cooper said: "I'm proud of 1Xtra's authentic voice, it's growth from half a million to a million listeners, it's skill in providing the wider media with a greater diversity of presenting talent, and its ability to support and establish exciting new British artists. It's been an amazing fifteen years for the station which has grown and become a huge asset to its young audience, the music industry and the BBC".

Meanwhile the aforementioned Ace added: "I'm so proud to have been part of 1Xtra since it launched fifteen years ago. Although some of the voices have changed over the years our dedication to bringing you new music, breaking exciting artists, interviewing big guests and entertaining listeners remains the same".

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Streaming makes full albums less necessary, muses Muse
The way that the shift to streaming is changing patterns in music consumption is putting Muse off making a new album. So, you know, there's always a silver lining. Though there'll still be new material, it seems, just possibly a string of singles rather than a new LP. Possibly starting off with recent single release 'Dig Down'.

Or at least that is what comments by bassist Chris Wolstenholme to Music Feeds suggest. He rambled thus: "In the last five or six years, streaming has become the way that most people seem to listen to music these days, and I think that's affected the way people listen to music. People tend not to consume ... entire albums like they did when I was younger. It seems to be that the whole industry - and the platforms for listening to music - are catered around people listening to individual songs and creating their own playlists".

But, you know, if bands were to shift to putting out occasional singles rather than big fat albums every two years, well, that would have an up side. "Sometimes as a band", he adds, "even in times when you're off - you don't necessarily feel like you want to make an entire album, but sometimes it's quite nice to get together as a band for a bit of fun".

"And if anything comes of that, you think, 'well why not release it as a standalone single?' I think for years things have been tapered around an album campaign, promoting an album and having singles to promote the album. [But] I guess we all feel that, with the way that streaming works these days, and with so much emphasis on individual songs, that there is no reason why we couldn't [now] do that".

Which isn't to say there won't be another Muse album, but maybe in the meantime they could do some one-off single releases. "I know at some point we will do another album", he concludes, "but I think it's a nice thing to do in the meantime so the fans feel like they're still getting something; we haven't completely disappeared off the face of the planet".

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Fire Records, ASCAP, Green Day, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Fire Records has announced it is acquiring the Lemonheads recordings released by Atlantic Records as part of Warner Music's much previously reported divestment of catalogue to indie labels. Fire Records already controlled some earlier The Lemonheads recordings and is now planning a reissue campaign.

• US collecting society ASCAP has hired former New York Times digital exec Tristan Boutros to be its Chief Technology Officer, a role that will involve overseeing the PRO's "evolving technology strategy and execution to scale the global IT systems and infrastructure".

• Green Day have reportedly parted company with their manager of two decades Pat Magnarella. According to reports, the band have now allied with Crush Music for management.

• See this recently posted Bruno Mars video for his track 'Versace On The Floor'? The press release suggested I embed it. But life's too short, frankly. Just watch it on YouTube for fucks sake.

• Thirty Seconds To Mars will release the first single off their forthcoming fifth album on 22 Aug. It is called 'Walk On Water'. They will play it at the MTV Video Music Awards the following week. Busy busy. Here's a teaser video if you're interested in such things.

• Do you like Grizzly Bear? Do you want to see the new video for their song 'Mourning Sound', the lead single from their forthcoming new album 'Paint Ruins'? If 'yes', then you should praise the Lord for the internet.

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Glass Animals respond to Reading's "fruitist" pineapple ban
Glass Animals have responded to the news that pineapples have been banned from the Reading and Leeds festivals this year.

Festival organisers have added the food stuff to the list of banned items alongside fireworks, gas canisters and anything that could be considered a weapon - which might have already covered pineapples, depending on what you planned to do with them.

The reason is that some fans of Glass Animals have become somewhat pineapple obsessed as a result of the line "pineapples in my head" in the band's song 'Pork Soda'.

With the band playing this year's Reading and Leeds festivals, a spokesman for the events told the BBC: "Organisers were a little concerned about hundreds of pineapples turning up on site so decided to ask fans not to bring them along". Though said spokesperson then conceded that "the tongue may be slightly in cheek on this one".

Asked about the pineapple ban by NME, the band wisely observed that "anyone who wasn't bringing a pineapple definitely is now", before declaring: "It's fruitist. Watermelons are fine, but not pineapples? [And] it's irresponsible to stop young people at a festival having vital vitamin P".

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