CMU Daily - on the inside Thursday 2nd April |
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In today's CMU Daily:
TOP STORIES
- Now Google fall out with GEMA - music vids to disappear on YouTube Germany too
- CMU says: Is it Google's business model that's just not right for videos?
- Streaming is in fashion with the kids
- Industry and ministers meet for copyright extension update
- Rowland quits Columbia
IN THE POP COURTS
- Latifah sued by make up artist and stylist
- Lucky Dube killing suspects found guilty
IN THE POP HOSPITAL
- Dubz' Dappy deaf
- View frontman "faints" on stage
- Natalie Cole inundated with kidney offers
- Jam Master Jay friend hits out at 50 Cent film
POP POLITICS
- Musicians play limited acoustic set at city protests
OBITUARIES
- Pat Foxton dies
REUNIONS & SPLITS
- Steps reunion not ruled out
RELEASE NEWS
- New Eels single on MySpace
GIGS N TOURS NEWS
- Carlos Santana set for Vegas residency
FESTIVAL NEWS
- Red List Live cancelled
- Reading/Leeds festivals sell out
- Festival line up update
REVIEWS
- Single review: William Orbit - Optical Illusions EP (Kobalt Digital)
THE MUSIC BUSINESS
- The music business becomes a lottery
THE DIGITAL BUSINESS
- Mubito goes into administration
THE MEDIA BUSINESS
- 6music to provide round the clock Glasto coverage
- Mersey 106.7 goes off air after OfCom ruling
CHART OF THE DAY
- This week's Sub.tv playlist
AND FINALLY...
- Winehouse bans God daughter from dueting with Doherty
- GaGa autographed fan's penis
- Cowell doesn't 'get' Twitter
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SAME SIX QUESTIONS: WHITE BELT, YELLOW TAG
Comprising songwriter Craig Pilbin and former Yourcodenameis:milo guitarist Justin Lockey, White Belt, Yellow Tag slowly came together after Lockey started lending a hand with the recording of some of Pilbin's songs. As time went by, the whole thing morphed into more of a joint effort and they suddenly found themselves halfway through an album they were both feeling pretty pleased and a new project was born. The first fruits of their label will be released as the 'You're Not Invincible' EP via Distiller Records on Monday. We spoke to Justin to ask those Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
We started making music together when we were both working out of the same studio. I helped Craig out with a couple of ideas he was working on then it slowly built up momentum to a point where we realised we were pretty much making an album we both always wanted to make.
Q2 What inspired your new single?
'You're Not Invincible' came along in the middle of a really prolific patch of writing and we were throwing down ideas left right and centre. I'd say the sheer amount of writing we were doing plus some very inward lyrics became the inspiration for the single. That and the massive kick off parts for the chorus.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
We write very quickly, and as we're both studio literate we tend to throw lots of ideas together very quickly (layers/blocks of sound/melodies) then we sculpt it and weed out the stuff that's not good enough and chip away until we think its finished. It's a bizarrely organic way of writing. It naturally takes its own course that way.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I wouldn't say any particular artist has great influence, but there's layers of sounds we like from a very wide range of music ie textural guitars etc from early/mid Genesis through to The Verve and a bit of Godspeeed You! Black Emperor, melody and tones from Steve Reich through to the Smashing Pumpkins to The Wedding Present, beats from Cornelius to Axelrod via Mo Wax (late 90's period). We pretty much like bold and interesting and dare I say epic tuneage.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Cheers.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your new single/album, and for the future?
To plough on with making records... We're not really a cool/scene band and neither do we want to be. So I guess we'll just try and carve out our own space and make records that hopefully blow people away.
MORE>> http://www.myspace.com/whitebeltyellowtag
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SNAP OF THE DAY: LISSY TRULLIE
I reckon that if you searched for 'buzz at SXSW' you might just crash Google, such has been the flurry post Austin to tip the latest new thing (and the SNAP column is grudgingly guilty of this too). New York based Lissy Trullie have notched up a fair few of these plugs after beguiling audiences at the fest with their poppy garage-punk, particularly impressing with new UK single, 'Boy Boy', which sounds like Ida Maria taken to art school (and, helpfully, I'm led to believe that Lissy did). It's a spruced up, knowing racket of jangly guitars and oh-so loving "ooohs", though it's not out until next week, so intrigued readers should head to their MySpace for a preview.
http://www.myspace.com/lissytrullie
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JOBS N STUFF
SENIOR PR ROLE - www.spring-pr.com
This is a dream role in a small and exciting PR agency. We specialise in music, events and youth PR with clients ranging from corporate brands to underground recording artists, festivals and alternative art projects. We're looking for a senior member of staff to work across all areas of the business and as such we can only consider applications from people who have a proven track record in handling brand PR in a multi-agency setting. With an eye for detail and top-notch organisational skills, you'll be enthusiastic about working in a small team environment. You'll have 6 years of music and corporate PR experience, strong client servicing skills, and the highest communication skills. This is a full time role with a competitive salary and is based in our easily accessed central London offices. To apply, please email your CV and a covering letter to rhiannon@spring-pr.com
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ADVERTISE WITH CMU - classifieds £120 per week, job ads £100 per week, banner ads £150 per week, leader box £200 per week - call 020 7099 9050 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk for information or to book.
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CMU CLASSIFIEDS
PUBLIC RELATIONS CAREER COACHING
Have you been made redundant? Are you entering the PR jobs market? Do you need help getting your CV in tip-top condition? Do you need to brush up on your networking or interviewing skills?
PR recruiter Unicorn Jobs is holding a day of PR specific careers coaching on Wednesday 15th April. It will include a morning of workshops on: how to write an effective PR CV, answering job ads and writing covering letters, and networking and interviewing skills. Plus each participant will receive a 45 minute one-to-one session with a PR recruiter to discuss their CV and get personalised career development advice.
Places are £115 per person. To book your place please call 020 3051 1525 or email prcoaching@unicornjobs.com
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INTRODUCING LEYLINE PUBLICITY
Leyline Promotions - better known as one of the capital's leading independent promoters (The Remix, Kill All Hippies, Insomniacs Ball, Twisted Licks, Breaking Ground) - have created a new publicity department headed up by Nick Bateson and Adrian Leigh. The pair have worked on major campaigns including a-ha, Glade Festival, Fat Freddy's Drop, Standon Calling Festival and HervŽ amongst others.
In addition to their wealth of experience in the live arena, Leyline Publicity now specialise in bespoke PR services including online and offline music and lifestyle press, radio plugging, brand development, digital marketing and blogging. For further information please contact: nick@leylinepromotions.com or adrian@leylinepromotions.com t: 020 7575 3285
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ADVERTISE WITH CMU - classifieds £120 per week, job ads £100 per week, banner ads £150 per week, leader box £200 per week - call 020 7099 9050 or email ads@unlimitedmedia.co.uk for information or to book.
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TOP STORIES
NOW GOOGLE FALL OUT WITH GEMA - MUSIC VIDS TO DISAPPEAR ON YOUTUBE GERMANY TOO
A similar squabble to that currently on going between Google and UK songwriter royalty society PRS For Music has kicked off in Germany, after the web firm failed to renew its deal with PRS's German counterparts GEMA with relation to the posting of music videos on YouTube. As a result, so called premium music videos will reportedly be blocked on the YouTube Germany website, in the same way they have been on the UK version.
As previously reported, PRS's licensing deal with YouTube, which covers the 'notes and lyrics' copyrights that exist in any song, is up for renewal, and Google say the collecting society's new demands are too high, ie the ad revenues they are able to generate from YouTube would never cover the royalty fees PRS are demanding.
The dispute is reportedly over a number of issues - include basic royalty rates, how royalties are paid (PRS are pushing for a per-stream royalty rather than lump sum payments like they got last time round) and how data is shared (YouTube want a list of PRS's members so they can pay them direct, PRS want YouTube's viewing stats so they can distribute the money). With the dispute unresolved, Google announced they would block access to music videos in the UK until a deal could be reached, even though PRS were happy for videos to continue to be accessed while licensing talks were ongoing.
As far as I can see, the dispute between the video site and GEMA in Germany is pretty much the same on all levels. Confirming that the way money is paid and stream reports provided, or not, was a key issue in the two organisation's dispute, the German collecting society's CEO, Harold Heker, told reporters yesterday: "Negotiations about the extension of the agreement have failed so far because YouTube is not willing to fulfil GEMA's requests for more transparency [regarding] the used musical repertoire. YouTube wants the extension on the basis of a flat fee without [providing] sufficient information about the used repertoire and the number of streams. GEMA refuses this offer by YouTube because it is impossible to calculate a fair remuneration without the requested information and to pay this remuneration in an adequate way to GEMA's members".
With regards the royalty rate part of the dispute, we have a better idea of what sums of money we're talking about with the GEMA dispute. Google say that the collecting society is offering them a one euro-cent per stream rate in the short term, but with a view to pushing that up to as much as 12 euro-cents per stream long term. Not even the short term solution is attractive to Google. A spokesman for their German office said yesterday: "This 0.01 euro for an interim solution is already too much and actually GEMA demands 0.12 euro per stream for a long-term agreement".
With Google's deals with both PRS and GEMA now faltering, some expect similar problems to occur as deals come up with other collecting societies around Europe. Heker continues: "Other European collection societies are in the same difficult position to succeed [in their negotiations] with Google/YouTube with their request for proper notifications and a reasonable remuneration. GEMA is ready for this conflict in order to protect the interests of the authors, represented by GEMA. The German authors are upset and [they] criticise YouTube's business methods".
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CMU SAYS: IS IT GOOGLE'S BUSINESS MODEL THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT FOR VIDEOS?
Assuming Google do withdraw their bigger name artist videos from their German service, like they have in the UK, it would be interesting to know what the web firm's strategy is. Is the video ban a negotiating tactic to put public and/or industry pressure onto the publishing collecting societies to agree to Google's terms - after all, those record companies with deals in place with YouTube, which includes Universal, Sony and EMI, lose out on ad revenue shares when access to their videos is blocked because the copyright in the actual song is owned by a songwriter or publisher represented by PRS?
Or is it the first step in a change of strategy by the video service regarding music on YouTube? In the early days of the video sharing website, as it negotiated its original deals with the record companies and collecting societies, the web company boldly stated it wanted to be the "biggest video jukebox in the world".
For owners Google such an aim takes them into a new territory - the web giant is a digital service provider, not a digital content provider, and the two things are not the same thing, which is the real reason Google's advertising model doesn't add up when it comes to properly licensing videos (even if you account for the labels and publishers predictably pushing for higher rates than they probably should). Unless it is willing to develop a new unit based on the TV business model, where the majority of revenue goes on content costs - and now isn't a good time to be launching such a business - it may be that Google withdraws completely from its "jukebox" mission, giving content owners a "take it or leave it" option regarding utilising its ad-funded digital services - ie free video streaming.
If that was the result of the current disputes, would PRS and GEMA have just shot themselves in the foot? Possibly, possibly not. There's no reason why YouTube has to be the primary music video service online, and there's an argument that putting user-generated-content next to professionally-produced content doesn't really make sense. Though, of course, as the anti-music-biz brigade will point out, if you prevent services like YouTube from taking your content, then users will access content via the video site's non-legit rivals who have no intention of paying an even nominal royalty fee to host said content.
Therefore, PRS and GEMA, et al, will only really benefit from standing strong against YouTube if you assume someone else can create a rival music video platform based on a proper 'content-provision' business model where ad revenues will get closer to covering the fees music owners want.
Who will do that? Well, those previously reported reports of Universal launching such a YouTube-powered service are very interesting, despite the major record companies' more-or-less consistent failure to launch their own online music platforms in the past. It would make sense too for a traditional broadcaster - an MTV or 4Music - to fill this gap, again despite those companies' frequent failure in online ventures. And of course there are entrepreneurial companies out there already trying to fill that gap - MUZU most prominently.
If web giant Google can't do it, can we really expect those sorts of people to do it? Especially in the context of the current advertising recession? To be honest I don't know, but I think it would be wrong to assume that, just Google are the biggest web player of the moment, theirs is the only business model worth considering in terms of providing online on-demand music video streaming services, especially given their business model wasn't even really designed for such a thing.
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STREAMING IS IN FASHION WITH THE KIDS
The good news. American teens are using P2P less frequently. The bad news. They are buying fewer downloads. Both those stats are possibly a sign that, as far as the youth market is concerned, we're already moving beyond the era of the MP3.
Once all music is available for streaming on-demand whenever you want it, why would you want to bother downloading the track itself, legally or otherwise? It's a trend that can only continue as access to the mobile internet becomes more prevalent and affordable, and the big streaming services expand to the mobile market, meaning only trips underground, in the air or in remote parts of the world would require music to be held on a local device.
The latest stats about US teenagers' digital music habits come from research firm NPD Group. It found that CD sales in this demographic continue to slide in 2008, by 26%, while download purchases also fell, by 13%. The number of tracks downloaded illegally was also down, by 6%. But use of online radio services was up 38% and use of streaming music via social networks was up 20%, so that about half of those interviewed said they accessed music by both kinds of streaming platforms.
Billboard report that the trends shown in the NPD report on US teens have been seen elsewhere too, in particular referencing a report on global web traffic by Ipoque which found that P2P usage was down and streaming services up.
None of which is really surprising, of course, though it does reinforce the need to find workable business models for streaming services - audio and video - so that those media, web and start-up firms providing the service can make a profit while offering something web users want and can afford, but at the same time artists and songwriters get suitable royalties to compensate for the inevitable impact such services have on physical and a-la-carte download services, and labels etc bring in enough revenues to recoup on past investments, invest in new talent and keep their shareholders happy.
I'm feeling optimistic this morning so am going to assume that business model exists. I'm less confident the internet - and the miles of copper wire much of it relies on - can actually cope with everyone choosing streaming over download based music services. In terms of bandwidth efficiency, of course, the more content hosted locally the better.
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INDUSTRY AND MINISTERS MEET FOR COPYRIGHT EXTENSION UPDATE
Culture Minister Andy Burnham, IP Minister David Lammy, civil servants from the UK Intellectual Property Office and reps from the music business met on Tuesday to discuss the copyright extension proposals which are currently working their way through the European Union legislative process as we speak, but which faltered last week, partly because of objections by Lammy's team that the current proposals being considered, that would increase the current copyright term for recordings from 50 to as much as 95 years, favour record companies over artists and session musicians.
As previously reported, the UK disagreed with most other European countries about the session fund that would be established as part of the term extension, which would ensure more royalties go to artists after fifty years, oblivious of contractual arrangements between artists and labels. Current proposals would make the fund a temporary measure covering copyrights already in existence when the term extension becomes law - UK ministers want the fund to be a permanent thing, so artists always benefit when their copyrights pass the fifty-year point.
The Musicians' Union, record label trade bodies BPI and AIM, and recording royalties body PPL all hit out at the UK for allowing the extension proposals to falter on the session fund issue, arguing the musicians they (or, rather, the MU and PPL) represent were happy with the fund proposals as they currently stood. The recently launched Featured Artists Coalition, though, has dissented from that industry view, saying they support the government in their bid to secure artists a better deal long term, even if it delays the recording copyright from being extended short term.
Reps from the BPI and AIM, plus a rep from the Music Managers Forum and FAC board member Billy Bragg, met with the political types on Tuesday to assess the government's current position.
Certainly the UK's insistence that the session fund be a permanent venture has postponed any extension in copyright term, so much so the proposals may well not make it through before this June's European elections, leading to even more delays. But sources say that industry reps were told that UK ministers and civil servants are confident they can talk their European counterparts round on the issue of making the session fund permanent, and that they will then proceed with their push to move the extension proposals forward, albeit for the seventy year term Lammy says he supports (instead of the 95 years the industry wants).
In related news, and despite the various delays, that previously reported reception staged by UK recording royalty society PPL took place in Brussels yesterday, with MEPs and representatives of the European Commission, member state governments and the current EU Presidency, which is with the Czech Republic, in attendance alongside various musicians and music industry reps. The music contingent thanked the European Commission for originally bringing the term extension proposals to the table, and the European Parliament for passing them.
As for the Council Of Ministers, whose prelim COREPER meeting held up the proposals last week because of those aforementioned disagreements on the session fund, well they were made to sit in the corner with their faces to the wall, and told to think very hard about what they'd done.
Speaking at the event, PPL's Director Of Government Relations Dominic McGonigal, said: "We are grateful to the European Commission and the European Parliament which have responded to the request from musicians for a fair copyright term. We now ask that the Council approves these proposals and so puts an end to second class status for performers in Europe. Musicians do not want to hear that this legislation has failed because of political wranglings over inconsequential technicalities".
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ROWLAND QUITS COLUMBIA
Former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland has announced that she has left Columbia Records to explore new options. She has been with the company since 1990, when it signed Destiny's Child, and has released two solo albums there.
In a statement, Rowland said: "As a solo artist, I felt the need to explore new directions, new challenges, and new freedoms outside my comfort zone".
Her latest solo album, 2007's 'Ms Kelly', only managed to shift 219,000 copies in the US, which prompted some to suggest that she was pushed out, rather than heading off on a journey of self-discovery. Columbia, however, has said that the decision for her to leave was mutual "and any reports to the contrary are false".
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IN THE POP COURTS
LATIFAH SUED BY MAKE UP ARTIST AND STYLIST
Queen Latifah is being sued by a make up artist, and in a separate case by a fashion stylist, for a total of $1million in alleged unpaid fees.
The make-up artist, Roxanna Floyd, claims that Latifah, aka Dana Owens, owes her $700,000 for work completed between July 2005 and February 2008, work which included helping the star develop, produce and market her Queen Collection range of cosmetics for CoverGirl.
The stylist, Susan Moses, says that she is owed $300,000, claiming that Owens had promised her a $50k a year salary for advising her in her role as spokeswoman and model for a line of lingerie.
Papers for both cases were filed on Monday in Manhattan. Latifah's people claim that neither case has any legal merit.
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LUCKY DUBE KILLING SUSPECTS FOUND GUILTY
The three men accused of killing South African reggae star Lucky Dube have been found guilty at the conclusion of the murder case at the Johannesburg High Court. Defendants Sfiso Mhlanga, Mbuti Mabe and Ludwa Julius Gxowa are due to be sentenced today.
The family and friends of Dube, who was shot dead in Oct 2007 at the age of 43 during an attempted car hijacking, welcomed the verdict with applause and say that they hope the three killers receive the maximum sentence of life in prison. The star's son Thokozani, who was with his father the night he died, told reporters: "What happened to uBaba was really traumatic to all of us, but we are happy that his killers have been found guilty. We know they are being brought to book and we can now have closure."
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IN THE POP HOSPITAL
DUBZ' DAPPY DEAF
N-Dubz were forced to cancel three gigs on their recently-started UK tour after the trio's Dappy was diagnosed with "acute noise trauma" meaning he became unable to hear certain sounds. He is currently being treated in hospital. How long he will remain there is not yet known, and Saturday's show in Newcastle may yet be cancelled, too.
The shows in Norwich, Ipswich and Sheffield have now been rescheduled for 27, 28 and 29 Apr respectively. All tickets will be valid for the new shows.
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VIEW FRONTMAN "FAINTS" ON STAGE
The View abandoned their set at the Snowbombing festival in Austria on Monday after frontman Kyle Falconer collapsed. Two songs into their performance, Falconer walked off stage after falling over. He returned again shortly afterwards and managed to make it through one more song before leaving the stage again, bring the show to a close.
Before the rest of the band joined Falconer backstage, bassist Keiren Webster told the booing crowd: "Kyle's not feeling well, he's already fainted once. I'm really sorry". Some in the audience suggested that Falconer was actually to drunk to stay upright, rather than succumbing to a mystery illness. And if that is the case, it wouldn't be the first time. Last October Falconer apologised to fans in Nottingham after appearing on stage too inebriated to play or sing. Back then he said: "I'm really sorry to have let all our fans down. There's no excuses, I'm just really sorry I got so drunk I couldn't do the gig".
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NATALIE COLE INUNDATED WITH KIDNEY OFFERS
Singer Natalie Cole has been inundated with emails from fans offering to give her one of their kidneys after she told Larry King on US TV that she would be on dialysis for the rest of her life because her kidneys failed following treatment for hepatitis C. The 59 year old star was diagnosed with the disease in 2008 and she attributes it to her years of drug use. Cole was addicted to heroin and cocaine before being rehabilitated in 1984, and sharing needles is one of the ways in which hepatitis is passed on.
The singer explained to King that her kidneys had stopped working but that three dialysis sessions a week, each three and a half hours long, are keeping her alive. Attempts to find a donor match within her own family have not been successful. She claims it's not yet a life and death situation, however.
On the show, King handed her a pile of papers and told her: "These are all e-mails from dozens of people offering to be tested to see if they can match, who want to give you a kidney." The singer said the offers were "amazing" and continued: "I always felt that it was just so strange to solicit to strangers for a kidney. But people are really great. There are some great human beings out there. That's all I can say".
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JAM MASTER JAY FRIEND HITS OUT OF 50 CENT FILM
Randy Allen, a former friend of the late Jam Master Jay, who was a suspect in relation to the Run DMC DJ's murder for a short time, has released a track under his rap name, MDR, dissing 50 Cent.
He's angry about a film produced by Fiddy's movie company Cheetah Films called 'The Life And Death Of Jam Master Jay', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. He claims that Fiddy, an old friend of both Allen and Jay's, relied on what he alleges are "unnamed fraudulent sources" to provide the story told in the movie which, I think, means Randy comes across pretty badly in it. And he's angry Fiddy didn't consult him about the film.
Allen told reporters recently: "When Jay was alive he dealt with me and Jay. Now he's stepping out of the circle of what he know [and] into a bunch of 'I hate Randy Allen' and he's supporting it. Why would you go to them and promote something they're doing without even talking to me about it and finding out if that's what it is? Anybody doing that is pussy".
Asked if he had spoken to 50 Cent before releasing the diss track, he said he'd tried but had hit too many hurdles preventing him from having "productive meeting" with the rap star. On his decision to release a rap rather than continuing to try and get a meeting, he told reporters this week: "I shouldn't have to go through all that. So why not just put it on a song and express how I feel?. Yo nigga, wake up. What you doing is some pussy shit".
Police investigations into the October 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay remain unsolved, of course.
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POP POLITICS
MUSICIANS PLAY LIMITED ACOUSTIC SET AT CITY PROTESTS
Billy Bragg, Kate Nash and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly all sang some songs during the 'Financial Fools Day' protests in the City Of London yesterday though, apparently, their performances were some what lower key than had been planned because as riot police moved to restrict movement around the capital's financial district those bringing PA kit for the singers to use couldn't get through. As you know doubt saw, a plethora of different protest groups amassed in the City yesterday, in fact there were nearly as many protestors as riot police.
Despite some skirmishes between police and protestors, most because of the police's strategy of stopping protestors from moving around too much, leaving some in streets they really didn't want to be in, the day passed without major incident, save for one slightly smashed branch of the Royal Bank Of Scotland, on obvious target for the anti-capirliats brigade, they being the former employer of that Fred Goodwin fella, though possibly the least sensible target given the company is now predominantly state owned, meaning the cost of repairing any damage is essentially paid for by the tax payer.
There's more protests planned for today, though more around Canary Wharf than the City. Not sure if anyone is planning on singing there.
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OBITUARIES
PAT FOXTON DIES
Pat Foxton, former employee of EMI and CBS/Sony, and wife of The Jam's Bruce Foxton, has died during a course of intensive treatment for cancer in Tel Aviv.
Foxton began her career in the music industry when she joined EMI-owned United Artists/Liberty Records as a press officer back in 1979, working with the likes of Don MacLean and Gerry Rafferty. She moved to CBS Records in 1981, and during nine years with the company worked with artists such as Michael Jackson, Abba, The Pet Shop Boys, Wham, Dead Or Alive and The Stranglers.
Foxton, nee Stead, married Bruce Foxton in 1984, and it was only a few years later, in 1989, that she was initially diagnosed with cancer. She left CBS Records, by that time owned by Sony, and devoted her time to working with charities and encouraged music celebrities such as George Michael and Mariah Carey to support the causes she was concerned with.
Paul Russell, who was chairman of CBS Records during Foxton's time there, told Music Week: "She had poise, charm and was extremely gracious. Old fashioned words, but fundamental if you are going to get your own way without ever raising your voice - which Pat never did. Pat Foxton had the full deck. She looked like a model, married a rock star, never flaunted it and was just extraordinarily hard working and brilliant at her job. She had a sense of humor that demanded intelligence to appreciate. She could wind me round her little finger and I never admit to that lightly.
He continued: "Her family's support has been totally extraordinary but not unexpected. I am just so sad that this amazing woman who fought so inspirationally for her life has now left a vacuum that can only be filled by our reverence for her courage and humility. I am very proud to have called her a friend".
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REUNIONS & SPLITS
STEPS REUNION NOT RULED OUT
Despite the massive success all five members of Steps have enjoyed since the band split up in 2001, they haven't ruled out the possibility of getting the old band back together.
The band's Lee Latchford-Evans, who these days is acting in films and stuff, said: "We all had a fabulous time in Steps and the success we had all over the world was amazing. There have been some offers put to us to get back together and do a tour but it isn't the right time right now. We are all still friends and get along fine so a reunion is something I don't rule out. I just can't see it happening right now. We are all still friends and get along fine so a reunion is something I don't rule out. [But] I am enjoying getting away from the cheesy pop image with my acting".
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RELEASE NEWS
NEW EELS SINGLE ON MYSPACE
The first single from Eels new album, 'Hombre Lobo', which as previously reported is due out on 1 Jun, is now streaming on MySpace. The single, 'Fresh Blood', is due out on 28 Apr but can be hear now by going to www.myspace.com/eels.
Of the track, frontman E says: "I wrote a song a few years ago called I Want to Protect You that was about wanting to protect someone from the wolves. Now I am the wolf".
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GIGS N TOURS NEWS
CARLOS SANTANA SET FOR VEGAS RESIDENCY
Carlos Santana is to start a Las Vegas residency in May this year, through what's described by reports as a "multi year" agreement with AEG Live. Not sure exactly how many years that means, but what is clear is that he'll be performing at the Hard Rock Hotel's Joint venue throughout 2010, and will perform about thirty-six gigs a year.
AEG Live's John Meglen says this: "Bringing Santana to the Joint at Hard Rock elevates the entertainment options in Las Vegas. AEG Live set the standard for major residency shows in Vegas with Celine, Elton, Cher and Bette over at the Colosseum, and now we are setting the standard for rock and roll residencies with this new deal."
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FESTIVAL NEWS
RED LIST LIVE CANCELLED
Red List Live, which was due to be held at Port Lympne Wildlife Park in June headlined by The Wombats and The Zutons, has been cancelled. The festival was being organised in order to raise money for endangered species.
In a statement, the festival's organisers said: "The decision has been made at an early stage, before final acts were booked, promotion began and site work undertaken, as a pragmatic response to current troubled and uncertain financial conditions".
Festival director Eddie Hill added: "We are very upset at having to make such a hard call, however we are confident that we have done what is right for the cause. Foremost in our mind was the greater problems it could have created, had we made this decision further down the line".
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READING/LEEDS FESTIVALS SELL OUT
The Reading and Leeds Festivals sold out yesterday, just two days after tickets went on sale. Which is nice. For them. The boss of Reading/Leeds promoters Festival Republic, Melvin Benn, said this: "This is the seventh year in succession that both events have sold out within 24 hours of going on sale and I am very very pleased, of course. The stature of the events have grown and grown each year and this year's line up only adds to that".
On the touting that will now presumably go on with regards tickets for this year's festivals, Benn reminded those still looking for tix that Viagogo is the festival's approved resale website, telling reporters: "I must express caution towards all those who will now try to get their hands on tickets in whatever way they can, as they do need to be careful of dodgy sites. The only site I can recommend will be Viagogo who will at least guarantee anything they sell".
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FESTIVAL LINE UP UPDATE
RELENTLESS NASS FESTIVAL, Royal Bath & West Showground, Somerset, 10-11 Jul: Lethal Bizzle has been confirmed, completing the main stage line-up for the Friday night with NERD, Chase & Status, Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk. www.relentlessnass.com
GUILFEST, Stoke Park, Guildford, 10-12 July: The Wailers, Athlete and Nouvelle Vague are the latest to be confirmed, joining previously announced acts Motorhead, Brian Wilson, Happy Mondays and The Charlatans. www.guilfest.co.uk
GLADE FESTIVAL, Matterley Bowl, Winchester, Hampshire, 16-19 Jul: Carl Craig and Freestylers are among the latest acts confirmed. Adam Beyer, Limewax, Sub Focus and Filthy Dukes have also been added to the bill, joining Drop The Lime, Shitmat, Tim Exile and Benga. www.gladefestival.com
UNDERAGE FESTIVAL, London's Victoria Park, 2 Aug: Santigold, formerly known as Santogold of course, has been confirmed to play this year's Underage Festival. The Horrors, Patrick Wolf, Mystery Jets and Flash Guns have also been added to the line-up. www.underagefestivals.com
BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL, Catton Hall, Derbyshire, 14-16 Aug: Europe, yes, that's right, Europe have been confirmed as Sunday headliners - for the festival's 'final countdown' presumably. Cradle Of Filth, Satyricon and The Haunted have also been confirmed to play alongside Arch Enemy and Carcass. www.bloodstock.uk.com
GREEN MAN FESTIVAL, Glansuk Park, Brecon Beacons, 21-23 Aug: Four Tet, Grizzly Bear, The Phantom Band Unicorn Kid and Dirty Three have been confirmed to play, alongside Vetiver, Andrew Bird, Beth Jeans Houghton and The Leisure Society. www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk
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REVIEWS
SINGLE REVIEW: William Orbit - Optical Illusions EP (Kobalt Digital)
Although better known as a producer, William Orbit is a respected artist in his own right, not to mention an early pioneer in electronic dance music, with his Guerilla label, Strange Cargo series of electronica and the anthemic techno-pop of Bassomatic's 'Fascinating Rhythm'. It's lazy to say that 'Optical Illusions' recalls his work on Madonna's 'Ray Of Light album' ...but it's also true. As the shimmering keyboards and simple acoustic guitar lines unfurl, you almost expect Madge herself to start singing, and in one respect it feels like an instrumental that would work better as a fully vocal track. But once that nagging doubt is put aside, 'OI' slowly asserts itself as a glistening piece of accessible downtempo. There's an interesting remix package too - Orbit himself offers up the blissed-out Billy Buttons remix, whilst Aaron Jerome takes things into even more horizontal territory. Trenchman and Dr Meacker up both the tempo and the ante - the former going all progressive, with subtle hints of dubstep, whilst the latter turns in the best of the reinterpretations - a fiery piece of drum 'n' bass that loses none of the track's melodic sensibility but actually gives it more impact via the aid of crunching beats and old skool piano riffs. MS
Release Date: 20 Apr
Press Contact: Hermana PR
Buy from iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/c4fjzt
Buy from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/csmbdb
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THE MUSIC BUSINESS
THE MUSIC BUSINESS BECOMES A LOTTERY
In a move that some bloggers initially assumed was an April Fools joke, EMI have announced they have entered into a deal with a leading US-based lottery company that will see musical prizes - downloads, ringtones, merchandise and 'once-in-a-lifetime' experiences - added as prizes on scratch card based lottery promotions. The major's partner is Pollard Banknote, which runs 45 lotteries around the world.
Confirming the partnership, Pollard Banknote's Sina Aiello told reporters: "Lotteries all over the world will now have the ability to work with EMI Music's entire digital roster of music from today's stars and legendary artists as a marketing tool to create an emotional connection with fans in the coveted 18- to 35-year-old demographic. We are pleased to offer our customers a vast, new array of compelling instant prize and second chance draw options that will really resonate with music fans".
EMI Music Services' Ronn Werre added: "Adding music as a prize element to a lottery program is an entirely new and exciting enterprise. This was the result of a great collaboration between Pollard Banknote - a very creative and innovative partner - and EMI's Brand Partnership team, which is all about developing new ways to help brands connect with consumers through music. These exciting new music-oriented prizes will introduce a whole new group of fans to the digital music experience and help them discover EMI Music's artists".
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THE DIGITAL BUSINESS
MUBITO GOES INTO ADMINISTRTAION
The parent company of Mubito, which provides artists and labels with a back-end direct-to-consumer web platform through which they can communicate with and sell stuff to fans (which, they say, is easy to use, meaning an artists official website can be as easy to use as a MySpace or Facebook profile). has gone into administration.
However, the administrator of Swedish based Malmo has said that he is hopeful he can find a buyer for Mubito who will take the service on as a going concern. As a result, while, in line with Swedish company law, Mubito's employees over there have been made redundant, they have been taken on by the administrators to keep the company going, and the firm's London office has been so far unaffected.
That said, the administrator has told reporters one of Malmo's problems was over-staffing, so some redundancies are expected a Mubito as part of any sale. CEO and founder Andrew Martyn has already gone.
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THE MEDIA BUSINESS
6MUSIC TO PROVIDE ROUND THE CLOCK GLASTO COVERAGE
The BBC has said it will broadcast round-the-clock coverage of Glastonbury this year via its digital station 6Music. The Beeb has always had pretty extensive coverage of Glasto, of course, with airtime across the Corporations network's thrown over to the music fest, which enjoys much profile boosting coverage in the run up to the event too. But this will be the first year that there will be 24 hour coverage from the festival.
A spokeswoman for 6Music confirmed yesterday: "We want to take a dawn to dusk/dusk to dawn approach to this hugely significant cultural festival, blending live music coverage, music news and archive to contextualise the festival and some of the major artists playing".
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MERSEY 106.7 GOES OFF AIR AFTER OFCOM RULING
Liverpool-based music station Mersey 106.7, previously KCR FM, went off air yesterday after media regulator OfCom revoked its licence, an unprecedented move on their part that came after the station's new owners, who acquired the station last summer, took the service off air without warning, and then relaunched with a new format that moved away from the service described in their licence. It seems that Southport-based Polaris Media did all that without consulting the regulator, a big no no in the terrestrial radio sector. According to Radio Today programmes went ahead as normal yesterday until shortly after 4pm Neil Sedaka's 'Breaking Up Is Hard' was played and the station went off air.
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CHART OF THE DAY
THIS WEEK'S SUB.TV PLAYLIST
These, in case you wondered, are the videos being played on the Sub.tv network of screens in students' unions around the UK this week. New entries marked with a *. More info from DavidLloyd@sub.tv.
A List
A.R. Rahman & Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)
Asher Roth - I Love College
BeyoncŽ - Halo
Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone
Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
Flo Rida feat. Kesha - Right Round
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
James Morrison - Please Don't Stop The Rain
Just Jack - Embers
Lady Gaga - Poker Face
Metro Station - Shake It
Pink - Please Don't Leave Me
Tinchy Stryder feat N-Dubz - Number 1*
White Lies - Farewell To The Fairground
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
B List
The Enemy - No Time For Tears
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Frankmusik - Better Off As Two
Groove Armada - Drop The Tough
Jason Mraz - Make It Mine
Jazmine Sullivan - Dream Big
La Roux - In For The Kill
The Lonely Island feat T-Pain - I'm On A Boat*
The Maccabees - No Kind Words
Master Shortie - Dance Like A White Boy
Royksopp - Happy Up Here*
Theory Of A Deadman - Hate My Life
The View - Temptation Dice
The Virgins - Rich Girls
Tip List
Bombay Bicycle - Club Always Like This*
Freeland - Under Control*
Fightstar - Mercury Summer*
Funeral For A Friend - Rules And Games
Go:Audio - Drive To The City*
Madina - Lake Never Take Us Alive*
Operahouse - Genius Child
PJ Harvey & John Parish - Black Hearted Love*
Steve Appleton - Dirty Funk
Tommy Sparks - She's Got Me Dancing*
White Belt - Yellow Tag You're Not Invincible
Zarif - Let Me Back*
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AND FINALLY...
WINEHOUSE BANS GOD DAUGHTER FROM DUETING WITH DOHERTY
The Mirror claims that Amy Winehouse has banned thirteen year old god daughter Dionne Bromfield from from doing a duet with Pete Doherty. Not sure why she has the power to impose this ban, though she has reportedly set up a label specifically to release Bromfield's debut, so she will presumably hold some sway.
Anyway, a source is quoted as saying: "Pete and Dionne get on like a house on fire, but Amy's really protective of her and doesn't think a duet with Pete is the right thing to do at the moment. The last thing she wants is for Dionne to make the same mistakes she did. Pete is gutted but he understands. As soon as he has sorted himself out and Dionne's made more of a name for herself a duet is definitely on the cards."
Elsewhere from the file marked 'Winehouse', Jay-Z has said that he'd like to work on some new material with the singer, having previously remixed her hit single 'Rehab'. According to The Sun, he says this: "Amy has a really powerful voice, it is so distinctive and beautiful. Hopefully in the future we could get together and work on some new material - I'd love to work with her again."
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GAGA AUTOGRAPHED FAN'S PENIS
Lady GaGa has admitted to autographing a fan's penis at a recent meet-and-greet, which ought to er, silence all those naysayers who think she looks and behaves like a prostitute. Hmmm.
Anyway, here's what she is quoted by a British tabloid as saying: "I feel embarrassed saying this but the strangest thing I ever autographed was a man's penis. I was doing a meet-and-greet backstage in Canada. I had enough room to write Lady GaGa. I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Maybe it is still there - who knows? It was a permanent marker too!"
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COWELL DOESN'T 'GET' TWITTER
Simon Cowell has said that he doesn't get Twitter. After he was read a Twitter message from Idol host Ryan Seacrest, which said "spent weekend with my fam", he opined: "What's sad is that he's having to use the Twitter language like he's 17. 'My fam' - how difficult is it to add on an 'ily'?".
It's like phoning someone randomly, whose number you don't have, and talking to them. 'Hi, it's Simon, I went out with my family this weekend'".
