| 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 | Tencent further expands music interests, invests in Indian streaming firm READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LABELS & PUBLISHERS | Atlantic launches in-house podcast studio READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| LIVE BUSINESS | Rob Hallett joins Live Nation V Festival replacement will not take place in Staffordshire this summer Sena Live acquires Iceland Airwaves READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| MEDIA | Sirius XM owner proposes bid to solve iHeartMedia's debt problem READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| EDUCATION & EVENTS | Full line-up unveiled for Green Events & Innovations Conference READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| RELEASES | Secret 7" to return this summer READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| ONE LINERS | Russ, Everything Everything, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, more READ IN THIS EMAIL | READ ON THE WEBSITE |
| AND FINALLY... | Charlie Watts not bothered if Rolling Stones split up 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 GROUP - MARKETING EXECUTIVE (LONDON) An exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented and experienced marketing executive to work in-house at AEI Group 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. |
Tencent further expands music interests, invests in Indian streaming firm
Chinese web giant Tencent has bought into Indian streaming service Gaana, which was set up in 2010 by the internet business of media firm The Times Of India Group. It further expands Tencent's interests in the global streaming music market.
Tencent has become a dominant player in the rapidly expanding Chinese digital music domain. Through its music division - which is set to be spun off as a standalone company later this year - it operates streaming services, including QQ Music, and has become a key distributor of international catalogue in the Chinese market.
Last year it announced an equity swap with the global market-leader in subscription streaming, Spotify. Under that deal Spotify took a minority stake in the Tencent Music business, while Tencent and Tencent Music both took a minority stake in Spotify.
The new deal sees Tencent make what sources have called a "sizeable investment" into Gaana, although Times Internet remains a partner in the business. Like China, India is seen as a key emerging market for streaming music, mainly because of the size of its population. There has been substantial growth in subscriber numbers in both countries in recent years, albeit more for ad-funded services.
However, as with everywhere, streaming remains a tricky and mainly loss-making business. Presumably, given its investments in this space, Tencent reckons that long-term the big streaming services will ultimately become lucrative once they reach sufficient scale.
Atlantic launches in-house podcast studio
Warner Music's Atlantic division in the US has launched its own in-house podcast production unit, with a studio set-up in its New York HQ. The initiative is being driven by Atlantic VP Tom Mullen, who has moonlighted on his own podcast, 'Washed Up Emo', since 2011.
"As I discovered doing my own podcasts, they are an incredibly powerful way of feeding fans' hunger for intimate knowledge of the artists they love, while also connecting them to new voices", says Mullen. "The birth of Atlantic Records Podcasts has been a labour of love for many of us at the company, and I'm looking forward to working with our incredible artists and my label teammates to create an outstanding series of shows devoted to Atlantic music past, present, and future".
The first show to be aired is called 'What'd I Say', named after the Ray Charles song released by Atlantic in 1959. On the show, various Atlantic artists will be kicked into the podcast studio and forced to talk about their careers. Out now, episode one features a chat with Jason Mraz. Already lined up for future episodes are Whethan, MILCK, Lil Skies, Chappell Roan, Trivium, Sweater Beats, Josie Dunne and Molly Kate Kestner.
Atlantic CEO Craig Kallman and COO Julie Greenwald say in a joint statement: "Music-making is at the heart of our company, and we already have a state-of-the-art recording studio at the centre of our offices. We have a constant stream of artists coming through the building, so the next logical step for us was to create an environment where we could spontaneously capture them telling their stories and talking about their music".
They continue: "With our own podcast team and a dedicated podcast studio, we are able to give fans a unique, insider's view of our artists, our label, and the creative process in action. With Tom's deep musical knowledge and podcast expertise leading the charge, we are generating exciting audio content under our own roof, marked by unprecedented insight and immediacy".
Other shows planned to launch in the near future are titled 'Inside The Album' and 'Respect: Women Of Atlantic'.
You can check out the Atlantic Podcasts website here. There's hardly anything there yet though, so once you've glanced at that, check out CMU's Setlist podcast instead.
Rob Hallett joins Live Nation
Veteran live music promoter Rob Hallett has joined Live Nation, taking his Robomagic company with him. Although neither firm has yet given an official statement on the deal, Live Nation boss Michael Rapino last night tweeted a link to a report on it, saying: "Great news for us. Finally we work together".
Hallett then retweeted Rapino's tweet, and also posted a link to another report on him joining the company. So we'll take all that as confirmation. Although it's always possible there's been a misunderstanding along the way. Maybe all this Twitter activity has somehow accidentally got Hallett a new job. It'd be like that episode of 'Seinfeld' where George goes to work for a new company because the boss didn't finish a sentence.
As you might remember, that's one of the good ones in the patchy fifth series. I think you can definitely gauge the quality of that show based on how loud people cheer when Kramer appears on screen. It really started to lose its edge when the biggest reaction in any episode was for him just appearing on screen. Though, that's not entirely fair. There are some classic episodes in the later series. Like the 'accidentally getting a job' one. I'm glad to have cleared that up. Hang on, wasn't I talking about something else?
Oh yeah, Rob Hallett joining Live Nation. According to Billboard, at one point yesterday, the 'about' page on the Robomagic website described it as "a Live Nation music company". However, that and the previous reference to it being "an independent music company" have now both been scrubbed.
Hallett was formerly boss of Live Nation rival AEG Live in the UK, stepping down in 2014. In early 2015, he launched Robomagic as a '360°' operation, operating in various strands of the music business. Although its main focus has always been live.
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V Festival replacement will not take place in Staffordshire this summer
Festival Republic's V Festival replacement Rize will not take place in Staffordshire this year, it has been confirmed. The new event will only be held at Chelmsford's Hylands Park.
Announced earlier this week, Rize will take place on 17-18 Aug in Essex, headlined by Liam Gallagher and The Stereophonics. The event is being launched following Virgin's decision last October to pull its sponsorship of the V Festival after 22 years.
V Festival always took place on two sites, launching at Victoria Park in Warrington and Hylands Park in Chelmsford in 1996. The more northerly edition eventually settled at the not particularly northerly Weston Park in Staffordshire.
South Staffordshire Council had said that it was expecting the V Festival replacement to go ahead at Weston Park. However, it has now been confirmed that this is not the case.
Chief Executive of the Weston Park Foundation, Colin Sweeney, told local paper the Express & Star: "We have been enormously proud to have been home to the former V Festival over the last nineteen years. The significant contribution that hosting the event has made to the charitable objectives of the Weston Park Foundation and the wider regional economy cannot be underestimated".
He added that the foundation was "very excited" about working with the Festival Republic-allied company that actually owned the V Festival, Roseclaim, on "a future project here on the estate in 2019".
This would suggest that the new event in Staffordshire may not be a second edition of the Rize Festival, but rather something else. Either way, Weston Park Foundation bosses have said that the unexpected lack of a major festival in the park this year will affect their finances. However, other non-music events are being planned in order to somewhat fill the gap.
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Sena Live acquires Iceland Airwaves
Icelandic live music firm Sena Live has confirmed it has acquired Iceland Airwaves, the popular Reykjavík-based music festival. The new owner says that it will renew the event's focus on showcasing domestic talent, therefore reducing the focus on international acts to an extent.
Iceland Airwaves always had a showcase festival element to it, putting the spotlight on new acts that got to play for an international industry and media audience. Though the event, sponsored by airline Icelandair, was also about encouraging music fans from North America and Europe to visit the country, possibly extending their trip beyond the festival itself.
According to IQ, Sena Live CEO Ísleifur Þórhaldsson told Icelandic media that he thought the festival should "go back to basics. We don't think Airwaves should be chasing the big acts, but should be a festival for up-and-coming and indie bands". He added that long-term sponsor Icelandair backed these plans.
Seeking to reassure the festival's fans that the event was safe in his hands, even if some changes are made, Þórhaldsson added: "Airwaves is a deep-rooted cultural institution which we know and feel immediately that everyone cares about. We will not be the people who destroy Airwaves".
Coinciding with the change in ownership, long-time Festival Director at the event, Grímur Atlason, has confirmed he has decided to step down from that role, adding: "It's been a privilege and pleasure working for this great festival with all my marvellous co-workers over the years".
Sirius XM owner proposes bid to solve iHeartMedia's debt problem
American conglom Liberty Media is seemingly making a play for US radio giant iHeartMedia. It has proposed a possible solution to the struggling broadcaster's long-running debt problems that would also give Liberty a 40% stake in the business.
iHeartMedia - the radio company once known as Clear Channel - has been involved in long-drawn out negotiations with its money lenders in a bid to restructure $20 billion in debts. Those mega-debts are mainly the result of a $24 billion private equity buyout of the radio firm in 2008. As debt restructuring talks continued to go through the motions last year there was various talk of the company going into bankruptcy.
According to the Denver Business Journal, Liberty has approached iHeart debt-holders with a proposal it pump money into the flagging firm. Under the suggested investment, Liberty would take a 40% stake in the radio company, restructure its board, and put itself in an influential position should the broadcaster slip into so called chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Liberty Media already has a controlling interest in satellite broadcaster Sirius XM. So, if Liberty's new proposal was to go through, it would give the company controlling interests in both iHeart, a major player in AM/FM radio Stateside, as well as America's big satellite radio business.
From a music perspective, it would be an interesting deal for two reasons. First, Sirius is now a key shareholder in streaming music firm Pandora, which is mainly known for its personalised radio service. Its main competitor is iHeartRadio, the streaming music platform operated by iHeartMedia.
Secondly, Liberty Media is also a significant shareholder in live music giant Live Nation. If it got itself a controlling interest in iHeartMedia, that would mean it would be a key shareholder in America's biggest terrestrial and satellite radio groups, the country's biggest live music promoter and ticketing company, and its biggest streaming services. So, a lot of big fingers in the musical pie.
There being some common ownership between iHeart and Live Nation would also be interesting from a historical perspective. The two businesses were previously two divisions of the same company - ie Clear Channel - before the live entertainment side was spun off to create the standalone Live Nation business in 2005.
All that said, it's far from assured that Liberty's bold bid to rescue and then control iHeart will come to pass. The Wall Street Journal notes that "despite the potential benefits of the merger, there is no certainty that a merger would survive the often-contentious bargaining sessions played out in bankruptcy court".
It then quotes analyst Lance Vitanza who muses that: "I think some of iHeart's bondholders understand the potential power of a merger between iHeart and Sirius, but not all creditors understand that".
Full line-up unveiled for Green Events & Innovations Conference
The full line-up has been announced for this year's Green Events & Innovations Conference, which takes place in London next week ahead of the International Live Music Conference.
Now in its tenth year, GEI is the annual conference event organised by the A Green Festival organisation. It puts the spotlight on the environmental impact of festivals and live events, and the ways promoters and organisers can make their events more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Roskilde, Glastonbury, Bestival and Pohoda are among the festivals due to take part this year, while representatives from organisations including New Internationalist, Greenpeace and the Soil Association will also speak.
Summarising this year's programme, organisers say: "From poo to power, from waste to water, from activism to eco-currencies, and even a brand of beer that is brewed using stale bread, delegates can expect to have their minds boggled by innovation, and their spirits ignited by green experts and inspiring individuals who will present tried-and-tested solutions to common event management problems".
CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will lead two sessions, including the there mentioned 'poo conversation'. That panel is titled 'The Facts of Live: Poo, Pee & Water'. He'll also speak to three experts on how event organisers can ensure their procurement choices are truly sustainable.
Full details about this year's Green Events & Innovations Conference, which takes place on Tuesday, 6 Mar, are available here. A small number of tickets are still available here.
| Approved: Sibille Attar Five years ago, Sibille Attar was a major label-signed act with a promising career ahead of her. It's not an experience she remembers fondly. "I had a rough patch, confidence-wise, after the last album for some reason", she tells The Line Of Best Fit. "Maybe because I was working with shitholes - that could be part of it. I was super surprised about how uninterested some people in the business seemed in whatever I actually could do with music". She goes on: "They seemed more interested in whether I looked pretty in photos, the way they wanted me to, or not, and that attitude took me completely off-guard". Five years later, she's signed to indie label PNKSLM and finally back with some new music. And it's great to hear from her once again; in her time away she's lost nothing of what made her so intriguing before. New EP 'Paloma's Hand' is due out on 27 Apr. The first single to be released from it, 'Run', is filled with a dark atmosphere. Attar's deft production leaves the track feeling tense, without allowing it to become too claustrophobic. Stay up to date with all of the artists featured in the CMU Approved column by subscribing to our Spotify playlist. |
Secret 7" to return this summer
The Secret 7" project will return for its sixth year this summer. As ever, leading artists and designers will create 700 seven-inch sleeves, into which will be popped one of seven limited edition singles. Following an exhibition, they will all be sold off, this year in aid of mental health charity Mind.
The songs that will be in the sleeves this year are as follows:
The Clash - I'm Not Down
Eurythmics - I Saved The World Today
Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over
Jimi Hendrix - Castles Made of Sand
London Grammar - Help
Manic Street Preachers - No Surface All Feeling
Primal Scream - Damaged
Organisers are now accepting submissions for the artwork via the project's website. Those are open until 24 Apr. The exhibition will take place at The Jetty in Greenwich from 8-24 Jun. The sleeves will also be sold off for £50 each at the end of the exhibition, after which, the designers will be revealed.
Russ, Everything Everything, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, more
Other notable announcements and developments today...
• Sony/ATV has signed US rapper Russ to a worldwide publishing deal. "We will work closely with Russ and his management", insists the publisher's US Co-President Danny Strick.
• Everything Everything have released a new EP, 'A Deeper Sea'. As well as new song 'The Mariana' and a remix of 'Ivory Tower' by Tom Vek, the release also features this outtake from last album 'A Fever Dream', 'Breadwinner'.
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra have released new single, 'Not In Love We're Just High'. New album, 'Sex & Food', is out on 6 Apr.
• Yo La Tengo have released new song, 'For You Too'. Their new album, 'There's A Riot Going On', is out on 16 Mar.
• Gwenno has released a new track from her upcoming Cornish language album, 'Le Kov'. Here's 'Hi A Skoellyas Liv A Dhagrow'.
• Girl Ray have released new single, 'The Way We Came Back'. The song was written by frontwoman Poppy Hankin when she was sixteen years old. "It's cute, I guess", says her bandmate Sophie Moss. "You kinda wanna skip to it, you know?"
• Warmduscher are back with a new video for previously released track, 'Big Wilma'. Their new album, 'Whale City', is out on 1 Jun.
• Check out our weekly Spotify playlist of new music featured in the CMU Daily - updated every Friday.
Charlie Watts not bothered if Rolling Stones split up
Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts is drumming up enthusiasm for the band's first UK tour in more than decade by telling everyone he's not that bothered if they split up.
"I love playing the drums and I love playing with Mick and Keith and Ronnie, I don't know about the rest of it", he tells The Guardian. "It wouldn't bother me if the Rolling Stones said that's it... enough".
"I would hate it to dissolve not amicably", he adds. "I would like Mick to say, or me or Keith or whoever, I don't want to do it any more, for whatever reason, and we just say that's it. I wouldn't want it to be an argument or whatever".
That's definitely the sort of gusto you want from someone charging ticket prices people are already calling "fucking outrageous". Some people seem to think there's something wrong with standing tickets for a stadium show being priced at between £89.95 and £451.95, before booking fee.
Watts, meanwhile, says that he "would like to be standing" by the end of the final show on the tour.
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