| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 20th June |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Before the cops arrived: Spector trial update
- Gatecrasher burns down
- Ra Ra Riot on life without drummer
- Fiddy reveals tracklisting
- Cardiff Calling adds
- T On The Fringe adds
- Live Earth London adds
- Ibiza Rocks adds
- Iceland Airwaves adds
- Glasto adds
- Smashing Pumpkins come back in London
- Skinner on Wembley
- Barat and chums play Chavs set
- Kyoka dates
- Slayer guitarist on touring with Manson
- Shadows Fall join Black Crusade tour
- Fightstar dates
- Fear Before The March Of Flames/The End tour
- Getty moves into music
- Sony deny Connect closure reports
- YouTube go regional
- DF approve TicketExchange for T In The Park ticket resales
- NUJ announce day of action
- Carphone Warehouse sponsor X-Factor
- Sky courting Facebook
- Arctic Monkey continues fashion line
- Clarkson on clash with label bosses
- Britney cross about baldy ads
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TOP BIT>>
This is interesting, though possibly not all that surprising given the sheer size of the festival market these days. It stands to reason that as more and more people seem to want to go to music festivals, that an increasing percentage of those attending won't actually be all that interested in the music.
A new bit of research commissioned by Freeview and released in the run up to Glastonbury has found that many people frequenting music festivals these days are more into the festival bit than the music. Just under half of the 3000 festival-goers surveyed admitted they struggled to remember the names of the bands they had seen at recent festivals, and just under a fifth said they were likely to take in less than five hours of music over a festival weekend.
Many festival-goers said they prefer to socialise, wander around a festival site and soak in the atmosphere than watch bands play. And rather than analysing the running orders to compile a personal band plan, many festival-goers are likely to spend much of the week before a festival thinking about their wardrobe, with many buying new clothes and kit, including designer wellies, waterproofs and tents, before heading to a festival - something the survey's authors are referring to as the "Kate Moss effect".
Elsewhere, 17% of those surveyed said they had missed a band they had planned to see at a festival because they were stuck in a queue for food, drinks or the toilet, 22% said they went straight for a bar on arriving at a festival, and 16% admitted they were somewhat worse for wear by the time any headline acts came on stage.
So, that all makes heartening reading if you're playing a festival this weekend. Chances are half your audience have no intention of watching you, the other half are stuck in queues somewhere, and the other half (if you can have three halves) are too drunk to notice you're performing. But still, at least everyone will be very well dressed.
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CLASSIFIEDS>>
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JOBS N STUFF>>
REGIONAL PRESS OFFICER - WARNER MUSIC
Warner Music is seeking a Regional Press Officer to work a diverse roster of acts. Candidates must have a minimum of two years Regional PR experience. The successful candidate will be highly efficient with strong writing skills, flawless spelling and grammar, and a passion for music. Computer literacy, including confidence with Microsoft Office, is essential. Please send a covering letter and CV to [email protected]
Advertise your vacancies in the CMU Daily for just £80 for five days. To book your space email [email protected].
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MYSPACE OF THE DAY: MAKE MODEL
Time to make Make Model MySpace Of The Day, methinks. The band's debut single is, after all, out on 9 Jul. Well, that's what the MySpace says, so I'm going to assume that's correct. But what kind of music, is this, I hear you ask (those of you who don't already know the band, anyway)? Well, this is folkish indie, the kind of jerky, sometimes laidback pop perfectly suited to the sounds of summer - which is handy, given the number of festival appearances that the group seem to have planned this season. Lots of info on the page here, including blog entries and suchlike, which is always good - but the page is worth having a look at just to familiarise yourself with the music, and preview that upcoming single, obviously - though it's always nice to find there's something else there to entertain, isn't it?
http://www.myspace.com/makemodel
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BEFORE THE COPS ARRIVED: SPECTOR TRIAL UPDATE
So, it was back to the alleged crime itself as the Phil Spector murder trial continued yesterday, with the prosecution calling their final witness, a forensic scientist from the LA County Sheriff's Department called Lynne Herold.
She was questioned as to the way Lana Clarkson's body was found when police arrived at Spector's Beverly Hills mansion about 45 minutes after she had been shot dead. Crucially, Herold said that she thought Spector may well have moved Clarkson's body, albeit slightly, while he waited for the police to arrive.
Herold said that the former actress' head appeared to have been moved "at least once" to the left side of her body after she had died, and the only person around to do that was presumably Spector. She also said it looked like Clarkson's face had been wiped, possibly with a cloth diaper that was found near her body by police. Looking for clarification, prosecution lawyer Alan Jackson asked: "Somebody manipulated not only the face and neck, but somebody manipulated the blood on her face and neck, correct?", to which Herold answered "Correct".
Herold was also asked about how some of Clarkson's blood could have been found in the hallway of Spector's house, as it was. She said that she thought the blood had dripped off either the gun, the aforementioned cloth diaper or Spector himself at sometime shortly after the actress was shot. We know Spector walked around his home with the blood covered gun shortly after the shooting, because his former chauffeur testified that he saw the producer appear at a side of the house carrying the gun.
Herold is expected to be the last witness called by the prosecution, though her testimony may continue for much of the week.
The main subject matter of the trial has been overshadowed for a few days, of course, by the row over whether one of Spector's former defence lawyers, Sara Caplan, should expand on her earlier private testimony that she saw Henry Lee, a forensic specialist employed by the defence team, remove a small white fragment from the scene of the crime - what the prosecution claim was probably a piece of finger nail. As previously reported, Caplan says she cannot testify because of client attorney privileges, but Judge Larry Paul Fidler disagrees and will issue contempt proceedings against her today, which could see the lawyer in jail by the end of the week.
The case continues.
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GATECRASHER BURNS DOWN
Yep, what the headline says really. The permanent home of clubbing institution Gatecrasher was destroyed by fire on Monday night, though owners of the club have already announced they intend to rebuild the venue. The main Gatecrasher venue is in Sheffield and has been the superclub's home since 1997. Formerly called The Republic, it was renamed Gatecrasher One in 2003 after the club's owners bought the venue for themselves and undertook a £1.5 million refurbishment.
A former warehouse, one side of the building collapsed on Monday night after a fire swept through the premises. Although some staff members were inside when the fire began, and while several firefighters were next to the side of the building that actually collapsed, no one was actually hurt during the blaze. Student accommodation and other work places in the area around the venue were evacuated as firefighters brought the fire under control, while structural engineers were yesterday surveying the damage to the building.
But whatever those engineers find, the owners of the club have vowed to rebuild their flagship venue. MD Simon Raine told reporters: "We will be looking at how we rebuild the Gatecrasher One club, one of the cornerstones of the UK nightclub scene and our spiritual home, as quickly as possible. We want everyone to remember those memorable nights at Gatecrasher One from down the years, safe in the knowledge it will be back - bigger, brighter, louder and more brash".
Meanwhile the club's owners plan to find new locations for events due to be staged in the venue in the coming months.
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RA RA RIOT ON LIFE WITHOUT DRUMMER
Ra Ra Riot have posted a message on their MySpace page explaining their plans for the future following the death earlier this month of their drummer John Pike. As previously reported, the musician went missing after leaving a party in Rhode Island and was subsequently found drowned.
In a blog post entitled 'The Future', the band say: "We have felt lost since the death of our friend and band mate, John. There will always be unanswered questions, so we can only surrender to life and move forward without fully understanding. In our distress we feel lucky for having been so close to him, and we're thankful for the guidance that memories of him will give us. All of us in the band are enthusiastic and determined to live out the plans we laid together with John".
"As we continue, the pain of missing a dear friend will remind us how much we loved him. Coinciding with the wishes of John's family, we have decided to continue onward. We are thankful for the continuous support from friends, family and the music community during this difficult time. We find comfort in this solidarity, and hope that it gives us strength".
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FIDDY REVEALS TRACKLISTING
50 Cent has announced what the tracklisting will be on his new album 'Curtis', out 4 Sep. It features a few guest appearances from some high profile acts, as you'll see:
Straight To The Bank
Still Will Kill (feat Akon)
Smile
She Wants It
Peep Show
My Gun Go Off
Movin On Up
Hands Up High (feat Tony Yayo)
Fully Loaded Clip
Follow My Lead (feat Robin Thicke)
Fire (feat Nicole Sherzinger and Young Buck)
Destiny
Officer Down
Come and Go
Amusement Park
All Of Me (feat Mary J Blige)
187
The Mechanic (feat Tony Yayo)
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CARDIFF CALLING ADDS
Twenty more bands have just been added to the line up of Cardiff Calling which, as I do believe we mentioned once before, is the first day of the Cardiff branch of the Metro Weekender (basically a Cardiff version of London's Get Loaded In The Park festival). It takes place in Cardiff's Coopers Field on 25 Aug, and look, here are the newest additions: Kate Nash, Bonde Do Role, The Rumble Strips, Remi Nicole, Pritchard Vs Dainton, Killing For Company, The Voices, Soft Hearted Scientists, The Answering Machine, Jump The Underground, Sicknote, We Are Trees, The Roseville Band, The New 1920, Donde Stars, Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog, Inner City Pirates, Jan Watkins Band and Attack! Attack!! So there you have it. Press info from [email protected]
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T ON THE FRINGE ADDS
Talking of additions, more gigs have been announced for this year's T On The Fringe, the big pop and rock strand at the Edinburgh Festival in August. The new additions are Paul Steel on 17 Aug and Hot Club De Paris on 23 Aug, both at Cabaret Voltaire, and Dinosaur Junior, at the Liquid Room on 27 Aug. Press info from Material.
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LIVE EARTH LONDON ADDS
Oh, more additions here too. Metallica, Kasabian, Pussycat Dolls, and Terra Naomi have all been added to the London bit of Live Earth, that big gig on 7 Jul that is going to end all global warming (I hope you've all stocked on woolly hats and scarfs, it's going to be very chilly on 8 Jul). Which means the full line up for Live Earth Wembley now looks like this: Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Bloc Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Damien Rice, David Gray, Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, Genesis, James Blunt, John Legend, Kasabian, Keane, Madonna, Metallica, Paolo Nutini, Pussycat Dolls, Razorlight, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snow Patrol, Spinal Tap and Terra Naomi.
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IBIZA ROCKS ADDS
More support bands have been announced for the Ibiza Rocks season, which kicked off at Manumission's Bar M on the White Isle last night. You'll remember we published the list of headliners last week, and also that we recently reported that Doc Martens are supporting the support slots at the indie night via its FREEDM programme. Well, more of the FREEDM support acts have been announced, as follows - Vinny Vinny will support The Holloways on 26 Jun, Reverend And The Makers will support Arctic Monkeys on 1 Sep, and The More Assured will support The Fratellis on 5 and 6 Sep. As previously reported, Pull Tiger Tail will support Kasabian on 17 Jul.
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ICELAND AIRWAVES ADDS
What, another festival line up addition? No. In the sense of 'yes'. Organisers of Reykjavik's Iceland Airwaves festival has announced that Canada's Chromeo and Brazils' Bonde Do Role have just been added to this bill for this year's event which takes place from 17-21 Oct. Already on the bill are the likes of !!!, Ra Ra Riot and Bloc Party.
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GLASTO ADDS
And one last festival add. Last one, promise. Hard-Fi have been added to the Glasto bill, somewhat last minute. The CMU favourites will headline the Leftfield Stage on Saturday night, presumably giving us a little sneaky preview of some of the new material due to appear on their second album 'Once Upon A Time In The West' which is due out in September. The band aren't really doing any festival dates this year, keen instead to get that album completed, but they say they decided to do Glastonbury after being invited by the Love Music Hate Racism people who programme the Leftfield Stage.
I hope Richard Archer et al have some strong wellies, because, as we mentioned yesterday, it is looking like it's going to be a wet weekend at Worthy Farm again. With heavy showers expected in the lead up to and during the festival, meteorology types are predicting that it's going to be another mud bath Glasto. The Met Office's Steve Wortley told the BBC: "Given that we've got a wet week, I think it's going to be the normal quagmire". But Glasto man Michael Eavis says that, despite the weather forecast, he isn't expecting onsite flooding quite like last time round, in 2005, mainly because they've spent £100,000 on drainage across the farm. He told reporters: "We've got huge concrete pipes that will take the water from A to B and take it from the river and then it goes to Burnham-on-Sea, so it's a great system. So we're almost looking forward to the rain, in order to see the pipes working after all this investment".
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SMASHING PUMPKINS COME BACK IN LONDON
The Smashing Pumpkins last night staged their first UK live show following those central members' decision to reform the band. The group played a three hour set at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, performing tracks from their new album 'Zeitgeist', as well as some old classics. The date follows that previously reported first post-reunion gig in Paris.
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SKINNER ON WEMBLEY
Mike Skinner has posted some musings on The Streets' recent Muse support slot (I know, that wasn't big and it wasn't clever) at Wembley. Writing on the-streets.co.uk, Skinner said: "Wembley Stadium was really good fun. I always like a challenge and trying to entertain a rock crowd with rap music is exactly that, but they were really up for it in the end. I didn't get the tambourine out though".
He also took the time to praise Daft Punk's recent performance at Wireless, saying "But oh my gosh! The Daft Punk show is unbelievable. Two robots playing BLAZING grooves from this huge pyramid made of TV screen. Felix from Basement Jaxx introduced me to Thomas Bangalter after as well, which was the most starstruck moment of my life. I was just standing there listening to what he was saying, enjoying the moment and then this girl started rattling on in my ear going on about The Streets blah blah and I'm thinking, 'I'm having the most starstruck moment of my life here and there's this silly girl ruining it by getting starstruck at me... just shut up for one minute!' Totally mindblowing show though. You have to go and see Daft Punk if you can".
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BARAT AND CHUMS PLAY CHAVS SET
Carl Barat's supergroup The Chavs put on a short gig in London this week. Joined by his Dirty Pretty Things bandmates Gary Powell and Didz Hammond, plus Charlatans Tim Burgess and Anthony Rossamondo and Jamie Reynolds and Steffan Halperin out of Klaxons, Barat and the rotating line up played a five song set at The Cuckoo Club on Monday, a performance which was filmed for Rockworld TV.
The Chavs previously performed back in 2004, on that occasion featuring Primal Scream keyboardist Martin Duffy and Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows.
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KYOKA DATES
It Came From Japan have announced live dates for solo artist Kyoka - don't know what she's like, really, but the press release is talking about "electronica laced with shamisen" which sounds like a recipe for success to me. Here's where she'll be and when:
20 Jun: Manchester Hippocampgreen @ Green Room
24 Jun: Manchester Tokyosmashup @ Tv21
25 Jun: Bournemouth The Portman Green Room
27 Jun: Manchester Killswitch @ Mint Lounge
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SLAYER GUITARIST ON TOURING WITH MANSON
Slayer guitarist Kerry King has been talking about his band's upcoming co-headline tour with Marilyn Manson. King told MTV: "It's definitely going to be weird. My whole thing is, it depends on what Manson plays, whether our kids stay or not. If he comes out and plays 'Tainted Love,' half the place is going to leave".
On the fact that Manson has insisted on closing every show of the US jaunt, he added: "I don't have the ego that makes me - and I'm not saying Manson does - but I don't have the ego that makes me have to close every show. I won't be playing any longer, and we'll be done with our show and be able to chill for a change".
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SHADOWS FALL JOIN BLACK CRUSADE TOUR
More loud music, and Shadows Fall have announced that they'll be joining the upcoming European 'Black Crusade' tour featuring Machine Head, Trivium, Dragonforce and Arch Enemy. Here are the UK dates, tickets on sale now, get info from Roadrunner IH:
20 Nov: Glasgow SECC
21 Nov: Manchester MEN Arena
23 Nov: Birmingham NEC
24 Nov: London Brixton Academy
25 Nov: London Brixton Academy
26 Nov: Cardiff CIA Arena
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FIGHTSTAR DATES
Yes, more live dates of the rock kind, this time from Fightstar. I've made a resolution not to refer to them as "Charlie from Busted's new band" any more, as they deserve to exist in their own right, really. But I will tell you that Charlie from Busted's new band will be previewing tracks from their new album at these dates in August, following a summer touring the US with Funeral For A Friend, Medina Lake and The Receiving End of Sirens. Press info from Mercenary.
11 Aug: Stoke Sugarmill
12 Aug: York Fibbers
13 Aug: Glasgow Abc
15 Aug: Nottingham Rescue Rooms
16 Aug: London Scala
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FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES/THE END TOUR
More metal, and the snappily monickered Fear Before The March Of Flames and fellow north Americans The End have announced a co-headline European tour set to take place in August & September. Here are the UK dates:
29 Aug: Kingston The Peel
30 Aug: Bristol Bierkeller
31 Aug: Southampton Joiners
1 Sep: Stoke On Trent Sugarmill
2 Sep: Sheffield Corporation
3 Sep: Aberdeen Moshulu
4 Sep: Manchester Music Box
5 Sep: Brighton Concorde 2
6 Sep: Nottingham Rock City
7 Sep: London Underworld
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GETTY MOVES INTO MUSIC
Leading photo library Getty Images has moved into the music space through a $42 million acquisition of music licensing firm Pump Audio. The two companies operate similar businesses in their respective domains, offering libraries of pre-priced stock content - images and video in Getty's case, music with Pump Audio - that advertising and media clients can easily access and licence. Through its acquisition of Pump Audio, Getty plans to offer its clients a combined image, video and music licensing service.
Getty co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein told reporters that he hoped to be able to offer the integrated image, video and music service within a few months, adding that Getty sales teams would be including music in their pitches moving forward. He added: "There isn't a major corporation, ad agency or broadcaster who is not already a customer of ours. Our ambition moving into music is part of an overall thrust to be a digital media company".
Pump Audio currently have 700,000 tracks in their automated system, but Klein says he hopes to expand that considerably by striking new deals, especially with the major record companies.
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SONY DENY CONNECT CLOSURE REPORTS
A spokesman for Sony has denied those reports that the electronics and entertainment giant was getting ready to close down its Connect download platform. As previously reported, it was claimed last weekend that Connect was close to being shut down after a downsized workforce at one of Sony's LA offices were told that they would be focusing on content for PlayStation communities rather than audio and video services. But Sony spokeswoman Jennifer Glass told reporters this week that that unit was simply being reshuffled, and that the move did not mean the end of Connect. However, rumours of the iTunes rival's demise remain - with one insider telling Digital Music News yesterday: "It's over. They're leaving the building".
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YOUTUBE GO REGIONAL
YouTube has announced it will launch regional specific versions of its video sharing platform in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK, which will hopefully mean I stop getting Japanese dubbed editions of Malcolm In The Middle when I go searching for them on the video site (actually I've found a new video sharing site which has the entire MITM catalogue in English, plus new episodes of Doctor Who, which are being pulled down by YouTube these days, so that's where I'm hanging out just now - I won't tell you what its called because there has got to be so much copyright violation going on there, I don't want one of you content owners out there to go and close it down!). The regional variations of YouTube will have features and sections relevant to the local territory, including country-specific rankings and comments. I'm not sure if you'll be able to just search for videos from your home country, we'll see I guess. YouTube man Chad Hurley said yesterday: "YouTube will now be more accessible and interesting to a worldwide audience, and we look forward to rolling out in other countries in the months to come".
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DF APPROVE TICKETEXCHANGE FOR T IN THE PARK TICKET RESALES
DF Concerts, promoters of T In The Park, have announced they are approving Ticketmaster's TicketExchange service for anyone who has bought tickets to the sold-out music event, but who are now unable to attend and who are therefore looking to sell on their tickets.
TicketExchange has been set up in response to the growth in the resale of tickets to in-demand music events on auction websites like eBay. The live sector has been critical of eBay et al for allowing the resale of such tickets, normally at a considerable mark up, and often in contravention of the terms and conditions of the original ticket sale. However, some argued that the lack of an official ticket resale platform meant that people who had bought tickets in good faith but could not now attend had no choice but to go to eBay to sell on their tickets. Sites like TicketExchange aim to provide that official platform, separating people reselling tickets for legitimate reasons from touts who bought tickets with the sole intent of reselling them for profit.
The two key differences between TicketExchange and eBay is that, firstly, the seller must sell their ticket at face value and, secondly, when someone buys a resold ticket TicketMaster will actually issue a new ticket to them - so that people buying tickets via the service do not rely on the seller to mail them. The original ticket is then cancelled. As promoters like DF are vowing to cancel any tickets they see being sold on eBay, they say those still looking for T In The Park tickets should only buy them via TicketExchange.
Commenting on the ticket swap service, DF chief Geoff Ellis told CMU: "We are really pleased to offer this new service to fans who find themselves unable to go to T In The Park and who want to ensure that they are passing their tickets onto other genuine fans. For some time, the secondary ticket market has been justifying its position by stating that tickets on their site are sold by fans that just cannot make the festival anymore. I have always argued that genuine fans would not be selling their tickets for a huge profit and that instead these sites are populated by touts taking advantage of fans who are desperate to go to the festival. This new system will absolutely separate the touts from the fans. Once again, we as promoters and Ticketmaster as a legitimate ticket agent are doing what we can to show the government that we are working hard to protect music fans and that what is now needed is a change in the law regarding the resell of tickets from unofficial sources".
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NUJ ANNOUNCE DAY OF ACTION
The National Union Of Journalists has announced it is staging a Europe-wide 'Stand Up For Journalism' day in a bid to highlight a "deepening crisis" in the media industry that has, they claim, been caused by job cuts and declining editorial standards. Taking place on 5 Nov, the day will include a lunchtime protest at the Society Of Editors conference in Manchester and an evening rally in London. NUJ chapters at individual media firms are also expected to stage their own events.
The Union claims that too many media firms are putting profits before quality, leading to drastic job cuts among journalistic and editorial staff which, in turn, leads to a slide in quality of output. NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear says this: "This will be a day of huge importance. The time has come for us to stand up as one and send a loud, clear message that our industry is in deep crisis. It's no coincidence that we have chosen Fireworks Day for our protest - we want the whole country to wake up and recognize that this is a matter of grave concern for all of us".
He continues: "We intend to spark a national debate about the crucial role journalism plays in our society. The media is the eyes and ears of the public, doing the essential job of revealing corruption, hypocrisy and wrong-doing. A matter of such enormous consequence can no longer be left solely in the hands of the media owners who have repeatedly shown they are not worthy of the stewardship of our profession. Our members will make it clear that they will no longer accept the cuts, the poor pay and the worsening working conditions to maintain the excessive profits of ever-more greedy media companies. Industry employers must come to their senses and realise that rather than endless bloodletting they must invest in quality journalism and the journalists that produce it".
Of course it will be interesting to see what coverage the protests get, given that the people writing the news will be taking part, but the people they are protesting against control their access to the mainstream public.
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CARPHONE WAREHOUSE SPONSOR
Having dropped its sponsorship of Big Brother when the Goody-gate racism debacle reached its peak during the last series of Celeb Big Brother, Carphone Warehouse has announced it will now sponsor The X Factor, which returns for its fourth series in the Autumn. The phone firm has reportedly entered into a three-year deal worth an estimated £20 million. For their sake, I hope none of the new judges on the show turn out to be closet racists. Though, ITV are known to want to revitalise their flagship pop talent show, and a bit of xenophobia could be just the thing. In honour of former ITV prime-timer Bernard Manning perhaps.
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SKY COURTING FACEBOOK
Sky is reportedly in talks with social networking thing of the moment Facebook regarding some kind of 'permanent presence' - which presumably means the bosses at BSkyB are clever enough to see that its no longer just the cool kids who have shunned their sister company, MySpace, for the less commercial social networking service. Whether 'permanent presence' means more branding type shenanigans than just the banner ads the satellite broadcaster have recently bought (presumably in a bid to stop Virgin Media from dominating - their ads appearing a lot on the site) I don't know - hope not, otherwise it might be time for everyone to shift elsewhere for their social networking. To be honest, all those new application things are already becoming a bit irritating.
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ARCTIC MONKEY CONTINUES FASHION LINE
Nice to know that Arctic Monkeys are staying away from the trappings of commercial gain and all that. Oh, perhaps not. The band's drummer Matt Helders is working a new footwear collection with Supremebeing, a label he's already collaborated with on one fashion range with. It'll be out before Christmas, mums and dads.
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CLARKSON ON CLASH WITH LABEL BOSSES
Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has apparently told reporters how she got into a spat with label bosses over which of her songs to perform at the previously reported American Idol charity special back in April. The singer says that her label wanted her to perform her new song at the event, but she felt the track was inappropriate.
She says, "To promote yourself on a charity event is beyond crass. People are starving and dying and I'm up there singing some bitter pop song. Believe me, everyone wanted me to sing it because they are jaded and have no soul. Imagine sitting in a room full of people totally against you: 'Can't they hear themselves speaking? Capitalise on AIDS? Are you kidding? Insulting an entire nation of people?' I just refused".
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BRITNEY CROSS ABOUT BALDY ADS
Britney Spears' lawyers have demanded that a Florida radio station stop running billboard ads featuring a picture of the singer with a baldy head accompanied by slogans such as "Total nut jobs", "Shock Therapy" and "Certifiable". To be fair, she was bald, and appeared a bit nutty at the time she dahved her hair off, but I do think it's a bit mean to run an ad campaign based on that. The lawyers think it's more than a bit mean - they say the company which owns the station, Clear Communications, was "already exposed to substantial liability for its offensive, unauthorised commercial exploitation" of Spears' image. So there you go.