DUNSTONE WILL GO TO COURT TO FIGHT THREE-STRIKES
Carphone Warehouse top man Charlie Dunstone has again said he might fight three-strikes in court if his lobbying efforts to stop the anti-piracy system becoming law fails.

As much previously reported, Dunstone, in his role as boss of internet service provider TalkTalk, is among the most vocal of opponents to proposals in the UK government's Digital Economy Bill that will force net firms to send warning letters to suspected file-sharers using their services, threatening to suspend those users' internet connections if they don't stop infringing copyright. Dunstone argues that content owners should have to sue suspected file-sharers directly, rather than involving him and his company, an involvement which will cost Charlie money and put him in the tricky position of having to discipline paying customers.

After his previously reported tea and cakes session in Westminster this week, in which he put various three-strike opponents in front of MPs and Lords, Dunstone told the Telegraph that if the DEB does become law his company will refuse to send out warning letters, and will consider "all options" for challenging three-strikes through the courts.

He continued: "I think there is a problem if an industry thinks its business model will be saved by legislation. While the music industry focuses on getting these laws through, it won't be concentrating on reinventing its business - which it obviously needs to do as its model is out of date. Its customers have gone on strike and turned to piracy because the old model doesn't work. There is no need to pursue this letter-sending and disconnection policy, when [record companies] can just individually prosecute people who have violated copyright rules".

Of course, Dunstone deliberately ignores the fact that efforts to make three-strikes law are just one part of the record industry's approach to the internet and that, after ten years of undeniably bad strategy, since 2008 the major record companies have actively started to embrace and support a number of engaging licensed music services that appeal to different parts of the market. While it's true the deals behind some of those services need reworking if said services are going to be viable long term (and the case for collective licensing gets stronger as the months go by), that's not why Dunstone et al ignore the plethora of DRM-free MP3 stores and exciting on-demand streaming services when assessing the music industry's current approach to the internet.

For them, the record industry "reinventing its model" means licensing their music to ISPs for next to nothing, so that net firms who sacrificed their profit margins by engaging in a silly price war five years ago can create new revenues by becoming content providers, but without incurring any real new costs to generate that content. And despite the fact most ISP-run content services are rubbish.

Of course, Dunstone is right that three-strikes will only have a limited (and possibly nominal) impact on file-sharing, with more prolific file-sharers easily able to hide their illicit content dealing, and others taking their illegal sharing of music offline. However, even one of the groups wheeled into Westminster by the TalkTalk chief this week - consumer rights people Which? - admitted the three-strikes system was better than the anti-piracy programme Dunstone supports: record companies taking more music fans to court.

In related news, Music Week reports that Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw has said that he is confident that the Digital Economy Bill will make it through parliament before the General Election. Many doubt that it will, given it is yet to reach the House Of Commons, and there is opposition from various quarters to various parts of the legislation (and not just its copyright provisions). Though at MIDEM last weekend BPI chief Geoff Taylor said he remained optimistic the proposals could become law before parliament shuts down for the big vote, and Bradshaw said the same at a Musicians' Union organised bash for political types held earlier this week.

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INTERESTING INSIGHT INTO UNIVERSAL'S GROOVESHARK LAWSUIT
Digital Music News has provided an interesting theory as to why Universal Music's previously reported lawsuit against US-based streaming music service Grooveshark relates only to its pre-1972 recordings. As previously reported, Universal announced it was suing Grooveshark through the New York courts earlier this month.

DMN cites legal experts who say the lawsuit focuses on the major's pre-1972 catalogue because of a technicality in US copyright law. Apparently, sound recording copyrights from before 1972 are not protected by federal copyright law in the US, meaning the litigation would be considered in the context of state law.

That will make it harder for Florida-based Grooveshark to lobby for the case to be moved to a court in their locality, and will require them to hire New York-based attorneys, adding to the costs of fighting the legal action, especially given that in its earlier legal fight with EMI the streaming service successfully used local lawyers with little previous IP law experience.

Grooveshark, whose catalogue was originally created by users uploading their own music collections, says it pays royalty fees and acts on content take-down notices when they are served, but has proved to be controversial partly because of the fan-sharing element that was central to the service when it first launched. EMI sued the company last year, but they settled and entered into a licensing agreement with the service, which is probably the most interesting streaming platform currently operational in the US.

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RULING FAST-TRACKING IN INTERESTING AUSSIE ISP LIABILITY CASE
Australia's Federal Court is expected to fast-track a decision in an interesting and previously reported legal case involving a consortium of film and TV companies and Aussie ISP iiNet.

The case centres on an ISPs liability for any illegal file-sharing committed by its customers. It's interesting because, while the content industries in a number of countries, including the UK, are lobbying for new laws that clarify a net firm's liabilities in this domain (ie by forcing them to operate a three-strikes system), it's less common for said content industries to sue an internet provider over the issue (though there are parallels here to a 2008 action taken by the record companies against Eircom in Ireland, though that case was settled out of court).

In the Aussie case, claimants AFACT (that's the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) and iiNet both presented their arguments in court last October. A ruling on the matter, however, was not expected until later this year, however it was announced yesterday a judgment will now be made next Thursday. AFACT are suing for damages, and want iiNet to be forced to disconnect any customers it knows are illegally sharing music online.

Following the court hearings last Autumn, iiNet's CEO Michael Malone told reporters he was confident his company would win the case, saying: "We do not, and never have supported, encouraged or authorised illegal sharing or downloading of files in breach of the copyright laws".

If AFACT win the case, it would essentially make three-strikes law in Australia through legal precedent rather than new legislation. Though if that were to happen it seems likely the country's government would instigate a review of copyright rules, and if necessary formalise the three-strikes system (possibly reducing the penalty for file-sharers from disconnection to suspension, akin to the three-strike proposals here in the UK). Even if iiNet win, it is likely the government will give some time to reviewing copyright rules, which might result in a three-strikes system being introduced.

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BLACK EYED PEAS IN NEW PLAGIARISM CLAIM
Black Eyed Peas have been accused of plagiarism again. This time rapper Phoenix Phenom, along with songwriter Manfred Mohr, have launched a lawsuit claiming that the group's track 'Boom Boom Pow' is "virtually identical" to their song 'Boom Dynamite'.

A lawyer representing the pair said: "My clients submitted their copyrighted song 'Boom Dynamite' to [the Peas' record label] Interscope Records after Interscope had shown interest in some of their music, and the Black Eyed Peas later copied the song when they wrote 'Boom Boom Pow'. A simple listening of the two songs will tell you that the songs are substantially similar, and that the hooks of the two songs are virtually identical in rhythm and lyrics".

You can test that theory here:

Boom Dynamite: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O0q_xBu2IQ
Boom Boom Pow: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i2jZ4jYGKQ

Last year, Black Eyed Peas settled out of court with Adam Freeland after they used his instrumental track 'Mancry' as the basis for their song 'Party All The Time' without permission. Like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbJ5kHfIhC4

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EAGLES MAN SUES NAMESAKE OVER UNCLEARED SONG USE
Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh has threatened legal action against an American politician who is using one of his songs - 'Walk Away' - seemingly without the appropriate permissions having been obtained. A Republican congressional candidate in Illinois is using the song, which originally appeared on an album by Walsh's original band James Gang, with altered lyrics as part of his political campaigning. It is likely the political man chose the song because his name is, you guessed it, Joe Walsh.

Walsh the songwriter alleges that Walsh the politician has not acquired permission to use his song, nor to change the words in it. And, according to Billboard, his lawyer has sent a slightly tongue-in-cheek cease-and-desist letter in which he gives the aspiring congressman a few pointers on US copyright law.

The legal letter says that the US Copyright Act "says a lot of things, but one of the things it says is that you can't use someone else's song for your political campaign promotion unless you get permission from the owner of the copyright in the song. As far as we can tell, you didn't do that. Maybe you got so busy with the campaign that you just forgot. But that's not OK".

The letter continues: "Under that same United States Copyright Act, you're not allowed to take someone's song and change the lyrics. This is not to say you're not allowed to write silly lyrics, you just have to write them to your own music. Now, I know why you used Joe's music - it's undoubtedly because it's a lot better than any music you or your staff could have written. But that's the point. Since Joe writes better songs than you do, the Copyright Act rewards him by letting him decide who gets to use the songs he writes".

The letter adds that the potential for confusion regards the name 'Joe Walsh' might also be an issue. It concludes: "Given that your name is Joe Walsh, I'd think you'd want to be extra careful about using Joe's music in case the public might think that Joe is endorsing your campaign, or, God forbid, is you".

Walsh the politician's campaign manager has defended their use of the song, arguing that the rework of the lyrics covers them, though I'm not sure that's at all correct. If this does go to court, presumably Walsh can get some advice off Eagles bandmate Don Henley, who is himself in dispute with congressional candidate Charles DeVore over the use of one of his songs in that political man's campaigning.

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VOTING OPENS FOR BREAKSPOLL 2010
The ninth annual Breakspoll, a celebration of breakbeat artists and DJs from around the world, is just grinding into action ahead of the 2010 ceremony, which will this year again be split across two events at Fabric and Matter in London.

Voting across eighteen categories, including Best DJ, Best Producer and Best Track Of 2009, is open for the next four weeks at www.breakspoll.com. The awards will be dished out at Fabric on 25 Feb.

As well as the award-giving at the Fabric event, which will be done by Janette Slack and Ken Mac, there will be performances and DJ sets from some of the biggest ladies and gents in breaks, such as Afghan Headspin vs Pixel Fist, Cut La Roc vs Peo De Pitte, Freestylers vs Ctrl-Z, Future Funk Squad, High Rankin vs Gella, Krafty Kuts vs A-Skillz, and NAPT vs Beat Assassins.

Then, the next night, the party continues at Matter with the Stanton Warriors-hosted Breakspoll Aftershow, which will deliver a line-up spanning breaks, dubstep, hip hop, and house, with artists including Freeland, Doorly, Freestylers, Slyde and more.

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PETE WATERMAN TO WRITE EUROVISION SONG
The BBC has announced that Pete Waterman will write and produce this year's UK Eurovision entry. Having been responsible for over 200 hit singles in the last 25 years (we assume that's right, there wasn't time for us to count for ourselves), it's hoped that Waterman will continue to reverse our poor standing in the contest in recent years, which began with last year's 'It's My Time', written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. Despite being entirely unmemorable, the song, performed by Jade Ewen, came in fifth, which was a marked improvement on other recent years.

Announcing his involvement, Waterman told CMU: "Eurovision is one of those iconic competitions that has stood the test of time and keeps coming up with great acts, great tunes and great performances. Life's full of challenges and I'm relishing the opportunity to put my own stamp on this one".

Executive Producer Phil Parsons added: "This year, with an extremely successful pop writer the aim is to build on the UK's success while moving on in style and doing something different. Pete Waterman has an incredible track record of hits that are known all around Europe so we're thrilled that he has taken on Eurovision".

The big final of the competition will be held in Oslo in May.

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THE DRUMS SIGN TO UNIVERSAL
New York quartet The Drums signed to Universal/Island on Wednesday night, ahead of an MTV Presents gig at Dingwalls in Camden. The contract was apparently signed in the foyer at MTV's London HQ. Similarly, my contract with CMU was signed in a cloakroom at Men & Motors.

The band are expected to release their debut album through the label later this year.

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SIGUR RÓS SCRAP ALBUM AND GO ON HIATUS
Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson has revealed that the band have scrapped recordings made for their next album, the follow-up to 2008's 'Með Suð I Eyrum Við Spilum'. Last year Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið reported that drummer Orri Dýrason had told them the album was "nearing completion".

Birgisson told Spinner: "We haven't got another album ready; it was just a rumour. We started to record something, but then we chucked it all away. So I think we are going to have to start it all again. [But] we are on a break at the moment. Everybody in the band is having babies".

In the meantime, Birgisson has been working on his debut solo album, 'Go', which features string arrangements by composer Nico Muhly. The album will be released on 22 Mar via XL.

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MEMORY TAPES UK TOUR
Memory Tapes, aka Dayve Hawke, will head out on some more UK tour dates in March. If you haven't yet listened to his debut album, 'Seek Magic', I strongly recommend that you do so forthwith.

Tour dates:

9 Mar: Brighton, Freebutt
10 Mar: Sheffield, The Harley
11 Mar: Manchester, The Deaf Institute
12 Mar: Glasgow, Captains Rest
13 Mar: London, Cargo

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BACKSTREET BOYS TO HEADLINE INDIAN METAL FESTIVAL
Metal fans in India have expressed anger after organisers of the Rock In India festival booked The Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx to headline this year's event, which takes place at two sites in Dehli and Bangalore on 20 Feb and 22 Feb. Launched in 2008, past festivals have had a heavier rock music policy, with previous headliners including Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Machine Head.

Despite the complaints that metal has been entirely cut out of this year's line-up (more mainstream Indian acts complete much of the rest of the bill) and calls for different headliners to be chosen, organisers seem to be in no mood to add some last minute metal, arguing that they are responding to fan demand in making their event more mainstream, and that the name 'Rock In India' was never meant to imply their event was about, erm, rock, in India.

They said in a statement: "There has been a long-standing request from many music fans to our website that they would like to see mainstream music and also classic rock. Rock In India is a 'music' festival.Rock In India does not mean the genre rock only. Being a fan, you have right to an opinion. [But] being a promoter, no artist is big or small to us. All artists are respected equally and not looked down upon just because they are a pop artist! We respect their music!"

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Postmarks - Memoirs At The End Of The World (Unfiltered Records)
February marks the return of The Postmarks with their third album in three years, 'Memoirs At The End Of The World'. Hailing from the Sunshine State that is Florida, from the outset there's a sense that the trio might have written these tracks while driving down a sun-soaked freeway (in a convertible of some sort), sunglasses on, with the cool American wind blowing cinematic inspiration through their musical minds.

I'm guessing the end of the world will be quite a dramatic event, which possibly explains the heightened horns, strong, abrupt, orchestral strings and triumphant timpani on this album. Like something from a James Bond sondtrack, tracks such as 'Thorn In My Side' and I'm In Deep' possess the sort of 'suspense motif' which Bond composer David Arnold likes to play with.

In contrast, however, lead vocalist Tim Yehezkely eases her (she's a lady) way through the album. Her voice isn't powerful and if you're waiting for her to hit that high note, you'll be waiting a while. She simply glides through with comfort, like an effortless choral dream, giving the album its balance - the whole think would have been rather overpowering if Tim had decided to pop some Leona Lewis style vocals over the top.

It's understandable why these guys' current single 'No One Said This Would Be Easy' is on NME Radio's a-list. With electo/synthpop being so dominant of late, for those looking for something that's just a good piece of solid indie pop, then 'Memoirs At The End Of The World' is a welcome breath of fresh air. SD

Physical release: 8 Feb
Press contact: EMMS Publicity [All]

Buy from iTunes
Buy from Amazon

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!K7 TO DISTRIBUTE VICE RECORD LABEL IN EUROPE
Vice magazine's record label has announced a partnership with !K7 which will see the German indie distribute its roster in Europe, including releases from the likes of Acrassicauda, Growing, Almighty Defenders, Lullabye Arkestra and Pierced Arrows.

Confirming the deal, !K7's CEO Horst Weidenmueller told CMU: "I've been always amazed at how Vice have set up a multimedia company that maximises their opportunities to cross market their individual activities and I'm very proud that we can now take care of their music releases in Europe".

Vice Music's GM Jamie Farkas added: "Since becoming a fully independent company over two years ago we have been looking for a one stop shop for our European distribution and we could not be more thrilled to have found that at !K7. The services they provide their family of international label partners is unparalleled and we look forward to great success joining forces with them".

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BMG RIGHTS MOVE INTO SWEDISH MARKET
The ever-expanding BMG Rights Management, the much previously reported music rights company set up by German media firm Bertelsmann after it offloaded its existing BMG music publishing and record companies, is moving into the Swedish market by acquiring Stockholm-based publisher Scandinavian Songs. The deal also includes that publisher's record label Hawk Records, the new BMG company being especially interesting in that it is working with both recording and song rights (albeit with more interests in the latter).

Former Scandinavian Songs manager Niclass Björlund will become GM for BMG Rights Management Scandinavia, and told reporters: "This is of course a great opportunity to be involved in the birth of a new great company with great people, and to have the opportunity to continue working with all the contacts we have built during the years - as well as those who will remain with Scandinavian Songs".

BMG boss Hartwig Masuch added: "The acquisition of Scandinavian Songs and the opening of our Stockholm office marks yet another significant step in our internationalisation strategy. I am more than happy to have Hans and his team on board to work closely with artists and writers on local ground - all have invaluable experience in the publishing industry and a very high reputation in the Scandinavian music landscape".

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PRIMARY WAVE AND AGENCY GROUP FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
US-based music publishers Primary Wave and New York talent agency The Agency Group have announced they are entering into a strategic alliance, which is always fun.

It is actually Primary Wave's marketing and sponsorship division that is at the heart of the deal, they will support the Agency Group in securing its roster of artists marketing partnerships, while the agents will help bring talent to Primary Wave's proprietary tours.

However, the two companies will also form a JV offering combining publishing and management services to artists.

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ITV APPOINT NEW BOSS
Good news for postmen, ITV has recruited the not especially popular boss of the Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to be its new CEO. Whether that's such good news for ITV I don't know.

ITV have been looking for a new chief exec since Michael Grade announced his intent to step down from the day-to-day running of the broadcaster last April. The Grade-ster, who had been both Chairman and CEO of the struggling telly firm, subsequently announced he was quitting as the company's Chair as well.

For that reason it was new ITV Chairman Archie Norman who announced Crozier's appointment yesterday. Saying that the Royal Mail boss, who previously ran the FA, was a "great leader" with the "steely resolve we need at ITV", Norman wrote in a memo to ITV staff: "Even in the short time I have been here I have seen enough to know that we have great broadcast, production and television talent. The challenge for the chief executive is to help us bring our company together, build a changed organisation, encourage pace of delivery, attract new talent and bring out the best in our own people. This brings to an end a long period of uncertainty for ITV and means we can now focus wholeheartedly on the challenge ahead".

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MANAGEMENT TEAM REVAMP AT ABSOLUTE
Absolute Radio has announced the appointment of a new management team under Chief Operating Office Clive Dickens. I use the word 'new' in its loosest sense, in that the team will consist of existing senior Absolute execs but with new job titles and, presumably, new job descriptions. Tony Moorey will be Content Director, Cat MacDonald Communications Director, Clare Baker Marketing Director and Paul Brown Technical Director.

The radio company says that the revamped management team will helped "transform the business into a digital, musical and entertainment brand with audio at its core". Sounds like fun.

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NEW HOST FOR GUARDIAN MUSIC PODCAST
The Guardian has announced some changes to its weekly music podcast, in particular that the paper's chief rock and pop critic Alexis Petridis, who had previously filled in as a presenter on the audio show, will become its permanent host, taking over from Paul MacInnes. The appointment of a new host will coincide with the introduction of some new features, including a new label profile thing.

Alexis told CMU: "The music weekly podcast is a great platform for engaging with music fans and I want to build on all the excellent work that has been done. As host I want to develop the show, creating something different to what's already out there".

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PAIGE "NOT PROUD" OF BOYLE
Susan Boyle's idol, Elaine Paige has hit out at the 'Britain's Got Talent' star in a new interview. Well, she was more hitting out at the trend for reality TV taking untrained performers and making them overnight global superstars, I don't think she really bares Boyle any ill will. The pair did, after all, duet on ITV's 'I Dreamed A Dream: The Susan Boyle Story' last month.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Paige said: "I don't particularly feel any pride for her - I'm sure she is proud of what she has done. It's all about turning someone into an immediate celebrity at the expense of longevity and working hard and experience. Susan Boyle is doing terribly well considering she literally came to the attention of the world with the advent of YouTube. She was like a virus really that spread across the world in a nanosecond. She is a girl with no experience of anything to do with theatrics, the music business, or art in any way".

She added that even with experience, coping with fame can be difficult, and commended Boyle for how she has handled it, saying: "Longevity is gained through knowledge, experience and effort so it will remain to be seen [if she will last]. When I started, YouTube didn't exist but even then with fifteen years of experience prior to my success [starring in] 'Evita' it was difficult, so I admire the way she has handled her sudden success. 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'The X-Factor' just take a bunch of people from real life who think they can sing and try and turn them into overnight stars with a couple of songs. It's not entertainment".

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NIRVANA AND SMASHING PUMPKINS PLAY TWISTER
We saw this and we were all, like, LOL WTF?! ROFL!!!!1!!11! But there's no place for that now, children. This, my dears, is what life was like before the internet:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lqH2Ag6fxU

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