Tom Petty dies
Tom Petty died yesterday after a cardiac arrest, it has been confirmed. He was 66.

According to reports, the musician was found unconscious and not breathing at his Malibu home in the early hours of Monday morning. He was taken to hospital, but could not be revived and was pronounced dead yesterday evening.

In a statement on behalf of Petty's family, his manager Tony Dimitriades said: "We are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PST surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends".

Born in Florida in 1950, Petty became a professional musician as a teenager, and found fame in the 1970s with Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. With the band, he produced hits such as 'Free Fallin', 'American Girl', 'Learning To Fly' and 'Refugee'.

In the 1980s, he also founded the Travelling Wilburys supergroup with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and George Harrison. In a statement yesterday, Dylan said: "It's shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I'll never forget him".

Last month, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers completed a tour to mark their 40th anniversary, including a show at London's British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park. The band's most recent album, 'Hypnotic Eye', was released in 2014, going to number one in the US and number seven in the UK.

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Ticketmaster sues touts over bot use
Live Nation's Ticketmaster has sued two companies in the US, alleging that they have used bot technology to buy up tickets for live shows.

As previously reported, so called bots allow users to buy up large quantities of tickets for in-demand concerts, in order to put them on the secondary market before genuine fans have had a chance to buy them from primary sellers.

The use of bots is the touting issue where even the secondary ticketing sites - such as those operated by Ticketmaster - have supported more regulation. And even where the law hasn't introduced a specific bots ban, many primary sites specifically prohibit their use in their terms and conditions.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ticketmaster has filed a lawsuit against Prestige Entertainment, Renaissance Ventures and two individuals over the use of bots to purchase tickets from its platform.

Earlier this year, Prestige and Renaissance agreed to fund the bulk of a $4.2 million settlement with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman - who has been a strong proponent of restrictions on touts - as part of which they also agreed to stop using bots. Ticketmaster now says it has evidence that this agreement has been broken.

"Ticketmaster has uncovered evidence that suggests Renaissance has already breached the agreement by continuing to utilise bots to purchase tickets offered by Ticketmaster", says the lawsuit. It also says that the defendants have ignored cease and desist letters.

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US Supreme Court declines Megaupload assets case
All avenues to reclaim seized MegaUpload assets by Kim Dotcom and the long defunct file transfer site's other founders have now been exhausted in the US, after the country's Supreme Court decided not to hear the case. However, Dotcom's legal rep Ira Rothken says that they will now focus their efforts on courts in New Zealand and Hong Kong, where most of the assets are actually held.

As much previously reported, MegaUpload was taken down in a raid co-ordinated by US and New Zealand authorities in 2012. An estimated $67 million of assets were seized, much of which remain in the hands of the authorities while Dotcom and his associates fight extradition to the States. Various efforts have been made to have the assets released in the American courts, largely based on claims that the MegaUpload team have falsely been labelled "fugitives" by US authorities.

Dotcom's lawyers argue that their client is not a fugitive, and that he is simply fighting America's extradition efforts in New Zealand according to the two countries' extradition treaty - as is his right.

The case has been through various appeals, with the courts for the most part siding with the US authorities. Earlier this year, Dotcom's lawyers announced plans to take the case to the Supreme Court, saying that if the top court knocked back the case, or confirmed the lower court rulings, it would "weaponise fugitive disentitlement in order to claim assets abroad".

Following the Supreme Court's decision not the hear the case, Dotcom's legal rep Ira Rothken told Torrentfreak: "We are disappointed in the US Supreme Court's denial of the 'cert petition' - it is a bad day for due process and international treaties. Kim Dotcom has never been to the United States, is presumed innocent, and is lawfully opposing extradition under the US/New Zealand Treaty - yet the US, by merely labelling him as a fugitive, gets a judgment to take all of his assets with no due process".

However, he added, this is not the final step in their attempts to get those assets back, saying: "The New Zealand and Hong Kong courts, who have authority over the assets, will now need to weigh in on this issue and we are cautiously optimistic that they will take a dim view of the Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine and oppose US efforts to seize such assets".

While this is all going on, Dotcom et al continue their efforts to avoid being extradited from New Zealand to the US.

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Route 91 Harvest attack "beyond comprehension", says Live Nation
The organisers of the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, and its promoter Live Nation, yesterday issued statements, following the attack there this weekend that left 59 people dead and 527 injured.

Route 91's organisers said: "On behalf of the entire Route 91 Harvest Family, we are completely devastated by the event that occurred Sunday night. Our deepest sympathies go out to the injured and the deceased and their loved ones, senseless violence has claimed the souls of our fans and we have little in the way of answers".

"While we will try and move forward, we will never forget this day", the statement concludes. "We will not let hate win over love. We will not be defeated by senseless violence. We will persevere, and honour the souls that were lost. Because it matters".

Live Nation meanwhile said: "We are heartbroken over the tragedy that took place at the Route 91 Harvest festival. To think that anyone would want to inflict harm on a gathering of music lovers is beyond our comprehension. And while we are stunned and grieving over this incomprehensible act of violence, we know that this is a moment when we must come together to prevent more tragedies like this from occurring".

It added: "Live Nation will do everything in our power to support the victims and their families through the aftermath of this horrendous event and extends our deepest gratitude to the heroic first responders who helped save as many lives as possible. To our Live Nation on-site employees, we cannot thank you enough for your bravery and perseverance over the past 24 hours and will ensure you have the resources and support necessary to heal from this".

As previously reported, the shooting began as the festival's final night headliner Jason Aldean began his performance. He previously described the event as "beyond horrific". In a statement yesterday, BMG, which acquired Aldean's record label Broken Bow Records, in January, confirmed that Aldean, his band and crew, and two BMG employees were unharmed.

BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch said: "We are horrified by the events in Las Vegas overnight and relieved to report that all of our people have escaped uninjured. Too many others were not so fortunate. We send our condolences and best wishes to all of those affected by this dreadful act".

Broken Bow EVP Jon Loba added: "While our artists and staff are safe, our hearts are broken for those listeners in our extended family who just wanted to share a night of great music and the camaraderie that is the hallmark of country music".

A reception in London last night to launch Country Music Week, featuring various BMG artists, went ahead as planned, Masuch saying: "Faced with such horrific events, it is only human to consider cancelling, but everyone involved was unanimous in their determination to carry on. The spirit of music is the spirit of life and it will not be intimidated".

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Microsoft shifts Groove Music customers to Spotify
Microsoft has announced that it is winding down some of the functionality of its Groove Music service, pushing customers over to Spotify instead.

You possibly haven't thought about Groove Music since you laughed at the name when it was rebranded from Xbox Music two years ago. Although it will continue to live on as the Groove Music app - which Microsoft says it will "continue to invest in and update" - the company is discontinuing the Groove Music Pass streaming service and also music download sales through the Windows Store.

"With the continued advancement of music streaming today, all the world's music has become easily accessible across a variety of devices, unlocking new ways to discover and experience music", says Microsoft in a statement. "As we continue to listen to what our customers want in their music experience we know that access to the best streaming service, the largest catalogue of music, and a variety of subscriptions is top of the list. Which is why we're excited to announce that we're expanding our partnership with Spotify to bring the world's largest music streaming service to our Groove Music Pass customers".

Groove Music Pass customers will be able to move their playlists over to Spotify, and will also receive a 60 trial of Spotify Premium. The Groove Music app will lose the ability to stream, purchase and download music after 31 Dec, leaving it as an app to simply play and manage music already owned by the user.

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The CMU Podcast relaunches as Setlist
A change is as good as a rest, so they say. And the CMU Podcast has had both, returning from a two month summer break as Setlist.

Originally launched in 2011, the CMU Podcast has been through various iterations, including a brief period being recorded live in front of an audience at the Roundhouse in Camden. It returned to a weekly format in 2015, thanks to sponsorship from 7digital, with CMU's Andy Malt and Chris Cooke taking an irreverent but in-depth look at the week's biggest music business news stories.

As Setlist, the format of the show stays roughly the same, but comes with a new theme tune and artwork, as well as the new name.

"When we first launched the podcast, we thought of it as a supplement for CMU Daily readers - a way for people to delve further into what we'd been discussing in the bulletin", says Malt. "But the show has built up a loyal following over the years, which has grown dramatically since our 2015 relaunch. It now reaches far beyond CMU Daily readers - and for many listeners it is their first introduction to CMU. Now seemed like the right time to relaunch the show with a new name, as that audience continues to grow".

Of the show itself, Malt adds: "Recording the podcast is the highlight of my week, which I hope comes across to listeners. I love being able to look at stories in ways that we're not necessarily able to in written form, and to further analyse what's going on in the modern music industry. If you are already a CMU reader, I think it does complement what you read in the Daily, as we originally intended. But if it's your only contact with what we do, you'll get plenty from it too".

Episode 1 of Setlist is available now, wherever you get your podcasts from - you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, SoundCloud, audioBoom and many more. Find out more and listen here.

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Who Sampled teams up with Sony/ATV for new Samplethon
Sony/ATV and Who Sampled are teaming up for a Samplethon event next month. The event will see 20 producers given access to pre-cleared music from the music publisher's KPM production music label to do with as they wish over the course of the day.

The event will take place at Point Black Studios in London on 15 Oct, with a team of mentors on hand to help as the producers work against the clock. The final tracks will be judged at the end of the day, with three winners having their music placed on a forthcoming KPM vinyl release.

For more information and to apply to take part, click here.

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Thom Yorke announces solo shows
Thom Yorke has announced a handful of solo live shows to mark the reissue of his 2014 album, 'Tomorrow's Modern Boxes'. Originally released on BitTorrent, the new version of the record will be made available by XL on 8 Dec.

All three shows are in the US at the moment, but I suppose he might announce more. Anyway, in the event that you can make it to any of them, here are the dates:

12 Dec: LA, Fonda Theater
14 Dec: Oakland, Fox Theater
17 Dec: Houston, Day For Night Festival

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Mute, Stormzy, Daphni, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• A new book collecting material from the archives of the Mute record label will be published on 16 Nov. Titled 'Mute: A Visual Document - From 1978 To Tomorrow', it has been put together by Terry Burrows and label founder Daniel Miller.

• Stormzy has released a new track, '4pm In London', which sees him freestyle over the instrumental of Drake's '4pm In Calabasas'.

• Dan Snaith will release a new album as Daphni, titled 'Joli Mai', on 6 Oct. It will feature full tracks from his recent Fabriclive mix, plus other new material. He'll launch the album with two DJ sets in London, at Five Miles on 7 Oct and Corsica Studios on 8 Oct. From the album, this is 'Carry On'.

• And So I Watch You From Afar have released new single 'Dying Giants'. Their new album, 'The Endless Shimmering', is out on 20 Oct. The band will tour the UK and Ireland in November and December.

• Helena Hauff will release new EP 'Have You Been There, Have You Seen It', on 27 Oct. From it, this is 'Gift'.

• Youthmovies have announced a one-off reunion show to mark the tenth anniversary of their 'Good Nature' album. Taking place on 9 Mar 2018 at The Bullingdon in Oxford, the event will raise money for the Michael Barry Fund brain tumour charity.

• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.

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Morrissey claims UKIP leadership election was "rigged"
Morrissey has said a thing that people found confusing and possibly slightly offensive. We should probably just run that sentence once a week, assuming that it will always be correct. This week, he's claiming that the UKIP leadership election was rigged.

Performing live on BBC Radio 6 Music to promote new album, 'Low In High School', and kick off the radio station's '6 Music Live' week, Morrissey told the audience at Maida Vale Studios: "I was very surprised the other day. It was very interesting to me to see Anne Marie Waters become the head of UKIP. Oh no, sorry she didn't - the voting was rigged. Sorry, I forgot".

Met with bemused silence, he added: "You didn't get it, did you? You obviously don't read the news".

Anne Marie Waters was one of six contenders for leadership of UKIP in last week's election. Although one of the favourites, her standing as an anti-Islam candidate was controversial even within the party. Most of the party's MEPs threatened to quit if she was elected, and there were fears that a last minute rush of new members to the party before the vote was a sign of a far right coup. In the end, she was beaten into second place by the more libertarian Henry Bolton, who secured 29.9% of the vote to Waters' 21.3%.

Whether or not Morrissey's comments showed support for Waters or not isn't clear. The musician has previously expressed admiration for former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, due to his "quite logical" ideas. Bolton's views are more in line with Farage's, so would seemingly be more likely to get Morrissey's support. But maybe Moz is digging the anti-Islam vibe post-Brexit. Although, given how "magnificent" the former Smiths vocalist felt the referendum result was, you'd think he'd want someone more focussed on pushing for that result to be delivered.

Either way, what we're looking at here is an increasingly irrelevant force in British discourse. And also UKIP.

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