News archive items listed by month below (click here).
SSSHHHH
- ITS THE MIAMI DANCE SUMMIT 31/03/06
The Miami
Winter Music Conference and M3 Summit (Miami
Music Multimedia) has been heralded as 'much quieter'
after city's much-anticipated noise ordinance went came
into effect. The Miami Herald reports that revellers
packed the city's nightclubs and hotels and attended hundreds of events
hosted by some of the world's top DJs and that there were poolside
parties and sand fiestas galore - but there were also about 20 code
enforcement officers out patrolling the streets. Some were on
foot, others on bicycles. They worked late into the night, hitting
party houses and hotel parties, looking and listening for parties
that got too loud. On Saturday night, several South Beach hotels,
including the Maxine and the Raleigh,
were cited for noise and sanitation violations, and a party at a South
Pointe bar was shut down for a failure to otain a dancing
licensce. The Doubletree Surfcomber, which was
hosting an Absolut Vodka event was issued with a
written warning about noise as it was their first offence.
Commissioners approved the city's noise ordinance at their March 8th
meeting after years of city-brokered negotiations between residents
and business groups. The law sets out a clear schedule of warnings
and fines. Individuals and businesses are entitled to three documented
warnings a year before fines starting at $250 are levied. Fines can
escalate to thousands of dollars. However not all residents support
the new ordinances, some saying that the city should make an
excepton for the event.
WEMBLEY
- NOW THE CONCERTS ARE CANCELLED 30/03/06
Way over budget
- way ovedue - and no completion date in sight. That sums
up the position with what was meant to be the UK's flagship venue, Wembley
Stadium. Having hit football now with the FA Cup
Final alreday having moved to Cardiff's Millennium
Stadium, now two Bon Jovi concerts on
June 10 & 11 June and then two days with Take That have
been cancelled. Problems as diverse as the pipe supplier pulling
out after a row with main coontractor Multiplex and crane operators
trhreatened by blackmailing snipers, last week saw problems
with sewers and then
part of the roof collapsed: now 200 workers have been laid off as another
sub contractor claims that they are owed 'several million
pounds'. Whilst Take That seem keen to move to Milton Keynes Bowl (which
actually will have bigger capacity) Twikenham is
seen as the favourite replacement venue for the concerts but this
will be subject to local authority licences. Both the Robbie
Williams and Rolling Stones dates (in
August) seem to be in limbo at the moment until a firm handover
date is established).
NEW
RESEARCH SAYS THAT MOBILE DOWNLOADS ARE EXPLODING 30/03/06
ABI
Research reports that full-track over-the-air downloads have grown
by a staggering 2,000% in the past year. In 2004, full-tracks
to mobile generated $12.4M, but last year they topped $251M. Based
on these figures, ABI projects that this market will reach $9.3B
by 2011. The market for mobile downloads, it suggests, is heavily
dependent on PC penetration. Asian consumers (especially in Japan)
are more focused on mobiles and fixed-line downloading makes up
a tiny fraction of digital sales. The report concludes that the
full-track market in the US will be "less successful" than in
Asia precisely because of the high PC penetration there. In the
UK the bigg selling Gnarls
Barkley's 'Crazy' looks set to make chart history
and be the first ever UK number 1 based entirely on downloads.
Physical formats are not out until next week, but changes in the
chart rules mean first week digital sales count From Five
Eight Magazine
CHINA
STARTS TO TACKLE PIRATES 30/03/06
After
years of lobbying and threatened trade sanctions, China appears to be
making serious steps to clamp down on piracy. The recent shutting down
of six pirate CD and DVD plants (and the halting of production at a further
eight) has been called "a promising step" by the IFPI.
It is estimated that 85% of sales in China are of pirate product. In other
news in China, the first issue of 'Rolling Stone' magazine
sold out on release although the magzine apprars not to have official
government approval as yet for its JV with local Chinese publisher.
DEATH
ROW AT RISK OF RECEIVERSHIP 27/03/06
California Superior
Court Judge
Ronald Sohigian has ruled that Death Row
Records will be placed in receivership unless label founder Marion "Suge" Knight appears
at a debtor hearing next month.The ruling came in a lawsuit
by an imprisoned drug dealer, Michael Harris, who
is seeking half of a $107 million award to the inmate's ex-wife, Lydia
Harris, who claimed she helped start the rap record empire
and that Knight owed her the money. Michael Harris also claims
he put up $1.5 million from behind bars to help start the record
label, a contention that Knight has repeatedly denied. Lydia Harris
received the $107 million judgment a year ago and the parties have
been fighting in court ever since; lawyers for Michael Harris have
accused Knight of trying to evade his legal obligations by failing
to show up for debtor examinations three times. He was also absent
from yesterday's hearing. Knight's lawyer, Dermot Givens,
asked the judge for a postponement on grounds that Knight was hiring
a new team of lawyers for the case. But the judge refused. "There has been a
very, very protracted history of difficulty in this case," said
Sohigian. Attorney Rex
Beaber, who represents Lydia Harris, cited a long string
of what he termed "frivolous motions" by Knight including an effort
to move the case to federal court where it was rejected and sent back
to state court. he asked the court to immediately appoint a receiver
for fear of Knight moving assets. The Judge granted the motion
for receivership but stayed its effect pending Knight's April
1st appearance. Judge Sohigian also enjoined Knight from transferring
or secreting any assets. Last December, a judge in Monterey County
froze Knight's assets, saying Knight and his lawyers had failed
to answer questions and provide information in the case.
Source www.billboard.com
TOWER OF LONDON NEW
BACKDROP FOR MUSIC 27/03/06
One
of London's most inconic landmarks, the Tower of London,
will become the backdrop for a new festival which will feature James
Brown and
the Pet Shop Boys amongst the first headliners. The festival
which will run from June 28th to July 14th joins the Wireless
Festival in
London's Hyde Park as new festivals on the London Calendar.
The Princes Trust and Capital Radio recently
announced that the Party In the Park, a feature in
London for many years until its cancellation in 2005 to let Live8 go
ahead, would not be taking place in the forseeable future.
PEOPLE
IN MUSIC 27/03/06
EMI Music Italy appoints Claudia
Lisa to the newly-created role of digital business development manager. Tony
Kanal from No Doubt has set up his own label – Kingsbury
Studios. RIP and a fond goodbye to Pio Leyva,
aged 88, veteran Cuban performer and master of the Cuban music style montuno who
enjoyed major success late in life with the Buena Vista Social Club and
RIP Anselemo Colzani, operatic baritone whose robust
vocal style was accompanied by a vivid stage presence, aged 87. And
a sad farewell to Brian Daley, a.k.a DJ Swing, one
of the most successful R&B DJs of his generation and MOBO award winner. He
died of cancer. And
farewell to Country Star Buck Owens (76) country music songwriter Cindy
Walker (87) , Spanish singer Rocio Durcal, composer David
Blume (74) and conductor Sarah Caldwell (82).
BERTLESMANN
STAKE IN SONY-BMG FOR SALE? 27/03/06
The Financial Times reports
that Bertelsmann is considering selling off its music publishing
arm and its 50% stake in Sony BMG. Its total music interests
could be worth up to E2 billion. The sale will all depend on what Groupe
Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) plans to do with its 25% stake in Bertelsmann
- GBL wants to float the stake on the stock market - Bertlemann's other investors
are against this. The German media company could sell off its music assets
to raise money to buy out GBL's stake and thereby avoid an IPO. GBL is Bertelsmann's
only outside investor and its share is valued at E5B. If Bertelsmann does
move to sell its half of Sony BMG, Sony would have first refusal to take
full control. Other
options include Sony seeking another investor to take Bertelsmann's
place or
selling off its 50% stake as well.
ILLEGAL
DOORMEN AND LATE NIGHT TAKEWAYS TARGETED IN UK 27/03/06
An
operation inspecting nightclub and pub door bouncers across south Wales found
31 working without a licence. More than 600 door supervisors were
spoken to in a check of 223 licensed premises on Saturday 25th March according
to a report from the BBC. Police and the Security
Industry Authority (SIA) acted after concerns raised by the public.
Pubs and clubs in Cardiff, Barry, Merthyr, Pontypridd, Bridgend, Neath,
Port Talbot and Swansea were all visited at the same time. By law, door
supervisors must obtain an SIA licence. Those without one are committing
a criminal offence, which carries fines of up to £5,000 or six months
prison sentence. And local authorities have begun to use provisions of
the Licensing Act 2003 to close down fast food outlets
which are magnets for late night trouble. The Warwick Pizza and
Kebab shop in Carlisle, Cumbria, was refused a post 2am
licence to serve hot food. Police said that the area around the takewaway
were 'without a doubt' the city's worst area for alcohol related violent
crime. 48 incidents were reported last year to November 24th. And
in Blackpool the Funny Boyz takeaway has been closed
at a specially convened meeting of the Local Authority licence committee
after health and safety breaches, police evidence of weapons found on
the presmises and numerous incidents of violence culminating in a murder.
The licence holder, Tariq Mohammed Albattikhi, appeared
at the town hall with legal representation and now has 21 days to appeal
the decision, during which his business can stay open. This was the first
such application made in Blackpool under the new powers of the Licensing
Act 2003. Finally Stafford Borough Council has
warned takeaway owners to ensure they have the correct licence after a
kebab shop owner was fined for serving food after 11pm after the owner
of Piccolo's Pizza and Kebab Land in Stone was fined £300
and ordered to pay £210 costs. Under the Licensing Act 2003, which
legalised 24-hour drinking, all places serving hot food or drink for immediate
consumption between 11pm and 5am must now have a licence. The legislation
covers super-markets and cinemas as well as pubs, restaurants and takeaways.
APPLE
ATTACK NEW FRENCH LAW 23/03/06
Apple has
attacked the French National Assembly's new bill that will force
interoperability between platforms if approved by the French
Senate approves. Apple
admitted that the law would actually serve to boost iPod sales
but warned that users could load the players with 'interoperable'
music that was not "adequately protected". It said that, if this
happened, the change in French copyright law would amount to little
more than "state-sponsored
piracy". It also said that the new laws could cause legitimate sales
to slump at a crucial point when legal services are getting a foothold
in the market. The IFPI responded by saying that
interoperability could be an important factor in driving sales but
urged caution. source Five Eight magazine
MUSICAL
PEOPLE 23/03/06
Vince Power, former
grand fromage at the Mean Fiddler Group before
selling up, has bought a majority share in the Spanish Benicassim festival.
It is understood that as part of the sale of the Mean Fiddler
to Clear Channel/MSD Power is not allowed
to own or run any UK festivals for the next three years.Elsewhere Roger
Widynowski is promoted to VP of publicity at RCA
Records. Birgit Adels has been named as
president of EMI Music Germany (effective from
3rd April). She was formerly CEO of Northern Europe at the Prada
Group.
SONGWRITERS
PUSH FOR A BIGGER SHARE OF DOWNLOAD PRICE 23/03/06
Adam
Singer of MCPS-PRS Alliance the
UK collection society which represents songwriters, composers
and music publishers suggests that talks with the BPI over
royalty rates for songwriters on downloads are "close to collapse".
The BPI counters that talks are still ongoing. Songwriters are opposed
to reductions in the royalty rate they would get on a £0.79
download (from 6p to 2.5p). The Alliance wants the rate increased
to between 7p and 9p. There are also calls for labels to disclose
how much exactly they are making from downloads.
TYLER'S
SURGERY MEANS AEROSMITH CANCELLATIONS 23/03/06
Aerosmith have
been forced to cancel the remaining dates on its spring tour with Cheap
Trick. Billboard.com report that lead
singer Steven
Tyler will have to undergo throat surgery and will be
placed on total vocal rest for an extended period of time. Billboard
also report that the band played a handful of shows earlier
this month but Tyler's condition did not improve and he was advised
by doctors to take immediate action.
RADIOHEAD TO DITCH ALBUMS? 23/03/06
Radiohead have
hinted that they might break from the traditional album release model
and put content online as 'the mood takes them'. At the 2005 In
The City Conference keynote speaker Ralph Simons suggested
that in the future artists may well release songs as 'clusters' of
three or four songs rather in the traditional 'album' format especially
with the developing (mobile) download market and new modes of counsumer use
of music.
NEW
REPORT DAMNS GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT OF UK'S NEW LICENSING ACT 20/03/06
A
new Select Committee report damns the Department
of Culture Media and Sport’s poor management of the introduction
of the new Licensing Act 2003 and warns that this must
not be repeated when the
GORGEOUS
GERRIE 20/03/06
Malcolm
Gerrie (former CE of Initial) has set
up Gorgeous Entertainment with the backing of Ingenious.
It will focus on creating content and programming for lifestyle,
factual entertainment, music, events and sports entertainment
genres.
FRENCH COPYRIGHT LAW PASSED 20/03/06
France's National Assembly has now passed the hotly contested Authors Rights Bill bringing relatively low level penalties for illegal downloading and fileswappimng, NO provision for a blanketlicence for downloading but steep penalties (up to three years in jail and fines of up to E300,000) on those who produce software that enables consumers to circumvent copy restrictions on DVDS and CDs. France needs the law to bring in into line with EU Copyright Directive provisions. Apple are sid to be considering withdrawing their iTunes service from France as the provisions of the new Act will make their position untenable under new inter-operability provisions. The new law, dubbed the Vivendi Universal law by some wags, provides that copy-protection technologies like Apple's FairPlay format and Sony's ATRAC3 must work with competing services and players. Companies that refuse to share all essential information with any rival that requests it would be ordered to do so by a judge, under threat of fines. The law still needs approval from the French Senate and President.
WAILER
STARTS HIGH COURT ACTION 20/03/06
Aston
Barret has begun a High Court action in London against Rita
Marley and Universal Records for
failing to honour agreements he claims the Wailers made
with Bob Marley. The claim is by Barret, former
bassist in the Wailers, and the estate of brother Carlton who
drummed for the band but was murdered. They joined the band
after Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone left
- the Barrets had already achieved major success
with their own band The Upsetters. The law suit
claims royalties owed under a 1974 contract with Island Records
together with Aston Barret's claims for songwriting royalties
on songs he co-wrote with Marley. Whilst the band originally
shared equally it is alleged that a new agreement was made
in 1976 whereby Marley would take 50% of record royalties and
the Wailers (the two Barret brothers) would share the rest
although this seems to have been a verbal agreement and that the
BArret brothers left the business side of the band to Marley (who
was apparently the only signatory to the record deal). Aston is
nicknamed 'Family Man' because
of the 52 children he has fathered. Marley himself had allegedly
fathered children by 9 different mothers. Bob Marley
has spent 713 weeks in the UK charts with singles and albums and
has sold at least 50 million albums worldwide. Legend sold
10 million copies in the US alone. Marley died in 1981 aged 36.
UK LABELS
ON MISSION TO INDIA 20/03/06
The Association
of Independent Music, in association with UK Trade & Investment,
is to take a delegation of UK music companies to Mumbai and
Chennai, India to develop inroads to what has become the world’s
4th largest world economy in terms of purchasing
power parity, with a
population of over 1 billion. The delegation includes Assi Enterprises, BHX Management, Chevstar Records, Concept Music, DDA Consulting, Goodmedia Ltd, Karmasound, Meem Music, Network International, Sheridans, Smekkleysa and Stepen Music. Minister for Trade & Investment, Ian Pearson MP said; "This mission is a continuation of our identification and development of opportunities for the British Music Industry around the world. With India, having a music loving public and a burgeoning industry, it is wonderful that we can help British companies present their artists and music to them."
NOTORIOUS B.I.G ALBUM PULLED FROM SALE 20/03/06
A US judge
has halted sales of late rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s
1994 album "Ready to Die" after a jury decided
the title song used part of an Ohio Players tune
without permission. Last week a Nashville jury awarded
$4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two music
companies (Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records)
that own rights to Ohio Players recordings. The sales ban imposed
by U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell affects
the album and the title song in any form, including Internet downloads
and radio play. It was unclear when or how the ban would take
effect. The jury decided that Bad Boy Entertainment and
executive producer Sean "Puff Diddy" Combs illegally
used a part of the Ohio Players' 1992 song "Singing in
The Morning". Westbound and Bridgeport have alreday had
a well known 2004 legal victory against No Limit
Films and Dimension Films after NWA sampled George Clinton
and Funkadelic.
BOWEN NEW COO OF SONYBMG 20/03/06
Sony BMG have named Tim Bowen as their new Chief Operating Officer. He will be based in New York. Polydor have named Karen Simmonds as their new general manager of marketing
SIA DEADLINE
LOOMS 16/03/06
Security
Industry Authority (SIA) Investigators have carried out
a nationwide series of visits to directors and managers of 13
close protection companies as part of the SIA 'Operation
Pre-Alert'. Compulsory
licensing is introduced on 20 March 2006. During the visits directors
were asked to read and sign a compliance notice acknowledging
that they understood the terms of the Private Security Industry
Act 2001, their obligations under the Act, and the consequences
for them and their staff for non-compliance with the law. After
20 March anyone operating as, or supplying, unlicensed contracted
security operatives in the designated areas (including Close Protection
Operatives) without an SIA licence commits an offence under the
Private Security Industry Act 2001. The penalties for offences under
the Private Security Industry Act 2001 are potentially severe – up
to £5,000
fine and / or six months imprisonment. A charge of supplying unlicensed
operatives can be tried at Crown Court where there is no limit
to the amount of a fine and a sentence of imprisonment of up to
five years can be given. To date, 682 people now hold the approved
SIA Close Protection qualification making them eligible to apply
for an SIA licence; however, only 274 people have so far applied
for their licence.
INTERNET SALES TO GROW TO $10 BILLION BY
2010 16/03/06
In-Stat projects that
global revenues for all online music sales (digital and physical)
will grow from $1.5B in 2005 to $10.7B by 2010. The report suggests
that revenues from a la carte downloading and subscriptions will
exceed revenues from online CD sales as early as next year. Offline
sales, however, will still hold the lion's share of the market
(around two-thirds) and online piracy will continue to significantly
impact on sales. The In-Stat study also found that 64% of people
who had downloaded music had paid to do so (with the heavier downloaders
spending $10-20 each in the past year). iTunes, predictably, dominated
but not as significantly as it has in the past. Some 53% of legal
downloaders used the service.
CHILLI
PEPPERS AND KAYNE HEAD UP LOLLAPALOOZA 16/03/06
The Red
Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West and Wilco lead the
lineup for this summer's Lollapalooza, which will be held
Aug. 4-6 in Chicago's Grant Park. The event will also feature Common,
Manu Chao, Queens Of The Stone Age, the Shins, Death Cab For Cutie, Matisyahu,
Ween and Jack White's new band, the Raconteurs the
Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell has announced. And
at the SXSW Festival in Texas Morrisey let
it be known that he had indeed been offered 'millions of dollars' to reform The
Smiths but just couldnt do the deed. In particular he said that
the Coachella Festival
were looking for the reformed band to headline. Morrissey is part of a large
Britih contingent at the SXSW festival which runs March 10th to March 19th
and features over 1300 live acts in Austin, the 'live music
capital of the world'.
CHART FIXING FRIENDS GET BAND BANNED 16/03/06
Friends and family of The Modern have
got the band banned from the UK's charts after bulk buying the band's
new new single to force it up the charts. Whilst a number one in the UK
needs 80,000+ sales in one week, to get to number 5 needs only 17,000
on average and to get to 10 needs only 10,000. To get to
number 20 just 5,000 units need to be sold. The Official
Charts Company noted bulk buys of hundreds of copies of Industry which
had provisionally pushed the band up to number 13. Unluckily for the
Modern some 85% of the purchase could be tracked back to a 'handful'
of individuals using hmv.co.uk. The band, signed
to Mercury, have confirmed that one 'over helpful'
family friend had brought 140 copies and two other relatives and brought
50 copies each as give aways. The band's previous single peaked at 35.
The band said they understood that the integrity of the charts had to
be maintained.
MAJORS FACE
MORE SCRUTINTY OVER ALLEGED ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES 14/03/06
With
payola allegations being levelled at the majors by both New York attorney
general, Eliot
Spitzer and the federal government attorney general Alberto
Gonzales, fall out from the SonyBMG Rootkit fiasco as
well as a recent settlement 2002 court by the majors for for price
fixing CDs, a law suit has been filed in the federal
courts in the US alleging that the major labels have fixed download
prices: The suit from law leading class action firm firm Lerach
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins also alleges
that the record labels sought to shut down online music pioneer Napster
at the same time they were introducing their own joint ventures to
sell online music: MusicNet and Pressplay "were
not serious commercial ventures, but rather attempts to occupy the
market with frustrating and ineffectual services in order to head
off viable online music competitors from forming and gaining popularity
after Napster's demise," according to the suit. The
allegations extend to the majors conspired to hold back the growth
of the digital music market to protect the high-margin CD side of
their business. The majors are also accused of conspiring to
set the wholesale price of digital tracks, getting up to $0.70 per
$0.99 track. The Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) is named as a co-conspirator in the suit. A
European investigation into download pricing is also expected in
the near future. http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/business/sales_marketing/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002157462
KILLERS'
EX-MANAGER LAUNCHES SUIT 14/03/06
The former
manager of the Killers, famous for Mr Brightside amongst
other big hits, has filed a $16 million federal lawsuit against
the band alleging breach of contract. Braden Merrick,
of Los Angeles, claims in the suit filed in the US District
Court in Las Vegas that he was fired last May, once the
Las Vegas-based band hit the bigtime. His lawyer, Howard
King said: "He's entitled to a percentage of their income
for his services as a manager and producer." His contract was to
have run through 2007. It appears that the two sides tried and failed
to negotiate a settlement before the lawsuit was filed. The band
have now asked a federal judge to dismiss the claim.
MUSICAL CHAIRS 14/03/06
Jordan Schur is
leaving his post as president of Geffen Records to
set up his new label – Suretone
Records in a joint venture with Interscope: Sony
BMG UK has set up Fever Media as a joint venture with David
Mortimer (former creative head of factual entertainment at the BBC)
and Richard Hopkins (former Creative head of format entertainment
at the BBC). Virgin Entertainment Group, North America,
appoints Dee McLaughlin to the post of director of brand
marketing and Wayne Scholes to the role of director of strategic
marketing: Bill
Crandall is named as the new editor-in-chief of AOL Music: Universal
Motown Records Group promotes Kirk Harding to the
role of senior VP of international. Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis,
Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Sex Pistols and Herb
Alpert and Jerry Moss (co-founders of A&M
Records) were all 'ushered into' the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but
its bad news for rapper Young Jeezy as he is arrested in
connection with an alleged shooting in Miami.
ASCAP
COLLECTIONS UP 14/03/06
US collection
agency ASCAP reports that it collected $749 million in
royalties last year. This was up $50M (6%) from 2004. Payments to
members stood at $645M
FRENCH
GOVERNMENT HOLD THE LINE ON DOWNLOADING 13/03/06
MPs
from France's ruling conservative party have blocked
a move to legalise internet downloading of movie
and music files. The vote signalled a victory
for the government as it pushes through a Bill that
would outlaw the downloading music files as
well the breaking of copyright protection on DVDs
or CDs. MPs from the Socialist, Communist, Green
and UDF parties walked out in protest ahead of the
vote, allowing it to be adopted nearly unanimously.
The vote scrapped an revision in the Bill which
would have upheld a text adopted by Parliament last
December to legalise downloading in return for internet
users paying a de facto flat tax of eight to €12
a month that would go to pay artists' royalties. Opposition
MPs and even some UMP parliamentarians, backed
by consumer groups, had argued that such a tax was
the best way to remunerate copyright holders, especially
as an estimated eight to tenmillion French people
download copyrighted material currently without paying
a cent. But the government, which is trying to bring
French law into line with a 2001 EU directive on
copyright on digital media, fiercely opposed
the idea and used every means in its power to see
it quashed. Debate over the rest of the digital
copyright Bill before Parliament is to continue,
with a vote on its adoption expected March 15th.
HMV
REJECTS NEW OFFER 13/03/06
HMV has
rejected a 210p a share bid from private
equity firm Permira as
'derisory'. This is Permira'ss econd bid
for the company and values
the company at £847m. Permira's original
bid at 190p per share valued the company
at £762M)
was rejected at the start of February. It
returned to the table with a bid of £802M
a fortnight ago, but upped it again last
week. HMV has stated that this latest bid
had greatly undervalued the company.
GLASTONBURY
COVERAGE NOMINATED FOR BULLDOG - THE BEST OF
BRITISH TV 12/03/06
If you dont
know already, I am
really pleased to tell you that Glastonbury
2005 has been nominated in the Live Event
category for Televisual BULLDOG Award. We are
up against stiff competition including Live8,
The Ashes and Wimbledon. The citation reads "coverage
of the rain lashed mud-caked but defiantly upbeat
Glastonbury Fetsival was shown on BBC2, BBC3
and BBC4 this year, but only after BBC OB crews
had fought to rescue the coverage from torrential
thunderstorms that struck
overnight on thursday. BBC3 tansmitted live from
7pm to 2am each night and viewers could watch
any of five
stages using the red button. Ratings from the
event peaked at 2.1 million viewers on BBC2 in
Friday 24th June." People
who work in UK audio visual production can
vote for the Bulldogs. Televisual have a special
Bulldogs wesbite and voters can vote online:
U2
POSTPONE END OF VERTIGO TOUR 09/03/06
U2 have
postponed the final 10 dates of its Vertigo '06 tour in Australia,
New Zealand, Japan and Hawaii.
A joint statement by promoters The Next Adventure (TNA)
and Michael Coppel Presents (MCP)
blamed it on the illness of an immediate family member.
Additional details were not given. All the shows except
for U2's date in Adelaide were sold out. It was to have
been the band's first visit to Australia and New Zealand
in eight years. Kanye
West, who was to open for U2 in those countries,
will go ahead with his own six shows
MUSIC
REVENUES GROW 09/03/06
The MCPS-PRS Alliance reports
that in 2005 it redistributed £472M to its 40,000
members (an increase of 9% from 2004). Revenues in mechanicals
rose 13% while public performance went up 4%. Broadcasting
also went up 4% and international rose 9%. Another new report
suggests that mobile content – including music,
games and video – is expected to top $43B globally
by 2010 - this is according to iSuppli projections.
The sector generated $5.2B in 2004. It suggests that
music content will be the key driver and the fastest-growing
content segment. Global revenues from recorded music
content topped $3.8B last year based on industry figures.
SPITZER
LAUNCHES PAYOLA SUIT 09/03/06
New York attorney general
Eliot Spitzer is bringing a lawsuit against Entercom
Communications on payola charges. The broadcaster
is accused of “accepting secret payments in exchange
for airtime". A2IM (the trade body representing
the US indies) has joined the payola debate and used
it to call on the FCC to 'level the
playing field' for small record companies. It feels that
alleged payola practices between the majors and the broadcasters are
locking the indies out. http://www.billboard.biz
DRONES
WIN INAUGURAL AUSSIE MUSIC AWARD 09/03/06
The
Drones have won the first Australian Music
Prize, winning $25,000 and Daddy Yankee is
the big winner at the ASCAP Latin Music Awards. Metallica will
induct Black Sabbath into the Rock
'n' Roll Hall Of Fame.
'WORST
LAW EVER' HITS YOUNG MUSICIANS IN JAPAN 08/03/06
A
law prohibiting the re-sale of any elecrical appliance made
before 2001 without a new expensive product safety
for electrical appliances ('PSE') check has been branded
the 'worst
law ever' by the usually restrained Japanese press. The
law, meant to prevent the sale of unsafe kettles and toasters
has been found to apply to numerous other electrical items
- including electrical instruments. The sale of second hand
instruments in Japan, like elsewhere, is vital to young musicians
and 74,500 enraged musicians and tradespeople, led by Oscar
winning composer Ryuichi Kakamaoto, have
petitioned government asking that the law be toned down
and the trade in old instruments, amplifiers, recording
equipment and synthesisres be allowed to continue unmolested.
Dealers who sell instruments without the new PSE seal are
liable to up to one year
in prison and £500,000 fine (E710,000). The law was actually
passed in 2001 but as the Government didn't publicise the law
most second hand dealers had no idea about the
provisions which are now about to be implemented. The responsible
government body, the Department for Economy, Trade and
Industry (Meti)
admitted it had printed but then failed to distribute information pamphlets
and now was suffering under the strain of hundreds of
outraged calls each day. Now why does this story
seem so familiar .....
PEOPLE IN
MUSIC 08/03/06
Michele J. Hooper has
been elected onto Warner Music Group's
board as an independent director: Michael Reinert is
named as the new executive VP of business and legal affairs
for Universal Motown Records Group and
the English
National Opera names Edward Gardner as
its new music director. And RIP Mail Blues superstar Ali
Farka Toure who has died in his late 60s. Finally
For a very interesting iterview with Rob Stringer,
CEO of SonyBMG in the UK, see http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article349444.ece.
ROD
MUST PAY UP FOR CANCELLED SHOW 08/03/06
A
federal judge has ordered Rod Stewart to pay a Las Vegas
casino more than $3 million for a canceled show in December 2000. U.S. District
Judge Larry Hicks ordered the Stewart's lawyers pay
an additional $153,483 in contempt-of-court sanctions and legal costs for
failing to turn over information to lawyers for Harrah's Entertainment
before trial last year. Stewart's lawyer said Stewart intends to appeal
the verdict and jury award. Judge Hicks' order
is for repayment of the $2 million advance he was paid by the Rio
hotel-casino and more than $1 million in interest, penalties and
attorney fees. Stewart and his lawyers are jointly responsible for paying
the sanctions. The judgment resulted a federal jury finding that Stewart
should not have kept an advance he received for the 2000 New Year's weekend
show that he said he was unable to perform because of throat surgery several
months earlier.source: www.billboard.biz (http://www.billboard.biz/bb/biz/newsroom/legal_management/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002116948)
EX-WEMBLEY
CHIEF APPEALS AGAINST JAIL SENTENCE 08/03/06
Nigel Potter,
the former chief of Wembley who was jailed for three
years for fraud in the USA, is to appeal his sentence. Potter was convicted
and jailed without bail last year pending any appeal. The charges
related to the installation of fruit machines at a US greyhound track. Potter
has been denied a place at an open jail as he is deemed to be a "flight
risk".
Potter and his family maintain his innocence.
FRENCH
COPYRIGHT ROW RUMBLES ON 08/03/06
The French government, caught
off guard when French members of parliament voted to legalise downloading
in return for a monthly licence fee of E8-E12 has reportedly blocked
a vote and introduce a new revised bill. Prime Minister Dominique
de Villepin's UMP government
had resisted calls for the new licence which supporters say reflects
the new way in which consumers will 'buy' music in the future. However
a debate is scheduled before a new vote on March 14. The government
is opposed by a majority of MPS including members of its own party
who want to adopt a more oen style of licencing for downloading. The
government has already dramatically reduced penalities for illegal
downloading in the new bill - penalties for illegal downloading would
now range between E38 and E150 rather than E300,000 and
opposition MPS are also asking that downloads are made available on
all platforms (rather than just, say, iTunes)
and for all devices to allow for proper competition and a fair deal
for consumers. However
the one
key amendments called for by the Bill’s opponents has not been
put in -
the new draft does not contain provisions for the ‘global
licence’ the fee
of a few euros that would have entitled tconsumers to unlimited internet
downloads of copyright material.
see http://www.todayonline.com/articles/105150.asp
SEATTLE
HARD-CORE GROUP BLAMED FOR VIOLENCE 08/03/06
The Seattle
Times reports
that Friends Stand United (FSU) who started
out as the 'good guys', a loose-knit group of young men who acted
as protectors of those who frequented Boston's often-raucous punk
scene in the 1980s, are gaining a reputation for beatings and intimidating
behavior and is being blamed for driving a violent wedge into the
city's hardcore music scene. One club owner, who prides himself
on running a safe venue, said that until a year ago hardcore shows
were fun, peaceful gatherings. Tracy Moody,
owner of Studio Seven, an all-ages venue in the
city's Sodo neighborhood has barred FSU members from his club after
bar patrons were assaulted in November. The Seattle Times also
reports that Police are starting to take notice, too, blaming the
group of young men for at least three assaults in recent months.
On February 25,
officers arrested a handful of FSU members who were standing outside
Studio Seven, most for carrying illegal weapons including brass
knuckles, knives and a handgun. The emergence of Seattle's FSU
has brought angst to some in Seattle's larger music community.
They worry the group's presence at all-ages hardcore shows could
provoke a backlash nearly four years after the city repealed its Teen Dance
Ordinance,
which barred those over and under 21 from mixing at music venues.see http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002848946_fsu07m.html
COPYRIGHT
AWARENESS WEEK LAUNCHED IN USA 08/03/06
Music stations
would be silenced if copyright protection didn't exist, say
Grammy Award winner John Legend and other top recording
artists and songwritewrs. "There'd be no music, no CDs,
no cassettes, no vinyl, no DVDs, no MP3s," he says in
a public service announcement being played on stations across
the country during Copyright Awareness Week which
runs from March 6th to March 10th. The US Copyright
Society which sponsors the week is actively involved
in promoting education on copyright in schools and teachers
who are interested in participating are asked to teach students
basic concepts of copyright and encourage an understanding
of and respect for the rights of creative people provided
by federal law. Other supporters of the week include ASCAP,
BMI, the American Intellectual Property Law Association,
The Harry Fox Agency, Time-Warner, EMI Music Publishing, Peermusic and Shapiro
Bernstein Music Publishers. see http://www.csusa.org/
SECURITY
COMPANIES POISED TO MISS MARCH DEADLINES 08/03/06
There
is likely to be a shortage of licensed security guards
after the March 20th 2006 licensing deadline reports Securitypark.net. After
20th March 2006 anyone operating without a licence will
be committing a criminal offence. Many security companies
have not yet licensed either their company or their guarding
staff. The security industry has had since 2001 when the Private
Security Industry Act was passed to prepare itself,
and the regulatory body, the Security Industry Authority (SIA),
has been accepting licence applications since April 2005.
To date, the SIA Inspectors have visited 52 companies to
warn the directors of companies who it considered would
not be in a position to supply their customers with enough
licensed security staff after 20th March. A flood of applications
were submitted to the SIA during December 2005 and
January 2006.http://www.securitypark.co.uk
PUB
CHAIN SEEKS JUDICIAL REVIEW OF COUNCIL LICENSING POLICY 08/03/06
JD
Wetherspoon is launching a High Court challenge
over the powers of local licensing authorities to refuse
to extend opening hours due to fears of crime and binge drinking.
The company is seeking judicial review of a refusal of Guildford
Borough Council's licensing sub-committee to extend
late-night drinking hours for its presmises in Guildford.
Other applications in the area for longer drinking hours
have also been rejected. The sub-committee acted after Surrey
Police objected to an extra three hours drinking
time, saying the concentration of late-night drinking premises
in the Bridge Street area was already causing "serious
problems of crime and disorder or public nuisance". The police
objection dealt a knock-out blow to the Wetherspoon application
because the local authority had adopted a "cumulative impact" policy
for Bridge Street and that no new licences will be granted
for the area, or longer opening hours allowed, unless an
applicant can show that opening its premises for longer will
not increase the problem of crime and disorder already being
caused locally by the number of pubs and clubs and other
licensed premises. Wetherspoon's legal team are arguing that
the Guildford cumulative impact policy "undermines the scheme
of the Act and is therefore unlawful". Guildford Council
lawyers say their policy is both lawful and in line with
Government guidelines. Also this week Westminster
City Council has announced that 28 licensing
appeals have been withdrawn by operators after consultation.
This follows news that four appeals against the decision
taken by the council's Licensing Sub-Committee were lost.
Three were dismissed with costs awarded to the council and
one appeal was allowed with no order as to costs. The three
cases were in the council's West End 'stress area'. This
was created by the WCC as it believes that the area is saturated
already with premises that serve alcohol late into the night. But
it should be noted that in October 2005 Mr Justice
Richards found that the Licensing Policies of Canterbury
City Council and forty other local authorities were
illegal . Central to the case was that Canterbury's
Licensing Policy was far too prescriptive, set broad blanket
conditions on licensed businesses and misled those applying
for licences about what they had to do to be granted a licence
- in effect the case was that the Council's Licensing Policy
was in breach of the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003. Source www.24dash.com and www.musiclawupdates.com Archive October
2005.
CRACKBERRY
ADDICTS ONLINE AGAIN 06/03/06
Blackberry addicts
have been spared the awful trauma of a service shutdown after
a patent disoute between the makers of the device, Research
in Motion (RIM) and sofware company NTP came
to a settlement over future use of the patents oned by NTP
but vital to Blackberries operation. Tbe Crackbery addicts
might be interested to know that the settlement was for the
sum of $612.5 million (£350 million) which ends
RIM's five year wrangle with NTP.
SEMTEX
EXPLODES AT MADONNAS NEW NAME 06/03/06
The Semtin
Glassworks in
Czech Republic, now renamed Explosia, has
taken exception to one of Madonna's new
ventures. The Czech company own the name Semtex and
are planning legal action after Madonna announced she was
launching a new fashion line called Semtex Girls -
the brand ethos was described by the singer as a girl who is
'dynamic, who explodes, and who doesn't take no for an answer. We
shall have to see if Madonna has to take a 'no' from Explosia.
MUSICWEEK
LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO EXTEND COPYRIGT TERM 06/03/06
UK trade Magazine Music
Week led its front page on the 4th March
2906 with the headline ‘Time for Action’ launching
a major campaign under the ‘Extend The Term!’ banner, calling
on the UK Government to take action over extending the term
of copyright for sound recordings. At the moment in the
FRENCH
PARLIAMENT TO REVISIT P2P LAWS 06/03/06
French
MPs will vote again this week on whether or not to legalise
P2Ps. In December, MPs voted in favour of letting users
download as much as they want in exchange for a monthly
levy under a global licence structure. The entertainment
industries reacted angrily and have been lobbying heavily
to prevent this proposal becoming law in France reports Five
Eight magazine. The
French MPs vote was a shock to government who had been
calling for tougher fines and jail sentences for file-sharers.
Consumers, artists and the culture industries are split
on this issue with some 13,000 musicians signing a petition
in favour of the global licence system and growing consumer
body support for the decriminalising of file-sharers.
The government has been consulting with artists, consumers
and the entertainment industries to consider how best
to move forward. If French MPs vote in favour of the
global licence model, France will become the first country
to legalise file-sharing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4770458.stm
V
SOLD OUT IN 3 HOURS 06/03/06
The V
Festival in the UK has sold out in three hours. A
total of 130,000 tickets were 'snapped up' for the festival
which takes places in Chelmsford and Staffordshire on
19th-20th August.
RECORD LABELS
PUSH FOR COPYRIGHT EXTENSION 04/03/06
UK trade magazine Music
Week led its front page on the 4th March
2006 with the headline ‘Time for Action’ launching
a major campaign under the ‘Extend The Term!’ banner, calling
on the UK Government to take action over extending the
term of copyright for sound recordings. At the moment in
the
COHEN'S
FORMER MANAGER ORDERED TO PAY $9.5 MILLION 04/03/06
Leonard
Cohen's former manager of 17 years Kelly Lynch has
been ordered to pay over $9.5 million (£5.5 million).
She failed to respond to allegations that she had taken funds
from the singer songwriter's retirement savings and a judgment
in default was obtained by Cohen's lawyer, Scott Edleman.
It remains to be seen how the court order will be enforced.
UNIVERSAL
PROFITS UP 03/03/06
Universal Music Group reports
earnings of E480 million in 2005 – which is up 18.8%
from -language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">COHEN'S
FORMER MANAGER ORDERED TO PAY $9.5 MILLION 04/03/06
Leonard
Cohen's former manager of 17 years Kelly Lynch has
been ordered to pay over $9.5 million (£5.5 million).
She failed to respond to allegations that she had taken funds
from the singer songwriter's retirement savings and a judgment
in default was obtained by Cohen's lawyer, Scott Edleman.
It remains to be seen how the court order will be enforced.
UNIVERSAL
PROFITS UP 03/03/06
Universal Music Group reports
earnings of E480 million in 2005 – which is up 18.8%
from 2004. The company's revenues were E4.89B (up 1.5% from
the previous year). It was the strong performance of the
music and games arms that helped drive parent company Vivendi
Universal's pre-tax profits up to E3.9B (based on revenues
of E19.5B). Universal Music's increased earnings were attributed
to growing CD/digital sales and cost savings from restructuring.
Source: FiveEight magazine
GLITTER
GETS 3 YEARS 03/03/06
British glam rocker Gary
Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) has
been sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Vietnamese
court on
charges of sexually abusing two twelve year old girls
at his Villa in Vietnam. In scenes of chaos the singer shouted
out that the charges were a 'conspiracy' by two British
newspapers before being escorted away by guards. Already on
remand, Glieer could well be free within tweleve months on
parole when he will probably be deported back to the UK.
ABBEY
ROAD GIG LIGHTS UP LICENSING LIABILITY OF RECORDING
STUDIOS 03/03/06
Recording studios look set to become the
latest unintended casualties of the Licensing
Act 2003 as local authorites warn
they must get clearance costing hundreds of pounds a year to
let people play live music on their premises. The problem came
to light following a gig performed by Coldplay at Abbey
Road studios this month, attended by guests and BBC
Radio 2 competition winners but not members of he
public. Under the Act, if entertainment is provided for profit
or is put on in public the venue must have a licence. Westminster
City Council’s legal team believes
that this show should have been licensed even though tickets
were not sold. A statement from the council’s lawyers
said: “If Coldplay had simply recorded some music at
Abbey Road for later transmission by the BBC, it can safely
be assumed that Abbey Road would be doing it for consideration
and with a view to profit. Even if Abbey Road allowed the studio
to be used free of charge that would not avoid the fact that
the studio would need to be licensed for any other recording
sessions carried out on a commercial basis”. If correct
this bizarre extension of the Act would be likely
to affect all recording studios in the area and could influence
the policies of other local authorities. The Stage reports
that licensing lawyer Dale Collins from solicitors Osborne
Clarke, who has advised Arts Council England on
the Act, claimed Westminster’s interpretation of the
law was correct and that competition winners could be held
to be a section of 'the public' and adds “even if it
is determined not to be public, as it appears the BBC hired
the studio this suggests that the event organisers paid those
providing the entertainment facility and hence falls within
the catch-all provision of providing the entertainment ‘for
consideration and with a view to profit.’ So they’re
caught one way or the other.” However, the BBC has escaped
a fine after Westminster Council decided not to prosecute,
accepting that it was a "genuine oversight" on the broadcaster's
part
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/11743/coldplay-gig-raises-licensing-issues
POLICE AND HOSPITALS STRETCHED BY NEW UK DRINKING REGIME 03/03/06PETE
DOHERTY ARRESTED AGAIN 03/03/06
Having
escaped a prison sentence for previous drugs offences Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty has
again been arrested for drug and driving offences. The troubled
singer was arrested on monday by police in Birmingham. Doherty
is currently subject of a Community Order witha drug addiction
treatment requirement. It is also reported that Doherty is being
treated for depression at Homerton Hospital in
East London.
News Archive. Simply click on a month to view.