50 CENT AND MARIAH LEAD BMA NOMINATIONS 29/11/05
50 Cent , Mariah Carey and Green Day are the top finalists for the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, which will be handed out 6th December live on Fox from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. Rap legend LL Cool J will host the event, which will boast newly confirmed performances from Gwen Stefani and Daddy Yankee with Pharrell. 50 Cent is a finalist in eight categories, followed by Carey with seven and Green Day with six.
TINA WATERS HONOURED AT WOMAN OF THE YEAR 29/11/05
Leading entertainment industry travel agent Tina Waters was honoured in London last Wednesday night with the Outstanding Contribution accolade at The Woman Of The Year Awards for
the music industry & related media 2005. Waters, who has been working in the music business since the early seventies, is based in Glasgow and runs The Tour Company which has co-ordinated travel and accommodation for a wide range of entertainment industry clients, including the International Live Music Conference.
Tina said "I'm completely gob-smacked by this, it was a total surprise but I'm chuffed to bits. I have some wonderful clients and must give credit to the great team of people I work with plus my incredibly supportive husband, Dougie (Souness)."
The annual awards ceremony highlights various women working in the music industry and related media to recognise their achievements whilst raising much needed funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT Trust, raising more than £500,000 since its inception in 1995. This year's event also honoured three other women for their services to the music industry. Janet Fraser Crook, co-creator and director of TV show 'Later With Jools Holland' was presented with the Woman Of The Year award by Texas' frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri; EMI's Deby Fairley was presented with the Special Achievement award for her organisation of showcases and album launches by EMI-signed singer Beverley Knight; whilst Sony BMG Publishing's Caroline Elleray, who signed acts such as Keane and Coldplay was presented the Accolade honour by Keane's Richard Hughes.
PISTOLS AND SABBATH TO JOIN HALL OF FAME 29/11/05
Billboard.com report that Iconic rock acts Black Sabbath and The Sex Pistols lead the 2006 class of inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They will be joined by jazz legend Miles Davis, Southern rock mainstays Lynyrd Skynyrd and New York new wave outfit Blondie for the induction, which will be held March 13 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. A&M
Records co-founders Herb Albert and Jerry Moss will receive a lifetime achievement award in the non-performer category
JAPAN'S DOWNLOADS GROW AS US MARKET SLOWS 28/11/05
The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) reports that 2.3M computer downloads were bought in Japan in the last quarter. This figure is more than double the sales recorded in Q1 (1.1M) and Q2 (1.0M). This sharp increase has almost exclusively been attributed to iTunes Music Store debuting in the market at the start of August. These figures are based on 'downloads' rather than 'tracks' - so a single download or an album bundle count as one download each, thereby giving a slightly skewed image of the market. The total value of the downloads market in the last quarter was Yen436M (meaning the average track price is Yen1986 - down from an average of Yen223 in Q2). Fixed-line downloading, however, remains a tiny part of the Japanese digital market.
There were 72M mobile downloads in Q3, meaning mobile controls 97% of the total downloads market there. In the US, however, a very different picture is emerging. It is reported that - after the boom of 2004 - US digital sales are beginning to slow down. Average weekly sales were 6.6M in Q3 - up only slightly from 6.4M in May. To put this in context, May's figures marked a 300% increase from a year earlier. Fulcrum Global Partners suggests that downloading needs to grow at 150% annually to offset the decline in physical sales.
Source: Five Eight magazine
EX-WEMBLEY CHIEF FLIES OF TO US JAIL 25/11/05
The Times has reported that Nigel Potter, former chief executive of gaming and greyhound operator Wembley, will fly to the USA today (25th November) to begin a three year jail sentence resulting from a bribery conviction in Rhode Island. In August Potter and former general manager of the Lincoln Park track Daniel Bucci were convicted of conspiring to bribe a US law firm with up to US$4m (£2.3m)
in a bid to get 1,000 more video lottery machines installed at Lincoln Park and block a rival Indian casino.
On the 28th October, Potter was sentenced to three years in prison by a federal court while Bucci received three years and five months. These convictions are subject to appeal by both men. The Lincoln Park operation was also found guilty of wire fraud and fined US$1.5m (£846,000).
Earlier this year, Wembley sold Lincoln Park and the gaming business Wembley has now been wound up.
Source: www.worldleisurejobs.com
TAKE THAT TOUR ON AS ROBBIE SELLS 1.6 MILLION TICKETS 25/11/05
The rumours are true - Take That are back! four of the five members of Take That are back to tour in April 2006, ten years after the 10 million album selling band broke up. Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald will take to the road in a eleven date arena tour of the United Kingdom and Eire starting at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena on 24 April and will include two nights at London's Wembley Arena and dates in Manchester, Sheffield, Belfast and Dublin.
The press conference announcement follows a successful TV documentary on the band which attracted a 6 million + rating in the UK. Meanwhile former member Robbie Williams has set a ticket sales world record by selling more than 1.6 million tickets for his 2006 world tour in one day. The Robster, who went on to became a global star after the break-up, has smashed the Guinness World Record for concert ticket sales, previously held by US boy band N'Sync. N'Sync sold none million tickets, valued at $40m (£23.4m), for their No Strings Attached US tour in one day five years ago. Williams's tickets, which were snapped up on the first day of sale on 19 November, are valued at an estimated £80m.
ILMC 18 ANNOUNCED 25/11/05
Next years International Live Music Conference has now been officially announced it will take place at the Royal Garden Hotel in
Kensington between 10th - 12th March, 2006. For a full of the meeting agendas,
events, Gala Dinner & Arthur Awards etc - go to the brand new ILMC 18 Conference Guide. Also click here for full details on how to register online.
EMI SHARES LEAP 10% ON MERGER SPECULATION 24/11/05
EMI shares increased by 10% (to 242p) yesterday amid growing speculation of a merger. An estimated 43M EMI shares
changed hands yesterday - around five times the daily average - putting the
company's value at £2B. Warner Music is being cited as the company 'most likely to', although Universal Music is also being suggested as a potential suitor. A merger with Universal is seen as highly unlikely as UK, US and European regulators would oppose 38.9% of the market in the hands of a single record company.
EMI and Warner attempted to merge in 2000 but were blocked by regulators. They also attempted a merger in 2003 when Warner Music was still part of Time Warner Inc. Since then Warner Music has been sold to the consortium headed by Edgar Bronfman Jr. Sony and BMG were given merger approval by the European Commission in July 2004 and subsequently cleared US antitrust hurdles. The European Commission's decision is, however, currently being appealed by independent label's association Impala.
NEW PLACES NEW FACES - KEY INDUSTRY APPOINTMENTS 24/11/05
Dmitry Konnov is named as General Manager of Universal Music Russia. Paul Connolly is named as President of Europe/Managing Director UK for Universal Music Publishing Group. At Virgin, November 24 is Larry Mestel's last day as COO/GM of Virgin Records. Billboard.biz reports that Virgin Records is close to finalizing a deal with Lee Trink to bring him in as GM at the New York-based label. Trink was previously GM at Lava Records, the label founded by new Virgin chairman/CEO Jason Flom. Flom replaced Matt Serletic, who left Virgin Oct. 18. It is thought that Mestel is in talks with Virgin parent EMI about a possible senior role in the EMI corporate structure.
INQUEST RECORDS VERDICT OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH IN STAGE DIVE TRAGEDY 24/11/05
The Leeds Coroner, David Hinchcliffe, has recorded a verdict of accidental death after the inquest into the death of Patrick Sherry, 29, frontman of Bad Beat Revue and a married father-of-two. Sherry jumped up to grab a lighting rig during a gig but fell head-first on to the venue's solid wood floor at the Warehouse in Leeds on the 20th July 2005. His older brother Brendan, 33, who is also in the band, saw the accident.
A witness said: "He put the microphone down and crouched before leaping off the stage, which was about a metre high, and trying to grab the rig. I don't know whether he caught it or not, but his momentum carried him forward. He went upside down and hit the floor head-first. The whole thing lasted about five seconds. It was horrendous."Patrick, of Silsden, West Yorks, was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where he died the following morning of head injuries
JUST ONE GONG FOR CAREY AT THE AMAs 23/11/05
Mariah Carey won just one prize at the American Music Awards, despite leading the pack with four nominations. Carey won
the night's first award for favourite soul/R&B female artist, but lost
out in other categories. Punk band Green Day, country star Tim McGraw, singer Kelly Clarkson,
R&B trio Destiny's Child and funk band the Black Eyed Peas all took home two awards. Held in Los Angeles, the show featured performances from Gwen Stefani, rapper Pharrell and The Eurythmics. The Rolling Stones closed the show with a video link from their concert in Salt Lake City, Utah.
U2 BOLT ON MORE VERTIGO DATES 23/11/05
U2 has confirmed the first dates for the 2006 portion of their Vertigo tour. A run of five shows in Australia and New Zealand will begin March 17th 2006 in Auckland. Billboard.com reports that U2 guitarist The Edge has said that additional, as-yet-unannounced dates are on tap in Japan and South America. The current North American leg of Vertigo runs through December 19th in Portland Ore. And The Edge has joined producer Bob Ezrin for the Music Rising initiative, which will provide instruments to musicians affected by the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes. Music Rising is supported by the Recording Academy's non-profit MusiCares Foundation, which will manage the organization's grants process.
RIAA's CARY SHERMAN DEFENDS RECORD INDUSTRY PRACTICES 23/11/05
The Recording Industry Association of America's president Cary Sherman took part in a live chat on Collegiate Presswire this week where student journalists posed a number of questions including criticism of the RIAA's series of legal actions against student downloaders, the state of the peer-2-peer file swapping networks post 'MGM v Grokster' and the implications of the SonyBMG'rootkit' CD protection software which has resulted in SonyBMG withdrawing millions of CDS and now facing lawsuits in America from consumers and even the State of Texas. For a link go to www.cpwire.com
US SENATOR INTRODUCES BILL AGAINST PAYOLA AS WARNERS SETTLE WITH SPITZER 23/11/05
Senator Russ Fiengold (Democrat, Wisconsin) has introduced legislation that seeks to close the loopholes on payola-like practices and stop alleged "muscling" practices by broadcast-venue owner companies from forcing performers to play for reduced fees or for free. Senator Feingold has crafted his Radio and Concert Disclosure and Competition Act of 2005 after studying the New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's $10 million settlement in July with Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and realizing there is a need to help artists and also regulate such practices on the radio side to prevent abuse of a dominant position by large conglomerates who control venues as well as radio stations and other media.
In the US, Warner Music Group has become the second major label company to settle with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office in its ongoing payola investigation. WMG is paying out $5 million - which will be donated to nonprofit organisations - and a further $50,000 to cover the cost of the enquiry. Spitzer accused the label of dishing out iPods, $800 gift cards and cash bribes of up to $20,000 to DJs and radio stations. In July, Sony BMG was the first record company to reach settlement, paying out $10 million in settlement. WMG has agreed to abandon the practice of providing radio stations and their employees with financial incentives and promotional items in exchange for airplay of its recordings.
Source: Billboard.com 22 November 2005
TICKET SALES
FOR EDWARD SCISSORHANDS TOP £1 MILLION 23/11/05
Advance sales for Matthew Bourne's new production of 'Edward Scissorhands' have
topped £1 million (E1.4 billion approx). The ballet begins preveiwing
at Saddlers Wells tomorrow. Bourne, one of Britain's most successful dance directors whose previous shows have included 'The Nutcracker' and 'The Car Man', has adapted Tim Burton's gothic masterpiece after waiting over ten years to get permission. The press night is the 30th November. Bourne's ' Swan Lake' open's in Paris the same week before going to the US to tour.
HG CAPITAL HALT SALE OF BOOSEY AND HAWKES 23/11/05
HGCAPITAL the private equity firm, has halted the sale of Boosey & Hawkes after the highest offer (from Elevation Partners which counts U2's Bono as
a partner) was just shy of the £120 million price tag (E170 million). Elevation had
offered £115 million. It is thought that HG will now offer management more funding to develop the music publisher's business and wait for a better offer.
LINK WRAY PASSES ON 23/11/05
Combining Delta blues with power chords, a distorted fuzz tone and a part Shawnee Native Indian heritage it has been belatedly announced that Link Wray died on the 5th November 2005 aged 76. Having started out in 1956 as Lucky Wray and the Palamino Bunch, Link had his first big hit in 1958 with "Rumble". Other big hits included "Rawhide" (a million seller like "Rumble"), "Comanche" and "Slinky".
In the late 60s Wray became disillusioned with the music industry claiming that his copyrights had been stolen but he returned in 1971 with the eponymous album Link Wray which had a country blues feel. Link moved to Europe in the early 80s after marrying an Danish resident. He toured up to 2004 playing 40 dates in the USA last year and his music became much sought after for films. Those who cited Link as an influence include Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Pete Townshend. he is survived by his wife, Olive.
COLDPLAY AIM TO DEFEAT ONLINE TOUTS 23/11/05
Coldplay have set up their own ticket auction site to stop fans from being ripped off by online touts. Money raised from the sale of tickets this way in the US will be donated to charity.
Source: www.nme.com
GREAT BRITISH PUBLIC WAKES UP TO LICENSING ACT FIASCO 23/11/05
Representatives from pubs, clubs, venues, cicuses, horse shows, village halls and even licensing authorities are waking up to the true beauraucratic nightmare that is the Licensing Act 2003. With just days to go before the Licensing Act becomes law the London Evening Standard (22/11/05 on page 6) headlined with 'Licensing law Chaos Looms' reporting on a 'free for all as councils are unable to monitor all premises', noting that many clubs, restaurants and pubs will be unlicensed and that local authorities didnt have the resources to monitor the situation. At the other end of the scale the BBC reported that Village Hall committees, circus owners and late night take aways were all facing administrative hell and huge costs as they tried to come to terms with the Act's new provisions and additional paperwork.
PAUL WELLER TO GET TOP BRIT GONG 22/11/05
After a long and illustrious career including The Jam and The Style Council, everyone's favourite modfather, Paul Weller, will be awarded the Outstanding Contribution To British Music award at the Brit Awards being held on 15th February 2006.
ITUNES HAS DOMINANT MARKET SHARE IN UK 21/11/05
An Xtn Data study suggests that iTunes has the biggest digital music market share in the UK - 54%. In terms of how the competing services match up, Napster has 10%, Wippit has 8%, MyCokeMusic has 6%, MSN has 5%, Virgin Digital has 3%, Tesco has 2%, Woolworths also has 2% and HMV Digital has 1%.
These figures are, however, not drawn from sales/subscription figures - The company polled 1,000 consumers. iTunes claimed recently to hold an 80% share of the a la carte market in sales terms.
Source: www.theregister.co.uk
IFPI PLATINUM EUROPEAN SELLERS ANNOUNCED 21/11/05
EMI tops the list of labels and Green Day and Coldplay the list of acts as the IFPI awards eight Platinum Europe Awards for September and October (for 1M+ sales across Europe).
The albums were:
GLITTER ARRESTED AT HO CHI MINH AIRPORT 21/11/05
Disgraced star Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) has been arrested in Vietnam at Ho Chi Minh airport on the 19th November, allegedly trying to flee the country by plane to Thailand. The 61 year old former frontman of the Glitter Band, who was jailed for two months in 1999 in the United Kingdom on child pornography charges, faces questioning from police who have already questioned a 15 year old girl living at Gadd's rented home in Vietnam. Gadd arrived in Vietnam in March having twice been expelled from Cambodia. BBC News have reported that a second underage girl is also being interviewed by police in connection with Gadd. Child sex offences carry prison terms in Vietnam and certain child abuse offences carry the death penalty.
LEVIN JOINS MCPS BOARD AND NAVIN IS NEW CEO AT MPA 20/11/05
Sarah Levin has been appointed to the MCPS board. She started her music publishing career in 1995 by joining PolyGram / Island Music as Head of Legal and Business Affairs and earlier this year was promoted to General Manager of Universal Music Publishing. Sarah has been a member of the Pop Publishers Committee of the MPA for the past two years and also sits on the Board of the International Music Publishers Association. Sarah replaces Crispin Evans who joined the Alliance as General Counsel in August.
The Music Publishers Association (MPA) has appointed Stephen Navin as its new Chief Executive, replacing Sarah Faulder. Navin has spent 30 years working in the entertainment industry, including spells in senior positions at V2 and BMG. He has spent the last three years as adviser to the Department of Culture Media & Sport on music and other creative industries.
ROGER WATERS PREMIERES 'CA IRA' IN ROME 20/11/05
Roger Waters has premiered his the three-act opera 'Ca Ira' (which roughly means 'So It Will Be' or 'It Will Go') in Rome. The official translation into English is 'There is Hope'. The opera is set in the French Revolution and the world premiere staged in the main Santa Cecilia Hall at Rome's new Music Park and performed by the Rome Sinfonietta and the Cora Lirico Sinfonico Romano choir, which will include children's voices.
In all 236 people will take the stage A CD recording of the opera has already been released The opera is based on a libretto by the late French lyricist Etienne Roda-Gil, who penned songs for Juliette Greco and Johnny Halliday, with music and English lyrics by Waters. Roda-Gil and Waters first met in the 'revolutionary' year of 1968. Waters, who began work on the piece in 1989, said that what he tried to capture was the spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity which existed before the French Revolution degenerated into The Terror.
SANCTUARY FACE $50 MILLION CLAIM 20/11/05
Hot on the heels of Andy Taylor's resignation as Chairman, Sanctuary Music are now facing a $50 million lawsuit from Los Angeles based 5.1 Label Group. The suit alleges that Sanctuary failed to delivery between 140 and 220 albums from artists such as Meatloaf, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton, Morrissey and Alison Moyet. 5.1 had planned to release the albums in the new dual disc format (DVD one side of the disc, CD on the auther). Douglas McArthur has stepped down as a non-executive of the Group.
SANCTUARY'S ANDY TAYLOR STEPS DOWN - BUT NOT OUT 18/11/05
Andy Taylor , co-founder and executive chairman of the Sanctuary Group has stepped down from his post. He will, however, still remain at the company as a senior executive. "This
change is intended to enable Andy to concentrate on overseeing
the implementation of the new business plan", a spokesperson for Sanctuary said.
THE WHO, NEW ORDER AND BLACK SABBATH ENTER THE UK MUSIC HALL OF FAME 18/11/05
The Who , Bob Dylan and Black Sabbath were just three of the top names who were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday night at London's Alexandra Palace. The ceremony was covered in a three hour television programme produced by Initial TV and broadcast on Channel 4 on thursday night.
Talking heads on the night included Harvey Goldsmith, Bob Geldof and Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis. Other inductees included The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Arethra Franklin, New Order/Joy Division and The Eurythmics.
Host for the night was Radio 2 DJ Dermot O'leary and performances came from Black Sabbath, New Order, The Pretenders, Alanis Morrissette and Slash. John Peel's posthoumous was the highlight of the night with tributes from Damon Albarn and Feargal Sharkey amongst others and the Buzzcocks, Datsuns and El Presidente teamed up for an all star rendition of 'Ever Fallen In Love'. See News 10/11/05 for details of the 'best gigs ever' awards from the same TV series.
EMI AND EMAP OFFER UP HALF YEAR FIGURES 16/11/05
EMI has issued its half-year figures (to 30th September) to the City reporting that sales were up 5.8% to £924.6M. These numbers were ahead of expectations and are all the more significant as they are EMI's first year-on-year increase in five years. The company says it is on target to meet full-year expectations. The growing importance of digital and major releases (Coldplay and Gorillaz notably) were seen as partly fueling the growth.
Digital sales topped 44.6M - up 142.4% from a year ago. Digital now makes up 4.9% of total revenue compared to 2.1% this time last year. The recorded music side of the business was up 4.3% (with the company claiming a 13.1% global market share compared to 12.5% 12 months ago). Meanwhile, EMI's publishing arm saw revenues grow by 5.8%.
Multimedia group EMAP whose interests cover radio, television and publishers of Q, Mojo and Kerrang! blames a dent in first-half profits on "tough trading conditions" in France and £16M being spent on new magazine launches. It will spend another £8M in the second half of the year. Its pre-tax profits were £95M (down 2% from a year earlier). It recently sold dance monthly Mixmag to Development Hell.
MADONNA WOWS LONDON CROWD 16/11/05
The Queen of Pop - Madonna launched her "Confessions
on the Dance Floor" album at Koko in Camden, London last night infront of invited guests. competition winners and 200 fans who had queued through the night for one of the sought after tickets. Wearing two wrist bands and a laminate, fans were treated to Madonna stalking a giant catwalk which meant that the diva could walk right into the crowd. The venue was dressed with sparkling vinyl floors and 'the biggest glitterball ever seen'. After just five songs (including new single "Hung
Up") lasting only 35 minutes the venue was doused in glitter much to the delight of eager fans who included Chris Evans and Will Young.
COURT TO HEAR CLAIM ON JACKSON/R KELLY SONG 16/11/05
Belgium Radio Lijn5.com has reported that Belgium's Court of Appeal is considering a claim regarding Michael Jackson's hit song "You
Are Not Alone".
The claim in the case of Van Pasel v R Kelly and Zomba is based on the finding of Belgian collection and rights society that the largest part of the melody of the 1995 song "You
Are Not Alone" that R Kelly presented to Michael Jackson is "identical" to the 1993 song "If
We Can Start All Over" composed by Belgian brothers Eddy & Danny
Van Passel.
Source: www.lijn5.com and vanpasselbrothersmusic.skynetblogs.be
IFPI ANNOUNCE NEW WAVE OF PIRACY LAW SUITS AROUND THE WORLD 16/11/05
The IFPI has unveiled the biggest escalation yet in its campaign against illegal internet file-sharing, announcing over 2,100 new legal cases against individuals and extending the actions to five new countries in Europe, Asia and - for the first time - South America. File-sharers in Sweden, Switzerland, Argentina, Hong Kong and Singapore are for the first time at risk of criminal penalties and payment of damages in an international campaign that has already seen thousands of people - the majority of them young men between the ages of 20 and 30 - pay sums of US$3,000 or more for uploading copyrighted music on peer-to-peer networks (p2p).
This latest wave of cases, covering actions launched today or brought in recent months, takes the total number of legal actions against uploaders to over 3,800 in 16 countries outside the US. This is the fourth wave since the international campaign began in March 2004, and it targets users of all the major unauthorised p2p networks, including FastTrack (Kazaa), Gnutella (BearShare), eDonkey, DirectConnect, BitTorrent, WinMX, and SoulSeek. The move comes just one week after the landmark settlement between the p2p service Grokster and the US music industry. It also follows a series of court rulings in the last few months which firmly establish that unauthorised p2p services, as well as their users, can be held liable for music piracy.
There have been key judgments in three continents since June against Grokster in the US, Kazaa in Australia, Soribada in Korea and Kuro in Taiwan. Announcing the latest wave of actions at a press conference in Stockholm today, IFPI Chairman and CEO John Kennedy said: "This is a significant escalation of our enforcement actions against people who are uploading and distributing copyrighted music on p2p networks. For the first time there will be financial and criminal sanctions for this activity in countries in South East Asia and Latin America. This reflects the sharply rising levels of internet piracy in those regions. The message today is that, from Sweden to Hong Kong and from Singapore to Argentina, there are no havens for the theft of music on the internet."
Source: www.ifpi.org
BMG WITHDRAWS GERMAN INJUNCTION 14/11/05
In June 2003 BMG's parent company Bertelsmann issued an injunction to prevent the massed ranks of the US music industry from suing for investing in the original Napster. The (other) major's lawsuit claims that the $80M Bertelsmann loaned Napster in 1999 helped keep it active until 2001. They are seeking damages and compensation for mass copyright infringement. Bertelsmann has now withdrawn its injunction at the German constitutional court. It argues that the case is "entirely
groundless" and will take several years to make it to court in the US.
Source: Five Eight Magazine
ITALY'S DIVAS GO ON HUNGER STRIKE 14/11/05
Faced with cuts of over E160 million in public funding for the arts, alto, sporanos, barritones and tenors and Italy's leading opera houses have gone on hunger strike. Silvio Berlusconi's coalition government are reducing public funding for the arts from E464 million to E300 million to meet European Community budget targets - Italy needs to reduce public spending by E11.5 billion - but the proposals have caused outrage with fears that many of Italy' leading opera houses and pefrormance groups such as Milan's La Scala, Teatro dell'Opera in Rome and Florence's Maggio Musicala will have to reduce performances or even close. Culture minister Rocco Buttiglione has threatened to resign over the cuts.
UK CONCERT, THEATRE AND SPORTS PROMOTERS CALL FOR TICKET TOUTING TO BE MADE ILLEGAL IN THE NEW E-WORLD 11/11/05
Major UK promoters are joining forces to make their case at a meeting with Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell to push for ticket touting to be made illegal. In the UK only re-selling football tickets is illegal. Some unofficial agencies and auctions deceive and defraud fans as well as charging high prices, promoters say.
Events from Live 8 to The Ashes and concerts by stars including Eric Clapton, Kylie and Cliff Richard and The Darkness have all recently fallen victim to online touts said Jonathan Brown, secretary of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR). Rob Ballantine, director of SJM Concerts and spokesman for the Concert Promoters' Association, said new legislation would make it easier to catch "unscrupulous" traders. Peter Tudor, Commercial Director for Wembley Arena and chairman of the National Arenas Association, added that touting was no longer just "guys standing outside venues saying 'tickets for sale'". Both Peter and Jonathan were speakers at ILMC 2005 with a panel specifically looking at pushing for new legislation to stop touting in the live concert industry. Other organisations at the meeting include eBay who are blamed for much of the new 'punter driven' side touting, the Society of London Theatres, the English Cricket Board and the All-England Lawn Tennis Club, which organises the Wimbledon championships.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
IFPI SAY NEW LAW IN ITALY THREATENS ANTI PIRACY 11/11/05
In new press release (IFPI 11 November) The International Federation of Phonographic Industries has warned that a new Italian law passed on the 9th of November 'threatens music anti-piracy activity in Italy'. The IFPI called on the Italian Senate to reject the law when it comes up for final approval next week. The new bill of law, known as the Ex-Cirielli Law, could end three quarters of all pending criminal anti-piracy trials before they have the chance to be taken to court. This is because the Italian legislature are trying to reduce the time it takes for criminal actions to reach trial in Italy.
Many readers in the UK (for example) would be astounded to know that cases can take up to nine (9) years to get to trial in Italy. It is common for defendants to be dead before cases reach the courts. The bill, approved by the Italian Lower Chamber, will shorten the period after which criminal cases pending trial are automatically dismissed to six years. Unfortunately the change, from seven and a half to six years will affect the majority of all pending criminal cases brought by the music industry which can take up to nine years to go to trial. Of 471 cases pending in 2004, 382 will be dismissed and similar figures are expected for 2005. IFPIChairman and CEOJohn Kennedy said: "The Ex-Cirielli law deals a huge blow to the Italian music industry and to all IP industries in the country. This law totally undermines our ability to fight piracy in a nation with one of the highest rates of piracy in the developed world". The IFPI added that "the new bill will turn into a general amnesty for the cases pending in the Italian Courts and will seriously impede any future anti-piracy criminal activity". Whilst this may in itself be true, it could equally be said that we should applaud the actions of the Italian Government in general terms for reducing the wait for trials which can be unfair to victims, witnesses and defendants alike.
Source: www.ifpi.org
SONYBMG 'ROOTKIT' SPARKS OUTRAGE 11/11/05
Sony BMG have launched a form of copy restriction software 'drawing from the playbook of spyware companies and virus-writers' suggests the Electronic Frontiers Foundation. Using a programme called a rootkit, inserting a Sony BMG music
CD will now infect a user's computer with a new programme which will be buried
within the operating system. The program will monitor user's computer activity
to prevent piracy by users for example by making extra copies of their
music CDs. There is no "uninstall" feature on this programme. The EFF says that 'outrage from computer users and music fans' has sparked Sony BMG into offering a new programme on its website that will show users if they have been infected with the rootkit. However, while users can see the programme running they cannot delete the programme. In the US (and indeed in many other territories) the law is still unclear on the legality of this sort of programme and indeed on the legality of compulsory End User Licence Agreements (EULAs) which result in the user 'agreeing' to accept such software. A class action has been filed in California against the company and another could be filed in New York. On top of this, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is said to be gathering evidence from users to see if it can also bring a case.
UNDERWORLD SELLS DIRECT TO FANS 11/11/05
Pioneering electronica/dance act Underworld has begun selling new music directly to fans via the internet. Dubbed the Riverrun Project, the initiative kicked off on the 9th Novembetr with a 28 minute piece of music with the overall title "Lovely
Broken Thing." The file is bundled with 177 photographs and cover artwork. "The
idea is to give us the chance to stretch out into areas we have only been able
to touch on with traditional album releases, and give you the listener an Underworld experience
over the time it takes to listen to one side of an old vinyl album," the duo of Rick Smith and Karl Hyde wrote on their website. The group insists this new approach will not spell "the
end of traditional albums, remixes, tours, gigs - it's just a way of getting
music to you without the help of a multinational every time we feel inspired."
Website: www.dirty.org
BEST GIGS EVER?? 10/11/05
Queen 's iconic performance at the Wembley Live Aid concert in July 1985 has been named the world's greatest rock gig in an industry poll conducted by the UK's Channel 4 TV. Jimi Hendrix's appearance at Woodstock in August 1969 came second, followed by the Sex Pistols' concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall in June 1976. Radiohead's 1997 Glastonbury appearance is the most recent entry in the Top 10.
The list was compiled by by more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives for Endemol who make the UK's Music Hall of Fame series. Other artists in the rundown include Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bob Marley and Oasis and the selected concerts also feature Nirvana's last-ever UK appearance at the 1992 Reading Festival, Brian Wilson's Smile 2004 concert at London's Royal Festival Hall and the Rolling Stones' free gig in Hyde Park in May 1969.
KD LANG SUES EX-MANAGER 10/11/05
The Hollywood Reporter writes that k.d. lang is suing her former business manager alleging that substantia sums taken as excessive fees were fraudulently drawn from the musician's account. The Grammy-winning Canadian vocalist filed suit Tuesday (8th November) in Los Angeles Superior Court against Annabel Lapp, her company the Annabel Lapp Group and Lapp Group employee Dina Correale. The action seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The suit claims that the total amount of allegedly misappropriated money could not be determined because Lapp has allegendly failed to turn over the vast majority of lang's financial and business records.
NIGHTCLUB'S ID SCAN FOUND TO VIOLATE PRIVACY 10/11/05
The Alberta Privacy Commissioner has found that the scanning of patrons' identification at the door of a nightclub violates the province's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The widespread practice of photo-scanning ID in nightclubs was instigated to deter violent or criminal behaviour.
However, the Commissioner found that Penny Lane Entertainment, the owner of the nightclub, failed to demonstrate that the collection of this type of personal information would in fact address this issue. The complaint was filed by Nyall England, a summer student at Canadian lawyers Deeth Williams Wall LLP. The decision calls for Penny Lane Entertainment to purge the data that has been collected and cease the practice.
VIRTUAL FESTIVAL WINNERS - UK FESTIVAL AWARDS 10/11/05
In true Oscar style, the winners of this year's UK Festival Awards have been gushing their hearts out on the virtual stage. Funnily enough all of them are thanking you, the voters...
Unfortunately we can't bring you the spontaneous tears of joy, the eratic hand gesturing towards seated peers, and the uncontrollable shaking of elated surprise from the stage - but we can bring you the soppy speeches from those who won...
T IN THE PARK (Winner of 'Best Major Festival' and 'Best Facilities & Organisation') Geoff Ellis, CEO of promoters Big Day Out Ltd:
"We are delighted and honoured to accept these awards for Best UK Festival and Best Facilities and Organisation. This accolade is testament to the extremely hardworking team behind T in The Park, many of whom work on it all year round. Thanks must also go to the T in the Park audience, which is, from my own experience and from what I'm told by almost every artist that plays the event, the best in the world. We always strive to make their experience as good as we can and whilst we may have the hottest selling festival of 2006, we will never take our audience for granted and will do our very best to ensure that they will want to vote for us in both categories again next year."
BESTIVAL (Winner of 'Best Medium Sized Festival' and 'Best Innovation') Rob Da Bank, Bestival boss and Radio 1 DJ:
"Bestival base camp has just erupted with joy and alcoholic things at the news we've won Best Festival (Medium) and Most Innovative Festival. Up against such amazing festivals as The Big Chill and Glastonbury we're chuffed to have got so far in only our second year so big up respect gracias to everyone who came to Bestival and voted for us - they're the winners!"
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL (Winner of 'Best Family Festival', 'Most Memorable Moment' for the Make Poverty History moment, and 'Outstanding Contribution' for the team's response to the storms.) Emily Eavis, Co-Organiser, Glastonbury Festival
"It was an incredible moment and part of the integrity of Glastonbury. It's important that it's acknowledged that way but also that it's seen as a beginning and not an end to the campaign. Thanks to everyone for voting for it and for being part of it because it's them, not the rock stars, that made it."
SECRET GARDEN (Winner of 'Best Small Festival') Freddie Fellows, Head Gardener of The Secret Garden.
"Thanks to everyone who voted for us. We're not looking to impress the people who went this year, or even people who might want to go next year. But hopefully the award might mean we can snake some free booze and a bank loan so we can make it even better next year!! Thank you again for voting."
CREAMFIELDS (Winner of 'Best Dance Festival') James Barton, Chief Executive of Cream:
"Cream would like to thank everyone who voted for Creamfields as 'Best Dance' festival for a 2nd year running! The coveted UK Festival Awards are a body that not only recognises what great events we have in this country but firmly puts the UK on the global map as leaders in their field when it comes to outdoor events. The number of people that have voted this year proves this and makes winning this particular award very special. Year on year we aim to improve Creamfields, taking on board comments and recommendations from those people who attend and the results were reflected in this years show which was a sell out success with one of the best atmospheres seen at any festival. Having already started work on next year's show, we are looking forward and excited about Creamfields 2006!"
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR (Winner of 'Best New Festival' for Bloodstock Open Air) Vince Brotherage, Bloodstock festival director:
"Wow!, for a Metal festival to win in any category is remarkable, we are stunned to have won such a fabulous award for our first Bloodstock Open Air show in 2005, and our mega-thanks go out to everyone involved, especially our dedicated fans who voted for us. Considering we had the weather and sound issues against us, we created a truly unique event which will rank alongside the many great European Metal festivals in existence, and with that "METAL is forever" and see you in 2006!"
DOWNLOAD (Winner of 'Best Official Website') Mark Yovich, VP International New Media, Clear Channel Entertainment:
"We are absolutely thrilled that the public has voted the Official Download Festival website the Best Festival Website in the nation. It is recognition of the success of Download since it was introduced three years ago and to the focus and investment that we have placed on the festivals online presence. We have a truly unique and abundant online community that we have strived to foster and nourish over the past three years and we are grateful for their continued support."
T4 ON THE BEACH (Winner of 'Best One Day Festival') Graeme Mason, Managing Director of Channel 4 International:
"We are delighted that T4 On The Beach has won the Best One Day Event award, particularly meaningful given it is voted for by the people who actually attend these events. From Rachel Stevens to the Kaiser Chiefs, T4 On The Beach now attracts a cross section of some of the UKs brightest talent and winning awards such as this have helped make it one of the summer's must attend events."
BIG CHILL (Winner of 'Best Cult Following') Pete Lawrence and Katrina Larkin, Co-founders of The Big Chill:
"Thank you to those who voted for us. Must have to admit we are giggling at the word 'Cult'! Please just remember all are very, very welcome to come to The Big Chill."
STATUS QUO (Winner of 'Festival Feel Good Act') Francis Rossi:
"We would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to vote for us. We are really chuffed to win this particularly category and it's fantastic to know that fans out front are enjoying themselves as much as we are on stage."
GOLDIE LOOKIN' CHAIN (Winner of 'Best Urban Act') Adam Hussein:
"Get in there. Rock on Tommy, that's what I say. We love our festivals. They only come around once a year so you've gotta get stuck into the things and have a couple of parties. It's the best news I've had all week. My cat died a few days ago after getting its head stuck in a drain pipe trying to catch a mouse. My mother cried and my sister laughed so it was a mixed reaction. I hate cats anyway and at least the dog's still alive, but winning this is much better news."
The other winning artists - Scissor Sisters, Foo Fighters, The Prodigy, and Kaiser Chiefs - were all contacted but were unavailable.
Click here for the full list of winners, including all the runners up. www.virtualfestivals.com
LENNON EVERYWHERE BUT ON APPLE 10/11/05
John Lennon 's solo material will be made available for digital downloading before this Christmas - on almost every platform (like HMV and Virgin) save Apple's iTunes. The Beatles' Apple Corp remain locked in a trademark battle with the computer company over use of the name 'Apple'. The band reached an agreement in 1981 with Apple Computers over the use of the trademark - which they claim has been breached by Apple branching out into the music download market - and therefore the music business itself. It is understood that in 1981 the computer company agreed that it would not use the mark in the music business.
GROKSTER SHUTS DOWN ILLEGAL OPERATIONS 09/11/05
Four months after the US Supreme Court's landmark decision in MGM v Grokster, the Grokster file swapping service has closed down. A statement on the site www.grokster.com says: "There
are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one
of them".
It also gives details of its proposed new legal version, Grokster3G ( www.grokster3g.com). The service is said to be in settlement talks with the Recording Industry Association of America as is Morpheus. And iMesh has becomes the first of the 'illegal' P2P service to go legal (although UK based playlouder.com already offered a legal swapping service to its subscribers). iMesh's new software blocks any music with a copyright from being downloaded. The service will charge using the subscription model, charging users $6.95 per month
CHECHEN PHOENIX RISES ABOVE TERRORISM 08/11/05
Chechnya 's Phoenix rock festival has taken place, four months after it was called off amid security fears. Billed as the region's first major rock concert, the event in Gudermes, east of the capital Grozny, had tight security. The BBC report that the Kremlin-backed authorities wanted the event to show that the North Caucasus was recovering from years of bloody conflict. The line-up included Russian bands Dead Dolphins, Night Snipers and Prezident.
About 7,000 people attended the all-day Phoenix - Rebirth event on Monday. Thousands of tickets for the concert had been given away free. 3,000 police were on guard at the stadium venue. The concert had been due to take place in July but was cancelled after the authorities said security could not be guaranteed. In July 2003, a bomb exploded at a Krylya rock festival in Moscow, killing 16 people - an incident blamed on Chechen separatists.
JAPANESE MOBILE OPERATOR BUYS INTO RECORD STORES 07/11/05
Japan 's mobile operator NTT DoCoMo is paying 10B Yen for
a 40% stake in Tower Records Japan. The mobile operator will
be the major shareholder in the retailer which is separate from the US-based Tower
Records. The deal is designed to forge greater synergy between the
companies' offerings across mobile, physical and digital. DoCoMo will
be pushing its wallet phone system (which can be used like a credit card and 'swiped' for
CD purchasing) as well as Tower's proposed digital download
service that is due to launch early next year. Before iTunes'
launch there, the Recording Industry Association of Japan reported
that 96% of digital sales were to mobile, indicating that fixed-line still
has some distance to travel in the Japanese market.
CHANNON HAS NEW ROLE AT EMI MUSIC 07/11/05
Jonathan Channon has been appointed to the newly-created position of Senior
VP of Media & Business Development at EMI Music Publishing UK. He was previously Senior
VP of Film, TV & Media.
BEACH BOYS RESUME LITIGATION 05/11/05
Beach Boy Mike Love has filed a law suit against cousin and former Beach Boy Brian Wilson over the latter's release of the concept album 'Smile' which Wilson released in 2004 and a free CD giveaway. The suit alleges the misappropriation of Love's songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark. 'Smile' was first recorded in 1967 but was disowned by Love and the album was, in effect, a Wilson solo project.
The trade mark issue relates to the band's name: The remaining band members continued to perform after Wilson's departure and Love has the right to use the 'Beach Boys' name and mark under a licence from the original members company Brother Records Inc and he has continued to perform as the Beach Boys. The actual 'Smile' album was released as 'Brian Wilson presents Smile' and whilst this might not infringe the Beach Boys trade mark the litigation seeks damages from a free give away by UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday where 2.6 million copies of a promotional 'Beach Boys' CD were given away. The only other living member Alan Jardine now tours as the Endless Summer Band after being prevented from using the Beach Boys mark in 2003 in previous litigation.
LATIN GRAMMY'S HANDED OUT 04/11/05
The awards season still grinds on and after the cancellation of the MTV Latin Awards ceremony due to Hurricane Wilma, the Latin Grammys finally went ahead last night. Record of the year was 'Tu No Tienes Alma' by Alejandro Sanz and Album was 'Cantando Historias' by Ivan Lins. Best Urban album was 'Barrio Fino' by Daddy Yankee and best Rock song was 'Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor' by Juanes who also picked up best video for 'Volverte a Ver'.
Best New album went to Bebe for the album 'Malo' and best classical album was 'Riberas' from Cuarteto De Cuerdas Buenos Aires & Paquito D'Rivera (Andrea Merenzon, producer).
MTV COLLEGE AWARD GOES TO MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE 04/11/05
Gongs gongs gongs - or woodies here. The MTVU'Woodie' award for top US college band has seen My Chemical Romance beat off a strong challenge from Arcade Fire. My Chemical Romance, which sent in a videotaped acceptance speech, was awarded Woodie of the Year (artists of the year), fending off Common, Arcade Fire, Gorillaz and Fall Out Boy.
Motion City Soundtrack won best emerging artist (The Breaking Woodie); Death Cab For Cutie's 'Title & Registration' won best video Woodie: live action, Green Day were awarded the alumni Woodie ('The You're Still OK in Our Book Award') and the UK's Muse won the International Woodie.
MADONNA OPENS UP MTV EUROPE AWARDS AS GREEN DAY GET DOUBLE HONOURS 04/11/05
US band Green Day were double winners at the MTVE awards, taking home Best Rock Act and Best Album for 'American Idiot'.
The event was opened by Madonna who emerged from a giant glitterball and took to the stage in a leotard to perform new single 'Hung Up'. The awards were broadcast live on MTV. Latin superstar Shakira won Best Female, Snoop Dogg won Best Hip-Hop Act, and the Chemical Brothers won Best Video for 'Believe'.
US singer Alicia Keys took home the award for Best R'n'B and the Best Alternative award went to System Of A Down. Robbie Williams also wowed the crowd with a top performance. He dived into the crowd as he sang 'Tripping', which he dedicated to his mum. Robbie also won Best Male. And Damon Albarn's cartoon band Gorillaz scored a TV first with a 3D hologram performance.
Madonna returned to the stage to present the Free Your Mind Humanitarian Award to Bob Geldof for his Live 8 efforts, Other performers at the ceremony included the Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay and the Pussycat Dolls. Ex UK army officer James Blunt won Best New Act after major succss with the biggest selling album of the year, 'Back To Bedlam', and worldwide hit single, 'You're Beautiful'.
NAPSTER TEAMS UP WITH CLEAR CHANNEL 03/11/05
Napster has announced more net losses but overall, quarterly revenues jumped 151 percent year-over-year, landing at $23.4 million. With $127.3m of cash in the bank they can afford to keep absorbing the loses for a while yet. The company has also announced a jump in subscriptions globally from 400,000 to 448,000 and a deal with Clear Channel that will see them offering live performances on their music service: Instant Live records and sells CDs of live performances at the venue itself, giving fans an unforgettable souvenir on-the-spot.
Now, Napster will gain exclusive access to a host of Instant Live recordings, and will offer them as streams or downloads.
CREAM GROSS OVER $10.6 MILLION FOR NEW YORK SHOWS 02/11/05
The Cream reunion at Madison Square Garden in New York last week was a massive box office hit according to the Hollywood reporter. The Oct. 24th to 26th shows, the band's only North American appearances, grossed more than $10.6 million and drew 56,151 people. More than 60% of those attending the shows came from outside the New York area. "Hosting Cream's only North American performances at Madison Square was
a milestone event for what has already been a banner year," said Jay Marciano, president of Radio City Entertainment. The Garden shows followed an equally successful spring reunion at London's Royal Albert Hall promoted by 3A which grossed $3.6 million U.S. and drew more than 18,000 people to four sellouts.