| Available to premium subscribers, CMU Trends digs deeper into the inner workings of the music business, explaining how things work and reviewing all the recent trends. | |
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CHINA, AI AND MUSIC EDUCATION - SETTING THE AGENDA As CMU Insights publishes agendas for each of the conferences that it will present at The Great Escape later this year, CMU Trends outlines the background to each theme being explored: the future of music education in the UK, the AI technologies most likely to kick-start a revolution in music, and challenges and opportunities in the Chinese music market. [READ MORE] |
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AI - THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN MUSIC? Music business conference Midem this week publishes a brand new white paper from our consultancy unit CMU Insights reviewing the potential impact various AI technologies will have on the music industry in the next decade. As a preview, CMU Trends presents some highlights. [READ MORE] |
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TOP FIVE STREAMING CHALLENGES It's been a while since we've put the spotlight on challenges in the streaming sector. CMU Insights presented a new speed briefing on that very topic at the Output conference in Belfast this week. Based on that, here is a CMU Trends overview of the top five streaming challenges. [READ MORE] |
| TOP STORIES | NME publisher Time Inc UK sold to private equity in £130 million deal READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LEGAL | 50 Cent doesn't have $8.5 million worth of bitcoin READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| DEALS | The Magic Numbers ally with Absolute on new album READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LABELS & PUBLISHERS | Fuck me, Ed Sheeran was the most successful act in 2017, who knew? READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LIVE BUSINESS | Rainbow Venues' outdoor space taken over by MJR Expedia moves into ticketing, but as a resale platform READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| DIGITAL & D2F SERVICES | People and machines collaborate on new K-pop songs READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| GIGS & FESTIVALS | Festival Republic announces V Festival replacement READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | Chris Cornell, Pendulum, Rolling Stones, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Moby definitely invented the iPhone READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| Check out all the latest job opportunities with CMU Jobs. To advertise your job opportunities here email [email protected] or call 020 7099 0906. | |
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AEI MEDIA - MARKETING EXECUTIVE (LONDON) An exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented and experienced marketing executive to work in-house at AEI Media across our variety of global music brands and artists. For more information and to apply click here. |
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SUNDAY BEST RECORDINGS - MARKETING ASSISTANT (LONDON) Sunday Best is seeking an enthusiastic and creative member of staff to join a small team at a with minimum one year marketing experience in a record label. For more information and to apply click here. |
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BELIEVE SYNC - SYNC MANAGER (LONDON) Believe Sync is looking for a self-motivated individual looking for a unique opportunity in the world of sync. For more information and to apply click here. |
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MUSIC MANAGEMENT COMPANY - ASSISTANT MANAGER (LONDON) London based independent management company seeks assistant manager for roster of artists, writers and producers. For more information and to apply click here. |
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BROWNSWOOD RECORDINGS - SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER (LONDON) Brownswood is looking for a driven and highly organised social media manager with great design and copywriting skills plus an instinctive understanding of the label's brand. For more information and to apply click here. |
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MPA GROUP OF COMPANIES - MUSIC PUBLISHING & SYNC CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) The Music Publishers Association is seeking a highly organised, pro-active, efficient and positive team player to work as its Music Publishing and Sync Co-ordinator Executive. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT MUSIC GROUP - BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER (LONDON) An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Business Affairs Manager to join the fast-growing master rights division of Kobalt’s Business Affairs team in London. For more information and to apply click here. |
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O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER - BOX OFFICE MANAGER (MANCHESTER) The O2 Apollo Manchester is seeking a Box Office Manager to co-ordinate all venue box office and ticketing activities. For more information and to apply click here. |
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INVOLVED GROUP - ROYALTY & ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT MANAGER (LONDON) Involved Group is looking for an experienced Royalty & Accounts Assistant Manager to join its busy and growing Finance Team. For more information and to apply click here. |
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O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN - ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER (LONDON) Academy Music Group is recruiting for an Assistant General Manager to assist in all aspects of the Operation of the building in relation to events staged at O2 Forum Kentish Town. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT MUSIC RECORDINGS - INTERNATIONAL LABEL & PRODUCT MANAGER (LONDON) Kobalt Music Recordings is looking for a flexible, confident and highly organised International Label & Product Manager, based out of our London office. For more information and to apply click here. |
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CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING - ROYALTY TRACKING MANAGER (LONDON) Concord Music Publishing's Royalty Tracking Manager role will focus on maximising client royalties through the tracking of missing revenue. A good understanding of UK, and potentially European, music collection societies and royalty processes is essential. For more information and to apply click here. |
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LISTEN UP - SENIOR PRESS MANAGER (LONDON) Listen Up is currently recruiting for a highly motivated Senior Press Manager with a passion for electronic music and industry relevant experience to join our rapidly growing team. For more information and to apply click here. |
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HOUSE OF BESTIVAL - NEW BUSINESS PROJECT MANAGER (LONDON) House of Bestival, the brand activation and creative prop house division of the Bestival group, is recruiting a New Business Project Manager with solid production expertise to bring innovative ideas to life in green fields and beyond. For more information and to apply click here. |
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KOBALT MUSIC GROUP - CLIENT ADMIN ASSISTANT (LONDON) Kobalt Music Recordings (KMR) is looking for a detail-oriented and organised individual to assist with our royalty and accounting responsibilities within our Artist and Label Services department, incorporating the AWAL distribution business. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE ORCHARD - INTERNATIONAL ARTIST & LABEL MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) The Orchard is looking for a savvy, seasoned International Artist & Label Marketing Co-ordinator to promote The Orchard’s artists and labels in Europe and beyond. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE ORCHARD - LABEL MANAGER (LONDON) The Orchard has an immediate opening for a label manager in our London office. Managing key relationships you will be the first point of contact for a number of labels, artists and managers. For more information and to apply click here. |
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FIRE RECORDS - PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION ADMINISTRATOR (LONDON) Fire Records is seeking a Production And Distribution Administrator, experienced in all areas of record production and manufacturing. For more information and to apply click here. |
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SHOGUN AUDIO GROUP - PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER (BRIGHTON) Shogun Audio Group is looking to hire an experienced, highly motivated, passionate Product and Distribution Manager to join our growing team. For more information and to apply click here. |
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ACADEMY EVENTS - TOUR MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR (LONDON) Academy Events is seeking a Tour Marketing Co-ordinator to co-ordinate the sales and marketing function for tours, liaising with promoters, agencies, marketing depts and PR, seeking creative marketing opportunities, maximising ticket sales and other such revenues by developing and managing key marketing campaigns. For more information and to apply click here. |
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WILDLIFE ENTERTAINMENT - FINANCE MANAGER (MATERNITY COVER) (LONDON) Finance Manager for a successful artist management company based in Parsons Green. Accounting for artists, in particular touring for multiple active acts. This is a part time role, three days a week, for a nine month maternity cover contract commencing April 2018. For more information and to apply click here. |
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THE MUSIC ROYALTY COMPANY - ROYALTIES ASSISTANT (LONDON) The Music Royalty Company provides financial and administrative services to many record labels, distributors, publishers and recording artists. We require a dedicated Royalties Assistant eager to progress their career alongside other talented people. For more information and to apply click here. |
| CMU Insights provides training and consultancy to music companies and companies working with music. Find out about our seminars, masterclasses and primers here... | |
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CMU SEMINARS: BUILDING A FANBASE AND FAN BUSINESS Mondays 5, 12 Mar 2018 at 6.30pm in London These CMU Insights seminars together provide an overview of how to build a fanbase for new artists and new music. They also look at how artists can use these channels to build a direct-fo-fan business. Places are just £49.99. CLICK HERE FOR INFO. |
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CMU PRIMER: KEY MUSIC BUSINESS TRENDS 2018 These are courses we can run in-house at your company As we head into 2018, CMU Insights is now offering music companies a special two-hour primer session reviewing five key areas of the music business, summarising important developments from the last twelve months and looking at the challenges that lie ahead in the next year. Including: the streaming business, piracy, safe harbour, ticketing and data. CLICK HERE FOR INFO. |
NME publisher Time Inc UK sold to private equity in £130 million deal
Private equity company Epiris yesterday announced a deal to buy NME publisher Time Inc UK in a transaction reported to be worth £130 million. The acquisition of Time Inc's UK business comes hot on the heels of a deal in the US in which the Meredith Corporation is buying the parent company. Presumably US-centric Meredith wasn't so excited about the British magazines that came to it under its big Time Inc deal.
One of the main magazine publishers in the UK, the British wing of Time Inc publishes music titles NME and Uncut. Other magazines in its eclectic portfolio include Wallpaper, What's On TV, TV Times, Soaplife, InStyle UK, Look and Marie Claire.
According to The Guardian, it is thought that new owner Epiris will likely review all the magazines currently published by Time Inc UK and could seek to offload underperforming titles. Meanwhile, it may well seek to acquire additional magazines from other publishers - a possible bid for independent media firm Dennis Publishing is rumoured - while also seeking economies across the business that could result in some downsizing of the workforce.
These assumptions are partly based on remarks by Epiris partner Chris Hanna, who said of Time Inc UK: "At its heart this is a diverse, robust and cash-generative business. We intend to bring clarity and simplicity to it, to focus on maximising the potential of its high-quality portfolio".
Confirmation of the Time Inc UK deal coincided with the news that NME Editor Mike Williams has decided to step down from the role with immediate effect. He says that after more than five years in the job he felt it was time to move on. Williams has edited the title since 2012, overseeing the music weekly during its big shift from being a paid for music-focused magazine to a free title with a wider entertainment remit.
Elsewhere in media deals news, it's emerged this morning that US broadcasting giant Comcast is bidding to buy the Sky TV business in Europe. In doing so it is attempting to gazump a bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, which already owns nearly 40% of the publicly listed Sky plc, and which has been trying to secure complete ownership of the satellite telly company for some time.
The idea of the Murdoch-led Fox having complete ownership of Sky plc - and its Sky News channel - has proven controversial in the UK, of course, what with the also Murdoch-led News Corp already owning The Times, The Sun and various British radio stations. And with Murdoch being Murdoch. And with all that phone hacking business. And with all of that "we never did any phone hacking, except, oh, actually we did" business.
21st Century Fox's bid to buy Sky has been slightly complicated by Disney's move to acquire 21st Century Fox, which would see Murdoch become a minority shareholder in the combined entertainment powerhouse. So, hurrah for the rival bid from Comcast complicating things even further.
50 Cent doesn't have $8.5 million worth of bitcoin
50 Cent has denied that he is sitting on a big pile of bitcoins stemming from sales of his 2014 album 'Animal Ambition'. This follows reports that he had a bitcoin collection worth up to $8.5 million. Something that would be of interest to the court that oversaw the rapper's recent bankruptcy proceedings.
50 Cent declared himself bankrupt in 2015 amid a legal battle with Lastonia Leviston, who sued him over a sex tape he had posted online in which she appeared. Though the bankruptcy didn't actually stop that litigation, as he had been hoped. The court subsequently approved a bankruptcy settlement in 2016.
If, as TMZ reported last month, 50 Cent had been sitting on 700 bitcoins since 2014, that might have changed those bankruptcy proceedings somewhat. The gossip site said that the bitcoins gathered through sales of 'Animal Ambition' had been unredeemed. Worth $400,000 in 2014, that many bitcoins would now be worth anything up to $8.5 million.
However, in a legal filing seen by rival gossip site The Blast, 50 Cent's lawyers insist that any bitcoins earned by the 2014 record were cashed in long ago. They told the court that a third party had handled bitcoin sales of 'Animal Ambition' and passed monies onto their client in dollars.
They added that the rapper "never owned, and does not own, a bitcoin account or any bitcoins, and to the best of his knowledge, none of his companies had a bitcoin account from 2014 to the present".
As for why 50 Cent didn't just say this when the TMZ report first circulated - well - because the idea of him selling records for bitcoins and then sitting on the virtual cash while it boomed in value made him look like a shrewd operator.
The Blast quote the rapper as stating to the court: "As a general matter, so long as a press story is not irreparably damaging to my image or brand, I usually do not feel the need to publicly deny the reporting. This is particularly true when I feel the press report in question is favourable to my image or brand, even if the report is based on a misunderstanding of the facts or contains outright falsehoods".
The Magic Numbers ally with Absolute on new album
The Magic Numbers have allied with Absolute Label Services for the release of their new album 'Outsiders'. The record will be released in May by the band's own Role Play Records, with Absolute providing sales, marketing, distribution and sync services.
The band's manager Phil Jones at Riverman Management says: "I fell in love with 'Outsiders' the moment I sat down and played it for the very first time. This is a band at the top of their game, and we are THRILLED to be joining forces with Mark and the Absolute team to deliver this wonderful record. I can't think of a better home from which to launch the next chapter of The Magic Numbers' career".
"But who's this Mark of whom you speak" I hear you all shouting at your screen. Well, it's Absolute Label Services Director Mark Dowling. Obviously!
Says he: "I have been a big fan of The Magic Numbers since their debut so I'm very happy that the band and Phil at Riverman have chosen Absolute to be their partners on 'Outsiders'. It's a phenomenal album with incredible songs from a band that is back to their very best".
Fuck me, Ed Sheeran was the most successful act in 2017, who knew?
The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry yesterday published its annual list of the ten best-selling/streamed artists of 2017 and - hey - hold on to your hats for the big reveal - you're never going to guess - what a twist no one saw coming - who'd have thought it could ever be so - topping the pile is Edward Sheeran.
That's good news for us Brits, who like to boast about how our music industry consistently punches above its weight on the global music stage, given this year everyone else in the top ten harks from North America. However, before all you Trumpers start boasting that that's what happens when you "make America great again", let's all note that the second most successful artist of 2017 is Canadian. Hey Canada, how you doing? Look at us, pushing those Americans into third place. Fuck them, I say.
Away from all this unrelenting patriotism, the more depressing feature of the 2017 'most successful artists' list is surely the fact that third place Taylor Swift is the only woman in the top ten. The list always skews male, but not usually to that extent.
Quite how diverse this list is in terms of gender, ethnicity and nationality does always depend, to an extent, on the release schedule, and which of the very small group of truly global superstar artists have been active in the previous twelve months.
Still, the notable lack of female acts this year makes the various initiatives to address the gender gap in music all the more pressing. Especially given that, even when a few more female superstars do populate lists like this one, you always know that the songwriters, producers and session musicians those superstars have worked with are likely to be mainly male.
But hey, Brit-boy Ed Sheeran, the most successful artist of 2017, woo! "Being crowned the biggest star in the world, with the biggest song and biggest album, is the result of years of ambition, creativity, and hard work on a global scale", says the boss of Sheeran's record company Warner Music, Max Lousada.
Adds Lousada: "Ed is truly an incredible songwriter, vocalist and performer, whose ability to tell stories and make people feel is what stands him out from the crowd. He's always had a totally authentic connection with his fans, something he places over everything else. Congrats also to [Sheeran's manager] Stuart Camp, the Atlantic teams in the UK and US, and everyone at Warner who contributed to Ed's amazing success story".
Now that we've all suitably celebrating Sheeran's success, let's all get depressed again over the full top ten...
1. Ed Sheeran
2. Drake
3. Taylor Swift
4. Kendrick Lamar
5. Eminem
6. Bruno Mars
7. The Weeknd
8. Imagine Dragons
9. Linkin Park
10. The Chainsmokers
Rainbow Venues' outdoor space taken over by MJR
The outdoor venue previously operated by Birmingham's Rainbow Venues, the Rainbow Arena, has been taken over by the MJR Group. The deal comes as the result of the ongoing fallout from Rainbow losing its licence last year.
MJR plans to rebrand the site the Digbeth Arena, with shows from James Arthur, Texas, The The and Garbage already scheduled for August and September. Rainbow Venues has meanwhile said that it plans to return to promoting shows around the UK, as Rainbow Events, suggesting that it may give up more of its venues in Birmingham.
Rainbow's various venues have been closed since November last year, when Birmingham City Council revoked the company's licence. The council's decision came as the result of two drug-related deaths in the main Rainbow warehouse clubbing space. Eighteen year old Dylan Booth died at the venue in 2015, while nineteen year old Michael Trueman died at a Halloween event last year.
The club's operators argued that they had extremely strict anti-drugs and security policies. However, they said that no one can "promise that drugs will not enter licensed premises", while also pointing out that it was the drug users, not the venue, who had broken the law.
Rainbow has since launched a campaign calling for better drugs education, rather than having councils shut down clubs, which just pushes the problem elsewhere. It is also raising money in order to appeal the decision to revoke its licence, and has announced a festival to push its education agenda. That event is due to take place on the site that Rainbow has just given up on 29 Sep.
MJR's Benjamin Newby says in a statement: "We are honoured and humbled to become part of the innovative and artistic hub that is Digbeth, Birmingham. We have already started developing great relationships with the business and creative community and look forward to what the future will bring. We recognise the dedicated and inspirational work Rainbow Venues have put into their venues and Digbeth as a whole".
Commenting on the deal, Rainbow Venues founder Lee McDonald adds: "Our business will return full circle to the position from where we originally started. Working with emerging and established artists, bands and labels to produce extraordinary and memorable experiences for music fans and clubbers across the country under The Rainbow Events. We have a strong relationship with The MJR Group and could not be happier that they are the company taking the arena forward into the future".
A growing concert promoter and venue operator, Bristol-based MJR already runs The Marble Factory in Bristol, The Engine Rooms in Southampton, Sub 89 and The Bowery District in Reading, and The Globe and The Tramshed in Cardiff.
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Expedia moves into ticketing, but as a resale platform
With Amazon officially bailing on tickets last week (for now at least), maybe it's worth noting that earlier this month travel website Expedia added tickets into the mix on its US platform. Although it seemingly did so by allying with an American secondary ticketing site called TicketNetwork. So less an exciting new player looking to shake up the primary ticketing market, and more a new platform via which touts can tout their touted tickets. Albeit this time bundled in with a cheap hotel and car rental.
Confirming the addition of tickets to its site, Expedia Local Expert VP Jen O'Twomney said earlier this month: "We know travellers are looking for unique and authentic experiences while in-destination. They want to catch a baseball game at a stadium they've never been to, or see a show that isn't playing in their hometown".
She went on: "There's also a growing trend to build entire trips around events, to attend a music festival, follow a specific artist on tour, or root for your team at an away game. Adding event tickets to our product offering makes all the sense in the world and gives us another way to help travellers get the most out of their vacation".
Given the increasingly vocal campaign against online ticket touting, it's interesting to see Expedia move into this space by becoming a marketplace for resellers rather than allying with primary ticket agents.
The site does state that "we are a resale marketplace, not the ticket seller" and that "prices are set by third-party sellers and may be above or below face value". Although individual listings for tickets for British shows don't contain all the information resale sites are obliged to provide under UK law. True, it's selling them to American customers, though that's still not necessarily a very good look.
Commenting on the innovation, Adam Webb from the UK campaign against touting, FanFair, told CMU: "What with the heightened political and regulatory scrutiny around secondary ticketing, it's certainly bold timing on the part of Expedia to partner with a large US ticket resale platform. And to allow listing of tickets for UK events that appear to breach UK consumer law. They might want to rethink this. Until then, we would recommend incoming tourists avoid this service, and find their ticket information instead on either the artist or authorised event website".
All that said, adding gig tickets to travel websites does offer the live sector an extra route to market, though that could just as easily be a route provided to primary rather than secondary sellers. Start-up Coras is dabbling in this space already and announced a partnership with Ryanair last year.
People and machines collaborate on new K-pop songs
London-based tech start-up Jukedeck has unveiled details about a partnership with Korean music and entertainment company Enterarts. The tie-up has seen the latter's songwriters collaborate with the former's AI technology to create new music. Those creations are being performed for the first time in Seoul today.
Jukedeck explains: "Enterarts' well-known team of composers and producers have taken pieces of music composed by Jukedeck as their starting point and composed and produced K-pop songs using Jukedeck's music as the main musical material, in a process they describe as 'putting the human emotion' into the song".
The company adds that both it and Enterarts believe that, "rather than replacing human composers, the power of AI lies in its ability to be used as a tool by human composers and producers to fuel their creativity. This collaboration is an exciting early example of human musicians working with AI to compose something new".
After today's performance, recorded versions of the new songs will be released on iTunes and all the key streaming platforms in Korea. The Jukedeck team will also be taking part in the CMU Insights AI Conference at The Great Escape in May, discussing how AI-based music composition tools fit into the music making process.
| Approved: Natalie Prass Natalie Prass released her critically acclaimed debut album in 2015. The following year she was all set to get to work on the follow-up. Songs were written, a band had been assembled and studio time was in the calendar. But then something happened. Trump happened. "I was devastated", she says of Donald Trump's election as US president. "It made me question what it means to be a woman in America, whether any of the things I thought were getting better were actually improving, who I am and what I believe in". As a result, she felt she couldn't go ahead and make the album she had planned. She continues: "I knew I would be so upset with myself if I didn't take the opportunity to say some of the things that meant so much to me, so I decided to rewrite the record. I needed to make an album that was going to get me out of my funk, one that would hopefully lift other people out of theirs, too, because that's what music is all about". So, somewhat delayed, Prass will release her second album, 'The Future And The Past', on 1 Jun. The first track from it, 'Short Court Style', has just been released. As songs designed to lift you out of a depression about the apparent collapse of civilisation go, it does its job very well. You can catch her live in the UK in April, when she will be playing dates in London, Brighton, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Watch the video for 'Short Court Style' here. Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist. |
Festival Republic announces V Festival replacement
Live Nation's Festival Republic has announced its replacement for V Festival. Occupying the same August weekend as its predecessor, Rize Festival will take place on 17-18 Aug at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. It will be headlined by Liam Gallagher and The Stereophonics.
V Festival, of course, took place on two sites, with line-ups alternating across the two. It's not clear if Festival Republic also plans to stage an event at Weston Park in Staffordshire, either under the Rize brand or something else.
It was announced last October that Virgin had decided to pull its sponsorship from the event after 22 years. Revealing the news, and despite saying that it had been an "honour" to be involved with the festival for so long, the only two positive memories Virgin boss Richard Branson could come up with happened in the 90s.
One of those was Stereophonics playing the event as a new signing to his then new V2 record label. So, booking the band for Rize could be seen as a bit of a dig at him. Or a nod to the event's history. Whatever.
Also announced to perform are Bastille, Rita Ora, Rag N Bone Man, James Bay, Craig David, Plan B, Manic Street Preachers, Years & Years and Maximo Park. So quite heavy on the white men.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, priced £59.50. You can have a look at the currently pretty sparse website here.
Chris Cornell, Pendulum, Rolling Stones, more
Other notable announcements and developments today...
• The global grouping of indie label trade bodies worldwide, the Worldwide Independent Network, has announced the appointment of Beggars Group boss Martin Mills to the new position of Non-Executive Chair.
• One of Chris Cornell's final recordings has been released. 'You Never Knew My Mind', features lyrics drawn from an unpublished poem written by Johnny Cash. It'll appear on new album, 'Johnny Cash: Forever Words', out on 6 Apr.
• Pendulum have announced their first album since 2010's 'Immersion'. Titled 'The Reworks' (they're a bit vague about whether or not it's a remix album) the new record will be released later this year, alongside a boxset called 'The Complete Works'.
• Shirt, the first rapper signed to Jack White's Third Man Records label, has shared a video of his first visit to the company's vinyl pressing plant.
• Peggy Gou has released new track 'Han Jan'. She describes it as "my little tribute to 90s electro music". 'Han Jan' is taken from her new EP, 'Once', out this Friday.
• Those Rolling Stones have announced that they will tour the UK for the first time in more than a decade this summer. Tickets go on general sale on Friday.
• The Pet Shop Boys will return to the Royal Opera House in London with their 'Inner Sanctum' show for four nights in July. The duo are "THRILLED". Tickets go on sale tomorrow.
• Ash have announced UK tour dates for this October, finishing up at The Forum in London on 24 Oct. Their new album, 'Islands', is out on 18 May. Here's new track, 'Buzzkill'.
• Mitski will tour the UK and Ireland in September, finishing at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 26 Sep. Tickets on sale this Friday.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Moby definitely invented the iPhone
When he's not being given sensitive information over dinner by members of the CIA, it turns out that Moby is pretty chummy with people in the tech world too. He talks, they listen, he invents the iPhone.
"I'm hesitant to talk about this because it sounds either like nonsense or self-aggrandising", he tells the Observer. Oh, do go on.
According to the article, he explains that after Apple launched its iTunes software in 2001, he told Apple marketing exec Jimmy Dickson that the company should build its own proprietary MP3 player.
"A year or two later they brought me to a hotel room at the Crosby in New York, handed me the first iPod and said: 'Steve wanted you to have this'", claims Moby. So that's a fun story. Although the iPod came out about nine months after iTunes and there is absolutely no way that the two weren't being developed at the same time as each other.
Anyway, how did Moby react to being handed the first iPod? "I said: 'You do know at some point this is going to have a camera and a phone attached to it?' And they laughed at me and said that could never happen".
Hahaha. How they laughed. It must have been a laugh a minute at Apple back in those days, given that Steve Jobs had been talking about wirelessly connected handheld devices since the early 80s. The company's first fleeting attempts at handheld computers date back to the early 90s, and the development of the iPad pre-dates the iPhone by some years. But sure, Moby invented the iPhone.
Anyway, Moby has a new album coming out this week. He's just released the video for new single, 'This Wild Darkness'. Has Moby ever told you how he invented video? And music. No, he'd probably be hesitant for fear of sounding self-aggrandising.
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CMU supports the music community by providing news, business intelligence, training and education. CMU Daily covers all the latest news and developments direct by email. Setlist is a weekly podcast dissecting the biggest music business stories. CMU Premium gives you access to the weekly CMU Digest and CMU Trends. CMU Insights provides training and consultancy for music companies. CMU:DIY provides workshops and resources for future music talent.
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